Hello! The next chapter of the Couriors adventure thorugh space!
With the outbreak has me taken out of school, giving me a chance to work more on my stoires. If barly with how my girlfriend has been wanting me to get with her. Plus with how my RWBY X Mass Effect is taking off dispiet my grammer is I'm happy that so many are folloing these regardless of misstakes. Thank you all readers for taking the time of day to read this.
Lets get on with the story.
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"A little bit tight around the legs but shouldn't harm my movements or restrict my agility," Amber muttered.
She had just finished jury-rigging the thin hard suit under her riot gear. The Courier felt a little proud of this suit upgrade. Plus, with her new integrated air mask that fits nicely under the gasmask. She wouldn't have to worry about being left behind on missions that required work in dangerous environments. And if she didn't need it, she could easily take it out with no problems.
Some other things she added was the magnetic locks that held weapons. Amber found that the armor Jacob gave her had five of them instead of four like she thought, the fifth one used for carrying bigger and heavier weapons, which suited her just fine. She had managed to attach them to the backside of her riot gear with little problem. Plus, there was the weak shield system that the armor Jacob gave her had on. She saw those things take a few of her shots on Omega and thought little of them, but having something that would save her a trip to the ship's doctor was a plus.
Since coming on board, she had been avoiding the medical bay. That adventure at Big Mountain had left a bad taste in her mouth on doctors in general. Sure before that, she'd gone to the Vegas medical clinic for several operations for implants and medical supplies. But after the thing with the Brains in floating jars, well, Amber's opinion on doctors hasn't been that high since. Generally, avoiding them and patching herself up rather than letting someone in a white coat do it for her.
Amber shook her head slightly to keep her mind on the current task of finishing preparations. And right on time too, according to the ship A.I., they were about an hour away from there destination, Korlus.
From what info she could find on the planet. The place is a planet-wide disposing ground for ships and other junk in the galaxy. With the biggest business is the recycling of decommissioned or junked spacecraft into their segment parts. With the amount of garbage that gets thrown there, the atmosphere is full of greenhouse gases. Smog from various recycling plants does nothing on improving the situation.
It sounded a bit like prewar America to the Courier.
"Miss Amber." Came the electronic voice from the ship A.I.
"Yes, E.D.I.?"
"I wish to relay a message from Opritve Tayler that he has the equipment you requested ready for you." The machine informed her.
"Ah, thank you, E.D.I."
"You are welcome, Miss Amber, logging you out."
With that, she grabbed the necessary equipment she will need for the mission. From what Shepard explained, his purpose is to recruit the best for his big mission. The dossier for the guy that they were currently going to recruit was a scientist and an old Warlord from the Krogan Rebellion. A quick such of the rebellion later made my eye twitch at the death toll and the solution for ending it, the Genophage. She was going to have to think about that at another time.
Still, an old Warlord that's also a scientist? That was a new one in her books. Amber had faced Warlords and men of science before, never one that was a student to both. If she had to guess on a close comparison, it would be Cesar as he was once a member of the Followers of the Apocalypse before declaring himself an emperor of conquered tribes.
Yeah, that turned out great. Let's see what this guy whos ten times older then Mr. house has to offer.
The former Courier decided to go with her sniper loadout, consisting of her AM-rifle, War Club, and Ranger Sequoia. Alonge with her usual healthy load of explosives, mainly her homemade grenades and satchel charges that she stored in ED-E. She and that Eyebot have been through a lot. Even with his lazier still out of commission, his enhanced sensors will always be useful. Amber wanted to take All-Americanwith her but felt like she didn't have enough ammo for the mission, same for Red Glare. The thought of bringing her the modified L.A.E.R. passed through her head but decided against it. The world was new to both her self and the people around her. She didn't want to show all her cards just yet. So she folded it up and set it in ED-E's storage.
With her things gathered and her helmet under her arm. The Courier walked over to the elevator with ED-E following behind. Together they entered and went up to the combat deck before walking over to the ship's armory.
The entered and saw Jacob over at one of the work stations. He spotted them as soon as he entered. "Hey there, Amber. I've got the things you request for the mission." He pointed at the two boxes on the other table.
"Thanks. Those should help us while we are away." Amber walked over to the first box. Opening it up was filled with thermal clips.
"If you don't mind me asking. I noticed you're going on a mission with a bunch of outdated weapons and asking for a box of thermal clips for guns your not going to use, why carrying that much weight?" The Cerberus operative said from his bench.
Ignoring the outdated part, she answered. "They're not for me there for the team that I am going down to the planet with," Amber replied as she took the clips and opened ED-E's storage compartments. "I use ED-E here to hold my tools and extra equipment into the field. That also includes ammo for my weapons. I thought it would benefit everyone that's using them to carry additional ammunition for the team to use should they run out of thermal clips on their person."
Amber saw Jacob smile at that. "That's a great idea! If we're ever in a jam and ran out ammo while in a drawn-out firefight, your bot could fly over and resupply to one of us in a pinch."
"Exactly that. ED-E here has been a lifesaver for me in a few situations like that." Amber then opened up the second box to reveal a set of frag grenades. Unlike the green pinnable shaped explosives, she was used to throwing; these were silver cylinders with a red button on top. "These should do nicely. Thanks for allowing me to use these, Jacob," she thanked the man.
"No problem. Anyway, those supplies you asked a few days ago are ready to be delivered to us at the next supply drop."
"When is that?"
"The supply drop scheduled in two days," he informed her.
Amber nodded her thanks before leaving the armory for the elevator again.
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"You sure your up for this, Garrus?" The Commander asked his old friend.
"I'll be fine, Shepard." The Turian replied. "I need to prove I'm not dead weight around here. Besides Dr. Chakwas said I need to move around rather than stay in the Normandy's gun battery."
"I don't think going on a mission after taking a rocket to the face is what she had in mind, Garrus, and your not dead weight either," Shepard said firmly.
The N7 Soldier and former C-sec officer we're down in the hanger waiting for their third teammate to show up. Shepard thought she would have already been down here, but E.D.I. said she was making final preparations in the armory and was on her way down. While they waited, Shepard was going over his friend's health as it would be the first time fighting after getting a significant injury. Few ever walk away from getting a missile to the head.
A couple of moments later, the door to the elevator opened and revealed the missing third member of their party. The two had to blink for a sec while they looked at the Courier.
Amber had on her riot helmet with the low red glow coming out of her eyeholes. It gave off a feeling of fear around her being. Like death would follow in her wake. It made the two remember who was in front of them and not reach for their guns.
Shepard was the first to speak. "I assume you're ready for the mission, Amber?"
The former Courier nodded. "All ready to go. Let's do this!" She said enthusiastically to the look she had had before marching into the shuttle with her floating robot following her in.
The Commander shook his head before following behind with his Turian friend not far behind.
The three stood in the dropships crew compartment as the shuttle flew out of the Normandy. As their ship drifted into the atmosphere of the planet, Shepard couldn't help but eye the floating robot that the Amber brought with her.
"So why you brining the flying robot, Amber?" Shepard asked.
"ED-E is coming with us for support," Amber told them. "Currently, the weapon he has in him is damage. Until I find the right parts to fix him, ED-E is going to be sticking to the rear out of danger. Thou he can't fight with us, he is still useful. He's got some enhanced onboard sensors on him that connect to my armor that are useful at locating enemies on the battlefield."
"It's true. That thing helped prevented a few close calls back on Omega," Garrus confirmed.
"I also just filled him up with thermal clips. If you run out or are low, call out to ED-E here for ammo, and he'll drop you some."
"Now that sounds handy," Shepard replied. Liking the idea of a robot running supplies to them at a moment's notices sound good when in a drawn-out firefight.
"Commander, there's a firefight happening and is getting too heavy to land. I'm dropping you to the nearest area closest to your objective." Called the shuttle pilot.
"Understood, get ready, people." The three stood ready with their weapons trained. Garrus had his assault rifle in hand while Shepard and Amber drew their pistols. They saw the shuttle doors pop open, and Shepard jumped out, seeing the dust hit around them. He aimed looked at his surroundings before getting behind cover and quickly joined by Garrus and Amber.
"No contacts, Commander," Garrus said.
Shepard looked around, seeing the view of how this place looked like a graveyard. "The dossier doesn't say if Okeer is on this planet by choice. Assume hostiles."
"There is only one measure of success: Kill or be killed! Perfection is your goal." Looking around and they spotted some speakers above.
"Someone likes the sound of their voice," Garrus commented.
"Stay focused. We are looking for a Krogan warlord." Nodding their heads, we proceeded forward as we kept on hearing the speakers speak again Shepard stopped them. Looking ahead, he saw a barricade from the enemy. "Lookout positions, Blue Suns ahead. Six or seven of them. We can get the jump on them."
Shepard looked over at Amber and patted er shoulder, and they switched places. "Find cover and engage on my mark." He said and leaned out from around the corner and crouched down to the nearest covered position.
With a vicious bang, the mercenary flew back as if he got caught in a great wind, his companions looked around in shock and fired in Amber's direction.
Garrus was first to run out and hide, unloading a careful barrage of cover fire. Shepard joined in with his Avenger with spraying down foes. Amber fired two more times, sending a merc flying each. Their group made short work of their opposition, with Garrus signaling that all mercs were down at the end of it all.
As they made their way over the ramp, a single Blue Sun's Trooper leaned against a broken engine with a panicked look on his face. He was unarmed as he tried to stop the gunshot wound in his shoulder from bleeding to no avail. The bald Trooper looked young, around his early twenties. His voice proved it as everyone could hear the untrained waver in his voice.
"Really?" Amber deadpanned at the guy. "That flesh wound is barely worth complaining about?"
Shepard interjected. "Well, he doesn't need to know that."
The mercenary looked up at us, his brow a furrow. "I knew it wasn't berserkers… Not at range. You're mercs. Or Alliance. I'm not… I'm not telling you shit." He said through gritted teeth.
Shepard was about to bribe the guy with a shot of Medi-gel. But then Amber held a hand up, silencing the soldier before he could speak.
"Here, let me," she said before walking up to the Trooper. She then leaned over and began whispering into the merc's ear that Shepard couldn't hear what she was saying.
Shepard looked over to Garrus, and the former C-sec cop shrugged his shoulders in response. He was turning back to the two, and the Blue Sun's merc was turning pale at an alarming rate. With Amber holding a needle right in front of his face. Now it made more sense.
"So, what do you know?" Amber backed off and asked politely.
"I-I, I don't know anything! I swear! We just kill the overflow they send out of the labs!" The Trooper said in a quick panic.
"Anything else we should know?"
"The old krogan up there, he's really be cleaning house lately. Jedore hired him to make her an army, but the krogan he creates are insane, so we use them as live ammo training." He explained. That's when his radio came to life.
"Outpost Four? Jedore wants us to move. We need coordinates on that krogan pack."
Amber tilted her head to the side. "What's he talking about, buddy?"
"Jedore runs a Blue Suns outlier, and she's making Krogan for an army. But they all come out crazy. Tough as hell, but just insane." The merc told them while he shook at the idea.
"Conventional weapons have to be cheaper than a set up like this," Garrus commented.
"I don't know. I just point shoot and bank my credits. Maybe there's something better up in the lab?" The merc replied.
The merc peered up at Amber, a horrified look on his face as she leaned forward, her hand on his shoulder, the needle resting above the exposed bullet hole. "Make them disappear… you feel me?" She said in a low threat.
The terrified merc nodded and leaned into his radio. "Uh… patrol? The last group… dispersed. Lost sight five minutes ago."
"Dispersed? Jedore will be pissed. She wanted a show." The radioman replied.
"You asked for a report, and you got it. Dispersed."
The voice on the other end acknowledged, albeit agitatedly. "Understood. Returning to the labs."
He cut the radio. "See? I'm helping."
Amber took her hand away. "What do you know about Okeer? You've seen him around?"
The wounded merc shook his head. "We can't go in the labs, but everyone sees when the Krogan come out. I've shot hundreds. They're crazy. Mindless. Anyone up there, they know whats going on."
"Why does this chick want with all these Krogan?" Amber asked next.
"Replace us probably," the merc said offhandedly. "I sure don't want to see an army of them coming at me. Only she can't control them. They aren't supposed to be crazy, but they're Krogan. How smart are they to start?"
"From my experience with big lizards, I'm not expecting much. What kind of security do you guys have around here?" Amber questioned next.
"We have big guns to keep ships away," he said as he jerked his head to where their base, "We're not outfitted to fight goddamn commandos." Amber turned back to Shepard as he watched the whole interrogation with silent commentary.
"Need to ask any more questions asked, Commander?" Amber asked as she looks back at the man leading them.
"No, I think we got everything."
"Welp, suggest we're all done now," the Courier said with a cheerful voice as she turned back to the wounded merc. "Run along now. Best not to be here when the shooting starts." The merc paled and hissed before limping away at a fast pace.
The two guys stared at the retreating merc before turning back to the strange women in the group. "What did you say to the guy that made him scared like he is?" Shepard.
"Sorry, but a lady never reveals her tricks," Amber replied as she drew her sniper rifle off her back and walked off.
The two guys looked at each other and came up with a single conclusion that seemed universal across space.
Women are scary.
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"Training is part of your contract," the voice continued on the loudspeaker as they moved forward, walking past the dead mercs. "Failure to perform means liquidation, legal, and otherwise."
"Man, does this chick ever shut up?" Amber said out loud.
"You could ask her when we find her," Garrus answered.
"Come on. Our warlord is somewhere in Jedore's lab." Shepard said, ending the conversation.
Going around the wrecked buildings, Amber saw two enemies above a ridge and began to fire as Shepard, and the rest took cover quickly. Peaking over the rubble that was her cover, she spotted the two Blue Sun mercs firing at them from their high vantage point. Amber also noted that they were fully exposing themselves while they fired down at them.
Not even N.C.R. rookies were this sloppy. Amber thought before she raised her rifle and blew the first one's head right off his shoulders. With him down, his buddy stopped and looked at his now-dead partner. Still exposed, Ambers two teammates took the opportunity to pull out their sniper rifles and fired together, one taking out his barrier and the other headshots him.
With them done, they moved on down a ramp and turned on the next right, followed by walking down a trench. Then Amber spotted more mercs coming from the right side across above them.
"Watch out there coming from above!" She called out before ducking behind some metal scrap. A moment later, her cover was rained down upon by mass accelerators. Shepard and Garrus returned fire at them, which allowed her to glimpse at their positions. She saw a high bridge that joined the two parts of the higher area. Above there were the three Blue Suns and beyond them, at the far end of the clearing, were two more Blue Suns mercs.
Amber got out of cover and aimed her AM rifle squeezing the trigger, sending the bullet towards one of the mercs head as it exploded his brain splatter all over. That also made the merc that was standing next to him freak out as now he had his friends gray matter on him. Three seconds later, he was joining him in the afterlife. By then, her two teammates both sent their concussion shots and finishing off the other mercs.
"Good job people, move up," Shepard said.
We continued on and past under the bridge, turning right and following the path up some stairs. They came into a clearing with a balcony on the other side. A group of Blue Suns mercs was already there, looking at her I.F.S. showed that there were six of them. Two on the right and four coming in from their left. They saw each other at the same time and responded at the same time too. Amber felt their rounds hit her but saw that her new barriers were already playing out in blocking them. Still, despite being smaller than the bullets back home, the momentum hit like she was hit with a big hammer, making her stumbled back. With the experience of countless battles of wasteland combat under her belt, made her shift her body before rolling to cover.
Reding her AM rifle, she pulled out and turned on V.A.T.S. and targeted the exposed merc for one shot. Her round connected with his chest, making it a new air hole for him to breathe out of. Chambering the next round, she went to work on butting new holes in the girl with the missile launcher.
"Garrus, Overload!" Shepard shouted. A moment later, a Blues Sun troopers spazzed out as blue lightning hit him before jumping to the guy next to him. With them in shock from the electricity Shepard effectively gunned down the two.
"Nice one!" Amber said, having witnessed the kills.
They soon finished up and moved on. Passing by a lot of dead Krogan lying in the ground, making Amber think of the situation.
"The Krogans are your example and your warning! As ferocious as they are, failures are expendable." The voice on the loudspeaker spoke again as they finished.
"Really not liking this woman," Amber said.
"My opinion isn't that hight as well," Garrus commented.
They rounded the next corner and saw three Blue Sun Mercs high up with assault rifles firing down on a lone Krogan fighting back. Amber noted that the Krogan appeared as a 'friendly' on her sensor screen.
"Ready snipers!" Shepard barked out the order. Amber pulled out her AM rifle, same with Garrus and the Commander.
All three lined up their shots and fired together without another word. Ending the small firefight in a snap. The Krogan lowered his gun and turned to stare at them. He didn't say anything as we approached him with cautious steps. That didn't mean they kept their weapons up as they approached him.
Shepard was the first to lower his gun, followed by Amber and Garrus. The big alien leaned forward as if he was looking directly at them.
"You… are different. New. You don't smell like this world. Seven night cycles and I have felt only the need to kill. But you… something makes me speak." He finally spoke. His voice was strange, thick like he was still figuring out how to use it.
"Seven night cycles? And he's already this big?" Amber said in surprise.
Shepard looked back and responded to his question. "They must breed them full-size, ready to kill. Not much improvement over regular mercs if they need training."
The krogan spoke again. "Bred…to kill. No. I kill because my blood and my bone tell me to. But it's not why I was flushed from glass mother. Survival is what I hear in my head. Against the enemy that threatens all my kind. But I failed before even waking. That is what the voice in the water said. That is why I am here."
"Glass mother?" repeated Amber inside his head.
Amber listened intently on the conversation Shepard had with the Krogan clone. He asked it about the Blue Suns commander and about the "Glass Mother," and getting simple child-like answers in return.
"Do you know to get to the laboratory? There's a guy named Okeer that I need to talk to," he said to the Krogan.
He seemed to recognize it, somewhat. "The…glass mother. She is up. Past the broken parts. Behind many of you fleshy things. I will show you," the Krogan declared. He walked over to the nearby wall, grabbed a sheet of iron that had been wielded to it, and pulled it away with a single grunt of effort. Once it was detached, he threw it to the ground.
Amber was impressed by the clone's strength. She bet real money to see him and a super mutant in a fighting ring.
"Glad he's friendly," Garrus remarked, looking at the sheet, back at the Krogan, and then at the sheet again.
"Yeah, not fist fighting this guy." Amber nodded in agreement as the three walked up to the now revealed tunnel.
"You fleshy things are slow when big things are in your way," the Krogan said, making it sound like that explained it all.
"You could have run or fight your way back to the labs. Why stay here?" Shepard asked.
"I am waiting," he answered. "The voice told me. If they come, I fight. But I will not run, and I will not follow. I am not perfect, but I have purpose. I must wait until called. Released," he said simply, turning away and walked away.
We watched him as he walked. "Okay…" Amber said.
"Let's move," Shepard ordered. Drawing his shotgun and taking point. Amber followed behind with her revolver at the ready. What lay beyond what the sheet had covered was a small tunnel, barely tall enough to stand straight up in.
"Not a lot of room to maneuver," Garrus noted as he went into the tunnel after her. It was so small that they virtually had to walk in a line.
The tunnel soon took a sloping downward path, making the tunnel feel bigger. When their group reached the bottom, they heard someone screaming. "They're loose! Run for your damn life! They're all free!"
Seeing two mercs run towards them began to fire, Amber feeling her shields going a bit down shot quickly and killing one merc. While Shepard put the other on his ass with a concussion shot before ending him with his shotgun. When they turned the corner, they stopped again. They saw another fully armored Krogan standing in the way of the path. This one was less friendly with them as he roared at them.
Amber stopped time momentarily with VATS and got a high target rating on the tank bred's weapon and head. Tagging both and letting time resume, her revolver barked twice with both shots nocking the shotgun the big lizard had out of his hands. Ranger Sequoia fired twice again into the glass eye sockets in his helmet. He roared in pain this time before he was silenced by Garrus with the burst of his rifle.
"Who authorized that krogan release? Okeer?" The woman on the loudspeaker demanded. "I will have order in my compound!"
"Sounds like she's about lost it," Amber commented. "We can use that for an advantage."
Let's not waste it then, push forward!" Shepard said as he fired his shotgun at the advancing Krogan. The three pushed forward to meet the hoard.
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Shepard was panting as he climbed the stairs up while ignoring the bodies of Krogan in his team's wake. The fight only lasted for four minutes, but the Krogan it seemed like an hour as he was beaten pretty good as he applied a bit of medi-gel to himself. They had gone through over a dozen tank bred Krogan to get down that one hall and was paying the price for it.
Afterward, they ran into several more squads of Blue Sun Mercs. A combination of the usual troops with mech support.
Looking back at his team. Amber was loading Garrus up with thermal clips from her floating robot ED-E. She was earning quite a few points in his book from this one mission. Half the kills in the Krogan filled hallway were hers and that outdated AM-rifle, sniping them from the rear while he and Garrus took the bunt of the attack. Blowing Krogan brains with Armor-piercing bullets.
Amber also proved she is a mad bomber. She used an assortment of explosives on the Blues Suns that left his bones rattled under his armor and smart for when to use them. There was one she used that turned two mercs into puddles of green goo. That scared Shepard and Garrus a bit at what those Fusion grenades can do. They don't know what she put in them to cause that reaction and was half fascinated to know but pushed his curiosity back for now, for they were still on a mission.
Making into what had to be the Okeer's lab where Shepard's team was fixing to enter. Judging by the radio exchange, most of the Blue Suns were either dead or running somewhere safe. Jedore, the Blue Suns commander, was still shouting orders through the loudspeakers, but it was unknown whether she understood that there was probably no one to follow those orders.
The walk they took led them to a door on the far side of the area. Everyone with their guns out and ready. But when they went through, they didn't find any mercs waiting for them. Instead, they just found one Asari in a scientist's uniform. "Shepard, don't shoot! You know me!" she said instantly, throwing her hands up and walked towards them.
"I shut down the security cams as soon I saw it was you. Never thought I say it, but I'm glad it's you shooting up the place. Sorry, Rana Thanoptis. You let me go when you destroyed Saren's lab on Virmire. Had to outrun a nuke in a utility pod, but it's still a second chance."
Shepard blinked as he tried to remember before and clicked in. "Yeah, I remember you."
"Yeah, I'm not very proud of what went on there, but I'm using what we learned for the greater good."
"I'm not here for the mercs," Rana quickly stated. "Jedore's on a standard power trip. But Okeer is trying to do something good, I can tell. Even if his methods are a little…extreme," she finished weakly, looking at one of the dead bodies that lay on the operating table close to her. She looked at him. "Everyone deserves a second chance. Right?" she asked him. "And sometimes giving pays off. I take care of my debts."
"What is Okeer trying to do here?" Shepard asked her.
Rena shakes her head. "It's complicated. Jedore wants a privet army, but Okeer mostly ignores her. He's running the project for his own reasons. I created a mental imprint routine to educate his tank bred, but most don't go through it. He dumps them for some reason." She said as she looks at the body of nearby dead Krogan on another table.
"Why is he doing this? What's the point?" Amber asked the woman.
"He wants to help his people, but he's not looking for a cure, and he's not looking for numbers. That's all I know," she finished.
Shepard gave the woman a hard look. "Finding you in a place like this makes me think letting you go was a mistake. You don't want that." He stated clearly.
"We agree on that. Don't worry; I plan on staying as far away from anything that has to do with you as possible. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to run like hell before you blow the place or something. I know how you work." She walked past them all, heading for the door they came through. To her credit, she didn't bolt until she was out the door.
"I'm all for second chances. Not so sure about third ones," Garrus commented.
"Forget about her. We must be close to Okeer if we're coming across the labs now." Amber said as she readied her rifle. Shepard didn't say anything.
As it turned out, they were right next door to the Krogan. When they walked through the door in front of them, they entered a long room with a giant window dominating the right side of it. Close to the door was a giant container filled with liquid with a computer beside it. Inside the tube was a Krogan. But it was the Krogan standing beside the tube looking out through the glass that had their attention.
"Here you are! I've watched your progress." Okeer rumbled in his low voice before turning to them. "It's about time. The batteries on these tanks will not wait while you play with this idiotic mercs."
Shepard gave the Krogan a leveled look. "I take it you are Okeer. You don't seem particularly caged… or grateful that I'm here."
The Krogan turned around and looked at Shepard straight in the eyes. "You may claim to be here to help, but the formerly deceased Shepard is not a sign of gentle change."
As if reading her thoughts, Okeer smiled, revealing a row of huge yellow teeth."Surprised," he asked. Apparently, he wasn't expecting an answer. "All Krogan should know you. I'm sure Rana has revisited your actions on Virmire."
Okeer spread his arms out wide like a grand opening. "Such a tale! Saren, the Spectre traitor, threatens the return of the Krogan horde by curing the Genophage. Undoing the gentle genocide of the Turians and Salarians," the Krogan said and glared at Garrus before returning his gaze towards Shepard. "But before Saren can deliver his endless army of Krogan troops, in rides Shepard, securing the victory for the rest of the galaxy through nuclear fire. I like that part. It has weight."
Shepard crossed his arms. "You didn't sound very angry at me for the possible destruction of the Krogan future." That is because I approve. Saren's pale horde were not true Krogan. It is a mistake all non-Krogan are destined to make. Everyone seems to think that it is numbers that make Krogan great when it is not," Okeer told them.
"And this Blue Sunscommander here is no different?" Amber asked.
"I gave their leader my rejects for her army. But she grows impatient. It's time for you to take me out of here." He explained as his gaze looked to the many cloning tanks outside.
"We heard you dealt with Collectors in the past. We want whatever information you have." Amber said to the Krogan, making Okee turn back to them.
"I see. Yes, the Collectors attacks on human colonies have increased. My dealings with them were focused elsewhere," the Krogan warlord approached the tank and placed his hands on the glass. "I have acquired the technology to create this one pure soldier. With that, I will inflict the greatest insult an enemy can suffer. To be ignored."
"Your search for a perfect soldier created many 'failures,'" Shepard said with an edge in his voice. "Don't you care about them?"
"I failed no one. My rejects are exactly what Jedore asked for," Okeer replied. "They are strong and healthy and utterly useless to me. Jedore simply lacks the ability to command them."
"I want perfection. If a few thousand are rejected, so be it. My work will purify the Krogan. We will not be restored - we will be renewed," Okeer said as he once again lost himself in pathos. Shepard had a feeling that the Krogan warlord really liked the sound of his own voice. "We will not need the numbers. My soldier is a template. It is a greater threat than all the phantom siblings that would have been at its flank. The galaxy still bears the scars of the horde. But it will learn to fear the lance." He finished with a clenched fist.
"Ok, let's get back to why we're here. You got in contact with the Collectors; what can you tell me about them?"
Okeer turned to look at her. "They are strange. So isolated, yet very available when your price is big enough. I gave them many Krogan."
The Krogan made several steps towards Shepard. "I may have information for you, but the tech was consumed within my prototype. After I determined how to use it without killing the subjects. The deaths were unfortunate, but I only need one success to start the process."
In all honesty, Shepard has heard enough. "Your methods are extreme, but you know how to deconstruct a threat. Will you help us?
"Perhaps we can strike a deal to secure my passage. But my prototype is not negotiable. It is the key to my Legacy."
Before Shepard could come up with any kind of reply, the doors to the lab closed and locked.
"Attention, everyone. I have traced the Krogan release. Okeer, of course," Jedore 's voice came from the loudspeakers. "I'm calling a 'blank slate' on this project. Gas these commandoes and start over from Okeer's data. Flush the tanks!"
The old Krogan stomped towards the lab's large window and looked down. The Commander followed him and looked through the window. He saw a large cargo hold filled with tanks that probably contained more Krogan rejects. A woman in Blue Suns' uniform and tech armor was pacing between the tanks and a Heavy Mech.
"She is that weak-willed? She'll kill my Legacy with a damned valve!" Okeer said and turned to the three. "Shepard! You want the information on the Collectors? Stop her!"
"Why? Let's just get out of here," Shepard asked him. "You made one perfect soldier, you can now make another."
"No!" Okeer said as he looked back at the tank. "Too much effort was put into this one. And the Collector's technology I traded was consumed by the prototype. Go! Jedore will be with the rejected tanks. Kill her. I will... stay and do what must be done."
Shepard felt annoyed but didn't waste time arguing and moved for the door with his two squadmates right behind him. They descended down the stairway before entering the cloning room. The room itself looked to be an old cargo hold from a ship but didn't have long before having to duck in cover from the incoming missiles.
"I don't care who you are!" Jedore shouted as she fired another shot from her missile launcher. "I'll kill you all! This is my world! Mine!"
Looking over his cover, he saw Jedore was standing on the far side of the room. She was standing next to a tank, and her armor had additional tech armor gleaming over it. A Heavy Mech standing close to her. There were more than one tank in that room, and each tank had a Krogan clone inside them. Shepard saw as Jedore fiddled with her omni tool, and then the in the room opened and flooded the cargo hold with Krogan berserkers.
"Kill them! I command you!" Jedore screeched to the Krogan and fired once again with her missile launcher.
"Garrus! Focus fire on the Krogan!" Shepard ordered as he lunched a Concussion shot at one of the Krogen that was near the side of a ledge, sending him over. Only to be replaced by another Krogan. Forcing him back to cover. "Amber! Got anything that could take down that Mech?"
He saw the armored duster wearing women with her AM rifle shooting down another Krogan. Amber took a moment to look at the big YMIR Mech before answering. "Maybe, ED-E get over here!" The machine floated to her and reached into its storage compartment.
As she did that, Shepard went back to firing at the Krogan. The brutish aliens were mostly armed with shotguns that were ineffective at such range. Still, several of them had assault rifles, and those were firing wildly, forcing several of Shepard's teammates into cover. There was also a matter of Jedore and her missile launcher, but that will be resolved quickly. He switches to his sniper rifle and armed it with Disrupter rounds. His shots destroyed the enemy commanders Tech armor with a couple of blasts, staggering her. A split second later, Jedore jerked back and fell dead, courtesy of Garrus' Mantis.
"Good shooting Garrus!" Shepard shouted to the Turian as he switched back to assault rifle and continued to fire on the incoming Krogan. "Focus fire back on the Krogan, push them back!" Victoria ordered. Then he saw a lumbering form of YMIR mech appear from behind one of the tanks. "Ah shit, and here comes the heavy!"
The Heavy Mech sent a missile into their general direction and proceeded to spray the team's positions with its heavy machinegun. Everyone ducked into cover, and Shepard cursed under his breath. They needed to take the Heavy now, or else it will keep them suppressed, allowing the rest of the Krogan to get close, and then it will get really ugly.
"Amber, are you ready yet?!" He looked back at the Courier to see her fiddle something in her hand. When the object in question was shown, it looked like a tin can with the old fashion grenade pin on top.
"Ready!" She answered, taking one last look before pulling the pin before lobbing it in a high arc at the big robot and land behind it. "Get down and don't look at the blast!"
Doing as they were told, neither of the guys knew what she just threw at the Mech, but when someone tells you to get down when tossing an unknown explosive, you go down.
"BOOM!" "CREEK!" "BAM!"
The fist explosion really did shook Shepard to the bone. He could feel his whole body vibrate under his armor. The rest was from the Heavy Mech braking down and detonating in its own fiery explosion. Looking up to check in the aftermath, the giant robot was no more than a pile of useless scrap.
"Whoa..." Shepard said in slight awe at the distruction.
Suddenly, they all heard the wailing of alarms coming up from the lab. "What is that krogan up to?" Garrus demanded.
EDI had the answer for them. "Commander, the lab alarms coincided with a systems failure. The remaining lab systems are unprotected, and I have gained limited access."
According to lab scanners. The room is flooded with toxins, and Okeer's personal life signs are falling rapidly. I suggest haste."
"Everyone, back upstairs, now!" he shouted to the team, rushing for the door. He heard his teammates follow him through the door and then up the stairs.
"Contamination detected. Emergency vent in progress," a steady woman's voice announced the loudspeaker over an over.
As they hacked the entered the lab, Shepard saw the still form of Okeer lying near the console. She approached him and managed to roll the Krogan on his back. The alien's mouth was covered in white foam, and his eyes rolled up to the back of his head.
There was a little blinking symbol that told him there was a video message waiting to be opened. He clicked it open, revealing Okeer standing at the screen. The timestamp showed it was only a few minutes old.
The warlord's face appeared on the screen. "You gave me time, Shepard. If I knew why the Collectors wanted humans, I would tell you. But everything is in my prototype. My Legacy is pure. This… one soldier, this grunt. Perfect…"
"Why would someone so fanatical sacrifice himself for one Krogan?" Garrus said as the three of us looked at the tank bred Krogan. He did look different than most Krogan he'd seen.
"No telling what crazy mombo jumbo that witch doctor poured into that things head? It could be fun to see what happens?" Amber said.
"A 'Pure' Krogan could pack a hell of a punch. We can always use another heavy hitter." Shepard said.
"If he'll help," Garrus pointed out. "I doubt anyone asked for his opinion.
Shepard shrugged and activated is com. "Normandy? Okeer is a no go. But we have a package that needs retrieval. And his big one."
.
Freaking long chapter. Thank you all for reading and I hope everyone gets through this outbreak with no problem.