2026
Tuchanka - Present Day
Dusty foundation after dusty foundation passed by the window of the tomkah. It seemed that, despite the relatively short distance to the Urdnot compound, the ride was taking forever. Maybe it had somewhat to do with the relaxed driving style that Wrex was currently employing. And the fact that he seemed to hit every single pothole that ever existed on the ruined road. One particularly nasty bump sent both Alec and Garrus flying, the latter cursing as he landed on the dirty floor of the vehicle.
"They couldn't spring for seatbelts?" Alec said sarcastically.
"What are seatbelts?" Wrex asked.
"Forget it."
Wrex shrugged at that, continuing to steer the tomkah. A lone varren scampered into the view of the cabin. If Wrex spotted it, he made no motion to avoid it as the huge treads simply ran the poor thing over, undoubtedly leaving a mess in its wake.
Alec shook his head, "I wouldn't count on them renewing your license anytime soon."
"Hey, you want to drive this bastard? Be my guest."
Alec sighed, wishing for the torturous drive to be over already. If Garrus' coordinates were correct, they should be approaching the compound within the next two minutes.
"So, who is she?"
Alec did a double-take. Wrex was peering at him, intently, "Who's who?"
"The woman you're trying to get back to."
Alec cocked an eyebrow, "I never mentioned a woman."
"You've got the look in your eye, kid. People only act that intense when they're in love."
Garrus coughed from the back, "And here I thought I was the one with the stick up his ass."
Alec rolled his eyes, ignoring the turian, "Was it really how stiff I look that gave it away?"
"Pretty much. Happens in all species. I've got centuries of time ahead of you so I've seen this a lot. Point is, you're staring into space with that easy to read face on you and I can tell that there is something bothering you. It isn't eyes brimming with revenge, it's determination to get back to a certain someone."
Alec was impressed, "You're pretty insightful for a krogan."
"Ah, I've still got a few surprises in me. But you haven't answered my question."
"My wife." Alec mumbled.
"She got a name?"
"Tali."
"Sounds quarian to me. I don't know, I still haven't picked up human naming habits yet."
"You were right the first time."
For the first time since they'd met, Wrex gave a grunt of surprise, "All right, I didn't expect that."
Alec gave a slight grin, "Most people don't."
"You…uh, mind telling me how it happened?"
"I can be his surrogate on that," Garrus leaned in from the back. "This guy, he meets the girl when she lands on his home planet, they hang out, get kidnapped, the usual. He kills his way out, kills some more guys and escapes from his home planet with the girl. Sound about right?"
"Ha!" Wrex laughed, "You might have been a krogan in the afterlife, kid."
Alec sighed, "Doesn't mean I liked the killing."
"But you did what was necessary. You killed because it was the right thing to do."
Alec raised his head, "Maybe…"
Wrex gave a nod, "Well, story time's over, princesses. We've arrived."
The Urdnot compound wasn't really what Alec was expecting. Then again, considering what he'd been through already, the man didn't know what to expect anymore.
Cave would be a more sufficient term. It reminded Alec of the area under an overpass, as it looked like it used to be an underground highway. Of course, it was rendered completely unusable at this point because large boulders were strewn all over the place, various tomkahs were blocking the way, and multiple krogan were staggered across the wide area that served as a courtyard.
Garrus and Alec clambered out of the tomkah with their spines considerably loosened. Rubbing his back, Alec winced.
"I think they need to soften the suspension a bit."
Garrus replied, "Or better yet, use a Mantis."
"Would you shut up about the Mantis?"
"How about both of you shut up?" Wrex finally extracted himself for the vehicle, "The human says he's married to a quarian but I'm convinced that you two do enough arguing to make a second couple."
"You going to let him get away with that?" Garrus admonished.
"I've got nothing at this point except quotes from bad movies," Alec sighed.
"It seems I have you beat there," Garrus suddenly took off at a jog to catch up to Wrex, who was striding purposefully across to a nearby corridor. "So, Wrex. You said you had a ship, where is it?"
Wrex turned, "I said there was a ship, but I never said that it belonged to me."
Garrus was incredulous, "What exactly does that mean?"
"The ship in question was captured a few years ago by my brood brother Wreav. Technically, it's his ship and I don't believe that he will willingly hand it over to some alien intruders."
"We'll take our chances, Wrex," Alec said grimly. "Just take us to him."
"It's your funeral."
Following Wrex down the dusty tunnel they suddenly came across what was presumably a hanger. The bay door was located on the ceiling for ships to hover up or down and in the center lay a particularly striking ship.
It was turian in design, not a frigate but a light cruiser. No weapons capability but it was certainly spaceworthy. Garrus exhaled at the sight of it and Alec leaned over for confirmation.
"Is it any good?"
"More than good, it looks like new."
"Perfect, then let's go find this Wreav and see if-"
"See if what?"
Another krogan was now striding towards the group. This one was dressed in dark grey armor and looked rather dull compared to Wrex's red. This krogan also looked less experienced than Wrex due to his noticeable lack of facial scars.
"Urdnot Wreav, I presume?" Alec began.
"Did you want something from me, alien?"
Alec scrunched up his brow, "I would like to humbly request the service of your ship. Me and my friend have need to get to the Citadel and-"
"No."
Alec wilted internally, he had been expecting this, "Even money will not interest you?"
"Not in this case," Wreav growled. "I don't allow aliens on board my ship."
"Despite the fact that it was made by aliens," Garrus said under his breath.
Alec grumbled, "Look, Wreav. There has to be a way we can work this out."
"There is. You can fight me for it."
Alec looked at Garrus, who looked right back, "Uh, are you joking?"
Wrex explained, "By Tuchanka rights, you have the power to take it through combat. I told you that a ship was possible to get, but I did warn you that it wouldn't be easy."
"Despite the fact that he's your brother."
"We only share the same mother," Wrex shrugged. "We have nothing else in common."
Garrus tapped Alec on the shoulder, turning their backs to Wreav, he whispered, "I'm not staying on this rock for a second longer if need be. If this prick wants to get into the way then so be it."
Alec nodded, "I was just thinking the same thing."
Both of them whirled at the same time, drawing their pistols and opened fire, bullets raking across Wreav's chestplate. With a roar, Wreav stumbled and fell off of the small platform they were situated on, causing a small tremor to reach up the steps.
"Well, that was more simple than they let on," Garrus waved away at the dust. "Now, let's go see-"
A snarl behind them was the only alert they ever had. Alec's world suddenly tilted and spun in all directions when he just realized he'd been body slammed by an enraged krogan. He fell heavily to the earth, knocking the wind out of him. Sputtering, he grabbed at his pistol to see Wreav charge him once again. There was no time to fire, quickly he mustered into a roll but it was too late as Wreav's foot caught his legs, sending him spinning off in a different direction.
Alec stumbled to his feet. From here he could see Garrus, lying beneath the ship, looking dazed. A shuffling of feet told him that Wreav was preparing to make another charge. Enough was enough. He produced his pistol and aimed at the center of mass. With a krogan this wasn't exactly a hard thing to do. Determinedly, he squeezed the trigger as fast as his finger could move, but the bullets only impacted with the heavy armor and not flesh, not slowing down the krogan any.
He had spent too long staying in the same place while firing the pistol for Wreav to effortlessly close the gap and throw Alec against the wall. He yelled in pain as a jutting rock cracked into his back and he heard something snap. His initial fears were allayed and quickly returned when he felt a discharge of static electricity around him. His shield generator had broken, he had no outer line of defense.
Sensing that his target was weak, Wreav violently pinned the human against the wall, confident of victory. Alec heard a cracking sound and felt his armor plates starting to shift, slowly getting ruined by the krogan's assault.
"The arrogance of your kind. You cannot match a krogan in a stand-up fight, even with that peashooter you call a gun."
Unable to make a comeback, Alec depressed the secondary trigger on his pistol. The concussive shot slammed into the krogan's midsection, knocking him back several feet where he landed on his knees. Before he could get up, Alec was upon him, drawing Garrus' knife and wedging it underneath the krogan's chin. Alec ducked to avoid the huge lumbering arms and twisted the knife in all directions, trying to sever as many blood vessels as he could. Sticky, warm, orange blood ran down his forearms, coating him in the stuff. Alec continued to jerk the knife in the krogan's throat, opening the wound wider and deeper. Wreav's blows were becoming more feeble, he was starting to gag. Spitting the foreign substance from his mouth, Alec wrenched the knife out and stepped back to watch the krogan die. The front of Wreav's armor was coated with orange blood and gore, the blood was still weakly pumping out from his neck. With a final gasp, he collapsed.
Alec grimaced as he checked himself for any major injuries. Judging by the pain in his side he surmised that he cracked his rib again, along with several other nasty bruises that were certainly forming by this time. He walked over to where Garrus lay, helping the turian up. He saw that Garrus had a nasty scratch on his right side, probably from where his face struck the underside of the ship as he was charged. It was nothing serious, the wound was already starting to coagulate.
"Well done, human," Wrex said loudly. "I knew you had some krogan in you."
"You're…not mad?" Alec panted, trying to catch his breath.
"Mad? You just killed my asshole of a brother, one that would rather let the galaxy burn in favor of krogan dominance. I'm thrilled, to be honest." He clapped the human on the back that left him staggering.
"I bet family reunions are always a cheerful affair," Garrus said sardonically.
Wrex grinned, "You're all right. Both of you. Now the ship is yours, you may leave Tuchanka."
Alec and Garrus nodded, too excited to speak. Wrex, however, wasn't finished.
"I do ask one thing from you."
Alec tilted his head, "What is it?"
Wrex moved forward, "Technically, if we're counting favors we'd be even but in this case, you've done an even bigger favor for me. Killing my idiot brother has officially strengthened my position in Clan Urdnot and that has bigger ramifications in the long run." Wrex tipped his head, thoughtfully, "I would ask that you let me accompany you to the Citadel. At least until you find your woman, because I don't like owing someone anything. I take it that a fight may happen, yes?"
Alec shrugged, "You might say that. What do you think, Garrus?"
Garrus looked shocked at having been put on the spot but quickly recovered, "I think…that Wrex should come along. He's all right for a krogan and we may need the extra firepower."
"Hmph," Wrex grunted. "Good to see there's one turian in this galaxy that's capable of rational thought. If you princesses are finished twiddling your thumbs, shall we embark?"
"Holy shit," Alec exclaimed as they entered into the armory.
Wreav had modified the standard military selection with his own stock, his spoils of war. Guns of every make and model hung around the room while different pieces of armor lay scattered around the room.
"That son of a bitch," Wrex snorted. "My good for nothing brother had an entire cache all to himself and never told me. I'm even more glad he's dead now."
"Say it all you want, Wrex," Alec groaned. "I'm not going to kill any more of your family members let alone another krogan."
"Come on, I thought you handled yourself just fine."
"Yeah, well you weren't the one getting your ass kicked."
Garrus had crossed over the room, ignoring the two, to pick up a white rifle that was lying in a corner. "A Widow," he breathed. "I've never even seen one before, much less hold one."
"You can have the sniper, turian," Wrex waved. "I always preferred something a little more personal." He reached over and grabbed a Wraith shotgun, hefting it and checking the sights.
Alec, meanwhile, had found the gun that he wanted. He marched over to where it lay and hoisted it up, making Garrus breathe out in surprise. The Revenant machine gun was, for all intents and purposes, a meat grinder in gun form. It delivered a whopping seven hundred rounds per minute, contained a base clip of four hundred and eighty shots, and had an unbelievable stopping power. Alec stopped to examine the rifle more closely.
"I've heard that the recoil on this thing can shatter limbs if used for extended periods."
Wrex walked over, "Yeah, but see the recoil dampener fitted to the stock? A krogan wouldn't add that. I'm guessing that it was originally used by a turian before it came here."
"In other words, this gun is ready to fire."
"Looks that way," Garrus said, unable to control the twitching of his mandibles.
Alec clapped his hands together, "Now, let's see if I can find another suit of armor to replace this."
"What, Alec?" Garrus asked mockingly, "Getting tired of black?"
"Nah, shield generator was smashed to bits when I was pinned. Also, several of the plates have cracked, most likely from the combination of the last few days' events."
"Then you might want to consider this," Garrus said, opening the door to a nearby locker and stepping aside so Alec could see.
The armor was humanoid in design, black with blood red lines etched into the surface. It looked like carbon fiber but it was much more durable than that. Alec let out a low whistle at first glance.
"It looks intimidating. Batarian made?"
Garrus nodded, "Yep. Terminus Assault Armor. Most expensive combat armor on the market today."
"Fuck me, right?"
Garrus gestured to the suit, "Well boss, you want to try it out? I promise we won't peek."
Five minutes later, Alec strode out, covered in the shiny black and red material. Garrus nodded in admiration while Wrex beat his fists together.
"Ha! Now you look like you could take on ten krogan battlemasters!"
Alec could barely contain his excitement, "I feel that I could, with all of the goodies encased in this thing. It's got a more powerful shield generator, I've noticed. There are also several combat suites uploaded into the helmet of this thing for better targeting."
Garrus was swaying with excitement, "Anything else?"
Alec gave a sly smile, "Watch this." He made a gesture with his head and suddenly pieces embedded in the collar of his armor rose up to encase his head in a protective shell. The built in helmet had upped the coolness factor but that wasn't what Alec had in mind. Flicking a switch on his omni-tool, the armor gave a slight shimmer and disappeared, the faint outline not immediately visible to both Garrus and Wrex. Five seconds later, the armor came out of its cloaking and reappeared in front of a surprised turian and krogan.
"I heard that STG was developing cloaking tech, but I never realized they actually put it into production," Garrus said in awe.
"I wasn't aware of that, either," Alec said, equally struck. "I can only use it for around thirty seconds before the cells have to recharge, though. You think it was a prototype that got stolen?"
"If it ended up here, then anything's possible."
"But wait," Alec said. "That's not my favorite bit."
Garrus was about to open his mouth to ask what could possibly be better than a cloaking device when Alec swiped his hand down and a glowing bar of energy appeared alongside it.
"No…way. An omni-sword?"
Alec was laughing, "I know, right? This thing is a dream!"
Wrex was also leaning forward in intrigue, "That could come in handy in a knife fight. They won't be expecting you to pull that out, that's for sure."
Alec sheathed the sword, "For once, I think I'm actually prepared going into a fight. Wish I had this five years ago."
Garrus leaned back, "You sure there's going to be a fight, Alec?"
"I know there is."
"Well, then that means no more waiting around!" Wrex roared, "Come on, turian. Six hours flight to the Citadel. It's time for you to see how much damage one krogan can do." He stopped before he left the armory, "Uh, you wouldn't know how to fly the damned thing would you?"
Garrus shrugged before following Wrex, "As long as you stop calling me 'turian,' I think I may have a solution to your problem."
"Heh, Garrus. You'll soon find out that I'm quite a nice guy underneath…"
The Citadel control tower was always empty at this hour. Most of the processes were automated and it didn't take much to clear ships to land in terms of actual effort. The salarian at the desk right now was the only person on duty, absentmindedly lost in his thoughts as he scanned information on ship after ship.
It was considered a slow night which meant that he had no incoming ships for the last fifteen minutes. At this rate, he might be able to get a power nap in. If only he didn't have that notion in the back of his head that a ship would arrive just as he would nod off.
The current Wards docks the salarian was in charge of were all empty. All four bays remained unoccupied. This was common at night. Most of the shops were closed and there weren't any bars in the area that would require a patron to bring their ship over for drinks. They usually went to the embassy levels to engage in their debauchery and sin.
There was a faint whirring behind him. A coworker probably forgot his paperwork at his desk. No sense in derailing his train of thought now on such matters. It wasn't even his business.
A boom contradicted his notions entirely and he winked out of existence, not even knowing what had happened. A man with short brown hair wiped the salarian's guts off the console, shouldering his shotgun, and depressed four buttons in sequence. Two minutes later, four ships arrived and docked in the unoccupied spots in the wards. He hurried downstairs to catch the elevator to the proper level. It would be some time before anyone located the dead air traffic control worker, he had made sure to override the door shut after he left.
After a characteristically long elevator ride, Silas walked into a nearby alley and saw his unit ready to go, along with another team that belonged to Marcus. All were armored, all were packing. Their white helmets made them look all the more fearsome. Silas had expressly refused such a covering, the men needed to see his face when he gave the orders.
Marcus moved forward, "Everyone is all ready, sir."
"Derek and Yousef?"
"Also in position."
"Good, you remember the plan?"
"Reach C-Sec, overwhelm its defenses, Derek and I will stay behind while your team and Yousef's will intercept the Council."
"Assuming the target will be with the Council."
Marcus smiled, "It's guaranteed."
Silas nodded, "Any more contact attempts from our informant?"
"Not that I've heard."
Silas made the theatrical move to give a sad shake to his head, "He will be rather disappointed in our actions, then. But I've made the decision, if he is spotted, you kill him. No questions asked. I don't want any loose ends on this, even if we are not assured survival."
"It will be done, brother."
Silas opened his omni-tool and set it to communicate with every last trooper, "You all know your assignments. I won't trouble you by repeating them again. We all know who the target is, though. I would prefer that they remain alive long enough for me to finish it off. However, I will understand if you will have to shoot them dead in case they are not in their supposed position. Once we go up these elevators, the real work begins. Make me proud, all of you."
He closed the omni-tool and ignored Marcus' praising of his ability to give speeches. Silas snorted, speeches didn't win wars, soldiers did.
And good soldiers followed orders.
