Chapter 11

Haestrom

Haestrom's orbit, 19 march 2185, briefing room of the Normandy Sr-2

Haestrom, a small, barren world littered with remnants of the Quarian civilization and now Geth propriety. Completely cut off from any conventional route, almost no flora and fauna, a breathtaking sky and sculpted stones everywhere.

-And the place for our mission.-

"Are we all present?" asked Shepard to his crew now assembled in the briefing room. They were all already dressed in full battle gear and armed to the teeth, all patiently waiting for the debriefing to begin

"Mordin is not here." noticed Miranda. Shepard simply shrugged.

"That is fine, I allowed him to stay away from this mission. He just warned me through EDI that he is on the verge on a major breakthrough about Lena's yoki and needed some time off."

Shepard's eyes quickly noticed Lena reacting ever so slightly after hearing this piece of information, but the young Claymore decided against commenting and simply remained on her place, waiting for a better moment.

"Very well people; here is our target, Haestrom." an image of a quite unremarkable planet appeared inside the briefing room.

"And, as some maybe already know, this planet is currently occupied by Geth forces."

"Are we going to recruit one of the tin cans now?" asked Zaeed gruffly

"No mr. Massani. We are going to recruit our next operative for this mission, Tali Zorah Vas Neema. She is one of the best combat engineer I have ever met in my life and a former acquaintance of mine. Currently she is busy down on the planet together with a squad of Quarian marines and technicians. Our job is going down, helping her with whatever job is busy and then recruit her in our ranks."

"Shepard." asked Garrus worried "What the hell is Tali doing inside Geth's space?"

"No idea Garrus. My money is on some work for the migrant fleet but we will have to ask her directly. Now, the planet Haestrom suffer of a peculiar condition: Its sun is about to explode and this"

A loud yelp stopped Shepard in his tracks; it was Lena's voice, the last person Shepard expected to hear, let alone yelp in fear. Even the others looked at her quizzically.

"S-sorry Shepard but...the sun is dying? And you want us to go down here?" There was actual fear inside Lena's voice. Jack chuckled at Lena's reaction and said something under a tight lipped smile.

"Is it is Lena, but do not worry: it will take at least some decades before the sun will actually explode and destroy everything in this system." answered Shepard, still a bit surprised "Right now the real problem, barring the Geths, is another."

A sequence of information appeared in front of the squad, courtesy of EDI and its holographic generators

"As you can read, the solar radiations currently investing the planet are overloading the planet's atmosphere. Our personal shields can endure the onslaught for some time but do not expect them to last for long. Simply put: avoid the sun like the plague, stick to the shadow all the time and everything shall be fine."

"Who shall come with you this time Shepard?" asked Jacob "It must be a small group unless you want to awaken the entire Geth force in the planet."

"You are right Jacob." Shepard's eyes moved toward all his operatives, his mind calculating the strength and weaknesses of every single one of them while considering the current battleground

"Lena, have you ever fought against a Geth before?"

"Never, Shepard." promptly answered Lena "I remember T'Von trying to snatch some Geths for his spectacles but all his attempts proved to be fruitless. I have some experience against the usual synthetic enemies like security mechs but nothing else."

"Understood Lena, and you Grunt?"

"The voices says that Geths are fragile machines that will easily fall under a true Krogan's strength." chirped Grunt happily. His hands were trembling for the excitement and everyone noticed that.

"Riiiight." only a fool, or an overexcited Krogan could not hear the sarcasm inside Shepard's voice. The commander quickly reached Jacob

"Make sure his shotgun is equipped with the distruptor ammo mod." he said to Jacob sotto voce

"Sure Shepard."

"We will go down in four: me, Jack, Garrus and Grunt. Miranda, you stay frosty and ready with Jacob, Zaeed and Kasumi. Lena, for this time you are in the bench. You already did a lot for this group so take some free time."

"As you wish Shepard." she promptly answered.

"Good. Team, you have your assignments. To the shuttle!"

33 minutes later, ship's armory

-Sooo boring.-

A very annoyed, and currently seated in the armory, Lena brain silently screamed in frustration while her hands tirelessly moved the grinding stone against the heavy metal of her sword. Having a lot of free time might appear appealing in the beginning, but in truth Lena had no idea how to spend it!

Staying with Raina? It could work for some time, but how could she prevent her from studying mathematic and engineering now that some experienced people proved willingly to teach her. Already her child had immersed herself in data pads filled with numbers and equations, scribbling with her uncertain dozens of commands and formulas inside her owl little notebook with such an admirable focus that it was a crime to interrupt her!

Speaking with someone? Kasumi and Kelly were the only people Lena could actually talk with relative ease, and one was waiting in the shuttle bay while the other tended to coerce her into speaking about her past after a while. Very annoying.

Reading? Lena could read and write unlike most people living in the island, but compared to the people of this universe she was almost illiterate and quite shy about buying books. In their mind reading was still a luxury than only nobles and clergymen deserved after all, and certanly not a Claymore like her.

Using Extranet? Never! That strange realm was too insane and crowded for the poor Claymore and she still refused to use for anything more than the barest necessities.

And so, after aimlessly wandering across the ship and twiddling her thumbs for twenty minutes, Lena decided to fall back to the oldest trick in the Claymore's book: sharpening her sword.

Three horizontal movement on the right, three on the left, check both the edges and clear the metal with a cloth drenched with oil. Lena repeated these movements once, twice, thrice, in the end even she lost the count. As a result the black blade now shined like an obsidian jewel, gleaming in the sparse light of the armory; more could not be done.

-Great.- mused Lena annoyed despite the outstanding work -Now I have to find something else to do.-

Maybe she could clean and lubricate the gun's internal machinery received from Kasumi. She was not exactly an expert at this, but Jacob had showed him a things or two about guns during her free time. Maybe she could

"You know." said a voice behind her "I read that centuries ago some warriors treated their swords like their lovers."

Lena immediately jumped from her seat, her mind already on overdrive and her sword ready to strike. She was inside the Normandy sure, but some habits were impossible to forget.

"But I think even you are going a bit overboard this time." The blade's edge stopped some centimeters from Kelly's motionless face. She was used to Lena's sudden attack at this point and knew that the Claymore possessed a perfect self control when it come to her blade.

Lena quickly unsheathed her sword back without saying a word.

"You do not how to spend your time, am I right?" Kelly grabbed the nearest chair and sat near Lena.

"Kelly, no offense, but I do not want to talk about my past or about my mental status right now." answered Lena flatly.

"We already do this more than enough during our planned meetings."

It was so direct that could be considered almost insulting, but Kelly knew already that Lena was simply a girl incapable of diplomacy, so she insisted.

"And I am not here for that. I just want to chat with you for some time."

Non that was an answer that hit Lena unexpectedly. It even took some seconds for the Claymore to answer.

"Chat?" she asked

"Yes chat, like two friends would do!"

"But chatting about what?"

"Everything. As an example, I discovered a juicy piece of gossip recently: it appear that Miranda can actually show some feelings, especially if her sister is involved."

Lena arched both her eyebrows at this notice

"The ice queen has a sister, and she love her?" This reaction managed to tear a playful smile from Kelly's face.

"See, we have something to talk about. Tell you what: I am free now, you are definitively free. We both go to Gardner, snatch some hot chocolate and discuss about every single silly little things we could imagine. No traps, no boring talks. Just you and me having a good time."

It was a magnificent offer, one that Lena simply could not refuse. After all it was this or dying of boredom inside her own cabin at this point.

"I suppose I could do it." conceded Lena in the end "After all Shepard told me to have some rest."

"That is the spirit Lena" both the girls quickly left the armory and moved toward the mess hall. One with a huge grin splattered on her face, the other still unconvinced.

"I just hope Shepard does not end up in some mess while I am not with him." commented Lena quietly just before taking the elevator

Haestrom's planet. Same moment, ancient Quarian settlement

"Grunt!" shouted a very pissed off Shepard toward the huge Krogan, while moving toward the massive creature; it was almost comical seeing the relatively small human coming to blows against such a massive Krogan, but nothing in Shepard's face suggested any form of amusement.

The commander had just survived after a particular heavy engagement against a Geth patrol together with his squad, but only barely and not new scars to show. Garrus showed now dozens of small arms marks on his blue cobalt armor, Jacob somehow managed to stop a point blank shotgun shot with his armor and barrier and somehow survive, although he was currently swimming in both medi-gel and pain suppressors. Shepard's armor was black with soot, and all his systems showed heavy solar radiation poisoning; he was alive only thanks of his gene-enhanced body.

And all of this happened because of that stupid Krogan!

In the beginning the mission went out just fine: they made planetfall and moved toward the objective. They moved swiftly and silently, and they found proofs of Tali's works alongside the bodies of some of her unfortunate companions. They managed to recover some resources and make radio contact with a quarian Marine called Kal'Reegar and to gain some intel from him. Hell, Shepard even managed to contact Tali using a still functioning Quarian terminal, assuring her that help was on her way.

Then, when they used some demo charges to open an obstructed part, a full patrol of Geth including Geths soldiers and drones, some Geth destroyers and one Geth prime decided to investigate, and things went south at supersonic speed.

First Grunt charged at the incoming Geth not caring in the slightest about his teammates, leaving both Shepard and Garrus dangerously exposed, then the sun decided to take a closer look at the squad, forcing everyone to scramble for cover in the middle of a battle and, last but not least, Grunt decided to attack the Geth prime in melee of all things, and almost got killed in the process.

In the end they somehow managed to destroy all the Geths and lived to tell the tales but, using Garrus's words

"That was too close!"

"You have ten seconds to explain to me what the hell happened inside that scaly head of yours, and why should I not break your fucking ass for insubordination."

The bloodlust of the battle still raged inside Grunt's eyes; his shotgun pointed automatically at Shepard's chest but did not fired. There was still some self-control left in the young Krogan's head.

"Shepard" it was a low, guttural growl "Why are you chastising me? I destroyed your enemies, I won against the machines! I proved my strength."

"I couldn't care less about your stupid personal war against the universe, but your action put the safety of the whole squad at risk! We were supposed to ambush them, your charge was neither expected nor appreciated."

"Ambush." rumbled Grunt in disgust "Only a coward ambush the enemy. Are you a coward Shepard?"

With lightning movement Shepard grabbed his shotgun and rammed its end right into Grunt's face, the barrel right in the middle of Grunt's brain.

"Don't" warned Shepard with steel in his voice. Grunt immediately reacted and aimed his own shotgun at Shepard's stomach, but the commander remained unfazed "Don't you dare questioning my authority Grunt. You might come from a long line of Krogan warlord, but I have killed the Thorian, Benenzia Saren and innumerable other horrors lurking among the stars. All of them tried their damnedest to kill me, all of them failed." Shepard's green eyes looked at Grunt's. "You are nothing compared to them. Accept my command, or die here like a beast."

For some extremely tense seconds none moved. Both Shepard and Grunt continued their silent battle while Garrus and Jacob aimed their weapons at the Krogan's head. The air literally cracked with electricity coming from the scarred commander and the brash Krogan.

In the end, it was Grunt the one who surrendered. The young Krogan's shoulders slumped and his eyes averted Shepard's gaze while his massive arms lowered the shotgun.

"Good." said Shepard. Behind him both Garrus and Jacob sighted in relief and lowered their weapon

"Now, would you kindly explain me what the fuck is going on inside that brain of yours?"

"What is there to explain? I am a Krogan, the bloodlust is part of us." That explanation was not enough for Shepard

"Bullshit. I fought with and against Krogans before. It is true that they fight like berserkers, but is also true that their rage is tempered with reason, even when they are young and untested. They do not blindly charge against an entire patrol on a whim."

Grunt annoyed growl showed to Shepard that this was the right path, he only needed to push a little more.

"Something is nagging at you." pressured Shepard "Something inside you, something that you cannot control anymore. Some members of the crew told me that recently you appear restless inside my ship, more than the usual."

"I feel the need to prove myself. Something call me to..." conceded Grunt, although with reluctance.

"To?" urged Shepard

"Tuchanka." said Grunt in the end "The voice screams at me. I must go to Tuchanka. Here everything will be clear."

Reasonable, thought Shepard. Tuchanka is the home planet of the Krogans and the only place where someone could find some insight about Krogans and their culture (aside from bashing with their heads whoever they hate). Maybe there is something inside that dustball that is actually necessary for Grunt's wellbeing.

"Then we shall go to Tuchanka, but until then you will obey every single command, and you shall not take personal initiatives. Am I clear?"

Grunt's face was still unconvinced. His teeth scraped at each other in annoyance.

"Am. I. Clear?!" Shepard repeated, this time with harsher tone

"Yes Shepard. I shall obey."

"Shepard." intervened Garrus finally "If you are done playing daddy, I think you should see this."

The source of Garrus's distress was his omni-tool, currently flashing with streams of datas inside it like a raging river. A holographic image of a giant colossus of Geth origin idly looked at Shepard with his only blue, baleful eye.

A Geth Colossus.

"God damnit." cursed Shepard. Garrus's mandibles moved twitched in sympathy

"Indeed. Do you think is finally time to call for reinforcements? I know that it is risky, but we cannot defeat a Colossus, along with its escort, by ourselves."

In response Shepard tapped his comm-bead and reached for an encrypted channel

"Yes, it is." answered Shepard "Let's hope the Geth hardware will not immediately awake."

"Miranda. This is Shepard..."

Normandy Sr-2, mess hall, same moment

"Your friend sound like an absolute chaos lover. I would not last a second in a locked room with her."

A crystalline laughter echoed Lena's words

"You are right. But Samantha is such a great friend! And an incredible student to booth. I have many fond memories of her. Do you have some friend you miss right now Lena? People you wish were here with you on the ship?"

This small chat between friends proved to be far more entertaining and relaxing that Lena could ever imagine. True to her word, Kelly never tried to pry inside her past life and proved to be an excellent entertainer, opting to talk either about the latest gossips on the ship or about her previous life at the university and all the friends she managed to find. Next to them two cups of steamings chocolate, now almost empty, lazily wafted a delicious scent all over the air.

All in all, one of the best afternoon Lena had ever experienced.

"I would not say friends per se buuut….there are some warriors I miss" Anastasia in particular, but that was another pair of hands althogether "Good people, reliable and powerful. Some of them are even entertaining from time to time. We Claymores tend to be solitary people."

"But aren't there some places where you can gather, or some facilities where to have a good time? Life on your home place must be dreadfully boring!"

"Perhaps." conceded Lena "But we also tend to not be used to all your luxuries: reading all the books we desire gratis, night clubs, bars, parks, so many things! Sometimes I wonder if you understand just how lucky you all are."

A comprehensive smile crept inside Kelly's face; in one gulp she finished her hot chocolate and asked for a refill.

"Sometime we forget about them yes, we take them from granted. Still, you are here now, and not inside wherever your boring planet is, so new objective: find something for you to enjoy. Maybe a pet? Shepard has an aquarium filled with exotic fishes inside his cabin. Maybe you prefer a dog."

The idea of having a small, fluffy creature roaming inside her quarter did not exactly sit well for Lena

"Let's avoid the idea of having pets please. I would probably end up starving them to death." still Kelly refused to surrender and pressed on.

"What about books? Or comics? There are some that are quite engaging and easy to read at the same time."

Kelly was stubborn, Lena had to give her that

"Kelly, I appreciate seeing someone worried about my wellbeing, but"

her voice was interrupted by a loud whining resonating inside Kelly's omni-tool. A surprise for the girl, that quickly opened it up and checked the nature of the sound.

Inside they found a message from EDI

"Shepard requested the contribution on the second attack group. All personnel with a gold level clearance are ordered to go back on their post."

"Well" commented Kelly with a shrug "It appears that my free shift is already over. Sorry Lena."

"Don't be" answered Lena, and she was truthful in her words "When an emergency arise we cannot refuse."

"Always the soldier you, Lena." Kelly quickly went up and moved toward the elevator "I am coming to your place this night with a data pad linked with the universal library. We will find something that you shall like, I swear it!" shouted Kelly just before disappearing inside the elevator; some heads turned toward her while other in the mess hall looked at Lena, their expression a quizzical one. Lena smiled at these words. Kelly, dear Kelly! You are too sweet for this universe.

Now all alone, for some time Lena simply decided to stay in the mess hall, finishing her hot chocolate and using a smidgen of her yoki to enhance her hearing capabilities. Turned out that most of the witnesses of her little chat with Kelly were talking about her. Some talked about Kelly's last words before going to the bridge, others speculate about Lena, some even thought that she and Kelly were actually dating!

-Idiots! Kelly is a sweet and caring girl, and I actually don't mind the idea of a female lover, but I am a Claymore and she is a human. Dating is out of the question!-

Mused Lena to herself while gulping her last bit of the drink. After some minutes of silent listening Lena finally had enough and decided to move toward the shuttle bay. Better wait for Shepard at this point.

Haestrom planet, Tali's refuge point, 17 minutes later

Groaning in pain, careful of every movement, Odin Shepard looked moved away from his cover, looking at what was just some minutes ago a quite functional, albeit a bit ruined, entrance room before the observatory where Tali had been forced to hide. A catwalk on the right, some stone roads, loads of crates of various kinds everywhere, broken pillars made of stone, the usual things you find in an occupied ruin. Now, with wreckages of dozens of Geths, a fallen Colossus that almost destroyed what was left of the roof with a stray shot and explosion marks everywhere, it looked more like a giant crater.

-Note to self, never fight a Geth Colossus without the support of a tank, even with your full roster.- though Shepard deadly serious.

-And thank God for Kal'Reegar covering us with his missile launcher, otherwise we would all be dead right now.-

"Are you all alive?" asked Shepard in the inter-comm

"Still alive….somehow." answered Garrus first from his sniper's perch on the right of the room

"It take more than this to kill a true Krogan." was Grunt's answer. He was knee deep covered in Geth's mechanical parts and his armor was a mess, but apart for that he was fine

"Still alive!" chirped Kasumi behind a load of crates. One after another all his squad members answered back to him and a satisfied smirk rippled Shepard's face. All squad members were alive and well, good.

"Miranda, go upstair with our medi-gel supply. There is a Quarian marine that need some medical help. Jacob and the other, check the perimeter and make sure nothing else interrupt us. I will be done in a minute and Grunt, no trophy hunting."

The huge Krogan whined after hearing this, but obeyed instantly and dropped a half-broken Geth destroyer head just collected from the ground.

After some seconds of walking (and avoiding all the wreckages in the way) Shepard finally managed to reach the observatory's door, a massive grayish door made of old metal and stone littered with small dents and burnt marks. There was a small console next to the door but a stray shot had destroyed it, rendering it unusable.

-Oh well, let's try the old fashionable way.- though Shepard

The commander closed his right hand and knocked

"Tali, this is Shepard. We have destroyed all the Geths in the room but we need to go away before the entire Geth hardware in the system awake."

A muffled voice from inside reached Shepard's hear. Tali's voice

"Opening it Shepard."

With a deep, rumbling sound, the old door slowly opened from the inside and allowed Shepard to take a look at Tali's refuge. Kal'Reegar told him that it was some kind of observatory, but it looked more like a storage room of sort: built inside the rock, it was occupied with a couple of strange, white data banks quietly humming with energy. The wreckages of a pair of Geths laid strewn on the floor, proof of Tali's expertise. Tali itself was at the end of the room, working on a laptop.

"Tali." Shepard greeted her with a smile "Good to see you once again."

The girl stopped working on the laptop and turned toward Shepard. To the commander's joy she was fine and without a scratch.

"Shepard, not that I am unhappy of seeing you, but what are you doing here?"

"Oh, what can I say" joked Shepard "I love saving pretty Quarian damsels in distress." Shepard could not be sure because of the mask but it looked like Tali blushed at this.

"Keelah Shepard. Don't say that!" Shepard almost laughed at this. Ah Tali, sweet and innocent Tali. Never change please.

"Jokes aside, do you remember the offer I gave you some times ago at Freedom's Progress?" asked Shepard, now deadly serious

"You asked me to join your crew after allowing me to let Veetor going back in the migrant fleet." answered Tali "He is doing fine by the way; staying close to his family did wonders to his mental health. I told you in response that first I had a mission to do for the migrant fleet."

"And this was the migrant fleet's mission I suppose." interrupted Shepard. Tali nodded and let a bitter chuckle escape from her mask

"Yes, the mission was to infiltrate the planet Haestrom, discover why the sun suddenly collapsed on itself and if the Geths are involved."

"And, are the Geths involved?" asked Shepard. Tali's face lowered at this question

"I do not know Shepard. This mission had been a disaster since the beginning: first the Geths sensors immediately intercept our squad despite our countermeasures and force us to scatter, then we lose most of our scanning equipment and the Geths picked at us one by one. We lost so many today." there was sorrow in her voice, the same sorrow that Shepard knew very well as a commander.

"You think all of this was not worthy." stated Shepard with neutral voice

"It is not my call to say this. At this point I only hope the datas are worth of something, Shepard." it was barely a whisper this time.

"The admiralty board believed the informations here are worth the lives of all our lives. I have to believe that they know what they are doing, but right now I only know that I lost a lot of good friend."

"Well still glad to be arrived in time. Can you join me now?" asked Shepard and this time he could not hide his hope for a yes in his voice.

Tali looked first at the laptop behind her, the streams of datas still flowing, then at the destroyed Geths inside the room. Finally she spoke

"When we met on Freedom's Progress I told you that first I had to complete a mission for the admiralty board." Tali's hands curled into a fist all of a sudden "I did it. The mission is over and i lost everyone in the process for something that I do not even know will be worth a damn. I will come with you, and if the admiralty have a problem with it they can rot in hell!"

"Don't be too hard with the admiralty ma'am." said a voice behind them "I am sure they actually know what they are doing." It was Kal'Reegar's voice. The young and brash marine commander was limping and using Miranda as a crutch so he could move inside the room, but he was alive.

"Reegar!" shouted Tali in joy "You survived!"

"Yep." Kal'Reegar's voice was strained but still firm "Your old commander is as good as you said. The Geth colossus never stood a chance."

"Do you need some help Reegar?" asked Shepard

"No commander. Our ship is still in one place. As long as I bail out before the Geths send more reinforcements I shall be fine."

"And the others?" asked Tali with some hope "Only you survived?"

Reegar simply sighted

"I am sorry ma'am. Only me, but please do not feel guilty for this: we all knew the risk and you did all you could do." for some seconds the marine tilted his head slightly, as if lost in thought

"I heard you before. You won't come back." he muttered. It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes Reegar." answered Tali, her voice clear "I am going back with Shepard."

Strangely enough Kal'Reegar did not look and sound surprised in the slightest.

"Then I will inform the admiralty of your decision. Shepard" now Kal'Reegar turned and faced the commander directly "She is all yours now Shepard. Keep her safe."

"You can bet your ass I shall keep her safe, marine." said Shepard with conviction

"Thank you Reegar, for everything." said Tali softly. Reegar simply shrugged and went out, Miranda always helping him

"Well" said Shepard "you just discovered the burden of leadership Tali. I will not try to say useless words like -it was not your fault-, instead I will cheer you up. Remember the old Normandy? The one you loved for her cutting edge technology? The new one is even more insane, and I want you as my chief engineer."

Tali actually squeaked after hearing this

"Se-seriously? Me, chief engineer?"

"Yep. You worked inside the old Normandy and you understand machines better than anyone else. Besides I want someone I can trust at the command of my little baby, and I cannot think of a better candidate than you."

"I...serving as a chief engineer of a ship like the Normandy. Is like a dream come true! Thanks Shepard! I swear I will not disappoint you."

"I sure you will not." smiled Shepard "Now let's go back home. Just one thing: do you remember the old crew with Garrus, Wrex, Liara and all the others? Do you remember how rambunctious, rowdy and assorted it was?"

"Yes I do Shepard, Why?"

Shepard flashed at her his biggest smile

"Wait until you meet the whole current crew now."

Sooo, hi people. Sorry for the delay and this, partially filler only chapter, small writer's block.

Stay tuned for the next one and always tell me if this story is a disaster or still enjoyable.