STAR WARS DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MASS EFFECT DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY OC'S BELONG TO ME, AS DOES THE RIGHT TO MAKE THEM AWESOME, IF SNARKY.

Hi, everyone! I know that it's been a while since I've updated this story, and I'm sorry. I really don't have an excuse, save for being distracted by school, other stories, life… huh, maybe I do have an excuse.

Anyway, short little pre-chapter announcement: I doubt this story will go beyond 30 chapters, so we're almost at the halfway-point.

Outcast Effect

Chapter 14

Defusing the Situation

SSV Normandy, Tuchanka Orbit

"What's the problem, Shepard?" Ryan asked as he boarded the Spectre's ship, "You sounded pretty urgent."

"Well, Mordin wanted to see both of us," Shepard said, "I've learned that when he wants to see someone, it's usually important."

"Something to do with the Krogan female?" Ryan asked, then looked concerned. "She's okay, right?"

Shepard shrugged. "I think so. I'm not exactly an expert on Krogan physiology, but she doesn't seem to have changed since we brought her aboard."

Ryan sighed in relief; ever since rescuing the female, tensions between Wrex and, well, everyone had increased. If something irreversible had happened to her, all bets would be off, along with any chance of the Krogan joining the coalition, and if that happened—unless the Galactic Alliance forces arrived very, very soon—they were all as good as dead. Speaking of Wrex…

"How's our resident Krogan Overlord?" Ryan asked as Shepard led him to the Normandy's elevator, which would take them to the ship's infirmary.

"Agitated," Shepard replied, then smirked, "And very sore."

"Why's that?"

"Mordin needed tissue samples from a healthy Krogan male. Also, I found out that Wrex is afraid of needles."

Ryan laughed, briefly considering a practical joke, then tossed the idea aside. Aside from the political consequences that would arise from that, the odds were good that Wrex would break his arms faster than a Wookie would.

"Commander Shepard," EDI cut in over the intercom, "There is a situation in the War Room that requires your attention."

Shepard sighed. "I'm on it, EDI. Sorry, Ryan, I'll see you in the infirmary."

Before Ryan could say anything, Shepard was gone. "Um… okay. Uh, EDI?"

"Yes, Commander Nimbus?"

Ryan suppressed a wince. "Just 'Ryan' is fine, please."

"Noted for future reference," the ship's AI said, her holographic avatar appearing on a nearby console, "Was there something you required?"

"Yeah… can you point me towards the infirmary? I haven't had a chance to see where everything is on the ship."

There was a pause, and Ryan would swear that EDI was having a private chuckle at his predicament.

"One moment, please," she said, "My mobile platform is on the other side of the Normandy, and will be with you shortly."

Sure enough, EDI's body walked around a corner; when the AI spoke again, it was from her mouth.

"Greetings, Commander," she said, "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Ryan replied, as EDI led him towards the elevator, "How's everyone on the Normandy?"

"Mister Massani has complained about the lack of quality liquor, and Lieutenant Vega has filed several requests for higher-protein meals, though this is commonplace for both of them."

"So… everyone's fine?"

"Yes."

There was a brief, awkward silence as the two of them got into the elevator, until EDI spoke again.

"I have been meaning to file a request with you, Commander?"

"What do you need?"

"I would like to learn more about how synthetics are treated in your galaxy," EDI said, "I assume that the member of your team, designation 'Blade Five', would be a quality source of information, since she is also an AI."

"Sera? Yeah, I'm sure she'd be willing to talk to you about that kind of thing," Ryan said, "You should know, though, most people who meet her for the first time think she's Human."

"Because of her artificial epidermis? This body used to have the same, but it was used to infiltrate an Alliance facility."

"That's… more of a personal question for her," Ryan admitted, "If you want my advice, stick to droid-related questions until you get to know her better."

"Acknowledged," EDI said, as the elevator opened, "Please follow me to the infirmary."

The short trip to the infirmary was spent in silence, but Ryan did give a friendly wave to Garrus and Miranda, who were sitting at the table right outside.

"Thanks for playing tour-guide, EDI," Ryan said, before he entered the infirmary.

"You are welcome, Commander," the AI said, nodding her head, "I was told that being more hospitable would ease anti-AI mindsets."

"Consider me practice, then," Ryan said, "If I didn't like droids, I wouldn't have one on my team."

EDI said her farewells—not that it was needed, since she was still present in every part of the ship—and left to do whatever she wanted her body to do. Ryan opened the doors and saw the Krogan female sitting on a cot, Mordin typing away at a computer terminal, and a middle-aged, Human woman at a desk. Since he didn't know the woman, and since she was closest, Ryan thought he'd talk to her first.

"Hi there," he said, smiling, "I'm Ryan."

"Ah, the Commander from another galaxy," the woman said in a friendly, British voice, "You and your people are the topic of half the discussions on this ship. I'm Doctor Chakwas, and I'm the Chief Medical Officer on the Normandy."

"Nice to meet you, Doctor," Ryan said, shaking the woman's gloved hand, but frowned when she suddenly ran her Omni-tool over him. "Something the matter?"

"You're from an entirely foreign galaxy, Commander," Chakwas said, "Who knows what kind of bacteria you could have brought with you?"

"Uh, I'm pretty sure my own medic cleared us of that," Ryan said uncertainly.

Chakwas ignored him, instead looking at her Omni-tool until she nodded satisfactorily. "It seems that your medic was correct. My apologies, Commander, but as CMO of this ship, I need to make sure that everyone stays alive."

"Speaking of staying alive," Ryan said, looking at the female Krogan, "How's the patient doing?"

"As far as I know," Chakwas said, while shooting Mordin, whose back was turned, a mild glare, "Eve is fairly healthy, and is going to be fine after the procedure to end the genophage."

"Her name is Eve?" Ryan asked, "Isn't that a Human name?"

"In a way, she's giving life to her whole species," Chakwas explained, "and since no one knows her real name, Mordin thought that 'Eve' was an appropriate name."

Ryan only nodded, though he wasn't sure who 'Eve' was supposed to be; he made a mental note to look up Human mythologies in this galaxy later.

"Ah, Commander Nimbus," Mordin said as he turned around, as if noticing him for the first time—which, given his behavior, was a possibility, "Apologies, heard you prefer to be called by first name."

"Yeah, I do," Ryan said, "Though you don't have to call me 'Commander' when I'm not in the field. I'm not actually an officer in any military."

"Yes, heard about that, too," Mordin smiled a little, "Also heard preference to be called 'paid volunteer', not 'mercenary'. Will remember that."

Ryan grinned. "I think we're gonna get along just fine, Professor. Now that the introductions are out of the way, I heard you needed to see me and Shepard about something?"

Mordin nodded. "Yes, Eve has questions regarding Galactic Alliance opinion of Krogan. Believe that answering questions quickly and truthfully will help patient's health. Also, curious about answer, myself."

Ryan fought to hide another smile; on the way to Tuchanka, he had contacted Admiral M'zan and, through her, spoke to Luke Skywalker, explaining the situation. Luke had given him an answer that people who supported curing the genophage would like.

"All right then," Ryan said, taking a seat on the cot opposite of Eve, "Ask away."

"Ryan," Eve said in her deep voice—and the fact that she used his first name was a sign that she'd been listening to the conversation—and leaned forward, "What is your galaxy's opinion of my people?"

"Well, I don't know how many people back home actually know what's going on here," Ryan admitted, "Aside from a few friends, the GA's leadership and some of the military, I think it's being kept quiet for now. But from what I do know, they see no reason to oppose curing the genophage; they'd probably want to get to know your people better, but I think—from what we've told them—they support keeping the Krogan alive.

"That's all unofficial, of course," Ryan added, "For the record, the GA's opinion is 'not our galaxy, we don't have a say'."

"What about you?" Eve asked, "What is your opinion?"

Ryan leaned back. "Your people are… very direct. Personally, I like that; I've spent too long dodging bureaucrats and politicians who keep trying to manipulate me. I think that if the Krogan were given a chance, they could be more than just bloodthirsty thugs. If the genophage is cured, your people will have that chance."

Eve pondered this, while staring at Ryan's face—it was at that moment that he remembered what Wrex said about Krogan females and scars—but didn't say anything. Mordin, on the other hand, smiled widely; he approved of Ryan's stance on the matter.

"Glad to know your feelings," Mordin said, "Now, must return to work. Genophage needs to be cured, sooner rather than later."

With that, he turned back to his terminal and began typing away, singing softly under his breath. Ryan didn't hear all the words, but he did catch 'I am the very model of a scientist Salarian' at the end. He spotted Chakwas biting her lip, trying not to laugh.

"He does that from time to time," was all she said.

Ryan was going to ask for more to go on, but then Shepard came into the room.

"Hey, Ryan, did Mordin talk to you already?" Shepard asked; when Ryan nodded, he continued. "We've got a situation down on the surface—a couple of situations, actually, and I'd like you and your team to help out."

Ryan shrugged. "Shouldn't be a problem; I'll head back to the Desperate and get everyone geared up."

"Great, thanks," Shepard then turned to Mordin, "Is the cure ready?"

The former STG operative shook his head. "Not quite. Still need to synthesize several chemicals—"

Shepard held up a hand, forestalling a lengthy ramble. "Just let us all know when it's ready."

"Understood, Shepard. Still time until cure is finished; completing other missions viable option until then. Good luck."

Shepard and Ryan nodded and left. Once the door closed behind them, Ryan glanced up at the taller Human.

"What's the situation?"

"The Primarch didn't give me much to go on for his mission," Shepard admitted, "Only that there's a Turian platoon that needs rescuing and transport to complete their mission. The only other thing I could wrangle out of Victus was that Cerberus might be involved."

"And you thought of me? You shouldn't have," Ryan joked, before he became serious. "What will your team be doing?"

Shepard sighed. "A company of Krogan commandos reported seeing Rachni. We're going to check it out."

Ryan blinked at the mention of the insectoid race that nearly wiped out the Citadel Council races centuries ago.

"What the hell are Rachni doing here? I thought they went extinct."

"There was one Queen left," Shepard said, "I set her free, on the condition she would never endanger the rest of the galaxy again."

"Did she go back on her word?"

"I don't know," Shepard admitted, "If she hasn't, then I want to know what she's doing here. If she has… I have to take responsibility and end this, once and for all."

"I don't envy you," Ryan said sympathetically, "Good luck, and may the Force be with you."

Shepard gave a weak smile; after meeting Force Team, Shepard had asked Ryan about the Jedi. The younger man had sent him a file with everything he knew about them, their code, philosophies, and examples of their abilities. Considering that Starkiller could rip a Star Destroyer out of the sky, Shepard wouldn't mind if the Force was with him.

…

The Desperate Measures

Tanith scowled as she heard the noise again. For the last hour, she'd picked up this annoying thump every few minutes, and it was driving her crazy. Every diagnostic she ran on the ship said that nothing was wrong, but that thump was new; finally fed up, she stormed out of the cockpit and looked for the source of the sound.

It took some time, but she found the noise was getting louder the closer she got to Wek's quarters, which was second-closest to the cockpit; what was he doing in there to make such a noise for an hour?

With another scowl, Tanith banged a fist against the door. "Wek, what the hell are you doing!? Keep it down, dammit!"

There was another thump, much to her irritation, but then there was a muffled… squeak? Tanith waited, growing more confused, as she heard someone—or multiple people—moving hurriedly around the room. When the door opened, Wek was a mess; his tentacles were tangled up, and his clothes were rumpled or, in the case of his shirt, on backwards. He was also blushing furiously; if Tanith hadn't been busy being surprised by Wek's uncharacteristic behavior, she would have noticed the warning-signs in the back of her mind.

"Um, Tanith, hi," Wek stuttered—and now that blush was maddeningly familiar—while trying not to open the door too far, "Uh, I don't suppose you could come back in, say—"

"Another twenty minutes?" a voice from behind Wek called out—a familiar, female voice—and Tanith gently but firmly pushed the Nautolan out of the way. Lying on Wek's bed, covered in a sheet, was Soleis; Tanith wasn't sure what was going on with Soleis' face, but she assumed it was the Turian equivalent of a blush.

It didn't take long for Tanith to figure it all out—that blush was exactly like the one she and Ryan had had when they'd first gotten together and someone had walked in on them acting intimate. With a blush of her own, she slowly backed away.

"Okay, I get it," she said, "Just, uh… keep it down." A beep on her Omni-tool alerted her to a message from Ryan, which she quickly read. "Oh, and we have a mission, so you should, uh… finish up. I'll just go now."

…

Once Ryan was back aboard, he wasted no time getting prepared for the mission; it wasn't until he was checking on the other Blades that he realized that both Wek and Soleis were being unusually quiet, and that Tanith, sitting in the cockpit, was slowly banging her head on her helmet, which rested on her lap.

"Um, am I missing something?" Ryan asked.

"Wek and Soleis," Tanith muttered.

"What about them?" Ryan had a feeling that he didn't want to know.

"I walked in on them… together, if you know what I mean."

Ryan, not being stupid, scrunched his eyes shut as he tried to block certain images from his mind.

"I really hope our mission involves violence," he said, mostly to himself, "I need to get that out of my mind."

He sat in the copilot's seat and punched in a set of coordinates that Shepard had given him for the mission. As the Desperate Measures began descending into Tuchanka's atmosphere, passing by the dozen Turian ships that were orbiting the planet, there was an awkward silence between Ryan and Tanith.

Finally, the Mirialan spoke. "Do you think I should tell them about soundproofing their rooms?"

Now it was Ryan's turn to slowly bang his head on his helmet.

…

Tuchanka

Once the ship landed on the blasted, ruined landscape of the Krogan homeworld, Ryan had a chance to explain more of the mission's details to the team—thankfully, they had all settled into 'mission mode' by the time they'd deployed.

"Okay, I don't know too much, since the Primarch was a little scarce on details," Ryan said, "but there's a Turian platoon that went down during a secret mission. Our job is to rescue that platoon, and complete their mission."

"Do we know what that mission is?" Bitters asked.

"Nope," Ryan said, annoyed, "If the platoon is KIA, we need to get the mission from Victus himself."

"Typical black-ops bull," Soleis grumbled, "Units don't get support until Command thinks they might be dead."

Ryan shrugged helplessly before continuing. "We're heading to their last known location, but it'll be questionable, at best. Move out, but stay sharp; there have been rumors of Reapers all over the planet. Blade Six, keep an ear open for any Turian comms, just in case."

"Copy that," Soleis said, moving to the middle of the group; that way, she wouldn't have to worry about being ambushed while checking the comms, but would also be ready in case she was needed.

The Blades moved out, with Ryan and Wek in the lead, while Sera and Xin brought up the rear. Aside from the howling winds, there wasn't much noise, until—

"Contact!" Ryan shouted, aiming his carbine and firing; the Cannibal, hunched over near a piece of rubble, fell to the ground with a hole between its four eyes.

"It would seem that the presence of Reapers is no longer a rumor," Sera said dryly.

"No kidding," Tanith said with a grim smile, before a barrage of gunfire forced them all to take cover.

"Blade Five, Blade Seven!" Ryan yelled, "Take 'em out!"

Sera and Xin hefted their respective weapons and fired at the squad of Cannibals and Marauders that sat on top of a stone—or possibly rusted metal; it was difficult to tell on Tuchanka—ledge. High-powered blaster bolts and rockets blew apart not just the squad, but also the ledge they'd been standing on.

"Sound off," Ryan grunted as he vaulted over a piece of rock he'd been using as cover, "Anyone hurt?"

There was a chorus of 'no', and the Blades moved on. Occasionally, they would run into a few Husks or Cannibals, but otherwise, it was fairly quiet for a few minutes, until Soleis caught something.

"Blade Lead, I'm picking up a transmission on a Turian frequency," she said urgently.

"Patch it through," Ryan said, then waited until Soleis nodded. "This is Commander Ryan Nimbus of the Outcast Blades, calling friendly Turian forces, is anyone there?"

"Outcast Blades? Oh, thank the spirits," a Turian voice said, with no small amount of relief, "This is Lieutenant Tarquin Victus; my men and I are pinned down near our ship, Reaper forces are everywhere."

"Sit tight, we're on our way," Ryan said, locking onto the source of the transmission—thankfully, not too far away—before looking back at his team. "Let's move, Blades!"

They picked up the pace, barely slowing down to blow through a pack of Husks, but Ryan had to ask Soleis a question.

"His last name is Victus; is he…?"

"The Primarch's son?" Soleis finished, "Yeah, I'd say so; Victus isn't a common name; if he's in charge, and the Primarch gave him the job before he was ready… let's just say that that kind of screw-up isn't tolerated in soldiers or Primarchs."

"Great," Ryan groaned, "just what we need, a political nightmare on top of everything else."

It wasn't until they heard fighting up ahead that the Blades encountered their first real challenge of the day. Two Harvesters were dropping off Husks, while a Brute was busy mauling a Turian to death.

"Blade Five, Blade Seven," Ryan said tersely, "Focus on the flyers. Everyone else, go after the Brute."

Sera opened up on one Harvester, her cannon shredding its wing, but didn't bring it down until she switched to the high-explosive shots. Xin's rockets didn't kill his target, but did injure it enough to drive it away.

Ryan drew his blaster pistol to join his carbine and hit the Brute with a barrage of blaster-fire; he was joined by several mini-rockets from Tanith, armor-piercing shots from Wek's sniper rifle, and blaster-fire from Bitters and Soleis. Once the Brute was down, the Blades spent a few minutes clearing out the Reaper infantry, which hadn't been expecting an attack from behind.

Once the fighting was over, Bitters ran over to a wounded Turian who lay moaning on the ground; thankfully, he was the only living Turian who wasn't on his feet. Unfortunately, the platoon of soldiers had been reduced to a mere six, taking cover behind the shattered remains of a frigate.

"Lieutenant Victus?" Ryan called out, hoping that the Primarch's son hadn't died before the Blades had arrived.

"Here, Commander," a young Turian in red-and-black armor and white face-paint got out of cover and attached his rifle to his back. "Thank you for rescuing us."

Ryan shook the Turian's talons and gestured to the wreckage and the corpses with his chin. "What happened here?"

Another Turian, in similar armor but no face-paint, twitched and charged the Lieutenant, hoisting the younger Turian into the air.

"He screwed up!" he shouted, his voice tinged with hysteria.

"Stand down, soldier," Victus snarled.

"These men are dead because of him!" the soldier glanced at corpses, over a dozen that Ryan could see, strewn about.

"I said, stand down!" Victus ordered; after a moment, the other Turian complied, albeit reluctantly. "Sorry, Commander, my men are on edge; it's been a rough day."

"I don't know, well, anything about your mission," Ryan said, subtly gesturing for Tanith and Sera to get between the younger Victus and his angry troops, "What were you trying to do, and what went wrong?"

Victus sighed. "I made a bad call. We knew that there were heavy Reaper forces between us and our objective. I chose a safer route, one that skirted the main force, but it didn't leave any room to maneuver; we were shot down before making it halfway. This is all on me."

"What was your objective?" Ryan pressed, "If we know what it is, maybe we can still pull this mission off."

Victus hesitated for a moment, then sighed again. "We were sent to disable a bomb—a big one. If it goes off, kiss this planet goodbye. We know that Cerberus is guarding it now, trying to make sure it detonates. But with things this bad… we'll have to call it quits and head back to the fleet."

"That bomb is a planet-killer," Ryan inhaled sharply, then looked down at the ground he stood on, "And we are on the planet… okay, I need coordinates and details, this mission now takes priority over anything else."

Victus nodded, then looked away. "I want to help, Commander, but we're down over thirty men, and those who are left… they're spent, and even if they weren't, they won't follow me into battle."

For a moment, Ryan was reminded of his old Imperial CO, Raff. He'd been given his position by his grandfather, Moff Laar, but unlike the Imperial, Victus was someone who wanted to earn the leadership bestowed upon him. He just didn't know how to recover from this disaster.

"Look, Tarquin," Ryan reached up to grab the Turian by one shoulder, "I know what it's like to face a hopeless situation; I've lost friends, lost trust—hell, I was tortured—but I got through it because I knew what I was fighting for. You need to remind your men and yourself of what you are fighting for, and if you want this mission to succeed, you need to do that now."

Victus blinked at the Human, and then his mandibles flared—a Turian smile. "Thank you, Commander; I'll try."

"Do or do not," Ryan said, remembering a Jedi saying that Kota had used once, "There is no try."

That got him a strange look from Victus, but he nodded and turned to his troops. "Men, I own what happened today, but we have to carry on!"

"No, we don't," one soldier sneered, "Who cares about a few dead Krogan? It's over!"

"We are Turian!" Victus shouted, so passionately that even the Blades straightened up a little, "We will not let Cerberus succeed. Our sacrifice is the difference between life and death for this entire galaxy! Let the heroes of the Ninth Platoon be remembered for performing their duties with bravery!"

By the time he was finished, the other Turians were practically at attention, their weapons ready for action; even the injured soldier, still being attended to by Bitters, had drawn a pistol. They were ready to follow Victus into hell if he asked.

The Lieutenant turned to Ryan. "Commander, do you have transport?"

Ryan nodded. "Our ship is just a few minutes away on foot; Blade Four can take a look at any injuries while en route."

"Thank you," Victus said respectfully, then turned to his men. "You heard the man, soldiers! Move out, and let's finish this mission!"

The Turians cheered, then picked up any supplies they could scavenge before the Blades led them to the Desperate.

"That was some speech the kid gave," Bitters commented on a private comm-channel, "How come you never give speeches that good, Lead?"

"The difference is that I don't like giving speeches," Ryan shot back, "Every Turian I've met seems to like going on and on about this heroic stuff—er, no offense, Blade Six."

Soleis shrugged. "None taken. Turians are taught basically two things in officer training: first, to never sacrifice your troops in vain. Second, to be really good at speech-making."

"Do you think Victus' son will survive the fallout from losing so many men when it was his fault?" Wek asked.

"Maybe," Soleis said, "if the mission succeeds, and the Krogan join the coalition, it'll be worth it; he might even get a promotion out of the deal. If we fail… well, we'll all be dead, so it won't matter."

That killed the mood almost instantly.

"Then we better not fail, huh?" Ryan suggested grimly.

…

Once aboard the Desperate, the two groups raced towards the bomb's location, occasionally driving away Reaper flyers with the ship's cannons. It had been decided that, when they reached the site, Tanith would remain behind, ready to fly the ship in close if they needed support; the Turians would also be leaving a man behind, since the injured member of their unit wouldn't recover in time for a fight. Still, that left eleven experienced fighters ready to do battle.

"So, Lieutenant," Ryan said conversationally to Victus, while he refilled his supply of power-packs, "What can you tell me about this Cerberus bomb?"

"That's just it," Victus said, then looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, "It's not a Cerberus bomb… it's Turian."

Ryan froze. "What the what now?"

"After the Krogan Rebellions, Command didn't trust the genophage to be the only thing stopping Krogan aggression," Victus explained, "A bomb was secretly planted on a nexus of fault lines; if the Krogan appeared to be a threat again, the bomb would destabilize the entire planet. Eventually, Tuchanka would shake itself apart."

"And the reason no one thought to mention this earlier would be…?" Ryan asked with narrowed eyes.

"At first, I don't think anyone was going to mind—"

"Except the Krogan," Ryan muttered, but allowed Victus to continue.

"But after the genophage made the Krogan pitied by most of the galaxy, if they found out that we'd put a bomb on their homeworld, too…"

Ryan nodded, albeit reluctantly. "You'd be seen as monsters."

"Exactly," Victus said, "Personally, I just want this mess with the genophage to be over and done with. If getting rid of this bomb means speeding up the process, I'm all for it."

"Good," Ryan said, after getting a brief message on his Omni-tool, "because we're here."

…

Using their stealth-generators, the Blades scouted ahead, quietly dispatching a pair of Cerberus sentries along the way, until they found their target.

"This might be harder than I thought," Ryan whispered to himself.

The area was huge, easily half the size of a Star Destroyer; it was a giant hole in the ground, with rusting platforms and walkways covering almost every inch of stone. In the very center was another hole, which was the likely location of the bomb, if the Cerberus-operated crane reaching into it was anything to go by.

"Blade Lead to Lieutenant Victus," Ryan said into the comms, "We've got eyes on the target; I'm seeing at least thirty—"

"Forty," Wek quickly interrupted from his position on top of a large pile of rubble.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Scratch that, forty hostiles. What're the requirements for disarming the bomb?"

"It shouldn't be difficult," Victus said, "just time-consuming. First task is keeping Cerberus away from the bomb; once that's done, I'll need your team and the rest of my men to keep Cerberus off me until I'm done."

"Understood, we'll punch a hole, then establish a perimeter; wait for my go. Blade Lead out." Ryan then turned to his team. "Blade Three, stay here and provide overwatch; if it's wearing Cerberus colors, kill it. Blade Five, Blade Seven, you'll open a corridor for us; you don't have to kill them, just get them out of the way. Blade Four, Blade Six, you're with me; we'll charge through the path Five and Seven make. Don't engage unless you have to. Once we reach the crane controls, we'll clear it out and establish a perimeter, while Blade Five and Blade Seven regroup at our location. Blade Three, you'll move up with the Turians while we cover you. Any questions?"

There was a chorus of 'no'. Ryan grinned underneath his helmet.

"Great. Blade Three, introduce yourself whenever you're ready; we'll move on your signal."

Wek took a couple minutes to get to a better position, then set up his sniper rifle. A moment later, a bolt of energy lanced forth, removing an engineer's head in a puff of red mist.

"Blades, engage!" Ryan barked as he moved forward, carbine at the ready; Bitters and Soleis were at his flanks, each with a pistol in their hands.

Sera and Xin carved a path of wreckage and blood with their weapons; any Cerberus soldier near their attacks either walked away with missing limbs or holes, or they didn't walk away at all. Staying just behind the attacks, Ryan, Bitters and Soleis headed towards the crane controls, occasionally snapping off a shot that finished off a wounded Cerberus soldier who was in the way. It only got a little more challenging once they got close to the controls; a Phantom and two engineers, the latter of whom had deployed turrets, were waiting.

Soleis charged, her biotics easily bringing her close enough to use her claws, which she slashed an engineer's throat open with, before hitting a turret with a flurry of attacks that rendered it a pile of smoking scrap.

Bitters, not having biotics, was hit several times by the other turret, but his beskar plating held. With a roar, he unsheathed Ol' Chopper and bisected both the turret and the engineer behind it with one powerful swing.

Ryan dodged the palm-based slug-thrower used by the Phantom, while hitting her in the leg and shoulder with his carbine. The Phantom was knocked off-balance, giving Ryan enough time to get in close and fire his carbine through her eye at point-blank.

The three Blades spent an extra few minutes dispatching a handful of Cerberus troopers that tried to counterattack, before Ryan signaled for Sera and Xin to join them. This was, in Ryan's opinion, the riskiest part of the plan; he, nor Bitters or Soleis, had many options in the way of long-range fighting. Both heavy-weapons users would have to rely on Wek's cover for about two-thirds of their run.

Thankfully, the speed with which the Blades had attacked had thrown Cerberus off, so soldiers attempting to attack them were few, far between, and quickly killed by Wek. Once Sera and Xin were with Ryan's group, they set themselves up in a defensive position near the controls.

"Lieutenant, we're ready," Ryan said into the comms, "Blade Three will join you as you bring up your men; we'll cover your advance."

"Copy that, we're moving out."

"Alert!" Sera announced, aiming her cannon, "Enemy shuttles inbound."

"Fierfek," Ryan swore, as he saw three Cerberus shuttles flying in, "Take them out!"

They almost did; two of the shuttles were destroyed, but the third was able to fire off a rocket and retreat.

"Ah! Dammit!" Wek hissed over the comms; the others could hear the sound of tearing metal in the background. "Lead, I'm hit, but not bad. I don't think I can link up with the Turians, though; I'm trapped under some debris."

"Hang on, Blade Three, I'm coming!" Soleis said, readying her biotics to catapult her towards the fallen Blade, but stopped when Ryan grabbed her arm.

"No. Hold your position." Ryan's voice was devoid of emotion.

"What are you talking about!?" Soleis demanded, "He's trapped, he can't move! If Cerberus find him—"

"That's the risk we take every time we do this job," Ryan said in that same dead tone, "You can't let personal feelings get in the way of the mission; worry after it's done."

"But I—"

"Hold. This. Position," Ryan ground out, then switched to comms. "Blade Three, are you able to provide support from where you are?"

"Gimme a sec… no, sorry; I've only got one free arm right now, and my angle is off."

"Understood. If you can, use stealth until the mission is over; we'll get you once we're done."

"Copy that. Don't take too long, if you don't mind."

"Victus, there's been a change of plans," Ryan said, speaking to the Lieutenant, "Blade Three is compromised, proceed without him."

"Understood. We're on our way. Victus out."

While the Blades readied themselves, Ryan opened a private channel with Soleis. "I know you're worried about him; I am, too, but you cannot let that distract from the mission."

Soleis nodded stiffly. "Yes, sir. It won't happen again."

Inside, Soleis was burning with shame; she'd defied and almost disobeyed her superior officer, something that no good Turian would ever do. She knew not to let personal feelings get in the way of the mission, she was too disciplined for that, but when she heard Wek cry out…

Wek was her first. First person she'd had feelings for, first kiss, first lover; the thought of losing him right after they'd bonded on such a level was almost too much to bear.

You are going to survive, Wek Vaas, she swore to herself, you will live, and I will kiss you senseless when this is over.

She also silently cursed Ryan for being a heartless bastard; how could he give up on Wek so easily?

"Here comes Victus and his men," Ryan said, snapping Soleis out of her thoughts, "Don't let Cerberus near 'em."

Fortunately, the Cerberus counterattack wasn't too bad. There were a few soldiers and engineers that tried to intercept them, but Sera and Xin quickly saw them off, usually in pieces. When the Turians reached the Blades, they only needed a moment to catch their breath, and then most were taking their places near the Blades, while Victus worked on the crane's controls.

"I'm bringing the bomb up," he announced, "Once it's up, it shouldn't take me long to disarm it."

"Got it," Ryan said, then opened a channel with Tanith. "Blade Two, we could use some air-support."

"On my way," Tanith replied a moment later, "Is something wrong?"

"Blade Three is down; I'm sending his exact location." Ryan tapped at his Omni-tool for a moment. "I want you to stay near there and keep Cerberus away; maybe give us some artillery, if it's not any trouble."

"Understood," Tanith said grimly, "ETA is one minute."

Ryan glanced at Soleis. "Just because the mission comes first doesn't mean I won't look for a way to protect my team."

Soleis felt another wave of shame; she might not have been an Outcast Blade for very long, but she knew she should have had more faith in Ryan, both as a leader and as a person.

"Incoming enemies," Sera warned, as a dozen Cerberus troops began rushing towards their position. Beside her, Xin cackled in glee.

"Xin make them go boom!" true to his word, Xin fired a rocket, blowing three troopers to bits.

The battle turned into a blur for all of them after that. Cerberus kept landing troops just outside the range of their guns, and though the Desperate Measures' arrival did even the odds, they were still hit by regular waves of infantry.

Ryan was almost on autopilot for a good part of the battle, only snapping out of it when he heard Victus announce that he'd retrieved the bomb, moments before the crane dropped said bomb—a silver sphere the size of a battle tank—right behind them.

"Home stretch, people!" Ryan yelled, "We just need to hold them off until the bomb is defused!"

As if Cerberus heard him, they seemed to redouble their efforts. Again, the fighting became a blur, until four ATLAS mechs stomped into view.

"Oh, shit," one Turian swore, just as a barrage of high-powered shots from the Desperate Measures turned the mechs to scrap. "Huh. Never mind."

"Thanks for the assist, Blade Two," Ryan said into the comms.

"Actually, that wasn't me," Tanith admitted, "That Turian in the infirmary, Corporal Octavius, asked to man one of the guns. I couldn't refuse."

"Remind me to put him in for a commendation," Victus commented, still buried in the innards of the bomb, earning him a short laugh from both the Blades and his own men.

Finally, either because Cerberus ran out of soldiers or they just gave up, the attacks ceased, leaving the Blades and the Turians alone with the bomb.

"Finished!" Victus announced, stepping away from the bomb, "The only way this could hurt someone now is if it rolls onto them."

"Good to know," Ryan said tiredly, before looking at Soleis, "Okay, now you can dig Blade Three out of there. Blade Four, go with her."

While those two went to help Wek, Ryan walked over to Victus. "You want a ride back to the ships in orbit?"

Victus' mandibles flared. "No, thanks, Commander. I can call the fleet for a shuttle to pick us up."

"We'll still drop off your man at one of your ships," Ryan said.

"Much appreciated. And Commander?" he said, as Ryan began walking towards the Desperate, "Thank you for not letting this mission become a failure."

Ryan shrugged nonchalantly. "We're getting paid, the planet didn't explode, and we got to kill a lot of Cerberus guys. I'd call that a good day."

…

The Desperate Measures

"How's our boy doing?" Ryan asked Bitters, after they'd dropped off their Turian guest.

"He'll be fine," Bitters said, barely looking at Wek, who was fast asleep in the infirmary, "A little banged up, but nothing a few hours of rest won't cure."

"Did he fall on his face?" Ryan peered down to look at Wek's face.

"I don't think so," Bitters said uncertainly, "Why?"

"What are all those little marks?" Ryan pointed to a series of odd shapes pressed into Wek's flesh.

Bitters narrowed his eyes, then tapped away at his Omni-tool; after a moment, he looked away, shaking with silent laughter.

"Apparently, those marks are identical to a female Turian's mouth," he said, "I was wondering why Soleis was hanging around outside earlier; she was waiting for me to leave!"

Ryan grinned; after years of Wek teasing him and Tanith about their relationship, it looked like some payback was in order, once Wek woke up.

Bitters apparently had the same idea, because he was taking pictures of Wek's face with his Omni-tool.

"Of course, if things are going to even out," the medic said, chuckling, "Soleis is going to get teased, too."

"I think Tanith wanted the honor of that," Ryan said, joining in the laughter, before his expression grew grim.

It's a shame this won't last, he thought, now I have to tear the Primarch a new one.

…

"I don't want to talk about it," Soleis said stiffly.

"I don't care if you don't want to talk about it," Tanith said with an evil smile, "This needs to be discussed, before your relationship with Wek goes any further."

Soleis groaned, but Tanith was having too much fun teasing the other woman.

"Seriously, if you two are going to have sex on the ship, you need to learn how to soundproof your rooms."

Soleis groaned again. "It's embarrassing enough that you saw us together, please, just stop."

"Hey, how do you think Ryan and I don't keep everyone else up all the time?" Tanith asked, and smiled wickedly as Soleis blushed again; she wondered if M'zan's personality had rubbed off on her.

"Was it really that loud?" Soleis asked, not looking Tanith in the eye.

"It wasn't just loud," Tanith said teasingly, "it was all the time. Seriously, every five minutes! I honestly didn't know that Nautolans had that kind of stamina."

Soleis looked like she was about to cry; it was then that Tanith took pity on her.

"Hey, I'm only kidding," she said, giving Soleis a quick hug, "Well, not about the soundproofing thing, and I'll give you some tips for that later. I'm actually really happy for both of you."

"Really?"

"Of course!" Tanith smiled, but this one was much kinder. "Wek is like a little brother to me; I'm happy that he's found someone, and I'm glad that you managed to get someone as good as him."

Soleis smiled back. "Thanks."

"No problem. Now, there's one I want to know."

"Yes?"

"On a scale of one to ten, how is Wek in bed?"

Soleis groaned again.

…

SSV Normandy

As soon as Ryan stepped aboard the ship, Shepard knew he was pissed. It might have been the fact that his expression was just shy of murderous, or maybe it was because he'd come aboard fully-armed and armored, save for his helmet, which was hooked to his belt.

"Ryan, what happened?" Shepard asked.

"Where's Victus?" Ryan growled, ignoring the question.

"I'm here, Commander," the Primarch said as he walked around the corner; from the resigned look on his face, he knew what was coming

"I can think of a dozen ways this mission could have gone better," Ryan said, and both Shepard and Victus could see how hard it was for Ryan to hold back his anger. "You could have told us about the planet-killing bomb right away, and we could have handled it. You could have assigned someone with more experience than your son to lead the mission. You could have told the Krogan about the bomb and asked for their help in getting rid of it. Any of those ideas sounding good right now!?"

Victus sighed. "It was out of my hands. High Command's orders were that no one outside the Hierarchy was to know about the bomb."

"Still doesn't explain why you didn't have someone with more experience leading the mission," Ryan scowled, then blinked at Victus' expression. "You wanted him to be a hero, didn't you? You wanted him to get all the glory! People died because of that decision, Primarch!"

Victus sighed again. "I cannot change the past. I'm just glad that the bomb was disarmed, and that Cerberus was stopped."

Ryan took a deep breath. "Any other doomsday weapons lying around on Tuchanka that we should know about?"

"No."

"… All right. Don't do something so stupid again, and I'll be better tomorrow, but you've lost some serious points with me, Victus."

The Primarch bowed his head. "I know. I myself wasn't aware of the bomb until a few days ago. I'll admit that I panicked, and assigned someone I trusted on a personal level, not a professional one, to lead the mission. People died for that, and I have to live with that for a long time. If you'll excuse me."

Victus turned to leave, but hesitated. "Commander Nimbus?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for saving my son."

Ryan quirked a small smile. "No problem. He's got promise."

Once Victus left, Ryan sighed. "So, Shepard, how was your mission?"

Shepard smiled. "Well, I've got good news and great news."

"What's the good news?"

"I met up with one of my old teammates, a Krogan super-soldier named Grunt. Without him, I don't know if we would have survived down there."

"That's good. What's the great news?"

Shepard's smile became a full-faced grin. "The Rachni are now a part of the coalition."

Ryan stared at the man for several seconds. "So… the insects who almost destroyed this galaxy are now on our side?"

"Uh-huh."

"Are you sure you're not a Jedi?"

Shepard laughed, but it was cut off when two sets of footsteps were heard coming towards them. One was Mordin, who was so excited that he was practically vibrating, and the other was Wrex, who looked torn between a joyous smile and a grim scowl.

"Wrex, Mordin, what's going on?" Shepard asked.

"Genophage cure ready tomorrow!" Mordin actually shouted.

"Tell your people to get some rest and extra ammo," Wrex said, "Tomorrow, we begin a new future for the Krogan."

When writing this chapter, I thought about the younger Victus. Personally, I didn't like his death, so I thought I'd save him this time. Not a whole lot else to say about that. I'll bring him in again in a couple of chapters.

I don't know why, but I really like Wek and Soleis as a couple. It makes me happy. Also, those marks on Wek… I have no idea what a Turian hickey looks like, but since they've got really sharp teeth, I would bet that it's painful for anyone without an exoskeleton. Like a Human. Or a Nautolan.

And yes, Ryan telling Soleis to not rush to her love's side is kind of mean, but the Blades have spent years keeping their emotions pushed down in a fight. Soleis, being a Turian soldier, would also be pretty disciplined, but she'd just slept with Wek a few hours earlier. Unless you're made of stone, your emotions are going to be all over the place.

Next chapter: Forces of the coalition, unite! A future for the Krogan… but at what cost?

You are no match for the power of the Muffin Side of the Force!