Ch.16 - Picking up trails pt.2

"Kid!" Wrex roared in a rather rushed tone as he entered mine and Tali's workshop area, causing both of us to look up.

""Yes Wrex?/huh?"" We said in unison.

He tends to call both of us kid.

"Oh right. That's both of you." He said under his breath. "Whatever. Both of you are coming with me!"

The Krogan proceeded to grab us both causing Tali to feel a great deal of confusion and myself to be intrigued.

Wrex did not feel angry, but determined and rushed.

"W-what's going on?!" Tali asked the krogan.

"Got something I need to do. You two and Shepard are the ones I want in on it." He brusquely explained as we entered the elevator.

"And this task is?" I questioned with interest.

Wrex is rather solitary, hence his desire for assistance was surprising. That he chose Tali, Shepard and I shows a level of trust I found flattering.

"I'll explain when we get Shepard." Wrex answered before head butting the elevator door in frustration. "Gah! Why is this thing so slow?!"

"We are working on an upgrade for it." I informed him in a bid to be helpful.

"Really? About damn time. This thing is slower than an Elcor." Grunted the Krogan with a satisfied nod.

We all stepped out of the elevator without having Wrex drag us this time. Finding Jane working in her office.

"Wrex? Tali? Neo?" She asked with a raised eyebrow at our presence. "What can I do for you?"

"I want your help Shepard." Wrex stated bluntly.

"With what?" Jane asked as she shifted her full attention to the Krogan.

"Just received confirmation that a group of pirates got a hold of Urdnot ancestral armor. I want that back." He explained as directly as ever. "I just need a lift before they disappear or sell the damn thing."

"No problem." Jane immediately agreed. "Where?"

"Tuntau. It's in the Phoenix System of Argos Rho." Wrex answered.

"Alright. That'll take a few hours real time, but we should get there before those pirates move on if that isn't their main base." Jane replied with a nod before standing up to likely charter our course.

"Thanks Shepard. I'll owe you for this." Wrex said as he walked out of the room.

"I guess we'll get ready for a fight then." Tali suggested with a bit of hesitation.

"Indeed we shall." I nodded as we both left. "Do get some rest as well Tali. You pulled an all-nighter again."

"*Yawn* Now that you mention it." She replied with a stretch of her body. "I could use some sleep instead of that filtered Turian stimulant."

"Yes. 37 hours of programming will do that to someone." I said with some concern over her current state, but a few hours in real time would be at least a few days on board depending on which Relays we use to reach Argos Rho, so she will get plenty of rest.

"Says the one who did it for 42." Tali jokingly replied.

"But this one does not require four separate pots of stimulant." I responded with a small grin of amusement.

Grumbles were my only answer as we made our way back to our quarters.

Rest would be good for myself as well, regardless of my need. Maintaining a proper rest, meal and work cycle has shown to be beneficial for mental health and social interactions.

Reaching Tuntau sometime later, the four Wrex wanted along for this personal mission met up in front of the shuttle.

It wasn't an exploratory trip and he knew exactly where the pirates were set up, so we would drop some distance away and approach on foot. They did not have any sort of anti-air defenses visible from our scans to stop us.

Tuntau is also rather mild, the only real issues are that the crust is mainly composed of sodium and silicon dioxide with deposits of various light metals, and that the atmosphere is composed of methane and helium. These facts stoped colonisation efforts of all current advanced races even with the relatively tame weather and only slightly higher gravity most species enjoy.

This allowed for the usage of the shuttle for the first time in quite a while apparently.

And I would say that I have found myself preferring using the shuttle.

Much less turbulence and a smoother landing by far.

I will not tell Jane.

Her love for the Mako is not unnoticed and it is one of the joys in her life according to our talks. She just seems to enjoying driving, even if not particularly tame behind the wheel.

The commander apparently has her own vintage motorcycle back on Earth that she enjoys riding on the rare occasions back 'home'.

It is interesting learning more about individuals.

"We're here." Wrex grunted as we looked down into the nest of hills surrounding a deployable outpost.

"Neo, how many?" Shepard asked as we spotted moving figures outside.

In response, I drew my Widow and looked through the scope.

I could feel about a dozen, but it is difficult to accurately tell from this far.

"Two human guards. Long range weapons. Around a dozen in total." I answered succinctly. "Permission to fire?"

"Drop 'em." She ordered.

Without hesitation, I shot.

*Bam! Bam!*

A moment later, their headless bodies flew backwards due to the strength of the Widow.

"Targets down." I informed the team as I switched to my Mattock.

"Good. Let's move before they come check." The Commander swiftly ordered.

We crossed the distance with ease, arriving at the outpost door and finding no extra security measures. Only two headless corpses and a vehicle Tali quickly sabotaged as I checked the door.

"Clear." I say, allowing Shepard and Wrex to take the lead.

It was his mission and her team.

"How do you want to do this Wrex? They may be pirates, but that doesn't mean they couldn't just sell us the armor." She diplomatically offered.

"Screw that. Only good pirate is a dead pirate." He dismissed as he set his shotgun ammunition to incendiary.

"Can't say I didn't try." Shepard shrugged as she essentially agreed. "What's it like in there Neo?"

"Six on the main level. Three above. Likely with the ability to shoot downwards. The leader would be in the most secured area where the precious cargo they possess should be located if this outpost follows the same design as marketed." I answered with no issue as I felt the varied masses of greed, lust, hate, and some minor signs of camaraderie.

"Alright. Keep your eyes open and make sure to not give them easy shots." Shepard said as she looked at each of us. "Wrex and Neo are in front. Hit them fast and hard, but don't get stupid and let them surround you or hit you with explosives. Tali, you're with me for support. Disable shields and anything that could give them an edge."

"Heh. This'll be fun then." A pleased Krogan said with a bloodthirsty grin. "Let's go kid."

I silently followed, switching to my Eviscerator, anticipating close range, high-speed combat.

Entering the outpost, we found the typical buffer area to usually allow decontamination and the likes, so we silently moved to the next door. Past here I could feel presences.

Looking at Wrex, he gave me a nod. I opened the door and allowed him to go first.

He happily did.

The pirates were not aware yet and Wrex is many things, but stupid is not one of them.

It always is amusing to see a thousand year old Krogan Battlemaster sneaking up on people.

We both made it close to the six on the lower floor with ease.

The main floor was cluttered with large containers, cargo, storage lockers and a shuttle. Plenty of cover to use when one was aware of everyone's positions and had many stealth options like myself.

When in position, we fired.

Wrex shot a Salarian, killing it as most of his internal organs were not internal anymore. Nor intact. Or even raw anymore.

Surprisingly, incendiary rounds can flash cook Salarian organs.

I took the opportunity from that rather morbid distraction to place my shotgun to the side of a human's head, within the shielding, and blasted it.

'That makes three heads I've removed.' I briefly thought as I considered doing so less to at least keep the corpses identifiable enough to collect bounties.

My Eviscerator is quite an efficient weapon, actually killing my intended second target using my first shot and the remaining skull fragments to do so.

From the side, Shepard smoothly used her biotics to completely hold her target using [Stasis] before gifting him new holes in his chest, while Tali effectively blinded the pirates above and began keeping them down.

With my own secondary target down, I moved on to my third, using my inhuman body to approach him in a moment, stabbing my armored hand through the visor section of his helmet and activating [Incinerate].

He died in an instant as the powerful flames meant to combat shielding, biotics and armor were applied directly to his skull.

While I did so, Wrex finished a Turian with a quick trio of shots before [Charge]-ing the last man directly, producing many crunching and snapping noises as he did so.

Shepard on the other hand, had already reached the second level and ended one of the three presences above… two now, but that might have been Tali due to the amount of electricity I was hearing.

Wrex went ahead as I did a quick sweep of the main level.

My senses might be able to locate the living, but not mechs or bombs.

Better safe than sorry.

Pirates are known for cowardice, ruthlessness, greed and destruction. Rigging a base to facilitate an escape does not seem far fetched to me.

Finding nothing but harmless cargo and a lack of explosives, I made my way upstairs.

On the second level, I found blast marks, one human and one batarian corpse, and an open door I could see Tali from.

I walked in, finding a dead Turian on the floor I would assume to be Ton Actus, the leader of these Pirates and Krogan Rebellion paraphernalia enthusiast.

The last part is the reason why we were here.

His head was caved in and Wrex had dark blood blood on his head, not a difficult puzzle.

Tali was on her Omni-tool, checking the outpost's systems, while Shepard and Wrex were off to the side discussing something while the latter held a half destroyed metallic armor filled with scratches, dents and bullet holes.

Considering this was supposed to be ancestral Krogan armor and that Krogans don't actually have a recorded limit to how old they can be, usually dying from some form of combat way before age becomes an issue as Wrex is a thousand years old and still very active, it does not surprise me that it would be… crude or primitive.

"I can't believe my ancestors wore this piece of crap." Wrex commented in mild disbelief before grinning. "At least I've got it back."

"Glad we could help." Shepard sincerely said to him.

"You know, I just might be starting to like you Shepard." He smirked, before I felt thoughtfulness and determination as he placed it back in the transport unit. "Let's get out of here."

With Shepard nodding, we all took our leave from this place.

I on the other hand, began setting up an operation which should bring some benefits.

You see, Ton Actus had far more than just Clan Urdnot's ancestral armor in his collection. And with access to some of it on site and relatively easy to hack systems, I've determined quickly the locations of his stashes and where he sold or bought some pieces. The importance of this is that it could be used to gain the favor of some Krogan clans or at least enterprising members of such for the possibility of employing them or turning them into my subordinates.

I do wonder if it would be possible to lead a small Krogan clan with my own 'heritage' and the fact that I can actually beat them unarmed. I might need to build it up from scratch and follow some Krogan customs, but having a few relatively loyal Krogans under my command could be useful in the future.

Thoughts for later, but for now I will take what I can in Actus' collection and secure it.

"Thanks for backing me up kids, even

If I could probably kill all these pyjaks on my own." The grinning red Krogan said.

"No problem Wrex." Tali graciously replied.

"You are one of the few I consider a friend, hence I will endeavor to aide you in all your endeavors." I seriously responded as did feel a great deal of… kinship with Wrex over his acceptance of what I am and his downright excitement as we test ourselves against each other.

"Bah! Too serious. Let's get hammered with some proper booze and blow this crap hole!" The Krogan almost cheered as he went on ahead.

"This will be a good opportunity to test if I can even be affected by alcohol." I agreed with some curiosity.

"Ha! You can fight like a krogan, but let's see if you can drink like one! I should have some Ryncol stashed somewhere." He excitedly challenged, causing both of our female companions to become very distressed.

"Whoa there! That stuff is not meant for humans! Or anyone that isn't Krogan really!" Shepard hurriedly protested.

"Good thing the kid is pretty far from human then!" Wrex replied with little care.

"Regardless of how strong he is, Neo is still human!" Tali shot back with surprising levels of determination.

"Don't be such a spoilsport kid. Pretty sure you Quarians were able to drink our stuff before the Migrant Fleet. Maybe if we filter it… a lot, you can even join us." Wrex suggested as if it was the reason for Tali's rejection.

"Quarians are actually very resistant and adaptable due to their evolution, even if this became a detriment to them since their exodus, so not wholly impossible. Although now it would bring any Quarian to his or her knees rather quickly, even if filtered." I informed everyone, something which even managed to mildly surprise Tali.

"Be that as it may." Shepard almost hissed. "No freaking ryncol for someone who never even drank before."

"Fine." The Krogan almost whined. "But I'm still getting hammered and then the kid and are fighting!"

"Just don't beat up the drunk old man too much Neo." Jane sighed in acceptance at the 'deal'.

"Understood Commander." I replied as I did usually limit myself to more unrefined combat when facing Wrex due to the primal excitement it gave me.

If I fought as I know I should, I doubt the fight would not last very long or be very…fun.

But with that, we all made our way to the shuttle.

Shepard did have a team sweep the area in the Mako after finding a few points of interest on the surface during scans, but we left soon after.

Off to our next assignment as we waited for our quarry to slip up.

Said assignment turned out to be a series of Geth incursions in the Armstrong Nebula. The Alliance fears this was a precursor to an all out invasion.

Tali on the other hand, cross referenced this with some information she managed to secure and decrypt from Feros regarding Saren ordering the Geth to build up their forces for a push into Citadel space.

Both were less than ideal things to allow, hence we were on our way.

It resulted in a five planet run as Shepard took the Mako down, mainly with Tali and Garrus for the outposts, fielding Ashley as well for a research station the Geth had taken, to eliminate Geth presences in the nebula.

Alliance intelligence said four, but Tali, Liara and I worked through the Geth logic to understand that none were the 'main base', enhance they would have at least another presence in the nebula, resulting in the fifth run.

I spent most of my time using the Normandy's systems to assist Joker and the Commander, while also helping Tali go through all the Geth data she could obtain.

And in the end, Tali obtained something she believes would be of incredible importance to the Quarian effort to retrieve their homeworld and for her Pilgrimage: Data on Geth 'evolution' since the Exodus.

Jane was… very open to sharing the information, believing strongly in the Quarian people's desire to return 'home' and defeat the Geth once and for all.

I had some… private doubts regarding the exact nature of the Quarian/Geth Conflict, both its beginnings and current state, something which is mildly affected by current Geth activities and encounters, but I would assist my friend regardless.

This was why I had been working with her to structure the Geth data with everything we have on all Geth models we have faced. Not difficult work, but I sped things up considerably for Tali.

She was very thankful for my efforts to help her and the Fleet.

I was glad to help my friend in her.

But before we could finish everything, Jane asked for a squad meeting.

A lead on Saren had been found.

Liara's mother, Matriarch Benezia, was spotted on Noveria.

_______________________________________

Alright, loyalty missions are done.

Yes Mass Effect one had loyalty missions, but only for Tali, Wrex and Garrus. Ashley or Kaiden need to die, so my guess is that saving one counts as gaining their loyalty but not really because of how they'll react in Mass Effect 2.

I thought having Neo not involved with Garrus' would show that the Turian might accept him as a valued squad mate, but would not trust him above others.

Wrex would be all for the only other person who can fight like a Krogan being his buddy or maybe adopted clan members, so he brings Neo along with Tali who he has a soft spot for. A little bit of action to show how above something like pirates Shepard's crew really is.

Shields aren't at skin level if you've ever noticed. From what I understand, the generate a small mass effect field which stops accelerated objects or energy from reaching the target. Having the gun in the shield wouldn't stop shit and would explain why melee attacks are effective.

And I felt like using the shuttle since it's not like they had to use the Mako for this one.

As for Tali, well her quest is technically a separate one which just so happens to obtain data that she can ask for. The thing is tedious and mainly Mako combat except for one research station, so I skimmed it to get to the next important bit.

I believe Shepard would alternate who comes along with the space in the Mako, focusing on Tali as the Geth expert and Kaiden, Neo or Garrus as back up.

Neo would help Tali of the field as the only other person who basically now matches her in terms of engineering, tech and Geth.

And so now it's time for Noveria, what can actually be considered Liara's loyalty mission.