Chapter 1: The Adept
Now I'm not looking for absolution
Fogiveness for the things I do
But before you come to any conclusions
Try walking in my shoes
„Kahlee, I still don't like that idea of 'Biotic Strike Team', they're not ready and you know that...", she said, unable to hide her annoyance, and rubbed the back of her neck. She knew what the Alliance had in mind for her students and she hated it; They're just children, she thought, they'll never be ready in time. She waited for Kahlee Sanders to answer her, even though she already knew what she was about to say.
„The Alliance needs them, Jill, these students are the most talented biotics humanity has to offer and they could be of great help on the battlefield", Kahlee replied. Jill could hear the hesitation in her voice, clearly she wasn't sure about it either. With a sigh, Jill put her hands on the communication console.
„We'll talk about it later, Kahlee, my students will be here any minute now... " She was about to cut the transmission when Kahlee told her: „Don't forget the Alliance is sending someone to observe their progression, she's apparently part of a Biotics Special Ops gr…"
„Yeah, whatever, she could be the Easter bunny himself and I wouldn't care", Jill answered testily and cut her off, her anger getting the better of her. The training room's door opened behind her, her students coming in, being noisy as usual.
„Hey, Miss Volkov! Ready to get your ass kicked?", one of them called out and she turned to face them, smirking. „Not with your biotics I hope or you'd hurt yourself trying, Jordan!" Her students laughed in response. She didn't even look at the console when she turned it off, ignoring Kahlee's comments. She started to walk around the room at a slow pace, her hands behind her back. The students waited for her to say something, to give them directions as she usually did and she knew it. What was she supposed to tell them? No matter how hard they trained, they would never be able to hold the line against the Reapers' troops. She inhaled deeply, slipping out of her hoodie and dropping it on the floor and faced them, her hands now on her hips.
„Alright kids, today you're going to learn how to focus your biotics especially for powers such as Shockwave. Wouldn't want to make your teammate fly, would you?", she said. They chuckled but some of them frowned at her for calling them „kids". She knew most of them were already eighteen or older, but she still considered them as being children, especially in biotic terms.
„Let's start with you, Andrea, use Shockwave on me." She prepared her Barrier, waiting for her student to obey her.
„I'm not sure it's a good idea, professor Volkov, I could hurt you...", Andrea said and lowered her head, blushing as she heard some of her comrades call her „Chicken".
„Please, Andrea, even if you wanted to, you couldn't!" Jill laughed and watched Andrea relax a bit, immediately turning to the rest of her students: „And I heard you, Joseph and Bethany! Just so you know, you're next!" The two students stopped laughing, they knew she was never kidding when it came to training. Jill turned back to Andrea who was still hesitating.
„ Andrea!", she shouted, „Do you really think the enemy is going to wait for you to make up your mind before firing at you?" The girl lifted her head abruptly and flared to a bright blue as she used Shockwave on Jill, who didn't even try to move. The biotic wave crashed against the barrier uselessly, flaring up for a brief moment before it disintegrated. The students were looking at her, gaping.
„See? I didn't move because she didn't focus it on me, it was way too weak to hurt my barrier. Okay, guys! Time to split into four groups of two!" Her students nodded before starting to work. Jill walked around the room, checking on her students and observing them. She concentrated on Joseph and Bethany, making her I'm not happy face.
„Didn't I say something about you two going to be the next ones?", she asked them and they turned to look at her like two mice who just caught sight of an owl. She grinned and said: „I'm actually curious ab... "
She didn't have the time to finish her sentence, interrupted by a resounding noise. Her eyes wide open Jill saw the training room's wall explode; before she could understand what was happening, a bunch of soldiers stormed through the debris, shooting at everything that moved without any sign of hesitation. Even while parts of the wall were still raining down on them, she saw her students go down under the hail of bullets, unable to do anything. Some were buried under the collapsed walls, others had broken down in a pool of blood, desperately trying to crawl towards her.
Without thinking she threw up a barrier around them, tried to protect as many students as she could, but only Andrea and Joseph were still moving. Her instincts took over, as the soldiers tried to get closer she used Singularity on them, lifting them up in the air and then shot a heavy Warp at them. The created biotic explosion was powerful and ripped the soldiers off their feet and made others stumble back and into each other. She could only think of one thing: She had to reach the Communication room to warn the others about the assailants, she needed to know if anyone else had been hit! If she could reach Jack or Kahlee they could help her get Andrea and Joseph out of here. Grissom's Academy Communication room wasn't far away from the training room, but the troops would definitely make it hard. She reached for the remaining students and grabbed their arms, rushing forward and pushing them through the door towards the corridor leading to the Communication room.
„Move! I'll cover you!", she ordered and saw the fear on their faces. „I'm right behind you!", she assured them and felt her Barrier flicker under the rain of bullets exploding against it. She saw too late that they were running straight into a trap – there were already soldiers in the hallway and they were caught between the two fractions. Jill knew her students were doing their best, desperately trying to keep up their Barriers and throwing Shockwaves against the enemies, but it was not enough. As Jill took down the men positioned to their right with a Throw field, a massive mech burst through the doors of the training room and grabbed Andrea as though she were just a rag doll. Her eyes flickered over the enormous machine, fixing on the symbol painted in glaring black and yellow on one of the big plates making up its armor. She felt cold fear settle in the pit of her stomach, but did not give it time to spread through her body, and instead concentrated her biotics in an explosive biotic punch, but the mech only stumbled back. He didn't let go of Andrea. As the machine crushed the girl, her Barrier flared up one last time and then simply flickered out.
Jill was deaf to the noise around her, she couldn't hear the explosions or Andrea's pained whimpers, there was only complete silence. The mech threw the girl's corpse away as though it was trash, advancing towards them. Jill's eyes flickered to Joseph, the only one still alive now. He was standing directly in the machine's path, his fear stopping him from moving. She tried to call him but the noise around her droned out her voice. As she ran to reach him, she biotically lifted and flung away some of the soldiers closing in on her, making them crash against the walls. As her biotics pulsated along her skin, she ignored the terrible sound of snapping bones and suffocated groans. Joseph wasn't moving, unaware of what was happening around him - to Jill shouting his name, to the soldiers' bullets deflected by the Barrier she had created to protect him, he only reacted when Jill grabbed him and pushed him forcefully on the ground. She had barely enough time to create a Biotic Field above their heads, making the giant mech's claw clash against it instead of crashing on their heads. As she repelled the attack with a painful expression on her face, arms lifted to strengthen the huge barrier, she didn't notice the cracks forming just below her feet and her student. As the mech's claw was elevated again she knew it was the perfect time to run. "Now!", she shouted to Joseph, grabbing him by the arm.
They rushed to get to the Communication room, the Barriers in which they had enveloped themselves crackling under the onslaught of bullets. Jill used Shockwaves to clear a path with Joseph using Stasis on some of the troopers. The mech was still behind them, but his slowness allowed them to enter the room with one last final sprint.
Joseph closed the door behind them and started hacking it to keep it that way. There were pearls of sweat running down the side of his face and he cast Jill a quick glance over his shoulder. "I'll take care of the door, they won't come in!", he assured her, his fingers flying over the console.
Jill hesitated but she couldn't doubt him, she didn't have the luxury to. She reached the communication console and opened it, hoping they hadn't cut the channels. "It's Jill, to anyone who can hear me: We are under heavy attack coming from Cerberus soldiers! I'm locked in the Communication room with Joseph, I don't know if we're going to make it, but if anyone gets this message, just go to the escape shuttles and save yourselves! Alarm Alliance headquarters! Don-"
She was stopped short, when suddenly the whole room started shaking and hot flames licked over her back. Fragments of the door were flying through the air, as it exploded, and in the blink of an eye, Jill saw Joseph catapulted backwards. She hadn't fully registered the gaping wound in his skull until he hit the ground and blood started to gush forth, eyes unseeing. She was moving before she was aware of it, knocking over a table and sliding in behind it, barely registering the bullet that went straight through her Barrier and buried itself in her right arm. Dizziness almost overcame her, but she pushed it back and concentrated her Biotics once again, firing attack after attack to drive the assailants back.
She risked a peek when the shooting ceased, trying to see how many of them were left: The mech was still there, so were at least dozens of soldiers all trying to get to her. She could see Joseph's body lying on the ground, being stomped over by soldiers walking in the room and felt the snarl form on her lips. The adrenalin was pulsing in her, rushing through her veins, and all hesitation left her. She knew exactly what to do. As she jumped over the table the biotic Barrier she had pulled up started to crackle with energy and the expression of fear and doubt had left her face, her eyes were glowing an icy blue and she slowly, deliberately walked towards the hostile soldiers.
The soldiers grew panicked as their bullets glanced off her barrier, franticly trying to penetrate the Biotic Field. "Kill her!", one shouted and another one leveled a heavy assault rifle at her, "Kill her, damnit!" The blue flare around her grew more intense, spreading slowly outwards and the soldiers started to back away panicked. She suddenly screamed, releasing a crackling biotic wave that sent the soldiers scrambling back in their futile attempt to escape. As it hit them, they were lifted clean off their feet and mercilessly smashed against walls and floor alike, bones snapping and visors cracking.
In a moment, it was all over and she was the last one standing. Little pools of blood formed under the bodies of the troopers and grew bigger and bigger with each second. She could feel blood flowing from her nose and lifted her healthy arm to wipe the blood away. Her knees were shaking and she knew she had used her biotics far too much. The nosebleed would not stop and slowly the pain in her right arm registered. As she stood there, trying to recover, she was breathing heavily and reluctantly shifted her gaze to Joseph's body, twisted and burned.
She gritted her teeth and started to walk, knowing she had no time to spare – and as she did so, she noticed a group of people running towards her in a fast pace. They had undoubtedly seen the whole display through the smashed windows of the Communication room. She quickly pushed the body of a soldier aside and picked up his heavy pistol, flinching when the sudden movement made the wound in her arm throb. In one fluid motion she leveled the gun at the first person that came into clear few and took a deep breath. She was too exhausted for another biotic attack, but she'd make them regret what they did.