I don't own the Mass Effect. Which sucks.

Operation: Trial Run II

Date: 06-21-2182

Location: Denara, Western Terminus

Omega Bounty Board - Nijak

Krogan; Blood Pack Logistics Officer; Age 287; Non-Biotic

Desc: One of the few competent Blood Pack supply officers, Nijak was single handedly responsible for accumulating the weaponry, food, and other logistical equipment required to launch the raid on Denara. His death is expected to cause a gradual decrease in overall combat ability amongst the invading forces.

Bounty: 800,000 (Eclipse)

The tiny security outpost attached to the hanger we'd landed in was too small to fit everyone. Fuck, it was barely large enough for the five overworked members of the Eclipse trying to keep shit running. Adding myself and Ayle, even with my power armor locked down next to the shuttle, barely gave us room to stare at the holographic displays as the Lieutenant briefed us.

"According to my last scout, Nijak is still holed up in this cargo holding zone." The young human male gestured at the small map that he, Ayle, and I were all crowded around. He was young, pale, and badly needed to shave around his still growing mustache. "He's got at least five warbands for security, but most of those are going to be located here, near sixth street."

Ayle subtly shifted her head back to neutral instead of the rightwards lean she'd greeted him with. He'd botched that pretty badly, assuming that Shyeel was in charge just because she was an Asari, but had since rallied and actually proved to be rather intelligent. "What about inside the bay itself?"

"Unknown." He reached up to run a hand through his grease and sweat soaked hair. "The huntress tried to get in but couldn't find a way to breach it without alarming the patrols. I've got a map... here, this is the interior. He's probably running everything from this booth, it overlooks the bay floor and has links to everything he'd need to organize supply runs."

Grunting, I ruffled two fingers through my beard as I considered the situation against the plans that Ayle had drawn up. She apparently had a thing for having at least three, preferably four, and then using whichever applied best when she had all of the information. It was a level of redundancy and preparation that I very much approved of, and so had Thul and Shyeel when she'd brought the three of us together to adjust them.

"Plan one is probably out, I don't think we can risk rushing them." Reaching downwards, I traced the location that Lieutenant Schneider had indicated. "These warbands could easily cut us off from here before we could get out."

She nodded slowly, lower eyes checking on some of the data on the target area. "Especially given the target booth is actually three stories tall, it will take time to secure it and eliminate Nijak."

Which left one option really. "Plan Three then."

The Batarian woman narrowed all four of her eyes, leaning in a bit as she examined the general map a bit more closely. "Yes... my team will take the target, Jack has the best chance of blasting her way through to him while we cover her. I'm assuming you'll want to block the reinforcement from the exterior?"

"Yeah. This looks like a good choke point." My left hand tapped an intersection, "If they're coming from that direction. Schneider, you think your huntress could feed us data?"

"Possibly..." He frowned, glancing between us, seeming to be a bit lost but resolved to assist us all the same. "My orders are to support you but to prioritize holding this location. I've barely got enough people to do that, so I'd rather not lose one of my three remaining biotics."

"I don't need her to fight." I assured him, "Just to shout a warning when those warbands you indicated come rushing our way."

Teeth bit his lip for a moment. "She'll need to guide you past the patrols anyway, but I'm going to give her discretion to pull out if she's in danger."

"More than acceptable." Ayle gave him a polite little nod. "We will regroup here once we have eliminated our target."

"One moment," Schneider hesitated, then plunged ahead. "The supplies in there. Do you have orders regarding them?"

She blinked both sets of eyes in sequence. "No. Our only concern is Nijak."

"Would you mind keeping the collateral damage down a bit? If possible I mean. A lot of what's in there is stuff we could use when we take it back."

At least he wasn't asking us to try and haul shit back for him. Ayle apparently agreed because she nodded slightly. "We will attempt to do so."

"Thanks." He seemed to be about to say more, then his face twisted for a few moments before he couldn't hold a yawn back anymore. "Sorry. I'll have my huntress meet you in the hanger."

We both gave him polite nods, neither of us condescending to him, and then turned to make our way back out of the small office. Getting out was as fun and awkward as getting in had been, especially for Ayle with her bulkier armor. Thankfully the locals seemed used to having to move out of people's way, wordlessly sliding aside or hugging the walls while we shuffled past.

The other Reyja'krem waited until the door had slid shut behind us before murmuring a question. "You believe that he is trustworthy?"

"As much as anyone in the Eclipse is." I gave her an Asari shrug to my left. "And they've definitely been in combat recently, without a whole lot of rest after."

"Agreed. I don't believe he noticed that one of his techs was asleep at her post." She let out a long breath through her nose. "Let us hope his scout has rested."

"And that they're all alive when we get back."

"That too." Shit would get problematic really fast if they weren't. "Maybe we should see if Heshen can spare some marines to reinforce them? Or maybe a detachment from the main landing force."

"I can handle that." Her upper eyes flicked at me, "You need to get in your armor, run a final systems check and make sure that everyone else is prepared."

I dipped my head respectfully the left, "Got it."

While she shifted to lean against the hallway's wall, already flicking her omni-tool open to get a link back to the kid in orbit, I kept going on and through the door leading into the hanger proper. Though hanger was probably the wrong term, shuttle-sized airlock was more appropriate. In better times it had held some kind of search and rescue vehicle in case they had to try and find someone stuck outside. But right now, the only thing it held was a slightly battered shuttle, a powered-down exoskeleton, and seven people in navy and silver armor talking and bickering amongst themselves.

"My team," I called out to get their attention, "Stop harassing Thul and do a weapons check. Ullak, do the same for Ayle's."

The taciturn Batarian nodded before tersely telling Marcus and Jack to stop making out and to put their Pillars-damned helmets back on. Snorting, I left him to that while rounding on the three people I was in 'command' of.

Voya was leaning against my power armor, her sniper rifle already extended as she checked it over. She'd finally ditched the heavy armor that she'd used on Omega, mostly at Ayle's insistence that it fatigued her too quickly, instead opting for lighter fare that we'd jammed as many additional shielding panels into as we could. After a bit of discussion, she'd stuck with her Viper as her main gun, but she'd replaced her Acolyte with an Executioner... which she'd then forced me to modify to the same level as my own.

Towering over her was Thul, the former priest standing easily in some off-brand middle-weight armor he'd picked up on Xentha. Whoever had put it together had known what they were doing, I'd give them that, there hadn't been much for me to upgrade. His own weapon of choice was a Thashak, a Batarian made semi-auto rifle with some serious stopping power, and just for flavor he had a pack of incendiary grenades on his belt to go along with a collapsed shotgun.

Which just left Shyeel. "Still angry Shy?"

"I told you not to fucking call me that." The twitchy Asari spat, her curved helmet concealing the venomous glare that was definitely being thrown my way. "And you fucking modded my guns, if they don't work that's for you to explain to the goddess after I drown you."

"That would be rather rude," Thul commented, his voice still not quite steady after the flight down. "Considering the effort he put into your weapons and armor."

"More or less rude than throwing up on the shuttle?" Voya chuckled when the big man shifted his head in embarrassment, his X-shaped visor not looking anywhere near the rest of us.

"Voya."

Glowing eyes flicked at me. "What?"

Exhaling, I ran an hand through my braided hair. "Harrass him later, we've got a Krogan to kill. Shyeel, your gear?"

The Asari hefted her Kishock, the spike thrower's dark paint gleaming in the hanger's lighting. "It looks fine to me. Or do you think I should test it, perhaps on yourself?"

I could only shake my head and start walking towards the slumped form of my exoskeleton. "How many more weeks of withdrawing for you?"

"At least two." Thul reported, shifting to place a restraining hand on her gun before she could seriously contemplate aiming it at anyone. "There will be enemies to deal with soon enough, Reyja'krem."

Shyeel made a scoffing sound, but lowered the sniper rifle all the same. Not that I'd seriously expected her to shoot me or anyone else, she wasn't stupid. Just edgy, angry, and craving the drugs she wasn't allowed to inhale anymore. Which made her more or less as dangerous as Voya really, and I slept in the same room as the latter.

While Thul kept the peace behind me, I ducked around my armor's resting shield to find the tiny keypad set against its left side. Sure I could have set it up to open via a command from my omni-tool, but that would rather defeat the purpose of having the communications suite entirely isolated from the suit's other systems. Even the cannon's programs couldn't be accessed by a secure link, we had to physically plug it into a console to get readings. It was a feature I honestly hadn't even thought of, nor had Rane, back when we'd designed the thing, so it had to have been Nynsi's engineers or she herself who'd made that call.

Either she or her buyer was seriously concerned about them being hacked, which would have made me a lot more worried about who that buyer was if I didn't have my own concerns. Still worrying, of course, but that storm was over a different sea right now.

Entering the pass-code, I stepped back as the torso hissed and extended, the arms likewise pushing outwards just enough for me to be able to fit in. Reaching up, fingers gripped the edges of the armor as I hauled myself up, crouched atop the shoulders for a moment, then carefully lowered myself inside. A quick jerk of my chin against the appropriate button saw the motors whirring again as the heavy plating shifted and collapsed back, the air sealing with a quiet hiss as my HUD began to flicker to life around me.

"Checking coms." Voya's voice echoed from my speakers a moment later, the petite Quarian looking even more so now that I had an extra foot and a half of height on her. "Seals look solid enough."

I flicked my eyes over the readouts on either side of my face before grunting. "I hear you, everything looks good in here."

"For now. You know we didn't find all of the problems yet."

My lips twisted a little at the truth in that statement. "More tests in a cargo bay won't help."

She shrugged and stepped out of my way, giving me room to reach back and pull the heavy cannon off of the armor's back with my right arm, while my left lifted to hold the tower shield off of the ground. The former was essentially a duplicate of the same weapon used on Hegemony Mk-9 armor, except cut down a bit and hand-held rather than mounted directly into the arm. Not the highest rate of fire in the world, but with the size of the round it didn't have to be. And hopefully the secondary barrier built into the shield would see this suit be less vulnerable to carnage rounds and rockets than my prior one had been.

Plus, if a Krogan charged me, I could always use it to bash them into the ground with. Always a plus.

"Gun solid, main barriers solid, secondary solid. Tech launcher is loaded." I listed the systems as Voya did a quick circle, confirming that there weren't any visible problems that the on-board VI wasn't detecting. "Actuators are green, coolant flow steady, eezo core steady... should be ready to go. Ullak, how's team one?"

"Prepared, Reyja'krem."

Inside of my armor, I twitched slightly. I didn't care to be called by my title anymore, not in the slightest. Before I could remind him of that, the door slid open to reveal Ayle entering alongside an Asari. About average height, meaning the Batarian woman towered over her, and the slim armor she wore made her seem even smaller.

"By the goddess... Power armor?" Her tone wasn't exactly approving. "Why not just call Nijak now and tell him we're on the way?"

Ayle, her probably annoyed expression hidden by her helmet, tilted her head heavily to the right as her visor glared down at the Eclipse soldier. "You have your orders scout."

"Doesn't mean that I like them." She exhaled, then nodded. "Let's get this over with. This way. Keep the heavy at the end of the line."

I wasn't exactly filled with confidence when we set out, moving into a wide utility corridor with me acting as the rearguard. The next thirty minutes of movement were a combination of boring and harrowing. Old cargo lifts shuddered under our, and especially my, weight as they moved us between levels, depositing us in yet more utility and service hallways that I left more than a few streaks of paint on when things got rather tight.

More than once our guide had us freeze for no apparent reason, her head cocked as if listening or feeling something, waving us into motion only when she seemed assured that nothing was going to hear us clanking around.

Eventually she lead us into a wide, largely empty basement, motioning Ayle over to speak as she checked something on her omni-tool.

"This is as far as I go. We're here, corner of tenth and fifteenth. That lift over there will get your armor up, the rest of you can take the staircase. From here it's one block to the old cargo hanger, straight down tenth."

Our Commander nodded slightly, her head remaining a bit to the right. "And where will you be?"

"Third floor is still intact and has a good view of fifteenth and thirteenth, I can report movement along either and be ready to guide you all back."

Ayle grunted, straightening as she glanced around at the rest of us. "Right, get going then. Blades, hold for a moment. Thul?"

He nodded, but waited until the Eclipse girl had vanished before folding his hands together in a odd pattern. Jack groaned, subsiding when the other three Batarians hissed in annoyance. Thul, as always, didn't seemed bothered, taking his time before eventually speaking. "The Pillars have guided us here, through their wisdom. We will now, for the first time together, spill and shed blood as kin in purpose and direction. Let us be found worthy of one another in this battle, and in those to come."

There was a pause, and his voice turned less solemn and more amused. "And may those who have been lifted to the skies by the Pillar of Power most closely watch the human Jacqueline Nought this day, for I believe they will quite approve."

I couldn't help but snort, while Voya rolled her eyes and Hesh barked out a short laugh.

For her part, Jack seemed more than a little taken aback. "The fuck? Did you just tell your god that I'm a bad-ass or some shit?"

"That is not entirely accurate, but perhaps close enough." Thul chuckled, politely bowing to the woman. "We can discuss it another time."

"I'm... what... shit. You're a weird fucking boyscout."

"Quite." Ayle sounded amused for a moment before getting everyone back on track. "He and you can discuss the finer points of our religion later. For now, we have a Krogan to kill. We're operating on plan three. Team one, we're going straight for our target. Jacqueline, you're our point-woman. Hesh, Ullak, drop anything that tries to flank her. Marcus and I will cover you."

Her four subordinates nodded, before Jack spoke again. "We just want this fucker dead, right?"

"By any means you see fit. If you see him, feel free to throw a cargo pod or warpfire or whatever you think will kill him. We have to move fast, team two is going to be holding off the patrols and reinforcements while we're busy."

Shyeel grunted from somewhere near my elbow. "Lovely. Where?"

"Just outside the main doors." I spoke up, "There's an intersection where we should be able to hold. Voya can hack the doors so we don't get hit from behind."

The Asari nodded slightly. "Then why are we waiting?"

"We aren't." Ayle pulled her own rifle off her back, holding it loosely in her hands. "Cieran, keep in radio contact. I have Jarick feeding me intel, he has authority to cut you in if he hears anything problematic enough. Everyone else, I want you to focus on your targets, and no Pillars-damned heroics."

The rest of us nodded, with myself and Voya heading towards the lift while the others made for the stairwell that the Eclipse scout had vanished up. A few minutes later had everyone on the first floor of the place, which looked like it had once been a store of some kind before it had been looted rather extensively.

After that... it was time to split up, Ayle leading her team down one street, me leading mine down another. All things considered, despite the obvious fact that fighting had occurred in the area, the city reminded me of the upper parts of Omega. Full buildings constructed inside of caverns, actual streets instead of tunnels, mostly anyway. The main thing missing was people, though here and there I caught signs of locals, mostly watching us move past with exhausted and terrified eyes before vanishing back into what was left of their homes.

"I'm surprised they stayed." Shyeel spoke, her tense voice somewhat subdued as we moved past a rather shot up storefront. "The Blood Pack isn't known for mercy, you'd think they'd have been intelligent enough to flee."

"Flee where?" I shook my head inside the armored box protecting it. "Unless they had room on a ship it isn't like they can just step outside. And I doubt the Eclipse wanted refugees flooding their defensive cordon around the main hangers, or the control room."

"So what? They just stay in their little caves, praying to their gods that things get better?"

"The idiots do." Voya's voice was hard. "The smart ones died fighting, or still are. Better to be with their ancestors than what those creatures would do to them."

Grunting, I flicked my eyes at the tiny screen holding a local map. "We've got ourselves to worry about, next street is the major throughway. Our destination is a hundred meters left and will definitely be guarded."

Blowing out a breath, I nodded slightly as I worked out who I wanted where, just as if I was still Nynsi's Harath'krem, leading a small unit to take out some True Sons. "Thul? You're with me up the middle, use the armor for cover and watch our backs. Voya, stick to the near side, focus on the Vorcha. Shyeel, flash across and pick out the leaders. Use the doorways for shelter when you can, try to keep pace. Move in ten seconds."

Both women nodded, checking their weapons a final time as Thul casually shifted into a position behind and to my left, where he'd have the added benefit of my shield more often than not.

Three... two... "Let's go."

Lumbering the last few meters that would take me out of side-street and onto the main road, I kept my pace at a brisk walk as I emerged into the wide open space. Sure enough, about a clawball field's length away was a gaggle of Vorcha, being harangued by a Krogan as he waved his arms and bellowed something vulgar.

Honestly it was... a bit surprising. I'd expected a lot more than the small tithe of aliens present, and better barricades or guard posts than the few torn bits of metal re-purposed for that role. Nijak must have been supremely confident of the group blocking off the security station we'd snuck out of, or maybe he wasn't nearly as good of a soldier as he was a supply guru. Fuck, maybe everyone was just at lunch.

Either way, it made the fight that followed anti-climatic in the extreme.

Starting on the right, I swept my gun in a quick arc, the heavy thud-thud-thud reassuringly familiar even as Voya's Viper let out thin cracks of it's own, Vorcha tumbling and screaming in the distance as our incendiary rounds tore their strange flesh apart. Behind me, there was a burst of blue light as Shyeel hurled herself across the street and into a doorway, rolling out of the charge before rising to a knee and aiming in a smooth motion.

One flash of light later, and the Krogan trying to organize his tiny pack was collapsing to the ground, his helmet obviously shattered.

After that... that was about it really. Two of the Vorcha tried to make a fight of it, dying to a shot apiece from me, while Voya and Shyeel negligently tagged three more that tried to turn and run.

"Ayle, this is Cieran. Doorway is cleared... not much of a guard presence."

"Confirmed." I'd scarcely heard her voice before shouting, screaming, and explosions began to reverberate through the walls. "We've sighted the target on the third floor, are fighting our way to the stairwell. A warning, there's nothing within ten meters of the doorway on this side, so if you've got to fall back make sure you can lock the doors behind you."

"Got it." I slowly accelerated into a fast jog, about the quickest the armor could seriously move, my companions easily keeping pace even with their weapons up and at the ready. "We're securing the post, let me know when he's dead so we can get the fuck out."

"Will do." Another explosion punctuated her words, along with what sounded like Jack cackling about destroying someone. Well, at least she was having fun.

"Same plan to hold?" Thul asked as we moved, his head turning as he glanced behind us. "Not as much cover there as I was hoping."

Grimacing, I slowed as we arrived, glancing over the position and ignoring the bodies and blood strewn about. It was... about as shitty of a guard post as it had looked from a distance, just a bench for the boss to sit on, and a few broken workbenches being used for cover. They might hold up against a limited barrage... maybe. Shit.

"Voya, keep those doors shut. Shyeel, Thul, make sure none of them are breathing."

The Quarian grumbled as she holstered her weapon, stepping over the very dead Krogan before examining the tiny control panel and getting to work. While she did that, the other two carefully inspected the dead, Thul calmly putting rounds through the heads of two Vorcha too stubborn to realize they were already dead.

"Big guy, you've got incoming." The Eclipse Scout's voice murmured quietly over my comms a few moments later, while I was trying to decide how the fuck to turn this into an actual defensive position. "Full warbands moving down both streets, make three krogan and thirty plus vorcha. You've got two, three minutes."

Athame's ass... that was just the streets she could see, there was probably more. "Thanks for the warning."

"It's all your getting, I'm pulling back to the underground. Will wait for any survivors there."

Voya growled from where she was working on the doors. "Can I kill her? Please?"

"Don't tempt me." I muttered, taking another glance around and still not seeing much. Everyone not in power armor needed far more cover than we had, but with what was available... "All right, Thul, need your help, fast. I'm going to drop my shield, we're going to wedge it against that wall with those barricades to extend the cover. Shyeel, might need some biotic support. Voya, the doors?"

"Hacked." She nimbly moved out of the way when I heaved my bulk past, watching as Thul hauled some of the scrap metal out of the way so I could safely drop my shield, biting my lip as I focused on carefully turning it onto its side with just one hand. "Locked until I open it for us to fall back through."

"Good. Thul, bit more to the right... there. Now press it back at an angle to help keep it up, Shyeel, can you grab whatever that thing is and put it over... yeah, there. Thanks." Grabbing it on the way out would be annoying, but doable. "You two, here's your bunker. Thul, you're with me as before. Save your grenades though."

While the two women nodded and shifted into their make-shift sniper's post, Thul grunted and checked his over his main weapon. "Hold off a rush or two, then fill the place with fire and get out?"

I nodded, not that he could see it. "That's the idea."

Behind us, something else exploded in the cargo bay, and what sounded like a Krogan screaming in agony for several moments before the faint bellows cut off. The former Artisan's voice turned wry as he shifted to again use me for cover, "I am increasingly wondering if Miss Nought is not a Nillisan."

The groan was out before I could stop it, hands shifting to hold my weapon in a two-handed grip as I swept it across all three streets. "By Athame, don't tell her that. It'll go right to her fucking head."

"What the fuck is a Nillisan?" Shyeel demanded, her heavy rifle resting across my shield as she settled into place. "Some religious thing?"

Something moved in the distance, a head jerking around a corner before vanishing. "Debate religion later, incoming, two hundred meters, straight ahead."

There was a keening, high pitched shriek that made me grit my teeth in anticipation. Sure enough dozens more quickly sounded, the Vorcha war shrieks sounding just before they began to burst onto the main roads, their guns up and ready as they rushed towards our little position.

Alliance News Network

...reports from the Skyllian Verge continue to remain positive, despite the expanding war in the Terminus systems throwing the nearby pirate groups into disarray. Admiral Hackett, commander of the Fifth fleet, maintains that his fleet is standing vigilant against any possible attackers. While the Admiral justifiably would not comment on rumors that Spectre agents had been assigned to the region to help maintain the peace, we have received confirmation that at least two are active within the Traverse.

Senior, and often touted as legendary, Spectre Saren Arterius was photographed eliminating a group of mercenaries not more than a month ago. In even better news, Spectre Nihlus Kryik along with our own Spectre-Candidate Lt. Cmdr Kaya Shepard, were reported has having broken a slaving ring near Batarian space just last week. The refugees quickly made their way to Elysium, where many were found marveling at the statue of the Lionness, remarking on how perfectly it captured her image.

For more on Shepard, and other Alliance heroes, see Profiles in Courage on the Extranet, keyword: Courage.

Next up is Trial Run III

This chapter is a bit heavier on the descriptions than most of the others, largely because this is the first time that we really see everyone all armored up and ready to fight and wanted to make enough of the details were out there. Next chapter will wrap up this particular bounty, with one more taking place on Denara before the first operation is over.

Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."

Thanks, Kat

Review Responses:

5 Coloured Walker → Just because he wasn't in it doesn't mean it was destroyed. Then again it might have been. Will have to see ;)

elidan1012 → Probably doesn't, will avoid that in the future.

Griezz → Already planned on that. There's going to be a LOT of time skips in this story given how much time it covers, so the dates are important to keep track of. Each chapter will have a date and a location.

Soviet Kodiak / Kelborn Ordo / Mike → Good to hear from you, :)

Jemdeamon → By the outlines I had, he was supposed to have died in Arrival before I chickened out. And then I had the chance to kill him in Terminus and backed down yet again... so I am scared to do so lol.

Tusken1602 → lol, glad you approve.

BJ Hanssen → I have a lot of random scenes for my sci-fi stuff, and even more for Another Realm. Most of the latter will never be used thanks to changing outlines and plans. For example, I have all of Kasumi's loyalty mission written based on one of my early outlines before I even wrote AR: Terminus. And two versions of Shep and Cieran meeting in ME2 (each based on a different now thrown-out outline). And Cieran, Thane, and Kasumi fighting the Matriarch's commandos in a graveyard on Illium (off yet another outline). And about twenty incomplete scenes I half started and then stopped on.