Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my MechWarrior/BattleTech - Mass Effect crossover.

Thank you all for your wonderful support and feedback. I deeply appreciate it.

Now we've entered the Tuchanka story sub-arc, which is going to be interesting.

In addition, I have a poll going on my profile. I've been thinking of rewriting my BattleTech/Halo crossover in order to not only make it more interesting, but to also fix up the story, since I feel that it no longer reflects my development as a writer. If you want to vote on the poll, feel free to do so.

As always, leave a review and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the MechWarrior/BattleTech - Mass Effect franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of BioWare, Electronic Arts, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, WizKids, Catalyst Game Labs, Piranha Games Inc., etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.

SSV Normandy

Aralak

September 16th, 2186

While the FCS Mjölnir and the ships escorting her were engaged in their first combat action against the Reapers, Shepard and the others were onboard the Normandy, planning their next move. Right now, however, Shepard was getting some much needed food, and some coffee while he was at it. An army marches on it's stomach after all, he shrugged to himself. If you're hungry, you can't really think of much else.

He smiled as he remembered some comforting news. Mason's company, and the man himself, got a contract from Kommadant Victor Steiner-Davion to help us out on our missions, and he's paying them a very hefty sum. Still, I think Mason took on the contract for more than just the pay. I think he wants to repay a debt of gratitude to me for helping him defeat his father's killer. Still, I don't mind; I'm just glad I could help out. With that, he went back to eating more of his breakfast.

He had just finished up when the intercom chimed. "Commander," Specialist Traynor said over the 'com. "Primarch Victus would like to speak with you and Kommadant Steiner-Davion in the War Room."

"Tell him I'm on my way," Shepard replied, getting up from the table he was sitting at. Walking into the elevator, he hit the call button and waited. Once the elevator arrived, he quickly got inside and pressed the button for the CIC. Once he'd arrived, it was a simple manner of proceeding through the checkpoint and into the War Room.

The War Room was as busy as ever, with the soldiers and personnel inside quietly working at their stations. Centered in the middle of the room was the holo-table, which was showing a true-color representation of Tuchanka, the homeworld of the Krogan. Standing nearby was Victor Steiner-Davion and Primarch Victus, with the two patiently waiting for Shepard to come along. "Commander, glad you got here," Victor smiled.

"Same here," Shepard nodded. Looking around, he asked, "What's the story?"

"We have a bit of a situation," Victus explained. "We lost contact with one of our ships."

"Lost?" Shepard asked. "There's gotta be more to it than that."

"It crashed, actually," Victus admitted. "I would like to talk to you more about it in private." Saying this, he eyed Wrex, who was currently looking over a tactical display.

"We can discuss it in my quarters," Shepard decided. "It has an SCIF module built in, so once we activate it, all is private." With that, they proceeded to Shepard's quarters.

Aesthetically speaking, Shepard's quarters looked quite the same, except for the fact that he had a number of commendations on the wall. Those commendations had been given to him graciously by Hanse for his efforts to help the Federated Commonwealth make the Inner Sphere a better place. "I know you usually don't like medals, but it's really the best way to show my gratitude for you," Hanse had explained. "Plus, I'll send the occasional gift to you."

Sitting down on the nearby sofa, Shepard asked, "Alright, what's so important that you didn't wish to discuss this with Wrex around?"

"Very well," Victus nodded. "Our ship crash-landed on Tuchanka. Now they're pinned by an advance guard of of Reaper forces scouting the area."

That had Shepard's attention, though it was Victor that spoke up. "That's interesting," he frowned. "I mean no offense, Primarch, but first of all, how did that ship crash? More importantly, why are your men there in the first place? I wouldn't send men there unless I had a good fucking reason to do so."

"I'm sorry, but that is classified," Victus replied, with Victor frowning at that ever-frustrating answer. "It is vital, however, that they be rescued. They must complete their original mission. It is a matter of… galactic peace."

"You mean like the treaty that we're attempting to create?" Shepard asked. "Or my efforts to coordinate our efforts against the Reapers? That kind of galactic peace?"

"Precisely," Victus nodded.

Victor butted in again, though his voice was now dead serious. "How many souls on board?"

"A platoon.'

"Why is their mission so important? I need details if I'm to justify sending in a rescue force."

"I'm sorry, but that is highly classified," Victus repeated.

It was then that a flash of anger came across Victor Steiner-Davion's face, but only for an instant. When he addressed the Primarch by his full name and title, however, Shepard knew that Victor was angry. "Primarch Adrian Victus, why the hell are the reasons for that mission classified? I understand the need for secrecy, but this is the time where secrecy can get someone killed!

"And don't feed me that 'you must understand' bullshit! I get it all the time from my superiors, and it is one of the major peeves that I have. So, unless you want me to refuse to send in a rescue force for no fucking reason, I'd suggest that you tell me what the hell is going on!" By this point, he was standing up, and his face had gained a slight reddish tint.

Shepard, seeing this, realized that Victor was taking an enormous risk, though he understood why Victor was so angry. Secrets like that get people killed, he frowned. What the hell is Victus trying to hide? As he said this, Victor began to head to the door, apparently disgruntled with the cloak-and-dagger routine.

"Victor, wait!" Victus called out, causing the Major to come to a stop. "The platoon commander is Lieutenant Tarquin Victus. He'll be your contact."

Both Shepard and Victor started slightly at this. "Tarquin Victus," Victor frowned. "As in -"

"My son," Victus finished. "I need someone I can trust completely."

For a few second, Victor stood by the door, his jaw working silently as he mulled over the information he had gotten. "So, let me get this straight," he replied. "You want me to rescue your son and his men, who are on Krogan soil, for some unknown reason that your son will tell me about?"

"Not the way I would've said it, but… yes."

Victor shook his head for a moment, almost as if he was going to refuse. Then he asked, "Shepard, are your men ready?"

"Yes," Shepard nodded.

"Good. Get them together, along with Gavin Calbot. You're going to be rescuing the Primarch's son." As Shepard left after deactivating the SCIF mode for the room, Victor looked at Victus and said, "I understand why you wanted to keep this secret, but remember this: I am the CO of this operation.

"That means, until the First Prince relieves me, I have to have access to the necessary information required to successfully plan out a mission. Withholding information the way you did is one good way to get people killed. Before the Lyran Commonwealth joined up with the Federated Suns, their military repeatedly suffered from incidents like that. Do I make myself clear?"

It was clear that Victus didn't like being dressed down, as he peered at the Kommadant with his amber colored eyes. What made it more painful was that he knew that Victor was completely correct, and that the Komadant had seen through his comparatively flimsy excuses. "Completely," he replied.

"Good," Victor nodded. "I hold no ill will towards you, Victus, and I certainly hope you do not. Let's pretend that this incident didn't happen."

"I agree."

. . .

Onboard the UT-47B, a heavily redesigned version of the UT-47A, Shepard made sure his M61B was ready for combat, with the others making sure their weaponry was also ready. Everyone was fully dressed in combat armor, with Shepard having exchanged his Armored Cooling Suit for the M34 Battle Dress Uniform, the official designation for the FedCom's Infantry Kit. On top of that, I made some personal modifications to the armor, he noted. Should provide me with excellent protection.

As they flew down towards the area where the Turian ship had crashed, EDI said, "I have been able to raise Lieutenant Victus on the comm. When we land, he will be ready to speak with you."

"Victus?" Vega asked, surprised.

"Primarch's son," Garrus noted, a humorless chuckle coming from his mouth. Walking to Shepard, he said, "Shepard, for a Turian commander, what's happened here is… let's just say that the military code of conduct for our species is not forgiving."

"I know," Shepard nodded. "If this gets out, I'll make Victus look bad."

"Agreed. Promoting family without merit can bite you in the ass. What's strange is that the Primarch knows that."

"A classic indicator of neoptism," Calbot, who was fully dressed in his Mountain Lion Battle Armor, frowned. "Your Hierarchy, Garrus, works in a very similar manner to the Clans. We do not promote individuals unless they have shown that they are capable of doing so. They must earn their positions, rather than have it granted to them."

"That could be," Garrus admitted. Looking at Calbot, he asked, "How's the armor working out?"

"Very well," Calbot nodded. "I cannot wait to bring death and destruction to these Reapers. If I were not a bondsman, I would declare a Trial of Annihilation against these Reapers. They represent everything the Clans hate and detest."

"Just don't let that get to your head."

"I do not intend to. Only a foolish warrior rushes in without a plan."

At least Calbot is sensible enough to know when to retreat, Shepard noted.

"Commander," Cortez informed them, "I can't land at the crash site. We'll have to land a ways from it."

"Are you certain?"

"Affirmative, but the Reapers seem unaware of our presence. We might be able to use that to our advantage."

"Set us down then," Shepard decided. "We'll get to them on foot." With that, the shuttle doors opened after the Kodiak landed, allowing them to step outside and look around.

If there was a word that Shepard could use to describe Tuchanka, it was bleak, especially since he visited it last time. For miles around, all one could see was irradiated land, ruins of buildings, massive chasms, as well as a sky that looked more like a cloud of rust than anything. The sun shone weakly through the fallout and dust that was laden in the air. Having seen images of the First and Second Succession Wars, Shepard knew that only those wars could match the devastation that lay before him. There are parts of Kentares IV that wouldn't look out of place on Tuchanka, he thought sadly.

"Is this it?" Calbot asked, apparently not impressed by what he saw. "Is this the great homeworld of the Krogan? This planet is barely worth even owning! This is exactly why we use Trials of Combat: so that we can avoid such senseless devastation."

"Tell that to most of the Krogan," Shepard shrugged. "Wrex is a mutant in that regard, though that's a good thing in this case." Keying his comm, he asked, "EDI, can you raise them?

"I can," EDI replied. "Be advised, the signal strength is weak."

"Patch me in." After a moment, he said, "This is Commander Shepard of the Alliance Navy and Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth. Do you read?"

There was a moment of silence, then, "This is Lieutenant Tarquin Victus of the Ninth Platoon! We're pinned down by Reaper Harvesters and are taking heavy casualties! Also, there are pockets of my men scattered along the crash trajectory!"

"Can you show me your location?" Shepard asked. "Launch a flare if you can." Turning around, he waited a moment, then he watched as a red glowing flare shot up into the sky.

"Got it," Garrus informed them. "According to the Normandy's satellite maps, they're around six hundred meters due east of our position. We'll have to get through the debris, however, and that'll slow things down."

"Understood," Shepard nodded. Keying his comm again, he said, "Lieutenant, hold tight. We're on our way."

"Get to our position fast!" Tarquin growled over the comm. "Things are getting bad quick! My men are dying!" Genuine anger, and grief, colored his voice.

"Keep calm," Shepard ordered him. "Hold your position. We're headed your way." Closing the comm-link, he said, "Their situation's gone FUBAR. We need to get there now." Turning to Calbot, he asked, "Can you disable any Reaper Harvesters that come towards us?"

"Aff," Calbot nodded. "My Plasma Cannon is ready, as are my SRM's and the Micro Pulse Laser mounted on my armor. I will show them that they are no longer the apex predators." Looking around, he said, "I will traverse the terrain using my jump jets, and any solid debris further ahead."."

"Keep us informed of any developments," Shepard nodded. As soon as he said this, jets of flame erupted from Calbot's armor, with the Elemental jumping through the air and landing on a piece of debris above them. A moment later, he disappeared out of sight.

"There he goes," Garrus remarked as they moved on ahead. "So, a secret Turian mission on Tuchanka is especially odd. Thoughts?"

"You're the Turian," James suggested. "You tell us."

"I've got nothing, Lieutenant."

"Relax," Shepard informed them. "Vega, you and I will take point. Garrus, Kaidan, you two provide support."

"Got it," Kaidan, who was silent until now, agreed. With that, they began moving out.

If there was one thing that was notable, it was that it was difficult to move through the debris. Using some rebar as a ladder, Shepard clambered up and over onto what appeared to be a hallway created by debris and a rock wall. Once the others were up with him, they continued on, weapons primed and ready. As they moved along, he thought he spotted something up ahead. Using his helmet's zoom function, he found that it was an escape pod, though the bodies of Turians lying on the ground nearby dashed any hopes of survivors from this pod. In addition, he spotted what looked like Husks. Each of them was tearing off the armor from the bodies, before trying to consume the corpses. "As if things weren't bad enough," Garrus growled. "Now they're trying to desecrate our dead."

"Stay focused," Shepard ordered. "Vega, you got the left side, I've got the right. Garrus, you got that sniper rifle ready?" The only reply was the sound of a bolt being closed. "On the count of three, we fire. One… two… three!"

Standing up out of cover, Shepard fired his M61B, while Garrus fired his new sniper rifle, a Minolta 9000B Advanced Sniper System rifle. A pulsing beam of blue-white laser light cut through the air, before tearing into the Husks. Kaidan used his biotics to lift two of the three monstrosities into the air, while Garrus and Vega handled the rest. The loud KRA-THOOM of the rifle firing echoed in the debris laden area.

All of the Husks were dead the moment the team opened fire. The one Shepard fired on suffered the misfortune of having it's head explode, while the one Vega fired on was bisected at the waist. The one Garrus fired died, it's back exploding as the HE round detonated on impact.

With the Husks dead, Shepard and his team moved up. Walking towards the corpses, he heard Garrus snarl. "Just as I thought. They got out, only for a Harvester to kill them, then the Husks began to feast on them." He walked over to a heavily chewed up corpse, closing the eyes on it's surprisingly intact face. All the while, he whispered a Turian writ of burial.

"I didn't know you were religious," Shepard noted.

"My father and mother were devout worshipers of the Spirits," Garrus explained. "I picked up a few things from them."

"Understandable. I have religious beliefs myself."

Putting the topic aside, they continued to move through the debris. As they moved forwards, Calbot came in over the comm. "Shepard, I have eyes on a trio of Turians ahead. They are under fire. Permission to assist?"

"Granted," Shepard replied. As he closed the comm, he could hear the sound of a pulse laser firing, or rather the sound of Husks as any water inside of them detonated, causing small popping sounds. After moving through the debris, he spotted the firefight ahead.

On the other side of a chasm, he could see an escape pod that had crash-landed on a rocky ledge beyond the chasm. A trio of Turians were firing at some Cannibals, as well as a Marauder that was directing their efforts. Just as Shepard arrived, Calbot struck.

The Reaper Marauder didn't even know what hit it, with Calbot landing directly on top of it. Reaperfied flesh and bone was promptly crushed by hundreds of kilograms of Lamellor Armor, Myomer and Elemental, splattering it's insides all over the ground. The two Cannibals whirled around, only for Calbot to terminate both of them with extreme prejudice; one had it's head explode from a pulse laser, while Calbot, shooting forwards with shocking speed, grabbed it's head with his Battle Claw, before promptly decapitating it.

"Worthless Reaper stravag," Calbot snarled. Seeing the Turians pointing weapons at him, he said, "Peace, noble warriors! Shepard and I have come to assist you in your efforts to survive!"

"Thank the Spirits!" one gasped as Shepard came into view. "I thought we were done for."

"HARVESTER!" one screamed as a familiar shape loomed overhead. "INCOMING HARVESTER!"

"Calbot!" Shepard shouted as he spotted the dragon-like Reaper construct flying in.

"I have it!" Calbot shouted. Running forwards, he jumped over the chasm, jump jets flaring as he did so. Just as the Harvester landed, Calbot changed direction and latched onto the creature, slamming into it at the same time. The creature was nearly bowled over by the impact, but it had little time to act, as Calbot fired the Plasma Cannon seconds later. A bolus of purple-white plasma tore into the Harvester, with Calbot's impact having depleted it's barriers. The Harvester screamed as the bolus of plasma boiled through vital components, and whatever organic tissue was left. A moment later, the bolus tore into the self-destruct mechanism the creature had, preventing it from exploding in it's death throes.

With the Reaper construct dead, Calbot said, "It is safe now, warriors. Retreat to the Lieutenant's position so that you may be rescued."

"Got it," one of the Turians nodded, awed by the display of brute force and skill that Calbot had shown. "Keep your eyes open. We saw another pod crash ahead. Good luck!"

"Good luck to you, warrior," Calbot nodded, before jumping the chasm and landing back at Shepard's position.

"Got 'em all," Vega beamed. "Nice work with the Harvester, Calbot. You taught that thing a lesson or two."

"Indeed!" Calbot nodded, before leaving to move ahead of the others once again.

"Keep moving," Shepard ordered as they moved on through more hallways created by debris and the natural formations in the area. "We need to find the other escape pods and get to the crash site ASAP."

"And find out what the hell happened on the Lieutenant's watch," Garrus added as he jumped over a fallen concrete block. "Being the son of Adrien Victus is a lot to live up to."

"Why is that?" Kaidan asked.

"It's a big military name back on Palaven," Garrus explained. "War is expected to flow in the Victus' blood."

"Nah uh," James frowned. "You can't be shoehorned into a role like that. You have to carve out out your own path."

"I agree, though tell that to the traditionalists." With that, they continued on ahead, weapons ready as they advanced. Coming up to another area, they spotted another escape pod that had crashed. Another trio of Turians were present, though one was injured, with those Turians firing at another pair of Cannibals and a Marauder.

"Looks like we've got the element of surprise again," Kaidan noted.

"Finally, we've got the advantage," Vega beamed.

"Alright," Shepard decided. "Garrus, you take out the Marauder. Kaidan, provide support for Garrus. Vega, you and I will take out the Cannibals."

"Got it," Garrus nodded with the others. Taking aim once he was in cover, he fired the rifle, the loud KRA-THOOM of the rifle's report echoing in the ruins they were in. The first round smacked into the Marauder's kinetic barriers, downing them in an instant. It whirled around, but Kaidan, anticipating that, fired his M61B, killing the thing in an instant. The two Cannibals nearby whirled around, only for Shepard and Vega to cut them down.

Just then, another Harvester came in, prompting Shepard and the others to open fire. Calbot also joined, with another bolus of plasma zipping through the air. It splashed against the kinetic barrier, but here, it acted like a HESH round. While the plasma itself was stopped, the intense thermal energy wasn't, with the armor on the creature melting off in that particular area.

Spotting an opportunity, Shepard fired a grenade from the grenade launcher fitted on the M61B. A loud BLOOP echoed as the grenade launcher fired, sending an HEDP grenade towards the Harvester. There was a loud BOOM as the grenade detonated, with the Harvester giving a loud, shrill roar as a jet of superplastic metal tore into it's body. Deciding not to take any changes, it quickly left, but not before depositing more Cannibals and Marauders. Each one was cut down by the laser weapons Shepard and his team wielded.

"Another harvester!" Garrus shouted as one flew in. Firing any explosives they had, the team downed it's barriers, allowing Calbot to deal the killing blow. This time, Shepard watched as a missile tore into the Harvester, the MAHEM warhead tearing through the thin armor plating and into it's hide. Moments later, the Harvester detonated, flying apart, while the Turians nearby took cover behind the escape pod, avoiding the blast wave and debris.

"Thanks for the help!" one shouted. "Now they're dead, we can take care of our wounded. We'll get to the crash site as soon as we can!" With that they moved on, with one Turian carrying his wounded comrade in a fireman's carry.

"Doing go so far," Vega nodded. Looking at his rifle appreciatively, he said, "I really love actual ray guns. They're so fun to use."

"Tell me about it," Shepard shrugged. "Come on, this way."

With that, they moved through more debris. As they moved along, they stumbled onto another escape pod, though the crew in this one were already dead, their bodies mangled and chewed up. Seeing a datapad, Shepard scanned it, before playing an audio log he recovered from it. "Deceleration thrusters online," a Turian on the log remarked. "We'll survive."

"Victus is going to pay for this!" another recorded Turian snarled.

"Court-martial or hanging?" A moment later, the recording came to an abrupt ending.

"This isn't good," Garrus frowned. "How is the Lieutenant going to live this down?"

"When we find him, we'll ask him," Shepard decided. Just as he said this, a Reaper drop pod came down, with Husks, Marauders and Cannibals swarming out of them. "OPEN FIRE!" he shouted.

The team immediately opened fire, sending bullets and laser beams at the Reaper troops. Garrus was practically throwing the bolt of his rifle, firing at Marauders as fast and accurately as he could. Shepard and Vega both fired on incoming Husks, while Kaidan provided support where he could. Husks and Cannibals exploded as laser beams tore through their bodies, with Marauders quickly ducking into cover when Garrus fired at them.

Calbot came to the rescue once again. Another missile, this one loaded with an HE warhead, flew into a cluster of Marauders, blasting them apart in a puff of smoke, gore, limbs and glowing shrapnel. "TIME TO DIE, REAPER STRAVAG!" Calbot roared as he jumped in, the pulse laser on his armor's Anti-Personnel Weapon Mount blazing away as he charged into the fray.

Between Calbot and Shepard's team, it wasn't long before the Reaper forces were ripped to shreds. "Strange," Calbot noted as he crushed a Husk's head like a zit. "It is as though your species, Garrus, and the Krogan, are playing with a political nuclear warhead. Had you chosen to inform the Krogan, you might have avoided this mess."

"Krogan-Turian animosity is ancient and intense," Garrus frowned. "It's inborn. I don't approve of it, but that's how it is."

"Then how about we change that, shall we?"

"Good question," Shepard nodded. With that, they reached Tarquin's position.

From what Shepard could tell, Tarquin and his men had holed up on a ridge that was around a hundred meters from their current position. Each of the soldiers was fighting like mad to survive, while Cannibals and Marauders fired at them. To make matters worse, Shepard thought he spotted a Brute up ahead. "Calbot, you handle the Brute," he ordered. "The rest of us, neutralize the Reaper troops and get to Victus!"

"FOR PALAVEN!" Garrus roared as he and the others quickly enacted Shepard's orders.

Calbot, having his own, jumped ahead towards them. "YOU THERE!" he roared, pointing a Battle Claw at the Brute. "FIGHT ME, IF YOU ARE NO COWARD!"

The Brute, hearing this, quickly turned towards Calbot. Roaring loudly, it charged, before swiping a claw at him. Calbot, for his part, intercepted the Brute's claw with his Battle Claw. The Brute seemed to be shocked when it's claw failed to bowl the Elemental over, as he caught it with the Battle Claw, and held it still. Rushing forwards, he kicked the creature over, before firing his Plasma Cannon.

The Brute, unshielded by kinetic barriers, was dead in an instant. The plasma bolus tore through it's armored chassis, melting through armor that wasn't capable of withstanding plasma that was well over seven thousand degrees Celsius in temperature. The Brute roared in rage, only for a missile to smash into it's face, blasting it apart. "And you are dead!" Calbot beamed.

In the meanwhile, Shepard and his team had finally eliminated the rest of the enemy opposition. Walking towards Victus, Shepard clambered up onto the ridge. "Lieutenant Victus?" he asked.

"Commander," Tarquin, who looked like a second addition of his father, save for the white facial paint, sighed wearily. "My men and I are in your debt. Thank you for saving so many."

"What happened here?" Shepard asked.

As he said this, another Turian came and grabbed Victus by the collar of his armor. "He screwed up!" he shouted, rage and sorrow mixed in his voice.

"Stand down, soldier!" Victus ordered.

"These men are dead because of you, barefaced bastard!"

"I said, stand down!"

Shepard would've intervened, were it not for Calbot, who roughly pushed the two aside. "Silence, freebirth!" he snarled. "Shepard saved you and your worthless lives. Listen to him, or I will silence you where you stand!" Underscoring his point, the left pod of his A-SRM-2 pod finished loading, with the missile's warhead jutting out slightly from the tube.

"No one else is going to die today!" Shepard interrupted. While he knew Calbot had done a good job breaking up the impending fight, he didn't want more animosity to grow. Turning to Tarquin, he repeated, "Lieutenant, what happened here?"

Tarquin bowed his head, shame and regret plainly painted onto his facial plates. "He's right," he admitted. "I made a bad call. This is all on me."

"What do you mean?

"I chose caution and clever tactics instead of a head-on attack, trying to be like my father… and my men paid the price."

"You mean the crash?"

"Yes. We could see a Reaper blocking our projected flight path – staying on course guaranteed heavy casualties. As such, I chose what I though was a safe route, skirting the enemy and taking us low and through these ruins. When we encountered unexpected resistance, there was no room to maneuver. Suddenly, we were fighting for our lives… a lot of my men lost that fight."

"Owning up to your errors takes guts," Shepard noted. "Heaven knows that I've made many in my own career, but you've gotta get over it and move on."

"Shepard is right," Vega added. "You can still press on from this."

"I know," Tarquin nodded. "It's just really fresh. Our mission is a failure, though. When we've stabilized the injured, we'll return with the fleet."

"Hang on," Shepard interrupted. "What exactly is your mission?"

"Does it matter now?"

"Yes."

Tarquin sighed, then he said, "There's a bomb on this planet. We were sent to defuse it."

"A bomb? How big?"

"Enormous. Cerberus has it."

"Cerberus?" Calbot asked.

"An extremist human organization," Garrus explained. "They've sided with the Reapers."

"Then I will crush them like the worthless stravag they are."

"How'd they know about this bomb?" Shepard asked.

Tarquin, hearing this, was downright embarrassed. "We were sending regular updates back to Palaven High Command. I found out, however, that someone disabled the comm encryption for some of our reports. We'd been broadcasting on an open channel all that time."

Damn, Shepard growled. Must've been a Cerberus mole. Clearing his throat, he said, "Lieutenant, we have to finish that mission, otherwise we'll all pay the price."

"Haven't these men sacrificed enough?!" Victus snarled out.

It was then that, oddly enough, Calbot came forwards, with the visor depolarizing, allowing Victus to see his eyes. "Victus, I know that this sounds strange coming from me, but I understand what is going on. That kind of sacrifice is quite terrible for freeborn warriors like you; I know I have had to make the same decision. Once you enlisted, however, you accepted the risks that come with the mission.

"What is your job is that you must inspire them to go on when all seems lost. Remind them of what they are fighting for, Victus. Remind them that if they do not complete this mission, then their families will suffer at the hands of the Reapers. That bomb going off will create division and distrust, which the Reapers will exploit in order to send us all to a dishonorable death.

"If they give up now, before their mission beings, then whatever sacrifices they have made will have been in vain. They have to push on, so that not only can you complete your mission, but to show that the Ninth Platoon, despite facing overwhelming odds, won glory for the Turian Hierarchy this day."

Shepard, hearing this, was deeply surprised. Victus, however, was the most surprised, and it seemed as though Calbot had lit a fire in his eyes. Nodding, he turned and, speaking in a dialect of Palavenese, began to speak with his men. While Shepard couldn't understand what it was, he could see that the Turians were starting to perk up, with the despair they had been feeling fading away.

"I didn't know you could become philosophical, Cabot," Shepard remarked.

"Being around you has been quite interesting," Calbot noted. "It seems as though I picked up a few things from you. I was not lying to him, however, when I said what I said."

"How so?"

Calbot frowned, before he said, "When this mission is over, I will tell you."

As he said this, Victus came over. "They've agreed to continue with the mission," he informed them. "Can you ferry our wounded out?"

"Affirmative," Garrus nodded.

"I'll need to talk to the Admiral about this," Shepard informed Victus. "Get yourself and your men ready. We don't have a minute to lose."

(Author's Q&A)

SpaceCommander-09: My apologies for the delay. Thank you for the interesting idea.

edboy4926: Thank you.

SulliMike23: Yep. The Reapers are going to have their asses kicked. They'll try to adapt, though.

Just a Crazy-Man: Thank you.

RandomReader: Thank you for informing me of that. Given that I don't want the Federated Commonwealth to be a bit of a Gary Sue, or be completely invisible, I'll need to find some way to mix things up a bit. With that in mind, what would you suggest?

Chronus1326: Interesting idea. I have to admit, though, the Casaba-Howitzer idea was pretty good.

Guest: Thank you.

MarauderPrime12: Thank you. Don't be afraid to suggest ideas. I'm all ears when it comes to new ideas.