Sut-Fex Here! CHAPTER NINE. AAARGRHRRG. I'm tired of those rewrites to be completely honest with you guys, so I am siked to finally get started on the ninth chapter of Mass Effect: Creed! Hope you guys enjoy! We recently hit 30+ Followers! It means so much to me that you guys are reading and enjoying my story enough to subscribe to me and my story for more!
HEY! As the Suicide Mission looms close, I need you all to vote in the Poll on MY PROFILE on who dies and who survives the suicide mission! Vote for one character that should not make it out of the Collector Base alive! OR you can vote for "Nobody" and save them all! The Top 3 Voted will bite the bullet. UNLESS! "Nobody" is the number one result. If Nobody is the number one result, everyone will survive and live to make the future of this story even better! If Nobody is the second top result, one person, the #1, will die. If Nobody is the third top result, two people will die.
THIS IS A SERIOUS WARNING: BE CAREFUL WITH WHOM YOU VOTE FOR. WHILE I DID PUT EVERY CHARACTER AS AN OPTION FOR FAIRNESS' SAKE, SOME OPTIONS ARE FLAGGED FOR IMPORTANCE TO THE STORY SUCH AS WREX, JANE, KAIDAN/ASHLEY, AND THE OCS. ALSO, MORDIN AND LEGION ARE PRETTY MUCH NECESSARY FOR A GOOD ENDING IN THE ME3 ARC.
The Poll will close with the debut of Chapter 10, in which we resolve the final "Apprentice Loyalty" mission designed for Eleria, Frederico, and Lora. Chapter 11 will finally drag Legion's robotic rear into this story, and Chapter 12 will feature the final mission before Joker's Collector Attack, as well as Joker's Collector Attack! Chapter 13 ends the story arc with the Suicide Mission itself. I leave it up to reviews if I write a romantic scene for Alexander and Kairee preceding the Suicide Mission. We already have seen Garrus/Jane and Tali/John. No Lemon. Don't ask. Implied Lemon only, because [*denied*].
Also I see that the Cerberus squadmates are getting all the hate right now. Well.
I won't waste anymore of your time. Let's dive back into the Masscreed Universe!
Normandy SR-2, 2185
"Hey, Shepard? Yeah, Kaidan went to have a 'chat' with Alexander in Starboard Observation deck. Samara's in on it from what EDI's picking up. You might wanna head over there before 'the Code' demands that Kaidan or Alex have to get sucked out into space," Joker called over the comms. John Shepard got the message and immediately went to the scene of the confrontation.
The door opened to Alexander with a hidden blade at his side, and Kaidan's arms glowing with biotic energy. Samara was in between the two, hands lifted to their faces.
"What the hell is going on in here!?" John cried.
"I figured out who this guy is!" Kaidan said, pointing at Alexander, who bucked forwards in an effort to intimidate Kaidan. "He used to be with the Alliance!"
John quirked an eyebrow and looked at Alexander, "That true?"
"It's how I got off of Eden Prime," Alexander replied, gaze fixed on Kaidan. "The Alliance was recruiting and I left with them to escape agrarian life and to help with College."
"And he was discharged by his commander after being a suspect in the murder of Admiral Herman Martinez!" Kaidan said, biotics flaring.
"It was a direct order from the Mentor himself! He chose me for the mission! Martinez was about to order an attack on an Assassin Den in the Terminus Systems!" Alexander boomed.
"It was a Batarian slaver outpost! They were holding Alliance troops for ransom! You killed the man who was about to save those men!"
"Check the records, no messages about ransomed troops were sent by anyone that year. It was a ploy to take down an important Assassin outpost and take information about our leadership! I had to kill him!"
"You could have simply exposed him, if it was so important!"
John stamped his foot, "Both of you, enough!" he said, "Kaidan, you're right to be suspicious of Alexander given his background, but that's no excuse to sow discord on this ship, especially with such a dangerous mission ahead!"
Kaidan frowned at the Commander, but he turned to Alexander. "Alex, you're right to defend yourself in the face of this accusation, but you need to calm down! Your reputation and threat level naturally upsets people on this ship. You keep getting angry like this, and they're going to be proven right about you."
Alexander's hidden blade retracted into his bracer and he stood straight. Kaidan's biotics dissipated and he crossed his arms. "Yeah, okay," Kaidan said, stepping back. Samara quietly backed out of the room and let the three finish their conversation.
"You're correct, Commander," Alexander sighed, "My reputation precedes me it would seem… Makes people nervous and I justify their fear. Alright, I'm done here. I still haven't forgotten all you've done for me, don't worry, I'm good for this mission," he said, leaving the room.
"My apologies, John. I shouldn't have been so argumentative with him, I just figured that somebody needed to confront him about it, see if he proved a threat to the crew," Kaidan said, shrugging. John nodded and saw him out of the room, following suit and returning to the CIC deck.
Standing at the Galaxy Map, John Shepard was commanding a resource run of a mineral-rich planet. A heavy haul of Element Zero it seemed!
Suddenly he received a tap on the shoulder and turned his head to look over it. Kelly was there. "Sir, Wrex wishes to speak to you, something important, he said."
"I'll get right on it, thanks, Kelly," John replied, stepping down from the Galaxy Map to find Wrex.
And if it confused you before, Urdnot Wrex was picked up after Grunt's Rite of Passage. Alexander had convinced him to join the Normandy Crew weeks ago by having Krogan Assassins watch the clans in his stead, and report any activity to him. All orders he had were issued to the Assassins, who'd relay them to the clans.
Wrex himself had a dorm for himself, but throughout the day he usually was camped in the Armory with Jacob and anyone else who decided to help out with the weapons that day. As John walked in, Wrex gave him a curt nod.
"Shepard."
"Wrex."
"Heard you had something to discuss?" John asked. He glanced at Jacob, who gave a straight salute and left the room.
"Yeah. The watchdogs Alexander left me are reporting something peculiar," Wrex replied, leaning on a weapon's bench, "A group of Krogan from the Jurdon clan are acting shifty, meeting up every now and then. There's talk of revolt, Shepard. Someone in a Female Camp, an… Irzia? Whatever's going on, I need to put an end to it personally, prove that I haven't abandoned my duty to the clans."
"Tuchanka then, I take it?"
"You got it."
Tuchanka, 2185
The shuttle landed, its doors swinging open. John Shepard, Urdnot Wrex, Eleria T'Geya, Jack, Samara, and Alexander Clarke stepped out. The formermost two of the bunch journeyed on into the ruined "village", where they found a group of Krogan dressed in white and red battle armor fending off an unseen enemy.
"Get your head down, sir!" one of them cried as a sniper round whizzed past Alexander's head. He flipped his hood on, drew his Automattock, and got to cover in the span of five seconds. The rest joined him behind a row of crates.
"Who the hell are these guys?" Wrex asked, lobbing a grenade over cover. It detonated over the heads of the snipers, causing them to shout for retreat.
"We suspect Knights Templar," a Krogan Assassin whispered, "We've been in this skirmish for an hour, now. We haven't been able to actually spot them, but wherever you threw that 'nade, it has them running!"
"Good to hear," John said, "Any information on what's got them pissed with this specific camp?"
"There is a Grandmaster present on the planet as we speak. He or She has been attempting to incite rebellion against Urdnot Wrex's rule, and he/she's using force and foreign support from the other Templar Clans!"
"Damnit, I take it he/she won't let up anytime soon?" asked Alexander.
The Krogan Assassins shook their heads and peered over cover. The coast was clear. They stood up and –
A round pierced one's helmet, then skull, coming out the other end as the helmet burst open at the side. The Krogan collapsed dead.
"Shit!" Jack shouted, pumping her shotgun.
Alexander leapt over cover and held his cloak over his face and torso as he ran towards the location of the snipers. A few bullets struck the cloak and hit the shields, lowering them a considerable amount, but Alex kept running. He biotic-charged over the hill and into the air, falling down onto a sniper, plunging his blade into her throat. He stood up, snap-kicked the sniper rifle from the other's hands and slashed his throat before pushing him over to drown in his own blood. A third sniper attempted to sneak up on him, but he heard the footsteps and rammed his open palms into the aorta of his adversary, the blades entering and killing him almost instantly. He shoved his attacker away and sheathed his blades.
"Coast is clear this time!" he cried out. He stepped down the hill and back to the camp.
"…Damnit, we lost Kyrz," the surviving Assassin bemoaned, knelt over the body of his fallen comrade.
"He's earned his rest. Now to make sure we take this Grandmaster down a peg, and restore the peace."
Wrex let out a haughty laugh. "We're Krogan! What is peace?" he rhetorically asked. "You're just here because somebody challenged my authority and I want that person taken care of before riots break out or something!"
Alexander smirked. "Anyways, what do we know about them? What direction did they come from?"
"Local rumors say that Jurdon clan is the mastermind… a female camp recently capitulated when Jurdon troops opened fire wanton, killed a few guards, a couple of infertiles."
"That's deplorable. There are children in these camps, some of which could be members of the last generation as well," Eleria said with a frown.
"Dunno what they wanted with the camp. Must've been the close proximity to our camp. Anyways, I can try to get a Tomkah for us to take to the female camp. You all relax for a moment and plan a strategy. Buy something, watch a Pit Fight…"
Female Camp #3 2185
"Irzia," came a voice familiar to the hulking Krogan female as she opened a communications request in her makeshift office in the Female Camp.
"Harper," she grumbled as she reviewed a collection of datapads.
"I come with a message. The Normandy SR-2 has landed on Tuchanka and a squad was sent out to stabilize Assassin control of Clan Urdnot and its vassals. I just wanted you to be aware," TIM said, taking a puff of his cigarette.
Irzia froze, just in the middle of picking up another datapad. Before it even left the desk her fingers slipped away from it and her hands came clasped together as she leaned forwards. "Your men threaten my operations? Grandmaster Harper you are treading dangerous dunes with your actions!" she shouted, "Why do you do this? Your work against the Collectors was sworn in as being carried out as official Templar business, for the Templars, by the Templars, in the Order's name and legacy. You took an oath, so what makes you think you can send your Cell's men to hamper my Cell's mission to reunite Tuchanka under Jurdon rule?"
"You may question my methods but do not question my motives. My loyalty lies with the Templars. I am asking you to keep the Assassins on their toes," TIM chuckled, taking another draft of air from his cigarette, "I won't reveal too much, but affirmations of Cerberus being a superior Cell are beginning to be uttered from the Assassins aboard the Normandy."
"So then all of this for a little nationalism? Pathetic," said Irzia, looking away from TIM.
"It's strengthening our resolve in the Collector Mission. Anything that works, works. It's not a broken system, so don't try to fix it. When they come for you, and they will, just know that your 'fertility' is your unbreakable shield. If word gets out that a fertile Krogan female was murdered by an Assassin, support for them would plummet. Even Salarians and Turians would draw the line. A Genophage is enough, killing one of the rare gems of the Krogan race is a controversy for stronger discussion."
"…fine. If you believe it will help overall. I will send them out. Lilis retains her broken jaw from the previous failure on Palaven and is resting on their ship. Lucky for us Krogan, we regenerate quickly."
"Good. Harper out."
Outside the female camp, our heroes awaited the time to strike out in the sand dunes within their Tomkah.
The Krogan Assassin broke the lenghty silence that had been maintained on the ride from the Urdnot Throne. "Our Tomkah is unmarked. I took the long way for the sake of driving in from the west side rather than the east, as to not raise suspicion from the Jurdons too soon," he explained from the driver's seat, looking back over his shoulder.
"Good work, but what if we're pulled over?" Alexander asked him, leaning forwards in his seat and flipping his hood on.
"We either pose as prisoners – well, you pose as prisoners, or we go guns blazing."
Jack cackled at the suggestions, "F*** yeah, honestly I would prefer the latter any damn day!"
"Ha! I like her!" Wrex agreed. The two exchanged a knucklebump.
"Patience," Alexander said. John was swift to agree, citing the fact that there was an actual army of Krogan out here.
The Tomkah stopped. Muffled voices were heard from the outside and a loud banging shook the side of the Tomkah where the door would be. A moment of silence and then a sharper BANG, producing a dent on the inside of the vehicle. Another was soon created, then another. Eventually, with a foolhardy charge, one Berserker came crashing into the door, ripping it open enough for him to get through.
"ASSASSINS, I KNOW YOU'RE HERE!" He bellowed. A shotgun blast sent him sprawling out onto the floor of the tank. Jack pumped her shotgun and spit on the Krogan, exiting the tank and going Psychotic Biotic. A massive nova lifted most of the opposing Jurdon forces into the air. John, Jack, Wrex, and Alexander picked them off with their weapons Samara shot herself out of the hole in the door like a cannonball and glided with the aid of biotics, slamming a punch into another Jurdon, smashing his helmet (and head) in as she drew a pistol and regrouped with the rest of the team. The Krogan Assassin joined the firefight as they slowly made their advance down the camp's streets.
"I never got your name!" Alexander cried, the defeaning gunfire and explosives detonations making it harder to hear anything.
"Graak! Defected from Weyrloc to Urdnot a while before its destruction!" the Krogan replied, throwing a sticky incendiary grenade over Alexander's head. It stuck and exploded on a hostile Krogan.
"Good throw!"
They continued to storm the streets, fighting their way to what they hoped would be some sort of administrative center. Knowing the Krogan in their current state it would just be ruins of a sort or a ramshackle house. Further extending the mission was the need from Samara, Alexander, and Graak to rescue the women, children, and non-Jurdon guards caught in the crossfire. The supporting fire from the guards proved incredibly useful, and the women were able to provide directions.
Samara and Alexander flung themselves into cover following an explosion from a frag grenade. After lifting him the attacker with biotics and shooting him down with a Suppressor pistol, the firefight entered a brief lull which they used to discuss the situation.
"Is there a body count for civilians?" Samara asked, peering over cover to see nothing but the blowing sands and ruins of the camp.
"None, they must have been evacuated or hidden somewhere," Graak replied, checking behind him as Samara checked over cover.
"It's not like Krogan to hide," John said, narrowing his eyes with a raised left brow as he put his shotgun away.
"This is the Jurdon Clan we're referring to, here. Knowing them, the females and children are a bargaining chip. They've most likely got them all rounded up somewhere in the camp, ready to kill or otherwise wrest them away from Urdnot control if we do not acquiesce to their demands, whatever they may be," Wrex explained.
Eleria put a hand to her throat and her expression spoke volumes of her sympathy.
"Then we split up. I'll take Samara and Jack to find the females. Alexander will take Eleria and Graak to find Irzia and shut this operation down from the inside," John declared. "You'll need to summon reinforcements to take back the camp, but in the meantime, you should come with us, Wrex."
Wrex thought briefly about the plan and then nodded his head, checking his shotgun's ammo and reloading the thermal clip. "You heard the Commander!" he said to Graak, "Go with them and take Irzia down!"
Graak gave a sharp salute and charged down the north street with Alexander and Eleria, while Wrex left down the west street with John, Jack, and Samara.
Fireteam Delta: Rescue
It took no time at all to encounter resistance as a fireteam of Jurdon berserkers and a battlemaster took the field, raining bullets upon John's squad of four. They returned fire with pleasure, Jack charging in with John to 2v1 the battlemaster while Samara and Wrex stayed back and picked off the berserkers with their own biotics. It was an all-biotic team of three vanguards and an adept. As horribly vulnerable in the realm of tech as they were, the Krogan were just as unspecialized for that task. Details unnecessary, Fireteam Delta quickly achieved victory over their attackers and managed to coax the location of the camp's civilians from the Battlemaster.
Wrex's hunch was correct; they were gathered in a hostage situation south of the camp, ready to move out in tomkahs to the Jurdon "capital".
Without a moment of hesitation the four ran as fast as they could, storming down the south alleys and ruins and shooting down any opposition. Straggling guards from Urdnot-friendly clans were picked up along the way, the Fireteam growing larger as more support was acquired.
At last, the Tomkah convoy was in sight. The Jurdons were clad in silver and gold colored armor, waving weapons of various kinds around as they shoved females and any existing, living children into the Tomkahs. As to catch them off-guard, Samara slinked off, moving through a broken building, ducking down under a window. Upon throwing a Pull Field, John, Jack, and Wrex fired biotic warps as artillery, causing a small explosion that killed a substantial amount of hostile Jurdons and left the Tomkahs generally unfazed. Charging down the street, the Fireteam let their bullets fly, mowing down resistance with little effort. The Tomkahs that had been fully loaded began driving off much to Wrex's chagrin as he lobbed a grenade at the tires of a Tomkah. The vehicle drove over before it could detonate, making the attempt a vain one. Cursing loudly, Wrex threw his shotgun on the ground and sulked in place as the others unloaded the remaining Tomkahs.
After rescuing those they could rescue, John caught up to Wrex. "We'll get them back, eventually," he said, rolling his shoulder and shaking his head.
Wrex growled, "It's too late. I know Clan Jurdon and they don't wait with hostages!"
"We saved them, though. It wasn't a complete failure."
"…you're right about that, I guess. I'll have some men lay siege to Jurdon's capital camp. I got friends in the other clans that would hate to hear that these females were taken, along with the children."
"Good man," John replied, staring off into the distance after the Tomkahs, "We still have Irzia to take down."
Killteam Echo: Jurdon Irzia
At around the same time John and his Fireteam left, "Killteam Echo" left to find Irzia. Urdnot Graak provided directions, having visited this female camp on occasion.
"Possible locations for an office would be Nursery #2 or the 'hospital.' I use that term lightly," Graak said as the Killteam walked down the dusty path.
Eleria raised a brow, "Why Nursery #2?"
"Bigger of the three, and it's easy to fortify, being underground. That's our best bet. Underground bunker? Not smart to pass up," Graak replied with a low chuckle.
"I can get behind that logic. What do you know about Jurdon Irzia?" Alexander said, putting his Automattock away and checking his pistol and hidden blades in a quick inventory check.
"Jurdon Clan. Gets her power from her fertility and backing from the Templars, that's all I know."
"I hear she's a Grandmaster, perhaps the Krogan Grandmaster?" Eleria whispered, and Alexander cracked a grin.
"If by 'fertile' you mean 'able to have a child that isn't stillborn with higher chances of success' then yes, I can see why she'd be powerful. A move on a female camp? Deporting all the females and children? The hell is this?" said the Human.
"Maybe she wishes to use the children to strengthen Jurdon? Maybe she seeks to cure the Genophage with the females…" Graak said, offering up his idea for the master plan.
"If the former's the case, we can't let her get away with that. If the latter applies, she might use the cure to rally the Krogan to her cause. Because Urdnot is the clan that openly supports the Brotherhood, we have to delay the Genophage curing a bit longer. My apologies, Graak."
Graak shrugged, "You outrank me, but regardless, as much as I want to be able to have a son, I'd want my son to be mine, not Jurdon's."
Alexander nodded his head to the Krogan's words and then raised his hand to signal the group to stop. "I heard something… footsteps," he said, whipping out his Automattock once again and swerving in both directions, checking his surroundings as his group did the same. Nothing, but they kept their weapons out. The Nursery was close.
Graak was first to point it out. "Alright! Here we are!" he said, running down the stairs and up to the strangely unprotected door.
"Wait!" Alexander cried, and the Krogan Assassin stood at the door, frozen.
"What's the matter, sir?"
"Isn't it funny that nobody else is here?"
"We could be in the wrong location," Eleria suggested.
"It's worth checking. May I enter?" Graak replied.
Alexander narrowed his eyes. He approached the door and Graak and Eleria kept an eye on him. Speaking of eyes, the irises of his eyes flashed into a bright, golden coloration as he stared at the door. In his vision, the world darkened to a true black, with the buildings exhuding a dim yet pale, grey phosphorescence. Graak and Eleria shined a brilliant sky-blue. He could see through the door ever so faintly. A red silhouette was visible in the shape of a Krogan holding a shotgun in one hand like a pistol up to the door at face-level. He signalled for the team to drop back and his eyes returned to their normal color.
"Bleeding Effect ex Machina," he muttered, suddenly igniting with a blue, flamelike biotic energy as he darted forwards, slamming shoulder first into the door, breaking through it and picking up Jurdon Garz in the process, knocking him off his feet and throwing him into the air to be slammed back first into the wall. He crumbled to his knees and faceplanted. "And that was for Palaven, pyjak spawn!" Alexander cried as Graak and Eleria entered the Nursery.
Strewn about the room were various cots of different (but not diverse) clothes and colors, presumably for children, as well as various "toys" including fake guns, melee weapons, and sports equipment. Eleria whistled and chuckled, "Wow, the kids play hard," she commented, walking over to an airsoft M8 Avenger.
"We're like Human Spartans. War training starts early, but for the young ones, we start off by making it look like a game," Graak elucidated with an impartial shrug.
Alexander was examining Garz, lifting him up (with difficulty) and propping him against the wall, checking his armor for anything like a pocket where he could store information.
As he found a slit in the side of Garz's waist armor, he aimed to slip his hand into it. Garz's eyes shot open and a hand curled around Alex's throat, picking him up as the massive Krogan stood to his feet. "And this is for the door, you squishy slug of a human…" he whispered. Eleria and Graak aimed their guns at him and he cackled in his iconically deep voice. "I will make short work of all of you! Skarn! Get out here!" he cried, throwing Alexander forwards, managing to get him outside the door.
Alexander hit the ground hard, only miraculously avoiding cracking his skull on the stairs. Pain still wracked his body, however, and he was out of commission long enough for Garz to lift up his hand-cannon and for Skarn to enter the room. He stared Eleria down with a suave grin, which Eleria grimaced at. She still blushed though.
Alexander lifted himself to his feet and reached for his M11 Suppressor, drawing it and aiming it for Garz. Skarn trained his assault rifle on Alexander, Graak fixed the sight of his rifle on Skarn, and Eleria kept her SMG aimed between the two Jurdons.
"Great, a Mexican Standoff…" Alexander sighed, prompting Graak to quirk a brow.
"Mecksiwha?"
"Later, Graak…"
There was a shadowy stillness for a minute. And then a count of four shots rang out. Eleria had fired her gun at Garz's arm as he tried to fire his gun, the bullet missed Alexander by inches as he fired his weapon at Garz's stomach. Skarn began unloading a clip of ammunition into Alexander's shields, forcing him to retreat and run out of the Nursery to recover. Graak fired into Skarn, breaking his shields as the two got into a fist fight, dropping their guns and handling things the old fashioned way. Eleria rushed Garz and kicked him in the jaw. It connected, but he caught her ankle and threw her into Skarn and Graak, breaking up the fight. Skarn had managed to catch her as the fell, and a humiliated Eleria shoved herself off of him and drew her pistol, spending the thermal clip on Skarn's reinforced armor. Graak pulled him to his feet and immediately planted a fist into his face.
Alexander rejoined the fight, grabbing his Automattock, firing, and jumping into a slide, gliding across the floor and spending the clip of the assault rifle on Garz, breaking his shields. As he slid under him, he threw his Automattock to Eleria, flicked his wrists, and sliced into Garz's shins, toppling him forwards. Picking himself up from the slide, he turned and lunged onto Garz's back, jamming his hidden blade into his back. Looking over to Skarn, he saw that Graak and Eleria had him pressed against the wall for interrogation. Garz was out like a light, he wasn't moving, and very likely dead. Then again, it was Garz. Figuring that it was more important to find Irzia, Alexander left his body be for now to press Skarn for answers.
"Where's the Grandmaster?" he asked in a tone almost friendly, nonchalant.
Skarn remained quiet, a light frown on his face. "He asked you where Irzia is!" Graak cried, striking him across the cheek. He didn't budge.
Graak had engaged his hidden blades when Eleria held him back. "Just give me some time with him," she said.
"You're an apprentice, what could you know of our interrogation methods?"
"I don't, but I can reason with him."
Graak growled, sheathing his blades and walking away to join Alexander in searching the place. There were three floors, all going underground. There was a door to a stairwell, but the final floor appeared collapsed. The second floor was merely a small dining room meant to serve meals. Checking the inside of that, they found nothing but rusty tables and bent dining equipment. Although, someone left a datapad.
Lilis,
How unfortunate it is that you can't make it to Garz's revenge assignment. He's guarding Grandmaster Irzia himself! We recovered from the Palaven attack just fine. I still might have a bruise scar from when he kicked me in the sternum, and I'm not sure if he managed to give me a concussion or not, but I should be fine. Not like you really care, but I hope your jaw gets better. I'm ready to smash some Assassins. If they come here in light of the Jurdon attack, I'll take the Turian down for you if she's here! If not, I'll get the Human! Irzia's doing just fine. She's managed to take the basement of the Nursery #2. Oddly, she bombed the third underground floor. No way in or out without some digging.
She's been acting… oddly, lately. Peaceful (for a Krogan) and collected at times, steaming in rage at other times without provocation, and, once or twice, she broke into tears before or after lashing out at us. Yesterday I caught her eating pyjak meat soaked in Thessian vinegar and Eden Prime-manufactured mustard. The hell? Pyjak meat is bitter as it is, why does she need that stuff?
Anyways, I digress. I hope you heal up soon, I'll carry out your work here on Tuchanka! For the Order!
~Skarn.
"Can you please tell me where Irzia is?" Eleria asked the Jurdon politely.
"I'm afraid I can't speak of that," he replied with a stern glare.
"…I'm going to try to talk Alexander out of killing her, if it helps."
"It does, a little, but it's not like he'll listen. He's just an angry, trigger-happy Assassin, like the rest of them."
"And I'm trigger-happy?"
"…well you shot me quite a lot when I was down. I'm lucky you were using a Predator on this reinforced armor."
Eleria conceded that point. She sighed and changed the subject. "What the hell was with that email?"
"Oh, that little love-letter?" Skarn said, and Eleria could've sworn he blushed. "My Biotic Aconitum..."
"Why are you calling me a poisonous plant!?"
Skarn only smirked and crossed his arms. He rolled his eyes at his own stubbornness and spilled it. "I was left rather breathless by your beauty and ability, for your rank. You're merely an Apprentice, and you took me down, leaving me almost literally breathless."
Eleria stepped back and grinned, "Ah, so you're not just saying that to make me lower my guard," she said.
"Well, if Garz found out, that'd be my halfassed excuse, but it would be halfassed obviously," the Krogan replied.
"…your pupils are dilated…"
"So I do have a concussion from Palaven."
"I did that?!"
"No. Garz did, I'm used to him beating me however. It toughens me up," Skarn sighed, letting his arms fall to his sides.
"How badly does he hurt you?"
"Enough to make a Field Goal Kicker jealous whenever he drills me with his foot, and enough to rival a ring-boxer with how hard he strikes me."
"That's disgusting," Eleria said, laying a hand on Skarn's shoulder, "Are you really okay?"
"I'll manage. If creating Order and Peace means putting up with his anger, I'll deal."
"You… are not like any Krogan I've ever met. You're quite well-mannered, actually," Eleria commented, giving Skarn a once-over.
"I've learned to keep it all on the inside. In fact, I've learned it's more terrifying to others to hold my anger back behind an air of refined behavior."
"…that's impressive, actually."
"You'd get to see more of it if you were a Templar."
"No. Your Order and 'Peace' mean giving up the freedoms I live for."
"It's a worthy sacrifice! I'm trying to save the Krogan race from itself!"
"And does Garz feel the same? This totalitarianism saves nothing. Templar methods and motives have kept Tuchanka away from its former self for millenia! Meanwhile I signed up to be an assassin strictly to give people the key to free themselves. I want them to have creativity, culture, and freedom of speech and thought!" Eleria shouted, pushing Skarn back against the wall.
He kept silent, and then, after a minute, he replied. "She's on the third floor, behind the blasted staircase." Eleria thanked Skarn for the directions, drew his pistol, and stepped back to monitor the Krogan and his unconcious brother.
Downstairs, Alexander had stashed the datapad and walked down to the third floor. He received a message from Eleria, confirming the location in the third floor. "Either we start digging or we use an explosive charge," he said to Graak, who began studying the debris blocking their path.
"A charge would just make it worse. We're not blowing down a door. She's jammed herself in this room pretty well," Graak commented, tearing a stone away from the debris pile.
Alexander shrugged and began lifting debris away with his biotics, occasionally throwing a shockwave into the debris to push it forwards. "You think she has an escape route?"
"Possibly!" Graak said, tossing a piece of stone behind him and into the wall, "But she can't run far!"
Alexander felt that they had thinned the barrier enough, and began pushing into it with a few shockwaves. Slowly but surely the debris was pushed forwards, falling in a landslide into the next room. Climbing to the top, he fell to a prone position and rolled into the room, which he found was lit by makeshift torches, seeing as how electricity wasn't a plausible luxury in a ruinous encampment. Irzia was standing by her desk. She sighed and picked up a pistol from the left side of the desk, turning and aiming the M6 Carnifex at Alexander's face. "Drop your weapons," she demanded.
"You're outskilled, outnumbered, and outgunned. Why am I to drop my things?"
"Because you are politically unknown. I am politically immune. By coming after me all of Tuchanka will reject your Brotherhood!" Irzia barked, firing a warning shot into Alexander's shoulder. His shields were reduced to half their strength and the force of the shot dislocated his left shoulder. He cursed in pain.
"Damnit! Your diplomatic immunity only goes so far! Jurdon's not a welcome clan around here, you know that? You attacked a female camp, for what!?"
Irzia admired the side of her pistol. "Strategy. The camp is a stepping stone away from the Urdnot capital camp. Once we take Urdnot, nothing can stop us from dominating Tuchanka, and reuniting the Krogan people. The females will be used for research and the children for training in the ways of the Vindicator."
"Admirable, your mind…" Alexander remarked, "But I can't let you get away with this."
Irzia watched as Alexander lifted his pistol back up with his one good arm. He shot the pistol out of her hand and smirked as it landed on the floor with a loud clack!
His finger tensed around the trigger once again as he held his aim to Irzia's face. She was beginning to look visibly nervous.
She held her hands up and, moving the burqa away from her face, she spoke. "You wouldn't dare shoot me while I'm pregnant."
Alexander's eyes shot open and the irises flashed the tell-tale golden color. Sure enough, he could see two silhouettes. One of Irzia, which was a bright red, and a purplish silhouette of an underdeveloped fetus in the pit of her abdomen, likely blue, but mixed with its mother's red coloration. His eyes returned to their ocean-blue hue and he holstered his pistol.
"You would be right about that. While there's no telling if it will be born without a heartbeat, our dossiers on you state that you have a higher chance of giving birth to living Krogan than others… Mordin will want to see you, as a matter of fact."
"I will come quietly, if only to preserve this child."
Alexander approached Irzia and motioned for her to turn. As she did, he took note of the slight bulge in her middle as he took her hands and held the wrists together. He looked down to his toolbelt and sifted through the pouches. He had nothing to bind her wrists. "Damnit," he said, drawing his pistol again and holding it to Irzia's back. "Just head upstairs, I'm behind you."
The two moved to the barrier, which Graak had continued to demolish. A final attempt at ramming it with his shoulder sent the rest of the debris away via landslide, clearing a path. "You're not killing her?" he said, holding his gun up to Irzia.
"I will if she attempts to kill us, summon reinforcements, or runs away. And I'm dead serious, but she's pregnant... again."
Irzia rolled her eyes and walked past Graak, heading upstairs where she found Eleria and Skarn talking. Her eyes stared flaming daggers at Skarn, and he narrowed his eyes in silent spite.
At that moment, John and his fireteam arrived. Wrex immediately marched up to Irzia and planted a fist in her face, knocking her to her hands and knees. Alexander aimed his pistol at Wrex, shouting for him to stop, and Wrex, Samara, and John pulled out their weapons, aiming at Alexander. Graak and Eleria raised their guns at John and his fireteam.
"Goddamnit that's two Mexican Standoffs today!" Alexander cried.
"What are you doing? Shouldn't we be killing her? She's a Grandmaster!" John shouted.
"I'm planning on bringing her to the Citadel to be held by the Brotherhood until she gives birth!"
Wrex's mouth parted and he stared Irzia down. He just hit a pregnant female. Of his species. "I'll make sure that assault bites you in the ass later, Urdnot," she sneered, getting up to her feet and holding her jaw.
Wrex backed away, slowly, putting his shotgun away as John and Samara stood down as well. Not a single word was spoken until the Normandy had deployed the shuttle and brought them all aboard, Skarn included.
Normandy SR-2, 2185
Mordin had predictably already set to work analyzing Grandmaster Irzia as Alexander, Kairee, John and Jane Shepard, Skarn, Wrex, and Miranda Lawson stood by, watching quietly.
"Interesting. Exactly the reason the Genophage had to be altered. Dossiers suggest partial resistance to Genophage. All childred born prior to today born healthy and alive… hasn't been affected by the alteration. Problematic, yet a relief at the same time. …I am conflicted."
Alexander crossed his arms as he leaned back against the wall. "Well, we're taking her to the Citadel to be held under arrest by the Brotherhood, at least until she gives birth. As for the child? I vote we take it and raise it, Masyaf style," he said. Irzia growled loudly, and then lifted her voice in a roar.
"You will not take this child as a trophy of your Brotherhood's victory! Even for you Assassin scumsacks, that is beyond low and immoral! The very reason I fight against you bastards!"
Alexander's eyes bulged as he reeled in mild fear. Miranda glared at the Assassins. "I agree with her, and not just because I am a proud Templar. That's disgusting, wanting to indoctrinate a child like that!"
"Isn't indoctrination your ultimate goal?" Alexander retorted. "One indoctrinated Krogan raised to fight those fighting for galactic indoctrination seems like a decent tradeoff!"
John and Jane took sides. Jane with the Assassins naturally, and John surprisingly supported Miranda. "No, the Assassins are about choice. Taking the will from one being is a cardinal sin by your Brotherhood's standards is it not?" John growled.
"Yes, but surely the son or daughter of a Templar Grandmaster would be used as a weapon against the Brotherhood. It would be better to remove him or her from that environment and raise it with love and genuine care instead of fear and basic child-rearing techniques!" Jane barked.
Kairee facepalmed and gestured to Jane. "We're not looking to indoctrinate the poor thing, we just want him, or her, to grow up away from the Templars. They're all going to want the child to kill Assassins and they're going to get violent and trigger-happy on the discipline to accomplish their goal! It only makes sense the child would grow up to fight for the Brotherhood!"
"Yes, but you have planted the seeds of your dangerous ideology in the child's mind! He will think he has a choice when he does not!" Miranda replied, pointing an accusatory finger at Kairee.
Wrex and Skarn had stayed out of the fight, and for good reason. They noticed the Salarian fuming.
"ENOUGH!" Mordin boomed, slamming a hand on his workbench. All eyes were on the Salarian scientist. "You both threaten to plague a child with unrealistic expectations and dangerous ideologies! Not healthy! Mother's blood-pressure reaching a spike! Child may be in danger! Only shouting to make a damn point!" he cried, jabbing a finger viciously in the direction of a vital-sign-monitor screen, "Assassins wish to raise child to fight Templars unaware of violation of their own philosophy! Templars wish to raise child to fight Assassins within their philosophy with the intention to work with abuse as a vitriolic means to an end! Both factions, dangerous for a child! Will take the child to an orphanage or Clan Urdnot!"
"Why Clan Urdnot? Why not Jurdon, its mother's clan?!" Irzia exclaimed.
"Equivalent to presenting child to Templars!" Mordin fired back, "Urdnot Assassin supportive, but adherant to Krogan customs! Child will be allowed to choose Clan upon coming of age!"
Wrex smiled and nodded, before grinning devilishly at Irzia, happy that he won in the end. He chuckled to himself and took his leave.
"And today, we learned that a silver tongue is valuable, but Silence is Golden…" John said, sighing and shaking his head before following Wrex out of the lab.
Jane and Miranda left for the briefing room with Skarn in tow, to figure out what to do with him. If Jane had her way, Skarn would be held for questioning by the Brotherhood, and if Miranda had her way, Skarn would be released.
Kairee and Alexander were all that were left of the debacle, save for Irzia and Mordin. "Leave now," Mordin sighed, rubbing the sides of his head, still breathing sharply in and out of his nostrils, "Interfering with my work, raising both of our blood pressures, feel like I'm going to pop an artery…"
Alexander and Kairee stepped out of the lab, meeting in the Armory. One look at Jacob said it all: they wanted to be alone for a moment. Jacob nodded and left the armory, headed for the Bridge. "Did you really believe that was a smart thing to say?" Kairee asked, a hand on her hip.
Alexander grew flustered, swinging his hands around like a confused monkey before placing them both on his hips and turning his back to Kairee. "You supported me!" he eventually whined, throwing his hands up and letting them fall back to his sides.
"Only because; 1. I love you, 2. I didn't want you to be alone in that argument, 3. I'm an Assassin as well," Kairee replied, rolling her eyes.
Alexander turned on his heels to face his girlfriend. "So you don't actually believe it'd be best to take the child away from the Templars?"
"Honestly, the best thing to do is to go with Mordin's suggestion," Kairee said, lifting an arm to gesture towards the door leading to the laboratory.
"Then you should have just said that!"
"Everyone had ideas that held weight. I just gravitated towards my own team is all. I don't strictly believe we should take the child for our own gain."
Alexander sighed into a facepalm. "Fine, fine! We'll pass the opportunity up! But where are we going to send Irzia?"
"We can take her to the Brotherhood to be held there. Camp Urdnot isn't secure enough to handle a Jurdon invasion to take Irzia back, and giving her to Cerberus will just land her back in her clan's arms. We're not keeping the baby though, and that's only assuming it actually lives!" said Kairee. "We'll keep an eye on the Grandmaster until then, though, okay?"
Alexander nodded and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "I'm sorry. I'm just… agitated, I haven't had anything to eat today, I've gotten into a fight with Kaidan over my past assassination contracts, two Mexican Standoffs, got choked by Garz, and expended almost all my energy on Eagle Sense and strenuous overuse of my biotics. I need food, and some sleep…" he explained. Kairee approached him and gave him a hug, "kissing" him on the cheek.
"Alright, I won't make you wait any longer, you go recover, mmkay?" she said as Alex kissed her on her own cheek.
"Sure thing, darling."
The two accompanied each other at the elevator parted ways between floors. Alexander went to the mess hall and Kairee went to visit her mother and chat with her down in engineering.
The mission had been stressful, but this was only a vague taste of the trials ahead.
