The Team Grows

To say that Mordin was impressed with our ship was a grave understatement. While Joker set the Normandy on a course for the last known location of the Human Biotic, Subject Zero, we showed Mordin around the majority of the ship. All the while he would occasionally mutter "fascinating" or "innovative; glad to see that" or even "could be better, but not much". Our last port of call was the purpose-built laboratory on 2 Deck where Mordin quickly set himself up and began organising things in his own eccentric fashion,

"Looking forward to working on project with a budget again. Finding funding for work on Omega… Problematic."

"You'll have some help from the Normandy's AI as well," I told him, "EDI?"

EDI's voice came over the comm,

"I will provide Doctor Solus with all the information and other assistance that I am capable of."

All of this seemed like a dream come true to Mordin,

"Working with Aliens, employing Artificial Intelligence. Cerberus branching out perhaps? Illusive Man not so Human-centric?"

"You're well informed," I said.

"Worked on classified projects for Salarian government for many years. Retired now but still… hear things. Illusive Man and Cerberus listed as dangerous."

"I hate to put you down Doctor; but Humanity still comes first in the Illusive Man's eyes."

"Not yours?" He looked at me.

"No," I said affirmatively, "all life is worth fighting for, no matter what world it comes from."

"Agreed," Mordin nodded, "looking forward to seeing if you live up to legendary status, Commander Gardner."

We gave Mordin access to the footage that we had found on Freedoms Progress and the data that Veetor had provided us with. Along with heightened access to Cerberus databases already containing information on the Collectors and their technology, Mordin had everything he needed to begin work on finding out more about how to combat our enemy; beginning with removing the threat of the seeker swarms.

As I left the lab, I heard Mordin start humming a quick and uplifting tune and it made me laugh; he was going to be a very productive member of the team. When I went into the sick-bay I approached Garrus as he lay still on his bed. His eyes were moving underneath the eyelids and his breathing was sounding smoother, at least compared to when we had first brought him on board. The doctor had cleaned up the wound with great care, but the scar that was left once the blood and mess had been cleared was destined to mark Garrus' face forever. I held my hand on his chest,

"C'mon Garrus. You're one of the toughest guys I know; you'll get through this! You have to."

I stayed with my friend for a few minutes more before I retired to my cabin and grabbed some sleep. Once again, I saw the visions of the Prothean extinction, my memories of the Batarian onslaught on Elysium, Kaidan's death on Virmire. My mind was hurled between all the most traumatic experiences of my life and when I woke up again the bed sheets had been thrown from the bed and the pillows were scattered around the room. It was the worst sleep that I could remember for years and it made me feel uneasy and wary about the future and what it was yet to bring. Hoping to find some normality, I once again found myself sitting by Garrus' side in the sick-bay,

"Hey Garrus," I spoke quietly to my comatose friend, "thought I'd come and see you again. Hope you wake up soon. I need you mate; I need a friend. I never told you before but I ran into Tali on Freedom's Progress. You can imagine how good that made me feel, but she barely recognised me. Looked at me like I was a stranger. But when you saw me, you knew exactly who I was, you still believe in me. Things are likely to get bad, very bad, and I need people who really believe in what we're doing here. I need people by my side who have seen and understand what we're up against; who know the Reapers are out there."

The Turian remained still and silent, but I hoped that he could hear me,

"I'll check in again soon. Take care Garrus."

Subject Zero, or Jack as she was also known, our next potential recruit for the mission, was being held on a prison ship named Purgatory. A maximum-security jail in the middle of space made escape impossible for the inmates who no doubt suffered from brutal treatment from the Blue Suns mercenaries who ran the operation. I was reminded that these Blue Suns were operating as a separate cell to the ones that we had decimated on Omega and so they would hopefully be cooperative when we arrived. Cerberus was paying the bounty for Jack so that she would be released to us, I had no delusions about how hard it could be to convince her to join us. When the Normandy was on approach, we received a hail from the space station,

"This is Vido Santiago. We have your ship on sensors; state your intentions."

"We're here to collect Jack," Miranda said, "I believe the funds have already cleared."

"They have. I'll meet you with a team once you've arrived."

The comm went silent and Joker continued on his approach vector when Zaeed appeared from behind us,

"Did he say "Vido Santiago"?"

"Yeah," I said, "Why?"

The mercenary stayed muted and walked back to the armoury, his jaw and fists clenched.

Jacob, Miranda, Zaeed and I were suited and geared up when we went aboard the Purgatory; I thought it best to leave Mordin working in the lab. Zaeed had chosen to wear a combat-grade breather mask that concealed his face. When we asked why he would not say,

"You don't need to know, but if anyone asks just tell them that I can't breathe right without it."

When I told him that we were not here to cause trouble, Zaeed dismissed me and strode on ahead. We caught up with him at the security checkpoint where a line of armed mercs had halted Zaeed and their leader, Vido, was watching us approach with curiosity,

"Well, well," he started, "is that Commander Gardner? Working for Cerberus as well. Oh, if the news could get their hands on this."

"That won't be necessary," I replied, "we're just here for Jack and then we'll be gone."

Vido smirked and nodded,

"Fair enough, Commander. My men will hold your weapons until you're on your way out again."

"That's not going to happen," I stated.

"It's just standard procedure."

"And it's standard procedure for me to keep my guns."

Vido glared at me for a moment and I thought he was going to have his guards move in on us, but instead a wry smile spread across his face and he waved us through,

"Our facility is more than secure enough to handle a few armed guests."

He led us to the Out-processing unit where he told us Jack would be waiting to be handed over to us. All the while he droned on about how his station was home to some of the most dangerous criminals in the galaxy, and how the fact that he was beyond the jurisdiction of a governing body meant that he was able to do what was necessary to beat the scum into nothing. He was proud of how he conducted the torture and re-education of the prisoners. Though I was unsympathetic to the population of murderers, rapists, terrorists and general wastes of life, I was hardly one for torture and inhumane ways of dealing with such people. Torture was a good way of turning dangerous people into even more dangerous people. I noticed that Zaeed remained in a brooding silence the whole time.

"What can you tell me about Jack?" I asked, bored of his gloating. Vido came to a stop and looked at me,

"Cerberus hasn't told you? Jack is one of the meanest handfuls of hate and anger I've ever seen. You'll know what I mean as soon as you see her."

All the bravado had left his voice and I knew that he was telling the absolute truth; Jack terrified him. He came back to the present and shook his head,

"Now if you'll excuse me," the cocky voice had returned, "there's some things I need to see to. Out-processing is straight on down the hallway and on your right."

Vido marched off down a corridor to the immediate right and we continued on to where he had directed us, a chill running up my back as I saw a brief but definite grin on Vido's face. We entered a large chamber lined with desks and staff working away at the computers. At the back of the room there was another door with the word "Out-processing" written above it.

"I don't feel right," Zaeed muttered.

"Everyone be ready," I told my team quietly. With my team watching my back and keeping a vigil watch on the Blue Suns members in the room, I moved towards the door.

Only when I was within touching distance of the door did it automatically open to reveal a tiny, empty room. A prison cell. The Blue Suns in the room drew their weapons and formed a perimeter around us.

"All of you get in the cell and my men won't need to kill you," Vido's voice came over a loudspeaker. The staff at the desks rose up and drew their pistols as well, but no one had a chance to bat an eyelid before a huge biotic blast from Miranda swept through the room and threw everyone to the ground with terrible force. I was knocked to my knees and when I looked up, I saw Miranda shooting away at the nearest mercs with her pistol and advancing as she went. Jacob, Zaeed and I swiftly joined her with our guns singing away and clearing the room. The support staff went to flee and I told the team to let them go; save our ammo for the mercs.

"We need to push out of this room before they have us trapped in here. Fight our way out and we head down the corridor that Vido went down," I told my squad.

"And when I find that bastard I'm gonna gut him!" Zaeed yelled.

Before overwhelming reinforcements could arrive, we killed the few mercs between us and the door and chased after Vido. Jacob, however, was unconvinced by my orders,

"Sir. I think we should fight back to the Normandy and get away from here. There are other dossiers to look through; other people we could recruit."

"No," I responded, "Jack has skills that we need and a stubborn will to survive. We need people like her, and we're going to get her out of here."

"Prison breaking; new one for me," Jacob joked. After a short and violent advance, we arrived in a control room where Vido was just about to lock down Jack's jail cell. Zaeed ripped off his mask and grabbed Vido from behind and threw him to the ground, a boot on his throat.

"Zaeed?" Vido whimpered, "What the… how the hell are you alive?"

Zaeed buried his pistol in Vido's temple, fury burning in his eyes,

"This is for twenty years ago! Fuck you Vido!"

Vido's brains were splattered on the floor and Zaeed stood up and stared at the corpse. I went to the control console and reversed Vido's termination order. However, as I searched through the system, I discovered that Jack's cell was actually a cryogenic stasis unit, and that if I opened it now I would open every cell on the station.

"We have a problem here," I said to Miranda as she came over. She scanned the screen and knew what I was talking about,

"Commander, we have to do it. If you want Jack for the team then this is the only way. It's not like innocent people are going to suffer."

"Ok; everyone be ready. We're going to get Jack and escort her back to the Normandy. Let's just hope she doesn't want to kill us when we wake her."

I hit the switch and an orchestra of alarms went off all across the station as the inmates were released and the guards had to start putting them down; mostly with gunfire. On the level below us Jack's cryo-cell rose out from the floor and the defrosting programme was initiated. The Blue Suns guards that were left at Jack's cell were confused, but they still opened fire on us when we appeared from upstairs.

I shot one straight through the head with my Mattock while Jacob tore into another's armour with his assault rifle. When the rest were quickly dealt with, we waited nervously for the cryo-cell to finish unfreezing her. All the while, the ships VI was constantly warning the guards that entire blocks were going dark and losing all life support systems. Hull breaches were being reported and the ship's core was being overloaded. "Catastrophic failure imminent" was repeated all too often while we stood motionless waiting for the biotic to finally be released.

After a nerve-straining few minutes the cryo-chamber eventually opened and revealed Jack to us. She was not at all what I expected. Average height and slight of build, she was covered in tattoos from head to toe and her head was shaved. She was completely naked as the day she was born and was being held by restraints at her wrists, ankles and neck. The icy mist from the cryo-chamber dispersed slowly throughout the room and we all watched as Jack started to come around. Her eyes flickered and her hands twitched,

"Jack?" I said softly, "Jack can you hear me?"

Her lips moved as she mumbled something and her eyes lazily opened to meet mine. In that moment her expression turned to one of pure rage and she began to let loose, breaking away the restraints one by one.

"Jack, calm down; we're here to help you," I tried to stay her fury. She was not listening and soon she was free. With a fast wave of her hand, I was thrown against the bulkhead and the air knocked clean out of me. Zaeed and Jacob were also flat on the floor but Miranda had thrown up a protective biotic barrier around herself; which Jack was now hammering all of her power against. Miranda was a powerful biotic, but Jack was quickly wearing her down and showed no signs whatsoever of tiring. I raced over to the tattooed woman and grabbed her wrists and forced them behind her back,

"Stand down Jack! We're on your side!"

Zaeed and Jacob were back on their feet and had their weapons trained on Jack while Miranda caught her breath and focused her biotics again. Jack looked between each of them and when she caught sight of the Cerberus symbol emblazoned on the chests of Miranda and Jacob she tensed up,

"You're all Cerberus!" her voice dripped with venom, "you think I'm going to listen to you? As soon as I get free I'm gonna turn you all into red, pulpy stains on the walls."

"You're welcome to try," I said, "but first you're going to listen to me. I'm Commander Scott Gardner and I want you to join my team. We're taking on the Collectors to stop them murdering hundreds of thousands of Human colonists. We are not your enemy. What do you say?"

An explosion went off somewhere nearby and the station VI announced,

"Hull breaches in sectors 12 and 13. No survivors."

"That's got to be at least 600 people who've just died," Jacob said quietly. I loosened my grip on Jack's wrists a little,

"This ship is falling to bits and we have the only way off. Are you going to come with us or are we going to leave you here to blow up with the ship?"

"Make it worth my while," she said.

"What d'you mean?"

"I bet your ship has lots of Cerberus databases; I want to see them. I want to see what Cerberus has got on me."

"You'll have your access," I said, not really caring for Cerberus' privacy.

"You're not authorised to do that Commander," Miranda said.

"Aww, it upsets the cheerleader," Jack jeered, "even better."

I led my team, including the still naked Jack, back to the Normandy. The Blue Suns guards were in chaos as they battled furiously with the rioting prisoners. In many cases we were able to slip through a room without being noticed, and if we were noticed Jack made sure to demonstrate her immensely powerful biotic abilities. In one case we bumped directly into a Turian Blue Sun as we passed through a doorway; Jack punched a hole straight through his abdomen with her biotically enhanced fist. After several such displays of brutality and her lust for killing, we all reached the Normandy.

A squad of Blue Suns had been forming to try and seize my ship, but when we arrived my Mattock put down half a dozen of them as I unloaded the thermal clip. Jacob, Zaeed and Miranda shot the rest as Jack stood and stared at the Normandy. Her eyes moved from my ship over to me,

"A Cerberus frigate? I'm starting to think you're bullshitting me!"

"I'm not. I want you for my team; for where we're going and what we're facing I need the best at my side. Your biotic abilities are far above that of any other Human and from what I've read about you, you're a survivor. Trust me Jack; I'm no more a fan of Cerberus than you are, but the colonists need us."

The deep whoomph of an explosion was heard from further back in the ship and the entire place shook beneath our feet.

"Alright, alright," she shook her head, "stop crying like a little bitch and let's get the fuck out of here."

I went through the normal procedures with Jack once the Normandy was clear of the self-destructing Purgatory, and also once we had found her some clothes to wear. She liked the idea of how much power the Normandy possessed and even commented that I could go pirate and "live like a King". With the rest of the crew, however, she was clearly not interested in making friends. To her credit, Miranda tried to introduce herself and clear the air between the two of them but Jack completely ignored her and moved swiftly past her. She made the sub-deck of the engineering department her home and settled in there with the databases I provided for her.

"You better let your crew know that I don't like a lot of through-traffic. Keep them away from me," she warned.

"Fair enough, but I like my team to be strong. Don't isolate yourself down here; there'll be someone onboard that you'll have something in common with. Try Zaeed maybe."

My light-hearted attempt to stop her brooding failed,

"No one has anything in common with me. And anyway; you didn't bring me along to be friends, you need me for my biotics just like everyone else I've ever met," she said angrily.

"True," I said calmly, "I want your biotic power for the mission, but that doesn't mean we can't get along. Friendship is what makes a team stronger, it's better than all the fancy gear and weapons. Fighting alongside people who you know will watch your back no matter what gives everyone what they need to win."

"Don't bother lecturing me, Gardner. I know you're a big hero and blah blah blah, but I'm not looking to become some military stooge."

Time was needed before I would gain Jack's trust and so I decided to leave her to her reading.

I was on my way to the elevator on the engineering deck when a thought suddenly struck me and when I reached the crew deck I headed for the ship's lounge. Zaeed was sitting by himself on the sofa and looked around at me when I entered,

"Commander! Want a drink?"

"What's the occasion?" I humoured him.

"Just… celebrating life. Good things come to those who wait and I am feeling good!"

"Because you killed that Vido guy?" I said as I sat down next to the grizzled old veteran and was handed a drink. Zaeed looked as if he was reliving an old memory, and not a fond one at that,

"Twenty years ago, that bastard betrayed me and left me for dead."

"What happened?"

Zaeed downed his scotch and poured himself another,

"Twenty-one years ago, we co-founded the Blue Suns. He ran the books and I led the men. Worked real well for a while."

"Wait… you founded the Blue Suns? Why did nobody tell me?"

"Because it's not common knowledge!" Zaeed snarled, "Vido wiped me from the records. He wanted to start hiring Batarians; cheap labour he said. Goddamn terrorists I said. He paid six of my men to pin me down while he put a gun to my head and pulled the trigger."

I let him cool down for a moment and sipped from the strong drink he had poured me. When he was ready to talk again, he slid back on the couch,

"For twenty years I've seen that man every time I closed my eyes, every time I sighted down a target, every time I heard gunfire. Blowing that cunt's brains out was the most satisfying feeling I've had for years!"

I watched him as he lay his head back and closed his eyes, breathing slowly and contently; I knew that this was genuinely something that had been haunting him for a long time.

"I'm glad I came with you, Gardner," he said, "otherwise I'd have never found that slimy, sadistic scum."

I raised my glass and he clinked his own with mine,

"here's to you, Commander! And to surviving gunshots to the head," Zaeed chuckled.

"Still can't believe that part," I said.

"Why not?" Zaeed looked at me, his bad eye appearing pure white as it caught the light of the room, "you survived your ship getting vapourised."

"Well… technically I didn't," I laughed.

"You're here, aren't you? Doesn't matter how it happened, you're still alive."

Zaeed and I sat for a short while longer exchanging stories about the battles we had been in and the sights we had seen. Of course, Zaeed knew a lot of my more well-known endeavours against Saren, the Geth and against Sovereign at the Battle of the Citadel. Zaeed had seen an incredible amount of violence in his thirty or more years as a mercenary; putting down rebellions and fighting land wars for whichever side had the bigger chequebook.

Normally when I had had a couple of strong drinks, before I had been killed, I would be feeling very, very hazy and wobbly by now. But with the cybernetics my body seemed to be able to handle the alcohol far better. Glad that I would not be stumbling around in front of my crew, I next headed to see Miranda.

"Commander," she greeted me reservedly, "how can I help you?"

"I'm just checking in, seeing how you're doing."

"I'm fine. Are you concerned about something?"

"You and Jack," I stated, "I realise that you two getting along may be difficult but I want to know that you're going to rise above her and be the bigger woman."

She looked away thoughtfully before nodding and she said to me,

"As long as she does what we need her to do we'll be fine. I doubt she'll allow me in her company anyway. I still didn't like her "cheerleader" comment though," she smiled dryly.

"Rise above it," I smiled back.

"I'm a professional, Commander…"

"It's Scott, please," I told her.

"Scott… I'll be okay. Thanks."

Feeling relieved I stood and went to the window of her office and gazed out at the endless show of stars the dotted the dark universe around us,

"There's something else I wanted to ask you about."

"Yes?"

"Your biotics. I know Jack is an extremely powerful biotic, for a Human, but you were holding your own against her. And that blast you sent out when the Blue Suns tried to trap us? That was impressive. Something you want to tell me about yourself?"

Miranda joined me at the window and took in the majestic, calming sight of the galaxy,

"I'm not what you'd call a product of nature. I've had extensive genetic tailoring; I was designed to be perfect. My looks, intelligence and the biotics were all designed to give me an edge no matter what the situation."

"What do you mean you were "designed"?" I asked curiously.

"My… father is obsessed with leaving behind some kind of legendary dynasty. He created me in a lab and personally designed every aspect of who I am and what I could do. He wanted to control every part of my life, right down to my DNA. So I ran away a long time ago."

She sounded sad and angry at the same time.

"How were things when you escaped from your father?" I asked.

"Shots were fired," she replied.

"You're part of my crew, and I take care of my crew Miranda. If you ever feel you need to talk, I'm here."

The Australian looked around at me with a warm look in her eyes,

"I've dealt with my past, Scott. My father hurt me but he didn't break me. But still… I appreciate the offer."

"It's not a problem," I said, "just make sure you remember the offer if something does come up. We all need to be at our best."

"That goes for you as well, Scott," she replied.

I paid a short visit to Garrus. It had been over three days now since the fierce fire-fight at his base, but he was still out cold. The doctor, however, told me that his vitals were steadily improving and he did not think that it would be long until my friend was back with us again. I looked over his scars once again; they were deep and vicious looking, but knowing Garrus like I did, I had a feeling that he would grow to like them. Anything to distinguish himself from others was considered acceptable to the Turian renegade. Feeling hopeful and encouraged I went around the Normandy and saw that the crew were well and happy. Kelly Chambers, my Yeoman, was excited by the mission and the prospect of working with more aliens, though she was admittedly wary of bringing a Krogan onboard once we reached our next hopeful recruit; Okeer.

Engineer Kenneth Donnelly was a pleasant and funny guy; a fellow Scot with fiery red hair that was downright stereotypical, but he wore it with pride. He was constantly firing off jokes that were loaded with innuendo, much to the exasperation of his close colleague, Engineer Gabriella Daniels. Both of them were ex-Alliance like Jacob, and most of the crew for that matter, and had joined Cerberus because of their joint disgust at how the Alliance and the Council had downplayed my death and tried to deny the Reapers, claiming that Sovereign was indeed just a Geth dreadnought. Kenneth also added that he had jumped at the chance to work under Miranda,

"That tight uniform is just… so…,"

"Kenneth!" Gabby stopped him, "that's one of our superior officers you're talking about, in front of our Commanding officer."

"You're a guy, Commander," he chuckled, his lack of respect for authority becoming apparent, "can't argue with me there."

"I'd just make sure you don't let her hear you saying anything like that," I warned him in a light-hearted way, "it might not end well for you, or maybe just your vital bits."

Kenneth laughed and smiled,

"You're alright, Gardner. It's an honour to work under you Sir!"

I relaxed in my room for a few hours, scanning through a few more dossiers that Miranda had sent my way. None of them caught my attention for any spectacular reasons; most of them were mercenaries who had killed a lot of people, but none of them were on the same level as Zaeed or had the vital characteristics that I was looking for. One of the dossiers was for a Quarian exile who was supremely skilled in hacking and breaching security systems, but the fact that he was an exile put me off. I remembered Tali telling me that Quarians were a very insular society and everything that was done had to be for the better of the Migrant Fleet and the Quarian people. This Quarian had betrayed his own kind in a fashion bad enough for the Admiralty to kick him out of the fleet.

Tali would never do such a thing; she was the most loyal and devoted person that I had ever met. I missed her. I let myself slip into my most treasured memories of being with her while hunting down Saren across the galaxy. I remembered the feeling of her soft skin when she first took off her enviro-suit for me, the shy look on her face when she first let her mask fall from her hand. I still loved her as strongly as I did when I had saved her from the original Normandy, as strongly as I had when I saw her again on Freedom's Progress.

There was the worry that I would never see her again; she was back with the Migrant Fleet and on important missions for the Admiralty. And if I knew the Quarians at all, then the missions would likely be involving the Geth which meant that Tali would most probably be in great danger for a lot of the time. I wanted so much just to find out where she was, what she was doing and go and find her. As different as things were from before I had died, she was still a part of me; I loved her.

Realising that all I was doing was bringing myself down, I took the lift down from my cabin and went to the bridge to see Joker. We were nearing the last known location for Okeer on the planet of Korlus; basically, a planet-sized scrap yard.

"What's the Sitrep Joker? Any sign of our Krogan on the scanners?"

"Yes Sir," he answered, "looks like you'll be getting into another fight."

"Wonderful."

"Okeer has sealed himself in a laboratory complex from where he is releasing hundreds of tank-bred Krogan against the local military forces," EDI explained, "these Krogan are being used as fodder to protect Okeer and the main building on the site."

"Why's the military after him?" I asked.

"I have searched through communications and have found messages sent between the military commanders revealing that they desired for Okeer to create an army of Krogan for them to use. However, the Krogan that Okeer gave them were unstable and often turned on the soldiers. The military has ordered Okeer's termination."

"Then let's get down there and get him out."

Once again, the team was ready to go, minus Mordin in his laboratory. We dropped into the back of the complex and were able to reach the central building whilst meeting only a few of the crazed Krogan. They were extremely tough to put down and I had to resort to using my Widow rifle at close range for some of them, but we fought our way through and blew our way into Okeer's lair.

"The only reason you have reached me is because I have allowed it, Human," Okeer's deep and aged voice welcomed us coldly.

"And why'd you do that?" I asked.

"I'm intrigued to find out what the ghost of the legendary Spectre, Commander Gardner, would want with me."

I stood and stared at him and he chuckled to himself,

"Surprised? All Krogan should know you. The destruction of Saren's Genophage cure on Virmire is a grand tale for the ages! Saren threatens to bring back the Krogan horde, capable of crushing the galaxy beneath it, before Commander Gardner rides in and secures victory with nuclear fire!"

Okeer seemed to enjoy retelling the story of my battle on Virmire, his arms raised as he envisaged the great blast of the nuke, while I could only remember Kaidan's last moment.

"If I could have beaten Saren without destroying the cure I would have, but I wasn't left with a whole lot of choices," I said to the old Krogan. Okeer shook his head and strode across the room towards a large tank on the far side,

"No. You were right to do what you did. Saren's pale hordes were not true Krogan. Numbers alone will not guarantee victory; the mistake of an outsider."

"We need you for our mission," Miranda cut in, "we can get you out of here. The Collectors, who you've had dealings with, are attacking Human colonies."

"Ah yes, the Collectors," Okeer said ponderously, "so very elusive until you have a sacrifice large enough; I gave them many Krogan."

"Why?" I said, "what was it all for?"

Okeer removed the cover from the huge tank and revealed the Krogan that was locked inside. Even for a Krogan he was huge; even larger than Wrex's considerable build. The plating on his head was different from all other Krogan that I had ever seen; rather than a series of large plates one behind the other that covered the forehead and everything behind, this Krogan had what looked like smaller segments across his head. These were traits associated with very young Krogan whose plates had not even fully formed. He was far too big to be the Krogan equivalent of a toddler, yet his plates said otherwise. I would have loved to have Wrex with me to answer the many questions firing through my mind right then.

The incubation liquid inside the tank was evidently sustaining him and though his eyes were open he was not aware of anything happening around his tank. Okeer gazed proudly at his creation and boasted,

"Through the Collectors I gained the technology to create the perfect Krogan, far greater than those lowly peons cloned by Saren. With him I will inflict upon the Genophage the greatest insult an enemy can endure; to be ignored."

"Is your super-soldier ready to go?" I said, interested in the idea of having such a powerful ally. Okeer came up to me,

"Perhaps I can strike a deal for my safe passage; you get my prototype off of this planet and I will join you, but you will not get the key to my legacy! This perfect soldier, this grunt. He is non-negotiable."

I saw on the numerous security screens that the military forces were making good progress against the undisciplined, unorganised and under-equipped Krogan clones that Okeer had thrown against them. Time was running short.

"Ok," I told Okeer, "we'll all get out of here…"

An explosion ripped through half of the lab and threw us all to the ground. I felt the familiar burn of a shrapnel wound in my arm and cursed as I went to see if everyone was alright. Jack had managed to shield herself from the glass and explosive force with her biotics and had protected a couple of the others, whether that was because she had intended it that way or because they just happened to be behind her, I could not decide.

"EDI! Get the shuttles in to our position now," I ordered, "we have Okeer and need to secure a package for transport."

"Commander!" Miranda shouted over the ever-closing noise of the battle outside, "Okeer's dead."

I looked round to the Krogan again, certain that I had seen him try to pick himself back up, but he was lying motionless with an arm and half of his chest missing. I checked over the tank and was pleased to see it uncompromised,

"Doesn't matter about Okeer," I told the rest of them, "we might have just acquired an even more powerful warrior."

The advancing Korlus forces were almost within spitting distance when the shuttles swooped in and I had Miranda, Jack and Jacob use their biotics to move the seriously heavy breeding tank into the nearest one.

"That could've been a fun fight down there," Jack commented when we were flying away back to the Normandy.

"We had no reason to fight them," I said, "we were here for Okeer, or a Krogan at least, and that's all that matters. There'll be plenty of opportunities to fight later."

Jack seemed satisfied with that for now and Miranda rolled her eyes disapprovingly.

"So are you actually gonna try and release this Krogan, Sir?" Jacob said, "we don't know anything about him. He could be unstable like the others and attack us; and I'd rather not fight a super-Krogan in tight quarters."

"We won't know until we get him out of there. If he's going to be a problem then we'll just have to put him down; but that is the absolute last resort."

"Understood, Sir."

We were settled back on the Normandy and had left the breeding tank in one of the storage areas until I was ready to try and "birth" the tank-bred Krogan.

"If the Krogan goes berserk we won't be able to stop it," Miranda warned, "I recommend that we have EDI ready to vent the cargo bay if he fights us."

"Noted," I said. I went into the cargo room by myself, the idea being that if the Krogan turned on me and killed me then EDI could vent the room without endangering anyone else. I punched in the command for the tank to open and the thick liquid began to ooze out onto the floor. I stepped back to stop the incubation liquid from pooling around my feet and to make room for the huge beast to step out. Except, he did not step out, nor did he even seem to know what was happening until he had almost hit the floor. His muscled arms shot out and he barely caught himself before his face hit the floor and he stayed there coughing and spluttering as he gasped for air. As he breathed heavily, I was astounded by the sheer size of the Krogan, even without the bulky armour that Okeer had attired him in.

Okeer's perfect Krogan suddenly tensed up and began to sniff the air, and a low growl reverberated around the room. Before I could react the Krogan leapt up and threw his entire weight into me, lifting me off of my feet and swinging me around and slamming me into a stack of crates. My body was in agony and the force was unlike anything that I had felt before. When I was able to open my eyes, I saw two large, reptilian eyes glaring back at me,

"Human, adult, male," the deep, gravelly voice said, "before I kill you, I need a name!"

"I'm Commander Scott Gardner; and I don't take threats lightly," I replied assertively. Krogan respected strength so I needed to show that I was not afraid of him, that death was no threat to me. The Krogan super-soldier shook his head and growled,

"Not your name. Mine. Okeer… the tank… gave me many names but could not imprint connection."

There was turmoil in the Krogan's eyes, but it only seemed to anger him.

"Legacy… soldier… grunt," his eyes lit up as he searched for a name, a title of his own, "Grunt was among the last. It has no meaning… it'll do."

Grunt's eyes fixed back on mine again,

"I am Grunt. If you are worthy then try to destroy me."

I was still being held two feet off of the ground and had his forearm slowly pressing down on my neck,

"We don't need to fight Grunt," I said, "I'm gathering a force to take on the Collectors; and they're definitely a worthy foe."

Grunt's eyes narrowed as he searched my face,

"If you are lying and the enemy is weak, I'll have to kill you."

"The Collectors are a threat to the entire galaxy; that should be enough for you!"

"Hmm. That might be acceptable…"

"Are you with me or against me?" I said forcefully, "or am I going to have to destroy you?"

The huge Krogan laughed a low and throaty laugh,

"The imprints never showed that Humans could be fierce; you are supposed to be weak."

"Me and my crew are strong; but having you on it would make it stronger."

"Then… I will fight for you, Gardner."

"Glad you saw reason," I smirked.

Grunt looked down to see my pistol aimed at his stomach and he released me with a satisfied smile on his face,

"Offer one hand but arm the other," he laughed, "You are a worthy Commander. I will join you. And if I find what I… I want, I would be honoured to pit my enemies against you."

I took Grunt up to our armoury, and when I offered him a selection of weapons he rapidly discarded the pistols and sub machine guns before heading straight towards the shotguns; just like Wrex had when I first brought him aboard the SR1. Jacob watched with amusement as Grunt siphoned through our broad selection with barely contained excitement. However, when Grunt became aware of Jacob he turned on him and advanced towards him, I had to jump in,

"Grunt! This is Jacob; he's part of our crew and a damn good soldier."

Grunt did not stop but he smelled Jacob like a dog meeting a new person,

"He smells like he has fought many battles. You are a warrior?"

"I'm a soldier," Jacob said, "and I've seen a lot of killing."

"You say it like you've earned it. I am Grunt."

Jacob, pleasant as ever, held out a hand, "nice to meet you Grunt. I think we're gonna like having you around."

Grunt chuckled before turning back to me,

"You got any food anywhere?"

Once I had Grunt settled in on the crew deck with a copious amount of food in front of him, I stood and watched from afar as some of the crew tried to talk to him and introduce themselves. For the most part Grunt seemed quite content to meet them, knowing that they were my crew members, and would talk a little with some of them. After a few minutes though his attention came back to focus purely on demolishing the grub, leaving the chef desperately trying to keep up with Grunt's appetite.

"Looks like we'll need to place a bigger food order," Miranda said as she appeared beside me. I laughed a little,

"He's confused. It seems that Okeer was using some kind of memory training program to try and imprint knowledge into his mind. But… I don't think it worked too well."

"What makes you say that?" Miranda asked while she watched Grunt finish his own food and "imply" to one the crew that he would finish off their own meal if they were not hungry.

"He knows things; how to fight, that he's a Krogan and we're Human. But he doesn't know how to feel about any of it. Does he like or hate Humans? Why should he fight and what for? Was it right to inflict the Genophage on the Krogan? Does he hate the Salarians for it? Nothing's clear to him."

"Well if we run into the Collectors, hopefully he'll find reason to help us."

"Not just us," I said quietly, "everyone."