Chapter 25

Troublemakers

Finn glanced at the door as it slid open to reveal Kyra. "Ah, milady. Good timing; I was just letting Scarlet, Azure, and your little sister know where we stand. Where's Jake?"

"Causing trouble." She told him as she activated her omni-tool.

Finn chuckled. "Yeah, that's Jake."

Scarlet stared at Kyra silently. Amber looked at her older sister as well, though where Scarlet's expression looked sad, Amber looked bothered.

Finn took advantage of the silence to check his omni-tool. "Looks like we're getting close; the Sanctuary is definitely somewhere on Tuchanka, close from the looks of it."

"How close?" Scarlet asked, still watching Kyra.

Finn checked again. "Definitely on the same continent. Analysis is still on-going with the info from the Blood of the Krogan."

"Will we need another pendant?" asked Scarlet.

"I don't think so." Finn said with much more confidence than he felt. "Just time for the computer to finish its analysis. Still, no reason to hang around here."

A groan brought the conversation to a momentary halt. Azure was waking up. She opened her eyes and stared up at the concerned face of Amber.

"Oh." She said in an oddly quiet voice. "Hi."

"Hey." Amber said, smiling and visibly relieved. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore." She tried to sit up and immediately winced. "Ow. My head hurts."

"Then maybe you shouldn't use it to block krogan punches." Scarlet told her friend with a smile.

"Krogan?" Azure let out a sigh. "Damn. I was hoping that was just a dream."

"Nope." Finn told her. "We're still on Tuchanka."

She sat up with Amber's help so she could look at Finn. "So you did make it. We tried looking for you, but-"

"Don't worry about it." Finn told her. "I had to trace my steps back to the Meridia, and you wouldn't believe how long it took to find the way past the trick floor. Besides, it turned out for the best; we got the Blood of the Krogan."

"You did?" She said, sounding more than just a little surprised. "I'll be damned. Does that mean we're leaving?"

"Not yet." Kyra said. "But soon."

"Viridia?" Azure put a hand to her head. "Wow. Must've hit me harder than I thought."

Kyra glanced at her with her lips pursed, but said nothing.

"She's right." Amber said, her face set. "I thought you didn't want anything to do with a bunch of thieves like us."

"Amber." Scarlet said in an admonishing tone. "That's not-"

"It's fine." Kyra said, continuing to work with only a slight flush to her cheeks. "She's right, after all; I'm not here for Syrin's Call."

The force fields died with a slight fizzle. Kyra gave Finn a kiss through the bars and said, "Okay, sweetie, that's my side of things."

"Hacked like a boss, milady." He turned to Glen. "You're up!"

"Got it." Glen approached the cell door, looked at it intently for a few moments. "No traps, good."

She grabbed the door by two of the bars and pulled it loose with a tug that nearly made her fall on her back.

"Yeesh." She said, tossing the door aside. "Shoddy worksmanship."

"Have any trouble?" Finn asked as Glen moved to open the other cell.

"Nothing I couldn't handle." She paused, thinking about her conversation with Jake. "Finn, has Jake told you about-"

A loud claxon sounded just as Glen pulled the cell door off its hinges.

"Oh, come on!" She shouted, tossing the scrap metal to the floor, "I checked! There were no alarms!"

"Wait a minute." Finn said, raising his hand for relative silence. The claxon was loud, but not anywhere nearly as loud as he thought a prison break alarm would be. "I don't think its about us."

"If not us, then who?" Scarlet asked as she and Amber helped Azure to her feet.

"Well, the Saints for one. Glen did give them a fake Blood of the Krogan earlier." Finn said. "Heck, he might not even be after us; the Boss loves a good bit of chaos."

Glen snapped her metal fingers. "Hang on; didn't she mention something about some Councilor?"

"Yeah, that's right." Finn said, nodding, "Whoever sent those asari snipers after us."

"Dungeon campers." Glen said with a scowl.

"Or maybe Hylia tripped an alarm. Does it really matter?" Eri said, a note of exasperation in his voice. "The krogan are distracted. Let's take advantage of that and get back to the Meridia."

"But the rest of Siren's Call-"

"Already on the way." Kyra told Scarlet. "I ran into them just outside the prison. Hopefully, they'll have the Meridia ready to go."

The group left the cell block to find the corridors vacant. Whatever tripped the alarm clearly was somewhere else in the domed fortress. This was good, as Azure was still having a little trouble moving.

"Must have a concussion." She said at one point, putting a hand to her head. "It's hard to concentrate."

"It's not far." Amber told her, still supporting most of her friend's weight. "Just don't fall asleep."

"I won't." Azure paused. "Amber … Jenna. I'm sorry I've been avoiding you lately, but what you told me … it made me think about … well … us. Our friendship, and how I really felt about you, and-"

"Look, I hate to interrupt." Glen said, "But now? You're really doing this now?"

"I have to." Azure said, looking pained. "If I don't make it-"

"Don't say that!" Amber's voice echoed loudly through the corridors, making everyone freeze in their tracks.

After a long moment of silence, Finn slowly turned to the rest of the group. Once he was sure every eye was on him, he held a finger to his lips and said, "Shh."

They moved more quietly after that. As Kyra led them back to the Merida, however, the sounds of muffled explosions could be heard in the distance. Dust fell from the ceiling as the group stared up in fear of a possible collapse.

"Kyra." Finn said, slipping his hands in hers. "How far are we?"

She glanced at her omni-tool. "Nearly there now."

"Good. Maybe we should hurry."

"Gotcha. I'll help with Azure."

Kyra and Finn took the lead, Eri close behind and the others following. With Glen and Amber assisting, Azure was more or less able to keep up as they quickly moved through the corridors until finally reaching the hanger where the Meridia waited.

Many of the ships were now missing, their current location a mystery. Finn wondered at this; why would the krogan use ships they had obviously confiscated instead of their own? One of the remaining ships, a turian slipfighter, started to rise as they hurried past. Finn only caught a glimpse at the cockpit before the vessel shot toward the hangar bay doors, and he could've sworn it was empty.

The Meridia was right where they had left it, the ramp open. As they drew near, Finn spotted Noir standing just inside the ship.

"Oy!" Finn shouted, already starting up the ramp, "Got this tub ready to-"

Finn froze when he realized that Noir wasn't alone. A krogan in blood red armor stood behind him, a shotgun aimed at the quarian mechanic's chest.

Finn reached for his carnifex, only for Kyra to grab his hand. He glanced at her and realized she was looking behind them, down the ramp where Azure, Glen, and Amber were just starting up the ramp, unaware of the krogan taking up position behind them.

Sighing, Finn muttered, "Perfect."

"Sorry, Finn." Noir said. "They were already on board when I walked onboard."

"It's okay, Noir." Finn said, noting the emphasis on 'I' and hoping that meant Auren and Violet were safe. "This is pretty much my life since J-27."

"Don't be so distraught." Said a deep, smooth voice. "You've done quite well for yourself."

Finn watched as another krogan stepped into view inside the Meridia. It was Ghales.

"You knew it was a play from the start, didn't you?" Finn asked as Councilor Ghales approached, stopping beside Noir.

"I suspected." Ghales admitted. "T'luuc is an effective strategian, but not much of a warrior. He certainly wouldn't be able to capture one as slippery as you, Mister Cresste."

Finn shook his head, more annoyed than frightened. "Do all the powerful people in the galaxy get together and talk about things? Why does everyone know about me? I didn't think the krogan even cared what happened in Council space!"

"On the contrary." Ghales said, his tone admonishing. "We keep a close eye on the other races. Even if we didn't, our allies are watching all of you quite closely."

"Cerberus, you mean." Eri said, still holding his rifle despite the fact they were outnumbered.

"Oh, don't get me wrong." Ghales said, his eyes shifting to the turian. "I appreciate the assistance Cerberus has given us. He managed to distract Wrex so that idiot Jorgal could sieze control. Still, our alliance is one of convenience."

"Wait." Kyra said, raising a hand. "You aren't working with Jorgal?"

Ghales laughed. "Of course not. The man's a fool. The glory days of the krogan? That path nearly led us to extinction. Fortunately, I've managed to curb his war-mongering for the time being. No, I don't care if Jorgal rules this barren rock. Your Illusive friend has promised me much, much more."

Finn waited silently, hoping Ghales would keep talking. Unfortunately, Ghales seemed all too aware of this.

"I tell you this simply because I feel you've earned it. His little assassins were nearly in a panic when they found out you were poking around on Tuchanka."

"Really?' Finn asked, surprised. "Why?"

"Finn." Kyra said, rolling her eyes.

"It's a good question." He persisted. "I mean, really, why me? You can't tell me they still view me as a threat."

"Because you are only one man? Come now, Finn. Surely you know history better than that. One man changed the galaxy four-hundred years ago, as I'm sure Miss Shepard knows all too well. He had help, of course, but there's no denying that we'd live in a vastly different universe had he been a different kind of person."

"Shepard." Glen muttered. "I know that name."

"Everyone knows that name." Ghales eyes fell on Finn once again. "And now, another name is beginning to be whispered in the shadows, that of the brave soul who crossed the galaxy to warn the Council, only to be ignored, just like Shepard. You are trouble, and the Illusive Man recognizes the threat you represent all too well."

"Well, you got me." Finn said, spreading his arms. "Now what?"

"Now I turn you over to Cerberus." He snapped his fingers. A Cerberus assassin appeared seemingly out of nowhere. From the contours of the body suit, she was definitely female.

"And before you get hopeful," Ghales said, a grim smile on his face. "This isn't your friend. I made sure Cerberus knew one of their number was an imposter."

"Then you haven't caught her yet." Eri said, the turian equivalent of a smile forming across his face.

Ghales' expression faltered, but only for a moment. "It's only a matter of time."

Glen let out a loud snort. "Really?"

"Excuse me?" Ghales asked, a note of uncertainty in his voice.

"Could you be any more cliché?" Glen said with a chuckle. "The monologuing, letting us get this far when you could've set a trap at any other point and caught us off-guard, the robes."

"I don't follow." Ghales said, though it was clear he was starting to anger.

Finn caught a subtle movement from the assassin; she pulled her glove back ever so slightly, revealing a slender red-scaled wrist that made Finn smile at the irony. Making sure that all eyes were still on Glen or Ghales, Finn shifted closer to Kyra and took her hand. She glanced at him, at which he nodded slightly at the assassin. Seeing her eyes reach Hylia's exposed wrist, Finn moved her hand slowly to the grip of the carnifex at his side. She was a better shot, after all. Her eyes widened, but she replied with a nod and breathed, "I'm ready."

"And Really?" Glen continued, "An untrustworthy advisor to the krogan king? Is there anything about you that's not a horrible cliché? Why not throw us a 'mwahaha'?"

"I have you and your friends trapped, and am about to start executing unnecessary prisoners, and you find this funny? Do you realize your position, or do you think someone will save you?"

"It's not my position you should be worrying about." Glen told him, a wide grin on her face. "If I were you, I'd be much more concerned about Jake."

"Jake?" Ghales asked moments before Jake hopped out of the top of a stack of crates and landed on the krogan Councilor's face.

What ensued was complete chaos. Kyra drew the carnifex and put a shot straight through the eye of the krogan holding a weapon on her brother. The nearest krogan started up the ramp, only to dive for cover as Eri opened fire. One made a mistake of diving into Glen, who caught him easily and hurled him into a stack of crates which promptly collapsed on him. Scarlet had drawn her own sidearm, a sleek Mschens model with a blue laser sight, and was covering Amber and Azure as they took cover.

Finn, meanwhile, quickly moved through the fight to the controls for the ramp and activated the retraction program. A few krogan rushed the ramp before it pulled away, several taking shots from Eri in the process. The krogan outside continued firing after the bay doors slid shut, the dull thuds of their bullets sounding like particularly loud rain.

One made the mistake of approaching Azure and Amber. Azure still looked to unsteady to defend herself properly, but before Finn could move to assist, Amber launched herself at the krogan, screaming quarian obscenities as she demonstrated a surprising knowledge of krogan anatomy. Even Azure seemed surprised as Amber drove the surprised krogan back.

Hylia flipped over the majority of the group and stood between them and the few krogan who made it up the ramp before the bay doors closed. She drew the katana and held it at the ready, motioning with her other hand for one of the krogan to try and take her on.

Kyra hovered uncertainly just behind her. "You need help?"

"Nah, I'm good." Hylia took a swipe at a krogan who thought Kyra had distracted her. "There are more on the bridge!"

"We'll take care of them." Kyra said. "Finn!"

"Coming, milady." Finn called back. He picked up a large wrench from Noir's toolbox before meeting Kyra and the lift. With a final look at Jake, who was giving Ghales regular electric shocks as he clamped tightly over the krogan's face, Finn and Kyra stepped into the lift.

The two krogans on the bridge opened fire the moment the lift doors opened. As the dust settled, they peered inside to find nothing: no blood, no bodies, no indication of anything except a wire-frame orb in the center of the lift. The krogan realized their mistake just as the orb let out a small electrical discharge, shocking both of them until they fell to the floor.

Krogan are hearty folk, however, and while the blast would've taken out pretty much any other humanoid, it merely stunned them for a few moments. As one of the krogan tried to push himself off the ground, he found himself staring at the barrel of his own shotgun.

"I'm not a good shot." Finn said, "But at this range, I probably don't need to be. Now hold still."

"You're gonna regret messing with the Blood Pack." The krogan muttered as Kyra bound his hands and feet before moving on to the krogan who was still stunned. "We'll hunt you across the galaxy!"

"Gee." Finn said, his voice thick with sarcasm. "I wonder what that's gonna be like."

Kyra stood and wiped her hands. "See? Much easier than killing them."

"Indeed. What was that thing anyway? Did you make it?"

"Nah." She said as she retrieved the orb. "Hylia let me borrow it. No place to hide it on the Cerberus uniform."

Finn hurried to the sensor controls. "That's it; these two, and the ones in the cargo hold. Looks like Hylia locked out the other decks."

"Good job, Hylia." Kyra peered at the sensors over Finn's shoulder. "We should head back."

Finn started to follow when his omni-tool began to beep. When he checked it, his jaw dropped. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Finn?" Kyra asked, her hand on his as she peered over his shoulder. "Is something wrong?"

He took a deep breath and said, "The analysis of the Blood of the Krogan is complete. Integration of data with that of the other medallions is complete."

Meeting her eyes, he told her, "The League of One's Vault is in the mountain ruins. Kyra, it's where we crashed when we first got here! We were right over the Vault the whole time!"