Chapter 32: Overlord

It was only a week into his new job and Rah already wanted to kill something. Everyday there was some new problem that arose, some new issue that needed to be dealt with and a million different assignments he needed to pass along. If it were not for both Foxtrot and Jenny, he'd likely have been committed into an asylum at this point.

Jenny did her job better than he could have hoped, keeping his messages from overwhelming him and keeping them down to only the ones that he needed to see. He would still skim through the rest, but Jenny knew enough to know what was trash and what wasn't. Fox took up the role of keeping logistics moving better than he could have. The AI seemed more than happy to take up the task for him, claiming that she'd be bored out of her mind if she didn't.

All that left to Rah, was his project and assignments. Both of them took up a good chunk of his time, more than he really wanted them to. More often than not he was only getting a few hours of sleep a day and regularly missing meals. There would be times where he'd wake up slumped over his desk in his room, drool all over a data pad. Sometimes he would even sleep on his feet, it was a technique he'd learned in ICT and he used it any time he had a few minutes to doze. His mind would basically shut off and his body would do whatever menial task it was that he was doing. Most often, he could only do it when eating or on the toilet.

There were two messages that passed his desk however, that made him grin like a mad-man. One of them was on a cruiser that had crashed, all crew survived, but there was a piece of equipment that had yet to be recovered. The equipment was a Hammerhead. Rah grinned and sent that off to Shepard, he knew how much she loved the hover tank and knew that she'd take good care of it. The other message, was from Grunt.

Human,

The varren Urz has been acting strangely. Wrex says it's from missing his owner, but my clan brothers think otherwise. They say Urz found a new owner when we were on Tuchanka. Come and get him.

Grunt

Rah couldn't help but grin madly at this. Rah had met the older varren, Urz, when the Urdnot Clan had its party for Grunt. The varren was a bit hostile at first, but after giving him some food and some much needed attention, Urz hadn't left his side. The only time he did, was when he was drinking a few Krogan under the table and then when he left.

Rah stood up from his desk and pulled on his undersuit. He stepped out of his room, surprising Jenny who was just about to enter.

"Oh, pardon me Sir." Jenny stammered, at a loss for words. "I was just about to bring you lunch."

Rah looked to see that she had a tray of food in her hands. Rah grinned to the woman and took it from her.

"Thanks Jenny. After I'm done, I'm going to be gone for a couple of days." Rah told her. "I want you to have Major Summers take over my duties while I'm gone."

"Y-yes Sir." Jenny replied, looking at him in his undersuit for the first time, confused as to why he was wearing it. "Where will you be going?"

"Tuchanka." Rah grinned to her. "I'll be back before you know it."

Rah stepped back into his room, taking note of the worried look on his aide's face. She clearly wasn't used to someone talking about going to the Krogan homeworld like it was a trip to the store, even less so with a high ranking officer.


Sarge,

I think you'd like this. Don't give anyone a heart attack using it though.

Rah

Shepard grinned at the message. Rah had sent her the location of an Alliance cruiser's crash site. At the site, was a Hammerhead. Rah knew all too well how much she loved the Hammerhead tank. He even had the perfect timing as the Normandy was just leaving Sur'kesh.

She and Garrus had spent a week visiting his mother. She loved having the chance to meet both Garrus' mother and his sister. She almost felt like part of the family when they left.

"Joker, I'm sending you coordinates. I want us there yesterday." Shepard spoke out, knowing that EDI would let her pilot know.

"Aye, Aye Shepard." Was Joker's response.

Shepard as giddy, she couldn't wait to get back into a Hammerhead after years of not having touched anything but a Mako.


It had only taken Rah a couple of days to go to the Krogan homeworld to pick up Urz. By the time he got back to Grissom, only three people knew he was gone; Jack, Jenny, and Red. When Red found out, she was livid and would not stop sending him hate mail about him forcing his job on her.

When Rah docked his fighter with the station, the first thing he did, was go the Red's room. All of the Ghosts that were permanently stationed on Grissom had one, none of them liked it however. The other Ghosts and N7s that would come and go from Grissom had communal quarters, similar to a barracks or the crew quarters on a ship.

Rah however, had certainly made use of the privacy on more than one occasion when Jack would force him to get rest. He didn't know how, but Jack seemed to know that he wasn't sleeping and took it on herself to make him get the rest he needed. Somehow, Rah had the nagging suspicion that either Jenny or Fox told the woman, more likely Fox since the only time Jenny had seen them in the same wing of the ship was the first time in the gym.

Soon enough, Rah found himself outside of Red's door. He banged his fist on the door, and waited for the woman to respond. At his feet, Urz sat down, looking at him oddly. The varren didn't seem to get why Rah didn't just open the door, but Rah had more respect for his friend than that.

"Enter." Red's voice spoke, almost warmly. Rah could feel something watching him, a quick glance around showed him nothing, but it was still a weird feeling.

Rah palmed open the door and stepped into Red's room. Like his, it had a bed, desk, dresser, and a nightstand. Her room was only slightly smaller, but had the same feel to it. Unlike his room that was in clinical white with bare walls, Red's room had an earthy feel to it and a few holos hung from the walls.

Rah looked to the desk, expecting Red to be there, possibly working, but it was empty. He looked around and felt an eye twitch in irritation. Red was laying on her bed, stretched out in a pose that anyone could tell was from an adult magazine. The only bit of clothing she wore were a set of red lace lingerie.

"Red, the fuck are you doing?" Rah asked, crossing his arms over his chest, looking only at Red's face.

"You're smart." Red smirked at him, her gaze devouring the outline of his form. He had only taken off his armor from flying to Tuchanka, but still wore his skin tight undersuit.

"I'm sure you could-" Red continued, but screamed when her eyes fell on Urz sitting next to him.

Rah could faintly hear noise coming from outside Red's room. The N7 screamed so loud, he'd be surprised if the entire station didn't hear it. Rah however, was too busy doubling over in laughter to care much. He quickly snapped out of it when he felt guns being pulled near him.

Rah spun around to see another of the Ghosts standing outside Red's door. It was one of the newest members, a Shadow named Diana Ramsey. Diana was only a Corporal, but she had a track record that impressed even him. The woman was known for being ruthless when needed, and deadly in hand to hand combat while cloaked. Thanks to having a stunning figure and a "girl next door" sort of cuteness to her, Diana had a rather successful track record for covert and stealth ops.

"Stand down Rookie." Rah ordered, straightening up. Diana had a Carnifex in her hands, pointed at Urz' forehead.

"But sir-" Diana began, but rah cut her off.

"I said. Stand. Down." Rah ordered again, his voice cold. A tense silence ensued and Urz was ready to pounce and his teeth bared.

Diana reluctantly lowered her gun and put it away. Urz seemed to sense the danger gone, and returned to patiently sitting next to him. Rah reached down to scratch the varren's head, finding the spot Urz liked just behind his eyes.

"I heard Major Summers scream so I thought-" Diana began, but Red cut her off.

"The fuck are you doing Carmine?!" Red yelled at him, recovering slightly from her fear of the varren. "Why the fuck is there a varren on this station?! And why is it still alive?!"

"Red." Rah replied, turning to the woman. "Why does it matter?"

"You really don't fucking know?!" Red replied, almost in exasperation. His family in the Ghosts were one of the few who he wouldn't look into their past. Unless they told him, he wouldn't know anything about them.

"Fill me in." Rah told her, rolling his eyes.

"I was nearly killed by a pack of those monsters as a kid!" Red replied, her fear still in her eyes. "Only my pop kept me from being eaten!"

"Red. At this point, I'm pretty sure the only danger Urz is to you, is that he'll lick your face off." Rah told her. He knew that only time would be able to heal that wound, but he still had things to get down. "When you have the time to stop lounging around like an over priced hooker, send me a report as to what happened in the last couple days. Don't care about the details, just the overview."

"Dismissed Rookie." Rah told Diana, but grinned at seeing that the Corporal was tentatively scratching the same spot that he had on Urz.

"Yes sir." Diana replied, saluting before she left. Urz seemed to be unhappy with her leaving, but stay next to him none the less.

"Urz." Rah spoke to the varren. Urz looked up to him and Rah pointed outside the door. Urz walked out and laid there. Rah closed the door and turned back to Red.

"Why do you insist on doing this?" Rah asked, gesturing to Red and her attire.

"Because it's only a matter of time." Red replied, her gaze darting between him and the closed door.

"For what?' Rah asked, letting his annoyance at the whole thing into his voice. For years, Red had been trying to seduce him and she never got the hint that he wasn't interested. "For me to have some idea spark to life making me fall for you?"

Red looked to him, hurt in her eyes. "You haven't already?"

"Red. I have told you before and I will tell you again, you're not my type and you don't want my baggage even if you were." Rah told her, his eyes locked on hers, unwavering.

"Tell me then, what is your type, and why wouldn't I want to be with you?" Red asked, defiance in her eyes.

"I am a protector Red, it's in my blood. The reason I joined the Alliance was to keep people from facing what I have. If I'm going to be in a relationship with someone, it'll be with a person who needs a rock more than I need one. The only reason I have gotten here is because of being the stone that others need, but few are willing to become." Rah told her, not holding back. He knew that when he laid eyes on Jack, that she needed someone like him, someone to hold her up and rediscover the good that lay in her heart. In that way, he found who she was, and fell head over heels for her.

"And the baggage?" Red asked, not satisfied.

"I have a dark past Red. If you really want to know what it is that I live with everyday of my life, I'll send you my entire fill, from birth to now." Rah told her, his voice even, no longer showing any trace of his anger with her.

"Do it." Red told him, her teeth clenched.

"Fox?" Rah spoke to the air, even though he didn't need to. Red's omni-tool chirped a second later, notifying her of the file being sent. "Have fun reading Major."

Rah left Red's room, and his somber mood disappeared at seeing what was in front of Red's door. Urz lay on his side, stretched out and relaxed, with Diana kneeling next to him. The N7 was smiling while she rubbed Urz' stomach and one of his back legs twitched in pleasure.

"Rookie." Rah grinned to the other N7. Diana shot to her feet and Rah chuckled. "Relax Corporal, not going to yell at ya."

"Sorry sir. I had a dog as a kid, your varren here reminded me of him." Diana smiled wistfully.

"Not my varren Rookie, Urz here picked me." Rah smiled at the varren, who looked not the slightest happy at Diana stopping her rubbing of him. "More like I'm his human."

"That's how most pets are sir." Diana chuckled. "I'd best get back to work."

"Laters Rookie." Rah replied.

He headed back to his room, Urz quickly falling into pace with him.


Shepard looked at the monstrosity that Cerberus had created before her.

Only a few days after Rah had sent her the location of the Hammerhead, and she put it through its paces, Rah had sent her something else. One of the Ghosts had told him about an operation that Cerberus had running. The operation involved trying to create a VI that could control the Geth. The project failed, and the result was hanging in the air in front of her.

The head scientist of the project, code named Overlord, was a Doctor Gavin Archer. In his desperation to keep the project running, Gavin had forced his brother, David Archer, to join with the VI to keep control. David however, having suffered at the hands of his brother, made sure that it didn't happen.

Now, Shepard was looking at the monster that David was forced to become. His eyes were pried open and several metal tubes lead into his body. Over and over, he kept asking his brother, who was standing only feet from Shepard, what the square root of a large number was.

Gavin had told Shepard that he could take care of his brother, but the sight before her, told Shepard otherwise.

"Garrus." Shepard spoke softly to her mate. "Help me get him down."

"Rah you still there?" Shepard asked into her comms.

Rah and a squad from the Ghosts had meet them over the planet. His team did what they could to hold of the Cerberus forces while Shepard take care of the VI. He and his team had met them here on their own frigate, the SSV Forward Unto Dawn, and would take David away from this hellish place.

"Loud and clear Sarge." Rah replied. "Just cleaning up the last of these twisted Cerberus fanatics."

"I need you to come to my location." Shepard told him, beginning to pull David free of his restraints.

"Trouble?" Rah asked.

"Not in the normal sense. Meet Garrus and I at the Hammerhead. We have someone you need to take care of." Shepard told him.

Soon enough, Shepard and Garrus had David free from the machines that bound him and held him in his carried David back to the Hammerhead. All the while, she carried him like one would a child, holding him close to her chest, whispering soothing words to him the entire time.

When they reached the Hammerhead, Shepard found a thermal blanket and wrapped David in it. All the time they waited for Rah, David huddled next to Shepard, staying by her as a frightened child would stay by his mother. When they reached the Hammerhead, Shepard and David sat on one of the thruster pads of the tank with Garrus sitting on top of the tank.

After nearly a half hour of waiting, Shepard picked out four figures walking towards her. The closer they got, Shepard could see that two of them wore light armor, one wore medium, and the last wore heavy. She wondered who it was that Rah brought with him.

The four figures stopped when only a few meters from the Hammerhead, Rah turned to the other three.

"Robo, Loco, sweep the area." Rah told two of them. The soldier wearing medium armor and one of the ones wearing light armor, both male, nodded and ran off in opposite directions.

"God, go and get the shuttle. We'll wait here." The last soldier, a woman, nodded and sprinted off.

"Those misfits still around I see." Shepard grinned to her friend.

Robo, Loco, and God were Ghosts, and all family of hers. Robo, James Farnis, was a light hearted guy that everyone liked, almost like Joker if he were a biotic, a tech expert, and a badass. Loco, Emil Ortiz, was a slayer like her. He was one of the few people that stuck to their heritage and was about as hispanic as one could get nowadays. God, Janna Simmons, was one of the best infiltrators that Shepard had ever met. Janna was quiet and also a bit shy at times, but her cold glee at picking off hostilities with her sniper rifle made chills run down anyone's spine.

"Alive and kicking." Rah chuckled back.

"Rah, this is David Archer." Shepard told Rah, her voice warm and comforting for David. Rah reached up and unsealed his helmet.

"David, this is General Robert Carmine." Shepard told David. The man looked up at the N7, just in time for Rah to pull his helmet off.

"Nice ta' meet ya' David." Rah grinned to the man.

Rah stepped towards Shepard and David. When he was only a few feet away, Rah crouched down, bringing his face to be at the same level as David's.

Against her, Shepard could feel the fear that David had, but also the curiosity. Rah held out a hand, still grinning warmly at David. David reached out and took it, slightly hesitant at first.

"It's good to met you General." David spoke after a minute.

"Please, call me Rah." Rah smiled to the broken man. Shepard felt in awe of how Rah radiated a sense of peace and comfort around him. She felt as if she could tell Rah anything and not have any fears about what he'd do. By the way that David was loosening up a bit, Shepard could tell he felt it too.

"Rah here will take you to Grissom Academy David." She shot a look to Rah saying that it was an order.

"G-Grissom Academy?' David asked hesitantly, looking between Rah and Shepard.

"It's a school for biotics and the technically gifted." Rah told David. "I'm stationed there for now, and my girl friend is even a teacher there."

"Y-you won't do anything to me there? Will you?" David asked, his voice fearful in a way that broke Shepard's heart.

"Other than give you a soft bed, hot food, and a place to call home?" Rah replied, still smiling warmly to the man. "I won't let anything happen to you unless you're ok with it."

David nodded and seemed to have a content look to his eyes. There were still the horrors that had been inflicted on him in the depths of his brown eyes, but he seemed to begin to leave them behind, for now at least.

"Rah." Loco's voice spoke up from behind the general. "Area's clear. All Cerberus have been eliminated and there is no sign of any active Geth."

'Good." Rah replied with a nod. "Have Robo download their files. When he has them, we're blowing this place to the pits of hell."

"Already on it." Loco replied, Shepard could hear the smirk in his voice. Loco had always been one to boast about doing things before he was told to do so.

"Help him with it. God will be back here with the shuttle, so rendezvous with us back here." Rah ordered.

"Got it bro." Loco replied and dashed off towards the Cerberus facility.

"So David?" Rah asked the man once Loco as gone. "Would you like to come back to Grissom with me?"

"I am willing to go with you Gen-" David began but at a raised eyebrow from Rah, he corrected himself. "Rah."

"Good to hear it." Rah replied in a grin.

"You got anywhere to go Kat?" Rah turned to Shepard. "If not, mind waiting around with me?"

"Not at all." Shepard chuckled.


A/N: Very close to the end of ME2 folks! Next chapter will be my own version of what happens to bring Shepard to Earth and what happens at the Alpha Relay. So warning in advance, a large chunk (if not all) of the next chapter will not be cannon.

Anyways, thank you all so much for the continued support! I very much appreciate the feedback and the continued follows/favorites/views/reviews. Please let me know what you thought!

Until next time!