Chapter 10: Tuchanka
"Shields Down, multiple hull breaches!"
"God damn it Joker we have to take that thing down, no matter the cost!"
"Harbingers shields are down as well the only option we have is to fire the main gun at point blank range."
"Fucks sake EDI that's not an option!"
"Shepard we can't save the Normandy…"
"Yes we…"
"No…we need to get to an esacape pod!"
"EDI maintain evasive maneuvers while me and the commander get out of here."
"Of course Jeff."
Shepard woke up from her dream, cold sweat running down her face. "What's wrong Hazel?" Liara asked, pulling herself up from Shepard's side.
"Nothing." She replied wiping the sweat from her forehead.
"Bridge to Commander Shepard." The intercom cracked.
"We are in orbit above Tuchanka and docked with the Shasta."
"No time to sleep in we've got business to take care of." Shepard yawned.
The Shasta is an Alliance dreadnought on temporary loan to Shepard. The Shasta is of the newer Kilimanjaro class of dreadnought and is serving as an observation and aid vessel.
"You're late!" A voice boomed as Shepard walked in the briefing room.
"Sorry dad…I mean Admiral Shepard." Shepard mockingly replied.
"It's not like you're fighting a war or anything like that." The Admiral said sarcastically.
"So what have we all decided?" Shepard asked.
"Clan Urdnot's main camp is deeply entrenched underground so bombarding them wouldn't be an option." A Servicemen answered.
"And we're out numbered so a ground assault would be a slaughter." Another servicemen added.
"And Krogen defense turrets would shoot down any ship trying to land." The Admiral said.
"Sounds like suicide." Shepard sighed. "I've got an idea!"
"By all means share." The Admiral snorted.
"If I can go in with a mako and distract them, I'll be able to send the geth in and take the Urdnot camp." Shepard answered.
"I don't like it, it's too risky." The Admiral said.
"I've gotten out of messier." Shepard dismissed. "This is the only way an invasion on Tuchanka is going to work."
"They do have other colonies we could…"
"No." Shepard interrupted. "The Krogen only respect strength and if we take their home world it will send a message to their colonies."
"So we take this barren rock and it'll make them surrender?" The Admiral questioned.
"It will show them for all their strength they couldn't protect their home world and the colonies will fall inline." Shepard said adamantly.
"A right…but if this goes wrong…"
Shepard interrupted. "It won't Admiral!"
"Crew dismissed!" Admiral Shepard ordered.
"So how's life as an Admiral dad." Shepard asked.
"It's all bull shit; they send you here and there only to tell you what you can't do!" The admiral growled. "Then they make you admiral weeks before they ship your children off to prison for saving the galaxy!"
"Sounds like a personal problem to me." Hazel Shepard said, giving the admiral a weary smile. "Well I'm back now and all of a sudden I'm the council's last best hope for a safe galaxy…again."
"And you're kicking ass!" Admiral Shepard laughed. "I had a pool going on the ship when you fought…ah what's her name on Omega."
"You mean Aria?"
"That's the one!" The admiral shouted. "Needless to say you made your old man a few hundred credits richer."
"I'm so glad my putting myself a risk makes your pockets fatter." Shepard grunted, giving her father a death glare.
"I knew you could take her." He replied, giving a shrug. "You look like your mother when you look at me that way."
Shepard replied with a grin and turned around to leave the briefing room when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure you don't want help on this one?"
"I'll call in if I do dad, I promise." Shepard said.
"Be safe kid." Admiral Shepard sighed. Knowing he wouldn't win this argument.
"I'll have one of my team watching the camp from afar and if I get into trouble I'll have him cover my escape." Shepard said, trying to reassure the admiral. "Besides, when am I not careful?" Shepard playfully asked.
Admiral Shepard shook his head and let out a great sigh. "That's what I'm afraid of."
Urdnot Wreav was a man with many problems. He played political leader to the council, he was constantly keeping the other clans in check, and he had the fragile colonies to watch after and was losing support of his own clan for what seemed like weakness on his own part.
Grunt was also a problem. He'd several times in the past challenged Wreav and Wreav has always just barely calmed the young Krogen's fury.
"Clan leader the geth are invading!" Wreav's chief scout bellowed.
"Such a bold move attacking Tuchanka like this." Wreav grunted. "This can only be…"
"Shepard!" Grunt loudly interrupted. "She's come to challenge you Wreav and my battle master will not relent until she has your head!"
"The fool!" Wreav growled. "This is my planet, if she thinks I'll just surrender…"
"She is looking for battle, for conquest!" Grunt interrupted again. "If we join her we can show the galaxy that we are strong."
"I will not subjugate the Krogen!" Wreav yelled.
The camp trembled with explosions from the outside and then crashing through the walls was a mako.
Shepard looked through the heads up display of the mako and fired at several krogen . Some charged the tank but only ended up crushed beneath the wheels of her vehicle. A rocket blast sent several krogen flying and more bursting into flame. As she drove through the ruins of the camp she cut down several with machine gun fire.
After a while she forced many out of the camp and pushed them into fire from the geth. Then suddenly she zoomed in on one Krogen in particular…she knew this krogen.
"SHEPARD!" The krogen savagely yelled. "Come out and fight you coward!"
It was Urdnot Wreav. She could blow him away right now if she wanted to. But listening to the krogen call her out pushed a button. What she really wanted to do was get out and teach this loud mouthed lizard a lesson. She let go of the controls and opened the hatch.
"So you've come to die?" Wreav asked.
Shepard gave the krogen a confident smile. "You don't call, write or except my invitations…"
"I will not subjugate my people!" Wreav interrupted.
"I'm not going to reason with you, I'm going to shoot you!" Shepard bellowed, drawing her pistol and putting a few rounds into the krogen.
Wreav shrugged this off and charged at Shepard. Shepard rolled out of the way and shot at Wreav once more. Wreav charged his biotics and slammed Shepard into a wall. Wreav lifted the mako bioticly into the air and threw it at Shepard. Shepard rolled out of the way and took cover behind the destroyed wall.
"Kolyat are you in position?" She questioned while behind the wall take fire from Wreav.
"I have a shot!" Hazel's comm. cracked.
"Wait for my signal!" She ordered.
Shepard pulled out her shot gun and charged at Wreav. Wreav took a swing at her, but she ducked and slid between his legs. The first shot hit him in the left leg, dropping him on one knee.
"Take the shot!" She barked through her comm.
Kolyat took aim at the krogen, his figure was on the trigger. One shot would be all he would need. He then saw the krogen get back up and charge at Shepard. In the back ground he could hear Shepard order him to take the shot. He thought to himself. "Is this what it's like to have the power to see who lives and dies?"
Energy erupted out of Wreav's shotgun. Shepard couldn't dodge it and it took her shields down. The next shot Wreav took went through her armor and sent her falling on her back. Shepard coughed up blood.
"Take the shot." She managed to say weakly as Wreav stood above her.
"So this is the mighty Shepard who wants to rule the Terminus?" Wreav mocked, dragging Shepard up by her throat.
Shepard lifted her arm and pushed her shotgun at Wreav, but when she pulled the trigger nothing happened. Wreav grabbed her arm and crushed it. Shepard grunted in pain. Wreav punched Shepard, breaking her face plate. He then tossed her and proceeded to slam her onto the ground repeatedly with his biotics.
Shepard's other hand went for her pistol but was kicked away by Wreav. "Still alive?" Wreav asked. "You are stubborn."
Shepard was seeing three krogen instead of one when she looked at Wreav. The krogen picked Shepard back up. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't talk. Then she felt something go through her chest. Wreav tossed her back to the ground. "I'll leave you to the varren!" Wreav growled.
Shepard felt the hot sun of Tuchanka beat down on her face. She couldn't breathe; she looked around she couldn't see anything either and she couldn't move. She could still feel the sun on her face and after a short while she felt cold.
"Pathetic" she thought to herself. "In the end I can't even save myself…pathetic."
"You died once already, I won't let it be a second!"
"Joker no!"
"Goodbye commander."
End.