MASS EFFECT ANDROMEDA SERIES II: CHAPTER 41
Meanwhile Shepard, Liara and Vega were tracking down Reaper artifacts, Garrus solemnly held the data pad between his talons as he sat at his workstation. He was listening to the message a second time. It was from Andromeda and it the tone of her voice made his heart ache. He longed to see her again to be able to hold her. Times were different and he didn't know how long the war would keep them apart. Months? Years? A lifespan? Would they have the same fate as the Protheans to where they spend the rest of their natural lives if possible fighting off attacks? What kind of life would that be? Would it get to the point to where they would welcome death when the end was nowhere in sight? He would choose death before being turned into a husk, Marauder, whatever that horrible machine was. "Garrus, it's me," Andromeda's voice seemed like she was right beside him but it was filled with sadness and pain. "Refugees keep pouring in every day by the hundreds. I'm not sure if it's going to get to the point to where the Citadel starts to turn them away. The holding bay is almost near capacity with all the delegated sections. Overlapment is causing big issues. There was a young colonist here, a girl, she was speaking with one of the Turian C-Sec officers. Apparently she was separated from her family and she was told to wait here for them. That was days ago and still she waits for them. The Turian officer checks in with her. I don't have the heart to tell her they are probably dead. I hate being this cold. What are we going to do? I miss you. Please stay safe out there. I need you back here. Well this is it for now. Andromeda."
"Trouble on the home front?" Wrex cleared his throat as he entered the room where Garrus was.
Quickly stashing the pad away, Garrus shook his head lightly. "Just a message from a friend."
"I never noticed anyone holding a message so close to them that was just a friend," Wrex shrugged.
"Glad to see you were not too angry about Tuchanka," Garrus shifted in his chair uneasily. Wrex called him out on it earlier, but he wondered if the Krogan still held a grudge against him for keeping it a secret.
"Primarch Victus got the blunt of it. Hell of a showdown on Surkesh though. Reminded me of the old days on Virmire. Right down to me pulling your ass out of the fire," He chuckled in delight.
"I think with your old age, you are losing your memory," Garrus shot back playfully. "I was the one with bullets flying at me."
"And I gave you the moral support to dodge them." Wrex walked past him to look out at the main Normandy's gun. The yellow tone Krogan stood still for a moment before finally breaking the silence. "You remember Noveria don't you?"
Garrus cocked his head, "In what way?"
"I have some scouts missing that I told Shepard about. Rumor is that there are problems with the Rachni." Wrex's back remained to the Turian as he spoke as if he was thinking about the information he was giving out.
"Rachni?" Garrus' eyes went wide.
Wrex turned around to look at him. "Thought that may get your attention."
"I thought Shepard killed the last queen on Noveria." Garrus stood up from his chair, shaking his head.
"I have a huge favor to ask you. I fed this information to Shepard. He's on board to help find my scouts. They went silent. I'm sending Arlak Company over to assist. I don't like this, Garrus. I want someone who knows what the hell they are doing. You fought against the Rachni. You know what they are capable of."
"Wait a minute," Garrus laughed nervously as he envisioned himself fighting the bug like creatures once more in the cold. "You want me to go up against them? Didn't I do you enough favors?"
"This is for the bomb on Tuchanka," Wrex shot back aggressively. Garrus could tell that even if he was kidding around, he was a bit serious on the sentence too. "My ancestors fought the Rachni for your kind and the Salarians. We paid the ultimate price for our 'help.' I think for now a Turian should fight on behalf of the Krogan against them."
Sighing hard, Garrus walked over to grab his gear. He knew he couldn't turn Wrex down. This matter was dear to him and he did have a point on both accounts. "I really hate you sometimes, Wrex."
"So we are fightin' giant bugs? Are you serious?" Vega looked at Garrus incredulously as he followed him and Shepard towards the Arlak Company's base. "Loco, you didn't mention anything about giant bugs when you said for me to come with."
"It will be fine, James," Shepard answered sternly.
"They are not too bad. The bigger ones are a bit rough," Vakarian teased the marine walking next to him.
"Bigger ones?"
"Shepard!" A familiar voice greeted the group. It was Grunt. The tank bred moved passed the others to approach them.
"Grunt!" John smiled at their old friend. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same question. Didn't those idiots lock you up?"
"They did. Put me in lockdown away from the Batarians. Didn't want problems while the Council prepared for war. But the situation changed."
"Yeah, they have bigger problems now alright. That's why I'm out here running Arlak Company."
"Your own command? Impressive," Garrus nodded his head in approval, listening in on the conversation.
Grunt moved over to introduce them to his team. "They're tough. Think they're invincible. Reckless, but effective."
"Who you calling 'reckless'?" One of them in the back snapped out. Garrus was caught off-guard wondering what type of soldier, even a Krogan, would be courageous enough to pull rank. As the Krogan departed to reveal the outspoken Krogan, there stood Horde with a smirk and arms crossed.
"Horde?" Garrus let out a soft laugh. Again, here she was before them.
"Nice to see you again. Glad you are still assisting, Wrex." Even the commander was surprised to see the female Krogan in their presence once more.
"You know him?" Vega blinked, dumbfounded by the inside conversation.
"Her," Grunt corrected him. Garrus winced, hoping that Vega wouldn't say something stupid on how all Krogan look the same but luckily despite the marine's continued confusion, he remained tight lip. "She's effective and is just as strong and fierce as the males. One of my better soldiers." His voice lightened as he complimented her, looking her way. Garrus caught on as if the tank bred was in awe of this one female. He didn't know anything about Krogan relationships and if they fact experienced love. As thick skinned as the Krogans were, he didn't even know they would admit to such an emotion.
"I'm surprised the Krogan would follow a tank bred," Garrus pointed out.
"I earned my scars. These Krogan respect me."
"So about these bugs," Vega finally couldn't stay quiet any longer. "Rachni, whatever you call them."
Grunt's eyes lit up hearing the name. "I can't believe we are going against the Rachni. A chance to face the old enemy? Impossible to resist."
"You are happy about this?" James was in disbelief as he looked on.
"Don't have a panic attack, Vega. I'll protect you," Garrus chuckled as he thought about the same words Wrex said to them in the mess hall on Peak 15.
"Wimp. You need a quad, human, like Garrus," Grunt smiled at his old teammate.
"So what's the plan to find these scouts? We didn't pick up any activity on the way end." John reeled them back in to the topic on hand.
"This place smells wrong like a bad wound. Our scans show the tunnels down there lead to a large central point. If we're lucky, it's a nest," Grunt gleefully answered.
"Sounds like fun. Just like old times, Grunt," Garrus smiled over at the Krogan.
"Heh, heh, heh." Grunt turned back to address his men. "Arlak Company move out! Horde, you take team two."
"You ready, Grunt?" Shepard approached the team nearby.
"Yes. My men and I will follow you, Shepard. If the Rachni are here, then my blood demands that they die. Once we get inside to the tunnels, teams one and two will break up to take different tunnels and rendezvous back at the central chamber. We have some ammo stored up in the unit over there. Get you some."
Shepard motioned Garrus and Vega inside the unit to see what they could stock up on. Not a bad idea. It wouldn't be prudent for them to be deep inside the tunnels near the Rachni nest and run out of ammo. Just as they got to the stash at the end of the unit, the structure jerked violently as the terrain underneath gave away. The structure began to fall down the slope that was above the tunnel's entrance. "Hold on!" Shepard screamed as he scrambled for any type of restraint to keep him from falling out. Garrus and Vega did the same. The structure stopped short from impact and the jar knocked them all loose and they fell through the open window to the ground below. Luckily, the rest of the drop wasn't that bad.
"Shepard!" Grunt hollered down at them from above. "You guys okay?"
"Everyone's fine," John yelled back as he looked over to see Garrus and Vega standing back up. "Maintain radio contact."
Garrus knew his body was going to be aching bad tomorrow from the hit. "What the hell was that?"
"Those bugs can't be that big," James eyed the tunnel entrance ahead of them nervously.
"They can dig," They made these tunnels," Shepard pointed out. He turned on his flashlight that was attached to his rifle. "Let's move in."
So far while navigating the dark tunnel, they came across several dead Krogan scouts. Then after crawling on their stomachs to the next chamber, they realized it was vastly large inside. A pool of water was in the middle. "Neat. Like a cavern," James admired the view.
Suddenly, a roaring hiss could be heard on the other side. There on the ledge crawled a Rachni! This time, it seemed almost mechanized, similar to the husks they encountered so far. "Uh, Shepard…." Garrus' eyes went wide as he looked on. Just how many species were the Reapers going to get their hands on? Was this fate of everyone?
"Is that a-"James began to ask.
"Rachni!" John answered the question before it came out. More of these reaperized warriors came out of hiding then the familiar sound of husks entered the chamber. "We got inbound husks! Garrus, take a snipering point! Take down those Rachni bastards! Vega, you on me. We'll take on the husks. Move!"
"Roger!" Garrus dodged Rachni heavy blasts as he moved from cover to cover to get into position. As he zoomed in the scope, he just saw how much different these Rachni were compared to the ones on Noveria. They still had the bug like features, but primarily they were mostly machine now more than anything. Just like the Marauders on Palaven. Narrowing in his sights, he fired and struck the Rachni hard in the head. The Rachni wailed as it returned its focus on him. Anticipating a counter attack, Garrus ducked down quickly as the Rachni warrior fired hitting the rock he was hiding behind. He waited until the firing stop and then took aim again. This time, the impact caused blood to pour out as the bug collapsed, dead. He then moved onto the next target. The other bugs were more focused on Shepard and Vega below. Seeing a husk charging at them, Garrus quickly moved his rifle over to shoot it in the head. The husk's remaining brain matter fell out as it fell over.
"Way to go!" Vega cheered him on as the marine lifted his assault rifle, clear of oncoming enemies, and took down the last remaining Rachni. The chamber once more was clear.
"I hardly recognized them. The Reapers made some modifications," Garrus slid down the bank to rejoin his team.
"Grunt. Rachni presence confirmed. Modified and very dangerous," John tapped into their comm to report their findings so far to Arlak Company.
"Finally. Something to kill," Grunt responded. "Nothing here yet. Lost a Krogan to a sinkhole. Bad way to go."
"The nest has to be here somewhere. Let's keep moving."
They were just outside the central chamber when they met up again with Grunt and his teams. "The Rachni have backed off for now but they will regroup and finish us off if they are a worthy enemy," The Krogan said matter-of-factly.
"Those barriers I came across earlier seem to be protecting whatever is down that passageway," John pointed to the nearest tunnel that led straight into the central chamber.
"We'll dig in here. Kill anything that moves. Buy you some time," Grunt moved over to his teams to give out the orders.
"Good luck, Grunt," Garrus called back to their old comrade.
That made the tank bred turn around to face him. "I don't need luck. I have ammo." He then redirected back to his team." Krogan, get ready!"
Horde looked Garrus' way. "Stay safe again, Archangel," She teased.
"I thought he was dead," Garrus joked. "You really came along way, Horde. Glad you joined the right side."
"I don't pick sides," She shook her head. "I did what I did for creds when I was younger. Now I do what my blood demands."
"Spoken like a true Krogan," Vega commented.
"Let's go take down the nest," Shepard pointed with his rifle towards the passage.
In the Central Chamber, they came across the Rachni Queen or a fake one. She was artificially made by the Reapers. A clone of a true Rachni. She communicated with Shepard through the voice boxes of the deceased Krogan scouts near her nest. "Please kill me!" The creature begged as it pulled at its shackles. "The children are coming!"
"The Rachni were a danger before the Reapers came to us. I thought I ended the problem when I killed the last queen on Noveria," John sighed hard. "Here I am again. Dealing with them."
"You sure you want to kill it, Loco?" James pondered another choice. "What if we can use this thing to fight against them?"
"No way," Garrus shook his head. "Shepard, we dealt with an easier problem on Noveria. This thing is an abomination. Just as bad as the human Reaper we encountered in the Collector Base. A fake. We have to destroy it."
"So what if it is artificial? Technically, so is Grunt," Vega argued.
"I heard that! Don't compare me to that thing," Grunt barked over the radio. "Shepard, we are getting movement here. A lot of movement."
"Copy that," The Commander then redirected his attention to James and the task at hand. "Garrus and Grunt are right, James. It's not the same thing. I have seen firsthand what Reaper tech can do to people. This thing is more than likely indoctrinated. If we keep it, who knows what it may do."
"Shepard!" Grunt interrupted them once again. "We are running out of time! If we stay any longer, Arlak Company will die! Is that clear?!"
"Understood. I'm killing it. Move your team out!" Shepard tapped his ear piece.
"My teams will go topside. I'll fall back to make sure you are clear."
"James, Garrus. Kill that thing and let's go," Shepard raised his rifle. The queen stood there motionless as they fired. It howled wildly from the pain until its internal wounds were too great and it took its last breath before falling to the ground. In no time, they could hear the thundering sound of many drones heading their way. Unable to give any comment to what just happened, Shepard motioned them to head out through the passage to meet up with Grunt. He was determined to make sure that they all go out safely.
With his heart pounding, Garrus raced down the many passage ways, stumbling over rocks as he went with Vega close behind. Grunt was up ahead waiting on them. The burly Krogan joined up but after a few feet, all of them stopped dead in their tracks. Their path was blocked by drones who were determined to keep their prey inside. Desponded, Grunt looked around and noticed another passage that they could take but they would put themselves in sight of the Rachni. Someone had to hold them off so the others could get more distance. "The shuttle's down that path," He appeared frustrated at their only choice as he looked upon them. "I'll hold them off."
In disbelief, Garrus shook his head. "There are too many of them, Grunt. You will be overrun in seconds."
"Maybe for a Turian," He snapped back defensively. "Get out of here, Shepard!"
John hesitated and looked at his Suicide Team squadmate as if he was torn at the choice he was about to make. He knew the Krogan was right. "Go."
Garrus fought the urge to protest and swore silently under his breath as he pushed Vega to go on as he ran down the passage way. Within seconds, Shepard was behind them leaving Grunt there to fight off the Rachni. After several minutes of running and stumbling in the dark, he saw the light of day enter the tunnel and he pumped his legs faster. Seconds later, he was out along with the others and in the welcome sight of the shuttle and the remainder of Arlak Company, which consisted of Horde and one other Krogan. Out of both two teams only two members survived, three if Grunt was alive. Cortez waited at the shuttle's open door looking on. With a sigh, Shepard looked at him in despair, "We are the last ones out."
"Where's Grunt?" Horde asked the three as they walked up to where she was standing at the shuttle.
"He stayed back to hold off the Rachni," John looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry, Horde. I'll have to report back to Wrex that he lost a great leader of the Arlak Company. There were too many of them."
"Piss on a pyjak," Horde growled angrily. "He wouldn't just die. He can't. No Krogan was his equal."
"Horde, I know it's rough, but I think even Wrex wouldn't have been able to fight off that many Rachni."
"You don't know what I'm capable of," Grunt mumbled as he struggled to climb the hill where he was. His body was bloodied: a mixture of his and the Rachni he fought.
"Spirits!" Garrus watched in disbelief. "How can that be-"
"Grunt!" Shepard ran forward to help his friend. James and Garrus followed him down the hill to render aid.
"Anybody got somethin' to eat?" Grunt asked as he collapsed down into the commander's arms right as he got to him. Shepard gingerly held his left side up with his arm while Garrus took on the right.
"Ha! I knew it!" Horde cheered happily as she punched Cortez in the arm as he stood beside her. "You guys doubted what he could do."
"I never said a word," Cortez protested as he rubbed his now sore arm.
Once everyone was on board, Garrus remained at the door, looking down at the tunnel, while the shuttle lifted up. He couldn't believe what they experienced. The war was getting tougher and they were almost close to losing someone that was dear to them. He knew the struggle some of his team felt when they lost Kaidan on Virmire. He barely knew the man, but he was a good friend of Ashley's. He hoped that they wouldn't have to face this again.