*SKYHOLD MINING STATION*
GRAZ SYSTEM
THE PHOENIX MASSING
The Skyhold mining station had been a massive undertaking by the Stella-Cidid Mining Corporation, nearly two hundred years ago. The asari company had poured millions of credits setting up the station as a processing plant for the nearby eezo mines. With its strategic location between the Terminus Systems, Citadel space, and the Hegemony territories, it promised to become a station to rival Omega itself.
And it might have to, if the whole eezo mines hadn't been a batarian scam… the entire thing had fallen through, and the corporation had lost their shirts. Since that time, the station had been:
1) A Hegemony slave-market. The ore processing lines had been repurposed into slave pens, herding the hapless captives together until they could be sold in the large Market added onto the station.
2) A pirate base: Eventually, one of the batarian overseers of the station thought he was far enough away from the Hegemony proper that he no longer needed to take orders from his ha'diq, and began to run a pirate haven/loot fencing operation out of Skyhold. Unfortunately, his calculations were a bit premature, and the local ha'diq had sent a fleet that scattered the pirates and laid waste to the station.
3) An elcor shipyard: the battle-wrecked ruin had been auctioned off to the highest bidder, which turned out to be an elcor shipping company. They had attempted to retrofit a dry-dock onto the station to repair and refit their trading vessels, but the scale was too limited to be of real profit, and the entire project had been abandoned.
4) An Alliance Listening Post: with the relatively recent expansion of the Earth Systems Alliance, the abandoned station had been quickly occupied by the AIS (Alliance Intelligence Services), and transformed into a listening post, where human ears could listen into the transmissions coming from the Terminus to the Hegemony and vice versa. However, with the changing political climate that tended to frown on humans spying (and advancements in technology that allowed a single unmanned probe to do the work of the fully-manned station), AIS FOB1192, as they had redubbed it, had been abandoned by the Alliance in their turn.
Now, the halls were empty and desolate. Blake and her teams had worked around the clock just to restore basic life support to the twelve-year-old systems. It was still cold in the stark hallways of the station, but at least there was breathable oxygen.
Our guests had started to arrive as soon as my teams had gotten basic power online. In typical flamboyant fashion, Aria's Black Fleet had arrived first, commanded by her daughter, Liselle T'Loak.
I very much doubt if the Queen of Omega will EVER risk leaving her precious domain again.
Can you blame her? Look what happened the last time she did. Plus, she's still putting the whole station back to rights, after all the chaos of Petrovsky's invasion.
Other warriors and warlords had arrived, with their ships. Most surprisingly, the Bloodtide had come through the local relay, the flagship of Yan T'Ravt, warlord of Xentha. Her fleet was still deployed in various engagements across the Terminus, but her escort ships commanded admiration and respect.
Next to arrive had been Leska Sederis, leading her escort from Eclipse's Golden Fleet. As the chairwoman of Eclipse in her mother's "absence," she and her sister led one of the largest PMCs in the galaxy.
Well this might be awkward: Sorry I got your mother arrested…?
One problem at a time, Kevin.
Xerol Shaaryak had arrived at the head of what remained of the Faithful's warships, bolstered by his niece's fleet, and other exiles who had joined him.
Including one mass-murderer and terrorist Ka'hairal Balak.
Lesser of two evils, Kevin. Lesser of two evils.
I cast my eyes around the room, evaluating the various players and warlords who had arrived:
Kirwan ul Tirravan, firstborn of the recently-deceased Ashak, batarian Pirate King of the Traverse, sat off to the side, surrounded by his father's advisors and generals. He was doing his best to project his father's air of authority, and was failing miserably. The way his eyes cast over T'Ravt constantly, along with his companions, cast dire projections of the future fate of his father's empire.
Father help him, the poor boy's in love.
Wouldn't be the first time T'Ravt has grown her empire in such a way.
Vashon Chaz lounged nearby, chatting with other guests. The salarian had taken advantage of the chaos caused in the Dark Rim by Cessna the Blade's death very admirably, amassing a not-unimpressive fleet of marauders and filibusters. He had mainly found success in appearing above defenseless colonies (with no regards for who they belonged to), and demanding payment from the colonies not to attack them, rather than just trying to loot and pillage everything in sight.
There's the STG training working to his advantage, I thought.
There were others, of course: Sirena Olm, a female drell, was the leader of another pirate band in the Dark Rim, casting dark glances at her salarian rival. Then there was the recently-promoted Nakmor Chell, looking very uncomfortable out of her armor, but modestly attractive, if the attentions of the three male krogan in the room were any indication. These were ex-Blood Pack commanders, for the most part, led by one Jurdon Vex, who had brought Chell a drink from the hastily-assembled refreshment table.
But who was conspicuously lacking from the room was any representative from the Conclave, barring Blake, myself, and the few generals, commanders, and ex-pirates I had convinced to join me. Most prominent of these was the turian ex-retiree Septimus Oraka. Apparently, Petrovsky had found the turian general on the Citadel and had recruited him into the Conclave after my "death." He was the one who had been selected to lead the assault on the Terminus systems, something he was all too willing to lead against the "pirate scum" of the galaxy. Convincing him that the Reapers outweighed any threat from the Terminus Systems had been a major coup for our cause, and had allowed T'Ravt to free up her forces from Redcliffe, Anderfels, and Kirkwall.
The old turian now stood chatting with the Xenthan General Kaste. There was some kind of history between the two turians, I gathered, but wasn't fully listening to their conversation.
Helena Blake stood in another corner of the room, talking with a few of her former associates from the criminal underworld: representatives from several of the major crime families on Ilium, including a splendidly-dressed Thax Voraks.
Morinth was making her way shamelessly around the room, flirting and making introductions. It did not escape me that she was making an effort to prevent the various factions in the room from retreated into self-contained cliques in their various corners of the room.
Motivated by her example, I turned from the alcove from which I had been watching and made my way down the stairs into the main room. At my appearance, I noticed a hushed gasp that ran across the room, and the low murmurs that followed. Yan T'Ravt excused herself from her conversation with a group of Eclipse sisters, and made her way over towards me.
"Lady Warlord," I bowed slightly as she approached.
"Imperator," she replied graciously.
"No longer, I'm afraid," I smiled mirthlessly. "It would seem that being dead seemed to irreconcilably conflict with the dictates of my office."
The Lady Warlord returned my smile.
"For what it's worth," she said, laying a hand on my arm, "I much preferred the Conclave under your leadership."
"So did I."
Now the Lady chuckled outright, but then collected herself.
"It still speaks much for someone to be able to talk down the infamous general Oraka," she mollified.
"And yet not a single member of the Circle is present," I admitted. "Those who are gathered here are currently condemned mutineers and traitors in Conclave space."
I sighed.
"Seven months," I continued, "Seven months is all that it took to take my dream and turn it into a nightmare."
She nodded gravely.
"Such is often the way of dreams."
I nodded in turn.
"It grows… harder," I confessed, "to restrain… the other one, since I have come back."
Her eyes widened at the reference to Beast, having seen the devastation he could wreak first-hand on Xentha.* Her expression grew grave as she pursed her lips.
"My… offer of a mind-healer? It was made in good faith, and remains so," she stated quietly, closing the distance between us. "We will need you at your best in the fight to come."
"Which me?" I asked, "I know not which one is more valuable at the present time. Clearly, my abilities as the diplomat have… grown complicated, as of late."
T'Ravt grew thoughtful.
"You say the Leviathans rebuilt you?" she asked, artfully guiding the conversation elsewhere, "For what purpose?"
I shook my head.
"The Reapers are their creations, gone rogue countless eons ago, now. They seek their destruction, in order to return to…what they call 'their rightful place in the galaxy.'"
The Lady pursed her lips as she imagined what they probably meant by that. Any culture that built Reapers as a means of control was probably not a benevolent one.
"They rebuilt me because they see me as the best chance for defeating their creations," I continued. "And they will cooperate with the rest of galaxy only so far as they find them useful, I imagine."
"An alliance of convenience," she agreed. "We are no strangers to such an arrangement."
"True," I admitted, "But it still makes it disconcerting to know they stitched you back together from fragments, and they've been poking around in here," I tapped the side of my head, "to their hearts' content."
T'Ravt nodded, but said nothing, and I could see her mind turning with untold plans and contingency plans.
She'd be a fool not to, Kevin.
Doesn't make being distrusted any easier.
"My Lord?"
A batarian officer stood a respectful distance away, arms crossed behind him. I turned and nodded acknowledgement.
"We have an incoming transmission, sir. From Starlight Station."
T'Ravt turned to me, a knowing expression on her face.
"It would seem not everyone distrusts you, Ko'le," she said softly.
"Or they want to tell me to fuck off in person," I winced, but then nodded at the officer again.
"Put it through."
I strode forward towards the holo-emitter in the center of the room, the motion attracting the attention of the rest of the gathered warlords and generals. The normal hum of conversation died down as all eyes were turned towards me. Morinth moved to my side, and placed a hand on my arm. I closed my eyes for a moment, collecting my thoughts. Sensing this, Morinth's hand withdrew hastily back to her side.
The projector hummed to life, and the figures of an elcor, a volus, and a Raloi appeared before us.
"Din! Calyn! Ari!"
The three Conclave Circle members nodded politely, as the buzz of conversation flowed around the room in response to their appearance.
"Seneschal," Ari'ka bowed slightly, careful not to use my usual title, I noticed.
"It is good to see you again, heart-clan," Din Korlack added, "Albeit, I wish it were under more joyous circumstances."
"You received my messages, then?"
"With mixed sorrow and confusion," Calyn answered, "We are at a loss to explain the cowardly attack against Grissom Academy. With solemnity and finality: We can assure you it was done without the knowledge or consent of the Conclave Circle."
"What explanation did Petrovsky offer for an unprovoked attack on the Earth Systems Alliance?" Liselle T'Loak asked.
The three Conclave representatives shared a look of discomfort between them.
"My friends," I reassured, "The Reapers are here. There is no more room for distrust and dishonesty in the galaxy."
"The… Reaper's arrival has thrown most of our communications into chaos," Din answered slowly. "The Imperator has been… out of communication for nearly two weeks now."
"The Circle can call an emergency assembly, and call for a vote of no confidence," I suggested.
"That is a drastic action, Seneschal," Ari'ka winced, drumming feathers on his chair. "Is it possible that the pirates took action without orders?"
Nakmor Chell stepped forward, anger bristling.
"Representatives," she managed in a coldly official tone, "The two Prothean operatives boarded our vessel and bore signed orders from the Imperator himself."
Calyn exhaled slowly.
"The alternative is war with the Alliance, my friends," I added, "Either this attack was sanctioned, or Petrovsky has committed Conclave troops against an allied power without the permission of the Circle, which is a clear violation of the dictates of his office."
"We need a quorum of at least six to call for such action," Din Korlack reminded us. "And currently, we are the only three Circle members accounted for."
"Where are the others?" I asked, puzzled.
"With grave misgiving: Feros is under siege from Reaper forces. Representative Konstantin was on-planet when the attack took place."
"The New Geth and all three of the Rachni queens were redirected to a top secret location," Ari'ka reported. "They have been out of communication ever since."
Din Korlack rolled his shoulder apprehensively. "Soon after that was done, the Quarian Confederacy notified the Circle of its intentions to reclaim their homeworld of Rannoch."
"WHAT?!"
"And the Imperator gave them leave to do so."
I shook my head, clenching my fist.
"The True Geth were our allies! They trusted us!"
Din Korlack shook his head slowly.
"The Imperator felt that, given their newest offensive in the Terminus, that they would be weakened, and that now was the moment to strike against them."
Ari'ka raised his hands defensively.
"Again, Ko'le, we were informed of these decisions after they were made. No discussion was had; no vote was cast."
"Apprehensively: It is for these reasons that we have contacted you. We are not as blindly trusting as the hanar or the Rachni."
"Wait, what?" I asked. "Where are the hanar? What about Rhysan?"
The three Conclave members shared another look.
"Following the orders Representative Javik," Ari'ka related, "The hanar gave the Prothean Remnant a number of ships, and a full complement of their best scientists and engineers. Then they returned to Kahje, and have not left the planet since. They have activated their planetary shield and defense network: any attempts at communication have gone unanswered."
"Rhysan himself returned to the planet when we informed him of our intentions to contact you," Din added. "He said he would not 'betray the Enkindlers, or trust an abomination posing as their Herald.' His words, not ours, Imper …Ko'le."
I resisted the urge to facepalm.
"Thank you for your trust in me, friends," I said finally. "My course of action is clear: I will move to raise the siege of Feros, and to locate enough members of the Conclave Circle for a quorum vote."
Ari'ka nodded.
"I have teams attempting to locate Petrovsky's 'Secret Weapon' which he has declined to disclose to the rest of us," the large avian said. "I will do all within my power to put the resources of the Raloi at your disposal."
Calyn shifted his weight, "With grim determination: as will we all. A number of the Battle Groups in the Fleet are commanded by elcor captains. I have already secured their aid."
"I have already secured the Conclave coffers," Din added. "Petrovsky will effectively be frozen out of his accounts. That should… limit… his effectiveness."
"This could paint a large target on each of your heads," I worried. "In essence, it is dissolving what we made… Father, nearly four years ago now."
"With solemn reassurance: You saved our lives, my friend. You gave your life for this Conclave. With firm resolve: We are willing to risk ours in return in order to preserve it."
"We judge by actions, not by looks, Ko'le," Ari'ka continued. "If you really were the indoctrinated tool of the Reapers, as Javik and Petrovsky claim, the chaos of this war would be something you'd want to foster and continue. Instead, since your… return, all of your actions had been to end this pointless conflict with the Terminus Systems."
A respectful bow and nods were exchanged with the Terminus warlords behind me. I was unsure what kind of reaction I was supposed to have at that speech, but I managed a nod.
"There are those in this room who only a few short months ago," I began, "were bitter enemies."
A look was exchanged with Jurdon Vex, and the rest of the Blood Pack survivors.
"There are enough feuds and grudges in this room to tear this galaxy apart for the next millennia."
Leska Sederis glared at Liselle, who cast an uneasy eye at T'Ravt.
"But now," I straightened, taking a deep breath before continuing, "we must lay those aside. War is upon us, comrades: a war like none of you have ever seen. We must stick together, or we will be stuck separately on the Reapers' Dragon Teeth."
My homage to Ben Franklin earned me fewer chuckles than I was hoping for, but the wry grins that met my words would have to suffice, I supposed.
"We can no longer afford to hold out, alone and independent. But neither do I seek to command or order any of you. We must coordinate our efforts and work to save as many as we possibly can. Then, brothers and sisters," I slammed my fist on the table in front of me. "WE MOVE TO RECLAIM WHAT WE HAVE LOST."
Murmurs of assent and nods of approval went around the room.
"We can no longer afford to think in terms of Council and Hegemony, of Conclave and Terminus. We cannot identify as krogan, turian, human, or asari any longer. We are fellow beings, alive and breathing. Or else we are twisted undead abominations to be wiped from the face of the galaxy. When the last Reaper falls, the lines on the galaxy map will be irrevocably re-drawn, not depending on who is strong and who is weak. It will be depending on who is alive, and who is dead."
"So WHY are we wasting time TALKING about all this shit?"
I didn't have to see the winces on the faces around me or T'Ravt's heavy sigh to recognize that voice. I slowly turned to see a familiar asari matriarch, clad in full armor (heavy for an asari), making her way down the stairs. Matriarch Aethyta T'Voth was accompanied by a fair number of asari bodyguards, and what looked like an eclectic assembly of freelancers and mercenaries.
"We will do our utmost to stay in contact, Impera…. Ko'le," Ari'ka bowed low, Din and Calyn following suit in their own fashions.
"Stay safe, my friends," I answered, "I will move to rescue the other Circle members. Father and Mother go with you."
The hologram faded, and I turned to face Liara's father.
"Aethyta," T'Ravt greeted, "Athame's greetings to…"
"Oh, stuff it, Yan," the older woman cut her off. "When you get my age, you lose patience with the social niceties. We hate each other, we always will, but we're at war, so there."
She whirled to face Liselle and Leska.
"Anything from you two, or you still content to just hang on your mothers' every word?"
Leska opened her mouth to speak, but Liselle put a hand on her shoulder, and she snapped her mouth shut with an effort, but her biotics made the air crackle with static.
"Smarter than your mother, Sederis," Aethyta observed, "Glad to see you got some of your father's sense."
"what do you want, Aethyta?" I asked, rolling my eyes at her theatrics.
"Palavan has been overrun," the matriarch informed us casually.
Everyone murmured in uneasy suprise. Septimus Oraka stepped forward, concern and worry on his face.
"What of the Primarch Fedorin?" the Hierarchy veteran asked.
"He is dead."
Another uneasy murmur.
"That is confirmed?" I asked, and Aethyta nodded.
"According to the Hierarchy's own intelligence service."
"Who is the successor?" Septimus asked in an even tone, trying to keep the pain from his voice. "Palin? Severus?"
"Unknown," came the answer. "They're still trying to figure all that shit out. I know that Shepard and her Expeditionary Fleet have deployed to Menae, to assist in the fighting there."
Ahh. So we're THERE in the games. Reunion with Garrus. Maybe.
Wasn't Jane also supposed to be headed for Palavan?
Later... Later.
"What of Thessia?" Leska was now asking. "Sur'Kesh?"
Aethyta shook her head.
"Nothing so far, but that's just cowed the salarians into inaction. Those useless bitches in the Republics are trying to pull every ship they have (and a couple they don't) back to defend Thessia."
"They won't lift a finger to defend anything beyond their borders," T'Ravt scoffed.
"Whatever we decide here," Xerol Shaaryak spoke, stepping forward, "We will have to assume we are on our own."
I nodded in agreement.
"I've brought every ship and freelancer I could find," Aethyta shrugged. "It's no Destiny Ascension, but I figured you could use them."
"Our best course of action is to support…" Liselle T'Loak paused, clearly unsure as to what to call me. I didn't offer anything, as I was unsure myself. I was no longer the Seneschal of the Protheans. Javik's dagger had sent that message clear as day. And I wasn't the Imperator either.
"Ko'le," Liselle continued, when I did not answer. "If he can call the Conclave Circle to declare him imperator again, the fleets and planets that are waiting or distracted by Petrovsky's madness will come over to our side."
Leska nodded in agreement. "Where do you intend on going first?" the chairwoman of the Eclipse asked.
"Feros," I answered. "The other Circle members are unaccounted for or missing. I'm not wasting months of time wandering through the expanse of space looking for wherever he's sent the Rachni or the New Geth. And I'm sure as hell not going to bring a fleet to Ilos or Rannoch and demand they obey me. Feros is where the battle is, and that's where I'm headed."
The other warlords chimed in, offering suggestions as the Galaxy Map came up, each one offering whatever relevant intelligence they had collected, and suggestions for potential offensives. The Reapers had yet to make a serious push into the Terminus Systems, seemingly content to pacify Council Space and the Traverse first.
"They've underestimated us!" Jurdon Vex crowed. "They apparently don't think we're a threat to their invasion plans."
"An insult they will pay dearly for, comrade," I grinned, and received a savage grin in return.
"If the bucket-heads really have launched an attack on the geth, that will free a lot of my forces to reinforce you," Sirena Olm observed calmly. "But I can't afford to redirect many of my forces until that's been confirmed."
The remainder of the local cycle was spent crafting a rough strategy for this massive fleet we had assembled. It was lacking in details, but with a force this fragmented and rough-shod, that just gave our fleet commanders more freedom to react to the situations they encountered.
We hope.
While every Tom, Dick, and Harry wanted to lead his own army, the forces were roughly split between T'Ravt, T'Loak, the Eclipse, and myself. Xerol would lead his fleet in reserve, reinforcing whichever one of us encountered the enemy in force numerous enough to be troublesome.
Makes sense. His fleet is the most battered, and needs time to regroup and reorganize from a group of political refugees into a serious military force.
He'll do it.
Finally, when sheer exhaustion was beginning to be seen on the faces of those around the table, I made the suggestion to take a recess, which was almost universally accepted. I strode back to the cabin that had been set aside for me, my brain (our brain?) still going at million miles an hour. The splitting of command was an obvious necessity: Nobody could command this entire force alone. It was a question of separating the warlords who had the worst feuds with one another.
Can't leave the wolf with the goat, or the goat with the cabbage, but the river must be crossed.
Kevin's amusement at his reference to the now-ancient logic puzzle was muted by Beast's paranoia.
We've had one friend betray us already, Kevin. Those gathered here can scarce be called acquaintances, at least the ones who are not outright rivals.
We have no choice, Beast. We will stand with them, or fall alone.
Before Beast could retort with an appropriate jibe at Kevin's cliché, there came a knock at my door.
"Enter," I said slowly, then realized that automatic doors were not among the luxuries of Skyhold Station. I sighed, and walked over to open the door.
"Morinth."
"Hey," the Ardat-Yakshi said, her usual sultry demeanor gone in favor of grave seriousness. "You have a minute?"
"Sure," I turned, leaving the door open behind me. "Come on in."
I gestured to the crude table and chairs that had been set up beside the bed.
"Thanks for your help today," I said. "I know you being there eased a lot of the tensions in the room."
Morinth smiled.
"You mean having another pair of tits for them to stare at eased tensions today."
"You say peejack, I say pyjack," I shrugged, but grinned in return. "What can I do for you?"
Morinth drummed her fingers on the table.
"You will need every resource to defeat the Reapers."
I nodded wordlessly.
"The Republics are not lifting a finger to help the rest of us. They're pulling back to Thessia."
I nodded again, then shook my head.
"Yes, we went over this, endlessly," I agreed, furrowing my brow.
"There is one particular resource that will absolutely not be relocated to the home world."
"What are you…?"
A cold chill ran down my spine.
"NO. Absolutely not."
She leaned forward, her eyes hard and cold.
"I need to do this, Ko'le."
"It's too dangerous."
"Really?"
"It's too risky. It could bring the entire Republics against us if it went wrong. Is this you planning, or is this…" I tapped the side of her head "Them?"
She clenched her fists and blinked once.
"It was… not easy after you were gone. I'm not here to ask permission," Morinth said pointedly. "I'm informing you of what I'm doing because I fucking care about what you think!"
"I CAN'T LOSE ANY MORE OF MY FRIENDS!"
There was a stunned silence in the room. Morinth stared at me, doubtless because I looked as surprised as she did. My chest seemed to constrict, my breath coming hard and ragged.
"I… can't…. lose..."
No more words would come, and suddenly Morinth was beside me, her hands cool against my flushed cheeks.
"Shh… shh," she crooned. "You're not losing anybody, love. I promise. I'm here… I'm here…"
A choked sound escaped me, and the room reeled. Strong arms wrapped around my chest, not so much stopping me as slowing my decent to the floor.
"Ko'le? Ko'le! Listen to me," I heard vaguely, echoing in my brain. "I need you breathe, ok? Breathe in… breathe out…. That's it, just like that…"
Everything seemed to go fuzzy… then grey… then black.
A loud THUMP-THUMP-THUMP of someone pounding on my door awoke me. I glanced down to see that I had been moved to the simple bed in the corner of the room. My armor had also been removed, laid out in an orderly fashion on the table.
Morinth.
A second's glance told me that I was alone in my room. The pounding on the door resumed, tearing me from any plans I might have had.
"ALRIGHT, Alright!" I yelled, my head pounding in rhythm with the knocking. I groaned as I stood to my feet, then walked over to the door with an odd feeling of déjà vu. The turian on the other side of the door flinched at the sight of my grisly visage suddenly appearing, but managed to come to attention.
"Sorry for the intrusion, sir, but General Blake requests your presence in the command hall. Said you'd understand when you got there, sir."
Shit. What now?
"Hang on," I growled, leaning over and grabbing a jacket from the back of the chair. I fell in behind him, pulling the oversized hood over my cyber-dreads. Whoever Helena wanted me to meet, it wouldn't do to freak them out unduly.
The winding hallway opened out into the main room I had left only moments ago. Helena stood in the middle of the room, also in casual pants and a sweatshirt. A long trenchcoat gave her a look of dignity while staving off the low temperatures of the station. With her was a massive krogan, standing with his back to me. He was in very imposing full armor, but it was insanely massive.
Enhanced EXO-armor, I wagered. Looks like Conclave issue, but the coloration is all wrong.
Helena raised her eyebrows at me as I entered the room, and the krogan turned to follow her gaze, bringing his face into view for the first time.
"KLAANG!"
Thax Klaang turned his entire body, the massive suit of armor thundering towards me. Black biotics flared instinctively and my mass increased unnaturally just in time to resist the incredible force behind the head-butt sent by the master-smith.
"HAHAHAHA! I KNEW you couldn't be so boring as to be dead, my friend!" Klaang laughed, the sound rumbling like a runaway freight-train in the empty chamber. "ANCESTORS, but it's good to see you!"
"Not half as good as it is to see YOU!" I laughed in return.
A thousand questions rushed to my mind, and that, coupled with the massive figure in front of me, blocked my view of the chest-high figure that tackled me in a tackle that would have done the biggest NFL linebacker proud.
"UNKA KO'LE!"
"DROT!"
Sheer, raw and unadulterated joy threatened to overwhelm me as I rolled to try and throw the young krogan off. It was a much harder task than the last time we had "wrassled", as the young pup had grown about a foot taller and had probably put on about fifty pounds. It took a flare of biotics for me to even the scale and lurch sideways, sending Drot rolling across the floor. He rolled back to this feet, crouching to rush me again, but then paused, his eyes fixed on my face.
"Your… your fur-head-thingys…"
I paused, realizing that in the scuffle, my hood had come back, showing the Leviathan enhancements in all their glory.
"Yeah," I said, reaching back to pull the hood back over my head.
"THAT'S TOTALLY WICKED!" Drot broke out in a toothy grin, walking over and reaching a hand up to touch the fiber-optic cables covering my scalp. Klaang lifted a hand to bat the juvenile on the side of the head.
"Hey, now, don't gawk, Drot. It's serious business we've come on."
"What's wrong?" I asked, puzzled. "I mean, I'm overjoyed to see you again, but what the hell are you doing here?"
"General," Helena said, grinning cheekily at my confused expression, "May I present Thax Klaang, newly-appointed Special Krogan Envoy to the Conclave."
Klaang chuckled again at my look of sheer surprise.
"It's nothing so grandiose as that," he objected, "I was already here, that's all. After you…" he paused for a second. "…went missing, a certain someone on Tuchanka contacted me, asking for my help." He took a deep breath. "Clan Thax was scattered across the galaxy after my father's death. He was able to convince me to do something about that."
Urdnot Wrex's name didn't need to be spoken aloud for me to understand who exactly he was talking about. I nodded slowly.
"And what word from Tuchanka?" I asked.
Klaang's face grew serious, as did Drot's.
"Reapers' dun been sighted in the Lowlands," the younger krogan said gravely. "Gonna be big battles dere soon."
"Show me," I gestured towards the Galaxy map. "Blake, call Yara here, will you?"
Helena cocked an eyebrow. "D'len? She left."
Now it was my turn to be confused. "What? Where? When?"
"About four hours ago," came the answer. "She and that hulk Cheshire took the Klaustritch and hit the relay only about twenty minutes ago. Said she had your orders to do it. Not many wanted to dispute with the giant, either."
OH. SHIT.
Morinth... what have you done?
Author's Note:
Hey everybody! So, we've had a number of reunions this week, and a few partings. And on top of all that, we've got a game plan going forward!
Full thanks and credit goes to Katkiller-V for the use of OCs and skills as a beta-reader!
Next week: Stormclouds: A Zhu's Hope.
Love all the thoughts and PMs you guys have been sending! An author's work is fueled by the excitement of his/her readers!
Never let anybody tell you that you are anything but awesome!
Rock on, everybody!
-Tusken1602
Reviewer Responses:
jackli10345, Guest – Thanks! It's rough, coming back from the dead. Always thought everybody's reaction to Shepard in ME:2 was a little too easy. "Oh, you're not dead? Ok, welcome back!"
XCOMHEAVY12, Nagato21, Pietersielie – Lot of tears at writing that chapter, most of them mine…
Dragons guard, BJ Hanssen – I'll do my best not to disappoint.
METALHELLSPWN – I always hated the kid getting dragged away too. Decided that this is what fanfiction was for, right? :P
THeRedMezek – Mira's reunion is something I'm looking forward to, as well. As for Cheshire… lot of potential trouble there.
griezz – I laughed out loud at your review, and then double checked that nobody had hacked me and taken my notes. Seriously, I had planned to bring Drot back for this chapter LONG before your review. Props to you, good reader!
The Mad Author – I Hurt myself today, to see if I still feel…
Dreaded Wolf – No plans for Andromeda as of yet, will wait to play through it before I say a definite "yes" or "No." Might do a separate story altogether, if anything.
May the Father below accept you when your time comes, and until then, may the Mother keep you always.
EE-RAH!
