Krogan Demilitarized Zone, Aralakh System
Tuchanka, Urdnot Rite Grounds, Base of the Keystone
1619 Local Time, June 22th, 2185 Gregorian Calendar
Despite, or perhaps because of the ruined environment that evoked the same sorts of vibes as the old Earth post-apocalyptic novels and movies, the landscape of Tuchanka stimulated in Shepard not a feeling of pessimism nor fear, but rather determination and a will to persevere. The planet itself seemed to beckon and challenge her to survive, while its star, a large F-type yellow-white dwarf, watched over the landscape, as if to scare away all those who would dare to leave the safety of Tuchanka's underground shelters. For the first time Shepard understood why krogan named their mother star the 'Eye of Wrath'. It truly was a fitting name.
Unfortunately neither Shepard nor any of her teammates could really appreciate their surroundings, as these very surroundings were were actively trying to kill them. The debris around them was now filled to the brim with bodies of beasts big and small, and the sand began to turn dark from the ever present blood. It was all that remained of the waves of feral creatures that kept coming after them, as the giant Keystone behind them periodically lured fresh new enemies into the area with its giant hammer.
"Lock 'n load, people! Another pack!" Shepard remarked and switched to her trusty Phalanx for a better ranged performance.
This varren pack was large, about a dozen, though the ever-present debris was splitting them apart from one another. This, combined with Virox's and Grunt's longer-ranged weapons, allowed them to defeat the beasts piecemeal, since they couldn't mass together and overwhelm anyone. The last varren managed to reach barely into range of Grunt's shotgun before being blown into smithereens.
"Wormneck, coming again!" Grunt yelled, spraying his rifle at the giant bug's head as it dived down towards them from the smoke and dust above.
But Harvesters rarely fought themselves, and this one was not an exception. Forgoing a direct confrontation, it instead used its long insect-like legs to carry klixen and throw them like living bombs onto their prey. It was not really dangerous on its own, but it did break their flow of fight against the varren. A klixen was always tougher than Tuchanka's dog equivalents, and they tended to explode when killed. Shepard never knew if the Harvester birthed them or just used used them as live ordnance, and to be honest she did not want to know.
Surprisingly both Grunt and Virox decided to team up against the two klixen, as opposed to competing for kills like they had done with the varren. In an impressive display of impromptu teamwork, they charged at the nearest bug. When it was about to breathe fire, Virox slammed its mouth shut with a powerful left hook, while keeping its head pinned from the top with his right hand. The beast wiggled and pounced, trying to liberate itself, but Grunt shot it in the head and let Virox toss the exploding corpse at the other incoming klixen, engulfing both in a giant meaty fireball.
Damn... I should take them on missions together more often. Shepard mused, trying to think of new ways to synergize the fighting styles of both of her dedicated brawlers.
Before she could comment on how easy the encounter was though, another MUCH larger pack of well over thirty varren emerged from the ruins behind them. In a swift and well-practiced motion, she swung her pistol and pulled the trigger right when the targeting laser of her Phalanx was moving over the nearest varren's head. The weapon's kick was followed immediately by the sound of ripped flesh, as the beast's cranium exploded in a gory mess.
"Someone should stop the Rite soon. There won't be much left for future generations." She jokingly said to nobody in particular, and fired again at another varren, taking out one of its legs.
Unfortunately, the sheer mass of varren nullified the dispersing effect of the debris, and their lower profile meant that they could remain hidden from her field of fire more effectively than some more humanoid enemies. That and they were faster too.
Once they had gotten closer, it was abundantly clear that she couldn't fight them with her pistol and switched to her shotgun. She expertly took out the varren one after another as they came, but even with assistance of biotics, the fighting was becoming less and less comfortable.
"Grrr! Get off me!" Grunt yelled after one of the fishdogs jumped at his back, clawing and biting furiously at the armored part of his hump. He shook it off with a swift motion and caved its head in with the butt of his shotgun.
Another varren was about to pounce on Shepard, but to her amazement it was knocked away by a powerful punch from Virox, just milliseconds before it would have collapsed onto her barriers. The carvin then extended the knuckle blades in his left hand and buried them deep in the varren's back. A sneaky one tried to surprise him from behind, but Virox swiftly set the spiky saw-blade at the tip of his tail spinning, then swung it at the poor animal. Less than a second later there was little left of its head other than a bloody pulp.
"More! Give me more!" Virox growled with a psychotic grin on his face. He then did something that left Shepard absolutely stunned.
He charged at the three varren that were running towards him with an impressive speed. In two swift motions he slashed the nearest beast's neck and stabbed the belly of its companion. The last varren leapt at the carvin in a daring attempt to bite his head, but Virox grabbed it by its upper jaw and buried his teeth in its exposed neck. The varren whimpered in pain, however its wailing was cut short when Virox tore out a piece of his throat, then slammed the dying animal into the ground and started ripping apart its skin and flesh with his outer jaws.
That's... horrifyingly disgusting. Shepard thought, while Virox feasted upon his prey in the middle of a battle.
The gruesome display had at the very least one positive side effect. It gave some of the varren around them a brief pause, letting the team catch a breath. A few even started running away, unwilling to become the carvin's next meal.
A single varren seemed to reconsider its commitment just mere moments before pouncing at Shepard, but she wouldn't let it run away. Feeling the familiar tingling of biotics, she pulled it back into range and pumped a well-placed shot right into its exposed underbelly.
What initially seemed like a dangerous wave quickly petered out, as the remaining beasts were either dead, dying, or fleeing. The Harvester too decided to reconsider its commitment, and after receiving some weak small arms fire in addition to Grunt's expletive epithets regarding its fighting prowess (where the hell did he learn those words?), the wormneck relented and left unceremoniously.
"That was too easy. I want more." The Grunt muttered, then glanced over at Virox, who was busy disemboweling another varren with his mouth. "Think he lost it?"
Shepard looked at the carvin and couldn't help but be concerned. Mordin and Chakwas mentioned his bloodlust and thirst for combat prior to his deployment here, but this was beyond what she was expecting. There was hardly anything left of the varren's stomach by this point, and both its bones and guts were hanging out in the open, some less intact than others. Carvins clearly weren't picky about their meals.
"Virox? You... alright?" She asked him, approaching slowly from the side and making sure she was within his field of vision. While she wanted to trust him, their uneasy encounter in the Main Battery was still fresh in her mind, and she suspected it was in his too.
Virox gulped another piece of meat, and his tongue ran over his inner jaws, licking off blood and other bits of flesh. The outer jaws remained crimson red, with droplets of blood occasionally falling onto the sandy ground. Even his pupils narrowed, now being little more than tiny black slits. This was arguably the scariest he ever looked.
Yet despite how primal and beast-like he seemed, Virox slowly stood up and looked directly at her. There was a semblance of sentience between that feral expression. "If I live long enough... I might just retire here."
Okay, not the answer I was expecting. Shepard thought, though she was glad that he was at the very least responsive.
"It's strange... like the Rage, but not quite. I can still think clearly, I'm aware of my surroundings. I can remember all of it." He continued with a low voice. His pupils slowly returned to their normal width.
"So... that varren..." Shepard did not know how to approach the topic in an elegant way, especially since the butchered animal in question was right there.
"Yes, I did it, fully aware of what I was doing." Virox answered with a low and bland voice, looking at the corpse with a twisted satisfaction. "The taste of your freshly hunted prey, while it's still warm... I never knew it felt so good."
"Right. You sure you're good to go?" Shepard asked.
Virox shrugged, seemingly unfazed by this whole situation like she was. "Yes. Better question is: are the beasts ready to go at us? The hammer seems to disagree for the time being."
It was at this moment that Shepard realized that Virox was right. The Keystone has gone silent for some time now, longer than it had before. Looking at it at a first glance, one would think that the giant piece of machinery finally became dormant, signaling the end of the Rite. However that all changed when the contraption came back to life once again and began raising the hammer even higher than before.
"Now all krogan bear the genophage, our reward, our curse. It is a fight where the only goal is survival." With those words of encouragement spoken through the intercom, the hammer slammed into the base once again, and the ground shook in response.
But this time something was different. Even though the hammer's echo faded away, the tremors did not. In fact Shepard could swear they were getting stronger every second. What was worse was the fact that these vibrations felt eerily familiar. Virox and Grunt noticed it too. Their eyes were wildly scanning the ground around them, and they tightened their grips on their weapons.
That isn't... oh God. Shepard's eyes widened under her helmet, as she realized what the shaking meant. "EVERYONE SCATTER!"
She said it just in time, because a cloud of earth and dust was suddenly flung into the air, and a massive mouth consumed the ground they were standing on mere seconds before. One of the worst invasive species, and arguably the most powerful organic lifeform in the galaxy by itself - it was just her luck that they were about to fight a thresher maw.
"Ha! Finally an enemy worth fighting!" Grunt let out a maniacal laugh, all the while relentlessly pumping slugs into the monster's head.
"Kill it and let's see how it tastes!" Virox joined it on the madness. At the very least he was aware enough to switch from his laser rifle and to his more armor-piercing shotgun.
While their morale was commendable under the circumstances, Shepard wasn't going to let them foolishly die. "Keep your distance and aim at the head! Don't stop moving, especially when it burrows!"
Thankfully this thresher maw was smaller than the one she fought back in 2183 on Edolus. Then again, at the time she had the Mako at her disposal. Now there were three of them, fighting on foot, and to top it all off she made the stupidest decision to specifically take the Collector Particle Rifle with her. Against the thick skin of the massive thresher maw, it could very well have been a laser pointer.
Thresher maw bellowed at the sight of its new prey and spat out a massive ball of acid, melting a column that Grunt was using for cover. The krogan's natural reaction of course was to charge directly at the maw, furiously firing his rifle. Shepard almost convinced herself that he was going to be eaten, and indeed the maw poised itself to swallow him whole.
But then a blue-ish explosion struck the maw from behind, encasing parts of its skin in a gooey glowing liquid that burned away its skin and flesh. It roared in pain, twitching and swinging its head wildly, trying to find the perpetrator.
"How do you like plasma, you big stupid worm!?" Virox yelled, holding a small, round object in his left hand, all the while he continuously fired his shotgun at the beast. "I like my slugs extra crispy!"
The maw seemed rightfully offended, spraying the ground where the carvin used to be with acid in protest, but before it could land a hit, Grunt fired a point-blank shot into a soft spot in between its tough scales. A combination of incendiary ammunition and the punch of his M-300 Claymore tore a smoldering hole in the thresher maw's hide, causing it to coil up and retreat underground.
"Get back here! I'm not done with you yet!" Grunt yelled, as popped the heat sink and fired again into the hole that the maw used to escape.
"It's not done either! Stay sharp!" Virox snapped at him, surprising even Shepard. Guess he was as level-headed as he claimed.
For a moment all three of them kept moving around in order to minimize the risk of the maw striking from below. The tremors did not relent, indicating that the thresher maw was still in the game, and likely very angry.
Then an idea sprung up in Shepard's head. She signaled her teammates. "Both of you, keep moving! I'll lure it out of the ground."
She was the only one who had a chance of dodging the maw's underground attack, thanks to her biotics. All she had to do was stand still and let the worm fall for the bait.
Sure enough the ground beneath her feet exploded upwards, and she was launched high into the air by the maw that now tried to swallow her whole. Feeling the already familiar tingling of biotics, Shepard channeled her energy into an upwards dash. Just in time, since the maw was dangerously close to turning her into a weird fetish that some angry drunk on Omega would probably pay a fortune to watch. Fortunately she managed to grab a hold of one of the maw's longer mandibles, and was now hanging on for dear life, hoping that her teammates would exploit the opening.
And exploit it they did, with Grunt pumping even more shots into the giant worm's flesh, and Virox throwing another plasma grenade, which exploded just below where Shepard was dangling, at the base of the maw's head. The glowing liquid relentlessly ate its way through carapace, skin, and flesh, causing the maw to shriek in pain and shake its head violently. But even as large patches of its skin and outer flesh was missing, the massive beast seemed more agitated than wounded.
We can't hurt it well enough from the outside. Shepard thought after jumping down from the maw's mandible and dodging another acid splash. She glanced at its wounded body as it screeched at them furiously, and seeing its massive bleeding mouth, she had another idea. "Virox! How many grenades do you have left!?"
"Two! Not enough to kill this thing by itself! We need a new plan!" Virox answered between heavy breaths.
"Throw it into its mouth! It'll fry its head and eat right through its brains!" Grunt suddenly suggested.
Bold, but it could work. Shepard thought, slightly surprised at Grunt's impromptu ingenuity. We can't afford to miss though. We only get max two shots at this.
Virox quickly threw an unprimed grenade to Shepard, keeping one for himself. "The fuse is 5 seconds long! Hold the button if you want to cook it quicker!"
Shepard would have probably liked a longer and more detailed explanation, given that the sphere she was holding could quickly turn her into ash if misused, but they did not have that luxury.
"It screeches every time plasma burns it!" Virox noticed, then signaled Shepard with his hand. "I'll get it to open its mouth, Commander! Be ready to throw that grenade inside when it does!"
"Understood!" Shepard nodded, and waited for Virox to do his magic.
It turned out there was little magic involved. In fact all he did was once again charge at the thresher maw with Grunt at his side, and when they got close enough, he primed his grenade and lobbed it at the maw's head. Disturbingly, the maw somehow recognized the grenade this time, since it attempted to dodge the explosion, though achieving only little success. The burning hot plasma still managed to stick itself to its skin, but the implication of the maw's higher than expected intelligence was a slight cause for concern.
Nonetheless, the plasma did what it needed to do, and that was to cause the thresher maw to once again let out a bellow of agony, opening its mouth wide enough. Shepard made a bold (and in hindsight probably reckless) decision to launch herself into the air with a biotic charge, so as to get a better angle. Gravity finally caught up with her as she was barely half a dozen meters away from the maw's bloodied and scorched jaws, briefly suspending her in the air. But that was enough. In a split second, she did as Virox instructed and lobbed the tiny explosive device into its mouth before it could back away.
"Try eating this!" She yelled, letting go of the grenade.
A blue explosion shook the maw's head, ripping off several of its mandibles with the impact. Any bestial wailing and roars were both cut short the moment the maw's brain began to be consumed in the blast. Shepard managed to land safely through biotic mass reduction and now marveled at the disgusting, yet oddly satisfying dance of death that the thresher maw was now doing, clinging on to the tethers of life. In the end though its head unceremoniously collapsed onto the sandy ground, and its body went limp.
"Yeah, that's what you get, worm!" Grunt cheered, as he walked up to the dead maw's head. In response, as if out of spite, it twitched violently in its final postmortem spasm, startling the young krogan. "Argh! Just die already!"
He angrily fired his Claymore at point blank range, covering both himself and the ground around him in blood, guts, and gore. Fun times for all. Now Shepard had two teammates that looked like have been cast to an alien adaptation of that one old human movie "Saw". An ugly display to be sure, but at the very least she hoped that this would do well enough to discourage any other beasts of the Rite from attacking them.
Virox joined the two of them by the maw's lifeless head. His breath was calmer and more controlled, though his eyes still carried a small semblance of that primal instinct Shepard saw in them before.
"If these things are a norm here, I might have to reconsider my retirement plans." He said half-heartedly, and Shepard realized that this was arguably the first time she heard him make a joke that did not involve outright killing something or someone.
She was about to comment on his words, maybe add a funny retort of her own, but a howl of ship engines overhead preempted her actions. Looking up at the source of the noise, she was surprised to see what looked to be a frigate, or perhaps even a corvette design reminiscent of an Alliance Geneva-class cruiser. It couldn't have been longer than the original Normandy, and given that they were in the middle of the Krogan Demilitarized Zone, it would have been extremely unlikely for them to possess weapons.
But there were no Alliance markings. It did not take Shepard long enough to put two and two together. This was a krogan ship, and since she, Virox, and Grunt did not arrive at the Keystone by air, it was clear that those were not the Urdnot.
"We have company!" Grunt called out, having probably realized what Shepard pieced out just before. "Good, I want more."
Surprising even to her, Shepard felt a slight bit of annoyance at this interruption, to the point that the cynical part of her mind urged her to go there and shoot whatever walked out of the ship and go home.
Maybe I'm picking up some of that krogan mentality. She mused, but banished the thoughts quickly.
Whatever happens, they were ready for it.
Krogan Demilitarized Zone, Aralakh System
Tuchanka, Urdnot Rite Grounds, Base of the Keystone
1633 Local Time, June 22th, 2185 Gregorian Calendar
Virox did not lie to Shepard when he said that he was fully conscious and aware when he did the killing. The same was true for his feast on the dead varren - no primal takeover like with a traditional Rage. But to say he was in control... that was more difficult to answer, even to himself.
He felt in control, at least on the surface. But the bloodlust, the hunger that prompted him to bury his teeth deep into the varrens' flesh, rip out their guts, savor their taste, and enjoy the meat's texture was a primal and animalistic drive that had a sway over him to a larger extent than he would like to admit. It was on the radioactive wastelands of Tuchanka that he realized why hunting live prey still remained a relatively popular form of entertainment.
Still, despite the bestial instincts, he felt that a larger degree of control over his actions, a significant improvement of the constant uneasiness he experienced within the calm confines of the Normandy. If he could learn to increase his conscious control over those instincts, they could become a useful ability.
Now however their main problem was the green-plated krogan who stood in front of them, flanked on both sides by his bodyguards. The very same one who was arguing with Shepard before and received a headbutt from her. Commander quietly told him that his name was Gatatog Uvenk. Not that it mattered in any way. That guy would be dead soon, Virox was sure of that.
"You live. And you brought down the thresher maw." Uvenk said, and instead of childish whining like before, Virox heard a tone of impress, slight admiration even. "No one has done that in generations. Urdnot Wrex was the last."
Instead of Shepard, as it would usually be, it was Grunt who stepped forward, leading them against the older krogan. "My krantt gave me strength beyond my genes. Which are damned good."
"This will cause discussion." Uvenk replied, and after jumping down from the pedestal he approached Grunt to a distance that any normal person would easily consider dangerous. "I wonder... you say you're pure? No alien meddling in your construction? Just the warlord Okeer?"
"Come on, Uvenk. You wanna try killing him? Give it your best shot." Shepard taunted.
"Not yet. This deserves consideration." Uvenk calmly said.
"Why? I'm not getting any more natural." Grunt asked, emphasizing the last word.
"You're powerful. You are a mistake, but your potential could tip the current balance of the clans." The older krogan explained.
I see what it is. Virox chuckled mentally, realizing the krogan's intentions. I hope that at least one of us will get to smash your head in.
The sudden attachment he felt towards Grunt was an unexpected and unusual feeling, though not one he disliked. They had never really talked when on the Normandy. Then again, fighting for their life together on a desolate, radioactive wasteland apparently has a way of bringing people together, if only ever so slightly.
Grunt's expression shifted from mild irritation to one of rapidly growing hate. "You spit on my father's name... on Shepard's name! But now you stop ranting because I am strong!?"
Whatever reasoning or explanation Uvenk could conjure up, they were all worthless in Virox's eyes at this point. In the end, the older krogan had no fondness for him and Shepard, and Grunt was just a glorified trophy. But that was not what Virox was focusing on.
As Uvenk continued to vent out his frustrations and lament the current state of affairs on Tuchanka, Virox heard rustling in the sandy ground behind him. It was very quiet, barely louder than the howling winds of the planet. But his carvin senses, enhanced by the adrenaline coursing through his veins, managed to pick up the movement. There was a presence... no, two. Two entities taking slow and careful steps, creeping ever closer.
Virox turned on his helmet microphone and spoke as quietly as he could. "Two contacts, closing in behind us. Don't look, you'll spook them."
For a moment he feared that his voice was too quiet for the Commander's translator to pick up. After all he made a conscious effort to move his jaws as little as possible so as not to arouse suspicion. To an untrained observer, what he did must have looked like a simple twitch, not at all different from the ones he was accustomed to experiencing when faced with unfamiliar situations.
Thankfully the message was received in full, since his own helmet speakers came to life briefly with the sound of an equally simple and silent "Copy."
Whatever Uvenk's future plans for Grunt in relation to the matter's admission to a clan were, it was abundantly clear that no matter the outcome, there was no place in that future for Grunt's alien companions. The armed detachment accompanying the clan chief was the most blatant sign that his designs for them were far from benevolent.
Counting the four armed guards the clan leader had behind him, and the two sneaking up from behind, hoping for a quick victory with such a meager force was almost laughable. There weren't any vorcha around to soak up the shots, a common tactic employed by the Blood Pack, just seven krogan, nothing they couldn't handle after their escapade to the Collector Ship. Virox couldn't understand how Uvenk had any hope of making his plan succeed. If he was betting on Grunt switching sides, he was likely to be faced with disappointment.
"Seems that Wrex was right. You really are pathetic." Virox taunted the older krogan, earning several hostile glares from the chief's clan members. "Instead of focusing on strengthening your people, you hunt for trinkets. Trophies. Tools. All to make yourself stand above others. No wonder your clan is doomed to extinction."
"Watch your tongue, alien. While I respected the hospitality the... esteemed clan chief Wrex had shown you, he's not here to protect you this time." Uvenk growled. His words were rich in venom. "There's nothing stopping us from tearing you to pieces, thresher maw killers or not."
"We can just eat him, can't we?" Virox turned towards Grunt, making every effort appear ignorant of Uvenk's presence. His tail kept playfully swaying from side to side in a relaxed manner. He couldn't allow the krogan behind them to realize he had noticed them already. "That or just leave him and his friends to the varren so they do it for us."
Shepard stepped forward, standing roughly in line with Grunt. "It's your choice, Grunt. Sounds like an easy job."
"That's the problem. I'm pure krogan..." Grunt scoffed, then stared down the eyes of this pathetic excuse for a clan chief. "Uvenk, you're the pretender!"
His delivery of these words wasn't particularly strong (at least by Virox's standards), but Uvenk's expression soured almost immediately. Cautious hope for snatching a powerful asset twisted itself into a vengeful grimace, surprisingly directed not just at Grunt, but all three of them. The fingers of his left hand curled up into a fist, eyes started shaking rapidly from anger, and the right arm twitched, itching to grab hold of his holstered shotgun.
"Your head is valuable whether you're alive or dead!" He snapped, reaching for his weapon.
"Try to take it then!" Grunt yelled back, and in a single, swift motion delivered a headbutt right above the bottom tip of Uvenk's head plates, all the while pulling out his own weapon.
In an instant the two krogan that were quietly sneaking up from behind yelped in surprise, fully betraying their presence. Virox and Shepard turned around and faced them in a vicious melee, trying to prevent them from using their shotguns. If they did it at such a close range... well, no barrier was unbreakable.
Virox first whacked his enemy with his tail as he turned to face him. The impact did little to hurt the krogan, but it staggered him for a short while, long enough for Virox to close the distance. He whacked his foe in the throat with a closed fist. The krogan gasped for air, though retained his footing, a contrast from the usual Blood Pack brutes that had only brawn and no combat skills to their name.
They tussled for a short while. Virox delivered jab after jab, trying to keep the krogan off balance. Feeling confident in his chances, he attempted to finally knock out his enemy with a powerful right swipe. But when his fist was around halfway to its target, the krogan grabbed it before the strike landed.
"Not so fast, alien scum." He cackled weakly. His voice was raspy and tired, though that clearly wasn't an adequate measure of his fighting strength.
Initially surprised by this turn of events (especially since stopping an enemy's attack with his hand was also his preferred method of turning the fight around), Virox then grinned with satisfaction. When he was confident that his enemy's hold on his fist was strong enough, he suddenly activated the blades in his hand. The four tiny razor-sharp knives shot out of his knuckles, piercing the krogan's weak hand armor, causing him to squirm in pain.
"Better luck next time." Virox said playfully, and using the fact that his enemy was still recovering from the sudden strike, delivered a second one in the soft, flexible area of the chin with his left arm, with blades also extended. Then he pulled his arm violently to the side, and a quiet 'crack' could be heard, as the krogan's head got unnaturally dislocated.
Virox left the dying krogan on the ground, briefly making sure that the spasms and twitches of his enemy were not posing an immediate danger, then looked back towards the battlefield, only to see another krogan flying through the air. His screaming was cut short when his body fell onto the exposed steel bars sticking out of the ruined concrete. Even the reinforced ceramic armor did not save the poor sod from a painful impaling.
Shepard stood undaunted, looking at the results of her work. She was surrounded by that peculiar purple-ish glow, and Virox once again marveled at the raw power and combat utility that a biotic could bring to the battlefield. It was just an aspect of her that he started to slowly admire her for. She looked at him.
"You good?" She asked. This was another one: that care and attention she gave to her subordinates, the degree of which would probably have been out of place at such rank back in the Empire.
"I'm fine." Virox nodded and directed his eyes towards their last teammate. "Let's go help Grunt."
He pulled out his rifle and aimed at Uvenk, who was trying to wrestle his weapon out of Grunt's grip. The holographic sight captured the image of Uvenk's head in the center, but before Virox could pull the trigger, Shepard pushed the barrel down, stopping him just before he blew a hole through the krogan's head.
Initially offended that she had no faith in his aim, Virox was surprised to find Shepard not with a concerned expression but one of... affection? Confidence?
"Let him do it. It's his fight." She said and Virox understood. "We'll take out the bystanders."
This was a plan he could get behind, and after Shepard biotically launched herself at one of the more distant guards, he once again raised his weapon, this time aiming at a krogan who thought he was being smart by trying to attack Grunt from behind. Before his teammate received a nasty surprise from the rear, Virox set the rifle to high power setting and fired three shots at the assailant's head.
Two direct hits in the cranium and another one in the shoulder compelled his target to abandon the flanking attack plans, and instead focus on him. The krogan warrior let out a roar of pain and prepared to charge, but Virox preceded the assault with another volley of well-placed laser bolts. Moments later, filled with smoldering holes, the krogan collapsed onto the ground, lifeless.
While advancing towards his next target, Virox saw Uvenk and Grunt exchanging shots. Both of them periodically let out sounds of pain and exhaustion, so it was impossible to know for certain who was winning without completely focusing on the fight, and he did not have that luxury.
Instead he was forced to contend with another guard, who this time struck first, firing some sort of explosive shot at him. He dashed into cover behind a fallen column, and the glowing explosive passed harmlessly above his head, hitting the ground behind him and sending a cloud of dust into the air. At this range Virox was willing to try his luck with his shotgun, so he holstered his rifle. The trusty Ravager was yet to let him down, the main reason he wholeheartedly endorsed its mass deployment to the troops.
After hearing the distinct hissing sound of a thermal clip being ejected, he peaked out of cover and fired. The nine metal slugs arranged in an octagonal shape cracked the reinforced ceramic breastplate of the krogan, and almost knocked the target off his feet. Before his enemy could recover, Virox fired two more times, and this time the armor simply gave in. A dark yellow blood gushed from the impact area, as the krogan left the world of the living.
Shepard was just finishing up with the last guard, so Virox again focused on Grunt's fight with Uvenk. This time it was abundantly clear that the latter was being put on the back foot. After his last hasty shot in the thermal clip mostly grazed Grunt's hump armor, the young krogan rammed Uvenk, causing him to stagger, then followed up with an almost point-blank shot with his Claymore. The force of that powerful weapon shattered what remained of Uvenk's barriers and knocked him on his back, right at Virox's feet.
For a split second he felt a primal urge to bury his teeth in the krogan's throat, or at the very least snap his neck. But he remembered Shepard's request, and saw that Grunt himself was still eager to kill. Thus, instead of delivering the killing blow himself, Virox simply grabbed hold of Uvenk's large hump and lifted him up, so that Grunt could keep fighting.
"Break time is over." He snickered, as the surprised krogan had no time to respond before being once again flung into the fight.
This time though there was no playing around. Before Uvenk even lifted his weapon properly, Grunt slammed his fist into the chief's less armored stomach, knocking him down once again. Uvenk frantically searched for the weapon that fell out of his hands, but Grunt stomped on his arm, earning another scream of pain.
"You don't deserve a speech or a war song, Uvenk." He said. His voice was low and quiet, bordering on a whisper, but shockingly there was no anger or hatred. Just... dismissiveness. " Die in silence and be forgotten."
He then pointed his Claymore at Uvenk's eye, and in these final moments Virox saw the older krogan as truly afraid. Grunt waited well over a second, savoring the expression, before finally pulling the trigger and turning Uvenk's face into a bloody soup.
Once again silence befell the ruined landscape. Even the wind died down, no longer howling and carrying clouds of dust and sand, manifesting its presence only with a quiet whistle. Tuchanka itself appeared to have fallen silent in recognition of their victory.
Shepard joined them soon after, and looked at Grunt with a mix of concern and curiosity. The baby krogan for his part stared at his most recent kill, as if contemplating the results of his actions. His shoulders rose with every deep breath he took. The crimson remains of the thresher maw that adorned his skin and armor was joined by krogan blood and neuroconducive fluid.
Finally after that short moment of silence he spat at Uvenk's corpse and turned his back on it.
"Uvenk is meat. Let's signal the Keystone to get out of here, and leave him to rot." He scoffed.
They headed back to the massive pressure seal that they used to reach the Keystone before. Virox used that time to reflect on his experiences on the planet, and came to the conclusion that he was wrong about several things.
For starters he was wrong about his 'treatment' plan that Doctor Chakwas thought up on the fly. He had little confidence in its effects, and yet here he stood, much more relaxed than before. That primal feeling of bestial fury still lingered on in the back of his head, but now he kept it chained and under control. If another episode like that would hit him, he'd likely be able to control it for longer. Only question left to answer was what did it have to do with the Collectors?
Virox was also wrong about the krogan, though this time his original view was slightly closer to the truth. The krogan were still a broken, dysfunctional and primitive civilization. That much remained unchanged. However, upon looking closer there were individuals like Wrex who seemed to understand the inherent problems of the krogan condition, but still strives to overcome them, and was apparently quite successful.
And he was wrong about himself. After all of this, seeing what life could be, and how wrong his perception of the universe truly was, he started to slowly get used to the new predicament he found himself in. So while he was already afraid of what would happen after he was recalled, his conditioning compelled him to embrace it in the past. Now for the first time he felt the need to escape it. To run from it. He had no ill will against those who would make that decision, after all they would have been right to sentence him. But his newly discovered (or perhaps rediscovered) egotism didn't care.
"Shepard..." Grunt started, breaking the silence. "Thanks... for being in my krantt. Once I'm admitted to the clan, I'll make sure you'll be my Battlemaster. And those who have a problem with that can join Uvenk in the ground."
"I'm flattered, Grunt." Commander let out a brief but genuine laugh. "However I think there's someone else here you need to thank as well."
It took Virox a good second to understand what she meant, but when Grunt reluctantly turned his eyes towards him, he had to stop himself from smirking. Shepard was such a mom. On the surface she did not strike him as a motherly woman, but when thinking about it for a while longer, it really made sense. Grunt had no family to raise him, except his creator, Okeer, whom Virox did not meet, but given his creation's manners, he must have been a real charmer. Ironically, this made Shepard the closest legitimate candidate to be a parental figure for the baby krogan.
"Ugh... fine. You weren't totally useless either." Grunt scoffed.
"About time someone taught you some manners." Virox playfully bit back. "Though if you start calling me 'uncle', I will beat your ass."
"Haha, you can try, grandpa." Grunt cackled.
Shepard observed that exchange, and even though she rolled her eyes, Virox saw that she was happy with what she saw. He started to understand more and more what Wrex meant when he claimed that Shepard was making her crew's problems her own.
"Guess I also have to thank you for taking me here at my request, Shepard." He said. "Just don't make me politely show my gratitude to the kid. It'll go to his head."
"No worries. I'm just glad you both got something valuable from this mission." She smiled.
"Also..." This time Virox spoke quietly through direct comm channel, the same way he did when he warned her of the flanking krogan. "Don't tell Garrus about... how I've been acting. Don't want to freak him out."
The fact he cares so much about how the turian perceived him was yet another surprising revelation. When did he start to care about his own image in Garrus' eyes? Nonetheless Shepard seemed to understand.
"My lips are sealed." She replied just as quietly, and all three of them walked down to the hill and towards the pressure seal that just opened, revealing the Urdnot Shaman and his guards.
The Rite was complete.
Chimera Nebula, Maarv System
Carvistorn's orbital fleet anchorage, Carvin battleship CES Relentless, High General's office
0021 Local Time, June 23th, 2185 Gregorian Calendar
Seviros never suspected just how useful his cybernetic implants could be. When he was awoken from cryostasis on the orders of the acting High Generals, he was understandably skeptical of the decision to make cybernetics so widespread in their society after he fought a war against a race of cyborgs that sought the destruction of their civilization. Getting him to install his own took some serious convincing from his colleagues, and even after the fact he remained uncertain of the correctness of his decision.
But now, having gotten used to them over the past two centuries, he would not have been able to part with them. At least not lightheartedly. They were convenient, with many useful tools at their disposal. Once the first omni-tools began to be slowly integrated into their design, the effect was further magnified. However the biggest advantage was the reduced need for rest.
Thanks to the newest models of implants, Seviros could comfortably work into late hours of the night, with minimal reduction in efficiency. Implants were more energy efficient, and some unnecessary sections like his tail could be deactivated, further reducing energy consumption. His brain still needed rest, but his body less so, improving the overall longevity of his work time.
And this was good because he needed to work extra hard compared to other High Generals. Whereas his colleagues had been selected based on their overall skill, knowledge, experience with statecraft, and the ability to both create and fulfill a vision for a region, Seviros' ascension to the rank of High General was largely based on his achievements during the Grox War and the supposed 'moral guidance' he brought to the table. So while he was proficient in directing military and to an extent industrial operations, he was forced to rely on a team of qualified advisors to compensate for his lack of skills in other areas.
He was just writing a set of general instructions to their delegation at Intai'sei when he received an encrypted transmission from one of the other High Generals. With a mix of surprise and worry, he took a sip of a hot brew prepared for him by the ship's cooks, and opened the channel. If one of his colleagues was contacting him in this manner, it must have been something serious.
The holographic display on his desk flickered for a moment, before the tiny glowing particles rearranged themselves into a familiar silhouette. "Seviros."
"Tivennia." Seviros reciprocated the greeting and studied her expression, which bore clear hints of concern. She was quite adept at hiding her emotions when she wanted, which made this situation that much more worrying. Either this time she didn't bother, or something very serious happened. "It's quite late, don't you think?"
"I'm not here for small talk." She snapped in a manner just harsh enough to strike outside of Seviros' comfort zone.
"Very well then... what is it?" He asked, his hands still flowing over the keys of his computer's haptic adaptive interface. Even though he just marveled at the usefulness of his implants in reducing the need for sleep, it was still late in the night, and he wasn't in the mood to spend it on arguing.
"Our black site in the Great Wound has gone dark."
Seviros' fingers stopped midair the moment he perceived the meaning of the words he was hearing.
"...Define 'gone dark'." He asked, making sure his own voice betrayed no emotion.
"First the comm traffic with our forces deployed outside the Frontier was disrupted. The site's QEC signal was cut shortly after. I sent a response force to investigate. A light cruiser and two frigates." Tivennia replied with a deadly serious gaze. "They haven't reported in after leaving for the system. I suspect they're gone too."
Seviros pinched the narrow spot between his eyes. A mix of surprise, anger, and worry, in that order, washed over him. The cynical part of him already wanted him to berate her for the way she handled the situation. Or rather how she didn't.
"These weren't some shit-headed conscripts, fresh from basic. I sent a proper detachment from my fleet, since all of our available stealth recon ships are already engaged." Tivennia continued, as if reading his mind. "We couldn't wait for one to become available. I did what I had to do."
"Yes... in hindsight it could've been handled better, but you couldn't have known." Seviros sighed, having calmed down slightly. With the emotions now under control he was ready to approach the issue more rationally. "Any ID on the perpetrators?"
Tivennia shook her head, showing that she felt the same frustration he did. "Based on what happened alone? No idea. For starters, even finding that station should have been near impossible without knowing where to look."
She was right. 'The Great Wound' was an unusual concentration of five black holes in an area of what would usually be a single star system. It was located deep within the Nemean Abyss, and some have theorized that this phenomenon was one of the primary reasons for the abundant deposits of element zero in the region. Various astrophysicists have been scratching their heads about how the black holes had not yet collapsed into each other and created a singular massive hole.
Empire established a secret facility there in order to lure unsuspecting ships into a trap and study aliens and their technology, all the while making it look like a tragic accident thanks to the black holes. After the proper first contact, it continued its existence as an observation post, a sophisticated communications relay installation for ships operating beyond the Empire's borders, and an eezo studying ground, focused especially on the process of how eezo is created, as well as any prospects for its artificial synthesizing. If its existence was revealed to the wider galactic public, it would likely have completely destroyed all their diplomatic efforts with the Citadel races.
"However... I may have one potential suspect." Tivennia said after an uncomfortably long moment of silence.
"Better than what we had a minute ago." Seviros replied and gestured at her to continue.
"The Collectors." She stated unceremoniously. His skepticism on his face must have been evident because she added "I know it's far fetched. But based on the data our liaison sent us from the Normandy, they are arguably the only ones with the technology to have done this so stealthily. And we know they were active in that region of the galaxy."
"But why us?" Seviros wondered out loud. "So far they have been attacking only human colonies. It doesn't match their MO."
Tivennia did not reply, and he did not blame her for it. Neither of them had a satisfactory answer to that question. All in all, the Collectors were the only feasible answer.
A faint memory of an old enemy flashed briefly before Seviros' eyes, but he buried it back deep into the dark corners of his mind. No. It was highly unlikely that they would return. And even if they did, it would not be like this.
"Assuming it really is the Collectors... what does it mean for us? We have already lost three proper ships trying to investigate. If you want to send a proper fleet there, I must object. We are risking too much." He finally resumed the conversation.
"I wasn't planning to. In fact I thought that our liaison on the Normandy could help us resolve that matter without endangering any strategic assets." Tivennia answered somewhat cryptically.
"Virox? How could he help in this situation?" Seviros' eyes widened slightly in surprise. "I know him well, and I fail to see how his skills are applicable in this situation."
"You're still too one-dimensional. You need to get used to utilizing such assets non-linearly. We can use his connection to the Normandy and get its crew to perform reconnaissance for us." She replied, and seeing that he did not quite follow, she specified "As per his report, the Normandy was the only known ship that survived a direct encounter with the Collectors. If it can slip in undetected, they'll be able to establish what happened."
Seviros scoffed at her first remark, but he wasn't in a position to argue his case. Tivennia was right, the lack of proper experience was an issue he worked to remedy. Still, being reminded of his own shortcomings in such a blatant way stung him.
"Very well. Since he is operating on the fringes of the Frontier and beyond, and does so by the orders of the High Council, you are well within your right to implement your plan. So long as it does not interfere with his primary assignment." He said, still harboring a drop of venom in his voice. "Though I am sure you did not need me to reaffirm this fact to you. As such I question why we are even talking."
"You know I don't hate you, do you?" Tivennia asked in that slightly playful voice, though with an undertone of genuine inquiry.
"You don't like me either. And my point still stands." He harshly replied. "If this matter was as serious for you as you claim it to be, we would have this conversation with the others on the line right now."
Tivennia did not answer initially. Perhaps she was pondering a clever rebuttal, however, even if she found one, it never came. Instead she shrugged. "Perhaps... but I trust your judgement as the current Carvistorn Sector holder. You are our moral compass after all."
Seviros rolled his eyes, though accepted this poor attempt at reconciliation. "That still leaves the question of a potential data leak. If the facility is inoperable but intact... I'd rather not hand that data over to Cerberus if I can avoid it."
"Best case scenario the station will be destroyed and there will be no data left to scavenge." Tivennia suggested, but they both knew that this was simply wishful thinking. And it wouldn't provide the answers they sought."We could demand that no Cerberus operatives partake in the mission. We wouldn't be able to enforce it though. Not to mention that AI..."
"If failsafe systems activated correctly, most of the sensitive data already got deleted. We're still left with them being able to study our construction and engineering techniques." Seviros said, and he felt that Tivennia's initial frustration was getting to him too. "*sigh* We can't hide everything. At some point, especially if Intai'sei works out as hoped, we WILL have to open up. And that means that our close-fisted attitude to technology will have to change."
"That still entails exposing potentially sensitive information to a racial-supremacist terrorist organization." Tivennia wasn't convinced, but Seviros saw that she had no alternative.
"If Shepard's profile is anything to go by, she has no deep attachment to Cerberus. She won't be going around and hoarding equipment just to send it to the Illusive Man." He reassured her. "And we need to make the call fast. Every day we wait, we risk being exposed to a threat we might be ill-prepared to face. So either we make it here right now, or we do it together with the others tomorrow. I can set up the meeting if you need."
Tivennia considered her answer in silence. It was true that Seviros put her on the spot here. High Generals were expected to be able to handle day-to-day operations within their sectors, even those to this extent. Calling a meeting of the High Council and asking for advice was not forbidden, but reflected poorly on the High General, who did not attain their posts lightly. He was aware of that, but still felt the need to make the situation clear. And even if some of it was petty revenge for the blunt and unpleasant remark he received from her, he was fine with that.
"No, it's alright. I'll make the arrangements. Normandy should receive the message within one standard Carvistorn day." She finally decided.
"Good. I'll update the others once we get confirmation regarding Commander Shepard's decision." Seviros nodded and felt as if the tension at the base of his neck slowly started to go away. "I trust you'll handle this matter both tactfully and efficiently."
"No promises, but I'll try." Tivennia's jaws twisted in a weak smile. "You keep the others off my back while I do."
"Don't push your luck. Remember, our little Ravashir operation is yet to go off. I can still get your tail arrested." He joked, to which she responded with a brief chuckle, before ending the transmission.
He was now once again all alone in his office. The hot drink on his desk became lukewarm, but he still took another sip. Good work of good crew could not go to waste - a lesson he learned during the Grox War.
Despite his own conscious efforts, his thoughts wandered off to Virox and his assignment. Usually he wouldn't pry into what was another High General's purview of responsibility, but this matter was different. The kid did not receive a response from the Inspectorate regarding his dismissal, but it wasn't hard to guess what he expected to happen. Part of Seviros' more compassionate side wanted to inform him that he would be fine. But he stifled the thought. Virox did not want him in his life, and he had to respect that.
He just wished he could have done more for him in the past.
A/N: Sorry for the delay. I'm actually uploading this from a mobile device, so I'll probably have to proofread this on PC a couple of times and correct the mistakes. I hope you like my slight reimagining of Grunt's Rite of Passage. I thought that having the various types of beasts attack all at once would be more interesting, not to mention making the Thresher Maw bit slightly more resembling what was seen in the ME2 cinematic trailer (even if not completely like it). My next step is writing Virox's loyalty mission, teased at the end of this chapter, though I'm still debating on how I want it to go. All in all I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully next ones won't take as long. Cheers!