The four looked at the Korgan in surprise, guns drawn down on him. Wrex stood there, an unfazed, hulking mass that seemed to take no notice of the guns. His beady eyes narrowed at her before they went to his old friend standing right behind her.
"You didn't think I would fall for the cloaking trick did you? If I know anything about a Shepard it's that they never give up that easy," Wrex said, voice aggressive.
"Well the varren's out of the bag, but where not leaving without Mordin," Garrus replied, stepping up and slightly in front of Jane to shield her from Wrex's domineering form. He heard a sigh come from her before she pushed past him and stopping only mere inches from the massive Krogan.
They eyed one another, each as tense as the other. Garrus' heart pounded against his ribcage as the tension between the two grew. She looked so small and frail in the shadow of Wrex and though she was trying to hide it, he could still see the slight tremble in her hand as she gripped her pistol at her side.
"Look, I under…" Jane started, but when a low growl came from Wrex her words died and her grip on her gun grew fiercer.
"I don't want to hear it human."
"I won't let you stop me," Jane growled back.
Wrex was silent for a moment, taking the woman in front of him in. he couldn't stop the feeling of wanting to snap her neck then and there for what she did to his people, but that look in her eyes, the look he used to see in Shepard's, pushed back at the violence that was bubbling so close to the surface. And the tremble of fear she was trying to mask? She was stupid…and brave. It reminded him of someone else he'd known.
"And I won't tell you about the mako a mile east from here."
Jane said nothing in return, just an affirmative nod before she put away her gun and motioned for the others to follow her. Garrus stood and watch her disappear into the shadowed night, followed by Kasumi and Vega. His attention went to Wrex then, who was staring at him disapprovingly.
"You always did have a soft spot for anyone with the last name Shepard, Garrus."
Garrus couldn't stop the small tsk sound from escaping him. "It's that obvious?"
"If someone doesn't notice they're blind," Wrex said with a curt laugh.
"And here I thought I was being suave about it."
Wrex laughed louder than, the males falling into silence only to have it interrupted by a whispered female voice saying Garrus' name.
Garrus went to go and as he passed him he heard Wrex's voice ring out one more time.
"Reaper patrols have been sighted. They're not full force yet, but watch your ass Garrus."
"Thanks…friend," Garrus replied before slipping into the night.
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Tuchanka was as ruthless and unforgiving as Jane remembered it. Where there wasn't radioactive rubble there was barren wastelands of red dirt and hurricane winds. And if it wasn't the elements what where trying to kill you it was the carnivorous flora and the aggressive fauna. Thresher Maw's swam under the surface of the planet like fish did in the sea. Even the Krogan feared them and Jane couldn't stop the knot of fear from settling in her stomach. She knew all too well the destruction that Thresher Maws could cause them.
She concentrated on her breathing as they ran across the open plain, her shadow racing along beside her. The labored breathing of James mixed in the sweltering heat of the night with Garrus' heavy footfalls. The mako came into view, large and alone. It seemed singular in its existence as it bathed in the yellow light of the moon. Jane stopped and took a knee, holding her hand up in a fist to signal them to stop. She had to be careful. Wrex had attacked her on sight, and then refused to help her before giving her that little nugget of assistance. She wasn't dumb enough to trust it blindly. The Krogan on Tuchanka hated her. The mako being a trap was in the forefront of her mind as James came to a stop beside her.
"What do you want to do Lola?"
She said nothing for a moment, her suspicious gaze locked on the Mako and its ominous shadow. Jane heard James move towards her a fraction more, his heavy armor scraping on the ground thunderous in the still of the night.
"I'll check it out," Jane replied, turning to look back at all of them. "Stay put, wait for my signal."
They said nothing, just nodded their heads in understanding. Her gaze lingered on Garrus, positioned at the back of the group, his gun at the ready and searching their surroundings for any trouble. He stopped suddenly and held her gaze. It held promises that Jane was afraid she would fail to keep. Jane turned then, flinging her gun over her shoulder and into its holster before she climbed up the massive tires and flung herself up and into the cockpit.
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He hated waiting. Sure, he was given an order to stay and keep an eye on the krogan's movements, but the longer Sticks sat there and looked through the binoculars, the more he it felt like waiting. Waiting, in his humble opinion, was two steps up from dead. And he was nervous, not for himself, but for Jane. Tuchanka had a history with Jane, violent history, and when it came to his friend history always had a funny way of repeating itself.
"So is there something going on with you and the commander?" a voice asked from beside him, throaty and amused. Sticks pulled away from the binoculars and looked to the Drell beside him. Feron had a mischevious look on his face, one that was starting to seem like it was permanently stuck. "I know it isn't my business, but that doesn't dumb down my curiosity."
"We're just friends," Sticks replied with a small laugh, "the sane in her insanity."
"I see."
"What about you and Dr. T'Soni? Something going on between you two?" Sticks inquired, changing the focus to Feron.
"Just friends," Feron replied, getting an uproarious laugh from Sticks. "What's so funny?"
"I've known you for a whole two minutes and I shall believe that…never."
"Look who's talking. You think I'm supposed to believe nothing is going on with you and Jane Shepard? You threatened death to comrades if they didn't bring her back."
Sticks just let out a curt laugh, turned his head and looked back at the small group of Krogan that were milling about.
"You're a master at dodging the matter," Feron grumbled.
"Not dodging, just accepting the facts," Sticks answered as he watched two large Krogan slam heads before breaking into a scuffle. "Oh, Krogan fight! I got fifty on the blood pack Krogan."
"Do you even have fifty credits?"
"No," Sticks answered with an amused twitch of his mandibles.
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Jane landed in a crouch, her eyes scanning the darkness as her hand went instinctively to the pistol at her side. She pulled it from the holster, listened for a moment, and popped on the light at the end of her barrel. She swept it through the cramped cockpit, particles dancing peacefully in the beam of the light. Dust covered everything like a blanket, the control panel looking stone dead and non-responsive. But from what she could tell there was no sign of Krogan tampering. From the state of things it looked like it hadn't been touched in years. Now all she needed to do was check the undercarriage for sabotage and get it started. Travelling in the mako would be much safer than on foot. Sure she could blow a hole in a Thresher Maw with Sticks' grenade launcher, but she could blow a bigger whole with the mako's cannon.
Jane holstered her gun and promptly made for the exit, climbing out and onto the top of the mako.
"Well?" She heard James call out.
"Check the undercarriage for any signs of sabotage. Garrus you think you can get this thing running?"
The soldiers stood, three varying silhouettes in the light of the moon.
"Yeah, I can get her purring in no time."
"Good. Kasumi, you and I will keep watch from up here. James, join us up here when you're done. It's safer off ground."
They all gave their affirmatives and hurried to their task at hand. Jane knew that she might have been over doing it, in fact she hadn't seen a single Thresher Maw the last time she had been on Tuchanka, but just knowing they were there, that an attack was possible, made her more on edge than any horde of Krogan ever could.
Kasumi jumped up soundlessly beside her, pulling out a pair of night vision binoculars and set about sweeping the landscape. The silence of the night was broken by the sounds of Garrus hammering at the control panel, Vega shuffling against the ground in his search for sabotage and Jane's heavy breathing as she waited impatiently for the mako to roar to life. James appeared from under the mako, a smudge of dirt across his nose as he smiled up at her.
"Everything is a go underneath," Vega reported before he pulled his hulky form up onto the tank, plopping down next to Jane.
"Jane there's movement to the left of us," Kasumi said, ripping Jane's attention away from the still western flats and to Kasumi.
"Where?"
"Just to the east of us, it was for a split second. Now it's just… a small cloud of dust. I could be The Shade's men. Or Reapers?"
"Let me see those," Jane commanded, ripping them from Kasumi's offered grasp before raising them to her eyes.
A small could of dust hovered just above the ground, sending a knot of worry to her chest only to have it plummet when she saw the ridge of a back disappear into the ground pointed in their direction. Jane swallowed harshly before handing the binoculars back to Kasumi, all blood draining from her face.
"Are you okay Lola?" James inquired, brow knitted together in concern.
"Get inside the mako. Now," she whispered
"What is it?"
"Just do it," Jane barked, sending the man into motion, his body disappearing inside right before Kasumi. Jane looked out once more to see the beast burst from the earth, silent and deadly, before slipping back out of sight.
"Garrus, sweetie, can you hurry up," Jane called over her shoulder, voice strained, as she watched the Thresher Maw come closer.
"I'm trying my best dear," Garrus grumbled back. The mako rattled to life before dying once more. "It needs a little time to warm up."
Jane jumped inside, landing ungracefully as one of her knees buckled. Quickly correcting herself, she came up beside him.
"We don't have time, we're about to have a very big and unfriendly guest."
His head snapped to her, beady eyes wide as his mandibles twitched.
"Thresher Maw?"
"That would be the one," Jane answered.
"What?!" James exclaimed before he headed for the ladder, climbing up so only his shoulders and head were sticking out the door hatch.
Garrus went back to the panel, his hands moving rapidly. The mako kicked to life once more before it shuttered and died.
"Hurry it up Scars! It's bearing down on us!" Vega yelled, only getting a growl of frustration in return before the engine screamed to life just as a scream from outside sent James back to the cover of the mako, slamming the hatch closed behind him.
"Get us the hell out of here!" James yelled as he stumbled away from the ladder. The tank lurched to life, sending everyone stumbling forward as Jane crawled up into the pilot seat.
"Do you know how to drive this thing?" Kasumi asked as she went for the cannon controls. The mako raced forward, the spinning of the wheels before they caught competing to fill the tank with the sound of the engine.
"Just as good as Johnny," Jane replied as she slammed the thing into third gear.
"That's not comforting," Garrus rumbled from his spot at the control panel.
A nervous laugh slipped from Jane, grip tightening on the wheel of the mako. A bead of sweat trailed from her temple, down her neck and underneath the collar of her armor unnoticed as she shifted into fourth, the headlights bobbing about the landscape as she avoided rocks and ditches.
"It's barreling down on us Jane!" Kasumi reported, her gaze through the view finder of the cannon.
"When it surfaces give it five rounds! That should slow the fucker down!"
Kasumi answered with the sound of the cannon blasting off in quick succession, Jane flinching slightly at the noise.
"Got a direct hit to the side…it's slowing down."
"Good, that will keep it occupied for a while. They don't move so well with big enough holes in them."
"I wouldn't either," James muttered to himself.
Jane let out a breath as she continued to speed across the landscape in the direction of the Shard, towards Mordin, her fear subsiding and bubbling in the throat and coming out in one sharp, ragged laugh.
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Mordin shifted uncomfortably on the stool eyes peering down into the microscope. It was a ruse of course. Mordin and Padok had spliced the Genophage back together days ago, but the Quarian hadn't caught on yet and that was good. He was biding them time, waiting for the rescue he knew was coming. He stopped for a moment and rubbed lightly at bandaged burns around his wrists. He had cleaned them properly, but the failed to heal with the daily torture wrought upon him.
He sighed, blinked, and went back to work. He knew she would come, didn't doubt it for a moment. Jane Shepard never let him down.
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Glass crunched under heavy boots, the sound echoing through the abandoned lobby of the Shard. Gun raised and in position, her heart pounded in her chest as her gaze searched the empty space around her. The floor was covered with dirt and broken glass, completely devoid of footprints that where not her own.
Garrus stepped through the frame of a broken window, looking down at the small monitoring unit in his hand, the machine giving off a small beep with every sweep for life it made. There had been no sign of life when they showed up and the closer Jane looked the more evidence appeared that she had been wrong. Mahogany hadn't brought Mordin to the Shard. She looked to Garrus then, trying desperately to show a mask of calm control.
"Well?" She asked, grabbing his attention.
"The only life signs I'm picking up are ours. There's nothing here," Garrus replied.
Jane said nothing, just let out a huff, her head bobbing slightly in agitation as she started to pace. She picked up speed, her breathing and eyes wild as her grip on her rifle grew tighter. Her toe bumped against the leg of a missing chair. Jane stopped, holstered her gun, bent down and retrieved the battered leg. She said nothing as she walked over to the last intact door-sized window. She cocked her arm back, gripping the chair leg two handed as she brought it around and slammed it into the window. The glass webbed at the contact, only bringing her fury again. It held after the second blow, the web growing. The third strike shattered the window, the shards raining down to the ground with an ominous clatter.
"I think I might know where the Shade is keeping Mordin," Kasumi spoke up, grabbing the raving woman's attention. She stood ten feet away from the beaten window, watching Jane patiently.
"Where?" Jane grumbled, brow knitting together.
"When we came here with your brother we went to a lab where tests were being run on female Krogan by an old student of Mordin's. It's the perfect place to continue the work. The lab was intact when we left it."
"How far away is it from here?" Jane asked.
Kasumi paused and took in the landscape, her small hand pointing at a small gathering of hills that were shaped like an elcor. "There. Should take an hour maybe."
Jane was moving the moment Kasumi stopped talking, her stride strong and hurried, shoulders hunched forward as she still held onto the leg of the chair.
"Let's go. We don't have any more time to waste."
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Mordin crashed against the lab table, knocking over beakers and his microscope. The beakers burst when they hit the floor, shards flying in every direction. He slipped on spilled fluid and slammed down hard, face sliding into the broken glass.
"You're lying; there is no way it should have taken the two of you so long to put the Genophage back together. You're stalling," Kalli said, her fist still clenched from when she had struck Mordin, catching him off guard.
She went to step towards his fallen form only to be blocked by a large mass stepping in front of him. The female Krogan was domineering as she leered down at the small Quarian through the slits in her hood.
"You will not harm him anymore," The female Krogan said, her voice exuding the commanding presence that the rest of her held.
Kalli took a step back, pulling her gun out in a quick draw before she pointed it at the Krogan. Padok scrambled from his chair at the other work station across the small lab, tripping on the stools leg before coming to a stop in front of the Krogan with his arms held wide.
"Stop this nonsense please!" Padok yelled.
Kalli began to laugh, the soft sound coming mechanically through her helmet. It chilled the room, freezing the other three in their spot. It would have been easy for the three of them to overpower her, but they knew that one of them would be killed and they knew it would be the female Krogan. She was everything, the key that they had needed to cure the Genophage all those months ago and Mordin and Padok would not risk her life in order to get free.
An alarm blared through the lab, drawing all their attention to the monitors for the perimeter of the compound. The place was monitored like a fortress; unlike it had been when Mordin had come with Shepard. The Shade liked to cover his bases a lot more than Mahogany ever had. One of the cameras had caught the sight of an old Mako barreling towards the entrance of the compound. Two guards shot wildly at the thing as it approached at an alarming speed, but the bullets bounced off harmlessly and the thing didn't slow down. The mako swerved, coming up a sliding stop in front of the entrance door, running over the guards effectively. The thing disappeared for a moment behind a haze of dust. As the haze started to dissipate a figure could be seen standing atop the mako. Medium built and covered in scarred battle armor her hair flapped wildly in the increasing wind as she reached out and pulled a grenade launcher from its secure place on her back. She loaded it and fired. The front airlock doors busted wide at the explosion. She returned the launcher and replaced it with her battle rifle, smoke billowing in the air around her.
She looked to the camera then as a bigger figure crawled out of the mako behind her. Her eyes narrowed and though the picture feed was pixilated and grey it did not take away any of the menace that was in the woman's gaze. Mordin smiled from his place on the floor and the curse from Kalli pierced the pregnant silence.
Jane Shepard was coming and she was bringing death with her.
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Author's Note: Yay! It's early! This chapter was a pain in the ass, but I didn't give up even when my keyboard broke. Hope you enjoy it and that you stick around because all hell is about to break loose in the next chapter. And thanks for the reviews and the favorites. I love them both.