The momentum from the ship carried the mako over the rocky perimeter of the island to splash into the shallows. The clear blue water washed away dust and dirt from countless worlds from the armored sides of the tank. Once again Shepard was at the controls while Kryik took the gunners seat.
"We've got a clean drop, Spectre." Joker announced over the mako's radio.
"Stay out of range and continue evasive maneuvers until we bring those AA towers down." Kryik ordered.
"I know the drill." Joker said defensively. "Meet you in the camp once those AA towers are off line. Joker out."
Shepard brought up the scans for the area and plotted a course that would take them the most direct route to the tower control station. The mako rumbled to life at her touch and plowed through the water toward their first goal. She did her best to avoid the large, crab like life forms that littered the beaches and water ways. Unfortunately, the crabs weren't the only things out enjoying the sun.
Hovering turrets came at them from behind the rock formations and crevasses in the cliffs. One shot from the mako's cannon usually took them out with little or no secondary fire from the gun. Geth troopers and Colossus' huddled in pockets to impeded their progress. A strategically placed shot from the cannon sent squads of troopers flying into the air as they burned to a crisp. The colossus took a bit more maneuvering and secondary fire. Shepard knew the drill from their experience on Feros and Kryik was able to take the mechanical beasts down with a few close calls but no damage to the rover.
The control station was crawling with geth, including hoppers. Those that ventured out before the team exited the mako were taken out quickly by the tanks guns. Kryik rather enjoyed watching them fry.
Shepard's boots splashed down into the shallow water, sinking into the sand a few inches. She lead her team of Vakarian and Williams up the stairs, firing on the geth that had waited to emerge. At the opposite end of the blockade bridge she found the controls to the AA guns. No one had even bothered to encrypt the shut down codes. In seconds the guns were disabled.
"I'm reading that the grid is down, Commander." Joker said over her com. "On approach to the salarian base now. Out."
"Okay, team, back to the mako." She ordered.
"We're right behind you, Shepard." Vakarian replied.
In a way, her choice to become intimately involved with Kryik had allowed him to see her a little differently. He felt he knew her well enough that he could say with confidence that she wasn't using her body to 'bribe' the Spectre into giving her a good evaluation. She didn't need to. Not only did he respect her as a solder for her ability on the field as well as a leader, she was uncharacteristically non-bias of aliens in a way that was almost never seen from either side of the political and social conflict between their species. Despite Kryik's intent to warn him away, it only made him more interested in her. He had no taste for humans in that way, but he wanted to know this one better than he did.
A few more pockets of geth later the mako rolled onto the beach where the salarians were camped. Joker's voice came over the radio inside the mako.
"Spectre, the Normandy's touched down at the base , but it looks like we're grounded. The salarian captain can explain when you get here."
Kryik's mandibles flexed. He had a feeling it had been too easy. Something always had to make things more difficult. Nothing was ever simple.
The rest of the team was already on the beach. Alenko was talking with the salarian captain when Shepard jumped down out of the mako. She took a few steps into the water and admired the view for the first time. It was beautiful.
The sky was a stormy lavender-grey. She could hear thunder in the distance occasionally rumbling over the soothing sound of the waves. The smell and taste of salt was heavy in the air. She could feel the humidity forming dew on her skin. She tried not to think too hard about how nice it would be to go for a swim.
She heard Kryik as he splashed down into the water behind her. He was the last to leave the belly of the tank. The water sloshed around his legs as he walked up behind her, leaving a couple feet between them. The crew was out of ear shot but not out of sight.
"Maybe one day people can settle this world," Nihlus said softly. "But right now it's too dangerous for anyone to colonize. There have been many attempts to secure rights without threat of pirates or other dangers, but negotiations always fell apart when leadership changed within the factions."
"It is beautiful here." Sonya commented.
Nihlus grinned at her, amused and moved by the simplicity of her thought. She wasn't thinking about it's political or economical uses. She connected with the peaceful tranquility of the beach where she stood in awe, taking in its power. He could almost feel his heart swell with emotion as well as a sinking sensation in his stomach for being so callous to the natural wonders he so often ignored on his travels. He should have drawn from the spirits the way she was now. He took a moment to see his surroundings with new eyes. To open himself to whatever may be found there.
The horizon was dark with the storm clouds that covered the region. Flashes of lighting and the roll of thunder danced in the distance. Silvery falls streamed down from high cliffs to the small natural light filtering through the storm clouds illuminated the beach in a way that was dream like, and she was a dream within a dream. Her skin and hair almost seemed to glow with their own effulgence. Her eyes shone like amber in the sun when she lifted them to meet his, grinning at the wonder around her. The sight made his belly flip.
His metallic plating shimmered in the strange surrealness of the dawn filtering through the storm above. His glowing eyes captured her gaze from behind the exotic white mask, shining out like fiery verdelite. He stood like a bastion against evil, resolute and powerful. A gargoyle knight that took her breath away. He was art in form, in virtue, in skill. He was beautiful.
A feeling passed between them that cannot be described in a few words. There are songs that are not sung by thinking beings, colors that have no names, places that are yet to be seen by any eyes that embody the spirit of what only the soul can understand. It terrified and comforted them. Whatever bond linked them, strengthened them.
"I should go speak with the captain." Kryik said, breaking the silence.
Shepard nodded up at him. Together they walked to the beach toward the tents that housed the salarian task force. Kryik carried his love for her with him instead of pushing it away. If he did not fight it, it could not weaken him. He sought to find power in her gaze. He was not disappointed.
The sand crunched soft and wet under their armored boots. Shepard fell a step behind him as he approached the salarian captain. Alenko had just finished asking a question when Kryik interrupted the conversation with his presence.
"So what are we supposed to do now?" Alenko asked. He vaguely heard foot steps behind him.
Williams stood next to him, watching the Spectre and Commander join them. Something seemed different about the two. It made her uneasy.
"Stay put until we can come up with a plan." The Salarian Captain replied.
"What's the situation?" Kryik asked, clasping his talons behind his back.
"I'm Captain Kirrahe, third infiltration regiment, STG. You and your crew have just landed in the middle of a hot zone. Every AA gun within almost seventeen kilometers has been alerted to your presence."
"That's just great. What now?" Shepard grumbled.
"We stay put until the Council sends the reinforcements we requested."
"We are the reinforcements." Kryik replied, standing a little straighter.
"What? You're all they sent?" Captain Kirrahe narrowed his eyes. "I told the Council to send a fleet!"
"The transmission was unclear. Parts of the message were lost. They sent me to investigate." Kryik replied.
"That is a repetition of our task. I lost half my men investigating this place."
Kirrahe looked to where some of his men were casually walking in the surf. They deserved better. He turned his attention back to the turian.
"What have you found?" Kryik inquired.
"Saren's base of operations. He's set up a research facility here, but it's crawling with geth and very well fortified. He's breeding an army of krogan."
Kryik always appreciated the salarian's way of stating everything as simply as possible to convey the most amount of information. It was a trait their short lived race had that more individuals needed to learn. It occured to him that the form of speach developed precicly because they were short lived.
"How is that possible?"
The deeper voice of the krogan mercenary came up behind Williams, catching her off guard. Her hand flew to her weapon before Wrex pushed passed her.
"Apparently Saren has discovered a cure for the genophage." Kirrahe stated, blinking.
"The geth are bad enough, but with a krogan army... He'd be almost unstoppable." Kryik trailed off in disbelief.
"Exactly my thoughts." Kirrahe agreed with a nod. "We must insure that this facility and it's secrets are destroyed."
"Destroyed?" Wrex tuned his full attention to the salarian. "I don't think so. My people are dying. This cure could save them."
"If that cure leaves this planet the krogan will become unstoppable. We can't make the same mistake again." said the salarian.
Wrex leaned into the captain and pointed a clawed finger in his green face. "We are not a mistake!"
Captain Kirrahe leaned back, looking at the reptilian eyes of the brut leaning into him. He watched with some relief as the krogan walked away. "Is he going to be a problem? We already have enough angry krogan to deal with."
Kryik didn't have a response. He could understand were the old krogan was coming from. He helped Wrex retrieve his family armor. Since then the mercenary had seemed to have found a sense of purpose on the mission, and his own life. Who is anyone to take that from him? To tell him to not want to save his people?
"I'll talk with him." Shepard volunteered.
"I'd appreciate that, Commander." Kirrahe said. "My men and I need to rethink our plan of attack. Can you give us some time."
Kryik nodded his agreement.
"We won't be long." Captain Kirrahe assured the turian, then left for the main tent.
"Looks like things are a bit of a mess." Alenko commented, crossing his arms.
"Yeah. Wrex looks like he's going to blow a gasket." Williams added nervously.
"Shepard is going to talk with him and defuse the situation. Go restock any supplies we may need from the Normandy." He ordered Williams. "Alenko, see if the salarians have any extra supplies we can trade for."
Both humans nodded and set off on their assignments. Kryik tuned to Shepard, his brow plates knitted together in a firm expression.
"Maybe I should talk to Wrex. I'm not sure how he will react and I don't want you getting hurt or killed over this." He said flatly.
Shepard cocked a brow at him. "I'm a big girl. You've seen me take down krogans before. I can handle it." She assured him and walked passed before he could reply.
Nihlus watched her cross the beach to where Wrex was shooting at the Normandy with his pistol. She has quads...
"This isn't right, Shepard." Wrex said without looking at the human as she approached him. "If there's a cure for the genophage," He met her eyes then, "we can't destroy it!"
"I understand you're upset, but we both know Saren's the enemy here. He's the one you should be angry with."
"Really? Saren created a cure for my people. You want to destroy it." Wrex crossed the few sandy meters between him and the Commander. "Help me out here, Shepard. The lines between friend and foe are getting a little blurry from where I stand." Wrex growled threateningly.
"This isn't a cure, it's a weapon!" Shepard raised her voice at him. "And if Saren is allowed to use it you won't be around to reap the benefits." She pointed a finger in his reptilian face. "None of us will."
"This is my entire people we're talking about!" Wrex said pointing his gun in her face. To her credit she didn't flinch.
Kryik watched from the tents. When he saw Wrex's gun come up his own was in his talons in a flash of movement and aimed at the krogan's head, ready to fire. He felt great pride when Shepard didn't back away from the krogan. Quads.
"These aren't your people, Wrex. They're tools! Is that what you want for them?" Shepard argued.
Wrex thought about her words. It didn't take long for him too see the truth. "No. We were tools for the Council once. To thank us for wiping out the rachni, they neutered us all. I doubt Saren will be as generous..."
Wrex was silent a few seconds more. Maybe he could acquire the cure itself before the base was destroyed. That would stop Saren from creating an army and he would be able to return to his people with the cure for the genophage. It would make his clan strong. Clan Urdnot could lead the other clans and unite their peoples. He could make all krogan strong again. He lowered his gun.
"Alright, Shepard. I don't like this, but I trust you enough to follow you and the Spectre." He glanced over to where Kryik still had him in his sights. He was krogan, but he could smell the turian on the human. He wasn't blind to what was between them. Wrex looked back to Shepard. He locked his large red eyes on her tiny brown, almost black ones. "Just one thing... When we find Saren, I want his head." He growled.
"You're not the only one." Shepard replied.
Wrex grunted.
She turned to Kryik. His weapon was back in it's place on his armor. She nodded the all clear.
Kryik couldn't help but be impressed. His confrontations with krogan had always ended in gunfire. Shepard was a complex woman, apparently talented in more than just battle - and mating. He smiled to himself before seeking the Captain.
"I'm glad the situation was resolved." said the salarian. "We don't have time to dispose of a body."
"He is a valued member of the team," Kryik said.
He didn't appreciate the captain referring to his crewmen as something to be disposed of, but it was a reality of war.
"Do you have a plan?" he asked.
Kirrahe nodded, "Of sorts. We can convert our ships drive system into a twenty kiloton ordinance. Shrewd, but effective. Unfortunately the facility is to well fortified to drop the nuke from orbit. We'll need to place the bomb at a precise location at the far side of the facility. You're ship could drop it off, and the rest of us would go in on foot."
Shepard walked up beside Kryik. "We'd have to infiltrate the base, take out the AA guns and any ground forces." the Spectre summed up.
"Precisely." Kirrahe nodded to the Commander.
"We don't have enough men." Shepard shook her head.
"It's risky, but it could work." Kryik said, glancing down at her.
"I'll divide my men up into three teams and hit the front of the facility. While we've got their attention you sneak your 'shadow' team in the back." Kirrahe said.
"It's a good plan," Kryik nodded, "but your people are gong to get slaughtered."
"We're tougher than we look, Spectre, but it's true. I don't expect many of us will make it out alive. That makes what I'm going to ask even more difficult. I need one of your men to accompany me, to help coordinate the teams."
"A bold request, salarian." Kryik said, raising his brow plates.
"I volunteer." Alenko stepped up.
"Not so fast, L. T." Williams interjected with a raised hand. "You will be needed to arm the nuke. I'll go with the salarians."
"With all due respect, gunnery chief, it's not your place to decide." Alenko shot back.
"Why is it that whenever someone says 'with all due respect', they really mean 'kiss my ass'?"
Shepard put an armored hand over her mouth to hid the smile she couldn't hold back.
"Williams, you'll go with the salarians." Kryik decided.
Williams was right. He needed Alenko to arm the nuke. It wasn't his preferred choice, but it was the only option. He had a feeling it wouldn't be the hardest decision he would have to make that day.
"No heroics, understood?"
"Aye, aye, sir." Williams said, clasping her hands behind her back..
"I'll have the ordinance loaded onto the Normandy and brief your crew on it's detonation sequencing. If you'll excuse me, I need to prepare my men. I hope we will meet again." Captain Kirrahe nodded and left the tent.
"Well, this is it. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone, L.T." Williams said looking at Alenko.
Shepard had a feeling there was more gong on there than what was said. Maybe Alenko had turned to Williams after she had turned down his quiet, if not overly polite, advances.
"We'll be fine. You'll see." Alenko responded.
Their eyes held the others gaze for a few seconds.
"I know... I just..." She trailed off. "Good luck."
"Is there something you wanna say, Chief?" Shepard asked, not meaning to tease in her offer to give the two some privacy.
"I don't know. It's just... I got used to working with you. All of you." She glanced at the turian. "It's strange going under someone else's command."
"Don't worry. We'll see you on the other side." Kaiden assured her.
"I know. I.." Williams let out a pent up breath. "It's been an honor serving with you, Spectre, Commander." She nodded to each of them. "It doesn't matter if we're not in the same unit. We're still a team. Watch the other's back, keep your eyes open, and fight like I know you can."
The words 'we will hold the line', echoed to them from the tent where Captain Kirrahe was rallying his troops.
Kryik nodded in the direction of the salarians in agreement.
"Indeed." He murmured. He turned his attention back to Williams. "You'd better get over there, chief."
Williams saluted him and left for the tent.
The back entrance was hidden in a wandering canyon carved out by a small inlet. Kryik's feet sent little droplets of water splashing up as high as his waist with each step, yet he still managed a confident swagger and an air of superiority. To Shepard he was a vision of masculine elegance, a turian Adonis.
"Com check. Do you read me, Spectre?" Captain Kirrahe's voice came over Kryik's com.
"I read you."
"Good. We'll start our push. We'll try to make it to the AA guns, but it might be up to you to finish the job."
"Understood." Kryik nodded, though there was no way the salarian could have seen him.
He locked eyes with the Commander a few meters from him. He expected her gaze to distract him, but what he found there that had caused him to falter in the past, now gave him assurance and strength. He swelled within his armor, bringing himself to full height. If Saren was here, he was in for a world of hurt. Nihlus Kryik, Spectre of the Citadel Council was coming for him and he wasn't alone.
"Shadow is on the ground. Repeat, Shadow is on the ground." Kirrahie's voice said on the com.
Kryik and his team moved quickly through the shallow water and over the small islands of sand, weapons at the ready. There was a small structure ahead. A few geth manned it. They were easily taken out. Kryik lead the team through a small pass in the rock. A few more geth and hover turrets were waiting there, but it wasn't something they couldn't handle.
"Damn it, we have to move!" Kirrahie said on the com. "Anyone left from Mannovai, merge up with Jaeto. Chief Williams, with me."
It didn't sound like things were going well.
"They're calling sat-strikes. Jaeto, watch for com stations. Williams, can you see anything?"
Shadow team found another structure built against the side of a cliff. It was a bridge to the back door. Shepard and Alenko used their biotics to throw their enemies to the ground while Vakarian send out an over load pulse. Bullets finished them off. Kryik spotted the satellite on the roof and shot it down. So far this was easy. Too easy. Maybe luck was on their side, but no one really believed that.
On the other side there was a maze of walkways and circular platforms above the water and rock between large, natural obelisks of stone . Kryik plotted a course with his omni-tool. They managed to sneak past a few troopers before a large krogan blocked their path. Shepard ran to the front of the line, blue flames encircled each hand before she threw the krogan back a few steps. The krogans stumbled, but did not fall. Alenko was right behind her with another blow. Again the krogan stumbled with out falling. All the while taking rounds to the face from Kryik and Vakarian. The tank breed laughed then charged.
"Nobody move!" Kryik shouted.
"What?" The question left everyone's lips simultaneously.
"Trust me!"
He looked to Shepard, his eyes were steel. She nodded.
The krogan was smiling as his feet pounded the walkway, his battle cry rising in decibel as he closed in on his prey, frozen in fear of him. He could see the color of their eyes when the white faced one shouted something.
"Move!"
Suddenly they cleared a path and he barreled between them.
"Now!" Kryik shouted.
Alenko and Shepard both sent waves of biotic energy at the krogan. The force shoved the krogan to the ground and over the edge of the walkway. There was a sicking wet sound as his face impaled on a sharp rock formation below.
There was no time for congratulations or praise. Kryik's talons brushed over Shepard's wrist, still in flame, before moving on.
"Captain Kirrahie's down." Williams said over the com. "Aegohi, join up with Jaeto. Hold that line!"
Kryik felt a pit form in his stomach. He hated loosing people on missions. It's why he preferred to work alone in the past. He remembered how he had been looking forward to working with Shepard, however. She stood out to him even then.
He found himself wondering, if only for a few seconds between gunfire, why the fates had sent him a human to be his ... His mate? She is a friend and a lover, but a permanent bond with her? He pushed the thought aside, for the moment, as he fired on the line of krogan defending the back doors. They heard Williams on the com.
"Holding ground. Jaeto around me. Shadow team must be getting close."
Shadow team found their way inside the outer walls and to a line of bay doors leading into the main building. Alenko approached the controls. He would need to hack their way inside.
"We've got access to base security. Should be able to cut the alarms from here. Might even be able to trigger alarms on the other side of the base. I'll clear the guards up for us, but Williams and the salarians..."
"Cut the alarms and open the doors. We can handle whatever we find inside." Kryik cut him off.
He was getting anxious. Saren had to be here. Had to be.
Inside Kryik did not find the geth or krogan he was expecting. He found armed salarians in civies with guns, and they were firing at them. The team took cover behind the crates. They had no choice but to fire.
"Salarians. The Captain said something about loosing some men..." Alenko trailed off.
"This is bad." Vakarian said, mostly to himself, but Shepard was nearby.
He could still smell the sent of Nihlus on her, the musk of their mating. His curiosity took his mind down a carnal path as his blue eyes traveled over the armored curves of her body. He wondered what her hair felt like, what she sounded like, how her soft flesh would feel under the touch of his talons... A round from a geth trooper knocked him back to reality before Shepard took it down.
"Are you okay?" She asked, running over to him.
"Yeah, my shields took most of the damage." He said, hiding his embarrassment.
At least she didn't notice that he had not been paying attention to the enemy. She slapped him on the shoulder and ran after the rest of the team moving up the stairs. Garrus kicked himself for loosing focus, then again when his eyes betray him to watch her hips as she rounded the corner. He picked himself up and followed after her.
The doors opened to a long dark room. A catwalk lead across it to another door. Below there were cells with captured salarians inside. One could be heard calling to them as they crossed.
"Hello? Is someone there?"
More salarians with guns greeted them on the other side, but they, like the others, were not armored and fell quickly to lethal shots to the head. A merciful death granted by the quick reflexes of Vakarian.
Kryik continued to the elevator.
"What about the prisoners?" Shepard gestured to the door leading to the lower level.
"We may not have time to save them, if they can be saved. Who knows what Saren has done to them." Kryik said as the elevator doors opened.
"I have to try." She said firmly.
He could see she was going to do this with or without him. He looked at Alenko, then Vakarian. Between the two, Vakarian was the only one that could sense his mark on her. He eyed the blue markings on his face.
"Take Vakarian with you. Alenko, come with me. We'll meet you at the drop off for the pay load if you don't catch up before then."
Vakarian nodded to the Spectre, knowing the reason he was chosen.
"Be careful." Kryik added before getting on the elevator.
"Let's go." She said to Vakarian and headed for the door.
"I'm right behind you, Shepard."
There had only been one salarian who had not gone completely mad with attempts to indoctrinate him in some kind of resistance research, but there was still something not quite right about him. The others were hardly more than living shells. She decided the merciful thing to do was to kill them. Vakarian wasn't sure he agreed. He stood aside and watched partly impressed and partly horrified as she opened the doors and quickly gunned them all down with an expert shot to the head. He saw a single tear roll down her cheek as the last one hit the floor plating. This is why Kryik wants her for the Spectres. She gets the job done, but she cares. She hasn't become numb to loss of life. How does she do it?
Shepard wiped the tear away with the back of her hand and headed silently to the elevator. Vakarian ran ahead to make sure the way was clear and followed her in. Up stairs they found proof of Kryik's passing. Dead creepers and humans in lab coats. They followed the spent heat sinks out the far doors.
On the walkway they passed a panicking asari running for her life and shouting,
"He's crazy! He's crazy!"
She pushed by them and thew herself into the elevator before the doors closed.
"He must not be far." Vakarian grinned.
Shepard grinned as well. There was no denying Garrus had a since of humor that Nihlus sometimes lacked. She was glad she could call him friend.
Alenko's voice carried to them through the open door way a few steps away.
"You enjoyed that!" He said, sounding accusatory and amused.
Shepard wondered what Kryik had done and thought of the asari screaming his insanity and decided that maybe she didn't need to know. A few more steps and they joined the others.
"That was fast." Alenko said.
"They aren't suffering anymore." Shepard said.
"What did you..." Alenko trailed off when Shepard walked away.
Vakarian gave him a look that told him to shut his mouth, so he did.
Kryik knew of the experiments from what he'd gotten from the asari before he let her go. One glance from Shepard let him know enough to not ask any questions as they crossed the open walkway to Saren's office tower. He gave her hand a quick squeeze before Vakarian and Alenko rounded the corner to join them in the elevator.
When the elevator doors opened they didn't find the messy desk and office space Shepard had expected. The room was simply a panoramic view of the beach nearby with ramps leading down to a lower lever along the walls. An array of consoles formed a control panel on one extended walkway in the center of the room.
"Commander, look over here. It's another beacon like the one on Eden Prime." Alenko said pointing down the ramp to their left.
Shepard cautiously approached the beacon. The cypher had yet to reveal anything new in the visions that resurfaced in her dreams. At first it had been horrible, nightmarish. After the cypher was given to her, she still had the dreams, but not as often. She became emotionally disconnected from the places and people. It started to feel more like a vivid history lesson than a nightmare. The beacon looming before her was as a threat to return her to a restless sleep, or worse.
Shepard eased forward holding her hands toward the controls trying to stay as far away from it as possible, dreading the headaches and the nightmares. Maybe she could access its information through the consoles mounted on the railing in front of it. Her finger tips could almost touch the keys when the weightlessness and helplessness of the beacon's tractor beam griped her like a vice. The images, now all too familiar, flooded her mind only now there was more. More death and destruction. More fires. More strange organic tissue being wired and fused with technology. A sun. Planetary bodies in the solar system. Her vision pulled out from the sun to the third planet silhouetted against the light. A large, squid like creature emerged from the black of the planet with red, glowing eyes. It filled her with an intense terror she had never known.
Kryik watched helplessly as Shepard's body was held captive in mid air, his mandibles twitched nervously. He felt so worthless knowing he couldn't help her, that she had to endure this to save the galaxy from the Reapers. Any information she may be receiving was detrimentally important. When her body fell to the floor he ran to her.
"Shepard, are you okay?"
Her face was partially hidden in shadow, but she seemed pale. She was breathing heavily in ragged breaths. Her arms were shaking, barely holding her up. He slipped his arms around her to help her stand. Her knees trembled and she fell into him. He caught his balance against the railing and held her to him. Political xenophobia be damned, he held her.
"I'm so sorry, my love." He whispered. "I'm sorry you must be the one to bear this burden."
Alenko had taken a step forward when the beam released her, but Kryik was faster. Vakarian was a few steps passed him when she stumbled in Kryik's arms. Neither heard the softly spoken words, but they didn't need to. The way the turian held the human woman to himself was evidence enough.
Garrus was only surprised by the moment of openness. Kaiden had been foolishly clueless and the shock was a bit harder on him.
"We need to help her!" Kryik growled the order.
He eased Shepard's face to his with one taloned hand. He found her eyes with his, his brow plates lifted in concern. He'd never known her to be afraid of anything, but the terror he saw in her shadowed eyes un-nerved him.
"You have to continue." He told her, steeling himself in hopes that his strength would some how pass to her. "I will carry you if I must."
Kryik took hold of her waist and guided her up the ramp. Vakarian took the other side while Alenko lagged behind. As the two turians guided her up the ramp she regained stability enough to take the landing on her own.
"I'm okay." She belatedly answered Kryik's question. "I'll be okay..." Her words trailed off when a red holo appeared just in front of the console panels in the center of the room.
"This... is not good." said Vakarian.
He was only saying what they were all thinking as they approached the image. It looked like the ship from Eden Prime. Shepard had difficulty in remaining calm, the experience of the beacon screamed its terror in her throbbing head.
"You are not Saren." a deep, flanging voice echoed off the walls and shook the windows. The holo flashed with each syllable.
"What is that? Some kind of V.I. interface?" Alenko asked.
"Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh; you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding."
"I don't think this is a V.I." Vakarian replied warrily.
"There is a realm of exitance so far beyond your own you cannot even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign."
"Sovereign isn't some Reaper ship Saren found, it's an actual Reaper." Kryik breathed in disbelief.
"Reaper, a label created by the Protheans to give voice to their destruction. In the end, what they chose to call us is irrelevant. We simply... are."
"The Protheans vanished fifty-thousand years ago. You couldn't have been there. It's impossible." Vakarian scoffed.
"Organic life is nothing but a genetic mutation, an accident. Your lives are measured in years and decides. You wither and die. We are eternal. The pinnacle of evolution and exitance. Before us, you are nothing. Your extinction is inevitable. We are the end of everything."
"There is an entire galaxy of races united and ready to face you!" Shepard growled from her place at Kryik's side.
"Confidence born of ignorance. The cycle cannot be broken. The pattern has repeated itself more times than you can fathom. Organic civilizations rise, evolve, advance. And at the apex of their glory they are extinguished. The Protheans were not the first. They did not create the Citadel. They did not forge the mass relays. They merely found them, the legacy of my kind."
"Why kill off all the life in the galaxy?" Shepard asked angrily.
"Where are the rest of the Reapers, are you the last?" Kryik added his own questions.
"We are legion. The time of our return is coming. Our numbers will darken the sky of every world. You cannot escape your doom"
"Where did you come from? Who built you?" Kryik asked.
Shepard grew even more angry when the being ignored her questions.
"We have no beginning. We have no end. We are infinite. Millions of years after your civilization has been eradicated, forgotten, we will endure."
"That's shit." Shepard spat. She'd had enough. "Someone built you. Is that what you need from us? Slaves to repair you thorough the ages?"
"My kind transcends your very understanding. We are each a nation, independent, free of all weakness. You cannot even grasp the nature of our existence."
"You seem to have problems answering questions without inflating your own ego! You're a fucking machine, and machines can be broken." Shepard seethed.
"Your words are as empty as your future. I am the vanguard of your destruction. This exchange is over."
The windows shattered when the holo vanished from it's place in the air.
"Way to go, Commander. You pissed it off." Vakarian was mostly teasing.
"I pissed it off?" Shepard glared at him in her rage. "It is going to make a lovely new shitter in my fucking lavatory!" She shouted.
Her grip on self control was slipping with the stress from the beacon and the encounter with Sovereign. She swooned on her feet as a new wave of pain racked her brain. Kryik was quick to catch her.
"You are not well." He said firmly.
"I don't have a choice." She replied. "We have to..."
She was cut off by Joker's voice on the com.
"Spectre, Commander, we got trouble."
"Don't we always?" Kryik replied.
"The ship, Sovereign? It's moving. I dunno what you did down there, but that thing just pulled a turn that would sheer any of our ships in half. It 's coming your way and it's coming hard. You need to wrap things up in there, fast!"
"Breeding facility. We need to set the nuke." Kryik ordered.
He grabbed Shepard around the waist again, only this time he took her legs in the other arm and carried her to the elevator.
"What are you..."
"We don't have time for this." Kryik said. "I need you to be Commander Shepard or we're all likely to die here. If that means I carry you, and your brain, out of here... so be it."
He planted her feet on the floor of the elevator after the doors closed. She wasn't sure if she was furious with him or fascinated by him, so she stood quietly and tried to focus her mind on the task at hand. His talons slipped into her hand. There was no real point in hiding it now. She looked up into his eyes. Somehow it helped to ease the pain in her head and clear her thoughts as if his piercing gaze purged the nightmares from her mind, if only for a while.
Exiting the elevator they found a krogan waiting at the other end of the open walkway. Alenko ignited into blue flame and threw him over the edge. Through the doors there were more waiting to block them from getting to the breeding labs. Shepard pulled the pin on three grenades and tossed them. She couldn't risk using her biotics. Her nervous system might not be able to handle it so soon after the beacon.
The team took cover right as the blasts took out one of the krogan and injured the other two. Kryik moved quickly to fire at the two left. They could not be allowed time to regenerate. Vakarian followed suit. Alenko helped Shepard back to her feet. She was still weak.
"Come on, Shepard." He said, looping one of her arms over his shoulders to lift her. "I'm sure you're in a lot of pain, but you have to push through it." He should know. Life isn't comfortable for a L2.
"It's not the pain..." Shepard said as she struggled to get her legs to move.
It took all her strength to find her footing and take the first few steps.
"Here, we're not supposed to have these..." Kaiden opened a pocket used to carry ammo in his suit and produced two small pills, one blue and one yellow. "But it helps with the migraines. Maybe it will help you."
Shepard took the pills, no questions. She had to get back firm control of her body. She nodded her thanks. The meds would take a few minutes to kick in. Alenko helped her down the ramp while Kryik and Vakarian cleared the way. Kryik glanced back over his shoulder to make sure Alenko and Shepard were safe. Someone needed to help her and he needed to fight. Alenko was more her height so it made mores sense for the human to assist her. He was worried about her, about the mission. This was a potentially fatal set back. There had to be a way to lessen the effects of the beacon.
They passed through a hall that opened to the outside once more. The area was clear. Kryik returned to her side and helped Alenko get her down the steps that lead to another walkway.
"We're getting close." Kryik told her. "We can leave you here and come back for you."
"No." Shepard retorted. "You're not leaving me behind. I need to fight!"
She pulled away from them on the last step, nearly falling to the ground, but she kept her balance. She could feel the effects of the meds kicking in. The pain subsided dramatically and the feeling of control returned to her limbs.
"I can fight." She said and drew her rifle. "Let's go." She ran up the path. Vakarian followed.
"What did you give her?" Kryik said sharply to Alenko.
"Just some pain killers for migraines." He replied innocently.
Kryik glared at him, but there wasn't time to interrogate or rebuke. They ran after Shepard and Vakarian.
"That turret could punch a nasty hole in the Normandy." Vakarian commented when he and Shepard rounded the bend to see a large AA gun before them.
"That's kinda the point isn't it?" Shepard remarked as she tossed a grenade and fired her sub-machine gun equipped with acid rounds at a krogan ahead of them.
Kryik and Alenko ran up behind them.
"There are hovering turrets ahead. Be ready. Run across to the stairs on the other side. The elevator is at the top." Shepard told them.
Kyrik didn't wait for anything else. They were running out of time, he could feel it. He ran passed the corner firing at the turrets, fearless or crazy. Maybe both. He was a Spectre and he did what he had to do to get the job done.
Vakarian followed, just as crazy, inspired by his fellow turian. Alenko was on Shepard's heels as the team made a mad, bullet spraying dash for the elevator platform and turret controls.
Their shields were weakened to the point of failure, but they made it. Alenko found the turret controls for the AA guns and deactivated them. The elevator opened behind him, full of geth. One round took down his shields. The next hit his armor. He dodged the fire, sending out a warp field at his attackers.
Switching to pistols, Kryik, Vakarian and Shepard flanked the elevator, picking off the geth as they exited.
"They're following us up the stairs!" Garrus warned, firing a few shots at the advancing geth.
"In the elevator, now!" Kryik ordered.
Williams came over the com as they piled in.
"Good work on that gun. We've got the other one in our sights."
"Good. Keep pushing." Kryik replied.
He flexed his grip on his pistol. His mandibles twitched. His anxiety was growing. He could almost smell Saren. He was close. So close. Justice would be served with a side of revenge. He could taste it, and it was delicious.
"There's the gun. Clear those geth and get the charges set." Williams said over the com.
The doors opened. The connecting hall was empty. Adrenaline rushed in his veins and pounded in his ears. Shepard was at his side, ready and able as if she never been touched by the beacon. Whatever Alenko had given her had done the trick. Probably some kind of narcotic. He didn't like it, but it was necessary.
The tank room was open to the sky. Standing water flooded the floor. The lab was guarded by hoppers and krogan. The team took cover behind the tanks. Shepard could see a large foot in one though the glass.
"Alenko, take care of the hoppers." the Commander ordered.
Shepard used the tank to shield her body, standing and aiming over the glass at the armed krogan guards. Across the water Kryik was doing the same. Vakarian had taken a position a little closer and leaned out of cover to fire. Shepard risked the pain and sent a warp field at the krogan, finishing off their shields. The surge of pain left quickly, but her hands shook when she tried to aim her gun. A hopper splashed into the water beside her when Alenko shot it in mid air, killing it. She was startled, then almost laughed when she realized what had happened. The comic relief steadied her grip.
Nihlus saw Sonya's face as she unloaded her gun into the face of a charging krogan. As hardened as any soldier, but with a fierce wrath. She wasn't fighting only for the goal of the mission. She was fighting for survival. It was as if he were seeing a glimpse of who she had become to survive on Elysium. Soon after the way was clear and the team ran for the doors.
"We just took out the last AA gun, Spectre." Williams said over the com.
"Alright, I'm comin' in. I'll get in as close to the sight as I can." Joker replied.
The doors opened to a water way. Kryik and his team ran out to meet the Normandy. The hum and whir of the ships engines drowned out the sound of rushing water and distant thunder. Joker sat the Normandy down gently in the spill way. The loading bay opened. Alenko ran up the ramp to assist in bringing the nuke out. It was a lot heavier than he thought it would be, but they managed to get it to the drain that was the center of the facility.
"Bomb is in position. We're all set here." Alenko announced.
"Spectre, can you read me?"
"The nuke is almost ready. Get to the rendezvous, Williams." Kryik answered.
"Negative. The geth have us pinned down in the AA tower. We've taken heavy casualties. We'll never make it in time."
"Get them out of there, Joker. Now!" Kryik ordered into the com.
"Negative! It's too hot. We can't risk it. We'll hold them off as long as we..." The com cut out.
Alenko's heart skipped a beat in his chest. Maybe he cared about Williams more than he thought.
"I need time to finish arming the bomb. Go get them and bring them back here!" Alenko ordered as if he was the one in charge.
Kryik eyed the human who'd suddenly developed a back bone.
"Shepard, Vakarian, with me. We're going to get Williams and the salarians."
He nodded to Alenko. He was beginning to show some potential, or maybe there was more to it than military steel. Kryik glanced at Shepard then back to Alenko. Their eyes locked as the Normandy's engines sent water like sand into their faces as it left the water way. An understanding passed between them. Kryik turned to the bay doors and ran.
More geth and krogan. Gunfire. An elevator ride to the walkways that would lead them to the AA guns. A geth ship flew overhead.
"Reinforcements. We'd better hurry." said Vakarian.
"Heads up L.T. We just spotted a geth troop ship headed to your location." Williams said over the com.
"It's already here." came the reply. "There's geth pouring out all over the bomb sight!"
Kryik got on the com.
"Can you hold them off?"
"There's too many. I don't think we can survive until you get here." said Alenko. "I'm activating the bomb."
"What the hell are you doing, Alenko?" Shepard joined the chatter.
"I'm just making sure this bomb goes off, no matter what."
Kryik looked toward the geth ship hovering over the water way. He admired the human's bravery, but it would be short lived. Shepard was looking at him with wide eyes.
"It's done, Spectre. Now go get Williams, and get the hell outta here." Alenko said over the com.
Kryik leaned on the railing. Looking down he could see a dry water way. It was long drop.
"Screw that, we can handle ourselves!" Williams replied. "Go back and get Alenko."
"Maybe we can split up. I can go get Williams, you take Vakarian and get Alenko." Shepard suggested. She didn't want to loose either members of her crew.
"No. You won't be able to do it alone in your condition..." even with the aid of the narcotics. Kryik shook his head.
"Then send Vakarian. We can't just let them die!"
Kryik looked up at the sky. The clouds had cleared and a bright blue sky could be seen above the fluffy white billows that were left. He closed his eyes. Williams was a gun. She could fire anything and hit the target. She was a soldier, but she lost more than half the salarian team after the captain fell in battle. Alenko had limited fire arms training, but he had biotics and he had tech skills. Alenko was also guarding the nuke. It was imperative to the mission that the bomb went off. Williams was... expendable.
"Alenko, radio Joker. Tell him to meet us at the bomb sight." Kryik said into the com.
"Who's going after Williams?" Shepard asked.
"No one. There isn't time. I'm sorry." Kryik looked at her.
He could see the thoughts cross her face. The anger, then understanding. She knew that sometimes sacrifices must be made. It was best to minimize them as much as possible. It was better to loose one than two, and they had to make sure that bomb went off.
"Yes, Spectre... I..."
"It's the right choice, L.T. and you know it." Williams said.
"Stay alive, Williams." Shepard added. "We'll be coming to get you on the way out."
"I think we both know that's not going to happen, ma'am." Williams replied.
Shepard's heart sank. It was bad to loose people. To know you're going to loose one and not be able to do anything about it was worse.
Geth were swarming the water ways. Gun fire and biotic blasts echoed off the walls. Shepard's body was on fire. If she hadn't been high, she probably would have fallen to the ground in agony.
"Commander, we can't hold them! Left flank! Left flank! Suppressing fire!" Shouted Williams on the com. "Suppres..." the com cut out.
The get ship moved away as the last of the troopers fell. Fires burned on the walls. Smoke poured from turbines and generators. Some sort of hover craft appeared through the black billows. It was firing rockets at them.
"Watch out!" Vakarian shouted.
Shepard ran for cover behind a wall support. She saw Kryik and Vakarian do the same on the opposite wall. Alenko was hit. He leaned against the nuke, his gun spraying bullets at the hover craft as blood ran down his armor. Several rockets shot off in an arch from the front of the hover craft. A rocket exploded near her and she fell to the ground.
The hover craft landed and a tall, lithe figure jumped down into the water and angrily tossed a gun into the water. The figure made long, quick strides to where the human lay.
Kryik lay on the ground, dizzy and struggling to recover control from being knocked down by the blast from a rocket. He looked to where Shepard lay on the ground fighting to regain her feet. A cloud of smoke cleared. He narrowed his eyes at the figure approaching her. It was Saren.
Kryik's mandibles flared. His brow knitted in a hard scowl. He had to get to Shepard! He gathered his legs under him and took aim. Saren had Shepard by the neck with one arm. Her legs were kicking, her hands were at her throat as she struggled against the choking power of Saren's talons. Kryik emptied his pistol against Saren's shields.
Saren turned his glare from Shepard to Kryik.
"One more step and I snap her neck." Saren threatened.
Kryik hesitated.
"I applaud you, Nihlus. My geth were utterly convinced that the salarians were the real threat. An impressive diversion. Of course it was all for nothing. I can't let you disrupt what I've accomplished here. You can't possibly understand what's really at steak."
"Sovereign and his kind destroyed the Protheans and they plan to destroy all of civilization, again. What else is there to understand?" Kryik shouted, his weapon still trained on Saren.
He could hear Shepard struggling to breath. His mandibles twitched. His hear pounded in his chest. Saren was so close, and he held his heart in his hands, squeezing the life out of it.
"The Protheans tried to fight and now they're gone. But what if they had surrendered? Bowed before the invaders. Would they still exist? Is submission not preferable to extinction?" Saren seethed.
"Do you really believe the Reapers will let us live?" Nihlus shouted.
"She has seen the visions from the beacon, Nihlus." Saren continued. "She understands what the Reapers are capable of. They cannot be stopped. Or has your little toy not shared that knowledge with you." Saren seethed a wicked grin.
Nihlus' heart stopped beating for a few seconds. He'd forgotten about the mark.
"Organics are driven by emotion instead of logic. We fight even though we know we cannot win. Just like you thought with your carnal nature and not your mind. Did you think I would not smell you on her? You've always had foolish ideas, Nihlus. Sympathized with the humans. But you have mated with one!"
Saren looked back at Shepard, his glare boring into. He squeezed a little tighter.
"Was it pleasant, Nihlus? Did you enjoy sleeping with an animal?"
Saren tossed Shepard to the ground behind him as if he were throwing away a bit of trash. She landed hard, coughing and gasping for air.
Nihlus' blood boiled in his veins. His heart wast pounding in his chest. His mind on fire with rage. His mandibles were tight against his jaw in a grimace, baring his teeth as a threat.
"Sovereign is manipulating you. Controlling you. No mater how hard you try to resist him, he will consume your mind in the end!"
He prepared his body to pounce.
Saren shook his head, "No. Sovereign needs me. When I find the conduit, I've been promised a reprieve from the inevitable. It is my... only hope."
"Together we can stop Sovereign." Nihlus called out to his friend. "We don't have to submit to the Reapers! We can beat them!"
"I no longer believe that, Nihlus. The visions cannot be denied. The Reapers are too powerful. The only hope for survival is to join with them. Sovereign is a machine. It thinks like a machine. If I can prove my value I become a resource worth maintaining. There is no other logical conclusion."
"You were a Spectre! You were sworn to protect the galaxy! You joined with a galactic enemy to save yourself!" Nihlus spat with a talon pointed at Saren.
"My way is the only way any of us will survive!" Saren hissed.
"You weren't worried about my survival! You tried to kill me! You would have shot me in the back!" Nihlus growled.
"You would have stopped me. The alliance I am forging between organics and machines will save more lives than have ever existed! You would doom our entire civilization. For that you must die."
At that moment the nuke rang out with it's warning count down. Alenko was unconscious against the bomb. The sound distracted Saren. A warp blast from behind him threw him to the ground. Shepard was on her hands and knees, glaring up at the fallen turian traitor. Her body still alight with blue flame.
Kryik ran at full speed and tacked his enemy. Armored plates covered the scar where Nihlus had torn the scales from Saren's neck, but the rest of his throat was still exposed. Nihlus sunk his teeth into Saren's throat, pulling out his knife for the kill. Blue blood poured from the wound. Saren growled in pain and hatred. Saren's strength was amplified with new biotics. A 'gift' from Sovereign. He threw Nihlus from him with one powerful sweep of an arm and ran for this hover craft, clutching his throat as he choked on his own blood.
Nihlus pointed his gun at the fleeing turian. He locked eyes with Saren. His mentor's words echoing in his mind. 'Is submission not preferable to extinction?' He hesitated and Saren escaped.
Nihlus sheathed his knife and ran to Shepard. She was breathing, but weak.
"We have to get out of here!" He said. "I'm going to get Alenko."
He ran to Alenko as the Normandy landed for pick up. Crew men sprinted to the Commander and rushed her to the ship. Others helped Kryik with Alenko. They were dragged to the med-bay as the Normandy left Virmire.
"All right everybody, hang on!" Joker shouted into the com.
Kryik watched from the windows of the cockpit as the facility exploded. His face was set in hardness. He'd lost most of the salarian team, Captain Kirrahe, Gunnery Chief Williams, his chance to kill Saren, and nearly lost Alenko and Shepard. It was the worst mission he'd ever executed. Too much had gone wrong. His shoulders sank as he walked away. He would wait in the mess until the doctor paged him the OK. The table would bear new mars from his talons digging nervously into the metal.