Systems Alliance Intelligence Agency - Vancouver
''Alright, easy now. VIP is moving ... 20 seconds. Engage at your own leisure, agent.''
Five seconds after his handler relayed the message through his standard issue earpiece, Mack began to regulate his breathing, hoping to steady his aim enough in order to deliver a quick and lethal strike.
It wasn't the first time he has found himself in such a perilous situation. Although the people over at their PR department would never admit it to the public, he has heard enough stories from his fellow operatives: assassination, sabotage, blackmail - they've done it all and so much more. All in the name of ''galactic stability'', certainly, but believing that the Alliance has clean hands is naive at best, deadly at worst. As the agent was about to demonstrate, even humanity wasn't afraid to bend the legal system from time to time in order to ensure that said stability is being upheld within the borders of Alliance space and its allies.
Yet something tells me that the turians or the salarians are up to worse shit on a daily basis.
Pushing his cynical thoughts aside, Mack activated the VI tracking system of his sniper rifle, the advanced systems and algorithms already calculating the perfect shot for him.
Finally, his target appeared, a turian dressed in an admittedly good looking red suit who seemed to surround herself with multiple mercenaries, their yellow armor and heavily customized weapons giving serving as enough evidence that they had to be the real deal.
''Mother, this is Optimist. I've got eyes on the target ... looks like she's got herself some mercs. Fresh out of Omega, probs. Quality wares. Taking the shot in ... five.''
Five.
Mack's target exchanged some quick words with her hired guards, making numerous rude hand gestures with her talons. Charming until her end, he thought.
Four.
The furious heat of Palaven's sun made him sweat tremendously under his tactical ops gear. Luckily for him, the message CLIMATE UNIT ACTIVE was displayed on the HUD of his black helmet, almost instantly ensuring that the heat of the turian's homeworld wouldn't actively intervene with the clandestine operation.
Three.
The turian grabbed one of her subordinates and threw the poor soul to the ground, seeming to scream like a pissed of Tresher Maw at the bystanders.
Two.
Mack placed his agile finger at the trigger of his rifle, awaiting his VI's command to pull it and end the infamous weapon's dealer's life.
Go time.
Not hesitating for a second, the field operative fired his heavily modified weapon, delivering a lethal mass effect propelled metal slug directly into her forehead.
That was the plan, at least, if a piercing scream wouldn't have penetrated his earpiece.
Almost in an instant, the evergreen palms and trees of Palaven disappeared, only to host to a dance of white and blue lightning, as they were replaced by cold metal and wires. The local birds, their bodies made out of the same carapace that protected the turians from the lethal radiation that penetrated Palaven's atmosphere, disappeared into nothingness, only leaving behind a tiny amount of blue-ish holographic pixels.
And his ''target'' may not have been hit by his own metal slug, but she fell as well, the line of code she was created of claiming her digital existence and only leaving empty space behind.
''What the actual fuck?!''
Mack heard the strong motherly voice of his handler through the numerous speaker-systems in the training room as the normal white lightning that usually serves as a source of illumination was replaced by the uneasy red lights of the emergency protocols.
Turning his head in utter confusion to the right and looking up to the giant glass wall behind which ''Mother'' sat, Mack could only shrug with his shoulders as he removed his helmet from his armor.
''I swear if those inbred eggheads over in the labs re-routed energy to one of their systems again I will nuke them.''
The agent had to grin as he thought about the current ''conflict'' going on at the lower levels of the agency. For reasons unknown to him, the Department for Field Research and Tactical Development was given almost unthinkable resources to do ... whatever the scientists were doing at their department. ''Mother'', who was better known as ''Acting Director of HR and Agent Relations Elmora Schwarzhaupt'', thought that they were playing tricks on her out of some sort of personal vendetta.
I honestly can't blame them. Elmora tends to be quite a ... well, bitch. HBIC and all that nonsense. Doubt that they'd mess with critical systems though.
Mrs. Schwarzhaupt sighed and shook her head before she addressed her agent through the speakers again.
''Alright, we'll take five and then go through the simulation again. I gotta break some necks, apparently. Good work so far, agent''
Giving her a quick salute, he holstered his rifle on his back and put his hands on his hips. Every four years, agents cleared for field operations had to go through re-certification in order to ensure that the high standards of Alliance Intelligence were upheld in all of their assets. That was the theory, at least. Most of the time agents who had to go through the process treated it as personal time off, neglecting paperwork and all of that boring bureaucratic stuff - or leaving it to the interns, to be more precise.
Mack watched her leaving as she turned her master-terminal off and raising up from her chair, closing the door behind her.
He has served Alliance Intelligence for precisely four years now, which of course was the reason for his presence in the training room. After finishing his degree and proudly being part of the Alliance Military for numerous years, his old CO managed to pull some strings and got him the position - for which he was eternally grateful.
As much as he loved to serve with his fellow brothers and sisters in arms, he has always felt a little bit out of place within the heroic ranks of the armed forces, always asking too many questions and most of the times quietly, sometimes loudly questioning the orders of his superiors. Here at Alliance Intelligence, he has been given way more autonomy over his operations, most of the time followed by a bigger paycheck than a soldier's salary. The fact that he spent most of his time on Earth certainly helped as well. Not that he didn't enjoy seeing the wonders of the Milky Way, but he had to admit that he always was more of family guy, calling a big house and many children his own - someday, at least.
Nobody's perfect, though.
Sighing as he looked at the finger where his wedding ring used to be and grimacing as he shook his head, Mack quietly opened up some applications on his holographic omni-tool, trying to check whether he had got any new messages. Rolling his eyes in defeat as he failed to connect to both the extranet and any other local network, he had no choice but to sit there in silence and waiting for Mother to return, his thoughts serving as the only source of companionship.
Credits always help, sure. But I just can't blame her. Though not as dangerous as the life of a soldier, there were enough situations where I thought that I was certain to be a goner whilst serving in Intelligence. Who can put up with that for so many years? Gotta' meet the lawyer later to look over the divorce papers again. I'll be damned to hell if my daughter doesn' t get all the money she needs. God knows if she really wants to go to one of those fancy asari universities, she'll need as many cred's as she can get.
Looking patiently up to the glass wall, Mack couldn't help but ask himself what took so long. Schwarzhaupt was known for being as genius as she was brutish, shouldn't she be done screaming at people like a maniac by now?
Just as the agent was about to leave the room with the very red emergency lightning himself, he was thrown to the ground by a powerful blast that seemed to shake the world around him, toying with his sense of orientation and perception as he hit his head on the metal panels of the floor.
What the hell ... damn, what are those idiots doing?!
Forming a fist as he tried to ignore the searing pain in his head, the operative got himself up again and stormed out of the room, all out sudden determined to help ''Mother'' with breaking some bones if need be.
Leaving the training section behind, the agent's nose was almost immediately attacked by the penetrating odor of smoke and fire actively sabotaging his senses and making his eyes teary.
''Anyone wanna tell me what's going on?!'' he screamed into the empty hallway, hoping for some sort of response that never came. It was in that moment that another blast managed to rock his world, pushing him into the nearby wall.
That ... that didn't come from this floor. What the hell.
''Harpocrates, can you hear me?''
He waited for several seconds for a response and once he realized that he wasn't about to get one, he knew that whatever was going on upstairs had to be severe enough that the Agency's very own VI - Harpocrates - couldn't respond, explaining the current morbid silence reigning over the hallway.
Trying to open the doors to the labs, Mack had to throw the palm of his hand onto his forehead as he was denied access by the internal security systems. Activating his omni-tool with the flick of his wrist, he opened up a series of hacking tools in order to brute force the door's locking mechanism.
If the VI is down that shouldn't be a problem.
And he was proven correct as ten seconds later he found himself in the laboratory or to be more precise, what was left of it. It appeared that one of those blasts managed to destroy vital equipment, triggering the room's anti-fire systems and activating the sprinkling system at the ceiling.
''Move! It is quite imperative that I back up my research!''
He had to raise an eyebrow as one of the scientists - an older gentleman by the name of doctor Lurke if he remembered correctly - pushed him out of the way and hastily began to tip on some of the still functioning terminals on the wall.
Feeling that his carefully crafted mask of patience was starting to crackle, Mack coughed loudly and looked directly into the doctor's eyes as he said: ''Eh doc, perhaps you wanna tell me what is causing those explosions?''
''I can't be bothered wi -''
''Now.''
Being thankful for the rhetorical training every agent had to go through, Mack had to hide his smile of success as the doctor began to squirm. He temporarily deactivated the display of his terminal and closed his eyes as he lowered his head.
''I didn't believe it. Of course, I didn't. It lacked any logic, any sense. It was arcane in nature, a fool's tale used to scare children into sleeping. Truly, it sounded like something copied straight out of one of those cheap extranet movies. Or one of the old books they wrote a hundred years ago. How was I supposed to know that they told the truth?''
''Doctor, to the point please.''
''That commander? I thought it to be a PR stunt at first. Or madness. Just like that turian ... Saren? But then we were told to look into it, analyze the numbers and start crunching. It just ... my god, it just made so much sense. The dates ... the numbers. They lined up. The same cycle, over and over again. The Protheans ... heaven above, it just started to make sense. And now ... ''
As if on command another hellish blast brought the walls of the floor to crumble, bringing the floor to vibrate violently.
What is he even talking about?
''They're here. Have to be them. The cycle has begun. Already lost the moon.''
''Hold up. What's going on with the moon doctor?''
Even under such dire circumstances Mack couldn't feel but to notice the man's body language, the signs of terror and fear seeming to control every single muscle of his body.
''We're under siege, agent.''
Shit.
Raising his voice Mack grabbed the man by his shoulders and span him around. ''Who? Hierarchy? Or are the batarians trying to get revenge?! Or the cou - ''
The doctor merely began to laugh as tears fell down his cheek.
''No. It's them.''
This guy will be in shock if we keep talking about this. Let's get him out of here.
''Alright, I understand. I'll get you out of here, alright?''
A lie, of course. As a matter of fact, he had no idea what was going on in any way, shape or form. Refusing to take a ''No'' as an answer, Mack took the doctor's hand and pulled him out the lab's, his eyes set on the stairwell to the next level. Using his free hand to try to call his ex - and failing - he sighed wearily as he sprinted up the stairs, never letting go of the labcoat wearing gentleman.
Grimacing in pain as another blast made the floors tremble beneath him, he couldn't fail but to feel blessed as the automatic doors to the main floor were left open, the emergency protocol working as intended.
As expected during such a situation, Mack was greeted by the sign of utter chaos as numerous people tried to clear rubble out of the way while others were running around seemingly aimlessly.
''Alright buddy, I gotta find ... anyone in charge. Get out of here - south side exit. Protocol states that in case of ... well, immediate danger that the shuttles are ready to escort any non-essiantls out of here ASAP.''
Letting go of his hand and pointing to the right direction, the doctor looked directly into the agent's eyes and whispered: ''There'll be a fight.'' before he ran off to join the others.
Staying still for a couple of seconds to ensure that the old gentleman finds the right exit, Mack ran off as soon as he could, making his way to the main lobby.
Barely managing to evade the debris being thrown into his direction after another insidious explosion, he had to sigh in relief as his earpiece began to vibrate.
''Mother here broadcasting on every frequency - if you hear this, arm yourself and meet me in conference room 23-B. Earth is under attack. I repeat, Earth is under attack. This is not a damn drill - get moving agents!''
Shit. This can't be happening. My god.
Letting his thoughts instantly drift to his wife and his daughter, the operative sprinted like hell up the next pair of stairs and ran down another hallway, watching as the Agency's building slowly but steadily fell apart as the unknown attacker lay siege to ... -
Everything.
He could only spare one or two seconds to take in the view that was Vancouver, it's many towers and buildings reduced to ash and cinder, the city's smoke and fire threatening to consume every street.
Punching the window with a fist, he let out a threatening scream before he continued his run to the conference room. Once he was standing before the doors of room number 23-B, he tried to shake off any signs of distress before waving the doors open and swiftly entering the room.
''Why do we have you on our payroll then? Give me Hackett or Udina, now damn it!''
About twenty people were either seated or standing around the big table placed in the middle of the small room, the quantity of personal in it making it hard to breathe. By the windows stood Schwarzhaupt who seemed to talk via omni-tool with one of her many contacts.
At least it appeared that those explosions didn't manage to hurt many people. Almost every field agent seemed to be present.
''What do you even mean by that?! God damn it, I swear I will contact the Prime Minister ab - ''
Something happened that Mack never thought possible - ''Mother'' just went quiet. Almost if someone found some sort of off-switch on her body, she just stood there and looked aimlessly out of the window, lowering her head and planting her forehead on its glass.
''I understand. Get out of there, please.''
''Please?''
Shutting her omni-tool down and spinning around to address her agents, Elmora placed herself on top of a black leather office chair and let her elbows rest on the wooden table.
''Silence, everyone! Silence!''
Putting the authority back into her voice she raised her hands and closed her eyes, taking a big breath in the process.
''I just talked to one of our people over in parliament. I ... well, there's no other way to put it. Parliament has been wiped out. The PM is dead, just like almost every MP. The Systems Alliance leadership has fallen.''
My god.
''Please no.''
''That can't be.''
''How?!''
The entire room seemed to be driven into chaos as everyone began talking amongst themselves, some swearing revenge while others screamed at the top of their lunges to find out who would even have the resources to pull something like that off.
''Enough! For the sake of the Alliance, we have to remain calm right now. I've got the directors orders - every field agent plus specialists will be brought to one of our safehouses over in Europe where we'll be given more information. Before you ask: everything will be explained there and only there. We don't have the time for QA's right now.''
As if fate tried to emphasize her point, a ray of red energy sliced through one of the nearby complexes, tearing it apart like it was made out of tissue paper.
''Move it!''
On command the present agents ran out of the room and downstairs, making their way to the protected hangars where the shuttles were bound to bring them to relative safety.
Hopefully.
Trying and failing to contact his ex-wife again, he recorded a voice message for her to be sent as soon as his tool regained connection to a network.
''Jess, it's me. Whatever you do - get Serah and flee to our summer-house. I don't know who's attacking us but we are most certainly under siege! There should be enough supplies at the house to last you a month or until the Alliance finds you. I'll try to help you as much as I can from here. Don't fight them! Stay hidden and take care of Serah!''
Trying not to let fear take control of his tone, he took a couple of seconds to collect his thoughts and steady his heart rate before he continued to record.
''I know I was not the husband that you deserved. I know that I've spent too much time at the agency and I understand that you felt alone. I understand, Jess. But please, you know that you're still so important to me. I love you and Serah so much. Please, I beg you. Stay safe and hidden and wait for the Alliance.''
Finishing his recording he had to jump over another piece of rubble, they agents split into small groups, each group running to a different shuttle.
What the ... what is that?
He felt nothing but terror as he saw a gigantic synthetic creature walking over the skyline of Vancouver, its long legs and metal body easily dwarfing the tall towers of the city. Seconds passed as this metal titan seemed to charge some sort of red energy in its eyes, only to unleash it into a devastating blast of destruction, taking down a nearby building almost instantly.
Holy shit.
''Oi. What even are those' things?'' Mack heard one of his peers say, their group temporally being frozen from the sight of the unknown creature laying siege to the city.''
''I don't know. It's ... Christ almighty. We need to go.'' he heard another voice say.
Fearing for their lives and the lives of those they loved, the hastily gained access to one the blue tinted Alliance shuttles and plotted a course, watching in deadly silence as more and more creatures landed on the planet's surface.
We're at war.