Virmire – part 1
"Joker, set a course for Virmire. We have some Salarian Special Tasks Group soldiers to meet," I said to him as I stood on the bridge.
"Aye aye, Sir. Maybe they found some Rachni too," he said, amusing himself mostly. I made sure everything was going smoothly before I went back to my cabin and collapsed into my bed, asleep instantly. I rose again several hours later and pulled my thoughts together. I had to go and see Liara and check up on her, and then there was Wrex; an enraged Krogan that I had the task of calming down.
I braced myself and headed straight for the hanger first, hoping that Wrex had not torn the place up. I found the Krogan hunched over a computer, reading up on the great victories of the Krogan over the terrifying Rachni enemy; an enemy only the Krogan could defeat. I walked up next to him and watched a video of an assault on a Rachni Queen's nest, filmed from the helmet of an attacking warrior. Hundreds of heavily armed and armoured Krogan stormed the nest facing swarms of the Rachni of all sizes.
The small ones leaped onto the warriors by the dozens and began to tear away at their flesh. The larger Rachni formed a wall with their own bodies and threw themselves at the Krogan. The chilling fight that ensued was unlike anything I had seen before; it resembled something more like a medieval battle than a war waged with guns and explosives. The Krogan had plentiful firepower, but they still charged headlong into battle and started ripping any Rachni they could reach apart with their own bare hands. The battle was fought with fists, feet, claws and teeth, with thousands on both sides being horrifically and mercilessly slaughtered.
The moment of victory came when the Rachni Queen; huge and powerful, at least twenty times the size of the Queen that I had released, was destroyed at the hands of hundreds of Krogan marauders. They stood atop her broken body and roared and bellowed in victory; proud heroes of the galaxy in their element, in their prime. I could see a fire in Wrex's eyes as he watched his ancient kinsmen in all their fierce glory. I understood why he felt so strongly about this, at the feet of the victorious Krogan were the thousands of dead Rachni, and among those were several thousand dead Krogan.
"I wasn't there for the Rachni Wars," Wrex said solemnly, "I wasn't born for another couple of hundred years or so. But I remember the stories, the legends. The extinction of the Rachni made my people heroes to the rest of the galaxy. You just brought them back."
"I know you're angry Wrex. But…" I started, but Wrex cut me off,
"You're damn right I'm angry! But what you said about, you know, if the Krogan got a second chance? You're damn right I would take it. No matter how many aliens cried about it."
"You said it yourself; it was before your lifetime. And that is one hell of a lifespan you Krogan have!"
To my surprise Wrex laughed as well,
"You're right Gardner. It's an old hatred, from before my time."
"I only did what I thought was right."
"You made a tough decision and went through with it; I can respect that. Don't worry Scott, I'm still on your team. Couldn't let you young ones go play at war without a real warrior to show you how it's done," he chuckled before turning back to the computer screen, clicking the replay button on the battle scene again.
Glad that Wrex had seen sense and calmed down, I made to head back up to the crew deck to see Liara when I caught sight of Garrus. I suddenly remembered the datapad that we had found regarding Cerberus and I rushed over to him.
"Garrus, did you keep a hold of the pad mentioning Cerberus?"
"Yes Sir," he answered and led me back to his quarters where he had it laid out and ready to hand over.
"If you don't mind, Commander, I already had a look over it. The address the message was sent to was encrypted, but I cracked it."
The way he said that, as if it was no big deal, made me laugh. He picked up on it and continued,
"What? You thought you'd brought an idiot along with you? C-Sec is good for something you know. Anyway; if we have the time the receiving address is on the planet Nepheron in the Voyager Cluster."
"Brilliant Garrus! I'll upload the data to Alliance Command and hopefully they'll deal with it."
"My pleasure Commander," Garrus said cheerily. As an Alliance soldier, anything against Cerberus was absolute gold. They represented the worst of Humanity in the eyes of the other species, and they were a dangerous enemy to anyone who opposed their Human-supremacist ideals.
All things considered; I was feeling good and in high spirits when I went to check in on Tali. She was checking over the engines coolant systems and tinkering about underneath one of the panels, using her expertise to tweak and improve the Normandy ever so slightly.
"Tali," I said. She looked round, snapping out of her little world that she was in,
"Oh, Scott. I didn't hear you. I was just… busy," she did not sound her normal, chirpy self.
"You ok?"
"Yeah, I'm… fine, I guess."
I helped her up to her feet,
"Hey it's ok, you can talk to me."
"I know. I got an e-mail from my father."
"That's not a good thing? Is he alright?"
"He was telling me about the data you let me send to the Fleet. It's more valuable than we ever thought. It shows us how the Geth have evolved and adapted over the past centuries. Given time and devoted study… it could even bring us back to the home world one day!"
I was happy for her, but I still sensed that she was troubled,
"So far I'm only hearing good things Tali, what's wrong?"
"He wants me to come back to the Fleet, Scott. He wants me to leave the Normandy."
Rubbing my neck, I struggled to contemplate being on the Normandy without Tali, fighting the Geth without her knowledge and expertise, without having that boost that having her beside me gave me.
"Do you want to go back?" I asked, fearing the answer.
"Of course I do Scott; the Fleet is my home. But I promised to help you fight Saren and I hold to my promises."
"And what about us? Is there not something between us?"
"You know that I want to stay for us more than anything," she said softly as she embraced me.
"I know Tali," I hugged her back, "I need you here, I've never felt… this way before about anyone. Especially not this quickly. You know that I would understand if you wanted to go; to be among your own people. If that's what you decide you need to do, I won't stop you."
"Thank you, Scott. I appreciate that, I really do. But I've already told my father that what I am doing here is far more important and that I'm staying. The whole situation has just made me a bit homesick."
I was relieved to hear that she was staying, for the moment at least, and I kissed her hood,
"Maybe that's what the Pilgrimage is really about," I said, "teaching you to appreciate what you have; your own people and culture. The close-knit society that the Quarians have."
"That… makes perfect sense," she realised, "well it definitely works. I'll get over it Scott, thank you again."
I began to leave but told her,
"When you're free; you know where my cabin is."
"I'll be there," she said, her voice more uplifted now.
My entire crew was content and working together comfortably and could only grow in strength, but as I stood outside Liara's room I felt tired all of a sudden. Keeping everyone happy, keeping their morale from faltering and their belief in our cause strong sometimes felt as hard as a fire fight with the Batarians. But that was why I had been selected as a Spectre. That was why Captain Anderson entrusted me with what should have been his ship; I had to keep going no matter what. I walked into her room and found Liara lying on her bed reading articles about the Protheans and typing up notes on her computer. She looked round at me, her eyes sad and tired-looking.
"Hey Liara, thought I'd come and see you. Are you alright?"
I saw the beginnings of tears come into her eyes as she turned to face away from me,
"I will be fine Scott. I will remember Benezia the way she was before… all of this. When she was my mother and not Saren's slave."
"Don't pretend this doesn't bother you Liara; she was your mother."
"She was, but at the same time she was not. I had not spoken to her for years until I saw her in that facility. She left, searching for Saren I guess, so many years ago that I had already felt like I had lost her."
I admired her strength; I wondered how I would cope if my mother had just died in front of me and concluded that I would not manage.
"Liara," I said to her, "I just hope you remember that, if you ever need to talk to anyone, I'm here. And don't forget that you've got friends on board who care about you!"
"Thank you, Commander. I will remember."
I had gotten my message through to her, but I respected that she needed time to herself, to collect her thoughts and grieve for her mother.
"Get some rest Liara. We're all going to need it," I said comfortingly as I left, hoping but unsure whether or not I had helped. I stopped for a breath outside of her room when a voice called out to me,
"Scott, you ok?"
I went over to the mess table and sat next to Kaidan as he relaxed with a book,
"Alright I guess. I just hope Liara will be ok. Just tough keeping you kids happy sometimes," I joked.
"Well, that's what we're here for mate, keep you on your toes," he laughed back.
"Mission accomplished then."
Kaidan sat and read another paragraph of his book while I just sat there, rubbing my temples. When he finished he leaned over to speak quietly,
"So… What's going on with you and a certain Quarian?"
I looked up at him, slightly bemused at first, but then I thought that I had not been very subtle; what with Tali coming up to my room for a few hours.
"All right, I'll admit there's something there," I told my friend, "but you have to tell me what's going on with you and Ashley."
Kaidan choked on his drink and got coffee all across the table, much to the amusement of everyone around us.
"What? Ash?" he stuttered.
"Come on man!" I chuckled, "every time I've seen you two together you've had that "wow, she's amazing" look on your face."
"Fuck, was it that obvious?"
"Yup."
"Ah, well, yeah. She is amazing! She's strong and determined. Did you know that she's the grand-daughter of General Williams?"
"The one who surrendered to the Turians in the First Contact War?"
"The very one. All of her family members serving in the Alliance have been treated like crap ever since, given shitty assignments and postings. Anyone with any sense would avoid going into a career where the odds are already stacked against you. But here she is fighting to clear her family's name."
I was surprised, nothing like that had shown in her files, but I definitely felt a new admiration for the Gunnery Chief.
"Bet you didn't know she read classical literature either," Kaidan continued.
"You're kidding me. Our trigger-happy Ash is into that kind of stuff?"
"Yup," he smiled, "still recites passages to her dad's grave whenever she can visit."
His smile turned to a frown all of a sudden,
"Look Sir, I'm only too aware of the "no fraternisation" rules. I'm not about to get into trouble now. Don't worry."
I laughed and clapped him on the shoulder,
"With the trouble we're in on this mission, I think I'm prepared to relax on some rules."
"Really?"
"Yeah," I gave him a sideward look, "Besides; technically you're serving under a Council Spectre right now, not the Alliance."
"I suppose that's a technicality I can work with," Kaidan said happily.
"As long as it's not interfering with your duties, I'm willing to let the crew relax and find relief in what ways are available. I feel like I'm dragging them further into hell anyway half the time."
"Well, I'll speak for the entire crew when I say this Scott," Kaidan said, "we're all behind you wherever you go. We believe in you and what you're doing."
"Thanks man!" I said. However, Kaidan was not done yet,
"So… you and Tali?"
"Aw shit," I grinned.
"Didn't think you were getting away that easily, did you?"
"Fine. Tali… is special. Unique. I've never been one to enter relationships lightly, but she is something else. She's kind, caring, selfless and incredibly smart, but fun as well. She's passionate about her work and what we need to accomplish. A heart of gold; that's how I'd describe her, and that would still be an understatement."
"Good on you bud. Aliens aren't really my kind of thing but still, you can't help who you like."
"You can't help who you like, but you can decide whether or not to act on it. Tali's just brilliant. Honestly man I'm just putty in her hands when she speaks with that accent!"
"Yeah, I've been thinking about her accent; trying to figure out which Earth accent it's most like."
"Like a blend of Eastern European accents I figured," I said happily, "whatever it is, it's… hot."
Kaidan laughed and we sat for a while relaxing and talking about whatever rubbish came into our heads, the way that guys did. Eventually I left to return to my duties and Kaidan took the elevator down to the hanger, probably to talk to Ashley.
When I reached the bridge Joker greeted me with usual sarcastic grace,
"So… is this Virmire a holiday resort or party central? 'cuz that would be great."
"Yeah sure Joker, as soon as we find the Salarians we'll break out the beers there and then. You know… after we find out whatever the big threat to galactic peace is."
"Ah, same as normal then," he shook his head.
"What Intel have we got on Virmire?" I asked, back to business voice in full swing.
"In scenic terms it's like a tropical, blue-seas paradise. I managed to locate the origin of the STG's signal, they're in a maze of waterways and gulches. I thought I could make out some man-made… well, alien-made structures a few klicks away from their location but nothing solid yet."
"They're no doubt in hiding, given the STG's nature. We'll have to make sure and not give them away in the process of linking up with them. Ground approach looks like the path we'll have to go with."
"Because Wrex just LOVES getting stuffed into the Mako!" Joker said, his shoulders bouncing as he chuckled away.
"Yep, another reason for him to be happy with me."
The last day of travelling to Virmire I spent checking my equipment, then checking that my squad were checking their equipment before going back to see to my own again. Something in my gut was telling me that we were going to find something big when we met with the Salarians. Whether it was good or bad, however, I knew not. I wrested myself away from my guns and forced myself to sit on my bed. I picked up the guitar and began picking and strumming random little bits of songs before I found a song I was in the mood to play. I played chilled out melodies, fast-paced riffs when I felt brave.
I lost myself in the music and forgot about the real world for just a few moments, enough to clear my mind and be able to focus again. When I came back to reality, I heard a shuffle behind me and saw Tali standing inside the closed door.
"A warrior and a musician," she said teasingly.
"Not much of a musician; I know just enough to keep myself entertained."
"I've been standing here for a while, I've heard what you can do. You're really good!"
Her voice was happy and uplifting and I felt all fear and tension melt away from me as she strolled across and sat beside me.
"You feeling better? Your father ok with you staying here, with me?" I asked.
"I'm feeling fine, thanks to you, and no; my father is a bit… miffed at why I would even want to stay."
"What did you tell him?"
"Nothing he doesn't need to know. I just said that what I'm doing against Saren and the Geth is too important to walk away from. He's not happy with it, but he understands a bit better now."
I knew she was smiling under her helmet and I touched foreheads with her before passing my guitar to her.
"Scott, I can't play," she giggled.
"So I'll teach you a wee bit."
The next hour was full of laughs and fun. I tried to teach her simple little parts, which she got quite quickly. However, with her having only three fingers on her hands it sometimes took me a while to try and work it out for her to play. Sitting behind her, my hands guided hers and when she finished playing a slow, easy-listening piece she stopped playing and rested her head back against my shoulder, looking up at me with her sparkling eyes.
"You're something else Tali," I whispered to her.
Tali stayed with me until it was almost time to go and we began to make preparations. Fully suited in my armour and boasting my Mattock and Widow, I returned to the bridge and went to Navigator Presley,
"What have you got for me Lieutenant?"
"A very narrow corridor through which the Normandy could slip through the AA curtain and reach the Salarians."
"Good, saves driving through all the waterways. What about the structures that Joker mentioned?"
"Turns out it's just one singular structure, and it's big. Looks like a base for an army of some considerable size as well as a possible research centre. This is all speculation, Sir. We won't know until you rendezvous with the STG."
"Definitely looks like a target worth investigating. Good work guys. Joker; get us to where the Salarians sent their message from and I'll get the ground team ready in the hanger."
"Yes Sir," my helmsman replied.
I could feel the Normandy slowly banking and turning as Joker guided her through the terrain with his skilled hands. After about ten minutes of weaving gently through the valleys and gulches Joker's voice crackled over the comm,
"Touchdown at the Salarian's base in 30 seconds. STG Captain has made contact and will meet you on the ground Commander."
The hanger door slowly opened as Joker slowed the ship down to a graceful halt and had it hover in place a foot off of the water.
"Could have found us a dry landing point Joker," I joked.
"It was my pleasure Sir," came the sarcastic reply. I jumped down into the water and sank up to just below my knees. The rest of my squad followed me over to the other side of the clearing where I could see a number of sombre figures standing waiting on us. They were armoured and well armed, but skinny and dainty looking. Definitely Salarians. We waded ashore and a Salarian came over to greet us,
"Captain Kirrihe, 4th STG Infiltration Regiment. I hope your arrival means that the rest of the fleet is on its way!"
His eyes darted between my own and I heard the urgency in his voice.
"Sorry Captain," I said, "we're all that's coming."
"What?" Kirrihe sounded outraged, "you're all they sent? I told the Council to send a fleet."
"The message you sent couldn't be understood, so we were sent to investigate."
"That is a repetition of our task," the Salarian said, "I've lost half of my men "investigating" this place."
"What have you found?" I asked.
"Saren's base of operations. It's heavily fortified and guarded by a small army of Geth."
"Do you know what he's doing here?"
"He's breeding an army of Krogan."
Wrex walked over to the Captain,
"How is that possible?"
"It appears that Saren has created a cure for the Genophage. This base needs to be destroyed."
"Destroyed?" Wrex started, "I don't think so!"
"The Geth are bad enough," I said, "but with an army of Krogan Saren would be unstoppable."
"If that cure leaves this planet the entire Krogan race will be nigh on unstoppable like last time; we can't make that mistake again."
The massive Krogan at my side squared up to Kirrihe and pointed a finger in his face,
"My people are not a mistake!"
He stormed off back towards the waters edge, the Salarian soldiers around the camp quickly clearing out of his way as he did so.
"Is he going to be a problem Commander?" Kirrihe asked, "we already have enough angry Krogan to deal with."
"Wrex is part of my team, I'll talk to him," I said, unable to hide my own uncertainty.
"Then if you don't mind, I need to go and begin preparations with my officers. I hope your… friend will be more compliant with us next time we speak."
The Captain marched off to meet with his officers in one of the camouflaged tents while I went off to a quiet spot with Kaidan and Ashley.
"This situation is bad enough," Ashley started, "but now we have to watch our backs in case Wrex decides he's in line with Saren? I'm not sure we should give him the chance to bring that shotgun round on us, Sir."
I could see it in her eyes what she meant: Put Wrex down.
"That is the absolute last resort, Gunnery Sergeant," I said sternly, keeping my infuriation at bay, "Wrex is one of us; the Normandy Crew. He is our ally and friend and we will not start turning guns on each other while I am in command. Understood?"
"Yes Sir," they both replied.
"Good," I said, wiping my brow, "I will go and talk to Wrex. He is no traitor and I trust him."
In truth, my heart was pounding in my chest as I approached Wrex. The clearing echoed with thunder as he unloaded several rounds of his shotgun into the crystal-clear water. He was not aiming for anything, just venting his fury in the only way Krogan knew how.
"Wrex," I called to him. The shotgun was lowered but his finger was still wrapped around the trigger, twitching uneasily.
"This isn't right Scott. If there's a cure for the Genophage we can't destroy it."
"I know how you must be feeling, but if Saren cuts loose with his Krogan army we might not be able to stop him."
"So that's it? That's all I get from you after all this time? I followed you to fight for something real! Something more than credits. First you bring back the Rachni, and now you deny my people their salvation?"
I took a step forward towards him,
"Don't get angry at me Wrex; it's Saren you should be mad at!"
Now Wrex advanced on me and when he was face to face with me, I suddenly felt about as big as a child.
"Really?" his voice was dark, "Saren could save my people. You want to destroy the cure. Help me out here Scott! The line between friend and foe is getting a little blurry from where I'm standing!"
"You can't be serious!" I raised my voice.
That's when the shotgun came up, the barrel coming to rest barely an inch from my chest, and the Krogan's finger still ready to pull the trigger. Wrex growled at me,
"Give me a reason not to take you down right here!"
All around I could see figures standing in shock and surprise. Some of the Salarians were readying their weapons, as was Ashley. From behind a group of STG soldiers I saw Tali emerge. She whipped out her own shotgun and started to run over but I waved her off; whatever happened with Wrex, Tali was not going to get harmed. Instead, I stepped forward so that Wrex's shotgun was right up against my chest,
"Do you think Saren cares about the Krogan? He wants to bring back the Reapers, and they won't spare your race any more than any of the others! He hasn't created a cure, he's created a weapon! And if he's allowed to use it, you won't be around to reap the benefits; none of us will."
The shotgun was still at my breast, but I could see Wrex falter.
"These Krogan… they're not your people," I said, "they're slaves for Saren to use and dispose of as he pleases. Fodder for him to cast away when he needs to. Is that what you want for the Krogan Wrex?"
We glared at each other for what seemed like hours before I began to see the barrel of the gun dip slightly. I stared him in his angry, red eyes and said it again,
"Is that what you want?"
The shotgun lowered and Wrex shook his head slowly,
"No. The Krogan have been used as tools before. And the Council neutered us as thanks. I doubt Saren will be as merciful."
He took a deep breath and looked out over the water to the Normandy,
"I'll follow you, Scott. But if we're doing this, we do this for the right reasons!"
"Wrex, I swear that if I could find a way to cure the Genophage I would in a heartbeat. But under these circumstances… we'd only be helping Saren."
Wrex nodded and continued to stare out at the water, lost in his thoughts. I left him alone and retreated back to where Kaidan and Ashley stood uneasily, still wondering what exactly had just happened. Liara, Garrus and Tali joined us, all of them dying to hear the tale.
"Wrex'll be alright," I assured them all, "whatever our thoughts on a cure for the Genophage, we have to focus on our own mission."
"I'm amazed that you were able to calm him down Scott," Tali said.
"Not sure that I calmed him down, just got him to focus his anger on Saren and his Geth."
"Works for us," Ashley was convinced.
"So what's the plan now Commander?" Kaidan asked, back on task as normal.
"The Salarians are making plans now, I'll head over and see what they've got so far. Captain Kirrihe sounds like a switched-on man, he'll have some genius plan no doubt."
My faith was well placed. Even before I reached the tent where Kirrihe and his men had been in council the Salarian Captain emerged from within and came over to see me.
"Commander. I need to speak with you; I have some requests to make."
"Lay them on me Captain."
"I Have a plan but will need the use of the Normandy."
"You've got it."
"Good. We can use the drive core of our own ship and turn it into an improvised 20 kiloton nuclear warhead. We will need the Normandy to transport it."
"Can't we just drop it from orbit?" I asked.
"No. The base is heavily fortified and would be able to withstand such a strike. The bomb must be planted inside the base and detonated there."
"So you're launching an all-out assault on the base?"
"Yes. I will lead what is left of my forces in a head on attack to draw out Saren's forces. Meanwhile you will lead a small team around the back and infiltrate the facility. We need to disable the anti-aircraft weaponry defending the base before the Normandy can deliver the bomb. Once we have the bomb in place; we all board the Normandy and detonate the nuke from orbit."
"Sounds easier said than done. And do you have enough men for a fight like that? A lot of your men could be killed."
"We're tougher than we look, Commander. But what you say is true; many will not be returning from this mission. Which makes my second request even harder to ask."
He paced for a moment before asking,
"I have enough men to make a decent sized assault, but I don't have enough officers or experienced leaders to lead all the teams. I need some of your squad-members to join my ranks and lead my teams. To maximise efficiency."
"That's a tall order Captain," I remarked hesitantly.
"I know," Kirrihe replied graciously, "but I would have you know that I would not ask if I did not think it necessary."
I looked at him, feeling extremely uncomfortable for a moment. However, I knew that he was right and that if I had asked him for the same, I would expect him to act professionally. I nodded and took a deep breath,
"I'll send Gunnery Chief Williams and Garrus Vakarian with you. I can vouch for them and their abilities; they've been right there with me through some pretty crazy scenarios. Both of them are capable soldiers and leaders."
"Thank you, Commander."
"Also," I said again, "if you're needing someone to brief on configuring the nuke for remote detonation, I would take Lieutenant Alenko for that. He disabled a nuclear weapon on Eden Prime so he knows his way around these weapons."
"Then it's settled," the Captain said, maintaining his cool all the while, "we'll hit Saren where it hurts most!"