disclaimer: Do I seriously have to do this? It should br readily apparent I don't own the rights to Mass Effect. Sigh.
A/N: I'm baaaaaack. I'll spare the horror story that has been my life for the past month from here, if you're really interested I'll put it up on the author profile page. Suffice to say that it was a series of unfortunate events, and I am sorry for not being on here. If you can forgive me, here is chapter 14.
Therum, Knossos system, Artemis Tau Cluster.
February 7th, 2183. 10:00 P.M., Earth Central Standard Time.
"... And that's why I make use of gunpowder weapons." I finish as we step into the mining cavern.
"It would never be efficient for an army." Shepard points out.
"But it is for one person, skilled in their use."
"Fair enough." We make our way across the catwalk, disposing of the units that come at us with the combined might of soldiers, an assassin, and a Krogan. A short trip down a rather cramped elevator greets us when we meet with a forcefield. It groans a bit at our combined weight, but holds long enough to get off. The Geth Drones only have a moment to hover up before being sent down again from an Overload by both Garrus and Kaiden. They look at each other and blink a moment, both outstretched in the same pose, eliciting a chuckle from the rest of the group before we board another elevator. The groaning of it before we even start moving makes me worry.
'Didn't one of the elevators short-' My train of thought is interrupted by the elevator suddenly careening downward, sending us to the floor. '-Circuit.'
"Everyone okay?" Comes the voice of Shepard, the first to make it to his feet. A chorus of "Yes sir" and cursing answers. "Then everyone up and off this damn death trap." We start to disembark, only for it to start groaning again. "Everyone off, now!" The group starts to hustle, but me and Wrex are still inside when it begins to lurch again.
"Oh, bullshit!" Is the only thing I'm able to get out before it completes it's trip down the shaft, at a speed unrecommended for safe travel.
"Fuuuck..." I come to with a throbbing skull, and a piercing pain in my abdomen. the Krogan on top of me may explain the latter pain. "Wrex."
He looks like he just came down from a three-day bender. "What?"
"Get. Off." He thankfully moves, and I discover the real source of trauma. "Well, shit."
(Wrex POV)
Humans, in particular, have always seemed fairly fragile. The fact that this one in particular was barely flinching at his new wound made him an exception. "Well, shit."
"That's a bit of an understatement." I grunt. A metal rod, maybe nine inches, is jutting from his abdomen. already, a sizable pool of blood is spreading from underneath him.
"Heh, maybe. Give me a moment."
"You two okay down there?" Comes the voice of Shepard from the catwalk.
"Echo is injured." I reply.
"How bad?" I look back towards the Human in question, who seems to be unfolding something from a suit hardcase.
"Pretty bad, but alive."
"Keep him stable, we'll be down shortly." I look at the de3vice in his hands. " A blowtorch?"
"Miniature. Just watch." He grunts, and I do so as he burns through the metal until only a sliver of the rod can be seen poking through his body. "Help me here." He says, extending his hand. I grab onto him, pulling him off with an unsettling sound. To his credit, he only stumbles a little. "I have such shit luck." He remarks, looking back at the offending piece of blood-stained metal.
"Another understatement." He chuckles at this, drawing a boxy-looking syringe from another hardcase, pausing only a moment before jamming it in his side, perpendicular to the wound. His body twists in pain a moment before resuming it's controlled calm. A Medi-Gel dose on either side, and he acts as though nothing has happened.
"You're alright then?" I grumble.
"I will be," He replies. "Let's catch up to 's still Geth to eviscerate." Finally, a statement I can easily agree to.
(Cory POV)
Unfortunately for Wrex, the rest of the team has taken care of that, and seems to be crowded around the mining laser. Kaiden is studying the readout as Shepard turns to me, surprised. "From the way Wrex said it, I didn't think you'd be walking Cory."
"He overestimated my wound." I reply. He nods as the mining laser rumbles to life, cleaving a path under the Prothean structure and shaking the entire cave. "Best we get moving." I suggest.
A quick trip through reveals an Asari scientist held up by a forcefield. "The console there, please. Get me out of here!" She begs of Shepard, who fulfills the request. "We should be able to use the lift behind us." She says as the cave groans and shudders once more. we hustle to it, ascending from darkness.
"Exhilarating, isn't it?" Well, this man is insane.
We stare down the Krogan with his Geth entourage. I lock eyes with Wrex, gesturing to the Krogan. He nods, a rather sadistic smile on his face. in that moment, all hell breaks loose. Rounds fly as I dash to the right, P90 already in my hands as I duck behind a pillar. from the sound of it, many of the Geth are experiencing technical difficulties from the tech bursts and rifle fire of my comrades. I add to the measures, stripping shields and chunks of metal away with Overload and 5.7 fire respectively. soon, only a pair of charging Krogan are left in the room, fighting for dominance. Then one getting fused into the wall happens. Watch out for biotics, I guess.
A mad dash ensues as we try to Indy out of the now-collapsing digsite. Fortunately, I don't impale myself again in the process, and we manage to board the Normandy with only seconds to spare before the rescue would've been impossible. We take pause in the cargo bay as the ship speeds away from the planet, already en-route for the Mass Relay.
"Everyone, get yourselves cleaned up and your equipment stored." Comes the voice of Shepard, already unlatching his armor. "Debrief in twenty." I busy myself with the rather slow process of shedding my gear. Wrex stomps over as I get down to the under armor.
"You should go to the doctor." He says, pointing towards the torn section of my gear.
"For what?" I say, lifting it and revealing nothing but a knot of already-fading scar tissue. Perhaps the only time I'll surprise the Krogan.
"How?" He asks, blinking.
"Trade secret." I reply. He looks at me a moment, then chuckles, his mood taking an about-face.
"Guess the stories are true then," He rumbles. "Glad I have such a durable danger-magnet." I accept it as Wrex's form of a compliment. "You should see the doctor anyways. She wants an exam of everyone, so it's better to get it done."
"Ugh. Fair enough. After the debrief. And a bathroom break." I groan, moving towards the elevator as I start to feel the wear of the day on me.
I'm the last to arrive as Joker says his sarcastic bit about burnt hulls. only a few have actually sat down, and I merely lean against the wall beside Wrex, tuning out most of what I've already heard and taking stock of the day so far. Shepard finishes up the mission debrief, but doesn't move to dismiss anyone just yet.
"The lower deck serves as the sleeping quarters," Shepard begins. "And there are four officer's quarters that have been converted for the ground team. Most of you will have roomates, but it shouldn't be a problem, right?" He looks around at the assembled crowd. "Good. I expect you all to get along with eachother. I'll give you your room numbers in a moment outside. Dismissed." The group begins to get up and leave, and I flag shepard down for a moment.
"Chakwas wanted to get an exam, so I'm going there first." I explain.
"Sure thing. You're slotted for room four." He replies.
"Thanks."
Dr. Chakwas looks up from her data pad. "Well, nothing seems to be wrong on the surface, mr. Weston. I'll run the blood sample I took, but I see nothing right now that will keep you from the field. Now run along, before I decide to prod you with more needles." She adds this last part as a joke, but I get a move on regardless, making my way to the elevator.
Three years later, I reach my room, recieving the biggest surprise of the day. "Oh, Shepard. I'm so going to kill you."
"AhCHOO!" I wipe my nose as Karin looks at me.
"You okay, Shepard?"
"Yeah, just... Hmm, nevermind. You wanted to talk about something?" I ask as I sit down opposite the good doctor.
"Yes, about Weston. How much do you know about his past?"
"Bits and pieces," I answer. "Why?"
I got his scan and bloodwork processed, and the results are... Disturbing. Here." She hands me a data pad, and as I read on, my frown get progressively deeper.
"I'll ask him about it, but something like this... He may not share much." I look back down at the data pad.
'What the hell has happened to you, Cory?'
A/N: I'm so sorry for the delays guys. I'll do my best to keep this story going on a good pace. For now, keep up the reviews. They warm my soul :. And I'm sorry it's short, but I'm trying to transition here.