Chapter 24: The Price of Revenge
Sorya was the kind of planet you like looking at pictures of, but being here kinda sucks unless you're in a sealed suit of power armor. How the hell 148,000,000 people live on a planet damn set on covering everything with fungus I will never know. The amount the population must spend on respiratory treatments has to take a big chunk out of however much they make digging up the various resources of this rich world.
Interestingly enough the Blue Suns mercenary gang run this world. The various corporations that settled on Sorya all pay the Blue Suns for security, and they obviously run a tight enough ship that no one tries to buck the system. Too bad for them Zaeed, Jack, and I landed in the jungle outside a foundry run directly by the "Co-Executive Officer" of the Blue Suns.
I didn't miss the irony that Vido launched a coup and very nearly assassinated my pal Zaeed over the issue of hiring batarians, and later had to surrender de facto leadership of the gang to one of those batarians landing him right back where he started, just with the blood of his partner on his hands and a bunch of terrorist scumbags working for him.
Normally we would sortie with the entire ground team, but not now. Zaeed refused to let the high road be taken on this mission, and so he demanded that only Jack and I come with him. Shepard only pushed back with token resistance. It was good that the Space Momma wasn't coming with us, the foundry was built of matchsticks and gasoline and luck, and luck ran out the moment our boots hit the gross spongy jungle soil.
I sparked up my Fortification, Tech Armor, and Devastator Mode abilities, absolutely humming with lethal power and Zaeed and Jack joined me in sparking up their own Tech Armor. I finally convinced the man to shell out and up his armor to full coverage and start running with the holographic protection. It's not like they had any tech abilities that the added protection would interfere with. Hell, the technomancy actually increased Jack's biotic damage. For a steep credit investment the quarian kid and I hooked Zaeed and Jack up with a strong enough power supply and the emitters to run both tech armor and whatever ammo mutation struck their fancy.
Armed to the teeth, we started our trek through the jungle. Zaeed tapped into the Blue Sun communications, giving us the heads up that our drop off was spotted and that the mercs were sweeping the jungle for us. It wouldn't be hard to spot the glowing orange trio approaching.
We found leavings from an execution not far from our first contact with the enemy. The Suns didn't need to prove they were heartless bastards to make us feel good about killing them all, we'd have done that gratis with a grin.
Turns out that supersizing and supercharging a Revenant Machine Gun has explosive results. Every missed shot tore up dirt and foliage like a rock saw trencher and the rounds that hit tore people to pieces. Blowing people in half with my machine gun was pretty dope.
Zaeed used the opportunity of me pinning everyone with an ounce of self preservation down to find good positions to engage the enemy with his sniper rifle augmented with disruptor ammo to tear through the shielding common among the well off mercenaries.
Jack just had fun throwing people around with her mind, a woman of simple pleasures.
As we were extending a retractable bridge to cross a ravine separating us from our target, Zaeed's comm unit alerted us to the enemy amassing in the courtyard of the foundry.
"You want me to blow this Vido ass away?" I asked the veteran merc with a massive axe to grind.
"Absolutely not." Zaeed denied, "I want Vido to fucking suffer."
"I can make that happen old timer." Jack offered.
"No doubt, ya crazy bitch." Zaeed shook his head, "Just let me handle the guy myself. Every other free range asshole is open season."
We didn't encounter any resistance till we opened the gate to the courtyard and found Vido and his goons camped out on the second level pointing their guns at us.
Oh no, they have the high ground.
I couldn't help but belly laugh.
"You think something is funny, cunt?" the trumped up accountant shouted at me.
I tried to answer, but broke out in even more laughter every time I tried.
"I'll tell you what's funny you fucking dipshit!" Zaeed yelled, "It's you thinking you can stop us with so few men!"
Zaeed started the shootout by clipping the gas lines that ran along the second level, and his next volley set them off, killing the guys next to it and knocking the rest off their asses, giving Zaeed the time to easily make it over to some cover before they started shooting back at us. I signaled Jack to cool her heels behind me while Zaeed started wailing on a valve, his strikes eventually causing a chain reaction that killed all the ass hats on the second level - but not Vido as the prick started fleeing the moment he got up from the initial blast - and opened up the next gate giving us proper access to the facility, a facility completely on fire.
Remember when I said they built this place out of matchsticks and gasoline?
Some rando civie came out screaming about how they couldn't get to the shut off valves and how we needed to help or all the workers would die. Did we look like fucking firefighters? We took off in pursuit of Vido without any need for conversation while the guy screamed, 'No! No!' until an explosion took him out.
Apparently the Blue Suns have a killer life insurance policy, because they kept throwing themselves into the meat grinder in a burning building. It was honestly a little overwhelming how many of them kept coming out of every nook and cranny as we moved across the foundry.
In what some might call a moment of full retard, I popped an overload on a folded up YMIR mech place between us and our target and just started shooting it with a fresh clip from my machine gun, advancing forward into it's own machine gun fire. By the time I got into its face I'd shot its gun arm off and the whole unit was smoking and sparking something fierce.
With a grin I got behind it as it tried turning to keep me in its line of sights on its battered servos. I launched a front kick to its chassis while screaming "I AM KROGAN!" sending the big mech over the guard rail and down the thirty foot drop into the basement level below.
"That was pretty badass, kid." Zaeed told me as we exited the burning building and saw Vido limping to the off site helipad, "Now watch the master at work."
Zaeed got Vido's attention with a shot across the bow, then shot the dickhead in the thigh preventing his escape. Vido collapsed onto the pavement, his blood mixing with all the spilled fuel leaking from a poorly maintained tank. He begged for his life offering anything Zaeed wanted to spare him.
"I want you to burn." Zaeed growled while ejecting his heated up thermal clip and tossing it onto the shining fuel which lit up in a blazing ring that consumed Vido as our guy turned and walked away, not even thinking to look at the explosion.
"He is so fucking cool." I whispered to Jack.
"Fuck yeah he is." she whispered back.
My girl just fucking gets me, man.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
JManM
JManM I got a twitch in my fingers telling me to release more chapters. The events of Mass Effect 2 are going to play out quicker than you think as Grunt will have no participation in the loyalty missions of Thane, Garrus, and Kasumi, Project Overlord, or the Arrival.
We have a three week vacation on the Citadel coming up next while Shepard handles the trio of loyalty missions in that region, then we have Pragia, the Gernsback, and Tali's trial before the Derelict Reaper, The Heratics, and the Suicide Mission. The Lair of the Shadow Broker is going to be the climax of the story, as the events of ME3 rely way to much on people being stupid and Shepard getting railroaded in cutscenes.
I find that to be such a damn shame considering how ME2 is such a truimph start to finish. At least it served as foreshadowing for how pathetic the lead of of Andromeda was going to be. I've given up on Bioware so hard that I can't even feel excited for ME4. Chances are Shepard is going to be some queer parapalegic who had a stroke so we can really feel like our protagonists are all worthless.
The next story will be Dragon Age SI: Letho of Highever. Not a single person voted for the Harry Potter and Persona 5 fics. Going to have a good time in that world.
Chapter 25: We are the Law Now
I awoke with a splitting headache at the bottom of a pile of female bodies. Extracting myself gently from the tangle of svelte limbs took an uncommon level of dexterity, but even in my diminished state I had dex to spare.
Not even a moment after I took some hair of the dog, a horrid banging started on the motel door.
"Kill that motherfucker!" Jack groaned from somewhere in the pile of women we had assuredly delivered to the height of pleasure the previous night.
In truth I could hardly remember what we'd done after we started partying on the Citadel in celebration of Vido's death .
I opened the door to find a batarian with a thin warpaint mustache and a pair of dueling swords, one of which he thrust into my hand.
"Hello," he nearly whispered, "My name is Jallak Ro'Shad. You killed my father, prepare to die."
He then backed away into the motel parking lot and took up his dueling stance, turning his body to minimize his presented profile. I took some time to inspect the blade - a fine asari piece both sturdy and lethally sharp - more amused by the obvious Princess Bride reference than confused by the situation. Like him, I took up a left handed dueling stance - not because of a natural left handedness, but so I wouldn't miss the chance for the double reveal of our right handedness.
I think the scene would be more pleasing to the quickly gathering viewers if I wasn't hanging pipe for all to see. Or perhaps less pleasant considering the incredibly hefty aesthetic of my penis.
"Why the swords?" I asked him.
"Because, it is still legal to kill a man in an honor duel so long as swords of equal and specific quality are used." Jallak explained.
"You people don't have honor." I refuted and spat on the pavement.
"Your speciesism impugns your own honor. Not mine." He verbally countered.
"Touché." I admitted and we began the duel.
We started by testing range, a matter of footwork and angles. Despite my hefty mass, I was as light on my feet as my opponent, and prevented him from taking any advantages at this stage of the dance. Quickly seeing that he could not find the footing for an easy victory, our duel became a matter of hand speed and form. His four eyes meant he could more easily see through any feints and fakes, but my vastly superior strength meant that even if he led my sword to a poor position my hasty blocks would always be superior to his strikes.
Ultimately, the fight was decided by a leg kick. While his attention was focused on my sword aiming for his head, I snuck in a quick kick that destroyed his knee and drove my sword twice into his chest while he fell, perforating both of his lungs.
Jallak Ro'Shad drowned in his own blood attempting to avenge a father who I would likely never remember killing.
I would remember Jallack for bringing me a pair of dope swords.
Jack joined me in the shower after my triumphant return.
"What's with the swords, babe?" she asked as she soaped up my back.
"Apparently I killed someone's dad and he came to duel me to the death with swords." I explained, "Pretty neat if you ask me. You know any of them girls?"
"I can't remember anything after we started the party." Jack cemented the hangover situation we found ourselves in.
Fortunately there wasn't a tiger in the bathroom. Space Mike Tyson would probably be even scarier than Iron Mike Tyson.
I turned on the news as we toweled off and saw a scene of me and Jack doing double bicep poses with a bunch of C-Sec officers in front of a dry docked yacht, not a space yacht, a seafaring yacht.
"We are now in our third week of the controversial Spectres Gatatog Jack and Grunt's war on crime. The yacht seen here is the latest in a wave of civil forfeitures enacted by the duo with the aid of C-Sec. The owner of said yacht, Kishan Ro'Shad, was slain while resisting arrest for charges of operating a child prostitution ring."
"Ha," I barked smugly, "I fucking told him so!"
"Told him what, babe?" Jack asked me while pulling on her punk rock clothing.
"That batarians don't have honor." I answered then shouted, "Holy shit, we've been partying for three weeks!"
"No way!" Jack denied.
I checked the date on my data pad and confirmed that we'd been partying for three weeks.
"Not only that, but we somehow became Spectres." I told her in disbelief.
"That would be my fault." spoke up an older asari that worked her way out of the sex ball on the bed.
"Holy shit, babe, one of the hos is the Asari Councilor!" I announce in shock.
"I'd be pissed at you if you two weren't the sex." she said before getting a drink from the mini bar.
"How the hell did this happen?" Jack looked completely gobsmacked at the naked body of one of the most powerful politicians in space.
"I met you at a dinner party hosted by Councilor Anderson." She began the tale, "You were both high as kites, but turned out to be the most interesting conversation partners I've had in years. A few drinks and a foolish desire to relive my maiden years and I brought you both home for a night of the most wild and passionate intercourse in of my life. I'll plead temporary insanity if anyone pressures me on it, but you convinced me to railroad you into the Spectres. I thought I'd committed political suicide, but my popularity has never been higher. I went from a boring lifelong bureaucrat to a maverick who doesn't care about the rules, but gets the job done. You both laughed your asses off about ripping off bad crime drama vids when you fed that line to the media, but it's stuck around harder than my new need for smooth krogan cock."
The way she rubbed her lower belly got me nervous.
"We didn't, eh, make a baby? Did we?" I asked her.
"No," She denied, "no way would I step on T'Loak's toes like that. No krogan super babies for me." she chuckled, "Now the most powerful human biotic, on the other hand."
"I'm going to be a mom?" Jack asked in bewilderment.
"More a dad, as you are the father." the Councilor explained.
"Metal." Jack nodded in pleasure.
Jack and I high fived over impregnating two of the most powerful asari in space. Now if we can seduce Liara after she becomes the Shadow Broker we'll have the hat trick.
We spent the day getting to know Jack's baby mama and starting off our detox cycle. Spending three weeks on a chem and liquor fueled rampage kinda required us to either get clean or take a mountain of drugs with us. The later was a distinct possibility as we destroyed two drug cartels during our three week war on crime and took their whole stock as 'evidence', but we kinda live on my Space Mama's ship and there is now way in hell I'd ever leave a stash around for her to find.
We ran into Zaeed while returning to the Normandy as he was dropped off by a human woman. Red hair late thirties, but still keeping everything tight. Nice, bro.
"What are you looking at?" He growled at my bald lover.
"That looked very domestic." Jack accused.
"Forgive me for having a tender affair while you two jagoffs ran around like a pair of demented toddlers on a sugar rush." the old merc snarked then pulled out a datapad and sent us a message, "By the way, the wedding photos are in. Was a lovely time Mr. and Mrs. Gatatog."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
JManM
JManM
This chapter was written almost completely unplanned and turned out to be one of the funnest I've done to date. I obvioulsy pulled a lot of this from The Princess Bride, The Hangover, and What Happens in Vegas, but hopefully the Jack and Grunt spin made it all even better.
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
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2 Power
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