A/N: And that was that with the short interlude in our little Krogan Genophage arc. So what happens next, you might ask?
Well, we continue with it. As for the B Story? We'll get back to Will and the others when we finish the genophage arc, but for now... yeah.
As for now, though, we have the return of Urdnot Wrex! So I think that's cause for celebration, am I right? And what else will happen here? Well... you'll see.
So keep your eyes open, and let's do this!
(Note: This reflects an edited version of Chapter 13. I would like to thank ValentineDiverseOptics for being of huge help in this whole rewrite.)
Chapter 13: The Clan Battles, Part One
"Okay... And with that, we're in the Krogan DMZ."
Joker says this right as he raps his fingers against the chair he's sitting at. He nods, sitting back as he looks on. I lean against the chair, glancing over at Miranda and Garrus as they stand right there.
"Okay," I say. "How long do you think it'll take until we get to Tuchanka?"
EDI's blue sphere avatar appears again. "By my estimations, it should take approximately one hour to get to Tuchanka," she says. "However, there is always the possibility of Council ships patrolling this area, now that Jorgal Anahit is with us. I can already detect the signs of two Council cruisers within the system."
I frown. "Well, that's great," I comment. "Now we have to play 'hide and seek' in addition to all the other crap we have to do."
Miranda frowns. "This isn't good," she says. "Art, do you think you can take Garrus down to Tuchanka with you?"
I nod. "Yeah," I say. "And you can keep track of things on the Normandy."
"Yes," Miranda replies. She then looks up. "EDI, activate the stealth systems and keep a close eye out on the cruisers within the systems."
Joker looks back to us. "You do know that our stealth systems won't last forever, right?" he asks. "We're going to have to touch down somewhere if we hope to stay out of sight."
"I am aware of that Joker," Miranda says. "But our first priority is to get the ground team and the krogan princess onto Tuchanka."
EDI's avatar appears again. "Alert," she says. "One of the two cruisers in this system is currently rounding around the Aralakh system's sun."
"Shit, that means we need to hide," said Joker. His hands flew around the interface. "EDI? A little help here!"
"The planet of Ruam should be nearby," she says. "We do not have much time to get there before the Council cruiser sees us."
"And what about the other cruiser?" asks Miranda.
"The other cruiser is on the side of the sun opposite that of Ruam's current location," EDI replies. "Statistical projections prove that the vessel is unlikely to see us."
"Right," Joker says as he brings the Normandy into gear. His hands fly around. "I'm going right over there and staying within orbit. EDI, you let me know about anything else."
I nod, breathing in as the Normandy begins moving a little faster than normal. The ship moves pretty quickly, and I look to Joker nervously. I look outside the window and watch the ship move rather quickly before I suddenly find myself standing right next to EDI's terminal. The ship moves into position, and a few minutes later I notice that we slow down right as we reach a blue-tinted gas giant of some sort. Joker gets pretty close to it, and then slows the ship way the hell down.
"All right," says Joker. "Let's hope the stealth systems hold. I am not going to break my arm getting arrested."
I roll my eyes, but still feel my hand clench around the bulkhead. Wait, when'd I even grab it? "Sure," I say simply. I look to EDI's avatar as it floats there.
And then, we sit there in silence as EDI projects a radar in front of us without saying anything else. It shows where we are in relation to the other guy that's currently snooping around, and I turn to look at Miranda. She nods, and then I turn my concentration back to the radar. I watch as the dot representing the vessel we're around begins to move close to where we are, with Joker making the requisite adjustments around the planet. I swear, we move with the gas giant's orbit as Joker looks at the projection and the planet just in front of us.
What feels like hours pass as we watch the radar closely. My eyes remain glued to EDI's radar, and I just see other things out of my peripheral vision. I sit there, feeling time stretch out as it moves.
And finally, the dot moves away, and EDI's avatar reappears.
"According to my current projections, now would be the best time to get to Tuchanka."
I turn to Joker right as his hands start flying across the darn thing. "All right," says Joker. He then turns to me. "I think you'll want to head down to the shuttle right now," he said.
"We're only going to have a small window to get you down there," Miranda adds. "The other cruiser could come around at any moment, and I don't think the stealth systems will hold that long."
I nod. "EDI, tell the ground team to get right to the shuttle," I say. "We've got a clock to race against."
"Of course, Serviceman," says EDI.
With this, I turn to Miranda and give her a brief nod. "Take care of the ship," I say. "If all goes well, we'll be able to make some progress here."
Miranda simply nods, and I take this as my cue to leave. I then quickly leave the cockpit, rushing right for the elevator.
A long time later, the shuttle touches down on Tuchanka. I look over to the others in the shuttle as we drop down. Well, this is an interesting company. Tali, Garrus, Madison, and Jarel are all here, along with Grunt. Grunt doesn't look all too happy, but he's going along with whatever is going on here. Mordin also looks on, sniffing as he steps out of the shuttle.
"You hanging in there?" I ask.
"I guess," he says, glancing outside.
I nod. "Good," I say. "Hang in there. A lot of krogan being in the same place will probably cause a lot of problems, so stay by us and try not to start anything."
Isaac nods. "Okay," he says, nodding as he pats his hand on his line gun.
Okay, we're good. I turn to Jarel soon after, looking at the shaman and Anahit as they shift behind the salarian. "So... you're going to explain about the genophage cure?"
"Of course," says Jarel. "I'll explain it to Wrex as soon as possible."
I glance over to Anahit. "And you'll help him with this explanation, no doubt," I say to the princess.
"You gave me a chance at freedom from that place they called Sur'Kesh," says Anahit. "It would be my honor to aid one who wishes to affect the future of the krogan in any way possible."
Jarel nods. "Good," he says. "Now we have to hope the Urdnot Clan is not busy."
I shrug. "I'm sure they've got it in good hands."
With this, we slowly sink down vertically. Isaac glances around briefly, shaking his head as Garrus nods. "Well, looks like we're here again," he says.
"Yep," says Madison, leaning against the turian. "Let's hope this isn't too difficult."
Yeah, let's hope it's not too difficult. Knowing the world, though... that's going to be a stretch to hope for that, so... We'll see what happens.
Soon after, the shuttle touches down, and then we all stand up. The door opens...
... and there's only a single krogan guard there.
... What?
I look over to him as he gives me a nod. Grunt comes out, looking at the guard. "Urdnot Grunt, you're here," says the guard. "The clan leader was about to send a summons for you."
I frown as Grunt jumps out. "Why?" he asks.
"The war council is assembling."
W- Wait, what? War council? What in-?
...
Oh, no. Wrex told me about those in a message he sent. Isn't that... Shit, that's when a clan gets together to decide to declare war on someone.
And if someone's declaring war on someone else...
...
Well, shit. Looks like EDI's projections were off…
I nearly stumble out of the craft, with the shuttle emptying out very quickly afterwards. "What?" I step towards the krogan, blinking as I walk forward. "They're going to war?" I shake my head. "War with who?"
"Each other, of course," says the guard. "There's been a dispute between clan Urdnot and a clan that hasn't entered an alliance with Wrex yet. I can't tell you anything more. I'm always stuck out here, but when Wrex tells me to get going, I'll be ready."
I frown, glancing to the others. "This isn't good," says Madison as she steps out of the shuttle.
That it's not... Oh, this means shit has hit the fan somewhere, and when that happens... Oh, it's not good.
Oh, I have to talk to Wrex now. Maybe if it's mentioned that someone allied with the Urdnot clan has the tools to cure the genophage...
"Can I see Urdnot Wrex at least?" I ask
The krogan nods. "Urdnot Wrex is indeed here," says the guardperson. "The war council will be held as a Crush, where no weapon can be drawn, but until then..."
I glance to the side. "Seems like these clans are setting themselves up for disaster," Garrus says from behind me.
"No kidding," I comment, turning my attention back to the Urdnot guard. "I need to go see him."
The guard person nods. "Of course," he says. "I know who you are, and I remember what you and Urdnot Grunt have done." He nods to Grunt. "It's not often that one slays the thresher maw during the Rite. I'm proud to be part of your clan."
I turn to Grunt, giving him a smile and a raised eyebrow before I turn my attention back to the guardsperson. "If you went where you did the last time, you'll find Wrex there. From what I understand, the Crush has not started."
I nod. "Okay," I say. "Thank you." I turn to the others. "Come on, let's go. We've got shit we need to figure out here."
With this, the ground team follows as I walk down the path from the shuttle to where Wrex is. As I move around, however, we see everyone's eyes on me... Hm. They seem more... suspicious, it seems. I'm not sure where that's coming from.
But whatever's going down here, I know it's something I already don't like one fucking bit...
When we get to where Wrex is, we see him sitting at his throne quietly, listening as someone stands there and reads him stuff from an omni-tool. Drakus is standing there rather quietly, rolling his eyes the whole while. I glance back to Jarel and Anahit, and then back to Garrus as he follows along. I step forward, looking right at Wrex as he gives a dismissive hand gesture.
"That will not help us against the Halagog Clan," says Wrex.
Huh? What's this about-?
"Maybe not, but it's the only thing we have," says the person reading him stuff.
The krogan reading stuff turns his head in my direction soon after, and then he nods. "It looks like your friends are back," he says. With this, Wrex turns his attention to us.
Almost instantly, the improvement in his expression is visible. "Art!" he said. "My friend!"
I nod, stepping forward as Wrex stands up from his throne. I smile again, noting that even as he gives a smile, he's still got some kind of anger burning in his eyes. "Wrex!" I say. "Good to see you're still kicking!"
"It's good to see you're still free," he says. "You've got a quad there, evading the Council like that and then coming to a demilitarized zone in Citadel Space."
I shrug. "Well, duty calls, you know?" I say. "And now we're back, to help you out with stuff."
"Indeed," he says. "Still, you got a quad there."
"If only Shepard were free..." Drakus adds as he looks to us
I nod. "Yeah, if only Shepard were free," I say. "I still can't believe she got arrested... And if certain things had happened differently, she would be here now, helping us." I sigh, glancing to the side sadly. "Or leading us."
Wrex grunts, turning back to the guy he was talking to before I came in. "You're dismissed for now," he says.
The krogan with the omni-tool nods, and then walks off in the other direction. I turn my attention back to Wrex, but before he can say much else, he shakes his head. "You have your own problems, I take it?"
"Just a few," I say. "But your problems take precedence for now, because by now I think the entire galaxy knows about Shepard's arrest. So anyway..."
He simply nods, shifting his posture. "You'd think that getting Grunt into the Urdnot Clan would have solved most of our problems," he says. He shakes his head, looking right at me. "It solved most of our issues for some time. Getting a perfect krogan in our clan drew people to us." He turns to me. "He came back from the Omega 4 Relay, right?"
I glance over to Grunt as he steps forward. "See for yourself," I say.
Grunt glares at me before looking right at Grunt. "My battlemaster got taken away," he says.
"I heard," Wrex replies. "You doing okay without Shepard's hand?"
I nod. "We're managing," I say. "I haven't seen any fights start to break out on the Normandy yet, anyway. I'll take that as a good sign."
The old krogan nods, crossing his arms. "And now you're here," he says. "Right as I was about to ask for your help. Why?"
I blink, looking as Jarel steps forward. Hm... Well, we need to know what we're fixing here. That's always a good thing to know for things like this. Besides, he looked pretty pissed off. I glance over to Jarel, holding my hand up.
"What did you need my help for?" I ask. "I mean, you mentioned that your issues were somewhat solved by Grunt, but that they didn't go away. And then there was the fact that the Urdnot guards told us 'they're getting a war council together'."
"The guards told you that, huh?" Wrex asks.
Drakus looks at him pointedly. "It is true," he comments.
Wrex nods, glancing off to the side. "That it is," says Wrex.
"So what happened?" Garrus asks as he comes to the front of the group.
"Some of the clans got mad at the fact that Grunt's krantt wasn't all krogan," Wrex immediately replies. "I still have a clan on Tuchanka that hasn't allied with clan Urdnot yet. The Halagog clan still hasn't allied itself with us, and they bounce that fact around as if it was a weakness on our part." He snorts. "The whelps don't understand true strength. I don't expect they ever will."
"So I see," I say. "But you're calling a war council together. That implies that there's worse stuff going on down here."
"There is," said Drakus. "It's not news that's gotten off Tuchanka since news doesn't get out of Tuchanka very fast if it ever does, but… Wrex is mobilizing for war."
I frown. "I know that," I point out. "Why?"
"Someone raided the female camp a few days ago," says Wrex.
At this, I hear a gasp, and suddenly look behind me to see the shaman stepping forward. "What?" she asks. "Someone attacked the female camp?"
Wrex immediately looked up at the shaman, and… wow… this is the only time I've ever seen Wrex look genuinely shocked at anything. "Shaman?" he asks.
"Yes, Urdnot Wrex," says the shaman. "It is I."
Wrex nodded, standing up and looking at the female shaman. "I didn't think you'd ever be back on Tuchanka," Wrex replied. "You just left."
I frown, pointing between the two of them. Before I can say anything, though, Madison steps forward. "Wait," she said, pointing at the shaman and Wrex. "You two know each other?"
"Yes," says the female shaman. "I was the leader of the females of Clan Urdnot."
I blink. "Whoah," I comment. "That's… crazy." I frown, and… hold on… "Hey, wait a minute! If you were with Clan Urdnot, what the hell were you doing in Maelon's experiments?"
Wrex blinks, before looking back at the shaman. "So that's where you went," he said. "You were seeking to be cured of the genophage."
"Yes," said the shaman. "I needed to take a chance for all of Tuchanka's daughters. I would have come back, but I was found by the STG and taken to Sur'Kesh."
Wrex nods. "Well, you're back," he says. "That's the important part." He looks to us. "So you went to Sur'Kesh, huh? You've got a quad."
I rub the back of my head nervously. "Well," I comment. "We were there for… other things. But…"
Madison steps forward. "Anyway… you were saying about the female camp?" she asks.
"Yes," said Wrex. "Some krogan warriors in black armor attacked the female camp a few days ago. We had at least five women that were killed, as well as a few children." I actually hear him growl angrily. "The cowards couldn't even face us themselves. They had to kill women and children to get their way, and without even showing their face, either."
I frown. "Wait, so you don't know who even did it?" I ask.
"No," says Drakus. "None of the survivors saw any clan emblems or clan markings to denote who did it. All the guards had been killed, and there was no corpses left that we could use to identify these clansmen with."
Wrex shakes his head. "We've got a good idea that Halagog did it, though," he says. "All throughout the unification of the clans of Tuchanka, they had vehemently opposed my reforms. They vehemently denied that they had done it when I approached them at a council yesterday. They left the delegation." He shakes his head. "I never thought Halagog Kurtek would ever do something like this, but he's crossed a line. And now, he'll pay with it with the blood of his warriors."
"Sounds a bit harsh when you don't have any hard evidence," says Madison from behind me. "You sure you couldn't just wait first?"
"If we did that, we risk Halagog attacking us while our guard is lowered," said Drakus. "Besides, we're hoping Halagog Kurtek will see reason."
"All of the remaining clans of Tuchanka are loyal to me," says Wrex. "Kurtek may be stubborn, but I don't think he's an idiot. He'll probably surrender when we attack."
"At least, that's what you hope," I comment.
"We might kill them anyway because of what they did to the female camp," says Wrex. "But if we do kill them, we're not killing the women or the children. Urdnot is more honorable than that." He sighs angrily. "I just wish I had something to rally the clans of Tuchanka without having to kill them all first. If I could find a peaceful solution to the Halagog clan's problems..."
I glance over to Jarel, smiling. "Well, then today's your lucky day," I say, crossing my arms. "Jarel?"
The salarian steps forward, nodding. "Hello again, Urdnot Wrex."
The krogan frowns, crossing his arms. "You again?" he asks. "I thought you joined the Spectres."
Jarel shakes his head. "That was before I found out that Tela Vasir was answering to the Shadow Broker, and before Shepard got arrested by the Council," he says. "Ironic when you think about who we answer to now." He shakes his head. "This is unimportant. The important thing is that we have something that can help you."
"Short of curing the genophage, I'm not sure that there's much that you can do to help," says Wrex.
I can almost see the krogan shaman's smirk underneath all that clothing as she shifts her posture. "Do not lose faith yet, clan leader," the shaman replied.
Jarel smirks, glancing over to Anahit as she steps forward. "Yeah, what she said," he said. "We were at Sur'Kesh to rescue this krogan here. She is the key to curing the genophage." He turned to Wrex. "So yes, we have a way to cure the genophage."
At this, Wrex's eyes widen, his attention turning to the krogan princess before looking back to Jarel. "You... You have a way to cure the genophage?" Wrex asks, leaning forward.
Jarel nods, stepping in next to Anahit as she comes forward. "And her name is Anahit."
"Anahit..." Wrex blinks. "Jorgal Anahit?"
"Yes, clan leader," says Anahit. "I know this is probably a shock to you."
"You could definitely say that," says Wrex. "The Jorgal clan leaders only recently told me about a princess they had that could cure the genophage who vanished from Tuchanka one day. They told me that they had kept it confidential…"
"They sought to protect me," Anahit replies. "Unfortunately, the STG had found out despite their best efforts. I do not believe it was the fault of those who tried to protect me."
"Eh, nothing escapes the gaze of those pyjacks," Wrex comments. "It was only a matter of time until they traced you here and got you." He looks at Anahit. "They told me it was because you were immune to the genophage."
"That is correct, clan leader," Anahit replies. "They held me there for a long time. I was recently rescued…"
The krogan clan leader nods. He promptly turns his attention to Jarel, and I notice that his eyes look like they're shining a little brighter than they were when I first came here. "And you hope to cure the genophage with her help," Wrex says.
Jarel nods, opening his omni-tool. "I have the data from Maelon's attempted genophage cure on my omni-tool, and it's backed up on three seperate terminals on the Normandy," he says. "With that and some hormone tests from Anahit I'll be conducting in the near future, I think I'll be able to help your people."
"And this time, you won't be controlling us," says Wrex. He nods, and I can see his eyes glinting in happiness. "I... I don't know what to say. We have hope. Real hope for the first time in..."
I nod, placing a hand on Wrex's arm. "Yeah," I say. "Well, we've got the Jorgal princess who's immune to the genophage."
"I'll bet it's an interesting story, how you got her out of there. Hopefully, it was full of lots of dead salarians," he says as he steps towards Anahit. "In time, I will see to it that you are returned to the Jorgal Clan. It is your birth clan, after all."
"That is acceptable," says Anahit. "I have been separated from my clan for a very long time. I wish very much to see them again."
Wrex nods, giving her a rather amused smile. He then turns his attention to Jarel, and the salarian simply crosses his arms. "How long do you think it will take to cure the genophage?" Wrex asks.
"I don't know," says Jarel. "But with Maelon's data, I don't think it will take too long."
"So I see." Wrex nods, turning to me. "This will be helpful to unite Tuchanka. Thank you, Art."
I nod, crossing my arms. "Anything for a friend, man," I say. "Now... about that war council..."
The large krogan nods. "The first meeting is in two hours," he says. "I'd appreciate it if you could be there."
"Of course," I say. "The clan meeting is gonna be interesting, I think."
Wrex nods. "Good," he says. "Until then..."
I nod. "Yeah, it might be good to catch up on what's been going on," I say, crossing my arms. I look to the others. "Come along, people, we've got some bonding to do."
A couple of hours later, Wrex, myself, and the ground team all make our way to the sacred ground on which we're going to have this meeting. I see a lot of krogan seated in a circle, even as Wrex takes his place. As he does, a hush falls among the group, and Mordin comes just behind me. Okay... head count... I count at least twenty krogan in this circle at the moment. Well, no, actually, that's misleading, because there are more of them there. I just see what looks like twenty clan symbols laying around the krogan. Some of the symbols have more than one person representing them, apparently. Whatever the case, they're all represented by these flags with symbols on them. And no two are alike, from what I see. I even see an approximation of a thresher maw on one, so...
Okay... So that's one clan, that's another... and Urdnot Wrex makes twenty-one. Okay, adding the Halagog clan makes it twenty-two. Okay, so there are currently twenty-two clans that could be allied with Wrex. Is this all the clans on Tuchanka? 'Cause I doubt it.
I nod as Wrex takes a seat at some throne-like chair, and then we hear a gong go off close to where we are. I instantly cup my hands over my ears, frowning. Jeez, could you keep it down? I swear that nearly made my ears burst, and I need these babies if I want to continue being a musician once this is all said and done!
The clans turn their attention to Wrex. He nods as the gong dies away, rapping a hand against the arm rest of his chair. "It is good to see you all here," he says. "I guess we better get to business, then."
One of the krogan immediately stands up. "What are the aliens doing at a war council?" he asks.
"They are here for a reason I will explain as we go," he says. "And they're with me."
Some of the other clans shake their heads. There's a murmur that goes throughout the circle.
I see another krogan stand up. "You're letting whelps decide our war council?" he asks.
Wrex frowns, looking at this offending krogan. "I've told you many times, Jorgal Krunus; these particular aliens have a quad on them." He glances around. "Besides, this is the crew of the Normandy you're speaking about."
At that, the krogan pause, even as Grunt comes forward. He stands there, looking around. "My krantt is strong," he says. "And you will not belittle their worth while I stand here."
This successfully shuts most of these guys up, and they turn their attention back to Wrex. Wrex nods, standing up. "Now, we have gathered her today to decide what to do about the Halagog clan," he says. "As it stands now, their only recourse is to have the clans of Tuchanka declare war on them."
"They have insulted the name of Clan Urdnot!" I hear a random krogan say. "You have given us nothing but prosperity!"
"He has broken many traditions to get his way, but it's true that we are better at surviving now," I hear another one comment.
Some of the krogan then begin to pipe up. It leads up to this furore of voices, and I find myself glancing back at Mordin and raising my eyebrows.
I'm about to ask Mordin about that when I hear the furore die down. I glance back, looking at Wrex as his attention turns to one of the lesser krogan around here.
"So what do we do?" asks this krogan.
Wrex crosses his arms. "I would have called for war under most circumstances," he says. "However, some recent information that has come to my attention may have influenced my decision." He shifts in his seat. "Before we go to war, I will make one last attempt to make peace with Clan Halagog."
At this, the clans of Tuchanka all balk at Wrex. "You're just going to take this insult?" asks someone else.
"The female camp has been attacked, and your women killed! Yet you wish to make peace with them?" asks another. "You have no spine!"
And before long, angry voices rise up from the rabble. Good lord, this is kinda like... well, I dunno what it is, but it reminds me of stuff I see where things go really fast. Either way, the voices get extremely loud, and I glance over to Wrex. He shakes his head.
Oh, what? I look forward. "Look, if you'd just be..." I pause, seeing it's not having any effect as slowly, the clans begin turning to each other. "If you'd just let him-!"
I hear Wrex beginning to attempt to quiet the rabble down, and I begin to hear traces of other things... and other things... and more things...
...
Oh, come on, short of making the gong sound again, which it hasn't...
...
Aw, crap. I'm gonna have to...
Yes. Yes I am.
Well, better get this over with, then.
"Hey!" I scream as loudly as I can. "You know what I just realized?" I hear the rabble going at it still. Okay, gotta make this count.
Taking a deep breath, I place one foot behind me before looking at the rabble around us.
"I just lost the gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame!"
I scream this as loudly as I can, holding out one of the syllables until I can't possibly hold it anymore.
The effect is almost instantaneous. Every krogan in the area is now silent, and in the silence after the rabble I can literally hear a pin drop. I breathe in, realizing how much air capacity that yell required. Still, getting the silence of everybody in the other clans?
I have no idea how I managed to scream over more than twenty different clan representatives yelling at the top of their lungs, but I did it, that's all that matters, and now that I have the floor, I need to run with it.
I shake my head, looking at the other krogan in the area. "Okay," I say. "Now that I have your attention, would you be so kind as to let us finish, please?" I say.
"But he's letting an insult to the Urdnot clan go unanswered!" shouts a random krogan.
"Maybe, but we can fix this all very easily," I say, crossing my arms. "You see, I just came back from a visit to the salarian homeworld."
There are a few quick gasps around the place as people look to each other. "You went there?" asks a krogan from far off.
"You better believe it," I say. "And we did it because there was word of a possible solution for a genophage cure there." I gesture over to Anahit and Jarel. "And with a couple things, we're on track to developing that possible genophage cure." I glance to the others.
"You... you can cure the genophage?" I hear someone ask.
I shrug. "Well, not me specifically, but we have the ability to, if we're given a little more time," I say.
"The Halagog clan would be stupid to refuse such an offer," adds Wrex.
I hear a few murmurs of agreement. Okay, awesomesauce.
I glance over to Wrex as one of the clan representatives nods. "So you plan to offer them a cure if they surrender peacefully?" asks the representative.
"As I said, the Halagog clan would be stupid to refuse the cure," says Wrex. "If they refuse, then they do deserve to be warred against."
"Works for me," I hear one of the clan representatives say.
I hear a general murmur of agreement after this. I nod, smiling at Wrex. See, there we go? Introduce potential genophage cure, and we get krogan to agree with each other on stuff. Especially on peace parties that will likely have results. Since let's face it, Wrex is right about this.
The krogan all around, nod. "Fine," says one representative. "But we'll be looking for their blood if this fails."
I glance at Wrex, nodding as he stands up. "Then it is decided," he says. "I will put together a delegation. They will go to clan Halagog tonight with their new proposal." Wrex turns to me. "Art, would you be willing to supply some of your ground team with the delegation?"
I nod, crossing my arms. "Sure," I say.
Wrex nods. "Then I call this meeting of the war council to an end."
The gong rings out, and then I see the clan representatives chatter amongst themselves. Okay, we've got this.
That was actually pretty easy once we introduced the genophage cure. The krogan really are that desperate to be cured, I think. And who can blame 'em, really? I mean, there's only so much that we can really understand about them, but... It must be good to finally see that the unborn children will finally be born.
The krogan have had that kind of assurance coming for long enough.
Now, all we need to do is-
...
Wait.
I thought I saw something. Something with that Jorgal... Jorgal... Kronus? Kranos? I don't remember, but whatever the guy's name is, it doesn't really matter that much.
No, what matters is what I thought I saw. I thought... Well, he looks like he's just sitting there, but I thought I saw something in his eyes. I mean, he's not that far away, but what I see... I see a slight twitch of his hand, as if there's something about this he doesn't like.
Hm. That's odd...
Well, maybe someone else noticed something. I'll ask the group when we're out of here.
For now, I nod to Wrex as the war council disbands. We follow him soon after, and I cross my arms as we walk away from those grounds.
I nod to Wrex, crossing my arms as we move along. "Well, that certainly went by really fast," Madison comments.
"It was so fast it was almost unreal, really," I add.
Wrex chuckles. "They usually go a lot slower than that," he says. "Looks like curing the genophage is a more powerful diplomatic tool than we expected."
"I knew it would be effective, but that effective?" I shake my head with an amused expression on my face. "Oh man..." I look over to Wrex. "So you're sending the delegation tonight?"
"Yes," says Wrex. "And again, I'll need some people in your ground team with this delegation."
I nod, looking over. "Okay then," I say. "Are you sure it's a good idea, Wrex? They've made their stance on aliens pretty clear."
"Well, I don't think you should send the salarians along, if that's what you're asking," says Wrex.
Well... not really, but it's better than no reservations at all. I nod over to Garrus, crossing my arms. "Garrus, if you would be so kind to go with them?"
Garrus shrugs. "Sure, why not?" asks Garrus. "It won't be the only suicidal thing I've ever done."
I roll my eyes. "Well, it's less suicidal than you might think," I comment. "I mean, here you're not in danger of being shot at with a gunship."
"True enough," Garrus replies. With this, he nods. "I'll update you when the delegation gets going," he says, sparing a glance at Madison. "Take care, Madison. I'll be back."
Madison smirks at this. "That you will," she says playfully. "Be safe, Garrus. I mean, I know you'll be fine, but..."
"Doesn't hurt to say it," Garrus agrees, taking Madison's hand. He leans forward, his forehead resting against Madison's as they both smile. "I'll be back, Madison. Help Art if he needs it."
And with this, the two of them part. Garrus and Grunt walk off, with Wrex nodding. "Well, I better show them where the delegation is getting together," says Wrex. "I'll see you soon."
Wrex follows Garrus and Grunt soon after, coming up to them and then leading the way for the two members of the ground team. I cross my arms, looking at them as the three of them walk off. Okay... Well, looks like thing are going to look pretty awesome with this.
I turn, nodding to the others, smiling. "Well, there they go," says Tali. "Do you think the delegation will succeed?"
"With the promise of a cure for our genophage, I believe they will," says the female shaman. "Wrex is correct when he postulates that people would have to be stupid to reject such a condition."
"Is it even safe?" asks Isaac.
Madison shrugs. "Well, no, but I think he'll be in… good company," she comments. "And Garrus is able to survive a lot more than this. Trust me, I doubted his ability to survive once." Her expression falls slightly, as she glances guiltily to the side. "It... it did not end well..."
I shrug. "It didn't end too badly, from what I've seen," I say, looking to the others. "So for now... we wait for the delegation to return, right?"
"Actually, wished to talk," says Mordin, stepping forward. "Noticed something... odd at end of war council. Saw krogan clansman. Jorgal Krunus." Ah, so it was Krunus, with two u's. Okay. "Seemed..." Mordin sniffs quite loudly here. "Perturbed."
I raise my eyebrow. "Wait, so I'm not the only one who noticed that?" I ask.
"No," says Isaac. "I was watching him too. He was sort of... detached to the whole thing. I don't know, but... I don't trust that guy."
I cross my arms. "So you guys think he's up to something," I say.
"So do you, no doubt," Jarel comments.
I nod. "Yeah, that's very true," I mention. "I don't know what, though, and it's just a feeling..."
"Except that most of your feelings have been pretty accurate in the past," says Tali.
"True," I agree. Hm... what to do, what to do... Ah! "Madison, do you think you can shadow Jorgal Krunus?"
"I'd have to find him, but I think I can," says the Journalist. "I think I'll see what I can do."
Okay. That works for our advantage, so... "Jarel, you go with her, and monitor communications between Krunus and his clan," I say. "If you managed to capture the voice clip from Tela Vasir, I think you could do the same thing to this Krunus guy and you'll be as well off."
"It could be just a feeling," says Jarel. "Still, I think it's better to get information before we act, yes?"
Not in this case, I think. "If we wait for information in this situation, who knows what'll happen?" I ask.
"True," Jarel agrees. "Okay. Let's do it then."
With this, he and Madison begin talking amongst themselves, and I cross my arms. "You think we should tell Wrex?" I ask.
"I believe so, yes," says Anahit. "This information would be good for him to know, but I suggest you keep it from the other clans as much as possible."
The shaman nods. "She speaks the truth," she says. She nods to Anahit. "The other clans might interpret this as an act of attempting to undo the Urdnot clan from within."
I nod. "Works for me," I say. "So... when Wrex gets back, we let 'im know about that. Right guys?"
"Right," says everyone else.
Okay. So... I'm not even sure if this is going to work. But as I see Jarel and Madison walk away, I realize that really, it's the only option we've got. I mean... this is serious. If we don't trust this Krunus guy, well... It could very well be that he just moved entirely the wrong way, but at such an odd instance after we've just gained a huge strategic advantage... I'm not really sure about that. Maybe it's worth thinking about, maybe not. I dunno.
Either way... He rubs me the wrong way for some reason.
Ah, well. We'll find out if my paranoia paid off soon enough.
I walk over somewhere within the Urdnot camp. By now, Mordin's returned to the shuttle, making sure we still have a ride off. I'm not sure why, but... Well, we'll figure it out soon enough. Tali went with him too, presumably to talk to him about the little immunization treatment he put together for her people.
Man, I still can't believe that Mordin made an immunization for the quarian people. Words honestly can't tell how crazy that is. Well, how crazy awesome it is, anyhow. The quarian people, finally able to step outside of their suits... Not only is it good for teh rest of us, but it'll probably do a huge favor for their morale too. And now... it might be a good way to get people on our side about the whole geth issue.
I think.
I sort of just sit there, overlooking the Urdnot camp. There's where the pyjacks got shot at… And there's the varren pits. I look up, thinking about Shepard again. I wonder how Shepard is doing. From the way the news was painting it, it looked as if the trial hadn't started yet. I wonder about this Will Moskas character, though… Does he really want to represent Shepard? I just… I don't know. I really don't.
I hear a rather loud stomping coming from the distance, and this jolts me out of my thoughts. When I look up, I see Grunt stalking over to where I'm sitting. He's glaring at me with a not all-together happy face, and he just looks right at me.
"Art," says Grunt. "There you are. I want to talk to you about… About that meeting." He begins pacing around in a rather agitated manner.
I look up at the tank-bred krogan, frowning. "Grunt?" I ask. "What's wrong?"
"It's that peace offering," says Grunt. He looks directly at me. "I don't think…" He shakes his head, stops pacing, and walks right up to me. "It's not right. It's not how krogan are. Our honor has been insulted, our women and children have been killed. And Wrex is thinking of answering that with peace?"
I look up at Grunt. "I think he's just trying to help the krogan survive, Grunt," I comment. "If there's no need to kill people…"
"But that's exactly it," said Grunt. "The Halagog clan dishonored us, and we don't even fight them about it."
I look up at Grunt, crossing my arms. "Grunt, most of us aren't even sure that the Halagog clan is the group behind it anyway," I comment. "For all we know, they could have been framed by someone. I mean, they never found any definitive evidence, right?"
"Yes," says Grunt. "But they violently denied it. They could have done it. And that is why we need to challenge their sense of honor. Let us see if they don't run when we come for them: at least then, we'll still know that they are real krogan." He shakes his head. "But instead, we go to them with an envoy for peace. That, Art, is an insult to krogan honor."
I look at Grunt. "Grunt, your species is dying here," I comment. "You can't cling to the past all the time in these things. If you do, your people will die, Grunt. And I don't know if your people can afford that."
Grunt leans in close. "We shouldn't have to sacrifice our honor for that," he says. "I mean… sending a peace convoy…" he shakes his head. "It's disgraceful. Mark my words, Art, this will lead to worse things down the line."
And with this, Grunt walks away. He walks with a little less stamp in his step, but I notice he doesn't go over to where the throne is. Good thing, too: Anahit and the shaman we found on Sur'Kesh are talking to Wrex at his throne. They're... I can tell Wrex is really into some of the stuff the shaman's talking about. I can sense something about Anahit from where I'm standing, but I honestly don't really care what it is, because I actually feel pretty good. Anahit is apparently enjoying her return to her home planet, and honestly, who can blame her? I mean... she's gone home...
...
You know, I just realized something. In all my years here, I've never thought to visit the towns where I grew up. I mean, yeah, a hundred and seventy six years into the future is bound to change a lot of stuff. But... I wonder exactly what has changed... And a part of me is wishing I can see how some of my old haunts changed over the centuries, and if anything is still left at the end of the day. I don't know, and maybe it's foolish, but...
Maybe if I visit Earth at some point before I return...
I'm interrupted by footsteps close to where I am. I look up from where I'm sitting against the walls of the cave-like area to see Isaac walk up to me. His helmet is down, and I can clearly see his tired expression as he looks at me.
"Oh hi Isaac," I say. "Something you need?"
The engineer shakes his head, leaning against the wall. "No, it's just..." He shrugged. "It's weird, being in a place where you don't have to watch your back all the time."
I nod. "There was no rest for you once you got off the Ishimura, was there?" I ask.
Isaac shakes his head. "No," he said. "You know that asylum on the Sprawl? I was kept there for three years while constantly being haunted by visions of Nicole."
"They only got intense around the Sprawl's Marker, I see..." I say. I frown, gesturing with my hand. "How can your visions get stronger if you're around an object that only goes up to the ceiling from where I'm sitting?"
Isaac shifts so that he's sitting next to me. "The Marker on the Sprawl was a lot larger," he said. He glances at the area in front of us. "I... I'll need to find a reference point later. For now, though..."
I nod. "Indeed," I say. "Tell me a little about this Ellie Langford."
Isaac nods. "We... we ran into each other after I had narrowly escaped some Unitologists," he says. "She was alone, confused..." He closes his eyes, chuckling. "The first time we met, she actually almost shot my arm off."
I snort. "Really?" I ask. "She thought you were a necromorph?"
"She was shooting an entire gallery of them when I met her," Isaac commented. "I don't hold that against her at all. She was a little suspicious of working with me... But then as things got crazier and crazier..."
I nod. "You became friends," I say. "And that was the state of things when you were separated."
"Yes," says Isaac. "I hope she's all right..." He looks down at the ground, shifting one of his feet. "I looked up what batarian slavers do on the extranet. None of it seems... Well. You know."
"I do," I say, my expression somber. "And she's on the homeworld, where things are supposed to be worse for everyone involved. It's kinda like North Korea, if it had a slave trade."
"North Korea?" asks Isaac. "That..." He shakes his head. "That was so long ago that it's not even funny."
I shrug. "Well, where I come from, it was a current event that Kim Jong Il was a certified nutcase," I reply. "But anyway. Yeah... It's... I hope she's all right, because she sounds like a reliable ally."
"We went through a lot," says Isaac. "And now, here I am, part of something even larger."
I chuckle good-naturedly. "You don't say," I reply. "Nothing can get quite as epic as being roped into fighting a race of sentient warships that commit galactic genocide."
"Indeed not," agrees Isaac. "Though being the survivor of two necromorph outbreaks..."
"Yeah, that's a pretty big feat," I mention. "And what do you think Ellie's doing right now?"
"If she hasn't been subjugated yet..." Isaac chuckles softly. "She'd be yelling at everyone right about now."
"I can't say I blame her there," I say. "I mean, in that situation... That's just all kinds of fucked up." I look to Isaac. "You should talk to people more often about it."
Isaac crosses his arms. "Yeah, I'm thinking I should too," he admits. "I... haven't really seen you try to screw me over yet, so..."
I nod. "We're a sort of... family, on the Normandy," I say. "We're misfits from every possible walk of life you can imagine, and yet on my time on the ship we've always gotten along very well. Well, once the warming up part has been taken care of, anyway."
"It sounds like it," says Isaac. "I've never been in an environment like this... Maybe it's time I opened up a little."
I smile. "That's the spirit," I say. "Welcome to the family, man."
Isaac nods, and our gaze turns back to where Wrex and Anahit are still going at it. Wow, krogan don't seem to lose any topic of conversation, do they? I pull my legs closer to my chest, watching as that conversation continues.
And then, I jolt as I suddenly hear my comm unit crackle to life. Isaac glances at me as I bring my ear up.
"Art!" Shit, that's Garrus, and he doesn't sound like he's in good hands. "Art, come in!"
"Garrus?" I ask, activating the link. "Garrus, what's going on?"
"Art, thank the spirits you're there!" he shouts. "The delegation got attacked!"
...
"What?" I shout, jumping up. I attract some attention as I make a beeline straight for Wrex. "What happened, Garrus? Who attacked you?"
"I have no idea!" shouts Garrus. "All I know is that there are a lot of 'em, they're surrounding us, and they're all krogan!"
... Oh, shit! I break into a sprint, running towards Wrex as he turns to look at me. "Shit, Garrus, where are you?"
"We're surrounded!" he shouts. "We can't get a move on, and we can't see the targets! I don't know what they are, but from the looks of things... I don't know. I need help!"
I shake my head. "Hang in there, Garrus!" I reply. "We'll figure out where you went, and we'll be there as soon as possible!" I rush right up to Wrex, as both he and Anahit look directly at me. Isaac stumbles after me right as I look at the two krogan in front of me.
"I... I just heard from Garrus," I say.
"The delegation got attacked."
We're packed in the tomkah before we can say 'pyjak', just about. Thankfully, the guy handling the tomkahs knew exactly where Garrus and Grunt were headed, so now Wrex is rushing towards that scene. I'll say that I didn't expect the ride to be as bumpy as it is. I mean, we're more or less flying at Ludicrous Speed here, but still.
I didn't even think these things could go that fast!
Mordin and Tali are both sitting next to me, as are Madison, Grunt, and Isaac. Madison jumped right upon hearing that Garrus was in danger, and literally she dropped what she was doing. Jarel's back in camp, though, and he's making sure Anahit is safe and sound over there, in addition to doing what I assume is Madison's work. Isaac looks on, a little confused by the proceedings, but I can imagine his questions will be answered soon.
"Oh, I hope we're not too late..." says Madison, gripping the wall of the tomkah.
"Garrus will be fine, Madison," I say. "He's weathered worse storms than this." Even so, I look to the driver's seat on the tomkah, watching as the krogan piloting the thing drives as fast as he can.
We barely get about ten minutes out before I feel a sudden jolt. We're pulled to the side, and I grip my seat in shock, breathing in and out frantically. As soon as I can process how bumpy the ride has gotten, it abruptly stops, and then the door opens.
The sound of gunfire is what snaps me back to reality as the krogan at the wheel turns to us.
"Here we are!" he says. "Come on!"
I blink, looking to the others. Already, Madison has drawn her submachine gun, and is checking the entrance to the tomkah. No doubt she's looking to the nearest piece of cover. I nod, looking to the others.
"Right," I say. "Isaac, if you see any krogan, use stasis on 'em," I say. "And go for the limbs. Be prepared to shoot more than once; krogan are tough motherfuckers."
The survivor nods, as Tali and Mordin come up behind me. I pull out my assault rifle as Madison dashes out of the tomkah. Isaac follows soon after, and he rushes after Madison with only a brief interlude to use stasis on some poor unfortunate soul. I make sure that my poison rounds also are turned on. Okay... and there.
And that's when I too run out. I bring my shotgun to bear, finding that Isaac has managed to use stasis on a krogan. Okay... I quickly turn to the guy next to him, firing a short burst of assault rifle fire. It won't be enough to make him freeze up, but it should at the very least cancel out his regenerative abilities. I rush off to the side, soon after, climbing behind a rock and bringing a hand up to my ear.
"Garrus, are you there?" I shout. "Do you copy?"
"Loud and clear!" shouts Garrus. "It's so nice of you to get here now!"
I nod. "Yeah, really," I say. "Reinforcements came in?"
"Yeah," says Garrus. "We were getting overwhelmed until Wrex showed up."
Okay, so Garrus lasted this long. Honestly, I wouldn't have expected any less from him. "Okay," I say. "We got your back, Garrus! We got your back!"
With this, I come out of cover, firing some more rounds at a far-off krogan. Off in the distance, I can briefly see a turian head peek out from behind a discarded piece of a tomkah. Okay... so he's still kickin'. I'm not sure why I needed to see that to figure it out, but hey. I nod, concentrating my attention back to incapacitating various krogan.
Good, looks like we got here in time. I nod, looking on as I raise my assault rifle again. I fire it at another krogan, and before long the loud report of the krogan shotgun that Grunt carries around echoes in the area. I glance up, seeing that there's really only one more krogan. That guy goes down relatively quickly, though, and then I see a bunch of other guys come around. Judging by the krogan at the lead, though...
I nod, standing up out of cover and making my way over. Well, that firefight sure was fast. We barely got here and it just ended. I've got no idea how that happened.
Well, actually, that's a lie. I know Garrus by now, and Wrex went in a separate tomkah that went there first, so... Yeah. Superior numbers plus superior stamina equals victory. Or something like that.
I look at the wreckage of the tomkah as Madison rushes over. I walk towards the still-burning hunk of metal, barely getting close when Madison pretty much tackles Garrus to the ground. I chuckle at this, approaching the ruins of the tomkah.
Wow, Jesus. I move closer, looking at all the krogan bodies there. I see some members of the delegation gathering around Wrex, but the others... Shit, they're just laying there... dead...
... Jesus Christ. These guys died on a peace-keeping mission. Fucking hell... This is just... This is all kinds of fucked up. We try a peaceful solution, and then they get attacked! What the fuck is this bullshit? This is just...
This is all kinds of fucked up.
I glance over to Grunt, as Mordin runs over and quickly checks over the big krogan. Tali and Isaac stand off to the side, looking at the wreckage of the tomkah. I stand up, letting out a sigh. This is just wrong on so many levels. And that a krogan would do that to someone... I mean, these guys might not have known, but still. It's not cool. They go off, kill other people, and...
Well. Stuff happens. But none of it is good. I just wonder why these guys are always so violent against each other. I mean, jeez, the only reason we got them to unite was because of a fertility cure. But what happens after we cure the genophage? What then?
...
Damn it, Art, you knew the krogan weren't unified going into this whole mess. Stop it.
I shake my head, blinking. Okay... Yeah, I think I'm good for now. Maybe the genophage will make things better. And who knows? Maybe the glory they'll get from the Reapers will be a life lesson for their species or something. I dunno. Either way, I guess I just have to hope for the best.
I turn, looking over to Wrex when I notice that yes, he's walking right on over to me for some reason. I nod, but then frown when I notice his expression. It's not... really that good.
"Wrex?" I ask.
The krogan crosses his arms. "Something's wrong with this set-up," he explains.
I frown, tilting my head to the side. "Why?" I ask.
Wrex shakes his head. "This is nowhere near Halagog territory," he says. "The only reason I can think of that someone in Halagog's position would attack a peace delegation is if they didn't know." Wrex glances at the nearby tank. "But that doesn't excuse anything. We left the peace markings on it."
I frown. "And Halagog knows that," I say.
"That they do," Wrex replies. "This is not good." He glances up at me. "The only other thing this could mean is that one of the other clans ambushed this tomkah..."
I blink. "Wait, aren't all the other clans allied with you?" I ask.
"They should be," says Wrex. "I'm not so sure anymore. First they attacked the delegation. But the way it was set up..."
Wait... I frown... Oh shit! "That means they had to have known they would be passing through here," I say, rubbing my chin. "Shit, Wrex..."
"That means we might have a traitor in our midst," he says. "Someone attacked this delegation. And we need to find out who. This cannot go unanswered by the Urdnot clan."
I turn, looking to all the corpses of the offending krogan. I mean, they're all there, and they were all... of a clan... and they might have...
Identification...
Oh...
Oh no.
"We're... we're gonna have to search these bodies?" I ask.
"Of course," says Wrex. "Unless you have a better idea?"
I glance off to the side nervously. "Uh... no..." I say, rubbing the back of my head.
Wrex saunters towards the nearest dead body. "Then you start searching," he says. "Let's find out who sent these krogan to slaughter the delegation."
Man, searching all these krogan bodies... Yeuch. This is actually really disgusting. This is really disgusting, and we haven't found a shred of evidence as to which clan these guys were from or anything.
I close my eyes, feeling around in the folds of the krogan's armor. Apparently, they're supposed to have some kind of symbol on the inside of their armor if they're in a clan on Tuchanka. That bit kind of makes no sense why you'd have it inside rather than outside, but hey, what do I know? I'm telling you, the krogan people are weird.
Though, I wouldn't mind so much if I wasn't feeling up dead people. That... That's just gross. And... Good lord...
I shake my head, looking down at the bodies. Shit, did I really get to the point where I'm feeling around on dead bodies? I mean, yeah, I did this a lot in Dragon Age, when I looted bodies for coin and shitty weapons that I could sell and all that. But having to actually do it... Nothing prepares you for actually doing it. Like, actual looting. And now I can see why most sane people don't loot anymore: I just feel dirty feeling up all these bodies.
But... There's something wrong with all this. I mean... Jesus, have I really been so desensitized as to not be horribly repulsed at the fact that I'm looting bodies?
I... I don't know. Maybe that's it. I've seen so much violence since this all started. Mind you, it's saving the galaxy, but still, all this violence. I've seen someone shoot themselves in the head. I've had to actually shoot people, I've had to yell at people over stupid shit...
Damn, did I really go through two years without stopping to think about all this? Jesus Christ...
I blink, shaking my head. No, it's no use worrying about it. If the Reapers have their way, that'll mean that everybody dies. No... Art, just calm down for a sec. This isn't really changing that much. Or is it...? Shit, I dunno anymore.
Fuck. Actually shooting people is so much different than it is in video games. And it took me this long to start questioning myself?
God, I really have become desensitized by all this exposure to violence. Even if it's necessary violence...
I close my eyes. I wonder what my family would say if they could see me now. Would they yell at me? Or would they tell me I was doing the right thing? I... I don't really know.
...
Oh, calm down. The alternative is to have all organic life get killed off, and we really don't want that. So...
Gah, stop thinking, Art! These thoughts aren't any good.
I shake my head, feeling my hands rest on a part of a dead krogan. I just don't know what to make of the fact that I'm searching bodies for evidence anymore. And let's face it, this is really dirty.
A chinking sound brings me back to awareness. I look, seeing that the armor of the guy I'm searching has come undone. I sigh, then... God, feeling up bodies feels so wrong on a certain level. But honestly? I don't think the violence is that big an issue.
I mean, look at what the Reapers are doing.
I shake my head, prying the armor off. I wince as soon as I can see the inside of the chest piece. Okay... Symbol, symbol, symbol, symbol...
"Nothing," I whisper. "That's the fifth corpse I've checked."
I stand up, shaking my head. How many more corpses are there to check here? I don't know... This is just...
I sigh, closing my eyes and shaking my head. Damn it. Well, I think I better-
"Hey! I've got something!"
...
Thank you Isaac!
I turn over to the necromorph hunter. Of course he'd have a better eye, he's been looting bodies for three years! I shake my head, running over as people crowd around Isaac. Wrex comes forward, looking at the thing Isaac's indicating with the little light from his plasma cutter. The krogan leans over Isaac's shoulder, as do I. I see Isaac twitch slightly at the contact, but he maintains his composure.
Wrex frowns, and I look at what he's looking...
...
Wait. I know that symbol.
That symbol...
"That was on the Jorgal clan representative's little flag thing, wasn't it?" I ask.
Wrex huffs. "This is hard to believe," he says. "The Jorgal clan was one of the first clans to pledge its allegiance to me, and their princess Anahit is originally from the Jorgal clan. And now they're attacking my delegation?" He frowns. "This must be a mistake."
"Maybe they heard that there was a turian there and couldn't resist the offer," says Garrus. "It could be possible."
"But we don't know that," adds Madison. "And..." She glances to the side. "Well, I don't know if it's important, but I asked Jarel to look into it while I was away."
All attention is turned towards the Journalist. "Really?" I ask. "What did you see?"
"Well, after you had asked me to trail him, I found him at the edge of the Urdnot clan's grounds," said Madison. "He was making a call on his omni-tool. I didn't quite catch everything he said, but I thought I heard a couple mentions of 'plan' and 'destroy' and a couple other things referring to the Halagog clan." She rubbed her forehead. "It's not enough to definitively go on, but the fact that I heard 'destroy' somewhere in there..."
I look over to Wrex. "This doesn't sound good," he says. "I'm beginning to doubt that the Halagog clan was behind the attack at the female camp."
"So am I," I say, rubbing my chin. "Hm... About how far out are we?"
"About..." Wrex crosses his arms. "I would say another half hour. You're not suggesting we go over there and ask, are you?"
I blink. "Not without an armed escort, but yeah," I say. "I mean, that's the easy solution, right? You go to them, tell them you've got a potential genophage cure, and then ask them if they attacked the female camp."
Wrex frowns. "They have threatened war over the accusations," he comments.
Ah, yeah. Right… "Well, you saw how the clans got when you told them we had a potential genophage cure," I say. "Maybe if we go to them and say 'look, we've actually got a potential genophage cure here', then they might look the other way." I shrug. "You said it yourself that they'd be stupid to overlook that."
Wrex nods. "That is true," he admits. "Still, it's not a good idea for a clan leader to walk directly into enemy territory on Tuchanka. It can get you killed very easily."
"Armed escort," I reply. "Here, I'll even go with you."
At this, everyone else balks at me. "Art, if you hadn't come up with crazier ideas, I'd say this was not your brightest idea," says Garrus. "You should head back with us."
I shake my head. "I don't know about that," I say. "Wrex is a friend, and I think I need to stand by him no matter what." I gesture. "I'll send you back to the Urdnot camp. Hopefully, Jarel found something."
"I'm sure he has," says Madison. "We should probably go back to the Urdnot grounds. There's no telling what could've happened there."
"And it would be simpler to go to clan Halagog to ask," Wrex admits. "It will certainly grab his attention, me wandering into the enemy territory."
I smile. "And then he'll have no choice but to address you directly," I mention. "So yeah. I'm going with you. And I think Mordin should come, since he can explain about the genophage cure."
"Would not advise that," says Mordin. "Genophage is chiefly Jarel's area of expertise. Dangerous to bring salarian to other clans of Tuchanka. Would not last terribly long. Would advise you take someone likely to provoke..." He sniffs quite loudly. "Less of a reaction."
I cross my arms. "Well, I mean, you're former STG, so that's not saying that much," I comment. "That, and we're actually trying to get a reaction here."
"True," comments Mordin. "Still, would prefer not to. May be dangerous. Too dangerous."
I shrug. "Fair enough," I say. "Tali, you coming?"
"Of course," says Tali, stepping right up beside me.
I nod. "Garrus, you head back to the Urdnot clan with the others," I say.
"I guess I'm in charge until you get back?" he asks.
"Yep," I comment. "Be careful around Krunus. You never know what he's up to now, I think."
Garrus nods as some of the krogan walk on over with the turian. Wrex nods, gesturing to some of the krogan to stay close. Tali steps closer, even as Wrex looks on. I glance over at Isaac, who seems stuck for a second. He then blinks, turning to me.
"Art...?" he asks.
I nod over to Garrus. "You'll be fine Isaac," I say. "Garrus'll take good care of you."
Isaac nods. He follows Garrus, albeit a little reluctantly. I nod, turning to Wrex and some of the people in the escort.
"Right," I say. "Let's go to the Halagog clan, shall we?"
The tomkah ride takes a little over a half-hour, so it's just been Wrex, Tali, and I sitting there with the escort looking on. There's been dead silence since we left the site of the wrecked tomkah, and I can tell that nobody's up for meeting with Clan Halagog ourselves.
Still, this is something that's gotta be done, and I'm sure that Wrex understands that better than anyone else that's with us at the moment. And I know that the Urdnot clan is gonna follow Wrex to the end, given that we have a genophage cure that can be developed. So...
The tomkah then comes to a stop as I think about this. I look over to Wrex, raising an eyebrow as the tomkah pauses.
"We're probably here," says the Urdnot clan leader matter-of-factly.
I nod. "How'll we know for sure?" I ask as one of the other people in the escort opens the hatch for us.
"You'll see," says Wrex.
He moves soon after, exiting the tomkah. Okay, so... I move forward, being the next person to swing out of the- whoah!
Holy shit! There are guys pointing shotguns at us! There are lots and lots of shotguns pointed at us!
...
I nod nervously, glancing around as Tali and the others exit the tomkah. "Okay... I think I know."
We stand there, not drawing our weapons. These guys still have their shotguns trained on us, and I don't dare move a muscle. Tali stands pretty close behind me, with Wrex standing off to the side. The rest of the escort does nothing, and we're left standing there for God knows how long waiting for something interesting to happen.
Seriously, the tension here is so thick... I mean, here I am staring down the barrel of... of... Jesus, how many shotguns are around us? Okay, uh... something like, ten? Twelve? Maybe even fourteen? I dunno. Either way, I'm looking at a ton of shotgun barrels here, and it would be enough to give Jigsaw a lot of ammo for shotgun collars if he were ever to make those again. I mean, this is just...
I blink finally when some of the krogan seem to part down the middle. I take a small breath, looking in front of me as suddenly this very old krogan walks forward. He's flanked by two guards, also with shotguns, and from the looks of things he's also very well armed. He has some majorly bad scars, such that there's a hole where one of his eyes should've been. Hm, looks like he lost it to something. That's actually a pretty badass scar there, I have to admit. His head crest is an odd shade of faded brown, and I notice that his armor matches.
He walks forward, stopping directly in front of us and giving me and Tali a hard look. The krogan looks over Wrex and the rest of the Urdnot escort with a hard eye. He's silent for some time, looking at us with his one good eye.
I breathe in slowly, not daring to do stuff. I mean, come on, he's got a lot of scars there. I'm sure he could kick my ass if he wished.
...
Yeah, I'm letting Wrex handle this one.
"You have a lot of nerve, Wrex," says the old man. "Coming onto our grounds after accusing us of something so ghastly as killing your women and children."
Wrex simply chuckles at this. "I've never been known for obeying the rules, Kurtek," he replies. "You'd do well to remember that."
"But I do," he says. "It seems you brought two aliens here." His gaze turns to me. "This one has a flimsy kind of charm. With very little trouble, I could break his little arm."
... Wait... was that? No... That can't be right. Or did he really...?
Huh. Krogan quoting Rodgers and Hammerstein lyrics. Maybe it was a coincidence or something.
Eh, it's not important.
I of course say nothing, even as Wrex takes a step forward. Several shotguns being gripped is heard soon after, but Wrex doesn't move further. "I'd like to see you try," he said. "He's not as weak as you'd think."
"Obviously not," says... Kurtek? Yeah, Kurtek. "If he's here in the middle of a hostile clan with that bucket-head..." He shook his head. "You hold him in high regard, anyway. And you're here, despite your usual judgement on these matters." He turns to me. "What do you want?"
Wrex crosses his arms. "A delegation we had sent to speak to your clan was attacked," he says. "They were attacked far outside of your territory, though."
"A delegation?" asks Kurtek. "What were you sending a delegation here for? To give us one last chance to prepare before you marched on us?"
Wrex shakes his head. "No, actually," he says. "This 'alien' here-" he gestures to me as he says this, "-managed to get to Sur'Kesh and out recently. And he may have a solution to the genophage."
At this, a sharp laugh bursts out of Kurtek. "Really?" he asks. "I don't believe it for a second."
Hm... I guess I better speak up. I mean, he is referring to me, so... Just play it cool, and you'll be fine. Hopefully. "Believe it or not, we do have a possible solution," I say, crossing my arms. "And you'd be stupid to refuse it, trust me."
"And how do I know this isn't some trap of yours?" asks Kurtek.
I tilt my head to the side. "Well, the entire crew of the Normandy was branded a traitor to the Council recently," I say. "And our commanding officer even got herself arrested by C-Sec. Long story. Either way, we wandered into Council space and rescued a princess who's your answer to the genophage, nearly getting ourselves arrested for treason while we were at it. Oh yeah, and we saved the leader of the Urdnot clan's females. That too."
Kurtek frowns at me for a second, before glancing back at Wrex. He then turns back to me. "And you, a human, headed this operation?"
I nod. "Well, I had help, but yeah," I say. "I'm optimistic enough that I think you've had a cure for the genophage coming for a while now." I shrug. "I think your people have suffered long enough."
"So you don't bite into all the talk of us being dangerous," says Kurtek. "That in itself is dangerous."
I shrug. "Well, I'm stuck like a dope with a thing called hope," I mention. "So it's really not that much of a stretch."
He snorts in reply. "Maybe," he says. He turns to Wrex. "And if this cure exists, you're here to offer it to us in exchange for allowing us to be your allies?"
"Yes," says Wrex. "And for anything you might know about who actually attacked the female camp."
Kurtek gives him a look of surprise. "So you finally got around to saying that I wasn't behind that dishonorable attack after all," says the Halagog clan leader.
"Well, were you?" I ask.
"Of course not," says Kurtek. "There's no honor in murdering females or pups. Every true son of Tuchanka knows that, regardless of whether or not they agree with Wrex."
I bite my lower lip. "Then you probably shouldn't have declared war on the Urdnot clan," I mention, looking to Wrex. "I mean, it doesn't help your case at all."
"Against that affront?" asks Kurtek. "I would expect no less."
Wrex crosses his arms. "I don't know, I think it was pretty stupid of you too," he says.
"And why should that be?" asks Kurtek. "First you tell us that you want to add us, despite the fact that you have violated many traditions to get to this point. Then you accuse us of doing something you know we would never do. And then you say that you would declare war on us in retaliation. You would forcibly overtake the Halagog clan and force us into your ideals, just like you did with Clan Weyrloc."
I frown, turning to Tali. W... what? That's just stupid!
Wrex apparently agrees, for he steps forward as well. "You obviously don't know your news as well as you think you do," he says.
"Yeah!" I shout, stepping forward. "Wrex had nothing to do with most of what happened with Clan Weyrloc! He even let the females and the children join up with clan Urdnot once all the men were killed. Wrex had nothing to do with most of the fighting that occurred." Kurtek opens his mouth to speak, but I raise my hand in the air. "And yes, I am an authority to speak about this, because I was there. You weren't."
"Then why were the men mercilessly slaughtered?" asks Kurtek.
Oh dear. "Well, that's a complicated story," I say. "See, they were just being stupid. They had some delusions of grandeur about curing the genophage, but when you're killing your own people to do so, that doesn't end well. And then there's the whole 'we're gonna take over the galaxy and make everyone suffer' thing. That too, which definitely wouldn't help anybody's case around here." I shrug. "You know how it is. We've got a genophage cure, Kurtek. You'd be stupid to just brush it off."
Kurtek looks at me. "I would," he says. "But I don't trust you yet."
"Then you have my word that he will get it to you," says Wrex. "The genophage cure is only potential, but you have my word that he will finish it."
"And how can you guarantee it?" asks Kurtek. "You know that's impossible."
Wrex shakes his head. "It's not impossible," he says. "Art and I are good friends. We fought Saren together, and he is still a good friend. And at the moment, he is on a mission that is very important."
He turns to me then. "It's also got opportunities for great fights."
That it is, and... wait...
He sounds... he sounds...
I glance at him in surprise. "Wait, you want in?" I ask.
"Of course," says Wrex.
Wait... Wait wait wait wait wait! He can't be... No, this is weird! Wrex is being all what right now?
"Wait, wait," I say, waving my arms. "You want in... with the Normandy's crew?"
Wrex nods.
... Oh, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit...
Hold it in, Art. Wrex is asking you to join the crew. Hold it in, you can squee about this to your heart's content later. Later! I mean, this is awesome! And it's gonna be Wrex joining us, kicking ass to-
Wait. As awesome as this is... Hold on a second! He's got about eighty different thing sto attend to!
I breathe in, looking back to Kurtek. "Uh, Wrex, you have a clan to manage," I reply. "You're just gonna-?"
"The Reapers are too important, and I need to placate the clans that will doubt you somehow," he says. "Once we bring the attackers to justice, I should be free. Drakus'll let me know what happens on Tuchanka, I will update him on the genophage. Everyone wins." He smirks. "Besides, we'll be fighting against things with big guns. It'll be just like old times."
I blink, glancing to Tali. "He does have a point," she mentions. "It will be like the old crew getting together again."
I shrug. "Well... I dunno," I say. "But I can see your point there." I cross my arms to Wrex. "I'll talk to Garrus and Miranda about it once this whole thing blows over."
Kurtek crosses his arms. "You are quite reckless, Wrex," he says. "It's good to know that despite all your breaks from tradition, you're still a krogan at heart. Walking into a ship of people I wouldn't readily trust and trusting them with your life? It's stupid, but it takes a quad to do that." He nods. "Very well."
With this, he signals to the guys aiming their shotguns at us. As soon as he gives this, they all pull their shotguns back, stashing them away. "You've gotten my attention, Wrex," says Kurtek. "Let's talk about your females."
With this, Kurtek turns around. I nod to Wrex, following the leader of the Halagog clan as we move into Halagog territory on foot.
*Madison Paige POV*
As soon as Garrus, Mordin, Grunt, and I get out of the tomkah, I see Jarel, the shaman, and Anahit all standing there. This is certainly new.
I nod, as Garrus comes up next to me. "Jarel?" I ask. "Did you find anything?"
"Unfortunately," he says quickly, opening his omni-tool. "I followed Krunus around. What I found was not good."
I'll bet it wasn't. I shake my head. "Is it anything definitive?" I ask.
Jarel glances to the side.
"I think you should see for yourself, Madison." He opens his omni-tool. "I'm very sure that this is all according to your hunch, but I didn't think it would be this definitive."
He then opens a few files on his omni-tool, beckoning me to get closer. I lean in, and glance at the file he's downloaded to his omni-tool. Hm... Let's see...
I frown. "This is a communication," I say. "It's addressed to Krunus. It's from..." I cross my arms. "I'm assuming that this 'Gelkat' guy is the Jorgal clan leader."
"I think so," says Jarel.
"Yeah, it sounds like it," says Garrus as he reads over my shoulder. "And it's not good."
"Apparently, these are communications..." I frown. Wait... Something's odd about this. "How'd you get these files, Jarel?"
"Hacked into a datapad in his sleeping area, of course," said Jarel. "I have no idea how I didn't walk into him."
I frown, crossing my arms. "Which is strange, because this communication is basically... Basically..." I lean closer to the text. Wait... "Jarel, did you read this before you gave it to me?"
"Of course I did," says Jarel. "And then I told Anahit and the shaman straight away."
"There is not much we would be able to do from there," says Anahit.
I frown. These plans make mention of a bunch of things. And...
This is bad... This is really bad. We need to do something about this.
I look up to Jarel. "Jorgal was the clan who attacked the female camp," I comment.
"Yes," says the younger of the two. "You're not suggesting...?"
I nod, crossing my arms. "Jarel, I've seen enough Blood Pack mercs in my life to tell you that an invasion like this… it could be catastrophic," I say. "So yes, that is exactly what I'm suggesting."
The shaman frowns. "We must prepare to fight back," she says. "With Wrex away from the camp, there is nothing stopping Jorgal from attempting to take the Urdnot grounds."
"But… but this does not make any sense, shaman," says a clearly confused Anahit. "I am on Urdnot grounds. The Jorgal clan could not possibly want to kill me as well…"
"They're probably planning on taking you in the chaos," I reply. "If they steal their bargaining chip out from underneath us, they have leverage against Wrex once he returns."
"Would be probable strategy," Mordin adds from behind me. "Get Anahit, use as bargaining chip, undo most of Wrex's work…"
Garrus nods. "Yeah, that sounds like something people would do if they've murdered women and children," he says. He then looks to Anahit. "Jarel, take Anahit back to the shuttle."
Jarel frowned. "But with the Normandy unable to pick the shuttle up…" he commented. "Anahit won't be able to go to safety."
"Tell Jenny to communicate to Joker with a secure channel as you get out of there," Garrus comments. "Failing that, there may be a place that you'd be able to camp out at while keeping Anahit safe. The main priority is to keep Anahit out of Jorgal's hands and the Citadel's hands. If she falls to either, we're doomed."
Jarel nods. "All right, then," he says, nodding to Anahit. "Come on, Anahit. Let's get to the shuttle."
"Of course, Jarel," the princess replies.
With this, Anahit and Jarel both walk away as quickly as they can. I then turn to the shaman. "And what about her?" I ask, gesturing to the shaman.
"Worry not about me," she said. "I can handle myself. I was only near death on Sur'Kesh because of my weakened immune system. My immune system has returned, however, and I wish to stay here." She looks directly at me. "Someone needs to help keep these fools in line if something happens."
I nod. "Very well," I say. I give her my pistol, and she holds it there. "It's not much, but it's something to defend yourself with. You know how it is."
"Of course," says the shaman. "And now… we wait and hope that Jorgal moves first."
I look over to Grunt as he shifts uneasily. He glances around, and looks a little uncertain of a lot of things. I simply nod to him, and then turn my attention back to what is directly in front of me.