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Opportunistic bastards. That was the only thing going through his head as he and Vakarian held out against Reaper forces that looked a hell of a lot like Turians while simultaneously fending off Husks. The Turian gave a shout and James turned, seeing a Husk latched onto him, trying to rip into his armor but before he could get a shot off, its head exploded in a mess of tech and gore. A Turian-Reaper coming out of a roll was blown back with a shot to the chest, crumpling to the rocky ground.
Casting a quick look at the barricade, he saw a soldier hand Sarah a thermal clip and he turned back to the approaching forces with a renewed concentration, pulling the trigger on his rifle in controlled bursts.
"I think we're good here!" She called from the sniper's nest, standing and bracing the butt of the rifle on her hip. "Let's get back to-"
"They're on the southern barricade!" The call went out and she hopped down from the nest as James and Garrus ran up the ramp that had lowered again. Sarah handed the Mantis off to a soldier as they ran through command.
"Valiant!" she called out and caught it as it was tossed to her, putting it in its restraining clips as she climbed the ladder to the mounted gun on the wall. Husks flowed over the terrain and the gun started up with a bass purr, her hands wrapping around the controls. James could feel it fire through his boots as she squeezed the triggers in bursts, taking out scores of Husks.
"Damn, Lola!" He yelled to her over the sounds of gunfire, "You make it look easy!"
"You keep complimenting me like this, Vega, I'm going to think you're trying to start something!" she yelled back and he caught the smile on her face out of the corner of his eye.
"Me try to start something?" He asked, "No! Where would you get that idea?" A roar pierced the air as the last of the Husks fell and they went quiet.
"What was that?" Sarah asked.
"Holy fuck!" James exclaimed, "What is that thing?!" A mass of tech and organics came barreling towards them, straight for the barricade.
"Brace yourselves!" She tried to get off the gun, but the...whatever it was hit the metal and stone hard, causing her to tip forward. Shepard let out a short yell as she hit the ground and she barely scrambled out of the way as the thing came back for another pass, taking cover behind a rocky spire.
"Sarah!" Garrus called down, "Are you all right?"
"Yeah I'm fine!" She called back, though her voice was strained, pain radiating from her bad shoulder which, of course, she landed on. The pain lessened as the first aid VI in her suit injected her with painkillers and she came out from behind her cover, her hands at her sides, clenching and unclenching in fists as she popped her neck. It swung around, its synthetic eyes gleaming as it focused on her. The Turian's were firing at it, but their rounds just bounced off it, not phasing it in the slightest. It started huffing, back feet kicking at the ground, reminding her very much of a bull about to charge.
"Sarah!" She heard, "Don't you dare play rooster with that thing!"
"Rooster?" James asked and there was a brief pause, "Sarah! Don't you dare play chicken with that thing!"
"Bawk!" She called back, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Come on. Come on, ugly." She whispered to herself as it continued to ramp up, "I'm right here. Easy target. Come on." Finally it charged, one hand tipped in razor sharp claws drawn back for a swipe and she dove out of the way at the last second, her tactical cloak activating before she came out of the roll, her form vanishing.
James watched as she vanished, his eyes searching the area, his breathing loud in his ears as he couldn't find any trace of her. Nothing shifted, not the rocks, not the air, nothing, and he couldn't help but think of the Ancient Roman Gladiators performing in the Colosseum with lions. Only this wasn't Ancient Rome, and Shepard was not a Gladiator. The brute circled the clearing, searching for its prey, its steps making the ground shake.
"Focus fire and aim your shots!" Garrus ordered and James hefted his rifle, keeping the trigger pulled as he fired on that thing, needing to take it down before it found her. She suddenly materialized mid-jump off an outcropping, landing on its back and making it give a mechanical roar. Her hand wrapped around one of the tech pieces coming from its back as she rode it, her jaw clenched. It slammed against a spire, trying to dislodge her, but she held on, dodging its' claws as it tried to rip her from its' back.
Her free hand came back, her omniblade materializing and with a shout, she buried it in the thick cords that took the place of a neck, almost severing them completely. It crumpled, hitting the ground hard and she rode it down, hopping from it's back.
"Spirits." James heard a Private next to him breath, "Is she single?" Both he and Garrus turned to look at him and the Private looked away quickly. "Nevermind."
"Hey!" They both looked at her, "Get your asses down here! We have a Primarch to find!" It took them a bit longer to find a way down that wasn't the direct route she took.
"You all right, Lola?" James asked when they were all on even plane again and she nodded.
"A bit bruised, but I'll live." She said, looking up at him with a reassuring smile.
"Why are you holding your arm like that?" He asked, also noticing the tightness around her eyes, the stiffness to her jaw.
"Tweaked my shoulder on the landing, I'm just waiting for the medi-gel to kick in. Hey, why don't you scout out ahead for a few then come back?" She suggested, "I need to talk to Garrus about the new Primarch anyway."
"Okay, Lola, I'll be back."
"Keep in radio contact." She said as he walked off and he waved at her over his shoulder.
"Shepard?" Garrus asked and she turned to him.
"I need you to pop my shoulder back in." Sarah said, pain creeping into her voice.
"What?"
"My shoulder got knocked out while I was playing rodeo, I need you to pop it back in again." She repeated and he pressed his hand to his face.
"Why me? You know I hate doing that. Why not ask the Lieutenant?"
"Because James will worry too much about hurting me and might do more harm than good. You know I can take it and you've done it before. So come on, before he comes back." Sarah said, turning her back on him and straightening her arm the best she was able. "Waiting on you, Vakarian."
"Spirits, fine." He growled and wrapped one hand around her elbow, the other holding her shoulder. "I told you after the Collector Ship that I wasn't doing this again."
"Yeah, yeah, less talking more popping." She said and he pulled her arm back a little, his hand tightening around her shoulder.
"On three. Ready? One...two…" He did it on two, jerking back on her arm and pushing forward on her shoulder, the joint realigning with a crunch. To her credit, she didn't yell out, but he did have to support her as she sagged a bit. "You all right?" He asked as he held her to him, stooping a bit to press his forehead to the back of her head.
"I'm good. Medi-gel will kick in and I'll be great." She said, her hands on his arms.
"Way's clear for a few klicks." James said as he came back, stopping at the sight of them. "Everything all right?"
"Yeah." Shepard said with a smile, "My bird is just happy to see me."
"Of course I'm happy to see you, Shepard," Garrus said as he pulled away from her, "I knew it was only a matter of time before you showed up. You usually do when shit goes to hell."
"Yeah, and pull your plates out of the fire...again."
"I don't know what I'd do without my tiny human." Garrus said, reaching over and ruffling her hair.
"Get every Merc group on Omega after your ass and take a missile to the face, apparently." Sarah said, batting his hand aside.
"Is that how you got the…" James gestured to his own face and Garrus nodded. "Ow."
"Yes and I don't recommend it." Garrus said and Sarah made an amused sound.
"Come on, let's find the Primarch and get off this moon." She said, taking her Vindicator from her back and they set off.
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