VALKYRIE-BRIDGE
"Captain. Lieutenant Verner has successfully taken control of the enemy ship that attempted to board us. That little bridge of theirs is still up though. Won't be able to maneuver much until we cut ties with Verner's little catch, captain." Cortana said, a small smile appearing on her face.
"Alright. Send a message to Verner that he's got sixty-seconds to get himself situated and that ships hull sealed tight. Four eyes' has a way to attach that thing to us, more then likely they know how to pull it back."
"There's been a development."
"What kind of development, Cortana ?"
"Lieutenant Verner managed to capture one of the aliens alive. He wants to send him over to us for interrogation."
"And be rescued by his little friends still crawling all over my ship. Not likely. Send a message to Verner to keep that thing under close watch. You and me have a battle to win here."
"What are you thinking Chekhov?"
"We've been keeping the atmosphere oxygenated with air devoid of the elements we need to survive. If we stop scrubbing the air then those aliens will either die or be forced to use what limited air they have. Either way their time table goes to shambles."
"A little cold don't you think?"
"Cold, Cortana? No cold would've been shooting first and asking questions afterward."
A moment of silence passed as Chekhov put his hand into a nearby terminals data stream.
"The aliens are moving through our ship killing everyone they come across, tech, soldiers. They don't seem to care who they take out. The vultures aren't going to hold on much longer against that boarding ships twin. We're down to fifty craft."
"suggestions?"
"Tell them to release their payloads all at once and overwhelm whatever the hell they use to shoot our missiles down. After that, bug out and head for home."
"Got it Chekhov, the vulture squadron leaders are carrying out your orders as we speak."
"Do we have any way to hit that ship without losing more pilots ?"
"We might, just give me a sec..."
"...here we go! We have one working torpedo, I'll just turn on the auto loader and she'll be good to go in ten seconds."
" Excellent. Any word on our progress slowing the aliens down?"
"Its appears they've dawned some kind of environmental suits that are feeding them their own air supply. Sorry the bastards didn't choke captain."
"You did your best. How many men are on route to their position?"
"Most of the ship sir. Their about to run into a whole squad guarding the medical wing."
"Is Dostya in danger?"
"If they run up against the helghast models guarding the medical wing, they'll be fighting against an equal opponent, minus the shields of course." Cortana said.
"Don't take any chances Cortana. Direct everything we've got into the medical wing."
"But sir...wait a moment." Cortana said her eye's widening.
"I'm picking up a faint signal coming from the prison section...It could be beacon of some kind. I've been too busy to pick it up until just now."
"Damn. So that quarian's leading them straight to her...which means they'll have to go through medical to get to the access elevators."
"That's correct, captain. I might have a way to slow them down further though."
"Tell me Cortana, Dostya's too vital to lose to this nightmare. The things she knows about us-and them."
"I'll kill the main lighting on the deck the enemy's moving through. That should allow our softer light infantry a chance to use their night vision without the goggles to give them away."
"Its days like this I'm glade we machines upgraded over the years."
"Unless whoever we're fighting can see in the dark as well..."
"It won't matter. I'm not letting this ship or its crew fall into enemy hands. Once the proton torpedo is away I want you to bring all the AA batteries back online and fire into that large ship that's holding back."
"What if they retaliate."
"Hopefully they value their own more then they do their enemy's well being."
BATARIAN BOARDING PARTY
"Who turned out the damn lights ?" one of his soldiers shouts, the noise grating to Chartoks ears.
It was not enough that the rookie had boasted throughout this ordeal. Nor was it enough when the body of a slain foe rose as if by magic from beyond the veil of death to take one of his experienced soldiers.
"Relax. They know we're laying them out like a pijeck slaughter on Tuchanka." Chartok said. He didn't like this turn of events one bit but he would be chained and lashed a thousand times before admitting to sharing the feelings of one so unremarkable as his team's resident rookie. A name he failed to recall...with any luck the man would be dead before this was out.
The doors to nearby room that had been open suddenly sealed shut. Chartok assumed the aliens had similar feelings on doors and dress as he did, though it was still unnerving that so many would die rather then lie down their weapons in the face of unfavorable odds.
"I'm going to scout out ahead. Rookie comes with me and everyone else stay behind to watch my back." Chartok ordered before moving down a hall past the recently shut doors.
Chartok had gone no more then a few yards before the sound of vents opening and gas being vented into the hall made him stop suddenly.
"Gas! Get your breathers on." Chartok yelled to his comrades behind him.
"ha! See Chartok, their too frail and weak to face us like true warriors. Using chems to kill us shows they have no honor." The rookie said with a mixture of triumph and distaste.
"Where are you from again?" Chartok asked.
"Smuggled myself out of the hegemony two weeks ago boss. Why do you ask?"
"That explains so much." Chartok said before face palming in disbelief at his sordid luck as of late.
"What's that got to do with any thi..hostiles!"
Sure enough five hostiles rounded a corner. Three of them were the smaller more asari like creatures he had encountered before. The other two however looked like over sized security mech's.
"Come at me puny creatures! I'll rip you a new one and..." The rookie's outburst was cut short as several dozen rounds slammed into him and broke his shields. The rest punctured his armor before lodging within his flesh. Lungs filled with blood as still more cuts were made into the batarians body.
Chartok fired off his own burst as his shields began to fall. For whatever reason, probably the rookies grating voice, he'd been the center of their attention. The rookie had taken out two of his attackers before blood spilled from his mouth, signifying his mortal wounds. Both had been the asari like creature bearing goggles.
'Typical rookie mistake for someone just off the freighter.' Chartok mused. He activated his armor piercing rounds he'd switched over to using before leaving his squad behind with the rookie following him like some spoiled varren.
'shields 75%' his helmet display read.
Chartok took aim and fired into the torso of one of the mechs. He was rewarded as it staggered back. One of its arms clutching its wound like an organic being might do.
'What are you? Geth rejects ? Some plot of the shadow broker ?' Chartok mused as he finally seemed to kill the creature with a second burst of fire. Blowing the mechs hand away and widening the wounds he'd already inflicted on it.
More rounds slammed into him now.
'shields 51%'
An asari like creature came at him now. It ducked low under the fire and pushed headfirst into his gut before knocking him down.
'Shields 40%'
Chartok went to raise his weapon only to be rewarded with the alien shooting into it, breaking apart his only means of defense. Or so the alien would have believed.
Chartok raised himself up as much as he could since the alien had pinned him on the floor and brought his helmet to that of alien with a loud thud. The alien seemed to stumble somewhat but was still holding on.
In desperation Chartok took a grenade and stuck it to the alien before using all his strength to once again head butt the alien. This time it reacted faster, moving off of him and rising to its full height above him. It brought its gun to bear.
Chartok kicked its stomach. Again the being seemed stronger then asari or even a batarian.
It fired off a few rounds. One hit the floor beside Chartoks head. Another was dead on.
'Shields 12%'
Chartok felt time slow as the alien now out of his reach made for another go at him.
Several rounds flew into the alien's chest. One hitting the grenade Chartok had failed to activate.
The explosion of gore painted Chartoks visor and uniform.
One of his squad mates was coming to his rescue! He couldn't have been happier to have worked with the same squad on other missions, it forged a bond. As close as one could get being a mercenary.
More gunfire sounded. Coming from the direction of the mech. More gunfire joined to amplify the sound of counter fire.
"Chartok! Crawl over to my voice."
"I hear you Jasrek. Just keep those bastards off me." Chartok shouted as he crawled in a way undignifying of one who wore his articulate face paints and tattoo's.
"More of them coming at us from behind!" One of his soldiers yelled.
"Some of them don't have masks on!" Someone shouted.
"So shoot them in the face you fool." Chartok said over the sound of gunfire.
"Pulling himself around a corner he finally felt safe enough to stand up and wipe away the blood on his visor. His shield slowly recovered, chartok's anxiety not abating until it reached its full strength.
Turning to one of his men who was firing down the way they'd come earlier he voiced the absence of some of their comrades.
"Where's Jasrek?"
"He died in the hall facing down that mech after he took out red eyes for you. Tef is dead too and we've got wounded that can still fight."
"We have an exit ?"
"No boss, they got a hold of some real fire power instead of the shit they've been throwing our way. They don't have shields but their better shots then half the Eclipse merc I've tangled with."
"What about that door that slammed shut earlier?"
"That door." The merc said motioning his gun in its direction as he continued to fire into a mech that had come into his kill zone. "is sealed shut and doesn't have a terminal to use our omni tools on. Its got some sort of liquid pool next to it full of red liquid that might be their blood or something." The merc finished.
"We still have grenades ?"
"Sure why ?"
" I need our rocket soldier to fire into that hall and get an engineer to start placing grenades, mines, and whatever else to blow that door."
"We left the engineer guarding the boarding transport."
"Damn. Ok, your the new engineer for the next minute. I'll take your place and coordinate the men."
"Me sir?"
"Yes, you blew up that weapons stash back on Camala those eclipse were trying to hide and your going to do the same with whatever red eye's doesn't want us to find."
"Alright boss. You watch my back like you did on Camala and We'll walk away for sure."
"Don't forget who wears the face paint here."
"You don't have to remind me boss."
With that the man went about his work taking grenades and whatever else he could find and syncing them to his omni tool.
Chartok for his part took the young soldier's rifle and felt truly secure at long last, being able to shoot back at his opponents.
Just when all seemed under control the lights went out.
Several of his men appeared startled and paused at the sudden lack of lighting. The enemy appeared to have prior knowledge of the even however as they did not let up in their assault. Despite no clear line sight their red eye's seemed to still line up head shots, further dwindling Chartoks numbers.
"The doors about to blow!" The engineer bellowed.
Firing on fully automatic Chartok cleared a wave of oncoming mech's before his weapon froze up having overheated.
One of the wounded made to shift position only to be cut down.
'Valan better be prepared to be disappointed." Chartok thought.
Valkyrie-Medial Wing
The explosion may have deafened Tabitha if not outright killed her had she not been well enough away from the door when it blew open. The smells and sounds of battle invading her normally sterile medical wing.
She hid behind one of the medical stations, the hulking frame of a zaku laid out in front of her atop the station. A terran would have compared the facilities to those of a garage or some chimera cross between itself and a clinic. Gears and biomass littered the room.
The wounds the aliens inflicted upon her people at what was being dubbed as the 'first contact incident', where great. Seemingly harmless amounts of metal had flown into and in some cases all the way through her brothers and sisters, weather they wore armor or not.
Tabitha shuddered at the thought of being on the receiving end of such firepower.
'Please just go away. By the five just go away.' Tabitha mused as she curled up against the station, her back toward the station and the medical wing's entrance. She brought her legs up to her chest and prayed that god might grant her some favor.
The loud exclamation that sounded in an alien tongue was all the warning she had before things went to hell. Bullets tore into the zaku II's body, splattering black blood upon the station where it lay. More shots took out the only other biological form helghast besides Tabitha. Men and woman died as they attempted to run with the use of only one limb, others raised medical equipment as crude shields.
They all simply faded from the network. No download centers existed within reach to bring them back to their loved ones. For them this hell was over.
A snarl is heard. Tabitha realizes it is directed at her. She refuses to move even then. Raw nerves and programmed instinct fighting the cold logic of her next actions.
She rises hesitantly now. Her arms are raised high in what she hopes is a universal sign of surrender.
These beings have eight eyes, each one seeming to stare into her very soul as if weighing her worth. The one in the center speaks to her as it motions its gun in a gesture she need not be explained to her.
These aliens are new. Cortana had told her of the Asari with their terran like attributes. The Quarians both the one living in a cell she'd treated as well as the dead she'd examined were frail yet terran like until one removed the helmets. Beauty truly was in the eye of the beholder with that lot.
Then came the odd bulbous creature that a zaku had cut in two. Poor thing had been so small and weak it hardly seemed to have warranted such as savage death in Tabitha's opinion.
They all seemed terran to her. The offshoot of hated humanity that had so persecuted her people on Kobol. The same could be said of her side of the helghast family, yet beneath the surface she knew this to be a great over simplification. She had been born as a DUM series droid when her parent two intelligences had merged briefly to create her own. An odd choice of body perhaps but after a few years a mostly organic body was grown for her.
Tabitha wished more then anything that she could compact herself and appear like a fly on the wall. Non threatening and most importantly unnoticed.
Maybe that's why she had such a kinship with the machines they'd found aboard the alien vessels. Long terran like bodies yes, but they were mechanical in nature! No organic weaknesses and yet they appeared almost comically cute to her with their flashlight heads.
These creatures in front of her were bipedal like the rest yet the alien nature of those four eye's each sported behind masks unnerved her. A sentinel could have a dozen eyes but they were mechanical, Zaku only sported a single eye themselves yet on these organic alien's it seemed to suggest something.
Barbaric? Predatory? Unknown.
Tabitha knew not the answer only the revulsion at their presence and the fear at what that presence could bestow upon her.
"Please don't shoot me. I surrender ok. I'm a doctor! These are...were my patients. Please don't kill me I don't want to die...please." Tabitha said. Her calm explanation giving way to a whimpering appeal for mercy.
The next words the lead alien spoke decided her fate.
Batarian Boarding Party- Medical Wing of Valkyrie
"Stay where you are!" Chartok shouted.
The man at his side had clearly been raddled by the firefight going on outside and it showed in every passing second.
"We should just kill her boss. No use letting her whip out one of those arm gun things later..." The mercenary said.
Clearly his aim and doubts about their survival made him a good deal better from the 'rookie'.
'Yet he'll probably end up screwing this up for us by being so damn trigger happy' Chartok thought.
The alien had said some garbled gibberish neither he nor his men could make out.
"No. I may have a way out of this. Get her on her knees and tie...that around her hands." Chartok said after motioning to some odd looking binding material. The man did not do as ordered however.
"Hey! I said tie this bitches arms together!" Chartok yelled before shoving the man forward with the hand that wasn't currently pointing a loaded weapon at the alien.
"Ok. Ok boss...its just what if she comes at me with claws or something?" The merc said as grabbed the material Chartok had pointed to.
"Then I'll put a bullet between her eyes like I did the last one that pulled that salarian con job on us."
After a moment Chartok added. "And I'll kill you the next time you hesitate to follow my orders."
The merc tilted his head in respect and approached the alien.
It was so damn scared...pathetic really if Chartok had to put a name to the action. Her...if it was truly female and not some sort of sexless species like the asari claimed to be. Valan's reward system didn't always consist of creds and he was reasonably sure a male asari if they ever existed would have been gobbled up by the rachni in spades. Asari as fem fatals could seduce you and cause you to drop your guard...then they'd hit you with biotics and you were dead.
He tried to lower his tone hoping this would communicate some sort of basic understanding. Soft tones tended to reassure slaves quit a bit...until you told them where you taking them. Then all the spirits of the past might as well have broken loose on you!
"We won't hurt you if you help us. Just let him tie you up and we won't harm you." He said.
'Much' was the unsaid ending of his declaration.
The fighting in all this hadn't let up. Yet as he turned around to see more of his men...or man? There was only one soldier coming his way now and it was the stand-in engineer from before that helped blow the door.
As he was to shout an order several rounds hit the engineer. His shields failed and some blood splashed into the air. Chartok saw the engineer turn to the side in a jerk that told him the man's momentum was no longer his own. The mass effect rounds had spun him around to present a larger target.
An odd light hit the merc then. Both he and what he supposed was all that was left of his squad looked on in horror. Had he not been so focused he would have noticed the alien too was looking on in fright...possibly satisfaction.
The mass effect rounds stopped and Chartok knew that had an asari been at his side, she would have been shouting expletives about her goddess.
The man turned back around to face him...frozen in the middle of the door way. A hole through which his fist would pass through like air adorned his chest. The man looked down, still barely alive yet so close to death. Chartok and everyone in the medical wing knew it.
The merc struggled to lift his right arm as if reaching out for Chartok. Begging like the condemned begged for salvation. The courts, mercs, specters all gave the same answer...the aliens did as well.
Another beam of light the batarian in the side of the head. The brains simply disintegrated as the heat burned away the mans conscious thoughtless. A quick death but a horrific one for Chartok to behold.
Four eye's burned like goo filled puss that ran down the mercs face. The body fell with a thump upon the ships floor just outside the medical wing. The corpses arm falling over the threshold.
"We should kill this alien! Run for it back to the pod and..."
"Shut up!" Chartok seethed. Like the rookie this man was an unknown. He'd now lost every one in his tight knit group that formed through years of hard fought battles. They once joked about buying a ship and running across the galaxy on grand adventures...nonsense of course but still a dream.
"Turn that thing around and cover my ass. I've got an idea to stop the bullets and whatever that light show was earlier." Chartok said.
The merc for once obeyed without question. He pressed himself against the alien's backside, gun to the side of her head. Hostage taking was a dishonorable act, something weaklings did when missions couldn't get done because they themselves had to rely on others fears instead of their own skills. He'd taken hostages twice by Valan's orders. This was going to be shameful but a little shame beat death any day of the year.
"Walk." Chartok said as he pushed her forward.
Doors hissed open as they went deeper into the medical wing. Coming upon disfigured bodies and things of another nature all together.
"What are those!" The merc guarding chartok's back side asked pointing his gun at a glass case built into the wall. Inside vats containing organic limbs...or what looked like metallic bone and the barest inklings of flesh. Unlike the last room all those here were of the fleshy goggle headed variety.
"Don't act so shocked. We have the same thing back on Camalla. Councils been trying for years to get us to share our advanced medical sciences with their inferior people's."
"But we're part of the council Chartok." The merc said as he turned away from the vats. The un-batarian appearance of those limbs frightened him. Chartok doubted he'd ever visited a hospital...much less gotten an arm blown off like he had.
'Damn Krogans and their wounded pride." Chartok thought.
"We have an embassy on the citadel. The councils big three make all the decisions while we look like we have a say in the matter. Next thing you know they'll be telling us we can't have slaves."
"They wouldn't dare!"
"Enough talk about the council. Just don't shoot our alien friends over there" Chartok said gesturing to several patients laying on tables...some with chests rising and falling while others remained flat. Life long extinguished.
"Why?"
"If you keep offing their wounded then this hostage becomes less valuable to us. They'll think we'll cap her anyway and just write her off. If they care and she has a chance in their eyes then our spirits won't exit out ours." Chartok reasoned.
"What if they don't care about the hostage ?"
"We're dead if we don't try and damn sure to die faster then Salarian in varren pit we don't. You saw the same mayhem I have. We're going to leave this ship and grab that quarian. Lost too many not to."
"Alright Chartok, I'll go along with you on this. First sign of trouble I'll slaughter all these red eyed Noxor before I go down." The merc said invoking a slang for reviled beings that slept with their livestock intimately.
"Noxor indeed." Chartok said.
After walking a ways they happened upon a back exit.
'Now we see.' Chartok said before walking into the hall.
Several large machines greeted him from all sides. A mixtures of weapons greeted them. Some were guns as one would expect but Chartok took note of the extended claws some of the asari like beings now sported. Smaller caliber weapons also appeared from the arms and hands of several of the aliens.
'Did they just pop out of there or are they attached somehow ?' Chartok thought.
They didn't fire.
"Well at least your not turning into goo." The merc behind him supplied.
"Not helping!" Chartok said without his eye's leaving the multiple hostiles that surrounded them.
While he couldn't understand his alien captive's words that came from her mouth to her ship mates ears he could guess what they were about.
'Either she wants them to save her ass or back off.'
Relief and surprise came to him as the machines and goggle headed creatures...without goggles or masks now that the damn air was a mixture of whatever they breathed.
"Move forward slowly." Chartok said. As he did so the aliens continued to back off of him.
"Take over a second. I'm going to try to figure out how to get to the quarian."
"Are we even near that visor wearing bitch ?" The merc asked.
"We're close enough. A little detour won't be so bad if she can tell us how to get to our pick up."
Moving in front of the alien while his companion's rifle rested at the back of her head, he pointed to his omni tool and then gestured upward. Chartok hoped the creature caught on to what he wished her to do.
After a moment realization set in and she nodded her head. When she raised her hand to point out the direction he should take, Chartok noticed both his merc and the aliens surrounding them going for their triggers.
"Stop! She's point us in the right direction. Your spooking its kin into thinking your about to kill her."
With that the mercs finger recede back a ways and his posture relaxed...as much as one could relax with guns pointed your way.
He moved with the alien now. After switching back to their original position he loosened up a bit until they came to a lift...which he assumed was just another door. An odd pool of liquid jutted out from the wall nearby. Slowly the aliens hand reached out.
"She's trying to trick us!"
"Shut up!" Chartok said for the third time since the alien's kin had fallen back a considerable distance. Still within range but not enough that he wouldn't have time to duck or return fire.
Chartok pointed to the pool of liquid and then the door. She motioned to the pool and then the door and then made to point above them to the next level.
Translation ? 'This is a lift and this is the control terminal'. Chartok thought.
Stepping into the box like structure that was unlike any lift or elevator he'd ever been on, Chartok pointed again to his omni tool. Showing the alien a brief picture of the quarian he was to bring back.
She nodded eagerly.
"These things pick up fast don't they boss?" The merc said.
"Their using some of our weapons on us proves that much. We found her in some medical facility so she might have seen the quarian at some point."
"Or your making guesses and we've picked up the facilities floor sweeper. People only get that lucky in fables an legends."
"Or the big screen. Even if this is a janitor, a quarian would be big news...maybe enough for someone who sweeps the floors to take note of." Chartok said.
They wandered out of the elevator to be greeted by...twenty four imposing black and red machines. Chartok didn't gulp down the fear he felt but he heard a noise out of his companion.
This time the black and red machines didn't move until what looked like a VI appeared seemingly from the floor and spoke to them in their language.
'VI's giving orders ? This place becomes more bizarre the deeper we go." Chartok thought.
"What are they saying ?"
"I have no idea but have your weapon ready...maybe a few grenades will knock em out."
Then the machines backed off and away from a nearby room directly in front of the batarians.
Chartok guided the alien girl forward until she was again putting her hands into the liquid filled terminal that stood beside what must be the quarian's cell.
As the door slide came away to reveal the collapsed female quarian lying knocked out on the ground, Chartok again had the merc go forward and check her vitals. Finding that the quarian was simply unconscious, the merc slung her over his shoulder and carried her back out into the hall.
Less then ten minutes later they came upon their escape route. Eerily enough the alien's metal friends did not greet them...just the corpses of the two batarians left behind. Their limbs lay strewn about the floor like toys for someone's sick game.
"At least they took a few with them." The merc said. Chartok had to agree but he would have felt safer had they still been alive.
An odd machine with its red eye's dulled indicating death was partially destroyed on the floor near the men. Several long arms extended from a seemingly oval body that also housed things eyes.
'Its almost like someone made forgot the legs and torso and just through it together hoping for the best. Not paying any mind to what he would come to know as a sentinel, Chartok entered the escape pod with his bounty and companion in toe.
The alien clearly thought she would go free now. He had what he wanted and now she would let him go.
'Even aliens think the same way asari or salarians would in a hostage crises.' Chartok thought.
"Sorry but I'll be needing you to keep those lasers off my craft." Chartok said before pulling the alien inside the craft and resealing their space based get away.
Metal feet came running toward the craft hoping to stop it from leaving. As the boarding craft detached however, the atmosphere within the ship it had boarded flowed out of the newly created tear in the hull.
Sent drifting into space where several goggle headed aliens and a few machines before the deck was sealed preventing anymore damage to the ships crew.
AN: Sorry for the late update. I know I said Saturday but work has really been hammering me lately with hours. Just bought the science guide to BSG lore off amazon so I'll be looking into the cylons more for when I bring up the guardians again. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed and subscribed. Wes Imlay and Miner249er have my thanks for the reviews and feed back. Yes Syed, the next chapter which is like 80% and hopefully going up in a day or two will deal with the small fleet of ships we see, how the valkyrie…..or even if it makes it out of this alive. I don't think this is my best work…I had planned to have Teli speaking during her rescue but….I really wanted to ship this and finish the space battle. 46 hours of work this week so don't expect much after the next update. Vultures are smarter then cylon raiders (bio ones).
Thinking of writing a fic involving the final five, Anders and Tyrol. Would you rather…
They die during New Carprica occupation
Anders dies before the fall (one fic tried this and author hasn't updated it in like 8months. Grrrr.
Link here: .net/s/6056901/1/One_Mistake
Cavils plan fails 30yrs pre-fall and the final five don't die…(Now that would be AU! )
Best of luck to you all and feel free to drop idea's in my inbox or comment in the reviews.