Spectre Bk 02 Ch 06

A/N - Australian / British standard English. There is a good chance of reading the following: lots of profanity, characters drinking, typos, and bad grammar at times.

Proofreading and editing suggestions provided by OhDave1. Any mistakes are still mine.

Comments are appreciated as always.

Feedback by email is always welcome. Enjoy chatting with anyone who likes my work.

*****

Shepard's next recruitment mission goes slightly awry.

*****

I had my team gathered by the galaxy map as the

Normandy

closed on the planet of Korlus. EDI was reporting in that the surface of the planet was littered with the remnants of thousands of ships. We also knew that the Blue Suns had a heavy presence on the planet and likely in the area where we would be landing.

"Okay. Listen up, people. This mission might turn out to be a bit of a doozy. We are looking to recruit a krogan by the name of Doctor Okeer."

"A krogan doctor?" Mordin asked, "A scientist?"

"According to the information provided by the Illusive Man, this krogan is over a thousand years old. Fought in the Krogan Rebellions. And of interest to perhaps all of us is that he has some familiarity with Collector technology."

"I'm not exactly sure that I like the sound of that, Shepard," Miranda stated.

"I might agree, but the reason he might be interested in their technology is his obsession with curing the genophage. The information provided suggests that Doctor Okeer may have had direct contact with the Collectors."

"Shit, just bring the krogan in and interrogate him about that, Shepard," Garrus suggested.

"That might be a sound plan, but having a krogan in our team with possibly over a thousand years of combat experience would only be a boon. We did fight with Wrex..." I glanced around my team. "I know most of you probably have next to no experience with krogan. I've fought alongside one and I've also fought and killed plenty more. They are the toughest bastards in the galaxy. Trust me, you'd rather be fighting alongside them than against them."

"I'm guessing it's not just a case of landing and picking him up?" Amelie asked.

"Correct. He's located deep inside a Blue Suns encampment. We're not exactly sure as to his arrangement with the Blue Suns. It's possible that they have an alliance for some reason."

"Tactics, Shepard?" Miranda asked, "We have a big squad now."

"Garrus and Amelie are our snipers. They'll focus on distance. I'll be at the front leading the charge..."

"Send a lunatic to catch a lunatic, Shepard?" Garrus joked.

"You know it, my friend. Miranda and Jack... I want you to link up your biotic attacks. Georgia, assist them where possible though I'd like your support up front." I glanced at Jack who hadn't changed a stitch of clothing. "Relying on shields?"

"Georgia made sure that I've got a good pack."

"Alright. Mordin, you'll handle tech, particularly shields. What I've learned about mercs is that they have good armour. Best thing to do is light the fuckers up with incendiary ammo. Kasumi, that cloaking device you have is great. Just be careful with it when leaving our lines."

"No worries, Shepard," Kasumi replied.

"Joker, we're heading down the cargo bay to load up. Call in when we're in orbit and we'll prepare to disembark."

We gathered in the back of the shuttle and waited for word from Joker that we were in orbit. The new

Normandy

was significantly larger than my old ship and while entering the atmosphere of a planet was still possible, having shuttle transport meant I could leave the ship in relative safety. Given that we were operating in the Terminus Systems, I was aware that many planets would have defence systems that could turn my ship into a sitting duck.

The shuttle dropped us off and we were out and in cover quickly. I ordered the shuttle off-world immediately as I didn't want our only means of transportation destroyed. I waited until everyone checked in before I ordered anyone to move.

"There is only one measure of success: kill or be killed! Perfection is your goal."

"Are we going to be hearing her voice the entire time, Shepard?" Garrus asked.

"Well, she doesn't sound like a krogan. Assume it has to be whoever is in charge of the Blue Suns."

As we carefully weaved our way through the wreckage, I was left thinking the one thing we were going to need after our visit to Korlus was a tetanus shot. Rusting and crumbling starships as far as the eye could see. For the first couple of minutes, we ran into no opposition though I felt everyone remained loose though alert. I knew the Blue Suns wouldn't be particularly happy to see my well-armed group arriving to say hello.

"Being hired is merely the beginning. You must earn your place in the mighty army we are building."

I heard Amelie snort through our comms. "Please. This woman sounds insane. What mighty army? They're two-bit mercenaries."

We finally hit the edge of the Blue Suns encampment. We noticed those at the observation post before they saw us. Garrus and Amelie lined up two of them, but by the time they dropped, the others were opening fire on us. Although they had a slight advantage, biotics and tech drew them out of cover and left them as easy prey for the rest of us.

Passing through the observation post, we came across one of the mercs who was trying to drag himself away to safety. He stopped when noticing me and my team standing around him. I told him to call it in. That we had dispersed. If he did that, I'd give him some Medi-gel. He told us a bit of information, something about 'overflow' from the labs and the fact that the army of krogan Okeer was creating were all insane. Jedore used the 'overflow' as live ammo training. Pretty fucked up.

He called it in when someone asked for a report. He played ball. Smart.

Then I shot him in the head.

"Damn, Shepard. That's cold," Jack stated behind me.

"As I said, bastard. And just like batarians, I generally don't let pieces of shit mercenaries live."

We came across the bodies of dead krogan as we moved forward. Most of them didn't even appear to be armed though their weapons had probably been taken. But their armour appeared to be similar to other krogan that I'd dealt with in the past.

"Training is part of your contract. Failure to perform means liquidation, legal and otherwise.

"

"She's insane, Shepard," Garrus suggested, "Maybe you'll get along with her?"

"You mean make friendly then try and fuck her?" Georgia joked.

"Look, even in today's galaxy, you don't stick your dick in crazy."

"Yet you want to fuck me, Shepard?" Jack teased.

"You're not crazy, just misunderstood."

The base was a maze of elevation changes and walkways. We had to be careful when crossing over vast chasms. The Blue Suns created pinch points to slow our progress though the advantages I had with my squad meant they only slowed us down, didn't stop us. We continued to pass dead krogan and I was left wondering what Wrex would have thought about it. Considering his opinion of the krogan at the time, he would probably have agreed with putting them down.

We'd patched into the Blue Suns comms and what had us chuckling was the urgent voice about patrols going dark. When they suggested it was a krogan raid, I shook my head. When it was suggested that they were being raided, I knew shit was about to hit the fan.

The chatter continued as we continued to push forward.

"The krogan are your example and your warning! As ferocious as they are, failures are expendable."

"Shit, is she talking about us?" Garrus muttered.

"I don't think any of you are expendable. But if you're stupid enough to get shot..."

"Love you too, Shepard."

Then we ran into a Blue Suns group dug in and waiting for us. Alarms started to blare and Jedore herself finally seemed to realise what was going on. Something about a Code Six, off-world hostiles and an order to kill us immediately.

Now it was going to be fun. We wiped the floor with the Blue Suns and met one of the tank krogan. It wasn't insane. It could speak to us, and when it revealed that it was only a week old, it proved that Okeer's lab was breeding them fully grown. It was an interesting conversation, particularly when it revealed that it was born still with the genophage.

The big krogan did move an enormous steel plate that would help us move forward. When I asked it if it wished to join us, it said no. It would remain and kill any Blue Suns that came its way. It knew that it would eventually die due to not being perfect. I could only imagine it had something to do with Okeer or Jedore. There was no missing the strength of this tank krogan. But its last words were it would not run away, nor would it follow me.

Now we had to deal with insane krogan as well as Blue Suns. Things were not going well for Jedore as the comm chatter suggested Okeer might have been up to no good. No doubt he heard the alarms and assumed something was going wrong.

Blue Suns comm chatter confirmed that things were going from bad to worse for them. What sounded like an army of krogan was now attacking them and more than one questioned where Jedore was. We continued to push forward, and I was left thinking that the Blue Suns were now being pressed from both sides.

"Keep it up!" I called out, "They're going to turn on Okeer eventually."

Jedore's maniacal voice continued to explode over the loudspeaker. I was left thinking that she'd be happy to sacrifice every single one of her mercenaries for her insane plans.

"Concentrate on the krogan charge or we're all dead! Who was the genius that gave them arms?"

We continued to fight as the radio barely fell silent as it was obvious the Blue Suns were now being viciously attacked by the krogan. I was left thinking that those we were fighting simply hadn't been pulled back due to our attack at the same time. But their numbers were simply not enough and we steamrolled them.

Then Jedore spoke about dealing with the 'traitor' Okeer.

"Keep pushing!" I ordered. My squad was doing well. We had taken wounds and Medi-gel was being applied, when necessary, but the Blue Suns were simply not good enough. Even those without any military training were doing well. Jack's biotics were ridiculous in their power. And Mordin's tech skills caused havoc whenever the Blue Suns were dug in.

I knew we were getting close to our target when we started to meet the better mercenaries. Their armour was certainly better. Shields were stronger. They had weaponry that made us more circumspect in how we moved from cover to cover. It took more bullets to put them down. They still died in the end though they managed to slow us down.

Hearing mercenaries die over the radio would always raise a chuckle. Others were imploring Jedore to do something to help them. Others talked about getting her off-world in the event that she was captured or killed. I thought that alone was insane, but I guess she had the loyalty of her most fanatical followers.

"Maybe she's like really hot or something?" Garrus joked.

"Maybe she fucks her men? Like just takes on a line of dicks? Gangbanged? Made airtight?" Jack wondered.

"Now I'm wondering how hot she is!" I joked back.

What I didn't expect was to run into someone I remembered quite well. Rana Thanoptis. I'd met her for the first and only time on Virmire when my squad infiltrated Saren's base. As far as I was aware, it was still a radioactive crater. It was a brief conversation as she tried to justify why I now found her helping out Jedore and Okeer.

"I remember her, Shepard. You gave her a second chance on Virmire," Garrus said behind me, "I think she's squandered that second chance."

I agreed so I put a bullet in her gut and left her to die.

"Okay, that's the example of not to fuck with you, Shepard," Jack muttered.

"You weren't there on Virmire, Jack. If you were, you'd understand," I assured her.

We passed through another couple of doors before we entered the lab itself and that's where we found Okeer waiting for us. He was old and came across as world-weary. I didn't really blame him in all honesty. His voice was gravel. He certainly had no patience for anyone. He knew who I was, at least. And he seemed to be well informed when mentioning what I did on Virmire.

"I'm guessing Rana told you?"

"Is she still alive?" he wondered. I smirked and all he did was nod. "We know who you are, Shepard. Some might agree with your methods. Whether Saren was trying to cure the genophage is now moot." I met his eyes and glared. He held up a hand. "Shepard, I actually approve of what you did. They were not true krogan. Saren was a traitor to your Council, but he never cared about the krogan either. Setting that place aflame through nuclear fire was the right decision."

He then gestured towards a tank nearby and explained his one pure soldier. All his research and sacrifices made were for this one krogan. All the other krogan were rejects. Not pure. Not perfect. As for Jedore, he simply stated that it was her inability to command that led to this day. What I realised in the end is that Okeer wasn't there to cure the genophage. It was about creating perfect soldiers.

He was absolutely fucking nuts. So the perfect recruit in many ways.

Before we could grab his tank and call in the shuttle, alarms started to ring in the lab and a now familiar voice echoed over a loudspeaker.

"Attention! I have traced the krogan release. Okeer, of course. I'm calling 'blank slate' on this project. Gas the commandoes and start over from Okeer's data. Flush the tanks!"

I walked to a nearby window and could see Jedore in the distance. Even from there, I could see the crazy in her eyes. Shame, really, as I would learn up close that was quite attractive. Shame she had to die.

Okeer stayed in his lab while the rest of us dealt with Jedore, the rest of her mercenaries, and the tank krogan that were released. It was a bitch of a fight as there was little cover and my squad was immediately pressed from all sides. Garrus and Amelie had to switch to other weapons. Jack and Miranda used their biotics to keep back the enemy. Mordin had a tech ability that allowed him to light targets on fire. Hearing their screams as they burned... I chuckled to myself.

Jedore found herself alone in the end. Weapon kicked out of her hand. She glared up at me. She really did have crazy in the eyes. Hell, if she wasn't such a fucking lunatic, I'd have taken her with me as she did have talent. And I would have probably enjoyed fucking her. But I wasn't completely crazy and didn't hesitate to put her down.

We'd been so distracted that none of us realised that the lab had been sealed and Okeer had been gassed. Thankfully, EDI could patch into the network, and she vented the air before we could enter. By the time we made it there, Okeer was dead although he'd left us a message, imploring us to take his tank krogan with us.

"Are we taking it, Shepard?" Miranda asked as we stood before it. The krogan inside was alive. EDI checked the vitals and confirmed it was 'perfect' though also carried the genophage.

The shuttle arrived to collect us nearby as Garrus and I wheeled the tank out with us. We boarded and began the short trip back to the ship. I stood up and told everyone that I was pleased that we had worked as a team. We'd smooth out any issues as we worked together more often. I also suggested that having too large a team would prove difficult to manage. I would think about a perfect number for the future. All that mattered was having the right balance of abilities.

I agreed that the best place to store the krogan was in one of the storage rooms on the engineering deck. We kept it locked and secured before we gathered together for the usual post-mission briefing. Miranda wasn't too disappointed about losing Okeer as she agreed that he was nuts. All Georgia wanted was for me to be careful when it came to releasing it. When I walked out to the CIC afterwards, Kelly admitted the same thing, worried that I could be releasing an insane krogan into the confines of the ship.

"I'll wait a couple of days, give it some more though," I assured her.

The first thing I needed after all of that was a shower to wash away the stink. I knew Miranda sent a mission report to the Illusive Man after anything we did. I changed clothes and wandered into her office a couple of minutes later. She smiled as usual before reaching into her drawer to retrieve some datapads. Handing them to me, I figured out what they were.

"Anything redacted?" I had to ask.

"No. Anything that had her name on it, I managed to get hold of."

"Any blowback and tell him to call me directly. Just say I threatened you or something."

"I don't think he'd believe that."

"Look, I'm working with you here and I'm willing to work with him as well. But I don't think Jack is making these accusations for the fun of it. Something happened..."

"I really don't know, Shepard. I haven't looked at the datapads."

"Thanks for this. I appreciate it. And although I know you're worried about Jack, she'll no doubt appreciate it too."

That made her laugh. I understood why as I noticed that although they worked together on the recent mission, they'd barely exchanged more than a few words. But their biotic combinations had proved effective. Even if they continued to hate each other, as long as they worked on the battlefield, I'd do my best to maintain things.

Jack was relaxing back on her bed as I'd arranged to have something better for her than a rather uncomfortable cot. She sat up when I approached. When I placed the datapads down next to her, she made to reach for them before pulling her hand back.

"I haven't looked at them nor has Miranda," I explained, "But whatever you want to know, it might be there."

"You trust her?"

"Yeah, I do, Jack. She hasn't done me wrong yet."

"You know that bastard will probably stab you in the back given the first chance."

"It's a chance I need to take given the mission. No one else is stepping up to do this, Jack." I gestured to the datapads. "What are you hoping to find?"

"I'm not sure. What happened to me... It's all a bit of a blur. Once I find dates, places, that sort of thing, then it'll jog my memories."

"And then?"

"I don't know. Something."

"Take your time. When you find anything that I can help with, let me know."

That made her eyes look up at me. "You mean that?"

"Of course."

I was walking away when she called out, "Thanks, Shepard." I glanced back and nodded before I returned upstairs. I spent the rest of the afternoon next to Kelly as I focused on reports and messages. I sent vague updates to the Council as I was aware that they gave less than a shit about anything going on in the Terminus Systems. As for the Alliance, I think they did appreciate that I was wiping out mercenary operations as it might keep some of the fragile colonies safer though the Collector threat still loomed large.

Dinner was the usual lively affair. I'd realised that only Mordin didn't usually join us. He didn't eat that much and preferred the peace of his lab. Jack wasn't there though she had come up while we were eating to grab a plate. The mess didn't fall silent. Kasumi called out to her as did Georgia. Jack stopped for a moment, looking a little unsure, before she disappeared.

"I'll go down and ask her if she wants to come and sit tonight," Kasumi suggested.

"I'd like to join you though I don't know if she'd want me there," Georgia replied.

"Just be friendly. I'm not sure she'll ever trust any of us, but if we're nice to her... Maybe she'll feel part of the team eventually."

"Won't give up on her, Shepard?" Miranda asked with a smile.