Mass Effect: Endings

The Crush: Shepard's Final Mission

"This isn't what you promised us, Shepard!"

Wrex, leader of Clan Urdnot and representative of Earth's krogan population, stood defiant before Shepard. Shepard eyed the thousand-strong gang of krogans gathered at the Crush, the meeting grounds. Just as Wrex had promised, they had come unarmed.

Shepard was unarmed as well. Not that Shepard could hold a weapon even if he wanted to.

Wrex and the other krogan were clearly angry. The Alliance marine holding the handles of Shepard's wheelchair was so nervous that Shepard could feel him shaking through the metal frame.

I don't blame him, he thought.

Shepard often wondered if he had made the right decision in destroying the reapers. The explosion he had set off had been so powerful that it blew the Citadel to pieces. Fortunately Shepard had fallen into a particularly soft piece of concrete and twisted rebar, but his body had never been the same since. Five years later, the war hero lived in a mansion and was attended by servants who were proud to feed him and help him use the restroom.

Shepard cleared his throat. "What promise, Wrex?"

Wrex beat his chest, then said, "We fought your war for you! We went to Palaven and helped those damned turians, then we came to this cursed planet and gave our blood to save you from the reapers! Your Alliance gave us a pittance of land, but now we... now we..."

"Wrex, be reasonable." Shepard tried to lift himself in the chair in order to appear strong before the krogan. It didn't work. "I cured the genophage for you. The reapers were a problem for all of us. How was I supposed to know that destroying them would also destroy the mass relays? I know your people don't like being stuck here on Earth, away from your women and your homeworld. But Wrex, I'm depending on you to keep your men from thieving and killing and turning into what they were before I cured the genophage."

"How can we change?" said Wrex. "I was able to bring the clans together because we had hope for a better tomorrow. Now we have nothing. Peace? What peace!?"

Wrex's words stabbed into Shepard's broken body. It was true: There was no peace. Now that the species of the galaxy were cut off due to the destruction of the mass relays, Earth had become a prison for a dozen different races permanently exiled from their rightful homes. Many quarians had regained Rannoch only to lose it once again. Now they would never be able to remove their enviro-suits. Their dreams had become a mockery to them.