A Bioship moved closer towards the docks of Omega. A long tendril covered in Infected Pustules snaked across the void to deposit the Evolved.
Shepard smiled and stretched his arms as he looked around.
"Ah Omega, home sweet home."
Kaiden took a few steps forward.
"Home huh?" Asked Kaiden.
"Yep, Omega the Slummyest Slum that ever Slummed."
"They should put that on a postcard," commented Kaiden.
Behind them, Ashley slithered out of her Pustule carrying an unconscious Grunt over her shoulder. It did not escape any of the trio that they were getting weird looks from the surrounding aliens, probably because the daintily looking Ashley was carrying a young Krogan over her shoulder like it weighed the same as an abnormally thin Volus.
"So what are we supposed to do with the kid?"
Shepard tapped on his chin, before a smile formed on his, now her, face.
"Well, how about we get a baby sitter, and celebrate our return home in Afterlife?"
Ashley looked to the Krogan that hung over her shoulder, before shrugging, which almost made the unconscious Krogan fall.
"Sounds good to me."
Kaiden took one look at Shepard, blinked, and sighed.
"Fine, but I'm not going to enjoy myself."
Shepard scoffed.
"How do you know? You might."
Kaiden just looked Shepard in the eyes.
"Right, sorry. Forgot who I was talking to."
With a dramatic pose and an outstretched arm pointing roughly in the direction of Afterlife, Shepard yelled "Let the festivities begin!"
Jobol looked at his hands. Discolored spots betrayed his age and the loose almost translucent skin hung a bit from his bone. He spread his tired joints as he sighed. Salarian lifespans were often considered a joke by the elderly among their species. At least it was until the discovery of the Vorcha, though even an elderly Vorcha was much more spry than an Elderly Salarian. Jobol considered it a curse. Why should other species live for a century, or more in the case of the Asari, whose own life spans were frankly ridiculous in comparison?
Jobol never cared how long he would live, only that he left a mark, a legacy of some kind. Something that would make him known for so long after his time ended. Becoming a Councilor ensured he would be put in the books, but his actions since then made it seem that would be little more than a footnote.
"The longest serving Salarian Councilor in the history of the Council. Twenty two years. Not much to be known by when a younger candidate could just choose to stay a bit longer."
Tevos had been a councilor for almost five times that, and Sparatus while only being a councilor for little over a decade, would undoubtedly have more time to make a name for himself. The Turian had already gained himself a reputation of sorts. The most level headed and skeptical Turian in history, which while true, he was still as headstrong as they came, just marginally less than others. The fact he managed to avoid war with Blacklight after first contact, and sit across from two of them without demanding they lick his boot was odd for a Turian. Maybe that's why he was a councilor in the first place.
Granted he did bring up reparations with a species after said species mentioned they lacked an economy of any kind… Wait… No, he was remembering that wrong. Tevos brought it up, not Sparatus.
Curse his age.
"Councilor, we're ready for you."
Jobol didn't even hear his assistant enter the room until after he voiced himself.
"I'll be out in a moment."
His assistant dismissed himself as Jobol worked the soreness from his back and got to his feet. Like a switch, he moved as if there was no pain. Many would say he looked dignified. Still, considering the day this was, he had to still look strong.
Hands clasped behind his back, Jobol made his way out his room, past the halls, and into the Presidium. There, he saw Tevos and Sparatus waiting. Standing not far off was him… his replacement. Valern. Jobol thought it was a good choice. Valern was insufferable, at least Jobol thought so, but he was also a patriot of sorts.
Jobol made his way through the crowds of politicians and boot-lickers as he made his way to his colleagues. Former colleagues now. Valern was the first to notice him.
"Jobol," said Valern with a short nod of the head.
"Valern, enjoying the celebrations?"
"It isn't much of a celebration to be honest."
Jobol said nothing, only nodded. Sparatus and Tevos looked between the two, before Sparatus spoke.
"We were just getting to know the new Councilor."
"I see," said Jobol.
"He does have big shoes to fill," said Tevos as she took a sip of some Thessian wine.
Jobol looked to Tevos, not really acknowledging her comment.
"I will try my best to fill those shoes. Granted it's not easy to replace the Savior of the Citadel, but I will do what I can."
Savior of the Citadel. Jobol had heard that added to his name from time to time after he prevented a million ton ball of Blacklight biomass from crashing into the Citadel. Never mind that it was actually the crew of the Destiny Ascension and the Citadel fleets who did everything, and it was Blacklight itself regaining control over that biomass that prevented the impact. Jobol was aware that Valern was more than aware of that fact, which might be why he called him by that name.
Valern was mocking him.
"We can only hope so. I would hate to see you be found wanting Valern. I suppose only time will tell."
There was a bit of tension in the air as Jobol and Valern looked at each other in the eyes, only for it to fall when Tevos cleared her throat.
"So Jobol, now that you are no longer a Councilor, what are your plans? You don't strike me as one to go into retirement."
Jobol shook his head.
"Retirement… Frightening concept. No, I have plans. The Dalatrass asked me to aid the STG. I can't really go into details, but I can say that it should keep me busy."
Tevos hummed in understanding as she took another sip of wine. Sparatus looked from Jobol to Valern.
"I must admit, I don't know much of your history Valern. How did you find yourself as Jobol's replacement?"
Jobol wanted to say he did so by being an insufferable little twit who did anything to further his political career, but he held his tongue.
"I've not made much of a name for myself to be honest. I don't like dwelling on the past, I'd much rather look to the future."
This coming from someone whose last role was rumored to be a consort to a very wealthy Dalatrass made Jobol grow an amused smile. Granted the rumors were fake, Jobol knew they were, mainly because he was the one who started those rumors, but Valern didn't know that.
"An ideology I can get behind. Welcome to the council Valern."
"Councilor Valern. It does have a ring to it doesn't it."
Jobol felt the urge to vomit, but he held it in. Sparatus and Valern on the other hand chuckled in a manner that Jobol knew was fake. Maybe they found him just as insufferable.
Jobol hoed so, maybe they would think on him fondly.
Though he doubted it.
To the chagrin of many living on Omega, Blacklight was a very common sight. To their steadily growing paranoia, not all of them had the outward appearance of a human.
On Omega, there was one such Evolved named Abrudras. She was not like most Evolved the people of the galaxy were used to dealing with. She was one of the first Turians consumed by Blacklight during first contact. Like most aliens consumed by Blacklight, to help the people not a part of the Hive Mind, she had opted to give a few outward signs for the benefit of other species that while she looked Turian, she was indeed Blacklight. Not that it helped the citizens, since many were quite suspicious.
In Abrudras case, it was the choice to have hands with five talons as opposed to three, and to have a three foot long tail with a claw adorning the tip, said tail proved to be so usefully dexterous that she never got rid of it even when not surrounded by anything not Blacklight. Currently Abrudras was playing a game invented by humans called solitaire, a surprisingly addictive game that could be played alone, not that she ever was alone, and there were the occasional individuals within Blacklight who were more than happy to give her pointers. She ignored several such comments as she placed another card down, unconsciously she looked around at her lair, well home would be a much more precise word for it, though there was something about the word lair that Abrudras like better.
Her and many other Blacklight individuals lived in an apartment, one of many on Omega like it. Homes like this also existed on the other scant few worlds Blacklight was still allowed on, and for the most part they were all the same. This large apartment was the home of most of Blacklight who lived on Omega. The interior, while it had modern furnishings and appliances, also had Biomass growing along the walls. Biomass made of resting Evolved and sophisticated biological processes that fed on microorganisms, vermin, and any food some alien chose not to finish.
Most places Blacklight was still allowed had homes like this. They were places where the Evolved could come to recharge and feed, or to simply relax and watch vids. Due to the nature of Blacklight, it wasn't uncommon for the rooms to be filled with Evolved moving around, though at the moment, Abrudras was the only one who wasn't partially fused to the surrounding biomass. The others were gathered throughout Omega, doing various tasks and simply watching life go on around them to alleviate the boredom.
Thanks to the mental link, Abrudras could experience it all at the same time, but like most of Blacklight she could ignore certain events and focus on others she deemed important. In this case, Abrudras focused on an event that seemed to involve her, one she did not look forward to. While they argued about it through their shared mind, Abrudras knew that there was no convincing that one when it set its mind to something.
As soon as Shepard thought about it, Abrudras knew what was coming, and though she did not like it, she would comply, though that didn't mean she couldn't complain about it to Shepard. She cleared her throat mere moments before Shepard and Ash walked through the door.
Blinking in confusion, Shepard turned to the Evolved Turian before she looked away sheepishly. Abrudras stood there staring blankly with her arms crossed. Her long tail waving left and right rhythmically, as the claw-like tip of her tail, which resembles that of a crab or lobster's, opened and closed rapidly to produce a series of clicking sounds that Shepard knew was a sign that Abrudras was not happy about the current situation.
"You want me to babysit a Krogan. Not figuratively, you want me to literally babysit a Krogan like he was a damn infant."
It was not a question, more a statement of fact. Abrudras' voice held a tone of disbelief. While they had already discussed it through the mental link they shared, Abrudras wanted this to be on record of words spoken throughout the universe. The many would remember, mostly because they were fairly sure that that sequence of words was never uttered in the history of the universe until today.
"You don't mind, do you Abrudras?"
Shepard's smile was so sweet that Abrudras wanted to puke. Her tail stopped waving, and instead she smashed it on the ground. An audible gulp could be heard coming from Shepard.
Of course it was all for show. Both knew what the other was thinking, but in doing so they passed the time in a way that was at least entertaining, which was always a plus in their book.
"I hate you."
Shepard had the decency to look sheepish, before Ashley walked into the room, and all but threw Grunt haphazardly onto the couch. Abrudras noted that Krogan were much more bouncy than she'd thought.
"Thanks Abrudras, I owe you one."
The unconscious Krogan began to stir.
"Or two."
In his unconscious state, the Krogans arm shot out and all but destroyed a table that had an incomplete game of solitaire once laying on it, the cards now lying on the floor.
"Defiantly three. I owe you three… Whelp, see yah!"
Abrudras watched as Shepard and a sheepish Ashley bolted out the door, leaving her with a sleeping Krogan, a broken table, and a pile of loose cards. Looking over everything, only one thing came to mind.
"Dammit Shepard."
Someone in the hive mind commented that Abrudras could play 52 card pickup. She chose to ignore that idiot. Who went by the name Joker anyway?
Tusar sat above the rooftops with his feet handing off the edge of the buildings cooling unit. Batarian cities really were nice to look at.
The Evolved Salarian turned to see Bardon looking over the Horizon. They remained quiet, but in their mind it was anything but.
'I'm surprised this is going so well.' Commented Tusar.
Bardon shrugged.
'The Batarian Council is nothing if not predictable. They don't like being put in a position of weakness. Things are better for the slaves thanks to that stunt with the music we pulled.'
Tusar nodded in agreement.
'They are, but they still could be better.'
After Dakira ordered the pubic execution of the mindless creation made by Blacklight, the Council had begun pushing for a change into the operations of how slavery functioned. Since it were those who sold slaves that the council believed caused the music incident, in an act of spite, the Council decreed that slaves could no longer be sold. Well, that wasn't entirely true, they could be sold, but if you bought one, then you had to buy their family too. So if you wanted to buy a strong worker, you also had to pay for that slaves spouse, assuming they had one, his children, and his elderly and infirm parents.
So while you still could purchase slaves, you were going to have to pay quite a bit, and slave families could be very extensive. There was outrage, but watching the Batarian shaped construct have his head removed silenced the masses. The Merchant Caste were effectively neutered for all intents and purpose from their main source of income.
It was a slow going process, but from the way Dakira explained it to Bardon, it sounded like the Slaves were going to become something not unlike serfs. They would occupy land under control of their master, and were still required to work in exchange for protection and strangely enough justice.
Apparently, slaves now had rights. They had the right to own property so long as they could buy it. Bardon wasn't sure where they would get the credits for it, but they could do it, in theory at least.
Those of the Master Slave Caste even got days off for the Batarian Holy Day. A rough analogue of Sunday where the faithful would rest and all that jazz. Batarian weeks consisted of ten days, each day being eighteen and a half hours long. It wasn't freedom, which was the end goal, but it was a start. It also allowed for many new opportunities now that Slaves could get together much easier.
However, the changes were not coming fast enough for Blacklight's liking. Not with the Reapers so close to awakening.
'We're going to have to perform a rebellion, aren't we?'
'We might. The changes helped, but not enough to really matter and with the Reapers, we may have to force change after all.'
Tusar audibly sighed.
'Looks like we're more like Jobol than we thought.'
'If we weren't pressed for time.'
Tusar only nodded.
'I know.'
Kicking his feet out, the Evolved Salarian landed on his feet and walked to the nearest ledge. It overlooked an alley with no one paying attention. This was the twilight hours of the day, and most Batarians and their slaves were in the process of having a meal, so there weren't many prying eyes that could see Tusar's little stunt.
Standing at the ledge, the Evolved Salarian turned back to Bardon. The Once Member of the Master Slave caste looked onward towards the horizon as the sun began to set over an orange sky.
'Good luck Bardon, I hope it doesn't come to bloodshed.'
The Salarian Evolved took a step back, and fell off the ledge. Bardon felt when Tusar landed on his feet through their mental connection.
'I don't think it's up to us anymore.'
Bardon knew Tusar heard him, but he neither said anything else to each other.
Things after awakening on Virmire had been weird for Grunt. First there was Shepard, who would not let him do anything at all. Mere moments after Shepard released him, he… no she at the time, had brought Grunt to a giant animal that Shepard referred to as a Bioship. Shepard explained that Grunt would have to go inside it to be placed in a cavity filled with nutrients, much like those found in his tank. Not willing to be put back in that state so soon after he woke up, Grunt let his displeasure be known with a fist to Shepard's face, which did about as much damage as you'd expect. The next thing he knew, Shepard knocked him out, and put him into the Ship. By the time Grunt came to, he found himself in a room, one whose walls were covered in biomass, with Blacklight Evolved partially fused to it, all looking at a vid screen. Shepard was there, engrossed in whatever was playing.
Apparently, this was their room on a space station called Omega. And by their room, it meant all of Blacklight. It may have once been spacious, but with the growing flesh everywhere it wasn't anymore. The room also was filled with various species that may have looked like Turians, Salarians, Asari, Batarians, or whatever. In actuality they were Blacklight individuals who once were these species, or that chose to look like said aliens. Hard to say really.
After a series of long, long, long, LONG introductions to these people, Grunt found himself sitting confused on a couch as everyone watched a vid screen.
"But Shalei. We can never be together. I have my duty, and you, have your people."
Said vid was what Grunt considered to be an exceptionally boring movie called Fleet and Flotilla. Apparently, he was the only one who found it boring.
"No Bellicus. You and Shalei Belong together." said a very teary eyed Shepard.
"He just can't see it, give him time. He'll learn." said a Turian Evolved.
Grunt looked to the screen, then to Shepard.
"You promised me a worthy enemy to fight."
Shepard, wiping her eyes, turned to Grunt
"I know sweetie, I know. But mommy wants to watch her soaps. Enjoy it; you might learn something. Pretty soon you will grow up, start thinking about girls, get married, have kids of your own, and forget your poor poor mother, leaving her alone, with only a billion conjoined minds for company."
"Mother? What?"
Kaiden, who was leaning off to the side, fiddling with his omnitool, sighed.
"Ignore Shepard, Grunt. You'll get used to her."
It did not escape Grunt that Shepard was glaring at Kaiden, though it didn't look actively hostile. More like she had just accepted a challenge of some kind.
"Ignore Kaiden sweetie, he has an unusual amount of basic common sense for an evolved."
"Someone has to," said Kaiden lazily.
Grunt blinked, before turning to Shepard.
"What is this Sweetie you call me?"
"What, I was there for your birth. That makes me your mother."
"What?"
"Well, when you left the tank, the only ones who were there was me and a Geth, and the Geth is a robot. So since you were born, and I was the only one there at the time that was alive while it was happening, logically I am your mother. I mean if a baby is born, and only one person is there, then that person must be the mom. How else is the kid born?"
"I don't think that is how that works," said the now thoroughly confused Krogan.
"Oh so now you're denying it. After I slaved over your nutrient paste, just to make sure you had something to eat on your trip to Omega," Shepard began to bawl.
The Turian Evolved sitting next to Grunt shook her own head as she got up to comfort Sheppard. She shot Grunt a glare.
"Look at what you've done. You're breaking your poor mothers heart."
"What is going on here? Who are you? What is even happening?" screamed Grunt in frustration.
"Boy, don't you speak to your aunt Abrudras like that," scolded the Turian.
Grunt narrowed his eyes, looking to the Evolved who had their eyes on him.
"Sweetie, you're making a scene," said Shepard as she stood up, no longer crying, and patting Grunt on his head.
Grunt only blinked.
"That is it," said Grunt as he left the room.
Only for a wall of biomass to cover the exit, preventing that avenue of escape from this insanity. Turning around, Grunt looked to Shepard who was smiling at Grunt.
"Sorry kid, we're under orders from Aria. We've been grounded. Apparently she doesn't appreciate welcoming home parties like we do."
Grunt aptly enough grunted.
"Look, you can pick the next movie. How does that sound?"
Grunt thought about it. He had never seen a holo vid before, not counting the stupid one that everyone else was watching. No information in the tank ever explained much about vids, though the simulations of battle he remembered scarcely were entertaining if he was remembering that correctly.
Then he thought better of it.
"How about a fight?"
Shepard scratched her chin, before a smile slowly formed on her face.
"Fine, but let's make it interesting. You lose, and you have to watch all of Fleet and Flotilla with no complaints."
Grunt narrowed his eyes.
"And if I win?"
"You can pick the next six movies."
Grunt thought it over. No matter what happened, he'd still get a fight out of it. But….
"If I win, then we're watching vids with a lot of explosions."
"Deal," said Shepard as she turned to Ashley, who was partially fused to a wall of biomass.
"Ash, remember that… thing I said? When we reinvented the Banjo and guitar."
Ashley blinked.
"You mean the…" Ashley froze, before a cruel smirk fall on her face as she quite literally walked out of the wall.
"Oh I see what you're getting at. Yeah, I can dig this idea."
Shepard nodded. It did not escape Grunt that she looked very happy. Grunt didn't like it, that smile promised pain.
"Alright Grunt, first, a biology lesson," said Shepard as she lifted her arm.
Said arm was covered in hundreds of small black insects, all of them staring at Grunt with their antenna twitching in near perfect unison. It was disturbing.
"These little beauties are or rather were a marvel of nature. Ants, specifically Leaf-cutter Ants. What made this particular species interesting is how it cut leaves. See, Leaf-cutter Ants used leaves of trees for a variety of reasons, which is not important, what is important, is how they cut the leaves. To accomplish this, they could use high-frequency vibrations using a specialized organ located in the gaster - basically its abdomen - which is synchronized with the movement of the mandibles. As a result, their mandibles vibrate thousands of times per second to saw through leaves. You follow me so far?"
"What does this have to do with fighting?"
The next thing Grunt knew, a strange humming sound came from Ashley, whose right arm had transformed into what looked like a large fleshy blade, with hundreds of serrated metallic teeth. Said teeth were vibrating at high speeds, causing that strange hum.
"That."
Grunt watched as Ashley lifted the weapon, and swung it experimentally.
"It's a biological Chainsaw," she said as she held it outwards so that it was perpendicular to her body as it roared. Granted said roar was not caused by the vibrating teeth, but by a hidden trachea in Ash's bicep with a songbirds syrinx at its base – in this case the complexly-muscled syrinx of a lyrebird – but it's the thought that counts.
"We call it the Wankel Rotary Engine," said Shepard.
"No we don't," said Ashley.
"I call it the Wankel Rotary Engine," Shepard corrected.
Grunt looked at the weapon, and the magnificent sound it made, before a smile slowly formed on his face. He cracked his knuckles.
"I like it."
"Whoa there big fella," said Shepard as she put a hand on her shoulder.
"I know you're eager, but mommy isn't letting you fight this one unarmed."
Before Grunt could say anything, Shepard started to melt.
To this day Grunt was very adamant that he did NOT scream in terror, but roared in excitement.
Shepard had changed and molded herself around Grunt to form a biological armor around him. The insectoid like carapace around Grunt felt like a second skin. While examining his hands he experimentally ran his fingers across his arm, finding that he still had tactile sensation even though it wasn't his skin.
"This is… New."
'We do something similar with the Vorcha. A few of us Evolved are on Heshtok helping them out. You know they're actually making a society for themselves. Not big on politics… actually, their Government is rather weird right now, but they are doing well.'
"I don't care." Said Grunt as he punched his fists together. "This feels strange but I think I like it."
'Good. Now Grunt. Take the bitch out!'
Grunt looked to Ashley, who held her normal hand out, and made a motion with her fingers Grunt guessed meant 'come here'.
The Krogan wasted no time.
Mordin took his first step out of the shuttle. He was confident no one knew where he was right now. Jobol had yet to contact him, which was worrying, Mordin thought Jobol would send him on another errand after the completion of the Genophage modifications, but apparently that was not the case. Mordin suspected his Uncle was up to something or otherwise far too busy in his schemes to notice, though Mordin very much doubted the latter was the case.
Looking around, Omega was as crowded as usual. Turian and Batarian guards walked with weapons held tightly in their hands.
Mordin expected things to run smoothly, however that all changed when a startling event happened. Looking up, Mordin watched a Krogan Shaped thing covered in what looked similar to the armored form of Blacklight fly over his head and slam directly into a wall. Gravity proved herself to be a harsh mistress as the Krogan fell to the ground with a loud crash.
Then it stood up, shook its head, and charged forward while screaming.
The next thing Mordin realized was a very familiar face, one of Ashley Williams, whose right arm had been replaced by what looked to be a primitive chainsaw made completely out of flesh and bone, but with teeth of metal. The limb roared as she charged towards the Krogan and slashed with the limb only to find the Krogan had formed a shield of what appeared to be bone form on his forearm to block the attack.
While that battle was going on, Mordin noticed that none of the guards seemed to react how one would expect they should given the situation. For one they looked to be annoyed more than afraid, of course the fear that should have been on their face was more than made up for by the stampede of people who either struggled to get away from the brawl, or to get closer to it in order to film it.
Mordin, in all his wisdom and guile, could only stare blankly as the Krogan started beating Ashley with the shield.
As their shuttle came to dock, Miranda looked at the slum that was Omega. It wasn't hard to see where it got its reputation. For one, you could look in any given direction and see someone holding a gun. Jack sighed as she stepped off the ship.
"About damn time, now where to next?"
As Miranda surveyed her surroundings, there looked to be a commotion far off in the distance. She wasn't sure, but Miranda could have sworn she saw something large fly through the air.
"I guess that way."
Jack shrugged.
"Works for me."
They took their first steps as they sought to reunite with the hive. Miranda noted that while Omega more than lived up to its reputation at a glance, there was a lot more running involved than she would have expected, until she realized that the running probably wasn't an everyday thing.
She couldn't be sure, she was only a few months old after all.
"Is the panicking normal?"
Jack shrugged.
"Beats me."
While both were previously in their Salarian disguises, they quickly changed to a much more human form.
Eyeing Jacks choice, Miranda could only roll her eyes. Who needed that many tattoos anyway.
"Don't judge me princess, you look like little miss perfect over there. Nice ass by the way."
Miranda didn't respond, she stopped in her tracks.
"Is that an Evolved Krogan?"
Jack looked ahead, it certainly looked like what a Krogan might look like it it was consumed by Blacklight, but there was something off about it. Namely it didn't move like Blacklight, it looked more like a wild animal than anything else.
Then they saw his opponent.
Jack blinked.
"Is that a motherfucking chainsaw?"
Miranda only nodded.
"Hell yeah, let's go watch!"
It took a moment for that to register.
"Wait, What?!"
Grunt, despite being less than a week old, or rather because of it, could safely say that this was the best day of his life. Not only did he get to experience what it felt like to battle, but the distance he made when Ash kicked him had to have broken some kind of record. He was sure of it.
'Down.'
Despite the annoyance in his ear, Grunt obeyed the call. He watched as the chainsaw whizzed over his head before he kicked back and propelled himself forward into Ashley. Forming what he could safely say was his favorite weapon, the Hammerfist, he proceeded to beat the Blacklight out of Ashley, at least that was how Shepard put it.
'Go for the eyes Grunt, the eyes.'
Not one to disappoint, the young Krogan lashed out with a Blacklight enhanced Krogan welcome. Ash ceased to have a head for a few moments before the Chainsaw came down onto his shoulder faster than he could see. The dense armor around him proved to be more than strong enough to handle the chainsaw.
'Wankel Rotary Engine.' Shepard corrected.
'That name is not going to stick.'
Grunt didn't know where Abrudras voice came from, but he chose to ignore it as he gripped the wankel… the chainsaw with his now Musclemass covered arm and tried to rip it out it's socket. Momentarily he lamented the extreme stretchiness of Blacklight as he only succeeded in making her arm longer than before.
Deciding that was rather annoying, he wrapped the arm around his own arm like it was taffy and pulled. As he did, Shepard administered a mild toxin into the limb that prevented any stretchy shenanigans, so instead of Stretching, Ashley was pulled violently into a customary Krogan headbutt.
Here Grunt realized two things. One Blacklight sometimes shatter like glass, and two, despite shattering, they were really really hard.
Shaking his head, he looked down to the squirming bits of flesh as they began to flow towards eachother and slowly form back into Ashley. With a smile Grunt charged forward screaming and a hammerfist ready. Ashley reformed her chainsaw and it roared as she charged forward. Grunt had never felt more alive.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!"
Then it stopped. He found himself frozen in place, and saw that Ashley was in much the same state.
'Oh shit.'
His head turned against his will, to look at an Asari who stood with her arms crossed. Grunt didn't know why, but something about the look on her face promised nothing good, and if the Krogan was honest with himself, it was kinda frightening, but in a good way.
"You have two seconds to explain what the hell is going on."
Grunt fell as his once Blacklight armor slithered off his body to reform into Shepard. Who was rubbing the back of her neck nervously.
"Hey Aria, look, I know what this looks like…"
"Clearly," interrupted the Asari.
"Well, you see Grunt here is a young Krogan, well young enough. He just needed to get some fight outta his system. Now I know we promised not to bother you today, but I think if you look deep into your heart…"
"Go."
Shepard blinked.
"Huh?"
"You have one minute to get out of my sight, before I take that Krogan, and shove it up your ass."
"That's not very nice Aria."
"You'd live. Now, you have fifty five seconds!"
Grunt found himself being picked up off the Ground and thrown over someone's shoulder. He wasn't sure what about this was so familiar. He couldn't recall ever being carried, but that was a distant thought at the moment. His only real thought was on the Asari who was rapidly shrinking as Shepard booked it back to the room.
Grunt didn't know why, but as he looked to the Asari's face… Aria, he believed Shepard called her, he felt this tingling sensation in his stomach. Like a hive of small harvesters were fluttering around in there.
He guessed it must have been something he ate.
Mordin stood dumbfounded as Shepard and Ashley took off to, well Mordin wasn't sure where, but after shaking his head, he opted to follow. It's not like this day could get much stranger. He needed to speak with Blacklight as soon as possible.
He froze.
'Actually' he recalled, 'I could speak to any Evolved, they have a hive mind, it doesn't have to be Shepard.'
Despite Mordin Considering Shepard a good friend, at the moment, Mordin was so sure he would be able to look in the face and not think of flying Krogan, which was bound to get him sidetracked.
'Who knew Krogan were so aerodynamic.'
Looking around, Mordin saw two other Evolved over to the side. Both appeared female, one seeming very pleased about something at the moment. Mordin suspected it was the fight. The other just looked lost and confused, like a Varren that got lost in a city.
Shrugging, the Salarian moved towards the two Evolved.
"Who the hell was the Asari?" asked Jack outloud.
"I have absolutely no idea. What even just happened here?"
"Apparently Blacklight has a reputation around here. I like it."
Miranda shook her head.
"We couldn't hear their thoughts, why couldn't we hear their thoughts?"
Jack froze as she contemplated on that.
"Maybe they developed a new method of communication. We'll figure it out once we rejoin the hive."
"Great, more waiting. Just follow the pheromones."
Jack saluted.
"Can do… Hey, whose the Salarian?"