Shepard felt her fingers tighten around the Grizzly's controls as she watched the rear-view feed, eyes wide with shock. The snow-covered pathway behind her had violently erupted upward in a flurry of ice and sleet, with Kaidan's vehicle now nowhere to be found. Before anyone could say a word, she slammed her foot down on the brakes and cut the wheel, drifting the vehicle back around. The three seated behind her didn't fail to let out various sounds of surprise as Shepard did so. Any questions they had as to why however were immediately answered, as Kaidan's Grizzly plummeted out of the sky before them not a moment later. Shepard watched with bated breath as the vehicle rolled across the snowy path, consumed with dread as the thing bounced up and down off the ground, before eventually coming to a full stop beside the valley's edge.

Her relief at the vehicle's cessation of movement was short-lived however, as the giant worm that had tossed said vehicle additionally spit a giant glob of acid at it.

"KAIDAN!" she yelled into the radio.

No response.

"By the goddess..." Liara whispered.

"Is that a Thresher?!" Williams exclaimed from the back.

"Kaidan are you alright!?" she shouted again.

"Shepard, they're dead," Wrex said matter of factly in his low guttural tone. "We have to keep moving."

She whipped her head around in response, emerald eyes burning with fury. Shepard admitted she had grown to respect the old lizard over their travels so far. The Krogan had proven himself invaluable in combat situations, as she could always rely on him to bludgeon through whatever opposition they faced. And for a Krogan, Wrex was oddly pragmatic, having an surprising abundance of advice to give, a far throw from the savage beasts most made his race out to be. The trait she had come to value most about the Krogan in particular though, was his brutal honesty. How he never sugarcoated a situation. His brusque input was something she had grown accustomed to having, and was one of the main reason she oft confided with him.

At this particular moment however, she didn't quite care for it.

"You don't know that," she responded adamantly. "We're not leaving him behind."

"We're stuck between a handful of Geth and a Thresher Maw Shepard. If you want to do something about it, I suggest you do it fast."

After that comment, Shepard could only grit her teeth in frustration, and break contact with the alien's blood red sclera. Returning her attention to the road ahead, Shepard had to begrudgingly concede that the alien was right, they didn't have any time to waste. As if to remind her, the worm before them let out a screech so loud that it reverberated throughout their entire vehicle.

"That creature is gargantuan!" T'Soni balked.

"I'm guessing it's around thirty five meters," Shepard opined. "Maybe forty."

"The one we came across on Edolus was just sixteen," Ashley added resoundingly daunted.

"What can we do to possibly frighten that creature away?" Doctor T'Soni asked panicked.

"Not a thing," Wrex answered.

The Commander was already hard at work as Wrex gave his reply, her fingers deftly tapping away at the interface before her. As her fingers danced upon the vehicle's instrumentation, the sound of grinding metal occurred above.

Adjust the cannon's arc, double-check the shot's projected trajectory, burn the cooldown time-

Shepard ran through the entire mental checklist in under a second, and at the moment she had finished, fired the IFV's axially mounted mass accelerator with a resoundingly loud CRACK. Almost instantaneously, the Thresher reeled with the resulting explosion, letting out another fearsome cry as the accelerated round detonated against its thorax dead center.

"I hope you know what you're doing Shepard," Wrex demurred. After the aftermath of the shot settled, it was clear to see that they now had the Thresher's full attention, which was obviously pissed with their interruption. "One wrong move and it'll flatten us. If we're lucky, we'll just end up cripples like that pilot of yours."

"Well I'm not spending the rest of my life on crutches," she shouted back, gunning the engine.

He jerked his head up and glanced over his shoulder. Like he thought, no one was there, just one long, dark, empty, uninviting hallway. But Joker could have sworn that someone just...

"What's up?" Emerson asked to his left.

The marine was the only other soul in the mess besides Joker, and had been playing with the mashed potatoes in front of him for like the last ten minutes. There the guy sat, just repeatedly poking his food with his fork, as if the mush might come alive and crawl away if he were to stop. It was pretty clear Hector was annoyed that he hadn't gotten assigned to the shore party. The boredom that was currently afflicting the marine though was something Joker was all too familiar with. As Shepard played hero and gallivanted around the planet, she left the rest of the SSV Normandy hanging around with nothing to do. It was hard in particular for him, as when Joker wasn't flying, he wasn't really doing anything at all.

The pilot turned his attention back to the man beside him nonchalantly, only to find Emerson looking at him with genuine concern. Joker looked aft, scratching his beard, pretending to give the question serious thought.

"The opposite of down?"

"Ha ha ha," Emerson replied sardonically. "You're hilarious."

"I try," Joker confided.

"Seriously, what's bothering you?"

Joker let out a sigh, then replied while leaning back, attempting to look past Emerson's shoulders. "...you didn't happen to hear anything just now...did ya?"

"Uh...no," the marine replied, looking over his shoulder to follow Joker's gaze. After seeing that no one was there, Emerson returned to face him. "I'm pretty sure we're the only ones here. Why? What did you hear?"

Joker sighed and looked back down at the brown slop on his tray, his ears still ringing. It was just some asshole trying to mess with him, probably Tanaka. He should just let it go, tried to...but he couldn't.

"Joker?" Emerson asked again, regaining his attention.

"I don't know Heck," Joker said taking another look behind him. "But I could've sworn someone just called me a-"

"CRIPPLE!" I yelled back at him. "LOOK AT ME!" I shot my left hand up in the air for all to see. That caused Tali to stop in her tracks, who was just in the middle of circumventing the acidic hole now growing in the middle of our vehicle's floor (ceiling).

"Shield, if we don't leave now, we're going to be killed!"

Kaidan was still pulling himself out of the Grizzly's cockpit, squeezing through the twisted metal that resulted from our impact with the ground. A cocktail of rage, despair, terror, and more rage flooded my mind as I looked at him, than back at my missing phalange. My hand made me look like I was trying to rock out at a concert instead of lying maimed inside a metal cage of death. Or like I was trying to do my best impression of Spiderman. I gripped my left hand as hard as I could in my other, returning to my previous motion of rocking back and forth on the ground in fetal position.

Huuuuuh no. This can't be happening-

"Shield! Get yourself together!"

Kaidan finally popped himself out of the driving compartment, rolling into the passenger area. Back at the other end of the vehicle was Garrus, motioning to Tali from outside, attempting to coerce her to continue toward the vehicle's backdoor exit. But...

My hAAAAAAND-

"That Thresher Maw's going to flatten us if we don't move...Now!"

From somewhere outside our vehicle, the behemoth let out another bone-chilling cry, most likely in response to the ear-splitting explosion that accompanied it. In response to the racket, I just curled up tighter on the floor.

"I don't care anymore! Fuck this noise!" I yelled back over the roar.

And at this point, I really didn't. I don't know why I was even doing this, ANY of this, anymore. The novelty of this bullshit had worn off on day numero uno. I was tired of all the crap I've gotten from the characters I've had to deal with on a regular basis. I was tired of all the crap I've had to put up with to just stay aboard the damn ship. And I was tired of all the crap I've endured trying to play the selfless Samaritan trying save the Galaxy.

You know what? Yeah, fuck this shit. Here I am putting my ass on the line for trillions of innocent alien souls and for what? For Shepard to damage my person physically AND emotionally? As if enduring all that shit wasn't enough though, no, to top it all off, the universe decided to now add another big fucking heap of 'fuck you' onto the sad, sad story that is my life, by taking away the-

"Yeah Shield, that sucks," Kaidan agreed, still standing right outside the cockpit he just crawled out from. "But get over it!"

Did he-

"I've seen dozens of injuries worse than that!"

Get over it?

"If you want to-"

GET OVER IT-

In a fit of rage, I snatched one of my severed fingers off the ground and chucked it at his stupid face.

Tink.

As the appendage bounced harmlessly off his helmet and fell to the floor, the vehicle fell silent. Tali took that as her cue to finally mosey on out and quickly jumped out the vehicle. Kaidan on the other hand, stayed where he was, just standing there, staring at me on the floor, deathly still, through his helmet's dark, orange, eerie, eyelets.

Then I blinked, and the next thing I knew, instead of standing several feet away, Kaidan was standing over me. Before I could say anything, he took me in his arms and hefted me off the ground, throwing me over his shoulders in a fireman's carry. I resisted at first, telling him "to leave me the fuck alone, you fucking fuckity fucker FUCK you." But as he ignored the noise, and simply continued onward to the vehicle's backdoor, I fell to silence rather quickly.

And as Kaidan leapt out of the Grizzly and into the blinding white blizzard, I couldn't help but feel a little relieved as he subsequently dropped me down into it. The freezing temperature of the snow soothed the burning stubs left on my hand, and I found the unceasing winter storm obscuring the environment around me oddly relaxing. And as I laid there in the snow, vision obscured by frost and sleet, howling wind swirling all around, seemingly alone, separated from all that was going on around me...I found it hard to remember why I had even been resisting. The white that blinded my sight took me to a happy place. A white wonderland where I could pretend I was alone, with not a care in the world. One where there was no one present to order me around. One where I didn't have to worry about imminent, life-threatening situations. One where I could pretend a giant worm wasn't screeching several yards away like a banshee, making every one of my hairs stand on end and my entire body shake uncontrollably in fear.

Before I knew what hit me, the cutting winds of winter finally arrived in full force, blowing away the wall of snow that had been stuck to my visor, returning me to my stark reality. The reality that I was currently laying uncomfortably close to the edge of a three hundred foot drop. I violently began to roll away from said cliff, as falling to my death was not on my current agenda.

And as I rolled to a stop several feet away from where the others were currently crouched however, I paused to reconsider. I never really put in any thought to it...but the plain fact was that every now and then, I see a window in my dreams that gives me a selection of particular skills. A particular set of skills that included overnight firearm training and the ability to slow down time. Shit that wasn't realistically attainable after a good night's rest. My presence in whatever reality this was obviously wasn't constrained by its pre-existing rules. These 'special skills' indicate that, in a sense, I defy some of the laws of reality here.

So if I really were to throw myself off that cliff...

Would I start over from the beginning? As in the very beginning? That'd be nice. Or would it just be the start of this mission? Wake up in bed ready to go or at my locker right before we left?...Would I have my fingers back? That'd also be nice...I could just wake up after this is all over and the penalty would just be that I'd-

"You ready?"

I cut that thought short, and slowly rotated my head around to face the man that had just spoken. I was, in fact, not ready, but he apparently wasn't asking me. Kaidan was looking at Garrus, who just nodded in affirmation, and Tali, who made a similar gesture. All three squad mates had their weapons out, locked and loaded, ready to do whatever he had just said. And here I was just lying on my back, chilling in the snow. I felt a little guilty for that.

But I seemed to be the one with the right idea as each one of them joined me on the ground, falling back on their asses not a moment later. Which was all thanks of course to the violent upheaval of earth that occurred below us. Whatever hare-brained scheme Kaidan had just cooked up was thrown out the window as the Thresher burrowed back underground.

"Thaaat's not good," Vakarian said pushing himself back up.

"Where'd it go?!" Kaidan blurted, already back on his feet, with a blue aura flared around him.

No one had time to respond to him however as the Thresher subsequently reappeared right over Shepard's Grizzly. Kaidan did have time to shout "NO!" very dramatically though as the worm took the entire vehicle into its actual maw. In spite of the Thresher trying to choke down the vehicle, and in spite of Kaidan loosing a few bullets in its general direction, I felt oddly calm. That in the end, everything was just going to be okay. All I had to do was reset.

I pushed myself up out of the snow and, after taking a deep breath, started taking steps backward. Although accidentally stepping off a cliff wouldn't exactly be theatrical, I don't think I could willingly throw myself off one. I have pretty bad acrophobia.

So why the hell are you about to jump off a cliff asshole?!

So why am I...because this mission is a wash. We failed. We have to...reset.

...are you fucking insane?

I took the next step back a little more gingerly than the last.

Well...no. My fingers fell off. All those mall cops still died. And now, Shepard, Liara, and Wrex are about to be killed. Arguably the Galaxy's three most influential persons on the squad. If they die-

Well that's why you're here isn't it? In case things go wrong? To right that shit?

...I...guess?

I guess?

I paused before taking the next step back.

But I'm maimed...and this is just Noveria. And we haven't even hit the Rachni. And at this rate I'm not even going to make it to Virmire. And if this really is all just a game then if I just-

But is this gamble worth it dipshit? What if you're wrong asshole?

Kaidan was still emptying his gun of ammo on the Thresher, with Tali trying to get him to stop. Garrus stood next to him like a statue, unsure of what to do.

I...but if I'm wrong...then it won't even matter. It'd be over-

I think you're just being a little whiny bitch.

Well...

Well? The cost is too damn high fool.

And I was right. Not a second later, I forced myself to look back in the direction of the Maw,where I saw the worm still struggling to down Shepard's car when-

sssshHBLAMM-BANG-BOO-BOOsh-BOOMSH-BWOOOOSH-KABOOM-BANG-BOOM-BOOSHCH-BOOSSSHHBOOOOOOM!

The Thresher Maw's head exploded with a large pop, and little bits and pieces of it started to rain over us along with the snow in a vast, pink mist. As a result, Shepard's vehicle was subsequently dropped back down to the ground with a soft thunk, with the only indicator it had just been in the jaw of a maw being the Grizzly's front, which was scorched a tad black. As Kaidan, Garrus, Tali, and I stood there dumbfounded, the vehicle revved its engines and casually drove back over to where we were.

And as it slowly rolled to a stop in front of us, the Grizzly's backdoor was violently swung open, where one Gunnery chief Williams was revealed to be standing. "Need a lift?"

I didn't stop to look over my shoulder and see how close I was to the edge as I followed the others into the vehicle. One by one, we hopped in, where we were each greeted by Liara and Wrex.

"Thank the goddess you are all unharmed!"

"Yeah..." Kaidan quietly murmured climbing in. "The same goes for all of you. When that thing had you in its jaws..."

"We thought you were all done for!" Tali finished for him, squeezing into the seat besides Liara.

"So did I," the asari replied.

"The Commander's one crazy SOB," Ashley said grinning. "Saw that thing tunneling up under us on the radar and decided to let it."

"Hm. Interesting strategy," Garrus remarked, seating himself next to Wrex. "Not many people would willingly let a Thresher Maw eat them alive."

I couldn't help but shudder at the mention of the worm.

"Yeah, can't say I was a fan of that plan at the time," Ashley replied.

"But that choice let us close the distance," Wrex pointed out. "And deal the final death blow."

"Just because it worked doesn't mean it wasn't insane," Kaidan countered. "Where the hell did that idea come from?"

"I actually got it from him," Shepard said, jabbing a finger over her shoulder back at Wrex.

"Oh," Wrex replied. "I didn't think you were listening to that story."

"And what story is that?" Kaidan asked still irked.

"Back when he was on Tuchanka, Wrex had to kill a Thresher Maw on foot," she clarified, turning around to face us.

"On foot? Leave it to the Krogan to make killing a Thresher Maw even more difficult," Garrus chimed in.

"They don't expect you to kill it. I just happened to."

"The Thresher Maw almost got him. It actually had him in its jaws before he threw a small makeshift frag down its gullet," Shepard finished looking at us.

Ashley whistled. "That would definitely do something."

"Keelah," Tali muttered.

"It was nothing really," Wrex said dusting off his chestplate.

"So what? Your plan was to get eaten, and on the off chance that its acid didn't immediately melt your vehicle, fire your mass accelerator at it point-blank?" Kaidan scoffed.

"That was the plan, yeah," Shepard replied. "And it worked didn't it?"

"But-"

"But nothing," Shepard said, returning her eyes to the road. "It's dead, and now we can move on." And she was right, as that giant carcass in front of us wasn't the only thing blocking our way to Peak 15. If memory served, Shepard mentioned shortly before the attack that there were still Geth ahead.

As she lurched the vehicle forward, Kaidan decided to just refrain from continuing their argument, which seemed to be the best choice when stuck in an argument with Shepard. Instead, Alenko decided to just grab onto one of the low-hanging straps beside his head. I mimicked the biotic, for I was also left standing without seat, due to the vehicle being currently past max capacity. The only seat available that was remotely big enough for either of us was Wrex's lap, but I don't think either of us were really keen on that option.

As Shepard drove the vehicle around the headless Thresher and began to zoom toward the Geth blockade ahead though, she piped back up. "So...is it just me, or does something seem a little off to you guys?"

"Off?" Liara asked.

"Like what?" Tali replied curious.

"I don't know," Shepard replied, eyes still fixated on the road ahead. "It's just...a feeling."

"What exactly do you mean Shepard?"

"Hm...I just...can't seem to put my fingers on it."

...

┌∩┐(ಠ_ಠ)_\nn/

"Let's go!" Shepard shouted, leaping back to her feet. The Krogan that had just thrown her against the ground didn't have time to finish the job as Shepard hit him with a healthy dose of vitamin Eezo. The two-ton lizard immediately flew away from the ground like a balloon filled with helium, and only after it started to cry out in a panic was when she decided to fling it across the room. That took a little more effort on her part, but the Commander found the result worthwhile. The Krogan slammed into a tall pile of stacked metal crates, causing several stacked precariously high to topple on top of him not soon after.

"Might wanna move Shepard! They got you flanked!"

She didn't just cudgel her way past a few dozen Geth armatures and missile turrets to be done in by a single Geth leaper. Shepard conjured a biotic barrier around herself with the Turian's remark, while whipping around to face her supposed assailants. "Ah," she let slip. Her mistake. It was two Geth leapers, not one. Shots from both instantly brought down her defense.

But that gave her time to return fire, with her modded rounds making short work of the one on the ceiling. Sensing its impending demise, the other, in obvious fashion, leaped back out of view. She cursed with its escape, but now that her hands were free, Shepard was able to book it across the garage to where Ashley was currently laying. Sliding down beside her, the Commander found to her amusement that the marine was still trying to give her a report.

"Commander! Garrus is providing cover fire from the columns on our nine with T'Soni and Tali but-"

"Shut up," Shepard cut her off, taking a stim from her belt and injecting Ashley's thigh with it.

"Ah," the baby winced.

"Think you can get back on your feet?" Shepard yelled over the gunfire.

"Now that I'm all gelled up!" the marine replied with one eye shut.

Taking a second look at her, Shepard changed her mind "Why don't you take five!"

The Commander rolled out of cover before the marine could protest and ran back to the other side of the garage, kinetic barrier reflecting any stray shots that came her way.

"Shepard, just found the radio jammer!" Kaidan suddenly exclaimed over her earpiece.

"Take it down!"

"How do you think we're talking right now!" he radioed back.

She rolled her eyes in response, as too much action was going on for him to actually expect her to stop and think things over. As if on cue, she overheard a synthetic growl come from straight ahead. Shepard leapt over the crate she was hiding behind and subsequently blasted the Geth with a powerful display of biotics. She let it somersault through the air several times before actually whipping out her shotgun to finish the job. Immediately after, a synthetic, yet non-threatening, voice came over Peak 15's garage.

"User alert. All Peak 15 facilities have suffered a great deal of damage. Biohazard materials present throughout facility. Virtual Intelligence user interface offline."

As the VI finished its announcement, one last gunshot went off, which told her that the battle was now over. She still double checked her omni-tool nonetheless in case there were more. Satisfied with its report of zero hostiles, she began walking up the ramp, leading to the upper floor that overlooked the rest of the garage, where Kaidan and Wrex already were.

"Sounds like we'll need to get the generators back online," Kaidan said.

"I imagine they'll be guarded," she replied.

"Good. That'll keep things interesting," Wrex grumbled.

With that, Shepard turned back around to the floor below them. Ashley was walking with a gait up the ramp, followed by Garrus, Tali, and Liara. Before she could ask where the lamest member of the team was, he suddenly appeared to her right, heaving himself up over the railing to reach where the upper level was instead.

Idiot.

As they all approached the Commander's position however, Shepard took particular notice of Ashley, noting that her injury was worse than she had thought.

"Williams."

The marine immediately stiffened upon hearing her name. "Yes sir?"

"We might have missed some of the Geth hiding in the Valley. I want you to stay here in the garage and guard the Grizzly in case any more attempt to attack it once we're inside the facility."

"Commander, with all due respect, that's bullshit. You don't need to worry about this," she said motioning to her leg. "I'm fit for duty."

Shepard on the other hand, disagreed. With her shields down, that Geth Prime had done a number on the marine's leg. She was lucky it had only been grazed, and not taken clear off. "Williams, that vehicle is our only way back down, which is why it's of the utmost importance that you stay here to watch it. That's why I'm also assigning Shield to stay behind here with you." In addition to wounded soldiers, she didn't need maimed amateurs on a high-stakes mission like this either. She had no idea what was behind the door next to them, and if what the VI said was anything to go by, she didn't exactly care to come down with a bio-weapon due to any rookie mistakes thanks to Shield. The man barely held his own in a regular fight, and now that the Maw had apparently taken his fingers...

She gave a glance at Shield, who was staying uncharacteristically silent, simply looking at the ceiling aloof. Ashley on the other hand was much more vocal.

"Commander, I'm fine. You don't need to sideline me!" she insisted.

Behind her, Kaidan whispered, "We will need all the firepower we can get Commander."

She didn't pay Kaidan as much mind as she normally would have however, as something else was currently catching her attention. Shield was now leaning against the railing, wholly uninterested in their back and forth. With how often Shield liked to run his mouth however, she now found his silence more concerning then Williams' wound. After begging so hard to accompany them on the mission, he apparently had no qualms with being left outside the facility. Almost like he wanted to stay behind.

"What about you Shield?" she found herself asking, not that he looked back in response.

"...what about me?"

"You're awfully quiet over there. You tellin' me you don't have an opinion on your assignment?"

"You're Commander Shepard," he replied apathetically. "You give the orders, we follow."

In the few weeks she had endured his company, and all the atrocious attempts at lying and bullshit that had come with it, she found this was one of his most bold-faced lies yet. While Shepard loathed to admit she was still having trouble with sorting out how much of what Shield had told her had been true, there was one thing about the man she knew for sure. The man lacked sincerity.

And there she had it. Williams was adamant about going with them, wanting to prove to them as well as to herself that she belonged on the team. Shepard could clearly see the stubbornness that had led the woman to join a career path she was blacklisted in from the get go. And for Shield, whose intentions were not always easily discerned, was clearly set on staying out of Binary Helix's facility. For whatever reason Shepard didn't know, but common sense dictated that it would be detrimental to the mission to leave him out here for it.

"Commander-"

"Enough," she commanded, and the marine fell silent. "You know your own limits. So fine. You're both covering our rear."

"Thank you sir!" Ashley answered emphatically.

Then after breaking eye contact with the marine, she told the rest, "Alright everyone, move out! If you don't remember, Binary Helix is working with Saren, and it's about high time we found out what Saren was up to here." And at her command, her team formed up, beginning their descent into Binary Helix's facility. As soon as they entered the first hallway however, Shepard immediately tensed. The sight of defense drones several inches away from your face tends to do that. Though Shepard quickly dropped her (relative) guard once the realization hit that they were pointed in the opposite direction. Tali, clearly baffled, asked aloud as to why.

"They want to keep their people in, as much as they want to keep others out," Wrex answered.

"That's barbaric. This is a facility of critical thinkers and problem solvers," Liara pointed out. "Why would they be treated as criminals?"

"Those types of people aren't mutually exclusive," Vakarian pointed out as they approached the other side. Doctor Saleon was obviously the first that came to mind for him. As she looked to her right, Shepard found a dead-end, but to her left, to her left she found an elevator. As she walked in its direction, Shield spoke up next.

"And you'd be surprised Doc," he said somewhere from behind. "A lot of these guys ARE criminals. The research done here isn't exactly the type done for the benefit of mankind...or any kind I guess."

At that comment, Shepard stopped before entering the elevator, and wheeled around. "You have intel as to what goes on in here?" she asked irate.

He avoided her gaze and half-heartedly responded, "I guess. All I can say for sure is that...those guns probably aren't there just to keep the researchers in."

She scowled. He knew more than he was letting on, but how much, she couldn't say. Then the elevator let out a ding behind her. She turned back around to it, and entered. At this point, it didn't really matter what they were going to find. All she could worry about now is what she would do when they finally found it.

The elevator ride down passed quicker than expected, which was most likely due to the excitement resulting from all their HUDs and omni-tools alerting them to the presence of nearby Geth. Before the elevator doors had even opened, they had been able to come up with an outlined battle plan. They had more than enough time to set up biotic barriers in anticipation of the Geth's assault, and the resulting counter strike decimated the few Geth in the narrow corridor facing them. And as the team spilled out into the snow covered courtyard before them, the Geth quickly found themselves overwhelmed.

Tech attacks breaking down their systems, biotics immediately following them up, throwing their limp bodies all across the room. The assault was coordinated, and the assault was ruthless, and the synthetics never stood a chance. As Shepard made sure the last Geth before her was most definitely dead a few minutes later however, the scraping sound of metal suddenly assaulted her ears. She immediately looked up, expecting a Geth leaper to be attached to the vents above. But just as her HUD indicated, nothing was there.

"What was that?!" Garrus let out, spooked by the sound.

"More Geth?" Tali guessed a little loudly.

"Probably debris. Don't have a panic attack, I'll protect you," Wrex remarked.

Shepard looked all around them, desperately, but couldn't find the source. Adjacent to the courtyard they were in was a large staircase, leading to the next floor up, whose corridors and rooms were all on display thanks to the walls of glass. But that just made her more paranoid as similar sounds to the first followed not long after. And this paranoia was only worsened by the fact that Shield seemed disproportionally spooked by said noises as well.

"Is it...is it coming from the vents?" Ashley thought out loud.

Then the door atop the staircase opened. Shepard thanked whatever God there was that everyone had enough trigger discipline not to shoot, as instead of Geth, they found a plump, balding Human standing in the middle of it.

"Thank the Maker they finally sent someone!" he exclaimed in a high pitch voice, on the verge of tears.

Everyone lowered their weapons as he opened his mouth, now that they knew who the culprit was. Except for Shield, who was still pointing his gun at him.

"I've been holed up in that office for days!" he wailed. "Thank you! Thank you, Thank you, Thank-"

As if Shield could read her mind, he immediately dropped his gun before she could lambaste him. But following his gaze back to the Binary Helix employee, she could now see why. Throughout her lifetime, Shepard had seen too many horrors to count. Things that lead to people being unable to sleep at night. Things that lead trained soldiers to break down at the sight of. And at this point in her career, not much really phased her anymore. But this moment certainly made her list of top ten.

As the creatures began to flood down from the ceiling, the walls, and even up out of the floor of the facility, only Wrex was able to utter the words:

"RACHNI!"

Codex Entry:

Urdnot Wrex's Childhood

Born in 1357 CE to Urdnot Broodmother Dahkanna, Urdnot Wrex was measured the eighth smallest in his brood of ten. While not the sole reason, this was a large component of why Urdnot Wrex came to be a loner in his youth. As prized as Krogan children were after the Genophage, the stronger were much more so than than the weak. And unlike the other Urdnot children in the Kelphic Valley, Wrex saw little of his father, who was a notorious Warlord by the name of Jarrod. As Warlord Jarrod was often absent in his attempts to rally the rest of the splintered Urdnot clan, Wrex was truly a lone soul, with little to no attention placed on his person. So it came to pass, in place of his biological father, Wrex was reportedly raised by a Shaman formerly known as Urdnot Droyas. This particular shaman was shunned by a vast majority of the Urdnot Clan in the Kelphic Valley, largely due to his radical beliefs on the way Krogan culture needed to adapt to coincide with the rest of galactic society. For no reason other than that they were both alone, the two Krogan kept each other company, and was where Urdnot Wrex is suspected to have gained his reformist values. The company Wrex kept however further marginalized him from others his age, as other Krogan youths mocked him for spending time with such an ignorant fool. This of course, caused Wrex to return this sentiment of disdain in earnest.

So when the time came for Wrex's Rite of Passage, it was no surprise that the Krogan had no Krantt (battle troop) of his own. The elders fully expected the young Krogan to die alone in the wastes. But it was during his Rites that Wrex found what made him truly unique. Not his biotic potential, as that would develop later, but rather, his intellect. Urdnot Wrex survived the three trials of the Keystone alone, due to a combination of brawn and brains, and was the last recorded Krogan to kill a Thresher Maw on foot in Krogan history, and more notably, the largest recorded to be killed single-handedly in Galactic History since the 19th Century of Council Era. This success led to his meteoric rise and eventual appointment as Chief of Kelphic Valley's Clan Urdnot. Revered over the countryside for his legendary feat of strength and later for his prowess as one of their coveted Battlemasters, Urdnot Wrex found himself in a very unique situation, and used this new position of power to finally began preaching the beliefs his teacher had tried to spread before.

Such respect did the Krogan have for strength, that it was only now that the words came from a warrior did they truly begin to listen. And not just the members of his clan, but those clans around them as well. Several Clans of Urdnot and Raik began to listen to, and actually take his teachings to heart. As this occurred, Urdnot Jarrod was leading the few Clans of Urdnot he rallied as brigands across Krogan Space. When he heard one of his sons had become Chieftain, the Krogan was enthralled. Imagine to his fury when he returned home however, to find that this very son was destroying what Jarrod considered the pillars of Krogan Tradition. After several failed attempts to make his son abandon his radical beliefs, Warlord Jarrod offered Chieftain Wrex to meet at a Crush (grounds considered sacred by the Krogan) to finally resolve their dispute. It was there that Warlord Jarrod violated one of the Krogan's most sacred traditions, ordering his followers to ambush Wrex and his most devout followers once his son refused to concede for the last time. Urdnot Wrex was able to escape with his life, but not before sinking a dagger deep in his father's chest, piercing every one of his father's redundant hearts. It was then in 1851 CE that Urdnot Wrex gave up on the Krogan clans and took to the stars as a mercenary, like so many Krogan before him. This marks when the Krogan was deemed to have taken to the fatalistic tendencies of most other Krogan, a large sense of apathy to the fate of his species, and generally pessimistic view.

I can clearly see that no one has looked at this entry since 1897 CE. Someone needs to bring this up to the Broker's standard of quality, as per the template given in Entry 020-DW-2105. I don't care how long Krogan live, five hundred years is not considered by any race to constitute one's 'childhood'. And combine this entry with whatever else we have on this Krogan. Individuals should have entries listed under their sole file in the network, not thirty entries left unsorted throughout it! Do you network rats even work in that small window you're not ingesting mindfish or browned out? What does the Broker even pay you all for?! I want this fixed by tomorrow. It's like looking for a Nathak in a Noverian snowstorm for a file on this Krogan! Do your damn jobs!

Author's Notes:

Yooooo, before you guys read the chapter above, here's a backstory to explain where I got that awesome sound effect I typed up for it. So imagine, there I was on Wednesday morning, last one in my room to move out. I was clearing out of housing for the summer, and had been going up and down the stairs like clockwork to move out in time. On like the jillionth trip however, I happen to come across this kid just playing with his toy car alone in the middle of my floor. No one else in the hallway but us, where he was just making ppppbbtthhh sounds with his bright red firetruck. Poor parenting to say the least. Then, out of nowhere, with no warning, this kid just stops, and stares at me with his beady little eyes. Then, like watching a train wreck in slo-motion, he slowly tosses the thing up in the air and makes the most dramatic explosion I've ever heard in my life. This kid reached whole new levels of ingenuity in creating this sound, not to mention that I'm pretty sure he broke the sound barrier. Then as mysteriously as he had appeared, he picked up his truck and waddled off away down the stairwell. Suffice to say, that kid obviously knew what was up, and so, to the best of my ability, I made a rough attempt at recreating what the event might have sounded like. I wish you could have been there, because it was a sound every being should hear at least once in a lifetime.

JK, haha, no one ever reads the AN before the chapter. Not in this format they don't.

Thought I was going to say I just made up that whole story for a second after that JK though didn't ya? But what kind of weirdo would do that hahaha...

Also, in addition to the chapter, Fun Fact Friday! (so you guys at least take away something worth your time if you don't like the AN...or chapter...or story in general. At this point though, why are you still even reading? ...wait, scratch that, it does get better from here, I assure you! Don't leave! I have candy! :'[ ) Oh! Right, Fun fact~ Platypuses have prehensile tails, and can carry things with them. Whether this talent translates to beavers though, I have no idea. And one should disregard that this came out on a Saturday. Unless you're actually reading this on a Friday, then, in which case, like, you're welcome man.

Anyways, in regards to the actual story, MAN SHIELD, why you gotta be so wangsty? Always pontificating and pointing fingers at shit. I mean on one hand, thinking things over can be a good exercise. On the other, too much introspection is boriiiing. TBH, up until now, Shield's never really had to lift a finger his entire life. So now's the time for the guy to really play his hand! Show everyone what he's got! Cross his fingers as he throws caution to the wind! Of course, that's also what Shepard's here for. To give him a hand with plans of action and the finger when he needs motivation. I did just hear secondhand though that, depending on what happens next chapter, major character development and shifts in the story's paradigm may or may not occur...like the possibility that every other chapter has, I suppose. So nevermind.

Hehe...puns.

Also, I know that short cutaway to Joker was probably unnecessary, but I gotta say, it's something that's always intrigued me. While Shepard and fam are traipsing down below on strange planets, shooting up every thing that looks at them funny...what does the rest of the Normandy do? The Normandy crew that is. Are they just chillin'? Do they still have work when the Normandy is just docked? Do they just play poker for the hours and hours Shepard's down on the ground?! Idk. That'd be a pretty cool perspective to see though. See Shepard's adventures through the eyes of a red shirt, a simple Private like Fredericks or an Ensign like Draven. Or even a Normandy veteran often looked over like Chakwas or Adams. That'd be a pretty interesting read I'd think. Also, Wrex. You guys know that trailer where Grunt kills a Thresher Maw? Causes it to explode point-blank with a shotgun to its face? I was always kind of irked that it went down nothing like that in the game. So here's my rendition of it (which I think is just a tad more plausible for such a ghastly kill like that). Wrex using a frag to kill one that is. But how would you guys think he'd do it?

Oh, and one more thing. Who got those ASOIAF references in the chapter? The Winds of Winter? a Stark reality? Hahaaaaa, lame I know :(

On to reviews then I guess:

Desu~ton - First, allow me to start off with the fact that I really enjoyed your review! Although to be fair, I enjoy all reviews. Good or bad, short or long, keep 'em coming you chintzy bastards. Constructive criticism benefits everyone! They help the author grow as a writer, you get to express your opinions on what you've seen, and your review lets others know to veer away from the awful story they were just about to read. And for the actual reply...all extremely astute observations my friend. Shield is dense, yes, chugging along through whatever event that occurs without even taking a grain of wisdom from it (idiot). And Shepard really does hates his guts, oh boy does she. But bowing out? That's not his style! Shield's a man of conviction, a man of principle. He wouldn't just abandon the Normandy crew in the middle of their plight! That'd be the selfish thing to do!...OR would it?! I don't know. Shield's gonna do what Shield's gonna do though, regardless of the consequences :\ But thank you again for taking time to write bro, I really do appreciate it! You don't know how much joy I have to see what questions or views you have on the latest to come out!

LGS - And true. True. Or it would be, if Shield actually can beat death :l

Toothless - As for that, personally, I've never had acid poured on my hand before, so I wouldn't know. But I have accidentally run my hand under hot water, which I imagine is probably comparable. If anyone reading this story is a clutz or had one for a lab partner however, think we could get a second opinion on this?

Ayn-Rand - But hold up for a second...Jeff? Jeff, Jeff, Jeff...oh! Jeff! I love that guy! Stick around playa, he'll be back!

And last but not least - TROOOLLL! TROLLLLL IN THE DUNGEONNNNN

Thanks for the reviews though gang!

In the Next Chapter: Motherfocka's never loved us. Remember?!

Tune in next time on Mass Effective: A Hero Made!