France has lost the battle but she has not lost the war.
-Charles de Gaulle
Firebase Patient Hunter, Kahje - Captain Delanynder
March 20th, 2183
The alarm had sounded thirty-five minutes ago. It took Captain Delanyder and his men two and a half minutes to arrive at their CRISIS suits. It took another five minutes for the suits internal reactors to be warmed up from a cold start, something Delan noted for future review. In time of war, best to keep the suits warmed up. After that, it took 2.3 minutes for the suits to be loaded for transport, where Delan noted several areas that could be targeted for efficiency increases. In battle, every second counted. For several long minutes, Delan feared they would not mobilize in time.
But Admiral Still Waters had bought the 1st CRISIS Cadre 28 minutes. It turned out to be plenty of time for Delan's teams to mobilize, and for 2nd and 3rd Cadre's based in the other major oceans of Kahje to activate as well. The suits were the hanar's new weapon, powered armor that could operate in any environ, including deep ocean or the vacuum of space. Well armed and armored with tremendous speed, the CRISIS suits were the Primacy's secret weapons. Delan hoped they would give Kahje an advantage over the storm that had arrived.
Their foes were literally raining from the sky like enormous blackened rocks. They were drop pods of some sort, the first wave of enemy shock troops to try to invade the few continents Kahje bore as well as the tentacle grasp of floating cities that the hanar kept for the drell and other air breathers. They streaked in on Delan's LADAR, angry red streaks across the sky. Some few were blotted out by the defenses of Many Waters Meet, but these had already made it past the orbital defenses, and the last ditch efforts of the city were not enough to stem the oncoming tide.
"Shall we open fire Captain?" C1-V3, a drell named Banyi asked. Delen could see her in his mind's eye, delicately caressing the fire key on her guided missile system as her LADAR tone informed of the hard lock it had acquired.
"Negative. Wait until C1-V1 gives the order," Delan snapped. He was designation C1-V1, and while it was not strictly speaking polite to refer to himself as such, politeness played a far second to staying alive and in clear communication in battle.
He didn't elaborate further, he knew his troops were frustrated, but they would understand. They needed to wait until their enemy was in the water. There, the CRISIS suits would give them an advantage, and the waves would mask the origination of their fire. The skies above Kahje were not yet in enemy hands, but it would not do for their foe to spot missiles popping out of the water and trace an easy ballistic course back.
As it turned out, Captain Delan could have fired every last missile and not feared retaliation; the yahg tactical officers having only a dim comprehension of how to coordinate high orbit fire support. But that would only be discovered later.
As soon as the first pod splashed down into the waves, Delan ordered C1-S, his third formation of three suits, in to the attack while D squad provided cover. He was in command of four squads of three CRISIS per squad, and could not afford casualties.
Their foes burst from the pods on Delan's screen as he streamed in data from Lieutenant Jimuu, S1's CO. It took several seconds for Delan to realize he had no idea what he was looking at. The creatures were huge, bigger than a krogan, and fitted out with heavy armor. This of course, was a mistake on Kahje. In the water, the enemy simply sunk to the bottom and could not maneuver, while the eezo cores of the CRISIS suits allowed the pilot to adjust their buoyancy with ease and the jump jets propelled them through the water faster than even a hanar could swim.
The first foe was cut down by a burst from Jimuu's machine gun, a weapon that was comparable to the League's Mako fighting vehicles chain gun. Dark blood stained the water, and the other creatures blindly fired back. None of their rounds even impacted Jimuu, who had sped away on the currents while his squadmates closed in. A few short bursts from S2 and S3 put down the remaining seven members of the enemy squad with damage reported for either.
There was no time for congratulations as additional pods splashed down, several even striking Many Waters Meeting. There were more pods than Delan could easily count, and he quickly sectioned off the city perimeter into three parts, designating areas of responsibility for S, D, and K squads. The city proper Delan designated for V squad. It was the largest, but his squad was also the largest, having three regular suits in addition to the command suit Delan piloted.
"Good hunting," Delan said over an open channel, and a chorus of acknowledgement comm clicks echoed in his suit. His bioluminescence flickered with pride, then Delan led V squad into the fray.
Hanar dry-cities had very few open air locations, and were mostly made up of corridors connecting larger chambers. It was a tight squeeze for a CRISIS suit, and eliminated most of the mobility advantage that fighting in the open waters gave them.
"Enkindlers send that our barriers are as good as the wrench-graspers claim," Delan muttered to himself, then lead his squad into the first breech.
The compartment had already flooded from the damage caused by the impact of the enemy drop pod, and V squad ambushed the enemy as they tried to breach the flood doors that had sealed the area off. It was a slaughter, though Delan still winced as mass accelerator fire caused the suits barriers to crackle. It had taken R&D ages to come up with a barrier that would work underwater with any efficiency, but their efforts paid off as Delan's suit's armor remained unmarred.
"These things fight stupid," Banyi chuckled. "Whatever they are, they don't know the first thing about fighting underwater."
"Air-breathers seldom do," Delan chided gently. "But they may be fast learners. Stay vigilant."
The next breached section was above the waterline, and the suits had to crouch to hurry through the corridors. Delan thanked the wisdom of the Primark and the Voice that the civilians had been evacuated, otherwise there would have been bodies floating in the wreckage. The fight here was harder, the enemy was in an environment that gave them the advantage this time. Barriers crackled and flared as a hail of rounds peppered off the suits, which could only proceed single file down the narrow hall. Smoothed By Waves, V2, had point, and employed his missile launcher to take out a group of the enemy hiding behind a support beam. The beam collapsed and the hall bucked and twisted as it began to collapse into the waves, and even the suits stumbled as their gyro's failed to keep up with the sudden shift.
With a bellow of rage, the three surviving foes rushed down the tilting halls, firing as they came. Delan noticed for the first time just how large their claws were, and how they stood nearly as tall as a hunched over CRISIS suit. If there was one thing the hanar planners had not prepared for, it was melee combat. Why adapt to that in an age of mass accelerators?
Thankfully, what the planners had calculated was engagements in narrow hallways. Thanking the Enkindlers that it was not yet flooded fully, Delan engaged his flame thrower. Shields crackled and popped in the sudden inferno, and the already blackened armor of the foes turned bright red for a few short seconds as they let out howls of pain and rage. After only a few short seconds of fire, the enemy troops fell to the floor twitching and dying. The leader had been less than a meter away from Delan, and his tentacles twitched to imagine what might have happened if it had gotten its claws on him.
Another priority alert came in, and Delan swore. It was from the Voice's personal bodyguard, Kolyat Krios. She should already have evacuated, but apparently the Voice had stayed behind where she should not.
"The Enkindlers' call, and we answer," Delan informed V squad, and they bounded off through the corridors towards the source of the signal.
Maximum Security Containment, Many Waters Meet - Dr. Liara T'soni
The cells were empty, or full of bodies. The hanar didn't collect many truly dangerous prisoners; neither they nor the drell were given to the sorts of behaviors that made someone a threat to themselves and others at all times, but they had managed to collect a few. Relocating them had always been a sticky point since Samara's guest, by far the most dangerous of the lot, had taken up residence on Kahje. The justicar herself stood with clenched fists over the corpse of the drell guard, his face locked in rapture.
"After our last talk, I had hoped-" began Samara, then she cut herself off and turned to Liara. "Go. She is my burden. I will deal with...with the prisoner."
"There is no time Samara, we have to leave," Liara ordered. "There is nothing she can do but get herself killed or lie low. The Reapers are not famous for taking prisoners. We can find her after the battle."
"But the lives she-" Samara began, then took a deep breath.
"I am sorry, Samara. But we have to leave now. We've already delayed too long."
"Siha, we may find this one again," Thane Krios stated, speaking for the first time. "We found her once. We may find her again. And if her blood is spilled today, it is the judgment of the gods and not on your hands."
Samara turned around, her eyes tired. For the first time, she actually looked her 846 years. "There will be no retaking her Thane. This time, the judgment of the Goddess cannot be delayed. She is beyond redemption in this life."
"Then I will pray for her, as I always have these long years," Thane replied, his nictitating membranes flicking over his eyes.
The hall shuddered, and Liara had to steady herself as dust and water dripped from above. Kolyat, Thane's son and her dedicated bodyguard, slipped beside her and slipped a rebreather mask on to her face.
"The whole city is collapsing. I have alerted the armed forces. We must get you out of here my Lady," Kolyat declared.
"There is no need. We can make our way to the evacuation tunnels unassisted," Liara declared.
Just then, the door to the containment facility shuddered and bent with a dull thud. It was made from the same material as starship armor was, designed to protect against all forms of radiation and heat, and reinforced to withstand tremendous water pressure. And it had bent.
"There must be a heavy weapons crew on the other side. Come my Lady, quickly," Kolyat urged.
Liara allowed herself to be lead down the hall, as another dull thud struck the door, and it let out a groan.
"Please tell me the walls are just as strong as the door," Liara begged, and to her relief Samara nodded.
"It would be foolish to make a door indestructible while the walls are easily destroyed."
There was another bang and a sound like metal grinding, and a howling roar echoed down the hallways.
"Then again, nothing but what the Goddess makes is truly indestructible," Samara amended.
"To the back door, quickly," Thane urged, and the party fled down the tunnel as the door continued to shudder and bend. They skidded to a halt when the reinforced back door also began to shudder.
"Trapped then. We should not have come," Kolyat sighed.
"Patience my son. Kalahira has not abandoned us yet." Raising a finger to his ear, Thane inquired, "Captain, how long until your arrival?"
"This one fears we shall be delayed," the somewhat strained voice replied. "Heavy enemy movement in your area. We are proceeding with all due haste. Estimated time of arrival, four minutes."
Behind Liara, there was a loud crash and bang, and a roar that sounded somehow satisfied. Both asari lit off their biotics together, the blue glow playing off the shattered perma-glass and water puddles on the floor. "We do not have four minutes."
Thane and Kolyat both drew their weapons and took up flanking positions beside the two asari. Thane and Kolyat both had biotics of their own and were powerful fighters, but they lacked the sheer force the asari possessed. Thane preferred ambush and surprise as an assassin, and Kolyat had followed in his father's footsteps. Liara wasn't much of a brawler, not like Samara, but somehow her Red Tide heavy pistol had found its way into her hand while she prepared to unleash a biotic tempest.
"Careful my child, together," Samara cautioned. "I will strike first, detonate my field as soon as you can."
Liara took a calming breath and nodded. "Of course."
Calm vanished as the thing rounded the corner. When Liara was young, she had snuck out with some friends to watch a holo at the theaters about an ancient monster that had been awakened on some out of the way colony. It had been eyeless, with only a mouth for crunching bones and long claws for grasping screaming asari a long while it had visited her dreams when she was younger, and she still found the holo frightening if she was honest with herself.
The thing that was raging forwards resembled the monster only in passing, but it was close enough to make Liara shudder. It had no eyes, only a gaping maw and a head covered with spikes and fangs. Instead of hands or claws, it had two long scythes that resembled butcher's cleavers. Its flesh hung from its body, fetid and rotting. Cables and metal plates covered the areas where the flesh had rotted away entirely, and darkness unnatural clung to the creature as it rushed forward, howling in rage.
If Samara was as taken aback, she did not show it. She let loose a biotic wave that crashed into the creature and made it stumble, though it did not lose its footing. As if waking from a dream, Liara let out a scream of her own and hurled a sphere of pure kinetic force with all her might at the thing. The two biotic field collided as the creatures left arm exploded into chunks of rotting flesh and metallic splinters.
But it did not fall. The creature righted itself and came on, still bellowing its fury. There was a sharp crack as Thane discharged his high caliber sniper rifle, and flame blossomed in a crater in the things chest. Kolyat's shotgun barked, and the hole expanded. Liara and Samara hurled more spheres, and the thing finally fell only centimeters from Liara's feet.
Behind it, two more creatures howled and charged forward, just as vile and monstrous as the first.
The four broke apart, scattering as the creatures crashed through already shattered walls, their massive bladed appendages whistling through the air where the defenders had stood only moments before. Liara fired away with her pistol as she tried to lock one down with a stasis to disable its nervous system, but the creature shrugged the attack off as if it had been a blow from a child.
"No more subtlety!" Liara snarled, and rushed the creature. As it swung its blades in a horizontal arch at her head and midsection, Liara vaulted over it with biotics, catching it in a field of zero gravity. The creature lost traction, but did not flail about like most would. It kept it's eyes on the prey, using its feet to flip itself and launch at Liara.
"Detonate!" Liara shouted, landing and turning about to maintain the field. A biotic flare, from whom she did not see, struck her field and the creature was tossed through the air by the shock of impact. Knowing it wasn't dead, Liara hit the thing as it lay with a warp to weak its armor, then fired repeatedly into the weakened area. Still, the creature rose and charged again, and Liara had to dodge both it and its companion, which was leaking fluid from a massive hole in one leg. Neither seemed slowed by their wounds.
"Grenade!" Kolyat yelled, tossing an entire bandoleer with biotic strength at one creature. Liara raised a barrier to protect herself. The combined detonation tore one of the creatures arms off, falling to the ground, where it twitched until Liara detonated her barrier in its face.
That left one last creature, which was in a duel with Samara. The ancient justicar was blocking blows from the things blades with her hands, creating miniature barriers around them. At first it seemed Samara was doing so purely out of defense, until one blade snapped off as it hit the barrier and the monster howled in rage. The barriers were warping the blades as they struck, and Samara used the opening to strike at the things chest with both hands, sending it back nearly a full meter.
From the shadows Thane appeared, leaping onto the things back and firing his rifle into the gaping maw three times in rapid succession, until his rifle's heat sinks screamed in protest and he was forced to disengage. The creature fell to the ground, dead at last. Within moments, the corpses began to rapidly decay. Now the first creature to fall was nearly gone.
"Reaped necrosis," Liara muttered, hurrying forward to get a closer look. She wanted to watch as the bodies rapidly decayed, perhaps to take a few samples. She was interrupted by another loud bang at the back door.
Strong hands griped Liara's arm and propelled her away. "Not now doctor," Kolyat said, his voice strained. "We still have to get out of this one alive."
Maximum Security Containment, Many Waters Meet - Morinth
Her mother and the others hurried away, that drell trash and his son, along with that bitch her mother seemed to have taken as a replacement for her. No matter. Morinth would continue hiding until all the excitement died down, then find a quiet place to slip off planet and get away from the bitch mother. If possible, she might even kill her mother and take that pureblood slut. She was strong, and taking asari felt so good. Not to mention that nice little power boost.
The hypocrisy of Morinth's internal thoughts went unremarked by herself. She was pureblood herself, the daughter of Samara and another asari. Unlike most purebloods, Morinth, and her younger sisters, had developed the genetic mutation that had caused asari to place such a stigma on interspecies relations. Ardat'yakshi; demon of the night winds. They were asari on the surface, but Morinth believed herself to be so much more than that. Instead of the pleasure the normal asari meld brought to its recipient, when an ardat'yakshi melded it killed the partner without fail. Taking all of the victim's life force into the ardat'yakshi was the true purpose of their melds. In ancient times, some ardat'yakshi had ruled as sorcerous queens, their biotics stronger than any other asari's, and growing stronger with each victim. They could live for nearly three times as long as a normal asari with regular feedings, and with that age came even greater power. Though she was young, Morinth was already stronger than Liara or even her mother, a matriarch of great power.
In her own mind, Morinth was the genetic and evolutionary next step of the asari, the glory of her people and their rightful ruler. In reality, ardat'yakshi were entirely sterile and a genetic dead end. The same mutation that made their meld kill and give them strength rendered them unable to reproduce, even with another asari. If another initiated and controlled the meld, it was just as deadly as if Morinth had. That was how she'd killed her guard. When he'd come for her, she'd used her powers to influence his mind, then had him, right then and there. In the confusion, it took nearly a minute for the other guards to notice. By then, it was too late. Morinth had gotten the powerboost, broken the inhibitors on her, then killed everyone. Some with force, others with melds. It had been delicious.
Now more of those beautiful creature flowed into the room. Morinth saw the grace and purpose in their design. Everything extraneous had been removed: they were pure killing machines, like her. She wondered what it would be like to meld with one.
Her revelry was broken by a grating word. "Asari."
It had gurgled out of the maw of one of the creatures, and it was now pointing a blade at her. That was impossible. Morinth had taken a stealth belt, and was invisible to both the eyes and electronic senses.
"Asari," the thing grated again.
Another creature, this one smaller, but like the other save for the fact that it had a real head and hands, came over towards Morinth, sniffing. Ah. That was how they had done it. A stealth belt could do a lot of things, but not hide your scent. She disabled the belt and stepped forward to caress the strange creature, reaching up to its massive height to do so.
"You've found me, love. I'm an asari. What are you going to do with me?"
"You...you must go to the herald," the thing managed, actually speaking accented Palavanese of all things. "He seeks you, asari. You and that prothean spirit. You will be his, and the Dark Gods as well."
"I must do nothing but what I will," Morinth purred. "And I am no ones." More of the things were gathering around, both the bladed ones and the lesser beings. She was going to die. But if she died, she was going to die as her victims had: in rapture. "Embrace ME!"
The rush of feeding filled her. It was better than all the drugs Morinth had ever tried put together. Better than all the concerts, better than all the wonders she had seen. It never lasted long enough though, and Morinth sighed as the body slumped to the floor. She expected to be drilled full of holes or ripped to shreds. Instead, the figures around her knelt.
"Forgive us, Dark Lady!" one of them growled in bad Palavanese. "We did not realize you were a priestess of the Dark Gods, blessed with their terrible power! We are but your servants. Our lives are yours. We beg you, let us take you to the Herald. He longs for you and the spirit you hold."
Morinth smiled.
Authors note:
Happy new year! Some of you may notice that I haven't been as good as I was about answering reviews. Things have been busy as always over the holidays, and I will try to get back to you on future reviews. No promises though, but I do want to thank everyone for their support! It's excellent support from my readers that makes me want to keep this story going! As always, thanks for reading.