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Beta(s) :

Santo

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Requested by :

Espacole

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Since it was being restocked and refitted, and most of the crew weren't needed to do it and so were off on shore leave, Pyrrha and Zaeed stepped through the airlock and into a cool, dimly lit, empty seeming bridge. Their footsteps echoed on the metal beneath them and Pyrrha was suddenly more than a little anxious in the dark and near-silence. After a moment, though, and with the heavy thunking of power being poured into them, the lights began to thrum to bright life.

"Apologies, I was not expecting you back so soon." EDI's voice said, her avatar springing to life on the plinth in the cockpit as they stepped into the hall. "This deck did not require any maintenance beyond rapidly completed system checks I am handling, so I turned the lights off to maintain higher power efficiency standards."

"Oh, it's fine."

"S'what the fuck ever." Zaeed grunted as he looked at the little orb, "Long as no one's fucked off into my room."

"A minor power conduit required replacing, and so a crewmember was required to do so." EDI answered mechanically, rushing to explain, before his scowl could become yelling, "They were carefully instructed not to, quote, 'fuck with any of your goddamn shit', end quote, and they followed instructions. Afterwards, the door has remained locked. And I have directed security recordings to an isolated recording suite for your perusal, if you wish to see proof to the fact."

"Yeah…" Zaeed sighed and waved her off, turning to head through the empty bridge, "Fuck it, got better shit to do."

"Thank you for the lights." Pyrrha said quickly, turning to follow the much older fighter through the bridge and waving as she went.

"You are very welcome, Miss Nikos." EDI said from yet another plinth, this one beside the elevator, once they called for the lift down. "My protocols require that I ask why you have returned at such an odd time, however."

"Why wouldn't we?"

"I kind of… Live here, EDI." Pyrrha pointed out quietly, "Why is it so odd for me to return to where I live? Perhaps I simply didn't want to waste money on a hotel, or some such place?"

"Reasonable understandings of psychological profiles show that in most cases, someone in your position would not wish to be aboard the Normandy when it is possible to avoid it." The AI answered instantly, like the words were drawn out purely by habit rather than an actual response. After a moment, and quietly, she added, "But you are right. If you like, I will simply log that you came to retrieve personal effects."

"That…" Wasn't particularly inaccurate, really, if for very different reasons than the AI would be expecting. "That will be fine. Thank you, EDI. I'll be in and out inside a few minutes."

"Of course." EDI answered quietly, the light on the elevator swinging to green as if on cue. As the doors opened for them, EDI added, "And I hope that you have a good day, and leave as well, Miss Nikos."

"Thank you." Pyrrha murmured again, feeling a bit of guilt creep up from her stomach at the AI's kindness. And at how she was, at least in a way, using it to her own ends.

Such thoughts did little to stop her, though, as she and Zaeed stepped into the elevator and ordered it to descend. EDI didn't ask why they were headed to Engineering, for whatever reason, but Pyrrha wasn't going to rush to point it out. Nor was Zaeed, who leaned against the side of the elevator with a grunt and a sigh to wait through the quiet journey. After a moment, Pyrrha joined him, the both of them simply waiting the ride out.

And preparing for what would come after.

Engineering, unlike the command deck, was neither dark nor quiet when they reached it. A handful of engineers were busy in the engine room itself and in the hallway, working on conduits and overhauling systems she didn't recognize. Few of them paid the two of them any real mind, though, as they passed by. And thankfully, they weren't in the cargo bay that she and Zaeed were headed into. So everything should be-

"That's a secure room." One of the Cerberus engineers warned her when they saw her reach for the button to key it open. Turning, she met the man's smile and he shuffled by her to block the door, "No one's allowed in until Second Officer Lawson comes by to secure the cargo."

"Cargo?"

"Yeah." The old man nodded, smiling pleasantly all the while as he went on, "Second Officer Lawson has jurisdiction over recovered items brought aboard. She's slated the seized Krogan experiment for delivery to a Cerberus facility for analysis and testing."

"Analysis and testing…" Pyrrha didn't need to know what the engineer meant by that, to say the very least, and felt her heart begin to race for it. No one deserved that sort of life. Not her, and not that innocent Krogan either. "For what it's worth, I am sorry about this, engineer."

"Sorry for what-"

Her hands snapped out to take him by the shoulder and brought him down, into a knee that met his solar plexus and left the man wheezing on the floor. Turning, she tossed him at the woman that had been behind him and stepped forward, snapping out a kick that knocked her unconscious as the last couple in the hallway stood and turned to call for help. One choked as she leapt down the hall, her Aura flaring to propel her towards him, and wrapped her arm around his throat to put him to sleep.

The other spasmed and fell with choking gasps, going still as Pyrrha turned to he old mercenary.

"What?" The man asked, lowering his glowing arm and shrugging, "S'just an Overload, he'll be fine."

"What are you doing, Miss Nikos?" EDI's voice asked suddenly as all the doors out of the hallway locked, red emblems blazing angrily on each. "You are attacking Cerberus engineers going about their duties. Why?"

"To save someone." She answered simply, "They want to hand that Krogan over to be cut up like a rat."

"That is not-"

"Don't say that is not what he meant, EDI. This is the exact same thing that she threatened to do to me!" Pyrrha added sharply, turning and pressing hands against the door to the small, secondary cargo hold. Taking a breath while Zaeed watched her warily, she said, "You can open these doors, or I can rip them off their mountings myself. But I am getting into this room, and I am taking him away from here."

"...I am programmed to mitigate harm to ship and crew." EDI finally said quietly, something Pyrrha couldn't quite place in her voice. "I will disable locks and allow you to leave, but be warned, I am notifying Commander Shepard and Second Officer Lawson."

"That's fine." Surely Shepard would understand her decision, here. As the light shifted to green, alongside the one on the elevator but not the ones that led anywhere else, she sighed. "Thank you, EDI. And I'm sorry to cause you so much trouble."

The AI didn't answer and so, with a simple press of a button, she and Zaeed stepped into the dark secondary bay. EDI was at least kind enough to activate the lights for her here, too, and after a moment alarms began to chime on the pod. As liquid drained and the Krogan inside began to stir, Pyrrha turned to Zaeed and motioned for him to get back out into the hall.

"But-"

"Go, you'll be safer." She said quietly, echoing words she once hadn't understood, but now felt she did, at least a little, "You'd only get in the way."

With a sigh, the man turned and left, the door closing behind him.

With a heavy clang, the front of the pod fell away and to the side, clattering on the metal decking as the Krogan inside fell forward, onto his knees. The Krogan heaved and hacked, his body shaking as he expelled whatever the sludge he'd been floating in was. Sucking in great breaths, the Krogan sat up and back on his haunches, looking at his armored hands slowly while he seemed to get his bearings back.

"Um, h-hello, there." She said after a quiet moment, smiling when the large alien looked up at her. "I'm Py-"

"Oh I know your name, Pyrrha Nikos." The alien rumbled as he stood, rolling his shoulders and huffing at her furrowed, confused brows.

Suddenly, he lurched forward and brought his shoulder down, nearly bowling her over before she could leap to the side. Rolling onto a knee with her weapons in her hands she watched him wrench himself out of the hole he'd smashed in the interior decking. Rolling his heavy shoulders he clapped his fists together and laughed, voice rolling around the room with so much warmth that it sent a chill up her spine.

That kind of laugh did not belong after someone tried to kill you.

"Why are you attacking me?" She asked, standing and flicking her rifle to the side, letting it extend into its full spear form. "I'm here to help you!"

"Okeer. He… Taught, put images into my head. Words." The Krogan answered, flexing his fingers and rolling them into fists. "He taught me about the enemies of the Krogan, and the people to respect. Old names. Hated names. Your name."

"Why?" She asked, circling to the side to stand beside his pod and bumping an arm into it as she slipped into fighting form. Okeer had told him about her, apparently, but hopefully the warlord didn't know about her Semblance. "I'm no enemy of the Krogan."

"No." The alien rumbled, eyeing the pod suspiciously for a moment after she'd touched it before snapping his eyes back to her. "But you're strong. Okeer showed me that. Respected it. Put it in my head."

"How does that explain you-"

Again, he cut her off, bellowing loudly as he charged her again, shoulder down and braced for the coming impact. Spinning on a heel and sinking to a knee, she hurled her shield into his shoulder with as much force of muscle, Aura and Semblance as she could muster. His arm snapped out, batting it aside as he turned, presenting his other shoulder now as she frowned.

Gritting her teeth, she stood into the charge, the Krogan's full weight slamming into her with enough force to push her down into the decking. Metal dented as she held her ground, screaming out in protest as the grating finally came undone and collapsed down, into the super-structure beneath. Flicking her hand again she shifted spear to sword and thrust up, towards his eyes.

With a laugh intermingling with a snarl, he pushed off of her as she stood. His fists snapped out like lightning, one catching her in the face before she called her shield home and used it to protect herself. Casting aside her sword she caught a fist in an open palm and, gritting her teeth until her jaw ached from it, forced his arm back into his shoulder. His other fist snapped out and she caught it in her other palm, doing the same with it.

Then, she knelt and wrenched him to the side, pressing her shoulder into his stomach to lift him off the ground. He slammed down with tons of force, the grated floor giving way, but that only drew a laugh from him. Growling, she cast a hand to the side, yanking the pod across the couple of feet and slamming it down onto his stomach. Leaping onto the side of it and calling her spear to her, she leveled it at his throat, tip pressing into flesh until blood trickled free.

"Are," she said through a deep breath, "you done, now? Because I'm done fighting with you right now, Krogan."

"Hehe." The Krogan laughed, looking up along the weapon to her and grinning viciously. "Strong. Taking the ground and then demanding what you want from the strong position… Impressive."

"Thank you." She smiled, raising the weapon to his face and then tapping it down on his crest threateningly. "Now are you done? Do you yield, Krogan?"

"Hmm…" The Krogan rumbled, actually thinking about it for a moment, even with her spear in his face. Finally, he relaxed into the floor and laughed, "I yield to my Battlemaster."

"Good." She sighed, hopping off the pod and letting him shove it off of him. It banged onto the grating, what was left of it at least, and he rolled over, pulling himself up and rising. As he turned to her she asked, "What's a battle master?"

"Anyone tough enough to lead Krogan into a fight is their Battlemaster." He explained with a short, abrupt shrug as the door whooshed open. Understandably wary, and with a Predator in his hand, Zaeed leaned into the room. The Krogan laughed, shaking his head at the man, and then rumbled, "Hello, weak little Human. Finally willing to pop your head in now the fun's all done, eh?"

"How 'bout your fuck yourself, lizard." Zaeed barked, looking her up and down and then grunting, quietly, "You good there, Red?"

"Yes." She nodded, smiling as she returned her weapons to their home on her back. "I am quite alright, yes. Also, Zaeed, I would like you to meet my new friend, uh… I don't believe you told me your name?"

"Okeer never named me." The Krogan rumbled, "Never saw a reason to. But he did leave… Words. Warlord. Soldier. Foe. Grunt. Grunt… Hm. That one has weight, but no meaning. It'll do."

"As long as you're satisfied with it, Grunt."

"I like its sound." He shrugged, surveying the damage they'd done to the room and rumbling a laugh. "Human ships… Not built very tough, are they?"

"It… Would seem not." Pyrrha chuckled, turning a look on Zaeed and smiling when he only sort of shrugged unsurely. Apparently he hadn't thought past what to do once they let the Krogan out… So it was up to her, then. "Grunt, I'm afraid we didn't come to save you. I'm happy for the coincidence, but we needed-"

"My help. I figured, yeah." He nodded, sauntering by and towards the door with her trailing along behind him, surprised by the ease with which he agreed to come along. "Fine by me. Long as there's a good fight at the end."

"I mean, it's possible…" She shrugged as the three of them stepped into the elevator, headed up to make their escape. Getting the Kodiak they needed would be a spot of trouble, but even if they just bought a ship that could make the jump.

"Good." He rumbled as it clanged up slowly, "It's a Battlemaster's job to find his men a good fight."

"Won't be a problem 'round here." Zaeed grumbled as the door slid open on a pair of surprised looking engineers waiting in the command deck. They blinked, looking at them until Grunt growled, and then wisely got out of the way. Chuckling as they walked, Zaeed added, "Or maybe won't no one wanna fuck with us. That could be fun, too."

"Not really…"

"S'a different kind o' fun, Godzilla."

"That isn't my name, Human." Grunt growled warningly, rounding on the smaller man as the three of them reached the airlock and growling in his face. "What kind of name is that? It has no weight."

"It's mouther fuckin' Godzilla, you overgrown goddamn-"

"That is quite enough, both of you." Pyrrha sighed as the airlock sealed behind them, the decontamination systems working them over as always. "We are, all of us, allies. Arguing amongst ourselves for such petty reasons is a waste of breath and time."

Grunt huffed and shuffled to her other side, clearly agitated, but didn't say anything else. Zaeed did similar, leaning against the other wall on her opposite side and grumbling to himself. She caught him flipping a rude gesture and turned in time to meet Grunt's glare, the Krogan rumbling a growl as he turned away again and she turned another glare on an unrepentant old mercenary.

This was…. Going to be fun.

Finally, the door opened, and Pyrrha let loose a word that was rare for her. "Well, shit."

"You can say that again, Nikos." Commander Shepard growled, eyes hard behind the mask of her helmet as they swiveled to Grunt and looked him over quickly. For his part he bulked up, eyeing the Carnifex on her hip with a smirk. "EDI notified me of this little… Whatever this is, and I happened to be in the dock offices requisitioning some armor samples on Garrus' recommendation."

"I-I see…"

"She also mentioned that Miranda was going to hand him over to Cerberus." Shepard went on, looking Nikos in the eye and frowning deeply. "I wasn't aware of that bit of news, Nikos, and I will be having words with her. After you explain why EDI's exterior scans have picked up Penny hiding in a small box over there and an empty thermal space which I'm presuming is my missing thief's fault."

"Kasumi asked me and the others along on her… Errand, since you were busy and time was pressing." A small lie, but one that was easily backed and essentially harmless. "One thing led to another, and, well… I found a Krogan no one was using?"

"Mhm." Shepard intoned, shaking her head and turning to leave, "Get it done and get back, Nikos. We'll talk about you going around behind my back later, but for now, you have work to do."

"R-Right."

"And Pyrrha?" The Commander added as she reached the bottom of the walkway and turned to leave, "Good work on saving the Krogan. And get back in one piece."

"Well that was fuckin' odd…" Zaeed rumbled as the armored woman vanished among the dockworks. Paying her a look he asked, "Guess we oughta get goin', then?"

"Yeah." She nodded, unsure of the woman, now, before she shook it off. "Come on, then. We have work to get done."

And apparently, with the Commander's blessing, too...

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Dasgun :

Steelrain 66 :

Yep! If ever there was proof, here it be, lol.

Joe Cola :

*panicked authorial plantoid noises* Yep! Goin' great! And glad you're having fun.

Tpoynt :

Probably poorly! *hears Shepard reloading guns* Definitely poorly!

Glrasshopper :

XD

The Right Price :

Actually, in this story, several examples of people that it's considered good to do this with are given. One such type is a Hunter partner, which would be Jaune. According to Pyr's beliefs, which informs Penny's as well, unlocking your partner's Aura is perfectly acceptable and not in any way wrong. It is, in fact, only helping them.

The difference in Burnt Bridges is that Garrus is not her partner, nor a close friend, nor a loved one, nor any other kind of person Pyrrha's in-story beliefs would have her share this with. He was a dude, who Shepard forced her at gun point to give her soul to. EVEN FURTHER, unlike Jaune Garrus wasn't in ANY danger. Whereas Jaune, out in the woods, could have been killed.

In brief, the ENTIRE CONTEXT of events in each scene is what defines how her beliefs apply.

And to be clear, these are Pyrrha's beliefs. Not the facts of the matter. Human beliefs can often be odd and kind of self-contradicting if you put a lens on them. If you read this AS a contradiction, then treat it like any other odd, contradicting idea that KINDA falls through if you overthink it. Like anti-vaxxers who reject vaccines for 'not being natural' but drive a car. S'just how people work.