Once again I own nothing of ME3, Enjoy!


CHAPTER # 8

Live Fire

"Again!" Wrex yelled.
"Ugh!" I shouted, thrusting my fist at a crate 20 feet away. Blue flames covered my body and flared as the biotic energy pulsed forward from my fist and struck the crate and slammed it into the wall 10 feet away. Wrex strode towards me and stopped looking to the back of the vehicle bay where we had set up several crates for biotic practice.
"Better." Wrex grunted.
He thrust his arm out with blue flames rolling off his body as a crate sped down range and shattered against the wall. Several of the larger chunks hit the Mako and one piece landed on Garrus' stomach as he lay halfway under the Mako.
"Bong! Ugh!" Both Wrex and I looked to see Garrus pull himself out from under the Mako. "Watch it!" he barked, his dark eyes fixed on the two of us.
Wrex grunted, a wicked grin spreading across his face. Turning back to me, Wrex stared down at me, his red eyes cold and calculating as always.
"But you're still weak overall. The implants will help, but they won't win the battle for you." Wrex stated casually; I nodded holding his gaze. "We're done here, clean up this mess, then go see Ashley." Wrex turned and headed towards the elevators.
Exhaling, I began the process of moving the various crates back into their original places and collecting the larger pieces of the crate that Wrex smashed. I made my way to Garrus and the Mako, picking up the odd piece here and there.
"Try to aim before you start throwing stuff next time." Garrus rolled out from under the Mako, a socket wrench in his hand.
"I'll make the effort Garrus, but Wrex is your problem." Grinning, I crouched down, handing Garrus a nearby rag.
"Thanks." He said sitting up, grabbing the rag and wiping his hands. "You are getting better with your biotics, even if you're not some Krogan Battlemaster."
"Thanks, but Wrex's right about my biotics not winning a fight for me." I stood up sighing loudly. "That being said, I better go see Ashley before she threatens to shoot me."
"Back to work for me too." Garrus laid down and slid under the Mako.
"Later Garrus." I called as I headed for the opposite end of the Normandy's vehicle bay.

Ashley sat by the table with several weapons dismantled before her.
"Chief Williams." I said politely, standing a good three feet away; more as a show of respect that fear, though watching Ashley with a sniper rifle was enough to fear her. "Can I use the target drone and a pistol chief?" I stood waiting quietly.
"Go for it." Ashley turned from the table handing me the laser pistol. "Remember to charge it afterwards."
"Understood chief." I nodded curtly, holding the pistol to my side.

I walked to the back corner of the bay with the pistol and grabbed a ball the size of a cantaloupe. Switching the device on, the ball left my outstretched hand and floated upwards, making a gentle whirring sound; soon it was five feet above me.
"Select difficulty." A computerized voice asked tonelessly.
"Medium."
Pushing the thermo clip into the pistol's slot, the whirring sound grew louder as the whole ball changed from a clear color to a bright red, zipping around the area, going faster and faster.
"Begin!" The drone said, and then zipped away.

30 minutes later…

"76% accuracy rating, do you wish to continue?" the drone asked, hovering a few feet away.
"No," I said breathing heavily.
The drone faded back to its grey color and settled on the floor. Picking it up, I walked back to where Ashley was still working on various weapons. I placed the drone and the pistol into their respective chargers.
"Chief, the gear is stowed and charging."
Ashley nodded, her eyes never leaving the sniper rifle she had disassembled in front of her. "Your score?" she asked.
"76%"
"Breathe out when you squeeze the trigger and you'd do better."
Ashley's focus remained on the sniper rifle in front of her as she said all this.
"Understood chief." I nodded before turning and striding away. "Stuck up…" I breathed under my breath.
"Dante!" I whirled around facing Ashley as her eyes locked onto mine.
"You got a minute?" she asked nodding towards a large crate by her table.
I nodded, walking back and sitting on the indicated crate. Ashley began to reassemble the sniper rifle on piece at a time. Ashley struck me as someone who liked to finish what she started before moving onto something else. While not a bad quality, I sat silently for the next five minutes. I guessed that whatever she wanted to say, she was debating on how to say it. When the rifle lay complete before her, Ashley turned towards me, "Dante, have you talked to Liara lately since Noveria?" she asked, her voice neutral with no hint of the usual sarcasm.
"No, to be honest, I haven't really seen her much since Noveria, let alone talked to her."
Ashley nodded, remaining quiet. "Do you know what happened on Noveria?"
"No, but I have heard Liara found her mother; I take it didn't go well?"
Ashley did not respond, merely sighed instead. "This is not for me to say, but please won't you talk to her?" Ashley finished, looking me in the eye.
"You seem more worried than me, why don't you go see her?"
"I am probably not the best person she would want to see now."
"Why's tha-, oh." A memory of Liara's surfaced to answer the question. "No, that's understandable."
Ashley stared, a confused look playing across her face. "What?"
"Nothing, I'll go and check on her. Thanks for telling me Ashley." I nodded, making for the elevator.
"Dante!" Ashley yelled.
"Yeah chief?"
"Make sure the chargers are on next time." Ashley said cocking her eyebrows.
I cringed at making such a simple mistake. "Understood." I nodded and Ashley nodded back.

I made it to the elevator and pushed the button for the floor above. Leaning against the wall of the elevator, thinking again of Liara's memory that surfaced a short time ago.
"Frick, he is such an ass," I muttered as the doors slid open and I stepped out.
I made my way through the ship to the medical wing. Passing through the medical room I nodded towards Dr. Chakwas, who sat at her desk looking over some documents.
"She's not-" Dr. Chakwas started as I opened the back door where Liara had converted the old storage room into a small but modest research lab. The room however looked nothing like a research lab. The floor and table had empty liquor bottles along with various wrappers and data pads scattered everywhere around the room.
"What the hell?" I stood there looking at the normally clean room in a state of utter disaster. "Where is she?"I rounded to see Dr. Chakwas putting down the data file she's been reading.
"She left about 15 minutes ago." She stood, walking towards me. "She's been here working non stop on one thing or another for the past three days. When she got back she seemed okay, but she's come out less and less lately."
I stood there at the foot of the mess scratching the back of my head more out of frustration than discomfort, "I'll wait inside, never mind, screw waiting."
Sighing loudly, I strode in taking care not to step on anything fragile. Shaking my head I activated the audio on my Omni-tool and scrolled through the songs Tali had pulled for me. Selecting a song I had already listened to, I closed my eyes hitting the play button. As I let the music fill the room, I began to bob my head to the quick beat and began the much needed cleaning job for the room.
~20 Minutes Later
I stood in a decent looking research lab. I sat on a crate near the back admiring my handy work. The door whooshed open and Liara entered the room only to stop dead in her tracks upon seeing the room and its sole occupant. Pausing the song playing from my Omni-tool, I stood nodding towards a confused Liara.
"Wha-what happened?" Liara stammered looking about the room.
"That's what I want to know too. You keep the lab ship shape, but this place was a pain to clean."
Liara moved towards the table not looking at me,
"I'm sorry Dante, but I'm busy right now." Liara picked up a data pad from a pile.
"Busy with what?"
"A couple different things." Liara said not even looking at me.
This was a lie as I had skimmed the data on the pads as I picked up and sorted them by content.
"Liara, are you okay?"
She stopped, her shoulders slouching as she sighed quietly and turned slowly back towards me.
"Dante, I'm fine, Asiri have certain beliefs on death we do not mourn the passing of those that we love; we accept it as a part of life." She became quiet as a small sad smile played across her face.
"Liara." I moved closer to her, my gut felt tight and clenched; something was very wrong, her whole posture screamed it. Tilting my head, I forced Liara to meet my eyes.
"Liara, what happened on Noveria?" I asked quietly placing a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently.
Liara met my gaze, but remained silent. "Liara, please." I placed both hands on her shoulders, "What's wrong?"
"Dante, I killed my mother on Noveria."
Time always flies when you're having fun, time crawls when you're waiting, but when Liara said she killed her mother, time froze. She went on to explain how the mission had progressed after we had last spoke on Noveria. She told me about how she, Garrus, and Shepard fought through Geth troops on their way to the Peak 13 Research Facility, then how they found not only survivors, but how they found Rachni as well; an insect species that had almost overrun the galaxy several centuries ago. She continued with how they confronted Lady Benezia; Liara's mother. While Liara did not deliver the killing blow, she had nonetheless fought against her own mother. She continued by telling me how her mother had reverted back to her old self, warning them about Saren and telling Liara that she loved her before she died. Liara finished by telling how Shepard had let the Rachni Queen go, saying how it would be a powerful ally. We both sat there on a crate near the back of the room. All the while she seemed distant as if she was not there.
"Liara, are you going to be okay?" I asked, knowing full well that is was a stupid question, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"No, Dante. I will remember my mother for who she was before she was swayed by Saren's corruption." She said smiling sadly.
"Anything else you want to talk about Liara?" Her eyes briefly glanced down towards the corners of her eyes.
"Why do you ask?"
"I know what happened between you, Ashley, and Shepard after Feros." I said tapping the side of my head, indicating my mind and the memories of hers that had been downloaded to my mind.
LIara smiled knowingly, "I always wondered if you received all my memories or just the ones that stood out."
"I just remembered it after talking to Ashley." I said leaning back against a crate, looking to the ceiling.
"He made his choice between the two of us when we confronted Shepard about it. Both Ashley and myself wanted him for ourselves." Liara sighed looking downward, "He chose her." Liara said with no emotion in her voice.
"I know." I recalled the whole event in my mind from Liara's eyes.
We sat there not saying much till I broke the silence, "For what it's worth," Liara looked up from the floor, me still staring skyward, "Shepard's an ass." I said looking at Liara with a wicked smile playing across my lips and face. Liara smiled despite herself.
"I agree." Liara said, closing her eyes and letting out a tired sigh.
I glanced skyward smiling at Liara's reply. I felt a pressure on my chest, and then it got heavier. Snapping my head downwards, I saw Liara now laying on my chest with a slow steady breathing rate that meant she was asleep.
"Great." I sighed now that she had me pinned between her and the crate I was using as a back rest.
My sigh reached her head tendrils causing her to stir. I panicked thinking quick, a memory came to my mind and I acted on it. Reaching down, I began to softly scratch Liara's back while humming softly. Liara relaxed muttering something about her mother. I continued rubbing her back humming softly, when Liara started to snore. Filing this little tidbit away for later use, I leaned back feeling myself drift off as well, and soon I fell asleep, my arm resting on her back as we both entered dreams, seeing a loving mother neither of us would ever see again.

Gunfire echoed all around the room as bullets hit the wall or sped past. Up against the wall behind the side of the door, leaning out, my assault rifle barked as round after round shot down the hall.
"Frickin' stalemate!" I shouted, leaning back into cover before my cover became plastered by more bullets from down the hall. Frickin' hallway. I leaned out firing again.
"Stay off this channel!" Shepard said into my suit's earpiece.
"Tactical data only!" Garrus added.
"There are five left." Liara stated calmly, firing her pistol down the hallway then releasing a warp ball of biotic energy after an unseen target. "Four to go." Liara stated, settling back into cover as a hail of gunfire sprayed where she had been.
"How many grenades do we have left?" Shepard called over the tactical net.
"Two." Garrus replied.
"None here." Liara stated.
"One." I responded.
"I have none." Shepard finished.
Garrus popped up from behind a crate, popping off a quick shot with his sniper rifle before ducking back down.
"Here's the plan." Shepard started, laying out the plan.
Garrus popped up lobbing a grenade while Liara and I leaned out from cover. Spraying the area at the end of the hallway while Liara released a biotic singularity which began to pull al the loose objects towards it, including two of the mercs that were close to the left side. They fought against the pull; winning and breaking free, only to have the grenade detonate by them. The high yield blast knocked both out of sight. The other two were knocked off their feet, but were only stunned. One stood shakily to his feet looking around.
"Stay down!" I yelled, blue biotic energy swirling off my body as I released the energy, thrusting my palm out.
The effect was instantaneous; the merc flew backwards into the wall with a loud audible crack. Liara and I ran forward, weapons in front of us as we neared the end of the hallway. Liara hooked left, I turned right. The merc I threw I could hear gasping through his suit's speaker while his parter held his pistol up pointing haphazardly at me as he tried to stand. A burst barked from my rifle as the merc slumped to the floor dead. I turned to my biotic throw victim, his speaker still broadcasting his gurgling and wet coughing. I scanned the area, not finding anymore targets.
"Area clear." Liara called over the TAC-net.
"Understood. Dante, area clear?" Shepard asked. A single round burst from my rifle silenced the merc.
"Clear commander." I replied.
Kneeling down, I began searching the mercs for credits, datapads, weapons, and anything else we could sell, use, or cash in. Shepard had said the reason for this was to ensure the weapons stayed out of the wrong hands; what he didn't say was that the money he got for selling most of this stuff went to a private account that stayed off the books. But Shepard used the money to buy what we could not find or the Alliance would not supply. Downloading a couple of credits and grabbing the two weapons off of one merc, I then began to search the merc who had died last. Downloading a large amount of credits to my omni-tool, I then pulled a data pad out of a side pouch on the merc. Turning it on, a video began to play of a human girl saying about how she was so excited about her brother coming home. I turned it off, sighing loudly.
Looking to the man, "Wrong place, wrong time pal." I said from my kneeling position in front of the dead man.
"Dante." I felt a slight pressure on my shoulder.
Turning, I saw Liara standing above looking down with concern in her eyes behind her face mask.
"Yeah." I said, pocketing the data pad and grabbing the shotgun the merc had.
"Find anything interesting?" Liara asked as we began to head out of the building.
"Some credits and the weapons they had."
"So that one had a sister." Liara said.
I stopped, sighing as I turned to face Liara. "It doesn't help any that my curiosity gets the better of me. I know that if it came down to me or him, I will shoot no question, but it does not help knowing that I'm killing someone's son or daughter." I finished, shaking my head.
Liara looked at me a moment before speaking, "Your enemy is always going to be someone special to someone, but their choices define them as your choices define you."
"Thanks."
"Dante, Liara," Garrus called from down the hallway, "The commander is waiting."
"When is he not waiting?" I muttered to Liara while to Garrus I shouted, "Understood, be there soon."
Garrus nodded, walking out of sight.
"Come on; let's go before he leaves us behind." I inclined my head, letting her take the lead as we departed the now empty merc base.

~On the Normandy
"So your people got 'neutered' for saving the galaxy from invading insects?" I asked not believing Wrex's short version of history.
"What do you want, an extra vid on the damn thing?" Wrex growled out.
"No! No, it's just are your people really dying out?" I asked questioningly, unsure of whether to start running now or wait to see if he took offense to my questions.
"We're sure not getting any stronger. My people are not interested in rebuilding; they're only interested in fighting for creds." He finished, a mixture if anger and pain in his voice.
"I'm sorry Wrex-."
He stepped forward suddenly, his face in mine, "I don't want your pity." He growled out. "My people brought this on themselves, as the Turians and the Salarian are to blame, just as my people are." He glared at me before backing up. "Finish cleaning up, we're done with biotic practice for today."
Turning, he strode over to his usual spot in the vehicle bay. I grabbed the cleaning gear and began the all too familiar task of cleaning while I listened to the songs on my omni-tool. Finishing the task, I made my way up to the medical wing.
"Attention, all hands, we are now heading to a hostile planet, all crew are to go to battle ready stations." Joker's voice called throughout the ship as yellow lights flashed and crew members rushed to their posts. I turned, making my way back down to the vehicle bay where my locker with my weapons and armor resided. The elevator proceeded downward ever so slowly. My stomach felt queasy, yet it felt good to know where to go and what to do. The door slid down and I walked out seeing Wrex, Ashley, Tali, and Garrus all standing by their lockers prepping their various weapons and double checking the armor and shield systems. I nodded to Tali as she sat checking a new upgrade for the shotgun she had installed.
"What's going on?"
"Shepard got a lead on Saren."
"Really now?" I said starting to put on my armor.
"Where are we heading?" I asked.
"Virmire." Shepard stated from behind me.
I turned to see Shepard accompanied by Alenko and Liara. I stopped mid-strap hearing that word.
"Where?" I asked.
"Virmire." Liara repeated.
"Dante, you alright?" she asked, looking at me with an odd expression.
"No, I'm good. Could you strap me though please?" I nodded towards a strap near the back of my suit. "Thanks." I said.
Twisting and turning, the suit fit to my body nicely. Switching on my shields, I then tested the shield compositors, they checked out at full strength. Stashing my assault rifle and pistol on my suits holsters, I turned seeing Liara strapping her armor on.
Getting next to her I asked, "May I?" Indicating the straps near the back.
"I've got them, but thank you for the offer Dante." Liara said smiling.
"Dante!" Garrus called over from the Mako.
Walking over, Garrus had me go into the Mako's turret, running through the check list making sure the various weapon systems worked.
"All crew!" Joker's voice boomed through the ship's PA system. "The LZ is hot, I repeat, hot!"
Glancing down to Garrus in the driver's seat, he motioned all clear and to hop out.
"The Normandy will be making a covert Mako drop." Joker's voice boomed out. "T-minus 10 minutes to drop." The V.I.'s voice stated.
Stepping out of the Mako, Shepard had the whole group assembled.
"-the council has not given any other information on the planet or the Salarian S.R.T. team that sent the distress call." Shepard paused, noting Garrus and myself joining the group. "The only reason the council decided to share this information with us is because Saren has some special interest here, that's why the S.R.T. team was here to begin with. For all we know, Saren has left and the council sent us to pick up their spy team. Either way, enemy AA batteries have been detected, so we're making a drop in the Mako. Liara, Tali, you're with me in the Mako, the rest of you are to stand by till we disable the AA batteries. Now let's kick some ass!" Shepard yelled.
The group dispersed as the rest of the group headed to the back of the ship. Shepard and Tali got into the Mako. Liara stood outside the hatch, she looked back to where I stood near the elevator. As our eyes met, I nodded, smiling at her, she gave me a nervous smile in return as she put on her helmet as the visor darkened. Pressing the com button on my helmet, I opened a channel to Liara.
"Liara?"
"What Dante?"
She leaned down to enter the Mako.
"You know you snore right?"
A metallic thus echoed in the bay as Liara swore loudly as I stood there laughing. Liara slammed the hatch shut. I opened the com channel again.
"Liara." I called, not expecting an answer. "Take care of yourself, I will see you groundside Liara." I closed the com as the alarm sirens sounded as the drop doors hissed open and the Mako rolled backwards till it dropped out of sight.

I walked down the ramp from the Normandy, a cool sea breeze washed over my face, my helmet under my arm. I savored the smell. The recycled air on the Normandy was fine and dandy, but it did not smell like anything; it was bland. I made my way down the ramp, stepping into a foot of sea water. Garrus and I exited the Normandy last, making our way through the water to where Shepard, Ashley, Kaiden, and Wrex stood talking to a Salarian. As we drew closer I heard Wrex's voice,
"My people are not a mistake! If there is a cure, it needs to be given to the Krogan, not destroyed." Wrex snarled in the Salarian's face before turning and stomping away from the group.
"He's not going to be a problem is he? We have enough angry Krogan as it is." He asked Shepard.
"I'll talk to him in a bit." Shepard replied.
"You sure about that commander?"
Ashley looked towards Wrex as he stood looking out on the cove that the Normandy had landed in.
"I'll be ok-bam!" A shotgun retort drowned out the last of Shepard's words. We all turned to see Wrex with his shotgun out. BAM! Another round went off as Wrex shot at the water meaninglessly, not even aiming.
"I'll signal if there are any problems."
Ashley nodded content with Shepard's reply as he walked off towards the Salarian supply officer. I stood there no sure what to do. BAM! Another shotgun retort echoed through the camp making a people flinch, including myself. Glancing around, I noticed a pile of round container lids laying stacked off to the side. Glancing from the lids to Wrex, a smile slowly spread across my lips as an idea took form. I grabbed the whole pile of firm plastic lids which upon closer inspection were about the size of the Mako's rims, but were only about a half inch thick. Perfect. I thought as I took the pile, much to one Salarian's protests. I brushed him aside, telling him to put it on Shepard's tab.
"What?" was the Salarian's only response as I kept walking, thanking him.
I made my way past members of Shepard's team and the Salarian S.T.G. members, more than one giving me odd looks as I made a beeline toward Wrex who everyone was giving a wide berth, to say the least. I got ten feet away from Wrex. Stopping, I put the lids down, holding onto two of them. Wrex glanced at me briefly before looking back to his shotgun sight. Taking one of the lids, I threw it hard and fast and watched as it sailed 20 feet over the crowd at about four feet above the water. BAM! The lid exploded into little pieces. I looked to Wrex; his shotgun barrel still fixed on where the lid had been. Wrex glanced at me questioningly.
"Helps to have something to shoot at."
I tossed the other lid in my hand up in the air a few inches before catching it. I raised my eyebrows questioningly. Wrex looked at me for a moment before nodding. I began chucking one lid after another out over the water as Wrex blew one lid after another out of the air. I grabbed the last two lids; I chucked one, adding a bit of biotic push, giving it a boost in speed. Wrex blasted this one without difficulty. Blue biotic energy engulfed my body as I drew back my arm.
"Hit this." I muttered; the biotic energy growing as I prepared to use the energy to throw the last lid clear out of the cove. I stepped to throw only to stop as someone grabbed my arm from behind. I turned to see Shepard there holding me. Shepard looked to Wrex before glancing towards me.
"Take a break Dante, the adults need to talk." Shepard said moving past me to Wrex.
"Sure thing." I muttered darkly sitting down in the sand as Shepard and Wrex stood talking a few feet away.
Sitting there listening to the constant waves washing up on the beach and thinking without Wrex's shotgun retorts this whole area would be a great getaway.
"Saren has a cure, this could save the Krogan. Help me out Shepard, the lines are real blurry." Wrex's voice dragged me back to reality.
Glancing over toward the two, my adrenaline spiked; both Wrex and Shepard had their pistols drawn, leveling them at one another.
"If I give you an order, you follow it. Understood?" Shepard said; his tone cold and unflinching.
I stood slowly, making my way around from behind Wrex.
"You have done more for me than even my own family." Wrex said, still pointing his pistol at Shepard.
"Those aren't your people Wrex. They are Krogan that have been brain washed by Saren!" Shepard's pistol remained pointing at Wrex unflinching.
"But his cure could save the Krogan and unite the clans!" Wrex said heatedly.
"Saren can't be allowed to have this cure Wrex. If you're not with me on this, then you're against m-."
"Why not both?" I asked, standing where both could see me, a few feet away as I slowly made my way towards them my arms open.
Both looked to me, their eyes darting back and forth between me and each other.
"What?" Shepard ground out.
"A cure is a cure. It is more that you don't want Saren to use it for his own ends, right?"
"Yeah, the Salarians just don't want Saren using it to build his own Krogan army." Shepard stood slowly, his weapon still trained on Wrex, but now he was more relaxed.
"Wrex, those are not your people, and even if this cure is genuine, what do you think Saren will do after it is over? Let your people go?"
Wrex stood there, his gun fixed on Shepard, his head tilted in thought, "No, this is not what my people need. Last time we were rewarded for out efforts, the council fixed us."
"Ok then, let's all relax. I have an idea about how we can all get what each of us wants."
Both looked to the other nodding before lowering their weapons.
"What's your plan Dante?"
"Send in another shadow team, but this one's primary goal is to find and ascertain whether this cure is viable for the Krogan. To that extent, I believe Wrex should go with the second team."
This would be the breaker; Wrex was a loose cannon to say the least. Having him go with a team made the Salarian captain nervous, who was right to be worried with Wrex pulling a gun on Shepard; everyone's worry was not unfounded.
"Okay then; Garrus, Liara, you're with me. Aiden, you remain with the Normandy and the bomb. Ashley will work comms with the Salarians. Wrex, Tali, and Dante will enter the shadow and look for the cure then meet up with shadow for extraction."
"Wait, what?" I turned to face Shepard.
"You came up with the idea, so you get to go along with the team." Smiling smugly, Shepard smacked me on the shoulder. "Consider this one the job training."
"Thanks." I muttered.
Shepard addressed the assembled group issuing orders and then conferring with his Salarian counterpart. All around me people moved with a purpose.
"Dante." Wrex approached with Tali in tow, "You ready?"