It's been a long time I know but a lot has been going on and this story, and fanfiction, just kept slipping from my mind. I've been really into YouTube with uploading videos, preparing for conventions, making and talking with friends, and mainly playing games on Steam. So I want to say thanks to all you who've waited patiently for this next chapter and for continuing to review/favorite this and other stories. Remember to check my profile for updates on news, on what stories are being planned and which are next for updating. And if anyone has any questions, don't hesitate to PM me.
"Shepard, we need to talk," stated Miranda with a sense of urgency about her as Shepard stepped off the Lucky 38 elevator onto the presidential suite.
"About Mike I take it?" Answered Shepard with a mix of impatience, from her constant pestering, and concern, from the tone of her voice, "Listen Miranda, after a recent conversation with him, I'm more willing to listen to what you have to say."
Miranda blinked and looked at him, either with confusion or surprise he was unsure, but quickly recovered herself. "I think Mike is one of the leaders running Vegas, or if not that, then has connections to the rulers."
"I know Miranda, and you're right. Get Mordin, Samara, and Jacob and meet us in the casino floor."
Without a hint of her usual smugness, Miranda nodded, leaving to do as told while Shepard turned to address Garrus, Tali, and EDI. "Ok all. Meeting downstairs in ten."
"Great," sighed Garrus, "sounds like another mission, when do we get a break?"
Excitement and anticipation coursed thru Grunt as he stood waiting for the chain link fence gate to slide open. Across the arena, in a similar holding area, were three giant creatures he'd been told earlier were radscorpions. The flickering fire lights reflected dully off their exoskeletons as they scuttled across the small enclosure, as if impatient to get at the Krogan. Grunt too this time to search for weaknesses. The exoskeletons covered nearly their entire body, except for the eyes, and was likely thick, except on the joints. Their stingers look long and pincers large, likely giving them range. The only advantages in his favor was their size, which probably limits their flexibility. He would have to be quick and stay in close to their sides and back.
With a grinding screech, the metal gates begin to open and Grunt lunges forward as two of the vermin do likewise while the third, who'd been too busy scuttling around to notice the gate opening, slowly turned its body around to follow its companions. Releasing a deep roar, Grunt charges ahead towards the closest one, getting off two shots from his shotgun, before colliding with a loud crunch as exoskeleton met armor and scaled hide. The impact shook him, almost causing him to stumble and fall down. It was worse for the radscorpion which lost its footing, apparently too dazed to retaliate or do more than lay still.
Grinning, Grunt turned to face the second radscorpion as it closed in, its tail twitching in eagerness. He waited for the creature to come closer, tensing his body in preparation of a lunge. As soon as the radscorpion was a few feet away, it's tail snapped ahead, the stinger speeding ahead gleaming in the dim lighting. An instant before the point hit body, Grunt acted, not towards the creature, but to its right away from the still dazed scorpion and the deadly stinger, resulting in the scorpion's tail getting lodged in the ground.
Leveling his shotgun, Grunt fired a shot into the scorpion, delivering a grievous wound in its left side and crippling the middle two legs. A second shot followed after, this time delivered to the creature's head, killing it instantly.
The first scorpion, having recovered from its daze, headed towards Grunt. Smiling broadly Grunt turned, his shotgun on it, unleashing another crippling spray of rounds, several of them hitting home in the creature's eyes. The pain was too much for the scorpion. Half blind it began backing away from Grunt until it stopped by the dead body of the first scorpion. Seeing his chance Grunt rushed forward, almost laughing aloud at the scorpion's pitiful attempts to escape. He swung hit shotgun, hitting the scorpion, brought his left food down on its face, and placed the barrel of the gun right against the head. It took only one pull of the trigger to kill it. Smiling in pride Grunt stepped off the corpse and turned around just in time to see a large claw rushing at his face. Caught by surprise he was unable to avoid the attack as it slammed into him actually knocking him off his feet to fall to the ground on his back hard. The air forced from him as his shotgun slipped from his grasp and slid across the ground far beyond his reach. Points of light filled his view which had nothing to do with the burning barrels. Before he could recover, the radscorpion was upon him, it's stinger descending to fill Grunt's recovering vision. Once again he was not in a place to escape the attack and flinched as the pointed end impacted against his chest, just piercing the thick armor and barely through his rough hide. As quickly as it came, the stinger left, the scorpion pulling back and scuttling away a few steps as it prepared itself for another charge.
Grunt had felt the stinger pierce him but it hadn't done enough pain to bother him, in fact, the disorientation from being knocked down was more problematic to him than the pain, so he was able to get back on his feet just as the scorpion began to charge him. Grunt braced himself, this time planning on something besides rushing forward or dodging to the side; he waited, waited as the scorpion approached, waited as it's tail flexed back, waited as the tail snapped forward the stinger aimed right for the krogan's chest. Just before the impact Grunt reached forward with both arms and caught the area where stinger and tail connected, stopping the scorpion's attack instantly. Grunt didn't give the creature a chance to react as he began pulling on the tail. The scorpion, unfamiliar with such reactions from prey, tried to move back away from the krogan, but Grunt had his feet planted firmly on the ground and his body angled as such so he wouldn't fall. Knowing escape wasn't possible the scorpion tried rushing forward, hoping to knock the krogan off-balance, thus freeing itself.
Grunt grinned as the radscorpion fell for his trap. As soon as he sensed it move at him, he lifted his left foot and brought it down on the scorpion's head with crushing force and was rewarded with the sound of cracking exoskeleton. Still pulling on the tail Grunt brought his other foot up until he was literally standing on top of the creature. Try as it might the radscorpion couldn't shake Grunt off as he kept pulling on the tail with all his might. His muscles strained from the effort and knew he couldn't keep this up, it would be only a matter of time. A loud crackling noise was audible. Emboldened, Grunt used the last of his strength to yank upwards and nearly fell back as the tail ripped away from the scorpion's body. With a yell of triumph, Grunt aimed the stinger at the scorpion's back and thrust down, adding his weight to the strike.
The scorpion spasmed as it's stinger pierced its back, gave a final jerk as if to roll over, then went limp. Letting go of the tail, Grunt jumped down from the corpse and raised his fists in the air, giving a bellowing roar. Applause and cheers answered in return. Smiling, he turned back to the gate he had entered through, feeling better than he had in a long time, and wondered if he could try for another fight.
With the sun nearing the horizon, sending golden rays across the sands of the Mojave, the two Couriers followed the road as it made a turn next to the beginnings of a hill beyond which was a small farm-house called Wolfhorn Ranch. Both were silent, and had been for almost thirty minutes now, but for different reasons. Ulysses thought about the past, how before he knew what he wanted and how to meet it, to now where he's unsure. Mike thought about the future, what he wanted and how to do it. The first was obvious, to restore humanity back to it golden age, but how to get that without taking a wrong turn into disastrous consequences still nagged at him.
"I was here once."
Mike looked back at Ulysses, who was gazing out at the farmstead.
"Set camp, back when I was searching. Uninhabited, I took as my own before my trip to the Big MT."
Mike joined his companion and stared at the farmstead as well, "Seems you've been to many places that I traveled to Ulysses, both before and after his incident with Benny."
"Our roads were, and are, meant to cross Courier. You know that."
Mike's brow furrowed, both in irritation and confusion, "Why do you keep calling me Courier? You know my name and we're no longer rivals."
Ulysses turned to face him, "A title, a symbol of both who you and what you are. You carry messages of much more importance the before. Messages that began the day you walked out of the grave, reborn and remade."
The smile barely touched Mike's eyes. He knew Ulysses was referring to the fact that he carried his ideals which influenced places and people he visited.
"Also from habit. From not wanting to call you by your name. A name that haunted me since after you first brought the old world package to the Divide." Ulysses looked over at the farmhouse, his eyes seeming to gaze out at something beyond which only he could see. "A title has more meaning that a name. Titles endure, go on into legend. Names though vanish, lost in the shadows of those titles. Some more slowly, but vanish still in the end."
Reflecting on that, Mike had to agree that Ulysses was right, if not exactly comforting. The man could do with a little more optimism in his life, just like Raul. He would have to remember not to let Ulysses and Raul get too comfortable with each other. Who knew what depressing feelings they'd inflict on themselves and others. Hell, they could make rocks cry. "If you say so," stated Mike absent-mindedly.
"Not I. History. Evidence is clear along the blood soaked path of humanity." Ulysses walked to the arch of the highway and Mike followed until they reached the top. Ulysses pointed ahead, eastward towards Cottenwood cove, "The Legion followed Caesar who took his name, his title, after another Caesar. How many however know the original Caesar's full name? My name, taken from a civil war general. Most I doubt remember it. How many leaders, power bearers, are now lost in living memory? Their names are not like their titles." He glanced over at Mike, a weighing look in his eyes, "How long will your name last Courier?"
Staring down at his feet Mike found he had no answer. Ulysses nodded and walked onwards before Mike, hesitating only a moment, followed. This time, the silence that descended between them was greater than before, and was unlikely gonna be broken any time soon.
"Shepard. Where are you?" Tali muttered to herself as she walked down a hall lined with doors. She needed to speak with him, have sometime alone to figure out what exactly was going on. Having already checked the Presidential Suite, she had gone down the levels of the casino to see if she could find him, however unlikely that was. These floors must have been rooms that people stayed in, like hotels, back before the nuclear apocalypse, but from the amount of dust on the furnishings and floor, not a single living soul had set foot here in a long time. Still she had to try, if only to keep herself motivated. Already she searched three previous floors, now soon to become four, as she moved back to the elevator. As she pushed a button to call it, she wondered where everyone was exactly.
In all her time aboard the Normandy, the only times the crew every split up was usually at the Citadel. Then, there was nothing to worry about for she knew everyone would return safely back to the ship when it was time to go. Now? NO everyone seemed to have gone off somewhere. Grunt off in a rage without informing anyone, Joker said he wanted to gamble but not where to, Thane was somewhere in this casino, gone almost the moment they all arrived. The elevator arrived and she stepped forward as the doors began to open. She hoped everyone was safe.
"Tali?"
Her head snapped up and relief welled up in her at the sight of Shepard standing inside the elevator. Without a word she rushed towards him, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head against his chest. Felling him return the hug Tali sighed contentedly.
"Everything alright Tali?"
She didn't reply except to tighten her hold upon him. The silence stretch for several seconds before he asked the same question again. Gazing into his eyes Tali shook her head, "I worry Shepard, not for myself but you. We've hardly spent much time together even just to talk. Something's bothering you, more that you have admitted and it scares me. And don't try to deny it either John, I know you too well."
She watched and waited as he collected himself, "I did not intend to cause you grief Tali, you know that. It's just." He went quiet but his eyes never left heres, "So much is going on and I feel like despite my choices, I'm pushed into another situation that demands my attention. I'm resurrected by an organizations whose views I oppose. The council doesn't believe me about the Reapers whom are coming. Alliance Command will want to court-martial me when we return. Then all this,with our arriving in this... other universe and feeling like I'm forced to take on more responsibilities." Tali's eyes widened in surprise, she could feel Shepard shivering, as if he were freezing. "I have to worry about the crew, not only their safety but their loyalty, if I seem weak." HE trailed off, obviously overcome with emotions, though he did not show it, Tali knew he was crying.
Reaching up to caress his cheek, her tone turned serious, "John. The crew's loyalty is not in question and you should know that. Grunt admires you, looks to you almost as a father. Zaeed has an odd respect towards you. Garrus is your best friend, no doubt there. And I love you. All of us. Each in our own way are loyal to you till the end. Whatever happens, we shall stay by you like we did when facing the collectors." She pulled him in for another hug, "All of us stand with you."