Chapter 11: Battle Master
"Doctor I think she's waking up!"
"Where am I?" Shepard whispered, the lights over her head blinding her as she sat up. "How long was I out?"
"You are aboard the Shasta and you've been unconscious for two days." A synthesized voice answered.
Shepard looked across the room and saw the voice to be a V.I. "How did I get aboard?"
"You ran in like you were invincible and I had to save you."
"Hi Ash…" Shepard exhaled.
"You were a mess when I found you." Ashley said. "Blood was all over the place, a blade as long as my arm was through your chest and a varren ate your feet."
Shepard looked down and saw that her feet were still connected to her ankles and sighed out oof relief. "When did you turn into a comedian?" Shepard grumbled.
"When did you get to Tuchanka?" Shepard asked.
"I got here and the invasion had started." Ashley replied. "The Admiral ordered me to provide you with assistance and that's when I found you."
"How bad was I?" Shepard asked.
"Besides lying in a pool of your own blood and barely breathing not bad at all." Ash replied nonchalantly. "You almost died out there Zel." Ashley said, now sounding more concerned.
"Almost being the key word." Shepard said, pulling herself out of bed.
"I'm serious!" Ashley snapped. "Why didn't you go with a team, why didn't you call for back up?" Ashley shouted.
"I could handle it!" Shepard shouted back. "And my back up didn't follow my order!"
"The drell, yeah he's in the hold right now, hasn't talked to any…"
"Me and him are going to have some words!" Shepard grunted as she went through a closet to find some clothes.
"What are you going to do?" Ashley asked
"I am going to make a scene!" Shepard shouted.
Kolyat sat by himself in the cargo hold. Just two days earlier he had been sure of Shepard's death and on the same day had found that she was still alive. He wasn't sure why he didn't pull the trigger when he was ordered to. He was sure that as long as Shepard continued to live there would be more death.
"KOLYAT!" A voice screamed.
The drell turned around and quickly took cover behind the crates he sat on top of as he took fire from a very angry Hazel Shepard.
"What the hell are you doing?" Ashley shouted.
"I'm going to kill that fucking frog!" Shepard snapped.
"Just like you killed Admiral Zorah?" Kolyat shouted from cover.
"This has nothing to do with that!" Shepard yelled.
"It doesn't?" Kolyat snapped. He came out of cover and walked to Shepard. "I followed you at first but know you've gone too far!"
"The plan has been the same from the beginning and you knew what you were getting into!" Shepard barked. "You could have left at any time."
"I thought you stood for something once, but now I see that you are nothing but a murderer and war mongering zealot!" Kolyat shouted.
"Then you should have shot me instead!" Shepard shouted.
Kolyat scoffed at the human in front of him. "I wanted you to see the cost of this war and what it could do." He grunted. "No I wanted you to die."
"You have something to say to me?" Shepard questioned.
"After this war is over what are you going to do?" Kolyat asked.
Shepard didn't give him an answer. "If you won't say it I will!" Kolyat shouted.
"When the batarians are defeated and you have control of the Terminus, you will have the largest army in the entire galaxy and what's stopping you from taking over?" Kolyat questioned.
Ashley walked up to the drell. "Shepard would never…"
"Wrong!" Kolyat interrupted. "She is completely capable of something like that and you know it!"
Shepard turned her gun over to Kolyat. "If you feel that way you better kill me now." She said holding the pistol in front of the drell. "If you don't you won't ever get the chance again!"
Ashley went in to grab the gun, but Shepard signaled her not to and she reluctantly complied. Kolyat stared at the gun for a while and uneasily took the gun. With his hands shaking he pointed the gun at Shepard.
"Good." Shepard said, walking closer until the gun pushed at her chest. "Now squeeze the trigger, this is your only chance."
Kolyt looked into Shepard's eyes and was terrified of what he saw in them. It was like a predator staring down prey. Kolyat couldn't look into them anymore and turned away.
Shepard took the gun out of Kolyat's hand and sent him falling on to the floor with a staggering right to the drells jaw. She walked over and put the gun to Kolyat's head with her foot pushing down on his chest.
"Looks like you blew and now it's my turn." Shepard said, with not even a single shred of emotion on her face. "I want you to remember this day Kolyat."
"Well aren't you going to…"
"No I'm not." Shepard interrupted. "I made a promise to your father that I would watch out for you."
Shepard holstered her gun and helped Kolyat up. "But the next time you betray me, I will kill you."
"What's going on here?" A voice shouted from behind them.
The voice belonged to the Admiral of the dreadnought Shasta.
Ashley gave the Admiral a salute and explained the story. "The drell made an attempt on the Commanders life and needs to be detained."
The Admiral ordered that the drell be detained and had him arrested by two Allliance officers. When being brought out of the hold Kolyat shouted that Shepard must be stopped and that she's a danger to the galaxy before the elevator doors shut.
"Care to brief me Admiral?" Shepard asked.
"You managed to get the krogen out of their bunker and a division in their ranks has seemed too have occurred." The admiral said.
"The geth have been laying heavy fire on them but haven't been able to get surrender out of them." He continued. "And the Alliance soldiers I've sent out haven't had much luck either."
"If at first you don't succeed, try again." Shepard replied.
"I won't let you down there without a proper team!" The admiral barked.
"I'll go…sir!" Ashley said.
"Ok that's one."
"I'll take Liara T'Soni with me." Shepard announced.
"I hope this member of your crew at least shows to be more trust worthy." The admiral mumbled.
"Don't worry dad I'll be fine."
'You said that last time." The admiral snorted.
Ashley looked confused. "The admiral is your dad?"
"I thought the whole "Admiral Shepard" thing would have told you that." The admiral replied.
"You both have your mission, dismissed!"
Shepard, Ashley and Liara moved around to the back of the camp. Liara lifted three krogen out of cover while Ashley picked them off with her assault rifle. Shepard went into tactical cloak and cleared out the last few krogen.
"Clear!" Shepard shouted.
As Shepard walked to the rest of her team a krogen they had missed charged at Ashley from behind. Shepard pulled out her sniper rifle to take out the krogen, but before she could fire a shot the enemy fell to the ground. Soon afterwards another walked towards them.
Ashley and Liara were ready to fire when Shepard shouted. "Hold your fire!"
"Shepard!" The krogan snorted.
Shepard looked back at the krogan, with her rifle still drawn. "Grunt."
"Orders commander?" Ashley asked.
"Put your weapon down chief…I mean captain." Shepard smiled when she realized that she had called Ashley chief. "If Grunt wanted us dead he would have tried."
"What do you want?" Ashley questioned.
"Wreav has shown himself weak and I will be the one to take over Urdnot!" Grunt bellowed. "I will strengthen Urdnot !" He proclaimed.
"Fine, but you can start by helping us get into the camp from here." Shepard ordered.
Grunt nodded and took the lead while Shepard, Liara and Ashley followed.
The Urdnot camp was a battle zone. The bodies of krogen and geth littered the ground. Urdnot Wreav being seen as the cause of this invasion for not agreeing with Shepard's terms has gone into hiding at the Urdnot camp. Those that oppose Wreav are outside fighting against the krogen leader and are being lead by Urdnot Grunt.
"Wreav we cannot hold this position for any longer!" The chief scout bellowed.
Wreav glared at his scout and charged at him. Wreav pulled out his shot gun. "I will not run from these invaders!" He barked as he shot his scout.
"Clan leader they've broken in!" Another Krogen shouted.
The camp was now flooded by geth, alliance and krogen soldiers. Wreav made his way down to the fight. With his biotics flared he lifted four geth and slammed them into a crowd of charging krogen. He then stopped by someone pulling him away from the fight with biotics.
Wreav hit the ground hard. He pick himself up and was meet with Grunt and his followers surrounding him.
When he looked up Grunt stood before him, a shotgun pointed at his head. "Hello Wreav." A voice chuckled behind him.
"How are you alive?" Wreav asked. "I killed you once Shepard."
"I got better."
"So instead of fighting me, you hide behind this tank born whelp and your army." Wreav grunted. "You are a coward!"
"I am not the one to kill you Wreav." Grunt snorted. "But Shepard will."
"Stand Wreav!" Grunt barked.
Wreav turned around and Sheprd was defiantly the one he had been speaking to. "I think you might want this!" Shepard spat, tossing Wreav the blade he had used to stab her with.
"I guess I missed your heart." Wreav snorted. "This time I'll make sure you die!"
Wreav charged at Shepard and thrusted the blade at her. She dodged it and shot Wreav's hand. Wreav howled savagely as blood spurted out of the nub where his hand belonged. "Damn you Shepard!" He cried.
Shepard shot both his legs and back. She walked to the crippled krogan and popped the heat sink. "You know, Wrex didn't cry this much when I killed him." She said. "He was a krogan…you are a pest to be crushed under my heel."
Wreav didn't say anything as Shepard stood above him. "If you must know I stood over Wrex, just like I am standing over you right now." She smiled as she pointed her weapon at Wreav.
Blood splashed her face with each shot she took. When she had to load another heat sink, she stopped. "Grunt I want to offer the krogan a position of power in the Terminus." Shepard said, wipping the blood off her face.
Grunt nodded in reply.
"Wreav refused and now he lies dead on the ground, what will you decide?" Shepard question.
Grunt didn't answer for a moment. "You are my krantt and my battle master!" Grunt proclaimed. "My people under me will follow you; you will make my people strong!"
"How soon can the krogan be ready for battle?" Shepard questioned.
Grunt laughed at the question. "Shepard my people are always ready for battle!"
End.
AN/ Another chapter down. I might not be able to update as fast now because school is starting back up. Next chapter the story takes a little turn.
Please review.