Well, it's time for everyone's favorite Krogan to take the spotlight. Honestly, I almost completely forgot about Wrex and the krogan in general during the writing of my multiverse. Hopefully this chapter will correct some of my oversight.
Disclaimer: I do not own Halo, Mass Effect or anything else that appears in this story.
"Incoming!"
Artillery impacted all over the Urdnot camp, some finding soft targets and blowing them to pieces, while most of the others kept hammering the fortress. Fortunately, the Krogan built to last, and the bunker held.
But Urdnot Wrex knew that it was all just a distraction. Their enemy was a cunning and relentless one, and sure enough, lines of horrific monsters and corrupted Tomkahs could be seen coming over the hills.
"Return fire!" Wrex ordered. "Tear those abominations apart!"
At his word, Urdnot returned fire in kind, striking the exposed enemies and shredding hundreds of them with one volley. Despite the destruction, Wrex knew that it would only delay these monsters, which was why they were only a rearguard to cover the evacuation.
As the artillery duel raged on, Wrex tempered his blood rage, while a part of his mind couldn't help but think back to how all of this was happening. Ever since the Reaper War, he had been focused on rebuilding the former glory of their species.
Things were going well for the Krogan. Despite many efforts, Wrex was able to keep the more violent clans in check as their species slowly worked to recapture their former glory.
The discovery of the multiverse, the creation of the IDA, and the forming of the Republic and Separatists, were definitely unusual events, but the Krogan took it in stride. Things had been going well.
Then the Flood attacked.
The Parasite had ravaged their way through the multiverse, consuming everything in their path. A lot of the more bitter clans laughed as many worlds in Citadel Space were overrun. But the laughter died when the Flood came after them.
Wrex attempted to rally the clans once more, and while he was able to get a considerable amount to follow his commands, others still either went their own way or refused to answer.
Most of Clan Nakmor had vanished prior to the Reaper war, and no one had seen them since. Other more violent clans had attacked the Parasite head on, counting on their numbers to win the day.
Against any other opponent, the number of bodies the krogan could throw would've certainly given them pause. But that strategy was the absolute worst thing they could've done against the Flood.
Eventually, the Parasite made their way toward Krogan space before touching down on Tuchanka itself. Even the Reapers had difficulty taking over this world, but the Flood, they were adapting easily.
It became clear that the unthinkable would have to happen if the Krogan were to survive: they would have to abandon Tuchanka. Wrex found it difficult to give the order, and indeed, a number of clans had refused, preferring to fight to the bitter end.
The Flood corrupted every life form they touched, and the Krogan were no exception. Infected Krogan were stronger than they had been previously, and their regeneration tended to make them much harder to put down. Then again, the same could be said for the rest of Tuchankan wildlife.
"Wrex!" He was drawn back to his senses, just in time to see yet another wave coming over the hill. And this time, they had air units.
"We can't hold this position!" Wrex cursed. "Fall back! Fall back!"
Everything halted when the ground began to shake. Then, a massive worm-like shape emerged from the ground, some distance away from the camp. It began slithering towards them, spitting blobs of Flood biomass at the krogan lines and ignoring all the fire against it.
The creature that had once been a Thresher Maw was now covered with cancerous yellow-green flesh. Tentacles sprouted haphazardly on the monster, while sacs of yellow fluid could be seen everywhere.
Acid emerged from multiple orifices, while several sacs popped, releasing either clouds of spores or infection forms. Screeching above drew attention to the Harvesters, who had also become mobile spore creators.
On the ground, rolling Flood forms made their way to Urdnot lines, before unfurling themselves into long tentacled monstrosities, grabbing many krogan and dragging them into the Flood lines.
The Parasite moved towards Urdnot like a tidal wave, swallowing everything in their path. Several krogan were too slow and were overwhelmed by the Flood. The Thresher Maw broke through the camp lines with ease, bringing hordes of infection forms with them.
It was no longer a semi-organized retreat, but a close-quarters brawl for survival. Wrex glowed with biotic energy, sending dozens of infection and combat forms flying, splattering them against the walls or floor. Other krogan were not so fortunate, most being overwhelmed by the hordes of monstrosities.
Red started creeping into his vision, but he kept the blood rage in check. As painful as it was to watch his people die, he couldn't charge in and let himself fall in the process. Reluctantly, he detached himself from the battle, gathering up the krogan closest to him as they made their way to the landing site.
Several Flood forms moved to follow them, chasing them down the narrow passageway. Weapon fire bounced off Wrex's barrier, but the Flood were unrelenting, their attacks dropping two other warriors before they reached the end of the hall. And at the end was a sight for Wrex's sore eyes.
"Take cover!"
The new arrivals ducked to the side of the entrance as three krogan armed with Firestorms unleashed their weapons into the chokepoint. Flames erupted, burning the Parasite to the ground, and Wrex felt grim satisfaction at their dying screams.
After the entrance was covered in flames and the popping of dead Flood, only then did Wrex get a good look at the krogan leading his saviors. He smiled and laughed, reaching out to clasp his hand.
"Good to see you Grunt."
"And you Chieftain." Grunt laughed. "I figured you might need a hand."
"I guess you could say that." Wrex's voice turned solemn as he looked around. "Is this everyone?"
"Everyone who's left." Grunt's boisterous voice also turned solemn. "You're the last ones on the planet." Rumbling drew their attention back to the horde of Flood coming their way.
"Then there's no point in staying." Wrex growled. "Everybody, get onto your shuttles!" A Flood Maw crashed through the wall. "Move now!"
The remaining Krogan rushed to the shuttles, Wrex among them. As soon as everyone was onboard their ships, the pilots immediately took off, some blasting through Flood forms as they did so.
Not everyone made: one shuttle was overwhelmed while it was still on the landing pad, and another crashed into a Flood Thresher maw as it flew away, destroying the ship and killing the infected creature on contact. Another maw spat acid at a shuttle, damaging it severely, allowing several infected harvesters to swoop in and overwhelm its defenses.
Wrex watched all this from the safety of his ship, looking away as even more of his people died. As the ground grew further and further away, he could see the massive horde of Flood overrunning the camp, and could even see the outline of what used to be Kalros slithering its way over the landscape. Massive tentacles emerged from the beast, becoming what they had heard was called a Proto-Gravemind.
Then the clouds thankfully covered the view as they flew into open space. Of course, once outside the atmosphere, the view of Tuchanka could be seen again, and not for the better.
The Krogan homeworld had never been a pleasant sight to look at, but now it looked even worse. Yellow-green biomass was slowly taking over the landscape, with large mountains of biomass already spreading clouds of spores into the atmosphere.
Tearing his gaze from the corrupted world, Wrex turned to the cockpit and walked over to the pilot station, taking a glance at the sensor station and what ships had made it offworld. There were fewer than he would've liked.
"We're a minute away from the fleet, Chieftain." The pilot reported, noticing his presence. "It's coming into view now."
The fleet wasn't much. Even after all these years, the krogan were still treated with suspicion and were not allowed to create any dreadnoughts of their own. Only a few ships were new, everything else was nearly fifty years old at minimum.
Still, the bulk of the krogan on Tuchanka were gathered here, now nomads away from their own home. Wrex snorted internally. He was glad he had listened to Tali's stories about life on the Migrant Fleet, so he had at least some idea of how his species could survive like this.
Then again, what worked for Quarians wouldn't necessarily work as well for the krogan. But that was for later: right now, Wrex's main concern was getting his people out of the system before the Flood followed them.
As soon as the shuttle touched down on the flagship (which was the first Krogan-built carrier), Wrex's feet were already moving, strolling at a brisk pace towards the bridge. Every Krogan who saw him got out of his way, all except one.
"Wrex, you made it." Urdnot Bakara changed direction as soon as she saw him, matching his pace as she walked beside him. "The clans need someone to rally them. They want to reclaim Tuchanka."
"And we will, but not today." Wrex growled. "For now, we're regrouping and leaving the system."
Wrex walked onto the bridge of the ship, which was rather large compared to most species in order to accommodate the krogan. As soon as they acknowledged him, the Urdnot leader began ordering that their ships would withdraw.
"Chieftain!" One of the bridge officers shouted. "More evacuation ships are coming in from Tuchanka."
"I thought we were the last ones out." Wrex commented.
"They claim to have been delayed by Flood attacks." The comms officer said. "They're requesting permission to board."
Wrex's eyes narrowed. It sounded reasonable enough, but the Flood had proven just how ruthless and cunning they could be. It was certainly possible that these shuttles were telling the truth, and had managed to escape from the Parasite. But if they hadn't...
"Shoot them down." Wrex ordered, his voice thick with self-loathing, knowing that he could be condemning more of his people to death. "Don't let any of them onboard."
"Sir?"
"Just do it!" He snapped angrily.
"Wrex, what are you doing?" Bakara was horrified. "Those are our people!"
"Not anymore." Wrex said. "It's a trap. The Flood are trying to get us to lower our defenses."
"And if they're telling the truth?" The female shaman didn't sound like she believed her own words now, but it was a question she had to ask.
"I can't take that chance."
Outside, the lead shuttle was destroyed as a GARDIAN laser lanced out, drilling through its cockpit and mass effect core. Upon seeing this, the rest of the shuttles accelerated, trying to overwhelm the defenses with their numbers, but it was all for naught.
Unfortunately, they weren't out of danger yet.
"Sir, a large fleet just emerged from the mass relay." The sensor operator reported. "I'm getting unnatural bio readings from each of the ships."
"It's the Parasite." Bakara whispered. "They're trying to block our escape."
"They're launching boarding pods!"
"Shoot them down." Wrex ordered, before turning to the navigators. "How long until we can jump to FTL?"
"A few minutes." The krogan replied. "Some of the older vessels need more time to warm up their drives."
"Then we're not leaving until they're prepared."
The Krogan fleet fired, mass accelerators and GARDIAN lasers streaking through the void at the Flood pods and controlled fighters. The Parasite retaliated with precise fire, forcing many ships to take evasive action.
Some vessels weren't so quick and suffered dearly, as precise shots either destroyed or crippled them, leaving the crews vulnerable to the vacuum of space or being infected. Wrex noted the losses with a solemn heart.
Eventually, every surviving ship reported that they were ready to jump to FTL. And just in time too, as a Reaper appeared from the mass relay. Once the scourge of their galaxy, the Citadel species had upgraded their dreadnoughts to the point where a single one could destroy a Reaper capital ship in a one on one battle.
Unfortunately, the krogan didn't have a dreadnought to their name, so Wrex gave the order to flee from the infected fleet. Before they jumped, the Urdnot Chieftain took one last look at Tuchanka, which was already being terraformed by the Flood.
He swore to reclaim it someday before space vanished in a sea of blue light.
And that's the end of the chapter. I hope I did Wrex's character justice in this little one-shot, considering he's definitely one of the more intelligent krogan in the galaxy.
So yeah, even after all this time, the Citadel would probably be wary of giving the krogan any major military power, which is why their fleets would be so limited. Of course, the downside, as shown here, means the krogan are vulnerable to something like the Flood.
With all that said, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and reviews are always welcome.