The Krogan Reformation - One

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Below them, Sur'Kesh was a bright, green and blue marble, surrounded by sleek Salarian ships operating in low-orbit and a litany of small, almost impossible to see, satellites. He couldn't guess at their purposes, but any number could be simple planetary comms, or something like a web-net. Or observation satellites for that matter - everyone knew how highly the Salarian Union prized its espionage.

Or, well, everyone from this galaxy knew it…

He only did thanks to his stolen memories - and the dissonance almost gave him a headache before he caught it, took a breath, and shook it off.

"Doing alright?" He turned to look to the entrance to the small rec-hall that had been slapped together in one of the Observation Decks. Garrus paced in a step and stopped, mandibles flicking anxiously, and then flicked a thumb back the way he'd come and asked. "Prefer it if I leave?"

"No." He surprised himself by saying, turning back to the window and adjusting the front of his armor absent-mindedly. "You're fine, Garrus."

"You sure?" He asked, "I don't want to push you…"

"I need the push." He chuckled, "But… Yeah, you're fine. Other Turians, other Asari, they bother me. But maybe it's… Because of what happened, but you are fine."

"That… Makes sense." Garrus sighed, coming over to stand beside him, watching the planet with one eye and him with the other. "Crazy stuff happens around here all the damn time, seems like. I don't get it."

"Just how it goes." He shrugged, "Better not to think about it. We have a job to do either way, distractions won't help anyone but the Reapers."

"Heh." Garrus chuckled, "You do have some Shepard in you."

"Hm?"

"That's what she said earlier." Garrus answered, "When I pointed the same thing out to her at breakfast."

"Oh." He blinked and chuckled, a bit of anxiety and humor mixing together in the back of his mind - it was frightening, sure, that they'd mixed so much, but it was a bit funny, somehow, too. "Yeah, I guess. What we went through, might never be quite the same. But…"

"Like you said." Garrus sighed, "We have a job to focus on. Only people that get ahead by getting distracted are the Reapers."

"Agreed." He nodded and, for a while, that was the end of it. The two armored soldiers just stood there, watching the planet below together in an acceptably comfortable silence. A sleek, elegant looking ship drifted close to them, almost entirely black and grey to better blend into the dark of space, before it pulled away quickly.

And, almost in time with its departure, their comms pinged and Shepard said, "We're deploying."

"Understood."

"Aye."

He pulled his helmet on as they turned, the familiar comfort of the visor polarizing in front of him as he followed the Turian out of the door and towards the lift. Shepard was waiting in the Shuttle-Bay, talking to a massive, armored bulk he recognized through the same dissonance as always as Urdnot Wrex. And Urdnot Wrex didn't look particularly happy, either, judging from his bared teeth and hard eyes. But whatever she said, he nodded to, rumbling something affirming enough that Shepard returned the gesture and laid a hand on his shoulder before she turned to meet them at the weapon racks.

"You read the briefs?"

"Yes, Ma'am." They both said quickly, Vakarian turning while Doe inspected the new Avenger he'd been given, complete with a new scope and interior dampening system, courtesy of Cortez.

"Good." Shepard nodded, "Mild change - the Chieftain is coming with."

"I figured as much when I saw him." Garrus chuckled, eyeing John's rifle and asking, "Gonna lose that one too?"

"Probably." Knowing his luck, definitely. Turning, he asked, "Who is on escort?"

"Vakarian." She answered, pulling her own helmet on before she continued. "They know each other, and the Union officials will feel better about a Turian watching the Krogan visitor."

"All in their heads, 'course." Wrex rumbled, laughing, "Vakarian couldn't find through a sick Krogan child, much less someone like me."

"Pretty sure I killed plenty of Saren's Krogan." The Turian pointed out dryly, mandibles quirking in amusement. "And not just the clones, either. Before you make that old excuse for it."

"Heh." He laughed, "Beat me by five seconds."

"Yeah, I bet." Garrus laughed, "I'll pretend to keep an eye on him while we're down there, Shepard. Primarch asked me to let you know - I'm acting as a representative for the Hierarchy. Not to step in, mind, but just… Quiet support."

"Let him know I appreciate it." Shepard sighed, "Dalatrass was not happy for us pushing this through…"

"Will do." He nodded, "We ready to head down?"

"Yeah." Shepard nodded, turning and punching the release on the Kodiak. Stepping in she grunted, "Let's get it done."

The shuttle-ride down was a quiet, tense one. Wrex sat in one corner of the Kodiak, slowly curling and uncurling his fists and growling lowly every time the shuttle shuddered. Shepard was beside him, talking quietly to him in an apparent effort to keep him calm. Which was probably important, given where they were landing, and what they were here for. Meanwhile, John and Garrus sat at the other end, their backs against the hull that separated their compartment from the cockpit.

"So…" Garrus murmured, "Nervous?"

"No."

"Ah." He chuckled, "Yeah, you would be as a… What's the line? Cool as a cucumber?"

"Yeah." He nodded, "It is."

"Yeah, got it… Uh, thanks."

"Are…" He sighed, "Are you nervous?"

"I mean, a bit?" He chuckled, "The Union is mostly fine with non-Salarians on most of their worlds, but Sur'Kesh? They're generally only allowed at ports. Space stations, too. You can live in either, but anywhere else and there's always red tape in the way."

"How do you mean?"

"I mean what I said." The Turian shrugged, "There's always something stopping you moving in. An accident, sudden zoning changes, a problem with your payment that lasts just long enough they already sold to someone else. It's all shady and not even subtle, sometimes. So being allowed to land at a black site of the STG's?"

"Makes you feel like you're about to be black-bagged?"

"Maybe not right away," he sighed, "but yeah. Union doesn't play games, Doe."

"Yeah." He chuckled, "Reminds me of home."

"Yeah?"

"Mhm." He nodded, "ONI. Spooks, like the STG. Out in the field, against Innies, you're as likely to catch an ONI round as one of theirs."

"Really?"

"Yeah." He sighed and shrugged, "ONI wasn't… Great. They did what they did, though, and someone had to approve it. So I imagine it was all for a good cause, if nothing else. Even if it didn't always seem like it.

"They sound like a nightmare…"

"They're why I'm here." He shrugged again, not sure where else to take the conversation. "Alpha-Nine was ONI. Dare had it written all over her. Special armor, special helmet, changed out objective mid-drop… All Spook stuff."

"Huh." Garrus' mandibles clicked and he cocked his head. "Well, I guess I'm glad enough that they exist, then."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Garrus nodded, "You're good at what you do, Doe. Having you here means we have another leg up on the Reapers. And I'll never not be grateful for that. Not while I'm alive."

"I… Appreciate that." And he meant it, too - in a way that lacked the dissonance that he usually had to suffer through whenever he felt anything positive for the aliens. Finally, the shuttle shuddered and came to a stop, but its engines were still whining - and the doors were still closed. Worried, he stood, holding onto a railing overhead, and asked, "What's going on?"

"The bastards won't let us land!" Wrex snarled, half-standing before Shepard stopped him. "I'm landing, Shepard! This is my damn job! My alliance, damn it all!"

"I know, Wrex, I get it. Just let me-"

"No!" He shot up fast, gently pushing the Commander back and out of the way. "I'm sorry, Commander, but I'm not letting them black-bag my people's best chance! Your Grunt means a lot, but he's one Krogan. One Cured female with him, and we could have a line!"

"I get that, but…" Shepard sighed, shook her head and stepped back. "Cortez, level us out over the landing pad."

"Uh, sure, Commander. Can I ask why?"

"We're gonna see if they can stop a Krogan air-drop!" Wrex laughed, punching the door release while Shepard watched. Outside, trees and concrete buildings moved by, and the wind howled. Even so, John heard the Krogan growl, "I'm done letting aliens wipe out my people, damn it. I'm just… Done."

Something in that… Clicked with him, somehow. Deep down in his gut. Before he could even think about it, he was standing beside the Krogan, one hand on his shoulder and the other drawing his rifle.

"Hmph?" Wrex turned, eyeing him with one eye, his brow raised.

"They could shoot you." He pointed out, "But they can't shoot both of us if we jump down there."

"Doe, that's not-"

"Hah!" Wrex laughed, voice booming in his ear. "I knew I was gonna like you, Human. Fine, then, but keep your lunch where it belongs, eh?"

"This is a terrible plan." Vakarian pointed out with a sigh.

"It is." Shepard added, voice resigned to what they were about to do. "But… I mean, they won't expect it, right? Just… Don't get shot, Doe. That would really, really suck, and I do not want to have to run ballistics so I know which Salarian I have to skin alive for it."

"You wouldn't actually-"

"She would." Wrex and Vakarian both cut Cortex off, while the former asked him. "Ready, uh, Doe?"

He nodded and felt a meaty hand take him by the back of his armor. As Wrex stepped out, he carried John with him and they fell forty or so feet while John hung there, eyes widening quickly as the ground came up to meet them, way too fast for him to survive. But, instead of splattering across the concrete… He felt electricity creep across his skin as Wrex wreathed them both in Biotics, slowing their fall into a heavy 'thump' rather than a lethal 'splat'.

Still, he staggered forward as the Biotics gave out and weight suddenly, unexpectedly, returned to him.

He sank to a knee and stayed there, rifle coming up on instinct as several Salarians brought their Predators up, drawing lines on he and Wrex alike. Wrex trundled forward a step, reaching for his shotgun, before a lance of red light caught him in the eye and made him wince. John followed it to a pair of black-suited Slarians across the valley from them, long rifles pointing the obviously threatening lasers painting them in dozens of spots. Wrex growled, watching them and more than aware of the open area they were in, but Doe just stood slowly, sliding in front of him protectively and flicking the power to his Avenger on.

If they fired, he was dead - but so was the Salarian he slowly lined his sights up with.

And he knew it, too, judging from how he turned his own aim onto the ODST in turn.

"Wait!" A sudden voice called out, another black-armored Salarian sprinting around the corner and running to stand between the two of them and the assembled Salarians. He waved them down and snapped, "I am ordering you to stand down! Now!"

A heartbeat passed, and the Salarians did as told, lowering their weapons - though the marksmen kept their aim on-target.

"Please!" The Salarian turned to them, dark eyes wide and face pleading as the Kodiak came down behind them. When he didn't move - and his visor didn't let the Salarian see his face - he looked past him to Wrex and said, "Urdnot Wrex, you know me. You remember, I trust?"

"Mhm." Wrex grunted, "Kirrahe, right? Virmire."

"Right." Kirrahe said, "Commander Kirrahe, actually. And as Commander, I am ordering the STG marksmen to stand the hell down before I skin them." Finally, the lasers blinked off, and Commander Kirrahe sighed, turning to them, both hands raised in a show of surrender - and trust - and he went on, "Please, Urdnot Wrex, stand down."

"Why should he?" Commander Shepard said, forming up on side side of the Krogan while Vakarian took the other, both armed and forming a wall of bodies around the larger alien. "The Dalatrass said we could come, and then you lock turrets on us and order us away?"

"That wasn't my call." Commander Kirrahe assured her, "Orders for the transfer only came through ten cycles ago. I had just come into the command room to organize your landing a cycle after you were told that, and rushed here when I realized."

"Why not stay in the command room?" John asked, "Coordinate the stand down from there?"

"I know Urdnot Wrex." Kirrahe smiled wryly, "If I did, he'd have probably killed someone for the misunderstanding."

"Because I'm Krogan?"

"Because you're Urdnot Wrex." The Commander corrected him, "I felt a personal hand, and an at least relatively friendly face, would be more useful than anything I could do from there. So please, relax, stand down, and we'll proceed into the base."

"And my females?"

"Female." Kirrahe corrected with a frown wincing when Wrex growled, "Their condition was critical. We did our best to save them, I assure you."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because more Cured females would be a better bargaining chip." The Commander answered simply and frankly. Wrex huffed, caught off guard, and the Salarian took the chance to keep going, "Orders were to save as many as we could, to bargain for Krogan mercenaries investing in defending Union space. A bit under-handed, I know, but that was the imperative we were handed. So when I say we did all we could, you can trust your mistrust of us and believe me."

"You…" Wrex chuckled, and suddenly a heavy hand settled on his shoulder. Wrex waved his gun down and, hesitantly, Doe obeyed him, lowering his Avenger and standing straighter as the huge Krogan went on. "You are one clever little Pyjak, aren't you, Commander?"

"I prefer to think I'm just honest." He shrugged, lowering his hands and smiling, obviously relieved. "I'm a soldier, Urdnot Wrex. Not a spy. I hate this job…"

"Aren't you with the STG?" Doe asked, and the Salarian chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah, but I specialise in command and direct action." He said, "Not cloak and dagger nonsense. I respect the people that handle that, of course, don't read too much into what I say. It's just… Not for me."

"Good." Wrex grunted, looking past him at the other Salarians who were all eyeing them warily. Raising his voice, he said, "I find the spies tastier, so I can eat you last."

"Urdnot Wrex, please." Commander Kirrahe sighed, "Don't antagonize them. Their nerves are already raw, between this and the Reaper invasion."

"Good." Wrec laughed, voice echoing, "I like 'em raw! Heh heh…"

"Spirits, this is going to go so well, isn't it?"

"Nope." Shepard answered the Turian's sigh with one of her own. "Nope, it definitely, definitely won't."

Regardless, the greenish Salarian stepped to the side, waving them forward and forcing himself to smile welcomingly. "Please, right this way, Chieftain Wrex. Commander Shepard. Special Advisor Vakarian. And, uh… Other Human, too. I'll get you all cleared through admittance quick as can be, sterilized to prevent infections, and down to the sub-level to meet the survivor."

"Lance Corporal John Doe." He grunted as they all made their way and he fell in at the rear, walking with the Salarian.

"Seriously?" The Salarian scoffed, "You expect me to believe that?"

All he could do was groan tiredly.

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The Baz :

Hah! There's a spinoff, lol

Mr Tiny Seal :

That was a regret of mine, before. I didn't show much of it, I just said it was there. Here, I established it better, and explained how it works, and what it means. So when it comes up, and Shepard or Doe or Javik act a bit oddly, it makes more sense.

Monstrr :

My dude, basic weapons in ME lore can, do, and are commonly capable of, outright dismemberment. Your dinky little Predator Heavy Pistol can canonically rip off limbs. Only Kinetic Barriers and armor can prevent this. It only doesn't happen in game because that could fuck about ratings in a LOT of countries.

Meanwhile, the standard rifles and sidearms in Halo are incapable of that.

And don't get me started on what you can do with Biotics that the game just didn't have the mechanics to TRY and replicate, lol.

ODST armor also can't 'withstand' plasma. It can resist it on lancing blows, but little else. It can withstand projectiles like Needlers well enough, Spikers and shrapnel too, and bullets REALLY well.

Trust me, I know my tech. And for the record 'I basically think you're an idiot that doesn't do research' isn't a great way to start.