The Rook

by Twisted Fate MK 2

On the way down to New Mombasa, Rookie falls into the Slipspace Rupture and ends up crashing down on Menae, high above Palaven, right in the midst of the Reaper War. From there, the war itself will shift and the fighting persists, but who knows what an ODST will add to the mix. (Redo of an older story)

11. The Krogan Reformation - Three

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Once they'd reached the top level, Cerberus seemed to be more than merely done playing games with them. Two dozen Troopers were waiting for them, entrenched behind the consoles and the low concrete walls that ran along the walkway above the lowered work-area. From their entrenched positions, they peppered the reinforced housing and Kinetic Barriers of the transportation unit, carving lines of fire across the door to keep them down. All while an Engineer set up a venting-unit in the back that he could only see thanks to the access to the security cameras that Mordin offered them.

"Wrex-"

"I'll throw out a bubble, and we rush out the door." The Chieftain rumbled lowly, pressing him close against the door as the three of them crushed themselves trying to maneuever in the small utility unit. "I can't hold it for long, not my forte, but…"

"We can get to cover." He nodded, adjusting his grip on his rifle, "It'll do."

"If not," he grumbled, "you die."

"DOn't you mean 'we die'?"

"No." He chuckled, the deep bass of his voice rumbling through the ODST's body and into his bones. "Not really."

"Krogan physiology much more durable than Human." Mordin added form his spot, more or less crammed into a corner and reaching out to pull the screen so he could monitor the woman's vitals. "Far more likely you die. Try not to."

"Ah." He sighed, "Alright then."

"On three." Wrex growled, hunching down and letting his Biotics roll across him powerfully. "One… Two…"

Rather than say 'three', the Warlord punched the door release and surged forward, Biotics crackling out around them to redirect most of the incoming fire. What little did get through, his Barriers dealt with until he slammed into cover at one of the closer console housings. Wrex took the other close one, across a small gap between their two pieces of cover, but as soon as the Biotic shield fell automatic fire raked across their cover. The Troopers in front of them pushed down, into the lower area and into cover behind the second row of work tables and terminals, and even into the narrow cover at the ends of the front row, closest to the outer edge of the library.

He met Wrex's eyes and raised his rifle, gesturing up the middle meaningfully.

Wrex blinked, as if confused for a moment, before he grinned ferally and nodded. Rising, he rushed up the center, his massive shotgun barking twice as he went and ripping a pair of closer Troopers in half. With the focus shifted onto the Krogan, he rose, turning his rifle on three Troopers that stood up from the row of consoles ahead of him to try and fire on the Krogan's flank. He put a long burst into each, peppering fire along their sides and arms to cripple and maim them, ripping out hunks of bloody gore as they jerked and fell, dead or dying.

He was pitched to the side by a burst of automatic fire from his own flank, though, and spun, peppering the trooper standing in the sparse, narrow cover the end of the desk offered.

The shots were inaccurate, most sparking off his armor, but a lucky shot struck him in the edge of his throat as Doe's clip ran hot and he fell as the ODST knelt to change out his Thermal Clips. He heard a Biotic 'whip' and 'thump' and looked up to see what was left of the defenders flailing, mostly in bloody pieces, through the air from a Biotic explosion Wrex had sent ripping through them. One survived as he landed at the back, by the lift-

But was put down by a 'crack' of the Commander's weapon as she and her own team, dirty from their own trek, emerged.

"Wrex." She barked, "Report!"

"Just finished up, Commander." He grunted, bobbing his head towards the landing pad. "We need to get the hell out of here already. Before-"

Suddenly, the air above them cracked, like thunder in the otherwise clear day, and John was hurled to the side by a massive impact.

He slammed into one of the consoles and was thrown half-over it roughly, bent at the waist and hissing through the pain in his ribs. Fractures, he was willing to bet, based on the burn. He pushed himself up and off the console, shaking the numbness out of his rifle-arm, and turned to face whatever had impacted, rifle at the ready as he pulled himself over the scant cover of the more than ruined desk.

In the smoke wafting around the crater a few feet away, a massive, hulking frame shuddered and rose, turning and slashing through the air with a hand to clear it's own view.

"Atlas!" He bellowed, slamming into cover as its heavy cannon swivelled around to him, the blast ripping apart half his cover in one shot.

Shepard's team peppered it in fire almost immediately, and it spun, orienting its cannon on them and blasting them away, back the way they'd come. In that moment of vulnerability, he ran his eyes over it. Its torso was covered in a shell of armor his Avenger would never punch through, and as much as the cockpit was made of glass he was sure it was reinforced to do the same. But the arms and, more importantly, the legs had favored front facing armor, leaving their servos more open and vulnerable on the sides and backs.

His rifle's rounds sparked off the thin armor for a moment before finally punching through as the Atlas pivoted to face him. Sparking, it shuddered and hunched down, shielding the damaged knee with its claw-arm and bringing its cannon to bear on him. A few heavy accelerator rounds ripped into the air and ground around him, and one sparked off his Barrier with enough force to pitch him back, stumbling and nearly falling over one of the dead Troopers.

But, before it could put enough fire down to kill him, a Biotic explosion slammed into its arm-gun and very nearly ripped it apart.

The pilot reacted quickly enough, spinning the mech around to bring the mess of dangling wires and smoldering armor around to bludgeon the snarling Krogan as it rushed him. He ducked under it and took the thing at the knee John had damaged, Biotics cracking like thunder as the two met and his raw power sheared through the damaged limb. The Atlas flailed as it suddenly lost its ability to stand and tumbled, and Wrex turned, leaping up and onto it as it slammed down on its back. Raising both hands above his head, he brought his fists down with titanic cracks of lightning and glass.

"No-"

A final crack cut off the doomed woman's words and Wrex stood, rolling his shoulders as the traversal pod holding the doctor and the female hissed open and the Kodiak came back in for a landing. Sucking in a long, deep breath the Warlord stepped off the ruined corpse of the machine and dropped in front of John and Shepard as they came up, the others filing in behind them warily.

He took one look at John's hand pressing against his side and frowned, "You hit?"

"Negative." He grunted, bobbing his head at the rubble that had, an hour or so beforehand, been and advanced science station. "Shockwave knocked me into it. Bad spill. I'm fine, just a fracture or three."

"I'll notify Chakwas."

"It's fine, Commander, I'll wrap it up and-" She shot him a glare hotter than a spent Thermal Clip and he sighed and nodded. "Right. Chakwas."

"Good man." She nodded, "Now let's get the hell out of here before whatever dropped that bastard goes for an encore."

"You decided to shoot up an assault mech after cracking some ribs?" Wrex rumbled as they half-jogged toward the waiting transport. He shrugged and nodded, and Wrex snorted a loud, dry laugh. "Damn. That seemed smart?"

"Worked, didn't it?"

"Hah!" He laughed, "You sure you're Human? That's dumb and hard enough for a young Krogan, at least."

John growled at the idea, but ignored him as they boarded and Chakwas pinged his comm, "You're already injured?"

He just sighed.

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In the end, all Chakwas did was check for actual breaks - there were none - and wrap it up with a nice dose of Medi-Gel to boot. Twenty minutes, plus or minus, and Shepard had him in the conference room alongside the Krogan Warlord to talk through the mission while everyone else rested, ate, or got to work on whatever else needed doing. The latter of which, he suspected, would be more common than either of the former - unless they could eat and work.

What he didn't understand was something Wrex kindly asked for him when they met up-

"Why the hell does he have to be here?" The old Krogan rumbled, jerking his head at Vakarian lurking in the corner. "Him, I get."

"I didn't know I bothered you that much." He chuckled, taking the other right hand corner, just a couple feet from Vakarian's spot, and leaning into it with crossed arms.

"Everyone bothers him." The Turian offered, "The question is whether he tolerates you or not."

"Not everyone. Just you, Vakarian. Just you." The Warlord huffed, leaning on the table with both hands and looking at Shepard, leaning back against the outer hull across from the door. "And I'm just curious."

"You're not under my command." The COmmander shrugged, and then smirked when the three of them all huffed a laugh,\ and amended, "Not officially, at protocol means whoever you were with as to stay on hand. Someone in the Alliance. That way your reports can be 'validated'."

"So, in other words…"

"The Humans want a Human's word." Wrex huffed, shrugging and sighing. "Tracks. Why trust a Krogan just 'cus he's an ally?"

"Mhm." He could see Shepard's scowl, and understood it to some extent.

Her own memories awash in his mind fed the agitation that bubbled up from within him, pushing against his own instincts to support the idea. Liara's protections kept it from overwhelming him, of course. But it didn't keep him from feeling it at all. And from the influence that steadily made the anger stronger than his own understanding of the idea. All of which threatened to give him a migraine, until he pushed it aside and shook it off.

"Regardless, it's just… A formality." Shepard sighed, flicking Doe a look and asking, "You back up his report with yours?"

"I do." He nodded, "I sent it your way while I was in medical."

"Chakwas was alright with that?"

"We made a deal." John chuckled quietly, shaking his head and raising the arm with his 'Tool on it. "I stopped squirming while she checked me over and ran a full body course, because of my lack of mods. So, she let me type out a report."

"Generous of her." Shepard chuckled, "Very generous. And that's all?"

"Can't be all." Garrus snorted, "Not with Chakwas."

"I…" He considered hiding it, for a moment, and then finally sighed and gave in, "Also agreed to buy her some brandy when I get my first check through."

"There it is." Wrex rumbled a laugh, standing and shaking his head in amusement. Finally, though, he said, "We should get to it, though. Chatting is fun and all, but…"

"Yeah, we're all destressed, so down to the nitty gritty." Shepard sighed, stepping forward to stand by the table and raising her voice into something a bit… Firmer. More commanding. Looking between them, she said, "The operation was mostly a success, in spite of Cerberus' intervention. The female-"

"Eve is what she's goin' by." Wrex offered, shrugging when Shepard raised a brow at him. "Solus told me. She's keepin' her name quiet. Fairly sure she's Urdnot, but that's all we got."

"Eve, then, has been successfully extracted, and we are en route to Tuchanka." Shepard went on without missing another beat, "The issue to hand, however, is Cerberus. More directly- How the fuck did they know where we'd be and when?"

"A spy on the ship isn't likely." Garrus offered after a second, "Aside from one or two, and my people, everyone is from Hackett's own team of engineers. They'd have been screened to hell and back."

"And your people are Turian." Wrex rumbled, "Cerberus wouldn't want 'em on payroll. Listening devices?"

"EDI used the protocols off the android she's studying to triple check Mordin's work." Shepard shook her head, "There's nothing on the ship. Especially not in the QEC or the War Room. And both those are in sections that were more or less ripped out entirely and rebuilt from scratch by Hackett's refit teams."

"EDI is sure the android body is under control?"

"EDI?"

"I have established remote authority over it, as we discussed, Commander, and assimilated its informational base." EDI answer, voice clean and well-synthesised as it echoed from the surrounding audio-system. "As important as she was to Cerberus' infiltration measures, it is unlikely she was not edified on the most modern protocols prior to the Reaper assault on Earth. Which we took her during. Even if those have changed, any devices aboard now, or in her, would use these older protocols."

"So that closes those options." Shepard nodded, apparently already aware of it - which made obvious sense. "Thoughts?"

"The Salarians." John offered almost immediately, explaining when the Commander's brows both shot up into her hairline. Shrugging, he explained, "She was pissed about having to hand over the Female, and us working with the Krogan at all. And the Salarians seemed pretty damn ready for a fight when we got there."

"They were STG." Garrus countered, "That's just how they are."

"They seemed too ready for that, even." He argued, "Just a gut feeling, but… COnsidering how well they stayed on our asses, and that Atlas drop, it'd track."

"She'd risk losing out on a lot of data…"

"True, but most of that was backed up, and no shot Cerberus could hold the base even if they took it. They didn't even send the manpower for it." They'd have needed five times that, plus more heavy air assets, to take that sort of base on a different planet - but Sur'Kesh itself? "The Dalatrass was risking a few hundred Salarians in a surgical strike targeting us, and wasting her enemies' resources besides."

"And if it worked, the Female would be dead or gone." Wrex rumbled, "Us, too, maybe, but that'd be bonus points, I'm sure."

"And the Illusive Man stood to lose just as little." Shepard nodded, face turning dark as the idea settled in. Made sense. Shaking her head, she said, "Alright, I'm going to brief the Admiral on this. And the Council. Less on the Dalatrass, of course, except in private to Sparatus."

"He can get an investigation goin'." Wrex nodded, humming, "Not gonna be an easy one, though, digging our Salarian secrets."

"Still our best option." Garrus sighed, shaking his head wearily. "This is a Spirits devoid mess… The whole damn thing."

"We don't shape up, and kill this shit, it'll kill all of us." Shepard agreed with a long, low growl. Finally, she sucked in a breath to apparently steady herself and said, "Fine. If there's nothing else, then the debrief is done. Don't turn paranoid on me, but… Keep an eye out, all of you."

"Aye." They all echoed as Doe pursed his lips and offered, quietly, "I… Have some infil training. If you want me to go over the ship."

"Keep a sharp eye out, and get ready for whatever the hell is going to be waiting for us on Tuchanka." She reiterated meaningfully, paying each of the three of them a long, meaningful look. "But don't do anything without coming to me first. Any of you. Far as I'm certain, the ship is clean. We're looking at the Dalatrass for this."

He agreed, honestly, so he nodded and said, "Alright."

"Good night, all of you." She sighed as they finally left. He turned to give her a look where she stood, leaning against the table and lingering, but she just smiled and waved him off. "I'm fine, Doe. Get some rest."

He nodded and, feeling the least little pang of guilt…

Left to get to his bunk.

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The weapons talk is fun, but I'm just kinda rolling with it, now. You're all welcome to your own theories, but I'm working off mine. Thanks for the input regardless.

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CMDR Kai :

Yeah, ME isn't always consistent. But I try to be lmao.

Randomreader336 :

Ninety percent of the Mixing is canon - he and Shepard do it - I just took a logical step and asked 'What ic Shepard didn't have all the set up in her brain to UNDERSTAND Prothean stuff' and put it on Doe. As for why?

I think it's neat.

Chimp THrown Out a Plane :

Based