Shepard's Loyalty Mission: The Cult of Harbringer (17/2/2011)
Author's note:
Patience all. The rest of the team and Ashley will come very soon. Also for the purposes of my story, N5 marines will be based on real life Marine Recon, another special branch of the USMC.
Sorry for the long wait guys, intended this to be longer but it seems more like a filler. Hope you enjoy it. Flame me if you don't.
Chapter 6: NYC Sewers
The Ripper re-armoured himself while Shepard, Taylor and three other constables stood by. Upon closer inspection of the Colossus Armour, Shepard realised that even the design of the armour had been adjusted aesthetically, specifically the upper torso had been enlarged with overlapping plates reminiscent of dragon scales, making the Ripper even more massive than he already was. Shepard was also willing to bet that Ripper himself had heavy muscle weaving to carry that enormous armour and still move like a Vanguard. His lower body armour was more or less the standard Colossus' configuration, save for a large and heavy looking belt where there were several compartments hiding Ripper's tools and weapons.
His gauntlets were especially remarkable. On the sides of each arm were three sharp fins as long as an inch. The fins were serrated and probably monomolecular sharp. There was also a long compartment extending the length of each arm, where a retractable blade was hidden, the same one Ripper tried to use on Shepard.
Once again, Shepard noted the lack of firearms and mentioned it to Ripper. The vigilante bristled when he was asked.
"I don't need guns. Justice needs to be served up close and personal, with the guilty fully aware he is about to die. I won't grant my enemies the luxury of a blissful death by sniper fire."
Shepard snorted. "Even a Vanguard needs a shotgun. Your blades aren't going to mean jack shit against a Revenant machine gun. At least take a pistol…"
"I DON'T NEED GUNS!" Ripper roared as he extended his blades towards Shepard. The other four policemen immediately levelled their pistols at Ripper but the commander showed not the slightest amount of fear.
"In that case, you will fight closely with me in case we run into heavy coverfire. If the leader you spoke off is truly a genius at military warfare, he is bound to have anti-Vanguard countermeasures. With me, they will reckon without my prototype weapons courtesy of Cerberus," Shepard said in a commanding tone.
"You're asking me to fight as part of your squad? You are insane. I fight alone," Ripper snarled.
"If you're truly as fanatic about justice as everyone says you are, then wake up and smell the Reapers! There's a cult of assholes down here that's worshipping a race of AI dreadnoughts and are even now probably preparing for their return. A lone Spectre or a lone vigilante isn't going to bring them down. Either we work as a team or we will fail. Cover my back and I'll damn sure cover yours Ripper. Even I didn't take down Saren and Collectors alone," Shepard said icily.
After awhile, the blades retracted back into Ripper's gauntlets. "God damn hero, I always expected an N7 like you to work better alone."
"I was alone in surviving Akuze. I don't intend to do so again," Shepard retorted then checked his omni-tool. "You're sure that the information you have here will lead us to their base?"
"Absolutely. I even spotted many of the cultists going into the tunnels in that area. Wherever their base is, its somewhere in the South Side Quadrant 37."
Shepard turned to Taylor. "Lieutenant, do you have a plan on how to approach the base?"
"The Quadrant is just too large, there's over forty blocks of buildings and tunnels to cover. Even if I get my entire precinct involved, we can't establish any sort of net to trap the cultists from escaping. There's too many avenues which the cultists could disappear if they spot us snooping around," Taylor said. He then glared at Ripper. "And I doubt the Commissioner is going to commit the entire NYPD to cordon off the area on the suspicions of a murdering vigilante."
"Stupid cops, always unable do what's necessary to destroy the criminals in this city," Ripper snarled.
"We do everything we can within the law! There's a reason it exists, so that nobody else decides to become Hannibal Lectre when he or she finds that others don't behave a certain way!" Taylor replied.
"Enough both of you. We can't cordon off the area and we don't have any hard proof that the cult is where Ripper says they are. So we're going to get that proof. You and Ripper know this city better than anyone. We can go scout the area and record proof that they are there. We can then transmit the information to your Commissioner and he can bring the hammer down on those cultists."
"You're suggesting we take a stroll in the most violent part of town alone to sniff out a horde of raving cultists? That's insane commander," Taylor said.
"We don't have a choice. If I use my spectre status to compel your commissioner to do what I want him to do, he might delay me by going through political channels, by then the whole of New York will know what we're up to. Besides, you were a Marine Recon. It's time to dig out those skills. We're going hunting."
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The three of them, Ripper, Taylor and Shepard travelled to the area known as Southside Quadrant 37 in an unmarked police sedan driven by Ripper. The rest of the precinct's forces were left behind at a checkpoint nearest to the Quadrant that would not draw undue attention, seemingly helping to quell the riots. They would be on standby, ready to act on Taylor's orders and evidence to relay to the other police forces and National Guard.
Taylor was decked out in a Heavy Duelist Armour, something he had kept from his Marine Recon days and somehow was allowed to keep. In addition, he was also equipped with a Vindicator rifle, a Predator Hand Canon and a Mantis Sniper Rifle. The ex-marine also brought an extra heavy weapon: a Revenant Machine Gun for suppressive fire, which made the Ripper sneer.
"Yep, that will bring the whole house down on us, including the cultists," he said.
Paragon Decision
Before Taylor could retort, Shepard said, "Be prepared for anything. If worst comes to worst, we're blasting our way to get the cult leader. But don't forget this, our primary objective is finding the missing people and discover what happened to them. If they're lives are in danger, our primary objective is to get them out. I don't care if the cult leader escapes, we're not losing any more innocent people to their predations."
Taylor said, "As much as I want to save the missing people, don't you think it's more important we cut off the head of this serpent first? We can't allow the cult to re-establish itself somewhere else and kidnap more people into its mix."
"I hate to admit this, but I agree with the cop. The missing people are innocent, yes. But if we don't exact justice on the cult leader, people are going to end up missing again," Ripper added.
"Fine. If it boils down to rescuing the missing people and hunting the cult leader, both of you can do it. For myself, I'm tired of hunting the bad guys, let me protect the innocent for once," Shepard said, irritated.
The other two unlikely allies looked at each other and shook their heads. "Alright we'll do it your way Shepard. If the cult leader gets away, I'm coming after you personally," Ripper snarled.
"I might even let you. Now come on, let's find the missing people."
Ripper parked the unmarked car next to an abandoned building. When Shepard and Taylor exited, he proceeded to make a series of scratch marks and even punched the car in a few places to give the car a distinct battered look. He then took some rubbish from a nearby dumpster and strewed them around the car. This was to camouflage the car and make sure it wasn't stolen in case they needed it to escape. He then lead them into the back alleys of the Quadrant.
For Shepard, it was a haunting experience. Since enlisting into the Alliance military, he had done his best to forget and leave the violent gang life behind him. The days of constant violence, thieving, gang-running and drug dealing was a nightmare that haunted him occasionally. He hated everything about the slums and wondered for awhile why he was still considered himself loyal to the Systems Alliance when they still allowed such poverty to run rampant on the homeworld of the humans.
The Ripper kept leading them down stairs which led to the underbelly of the projects housing the poorest civilians. The sky had long disappeared and they were truly in the catacombs of Brooklyn now. And then came the part which Shepard had been expecting and dreading at the same time. Just when Shepard thought he had entered the smelliest and most destitute part of the slums, Ripper pushed aside a garbage dumpster, revealing a grate that could only lead to one place.
The sewers.
Despite both of them wearing their combat helmets, the Ripper took one look at Taylor and Shepard and laughed, knowing their disgust. "Welcome to my world, 'heroes'," he mocked as he took hold of the grate with both of his hands and ripped it off, revealing a dark tunnel that forced both Shepard and Taylor finally turn on their air filterers. The Ripper dramatically took a loud sniff and sighed contently. He then jumped into the tunnel and the other two could hear him sliding down.
"Follow the crazed vigilante down into alligator infested sewers. This day just keeps getting better and better," Shepard remarked.
Taylor snorted. "We'll be lucky if alligators are all we meet."
Shepard nodded grimly then took out his Claymore while Taylor unfolded his Vindicator rifle. "I'll go in first, be prepared for anything," he said before he lowered himself into the tunnel and started sliding downwards.
The tunnel was dark, damp, slimy and unusually steep and slick. Even with all of Shepard's heavy armour, he still slid down at a fast speed. The N7 had never been down a water slide but if he had, it would have felt like one if not for the fact that the sewer was slick due to the sludge of shit and urine.
The slide down was unusually long, almost a minute. Just when he thought the tunnel would go on forever, Shepard suddenly found himself submerged in sludge. He had exited the tunnel right into a river of sewage.
Fortunately the sewage was only waist deep and Shepard manage to get himself upright. Suddenly remembering Taylor, he quickly moved out of the way from where he was. Just in time, he heard a splash then a string of violent curses.
"Wow, the cop can cuss. I'm impressed," Shepard's and Taylor's vision focused on Ripper, who was standing on a catwalk above the sludge, completely dry and clean.
It was then both realised that they could actually see Ripper because the tunnels were lit with a strange red light. Light that eerily reminded Shepard of Saren when he was transformed into a Reaper controlled husk. It was very dim, just enough to make out the outline of the sewers and the sludge movement.
Shepard and Taylor hauled themselves out of the sludge unto the catwalk then checked their weapons. Aside from their dirty exteriors, their armour and weapons remained functional. Shepard turned his gaze towards Ripper, whose demon helm looked even more menacing in the dim red light.
"Where are the lights coming from? I don't see any light sources," Taylor wondered as he looked around.
"Stay tight, switch to Image intensification. The light will wreak havoc on your eyesight," Ripper advised. He then activated his omni-tool, which instead of glowing orange, gave a thin grey glow. The model wasn't like anything Shepard had seen before. He then began to walk down the catwalk.
Shepard walked behind Ripper, his Kassa Locust out while Taylor followed behind with his Vindicator. The Ripper still used no firearms, although his posture was typical of Vanguard close combat techniques. The three unlikely allies walked through the maze of sewers which only Ripper seemed to know. To Shepard and Taylor, this was totally out of their experience. Both had learned and experienced urban combat but it had never covered tight spaces in a tunnel filled with shit.
"How are we going to avoid early detection devices?" Shepard whispered.
Ripper brandished his omni-tool. "My omni-tool can pick up any on the way, and will also mask our presence as though we aren't here. Handy thing, picked it up from a thief who owed me one years ago."
Shepard raised an eyebrow in his helmet. "Wouldn't happen to be a Japanese girl in a hoodie would it?"
Ripper was surprised. "Yeah, how did you know?"
"Let's just say I was with her in a heist at Donovan Hock's estate in Berkenstein. She was part of my team invading the Collectors as well."
"Charming girl, always knew she had potential other than thieving."
"I'm surprised that you actually admire this thief, considering your fanatic view of crime," Taylor remarked.
Ripper snorted. "If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have found Mike Bataglia and he would still be peddling thirteen year old virgins in Quadrant 14 today. Of course we had a little argument when I skinned the asshole and hung it on the Brooklyn Bridge."
Shepard shook his head. "How much further Ripper? Can we still transmit if we go any deeper?"
Taylor said, "I've been hiding transmitter markers along the way. As long as we don't lose our trail of breadcrumbs, we should still be able to transmit no matter how deep we are."
"Unless of course they decide to jam us, in which case they know we're here and we're fucked up anyway," Ripper said.
"Well aren't you just a ray of sunshine!" Taylor snapped.
"Enough, both of you. The missing people aren't going to find themselves. We have to keep moving and….."
Ripper suddenly jerked his head. "Sshhhh! You hear that?"
Shepard and Taylor became very still and strained their audio receptors. Then Shepard heard it: a low moaning sound.
"Oh crap. Everyone, in the shit NOW!"
As quickly as they could, the three of them submerged themselves in the sewage until only the top part of their helmets from the visors up was still visible. They lay in that position for awhile, listening intently for anybody or anything coming their way. But somehow, they saw no one even though the moaning did not cease.
"Ripper, you picking up anything?" Shepard whispered.
"Nothing. Whatever's making that noise, its far away."
"Taylor, arm your Revenant. Husks attack en masse without any regard for protection of its life. Full auto fire is the way to deal with them. Ripper, the husks are very vulnerable to biotics, don't charge straight into them. Just use shockwave or throw. Don't charge straight into them without cover fire."
"I don't need your advice, I can rip them apart on my own…."
"They will overwhelm you! When you see a husk, chances are you will be facing a hundred to one odds. Even on Horrizon with only three squad mates, we encountered at least half a thousand of them and were nearly overwhelmed. And at this close quarters, they'll swamp us. If we fight husks, it'll have to be out in the open with plenty of room."
Ripper sighed. "Fine, but only because we're assuming that this IS a Reaper cult."
"Trust me, only husks make that noise. If they're not here, its because they're somewhere else. Now let's move out."
They decided to move out of the sewage despite the cover it offered. If anybody decided to attack them, the water would limit their mobility and make them vulnerable. The Ripper seemed to be on edge, constantly looking around and waving his omni-tool around.
"This is strange. We should have set off some monitoring devices by now, but so far nothing. And where the hell is that husks noise coming from? I can't scan any yet the sounds are there."
"Please tell us you didn't lead us down the wrong tunnel. I thought you infiltrated their base," Taylor hissed.
"I said no such thing. I merely tracked many of the cultists all back to this part of the sewers," Ripper said, clearly puzzled. "Back then, there WERE monitoring devices, now there aren't."
Shepard was also worried. "I don't like this either. Keep pushing on and stay frosty."
"We better reach the cult base soon, I'm running out of remote transmitters," Taylor said.
The three of them pressed on, Ripper leading the way. Occasionally he stopped to examine the surroundings, sometimes scanning with his omni-tool, sometimes with his own senses to track any signs of the cultists. By his reckoning, the area had definitely seen a lot of traffic although someone had tried to clear the tracks.
"Down to my last transmitter now," Taylor said worryingly.
Ripper suddenly stopped and the three of them saw that they had come to the end of a tunnel. The tunnel ended with a large pool of sewage, at the edge of it opposite the entrance, was a large door that looked decidedly archaic. It looked like a large, round and ancient sewage door, which was opened by turning a steel wheel. But the odd thing about the door was that it wasn't rusting away from decades of misuse: it looked relatively new and well used judging by the lack of grime around it.
"That's strange, I never saw this door before," Ripper said.
"I don't like this Shepard. This is the furthest we can go, after which we'll be alone and without anyway to call for help. We also haven't seen any conclusive evidence of the cultists being around. Maybe its better to call for backup," Taylor said.
To everyone's surprise, Ripper also agreed. "As much as I hate to agree with the cop, he's got a point. There's too much we don't know about this place and the vibes I'm getting makes even me uncomfortable. This stinks of a trap Shepard."
Shepard shook his head. "No, we can't take the chance that they're here and we missed them. Besides, we're still hearing the husks around. They've got to be here somewhere. "
"Still, it wouldn't hurt to send back coordinates of this location. At least someone surface side will be able to know where we last disappear and send help accordingly if we don't make it," Shepard added.
Taylor nodded. "Reasonable enough. I'm sending in the coordinates now. If we don't communicate within an hour, my officers have permission to send a SWAT Team to our location."
"Do it. On the bright side, if we do walk into a trap, we'll know for certain that the cultists are here," Shepard said.
Ripper laughed grimly. "True Shepard, very true indeed. Then we'll show these Reaper fags the meaning of fear."
"Information sent," Taylor said. He then trained his Revenant on the door.
"Let's get this thing opened," Shepard said as he trained his Kassa Locust on the door as well.
Ripper then flexed his impressive bulk and took hold of the wheel mechanism with his meaty hands. The mechanism turned slowly but surely as he poured his massive strength into it. Once he heard a click that indicated that the locking mechanism was opened all the way, he heaved against the door, pushing it opened. When it was opened wide enough, Shepard went in cautiously followed by Ripper, and then Taylor.
The three of them found themselves in what seemed to be an old abandoned subway tunnel, one that was built sometime in the 21st century and had now fallen into disuse for almost a century. There was even an old subway car sitting on the tracks, with the fading words 'Amtrak' on one side.
To their right, the tunnel was blocked by an avalanche of stones. To the left, the tunnel continued with the end not in sight. Like the sewers, it was also lit with the dim red light.
Then the three of them heard it: the moaning sound was now increasingly louder and it was in the direction of the sewers which they had just come from. Ripper looked back through the tunnel and swore.
"Now why didn't we think of checking the shit just now?"
Out of the sewage pool, there arose the stuff of nightmares: skeletal figures like zombies still clad in their rotting flesh. Except instead of rotting flesh, the flesh looked like it had been turned to blue or red metal. Their ghostly eyes glowed red and blue, their gaping mouths wide in eternal torment. All of those eyes were now turned towards the three in tunnel.
"Holy shit! Ripper, close the door now!" Shepard shouted as he switched his ammunition to incendiary while Taylor did the same. The husks then started running towards the entrance. Taylor's Revenant roared as it let loose a volley of deadly incendiary rounds while Shepard's did the same. The firepower pushed back the first few husks to make it to the edge of the sewage pond but more were emerging from the it.
Ripper meanwhile used his prodigious strength to push the door closed but it seemed slower to close than it was to open. The husks were nearly at the door now despite the suppressive fire from Taylor and Shepard. But Shepard has been saving his biotics for last. Just as Ripper was about to close the door and the first husk reached it, Shepard glowed blue and let loose a narrow shockwave which repulsed the husks immediate crowding the doorway and it was closed.
The vigilante quickly turned the wheel lock and then pointed his index finger on it. A laser beam shot out and melted the inner locking mechanisms, effectively destroying their means of escape, as well as the husks. At the same time, Shepard and Taylor used their incendiary ammo to seal the edges of the door as well.
As the three of them surveyed their handiwork, Taylor said, "Well we're really in it now. That's the only way out we know off and the other side is a possible nest of cultists. How we're going to get out after rescuing the missing people, I have no idea."
Shepard sighed. "We'll cross that bridge when it happens. No point worrying about what might come, especially when we haven't found the missing people yet."
"Relax Shepard. I've got some ECRS High Explosive Grenades and a block of old fashioned C4 if it comes to this," Ripper said.
"What the hell are you thinking carrying around high explosives like that?" Taylor shouted, shocked that the Ripper was not carrying guns but had ordinance capable of levelling a city block.
"Oh I was thinking how the Tenth Street Reds headquarters in the Westside Quadrant 15 will look like as a pile of rubble," Ripper replied nonchalantly.
Shepard glared at Ripper. "Keep the ordinance and your murderous thoughts for the cultists. Move out!"
And so the three unlikely rescuers plunged in further into New York City's underbelly in search for the lost people.
To be continued...
Author's note:
I hope it wasn't too disappointing guys. Trust me, the next chapter will see more familiar faces. Constructive criticisms, flames and complaints are welcome, either through review or personal messages.
