Semper Fi
Chapter 14
Wrex – 1

Wrex had had a good life. He had killed a thresher maw to become an adult, not even one of age at the time. He had fought his way out of his homeworld, alone against his father's warriors; traveled the galaxy countless times, realizing it was a small place after all; won bloody battles long forgotten by all the short-life species; destroyed spaceships, cities, colonies, even a planet once; survived countless raids, ended the life of legends, made new ones of his own and met so many people he had lost track of names. There was no such thing as an old Krogan but Wrex had lived through enough to consider he was experienced. Experience meant confidence. Confidence drove out fear.

Still, seeing the Mako in the shuttle bay every morning made him shiver. He had been perfectly happy for four months without that damn machine. Alliance goons themselves called that thing the space cockroach. It was truly indestructible and too often an obstinate driver would try to prove the Mako wrong, ignoring the screams of the passengers. Wrex had checked in bars all over the galaxy, asking questions to human soldiers: each driver seemed possessed behind the wheel and tended to do stupid things, like throwing the Mako over the nearest cliff. That wasn't just Shepard.

"Is she training?"

Wrex turned to see Tali behind the force field that separated their cabin in two, lasciviously laid on their bed, naked above the sheet, her white skin reflecting the dim light coming from the shuttle bay. He could barely see her – he had to admit krogan sight wasn't the best of the galaxy – so he let his imagination took over, helped by the glimpses of her body: long thin legs, followed by round and full hips, a narrow waist, perky little breasts with dark nipples, delicate shoulders, long and graceful neck, sharp profile with her flat nose and white eyes, shaved head but for her little braid on the right side. She was beautiful and he wanted her just at this thought.

"No," Wrex sighed nonetheless, knowing perfectly of who Tali was talking about. He walked to their bed, passing through the force field and waiting for it to clean him, and laid down next to his lover. She was so small and fragile compared to him, he thought as he caressed her side with a finger.

"It's been days," Tali said. "Why doesn't she train? She always trains, even when she's injured."

"Took a pretty big slap this time."

"She's not stupid, she knows she can't always win." Wrex shut up. Tali was young and didn't know the galaxy as well as she thought. She didn't know how ugly a job could turn in the blink of an eye just because you had a hole between your legs.

Wrex had known as soon as he had welcomed Shepard on board. She had smelled like blood and Batarians, even after days and countless showers. He wasn't an idiot, he could do the maths. Batarians were barbaric little shits, slavers who had no respect for their merchandize. They wounded and killed what they considered no better than animals. Still, they raped said animals, regardless of gender and age. They needed the humiliation. It was part of their culture – and probably the only way those less than nothing could get off anyway. Wrex hated Batarians. They didn't know what true power was and they couldn't do a clean job.

Still, he understood why they had wanted to reduce Shepard to an animal. She sadly represented the fall of the Batarians, and even had participated to it. Shepard had fought on Torfan, kicking those bastard back home with their tail between their legs. She had put an end to a lot of traffics created by Batarians, killed hundreds of their mercenaries. She was the face they pictured when they remembered the last twenty years of isolation and humiliation. Killing her would have been too sweet for her. They had needed to destroy her completely.

It actually amused Wrex a little just to imagine those bastards learning the Bahak system was still there, its relay still working, the asteroid now in the Sol system and Shepard alive. They probably didn't know Vakarian had actually saved the day instead of Shepard but that wouldn't have changed a lot of things anyway. Vakarian was a Turian between countless others, unknown from the vast majority of the galaxy. Batarians couldn't care less about him, especially if Shepard was around. She would be the target of all their hatred once again. Not that they needed another reason.

"What are you thinking about?" Tali asked, teasing him with her own little hands.

"Nothing in particular," Wrex lied, his finger tracing the soft curves of her breasts. It wasn't a subject he would talk about with Tali. He loved her but she seriously lacked maturity sometimes.

"Who do you think will go this afternoon?"

"Hm?"

"The mission." Wrex smirked. Tali knew how to awake his appetite for morning sex – not that he needed help. "Shepard said we'd take down merc outposts until the Council calls for her and Vakarian."

"I don't know." He'd like to go though. Shepard was not in her best shape. Wrex knew something was going on with her biotics. She smelled funny, not like herself at all, and it had nothing to do with the smoke and tobacco. Something was up with her, something Wrex could feel but not explained. He could have asked but he doubted Shepard would honestly answer. That would come but not yet. For now, she needed to rest, to digest everything that had happened to her. There would be time later for getting drunk and talking. He was her friend – and proud to be. She'd talk.

Shepard would need a powerful biotic with her for this mission. That meant either Javik or Wrex, plus the Turian. Wrex trusted Javik with his own life. He knew the Prothean would protect Shepard no matter what, so who was going with her didn't have much importance – as long as it wasn't Liara or Alenko. They both were good kids but they lacked the guts needed to reduce a platoon to a bloody pulp at once, especially Liara. When it came down to killing without emotions, Javik and Wrex were the first in line – and Legion too, considering – especially if Shepard's life was in danger.

Wrex smiled for himself. He had came to really like that little skunk. He had met her on her first job as a Spectre. Nihlus was with her but Wrex had barely noticed him, to be honest. He had focused on that Human with hair as red as his own exoskeleton, who had killed twenty of his men in five minutes, just with her little guns. When Wrex had faced her, he had known she was more than what she seemed. He could smell her powers but she wasn't using them, so he tried to trigger her biotics. The result had been interesting: raw power, unshaped, devastating, burning like a thousand suns. She had managed to stop him in his charge and do some severe damages, but it had drained her to exhaustion. Wrex had had no intention to kill her at this point, not after all the fun they had had together, but he had a job to do nonetheless. He was about to knock her down when Saren had stopped him with a bullet in the brain.

Even with regeneration, Wrex had lost memories in that fight. He remembered they had been important and dear to him but he never could manage to retrieve them, even after hours and days of thinking and meditation. Any other species would say regeneration was a great advantage but Wrex had come to think it was a curse. A smart Krogan could easily outlive an Asari thanks to his cellular regeneration but any damage to his brain would erase his memories. Wrex had had to learn how to speak two or three dozen languages at least twice in his long life. Still, he was one of the lucky bastards. He had seen debilitated Krogans more than often, shitting in their pants because they had once more the mind of a child. It was a sad thing to meet an old friend and realizing he had no idea who you were and what you had lived with him.

He would forget about Tali one day and he feared that possibility more than anything else. He fucked her gentler than usual this morning.

Still, the Mako was a pretty frightening sight in itself. The beast dared to shine and look indestructible in front of Wrex hours later in the shuttle bay. The Alliance had given them a brand new death trap, the latest model with reinforced plating, more powerful thrusters and state of the art mass effect generator. That just meant more charge into whatever was in front of Shepard: barricade, concrete walls, mountains, cliff, you named it. The only comfort Wrex had was in the impossibility to use that damned machine unless the Normandy was docked. The Mako couldn't free-fall from orbit and the Normandy SR-2 was too big and delicate to land without the proper accommodations, or to get too close of the ground. That was a big relief.

"Look who I found hiding in Lab1!"

Wrex turned to see Vega arriving with a not particularly happy Vakarian. The Turian was wearing that black and green armor the Alliance had given him when they had rescued him and Shepard on the asteroid. Good stuff, light but resistant and flexible. Kind of old actually. It had been a week and Wrex hadn't seen the Turian out of that armor, not even at breakfast. Turians trained to sleep in their armor during their years in the army but anybody who had slept one night in full gear would rather not do it again, Krogans included. A warrior in armor to rest could only wait for shit to come.

Wrex snorted. Vakarian was expecting troubles. Wrex wasn't an idiot, he knew it had to do with Shepard. Vakarian reeked of guilt and anxiety. The kid needed to relax and what was better than a good kick in the butt for that?

"'bout time you joined use for training, Garrus," Wrex said. The Turian gave him a cold look back. First names were for friends and family, not strangers, especially Krogans. Wrex counted on that to push the kid to his limits. An angry Turian was a sloppy Turian. It would make a big difference with this one. Wrex had seen him train with Shepard and Javik through the windows of his cabin. Vakarian was good. Really good. Wrex wouldn't put him down easily. "I needed a new sandbag," he pushed a little more.

Vakarian's eyes spoke for him: focused and sharp. He wouldn't miss one opportunity. Wrex smiled back at him and gathered everyone. On all the fighting personnel, only Javik, Legion, EDI, Shepard and the Salarian were missing – though that slimy asshole wasn't really part of the team, he just happened to be with them on Ilos and that meant nothing at all to Wrex. Even Liara had showed up, every day since they had left Arcturus Station. She would come for a while then find new excuses to miss training. Wrex knew the pattern all too well to be fooled.

"So," Vega started, already jumping like a pyjak, "sparring?"

"Yeah, sure," Wrex shrugged. He saw Liara heavily eye Vakarian. Wrex knew the Turian had kind of a soft spot for Liara – they worked a lot together in Lab1 and Liara was a good kid, hard to dislike – but if she thought he'd go easy on her, she was mistaking. All his anger would explode at her face – or her face. "Garrus," Wrex added, waving at him to come nearby, "with me. I wanna see what you're made of, kid."

The Turian snorted and did something Wrex didn't anticipate: he attacked directly, quick like lightening. He closed on Wrex in the blink of an eye. His kick came from below, where he knew a Krogan's field of vision was less than shit. Wrex took the knee in his chin and tried to catch the bastard but Vakarian suddenly used him as support to jump back, out of reach. He landed as Wrex caught his balance and attacked again, this time with his fist. He feinted a right hook, only to punch Wrex' jaw with his left and fall back again.

"Looks like the sandbag is kicking your ass, old man," Vakarian said, keeping his guard high. The Turian may have been smaller than Wrex but his limbs were longer. He was faster, had a better reach and he knew how to fight against a Krogan. Wrex didn't have much choice if he wanted to take him down. He threw his fist in the air, activating his biotics with the movement. Vakarian jumped to avoid the blow but one of his feet got caught in the wave. He lost balance, fell on his back and rolled on the ground, kneeling as soon as possible, only to jump back on his feet, ready to fight again. Vakarian smiled, the kind of smile that promised a good fight. Wrex was happy to oblige.

"What the fuck did you have in mind?"

Wrex winced as Chakwas stitched the loose folds of his skin under the jaw back together. It wasn't really painful but Shepard's yelling always resonated unpleasantly in his skull. And she had done a lot of yelling for the last couple of minutes. Vakarian, in nothing but his pants, had endured it stoically, eyes locked on the wall, as if he wasn't really there, his arms resting on his knees. Wrex hadn't paid much attention to Shepard's scoldings at the time. He had looked at all the scars the Turian had on him, especially that long and deep burn on his chest, down to his hip. Wrex had never seen something like that on a Turian – they hated scars.

"Wrex!" Shepard snapped. "I'm talking to you!" Wrex deigned to turn to her.

"We were training, is all," he grumbled. He really liked Shepard but he hated when she thought she was his boss. Still, her ship, her rules.

"Don't talk," Chakwas commanded, still stitching him.

"You call that training?" Shepard insisted, pointing to Vakarian. The kid was uglier than usual with his broken nose and all the bruises from the fight. Pockets of blood bulged here and there, even under the thin layer of skin above the exoskeleton – wasn't skin exactly but Wrex had never been interested in anatomy, unless it was a useful tip to kill his target.

"I'm fine, Commander," Vakarian said automatically.

"You," Shepard turned, pointing a finger at him, "shut up." Vakarian kept on staring at the wall and didn't say a word, as ordered. Wrex saw Shepard frown a little and he knew Vakarian had done something she didn't like. But what? He just had obeyed.

"'was necessary," Wrex continued. Chakwas clicked and removed her hands from her canvas. "'had to see what the kid was capable of."

"I'll sew your lips together if you don't stop talking now, Wrex," Chakwas threatened.

"Do that to Shepard," he growled, "she's asking the questions."

"She may ask the questions," Chakwas replied, "but I am the one with big needles." Wrex growled wordless complains and even sat still as the doctor finished her handy work. Shepard kept on lecturing him but he didn't pay attention to her. "There," Chakwas finally said a few minutes later, "all done."

"You know I regenerate, right?" Wrex asked, touching the line of stitches. Chakwas slapped his hand away.

"I know you'll open the wound again if you touch it. Now," she added, turning to Vakarian, "how are those swellings?"

"It's fine," Vakarian replied, standing next to the bed where he had sat until now. He reached for his armor parts. "I'm fine," he assured, then straighten up. "I'll rest before the mission, with your permission, Commander."

"You're not going," Shepard said. A hint of panic crossed Vakarian's face for a second.

"I insist on going, Commander. I have to, I..."

"Have to think about what you're doing, Vakarian," Shepard finished, her voice cold and imperious. "Dismiss."

"I trained with the others as you recommended," he replied, shrugging. Wrex shared a look with Chakwas. Shepard's orders were final, everybody knew it on the team. There was no talking back tolerated.

"Don't play the smartass, Vakarian," she growled, "you know exactly what I'm talking about."

Wrex counted three respiration of tensed silence before Vakarian finally abandoned the fight. He walked out of the medbay, head low. Shepard nervously fumbled in her pocket to find her pack of cigarettes.

"Damn," Wrex said to distract her, "never thought I'd see a Turian disobey a direct order." She snorted but obviously didn't want to stay to chit chat. Wrex insisted. "He changed after that mission."

"I won't talk about it," Shepard said. "It's cla..."

"Keep your classified bullshit for someone else, little girl," Wrex interrupted her. She frowned and looked at him as he hopped off the bed, straightening. Shepard was tall for a female of her species but Wrex easily towered over her by a quarter of her height. He contracted all the muscles he could and held his head high, as if he was facing one of his own. Shepard was a warrior, like him, honed in fire and blood, one of the finest of the galaxy. She deserved the respect, even if she was a stubborn little cunt. "I know what happened to you and if you don't want to talk about it, fine, I won't force you," Wrex said, walking towards her, "but don't you fucking lie to me." He could have punch her in the guts, it would have had the same impact. "We shared blood on the battlefield, Shepard," Wrex hammered, standing right in front of her, covering her with his shadow.

"And?" she asked, a brow raised, arms folded. "You're like my husband or something now?" Wrex snorted. He knew a bunch of people who'd have shat their pants in her situation but she wasn't afraid. He could smell it.

"More like a third cousin," he joked to lighten the tension between them, "but krantt nonetheless. And Krogans fight for their krantt."

"So I just have to ask and you'll kill every Batarian in the galaxy?"

"'could be fun," Wrex smirked, bending a little to face Shepard. He saw her lose all trace of humor and he knew he had to change the subject. She probably thought joking about a genocide was a bad idea, considering, but Wrex couldn't care less, as long as his species wasn't the target. He straightened and turned his back to her to retrieve his upper armor. "And I can deal with that rebellious Baby-Spectre of yours if you want." Wrex noticed Chakwas had disappeared from the medbay. He hadn't seen her leave. Damned little terkochenka.

"Vakarian is actually giving me the same shit," Shepard sighed, annoyed.

"What shit?" Wrex asked, putting on his armor.

"Being overly protective over the frail and defenseless little girl I am," she snorted. She rubbed her forehead, then pushed back her hair.

"You're not frail nor defenseless, Shep," Wrex said, adjusting his sleeves. "I saw you rip off the hearts of a Krogan with your bare hands to make sure he'd stay down for good. That's barbaric, even for me." Shepard snorted. "Turians rarely face rape," he continued, sealing the left side of his armor. "It happens in their society, like in any other I guess, but rapists are skinned alive and let to rot in the sun until they die. Well, they did that a few years back. That gotta stop a lot of 'uncontrollable urges', if you see what I mean."

"Your point, Wrex," Shepard pressed him, obviously wanting to avoid the subject.

"The kid failed you," he resumed, finishing to seal his armor, "and he's making sure it won't happen again. It has more to do with him than you, really."

"And you think I don't know that already?" she mocked. "I've spent six days trapped on an asteroid with him, Wrex. He refused to free the other prisoners because they were, and I quote, 'unknown entities possibly endangering the mission by their irrational behavior'."

"You sure he wasn't talking about him?" Wrex joked, stretching to make sure his armor was well positioned. Shepard didn't find it funny. "You have to deal with your own shit," he continued, turning to her, "that's why I offered to take care of him. As I see it, you need to regenerate, Shep. You're strong but you're no Krogan, that'll take time."

"I'm fine," she shrugged. Wrex rolled his eyes. "I'm serious," she insisted. "Not the first time it happens, won't be the last. It sucks but I'm alive."

Wrex gave her a sad smile. Most of the people he knew would curl up in a corner and cry after what happened but Shepard was still standing and fighting. He admired that in her, that will, that fire inside of her. But, even if she acted like everything was fine, she needed time for herself. "Please, Shepard," Wrex said gentler, "let me help you." Shepard's smell was suddenly spiced by fear and anxiety, just a hint but it was enough for Wrex to know he had seen through her plating. She was tough, no doubt about it, but they'd been friends long enough for him to know her down to her core. She needed time alone and he would give her some.

She closed her eyes and sighed. She didn't need to say the words, Wrex knew when he had won a battle – against Shepard! A feat ought to be celebrated! That's why it surprised him when she talked: "Does anybody else know?"

"Ash, I think," Wrex said after a second of thinking. "She's pretty jumpy since you came back. Chakwas and the Salarian?" She rolled her eyes. Yeah, that was pretty obvious. "Javik?"

"I don't know." Her voice was trembling a little. "I kind of avoided him lately."

"Yeah, I get that." Though Javik never penetrated one's thoughts and memories without their agreement through touch, he could still sense strong feelings and emotions with the brush of the skin. And then, he would relentlessly try to know what had caused those feelings, especially if something had happened to one of his friends. Since Javik couldn't live without Shepard, he'd harass her with that for days, then probably start a genocide like the galaxy hadn't seen one for fifty thousands years. "Tali and Liara are completely blind to that kind of shit," Wrex continued, folding his arms. "I love them but they can be pretty stupid sometimes." Shepard didn't say a word but Wrex knew she agreed with him. The kids were pretty smart actually but they still were young and naive. They couldn't imagine all the shit that could happen to a defeated soldier – and death was the sweetest defeat possible. "Vega and Alenko might sense something's wrong but they're not the type to come to you if they only have doubts," Wrex continued.

"Yeah..."

"Joker?"

"He's smart, he probably figured it out, but he knows better than to give me pity." Wrex nodded. The pilot was a good friend of Shepard. He'd be there if she needed him, otherwise he'd act like her, as if nothing had happened. "I asked EDI and Legion to both shut up on the subject."

"Why would they care?" Wrex snorted. "They don't have feelings."

"They do, more or less," Shepard corrected him. "We talked about it once. Not knowing what to do provokes stress in them, actually."

"Fascinating but you're changing the subject, Shep." She growled something in a language Wrex didn't understand. "The others?"

"Cortez, maybe, Adams too but I'm their Commander, they won't try to comfort me or anything." That was apparently a relief. Wrex understood. Shepard didn't want comfort or pity from anybody. As she saw it, it was her problem and only her could deal with it.

"I doubt I can do anything about Ash," Wrex said, "but I'll deal with the Turian. Let me go with you this afternoon."

"I'm not going, actually," Shepard replied. "I can't."

"Your biotics?"

"Yeah," she admitted, burying her hands in her pockets, "I kinda fucked up on that part. I'll put everyone in danger so it's better if I don't go."

"And Vakarian? You'll put him in charge?"

"God no," Shepard frowned. "He's good, there's no denying that, but he can't give orders. He doesn't know how to do that."

"You learn to fight by going on the battlefield, Shep," Wrex reminded her. "You Humans have a similar saying for that, with a baby thrown into water to make it swim or something like that."

"Turians drown, Wrex."

"Because their daddies never threw them in a river," Wrex mocked. "I tell you Shep, that's the krogan way and it works pretty damn well." Before the genophage anyway. They could kill kids by the tone to get results at the time, they didn't care a thousand years ago. Now every kid who survived birth was overly protected and was barely able to use a weapon at the age of one. That was a fucking pity.

"Not in his current state of mind," Shepard insisted.

"Alright," Wrex conceded, throwing his hands in the air. "Put me in charge for this mission, Shepard, and let Baby-Spectre come with me. We both need to shoot stuff."

"Fine," she winced. "Can I choose the third man or it's up to you too?"

"I'd rather go alone with the Turian actually." Shepard frowned a little more but capitulated.

"You tell him," she said as she walked to the door. Wrex followed her to the mess. Gardner was already fixing lunch. "I'll punch him in the face if I see him again today."

"Lots of anger in you kiddo," Wrex smirked, patting her on the shoulder. "'might want to release the tension with some good old fu..." Shepard gave him a cold look. "… exercise," Wrex finished, changing the end of his sentence. "Right, exercise. Lots of exercise. Sweat all your anger and horrible tobacco."

"I'll consider it," she grumbled, heading for the lounge.

Wrex followed her until he reached Life Support's door, at which he knocked. He could have asked EDI to open it for him but he didn't want to scare the Turian. The kid probably had weapons in that room and Wrex didn't want to trigger a stupid reaction. He had seen Chakwas enough for today.

The door opened on Vakarian, still shirtless. The Turian was the only one on board tall enough to look at Wrex in the eyes. It was a little unsettling. Wrex was used to look at everyone from above and use his massive body to impress whoever he had in front of him. Vakarian had never bought his bullshit though, from the moment they had seen each other in the shuttle bay until now.

"Can I help you with something?" the Turian asked, his pale blue eyes searching for the clue confirming his bad intuition.

"Why yes," Wrex mocked. "You'll come with me this afternoon."

"Where?"

"Groundside." Vakarian's face stayed the same but Wrex could smell the surprise in him – and the anxiety. "Shepard's not coming," Wrex continued. "It'll be just you and me, Baby-Spectre."

"Is it one of your idea or an order from the Commander?" the Turian asked coldly.

"Both," Wrex smirked. Vakarian frowned. "You can go ask for confirmation if you want," Wrex offered, moving to the side to give him passage, "but I have to warn you: she's pretty pissed off by your attitude so she might finish the job on your face."

"My attitude?"

Wrex gave a look over his shoulder to Gardner. The Sergeant was a good man but a little too curious for his own sake. Half the gossips on the ship had been his invention. It was a miracle he was still alive, considering all the strong personalities on board.

Vakarian understood what was going on and invited Wrex inside. Life Support was a nice little room brightly lighted and warm with that – and it reeked of the Turian. It formed an angle to the left, with a window giving on the reactor on the far wall. Vakarian had installed a desk and a chair in the continuation of the left wall, a sniper rifle currently disassembled there. Behind that were another chair, a crate and a suitcase. It took a second to Wrex to remember Turians didn't use beds like most of the known species. They slept sitting due to the spinal crest in their back, covered by their exoskeleton. Krogans usually did that too but comfortable horizontal mattresses had won Wrex over for quite some time now.

"Shep doesn't need your pity," Wrex said, feigning an uninterested look at the weapons on the shelves on his right. Damn, the kid already had an impressive collection, thanks to the Alliance. Wrex mostly used his shotgun and didn't care much for other pieces of artillery but he felt a bit jealous nonetheless.

"I don't pity her," Vakarian defended himself.

"I don't know what you do but you have to stop," Wrex insisted. "Shep doesn't like goody goodies like you."

"I'm not..."

"You're protecting her," Wrex interrupted, pointing a finger at Vakarian, "but all you do is remind her of what happened. She wants to be over it so let her, dammit! Give her some space and stop worrying for her. She's fine. She's alive."

Vakarian's shoulders fell and his face lost its hardness. He looked defeated. "I failed her."

"You were unconscious," Wrex reminded him. He had heard the epic parts of the story from Shepard herself at dinner once far from Arcturus Station. She hadn't talked about torture or rape or anything bad like that, skipping that part with some bullshit about cold cells and Batarians leaving the asteroid. Shepard had teased Vakarian with his nap but the Turian hadn't replied to that. He had stayed very silent during that dinner, more than usual. "What could have you done anyway, butt naked and all?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "Something."

"Something stupid," Wrex confirmed. He sighed and folded his arms. "What happened is pretty ugly, I know that, and it comes from a merc who did this kind of things in his life." Vakarian lifted his eyes to meet Wrex'. "I'm thirty-eight and a third, Garrus," Wrex told him, "which starts to be old for a Krogan. I've seen and done enough in my life to write a hundred of your sagas and I haven't been the nicest guy around. I've killed, I've tortured, I've raped, not only prisoners but also their families and friends in front of them. That's the job."

"I doubt rape is a necessity, even for a mercenary," Vakarian snorted, his eyes flashing with anger.

"Don't give me attitude, Garrus," Wrex replied coldly. "You're the Council's bitch now. If they ask you to kill a guy who's doing good for his people just because he's on their way, you'll do it. If they ask you to blow up a commercial flight to discretely eliminate a target, you'll do it. If they ask you to sterilize a whole species to make sure it's not a threat anymore, you'll do it. Heck, you don't even need to be a Spectre to do this kind of things! You spent fifteen years in the army, taking orders and killing who you were told to. You did your job, I did mine. You're no better than me."

Vakarian wasn't going to agree, Wrex knew it. Turians from the Hierarchy were generally too proud to admit their government was no better than any other. From Wrex' point of view, they were as blind as any Batarian raised under the Hegemony, brainwashed from birth to the Valley of Bones. You could talk philosophy with a Turian like Nihlus, who had seen both sides, especially when he was high, but not with someone like Vakarian. He believed too strongly in the superiority of his people.

"Let's agree to disagree," Wrex added, dismissing anything the kid would want to say with a wave of his hand. "I'm not here to talk ethic with you." Vakarian nodded. "Leave Shepard alone," Wrex insisted. "She needs it and I'd add she's not stupid. She'll ask for help if she feels like talking or stuff."

"There's really nothing I can do?" Vakarian asked.

"I'd say make her proud but she's not your mommy," Wrex mocked. "You're under her responsibility so not dying on the job would be a nice touch," he shrugged, more serious. "Just don't be stupid, that should do."

"It'd be better if I stayed on the ship and worked on the VI in Lab1 then."

"And miss all the fun? Come on, Garrus, you're a man of action, it's engraved in your bones. Besides, I've heard so much about how impressive you are on the battlefield but I didn't see anything worth admiration so far. So you'll get your skinny ass to the shuttle bay after lunch and come with me take down some mercs," Wrex said. "Understood?" Vakarian nodded and they were done.

Wrex didn't even checked the name of the place they were going to. Shepard liked to know everything about her next target, from the weather down to the position of the stars in the sky at night, but Wrew always had found all those information useless. He had been a mercenary long enough to know how to adapt his aim on the go. He didn't need to know the exact force of the gravity, he felt it in his bones, as much as the pressure of the air on his shoulders or the direction of the wind on his face. Besides, he wasn't a sniper. His shotgun had to be used at close range so the bullets couldn't be deviated by the influence of the nearest moon or whatever.

All Wrex knew was that the view wasn't bad. A gas giant hanged above their heads, huge and red, only leaving a strange belt of yellowish space just above the horizon. The ground was rock-hard ice covered by some sort of turquoise metallic dust, and super flat with that. Wrex could see kilometers around. There was no cover at all. A surface like that just called for horrendous winds and storms but the satellite was too cold and its atmosphere too thin for that. Still, a glace geyser pierced the surface from time to time. The activity was probably due to the attraction of the gas giant.

"Nice, huh?" Wrex said, opening wide his arms. "That's my kind of place: hostile enough to discourage fuckers to come bother me." He turned to Vakarian, who was walking just behind him, using him as a shield. The Turian had his sniper rifle in hand, eye on the visor. He obviously hated the place.

"Bit cold for me," he replied through the radio. Even Wrex had to wear his helmet here. Krogans were pretty resilient but they still needed to breath, oxygen preferably.

"Bah," Wrex shrugged, walking again, "I've seen worse."

The mercenary outpost was just a kilometer away but Wrex wasn't worried. Nobody would stand guard in a place like that, too cold, too open. They could find automated security systems outside, but only if the mercenaries had ever imagined someone would be crazy enough to come here to get them. That didn't leave a lot of people in the Terminus Systems, to be honest. Mercenaries could hunt on their own kind but there were easier targets, like commercial flights, mining asteroids, colonies, or the Attican Traverse.

That's why it didn't surprise Wrex when they find nothing at all on the ground but a landing zone and an entrance to an underground base. "That's your cue, Garrus," Wrex said, pointing to the door.

The Turian nodded and worked his magic on the electronics. The door unlocked under fifteen second. "They don't know we're here," Vakarian told him, lifting his sniper rifle again.

"And I thought you were on board just to eat our food and complain about everything," Wrex mocked, opening the way.

"I don't complain."

"You're not a ray of sunshine either, son," Wrex reminded him. The door closed behind Vakarian and they waited for the airlock to adjust the pressure and the temperature. It was pretty quick nowadays but Wrex remembered the days where you had to wait an hour in an airlock to make sure the rapid temperature change wouldn't fuck up an armor's plating or seals. Those were the good days where all your enemies would gather anxiously behind the door to welcome you with guns and fire. Wrex kind of missed it.

But it was also nice to not be blown by a grenade as soon as the doors opened, he had to admit that. The vestibule was empty but for some crates, gas tanks and generators. Wrex aimed for the next door, taking his shotgun, but Vakarian didn't move.

"What is it?" Wrex asked, stopping on his way. The Turian was looking at the generators.

"Just an idea," Vakarian said, "but you won't like it."

"Shoot." Vakarian aimed and shot the generator indeed, and the explosion made Wrex jumped ten feet in the air. The room went completely dark before red lights kicked in, the emergency generator starting. An alarm rang through all the base. "You fucking moron!" Wrex yelled over the alarm. "It's a figure of speech, not an order! Now everybody knows we're here!"

"Not yet," Vakarian replied as he dragged two crates to the airlock, one on top of the other. He put the crates in the middle of the tracks and activated the doors of the airlock. They started to close but stopped as they found something on their way. Vakarian hacked them just then, blocking them in that position, and put his sniper rifle on top of the crates, aiming at the main doors. Fucking Turian, Wrex thought as he checked his immediate surroundings. He didn't have much choice so he ran to the wall on the left of the main doors, to take the mercenaries between two fires.

The doors were barely starting to open when Vakarian fired his first shot, and Wrex smelled blood immediately, between other things. The next round was as efficient as the first, and the following too. Vakarian reloaded and the mercenaries used that second to pass the doors, only to be welcomed by Wrex and his biotics. He finished those who didn't break their neck in the flight with his shotgun. Someone had the good idea to throw a grenade at him but Vakarian shot said grenade, which exploded behind the doors, devastating the mercenaries' ranks. A few survivors yelled and ran inside the main room. Wrex followed them, shotgun in hand, and finished them from behind.

And with that, they were done. Wrex felt deeply unsatisfied as he looked at the main room and all the possibilities it could have given him for a good fight. There were crates and machines and gas tanks and everything a Krogan could dream of for some decent fun.

Vakarian arrived on his right, sniper rifle already in his back, and gazed at the room too. "So," he said, folding his arms, "was that impressive enough for you, Wrex?"

Wrex snorted. The kid had balls, he had to admit that. He punched Vakarian in the shoulder nonetheless.

"What was that for?" the Turian asked, making a big deal out of rubbing his armor over his shoulder.

"For thinking you were funny," Wrex replied, starting to walk through the containers maze. "Come on, the job isn't done yet. And since you like to rob me of all the fun, I'll let you catalog everything there is in this shithole."

"Awesome," Vakarian winced, following Wrex. The Krogan couldn't help but smile a little. Vega was right. That Turian wasn't so bad.

TBC