Mass Effect: The Hammer of War

by IX404

When fighting against Tyranids on a far flung Civilized World, Primaris Space Marine Marcus Tyrellus expects it to be like every other day in the Imperium of Man. Little does he know is that, he, and a few others, will soon be working to save another universe from destruction at the hands of an ancient foe.

3. Purging The Plague Part Two

Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Warhammer/Mass Effect crossover.

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

I usually don't do weekend updates, since they're my day off, but I've been unusually restless for some reason. As such, I'm going to give you a rare treat, and give you a new chapter today.

As always, leave a review and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Warhammer or Mass Effect franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of BioWare, Electronic Arts, Games Workshop, etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to it's original 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.

---

Omega

Gozu District, Near Mordin's Clinic

049.185.M3

Shepard had to admit, he had never found anyone that could fight quite like Tyrellus. Every encounter they had with the Blue Suns, or Blood Pack, resulted in the hostiles being decimated. When Shepard looked at one of the bodies, he found that the bodies were practically blown apart. "What ammunition does that thing use?" he asked out of curiosity as they neared the clinic.

"Bolts," Tyrellus replied. "I will explain more once the mission is over. Now is not the time to speak, but the time to act." There was silence after that, though Shepard knew that his earlier assumption about Tyrellus' weapon was quite accurate: it would've made mincemeat out of his armor.

Eventually, they reached the clinic, where Mordin was working at. The entrance consisted mostly of a door, with a guard post to the left, and a holographic sign that identified the place. The guards at the doors practically went bug-eyed when they saw Tyrellus striding inside, though the Space Marine only spared them and their LOKI mechs a glance as he moved through the door. There was a loud, metallic screech as the Space Marine squeezed himself through the door, though his armor was barely scratched, while the door frame was bent outwards.

"Do you mortals build your doors so small?" he asked. "There is hardly enough room for a Space Marine to move through here."

"Do you have lighter armor?" Shepard asked.

"No."

"I see. They do build on the small side." Tyrellus merely harrumphed at that.

Moving inside, he found himself walking through the hallways and rooms of the clinic. A large number of xenos were inside, and while some were suffering from the plague that was infesting the district, most were recovering. One of the bird-like aliens was talking to another, it's mate from what Tyrellus could tell. "Mordin saved my life," the alien, a male, told the female. "If it wasn't for him, I'd be dead by now." It fell silent when it spotted Tyrellus moving inside, it's eyes tracking him as he moved through the place.

What had the Space Marine's attention, though, were the Humans that were here. From the looks of it, they were civilians that had been driven out of their homes by desperate xenos, forcing them to come here for protection. The thought of a Human being unlawfully evicted by a xenos made Tyrellus angry, though he kept it inside.

As they moved into the clinic, he thought he heard a higher pitched, but masculine, voice that was speaking faster than a normal person. Moving into a larger room than the rest of the clinic, he found himself looking at a xenos that was around the same height as a Human, though that was where similarities ended. It had a thin body profile, stood on digitigrade legs, four fingered hands, large eyes, and two fleshy horns, one of which had been severed, leaving nothing but a stump.

It also noticed him the fastest, as it scanned him with what looked like a holographic cogitator it wore on it's left arm. "Hhmm, armor plating doesn't match any known materials. Armor design highly unusual. Likely powered armor. Implications quite interesting. Weapon doesn't match any known design. Does not use Element Zero. Possibly projectile based.

"Simple surface scan quite interesting too. Obvious signs of genetic and mechanical augmentation. Highly masterful in it's implementation. Yes. Ye-"

"You chatter too much, xeno," Tyrellus growled. Though he knew who the Salarian was, he wasn't too pleased by it's analysis of him; plus, his hatred toward xenos was starting to rear it's head. "Restrain yourself, else I might be tempted to remove your tongue entirely." He reached for his knife as emphasis.

That was enough to silence Mordin, though he looked at Tyrellus before saying, "Aggressive behavior noted. Likely might be troublesome. Might need plan of attack in event soldier attacks." While Mordin, said the last part in a whisper, Tyrellus' sharp ears picked up the words.

"Tyrellus, you OK? You looked like you were about to cut out Mordin's tongue," Shepard asked.

"Nothing that has to be dealt with immediately, Shepard," Tyrellus replied.

"I see. Please don't harm him, though. I need him."

"I will do my best," Tyrellus nodded. Internally, though, he knew he was going to have a hard time. Emperor grant me strength, he thought as he frowned.

Mordin took notice of the others at this point, as he looked at Shepard before doing a cursory scan. "Hhmm. Don't recognize you from area. Too well armed to be refugees. No mercenary uniform. Quarantine still in effect.

"Here for something else. Vorcha? Crew to clean them out? Unlikely. Vorcha a symptom, not a cause. The plague? Investigating possible use as bioweapon? No. Too many guns. Not enough data equipment. Soldiers not scientists. Yes, yes. Hired guns maybe? Looking for -"

Shepard, sensing a chance, took that moment to interrupt. "Relax, Mordin," he said reassuringly. "I'm Commander Shepard, and I came here to find you. I'm on a critical mission and I need your help."

That got Mordin's attention. "Mission? What mission? No. Too busy. Clinic understaffed. Plague spreading too rapidly. Who sent you?"

"It's a covert and privately funded human organization."

"Related to plague? Doesn't affect Humans. Human-centric interest. Few Human groups would know me. Equipment suggests military origin. Not Alliance standard. Spectres not human. Terra Firma too unstable. Only one possibility remains." Looking at the group, Mordin said, "Cerberus sent you. Unexpected."

"You're very well informed," Shepard admitted. "How did a Salarian scientist hear about Cerberus?"

"Crossed paths with them on occasion," Mordin explained. "Thought they only worked with Humans. Why request Salarian aid?"

"The Collectors are kidnapping entire Human populations. We're going to find out why and stop them."

Tyrellus, hearing that, arched an eyebrow. Collectors? A very odd name for a race of Xenos. If they are abducting Humans, though, they will be punished for their crimes against the Emperor and Mankind.

"Collectors?" Mordin inquired, intrigued. "Interesting. Plague hitting these slums is engineered. Collectors one of few groups with technology to design it. Our goals may be similar, but must stop plague first. Already have a cure. Need to distribute it at environmental center. Vorcha guarding it. Need to kill them."

"I'll take care of them," Shepard nodded. Looking at Tyrellus, he asked, "You ever kill something like this before?"

"I have," Tyrellus nodded. "I have tales that would have you in awe of Space Marines such as myself. I can accomplish a simple mission like this easily."

Things would've gone on like this when the lights went out, with emergency lighting kicking on. At the same time, the vents, which had been running, quickly turned off. "That's not good," Miranda remarked.

Mordin, however, knew what it was. "Vorcha shutting down environmental systems. Trying to kill everyone in district. Need to reactivate life support, and inject cure at the same time." He held up a large vial of what Tyrellus presumed was the cure.

"I will protect it," he remarked, grabbing the vial from Mordin. Shepard noticed the care and dexterity that Tyrellus handled the vial, while slipping it into an armored pouch on his belt. "It will not be harmed, not even if a bolt were to hit it."

"Armored pouches," Mordin surmised. "Very practical. Necessary in field of war." Turning to Shepard he said, "Here, take this," before handing him a large handgun. "Recovered it from Blue Suns, might come in handy. One more thing. Daniel, my assistant, is missing. See if you can find him."

"If I see him, I'll do what I can to help," Shepard replied.

"Thank you. Told him not to go, but he's smart. Bright future, I hope."

"I found a Batarian plague victim near the entrance to the neighborhood. Can you send someone to help him?"

"Risky. Blue Suns, Vorcha still battling. District not secure. See what I can do."

As the two talked, Tyrellus found that he was becoming quite curious as to what the plague was, and if it was warp-based in origin. It would not surprise me if it was, though the fact that it was engineered by these 'Collectors' suggests otherwise. Moving closer to Mordin, he asked, "Tell me more about this plague."

"Advanced design," Mordin replied, not intimidated by Tyrellus despite his armor's appearance. "Suspected Collectors before Shepard mentioned them. Purpose seems experimental. Destroys respiratory system with harmful genetic mutations. Makes sense to avoid Humans. Unnecessary to force mutation on Human genetic structure for sake of variance."

"Are you telling me that they purposefully left my kind alone for the sake of an experiment?"

"Yes."

"I see. What about these… unnecessary mutations? Why does this make sense to you?"

"Possible goal of virus. Testing viable mutation levels in various species. Horrific, but feasible for Collectors. Humans known to have diverse genetic background. Wider range than other sapient species. Makes sense as control group."

"I see," Tyrellus nodded. The more he heard, the more he despised and hated the Collectors. They are likely trying to determine if they can mutate Humans into more of their ilk. Such a thought made that hate and rage inside of him nearly explode outwards, though he held it in once more. Such an abomination shall not come to pass! "What about these 'Vorcha?' Tell me more about them."

"Cowardly, opportunistic scavengers," Mordin replied. "Not tactical or aggressive. Scale of attack unusual for them. Suspect Vorcha working for Collectors. Distributing plague, collecting data. No proof, but theory fits evidence."

"I see. If they are as cowardly as you say they are, they will pose no threat."

"You sure?" Miranda asked.

"I am certain, mortal. I have faced far worse than any of you have."

Shepard, though, wanted some more clarification. "Any idea where I can find Daniel?" he asked.

"No," Mordin shook his head. "Heard of infected Batarians behind Vorcha lines. Daniel went to help. Warned him not to go. Too dangerous. Patients need him here. Snuck out anyways."

Before Shepard ask any more questions, Tyrellus moved, leaving the room before heading to the rear of the building. Looking at the guard, he asked, "Where are the environmental controls?"

"Past this door," the guard replied, clearly intimidated by Tyrellus' armor, which now appeared a dark purple color due to the lighting. "I'd upload the coordinates to you, but you don't have an Omni-Tool."

"Is that one of your holographic cogitators?"

"If that's your word for computer, then yes."

"I see."

Shepard arrived a minute later, a slightly annoyed look on his face. "Do you always leave before we're done talking?"

"Only when we have a mission to do. I do not stand around flapping my gums when there is work to be done. Surely, you can understand that kind of thinking, mortal. Can you not?"

"I do. Just don't leave without the rest of us. We work as a team, not as a lone wolf."

"I know what you mean. I will explain more once we are at your voidship, but do not expect me to remain behind all the time." With that, they proceeded through the door, ready and waiting for whatever was on the other side.

Already, the dark red lighting set Tyrellus on edge. This reminds me of when I was fighting Chaos Cultists that worshiped Khorne, the Blood God. They used every opportunity to ambush me whenever they could. None of them, however, could stand up to a son of Guilliman. Shaking off the memory, he gripped his Auto Bolt Rifle tighter as he proceeded forwards.

Just a few meters out of the door, they came to a large, open plaza of some kind. To the right, Tyrellus could see a small hallway that turned left, traveling along the left side of the room as a result. The middle was occupied by makeshift barricades and cover, while the far side of the room was fairly bare, with only a walkway that led to the right.

Vorcha were present in the room, as well as a few Krogan. Motioning for the others to stop, Shepard began motioning to the team on where they needed to go. Thanks to the cogitator in his helmet, Tyrellus could tell that Shepard wanted him to directly assault the Vorcha and Krogan, while the others would hug the left side of the room in order to flank them. An excellent strategy, he thought.

On a count of three, Shepard motioned for Tyrellus to advance. As soon as he walked into the room, the Vorcha took notice of him and opened fire, weapons blazing, while one tried using a flamethrower on him. Tyrellus took little notice of their bullets, as the projectiles, despite their relativistic speed, pinged and ricocheted uselessly off his armor plating.

He didn't simply stand there and take it on the chin, however. Moving with a speed that belied his size, Tyrellus set his Auto Bolt Rifle on semiautomatic before tearing into the Vorcha and Krogan with the fury of a hurricane. Bolts flew through the air as he charged forwards, braining the Vorcha with the flamethrower in the process. One Vorcha's head exploded from a bolt, while a Krogan had it's right arm ripped off, before another bolt tore into it's chest before exploding, shredding internal organs with merciless efficiency.

Shepard and the others quickly took advantage of this, as they moved around the left side of the room before opening fire. "Burn, you sons of bitches," Zaeed growled as he flung an incendiary grenade, which detonated in the middle of some Vorcha. Howls and screeches of pain and rage filled the air as the aliens burned alive.

While that made Shepard and the others frown, Tyrellus showed no emotion either, though he was intrigued by Zaeed's choice of fire as a weapon. Quite fitting for purging the Xenos scum from the face of the galaxy, he thought. None of these Vorcha are worthy in the Emperor's eyes, and it is only because of His will that I have not silenced any other Xenos other than the one to which I granted the Emperor's Peace.

It wasn't long before all of the Vorcha were dead, allowing them to advance up towards a stairwell that led upwards to another hallway. This time, several Vorcha, and a Krogan advanced down the steps. Seeing them, Shepard said, "I'll take them on."

"No, I have them!" Tyrellus countered. Before anyone could argue, he charged up the steps with surprising speed. Moments later, he ran into the Krogan and Vorcha.

It was like a massive, 8 foot bowling ball had smashed into seven feet tall bowling pins at a giant bowling alley. Shepard could hear the sounds of bodies smacking into the ground with tremendous force, and he fancied hearing the sound of bowling pins being bowled over. Miranda looked at the sight with interest, while Zaeed barked out a laugh.

It was no laughing matter for the Krogan and Vorcha, though. The force of the impact sent the Vorcha flying though the air, before smacking into the far side of the hallway they were in. The Krogan was sent rolling ass over teakettle backwards, before a bolter round tore it's head apart.

"Hah!" Zaeed barked. "Now that's what I call hilarious. Nicely done, mate."

"Please warn me before you do that," Shepard asked Tyrellus. "And please be more careful. You could've gotten yourself killed."

"It will take far more than these filthy Xenos to kill me, Shepard," Tyrellus replied. "Still, I understand your point. I will do what I must, however."

"Noted. Just don't get yourself killed."

With that, they proceeded forwards, weapons in hand as they advanced towards their destination. Tyrellus, who was walking alongside Shepard, noticed a door that wasn't locked on the left-hand side of a hallway they were moving through. Scanning the door, he noticed multiple life signs on his auspex, including one that he recognized immediately. "Shepard, there is a human life sign in here," he called out.

"Good catch," Shepard nodded. Walking towards the door, he opened it, before he and Tyrellus walked inside.

Inside of what looked like a receptionist room were three Batarians, and a Human being. The man was dressed in what appeared to be medical scrubs, and had a small case of vials nearby. That's likely Daniel, Shepard thought.

It was also clear that he was under duress, as the Batarians were threatening him. "Please…" Daniel pleased with the Batarians. "I'm telling you the truth. I work for Mordin at the clinic. I came to help you!"

Despite his attempts, the Batarians weren't swayed. "We know you're spreading the plague virus," the leader of the group growled as he held the assistant by the collar of his scrubs. "We saw the vials in your bag."

"No!" Daniels protested loudly. "Those vials contain the cure! Please… you have to believe me!"

"Maybe we should cut off your fingers," the leader remarked. "That should loosen your -"

He was interrupted when one of his friends shouted, "Look out!", before whipping out a shotgun and aiming it at Tyrellus and Shepard. The others quickly did the same thing, while Shepard and his team took aim.

"Don't move!" the leader shouted, his voice filled with anger, though desperation and fear were overshadowing that anger. "One more step, and I'll kill your friend!"

Shepard, seeing what was going on, analyzed the situation. They're scared of dying, but I can give them hope, he thought. Keeping calm, he motioned for Tyrellus to hold his fire and said, "I know you're scared of the Vorcha, of the plague, but this man isn't to blame. Besides, if he's spreading the virus, why is he here in Vorcha territory? They're immune."

One of the other Batarians, hearing this, spotted Shepard's logic. "He's right," he frowned. "It doesn't make any sense."

"If we release the prisoner, can we go freely?" the leader asked.

"You have my word on it," Shepard nodded.

With that, the leader let go of Daniel's scrubs. "Let him go," he told the others. Nodding, the other Batarians lowered their weapons. Turning around, the leader said, "You got what you wanted, Human. Can we go?"

"We had a deal," Shepard nodded, lowering his weapon.

"Human nobility. I didn't know such a thing existed. Thank you for sparing us." With that, the Batarians left, though they stared at Tyrellus for a moment before leaving.

"Thank you," Daniel sighed, relieved that he wasn't going to die. "I-I thought they were going to… to kill me. D-did Mordin send you to find me?"

"The Professor could use your help right about now," Shepard nodded. "He's got too many patients and not enough volunteers."

"Yeah, OK. I'll go right away. Thanks again. I owe you… well… everything." With that, Daniel bolted for the clinic, but not before snatching up his bag of vials as he did so.

"Let's keep moving," Shepard told the others. "We're getting close to the environmental center. Expect increasing resistance."

"Roger that," Zaeed nodded.

As they advanced, Shepard asked, "Tyrellus, are you alright? You seemed quite tense back there."

"It is nothing to be concerned about," Tyrellus replied, though he knew it was his hatred for the xenos that had nearly made itself shown. "It will not affect our mission here."

"Glad to hear that." With that, they continued to move through the area. Much of the resistance was fairly light, with only small groups of Vorcha causing any problems for them. As they continued forwards, they came to another large, open room ahead. "Look out!" Zaeed shouted as a missile streaked out from the far side of the room.

Shepard, spotting it, knew he couldn't move in time. Just as he would've felt the missile impact, there was a blue colored blur that moved directly in front of him. A loud CLANG echoed in the air, and while he felt the blast wave, it was greatly diminished, and he didn't feel any pain.

It wasn't long before he knew who had shielded him from the missile. "You will not be claiming another man today, xenos scum!" Tyrellus roared, before cutting loose. While Shepard didn't see much of what happened, the screams and howls of pain, rage and fear gave him an idea as to what was going on.

When he looked down into the plaza, he found a scene of devastation. Vorcha had been splattered against columns, barricades, and one had been, literally, cut in half at the waist, spilling it's organs everywhere. In the middle of the room, Tyrellus held a Vorcha by the throat, crushing it's neck with a simple squeeze of his hand. His chest armor was blackened, but it appeared intact.

"Are you OK?" Shepard asked.

"It will take far more than that to put down an Ultramarine," Tyrellus nodded, showing Shepard the chest plate of his armor. "My armor is intact. The missile barely even scratched the Ceramite."

"Damn," Zaeed remarked. "Never thought I'd see the day a giant took a missile without being fazed. Now I've seen everything." Miranda, however, was quite impressed by the sight, making a note on her omni-tool as she observed the Space Marine.

With that, they proceeded onward, though no more hostiles molested them. Eventually, they came to another door at the end of the hallway. Instead of waiting to open it, Tyrellus kicked at the door. A loud squeal of shearing metal filled the air, with both halves of the door being crumpled inwards as they were kicked out of their frames.

Advancing inside, they found a massive room that had two large 'wings' on either side, leading to different parts of the area. Ahead of them was a massive control console, likely for the environmental control system. The only complication, though, were the Vorcha that were present.

One of them, spotting the team, snarled at them. "You no come here! We shut down machines, break fans! Everyone choke and die! Then Collectors make us powerful!"

"What do the Collectors want?" Shepard asked.

"Collectors want plague! You work for doctors, turn on machines, put cure in air! We kill you fi-"

Before the Vorcha could finish, it's head exploded as a bolter round tore through it's skull like paper maché. "You will not be silencing a servant of the Emperor, xenos scum," Tyrellus growled. "We will put the cure into the air, whether you like it or not! Die, in the name of the Emperor of Mankind and the Primarch!"

The death of their leader, combined with Tyrellus' words, whipped the Vorcha into a frenzy. One tried to fire off a missile, only for it's weapon, and it's head, to explode as two, well aimed bolter round tore through the offending items. Between Tyrellus and the others, it wasn't long before all of the Vorcha were dead.

"Shepard, I've scanned the room," EDI informed Shepard over the comm. "The central control system is in an alcove in the center of the back wall. You can inject the cure and reinitialize the system there."

"Copy that. Tyrellus, is the cure intact?" Shepard asked. Instead of replying, Tyrellus retrieved the vial in question from his armored pouch, the item in question being undamaged. Taking the vial, Shepard placed it into one of the slots in the machine, before turning it on. The system quickly whirred to life, before displaying the locations of the two fan systems that had to be activated.

"Excellent," Miranda beamed. "The cure is in place. Now we need to reactivate the fans."

"Agreed," Shepard nodded. "Zaeed, you'll go with Tyrellus and activate the starboard fan. Miranda and I will reactivate the port fan. Understood?"

"On it," Zaeed nodded. As they proceeded back, Tyrellus spotted more contacts on his helmet's HUD. Before the others reacted, he fired his Bolter Rifle in rapid succession.

The metal composite half walls offered no resistance whatsoever to the diamantine tipped bolts that tore through them and into the Vorcha hiding behind them. Two explosions of gore marked the deaths of the Vorcha in question. "Good shot," Zaeed nodded.

Tyrellus remained silent, as he turned to his left, which would take him to the right hand fan. Advancing down the steps, he calmly terminated a few more Vorcha. One fired it's flamethrower at him, only for the flames to move harmlessly over his armor. In reply, Tyrellus blasted the Vorcha into pieces, before advancing towards the fan.

Leaning over the control console for the fan, he looked at it for a moment, just as Zaeed came along. "I've got it," the hardened merc told him, using his omni-tool to reactivate the fan. "Shepard, Zaeed here. Got the fan turned back on. How are you doing?"

"Just did the same here," Shepard replied. "All hostiles terminated here. Head back to the clinic. We're good to go."

. . .

With the reactivation of the fans, they proceeded back to the clinic. Inside, they found Mordin, who sounded quite happy with the results. "Environmental systems engaged. Airborne viral levels dropping. Vorcha retreating. Patients improving. Well done, Shepard. Thank you."

"And thank you from me as well," Daniel nodded. "Those Batarians would've killed me. For a second, I thought you were going to shoot them even after they let me go."

"I made a promise to spare them if they let you go," Shepard replied. "I keep my promises."

"Merciful of you. Risky. Would have killed them myself."

Daniel, hearing that, was aghast, and more than a little angry, at the comment. Walking over to Mordin, he growled, "Professor?! How can you say that?! You're a doctor, you believe in helping people!"

"Lots of ways to help people," Mordin calmly replied. "Sometimes heal patients. Sometimes execute dangerous people. Either way helps. Go check on the patients. Lots of work to do. Think about what I said." While still disgruntled, Daniel did as told.

"Good kid," Mordin beamed. "Bit naive. He'll learn. Letting him take over the clinic. Should be able to handle it now that Vorcha are gone."

"We've cured the plague," Shepard reminded Mordin. "Are you ready to help stop the Collectors?"

"Yes. Unexpected to be working with Cerberus. Plenty of surprises. Just need to finish up here at the clinic. Won't take long. Meet you at the ship. Looking forwards to it."

"Let's go, then," Shepard nodded. "I'm also interested in talking with you, Tyrellus." With that, they proceeded back to the ship.