Chapter 28

Everyone argued against releasing the krogan from the tank, but Okeer gave his life so that this krogan could live. Even Garrus voiced objections to my plan, but he supported my decision regardless of his own feelings. I decided to just do it and not have anyone around. I admit I underestimated the krogan's strength, but after a brief altercation, he agreed to join me and named himself "Grunt".

We've had a few side missions and he has performed admirably, but he has expressed some confusion about things. Both he and Mordin have requested a visit to Tuchanka, the krogan homeworld, and we are in route now.

...

Miranda sat tensely, adjusting the settings on the scanners, attempting to get readings from the Citadel. Cortez circled the station in an ever decreasing loop, honing in the shuttle toward the center of the damage. "If Shepard is anywhere, it will be in the center of the action." Vega proclaimed.

Grunt sat quietly unable to do anything but watch the humans struggle with their equipment.

Miranda slammed her fists onto the console. "Easy with the equipment there!" Corez chastised, "We don't need anything broken now."

Grunt watched the Citadel grow in size as the shuttle looped closer. Damage became more and more evident as the sensors continued to sweep the station for signs of life. Cortez maneuvered the shuttle toward the center, where the docking bays should be. The Crucible hung powerless in space, drifting within the open arms of the Citadel. A large, gaping hole existed where once countless ships docked.

"I'm reading a barrier over that area to the starboard side." Miranda said. "Let's see if we can't land somewhere near there."

Tension rose in the shuttle as Cortez maneuvered around the crucible, looking for a safe landing zone.

Grunt sat back in his seat. He couldn't help but worry. This was more damage than he expected. Could Shepard have really survived this? But she has survived many dangers that humans shouldn't have survived...

...

The krogans came out into the arena, gaping at the huge thresher maw lying dead in front of Grunt, Shepard and Garrus. Wrex worked his way through the crowd and clapped Shepard on the back.

"If anyone could kill a maw during the Rite, it would be you." He crowed loudly. "Congratulations Grunt! You are now Urdnot."

Grunt puffed out his chest and stood proudly in front of Wrex.

The crowd gradually dispersed and Grunt watched Shepard talk companionably with Wrex.

"How are you feeling, Grunt?" Garrus asked.

"Like I could take on anything." Grunt growled back.

Garrus smirked. "Yeah, but not today, okay?" He said rubbing his aching shoulder. "We should enjoy this while we can."

Grunt looked at Garrus quizzically. "You aren't like the turians I was taught about."

"What do you mean?" Garrus asked.

"I understood turians to be militaristic and only happy if they are at war." Grunt said, watching Garrus closely.

Garrus' mandibles twitched, "Well, you aren't like most krogan."

Grunt grew quiet thinking about that. "I see. There are variants within every species that are natural, right?"

Garrus shook his head, "Yep." He looked over at Shepard and said fondly. "Like Shepard."

Grunt looked over at her and thought about how much she had done for him already. She was walking up to them and said, "Well Grunt. You are clan Urdnot now. You can stay here on Tuchanka. Wrex will see that you are well taken care of."

Grunt shook his head and smiled broadly. "No. I'll stay with my battlemaster."

...

I'm so glad that we resolved Grunt's issue. He seems so much better now that we've done his Rite of Passage. Although I'm quite sore. We had to battle several different creatures, ending with summoning a thresher maw. I am still amazed that we were not only able to survive it's attacks, but we actually killed the creature. Wrex was ecstatic. A thresher maw hadn't been killed during a Rite since he did it, but we had a good team between Grunt, Garrus and myself. It was great seeing Wrex again. He will be a wonderful leader on Tuchanka.

While on Tuchanka, we found the colleague of Mordin's who was working on a cure for the genophage. He was doing horrendous things to live subjects. Mordin was horrified and when we confronted the salarian, I had to stop Mordin from outright killing him. I made the decision to keep the research, rather than destroy it. I hope it was the right decision.

We're heading to the prison ship, Purgatory, to pick up the last member of the team. A very powerful biotic named Jack.

...

"Hang on." Cortez announced. "I think I found a spot I can land on."

Miranda rubbed her eyes. She had been staring at the readouts for almost a half an hour now and her eyes were beginning to water. Frustration was edging its way toward despair, but she wasn't ready to give up yet.

The vehicle entered the station through a massive hole and settled on the floor. "We'll need to wear gear until we get into the shielded area." Cortez informed the group.

They put on the face masks and headed into the Citadel. It was eerily quiet, dust particles floated in their light beams, debris hung in the zero gravity and a sense of foreboding settled onto the group. The sensors had picked up an area surrounded by a shield that had gravity and minimal life support, but the power was rapidly dwindling and they didn't have much time left before even that area would go dark.

Stepping into the barrier, Miranda looked around trying to determine what part of the Citadel they were in. The general location was the Presidium, but with all the wreckage, it was difficult to recognize anything specific. She approached a working computer panel and began to search the files.

Grunt, Cortez and Vega looked around the area. This must have been a small conference room at one time, but there was no way to tell for certain. They had entered where a wall used to be and a support beam had broken through the ceiling and the opposite wall, leaving a gash near the door. The tables and chairs were a mangled pile of rubble.

Miranda downloaded all the data she could, there was no time to review any of it now. She turned her attention to the door and led the group out into what used to be the Presidium main corridor.

...

Jack is quite a character. I'm going to have to keep my eyes on her. She is a powerful biotic, the Illusive Man wasn't exaggerating on that. Miranda and Jack get along like oil and water. I've had to separate them on several occasions. I need to find a way to resolve whatever issues they have with each other.

EDI intercepted a transmission from a quarian team that was under attack by geth. According to the intel, Tali was in charge, so I diverted the ship to help. It was a brutal battle and only Tali and one other quarian survived. I got to see the whole team in action and they are working well together. Tali decided to come with me rather than go back to the fleet. It will be great working with her again.

The Illusive Man is working on getting as much information as possible about the Omega 4 relay and forwarding anything relating to the collectors. I still distrust his motives, I've seen too many of Cerberus' projects. The ends do not justify the means, but try telling that to the success-driven people. We are now following up on one of the Illusive Man's leads. A turian patrol was apparently able to disable a collector vessel and we are going to investigate the ship to hopefully get the tech needed to pass through the relay into the collectors realm.

...

"What in the ...?" Cortez was left speechless at the sight in front of him. Any resemblance to the former Presidium was lost in the maze of tendrils that covered the walls. Countless bodies were piled in various areas on the floors covered in strange material. He turned to Vega who was also looking around with a horrified expression.

Grunt looked at Miranda and growled deep in his throat. Miranda nodded and said, "Just like the collector ships."

Looking closer at the piles, Miranda saw that these bodies were of various races, but no human bodies were among them. "They must have taken the humans somewhere else." She looked toward the council chamber area and motioned. "Let's head that way."

They picked their way slowly through the debris. The Citadel groaned and something shifted, sending a shower of debris down on them.

"This station is coming apart at the seams." Vega said. "We have to hurry."

They entered the council chambers and what used to be a beautiful amphitheatre was now a gaping hole. Looking down, Miranda saw a glowing platform that had previously been hidden beneath the floor of the chambers. She began to carefully climb down and the rest of the group followed.