"-defense towers." Alenko was looking out the window at the planet below us.
"Drop us out of the way. We'll take them down on our way to where the salarians' distress beacon is." I murmured to Joker. "Keep the Normandy out of their range."
Once we touched land, I started climbing out. "Kaidan, you take the driver's seat. Focus on keeping the mako intact, if you please, but try to take out the towers best you can."
"Where are you going?" Liara's hand darted forward, grasping my wrist.
"Oh, don't worry about me." Slipping free, I cloaked and jumped, soundlessly landing on top of the vehicle.
He drove carefully enough, like an old man really, that I was able to hold myself steady and have my sniper at the ready.
Several pockets of geth, a few colossus, and two bases with defense towers on top of them later, and we were cruising toward the signal, the Normandy heading that way, too.
Joker came over comms again, saying the ship was grounded. That I'd have to ask the team's captain, when we got there. That didn't bode well.
A salarian met us at the edge of their camp.
"Kirrahe?"
"Viridian?"
We spoke at the same time.
"Small universe. He's STG, Third Infiltration Regiment." A quick introduction to my companions. "So, what's the situation?"
"Every AA tower within ten miles has been alerted to your presence- you landed in a hot zone, friend."
"What now?"
"We could wait for the reinforcements we requested from the Council- Wait." He let out a sigh. "You're the reinforcements, aren't you?"
"One human Spectre, with a side of crew, all for you." I singsonged.
"No offense, but I lost half my men investigating this place."
"My condolences." I offered quietly. "What did you learn?"
"Saren's base of operations." Well, no one ever said visions showed the seer everything. "He's set up a research facility here, but the geth are crawling all over it, and it's very well-fortified."
"Research?" A flash of a vision- Wrex pointing his shotgun at me. Oh. Okay. "Genophage?"
"One day, you're going to tell me how you know everything." A shake of his head. "He's breeding an army of krogan."
As if on cue, Wrex stepped forward. "How's that possible?"
"He has a cure." I stated bluntly.
"The geth are bad, but a krogan army?"
I thought he was going to hit Kaidan.
"Exactly my thoughts. We must ensure that this facility, and its secrets, are destroyed."
"Wrex, take a walk!" I said, having darted between him and Kirrahe. Hands on this shoulders to keep him back, stopping him from killing the guy.
We all watched in silence as he shrugged me off and stomped away.
"That went well!" I clapped my hands, breaking through everyone's thoughts.
"Is he going to be a problem? We've got enough angry krogan to deal with."
"Ah, he'll be fine." I hoped. "Leave him to me."
He nodded, eyes returning to me. "My men and I are going to rethink our plan of attack. That should give you enough time." A gesture toward one of the tents. "If you need any supplies, you can talk to Rentola."
"He's here, too? Man, it really is a small universe."
We parted ways after my comment, half my people heading straight for that tent. Liara and Garrus stuck close, as if afraid we'd get ambushed. Or Wrex might attack me. Which, from what I'd seen, was a perfectly reasonable fear to have.
My first stop was, of course, my favorite krogan.
Watching our approach from the corner of his eye, he began speaking. "This isn't right, Shepard. If there's a cure for the genophage, we can't destroy it."
"Wrex-"
"Saren created a cure for my people. You want to destroy it. You've been a friend to me for years, but the line between friend and foe is a little blurry where I'm standing."
"Wrex-"
"You've done more for me than my family ever did. I need-"
I stepped forward, spinning him around. Getting in his face. "Wrex, you interrupt me again, and I swear to Akatosh, I'll headbutt you."
He growled, leaning in, but didn't say anything further.
"Thank you." I said, relaxing a little. "Let me see how this plays out, yeah?"
A sharp nod.
I slipped into the vision, narrating it quietly so that no one outside our little group could overhear.
The krogan were mindless, empty shells with the bloodthirsty urge to kill. And they were promised all the victims they could want. This, regardless of them being without the genophage, was not a cure by any stretch of the imagination. These krogan were no better than the husks the geth made.
A wave of dizziness washed over me, and I fell backwards, the turian catching me from behind.
A calendar, showing three years from now, the month blurred out. A strange, not-snow falling from the sky, a tower releasing it. Whatever it was. Krogan poured out of every building, wanting- needing- to be exposed to it.
The true cure for the genophage.
Another time-skip, shorter this time, a dozen krogan children running around. Playing and having fun.
I came back to myself, immediately reaching up to wipe my nose.
"Viridian, are you alright?" Liara was looking at me with concern.
"Yeah. I'm okay. Seeing so far takes a toll. It's harder to put all the pieces together that lead up to it, so all we usually get is just the outcome, not the decisions before it." I carefully straightened, standing on my own two feet. A glance back at Garrus. "Thanks."
"Shepard..." I looked to Wrex, watching the warring emotions playing across his face. "Three years?"
"Yeah."
He took a deep breath. "Alright. I'll follow your lead on this."
"Glad you didn't resort to your shotgun. That would've sucked."
He laughed, clapping me on the back. "You would've dodged."
"Would you really have headbutted him?" The asari asked as we walked away.
"I've done it before, to other krogan." A shrug. "Only when they piss me off. And I don't like being interrupted."
"What's an Akatosh?" Garrus asked.
"He's one of the Nine gods that are worshipped, where I'm from. Akatosh, Arkay, Dibella, Julianos, Mara, Stendarr, Talos, and Zenithar. There's different pantheons, but that's the one I follow." I listed them off. "There's also the Daedric Princes, but that's a whole other list." I stretched my arms over my head, smiling. I liked talking about home. I missed it.
"Daedric Princes?" It was funny, listening to him stumble over the word. "Are they gods, too?"
"Kind of. They include some bad people. Like, there's one, Namira, for all things repulsive. Their followers tend to be cannibals. Like to have their celebrations in their honor include eating flesh of their own races." I stifled my smile, maintaining a straight face, so they'd both know I was serious. "I like Meridia, they stand for every living thing. Azura, they maintain balance between night and day. Hircine is a favorite of mine- Prince of the hunt and sport, among other things. My main, and all-time favorite, patron Daedric Prince, however, is Nocturnal. They're the Prince of night and darkness and all things secretive. The difference between a cloud covering the moon's light the moment a thief is about to be discovered. Luck, stealth, they're both attributed toward Nocturnal."
"I'm surprised I haven't heard of any of those gods before." He mused.
"Oh, it's not generally talked about outside of my country. Other countries don't talk about theirs, either, for the most part. Unless they're from the Aldmeri Dominion." I rolled my eyes. "They try to push their religion on anything that exists. And police who you can worship from your own pantheon."
"Aldmeri... Dominion?"
"Yeah. Like I've said before: I'm not from around here." With that, I went into the tent with Rentola. "Hey! Fancy meeting you here. Have my people cleaned you out of supplies?"
"They just about did."
"You charge them a bit extra?"
"Yeah." A nod. "You know how it is."
"Just making sure." A grin. "Plus, I wanted to see how you were doing. Been a while since we've crossed paths."
"I'm doing well, especially with Kirrahe as my commanding officer."
"Good, good." I jerked my thumb over my shoulder. "Gonna go see if Kirrahe is done yet. See what our next move is."
"That was... awkward." Liara commented.
"Yeah. He's not one for words."
It wasn't far, he was two tents down.
"I talked to Wrex. He's good."
"Thank you for speaking to him. The assault on Saren's base will be difficult enough as it is."
"So, what's the plan?"
"We can convert our ship's drive system into a twenty-kiloton ordnance. Crude, but effective."
I- That would definitely work.
"Drop that nuke from orbit, and Saren can kiss his turian ass goodbye." Ashley said, having walked up. Along with all the others.
I rolled my eyes at her choice of words.
"Unfortunately, the facility is too well-fortified for that. We'll need to place the bomb at a precise location."
"Too difficult for one person to sneak in alone?"
"Yes." His expression was deadpan.
"Okay. So, I'm assuming you have a location in mind already?"
"The far side of the facility. Your ship can drop it off, but we'll need to infiltrate the base, disable the AA guns, and pacify any ground forces first." He motioned toward his men. "I'm going to divide my men into three teams and hit the front of the facility. While we've got their attention, you can sneak your 'shadow' team in the back."
I nodded, tilting my head as I thought it over. "I'll give you some of my people, to bolster your teams. They're all good at what they do. Should keep your guys from getting slaughtered out there."
"That's alright. I don't expect many of us will make it out alive."
My eyes narrowed as I stepped forward. "I'm not letting your men die unnecessarily, and that's final. You're taking my people."
He held up his hands. "Fine, fine. I was going to suggest one of your people to accompany me, anyway. To help coordinate the teams."
"Good." I motioned for my team to come forward. "Any requests?"
"I volunteer." Kaidan spoke before the salarian could.
Ashley's voice came next. "Not so fast, LT. Shepard will need you to arm the nuke. I'll go with the salarians."
I'd need Kaidan, specifically, to arm the bomb? I didn't know that.
"With all due respect, Gunnery Chief, it's not your place to decide."
"Why is it that whenever someone says 'with all due respect,' they really mean 'kiss my ass'?"
I raised my voice over theirs. "Do you have any requests?"
"They both seem willing to sacrifice their lives if necessary, though if we are lucky, such sacrifices won't be required."
Out of everyone, those two seemed to have some kind of chips on their shoulders, regarding sacrificing themselves in the name of the mission. They were also the only two who'd spoken up.
"Williams, you'll accompany the captain. No heroics, understood?" I leveled a look at her.
"Aye, aye, Shepard."
"I will have the ordinance loaded onto the Normandy and brief your crew on its detonation sequencing."
I gestured toward Kaidan. "You'll stay behind, make sure everything goes according to plan with the bomb."
He pursed his lips, but didn't argue.
Returning my attention to Kirrahe. "What are the other teams called?"
"Aegohr, Mannovai, and Jaeto. They were the initial settlements on our first three colony worlds. They are the heart of salarian territory to this day. I will be with Aegohr."
I nodded slowly. "Since Ashley will be with Aegohr, Tali, you go with Mannovai. Liara, you're with Jaeto. Wrex and Garrus will be with me. Any objections?"
Everyone nodded. If they had any protests, they kept them to themselves.
"Good. Let's get started."
He broke off to talk to his men.
"Well, this is it. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone, LT. You too, Shepard." Her words struck me as odd.
"We'll be fine. You'll see." Kaidan assured her.
"Yeah, I just... good luck."
"You okay?" I asked quietly.
"I don't know. I- It's just weird. I know it's only been a few days, but going under someone else's command... I've gotten used to working with you... all of you."
"Don't worry, we'll see you on the other side." Another attempt at reassuring her.
"I know. I, ah... It's been an honor serving with you, Shepard."
I'd always been told to trust a gut instinct. If hers was telling her something was going to go wrong... Well, I'd be foolish to ignore it.
"We'll be okay." I put a hand on her shoulder, looking directly into her eyes. "You'll see. It'll all be okay. Besides, we're still on the same team, just branching out a little."
"Of course, Shepard."
"Good." A glance toward the salarians, as they shouted their battle cries when Kirrahe was done with his speech. "It's showtime."
