"It's official, you have to be one of the bravest humans I've ever met, or the dumbest, smallest krogan," Joxx told me.
"What makes you say that?" I asked.
"Well, the krogan have something we call blood rage. We'll keep fighting no matter what injuries we have, with little to no control over ourselves. If you're ever fighting a krogan and they enter a blood rage, it's best to just put them down quick, or run away."
"And this applies to me how?"
"You fight every battle like a krogan with blood rage. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but you don't have an extra set of organs," he pointed out.
"If it works, it works," I shrugged.
"What about when it doesn't work? There's an easy way to keep a krogan from entering a blood rage."
"And I suppose this is the part where you're going to tell me?" I snarked off.
"Cut off a limb. Something they see a lot. They'll start to panic, even though they'll probably be able to survive and get a prosthetic later or something. Just the thought of losing something you've had with you throughout your life, it messes with someone's mind."
"I can see your point. How does this apply to me, again?"
"I was just wondering what would happen if a varren bit of part of your arm or something," he said smirking, "You do know you're made mostly of water, right?"
"Shut up, Joxx."
-The Rayya at the Migrant Fleet-
"Tali'Zorah vas Neema, I see your mission to bring Veetor back was a success," a member of the admiralty board acknowledged her.
"Yes, Admiral Raan. There were some complications, though," Tali admitted.
"Yes, I would like to know why half the marines I sent with you are dead and you brought a stranger with you," another Admiral cut in.
"This is Captain Howard vas Trepidation," Tali introduced me, "and he is the reason so many of the marines came back. He is also here to testify on my behalf."
"What exactly happened down there?" Raan asked.
"We were investigating the colony when we ran into several Cerberus agents. They were also investigating the colony, and we parted ways to search on our own. Howard was sent by Humanity's System Alliance to investigate and met up with us. As we were talking, Prazza ordered the squad to run ahead and get to Veetor before the Cerberus agents could, against my orders. I'll let Howard take over from this point, as he got a firsthand view."
"Tali and I arrived in what looked like a cargo area," I began my recounting. "The quarians were under fire from a heavy Alliance issued mech that had been reprogrammed to attack on sight. The mech was tearing the squad apart, so I told Tali to get the wounded to cover while I distracted it. I then managed to draw its attention from the quarians using my biotics and later destroyed it with the help of the Cerberus agents. With all due respect, I'm not sure how your military works, but this is insubordination at the least, and treason at the worst in the Alliance."
"We operate on a similar military system," the male admiral informed me. "I am Admiral Han'Gerrel of the Heavy feet and I would like to thank you for your actions. We will persecute them to the fullest extent of our law," he strained out.
"If I may, the Migrant Fleet is very large, and you need all the protection you can get. Most of these soldiers are injured and will become sick from their suit breaches, from what I've been told. Perhaps a simple reassurance of chain of command will work," I suggested gaining a nod from Han.
"We will discuss this later. What form of compensation would you like for the service you have provided?" another Admiral asked.
"I didn't do this with any form of payment in mind. I was just doing my duty, sir."
"I'm Admiral Zaal'Koris, and we make good on our debts," he tried to persuade me.
"Alright then. I would like a more experience team assigned to Tali for protection," I answered, earning a sideway glance from her.
"I will personally pick them out," Admiral Han assured me. "But that does not compensate you."
"All I wish for myself is the friendship of the quarian people."
"That is something you will have then. You are always welcome to visit, Keelah se'lai," Admiral Raan told me. The sentiment was then repeated by the rest of the admiralty board.
"Keelah se'lai," I repeated the gesture. The crowd then began to clear out, leaving me Tali and a couple of the Admirals.
"You didn't have to do that, you know?" Tali said turning to me.
"Yes, I did. I can list on two hands how many friends I have, and you're on that list. Think of it as insurance for our friendship," I replied lightly bumping into her side as Admiral Han approached us.
"I just wanted to thank you again Captain, for not only saving those soldiers, but also keeping them from what was most likely going to be exile," he said as he extended his hand. I gripped it firmly and replied,
"It really is no problem. I'm just happy that they made it out alive."
"If you're ever exploring the heavy fleet, feel free to look me up," he said taking this leave.
"Auntie Raan," Tali greeted the other Admiral with a hug. "Where is Dad? Shouldn't he be here?"
"There was a problem with his ship and he was having to work on repairs. Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend here?" she replied.
"Oh, Howard this is Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay. She leads our Patrol Fleet and is an old family friend," she introduced the older quarian.
"A pleasure," I said nodding my head.
"Oh, no. The pleasure is all mine," Raan replied turning to look at Tali, who was edging her way away from us. "You wouldn't believe how many times Tali has told me about the fearless human who helped save the galaxy. She didn't mention how cute you were though."
"Auntie," Tali whined.
"In my defense, I was a lot less social back then. I only talked to Tali around a half a dozen times because I was going through some things. Nice to know I'm cute to quarians though," I said sending a wink in Tali's direction, causing her to stutter and walk away mumbling under her breath.
"Keelah," Raan laughed, "I haven't seen her that flustered since we told her she was being promoted to an agent. Good one Captain."
"Uh, I've got to be honest. I'm not a captain, only a commander," I said rubbing the back of my head.
"Our ranking system works a little bit different from your own. I assume you have your own ship?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"In our culture, running your own ship and crew gives you the rank of Captain," she explained.
"Yeah, I haven't saw it in half a year and I miss my crew. Oh, that reminds me. Is it okay if my ship docks with the Rayya? Just until I leave, of course."
"That is fine. You are always welcome in the fleet. Your crew will have to stay aboard, though."
"That's no problem," I said sending a message to the Trepidation on where to dock. "I suppose I should go stop Tali from sulking in the corner too long," I said with a chuckle. "It would be rude to just leave without saying goodbye."
"That is probably for the best, fly straight Captain."
"Same to you, Admiral. Keelah se'lai," I said walking to where Tali was standing.
"She's exaggerating, Howard. Whatever she said was a lie," Tali said as I approached.
"Wait, so I'm not attractive?" I said with a sad expression.
"No, I mean- You are- Ugh," Tali groaned as she saw me smile.
"I'm about to be leaving Tali," I informed her.
"So soon?" she asked dejectedly. "This is the first time we've saw each other in two years."
"I know, but I've got to get back to my crew and make sure they haven't ruined my reputation," I joked before pulling her into a hug. "It really was good to see you," I admitted.
"It was. Make sure you look me up if your ever around the fleet, okay?"
"I sure will," I said stepping away and putting on my helmet. I gave a wave and made my way back towards the airlocks, where I soon found my ship. It wasn't hard to notice a turian frigate amongst the other ships. Looks like they got a new paint job, wonder how they paid for that.
I put my personal code into the decontamination chamber and stepped onto the bridge only to be met with the entire crew standing there. Looks like a formal greeting party it is. I unsnapped my helmet and pulled it off, smiling at the crew.
"You act like I was dead," I joked.
"Mon amour, you came back to me," Blair shouted as she broke formation to pull me into a hug, much to Mira's amusement.
"Hello, Blair, fraternization isn't allowed on ships, remember?" I said snapping her out of her stupor.
"Of course, sir." She said snapping off a salute and heading back into the line.
"Hmm, real skin. Pupils dilated when you boarded, possibly neuro-chemical reaction to happiness. Slight signs of cybernetics underneath skin, seems to be integrating nicely. New armor, most likely compatible with cybernetics. Hello, Howard. Good to see you," Filben shot off like a firecracker.
"It's good to see you too everyone, back to your stations. Set a course for Omega, we leave immediately." The crew began to scatter until only a handful remained. All of which were familiar faces. "Nihlus?" I asked incredulously, "What are you doing here?"
"Someone had to keep your crew sharp while you were gone. Besides, I owed you one for saving me from Omega," he shrugged.
"You owe me more than one, Nihlus. I do appreciate it though," I said turning to Mira.
"How was it having your own ship to command?" I asked.
"Pretty relaxing, honestly. I don't know why you got so worked up about everything. Even managed to get some sleep lately," she said with a smile.
"Great, I've got a few things to look into then you'll be taking over the crew indefinitely," I informed her.
"What? What's going on that's important enough for you to just give your ship away?" she asked worriedly.
"Entire human colonies are disappearing. Normally I wouldn't care too much about it, but an old friend that I though was dead recently took interest," I informed her. "I'm going to Omega to check in on another associate of mine. I'm going to get some information then I'll be joining her for her mission. I'm not sure what's going on exactly, but it's dangerous. Dangerous enough that I'm making sure the crew is in good hands. Your hands, Mira."
"Affirmative sir," she said snapping off a salute. "We've got a few hours until we get to Omega. What are you going to do in the meantime?"
"Collect my weapons. You remember that request I put in before I left?"
"Yes, and I'm still not happy about it. Do you know how hard it is to get the schematics for a huntress' sword? I literally had to use half my favors in asari space to get it," she whined.
"But you got it?"
"Yes, I got it. The special order of weapons came in also. I've used some myself, and I'm really impressed. They sent something for you though, as a thank you for your continued patronage," she informed me. "Apparently some guy in a lab got the designs for a Prothean Rifle and decided to try it out. He finished the first model and realized the potential he had in monopolizing the industry in assault rifles. This would hurt the sales for Armax Arsenal, so they sent a team to retrieve the weapon and schematics. Apparently, the scientist refused to go without a fight and destroyed the data and half of the retrieval team. They managed to recover the weapon though and decided not to mass produce it. Their calling it the Particle Rifle. I'll have it ready by the time you leave, but you seriously owe me big time for this."
"Name a price," I told her.
"A good night of sleep," she said smiling.
"I think I can do that," I said making my way towards the Captain's quarter.
-Nightmare-
Gunshots peppered the team as we walked through the door to some kind of facility. Shepard fell immediately from the assault, her shields never standing a chance. Tali and Liara fell next. I stood out of cover, my biotics flashing, only to realize that no one was there. I felt something pulling on my pants leg and saw Shepard, bloody and pale, looking up at me.
"Why did you do it?" she asked as she died at my feet. My perspective suddenly changed, and I was watching myself tear through my friends like butter. They didn't die because they were beaten, they were killed because I attacked them without warning. They didn't even have their shields on.
"You know you liked it," came a voice from behind me. I turned only to see what looked like a reflection of myself. I leaned in close and it suddenly smiled, jerking me to the ground. "I don't see why you fight it so much. It would be so much easier if you gave in."
"Gave in to what," I asked.
"To your desire. Face it, you're a killer. You're not meant to be saving people." It said with that smile.
"Your wrong," I said lifting my pistol, "I'm what I choose to be," I said firing a shot into my 'mirror's' forehead. I blinked and suddenly Mira was there, slumping over. Dead.
"See? You can't fight it. It's only a matter of time before you lose yourself to the darkness," it said as it reappeared in front of me. "Let me show you!" It screamed, stabbing me in the eyes.
-Nightmare End-
I sat up quickly, a cold sweat covering me. Mira was sitting at the end of the bed, watching me carefully.
"Where are we?" I asked.
"We docked at Omega about an hour ago," she informed me. "I didn't think waking you while you were having a nightmare was a good idea. You did almost kill me last time," she half joked.
"That's fine. You uploaded the schematics?" I asked.
"Already in your omnitool. Here's the rifle too," she said tossing it in my direction.
"It's a bit small to belong to the greatest civilization of their time, huh?" I joked, folding it and sticking it to the magnetic holster on my thigh were the pistol had sat previously.
"You know what they say," she said as she stood and stretched, her shirt riding up, "Deadly things come in small packages."
"I'll believe it when I see it," I said picking up my helmet from beside the bed. "Take care of the crew for me, will you?"
"Understood. If you need us, just call. I'll at least send Nihlus," she joked.
"Gotcha. Feel free to leave this place when I leave. It's not safe for pretty little things like you."
"I'll make sure Blair gets that message too," she said as she pushed me out of the airlock and into Omega. The blast door closed quickly, and I made my way towards Afterlife. I needed to see an asari about some information. I climbed the steps, ignoring the guards protest, and sat down on the coach right next to the queen of Omega.
Aria's guards drew their weapons at me, and I slung my arm around her shoulders, earning what I assume is an angry glare.
"Now do you really think you can shoot me accurately enough with those things not to hit her?" I asked them. "Because if so, I want to see that happen."
My body was enveloped in the blue glow of biotics and I was levitated towards the other end of the couch. "Still as annoying as ever I see," Aria said as she waved her guards off.
"Is that how you treat an old friend?" I asked, putting my hand over my heart.
"I have no friends."
"Ouch. What's the word around Omega?"
"If you want gossip, go to the bartenders. I'm sure they'll be more than willing to amuse you."
"Ah, but there's the catch. I'm not looking for just any gossip, I'm looking for gossip that could come to the attention of Omega's queen," I poked.
"Hmph. A dead spectre showed up to get a salarian out of quarantine. Said she needed him for a mission," she told me.
"Anything else she was interested in?" I asked.
"She asked about a vigilante that's been causing trouble for the big three mercenary groups. He's gathered their attention enough that their working together to take him down. He's a turian that goes by Archangel."
"Any idea where I can find him?"
"They're openly recruiting bodies to throw at him. Go talk to the recruiter downstairs if you want to know more," she said motioning for me to leave.
"What, no payment for information?"
"The merc groups are causing a bit of trouble for me lately. I figured you'll pay me back soon enough."
"Right you are, Aria. Right you are."
-Timeskip-
"You've really got yourself into deep shit on this one, Garrus," I said as he popped another shot off at the approaching mercenaries. "And Archangel? That has to be one of the lamest names I've ever heard for a turian."
"It's better than calling yourself one," he snapped back. He reloaded his rifle and popped the head of an incoming vorcha. "Looks like they calmed down for the moment. You could help, you know," he said nodding his head towards the extra sniper.
"You've got it taken care of at the moment," I said dismissively. "Besides, I took care of that gunship on my way in. I believe I've earned some relaxation time."
"You only managed to do that much damage because I dropped its shields."
"Actually, I would've finished it off if it wasn't for you scaring the pilot away with that missed shot on the cockpit."
"Heads up," he called looking down his scope again. "Looks like their preparing for a major strike. There's a crowd of freelance mercs at the barricade."
"Any sign of Shepard?" I asked.
"I think it's safe to assume she's the one with the krogan and the women wearing a Cerberus logo."
"Ugh, she just had to bring Miranda along," I groaned. Garrus took a shot and killed one of the approaching mercs when an explosion sounded below. "There in the atrium. I'll go handle them," I said hopping out of the broken window pane. I landed between two mercs who looked at me stunned.
I grabbed both of their heads and smashed them together before turning to the group of mercenaries.
"Boo!" I said, and they opened fire. Laughing I slid behind cover and took out my rifle. I popped out of cover and fired at the first, cutting through the table he was hiding behind. Poor guy didn't even have a shield. I turned to aim at the second one when he was suddenly covered in an explosion of sparks. I turned to see Shepard aiming at me before lowering her gun in recognition.
"Please tell me you're not Archangel," she said with a smile.
"Nope, definitely not. Garrus might be upstairs with a few new scars though."
"Ha, I should've known. He did say he was going to do something to make a difference when I convinced him not to go back to c-sec. Did Tali make it back alright?"
"Yeah, she's fine. I even managed to convince the admiralty board to get her more experienced marines."
"That's a good thing. I'm actually putting together a team to- "she began before I interrupted her.
"Stop the collectors and save humanity or whatever. Do you ever take a vacation?" I asked wittily.
"Omega isn't a vacation?" she asked innocently.
"Ha, I guess it is. Head on up, you can bully Garrus for shooting at you," I said before turning to her other two squad mates. "Miranda," I acknowledged, "Still stuck up the Illusive Man's ass?"
"Howard," she gave her cold greeting, "still losing fist fights?"
"Ouch, that one hurt," I said looking at the krogan. He had to be one of the biggest I'd ever saw, except for Wrex of course. "What's up big guy, what brings you to this part of the galaxy?"
"I have no time for another squishy human," he said as he pushed past me. I looked over to Miranda and she smirked but followed him up the stairs. I followed too, watching Miranda as she walked. She may be a Cerberus bitch, but damn she was hot. We made out way into what I dubbed, 'Garrus' hidey hole,' and I decided to take a look at the extra sniper Garrus had lying around. It wasn't anything special, just a M-92 Mantis. I looked down where Shepard was looking and saw a recon mech. I slowed my breathing and pulled the trigger, blowing it's head off right before another shot hit it in the chest.
"Your getting slow, Shepard," I said cockily, putting another thermal clip in the sniper.
"We'll see who's the slow one," she challenged, hopping over the banister and heading towards the incoming crowd.
"Oh, you're so on. Miranda, cover us," I said tossing her the sniper. "You coming, big guy?"
The krogan just ignored me and gave a battle cry before running down the stairs to join Shepard. I shook my head and wrapped myself in biotics, picking out the merc Shepard was shooting at. I saw his shields drop and charged, probably breaking a couple of bones if the crunching noise is anything to go by. I was stumbled as an asari launched a warp, eating away at my barrier. I pulled out the particle rifle and opened fire, slicing right through a mech and into her shields. After about three seconds of continued fire, the beam on my gun tripled in size and ripped through multiple mercenaries before overheating. I stuck the gun away from me as it vented the steam it had built up and a salarian in front of me had his head blown off. The wave of enemies then started to fall back, and I took a look up towards where our snipers were. I gave Garrus a curious glance and he just shook his head and nodded towards Miranda, who was loading another thermal clip into the sniper.
"Hey, Shepard," I yelled, "I got fifteen. What about you?"
"Twelve," she mumbled.
"Ha, I got at least a dozen," the krogan said lifting his shotgun victoriously, causing me to facepalm.
"Hey big guy, 15 is more than a dozen," I informed him as he gave an angry roar. Seemingly mad that he was beaten by a human. Shepard gave him a pat on the back and made her way back up to Garrus, the two of us following closely behind.
"Welp, that's one merc group taken care of," I said happily as I sat on the couch.
"Do you think we could make a run for it?" Shepard asked before there was an explosion from below.
"They're coming in through the basement. They had to use their head eventually."
"We'll take care of it," Shepard said before telling the krogan to keep Garrus alive. There was another explosion and I realized that meant I had to go down there.
"Son of a bi- "