Chapter 23

On the Sly

"There it is." Hylia said, transferring the image to the viewscreen. "Siren's Call is there."

Finn was expecting a prison, though he wasn't sure what a krogan prison might look like. It certainly wasn't the gargantuan structure in the distance in front of them, nearly as big as the mountain they had just left.

There was a definite dome-like look to the structure, impressive seeing as it was cut from the same ancient stone as the ruins. Hylia's sensors detected a massive chamber within the center of the structure, and thousands of krogan throughout the entire construct. Several shuttles circled overhead, but it was the still form of the Kalros that encircled the structure that gave Finn the most pause.

The Merida hovered inside the shell of an ancient gutted building, a relatively safe place for the time being.

"So … now what?" Kyra asked, her eyes still focused on the Kalros. "How do we get in there?"

Finn didn't know what to say. The place was a fortress; the security shuttles overhead would no doubt detect their approach. Tomkahs practically covered the roads leading toward the structure, making it highly unlikely that they could walk or hitch a ride without being caught. Since the Meridia lacked tunneling equipment, this rather limited their options.

Finn sat back in his seat and rubbed his temples. "Any ideas?"

"Frontal assault!" Jake barked, tail end wagging.

"Correction." Finn said, rubbing his temples. "Non-suicidal ideas?

"Go home?" Eri said, a note of hopefulness in his voice.

The unfortunate turian shrank back at the withering stares of Finn, Jake, Kyra, and Hylia. Raising his hands, he said, "Kidding! Just kidding!"

Turning back to the helm, Finn said, "After everything we've been through since J-27, I'll be damned if this is the stumper. There's gotta be some way past this!"

The lift opened, drawing everyone's attention immediately. Glen left the lift, popping her neck as she said, "Hey, Finn, I ran into a little …"

She stopped as she looked up and noticed everyone staring at her. Raising her hands, she took a step back. "Uh, didn't mean to startle you folk."

"Sorry." Kyra told her as everyone's attention returned to the fortress. "We had a little trouble earlier."

"Ah." Glen said, her eyes on the dead assassin. "So I see."

Finn gestured at the screen. "What do you think, Glen? How can we get in there?"

Glen considered the fortress. "Hmm. I'm assuming flying or walking in isn't an option."

"Nope. Tomkahs on the roads, and security ships in the skies."

Rubbing her chin, Glen said, "What if we had a disguise? Think we can fake being a krogan if we get the armor off our would-be captors?"

The idea of trying to separate the armor from the three krogan passed through the minds of those in the room.

"Nevermind." Glen said, shaking her head. "Think we could fake video failure?"

"Not while we're in an asari ship." Finn sighed again. "A shame the Ulasomorf just zoomed off without us. Billy's cloak would've come in handy about now."

They stared at the screen again. After a few moments, Jake asked, "Hey, I got an idea! Let's ask the krogan!"

"Yes, Jake." Hylia said, not bothering to hide her sarcasm, "I'm sure if we just ask for Siren's Call, Primarch Jorgal will understand. Maybe we should give him the medallions as a sign of good faith?"

Jake's cartoon face stuck its tongue at her. "Not them! The krogan in the hold! Maybe we can convince them to help us."

"Yeah, that's gonna happen." Eri said. "Those guys are pissed."

Finn considered Jake's suggestion for a few moments. "Maybe we can get them to help us unwillingly."

Kyra raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, if they're holding Siren's Call prisoner, it seems to me getting ourselves captured would be a good way of finding them."

"You can't be serious." Kyra said, her face going pale. "Finn, what's to stop them from killing us on the spot?"

"Not us." Finn corrected. "Me, Eri, and Glen."

"What?" Eri and Glen asked simultaneously.

"As far as the krogan know, we're the only people on the ship. Look, they put us in prison while Kyra, Hylia, and Jake hide onboard, bringing the ship into the fortress in the process. Once they land, you three can trace us and get us out. We'll spring Siren's call, sneak back to the Meridia, and fly it back out of here."

Glen let out a whistle. "There are a lot of holes in that plan, man. What if the ship is locked in some kind of hangar? What if we can't get it out? What if they just shoot you in the brainbox?"

"Fair enough." Finn said, crossing his arms. "Let's hear your plan."

Glen considered this for a few moments before shrugging. "I've got nothing."

Rubbing her temples, Kyra said, "This is insane."

"No one's arguing that." Finn told her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "I'm not kidding when I say I'd like to hear another plan. Please, tell me something, anything else we can do that might have a chance in hell of working."

She met his gaze. After a few moments, she let out a sigh. "Okay … but this time, I'm gonna ask you: please just don't die, okay?"

"I'll do my best." Finn gave her a kiss on the cheek and trying to ignore the dreadful feeling that once again he might be saying goodbye to her forever. "Eri? Glen? Let's go surrender."

"Wait." Hylia said, raising a hand to stop them. "I have a slight alteration to your plan."

The closet slid open, blinding the krogan temporarily. T'luuc glared up at the silhouette and snarled, "What is it now?"

His eyes narrowed as his eyes adjusted to the sudden light. "Well, it's about time! Cut us loose!"

The black-clothed figure knelt beside the incapacitated krogan and undid their bonds with her knife.

As the krogan rose to their feet, T'luuc asked, "Where are they?"

The Cerberus assassin motioned toward the loading bay, where the forms of Glen, Finn, and Eri could be seen, bound and gagged.

"Good work, missy!" T'luuc patted the assassin on the shoulder. The assassin's head swiveled toward him, filling him with a nameless dread that made him quickly pull his hand away. "Didn't give you much trouble, did they?"

The assassin shook her head.

"Good." T'luuc looked down at Eri. "This must be the bastard who shocked me."

Eri's eyes went wide. He shook his head as well as he was able as he tried in vain to mumble something.

T'luuc gave him a kick in the ribs that looked like it hurt. Eri let out a muffled growl of pain before shooting a nasty look at T'luuc.

"Try me, turian!" T'luuc spat a wad of phlegm that caught Eri in the side of the face. As Eri made retching noises to no avail, T'luuc turned to address his savior.

"So I'm guessing Ghales got the message." T'luuc said. "Yeah, these quarians were definitely up to something. There's a chamber on the upper deck-"

The assassin raised his hand to stop the explanation.

"Oh, you … you already saw it, did you?" Recovering quickly, T'luuc said, "It's something, though. I couldn't read much of it, but I knew The Bloodmaster would know what it's about. Did he come with you?"

The assassin shook her head and motioned for the krogan to follow.

As they walked one of the soldier krogan muttered, "Creepy bastards."

"Quiet!" Snapped T'luuc. "She just saved our hide; I don't give a damn how quiet she is."

"It's not just her." The other soldier grumbled. "Have you ever heard one of them talk?"

"Bah. Too much talking these days, if you ask me. That's why Wrex got himself outed." T'luuc's eyes darted to the assassin. "Thanks in part to our friends here."

"I don't like it." The first soldier grumbled. "Outsiders messing with Tuchanka. How is that like the old ways?"

"I said be quiet!" T'luuc barked. "Mark my words, Primarch Jorgal's gonna lead us into a new age of conquest and glory!"

The soldiers traded looks but said nothing.

Once on the bridge, the assassin pointed to the fortress on the viewscreen.

"Perfect!" T'luuc said, clapping his massive hands together. "We're already here. Thank you, ma'am, we'll take it from here."

He started to move past the assassin, only for her to move directly in his way. He could almost see her hard black eyes past the helmet staring him down and making him tremble.

"Er, if it's all right with you, of course." He stammered.

After staring for a moment longer, the assassin stepped aside and gestured to the helm.

Still a little shaken, T'luuc looked at the controls for a moment, muttering, "Communications … communications …"

"Right here." One of the soldier krogan said, pointedly pressing one of the controls. "Channel open."

"Good, good." T'luuc cleared his throat and said, "Galados Command, this is Battlemaster T'luuc. We've brought the quarian's ship."

"Scanning." After a few moments, the krogan on the other side said, "Asari vessel, Ulyndia-class. Any additional prisoners to declare?"

"Yes ma'am." T'luuc said, "Two humans and a turian. They put up a fight, but we managed to subdue them."

The krogan soldiers exchanged knowing glances as the operator said, "Approach is approved. Head to hanger B-37, and try not to get soft on that luxury liner."

This made T'luuc chuckle. "We'll try. Over and out."

He turned to find the warriors looking at him.

"What?" He asked.

"When's the mating ceremony?"

Scowling, T'luuc turned back to the helm and set their course.

The Meridia flew toward the distant fortress at a somewhat erratic pace as T'luuc got the hang of the controls. They flew over the dome, where a massive circular opening in the roof was positively teeming with vessels, mostly smaller ships moving around within the fortress itself. After a few minutes, they reached a large hanger filled with a mis-matched menagerie of ships; turian, alliance, asari, quarian … mostly transport and cargo ships, though a few small frigates were present.

T'luuc brought the ship more or less down at the coordinates provided.

"All right." T'luuc said, cracking his knuckles as he headed for the lift. "You two drop the prisoners off in the brig while I let Ghales know about our catch."

The assassin followed him into the lift. Though she made him nervous, he simply nodded at her and pushed the button for the cargo bay.

They rode in silence that seemed to grow heavier by the second.

Letting out a cough, T'luuc said, "I'm sure Ghales will let your boss know the good work you did. Do you lot get promotions?"

The assassin turned to look at him.

"Well, you deserve one." He said, trying to ignore the panic rising in his chest. "I'll put in a good word, just in case."

She stared at him for another moment before returning her gaze to the doors. In a quiet, emotionless voice that sent shivers down his spine, she said, "You do that."

Relief flooded through T'luuc as the lift doors finally opened. With a quick nod at the assassin, he hurried out of the lift as fast as he could without actually running. As he reached the bottom of the ramp, he heard a gruff voice shout, "T'luuc!"

"C-councilor Ghales!" T'luuc gave a smart salute as the Primarch's right hand approached with a retinue of soldiers in dark red armor. Although none bore the emblem of the Blood Pack, the rumors of Ghales's connection with the infamous syndicate had spread since before Jorgal's rise to power.

The Councillor was actually a little smaller than the average krogan. He wore the ceremonial robes of a shaman, though it was obviously just for show; the last real krogan shaman died centuries ago, taking any potential mystical secrets with her to her grave.

"Greetings Battlemaster T'luuc." Councillor Ghales said, nodding approvingly at the respect shown. "I hear you have found us quite a prize."

"I think so, your Grace!"

"Think?" Ghales repeated, his voice suddenly cold.

"I'm sure!" T'luuc said quickly. "They've got a computer on their upper deck with a map of the sector. From what I can make out, they're analyzing some old salarian code for coordinates somewhere in our space."

"Really?" Ghales appeared to think about this for a few moments before asking, "And your prisoners? You captured them alive, yes?"

"Yes, your Grace! They may have caught us a little off-guard at first, but one of the spooks helped shift things in our favor."

T'luuc looked around for the assassin, only to find her gone. He scowled for a moment before turning back to the Councilor, "Ran off already, I guess."

"Yes, they tend to do that." The Councilor said smoothly. "Not to worry; our friends may be a bit secretive, but the Primarch's throne is kept secure by their presence. Ah, are those the prisoners?"

T'luuc turned to see his two warriors leaving the ship with the prisoners in tow.

"A moment." Councilor Ghales said, raising a hand. The red-armored soldiers surrounded the group as the Councilor approached and examined the prisoners.

"Two humans and a turian." T'luuc said helpfully.

"I can see that, thank you." The Councilor stared at each of their faces in turn. He hesitated a moment while looking at the male human. T'luuc thought he saw the Councilor's eyes narrow slightly. If he gleaned anything from the inspection, however, he kept it to himself.

"Throw them in the southern cell-block." He instructed. "Make sure they're in a separate cell from the quarians, and leave them bound as well. We lose anymore and heads will roll, the Primarch will see to that."

"Ah." T'luuc said, "Still having trouble with the Kalros, eh?"

The Councilor glared at T'luuc. "Perhaps you feel your technical expertise could rectify the situation in a more timely manner?"

"Uh, no, your Grace. My apologies; I wasn't trying to-"

"Report to Techmaster Bolle." The Councilor said. "Immediately."

"But-"

The glare Councilor Ghales shot T'luuc could've frozen water solid. "Are you disobeying my orders?"

"No sir!" T'luuc saluted hurriedly, backing away. "I'll head to the Kalros immediately."

He walked away, grumbling as soon as he was sure he was out of the Councilor's earshot. He kicked at the robot dog idling at the base of the Meridia's open ramp as he passed, making the unit yip and run away. As he watched it scamper off in the direction of his soldiers, part of him wondered what it was doing there; the krogan didn't use non-military constructs, and it was too small to be a security drone.

Unfortunately, that part of him was dwarfed by the part that was annoyed at being stuck with Tech work again. With a disgruntled wave at the retreating KEI-9 Unit, T'luuc began the long trudge to the Kalros.