"Focus people!" Sisko snapped as the mystery vessel slowly limped through space. "We have Jem'Hadar to deal with."
"But sir, that vessel," O'Brien asked. "If it's not a Federation ship, what is it?"
"Whatever it is, it's in trouble," Jadzia said from her station. "One of the attack ships is heading towards it."
"Can we intercept?" Sisko asked.
His question was answered when the other ships opened fire on the Defiant.
The Defiant shot forward, diving between shots and firing its powerful phaser cannons at the lead attack ship. The pair peeled off, leaving the Defiant open space to fly through. Sisko gritted his teeth as the Defiant dodged and weaved, his voice booming as he called out commands that really boiled down to up, down, left, right. At that moment, every order could make the difference between life and death. Sisko kept his eyes open, tracking every move his opponents made.
"Worf. Fire everything... Now!"
The Klingon commander smirked a bit as he unleashed a barrage of weaponry at empty space. Sisko smiled as one of the attack ships tried to come about for another strafing run, only to be torn to pieces by the onslaught.
"One down Captain," Dax said calmly, a hint of pride in her voice.
"Keep your focus people. There are still two Jem'Hadar ships we have to deal with. We'll have to hope that other ship can hold on until then." A panel off to the side exploded when the second attack ship retaliated, blasting the ship with phased polaron beams. An ensign screamed, dropping to the floor with severe burns on his arms and chest. Sisko kept his cool. "Get that man to sickbay! We have a fight to win!"
The Defiant wheeled around, carving through space, back into the fight.
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"Okay, we really need to get the Normandy some guns like that." Joker said in awe. Shepard had to agree. He'd never seen anything that powerful before.
They were in still trouble though. Shepard got everyone to work as soon as EDI restored communications. Luckily, they couldn't have chosen a better group of people to rescue. All of them were specialists in some way, skilled to an insane level. They fit right in on the Normandy.
First, Shepard sent every person with any kind of useful engineering experience to engineering. The Geth and Quarians were awestruck upon meeting Tali, a respected figure for both peoples. Well, as much awe as someone could display with no visible facial features. Tali proved her worth as an engineer alongside Engineer Adams, Gabby, Kenneth, and the motley crew of races running around the ship repairing things. EDI directed them, pointing out areas where she "felt" the most damage.
Meanwhile, Garrus led the charge on getting the weapon systems online with his own team of Geth, Quarians, Vorcha, and Batarians (surprisingly). Bray proved invaluable, anticipating every order before Garrus could say a word. No wonder Aria valued him.
Everyone else made themselves useful: moving items and debris, assisting with heavy lifting others couldn't handle, and all around trying to be helpful. It was an impressive amount of teamwork - all of that work was taking half the time it should have.
Shepard looked out into space. There was nothing where the port wing and engine pylons used to be. He couldn't see it, but he could well imagine the torn bits of metal in the Normandy's side.
There were other things on Shepard's mind too. "EDI. How close are they?"
"Exact distance is unknown." EDI said. He could hear EDI talking in the background through a speaker. She was guiding an N7 Soldier and a Vorcha through a critical system repair, even while speaking to Shepard. Got to love multitasking. "My external sensors are still damaged, especially the LADAR arrays. However, based on current passive sensor data, the vessel is slowly decelerating as they close in our position."
"They want to board us?" Joker whirled his chair toward Shepard and EDI.
"It would seem so. Shepard?" EDI turned and looked at him. He didn't hesitate.
"Patch me through to the rest of the ship." EDI's eyes whirled briefly before she nodded. "All aboard, be ready. We're about to be boarded by one of those ships outside. When they arrive, I want us to give them a warm welcome. If it's got a gun and it's pointed in a way you don't like, tear it to pieces." Shepard grinned at the chorus of cheers throughout the ship, along with a couple of loud, echoing roars from the various Krogan aboard. He switched his comm to Garrus' channel. "Garrus, can we get weapons back online before these guys come up to us?"
"That's a negative Shepard." The usually good-natured Turian was rather glum. "We're doing our best, but whatever we went through fried a lot of systems. We're going to be fighting up close and personal."
"Gear up then. We've got a surplus of guns anyways - give everyone the best we've got, and get them ready. Close range showstoppers, nothing that can damage the ship any more than it already is. No heavy weapons."
A small snort came from the background, followed by an indistinct voice. Garrus chuckled. "Well according to Grunt, that just makes it all boring. You owe him some good fights later."
"Don't I always provide?" Shepard replied. Garrus laughed before signing off.
Shepard returned his gaze out the window. Two people came up behind him, both in red, both far, far older than he would ever be. Shepard didn't need look back. "What do you two think?"
After a moment, Samara choose to answer. "Whatever has happened, the course is clear. We must defend ourselves as needed. If this means killing a threat we know nothing about, in self defense, then that is what we should do. The Code says nothing less."
Wrex chuckled. "In less flowery terms, if it wants a fight, let's kill it."
Shepard smiled, knowing a similar grin would be on Wrex and Joker's faces. "Yeah."
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The First on the Jem'Hadar ship approaching the Normandy growled. He saw a ship full of fellow Jem'Hadar fall to the Defiant on his virtual display headset.
"Problem, First?" The Vorta in command asked in a pleasant tone.
"We should not be doing this." The First said slowly. "There could be a god on the Defiant." And if they killed him…
"We don't need to worry about that." The Vorta nodded to the strange ship they were flying towards. "While the Defiant is busy, you and your men will take that ship. I don't recognize the design, but then I don't know much about the Alpha Quadrant." He chuckled. "Regardless. Board the ship, and take the crew hostage."
"That would be unwise." The First advised. "We know nothing of that ship. We can detect no warp signature. Its design is unknown to us - we don't even know the capabilities of those on board. We should simply tear it apart now."
The Vorta didn't respond at first. When he did, his voice was slow and methodical. "First. I understand you are worried." He turned to look at him, his voice cold as ice. "But never question my orders. Beam onto that ship. Take its crew hostage. Then we will see about the Defiant. The Defiant, and the Founder aboard it, are absolutely priceless. All our lives are meaningless compared to that prize."
"…Yes sir." The First turned around, nodding to a group of men behind him. "Victory-"
"Is life!" They finished for him. The group marched off to the transporter room, leaving their brethren and one supremely arrogant Vorta behind.
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"Cowards." Worf growled. Every time they tried to assist the unknown ship mere kilometers away, the remaining Jem'Hadar attack ship would hound them. Every time they tried to engage the fighter, it would dart away. It was infuriating to the Klingon warrior. "Why are they doing this?" He asked. "Jem'Hadar fear nothing. They never fight like this."
"Except killing a Founder." Sisko turned slightly, looking at Odo as he stepped forward. The changeling security officer smiled sadly. "If they know I'm aboard, they will change their tactics accordingly."
Sisko nodded. It made sense now. With the inclusion of one of their 'gods' in the mix, the Vorta and Jem'Hadar would do anything to keep him safe. And get him in their hands. "They want to force a trade."
"As I said," Worf said. "Cowards."
"Well, that's assuming whoever is on that ship doesn't simply fight them off." O'Brien said hopefully. It was a weak hope. Jem'Hadar assaults were fast, brutal, and damn horrifying. It took one hardened bunch to handle something as powerful as that.
"Let's end this." Sisko growled. "Jadzia. I think I have a way to beat that ship…"
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Shepard checks his shotgun again. An advancement on his old reliable Eviscerator, the yellow colored Wraith unfolded from its compact form. The omni-bayonet program installed within the shotgun activated, releasing with a snap of sound. He checked over the barrel, finger carefully off the trigger and gun pointed down, making sure the enhanced mod he'd applied was attatched perfectly. There was no way Steve Cortez, the Normandy's armory technician, would make a mistake like that, but it was best to stay cautious.
His Paladin pistol and Locust submachine were at his sides, his full Shade armor on and ready to go. EDI was wearing her own armor, with covered strategic parts of her body to make her less vulnerable, as well as a visor that gave her constant updates in the field. Wrex and Samara had gone to the lower levels, Wrex to prepare his fellow Krogan for battle (i.e. build them up into a frenzy) and Samara to guide the other Justicars and Asari through the day.
As a final measure, Shepard had set aside time to speak to Kasumi and several others. With any luck, he'd have one hell of a surprise ready when the time came. Should be interesting.
All done with his checks, Shepard raised a hand up, summoning a bit of biotic power. He nodded to himself as a blue glow appeared, lowering his hand back. "How far?"
"They've… stopped." EDI said in confusion.
"What?" Shepard came up to a window, staring out with a raised eyebrow.
"That's weird." Joker cocked his head as he watched the ship floating in space before them. Well, above them really, a fact that forced them to crane their heads up, but still just sitting there. "That is one ugly ship." Joker noted. "Looks like a bug or something."
Shepard frowned. "That doesn't make any sense. They've shown they're range with their weapons, if they wanted to kill us, they wouldn't need to start so far back. Why would they come this close without boarding-"
A brief whine of energy comes from behind him. Shepard spun around and saw seven people materialize out of thin air. Before he could make a move, they pointed odd looking rifles or carbines at him and the rest of the crew. Everyone was frozen, staring at the intruders.
Like dinosaurs, Shepard thought to himself. Scaly grey skin, spines placed on the chin like a beard, more on the forehead. Fairly large, especially for a species so human like. Still, not the most dangerous looking creatures he'd ever seen. They'd gotten the drop on him though. Teleportation. That was new.
"Are you the commander of this vessel?" The biggest one said. Obviously the leader.
"Yes, I am. And you are?" Shepard said calmly, keeping his hand carefully at his sides. Just out of sight from the Jem'Hadar, EDI lowered herself into her chair, ready to spring into motion. Shepard took his time to talk, waiting for the right moment, keeping his stance calm "Who are you? And why have you invaded my ship?"
"I am the First of my Jem'Hadar soldiers. You and your vessel now belong to the Dominion. Comply, or die."
Man, these guys have no personality at all, do they? Shepard had met Geth with more of it. Shepard felt a flash of pain when he thought of Legion, before he forced it back. "Nothing else to say? I've never heard of the Jem'Hadar or the Dominion. It'd be a shame to begin a relationship on bad terms."
Now this is interesting. They didn't know what to think of that. Two in the back shared a brief look. The one in charge spoke slowly. "You… haven't heard of the Dominion?"
"…No. Should I have?" Shepard asked, feeling very, very out of the loop. He kept his eyes focused, carefully ignoring the spots of discolored air just behind the soldiers…
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The First was very confused now. Nothing about this ship made sense from the moment it appeared. Its sudden appearance, the design, and now, the people aboard. The man before him looked like no human he'd ever seen. His armor was ornate, yet scarred, obviously used in military service. He wore several weapons on his body, and carried himself like a soldier, his body strong and powerful.
Very few Alpha Quadrant races carried themselves that way in the First's experience. One race was the Klingons. Humans could, but only after years of service and battle.
More importantly, despite every human in the galaxy knowing who the Jem'Hadar were and hearing of their ferocity, this one claimed to have no knowledge of them.
All in all, not your typical human soldier.
It didn't matter.
"You will come with us aboard our ship." The First said calmly. Once there, the human could be used to control the crew. Even if they restored their weaponry, they would not strike, out of fear of killing their commanding officer. All the First needed to do was get the captain off the ship...
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Shepard grinned. "Na. I don't feel like it."
Shepard turned away as a small grenade landed on the ground. The soldiers had enough time to stare at the small device in horror, before it popped in a blaze of sound and Jem'Hadar's genetically enhanced eyes turned against them, turning the blinding light into agony searing their brains.
A Geth, Asari, and Turian decloaked, lead by Kasumi, who wore a proud grin on her face. With agile grace, she slammed an omni-blade into the chest of one soldier, his durable skin briefly resisting the superheated diamond blade. She followed up by slicing out through his side, removing any possibility of survival.
A Jem'Hadar cried out in pain as a burst of electricity from an Overload flowed through him, followed by a blade in his spine. Next to him, another cried out as a warp attack shredded his body, followed by a slim pair of biotic strength augmented arms slamming into his throat. The third was torn apart like paper by a barrage of bullets.
As Kasumi's group appeared, Shepard dropped his arms down like a child pretending to be an airplane. In a blaze of light, he rocketed forward, covering the distance between him and the First in an instant. The large alien was flung back by the sheer force of the impact. The Jem'Hadar next to him swung a fist at Shepard's head, taking advantage of his moment of vulnerability, only for the Spectre to duck the blow. Shepard swung his shotgun up and fired point blank into alien's chest.
EDI slammed into the final one, taking him down with her sheer body weight. Shepard's eyes widened when he saw the Jem'Hadar fire a round that ignored EDI's shields and slammed into her chassis. The AI personified retaliated by punching the Jem'Hadar in the face three times, then pressing her gun to its head. She pulled the trigger, her Punisher machine gun firing madly under its chin. When the gun got to the seventh bullet of the burst, the eighth, red hot armor piercing bullet sped out of the lower barrel, shattering the Jem'Hadar skull like glass.
"…That was so hot." Joker said.
EDI turned slightly to smile at him, then looked at Shepard. "Initiating auto-repair."
Shepard wasn't that surprised by what he saw. Her chest was heavily damaged by that single shot – there was a lot of burnt and warped metal, though it wasn't anything she hadn't encountered before. It was already being fixed, but more telling was the enormous dent in her stomach. Apparently the Jem'Hadar she just killed had been even more desperate than they'd thought. And surprisingly strong.
"Go ahead, we'll-"
The whining noise could be heard once again. Shepard, along with his secret reinforcements, turned, weapons raised, to see the First disappear in a column of shimmering light.
"All hands, we've been attacked! The enemy appeared on the bridge, with no warning – they can teleport! They've also got weapons that ignore kinetic barriers and do a number on armor! I want everyone on high alert and-" Shepard and EDI drew their pistols and unloaded into one of the wounded Jem'Hadar on the deck, who was trying to raise his rifle. "They're tough as hell. Stay calm, watch each others' backs, and stay alive. Shepard out."
Shepard turned to his trio of secret reinforcements. One of his precautions was stationing fire teams with tactical cloaks at key locations. The bridge had been an obvious choice, and it paid off big time. "Thanks for your help."
"Of course commander." The Asari Huntress said with a smile. The Turian Ghost didn't speak, but surprised Shepard when he raised two fingers to his helmet, just where his mouth would be. He obviously picked up the N7 way of smiling.
"What about me?" Kasumi asked in a mock hurt tone.
Shepard shrugged. "I couldn't come up with anything that didn't turn into a lame flash pun."
"Hmm..." Kasumi put a hand to her chin. "I've seen how bad you are at dancing. I wonder how bad that pun really would be."
"Agnate-Synthetic. Do you require assistance?" The Geth asked in a somewhat echoing voice. EDI looked at the Geth, cocking her head in confusion as Joker coughed on nothing in the background.
"I apologize. I do not recognize the designation." EDI said to the Geth. "Although I do recognize some of the meaning in it."
"Maybe that's their way of saying 'Auntie,' " Kasumi said with a smile before cloaking.
"Focus people. They're going to come back." Shepard reminded them gently.
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"What. Happened?" The Vorta said as the First entered the bridge.
"We miscalculated." The First said calmly. Even as he spoke, he was clearly favoring his right side. Nearly every rib on his left side had been fractured or outright broken by Shepard slamming into him, and his left ankle was sprained during his landing afterwards. Only his training and natural gifts saved him.
"Miscalculated? How so?"
"When my team appeared, the ship was of a design unknown to me. The bridge spanned an entire deck, and they appeared to use holographic technology to create control panels. Some of their soldiers had personal cloaks like our own, good enough to hide them from our senses. They used electricity and some unknown power against my men. And the Captain…" He hesitated.
"Yes?" The Vorta asked, intrigued. If anyone but a Jem'Hadar was telling the story, it would sound strange. But the militaristic species weren't known for their imagination, unlike the poetry and opera loving Klingons.
"He managed to turn into a bolt of light and slam into my chest. I have never been hit so hard."
Everyone's eyes widened. It was quite an admission from someone from one of the more durable races in existence.
"I suggest we use every soldier we can spare. No taking hostages until their forces are depleted. They will be ready now, confident. We must strike before they can mobilize their full forces and fortify their positions." The First stood like a statue before the Vorta.
"So… do it." The Vorta spoke as though to a child. "I already told you. Only the Founder matters. If we have to sacrifice everything for the sake of a single Founder, then it is still a cheap price. Take. That. Ship."
The First suppressed a sigh. He hated when Vorta punctuated things for emphasis. "Understood."
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The Jem'Hadar didn't even try to talk when they returned. Luckily, their teleporter didn't let them know where the Normandy's crew or defenses were. That meant that even though the invaders appeared in unexpected locations, the defenders weren't surrounded... and they already had the defense measures were already active.
The Collectors, brainwashed cyborg Prothean thralls of the Reapers, had once invaded the Normandy and kidnapped the crew. When the ship was seized by the System Alliances, Alliance military scientists worked to make it more defensible. To that end, they installed hardened deck plates that could block bullets, biotics, tech powers, and everything in between. When lifted by hydraulics, the plates created extra cover for defenders.
It wasn't enough to deal with Jem'Hadar rifles. After an initial salvo of ineffective energy blasts, the invaders increased the power settings for their weapons and began shooting through the plates. That left the defenders dealing with things on dangerous terms. The Jem'Hadar were damn competent hand to hand opponents, using strength and power to gain the upper hand.
So, Shepard used biotics. Other crewmembers used them too. Tech specialists sent fire, ice, and electricity through the air. Krogan stepped into the fray, a clash of two dinosaur-like opponents, like something out of a Japanese kaiju movie.
The first casualty was a Normandy crewmember: Jonathan, a man with a love for old comic books and a greater love for complaining about them. Shepard liked him. Kasumi hated his guts, as she and the blonde man often argued the pros and cons of digital media for books.
They were in the cargo bay when it happened. He took a shot to the chest, piercing through his standard light armor with ease. Someone pulled him back, ready to apply medi-gel, but he was already dead. Javik looked up to meet the eyes of James Vega. The Prothean shook his head, closing Jonathan's eyes with his fingers.
James gritted his teeth in anger. "Come on. Let's make them pay for it."
Javik smiled, just a bit. "Yes. Vengeance for the dead."
The two career soldiers popped up, and Javik showed why the Prothean rifle was so damned effective as James unleashed hell alongside him. Everyone else kept a tight grip on the medi-gel, ready for the next energy blast.
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In Engineering, a small team of Jem'Hadar materialized, assuming there wouldn't be any powerful combatants in that section of the ship.
Unfortunately for them, Tali and Engineer Adams weren't very picky about who could help them. They just had to be intelligent and willing to do the job.
And so, as a tiny Quarian woman stabbed a Jem'Hadar in the head with a blade pulled from her boot, a Vorcha engineer laughed like a maniac and sliced another head in half between his omni-blades. His freakishly adaptable physiology was already adapting to and fighting off the anticoagulants in the Jem'Hadar weapon discharges.
"Could you quit it with the laughter!?" Gabby yelled , a pistol in hand. She was with Kenneth, Adams, and a group of N7 Ops, shooting back at the Jem'Hadar.
The Vorcha took a deep breath, only to watch a wave of biotic energy zoom by. The Jem'Hadar were slammed back into a wall. It didn't kill them, they were too tough for that, but it pinned them down to be shot.
"I kinda like it," Jack grinned. "You have to enjoy your work."
"You realize you're a teacher now right?" Tali teased.
"Call this P.E." Jack and Tali shared a look full of black humor. Jack returned to battle by pulling a Jem'Hadar from cover, giving a Justicar a chance to shoot him in the abdomen. Out of curiosity, Tali used her sabotage program on a Jem'Hadar's rifle. She smirked under her helmet as the Jem'Hadar struggled. She was astonished when, instead of merely exploding, the rifle overloaded and vaporized the soldier holding it.
Every tech specialist in the area looked at Tali. Then at the Jem'Hadar weapons. Jack looked crestfallen, watching the tech experts prepare their omni-tools.
"Why can't I do that?"
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"How we doing guys!?" Garrus yelled over the din of automatic weapons fire. And, apparently, lasers.
"Having fun!" Grunt yelled back, laughing that weird croaking laugh of his. Grunt and two Jem'Hadar were fighting hand to hand. Grunt had taken one of their weapons, a large triangular blade that seemed perfect for the young warrior. Now he was crossing blades with the Jem'Hadar with all the strength and speed gifted to him by superior genetics. "I! AM! KROGAN!"
For some reason, some of the Jem'Hadar were annoyed by the punctuated emphasis. Grunt replied to this by slamming his pilfered blade into one opponent's brain. Another shot him in the chest. He grunted as the beam slammed into his armor. It didn't pierce through the heavy plating, but anyone other than a Krogan would have been cooked alive by the melted metal.
When Grunt turned to engage his attacker, the Jem'Hadar was already in the air, lifted by biotics. With a wave of a hand, the biotic field exploded, tearing apart flesh and bone, allowing the group to move forward.
"Careful Grunt," Miranda said.
Liara stood beside the ex-Cerberus sentinel, her pistol out with warp ammo activated, firing in the Normandy crew's disciplined style.
"Make sure to give him some medi-gel," Liara told Miranda. "There's some kind of anticoagulant in their shots. It doesn't kill instantly, but..."
"Right." Miranda waved Grunt over. Like a child before a favored aunt, Grunt grumbled, but came over for treatment all the same. The Krogan who took his place chuckled, looking over at Samara.
"Shall we?" Wrex asked his contemporary, filled with the joy of fighting a powerful opponent.
"Always." Samara began to glow as her powers swirled around her. Wrex, Liara, and Miranda got into the flow with her. Soon, other biotics around them joined in, creating a biotic stormthat threw tables, chairs, and bodies around the room like driftwood. Garrus smirked as took his shots, hitting the sweet spot every time, as other shooters alongside him took advantage of the storm. The Jem'Hadar wised up quickly, backing away to throw strange explosives and suppress them with long range fire, but their numbers were badly depleted.
A series of booms preceded the appearance of people zooming forward in biotic charges: a human, Asari, Krogan, Batarian, and a Turian female. Their entry created a chain reaction of explosions as their powers shattered the biotic fields. The humans further complicated things when they leaped in the air and slammed down fist first, sending waves of biotic power out around them.
"Can we keep these guys?" Garrus asked. Liara and Miranda grinned widely.
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On the Combat Information Center (CIC) deck, Shepard fought alongside EDI and other crew members. He had more precise shooters here to keep stray shots from destroying crucial equipment.
Unfortunately, Shepard noted, as a stray shot melted a panel next to him, the Jem'Hadar didn't care about damaging the ship. Casualty reports were already pouring into his comm. Nothing huge in logistical terms. But on a personal level, each death was horrifying. Liara and Chakwas had discovered the anticoagulant properties of the Jem'Hadar weapons too late for Private Sarah Campbell, a young woman assigned to protecting the war room. Her friend, Bethany Westmoreland, had taken her position alongside Barla Von. Last he'd seen, the Volus information broker was shooting alongside her, keeping her calm with small bits of information as they defended the war room.
As for Shepard, he greatly enjoyed the fact that Kasumi was on his side. Apparently, Jem'Hadar had a habit of 'cloaking' in battle, but they couldn't fight without removing the cloak. This made Kasumi, and everyone with a tactical cloak, far more valuable, as they could at least get a shot off before the cloak disappeared.
EDI popped out of cover and released a decoy. One of the Jem'Hadar shot at the false image, disintegrating it, only to have a synthetic that looked a lot like EDI freeze him solid. A Turian sniper shattered the Jem'Hadar into ice cubes. EDI and her look alike shared a glance that would have been awkward between organics before getting back to the fight.
Shepard found himself crouching next to an Awakened Collector, glowing green with arcane biotic powers.
"Can you send another sphere out there?" Shepard asked. The green glowing creature nodded, rising to send out an enormous dark energy sphere towards their enemies. The Jem'Hadar ducked aside; several had been injured by one earlier in the battle.
"Somebody blow it!" Shepard called out.
A warp from a nearby Asari shattered the orb, detonating it. Zaeed Massani followed it up with a loud bark of laughter as he threw his personal inferno grenade, his trustworthy old rifle Jessie in his hands.
"Take that you bastards!" Zaeed neatly blew off a Jem'Hadar's head. "Bloody good fight though." The old merc said to a fellow bounty hunter, who smiled back at him while firing an omni-crossbow bolt.
As the explosions shattered the Jem'Hadar ranks, Shepard biotic charged forward and slammed into an unfortunate soldier. A Turian Havoc soldier used his own jet pack to rocket him into a Jem'Hadar next to Shepard, before both invaders were finished off with shotgun blasts.
A Jem'Hadar dropped its cloak and aimed right at Shepard. Before he could fire, an omni-shield slammed into him. A blast of extreme cold turned the alien into ice. When the shield struck again, the Jem'Hadar shattered.
Shepard looked around for a moment, breathing heavily. All the Jem'Hadar were dead. He nodded to the N7 Paladin and patted the Turian next to him on the shoulder before looking at EDI. Anticipating his question, she shook her head. "No enemy combatants remain on the Normandy."
Shepard nodded. "How many did we lose?"
"35."
A lot. He'd only lost so many, so quickly, a few times. It was even rarer after he took command of the first Normandy and started focusing on small unit tactics..
"All Normandy crew?"
"Yes Shepard."
"Send the names to my cabin." There would be time to grieve later. He turned and walked to the bridge, followed a moment later by EDI and kleptomaniac master theif was unusually somber as she looked up at Shepard.
"You okay Shep?" He gave a pained smile that she returned. She grabbed and squeezed his shoulder just a bit. Joker and Traynor were looking out the windows, having holed up on the bridge when the Jem'Hadar appeared. "So, what's up?" Kasumi asked with a bright smile she clearly didn't feel.
"Nothing." Samantha said with a sigh. "We've tried communicating with every ship out there, but they're either ignoring us or using some form of communication I don't understand. It's-"
"Annoying as hell." Joker finished.
"Not how I would put it," The English woman said with a grimace. "But yes."
"Shepard, you okay?" Shepard raised a hand up to his ear, turning away to speak. He had given Jack a private, direct channel back before the Alliance took him into custody. It used to be Kaidan's. In a rare moment of warmth, Jack said that made the channel better than a wedding ring.
"I'm here. You all right?"
She scoffed, bringing a smile to Shepard's face. "Please. These guys are tough, and their guns are nice, but no variety to 'em. The whole fight was just fun as hell, but really short."
Shepard thought of those who had died in the fight, and felt a small wave of sadness. Without their biotic and tech abilities, or if the Jem'Hadar had their own equivalents, the battle would've been a lot messier. And with those guns of theirs, it definitely would've gone the other way.
"We just have to hope whoever is out there has a plan to deal with those two ships outside." Shepard said loud enough for all to hear.
Everything depended on being saved by the ship outside.
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Sisko held a datapad in his hand, detailing the math they had worked out in order to prepare for the next maneuver. Bashir stood next to him. The doctor was confident on the math, if not the plan itself. His enhanced mind had worked overtime to figuring everything out.
"And you say this is the exact maneuver?" Bashir asked Worf.
"Yes." Worf said decisively. "After the Enterprise was forced to counter it, we went over the specifics many times. I may not remember the calculations, but the idea is sound."
"If a bit mad," Jadzia noted with a wry smile.
Worf and O'Brien shared a look, shrugging a bit.
"The best captains tend to be a bit mad." O'Brien said by way of explanation. He stuttered a bit when Sisko gave him an arched eyebrow. "N-Not to imply anything sir."
"Why would I think that?" Sisko said, his famous dangerous smile on his face. "Prepare to engage."
The Defiant and the attack ship it was dueling came face to face again. The Jem'Hadar vessel flew in like a mad bomber, preparing for another attack run.
"Say the word Dr. Bashir." Sisko told him. The augmented physician looked at Sisko in surprise. Sisko's nod of approval led him to steel his gaze. Bashir stared at the screen, watching carefully as Jem'Hadar came about. Jadzia was at the helm, ready to go, while O'Brien quickly wiped a bead of sweat away.
"Do it, now!" Bashir barked.
Jadzia activated the engines.
The Defiant let loose a burst of faster than light speed, warping across a negligible distance of space. Thanks to the calculations they'd made, there was no warp trail to suggest where they had gone. The Jem'Hadar's sensors concluded, for an instant, that the Defiant was in two places at once. The Jem'Hadar ship shot at the now disappearing image of the Defiant from one millisecond ago, allowing the Defiant to tear the ship apart.
No time to celebrate, Sisko concluded. "Fire on that second ship, now!"
The Defiant's powerful impulse engines blasted forward, phasers and torpedoes lancing through space toward the enemy.
On the last attack ship, the Vorta merely stared at his impending doom while his Third sighed sadly. "The First warned you."
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The crew of the Normandy roared as they watched the ship explode, leaving dust and metal fragments in its wake. Shepard grinned as the Defiant came to a stop before them. "Now that was cool. I never thought of doing something like that."
"Aw, don't worry commander, we still like you." Joker said with the sweetest smile he could give. He winced once, twice, as Kasumi and Traynor smacked the back of his head. When he got hit a third time, he stared at EDI. "Et tu, Brutus?"
"Commander," Traynor said, frustration in her voice. "I'm getting some kind of signal from them, but I can't interpret it. It's as if our tech just isn't made to interact on this level. But... I might have a solution."
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Sisko smiled as the strange ship called Normandy began blinking its light on and off in a regular pattern. Morse Code.
"Very good. Maybe we can finally get some answers." The captain pressed his hands together, focusing as he prepared for the next part of this strange day.
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Well, thats Chapter Two. Action packed, and tons of fun. I hope I got your attention with all that, because the next chapter is all about the art of talking. As for this, I hope I got somebody favorite multiplayer in on the action.
That said, the Jem'Hadar and their masters won't take this mess lying down. They were beaten, but any fan of Star Trek knows that the bad guys have a tendency to up the ante in a scary way.
Now we'll see just how well the characters do when they actually have to talk things out, and discuss the fun of viral diseases.
And as always, please review and let me know what you thought. Peace.