Chapter 21: Tribulations [part 2]
The space around Omega was becoming full of ship debris as the battle wore on. The Normandy had lost over half of the ships protecting it due to the aggressive drones and the now pressing Collector Dreadnought that had begun moving forward. It took long range laser shots at the defensive spheric formations; eliminating several ships at a time, forcing the remaining Omega fleet to disperse and retreat. The Collector drones and Eclipse fighters now were nipping at the heels of the defenders as they fell back towards Omega station. The Normandy was now being constantly peppered by plasma fire and missiles, it's shielding greatly reduced, and its remaining escort vessels sparking or on fire yet still being hit by sporadic plasma. The remaining Doom Scythes did what they could to alleviate the pressure, vaporizing drone swarms that got too close.
Miranda gritted her teeth as another explosion from long range torpedoes rocked the Normandy. Sparks flew from one of the consoles and a fire burst from the ceiling overhead. Crewmen with extinguishers quickly were on it, while Joker was focused on flying with the XO on tactical. From the console Miranda could see that the fleet was a mere quarter of its original number and the Collectors were pressing on with their weight of numbers. Based on the data from that dreadnought's weapons, it could bring its main armament to bear on Omega in the next five minutes if they kept retreating.
It would have been sooner if Miranda hadn't ordered a fighting retreat along with some more reinforcements from the station earlier. Joker groaned, "We're not going to last giving them our ass to kick like this!"
"We can't let them pin us down with that dreadnought advancing! That metal bitch better be ready when we get there!" Miranda exclaimed.
"Already losing faith in me?" A familiar voice said over the comm.
The Normandy XO was in no mood for Solvatas' snark, "About bloody time! Is your 'weapon' ready?!"
"I am activating it now. Bear witness to the power of my dynasty's labors." The Necron Vymark stated.
From the Normandy cockpit Miranda used her camera controls on the tac screen to get a better view of what was happening. Omega station's upper section, the part that had been retrofitted with necrodermis construction, began to open its doors. After a moment, the doors released something incredibly large and black out into space. It was difficult to tell what it was, but Miranda saw the glowing green lights and black crescent shape of Solvatas' ship fly out to meet it.
The Necron vessel oriented itself to the front of the large flying object and seemingly docked with what looked like a jutting metal section out of the main body. Then suddenly the rest of the object lit up and a mighty pyramid atop it shone with bright incandescent green light. Two more black crescent shapes were then released from the station, much larger than even Solvatas' ship. They maneuvered themselves to the sides of the vessel, orienting before docking with the sides of the now incredibly larger ship. Lights activated as the pieces docked and now this new and even larger Necron ship was seemingly complete.
Miranda stood agape at what she was seeing, "EDI what am I looking at?"
"Unknown class vessel. Estimated length via visual data, two to three kilometers with a height of-"
"Two to three kilometers?! Why have they been hiding that?!" Joker shouted over the AI.
Kor Pharas, still in his fighter chimed in to comment on it as well, "Based upon reference data Vymark, that is a Sekham-class chassis, is it not?"
The large Necron ship began to orient and head in the direction of the oncoming battle as Solvatas replied, "Indeed it is Praetorian. I made certain that it's Starpulse Wave Generator took priority for construction, but unfortunately much of the other systems are offline. Main power and Phase jump drive seem to be nominal. However, relatively few of the ships weapons systems are functioning, in addition much of the subsystems and decks in the main chassis are incomplete. But for what is planned this will be good enough."
The Collector fleet halted its advance, preparing to meet Solvatas' new flagship head on. The Necron Vymark ordered, "All ships, reform and prepare to face the enemy on my order. I will engage the dreadnought and it's escorts. Kor'Pharas, rally your squadron to me. Normandy, take command of the auxiliary fleet and make ready."
"You're going to take that all on yourself?! In a barely functioning ship according to you?" Miranda asked incredulously.
"Just watch Miss Lawson and wait for my order." The Vymark smugly replied.
The Necron cruiser began to move at full speed to the enemy fleet, passing its remaining auxiliary vessels that were now turning around and reforming with the Normandy. The Doom Scythes left their previous escorts behind and moved to dock with the Necron cruiser, now on course straight on with the Collector dreadnought.
Plasma from the drone swarms began to rain down onto the dark Necron flagship, lightly scarring it's front. Missiles from the remaining mercenary ships followed but found little damage on the vessel's dense necrodermis armor. In retaliation, the Necron cruiser fired it's few functioning lightning arc batteries, knocking out several drone swarms like an energy fly swatter. The drone swarms began attempting to cut into Solvatas' ship with their close in laser weapons. Even so, Solvatas didn't slow down, pushing her engine drive to full. The lightning arcs of her ship continued to knock out swathes of drones and even smashed into an Eclipse frigate that couldn't get out of the way of the Necron cruiser in time.
At the front of the Collector dreadnought, a massive particle beam weapon began to emit a blue charge. This is what Solvatas had been waiting for, taking satisfaction that once again Harbinger was being utterly predictable. After a few moments the enemy's beam weapon had charged to full and fired a gigantic blue lance of energy. In that instant, the Necron ship was enveloped in green light. Miranda averted her eyes due to the brightness of the light and when she looked again through her tac screen, Solvatas' ship was gone. Some bridge officers within the Omega fleet believed at first she had been vaporized, until once again a brilliant flash of green energy appeared on the left flank of the Collector dreadnought. The Vymark's ship then reappeared right in the midst of the enemy fleet, unleashing it's lightning arcs onto any surrounding enemies.
Solvatas announced to her allies, "All ships standby to engage!"
Green energy and lightning began to surge through the pyramidic structure atop the Necron cruiser, coalescing at the very top. After several seconds the energy atop the pyramid blasted a shockwave that enveloped everything around it. Munitions within the mercenary's fighters and ships suddenly detonated, destroying them in a brilliant display of explosions. The Collector's drones suffered a similar fate, their weapons systems exploding within their frames. Even the dreadnought seemed to suffer a failure of some systems. An energy field that had been surrounding it subtly flared and dissipated.
"Now! Engage the enemy! Normandy destroy the survivors!" Solvatas ordered.
Miranda then messaged to the fleet, "All ships move in!"
Joker grinned, "Finally! Time for some payback!"
The Normandy led the counteroffensive, charging forward with several Omega corvette's firing alongside it. The stealthy frigate began by unleashing it's Thanix cannon, cutting through several Eclipse frigates before unleashing a barrage of torpedoes that knocked out a squadron of merc fighters. Those ships in the Omega defense fleet that could still fight began beating on some of the weakened Eclipse ships with missiles and cannon fire.
While the auxiliary forces hunted down the stragglers on the fringes of the blast from the Starpulse Wave, Solvatas found herself in a nasty knife fight with the dreadnought. The Collector flagship may have lost it's defenses, but its laser batteries began opening up on the Vymark's own ship. Bursts of blue light cut into the Necron ship, damaging the surface of its necrodermis. Solvatas started to rotate the ship to protect her ship's Pulse Wave weapon and inflict as much of her lightning arcs attacks onto the enemy's capital ship as possible. The Necron vessel stopped rotating when it's underside was facing the Collector ship. This was also done to send out her next salvo: several full squadrons of Doom Scythes, twenty four to be precise. They boomed from her ship's lower hanger and once more were led by Kor'Pharas, now making their way into the innards of the dreadnought to wreak havoc.
Solvatas opened a line to her Praetorian comrade, "Old friend, you don't have much time. This ship has done the best it can as it is. I will hold the enemy's attention as long as I can. It's up to you now, rend that dreadnought apart in my name!"
"Of course Vymark. It will be but a few moments."
The swarm of Doom Scythes began slicing into the Collector dreadnought's superstructure with their Death Rays, but the enemy ship soon lashed back with lasers of its own. Point defense systems across the Collector flagship activated and cut down several fighters before they began to evade. Kor'Pharas quickly scanned the ship to track down power subsystems, giving directives to his wingmen to take out several points he detected in the superstructure. The other Necron fighters attempted to draw the attention of the lasers.
The strategy resulted in several pinpoint attacks by the Necron fighters causing explosions along the left flank of the dreadnought. But the main batteries of the Collector flagship continued to rain down upon Solvatas. Kor'Pharas checked her ship's status. Based on the damage being inflicted upon the Necron cruiser, it would only be a minute or so of constant bombardment before Solvatas ship suffered critical damage. It was a race against time to see which vessel would be destroyed first with the Praetorian and his fighters the last play to tip the balance.
The Necron fighter-craft split up to begin hunting subsystems again. Kor'Pharas used his Doom Scythe's sensors to scan for power sources, this time trying to take out the source of power for the main batteries. The Praetorian's fighter was soon rocked by an impact. Kor'Pharas checked around his fighter for the source and quickly found it. The Collector dreadnought was venting out drones from it's super structure, many of which were already dead. Their internals fried from the blast wave that had washed over the ship. Some however, suddenly reactivated and quickly pursued the Doom Scythes. More and more began to wake up and gather into a swarm chasing Kor'Pharas who began to make strafing runs on the flagship's power junctions with his Death Ray. The Praetorian merely flipped his fighter after the run and fired his Tesla Destructors to clear his own backside of enemies. He then rotated his craft and dove through the top of the dreadnought's superstructure to the core of the ship, his wingmen not far behind. The original Collector cruiser, still attached to the core, was in sight.
Suddenly explosions ruptured the connecting parts of the superstructure attaching the cruiser to the core. The Collector ship's engines erupted to life. Laser batteries began lancing at the Doom Scythes inside the core as the fighters attempted to get within weapon's range. Then the Collectors did something unexpected. The spinning ship of rock and metal suddenly had it's engines flare even brighter and then performed an incredibly short range FTL jump. It jumped several thousand kilometers past it's pursuers. The shockwave from the jump sent the Doom Scythe's scattering inside the shell of the superstructure.
Solvatas' eyes narrowed from her command throne, "Hmph, it appears they poured all power to engines so they would create a shockwave as it jumped. Clever... but desperate."
The Vymark scanned the now fleeing Collector ship that was still heading for her station. It's engines had been destroyed in the maneuver and it was entirely moving on it's momentum from the jump. But unfortunately, her own ship was in no better position to pursue, its phase jump drive having been disabled from the enemy's laser batteries. The Collector ship would reach weapons range of the station in the next two minutes.
Solvatas quickly called Normandy, "Miss Lawson, disengage and pursue that Collector ship. They will reach weapon's range in one minute and forty seconds!"
Miranda acknowledged, "We're on our way! Punch it Joker!"
"Way ahead of you!" Joker replied, his fingers rapidly working his holographic console.
The Normandy flipped around and fired it's four engines to fly full speed away from the mop up to pursue the Collector ship. Joker grinned when he saw the target on his heads up display, "Oh ho ho, it's been a long time you sons of bitches."
The XO shook her head, "I doubt its the same ship that destroyed the original Normandy Joker."
"Actually Miss Lawson, data analysis and profile of the vessel from scans indicate that this Collector ship profile is incredibly similar. It is not a false assumption to presume that it is indeed the same ship." EDI commented.
"That's all I needed to know." Joker said, flipping his cap over on his head still grinning and lining up a shot.
Blue lasers lashed out from the rear of the Collector Cruiser, it's main particle weapon now beginning to charge to fire a shot off at Omega station. The Normandy took a scalding hit along its right flank, rocking the ship and causing alarms to blare.
"Warning! Kinetic barriers down, several hull breaches detected!" EDI warned.
Joker gritted his teeth and said, "Almost there!"
Miranda's eyes widened as she saw more weapons charge up on the enemy ship via her tac screen, "Joker evade!"
More lasers struck the Normandy as it flew upwards to get around the rear mounted laser batteries. An explosion in the CIC sent some crew to the ground. Screaming was heard from behind the pilot and the XO who were intently focused on their duties. The elevator at the back of the deck opened and out came Gefren bearing an extinguisher along with Tel'se Neran who carried a satchel. He began to put out flames while Tel'se helped provide medical aid to the wounded.
"Apologies Miss Lawson! I figured I wouldn't throw my weight around someone else's bridge but there's too much wanton issues to not get involved!" Gefren shouted.
"Warning hull integrity at fifty-four percent!" EDI announced.
"We're so close!" Joker shouted.
"Collector ship weapon charge at seventy-two percent." EDI continued.
"EDI divert more power to engines, give it all she's got!" Miranda ordered.
The Normandy quickly evaded another laser shot, finally getting out of the enemy's weapon's arc, flying above the Collector ship. The wounded frigate then dove at an angle towards the enemy vessel, it's Thanix primed and ready.
"We got a shot! Take it!" Miranda called out.
"Warning, low power, Thanix cannon at only seventy-five percent charge." EDI announced once again.
Miranda frowned and shouted, "Just fire the damn thing!"
The Thanix of the Normandy fired, although the beam was less than half of it's original size. However, it still found its mark through the destroyed engine block of the Collector vessel, causing an explosion. The blast sent the Collector cruiser off course throwing its aim off. The enemy ship's particle beam weapon ended up firing into a large asteroid away from the station blasting chunks of rock from the impact that then collided into other asteroids. Then suddenly the front of the Collector ship exploded due to a critical feedback power failure, killing the ship's forward momentum. The Collector cruiser was now dead in space, adrift and spinning in the void.
Joker pumped his fist in the air, "Let's come around for another pass EDI! Let's finish it!"
"Hold Normandy!" Solvatas quickly ordered.
"What?!" Joker exclaimed.
"This situation presents an opportunity Mr. Moreau. We could destroy them here and now yes, but thanks to your efforts they are now disabled."
"So yeah let's finish it and call it a day! Win for us!"
Miranda already caught onto what the Vymark was intending, "You're suggesting a boarding action now?"
"Of course. The Collectors have clearly advanced far, I want to know how far and if there are more fleets like this under way. I doubt the latter considering the aggressiveness of the attack, but we need more data."
The XO nodded, "I agree. But I doubt the Collectors will simply allow us to take it from them without putting up a fight."
Solvatas then sent to the XO's tac screen her own analysis of the enemy ship's condition, "The enemy cruiser's reactor is offline, so I doubt they could melt it down at the moment even if they wanted to. But I will admit you are right to be cautious. If you are willing, perhaps we could make this a joint operation."
"We don't have many people we could send over. I'm not certain if-"
"It matters not to me Miss Lawson. Send whoever you wish. My warriors will be doing most of the heavy lifting in this matter anyway. Just think of this final enterprise as a reward for your efforts."
"This mission is a reward?"
"One that could give vital intelligence toward your own goals as well. It's mutually beneficial for both of us."
"And it could be a death sentence for whomever I send over there."
"As XO that is up to you decide. But one should not scoff at such opportunities presented by the Necrontyr lightly. The choice is yours."
Miranda thought for a moment before sighing, "I'll let you know who will go. We took some damage pursuing the cruiser so I need a moment to assess my crew and ship first."
"Of course, but don't keep me waiting, lest I move in without you. Then the price for the data increases."
With that the call disconnected. Miranda gave a huff of irritation before looking back down toward the CIC. Crews were trying to reroute power and get control over wires that had come loose from the explosions rocking the ship. Some consoles were sparking and wounded crew members were either being given first aid by others or were being escorted to the infirmary. Gefren and Tel'Se were among them and noticed the XO coming over to them.
The Volus waddled over to meet with her, "I take it with the sudden calm that the battle is over?"
"Yes, though now we find ourselves in a bit of a tight spot. How are the lower decks?" Miranda asked.
"There was quite a few wounded with several casualties from that last spat. Whatever rocked us cut through the hull and several crew members before the Mass Effect fields came on to prevent decompression."
Miranda frowned, "I'll have to ask EDI for the full numbers later. Gefren, I know it's a bit sudden but we need a team for a mission."
"What sort of mission ma'am?"
"A boarding action. The enemy ship that attacked us has been disabled but we're short on people and I know you said you were willing to help."
"Of course! I'm no stranger to such actions though normally in my Merchant Marine days I'd be put in charge of the bridge while the Turian marines performed that role. But since we seem to be short on such individuals I can fill the void if needed."
Tel'Se stepped forward to the XO smiling, "And of course I'm not going to let him go off alone after only just getting back together again. I was a former commando before becoming a mercenary, so a boarding action is old hat to me."
Miranda nodded approvingly, "Well that's half a team, let's see who we got left."
The XO activated her Omni-tool and checked the dossiers and saw only two that were left highlighted. She activated her tool's comm to contact them, "Jacob, Kasumi, report to the CIC if you are able."
"Well you didn't need to shout over the PA for little old me." a woman's voice said.
Behind Miranda, Kasumi emerged from her cloaking field in her usual dark hooded outfit, with a smirk on her face. The Normandy XO cocked a brow, "How long have you been there?"
"Since the fighting started. At first it was to see if I needed to bail with all the explosions going on. But I had a nagging feeling that maybe it'd work out. So I stuck around. Sure it was a little too exciting having to avoid all the small explosions around here when it got hairy. But it looks like you and the metal ice queen took care of it."
Miranda put her hands on her hips, "Not quite yet, I'm assuming you already heard."
The thief smirked while rubbing her chin, "I may be up for a little stealing on an alien ship, provided we actually get what I asked for when I signed on."
The XO shook her head, "We don't have the time for that at the moment. You'll just have to bear with it and bring it up to Shepard when he gets back."
Kasumi gave an annoyed look, "Sheesh, seems like everyone else is getting what they want from this deal but me. Then again, I didn't exactly asked to get mind controlled and then go on a data heist where they don't even give me the courtesy to remember all the cool details! I feel like I'm missing out on so much."
Jacob stepped into the CIC and joined the gathering by the galaxy map. Kasumi's eyes perked up at seeing him and she smiled. The former Corsair stepped up next to Kasumi and saluted, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow, "Sorry I was late, was helping the doc take care of some people down below. Things got messy down there."
"How's Dr. Chakwas? I'd imagine we have quite a few wounded." Miranda asked with a concerned look on her face.
Jacob's face turned grim, "She's handling it but it ain't pretty. Three dead, thirty-five wounded last I counted. Thankfully mostly burns and shrapnel injuries, some of 'em pretty bad, but they'll recover."
"Who did we lose?"
"Hawthorne, Barnes, and Numa."
Miranda sighed, "Damn...well it could have been worse."
Kasumi grimaced, "Well that's a little cold."
"It is what it is, we don't have time to mourn the dead right now. Jacob, I need one last team member for a boarding action. Are you up for it?"
Jacob nodded, "Just point me in the direction Miranda, you know me. Who's leading this op?"
The Volus raised his claw hand, "Based on experience and being a former Merchant Marine officer I suppose I would be."
The biotic weapons officer cocked a brow looking at the short little alien, "Huh...never served with a Volus before. You sure you're up for this? I mean Miranda can go and you can stay here."
Gefren waved him off, "Bah! I'll be fine good sir! I understand your reservations but rest assured, this suit is alot stronger than you think! Besides someone has to show that a Volus has worth beyond manning a station or a desk. I'm sure Miss Lawson has her own reasons for choosing to stay."
Jacob looked confusedly at Miranda, "What? Why Miranda? You'd usually go yourself on these kinds of missions."
The XO closed her eyes and huffed, before meeting her friend's gaze, "The enemy is cornered and could very well choose to die fighting. It carries tremendous risk and Shepard...he needs me. So I have to stay here."
The biotic weapons officer shook his head but smiled, "Huh...I guess it's like that eh?"
"Jacob...I know I'm asking alot after everything that's happened-"
Jacob cut her off with a wave of his hand, "Yeah yeah, I get it. Gotta send the expendables first in case the whole thing goes south, right?"
Kasumi meekly raised her hand, "Uh, can I change my decision? Cause all this talk of expendability is not helping my anxiety about this."
Gefren adjusted his belt then stood up even straighter, "Oh we'll be fine Miss Goto! In case you forgot, my compatriots and I even gave Shepard a run for his money not long ago!"
"Yeah, when the nasty Turian guy was with you. But now it's just us."
Miranda's hand met her face for a moment before she shook her head, "Look, you're all on board yes? We're running out of time, either we do this now or never."
They all nodded, with Kasumi tentatively shrugging. The Normandy XO decided that was good enough, "EDI hail Solvatas."
"Channel open Miss Lawson." EDI announced.
"We have our team, when will you be ready?" Miranda said confidently.
"I will notify you when my task force is prepared, make your own preparations in the meantime. We must strike quickly. The longer we wait, the more time the enemy has to ready themselves for our arrival."
The howling of beasts cried out over the sounds of the wind of Tuchanka as Shepard's team prepared to face another wave of the ravenous Varren in the Krogan ruins. Their current position had served them well so far. The Keystone, as the Krogan called it, was a giant weight that was raised up on a pulley system that then was dropped to lure in creatures. It had two staircases leading up to it from the lower ruins at its base. The local fauna lured in were then forced to come up from only two sides.
The team was prepared for the next wave. Nemar readied another barrier, using his Omni-tool to create a chest high wall for him to overwatch the right stairs. Mordin was on the opposing staircase Omni-tool and submachine gun at the ready. Grunt was close by in-between the staircases, his Revenant machine gun prepared to give fire support to whichever stairway needed it. In the back overlooking it all was Shepard up on an outcropping using his Viper rifle to scan for targets.
Nemar, sniffing the wind, called out once again from behind his barrier, "Here they come again!"
Grunt grinned broadly, "Good! I want more!"
Shepard looking through his sniper scope saw them. Running through the fields beyond the ruins was a large pack of Varren coming in. There had to be dozens of them this time, all brought in by the Keystone that had slammed into the ground earlier. Shepard marked targets via his scope and transferred it to his teammate's HUDs. Grunt took aim from his firing position on top of a destroyed pillar. Unleashing the Revenant, he tore through the ranks of Varren on approach to the ruins, riddling the lizard quadrupeds into bloody swiss cheese. Once the packs jumped down into the lower ruins, it would be up to Mordin and Nemar to hold the line. Shepard, for his part, picked at the various Alphas within the packs; blasting the heads off any blood red or larger than normal Varrens that he could see.
After only a few minutes of blaring machine gun and sniper fire, the desolate wilderness in front of the ruins was completely littered with bullet riddled Varren corpses. The remaining survivors that did reach the lower ruins then made their way up the stairs only to find Mordin's Tempest submachine gun and Nemar's Carnifex pistol waiting for them. With the Varren simply charging in with little thought, it was elementary for Mordin to dispatch them, cutting them down on his side with a firestorm of lead and Incineration tech. Nemar's pistol cut down several with well placed shots, but some managed to get up to his Omni-wall and that's when its secondary function activated. As they tried to clamber over, the barrier wall on the Varren's end suddenly deployed spikes that impaled the creatures. They yelped and squealed in agony, their impaled bodies making it easier for Nemar to mercifully kill them using the blade under his Carnifex's barrel.
When Mordin and Nemar were cleaning the bodies off their sides of the staircase, the Keystone raised its massive weight high and dropped down to slam into the earth again. A Krogan voice over a PA system that still worked was announcing something but Shepard couldn't really hear it from his firing position. He had muted all outside noise from his sealed helmet so he could concentrate on shooting. While others on the team were far enough away and in cover, Shepard was right behind it, feeling the wave of force from the weight hitting the ground behind him. He gritted his teeth and bore the shockwave, the concussive force reverberating throughout his body.
The Commander then heard over his helmet comms Nemar calling out, "Oh great, here comes the flyers!"
"What kinda flyers are we talking about?" Shepard asked.
"The big ones that tend to swallow prey whole on flybys, we call 'em Harvesters. But I don't think they're interested in us yet. I think they're more interested in getting the critters feeding on their bodies off and onto us instead. Must be really irritating 'em today. When those small fry are chomping on us, then the flyers will come in to finish us off!"
"A very unique but brutal biosphere. Perfectly suited for Krogan." Mordin commented.
"A lovely homeworld you got here boys." Shepard replied dryly.
Grunt laughed, "Hah! Wouldn't have it any other way! This is why I fight Shepard!"
Nemar added, "Well said little brother, heads up incoming!"
Shepard reactivated his helmet's audio and could hear the flapping of large wings coming their way. A massive flying carapace laden creature with a long worm-like neck and a gaping maw screamed past them overhead. Upon targeting the creature, the name Harvester popped up on the Commander's HUD along with the potential targeting of four red objects on the creature's underside. As the winged beast flew low over the ruins. the targeted red objects dropped off and hit the ground in the team's midst, some rolling over and righting themselves surprisingly quickly. They were crab-like creatures with four legs and red in coloration. They bore an armored carapace and had large black eyes, standing nearly as tall as a Krogan. The armored monsters emitted shrill screeches before two of them breathed fire at Grunt. He rolled out of the way just in time, preventing himself from being burned.
Nemar shouted, "Watch out for those Klixen! They explode when killed!"
"Really?! What are they made of?!" Shepard yelled as he activated his cloak.
Nemar withdrew from his cover, fire now blanketing his previous position, "Don't ask me I ain't a biologist!"
"Difficult to explain in combat! Will give details later!" Mordin replied while firing his Tempest going down the steps of his staircase to get away from the Klixen on his heels.
The Klixen on Mordin was about to breathe fire at him when Shepard shot it in the eye with his Viper. The creature squealed in pain and began to fall back while Mordin turned to riddle it's head with lead from his Tempest. Another shot through the eye from Shepard broke the creature's skull and within a matter of seconds the Klixen exploded forcing the Salarian doctor to raise his arms to protect his face. Nemar also retreated down the stairs to the lower ruins from his position, a Klixen chasing him and breathing fire. When he got enough distance from the creature, he activated his Omni-tool and sent out his own unique drone. It was a floating orange sphere with holographic spikes rotating along its surface.
"Go get 'em Tuvash!"
The drone made an angry noise and charged the Klixen. A section of spikes around its body formed a nozzle and began to unleash its own flame upon the parasitic insect. The creature charged through the wall of fire and attempted to chop down on the holographic construct only for it to suddenly detonate in the creature's mouth blowing off it's head in an explosion of gore and fire. Then the rest of the Klixen followed in a fiery conflagration as its fluids detonated.
"Hah! Good boy!"
Meanwhile Grunt swapped to his Claymore and blasted the head off the closest Klixen attempting to fry him with fire from it's mouth. It exploded and knocked its fellow over onto its back. Grunt cocked his shotgun, then suddenly charged and kicked the Klixen away before blasting it in its underside. Orange fluid erupted from the creature's belly before it too exploded into a burst of flame and guts.
"Is that all they've got?!" Grunt bellowed.
The cries of several more Harvester's answered the tank-born Krogan's challenge and they swooped down with a dozen more Klixen quickly dropping and landing all around him, surrounding Grunt on all sides.
Shepard sighed as he reloaded his Viper, "You had to say it. Grunt, pull back! We'll cover you! Mordin, Nemar get back up here!"
The tank born warrior ran full speed through a pair of the Klixen before they could burn him, knocking them over and heading toward the right side staircase just as the flames from the bugs licked at his back. The Commander sniped at the closest Klixen attacking Grunt right through the eyes, causing it to burst and stun it's fellows with its explosive death. A Cryo blast fired from Mordin found its target, chilling one of the Klixen on the left before he hit it again with an Incinerate, causing a tech explosion. The two other parasites that stopped to turn around were then showered in frozen carapace shards from their kin's death, causing them to squeal and shake their heads to get the debris off.
Grunt jumped down the right stair to link up with Nemar, several more Klixen right behind him and breathing fire. The Krogan engineer unleashed his drone and sent it up the stairs to distract while he prepared something from his sidepack.
"What are you doing?! We don't have time!" Grunt exclaimed reloading his weapon.
"Just gimme a sec!" Nemar shouted.
Grunt huffed in annoyance, aiming his Claymore at a Klixen screaming over the side above them, ready to breath fire and getting a mouthful of buckshot for its trouble. Nemar then pulled a hand sized hexagonal shaped device then threw it onto the stairs. When a Klixen attempted to go down the steps, the device detonated sending nothing but clawed limbs and guts down the stairs.
Grunt eyes went wide, "Mines?! You could blow up the stairs!"
Nemar waved him off, "It'll be fine! This shit is Krogan made! Even if its old, the fact it hasn't fallen apart yet means its still strong. The old techs built stuff like this to last!" The Krogan engineer then aimed his Carnifex to shoot at another Klixen trying to come down the stairs while throwing out another mine. The chittering large parasite took several pistol shots to the face, making it stop just long enough for the mine that Nemar threw under it to detonate.
Meanwhile, Shepard and Mordin continued to fire on the remaining giant parasites that were at Grunt's former position, finishing off the last of the creatures with a headshot. The cries of the Harvesters bellowed on the wind. Shepard looked through the skies via his scope and saw one of them landing nearby. It turned to have a look over the ruins seeking prey. The Commander frowned. Harvester was probably checking to see if the Klixen had killed anything for it to eat. Not today you freak, Shepard thought to himself as he sighted up the head of the massive flyer. He fired a shot that hit it in its left eye. The creature shrieked, it's large gaping mouth opening wide, it's armored head recoiling back as it jumped in shock. The Commander was satisfied with the result as the giant monster then took flight and flew away, realizing that sticking around was more trouble than it was worth.
Then the Keystone activated behind the Commander. Once more Shepard muted his helmet sounds. The Krogan loudspeaker became muffled behind him as he prepared himself for that blast of force to hit him again. The massive Krogan weight then slammed into the ground, shaking the area like an earthquake all around him. After a moment, Shepard realized that the shaking wasn't stopping and a sense of familiarity washed over him. The memories of Akuze rushed back and then he knew just what it was that was coming.
The two Krogan got back up the steps. When the shaking started from the Keystone, they held onto a railing. As the earthquake continued rumbling Grunt grinned in anticipation, "Something big is coming...I'm ready!"
Nemar shook his head and laughed as he held on, "Damn, these Urdnot's rites are crazy! No wonder they're on top!"
"Why's that?" Shepard asked.
"Most clans just send you off to survive with your Krantt for a few days out in the desert, not send you to an arena where all the monsters come to you! Hah!"
Then an eruption of dirt and rock exploded from the edges of the ruins. The head of a giant armored worm with two glowing blue eyes and a long blue tongue looked out over where the team was positioned and roared. Shepard gritted his teeth as the memories of Akuze came flooding back as he looked at yet another one of these damnable monsters.
Nemar just laughed at what he was seeing, "Holy shit! Just like I said, these Urdnots are god damn crazy! I love it!"
Mordin was not as enthusiastic, taking covering and warning, "Combat with Thresher Maw on foot ill-advised! Seek cover! Acidic and toxic saliva highly dangerous!"
The Commander frowned, "I've killed plenty of these things before, both in a vehicle and on foot. We're not running."
"Now you're sounding like a Krogan Shepard! Let's do this!" Grunt declared.
Nemar and Grunt quickly got to cover back in the upper ruins as the Thresher Maw rolled it's head back and spat out a high speed volley of toxic saliva at the Krogan warriors. Thankfully the cover of a pillar and a broken down strut at the corner of a collapsed building was enough to take the attack. However the saliva was quickly breaking it down, forcing both Krogan to shift to fresh cover. While they moved, Shepard moved his position to the other side of the outcropping and took aim. Several sniper rounds to the monster's right eye caused the worm to recoil back. Mordin peppered at the creature's head now and again from near the top of his staircase, but his options were limited due to the distance. Nemar and Grunt set their weapons to inferno rounds and began unleashing fire upon the Thresher Maw. The younger Krogan's Revenant unloaded a firestorm of lead onto the mighty worm's face just as the beast screamed and tried to shake off the flames.
The armored worm became frustrated and then quickly fell back into the dirt, causing everyone to hold onto something as the ground shook. Then it erupted from the lower ruins of the arena smashing through rock and dilapidated structures to reach its Krogan prey. Grunt fell on his back still firing on the maw of the Thresher as it roared in front of him. Nemar threw mines into the mouth giving the worm a nasty burning to its tongue for good measure as they exploded. Shepard withdrew his heavy weapon, an M-560 Hydra Rocket Launcher. He quickly charged it and unleashed a storm of eight micro missiles that flew into the left eye of the beast, popping the eyeball off in a conflagration of explosions.
Now enraged from all the damage, the two claw arms by the head of the armored worm swiped down on the Krogan. Grunt rolled out of the way as the right arm came down to slice him in two. A follow up attack from the monster's left claw arm sliced at the midsection of Nemar forcing him to hit the deck face first. Mordin launched a Cryo attack that hit the exposed left claw as it pulled it back. Seeing an opportunity Shepard began sniping at the worm's frozen arm joint and called out, "Focus on my target!"
The Krogan warriors acknowledged and began adding their fire to Shepard's. The combined arms broke the frozen carapace before finally tearing off the exposed joint. The creature shrieked and fell back into the ground again, causing another rumbling of the ground that forced the team to brace. When it rose again from the ground it kept it's distance and began spitting more of its saliva. Shepard was forced off his outcropping by a gout of spit and joined his Krogan compatriots amid their dissolving cover.
"Situation problematic! Small arms cannot reach target!" Mordin exclaimed.
"I got it! Just get it's attention off of me!" The Commander ordered.
Grunt and Nemar nodded moving to the edge of the platform of the upper ruins and taking cover at the stone railing before opening fire. Thankfully removing the Thresher Maw's eye had thrown off its aim, with several of it's spit attacks going wide of the Krogan duo. But at the range the Thresher was attacking from the Revenant and Carnifex were having little impact. Shepard cloaked and setup at a now dissolving pillar from earlier in the fight. He sighted up his Viper on the remaining eye of the worm. It's constant spitting was making the shot tricky and he was low on thermal clips. The memory of Olivia and all of his comrades on Akuze came back in a flash, reminding him of his failure, but also of his resolve to keep going. He may have lost his team that day but he did kill off the Threshers that killed them. This one would be no different. It was wounded and playing back, but he was the better shot here.
The Commander took a breath, clearing his head, before calmly sighting up the remaining eye of the worm and waited for the timing to come.
"What's taking so long Shepard take the shot!" Grunt yelled.
"Get down kid!" Nemar shouted, as finally the spit of the Thresher Maw found its mark.
It splashed across Nemar's back and shoulder along with Grunt's left shoulder, causing both Krogan to cry out and get down behind their melting railing. Mordin rushed from his cover to get to them but worm spit forced him to hide.
"Shepard!" the Salarian called out.
The Commander was utterly focused on making his shot, ignoring everything else. Then it appeared and he fired. The shot to its remaining eye caused the worm to recoil once more but Shepard wasn't done. He kept hitting the eye repeatedly causing it to leak blood all over, the blue coloration of its eye began to shift to an orange grey as it filled with fluids. The former Spectre didn't stop firing, now loading AP rounds and shooting into its mouth with the last of his ammo. Shepard roared in anger as he kept firing intending to bring this mortally wounded beast to the ground. Carapace and flesh ripped out of its mouth and it roared a death cry as saliva, blood, and bile began to leak out. The worm finally fell to the Tuchankan sands with a loud crash and Shepard's rifle clicked and sizzled, indicating the thermal clip had overheated.
With the Maw dead, Mordin quickly moved to the Krogan pair. He activated his Omni-tool and began treating them, neutralizing the acid burns on their bodies first before applying injections.
Shepard walked over to them, reloading his Viper with his last clip, feeling satisfied but now worried, "Are they going to be alright Mordin?"
Mordin nodded while he worked, "Krogan physiology quite durable, should quickly recover from burns. Did not receive lethal dosage of toxins. Should take but a few moments to recover with prompt treatment."
Nemar grimaced through the pain, "You say that but it felt like my back got coated in flaming reactor fluid."
"Is that coming from experience old man?" Grunt said grinning.
The Krogan engineer shrugged, "A stupid mistake on a job, or rather a mistake originating from the guy who hired me. Simply put, he didn't exactly take care of his ship very well. Blamed me for causing his ship's reactor to go critical. I got coated in all kinds of shit trying to shut it down. The guy had to bring the ship down to some random dust ball of a planet. Then he told me I was the worst engineer he ever hired and just resorted to shit all over me with his mouth."
"What did you do?" The Commander asked.
Nemar smirked, "I told him he could go shove his opinions down the craw of a Nathack and that his ship was barely holding together as it was. That if he wanted to get his ship off the ground again he needed me. Being stuck out in the middle of nowhere thankfully made him realize that I was right. In the end it took me several days to get his ship space worthy again. You should have seen the look on his face when he got the bill."
Before they could converse further the sound of shuttle engines flew overhead. A transport craft flew past the three of them and landed on the opposite side of the arena. Nemar noticed something on the side of the craft and frowned, "So...they're here too."
"Who is?" Shepard asked.
"Clan Gatatog...remember when I said I had some business here? Let's just say they're a part of said business left on the homeworld for me. In particular, that guy who met Wrex earlier...Uvenk."
The Commander crossed his arms, "What do you want with him?"
"To settle an old score. If he is here, then I hope you don't mind if I get a crack at him myself. That is if he's going to cause a problem."
"I'm not sure if its the best idea to attack the diplomat of a rival faction currently in talks with a friend of mine."
Nemar shook his head, "Bah! Are you kidding? You saw how Wrex treated him, he's just a whiney piece of Krogan trash that's still stuck in his ways. No doubt he's here to cause even more headaches."
"Then why did he wait till after the Thresher Maw fight? He could have interferred at that point and caused us problems but he didn't."
"Even if its not to interfere with Grunt's initiation it still is suspicious Commander."
"Still, I want to at least hear what they have to say first before I decide anything. If it is Uvenk and he is here to cause problems, we'll handle it and then you'll get your chance."
Nemar huffed, "Fine I guess. But don't expect any kind of meaningful conversation from this meeting. When it comes to Gatatog they're all fiercely traditional of the old warring ways of the Krogan. Makes 'em stubborn, stupid, and dangerous."
"We'll see. Are they fit doc?"
Mordin smiled as he put away his tools, "Treatment complete!"
The Krogan pair stood back up and began rolling their shoulders and stretched. Nemar walked over to the Salarian medic checking his shoulder before saying, "Ah, feels nice. For a Salarian you're alright doc."
Mordin nodded and Grunt simply shrugged, "I don't care either way what these newcomers want. But if they want to fight I'm still quite eager."
Shepard raised a flat palm towards the young blooded warrior, "Only after we confirm it first, got it?"
The Krogan duo grumbled, while Mordin nodded in acknowledgement.
Satisfied the Commander checked his side pack to count his ammo before telling his team, "Good, then let's go and see what they want. We're running low on thermal clips from all the fighting, so let's not get into a fight if we can help it."
"Yeah yeah, we hear ya, we'll be good." Nemar said begrudgingly.
Shepard nodded and the team began to trek back up through the ruins to reach the other side of the Keystone. When they arrived on the other side of what looked like a large museum structure, a squad of Krogan in white armor with Uvenk from earlier appeared. They were wielding Claymore shotguns and M-7 Avenger rifles with Uvenk stepping forward with raised hands.
"We are not here to fight." The Gatatog Emissary began.
The Commander wasn't too sure about that, "We'll see, you might have noticed we were just finishing up our business here. Mind telling us why you're here?"
"You took down a Thresher Maw...on foot. Such a feat has not been done since Urdnot Wrex himself."
Grunt huffed, "So you finally acknowledge my strength now do you?"
Uvenk narrowed his eyes, "Your Krantt is indeed strong tank born. Whether or not that was due to you or their effort remains to be seen."
Shepard crossed his arms, "We fought as a team and won, nothing more needs to be said. You still haven't answered my question."
"Your question is irrelevant human. Besides, I've come here to discuss business with him, not you." Uvenk said dismissively.
Grunt eyed the emissary with a confused look, "What?"
Uvenk stepped forward, slowly lowering his arms as he approached. "Let me be wholly honest with you. You are a mistake tank-born, but clearly you have potential and strong allies. I'm here to make you a proposal."
Grunt looked to the Commander who simply nodded to him before the Krogan warrior replied, "Go on."
"Clan Urdnot's reforms are causing too much of a storm amidst the traditionalists. Many would love to go to war against Wrex, but we still are divided and he has too much support. Without a balanced viewpoint, Clan Urdnot may end up weakening the Krogan, by ignoring the importance of our old ways."
Shepard and the team couldn't help but notice the Gatatog warriors beginning to change positions. Their weapons still at the ready for a fight to break out at any moment as they closed in around the Commander's team. Uvenk continued, "If you join Clan Gatatog, you could help us bring balance by pressuring the Urdnot's to compromise. You could help us maintain what makes the Krogan strong tank-born."
"What's the catch? You clearly weren't thrilled about a tank-born Krogan joining Urdnot earlier." Shepard asked.
The green crested emissary nodded, "True, he would likely have restrictions if he chose to join us. He couldn't breed of course, but he would at least see how true Krogan live and fight, not marred by Wrex's vision."
The Commander looked to Grunt, but the young Krogan was clearly unimpressed, "What a joke! You spit on my name, on Shepard's name! Yet here you are asking for my power because we're strong and you're weak."
Nemar suddenly chiming in said, "Damn right they are! Last I heard Gatatog was on the verge. What happened Uvenk? Did you run out of easy, small, peaceful clans to raid and pillage?"
"Do I know you? Commander who is this?" Uvenk asked annoyed.
The Krogan Engineer stood up straighter and thumped his chest, "My name...is Nemar Krusk! Of clan Krusk! The clan you butchered to sate your lust for females!"
The emissary simply waved the display off with his hand, "Forgive me, it's hard to remember faces of enemies my clan and I have bested in the past. Krusk is a name I barely recall. After all they were so weak they could barely stand against our meagre vanguard when we finally took what we were owed."
Nemar looked to Shepard and explained, "We were farmers and engineers trying to make Tuchanka a better place through trade. We didn't have many warriors, but we did have skills that could have helped other clans to survive!" The engineer turned and pointed at the Gatatog representative, "Instead raiders like you and clan Wyrlock came, killed all our men and divvied up our females and children between them!" The black crested Krogan gritted his teeth, "Including my sister..."
Uvenk chuckled, "That was a long time ago. If your sister was fertile she may very well be still alive. But what happens to the females is not my concern."
"You can damn well bet it's mine and you're going to tell me where you've sent her. One way or another."
"You're wasting your time. But if you want, fool, we can settle this after the tank-born's decision." Uvenk looked to Grunt, "So what say you?"
Shepard smiled, "If I know Grunt then your answer is going to come from the barrel of a shotgun."
The young tank-born Krogan smiled and brought his fists together, "You do know Grunt! This Varren is dead!"
"Good! Don't worry Uvenk." Nemar said enthusiastically as he pulled his pistol and cocked it, "I'll save you for last."
Author's note: Hey guys, been a bit since I last chimed in but yea this one went on longer then expected. I know, 20,000 words was alot for even me in one chapter so I had to split it. Several arcs at least did get finished and we also are now setup for alot more action. We're getting closer to the end game now, next time we'll wrap up the Tuchanka fight along with a whole lot of other action sequences I have planned. Again I thank you guys for sticking by me after all this time and I appreciate the critiques and support. I couldn't have made it this far without you all.
