MASS EFFECT WINTER EYES: CHAPTER 25
OLD WOUNDS
The blue glow radiating off the holo projection forms of Primarch Victus and Urdnot Wrex faintly lit up the darkened communications room. Every now and then, the image would become distorted from poor connection. The servers on Grissom were not as advanced as the Normandy or any Alliance equipment. Macha was surprised that she was able to get both patched in at the same time. It would make the talk path easier. Both holos remained still and silent as Macha entered the room. She would not expect anything more from two old warring races. Unsurprisingly, the new salarian dalatrass was not present. Even if time passed since her previous talks with them, some things didn't change.
A small hint of a smile spread across the krogan's reptilian face when he took note of her. "Good to see you, Shepard. Is this really you this time?" Skepticism mixed in with a casual tone in his voice. "Thought I was talking to the real thing before, Raven." He emphasized her name and the recall of her fake alias seemed to darken his approach.
Macha had no qualms about squaring up against her old friend. She did before years ago on Virmire. Clearly, she had no idea what the conversation was about last time, but that would have to hold off to another day. They had limited time to discuss the current state of crisis. "Dr. Archer saved my life, Wrex. I hate to say it, but I owe him. He assures me that I'm the 'real thing.'"
The turian gave her a quick nod of acknowledgment. "Commander, you are a welcome sight. I thought we were past the dark times." The unspoken was pretty obvious and the air in the room seem to get colder.
Wrex turned his bulky head to eye him directly. "What in the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Macha held up her hand to stop the two. She knew briefly about what happened while she was under Charon's control. Another krogan rebellion was not on the agenda and she began to wonder if she would have a more difficult time rallying them together with so much tension in the air. She decided not to give her sympathy to Wrex for the loss of Eve and her brood. A grim reminder would only make the mixture worse like oil and water. "Gentlemen, if you please. We need to set this aside and focus on what is at stake."
"Charon?" Wrex casually tossed the subject matter aside. "Come on, Shepard. We faced Reapers before. Cerberus is weak. Quarians could handle them."
"Wrex, you know that's not true." Victus interjected quickly before Shepard had a chance to rebuttal. "Look at what happened on Tuchanka. My son died disarming a bomb that Cerberus was trying to detonate."
"Yeah, a bomb that you pyjaks planted there in the first place to wipe out my kind!" The krogan bellowed angrily. "If Cerberus didn't find it, would you just set it off yourself?!"
"Wrex!" Macha could hear her voice raise in anger. "Back down!" It irked her that this was coming to the surface once again. Any interaction between the council races seemed to be clouded about what happened to the krogan many years ago. When would they finally get past that?
"Fine." Wrex spat coldly with gritted teeth. "I'll back down… for now." Reluctant, he turned his head to look upon her once more.
Primarch Victus squared his shoulders more in a militaristic posture with his beady eyes homing in on her. "The motion will be set aside, Commander. I know that's not what you called us here for." Sincerity in his voice was clear. He had no animosity towards her and it seemed his temper only flared when Wrex lashed out. The krogan did have a way of rubbing people the wrong way.
"I am not sure that Charon is completely Cerberus, but they do fit the MO. We can only assume they are a splinter group with unlimited resources." Macha returned to Wrex's previous statement. "In what we have seen so far, they are deadlier than Cerberus."
"If they are to blame for what happened to Eve and my sons, then I want their blood on my hands," The krogan snarled.
"I understand, Wrex. Believe me. I won't stop you." Shepard assured him.
"What is your recommendation, Commander?" Victus asked. The keen military minds of the turians were always about strategy. Cold calculus. Ruthless. Black and white. No room for gray.
"Assemble your entire fleet."
The statement threw the ruler of the Turian Hierarchy off kilter. "You want to mobilize my entire fleet when there's a war on the brink with the krogan." It seemed as if he was not afraid to cross that bridge again with his adversary on the same call. Macha grimaced.
Just like clockwork, Wrex rose to the bait. "Wouldn't want anything bad happened to the turians, now would we?" His voice challengingly.
Macha groaned and rubbed the space between her eyes with her fingertips to relieve pressure that was building up. "Not again…" She grumbled. Snapping her head back at them, her emerald green eyes seemed to change to red. "Enough!" Her shout made the room grow quiet. "How long is this going to continue?! You set aside your differences and worked together against the Reapers. Thousands lost their lives! Were their deaths in vain?!"
"Commander- "
"Save it, Primarch!" Macha cut him off icily.
"Shepard- "
"That goes for you too, Wrex!" Macha turned on him, pointing her right finger directly at the holo image of her old comrade in arms. "I expected more from you, Wrex. Are you no better than a mercenary again?! I helped you find your father's armor. Hell, I convinced Mordin to cure the genophage and turned salarian aid away to go through with that promise. Don't make me regret it." Her voice low to a threatening level.
The room fell still and the low hum of the machinery was the only sound for several seconds. Both holos were frozen in place as their avatars stared at Shepard incredulously at her outburst. Speechless. Macha felt the hot tears form in her eye ducts and she fought the natural urge to release them. Many of her friends were dead at the hands of Charon: Kirrahe, Chakwas and Zaeed. Charon could be on their way at any minute to dispose of the rest of the team and perhaps Kahlee and her students. The situation was dire and once again, she was pulled to play politics. There would be no bargaining this time. The other races had to work together on their own accord. The clock was ticking against her. How much time would they have? They could hold their own against a squad if they managed to board the station, but if Charon mustered a fleet with enough heavy bombardment, they could wipe out the entire school itself. The structure's kinetic barriers and backup shields were not enough to handle firepower at that magnitude. They would have to leave as well, and try to lure Charon away from any possible path to Kahlee.
"Shepard, I will mobilize my fleet as requested." The Primarch clasped his talons behind his back as he spoke. "All of them. Send me the nav coordinates of a rendezvous point." He ended the call.
"The krogan will do the same. We will have your back. We'll bring the heavies. Just make sure if those bastards strike before we get there, that you leave some left for me," A glimmer of humor came from the krogan's mouth as he spoke. "Wrex out."
Hanging her head, Macha exhaled loudly to release the intense pressure that built inside of her. Her hands pressed down on the rail that was in front of the holo projectors. "When is this going to stop…"
A light tap at the entranceway to the room made Macha look to see Liara standing there. The asari frowned at her appearance. "You heard that?" Shepard called to her.
"I think the entire system heard it." Liara smile lightly as she walked in. "It's good to hear you speak up, Shepard."
Pushing herself away from the rail, Macha spun to face her friend. "Kahlee and the others make it?"
"We received a transmission a few minutes ago. They arrived safely aboard the dreadnought, SSV Paris."
Macha giggled at an inner joke by the response and smiled. "Ironic."
Liara tilted her head. "Oh?'
"Paris coming to save the old crew of the Normandy. Fitting."
The asari still appeared to be puzzled. "I don't see the connection."
"Human history, Liara." Macha patted her friend on the shoulder as she stepped to walk towards the room's door. "Normandy was place in France where the Allies in World War II beached against an assault on the Axis. Paris is the capital of France. Two French cities coming together. I don't know…" Macha felt silly now referring to ancient history facts. "Dad was a history buff. Not my forte, but I liked hearing his ramblings." Pausing at the door, Macha decided to switch gears to avoid further embarrassment. "Jack go with them?"
"Of course, she did. As much as she wanted to stay, she felt obligated to protect her students." Liara smiled warmly. "She has really matured since her recruitment off Purgatory."
"Good." Macha walked towards her next destination. Her eyes focused on the new task at hand.
"Where are you going?" T'Soni called out to her as she stopped at the door.
"I need to take care of something." Macha replied back without looking her way. "Tell everyone that we are leaving this place in an hour."