Trey: “This can’t be good.”
Alesia: “Only one guard? They must think it’s pretty well hidden.”
Butch: “That’s Grunt. Shepard’s Grunt, the war hero. I doubt we’ll last a minute.”
Trey: “Which is why we’re going to sneak past him.”
Al: “I say we start shooting.”
Butch: “We won’t get another opening like this.”
Trey: “Does nobody do diplomacy, anymore? I’ll ask him a few questions, get him to drop his guard, and then—”
Butch: “Bad plan.”
Al: “Krogans don’t have a Council member for a reason.”
Trey: “Says the trigger-happy asari.”
Al: “You make the call, then. You hired us.”
Butch: “[[Option 1:]] Shoot him.
Trey: “[[Option 2:]] Don't shoot him. First. Sneak past him.”
Al: “[[Option 3:]] Let Trey flap his lips before he chews shotgun shells.”
Butch: “I doubt that’d keep him quiet.”
Trey: “Just follow my lead.”
Trey: “On my count.”
Al immediately starts shooting her assault rifle.
Butch runs forward with his shotgun.
Trey begins shooting his pistol.
Grunt charges toward Butch and bowls him out of the way before shooting Alesia and taking her out of the battle.
Trey puts his hands in the air.
Grunt approaches him with his shotgun raised.
Trey: “Whoa whoa whoa!!”
1. [[“We just came to see the artifact!!”]]
2. [[“Nice shotgun you got there.”]]
3. [[“You’re Grunt, right!?”]]
Trey: “Cover me.”
Butch: “Hurry up.”
Al: “If he moves I shoot.”
Trey sneaks to within 10 feet of Grunt, who jerks awake.
Al starts shooting her assault rifle.
Butch runs forward with his shotgun.
Trey ducks and covers.
Grunt charges toward Butch and bowls him out of the way before shooting Alesia and taking her out of the battle.
Trey puts his hands in the air.
Grunt approaches him with his shotgun raised.
Trey: “Whoa whoa whoa!!”
1. [[“We just came to see the artifact!!”]]
2. [[“Nice shotgun you got there.”]]
3. [[“You’re Grunt, right!?”]]
Trey approaches Grunt with his gun in his holster, hands up. Al and Butch trail you, weapons drawn but pointed down.
1. [["Excuse me, kind krogan sir."]]
2. [[“Great afternoon for a nap, huh?”]]
3. [[“Seen any M-8s around?”]]
Trey: “We came all this way and no tour?"
Grunt: “Not for thieves.”
Trey: “We just wanted a closer look at Shepard’s assault rifle.”
Grunt: “I guess this'll have to do.”
He raises the shotgun to Trey’s face.
1. [[Been here long?]]
2. [[Life since Shepard.]]
Trey: “That’s the one from Uttuku, isn’t it?”
Grunt: “Shouldn’t matter to you.”
Al: “Got a hell of a kick to it.”
Al gets to her feet.
Trey: “Great plan, Al. Now he’s riled up. No chance of that tour, anymore.”
Al: “We came for the M-8.”
Trey: “Tour. She means tour. That shotgun, huh? Hits pretty hard.”
Grunt: “This is the worst attempt so far.”
1. [[Been here long?]]
2. [[Life since Shepard.]]
Butch: “Ha ha! The rumors are true.”
Grunt: “Don’t hurt yourself, old-timer.”
Butch walks over to Trey and Grunt.
Butch: “I had to see for myself.”
Trey: “Can we put the shotgun down, please?”
Al: “I like it when he sweats.”
Grunt: “I’ll like it more when he bleeds.”
Butch: “That makes two of us.”
Trey: “They’re the ones who shot at you!”
Grunt: “I was gettin’ bored, anyway.”
1. [[Been here long?]]
2. [[Life since Shepard.]]
Trey: “Excuse me, you wouldn’t happen to be—”
Grunt jumps up and points his shotgun at your face.
Butch: “Told you.”
Al: “Let’s do this!”
Trey: “Everybody calm down!”
Grunt: “More thieves?”
Trey: “Who? Us? No. Of course not.”
Grunt: “Yeah. Thieves are better liars.”
1. [[“We just came to see the artifact.”->“We just came to see the artifact!!”]]
2. “[[Nice shotgun."->Nice Shotgun Ver.2]]
3. “[[You’re Grunt, right!?->You're Grunt V.2]]”
Trey: “Great afternoon for a nap.”
Grunt: “Or your funeral.”
He wakes up and points the shotgun at your face.
Al: “I like him.”
Butch: “Agreed.”
1. [[We just came to see the artifact->“We just came to see the artifact!!”]]
2. [["Nice shotgun."->Nice Shotgun Ver.2]]
3. [[“You’re Grunt, right!?”->You're Grunt V.2]]
Trey: “You seen any M-8s around? Heard there was one that’s pretty special in the area.”
Grunt: “You’ve come for the artifact.”
Grunt wakes up.
Trey: “A quick peek would be nice.”
Grunt points the shotgun at your face.
Grunt: “Sure.”
Butch and Al ready their weapons.
Butch: “My kind of diplomacy.”
Al: “Give me a reason!”
Trey: “Nobody shoot, dammit! Please!”
1. [[“We just came to see the artifact!!”]]
2. “[[Nice shotgun."->Nice Shotgun Ver.2]]
3. [[“You’re Grunt, right!?”->You're Grunt V.2]]
Trey: “That’s the one from Uttuku, isn’t it?”
Grunt: “Shouldn’t matter to you.”
Trey: “I’m a Reaper War buff.”
Al: “We came for the M-8.”
Trey: “But only to take a look at it. Yup. All eyes. No hands. Nope. None of that.”
Grunt: “This is the worst attempt so far.”
1. [[Been here long?]]
2. [[Life since Shepard.]]
Butch: “You haven’t gotten soft out here, have you? I’ve been looking for a good fight.”
Grunt: “Don’t hurt yourself, old-timer.”
Trey: “Can we put the shotgun down, please?”
Al: “I like it when he sweats.”
Grunt: “I’ll like it more when he bleeds.”
Butch: “That makes two of us.”
Trey: “We don’t have to shoot each other, you know.”
Grunt: “I was gettin’ bored, anyway.”
1. [[Been here long?]]
2. [[Life since Shepard.]]
Trey: “You’ve been here awhile, huh?”
Grunt: “Fifty years. Sixty. Somewhere around there.”
Butch: “Guarding the artifact for that long?”
Grunt: “Had to build the place, first. That took longer than I wanted. I’m real good at breaking things. Not too good at building ‘em.”
Trey: “You built all this?”
Grunt lowers his shotgun.
Grunt: “Shepard deserved it. Weren’t any good wars to fight after the Reapers, anyway. May as well do something worth doing. I figured there’d be more than pushovers who come looking for it, too. Can’t say I was right.”
Butch: “I can say—”
Trey: “I like it! Real good vibe out here. Natural, you know?”
Al: “You never leave your post?”
Grunt: “I got a couple Krogans from my clan out here to bring me supplies.”
Trey, Al, and Butch all look at each other in silence.
1. [[Life since Shepard.]]
2. [[We’re not so different.]]
Trey: “There’s not much info on you after the Reaper War.”
Grunt: “Not much to say. I got tired of commanding. I’m better at fighting.”
Al: “I know how you feel.”
Butch: “No, you don’t.”
Trey: “Shepard must have meant a lot to you.”
Grunt: “More than the rest of you humans, that’s for sure. So quick to forget. 150 years and you act like the war never happened. Solarians are no better. Now we’re back to fighting each other. And the krogans look like the level-headed ones.”
Trey: “It’d probably help get everyone back on track if they had something of Shepard’s to remind them. Besides the war monuments, you know. Something they could hold…”
Grunt: “Haha! Like an M-8? You know why I haven’t blasted you off this planet since I heard you pop out of the bushes?”
Al: “We had the drop on you.”
Grunt: “That’s what they all think. I haven’t seen a human, krogan, and asari in the same squad since the war. Reminded me of Shepard. Of the old squad. I figured I’d give you a chance to prove yourselves.”
2. [[We’re not so different.]]
Trey: “We’re not so different, you know. My family has had some, uh, genetic engineering, done, too.”
Grunt: “Seems like they could have done a better job.”
Trey: “You know what they found out? It’s not just the genes that make the soldier. Or the commander. Or the Reaper War hero.”
Al: “Wait. You’re Shepard’s…”
Trey: “No. Not me. But my great grandmother was. And she had a son. Who had a daughter. Who was my mother.”
Grunt: “Ha! I should have known humans would try something like that.”
Trey: “Didn’t stop them from putting all of us through military school. Highest priority. Best training. Special operations. Every opportunity. They were waiting to assemble the right pieces, trying to find the perfect combination to create another Shepard—the first one worked out too well in humanity’s favor. Too well to abandon over a little mortality. Of course they changed the look a bit; can’t have people catching on to your secret project. Another Lazarus wouldn’t have been acceptable to the public. And it damn sure wouldn’t have helped us any—we were already growing up with too much attention. We found out, though, one way or another. Four generations of failures. Shepard casts a big shadow.”
Grunt: “You’re Shepard’s clan, huh? And what do you want with the M-8? Assuming I let you see it at all.”
1. [[I want to take it with me.]]
2. [[I want you to tell me about it.]]
Trey: “I want it.”
Grunt: “You can’t have it.”
Trey: “We need another Shepard.”
Grunt: “And you think you’re it? You’ve got strength in your genes, that’s for sure. But you’re no Shepard.”
Trey: “I can be.”
Grunt: “How?”
Trey: “I’ll gain more followers, more influence. I’ll use the artifacts as my birthright. Proof that I’m Shepard’s successor.”
Grunt: “We already got a Shepard. We don’t need another one. I’m a guardian of The Pilgrimage. Once the Councillors come see the artifact, I’ll show them what Shepard really meant to the galaxy. Remind them of what the Commander stood for, even if that means banging them over the head with it. If you want the M-8, then you’ll have to be strong enough to take it. I’m not giving it up. To you. To anybody.”
Butch: “I guess we’re done, then. No sense dying here today.”
Trey: “We’ll be back, Grunt.”
Grunt: “I’ll be ready, Shadow of Shepard.”
Grunt returns to his post. Trey and the team walk in the direction of their ship.
Al: “We’re not calling you that.”
Trey: “What? Why not?”
Butch: “Definitely not.”
Al: “You’re lucky we’re sticking around at all.”
Butch: “Weaker mercenaries would have left after they saw the enemies you were making.”
Trey: “You wanted a good fight. Stick with me, and I’m sure you’ll have your fill.”
Butch: “Can’t wait.”
Trey: “Tell me about the artifact. Why is it so important to you?”
Grunt: “You’ve heard the stories about Shepard. Seen the vids. It’s all too nice. They got rid of the best parts: the violence, the squad breaks, the failed missions. The M-8 tells a different story. It’s scratched up from being blown across the room and sliding into cover. Shepard wasn’t a perfect shot, either. Got me in the back more than a couple times, haha! But here it is. All banged up and barely able to fire two rounds in a burst. The Councillors need to hold it. They need to feel the history in their hands. It’s part of The Pilgrimage. We need them to remember how much we paid for this peace.”
Trey: “I can help. I’ll be first on the pilgrimage. I’ll convince The Council to—”
Grunt: “You’re not ready.”
Trey: “I’ve still got some contacts pretty high up in the—”
Grunt: “You’re not ready, and you’re not Shepard. If you wanna do something, then come back with your own story, your own artifact. I’ll decide if you’re more than just a Shadow of Shepard.”
Butch: “Don’t flatter him.”
Al: “It goes straight to his head.”
Grunt returns to his post. Trey and the team walk in the direction of their ship.
Trey: “‘Shadow of Shepard’? I don’t hate it. Shadow of Shepard. Shadow of Shepard.”
Al: “Why don’t you figure out how you’re paying us.”
Trey: “You already met a war hero, today. Imagine what’ll happen tomorrow.”
Butch: “He’s got a point.”