Bones in the ocean

Disclaimer

Starcraft is the property of Blizzard entertainment.

Mass effect is the property of Bioware.

Any elements used in this story are used only in order to create a story for no monetary gain nor do I claim any ownership over them, beyond the names and characters unique to this story.

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Welcome to the Galactic codex, your request has been processed:

Thresher maw: Carnivorous megafauna of robust physiology. These predatory entities combine aspects of creatures from both the animal and fungi kingdoms. Their robust forms combined with their reproduction via spores has allowed these beings to colonize most of the Galaxy due to unwilling transportation via space faring civilization.

Request fulfilled.

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Edolus - Hill overlooking the valley

Shepard

You left them to die.

These words were the ones that almost made him end his own life. They were the product of guilt and a mind shattered by the sorrow of losing friends, brothers and loved ones.

They were the product of countless nights filled with nothing but the gargled screams of his unit as they were eaten alive because of that blasted creature. Every time he closed his eyes in peace the sight of the carnage took away any kind of comfort that remained in his life.

That sight. That damned sight…

Appeared in front of him.

The valley held the remains of the platoon. An exact replica of the incident in Akuze, the place where commander Shepard was born.

Shepard, who would never leave another soldier behind. Shepard, the commander who earned the right to become a SPECTRE. Shepard… the one who survived.

He pondered if he should go down there and accept what fate laid before him. But as he did so a voice whisked him away from this line of thought.

"By the spirits… " Garrus exclaimed. Even though all turians were drilled in the manners of war as part of their culture due to their martial society nothing could prepare him for such raw butchery "What could do such a thing?".

"Thresher maws" Shepard answered plainly. Garrus got notice of that and descended from the turret control and made his way towards the cockpit.

"What's wrong Shepard?" Garrus asked. The commander on his part was just starting at the scene below, not blinking once.

"Do you know…" he paused. Shepard was about to ask him if he knew about Akuze but decided to shut himself up.

Garrus sighed, he knew "I do, commander. When I did my research on you I saw the reports" Shepard looked down. His gravest sin, repeated "I don't blame you for it commander. No one does" he placed his hand on Shepards shoulder "I know that nothing I say may bring you any measure of peace. But I want you to do something for me…" Shepard was confused as he turned to him "Keep looking towards the valley… Think of those that were there at that moment. Think of their names"

Shepard remembered them all.

Daniels, that moron could get her hands on anything. She even managed to steal a spot in Shepard's soul. What a victory…

Os, the smartass managed to get himself demoted only on his god forsaken attitude. He was the man you wanted covering your ass all your life. He had lost his best friend that day.

Toombs, he was cheerful and trusting to a fault. Shepard had led him to death, he had led one of the bravest soldiers in the alliance to his end.

Kowalski, the genius of their unit. Had Shepard not shown some backbone to him, the unit would have remained under him. In time he saw the error of his ways, he learned, he grew. He could not do that anymore.

Lisa… Shepard had only loved one person in his life. The woman who joined the alliance without the soul of a warrior. The woman who only cared about patching her unit up and keeping their spirits in good company.

The world grew darker with their loss.

"Do you see them?" Shepard began to see them among the dead. They were… smiling?

Shepard smiled back "I see them…" he knew that it was nothing but his mind playing tricks, but just for this moment, he let it be.

"They are there for you Shepard. So you better remember them, so that the day you see them again you can see them in peace" garrus continued to give a smile for his new friend.

They remained there, no saying another word. The moment continued for another minute before Garrus made his way towards the turret.

With a single shot, a beacon that rested in the middle of the valley was destroyed. They wouldn't go down and disturb the fallen.

Shepard was certain that this is how this unit was ambushed. A beacon that laid in the middle of a Maw's territory. Just like his own on Akuze. The alliance would dispatch a team to get rid of the nest and secure the bod…

The ground began to grumble as the Thresher maw began to make its way towards…

Not them?

The maw left its own nest and began to go away from them. Where was it going? Oh no.

"Garrus, better have your belt on!" Shepard said as he proceeded to put the pedal to the metal. He began to follow the maw.

"Commander, why are you… Spirits" Garrus whispered that last part as realization struck him.

It was making its way towards the rest of the team.

Xiltar

The onslaught mirrored an assault from the Zerg in an uncanny manner. The end war had been a conflict within a short timeframe, but it provided his warriors and by extension himself enough experience on how the abominations attacked.

They had two advantages in this engagement: the first was that unlike the Zerg this Thresher Maws lacked any semblance of coordination a hive mind would provide. The second was that both of them were resilient in such a manner that the beasts couldn't easily overcome.

Wrex began to shoot any of the critters that dared to make its way towards them. When his shotgun began to overheat he beat those remaining with a hot gun and his free fist

Xiltar on his part had begun to track the primal minds of these creatures. Striking at them as they began to emerge from the ground.

They were frenzied by something within the complex, he did not know what it was but found that their movements began to follow a sort of flow as they did not manage to kill them.

They stood at the same height as Wrex and much like the Zerg hydralisks they slithered over the soil with a long tail. While they had been spewing acid in a wild manner, none managed to completely overcome their defense.

But they were still at the mercy of this creature's scythe-like arms. They needed to find a better position to resist the onslaught. He turned towards the prefab structure. They would make their stand there.

"Whatever you're thinking…" Wrex was interrupted as another of the creatures emerges right next to him. It didn't last long "better make it quick".

(Hold on) Xiltar grabbed the Krogan and made it so the void engulfed him as well. His intention was to teleport them to the roof of the structure. He just hoped that Wrex would not lose his balance

Once they had been teleported to the roof of the structure the onslaught ended. The animals wouldn't follow them up to the roof as they couldn't get enough momentum to reach them.

"Could have begun with that" Wrex remarked as he sat on the roof.

(Wouldn't you find humor in that?) The Protoss jokes, an alien concept to him (Now that they are distracted I could cloak and explore the complex)

"Not a good idea, they would follow the vibration of your steps and attack wildly around you" Wrex said "Best we stay here and wait for Shepard…"

(I thought you would be inclined to rescue this young one) he joked again, this was entertaining.

"With any other creature? Yeah." Wrex began to explain why "Whatever made the Threshers leave the safety of the underground would sure as hell piss off whatever parent remains near them".

As if proving his point, a dust cloud appeared over the horizon. Followed closely by a small tremor that was getting larger by the second.

"Welp, never thought I would take on another one of those on foot" Wrex shared the memories of his own fight with a thresher maw so that Xiltar could have an idea of what they were up against.

(Mhmm… This creatures remind me a lot of the Zerg) Xiltar began, this picked Wrex's curiosity (Had they the opportunity to steal the essence of this creatures they would have surely become more of a nuisance)

Before they could continue, the rumbling came to a stop just outside the wall of the complex

Silence prevailed for a moment. Then the ground where they had been before exploded as a titanic form of the beasts rose from the ground. It screeched to the heavens as a challenge. Xiltar found nothing but primal rage in its mind… along with confusion. Why?

"TAKE COVER!" Wrex screamed as he made for the edge of the roof. As they jumped from it, the creature let the weight of its claws crush the structure below them.

Something odd happened in turn. The thresher maw paused for a second as its confusion began to subside. Its wrath had not been quenched though, as it smelled the air and as it saw the bodies of the younger ones it became more angered.

It launched a volley of acid against the Protoss. Wrex remained in cover as the creature began to attack Xiltar.

The young one teleported to the back of the creature and he began to climb along certain spots. He was hoping that the creature wouldn't rear back and flatten him while he tried to reach it's head.

Wrex had been giving him information on the weaknesses of the beast through his thoughts. This feedback gave him a guide on how he should strike against the abomination. The monster had lost track of his assailant for long enough so that Xiltar could get the drop on one of its visual organs.

All for the purpose of buying enough time for help to arrive. Or die in the process. Whatever comes… Wrex?

The Krogan chuckled. Bastard.

Xiltar cleaved the part of the beast that offered him sight. He grabbed the beast's side and signaled Wrex to grab the creature's attention.

The krogan got out of cover and began to shoot at the beast's tongue. A sensitive spot for the animal. This had the intended reaction and it lost focus on Xiltar once more.

He gathered his strength and as the monster began to launch itself against the krogan he launched himself over the creature's head and severed its other eye.

He landed next to Wrex, they had blinded the creature, this made it spew acid in random directions. Making it a hazard to remain in the immediate area, they made their way towards the only exit that remained.

But as they neared the complex entrance a lucky shot from the creature struck directly at the structure that once supported the now destroyed gate, bringing it down. This had cut their only option of escape, as Xiltar became too tired by the effort of using the void to teleport along the creature's back and head.

"Damn monster!" Wrex screamed as he took a shot against the beast. The shot managed to do nothing more than annoy the creature, but it found another use in giving away their position. As it began to tower over them, Wrex spoke again "Anything to say pal?"

The protoss remained silent only for a moment (En aru'din Arakyr) If he was to die he would do so with the memory of his home.

A sound pierced the silence as a shot from a tank shell made way for the creature's mouth. The shot found its mark and exploded right in its mouth. The lack of knowledge as to where it came from combined with the fact that it could not see its origin made the creature recoil and begin its wild rampage once again.

This time it struck with its claws towards a particular spot along the wall. Wrex and Xiltar made use of the opportunity their unknown savior had given them as they continued to attack the creature and made their way towards the breach.

They climbed through the rubble and made their escape. Once they made it clear from the beast's reach they turned to see who had saved them.

Over the ridge opposite of them they saw as commander Shepard and Garrus pummeled the monster from a safe distance.

The creature got fed up with it being attacked so it burrowed itself and made way for the commander's mako.

The mako on its part began to drive circles around the wall, getting out of reach just as the monster tried to surface beneath them.

Little by little the commander and Garrus chipped away at the creature's armor.

Wrex and Xiltar saw from the top of a hill as the mako began to tire down the beast.

With its frenzied state gone the thresher maw was beginning to slow down. The maneuvers it had to do coupled with the long trek it had traversed made it more and more sloppy.

As it emerges once again it tilts its head backwards for a long period, this gives them a chance. One shot that pierced its skull from the bottom ended the beast's existence.

Relief came to Xiltar and his companion as the threat had subsided.

A short while later the Normandy arrived to pick the team up.

Afterword.

The spice…

In all honesty this chapter was too tiresome to write.

Now onto the answers:

Ikasuki: Hello m8, thanks for taking the time to review my work. I would like to address your concerns in relation to this story.

While the trek of this one Protoss may be hard and underpowered this is greatly due to the fact that it is only one Protoss against the unknown. But worry not, once the rest of them arrive I will respect the power scaling of both universes.

While, yes a full blown Protoss empire could conquer the mass effect universe fairly fucking easily there are two things you must consider:

-There are not many of them left. Even less after Amon ended what remained of the Daelaam.

-There is this common feeling in lore that states that the only reason as to why the Protoss don't control the galaxy is that they don't want to. I think of this as a cultural thing, since they see themselves as inheritors of the Xel'naga.

Hope you can enjoy the rest of the story. But if you don't want to I may recommend cycles upon cycles by the incredible muffin, good stuff.

IMPORTANT.

I will be taking a week long break after I post the next interlude. This is mainly due to me writing some massive chapters in what I call a week long special.

See you soon.