Khaela. Earth Orbit.
Another colony down. In a certain sense, this happens quite routinely, and the news reaches us post-factum. At least on Earth and other inner worlds. Academies are running; people are entertaining themselves. Yes, there are reports in the news, but The Covenant is somewhere out there, as is the war. For the average person living on Earth, everything happens completely unnoticed. The hysteria of the first year of the war has long been forgotten.
For the military, the situation is generally the same. Until The Covenant finds a planet, all preparations are strictly theoretical. And then, within a couple of months of activity, the outcome becomes clear. There is no clear front; every battle is unique. Citadel Space was unlucky, but they tied their colonies to the Mass Relays themselves.
After the failure at the Atlas Moons, The Covenant is sending much larger forces into battle and, with losses, they are successfully pushing through human defenses. The Lesser Leo systems fell after two months of stubborn fighting. Yes, with heavy losses on the enemy's side, after a successful trap involving, among others, two dozen Spartans. But The Covenant ultimately glassed the colonies. There are no survivors among the population, except for those who managed to escape at the very beginning.
Such things pass by almost incidentally. A familiar background that everyone has heard hundreds of times. But there is one "but." The SSGraPT (Superluminal Gravitational-Plasma Torpedo), which could potentially turn a battle. Against small Covenant ships, it might be a bit clumsy—they move actively. But as a weapon against supercarriers of all types, it's what humanity needs. When gigantism is a problem, but not yours.
Interestingly, intelligence and analysts say that some internal squabbles have started within The Covenant. There have been skirmishes between Covenant forces right in the middle of a siege. Has the nanovirus still not been cleared, and have sects begun to form in the enemy's ranks? Unclear; the development of events should be monitored.
For now, we should deal with what we know and what we can influence.
Through the efforts of the junior, one of the shipyards for small vessels has been converted to the construction of superluminal torpedoes. Currently, the third and fourth warheads are being assembled; they will be ready in three days. After that, they will be handed over to the Earth defense forces. And two more, for which components were gathered, will go to Reach in a month. This won't wipe out the entire Covenant fleet, but it will thin out their largest ships.
One problem: large mass cores. Even the Geth produce them in limited runs; it's too difficult to synchronize cores on super-dreadnoughts. And smaller ships for the hermits sitting in the Perseus Veil and developing quietly are rarely lost. So they have the capacity, but for mass production, even they need time to prepare and gather resources. Especially Element Zero, which only the asari always have enough of.
So we need our own sources of cores. And Element Zero in general, although once the relay lets go and stops generating anomalies, that should stop being a problem.
The Geth won't manage to supply two economies at once; that's just a fact. At least not at first. Fortunately, opportunities have arisen for humanity, which means operations abroad.
The first is the Shadow Broker. Contacts with him haven't been abandoned; we have his agents. And judging by the fact that he continues to reach out, he's interested in humans. It's not a guarantee, but there are options.
The second is the conflict with The Covenant. We accidentally discovered that the blockade on us has been lifted from the other side of the relays. Reconnaissance was immediately organized to understand the reason. And in the orbit of that colony that Vice Admiral Harper was pelted with neutron bombs, a Covenant fleet was found, which local forces are trying to hold back as best they can. Unexpected, but useful.
The Council forces aren't holding back The Covenant particularly successfully, but they are trying.
Moreover, quite a lot is known about the attack itself; the public Extranet is key. There's just a mass of people willing to post recordings of the attacking forces and their actions to the general network. And then people were found who analyzed the recordings and made maps of the area, and that's interesting. The Covenant seems to have decided to conduct a full-scale ground operation.
We found out what forces are operating in space through our own means. It was difficult, but we managed to get a general picture. Margaret Parangosky immediately ordered probes to be delivered there to get more data without exposing ourselves personally.
No, we won't get involved in this, but there are two important facts here. The turians have pulled forces to that world and lifted the blockade on us. This gives us a huge amount of freedom.
And the second means we can find, steal, or buy mass cores. And go where we need to through the Mass Relays. Obviously, a core for a large ship isn't found just anywhere, but there are worlds like Illium or others where one can buy goods directly from corporations. And then deliver them to the Contact system with almost no problems.
In any case, the situation must be exploited, which is what is happening. We'll sit on the shore, catching technologies and samples while mountains of our enemies' corpses float by. The Vice Admiral has already ordered the formation of a sabotage squad to be sent to that planet, and I'm... not participating. Not at all. Spartans, yes; me, no.
I was ordered to assemble six more new avatars, "The Possessed." Unlike the combat one, these don't outwardly differ from a human devoid of active musculature; they look unremarkable, and about a third of their chest cavity is occupied by a power cell and a quantum beacon. This makes them fairly weak fighters (on the level of a modified human or a Geth without armor), but observers capable of social stealth. They can shoot, use my reactions thanks to the beacon, and be hands, as well as the eyes of intelligence. Or hacking—can't do without that. But as agents or diplomats, not a Spartan or an admiral's daughter.
Thus, the Vice Admiral got a hacker, a negotiator, and a mobile bomb. Essentially her eyes in operations on Earth. That's why they're "The Possessed."
And the avatar is working with Urdnot Wrex and Javik. And Yellow. Looks like we'll be traveling as a single xeno-squad. The avatar wasn't told the direct assignment, but she's clearly heading to Tuchanka for new samples. Margaret Parangosky held negotiations with Wrex; they agreed on something. Samples are needed for Dr. Catherine Halsey. I can manage current projects with robots or the core, while the mobile platforms go into action.
We need to use the opportunities to gather samples and turn the battle in the right direction. Our direction. Margaret Parangosky isn't particularly against it if the Citadel leadership spends all its combat-ready forces on protecting its territories. No, we won't specifically sabotage the process, just take advantage of the opportunities. Oh yes.
***
Still, movement through the Mass Relays is very fast. A week and a half, and we're already at Tuchanka.
At Oma Ker, the battle began to drag on. Cat and mouse with the fleet and a slow grinding down of the Council ground forces. Obviously, The Covenant doesn't intend to glass the planet, so they are storming it. Very slowly, as the small anti-aircraft forces of the Citadel are more than good.
The Covenant hoped to resolve the issue with one blow, but it turned into a war of maneuver and full-scale assaults on fortified cities. Maybe later The Covenant will get tired and start bombing, but for now, they are completely bogged down. And we don't mind. But that's there, and the avatar is here.
This time the landing group on Tuchanka will be more modest. The avatar, Wrex, Javik, Yellow, and a squad of Geth on Warthogs. The transport is still the same stealth frigates. I approached Wrex, who was standing by the map:
"So, big boss, where are we landing? You're the guide."
The lizard bared his teeth slightly at my question, staring into space. The lizard was thinking. In general, our whole team is staring at each other with unhealthy interest. Javik clearly realized I'm a synthetic and is watching closely. Wrex is seeing all of us for the first time and doesn't trust us, and I'm just recording everything I can. And with this lineup, we're going on a reconnaissance mission to a world known for its danger. Amazing, but there's no time for preparation. We need to use the opportunities.
While we sit in the metal hall inside the frigate, where the darkness is dispersed only by rare lamps and holograms of the planet across the whole wall. Everyone is fine with it. And the small figure of the ship's AI. He doesn't know who I am—classified information. In his opinion, I'm just another commando with unconventional tastes. Within the norm for Spartans.
By the way, as a weapon, Wrex privatized a heavy machine gun from a Warthog; he liked it. Twelve millimeters, manufactured by the Browning company, six hundred years on the rapid-fire machine gun market. Even Krogan like it.
These machine guns tear through even light Covenant and Citadel vehicles; for infantry, the damage is just excessive—Citadel kinetic shields don't hold the hits at all. A normal enemy takes two or three hits; a Krogan up to ten, or one or two to the head. Of course, there's less ammo than in Citadel weapons, but they couldn't achieve such lethality in the Council without using stationary weapons.
So, he looked at the avatar, straight in the eyes, and snorted. The fact that the avatar doesn't look away and is massive enough for him amuses Wrex. And our smiles are similar—two rows of triangular teeth shock anyone. Proven: we occupied the mess hall on the UNSC Apollo just for a joke. We just stood at the entrance and smiled with the full width of our jaws. One in ten crew members walked past.
Wrex doesn't attack, but something about my platform's appearance clearly interests him. From my observations, he considers Yellow and Kitty to be something like their warriors, and he hasn't decided about me yet. Seems human, but not quite. Like an asari. But he doesn't ask first, just watches and draws conclusions.
He pointed to a spot on the map.
"Right here, the female camp. We won't go there directly; questions will arise. Better to land further south, go to Clan Urdnot. I have a shaman friend there who'll help. And there are technicians. We'll negotiate with the women through them."
Javik remained silent, standing by the wall, and Yellow asked:
"Are they tough, your women?"
Wrex nodded.
"Krogan. Our women have always been the keepers of memory, of culture. And beating it into the heads of the young, tearing apart a Thresher Maw, breaking the noses of chieftains so they'd listen. That's them, Krogan women," the giant said with respect, "if there were more like them, we wouldn't be in this position."
Yellow nodded in agreement, and I reminded them:
"We're taking down the station first. I didn't like how they were watching us and coordinating the enemy. We have big plans for this operation; the missile silos are loaded. We need to resolve the issue; we'll have to anyway. This way we have the right of the first strike."
The ship's AI connected via comms. From his perspective, I'm also an operative, whatever he might think.
"Equipment is ready; we can launch. We'll start in ten minutes."
"And how exactly?" Wrex glanced at the AI, then at me, "enlighten an old man on how you're going to stealthily break a station with a GARDIAN anti-aircraft system and scanners. They'll have time to raise the alarm."
This time the avatar bared her teeth. Yes, I don't have a shark's maw, it's more modest, but I specifically made the avatar so that the more you look, the more non-human elements catch the eye. Wrex responded, and for a few seconds, we measured the width of our jaws. I don't know what that means in their culture; I'll have to check later. But that's for later.
"The method of our human terrorists. A shuttle equipped with a nuclear charge. The laser system has a short range. If you approach at superluminal speed, the automation itself will drop the ship close enough. And then—boom! A couple of seconds to react."
Wrex countered.
"The automation will drop the ship too early. Those stations have mass projectors for exactly that case. To keep pirates from bypassing the defenses."
I waved it off.
"We have an AI on board here. Rewriting the protocols to trigger by timer isn't a problem. Get used to it, Wrex, we can do many things that Council citizens can't afford."
Wrex fell into thought again. He had been extremely thoughtful the whole way. And I have a theory as to why.
***
A few days ago.
The core reacted to someone moving the projector ball in the Vice Admiral's office. It turned out to be the guard usually standing at the entrance. The Vice Admiral, noticing the projector's movement, said:
"Stay put and listen."
Well, that's what we'll do. The projector immediately levitated back to the charging stand. Let's watch and listen. The soldier returned to his post by the door, and then two people entered the office. Urdnot Wrex and Dr. Catherine Halsey. Halsey sat in a chair, while Wrex sat on the offered stool. He has a tail, after all. Usually, there's no stool in the office, which suggests he was expected.
"Urdnot Wrex, Doctor."
The guests sat down, and Wrex bared his teeth habitually, testing the nerves of those present. I don't know how the guard reacted; he's in a full helmet. But both Halsey and Margaret Parangosky didn't even flinch. Although a Krogan's shark maw is quite impressive. Satisfied that no one was going to twitch, Wrex said:
"Woman-chieftain. Wanted to see me. And the crazy woman who felt me up in places even Krogan women haven't gone. What do you want?"
I don't know how the soldier reacted, but Halsey only snorted at the compliment:
"Believe me, that's not the strangest thing I've seen or done."
Wrex laughed.
"I'm almost disappointed. So, what did you want from me?"
The Vice Admiral hummed and said:
"We've been researching the Genophage. Curious what we found?"
Wrex bared his teeth.
"Not much time has passed since my arrival and the taking of samples."
This time Halsey answered him.
"You're not my first test subject. Our teams have captured your kin and their corpses. You and Tuchanka were meant to be the final answer, confirming some of our theories. Want to know the conclusions?"
The Krogan nodded immediately.
"I'm listening. Finding scientists who would research the Genophage themselves and share the results with my people isn't easy. So I'm interested."
Waiting for the Vice Admiral's nod, the doctor began to speak.
"I'll simplify it as much as possible so it's clear—you're a warrior, after all," Wrex nodded, "the Genophage is being spread on Tuchanka. Even now. We studied Krogan who were on Tuchanka, including you. And also those who haven't been to your home planet for years. The Genophage is distributed through the air, feeds only on specific gene groups, and in a dormant state, breaks down in about five years. The virus was adapted for the heat of Tuchanka and specifically made quite short-lived, unable to harm except by feeding on certain genetic chains. Outside of Tuchanka and in the bodies of Krogan who have already been affected, it doesn't survive. Without constant dispersal, the Genophage wouldn't work; it would have died out hundreds of years ago."
Wrex thought. He seemed to be trying to figure out where a dispenser could be installed.
"Except maybe The Shroud tower. But no one would touch it; it keeps the sun from burning Tuchanka. I need to think. What else?"
But the second revelation hit even my cyber-brain.
"The Krogan have almost adapted to the Genophage. And that's a huge problem. You are degenerating."
Wrex jumped up from the stool and growled. The soldier jerked, raising his rifle. Halsey and the Vice Admiral remained calm, as if this was expected.
"Watch what you say, woman! I won't tolerate jokes about such things! You don't understand..."
"Sit," Margaret Parangosky demanded with a stone face, "sit and listen. And then draw your conclusions."
The Krogan slowly lowered himself onto the chair.
"I hope you have something to say and something to back up your words. Chieftain of humans."
Halsey nodded.
"We analyzed several generations of Krogan. First, your generation, Wrex, has a chance of producing offspring in the tenths of a percent. One in a thousand. But among the Blood Pack, there are young individuals under fifty years old. Born on Tuchanka, but their fertility is only one in fifty. Just a dozen generations, and that's the result," the expression on Wrex's face was hard to read; simple but clear diagrams were shown on the Vice Admiral's table via holograms, clearly prepared.
Wrex thought for ten minutes. No one disturbed him; the doctor buried herself in a tablet, the Vice Admiral in reports.
"So, my people are starting to multiply again. Tuchanka is a harsh place; it regulates numbers well. But you said it's a problem, woman. Don't speak, I'm thinking. Hmmmmm. Can the Salarians modify the Genophage? Is that the problem?"
Halsey nodded.
"A huge problem. Your species evolves very quickly, Wrex. High fertility, high birth rate, and as a consequence—high adaptability. The Genophage, however, destroys genetic chains, and instead of effective ones, the ones that survived take their place. Less common, weaker ones. With worse genes. As long as the old Krogan, the first generation, are alive, it's not so critical. Plus, adaptation to the Genophage slows down the process of degeneration."
Wrex nodded slowly the whole time, listening. No one mentioned that the tablet in his hand had crumpled. Finally, he almost rasped:
"If they strengthen the Genophage and it starts destroying more chains, the degeneration will accelerate. My people will start dying out from diseases, mutations, weakness. I'm no geneticist, but I understand what you mean. Genocide."
I didn't know this, and my genetics database is modest, but reproducing the described situation in a simulation isn't hard for me. Moreover, the Krogan could be wiped out not just by degeneration, but by a simple large-scale war. The sample size would drop, as would the number of successful combinations. Given that Krogan mortality is
is so large, the population will decline uncontrollably.
Still, one-tenth of a percent doesn't guarantee that one out of a thousand attempts will be successful. Among the Krogan, those who already have two children are considered lucky. And this is despite the fact that a female is capable of laying a thousand eggs a year. Probability theory clashes with reality, and it is not in the Krogan's favor.
Strengthening the Genophage could hit the unstable population even harder, damaging their genetics and further weakening them. I suppose the Citadel is fine with that. But for the Vice Admiral, this is an opportunity. Now Wrex will be squeezed.
"You have ideas," Wrex finally said, "you must. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been invited."
Margaret Parangosky made an inviting gesture. Dr. Catherine Halsey began to speak:
"Soon we will send a squad to Tuchanka. We need genetic material from females and Krogan of different generations. No one wants a repeat of the Krogan Rebellions. Therefore, our scientists have proposed a borderline option: a mutation that will reduce the fertility of your women. But without the Genophage, without the suffering. Only a general reduction in fertility, growth rate, and egg development. Our geneticists will help solve the problem. You understand the price."
Wrex fell into thought again. He thought for a long time; Dr. Catherine Halsey delved into her tablet, as did Margaret Parangosky. I, meanwhile, listen and weigh the consequences.
Getting a Krogan army is a good thing, of course. But ONI and the geneticists won't let them be. Wrex hasn't been caught in an overdose of stupidity, which means he understands. Just as he understands that no one will give the Krogan better conditions anyway. No one reproduces at such a speed; no one needs a horde of lizards multiplying faster than they take losses. And here there are worlds, supplies, cover by professional medics and scientists. Participation in wars on the side of Humans, again. The offer is beneficial to both sides, if one doesn't succumb to greed.
At what cost? At the cost of everything. Their entire way of life that this race is used to. And Wrex understands this too. He replied:
"I need to think. Anything else?"
Dr. Catherine Halsey nodded.
"I've uploaded the rest to the tablet. A new one."
Wrex looked at the wreckage in his hand, nodded to himself, and walked out.
***
Since that conversation, the Krogan has been extremely quiet and thoughtful. First the Turian bomb, then revelations like these. But he, too, must make a choice. We are on site. And Wrex knows it. Effectively, he is our guide; where he leads, we will move.
Finally, he addressed the ship's AI.
"Synthetic, can you hack their station if we connect you to it?"
He nodded.
"Yes, quite. I am stronger than their VI. But a direct connection will be required. We can contact the Geth forces; they will send ships in two hours. Direct combat with forces ten times our size is irrational. Even with our squad, the chance is too high that the enemy will have time to destroy the information."
Wrex snorted quietly and muttered, looking at my twitching ears:
"So, she knew," and added louder so everyone could hear, "call the Geth. Task: clear the station as quickly as possible. If the Salarians control the dispersal of the Genophage from it, we must find out. We need information. Everything: samples, scientists. Find proof of your boss's words, and I promise that Humanity will have Krogan allies!"
We have two AIs here, and that's not counting the Geth. An army of Geth in armor, their dreadnought resembling a huge insect, and a bunch of infantry platforms against twenty-five hundred personnel. They don't stand a chance.
When the Geth dreadnought with its escort dropped out of the Mass Relay and began, along with our Frigate, to bomb the station and its escorts, the howl across the Citadel internal network rose to a staggering level. And it wasn't very polite. Capsules and Shuttles poured onto the planet in a continuous stream. Interestingly, toward a specific point in the desert.
"Track where they are descending and what is there."
As it turned out, a base. In the middle of the desert, but within the operating zone of the capsules from the station. Just in case of evacuation, it seems.
"Send interceptors there. Shoot down the capsules."
A pair of Longswords, Pelicans with missiles, and Geth interceptors resembling large insects attacked the escaping enemy, while the large ships used precision salvos to carve out the station's anti-aircraft system and drop the landing force.
The crowd of Geth in armor extremely shocked the enemy, and the drones connecting to systems and conducting mass hacks shocked them even more. We didn't even bother turning off the sirens, and under the mournful wail, dense groups cleared room after room. Scientists taken prisoner, the rest liquidated. Reprogram the robots and send them into the attack as well. Destroy everyone except the scientists and the base's senior officers, of course.
Naturally, the avatar also participated, stuffing soldiers with bullets and crushing their skulls with a Gravity Hammer. A wave of death amidst failing station systems, the wail of sirens, contradictory orders over the comms, system sabotage arranged by the AI group, and the fact that those trying to escape are simply shot down.
The survivors resisted desperately. Traps, turrets, mages. They try to delay the attack as best they can. Except when your station rebels against you, and the enemy uses armored shields, heavy machine guns (a Prime with a shield in its paw, plus a machine gun and flamethrower on its shoulders is terrifying), robots, and heavy armor... Their defeat was only a matter of time.
In the end, when Wrex, stepping over the corpses of soldiers, reached the laboratory, everything was already prepared.
"And what do we have here?"
A Geth handed over a tablet.
"Wrex-Krogan, we have discovered the collection and analysis of genetic information of the Krogan species."
I specifically did not hand over the data personally, delegating it to the Geth. In the laboratory, Krogan genetic material was being collected. They grabbed scouts, individual specimens, and caught loners. They researched. No, there were no dissected Krogan and such here, but the database on the Genophage is simply extensive. It seems there is at least one more such base on the surface. Near The Shroud, who would have doubted.
Plus several bases in the desert secret to the Krogan. Clans mostly settle in city ruins, and an underground bunker even twenty kilometers from a city is already reliably hidden by sand and heat. Scanning doesn't work very well either; radiation interferes, as does the composition of the sand.
Citadel forces on the station collected data and tracked Krogan biological reactions to the Genophage. Management of The Shroud was also conducted from here. Yes, the enemies managed to erase part of the banks during the attack; the communication beacon was destroyed. The connection to the Extranet too. As if that would stop the Geth. We will take everything; the rest we will destroy.
A day later, we crashed the station directly onto their base. We could have captured it too, but Wrex just waved it off.
"What we found is enough. Give it to that frostbitten woman, Dr. Catherine Halsey. I will participate in your plan. The conditions under which the Krogan get theirs, we will discuss separately. I think we'll start with that lab near The Shroud. We need to find out as much as possible."
The Vice Admiral, watching all this through the eyes of the avatar, said in the silence of the office:
"Out of their own fear, they gave us an army. Ironic. Continue the mission, Khaela."
The projector formed a hologram for a second, which gave a small bow.
"Yes, Vice Admiral. Everything is according to plan."
***
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