Shepard was going over the last dossier which contained information of a krogan warlord by the name of Okeer. He had fought in the Krogan Rebellions and was known for combat and strategy expertise.

The planner that he was riding on was controlled by the Blue Suns again only be described as a garbage planet. The place was covered in junk, but it was also the ideal place to hide they were already making their way down to the planet on the shuttle.

No sooner had they landed that they were fired upon.

"The dossier doesn't say if Okeer is on this planet by choice." Shepard glanced back at his companions. "Assume hostiles."

They started in, and he heard a voice come over the loudspeakers. "There is only one measure of success: kill or be killed! Perfection is your goal."

"Canned orders over loudspeakers?" Jacob shook his head.

"Stay focused. We're looking for a krogan warlord."

Shepard signalled to hold fire, then walked towards the wounded mercenary. "Shit. Shit! It won't stop bleeding…" The man started getting up. "I'm gonna…" He glanced up and saw them. "Son of a bitch!"

"Doesn't look that bad, actually." Garrus glanced at Shepard.

"He doesn't need to know that." Shepard shrugged

"I knew it wasn't berserkers. Not at range. You're mercs. Or Alliance. I'm not…" The man staggered a little. "I'm not telling you anything."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "I've got a nice application of medi-gel ready to go. But if you'd rather I just keep walking…"

"Son of a…" The man glared. "I just, I don't know anything. I just shoot the overflow from the labs. The old krogan up there, he's really been cleaning house lately." He glanced around him. "Jedore hired him to make her an army, but the krogan he creates are insane, so we use them for live ammo training. It's all crap; I don't get paid enough to goddamn bleed out!"

A voice came over the radio. "Outpost Four? Jedore wants us to move. We need coordinates on that krogan pack."

Shepard leaned towards him. "I want your friends got. Understand?"

The man gulped. "Uh, patrol? The last group… dispersed. Lost sight five minutes ago."

"Dispersed? Jedore will be pissed. She wanted a show."

The man grumbled. "You asked for a report, you got it. Dispersed."

"Understood. Returning to the labs."

The man looked up at Shepard. "There. You see? I'm helping."

Shepard narrowed his eyes. "Have you seen Okeer? Does he know about all of this?"

"We can't go in the labs, but everyone sees what happens when the krogan come out. I've shot hundreds. They're crazy. Mindless. Anyone up there, they know what's going on."

"If you start limping now, you might find a shady spot before you bleed out."

The man wasted no time stumbling away. "Shit. Shit."

"The scare was a nice touch." Miranda smiled glanced at the fleeing man.

"I thought so."

He held up a fist to stop the others from shooting as the krogan turned towards them. It approached Michael slowly. "You…" It stopped a pace away. "Are different. New. You don't smell like this world. Seven night cycles, and I have felt only the need to kill. But you…" It tilted its head. "Something makes me speak."

"Night cycles?" Garrus shook his head. "Seven days!"

"They must breed them full-size, ready to kill." Shepard looked the krogan over. Its armour was battered, but functional. Its face was hidden by the helmet. He was fairly sure krogan was male though. "Now much improvement over regular mercs if they need training."

"Bred… to kill." The krogan shook his head. "No. I kill because my blood and bone tells me to. But it's also why I was flushed from glass mother. Survival is what I hear in my head. Against the enemy that threatens all my kind. But I failed, even before leaving glass mother. That is what the voice in the water said. That is why I wait here."

"How can you speak if you're only a week old?" Shepard asked.

"There was a scratching sound in my head, and it became the voice. It taught me things I would need: walking, talking, hitting, shooting. Then the voice said I was not perfect and the teaching stopped. And now I am here."

Garrus looked to Shepard. "It was thought enough to be judged. We still don't know what the goal was, thought."

"I don't know, but I am not perfect."

"Okeer's voice? Did he speak to you while you were in your tank?"

"I heard the voice. Not like now, with ears. Inside. I called it 'father'. It like that. But it was disappointed. I am not what it needs need to be."

Garrus rubbed his chin. "A lab with krogans. Sounds like an attempt to cure the genophage."

The krogan shook his head. "Cure? Cure was never whispered. Survive. Resist. Ignore."

Shepard frowned. "How did you disappoint the voice?"

The krogan shrugged. "I don't know. It was decided before I left tank mother. I was not perfect."

"If mercenary was correct, krogan prone to mental instability," said Mordin.

The Krogan shrugged. "I don't know that. But I am not perfect."

Shepard shook his head in disbelief. "I destroyed Saren's cure. How does Okeer expect these krogan to ignore the genophage if not by curing?"

Garrus looked as confused as he was. "No idea. Doesn't look like he's had much success so far."

Shepard couldn't understand why this krogan listen to him, but not the mercs. "Can you show me the laboratory? I need to speak to Okeer."

"The…" The krogan nodded. "Glass mother. She is up. Past the broken parts. Behind many of you fleshy things. I will show you." He walked over towards one of the piles of wreckage, then grabbed a chunk of bulkhead. Shepard eyes widened slightly as the krogan simply picked it up and moved it out of his way. "Grr!" He tossed the metal aside.

"Glad he's friendly." Garrus clicked his mandibles.

"You fleshy things are slow when big things are in your way." The krogan stepped aside to let them pass.

"You could have run or try to fight your way back to the labs," Shepard frowned. "Why stay here?"

"I am waiting. The voice told me. If they came, I fight. But I will not run, and I will not follow. I am not perfect, but I have purpose. I must wait until called. Released."

Slowly, Shepard nodded. Then he drew his sidearm, and headed in.

They had to fight their way through several berserker krogan and Blue Sun mercs until they reach the lab. Shepard found an asari standing there and recognise them immediately.

"I shut down the security cams as soon as I saw it with you," said Rana Thanoptis. "Never thought I'd say it, but I'm glad it's you shooting up the place. Sorry. Rana Thanoptis. You let me go when you destroyed Saren's lab on Virmire. Had to outrun a nuke in a utility pod, but it's still a second chance."

Shepard definitely remembered her and narrowed his eyes. "I assume you have a good reason for being at this lab?"

"Don't worry, I'm not wasting the chance you gave me. My work here—strictly beneficial. Not for the mercs. Jedore's on a standard power trip. But Okeer is trying to do something good, I can tell. Even if his methods are a little…" She gestured to the corpses on her table. "Extreme. Everyone deserves a second chance. Right? And sometimes giving one pays off. I take care of my debts."

Maybe she knew what was going on. "What is Okeer trying to do here?"

"It's complicated. Jedore wants a private army, but Okeer mostly ignored her. He's running the project for his own reasons. I created a mental imprint routine to educate his tank-bred, but most don't get through it. He dumped them for some reason. He wants to help his people, but he's not looking for a genophange cure, and he's not going for numbers. That's all I know."

Shepard doubted that she knew any more part of him wanted to kill her, but she was unarmed and she had helped him. "Finding you in a place like this makes me think letting you go was a mistake. You don't want."

Rana nodded. "We agree on that. Don't worry, I plan on staying as far away from anything to do with you as possible. Now you don't mind, I'm gonna run like hell before you blow up the place or something. I know how you work."

Shepard stood aside as Rana walked out of the room.

"That's gonna bite you in the ass someday," said Zaeed.

"Believe me, I already feel it," Shepard.

They carried on through the labs and eventually found a krogan at his workstation.

He glanced at them. "Here you are. I've watched your progress." He turned toward them. "It's about time. The batteries on these tanks will not wait while you play with these idiotic mercs."

"I take it you're Okeer," Shepard guessed. "You don't seem particularly cage… or a grateful that I'm here."

"You may claim to be here to help, but the formerly deceased Shepard is not a sign of gentle change." Shepard remained silent. "Surprised? All krogan should know you. I'm sure Rana has already revisited your actions on Virmire."

He narrowed his eyes. Virmire was not exactly a place he wants to revisit. "I'm sure you're eager to retell the story."

"Such a tale!" Okeer gestured as he spoke. "Saren, the Spectre traitor, threatens the return of the krogan horde by curing the genophage, undoing the gentle genocide of the turians and salarians." He waved a hand. "But before Saren can deliver his endless troops, in rides Shepard, securing victory through nuclear fire. I like that part. It has weight."

"I did have a lot of room for finesse," Shepard pointed out. "Is there'd been any other solution, I'd have considered it."

"But I approve." Okeer walked toward him. "Saren's pale horde were not true krogan. Numbers alone are nothing. The mistake of an outsider, one these mercenaries have also made." He turned towards the window, lifting his hands. "I gave their leader my rejects for her army. But she grows impatient. It's time for you to take me out of here."

Mordin shook his head. "Personal issues irrelevant. Here for the Collectors."

"I see." Okeer turned back toward them. "Collector attacks have increased. A human concern. My requests were focused elsewhere." He looked toward a tank which contained another of the krogan. "I acquired the knowledge to create one pure soldier. With that, I will inflict upon the genophage the greatest insult an enemy can suffer. To be ignored."

"Your search for the perfect soldier created a lot of failures," Shepard pointed out. "You don't care about them?"

Okeer scoffed. "I failed no one. My rejects are exactly what Jedore asked for. She simply lacked the ability to command. They are strong, healthy and useless to me. I need perfection. If a few thousand rejected, so be it. My work will purify the krogan. We will not be restored—we will be renewed."

That explained why the krogan talk to him, he knew he had the authority of command. However, Okeer was not acting like normal krogan he had met. "I thought the krogan ideal was a return to the numbers that threatened the galaxy."

"We will not need numbers. My soldier is a template. It is a great threat than all the phantom siblings that would have been at its flank. The galaxy still bears the scars of the horde. But it will learn to fear the lance."

"Your methods are extreme, but you know how to deconstruct the threat," said Shepard reluctantly. "Will you help us?"

Okeer rubbed his chin. "Perhaps I can strike a deal to secure passage. But my prototype is not negotiable. It is the key to my legacy."

Before Shepard could reply, a voice came over the loudspeakers. "Attention! I have traced the krogran release. Okeer, of course." Okeer went to the window and looked out, shaking his head at whatever lay on the other side. "I'm calling 'blank slate' on this project. Gas these commandoes and start over from Okeer's data. Flush the tanks!"

And gas started coming in through the vents.

"She's that weak-willed?" Okeer walked to a console. "She'll kill my legacy with a damned valve!" He looked over his shoulder. "Shepard! You want information on the Collectors? Stop her. She'll try to access contaminants in the storage bay."

"You could just start over, like she plans to. What's the big deal?"

Okeer shook his head. "This tank is pure. It involved as much trial as data. Starting over will not duplicate it. It must survive." Okeer looked toward the tank again. "Jedore will be with the rejected tanks. Kill here. I will…" He leaned on the tank. "Stay and do what must be done."

They encountered Jedore and mercs had to fight her and several crazed krogan at the same time. To make matters worse she had unleashed a heavy mechs that was shooting everything in sight.

"For once I wish these missions went off without a hitch," said Shepard as he fired over his shoulder.

"At least it keeps things interesting," said Garrus killing a merc with his sniper rife.

"Sometimes I wish for quiet life," said Shepard as Jacob slammed a krogan against a wall.

Mordin managed to take down the heavy mech with some freeze ammo and cause a big enough explosion knocked several mercs off their feet. Zaeed fired his pistol killing two krogan with just two shots. Shepard finished things off by killing Jedore once her shields were down.

"All clear," said Shepard.

EDI's voice came over the comm. "Shepard, the lab alarms coincided with a systems failure. The remaining lab systems are unprotected, and I have gained limited access. According to lab scanners, the room is flooded with toxins, and Okeer's personal life signs are failing rapidly. I recommend haste."

They started moving.

"You gave me time, Shepard. If I knew why the Collectors wanted humans, I would tell you." Okeer's voice came from the recording. The warlord himself lay unmoving on the ground. "But everything is in my prototype. My legacy is pure. This…" The voice coughed. "One soldiers, this grunt. Perfect."

Shepard looked over the tank. Garrus shook his head. "Why would someone so fanatical sacrifice himself for one krogan?"

"Delusional." Mordin shook his head. "Unlikely one krogan, however strong, could have impact Okeer wanted. Am…" Mordin tilted his head. "Almost certain."

"Comforting."

"Suggest leaving it." Mordin shrugged.

"I understand your concern with krogan, but a 'pure' krogan could pack a hell of a punch." Shepard touched the tank. "We can always use another heavy hitter."

"If he'll help," said Garrus crossing his arms. "I don't anyone's asked for his opinion."

Shepard reach for his radio. "Normandy? Okeer is a no-go. But we have a package that needs retrieval." He looked back at the tank. "And he's a big one."

Miranda was pacing. "Bringing the krogan in for study makes sense, but I have concerns about waking it."

Jacob looked across the table at her. "Yeah, you've said that a few times now."

"A normal krogan is dangerous. This one was created, and likely educated, by a madman."

Shepard folded his arms. "I see everyone's enjoying the new paperweight. Concerns?"

"We don't know anything about it, Commander." Miranda put a hand on her hip as she turned to face him.

"I know. You don't find that interesting?"

"Krogan fight well at close quarters. Perhaps waking him in a confined space wouldn't be prudent," Miranda advised.

"Noted." He let his arms fall to his sides. "The cargo hold is safe enough while I decide what to do with him."

Shepard made his way down the cargo hold and found the tank with the krogan inside.

"The subject is stable, Shepard. Integration with onboard systems was seamless," said EDI.

Shepard examined the tank. The krogan inside was at least as big as Wrex, though the fact that the head plate hadn't fused together left him wondering if it'd yet reached full growth. "Can he see anything in there? Does he know where he is?"

"Unlikely. Current neural patterns indicate minimal cognition." EDI's voice answered. "Barring ship-wide power loss, the nutrients in the tank could sustain him for over a year."

"Stand by. I'm going to open the tank and let him out," Shepard warned.

"Cerberus protocol is very clear regarding untested alien technology."

"He's either a very powerful addition to the crew or a time bomb. I'd rather deal with it now."

"Very well, Shepard. The controls are online. The switch—and the consequences—are yours."

He took a deep breath, and hit the switch. Fluid flooded out of the tank, and a few moments later, the krogan fell to the ground. It coughed up the liquid before rising. The krogan narrowed his eyes, and then bull rushed Shepard into the bulkhead. "Human. Male. Before you die, I need a name." His elbow pressed into Shepard neck.

"I'm Commander Shepard, and I don't take threats likely. I suggest you relax."

"Not your name. Mine. I am trained. I know things, but the tank…" The krogan shook his head. "Okeer couldn't implant connection. His words are hollow. Warlord, legacy, grunt…" The krogan nodded. "Grunt. 'Grunt' was among the last. It has no meaning. It'll do." He narrowed his eyes at Shepard. "I am Grunt. If you are worthy of your command, prove your strength and try to destroy me."

Krogan diplomacy. Fine, he could work with that. "Why do you want me to try to kill you?"

"Want? I do what I am meant to—fight and reveal the strongest. Nothing in the tank ever asked what I want." He slowly nodded. "I feel nothing for Okeer's clan or his enemies. That imprint failed. He has failed." Grunt shrugged. "Without a reason that's mine, one fight is as good as any other. Might as well start with you."

"I have a good ship and a strong crew, a strong clan. You'd make it stronger."

"If you're we can choose weak enemies, I'll have to kill you," Grunt warned.

"Our enemies are worthy. No doubt about that," Shepard assured.

"Hmmm. Hmph. That's…" Grunt nodded. "Acceptable. I'll fight for you."

"I'm glad you saw reason." Shepard shifted the pistol in his hand, where it was pressed against Grunt's ribs.

Grunt looked down at it, and then laughed. "Ha. Offer one hand, but arm the other." He released Shepard and stepped backward. "Wise, Shepard. If I find a clan, if I find what I…" Grunt shrugged again. "I want, I will be honoured to eventually pit them against you."

Shepard then went down to the hold to see how Jack was settling in.

"What are you up to?" he asked.

"Still checking out your ship," she said getting to her feet. "Wouldn't mind putting her through her paces when you're not around."

Shepard frowned. "I doubt Joker would appreciate that. At least not while we're working."

"Relax." Jack then leaned against the wall on the far end of the hold. "Joy-riding doesn't have the thrill it used to. Besides, if I wanted it, I'd take it."

Shepard narrowed his eyes. "That so?"

"I've been around. Ran with gangs, wiped out some gangs, joined a cult." She then gestured to her bold head. "Kept the haircut. I learned how to survive and not be a victim."

"It's hard to imagine you in a cult," Shepard frowned. "That usually involves a lot of rules."

"I was looking for answers. Drugs and sex and going to a better place." She shook her head. "A better place… right. It was all about money. They wanted to take the colony, shake the suckers down to fund their spread. And guess who was their ace in the hole? They were just like the rest. Didn't give one shit about me."

"What did you do with them when you found out?"

Jack raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you think?"

Shepard didn't want to know. "You must admit some good people, too."

"Everybody wants something. And because of that, everyone is fair game. Murder, assault, kidnapping, drugs, stealing, arson. Done it all. And that's the boring shit." Shepard merely shook his head. "Piracy, theft of military craft, destruction of space station and vandalism. That was a good one."

Shepard just merely blinked and began to wonder if it was a wise decision to release her from her prison. "Did you ever wonder if you could have done things differently?"

"No."

"Shouldn't you?"

"There's no reason not to be alive, but I am." She then turned to face him allowed her eyes. "You know why? Instinct. It works for me so far and I'm not going to change."

Shepard was about to leave, but Jack spoke up. "Hey, Shepard. No one's ever asked me about this shit. It's strange to talk about."

Shepard can continue to walk. "It usually is."

Ashley sighed as the newly replaced module failed to work. It had to be sabotage. There was no possible way that many bad parts could happen to be shipped. She rose, and went looking for the colony's leader.