Chapter 20: Power and Desire
Filon watched his handiwork with glee as the damned Kodiak finally went down, crashing on the far side of the hangar, obscured by huge cargo crates. The armor was smoking, stray tendrils of electricity arcing out from it as the arc cannon on the iron fist powered down. "This thing is amazing…" He mused as he inspected the massive gauntlet, eyes shining with new found confidence. He turned towards the men around him, all seemingly in awe at the display. "Alright Junter, I want your squad to recon the crash site. I want no survivors." he said, pointing with a huge finger towards their target's direction. "The rest of you are on damage control. I want this perimeter secured again and get me a tally of our casualties and losses." He then added "And don't get in the Luna's way! I don't need that sycophant, Melina, breathing down my neck…"
The troopers saluted him and then proceeded to go about their duties, a small contingent of which making their way towards the pillar of smoke where the kodiak's wreckage lay. Filon looked across the large hangar and took in the destruction and devastation of this one mission. There were easily dozens dead and nearly twice that much mechs destroyed. All of it just to acquire this one ship.
The Normandy SR2 was indeed a top of the line ship and Cerberus did give them the right to salvage it. The tech they could get out of the one of a kind star cruiser would raise their stocks exponentially. Still, Filon thought, Tarrana could have done better to avoid this bloodbath. There were subtler methods they could have employed like gassing the ship, or venting the whole hangar. Anything was probably better than this bloodbath. She was not loved, but this surely did not help her reputation with the others in the group.
Well, except maybe for her asari fan-girls, the most devoted of which forming the Luna Eclipse. Filon cringed at the thought. He knew most of the girls from before Tarrana's arrival; head strong and brash with a 'better-than-you' attitude. They were a handful for the old commander to deal with, but for some reason, they worshipped the ground the 'Lady of the Eclipse' walked on. Like be got like, he supposed. The Luna Eclipse were Tarrana's elite troopers, each fanatically devoted to her to the point of happily laying down their lives just to protect hers.
An interesting thought entered his head as he inspected the specs of the suit as it charged for another blast. He ran a through scan of the system; there were no wireless connections of any sort or traces of any failsafe override programs. He checked his omnitool and confirmed that the Luna Eclipse were still busy with the squadron from the Normandy. Power crackled from his very hand as tendrils of electricity emanated from him. All this power, maybe, just maybe…
His sights were turned towards the main office of the shipyard where Tarrana hid herself out of harm's way. His legs started to move towards it, the pneumatic workings of the armor giving each step a satisfying thud. Tarrana was proving to be a brilliant but flawed candidate for command. Maybe he could do better.
He opened up his comm and recalled the troops. "Actually, belay those orders…" he began, holding down the quivering of his voice. Once he utters the next line, he would have delved into the point of no return. So be it. "We're going to have a little 'union' meeting… Who else is dissatisfied about our current management?"
Kasumi had to face-palm when she heard the news. "Seriously?" was all she could manage to say after Mordin relayed recent events to her and Tali.
"Seriously?" Mordin repeated, baffled at her response. "Kodiak crashed! Crew mates in danger! Unknown circumstances! And all you have to say is 'seriously?'!"
Kasumi raised her hands, gesturing Mordin to calm down. "Easy, doc… Just having a hard time to believe our luck has gotten this bad, is all." She began. She turned towards her data feed and checked the progress of their little hacking procedure. "We still have a little way to go, can you handle the rest solo, Tali?"
The quarian didn't even take her eyes off the console, fingers typing furiously as she replied. "I'd probably go faster with you two out of my way…" She said slyly, before changing to a more heartfelt tone. "Please get everyone back alive."
"You got it, disengaging link now." Kasumi replied as she unhooked her connection to the system. "Anything goes wrong, give us a holler. We'll limp all the way back if we have to."
"I'll be fine; just don't let anybody see you two on your way out." Tali said warily, monitoring the datastream. "And be careful, you two."
Kasumi just grinned while she checked her locust SMG. "Right back at you." She replied, before turning to Mordin, "Lead the way, doc."
"Synching data with your omnitool." He began, "Will come across Jack and her team, first. Suggest we split up there. I'll aid them, you proceed to where Garrus and Joker are."
Being the stealthier of the two, she agreed to the plan. "Let's do this, then."
As her two companions skulked off, Tali immersed herself once more into the data. It had taken a bit of effort on both her and Kasumi's part, but they've managed to by-pass countless firewalls to get into the heart of the Eclipse network. Frankly, it all seemed a bit too easy, but she wasn't going to question her luck. Try as she might, she could not touch the viral uplink into the Normandy without the risk of tipping off anybody else in the system. Frowning slightly at this, she decided on a different approach. She introduced the Eclipse network to a special little program she had been working on. She had designed the virus to randomly insert, swap and alter codes into various programs of whatever system it was exposed to. While strictly not destructive, the chaos that would ensue would hopefully lag the data uplink enough to let EDI and Legion throw in a sucker punch at the Cerberus virus.
The asari commandoes of the Luna Eclipse were no rank and file troopers. That much was for sure as they danced with grace and coordination, overwhelming Jack and Samara through sheer numbers. They had separated the group of 6 that was attacking them, each taking on a smaller group of 3 to deal with individually.
Jack's breathing was ragged as she bobbed, weaved and dodged through the swings of batons and flurry of punches and kicks trying to hit her vital points. Leaning back as a punch went wide, she raised her knee to strike at one of her foes kidneys, but she was knocked back by a pair of boots to her gut from the other two. Even before she could reel back from the blow, the three asaris fell upon her again, their crackling batons stripping her shields and singed her skin. Before a yell of pain could escape her lips, Jack was lifted by biotic energies and hurled across the shipyard, landing roughly. She fought through the pain and managed to get back up again, just in time to leap out of the way as the three of them crashed right where she was standing in an explosion of biotic energy.
She was drained and exhausted, and they'll probably kill her at this rate, but no way in hell was she making this easy for these bitches. Calling on what little reserves she had left, she ran for them and dashed into a biotic charge, knocking her opponents back for a change and giving her a moment's respite. Numbers didn't matter, it never did. She had tons of experience with fighting multiple foes at the same time since she was a child, in death matches more for her captor's entertainment than scientific curiosity. She remembered the rush as they flooded her with endorphins every time she killed. Those monsters made her love killing and wanton destruction; the feeling was almost comparable to sexual release. She hated it, and despite herself, loved it at the same time. Since the people who raped her humanity were all dead, she'd take out that frustration on these high-strung skanks.
She picked the one to her left and lunged at her, slamming her elbow into the visor of the asari's helmet which cracked on impact. Staggered, the asari backed away while flailing blindly with her baton, a move Jack easily dodged and leaving her opponent open. Before she could capitalize on this however, the other 2 commandoes were on her instantly, knocking her away as they covered their injured sister.
Jack backed away, but the asari held their ground. The two who knocked her away were whirling their batons menacingly as the one she elbowed was shaking the cobwebs from her head. "Well? Come on!" She roared at them, arms wide open. "Come at me, bitches!"
The commandoes looked at each other for a second, then back at her, before breaking into a dash. They covered the distance between them almost instantly, thrusting their electrified weapons towards Jack's vital points.
Just as the weapons were about to make contact, Jack purposefully tripped herself backwards to avoid them. Not the most glamorous way to dodge, but it worked out well enough as the batons harmlessly passed above her. With a sweep of her leg, she spun around on the ground and caught the asari who she elbowed earlier by her knee, relishing in the sickening crack that ensued. The woman fell down in a cry of pain, dropping her baton in the process. Jack drew her leg back and kicked her hard in the face, smashing the helmet in and knocking her back. She then picked up the still crackling baton and got to her knees, swinging it in front of her to block the attack of the other two. Clenching her free hand into a fist, Jack set up a barrier just in time as the kicks intended to go to her gut slammed against it. It was weak and didn't last long, but she took the opportunity to back away and create some space between them. The one Jack kicked in the face squirmed helplessly on the ground, crying in anguish as she tried to take the helmet off, no doubt the shattered bits of her visor cutting up her face. The other two didn't even bother checking on their fallen comrade this time. Instead, they dashed towards Jack and unleashed a flurry of blows.
Jack was agile, but not agile enough to dodge from each strike. Not that dodging was much of an option. The electricity would course through her in savage pulses, burning her cruelly and knocking her mind off for a split second before she regained control of her body again. She'd retaliate, but her foes would block or dodge her wild swings with ease. Her world went white as a fist connected to her face and her body went limp, sending her sprawling on the floor.
She couldn't move, but they didn't stop there. They converged on her like vultures and went at her for what seemed like forever, not intent on giving her a clean death. The two asari took turns kicking her in the gut, alternating those between jabs of their electric batons. Jack could only groan in pain as her body struggled to keep together. Finally, the beating seemed to stop, and she opened her eyes to see one of the commandos standing above her. The asari's baton was raised in the air, no doubt to try and stab her to death with it. Jack had been in similar predicaments before. Some idiot would always get the upper hand on her and would stupidly try to relish the moment. There was one thing she found out throughout those situations, though. Be it male or female, nothing turns the tables quite as poetically as a good kick in between the legs.
She struck with what strength she had left right on the mark, the force of the kick actually raising the asari in the air. The commando yelped in pain and fell onto both knees, straddling Jack, dropping the baton and both hands grabbing her crotch in agony. Jack sat up and wrapped her arms around the asari's neck in a deadly embrace. Before the commando could react, she twisted and neatly broke her neck with a clean snap. Tossing aside the limp corpse from her lap, Jack got up, only to have the last standing asari rush at her, wailing in fury.
The commando came at her angry at the death of her sister, flailing her baton wildly. Jack was worse for wear, but all she needed was one last push of energy. She managed to duck underneath the swing and punch the asari in the gut. She went with the momentum and spun around, slamming her elbow into the back of her opponent's neck and following it up with a punch to the back of the head for good measure. The asari fell to the ground limp.
Whether her opponent was dead or unconscious, Jack didn't care. No trash talk this time, she was too busy gasping for air. Her body was past exhausted at this point. She fell to her knees and lulled her head lazily towards her last surviving opponent: The asari she had kicked in the face. The commando was still clutching her face, the shards of her visor apparently having cut a major blood vessel as the asari now lay motionless in a pool of her own blood.
She looked off to where Samara was still fighting, wanting to dash off immediately and help her. But her vision was stating to dim. She tried to get back up on her feet, but her body would not listen to her anymore. Spent, Jack fell face-first to the ground and drifted into unconsciousness.
Meanwhile, Samara was having her own problems against her opponents. Up to now she has fared well, being able to match the three commandoes and keep up the pace to avoid being overwhelmed. She broke off from the skirmish and raised her hand, urging a pause in the battle. "You are all skilled. Young. It would be a shame for you to die here…" she began, her eyes following the three commandoes who were circling her warily. "I will give you this last warning. If you press on, you will die." Her hand pointed towards the far end of the hangar where the exit was. "Turn back now, and you shall be spared."
The commandoes looked at each other, then back at her, before breaking into laughter. "Is this senile old hag serious?" the one in the middle said. "Come on, lady. If we kill a Justicar, our reps will be set for life!" They just kept laughing as they charged at her, their musical laughter mixing with the crackles of their electric batons. "The lady will favor us if we present her with your head!"
Samara looked almost sad. Almost. "Very well, I shall oblige you the will to die." She managed to say to her opponents before they converged on her like a pack of ravenous hyenas. As a Justicar, the code had always compelled her to violence where it saw fit, usually alone with the odds stacked highly against her. Three asari commandoes would usually be a walk in the park for her. But she was tired, and the adrenaline could only carry her for so long. Her movements started to get sloppy, and the effort of exertion showed on her face. The commandoes delivered blow after blow, chaining together attacks like a hurricane. Slowly but steadily, more and more of their attacks started to break through her defenses. Her opponents noticed this and redoubled their efforts, smelling blood in the water.
Drawing on her biotics, Samara sent a pull field towards her opponents to slow the pace of the combat. It was no use as one of her opponents countered with a pull field of their own, negating the effects of hers as the two biotic fields clashed against each other. The three commandoes jumped over the resulting explosion and descended on Samara, bodies shining with biotic auras. They suddenly accelerated as they did a series of biotic charges, intent on crushing the justicar from above.
The air around her warped as Samara focused her aura into a barrier. Her opponents crashed towards her, and she barely dodged as they slammed against the ground, unleashing an explosion of energy with each impact. Her barrier protected her from the shockwaves that splashed against her, but it was still enough to throw her off balance and send her stumbling to the ground. Before she could find her footing, the commandoes were upon her, striking her simultaneously with shining fists in the gut, sending her flying backwards and crashing into a heap on the ground.
The commandoes laughed at her in the distance as she got up to all fours, panting heavily. Her gut burned as she felt the bile rise in the back of her throat, giving way to the sharp taste of copper as she threw up blood. Now was a very poor time to suffer from organ damage. Samara forced herself up to one knee as she fought back the urge to retch. Her eyes glowed as she used her biotics to help her get up.
Before she could even stand straight, she felt another field wrap around her own and lift her up in the air. She turned to look over her shoulder just in time as two of the mercs delivered a flying kick to her back, one to each kidney. The attack tore through her barrier and the pain resonated through her being, the enemy field holding her steady.
This wasn't the first time Samara thought she was going to die. She had lived more than half a millennium and suffered injuries more severe than her current situation presented. And that was even before she took the justicar's oath. It was her sheer tenacity and purpose that always brought her the will to survive. She couldn't let herself die back then, not when she still had a purpose to fulfill. But this time was different. This time, she had no other reason to live. She had already killed Morinth and earned part of her redemption. A justicar's life was often short and violent, with barely a handful living to their matriarch years.
She was already out of it when she was lowered to the ground. Maybe… Maybe it was her time to die, Samara thought to herself as the commandos closed in on her, each of them full of cruel intentions. But just as she thought that, her eyes wandered to where Jack lay motionless on the ground. She didn't notice that the other woman had already beaten her opponents up 'til now. Maybe it was the blood loss, maybe it was the concussions, but something about her losing didn't sit right with her all of a sudden. If she lost now, Jack's victory would have been meaningless. She felt her fists clench until her knuckles went white and grit her teeth 'til they gnashed. Maybe this wasn't when she was supposed to die, she thought to herself again. Maybe this was when she should find a new reason to live.
Fighting through the pain, she stood up, much to the surprise of her enemies. Samara turned to them, bloodied and beaten, her words barely a whisper when she spoke. "This is your last chance to run away…"
"Run away?" One of the commandos repeated incredulously. "I think she's suffered brain damage, sisters!" She announced amusedly as her two other companions laughed. "Enough of this charade! Let's put this bitch out of her misery!" With that, the commandos rushed her, killing intent practically oozing from their auras.
Samara grunted in pain as the batons sent wave after wave of unforgiving electricity into her body with each hit. Just before she could recover, two of the commandoes grabbed both her arms in an arm-bar and tried to force her to her knees, while the third one was in front of her, about to lash violently with the baton and aiming to crack open her skull.
Going with the flow of the pressure from the arm bar, Samara did a front flip and converted it into an axe kick, slamming her heel hard into the one in front of her and sending the commando staggering from the unexpected blow. Still using the momentum, Samara brought her arms together, knocking the two mercenaries holding her into each other and making them let go. Her eyes glowed a vivid blue, and she sent the two staggered commandoes flying with a quick biotic pulse.
The one she had kicked had recovered and dashed between her two sisters with a biotic charge, lashing out with a powerful strike with her baton. Samara caught her by the wrist, the crackling baton mere inches from her head, standing firm as the force of the charge pushed her back. Samara pulled in her opponent and lifted her leg, wrapping the commando's arm around her leg and planting her boot to her side. Samara suddenly applied pressure to the commando's arm, pulling her shoulder joint out of its socket with a sickly pop. Her opponent yelled in pain and dropped her baton in the process. Samara caught the baton before it hit the ground, whirling it in her hand before stabbing the weapon through the commando's visor and into her face. Unwrapping her leg from the commando's arm, she kicked her away as the commando began to convulse from the electricity.
The asari shrieked as 30,000 watts of electricity scorched through her head, searing her pretty face and cooking her eyes white. She convulsed violently on the floor, her screaming cut short as smoke rose from her body, filling the area with a horrid, burnt stench. The other two commandos watched in horror as their sister was electrocuted to death, quickly transferring their horror into rage as their eyes fell on Samara. The justicar merely stood there, shaking from her injuries, looking on at her handiwork with cold impassiveness. No rage, no horror, not even the slightest hint of satisfaction. She just stood there and watched; her eyes simply dead to the world.
"You…" She strained to say as her throat burned, "You have raised your hands against a justicar; the embodiment of the code." She said with a voice as cold as her stare, her words bearing no emotion whatsoever save from the raspiness of injury. "As it is written, I have warned you of the consequences. You chose to ignore my warning, and now the punishment is death." She got into a combat stance. "Will you throw yourselves against death, or will death have to hunt you down?"
The commandoes visibly fumed at her words as their fallen comrade's corpse roasted with electricity. "You talk big for someone on their last legs!" One of them sneered at her. "You will die for that! Do you hear me, you hag? Die for that!"
"And yet here I am…" Samara replied calmly, blood dribbling down her mouth, her body showing signs of exhaustion and punishment. "Here I am, still standing."
"Not for long!" The commando roared as she and her sister ran past their dead comrade towards Samara. Their bodies glowed as they accelerated to a biotic charge. "Now die!"
Samara closed her eyes and wreathed herself in biotic energy once more. Just as the commandos were about to make contact, her eyes snapped open, and tendrils of biotic energy shot forth from her and pierced her opponents' barriers and into their flesh. Reave was a biotic ability she considered taboo, as it sapped the life of her enemies and let her drink from it like a fine spirit. It would not heal her miraculously, but it would give her enough strength to do what is necessary.
The commandos were stunned, but the inertia of their charge still threw them helplessly towards the justicar. In a span of a moment, Samara drew back both fists, charging them with biotic energy. As they approached, she lashed out with both hands, catching both of them with a vicious blow to their chests. Armor plates shattered and flesh ruptured as the force of the blow crushed the hearts of the last two members of the Luna Eclipse. They were dead before they hit the ground.
Samara took a moment to make sure they were dead before dropping to her knees, panting heavily. Her gaze wandered towards Jack and she started to slowly crawl towards the other woman, her vision starting to dim and blur as she fought through the pain. She managed to make it halfway before a boot stomped heavily on one of her hands, crushing her fingers as it ground her hand to the floor. The pain didn't even register as she looked up to the owner of the boot with an expression not unlike confusion.
Melina, the leader of the Luna Eclipse, stared back at her with tears streaming down her face. "You… You lowly bitches…" she said as her body trembled. "You killed my sisters…!"
Before Samara could reply, Melina kicked her across the face, sending her sprawling on the ground. She spat out blood before she could manage to talk. "They would not listen…" She whispered hoarsely, "I had no choice but to kill them…"
Melina grabbed her by the throat, choking Samara and pulling her up to stare at her face to face. "No, no, you don't understand…" she began, her voice quivering.
Samara's eyes were shut as she grabbed Melina's hand to try and pry her off. However it was to no avail as the other asari held its grip around her neck like a vice. She opened her eyes, but she was unprepared for what she saw. Mere inches from her face, Melina's lips were split into a maniacal grin.
"Thank you so much, Justicar!" She announced, barely able to control her excitement, a hot red flush tinting her features. "Now I don't have to share Lady Tarrana's attentions! Now my Lady Tarrana will love Melina the most!" Her eyes glazed over and her body heated up at the thought, her breath hot and heavy. "Oh… Oh… My lady…" She cooed as Samara could only look on in confusion.
This was strange, Samara thought to say the least. It took a lot to scare the justicar, but the look on Melina's face honestly perturbed her. The commando's pupils were as small as pin-points, her eye's seemingly sunken. She tried to muster her biotics to defend herself, but she was past her limit, only managing to flicker a thin spark of energy around her before it fizzled away.
Just as if she remembered something important, Melina's eyes centered on her again. "But first, you and your friend must die." Unnatural strength lifted Samara into the air as Melina drew a glowing fist back. "Goodbye, justicar, I will always be in your debt." She said happily.
Before anything else could happen, a shot rang out, and a smoking bullet hole appeared between Melina's eyes, the blood splattering all over Samara. She let go of the justicar, who landed on her knees, while she slumped limply on the ground, dead.
Samara turned her head to see Mordin looking down the smoking barrel of his heavy pistol. The salarian slowly approached the corpse, keeping it in his crosshairs until he was certain it was dead. Satisfied, he holstered the pistol and hurried to Samara's side, giving her a quick scan with his omnitool. "Sorry for delay, had to move slowly, risk attracting attention." He began. "Hmmm, Internal hemorrhaging. Traces of organ injury. Multiple cuts and abrasions. Hairline fractures along ribcage. Concussion, likely. Blood loss, evident." He said as he tore a small hole on Samara's sleeve and produced a syringe. He quickly stuck it in her shoulder before she could protest and injected her with a cool, blue liquid. "Hemostatic agent. Should control hemorrhage." He explained curtly as he tossed the empty syringe over his shoulder. "Stay still." Running his omnitool over her, he applied a generous amount of medi-gel. "Should stabilize you until transfer to med-bay."
Before Samara could say anything else, Mordin hurried off and went towards Jack, busying himself with her injuries. As far as she could see, Jack was still unconscious and Mordin was taking his time with her. Her eyes wandered to where Melina's body lay on the ground, a pool of blood forming a crimson halo around her head. She couldn't place her finger on it, but something was not right.
"Mordin killed her? Too bad…" a voice booming voice behind her announced. Samara turned to see Grunt limping over to her. "Wanted to get a couple of shots in myself… Are you alright?"
"I am… I have been better." Samara replied weakly, "Right now, I am more bothered than anything else… How are you, Grunt?"
"Regeneration's kicking in, I'll be fine in a few more minutes." He mused, looking into the distance. "I agree, something's not right…"
"You saw her eyes, too?" Samara asked, eager to not seem crazy.
Grunt blinked in confusion. "Her eyes? What?"
"Nevermind…" she replied, turning away. "What do you mean, something is not right?"
"I'm talking about the Eclipse." Grunt replied, "We're ripe for the picking standing out here in the open. Where the frag are they?"
Tarrana bit her lower lip as she surveyed her monitors, taking an account of the situation. From her control hub in the shipyard's main office, she had just witnessed her little pet project, the Luna Eclipse, slaughtered at the hands of the enemy. If anything, she was more disappointed than devastated. This was a major set-back, but not an irreversible one. She looked around her to her asari underlings, knowing full well there was more where that came from. A shame about Melina though, she had shown such promise. Something caught her eye, and she zoomed in the video feed for a closer look at Melina's corpse. A smile broke into her somber expression. It would seem Melina still had some surprises in store for her opponents.
Overall, the loss of the Luna Eclipse was not in vain. The Normandy's defenses had been whittled away, leaving the ship ripe for the taking. Now where oh where were the rest of her troopers when she needed them? Filon had been showing such promise as a leader too. It would be quite a shame to let this opportunity go to waste.
That was when the door to the office exploded, revealing Filon standing over the rubble and backed by her non-asari lieutenants. "My, my… How rude…" Tarrana mused as her asari troops raised their weapons at the newcomers. "And what an awfully crude use for my Arc Cannon, Filon… Tell me, what is the meaning of this, hmm?" She said in her sing-song tone. "No, never mind, I'm sure the reason would bore me. Now, why don't you be good little boys and girls and take the Normandy for me, yes?"
Filon had a cocksure grin on his face as he raised the massive fist, pointing it towards Tarrana. Electricity started to crackle from it. "We've had enough of your 'eccentricities', my lady." He announced, spitting the last part out as his entourage raised their weapons as well. "This is a mutiny, Ionet! Surrender and we may be convinced not to kill you!"
Filon expected shock, indignation, rage even. But what he didn't expect was that same insufferable amused smile that always seemed plastered on her face. Tarrana simply crossed her arms over her chest and dipped onto her hip, giggling quietly to herself. This bitch was crazy.
"Maybe you do not fully comprehend the situation, Tarrana." He said, taking a couple of steps toward her. "I'm taking control of the Omega Eclipse away from you. You never even deserved it, you outsider!"
Still, nothing. She just stared at him like he was some dog, yearning for attention. The thought of her showing how much better she was even in this situation infuriated him to no end. The time for words was over.
"Fuck you, you crazy bitch." Filon snarled as an arc of lightning blasted from his hand, swallowing everything in front of him.