Predators

Chapter Ten: Lady Luck

I don't own Bioware

"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or gazelle - when the sun comes up, you'd better be running."

CENTRAL HIGHLANDS

COLOMBIA

DECEMBER 28TH, 2000

1258 HOURS

GRID SQUARE 278-356

T'Livia nudged the body of Sitris. It hung limply from where the human soldier had impaled him on the broken branch of the tree. The huntress couldn't help feeling admiration for 'Mickey'. His very flesh burning, he had found the strength to dispatch one of his attackers, and shoot a rocket at Xidam.

"Careful where you put that!" The krogan snarled as Selv ran a field scanner over his shoulder. The human missile had blasted a hole in his heavy armour, and carved a large chunk out of his hide. The young warrior was luckier than he knew, another two inches to the left and it would have taken off his head.

"Stop whining," the turian's words were slurred. She had received the beating of a lifetime at the hands of the human female called 'Alice'. Kalki had been shot in the chest, almost at point blank range. His barriers had stopped the bullet, but the force of the projectile had cracked his left breast plate. Selv vowed that when she caught up with the female, she would suffer a slow death. "Your regeneration is starting to kick in. You won't be feeling any pain by tomorrow."

"Will it scar?" Xidam asked anxiously.

"Probably."

"Good," he was satisfied now. Tearing open one of the ration packs he had found on one of the humans, he gulped down the contents.

"In the name of the spirits, why is that good?" Kalki winced as Wrex bandaged his broken plate.

"The scar will show he is not lying when he says he survived a rocket at point blank range," Wrex informed the turian. "It is a sign of maturity and bravery."

"I'll take your word for it," Kalki muttered, retrieving his shotgun. "What now?"

"We follow them," Wrex answered. "We finish the hunt."

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TRIUNE TOWER

NOS ASTRA, ILIUM

"I don't believe it!" Keira announced to the audience. "For the first time on Even Chance, a hunter has been killed. Sergeant Mickey Byrne has slaughtered Sitris, and managed to wound Urdnot Xidam before succumbing to his injuries. It's not looking good for Captain Toland. He's lost half his team and is on the run. Can he flee Wrex? The krogan who has not failed in killing a target since the start of this show? Find out after this commercial break!"

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CITADEL

NOVA STARLINES DOCKING BAY

"Father, will we be able to see where the Ilium Commandoes train?" Darik asked eagerly, staring out the window of the liner.

"I'm sure we'll find time," Romus chuckled at his son's eagerness. "What about you Pel?"

"I just wanna see the view from our hotel," the younger son confessed. "The asari at school say that it's even better than the Citadel."

"I guess we'll soon find out," Romus lifted his son up onto his shoulders. "Come on, your mother's waiting for us.

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THREE MILES NORTH OF PREVIOUS GRID SQUARE

"Enough!" Toland panted slightly as he came to a stop. A small three mile run wouldn't usually bother him, but they couldn't hope to just run forever. "We've lost them for now."

"Not for long," Sean growled. "They'll be after us again. I can feel it."

"You can't feel shit," Alice pushed him aside. "Toland, what are you thinking?"

"Ducky...Bulldog, toss me your compass," Bob swallowed. The thin scout wordlessly reached inside his pouch and tossed Toland the device.

"That was a present from Ducky," Bulldog's eyes were slightly red. "I was always losing my compasses, so he got that for me in Bangladesh, made me carry it around everywhere till I learned my lesson."

"He was like that," Shepard wore a bitter smile. "Always making sure everyone had their shit sorted out."

"What the hell are we gonna tell his Ma?" Carlos leaned against a tree. "Sorry Mrs Lowerson, but your son got killed by something that looked vaguely like a dinosaur?"

"Shit, what about Pixie?" Sean spat out. "How did they get him?"

"Went down hard," Toland didn't look up from his compass and map. "Fired a full mag of .357's at point blank range. The SOB just smiled and kept on coming."

"This is FUBAR, how you Yanqis say it," Lancero was still breathing heavily. "I have lost all my men to some kind of devil."

"I say we stop right here," Sean held up his M-60. "Set up traps, catch them in a crossfire and..."

"Be killed before we can take down any of them," Alice finished his sentence for him. "We know that our weapons can't kill them, not quickly at least. But with their tech, they can wipe us out in a single volley."

"You got any ideas?" There was pure hatred burning in Sean's eyes. Hatred for anything that stood between him, and vengeance for his brother.

"No, but I think the Captain has," Alice gestured at Toland. All eyes turned toward the senior officer. He nodded.

"Okay, I think I've got something we can work with. Come in close. We're here," he indicated their grid square. "The landing zone is a fifteen mile hike. We'll easily make it there by tomorrow. Hopefully, General Waters will see the satellite footage of the firefight and send in Strikeout to pick us up."

"Still doesn't solve the problem of the guys on our tail," Shepard pointed out.

"I've got a plan to deal with them," Toland pointed at Sean and Carlos. "You two will come with me, we'll head along the side of the valley, till we reach this particularly dense section of the forest. We'll leave an obvious trail for these bastards; hopefully draw them off, or at least the bulk of them."

"And I find the others an unobtrusive path," Bulldog began to understand. "We take your heavy gear, so you can move fast. You outrun them, we stay undetected."

"The idea is to get them so lost in this jungle that they can't find their way out," Bob stood up. "No one else dies. We can beat these guys. Escape and evade, don't commit to a frontal engagement."

"Pull out on the chopper tomorrow night," Alice agreed. "Roger that. Toland...watch your ass."

"Lima Charlie," he passed her his pack, and then began slipping spare magazines into his webbing belt. "Better roll out now, before they catch up."

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SOCOM JOINT OPERATIONS CENTRE

PENTAGON

"Son of a bitch," Vance exhaled as he saw the recorded satellite footage. The trees blocked out most of it, but the constant flashes of gunfire and explosions signified a heavy firefight. "Cartels must have been stocking up on firepower."

"That settles it," Lenau stood up. "We send in Strikeout to pick them up."

"No!" Vance turned sharply. "Better to let this play out."

"Play out?" Lenau cupped his ear forward. "I don't believe I heard you correctly sir."

"You heard me fine," Vance was pale. "We're running a covert operation, in a country we have no mandate for, without approval from the oversight committee. That's a dishonourable discharge and twenty years in jail Colonel."

"Doesn't matter," the thin colonel snapped back. "We have Presidential authorisation."

"Do you think the President is really gonna come running to the rescue if we get caught?" Vance wiped a layer of perspiration of his brow. "He'll deny everything. Say we went rogue. He's a politician."

"You are discussing leaving our boys to die?"

"Not just discussing," Vance dropped his eyes to the floor. "I'm ordering a complete shutdown. They are highly trained men and they know their escape and evasion plan."

"What about my operative?" Sam became agitated. "This was her last mission!"

"Do you actually realise the level of embarrassment that would come to the United States government if we are revealed to be running a war in an allied country?" Vance demanded. "What it could do to SOCOM and the CIA's funding? Besides, they're probably already dead."

Lenau grabbed Vance by the front of his white Navy uniform. "We don't know that for sure. Strikeout can conduct a sweep at night, search for any sign of them."

Vance shoved the colonel away. "I'm not taking a chance. Lenau, you're to go back to Bragg. It's going to be hard to cover this one up, but I'm sure a 'training accident' could be arranged. Sam?"

For the first time, the female analyst looked flustered. "I'm..I'm not sure," she confessed. "We don't do those kind of things anymore."

"I suggest you look into it," Vance walked toward the elevator. "I'll wait till tomorrow to brief the President. I'll have an Air Force Gulfstream stand by to fly you back to Bragg Colonel."

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FORT BRAGG

NORTH CAROLINA

MARRIED PERSONNEL HOUSING AREA

"Hey Angela," Maria pushed open the back door of the Shepard's house. "Mind if I use your washing machine? Mine's on the fritz again."

"No problem," Angela called from the kitchen. "How are the kids?"

"Missing their father," popping open the lid of the washing machine, Maria began loading it. "I need to have a word with the colonel about how often Carlos gets sent away from home."

"I think it's Bob that talks them into it," Angela wiped flour of her hands.

"That man has no consideration for family," Maria sighed. "It's tragic really. He should be spending time with his little girl, not running off on extended deployments."

"I know, but he's the best man to lead them," she took a seat at the kitchen table. Suddenly she froze. "Oh hell."

"What?"

"My water just broke."

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"The tracks go in two directions," Selv pointed out. "The larger party went toward the hills, the smaller toward the river. They split up."

"Clever move," Kalki nodded. "We have to split up as well. No more than two went toward the river. One of us will be able to take them. The rest of us should go after the ones in the hills."

"No," Xidam growled. "Battlemaster, I wish to pursue these humans myself, and claim the glory of this hunt."

Wrex chuckled. "You have spirit Nephew, but against superior numbers, you might not prevail. I will accompany you, and chase the larger group of humans. Nicias, you take these two and finish off the others."

"Understood," T'Livia unsheathed her swords. "Kalki, Selv, let's go."

"I hope that the humans choose to fight," Xidam eagerly followed the trail. "For us to run them down would be demeaning."

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"SHIT!" Sean screamed as Toland bound a splint around his leg. "MOTHERFUCKING SON OF A BITCH!"

"Leave my mother out of this," Toland finished tying a knot in the thin cord. "You're ready to go."

"How much further?" Carlos turned back to scan down the hill with a set of binoculars.

"We've done about three miles," Sean grunted as Toland helped him back on his feet. "What a fucking rookie mistake. Tripping on a damn rock."

"Just bad luck," the other NCO sympathised. "But you've still got a greenstick fracture, and we've still got another twelve clicks before we get to the LZ."

Toland retrieved his pack from where he had dropped it. "We can make it. Give Sean plenty of help and don't slow down."

"With a broken leg?" Carlos queried. "No way will we be able to move fast enough."

"You have a better option?"

"As a matter of fact I do," Carlos grabbed his own pack. "I got about fifteen minutes to half an hour till they catch up with us. I'm going to get a few presents ready for them when they arrive."

"Get your ass back on that trail now," Toland snarled. "I'm not leaving you behind."

Carlos shook his head. "These things need to be stopped Cap. At least slowed down. I won't engage, but I'll make them bleed again."

Bob glanced at Sean's leg. "Alright, but you plant your traps, then follow me immediately. Hua?"

"Hua," Carlos confirmed. Heard, Understood, Acknowledged.

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"Down here!" Kalki called from a clearing. "I've found something!"

T'Livia hated to admit it, but she had gone soft. A hundred years ago, a brief stint in the jungle wouldn't have bothered her at all. Nor would killing a few dumb grunts. She was now uncomfortable with both. She was tired, scratched and unhappy. What had these humans done to deserve death? Nothing. They were just like her, back in her years as a commando. Idealistic, patriotic.

She would let the turians handle any humans they found. T'Livia didn't have the heart for it anymore.

"What is it?"

"Something tied to a tree," Kalki indicated the piece of cloth flapping in the wind. "Did the humans leave it?"

"Probably, but why?" Nicias frowned. "Some kind of warning, or marker?"

As the wind faded away, the cloth stopped moving.

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"Perfect," Bulldog muttered as he squeezed the trigger on his Barrett M82A1 .50 cal rifle.

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T'Livia prided herself on her exceptional hearing. She could detect when a musical instrument was off key, or hear a pin drop in a crowded room. So when she heard the cry of a bird startled from its nest, combined with the sight of the cloth in front of her, she activated her biotic barrier, concentrating its strength around the back of her head.

The match grade, hand loaded, fin stabilised, sabot discarding, Swiss manufactured bullet slammed into her with the kinetic energy of a hypersonic ramjet. The round flattened itself against the barrier, but the kinetic energy continued to travel. Nicias was thrown forward, head first into the soft mud and grass.

Both her auditory canals were ruptured, and her skull fractured in two places. If the bullet had hit one inch higher, her head would have been sledge hammered.

Kalki and Selv ducked for cover, narrowly evading the follow up shots. A .308 round glanced off Selv's shields, and splinters of wood dug into the side of Kalki's face from where Bulldog's second shot hit a tree.

"Ambush," Selv groaned as she crawled into cover.

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"Might have some real fancy lights," Alice remarked as she reloaded her own sniper rifle. "But they're dumb as shit."

"I'll say," Bulldog agreed. "Come on, Shepard and Lancero will be waiting for us at the river."

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"Is she alright?" Kalki began picking splinters out of his mandibles.

"Injured, but alive," Selv was angry. She took T'Livia's swords, and threw one to her twin. "We'll finish killing the humans, then come back for her."

"Agreed," Kalki's mandibles flared. "I will be glad to depart this primitive planet."

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ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE

WASHINGTON D.C

Lenau unbuttoned his jacket, undid his tie and slumped into the seat. The jet engines on the Gulfstream began warming up. With every whir, he was drawn back to when he first met Toland. Just a bright eyed Ranger, dreaming of glory. Lenau had taken that naive kid and molded him into a leader.

This was bullshit. If Vance had a few balls, they could still pull this off. But the Navy puke valued his own hide more than that of the men in the field. And there was nothing Lenau could do. Major Mohammed Ibn Saud would be preparing his Black Hawk for the flight home. Unless Strikeout decided to go rogue and rescue Toland himself, then the Green Berets were doomed.

"Fuck it," Lenau beckoned the Air Force stewardess closer. "Three fingers of scotch. Neat."

He just felt so fucking tired of all of it. Vietnam, Somalia, Colombia. All the names faded into one after a while. The military was everything to him, and if the military told him that he needed to leave his best friend to die, well then...

"Excuse me sir," the stewardess stood next to him. "You have a phone call. The pilot requests you make it brief, it has to be over before we take off."

"Thank you," Lenau took the headset. "Hello?"

"Hello?" A woman's voice came on the line. "This is Maria Estevez."

"Hello Maria," he sighed. "How are you?"

"Just fine Colonel," she sounded excited. "Angela Shepard just had her baby. A healthy ten pound little boy. He's beautiful. Anyway, we were wondering if you'd be able to get word to Chris, wherever he is."

"Yeah, possibly. I'll call you later," Lenau disconnected the headset. He stared out the window. Standing up, he walked toward the cockpit.

"What's your name son?" He asked the pilot.

"Major Rietta sir," the young air force pilot looked over his shoulder at the Green Beret.

"Major Rietta, I was wondering if you could make a small detour."

"How big a detour?"

"Panama Pacifico."

To his credit, the major only blinked once. "Sure thing sir. Just settle in for the flight."

As he went back to his seat, Lenau felt like a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders. It felt nice to be a man again.

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A/N: Sorry this chapter's so short. I'm setting the stage for the ass-kicking in the next one.

Just to clarify what I meant in my last author's note. I don't think Krogan hide can repel high velocity rounds, such as those that would come from a sniper rifle or an M-16. They certainly wouldn't be killed by them, but the bullets would penetrate. But low velocity rounds, such as those coming from a M9 Beretta, would just bounce off something as thick as a krogan head fringe.