The Eternal Lord 40k - ME

by HellFox83

A battle against the forces of Chaos strands a Necron lord in the galaxy of Mass Effect. With what's left of his dynasty under his banner, Veronakh Lord of Solvatakh intends to lead his people to glorious conquest. Can Commander Shepard stop the Collectors and curtail the ambitions of the Necrons?

24. Chapter 22: Intrusion

Author's note: Apologies for the lack of separation and editing. I was tired and put it out without going through my usual final checks for fanfiction and that's why it was all meshed together.

Chapter 22: Intrusion

The Tuchakan desert winds picked up as Nemar pointed his pistol at Uvenk. The emissary then took several steps back while his guards moved forward to protect him. They drew their own weapons and aimed them at the Krogan engineer. Grunt had also drawn his Revenant machine gun from his back and was aiming at the green crested emissary who now bore a frustrated grimace on his face at the turn of events. However, even Grunt knew it was unwise to start a shootout at the moment without a diversion. The Normandy team was out in the open with Krogan soldiers above and below them, weapons trained on their position. The Gatatog soldier's cover via the ruins on either side was adequate enough to take returning fire and Shepard's team would be on the losing end of the engagement. They needed an opening.

When Uvenk looked around and saw that his men seemingly had the upper hand he composed himself. He relaxed his stance and called out to Grunt, "Don't be foolish. My men have both the high ground and the numbers. I strongly suggest you take more time to think about what you're doing." It was then that Uvenk realized that Shepard had disappeared. The emissary's green eyes widened in realization, "Where's the human?!"

Grunt smiled and several loud rifle shots echoed through the area. The Gatatog warrior located above the scene atop a broken down gift shop then fell off the roof and hit the ground with a thud, orange blood trailing down from his head. The Krogan soldier had been shot through his left eye lens. Shocked at the sight of their dead comrade, Uvenk's entourage had unwittingly given Nemar and Grunt several seconds to get to the partial remains of a building behind them.

The Gatatogs then turned and poured fire onto Grunt and Nemar's cover to pin them down. The guards by the emissary moved to secure Uvenk in an attempt to get him to safety. Several more sniper shots rang out, hitting Uvenk in the leg. Then another shot rang out and hit the guard attempting to get the Gatatog emissary on his feet. More armor piercing rounds in turn struck the guard's head and he slumped over in front of the emissary. The terrible exit wounds created an orange crater causing Uvenk to gasp in shock. Taking advantage of this, Grunt and Nemar stood up from their cover and began opening fire on the guards that were suppressing them. Sniper support from the Commander rang out to assist once again, picking off Gatatog soldiers armed with assault rifles via shots to the eyes and head.

As the remaining guard's suit shields were dropped by the Normandy team's torrent of rounds, the incendiary ammo used by Nemar and Grunt's weapons caused several of the Gatatog guards to burst into flames. This caused panic among the enemy troops. They fell back on fire, yelling in pain as the rounds from Grunt and Nemar didn't let up. Mercifully Shepard ended their suffering with sniper rounds to the head to finish them off.

Uvenk was stunned at how quickly his warriors had been dispatched. He attempted to crawl away while his injuries healed, keeping his head down as the last of his men were gunned down around him. The green crested diplomat forced himself to get off the ground and move with a hurried limp, but then more sniper shots rang out and the pain bit at him again in his legs.

The Gatatog emissary collapsed onto the ground again roaring out in agony and cursing, "Damn you bastards! Just kill me and be done with it!"

The sounds of heavy footfalls were heard approaching. Uvenk rolled over and saw Nemar and Grunt standing over him, smoking barrels from their guns now pointing at his head. The black crested Krogan engineer grinned, "I told ya, you son of a bitch. But before I send you off to the underworld you're going to tell me where you sent her."

"I told you I don't remember anything about that!"

"Wrong answer." Grunt replied with a dark smirk.

Nemar dropped to one knee beside the fallen Gatatog diplomat, grabbed him by the neck and headbutted him before stabbing him in his wounded leg with his Carnifex pistol's bayonet. Uvenk cried out in agony as the vengeful engineer began to force the blade along the emissary's leg, widening the injury. The black crested Krogan withdrew the bayonet, now slick with orange blood and asked once more, "Where is she?"

"I told you I don't know!" The emissary shouted through his painful groans.

"She had stripes of violet on her orange crest plate, had blue eyes and wore a violet cowl. Does that help your memory asshole? Or do I need to be a bit more...persuasive?"

Uvenk's eyes looked up to think. He grimaced from the pain before replying "Maybe...just give me a moment to think and-"

In a quick move, Nemar brought the tip of his pistol's bayonet up and lightly stabbed it into the flesh underneath the green crest of the Gatatog emissary. Orange blood began to trickle onto the wide nose of Uvenk before the engineer told him, "You think too long, and I start cutting."

Uvenk's eyes widened in fear, "You're insane!"

The grizzled engineer calmly but sternly replied, "I'm just trying to motivate ya. Cause I don't know if you got more of your men waiting, or on their way. Ergo, we can't have you stalling for time now can we?"

Uvenk's anger was matched only by the pain in his leg and forehead as the blood continued to drip down. He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth and began to think. The emissary thought for a moment back to that day all those centuries ago. The day when he and his warriors met with his ally clan Weyrloc after the victory over clan Krusk. They were divvying up the spoils of the battle between the two clans, including females and children. But then he remembered a youngling Krogan, a boy who was fighting to keep his sister from several guards. He was held down by a much larger soldier, while the runt's sister was taken to be delivered to clan Weyrloc. The boy also had orange skin and was growing a black crest on his head. The runt was looking at Uvenk with a fury in his eyes.

The Gatatog emissary opened his own eyes again, seeing that same fury in Nemar's eyes. With realization on his face Uvenk exclaimed, "It was you!"

The crusty engineer smirked, "Finally remembered me huh? Took you long enough you bastard. Now where is she?"

"I remember now, you escaped and we figured you'd die out in the wastes. Impressive you survived this long."

The blade of the bayonet began to dig deeper into the emissary's flesh and intense pain followed in the Krogan's head. Uvenk cried out in agony while Nemar reminded him angrily, "This isn't about me right now you asshole. Where is my sister?! Where is Volkara?!"

Uvenk spoke through gritted teeth, "Weyrloc! Clan Weyrloc...has her! I don't know if she was fertile or not but If she was a true Krogan then perhaps she may still be alive. That's all I know!"

Nemar withdrew the blade from the Gatatog diplomat's head. Uvenk then grunted and brought his hand to his green head plate to hold back the blood. The engineer then looked back to Grunt. Shepard decloaked beside Grunt and asked, "We done here?"

"Just about." Grunt shrugged.

The Commander looked to the Krogan engineer, "You got what you needed Nemar?"

"Got the next step at least." The black crested Krogan looked down on Uvenk with a thoughtful frown on his face, "Now, what to do with you."

"Kill me or leave me here, it doesn't matter. You've won and the strong decide how the weak should suffer." Uvenk said, exasperated from the pain and resigned to his fate.

"I think we can both agree on that." Nemar said nonchalantly before raising his pistol up and bringing it's blade down onto the wounded Krogan's leg. Then he kept chopping, causing the emissary to cry out again. Shepard shouted, "Nemar what are you doing?!"

Nemar ignored the Commander, continuing to chop until he severed Uvenk's leg completely. The engineer then took the severed appendage and threw it away before standing up to grab a nearby boulder. He finally answered the Commander as he lifted up the huge rock, "Making sure he's not going anywhere." Uvenk attempted to crawl away but Nemar caught up with him and dropped the boulder onto his other leg, crushing it. The Gatatog emissary screamed, attempting to push the heavy rock off his now crushed leg. But the Krogan engineer then crouched down by Uvenk, who was by now becoming exhausted from all the shouting. Nemar stated simply, "You're not worth killing you green eyed fucker."

Then Varren howls were heard in the distance. Nemar's intentions became quite clear. A smile creeped from the corner of the engineer's mouth. Uvenk realized what was going to happen, "No! No just kill me! If you let me live and I survive this, Gatatog and its allies will never stop hunting you!"

"Go ahead...we'll just kill ya. Then get on with our lives. You never were that important Uvenk. You were just a Krogan with a big mouth, not even worth the bullets to put down."

Nemar stood up again and looked out to the afternoon horizon. He sniffed the air and could smell the Varren coming, drawn to the fresh blood that had been spilled. The grizzled engineer looked to Uvenk and withdrew a cigar from his pouch then lit it with a lighter. A puff of smoke billowed from his mouth as he spoke, "Out here though, you are certainly worth eating. Being such a mighty Gatatog warrior though, I figured I'd give you a handicap. Just to give the locals a chance ya understand."

"Damn you, you spineless coward!" Uvenk exclaimed.

Nemar began to walk away waving the Gatatog diplomat off, "Yeah yeah, good luck Uvenk. Survive this and maybe next time I'll kill ya properly. But knowing you...well."

"Get back here you honorless fucking bastard! Kill me! Finish what you started!"

"Nah, goodbye." The Krogan engineer replied still walking over to Shepard.

The Commander had his hands on his hips and his now visible eyes behind his helmet revealed a frown on his face, "Finally satisfied?"

Nemar nodded, "I am, thanks for just letting me handle things. Weren't sure there if you were going to intervene or not."

"I was half-tempted to, considering the mess you were making. But I did agree to let you handle it and I'm a man of my word."

"I appreciate that Commander. I get that you humans wouldn't like some of the things we do out here, but thanks for trusting me regardless."

Shepard sighed, "Well, let's just get out of here."

The team nodded with the Commander and proceeded to return to the Keystone, with Uvenk still shouting and trying to push off the boulder, "You'll regret this! All of you! I promise you I'll get out of this and then make you pay!"

Then the growls of Varren were heard. The Gatatog emissary saw them slowly approaching from all around the ruined museum. A dozen of the lizard-like scavenging quadrupeds licked their lips as they sniffed and smelled Uvenk's blood. Their large bulbous eyes and open jaws made them look excited at the prospect of an easy meal. The green crested Krogan diplomat got more desperate to move the boulder off his crushed leg, but as he struggled it only forced the Varren to move in quickly. Within several seconds, the Varren jumped on top of the wounded Krogan from all sides. Multiple jaws clamped down on Uvenk from multiple directions and they began tearing into him. He vainly struggled to get them off, attempting to head butt or punch them, but he was simply too weak from the blood loss and the pain. He screamed as the Varren ate him alive one bite at a time.

Nemar smiled as he heard Uvenk's end behind him. The engineer took one last puff from his cigar before taking it and flicking it off to the side. An Urdnot Tomkah transport truck then finally arrived to pick him and the team up to take them back to base.

---

The ground team for the boarding action was fully armed and suited up in the Normandy airlock as it's pressurization cycle neared completion. Gefren, now in additional armor and armed with a heavy pistol, mused over the information that they had received a few moments ago. According to Miranda who had briefed them earlier, the Necrons had already moved to secure the ruined engine section of the enemy cruiser and along with it, the reactor. This was to prevent the Collectors from making any attempt to destroy it by interacting with it manually or with explosives.

While the majority of the Necron ground forces moved to prevent scuttling attempts, Kor Pharas would accompany the Normandy team to find and acquire any intelligence from the cruiser's computers. The Collectors had closed all outside connections and would no doubt keep their data in a secured centralized location. Kor Pharas could normally handle the hacking all on his own, but multiple intrusions with the aid of Kasumi or other team members would make assaulting the system and retrieving the data quicker.

The former Volus officer saw the merit in the objectives and the overall plan made sense. However, his main concerns were the amount of enemies possibly waiting for them as well as whether or not their equipment would even work on the Collector's computer systems. The Necron Vymark had admitted their insectoid foes had been adapting, but with the Necrontyr's help they could easily rectify any software related issues. He had voiced these concerns during the briefing and all Miranda could do was shrug and reply, "In the end you may simply have to adapt as the situation develops. If things gets too out of hand, I reserve the right to recall you, regardless of the further cost to us in the future."

"Well I suppose it is nice to see that Miss Lawson is worried about our safety." Gefren mused out loud as he remembered the XO's words while scratching his helmet's chin plate with his claw.

Jacob gave a smile at the comment, "Yeah, Miri may put on the ice queen act for everyone most of the time, but she really does care about those she considers her friends. Or at the very least people who show they're capable."

"Aw, she reminds me of some Asari officers I used to serve under. Really hard ass, but only because they want to bring out the best in you." Tel'Se remarked.

Jacob chuckled, "Probably best you don't say that to her face."

"I can hear all of that you know." Miranda replied dryly over their helmeted radios.

"Oops." Kasumi chirped with a smile.

The Normandy XO continued, "Stay focused and follow instructions from the Necron commander. He'll take it from here."

Kasumi rolled her shoulders, "Hopefully his tactics are more than just 'throw yourselves at the enemy till you win!' Our squishy bodies aren't exactly that durable."

The airlock completed its cycling sequence and the giant silver skinned robot was revealed behind the airlock door. He was flanked by several other smaller Necron soldiers armed with their signature Gauss Flayers.

It off-put the team that he was just standing there waiting for them the entire time, but Kor Pharas was quick to be underway stating in a monotone synthetic voice, "Normandy team, you will accompany me to the enemy vessel's command center. Follow me."

The giant machine biped turned along with his fellow skeletal robots. In perfect synchronization they began to proceed into the ship from the cruiser's docking platform. The ground team from the human frigate stepped out to see that the Normandy had extended its docking clamps to one of the lower rear sections of the Collector cruiser. More Necron forces were teleporting from Solvatas' flagship nearby. There were assembling into formations of nine before proceeding into the enemy ship. Green portals pulsed on the violet docking platform leading into the Collector vessel, which caught the eyes of the Normandy team where they witnessed another wave of Necrons stepping through.

Kor Pharas then looked behind him and turned his glowing eyes to slits, indicating his annoyance at the Normandy team's tardiness. Upon noticing, Gefren motioned for the squad to move out, embarrassed at having been caught up in the goings-on outside the airlock. The utter efficiency of the Necrons and their technology both awed and terrified the Volus. As he and the Normandy team finally caught up to the Necron Praetorian, the former Merchant Marine looked around. Necron troops moved in formation deeper into the various rocky tunnels of the strange alien ship, their footsteps echoing off the violet metal of the interior.

Gefren felt very inadequate in the face of such power, but he shook his head and reminded himself not to let his initial emotions get the better of him. Time passed as they continued their foray through the ruined engine section of the vessel. The Volus eventually was able to get the nerve to strike up a conversation with their Necron guide, "I'm surprised your Vymark would even consider needing us for this operation."

Kor Pharas was indifferent, "Admittedly it was not the Vymark's first choice. However, you have shown your willingness to cooperate and aided the mistress in her time of need. We of Solvatakh honor those who display honor and loyalty in turn. Best not to squander her goodwill."

Gefren gave a quick bow as he continued walking, "Of course, we are grateful for her generosity."

The conversation was already awkward and the Volus decided to just leave it at that for now. After some time of traveling through the rear of the ship, they finally exited the rocky catacombs and entered into a violet interior of smooth metallic floors. A large locked metal door was now before them, impeding their progress. The Praetorian merely waved his hand and what looked like a green Omni-tool like hologram appeared over his skeletal fingers. Within seconds it disengaged and Kor Pharas proceeded forward still flanked by his two Necron soldiers, with the Normandy team beginning to draw their weapons. It was confirmed by the Necron Praetorian within a few steps of entering the area, "We are now entering an enemy controlled zone. Make ready for combat."

Gefren nodded and withdrew his heavy pistol and activated his armor's heavy shielding. The rest of the team followed the Volus' example as they quickly moved to keep up with the stride of Kor Pharas. The metal hallway soon opened into what appeared to be a central hub for foot traffic, a crossroads that could lead to different areas of the ship. It was also limited in cover, making it a likely spot for an ambush. Strangely though, there was no sign of any enemies yet.

The Normandy squad took up overwatch positions behind various smooth violet blocks and chest high walls made of the same metal material. Kor Pharas didn't seem too concerned by the lack of enemy contact, his green ocular lenses pulsing as he engaged his visual scanners and cross referenced sensor data. He then pointed in the direction of their destination for the sake of the organics in the room stating, "Our objective is in this direction. Maintain combat readiness and formation. Enemy resistance will inevitably be encountered soon enough."

"Obviously, they got no where to go. Tactically speaking, setting ambushes for us would be the smart thing to do in this situation." Jacob remarked.

The Praetorian continued, "Other Necrontyr squads will engage from other points of egress to alleviate pressure off of our entry point. Maintain readiness and formation."

"Whatever ya say tin man." Tel'Se replied, sounding tired of the robot's continuous monotone instructions.

Gefren switched to private communication with his Asari friend in his helmet, "Is it really a good idea to be sarcastic with the one who is going to be the vanguard for our advance?"

Tel'Se shook her head, "He'll probably lead us into the worst of it knowing these guys. They don't exactly come off as the most...thoughtful in regards to our well-being."

Gefren sighed, "Well keep it to yourself for now my dear. I know its far from ideal but it could be worse."

"Please don't say that." Tel'Se said cringing.

"Honestly! You'll just jinx us with talk like that!" Kasumi said over comms, also just as irritated at the cliché.

The Volus officer grumbled, "Hmph, fine then. At the next open space, Kasumi and Tel'Se will assume flank positions and engage stealth. Jacob and I will maintain overwatch with our robotic guide."

"Got it." Tel'Se acknowledged.

"Sounds fine by me." Kasumi replied, seemingly a bit more happy at the prospect of time away from the disturbing bots.

After a few minutes of continuing down the path towards their objective, Gefren realized something, causing him to open a channel to Kor Pharas, "Uh, excuse me...Praetorian?"

The skeletal robotic giant continued but turned his head to look behind him, gazing at the small alien with a slitted eye, "Your query Volus, unless it is related to our current assignment, maybe considered irrelevant."

An elaborate way of saying this better be important, the former Merchant Marine thought before continuing, "I just realized. If your people had the means to teleport soldiers more deeply into the vessel, why haven't you? I mean no disrespect of course, just genuine curiosity."

The Necron Praetorian looked straight ahead once again, seemingly having considered the Volus' question irrelevant at first. Then the comm channel in Gefren's helmet activated and surprisingly the Vymark Solvatas herself responded, "I will answer that. It would seem that the Collectors have activated a kind of disruption field around the central portion of their ship. The field is strong enough that it is destabilizing our exit portals, making deep striking into that area an impossibility. With my forces as they are, having to move in and engage traditionally while a small team infiltrates the vessel's interior is the only efficient option without damaging the data in the process."

"Can we afford the additional time it will take?" Gefren asked.

"My forces are already securing the reactor and probing their lines within the central axis of the cruiser as we speak. The Collectors are strategically defeated, their forces nearly spent. If they do have a trump card to play, destroying the reactor will not be one of them."

"Yes well...thank you for assuring me." The Volus replied, not at all being sincere.

"I suppose I should also inform you that one of my ships that I thought was disabled began moving again. It proceeded towards the Collector vessel and was able to dock on one of the central docking platforms. No organic signatures were detected and they didn't respond to any hails that I sent."

"May I ask why you allowed it Vymark?" Kor Pharas asked.

"Curiousity, I doubt the ship's revival was due to Collector involvement. It could potentially be agents of Veronakh seeking to undermine my efforts. Whatever the case it may be, be on alert and keep me informed." The Vymark commanded.

"Understood." The Praetorian acknowledged.

Gefren nodded, "As you wish madam, we will be vigilant."

"So we got a potential third party getting involved huh?" Tel'Se said with slight exasperation.

Jacob shook his head, "This mission just keeps getting better..."

Kasumi was surprisingly more positive, "Meh, we got an army of god killing robots on our side. They can handle it...right?"

Tel'Se felt more dire about it, "I don't think it's a matter of them handling it that should bother you. It's whether or not we get killed in the process of them handling it."

Gefren then ordered, "Tighten up comms! We're approaching the next junction I think. Remember your orders ladies, Jacob on me."

"Roger that." Jacob acknowledged.

The group passed through another pair of metal double doors into yet another open space. This one ran down the central axis of the ship, towards what Gefren assumed was the center of the giant cylindrical vessel. The Necrons in front of the Normandy team took several steps into the cavernous area before stopping suddenly. The head of Kor Pharas jerked up suddenly towards the ceiling.

"Movement detected."

As Gefren told them, Kasumi and Tel'Se engaged stealth fields, spreading out from the entrance to allow the Volus and Jacob to set up behind the Necrons. The pair pressed against a nearby piece of rock that had fallen from the ceiling and looked around. The Necron Praetorian withdrew a double bladed weapon from his back and powered up what appeared to be some kind of firearm on his wrist. The Necron warriors at his flanks took a knee and entered firing positions, their ocular lenses not straying from where the Praetorian declared there was movement. Kor Pharas' metallic harness on his back began to hum with power and then he began to float upwards steadily.

Then the doors behind them all closed shut loudly, followed by weapon discharges from above. Collectors with wings appeared from the darkness above and began swarming and firing their weapons. Plasma fire rained down on the Necron soldiers who returned fire as their bodies were damaged by energy explosions on their frames. Kor Pharas used his Grav pack to dodge the incoming projectiles and pointed his wrist at the oncoming insectoids, unleashing a storm of green particle fire from his wrist weapon while closing in.

"Open fire!" Gefren declared, firing several shots from his Phalanx pistol.

"Here we go!" Jacob cried out as he fired his Avenger rifle at the swarming insectoids above him.

Kor Pharas continued to dodge and maneuver, his Particle Caster taking down several Collectors in a series of green explosions before he started taking damage from laser weapons among the swarm. Due to the sheer amount of movement he was doing, the lasers couldn't bite hard enough into his frame. The Necron warriors however were not as fortunate, the storm of plasma eventually overwhelming them and blowing off limbs from torsos. Seeing that made Gefren and Jacob stick hard to their cover realizing they could easily get ripped apart if they get caught in the torrent of fire.

The Necron Praetorian continued to harry the swarm with his speed and firepower, continuing to take down Collectors with explosive anti matter particles from his Particle Caster. After taking out a squad of four flying insectoids, he then went full speed, spinning through a dozen of them while utilizing his Voidblade. He hacked down six and wounded the other Collectors that had barely managed to dodge out of the way. Jacob and Gefren were amazed watching the bloody spectacle from down below as more Collector bodies hit the ground with a wet smack.

The falling corpses drew their eyes down toward the large hall, where they saw Collector reinforcements on the ground beginning to gather from other entrances. Among their number were several giant versions and some that were metallic purple in coloration like the rest of the ship interior.

Gefren reacted quickly, taking a knee and activating his Omni-tool while commanding his teammate, "Mr. Taylor remove the weapon off my back if you please!"

The former Corsair nodded and did so, the box from Gefren's back revealing itself with the push of a switch to be a machine gun that unfurled itself in his hands. The Volus worked his Omni-tool quickly, creating a glowing hard light barrier with a hole in front of it to set the machine gun. He raised a claw hand out and Jacob handed Gefren the weapon, who then began to insert it into the hard light wall. Gefren stood on a small holographic step which brought him up to manage the gun. He looked ahead to see the Collector forces were now rapidly approaching their position, the former Merchant Marine guessed at least a platoon in strength.

Jacob took a knee behind the barrier and Gefren, his rifle at the ready to peak the corner of it and add supporting fire. The former Volus officer then began to give orders, "Miss Goto, at my signal disorient the first rank of enemies with several flashbangs...Tel'Se see if you can bring down a few of those big brutes among them."

"You got it." Tel'Se responded.

"Ready to double their pleasure." Kasumi smirked.

Gefren watched the assembled Collector force continue to move up to their position. Then the rain of plasma began to strike their cover. Thankfully the barrier held up against the sporadic shots and the former Merchant Marine saw an opportunity. The hall was littered with several other broken rocks from the ceiling from the previous battle. This combined with some of the large cubes and metal chest high walls slowed the insectoid's advance as they had to maneuver around them. The Collector vanguard passed by several rocks that funneled the first rank of them into a tight ball.

Gefren called out over the comms, "Now Miss Goto!"

"Lights out time!" Kasumi called out.

Several flashbang grenades hit both the front and back of the group of Collectors causing them to cover their eyes and recoil from the blast. Sniper shots rang out as several large Collectors found their heads being pinged by incoming fire. The Collectors behind the stunned group took flight to get over their own fellows impediment only to find Kor Pharas lying in wait. He slashed his Voidblade and bisected several of the flying insectoids before they began to fire at him from below in retaliation. The Necron Praetorian easily evaded the fire and returned to chase down the other flyers above the battle to keep the roof clear.

Gefren then opened up with his machine gun, cutting down the first row of brown colored Collectors easily in a shower of rounds. But the violet Collectors weathered the firestorm and proceeded to take up positions around their massacred comrades. Several brown giant four armed Collectors found themselves covering their eyes from the sniper rounds hitting them. While they were staggered, Gefren's machine gun then riddled their giant bodies, causing them to keel over full of holes and leaking brown fluids. Their bodies created more obstacles for the incoming Collectors to move around but also provided some cover as well. Laser fire and plasma began to hit Gefren's hardlight barrier again. This time from the entrenched violet Collectors that were clearly the elite among them.

"Mr. Taylor I believe some biotic support would be fitting!" called out Gefren as he ducked down from an accurate laser shot that nearly hit his eye.

"I'm on it!" yelled out Jacob, his body glowing purple with biotics.

The Normandy weapons officer sent out with his outstretched hand two biotic bolts that curved around the barrier and struck several of the Collector elites. They began to float helplessly into the air, but still attempted to fire at the team, their shots going way off mark. Kor Pharas' made a fly by with his Particle Caster that struck the violet insectoids in mid-air where they blew apart in a rapid series of anti-matter explosions.

Several giant Collectors in violet coloration and heavier armor roared and smashed through their own comrades to rush Gefren's position. Jacob attempted to add to the Volus' suppressing fire but it just seemed to ping off the hardened carapace of the monster duo. They were now bearing down on them in full sprint. Several lesser Collector troops attempted to rush the gap to follow up, but found themselves flanked by Kasumi. She uncloaked beside a rock with her Locust submachine gun blazing, taking out several of the brown Collectors. She quickly recloaked and took off running before the Collector elites took notice and fired back at her previous position.

Gefren had just enough time to pull off the machine gun from the barrier before the first giant reached them. It back handed the hard light wall and shattered it, causing the Volus to fall backwards and Jacob to dodge away. Both quickly got up to a firing stance and opened up on the violet four armed brute that roared at them, however the bullets just pinged off its armor. Meanwhile the giant's partner quickly charged forward and punched the former Corsair with its two right arms. The blow sent Jacob flying back while Gefren kept firing his machine gun in vain at the two monsters who simply raised their fists up ready to crush the Volus under their weight. From further back, sniper shots from Tel'Se could do nothing to stop the beasts from readying a killing blow.

Kor Pharas arrived on the scene in a swift dive. He rotated his body in mid-air and landed onto one of the Collector giants with both metal feet first. The his Voidblade was brought down upon the insectoid's neck which effortlessly carved through the carapace up to the handle of the blade. The Necron Praetorian then jumped off the monster and flew upwards, his phase weapon slicing across the Collector giant's neck, decapitating it. It's partner roared in anger at Kor Phara's interruption, in spite of being showered by Gefren's bullets. The insectoid monster brought a leg up to crush the Volus underfoot, while the poor Volus scrambled to get up and out of the way.

Suddenly a green beam of intense light lanced over the former Merchant Marine and hit the Collector giant's knee causing it to begin to glow. The beast recoiled in pain from the attack before more green beams lanced into various points on it's body. It attempted to flee to find cover as its body began to glow all over. It roared in pain when a brilliant lance of energy slammed into it, causing it to explode in an eruption of green tinted ash and liquid. The Volus looked back behind him to see several humanoid robots with exposed cheeks revealing teeth. They helped Jacob to his feet, while another squad of them armed with Necron War scythes began to setup a perimeter. Gefren noticed there was even a Turian looking variant among them that was using a heavy two barreled Necron weapon that fired even more powerful green beams upon the Collector forces.

"Reinforcements have arrived." Kor Pharas stated.

The Necron forces began to carve a path into the enemy, rending down the lesser brown variants of Collectors easily into ash from their War-sycthe Gauss Blasters. The violet Collector elites began to withdraw as casualties mounted, but the Necron Praetorian using his Grav pack easily flew overhead and rained down his Particle Caster upon their retreat. Kor Pharas blew apart several squads before he saw their fall back point. His ocular sensors sent a pulse that radiated outwards and revealed more Collectors along some kind of quadruped walker setting up ahead. The walker's head was akin to those flying Reaper husk variants that shared his title of Praetorian. Human husk heads appeared throughout its distended underbelly while on it's back was a large weapon barrel that hummed with blue energy. It radiated an impressive power output, so much so that Kor Pharas decided that it would have to be considered a priority target.

More husk variants appeared, including what were designated by the Normandy as Scions. They painted Kor Pharas with some kind of laser beam from their heads and fired plasma from their grafted arm weapons. The plasma fire tracked Kor Pharas in mid-air and began striking him, forcing the Necron Praetorian to go to ground where his forces were pushing forward through the collapsing Collector line. Then the weapon from the four legged husk charged and fired. It cut through the Necron line and disintegrated several squads of Necron conscripts. The Normandy Team were just getting their bearings and helping Jacob with his injuries when the Collector energy beam fired down the center of the hall. Thankfully the group was out of the way, hugging the side of the hall as the weapon discharged. It turned what was the rock that they had used for cover earlier into molten slag.

The team was stunned by what just happened, but quickly shook it off as they applied first aid to Jacob. The Necron Praetorian announced to them, "Enemy heavy weapon platform detected."

"Uh, yeah...we can tell." Tel'Se tersely replied.

"Utilize side entrance twenty five meters from your current position. Scans reveal software vulnerability. Your escort will ensure you reach your objective." Kor Pharas stated matter-of-factly over the comm.

The squad of Necron Pariahs and Turians that had arrived earlier and set a perimeter around the team then tightened their formation and stood at the ready. Kasumi commented, "Well how thoughtful! At least we get some strapping young robot bodies to hide behind I guess."

Tel'Se cocked a brow towards the thief, "Technically, these ones are cyborgs."

Kasumi squinted at the robot in front of her, "Really? Didn't notice any organic bits on em."

"That's cause the only pieces of organic parts left are their central nervous system. Been getting reports about these, 'conscripts' from some old friends of mine still in Republic intelligence. They've been popping up in Necron controlled areas and the rumor goes they're criminals, undesirables, or people the planets have been tithing to their robot masters."

Gefren shook his head, "Dreadful..."

Tel'Se nodded, "Yeah, it's all really messed up."

The Volus looked to their downed biotic teammate, propped up against the wall, "Can you still fight Mr. Taylor? Do we need to send you back?"

"Nah!" Jacob shook his head, forcing himself back on his feet coughing, "Most of the blow hit my left arm and gun, just got a few bruised ribs I'll be okay."

The Asari merc put a hand to her hip with an unconvinced look on her face, "Your left arm is in pretty bad shape there. You're sure you're going to be alright?"

The former Corsair waved her off, his left arm limp to his side while he carried his rifle with the right, "I'm right handed anyway, besides I still got biotics."

Gefren nodded, "Alright then, try to keep up. Tel'Se up with me. Kasumi, Jacob take the rear guard."

The team nodded in acknowledgement and the Volus then ran ahead with his Asari compatriot. Jacob and Kasumi took the rear with the Necron conscripts jogging alongside. The group ran ahead towards the battle taking place. Their destination was highlighted on their heads up displays on the right just as Kor Pharas stated earlier. Sporadic fire from the fighting down the hall had plasma flying past them multiple times. When they finally reached the door another loud weapon discharge sounded. A blue beam of energy cut through the air and hit the ceiling above them. Gefren shouted, "Look out!" as the rock from the ceiling of the hall fell. The team scattered and jumped away from the rock, which crushed several of their Necron escorts. The Volus found himself in front of the door. Gefren then forced himself to get up quickly and began hacking it via his Omni-tool with his outstretched claw hand. The holographic interface began working on the door control via an orange circle with symbols that changed and then locked into place.

"Providing software assistance." Kor Pharas informed.

Gefren suddenly found green script appearing on the orange circle from his Omni-tool and quickly locking to the initial symbols at the start of the hack. Within seconds the hack finished and the Volus turned off his Omni-tool. The door opened and a whole squad of Collectors stared Gefren down with weapon barrels pointed at him and his team. Swiftly the Necron escorts charged in and took the brunt of the enemy fire, shielding the Volus with their bodies and shoulder checking the enemy. They began slashing into the insectoid troops with their Warscythes, turning the group of insectoids into bisected parts on the floor. Gefren found himself covered in Collector blood from the first strike and just stood their agape at the silent brutality of the cybernetic soldiers. When the cyborgs had finished tearing into the Collector squad, all the Volus could say was, "Uh...thank you?"

The Necron conscripts remained silent, staring at Gefren who then looked to his team behind him when another explosion went off. It jostled the Volus out of his haze and he quickly rallied his team, "Let's go!"

The Normandy team with their Necron escorts rushed through the entrance as yet another rock fell down from above, sealing the entryway behind them.

---

Wrex chuckled out loud when Grunt, Shepard, and Nemar entered the throne room, "You just can't help but stir up everyone can you Shepard? No one has killed a Maw since my time in the rite." The Urdnot Clan Leader chuckled, "Guess that's what it takes to replace me."

Shepard smiled, "No one could ever replace you Wrex."

The old scarred Krogan smiled back, looking over to the recent addition to his clan, a hand to his chin before nodding approvingly, "You are Urdnot Grunt. Welcome."

"Uvenk attempted to turn Grunt over to his side, I hope that doesn't complicate things with clan Gatatog." Shepard said.

Wrex waved that notion off, "Nah, in the end he chose to die like an idiot. Hell his clan will likely disown him just to distance themselves from the shame and save face with me. Doesn't matter, it all ended up like alot of bad deals do on Tuchanka. Involving a lot of bullets and dead bodies. For now we'll just leave it at that."

Shepard looked over to Mordin who in turn gave him a concerned look, which reminded the Commander of the other matter he needed to ask, "Before we go we heard that a kidnapped Salarian scientist was brought to Tuchanka."

"Ah, heard something about that. My scout leader has been looking into it. Talk to him, he'll bring you up to speed. Don't take up too much of his time though. I need him to keep watch on the other clans."

Nemar crossed his arms and shook his head at the Commander with a smile, "Man, not even a moment back to base and you're ready for another trial. You fit right in here Shepard."

Grunt shared the Krogan engineer's sentiment, "Wrex should have heard him screaming bloody murder as he shot that Thresher Maw in the face. It was glorious, even if I was covered in toxic bile at the time."

Wrex chuckled, "Hah! That sounds like something you'd do Shepard. I know how much you hated those damn things when we were driving around in the Mako."

The Commander scratched the back of his helmet and flicked off some dirt, "Thankfully it was only one this time. But I did miss having a vehicle to make the fight easier."

The Urdnot clan leader laughed again before finishing with, "Well you did alright without it. Probably not as glorious without me being a part of it but you made the best of it and came out stronger. You're more than worthy of being an honorary member of the clan."

Shepard nodded with a smile, "I'm honored to be a part of it. Anyway we better get moving, we're burning daylight and we got a scientist to save."

The scarred clan leader nodded, "Hunt well Shepard."

The Normandy ground team then turned and went to the other side of the compound where a brown skinned and red crested Krogan in white armor was keeping tabs on a terminal. He turned around and saw the group approaching him. He then looked them over before greeting with, "Welcome to the clan Urdnot Grunt. These guys your Krantt?"

Grunt nodded in the affirmative, "The Commander here is also my battlemaster, as well as an honorary member of the clan according to Wrex."

The Urdnot scout leader crossed his arms while looking over the Commander, "Heard about you guys taking on a Thresher Maw on foot and that it was a human that delivered the killing blow. Helluva thing to start your tenure here. Pretty sure humans can't become clan members but if that's what Wrex says then fine by me. Killing that monster will make sure you'll be the talk of the clan for a good while."

"We heard you've been looking into a Salarian scientist that was brought to Tuchanka. Got any details?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah, sent several scouts to look into it." The scout leader turned and looked over the data at a scavenged terminal. After skimming through the data he turned around and activated his Omni-tool prompting the Commander to activate his own to receive the transmitted information. It revealed a holographic map of what looked like a facility on the Tuchankan surface with details and coordinates.

"Based on the last report from one of my scouts it looks like clan Weyrloc has that Salarian you were talking about. They were escorting him into a facility several kilometers away from the main clan encampment."

Nemar huffed, "Well isn't that a coincidence."

"Maybe we'll find information relating to what you're looking for Nemar." Shepard commented.

The veteran Krogan brought a hand to his chin, "Yeah, perhaps more than that if it's close to the main Weyrloc camp."

The scout commander continued, "My scouts in that area didn't come back. So either they're dead or worse, captured. Meaning that they may suspect you guys are coming. That is if you're still willing to save that scientist."

The Commander nodded, "Think you can give us some transport to the site?"

The Urdnot officer then pointed a thumb behind him to a large four by four Krogan vehicle, "We got a Tomkah you can ride out a little ways but if you get too close, you'll be lit up by anti-vehicle emplacements. That facility has some dug in defenses and Blood Pack mercs are all over the perimeter. My advice? A dust storm is brewing around that area right now, drive close to the perimeter and use the approaching storm to screen your approach. Make sure you're sealed up well, else you'll get sand in all your parts." The scout commander then chuckled.

---

Nev'El was pacing while overseeing the perimeter of the Omega station's reactor. It brought back some memories of the brief, but decisive battle that had transpired here. It had felt so long ago. The one that ended in her victory over the former Queen of Omega, Aria T'Loak. She found herself standing over the exact spot where she crushed the throat of the pirate queen. It was a satisfying conclusion to all the pain and suffering she had endured in her previous life.

The Necrons were still hunting for the remaining Collectors that had managed to board the station. Somehow they had evaded the search. No doubt Solvatas suspected they would attempt to sabotage the station while the main Necron force infiltrated the enemy cruiser. Hence why the Necron Besakt had been deployed with a platoon of her fellow Pariahs to the reactor. There were even Turian heavy weapon conscripts deployed. Some armed with loadouts usually reserved for the Immortals. Surprisingly to Nev'El the alien Pariahs were well suited to their role once the conditioning was completed. Despite most of the aliens that were conscripted were undesirables or 'bare-faced' as the culture of the avian Turians dictated.

The former Asari was confident that the Collectors hadn't the numbers to assault the reactor directly. There were even several Canoptek Wraiths slithering about on the hunt around the perimeter. Still, it bothered her that there was still no report of contact. It had been several hours since the last confirmed engagement and no doubt their foe was up to something. Nev'El made an audible sigh through her modulated speaker system at the thought of more agents of the enemy slipping by and causing trouble for her mistress.

A report was sent to Nev'El at last, quickly catching her attention. A sensor ping from one of the Canoptek Wraiths patrolling the nearby main accessways confirmed unknown movement. It prompted her to silently order her fellows into defensive positions. The Asari Besakt was just about to gather a squad to help her finish off the insectoid interlopers when there was a sudden loud blast followed by a crash from outside the reactor room. The data stream from the Wraith had ceased. The only visual information from the Wraith Nev'El could recall was of intense light. It looked to be energized particles saturating the camera. Then the feed to her ocular sensors cut out. Whatever had disabled the Wraith had to be extremely powerful.

Catwalks along the perimeter around the reactor were then reinforced with necrodermis cover by the Pariahs. The Besakt then requested additional squads to reinforce her position. It would take twenty minutes with the power down and the station's internals still severed for the additional support to arrive. As such, the force as it was would have to hold the line until then.

Nev'El then activated comms and reported, "Mistress, they're here just as you anticipated. But there may be more than just a small taskforce."

The Vymark was surprised at the data she received, "That can't be right...heavy weapons capable of disabling a Canoptek Wraith?"

"Instantly in a single shot. Some kind of beam weapon with an incredibly high energy output."

"Yes, I've seen that weapon on a quadruped platform on the cruiser. But my question is how they were able to remain hidden with such heavy ordinance in tow."

"Regardless mistress, I am unable to activate cameras outside the main accessways to confirm enemy numbers or equipment. Likely once again due to enemy cyberwarfare tactics. Anticipating heavy resistance." Nev'El stated. She primed her biotics, coating her metallic body in a green glow.

"I will send additional reinforcements, including our organic proxies. Loss of the reactor is unacceptable Nev'El. You will hold that position at all costs."

"Of course mistress."

Sounds emanated from the locked down bulkhead door to the reactor room. It sounded almost like some kind of construction was taking place. Then the sounds of plasma torches, followed by loud mechanical footsteps. A blast of energy suddenly exploded out from the bulkhead door, sending pieces of the door flying outwards which several Necron Pariahs ducked under. Then plasma fire shot out from the blasted opening. Nev'El dropped down to ground level and created a green biotic barrier around her fellows to protect them. As the enemy plasma exploded on the barrier the Pariahs returned fire with Gauss Blasters from their Warscythes. Screeching Collectors were then heard through the smoke as it was lanced into by green beams, lessening the incoming shots of plasma.

Maintenance hatches from above the reactor room began to open and brown colored Collectors dropped down. The insectoids began to either fly or fall onto the catwalks, catching some of the Pariahs in melee. Then a surge of violet colored Collector troops charged forward from the breach in the bulkhead door. They fired beam weapons at Nev'El's biotic barrier but several of them were quickly gunned down by the Pariahs. Explosives began hitting the barrier from far above as more flying Collectors flooded the area. So many were now appearing that they were starting to overwhelm the Necron soldiers on the catwalks. The Turian conscripts then unleashed their heavy Gauss weapons at the main entrance, purging the remaining Elite Collectors quickly and rending them into piles of ash.

Another blast of power erupted from the hole at the destroyed access door. Brilliantly golden in coloration, a blur of gold biotic power streaked into Nev'El's barrier and finally shattered it. From the impact two spheres of biotic power shot out and slammed into the Turian Pariahs on the catwalks knocking them to the floor below. Flying Collectors poured fire onto the avian Pariahs but even on their backs the Necron conscripts unleashed their Gauss Blasters and cut through the flying insectoids. Collector seeker swarms began to filter through the vent systems into the area where they began to draw some of the fire away from the Collector troops. Swarms of violet insects charged through the Pariahs, inflicting damage on their bodies and equipment.

Nev'El recovered from the biotic charge attack and saw who it was that had broken her barrier. A violet horned Collector shining in a golden biotic aura with burning yellow eyes.

"Mistress...he's here." Nev'El reported as she adjusted her neck.

That was all she could communicate before she was biotically charged again by the Collector Elite possessed by Harbinger. It sent her flying away while her Pariah compatriots opened fire on the Reaper puppet. He quickly covered himself in a golden biotic barrier to absorb the attacks before firing out another sphere above the Necron conscripts. The horned Collector commander then closed his fist and biotic power slammed down upon each Pariah around him, knocking them to the floor or onto their knees. Then another wave of Collector troops charged through the door plasma rifles blazing. Several of the downed Pariahs were quickly held by clawed insect hands and feet before being shot constantly in the head by the insectoid's energy weapons. The Collectors continued firing until they popped off the Necron conscript's heads in detonations of metal and black goo covered brains.

A wave of green colored biotic power then washed over the Collector troops standing over the defeated Pariahs, coating each of them in a biotic field. The fields began to melt their bodies down causing them to screech and cry out in agony until they were nothing more then liquefied goop. Harbinger had protected himself once more in a golden defensive field. He let the energy barrier slowly dissapate as his minions were liquidated. Nev'El had also covered herself in a biotic field to allow her to float gracefully down in front of the Collector Commander.

They said nothing for a moment, the battle behind them the ambience to their stare down; the two combatants rapidly considering combat options. The Necron Besakt then charged her biotics, her forearms pooling green biotic power before unleashing a powerful warp attack. Harbinger charged his own golden biotic power to his hands and swatted the powerful field away. He countered with dual whips of biotics he generated with both of his hands that he lashed out with at the Necron biotic. The whips wrapped around her arms that she used to block the attack and the energy streams lifted her off the ground. The Reaper then threw her into a staircase on the catwalks above. Nev'El quickly recovered before Harbinger biotically charged at her. She then did her own biotic charge to a Collector flying above to escape the Reaper and sent the drone flying. The Besakt then twisted and fell back down onto the Reaper controlled insectoid with a biotically charged fist aiming for his face.

Harbinger grabbed and pulled the Asari cyborg into a headbutt before doing a quick short-ranged biotic charge. While not too powerful it was enough to stagger her, wherein the Reaper then followed up with a series of biotic punches to the body before delivering a haymaker to the side of her head. The strike was hard enough to dent her necrodermis skull, disorienting Nev'El's optics. The former Asari then grabbed the Collector's wrist while evading the next punch from the other hand. In a quick motion the Besakt threw the Collector Commander over her shoulder and into a group of Collectors in the air that were assailing her fellow Pariahs. She quickly felt the side of her head from the haymaker and felt the trickle of liquid coming down her metal cheek. Nev'El looked to her hand and saw black goo on her necrodermis fingers. There was a slight ringing sound in her auditory sensors, but her system check revealed it wasn't the hardware of her frame. No, it was coming from the shock of her organics taking such an immense blunt force trauma to the head.

She shook her head quickly, trying to force her concussed organics to comply but she didn't have long. Harbinger biotically charged into another Pariah off the catwalk above. In order to return Nev'El's previous 'courtesy', the Reaper biotically gut punched another Necron soldier close by to stagger it, then quickly grabbed and threw the warrior at her. The Asari Pariah raised her arms in response, pooled biotic power through them and caught her fellow Necron in a biotic field whom she flung off to the side. The Collector Commander biotically charged Nev'El again but she created a weak barrier in front of her to absorb the impact. When it shattered she then biotically punched the possessed Collector in the head with all of her strength. This sent Harbinger back a few yards, giving Nev'El distance to prepare for another assault.

A quick ping from her ocular sensors told Nev'El of the situation around her. Her fellow Pariahs were holding on but casaulties were slowly mounting and the enemy was getting soldiers into the reactor area at a steady pace. The sheer amount of them was baffling to Nev'El. Based on the boarding crafts that had reached the station, there was no way they could have fit this much within those vessels. Nev'El wirelessly sent this information to Solvatas within the few seconds that she had, "I cannot hold him back for much longer mistress."

Harbinger once more got to his feet and charged his biotics, giving him a golden aura once more. "You cannot sustain your strength for much longer. Your ascendance was flawed from the beginning."

Nev'El said nothing, charging her own biotics, giving her metallic body a green tinge. She sent Warp fields towards Harbinger, who merely raised a clawed hand to dissapate them before his golden biotic barrier. Surprisingly the Reaper didn't immediately counterattack, instead slowly lowering his outstretched claw stating, "Your corrupted flesh makes you weak..."

The Asari Pariah then suffered another ringing in her head and clutched where she was struck earlier. A roar then followed, giving Nev'El only enough time to look to her left and see barrelling towards her, a Collector giant with four arms. It crashed into her and took her with it on a run to the reactor. They went twenty yards before Nev'El pooled her biotics into her right hand and slashed into the giant's side with her metal glowing fingers. The flaying biotic field in her hand liquified the point of impact, shredding off both of the monster's left arms, causing the giant to roar and fling her away with its remaining right ones. She rolled across the floor causing her vision to glitch and distort. Necron script and symbols reported errors in the corner of her view when she finally stopped rolling. Her internal systems automatically denied the pain from her central nervous system in her chassis but the impacts and strain were taking its toll. The ringing returned as she looked to see the Collector giant rush up to her and grab her by the legs. It began slamming her onto the floor on either side of it, once again distorting her vision with every impact. Obsidian liquid flowed from her metal body and began to stain the dented metal floor black.

The insectoid beast, now satisfied after slamming her around the floor, decided to finish it. He dropped her to the floor, dark fluids leaking from her head and rents in her body. Her vision scrambled with warnings of damage and containment loss. The giant reached down at her and Nev'El charged her biotics into her left fist to punch at her enemy only for the creature to grab her by the wrist and break it. Fluids and sparks flew from her broken wrist, her biotic field dissapating, before the creature used its other hand to grab her arm and tear it off in one deft motion. The monster then moved to grab her head and tear it off when a green beam slammed into its head. Nev'El looked over to see that it was the Pariah that she had caught earlier. It unleashed the built-in Gauss Blaster from its Warscythe that easily transformed the monster's head to ash. A gurgling screech was all it could get out before falling on its side.

Harbinger didn't let the moment last long. He biotically charged into the Pariah who made the kill on his minion, knocking the Necron warrior to the floor. The Reaper then pooled biotics into his clawed fist, leaping at the downed metal soldier who swung his Warscythe at the Collector Commander in that exact moment. Harbinger used his outstretched spiked forearm to catch the pole part of the weapon and deflect it. The Reaper then brought his golden biotic fist onto the the head of the fallen Necron warrior, crushing it. Black fluids, brain, and metal exploded from the impact and the Necron conscript went limp.

Nev'El attempted to crawl towards her ripped off arm in a vain attempt to reattach it. Just as she reached out for it, a foot suddenly slammed down on her back. The impact was so strong that it forced black fluid through the fused teeth of her metal face. A clawed hand grabbed her from behind. She could see the fingers appearing on the edges of her vision. Her optics now were glitching significantly with alerts and warnings of internal damage. She was lifted up from the ground and shown the reactor as more Collectors began to move in and secure it while finishing off the remaining Pariahs.

"This...was inevitable. Your master's arrogance led to your defeat. Now... embrace your 'eternity'." said the reverberating voice of the Reaper.

The auditory distortions and ringing intensified as Harbinger began to slowly crush Nev'El's head. Her ocular lenses cracked under the strain, until finally the Asari's blackening vision was enveloped in green light.

---

A pair of Blood Pack Krogan guards stood watch beside the entrance to their compound. A large industrial door that stood testament to the once great Krogan civilization, before nuclear war brought that to a sudden end. The mercenaries' backs were pressed against the wall and their suits sealed to give them some relief from the Tuchankan sandstorm blustering over their location. One of the two red armored saurian mercenaries sighed before looking to the other, "I always hate coming back here, damn sandstorms. Will be nice when our rotation is over."

The other guard shook his head in annoyance, "All you ever do is talk and complain. If you didn't want to be here, then you should have thought of that before you took the assignment."

"I just needed a break from what's been happening back in Citadel space. They're really running us security mercs ragged back there. Constantly checking for some kind of infected people with robot germs or something. It was all over the news yesterday. Somebody tried to assassinate a Citadel diplomat coming to talk to some systems near the terminus for Council support. They checked out the assassin's body and turns out something was up with him cause he burst into flames and melted before they could autopsy him."

"I don't care about the political crap going on. Right now, all that matters is that there will be more work for us, meaning more credits. Just do your job and-"

The guard stopped mid-sentence at the same time lightning thundered above due to the friction of sand and wind. A bullet had penetrated the mercenary's left eye lens and he fell down, his left hand reaching out toward his eye before he slumped to his side. His partner was flabbergasted but quickly shook it off and went to go check on his comrade. The Blood Pack merc saw the bullet wound before he too met a similar fate in the right eye, falling on top of his comrade, the crack of the rifle drowned by the wind and lightning.

A moment later, four figures emerged from the sand blown horizon. Commander Shepard's team, fully suited up, quickly rushed over to the compound's door and checked the bodies of the two guards, "No keycards, but maybe there is a code on their Omni-tools, gimme a sec." Nemar said, activating his own holographic interface on his wrist where he began to hack into the suits of the dead Krogan.

A moment later a grunt of frustration came from Nemar, "Bah! The girl would be better at this stuff than me."

"Want me to take a look?" Shepard offered.

The veteran engineer shook his head, "No...I think I got another way around this."

"Well hurry it up! The base will be on alert soon." warned Grunt.

The Krogan engineer rummaged through his pockets and withdrew a crude looking tool similar in design to a crowbar or tire iron. Nemar stood up and looked over the door, before finding a panel to the side. The saurian mechanic took the tool and jabbed it into the panel to pry it off. He then smashed some circutry inside before inserting the tool into what looked like a hole meant to fit it in. Then he began to manually crank the tool, causing the compound door to cycle, albeit slowly. After a moment of cranking, the door was now open wide enough for the team to proceed. Nemar was the last to join the group, withdrawing his tool from the panel. Once in, the saurian tech re-engaged the automatic locking mechanism of the door and the four proceeded down a nearby flight of stairs. It was the only way down from where they were as the hallway ahead was blocked with rubble.

Nemar gave a huff of satisfaction, "Good to see my old Ratch-Jack still works. Wasn't sure if this clan had modernized its compound or not."

"Guessing that was for maintenence techs to get in and out back in the old days of the Krogan?" The Commander presumed.

"Oh yeah, with all the storms, critters that can get into shit, and rival's messing with yer tech, you're going to need a good old fashioned skeleton key and Krogan brawn just in case you gotta force a door. Normally a Ratch-Jack would be tooled for each individual compound back then, but overtime independent contractors like me figured out how to make one that could work with alot of 'em. If they had modernized the internals on the door back there, they would have made sure that only their tools would be able to open it."

Shepard cocked a brow behind his helmet, "They got lazy?"

"That, and tech isn't exactly the first thing on most Krogan's resume. What with us nuking ourselves and getting sterilized, we don't exactly think too much."

The Commander looked around the brown and bluish colored hues of the rocky interior of the facility as they descended the steps, "What is this place?"

Nemar sniffed the air, "Seems like a medical facility. Like everything Krogan, it has to be built tough to deal with blood raging crazies. There's an old hint of bodily fluids in the air and...something else."

Grunt took a whiff himself while the team traversed down, "Dead things...and they're not too far."

The team kept going down the stairs but now more cautiously, weapons drawn. Shepard motioned for Grunt and Nemar to take the front, while Mordin took up the center behind the Krogan duo. The Commander brought up the rear with his assault rifle at the ready. When they finally reached the bottom, even Shepard could smell the stench of dead bodies. Likely a morgue nearby Shepard thought as the team spread from the staircase. The Commander rallied his team to follow him down towards the smell, much to the chagrin of Nemar who complained, "We're going toward the stench of death? It's probably just more of their own dead or dead beasts."

"Or a clue as to whats been going on down here. After all, you didn't say it smelled like Krogan bodies right?" The Commander said.

Nemar sighed, "Well that's true...ugh, still let's not stick around too long."

The Normandy team continued down the hall and took a left through a rust colored automatic door. They found a number of stone tables with multiple bodies laying upon them, each covered with some kind of plastic wrapping. Definitely a morgue, Shepard thought. The Commander relaxed slightly standing at the ready with his rifle now lowered. Mordin brought up his Omni-tool, beginning to examine each of the bodies. The Salarian doctor hummed at the findings which piqued the Commander's interest. Shepard motioned to his two Krogan compatriots to keep an eye on the perimeter of the room, while he and Mordin went over the bodies.

"What do we got Mordin?" The Commander asked.

The Salarian doctor was running through the data quickly, his fingers running the holographic interface at great pace, "Human male, early thirties, scan indicative of mutation and tumors in internal organs, likely test subject in early trials to create cure for genophage."

"Using human guinea pigs? Wouldn't native wildlife to Tuchanka be better or rather...Krogan subjects?"

"Several Krogan subjects behind me, but also wildlife incredibly dangerous. Best to save for only when necessary. Varren for example, powerful bite, nasty temper."

"Point taken, but why mutate this guy's organs?"

"Position of tumors suggest mutation within adrenal and pineal glands. Modifies hormone levels, allows counterattack on glands hit by original genophage. Clever."

"So they're creating a virus to attack different organs to undo what the Genophage did?"

"In a way, however, messy experiments. Subject did not die painlessly, multiple organ failure and malnutrition present."

Mordin then brought his scan over what looked to be a female humanoid body and the Salarian hummed again, "Asari? Strange."

"An Asari too?"

"Strange species to also use for trials on cure." Mordin scanned for a few seconds before his eyes widened, "Oh my."

"What?"

"Detecting tumors in central nervous systems and biotic nodules. Experiments clearly more than just cure for Genophage."

"Why would they have the virus go for the central nervous system? Why use Asari?"

"Asari useful for trials involving nervous system medical treatments. Perhaps hoping to weaponize treatment into bioweapon or...perhaps...no no no, Krogan wouldn't..."

"Wouldn't what?"

"Need more data, perhaps other bodies have answers."

The former STG scientist walked hurriedly to the Krogan bodies now. They were smaller in size then the usual Krogan Shepard had seen. Like the others before, Mordin scanned them and seemed even more disturbed, "Krogan females, no restraints or bruising on dermis, likely volunteer." He stayed quiet a moment looking over one of the bodies thoughtfully. Then he withdrew a blade from one of his pouches and cut open the bag containing the corpse. He brought a light from his Omni-tool over the head of the deceased and muttered, "Orange crest with violet stripes..."

The Salarian looked over and said to Shepard quietly, "Commander."

"What?"

The team doctor stepped aside to allow the former Spectre to take a look in the bag himself. He looked curiously at what Mordin wanted to show him. Then he saw the Krogan's crest and color pattern, thought for a moment and he too realized, "Is that who I think it is?"

Mordin nodded quickly, "Very likely, will need to confirm but..." the Salarian looked back to the bag, "Based on description and age of deceased, highly likely one of two we were looking for."

"Shit." Shepard sighed before looking to Mordin, "We got to tell him."

"Are you certain? Ignorance may be more preferrable. Krogan anger could prove destabilizing element for mission. Lead to incident of blood rage. Cause considerable risk-"

"We can't have this hanging over our heads and I'm done with telling lies to team mates. We need to trust one another. Even if its going to hurt...he has to know what happened."

Mordin sighed, "Very well, Commander."

Shepard nodded and called over to Nemar on comms, "Hey, we got something over here you need to see."

Nemar came over, still bothered by the intense smell of some of the other bodies. He plugged his nose walking by them. The Krogan mechanic's eyes were drawn to the body that was being studied by the Salarian. That's when he noticed the crest's color pattern on the corpse. Without thinking, Nemar rushed over past Shepard, his fears became fully realized right in front of him. His voice broke into mourning as he spoke, "No, no, no!"

Mordin stepped away as Nemar cradled the head of his beloved sister. The Salarian's Omni-tool was working to compare DNA samples between the two Krogan siblings to ensure there was no mistake. The Krogan engineer began to quietly sob holding his sister closely. Grunt eventually strode over, wondering what was going on. Shepard gave him a look through his visor that allowed the tank-born to put two and two together. The Krogan warrior grimaced but then turned around with renewed focus to keep watch in order to allow Nemar to have his moment of mourning.

When his analysis was complete the Salarian doctor finally spoke somberly, "DNA confirmed. Similarity indicative of familial relation...I am...so sorry."

Nemar slowly rose his head up from his sister's body, "How did she die?"

"Multiple organ failure, alongside tumor growths in central nervous system, as well as in redundant systems. Death likely due to epileptic seizure, resulting in coma. Termination of life support likely followed."

The mechanist's hand gripped the side of the table tightly while he rose up to his full height. Anger began to creep into his voice, "So they killed her when she wasn't useful anymore..."

Mordin was silent, deactivating his Omni-tool and sighing. Shepard came up behind Nemar and the Krogan engineer spun around. The saurian's face was full of wrath, his teeth bared. The Commander didn't flinch and maintained his calm demeanor as he spoke, "Clan Weyrloc isn't getting away with this."

Nemar's voice was hushed but his anger permeated every word, "God damn right they aren't. They will burn for this. All of 'em."

Shepard held out a hand, "They're free game except for Maelon. We don't know what his involvment with this is. He's also Mordin's problem, let him handle it."

But the Krogan mechanic wasn't sated with that, "The guy who murdered all these people in here gets to walk!?"

"I didn't say that. Until we get more information we continue the mission as planned and get Maelon out of here. Got it?"

Nemar ground his teeth slightly but regained his composure, "Fine, but if he did all this voluntarily...I can't be held responsible if I go and rip him in half."

Shepard narrowed his eyes, "Keep it under control Nemar. That's an order."

The Krogan mechanist grumbled while Grunt perked up at something, warning, "Think we got company coming."

The squad quickly dispersed as the sounds of heavy footsteps approached from outside. It was a pair of Blood Pack mercenaries from the sound of the footfalls and they were dragging something. Mordin hid himself amongst a pile of body bags in the corner of the room. The Salarian quickly crouched with his submachine gun at the ready. Shepard motioned for his Krogan teammates to exit the morgue and take up a position on the other entrance outside the room away from the footsteps. The Commander cloaked as the first Blood Pack mercenary entered, dragging in a corpse along with them. It was another Krogan body and it bore Urdnot clan markings. The Blood Pack merc following behind the corpse hit a switch by the door to increase the amount of light in the room. They then pulled the body up together onto an empty slab and dumped it on the table, then one of the two began talking, "And another one bites the dust."

"Fitting for an Urdnot spy. Hear they may have to move operations here again thanks to that." said the other Blood Pack soldier as he adjusted the limbs of the body on the slab.

"Urgh we're going to have to move all the shit again?"

"That's how it is, if the Urdnots have found out what we're doing then it only makes sense. Get a bag."

Mordin got ready to unload his submachine gun into the approaching Blood Pack merc. Luckily the mercenary just grabbed a body bag off the floor away from the pile he was hiding behind and didn't bother to get any closer. The former STG doctor breathed a quiet sigh of relief, not wanting to engage a Krogan in this enclosed space. Shepard announced over the comms, "Prepare to engage on my shot."

The two saurian mercenaries continued talking as they got the Krogan body in the bag, "So how did this one buy it?"

"Salarian doc's latest attempt at the cure. Obviously didn't work. Guld isn't too happy with the amount of bodies the Salarian is going through. Says we'll have to hunt for subjects again once the next one buys the farm."

"It's that other Urdnot right?"

"Yep, serves the dumb bastard right. Whats funny is, the doc actually convinced him to volunteer for it! Hah! What an idiot."

"It's stupid to try and cure the Genophage? I'd say he's making a noble sacrifice for the good of all Krogan."

"Don't be stupid, I've been here long enough. Its a death sentence. That Salarian I bet doesn't even know what the hell he's doing. I've seen his handiwork long enough. Wouldn't surprise me if he got off on all the shit that he's been up to. All the screaming and the mess he makes with the bodies...fuck me."

"If it's to cure that damn Genophage then I say fine, whatever it takes. Once we get our numbers back, we'll kick the Turians off our planet and then take the fight to the Salarians next."

"We'll see, would be nice if it happens."

When they finally finished putting the body in the bag they turned to leave the room, then one merc stopped and put a finger to his ear, "What is it? Gate still hasn't checked in yet? Sure, we'll take a look."

Once the Blood Pack merc brought his finger down and clicked off his comm he was instantly shot multiple times in the head through the eye. Mordin exposed himself from cover and shot at the other mercenary as the Krogan quickly turned to withdraw his shotgun. Shepard's Krogan teammates then appeared from the other entrance and fired incinderary rounds in the back of the remaining mercenary who roared in anger. He turned around to open fire on Nemar and Grunt, but felt sniper rounds slamming into his head. The Blood Pack merc suddenly dropped and crashed into a table, knocking the lifeless corpse that was on it to the ground along with his own.

Shepard uncloaked and the squad regrouped with him while he loaded in a new thermal clip into his Viper rifle, "It won't be long before the base goes on alert, I'm going to get a quick map of this place and we'll decide what to do next."

Nemar held out a hand, "Hang on a second! You heard what they were talking about! Doesn't this change the objectives a little bit?"

"What do you mean?" The Commander asked.

"They said that the Salarian had gone off the rails! He's doing this voluntarily! Getting off on all this!"

Mordin shook his head, "I do believe said mercenary was not being literal and did not know Maelon's true intentions behind his actions. Not enough data for confirmation of malicious intent. Maelon would never-"

That only incensed Nemar more when he looked to the doctor, "Oh cause you would totally know what he's thinking right now right!?"

Shepard got between the two of them, "Enough! Nemar, we still don't have enough intel. The situation and mission remains the same. I'm going to get a map off this merc so I'm going to need your opinion on this. We'll figure out Maelon's intent when we find him."

Mordin nodded and Nemar grumbled again. Grunt huffed, but once more went back to watch for more incoming Blood pack mercenaries at the entrance. Shepard bent down over the first merc he killed and began to hack the mercenary's Omni-tool. After a moment of gathering data, he stood up and brought up a three dimensional image of the complex. They were currently at the first level near one of several entrances. From there, there were was several elevator shafts and stairways that went seven levels further down. Much of the map was marked in red and Nemar picked up on what that likely meant, "I'm presuming the red spots mark areas walled off or destroyed from when the nukes fell all those centuries ago."

The Normandy Commander nodded, "Very likely, looks like the entrance we took is the only one that works and all the elevators are out. You know these compounds Nemar. Any potential booby traps or back doors they could use to escape?"

The veteran engineer shrugged, "Most Krogan aren't that crafty. If Guld hasn't even bothered to modernize or even rennovate any bit of this place, it means the only thing we have to worry about are his mercs, pets, and personal guards. I'd say the lower floors are where the research is being done. The east and west wings of this place barely have any working space, so they're likely using those to house their warriors."

Shepard nodded, "Alright, here's the plan. Mordin, you and I will hack into the system and trigger a lockdown on the lower floors. That will keep Maelon where he is. I assume an alert will sound when we do so. Grunt, I need you and Nemar to overwatch the main hall. Once the alert goes down and we take out the first wave, we push on down to the larger stairwell up ahead to reach Maelon."

"What about the other Urdnot scout?" Grunt asked.

Shepard looked to his impromptu advisor on the layout, "Nemar, where would they house prisoners?"

"A floor or two down I'd say. Keep the prisoners sandwhiched between the personnel above them in the barracks and the guards below watching over the research."

The Commander switched off his Omni-tool, "Okay, good enough. Let's get to it!"

The team nodded in response and proceeded with their orders. Grunt and Nemar setup on either side of the main hall. The Krogan engineer providing his holographic barricade to give Grunt a stable firing position for his Revenant. Nemar himself went to the other side, pistol drawn and Omni-tool ready to unleash his drone. Shepard and Mordin quickly found a nearby terminal that still had power and was connected to the network. The Commander input the codes he got off the dead Blood Pack merc to the terminal and allowed Mordin to work on it while he looked for another terminal. This was so they could hack the system from several points. Grunt could hear more heavy footfalls approaching. The young warrior reported over the comms, "Shepard, we got more incoming."

"Almost ready! Ten seconds!" the Commander replied, rapidly inputing commands on his holographic interface.

Blood Pack mercs with some Vorcha began to pile into the hallway, when they noticed Grunt they drew their weapons and called out, "Hey! Who are you!"

At that moment the lights suddenly cut out. Then dim red lighting activated in the hall, bathing the Blood Pack in the red light. An alarm sounded. Then the Commander shouted over the comm, "Fire!"

Grunt grinned and unleashed a barrage with his Revenant while Nemar on the left fired several shots while unleashing his drone upon the Vorcha in front of the mercs. The drone sprayed its flamethrower, causing the ugly meaty aliens to scream in agony as they burned to death. The Revenant's fire focused on the Krogan mercs in the back next, cutting down one as the other Krogan soldiers fell back to the stairwell. Grunt's suppression kept the rest of the enemy squad pinned at the hallway entrance, preventing the Krogan mercenaries from retaliating. When he went to reload he ducked down behind his shield, avoiding returning fire from the Blood Pack that rattled the holo barrier.

Shepard cloaked when he was done with the terminal and put several rounds down range into the mercenary attempting to suppress Grunt at his barrier. The sniper shots cracked through the nose portion of the merc's helmet splattering blood between the remaining members of the merc squad who roared in anger. They charged out guns blazing into the hall, firing shotguns and assault rifles at the Normandy team. Nemar threw out a proximity mine in front of one of the mercs on the left, resulting in the merc getting his leg blown off when he stepped on it. Tuvash, Nemar's drone, continued unleashing its flamer on the flank of the Blood Pack's charge. The red clad warriors continued their assault even while on fire. An Incinerate from Mordin slammed into the lead merc, causing the Krogan to keel over at long last, succumbing to the flames as he hit the ground. Grunt rose from his cover and unleashed his Revenant once again on the remaining two mercs, cutting them down easily.

"Move up!" The Commander ordered and the team began to make their push to the stairwell. Below them, more Krogan were gathering and shouting, demanding what was going on. Meanwhile, the Normandy team setup on the railing above. The team began firing into the confused ranks of Blood Pack and Clan Weyrloc soldiers, further adding to the chaos. Shepard knew he had to maintain the momentum to reach Maelon quickly. He began to hack more nearby terminals and lockdown the doors to the barracks below to slow reinforcements. The rest of the team continued gunning down mercenaries who could only spit and curse at them. The incindery rounds were burning their bodies and riddling them with holes when a Krogan in white armor flanked by two heavily armored warriors of Clan Weyrloc began to bark orders.

He shouted at the disorganized mercs and attempted to rally the troops, "Fall back damn you! Do not allow yourselves to die needlessly! Rally! To me and to the Clan Leader!"

The mercenary's numbers now had been culled significantly. The survivors could only retreat further down the stairwell below. Shepard motioned for his team to follow him, "I found the Urdnot scout from the terminal I was hacking. Apparently he's on this level, just around here. Follow me."

The Commander then opened a nearby door to his right that he had unlocked from his previous hack. What they found was an incredibly small room filled with rubble and dry blood on the floor. There they found a Krogan stripped of his armor and delirious. He was having difficulty breathing. Mordin's medical training kicked in and he quickly looked him over. When the Salarian doctor brought up his Omni-tool and saw the scout's vitals he shook his head, "Vitals unstable, erratic heartbeats, trembling in extremities indictive of neurological damage."

Mordin pointed to the Urdnot scout's hands and feet. The limbs were compulsively contorting on their own. Shepard grimaced behind his helmet, "Is there anything we can do?"

The scout spoke first barely getting out the words, "No...no more..."

"It's okay we're here to get you out." The Commander said, taking a knee beside the Krogan, attempting to reassure the scout. Mordin attempted to stabilize the Krogan's condition, preparing a shot to give him.

A slight shake of the scout's head and an expression of pain said otherwise, "No...forget me...stop him."

"Stop who?" Shepard asked.

"He's...crazy...won't stop..."

"Who are you talking about?"

"The...the..." before the Krogan could get out who he was talking about he began to tremble and seize, falling to his side and onto his back. He shook all over and Mordin looked to his holographic interface and withdrew an injection. The former STG operative somehow was able to inject the medicine into an exposed vein despite the trembling saurian. However, after a moment, it was clear it didn't work.

"Patient still seizing, beta blockers sedative ineffective!"

Mordin attempted to prepare another injection to give the scout as his seizure continued. He and Shepard attempted to hold the Krogan's arm down to try again. Foam mixed with blood at the sides of the scout's mouth and his breathing became frantic. A warning alarm sounded on the Salarian doctor's Omni-tool, "We're losing him!"

"I've seen enough!"

Nemar quickly stepped inside, pulled out his pistol and put two rounds into the scout's skull, killing him instantly. Mordin and Shepard both got up and looked to the Krogan mechanist, the doctor himself yelling, "Grossly inappropriate and unnecessary!"

Nemar was incredulous, "Are you kidding me?! He was as good as dead, you were just prolonging the inevitable!"

"It still wasn't your call to put him down like that Nemar." The Commander reminded sternly.

"Maybe not but...this was how my sister died Shepard. Don't you understand? No Krogan would want to die like that."

"I do understand Nemar, but you should have let Mordin go through all the options first before taking action. Even then, only after you got the go ahead from me. It's part of your contract...right?"

"Yes...but from the sounds of it, this Maelon has alot to answer for. I won't feel sorry for having to put him down."

Mordin shook his head rapidly, "Not confirmed yet! Still speculation! Scout was delirious! Couldn't name who he was speaking of!"

"Really?! You really think your friend wouldn't resort to this!?" The mechanist yelled.

"Not just friend, student! And yes, taught him myself! Never anything like this! Torture? Executions? Unethical experiments? No! Never!"

Nemar pointed an accusatory finger toward Mordin, "Yet it's all because of your Genophage that our people have resorted to mad science like this!"

Shepard once again had to step in between them, "Enough! We're wasting time here and clan Weyrloc will be preparing for us below. There's nothing left to do here. We can argue later."

Mordin sighed, "Understood Commander."

"Yeah...got it." The Krogan engineer grumbled.

Shepard left and the team followed. Nemar gave one last forlorn look to the dead Urdnot scout before taking up the rear. The Commander motioned with his head to drop down to the next level. Likely that Weyrloc commander was going to setup a last stand to protect Guld, but the Commander was already coming up with a plan to deal with that setup. He withdrew his Avenger assault rifle after dropping to the next floor below via a hole in the walkway. Shepard then went down a dilapidated flight of steps. His team coming up behind him until he raised a fist and the squad stopped. A flicking motion with his head gave the message to stack up by another flight of stairs where the mercs likely had retreated to.

The Commander explained, "Alright, I'll cloak in and scout it out. I'll mark key targets for each of you, then you assault on my go."

The Normandy team nodded and the former Spectre holstered his rifle, disappearing in a sizzle of light and electricity as his cloak engaged. Like a ghost he ventured carefully down the steps and saw the ambush. Krogan soldiers and mercs setup weapons drawn at the end of the stairwell, each using rubble as cover. The surviving Clan Weyrloc soldiers were quite ready for the Normandy team's arrival from the looks of it. The white armored Krogan was there in the midst of them behind his own cover as well. Shepard drew closer, silently and carefully manuevering around the Krogan still watching. The Commander marked several areas for proximity mines to be thrown to breach the Krogan line. Then heavy footfalls sounded and an incredibly large Krogan in fully sealed power armor came up behind the white armored Krogan commander and began speaking angrily, "What is happening Krell!"

The white armored Krogan named Krell quickly spun around and saluted, "We are under attack Clan leader! The enemy will be coming soon and either we will crush them or die in glory. Find a way to escape, let our sacrifice ensure your-"

"Never! I am Weyrloc Guld and I will not run from any fight when I am so close. So close to realizing my destiny! The Krogan's destiny!"

"Of course, forgive my presumption Clan Leader."

"I will prepare my best to meet them should you fall. They will sing battle songs of this! Stand ready and do not fail me!"

"Yes Clan leader!"

"Yep, sounds like the typical arrogant warlord alright." Shepard thought to himself.

Weyrloc Guld turned and proceeded back down the hall where he met with several other heavily armored warriors before going down another stairwell close by. The Commander returned back to marking targets, saving the white commander for himself to eliminate. He then prepped his Omni-tool to chain overload on the Krogan's weapons once his team arrived. Since most Krogan mercs relied on their armor and their own natural regeneration to overcome their suit's lack of shields, causing their weapons to short out for a moment was the better tactical choice.

Shepard signaled his team via his Omni-tool and sent his marked targets along with orders via text. A positive chime quietly echoed in his helmet, which thanks to the muffling of his armored helm, did not alert the Weyrloc soldiers. Though at first the others of the Commander's team tried to get down without making too much noise, the sound of the groaning stairs set off the Weyrloc commander, "They're coming! Ready yourselves!"

Shepard shrugged, but then proceeded with his plan regardless. He stealthily crept past the barricades and Krogan bodies, hugging the side of the enemy line before speeding up his pace. Doing all this while crouched in full kit was always murder on your quadraceps, but N7 and Spectre training had prepped his endurance long ago for this kind of infiltration. He remembered sometimes having to train for hours doing it, not all at once of course, but it was necessary to prepare for long missions that required it.

Meanwhile the Commander found some debris to setup his sniping position behind the entrance to the next stairwell where Guld had exited. With his Omni-tool prepped and another chime going off, indicating his team was in position, Shepard gave the order, "Go!" Immediately the Commander raised his hand and sent an overload pulse via his holographic tool to the Krogan battle line. When Nemar and Grunt revealed themselves the mercs found their weapons jamming or exploding in their hands. This allowed Nemar to throw out several proximity charges that then went off and blew apart the first ranks of Clan Weyrloc troops.

Grunt followed up covering his Krogan compatriot's retreat with his Revenant back to the stairwell exit. The mercenary's weapons began to work again and some opened fire. Sniper rounds from behind hit Krell in the back causing him to turn and shout. "Wha-behind us!" was all he could get out before he noticed the muzzle flash that followed a bullet piercing his unhelmeted eye. Orange blood splattered on the commander's nearby compatriots, shaking their morale as his body hit the ground. Mordin fired an Incinerate via his Omni-tool from the stairwell entrance into their ranks which further caused panic in the remaining Weyrloc troops. Then the blood rage within them caused the remaining troops to go berserk. They broke discipline and split into two groups that rushed the two sides of the Normandy team's attack.

Two Blood Pack warriors rushed toward Nemar and Grunt, firing shotguns while charging. Only for one to get shredded by the young Urdnot warrior's Revenant up close. The other locked into a battle of strength with the Krogan engineer. The Weyrloc warrior slammed into the veteran engineer but Nemar held his ground. The mercenary attempted to get his shotgun's barrel up to the engineer's face to blow it off, only for the veteran mechanist to headbutt him and break the deadlock. Nemar quickly stabbed his Carnifex's underbarrel blade into the Krogan's eye before firing a round through the merc's eye socket. The mercenary's body slowly slid off the orange stained blade and crumpled to the floor. Grunt and Nemar looked to each other and nodded before moving forward to support the Commander.

Meanwhile Shepard was picking off the remaining Krogan charging him. It was all too easy for the former Spectre. The blood rage made the grey armored Weyrloc soldier's shots negligible. The Commander by contrast was still focused, even as rounds richocheted off the cover around him. Two AP shots through one soldier's nose put him down, followed by another couple rounds to his fellow Krogan's eyes causing him to fall. When the Krogan hit the floor face first his body created an obstacle that caused another blood raged saurian behind him to trip as he continued to charge. The Krogan soldier fell, his assault rifle flying from his hands.

An angry roar was all that the last warrior on the ground could do before a series of rounds between his eyes messily finished him off. The rest of Shepard's team at first were jogging to him but seeing that he had it under control they slowed to a walk.

The Commander then joined them, reloading his Viper rifle with a fresh thermal clip, "Alright, last leg I think. Guld and his bodyguards are down there. We finish him, get Maelon, and get out before the rest of the Blood pack and clan Weyrloc break through the lockdown."

Nemar gave a nod, "Sounds good to me! This son of a bitch has had this coming for a long time."

The Commander started moving to the stairwell close by, "I'll scope it out just like before, wait for my signal and get some spare clips from the dead. I doubt Guld will go down easy, he was packing some heavy kit."

Grunt laughed confidently, "Hah! Compared to the rite, Clan Weyrloc is just as weak as Gatatog. Their clan leader will likely be no different."

The Commander then turned and shook his head to the young warrior, "Don't underestimate him Grunt. Guld may seem like a typical Krogan warlord, but even a weak enemy can catch you off guard if you let him. Especially when he's cornered and the only way out is through you."

Grunt nodded, "Very well battlemaster."

Shepard acknowledged with his own nod before once again being wrapped in a cloaking field and disappearing. He went down the flight of stairs carefully, trying to be as quiet as possible. When he reached the bottom he found the floor with several gangways across the room just as the map indicated. The gangways acted as bridges over a hole created from an explosion. According to the layout, Maelon was on the far side in a locked down medical research laboratory. Shepard saw Guld and his two bodyguards alone, waiting on the other end. He creeped around scanning the area with his eyes, but found that the only other room on this part of the compound was destroyed in a ceiling collapse.

Satisfied, the Commander turned to head back when Guld suddenly bellowed, "I know you're here Shepard!"

The former Spectre froze, turning his head to look towards Guld across the walkways. The Krogan was already imposing in build and height but even more so with that grey power armor on. There was some kind of bulky black armament on his back that the Commander didn't recognize at first, but he felt he had seen it before. The Krogan's footsteps were loud with every step, moving across the chasm on the gangway. Guld had to turn his whole body to look around for any sign of Shepard.

The Commander kept silent while the warlord shouted once more, "He told us you would come! A worthy foe to add another litany to my battle song! For I am Weyrloc Guld! The future leader of the Krogan!"

Shepard was unimpressed by the boasterous giant Saurian. Unable to help himself from responding in some way, the former Spectre took off his helmet and set it down on the floor quietly while covering it in debris. The human infiltrator then made some adjustments to it before moving to the opposing gangway. Guld continued to slowly walk across, looking around before a loud reverberating sound of Shepard's voice responded echoing, "The future leader of the Krogan huh? A bold claim for one who sacrificies their own people for their ego."

Guld's bodyguards withdrew weapons, but the warlord waved them off which confused them. The Krogan then proceeded to continue his spiel, while also directing his bodyguards to fan out by pointing in two different directions. One jogged across the gangway past his master and the other guard went back.

"Pathetic." Shepard taunted, the insult reverberating in the warlord's ears.

Surprisingly Guld was not so easily incensed, calmly shooting back, "Their sacrifice is more than for just pride Shepard. When my daughter was born I knew that my destiny had importance greater than I could have imagined. You don't understand because you have not yet seen my vision for what is to come. Once the Salarian cures this cursed Genophage, I will have an army of Krogan, each with many more children to replace them, ready to fight and die at my command! With the help of my allies, Clan Weyrloc will unite the Krogan once more, unseat the Urdnot from power and return our people back to where they truly belong!"

"Uh huh and where do the Krogan belong oh wise and fearless Clan Leader?" The Commander mocked.

"The battlefield of course! The Krogan will reform our empire once more and this time, no other race will be able to stop us!"

"You said he knew I was coming...who?"

"Should you survive our battle you will know soon enough Shepard." Guld smirked behind his helmet, seeing one of his bodyguard's getting close to where he believed the Commander's voice was coming from.

When the power armored Weyrloc warrior kicked over the debris of metal and dirt to reveal the helmet, the Krogan huffed in annoyance and smashed it. Then he heard a flurry of footsteps that were rushing down the steps nearby. The bodyguard turned to try to fall back. But it was too late, Shepard's team had arrived. Grunt and Nemar roared with guns blazing, focusing on the warrior retreating in front of them. The bodyguard attempted to fire back while vaulting over metal debris but his back was wreathed in flames from incendiary bullets, resulting in him falling to the ground groaning before expiring. Several loud rifle shots sounded to Guld's right, causing him to turn and see his last warrior fall to the ground on his back, orange blood running from his right eye lens like a river.

"Last chance Guld! Surrender or die!" The Commander demanded.

Guld replied with a roar and the Commander's two Krogan warriors grinned, taking up cover around piles of rock and metal beams. The Weryloc Clan leader withdrew a black object that unfurled into some kind of underslung heavy cannon that took both hands for the Krogan to wield. The Commander felt it was some kind of weapon similar to what he had seen the Necrons use before. Shepard took aim. The warlord prepared to fire at Shepard's squad and as Guld pulled the trigger a series of sniper shots struck his helmet's vision slits. The Commander went wide eyed when none of his shots penetrated. Green energy coalesed in the barrel of the Guld's weapon. Before Shepard could warn his allies, the weapon fired and destroyed the cover Grunt and Nemar were using in a blast of green energy. They were sent flying back where they hit the ground several feet from the blast zone. Their armor and flesh sizzling from the impact. The Commander couldn't tell if they were still alive.

Mordin arrived late on the scene from the stairs and acted quickly. Seeing the situation he activated his Omni-tool and used Neural Shock on the Krogan warlord to disable him. Guld used one of his hands to hold his head, groaning and keeping himself from falling over from the Salarian's Omni-tool attack that assailed his mind and body. Shepard loaded AP rounds and switched firing positions to find a weakness in the warlord's armor. Meanwhile Mordin quickly got to work on his Krogan teammates on the ground. He reported his findings to Shepard, "Team still alive Commander, breathing is shallow but still within nominal range. Blast yield caused second degree burns to exposed skin, third degree in some places. Providing medi-gel and stimulants."

"Good, I'll cover you." Shepard whispered over comms.

The Commander had to get closer to the large saurian. He looked through his scope to find a weak spot in the armor. The area around the neck joint looked like a good spot. It had an opening between the plates to allow the head to turn, but it created what was called a "shell trap". A well placed shot could ricochet and send rounds up into the Krogan's throat. He adjusted his rifle's settings to increase the caliber of his shots and undid the AP round modification.

Guld was at last shaking off the Neural Shock and gripped his weapon again to fire. He aimed at the former Spectre's team, but once again a series of shots hit him in the side of his head. This time the Krogan felt impacts in his throat that made him gasp suddenly, causing him to drop his obsidian weapon. He reached for his neck, blood now pooling into his armor, staining the armor's padded fabric orange in color. Guld fell to his knees, choking on his own blood and ripping off his helmet. The warlord tried to stop the bleeding with his hands but it continued to pour from his throat. Guld fell to his side with a crash and Shepard decloaked in front of the warlord. The bearded human had a comm device in his right ear and wore a grim expression. While looking down at the fallen Krogan the Commander could see Guld trying to mouth words but all that came out was gurgling. Heavy footsteps approached at a quick pace, catching the dying Krogan's attention. The last thing Guld saw, was a severly burnt Nemar aiming a Carnifex pistol at his face before pulling the trigger.

---

The door to Maelon's lab opened and Mordin stepped in first, his Tempest drawn and ready. The former STG agent quickly ascertained the situation around and swept the room. He saw a maroon skinned Salarian working on the terminal at the other end of the lab and was confused, "Maelon?"

Shepard and the other Krogan followed up behind their Salarian teammate. The former student turned and had an annoyed look on his face to see his old professor again. Mordin continued while he holsterd his gun, "Alive and unharmed? No restraining devices of any kind?"

Maelon crossed his arms, "For someone so brilliant Doctor Solus, is it really so hard to understand the situation that's right in front of you?"

"I knew it!" Nemar shouted pointing his weapon at Maelon.

The Commander grabbed the Krogan's pistol and forced the barrel away, "Hold it Nemar! Let Mordin handle this!"

Maelon could only shake his head at the display. Mordin finally had to face the truth, his large amphibian eyes widening in disbelief, "Impossible! Whole team agreed! Project necessary!"

The bloody red Salarian shrugged and spoke with a sarcastic tone, "Oh but how could I disagree with the great Dr. Solus? I was your student! I looked up to you!"

Mordin shook his head, "Unethical experiments...torture?! Executions?! Your doing?!

The younger Salarian shrugged again, "We already have the blood of billions on our hands for what we've done to these people professor. Whats a few more sacrifices to undo the damage that our people are responsible for?"

Shepard frowned, "So that's why you did all this Maelon? You see the Genophage as a crime?"

Maelon grew angry, "A war crime! The worst we ever inflicted upon any species."

Mordin raised a finger, "Not a bio-weapon! Adjusts fertility rate to compensate for high Krogan birth rate! Not actual murder!"

The former student motioned to look all around, "Tell that to the civilization around us professor! Or better yet to the Krogan themselves! They are in abject misery, their females especially! They volunteered to come here to try my treatments! They were willing to put their lives on the line for a chance at being fertile! I would definitely qualify their suffering to that of being afflicted by a weapon of war."

Nemar grimaced, "Volkara. You're saying...my sister came here willingly? She was infertile?"

Maelon was ashamed at hearing the name, "I'm sorry...I didn't know she had family looking for her. Know that she did not suffer when the experiments went wrong, I made sure of that. I did warn her of the risks involved."

The engineer grew angry again, "Risks that you knew would likely end in her death!"

The young Salarian shrugged once more, "Who was I to argue with her? It's what all the volunteers who came here wanted!"

The Commander crossed his arms unconvinced, "Tell that to the Asari and the Human test subjects Maelon. Or did you conveniently forget those?"

The wayward scientist suddenly became guarded, "That was...someone else's project. I used their data to help me with my Genophage research. That was the extent of my involvement, nothing more!"

"Really? Guld did mention someone warned him that I was coming. Who was it?"

Maelon looked to the floor and started wringing his hands, "I...I can't say."

The Commander narrowed his eyes, "You can't...or you won't?"

"Uh...a bit of both...actually. I'm sorry, I can't just give you his name. He's holding a friend of mine hostage. If he knows I talked, he'll kill him."

"So he's got you caged does he?"

Maelon nodded, "In a way... yes."

"Yet you chose to do all of this?" Mordin asked at an uncharacteristically slower pace, his own anger beginning to show. Shepard noted the doctor's clenched fist.

"I did! We have to atone for what we've done!" Maelon walked closer to the Salarian doctor and pointed an accusatory finger at Mordin, "You'll never admit it will you?! Never admit that what we did here was an atrocity!"

Mordin suddenly punched Maelon in the face, causing the blue Salarian to stumble back into the computer console behind him. The former STG operative then swiftly drew his submachine gun from his waist and grabbed his former friend by the scruff of his white outfit. He aimed his weapon's barrel at the younger Salarian's stunned face.

"Unacceptable experiments! Unacceptable goals! Won't change...no choice. Have to kill you."

Maelon's eyes grew wider, then after a few seconds a smile creeped at the sides of his mouth. With speed that surprised Mordin the young Salarian grabbed the barrel of the Tempest. It discharged as the former student pulled the gun away with surprising strength. Now it was Mordin that was surprised when Maelon punched him back, spun him around and held him in a choke hold. With the Tempest in the other hand, he then aimed it at Mordin's head. Shepard and his team drew weapons and aimed at the grinning Salarian.

"Mae...lon?" Mordin asked gasping for breath.

A spark of green light appeared in Maelon's large pupils. One look at those red amphibian eyes and Shepard instantly knew what was going on, "Veronakh!"

The puppet of the Necron Overlord continued to grin while holding his hostage, his voice now sounding strange and modulated, "Hello Shepard."