So much for that break eh? Hehe, Inspiration struck again and here i am :D Not as long as I'd have liked but it still came out at a decent length in my opinion.
Lets just hope it's a good read /fingers crossed
Dead Effect
Chapter Ten
"What the hell is, that?" Jacob shifted slightly when he heard Zaeed speak, his gaze had, up till that point been focused on the control panel of the small platform they were using to cross the cavernous section of the ship.
Glancing up, he noted they were getting close to the other side, and thankfully the smoke that masked most of the chamber had lessened somewhat as well.
What had drawn the mercenary's gaze was readily apparent. As a trio of humanoid like creatures shuffled into view and waited for the platform to arrive. "Don't know…But they don't look friendly." The soldier mumbled as he turned his gaze back to the platform and began tapping away at the console. "Damn, I can't stop the platform."
He heard Zaeed draw his rifle, and a hand instinctively jumped to his pistol as he turned back to face the creatures. The first of the creatures bared its teeth as they came closer, it's scythe blade like arms twitching in anticipation. The second was much the same, though it held back, clearly less eager to be within line of sight, and in turn run the risk of getting shot.
The third however was different. It was taller the others and seemed almost human, save for the fact that it was deathly thin and gaunt, hardly any meat on its bones. Its head lolled slightly to one side as it regarded them, and Jacob couldn't shake the sense that its head was barely hanging on.
The real problem however was less what was waiting for them, and more the fact that the platform was mere seconds away from connecting and allowing those, things to get within striking distance.
"We got two choices. We either start shooting, or we wait and see if their friendly…" Zaeed commented as he took aim at the lead creature.
"Recommend extermination. They do not appear friendly, dangerous. Best we not take chances." Mordin pitched in, and after a moment brought his own weapon to bear.
Jacob hesitated for a moment longer, before nodding. "Better not risk it. Open fire!" The words barely left his lips, before the others did just that. The first monster howled in rage as the bullets ripped through its flesh and bone. Within seconds it collapsed.
The second scythe armed creature darted behind a support beam and managed to avoid taking any major hits. The third however simply held its ground as the platform docked and the metal barrier lifted. As soon as the obstacle was out of the way it charged forwards, only to get ripped apart by the trio's combined fire.
"Well, that wasn't so bad…" Zaeed commented smugly as the creature's head rolled to a stop less then a inch from his foot. "Whatever these goddamn things are, they sure can't take a hit."
"Don't be so sure. It was one of these things that took out the commander no doubt." Jacob reminded him as he replaced the thermal clip in his pistol and scanned the catwalk ahead of them. "Besides, that third one got away…And who knows how many more are lurking in the smoke and shadows."
"If there's more. We'll shoot it just like we did this one." The mercenary growled as he nudged the severed head with his foot. "Ugly bastards aren't they?"
"Looks human, lacking most of its skin, down to muscle and bone. Curious, looks like most of its internal organs are missing or no longer functioning. Wonder how it still functions." Mordin had found his way to the gaunt creature's remains, and naturally tuned everything else out as he examined the corpse.
"That sounds strange. But how about we study it, after were done stopping the ship from crashing into the planet below?" Zaeed spared the corpse a glance, before stepping around it.
Mordin appeared ready to argue, though a second later he simply nodded and followed along behind. Neither of them noticed the things head twitching slightly as its eyes followed them.
Jacob kept his pistol at the ready as they reached the support pillar the second creature had vanished behind. A quick check ensured it was long gone, a few spots of blood on the grated floor being the only indication of its direction. "Okay, ones still on the loose. Best we don't hang around here to long and wait for it to bring friends."
"True, but how exactly are we supposed to get the fuel pumping again?" Jacob shrugged slightly, much to Zaeed's annoyance.
To answer their question however, Kendra naturally chose that moment to rejoin the conversation. "There should be two consoles down there. One near where you are now, and the other back across the platform, I'll work on overriding the doors, for now, find the terminal and get things working on that side."
They shared a brief glance, before setting off along the path the necromorph had used to escape. None of them liked the idea of not only following it so directly, but also putting themselves in a vulnerable position. After all the floor was a simple metal grate, anything could be lurking beneath them waiting for a shot. And the roof was just another, higher catwalk, giving another perfect ambush location. Not to mention the constant gaps where one support pillar ended and a long, dark gap presented itself, before it was blocked by another pillar.
Now and again they heard the clanging of foot on metal above them, or the scraping of scythe talons along a support pillar. Though the creatures always remained on the edge of their vision. The shadow of something vanishing from sight, or the gleam of pale eyes that stared at them hungrily, before vanishing into the darkness.
Not even Mordin dared speak as they picked their way along the catwalks and eventually towards the first fuel pump.
'This is it." Jacob nodded slightly as Kendra confirmed their find. With out pause, he grabbed the handle and dragged it down into position.
With a satisfactory click it locked, and a moment later the group heard machinery activating around them. "That's got it. Now let's find the other one and get the hell out of here." Zaeed nodded slightly as he spoke back the way they'd come.
They barely had enough time to turn around, before a loud howl revibrated off the walls and caused the squad to whip around, weapons rising as they scanned the area ahead of them. "This is probably the worst place for an ambush." Jacob growled as he checked the display on his pistol and tapped in the command for incendiary rounds. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Mordin doing the same.
"Not like we can just ask them to postpone the ambush until we find a better spot. So shut up and shoot!" Zaeed snapped as the first necromorph appeared around the corner. The only path off the tiny platform the fuel pump was located on.
"Keelah, I hate you, so much right, now!" Tali whined as she carefully dragged the still unconscious Isaac towards the nearby door. After she'd ensured he was still alive and relatively uninjured, the next problem came in the form of trying to find some place safe for him to recover. Leaving the engineer out in the middle of the medical wing was hardly a smart move.
She soon discovered this was almost impossible however. On one hand he was dead weight in this state. On the other his armour must had weighed a ton, or more. Tali was by no means weak, but that didn't mean this task was any easier.
Much cursing later, she finally managed to move him to the door, hacked it open, and after ensuring its only occupant was dead, and wasn't about to leap back to his feet, she dragged Isaac into the room and propped him up against the opposite wall.
The quarian paused for a moment, before tapping in another command on her Omni-tool. A second later a orange orb flickered into life next to her, and a few button presses later it hovered out into the corridor. Satisfied that the drone would keep them safe, she locked the door for added measure.
"Now what the heck do I do? Isaac could be out for a while…" She muttered quietly, her gaze briefly darting back to the engineer, before returning to the door. Maybe if she could find some medical supplies…No, it wasn't safe to leave the room...
"What to do, what to do?" She mumbled, before finally trying her luck with the comms, It was hopeless, but at least it would prove to be a distraction for a few moments.
"Alright, we'll hold here. Miranda out." The Cerberus agent shut her comm. off and focused on Garrus, who was looking, better, she guessed. She really couldn't read his expression that well, though his shoulders weren't slumped, and he wasn't breathing quite as heavily, that had to be a good sign.
"Thane's on his way. Luckily he wasn't far away." She informed the turian, who simply nodded. Once the assassin rejoined them, they could head for either Engineering, or the bridge. Miranda wasn't sure which path Garrus would want to take, but she was set on the bridge, she had to see Shepard for herself.
"Where to from here? I haven't had any contact with the rest of the squad since we were separated." Vakarian asked as he checked over his armour and rifle. Luckily his shields had taken the majority of the blow and aside from a few minor damages that could be fixed in a matter of moments, he wasn't too badly beat up.
"Jacob is down on the Engineering deck." Miranda's Omni-tool lit up as she brought up the map of the ship she'd managed to download earlier. "Most of the sectors appeared to be connected by trams or something…There's one not far. Shepa-Jack, is on the Bridge," She highlighted that part of the ship so Garrus could see. "It isn't far."
"What happened?" The turian demanded suddenly, Miranda mentally cursed her slip of the tongue, before she averted her gaze. "What, happened?" He asked again.
"I spoke with Jack briefly a while ago…She said Shepard was, killed by one of those, things." Silence descended for several long moments. Neither really knowing what to say.
"Shepard has survived worse. I'm sure Jack was mistaken." Both Miranda and Garrus spun around to face the door. Thane simply shrugged slightly at their startled reactions.
"True. But Jack sounded pretty sure of it. I'd like to see for myself that she's gone." Miranda responded calmly, and was surprised when both aliens murmured their agreement.
"Either way, Jack is alone, so it'd be best to go find her first. Then link up with Jacob and the others, and hopefully get off this nightmare before we end up joining her…"
With a loud snarl, the first necromorph charged the trio. Jacobs pistol boomed a second later and punched a round through its skull. It was no small surprise to the biotic when the creature simply kept charging, seemingly unhindered by the head injury.
Zaeed swiftly opened fire a second later, his rifle ripping through the slashers chest, aside from it stumbling, it simply keeping coming without any sign or injury or damage
Cursing quietly, Jacob's body was engulfed in a blue aura as he lashed out with his free hand and, using his biotics, lifted the creature off the ground, and slammed it hard into the deck a second later.
Several loud, sickening snaps were heard as it impacted with the metal deck, but even then it simply tried to crawl forwards, its scythe arms flailing as it tried to strike the squad. Jacob put another three rounds into it, and finally it stopped moving.
In the time it had taken to kill one however, four more had appeared in the corridor. Three more of the scythe bladed ones, and another of the gaunt creatures. A loud howl escaped it as it rushed forwards, and Jacob barely suppressed a shiver as he heard answering howls further away. Perhaps it was just an echo, but he didn't really believe that.
Reloading his pistol, he swiftly tucked it back into its holster, before a hand darted behind his back and retrieved his shotgun. They were getting closer now. Even with Zaeed and Mordin mowing them down, they just kept coming.
"Organs no use. Aiming for head or vital points ineffective!" Mordin cried as he replaced the clip in his SMG and resumed firing.
"Then what do you bloody suggest?" Zaeed countered as his rifle severed the head of one creature, and it kept charging without pause.
"Aiming for vitals no good…Unable to kill so how to fight? How do you kill something that won't die?" Mordin rambled on for a few moments, before abruptly snapping his fingers. "Aim for extremities!" He called out, and both Jacob and Zaeed gave him a confused glance. "Remove arms and legs. If we can't kill, we can stop them from getting close. Can't close distance, can't fight!"
"Worth a shot." The Cerberus soldier shrugged, before shifting his aim downwards and, with a loud bang his shotgun ripped the legs out from under one of the creatures. It hit the deck with a thud and continued to flail helplessly even as he shifted to the next target.
Another one leapt forwards, its claw like fingers threatening to close around the salarian's throat even as Jacob fired and blasted it over the railing and, presumably to the ground far below their catwalk.
A click followed and the biotic unleashed a wave of dark energy that sent the last few stumbling backwards. Having brought some time, he shifted his focus to reloading his shotgun.
The thermal clip had barely struck the deck with a clatter, when he heard a loud growl. His gaze snapped up as the necromorphs came at them again, and he simply resumed firing along with the rest of his squad.
That was until something dropped off the catwalk above them and blocked his vision. He had enough time to register it was a human head, and presumed for an instant it might have been either knocked flying by the fighting, or maybe severed from one of the creatures.
A heartbeat later, he spotted the tentacles that had sprouted from its neck. That was the last thing he saw before those same tentacles coiled around his throat and started strangling the soldier.
Luckily the monster had to be close at hand as its appendages didn't have a great deal of reach. And even as the edges of his vision began to darken, he brought his shotgun up and smashed it into the head, a loud crack was heard and the tentacles released their grip a moment later as the head they belonged to was sent flying away.
Gasping for breath, the soldier didn't have time to rest as he raised his shotgun and resumed firing, though thankfully there was only a few of the creatures left. And between the squad they easily managed to best them without further injury.
"You alright?" Zaeed asked once the fighting finally stopped, Jacob simply nodded as one hand moved to rub his now aching neck.
"Yeah. What the hell was that thing anyway?" The others could only shrug slightly in response to Jacob's question. "Whatever, we need to keep moving. Before more of those things turn up."
Despite the risk, the squad broke into a sprint and dashed back through the twisting catwalks until they reached the transport platform. Jacob wasted no time hitting the button to take them back across the chamber.
"I got a question." Zaeed broke the silence as the platform jolted into motion. "What happens when we run out of clips?"
Can't say I'm entirely happy with how things turned out. Plus Tali's scene in general feels...Unneeded and out of place. But i kept it in so people knew what situation they were in for the time being.
I can't help but feeling I'm butchering Mordin...But i'm trying, hopefully i can get better with time and practice.
I really suck at describing characters and monsters . The *tall gaunt* necromorph is called a Divider, and yes it's head and limbs detach upon death and come back for round two.
And finally, sorry the chapter has a few loose ends, mainly with Miranda, Garrus and Thane. But it's 3am as of finishing this and. Well i figured it would be easier to leave it till next chapter and give them the spot light like i did Jacob's team this time. That was probably a really stupid idea .
Anyway, enough out of me, hope it's a good chapter. And hopefully the next one will be better lol.