A/N: I am pleased to announce I have completed my planning for this arc of the story. Innocence Lost will have two main foci: a series of flashbacks detailing Liara's evolution from adorable bumbling scientist to cold hearted Blue Suns captain, and the events occurring on Tuchanka. Have no fear however, Lizzie, Garrus, Tali/Jack, Samara and Miranda will all have their moments in Innocence Lost. Really this arc is about the development of the main characters from children to adults, each in their own crucibles with their own challenges. The next arc, Reapers, set in 2177, will be based on the events of Mass Effect, however Schism and War will have almost nothing in common with Mass Effect 2 and 3.
###
Councillor Murtok was not happy.
"STG supposed to be best. Not bested by mercenary group."
The STG captain standing in front of him looked very nervous as Murtok shifted through the reports.
"These Suns shifted thousands of tons of equipment to the surface of Tuchanka and you have no idea how they're getting past the blockade."
"Yes. Only speculation but significant evidence Suns have Soviet and Raachok backing. Stealth ships?"
"I thought we developed a counter to that."
"Stealth shrouded foot soldiers can be detected by laser grids and pressure plates. Technique not applicable in space."
"Hm, yes. Might want to create scanner that can detect stealth ships. Secondary issue now. Activity on Tuchanka, report."
"The Krogan have largely polarised into two distinct factions. The largest is united under Clan Urdnot, backed by the Blue Suns. Their leader, a warlord called Wrex, sends all his warriors to train with the Suns. Produce much more dangerous warriors, versatile, able to use a far greater range of weapons and with tactical acumen on par with Turian centurion standard. Other faction is Weyrloc and associate clans, backed by Blood Pack. Numerically and strategically inferior to Urdnot faction."
"Recommended course?"
"Wait until Urdnot and Weyrloc come to blows. Weyrloc likely obliterated, Urdnot take heavy casualties. Then assassinate Wrex."
###
"Warlord?"
"Go ahead."
The scout sergeant peered down his scope at the offworld imposter's ship.
"We found it. It's not like any ship I've ever seen."
The five man scout team were spread out around the landing site, dusty beige armour marked with the red Urdnot fist blending into Tuchanka's equatorial deserts flawlessly. The sergeant and two of his other men were on overwatch, spread around the periphery of the site with their enormous Carnis anti-material rifles, each one designed to put down a charging warrior in a single headshot while the Corporal and another scout cautiously approached clutching Seu'Seun made Ravage SMGs.
"Talk to me. What are you looking at?"
"Hold on, I'll patch in my corporal."
He tapped a few buttons on his Omnitool and moments later the rough voice of the scout corporal joined in the conversation. Almost the first thing Wrex had got from the Suns was a thousand high quality Omnitools with advanced communication programmes. The Weyrloc had scoffed and mocked the decision, that is until thanks to Urdnot being able to communicate they had crushed Clan Gatatog in a lightening Tomkah attack. The Incinerate and Flamer modules on the tools had helped as well.
"If I didn't know better I'd say the ship's hull was made of stone."
The sergeant watched as his corporal walked up to the ship and scraped his knife over it. The knife was a Seu'Seun model, a diamond edged vibrating blade the length of a Krogan forearm, more of a short sword than a knife and yet the blade didn't even leave a scratch.
"Darg, run some scans."
The other scout with the Corporal waved his Omnitool over the strange grey shard of a ship.
"Omni says it's rock alright, but really dense. Scans can't even get three fingers into the hull."
"How strong?"
Darg tapped at his Omnitool a couple more times, running a quick calculation.
"Damn. This stuff makes Thresher hide look like a Salarian's eyelid. This thing could take a direct hit from a Tomkah cannon and not even notice."
There was a pause as the clan chief pondered his options.
"Secure the area and await reinforcement and a construction team. Fortack needs a bigger lab anyway and it looks like that ship can be the centrepiece."
###
SIX YEARS AGO
The newly minted Sergeant Ocean took the proffered Sharp and peered through the scope, examining the building using the thermal vision. Her first mission as a squad leader was to take out a Blood Pack slave pen, working in conjunction with two other squads under the command of a Lieutenant Aelia, an ex-Emaris commando with a notoriously effective tactical style.
"All squads report."
"Pierce squad ready."
"Lambda squad ready."
Liara called in using her preferred call sign.
"Proteus squad ready."
"Alright. Hold position, plan your assaults. We go on my signal."
Liara glanced across at Grunt, who flipped out a visor from the comm unit over his left earhole.
"Hmm. I see ten Vorcha and two Pack Krogan as well as two of my type. I'd say the snipers take out the Pack Krogan, then the heavies and snipers rip up the Vorcha while the assault team charge across the courtyard and breach the bottom level."
"What about the silvers?"
At this Grunt looked down and shuffled from foot to foot.
"I was hoping ..."
"You want me to free them."
"... Yes."
"Alright then. On my mark, take out the Pack, then lead the assault team over while the Heavies keep the Vorcha suppressed. I'll biotic charge across and get the Silvers."
"Thank you, Battlemaster."
She handed the Sharp back to the Raachok sniper and pulled her Mattock-Six from her back, checking over the bulky rifle's status lights before sighting down the assault scope.
"I see the silvers."
They had less than five minutes to wait.
"All teams, go go go!"
###
Lizzie knocked hesitantly on the door, which slid open to admit her a moment later. She anxiously stepped through, glancing around the barrack room.
"Hey look, it's the FNG."
"Be nice."
The five soldiers in the room all turned to look at her.
"Lieutenant Elizabeth Shepard, biotic specialist, Class 6 biotics. Which one is my bunk?"
A tanned woman with long black hair jerked a thumb at the top bunk nearest the door.
"Lucky me. So who's who?"
The five of them took turns to introduce themselves.
"Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, tech specialist and medic. Also class 3 biotics."
"Lieutenant Ashley Williams, sniper specialist."
"Lieutenant James Vega, heavy weapon specialist."
"Lieutenant Jacob Taylor, assault specialist. Class 3 biotic."
"Lieutenant Kasumi Goto, close quarters specialist. You need a callsign."
Lizzie's attention was instantly on the diminutive Japanese girl.
"Callsign?"
"Yeah, callsign." Lizzie couldn't possibly fathom how Kasumi was so chipper. "I'm Ninja. Ashley is Wildfire, Kaidan is Maple because of how adorably Canadian he is, James is Loco, Jacob is Cannonball."
At that point James cut in.
"Lola. She can be Lola."
Jacob hit her on the shoulder.
"Grab your blaster of choice, we're going down to the firing range to see how you handle yourself."
Looking round, she noticed that the whole squad was already armoured up. She slid the weapon tray out from under her bed, her eyes widening at the enormous array of destructive weapons available to her. In total, she had a Gast's rifle with every imaginable attachment, a Radiance carbine, an Axeman marksman rifle, an Eviscerator-Ten shotgun, a TCN4 SMG, a TCN5A1 HSMG, an SN7 pistol and a Talon pistol.
"Jesus, they don't spare any expense, do they?"
In the end she pulled the entire tray out, folding it in half and turning it into an impromptu carry case. She had seen several soldiers walking round the barracks with them already.
"Okay, shall we?"
###
Garrus sat in the armoury of the Sword of the Citadel, inventorying weapons for the Turian marine detachment. A rotation aboard the Sword was considered a cushy job but Garrus wanted to keep everyone on their toes. No point becoming complacent now, after all. Sighing, he checked over his report so far.
• 120 Phaeston-IV assault rifles (note: three rifles set aside for maintenance)
• 20 Phaeston-IV Mod-H light machine guns (note: one LMG set aside for maintenance)
• 20 Phaeston-IV Mod-S 'Krysae' sniper rifles
• 60 Amirah-III assault shotguns (note: one shotgun set aside for maintenance). At that one Garrus smirked, recalling his old childhood friend Amirah. He wondered if she had been named after the shotgun or vice versa.
• 20 Echela-I heavy projected particle cannon (note: three cannon set aside for calibration, one for maintenance). The Echela was an interesting weapon. Based off Seu'Seun particle weapon technology the simple fact was that the Echela by its very nature was power hungry and inefficient, projectile based heavy weapons being far more effective and much cheaper. The only reason the Echela PPC even got a look in was because the blasts could not penetrate the hull of the ship, making them perfect for fending off boarders.
• 120 Krystus-V SMGs
• 120 Laphan-V heavy pistols
• 400 blocks Haliat Mk V shredder ammuniton
• 400 blocks Haliat Mk V tungsten ammunition
• 400 blocks Haliat Mk V disruptive ammunition
• 200 Echela power cells
• 40 cases ship safe frag grenades
• 1 case of suicidal boredom
Chuckling to himself, he deleted the last one.
###
SIX YEARS AGO
Liara charged. It had taken her a while to master the technique but it turned out her altered biotics were almost perfectly suited to charging. So she charged.
She slammed into the first Superkrogan, or Silver, hard enough to knock him on his ass. She didn't waste any time. She may have been trained and modified but she knew she was no match for one of Okeer's creations. Taking advantage of the creature trying to scramble to its feet, she ran up and placed her hands either side of his head. Information flowed between two minds, one full and one empty, and another identity was born.
"Zeus."
"Battlemaster."
Zeus unslung his hammer, calmly walking up to a pair of Vorcha Pyros and hitting a home run as Liara stalked up to the next level.
She barely cleared the stairwell when there was a roar and a silver blur charged at her. She only had time to choke out a surprised curse before the shape was on top of her, slamming her against the wall and gripping her arms with both hands, preventing her from touching him even as he reared his head back for a headbutt.
Across the street, Grunt saw his Battlemaster in danger and blood rage pumped through his veins, fueling his primitive yet powerful biotics into a field that compounded his momentum, surging him towards his target.
"I AM KROGAN!"
It was his mantra, his nature. He was a Krogan, and if loudly proclaiming it gave his Blood Rage some extra oomph then so be it. Surrounded in a cocoon of blue, he soared across the street and slammed into his retarded brother.
Liara fell to the ground, groaning and delicately probing her injured arm as Grunt pulled back a fist before bringing it down on top of the Krogan's armoured hump, the power behind the blow forcing him to his knees.
"Quickly, Battlemaster!"
Shrugging the pain away, she ran over and put her hand on the silver's forehead, once again forging a consciousness to fill the empty space in his head.
"Poseidon."
The Superkrogan merely looked at her as Zeus rejoined them, his hammer and chest caked in Vorcha gore. A call came in from the Lieutenant.
"Move into the compound and take out any Pack you see."
She peered down through a hole in the floor of the building's upper level to see her assault squad cutting through the remnants of a Vorcha squad like a buzz saw.
"Alright. Form up and move up. Um, stay frosty."
###
Wrex knew that he was a clan leader, a warlord, probably the single most powerful Krogan since the glory days of Credok, Morro and Shiagur and that doing what he was doing was exceptionally stupid. But all the same he always felt the need to lead a combat mission now and again, just to keep his skills in. He had a small army that was his personal force, the elites of the elites, only assed for the most difficult missions and led by Wrex himself, a force of one hundred crests, ten from each of the six major allied clans of Urdnot, Ravanor, Quash, Raik, Drogal and Jorgal, and five from each of the eight minor allied clans of Thax, Kellar, Drau, Forsan, Ganar, Hailot, Khel and Nakmor. They usually dealt with toughened outposts belonging to the counter-alliance clans of Weyrloc, Jurdon, what little remained of Gatatog, Ruttan, Bant, Rox, Forsel, Kabassai and Orkalas.
At the moment his army was approaching a large outpost that had been used as a springboard for a number of unsuccessful raids on Ravanor's female camps. Wrex gripped his war blade as he crouched behind a fallen chunk of rebar, clad in sandy coloured Clan Alliance armour with the red three clawed fist of Urdnot emblazoned on the left side of the chest. Next to him crouched Inamorda, his second in command who had given up his career as a bounty hunter to bear the sand coloured armour, this time with the black varren skull of Ravanor on his breast.
"Kellar Aten, report."
On the Omnitool screen the two warriors saw a youngish Krogan with a dirty brown crest, his chest bearing the brown peaks that were Kellar's symbol.
"My scouts have taken up sniping positions. We've had a look in the camp. From what we can tell there are about seventy targets in there, mostly armed with old style mass effect or chemical/ballistic shotguns. We're seeing a lot of purple crests but we can't tell from here if they're Ruttan or Orkalas. The boss looks to be a Gatatog though."
"Alright, good work. Make sure none of your scouts are in boomer radius."
"Will do."
Wrex turned to Inamorda, a predatory glint in his eye.
"Hit them with the rain."
Inamorda keyed his Omnitool, sending a signal to the twenty Krogan manning the unit's infantry portable artillery systems.
"Fire."
Enormous rocket tubes that had been sighted for the last fifteen minutes fired, their payloads arcing into the air to split high above the counter-alliance camp.
"Scouts, weapons free."
The highly trained scouts easily drew beads on the panicking hostiles, working in tandem to score double headshots to ensure their kills. Ten of the hostiles dropped as the Scouts each rammed another fat crystal tipped shell into the breech of their rifles. The artillery strike landed, incendiary bomblets transforming the camp into a vision of hell, tents going up in a conflagration as Krogan roars filled the air, flaming thermite paste clinging to armour and skin and burning through. Wrex jumped out from behind his hiding place, pulling the heavy grenade launcher from his back as the remainder of his troops stood and charged, swarming forwards on all sides of the camp. The heavy weapons of each ten crest squad slowed and took up position on the ridges overlooking the camp, heavy machine guns, high caliber grenade launchers and guided rockets tearing into the scattered Counters, blowing off limbs and perforating torsos as the assault troopers closed in, wielding Blitz LMGs like assault carbines as they charged behind a storm of bullets, then switching to their Obliterator heavy shotguns as they got into what most Krogan considered maximum engagement distance. By the time the Counter-alliances returned fire only sixteen of them were still combat effective. Unlike the 'traditional' Krogan, Wrex's unit fought as a team. Each one of them aimed and fired their enormous shotguns simultaneously. Nine more of the hostiles were felled by the shotgun blasts. The remaining seven were set upon in melee. Outnumbered almost ten to one by the assault force they stood little chance.
Wrex took his Krogan war blade, pacing around the camp and hacking at the heads of fallen enemies. A quirk of warfare with regeneration powers was that the victor usually took very few casualties. When fighting Krogan the tactic was not to go for killshots but to wound them so severely that they would be out of combat until their regeneration kicked in, and keep doing so until every single one of them was down. The killing blows usually came only after the battle was won. In Wrex's lightning assault four of his own warriors had been felled but even now one of them was picking himself up, orange crest marking him out as a Jorgal.
"Warlord?"
He glanced around at the voice, then immediately brought his grenade launcher to bear. Standing up on the ridge, seemingly oblivious to the weapons aimed at them, were three Krogan he recognised all top well. Forsel Shiirk, Kabassai Otono and Orkalas Skava. Three clan leaders. Three enemies.
The Orkalas clan leader stepped forwards, instantly recognisable by his deep purple crest and eyes, his chin pierced by several metal rings from which hung the teeth of defeated enemies, giving his face the appearance of having a feature halfway between a second mouth and a beard.
"Urdnot Wrex!"
"Orkalas Skava."
The three clan leaders stepped forward, revealing what looked like the entirety of their three clans behind them, females and children included. Wrex could even spot several Tomkahs in the distance.
"Guld has lost his mind. He intends to attack your female camps with chemical weapons. I won't be a part of something like that."
The purple crested clan leader walked down the bluff to stand eye to eye with Wrex.
"We're here to join you."
###
With the addition of Forsel, Kabassai and Orkalas, the Clan Alliance's assembly was now attended by seventeen clan leaders. The latest additions to the assembly were causing a lot of tension though - Drogal and Forsel had a long history of animosity and the mountain clans of Kellar and Khel were fierce rivals for territory and resources with Kabassai. Orkalas seemed the only welcome addition, but then again they were surpassed only by Raik in their reputation as savage warriors.
At the moment Drogal Vrekt was speaking, the silver pattern in his dark grey crest flashing in the light. The patterns were formed by the crest being cracked with a red hot blade then molten platinum being poured into the wound. All told it was excruciatingly painful.
"How can we believe you? What if this is an elaborate ruse instigated by the coward Guld?"
Forsel Shiirk slammed a fist down on the table.
"You doubt us? You would dishonour me so?"
Inwardly groaning, Wrex rose to his feet.
"Control yourselves. This is not the place for squabbling like Vorcha fighting over a varren leg. If this is a ruse then it is a poorly designed one. Three entire clans have taken their warriors from Guld's armies, leaving him weakened, and placed their females and young into our care. Not even the pyjak shit behind Weyrloc crests would think that was a good plan."
Orkalas Skava stood, his tooth beard clinking as he fished a paper roll out of his bag.
"Before we attacked the Counter-alliance warriors and forced our way out of their base one of our scouts, Orkalas Sarh, managed to steal this from the Weyrloc."
He spread the paper out on the table, pinning it down with an empty grenade casing, a water canteen, a half finished bottle of Ryncol and a pistol with an enormous bullet hole in the side.
"These are plans for Urdnot base camp. I don't know how Guld got them. These vents are marked with orange. I think those are the targets of his chemical weapons. They lead into this air processing units which ventilate the entire south west section of the tunnels."
Ravanor Ksoth clenched his fists.
"The Urdnot female camp and birthing hospital. They would kill at least two hundred females and thirty young."
Wrex tuned out the enraged growls of the assembled clan leaders as he narrowed his eyes at the plans to his base. He reached out and tore off a corner of the sheet, putting it on his tongue. The slightly sharp taste assailed his tastebuds as he took it out of his mouth.
"Uh ... Warlord?"
A low growl emanated from the back of his throat.
"Reed paper. Printed black on yellow. Doors labelled with a three fingered hand ... These plans were drawn by a Salarian."
###
SIX YEARS AGO
Liara led her squad deeper into the slave auction house. Incredibly loud music was booming from the main hall, broken occasionally by the rough voice of the Krogan auction master. It was probable the occupants of the room didn't even know they were under attack.
"This next item, an Asari beauty, forty six years old and never with a man between her legs before. Bidding starts at twenty thousand creds."
Liara hissed through her teeth. She knew she had to wait for the other squads but she was getting mad. She didn't want to have to listen to this any longer.
Thankfully the Lieutenant agreed with her.
"Lambda and Proteus squads, full breach. Take those fucks down."
With a roar of fury Grunt and his two newfound brothers smashed through the wall, the three of them almost instantly falling into a flawless dynamic, two covering with autocannon fire while the third moved up, striking left and right with his biotics and his hammer. Behind the three man three ton whirlwind of devastation the rest of the Suns charged in, their weapons firing, cutting down Vorcha and clients alike with furious storms of flying ammunition.
"Freeze! Drop your weapons!"
Liara looked up at the stage. The auction master and three Vorcha stood behind what reminded Liara of a macabre washing line but with several young females of various species hanging from it instead of clothing.
"Drop them or we'll kill all of them!"
Glancing around, she saw her team in a firing position, kneeling in a line, reminding her of a firing squad. Then she looked back at the terrified girls. They were covered in burns and bruises, Blood Pack weapons pressed into their heads and tears running down their faces. More than one had pissed themselves. Their sobs assaulted her earholes.
"Everyone, lower your weapons."
There was a pause as her squad looked at her in disbelief.
"Do it now!"
Reluctantly the Suns lowered their weapons, placing them on the floor. All except one.
The Raachok trooper snapped his LMG into a firing position, levelled at the knees of the exposed slaves.
"Fuck that."
He let rip. Bullets sprayed out of his weapon, cutting through the legs of the now screaming slave girls and stitching lines of holes across the knees of the Blood Pack troopers. The Krogan and his three Vorcha were toppled, roaring and hissing in pain. The rest of the squad surged up, snapping off execution shots and putting down the Packs for good as more of them administered medigel to the wounded slave girls and untied them from the crossbar they were hanging off.
Liara turned to lay into the Raachok soldier only to find herself face to face with a livid Lieutenant.
"Ocean. You fucked up."