Mass Effect; Chronicles of a Soldier
Back From the Dead
My standard form of writing applies.
" " - Spoken
' ' - Thoughts, usually in italics, as well.
( ) - Commentary. I'm a smartass. You should know what goes here. My smartass commentary. Usually funny, always interesting. Details and explanations, or my personal opinions, unfiltered.
Italics- Usually things of importence. Flashbacks and certain things are in italics to seperate them from the rest of the story.
Bold!- Things like this are things that just stand out. Usually pretty badass, or just really scary.
Underlined words are oddball parts; anything that stands out, but doesn't fall into the two above categories.
Things in this font are sometimes Author commentary, or truly profound statements.
Those things just below this line, are seperators. They seperate different sections. Simple, yes?
~~Badadumdunbum~~
#10 Jumping feetfirst into hell
~~Badadumdunbum~~
Just getting back onto the ship, the four of us went our seperate ways from the elevator. I hopped off on deck 3 with Zaeed, as we both went to grab a bite to eat. He was ecstatic, still grinning from ear-to-ear.
The Sarge took one look at him and said, "What, d'ja go and get your knob polished, mister Massani?"
I nudged the veteran's side, snickering. "Effectively. You should'a seen him earlier, he was waltzing around looking like he'd gotten the blowjob of a lifetime." Even our picking didn't bother the bounty hunter in the least, as he was still smiling.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, you two. Just gimme a Thessia Red, today's a day to celebrate."
Our mess Sergeant procured the alchohol and food, before the two of us made for the elevator. I went back down to the hold, while Zaeed returned to his own room.
Jack was nowhere to be found, oddly enough. Huh.
Anywho, I removed my helmet and ate, setting the tray aside to be returned later. I stretched out on the rack, just about ready to fall asleep when-
"Blade, I need you in the meeting room ASAP." Shepard's voice came over the comms, and I sighed, getting to my feet.
"Can't ever get any shuteye around here."
Pulling my helmet into place, I started for the stairs, feeling rather annoyed.
~~Badadumdunbum~~
"So this is the Collector ship..." Mordin mused, looking over the holographic structure.
"Hmph. One thing right after another, eh, Shepard?" Zaeed smirked, looking like a man at the top of his game, or just won a huge bet over the superbowl.
Or who just got an AWESOME blowjob.
"Unfortunately. We don't have time to think this through carefully, we're going in once we're in orbit." Shepard looked tense, as she watched the map display with intent.
Hm.
"Shepard," I prompted, and she looked up, right into my visor. "I think now would be a good time to test out that system I mentioned."
Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully as she stroked her chin, and asked, "You have a reason for wanting to do a beta on that now?"
Shrugging, "Now's a good a time as any. Getting the shuttle from orbit to our destination will take at least an extra six minutes. I can burn in and hit the ground in under three."
Sardonically, she replied back, "Yeah, and leave a nice red stain all over the colony. We don't know if that system was meant for orbital drop, or from aircraft-height."
I nodded. "All the more reason to test it out now. EDI ran the simulations; it should be good to go. And if it works this time, then we'll have that option in the future. Besides, the faster we get boots on the ground, the better. The more time the Collectors spend fighting us, the less they have to abduct colonists."
Shepard sighed, relenting. "Very well, we don't have time to be arguing about this anyway. EDI. Calculate the coordinates to drop him in, and get Joker briefed."
"Understood, Shepard." EDI's synthetic voice called, just before Shepard continued.
"The rest of you, get locked and loaded, we'll be there soon. Grunt, Jack, Zaeed, Garrus, Jacob, you're all with me. Miranda, take charge of the ship, and Mordin, I need those countermeasures ready an hour ago. Blade, get equipped and to the airlock. Let's get moving, people." Those she named nodded their consent, turning to leave.
As I walked out, I heard Shepard call, "You better not get yourself killed, you hear me?"
Smirking, I threw a look over my shoulder, responding, "Didn't I tell you? There is nothing in this world or any other, that can kill a Marine."
~~Badadumdunbum~~
After taking care of the necessities,(Ie, letting mordin stick this weird-ass thing to the back of my helmet. My VI found that it was also monitoring my combat effectiveness) I dropped by the armory and grabbed my Mantis, checked my gear right quick, then moved to the bridge, standing by next to the airlock.
"Uh, Blade, just so you know, you're completely insane. But don't worry, we love you anyway." Joker, well, joked as he shook his head.
"Common knowledge, Joker. Try not to drop me in the latrine, I just finished polishing this armor." I snarked back, whereas he turned in his seat and gave me a half-assed salute.
"Really got your priorities straight, huh? You're the bravest of us all, ya crazy bastard. How in the hell did you convince Shepard to go along with this, anyway?"
My turn to shrug. "No fucking clue. But I'm going in before she grows a conscience and changes her mind."
"Yeah, you're a real adrenaline junkie, aren'tcha?"
"Again, common knowledge, Joker. How long until the drop point?"
Shaking his head, he turned back to his console. "Four minutes. Shuttle's out in five."
"Alright, in I go. Let's bring the thunder, Joker." The airlock hatch opened, and I stepped inside, cracking my neck. For some reason, I knew I would survive. I knew that this was the reason the suit was made.
I knew that THIS was what I was intended to do.
Inside, the lights shut off after a moment. "All heat signatures have been removed, to prevent the Collector ship from detecting us. Drop coordinates in T-minus two minutes, fifteen seconds."
Alright. I set in, taking a knee and tensing up. This was gonna be the dumbest, most foolhearty thing I've ever done. Might as well do it in style.
Once more, I found myself thinking back, remembering.
'I feel like lightning...'
~~Badadumdunbum~~
[Cue Music; Fading Away, by Demon Hunter; Album, Storm the Gates of Hell]
The airlock opened, and EDI's synthetic voice reminded me, "Drop in twelve seconds. Eleven. Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four.
Three.
Two.
One. JUMP!"
I dashed forward, my vision changing once again.
Giving a great leap, I fell back onto muscle memory, spreading my limbs to slow my descent and change direction. All around me, darkness; everything in shades of grey.
Heavy, dark clouds lit up by flashes of light, of pure static electricity. I could feel more than hear the thunder rolling.
On my visor, several new screens appeared as beeps and other sounds sounded in my helmet, before vanishing, a series of large, glowing rings appearing in their place. They were getting bigger, closer. Aha. So they're for tracking my descent, making sure I hit my target.
I shifted right, going dead-center through the first, second. Third, fourth, fifth. A dozen or so more, and now it was a straight drop.
Tucking in my arms and legs, I angled myself straight down, flying like a bullet. Less wind resistance, faster drop.
Terminal velocity reached.
An indicator on my visor alerted me to how fast I was dropping, as well as my current altitude. Three thousand, four hundred metres.
Descent brake must be used after 1300, but before 900.
Alright, timing. Fifteen seconds. I counted down, waiting, watching.
Another indicator appeared.
Eight second window of braking height.
Begin on voice command.
Just as my altitude dropped below 1200, "Deploy airbrakes," I said, and like before-
My body moved of its own accord, flipping over with arms held outward, and I felt my whole body jerked upward by my chest, my fall slowing down.
I heard thrusters just behind me, and I'm assuming that's what the thing meant by airbrakes. Huh. Uhh... I, ah, wasn't slowing down very much. Well, I was falling slower than a blowling ball, at least.
Still very much fast enough to go splat.
Staring straight down as I fell, I could make out something like a small town, or village. Off-white buildings, square-ish with green grass, clear blue water and small ant-like creatures moving around.
Oh, shit!
Within moments, those tiny squares were getting a helluva lot bigger, and those ants were PEOPLE!
Brace for impact.
Fuck me.
~~Badadumdunbum~~
I was falling straight to a spot of green, not twenty metres from several of people moving in a line.
The suit forced my body to move again, this time tucking into a ball, somersaulting as I fell, just before I hi-
*CRA-LOOOOSHCKAaaa!*
. . .
Ow.
Friggin' OW!
What the hell! Felt like I just got fuckin' sucker-punched all over my entire body by a freight train.
Forcing my eyes open, I saw I was, well, on the ground. In a bloody crater.
Huh.
The parts of myself I could see were- My armor was glowing, red-hot.
Shifting, I got into a crouch, getting to my feet. Nothing broken or dislocated; all systems copacetic. Dust and debris was all around, can't see two feet in front of my faceplate.
Within seconds, my armor stopped glowing, but I could still faintly see steam coming off its surface. Hm. Very nice, I didn't even feel warm. I was in a four-foot deep crater, three feet across.
Under my feet, the ground crunched; glass. Hm. After pulling myself out of said hole, I activated my thermal imaging to see through the dust.
Shit.
No people, but plenty of warm bodies. Large, bipedal insects, carrying weapons of some sort. Collectors. Along with some kind of large pod; thermal showed it wasn't very warm, but had something warm inside it. Something-
Human-shaped! They were rounding people up in pods! Damnit!
I reached up, pulling my rifle, setting it to my shoulder.
Horizon is a human colony, so anything else is just a moving target.
*Chk!*
"Just call me Dale the Exterminator."
I hope you have a good lawyer, because CRI cases are a bitch.
~~Badadumdunbum~~
"Krssschrrckzz" Static was the only thing I heard through my comm for several seconds, before Shepard's voice shined through. "Kshrr..Dh... Blade! You- Ksshhhrrrzz." Too much interference for proper communication. Damn.
"This is Blade, drop successful. Now eliminating targets." I set my sights on the first insect outline, flicking my weapon to full-auto.
Bang.
I tugged the trigger, putting out a five-count burst, snapping my sights onto the next, and the one after. Badabang-Badabang-Badabangbangbang.
Three more down.
Last one-
Whoa!
It fired some sorta lazer, almost wildly, as it came nowhere near me. I opened fire, ejecting the clip as I did so, seeing as the first twelve shots connected with a personal shield; the next few rounds ate through the fucker's head. Check-check. They were all on the ground, unmoving.
Hostiles neutralized; cleared to procede.
I dashed forward through the dust, heading for the pod they'd been transporting. Kneeling by it, I deactivated thermal with a thought, looking over the thing.
Big, green, with some kind of glass plate over the front. Inside, was a woman wearing a green jumpsuit, similar to the Cerberus BDU outfit the crewmen wore. She looked to be unconscience. Ah, but how-?
Unknown biological technology; seek alternative methods of access.
Fuckit. I am not leaving her in there. I drew my knife, stabbing into the seam along the side of the damned thing, forcing it in and jimmying it up and down, prying the pod open.
Took a few moments, but I had it. Once I could fit my fingers under, I got ahold and ripped the top off, grabbing the woman by her top and pulling her out, laying her out on the ground.
"Hey. Hey! You alive? Wake up!"
Her eyes fluttered before shooting wide open, and she was about to scream when I clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Shh! Quiet. You're safe for now, but I need your help. What's your name?" I slowly removed my hand, listening, looking around and checking for enemies...
I detect no hostile lifeforms within a eighty metre radius; now redirecting excess power to motion sensor. Range increased to one hundred and sixty metres.
Well, that's cool.
"C-c-Chris..." She was stuttering, violently shaking.
"Alright, Chris. My name is Blade. I'm here to help, but I'm outnumbered and I don't know the area; is there any kind of air defense system for shooting down ships, or some kind of security system, anything?"
She nodded shakily, still scared shitless. "Th-there's a big d-defense canon in the s-center of the colony, but n-n-no one's fixed the targeting system for it."
Confirmed; hostiles marked as "Collectors" located in groups of twelve or less, towards the north-east, closer to the center of the colony. I have also found more pods, some filled with colonists, others empty. I will attempt to reestablish communications with Normandy, and contact EDI for assistance in repairing the targeting protocols.
Hmph. Good enough. "It's more than I had a minute ago. Alright. Chris, I want you to go and hide. Keep your head down and stay out of sight until that ship is gone. Okay?"
She nodded, scrambling to her feet before running in the opposite direction. I stood and turned, rifle in hand, knife sheathed.
Time to go to work.
~~Badadumdunbum~~
My comm device activated with a thought, and I tried to get through to the others. "Shepard, the enemy seems to be using directed-energy weapons. Handheld lazers of some sort, so watch out. There's a large, anti-ship cannon in the center of the colony; I'll rendezvous with you there, over and out."
Communications are unavailable for the time being, due to jamming signal emenating from Collector vessel. Suit-to-suit communicators may still be functional within close proximity.
Lovely. I'd probably be better off shouting through a cup.
I jogged through the area, between buildings and towards the colony's center, keeping a careful eye on my motion tracker and the rooftops.
Nothing so far, but the tracker shows enemies to my north, a group of four.
Nine contacts, Operator; more are slightly further, off the sensor due to regular energy input. Advise you scale the three-story building twenty-three metres to your north-west and use the vantage point to more efficiently eliminate targets.
Well, this thing can plan, too. Nice.
The building in question, was white, blockish, and rather easy to climb. I sped up a bit, turning through the winding areas between the structures, before giving a great leap when I was ten feet away, flying a good sixty feet in the air. I tucked and rolled with the impact when I landed, rising to a crouch. I moved closer to the edge of the building, shouldering my rifle, looking down upon the squad of Collectors.
Eight of them together, marching. One more, well away from them; probably the leader. Hmph.
Dropping to prone, I looked downscope, watching them. Range is sixty-one yards, they are unaware, and I've got the high ground.
Let it rain.
The scope adjusted itself, changing from 1x to 3x, allowing for perfect peripheral and battlefield awareness. I set my sights on the rear of the group. They're in position. Wait for it. Wait for it...
I squeezed the trigger until it broke and a single gunshot cracked the air.
Two of the Collectors dropped, and I was already firing again and again. Three more down for the count. Four to go. The buggers were looking back and forth, panicking. Can they not see me this far out? Huh.
Maybe they can't hear so well, or can't detect the origins of distant sounds. Fuck 'em either way.
Aha! As I fired another round, I saw a blue field light up, signifying that I'd finally found one with shields. Flicking the selector to auto, I held the trigger for a twelve-count burst, and both he and the dumbass next to him hit the dirt, yellow blood flying. Good.
A beam of some sort flew thirty feet above my head, and I set my sights on the one bastard who'd shot back. Right there, taking cover inside of a house.
I set my M8 aside, reached back and pulled up my Mantis, the weapon automatically unfolding itself as I put it to my shoulder.
With a thought, my thermal vision activated, and I scanned the walls of the building. There he was, next to a doorway. Aiming carefully, I fired a single shot, watching as a tiny hole appeared in the wall of the building, while the Collector on the other side dropped dead.
Nice.
I racked the bolt and set in on the others.
~~Badadumdunbum~~
Ducking, Shepard growled as yet another near-miss whacked the wall next to her head. "Garrus! Where's that bastard hiding?!"
*POWFUHL!*
"In hell." The Turian sniped,(Yes, bad pun) reloading his rifle.
"ShePaRD..." That damned talking Collector started up again, and she growled.
"Someone shut that fucker up!"
Zaeed had the rocket launcher in his hand on the other side of the building, leaning out of the doorway. "On it."
And as he fired, the explosion and heat tore through the air, defeaning the woman for several seconds before she heard the older man shout, "Good effect on target!"
"Right. How many more?"
Grunt answered. "One." *Pow!* "And none."
Nodding, Shepard glanced outside, looking over the area.
Plenty of bodies, and she looked to where Jacob and Jack were taking cover. "Jack, Jacob! You good?" She shouted, and saw the man stick a hand outside, giving her a thumbs-up.
"Alright. Move out and keep your heads swinging, there's bound to be more."
Stepping outside, Garrus glanced left and right. "I thought we would've seen more of the colonists by now."
"Probably already on the Collector ship. Damned bugs," Zaeed grunted, ejecting the clip from his rifle and digging it into the ground with the heel of his boot.
"Damnit. Hope Blade's right about that cannon..." His last transmission was broken to pieces, but they'd heard something about a cannon in the center of the colony.
Pushing onward, Shepard moved, the six of them stacking up on a large gate.
~~Badadumdunbum~~
I pulled myself up, flipping my leg up and rolling onto the roof, moving to the edge of the four-story structure. I practically strained my eyes, looking towards the center of the colony. It was at least a kilometre away, probably more.
One thousand, four hundred and twenty-six metres, Operator. Reccommend use of M92 Mantis for effictive engagement of targets.
No, shit. More than a mile.
Looking hard, my visor lit up once more and a window appeared, this one showing a magnified view. Alright, something useful.
Magnification increased from 5x to 18x.
Perfect.
Whoa. There's Shepard and co, working a console of some sort. Must be for the big guns. But-
Fuck!(THAT didn't sound wrong at all, oh no) There were more of those grey-and-blue zombie bastards! Damnit. I reached back and pulled my Mantis, setting it to my shoulder as I dropped to prone. Not a very good sightline, but it'll do.
"Shepard, you've got some kinda glowing, blue cybernetic freaks moving on your position! They're coming from the west, repeat, they're coming in from the west, at least a dozen of 'em!"
C'mon, hope the radio works.
C'mon!
"...Ade? Blade? Iszzz..ou? Sh- Fzzzshhchterrrzzz!" More static cut off her voice, as distant gunfire assaulted my ears.
Damnit.
Taking a breath, I steadied myself against the roof, setting a finger on the trigger, and looking downscope.
"Bring the thunder."
~~Badadumdunbum~~
Shepard released her weapon hand, snatching the pistol from her side, raising it and tugging the trigger twice, putting a double-tap in the nearest husk's head.
Holstering it and reloading her rifle, she fired again and again, putting down husk after husk.
Her eyes shot wide open as she saw something that horrified her.
One of the bastard was rushing her old friend, blindsiding the Turian! He was in the middle of throwing off a different one, jamming his gun under its chin. In that instant where her heartrate skyrocketed and she set her sights-
*Ker-Splutchtsh!*The husk's head exploded, and several seconds later,
*POWFUHL!* As the gunshot sounded, something struck her.
That shot was taken by a top-notch sniper, and they just saved her friend's hide. From more than a kilometre away, judging from how long it took for the sound to reach them.
Garrus looked behind him, seeing the dead husk. "Huh. Guess I owe someone a drink," He casually remarked, pulling the trigger of his sidearm and killing the husk he'd been tangling with.
Suddenly, out of nowhere,
"Bring the thunder." Blade's voice came over the radio, just as-
Several of the remaining husks dropped, hitting the ground with heads showing various amounts of gore, then, *P-P-P-POWOWOWFUHHLLL!* More than four shots in such a short period of time, all of them dead-on.
"Amazing..." Shepard couldn't help muttering, as yet even more of the creepy bastards hit the ground.
After a moment, she grinned. "Right, you heard him! Let's kick some ass!"
~~Badadumdunbum~~
I racked the bolt again, as the indicator in my helmet alerted me that this was my last shot.
"Right, better make this one count."
Breathe in, breathe out.
Carefully setting my sights, I took aim at the first Collector that came over the wall, and gently squeezed the trigger.
The recoil didn't even rock my shoulder, as I gripped the rifle hard enough to keep it entirely still. The nanoweave in my left arm had stiffened to keep my aim steady, the entire suit working in tandem with my body to make the most accurate shots possible.
It was awesome.
I ejected the clip, pulled the rifle back and opened the compartment, reaching for the cases on the front of my armor. Flipping it open, I had four stripper clips of thermal clips, each holding six. I pulled two and loaded them into the rifle's magazine, twisting the forend back into place and setting the stock to my shoulder in the same movement.
Tugging the charging handle back, I let it slam forward, took a breath, and aimed once more.
Fourteen targets, one of them-
Whoa. One was glowing with some kinda light. Shepard and several of the others were hauling ass away from it, looking decidedly panicked. Hokay, good enough reason to drop his ass.
Breathe in, breathe out.
One smooth movement.
*POWFUHL!*
A single shot, and I racked the bolt, taking aim at my next target, blowing the head off another bugger, before noticing that-
That the glowing one had just been knocked down. He got back up! Fuck!
Rack and reacquire. Wonder how many rounds I can put in him before he hears that first shot?
~~Badadumdunbum~~
"SHepArd... ThIs HuRtS yOu."
Out of nowhere, Harbringer was bodily thrown, knocked to the ground. As it got back up, four more shots impacted its body, draining its barriers and going clean throgh whatever armor encompassed its carapace. The entire thing started disintegrating, making the veteran soldier grin.
"I owe you one, Blade!" She called over the radio as the gunshots just now made their way to them.
"I accept payment in the forms of favors, alchohol and blowjobs. Visa and Mastercard are also acceptable." He snarked, their radios finally working after the swarms had left the area.
Garrus snickered next to her, nudging her side as he ejected another clip. "Don't know what those last two are, but the third one is probably your best bet, Shepard."
"Hilarious." Rolling her eyes, Shepard couldn't suppress a smirk. He was pretty funny, her favorite deadpanning Turian.
"Go with the alchohol, Shepard! Once he gets started, he won't stop! Guy's like a fuckin' machine!" Jack shouted, blasting a Collector that was trying to crawl away.
Like a machine, huh?
"Like a machine, huh? I don't remember hearing YOU complaining!"
Another pair of Collectors dropped dead, a single shot going through both of them.
Zaeed busted out laughing, nearly choking. "So THAT was why you were walking bow-legged! Hah!"
Jacob was shaking his head with a wry smile, reloading his shotgun. "Good to see everyone has their priorities straight."
"Hmph. All humans must have the same sense of humor." The sole Krogran grunted, stomping the head of a still-twitching husk.
"Not all of us. Miranda doesn't have one."
Out of nowhere, "Got that right!" Joker's voice came over the comms, and you could practically hear the smirk etched into his bearded face.
"I HEARD that." Closely follwed by the Cerbeus officer in question, sounding none too pleased.
Then Blade came back once more. "Good. Didn't want you to feel left out."
Everyone on the ground chuckled, sans Grunt, who didn't understand the joke.
Eh, win some lose some.
"ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL"
Fuck.
~~Badadumdunbum~~
After putting down another of the glowing bastards, the massive gun batteries around the colony stated moving, shooting up at the massive Collector ship. Heheh, for the win, asshole.
And another weird thing happened. Something big, bulky and blowing bright blue flew out of that ship, directly towards Shepard!
"Shepard! Something big inbound!"
"I see it! CONTACT!-" Her voice broke off, as the giant thing attacked them. It looked like some kind of insect. Big and black, lotta arms. Floating, too. Huh.
I took aim and started firing away.
~~Badadumdunbum~~
As the thing died, a horrible screeching pierced the air, defeaning Shepard and everyone she was with, making them cringe. And it disintigrated before their very eyes, the monstrous thing disappearing entirely.
"Damn. The hell was that?"
Another sound got their attention. Up above them, the Collecotr ship fired up and took off, leaving us on the planet with just our dicks in our hands, as Blade would say.
"Fuck... They're gone, Commander. I'm moving to your location now, Shepard."
"No... No! Damnit, half the colony's in there! Sam, Lilith an-" The civilian they found earlier choked as he paced back and forth, venting, ranting, panicking. Shepard didn't blame him one bit.
"Fuck! Damn the Alliance! This is all their fault, putting that damned gun tower here! And you! Why didn't you stop them?!" He was glaring at her now, tears in his eyes.
She shook her head, feeling more tired than she'd felt in years. "There's nothing we could do. I don't have a ship capable of destroying it, and we got here too late to stop them. I'm sorry."
"What?! That- That's it? You're sorry?! Those people are gone, dead! Hundreds!"
Shepard just shook her head. "I did what I could."
She felt a hand on her shoulder; a familiar, comforting gesture. "More than anyone else, Shepard."
The colonist blinked. "Wait. Shepard? I know that name." His eyes fixated on her just then, as dawning comprehension lit them up. "Yeah, I know you. Some kinda big Alliance hero, died two years back."
Out from behind a crate, a familiar voice sounded, bringing an even more familiar face along with it. "Commander Shepard, captain of the Normandy, the first human Spectre, savior of the Citadel."
Shepard eyes shot wide, and she could feel more than hear Garrus' jaw drop.
"Ashley?!"
~~Badadumdunbum~~
I dropped down from the building, rolling with the impact and bounding back to my feet, setting off for the center of the colony at a decently-paced jog. I was never much for sprinting or running, but distance marching with full gear, I can do.
Hundred pounds of kit, in 110 degree weather with the sun beating down on us, I was the one out front, not slowed down in the least. The others said I was like a wolf; not the fastest, but suited to moving extreme distances without slowing regardless of circumstances.
Eh.
I slapped the heavier, bulkier sniper rifle onto my back, pulling my Avenger in case there were any remaining Collectors on the way.
Doubt it, but hey. Better safe than sorry when the lead starts flying.
The buildings were interesting; hastily erected, but solid. They stack one on top of the other, allowing for larger living space in smaller areas. Very nice. Looks like the things can be built rather quickly, as well.
Huh. Colonization must be pretty popular, nowadays.
Anyway. I moved quickly, taking shortcuts through and over buildings, utilizing my jetpack to pull off some wicked tricks, diving through a window, using the jets to keep it going and send me through the ten-foot room and our the other window, all in under a second and a half.
Freaking awesome, man.
I gotta remember to use it for parkour and rapid traversal of uneven terrain.
In other words, to move across difficult areas but-quick.
Used to do freerunning and parkour before I joined the military. Lotta fun, learning creative ways to move through the world.
As my teacher explained it to me, it's more of about mindset than physical abilities. To be able to see the world differently, to see EVERYTHING as a means to move, every little thing as a challenge. That's a freerunner. Someone who is determined to go wherever he pleases, without the constraints of society; to run free, and take whatever path is there before you.
'There are no obstacles; only shortcuts.'
~~Badadumdunbum~~
Shepard glanced towards the west wall, seeing Blade suddenly flip over it, rolling to a crouch as he hit the grass.
As he stood and dusted himself off, he called, "Hope I'm not late. Everyone alright?"
She confirmed this with a nod, through Garrus remarked, "Just the usual bumps and bruises. That was some fine marksmanship, earlier. I didn't know you were a sniper."
Blade shrugged. "Neither did my Lieutenant, but that didn't stop him from handing me a rifle and telling me to take up overwatch from a mile out. So, anyone wanna tell me what the hell those creepy blue bastards are? Not to mention the hulking monster that flew in at the end?"
Shepard couldn't suppress a smirk, despite how she felt. His crass but upbeat mood was contagious. "The creepy bastards, as you call them, are husks. Humans turned into cybernetic drones; they're made by impaling people on spikes created by the Reapers. The machine? I haven't a clue."
He seemed to blink, tilting his head. "Okay, ya lost me. Reapers?"
Sighing, both she and Garrus filled him on the greatest threat to the galaxy.
~~Badadumdunbum~~
I blinked again. "So, sentient machines that wipe out all technologically advanced lifeforms every fifty thousand years. Huh. Well, at least it proves the religious nuts back on Earth wrong." After a moment, I asked, "And, ah, why are they called Reapers, anyway? Aside from killing everything, I mean."
Shepard shrugged. "That's what the Protheans called them; they supposedly 'harvest' all life every fifty thousand years. According to the one Reaper I did hear from, the mass relays are their technology, not the Protheans'. Basically, they're saying that we're their crops, or something."
. . .
"Huh. Back in my day, I was nicknamed the Red Death. If they're anywhere close to being that good, then we're screwed." I snarked, eliciting a collective chuckle from the others. "Game over, man, game over."
Not that any of them got that reference.
"Hah! Nice one, Blade." Except Joker, of course.
~~Badadumdunbum~~
There's a damned obvious Aliens shout-out right there. And if anyone, and I mean ANYONE, can figure out where the "acceptable payment" joke is from, you win a prize.
~~Badadumdunbum~~
"Gun control: The theory that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her pantyhose, is somehow morally superior to a woman explaining to police how her attacker got that fatal bullet wound." — L. Neil Smith
~~Badadumdunbum~~
"Rangers lead the way, right behind the Marines! OORAH!" -Unofficial saying of the USMC Force Recon. Damned if it ain't true, my brothers. Oorah.
~~Badadumdunbum~~
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the privilege of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed... Except for when the government deems it necessary." \Sarcasm.