The rogue krogans took the sudden submission as a new conquest. They felt that the ship was inferior and had no way to defend itself. They didn't do any research on the ships out there, and they only saw the Normandy as a basic scouting ship that they hoped to claim and use as their own. The drones were able to carefully move out of an emergency airlock from the Normandy and wait patiently for the other ship to move closer. Once it was within docking distance, they made the transfer to the large, yet cumbersome spacecraft. There was no chance for the enemy to escape.
Thirty drones latched onto the outside of the enemy ship's airlock. Six drones waited just inside the main boarding bay. When the first krogan charged in with a roar of defiance, he was shocked. The area was empty. Or so he thought when a lesser drone of Robin suddenly charged down the main entryway with its hammers out and slammed him against a wall. The force was so devastating that the krogan died instantly with his insides crushed in with his own splintered rib-cage.
Three lesser drones of Nick jumped down from the ceiling to drive their claws right through the skulls of the next three krogan that appeared. It was one of the few outer weak points of them, and John's memories easily revealed this. When one tried to run away, a lesser version of Kim easily pulled the pitiful thing back to them with a whip-claw. It was a krogan crew of twenty, toughened and seasoned mercenaries. They were cut down in a very humiliating way by the time ten minutes was up.
"We have the leader," Hermanubis smirked. "Wanna see him?"
"I do," Wrex said and moved to follow him. John nodded to Garrus to show they were going, too. The turian pulled out his gun and readied it.
"Don't bother. Our drones already got into the ship the moment the main airlock was cleared. We have full control of the ship now," Osiris said. "We consumed two of the krogan into our fold, so we know how the ship fully functions. Not sure if the name 'Bash-Stomp' will work. Hypnos may rename it to something else."
"Bash-Stomp?" Wrex asked with confusion. "That's a new one."
"They were never good at names. Even when it came to naming kids," Garrus shrugged. At the warning glare from Wrex, the turian wisely backed down.
"The ship's in rough shape. It will take some time to get it up to standards that Hypnos needs it in. And by that, I mean he accepts the challenge to fix it up," Osiris chuckled.
"We found a listing of planets locked into the main helm's computer. Tell me, Shepard, do you know what planets Nepheron and Presrop are?" Isis asked when she walked over to him.
"We don't touch those planets. They have monsters called threshers on them. Very dangerous. Very hard to kill. The krogan use them as tests of strength, though," he said.
"Yes. My clan, Urdnot, is one of the most known. I am the chief, and I'm only here because Shepard needs my help," Wrex nodded. "I was able to kill a thresher and earn my place."
"How big do they get?" Lelantos asked.
"They tunnel underground. If you can kill one to eat it, you could eat for months," Wrex snickered. "We would have grand feasts with those!"
"We will find one of the planets," he grinned.
"Sounds like a new home base," Osiris nodded. "We'll look into it."
"You would make a colony on an infested planet?" John frowned.
"How else would you think anything would survive on it, if we found thresher meat to be substantial? We could be natural killers," Thanatos grinned. That got John clearing his throat with a small smile. "And, if this meat is a delicacy, we can turn it into a trade."
At this said, Wrex turned to look at him directly. "If you manage to kill them for sport, you are sending me the finest cuts of each one you kill!"
"Done!" Thanatos said and shook his hand.
"If the meat is what I remember it being, a trade would be a nice welcome with the krogan," Wrex said with approval. "I am curious of this mercenary leader."
"The very same," Osiris said. "Of course, you would trade with credits, right? We would need a new form of some kind of currency in this age."
"Credits. Supplies. Whatever would be available on hand," Wrex said, as they walked into the other ship. The drones were already scrubbing floors and fixing up cables. Tali was soon escorted in, and she began to head directly to the engine of the ship to study it and figure out what was needed.
"Something tells me that this ship was the Reaper blip," Robert mused to John.
"Quite possible. Many ships can put up false markings to hide themselves. I just find it odd that Joker saw the blip, and now it's nowhere to be found. I don't know what to make of it," John muttered.
"Stealth tech?" Isis asked.
"Not sure. I hope not," he admitted.
"If you can't find ways to detect it, then Hypnos may be able to come up with something. Anyways, how much time passed?" Robert asked. Osiris showed him the phone clock. "Okay. Three hours. Agatha will be moving about again in another four, if it all goes well."
"She can't move?" Garrus asked.
"Not yet. She can give birth to over a hundred drone eggs at a time. I think she almost hit two hundred eggs this past month. This ship will definitely have a crew," Robert chuckled.
"What?" Garrus asked with surprise.
"And, with breeder eggs, she can only go up to ten at a time. Five breeding sets. But, she can make specialized eggs, too. The eggs are larger, and that's why. Drone eggs seem to be smaller and more compact. And, that's only because they are meant to be birthed in waves," Osiris explained. "When Isis and I make drones, they don't seem so…refined. Mother also seems to be the only one able to make the intense amount of drone eggs with our Emperor. The rest of us seem a touch limited to under a hundred at a time. Even the Queens seem to only give out around a hundred and fifty, but it would make sense with Mother being our Empress."
"Interesting," Garrus mused aloud. Something kept nudging him in the back of his mind to check on Agatha. Since the ship was no longer a threat, he found himself going back to the Normandy. Hermanubis glanced at Osiris at this. They both rolled their eyes at each other.
:He likes her. Let's face it.: Hermanubis sighed.
:He'll be in for a wake-up call.: Alex growled. As the drones watched Garrus walk back through the Normandy, Garrus found himself pausing at the sight of Nick walking over to him. He realized that he knew who this drone was. There was an air of power around it. And the stalking, calm stance given only proved it further. It crossed its arms over its chest and regarded the turian.
"Why are you worried about her?" it asked.
"I don't know. It's not like me. I should be with the others looking over the ship. Checking the weapons. I just…gah! I can't figure this out!" he growled.
"Hmm…" Nick frowned. At the sight of Alex walking out of the room, it moved to go sit with Agatha to guard her. Garrus looked over at him and straightened.
"Why are you acting as though you have a constant hard-on around her?" Alex asked mildly. "The only one I've seen act like this is Robert, and she chose him from the start."
"I feel like I'm missing some key things about her," he said.
"Alex!" Agatha called out. He glanced over his shoulder at her now. "Show him my first memories. Hypnos was able to upload a copy to your laptop, right?"
"Hmm. You think so?" Alex asked.
"Trust me," she said. "Remember that whole bit I said in the beginning about female intuition?"
"I guess," he muttered out. Then he looked at Garrus and said, "Before she was awakened, she was able to hear various conversations said about her. She has her first 24 hours of memories saved before I intervened. This included what she saw when she finally did open her eyes. My conversation with her isn't there, though. Only what the satellite gathered was able to be recorded. They had a bomb implanted in her and ready to go off remotely, if she fucked up. And, when she agreed to finally join up with me, if they found out…"
"She 'finally' agreed?" Garrus asked. Alex sighed hard and motioned for him to follow. Nick was already setting up the laptop for viewing. "Well now. Isn't that primitive…"
"All of our shit is," Alex smirked. Then he saw how Garrus was staring with disbelief at the size of Agatha's belly. "Look. Don't touch."
"I wasn't planning to," he grunted.
"Alex, don't worry," she sighed and winced at a bit of stretching. Nick carefully pulled her up to support her. "Let him watch my memories."
"Sit here," Alex said and positioned the laptop easily. The file was brought up and played. Of course, only the key parts of her memories were pulled together. Hypnos had all of the original footage, but, for quick reviewing, he knew some things had to be kept short and simple. There was at least two hours' worth of sound and footage there. Garrus was going to glean all of it.
On the deck of the Bash-Stomp, Wrex was seething at the sight of the main Captain. He knew who this krogan was. He was highly pissed.
"I remember you," Wrex grounded out. "You thought you could muscle your way in to Clan Urdnot! And you failed. Miserably!"
"You didn't give me a fair chance!" the war-scarred krogan snarled out. He was on his knees with his hands in cuffs behind him. The armor he wore seemed to be stolen from another krogan, but who knew where it came from anymore.
"You had the same chance that I did! To kill a thresher! You sought to replace me. You failed. This is your cost for failure, Bursh!" Wrex said with a heavy glare.
"Bursh? That's his name?" Osiris mused. "Was there a burping contest going on when he was named? Amazing…"
"Seems the most likely," Lelantos snickered. Bursh scowled at this and looked away. He clearly wasn't happy. He knew he was wanted back on the krogan home world for acts of violence, too. His fate was sealed. Lelantos thought and said, "So, what do we do with him?"
"He has too many counts of crime against him. We could kill him, but there's a nice reward out on him. I say we claim the reward," Wrex said.
"Can we kill him after?" Thanatos grinned. Wrex now looked at him with a grisly smile.
"What happens after that, well…just don't tell me," he seemed to snicker.
"We should take him the Citadel, and let the Council decide," John said.
"And then what? They slap you on the wrist for going off mission?" Hermanubis asked.
"I'll have to make a phone call. And, I'll need Robert and Alex with me. I can call my superior. He was my Captain before. He now represents the human race for the Council, and he gave me control of the SSV Normandy," he explained. At the mention of the ship's name, Bursh let out a gasp.
"I was after the Normandy?! Damn…" Bursh muttered.
"And that's why you got caught," Thanatos grinned. "Also, your men died, because John just found us. We're a new race. And we could eat things like you on a spit."
:I do wonder what krogan flesh tastes like. Save a few of the bodies?: Lelantos wisely asked in the link. Agreements were made all around. Then he openly asked, "How long before you're expected to go back to them, John? Another day or two?"
"About that long. It's why I have to get in contact with my superior with Robert and Alex as my proof of reasoning. And, with that egg…I just don't know. Mordin is in the lab with it now. I think it's time to pay him a visit. As for this guy, we'll lock him up," John said with a gesture to Bursh.
"Drones will be ready with guarding him. They don't need to eat or sleep," Hermanubis nodded. "From what your memories can tell us, this David Anderson will help us?"
"He's my mentor. He is one I can fully confide in. I have his back, and he has mine. I would trust no other with anything else," John said with pure confidence. "Hell, he was the only one that really believed me with the Reapers!"
:Oh. Can you ask him why in the hell the Reapers went with a ship that looks like something I would find for sushi?: Agatha chimed in on the link. That got many of her family to start laughing hard. :I am dead serious! Hmm. Now I want calamari…:
:I will have some sent you.: Hypnos chuckled. Alex was pressing a loving kiss to her mouth at her comment. She never ceased to amaze him.
"I have to join up with Robert and John. I'll be back quickly," Alex muttered in her ear. She nodded and sighed with a small wince from a slow stretch of her belly. He ran a loving hand over it and got up to look at Garrus. "I have a meeting to go to. If I don't get back before she's about to give birth, you'll be escorted out. I should be back, though. Only I can help her with the eggs. We tried it with another before. She simply couldn't give birth until I got to her."
"I understand," Garrus said calmly while watching the memories. A quiet rage had already filtered through his mind. If he ever saw Leopold's living body, he knew he'd be filling it full of lead. When Alex left, she tried a small experiment. When Garrus felt the feel of a tentacle from Agatha's hair moving to gently settle over his shoulders, he let out a small sigh. He couldn't feel anything from her thoughts, but he actually felt a touch of relief at it.
"Why do you feel this way about me?" she asked him softly.
"I wish I knew," he muttered.
"There is much about me that you should know. As well as shouldn't know."
"I figured."
"You could talk to Robert. Since he is her stud, he can tell you various things in his words," Nick suggested. Garrus simply nodded and continued to watch the small screen. He hardly knew her. He barely understood her. Yet, he knew he would kill anything that tried to touch her. He blinked when the video suddenly paused from Nick's remote.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Give us a drop of blood," it said. Garrus thought for half a second before extending his three-fingered hand. His blue drop of blood was quickly gained for the hive to glean his memories. "You have been through a lot of shit."
"Haven't we all?" Garrus chuckled.
"It would be nice to see the Citadel. If it's a city within it, I think it would be fun to explore," Agatha mused. "Maybe even find a few new outfits to wear."
"I could tell you of a good place or two," he offered.
"We'll hit you up on that," Nick nodded. "Did you want to finish off the memories?"
"In a moment," Garrus said. "I think I need a break from the bullshit."
"Good idea," Agatha smiled warmly.
"Also, if that fat fuck ever came back…" Garrus growled dangerously.
"We were planning to make clones of him for us to kill off," Nick smirked.
"Brand my name on one of them. Preferably right on a fat ass," he said. "I need to make sure I have at least one kill shot ensured."
"We'll arrange it," Nick nodded. Agatha just laughed softly at this. As the two of them began to talk about various places that were good to visit, Alex and Robert followed John to a conference chamber. A scanner came out to create a 3-D display of an older man in a military suit. John sighed and nodded.
"You're late on your mission status," the man's voice projected.
"It's because I discovered a new race to help us with the Reapers," he said and gestured to Alex.
"Hi. My name is Alex Mercer. I'm known as the Blacklight Virus. You want me and my ever-growing family to fuck up something? I'm cool with it. Just tell him," Alex said and gestured to John.
"What?!" the man said with surprise.
"They took out an entire ship filled with rogue krogan. In less than ten minutes," John chuckled. "And, they plan to colonize themselves on a thresher home world."
"How did you find them?" he asked.
"Well, Dave," Alex smirked. "you don't mind if I call ya that, right?"
"I…" he started.
"David, trust me. Don't care about it," John advised. He rolled his eyes, but agreed. "And, how I truly met them, I don't think you should tell anyone."
"Why not?" David asked with suspicion.
"Because, they came from a past that we don't have," John said. "I'll inform you of everything."
"Ah, here's proof. Also, I'm currently the President of the United States where I'm from. My name is Robert Harrison. I used to be a Commander, too," Robert said and took out his cell phone. David's jaw dropped at the sight of the simple technology.
"I think I'll need to know everything," David said.
"I'll talk to you. Alex, when does Agatha give birth?" Robert asked.
"Hmm. It is getting close. Okay. After she gives birth, I'll have you go to her," Alex nodded. "We need to get more breeders made. Something tells us that we are going to need an army."
"I can see that," Robert nodded.
"Yeah. I need to know quite a bit. Don't I?" David asked.
"Do you have a chair?" John asked.
"My afternoon is free. Start talking," he ordered.
"I'll give back-up support," Robert said. A drone walked over with a chair, and another simply removed the camouflage to help prepare another place for John to sit. David's jaw dropped. "Yeah. We'll start from the beginning."
With them taking turns informing the older man of how everything started, Alex was quick to get back to Agatha. When he walked into her room, he let her tendrils of hair gently coil around his limbs in their welcoming embrace. He only sighed with complete relief and moved to rest next to her.
"He seemed rather shocked," Agatha chuckled. Alex only laughed softly and kissed her.
"I'm going to let Robert be with you next. I have a pretty good feeling that we will need to amass a shitload of drones. And, we need to get started on it now," he said.
"What's this?" Garrus asked and looked over at them.
"Instinct never failed me. Something tells me that, before we meet your Council, I need to make sure that a legion of drones is ready for instant dispersal. So, I'm going to send out a nice little message to the family," Alex smirked and focused in on the link. :Hey. All of you. Start fucking. We need drones. And I mean we NEED drones. Get to work!:
:Will do!: Dionysus said. :Oh. What do we do with the excess drones?:
:Report to Hypnos. He'll need the help building spaceships.: Alex ordered. The order was easily accepted. Garrus was escorted out the moment Agatha started to show signs of birthing pains. These drones would grace the outside of the ship. As well as the walls and ceilings. But, he knew a few would need to see how a warp drive treated them. Hypnos was definitely going to be testing that and quite possibly work on a few improvements to their DNA. They had to be ready for anything. This would ensure it.
