Disclaimer: Mass effect and the Halo franchise are property of Bioware and Bungie respectively. I wouldn't be able to stand the constant hate letters and recon requests.
Chapter 10
The Warlord
It had been six hours before the Normandy had made it to their destination, during which the Commander spent her time reading over the Dossier of her next recruit.
'Dr. Okeer
- Millennia of combat and strategic experience
- Rumored familiarity with Collector technology
A brilliant and brutal krogan warlord who fought in the Krogan Rebellions, Dr. Okeer has become obsessed with saving the krogan people from the genophage and is believed to have contacted the Collectors in an attempt to gain technology to that end. He is currently in a Blue Suns camp on Korlus, though the nature of his relationship with the mercenary group is unknown.'
Though the Krogan's credentials were impressive, a Krogan warlord was not exactly something she would have liked to have on the ship. But if she wanted to take down the Collectors, she would need to employ his help. There was also the information the Doctor could possess about Collector technology, which could prove valuable against the Collectors. With that said, the Commander was still suspicious of whether the doctor could be trusted.
"Commander, we are approaching Korlus. We will be entering orbit in two minutes." EDI informed over the speakers.
The Commander walked down the CIC to the elevator, promptly entering the cart. In the closed space, she took off her helmet and inspected it. The Kestrel Helmet was her replacement for her Recon hood, since her encounter with the Spartans a day ago it had sustained a considerable amount of damage. Since the goggles were broken and the chin guards were cracked, the hood was left in the care of Jacob along with the rest of her armor she had worn during the mission. As a replacement, she wore the full Kestrel Armor.
Descending to the ship's Hangar, the Commander put her helmet back on, and entered the room where her party had been awaiting her.
Exiting the elevator cart, she was greeted by Garrus and Master chief, who was standing ramrod and saluting. Garrus looked very annoyed by the Spartan's presence, but eased as the Commander neared.
"At ease," the Commander ordered the Spartan.
The Spartan let his raised arm fall back to his side, but he still stayed in his rigid stance. The Commander sighed; the Spartan's own discipline was beginning to annoy her. As the squad entered the stationed Kodiak shuttle, the Commander felt an uneasy tension come from her Turian squad member. She had perceived such discomfort from Garrus before, as he had been more wary of the Spartans even before they had gotten onboard the ship. Though Garrus had been more unsettled around the Master chief in particular. For this reason the Commander had considered taking someone else, but had decided to take the Master Chief instead.
It was not out of displeasure with her colleagues, but in a way to analyze the Spartans combat skills individually, without having to be on the receiving end of their rifles. Shepard could have taken any of the other Spartan, but she had her own reasons for taking the Master Chief. For one, she felt uneasy around Noble six and she wary in trusting him. Noble five's heavy fire support would be needed else where as was Noble four's close quarter skills. Noble three was not needed, as Garrus was already proficient with ranged weaponry.
Noble two and one seemed more like a commanding element; something she felt would conflict with her decisions. All of the Spartans would have their chance to prove themselves, but for now, the Master chief would be the first.
The Commander let her eyes refocus on her teammates in the dim light of the shuttle. The protruding butt of the gun the Spartan currently had latched onto his back made Shepard what type of gun the soldier had. It was odd how all of the Spartans used gun models the Commander had never seen before. Were they specifically made for the super soldiers?
"Commander Shepard we are within the planet's orbit." EDI announced over the Normandy's speakers.
With that, the Shuttle began to descend out of the Normandy's hangar.
The Kodiak shuttle dashed over the mounts of debris that the layered the planet's surface. From the reports the Commander had read about the planet, Korlus was a haven for mercenaries, and the planet was used as planetary scrap-yard at one point. As the shuttle swooped under a towering arc of scrap metal and made it's decent toward a clear platform, the Commander wandered why the Krogan doctor would want to be on filthy planet like this. A question that would be answered when she found him, she supposed.
The side door to the shuttle hissed, letting the cabin decompress before allowing the squad out. Immediately as the doors opened, the three soldiers ran for a shuttle for a pile of debris and ducked for cover.
"The dossier doesn't say if Okeer is on this planet by choice, assume hostiles." The Commander ordered as the shuttle flew off.
As the squad walked out from cover, a loud voice range over a set of loud speakers.
"There is only one measure to success: Kill or be killed!"
"Loudspeakers? Someone likes the sound of their voice." Garuss quipped.
"Lets stay focused, we're looking for a Krogan Warlord." Shepard said.
The group moved up and around a large mass of debris, sights scouring the area for movement. The Large Spartan covered the team's flank as they made their way passed scattered pieces of metal, the inner layer of a ship's hull protruded from the mounds of rubble. The entire area was deserted, something the Commander would have suspected if not for the loudspeakers the blared from over them.
"Being hired is only the beginning! You must earn your place in the mighty army we are building!"
Shepard silently groaned as the voices incessant ranting started to wear on her nerves. While ascending up a mound of scrap metal, the Commander spotted three figures of blue and white against the bland brown background of a pillar.
"Look sharp!" The Commander barked, but by then they had already been spotted.
A barrage of slugs peppered the ground and debris as the squad found cover behind the scattered rubble. Pulling out her pistol, the Commander could already hear her squad return the mercenaries' fire. Moving from cover, the Commander lifted her pistol and fired at one of the trooper. Three direct shots to the abdomen disposed of one of the men, his body falling as his comrades tried to find cover. The sound of a shot from a sniper rifle rung in the Commander's ears, and the sight of a pink mist from one of the soldier's skulls caught her attention.
As his comrade's body crumbled into a heap onto the ground. The last of the blue suns panicked, turning on his heels and running away. Shepard smirked, getting out of cover to pursue her fleeing target, but she was deprived of the chase as a slug hit the trooper's shoulder making him fall down.
"Tango down." The Master chief stated as they to move up.
The Commander was impressed: from their position at the bottom of the hill, a clear shot looked impossible to make, and the Spartan proved her wrong. Though, the look on Garuss's face looked more displeased than happy.
As the team moved to the top of the hill, Shepard notice the blood marks that went from the top of the incline, down to the other side. The trooper had to endure rolling down the incline before being stopped by a broken ship thruster, where he lay clutching his leg on the ground.
As they approached the wounded trooper, they could hear him mutter and curse to himself.
"Won't stop bleeding." The Trooper said through labored breaths, "I'm gonna, I'm gonna—son of a bitch!"
"The wounds aren't life threatening." The Spartan informed.
In truth, the trooper had only sprained his ankle and broke his nose on the way down the down the hill. Besides, the shot to his left shoulder, he was relatively fine.
"He doesn't need to know that." The Commander smirked.
Approaching the Blue sun, the man had struggled to his feet swearing to himself.
"I knew it wasn't berserkers. Not at range. You're Mercs. Or Alliance…" the Trooper growled, but groaned in pain, "I'm not…I'm not telling you anything."
It seemed he needed more incentive then three heavily armed soldiers to make him speak.
"I've got a nice application of medi-gel ready to go." Shepard showed her activated omni-tool for emphasis, "But if you'd rather I keep walking…"
The Trooper paused for a moment, contemplating whether to speak. But after analyzing the huge green goliath behind the Commander, who was watching his every move, he was quick to reconsider denying the woman.
"Son of a…I just, don't know anything. I just shoot the overflow from the labs. The old Krogan up there, he's been really cleaning house lately." The Trooper said, " Jedor 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 to goddamn bleed out!"
The Commander was going to ask another question, but before she could the trooper's radio was activated.
"Outpost Four? Jedor wants us to move. We need coordinates on that Krogan pack."
Shepard grabbed the trooper by the collar of her armor, making him stare directly into her helmets visor. Even through its black tint, the orange glow from her eyes showed the black.
"Well be a good little soldier, and give your friends some direction." The Commander said in a low, malicious voice.
"I…I don't have the info they want. You showed up before I could get my regular sightings." The Trooper replied.
"You can either give them the coordinates, or get shot. Your choice." The Commander said, putting a hand over her pistol.
The Trooper's eyes widened in shock, but the Commander got her message across.
"Patrol, uh, pack sightings east of station two? Yeah."
"Copy. East of two." The radio relayed before deactivating.
"Son of a bitch!" the Trooper exclaimed, "They'll run blind into Krogan."
"Not my problem." Shepard dismissed, "Now if you start limping now, you might find a shady spot before you bleed out."
Turning around, the Blue sun limped away, cursing under his breath.
"I'm pretty sure he had that coming." Garuss smirked.
"My thoughts exactly." The Commander concurred.
Motioning the squad to follow, the Commander motioned for the Squad to follow her. Moving from their position on the hill, the Commander spotted a shadow come behind a pile of debris. Stepping into full view, three Blue suns stepped out of cover.
"Intruders!" a Blue sun screamed.
Detaching her assault rifle from her back, the Commander began shooting back the mercenaries along with her squad. Suddenly, the Master Chief charged forward and tackled a Blue sun. Caught off guard, the other two mercenaries were left venerable to both the Turian and Shepard. As the two Blue Suns were ripped apart by hot slugs, the Master chief had smashed the trooper into a scrapped ship hull nearby; the sound of the crushing bone and bending metal could be heard from the Commander's position. The trooper, press against the wall and the Spartan's body, was crushed under the Spartan's weight.
As the Commander watched the Blue sun's lifeless body fall to the ground, she noticed Garuss position himself between herself and the Spartan. His body was tense, and he seemed uneasy as the Master Chief looked back at them.
But as the Spartan began walking towards them, he stopped suddenly in his tracks and withdrawing his sidearm. Perplexed, the Commander moved around the Turian to see what was wrong, but stopped when a slug hit the ground next to the Spartan's feet.
Turning, the Spartan raised his gun and fired off two rounds before bolting around the corner in front of the squad.
"Let's move!" Shepard order as she ran after him.
Rounding the corner of rubble, the Commander was met by a rain of slugs. Running forward, Shepard ducked low under debris as the slugs continued their onslaught. Lifting her head slightly from around cover, the Commander could see the Master chief two feet ahead of her. Further ahead of the squad was high ledge with Blue suns laying covering fire. Throwing himself into cover next to the Commander, Garuss crouched low to the ground.
"Commander?" Garuss questioned, looking at the Commander expectantly.
"Okay, the Master Chief is up ahead of us. I need you to lay down some covering fire so I can get to him." Shepard said.
Garuss nodded, "Understood, I've got your back."
The Commander nodded, inching her way to the corner of debris. Garuss, waited for a moment, his sniper rifle in hand. The Commander lifted her hand into a fist, giving the signal that she was ready. The clenched fingers in the Commander's hands spread out showing an open palm. In one smooth motion, Garuss got out of cover and began laying suppressive fire with controlled shots. As soon as he did so, all of the Enemies fire was directed at him. Now was the Commanders chance; running out of cover, the Commander sprinted toward the Spartan's position. A Blue sun had noticed the Commander's movement and had taken aim, but he was soon met with a slug round through his skull.
Sliding into cover, the Commander repositioned herself into a crouch next to the Spartan.
The Spartan was barley covered by the debris he was behind, and his shields would periodically flare as slugs grazed his armor. Facing the Commander, the Spartan did not utter a word, but the Commander knew he acknowledged her presence. He was waiting for orders.
"Master chief, Lay down some suppressive fire on the two mercs on the left." Shepard ordered.
"Yes Ma'am." The Spartan acknowledged.
Standing up, the Spartan took aim, and began firing at the Blue suns on the ledge. Shepard soon followed, firing her assault rifle at the Blue suns to the right. Under the controlled fire, the Troopers quickly ducked behind cover. The Commander grinned, even though they had the strategic vantage point on the ledge, the mercenaries were too disorganized; wasting ammunition while the squad was behind cover. With her squad, they controlled their rate of fire, and only fired when the enemy looked out of cover, or returned fire. This repeated action had killed many of the mercenaries who were not quick enough to get back into cover. The vast difference in skill gave the squad an advantage.
The firefight was short, and soon the Squad was moving again. The Commander led her squad down a ramp to their right and onto to ground level.
The path in front of them was very narrow path with bits of cover spread out at key locations. Though there were no signs of life, a large armored body lay in a heap on the ground. Kneeling down to examine the corpse further, the Commander recognized the Krogan physiology.
"We must be on the right path," Shepard said calmly, "That Blue sun said that Okeer was sending deranged Krogan out of his labs. So the more Krogan bodies, the closer we are to the labs."
By the fresh blood marks on the Krogan's armor, it was clear it had died recently. The Commander looked around the path, and then up where a catwalk overlooked the ground. A slight coloration of blue set off the Commander's instincts. Withdrawing her pistol, She first to precise shots at the thin barriers covering the railing.
"Gah!" A voice screamed.
Now alerted, the Spartan fired at the Catwalk. In moments two loud thuds sounded from the catwalk. Through the paneling, droplets of blood seeped through the cracks. The Commander gave an approving nod while Garuss scowled.
"Move up." The Commander ordered.
Hours later, after many close encounter with Blue suns, it had become clear that they were getting closer to Okeer's labs; Krogan bodies and Blue suns became more abundant, and the sight of higher-ranking Blue suns was a clear indication of how close they were, if anything. But the Commander still had one thought plaguing her mind, with as many Krogan bodies as there were, the squad had yet to encounter a living one.
Shots from around a large pile of debris pulled the Commander out of her shots. Shepard quickly popped a heat sink from her assault rifle, preparing herself with another battle. Leading her squad forward, the Commander moved behind the debris into a clearing. But what greeted her sight was not something that she had been expecting. A lone figure stood out of cover, shoulders jerking from the recoil of his shotgun, never flinching from the slugs that rained down around him. A large Krogan in crimson armor fired slug after slug at six Blue suns on a ledge over looking the courtyard. Shepard quickly motioned her squad to take cover, unnoticed by the Blue suns up on the ridge.
Motioning towards her Turian teammate, Shepard gave the signal. In moments, the Blue suns were pressed into cover as slugs flew over their heads.
Combined with the Krogan's shotgun fire, the mercenaries' numbers quickly diminished. Shot in the head, the Last Blue sun fell from the ledge and onto the ground. With the mercenaries dead the Squad moved toward the Krogan cautiously. But the Krogan did not move, its head still looking at the ledge as if expecting more mercenaries to come. The Squad was but a foot away when the Krogan turned with its shotgun returned to his back. The Commander understood the gesture, and holstered her assault rifle.
As the Krogan neared them, the Commander signaled for the squad to lower their weapons. Even if this Krogan was deranged in any way, it was pacified now. She did not want anything to cause it to become violent again.
Sniffing about the Commander, the Krogan spoke, "You…are different. You…you don't smell like this world." The Krogan backed away, "Seven night cycles, and I have felt only the need to kill. But you…something makes me speak."
"Night cycles? Seven days!" Garuss said in surprised.
"He must know something about this, if he survived this long." Shepard reasoned.
"Survive. Yes, I must survive, but not here. Not against these fleshy shapes. I must survive against the enemy that threatens all my kind." The Krogan said, "But I failed, even before I left glass mother. That is what the voice in the water said. That is why I wait here."
"Do you know where the laboratories are? I need to speak to Okeer." Shepard asked.
The lifted his head suddenly, as if hearing the others name struck something within him.
He nodded, "The…glass mother. She is up, past the broken parts. Passed many of you fleshy things. I will show you."
The Krogan moved towards a large metal covering on a far wall, bullet holes covered its exterior. Loosening his muscles, the Krogan gripped the metal and pulled back. Slowly, the Krogan lifted the covering up and threw it out of the way, showing a hidden entrance behind it.
"Glad he's friendly." Garuss commented as they approached the entrance.
"You fleshy things are slow when big things are in your way." The Krogan reasoned.
"Why don't you come with us, help us get to the labs?" Shepard asked.
The Krogan shook his head, "I cannot."
This confused the Master chief, " So you don't want to fight?"
"I will fight if they come, but I feel it deep that I must wait. I kill, but only here."
The Krogan turned away from the group and walked back to where he was standing during the fight the had happened only moments prior.
"I am not perfect, but I have purpose. I will wait until called. Released."
As the squad walked through the newly made entrance, the Spartan took a final glance at the Krogan. He found it curious how a creature would subject itself to such a limited capacity. To kill, but only to await death or release seemed like a meaningless existence.
The Master chief turned back to follow the rest of his squad, leaving the Krogan to await his fate.
Author's note: It has been awhile since I've posted a chapter but I think this makes up for it. Between performing in a musical competition in my string ensemble, to winning first place excellent: it feels good to start writing again. Strangely enough, having a writer's block also encouraged me to get through it.
Anyway, I think this chapter is not one of my best works, feels a little rushed in some areas. But oh well, nothing that really is striking at me as odd at the moment.
Speaking of which:
There are two major announcements that warrant your attention, dear readers, and that is that there was a huge rewrite of the previous chapters. So, for those who have yet to see the rewrites, please, go check them out.
Secondly, and this is a whopper, I AM CURRENTLY SEARCHING FOR A BETA READER FOR THIS STORY!
That's right, I am looking to hire! So if you would like to help in the creation of By Sheer Volume and make it better, please message me with the title "Get hired, Get fired". We will have a brief interview and, hey, maybe you'll get picked.
And for those wondering; no, you do not need to reach the set requirements to be a beta reader. That is why I am having an interview. (Though they could really help).
I hope you liked this chapter, and continue reading as more chapters are posted.
Where monetary units are not accepted, reviews are highly appreciated.
Nyan Nyan,
Bleachedcookie