Chapter 9

Shepard's head rocked slowly from side to side as he floated just on the edge of consciousness. He was actually enjoying the utter silence that surrounded him. Unfortunately as he lifted his chin and coerced his eyes open the full gambit of ear shattering noise came crashing back down onto his head. The sudden influx of noise and light brought him back to reality. As he attempted to gather his balance he realized the shuttle was resting at roughly a fifteen to twenty degree angle with the starboard side pointed up. As he collected himself he quickly jumped to his first priority: check on the status of the squad.

He was seated on the port side bench, a poor choice in hindsight. A small portion of the floor directly beneath his seat and been disintegrated by either the crash or the Reaper itself. Shepard's left boot now rested on a large, invasive slab of concrete. The only illumination in the cabin came from two dim, glowing emergency light strips that lined the ceiling and floor. An emergency siren also pulsed intrusively from the speakers above. The commander recalled that Liara and Kaidan had been on his left on the forward bench with Javik and Garrus on his right. In the dim light be could make out each of their silhouettes. He saw some movement. That was a good sign.

Shepard opened his mouth to speak, only to stop and cough deeply before his voice would cooperate. "Everyone okay?"

"I'm alright." Liara activated her omnitool's flashlight as she responded. Shepard nearly slapped himself for not thinking of that sooner.

"I'm good," Garrus grunted from Shepard's right.

"Nngghh... fine up here..." Cortez shouted from the cockpit. "Might have a broke rib or two, though."

Suddenly a voice chimed in from the speakers in the ceiling. "Fire detected. Please evacuate the shuttle."

"I will open the hatch, commander," Javik stated, not bothering to waste time by reporting he was alive.

"Kaidan? Are you alright?" Shepard unstrapped himself and reached for the safety bar on the ceiling.

"Fire detected. Please evacuate the shuttle."

"Yeah... yeah I'm okay..." Kaidan raised his hands and began rubbing his temples. "My implants are going crazy..."

A thin sliver of light cut into the smokey cabin as Javik began opening the hatch. A loud clank rang out from the hinges.

"The door is stuck! I need assistance," Javik shouted.

Garrus pulled himself up and leaned into the door with the prothean. The two lunged forward, sending the door flying upward and unleashing a blinding torrent of light into the passenger bay. Shepard squinted involuntarily and looked down to Liara, his hand coming to his eyes to block the intense sunlight.

"Liara, can you get a location on that krogan squad?"

"Fire detected. Please evacuate the shuttle."

Liara nodded and began working at her omnitool. "On it."

"Hey, we're gonna have company here in a second..." Garrus turned back to the cabin and held a hand out to Shepard. The commander grabbed it and pulled himself to the door, scanning the crash site.

The Kodiak had crashed at the end of a T-intersection, though it was hard to identify it as such. Debris cluttered nearly every square inch of the road and the buildings from which it came lay in ruins. An overturned vehicle of some kind blocked the road to the left. Garrus nodded down the roadway directly in front of them where a small group of husks had rounded the corner and were now shambling toward the crash.

"They weren't there ten seconds ago... that Reaper must be ordering them around," Garrus stated as he reached for his rifle.

"Fire detected. Please evacuate the shuttle."

Shepard nodded to the turian and prothean. "Keep them off of us."

Without a moment's hesitation Javik and Garrus jumped out of the shuttle and into cover in the ruin ridden street. The two opened fire immediately and the line of husks dropped in a matter of seconds. Shepard noticed the rear thruster burning as he finished another quick survey of the battlefield. He turned back to the cabin to see Kaidan slowly pulling himself to his feet.

"Okay... I think I can handle this," Kaidan muttered as he rubbed his forehead.

Shepard looked his friend up and down to check for any visible damage. "You sure?"

Kaidan smiled weakly. "You bet." His eyes widened as he glanced over Shepard's shoulder. "Looks like they might need some help."

Shepard turned to see the handful of husks had grown into a full blown assault by Reaper forces. Dozens of husks, cannibals and marauders were now charging toward the crippled Kodiak. Kaidan pulled his rifle from his back and leapt through the hatch.

"Fire detected. Please evacu-" Shepard sighed in satisfaction as the voice cut off.

"That was getting annoying..." Cortez shouted from the cockpit.

Shepard glanced to see that Liara was still at work with her omnitool before jumping into the cockpit. Cortez was leaning against his chair, his hand clutching his side.

"Sorry, commander... had to cut the emergency power to make that warning shut up," Cortez lamented.

"Can you walk, lieutenant?"

Cortez leaned down to the side of his seat and grabbed his flight officer firearm. "I might need some help if we start moving fast, sir... but I can move."

Shepard nodded. "I hope you know how to use that thing."

Cortez limped past the commander and into the cabin, coming to rest at the corner of the door. "So this is what I'm missing while y'all are on the ground... so far it hasn't won me over."

"Shepard. I'm picking something up." Liara jumped to her feet, holding her omnitool out to give Shepard a view of the screen. "It looks like a krogan squad is inbound. They either saw us go down or picked up the shuttle's automatic distress beacon."

Shepard nodded and reached to his back, pulling out his assault rifle. "Well, let's make sure there's something for them to find."

Liara slid her SMG from the holster and the two jumped out into the street. The Tuchankan sun was hot under any circumstances, but it was clearly midday given the intensity of the heat. Shepard and Liara slid into cover behind a chunk of a massive column that had once stood proudly at the base of the building they had crash-landed into. The commander rose to a firing position and quickly scoped out the enemy forces. A symphony of pops and crackles rang out around him as his squad methodically cut down wave after wave of husks and cannibals. Shepard spotted a marauder slowly making its way up the street, but before he could line up a shot Garrus had unleashed two rounds from his sniper rifle into its skull, leaving it to stumble aimlessly for a few moments before collapsing.

Shepard looked to his right to see that the road was blocked by a mountain of debris from one of the collapsed buildings. The rubble was only fifteen or twenty feet high at the peak. He made a mental note to periodically check for any flank attempts before turning back to the assault at hand. Javik and Kaidan were positioned to Shepard's right, each leaning against their respective cover as they fired. Garrus had managed to find a slightly elevated position at the nose of the Kodiak that gave him an excellent sniping vantage point. Liara, wrapped in a biotic barrier, stood completely out of cover to give her a clear view. The blue field around her rippled as she sent a massive wave of biotic energy toward the oncoming enemies, knocking a dozen or so around like rag dolls.

Shepard was picking his targets carefully as they came. "Cortez! Check on the position of that krogan squad!"

"You got it, commander!" Cortez shouted from inside the wreckage.

Shepard couldn't help but feel there were an unusual number of Reaper forces attacking them. Luckily they seemed to be rushing the position as soon as they reached the street instead of grouping around the corner for a concentrated attack.

"The krogan squad is about fifty meters out, sir. Other side of the building we're up against by the looks of it!"

"You heard him, everyone! Watch for friendlies!" Shepard shouted to his squad. He slid down behind cover, popped a fresh thermal clip and pulled himself back up to continue firing. "So Javik, is this the fight you had in mind?"

Javik concentrated as he put his final three rounds of his clip into their targets. "I may disapprove of your command style, Shepard, but I will not deny your ability to find a worthy battle."

"That's a yes," Garrus snickered as he popped off a trio of rounds.

Liara unleashed a Singularity half way down the street before retracting her barrier and sliding into cover across from Shepard. "Diplomatic mission... that's how it always starts, isn't it?"

Shepard glanced over with a grin. "Getting tired, T'soni?"

Liara grinned wickedly in return, her barrier igniting fiercely around her once again. "I've barely broken a sweat." She whipped up from cover and clenched her fist at an approaching marauder, crushing him into a pulp.

Kaidan laughed as he followed up on a nearby cannibal. "Asari have it so easy with their biotics."

Shepard caught movement out of the corner of his eye and remembered the hill of debris to his right. He turned to see a chunk of the wall that the debris was resting against burst apart. Immediately after it came the hulking silhouette of a fully armored krogan, his shotgun at the ready. The krogan jumped off of the hill as three others filed out of the building in pursuit. Shepard lowered his rifle and hurried toward the group. The first krogan pumped his shoulders excitedly as he and Shepard slid up against the wall of a building to stay out of the line of fire.

"Who are you!" The krogan was blunt, but did not seem aggressive or dangerous.

"Name's Shepard! I'm here to see Urdnot Wrex!" The other krogan had followed and were standing in position behind their squad leader. The sound of battle just around the corner was clearly tantalizing.

"Shepard..." The krogan muttered.

The leader turned back to his squad and waved them on. The three jumped past Shepard and around the corner, their guns erupting into fire toward the Reaper forces.

The krogan nodded a greeting. "It's an honor to meet you, Shepard. I'm Terux of clan Kallur. Your squad need saving?"

Shepard was slightly taken aback at the welcome but quickly nodded. "You could say that! You got an outpost around here?"

Terux motioned back to the pile of rubble he and his squad had climbed down. "Aralakh Company is holding about a kilometer out. We're going out the same way we came in."

Shepard nodded. "Let's get the hell out of here, then!"

The commander turned back to the street and rounded the corner. "We're moving! Kaidan on me! Cortez is gonna need help!"

Shepard ducked down and made his way to the shuttle hatch where Cortez had already pulled himself out of the wreckage and was firing down range. Kaidan slid up beside Shepard and the two pulled the lieutenant up, one of them under each arm, and the three hurried to the side street. Javik, Garrus, Liara and the rest of Terux's squad had begun slowly moving back toward the street as well. Shepard looked at the pile of rubble and turned back to his squad.

"Hold here!"

Shepard, Kaidan and Cortez hobbled to the hill and slowly began their ascent, making sure they had tight footholds as they climbed. The squad was slowly falling back as well, weapons ablaze as husks continued pouring around the corner and into the small side street. As they finally reached the top Shepard and Kaidan lead Cortez through the large hole on the wall that Terux's squad had burst through. The Spectres set Cortez down and turned back to the street, their rifles raised as they began firing from the top of the hill down into the horde.

"Everyone up, let's go!" Shepard shouted as each member of both squads began climbing the rubble with haste.

One by one Garrus, Liara and the four krogan made their way to the crest of the hill, each continuing to lay down covering fire for the others as they climbed. Javik was the last to the top, snarling as he discovered he had only one thermal clip left.

"I think I can buy us some time to escape... stand back!" Liara shouted.

The asari dropped her kinetic barrier, her biotics concentrating in front of her. She clenched her teeth as she focused the energy into an enormous blast that exploded forward and into the corner of the building in front of them. The force of the blast ripped through a chunk of a load-bearing column, causing tons upon tons of the building's structure to collapse and obstruct much of the small side street. A wave of dirt and dust flooded over the concrete valley. The squads made their way into the building, coughing as the thick dust followed them.

Shepard wiped his eyes clear and glanced over to Liara with a smile. "A little dirtier than I was expecting... but nicely done."

"I bet that's not the first time you've said that," Garrus quipped as he cleaned off the scope of his rifle.

Shepard shook his head with a smirk and looked around the large, dim room they had entered. He flipped on his omnitool light and walked over to Terux as he shook his arms free of dirt. "Thanks for the exfil. I owe you one."

The krogan shrugged. "I think I owe you more, human."

Shepard smiled. "So you said you were part of Aralakh Company?"

"Haven't been in for long. No one has. Well, except for Grunt... but I believe you already know him." Terux chuckled to himself.

"How do you know-"

"Everyone in Aralakh knows about Commander Shepard. Urdnot Grunt says you're the best warrior he's ever fought with. Well, best who wasn't a krogan." Terux grinned.

"I'll take that." Shepard smirked and looked around to his squad. "We ready to move?"

"Our Tomkah's on the other side of the building. You say the word and I'll lead the way."

Shepard nodded as his squad formed up beside him. "Well then let's go. I've got an old friend to catch up with."

Shepard stared at the floor of the Tomkah as it rumbled through the debris ridden streets of what Terux had informed him were the ruins of a city named Dektura. Every few seconds the cannon mounted on the roof of the vehicle would let out a series of thumps, clearing out either obstacles or hostiles along their route. The commander was struggling to settle on a single emotional state. He was exhilarated to be back in combat, but he felt less enthused about the circumstances that had landed him there. He was a bit irritated at Wrex for not warning him what they were getting into, but he also felt foolish having neglected to order the Kodiak's hostile detection systems online.

He looked up as the Tomkah ground to a halt and saw that Terux had already jumped to his feet and begun opening the hatch. Shepard and his squad rose as well with Kaidan and Garrus helping Cortez to his feet. The door was large, as it would have to be to accommodate the average krogan, and it gave a deep, metallic groan as it swung apart revealing a similar ruined street to the one they had just evacuated. This street, however, was filled with a half dozen Tomkahs and a full company of krogan warriors. Terux and his squad motioned for Shepard to exit. He gave a curt nod of thanks, stepped to the door and jumped to the ground a meter and a half below. A few nearby members of Aralakh Company hurried to the newly returned vehicle and looked over Shepard cautiously.

"You from the crash?" One of them inquired.

Shepard began dusting himself off and glanced to the krogan. "I am. You from Aralakh Company?"

They grinned and nodded. "You know about Aralakh, human?" The krogan was clearly proud of his position.

The human wiped his forehead with a smirk. "I should hope so. I did teach your CO everything he knows." The three krogan glanced to one another in befuddlement.

Terux walked up behind Shepard and gave him a hearty slap on the back. "I'm takin' him to Grunt. Get the rest of Shepard's squad some water and first aid."

They nodded and rushed off to find the provisions. Terux set off right away with Shepard staying at his side. Aralakh Company was holding up in the center of the street with their Tomkahs on all sides to form a makeshift boundary for their temporary camp. Shepard was lead past dozens of krogan who watched him curiously, nodding and muttering to each other about his identity. As they reached the opposite side of the camp Terux halted. In front of them a krogan leaned over a map that rested on a crate of munitions.

"Sir, we found survivors at the crash," Terux reported.

Grunt pushed the map away and turned around, his expression stern and professional. "Good, did they-" The krogan stopped himself mid-sentence as he caught sight of Shepard. His lips curled into a grin. "I shoulda known."

"Miss me, Grunt?" Shepard crossed his arms with a smile.

Grunt laughed and stomped over to his friend, pumping his shoulders excitedly. "Shepard! What are you doin' here?" The young krogan extended his hand.

Shepard grabbed and shook his hand firmly. "I was on my way to meet Wrex before that Reaper put a dent in my plans."

Grunt waved Terux off and motioned for Shepard to join him beside his Tomkah. "Well you're in luck if you're looking for some revenge."

"What the hell is that thing still doing here, Grunt?" The Reaper could still be heard faintly a kilometer or two off.

"It's the last Reaper on the homeworld, Shepard, and Urdnot Wrex wants it dead." Grunt reached down to his supply pack, pulling a canteen of water from it and offering it to Shepard. "It's fresh."

"So why not just hit it with artillery? Or any orbital bombardment?" The commander took the water gratefully and quickly removed the cap, downing a few huge gulps in a matter of seconds.

"'Cause Wrex says no. He challenged our most elite units to a race for the kill. No weapons you can't hold in one arm. No nukes. Winner gets the glory of killing the last Reaper on Tuchanka." Grunt clenched his fists in anticipation.

Shepard shook his head and closed up the canteen. "But why is it here to begin with? Why didn't it retreat with the others?"

"The orbital defense guns crippled its flight capabilities at some point. It decided to make this ruin its last stand... husks and cannibals and marauders have been flocking to this dump for weeks."

The commander chuckled. "We noticed."

Grunt cackled and took back the canteen, sticking it into his pack. "We didn't even know if its beam was operational. Thanks for giving us a heads up on that."

"So what's your plan? How are you gonna attack this thing?" Shepard crossed his arms and leaned against the Tomkah.

Grunt kicked a box of munitions to his left. "ML-77 rockets. Take out enough legs to bring it close to the ground and punch a hole in it somewhere," he kicked a box to his right, "Burn it from the inside out with thermite grenades."

Shepard laughed and nodded. "I've heard crazier. It might work."

"Heh heh... it'll work." Grunt glanced to his side as Terux reappeared.

"Sir." Terux acknowledged his officer before turning to Shepard. "Your pilot is wounded. I'd suggest we send him back to the clan leader's camp in one of our Tomkahs."

"Do it," Grunt ordered. The krogan shifted his gaze to Shepard. "You know Shepard, Aralakh Company could always use more guns. That Reaper isn't gonna kill itself."

The commander shook his head with a smile and lowered his head. "As long as it's not against the rules... I guess you can count me in for one last run with Aralakh." He glanced back up with a grin.

Grunt slammed his fists together. "Hah! This is gonna be a hell of a battle, Shepard!" He turned back to his map. "We're moving out in fifteen minutes."

Shepard nodded and looked to Terux who motioned for him to follow. The two made their way back to where they had arrived to find Shepard's squad waiting and talking amongst themselves. They quieted and turned to Shepard as he approached.

"Here's the plan. Aralakh Company is going after that Reaper. Anyone who wants to join them is welcome." Shepard glanced to Cortez as he leaned against a Tomkah's wheel. "However, they've offered to send Cortez back to Wrex's camp in a Tomkah. I'd feel a lot better if he had an escort."

Kaidan stood up and nodded. "I'll go, commander. My implants need some tuning, anyway."

Garrus let out a sigh. "Me too. My leg just isn't feeling right. I don't want it to snap in half right as we charge a Reaper."

"I appreciate it, guys," Cortez muttered thankfully.

Shepard glanced to Javik who nodded once. "I am with you, commander."

Liara stood and took a deep breath. "As am I."

The commander looked around his small circle of comrades with a smile. "Garrus. Kaidan. Cortez. Tell Wrex we're on our way." Shepard looked to Javik and Liara. "Let's get ready to move. We've got a Reaper to kill."

Author's Note

While that was fun to write I have no idea if it will be any fun to read. I'm hoping it is. Tune in next week for the thrilling conclusion of Tuchanka: The Reap-ire Strikes Back.