Chapter 25

Forward Assault

Author's Note: Not that many reviews for the last chapter, but then again that's probably because not that much happened. Hopefully this chapter will get the ball rolling again but I fell compelled to warn you about something. I have a scene planned for the next chapter that is...less than pleasant. If I go into details it will give away spoilers so I'll just tell you this. When I post chapter 26, I will also change the rating of this story from T to M...yeah, just thought that I should give you a heads up on that one. Now that we got that piece of news out of the way, here you go.

At the very base of the Prothean skyscrapers, Jacob Taylor let out a sigh as he looked down the scope of his battle rifle, scanning the area for hostiles.

"Jacob." Jacob turned around to see an armored Asari Huntress who was holding a rifle approaching him.

"Fayls," Jacob said, lowered his rifle, "how are the others holding up?" As he spoke, he gestured to the small mob of Marines and Huntress that were huddled together a hundred feet away.

"We're managing," Fayls sighed, "but morale's dropping like a rock."

"Don't worry, I just off of the radio with the Major, she's got a little mission for us to do. She wants us to take out the heavy turret that the Jiralhanae just put up."

"That monster?" Fayls shouted in surprise. Jacob nodded. Falys shook her head in disbelief. "Jacob, as much as I would love to completely annihilate that thing, we don't have the manpower."

"Don't worry," Jacob said, "backup is on the way." No sooner had Jacob spoke, than there was a series of loud cracks as several dozen HEV pods slammed into the ground, not too far away. "See?" Jacob remarked as he and Fayls made their way towards the pods. As they neared them, the lids on the pods slid open, their passengers climbing out.

"Oh, Keelah," Tali muttered as she got to her feet, clutching her chest.

"You all right?" Taylor asked as he clambered out of his own pod.

"I feel...odd," Tali panted, taking deep breaths.

"That's just the adrenaline rush that you get when you jump," Taylor remarked, "It should go away in a few minutes."

"Are you Lieutenant Taylor Winters?" Jacob shouted, causing Taylor to crane his neck to look at Jacob approaching him.

"Yeah, that's me," Taylor said as Jacob and Falys stopped in front of him, "I take it you're Jacob?" Jacob nodded as the rest of the platoon exited their pods and began to gather around them, Jacob's platoon joining them. "We've got a job to do, got any ideas?"

"One," Jacob said. "The turret isn't that far from here, it's about five minutes away. Right in between here and there there's an old barn that the apes didn't tear down. Here's what I suggest, the majority of your men will fortify and take up positions in that barn. I'll take my men and hit the turret head on, kill a couple of the chimps and then fall back to the barn. They'll most likely come after us, and when they do, they'll be walking straight into an ambush."

"You said that the majority of my platoon should hole up in the barn," Taylor remarked, "do you need the rest of us somewhere else?"

"I was thinking that you could take a small team and flank the turret and take it out once we have their attention," Jacob explained. "Just so you know, I only had ten minutes to cook this idea up, if you have any better ideas, I'm all ears."

"Sounds good to me. You four," Taylor said, pointing at four nearby ODSTs, "you'll be accompanying me and Tali, understand?"

"Got it," one of the ODSTs said, the others nodding their heads.

"Rebecca, you're a Staff Sergeant so I want you to take command of the men while I'm gone. The Russian smiled behind her helmet and nodded.

"You might want to get a head start," Jacob suggested. "We'll head out five minutes after you leave."

"Sounds like a plan, let's go."

XXXXX

"How many agents is that Broker willing to send to their deaths?" Xeron wondered aloud as he threw a Warp at three mercs, killing them.

"Let him send them," Tritus said, firing bursts from both of the spikers that he was holding, hitting two Turian mercenaries in the throat. Xeron and Tritus were slowly but steadily working their way across the top of the Shadow Broker's ship, slaughtering countless mercenaries in the process.

"I think I see a hatch," Xeron said, as he sent a Throw at a Krogan, sending him flying off the ship. Sure enough, not that far ahead of the duo was a large door the slanted down slightly. Upon seeing the entrance, Xeron and Tritus redoubled their efforts to break through the lines of the mercenaries that stood in their way.

Three more mercenaries fell to Tritus spikers and Xeron threw another Warp, killing four more of them. "Hurry, before more arrive," Tritus said, and he and Xeron sprinted forward, stopping in front of the door. "Locked," Tritus remarked, upon noticing that there was no visible war to open the door.

"More agents will be coming, cover me while I open this door." As Tritus spoke, he holstered both of his spikers and drew his massive two handed sword. As the sword was removed from it's sheath, it was revealed that it was not made out of steel, but a bright golden metal. Forerunner alloy, the hardest metal known to the galaxy.

Tritus swung his sword at the door where it loudly slammed into it, leaving a small dent. "This door is sturdy, this might take some time."

"Take you're time," Xeron said calmly, looking away from the door. In front of him, several small hatches opened and more mercenaries climbed out, the hatches sealing behind them. "I can handle them."

A purple aura surrounded Xeron as he propelled himself forward, landing in the midst of the mercenaries. "Greetings," Xeron said as the mercenaries pointed their weapons at him. Xeron extended his finger and a Warp flew from it, hitting a mercenary in the face, killing him instantly.

The mercenaries opened fire on Xeron, their bullets hitting his barrier harmlessly. Xeron chuckled slightly as he extending all eight of his fingers, a Warp shooting from each one, hitting a mercenary head on. "Fools," he muttered as all around him bodies fell to the floor. "A wise warrior would have put distance in between me and himself."

Back at the door, Tritus let out a roar as he swung his sword again, tearing a sizable hole in it. "Xeron!" he shouted, "It is open!"

Xeron nodded as he began to walk towards Xeron. Without warning, a Warp hit Xeron in the small of his back, causing him to stumble forward. Turning to see who had attacked him, Xeron saw an Asari in full armor and a breathing mask, a purple aura surrounding him.

"Who the Hell do you think you are?" she asked angrily. "You think that you can just fly around the galaxy doing whatever the Hell you feel like doing?"

Xeron raised an eyebrow. "I beg your pardon?"

"Do you have any idea what good comes from the Shadow Broker?" the Asari shouted angrily.

"Who are you?" Xeron asked. "You are clearly not a mercenary."

"Tela Vasir, Special Tactics and Reconnaissance."

"A Spectre? What are you doing here?"

"Xeron!" Tritus shouted, not even bothering to look at Tela. "I can not afford to tarry. Deal with her, I will deal with the Broker."

"No you don't!" Tela shouted, throwing a Warp at Teitus, who was calmly walking through the hole that he had made. Xeron stepped in the way of the Warp, causing it to impact on his chest, his barrier flickering slightly.

"I am sorry," he said as Tritus vanished into the depths of the ship. "But I can not allow you to interfere with Tritus."

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Tela bellowed, blindly throwing a warp at Xeron, who sidestepped it and countered with his own. Tela narrowly dodged the purple sphere, which hit a lightning tower, causing it to explode.

"I ask again," Xeron said calmly, "what is a Council Spectre doing on the Shadow Broker's ship? Why are you protecting him? No doubt he has funded countless pirates and slavers, shouldn't you be bringing him to justice?"

"You don't get it do you?" Tela asked angrily. "The Broker has no true allegiance, he'll sell to anyone including me. Do you have any idea how many lives I've saved with the information he's given me? I was able to take down entire slaver rings by myself because of him. A couple hundred people might suffer from his actions, but I'd rather have a hundred dead civilians than a hundred thousand."

"Hm," Xeron said, clearly interested. "You protect the Shadow Broker in exchange for information, and then use said information to protect civilians."

"Yes," Tela snarled. "And if you kill the Shadow Broker his empire will collapse, his agents scattered and confused, it'll take years to rebuild, if that's even possible. I will not allow you to do this!" she shouted throwing a Warp at Xeron.

"I am sorry," Xeron said, idly side stepping the Warp. "Your cause is sympathetic, but the Broker poses a threat to Empire security. I can not have him selling information to our enemies, the war effort would be jeopardized."

"Oh yeah," Tela said sarcastically, "that's makes what you're your doing alright. You're going to kill him so that you can conquer the rest of the galaxy. Don't talk to me like you're my friend!" she bellowed. "You and the rest of your kind are just a bunch of blood thirst killers, you want nothing more to slaughter every last thing in the universe. You're no better than the Krogan, it's no wonder you allied yourself with them."

Xeron let out a sigh. "You are an ally of the Broker, yet you know so little."

"Shut up!" Tela shouted as she drew a pistol and opened fire.

XXXXX

"Hold up," Taylor said, as he Tali and the four ODSTs that they had brought with them came to a stop, dropping to a prone position. They were within few of the plasma turret, no more than a minute away from it.

"So we just wait until the others draw the sentries away?" one of the ODSTs asked.

"That's the idea," Taylor replied, "just sit tight."

The minutes crept by as the group held a firm gaze on the turret, waiting patiently. Without warning, a rocket flew threw the air and impacted the ground in front of the turret, killing five Jiralhanae. Jacob's platoon had taken up position in front of the turret and was firing on it. A dozen of the defenders fell to the bullets of the Marines before the element of surprise wore off and they returned fire.

The firefight continued for around a minute before Jacob and his men abandoned the fight and ran. The defenders were so shocked at the sudden retreat that they actually gaped at the retreating Marines before letting out roars of triumph and chasing after them.

"Do you think they'll be all right?" Tali asking nervously, watching the Jiralhanae and their allies perusing the Marines.

"They'll be fine," Taylor replied reassuringly, "Rebecca's only a few minutes away, she'll cover them. Not to mention Jacob has a head start, he'll get there before they even get close to catching up."

"If you say so." Tali didn't sound completely convinced, but she did not speak any further.

"Ok, let's move," Taylor said as he and the others got to their feet and began to head towards the turret. "Tali, do your thing." Tali nodded as she ran ahead of the group, detached the charges on her back. Running underneath the turret, she planted a charge on one of the legs, before proceeding to do the same with another.

"That should do it," she said as she ran back towards the others. "We need to put some distance in between us and it." Taylor nodded as the six of them sprinted a fair distance away from the turret before stopping to turn and look at it.

"You might want to cover your ears," Tali said, as she produced a detonator and pressed it. With a deafening bang, both of the charges exploded, destroying two of the turret's legs. With only one leg left to stand on, the turret slowly but surely began to tilt over, until it finally hit the ground, exploding in a ball of purple fire.

Tali let out a sigh, clearly relieved that they had succeeded. "Hey Tali," Taylor said, causing the Quarian to look at him. Taylor smiled has he put his hand on Tali's shoulder. "Nice job." Tali smiled as she blushed slightly. "We better get out of here fast," he continued, taking his hand away. "If we stick around here, the Jiralhanae will probably find us he-" Taylor was cut off as a glowing green sphere was thrown into their midst.

Before anyone could even blink, the ball explouded, knocking all of them off of their feet. Taylor let out a groan as he made to get to his feet...except he couldn't. His eyes darted to his right arm, which was sprawled out on the ground. He tried to move it, but it simply did not respond. Panic began to flood through Taylor's body. 'What the Hell is going on?" he thought, trying desperately to stay calm.

Just when Taylor was beginning to calm himself, he saw something out of the corner of his eye that made his stomach drop. A lone Jiralhanae in gray armor had decloaked and was staring at the remains of the turret. "Incompetent fools," the Jiralhanae hissed, "abandoning their posts. I suppose I should make the best of this situation."

The Jiralhanae turned to face one of the ODSTs that was sprawled on the ground, unable to move. He adjusted some sort of nozzle on his right forearm that was attached to a tank further up his arm. Taylor was beginning to wonder what exactly he was doing when a tongue of fire leapt from the nozzle and consumed the ODST. Pain tore through the ODST, but he was unable to move. He was forced to remain perfectly still as he was burned alive, unable to move, unable to scream.

Taylor watched in horror as the Jiralhanae repeated the process on the other ODSTs, unable to help as his men were brutally murdered before his eyes. The Jiralhanae let out a content sigh as he watched the ODSTs burn. "Spirits I love doing this," he said to no one in particular. "Fire...it is such a wonderful sight." For a minute, the Jiralhanae simply watched the flaming ODSTs, positively enjoying the sight before his eyes. For Taylor it was pure torture, he had no idea if the fire had robbed them of life yet, or if they were still living a tortured existence.

The Jiralhanae turned to face Taylor, crouching down to look him in the eye. "Taylor," Jacob's voice crackled over the COM lines. "The ambush worked perfectly, those monkey bastards are running home to mama. I could see the explosion from here, nice job, I owe you a beer. You're going to want to get out of there, the apes are heading your way." The voice paused. "Taylor respond. What's your status? Taylor?"

The Jiralhanae chuckled as he flipped Taylor's COM unit off. "Are you afraid Human?" he asked darkly. "Or are you angry, angry that I killed your men? Perhaps you feel guilty that they died and you lived? Whatever you are feeling is truly irrelevant. I will not kill you and the Quarian here." As he spoke, the Jiralhanae smirked. "After I am done with you though, you will wish that I set fire to you here and now. I will redefine your definition of pain." The Jiralhanae leaned even closer. "Let it be known that your pathetic life was ended by Sukron." The Jiralhanae smirked again as his fist sailed towards Taylor's face.

Author's Note: That chapter was a little short, but I am happy with what happened in it. You know how I said that I'll be increasing the rating next chapter? Yeah, I have an extremely brutal scene planned out, the squeamish should avert themselves from it. I've been planning Sukron as a villain for a while now, and let me tell you, he is no where near as nice as Tritus and Xeron, though you probably could have guessed that by this point.

From what I've heard Jacob is a bit of a chew toy among the fandom, and I'm not that sure why. Ok his romance scene was...fucking awful, but overall he seems like a decent character. If you're going to poke fun at an ME character, poke fun at Grunt, the character with ABSOLUTELY NO PERSONALITY WHATSOEVER, yeah he's not exactly my favorite character, he just seems so...bland. He fits the stereotype of his species TO THE LETTER and...that's all you can really say about him.

Also I have decided to delete my current poll about favorite OCs, as nearly everyone has already votes and I am adding new characters, the new one will be characters from this story only, while another poll has FfaP characters. But before we do let's give a hand to the top three, IN 1ST PLACE IT'S THE COLD BLOODED FLEETMASTER VADMARE "KATAR, IN SECOND IT'S THE WISECRACKING SPECOP OPERATIVE RAMORE 'ALTRE, AND IN 3RD IT"S THE ASS KICKING CAPTAIN JANE SHEPARD. I have to say I'm surprised at Ramore's popularity, he was a fairly interesting character that sort of blended into the background as time went on, but apparently you guys really like him