A/N: This is my first attempt at a fanfic, I'm pretty certain it will be a disaster but what the hell? Might as well give it a shot. I do ask for your mercy though
Will Baker shifted his weight in a vain attempt to stop the creasing of his suit. It wasn't born from any belief that the tattered remains of his work clothes were worth salvaging, simply from the unconscious desire to remain tidy. This trait had been driven into him from years of working in an office and it was a habit that, despite the severity of his current situation, was still hard to ignore. He flinched at the sounds of a multitude of explosions, some distant and others closer than he found comfortable, the latter causing dust to scatter down from the ceiling to cover both his head and shoulders. Staring out through a jagged hole in the masonry surrounding him Will spies one of the hundreds of ships bombarding London with searing red blasts, each causing immense destruction. In an attempt to control his rising fear, Will straightens his tie and tries to maintain some level of calm. Crouching in the ruins surrounding Westminster abbey he couldn't help but smile at the pointlessness of keeping his tie straight and his suit clean when the world was going to hell.
"Well that's something we need a bit more of", comments the man Will is sharing his current shelter with. "A bit more pride in our appearance and that will send them packing" the edges of the man's mouth curl upwards "either that or those screams of yours will".
Will chuckles at this, regardless of the forced tone of the joke, and studies the near stranger sitting across from him. With dark and unruly hair he was the antithesis of Will's own blond and meticulously styled features. Dressed in riot gear and cradling a police issue pistol this man seems almost at ease in their given situation, at least he would if it were not for the blood soaked rag wrapped around his leg. While it may have been less than a day that these men have known each other, it is apparent that they both feel at ease in each others company, at least as much as is possible given their circumstances.
"David", Will began "did I ever properly thank you for saving me from that thing?"
David's smile disappears as he looks at the body in the corner. It looks as if it was once human but it couldn't be further from that now, with muscle and sinew replaced with wires and cybernetics. Its mere presence serving as a psychological weapon against him, his eyes track the progress of the rapidly pooling green liquid around the exit wound that his gun had inflicted upon it.
"Don't worry about it" his smile returns "your girlish screams as it was chasing you were all the thanks I needed"
"Hey, I'm sorry but I'm not exactly used to being chased by robot zombies! At least not on weekdays...But seriously, thanks man". Will's eyes travel to the dead creature, "what the hell is that thing though? I'm going to find it difficult to take this situation seriously if I keep referring to them as robot zombies. Jesus Christ I haven't got the first clue what these things are or where they all came fr-"
"I doubt anyone does" David interrupts as Will's voice raises in volume "but that thing-" David whispers as he points at the corpse "-I think is a husk"
"A what?"
"A husk" repeats David "from what I've heard those things are made by the Geth. Y'know, those AI that went all terminator on the Quarians. I don't know the specifics but they're what the Geth do to their prisoners" pausing for a moment and looking down "they're dead people Will, transformed into monsters" smiling again, but with less warmth, he indicates his leg "and they pack one hell of a punch"
"Jesus", responds the suited man, "does that mean that those ships out there are the Geth?"
In response David stares through the shattered window at the ships decimating the once great city.
"I don't know, but I'm thinking we can't wait around here to find out" staring back at his suited counterpart "we need to get out of this city. Hell, we need to get off this entire fucking planet!"
"Really?" responds Will in a shocked tone " I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm all for getting the hell out of dodge but I just assumed you would have somewhere you needed to report to or...I don't know, some kind of rallying point for survivors?"
Staring back at the former office worker David looks as if he is about to respond several times before finally asking incredulously
"You haven't heard? I'm sorry to say this buddy but we're on our own here"
Will stares worriedly back at his new friend and begins to respond in a hurried manner "Wait, heard what? What do you mean we're on our own? How can we possibly be on our own? We've got fleets! FLEETS! What about the government? What about the Council? What-"
Before Will can continue his torrent of questions David slams a hand over his mouth. A few seconds later a slow moving construction flies overhead, pausing at various intervals to search the ruins. It appears to be a horrifying blend of a gunship and several dozen of the creatures David identified as husks. After several fruitless delves into a ruined office block it moves on across the city rooftops.
"Keep your voice down", David whispered firmly "Jesus, I've only heard about those things over the comm net" the policeman whispered as he stared after the monstrosity. "They're called Praetorians for some reason or other, and from the reports I've heard, nothing short of artillery can take them out." Staring back at the now terrified Will he continues in a bitter tone, "And to answer your questions, we're on our own because everyone else is either obliterated or in hiding". The only response David receives is a stunned silence. Putting his head in his hands he continues "we lost over 2 million people in the first day Will, and that's only London. Last broadcast that was transmitted said these things are attacking every major city on the planet, and so far we've had piss poor success in striking back." Shaking his head before looking into his friend's eyes and continuing "You know all those defences Earths government put in place? The one that cost billions of credits to set up? Well that defence system took out two of those thousands of ships before they were made into scrap metal. That includes all those secret weapons that we kept in reserve in case the Turians ever wanted to go for another round." David begins a slow and deep throated chuckle "Poland lasted longer in the second world war than our entire fucking planet did against those things. So no, we don't have anywhere to report in Will. And I'll be damn surprised if we just happen to stumble upon any other survivors to bring to a rallying point. You're the first person I've seen for the last day that doesn't continuously moan and isn't primarily composed of metal and green shit!" he exclaimed with a gesture to the dead husk, after a slight pause the beginnings of a smile form on David's face and he finishes "but u still moan a fair bit".
It was at this moment that they were interrupted by the crack of a rifle, identified as coming from the summit of Westminster Abbey due to the muzzle flash, which drew their attention to a fleeing figure growing more apparent in the foggy murk.