Welcome to Chapter 13 of Guns and Poems, a Femsheply(also FemShep/Miri) Fic! Finally wrote enough for the 3,000 word standard I've set for myself since Mass Effect 2 is Massive. I intended the hell out of that pun by the way. Covering Grunt's awakening and Jack's recruitment, along with things going on outside of Shepard's mission, with Operation's Chief Williams, the newest Spectre. Enjoy.
"I won't be second guessed on my own ship, by my own ship, just open the damn tank EDI!" Kallen growled. Some nerve that AI had, telling her that Cerberus had protocols she had to follow for untested Alien tech. It was a Krogan not a computer and Kallen had her own special way of dealing with Krogan. The tank drained itself and opened to let in the air from the cargo hold. The Krogan fell out onto its knees and coughed up some of the liquid nutrients that were in the tank and stood up, towering over Kallen like a lion would over a rabbit. It's eyes closed forcefully a few times, then after emitting a loud roar, it picked up Kallen and slammed her against some crates.
"Oh god!" Kallen yelped.
"Human…Female" the Krogan said in a husky grumble. "Before I kill you, I need a name."
"Commander Kallen Shepard. Put me down or I'll kill you." Kallen hissed, pushing against the arm that was pressing against her throat.
"Not your name, mine." The Krogan responded, "There were words floating around in the tank. Warlord, Legacy, Grunt. I like that last one. My name is Grunt. Fight with me, and I will determine if you're worthy of being an Ally."
"Why do you want me to destroy you?"
"Want? No one ever asked me what I wanted."
"Well I'm asking you. Why do you want to die?"
"Die? At your hands? The tank has imprints on weak points on the human body, less than a finger deep to sever your spine, area's where joints are-"
"Then prepare to die!" Kallen pulled the trigger on the pistol she had at the Grunt's abdomen. He emptied the six shot thermal clip, whacked the Grunt between the eyes with the butt of the pistol, then hit him with a half powered Reave that dropped him to a knee. "Stand down. Or I'll unleash a hell that's twenty times worse on you." Kallen put the barrel of the pistol right under the Grunt's jaw, full clip that was ready to be unloaded in his brain.
"Hmmm. You offer one hand and arm the other. No hesitation. Biotics. I will serve under you Shepard. No questions asked."Grunt's breathing was heavy, and he was obviously regenerating after being hit with Reave.
"Good, I was worried I'd get Krogan guts all over my nice clean Cargo hold." Kallen lowered her pistol.
"If I find a clan, I'll be happy to compare them to you when the time comes." Grunt nodded and, almost as if Kallen was having a flashback, leaned against the tank like Wrex did in the Normandy SR-1's hold. Kallen laughed to herself as she exited the hull then thought that it was time to pay Miranda another visit.
"I've got more questions." Kallen said upon entering her XO's office.
"What would you like to know?" Miranda asked, once against closing her activities to give Kallen her undivided attention.
"I want to know more about you" Kallen sat down in one f the chairs by Miranda's desk.
"Well I guess that's fair. I've spent two years learning everything there is to know about you. Well I should start by saying that I've had genetic modifications. I heal twice as fast and I'll live half again longer than a normal human. Throw that in with the best training money could buy and you can see why I'm so high up in Cerberus."
"Sounds like you're perfect"
"Not really. I'm still human and a make mistakes. They're rare but I still make them." Miranda said with a shrug.
"So everything about you is altered? Even your looks?"
"Yes, if it gives me an edge I have it."
"and that's why you wear super resistant jumpsuits into combat?" Kallen asked.
"It's mostly for movement. Alliance Special forces with biotics wear something similar to this so that their movements aren't hindered and they can remain stealthy without worrying about their armor clunking around. I do appreciate you showing an interest in my outfit Shepard."
"Well it's hard not to. Why'd you join Cerberus?"
"Well…I guess I should tell you. I didn't have a normal birth. I was created in a similar process as the Lazarus project, from my father's DNA although he altered his chromosome to make me a girl. He was ruthless. Every time I completed one of his difficult tasks he'd give e one twice as hard. I only had a small part of normalcy when he ran out of Ideas. When I grew to be old enough, I escaped and The Illusive Man saw my talents and recruited me. He's protected me from my father ever since."
"My god. No wonder you're really abrasive."
"Excuse me!" Miranda shot Kallen a glare.
"What? Now I understand why you were so abrasive before we went to freedom's progress. You don't trust easily. I can understand that now."
"Oh...well, you've earned my trust Shepard. I might not like all of your decisions, but I trust you. I've actually had concerns about you not trusting me."
"Are you going to give me a reason not to trust you?" Kallen asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well no, but you seemed abrasive yourself of Cerberus. I want you to know that everyone on this ship will follow your orders, even if we have to go against Cerberus." Miranda gave Kallen a soft smile.
"You sure?"
"Quite sure. I say that as a fact because I just received a message that one of our Cell's has gone silent. The Illusive man has asked that we divert to it and investigate it or possibly destroy it."
"I'll think about it. I'm not some lackey who just drops everything for Cerberus. Not saying you are but you get it." Kallen crossed her arms, "You've proved yourself to be worthy of the XO title, I just hope you can keep that up, because I will replace you if I find someone else to be better suited for it."
"You mean like Ashley Williams? Is that why you want me to find her so desperately, so you can replace me with her?" Miranda growled.
"What? No. Ashley's great and I love her, but she'd hate me if I had her filing reports and managing the crew. She'd be in the armory with Jacob most likely. They were both alliance so they'd work well together." Kallen leaned forward, resting her head on her hands.
"Oh, well…good." Miranda said, stammering from making a wrong guess.
"Relax Miranda .I may not like you that much, but you're good at your job." Kallen smirked at her XO, obviously happy to finally have her out of her comfort zone. "Dismissed Lawson, back to work."
"Yes Commander." Miranda sat back down at her desk and Kallen went back up the CIC,
"Joker how close are we to Purgatory?" Kallen asked from the Galaxy map through her Omni-Tool.
"We're 5 minutes from a Relay, we can be there in Ten minutes."
"Crap, I better get ready. I'm taking Grunt and Mordin."
"Commander…who's Grunt?" Kelly asked.
"Oh the Tank bred Krogan. I woke him up, kicked his ass, and now he answers to me." Kallen said as if she was describing a meal with a friend, and was shocked to see the look of awe on Kelly's face. "I suggest you give him a session when we get back, also tell Jacob we need another shotgun and assault rifle." Kallen stepped into the elevator to get her armor and weapons ready and to read the dossier for Jack one that she'd never forget.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Be-BAM.
Ashley slammed her hand on the off button on the alarm. 12:30 PM EST Earth time. With a soft groan she rolled out of the bed, taking in the Intai'sei afternoon. Day 5 of her 7 days off and still no Kallen. Had she gotten her message? Was she just not responding? Ashley checked the status of the message she sent and it read "pending" meaning it was either unread or hadn't been sent. Ashley was enjoying he down time, even if it was alone. She hopped into the shower and slipped into a find flashback when the water hit her.
"God I love your ass" Kallen said, her voice hushed. She and Ashley were on their Two week Shore Leave after the battle of the Citadel currently they were enjoying a shower after their morning workout. Kallen was actively groping the Gunnery Chiefs buttocks, something that went unprotected.
"You may have mentioned that" Ashley giggled as the water soaked her skin. "We could knock one out right here, if you want"
"I love when your hell cat side comes out" Kallen almost purred, "Come here"
Ashley had to shake herself out of the flashback, as to avoid extreme disappointment should Shepard not show. Once she was finished cleaning herself she flipped on Galactic news to see if anything new was happening with her old Commander.
"Report's are coming in about the destruction of the prison ship Purgatory. Distress calls indicate that there was a riot. Recently obtained security footage shows a blurry picture, but the figure in the footage has visible red hair. Some experts say that this is the recently returned Commander Shepard, whose Red Hair is an identifier for the Butcher of Torfan, known to strike fear in pirates and slavers. When more facts become available we will bring them to you. For Citadel News net on the GNC I'm Emily Wong."
"Kallen destroyed a Prison? What would she need with a Prison?" Ashley thought as she dropped her towel to get dressed. Once she was in her casual wear she opened her mail account and nothing from Shepard. A Message from her family congratulating her on her promotion to Spectre was though. Ashley appreciated it, even all the "your father would salute" that made up the majority of the message. Ashley decided to break on of her communication rules and become a pest. Every random thought she could think of she pilled into message after message, all heading towards Kallen's spectre account. Messages including:
"I miss you."
"Are you eating enough?"
"Shepard, I'm so Horny come get me!"
"As a Spectre I order you to come see me, now!"
"Why do you ignore me like this, you bitch!"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that, come see me!"
Half an hour passed before Ashley stopped sending messages, deciding that whatever was keeping Kallen from receiving her message would have a hard time keeping them from her.
"Goddamn it! What has gotten into her?" Miranda thought as Messages from Ashley flooded the Cerberus databanks to be read. "She knows something's up, I've got to stall" Miranda thought while furiously clicking the delete key for every message that showed up under Ashley's name. Another Message popped up in a different folder, this one from Shepard. Miranda's heart nearly jumped through her chest. Did Shepard get one of the messages? Could Miranda have slipped up and selected clear? She opened the commander's Message and saw it read "Debriefing Jack in 5. Comm. room, now." Miranda let out a long breath through her nostrils out of relief and finished deleting the flood of Messages from Ashley before heading up to the debriefing room.
"Welcome to the Normandy, Jack." Miranda said upon entering. "I'm Miranda, Shepard's second in command. On this ship we follow orders."
"Tell the Cheerleader to back off Shepard." Jack snarled," I came because of our deal."
"Right, Miranda can give you full access. Now we just need to know where to put you."
"Somewhere near the bottom, away from everyone else, I think its better that way." Kallen had to hand it to Jack. For someone with incredible destructive force, enough to make Grunt sound like a child at his first sporting event, Jack was brimming with confidence. What she was confident is, though, was a mystery. Kallen hoped they wouldn't kill each other down in the hold and headed back to her Cabin. When she opened up her terminal there were three messages waiting for her. One from Mordin's assistant about the Clinic, one form Emily Wong asking for an interview, and, "Ooo new weapon! The Arc Projector shoots a bolt of electricity that travels from target to target effectively eliminating platoons with a few shots…Miranda's idea huh? Well now I really hope Jack doesn't kill her." Kallen checked the messages off as read and then decided to turn in for the night, old people time around 4 PM Earth EST.
"You're completely authorized." Miranda sighed in the AI Core as Jack picked up a pile of data pads and left for her spot in the hold. Once she was back in her office, she had a fresh message from the Illusive man.
"What's with the bombardment of Messages from Ashley Williams?" the message read.
"She's been promoted to Spectre and wishes to see the Commander immediately" Miranda wrote back then waited for her instructions.
"Maintain separation."
Miranda sighed. Honestly the Illusive Man, for all his talk about humanity, must have forgotten how to be a human. You don't separate people who are in love; it's a distraction more than anything. Orders were Orders though, no matter how terrible they were. Miranda almost felt herself envy the connection between Ashley and Kallen. She'd been so wrapped up in Cerberus that the last time she'd had a meaningful relationship, it didn't even seem meaningful at the time. "Snap out of it." Miranda said to herself.
"25…26…27" Ashley grunted, during her evening workout in the miniature gym she and Kallen installed in the apartment. She was on the one armed push up portion, the last part after squats, leg lifts, her combat movements, and her sit ups. "28…29…30…31!" Ashley let out a heavy sigh as she relaxed and laid on her stomach. She wasn't going let herself go due to becoming a spectre, if anything she was going to make sure she was better than her new peers, including Shepard. When she got up Ashley turned on Citadel news again for more reports on Shepard's sighting on Purgatory. Two analysts were debating on whether or not she was there as a prisoner or to recruit someone. The turian analyst went onto say "It's obvious Sheppard is taking a path similar to that of The late former spectre Saren. He went into the traverse to recruit Krogan mercenaries, and the Geth. Next thing you know she's appearing at the relays with a fleet of ships and attacking us with her new prototype warship. Is ay we mobilize the Spectre's to capture and interrogate her so we can cut the head off the Varren before it bites."
"That's not what this is at all." The Salarian analyst responded, "She ended up blowing the place. There was probably a prison break and as we've known Shepard to do, she solved it. The solution was the blow the place, and if you see the footage here, "The analysts disappeared and were replaced by footage of prisoners turning from the guards to shoot as Shepard along with two other blurry figures progressed through, mowing down anyone who was dumb enough to turn their weapon in her direction. "She's obviously fighting for her life and the inmates didn't stand a chance against her team. There's no reason for her to be interrogated when she stops dangerous people from escaping into the galaxy to commit wrongs, just like she did with the batarian terrorist Balak who she stopped form destroying the human colony of Terra Nova."
"That's right" Ashley thought. She'd been on the squad that went to Asteroid X57.
"Human, you've done nothing" Balak coughed as he stood against the crate that Shepard, Ashley, and Liara drove him to during their firefight. "Soon your colonies will be burned to the ground and the Batarian rebellions will begin!"
Kallen raised her shotgun to Balak and fired once past his head.
"Is that it? It will take more than that to stop me. I know who you are Shepard, just do like you did on Torfan and kill me."
Kallen holstered her shotgun and pulled her Sniper off of her back and put a round through Balak's knee without the scope.
"AUGH!" he yelped, "I see, I'm the leader here, so you're going to do the same thing you did to Korunus fill him with lead so he dies in immense pain. It's not how I wanted to go, but I've got nothing left to lose."
Kallen picked Balak up and slammed him through the crate. Before he could register the fact that the crate was actually made of study materials, Kallen was elbowing him in the face with the technique of a Champion cage fighter. She gave off small grunts, no yelling like on Torfan when she entered close quarters, just cold precise strikes to his temple, rib cage, and the wound on his leg. Kallen hauled him over to the trailer where the other injured batarian had been and slammed his head up against it. "You bitch" Balak wheezed before being slammed, front first, onto the floor. Kallen shot him in his other leg with her pistol then tossed it to Liara before putting Balak in a 20th century wrestling move called the Sharpshooter.
Balak's screams of pain echoed through the facility. Kallen's face remained idle as she leaned back to increase the pressure on her hold as if it was like practicing on a training dummy.
"Shepard, I think that's enough!" Liara said, inching closer to her commander. "Shepard." She called again, not even so much as a glance from Kallen, "Shepard that's Enough!" this time she got her attention. "this is madness, he's unable to fight back and yet you continue to abuse him. This isn't right. You're already going to leave him for the Alliance and he cannot escape. Stop this, please!"
Balak's screams continue as Kallen stared at Liara. Finally, she released the sharpshooter, leaving Balak on the floor breathing heavily. Kallen walked up to Liara and grabbed her by her collar. "If you ever question my methods again, you are off my ship. Do you understand me T'Soni?"
"Yes Commander." Liara said, obviously not enjoying being on the wrong end of Kallen's glare.
"Ashley, signal joker to call in a ship to pick this piece of shit up." Kallen said, letting go of Liara.
"Yes M'am" Ashley said while activating her Omni-tool.
"I pity those prisoners" Ashley sighed. She turned away from the news to get her mind off of her lover, her absentee lover.