W.i.t.G
I'M BACK! xD
Bloody hell... I've finally updated... SUCCESS!
I just want to apologise for not updating sooner; school's been absolutely manic at the moment, and when your teachers decide to shift coursework deadlines to meet THEIR needs, it's safe to say, you lose all hope of having some time to write.
Anyway! I also wanted to say a massive thank you to those of you who have been reading, reviewing, favouriting and following! The last time I checked, this story had well over 9,000 views... To some of you, that won't be a lot, but to someone who never thought their story would get more than 100 views? That's incredible! :D
Eh.. What can I say? I'm a massive softie... Or so I've been told ;)
You guys know the drill, if you have any concerns or worries, just send me a message. I will definitely reply! And keep the reviews coming in, I love seeing them! :D
Time to get our merc killing boots on!
"Wrex, tell me again... Why are we down here?" Chris asked, as he scaled over another outcropping.
A heavy sigh could be heard from the Krogan warrior, before Wrex responded, "I've already told you, we're here to get my family's armor back."
"Right... But, why are we the only two down here then?"
"What part of 'family' don't you understand?"
"The part where we could be potentially outnumbered and out-gunned, simply because we're on our own... Besides, I'm not a Krogan. Why am I down here?" Chris asked, curiosity leaking into his tone.
A sound of exertion could be heard from Wrex, before he grunted his reply, "Because Shepard... You're a warrior. Since I have no family that I can call on, a warrior's the next best thing; you may not be a Krogan, but you can handle yourself on a battlefield, and that's good enough for me. You understand honour Shepard, and that's what I need right now. Someone who understands what's at stake."
Chris was silent for a few moments.
"I won't let you down Wrex, we'll get your family's armor back. I promise."
Wrex merely snorted with mirth as he continued to ascend the rocky hill, "Don't go soft on me, Shepard. Let's just kill this Turian Pyjak, and leave."
Chris didn't reply, as he too clambered up the side of the hill, his metal boots clacking against the loose chips of stone.
After a few more minutes of climbing, the two warriors found themselves at the apex of their climb...
Chris spent just a moment, looking out, as far as his eyes could see, his eyes lapping up his surroundings.
Although Tuntau was a barren, and fairly desolate planet, Chris couldn't help but admire the contrasts in front of him.
A sublime setting. One that reminded him that he was still human.
It was a surrounding that allowed him to simply forget his troubles for a moment, to let him simply be enveloped in the raw power of nature...
The peaks of rocky mountains cut through the murky brown layer that constituted the sky, and the crimson red dirt stood out in contrast to the bland colours all around; great storms of sand raged in one distance, with cracks of lightning striking in another...
'That probably explains why no hostiles appeared on the scanner... They're inside, waiting for the storm to pass.'
Tuntau was a hazardous place, a 'danger-zone'...
The perfect setting for revenge and destruction.
"Shepard! What's the problem?" A deep voice bellowed.
Chris turned around sharply, his eyes finding Wrex's form instantly.
"Nothing... I'm alright, I.. I just lost myself for a moment is all."
Wrex was silent for a moment, before he simply nodded his head in acknowledgement. The large Krogan warrior turned back around, before stomping over to what they had journeyed up the hill for... A simple view.
A view that spanned the entire terrain... A view that was nothing special to the untrained eye.
Chris' eyes however, were far from untrained.
Chris closed his eyes for but a moment, taking a deep and slow breath, in through his nose and out through his mouth...
Once done, the human warrior followed his Krogan companion, ready to scout the area the best way he knew how.
By trusting his instincts.
"Shepard... Why are we up here again?" Wrex tried to whisper, as he laid on the ground, next to Shepard.
Another heavy sigh could be heard from the human.
Chris dropped his sniper rifle just a bit, so his eyes looked over the scope, staring straight ahead, before he replied, " I've already told you, we're up here to scout the area ... We can't do anything until we've got an understanding of the defences of this place, and to find out what we're up against; seeing as we're about to break into a building that has probably got a lot of valuable items in, there has to be some form of security. Got it?"
"Yeah, I understand that... But, why am I up here? Why can't I simply go down there? We've been up here for five minutes, and I'm no closer to regaining my family's honour..."
"What have I just said? You're suggesting that you merely walk into the building, and just take the armor? What about resistance, security... You know, the usual stuff that's to be expected? Have you got a contingency plan? Anything like that?"
"I'm a Krogan, Shepard. I fight and I kill. Simple as that."
Chris simply sighed, before resuming his scanning of the surroundings, his eye carefully pressed up against the scope of his rifle.
"Besides, I thought you would have already charged the place by now, like you did on that asteroid, killing Batarians without a single glance backwards, like a true warrior."
"Yeah well... Sometimes you have to sit back from a situation, and take your time. We have no idea what's in store for us, and my leg's not exactly in perfect condition. I'm going to play more of a support role this mission, while you charge in. Copy?"
A grunt met the Commander's ears.
"I'm taking that as a yes then..." Chris murmured.
"Just hurry up! My plates are tingling, my blood's boiling and my very being is screaming for revenge! I want to get down there and end this!"
"And we will. We just need to wait for the perfect opportunity..."
"Perfect opportunity? What are you talking about?! The Pyjak's only over there!" Wrex exclaimed, with his stubby finger pointing towards the target in question.
After a few moments of agonising silence, Chris placed his sniper rifle in the crooks of two rocks, slowly and carefully, before looking at Wrex.
The commander simply pointed over his shoulder, towards a vicious storm in the distance; cracks of lightning could be seen cascading, and the impacts against the ground created ever increasing thundering booms.
"That's what we're waiting for."
Wrex remained silent. His aged, blood red eyes began to scan quizzically over the landscape, as Chris continued.
"The first thing I was taught in Infiltrator training was to always look out for natural hazards. Storms, floods, ravines... They can either be a useful ally, or an untimely enemy. We've got the element of surprise on our side, and we're going to make nature our ally this time. They won't know what's hit them before it's too late ... I've got a plan."
Wrex remained silent for just a moment, before his toothy maw split into a grin, "I knew it."
"You knew what?"
"I knew it was a good idea asking you Shepard... I can taste that Turian's blood on my lips already!"
The commander said nothing, merely picking his sniper rifle back up again, before placing it on the left side of his back. With a grunt, Shepard lifted himself off of the ground.
Extending his hand down to the Krogan beside him, Chris couldn't help but smirk, "Every marine might be a rifleman, but this marine knows how to get shit done."
Wrex's blood red eyes looked upwards, his gaze lingering on the outstretched hand ...
With a serious expression plastered on Wrex's face, the Krogan warrior clasped his hand with the human's, taking the offered assistance.
Once both warriors were on their feet, Wrex looked towards the building in question. A second glance back at the storm in the distance was all that Wrex needed, before he nodded his head in silent acknowledgement.
"Where do you need me?"
The human commander simply pointed into the distance, as he began to explain his plan; his Krogan compatriot stony once more.
With the touch of a button, the external communication servers inside the compound were scrambled.
With another touch a button, the other forms of security detection, such as cameras and motion detectors, were placed on a loop.
Another touch of a button and the other key functions of the compound: lighting, schematics and pass-codes, were now in the commander's possession.
With a final touch, the locking mechanism on the front door was no more.
'Geez... This guy must have a lot of credits worth of collector's items in here... This security software's pretty high-grade stuff.' Chris mused, as he moved away from the external control box, before giving the all clear for Wrex to move up.
Within a few moments, the Krogan appeared before the commander.
"Is the Mako safe?" Chris inquired, his fingers dancing across the orange Holo-graphic display of his omni-tool once more.
"Yeah. It's all locked up and in a safe place. The storm won't touch it." Wrex replied distantly, his eyes fixated on the large metal door.
"Are we good?" The Krogan said, punctuating his question by rapping his gauntlet very gently against the metal frame of the compound, creating a dull, clanging noise.
Chris was distant in his reply, as he brought up the necessary information to contact the Normandy, "Yeah. Although, it did have a pretty complex tumbling algorithm... That took me quite a few attempts to get past. Tali could have probably have done it first time round, I guess..."
Wrex didn't reply; his soft smile expressing everything you needed to know.
A couple of seconds later, another clicking sound could be heard from the commander's omni-tool. At that moment, someone began to speak.
It wasn't who Chris was expecting to talk to though...
A warbled voice met his ears.
"Chris!"
"Uhh.. Tali?" Chris replied slowly, his tone tinged with surprise.
"Yeah, I'm here! Are you and Wrex okay down there? ... Do you need any help?"
"No, no... We're okay. Hang on... Where are you Tali? Are you in Engineering?"
"Umm... No. I'm sat with Joker at the moment... In the cockpit..."
"HEY COMMANDER! Just wanted to let you know that Tali and I are having the times of our lives up here, waiting for you and Big Red to hurry up!" Joker shouted through the comms, as Tali began to softly giggle.
"Okay... Tali, does Adams know you're not down in Engineering?"
"Yeah, he does. Because we're waiting on an update in the scanning software to finish, and because there aren't any other jobs for me to do, he said I could take a break. So that's what I'm doing... Sitting with Joker, 'on my break'."
"Ouch... That sounds painful..." Chris muttered, as he began to softly chuckle, earning a disapproving glare from Wrex.
"I HEARD THAT!" Joker shouted once more, with Tali's giggling only intensifying.
"Storm's gonna be right on top of us in less than 2 minutes Shepard! Tell the Quarian to get off of the comm, so we can get inside!" Wrex bluntly said, his whole body turning around to face the storm.
"Alright, alright! Just give me a minute!" Chris hotly answered back.
Wrex simply sighed as he began to walk towards the metal door.
Chris shook his head, to gain some form of focus again. The storm was getting closer, and communications were getting patchy. With one final look at the approachning storm, the commander began quickly speaking.
"Tal! Let Joker know that Wrex and I are going off grid for a while. There's a storm coming this way, and we're getting inside the compound before our communications are cut off. Joker'll know what to do if he doesn't hear from me in an hour. Copy?"
The comms were silent for a moment.
"Yeah... I.. I copy." Tali quietly replied.
There was another silence, before Tali spoke up one last time, her words extremely severe and delivering a sharp emotional impact.
"Just... Please... Be safe."
Chris' answer was immediate, a soft smile splitting his lips, "I will. Don't worry about me. Worry about Wrex..."
"30 SECONDS SHEPARD!" A deep voice boomed in the background.
"I've got to go Tali! I'll see you back on the Normandy!"
Before Tali could even reply, the comms were shut off, and Chris darted towards the now open doorway.
With only moments to spare, before the full power of the storm hit, Chris dived into the compound.
Taking just a second to gain control of his senses, Chris pushed himself up off of the ground, his adrenaline starting to kick in.
Once fully stood up, and with his sniper rifle drawn, the commander looked for his Krogan companion.
Stood just at the side of the next doorway, was Wrex, his shotgun in hand.
Chris ran over to Wrex, taking up position on the other side of the doorway.
Nothing was said for a moment, both warriors merely checking their weapons and armor.
It was Wrex that spoke first, his voice relatively subdued, "So. We're in. Now what?"
A small smirk crept its way onto Chris' face, his armor's VI telling him his sniper rifle's mods were fully enabled, "Now... Now the fun begins... I hope your stealth's up to scratch. We're going to sneak in, and take them out, one by one, nice and easy. Textbook manoeuvre."
"Well, that's not going to happen. Krogan's don't 'sneak'. We fight, and we kill." Came the blunt reply.
Chris was taken aback for a moment, before he mentally face-palmed, 'Of course... He's a fucking Krogan! Why would he need to be stealthy?! Good going, Jackass! Plan A's completely and utterly screwed!'
"Uhh... Okay... Looks like we're going with plan B then..." Chris quietly mumbled, his face turning slightly red.
"We have a plan B?" Wrex responded, a small chuckle emanating from his toothy maw.
"Yeah, you could say that..."
And with that, the commander moved quietly across to his Krogan companion, presenting the stolen compound's schematics on his omni-tool to help explain his recently made up plan.
'I'm such a fucking idiot... Plan B my ass... ' Chris mentally face-palmed for the seventh time in the space of two minutes. Once his next destination was in sight, he moved slowly and gently, gliding into the deep recesses of the cover he desired, his tactical cloak shimmering slightly with the small movements.
Shadows were an Infiltrator's best friend after all.
Disengaging his cloak for a moment, to allow for a temporary recharge, the commander took in a deep, but silent intake of breath. Once his cloak had been charged sufficiently, he peaked his head over the box he was currently hiding behind.
It was safe to say, plan B wasn't exactly going according to plan...
For one, the amount of security in the main room, and hallway's was beyond anything the Normandy duo had expected. All in all, six hostiles, two men to a patrol had been encountered and swiftly neutralised before Chris had even reached the main room of the compound, slowing the commander down more than he had hoped.
After that, once the hallway's had been cleared, Wrex had been told only via omni-message to move up slowly and quietly. It was too risky for any form of verbal communication. They were deep within the hornet's nest; it would not be exactly wise to give the hornet's any form of warning or reason.
Instead of Wrex being the spearhead of the assault, it was down to the injured commander to carve a route.
A route that would find him the best vantage point for his objective.
Plan B after all was to take out the Turian that Wrex's blood was boiling to murder. Wrex hadn't been particularly enthusiastic with the idea of Shepard being the one to eliminate Tonn Actus, but the promise of a bigger battle satiated the Krogan to some extent.
Once Actus had been killed, the disordered commotion that was sure to follow would prove to be the key moment of the compound's downfall...
Simply because, there would be an extremely pissed off Krogan waiting for each and every one of the remaining Merc's.
Chris hadn't lied when he said he'd be playing a support role. After all, Wrex needed to gain his family's honour back somehow, and what better way than to completely murder a room full of mercenaries who had dishonoured his family in the first place?
The commander's eyes scanned the room, the armor's VI highlighting certain objects of interest, such as explosives and drones, as well as showing the best possible path to take to avoid any hostiles.
After a few moments, the commander ducked his head down, disengaging his cloak as he did so. All the information he needed had been collected.
Shepard silently looked upwards, towards a balcony above his head.
Three scanning sniper rifle's were sweeping over the room, different snipers focusing on their designated zones, with what appeared to be a rotational pattern in place. The snipers were obviously well trained. Professionals even.
'Huh... Professional Merc's. You don't see them everyday...' Chris mused, his eyes taking on a twinkling quality as he looked over his shoulder one more time, the adrenaline of the situation simply fuelling his very being.
At that moment, a sharp twitch of pain shot through the commander's leg, causing him to wince in agony.
Chris shrunk back into the shadows, holding his breath, simply hoping his sharp intake of breath hadn't been too audible.
After a few nerve-wrecking moments, with the commander's heart booming in his chest and the blood pounding in his ears, Shepard slowly released the breath he was holding.
After another a few moments, with no apparent reaction from the guards, Shepard simply thanked whoever was watching over him, before he started to slowly move towards the entrance to the stairs, around 10 feet away.
The stairs that would grant him access to the best seat in the show.
Actus' tragic demise.
Three minutes had passed before the commander had made it to the staircase.
'Better to be safe than sorry...'
With his mind focused, and the handle of his combat knife firmly in his grip, Chris turned around the corner, his cloak disengaged.
What met him however, was a helmet, inches from his own.
Both soldiers stood dumbly for a moment, simply looking at the other in total surprise.
It was the other soldier, however, who reacted first.
Instead of trying to warn his fellow guards that there was an unknown intruder, the large brute of a soldier decided to take matters into his own hands.
Literally.
With his sniper rifle now being brandished as a club of sorts, the large Merc swung at the commander, hoping to land a dizzying blow.
It was to no avail.
With movements as fluid as flowing water, Shepard dodged the incoming blow, rolling to the side. What came next ended any chances of the Merc seeing his pay-check ever again.
One single strike is all it took. The blade of the commander's knife was jammed into the side of the Merc's neck, the rubber neck guard serving as very little protection, severing a major artery. Arterial blood spray began to spurt out, coating the commander's helmet. With a ripping motion, Shepard sliced the blade across, the serrated edges simply ripping into skin. Once the Merc's throat had been completely destroyed, Shepard removed his knife quickly, before placing his hand over the wound, preventing the sounds of the man's last dying gurgle from reaching anybody else.
He would simply die alone, with no one but the commander knowing his fate.
Shepard was neither fazed, nor repulsed.
It was simply a matter of life and death.
Kill, or be killed.
Once the large Merc's body had stopped moving completely, Chris removed his hand from the wound, and brought the Merc slowly to the floor, to rest against the wall.
With an unceremonious wipe of his hand on the dead Merc's helmet, the commander continued up the stairs.
After traversing the last few steps, the commander came to a halt on the landing of the balcony.
To his left was another door, with one sniper just about to enter.
On his right was a single lone sniper, scanning the room on his own.
'Perfect...'
The commander sheathed his knife, before activating his cloak.
With gliding steps, Shepard silently approached his prey.
In just an instant, the Merc's life was simply extinguished.
His entire childhood, his teenage years, his first kiss as an adult, his entire life simply came to an abrupt end...
The commander placed his large hands on the side of the Merc's helmet, twisting violently to the side... The sound of brutal snapping was somewhat muted due to the storm outside.
'Nature's a bitch, and I'm a bastard.'
Shepard carefully dropped the body to the floor, resting it up against a pillar.
Once done, the commander equipped his sniper rifle after adopting a low crouch, balancing the barrel of the rifle just over the edge of the balcony, hidden to some extent by any prying eyes.
He had maybe five minutes, maximum, before the other sniper came to carry on his duties.
Five minutes to kill Actus. Get Wrex's armor. Get out. Simple.
Bringing the scope of the rifle to his visor, the commander played the waiting game.
Lady Luck however, was feeling generous.
It was only a minute later that the bastard Turian in question made his triumphant appearance.
Tonn Actus was clad in a deep blue armor, with what appeared to be a gold trim around the borders. The Turian simply exuded self-conceited pride and arrogance, his eyes lingering on items he brazenly flaunted around the room.
'Heck, maybe I'm doing the entire Galaxy a favour, not just Wrex...'
Actus began to move around the room, a snivelling Asari at his side as he relayed his orders, the Merc's in front of him coming to pathetic salutes...
'Yeah, I'm definitely doing the Galaxy a favour...'
Chris took in a slow but deep intake of breath, before exhaling seconds afterwards.
Now was his chance.
Actus had stopped before some painting he had no doubt stolen, his Asari assistant frantically scribbling down his precise instructions, to the very letter...
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Actus turned his head to the side, a perfect opportunity for the assassin in question...
Breathe in. Breathe out.
The commander's finger began to graze the trigger, the blood pounding in his ears, as his VI began to tell him to take the shot, it was now or never!
Breathe in.
With his eyes closed, the commander gently pulled the trigger sending the tiny projectile hurtling towards Actus' skull.
Breathe out.
Fire and forget.
What came next however, brought an entirely new meaning...
The mod's the commander had equipped to his sniper rifle, prior to touching down on Tuntau, had changed the plan entirely.
The piercing mod, and explosive mod equipped, did more damage than previously anticipated.
When Chris opened his eyes again, he was met with a gruesome sight...
Tonn Actus was simply no more.
His entire skull had been demolished completely, blue blood permeating in the air, with bits of his fringe having blown everywhere... His Asari assistant faired no better. The side of her head was missing, her skull having caved inwards from the impact of the shot. Purple and blue blood symbolically mixed over the tattered ruins of the once beautiful painting.
Their lifeless corpses simply crumpled to the ground.
Chris' mouth opened ever so slightly, with a tiny whisper escaping from his pursed lips.
"Aww fuck..."
Then, the party began.
As soon as Actus had fallen dead, the Merc's were in complete disbelief, some ducking to the ground, hoping to avoid any other exploding shells, with others merely aiming their rifles at each other.
Chris slid slowly down the wall he had been hiding behind, placing his 'cannon' on the left side of his back.
As he closed his eyes once more, his leg starting to burn with a ferocious pain, the commander equipped his dual pistols.
Waiting...
Lucky for the assassin, he did not have to wait long.
After only a few moments, the door to the main room burst open, with a livid Krogan being the product of its destruction.
In the fire fight that ensued, Chris learnt the true meaning of 'blood rage'.
Wrex gave no quarter.
He swathed in and out of his enemies, whacking and smacking the unfortunate Merc's close to him with his meaty arms, his shotgun unloading at close range into the faces of his enemies, creating bloody pulps that were once human beings.
It was pure, unfiltered carnage.
But he didn't do it alone.
From the balcony, Chris provided cover fire, firing his dual hand-cannons at any unfortunate soul who tried to ambush the lumbering Krogan warrior.
It was a massacre...
But it had to be done.
For the sake of honour.
For the sake of duty.
For the sake of friendship.
Once it was all over, Wrex, covered in different shades of blood, simply signalled for the commander to come and join him, to be present for the accomplishment of their toils.
"You did it Shepard!" Wrex exclaimed in happiness, his arms stretched wide, a footlocker at the base of his feet.
"No Wrex, we did it." Chris softly chuckled, his hands coming up to remove his blood soaked helmet.
Wrex merely grinned like a contented child, his eyes wild with glee.
"Is that it?" Shepard asked in a curious tone, his arm wiping away a large bead of sweat from his forehead.
"Yes... This, THIS is what my ancestors fought with almost 3,000 years ago Shepard! This is a physical embodiment of all of the hardships my family, my clan has endured!" Wrex said, his voice petering out at the end, almost as if he was in the presence of a holy relic.
"It looks dinged to shit to me." Chris bluntly said.
Wrex didn't reply verbally, a mere snort of contempt was the only indication Chris received.
A few moments passed, before Wrex spoke up, his voice quiet but humble, "Thank you Shepard... This.. This means a lot to me."
"Don't be going soft on me, Wrex. You asked for a favour, and you've got it." Chris replied, a wicked grin on his lips.
Wrex's toothy maw opened wide, a bellowing laugh escaping his lips, as he punched the human warrior's arm jovially.
"You're alright Shepard!"
Chris chuckled as he regained his balance from the mighty shove he had received.
The two warriors were quiet once more, before Chris spoke up, "So... The storm sounds like it's still going strong... Look's like we'll have to wait it out."
"Look's like it."
"Huh... So! You're a pretty old guy Wrex, you must have some fairly interesting stories, right?"
The Krogan warrior was silent for a moment, before his blood red eyes rose to meet Chris' emerald green ones.
"Yeah... I do. Seeing as you've done me a favour, I'll do you this one. There was this one time, where I was hired to assassinate this Turian by this Volus Diplomat, but I ran into another Merc, an Asari called Aleena..."
So! There you have it! Wrex's armor all sorted, with a nice little story telling to finish it all off! ;)
Leave a review if you enjoyed this chapter guys, or if you're enjoying the story on the whole!
Cheers guys! :D