Chapter 22
Meanwhile halfway across the galaxy, a Krogan with red plates on his head ascended a broken stone staircase.
"You're in my seat." Wrex proclaimed
"How dare you come back here and claim URK!" Wreav was interrupted by a vicious headbutt that sent him tumbling off the throne and down to the floor below.
"Quiet, brother, I killed our father, don't make me kill you too." Wrex growled, his voice full of malice. Wreav wanted to protest, he wanted to get up and tear Wrex apart with his bare hands, but he knew he'd never survive it. Even if he managed to best the older Krogan in combat, there were far too many in Clan Urdnot loyal to Wrex for him to to make such a move. Instead he settled for growling and spitting, then walking away to sulk.
"Clan Urdnot, for too long we have wallowed in obscurity not only as a clan but as a people!" Wrex roared.
"For too long we've been cowed by the council, we stuck our neck out for them and what did we get in return? Our children die before their first breath in the arms of their weeping mothers! They live in safety thanks to our efforts against the Rachni and we rot on this radioactive pile awaiting extinction! Well I say no more!" Wrex continued.
"Oh, and what do you plan on doing about it, brother?" Wreav asked, spitting the last word with as much venom as he could, from the crowd.
"Shut up and watch this." Wrex said, activating his omnitool and playing a recording of the intercepted communication between the council and Prime Minister Shepard. While it played, he watched the crowd to gauge their reaction. He was sure he'd have Urdnot under his thumb already, they only barely tolerated Wreav because he is his brother, but of the other clans he was not sure. So far the crowd looked on with stunned amusement as he saw the pink asari-looking creature brutally and thoroughly hand them their asses. Wrex's presentation also included a display showing the Alliance fleet in its entirety. Suddenly, Wrex looked back at the display as it got to the good part.
"What is a Rothschild?" Tevos asked.
"DON'T YA TOUCH ME POT 'O GOLD YA BLUE-SKINNED HARPY!" A small man in a green suit bellowed as it danced on a pile of gold coins. The crowd roared with laughter as they watched Councilor tevos scramble away in terror while losing control of her bladder. This was precisely the reaction Wrex was hoping for. The display ended with the Humans jumping out of Widow, not via the relay.
"These creatures, called "Humans" from a world named "Earth" offered their home to the Quarians of all people. Their ships all have Human and Quarian crews. Less than a year ago they met and now they're integrated as a people, and all because the Council fucked up and screwed them over. Imagine what they'd do when they hear about the Genophage." Wrex said
"So you want us to go beg these pink Asari creatures for help?" A dissenting voice, one Wrex expected, asked.
"No, Uvenk, I plan on offering them our help. They have big ships and a lot of them but those humans don't look very tough. They're going to need ground troops if they ever get in a fight with the Council." Wrex reasoned.
"The last time we trusted aliens we got the genophage in return." Another dissenting voice, one far more respected than Uvenk was.
"Shaman, I understand this, believe me, but think of it this way, how many more generations do we have? The few children that do survive almost always leave Tuchanka looking for mercenary work because they have no future here. No chance of finding a mate, and having children. Just a thousand or so years of hating the council and waiting to die. Most Krogans die far away from Tuchanka, doing something stupid for someone else's profit. If we do nothing, that continues for a few more generations until we're gone. The Quarians had a similar problem, with their shit ships and the Council refusing to help them, they only had a few more generations in them. Now they have a bright future, a new home world and friends who genuinely care about them." Wrex said. The Shaman of the female tribe was impressed not only with his ambition, but his reasoning. This was clearly not some bull-headed male looking to grab powere and drag the Krogan further down.
"Tell us More, Urdnot." The shaman said. Wrex grinned. Maybe he wasn't crazy for thinking this is a good idea.
"Keep your distance but stay with them Anderson. We'll prepare a welcoming party, report any changes in course immediately." Hackett responded
"Understood, sir. Anderson out" Anderson responded.
"Sir should I wake the Marine detachment and prepare them for a briefing?" Shepard asked.
"Probably a good idea, Lietuenant Commander. Lieutenant Zorah, get down to Engineering and brief your team, get them ready to make repairs if need be. I want spare parts and tools placed and ready to go near all systems." Anderson said.
"Yes Sir." Tali said and ran off towards the elevator.
"You heard the Admiral, Joker. Keep back, but don't lose them.
"Yes, Sir. I'll let you know if anything changes." Moreau responded.
"With me, Shepard." Anderson said and lead her to a briefing room.
"Sir, what are your orders?" She asked him.
"Jane, I want you to go to each of the department heads and make sure everyone is ready for a fight. We've all trained for this but making sure everything is in its place and ready to grab is crucial. We're heavily outnumbered and if for any reason we cannot fight our way out of her we'll have to be able to run. I want you to go over the fastest paths to escape pods and make sure everyone has everything they need."
"Yes, Sir. Anything else?" She asked.
"Yes, there is one last thing. This ship contains a lot of highly sensitive technology. Between the connection to Rothschild, the antimatter reactor, FTL drive and our stealth setup this is a veritable gold mine to Batarian pirates. If fight and flight fail, I need you to keep your self-destruct key with you. We can't let them get their hands on our tech." Anderson confided.
"Of Course, sir." Shepard said, reaching into her shirt and retrieving the key which was around a slim gold chain around her neck.
"Good. I have faith in you and our crew to get this done. Dismissed." Anderson said, and Shepard began going from department to department and getting everyone squared away.
Meanwhile back at the edge of Earth space, ships began materializing out of nowhere as the fleet gathered to repel the attack. Even with the supercarrier and 3 cruisers that were there now could probably make short work of the 40 crude Batarian warships, but the Alliance wanted to send a message, not only to the Hegemony, but to the Council especially given that they had thus far remained silent about their "investigation" into Batarian actions.
The supercarrier, aptly named "Monolith" is a 2 kilometer monster with four separate hangars, each supporting a hundred manned fighters, and 250 of Rothschild's mosquito drones, and on board right now each fighter ship was being fuelled and prepped for launch. It's captain was a one-armed Quarian named Nouk'Varan Vas Monolith. He was well known for his resilience having lost a leg from the knee down without dying from the infection that was inevitable from the massive suit tear involved. Outside of Admiral Gerrel, before the humans he had been the biggest proponent of retaking the homeworld, but now he was able to channel this zeal for battle towards a more deserving foe, namely the Batarians.
The Alliance had offered to research a more natural looking prosthetic for him or perhaps a cloned leg, but he had declined, instead getting by with a simple polymer shaft with an appliance that s trapped to his stump on the outside of the suit. Because of this the the humans aboard tended to refer to him as "Ahab" when they thought nobody was listening. It was meant with affection, however, Varan was a strict captain, but a fair one who always had time for his crew.
Captain Varan and the Monolith were given charge of leading the response to the oncoming hostiles, and were isntructed to hold position, set up defenses, and passively monitor for any communications, ladar scans, or forward scouting parties that the Normandy may not have seen. Everyone in the fleet was under advisement to not fire aboard troop transports, because they had not ascertained whether this was an invasion force or a slave transport flotilla.
The humans especially were disgusted with the Batarians for their slave trade. Humans had spent the last almost 200 years trying to atone for their sins, and Slavery was a big one. The Batarians protected all information about their slave chip technology extensively, so the Quarians and hacked extranet data were not of much help, but a secondary objective of this mission would be to capture a slaver if present, and "encourage" him to relinquish information and encryption keys.
"Anything on scans?" Captain Varan asked his bridge crew.
"Nothing yet, Sir." a human science officer stated.
"Bring us to a stop here, and begin deploying the sensor web." Varan said.
"Yes Sir!" Another officer said and ran off to begin carrying out his orders.
"Sir, incoming communication from Earth, it's Admiral Xen." a communications officer stated.
"Patch her through." Captain Varan replied. In an instant Admiral Xen's maskless face was visible on screen. As with every other Quarian that had accepted the immunotherapy, she was indescribably beautiful and had short cropped white hair that contrasted wildly with her deep purple skin.
"Captain Varan, how are things progressing?" the admiral asked.
"Admrial Xen, everything is going as planned. No signs of any advanced parties, and we are setting up a sensor web now." He reported.
"Good, I need you to keep us posted, Captain. This is the first real test of a combined Quarian/Human military. We are witnessing history here." She said.
"Of course, Admiral." He said.
"Very good, Captain. Xen out." She said, terminating the communication.
Aboard the Normandy, things were tense but so far everything was going as expected. ETA to alliance space was 12 hours, and all stations had reported ready. Everything was in place and all supplies were stocked and in position. All hands except a skeleton crew were attempting to sleep, but it was reluctant to come as nerves were high. They too were aware of the historical implications of what was about to happen. Nobody was thrilled about engaging an enemy, but they were eager to test their skills and strength alongside their new brothers and sisters.
Sufficient time had gone by without an allergic reaction, so Shepard and Tali were in their quarters, working together to remove her suit for what they hoped would be the last time. Despite having been intimate several times before, Tali still hesitated as they started peeling the suit down her body. Shepard picked up on this immediately, and reassured her that there was no rush, but Tali insisted. A minute later, Tali stood entirely naked for the second time before her beloved.
"God I don't think I'll ever get used to how gorgeous you are." She said. Tali blushed at the compliment, and reached over for her newly assigned Alliance uniform when Shepard stopped her.
"You know, we have twelve hours before we reach the Batarians..." She said, leering at Tali.
"Oh? Whatever shall we do in that time?" Tali asked with feigned innocense.
"I can think of a few things.." Shepard said, closing the distance and stroking the Quarian's cheek.
"I think you're overdressed." Tali said, leaning back and falling onto their bed. Shepard took the hint and began unbuttoning her uniform top.
Several hours later, an exhausted, wobbling pair stumbled to the showers where Tali discovered the second greatest thing about not wearing a suit any more. There is a lot to say for the theraputic effects of a good hot shower. Tali at first was overwhelmed by the sensation of her skin being pelted by heated water but after she was accustomed to it she was in heaven. Shepard offered to "help" her with some of the "hard to reach" spots but that devolved almost immediately into something that they didn't want to be doing in a public shower. Afterwards they returned to their quarters to actually sleep this time.
Hours later, they were awake, dressed and at the CIC with Captain Anderson, who upon seeing Tali in her Alliance uniform smiled, and complimented her. The whole crew gushed over her, but Captain Anderson remained professional, just telling her he was happy to truly see her.
"Captain Anderson, we're an hour out from Alliance space. No change in their course." Joker announced.
"Acknowledged" Anderson replied. They all checked their readouts and since everything was nominal, Tali begged off to go return to engineering where she would be needed. Shepard began last minute checks on everything and Anderson sat in his chair and brought up a communications screen to report in.
"Admirals, ETA one hour until contact with Alliance space. No deviation in their course. Is the welcoming party ready?" He asked.
"Affirmative" Admiral Chambers reported. "Gonna be a hell of a surprise waiting for them.
"Captain Anderson, from what we've learned about the Batarians, their command vessel will not be the biggest ship in their flotilla, it's likely to be a heavily armored shuttle. If this is a slave convoy, they'll drop their shields and broadcast a command to implanted chips on all of the slaves, killing them, before they attempt an escape. Rothschild is able to jam this signal so he'll be deploying to the Normandy between now and then. Your job is to shadow that shuttle and make sure it doesn't escape, but don't shoot it down. We still need those encryption codes." Admiral Xen contributed.
"Good luck, David." Admiral Raan said.
"Thank you Admirals. Anderson out." He said, then cut the feed.
"Joker, I'll be in my quarters for a few minutes. Call me if there are any changes" Anderson said.
"Yes, Sir." Joker said.
Anderson went back to his quarters and closed the door, then brought up a communications link with Admiral Raan aboard Acturus Station.
"Shala, how are you?" He said.
"Nervous. I wish I was there with you." She said.
"I'm glad you're safe, Shala. How are things on my old station?" He asked.
"Nothing out of sorts. We installed a new reactor because the new defensive upgrades were drawing too much power and causing brownouts in the old civilian sectors. That and the atmosphere has changed, now that the civilians are gone. It feels more like working on a live ship in the Flotilla." She said.
"Shala, we're about an hour out. I bet you can guess what I'm about to say." He said.
"David, don't." She said.
"I miss you and after this the next time I take shore leave I want to show you London." He said, pleasantlty surprising her. She was expecting the traditional 'If I don't see you, goodbye.' speech she'd heard from too many friends too many times before.
"I'll hold you to that David. Come home to me safely. Raan out." She said and the connection dropped. Anderson smiled, he couldn't wait to introduce Raan to the joys of fish and chips and watching Aresnal F.C. Get their asses handed to them by Manchester United. He set to updating a handwritten Captain's log he decided to keep once being given command of the Normandy, and just under an hour later he returned to the CIC, nothing between him and Alliance space except for a Batarian fleet.