W/N - Coming down the home stretch! I want to take the character arcs a little further along with some more action. There's a little poke at one of the canon Shepard flaws in the game too. Thank you all for stopping by. Domo arigato gozaimasu!
The Subway – 14 March 2176, 0543 hours
Adam peeked around the corner of the door into the center car and quickly scanned the area. He could see the bomb now, clear as day, a mass of wires and fuses set up around a solid metal core. A couple of shapes moved behind the bomb and he knew that two biotics waited to ambush them if they made any mistake. He looked back to Amanda and she gave him some emphatic signals, but he waved her off.
Negative. No flashbang. They'll just fling it back at us. This will be fire and maneuver. I'll fix, you move. I need my best leading the assault.
The marine paused for a moment before nodding. Roger that. On you.
Adam inched around the corner and pointed his shotgun in the general direction of the enemy. He didn't need to hit anything, but if he did, so much the better. The weapon roared, scattering sim pellets all over the place. "Yeah, that's right!" he yelled. "Git some!"
He was rewarded by a biotic blast that slammed into the doorframe and burst into blue particles. Adam jumped back, but moved forward again and fired another shell without aiming. "Don't you throw that blue shit at me!"
Sim rounds pinged all about along the frame and wall followed by another blue blast. Some particles splashed on his cheek and it stung like a jellyfish. "Oh, you gonna pay!"
"I'm in position," Amanda called over the radio followed by the sound of automatic weapon fire. The deep report of her Gorgon rifle echoed in the cabin. "Tango down!" Any fire on LaRosa immediately stopped as the last biotic switched targets. Now was his time.
He charged into the room around seats and could see the back of the biotic's head and Amanda's grin. The muzzle of his shotgun came up on target and a cone of sim pellets coated the enemy. "Tango down! Room clear!"
The marine came up to him and patted him on the shoulder. "Good work, Beach Boy."
He let out a sigh of relief and nodded. "Thanks. How's Kim?"
"He took it bad back there. Biotic blast, full on. He's with the medic."
Adam nodded. If just a little lash of that blast stung, he couldn't imagine getting hit full on. He looked down at the bomb and his eyes shot open wide. "Wait…the bomb," he said, his heart freezing in his chest. "It's counting down. Twenty second!"
"I got this," he heard a woman say from behind him. It was Jill.
"Finally thawed out, huh?" he said with edgy mirth. He stepped aside. "Okay, make it quick."
She skipped past him and knelt in front of the main cylinder, her hands a blur of movement. "Twenty-Third Engineer Regiment, A Company…bomb tech and lock picker, at your service." She popped a latch, undid a couple of clips, and pulled a wire, causing the timer to stop. "See, nothing but a thing."
Amanda and Adam let out a deep belly laugh. Amanda tousled Jill's blonde hair. "Holy shit, Blondie, welcome to the Deltas."
"So, what's with all the nick names?" LaRosa asked.
"It's sort of a gang slash marine thing," she said, drawing a diagonal line with her finger. "When this is done, you all are gonna get inked by me."
Adam scrunched up his face. "What?"
"Yeah, tattoos. I got just the thing for golden girl too," she said and then the smile faded from her face.
Adam knew exactly what was going on. "I'm worried about her too." He got on the radio. "Joe, Yuri, hustle it up. Go out there and back Claire up." He pointed to Jill and Amanda. "You too. Off with you. I'll stay with the bomb."
Outside of the Subway – 14 March 2176, 0546 hours
A ground-shaking roar burst from the right flank and another of Alpha Team flew by Claire's head, wailing the whole way. The smoke billowing around kept her from getting a good look at the threat, but she knew it was a krogan just by the sound. According to the tactical briefings, they weren't especially adept at finesse, but they wielded the greatest physical force of any known species save the Yahg. These guys could take a tremendous amount of damage and still keep charging like a bull.
"Everyone down!" she shouted over the din and pushed one of the Bravos behind a rock. "Cover me, I'm going in!" She moved through the smoke and greased another biotic with a burst to the chest, a stream of sims flying from her muzzle. "Right here, you overgrown lizard!" She flung her last grenade in the direction of the roaring. Maybe it would at least slow him down.
The grenade detonated, throwing paint all around, knocking out two more biotics and splashing the krogan. It turned on her just as the wind blew a hole through the smoke. The briefings did absolutely no justice to seeing one in real life. This guy was like a grizzly bear…a grizzly bear in armor with a shotgun. He moved with surprising speed, clawed and booted feet pounding the ground as he came at her.
"Son of a bitch!" she said as she unloaded rounds at him. He began weaving back and forth and a few struck his armor, flattening like bugs. This guy wasn't slowing down. He got right on top of her when she rolled to the side and brought the muzzle of her rifle back up. She fired a burst right into his armpit and he roared in pain and surprise. That was the sweet spot, just like Master Chief said. But it wouldn't be enough. If this were the real thing, his redundant organs would kick in. And they did.
The krogan turned a redder shade and bellowed. He spun and swatted Shepard's rifled out of her hands, the weapon clattering on the ground nearby. He lunged on her, but she rolled away, letting him grab nothing but air and she yanked her pistol from the holster. This guy was fast and she couldn't even bring the muzzle up before she had to dive away again. He swung the barrel of his shotgun at her and she knew, this time, that she had to go on the offensive. She sprinted to the side as a blast of pellets blew behind her.
I've got to keep this guy off balance, but this is suicide.
Shepard cranked off some pistol rounds at the krogan, if anything, just to distract him. This time it was she who charged the enemy. The look on his face was priceless, his eyes growing huge and his mouth open in surprise. She would have laughed if she could have. Before he could recover, she seized the barrel of the shotgun and yanked it upwards, a spray of pellets flying into the air. She stuffed her pistol in his face, but he dodged to the side and her shots flew off into a nearby wall.
"Dammit, die already!" she told him through gritted teeth. The krogan tried to force his shotgun back at her through brute strength and Shepard could feel it. She let go of the barrel and he overcompensated, swinging it wide and firing another blast into space.
"I could say the same thing, human!"
Taking the only target she could get, Shepard fired several rounds into the krogan's hand and he dropped his gun like a hot potato. He let out a pained yell and shook his hand around. "Damn you!" he yelled.
Claire almost felt bad for him. She shrugged and forced a smile. "Sorry."
He smiled back, his mouth full of sharp teeth. "Heh…all part of the game," he said as he drew his stun dagger.
She thought it might be prudent to just shoot him, but krogan change all the rules. She could fire until the weapon blew up from overheating and it would just piss the guy off. With slow precision, her dagger left its sheath and settled in her grip. "Let's see what you got."
This time, the krogan maneuvered sideways, probing with the tip of his weapon. He was a lot more thoughtful than she expected and she kept pace with his movements, occasionally shifting the other way to avoid a pattern. "I thought you were just going to bull rush me," she said as she noticed quiet all around them. The sound of battle had died away.
"I thought you were just going to talk me to death. Oh wait, you are."
Shepard cocked her head and narrowed her eyes. "A krogan…with a sense of humor? I'm shocked."
He made a feint which was instantly parried. "I'm full of surprises today. Hey, it looks like we have an audience," he said and motioned to heads popped up over cover, watching the unfolding fight.
"So, what do you say we give them a show?"
He chuckled in a low rumbling sound. "I thought you were never going to ask me to dance."
All sense of worry left her and no award or recognition mattered. All of her family problems faded into nothingness. Only the grip of the dagger in her hand mattered. She took a deep breath and leapt in, stabbing right at the krogan's eye. He batted her hand down and pulled his head back to smash her with his armored head ridge and she cartwheeled aside, kicking him in the chin. As she landed on her feet she saw the opening and took it. She thrust her dagger in a roundhouse, right at his ear…but she held it with the tip just touching his scaly skin.
"Gotcha," she said with a wink.
He smiled right back and his eyes looked downward. Claire glanced down to see the tip of his dagger right between her breasts. "Looks like we're both dead. A good way to die though." They both took a step back and eyed each other warily.
Just before they could charge again a horn sounded. "Okay, enough for today!" It was Hartmann. "Code red, code red!" he called and then walked over to the krogan and slapped him on the back. "Good job, Runt. Next time don't get killed."
The krogan chuckled in his gurgling laugh and rubbed his hand. "Shit Hartmann, you raised a pretty good clutch here. This one nearly took my head off."
The Master Chief smirked at Shepard and then waved his finger around in the air. "All unit, all units, code red. The exercise is over. Rally back at your dorms in half an hour. That is all."
The Vila – Operations - 14 March 2176, 0630 hours
The dim rosy color on the horizon was just beginning to turn reddish yellow. A new day was dawning on The Vila. Master Chief Hartmann looked through the window and took in a breath of fresh cool air. He turned back and saw N Class 76-06 seated and ready, some covered in soot, others in bandages, others with just scabbed over cuts. Though now less than 40, they were rough and ready. A new phase was beginning and the students could sense the change in the air.
Seth Powers took the podium in front of the group. "Class, on your feet!" he bellowed, bringing everyone to attention.
Hartmann paced onstage, looking each student in the eye. "There are two things we must address before we can proceed any further. I will get to the second thing later, but first…we must say farewell to some comrades." The class began glancing around, wondering who was missing. Murmurs rose from the crowd.
"Silence," he said over the muffled voices. "There will be time for talk later, but your departing brothers and sisters demand your honor and your attention." He motioned to the brass bell at the end of the stage and the room began still. "Sergeant Ralph Heinzelman…."
A burly man from Bravo Team limped out on stage, carrying his rifle proudly. He held out the weapon for Hartmann, who seized it sharply and inspected its condition with expert eyes. "Safe and empty," he said and handed the rifle to Powers, who placed it on a rack. Heinzelman put his helmet on a nearby table, saluted Hartmann, and then proceeded to the bell.
Ding-ding…ding-ding….
"Lieutenant Cara Wade…."
A woman from Alpha took the long walk and rang the bell. Hartmann could see the sick look on the faces of the survivors. They had known these people for months, starved with them, fought with them…bled with them. These people were now like family.
"Sergeant Kim Tai-Woon…."
Shepard came out of her seat. "Kim…no! What are you doing? Get back here."
The big Korean waved her down. "Claire, it's okay. I just couldn't cut it. This is for the best. You guys…Delta Team, go kick some ass."
Shepard marched right up on stage and Hartmann was tempted to intervene, but sometimes things just needed to play out for the best.
"Kim, you're the strongest of any of us. Master Chief, you tell him. This is all a big mistake. We're this close," she said, pinching her fingers together. "We can do this.
Kim shook his head. "I'm just slowing you down, Golden Girl," he said, his eyes misting up. "I'll be fine. I'm headed back to the infantry. You haven't seen the last of me."
Shepard bit her lip and a tear rolled down her cheek. "Dammit Kim. Okay, I understand. Shit…I'm going to miss you. You take care of yourself," she said as she wrapped her arms around his thick chest.
Hartmann nodded. Maybe the diamond wasn't so rough anymore. "Okay, break it up. Shepard, back to your seat." As Claire slunk away Kim raised his rifle and pulled the charging handle back, opening the chamber. Hartmann snatched it away and peered into the opening. "Safe and empty." Kim moved to place his helmet on the table, but the Master Chief extended his hand. "Good luck to you, son."
Kim's voice cracked and his hand trembled as accepted the shake. Then, he saluted. "Thank you, Master Chief. It's been an honor."
Ding-ding…ding-ding….
Three more took the long walk before they were done. Master Chief looked out and there was not a dry eye in the class. Shepard looked particularly bad, biting the knuckle of her hand and sporting puffy red cheeks. Hartmann took a breath. "I said there were two things to address. Are you ready? Are you hungry?" The class roared. "Are you lions or are you sheep?" Another roar. "I can't hear you! Sound off like you got a pair! Ladies too!" The walls shook with the war cry.
He waved towards the adjacent room. "Then, follow me." The students rose and scrambled after him through the door where thirty eight suits of armor stood on stands. He walked up to a sleek black harness, trimmed in crimson. This one was all curves, made for a woman. "Golden Girl, get up here!" he called and she scurried up, front and center. "I get the feeling this will fit you."
He held up the armor and paced in front of the class. "There are two things that define a graduate of my beloved Vila. "The first is the ability to survive, adapt, and overcome any obstacle. The second is the armor of an N operator. Like the Spartan, the Legionnaire, and the knight of old, you will wear this into battle. You will wear this with honor. You will wear this with pride for today you have earned the right to wear it."
Shepard was sobbing by this time, overcome with emotion. Her eyes were red and her lower lip quivered in joy, sorrow, and exhaustion all rolled into one. "Go ahead, ensign. This is your armor, there are many like it, but this one is yours."
"I won't forget this, Master Chief."
He shook his head. "You'd better not." He turned away and waved to the others. "Line up, line up! We haven't got all morning. Get your armor and the rest of the day is yours. After Action Report is due tomorrow at O'Eight Hundred!"
The Alliance Club – 14 March 2176 – 2000 hours
Tuning out the throbbing technomusic, Claire took a long sip off of a tall beer, her lips salaciously wrapped around the mouth of the bottle. She put the bottle down and grabbed a handful of nachos, toying playfully with the chips.
"That good, huh?" Adam asked, catching her attention.
She licked her lips, rolled her eyes back, and gave him the most catlike moan, causing him to blow out a long breath.
"Whoa…yeah…that's…that's good," he said almost painfully.
Shepard motioned to the bartended with her fingers. "One for my friend here…and while you're at it, one more for me. Make it two for me."
The bartender slid Adam a bottle and a glass and set two up for Claire. LaRosa pulled up a stool. "Your taking the fight to the enemy...that saved the day. We were able to assault the train without interference."
"I got killed, but it was worth it." She wobbled just a little bit and had to steady herself on Adam's shoulder. "Whoa. I'm such a lightweight. Two drinks and it's off to la la land. I don't know what I'd do if I ever had my own ship with my own bar. I might get drunk and wake up on a couch on the Citadel next to a grinning asari matriarch."
"That I would like to see." He took her hand and helped her sit back up straight.
"Hey, look who's here!" she blurted out as Amanda and the rest of the Deltas arrived. She failed to notice Adam's sigh as she hopped off of her stool and nearly lost her balance. "I say we hit the dance floor."
"Wow, look who's drunk," Amanda said with a huge grin. The marine inspected the two empty bottles at Claire's seat and shook her head. "What, you down a whole two beers? Damn girl, you're a rock star."
Shepard tried to laugh, but only a squeak sounded from her throat. "This whole genetic thing…me and alcohol. You know a quarian with a tummy ache could outdrink me."
Yuri slid a tumbler full of clear liquid under her nose. "Then you'll love this. Premium Vodka…Stolis. Drink this and you'll melt the snows of Siberia."
Adam stepped in. "I think she's had enough. We still have to work in the morning."
Yuri looked hurt. "Oh, one drink! Ah, nevermind," he said as he downed it himself without even a blink.
"Hey, how we all doing?" It was Seth Powers. "Claire, you're looking mighty rosy. You look like you need a dance," he said with a wink at her.
Claire thought for a moment, started to say something and then thought some more. "Umm, I was just saying that for Pete's sake...dance…yes, I'd love to." Seth took her arm and she wobbled out onto the dance floor where the asari and the krogan were cutting it up. Shepard went out there and gave it her all, gyrating for all she was worth until she saw Powers giving her a funny look, one eye narrowed and a smirk on his lips.
"What?" she asked. "Something wrong?" She noticed that everyone around was giving her the same look and she flushed red, feeling embarrassed.
He forced a smile. "Umm, no one's ever taught you to dance, huh?"
She overheard the words spastic and flailing and she felt horrified. The asari grimaced and Shepard covered her face. "Not like this. Only the Waltz…Tango…and some Renaissance."
"You may want to tone it down a little," he said and she started shuffling slowly. "And damn, you really are an admiral's daughter, aren't you, all cultured and shit? Say, why don't we get out of here? You must have a lot of…pent up emotion."
Claire glanced back at her team. "Umm, I really should be with them. They're…they're my team."
Powers sighed. "Fine, have it your way. Maybe another time?"
She winked at him before heading back to the Deltas. "Perhaps." As she got back to the team she saw Adam smile. "So, where were we?" she asked as Joe handed her another beer. Amanda and Yuri were trading shots of Vodka and the marine was definitely coming out the worst. Claire's face lit up. "Oh, oh, look who's drunk!" she said, imitating Amanda, hands on hips.
The marine straightened up and then burst out laughing. "If I danced like you I woulda shot myself in the foot. You, Golden Girl, are going to need some lessons."
"And I suppose you're the one to give them to me?" She started shuffling her feet and pumping her arms. "Hey, I dance fine."
"You have all the soul of a brick!" Yuri blurted out and then linked arms with Joe. "Cossacks!" he declared and they began squatting and kicking their legs up. "My uncle Nikolai, he taught me this."
"Don't mind them," Adam said. He took her hand and spun her into his arms. "A waltz is fine by me."
She looked up into his dark eyes and her breath left her for a moment. "No complaints here. The Blue Danube is one of my favorites."
Adam cocked his head, listening to the throbbing technopop. "Close enough for government work. They took a spin around the floor, one-two-three, one-two-three, until Yuri burst in.
"Come on! Sabre dance for all the Deltas!"
Claire smiled and put her head on his shoulder for just a moment before they broke and linked arms with the team. Jill was kicking her legs up above her head, whooping it up. Joe poured a glass of Vodka into her mouth and she didn't miss a beat. Shepard laughed at the sight…a real laugh, one free from stress and fear and pressure. She looked down at her omni-tool for a moment and noticed that her father had called five times today. She turned the tool off just as Jill leapt up into Joe's arms and the link of arms fell apart. As they recovered, still laughing over the music. Amanda handed Claire a glass of Vodka.
"It'll be hell in the morning," Shepard said, "but I'll always remember this night."
Amanda downed another shot. "I think I owe you a story too. Remember what I said?"
"If I ever get drunk, I'll owe you the whole tale of the Reds," they both said in unison.
But before Amanda could speak, Claire held up her hand and then held up her glass. "Deltas, your attention! Here's to Kim, and Shott, and DaSilva, and all the others who gave it their all here."
"Za tvoyo zdorovie!" Yuri called and all raised their glasses.
"Absent friends!" Adam added.
Claire took a drink and then looked each of them in the eye. "And for the Deltas of Class Seventy-Six-O-Six…to honor!"
CODEX:
Za tvoyo zdorovie – Russian toast to health