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Reunited	By : Boompeew Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 25157 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I don't own the Mass Effect series or its characters. I do not make any money from this fic; it is purely for reader enjoyment.

Chapter List
- 37
- 38
- 39
Author’s notes: Hey there boys and girls, welcome to chapter 38 of Reunited! In this chapter, a new character is introduced, along with an old one (well it’s more re-introduced in this case)! If any of you have suggestions on what I could write in future chapters please don’t hesitate to PM me. Apparently, yourfanfiction has been closed down due to lack of funds, so here the link to my adult-fanfiction.org account instead: http: //members. adultfanfiction. net/profile. php? no=1296890817&view=story (just remove the spaces between the periods and you’ll get there). As always, here’s the link to the video of Megan and Miranda making love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPx43Qqw1X8.

“Alright Ashley, you’ll be taking Jacob, Garrus, Nyla, and Javik with you as team 1 and you’ll be hitting the front entrance. James, Jentha, Nicole and Major Kirrahe, you’ll be on me and going in from the emergency exit here, and we’ll be team 2.”Miranda briefed her teams as she closed the holographic map on her omnitool. “Understood. Since we’ve lost contact with the base 2 hours ago, should we assume that the base is lost?”Kirrahe, who’d volunteered to go on the mission back on the Normandy, asked. “Yes. Given that EDI has detected a Reaper destroyer that’s busy transferring troops in orbit over Sanctum, it’s safe to say that there are no more survivors in the base.”The brunette replied.

“H-hello? Is anyone here?”A panting, terrified whisper sounded in the team’s radios. “This is Lieutenant Commander Miranda Shepard of the SSV Normandy. Who is this?” “I’m…I’m Megan Jensen. I’m a scientist working for Cerberus-”The woman suddenly stopped talking as the team heard a series of thumps in the background. “Hello Megan? Are you there?”Miranda asked, repeating the question several times before getting a reply. “Yes, yes I’m here. I’m the only one left from the Reaper attack…I’m hiding in the main control room in an air duct…please tell me you’re coming to the base!”the scientist begged desperately.

“Yes we’re approaching Project Base Glacier now. Rest assured we will rescue you Miss Jensen. Just stay calm and stay hidden, alright? I’m going to go silent now, but if anything happens to you, contact us immediately.”Miranda instructed the terrified scientist as soothingly as she could before contacting EDI. “EDI, how many hostiles do we have down there?” “I have scanned a total of 60 husks, 71 cannibals, 38 commissars, and 5 brutes in the base. They do not seem to be aware of Miss Jensen’s presence in the base.” “Joker, I need you to hit the Reaper and keep it distracted while the ground team extracts the scientist and whatever intel they can.”Captain Megan Shepard, Miranda’s beloved wife, ordered the Normandy’s ace pilot over the frequency.

“Aye aye Captain. Guess we’re playing dodge ball: the real game while the team gets the scientist huh?”Joker piped up over the radio as Cortez turned back to the squad who was seated in the crew compartment of the Kodiak. “Alright we’re on final approach! 20 seconds!”He announced as the shuttle dipped, picking up speed significantly before slowing down to a halt. “Alright team 1, go-go-go!”Steve yelled as Ashley and her team jumped out with their weapons at the ready before he lifted off, bringing Miranda’s team to their drop zone. “Good luck out there guys!”The pilot wished them well as the team disembarked swiftly before he flew off. “Ashley, how’s your team doing?”Miranda asked, rushing down the corridor of the emergency exit with her X7 Valkyrie at the ready as she heard gunfire start up from Ashley’s side of the base.

"We're fine, just taking out some Reapers here. Garrus' rifle is a godsend against those damn brutes. How's your team doing?"Ashley replied as Miranda heard the distinctive guttural report of Ashley's X55 Argus rifle, which she'd chosen in favor of her usual X15 Vindicator. "We're all clear here-hang on..."Miranda muttered as she used her biotics to lift up and slam a husk into the ground, killing it while she fired her Valkyrie at a cannibal, popping its head open like a melon while Kirrahe, who was on Miranda's left, drained the shields of a commissar before gunning it down in a hail of bullets from his X90 Indra as they fanned out into a corridor stained with lots of blood.

"Watch it, we got some curious pendejos incoming."Danner reported as he fired twice, resulting in two cannibals missing their heads thanks to the sheer stopping power of his X99 Saber DMR. Vega fired on a scion with his X7 Typhoon, but Nicole shimmered out of her cloak from behind the scion and used her katana to slash open the fleshy sack on its back before driving her katana into its back and straight out of its armored torso, killing it instantly. "Well, shit."Danner commented eloquently in awe of Nicole's prowess with her sword.

"Dammit Nicole, I almost shot you there. A heads up before the next time you do that would be cool."James groused, more annoyed at the fact that Nicole had 'stolen' his kill as the team moved forward. "You do know that I still appear on your tac displays even when cloaked right?"Nicole asked, and Miranda knew that the blonde ninja was smiling under her helmet. "I must ask Lieutenant Commander, is your ship's VI and Flight Lieutenant Erin Iverson the same person?"Kirrahe asked as he took out 2 husks with quick bursts from his X90 as they moved forward. "No, why do you ask?"Miranda lied, mentally berating herself for hesitating a split second before she replied.

"Really? Hmm."The Major pondered as they moved forward. "Team 2, what's your status?"Ashley screamed into the radio just so she could be heard over the gunfire. "Relatively quiet over here. We're about a couple of minutes out from the control room."Miranda replied. "Could you hurry it up? Almost every Reaper in this place is gunning for us!" "This is a leisurely break compared to the average firefights in my cycle, primitive! However, a quick exit would be excellent!"Javik cut in as they heard the buzz of his beam rifle.

"Alright people, you heard them. Move it!"Miranda snapped as the squad broke out into an easy run, not even stopping as they gunned down any Reaper troops standing in their way. "Jentha, you're up."Miranda nodded to the engineer, who immediately began hacking the door lock. After a few seconds, the lock turned green as slid open as they swooped into the expansive control room, finding it clear of hostiles. "Clear! Miss Megan Jensen, this is the crew of the SSV Normandy! You're safe now, so please come out!"Jentha announced to the empty room as they heard scraping in one of the air ducts. "Miss Jensen, it's me, Miranda. You're safe for now, but we need to get you to safety quickly."The brunette Sentinel said loudly.

One of the duct gratings flipped open, and a pale, quivering brunette in a lab coat crawled out with a S358 Talon clutched tightly in her dainty hands. "Miss Jensen, are you alright?"Nicole asked as she kept her Hornet SMG trained at one of the entrances to the room. "Yes, yes I'm ok. Am I the only one left?"She asked timidly. "I’m afraid so. Our scans haven't turned up anyone else yet."The Normandy's XO replied as the scientist just sighed. "Where's the research data?"James asked from the computer console he was searching for files on. "I downloaded it into my omnitool before I hid in the vent."Megan replied as Miranda keyed her radio.

"Ashley, we got the scientist and we're coming out in 60 seconds. I'll divert Kirrahe, Jentha and Danner to help you out. Do you copy, Normandy?"The brunette asked. "Roger that LC. Sending a shuttle to your LZ and another to Williams' position now."Joker replied. "Wait! I can't leave without my things! I have some vital research papers in my bunk in the researchers’ quarters!"Megan cried out as the team looked at each other. "I'll go grab her stuff LC. I have a cloak, so I'll just sneak past any Reapers."Nicole volunteered as Miranda nodded. "Ok Nicole, double time it and link up with Ashley's team. James, you're with me protecting Miss Jensen. The rest of you, hit the Reapers from the back and take some of the pressure of Ashley's team. Move out!"Miranda ordered as everyone complied wordlessly, getting down to their assigned roles.

James took the lead and Miranda took the rear, putting Dr Megan Jensen in between them as they quickly made their way to the extraction point, gunning down half a dozen cannibals and 2 commissars along the way. Just as they neared the exit, Megan cried out in alarm. "Watch out!"The brunette scientist screamed as she spotted a cannibal in hiding that was drawing a bead on James. She fired her Talon twice, the recoil nearly making the pistol fly right up into her face and stumbling her slightly. The cannibal fell down dead, a huge chunk of its torso mass pulped and shredded and a fair bit of its 'face' was also gone thanks to the 2 shots the mousy researcher took at it.

"Damn! Thanks for covering my back Doc!"James exclaimed as he calmed Megan's quivering arm down by rubbing it gently. "It-it-it's dead right?"The brunette researcher quavered as they slowly moved along. "Yep it's dead. That was some pretty good shooting."Miranda replied, trying to calm the scientist's panic as Megan just nodded. The shuttle was coming in to land when the trio reached the LZ, and the hatch popped open to reveal Oriana in full combat armor with an X8 at the ready. "Get in guys! I got Reaper fighters on my tail!"Cortez yelled as Oriana pulled Megan in and helped her sister and James to board.

"Oriana, what are you doing here?!"Miranda yelled at her sister as James opened the top hatch and swung the door mounted X134 chain gun outwards. "I'm here to pick you guys up! We were short on people so I came along. And for the last time, I am combat trained!"The younger Lawson twin shot back as Steve pulled the shuttle into a covering position over Ashley's team. The shuttle pilot then fired the mass accelerator cannons mounted on the shuttle at the horde of Reaper forces attacking Ashley's team, thoroughly thinning out their ranks as Vega fired the chaingun into the Reaper troops, doing his bit as Oriana chipped in and fired on the Reapers with her Avenger, occasionally throwing a biotic warp bolt out.

"I've reached the LZ!"Nicole shouted into her radio. "Okay, we're all here! Fall back into the shuttle!"Ashley barked as the 2nd shuttle swooped in to pick up the ground team. They boarded in threes, the rest staying behind to cover the trio boarding before the ext trio boarded until nobody was left. "Okay we're all in. Go-go-go!"The Lieutenant yelled as the 2 shuttles pulled away and sped off back to the Normandy. When they entered space, they saw the Normandy blasting the Reaper destroyer before gracefully evading the returning laser beam. "Joker! We're coming in to dock!"Steve barked into the radio. "Roger that, shuttle bay doors are wide open! Get in and we're getting the hell outta dodge!"The ace pilot replied.

The 2 shuttles quickly flew into the shuttle bay side by side as the Normandy flew towards them, a testament to Cortez's skill and Private Sarah Campbell's, who was piloting the other shuttle, luck. Everyone strapped into the shuttle seats, not even getting out as the shuttles were locked into the hangar cranes, just in time for the Normandy to enter FTL travel, barely evading a final laser beam from the pursuing destroyer. "That was close Erin. Can we hurry it up a little the next time? Y'know, so I don't piss myself."Joker sighed in relief as everyone unbuckled themselves from their seats and exited the shuttles.

"I see that you certainly don't lack for near-death experiences. Even Virmire wasn't this intense."Kirrahe commented as he stepped out of the shuttle. "Doctor Jensen! I got your stuff with me!"Nicole called out as the mousy brunette walked over to the Cerberus swordswoman. "I got all your stuff and tossed it into the nearest bag I could find. Also, I think you really wanted this right?"The blonde asked as she fished a gold locket out of one of the pouches on her armor. "Yes-yes! Thank you so much..."Megan gushed gratefully as Nicole just took off her helmet and smiled. "Just Nicole will do." "Thank you Nicole. This means a lot to me. And you guys can call me Meg."The researcher said gratefully as she put the gold locket around her neck.

"Don't mention it Meg."Nicole accepted the thanks as Megan got off the lift. "So Miranda, you and the team managed to rescue Doctor Jensen and the data?"The redhead asked as she turned to her wife. "Yes, we managed to recover Dr Jensen from the facility. She copied all the research files that the facility staff had. This reminds me that we're going to start having problems around here, given that both you and Dr Jensen have the same name."The XO explained. "Well, you can call me Meg."The brunette Megan repeated. "And call me Megan, or Shepard. Guess this is going to take some getting used to."The redheaded Megan nodded.

"Is there any way I can contact the Illusive Man? I mean, he probably wouldn't want to see a researcher like me since I wasn't that important-"Meg began but Megan raised a hand to cut her off. "We have a direct line to Tim, Meg. Don't sweat it. C'mon, follow me."The Spectre motioned to the scientist, who followed suit along with Miranda. They walked past the war room, where both Wrex and Primarch Victus wanted to intercept Megan, but the Captain raised a hand asking them to wait as they strode into the vid comm room and called up the Illusive Man.

"Shepard. I assume you've been to project base Glacier?"TIM asked, stubbing out a cigarette. "Yeah Miranda went down there. Doctor Megan Jensen here was the only survivor, but she managed to download all the research data in the base. By the way, she has a question to ask you."Megan stepped aside to let Doctor Jensen speak. "Um...sir...is my son alright? Have the Reapers found the place yet?"The researcher asked in a near-panic. "No, the Reapers haven't found Reach Station yet. Your son..."He paused for a short while to scroll through a data pad. "Ah yes, Solomon is doing fine in the care of the teachers there. I'm sure Captain Shepard here could link you to him. Please tell me what happened down there on Glacier."

"We-we were just working on anti-indoctrination methods when suddenly they just hit us. Most of my colleagues were escorted to the bunker, but I refused and hid in a vent shaft while I copied all the data. The guards were all...killed by those monsters-Reapers and then I heard...I heard..."Meg trailed off as her voice devolved into hysterical sobbing. "It's safe now Meg. The Reapers can't get you now."Miranda consoled her, grasping her shoulders as the Illusive Man watched her sympathetically. "I heard my colleagues screaming as the Reapers took them away. That's all I know."Meg sobbed as Megan gently squeezed her arms in a reassuring gesture.

"Thank you Doctor Jensen. I would appreciate it if you could send me all the data you have as soon as you feel better. That will be all."TIM said kindly as Miranda led Meg away. "So Horatio, what exactly are you and your shady little organization up to now?"Megan asked in a sweet tone of voice intended to irritate TIM. "Call me Timmy if you want, just don't use my real name."The Cerberus leader sighed as he took a swig of his scotch. "Why not Jason?"The redhead asked with a wicked smirk, successfully using the Illusive Man's real middle name to piss him off.

He just sighed and took a long drag of scotch from his ever-present glass, his expression a cross between exasperation, irritation and hopelessness. "Nevermind. Cerberus is currently assisting turian forces in several theatres of war, and is also helping Alliance to defend Elysium, Terra Nova and many other colonies."He replied. "You're fighting side by side with the turians?"Megan asked, a little surprised that he would sanction full military support for the turians. "Of course. If the turians fall, we will all surely fall along with them. What, did you expect me to suddenly turn on everyone and unleash my forces on everybody, Alliance included? What else were you expecting Captain, for me to have some nefarious purpose which makes me oppose the entire galaxy and makes me send my forces to kill them? And then it culminates in some anticlimactic showdown where I force you to kill someone before you kill me? I'm human-first, but not anti-alien. Remember the difference."TIM sighed.

"Well that makes sense. But the stuff you mentioned that you would do sounds like some crap a lazy, struggling sci-fi writer would come up with. Anyways, how does it look on the colonies?"Megan asked, shuddering at the horribly crappy scenario TIM came up with. "Elysium is safe for the time being, but threat projections show the Reapers to be massing up for another attack on the planet. That's where our military presence is the strongest. Terra Nova is under siege, and there's full on urban warfare while there's still space combat between ships. its nuts."TIM commented as Megan folded her arms across her chest.

"What about Shanxi and Earth? What's the situation on those planets?"The redhead asked. "Not good for Shanxi. Even though we've been fighting alongside the Alliance, we've already lost half the planet, and we can barely even hold the other half. It's getting harder and harder to get reinforcements in every day unless the Alliance decides to divert fleets and soldiers from Elysium to Shanxi, but that's highly unlikely. As for Earth...I can only offer my prayers to whatever higher power out there that can help the troops trapped there. We tried sending in 2 frigates as a recon fleet, but we lost one. The other one is crippled, but managed to ascertain that less than three-quarters of the approximately 900 Reapers that attacked Earth are still there."

"Well shit. I guess us both have our jobs cut out for us, and I suggest that we do it."Megan said as she reached for the button to terminate the call. "Hang on. From what I understand, Professor Mordin Solus is inboard your ship. I'm letting Doctor Jensen into your care so that she can work on anti-indoctrination with him."The billionaire informed as Megan's eyes narrowed. "But you want something don't you, Timmy?"She asked suspiciously. "All I ask for is all the data collected and compiled by her and the good Professor Solus. After all, everyone fighting the Reapers should have some knowledge about anti-indoctrination."TIM said, puffing on his newly-lighted cigarette.

"Fair enough. But if I find out that you're gonna use this data to repeat Chasca-" "I think I have enough problems as it is without repeating all those failed experiments. You don't need to worry about what I'll do with it-as you said it yourself: we both have jobs to do. You do your thing and I'll do mine."The Illusive Man interrupted Megan's warning as he terminated the transmission. "Asshole. Wonder how he hasn't gotten himself killed yet."Megan muttered as she slowly walked out of the comm room, shuddering slightly in revulsion as her mind very unhelpfully reminded her that TIM had molested her once.

"Shepard. I need to talk in private about a...serious situation."Wrex approached Megan as soon as she stepped out of the comm room, and his sideways glare at Victus wasn't lost on her. "Alright, in here then."She motioned to Wrex to follow her inside the comm room. "One of the scouting squads is missing. They were scouting out the rachni relay because we've heard rumors of trouble in the area."Wrex began in a low tone. "Rachni? What?"Megan asked, completely surprised as she started to get a cold feeling in her gut that letting the rachni queen go back on Noveria wasn't such a good idea. "I have a favor to ask, and it's big."

"Please, don't tell me they're back and raring to kill us."The redhead groaned. "All I know for sure is that they went silent as soon as they arrived. I've got Aralakh Company on standby. They're my best unit. As soon as you agree to go there, I'll send them to meet you there."The krogan leader replied. "I'll go check it out, make sure that the rachni aren't preparing to kill us all."The Vanguard replied. "Get on it, Shepard." "How the hell could there be trouble with the rachni? First on all, they're pretty much extinct. Second, I let the queen on Noveria live provided she disappear forever."Megan sighed in frustration and puzzlement.

"I know, I was there. I've got a bad feeling about this. May not be rachni. Maybe it is. Could even be another invasion. If they're crawling out from under some rock, you know how bad it could get. We need to stop them before anything happens."Wrex returned. "Alright then Wrex. Let's get back to work." "Anytime, Shepard. Oh and by the way, I'm coming for this mission too."The grizzled krogan leader said. "Wait, didn't Mordin say that he needed your DNA sample to create the cure?"The redheaded Spectre asked. "Ah, that pyjak can get his sample later. Besides, I survived Ilos and Sovereign. A few rachni won't kill me."Wrex waved it off.

"When you put it that way, alright then. Besides, you did finish off Saren back then."Megan shook her head in bemusement as she walked out of the room to find Victus waiting for her expectantly at his borrowed terminal. "Captain, can we talk in private about the urgent situation I was telling you about earlier?" "Certainly Primarch."Megan consented as she led him to the meeting room. "An advance team of turians has been pinned down on Tuchanka. They were on a highly classified mission of utmost priority." "What are your people doing on Tuchanka, Primarch?" "I...can't say Captain. It's a highly sensitive matter. As soon as you reach the planet, contact Lieutenant Tarquin Victus."Primarch Victus said hesitantly.

"Tarquin Victus?"Megan asked. "Yes, he's my son. I needed someone I can trust completely." "Primarch, I can't help you unless you are completely honest with me and tell me exactly what's going on here."The Vanguard said firmly. "I'm sorry Captain, but I can't. Especially since Urdnot Wrex is aboard this ship."Victus replied regretfully. "Fine then. I'll help you out, but I still don't like all this secrecy." "Thank you Captain. I'm very sorry that I have to keep this secret from you, but it’s vital that this be kept a secret if the alliance is to work."Victus apologized before turning back and headed back into the war room.

Megan then headed down to the mess hall to grab a cup of coffee, where Garrus was seated and talking to Oriana over coffee. “Oriana, they say that female krogan have a thing for guys with scars.”Garrus said as he sipped on his coffee. “Really? That’s interesting.”The younger Lawson twin replied. “I’ve got a few myself…here’s hoping nobody’s planning an arranged marriage to cement this alliance.”The turian wisecracked as Oriana laughed out loud. “Well that would be interesting, given that you can barely even handle Kelly, let alone a krogan woman.”Megan laughed as she filled up a glass of water before rejoining them at the mess table. “Well…I have to say, I admire Eve. The things she must’ve endured living with the genophage.”Garrus quickly changed the subject.

“And to top it all off, she’s her people’s last hope. I can’t even begin to imagine the pressure she must be facing right now.”Oriana finished as Megan nodded and sipped at her coffee before speaking up. “I’ve never actually seen a live female krogan before. It seems like they’re the real brains on Tuchanka.” “True. It’s good to see Mordin alive-and still finding new ways to cause trouble.”Garrus grinned. They continued chatting for a few more minutes before Megan downed the last of her water to wash down the coffee before heading into the medbay to check up on Mordin and Eve. When Megan entered the lab, she found Mordin talking to Eve as he ran scans on her.

“For the 3^rd time doctor, I’m not interested.”Eve said with a hint of annoyance. “Ah Shepard, we were just-” “Are you okay?”Wrex asked, interrupting Mordin as he barged into the medbay. “I’m fine Wrex, you can relax.”Eve said coolly as she regarded Wrex. “You can’t be too careful…or put any faith in salarian doctors.”He growled, glaring at Mordin who was still tapping away at his datapad. “This one is different.” “Is he? What’s that?”Wrex retorted as he spotted Mordin with a needle and a vial. “Simple blood test.”The salarian genius replied simply. “What kind?” “Kind that ends the genophage. Shepard please. Distractions counterproductive. Also affecting comfort of patient.”Mordin shot back as he drew blood from Eve.

“He was your inside source Wrex. You can trust him.”Megan replied. “Salarians have minds like a maze. You never know when they’re leading you into a trap.” “Trap? Eve’s release my doing. You would have never know about her if not for me.”Mordin replied with an annoyed tone. “That was then, but she’s out now. And if she gets hurt, I’ll feel it.”Wrex growled. “Understand. But my patient, my responsibility. Her welfare a priority. Will not allow her to be compromised by anyone.”The salarian professor stated resolutely as he turned back to his terminal. “Heh, you’ve got a quad doctor. Keep her safe. Our females have endured enough.” Wrex chuckled as he turned to leave. “Don’t forget, still need tissue sample.” “I’ll be back.”Wrex sighed as he quickly made his exit from the medbay.

“Common phobia, fear of needles.”Mordin sniffed as Megan sniggered at the thought of the grizzled krogan warlord terrified of a needle. “More accurately, a fear of salarian doctors.”The redhead sniggered as Eve let out an amused snort. Megan chatted with Eve for awhile before Joker announced over the comms that they would be docking at the Citadel for a resupply in half an hour. “I’m glad to see humans treat their women with respect. Your people have placed a lot of responsibility on you.”Eve commented in closing. “It’s no more than the responsibilities your people have placed on you.” “Heh, then maybe we can show the men how it’s done.”Eve chuckled as she sat back against the headrest of the bed.

“You’ve got yourself a deal Eve. See you later.”Megan bade goodbye as she left the medbay and headed to the cockpit to prepare for docking. As soon as the Normandy was coming in to dock, they received a hail from Admiral Anderson. “Captain Shepard, are you there?”He asked. “Yessir, I’m here.”Megan replied. “Good. I need to meet with you as soon as you dock. As a matter of fact, I’m waiting at docking bay D24.”The Admiral ordered. “Got it sir. Be there in 10.” “Good. See you soon.”Anderson said before signing off. “Well that sounded urgent. Wonder what he wants?”Joker wondered. “Most likely to discuss the turian-krogan alliance.”Erin replied. As soon as the Normandy docked, Megan disembarked and nearly knocked into Anderson, who was standing by at the airlock.

“Good to see you Captain. I’ve arranged for a shipment of new shotguns designated as the M7 Piranhas to be included in your cargo load. They’re fully automatic and are great for taking out husks. Also, meet your 2 new squadmates. Both are N7 veterans.”The Admiral introduced a hulking man with a thick beard and a tanned blonde as they stepped forward. “Operations Chief Viktor Reznov reporting for duty madam.”The huge man said with a thick Russian accent as he saluted Megan. “Service Chief Jade Conagher reporting for duty ma’am.”The woman saluted, and her distinctive Texan drawl was not missed by Megan.

“At ease. Glad to have 2 more N7s aboard, we could definitely use the help.” Megan said, returning the salute before shaking both of their hands. “Da. Admiral Anderson has briefed us on the kind of missions you’ll be undertaking. It’s great to finally be in a good fight.”Reznov nodded. “Say, wouldn’t you 2 be more useful operating with smaller squads behind enemy lines than operating with us?”The redheaded Vanguard asked. “Well, ever since the turians, salarians and drell have allied with us, we’re forming joint strike forces with them. Basically put, we have too many of those forces, so we’re here.”Jade explained. “I see. Welcome to the Normandy. Grab your gear and claim a bunk.”Megan concluded as they nodded and picked up their gear before boarding.

“So, I heard that you’re brokering an alliance between the turians and the krogan.”Anderson began as soon as the 2 new N7s were aboard the ship and out of earshot before boarding the ship himself. “Yessir. And in order for it to go through, Urdnot Wrex has demanded a cure for the genophage. Professor Mordin Solus is working on it right now.”Megan whispered to her mentor. “I don’t mean to demoralize you, but do you think this will work out?”The Admiral asked. “Honestly, I really don’t know. I’m just doing it and hoping for the best right now.”Megan sighed. “Well, if we’re desperate enough to start building the ion cannons and the Crucible, I guess that it’s worth a shot.”Anderson mused.

“The Crucible? What’s that?”The Spectre asked. “Right, forgot to tell you about that one. You do remember the schematics for the other weapon you recovered from Mars right? The most massive one?”Anderson prodded. “Oh yeah, that one. So, have the squints figured out what it does yet?”Megan asked. “To be honest, no. We don’t even know what it does. But the Reapers have forced our hand, so we just have to hope for the best.”Anderson replied wearily. “I see. So is there any news from Earth?”Megan asked. “There’s constant news, and it’s all bad. Several continents have gone dark and too many cities are completely cut off from all contact because the Reapers have taken out the undersea comm cables and satellites. We only have a few QECs spread out over a few continents.”

“Shit. Where did Rear Admiral Hannah Shepard get deployed to?”Megan asked, concerned for her mother. “She’s taken the serviceable dry docked ships of the 5^th Fleet with her to link up with the 1^st, 6^th, 7^th, 12^th and the other operational ships of the 5^th Fleet at Elysium. Interestingly enough, Cerberus has a few ships there as well, but they’re mainly helping out with evac and groundside air support.” “Yeah, Cerberus is helping us out now. Speaking of which, here’s a Cerberus sniper that the Illusive Man loaned to me.”Megan said as she spotted Operative Michael Parker walking up to the airlock with a military grade backpack. “Operative Parker, you feeling good enough to fight again?” “Yes ma’am.” “Great. Grab a bunk. We’re leaving in an hour.”Megan ordered. “Well in that case I won’t keep you. Good luck out there.”Anderson bade farewell before walking off.

72 Hours Later

“Coming in to land Captain.”Steve Cortez reported as both shuttles came in to land on the sands of Utukku. The first shuttle was carrying Megan, Thomas, Reznov, James, Michael, Jade, Ashley and Jentha while the 2^nd shuttle had Wrex, Jacob, Garrus, Nyla, Danner, Javik, Nicole and Kirrahe as its passengers. As soon as the shuttles touched down, the doors opened to blast the entire squad in the face with a massive sandstorm. “Oh for fucks sakes!”Thomas swore, spitting out a mouthful of sand before putting on his helmet. Megan averted her face before putting on her helmet and stepped out of the shuttle. “Come on, Aralakh Company is waiting for us further down at the scout camp.”Wrex motioned for them to follow, and they did so.

“Primitive, what is that pack you’re carrying around?”Javik asked Jade impatiently. “Um, it’s a supply pylon. It’s basically a standard ammo box, but it comes with a micro-fabricator and a shield pylon that regenerates friendly shields attached to it. So that way, we’ll never run out of ammo in the middle of a firefight. I personally call it the dispenser.”Jade replied, obviously still slightly in shock over the fact that her team had a real, live breathing Prothean. When the Normandy crew recovered Javik from Eden Prime, Anderson had informed Udina that Javik was aboard the Normandy, Udina had immediately demanded that Javik turn himself over to the Council as an ‘advisor’.

Of course, the asari, turian and salarian councilors had found out about Javik, and both the asari and salarian councilors had demanded that Javik immediately be an advisor to the Asari Republics and the Salarian Union. Of course, the grumpy prothean had simply told them to piss off in slightly more formal language, and had even told Councilor Esheel to ‘go back to eating flies’. So here he was, fighting the Reapers with the Normandy crew. “Hmph. That is quite advanced technology for your people. Still primitive, but at least there’s progress.”The avatar of vengeance commented sharply. “Da, da, da…who would’ve thought the last prothean alive would be a complete mudak?”Reznov muttered as he brushed some sand off his X77 Typhoon machinegun.

“Uh, he’s a complete what?”Jacob asked, completely lost. “Asshole. Mudak means asshole in Russian.”Parker supplied helpfully as they reached the scout camp, which had mostly fallen into a huge sinkhole save for 4 barrack modules. Wrex marched into a module with a huge antenna array on the roof, and there were 12 krogan waiting inside fiddling with their weapons. “Wait-Grunt? Is that you?”Megan asked in surprise as the tank-bred krogan that accompanied her during the Collector mission. “Shepard? Shepard! Hahaha!”The young krogan laughed in glee as he grabbed Megan hard by her shoulders. “Grunt! What’re you doing here?”The redhead asked.

“I could ask you the same question. Didn’t those idiots lock you up?”Grunt asked. “Yeah they did. Locked me up to keep the batarians off me after the Alpha relay incident. They didn’t want any problems while they prepared for war. But…the Reapers arrived and now I’m out because they need me.”Megan replied. “Yeah, they got bigger problems alright. It’s why I’m out here running Aralakh Company. They’re tough, think they’re invincible. Reckless but effective.”The perfect krogan evaluated. “Sounds a lot like yourself Grunt. How’d you go from being the new kid to running a military company?”Megan asked. “Wasn’t easy. When Wrex put Aralakh Company together, he needed a leader who represented the future of our species.”

“So he chose you.”The redhead summed up. “Yeah, thank to you, I completed my Rite of Passage and became a part of Clan Urdnot. I was an equal. And being the strongest, I was chosen to lead this honored company.” “I’ll bet some didn’t like having you in charge.” “I collected a few scars earning my place here. These krogan respect me.” “You were a total pain in the ass Grunt, but if your krogan soldiers are as good as you say they are, we’ll probably live.”Megan chuckled. “Heh. Glad you’re here to crack some heads Shepard. Hard to believe this might be rachni. Seems crazy. The rachni! This chance to face the old enemy is impossible to resist!”Grunt growled.

“Yes, you are the one. The krogan who occupied my quarters on the Normandy. You left your mark.”Javik spoke up. “What! Who is this, battlemaster?”Grunt barked. “You shouldn’t be so anxious to face the rachni. They were formidable opponents, even to my people.” “I’ll explain later. We don’t know if the rachni had anything to do with this. We’re here to find the scouts, but scans didn’t show any sign of activity.”Megan diverted. “Agreed. But this place smells wrong. Like a bad wound. Our scans show that the tunnels down there lead to a large central point. If we’re lucky, it’s a nest.”Grunt agreed. “Sound like fun. Just like old times Grunt.”Garrus piped up, checking his Krysae sniper rifle once more as Grunt did his signature chuckle. “Okay Grunt, where are the other 20 troops?”Wrex asked.

“They’re in the other barrack modules.”The young krogan replied as Wrex nodded. “Then get them ready to move out.” “Alright, we’re going down first, and then Aralakh follows. Set up the ropes and fast rope down!”Megan ordered as her team grabbed the thick ropes that Aralakh had put in the module, fastening them to pitons before hammering said pitons to the side of the huge sinkhole. “Alright, we’ll go down a dozen at a time. Move out, and good luck!”Megan hollered as she rappelled down to the bottom of the sink hole with Wrex, Jacob, Michael, James, Viktor, Kirrahe, Nicole, Nyla, Jentha, and Ashley. When they got off the ropes, Danner, Garrus, Thomas and Javik, along with 8 Aralakh Company commandoes, rapidly rappelled down the ropes to join up.

“Okay squad, move out.”The redhead motioned as her squad followed her into the caves. Soon, they found a somewhat intact krogan corpse lying on the ground, a M451 flamethrower still tightly grasped in his hands and his Claymore shotgun on his back. “Huh. Whatever killed him did it with explosives.”Wrex noted, unholstering a big, chunky rifle the team had never seen before until they met Aralakh Company. Most of the krogan had the same rifle, while only a select few had X76 machineguns. “What’s that rifle Wrex? Never seen it before.”Garrus commented as Megan picked up the flamethrower and stowed it on her back. “It’s a Striker. It fires explosive rounds and it tears everything up, no exceptions.”Wrex chuckled fondly.

“Wait…is that…webbing?”James asked as they stopped before what looked like metal webbing. “Yeah…too thick to pass through, so we gotta destroy it.”Megan commented, pulling out the flamethrower and burning the webbing down, before moving up and burning away another one. “Back in my time, rachni used webbing as a physical barrier as well. But it did not look like this.”Javik commented as they fanned out into a massive chamber that was pitch dark. “Alright ladies and gents, time to use that night vision. Stay sharp.”Thomas instructed as everyone turned on the night vision function on their helmets.

“You’ve heard of rachni before?”Nyla asked. “Yes. In my cycle, we used the rachni as living weapons.”The prothean clarified. “Wait, you used them as weapons?”Wrex rumbled, his curiosity piqued. “They were only animals then without technology. Violent but useful. When they became a problem, we burned over 200 worlds to stop them.” Javik recalled. “Heh. Same shit, different cycle. We krogans did it better than you protheans though. We blew the damn rachni sky high, right out of their caves.”Wrex chuckled as they cautiously advanced deeper into the caves. “It would’ve been unnecessary for us to destroy the rachni with high explosives. They were not capable of burrowing underground in my cycle.”Javik countered.

"Wait, did anyone see that? I swear I just saw something running past us on the floor."Jentha whispered. "Shepard, we just made it to the bottom of the sinkhole. We'll take the other entrance."Grunt radioed. "Copy that Grunt. Good hunting...what are those?"Megan muttered as she saw a cluster of slimy, organic egg-shaped things anchored to the floor. "They look like the gestation pods rachni use, but these seem different."Javik supplied helpfully. Megan then used the flamethrower to burn the pods, and they exploded with a wet splat. "They explode? Really?"James asked in exasperation. "Probably a 'do not disturb or else' measure by the Reapers."Jade joked as there were a few snorts from the squad.

"Got more of those things."Wrex reported as he fired his Striker rifle on full auto into the huge cluster of over a dozen pods, the explosive rounds causing extreme havoc and destroying the entire cluster. Kirrahe had spotted another cluster and fired his odd looking pistol into the cluster. He fired thrice, and 3 mini grenades attached themselves to the pods before blowing up, taking the pods out. "How do I not have one of those?"Garrus complained. "It's a STG weapon. The Scorpion."Kirrahe said as he affectionately patted the pistol. After taking out a few more pod clusters and webbings, Megan and her team arrived at a large chamber.

"Megan, you're in the secondary chamber. We're detecting a lot of movement from the main chamber headed towards you."Miranda informed her as they spotted a strange, bulging figure headed towards them. "What is that? Never seen anything like it before."Nicole muttered. Suddenly, it began firing on the team with rockets as they heard the distinctive howls and growls of husks and cannibals. "Christ! It's almost exactly like those goddamn dragon things!"Thomas yelled as he biotically threw a cannibal against a husk, flattening them both and allowing Javik to kill both with a green biotic attack. Meanwhile, Michael and Viktor were firing on the rocket-spewing Reaper, and soon it collapsed in a puff of acidic smoke.

The rest of the team finished off the cannibals and husks before cautiously moving up to see half a dozen krogan corpses in several places as Megan dropped her now empty flamethrower. "You know, I think that might be Reaperized rachni. Grunt, we've confirmed the rachni presence here. Reaper modified and very dangerous."She radioed upon inspecting the rachni corpse slowly dissolving in a puddle of its own acid. "We know. We ran into a few and lost 2 krogan. Those things can slash through armor with their legs...or claws."Grunt radioed back. "Is your team okay?"Megan radioed. "It's fine. Krogan fight better angry."The young tank-bred replied.

"That little whelp is getting smarter by the day."Wrex commented as he picked up a flamethrower from a fallen krogan scout and used it to burn out a cluster of pods before they advanced forward. "Look at the ground Captain. Reaper tech?"Jentha asked. "Definitely looks like it."Megan muttered as she inspected the wires. "Damn, Reapers have really messed this place up."James whistled lowly as he pointed at several massive Reaper objects in another chamber. "Damn. If they're doing this to the rachni, then what the hell are they doing with everyone else?"Jacob muttered. "Probably best if we don't know."Ashley replied as the squad moved up.

After passing through several smaller caverns and burning out more pods, they came to a larger cavern that overlooked the route Grunt and his team was on. They were entrenched and firing at the advancing rachni with their weapons, and since krogan only used the Striker rifles, or Revenant machine guns, or Claymore shotguns and another shotgun Megan and her team had never seen before, they were inflicting massive damage on the rachni despite the fact that they were well armored. "I am krogan!"Grunt roared as he charged a rachni and tossed it over the edge of the cliff.

"Go battlemistress! We'll link up with you later when you get rid of that Reaper barrier!"Grunt bellowed as he pulled out his Revenant machine gun and fired on the rachni. "Reaper barrier? Wha-oh."Jentha stopped as she saw the huge metal piece blocking the krogan from entering the chamber they were in. "There's gotta be a way to get this thing down..."Jade muttered as Kirrahe fired his Scorpion at a Reaper object on the floor. The grenades detonated along with the object, and the metal barrier fell flat with a loud thud. Grunt and 13 other krogan jumped down to where Megan's team was. "Thanks Shepard, that wasn't webbing stopping us. That was Reaper tech."The krogan noted as he popped the thermal clip out of his machinegun.

"Yeah. I think they're breeding rachni for their army down here."Megan replied. "Logical. Rachni reproduce extremely fast. In a remote location like this, the Reapers could breed literally entire armies of rachni. We wouldn't even know till we get hit."Kirrahe commented. "That's just one more reason why we gotta wreck this place."Ashley spoke as everyone nodded in agreement. "You go on ahead. We'll hold this position and give you time to do what you need to do. Warriors, get ready!"Grunt bellowed as Megan led her team further down to the central chamber, and they had to crawl through a tiny tunnel to get to the chamber.

The first thing they saw when they emerged from the tunnel was a huge rachni queen, straining futilely against the Reaper webbing it was trapped in. "You said you let this one go back on...where again?"Reznov asked in awe of how massive the rachni was. "Yep, Shepard let it go on Noveria. It was a lot smaller back then."Wrex commented. "Yeah, our baby rachni queen's grown into a big, strong rachni queen. Who got imprisoned by the Reapers."Garrus wisecracked as a few chuckles broke out. Those chuckles quickly died down when they saw a horde of rachni approximately 20 strong alongside a few scions, and many husks, cannibals and commissars advancing on them, intent on defending the captured queen.

"Spread out and don't let those rachni get a shot on you!"Megan yelled as she fired her Valkyrie while rushing to cover, closely followed by Garrus, Ashley, Jacob, Nyla, Nicole and Jade. Thomas and Michael had taken the high ground with their Widow sniper rifles, while everyone else took the right flank. Megan leant out of cover and quickly took down 2 cannibals and was firing at an advancing scion that had James and Jentha pinned down with her X7 Valkyrie before the distinctive boom of a Widow sounded out and the scion dropped like a rock, the fleshy sac on its back completely ruptured and its form nearly cut in half. “Got him. Going for one of those rachni now.”Michael reported calmly.

“Dispenser going up!”Jade yelled as she deployed her supply pylon behind cover before rejoining the fight, firing her X7 Hurricane SMG at a few cannibals and commissars, killing 3 cannibals and one commissar before she activated her omnitool and it fired a round object from the gauntlet on her left arm, which detonated on impact with a scion, allowing for Wrex to finish it off with 2 shots from his rifle. Thomas took out a rachni with a shot from his Widow just as Nicole materialized right behind another one and slashed its back open with her sword, killing it and deftly moving to the next one and repeating the process. However, another rachni next to the one Nicole slashed turned on her, the laser dots already dancing on her chest.

The Cerberus ninja was faster, however, and stabbed her sword right through the odd, glowing circle thing that all the rachni had embedded in what was supposed to be their face. She quickly cloaked and ran for cover just as 2 other rachni began firing at her. Wrex was firing his rifle on full auto with a huge, shit eating grin on his face as he claimed kill after kill as cannibals, husks and commissars alike fell dead at the barrage of explosive rounds and his occasional warp bolt. Jacob yanked 2 cannibals toward himself before Nyla caused a massive biotic explosion as she tossed a warp at the cannibals. James had mounted his X77 machinegun on his cover, as did Viktor, and the 2 men were mowing down Reaper troops, scions and rachni included, with deadly ease.

Jentha’s combat drone was doing an excellent job of distracting the rachni and allowing Megan to kill 2 of them with a mixture of reave and accurate bursts from her X7 rifle in addition to the other Reaper troops she was busy shooting while Jentha herself was bagging a few cannibals and husks with her X55. Garrus, Danner and Kirrahe were having a field day picking off the commissars and cannibals with their respective rifles while Javik was clinically cutting down all the opposition with his particle rifle and biotics, which were an odd green color instead of the usual blue. Despite the fact that the Reaper troops numbered in the low hundreds, Megan and her team eliminated all of them. “Everyone alright?”Megan yelled when the last enemy, a scion, fell to the ground thanks to Javik’s biotics and shots from both Thomas and Michael.

“Just the usual flesh wound.”Garrus snarked as Wrex just chortled while Jacob and Ashley snickered, all three of them being well accustomed to Garrus’ brand of sarcasm. “Took a couple of hits, but I’ll live.”James reported. “Armor didn’t take a single hit. I’m ok.”Viktor reported as everyone sounded off that they were ok. They walked up to where the queen was trapped as it regarded them almost pleadingly. “Silence…”The queen spoke through a dead krogan scout lying entangled in webbing right in front of the queen. “Yebat!”Reznov swore in shock. “Goddamn-what now?”Jacob asked the heavily armored Russian. “Means fuck in Russian.”The Russian soldier replied. “The…maddening sour note has ceased.”The queen said with relief evident in its tone.

“Are you the same queen I let go back on Noveria?”Megan asked. “Yes. We listen for the children…they are silent, hollow. The machines come and take them to war. They die alone, silent, far away.”The queen replied. “The Reapers did this to you?”The Vanguard asked. “Yes. The sour note of the machines is everywhere.” “I let you go back on Noveria. You promised not to interfere anymore! The rachni were supposed to disappear.”Megan snarled. “We remember. We kept our promise, retreated back through the relay. We started a new home. Beautiful children. Harmony. But the machines came. They heard our song. The shriek of sour notes drowned us out.”The queen explained.

“Well, the Reapers can’t hurt you anymore.” “Yes, we understand.” “Can you still feel the Reapers? Can they influence you?” “We hear the machines, but they cannot control us. Remove this last shackle and we are free!”The queen gestured to a Reaper device on the ground near to them before she was interrupted. “Shepard! I’m down to my last 3 men! We can’t hold this position any longer!”Grunt roared over the gunfire in the background. “Got it Grunt. Take your remaining team and rendezvous with us at the exit!”Megan commanded as Grunt, well, grunted. “What?! The children return! They will destroy us all! Release us!”The rachni queen pleaded.

“Will you fight the Reapers?” “We hate the machines. We will fight for our unborn children. Release us!”The queen pleaded once more. “She’s completely messed up! She’ll take too much time to escape!”James objected. “Shepard, we’re out of time! If we stay here any longer, we’re all dead! Is that clear?!”Grunt yelled over the radio. “Alright we’ll hold them off. Make it quick, I’m bringing my ship in!”Megan snapped at the rachni queen as she pulled her S5 Phalanx and fired at the artifact, causing the Reaper webbing to break apart. “Captain!”Nyla protested.

“That’s an order! It’s too valuable an asset to lose!”The redhead barked back as the queen wailed in a show of appreciation before scurrying away quickly in the opposite direction. “Joker! Bring the Normandy in to extract the queen, now!”Megan snapped. “Copy that Captain. Are you sure taking the rachni queen onboard is a good idea?”Joker asked doubtfully. “We don’t have a choice! Do it!” “Aye aye Captain.” “Okay everyone, time to get the hell out of here and link up with Aralakh! Move!”The redheaded Spectre yelled as her entire team began running as fast as they could, blasting rachni troops along the way without even stopping. They finally linked up with Grunt, who was huddled down with 2 krogan corpses.

“What happened to your company?”Thomas yelled as he laid down suppressing fire from his X60 Harrier rifle. “I’m the last one left! Now let’s go!”The krogan roared as they ran onwards, and Joker radioed to say that they managed to pick up the rachni queen unharmed. They ran to a chamber as Grunt, who was in the lead, suddenly stopped and everyone else did the same. In the chamber were dozens of rachni, unaware of how close the enemies they were hunting for were to them. “The exit’s down that way! I’ll hold them off!”Grunt barked as Megan shook her head. “No Grunt, we’ll fight our way out as a team!” “Get outta here Shepard! You’re important to this war!”The tank-bred shot back.

“You’ve proved yourself to be a true krogan today Grunt. I’m proud to have you in my clan.”Wrex clapped Grunt on the shoulders before gesturing to Megan. “We gotta go!” “He’s right Shepard. We’ve got to bail, now.”Garrus spoke up as Megan gave Grunt a quick hug. “Good luck Grunt. I’m proud to be your battlemistress.”Megan teared up as Grunt just patted her before she ran out with her team, who gave the krogan some form of salute before running out of the cave. “My turn.”Grunt chuckled his trademarked chuckle as he let out a roar and charged forward, firing his Revenant in one hand and Claymore in the other.

Megan and her team trudged back to where the shuttles were parked dejectedly, and the redhead constantly found herself looking back towards the cave despondently. “I’ll miss Grunt. He was a good guy. I know he’s a small kid by krogan standards, but what the hell.”Thomas sighed. “Yeah. I remember the first few weeks after Shepard pulled him out of his pod, he would always just be hovering around me with that evil little grin on his face. Freaked me out.”Garrus commented fondly as the teams boarded their shuttles. “We’re the last ones out Cortez. Take us back.”Megan sighed despondently. “Got it ma’am. Prepping for-” “Hold-wait a minute…Grunt? Grunt!”Megan practically shrieked with joy as she ran out of the shuttle to help him as he was stumbling.

“Grunt! My baby! Oh Christ don’t even do that again, you scared the shit out of me!”Megan cried in joy as Grunt leaned heavily against her, his entire massive form was dripping with rachni viscera and blood. Wrex, Thomas and Garrus all ran to help Megan as they each grabbed a hold of Grunt and helped him limp to the shuttles. “Anybody…got…something to…eat?”Grunt panted as Thomas quickly reached into one of the pouches on his armor and pulled out an energy bar. “There you go big boy. Eat up.”Thomas grunted as Grunt just popped the whole thing in his mouth and chewed, wrapper still on. “Haha! That’s my boy!”Wrex guffawed, clapping Grunt on his hump as they boarded the shuttles.

Final notes: Holy crap, this chapter actually blew past 9000 words! In other terms…the words in this chapter is OVER 9000!!! Anyways, thanks once again for reading and faving my fic, but please review. It seriously takes less than 3 minutes to tell me what you enjoyed and didn’t enjoy about the new chapter. Gotta hit the sack now, so goodnight!
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