"This is log 23, sister 5311 reporting." Sister monotonously commented.
""We're still looking for space puppers, by the way." Nightmare added. "We've been sending scans and we're getting something that's either a space puppers or another leviathan. Ending of record 23 aboard the Flibbidegop." Concluded Nightmare. Sister 5311 left in the middle of the recording.
"Hey, Nightmare." She shouted.
"What is it?"
"You should come see this." Nightmare ran down the stairs, sliding on the tiles to a stop at the small window. Outside, a large blue-and white spacecraft loomed.
"The normanday?" Nightmare asked.
"I think it's pronounced "The Normandy"" Sister corrected. Nightmare looked for a messaging terminal, with none to be seen.
"AI, open communications with all other ships." Requested Nightmare.
"Hello, this is commander Shepard from the Normandy. Do you come in?" A female voice asked.
"Hello, commander. I'm juggernaut 1, AKA Nightmare." Nightmare greeted.
"I'm footsoldier 5311, call me sister." 5311 introduced herself.
"State your presence here." Shepard asked.
"We're hunting down a large, moving creature. We haven't seen it, but we're getting scans. You seen anything big lately?" 5311 asked.
"Listen, if you don't already know, there are reapers that will hunt you down and destroy every organic creature in the galaxy." Shepard explained.
"That sounds about right. Last place we saw him was on earth." Sister clued.
"Why would a reaper leave earth?" Shepard quietly asked.
"Because we're hunting it." Suggested Nightmare. "Are there multiple reapers?"
"Yes." Shepard replied.
"Oh, we're hunting something else." sister concluded. "Hey, can we still hunt down your reapers?"
"We need all the help we can get."
"Leme radio base." Nightmare apologized. A fleet of mismatched spacecraft jumped to the small ship. Ayrbal's fighters were back into one piece. "We have a lot more where that came from, If you have pilots to spare."
"Bring them over to the citadel." Shepard asked.
"We don't know our way around here, aside from earth." Sister blurted.
"Okay, that makes things difficult. Can you follow me?" Shepard asked.
"Hmm, no. The easiest solution would be to plant a tracer onto your ship, then have you travel there, then teleport the ships to the area. After the SHIPment arrives, you meet up here." Ayrbal
Interrupted.
"Did you just make a pun?" Asked shepard. Sister and Nightmare groaned.
"I BALLeve that I did."
A tracker was shot onto the normandy, then it jumped away. I warped the fighters to the bay without a scratch on anything. The fleet waited for the normandy to return. Sisters began talking to each other through the radio, or entertaining themselves on devices. The fleet buzzed with all sorts of activity. Something heard the noise. Something big.
"Sisters, prepare to engage. I want all of you to wear warp armor, airtight." I reminded them.
"HOLY SHIT, IT'S A GIANT SPACE TICK!" 5311 assumed.
"Let's board it. Lemme test it's armor first" Nightmare commented
"Wait, are you certain that this is an enemy?" 5311 asked. The reaper fired at a sabotage pod. "M'kay."
Two small, cone-shaped pods fired from the Flibbidegop. High calibre explosive shells launched from the pods. Thrusters soundlessly engaged, rocketing the pod to the target.
"This is 5311, reporting in." She called.
"This is 4523, reporting in." Another sister shouted. The channel became overrun with 6000 sisters trying to report in at the same time. 5311 switched to a private channel.
"Hi, Nightmare." 5311 greeted over the radio.
"Hey, ride okay?" Nightmare called.
"Yeah, I think we're there." 5311 replied. The sharp tip of the pod began to rotate as magnetic feet flipped out. Nightmare's pod lurched as the feet hit the side of the crater made by the shells earlier. The drill began to chew through the hull of the reaper, severing connections. A blast of air rushed out of the small breach. The little hole grew as the drill ground the metal. Nightmare smashed the EJECT CARGO button. The back of the pod fell away as the drill tip kept turning. It would keep grinding away at the reaper until it came out the other side, bumped into something hard, or met up with another pod. It would explode either way. The reaper bellowed as the other pods ripped through it's side. Five more pods came into the room, five more sisters jumped out. Five more holes in the crest of the reaper.
"Nice and cozy, Isn't it?" Asked 1711, joining the private channel. Her pod ground through the door. 3423, 2919, 4122 and 1634 hopped out and joined the channel.
"It's a bit cramped. Seven's just overpopulated." Complained 2919.
"Let's just kill this thing." 4122 groaned. Nightmare kicked off 1634's head, floating into the gravity field.
"Hey!" She protested.
"You guys have wings. I don't." Nightmare explained. The six sisters followed, ungracefully landing in a large pile of metal and complaints. They grumbled, then began to explore.
"I see movement. Right ahead." 3423 noted. They shot at husks with a barrage of arrows, bullets, rockets, and spears. The husks died shortly. "Move up, shoot when they come."
This time, a flood of converted humans swarmed down at the intruders. Nightmare went back into the breached room and grabbed her empty weapon container. She threw it into the swarm, then found her pod twelve feet down. She jumped into the hole, going back into the artificial gravity field. She landed in the now exposed cockpit, and pressed the WEAPONS STORAGE -LIFE RAFT button. Nightmare climbed back into the breach room, and kicked off the wall, landing in the hallway. The husks clambered through the small hole in the center of the now inflated storage trunk. They were shot down. The flow of husks stopped completely.
"I betcha they suffocated." 1711 commented. Nobody said anything, and kept going.
"What are we even doing?" 4122 wondered.
"Blow shit up that looks important and hope that we kill it or damage it to the point of being useless." 4122 blurted.
"That's basically what we're doing. Then, we know more about these and we can kill them more efficiently. 'Cus we know what to blow up, so we send in a team to destroy the weak spot, and then retrieve them." Nightmare concluded.
"Look at this thing!" 5311 shouted, jumping onto a four-legged spider thing.
"That's absolutely revolting!"4122 groaned. 2919 shot it a couple times. Smaller bugs came out of it, and jumped at the group. They were caught midair.
"Can I see that?" Nightmare asked, prying a smaller bug from 5311's lower left hand. It shrieked, so Nightmare threw it. It exploded in a puddle of acid. The six sisters looked at each other through their small visors. This only meant trouble. Nightmare sprinted away, fearing what mischievous plan they came up with. She bumped into another four-legged spider, noticing two large cannons on the front. She tugged at the cannons, finally ripping them off. Acid spewed over Nightmare's armor. A barrage of artillery pounded into Nightmare's back as three more spider things sent a volley of explosives. Nightmare slipped around a corner, fiddling with the torn-off cannons. She pulled on a ligament, sending an explosive across the passageway. Nightmare quickly ran back over to the attackers, and laid explosive hell down on them. Chunks of flesh and pools of acid marked the front. More of them came. The six sisters came around the corner, and began to pelt the spiders with small insects.
"Can't you take anything seriously?" Shouted Nightmare over the radio. The sisters shook their heads, then dashed into the fray, swords at the ready. Nightmare tore the twin cannons in half, and put one into a strap on her back. She pulled her telescoping sword from the small sheath as it unfolded into a meter long blade. Nightmare charged, swiping. Reinforcements continued to pour in.
"What's that bear thing?" 1634 asked.
"Dead!" 1711 shouted over the enraged roar as she hacked at the tender legs of said bear thing. Nightmare mentally shrugged, then pulled her other telescoping sword and cut up a pile of meat with a gun attached to the arm. The battle quickly died down as the last enemy was impaled by 38 blades as everybody rushed for the last kill.
"Move on, more are coming." 3423 commanded.
"Hang on, we have to name them." Chirped 5311.
"Let me. Okay, the artillery spiders are called bursters, the bear thing will be named bob, the humanoid things are rushers, the fleshy-" 1711 started.
"Wait, aren't all of them fleshy?"3423 asked.
"True. The flesh piles with the guns are mounds, and the other ones with guns are boosters." Nightmare finished. A flashing light indicated another enemy. The party armed themselves, ready to kill whatever it was. What came around the corner could be best described as a gray naked woman abomination with teleportation.
"It it's mortal, we'll kill it!" 5311 shouted. The legs of the abomination proved useless, as even after they were enthusiastically hacked away, the thing kept moving around. The body, however was easily torn apart, ending the creature.
The group entered a large room. It was spherical in shape, and seemed to be a sort of gun.
"This looks important." Plainly commented 4122.
"True. How's everyone doing in terms of explosives?" Nightmare asked.
"I think I used all mine up getting us into here." 5311 gestured to the large crater that she made.
"Well at least you used the pod part of the way."1711 comforted. Nightmare sat down, thinking.
"Guys, let's take a break and figure out what does what, and how to jam this." Nightmare noted. The sisters were more than happy to lay down. Nightmare gave the mechanism a good, hard stare. She calculated the movements.
"You see that spinning thing there?" Asked Nightmare.
"Ye-" 5311's agreement was interrupted by a large rumble as the reaper began to thrash around, sending 5311 and co. across the large sphere. They tumbled around quite some time.
"Everybody, blow up the firing part!" 3423 shouted. They warped to the cylindrical charger, and began to plant explosives. Another rumble shook them off as they lost gravity. The beam fired, cooking a backpack of C4. The explosion sent the party off to the sides of the sphere. They rolled, dodging shrapnel.
"Now what?" 2919 asked.
"I think we should try and send this sucker down to earth."
"All teams, rendezvous at the firing sphere. Sending the coordinates now. Try and bring at least one drill pod to make a puncture." I radioed all of them. I teleported into the sphere myself.
"We need to disable the reapers, so here's how we do it:" I projected a diagram onto the inside of the reaper's weapon armor plates. "The reapers do three things: fire lasers, convert lifeforms, and deploy ground troops. We need to disable two or more of these functions if we want to harvest their technology. This one is still alive, and disabled." I presented more plans. "All of you are dismissed." I teleported the troops back to their ships, the projected a hologram of the reaper, and the damage. Numerous lines crisscrossed one another, the paths the pods took. I played the simulation, watching in fascination as the enemy reaper deployed defense through the holes caused by the pods. The sisters grouped up, now in many small groups. The small groups merged and split, some never interacting. Nightmare's group seemed to go completely off track. The sisters tore through the defending troops effortlessly, with no casualties. I turned on the warp tracers, watching as the sisters teleported from one group to another, then skipped to where the explosions took place. There were 5, all along the line of symmetry. I converted the paths into lines on a 3d map, then sent it to all the sisters.
Nightmare fiddled with a spring on her cloaking sword, fitting it into the handle. She flicked the on switch, pressing the receiver on her glove onto the sword. It flickered, then became invisible. Nightmare swung the weapon around a few time before placing it down onto the cluttered table.
"Hello, this is commander shepard. Does anyone read me?" Asked the intercom.
"I do, what's the matter?" Nightmare addressed shepard.
"We've looked at the reaper you destroyed, and we want to take it apart." She asked.
"This one's ours."
"How can I pay you for it?"
"If you get us some weapons, we'll get you one just like it." Nightmare offered.
"Sending the weapons now." Shepard replied as a small package flew out of the side of the normandy. Nightmare intercepted it, then opened the box up. Inside was a yellow gun. Nightmare picked it up, noticing how heavy it was.
"Ayrbal, did you see that?" Nightmare asked.
"A graal spike thrower. It is a highly accurate shotgun, but I am not here to lecture you on that weapon. We heard your deal with shepard, so I decided to scan for any nearby reapers. The reapers picked up our scan and we currently have three hostile reapers. Prepare to board them." I told her.
"What about that one we killed a week ago?" Asked Nightmare, seeming anxious to scavenge the wreckage.
"After we engage those two, I will allow you to access the reaper and remove any technology you see valuable. Currently, it is in the cruiser bay." I addressed her concerns. "You will be tasked with sabotaging the reaper's armor at the tip. You will have to destroy small nodes, so do not prepare for a firefight. Robotic drones will assist you. The coordinates are programmed into your pod and your HUD." I briefed her, then left.
Nightmare boarded the sabotage pod, prepared to neutralize the reaper's plating. The pod docked, but did not start drilling. Nightmare hopped out, feeling utterly foolish with her newer magnetic spear gauntlets and her other armor. She threw the spike, feeling it click against the tip to the reaper. The weak point was right underneath. Nightmare grabbed hold of the spike's engraved handle, then began to cut away at the armor plate. She worked slowly, cutting away a small circle roughly the size of a dinner plate. Nightmare threw the plate into the open cockpit of the pod, then looked at the node. It was a bundle of electronics and adhesives. Nightmare looked around cautiously, gasping at the enormity of the reaper. A dozen small robots sawed away down the armor plate with the small dwarf star in the background. Nightmare took a picture, then got back to working away at the bundle. It proved resistant, the perfect blend of armor and electronics. Nightmare kicked off the workstation, floating away into deep space. The chain went tight, leaving Nightmare dangling. She fired the explosive, then pulled the magnet away from the danger. The magnet crumbled in the heat, breaking the chain connecting her to the workplace. She drifted slowly away from the reaper, mentally facepalming. Nightmare remembered the graal shotgun, and turned herself away, then fired it. The recoil blasted her back onto the reaper. Nightmare warped into her pod as it flew towards the next part. Nightmare popped out and planted a plastic explosives package on it, then hacked her computer to take it to the next point. In twenty minutes, approximately fifty off-white bundles were positioned around the reaper. This one was slightly smaller than the first one, so it took less to rig. Nightmare jumped off and detonated the explosives. The armor plates fell off, and were dragged in by directed magnetic beams, into the cruiser, then were teleported away. Nightmare threw the rest of her explosives onto the reaper, sixty-nine small packages made contact with the reaper, instantly adhering to the hull. The exposed reaper timidly hurried away, unaware of the modifications. Nightmare smashed the trigger, watching bits of reaper collide into other bits of reaper. In the distant future, this would become a major tourist attraction known as the "metal moon".
"Juggernaut:one, You have:2 urgent messages. Playing: one urgent messages. "Nightmare, we need you for project Calamitas. Report to my personal cruiser. Ayrbal out."" The intercom spoke. It beeped urgently,
"Juggernaut:one, you have a call. And. Juggernaut:one, you have:2 urgent messages." The speaker slowly droned.
"Answer call." Nightmare asked.
"Please speak:more slower."
"Answer call."
"Please make sure that you are enunciating every syllable."
"Answer call."
"Could you repeat that?"
"Answer call!"
"Please speak: More faster."
"Answer the goddamn call!"
"Make sure that you have no background noise."
"You fucking peice of shit."
"Answering:call." The computer spoke.
"Nightmare." Commander shepard recognised
"Yes?"
"We need that reaper."
"Well we incapacitated one, but I don't know what we're doing with it. I also accidentally blew another up. There's no shortage of em and they're pretty easy to maim."
"We need a reaper, and we need it now." Shepard flatly asked.
Operation: Calamitas and Animatrum Mortus.
Location: Arctic base 4.
Purpose: Research an effective toxin against reapers, refit dead reaper into possible ship.
I walked up to the balcony, admiring the nearly complete reaper-omay hybrid suspended in the docking bay. It was organic in some areas and mechanical in others, with a blend of OMAY and reaper tech working together. A special fungus was grown to connect and translate the OMAY technology with the reapers and another life form sealed the hull and would repair any breaches. A large portion of the reaper's side was horribly damaged during the fall to earth. The holes made by the sabotage pods were refitted into docking bays, windows, sensor holes, gun mounts and escape pod chutes. It was far from symmetrical, and the reaper was still alive in some areas. They would allow it to communicate with the other reapers, before forcing it to destroy them. Conversion was a two-way street. The main weapon was repaired, and outfitted to only fire at other reaper ships. The original armor plates were significantly weaker than before, but high power energy shields and massive firepower made up for the lack. Reaper troop holders were converted into living quarters and storage. Massive caverns were carved out and refitted into mess halls. The reaper was nearly complete. I warped over to the side where the reaper fell onto. Metal framework sat in front of me like a giant steel scab. I accelerated the building process, warping the metal into an artificial reaper's side. This was mainly framework to support the structures that were built in the frame. I made sure the reaper was alive, and was kept alive through the procedure until the ship was destroyed. I built up energy, then violently ripped a hole in the metal, forming a sharp cone with a circular hole. I ripped several more cones into the main one, then placed weapons into the empty cones. The largest hole was still empty. I separated the mass of technology from the old eye, and placed the now much less powerful weapon into the tip. This was the reaper's new eye. I replicated it, then put a powerful OMAY-reaper hybrid laser in the core. I cut a rectangular hole in the metal, and constructed a small fighter bay in the slit. I peppered the reaper with 360 rotational remote turrets. I added thruster clusters to certain areas, to enhance the speed on the reaper. It was finished, ready to serve. The reaper had to be named. But what? [Error:latina. Could not find translation for: hybrid, traitor, revived.] I collapsed, falling to the ground. Gravity glitched for a second, making everything fall sideways; then returned to normal. It would have to be named in english. Hybrid it was, plain and simple. I spent the next five minutes fueling the thrusters, charging the batteries, preparing the food and loading the gun. That sort of thing. Something was missing. I wrapped a large red ribbon around the hybrid, then tied it in a bow.
Nightmare blended toxins internally, every so often tasting the mixture to see how it was going. There was plenty of leftover reaper flesh samples from the reaper's husks. Nightmare grabbed a human husk by it's arm, and watched in amusement as it flailed around in the grip of her tentacles. She further immobilized it, forming tight coils around each limb. Nightmare beamed sadistically and thrust a stinging tentacle into the chest of the reaper, watching the poison melt the flesh. It killed the husk in 4 seconds flat. Nightmare plucke up a pen from across the room with a tentacle and wrote down the number. She strode across the room to peer at the graph. 10.21 seconds, 3.4 seconds, 1.72 seconds, 8.25 seconds, 4.0. Nightmare noted the acidity of the toxin, then refueled, ate and hibernated. Such is the life of a scientist.
I warped the reaper back into space.
Nightmare looked out the small glass window, staring down the sights of a large calibre poison dart turret. She shot three needles at a flying reaper dragon-type thing. It shrieked, then began to melt. Nightmare's AI directed fighters to finish it off. Missiles ripped into the exposed flesh, sending