Here is the next chapter of Virmire. Please R&R. I would like to know if there are things that you want to see in the coming chapters or if I missed something that you wanted to see. Enjoy!
000
Claire watched Luke approach Wrex as the alien blasted the sandbar again. The thunderous shot echoed through the camp as everyone turned to watch the human and krogan face each other. The tension was so think that Claire could have cut it with a knife.
"I don't know if he can handle this," Mallory said stepping to her sister's side with her arms crossed. Claire rolled her eyes. The last thing that they needed were negative thoughts and doubts that Luke would succeed in calming Wrex down. He needed all the help he could get on this one.
One the shore, Luke sighed and approached his friend. Wrex was obviously not in the best of moods to say the least.
"This isn't right Shepard. If there is a cure for the genophage than we can't destroy it." Wrex looked over at Luke as he stopped and pulled his pistol firing a shot at the sandbar.
"I'm just as pissed about this as you are Wrex, but Saren is the enemy here," Luke said glancing sideways at his friend. Wrex snarled and turned to face him. Luke's eyes immediately fell to the shotgun in his hands.
"Really? Saren created a cure for my people and now everyone here is wanting to destroy it. Help me out here Shepard. The lines between friend and foe are getting a little blurred." Luke blinked and tried to shake the shock that had suddenly gripped him.
"You can't be serious. We have been through hell together. How many times have you watched my back and I've watched yours? You are my friend Wrex." Luke watched the krogan take a step toward him. Every instinct he had told him to draw his weapon or run, but he stood his ground and did not move.
"I followed you and your sister. Hell, you two have done more for me than my family ever did, but this is the fate of my entire people we are talking about here. If I'm going to continue to work with you, I need to know we are doing this for the right reasons." Wrex suddenly bringing up his shotgun and aiming the barrel straight at Luke's heart. Luke sighed and lowered his gaze.
"Wrex, what Saren has created in there is not a cure. It is a weapon. Those krogan in there are not your people. They surrendered their honor and identity to serve Saren. What do you think he'll do to thank those that serve him?" Luke said taking a step forward and pressing his chest plate to Wrex's barrel.
"The council used us to wipe out the rachni and as a reward they neutered us all. I doubt Saren will be any more generous." Wrex lowered the shotgun and slipped it back to its latch on his back. "Alright, I'm with you. I don't like this but I trust you."
"Glad to hear it…and to have that shotgun out of my chest." Luke said rubbing his armor dramatically. Wrex laughed and offered his hand. Luke clasped it and smiled.
"Got your back Shepard." Luke nodded.
"And I've got yours. Let's go kick Saren's ass," Luke said patting his friend on the shoulder.
"When we find him, I want his head." Wrex said. Luke chuckled.
"Fine, but the rest of him is mine." Wrex chuckled and nodded his agreement shaking hands with Luke turning back to the sand bar.
Once Wrex's eyes were off of him, Luke felt his stomach unknot from the constricted mess that he had been too nervous to noticewhile he and Wrex had been talking. His knees wobbled and threatened to fail him but he made his way back to Claire and the others.
"Okay, that was impressive," Claire said embracing her brother. "For a second there, I thought he was really going to shoot you."
Luke smiled and cleared his throat looking at the rest of the group. "For a second there, I think he was going to." Ashley rushed into his arms and nearly knocked him over.
"You do anything stupid like that again and I'll shoot you myself!" Ashley scorned him before planting a passionate kiss on his lips.
"Oh get a room." Mallory said scoffing and turned away. Luke immediately pulled away to give his sister a hard look.
"Well Lieutenant Hypocrite, next time you decide to play tonsil hockey with your biotic boy toy, try to keep it off the mess hall table please." Luke said putting his arm around Ashley and looking straight at Mallory.
Claire smiled as Mallory's face turned a bright scarlet. Luke could tell Claire was rather impressed with his handling of Mal.
"You don't actually use the mess hall table do you?" Claire asked crossing her arms and looking over at her sister. Mallory looked back as a look of mortal terror crossed her face. This only made Luke want to laugh more.
"I am glad to see the krogan matter is resolved." Kirrahe stated stepping out of one of the tents. "The assault on the facility will not be easy. I don't need any more of my men killed." Luke smirked. At least the captain knew that he and his men did not stand a chance against Wrex and admitted it. Maybe the captain was not that bad of a guy after all.
"Assault? That must mean that you figured out a plan." Claire stated looking back at her team. Luke wet his lips and looked around the camp as Kirrahe's lieutenants rallied their remaining men.
"We have. We are currently converting our ship's drive core into a 20 kiloton ordinate." Luke whistled and crossed his arms.
"Nice, drop that bomb from orbit and Saren can kiss his turian ass goodbye…no offense Garrus." Ashley said quickly turning to their comrade. Garrus simply waved his hand dismissively. Luke smiled. His friend was starting to really mesh with everyone, even Ashley. It was nice having his girlfriend and best friend on the same page.
"Unfortunately, the base is too well fortified for that. Your ship can drop it off, but we will have to infiltrate the base and take down their AA tower." Kirrahe brought up a hologram and motioned to a tall structure on the west side of the facility that looked out over the ocean. "Commander, I would like your team to infiltrate the facility as a stealth team, while my men attack the front in a full assault."
"You're all going to get slaughtered. It's suicide to attack the front gate with the man power you have," Mallory stated stepping forward.
"We're tougher than we look Lieutenant." The captain shifted his weight. Luke knew that look. The nervous weight transfer. It was the sign of a man getting ready to do something either extremely brave…or extremely stupid, though in that particular instance it could have been both. "But it is true. I do not expect that many of us will make it out alive...which is going to make my next request extremely difficult. I am going to need one of your men to accompany my team to help coordinate." Luke looked over at Claire. She was in shock. He assumed the thought of turning someone over to the captain's command was almost insulting to Claire.
"Sounds like a suicide mission…" Luke started. "I'll go."
"Luke, we are going to need someone that knows alliance radio protocol like the back of their hand," Mallory said. Luke looked back at his sister wanting to make a retort, but he knew she was right, which eliminated him and all the non-humans on the team.
"I'll go with the Salarians commander." Everyone glanced back at Kaidan. No one had expected him to volunteer, especially not Luke.
"Not so fast Lt. The commander is going to need you to help with the bomb. I'll go with the salarians." Luke lowered his head. Ashley was the only logical choice as much as he refused to completely admit it to himself. She was a solid soldier under fire and had experience facing geth and krogan. As much as he wanted her to stay with him so he could watch her back, she was really the only choice. Alenko would have to stand by with the bomb on the Normandy and Mallory would most likely be taking command of the ship while Claire was on the ground.
"Williams, you'll accompany the captain. Mallory, take command of the Normandy. Alenko, you're on bomb detail. Everyone else gear up. I'll come and give you a briefing on the mission plan." Luke looked over at Ashley as she looked up at him. Luke immediately stepped to Claire's side.
"Claire, at least let me go with her." Luke couldn't help it. The idea of sending Ashley on a suicide mission with unknown and unfamiliar allies was stupid without some kind of familiar back up.
"I can't send you too look. I need you with me. You are the only other person who commands enough respect to lead a fire team. If we have to split up, I want you leading the other team." Claire did not look at her brother as she spoke. It was odd.
"What could I possibly…why…why would you want me leading a fire team?" Luke was baffled. Claire had allowed him to be on point during certain infiltrations but never lead his own team. There must be something else to all this.
"Luke, I trust you to do the right thing. Sometimes that means pulling a trigger rather than talking. You know me, I will always try to find the diplomatic solution. You figure out what is right and you do it. That decisiveness is why I need you with me."
Luke sighed. His sister was giving him a very big compliment but he still did not like the idea of Ashley going with the salarians alone in full frontal assault. "At least send someone with Ash just to watch her back," Luke protested.
"She is going to have over sixty salarian STG members with her. She's safer than we're going to be."
I hope to God you are right. Luke thought as he nodded and adjusted his armor.
000
Ashley was checking her weapons when Luke came and sat down next to her. She smiled as she cleared her rifle's firing chamber.
"Ash, just be very careful out there. I can't lose you." Ashley looked up at her boyfriend as he wrung his hands. He was cared for her. It was actually kind of cute; the way he bit his lower lip and rubbed his fingertips over his knuckles. He refused to look up from the ground when he was so worried as if scared the ground was going to slip from under him.
"Into the valley of death rode the six hundred." She said touching Luke's shoulder. "But all of us are going to walk out of here with Saren's head on a stick."
She saw Luke smile and look up at her. His eyes met hers and she could feel his worry. She had to find a way to quiet those concerns so that he could stay focused on what he had to do so he could come back to her.
"I'll be fine, just do what you do. Kill those ass holes and come back to me." Ashley cursed herself for not thinking of a great quote to inspire Luke. Poets always said things better than she could, but Luke loved her. That was enough.
"I'll see you on the other side. Then we'll go and have a sit down with your family, but it is probably best to make someone else do the cooking to make sure the food is edible." Ashley smiled. That was her Luke. Funny, but motivating. She gave him a quick kiss before rounding up her weapons.
"I love you," he called as she headed off to join the salarians.
"I love you too," she shouted back. She had to survive. Her future was bright and she had a lot to look forward to.