Shepard approached the bridge of the Normandy, where Samus was already standing.
"Good timing, Commander," Joker said. "We're just about to the rendezvous point."
"And after that, it's on to Urtragh," Samus said. "I hope you know what we'll be doing once we reach the ground."
"It's our job to open up the Leviathan in the capital city and destroy it. Other than that, we're pretty much flying blind," said the commander.
"That's encouraging," the mercenary replied.
Joker spoke up. "Leaving FTL in five…"
A moment later, the blueshifted light disappeared as the Normandy left superluminal velocities, replaced with a view of a large gas giant with several moons. However, the most striking factor were the ships in orbit.
There were easily two-hundred large warships hanging ahead of them, grouped in battleclusters of five and ten. Massive, angular turian cruisers hung toward the center, shielded by the flat, more condensed Alliance dreadnoughts. Large Phrygisian frigates, their hulls mounted with Phazon-based weaponry, were dispersed throughout the conglomerate fleet, providing support for the larger capital ships.
"Shepard," Anderson's voice came through the comm. "Good to see you made it."
"Not late, are we?" Shepard joked.
"Not at all. We're beginning preparations for the final jump. You should get your crew ready for battle. We don't know what to expect when we get there."
"Got it."
"Anderson out."
Shepard turned to Joker. "You ready?"
"Best pilot in the Alliance Navy," Joker replied. "Of course I'm ready. You just hang on tight in case things get rough. I'll be fine."
"Good to know. Samus, come on."
As they walked down the hall to the Normandy's conference room, Joker leaned out and said, "Shepard, just make sure you guys come back. I don't want to get transferred or anything."
The commander laughed. "Don't worry, we'll be fine."
In the conference room, most of Shepard's squadmates sat, ready for the battle. He immediately caught eye of Tali, who was giving him a comforting look. He smiled back at her.
"Well, looks like this is it," Shepard said, about to speak to his team. Unfortunately, he was interrupted by the hologram of Admiral Hackett.
"Attention Alliance ships," the aging officer said. "We are commencing final procedures for the jump to Urtragh. I can't say how many of us will make it back after this battle, but it's up to us to put an end to these Pirate's raids. Every species here has been directly attacked by the Zebesians with meteor bombardment. This constitutes as an act of war by Council law. And if they want war, we'll give them war. Good luck. All pilots, form up and prepare for final jump en route to Urtragh."
"Cut off your dramatic speech," Garrus said, laughing. "Sorry we don't get another one like after leaving the Citadel."
"I've had enough speeches for a while, anyway," Rundas said. "I'm just ready to get to the fighting."
"Well, you'll be satisfied soon enough," replied Garrus.
Ridley growled as he examined the implants that he had just been given. Experimentation with Phazon was getting annoying at best, and the Science Team was reluctant to test new technologies on their own, so he had them test their latest designs on himself.
Derived from the latest technology he had recovered from an ancient world, he was now clad in thick, black armor. Powerful orange Phazon had been used to augment his cybernetic systems, upgrading his flight mechanisms and beam weapons. Sadly, no amount of changes had removed that disgusting ringing from his ears. If anything, it had gotten work.
"Well, you look like a monster," Omicron said, nodding to the dragon. "Or, rather, even more like one."
Her helmet was off, and her blue-tinted face and white hair still resembled the Hunter enough to make Ridley want to kill her where she stood. "Silence," he hissed.
The Dark Samus raised her hands in a gesture of faux submission, not entirely caring what the creature would do to her.
"Subcommander, how does this look?"
The gold-armored Zebesian shrugged. "Like you, but with more metal than usual," he said.
Ridley let out a ragged breath. "How are the experiments fairing?"
"With those pikes you brought us? About as well as usual. We already lost another couple dozen soldiers to the mania they produce after modification. Not one group has been controllable since we got back to Urtragh, and exposure to Phazon just makes them even crazier."
"At least we can throw feral monsters at our foes as cannon fodder."
"Speaking of our foes," the subcommander said, his mandibles twitching, "We're under attack."
"What? Now?"
"Yes."
"Are the fleets in position?"
"Just as you ordered."
"I'm going to the Seed. You, guard the transit hub. No one gets in or out."
"What about me?" Omicron asked, watching the dragon walk away.
Ridley glared at her with burning eyes. "Do what you were created to do. Kill."
Joker grasped at the Normandy's controls, ready for anything that would appear after the next drop from FTL. He had one mission: get the ground team to the Capital city without incident. If he was lucky, the Space Priates would concentrate on the larger ships instead of going after him.
He opened up the ship's intercom. "Prepare for drop from FTL speeds in three, two, one."
The view changed, revealing the Space Pirate homeworld. It was a world on fire, covered in drab silver buildings that glowed with a hideous orange light. A thick, piercing orange atmosphere covered the whole planet, with wisps of it casting off into space. In orbit were more ships than the pilot could count, making him feel like panicking for a split second.
Joker regained his barrings and formed up alongside an Alliance frigate as the Space Pirate dreadnoughts began turning to greet the joint fleets.
Six, then twelve, then eighteen Alliance and turian cruisers formed a line to greet the incoming enemy ships. They formed three rows, and the front row opened fire, tearing through the shields of the Pirate vessels. The second line moved forward as the first retreated beneath them, recharging their weapons. The second line fired and moved for the third to begin its volley. Like soldiers in seventeenth-century wars, the ships repeated this cycle of volley, recharge, and repeat, tearing into the Pirate ranks. Two, four, then eight Space Pirate dreadnoughts exploded as their hulls were gutted by incoming fire.
Then, an electric-orange laser tore through two of the Alliance ships, forcing the front line to break up.
Joker tapped nervously at the controls. He wasn't supposed to move until the rest of the ground team had a clear shot.
More ships exploded around the exterior of the Alliance fleet's lines. A Pirate dreadnought exploded, but a final defiant blast from its laser took a turian cruiser with it.
As the fighting continued, it became obvious that the battle was not going their way.
"Shit," the pilot cursed as two more allied ships blew to pieces around him. "Screw this." He opened the intercom again. "Shepard, we've got a shot, I'm taking us in early."
Before the commander could even respond, he pushed the Normandy's engines to full-throttle, sending the ship forward at neck-breaking speeds. He shot through the enemy's front lines and into their main fleet. Two dreadnoughts turned, desperately trying to catch the small frigate. They collided, exploding and sending debris across the area, pelting even more ships.
Joker got an idea and began skimming the hulls of enemy ships as he passed by them, weaving between the bristling gun turrets on their surface. Other craft, attempting to target the Normandy, began opening fire on their own allies, causing damage to their ships. After one pass, the ship that had been fired upon retaliated, destroying its accidental attacker. The pilot smiled as he spiraled past the final enemy ship and began entering the atmosphere.
Instruments already pinpointed the Leviathan, but there was no way he would be able to set the Normandy down there. He instead found a small space port on his radar map and headed for it, blasting away enemy fighters as they came.
Surprisingly, few anti-air turrets were present to greet the ship on its descent. Perhaps they were cocky enough to think they would never be attacked? Whatever the reason, Joker continued on unimpeded, passing by the kilometer-tall buildings and flying through a miserable deluge of acid rain.
Finally, he reached the spaceport, nestled between a tangle of metal buildings and lit with ugly orange lights.
"Thank you for flying air Joker," he said into the comm. "We have now arrived at Pirate Homeworld. Please unbuckle your seat belts and proceed out in a neat and orderly fashion."
Shepard didn't question why Joker hadn't waited for the rest of the ground assault force and instead led his team out of the ship and onto the cold metal surface of Urtragh. Acid rain belted his kinetic barriers, and an ugly stench rose from the planet's surface.
"Smells like rotting flesh here," Garrus said as he left. "So, who do you want on your team for this one?"
He looked at the group, standing at the base of the Normandy's gangplank before him. Each had done a lot to get here, and they all deserved a part in the final raid.
"All of you," Shepard said. "We'll need all hands to get through this hellhole without trouble."
"The full might of 'Team Shepard' unbridled?" Tali asked pulling out her shotgun. "This should be fun."
"Tzar," Shepard ordered. "Any idea where we should go next?"
The Zebesian looked across the cityscape, turned to Shepard, and shrugged. "I'm as lost as you are," he said. "If it's laid out like cities on other colonies, then the Seed would probably positioned in the most fortifiable position possible."
"What threats are we to expect?" Samus asked, watching Tzar as if he were going to explode.
"I doubt they even know we're here," Tzar said. "It's so fortified they probably weren't expecting a ship to make it down from orbit. For now, we have the element of surprise on our side."
"Then we should try to find some sort of map room," Tali said. "If we can find a room with a networked computer, I should be able to download a map with a little work."
"Good idea," Shepard said. "Let's try the control tower. It's closeby. In the meantime, Joker."
"Yes, Commander?" the pilot responded through the com link.
"Get back in orbit. They need you up there."
"You got it."
The Normandy slowly ascended and disappeared through the clouds. Shepard and his team headed to the base of the large, mushroom-shaped control tower. The inside of it was filled with drab, metal corridors ablaze with orange lights. They moved up a series of stairs.
"These guys really like orange," Garrus said, drumming his fingers on his rifle.
"Big contrast to Phrygisian culture," Rundas said. "We like blue."
"Kind of like a movie poster," Tali chimed in.
Tzar moved in silence, with Samus tailing him, her gun ready to fire at a moment's notice.
Upon reaching the door at the top of the stairs, Shepard motioned for them to take a breaching formation. Garrus and Rundas took positions at the door while Shepard and Tali readied their weapons. Samus continued to watch Tzar, who drew his Avenger assault rifle.
Shepard tossed a grenade and detonated it, blowing the doors open. He and Tali were the first in, quickly dispatching the series of Space Pirates in the control room. Samus and Tzar entered, followed by the rest. They scoured the room for signs of more Zebesians, but saw none.
"This looks promising," Tali said, activating her omni-tool over a large computer console.
Tzar gazed out the massive windows of the tower across the orange and bronze towers that covered the planet outside. "So this is Urtragh," he said with a heavy sigh. "And I thought Zebes was a pit."
"Enjoying the view?" Samus asked with disdain.
"Not really, no," the Zebesian replied. "Hard to see a planet go to waste like this."
Tali rummaged through the digital files with her omni-tool, translation being done automatically by pre-loaded software. Within a minute, she found a promising file.
"Here we go," she said, activating a holoprojector. A map of the city materialized in front of her, the Leviathan pulsating in its center.
"There we go," Shepard said. "Any way in."
Garrus nodded. "Right here. There's a highway of some sort that runs through most of the city to a transport hub that has a direct link to the seed. That's probably our best bet."
Shepard's comm burst to life with the voice of Admiral Hackett. "Shepard, I have word that you're on the ground?"
"We are, Admiral."
"Good. I need you to find a landing area for Victus' troops. We have a clear shot to the capital right now."
"We've got a spaceport that has no ground forces present. If the dropships get here quick, they should be able to fortify it before the Pirates know we're here. Transmitting coordinates."
It didn't take long for the first turian ships to burst through the clouds, quickly taking up all available space on the spaceport's many landing pads. Troops began filing out of their transports and grouping up. Shepard and his men left the control tower to meet the turian leading the ground attack.
"Commander Shepard, I presume," a turian with white colony markings said, approaching him. "General Adrien Victus with the fifth battalion. The other forces will show up soon with more men for battle."
"Wish we met under better circumstances, General," Shepard said.
"Indeed." He looked back at the troops assembling in the space port. "Do you have any leads for us, Commander. Frankly, we're lost in enemy territory."
"My crewmate here found a map. You should be able to use it to plot a battle."
Tali handed the general an OSD with the map data.
"Thank you, Commander. In the mean time, we should fortify this position. Otherwise we might lose-"
"General!" a turian cried. "We've got enemy gunships, inbound!"
"…the element of surprise," Victus finished. "Looks like we have a job to do. Everyone, man defensive positions! Draw fire away from the transports!"
"What should we do?" Garrus asked.
"Follow orders," Samus said. "Come on, I've got the perfect spot."
They took up position near a heat shield presumably used for launching short-range fighters or transports, giving them cover as six Space Pirate gunships came into view. The bulbous craft were bristling with long, needle-like laser cannons."
"Incoming!" Garrus shouted, unleashing a round from his sniper rifle. The bullet pinged off the canopy of one of the craft.
The other turian troops opened fire. Shepard tried targeting individual guns with his rifle, but it wasn't long until the ships were right above them. Pulse laser fire rained down on the patrols, who ducked under what cover they could find. Samus unleashed a hail of plasma bursts at a gunship that had pinned a group of turians. One caught it in the engine, and it began to spin out of control, smashing into the ground with a visceral explosion.
Rundas' weapons seemed to do the most damage. His cryogenic bursts weighed down the craft, eventually pulling them from the sky.
A heavy weapons platoon mobilized, forming up and opening fire with missile launchers. Several rockets found their targets, and the defunct gunships fell to the ground in a fiery blaze. More craft showed up, though with the anti-air weapons now fully functional they began to drop like flies.
The battle ended as quickly as it begun. After the fifteenth gunship dropped from the sky, the rest retreated to regroup somewhere else.
"No doubt they'll be back," Victus said. "Probably with ground forces. We need to fortify this position before then."
Shepard nodded. "There's only a few entrances, and it looks like you can hold off any aerial assault."
Victus nodded. "And we're going to start cutting our way through this city, too." He pointed upward. A turian dreadnought came into view, already reducing buildings to slag with its thanix cannons. "That's the reason they fled. The Organon is going to be supporting the ground assault from the skies. We can wipe out entire armies at a moment's notice."
"Good," Shepard said. "I'm going to move for the seed. We need to secure it as fast as possible."
Victus nodded in agreement. "Then I'll let you go, Specter. Good luck."
"Thank you general." Shepard waved for his team to form up, and they left the spaceport. They heard the turians erect a metal barrier behind them as they walked into the city.
"Still really empty," Tali said, eyeing the tall buildings with caution. "It's like a ghost town."
"I don't like this," Samus said. She glared at Tzar. "Did you tell them to ambush us?"
Tzar looked perplexed. "No! I don't even have-"
A squad of heavily armored Space Pirates burst from the side of a building, landing on the street in front of the team.
"Shit, that's bad timing!"
"I knew it!" Samus tackled him, pushing the Zebesian to the ground and forcing her gun into his throat as the battle ensued around them.
"I didn't do this!" Tzar choked, watching as the attackers quickly fell to a barrage of shotgun, sniper, and cryogenic attacks.
"Bull-" Samus was yanked off Tzar by Shepard.
"What the hell are you doing?" Shepard demanded.
"Executing a traitor!"
"I didn't plan this!" Tzar shouted, his voice echoing through the streets. "If I did, I would have told them to bring bigger guns!"
"They don't need bigger guns," an unknown female said. The team looked up to see a lone human figure in a dark, electric-blue jumpsuit staring down at them, her white hair blowing in the wind. She did not seem affected by the acid rain burning the air around her.
"I'm not seeing things, am I?" Rundas asked, looking at the human. "Is that…you, Samus?"
Samus glared at the monstrosity. "So you're my clone."
"Indeed," the woman said, smiling. A shot rang out, and she sidestepped a sniper round coming from Shepard's rifle. "So you were my host. Good to meet you after all this time."
The bounty hunter gritted her teeth. Garrus was about to try to take a shot when she motioned for hims to stop. "I'll take her," she hissed. "You keep going. She's just a distraction."
"Oh really?" the clone said, a playful grin on her face.
"Go!" Samus shouted.
Shepard and his team left, running down the highway. The Dark Samus watched them pass.
"So you send your friends to run away… Too bad they won't get very far. There's a lot waiting for them."
"They'll make it," Samus replied, still glaring at her genetic twin.
"Well, it's still quite a pathetic move by you."
"Why?"
The Dark Samus leapt into the air. A blue glow emerged from her body as black armor formed across her skin. She landed on top of Samus, forcing the hunter to the metal ground. "Because suicide is a coward's way out." She began charging a blast in her arm cannon…
Shepard and his squad fought through wave upon wave of Space Pirate ground troops. Many of these were far more armored than any they had encountered before, wearing silver plating and carrying weapons that made Shepard's rifle feel like a peashooter.
"We've got more incoming," Garrus shouted as another group of Zebesians appeared from an alleyway, carrying heavy weapons.
"We're pinned!" Rundas shouted. He and Tzar were leaning behind the blasted-out hulk of a transport vehicle with a group of Zebesians reducing the opposite side to slag.
Shepard leaned out from behind the entryway he was sheltered in and fired, landing a shot between the eyes of a Pirate. "There's too many of them," he said.
"That's never been a problem before," Garrus replied, gunning down a pirate with his pistol. "Sure you don't have any better ideas."
Shepard looked around. The cityscape offered little in the way of improvised weaponry. Everything was cold, hard, and bolted to the ground. Even worse, the constant deluge of acid rain was obscuring his vision.
He caught sight of something on a rooftop. It looked like some sort of automated transport drone.
Shepard gritted his teeth. "Tali," he said. "Any chance you could hack that drone into fighting for us?"
Tali let out another blast from her shotgun before looking at the machine. "I might. Give me a moment." She leaned into cover and began working.
Tzar laid down a stream of bullets with his assault rifle and ducked back down as a plasma blast flew over him. The projectile slammed into the building behind him, turning a portion of it into a molten mess. Two more blasts landed in the same spot.
"Not good shots, are they?" Rundas said.
Tzars eyes widened. "They're not missing!"
"Got it!" Tali shouted. The drone took flight, descending into the city streets and plowing into the Space Pirates. It crashed through them, tearing several from their feet and carrying them into the side of a nearby building. The drone's phazon core exploded, killing the remaining Pirates."
"Everyone! Run back!" Tzar shouted, dashing out of cover. Molten metal was falling from the building above him.
"Why?" Shepard said.
He pointed to the structure, which was beginning to buckle as the column gave way.
"Shit," Shepard cursed. "Go, go!"
They ran back down the highway as the massive building began to fall. There was a deafening screech of breaking metal and glass as the structure was brought down by gravity. It smashed into the metal surface with the force of a meteor impact, sending a miniature quake across the area.
"They cut us off," Shepard said."
"There's got to be another way around," Tali said.
"We just need to make it back to the highway," Rundas said. "The transport hub's isn't far from here."
Shepard pulled up the holomap and looked. The Space Pirates were not masters of road planning, and it appeared that the shortest way would be through a tangle of catwalks near some sort of lab district.
"I'm not sure if we want to go through there," Tzar said. "That's a biohazard experimentation area, like the one you passed through on the Orpheon. It's guaranteed that there will be a lot of dangerous animals and bioweapons there."
"The only other route is going to take us through a small, easily fortified patch of streets, though, Shepard," said Garrus. "Plus, it looks like it's a lot longer too. We can't risk taking that much time."
Shepard bit his lip and looked. "We're going to have to risk the biohazard area," he said after a moment of consideration.
"Speed over safety," Tzar mumbled. "Let's move."
They took a side road that led into the disturbingly quiet research district. The area looked purposefully deserted, as there was no sign of an evacuation or panicked escape. The whole district looked surprisingly peaceful.
"Last time it was like this, we got ambushed," Garrus said. "I don't want to have that happen again."
"Hopefully they don't have another Samus clone lurking around here somewhere," Shepard replied.
The ground shook violently, causing the whole city to echo with an ominous groan.
"Think another building fell?" Rundas asked.
"No," Tali said. "That came from… beneath… us…"
The ground shook again, even worse this time. The road ahead of them began to buckle and a massive, two-clawed hand reached out from the bunker below. A creature pulled itself from the depths. It was easily four stories tall, covered in thick green scales. A series of thorny spikes lined its fat belly. Three piercing red eyes focused on the group as it let out a viscious scream.
"What the hell is that?" Rundas exclaimed.
"No time to explain, dodge!" Tzar shouted, ducking for cover.
The rest made it behind ledges or buildings as the monster launched one of its stomach-thorns from its body. The projectile slammed into the ground, imbedding its sharp end in the metal surface.
"Okay, I think we should have taken the other route," Garrus shouted.
"So what the hell is that, Tzar?" Shepard asked, barely audible over the creature's roars.
"That's Kraid!" the Zebesian shouted back. "He's… he's a thing…"
"Very informative!" Garrus said.
"I've never been here before!"
Kraid let out a guttural below and swept his claw across a building, felling the tower with almost no effort at all. The edifice slammed into the ground behind them, cutting them off from escape.
Shepard gritted his teeth.
"What do we do now?" Tali asked.
Shepard leaned out from cover and shot at it, trying to land a bullet in one of the beast's eyes. It slammed into the side of its head and ricocheted off of a scale.
"Try to get its eyes!" he ordered.
"Easier said than done!" Garrus replied, trying to get a clear line of sight.
Tali switched to her pistol, trying to gain extra range, but the weapon wasn't accurate enough to get a good shot in.
Garrus fired, taking out one of Kraid's eyes. The beast let out a terrible scream and launched a barrage of thorns from its bulbous stomach. One smashed into the wall Garrus, Tzar, and Rundas were behind, knocking them out from cover. Shepard let out two shots, overheating his rifle. Only one found its mark, taking out another eye.
"Move!" Shepard yelled. Rundas created a barrier of ice as a thorn nearly claimed all three of their lives.
Garrus unleahsed a hail of bullets, but they all missed. Kraid stomped the ground, knocking the whole team from their feet. He opened his maw wide and unleashed a screech that deafened all of them.
Shepard was first to get up. He moved as quickly as he good into a building's entryway as Kraid fired a volley of spikes at them. Rundas tried to erect another barrier, but couldn't in time, and Tzar only barely managed to dodge a thorn as it hit the ground near his feet. The metal street buckled and threw the Zebesian into the air.
Shepard and Garrus both fired at Kraid as Tzar fell back to the earth. Both bullets found their mark, successfully blinding the monster. It bellowed loudly and began flailing, rushing down the street. Everyone moved out of the way, and it charged straight into the building that it had felled. Kraid's feet smashed into the ruined structure and they were pulled out from under it. It slammed into the ground, shaking the whole city with the impact. Unable to hold its weight, the street gave way, and Kraid fell into a tunnel below.
"Keelah," Tali exclaimed, trying to regain her footing from the battle.
"Think they have anything else like that?" Garrus asked.
"I don't know," Tzar said. "We weren't told about the experiments on the Homeworld. I don't even know what Kraid really was. Some sort of experiment to create either some kind of leader unit or a weapon capable of wrecking cities."
"Well, he would have probably done that had he not focused on us," Rundas said. "We need to get to that seed fast."
A screech echoed from the street. A group of Space Pirate soldiers rounded the corner. Six heavily armored assault troopers led a unit of hulking creatures, similar to the Phazon-charged Pirates on Bryyo.
"We've got company!" Garrus shouted. The team tried to find cover once more as the Pirate platoon opened fire.
Samus shouted as she landed another punch into her clone's gut. The creature flowed around her and unleashed a hail of phazon-charged plasma bolts at her. Samus leapt out of the way, replying with her own barrage. The doppelganger evaded everyone and jumped after Samus, chasing her through the tangle of overpasses and catwalks that hung over the research district.
The fight had taken both of them through the city, and neither showed signs of relenting.
Samus kicked hard, throwing her double off the platform and onto another. The clone hissed and let out a barrage of plasma orbs. They found their mark, disintegrating Samus' platform. She fell to the ground, rolled, and charged, grappling with Dark Samus.
Both growled at each other as they tried to push the other off the platform. Samus planted her feet and activated the jets on her armor, rolling her double over and tossing her across the walkway. Dark Samus got up and swept with her hand, summoning a tentacle of Phazon that knocked Samus from the catwalk and into the city streets.
"That's new," the dark clone said, flexing her armor before leaping to attack.
Samus barely dodged a kick from her clone. They continued fighting. Punching, countering, kicking, and shooting as they traversed down the streets. Samus could hear the sounds of a firefight echoing from a nearby street. She dodged a swipe from her clone and leapt to the top of a building that had been torn in half.
She caught a glimpse of the fight she had heard. Shepard and his team were pinned down by a group of Pirates supported by their Phazon-enhanced experiments. She heard Dark Samus land behind her and ducked out of the way of another swipe.
"Looks like your friends are trapped," the clone said, throwing another punch.
Samus caught her arm and got a firm grip, twisting it far beyond the breaking point. The clone made no sound as the bone broke with a disgusting crunch. Samus threw her clone away and ran to help Shepard.
Dark Samus returned to her feet and felt her broken limb begin to move. A tentacle of Phazon wrapped itself around her limb. Bone and tendons snapped and popped as they forcibly returned to their natural place. The tentacle melted into her arm with a warm blue glow before disappearing, leaving the limb fully healed.
"I like these powers," she said before chasing after her clone.
Shepard tried to hide behind cover as another Elite Pirate sent out a blast of Phazon-charged plasma. The attack heated up the wall, threatening to melt Shepard's armor.
A blur of motion appeared from the side. Shepard saw Samus rush across the battlefield, charging her arm cannon. She opened fire with a hail of auto-assembled missiles. The projectiles sailed over two of the four Elite Pirates, then reversed course and slammed into their weapon packs. The explosions killed the creatures and knocked them forward. Several unlucky Zebesians were crushed by the falling corpses.
A blur of blue light dashed across the street and caught Samus, throwing her into a pile of debris. The dark clone chased after her. Shepard silently thanked the bounty hunter before returning to the fight. The Pirate group was beginning to scatter from the chaos of the hunter and her attacker entering the fray. The two Elite Pirates tried to stop the team from running, killing several in the process. One turned its back, and its weapon vent was immediately destroyed by Shepard and his team. The creature sputtered blue blood from its mouth and died.
The other Elite Pirate went berserk, charging Shepard's team. They ducked for cover, and the creature, unable to stop, disappeared down the same hole Kraid had.
"That was convenient," Garrus said.
"Come on, we should go," Shepard ordered.
Samus was exhausted. She was beginning to lose her ground. The clone smashed her fist into Samus' gut, knocking the wind from her lungs and sending her flying into a pit. Their fight had left the research district and they were now in some Phazon-rich mine. Drones toting bright green lasers flew around them, ignoring the battle and using their tools to extract Phazon-laced stone.
Samus hit the ground and struggled back to her feet. The clone floated down leisurely, landing one foot at a time in front of her. "Tired?" the creature asked.
"Never." Samus charged and landed a punch in her double's abdomen. She flew into the wall, collapsing to the rocky ground in a pile of rubble. It got up, coughing.
"Good," she hissed. She raised her hands, and jagged Phazon tentacles erupted from the ground, attempting to grab Samus. The bounty hunter dodged each of them, but their mere presence made her feel like energy was being pulled from her.
Samus fired her arm cannon, though no shots landed on their target. Dark Samus returned fire. Samus' kinetic barriers flared as they tried to repel the powerful beam shots.
Out of breath, Samus fell to her feet. The fight was now taking its toll on her, and she could see no way to win. Her muscles burned from the battle, and the sharp pain in her side told her that at least one rib had been cracked if not broken.
"Giving up?" Dark Samus asked, walking around her. "It took long enough. I heal as I fight, I know how you do battle. Our creators saw fit to make me have the experience of a thousand Zebesian warriors where they only gave you armor and some fancy gene mods. This is ultimately how it had to end."
Samus said nothing, still on her knees. She clutched her side. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of the mining drones fire its green laser. The Phazon it hit melted from the rock in a slurry, which was collected by another drone.
"Let's face it, you're old technology. Obsolete. I am better than you in every way. What could you possibly do but give up?"
Samus scowled. "Improvise." Summoning all the energy she had left, Samus vaulted towards the drone, grabbing ahold of it and directing its laser beam at the dark clone. The beam of light cut into Dark Samus, boiling through her form.
The sound that the clone made was horrifying, a earsplitting screech so loud it threatened to deafen Samus. She kept the mining laser pointed at her clone, cutting through her. The creature screamed and staggered toward Samus, clawing the air as her Phazon-enhanced armor melted from her body. Samus did not relent, and watched as the clone slowly began to dissolve into a puddle of Phazon and metal.
When the creature was no more, Samus released the drone. With a final breath, she collapsed, falling to the mine's floor. The rest that came with the darkness was sweet.
Shepard and his team reached the transit hub. The fighting was bad enough, but now they had to take and hold the one way to the Leviathan Seed. The depot was sealed, a massive door blocked access.
"How do you think Samus is doing?" Rundas asked.
Shepard shrugged. "She can hold her own." He opened up a communications link to General Victus. "General, this is Commander Shepard."
"Good to hear your voice again, Commander," Victus replied. "We've got the spaceport secured and are moving into the city. What's your status?"
"We've reached the transit hub," Shepard replied. "From here, we'll have a straight shot to the Leviathan."
"I'll send a team to assist you as soon as I can. Any way you can take ahold of it now?"
"We don't have a way in?"
"Negative. It's sealed shut."
There was a moment of silence. "I've got a shuttle with demolition troopers inbound. They should be there shortly."
"Got an ETA?"
"Five minutes barring any attacks. Luckily the city's almost under our control. Most forces have retreated to key defence points or have been pulled into orbit."
"All right, we'll be expecting the help. Thank you, General."
"Good luck, Shepard."
The link cut out.
"So, we're getting a larger team?" Garrus asked. "That should help. Especially if they have any more giant monsters in there."
"We still don't know what to expect," Tali said. "They might have something worse in there."
"Chances are Ridley's at the seed if he hasn't already left," Tzar said. "And he probably has one of his lieutenants guarding the transit hub."
A few minutes later, a Kodiak shuttle appeared over the buildings, setting down in front of the transit hub. Several turian commandos dressed in dark, rust-brown armor took positions.
"Commander Shepard," one of them said, approaching. "General Victus sent us ahead. We're here to help take the transit hub."
"Good to have you here," Shepard said. "We need help getting these door open."
The turian eyed the structure. "Shouldn't be a problem." He waved to his men. "Get me six demolition charges. I want them planted now." They set to work, grabbing the charges and placing them along the door. "Everyone, stand back!" their commander shouted.
The teams took cover, and one of the demolition specialists detonated the explosives. The doors rocketed into the depot, and a secondary blast turned them to dust in the air.
After a moment of quiet waiting, the turian troopers moved up. They took positions in the hub, checking for signs of enemy activity.
"All clear," one of the turians reported, eying the tracks that ran through the center of the terminal. "Looks like we'll need to call a tram."
"Find the mechanism," the turian commander said.
Shepard's team was about to join them when something fell from the ceiling. It first attacked the demolition team's leader, cutting his head off with an energy scythe. It moved from trooper to trooper, cutting them down before they knew what hit them. After dropping the last turian and watching him bleed onto the cold metal ground, he looked up at Shepard's team.
"Hello, Commander Shepard," he hissed, regarding them behind his golden visor. "It's been far too long. Sadly, I fear this is where your little crusade against us comes to an end."
Shepard recognized the Zebesian from Arcturus. "You again."
"I have a name you know," the Pirate said, crossing his arms.
"Subcommander Weavel," Tzar said. "Not exactly happy to see you again."
"Ah, you were aboard the Orpheon, weren't you? Hardly would have expected treason from such a low-ranked wretch like yourself."
Rundas fired a cryogenic blast, but Weavel shrugged it off as if it were no more than a snowball. "Well, let the battle begin." He leapt to the ceiling, disappearing into the darkness.
"Be careful," Shepard ordered his team. "Watch out for him."
The circled up and walked into the hub, weapons ready.
Tzar opened fire as Weavel fell from the ceiling. He narrowly escaped a swipe from the subcommander's scythe. Weavel jumped at Garrus, knocking the turian to the ground and disappearing into the darkness again.
"Shit, that hurt," Tzar cursed.
"Where'd he go?" Tali demanded.
Weavel attacked from a corner, tackling Shepard. A hail of bullets from the team threw the Pirate off him. Weavel hissed and jumped to a platform.
"Care to see our latest project's results?" he asked haughtily. "Of course, you're familiar with the human variants."
A door on the north end of the hub opened up, and a horde of creatures poured in. They were Zebesian in form, but were colored an unhealthy shade of grey. Blue tinted wires ran from their eyes and gut, and a ragged hole ran through their midsection.
"Husks!" Tali shouted.
"Zebesian husks!" Garrus corrected, already shooting his weapon.
Rundas opened fire, freezing each attacker one at a time. Weavel watched the battle play out, and then readied his scythe. He vaulted into the air, flipped, and came down in the center of the team. He kicked Garrus into the husks, and swiped at Shepard. The weapon carved into his armor and seared his flesh. The blow wasn't deep enough to damage internal organs, but the attack left Shepard unconscious.
"Shepard!" Tali shrieked, pulling out her shotgun and firing. Weavel dashed away, disappearing into a vent. Rundas tore the husks from Garrus and returned him to safety. Tzar grabbed Shepard and they ascended an overpass that looked over the tracks of the transit hub, hoping to gain the high ground.
"There's too many of them!" Garrus shouted.
"What should we do?" Tzar demanded.
"The turians need to get here faster!" Rundas said. "We can't hold them off much longer."
From the ceiling, Weavel dropped into the midst of the squad. A single punch sent Garrus to the floor. He grabbed Rundas by the throat and threw him off the overpass. He turned to Tali and kicked her in the visor, knocking her to the floor as well. "Such small creatures," he spat. "They are too fragile."
He turned to Tzar and activated his scythe. "The rest I'll leave to the husks, but you, traitor. You are mine." Tzar opened fire, but Weavel simply grabbed his rifle from his hands and tossed it aside. Following that motion, he thrust his weapon into Tzar's abdomen.
The young Zebesian let out a weak gasp before slumping. Weavel pulled the blade from him and kicked his body to the floor. He noticed the quarian was moving for her shotgun, and he stamped down on it with an armored boot, crushing its barrel.
"Foolish aliens," he laughed, watching as the husks began moving up the stairs. "What could save you now?"
As if responding to the question, a missile sailed out of the hub's entrance and slammed into Weavel's helmet, detonating on impact. The concussive blast sent him flying off the overpass and into the tracks. The husks shrieked and began to scatter.
"No!" Weavel shouted through his bleeding jaw. "Come back! Cowards! Stand and fight!" He turned to see the attacker.
"To answer your question," a battered and beaten Samus said, stumbling through the entryway. "Deus ex Machina, bitch. She fired another missle, which Weavel knocked aside with his blade.
"Not this time, Hunter," he said. With that, he turned invisible. She knew he was making his escape, but there was no way to track him down.
"This is Samus Aran!" she opened up her communicator. "I'm transmitting on an open channel! We need an evac team, stat."
The turians showed up minutes later. A medical team immediately picked up Shepard's squad. Samus had slumped against a wall and couldn't bring herself to walk. A group of medics put her on a transport back to the staging area as well.
Author's Note: Well, I was going to include the fight in the Leviathan Seed, but the chapter felt long as is so I decided to break the fight off for the next chapter. So a lot's happened... Decided to work in Kraid. I wanted to have more for him, but I just couldn't figure out what role he would play in the Space Pirate hierarchy other than some sort of guardian, so I figured it was best that he was just in the experiment district as a bioweapon. I also want to work in Mother Brain, but the same problem happens. Don't know where she'd fit into the story at this point. Maybe later...
Anyway, glad to know we're nearly through the Pirate Homeworld. The story's drawing to a close, though it may take a while.
Also, I'm considering another project for the site. It'll be another Mass Effect story, though it will take place in the canon universe and not the mashup I've created.
Thanks for reading! Remember to follow, favorite, and review!
PS: Happy Single's Awareness Day for those of you like me. It's a day late, but whatever.