Chapter 26: Unlikely Heroes
Rah looked over the squad he'd been given. It was larger than he was used to commanding, but it needed to be big to get attention. He and his squad were to go in first and try and draw as much attention to themselves as they could. Shepard's squad would go in a few minutes later with Legion to clear them through the doors.
Rah cursed to himself at seeing that the only ones that were wearing real armor were himself, Garrus, and Zaeed. He needed to work around this, but on the upside he was certain that he could draw most of the Collector fire to himself.
"Krios." Rah called out the the Drell. "When we get in there, I want you on overwatch. Keep them from flanking us." Rah turned to Kasumi. "Goto, stick to Krios like glue. Keep him safe and do what damage you can while cloaked." Both Thane and Kasumi nodded.
"Massani, Vakarian, I want you two on my flanks. Keep the Collector's fire away from those without armor if they aren't shooting at me." Rah order the two soldiers. Both of them knew what to do, and both saw the logic behind it.
"The rest of you, do what damage you can. Watch each others backs and focus your fire. We're not losing anyone to enemy fire." Rah told them all evenly. His squad all gave him some sort of acknowledgement.
"Let's move out people." Rah barked. He turned and jogged into the entrance to the Collector base they'd found. He could hear the boot falls of the others falling in behind him.
They rushed into the massive tunnel, one large enough to drive two Mako's in side by side with a row of troops on either side. It seemed that a group of Collectors had been sent to check the Normandy's crash site. By the casual way the dozen Collectors walked, they hadn't expected to find anyone alive.
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Rah yelled out. He grabbed a grenade from his belt and lobbed it into the group.
The Collectors panicked, but most of them managed to get out of the blast unscathed. One of the farthest ones back dropped with a round clear through it's dead.
Damn Krios is good. Rah grunted. He began spinning up his machine gun's barrels to fire, the steady whine of the spinning barrels filled the air. The rest of the squad opened fire before he could.
Just as he expected, with him steadily walking towards them, unflinching, the Collector's focused their fire on him. His shields screamed in protest, but just barely held under the fire. Rah opened fire with his weapon, just in time to cut down the last Collector. The rest of his squad had focused on picking the Collectors off two at a time. The small group of Collectors had been slaughtered in a matter of seconds.
"Grab any clips they have and keep going!" Rah barked out to his squad, walking into and through the gore of the Collector remains.
Rah and his squad mowed down two more groups of Collectors, each larger than the last. They passed by several side passages, but other than for Rah to chuck a grenade down, they ignored them. When they finally reached the first door that blocked their way, their comms came back online.
"Carmine come in!" Shepard barked over the comms.
"Loud and clear Sarge." Rah replied. He motioned for his team to take up defensive positions around the door.
"EDI got the comms back up. We're heading in now." Shepard told them all.
"Copy that sir." Rah replied. He planted himself in the center of the hallway, acting like a road block.
A loud moaning filled the tunnel and Rah spun up his gun. "Husks incoming! Jack shockwaves as you can!" He ordered the woman.
"Sarge, the faster you can get this door open, the better." Rah grit out when the first few Husks began running out of the passages they had passed.
"Working at optimal efficiency Carmine-Major." Legion's voice replied to him.
"Light 'em up!" Rah barked to his squad when their tunnel was filled with an impossible amount of Husks.
Around him, his squad opened fire. He pulled the trigger of his gun, raking the barrel across the Husk wave. With these monsters, there was no point aiming.
His squad let loose on the Husks. Shockwaves, overloads, concussion rounds, and weapon fire all tore the Husks to shreds. Jack managed to get herself next to him and even lobbed a couple of his grenades into the fray. Zaeed flowed the woman's example and chucked a couple of his own in for good measure.
"Carmine-Major." Legion's voice called out to him over the comms. "First blast door is being opened. This platform will seal it once you are through."
"You heard the man!" Rah barked out to his squad. He risked a glance over his shoulder to see the door opened halfway already.
"Everyone through! Go! Go! Go!" Rah ordered.
Almost as if they were a fully trained special forces squad, the team retreated across the threshold, coving each other as they went. When it was only him left on the other side, Rah raked his weapon across the Husks one last time before dashing through the door.
"We're clear!" Rah barked to Legion.
"Acknowledged." The Geth replied, the doors already closing. Thankfully, the doors sealed faster than they opened.
"Massani! Vakarian! You're on rear guard. Those things know we're here and will try to flank us." Rah ordered the two soldiers. Both nodded and seamlessly took up positions at the squad's flanks.
"Lets move it people!" Rah barked, leading them forwards. "Not getting any younger here!"
Shepard couldn't have hoped for things to go any better than they did. The entire plan that she had come up with was working wonders. From what Rah was telling her while clearing Legion through the various checkpoints to open the doors for the other team, they had the brunt of the Collector forces. Shepard's team only came across small resistance, but the forces that did oppose them, were bolstered with Harbinger taking over their bodies. Unlike on Horizon where he would take over one body at a time, here he managed to take over all of them at once. It made things considerably more difficult, but the powerhouses that she brought with her dealt with Harbinger's possessed bodies with relative ease.
"Legion! Get this door open!" Shepard barked to the Geth. He had just sealed the door coming from their route. From Rah's orders and commands, his squad was at the last door.
Legion set to work and within seconds, the door blocking Rah and his squad opened.
"Everyone through!" Rah barked to his squad, backing up from the onslaught of Collectors and Husks that were pressing on them.
Shepard and her team laid down covering fire while Rah's squad dashed to their side of the door. Rah was the last still on the other side, spraying rounds down range keeping the Collectors from getting off any real shots and the Husks from reaching him.
Shepard, Samara, and Jack all sent shockwaves down past Rah. He took it as his queue to fall back and rushed through. A few Collectors managed to get final bursts off at his retreating back however.
Shepard watched in horror when Rah's shields failed. His armor took a heavy beating and a couple rounds managed to punch through his armor. Rah toppled forward and crashed to the ground.
"Legion!" Shepard barked and the Geth sealed the door as quickly as he could.
Shepard and Jack both rushed over to Rah. The N7 however grunted and lifted himself off the ground and back to his feet.
"I'm good." Rah grunted at seeing the worried looks on both Jack's face and Shepard's eyes. Shepard pulled up his bio readings and saw that he was swimming in medi-gel, but his wounds would need to be treated.
She looked to the backs of his legs. She could see that he had been hit there twice, but the blood had stopped oozing from the wounds. His armor had sealed itself and a weaker interior plate protected the wounds.
"Shepard." Kasumi gasped. Shepard looked to the thief and then to what had caught her attention.
All around them, were the pods that the Collectors took their victims in. They were all hooked up to massive tubes. These tubes ran up to the ceiling and then deeper into the station.
Shepard looked into one of the closest pods to her. Inside was a colonist. Shepard gasped when the woman's eyes fluttered open.
"They're still alive!" Shepard barked.
"Get 'em out people!" Rah ordered, rushing to another pod, his biotics flaring to life.
Shepard felt around the edges of the pod that the colonist was in, but froze at seeing that the woman was screaming. Before her eyes, Shepard watched the colonist being liquified.
"Top right of the pods!" Rah barked out. Shepard turned to see that he'd opened one and Kelly Chambers fell into his arms.
The rest of them all rushed into action. They managed to get all of the Normandy crew out of their pods and even and few of the colonists as well.
"Katherine?" Doctor Chakwas' voice asked. "Where are we?"
"On the Collector station." Shepard replied stepping over the the elderly doctor.
"The-the Collectors." Chakwas spoke, her voice shaking. "They-they've been processing the others. Turning them into their genetic material." Chakwas looked pained, but they both knew Shepard needed to know this. "The material is sent through the tubes, deeper into the place."
Shepard held the doctor, her friend. After moment the matronly woman thanked her and pulled away.
"Shepard, the tubes lead directly to the power source that needs to be overloaded." EDI told them over their comms.
"Good, how do we get there?" Shepard asked.
"There are two paths, but one is not an option. One is being heavily fortified and the other is filled with seeker swarms." EDI informed her. "Doctor Solus' countermeasure would not work with swarms of this size."
"True." Mordin mussed. "Could use biotics to hold back swarms. Untested, but could work."
"I could maintain a field to do such a thing." Samara offered. "But I would only be able to protect a small squad."
"So could I." Miranda offered. "In theory, any biotic could."
"We'll go with S0amara for this one." Shepard told them. "Same squads. Legion's with us, Samara will keep us safe."
The members of the ground team nodded, but Chakwas' hand on her shoulder stopped her.
"What of us Katherine? We are in no condition to fight." Chakwas told her, motioning to the rescued crew and colonists.
"I'll send Mordin with you Doc." Rah spoke up. "He can get you back to the Normandy and make sure everyone is alright, physically at least."
"Commander, Tali's got the thruster working, we could do a pickup closer to your location." Joker informed her.
"Make it happen, any word on the FTL capabilities?" Shepard responded.
"I'm working on it!" Tali snapped. Shepard couldn't blame her. There was an immense amount of pressure on her friend's shoulders.
"Joker, send coordinates for pick up, will meet you there." Mordin spoke out, pulling up his omni-tool.
Shepard caught Rah looking at the location hat Joker had sent. "Goto, go with him. I have a bad feeling about that spot."
Kasumi nodded. She and Mordin lead the non-combatants away and towards the location that was given to them.
"Let's go people!" Rah barked, forcing everyone, even Shepard, into motion. "We've got a galaxy to save!"
"Legion! Go!" Shepard ordered the Geth. They only had meters to go before they reached the door, and their destination. Samara was getting weaker from the tax that had been put on her biotics from holding up the barrier.
Legion nodded and ran to the door. Grunt and Shepard both fell back a step behind Samara, blowing away anything that got in range of their shotguns.
Shepard glanced over her shoulder to see that Legion had the door open. He was kneeling on the ground firing bursts from his Avenger at the Husks and Collectors chasing them.
Samara noticed it too. The Asari yelled out and pulled the barrier inward. Samara yelled again and a massive wave of biotic energy exploded from her. The energy sent the Collectors, Husks and seekers flying away.
Shepard and her team raced into the room that had been exposed, Legion slamming the doors shut behind them.
"Sarge! Come in!" Rah barked over her comms, the hum of his weapon audible in her ear.
"I'm here! Go!" Shepard replied.
"We're under heavy fire! Get this fucking door open now!" Rah ordered her. She felt a smile on her face Rah certainly knew that he had rank over her in the Alliance and was more than willing to use it.
"Legion!" Shepard barked to the Geth, but grinned to see that he was already two steps ahead.
Shepard and her squad once more laid down cover fire for Rah's squad when the door opened. They all ducked through as fast as they could. Rah covering them as he fell back too. Around him, Rah's biotics shielded him Collector fire, but even that was whaning.
Rah crossed over just in time for his barrier to fall. His shields took over again, protecting him from harm while the door closed.
"Shepard, we just picked up Mordin, Kasumi and the crew. No one is missing, but they were being chased by Collectors." Joker informed her when they were all together again.
"Minor injuries, nothing fatal." Mordin told her, already knowing the question that was on her lips.
"Good." Shepard replied. "Keep the Normandy close. We'll need her to evac quick."
"Copy that, Joker out." Joker replied, and went silent.
"Shepard, the platform behind you will take you to the source of the power." EDI told her. Shepard looked to see a platform similar to the one that she had been on in the Collector ship.
"Sarge, you need to leave some of us here." Rah told her grimly, his chest heaving from exertion. "Too many Collectors over there to not leave behind a defense team."
"Any suggestions Major?" Shepard asked. She could feel the eyes of the others on the two of them.
"Take two heavies with you, leave the rest with me." Rah told her calmly. "I'll hold this spot to keep your back clear. Even if it's just me, I will not fall."
They both knew that whoever stayed would have a high risk of dying, higher than those that would go with her. Shepard knew however, that he would be able to keep as many of them alive as he could, or die trying.
"Garrus, Zaeed, you two are with me." Shepard ordered, stepping up onto the platform. Both soldiers followed her. She knew that she'd be hurting Rah and his defense by taking them, but she needed their skills for this.
"Any last words Sarge?" Rah asked, a grin in his voice.
"We all know the stakes. We've all given our best and it's probably more than the galaxy deserves. No matter what happens this day, we will be the ones to keep the galaxy safe where none else could. It will be us that are the heros of this cycle. Us that give every part of our being to stopping the Reapers. All I ask, is that today, you give it your all. WIth it, we will come out of this alive where others would fail."
When she was done talking, she could feel the air around her shift. All of them felt invigorated. All of them knew that she was right. All of them were ready to give their life for a higher cause.
"Keep them safe Carmine." Shepard ordered her friend.
"Like they were my own." Rah nodded.
Shepard felt the platform under her jerk into motion. She, Garrus and Zaeed were pulled away from their friends. There was no looking back now.
Rah turned away from the platform that was whisking away Shepard and her squad. He regarded those that he had to hold Shepard's back with.
"Legion, Krios, I want you two on overwatch. Pick of any targets that get too close, or thin out those in the back, I don't care." Rah ordered the two snipers. Both nodded in acknowledgement and almost approval.
"Jack, Samara, I want you two providing biotic support. Disrupt their forces as much as you can. Don't over do it, we'll be doing this for a while." Both Samara and Jack nodded. Rah smiled slightly at seeing that the later was sticking close to him.
"Lawson, Taylor, cover Legion and Krios. You keep anything from getting to them. focus your fire on anything close to our snipers." Both Cerberus agents nodded. They picked a sniper to stick to and stayed near them.
"Grunt, you and I are the front line." Rah grinned to the Krogan. "Have fun and earn your glory in Krogan history."
Grunt laughed and slammed his fist into his palm. Rah could tell that the Krogan would more than happily do as ordered.
Rah stepped up onto on of the low walls that filled the room. He squarely planted his feet and readied his gun.
"Keep low people. I don't want to haul any of your corpses back with me." Rah told them all.
He looked to see that they were all spreading out. Taking up positions to give everyone clear shots at the doorway, their fire patterns overlapping. He looked to see Jack crouching behind the wall that he stood on. She gave him a small smile before her face became a mask of cold blooded hunger.
They waited there for what seemed like hours. Rah's mission clock showed that only twenty minutes had passed. The sounds of the Collectors breaking in became louder and louder. After another ten minutes of waiting, the Collectors broke through. Their breach was only big enough for two to enter at a time.
Rah and his squad took advantage of this. They began their slaughter of Collectors. They began the final stretch.
Shepard woke up to the sound of her name being called. She shook off the haze in her mind that came from being knocked out and looked around. The last thing she remembered was her platform being flung away by the Human-Reaper in its death throes. The platform crashed into a wall and the rest was black.
She looked to see that Garrus was laying next to her, also out cold but stirring slightly. Zaeed lay pinned under a massive beam. Shepard woke up Garrus and then rushed to Zaeed. The man was fine but was struggling to get the beam off him. Shepard helped him and together, they freed him from being pinned.
"Sarge!" Rah called out her name. She looked to see that Rah was running towards them.
"Come on! We need to go!" Rah urged them, motioning for them to follow him.
Without hesitation, they did. Shepard couldn't help but notice the slight limp in the N7's gait. She took note that he was no longer carrying his gun nor the pack that went with it. She got ahead of him and spotted his injuries. Bullet holes riddled his chest plate. Some of them were only dents, but others still had blood oozing out of them.
"I'm fine! Let's go!" Rah barked to her, sprinting ahead.
Shepard and her team followed her friend. Along the way, Collectors chased them, firing at their retreating backs.
Rah lead them to a cliff. At the end of it, Joker in the open airlock with a rifle in his hands. The pilot fired bursts at the Collectors chasing them.
"Go! Go!" Rah urged them on, falling back slightly.
Shepard ran on. She, Garrus, and Zaeed all jumped and landed safely on the Normandy. Shepard looked to see Rah had stopped and launched a volley of biotic shockwaves at the Collectors.
"Rah! We need to go!" Shepard barked.
Rah turned and sprinted towards them. He jumped, but he didn't make it.
"RAH!" Shepard called out, her hand reaching for his. His fingertips grazed her hands, but he fell away to the fog below them.
"JOKER!" Shepard barked, tears beginning to stream down her face. "Get us out of here!"
They all knew that there was no way they could save Rah and get out alive. She just had to hope that he would find peace in the next life.
Joker raced into his chair and his hands danced over the controls. EDI counted down to the overload would destroy the station. With only seconds to spare, Joker jumped them out of the system, just escaping the blast that destroyed the station.
With the ship safely fleeing from the blast, Shepard collapsed on the floor of the cockpit. She let her sorrow take her. She'd known Rah too long for her to not be affected by his loss. She let herself sob and cry over his passing.
A/N: And there we are folks! I started writing this last night and just couldn't stop, so now this is up earlier than I planned, but that's just how things worked out.
I am going to try to not leave you with this cliff hanger to too long. The next chapter will be the Aftermath of blowing up the station and a bit of fluff. I am going to take this story all the way through ME3, but before I get to it, I still have Overlord and Arrival to do.
Anyways, thank you all for reading and those of you that have been reviewing. Please let me know what you thought!
Until next time!
PS. Awkward spelling errors are awkward...