Chapter 25: A Soldier's Worth Act2 pt1

The Citadel

Dalatrass Linron paced back and forth, frustrated that the plan to cure the genophage was a go. If it succeeded, the reapers would be the least of the galaxy's problems, the krogan were a violent, tenacious race…they would want revenge for the genophage cure and for once her people didn't have anything prepare for a resurgent krogan. "I know, Dalatrass, but you should have expected this…" Valern said. "I hate to say it but you underestimated Shepherd, a dangerous mistake"

Linron looked at him, and frowned…she knew he was right, Shepherd on the surface looked like any typical soldier…but in no time at all he had somehow gotten her to give clearance to one of the most secured STG bases on Sur'Kesh with a krogan attached no doubt. "Perhaps you're right, but it make doesn't make it better, and the fact one of our best STG operatives was tricked into this foolish endeavor"

Valern sighed. "Operative Solus wasn't tricked; he and Shepherd have a history together" he said. As much as the councilor disagreed with Shepherd, there was no denying that the krogan would be a huge boost in the war; he had read reports from the STG the reapers were getting closer. So far Thessia and Sur'kesh had yet to see the reapers make an appearance on their planet and for that, they were grateful, it meant they had extra time to prepare. However, no amount of preparation would be enough to stop the reapers, he would have to hope Shepherd is able to get the krogan successfully on board, even if it meant repeating history. "We'll have to wait it out and see, Shepherd has a good relationship with the leader of the Krogans" he said. "He may be able to persuade him to keep the other krogan in line"

Linron crossed her arms. "You're fooling yourself, Councilor…krogan can't be reasoned, we tried that to prevent the rebellions" she said.

"So what is your plan, Dalatrass?" Valern asked.

"He's desperate to save his people, it is why he's even considering curing the genophage" she said. "We just give him a better deal"

"And if this doesn't work?"

"It will work, everyone has a price…even Shepherd" She walked away, Valern sighed and shook his head. He opened a com and a salarian in black armor appeared.

"She is gone, what did you want to speak to me about, Spectre Bau…?"

Tuchanka

The Kodiak was bobbing and weaving trying to dodge the incoming fire, it was not a comfortable ride that was for sure, but it was urgent. Lieutenant Victus and his men had found the bomb, and unfortunately Cerberus was trying to arm it, it was a race against time…."Normandy shuttle, this is Victus with the Ninth Platoon. Do you copy?"

The shuttle rocked again this time, with more force than last time. "We hear you; make it quick, we in a pretty bad place…" Shepherd said.

"We're close to the bomb site, Cerberus is bouncing us around pretty bad" Victus said.

"This is as close as we get, Lieutenant, failure is not an option" he said. "What about this bomb? What do we know about it?"

Victus was quiet for a while. "It's not Cerberus…"

Shepherd frowned. "Excuse me?"

The Lieutenant sighed. "It's turian, it…was planted centuries ago after the Rebellions, it was a safeguard against another galactic war…."

Shepherd pinched the bridge of his nose. "You fucking kidding me?! We're just playing clean-up for a thousand year old war?!" Victus lowered his head. "And now Cerberus has it…we don't need this shit, Lieutenant…"

"I know, I'm sorry for lying, but…" Garrus spoke up.

"I know, it made sense at the time, we had to put the krogan down hard if they tried anything…" Garrus said. "I know you don't like it boss, but we did what we had to…"

"You won't earn trust with tactics like that" he said. "But now, we focus on disarming that bomb"

"Agreed, detonation means all-out war, between my people and the krogan" Victus said. "My men and the bomb are in this location, updating your nav-point"

"Right, let's finish up before the krogan, knows what's up" Victus nodded and his image faded. The shuttle doors opened to reveal a warzone, Cerberus troopers were getting their places as mortar fire rained on the field, on the other side was a ramp that lead to the inside of an old building. They jumped out of the shuttle, and ran towards building, taking cover when necessary, and confronting Cerberus troopers when they got too aggressive. As they got to the middle of the field, Cerberus reinforced themselves with portable shields and shields generators that restored their shields.

"We don't have time for this shit…" Shepherd said. Tali shot the generator, and the generators discharged shocking troopers in the vicinity. Garrus overload the Centurions' shields, the shock stunned them and anyone near them, Shepherd glowed blue and forcibly pulled the troopers and the centurions into the mortar fire. As they entered the ruined building, all they could hear were screams as they were killed by the explosions.

"Wayne, incoming transmission…" Tali said.

"Talk to me…"

"Once we reach the bomb, I'll need time to reprogram the trigger mechanism" Victus said. "No trigger, no explosion"

"Copy that" Once round the corner, Cerberus assault troops, engineers, and guardians attacked from behind shield generators. The team got to cover, and attacked. Tali summoned her drone to distract the guardians, and Garrus sniped them in the head. They soon went to cover when the engineers set up their turrets to lock them down, while Centurions and guardians flanked them. Shepherd took out his arc projector and pulled the trigger, causing the shield generator to explode killing the guardians and draining the centurion's shields. Once the pressure was taken of Tali and Garrus, they retaliated…Tali hacked the turrets which gunned down the engineers, once they were dead Garrus destroyed the turrets. The battle ended and the team headed up the rubble.

"We defeat the krogan and plant a bomb on their planet" Garrus said. "Extreme, but those were desperate time"

"Couldn't you try another way, to make peace…?"

Garrus shook his head. "I doubt it, we're both pretty stubborn, but I suppose after this war we'll have some work to do…."

"Something to look forward to…" Shepherd's comm opened.

"Cerberus is putting up a fight, but we're advancing, Commander" Victus said.

"Good work, we'll be there soon" Around the corner, more Cerberus assault troops and centurions appear. "Rookie, overheat their guns, Garrus, lay down some proxy mines" Tali raised her omni-tool and the troopers guns exploded setting the troopers on fire, the centurion rushed forward and set off the proxy mines. Shepherd's com opened.

"Commander! We're getting a lot of mortar fire! Heavy casualties!" Victus said. "We're taking an alternate route, circling around the bomb site"

"Copy that" Shepherd lifted them with a singularity field and used his throw field to knock them off the ledge. Tali spoke up.

"Wayne, I hacked into Cerberus' radio" she said. "It's bad…"

"Argo team, detonation protocol nearly complete" one of the troopers said. "Available units, slow Shepherd down!"

Shepherd frowned and opened his com. "Victus, it's Shepherd, you better double time it, Cerberus is nearly done arming the bomb"

"Understood" Victus said.

"Wayne, more chatter, they're prepping for evac" Tali said worried.

"Shit, I don't like the sound of that…" Shepherd said. "Double time, people!" As they turn the corner, there were more Cerberus Assault Troopers to deal with, but, as they make their way through them, more were being evacuated.

"Should we pursue?" Garrus asked.

"No let them go, we got bigger problems to deal with" Shepherd said. They made their way up the ramp, and took a look at the bomb site. It was huge, the bomb itself was held up by four metal legs that made the whole thing look like a giant insect. The legs were brown due to the dirt that covered up the bomb; the turians must have placed far underground so the krogan wouldn't notice. For Cerberus to be able to uncover this much of it, meant Cerberus had a presence on the planet for a while.

Tali's eyes were wide. "Keelah, how did the turians plant this without the krogan knowing?"

"Forget that, how did Cerberus dig it up, without the krogan knowing?" Garrus asked.

"We can worry about that later, come on" Shepherd's com opened.

"We've entered the bomb site, moving towards the control panel" Victus said.

"Make it count; we won't get a second chance"

"Understood"

They then headed up the ladder to the right, as they walked through the ruined building, they were not seeing any Cerberus troops, which made the team nervous. "I would have thought they had more troopers, trying to stop us" Tali said.

"Just wait, we're on top of the bomb, Cerberus will throw everything at us soon" Garrus said.

"But if the bomb goes off, they'll be caught too…"

"It wouldn't matter; remember that Cerberus' troops are indoctrinated" Shepherd said. "They're just there to stall us until the bomb goes off" After they make their way down the ramp, they saw more Cerberus soldiers fleeing, but they placed a turret, so the team ran to cover. "Rookie, take out the turret" Tali nodded and raised her omni-tool and the turrets shot at the wall, allowing the team to slip past. They were close to the bomb, Tali spoke up.

"The bomb seems to be on a fault line" she said analyzing the bomb. Her eyes grew wide she went deeper in the bomb, the bomb was a nuclear bomb with an dreadnoughts eezo core to not only power the bomb but also magnify the power of the blast. The bomb was on a fault line to maximize the damage; a bomb of this magnitude would make Virmire look like a firecracker.

"Shit, we need to hurry!" They continued around the corner and down the ladder, to meet with Victus. When they got there, they found only Victus and two of his men were left the heavy fighting had left a toll on the platoon. Victus was hard at work trying to disarm the bomb, with his men standing guard. "Well?"

"Cerberus set up firewalls around the trigger mechanism to slow us down" Victus said. "I'll need to create a bypass, it'll take time…"

"Specifics, Lieutenant"

"Fiffteen to twenty minutes, give or take…" he said. "Luckily it's old tech, so I know what to do, just buy me time"

Shepherd nodded. "Alright, we got your back"

"Got it, starting bypass" Victus said. "Commander, thank you for this chance…"

"Just make it right, soldier" Just then, one of Victus' men was shot in the head, and then another. "Damn, sniper, Garrus!" Garrus nodded and went to cover and got out his sniper rifle and fired, killing the Cerberus sniper. The team got to cover.

"Commander!"

"Focus on the bomb! We'll handle Cerberus" The team went down the trench and Cerberus came in guns blazing, hoping to get Victus. Behind them a Shuttle dropped in with Cerberus reinforcements and out came more troopers and Centurions.

"Detonation protocol in jeopardy" one of them said. "Shepherd is blocking access! All units, engage!" The troopers charged the team, and Shepherd tossed a grenade their way, lifting them in the air. Tali summoned her drones and took out her shotgun; Garrus was in the back for sniper support.

"No one gets near, clear?"

"Understood!" Garrus said. "We've got company!" The team saw the shuttles starting to land.

"I need more time, Commander!" Victus said. Shepherd used his singularity to suspend the troopers in the air, before they land, he then threw a warp field, and they fell to the ground. Garrus set up his proxy mines, and Tali's drone shocked the troopers that got close. More shuttles started to land.

"This going to be a long fight…."