HOLOCAUST
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE:
ICE COLD CHANGE PART TWO
June 19, 2186
1530 hours.
Eastern Entrance, Port Hanshan, Aleusk Continent, Noveria.
The Reaper War, Battle of Noveria.
Operative Kai Leng.
He watched as Taylor, the traitor, turned his back on him and began to run for his life, cradling his injured side. His men moved to pursue, but he held up one hand, halting them from doing so. When they seemed to be moving to question him, he simply and bluntly answered, "He's mine to kill. Kill the scientists, but I shall finish what Sand failed to do."
Slowly and steadily, the M36 Megalodon heavy tank moved forward, its tracks crushing every under it, its heavy turret scanning the tunnel ahead for anything to kill; ignoring the slowly decreasing size of Taylor's form running away. Behind him, the rest of the division and Leng's reserves from the Peak facilities trailed behind it in siege formation, Assault Troopers up front, a dozen Atlases on the flank, and a company of phantoms at the rear.
Even as Kai Leng sheathed his katana, he knew the battle ahead would be fierce. It would be appear Shepard is here after all. Good. That will make this all the more sweet. I'll be able to kill the traitor and Shepard all at once. And maybe his pathetic little squad as well. Especially the asari. That bitch had me running from city to city. She had agents chase me everywhere. But not anymore. I'll slit her throat and gut her, the fucking cow.
"What do you want us to do sir?" one of his centurions asked beside the tank, "We're 600 meters from the Port itself."
"Kill everything," Leng coldly replied, "Every single living that isn't bearing a Cerberus insignia is dead. Every single one. Men, women..." he narrowed his eyes, breathing in as he nodded, "...and the children. The scientists are your top priority, so make finding them absolutely your first objective. I will deal with Taylor, and then Shepard. Kill everyone and everything and leave no survivors. Shoot shuttles out of the sky, if need be."
The centurion nodded calmly, unfazed by Leng's cold orders, "Yes sir. Everything dead, sir."
Leng only watched the corridor up ahead, its exit slowly creeping towards them as the Megalodon inched forward, its heavy gun ready to blow a hole in whatever blast door they put up, twin heavy machine guns ready to tear through any sandbags or barricade they erect, and mortars ready to destroy whatever tanks they have, if any.
Then he realized something. Shepard isn't stupid, even if he is very cozy with all the alien scum. He'll know we'll be coming thanks to Taylor, and will have it well defended. And if the same forces that defended the West are there, then we'll be annihilated again, big fucking tank or no. What we need is a silent flanking manoeuvre. One they will not notice or counter.
Leng entered deep thought, thinking of what areas they could enter through that weren't already attempted. The Western Corridor is well defended, already heading down the Eastern Corridor, Southern Corridor is collapsed and North is shut off. That leaves...the garage.
Yes, the garage would do nicely. Yes, it only had one path, towards Peak 15, but a gunship could override that. All he needed was a small platoon to do it with, nothing extravagant. With Matsuo dead, ERCS would be in disarray, meaning the garage would be meekly defended. With that in mind, Leng suddenly spun on the spot, jogging over to the rear of the vehicle as he yelled, "The rest of you will assault the Port with the tank! I will take a platoon to the garage in a gunship and launch a flanking attack!" With that said, he quickly chose the platoon he wanted; majority assault troopers, one centurion commander, five guardians and three phantoms. All he needed. Bringing any Atlases would draw too much attention.
With grace and speed only someone else with cybernetics could match, he leapt from the side of the massive tank, coming to land fluidly on the ground, bringing his sword back to bear as he rushed along the side and out of the way of his moving army, strafing along the wall as he moved to the back, seeking his unit.
It took a few minutes, but his force finally moved by, leaving just the platoon sized group he had asked for. Good. Shepard won't know what hit him until it already has. He nodded to them, motioning for them to follow closely behind him, the assassin himself crouching down low with his phantoms and moving over to a door on the left; a maintenance door. Those maintenance corridors ran the length of Port Hanshan, and would take them straight to the garage.
He turned to his squad with a cold thinning of his lips, motioning to his centurion to open the door, "Get in there and follow closely behind me. Do not open fire until I order it; any guards, you leave them to me and the phantoms. We must execute this quietly." With a long row of nods from his soldiers, he turned back to the door, watching as the centurion slowly opened it, scanning the area ahead with his mattock. Satisfied no hostiles awaited them, he turned to Leng with a nod.
Kai Leng moved without a sound, rapidly and without response as he entered the darkness of the corridor, as all power had been diverted to necessital systems due to the Cerberus attack and to keep power running on essential terminals and routers. This did not matter to Leng, as his eye implants had built in infrared, and night vision. Switching the latter on, he crept through the darkness, his men doing the same with their own eye implants and together, they moved towards the garage.
And onto victory.
{Loading...}
June 19, 2186
1542 hours.
Area outside the Administrator's Office, Port Hanshan, Aleusk Continent, Noveria.
The Reaper War, Battle of Noveria.
Captain Marcus Lee Shepard, Soldier Javik, Second Lieutenant Imogen Keeling, Military Advisor Garrus Vakarian, Administrator Lorik Qui'in.
"Please, do not panic! Keep a calm head and proceed single file into the dock!" He heard Keeling call out, her Valkyrie in lower parry as she waved people into the dock single file, Garrus on the other side assisting her. Men, women and children moved through, huddled and terrified, others keeping an air of calm about them, as if totally unfazed by the events around them, but Marcus could tell fake bravado anywhere; they did to themselves to assure themselves they'd be alright. Whatever kept the peace in this evacuation was fine by him. Last thing he needed was a stampede. That wouldn't end well for anyone.
A mother and her child, still a baby and clasping onto her chest, approached him weerily, Keeling trying to get her back into line but failing as she seemed focused solely on Marcus. She stopped half a meter infront of him, tears streaking down her face, "Are we going to be okay? I heard Cerberus was attacking but I...I don't know...can you even promise that we'll get out of here?"
Before Javik could say something pessimistic, Marcus looked down at her, smiling as he nodded, "I promise that you and your child will get out of here, both of you, alive. I won't let Cerberus hurt any of you. I would die before I let that happen."
The mother seemed immediately calmed by that, and she spun around, shouting to the others, "Did you hear that!? Commander Shepard said he'd get us out alive! We're going to be okay!" She looked to be ready to continue her shouting, but stopped when her baby began a resounding wail, eyes tearing and clearly overwhelmed by her mother's shouting. The woman quickly stopped and went back to soothing her child, trying to calm her down as she shot him one more smile before returning to line, Keeling easing her through and into the dock, where she would be evacuated.
Marcus sighed, removing his helmet and pinning it under one arm as he wiped his brow, sweat collecting there, despite the below 0 temperatures that Noveria provided. To get warm and hot and bothered on this snowball of a planet was likely getting frostbite on Therum. But it wasn't the sweat, it was just the sheer load of people they had to evacuate.
It turned out not to be very many and, despite his expectations, he really couldn't be surprised, or shouldn't be, at least.
News of the war would have hit Noveria early on, and many would have evacuated merely out of the knowledge of being so close to the frontlines. It came as no surprise that Noveria's population would be so small, especially at the conflict's apex. Marcus was simply glad for it; the less people to evacuate, the easier it would go. And soon they could leave; abandon Port Hanshan, and hopefully escape before Cerberus broke through the Eastern Corridor or got reinforcements.
"This evacuation is going along faster than expected," Lorik noted, gaining Marcus' attention as he twisted on the spot to face the well-dressed turian, now sporting a brief case with all his possessions, "Even with the small population, I thought it would take much longer. It seems we might get out of here before Cerberus arrives."
Marcus noted the ERCS guards throughout the Port, all of them easing the line along. They had the occassional deserter who tried to mingle with the crowd, the occassional coward who attempted to surrender, but they didn't get far, and a large majority of the guards actually stood their ground and did their jobs. In all honesty, Marcus couldn't expect absolute allegiance from ERCS security; they were guns-for-hire, little else. Not special forces or marines, just ordinary ERCS employees on the pay roll. Desertion and cowardice was just a couple of things on the list of things to be expected from them.
Marcus nodded, exhaling, watching as he could see the air from his lungs flow out like smoke. Come to think of it, he did feel a bit chilly, even with his armor's thermal systems at full bore. They must have rerouted power from the Port's heaters to main power. That, or to power the shuttle's power cells. Doesn't matter. Getting a bit cold is the least of our worries.
"Agreed. It would be nice for once for us to get out without being under fire. Makes a nice change," the captain stated, frowning, "Its odd though. There's been no update from Jacob or Matsuo. What's keeping them?"
Lorik shrugged, "Probably nothing to report."
"Jacob's a soldier and so am I. That's not how military operations work. You report anything, even if its just the peace. Silence can tell alot, especially if it means all enemy movement has halted or they've fallen back," he shook his head, licking his lips, "I don't like it. I'll give them three minutes. Besides, Wrex and his men are on their way there now, so we should find out soon."
"Then we get to getting out of here," Lorik breathed, dropping his brief case as he hugged himself, rubbing his arms, "Spirits must be angry with me, because its freezing."
"Its Noveria, what did you expect?" Marcus jested, chuckling.
Lorik sighed, shaking his head, "Could have at least kept the heaters on."
Marcus shook his head, responding as he pointed to the lights up above, "Cerberus cut power from the main and backup generators. This place is running on fumes, and pretty soon, all power will be gone. The scientists are doing what they can, rerouting power to more important systems. Defenses are gone, and so are the heaters."
"What's...next...then?" Lorik chittered, the spasmodic movements of his teeth quite comical.
"After that, the lights," Marcus then gave him a grim look, "Then, ventilation. Eventually, if Cerberus doesn't leave, this place will not only become an ice cube, it'll start to frost. Eventually, they'll die of the subzero temperatures. Basically freeze to death. I keep forgetting how much this planet is like Antarctica back on Earth. Too much like it, actually. I hate strong heat, but damn, I'd take it anytime of the week over this."
"Good poi-" Lorik began, only to be cut off by a loud, familiar and strained voice.
"Shepard!" Jacob shouted, Marcus and Lorik turning to see Jacob jogging down to him, looking like he was cradling...his side...
Marcus could see the little stains of red that dropped from Jacob's side, and as he came closer, the man's bloodstained fingers. Jacob had been shot...or stabbed, one or the two. What alerted him was how that happened. Has Cerberus broken through?
Marcus held a hand up for Jacob to stop, who looked to be out of breath. Behind him, quickly approaching, was Wrex and the rest of the squad, along with all the remaining mercenaries and rachni.
Jacob seemed to get control of his breathing, wincing as he spoke as it sent ripples through his bullet wound, "Damn it...Shepard, we need reinforcements right now. Cerberus has broken through, and they've overwhelmed our garrison there. Smashed the blockade. They've got a M36 Megalodon tank, and seem to have reinforcements. They breached with alot more than half a division."
Marcus held a hand up for Jacob to slow down, and when the soldier was finished, he grasped his left shoulder, "How many dead? Jacob, where's Captain Matsuo?"
Jacob gulped, looking down at the ground solemnly, with a tinge of sadness, before looking back up and shaking his head, "Everyone at the garrison is gone. Including Matsuo. I watched the tank smash her from the barricade and crush her before she could crawl away. But Shepard, there's something else you should kn-"
As Marcus came to terms with the declaration of Matsuo's death, a worried, female voice cried out from behind him, "Jacob! Have you been shot!?"
As they turned, they watched a dark-skinned woman with raven black hair, kind eyes and quite hulky frame, considering her pregnant belly, hobble forward, going as fast as she could to reach Jacob. When she finally reached him, she seemed to instantly check his wound, Jacob crying out as she prodded it.
"I'm fine, Brynn, damn it," he winced as she poked it again, shoving her fingers away and covering it again, "I'll walk it off. All I need is some medi-gel, and I'll be fighting again."
"Oh no you won't be," Brynn declared, applying enough medi-gel to his wound to stem the bleeding and give him some relief from the pain. She stood up, cradling his face with her hands, "I'm not letting you go back out there to get yourself killed. Its too risky, especially with that wound of yours."
"Sorry Brynn, not your choice or mine," Jacob stated, nodding to the captain behind her, "I've got a duty to finish, to the Captain and to the people here. When they're safely away, maybe then I'll put down my gun. But not till then."
Brynn growled, taking her hands frustratingly, "You stubborn fool! Idiot! You'll get yourself killed with that attitude!"
"Hasn't in the past," Jacon grinned, squaring his shoulders, "It won't now." Suddenly, however, his grin vanished, and he turned to Marcus, worry in his eyes, "Shepard, there's something you should know."
"Not now Jacob," he stated, unholstering his rifle, "If Cerberus is on the way, we've got to speed up the evacuation."
"But its important, damn it!" the man shouted over him, and before he could object further, he spoke, "Kai Leng is here! He was with the force breaching the barricade!"
That caused the spectre to freeze in his tracks, and he turned to face Jacob slowly, regarding him coldly. He spoke again, ice lacing his tone, "Leng is here? Should have figured the Illusive Man would send his attack dog. He's probably here for the scientists...and you."
Jacob nodded, creasing his face, "That's the only reason he's here; the Illusive Man doesn't send Leng unless its to assassinate somebody, or multiple people, that he really wants silenced. Its no surprise he's sent Leng."
He cursed, stroking his stubble absentmindedly. He turned back, hands on his hips, "Did you get a good look at where he was? Leng won't join the head assault, its not like him. He'll hide at the back, or maybe use the vents. I don't know. Jacob, did you see where he was headed?"
He shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine. Last I saw, he was ontop of that tank. Didn't seem him move from it. But he most definitely has, that's for sure."
"If he's here for us, he won't get us," Brynn stated firmly, patting Jacob on the shoulder, "Someone has to delay him while we get away."
"While everyone gets away," Lorik replied, narrowing his eyes at her, "Let's not get too selfish. You'll be evacuated just like everyone else."
Marcus nodded, turning to Brynn, "With that said, you're still an asset I'm unwilling to lose. Javik, keep an eye on Brynn and the scientists...you too, James. Keep them safe and if you so much as see a flash of black or steel, inform us. We'll come in guns blazing. I happen to want Leng dead for my own reasons."
"Care to explain?" Lorik asked, raising an eyebrow at Marcus' sudden look of hate and rage.
The man turned to him, creasing his lips, "Its personal, Lorik. Very personal. First chance I get, I'm going to rip his head from his shoulders. He's caused alot of pain for someone...very close to me. My aunt, of all things." I still haven't forgotten what you did to her husband, you slimy scumbag. I'll snap your stupid fucking sword in half and flay your face off with the broken blade before smashing your skull over a rock. Never had Marcus felt such hatred for a man before, such disgust. It was almost unlike him. I don't want Balak dead nearly as much as Leng, and I've known the former far longer.
Kasumi broke the tension, clearing her throat as she came to stand beside Wrex, her omni-tool out and seeming to very fixated on it, "Up, Shep...don't mean to ruin your moment of anger or anything, but I think I might have just found destination-of-vengeance for you. Himself and a large group of signatures just triggered one of the alarms in the maintenance corridors in the Eastern block."
Marcus moved over to her, looking over her shoulder at the map she had up, "How do you know its him?"
Kasumi raised an eyebrow at him, "Really, Shep? They've all Cerberus IFFs, his is pinging as a Phantom-class IFF, he's running faster than a normal human should, and he's not with the main force, just you said he wouldn't be. Who else could it be? Santa Clause? I bet he's going to find plenty of chimneys up there."
He nodded, "Good point. Number of signatures points to platoon-size, so nothing our squad alone can't handle, but I'm going to bring one Eclipse platoon just in case. The main threat is Leng, he's a very skilled combatant and he's ex-N7, so that'll make him even more dangerous. But I don't want to engage him in close-quarters. He'll be right at home in there. We need to get him out in the open," he turned to Kasumi, "Where is he headed?"
The thief trailed a finger along it, and then perked up when she found his destination, "Ah! Shep, considering the corridor he's taking, he'll arrive in the Hanshan garage."
Marcus, taking what he knew about his destination, discovered all too well what Leng was planning. He's hoping we'll be too concentrated on fighting back the bulk of his troops to notice him sneaking around. His platoon will flank, while he breaks off, finds the scientists, and kills them. It would be smart, if wasn't so predictable. Yet again, this guy is dumb as dog shit, so it comes as no great revelation. He slapped Kasumi on the shoulder, turning to the squad, "Excellent. Wrex, you're relieved of command, you," he pointed to one turian ERCS guard standing...well, guard, "Take command of waving the civilians into the dock. Keeling, Garrus, Javik, rejoin the squad, I'm taking command," he quickly commed his radio, "Eclipse Odyssey Platoon, meet me in the garage. Kasumi, how long do we have until he gets there?"
"Just over ten minutes," the thief replied.
"Great," Marcus replied, gathering the squad, "Now this is what we're going to do..."
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June 19, 2186
1554 hours.
Hanshan Garage, Port Hanshan, Aleusk Continent, Noveria.
The Reaper War, Battle of Noveria.
Operative Kai Leng.
He rounded the corner and arrived at the door; just above, he could read the bold lettering that read 'HANSHAN GARAGE' in red. He lowered himself back into a crouch, readying his cloak. He was no fool; if a guard heard them approaching, he'd be ready, cloaked and everything. In position, he twisted his head to the centurion, nodding to the door.
The soldier did as ordered and opened it, his mattock scanning the area ahead.
"Clear," he whispered and the rest of the door opened, the centurion combat rolling across the concrete ground to hide behind a parked Grizzly tank, waving the rest of them on. Leng inched forward, keeping his balance steady and eyes and ears sharp, honing them to keep an eye on anything around them. Behind followed the assault troopers, also in crouch, then his five guardians, and finally his phantoms, their swords out and heads checking the room around them.
It was dead silent, and the lights were still on, which meant there was still sufficient power to keep them running. Crates littered the room throughout, along with numerous vehicles parked here and there. He even sported a civilian version of the Mako; a larger version of the vehicle, more armoured and with the turret obviously removed. About six of them occupied the left side, all parked and facing the opposite wall. Cold air spewed from the vents in the ceiling, breathing their essence down into the garage. All was quiet.
And there wasn't a single guard. Probably weren't expecting us to use this route. Blizzard outside would have made exterior entry impossible.
He came to crouch infront of the centurion, and his eyes scanned the area ahead. Not a lifeform to be found. The air was still due to the silence, and the only sound to be heard was the faint hiss of cold air from outside occassionally blasting down the vents and into the room, little snow flakes and pieces of frost coming to land on the ground.
It was quiet enough to assume there was noone here. If there was, there weren't many and could be dispatched quietly.
"Move forward. Centurion first, guardians next. Assault troopers, hold the flanks, phantoms, with me." Like clockwork, it moved. His centurion moved out quickly, shouldering his mattock against his armoured shoulder as he constantly scanned the area ahead, followed by the guardians taking up their shields, keeping their talons aimed high. Three troopers on each side moved up, and Leng followed quickly behind, his phantoms behind him, single file.
Meter by meter, they moved towards the entrance to the garage, not a single cry of alarm or movement. It made Leng feel uneasy. None of it felt right...
Suddenly, his ears picked up movement, quiet to the normal hearing but his enhanced hearing picked up easily. Turning, he heard a hiss in the air, followed by one of the troopers on left flank dropping his mattock and collapsing to the ground, red blood oozing from a bullet hole in his head. Their movement halted, and his men formed a circle around him; centurion at the front, guardians at the left and right, troopers at the back, phantoms with him in the middle. They weren't alone.
And with the same clockwork as his men, the shots came.
A sniper rifle coughed and one of the heads of his left guardian exploded in a shower of gore, his blood splattering across Leng's face and some of it dripping into his mouth. He spat it out in disgust, ignoring the tangy copper taste, wiping his mouth and preparing his palm-cannon.
In an instant, three of his assault troopers just fell, riddled with bullets. Followed by the other three.
A krogan roar, and the centurion disappeared, his head looking like crushed fruit as the creature he recognized as Urdnot Wrex stomped his head in and then retreated, his claymore stopping the guardians from returning fire.
He watched his guardians try to break the trap they'd set for themselves, only for their shields to suddenly be yanked away from them from both sides simultaneously, what followed being a lot of shredded bodies falling to the ground, their chest potmarked with the bullet holes of SMGs. After that, all that remained was his phantoms.
All but four got their cloaks up in time, including Leng, but one was not so lucky, a rod of molten energy superheating her sword to the degrees of Therum before it then melted, liquid metal pouring from the ruined blade, some of it landing on her foot and causing her to scream as it hissed and burnt. Her agony was ended when a precise shot from a Valkyrie impacted her helmet, her head yanking back as she fell to the ground.
As Leng gritted his teeth and began to strafe, he came to one realization. This was a trap. An ambush. They knew I was coming.
"Where did they go?" one salarian cried out, and he saw a flash of orange. Leng grinned. Eclipse. Shepard sends toy soldiers to kill me. How pitiful. They've had their fun, now its my turn, "Is that all of them?"
"No it isn't," came a feminine voice from behind him, and he twisted in time to see her materialize, driving her knife into mid-air and watching red blood burst seemingly from nowhere to drench the ground. Wrenching the knife out, she dropped down and sweeped the cloaked phantom's legs out from under, spun around and drove the knife into her stomach, finishing her off.
Leng's response was swift and brutal. Moving forward, he deactivated his cloak as he lashed out, sweeping her own feet out from under her until she collapsed on her back, knocking the wind from her. Sneering, he spun back to face her, the thief looking up at him with wide eyes.
A shot bounced off his shields, a sniper round judging the impact. He spun to see a turian with a sniper rifle, reloading with extreme speed and firing again, the shot beating his shields into nothing, "Get the fuck away from her!"
Without looking, he brought up his blade and prepared to bring it down, savouring the terror and rage he saw in the turian he identified as Garrus Vakarian's eyes.
He suddenly found himself yanked off his feet as he was tackled to the ground, a gigantic form pinning him to the ground.
He spun to face his aggressor, Wrex growling as he stood and moved to shoot him in the chest. Leng snarled, not giving him the chance to depress the trigger as he lunged forward and plunged his blade deep into Wrex's midsection, and then pulled back out, orange blood coating his blade as he rolled away. He knew the krogan would be barely fazed by it and would simply regenerate, but it at least stunned him long enough for Leng to escape.
He came to stand just as the body of one of his phantoms thumped to the ground infront of him, a shotgun hole in her chest. He spun to face, an Eclipse soldier, who quickly whorled to face him. But Leng barely gave him the chest, running forward and bringing his palm cannon to aim, firing at point blank and watching meaty chunks and bony fragments of the man's head exploded backwards and his body toppled from the blast.
Two more mercs charged at him, biotics bared. He knocked the first warp field aside with his barrier, but dodged the other, throwing himself to the side as he fired his palm-cannon once more, hitting dead center; blowing out the man's kneecap and reducing it to a pulp, before slicing his blade down and half-decapitating the salarian, his head hanging off the thin piece of flesh that was left of his neck before snapping off, rolling along the ground trailing green blood. Bringing his blade back up, he thrusted it through the injured one's mouth, finishing off both.
He turned to see the prothean freak and an N7 woman approach him, rifles raised and ordering him to surrender. He merely grinned, and charged, bringing up his barrier to deflect their shots.
He reached the prothean first, bashing his blade into his weapon, knocking it aside before spinning and hooking him across the head, sending the warrior sprawling across the ground. He turned to face the woman, but she had already holstered her weapon, bringing her omni-blade to bear and entering a fighting stance.
"You fight with these alien scum," he spat, "You're just as dirty as them, in that case. Filthy. An abomination."
Keeling rolled her eyes, keeping her blade at the ready, "Why don't you stop bleating and actually fight. I care not for your words, only the dance."
"You want a fighting dance?" he grinned wickedly, "So be it." And with that, he pivoted his foot and shot out a side kick with such unbelievable speed that Keeling couldn't deflect it in time, sending her backwards and blowing the air from her. Swiping his blade downwards, he was convinced he had her beat but then she dove to the left, and sliced her omni-blade onto his katana...
...which, to her surprise, held, the blade not melting through the katana as she thought it would. He saw her eyes widen, and he looked up at her, bringing his blade back as she kept her professionalism, quickly and swiftly pulling back and activating her second omni-blade, eying cautiously.
He sneered at her with a look of pure hate, "My blade isn't a normal katana; its made of a special alloy called axyclocorbite, only found on dextro worlds. Its the only metal that can deflect any type of heat without vaporizing. Even omni-blades can't penetrate it."
Keeling didn't even look impressed, only grinning, "Oh, from a dextro world, is it? How...alien. Very scummish, you would say. What do you say Leng, think you're a bit of a...what is it you called me? Ah yes, you're a bit of a filthy abomination."
He roared in anger at the insult and charged forward, only for her to dive aside and move to slice through his head, only for him to supernaturally dive his head back up, the twin blades slicing through a few of his hairs, cutting them short with a hiss. He got back up, spun back to face her, and realized that she had been verbally setting a trap. A taunt. Clever bitch. Note to self: do not let her bait you again. When she dives, slice into her abdomen, rip up, cut out her heart. Then we'll see who laughs.
"Keeling," came a familiar voice that sent tingles down Leng's frame, and it was at that moment he realized all his phantoms were dead, all lying on the ground in heaps as he took his eyes from Keeling, who had turned away from him, "Back away. He's mine."
He turned to face the approaching form, who was fast walking towards him, nothing in his hands but a stun batton. When Leng looked up, he saw a look of pure hatred, disgust and need to kill. He stared back into the eyes of the approaching Marcus Shepard, cracking his neck as he waited. I've waited for this moment. The chance to kill Shepard. Now I have it.
He assumed a battle stance, blade behind him and ready to swing. He prepared his palm-cannon behind his back, charging it as Marcus approached, words of vehemence and rage pouring from his mouth.
"I've waited awhile to do this. Unfortunately, you fled like a fucking craven on Sur'Kesh, so I couldn't then. But now I have you," he spat, and began to charge, "And I will fucking rip your head off!"
In that instant, Leng brought his palm, smiling...
...only to cry out as Marcus reached him. The spectre had known what Leng was about to do and brought up his shock batton, thrusting it into Leng's open hand and activating it. Electricity danced around his wrist before dying as Marcus tore it out, red blood spitting from his hand and cannon sizzling. It had been destroyed, and was now of no use to him. Just the blade then.
Marcus continued his movement, unrelenting. Leng brought his blade down, forcing Marcus to leap back, before doing so again, forcing him further back. He moved to lunge his sword forward, but Marcus strafed, and before he could follow it up, Leng rolled forward out of his reach, spinning on his heel to face him before he counterattacked. But Marcus only watched, analyzing his attack pattern, looking for a weakness. Leng only grinned. He will find none.
"You fight like a schoolyard bully, Shepard," Leng taunted, using similiar tactics to Keeling, "All words and brute force, but a pathetic fighter all the same. Killing you will be easy, and then I will find that suit-rat of yours as well and kill her."
"Don't talk of Tali that way," he muttered back, regarding him coldly as they circled each other, "She's down more than in your entire pathetic lifespan. You're just a dog, Leng. A pathetic, whimpering, sick little dog who's master wants it to keep being the guard dog, but knows you're failing. A reject, a racist retard in denial, a fuckwit with no meaning."
"What, just like your...suit-rat?" Leng replied, unfazed by Shepard's words, "Tell me, what do you two talk about? How alike you are? Does she have mandibles, or claws? Tell me this; how do you live yourself knowing you bedded a creature who isn't even human? As a Jew, how does that make you feel? God must be very disappointed in you."
"He wouldn't care," Marcus growled, "But he would love me if I ended your sickening little life."
"Your God is as fake as your self-reassurance!" Leng snapped back, spittle flying from his mouth, "Your quarian is nothing but a rat...a rodent looking for excess food and just happened to find pity in one little human in too much denial to think. You're ill, Shepard. And the only cure is for me to find your suit-rat, flay her pretty little face, and then cut her head off before mailing it to-"
Leng didn't even have time to react as Marcus seemingly teleported infront of him, he was that fast, and Leng gasped as he felt electricity shoot through his chest, Marcus ramming the bat into his chest, before rearing it back.
"You...!"
He hit him again, more electricity moving through his body like fire.
"Don't...!"
Again, this time in his face, blood spitting from his mouth and nose, his nose broken from the blow as he felt fire fill his face from the electric flow jerking through his skull.
"Get...!"
He shot his foot down into Leng's knee, Leng crying out as it jerked back, but biting down any whimper.
"To...!"
In rapidfire, Marcus hit him in the chest four times with the batton, driving the last of Leng's oxygen from his lungs.
"TALK ABOUT...HER!"
Leng growled, ignoring the shock in his body to meet Marcus' eyes as his hands snaked around the back of his head, Marcus' eyes still too enraged to be surprised at the assassin's resilience, "Too late. I already did."
His head shot forward, connecting with Marcus' with enough force to send him reeling back, giving Leng time to snatch up his blade, spin around and thrust it forward.
He had been aiming for the heart, but Marcus managed to deflect it with his hands, causing it to slice through his hip instead. Leng made sure to drive it all the way in, causing an involuntary grunt to pour from Marcus' lips.
"Just fucking die," Leng snarled in his face, but all he got was a smile from Marcus, causing him to frown.
"Didn't you get the memo?" He leaned in, whispering, "I have a slight issue with that."
His fist flashed across Leng's face, sending him reeling back and his hands laxed from the grip on his blade, causing him to fall face first onto the ground, bruising beginning to form around his left eye. Thanks to his cybernetics, he barely felt it, merely stunned as he turned to face Marcus who, with the blade still inside him, moved over and rose his foot, ready to bring it down to crush Leng's windpipe.
Another time Shepard. I will kill you another time. He rolled out of the way as the foot connected with the ground, reaching up and pulling the blade out of Shepard, watching the man cry out as he fell forward, blood pouring from the open wound. He hit his cloak as fire impacted his position, running as fast as he could and double checking his cloak was on before disappearing into the maintenance corridor. Once inside, he thrusted his blade into the control console and pulled it out, locking down before running back down the corridor, engaging his night vision as he sprinted, running and running, feeling pain begin to flare up in his body.
He remembered just how violent Shepard had gotten when he had begun to insult the suit-rat, and realized that the quarian's death was the key to ending Shepard.
Leng, despite his wounds, smiled.
Find the quarian, and kill her, and Shepard is finished.
{Loading...}
June 19, 2186
1613 hours.
Main Bridge, Macedonia-Class Battleship CAW Atlanta HD-7, Cerberus Blockade over Noviera, Pax System, Horsehead Nebula.
The Reaper War, Battle of Noveria.
Fleet Admiral Ronald Tiberius, Captain Acacio Drakos.
Tiberius didn't like having to make the Atlanta his flagship, but the current state of the Nanga Parbat meant it was no longer fit for that duty. But luckily for him, the Atlanta was a battleship, and there was two more like it within the same fleet. It wasn't the same artillery that the dreadnought had, but it wasn't far behind; one MAC gun, 42 GARDIAN turrets, dozens of pulse lasers, 28 javelin torpedo bays, and numerous missile launch stations and gattling guns. Overall, the Atlanta and all the others of the Macedonia-Class battleships were spacebound fortresses.
Still, watching the Nanga Parbat from the viewscreen was a depressing view; it always was when an admiral had to transfer flagships; their first was their pride and joy, and to see it as the battered wreck that it currently was horrible to see.
Currently, the Third Fleet was divided. Upon transferring command to the Atlanta, its captain, Acacio Drakos, a greek orthodox man who's only reason for joining Cerberus was out of some misguided religious wank that made him believe aliens were filth and abominations, and that it was God's demand that they all be purged. Suffice to say, he was delirious fuckwit, and not all that great a captain. Relieving the lunatic of a set of artillery like a battleship was something of a miracle, to say the least.
The rest of the fleet was spread out, with the heavier capital ships holding the blockade while the rest, like corvettes, frigates, destroyers and light cruisers, along with one designated flagship, the CAW Londinium, pursued and destroyed what remained of the UGC fleet. The hanar destroyers were fast, but they had already destroyed one and it was only a matter of time before they were all destroyed. Then they could regroup and reassume the blockade.
It was odd to see UGC activity anywhere near here during this period of the war. With the Reapers so close by, it seemed reckless to send a fleet into this region. Even Cerberus had been reluctant to send one, but knew it was necessary to take out the scientists incase they went to ground again.
So as it was, the Atlanta was at the head of his once proud fleet, which would be again, if the Illusive Man could spare the resources to rebuild the ships lost. But the thanix cannon that destroyed the Jericho...only the turians or the Normandy could have had that technology, especially due to the color of it. But no turian ships were here, so that means the Normandy is here. Which means Shepard...
Tiberius couldn't help but feel vulnerable with a ship like that flying around. Armed with a stealth drive and a weapon capable of killing ships with a single shot; and not just that, but completely grind them into space dust. It made Tiberius shudder to know that a weapon like that, at any moment, could target the Atlanta and reduce him to nothing in the blink of an eye. I wish the Alliance had that technology back when I commanded the Second Fleet. Would have convinced me to stay. But when you were anti-alien or pro-human, you got what you paid for. As for Tiberius? Strictly pro-human. He wasn't a natural racist, he just believed in the betterment of humanity more than the purification of alien relations.
What was the point of making peace with someone if you weren't ready for the dagger behind their back? Might as well bring two daggers.
As for the captain, you couldn't get any more racist. Unless you were Leng.
Where Kai Leng was blind hatred, arrogance and spite, Acacio, which was Greek for 'honorable,' Drakos was a man blinded by simple-minded religious idiocy. And that wasn't to say that all Christians were moron. Just alot of them. Especially the Orthodox, of late. An entirely different sect, called the Purists, had started, preaching the destruction of all alien life that wasn't human, labelling them as hethen and defilers. Acacio was a Purist. The Terra Firma party was quite kind towards such people, and their leadership was almost conquered by them. Which is why noone wanted that party as Alliance Parliament. They'd declare war on the Council simply because they weren't human.
Which is why the man's stinking breath on his shoulder came by as an annoyance, the admiral twisting in his seat to face him, "Are you quite done? If you're not going to brush your teeth, at least keep yourself from breathing upon my face. I can't exactly command a fleet if I'm dying of toxic fumes."
Acacio simply gave a long, drawn out sigh, another feature he hated of the man. I should have transfered command to the Waterloo. At least Captain Beryards isn't a religious zealot with smelly breath and obnoxious attitude. Some of the men the Illusive Man recruits...they astound me. So it was when he heard his comms officer's terminal beeping, he was relieved to be able to move his thoughts away from the man standing next to him, hands clasped behind his back like he was some kind of important figure.
"What is it?"
The comms officer, Weasley, turned towards him with a frown, "Its the group sent after the UGC ships. The destroyer, CAW Maryland."
"Yes, well what did they find?" Tiberius asked impatiently.
"Well, immediately after the UGC forces entered the relay, they picked up activity on the skirts of the system," he looked at Tiberius with weary eyes, "Not Cerberus, not UGC. Sir, the IFFs were of Reaper designation."
The man's eyes widened and he cursed, fumbling for words. After a second, he nodded, swallowing as he turned back to the man, "Pull back the pursuit force. How long do we have until they arrive and what are their strength?"
The comms officer went back to his terminal, communicating with the Maryland. After a minute, he nodded, turning back to the admiral, "They just entered the system and have started heading this way and full speed; we've got four minutes before they arrive. As for their strength, the Maryland detected four Sovereign-Class capital ships, seventy destroyers, one hundred Tarantula-Class Troop Transports, Fifty Raven-Class Swipers. Judging by their fleet composition, a destroyer seems to be leading them."
Tiberius had only heard about the Raven-Class Swipers through the news reports. Apparently they were a kilometer bigger than Sovereign-Class dreadnoughts, but lacked any projectile weaponry, instead relying on the kinetic force of their legs to batter ships and tear them apart. They were quite a terrifying sight and, like all the other Reaper ship types, could absorb enormous amounts of damage and, reportedly, for a melee ship, could take more punishment than the Sovereign-Class Reapers. For the enemy to have fifty headed their way...
"Sound battlestations and prepare to jump from the system!" Tiberius ordered, turning to his navigator, "Navigation, get us on a course to the other side of the system!"
"But sir!" he shouted, worried, "The Nanga Parbat is too badly damaged to risk FTL flight. She can't-"
"Then scuttle the ship!" Tiberius roared, "We'll build another dreadnought! If it can't fly, abandon it. If it can, GET IT OUT OF HERE!"
"Sir..." the comms officer's voice rose, peaking Tiberius' attention as he turned to face him.
"What is it, comms?" The admiral demanded, sweat collecting on his brow in panic.
"The Reaper ships..." he gulped, "They just increased spe-" Suddenly, the officer grasped his head, screaming as he fell to the ground, roaring in agony as if his head was being split open. Tiberius was about to ask what the hell was going on when the rest of the crew on the bridge began screaming, all holding their heads. He looked up to Captain Drakos, but found him slouched in his chair, screeching his agony to the bulkheads.
Tiberius merely frowned, standing up, "What is going on here? Why are you-" Then pain flared in his, and he held his head, screaming as a voice roared in his ears...no, in his mind.
"We are Oblivion,"it boomed, "And you belong to us, our puppets. We pull the strings, and you follow. And now the second part of the deception plays in hand."
Even as the admiral crawled up ontop of the center console, he could only watch as the forms of a massive Reaper fleet, hundreds of ships, began flying towards them at insane speed, as if the need to move fast was urgent. But his eyes caught one particular destroyer smashing through a frigate like it wasn't there, descending to the planet's surface with most of the destroyers. In that moment, he knew the flagship was that destroyer. The destroyer named Oblivion.
"What...do you...mean..." he croaked, desperately wanting the pain to go away.
"Something you cannot comprehend," Oblivion replied, "But it matters little. Your life ends here, with all its futures put to rest and its final test put to the conclusion."
Tiberius looked up, watching as a Raven-Class Swiper stormed towards the Atlanta, another one beating the hell out of the Waterloo, gutting it like a savage man does to an animal's intestines. He even watched the Nanga Parbat explode in brilliant light as a thanix cannon carved right through it, and the rest of his fleet was decimated. He watched as the Raven rose one leg, preparing to launch the crippling blow; right through the Atlanta's bridge.
Just as it hit, Tiberius fell unconscious from the pain, and screamed.
This time, the agony was real, and was over in an instant.
{Loading...}
June 19, 2186
1618 hours.
Main Port, Port Hanshan, Aleusk Continent, Noveria.
The Reaper War, Battle of Noveria.
Second Lieutenant Jacob Taylor.
He groaned as he moved over to the asari ERCS guard, tapping her shoulder to get her to face him. When she did, he nodded to the line, "Are they the last ones?"
The guard nodded, "They are, sir. Last batch to come through, sir. After that, its just the scientists. Then the guards. Then you guys. But these are the last of the civilians."
"Then I shall be making my leave," Lorik declared, picking up his brief case as he finished zipping up his woolen jumper, "The civilians have been evacuated, and now I shall evacuate with the scientists," he turned to Jacob, holding out his hand, "In case this is the last time we see each other, I want you to know that this was a pleasure. I do apologize for trying to kick you out; but I was only doing what I thought was best. I hope you understand that it was nothing personal."
Jacob smiled, taking the offered hand and shaking it firmly, "Of course, Lorik. No harm done. But you better get in line or lose it. I get a feeling we'll meet again."
"So do I," the turian smiled, his mandibles flicking as he gave a final nod and moved to join the line, Jacob smiling as he watched him leave. With the administrator secured and all the civilians, it was now time for him to get the scientists out of here. The people he swore to protect.
He turned on the spot, moving over to where they stood in the middle of the port, all huddled around for warmth and talking animatedly. Archer stood talking to Tarisa, but quickly moved away when he saw Jacob approaching. Ever since finding out he had served under Shepard, he had been keeping his distance, and Jacob was appreciative of that. He knew what the man had done on Aite, about how he used his brother for his own ambition, and despised him because of it. The further he stayed away, the better.
Upon seeing him arrive, they all parted, all turning to face him, either crossing their arms, clasping their hands behind their back, or holding the hands of a lover. And when they moved, Brynn was revealed, immediately moving over and hugging him. He laughed weakly, kissing the top of her head as she pulled away, adding her own kiss on his lips. They drew it for as long as possible before having to part, the woman he loved moving over to his side and grasping his hand tightly, careful not to hurt his injured side.
He spoke, voice shaky and uneasy, not liking what he was about to say, "The civilians will soon all be evacuated, and it will be your turn. Then the guards, and finally...the squad and I," He saw Brynn's head whorl to face him at that, "I need to stay behind to help evacuate everyone else. When all are gone, I'll evacuate with Shepard back to the Normandy."
"Absolutely not!" Brynn objected, "How can you-you musn't! I trust Shepard, but you don't need to risk your lif-"
"I do, and there will be no arguing," Jacob stated firmly, gritting his teeth, "I've made my decision. You will go with the scientists Brynn, and I will meet you back on the Normandy. No buts or ifs. This will be happening."
Brynn sputtered, looking taken aback. The scientists however, quickly moved away and into line, following his orders. Archer quickly moved along with them, trying not to be seen, and it sickened Jacob that a man like that could escape justice. But it mattered little; the UGC needed access to his brilliance, and now they would get it. He turned to Brynn, and watched as her hand slammed into his cheek, sending him reeling back.
"You bastard!" she barked, moving right into his face, "You stubborn fool! How could you shut me out like that! I'm your fiance! I will not have you getting yourself killed before your daughter is even born! That isn't fair! You don't get to just walk into someone's life and walk back out again! That's not fair!"
"Not fair?" he blurted, snapping in her face, "Not fair!? Not fair is me not being able to come with you! Not fair is having to stay here to make sure everyone else is safe! Not fair is not knowing whether I'll come out alive or not! THAT'S NOT FAIR! But you know what? LIFE ISN'T FUCKING FAIR, BRYNN! I'm a goddamn soldier! I've been protecting you since I met you guys on Gellix, and be damned if I stop doing that now! Its my duty! And I will see it to the end!"
This seemed to soften Brynn's temper as she shrunk back from his outburst, and her mouth seemed to move up and down as she tried to conjure an answer, but found that she couldn't.
Having vented, he moved up to her and hugged her, Brynn welcoming it with one of her own, "I'm just scared, Jacob," she sobbed into his shoulder, feeling wet tears drip along his shoulders, "I don't know what's going to happen. I'm so scared."
"You'd be stupid if you weren't," he replied softly, whispering into her ear, "But its going to be okay. You and I, and the baby, we're going to be alright. I won't let anything happen to you, and you should know Shepard won't let anything happen to me. But this is who I am, Brynn. A soldier. I need to do this. Its my instinct. My purpose."
"Oh...but you have a new purpose now," she whispered back, pulling away until her forehead leaned against his, looking into his eyes, "You have me. Please don't push me away, Jacob. I love you."
He stroked her cheek, cradling it as he kissed her deeply. Pulling away, he smiled, "I love you too, Brynn. And I'm not pushing you away. We'll see each other back on the Normandy. I'm tougher than I look. You should be more worried for Cerberus."
She laughed, smiling as she laid her head on his chest, "Good point. Just..."
He shook his head, kissing the top of her head again, "Ssshhhh...it'll be okay. I'll be okay. I'll fight better knowing you're safe."
She sighed, looking up into his eyes for a long moment that Jacob wished he could stay in forever. Eventually, she sighed once more, pulling away as she straightened her uniform, nodding.
"Okay. I'll go with them," she turned, seeing that they were almost through, turned to him one last time and gave him one final, long goodbye kiss. When she pulled away, she breathed lightly, smiling, "Be safe."
"You too," Jacob smiled back, "I'll see you soon."
And without a further word, Brynn turned away, moving away to join the scientists. Jacob turned to watch her leave, smiling as he licked her lips. Even with her in line, he missed her already. You've got a job to do, Taylor. Get it done and you can see her again.
"Hey Jacob!" he heard Kasumi shout across the Port to him, causing him to turn around at the urgency, "Got room in the line?"
As he turned, he saw Kasumi appear, and not far behind, watched as Garrus and Javik helped Marcus limp across the room, the sight causing Jacob's eyes to widen when he saw the medi-gel in the man's side.
He rushed over, frowning, "What the hell happened!?"
"Marcus had the great idea of engaging Leng in hand to hand," Kasumi dryly stated, rolling her eyes, "Of course, to his credit, he almost beat the guy, but I did say almost! Leng managed to stab him through the hip before he got away."
Jacob sighed, whistling as he moved over to Marcus, "Just what were you thinking, you crazy bastard?"
Marcus' voice was laced with malice, but not towards him, "I almost had that piece of shit. If you had let me-"
"He had stabbed you through the chest, you fool," Garrus barked, cutting him off, "You were in no position to pursue him."
"We could have killed him!" he roared, "We cannot let that murderer walk one more step! To kill one more person!"
"Not today, Marcus! Not today!" Garrus responded.
"You are in position for combat," Javik backed him up, "You must wait until you heal."
"See, the pessimistic prothean agrees!" Kasumi cried out.
"Damn it...damn it..." Marcus muttered, "You don't understand...none of you do..."
Jacob sighed, turning to the dock entrance to see that Brynn and the scientists were gone, now evacuated. He nodded, turning back, "Okay, time to go! Guards are evacuating next, I think its time for us to-"
"Cerberus! They're here!" shouted a guard from the Eastern Corridor entrance, his words followed by a thunderous boom that shook the entire Port, almost knocking all of them from their feet. Jacob frowned, knowing full well that was no artillery barrage. Not something that strong. Something had smashed into the ground. Something big.
Softer, but still quite loud and pounding, bangs were heard, almost rthymic, and seemed to be getting closer. He shook his head, and turned just in time to see what the rest of the squad was looking at.
Sitting at the entrance of the corridor was the M36 Megalodon tank, its massive turret and twin machine guns looking down at them like the sights of a gun. Cerberus soldiers poured out from around it, taking positions infront of it with their guns aimed at them, either entering crouch or standing. Assault troopers, centurions, guardians, phantoms, Nemesis' and dragoons took positions all around, four Atlases coming out from beside the tank to take position.
And up, on top of the tank, stood Kai Leng, the area around his left eye implant all bruised and battered, dried blood crusted around his lips, and seeming to lean to his left side, as if favouring it over his right, hinting at a broken rib. Damn. Shepard really did give him a beating. Despite it, Leng looked to be regaining much of his strength, and was already brandishing his sword again, crusted with dried red and orange blood and sneering down on them.
"I promised to kill you Shepard," Leng barked at him, pointing directly at the battered spectre, "I'm going to hold to that promise."
Marcus shoved Javik and Garrus away from him, coming to stand at his full height, ignoring the pain in his injured side, simply chuckling, "What, with an army? Come on Leng, that's not killing someone yourself, that's called hiding behind a wall of soldiers and letting them do the killing. You're a fucking coward."
Leng was not pleased at this, "I defeated you, Shepard."
"You impaled me and fled like a wounded animal," he growled back, "That's not winning Leng, that's phyrric victory, for both of us."
Leng's next response caused spittle to fly from his mouth, he was not that enraged, "I will not bandy words with you! Operator, end this! Reduce Shepard and his team to nothing! Kill them, but leave Taylor to me," Leng's gaze fixed on him, grinning evilly, "He's mine to kill."
"You're not getting another hand on anyone," Marcus spat, "Not after Byp."
Leng snorted, "Who the fuck is Byp? I don't remember. Yet again, I don't remember most of the names of the alien trash that I kill. Not important enough to bother mesmorizing."
"You will die you fucking cunt! Your days are numbered!" Marcus roared.
"So are yours," the assassin dictated, "We'll see how many minutes you last," he tapped the tank, "Take aim, and-"
Leng was thrown off his feet onto the tank's hull as the entire Port shuddered, a massive piece of wall blowing apart on his right and tumbling everywhere, crushing all the Cerberus soldiers under it and sending the others fleeing. They all frowned at the sudden explosion, especially when Cerberus seemed to be startled by it; hinting that they were not behind it.
Cerberus soldiers moved towards the opening, harsh, cold winds blowing through it and chilling those infront of it. They slowly inched forward, checking to see what did it. But they needn't have bothered. The undeniable sound of the synthetic horn breaking through the blizzard was enough to give it away.
A Reaper.
Numerous horns, and Jacob widened his eyes. No, Reapers.
Jacob heard numerous synthetic sounds he did not recognize, followed by a loud growl, one that chilled him to the bone. Marcus must have recognized them though, because as soon as he heard the growl, he growled, turning away as he ran, "We have to go! Cerberus just got-"
The body of an eviscerated centurion coming to land with a thud, rolling across the ground until stopping, blood rushing from three long scythes along his front, his guts falling from his opened stomach and torn open armor. Marcus widened his eyes, obviously surprised as they all looked up to see the carnage.
Phaeston fire mixed with that of mattocks and avenger rifles, and the screeches of cannibals filled the backdrop. They heard a growl as a brute came charging through, shearing off the heads of any that stood in its way, only for it to blow apart in flame as an explosive shell from the Megalodon tank hit it dead center, scattering its body parts all over the place. But that did not stop two more brutes from taking its place, and for a horde of husks to pour through and tear into the Cerberus line, followed by cannibals, marauders, more brutes, and he even saw another of those...chimera...creatures, this time a male variant. Their numbers totally overwhelmed Cerberus, forcing them back more and more rapidly, the Megalodon tank, all the while, trying to keep the brutes back, taking them down, one by one.
"We need to go," Jacob stated again, ignoring Marcus' look of shock, "Shepard!"
"They shouldn't be fighting each other..." he mumbled, looking confused, "The Reapers own Cerberus...why would they attack their own indoctrinated agents...it makes no sense...and why would their own agents attack them..."
"We can argue the semantics later!" Jacob growled, "We need to leave!" When he looked up, he saw the brutes had made a beeline for the tank and were now clambering onto it, with Leng nowhere to be seen. One brute climbed up ontop just intime for the hatch to blow open and a centurion with a mattock come out to open fire, but only managing one shot before the brute grabbed his head and crushed it with its fist, joined by six more brutes and then ten more, eventually overcoming the tank and turning it over, the metal of the turret screaming as it was crushed by the weight of its body, the capsized tank now useless. Cerberus was now disorderly, confused, disorganized and as a result, their counterattack against the Reapers was sloppy, allowing the literal swarm of husks pouring through the wall to overwhelm them, bit by bit.
"Retreat!" he heard one cry out, "Fall back to the Peaks! There's too many! Retreat!"
"Shepard, everyone is already gone!" Jacob pleaded once more, "The civilians, Lorik, the scientists, the guards, hell, even your liberation force! The rachni, the mercs, Aralakh, all gone! We need to go now!"
Marcus nodded meekly, letting Garrus and Keeling help him towards the entrance, Jacob breathing in a sigh of relief as he brought up his eviscerator, pumping a shell into the slot and blasting the form of a charging husk apart, black ichor splattering against his armor and the ground. He reloaded the shotgun before running to join the squad as they ran into the dock, leaving the Cerberus versus Reaper battle behind as they fled in the final evacuation.
{Loading...}
June 19, 2186
1627 hours.
Main Dock, Port Hanshan, Aleusk Continent, Noveria.
The Reaper War, Battle of Noveria.
Captain Marcus Lee Shepard, Chieftain Urdnot Wrex, Shadow Broker Liara T'Soni, Master Thief Kasumi Goto, Military Advisor Garrus Vakarian, EDI, Soldier Javik, Second Lieutenant Imogen Keeling, Second Lieutenant James Vega, Second Lieutenant Jacob Taylor.
The rush down the steps to the main dock were some of the most painful in Marcus' life, he found out. The pain in his side was not steeped by the medi-gel, but was slowly easing due to his slow regenerative process. He bit his lip and soldiered through it as they moved, Jacob bringing up the rear as they moved to the last shuttle in the now empty Port; the Normandy's.
"Cortez, open the door! Bring the shuttle into hovering position! We need to take off immediately!" Garrus ordered through the comm, almost rushing Marcus along the ground with the way he was practically dragging him.
Almost immediately as Garrus issued the orders, the hatch of the shuttle flew open, Cortez at the door with a frown, "Why are we leaving so early? Cerberus isn't here already, are they?"
"Cerberus and the Reapers!" Garrus shouted back, motioning to Wrex to take over as he sprinted over to Cortez, "We need to get moving now! Inform Chakwas that Shepard is injured and needs medical attention ASAP! Make sure the stealth drive is activated, we don't want to be shot down by Reapers!"
Serve us.
You can hear us, Shepard. We know you can. All our voices, in your mind, conquering it.
We are Oblivion. Harbinger has told us of you. You will know pain. You will know suffering. Unless...you submit. Submit to ascension, let it fill you, and embrace it.
Serve us, and you shall live eternally.
Serve us.
SERVE US.
I...don't...want to...leave me...alone...
You grow weak. You are becoming more submissive to our suggestions. Embrace them for the truth they are, and you will know peace.
That sounds...nice...
It is eternal. Full of composure. Of music. Of peaceful silentium. Embrace it, serve us, and know freedom, everlasting.
I'd...like that...
"Marcus..."
What?
"...till death do us part..."
Tali? Are you there? Where are you?
"I need this...I need you..."
Please don't do this, Tali. Where are you?
"Marcus?"
Yes! I'm here!
"Resist them, Marcus. Fight them. Don't give in."
But they offer...peace. I feel...warm...
"They are lies, you bosh'tet! Knock it off and wake up! You've got to come find me! You don't get to die until you've found me, remember!?"
I just...want to crawl away...and fall asleep...
"You can. When the burden is done. Don't give up..."
I love you, Tali. But I can't keep doing this. I'm too weak. I'm not strong enough...
"You've never lacked the strength," she responded, "You've never been weak. You've always been strong. You just need someone to shoulder the burden with you. I love you, Marcus. Now get up, dust yourself off, and come back to me...
He nodded, new resolve filling his veins. I will, Tali. I swear I will. Keelah Se'lai.
"...till death do us part..."
...except the peace we offer, and you shall-
NO! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! GET OUT!
Serve us.
SERVE US.
"...why won't...he...up?" he heard muffled voices, only able to capture some of what they were saying, "Is...thing...we can...? He's not...ing is he?"
Finally, he peeled his eyes open, feeling the cold sweat that permeated his skin. He finally looked up into the face of a stunned James, before turning to Garrus, smiling weakly. He noticed he was in a blue interior, where numerous seats rested. He noted that the seats were uncomfortable. I must be in the shuttle.
"Marcus?" he felt Garrus' hand on his shoulder, and slowly looked up to meet the turian's eyes, "Are you okay? Talk to me, buddy."
He gulped, swallowing as he felt his throat go dry, "I'm...a bit...thirsty."
The turian chuckled, James laughing as he shook his head turning away to yell out to Jacob, telling him he was alright. Turning back, he saw Garrus raise his own canteen, now opened, and pour the liquid heaven into his mouth, Marcus swallowing every mouthful before Garrus pulled away, putting the lid back on, tightening it and putting it away, slapping his shoulder, "You're going to be just fine. We're going to get you back to the Normandy."
"Jacob..." he wheezed, "Where's Jacob?"
He pointed outside the hatch, "Outside, keeping an eye out on the enemy."
He nodded, moving to stand, ignoring the turian's objections as he came to stand, tearing his shoulder away as Liara tried to place a hand on it, the man limping over and nearly falling over to the hatch, before he grabbed hold of the edge and held onto it, looking out to where Jacob was, crouched and shotgun beared, the sounds of the dying heard in the background.
"Jacob!" Marcus coughed, watching as the man turned to face him, smiling as he stood up, wincing at the still fresh injury in his side as he limped over.
"Shepard! You look like shit!" he chuckled, "But still up and walking. That's the sight I like to see."
"Hahaha..." he laughed, almost choking on his own saliva, coughing the phlegm into his hand and grimacing at the green substance as he threw it away, "...I feel like it."
"I'm sure Leng feels it too," he sighed, shaking his head, "Shepard, I was wondering something. With all this over, and Brynn safe, do you think..."
He swallowed, coughing again, "You think what, Jacob?"
He cleared his throat, "Do you think me and Brynn could join the Normandy? I couldn't ever leave her side, but it would be nice to fight with you again. I just hope this Vega guy hasn't messed up my armoury."
"Alliance did that first...I'm afraid..." he coughed again, sniffing, "Although I'm sure you won't dislike it too much."
Jacob sighed, chuckling, "Well that's okay then. Because me and Brynn? We're going to help you win this war. And when its all over-"
Jacob cut off his own words as he screamed in pain, his shotgun falling to the ground as blood spurted from his knee, a long, silver blade sticking out of it and forcing him to his knees. He tried to flare his biotics, but stopped when a stun batton hit him across the back, stopping him from doing so. And behind him, materializing, was Kai Leng, grinning as he met Marcus' stunned eyes, the man groaning as he tried to move.
"This is the price you pay for insolence, Shepard," he leaned down, looking down into Jacob's angry eyes, "I did say I'd kill you."
And before Marcus could do anything, he ripped the blade from his knee, brought it up, and then back down again...
...Marcus coughing as he tried to scream his fury, watching the blade penetrate through the back of Jacob's head, out through his mouth, and out the other end, red blood coughing onto the ground. Jacob's body went limp, the life leaving him all in an instant. All the while, Leng only smiled smugly, keeping his eyes on Marcus as he tore the blade out, wiping it on his armor.
"RRRRAAAAGGGHHHHHH!" he heard Garrus scream, the staccato beat of his assault rifle going into overdrive as he held down the trigger, high velocity rounds pouring into Leng's form, forcing him to retreat as he held up a barrier to protect himself, forcing him to slowly retreat. James joined in, followed by Javik, their weapons joining to kill Leng. But before they could, the coward activated his cloak, and disappeared from sight.
Marcus could only watch as Cortez closed the hatch, "There's no time! We have to go! Reaper forces are swarming the dock!"
Marcus slammed a fist into the wall, then another, followed by another. He shouted his anger to the stars, and then fell onto his back, feeling battered, weakened...
...but most of all, defeated.
This is the price you pay for your insolence, Shepard.
Victory at any cost.
You fight or you die.
"Damn you..." he mumbled, his words to jarbled to understand, "Damn you..."
"The day Jacob was murdered..."
- Tali'Shepard pav Rannoch.
"It was that day I realized that I didn't just want Leng dead. I needed him dead. And you know the worst bit?"
- Marcus Shepard.
"What?"
"Telling the grieving fiance that her husband-to-be is dead, and her murderer alive. At that moment, I vowed to end his life, no matter what it took. Even if it meant losing my own."
- Marcus Shepard.
A/N:
NOOOO! NOT JACOB! NOOO!
Oh, who am I kidding, none of you care. Fuck Jacob. Noone cares about Jacob, and neither do I. Although I tried to do his character as much justice as I could before I killed him off. Sorry Jacob fans...if you guys exist at all...
This chapter is a milestone for me, because it marks the first time that I've killed off a main character on my own terms, not the game's. The Virmire sacrifice doesn't count because Bioware made me choose; it was either Kaidan or Ashley, that was a predetermined choice point. As for Jacob...he either dies during the loyalty mission in ME2 or not, but in ME3, he's basically invincible. But since I've killed him off, it marks the first time I've killed off a main character on MY terms.
Don't expect this to get any better. I'm not going to go as far to say that I'm like AMC's Walking Dead or George RR Martin, but I'm not going to show mercy and there definitely won't be pathetically justified deus-ex machinas. If a character is in a situation where there's no chance of survival, they die. Full stop.
Of course, bias will come into it, and Marcus and Tali are the only characters I've given any plot armor to. Of course, suffice to say, the rest is free shots. So prepare for some feels where you won't expect them, especially near the end of the story.
Anyway, rant over. Next chapter I've decided will be an interim, as I feel the scene where Marcus tells Brynn of Jacob's death will be necessary to show. After that, its a two-parter Tuchanka (might shorten it to one part, depending on how many words there are), and after that, a few more 'interims' before the Citadel attack. And then, the most exciting part; TALI AND THE QUARIANS AND THE GETH! YAY! WOO-HOO! YIPPY-KAY-YAY MOTHERFUCK-oh wait, that's Die Hard. My apologies.
Keelah Se'lai, troopers!