Chapter Three: This Shit Just Got Real!
New message- sent at 03:12 AM
To: Emma Bridges
Subject: "Chapter Three"
Tommy will probably get back to me when the working day starts, but I can't put it down yet. I feel like I'm close to something big, although that could just be the coffee talking. It's, what, 3 in the morning? Anyway, I'm moving on with the third part. Oh, while I think about it, can I have some maps of Réaltra Léarscáil sent over? I want to know how everything fits together. If you can get one from Shepard's time, I'd be over the moon.
Speak to you later,
-Grant.
Relevant Files:
When a rather dauntingly large horde of grey, bloodthirsty bodies comes shambling towards you at rather short notice- and a hail of bullets would likely devastate them, or at least stall them slightly-it becomes all too easy to notice the inherent flaws within your ranged weaponry: the main problem being, of course, that our military regulation guns could only fire one shot before requiring a lengthy reload. The 'things-that-really-should-be-dead-from-the-gaping -holes-in-their-chests-and-also-really-need-a-bett er-non-hyphenated-nickname' barely paused long enough to do a decent job of absorbing our bullets before they continued to steadily overwhelm our position. Clearly, different tactics were needed, and a rusty, slightly inelegant cutlass leaning against a nearby rock seemed ideal. After all, why wouldn't I want to get closer to the brutally sharp fangs and visceral, elongated claws of the 'soulless-empty-husks-that-used-to-be-colonists-be fore-they-ran-afoul-of-killer-robots-and-their-gia nt-purple-spikes-and-still-need-a-better-name-that -isn't-quite-as-obnoxiously-long'.
My mind clenched it's metaphorical fist around a name for the monstrosities just as firmly as my literal hand grasped the hilt of the cutlass that lay nearby. That is to say, both the idea and the handle were held incredibly tightly.
Husks. That's what they would be called. Why? Well, they certainly seemed like they were shells of their former selves: even I struggled to imagine that in life they all dribbled saliva down their chins and spoke in guttural growls. Plus there was no way that the rather fetching hole in their chest would have gone down nearly as well at the local dance hall as it did in the rather hectic war torn landscape that surrounded us. It was rather catchy, too, and as an additional bonus, "husks" would be really easy to yell in a combat situation. Ever one for practicality, me.
The cutlass was a little weighty for my tastes, and the unneeded patterns in the handle pissed me off- they pressed into my palm in a mildly irritating manner- but it seemed to do it's job, passing easily through an approaching husks head. The blood made the sword look a little more appealing, if slightly less tasteful. Another husk apparently agreed with me, as it decided to dive straight into the swords path, separating its torso from its legs. It flopped around on the ground for a while, but was soon crushed under the heels of its brethren. I almost shed a tear, but I was waylaid by the rather distracting sensation of having my throat squeezed by a pair of particularly strong hands. Not the most pleasant experience, that's for sure.
Punches to the creature's stomach did nothing: they couldn't feel pain, and didn't breathe, so after a few ineffective strikes I switched angles. I curled my left leg around its right, and slammed my heel into the back of its knee. It stumbled, releasing it's grip enough for me to escape. I had dropped my sword in the grapple, and it was too far away to reach. Kaidan and Ashley were dealing with the rest of the horde. My pistols were out of ammo. I had nothing but my bare hands, and I didn't fancy my chances. The husk before me did have claws, after all.
It slowly got to its feet, and I backed away, searching the ground for some sort of weapon. There was nothing significant, and after only a few steps, I was backed up against the wall of a small structure, probably used by the research team working on the dig site below us. It was like it knew I was trapped- it seemed to be dribbling down its chin at a far faster rate, anyway- and with a feral growl, it leapt forward, clawed hands outstretched.
"Shit!" I yelled, as we smashed through the thin wooden wall of the building. I landed in an entirely undignified position, but that was the least of my worries, as the husk started to make a meal out of my arm. It ripped through my regulation uniform easily, and quickly sank its teeth into the skin hidden beneath. I shuddered as I felt its teeth inside me, but the pain only burned through me as it retracted its mouth from my arm, blood mixing with the saliva dripping from its mouth. I didn't cry out, but I did let out a string of foul language as I lashed out with my foot. It caught the husk unawares, but it shrugged the blow off and swiped at me with a claw. I rolled slightly to the side and caught its wrist with my injured arm. A spike of agony shot through it, and the grey monster was slowly and steadily overpowering my grip. I had to act fast. Lunging towards it, I tugged at one of the outstretched claws. It lacerated my palm- I shuddered as I felt blood start to trickle from the wounds and make its hot path down my wrist- but it snapped off after a few sharp pulls. Hesitating for only a second, I gripped the claw harder and wedged it into the husk's eye socket, the force of the blow sending us tumbling to the ground. It flailed around under me, making the claw cause the cuts on my hand to deepen, but after a few seconds of spasming, it fell to the ground, a little bit more dead than it was a second ago.
I looked up to see the sprinting form of a man. He wasn't running for long. He tripped over one of the bodies littering the ground and smashed his head against the side of one of the purple spike things. He wouldn't be getting up for a while, if at all. To my left was a woman, dead, and what was presumably the murder weapon clumsily thrown to the ground. Either the escaping man or she herself had committed suicide, I couldn't tell. Either way, it couldn't have been the husks: the door and windows were barricaded, and I had created the only exit when I had been roughly propelled through the wall.
It wasn't my problem, anyway. Moving was hard enough to focus on, it turned out. Every time I tried to get to my feet, my vision swayed and I ended up back on the floor, exhausted and shivering with a strange cold that had nothing to do with the temperature. Everything was so far away, even the loud bangs of Ashley and Kaidan's guns were muffled.
It wasn't blood loss: I'd had it worse than this before and been fine. It had to have been the bite on my arm, the only unknown factor in my wounds. Maybe some sort of toxin or debilitating agent? I didn't know, I wasn't a scientist, but I had to hope that medi-gel would be enough to sort it.
I reached down into my pocket and coated my palm in the soothing gel. It immediately set to work on the lacerations, prompting a small sigh of relief. Another application went onto the bite wound. The disorientation faded, but the wound refused to close. I'd apply some more once the husks were dealt with.
Picking up the knife that had been used on the dead lady, I climbed to my feet and slipped out of the hole in the wall. There were less of the attackers around now, thanks to Ashley and Kaidan, I assumed.
I counted four in the area around me. The first was staring after the unconscious man, motionless. An easy target. It could do nothing but jerk sharply as I drove the knife into its neck. The other three would be harder to deal with, especially without any ammunition: it had been lost somewhere in the fight, probably trampled into the very ground I was standing on.
The wooden walls of the building were poorly constructed, and provided several hand holds, perfect for ascending to a vantage point. A soldier had apparently had a similar idea earlier, but the bullet hole in his head prevented any cooperation. He had ammo, but it was only for rifles. I pocketed it in case Kaidan or Ashley needed any- they probably would- and inspected the rifle. Nothing spectacular, but the bayonet on the end was perfect. With a small grunt, I ripped it from its bindings and placed it to the side of me. The rifle went over the roof, clattering loudly as it hit the ground. The three remaining husks started to move towards it, shambling and growling excitedly.
Crouching low, I made my way over to the edge of the roof. They didn't see me. Good. I held the tip of the small knife acquired from the room below and aimed carefully. This would have to hit. The knife whistled through the air and embedded itself in the back of one of the creatures skulls. Not the one I was aiming for, admittedly, but it had the intended effect. As the husks turned to stare at their downed friend, I shuffled quickly backwards, hoping I hadn't been seen.
The guttural roar told me otherwise.
I had planned to sneak around again and take them out one by one, but they were rapidly charging my position. I didn't have time for further planning, which was OK, seeing as it wasn't really my style anyway.
Yelling, I ripped the bayonet from its resting place and threw myself from the roof, barrelling shoulder first into the closest husk. It didn't put up much of a fight: I slammed the knife into its skull as I fell, and the momentum aided blow meant it was lifeless before it even hit the floor. The knife slid out easily, and, slipping slightly in the pool of blood seeping from the dead creatures' head, I jabbed it into the other husks' stomach, following that up with two additional strikes. They fell too. I extricated myself from the two bodies and wiped my boots on the grass.
"Most impressive!" came a flanging voice from my right. Nihlus, flanked by Kaidan and Ashley. He must have helped them fight off the main horde while I was otherwise occupied. "You'll make a good Spectre."
The praise filled me with a warm glow. He had been nothing but dismissive of my abilities before, calling them feats of extraordinary luck, but maybe he had been hiding his true opinion all along. I wasn't about to ask and ruin the moment. Instead, I took the envelope he handed me with the reverence it deserved. Sure, I didn't want to be a Spectre because of the usual reasons- I didn't actually like the council, or their attitude- but the money, special equipment and freedom from the normal rules society lived by served as my main motivation. All my life, I'd been chained down by rules and regulations, but Nihlus thought I deserved the honour of casting off those boundaries, of course I was humbled.
Then he told me something entirely unexpected. I thought he wanted me to be a Spectre because of my combat prowess, or N7 status. As it turned out, he understood me better than that.
He took me to one side, as Kaidan and Ashley began to scout ahead, tactfully leaving us alone.
"I know what it's like to be chained down. I'm a turian: once I hit adulthood, I was expected to go into the military and stay there. But I only ever dreamed of the world beyond. I wanted to sail out, and discover new lands. I wanted to explore, not be stuck in a rigid hierarchy. The Spectre program helped me to do that. I was truly free. It helped that I supported the Council's views, but that wasn't why I joined up. I could go anywhere, and do anything."
He turned to me, nodding his head in my direction.
"You were brought up military, too. But you were an even worse match than I was. So many regulations broken. I got a little sick of looking through all those reports saying the same old thing. But it told me something important. You didn't like being held back. You wanted freedom, like I did. So I decided to give it to you. There's your recommendation, there. Sure, the Council will have you doing missions, but most of the time, you're left to your own devices. Free to do anything, not held back by anybody telling you what to do."
There was a pause, as he started to load ammunition into his guns. Each click was strangely soothing; rhythmic, familiar. It spoke of safety: one more bullet loaded was one more chance to take down an enemy.I followed suit.
"Call me sentimental, but I saw a kindred spirit in you. You yearn for adventure. For the open waters. But that's not all. I wouldn't suggest any idiot who's got dreams bigger than they ought to. No, you've got the skill to survive, and- even though you try to hide it beneath all that sarcasm- a good heart. Sure, you'll do some stupid, foolish things, but I think you have the best interests of all of us at heart. And that's the real reason I gave you that letter. Because you really will make a damn good Spectre."
"Thank you, Nihlus." I said sincerely, voice shaking slightly with emotion.
He nodded, understanding both my spoken and unspoken sentiments, and turned to leave.
"I'm going to scout the docks ahead. Take a few minutes to rest up and check on your team, and then follow me. We'll plan our next moves from there. We need to know what that strange, floating ship was, and what it was here for."
And with that, he was gone, sprinting into the foliage.
"Everyone ok?" I asked Ashley and Kaidan, approaching them.
"A few minor scratches, nothing serious." Kaidan reported, applying Medi-Gel to a wound on Ashley's face. It didn't look like it would scar, but it was bleeding profusely.
"Nothing serious? Alenko, that looks pretty bad to me. I want you to take Ash back to the Normandy, it's not far. She needs medical attention, the amount of Medi-Gel you'd need for that hit would send her loopy. I'll be fine, we've got a Spectre on side, remember?"
He didn't look happy, but after a sharp salute, he too disappeared into the trees, leading a half-conscious Ash by the arm.
It was only as I neared the docks that I started to feel funny. I woke up on the ground, with no recollection of how I got there. The colours around me seemed so much more vibrant, and my vision tipped dangerously from side to side. Pausing just long enough to spray a distinctly red liquid from my mouth, I struggled to my feet, leaning on a nearby tree for support.
The bite. It was affecting me.
And all my Medi-Gel was gone.
Stumbling from tree to tree- and using each solid mass as a means of bracing my body- I continued to make my way towards the docks, feeling myself weaken with every movement.
Eventually, I fought my way into a clearing, where several of the strange, robotic geth lay, destroyed, fortunately. Exhausted, I sat down against the trunk of a tree.
Then, I heard a particularly loud whir. A flickering light blinded me for a second, before lowering to a dull beam. It was a geth. A geth that was very much operational.
With a clank, it's arm burst forth from the pile of its comrades, and sank into the ground. Then it dragged, pulling itself forward, agonisingly slowly. A pause as it surveyed me for a moment more, before its other arm slammed into the ground, using it's arms to crawl towards me. It's legs were lost in the pile of machinery behind it, and with each movement forward, it brought the remains of it's allies along, their forms intertwined with its own mangled legs.
Normally, it would be an easy case of standing, removing one of my pistols from its holster, and shooting it. Nice and simple. Unfortunately, I had a foreign toxin coursing through me. My vision was going haywire: the geth loomed close to my face, then shrank to a pinhead, caterpaulting disorientingly between sizes. The light in its head kept shining with an intensity that left me blinded, and the whir of its mechanical parts reverberated around my skull.
Oh yeah, and I couldn't move my legs. They'd gone completely numb, and I could feel the cold nothingness sweeping its way through my body.
I tried to pull myself away using my arms, copying the geth, but I didn't possess the same mechanical strength. My hands came away with clumps of grass and dirt, and I cried out in frustration. I was stuck, confined to watching my death approach. I couldn't even shoot the fucker: I could hardly see straight, much less fire accurately.
I looked up, seeing a branch just in reach. It was my only chance. Reaching up frantically, I grasped my lifeline with a firm grip, and tried to pull myself up with all my upper body strength. I managed to hook one arm over to get myself into a standing position, but I couldn't get myself any higher, my legs were too much dead weight.
The geth was getting closer.
Forcing all my energy into a final pull, I managed to pull myself up, just in reach of the next branch. My salvation! My fingertips were brushing against the rough bark, and I felt a tight anticipation in my stomach. Just a little further!
But of course, my struggle gave the geth time to advance too, and the anticipation was quickly replaced with a sinking sense of despair as I felt a mechanical claw grab my ankle, even through the numbness present in my lower body.
There was a brief struggle, a fight for dominance, and somehow I still managed to be shocked as the branch supporting me cracked and I was sent tumbling to the ground.
I landed painfully, the spike of pain enough to drive the numbness away for a moment. Two moments. Three moments.
Even through the agony, I could feel the muscles in my leg contract as I brought myself up into a crouch. The geth had thrown me a few feet away from the tree, but it was still approaching, slowly, but surely.
I pulled out my first pistol. Aimed through the haze within my head. Fired.
The shot went wide, creating a small explosion of mud and grass where it hit. I chucked the weapon to the side, removing the second from my holster. Another shot ripped out.
It grazed the geth's shoulder, sending out a flurry of sparks. It fizzed for a moment, the light on its head fading, before it crawled faster.
It was getting desperate.
I chucked the second pistol away, pulling out my penultimate gun. I was running out of chances, but so was the geth.
"Shit!" I cursed, as the shot went wide. I had one more chance.
I readied my final pistol, aimed carefully.
Then I was interrupted by its body, as the geth leapt clear of the pile of parts slowing it down, and collided with my arm. Instinctively, I fired as I was knocked back, the bullet flying harmlessly into the air.
The geth started clawing at every spot it could reach, several of its blows slicing across my stomach and arms.
I was certain that death was coming. Until I heard the ominous creak of the tree above.
The last bullet had hit one of the highest branches, and it was slowly breaking off. Gravity would do the rest.
Lashing out with my foot, I rolled to the side, just as the branch came down. The geth leapt at me again, but was met mid-leap by the branch.
I let out a startled cry. It didn't hit me, but it skewered the geth centimeters away from my head. Either of them could have meant my death, had luck not been on my side yet again.
I slowly got to my feet, struggling to regain my equilibrium. That was too goddamn close. I really needed a drink.
The docks were a mess, when I got there. Bodies lay scattered around, those of colonists, husks, and geth. A fire raged across the southern side, engulfing everything in its path. A fishing vessel lay half submerged in the orange-tinted water, and the ground was stained with the red blood of the colonists, and the synthetic white goo that powered the geth. It was a horrible sight.
Buildings lay in ruins, their surfaces charred and blackened from gun and canon fire. There were more of the purple spike things along the lower edge of the incline, the geth that had been using them scattered around the bases, quite destroyed.
The air was thick with the scent of burnt flesh, mixed with the sickly sweet aroma of burnt sugar. Eden Prime was famous for its sugar. It didn't look like anyone would be getting any in a while. Every single bit of infrastructure was going up in smoke.
Then I saw something that made my blood run cold, even as the flames were getting closer and closer. A trail of blood, with a distinctive blue sheen. Turian blood.
On the other side of the small pavilion, Nihlus lay leaning against a crate, dead.
Spectre's didn't just die. They were the best of the best. Whatever, or whoever, had taken Nihlus down, was a serious threat. Probably the instigator of the attack on the colony.
Things just got a whole lot more complicated.
A/N: Hey guys! I hope you enjoy the chapter! I'm dead proud of it! Sorry for the delay in posting, my Grandma passed away, so I hadn't really been feeling up to writing until now.
Thank you for your patience!
Feedback, as always, would be appreciated!
See you next time!
