Chapter X: Thermopylae
"I believe the future shall judge us for the events of that day. No doubt, they will condemn us as if we were the devil incarnate. But there is one thing necessary to put this into perspective and that is we did it without a choice. We had no choice but to fight. We simply had no idea that we weren't the only ones manipulating the galaxy.
Operation Thermopylae: Minus Three Hours
The Phoenix emerged out of Slip-Space, the Freighter drifting into the Widow Nebula. The shutters rolled up, revealing what lay outside. They looked down and saw the full majesty of the Citadel before them. Around the massive space station, hundreds of ships were drifting, either commercial freighters or warships. Here they were at last.
"I'm reading no signs of echoing," their navigation officer reported. "No Slip-Space echoes at all save our own."
"That'd be impossible," Captain James Eldred answered, looking at the screen. "A civilization this size couldn't get by without Slip-Space."
"We were looking for a surprise, uncle," Lissa commented, still in awe.
"Well, if they can build all this without going faster than light, then I'm sure there'll be many more surprises," Eldred answered.
"We've received a communication's package, Captain," Navigation again reported, the man doubling on the small ship as communications. "We're being directed to dock with the ring central to the station. We'll be greeted there and immediately go onto undertaking the Council's plan."
"Bring us in," Eldred ordered.
Operation Thermopylae: Minus Two Hours
"I repeat, you are not cleared to land," traffic control insisted. "All docks are in lock-down for the next twelve hours, do you understand?"
"Traffic Control, we cannot acknowledge that," the freighter Yiomani insisted. "We have an emergency situation. There will be a bigger disaster if we aren't allowed to dock. Our systems are about to overload unless we shut them down and we cannot drift with them disabled either. Please clear us for landing."
"Fine, we acknowledge that, Yiomani," the traffic controller worked away on the holographic display, clearing the freighter to dock with the Citadel. "Proceed to dock seven-zero-four, power down and await emergency response."
"Thank you very much, control. Proceeding to land," Yiomani answered. The traffic controller sighed, disabling communications.
"Rust buckets like that shouldn't be allowed near the station," he complained, "especially when they're a damn danger to go up right above us."
"You think you have problems?" his co-worker answered. "Dozen ships showed up all claiming to be Spectres. Had to have them all pass security checks for them all to land. Then we have that giant floating piece of metal that's docked with the Presidium itself! Just what the hell is going on this week?"
"Whatever it is, I don't like it."
There was a hammering at the door, and the controller looked up at the monitor. There were four C-Sec agents outside, the leader waving his badge. He hit the controls for the sealed door to open and the second those officers stepped inside, they pulled out their weapons.
"Wait, no!"
A shotgun went off.
Operation Thermopylae: Minus Five Minutes
They all stood among the crowds that flooded the Presidium. It was probably the most populous the place had been since the Citadel's old glory days. Tali stood among a dozen fellow representatives of the nations aligned with the Citadel Council. They were off to the side of course, a mere symbolic gesture as the Council stood much more closer. Before the stage were hundreds of reporters all training their vision upward as they waited for the announcement rumored to be made for the past few days.
Finally, the Councillors approached the podium and Councillor Dominic Osoba spoke.
"You have long waited to hear what we have to say here," Osoba told them, "but today, it is not the Council's role to tell you. We have been in communication with one captain, named James Eldred, a representative of a world unknown to us. We believe that he best knows what you need to hear. We welcome the Captain unto the stage.
His appearance was much more surprising than this. An elderly Human in a sandy-colored jacket stood up and approached the podium, escorted by two guards in rather anarchic armor.
"Hello," the Ambassador stated, looking down at the paper in front of him. "My name is Captain Eldred of the Phoenix, representing the people of the world of Venezia. I was personally hesitant to do this, but those important have asked me to to speak to you today. To illuminate you to something. See, where I come from is somewhere else entirely. There, mankind is enslaved. Mankind is enslaved to a system and-"
At that very second, a bullet went through Eldred's skull and the man fell. It was in that split second, a portion of time that seemed to stand still. It was that moment where everything flashed before you. When you were wrestling hand to hand with a Husk in some muddy pit on Earth. When you almost got your head torn off by Rachni. When you were an inch away from having you head blown off by a Geth Sniper. It was that very moment and there was another sniper today. It was in that second you acted and survived.
Tali threw herself forward, knocking into someone; anyone, to save them, and they both fell just as two bullets whizzed through the air, just grazing her kinetic barriers which flared up. That next second, the explosions went off and everything became so very blurry.
Operation Thermopylae: Zero Hour
It happened all across the Citadel. The rebel freighter exploded as an ONI Prowler fired a rain of missiles from under the darkness of Active Camo. The ship caught fire, flaring up before exploding in nothing but debris.
Baal opened fire on the guards such as the Phoenix exploded. The mass accelerated rounds cut through the non-shielded Insurrectionist troopers like scissors through paper. They screamed out while their comrades ducked into cover, returning fire with MA5B Assault Rifles. May was right behind him, using her Biotic powers to lift the rebels off the ground before pummeling them into the ground. Vicus stood back, calmly picking off the few that remained.
Within a few seconds, twenty rebels had been slaughtered by a four-man fire-team of Spartans. Tempest Squad moved up, finishing off some lingering rebels who'd barely survived the fall; their bones shattered. They moved to the nearby elevator, moving away from where the rebel guards formally guarded the entrance to the Phoenix's docking bay and towards the upper levels of Presidium.
As the elevator moved, Lena unfolded and prepared a Viper Sniper Rifle, putting in anti-personnel rounds. It was assembled by time the elevator doors rolled open and Baal unloaded his rifle in the waiting C-Sec officers. A few managed to return fire but Tempest made quick work of the unarmored police. With them cleared aside, they moved to rally point Bravo, where ten squads worth of Spartans had assembled. Each team detached a sniper, in Tempest's case being Lena. The Quarian took her position among the higher levels of the Presidium along with nine other Spartans, already selecting and picking off targets ranging from C-Sec Commanders to surviving Ambassadors.
The rest of the strike force split into two columns, one heading to assault the Citadel Archives and loot it for items ONI had labelled worthwhile for research while the other half went straight to strike at the Spectre Offices to destroy whatever was left of the Citadel's Special Forces capabilities that weren't massacred on the ground a moment ago.
Operation Thermopylae: One Minute
Debris was strewn all across the Presidium and visibility had gone to hell. Dust that had sat undisturbed for months was finally given the shove and was everywhere. Even with his helmet already on, Garrus couldn't see anything beyond twenty meters. Civilians, C-Sec Officers and others lay incapacitated, still stunned by the explosion. Then the bullets came, whizzing through the whirlwind of chaos and cutting down everyone present.
Then came the noise of thousands shouting, yelling and screaming accompanied by the hail of gunfire. The mob surged away from the massacre, almost running over Garrus who stood his ground. He wanted to upholster his side-arm and return fire but there were too many still in his way and he couldn't get a look on where the attack was coming from. The Turian charged forward, shoving every in his path aside as he pushed his way to the stage. It had been the center of the explosion that looked like it had done more to confuse than to kill.
The sandy-grey armored guards stumbled back to their feet, raising their bulky assault rifles before they were gunned down by panicky C-Sec Officers, who turned their weapons on the arrivals. It had escalated into a firefight now, with a voice screaming at them to cease fire. Garrus was forced to duck behind the podium as bullets impacted on his kinetic barriers. He looked around and saw a C-Sec Officer fall, the blood spluttering off his neck indicating a bullet that came from above. The C-Sec Officers began falling in droves now as so did the ambassadorial guards.
Garrus cursed, looking for anyone. He only could spot some of his fellow Spectres he'd worked with on earlier missions lying dead in the ambush. Otherwise, he couldn't see anything. He decided at this moment, the best option was to fall back and out of this killing field. Garrus spun around and ran back the way he came across the Presidium plaza, gunfire following him.
"Dammit! Cease fire!" a familiar voice shouted as a few C-Sec Officers took pot-shots at the Turian Spectre. Garrus headed straight for that voice, ducking behind cover beside him.
"Bailey," Garrus noted, the C-Sec Executive crouching there along with a few other surviving C-Sec Officers.
"What the hell is going on?" Bailey questioned, firing out from cover. "We're being attacked from everywhere."
"We need to fall back," Garrus told him, "get out of the open."
"What do you think I've been doing?" Bailey shouted back at him. "We need to rally somewhere."
There was a thud and another C-Sec Officer collapsed, a bullet going straight through his helmet. Bailey cursed.
"Get out of here! Go, go!" Bailey screamed, waving them back as they retreated out into a corridor. Assault rifle fire followed, cutting down a few unarmored officers as they ran. Garrus grabbed Bailey and placed himself between the Executive and the incoming fire, managing to protect him as they got into a corridor and out fire.
They raced down the corridor, seeing an elevator been held open by a waiting C-Sec Officer. Garrus and Bailey quickly bordered the elevator, which the Turian officer immediately punched in the button for the top level of C-Sec Headquarters. Bailey breathed a sigh of relief.
"That was close," Bailey muttered.
"There's likely more," Garrus told him. "There won't just be a dozen. If this is an attack, they'll be in the hundreds."
"I'm aware," Bailey told him before turning around. "Officer. Where are you from?"
"42nd Response Team, sir," the officer answered, gripping his M-8 Avenger.
"The response teams?" Bailey said. "There're already on site? Good. Maybe we have better chance of putting this down now."
"Sorry, but I don't recognize you sir," The officer responded.
"I'm the god damn head of C-Sec," Bailey told him. "You must be green not to know that."
That immediately had the officer throw the end of his rifle into Bailey's face. He saw it coming and threw himself back, but wasn't quick enough in time to avoid being smashed across the face and sent tumbling to the ground. Garrus immediately jumped on the rogue officer, who struggled against him. Their traitor spun around and sent Garrus flying into the side of the lift, cracking the steel. The Spectre didn't go down, but immediately got back up and tackled the rogue officer. They struggled again, and the traitor slowly got Garrus into a choke-hold.
Garrus's mind raced, with fury and terror. He was bloody tough dammit and had wrestled with Reaper husks who held nothing back, but this green Turian who shouldn't be even out of boot-camp yet must have had bones of titanium. The traitor slowly tightened his hold and Garrus began to choke. Spluttering for air, he slowly began to stop struggling.
He had never been more pleased to hear that elevator door ping in his life. It rolled open to reveal half a dozen C-Sec officers.
"Kill em!" Bailey shouted from down on the ground, pointing at the rogue officer. The C-Sec squad opened fire with pistols. Their attacker tossed Garrus to the ground and took his own rifle, opening fire. While rounds aimed at their traitor were continuously were soaked up by his kinetic barriers, the C-Sec officers were torn to pieces. They died there and then, but it bought them time. Garrus threw all his might behind his legs and kicked the ankles of their traitor, who collapsed to the ground.
"Out now!" Garrus stumbled to his feet and chucked Bailey out the door, hitting the button for the bottom floor before slipping out the closing doors. The elevator went downward, cutting them off from their attacker for now. Bailey limped over to beside the fallen officers and knelt down, looking at their wounds.
"Dead," Bailey muttered, "all of them dead."
"We need to move on," Garrus told him, not trying to think of the implications from what he just encountered. He had wrestled with probably the strongest opponent he'd ever encountered, who hit his targets every time and had better equipment to boot.
"Yes," Bailey answered, standing back up. "Come on. This way."
They rushed down the corridor and ran into about a few dozen C-Sec officers pointing rifles at them.
"Stand down," the leading officer; a Commissioner, ordered. "Executive Bailey? I'm glad you showed up. We're being attacked from everywhere."
"Whoever was guarding the elevators just shot dead, Commissar," Garrus told him. "Lock them down."
"Do it," Bailey added. A nearby C-Sec officer typed away at the console, locking down the lifts and also sealing the door behind them. Garrus didn't like it. They stood in the same area where Thane had died at the hands of that Cerberus assassin. It was littered now with a dozen dead bodies of C-Sec staff. The blinds had been rolled down, protecting them from outside eyes.
"Give me an update," Bailey ordered him.
"I have no clue. All our communications are jammed. The emergency line has been cut too," the Commissioner explained. "With what's going on outside, it's best you look yourself."
He flicked on a surveillance screen. A camera looked down over the entire Praesidium and showed what was going on below. From what he was seeing, it wasn't much a battle and more like a massacre of loyalist forces. Squads of C-Sec Officers were gunned down by their own comrades and snipers picked off everyone not taking cover. Garrus growled, his mind racing to figure out the situation. He remembered what he'd been told and immediately knew what he had to do.
"Bailey," Garrus shouted. The C-Sec officer continued to sway, staring off into the distance and not answering. He couldn't bring his eyes away from it. No doubt there was repeats of the Cerberus incursion going on in his head as well as the fall of the station to the Reapers. "Snap out of it!"
"Yes," Bailey answered, still not looking away from the violence going on down below. "What the hell are we supposed to do? They're everywhere."
"We need to insure the safety of the Council and the Ambassadors," Garrus told him. "If my fellow Spectres are still holding position, then they'll be pinned down in the old Embassies. We need to break through to that position."
"I don't know what'll be worse," Bailey muttered, "being shot by traitors along the way or being shot by our own side when we poke out heads out."
"They'll know who we are," Garrus insisted. "I'll lead this. Saving them is our top priority."
"We're with you, sir," the C-Sec Commissioner told him. Bailey sighed.
"Of course," Bailey answered, "we'll support you. Now what do you want us to do exactly?"
"Commissioner, take ten officers and secure the C-Sec Academy lobby," Garrus ordered him. "Sit tight and wait for us. I want a clean escape route to the docking bay and some shuttles. If you can, rally as many officers as possible. Meanwhile, I'll lead the rest of us across the plaza and to the Embassy. I've got the equipment to distract those snipers."
"Yes sir," the Commissioner answered and pointed to a nearby squad. "You men, with me."
"I guess I'll be helping you lead this movement," Bailey told him, checking over his own pistol. "We're about forty strong. Since everyone knows me, hopefully we'll be able to rally a lot more. Now how exactly are we going to not get shot getting to the Embassies?"
"I'll be providing cover fire," Garrus told him, grabbing hold of the Widow Sniper Rifle on his back with one hand and handing over his bandolier with the other hand. "Plus, take my smoke grenades for when things get risky. I have a dozen and they'll be good enough cover."
"Got it," Bailey took the grenades and hefted the serious weight. "I'll trust you to get us across that plaza from here to the Embassies."
"Trust me, I know what I'm doing," Garrus said, checking his rifle. "We're on the same channel. Send a signal when to begin my cover fire."
"Moving then," Bailey told him, and waved for the rest of the C-Sec officers to follow him. "Unlock one of those elevators. All right everyone! We're pulling the diplomats out of the fire. We're going to cross that plaza!"
Operation Thermopylae: Ten Minutes
"Might I say, the exact timing of that bullet was a master stroke," Elisa Thompson commented, already regarding the various images and arranging them on the screens. "I haven't done this work myself for a while, but it may just take another masterful arrangement."
"I wouldn't call it anything today masterful," Curtyn replied, sighing and looking out the view screen as the UNSC Cain orbited the Citadel unseen. "I'd call it cutting damn close. It would have been so damn easier if we shot him before this all mess began."
"Ah, but then what would we have, Admiral?" Elisa said, smiling. "It was a god send that Loki stole that transcript that Captain Eldred already submitted to the Council. Now, it has all been perfectly arranged."
A video played out on screen, straight from the cameras in front of the podium. The Insurrectionist Captain coughed, finding his paper and looking down at it. He finally gathered his voice.
"My name is Captain Eldred. I was personally hesitant to do this, but those important have asked me to to speak to you today. To illuminate you to something. See, where I come from is somewhere else entirely. There, mankind is enslaved. Mankind is enslaved to a system-"
The footage was cut together in a way that suggest C-Sec started moving in before a bullet went straight through him. There were a few underlying changes to the presentation but none detectable by anything less intelligent than an AI that the Citadel species loathed to even look upon. As far as it looked, the captain began making a threat and then was shot by C-Sec as things turned hostile. At the very bottom of the screen, it was proclaimed: Cerberus sends a chilling message. Her work done, Elisa just slid it over and began the upload.
"Take that Loki, and put it on the delay of maybe, ten minutes max until you send it to every major media center. By time the dust settles, the entire galaxy will already be convinced who was really behind the attack today and something tells me there won't be any real news for a few hours yet," Elisa commanded the AI and the work of the Propaganda Department of ONI was done for the day; spinning the news for a whole new populace.
Operation Thermopylae: Thirty Minutes
Garrus breathed in, poking his rifle out the blinds and looked down the scope. He took the situation in and easily found the enemy snipers. Previously, he'd thought they might be around half a hundred, but from a more analysing search, he could guess that there was in reality, only ten. They were military trained for sure and shot awfully fast, but they were amateurs without experience, or at least experience shooting in an urban environment like the Citadel, where a shot could have come from a million different places.
It wasn't hard to track down where one sniper was positioned. Zooming in, he saw the familiar blue armour of a C-Sec officer, a Salarian wielding a Viper rifle. He certainly wasn't C-Sec from the looks of his hardware; a very high-tech looking headset. He puled the cross-hairs over the officer's head and pulled the trigger.
The shot hit some sort of strange golden kinetic barrier and the sniper rolled out of sight and into cover. Damn. A shot from a Widow Rifle was usually enough to kill any target. That kinetic barrier had popped though, so next time that sniper wouldn't be so lucky. As predicted, the other snipers failed to locate their attacker.
Garrus targeted again, this time surveying the opposition. He saw a collection of rogue C-Sec officers, a bunch of Humans, Turians and Salarians. He dropped his theory of a Cerberus attack with a few mercenaries thrown into the mix. No, they didn't employ this many of other species. This had to be the Leviathans. How else could they get so many traitors of all species if there wasn't indoctrination at work? If they were attacking the Citadel now, then this could be the fate of the entire galaxy at stake and the Council had refused to listen to his warnings.
"Alright, we're in position," Bailey told him.
"Those snipers aren't going down easily as I hoped, but I can distract them," Garrus replied. "You'll be facing whatever ground forces there on the plaza alone. Watch out down there."
"Got you," Bailey answered. "Moving now."
Garrus covered them, firing at a Human sniper. Again, he hit a kinetic barrier and the Human ducked back into cover. Another sniper took a rough pot shot on their shooter's position, a window not far from Garrus shattering. Withdrawing his rifle, he quickly moved positions to another window further down before taking his next shot. He hit another sniper, sending him tumbling back. He'd gotten their attention now because now they focused all their fire power on him. A bullet whizzed past his head and impacted behind him. Garrus leaped down the floor, taking cover as dozens more followed it up.
"Executive, we are pinned down!" the Commissioner communicated to them. "We are holding position at the Academy lobby, but we are under attack-" The COM went dead silent.
"Commissioner? Commissioner, are you there?" Bailey radioed back with no response.
He moved position again, but they had him covered now. There wasn't a place he could pop up without immediately being hit. There was still sounds of sniper fire and Garrus wondered if they'd switched their attention to Bailey's officers now. He couldn't risk that. Garrus popped out the window again and aimed down the scope. The first sniper he saw was wearing N7 Armour and wielding his own Widow Rifle. Before he could react, a bullet shattered his shields and went straight through his chest. Garrus took a gasp of air and collapsed.
Operation Thermopylae: Twenty Minutes
She reached over the C-Sec officer's head and wrapped her arms around his neck. He struggled for a brief moment before the Spartan snapped it with an audible crack. Ellie quietly lowered the body to the ground, motioning for the squad to switch back to their silenced Locust sub-machine guns. The three man Hornet team moved quickly over the bodies and reached their objective, a control panel. Ketei flexed his hands eagerly, punching the lock and smashing the control box open. The Bartarian reached inside and began cutting some wires. After a few seconds, he hit the reset button.
The lights in the service tunnel flicked off and they continued to flick off until everything beyond the Presidium was in darkness. Hornet could already hear the screeching sound of C-Sec vehicles trying to navigate the tunnels. There was no rest of them however, and they immediately moved onward to their next target. Hornet killed two dozen officers between here and there.
They linked up with Paladin Team in a C-Sec vehicle bay filled with already smoldering squad cars. With only a thumbs up, the two teams got to work and hopped aboard two squad cars that Paladin had left untouched when they slaughtered their way through this C-Sec station. They flew out of the now lightness tunnels and into the Presidium, their FOF tags protecting them from friendly fire. The battle waged on around them, across every level of the station.
They touched down at a fortified point where C-Sec was rallying together. The Spartans stepped out the vehicles, as the C-Sec officers raised their weapons. There was a fixed weapons placement that focused on them, enough explosive power to blow up the squad cars and the fake C-Sec agents along with them.
"Identification!" the Asari C-Sec officer shouted at them.
"11th Station, Lower Presidium," Ellie answered, reading aloud the identity of a woman she'd killed less than an hour ago. She held out the identification card. "Captain Marion Bennet."
"Ma'am, we can't be too sure," the nervous Asari officer told her, looking at the tampered with identification card which checked out perfectly. She was still only fifteen but a lifetime of training had made the Spartan a hell of a lot grittier and older looking. With Augmentation, she towered over even the Turian.
"They haven't opened fire on us yet," a Turian officer told her. "If they were traitors, they'd already have shot us by now. Why are you here, Captain?"
"11th Station has been overrun," Ellie told them, her tone never betraying the cover story. "We heard communications from the Executor to rally at the designated points. Whose taken command?"
"Commissioner Theodore, captain," the Turian officer explained, "he's holding down the Academy offices downstairs."
"What's he doing down there?" Ellie questioned.
"I couldn't guess, captain, but I assume it's to clear an access path to the Academy's docking bays," the officer told her. "We're holding position here."
Ellie checked her Head's Up Display, displayed to her eyes directly via implant. Green lights flashed as both Paladin and Hornet confirmed themselves in position. She took a breath for a second, waiting for the moment before green lighting the movement.
Ketei shot the Asari with full-burst from his Assault Rifle, killing the C-Sec Officer immediately. Ellie did likewise with the Turian, while Paladin secured that fixed-gun placement. Dozens more C-Sec Officers charged out, closing the distance in an attempt to use Humbler-like devices; stun rods. Ellie grabbed the wrist on an incoming Human officer and twisted it, the man screaming out as he released his weapon and Ellie swiped it up. The Spratan immediately swung it and cracked the officer's skull with it.
A Turian barged into her but buckled when Ellie shoved her off, before stunning the C-Sec Officer with a direct strike from the Stun-Baton. Drawing out her combat knife, Ellie slit the Turian's neck while she was still in a daze. Two more officers attacked and Ellie fought them with Baton in one hand and the Combat Knife in the other. It was simply a matter of one hit to stun before finishing them off though most Human officers died on impact of the baton against their weak skulls. Ellie eventually tossed the baton aside, grabbing an officer's arm and yanking it, shattering the bone. As he screamed and collapsed, his comrades started to get the message and ran for their lives, only to be gunned down by Paladin as they turned C-Sec's own defenses around.
Ellie looked and saw Ketei similarly surrounded by fallen C-Sec officers; the Bartarian looking quite pleased. Ellie couldn't help but be happy as well. This is what they were built for, and this is what they lived for.
"Hornet Squad with me," Ellie commanded, "We're going to eliminate that Commissar and close off that route of escape."
"All squads be aware, enemy reinforcements have arrived and are inbound in ETA of one hundred. Confirm objectives, now."
"This is Locust Squad, one Insurrectionist target remaining. We have three other witnesses still on the move. We are moving to eliminate."
"Roger, Locust. Status of Council?"
"They've evaded for now, command. Avenger Team shall have it done within ten."
"Roger. Eliminate all targets then cease offensive action immediately. All non-essential squads are to begin extraction as soon as possible."
Operation Thermopylae: One Hour
He gasped, reaching out and clutching where the bullet had gone through his armor plate. Garrus quickly activated his OMNI-Tool and applied Medi-Gel, the substance taking the pain away. He stumbled back to his feet, barely able to keep upright.
"Hello? Is anybody on this channel? This is Normandy to the Citadel, do you read?" He heard familiar voice and thought he must be imagining it. Ignoring it, he picked his rifle up but the voice continued. "This is the Normandy! Can anyone hear me?"
"Joker?" Garrus muttered, activating his communicator. "Is that you?"
"Damn straight it's me! Garrus! Just the person I was looking for. We're in need of some help."
"Here I was hoping you were the Calvary," Garrus answered. "We're in some trouble too."
"We've just come through the Widow Nebula and all channels are shutdown. What's going on?"
"It's an attack, just like before," Garrus told him. "Why are you here?"
"Well, I've got a big-ass ship on my tail and I thought the safest place in the galaxy might be the place to loose it, but as it turns out, nope. I think I've lost them for now, but there's another similar looking one hanging around beyond the Relays. Hasn't seen us yet though. What can I do for you?"
"I need extraction," Garrus told him. "The Citadel fleet is boarding the station to put this thing down, but I need to get out."
"All the docks are locked down. There isn't exactly a place for me to toss out the landing plank."
"I've got one," Garrus answered, activating his OMNI-Tool and sending him the coordinates. "Be there, exactly in twenty. We'll be waiting."
"Ah, I like it. Alright, I'll be there to pull your boots out of the fire one last time."
Garrus deactivated the communicator, relieved one bit for small miracles. Private transport out would mean bypassing the security forces flooding into the station. Nobody could be trusted in this situation. He checked over his armor systems and found everything functional. The Medi-Gel had done its job and he had recovered.
Peeking out the blinds, he found that the snipers had gone silent. There were still small firefights raging throughout the Presidium, but the chaos was almost over. Hierarchy troops had already appeared, forcing C-Sec forces to disarm. Garrus knew he didn't have much time left. He activated the Raptor systems and silently wished he'd practiced more. He pulled out his Predator Pistol and shot out the window, then flew through.
He kept the boosters on for five seconds before spacing them out a little, allowing him to drop inch by inch so that he wasn't hundreds of meters above the Presidium's ground level. By time he hit the ground, he'd perfectly spaced out his fuel to allow him to cross half the distance between one wall of the Presidium and the other. Racing across the park lands towards the old Embassies, many C-Sec officers called out for him to freeze and some even fired. He didn't have time to stop.
Outside the embassies, there was a firefight between dozens of C-Sec troops and infiltrators who were slowly withdrawing, but weren't letting up as to allow them to regroup with the special forces squads holding the Embassy lobby. Garrus linked up with Bailey, thankful that he was alive.
"Good to see you made it one piece too," Bailey remarked. "We can't get inside, not with that covering fire on us."
"Whose in there?" Garrus questioned.
"Ambassadors. Council's already gone to be evacuated. I'm assured as long as we keep up the fight, they'll be safe enough," Bailey explained. "Hierarchy troops will be here any second now."
"I'm going in there," Garrus told him. Bailey looked skeptical, but resolved not to question it.
"Alright, we'll cease fire for a short moment," Bailey told him, activating his communicator. "Spectre coming into the lobby. Don't fire on him."
Garrus didn't wait, jumping over the barrier and activating his armor systems to boost across the open ground, evading incoming fire from the enemy. The guards obeyed their commands and allowed him to run into the embassies. Elite Citadel Guard kept their weapons trained on him.
"Spectre Vakarian," the Asari captain spoke up, recognizing him. "It's good that you arrived. Only three Spectres with us are alive."
"What's happened?" Garrus questioned.
"We were split, and infiltrators took us by surprise," the Guard Captain explained. "Spectre Bau is upstairs, keeping watch."
"I'm heading up to see him," Garrus told them, going straight past and up the stairs. He reached the door and hit the control panel, opening it up. Inside the locked down office was a small party of Ambassadors, particularly the Elcor, Geth and then there was Tali; drenched equally in dust and blood.
"Vakarian," Bau greeted him. "I'm glad to see you. Been hell all over again."
Garrus looked around and saw the two other Spectres. The Asari T'neer was still standing while the other, the Turian Kylre was left wounded, leaning against the desk with some serious wounds. Bodies of various Citadel Guard members lay scattered around the room.
"I barely made it," Garrus told him.
"According to records, you weren't even in Citadel Space," Bau replied. "Glad yes, but why are you here? Things are being mopped up far as I'm hearing. Looks like a retreat thus far."
"I have a mission," Garrus said, stepping past. Tali finally turned and looked at him, certainly not amused.
"What are you doing here?" Tali questioned.
"Listen, trust me," Garrus answered. "Liara is sure that you're in danger. We need to get off the Citadel, now."
"I might ask why Liara told you firstly if I'm the one in danger. I think I can handle myself," Tali answered. "I don't think we'll be going anywhere."
"Vakarian, it's advisable that we don't leave this room. It's regulation for the safety of personnel," Bau told him. "You can trust us of all people."
"I do, but I don't trust the people who're coming," Garrus replied. "This isn't a hunch. This is fact. You are in danger, and it's more than just your life on the line. We need to leave."
Tali looked at him, eyes burning behind that mask. It wasn't all hatred, but there was still mistrust. "You're going to explain this when we have time. We're do you think we can escape to?"
"Joker's bringing in the Normandy. We just need to head to the evacuation point," Garrus told her. He was getting frustrated.
"This is out of the question," Bau told him. "As much as I respect your capabilities, you can't go anywhere."
"I'll trust my friend," Tali answered. "If it's dangerous for me to be here, it's best I get out your way. Let's go the Normandy then."
He blinked for a moment, surprised before regaining himself. Garrus nodded a silent thanks and they headed towards the door. Bau grabbed his shoulder.
"First thing's first, I'm not letting you head off alone," Bau told him, turning to his fellow Spectres. "T'neer, you and Kylre can keep watch here. I'm assisting Spectre Vakarian." Bau turned back to Garrus. "Secondly, how you think we're going to get out? You may have gotten past those shooters alive with that gadgetry, but we don't have the same equipment."
Garrus reached down and remembered he was short any smoke grenades. It was a damn miracle that Joker had shown up because no doubt that their escape path to the C-Sec Academy docking bays was no longer secure. He actually had no clue how he'd be able to get them out of here.
"If I may, Spectre-Vakarian," the Geth Ambassador stepped forward. "This platform can draw fire, allowing you to escape."
"Out of the question," Bau answered, "sacrificing-"
"It is not in anyway harmful," the Geth answered. "There is only the minimal programs left inside this platform to keep it running. We retreated to our server before the attack began. This platform is easily replaced. You are not so."
"Alright then," Garrus told them. "You'll draw fire while we head northward, past the C-Sec line. Follow behind me."
They headed down the stairs, passing by the Citadel Guard. They objected, but Garrus told them to hold position.
The Geth Ambassador went out first. Bullets whizzed out, impacting on the Ambassador's considerably shielding. By time those shields collapsed in a hail of incoming fire, Garrus, Tali and Bau slipped out northward and then out of their sights as the Geth platform exploded into a hail of sparks before collapsing to the ground.
Racing past C-Sec, they headed straight for an elevator that would take them downward. All in, Garrus hit the button and they sped away from the Presidium ground floor. Garrus held his rifle firmly, joining with Bau on covering the door. Tali did so too with a Predator pistol. He was sure that Ambassadors were never meant to bear arms on the Citadel, but he was sure that today wasn't the day to adhere to that rule.
The doors opened, revealing an empty corridor. They jogged through another door, bringing them into the Scenic View area that he hadn't visited since he first met Shepard decades ago. From here, you could see all the Wards in their shattered and empty glory. The area was still abandoned, collecting dust.
"The extraction point?" Tali questioned, looking around. "This doesn't go to any docks!"
"We're making an exit here," Garrus told them, activating his OMNI-Tool and jamming the door behind them shut. "Just wait."
A few seconds after, there was a thudding outside. "Whoever's inside! We are Hierarchy forces, and if you do not open that door, we will breach with force!"
"Get ready," Garrus told them, training his weapon on the door.
"But they're Hierarchy!" Tali questioned, not going along with this.
"They aren't," Garrus muttered, aiming down his sights. He'd been Hierarchy, knew protocol on breaching situations and that certainly wasn't it. The door soon sparked as they cut through it, severing the control panel and directly forcing it open. Coming through it were Turians in jet black armor that he'd never seen before, wielding Vindicator Battle Rifles. Certainly not Hierarchy.
Garrus opened fire, cutting one down. The attacker's shields collapsed and bullets went through him. The others pulled back, taking cover beyond the door. Bau and Tali joined in, firing on the attackers. There was a small thump noise downstairs and then the sounds of an explosion. More black-armored soldiers came racing up the stairs.
"There they are! We want the Quarian alive!" one of the soldier's shouted. Tali answered by activating her OMNI-Tool and sending a shock that not only collapsed the soldier's shields, but sent him tumbling to the ground as he lost control of his body. She then activated her Drone, the ball of energy sparking to life and immediately whirling off to charge down some incoming attackers.
"How long?" Bau questioned.
"Just about a minute," Garrus answered, looking at the time. He stood up and took down another incoming soldier. They kept coming in from all sides, but since they were hesitant to fire, they had a severe disadvantage. A grenade suddenly detonated in the door they'd breached, sending the black-armored soldiers flying into the air before they hit the ground. Out of the smoke came green armored titans, almost half taller than Garrus himself. Their shields shimmered, reflecting light off their golden visors.
Before he had anytime to question this, a familiar ship appeared behind them.
"Get down!" Joker warned them, firing off Normandy's anti-personnel guns. One shot landed far from them, shattering the glass. The environment broken, air was sucked out into the vacuum before the safety barrier activated. Another canon shot flew straight past them, going into the far room and exploding. That was enough force to crack armor plating, but the green titans were unaffected, their shields flaring up as they kept going through the flames unscathed.
"Move now, I'm bringing down the barrier," EDI told them, the Normandy's landing ramp coming down, giving them access to the shuttle bay. Just as Garrus came to his feet, the kinetic barrier came down. He grabbed both Tali and Bau and used his Raptor armor to boost them forward, carried along by the gust of escaping air. They landed right into Normandy's shuttle bay and the ship went speeding away. Garrus looked back, seeing the green power-armored giants watching them escape just as the landing ramp shut.
"Two attacking forces," Bau commented. "Unlikely, but terrifying. Did you recognize that power-armor? It looked unlike anything I've ever seen before."
"I didn't," Garrus admitted. "I didn't know who either of them were. I do know however, that Sernice provided those C-Sec uniforms used in the attack. Sernice also supplied the Blue Suns on Omega."
"So it's the Leviathans," Tali said.
"It looks so," Bau answered, tossing aside his now broken rifle. "This doesn't look good at all. Let me see what I can find."
Bau activated his OMNI-Tool and scanned it.
"Nice to have you all back aboard again," Joker greeted them through the intercom. "Hate to say it, but that ship I mentioned earlier is coming around. We've got to get out of here, so we're heading for the Relay."
"Looks like things are clearing up," Bau commented. "Hierarchy forces have boarded, but it seems our attackers have fled to the abandoned districts in the Wards. They're retreating far as we know."
"They aren't retreating," Garrus told him. "They're just coming after us."
Operation Thermopylae: Two Hours
"Disengage and fall back," Baal commanded, firing a commandeered M-8 Reverent Assault Rifle. The heavy weapon was rapid firing enough to lay down suppressing fire on the incoming attackers; black armored soldiers. What they lacked in skill they made up for in numbers and tenacity. Baal checked his HUD, wary that his shields had fallen to half way point, the lowest since the operation began.
Vicus chucked another Fragmentation Grenade, taking down two of the incoming troopers. Despite their mix of the known species, they definitely weren't forces of the Citadel Council. They disregarded tactics, sometimes charging out of cover at their enemy. Baal continued firing, picking them off as they ran at him.
"Move! Docking bay zero-four-nine, go," Baal told Tempest as they ducked through another doorway, May providing covering fire. There was probably about forty unknown hostiles on them, plus now squads of Hierarchy troops who were joining them.
"All fire-teams be advised, extraction is a no go. UNSC Cain has broken off to engage routed enemy ships. You will have to provide your own means to leave the station. A marker should appear directing you to nearby docking day. Commandeer the enemy vessel known as Yiomani. Confirm that all teams. Move to the Yiomani and pilot it to the designated coordinates."
"Tempest Team, we are on our own," Baal told them. "We are hijacking the Yiomani and getting out of here."
Operation Thermopylae: Four Hours
"You've got to see this. Now." Joker told them.
"Alright, I'm patching in," Garrus answered, tapping into his OMNI-Tool. It projected a screen in front of him. The Presidium was a wreck, though crews were already putting out the fires. It seemed the battle was over and he breathed a sigh of relief. The camera swung about as it was set back up, pointed back towards the podium. However, instead of the Council, someone else stood there. Someone else impossible.
"No..." Garrus muttered.
"Commander Shepard! Commander!" Dozens of voices called out from the crowd, all surrounding the stage. Garrus couldn't believe his eyes. No. It wasn't real. He saw the Widow Sniper Rifle attached to the back of Shepard's N7 Armor and recognized him as the sniper that had wounded him earlier, this time minus the helmet. That thing was not Shepard. It was something else entirely. Behind the false-commander, there was an assembled platoon of those jet-black armored Commandos.
"Please, everyone," Shepard told them, raising his hands for quiet. They all obeyed and everything was silent. "No doubt there are many questions. I'll do my best to answer as best I can explain."
"Commander, aren't you meant to be dead?" One particular reporter commented, no doubt having been through last time.
"An inconvenient ruse, not one I did willingly. The body buried was a fake, you can confirm that if you really want to dig it up. I am Commander Shepard, same as ever. For the past few years, I have worked to uncover a plot against all life. This attack was the works of Reaper indoctrination technology, being wielded by Cerberus. Their audacious ruse here today, had aimed to assassinate the Council and the Ambassadors, plunging us into chaos. Make no mistake, we are at war. Cerberus and their allied anarchist groups are still fully under the sway of the Reapers and they shall never stop seeking to destroy. To counter this threat, as we did today, I have assembled a task-force; Goliath. Over the next few weeks, I plan to work closely with the new Council to initiate a campaign to hunt down Cerberus for good. I swear that this'll be the last time an attack strikes the very heart of civilization-"
The screen muted for a second, and Garrus lowered his OMNI-Tool. He hesitantly looked to Tali beside him, who still absolutely still.
"I can confirm that scans return positive readings," EDI chimed in, though the AI held her own doubts. "The duplication is perfect down to every last detail." EDI connected to the OMNI-Tool turn the sound back on.
"This indoctrination," Shepard continued. "It is twice so as powerful as anything we've faced before. It has seeped its way through the Citadel and corrupted the upper echelons of security and even the Spectres. That's the reason why my staged death was necessary. Some of my own friends and fellow Spectres have been taken. I will work to hunt them down-"
"I can quickly summarize," EDI interrupted "A transmission has already passed through all Council aligned systems, a warrant for your arrest and the capture of the Normandy. All of us, save for Tali however."
"I understand that," Bau answered and Garrus remembered his earlier conversation with Liara. This had to be it. "We're just agents of the Council. Accusing an Ambassador however, and you'd have a diplomatic incident with Rannoch. Let me guess-"
"Yes, the warrant mentions a hostage situation," EDI told him. "Though from the orders within, I doubt any mission will be carried out by legitimate law enforcement. The capture of the Normandy is assigned to this Goliath task-force, previously mentioned and local forces have been notified not to approach us. Not even the Shadow Broker Network contains any mention of this Goliath group however. Their armor systems are completely custom made."
"This is... insane," Tali spoke up, shaking her head. "How can anyone believe this!"
"Currently, I'm unaware of reasons why they shouldn't. While it is a fabrication, the cover-story holds up," EDI answered. "The Council promised contact with a new Human faction. It's technically not a lie that this faction was Cerberus. The select information being fed to the media spin it that the Captain referred to the Citadel Council in his speech. I've reviewed the footage and found traces of modification. The pitch has been modified for a more threatening tone and in many translations, there a subtle tweaks in interpretation. In the Asari language-group, it sounds like the Captain is making a direct threat."
"I..." Tali stuttered, looking away. "We have to go back."
"We can't," Garrus answered. "We're barely evading them as it is."
"I personally don't see the rush," Bau added. "We were attacked, yes, but that won't belay the truth."
"They cannot get away with this!" Tali insisted, almost hysterical now. No doubt that the fake Shepard was just too much. "The Council was about to show us something and the Leviathans spun it exactly how they wanted us to see it and they are using his body!"
"As I said, the Council-" Bau said.
"The Council is most likely dead," Garrus cut him off, sighing.
"The Ambassadors were also briefed as to what is going on," Bau told him.
"They're dead too. The ones we left behind were likely mopped up by those troops posing as Hierarchy soldiers. That leaves us." Garrus answered as he turned to Tali. "Whatever proof died with them and likely, the only one in the galaxy who does know what is going on, is you. So tell me. What is going on?"
"There is another Human faction," Tali told him. Garrus was only puzzled by that. Yes, the System's Alliance claimed to be representative of all Humankind but there were others scattered throughout the Traverse and the Terminus. It wouldn't be that far a stretch that some just flew far away from some Relay when the Reapers came knocking, to settle some distant world.
"There are a lot of colonies," Garrus stated. "So it's a rogue colony?"
"Not a colony," Tali told him, her voice cold as she explained. "An empire, vast in scale. Hundreds of worlds and a massive military presence. As far as we know, one that is tyrannic in nature and has no interest in diplomacy. You are either a part of the empire, or your their enemy. That's what that ship told the Council in long-distance communications before they arrived. The Council planned that Eldred be the one to tell the public, unaided, so this would be seen as their plea and not Council politics. The Leviathans for some reason, didn't want that to happen."
"It was the perfect assault," Bau stated, his reptilian eyes wide as he put it together. "An assassination force posing as C-Sec Officers, who are then driven off by a task-force led by this false Shepard, who come in at the perfect time to fill the power vacuum. Insultingly simple really. I'd be surprised if the STG didn't figure this out in seconds."
"But can they figure it out when they don't know that the Cerberus cover story is a fake?" Garrus questioned. Bau was a bit shocked.
"I guess not," Bau said, "cover story weak and without substance. It would be investigated, but Salarian Intelligence believe we know everything about Human movements. Every world and ship position. They would literally have no idea that more exists. That would leave Cerberus as the only possible culprit."
"So it really is that bad," Tali muttered, shaking her head. "What are we going to do?"
"We know the truth now," Garrus answered. "We'll just go spread it."
"It'd be good if you got up here," Joker told them.
"Come on," Garrus told them, moving to the elevator to go up to the bridge. Crossing the empty command center, they reached the cockpit where Joker and EDI continued to fly the Normandy. "Situation update?"
"Bad news," Joker replied. "We can't outrun them. Every time we jump, they get there first."
"Our fuel capacity is almost near empty," EDI added in. "We no longer have the fuel for no more than one inter-system jump. We need to reach the Relay now."
"Bring us in then," Joker answered, taking the Normandy out of Faster-Than-Light right in front of a Mass Relay. While usually is should have been a straight run through, it wasn't. Garrus stared. A ship about half a kilometer in length was parked itself in front of the Relay, cutting them off. The Normandy immediately evaded, diving down to avoid being torn to pieces by incoming canon-fire. The frigate spun, dodging a missile that sped past.
"Dammit!" Joker shouted, taking them back around to try and enter the Relay from the other side. A missile exploded, not a direct hit, but enough kinetic force to send the Normandy into a roll, sending the ship off-course.
"Our engines ave been damaged," EDI notified them. "We are unable to correct starboard course."
"We're not dead yet!" Joker answered, spinning them back around to dodge another missile.
"Another anomaly," EDI warned. Soon enough, another ship roughly the same size leaped out of a blue tear in space. Garrus knew for that moment that they were done for. Blasted apart in the cold vacuum of space was not how he thought he'd go. The enemy ships guns all lit up.
The new ship exploded into a rain of fire, as their original attacker fired upon the new arrival. Explosions rippled along the hull, destroying the guns before they could be brought to return fire. The arrival, damaged, immediately went to escape. Another blue portal appeared and the ship jumped right back in, disappearing into the void. The victorious ship drifted away from the Relay now, closing in on the Normandy.
"Judging by that display of firepower, if they wanted the Normandy destroyed, they would have done so long ago," EDI commented. "I suggest we power-down, then pass them towards the Relay when they move in."
"We'll do it," Joker answered, punching in new commands. The Normandy's engines went off-line, and so did the stealth suite that kept them safe from lock-on missiles. Garrus hoped they were right about that theory, or they'd just made themselves a whole lot easier to kill. Surely enough though, the attacking ship drifted closer without firing. Soon, it was almost upon them. "Ready to get going?"
"Systems are-" EDI cut off, the platform flinching. "I appear to have lost control of the secondary engine systems through an override. Our systems are compromised and I am countering. They're completely off-line."
"How about primary? An FTL Jump?" Joker asked.
"If we FTL Jump now, it's likely we won't be able to make another one," EDI answered, turning to face them. "We are incapable of escaping."
"Then we'll have to resist the old fashion way," Bau told them, holding up his rifle. "How many of them do you think can be on that one ship?"
"A previous encounter suggest two hundred soldiers with superior technological capabilities," EDI explained. "Odds of survival are unlikely."
"Stand down, Bau," Garrus told him. "We'll do this without violence."
"I don't think they have talking in mind, Vakarian," Tali coldly answered.
"We'll take our chances," Garrus said. "Surrender it'll be."
I guess I should thank you for what you did today, Admiral and all those Spartans should be thanked as well. This operation went beyond expectations. The enemy was destroyed and without a single causality among the deployed forces. We have decapitated the last possible chance to ignite a First Contact scenario and have bought ourselves the valuable time we needed What is more disturbing however, is that a new enemy has revealed itself. I want you to gather all Intel possible before you present your findings this time in twenty four hours.
The Leviathans plot similarly to us, and have even decided to aid our scheme to further their own agenda, but the only things we have in common is a supplier of illegal arms and military gear. Those creatures posses some sort of physic power, similar to what was experienced from a Flood Gravemind; perhaps they have similar roots. What we do know about these creatures is their capabilities and intent. As long as they exist, they will continue their efforts to infiltrate nations and seek control. They intend to destroy the basic fundamental concept that we as humankind hold most dear and that is the freedom of our minds.
From this moment forth, new resources will be dedicated to countering this menace. The Leviathans are a clear and present threat to all worlds under the United Nations Space Command and we shall annihilate them from the galaxy. I hope you are able to gather some much needed Intel, Admiral, because a whole new front has opened in this invisible war.
Author's Afterward:
HURRAH! The end of Section I on a cliffhanger of magnificent proportions and everything up in the air as this plot goes into overdrive. Of course, not everything has been made clear. There is much awaiting in the next chapter at the beginning of Section Two: Insurgency. There of course is a few strings of plot dangling to be solved in the future. What is the connection between all of this? There is a much more sinister plot lurking and not everyone is telling the whole truth.
Also, I have no doubt this story will reach the milestone of two hundred reviews this chapter, so celebrations are in order for that as well! Thank you for all your feedback and comments on his work! It is the views that make writing this story meaningful for me and I hope for that to continue for many chapters to come.