The room emptied one by one; captains, admirals and commanders muttering and stroking chins as they studied the overview on datapads. Rear Admiral Releeva M'Kackla, a baby blue asari with teal dancing across her forehead, frowned as she tapped the tabletop, sharp eyes studying my deadpan expression. She clucked her tongue as the door closed. She stood, pacing the length of the room, tapping her knuckles into the palm of her other. Her eyes skimmed past me for another moment. It was enough to narrow my gaze. She sighed as she leaned on the back of the chair, her focus on the golden haired boy beside me, eyes cast down onto his lap.
"You realise we cannot reveal any of our plans to the Admiral? Palalrian will tell Nyryntha in a heartbeat," she said. Gideon's head nodded, eyes on the table. "Nyryntha will already know we are planning to use her to some extent, whether as the main mission or as a backup depending on whether she gained information from the admiral or yourself. She may already have plans in place to stop us. The last thing she needs is the Shell she has worked so hard to kill to come back and finish the job. The good news is that Admiral Shaik appears to have grabbed a lifeline and pulling himself from the abyss. Palalrian's hold has slipped so we still have him to help us. However, because we cannot let any more information slip through to the Reapers, we cannot tell you of our plans either. We don't know what these nanobots in your system do. We'll plan and let the others know however. Why don't you head off to the ship and leave the commander and I to speak," Gideon heaved a sigh, sliding off the chair. He slunk out of the room, hands stuffed into his pockets. "Gideon isn't asking for a small thing, is he?"
"He isn't. We've been trying to plan something ourselves but nothing good has come up. We keep finding small problems which destroy everything," I said. "That and I have tried to make our plans fail should Nyryntha be listening in," The asari frowned.
"I've noticed. Leave it with us. In other news, the RPAT team are analysing the nanobots in Gideon's system. They extracted one through a well-timed blood sample and they are putting it through its paces. Our nanobots are silencing whatever they were outputting, but who knows if they are adaptive. We'll need to screen him over the next week and see," she said.
"Can you use them against the Reapers?" I asked. The admiral grinned.
"Perhaps. We are still analysing what we have but we've twisted Reaper tech to our side before," she said. "I'll let you know of any developments," her eyes trailed over the door. "How is the little Shaik holding up?"
"He'll survive. He was hoping for a quick solution but with everyone on the fence, we've dashed his hopes." I said, a silent prayer to the wheel that my hunch was correct.
"Good. With the way things are looking, if this mission fails we'll lose Admiral Shaik and his sister. You'll forgive me if we believe the Shaiks have something in them. Even when little Shaik… I suppose I should change that," she shook her head. "When Dell was here before she disappeared, she… I dunno, had a sense on what to do. When the admiral faltered, her advice and suggestions kept us afloat. Maybe that has rubbed off on the mini Shaik," she said, shaking her head.
"What, keep the admiral position in the family? The Shaiks have a way with problem solving" I asked, tone light.
"Maybe… he's done well with what he's had to face. One day, maybe with training and practice. That and the Reapers hate him, that's good enough reason these days," she chuckled. Her smile vanished, eyes hardening. "We need to find a location to hold Nyryntha or at least battle her, somewhere we can set up equipment and no screw over our people if Saboteurs send Tech Incap our way. It also needs to be far from people to stop the Saboteurs using the local population against us, do that and we can get to work. In the meantime, it'll be best to get Dell off the Constellation, just in case Saboteurs have infiltrated us. Mini Shaik will need to stay here though, so we can continue to study the nanobots in his system. I'm sure Captain Autillin will look after him during that time,"
"Understood. I'll speak with Shepard and see what we can do. You just figure out a way to pin that Reaper down or something," I said. The admiral nodded, straightening to leave the room. After a moment, a heavy sigh left my lungs. Well not the most ideal outcome, but it was one less thing on our mind to worry about.
Out of the stuffy war room, the hum of the bridge echoed around me, a blanket to lose my mind in. The meeting had gone as expected. A nervous Gideon sat beside me, too afraid to open his mouth and ruin a train of thought. Gideon expected a miracle, a plan to materialise. When he realised later this was an introductory session to see what was workable and what wasn't, what we had tried and what had failed, rather than getting a plan in action now, he slumped deeper into his seat. He didn't pay attention too much after that, too disheartened and tired from the tests to keep focused. It would take weeks for the admirals, captains and commanders to come up with a plan, and weeks more to get it into place. But we couldn't stay long. We had to get Dell's body off the Constellation, maybe even off the Normandy as the Reapers knew she was there. EDI assured us that the Reaper IFF they installed would protect them for a time. The ship's speed and stealth abilities also would keep her safe. Just a while longer, perhaps. We'd worry about moving her body at a later date. My thoughts snapped back to reality after spotting Gideon huddled on the floor in the corridor, hugging his knees and eyes into the distance. My hand ruffled his tussled hair, the long strands dancing between my fingers. He needed a serious haircut. Gideon heaved a sigh. He shoved himself to his feet and fell in beside me, eyes cast down.
The meeting had gone one for about an hour before they took recess. During that time, the RPAT team called Gideon back to the science lab for another round of tests. This one was just as uncomfortable and involved them trying to catch a nanobot in his bloodstream. But Gideon suffered through it with grit teeth. But the tests were far from done and they were eager to get to work. They wanted to do one more before calling it a day. Gideon needed to rest before then, if possible. Inside the dock, the Starquake loomed closer, a gleaming beacon of shelter and familiarity. Gideon frowned, stirred as he noticed us moving towards the ship. He stayed with me though, slipping through the airlock and into the ship. Gideon drew a deep breath in, shoulders shuddering but dropping. He was home, even if he didn't realise it. Val sat in the bridge, staring at screens hovering around him with mandibles waving. His eyes lifted as we approached him. He noticed Gideon's expression.
"Hey Gid. Delern," he said, waving the screens away. "How was the meeting?" Gideon shook his head, mute. "Give them time, they need to get everything organised. We'll bring her back," he said. His eyes lifted to mine. "And here you were, a few months ago knocking my jaw off because I didn't think she could come back," Gideon hmmed, eyes diverting again. Val's mandibles sagged, eyes softening. "Why don't we get you to bed, Gid, you're dead on your feet,"
"I've got another test later," he mumbled. Cops tutted before standing, grappling the boy over his shoulder. Gideon squeaked in surprise, grabbing his carapace for stability. My head shook, leaning on an idle console.
"They can wait until you've had a nap. Let them try and get through me, they'll learn their place soon enough. Delern, we'll chat when I get back down," Val called.
A small smile lifted my lips. Gideon's wild eyes found mine before the doors closed. He'd would be fine with Val guarding him. After the past few months, no doubt the turian's protective instincts were kicking in. At last. With Gideon out of the picture for the time being, Marruns and I could move on without interference. The boy helped once he learned basic Lab safety and procedure, and his coding and AI were helpful to no ends but he was still a child and those nanobots could give the Reapers the advantage. Val returned 15 minutes later, one human less and the hard expression back on. His mandibles waved, leaning on the back of the captain's chair.
"Have they found anything?" he asked, nodding his head back towards the elevator.
"Not much. They are still analysing all the data. They have given him countermeasures which seems to be working. But you'll be happy to know Gid is staying with your for a while," I said.
"Making sure those bugs don't pick up something and rat out our plans. Any idea what your next step is?" He asked. Well, at least he was still sharp.
"We need to find a place to lure Nyryntha to and grab what we need," I said. Val snorted.
"It's only the chanciest part of the entire operation. What kind of area are you looking for?" he asked.
"Sparse but breathable, able to support us without tech and no populations the Saboteurs can use against us," I said. Val blinked once, churning the idea. A sour snort broke free.
Why not Tuchanka? The bloody krogan owe us one after the whole Innot fiasco," he grumbled. My brows fluttered up, churning the idea. Tuchanka… habitable, more than enough stubborn people and equipment to use, plenty of wasteland. And a krogan who owed us after failing to trust us. An idea to look at. "You're… really trying to bring her back,"
"We are, but recreating her body is the easy part. Things will fall into place, we just need time," I said. My head nodded to the door. "Keep Gid safe,"
"You doubt me?" Val asked, tone dropping. A cold smile spread.
"One can never be too sure. I'll offload Kala's servers. Gideon will also want the Daemon and the ammo. Are the scientists working?" I asked.
"They're in the lab just now. They're trying to make smaller versions to use in pistols but it's proving to be temperamental," he said.
"Good luck with it, you might need it," I said.
"Speak for yourself," Val said as he watched me leave. Back out on the dock, my mind shifted focus. My next goal was the Normandy, although without Gideon to disassemble Kala's servers, she'd need help. The mech was where I expected her, in the med bay, waiting for Gideon to return. The main light flashed as she caught sight of me, bouncing to her feet. No Gideon followed though.
"There's been a change of plan, Kala. Gideon is staying on the Starquake for the next little while. We need to keep Dell with us but Gideon can't come. Those nanobots are still being studied," I said. Kala blinked, looking back to the cloning tank behind her.
"Then I'll go join him. Will you help me move the servers?" she asked.
20 minutes later, Kala trotted down the Constellation deck with a hover transporter carrying her servers and Gideon's things towards the Starquake. With the AI now back with Gideon, the Normandy had the green to depart. And depart we did. Shepard sagged against the galaxy map as the ship slipped through the stern exit and into the emptiness of space. His head shook as Marruns and I gathered close, Miranda not far behind once we hit FTL. Our eyes met with a nod.
"We doing this?" Shepard asked.
"We are. Gid is staying with Val, he'll keep him safe. We can move into phase 2," I said. "Your scanners said Cassianus fell into the brown dwarf after you destroyed the core,"
"Dead as dead can be," Shepard said with a rising grin. "But not before we did that favour for you,"
"Good, what did EDI pull?" I asked, the group marching towards the former XO quarters.
"What you would expect; plenty of data corruption. No wonder the damn thing was crazy. EDI's been purging what she can to get clean data. Along with Gid's discoveries and experiments, we can confirm that Cassianus used the read function and the write function and it's the same as the one we have from the Collector Base. We also have a few coordinates. One is on Jartar," Shepard said.
"Too late, that's the Leviathan of Dis the batarians scurried away," Marruns said. "No way to get close to that, Khar'shan is a bitch to get onto normally without an Alliance vessel getting close. We need to find another,"
"The Shadow Sea, in the Agios system," Shepard said. "Not much there, a small planet or two but there is an old world there that looked like it was habited once. An ancient ruin hidden beneath the sands,"
"No one knows it's there?" I asked.
"No, no one visits the damn place because it's so awkward; no mass relay, strange gravity anomalies all around due to a wonky star. I don't know if the thing is dead or like Cassianus and lying dormant in a half mad state," Shepard said.
"It's better than nothing. Chart a course, Marruns, do you have those base Reaper Schematics?" I asked.
"We do. It won't help us navigate the damn thing but we can sure as hell know what to look for when we get to the core," he said.
"I hope it isn't destroyed," I muttered, leaning against the wall in the XO quarters. "We'll know when we get there. Any other hits?" I asked.
"Not many, one or two others," Shepard said with a frown. "You would think there would be a few hundred lying around,"
"Unless the signals you are picking up are the only ones still with power," Marruns grumbled. "If we go there and the thing is dead, then the Reapers must have clean-up rounds when they're done to minimise the number of corpses. The more they leave behind, the more likely it is people will find weaknesses or suspect there is an extinction cycle and prepare for it,"
"Gideon will flip his lid when he releases what we're doing. Have you told those up top?" Shepard asked. My head shook. "Good. Joker's plotted a course. We'll be there in a few days. Get your gear ready for it, Delern. If your hunch is right, we can reduce Nyryntha's importance and make our life easier," Shepard marched from the room, fingers flexing and ready for action. Marruns snorted, leaning on the wall beside me.
"We're putting a lot of chance on this, Delern. You think this will work?" he asked. I snorted.
"Only one way to find out," I said, glancing over my shoulder towards the med bay.
It was a simple plan; with pinning Nyryntha down long enough to find what we need before she destroyed it becoming ever more impossible, we had to find another Reaper to scavenge. One who wasn't able to stop us. Dell had been reluctant to go back to Cassianus when the topic arose, every passing comment on the Reaper drove her away from the prospect each time. We needed data from the Reaper, and since Shepard was going back there it seemed like a good chance to do that without upsetting Dell. But before Shepard could give us the data, the Relay mission was upon them and soon after that, he was on Earth. And with Dell gone now, we didn't have to worry about upsetting her, but we didn't have Cassianus now either since Shepard's mission sent it burning in the brown dwarf. We had to find new Reapers who had died. Shepard's data had ping locations, and EDI had filtered out these various pings by decoding the Reaper code. All of this she finished while docked on Earth.
We needed a Reaper-base read/write device, we knew. Gideon's attempts to make one failed, even when he used material from the remains of the Shadow Broker Saboteur spines, they didn't work. We couldn't guarantee that Nyryntha would sit still long enough for us to grab Dell's memories and the equipment we needed. When we started the mission for Dell's memories, we could only focus on getting those memories. We couldn't wait to grab those and whatever else we needed. Nyryntha wouldn't let us. We had little choice, we had to find an alternative. But we couldn't bring Gideon, even before the nanobots flooded his system. Although he was maturing, we couldn't risk him messing up or falling prey to a Saboteur. Now he was grounded on the Constellation, safer at least.
The time travelling to the Shadow Sea wasn't long enough. Throughout the journey, my mind wandered to the ever asking question; where to hold Nyryntha. Val's suggestion of Tuchanka churned in the back of my head, a viable world free from the need for spacesuits or tech and empty enough not to endanger anyone. Sure, we had places like Feros but the sole population there was too fragile to risk. The krogan were sturdy and the homeworld had huge swaths of land with nothing on it but thresher maws. And while that prospect made me nervous, it was better than most other options. Other worlds required a suit to some degree or had substantial or fragile colonies. The krogan world didn't need either and the planet was barren enough. That and we already had a Saboteur there so we knew the population was at risk anyway. Besides, the krogan might enjoy the chance to bring down a 2km machine. We had to be cautious, but we didn't have time to dally either.
The tiny system in the middle of nowhere surrounded us as the ship dropped out of FTL. A lone, yellow star burned in the distance, a large gas giant rotating so close to the sun a tail of material trailed it behind it. An arid world, a tiny place smaller than Earth, spun, forgotten to the test of time. Had this been a homeworld, once upon a time before the Reapers swept through? A Reaper corpse lay in the desert sands, dead or partially alive. The Normandy swayed, nausea pushing through. The star pulsed, a star on the brink of collapse without sinking into the Red Giant phase. A few more million years and this system would vanish like so many before it. EDI guided us to safety as the last of my armour clicked into place. Marruns followed me down to the cargo deck, the turian checking his jump jets and guns. The Reaper could've been dead for billions of years, but without knowing whether the husks inside were still kicking, we took nothing to chance. Shepard frowned at the pair of us as he sat inside the shuttle. He slipped the Predator back to his hip. We jumped inside, my hands dancing over the controls.
Joker gave us the green, releasing the shuttle from the Normandy as it found a place to wait out the mission duration. The burn through the atmosphere bumped and rattled the shuttle, high winds whipping us around like paper in the breeze. It eased at lower altitudes, but the sight didn't bode well. Orange sand for as far as the eye could see. Not a single mountain, no seas, no green. Just sand. If the dunes buried the Reaper, we'd need to abandon this one and go for another. The shuttle curled behind a massive dune 8 stories tall. My shoulders sagged. In the distance, a black speck punched out from the sand. The Reaper corpse surfacing from a passing dune. The metal skin cracked and scarred from coarse sand rubbing it raw, the pointed 'tail' that would soar into the sky lay cracked in pieces. A leg lay 50m away from the rest of the wreck. Who knew how long the Reaper had been here, hidden beneath the desert. The shuttle touched down on a rare flat area close to the Reaper in case of evac.
"It's go time!" Shepard ordered, throwing open the door and into the blinding heat.
The Reaper's towering frame cast enough of a shadow to keep the sun from our eyes. We hiked over the loose sand, mounting the slope to reach the hill top. The rusted and scarred metal had deep gorges ripped through what we would have thought near impossible to destroy. The mound dipped into a steep drop, a large rip revealing the interior of a large, cavernous room. Sand had filled the entire thing. Marruns clicked his mandibles as he slid down, hands reach to activate the jump jets in a heartbeat. He landed on a walkway, the mesh letting sand slip down into the abyss below. He tested the metal holds, inching his way until the sand supported the hanging walkway. Marruns peered down the slope, deeper into the cavity. The Black Widow snapped free on my back, the heavy gun warm to touch. The barrel rested on my out held arm, peering down the sight. No movement, but the night vision let me punch through the darkness in the deepest parts of the hole below us. An uncovered door.
Shepard slid down next, easing himself along the rattling walkway to join Marruns on the slow slip down the sand towards the door. Marruns leapt off the sand, dangling 10m off the ground as his feet found holds to let his hands yank the door open. It creaked, the ear shattering sound offensive in so many ways. Marruns opened enough of a gap to squeeze his hands and a foot in to push the door open for us to squeeze through. Shepard boosted up, shuffling through the gap and helping to force the door open from the less precarious side. With the door open, Marruns grabbed my arm after a boost and we landed onto solid metal. The Reaper was listing, leaving us to walk along the angled wall rather than a flat floor. The omni-tools kept building the map as we progressed deeper into the Reaper. Sand filled parts of the hallway, but the sand thinned until you wouldn't have noticed this Reaper had been lying here for who knows how long. The metal was clean, no rust. The only sign of something was different was the tilt of the room.
We knew what we were looking for, the problem was finding it. The 2km monster, while in pieces, could have anything hidden away. We followed cables and pipes, hoping they'd take us deeper into the Reaper, closer to our goal. None of our equipment picked up any sign of activity. The Reaper seemed dead, unlike Cassianus. Through another doorway, the sand returned. Sunlight streaked down through pinholes, beams of light highlighting the hard ankles hiding in the shadows. The usual mist that clung to the pits of these deep rooms was replaced with sand. The cavity wasn't full, nowhere near, but it was only a short drop to the sand should the walkway give out. Deeper we pressed and the headache twitched. Marruns and Shepard seemed fine. The clean hallways returned, the shiny metal unnerving in this wreck. Then we found it. Our goal. Safe and sound away from the sand, the reason for the dead Reaper became apparent. The core hung over the chasm, a meagre 4 cables clinging onto it for dear life. Marruns threw a flare down into the darkness. It revealed sand and a sea of dead husks. Strange, elongated creatures with spindle-like limbs. They looked like stick insects with cables wrapped around their torsos. Few remained, a handful of skeletons poking from the sand and the tech that once ensnared them. We shared a look between us. With a single nod, the mission began.
Marruns unhooked a grappling system, releasing the hook towards the core. He nailed the other end in place on the platform overlooking the drop below. That left me to jet boost and swing towards the core. Shepard waited until I secured myself in the hanging curtain of cables. Shepard soon joined me. With care, we checked each, massive cable before slicing the cable free to disappear below, digging deeper behind the torso thick cables. Near the core, a large mass of smaller, more intricate electronics hid inside a bowl-shaped housing, even torches couldn't shed light through to the back. But we knew what we were looking for. A dangling cable with a series of pincers at the end. And a skull still hung from it. Did Saboteurs return to their Reaper at the end, it had this one misbehaved like Dell? My jaw stiffened, teeth clenching before following the read-write device. It was clear why ours failed; it looked nothing like what the schematics showed. There were more cables for one and it was larger than we expected. Where the schematics fake, or was the design a newer or older version? My hand found a connection point, teasing it free until the bundle of pincers, complete with skull, folded into my arms. Shepard coaxed the cable from me and leapt across the distance to safety.
Before I could follow, something caught my attention. A flicker of light, an electronic light. My heart fluttered, a dread forming in my stomach. With a tense arm, my omni-tool lit up the darkness, scanning the light. A signal, a small remnant of a Reaper's defence systems. Where did it go? The omni-tool traced the cable, a vague map forming on the signal's path. Curiosity held me, an idea forming. If the Reaper was dead and the husks too, if below was any sign, then the husks wouldn't be a problem. We needed more information and if this Reaper and its contents were dead, this would be our only chance before the next dune buried this monster back beneath the earth. The location wasn't far, just higher inside the Reaper. The jump jets warmed before launching me across the abyss, swinging to safety to re-join the two men. Marruns frowned at my open omni-tool.
"Delern?" he asked.
"The Reaper sent a signal when we pulled the read-write device off. I want to check it out," I said. Shepard hmmed, swaying his weight. He grit his teeth.
"Fine, but we don't hang around. I don't care if this thing is dead. These things never stay dead," he said.
Shepard kept hold of the read-write device, Marruns watching the six while I took point, following the faint map. Up a few ladders and stairs, a small, tall room glinted in the distance after a vast, long, narrow corridor. Unlike the core, this area was sand free. The circular room was a squeeze to get into, towering blocks of metal thick with darkened veins that would once glow with light disappearing into the darkness above. Like an onion, there were layers of servers all leading to one in the middle, panels flaring like the interior of a flower. Once, it may have been beautiful in an indoctrinating, monstrous way. The signal led to the middle of this tiny multilayer room, inside the flower. The metal curled down inside. A curious frown spread. The jump jets flew me into the air, grappling cables and struts to peer into the middle. A single bundle of cables led into a metal block. My hands reached down, grasping ribbing on the narrower sides. It slid out as if someone had just greased it. My eyes widened. Well no wonder our attempts failed!
The memory drive, it was huge! The drive was 60cm across the diagonal, 35cm along the short and 15cm thick. We thought the drive was small, like a hard disk, not a damn block of metal! It looked identical to the blueprints, but the sizes on the designs were incorrect. My hand grabbed the cable feeding the drive, pulling it down until a connection surfaced. It clicked free, the bulky drive secured against my chest before dropping back to the floor. Marruns frowned at the drive against my chest. He recognised it, but didn't want to believe it. We shared the same look. The blueprints were messing us up. Bad data to throw us? My jaw swung. Things would get more complicated.
"We need to do a thorough scan of Dell's brain. Assume the data from the Collector Base is manipulated," I said.
"Think we can get something from that?" Marruns asked.
"Maybe. Kala or EDI needs practice sorting through the data as they have Reaper code protections in place. This is a good place to start," I said.
"Good, then let's get the hell out of there," Shepard said. "This place gives me the creeps,"
"Agreed, we're leaving before shit it's the fan," Marruns grumbled, striking off to follow the map back out of the Reaper.
The Reaper weaved and twisted and by the time sunlight hit my face again, the headache was pounding. Shepard propelled himself out the steep slope to back out of the cavernous Reaper, Marruns following after letting me go next with the memory drive. The heat only made the headache worse as my amphibian skin dried, despite the suit's attempts. We stuck to the shade of the Reaper and dune if possible, drifting back to the shuttle and to safety. It made a change, delving into a Reaper and not getting your face mauled. The shuttle doors opened, the air con started and my fingers flew to the controls to flee the area just in case something wanted to say hello. My focus kept the headache at bay long enough to land inside the Normandy without incident. Only then did my hands massage my temples, pleading for release. Marruns tapped his mandibles against his cheeks.
"Go get some rest then RIT, Delern. We'll secure this away and see what we can do," he said. A grunt escaped my mouth, unwilling to let my discomfort show more than necessary. But a lie down and a chance to rehydrate wouldn't go amiss, not with these old bones.
Marruns and Shepard took the salvaged equipment to a barrier protected storage container in the XO room, just in case. No doubt Shepard would have EDI make preliminary studies of the memory drive once we connected it to her without fear of corrupting her. In the meantime, my head found a soft pillow and my hand a class of rum, lounging on a sofa in the starboard lounge, watching the stars drift by. We had the memory disk for study; to teach Kala and EDI how to arrange the memories, how to prepare everything for Dell's new body to receive, for finding any other details inside that could help us. We had the read-write device; the Reaper code won't reject the cable, we could guarantee it work just not to the extent by how much it would work. Everything was coming together. Now we just needed Dell's memories and a little bit of luck. My eyes narrowed. And that luck would start on Tuchanka.
A week passed as we journeyed to the planet. Shepard would do the sweet talking here, I only met the krogan once and only for a moment. Marruns would never have said two words to him. With luck, the effects of the Mind Manipulation had passed and the krogan realised how he screwed up. But that may be too much to hope for. My eyes narrowed, waiting in the cargo hold with a tension clutching my gut. We needed a habitable world and Tuchanka was our best bet. Yes, there were already Saboteurs on this planet, but we knew one of them. Any krogan not already part of the Constellation fleet wouldn't be allowed near the area. That may single out the second Krogan Saboteur. Maybe not forever but long enough so we can save Dell. No news from the Constellation yet either. That was good or bad, depending on the situation. My jaw swung as the elevator doors parted. Shepard and Marruns moving to the weapons bench. Shepard cast a sideways glance as he loaded up.
"It'll be fine, Delern," he said. He frowned at my sour snort.
"I'm sure it will be, but you'll forgive me for being cautious," I said, heaving myself onto aching knees. "Let's deal with the krogan and move on,"
"Did you do your RIT?" Marruns asked.
"The same day we went to the Reaper," I said with a scowl. "I am no fool, Marruns,"
"Just making sure," he said, passing me for the shuttle. "Can never be too careful," My head shook, ignoring the turian.
"Of course… Lieutenant," I said. Marruns wheeled around, mandibles pinned and steam pouring from his nose.
"Don't you fucking start!" he roared. A cold smile spread, even if they couldn't see the warmer one hiding behind it. We stepped into the shuttle, Marruns rumbling as Shepard took control and steered us towards the planet. We didn't have much time, the tacticians needed all the information they could get as soon as possible.
The flight down to Tuchanka surfaced the memories of the last mission here. A sourness spread, a sting at how well the Saboteur played us. A colder man like Julian would've slain every krogan who tried to stop him. Dell wouldn't, refused to. The heat hadn't relented from the last visit either. Bloody radioactive heap of a planet…A sigh slipped out, watching the ruins of civilisation rise from the dust. The cracked rubble spread out to the horizon, a fallen city with krogan scrambling over top. Shepard landed the shuttle, dusk obscuring the cameras until the engine shut off. Shepard emerged first. Marruns and I stepped out behind. Within seconds, the stares of hundreds of angry krogan burned, noting both krogan and salarian. Shepard set a fast pace out of the sunlight and into the structures below the sun. Shepard knew where he was going, we just had to make sure no krogan got any wise ideas. The fast pace helped, even if the lumbering shadows crept closer. Then we entered the main area of camp Urdnot, Shepard already shoving his way past krogan guards to approach the throne. We followed more carefully.
"Wrex!" Shepard cried. The red crested krogan looked up, sharp eyes gleaming as he recognised the human.
"Shepard!" he thundered, shoving himself to his feet. The pair shook hands, a vigorous handshake that threatened to throw Shepard around. "You broke out of jail after all! Hope you kicked them in the quad,"
"I think the Reaper did that for me," Shepard smirked. Wrex laughed, a wide grin on his face. His gaze slipped, spotting the pair of us. He glazed over Marruns, but he recognised me. His grin slipped, shoulders rolling back. A heavy breath escaped his lungs. Shepard looked between us as the atmosphere tensed.
"No, I don't know where she is," he rumbled, if a smidge of guilt poked through his rumbling voice. My brow rose. "Your blond human visited,"
"You'll need to be more specific than that, we have a few blonds," I said.
"Throws his weight around like an ass," Wrex said.
"Julian visited?" I said, blinking. Did this happen soon after the Innot mission? "What did he say?"
"Said he was looking to keep an eye on Innot, that she was a Saboteur. I asked how he knew and he said his baby sister told him, complete with a stupid, slow smile. No idea who his sister is so I tried to throw him out. He left, but my scouts have seen his crew all over the place," Wrex said.
"That was Julian Shaik," I said. Wrex's brows furrowed. "Yes, he is Dell's older brother. I'm amazed he didn't kill you for shooting her,"
"You shot Dell?" Shepard gawked, eyes on Wrex.
"Look it… I don't know what happened. One minute she's talking to Innot, the next she's kicking kids and shooting women but… but she's not and… urh," Wrex shook his head.
"Mind manipulation," Marruns said to Shepard. "His memories of the time will be scrambled. The Saboteur made Wrex think we were outright slaughtering his people without provocation," Marruns' narrowed his gaze on the krogan. "Which is just we well, since now he can pay us back for fucking us over," Wrex narrowed his eyes, a warning growl surfacing.
"We need your help, Wrex," Shepard said, taking the heat from the situation. Wrex's eyes swivelled. "Long story short, there's another Sovereign running around the galaxy and… and it killed Dell," Wrex pulled himself straighter. "But we've got a plan. We need to lure the Reaper here so we can pin it down. It has something we need,"
"You want to take the Reaper alive? A full-sized Reaper? Shepard, you are insane," Wrex said. Shepard smirked, making the krogan snort. "Although that isn't something new. So you want to bring the Reaper here…"
"We need somewhere far from your people so we can set up equipment. It will get messy," Shepard said. Wrex hmmed, glancing towards me and my cold stare. He snorted.
"Plenty of wasteland… you could take it out over the Changtak Wastes, not even the maws go that far out. No one will bother you out there," he said.
"Thanks Wrex, I appreciate it," Shepard said. "Oh and uh… if you see Julian again… don't tell him you shot Dell. He will kill you," Wrex laughed, a harsh sound that sent shivers down my spine.
"He can try," Wrex grinned.
"Bear in mind he is a Saboteur like Dell?" Marruns said with a raised brow. Wrex's grin slipped.
"He'll die with enough bullets," Wrex grunted. My head shook. Wrex's omni-tool flashed, he and Shepard exchanging the location. "Lots of places to hide if things to crazy but plenty of open space should the Reaper need a good landing spot. It should do the trick,"
"Thanks Wrex, much appreciated," Shepard said with a firm handshake.
"Just let me know when you're doing it," Wrex said.
"Not sure if we can. The fewer people who know, the better," Shepard said. Wrex grumbled, something about not being allowed to have fun. Shepard turned to us. "Back to the Constellation?"
"They need to know," I said. Shepard said his farewells, Marruns and I were eager to leave and get away from the krogan eyeing us for a fight. We reached the shuttle a full 2 minutes ahead of Shepard who lagged. He barely got his feet in the shuttle when Marruns took off. Shepard's arms waved as he found his balance. A grin rose on my face, earning a scowl from the human. He grumbled as he sat down, watching Tuchanka vanish behind us.
"We're making an awful lot of small trips," Shepard said.
"But we're making good time. It's only been just over a week by the time we get back. We don't have time to hang around and if the Reapers aren't putting road blocks in our way, I don't care. Has EDI come up with anything on the memory drive yet?"
"No, she's struggling to understand it," Shepard sighed.
"We'll let Kala have a bash when we get back. Maybe she can spin it in a fresh light," I said. Shepard's gaze diverted to the windows, gazing out over the planet as the Normandy swallowed us.
The Galaxy Map has been updated for this chapter. Please see profile for link to Archive.
A/N: Again, huge apologies for the massive delay in chapters. I'm hoping this will pick up slightly after New Year, we'll see!