Title: The More Things Change...
Chapter 7: It's Time To Move On
Jien Garson was not enjoying herself. She was currently sharing a conference room with Alec Ryder while working through the latest argument brewing between her two of her senior crew members. The closer her Initiative project came to fruition, the more roadblocks seemed to pop up out of nowhere to make life increasingly difficult. Ironically, the source of the latest round of them all stemmed from Adam Shepard, someone who she had to practically strong arm into the project.
Adam was connected remotely to the meeting, though he was ignoring his leadership completely as he faced off against his current nemesis, Foster Addison. "I don't care what your the other aliens will think of us Ms Addison. My responsibility is to the members of the Initiative, not the theoretical aliens we might meet over there. We need to be able to defend ourselves."
"Who the hell do you think you are Shepard?!" Addison seethed, leaning towards the camera on her desk as she vented on the upstart who dared try to change everything so close to the launch date. "We want to be seen as scientists and explorers, not conquerors. Showing up armed to the teeth will give the wrong impression. Besides, we already decided on this approach years ago. It isn't your decision to make." A chorus of voices sounded off afterwards, unable to be distinguished as everyone strained to be heard at once.
Shepard waited for silence as he formulated his response. He heard Eve's voice come from the speaker in his ear. "They're focusing on the wrong things. This isn't just about sentient aliens."
Adam nodded in agreement with the AI before focusing back on the conference call, inspiration striking him. Calming his voice, he tried to appeal to their common sense. "Foster, I completely agree with you about putting our best foot forward in the new galaxy and I wouldn't want to jeopardize everything you've all worked so hard for already. My concerns are in a different direction and I'll try to explain them if you hear me out for a second."
He suppressed a sigh of relief when the woman crossed her arms and sat back before giving a quick nod while maintaining pursed lips and a scowl. Not exactly body language conducive to open dialogue but he'd take what he could get. "I'm not asking for armed ships or any kind of overwhelming force. Jien described it best when she said that this would all come down to hope in something better being out there." There, he appealed to their leader's position, attempting to draw them in. "I don't know what kind of environment you've worked in before now, but I've seen some of the scarier flora and fauna that nature can throw at us in the Milky Way. I've faced thresher maws both on foot and in a mako tank before. I promise you that survivability goes up exponentially when you can hide behind some armor with a cannon to back you up. Who's to say Andromeda doesn't have anything similar that would endanger the lives of our colonists and scientists?"
Addison scowled to herself, unable to immediately come up with an intelligent refute to the grunt's argument. She hadn't expected to attend a meeting with a prepared counter points when the opposition was nothing but a knuckle dragger. Jessica Houston, the leader of the science team decided to fall on the proverbial sword and speak up in the name of staying true to the Initiative's core values. "But where does the line end if we allow weapons like that to come with us? You're asking us to open Pandora's Box and expecting us to believe you'll be able to keep it contained."
"There are over one hundred thousand souls that are putting their lives in your hands and accepting your plan in the hope for a better future" Shepard said in exasperation. "Are you really so naive that you would throw them into the proverbial meat grinder with nothing but dreams and expectations to defend themselves if something goes wrong? Look where we live! For every dedicated turian out protecting you, there is a batarian slaver waiting to throw you in chains. For every enlightened asari promoting peace, there is a vorcha looking for an easy victim to turn into a quick meal. For every hard working human, a yagh lays in wait to begin it's newest hunt for a challenging prey. You don't know what you will encounter out there!"
"I think that's enough on this subject" Jien quickly cut in, muting the other participants. The conversation was getting derailed and ran the danger of spooking her personnel out of the program entirely if they began to look at the dangers instead of the opportunities available in Andromeda. "We won't be giving up our vision, but we do need to safeguard our people so I purpose a compromise. I will allow two makos to be placed on the Nexus for the purpose of responding to emergencies. Station security and Adam's team will be given access to them while all others will be restricted. We don't need scientists trying to use military hardware" she said with a grin, getting a few chuckles from those listening.
This would need a strong finish. "Keep in mind that they are only allowed to be used as a last resort! All contact with alien life is to be kept peaceful and professional at all times until lives are in danger." She smiled at the chorus of acknowledgements that came through the speakers. "The launching of the Nexus will be delayed a few months as we re-examine security measures that have exposed vulnerabilities and make sure that we do everything in our power to keep our people safe. They are our most valuable resource after all. The Arks will still leave on schedule, meaning they will rendezvous with the Nexus sooner than originally planned. This will also allow us to dedicate more resources towards the Keelah Si'yah, allowing them to leave at the same time as their sister ships. Thank you for attending. Now let's all get back to work!"
She watched the attendees drop one by one from the meeting until Shepard was the only one left. "Was there something else you wanted to discuss?" she asked him, feigning ignorance. She watched Alec's face harden out of the corner of her vision, suddenly realizing that she would be outnumbered in this conversation.
Scott shared a glance with the Human Pathfinder, a silent conversation occurring between the two military men that she couldn't even begin to discern. Her problem solver turned back towards her with a sigh, shaking his head. "I apologize. This just isn't something I'm used to and it'll take some time to change my expectations. For my past work, safety and security were always paramount, but that is clearly secondary on this mission. I accept that and am still here, but I'll be damned if I'm going to stay silent if I feel we have gone too far on something without considering what could go wrong."
"He's right Jien" Alec said with a grimace as he pushed himself out of his chair to walk over to her. The poor man had been working longer and longer nights to finish up his project while taking care of his ailing wife. The extra hours were beginning to show in his physical appearance, casting shadows under his eyes and reducing the body fat to the point of his cheek bones starting to become more prominent. None of this was apparent in his voice though, still sounding strong and in command as he stopped at her side to show support as he stared at Shepard. "Keep in mind the audience when you bring up such matters though Adam. The morale of your men is always something to be concerned about. Pointing out such faults while not scaring the crew is an art form all in its own."
"I hear you loud and clear" was all Shepard could respond with, taking the mild chastisement for what it was while standing a little straighter. "I'll try to route such things through the two of you from now on. It'll probably cause less friction with the others than having the new guy speak up when he hasn't earned the right to" he added with a rueful smile, once again showing he understood his position better than others gave him credit for. "There is one more issue that needs to be addressed though. This 'Mysterious Benefactor' is raising all kinds of alarms to me. He's providing funding for the Initiative with no strings attached, has an interest in certain people joining the trip, and knows way too much about information that should not be available on people." The list of clandestine groups he had encountered in his past life had caused him to develop a strong aversion towards those who liked to run things from the shadows.
"We feel the same way" Jien assured him, clasping her hands behind her back as she raised herself up to her full height. "That's one of the reasons I wanted you on the mission. You're my backup plan incase The Benefactor's interest goes beyond helpful suggestions to actively attempting to take the reins on the project." She gave him a quick wink, hoping that it went unnoticed by Ryder.
Jien looked over at her friend as he typed away furiously on his omnitool, intent on ordering the weapon systems before the order could be rescinded. "Did you have anything else for Adam?" Ryder gave a shake of his head, not bothering to look up from his work causing her to grow a small frown. This wasn't how he had acted in the past. "We'll talk later Adam" she addressed the screen. "I might need to call on you and your team soon as the deadline looms closer and we need last minute troubleshooting. Hopefully you'll pack up and move over here sooner than later."
"I'll be there soon enough" Shepard assured his new boss, giving a quick salute before cutting the link and leaning back onto the couch in his office while closing his eyes. He had initially just planned on going along with the flow in the Initiative, happy to get a free ride to the new galaxy. This hadn't lasted long as he began to get into the details of how they planned to set up in Andromeda. He had questioned why the more military experienced individuals hadn't spoken up about such obvious safety concerns before now, only to learn that they had but faced such an incredibly difficult fight from the science community that they had given up over the years. Individual and team safety over that of the entire mission was now the primary concern of those with the wherewithal to appreciate the dangers instead of convincing those that refused to listen.
'I can't let that happen' he told himself, repeating the same mantra in his head that he had in his head through the last few years of the Reaper War. "We sacrifice now so our children won't have to in the future" he whispered softly, the words still having just as much of an impact on him now as they first did when Anderson had said them while turning over command of the Normandy.
His internal monologue was interrupted as he felt the couch shift to his right as someone else joined him. His refused to open his eyes, unwilling to deal with any more drama after such a tiring week. Garrus was disappointed that Solana choose to leave, yet understood her dedication to her commander and team all the same. His wife's love and support ensured that he would bounce back sooner rather than later, though Shepard still decided to give him a few days off to mentally recover.
Asshole still hadn't returned from his 'alone time' yet. According to Gavron, he scared batarian was becoming almost as bad a boogey man to the vorcha as Adam was himself from. The amount of money he was making on their bounties made Shepard wonder if the batarian wasn't working to break away from the team and branch off on his own.
The last member of the team was taking advantage of the day off to convert his office into a lab. The good doctor still planned on genetic research on his off time in a hope of finding a way to control the blood rage he was now cursed with. To Adam's surprise, Ballo had already started trading notes and theories with another salarian scientist who was running a free clinic in one of the lower wards in the asteroid.
"Stop pretending to be asleep Adam" a familiar voice echoed in his ear before a weight pressed down on his lap. "I've memorized your vitals by now. I can tell just by your breathing that you're awake." He wedged one eye partially open, revealing exactly what he had already expected to see. Eve sat in his lap, straddling him with a leg on each side as she stared intently at his features. What was unexpected was the second girl sitting to his right who was watching the interaction intently.
The geth sat demurely with her hands in her lap, observing as Eve ran her hands through the human's hair. "What is the purpose of what you are doing Eve?" she inquired, her voice sounding monotone without any pitch or variation.
Looking over at her companion for a moment, the AI girl simply shrugged before returning to her previous activities. "I'm just bonding with him" she said with a small smile. "I've wanted to touch him for my entire life. Now that I can, it's one of my favorite past times."
"Research from the extranet does not show this as a normal method of interaction between godfather and goddaughter in humans. Can you elaborate?"
Shepard shifted uncomfortably as it was once again pointed out, this time by someone besides himself, that Eve clearly was not interested in a strictly familial relationship. His attempt to leverage himself up was thwarted by the feisty AI as she reminded him that her internal strength was no laughing matter. Eve broke his balance with a quick roll of her hips, sending him back into the couch. She gave him a saucy grin before grinding her surprisingly soft backside down on him to ensure he didn't try to escape again. If he hadn't bought her parts, he would never have known that she was artificial. "That's because he isn't just my godfather. That is just a designation that a parent asks a family friend to ensure their child is protected in case they aren't available."
She placed her free hand on his cheek, feeling the coarse texture of his stubble rub against her skin as her olfactory sensors in her nose detected his natural scent. The AI was ecstatic that she could experience the world to such a degree now. "I decided long ago that he would be my partner" she explained, noticing his eyes get watery for a second at the declaration before he fought the emotions back down again. 'Men' she thought. "I plan on experiencing everything I can in the universe while staying by his side."
Adam needed to cut this off before it went any further. His emotions were still bent out of shape from Solana's abrupt departure, and he was not ready to tackle Eve's new feelings no matter how much she wanted to press the issue. "Look Geth…"
"Zoe" the geth interrupted, drawing surprised looks from both of them. "Consensus has been reached after research of names on the extranet. All Geth have chosen this name as a new hope for our people. This unit's designation will be Zoe from now on. We cannot be termed strictly as geth now that we are following a different evolutionary path. This name shall now become our own as we become one."
"Right…" Shepard trailed off with a heavy blink. His brain had given up on him. Too many changes in too little time. "Zoe. This isn't a normal type of relationship and you shouldn't use it to form your opinions of the human race from it. Eve is an AI and I'm not even sure if I count as fully human anymore considering I can't die of old age…" he trailed off as he tried to gather his thoughts.
"Irrelevant" the former geth stated as she climbed up to sit on her knees facing Shepard and Eve. "We will be spending our time with you more than any other. It is your actions that we intend to understand." Slowly, she reached forward, taking one of Adam's hands in her own and setting it in her lap. She looked to Eve, getting a nod of approval from her fellow AI assuring her that her actions were right.
Adam's omnitool going interrupted the mood at the perfect time. The exSpectre seized the opportunity, catching Eve off guard as he forced himself to his feet while holding her against him. He pivoted quickly before dropping her on the couch, earning a surprised squeak from the AI girl. He ignored her pout as he quickly turned away, answering the persistent call.
He was met with a blurry image that resolved itself into his sometime employer as she took cover behind a barrier while bullets streaked by overhead. "It's about fucking time you answered!" Aria groused, her biotics flaring around her before she raised a hand over the barrier to fire off the ball of dark energy. She ignored the screams and returning fire as she concentrated fully on the call. "The Blood Pack remnants decided that they wanted revenge for Garm. They're attacking all of my business interests throughout the station!"
"Where are you?" Shepard demanded as he began to don his armor, soldier mode engaging as all other issues were compartmentalized in the back of his brain to be dealt with at a later time. He moved towards the door as he secured his shotgun and assault rifle to the magnetized holders on his back.
"Not important" the Queen of Omega countered quickly before he could get moving. "I don't need help here. They need it to survive my wrath." Her smile was all teeth as her eyes flashed with something dangerous. "I need you to protect the entrance to my VIP club past the upper market. The people taking shelter in there can not be harmed or I lose reputation. AND NO ONE FUCKS WITH ARIA!" she screamed as she raised back up, firing a long burst from her assault rifle.
Shepard closed the call while she was distracted. Talking any longer with the enraged asari wouldn't lead to anything good happening. He took off in a sprint down the hallway, regretting not being able to call on his team members. Garrus and Ballo would drop what they were doing in a second to help him, but he didn't want to ruin their personal time for something he felt he would be able to handle on his own.
The patter of feet caused him to pull up quickly, ducking into a nearby doorway as he readied his shotgun. Anger soon replaced fear as he noticed who it was approaching. Eve and Zoe turned the corner to his current location, running at speeds that no normal human could come close to matching. That was not his concern though as he stepped out in front of them to block their path. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he questioned, hands on his hips as he stared down the AIs.
"Fighting with you" Eve countered, as if that was all the explanation that was needed. She sighed as he crossed his arms, unmoving from his spot. "I told you I wasn't leaving you alone to fight anymore. This body is fully combat capable and I have all of my mother's fighting algorithms ready." She cocked the claymore shotgun that looked almost as big as she was, completely uncaring of how comical the image looked.
"Our mission is to assist Shepard, Adam while we observe and interact with organics" Zoe said. She held the scaled down prime rifle that her previous body had carried, the weight of the gun not effecting her in the slightest.
"Fuck" Adam muttered as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He did not have time for this right now. "Follow me and do exactly what I say. We are a team which means no running off on your own." He ignored the hypocrisy of the order, knowing full well his tendency to abandon the plan the first chance he got and dive head first into combat. It would drive Garrus spare as he tried to adapt to his partner's unpredictableness.
Eve simply smiled in victory as she got to remain with her godfather. She would ensure he made it back safely from now on, no matter what.
XXXXXX
Chul came to a halt at the corner by the ramen stand. The path was clear to the Bitch of Omega's elite club. Destroying it would prove her power on the station was weaker than a quarian's immune system and put the Blood Pack back on the map. The main battle at Afterlife was simply a diversion to pull all of her defenders away from her other resources, allowing her brothers and the boom squad to make an attempt to end the bitch's dominance once and for all.
The krogan chuckled to herself as she held out a mirror on a stick, something she had crafted to avoid exposing herself unnecessarily. Doing something like this would have been called cowardly a few years ago, but all those who thought that way were long dead. Stupid krogan did not last long on Omega when dealing with the Blue Suns and Eclipse, let alone the Bitch of Omega and her attack dog. She frowned as she found only one figure standing out in the open at the end of the hallway. Her mirror was too dirty to make out who it was, prompting her to go to plan B. "Get the fuck out there and tell me what you see pyjak" she muttered, kicking the vorcha next to her in the ass hard enough to send the vermin sprawling out into the hallway.
The vorcha hissed in annoyance as it pushed itself back to its feet. It sent a quick scowl towards the krogan before looking down hallway, squinting it's beady eyes to try to make out who stood against them. "It's him!" the creature hissed in alarm, scrambling backwards as it desperately tried to put more room between itself and it's opponent. "It's the destroyer! We...!" The vorcha was abruptly cut off as a large ball of angry biotic energy connected with it's stomach. The creature looked down in despair before the dark matter erupted, disintegrating the target and spraying it's comrades with a fine mist of gore.
Adam grinned as he let his biotics die back down. He would be the first to admit such a vulgar display of power was wasteful, but nothing marked your territory to the blood pack as well as a good explosion or two. "Anyone else want to try their luck!?" he taunted down the hallway, well aware that there wouldn't be any vorcha without a krogan minder or two. He frowned as a single krogan stepped into the hallway, both arms raised to show she was unarmed. It was the second biggest dinosaur he had ever seen, only Grunt could claim to beat her in mass. "What the hell" the former spectre mumbled as he examined the krogan before a grin spread across his face. "Chul?! Is that you? I thought I left you for dead after you tried to ambush Aria's red sand operation last year!"
Chul chuckled as he fingered a long scar on the side of her cheek, respect for the human across from him clear in her eyes. "You didn't check after you shot that flare at me. I used one of the little shits as a human shield. Knocked me out but I lived." She frowned as she ceased the reminiscing, well aware of the impatient growls coming from her brothers back around the corner. "I'm giving you one chance Shepard. Leave and let us finish our objective or you'll be in smaller pieces than that vorcha." He gestured towards the mess littering the hallway, deliberately scraping the bottom of her boot off on the side of the wall.
"Sorry" the human apologized as he pulled his assault rifle from it's storage rack and cocked it. "I took on the contract and I intend to keep it. Life here doesn't get much worse than having the Queen of Omega after your ass for renigging on a job." He paused for a second before a smile stretched across his face, confusing the krogan as to what could possibly be funny. "I'll tell you what Chul. If you survive this, come look me up. I'll buy you a beer and we can trade stories."
"You're on human!" the krogan shouted, returning the grin as excitement for the upcoming battle got the blood pumping in her veins. Her biotics rolled excitedly beneath her veins, aching to be unleashed. "Try not to die before I reach you!" Chul curled her claws into fists, bringing them together in front of her chest as she stomped on the floor. This was the signal to attack, the remaining vorcha of the Blood Pack surging around her like a vile tidal wave as they raced to reach the human first.
The four other krogan that had chosen to join the assault walked forward to stand in a loose line with her as they watched the vorcha advance up the long hallway. 'Hope they can finally prove useful,' she thought in disgust as her glare panned over them. They all had attempted to be suitors to her in the past, only to be brutally denied when they couldn't stand up to her level of play. She had no time for weaklings. Now they followed her around like vorcha, unaware that they acted exactly like the vermin they looked down on.
"It's never this easy" one of them grunted, eyes narrowing as he looked around for hidden ambushes. "What the hell is that human planning?"
"Hell if I know" Chul responded with a shrug as she pulled a war hammer from behind her back and allowed her biotics to flare up. Arcs of red lightning arced over her arms, causing her nerves to tingle in excitement. She had only turned two hundred and fifty a few days ago but already had started down the path to becoming a battlemaster. "That's why we're letting the dumbasses spring the trap for us. I do know that if any of you ever want to be considered worthy, you better reach him before I do."
Shepard just grinned as the vorcha front runners reached the halfway point of the hall. "It's time to thin the numbers" he observed as he crossed his arms over his chest, not breaking eye contact with the female krogan. Hard earned knowledge dealing with Wrex's wife Bakara had taught him to never show anything but confidence towards the lady dinosaurs if you wanted to be taken seriously.
Eve revealed herself from the shadowy corner, moving to stand next to him. "I think you're right" she said with a smile of her own before waving her hand out over the hall. Previously hidden landmines exploded as her signal reached them, cutting down swaths of vorcha as the shrapnel tore them apart. The AI observed her handiwork with a grim satisfaction before lifting up her claymore shotgun to aim at the thinning, yet still approaching mob. "It's just like you to make a girl do all the heavy lifting" she remarked before firing, the gun sounding like an explosion as it tore through her target.
"Now that's just not true" Adam argued with a fake pout. "I'm just trying to show them how out matched they truly are. Psychological warfare is almost as important as the actual physical portion."
He was joined by his other companion a moment later, the petite synthetic black woman's expression remaining unchanging as she lowered the geth rifle at the scavengers before sending a continuous volley of plasma rounds downrange to tear the vorcha apart. "Shepard, Adam is correct Eve. His plan matches many engagements throughout history that we have been able to find. We have determined that his chance of success has risen thirty eight percent since the beginning of this battle."
"See?" Butter wouldn't melt in Shepard's mouth as he regarded his goddaughter. "Zoe agrees with my plan. That proves how awesome it is." He ignored the eye roll she gave in response, watching as the last of the Vorcha were cut down by his two minions. He rubbed a hand on each of their heads, messing up their hair in the process much to Zoe's annoyance. "Great job ladies, now it's my turn."
He stepped forward, slamming his hand into his open palm as his biotics began to flare around him. The four krogan exchanged glances before stepping forward as one, Chul staying behind to observe.
Adam came to a halt as his omnitool buzzed, causing him to frown in confusion as he brought it up to read. It was a simple message from an unknown address, only two sentences long. You are too valuable to the future to risk yourself like this Shepard. Steps have been taken to rectify the situation. Now what in the hell did that mean?
The powerful crack of a sniper rifle firing echoed from the other end of the hallway, the sound reaching him at the same time as the krogan on the left pitched sideways with a blown out kneecap. A second shot took him in the top of his head, exposing his ruined brain even as it continued straining to keep the body alive. The other krogan jumped apart in surprise, hugging the walls as they tried to hide from the shooter.
A large brown blotchy colored hand slid out from a now open door in the hallway, grabbing one of the remaining krogan and pulling the unbalanced dinosaur into the darkened room. Shouts of fury and the tell tale *Zap* of high powered electrical arcs could be heard as the door slid shut.
Succumbing to bloodrage at the loss of his brothers, one of the remaining krogan charged towards Shepard. His roar of challenge was overshadowed by an equally deep bellow of rage as a large shape wearing a tattered lab coat crashed into him from the side. Both shapes disappeared into a pile of garbage at the end of the hallway, trash getting thrown everywhere as a frantic battle took place between the two behemoths.
Choosing to roll with it, Shepard continued forward towards the remaining krogan. The dino had stopped dead in the hallway, unsure of which direction would lead to safety at the moment. His choice was made for him as a shotgun blast tore into his body, sending him spinning into the wall where he slid to a stop as the light left his eyes. Chul tossed the smoking shotgun to the side, choosing instead to flare her biotics as she regarded her opponent. "Never liked his cowardly ass anyways…" she muttered before taking a step forwards. "Blood Pack is finished here Shepard" she called out as she hefted her war hammer onto her shoulder. "I may meet my ancestors tonight, but I plan on telling them I went out fighting the Kalross of Omega!"
"I'm all yours Chul" the former spectre said with confidence as he tossed his own gun to the side. "This fight is mine!" he called out to the others who were still hidden. "No one interrupt until one of us is the clear winner."
The krogan nodded in appreciation before lowering herself into a familiar stance. She charged forward with a bellow, intent on driving her opponent off of his feet with her shoulder. Shepard was unwilling to match her in a strength contest though, ducking to the side at the last second while grasping her arm. The human used her momentum to pivot her to the right, tripping her at the same time as he pulled her forwards. The krogan growled in pain as she ran face first into the wall, sliding down onto her belly as she reviewed the last few moments in her head in disbelief. Her lack of attention towards the fight cost her a moment later as her head was snapped to the side as her opponent hit her with a full soccer punt. 'Look at the quad on this one' she thought to herself with a grin, ignoring the pain as she pushed herself to her feet again.
'Fuck my life…' Adam sighed to himself as he watched the krogan get back up again, acting as if he hadn't even touched her. He flared his biotics, recognizing that the bout would need to be taken to the next level if he had any hope of winning. Chul accepted the escalation, roaring in joy as she finally unleashed her biotics.
"Well that's new" Adam couldn't help but comment as the red lightning continued to streak across the krogan's biotic field. "Since when did you get a power up? You weren't any different than me the last time we fought."
A wild look reflected from Chul's eyes as a familiar haze of bloodrage began to overcome her. She struggled to repress it, unwilling to lose her higher thinking against such a wiley opponent. That had led to her downfall the last time they had met in battle. She growled as she felt her pulse begin to slow, finally able to articulate words. "You caused this Shepard. You left me in a pile of red sand when you walked away after the last battle. I had a lethal dose enter my system…" she growled, before a sinister smile spread across her features. "But I got better. Krogan's adapt to all kinds of adversity. Now my body automatically draws the from the sand it's stored whenever I activate my biotics."
She roared again as the biotic field around her boody gained even more intensity, the breeze from it actually making Shepard's hair flutter. "I refused to use my power in battle until I met you again. Now let me show you my thanks for your gift!"
"Oh Shit!" Adam's eyes flew open wide as his opponent disappeared in a flash of biotic power. He barely had time to activate his own biotics before she crashed into him in a full charge. The powers cancelled each other out, but her momentum sent them to the floor with her landing on top of him as he lay on his back. He groaned as he tried to recover, her impact knocking the wind out of him as she lay on his chest. Chul took the open invitation for what it was, flashing him a winning smile with enough teeth to intimidate a shark before rearing back and connecting two left hooks into the side of his face followed by a right cross. She kept her claws retracted, unwilling to scare up his features for some reason unknown to her at the time.
The krogan female crowed internally in triumph as he reeled under her onslaught, debating on what to do next. She could always end it quickly and brutally with either her claws or teeth, but that wouldn't give her the sense of satisfaction and vengeance she had craved for so long. He needed to live, knowing she was the dominate one and held his life in her claws. What Aria had done to Patriarch always intrigued her, taking a part of him as a trophy and forcing him to be her slave…
It was as if Shepard could hear her thoughts, with how quickly he reacted. His eyes cleared up, though they seemed to be staring at nothing as he almost looked through her at something else. He began to thrash, causing her to concentrate on staying on top of him as he tried to buck her off. He let out a growl of rage before rearing his head back and headbutting her ridge right between her eyes. She lowered her head in pain to avoid a second hit, only to feel something hard crack against her exposed plate. The hit rattled her brain, stunning her enough to be thrown to the side as her opponent surged to his feet.
Blood dripped down the side of his face, causing him to close his left eye to avoid it getting contaminated by the fluid. Shepard regarded her with an expression of distaste, almost as if she was nothing more than another vorcha he had to deal with. The former Spectre rolled his shoulders before his biotic field blasted back into existence around him even stronger than before. She cursed to herself as she struggled to activate hers again from her position on the floor. A biotic flare crashed into her a second later, her own drug enhanced dark matter barely cancelling out his attack even though it left her dizzy.
It was over a second later as she was engulfed in a foreign biotic field, slowly floating upwards until she was held upside down as she rotated in a circle. She scowled impotently as Shepard came into her vision, taking a swipe at him if for nothing more than to say she fought until the end. The human's eyes glowed blue, with just a hint of red on the edges of them as he studied her. He ducked under her outstretched cocking his fist, then Chul knew no more.
XXXXX
"How the hell did you guys even know where to find me?" Adam sat on top of his latest conquest, the unconscious krogan's hump making the perfect seat as he watched his team slowly emerge from their hiding places to form up around him.
Ballo's coat was more orange than white after his assault on Chul's henchman, the krogan's blood having drenched him as he systematically took the dinosaur apart. The salarian's blood rage was still as potent as the day they had first met, allowing him to demolish the krogan barehanded.
The Asshole was surprisingly clean after his own encounter, the mute batarian tilting his head to the right towards his boss as he took in his appearance. Shepard made a note to reestablish the pecking order later with the batarian, well aware of the emphasis of the head tilt. He was surprised when a moment later, the batarian took in his defeated opponent before giving a nod of respect and tilting his head to the left to regard his boss. Maybe things were still good between them after all.
"We all were notified by some anonymous tip," Garrus explained as he stowed his sniper rifle after wiping it down of any dust and grime. "We met up a block away and discussed how to back you up before moving in." He moved forward, shoving his friend in the shoulder. "What the hell is your problem? We're supposed to be a team! How the hell would I be able to tell Solana if something happened to you and I wasn't there to back you up?" The turian paused as he watched the human sway much farther than he should have from the shove. "I think we need to get you to Chloe. That krogan might have scrambled your brains worse than they already were. We can't afford to have you getting any more stupid on us."
"Ha Ha" Shepard returned sarcastically, turning on his omnitool to make a call while pretending to not see Ballo give the turian a fist bump for the dig. The call was picked up immediately, though four eyes squinted back at him instead of the two angry blue ones he was suspecting. "Aria!" he gasped, faking surprise. "Are you alright? Did you get caught in a bomb blast? Your face looks worse than Bray!"
"Very funny human" the batarian growled, once again wishing his mistress would simply green light the human and let him have a crack at collect the bounty. "The attack is done here, no survivors." He panned the omnitool slowly, showing the burnt out husk that used to be Afterlife. "Club's shut down until further notice. Aria's on her way towards you, so you better not have fucked up."
"Glad you're safe too Bray" Adam returned with a grin, ignoring the huff from the batarian on the other end of the call. The screen winked out, ending his break from the real world and forcing him to confront life's challenges again. The first one being his team leveling their weapons at the two young ladies who had approached them from the entrance of the VIP lounge.
"Stand down" he ordered, the two words carrying enough emphasis to result in the immediate lowering of weapons by everyone in the area. "They're on our side, and if I have my way, part of the team."
"That's something for all of us to decide" Garrus reminded him, not taking his eyes off of the two newcomers. "The last time I met them, they had me held up. We're even now as far as I'm concerned." The red headed girl giggled at his joke, sending him a wink to show there were no hard feelings. Classifying them as non threats in his head, he turned back towards his leader. "When's the meet and greet so Chloe and the rest of us get to find out about them?"
Adam ran a hand down his face, his body heaving in the sigh of the damned. There would be no more putting off the talk he had been dreading for the last forty eight hours. "Meet me in my office tonight at 2000" he instructed his three teammates, using military time. "Bring a lot of booze. You'll need it." Garrus nodded, expecting something like that after the aborted previous introduction that had been interrupted by Solana's sudden departure. Ballo looked intrigued, the salarian almost vibrating with unasked questions as he observed the two women. His eyes cataloging every detail and finding obvious discrepancies. Asshole simply rolled his eyes before walking off. If he was going to find out later about something, there wasn't any point of concerning himself with it in the meantime. He moved off to gather the vorcha heads, never one to turn down a free paycheck.
"You guys are all free until tonight" he said, eager to get them to clear out before Aria arrived. "Use my quarters for a place to crash" he told Eve and Zoe, making shoo'ing gestures with his hands to get them moving. Eve took the hint, pulling Zoe along with her as she headed back to their home.
Garrus watched them go for a bit before giving Adam a punch on the shoulder and heading off with Ballo. "You better see Chloe within the hour or she'll just have me hunt you down again!" he called back.
Adam waved him off before turning to stare down at the krogan who was now snoring comfortably at his feet. Walking over to an abandoned food stand, he reached behind the counter before retrieving four bottles of water. He walked his prize back over towards the slumbering krogan, before opening one of the bottles and dumping it over her head. The female krogan came to in a flash, thrashing around until she realized she wasn't under assault. She blinked heavily at the open hand held infront of her face, the appendage connected to what had recently been her arch enemy on Omega. "Just take the fucking hand Chul, I'm getting tired of holding it out" he all but ordered her.
She gazed at him distrustfully, but reasoned he could have killed her already while he was unconscious if that had been his objective. Grasping it, she was pulled to her feet as she watched his muscles strain under her weight. There had been no biotics used on that lift she observed, a true feat of strength. She reflexively caught the bottle of water that was tossed at her face, frowning in confusion until she saw the human open an identical bottle and chug the contents. Mimicking his actions, she sighed in relief as the liquid soothed her parched insides. The red sand always did a number on her, whether it was integrated into her body or not.
"So what now?" she asked her captor, eager to know what her future held. Obviously it wouldn't be death considering he had already done more to take care of her with the simple gestures than any of her kind had in decades.
"Blood Pack is dead and gone" he commented, as if commenting on the station's temperature instead of the emip war it had been. He pointed over to the krogan she had shot in the back, "obviously you aren't all that broken up about it." She scoffed at the implication, spitting on one of the dead krogan at her feet. "So what do you want to do now? Head back to your clan on Thuchanka?"
"I have no clan" she said with no feeling in her voice, crossing her arms as she leaned back against the wall. "I left that all behind when I realized all they wanted to do was fight each other and bitch about how the salarians and turians will get what's coming." She began to slowly pace, casually kicking bodies out of her way until she had created an empty lane to walk in. "I might be clanless right now, but one day I'll become powerful enough that others will flock to me and I'll start the Chul clan. It's why I came to Omega. This is the biggest collection of krogan outside of the home planet. I figured if I was going to attract a good mate than this was my best shot."
Shepard snorted, unable to suppress the smile as she spoke. Her drive reminded him of Wrex as he worked to unite the krogan clans into something more. "Was the biggest collection" he observed, earning a punch in the arm from the pacing krogan.
"What a glorious battle though!" she exclaimed, holding both arms out to encompass all the carnage that littered the hallway. "This is the type of fight that stories are made about. All krogan wish their end will be as good as this."
The door to the VIP Lounge chose that moment to open and disgorge it's dangerous inhabitant. Aria slunk from the rook mike a viper searching for its next meal, her head scanning the area for any threats before stowing her weapon as she saw her best contractor standing in a veritable field of Blood Pack bodies. "I absolutely love how through of a job you do Adam"" the asari complimented as she sauntered towards him. Her feet navigating the dead while still allowing ehr to throw extra emphasis on her hips as if there was nothing wrong with the scene around her. "I'll have to arrange for a special bonus for you later" she purred as she grabbed onto his arm, leaning her body into his.
She blinked as she noticed a lone krogan standing unarmed across from them, the hallway bulkhead hiding her bulk previously. "You missed one" the asari observed, confusion in her voice at the obvious oversight. Shrugging, she raised her hand up, a flare slowly forming as she pointed it at the now tense Chul. The krogan's own biotics activated as she gathered her remaining strength, determined to go out fighting at the very least.
"Please stop" the human said, massaging the bridge of his nose with one hand while using his other to point the confused asari's hand towards the floor. "She's not blood pack. She even killed one of them that I was fighting." Chul held her tongue, his statement technically was true, though it omitted some key details.
Aria tilted her head in confusion, staring at the krogan before turning back to Shepard and really looking at the blood dried on the side of his face. "She's the second in command of the blood pack after Garm. Did you get hit in the head harder than normal? Do we need to get you to the turian loving human for a check up?"
"Yes, I was hit in the head a few times, but that isn't the point" Shepard argued, eyes on the prize. "Chul renounced her ties to the Blood Pack and the battle she and I fought was simply something I owed her after the bad ending of our last fight. Besides, you know I heal fast" he explained as he poured some of the water in his bottle over his head and used a sleeve to wipe it off. The two women stared in wonder as the blood washed away, revealing undamaged skin underneath it.
The asari pulled herself away from the human, squaring up across from the krogan as her queen persona began to come to the forefront again. "So what now?" She questioned, hands on her hips as she managed to look down on the bigger being. She ignored the sigh of the infuriating man next to her. He may have caught her at a vulnerable moment but that is no excuse to not be the alpha in the room! "The other group willing to hire you here is gone. What will you bring to the table to make you worthy of working for me?"
Chul simply shook her head, amused that the asari automatically thought she would join up. "I'm not joining your team Queen. I'm joining his" she finished pointing at Shepard as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"What?" the asari questioned in disbelief, her eyebrow twitching at the implied message of someone being stronger than herself.
"You are?" Shepard asked in astonishment, his skin paling as he felt the Queen of Omega's gaze drilling into the side of his head.
Chul rolled her eyes at the confusion over something that should be so obvious to a krogan. "He beat me" she explained slowly, as if to children. "Twice. And he spared me while showing me kindness. Therefore he cares about my well being. That is exactly how a leader of a krantt takes care of his team mates. I will be part of his from now on."
"I'll allow this, only because of him though" Aria said, her nose in the air. "And you" she turned towards Shepard "can forget about me owing you one. We are even now." With her authority firmly back in place, she sauntered back towards the door to the VIP lounge. The new guards at the entrance nodded to her before opening the door and allowing her to enter her new lair.
"That went better than I thought it would have!" the krogan observed happily. "The clans would have demanded blood before letting a clanless into their ranks. Thanks Boss!" she smacked Adam on the back, almost sending him into the ground as he stumbled to right himself.
"Fuck it." the former Spectre mumbled to himself, "I don't care anymore. You know where my office is?" he asked, getting a quick nod from the dinosaur that was now glued to his side. "Go handle your business and report there at 2000 for a meet and greet with the rest of the team." Chul happily nodded before heading off to go collect her belongings from the Blood Pack barracks before the looters arrived. "Bring Booze!" he shouted after her, hoping she heard his final command.
His omnitool buzzed as he began his trek back towards his apartment, a shower and some food in his future. Jien Garson's face appeared as the call connected, his future boss studying his appearance. "You look like shit" she observed, only to begin giggling as he gave her a deadpan stare. "This isn't a social call" she said, bringing herself back under control. "It's time to start contributing to the Initiative and I have something that you're going to need to take the lead on."
"Fine" Adam agreed, too tired to put up and sort of fight. "My team's grown since we've talked, and I need to give you the names to get background checks started on them. Send me the details and I'll check back in after we get underway tonight."
Tonight? Eve messaged him, still plugged in to monitor him even if she wasn't physically present. Why not in the next few hours?
"Because" Adam said out loud as he shuffled back towards his home, knowing she could hear him just fine, "We're not putting off the conversation regarding you and Zoe and longer." He paused, thinking for a second before moving on. "And we're all getting drunk."
A/N: Had a few free hours and wanted to get this out of my head and down on paper before I moved on to other stories. Working on a BioShock/Fallout crossover at the moment before I get back into Galaxy. Hope you all are having an awesome day. Tip for the day: Never use Guinness as a replacement for milk when eating lucky charms before bed. You'll hallucinate… Badly…