MASS EFFECT: WINTER EYES
CHAPTER 8: KROGAN RETALIATION
Garrus didn't hesitate to get any words in before he dove to take cover behind the center table. Wrex squeezed the trigger of his shotgun and the rounds took out the terminal screen that was behind the turian's previous position. Shards of the screen shattered everywhere, and alarms began to ring within the ship. "Come out and face me, you coward!" Wrex roared in frustration of the missed shot. "I knew that you would backstab me in the end!"
Vakarian eyed his sniper rifle's location off to the side. It was propped up against the ship's wall of where he came in; closer to the furious krogan's position. Wrex noticed his glance around the table and followed his eyes, picking up on the cue. A wicked smile went across his lips, he turned the barrel of his weapon at the sniper rifle and fired. The impact shattered the prized gun into pieces. "Hah! Not this time, Vakarian." Wrex turned his attention back to his named foe.
Garrus groaned and pressed his back against the table again. He knew that his improvised cover would not really stand a shotgun assault. He had to think fast. "I really loved that gun." His heart was racing as he tried to think of some way out of this predicament. Going up against a krogan was never ideal, especially in close quarters. He eyed his friends who stood frozen from the crazed spectacle. "I really think we need to talk about this, Wrex!" He called out to his friend, his voice quivering from being in full panic mode.
"Keelah! Please, Wrex! Calm down!" Tali pleaded to her old squadmate, trying her best not to redirect his rage in her direction.
Wrex turned to address her plea. Seeing the opportunity of him letting his guard down slightly, Liara launched a biotic attack. The dark energy sphere knocked the shotgun out of the krogan's hand and slammed it into the ground thirty feet away. Liara stood in her position as dark energy swirled around her should another attack be warranted. Her body tensed up even more as the surprised krogan looked at her in emotional pain. The snap in him was very scary. The only time she noticed him to be dangerous was when they were on Virmire. Wrex learned that Saren was breeding krogan at the facility to find a way to cure the genophage. The salarian STG and Shepard determined that the facility was a threat, so its demise was essential. Wrex disagreed and squared up against the former commander. The genophage cure was a far cry for the krogan. They suffered for far too long. Guns were drawn and at one point it seemed that one of the two would be killed from the debate. Finally, Wrex lowered his weapon and agreed to Shepard's merits of her argument. The facility's research was not meant to help the krogan race and the krogan created were not true to his race. Whatever the trigger was this time, ignited a wildfire within their old friend and he had every intention then and there to kill Garrus. As she watched her other friend flee for his life, she wondered what could have Garrus done to provoke pure blood rage? Wrex looked at her as if she betrayed him as well. "That's how it's going to be, Liara? Hmm?" He disbanded the need for the shotgun and roared loudly as he charged at Garrus' location.
Hearing his thundering footsteps approaching, Garrus quickly stood up from his position and darted to the right to gain more distance. "Crap!"
Tali screamed as she watched him, not wanting to bring him down with her own weapon that she placed in her arms. "Wrex! Stop it!"
The furious krogan had no intentions in stopping his assault. He ignored the quarian's demand and turned to where Garrus went. A biotic stasis engulfed his body, grinding him to a halt, ten feet away from his prey. He strained to move and managed to turn his head to the left as much as he could to see Miranda glaring at him with her palm up hand facing his direction. Her body was swirling with a purple aurora from the dark energy build up. "That's far enough." She said.
His plight would not stop him. Wrex growled loudly and pushed with all his might against the biotic hold, his sheer strength broke free from the stasis within seconds. He activated his biotic implant and turned on the dark-haired woman. Using the dark energy, he managed to launch a push attack that caught Miranda Lawson off-guard. She slammed into the room's right wall, momentarily losing consciousness as her head made contact with the hard structure. A slight groan escaped her lips as her body collapsed to the floor. "Miranda!" Tali moved to check on her friend.
"Wrex, stop it!" Garrus growled at him as he clenched his fists. He knew it was risky to go up against the krogan unarmed, but he had to do something.
The leader of Clan Urdnot dared not to listen as he returned his focus on him. "I will when you are dead!"
Liara dashed to place herself between the waring pair. Her blue eyes glared hard at Wrex as her body continued to glow from the purple hue. "Wrex, stand down!" Liara hissed threateningly at him as she readied herself for another attack. "I'm an Asari Commando. You know what I'm capable of doing."
Seeing her pitting herself against him to protect Garrus seemed to hurt Wrex and he stopped in midstride. "Liara!" He gaped at her, becoming appalled at what side she was sticking to. "This doesn't concern you! Don't make me- "
"Garrus is our friend, Wrex!" She held her stance, not moving her eyes away from him to check on the turian behind her. She prayed to the goddess that he didn't dare do anything foolish. It seemed now that she had Wrex's devoted attention. "You need to tell us what is going on. Why are you attacking him?!"
"The question of the hour…" Garrus muttered under his breath.
"Why don't you ask him why his kind murdered Bakara and half of my brood along with three hundred other krogan?!" Wrex boomed back.
The news shocked the entire room's occupants. All stared at him with blank stares. Liara's posture flinched. Her eyes and mouth became wider. "What…. I…how can that…Glyph?!"
The spherical droid hovered closer to them. "Dr. T'Soni. Urdnot Wrex is correct in his statement. The report that came in for you addressed an attack on the krogan settlement on Korlus."
Wrex pulled up his omni tool to retrieve the message that he received minutes before the attack in their room. "A message was captured minutes before the settlement went silent. A turian dreadnought was detected just outside the planet's atmosphere."
"Spirits…." Garrus' mandible twitched slightly as he listened in, trying to process the reasoning behind his species' abrupt attack. After the Reaper War, he was placed as one of the top military advisors to the new Primarch. If there was any movement with their navy, then he would be the first to know. How did this one slip by?
"Message?" Liara quizzically looked at Wrex. "What message?"
Wrex brooded as he tapped his omni to open the communication he received. "This was communication that was captured directly from the dreadnought," His red eyes stared hard back at Garrus. "The turian dreadnought," He emphasized angrily.
"This is Admiral Vorious Procdos of the 7thfleet. Cease and desist any hostile aggression."
"Aggression?" Miranda spoke up as she listened in.
"I should have seen this coming. The krogan have earned the respect of the other races! We have saved your asses from the rachni and the reapers! The turians don't like the idea of us settling outside of Tuchanka…they fear us. They will do more than fear us now!" Wrex fumed.
"Wrex…I…I'm sorry for the loss of Bakara and your children…I can't even imagi- "Liara softly said as she released the hold of the dark energy and reached out to gently touch his arm to console him.
The krogan retracted coldly from her quickly. "Don't bother. I don't need the sympathy of an asari."
His comment came off jagged like from a serrated blade. She blinked at him in hurt. "What about a friend?" He ignored her question.
"Wait…Admiral Procdos?" Garrus piped up as he finally remembered hearing that name before.
"You recognize him, Garrus?" Tali walked over to join the team.
"Good. Lead him to me so I can pull his spine right after of his body." Wrex seethed.
"Admiral Procdos of the 7th fleet went missing a few years back including his entire crew on the outer rim. He was sent on a scouting mission to check on the gang activity in the Terminus. We had information coming in that the Eclipse were vamping up their artillery and were planning on striking several turian colonies. Weeks later, the dreadnought went missing and nothing found on the Eclipse in that sector. We assumed it was a well-orchestrated pirate attack." A beat. "What if he went rogue…" Vakarian' s voice faded out as his mind raced to find the answer behind the surprise deadly attack on Korlus. "I never met him on Palaven…but nothing came through on his psych profile." Another breath as he turned to face his friend. "I'll admit that a lot of turians were not happy with the Primarch's decision to agree to the cure of the genophage. They still respected his decision and I can't believe there would be a splinter cell from the Hierarchy to change things now. I need to contact the Primarch." He moved towards the terminal to motion for Liara's aid to assist him on it.
"I trust you, Garrus." Wrex admitted. "I don't trust the rest of your kind. I'm going back to Tuchanka." He turned to head back out of the room to where the shuttle was, scooping up his shotgun along the way.
"Wrex," Liara called after him as she quickened her step to catch up to him. "Please don't do anything rash. We need to talk to the Primarch and see what he knows first. Garrus is right."
Wrex glanced slightly at her but continued his pace. "Talking is over with, Liara. Baraka and my children died today. I won't let the turians decide our fate again."
"You can't go to war with the turians, Wrex." Tali hurried over to join up with them.
"Try and stop me." Wrex countered threateningly as he swatted Liara away with his arm.
Defeated, Liara and Tali moved back to the main room. The asari moved purposefully towards her droid. "Glyph, bring up the schematics for the settlement on Korlus." Seconds later, the holo image of the colony displayed at the center table.
"Defense canons were in place. They should have neutralized the dreadnought." Garrus pointed out.
"If they were online." Miranda countered as she held her throbbing head.
"Why wouldn't they be?" Tali questioned the ex-Cerberus operative.
"I'm sure the Turian navy would have known what type of defenses that the colony had prior to the attack."
"If it was the Turian Navy," Garrus interjected cautiously. He didn't like the idea that his government was quick to be blamed. Not like he could judge the others. Things didn't look too well for them and him. He couldn't blame Wrex for his reaction. It wasn't like it was the first time that the krogan were betrayed by the turians. He just couldn't see the Primarch signing off on this. He was opposed to Shepard's idea for a truce between the two races and the cure for the genophage when she went up against the reapers. However, he knew that they didn't have a choice. Despite his feelings, he was honorable and wouldn't go against his word. Did admiral Procdos go rogue? Did he have help? How far did the betrayal go? Up the military chain? Were the salarians once again in on this? He didn't want to place blame until he knew for sure, but the amphibious looking race were experts in surveillance and espionage. They could have easily infiltrated the colony and gained knowledge to send to Procdos. All in all, it was bad timing. It seemed that just like the geth and quarians, the turians and krogan picked the wrong time to reopen an old festering wound.
"We need to beat the krogan there. Wrex probably called ships there to find out what happened. Glyph, send two operatives to send intel back to me." Liara instructed her assistant.
"At once, Dr. T'Soni." The droid processed the request.
"What a damn mess," Miranda sighed as she ran her fingers through the top of her head. "What do we do now?"
"Looks like I may have two targets now on my back." Garrus grumbled lightheartedly. "Not a good day to be a turian. Now I know how Shepard must have felt when the relay destroyed the Bahak System." His mention of her name made his heart sink. He was so close to finding her and now it seemed like their current mission would be pushed aside. Macha struggled to maintain peace between the krogan and the turians during the reaper war. She achieved the impossible. Without her, would an alliance even stand? He had his doubts during the war, but they were fizzling as the years dragged on afterwards. The notion of true peace was indeed in fact a farce.
"What would Shepard do?" Tali asked sadly. "I wish she was here. She always knew how to deal with problems."
"We can't handle this matter alone. We need the council involved." Liara stated matter-of-factly. "I will go to the New Citadel and request an audience with them. Glyph, please send an urgent message to their secretary. Advise that I need to speak with them as soon as I arrive."
"At once, Dr. T'Soni."
"I will go with you, Liara." Tali spoke up. "You will have the backing of the quarians. We still have our ships of the Migrant Fleet outside of Rannoch."
"Thank you, Tali. I hope it doesn't come to that. Any aid that we give to the turians may show our support for their side. We must handle this delicately. Hopefully, the wisdom of the Council will help."
"If they even help at all," Miranda scoffed. "Shepard had a time dealing with them. Without a krogan council member, you really think that they will not back the turians?"
"We need to be ahead of this." Liara moved towards her own quarters to grab her things. "The krogan will start retaliations and then it will be too late."
"I'll meet you at the shuttle," Tali raced to her own room.
Miranda sighed and moved towards her own room. "I'm coming too!"
"Hmm…" Garrus glanced around the now empty room. "I'll radio the Primarch and see about getting a transport to Palaven." He eyed the droid still hovering in place. "Uh, Glyph. Can you contact the Primarch on Palaven?"
"At once, Archangel." The droid replied. "Will make contact attempt now."
"Archangel?" Garrus lifted an eye ridge. He saw Liara walking back in with her crossbody satchel. "You know your droid still calls me 'Archangel.'"
"Programming glitch. Sorry," Liara moved to set her security protocols in place during her absence.
"Right." He moved his blue eyes to the remains of his sniper rifle. "I can't believe he blew it up."
"You know there's only shuttle left." The asari pointed out.
"I guess I can tag along for now. I need to buy a new gun."
"That would be comforting." Liara smiled at him warmly. "I would feel better getting through New Citadel security with you there."
"Why?" Garrus chuckled as he followed her out with the droid in tow. "You really think they would care to what an ex-C-Sec officer would say. I wasn't really liked there."
"Garrus Vakarian. It is a pleasure speaking with you again." The familiar voice of the Primarch came through Glyph's internal speakers. "You aware of the news flash?"
"The reason for my call. You have one very angry Urdnot Wrex heading back to Tuchanka."
"I have scout ships heading to Korlus now," Victus informed him. "I need to find out what the hell went wrong and why a missing dreadnought suddenly reappeared at the wrong place."
"You think Procdos acted on his own?"
"Hardly. The admiral was well respected and never questioned our alliance with the krogan."
"I heard the recording that Wrex played though, sir."
"Perhaps the colony was firing on him." The Primarch suggested.
"Well, whatever, happened, it doesn't look good for us. Three hundred killed including half of Wrex's children."
"We are on the brink of war now, Garrus. How soon can you get to Palaven?"
Garrus paused in his steps to eye Liara carefully. "I will need a transport pick up at the New Citadel. I can be there in two days."
"I will make arrangements for it now. See you when you get here, Garrus." The line disconnected once the Primarch was done talking.
Garrus frowned at Liara as they entered the shuttle. "That was…uplifting."
"If the turians and the krogan both get at Korlus at same time…" Liara shook her head sadly as she sat down behind the controls to do the take-off checks.
"Then it won't be a pleasant reunion." Vakarian glumly took the seat next to her while they waited on Miranda and Tali. "We need to tell Wrex to halt the search party until the turians are gone."
"Good luck on telling him that. After all, it was his colony that was hit."
"And his children…" Garrus sighed heavily in exasperation. "Why would Procdos do this?"
"It was his voice we heard. You confirmed it," Liara mentioned. She stopped in her task to see Tali and Miranda coming onboard with their packs in hand.
"Coming too, Garrus?" The quarian's voice perked up seeing him there beside Liara.
"For now, the Primarch will pick me up at the New Citadel."
"Maybe Charon can wait for now." Miranda sarcastically said as she sat down in a seat in the passenger hold of the shuttle.
"If only." Liara strapped herself in.
"Erinyes, here's the intercepted message from Turian High Command." One of Erinyes' assistants handed the datapad to her as the leader of Charon was sitting behind her desk. Chatter would spark up once the hit was done on Korlus. She already had her people on it, hacking into transmissions to see what kind of movement was going on.
"Origin?" Erinyes asked the young woman in front of her before glancing down at the transcript.
"Unknown. None of our hackers could detect it. The address was pinging off various comm buoys."
Erinyes frowned. The transcript displayed the conversation that Garrus had with the Primarch. A smirk spread across her lips as she read further. She raised her head to look back at her assistant. "Contact our agents on the New Citadel. Tell them to tap into C-Sec and notify me once Garrus Vakarian and the envoy from Palaven land."
"Yes, mam." The assistant scurried off quickly in her heels to carry out the demand.
Erinyes waited a few moments before using her comm to contact her intelligence team captain. "Operative Briggs. Come in."
"Yes, mam." A deep male voice came through seconds later punctually.
"Transmissions from Tuchanka?"
"Will be sending to your terminal now. Urdnot Wrex is heading that way. There is chatter about war with the turians."
The smile on Erinyes' face grew. "Exactly what I wanted to hear." She disconnected the call. "Just like the Ouroboros. It's time for the snake to consume its tail. To recreate life, there must be death."