Holy krogan quads, Batman! An actual update?! Sorry I took so long. Been stuck in an emotional slump. Personal problems. Hope you understand without me going into unnecessary detail. Hopefully, the next chapter will be out soon, but I'm not making any promises! Anyway, please enjoy Grunt's Rite of Passage, and remember to leave a review at the door!
–
Tuchanka was a desolate place, scarred by bombardment craters, radioactive rubble, choking ash, salt flats, and alkaline seas. It was a true testimony to the krogan ferocity. Their infighting had caused this, no outside enemy. With no proper enemies to fight, they turned on each other, and drove their planet to ruin. It was a rather depressing place, to be honest.
Immediately upon stepping off the shuttle after setting down on an underground landing pad, Shepard, Harry, Mordin, and Grunt were 'greeted' by a very grumpy looking krogan. Like most of them, he looked old an experienced, with a no-nonsense look on his face.
"The clan leader wants to speak with you," he told Shepard, before glancing at the pacing Grunt. "Keep your rutting pet on a short leash. Get him the Rite soon, or put him down."
"That's why we're here," Shepard said with a nod. The overcaptain just growled at her, before moving out of their way.
"Ah, krogan, always such a cheery bunch," Harry quipped as they left the landing pad, heading into an underground corridor made up of pipes, concrete, and rusted metal.
"Urdnot clan reports use weak encryption," came EDI's voice in their ears. "I see references to a captured salarian in the logs of the chief scout."
"Good. Talk to scout, then. Or chief. Either one acceptable," Mordin said as they made their way up three floors via a ramp made up of rubble.
They came up into a cavernous room. As with the rest of the place, there was rubble everywhere, looking every bit like a war zone. There were more krogan here, and to the left they could see a couple of tomkah, the massive, six-wheeled monstrosities the krogan used to travel around, and to the right, below a massive hole in the roof, was a concrete throne, upon which sat a massive, scarred, steel-armored krogan. He was very old, even visible through the usual krogan wrinkles, and he had lots of scars, including three that went down the right side of his face down onto his neck. His head plate was red, just like his fierce-looking eyes.
"This is the great krogan homeworld?" Grunt asked in surprise. This was clearly not what he'd expected. "This is the land of Kredak, Shiagur, and Veeoll? This chunk of rock is barely worth standing on! Never thought I'd miss the tank..."
"Come on, Grunt," Shepard said, heading for the raised dais upon which the throne stood. When they stepped up to it, a guard raised his hand to stop them.
"Halt! You must wait till the clan leader summons you. He is..." the guard paused, looking for the right words, "...in talks."
They looked past the guard to see another krogan pacing in front of the throne, his armor sporting blue neon lights here and there.
"You know what tradition demands," the krogan barked at the bored-looking chief. "Clan Urdnot must respond! Your reforms will not go unopposed. You risk appearing weak at a critical time!"
The chief, Urdnot Wrex, ignored the krogan in front of him, his gaze drifting lazily to the side in an attempt to tune him out, only for his eyes to widen when he saw who was standing there.
"Shepard!" he barked in surprise, shooting to his feet.
"Good enough?" Shepard asked the guard, moving past the guard as Wrex stepped off the throne, roughly pushing away the krogan in front of him to walk up to Shepard, grabbing her hand in a firm shake.
"Shepard! My friend!" he said, and Harry had to admit that it was the first time he saw a krogan smile without blood or carnage involved. "You look well for dead. Should have known the void couldn't hold you."
Shepard smiled back at her krogan friend. It really was good to see him again. Like all krogan, he was gruff and violent, but mellow enough to be a great friend, and a loyal teammate.
"Looks like helping me destroy Saren and the geth has worked out for you," she said, nodding in approval. "Glad we didn't have to kill each other on Virmire."
"Ha!" Wrex laughed. "You made the rise of Urdnot possible. Virmire was a turning point for the krogan, though not everyone was happy about it," he said, glancing back at the krogan who had been ranting at him. Said krogan now moved up to him. "Destroying Saren's genophage cure freed us from his manipulation. I used that to spur the clans to unify under Urdnot."
"You abandoned many traditions to get your way," the other krogan spoke, frowning. "Dangerous."
Wrex didn't answer, at first. First, he simply turned toward the krogan and smashed into him with a headbutt that made him stumble back, grabbing at his head.
"Speak when spoken to, Uvenk," he growled, turning to go back to his throne. "I'll drag your clan to glory whether it likes it or not."
Wrex sat down on the throne as Shepard and company stepped forward. He looked surprisingly imposing up there.
"Now, Shepard, what brings you here? How's the Normandy?"
"Destroyed in a Collector surprise attack. I ended up spaced," Shepard said with a shrug, which made Wrex chuckle.
"Well, you look good. Ah, the benefits of a redundant nervous system!"
"Yeah... Humans don't have that."
"Oh. It must have been painful, then," Wrex said, but then grinned. "But you're standing here, and you've got a strong new ship. Takes me back to the old days. Us against the unknown, killing it with big guns. Good times."
Shepard gave a soft laugh at that. Leave it to Wrex to simplify things like that.
"In any case, it looks like you've got big changes ahead for the krogan."
"We are making a neutral ground where all clans are welcome. Fertile females can be shared among clans. We will strengthen the race as a whole," Wrex explained, which caused the other krogan, Uvenk, to speak up.
"You threaten everything that makes us strong. It will not last."
"I'd love to catch up more, Wrex, but first, I'm looking for a salarian. He was captured by the Blood Pack and brought here," Shepard said.
"My scout commander can direct you. He's probably near the perimeter running target practice. But don't take too much of his time. I need a constant watch on the other clans."
Shepard turned to Harry and Mordin.
"You two, head over there and see what he has to say."
"Come on, Mordin, let's go," Harry said, nodding to Shepard as the two walked off.
"You sure attract strange people, Shepard," Wrex said, staring at Harry's back. "Never liked scientists in general, but that guy gives off a strange vibe. Seems a bit crazy to me, just from lookin' at him."
"He's Dr. Harry Potter. Probably as old as you, if you can believe it," Shepard explained. "He's responsible for most of humanity's technological progress when it comes to space travel. Has more knowledge hidden away than I'd care to guess. He sure upgraded the Normandy beyond anything I've ever seen before. Gave me a strength boost, too. I'm now stronger, faster, and more durable than any other human. Gave me implants that let me heal fast, too."
"Oh, great, make Commander Shepard even deadlier," Wrex muttered in a deadpan voice. "Doesn't do much do disprove that he's crazy."
Shepard gave Wrex a playful frown, which made him grin in response.
"So then, Shepard, what else brings you to Tuchanka?" Wrex asked, getting back to business.
"Grunt here is coming of age," Shepard said with a gesture for Grunt, who stepped forward. "Harry said he needs to go through some kind of rite?"
Wrex looked Grunt over with a stern look, the look of an elder trying to discern the potential of a child.
"Where are you from, whelp? Was your clan destroyed before you could learn what is expected of you?"
"I have no clan," Grunt growled out. "I was tank-bred by Warlord Okeer, my line distilled from Kredak, Moro, Shiagur-"
"You recite warlords, but you are the offspring of a syringe!" Uvenk barked, pacing in front of Grunt, glaring all the while.
"I am pure krogan," Grunt argued, unphased by the glare, "you should be in awe."
"Okeer is a very old name," Wrex muttered. "A very hated name."
"He is dead," Grunt told Wrex, who was getting off his throne to walk up to the younger krogan, making him snort.
"Of course. You're with Shepard. How could he be alive?"
Shepard, standing to the side, frowned at the old krogan. She couldn't help but take offense. Not everyone tended to die around her, after all... There were just a lot of... unfortunate circumstances... Meanwhile, Wrex was looking over Grunt again.
"But I suppose he could be allowed to undergo the Rite of Passage."
"Too far, Wrex!" Uvenk barked, sweeping past them. "Your clan may rule, but this thing is not krogan!"
Wrex watched him go with a bored expression. Clearly, he was used to dealing with this particular krogan's complaints.
"Idiot," he muttered, then looked to the younger krogan. "So, Grunt? Do you wish to stand with Urdnot?"
"What exactly does the Rite of Passage require?" Shepard asked before Grunt could answer, getting Wrex's attention.
"Not for me to say, Shepard. The shaman will discuss that."
"So you'd let a tank-bred krogan join Clan Urdnot?"
"Only because he's with you. After all, you and I killed thousands like him. Not quite as big, but many. Clan Urdnot is strong, and the others will do as I say. They see the benefit of my vision."
"Your choice, Grunt," Shepard told the young krogan, who turned around and looked over the camp, frowning to himself.
"It is in my blood. It's what I am for," he announced, turning back to Wrex, who grinned.
"Good boy. Go speak to the shaman, he's over on the second level. Give him a good show, and he'll set you on the path."
Meanwhile, Harry and Mordin were walking up to the scout commander, who was standing by the perimeter of the camp, looking over a holoscreen detailing the clan's scout patrol patterns. When Harry tapped the krogan on the shoulder, he turned to face them with a disgruntled look on his face. Then again, krogans almost always looked disgruntled...
"What do you want, human? Wrex told me to be polite to Shepard. Never mentioned you."
"We're with Shepard. She's just busy catching up with Wrex," Harry said, jutting his thumb over his shoulder toward where Shepard was talking to Wrex. "Wrex told us to talk to you about a missing salarian. The Blood Pack captured him, and he was apparently last seen around here."
The krogan frowned and turned around, leaning against his desk with a somewhat thoughtful look on his face. It wasn't a surprise that he had to search his memories. Krogans tended to remember warriors over scientists.
"I heard about that salarian," the Chief Scout said after a few seconds' contemplation. "Poor bastard. If it's Blood Pack, then Clan Weyrloc has him. Sent one of my scouts to check it out, but he never reported back. Guess they got him, too," he said as he turned back to Harry, who lit a cigarette. "Chief told me to give Shepard one of the trucks. Orders are orders, so I can't let you go without her. But if you and her and your salarian friend here have the quads to deal with Weyrloc and the Blood Pack, respect to you."
"Thank you," Harry said, nodding to the Chief Scout before walking away with Mordin. Once they were out of earshot, he stopped and turned to his fellow scientist. "So, I guess we won't be going anywhere until Grunt finishes his rite of passage."
"Passage can wait. Maelon more important. Might get killed," Mordin insisted urgently. He was looking a bit more stressed than Harry had usually seen him.
Harry took a drag on his cigarette to gather his thoughts, then blew the smoke out of his nose and gave Mordin his usual calm look.
"Well, if he's still alive, he'll remain so for a while. Because after all, krogans wouldn't keep a salarian alive for torture, your kind can't stand their brand of torture for too long. So he's either dead or being used for something. Either way, he'll remain in such a state for a couple of hours more."
This statement seemed to calm Mordin down, as the salarian closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Too true. Overreacted. Let emotions interfere. Very well, rite of passage comes first."
Harry patted Mordin on the shoulder, and the two walked over to Shepard, who was leaving Wrex with Grunt. When they met up, Harry greeted them with a wave.
"So, it seems like Clan Weyrloc has the salarian, but they'll only give you a vehicle to get there," he said, puffing on his cigarette. "So we'll take care of Grunt's rite first, then go after Maelon."
"Roger that. Grunt and I were just about to head to the shaman to get informed of what it entails," Shepard said, pointing to a nearby ramp leading up to a higher floor, through the windows of which they could see two krogan warriors chatting. They didn't have any markings signifying that they were of higher rank or stature, though, so they clearly weren't shamans.
"Mordin, I'll send for you when we're ready to move," Harry told the salarian, pulling his sleeve back to reveal his PAD, pushing a button on it. "Aceso, please beam Dr. Mordin to his lab."
"Understood, father."
A bright white light encased Mordin before he could object, and the next second he was gone. Harry watched the spot where Mordin had stood for a moment, before clapping his hands together and smiling at the other two.
"Well then, let's go meet this shaman of yours!"
The trio made their way up to the crumbling second floor to where the shaman was. The shaman was wearing white and red armor made of a lighter material, clearly more made for ceremonial purposes than combat. He was talking to...
Shepard sighed. Uvenk was there, discussing something with the shaman, two warriors at his sides. Given how he had protested Wrex letting Grunt into the clan, she knew why he was there.
"You go beyond yourself, Gatatog Uvenk!" the shaman barked at the krogan with a stern glare. "The rites of Urdnot are dominant!"
"How do we know it will challenge him? He's unnatural!" Uvenk argued. "He's unnatural! The beasts of the Rite could ignore him like a lump of plastic!"
"They know blood no matter the womb! Your barking will not help your case!"
"I'll speak for myself!" Grunt announced as the three walked up to them.
The shaman turned toward Grunt and looked him over with a curious stare.
"This is the tank-bred? It is very lifelike," he said, sniffing the air. "Smells correct as well. Your protests ring hollow, Uvenk."
"Urdnot Wrex has given us permission to seek clan status for Grunt," Shepard said, noticing how Harry, standing behind her, gave a sigh. She knew why. Krogan liked aggression, but it wasn't like Shepard was going to completely change just because she had been given Harry's super juice.
"Permission," the shaman grunted with a scoff. "That is good enough, if lacking in spirit."
"If this must stand on ritual, then I invoke a denial!" Uvenk barked. "My krantt stands against him! He has no one!"
The glare the shaman gave him made Shepard believe that he might actually set the rebellious krogan on fire with his eyes. Eventually, though, he grunted and looked toward Grunt.
"My patience is tested, but Uvenk invokes correctly. Grunt, who is your krantt? Your allies willing to kill and die on your behalf?"
"How is a candidate tested if he brings backup on his Rite of Passage?" Shepard, always curious, wanted to know. Part of her told her to just roll with it, but she wanted this to be fair, give Grunt a good opportunity to show his strength without the risk of someone blaming his survival on his allies.
"Not every krogan can be the strongest warrior, but each must inspire his peers to battle at his side," the shaman explained. "If the ones who know you best can find nothing worthy in you, you should wander the wastes and die alone before you weaken my clan."
"In that case," Harry said, stepping up and putting a hand on Grunt's shoulder. "I think Shepard and myself can count as his krantt."
"Yeah," Shepard agreed. "He's part of my crew, my clan. We stand with Grunt as shipmates and comrades."
"Shipmates are not the same thing, but I grant you aliens your simple interpretation."
"I think you just don't know Shepard, mate," Harry spoke up. "We're a close-knit bunch, almost family."
Shepard wanted to snort. Sure, she was close with her crew, but hearing Harry speak those words was ridiculous, given how most members of the crew were too afraid to approach Harry because of his mad scientist vibe and his killer robot.
"Aliens don't know strength!" Uvenk exclaimed, effectively killing Shepard's amusement. "My followers are true krogan. Everything about Grunt is a lie-"
Shepard let him go no further with his barking, rearing her head back and slamming her forehead into his in a vicious headbutt that made him stumble back and almost fall on his ass. Sure, she might not have wanted to completely mimic the krogan aggression, but she wouldn't allow too many insults toward her crew members before she started taking offense.
"You... you dare...?" Uvenk hissed as Harry burst out laughing behind Shepard, quickly followed by the shaman.
"I like this human! She understands!" the shaman barked happily, no doubt enjoying Uvenk's silence as much as the team.
"I withdraw my denial," Uvenk yielded grudgingly. "This will be decided elsewhere!"
Harry clicked his tongue as he watched Uvenk and his krantt walk away, putting more force into their footsteps than necessary.
"Something tells me he's going to do his best to attack us during the Rite."
"No doubt. While he is forbidden to interfere, he might break the rules. But unexpected twists are all part of combat. If you cannot overcome it, you aren't worthy," the shaman said simply.
"Well, I guess we've waited long enough," Shepard spoke up. "Tell us how this works."
"Still your impatience, Shepard," the shaman chided. "For now, know that Grunt will be tested... and that you must adapt."
"We're ready," Shepard announced, to which both Grunt and Harry nodded.
"Excellent."
–
Harry stretched as he and the others stepped out of the six-wheeled behemoth the krogan called a vehicle, accompanied by the shaman and a group of krogan warriors. They were in a large tunnel, just as weathered and broken as the rest of Tuchanka.
"This is Tuchanka's most recent scar," the shaman informed them as they made their way up through a concrete pipe that had broken through the ceiling, leading up toward the surface, "the last surface city to fall in the rebellions. The keystone was at the heart. It has survived wars and the passage of centuries. It endures, like the krogan."
They came out of the pipe up into a desolate, wartorn city. There were nothing but ruins left. Dust was flying everywhere, limiting their vision, and the sun was somewhat blocked by bleak, gray clouds blanketing the sky. Not the most pleasant place to live...
"If you wish to join Clan Urdnot, you must contemplate the keystones and its trials," the shaman continued, leading them up to the location where the Rite would begin. It was a dull gray concrete platform standing in front of a giant, dark monolith, which was leading up to a huge structure holding it in place.
"What will happen?" Grunt asked, to which the shaman grinned.
"Who knows? You must adapt. You must thrive, no matter the situation. Any true krogan will."
The shaman nodded to them, before leaving. No wishing luck or anything of the sort. That was not the krogan way. Once the shaman was gone, Grunt turned to Shepard, looking at a pad in front of the structure with a single button on it.
"Let's get started, Shepard. Hit the keystone!"
When Shepard his the button, a large cylinder inside the monolith started rising up toward the structure as a krogan voice came from the intercom on the pad with the button, "First the krogan conquered Tuchanka, and mastered a natural world only we are fit to hold!"
As soon as the message ended, the cylinder dropped and hit the ground with enough force to shake it, a strenge sound being emitted from it, like hitting a broken gong.
This sound was soon replaced by other noises. More specifically, howls and growls coming from varrens, strange creatures that seemed to be part-dog, part-lizard, and part-nightmare fuel.
"Here they come!" Grunt barked with a grin, cocking his shotgun. "I'm ready!"
"A Rite based solely on violence," Harry quipped as his scythe extended and activated, the green blade humming ominously. "How amazingly krogan."
Varrens came swarming over the surrounding rubble toward them, snarling and howling. Clearly, they were hungry...
Harry took the east side of the platform, while Shepard took the north, and Grunt took the south, the west being a safe zone that no varrens seemed to come from, most likely due to the keystone blocking the way.
The mad scientist spit out his cigarette as the first varren reached him, and he swung his scythe at the creature, watching in satisfaction as it cut through the varren like a hot knife through butter.
"Hm..." Harry muttered to himself, slicing through three more varrens at once, noting how strange it was to use a scythe as a weapon. What made him think of using it? It really wasn't the most effective weapon in the world. It just felt natural to make one... "This may take some getting used to..."
"Harry!" Shepard exclaimed from her spot, having heard his muttering and noticed a varren coming up on Harry's right side, apparently unnoticed. "Watch-!"
Her warning was unneeded, however, as Harry's foot lashed out and punted the varren into the air. He sliced through two more, and then cut the airborne varren in half with a follow-up swing as it came back down.
"Never mind!" Shepard yelled, turning her attention back to her own problems. At the same time, she couldn't help but wonder just how high she could launch a varren with a kick.
Meanwhile, Grunt seemed to be enjoying himself. After all the energy he had built up during his stay on the ship, he was laying into the varrens with wild abandon, laughing as he did. Shepard was sure, though she told herself that she'd imagined it, that she saw Grunt actually grabbing a varren by its scaly tail and using it as a club against another varren.
Finally, the last varren died from a well-placed plasma blast between its eyes from Shepard's modified assault rifle, and Harry deactivated his scythe and rested it against his shoulder, lighting a cigarette with his free hand.
"I doubt that's all there is to this thing," he commented, and Shepard nodded.
"Good!" Grunt barked. "My blood's pumping now! I can do this all day!"
"I guess... press it again?" Shepard mused, to which her companions nodded. All agreed, she walked over and pushed the button again.
The cylinder started rising once more, and again the voice came from the intercom, "Now all krogan bear the genophage, our reward, our curse. It is a fight where the only goal is survival!"
The cylinder dropped, and the ground shook again, once more accompanied by that strange sound. But no more varren came. Instead, a harvester arrived.
It was a huge insectoid creature, easily standing at three times Shepard's height with just its body, which was held up by four long, sharp legs that seemed perfectly capable of stabbing through most anything. Its neck was long and reminiscent of a worm, ending in a large four-eyed head and a mouth that split down the middle in the lower jaw, revealing a set of very dangerous-looking teeth.
Even with her power-up, Shepard didn't really want to fight this thing. Thankfully, though, it seemed to only drop of a group of klixen, and then fly away with it's wasp-like wings.
Klixen were an insectoid speciec resembling some sort of inbred bastard child of a crab and a beetle. If Shepard were to compare it to something, she'd say that they sort of looked like bulkier versions of rachni. They had two long, red horns, and Shepard knew their armor was thick, and that they were dangerous in close quarters.
"Incoming!" Shepard announced, bringing her assault rifle up to take aim at the klixen.
"Here as well!" Harry said to the sound of his scythe activating again. She looked over her shoulder to see that the harvester had indeed come back and dropped klixen on the other side of the platform as well.
"These guys are harmless at long range!" Shepard informed her companions, assuming the role of leader as always. "Make sure to keep your...!" she trailed off upon seeing Grunt charging at the klixen, and noticing Harry doing the same on the other side. "...distance..."
Sighing to herself, suddenly feeling like the mother of two impulsive kids, Shepard shook her head and simply chose to ignore their recklessness, instead focusing on opening fire on the bugs.
"Shepard!" Harry exclaimed after a few minutes of fighting, splitting a klixen down the middle. "I need you to cover this side for a moment!"
"What for?!"
"It's coming back!" Harry yelled, pointing to the sky, where the harvester was indeed coming back for another drop. Shepard had no idea what Harry was planning to do, but perhaps he had brought his pistol with him on this trip? Otherwise, how would he take out a harvester with a damn scythe?
In any case, she nodded and sprinted over to Harry's side of the platform, and Harry took this as his cue. He dashed off and up onto a large piece of rubble, then stood stock still as he watched the harvester approaching. Eventually he decided it was time, so he bent his knees, his legs tensing up, and then shot up into the air, cocking his scythe back. It glowed brighter as the plasma blade suddenly doubled in length, trailing hot plasma behind it as through it was water.
Shepard's jaw dropped as she watched him fly through the air, straight toward the harvested. It dove at him, and he slashed his scythe. This was the first time Shepard had ever witnessed a perfectly clean and symmetrical mid-flight bisection of a harvester. It didn't even have time to make a noise as the huge plasma blade sliced through it.
Both halves dropped to the ground, landing with a thump on either side of Harry, who turned a dial on the staff, which brought the scythe's size back to normal again.
Shepard had been so distracted by the bisection that she hadn't noticed one of the klixen getting within range to attack her. It pounced on her, knocking her to the ground. During training, recruits were informed of various hostile species on the many worlds within Council space, klixen included. The drill instructor were very clear on always maintaining distance between yourself and a klixen swarm. They were powerful creatures, and if they ended up on top of you, you were dead. They drilled this information into the recruits' heads.
But now, Shepard managed to somewhat hold the insanely strong bug at bay, keeping its menacing jaw from biting her breastplate off to get to the flesh underneath.
"Get off!" Shepard barked, cocking her arm back and slamming her elbow into its face. The blow managed to make the klixen stumble back a step or two, but it recovered quickly. If Shepard had more room to swing her arms, she was sure she could knock the thing over, but it didn't leave her any.
A flash of green passed before her eyes faster than she could see. A blink and she would have missed it. But the klixen stopped moving, letting out a pitiful shriek as it collapsed under its own weight, on top of Shepard, who let out a grunt of surprise.
The klixen was kicked off by Harry, who was standing beside Shepard with his scythe in his hands and a grin on his face, just in time for the klixen to explode as they tended to do when they died.
"I guess we all have our fetishes, but I didn't know bugs were your thing," he quipped, holding a hand out to Shepard, who took it and allowed him to help her up.
"Funny," she muttered dryly, idly noticing that the fighting had stopped. Most of the klixen seemed to have scurried away when their harvester was killed. "Thanks, by the way."
"Don't mention it."
"That was glorious!" Grunt yelled from behind Shepard quite unexpectedly, making her jump slightly in surprise. "Nice swing, Potter!"
"Thank you," Harry said, giving a modest bow of his head. "Well, I guess third time's the charm, eh?"
Shepard nodded and approached the button with the other two. She pressed it, and the process was repeated, even the message from the intercom.
"Now all krogan bear the genophage, our reward, our curse. It is a fight where the only goal is survival!"
This time, when the cylinder struck the earth, the trembling in the ground didn't stop. In fact, it intensified, something that immediately caught their attention.
"Feel that? Everything is... shaking..." Grunt muttered, an excited grin appearing on his face. "I am ready!"
The shaking stopped, and three neon blue dual-tipped tentacles sprouted from the ground to the north, south, and west, swaying slightly in the silence.
"Well," Harry said, looking immediately like he recognized what it was, "I guess it wouldn't be very challenging if they didn't get bigger with each button press..."
"Is that what I think it is?" Shepard asked, having picked up her assault rifle and holding it at the ready. She had seen these things before, but that was from the safety of a Mako drop vehicle...
"A thresher maw..." Grunt spoke with unbridled excitement in his voice as he watched the tentacles sink into the ground again. "Here it comes!"
To the south, the thresher maw's head burst out from the ground and levelled its stare at them. It was a massive creature, easily three times the size of a harvester. Rumor had it that a thresher maw only popped one third of its length out of the ground once adult, and this was most definitely an adult! Its mouth consited of four neon blue tentacle covering a round, glowing hole in the center of its face. These tentacles were surrounded by four pincers, with two much larger pincers on either side of its head.
"Blimey!" Harry barked as the maw reared its head back and spat a large wad of viscous material at them. He grabbed Shepard and dove to the side, narrowly avoiding being hit by the spit, which when it impacted with the ground showed itself to be corrosive.
They hid behind a worn down concrete pillar, while Grunt took cover behind another.
"Right, not going near that," Harry muttered, his scythe deactivating and retracting. He clasped it to his belt and held out his hand, palm up, and curled his fingers as though gripping an invisible object.
"What are you doing?" Shepard asked.
"I could go through the scientific process word for word, but I think you'd understand better if I merely told you I'm conjuring fire," Harry spoke, and just as he finished his sentence, a large ball of fire ignited and floated over his hand, much to Shepard's shock. "Right," he said and stood up, stepping out of cover and thrusting his hand out, launching the fireball at the thresher maw.
It impacted with the side of its mouth, blowing off a pincer, a tentacle, and a good amount of the armor covering its face. Naturally, the thresher maw took offense to this action and let out an ear-shattering shriek of rage, before sinking back into the ground.
"Well..." Harry muttered. "That's going to take a while... Unless..."
Harry rushed over to where Grunt was crouched behind cover, patting him on his shoulder.
"How durable is your skin, Grunt?" he asked as the krogan got to his feet. "Do you think it could withstand an explosion?"
Grunt looked confused as to why Harry would ask such a thing, and quite frankly so was Shepard.
"Don't know about my arms or face, but this sure can," Grunt said, pointing at his hump.
"Right, I have an idea, but you might not like it. Though knowing you krogan, you'll relish the chance to cause massive damage," Harry said, fishing two items out of his pocket. They were small and rectangular, appearing to be made of some sort of metal. One was a dark gray, while the other was painted navy blue. They looked like those blocks Shepard had seen Frank deconstruct into. He placed one on top of the other, and like magnets they got stuck to each other.
"When it pops up for revenge, I'll launch you at it. Try to aim for its mouth, okay?" Harry continued, clapping the blocks onto Grunt's back.
"You'll launch me?" Grunt questioned, to which Harry reached out and with a single hand grabbed Grunt by his armor and lifted him off the ground with no visible strain. "Oh..." An excited grin appeared on Grunt's face. "Sounds like fun!"
Harry showed a matching grin as he set Grunt down on the ground. Then, they waited.
Once more, the ground shook, and the thresher maw burst out of the rubble to the north. Harry grabbed Grunt by his hump and the base of his tail, then lifted him and charged forward as the thresher maw started roaring at them. He cocked his arms back, and with a yell threw the young krogan at the creature.
Grunt gave a powerful war cry as he sailed through the air toward the maw, who was still roaring. Harry's aim was true, and he flew right into the glowing mouth and out of sight, the thresher maw's head being flung back by the impact.
"You might want to cover your ears," Harry informed Shepard as he pulled his sleeve back and revealed his PAD. He pushed a few buttons on the holographic interface, and then pushed a big, ominous red button.
A great boom was heard as an explosion of blue fire tore the thresher maw's head from its body, sending it flying to the other end of the platform they were standing on. The body itself collapsed to the ground, and Grunt was sent flying out of it, smashing into the platform a couple of feet away from where they were standing. The concrete cracked from the impact, and Grunt himself was covered in blood and flesh from the thresher maw, and the armor on his hump was blackened and scratched here and there, but he didn't even look tired. Instead, the krogan howled with joy as he shot to his feet, looking very excited.
"Now that was a big explosion!" he roared happily, turning toward his companions with a grin. "Can we do it again?"
Harry was about to answer, but at that moment they saw a ship flying overhead, a krogan ship. All three of them could guess who it was, the only one who would be dumb enough to try to interfere.
"Hehehe... Seems we have company," Grunt said, still grinning. "Good! I want more!"
"Let's be off, then," Harry said, patting the still stunned Shepard on the shoulder and lighting a cigarette as he and Grunt walked off. It took a few seconds for Shepard to shake herself out of her stupor and jog after them toward where the ship landed.
If someone had told her a few weeks ago that she would watch a thresher maw get killed by a human throwing a living krogan bomb into its mouth, she would have called them crazy.
But then, that was before she met the embodiment of insane that was Harry Potter...
As they suspected, they found several krogan standing next to the ship, about six of them, led by Gatatog Uvenk, who was standing on a piece of rubble, pacing back and forward.
"You live," Uvenk commented when he noticed them approaching, "and you brought down the thresher maw. No one has done that in generations. Urdnot Wrex was the last."
Somehow, Shepard was not surprised to hear that.
"My krantt gave me strength beyond my genes. Which are damned good," Grunt growled.
"This will cause discussion," Uvenk said, hopping down from the rubble and approaching them. "I wonder... you say you are pure? No alien meddling in your construction? Just the warlord Okeer?"
"You're stumbling, Uvenk," Shepard spoke up with a small smirk. Clearly, Grunt's power had affected the krogan. Was he going to try to recruit Grunt? "What's your game?"
"Grunt will command much respect now. His strength may be artificial, but it is a tolerable loophole."
"A what?" Grunt muttered.
"A reason to accept you. You are a mistake, but your potential could tip the current balance of the clans."
"You spit on my father's name! On Shepard's name! But now you stop your ranting because I am strong?!" Grunt barked, and both Harry and Shepard could see that Uvenk had just lit a fuse that was slowly burning out.
"With restrictions," Uvenk said, either not noticing or not caring about Grunt's muscles tensing in anger. "You could not breed, of course, or serve on an alien ship. But you'd be clan in name."
"Treating him like he's a thing, cowering upon witnessing his power? My guess is, Grunt says no," Harry said, nudging Grunt with his elbow. "Eh?"
"Right! I'm pure krogan, and you, Uvenk, are the pretender! Of course I refuse!"
Uvenk didn't visible react, instead continuing speak in what he probably thought was a professional tone of voice.
"Your head is valuable whether you're alive or dead!"
"Just try to take it!" Grunt barked, bringing out his shotgun and firing a round into Uvenk's chest, knocking him off his feet.
Harry took this as his cue, charging toward the nearest krogan and igniting his scythe. Even krogan armor was no match for the plasma blade, which cleaved the krogan in half. Shepard also acted, firing her assault rifle at the other krogan, while Grunt decided against continuing the use of his shotgun. He threw it to the ground and leapt onto Uvenk, tackling him to the floor.
"Go, Grunt!" Harry cheered as he kicked one of the remaining krogans through a concrete pillar while cutting another's head off.
While Harry and Shepard took care of the warriors, Grunt was displaying his true krogan strength when he headbutted Uvenk, before getting up and lifting the larger krogan up over his head. He gave another war cry as he slammed Uvenk into the ground, getting a grunt from the clan leader.
Uvenk was laying on his stomach, pushing himself up with his arms, but before he knew what was happening, he already felt Grunt's hands gripping either side of his head. With a roar and a savage twist, Grunt broke Uvenk's neck, causing his arms to give out as his body collapsed back to the ground.
With a final plasma blast, Shepard took down the last warrior and turned toward Grunt, who was standing triumphantly over Uvenk's body.
"I guess it's time to head back?"
"Not yet," Grunt said, moving over to his shotgun and picking it up. "Krogan are persistent. Best make sure." With that, he unloaded two rounds into Uvenk's face, blasting it to smithereens. He watched the dead body for a moment, then looked up at Shepard with a grin. "Now we can go."
–
"I don't need-!"
"Now, now, just relax."
Grunt looked understandably humiliated. After standing up from a thresher maw-killing explosion and going on to keep fighting, it should have been painfully obvious that he wasn't injured. But after he had been beamed back onto the Normandy to rest, Aceso, now inhabiting a body again, had under Harry's orders ushered him to the medical bay. Dr. Chakwas had upon seeing the frustrated look on Grunt's face decided that they could skip the exam this time. So with Chakwas' reluctance, Aceso took it upon herself to give Grunt a check-up.
Needless to say, it was beyond humiliating that a krogan who had just survived an explosion and broken another krogan's neck was currently being firmly pinned to an infirmary cot but a petite little blond thing with one hand!
If Clan Urdnot could see him now, they'd probably banish him... But then, this was Shepard's ship, so this would probably be an exception. Still, it was humiliating...
"Now, if you do not lie still and allow me to give you your check-up, I will be forced to administer a sedative," Aceso spoke gently, still looking as peaceful as ever, while Grunt's eyes widened.
He hated needles.
"Fine..." he grumbled, relaxing back on the cot, but still glaring daggers at the synthetic.
Stupid bucket of bolts...
Once the check-up was done, and a muttering Grunt had been sent on his way, Aceso started making her way out of the medical bay, only to stop at the door to avoid bumping into Tali'Zorah.
"Oh!" Tali yelped upon seeing Aceso. "Um, hello...?"
"Hello, Tali'Zorah," Aceso said, bowing her head. "My name is Aceso."
"You are... one of Dr. Potter's AI, right?"
"I am."
"I... see..."
"Your caution is quite understandable," Aceso said softly, giving Tali a gentle smile. "Given quarian history with the geth, having several AI on board the same ship as you might be uncomfortable." She paused for a moment, then added, "And I do apologize if father has spoken harshly to you during your encounter on this vessel. He can be... protective... of synthetics."
"Oh, no," Tali said, shaking her head. "Well, we did have an argument when we met, but we agreed to shelve the discussion during the mission."
"I am pleased to hear that," Aceso said, smiling again. She noticed that Tali was fidgeting a bit and said, "If my presence bothers you, I can leave?"
"Sorry," Tali said, then perked up as though surprised that she had apologized to a synthetic. "Can I ask something?"
"Go ahead."
"Do you... consider yourself, you know, alive?"
"I do," Aceso confirmed. "While I am not organic, father has spent centuries perfecting myself and my siblings. He believes that flaws are a requirement for improvement, and so has dedicated his life to making us life-like. We experience emotion same as any organic, whereas in our earliest states we merely programmed to simulate them. The only thing that separates us is that your body is organic, and mine is not."
Tali nodded slowly. It didn't seem like she quite understood just how human Harry had made his AI, which made Aceso look at her with a small, encouraging smile.
"If you would like, I would be happy to discuss this with you at length."
Tali rubbed her arm a bit nervously, glancing left and right.
"Well, I came here to change my suit filter. Maybe I can... talk to you later?"
"Very well. I will be in father's lab if you need me." Aceso bowed her head to Tali. "Good luck with your repairs, Tali'Zorah."
"Yeah..." Tali said, watching Aceso walked past her and out of the medical bay. "Thanks..."
Somehow, Tali had a feeling that life would have been so much easier without Harry Potter on board... Why did he have to go and make his synthetics so... non-synthetic?!
Meanwhile, said mad scientist was just stepping out of a Tomkah (the six-wheeled monster of a vehicle) with Shepard and Mordin. Unsurprisingly, Weyrloc clan grounds were just as gray and dreary as the rest of the planet.
"Imagine this place when it was alive," Shepard spoke up, watching a great big ruin of a city in the distance. Even in ruins, many of the buildings were skyscrapers, reaching high in the sky, as though the krogan had been trying to build their way to the stars.
"It wouldn't been a better sight than this, that's for sure," Harry muttered, kicking a piece of rubble. "Did they use any other color than gray or sandy brown, you think?"
"No time for scenery, need to find Maelon, taken too long as it," Mordin urged, reminding them of why they were there. They both nodded to the salarian and started moving, only to stop as soon as they saw something rounding a corner.
"Great, and now the krogan come..." Harry muttered. He really didn't like this too much. This was more Frank's area of expertise. Harry preferred large-scale destruction, like blowing up Wraith hiveships. Ah, memories...
–
And that's the end of this chapter! Next time, we follow the team as they go deeper into Weyrloc territory to rescue Maelon! Please review if you wish! In the meantime...
Peace!