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Chapter 2: A wise crazy old lizard

=KroganDragon=

Part 3

=KroganDragon=

11 April 2011

PRT HQ

Brockton Bay

I kept my word and went with the PRT for debriefing over my encounter with Lung. There was no reason to antagonize the local authorities unless I really had to. It wasn't like I could jump on a shuttle or a tramp freighter, and make myself scarce if I pissed them enough to become a significant pain in the tail.

That's how early in the morning I found myself sitting on a reinforced chair within a bland conference room.

This time there were fewer PRT troopers around ready in case I turned out to be hostile. The interview itself was less formal, too. The last notable difference was the interviewer – instead of Dragon over a communicator, or Armsmaster in his armor, Miss Militia came to interview me. Ironically enough, with her bearing and obvious respect for authority, she reminded me of a stereotypical Turian.

The first part of the interview was something Wrex had had to endure countless times during his long career as a mercenary. However, this was one of the not so rare occasions when telling the truth, or most of it was beneficial. I did answer all the expected questions, only disguising my intention for the night. Instead of the truth - hoping to capture Lung and keep Taylor in one piece, I stated that I was simply doing reconnaissance work to ensure that when I went after bounties, I could do it at a time and place that would ensure minimal collateral damage.

Hopefully, that white lie would get me a bit of consideration with the PRT.

Unsurprisingly, after Miss Militia finished with her questions about my encounter with Lung, she was interested in the universe where I was from.

"It's been some time since someone asked me to tell them a story or two." I chuckled. I could recall sitting on a crate in the Normandy's cargo bay, maintaining my weapons, when Shepard walked next to me. That was another one of her attempts to bond with the crew to ensure there were no issues that would keep someone distracted. Because distractions could potentially get soldiers, or their buddies killed on deployment. "What do you want to know?"

"Well," The heroine began, "what about the Rachni? Why did you really suggest that name for the new parahuman you encountered? What are they?"

"Big, extremely dangerous insects." I grinned. "Where to start… The Council formed about two thousand five hundred years ago. That's when the Asari and Salarians met on the Citadel. The last time I checked, the next five hundred years were dubbed the Foundation period. The Asari and Salarians kept expanding, and opening relays in a way that nowadays is considered extremely reckless and is against multiple Citadel laws, for what's worth it."

"What is the citadel?" Miss Militia asked. How much was for her benefit, and how much for anyone listening, I didn't know or particularly care. It was a relevant question after all.

"It was a massive space station, believed to be Protean in origins. Before you ask, the Proteans were a precursor species. Until recently, everyone believed that they built the Citadel and Relay network. The Relay network is a network of stations facilitating quick and practical FTL travel across the galaxy." I paused. "If someone is wondering," I glanced at the cameras on the ceiling, "there are two good ways to figure out if this dimension shares major similarities between mine. Besides, there being humans here, obviously." I grinned.

"And those are?" Miss Militia stared at me intently.

"There might be a Protean base on Mars. I'm not sure about the precise location. The second is the Charon Relay. As I recall it, it was buried under a moon in your outer system of the same name."

"I'm sure that my superiors would be very interested in checking either location if it is at all feasible."

"If the base on Mars is there, you should find enough eezo and data to get at least a few crude starships and start searching for more eezo." I pointed out. If that was the case, it would present an alternative for survival when Zion went on its rampage. Because even in the best-case scenario there would be massive collateral damage.

"That's fascinating. Is there anything else of immediate use you know about within our solar system?"

"Unfortunately, no. It wasn't really relevant for me." I shrugged.

"I see." Miss Militia spoke with obvious disappointment. "We were talking about the Rachni?"

"Yeah, them. At about 1 CE, approximately, your 1 B.C.E., a Citadel expedition activated a dormant Relay leading to Rachni space. That wasn't a wise thing to do." I stated grimly. "The Rachni proved to be immediately hostile. Negotiation with their Queens was impossible – they couldn't be contacted, and further, their nests were buried deep below toxic words making any attempt to go there extremely dangerous even before accounting for Rachni resistance. The war lasted for the next eighty years before the Salarians first contacted my people and began a rapid uplift program." I flashed Miss Militia a toothy grin.

"That's a long time to wage war." The heroine pointed out.

"Logistics, the relays proving good choke points, and fortunately for the Asari and Salarians, they had five hundred years to spread and build colonies before encountering the Rachni. The war shifted between periods of stalemate and punishing Rachni offensives. The Asari and Salarians were simply unsuited for the heavy fighting needed to reach deep within Rachni nests and kill their Queens. With the technology available at the time, it was hard to deploy enough effective firepower to take out their nests for good from orbit. Doing so was almost impossible when the Rachni were able to contest the orbital. That lasted until the Salarians uplifted and unleashed my people. We could survive on the toxic worlds the Rachni preferred. We were tough enough to breach into their nests and fight through everything they could throw at us. That was especially important because it was rare for the Citadel navies to outright destroy the enemy fleets they encountered and gain uncontested orbital superiority. My people offered another strategic option and turned the tide of the war." I paused, thinking about the old stories, about the time when the Krogan were respected when we were hailed as heroes, and about the price we paid for it. "The war lasted for another two hundred years. The Rachni refused to communicate, there was no surrender. Only a grinding advance over hundreds of systems and thousands of worlds. It was a victory paid with countless Krogan lives. And for a time we were hailed as heroes. For what little it is worth, even long after the Rebellions and their disastrous conclusion, the Council left the Krogan statue on the Citadel. It was perhaps the one single monument that remained intact proclaiming that we saved the galaxy from being consumed." I chuckled bitterly at that.

=KroganDragon=

Several PRT Directors watched Wrex's interview and intently listened to his story. While his cliff notes of a war fought centuries before he was born were enlightening, and the description of the Rachni themselves that followed was terrifying, it was Mars and Charon that got everyone arguing.

"A mission to Mars is out of the question, much less getting to Charon. Even without the Simurgh, financing something like that is going to be hard! Not to mention, going through it without getting the attention of another Endbringer is a pipe dream! We all know that usually, they strike at critical infrastructure!"

"I agree, a manned mission is out of the question in the foreseeable future." Costa-Brown nodded. Unless they found a way to neutralize the Simurgh, humanity was bound to Earth and barring a miracle, doomed. It was a painful irony that they now had a potential solution for the salvation of some people at least, yet it was beyond their reach.

"While a manned mission might be out of the question, sending probes to both Mars and Charon should be viable." Dragon piped up.

The Canadian tinker had been observing the interview for a simple and obvious reason – everyone wanted to hear her thoughts on any technologies mentioned or described by their alien guest.

"At the very least, that way, we would know what else might be out there." Director Armstrong pointed out.

Costa-Brown nodded silently. With the Entities around, it was questionable if any of the species mentioned by the Krogan were still alive if they existed in their dimension in the first place. More importantly, the same was true about those Reapers Wrex mentioned.

If they existed here, and the entities hadn't wiped them out… In that case, Cauldron's best guess was that the Reapers might be weapons aimed at starving and containing the Entities by denying them new species to experiment on.

Either way, their potential existence was cold comfort. The same was true for the Citadel alliance. If they were around. It was highly unlikely that they would stumble upon Earth Bet before it was too late.

Unless they neutralized Zion, there would be no humanity to rise across the stars and meet whatever other horrors and wonders awaited it there.

Costa-Brown returned her attention to the discussion about how viable would be to send robots to Mars and Charon. Dragon could do it if she got adequate funding and resources. Otherwise, she would need to compromise on various critical projects, which was simply out of the question.

"I'll raise the possibility with my contacts in Washington." Costa-Brown eventually said. She would also use Cauldron's influence to ensure that Dragon got whatever she needed. "I recommend that the Guild does the same as far as the Canadian government is concerned." She suggested.

"I'll speak with Narwhal." Dragon immediately agreed. "The utility of the omni-tools Wrex just described would be high if we could recreate them." She continued.

"I'm sure that the PRT and other assorted law enforcement agencies would love such devices

if we could get them working," Armstrong added.

Going by Wrex's brief description, an omni-tool was a mini-computer, communicator, fabricator, and a sensor platform combined in one tiny package. The option for dispensing the medi-gel Wrex mentioned would be even more invaluable if they could somehow recreate that miracle cure.

"While on the topic of omni-tools, I see the utility in contracting Panacea of New Wave, along with several tinkers and bio-tinkers to try and recreate any common use future technology Wrex is familiar with." Armstrong continued. "Especially medi-gel."

"I concur." Costa-Brown nodded sharply. She had already been thinking in that direction. While not a game-changer as far as the most important threats were concerned, a proliferation of omni-tools and medi-gel might shift the odds. With those in common use, they might be able to keep a lot more parahumans alive and thus enhance everyone's chances both against the Endbringers and Scion when the time came. "Deputy-Director Renick, I'll have a preliminary proposal drafted and approval in the morning. Have Director Piggot contact New Wave about Panacea's assistance. With MedHall having their corporate headquarters in Brockton Bay, they might be interested in financing research and development of medi-gel if nothing else…"

=KroganDragon=

Part 4

=KroganDragon=

11 April 2011

Brockton Bay

The early morning saw me visiting the same bank I opened an account at yesterday to deposit most of Lung's bounty. Afterward, I found myself walking around the Boardwalk trying to find something to eat, while my mind was busy plotting. With a bit of resource at my disposal, it would soon be time to find a base of operations and start gearing up. However, there were a few wrenches ready to derail that plan. From what I recalled, there would be a significant amount of chaos. All kinds of events would unfold over the next few days, which would endanger valuable assets. If I went tinkering now, there was no guarantee that I would be able to procure enough useful equipment in the time available. I lacked the contacts to buy military-grade tinker-tech, and while not chump change, fifty thousand dollars might as well be when talking about such hardware.

I paused at a small corner store selling sandwiches and made the cashier very happy. A hungry Krogan could eat a lot. Who knew? The food wasn't bad, even if it lacked enough meat for my taste. Say what you will about Krogan's evolution and their ability to eat almost everything, there was no substitute for a large juicy steak. Ideally, from something you've hunted yourself. Nevertheless, the sandwiches were better than some MREs I now recalled suffering through, so that was good enough for now.

I snorted at the odd trail of thought and focused back on plotting.

If I recalled things right, over the next few days, Coil would busy kidnapping a preteen girl. Those things never ended up well, especially when such a piece of work was behind them. I believed that if nothing else, the kid's ability could give us a head's up about certain critical events. Like Scion beginning his rampage early, Endbringer attacks, and when it might be safe-ish to go kill the Slaughterhouse Nine, among other things. That was why, at worst, I needed her safe at PRT custody, which meant that Coil had to go anyway.

That had to be my primary short-term objective. Next, wasn't there supposed to be an ABB bomber ready to go on a rampage? I cringed. I almost forgot about Bakuda. The simple solution would be to get a combination of powers and blow her up sky high. Unfortunately, that particular nutcase was a potential asset. Bakuda might be able to build ordnance capable of neutralizing Endbringers. Perhaps even capable of hurting Scion if I could find a way to deploy it to his real body. That was a complication I didn't consider yesterday. What else didn't I think of?

I wracked my brain until I finished devouring the two bags full of sandwiches I bought. Nothing else particularly pressing came to mind for the next few days. Then the question was, should I go after Coil first or Bakuda? After a few moments of pondering, I decided that the local Bond villain should be my first target. With him out of the picture, I should be able to get access to the little precog and ask if it would be feasible to get Bakuda conscripted…

With a short-term goal firmly established, it was time to figure out how to deal with Coil. Ideally, I would do it without tripping any particularly unfortunate fail-safe he had in place in case of his luck running out. My first instinct was to be straightforward. Trying to outwit a master manipulator, who could save-scum and currently had more resources than I was able to muster, didn't sound like the brightest idea. With the right combination of powers, I should be able to locate and kill him in short order. In theory anyway. At that point, the primary consideration would be to ensure that he would be choosing a timeline, slash, simulation, which won't cause too much collateral damage as a final fuck you. Because Coil was a dick like that.

On the other hand, I was a bit disappointed after my encounter with Lung. Going after Coil like a Krogan juggernaut, mowing through everything he could throw at me and showing him how petty he was before headbutting him into the next century… That sounded like an even better idea. Then I would finally be able to find the time to figure out a good location for a base of operations and start building it up.

I nodded happily to myself, thinking about all the fun I could have dismantling Coil's operation.

At that point, my mind came to a screeching halt. I needed a secure base. Coil had the best base in the city. I needed a Krant, forces to back me up and do all the things I simply won't find the time to do myself.

Coil had a lot of experienced mercenaries.

I needed a power that would let me headbutt myself. I was thinking like a stereotypical Krogan, like the fools who spent a century upon a century wasting their empty lives seeking a meaningless death. At best, I was thinking like a mere gun for hire. My current plans were small-time, simple.

A frustrated growl escaped my pinched lips. I had Wrex's memories. At times, I couldn't tell where he began, and I ended. While he spent most of his life as a mercenary, granted one of the best, but still just a mercenary, that wasn't the Wrex who ended up in my head. Or I ended up in his, a distinction which had less and less meaning with every passing moment.

My last memories as Wrex, before awakening in this world, were those of a leader! Of an Emperor, of the Krogan who did the impossible! They were the memories of the Warlord who united the Krogan as one people and gave them a chance of survival. Worst of all, I was thinking of how I could fix all issues by myself, in a manner that simply couldn't fix many of them. The geass, or whatever was burned into my mind, simply couldn't be fulfilled by punching or blasting things. Oh, there was a large number of threats that had to be eradicated. I was one of the best people for the job, so I would have a lot of fun in the future. Besides, I knew I would relish the challenge. However, to combat the chaos and decay engulfing Earth Bet, to stall and eventually reverse the societal collapse, that was a varren of a different breed.

First thing first, I should stop thinking like a thug without imagination. One of the first lessons Wrex learned after taking charge of his Clan back on Tuchanka, was simple and very useful. When you had multiple problems, it was best to figure out if some of them could solve each other. Or at least contribute to the solution of other pressing issues.

I needed a secure base of operations. I also needed tons of resources. Coil had a very nice base. He also had all kinds of resources. I was going to take them. Coil had mercenaries. While I was sure some of them I would gleefully eviscerate the moment I learned what they were up to, at least a few of them had to be useful.

There was that local mercenary group hanging out of a club too, right? They were another potential asset to acquire. Just like Taylor was. Perhaps even the Undersiders and whoever else I might entice to come and join me.

I skipped deeper into the city with the sunrise behind my hump, and a wide grin plastered all over my scarred face. It was time for a hostile takeover.

=KroganDragon=

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