Chapter Twenty-Eight: Omega Pt. II
"If the enemy is within range, so are you."
- UNSC Marine Corps Handbook (Unofficial)
CAS-Class Assault Carrier Shadow of Intent
Arbiter's Private Quarters
In Transit to Omega
"Ultra 'Harum to see you as requested Arbiter," said one of the Honor Guard posted outside the door of Thel's quarters through the room's intercom.
"Send him in," replied the Arbiter, sliding the last gauntlet of his armor set over his muscled forearms.
The door slid open and Ultra 'Harum stepped in, the brilliant white of his rank armor contrasting greatly with the soft purples of the walls. He was holding his ornate helmet/headdress in one hand, and Thel could see the stock of a Plasma Repeater sticking out over his shoulder.
"Arbiter," he said, bowing his head in respect. "Is there something further you wish to discuss?"
Not even an hour earlier Thel had called together his senior command officers and had explained his plan. Though a relatively junior officer compared to the regimental and brigade commanders, Thel had wanted 'Harum present as he explained to those assembled that the Sangheili would be mounting their own invasion of the station, turning on and eliminating the dishonorable Cerberus terrorists after they had eliminated a large part of the mercenary, pirate, and criminal scum defending the station, but before they managed to establish more concrete defensive positions and entrench themselves, which would just make the Sangheili's job harder.
"Yes," said the Arbiter. "The Cerberus General has informed me that a crack company of Special Forces troops will be establishing a beachhead in the hangar bay closest to where the Key is located. From there they will assault towards that Afterlife club and seek to both kill Omega's tyrant ruler and secure the club, and subsequently the Key. I 'offered' my assistance in this matter. The opportunity was too great to ignore."
'Harum smirked. He could only imagine that the Arbiter's 'offer' had been more a demand.
Thel walked over to an otherwise ordinary piece of wall, putting his hand on it briefly. Several creases appeared and a hidden wall panel slid open, revealing that the entire portion of the wall, easily five meters wide and two meters tall, was the Arbiter's personal armory. He continued speaking, picking out his preferred Carbine and attaching it to the magplates on his back. "Myself and my two stealth Lances will accompany the Cerberus Special Forces to the Key."
"Is that why you are wearing the new armor?" 'Harum asked.
Instead of the hallowed grey Arbiter armor set that had been passed down for millennia, the leader of the Separatists was clad in the same jet-black, sleek, modern Special Operations armor that the rest of his twenty Special Operations bodyguards wore, an armor that was far less ornate but far more functional.
"R'tas finally convinced me. He told me that 'Taham and 'Sraom had been pining him for months, saying that the Arbiter's armor was, what was their quote, 'outdated, lacking in protective features, and not at all practical to be worn by the head of the Sangheili in combat operations.'"
Thel chuckled, fastening a bandolier of plasma grenades across his chest. "They were right of course. Were it not for the energy shield upgrade I field-installed I likely would have been dead long ago."
The senior Sangheili finished his armament by securing his two Energy Swords to his hips, then was silent for a moment. When he spoke again his voice was quiet, head lowered slightly down to the floor, back still turned away from 'Harum. "The title of Arbiter was once the highest honor a Sangheili could receive. Always warriors of the greatest skill and honor, respected by all Sangheili. But once we joined the Covenant, the title of Arbiter was coopted and corrupted by the Prophets to be used as a way for 'disgraced' Sangheili to 'restore' their honor through what? Through death. We were called upon by the Hierarchs in their most perilous times of need, sent on the most dangerous, desperate, daunting missions believable."
'Vadam turned around to look at 'Harum, drawing himself up to his full height and looked exactly as intimidating and powerful as the Ultra had always thought his leader to be.
"There we were expected to die, to succumb in glorious battle in combating whatever grave threat had presented itself, and would be subsequently revered for all eternity for our zealous sacrifice." Thel's voice had rose a few decibels, and 'Harum could easily hear the hard edge of his voice. "We were no more than tools to be used and discarded by the Prophets and their whim. For thousands of years we let ourselves be used, not just the Arbiters, but all Sangheili. But, once that became clear, I killed them. One at least."
Thel's gaze shifted further into his quarters, and 'Harum followed his eyes to see the grey, intricately etched set of traditional Arbiter armor hanging from its standing rack, to the left of the brilliant golden plates of his Kaidon armor, and to the right of an empty rack of what 'Harum presumed was the SpecOps armor he was wearing now.
"The Sangheili make their own path now. I owe no more allegiance to that set of armor and the trappings that came with it than any of you us owe to the corpses of the False Prophets now," he said.
"Will you still keep the title of Arbiter?" 'Harum asked. Fascinated with this turn of their conversation
"Yes," Thel said, slowly nodding his long head up and down. "Not as an instrument of 'that' age, but rather by what the word actually means. A person empowered to decide matters at hand, to judge, to determine what the right course is. For now at least."
The Arbiter looked sideways at 'Harum. "Unless of course, you have an objection to my continued leadership of the Sangheili?"
"Of course not Arbiter," 'Harum said quickly, lest he look even the least bit doubtful.
Thel otherwise just looked amused. "Now, for the reason I called you here. You are familiar with what we plan to do?"
"Yes. Betray our Cerberus 'friends' and take the station for ourselves. A sound strategy, but a questionable one when honor is concerned. Or so some will believe. "
"And you have no qualms about this betrayal? You do not believe it is dishonorable?"
"No. They are deserving no more honor than one would give a Kig-Yar. The plan is practical. Let two enemies weaken each other, then sweep in and eliminate both. It allows us to preserve our strength for when it is needed."
The Arbiter nodded inwardly. "You will be the center point around which this operation will proceed. I have told Cerberus Command that we will be inserting two companies of troops to help fortify and secure our primary landing zone and the immediate surroundings."
"Only two companies?" 'Harum asked, confused.
"Of course not. I never told the General exactly what a Sangheili company 'means', so the interpretation of that is up to us." The two shared a mischievous glance. "No. You'll be inserting your entire battalion, along with a company of Rangers, a company of SpecOps operatives, a company from the FWF battalion, and an HAI platoon."
"That is a lot of firepower," 'Harum said, eyes widened some in surprise. The FWF, Fixed Weapons and Fortifications, battalion was responsible for creating strong defensive positions using Shade turrets, crew-served tripod-mounted heavy plasma repeaters and energy mortars, anti-infantry and anti-vehicle mines, portable energy shielding, prefabricated structures, and more. HAI was the abbreviation for Heavily Armored Infantry, or in other words, Mgalekgolo. A platoon was twenty pairs of the hulking creatures, a huge amount of firepower and what would likely be the heaviest weaponry that would be available to the Sangheili in the cramped confines of Omega.
"Yes it is, and it will have to be used masterfully," said Thel. "So, how will you use it?"
"What is my objective?"
"To facilitate the smooth transition of the main Sangheili invasion force from their ships into the station when the order is given." Thel kept the objective vague and open-ended. He wanted to see what 'Harum came up with.
The Ultra was silent for a moment, tapping on his helmet absentmindedly while he thought. "Facilitate the smooth transition… My battalion and the FWF company will be enough to create Hangar-1, as I'll call it now, into a substantial staging point, but it will not be enough on its own. Our attack needs to be overwhelming in its speed and intensity, so that means securing other landing zones to give our forces more avenues to attack and branch out from. Cerberus is expected to already be using those zones though, so I would task the Special Operations company on that. However, we cannot afford to get bogged down trying to break out of our ingress points even if we do secure them. Areas around LZ's will have to be secured as well, including main avenues of transportation. Major roads, footpaths, skyways, intersections, commanding points of view, the like. I'd give that objective to the Rangers, fast-moving, more heavily armed and armored than the SpecOps troops, more able to hold a point. Support them with Mgalekgolo to give them more staying power, perhaps have a few pairs attached to some roving lances from my battalion to reinforce trouble spots… That is how I would do it."
Thel was greatly impressed. 'Harum had mirrored his own lines of thought on the matter and had come up the plan on the spot, whereas it had taken Thel an hour or so of brainstorming to reach the same conclusions. Granted, he had many, many more moving pieces to consider alongside the tactical problem he had just presented 'Harum, but it was still impressive nonetheless. The question the Ultra then asked even further cemented that he was the right choice.
"What if Cerberus wisens up and engages us before your order is given?"
"That is a possibility," Thel admitted, "Although I do not think that it is likely. General Petrovsky has a very limited course of options. He knows full well of our capabilities in space, it is the reason why he wanted to work together. If he were to attack us he knows that his fleet would be destroyed as easily as Omega's defense fleet was, leaving him trapped here and relying on an already weakened ground presence. It is certain doom to attempt to double-cross us, and he knows it. However, he also does not know of our full intentions. He thinks we only seek the Key, and that once we have it we will be on our way. I have not contradicted that thought in anyway, but my instincts tell me that Petrovsky has not discounted the possibility of a betrayal by us. Nevertheless, Petrovsky's best chance is to play nice with us, give us what we want, and hope that we leave him alive and in control of the station. So, I would say that your role in this is even more important. Move quickly, position your troops well, and even if we do have to initiate conflict sooner than expected we will still be able to proceed without much delay."
'Harum nodded, absorbing the information. "What about my Asari?" The pronunciation of the word was natural to him now, so often he had said it. "Are they to be included in this operation.?"
"Are they ready? Tell me your honest opinion. I do not want any bravadic promises of effectiveness a lesser commander would falsely give to impress a superior."
"Of course Arbiter," 'Harum said. He wouldn't have done that anyway. "They have taken to their training extremely well. Tough, smart, adaptable, many now show remarkable weapons proficiency. A few ex-military and police that helped us train the rest in shooting."
"And what of their biotic skills?"
"Most have a ways to go before mastery of the more offensive-minded abilities, at least to the point where they could be reliably used in combat. However, Captain Levas has told me that unlike other species of this galaxy, all Asari have inherent biotic skill. This has been proven to me several times over, as every single one has developed a near mastery of the more basic defensive abilities."
"Enough mastery to where you would feel confident sending them out into the field?"
"For this mission?" 'Harum sounded a little apprehensive, but that was to be expected when it came to a Commander sending untested troops into the fray. "They still have another week to go on their already accelerated training schedule… However based on their current capabilities I would say that their deployment would notably add to the survivability and defensive strength of the lances they embed in."
"Then I am accelerating their training schedule. I want them deployed with your battalion. Let them have their trial by fire," ordered Thel.
"As you wish Arbiter."
"Unless you have any further questions, you are dismissed Ultra 'Harum."
"Actually, if I could ask one more thing," the battalion officer asked. The Arbiter tilted his head to let 'Harum know that he was listening. "Why chose me specifically for this operation? There are many honorable regimental and brigade officers, even other battalion officers, much more my senior who could command such an operation."
"You just gave the answer yourself," said Thel. He continued before 'Harum could raise another question. "What we are proposing to do is one of the most dishonorable things a Sangheili can partake in: Betrayal of an ally."
"But Arbiter, these heathens are not deserving of any honor, and they most certainly not our 'allies'," 'Harum protested.
"Exactly," said Thel. "However, some Sangheili have their doubts."
"Truly?" asked 'Harum, surprised.
"Let me rephrase. All recognize the practicality required when addressing the situation. However, as much as I or anyone else would like to believe otherwise, old traditions and beliefs are difficult to shake. In the old days, even before the Prophets and the Covenant, the honorable combat was the one fought in the open, with the full attention of both sides. Subterfuge, misdirection, betrayals were not only dishonorable, but also capital offenses. Sangheili who tried to turn on their brethren for the benefit of the opposing side were executed by the same side they wished to defect to. While the times have certainly changed, I need a commander which will have absolutely no qualms, doubts, or hesitation in shooting their opponent in the back because it is required to complete the objective. You are that commander."
"I see," said 'Harum.
"Now I am not saying in any way that you are not honorable. Far from it. Instead, I believe that you are one of the few new Sangheili who truly abide by the military theories that will distinguish ourselves from how we were not ten years ago. A sense of practicality that overshadows antiquated personal or social values. A sense of duty not just towards abstract ideals like glory and honor, but more importantly to one's own colleagues and subordinate troops. A capability to quickly adapt to changing situations and not be bogged down with strategum and tactics suited for the war we had been fighting against the UNSC. You possess all of those qualities."
"Many of those senior commanders were incredibly effective against the UNSC," countered 'Harum.
"Yes they were. They were incredibly effective against an opponent that was consistently outnumbered and behind us technologically in every possible way. That we still managed to lose battles is a testament to the abilities of the Humans," the Arbiter acknowledged. "But think about the civil war that erupted between us and the Covenant Remnant after the Great Schism. No longer were we pitted against a technologically inferior, yet still tenacious, foe. Instead we were fighting each other, CCS Cruiser versus CCS Cruiser, Banshee versus Banshee, Sangheili versus Sangheili. Everybody knew each other's tactics, what they would do, how to react… how could they not? They had been using them, even working alongside each other, for thirty-plus years. Many of those commanders which were so effective against the UNSC stalled against these new foes which were so much like themselves. It is why the war has dragged on as long as it has, because innovative and effective commanders have been hard to find on both sides."
"You believe I am such a commander?"
"I know it. I have seen your record and how effective you were at the lance, platoon, company, and now battalion level. The speed at which you've risen through the ranks rivals my own, and your unique command techniques has been why. You impressed me on that Asari mining colony with how brutally you obliterated the forces of the Reapers, the New Parasites. Every mission I have given you since has just been me following my instincts. Do you recall the battle in the Hispedus Valley against the Covenant Remnant two years ago?" Thel asked.
"Of course," replied 'Harum. "You led an armored brigade against a similar Remnant armored brigade reinforced by a mechanized infantry regiment. I was your Third Battalion commander at that time."
"You were indeed. At one point I took personal command of Second Battalion and we both engaged separate portions of the Remnant forces. I, one equal enemy armor division, and you, one enemy armor division with two supporting mechanized companies," said Thel.
'Harum nodded. "The memories are still fresh in my mind, though it was some years ago. Overhead reconnaissance had shown the two Remnant groups in similar formations."
"They were, and the terrain was very similar in both engagements, though we were several kilometers apart," said Thel. "So, Ultra 'Harum, can you tell me how the battle played out? Specifically, how did I use my battalion?"
"Effectively and ruthlessly," said 'Harum. "You used your reconnaissance screen to ferret out a weakness just left to center of the Remnant lines, then under the cover of a close-in artillery barrage you surged your heavy armor through the center, broke their line, then encircled and destroyed the isolated halves of the enemy."
"Yes. What I did was effective. But what you did was brilliant." Thel recounted the memorized section of that particular after-action report with fondness, and a bit of pride. "Your fast-attack vehicles pricked and prodded along the right flank of your Remnant formation's lines until their commander had had enough and committed his mechanized infantry to deal with them. As they advanced beyond the protection of the rest of the armored battalion they were ambushed by a perfectly placed company of dug-in armor and quickly eliminated. Then, as you had your other three companies skirmish with the enemy, not quite fully committing, you personally staged a daring commando raid on the Remnant division CP. Using the resulting confusion and chaos you repositioned that dug-in armor company to the enemy's right flank via Phantoms, and that company subsequently rolled up the Remnant's unprotected side. The remainder of your battalion fully engaged then, and caught in a pincer the enemy lines collapsed."
"You know," Thel continued, "The other senior brigade and regimental commanders that participated in that battle called your tactics underhanded, even cowardly. It was expected then, still expected somewhat even now, that a Sangheili commander would meet his opponent on the open field of battle in full force. You did not, rather using subterfuge, daring, and maneuver warfare to carry the battle."
The Arbiter smiled wryly. "Those are Human tactics, not Sangheili ones. Yet you took those human tactics, adapted them to our smaller yet more technologically advanced Sangheili unit formations, and devastated the more traditional commander. Once again, that is the kind of commander I need in this new galaxy, against these new foes. Ones who are not afraid to learn from their enemies, and viciously exploit their weaknesses."
'Harum nodded, finally accepting Thel's reasoning. "Very well Arbiter. If you believe I am right for the task, then I will not fail you in."
"I have no reason to believe you will. Dismissed."
Bridge of the CAS-Assault Carrier Shadow of Intent
"Shipmaster, at current heading we are on a collision course for a large debris from hostile Cruiser 01. Should I change course?"
"No. Ahead full towards the station," R'tas 'Vadum ordered. "Reinforce forward energy shields"
"Shipmaster, Gunnery reports hostile Frigate 11 destroyed."
"And that was the last one?" 'Vadum asked.
"Yes Shipmaster. No other hostile targets remain," said Sensors.
"Keep the plasma lines hot. Comms, have the Shipmaster of Super-Cruiser Jubilance report as soon as his slipspace capacitors are recharged," R'tas ordered.
He looked again at the visual of the station of Omega filling the main display screen. As Sangheili ships had their command bridges tucked deep within the heart of their ships, protected by dozens of meters of armor plate and bulkheads, there were no windows which he could look out of to see the same thing. Instead, he relied on the thousands of cameras dotting the hull of the Shadow of Intent for visual data. Granted those cameras were the most powerful, high-tech pieces of visual data gear in the galaxy, both this new one and their home galaxy, so it wasn't a trade off in any way.
The station was even more revolting now that R'tas had seen it firsthand. All he could see was High Charity, and the thousands of years of manipulation of his people towards a false cause which nearly caused the extinction of all life, and continued to threaten Sangheili society today. All he could see was the Prophets, with their lie-spewing mounts on top of heads attached to very snappable necks, too lazy to even walk on their own legs. All he could see was anger, shock, shame, and death. And the Arbiter wanted to take this place as their own? He knew that his friends goal of establishing a base of operations in this galaxy was a sound one, but R'tas would have been content watching the abomination burn. It even lacked that unique physical beauty that High Charity had been known for, and instead of being bright and pristine it was just dirty and dark.
Ah well. His lust for destruction would soon be sated, if only partly, by crushing these insignificant toys of warships with fists of molten plasma on the Arbiter's command.
"ETA until debris impact?"
"Twelve seconds. Putting countdown on your screen."
As R'tas waited for the numbers to count down he occupied himself with watching the sensor signatures of the Cerberus ships on his secondary display. The station's defense fleet, while numerous, had proved incapable of standing up to both the might of his warships and the not unformidable strength of the coordinated, well-trained Cerberus crews. 'Vadum supposed that was what you got for relying on pirates and mercenaries to defend your important stronghold.
The Cerberus ships had transitioned into full-on boarding operations. Troop ships, screened by fighters and more heavily shielded and armored warships which were attempting to take the brunt of the stations point-defense fire, were disgorging their compliments of shuttlecraft and transport vessels towards Omega. The ones that made it past the defense fire landed in heavily defended hangar bays, releasing their troops into waves of concentrated fire roaring from the guns of the station defenders. R'tas could only imagine the carnage taking place within the hangars and cramped hallways of the station.
The SpecOps Commander in him wished he was involved down there in some way, his senses occupied by the chaos of battle. The whine plasma and the crack of projectile fire, calls between squadmates, the heavy steps of booted hooves on the deck and rumbles of explosions, the chirps and beeps emanating from the various HUD systems, and the smell of adrenaline. But, his place was here on the bridge, and he accepted it. After all, he was the foremost Sangheili naval tactician in the galaxy.
The impact of the debris piece, once the back half of Omega's only dreadnought, on the Shadow of Intent's bow was barely noticeable aside from a small rumble under R'tas's hooves.
"What's the status on the Arbiter's landing zone?" he asked.
"Cerberus forces have already established a beachhead," said Comms, who was plugged into the relevant Cerberus frequencies. "Their ground commander says that they are clearing out the immediate surrounding area and are waiting for our strike force to arrive before proceeding."
"Good. These reports are being forwarded to the Arbiter?"
"Yes Shipmaster."
"Do any point defenses remain around our principal landing zone?"
"No Shipmaster, all are destroyed."
"Very well. Give the Arbiter the word."
It was, in no uncertain terms, complete and utter chaos. If Jack had to compare it she would liken the scene playing out in front of her, and likely throughout the rest of the station, to a prison riot. Throughout the dirty, dark streets of Omega Humans, Turians, Salarians, Asari, Batarians, Vorcha, Krogan, even the occasional Elcor were running to and fro with reckless abandon. The air stank of sweat and fear. For those not out in the streets trying to get somewhere or looting, doors were being locked, window blinds were being closed, and people were retreating into their homes hoping to wait it all out. Generally speaking, a wave of panic had settled over most of the non-mercenary residents of the former mining colony.
What did Aria expect? Jack thought as she followed closely behind Zaeed's bulky figure as he bulldozed through the crowded street. It's almost like she had wanted to create a mass panic. What had she said exactly? Cerberus is attacking, they're going to kill everyone? Something like that. Bitch.
"This way!" shouted Zaeed, taking her wrist and dragging her into an uncrowded side-alley. The first thing Jack saw was a Batarian holding a human woman against the wall with one hand, tearing at her tunic with the other. She was about to raise a biotic fist, but before her hand could even respond to her brain's command Zaeed had put a round through the presented ribs of the Batarian. The Paladin, which used a round so large that the heavy pistol was actually illegal in Council space, nearly tore the bastard in half. The woman screamed, covered with the blood and bits of bone and organs from her would-be assaulter, then ran out of the alley into the chaos of the street.
Jack didn't give her another glance, too worried about losing Zaeed in the maze of backalleys and side streets that laced through this block of Omega. The old man was moving fast, faster than she think she'd ever seen him run, even when they were fighting with Shepard. They stopped after a couple of minutes to catch their breath while Zaeed activated his omni-tool.
"How far?" asked Jack.
"Few blocks," said Zaeed, turning off his omni-tool and reloading his Paladin, whose thermal clip only allowed for one more round.
It had taken some effort, but Zaeed had managed to convince Jack not to rush blindly forwards into combat with Cerberus. Instead, they were headed towards the location of the secure server given by the now deceased Evan Walker. Zaeed's reasoning had been that Cerberus would have had an elite strike force gunning it for the Afterlife as soon as they got to the station, and that Aria, despite how powerful she proclaimed herself to be, wouldn't be able to hold out. The hope was that within this secure server they would find information regarding the Queen of Omega's various fall-back positions and safehouses, and in the upheaval throughout the station with the invasion of Cerberus catch T'Loak unaware and kill her while she was away from her usual safe position in the 'fortress' of Afterlife.
They were about to move out into the next street before they heard gunfire, close. Zaeed's head tilted, ear angled towards the street. More gunfire. He didn't stick his head around the corner to take a look down the street himself. He knew Cerberus used thermals, and he'd stick out like a sore thumb. Instead Zaeed listened, decades of experience on the battlefield classifying the weapons by their distinctive chatter. The majority of the reports were single, medium-level sounds. Standard infantry rifle rounds. There were also a few higher rate-of-fire, yet smaller caliber weapons he could discern, as well as the powerful, slow, consecutive rounds of what he guessed was a crew-served machine gun.
"Two squads, at least," said Zaeed, his gravelly voice just above a whisper.
Jack just nodded. They were both expert combatants by now, two squads of Cerberus, about ten men, shouldn't give them too much of a problem. But who were they shooting at? Jack thought. That's when she heard them, the screams of pain and fear, the cries of surprise. Before she'd been too focused on the gunfire. The fuckers had to be shooting at civilians.
If Jack wasn't already 'acquainted' with Cerberus she might have been surprised. Instead she looked to Zaeed, who had holstered, yes, holstered, his Paladin. He didn't use hip magplates, instead sporting a worn leather holster that Jack guessed had to be as old as he was. He pulled Jesse, that beat-up Avenger that never seemed to break, from his back and held it in one hand, the other snatching one of the grenades off of his bandolier.
"Ready?"
"Yeah."
As one, they darted out from behind the corner and into the street. A standard two-lane affair, the Omega thoroughfare was bordered on each side by unremarkable one to three story buildings. Several civilians lay prone on the hard surface, most dead, some writhing in agony as blood seeped out around them from bullet wounds. About fifty meters down the street were the two Cerberus infantry squads, advancing alongside a light wheeled vehicle with an open-aired machine gun mounted on a top turret. Before they got a chance to process the new image of the two, Zaeed had tossed his primed grenade up into the air and gone down to one knee, sighting an unshielded trooper through the scope of Jesse. Meanwhile, Jack enveloped the grenade in a biotic mass effect field, reduced the explosives mass to almost nil, and hurled it with the speed and accuracy of a guided missile into the front of the Cerberus jeep.
The 'grenade' actually wasn't so, at least not in the traditional sense. Aside from Jesse, Zaeed had always held onto the philosophy that the better gear and equipment one had, the better chance they had to remain alive. So, his grenades were custom-made from a high-tech weapons manufacturer, and thus extremely expensive. The cylindrical package, instead of containing explosives and a simple fuse, was actually a micro-manufactory slaved to an incinerate program. The grenade had four potential settings, fragmentation, cryo, incendiary, or EMP. Once he selected one of the setting via a tab on the case, the micro-manufacture would use its one-time supply of omni-gel to construct the core of the type of explosive he chose, the incinerate program blowing the whole thing apart either on contact or on a delayed fuse, again determined by another tab on the casing.
In this case, Zaeed had selected for an incendiary grenade that exploded on impact. Once colliding with the front of the jeep the micro-manufactory made adhesive petroleum-based jelly splattered all over the vehicle and passenger, then the incinerate program provided the needed spark and set the vehicle, along with the turret gunner, driver, and passenger, on fire. As white-orange flame engulfed the screaming vehicle crew Jesse spoke in two three-round bursts, accompanied by two dead Cerberus troopers.
There was no cover in the street since every door along the street was locked and hardly any buildings had easy-to-break-into windows. Not willing to chance taking cover around the burning car, the eight remaining troopers decided on the only viable option was to fire and advance upon the attacking pair.
Jack moved right behind Zaeed, the man's back armor feeling cold on her skin, and with one hand Jack erected a rectangular biotic barrier a couple of feet in front of them. Zaeed came off of his knees into a hunched combat stance, and as one the pair advanced towards the Cerberus troopers as small-arms fire pinged off Jack's barrier.
"Watch out! Biotic!" one of them called over their audiocaster, the voice unhumanly deep and gravelly.
Yeah, watch out, Jack though, almost rolling her eyes. Instead with the hand not supporting the biotic barrier she formed a singularity, arcing it over the top of the barrier and guiding it towards the four troopers on the right. As the singularity blossomed and yanked the four Cerberus troopers off of their feet, Zaeed stopped moving and fell to a knee again, switching Jesse's firing switch to full automatic. Taking the click of the selector switch as her cue, Jack twitched her fingers and a firing slit in the biotic barrier appeared right in front of Jesse's barrel.
As Zaeed sprayed the four troopers on the left with automatic fire from Jesse, what lucky shots of return fire getting through the slit impacting on Zaeed's kinetic or Jack's personal biotic barrier, the former Cerberus prisoner hurled another biotic sphere, this time a throw, over the lip of the barrier again right at the swirling dark energy of the singularity. The resulting biotic explosion rended the unfortunate beings haplessly floating inside it limb from limb, and was so powerful that the shockwave threw one of the remaining troopers on the left backwards into the burning car, which promptly exploded. The last of the other three troopers fell dead in a heap, Jesse's rifle barrel smoking slightly.
Jack held the barrier up for a couple more seconds, then extinguished it when they were met with no further fire. Zaeed ejected the nearly spent thermal clip from Jesse and slapped a fresh one in as Jack withdrew a nutrient bar from her belt, unwrapped it, and gulped it down along with a swig from a canteen filled with electrolyte-heavy liquid. Both the bar and the liquid tasted god-awful, but they also happened to be some of the most energy-packed, distribution efficient substances in the galaxy, perfect for a biotic such as herself who burned through hundreds of calories with each fight.
"This way," said Zaeed, taking off back down the street.
They reached Walker's safehouse a few minutes later, Zaeed punching a code into a door panel that he read off of his omni-tool. They breached inside, combing through the unremarkable rooms for a computer terminal. Jack found it and called Zaeed over, who sat down in the chair and began plugging away at the holographic terminal while Jack watched the entrance.
"I've got her," Zaeed said after a moment.
"What did you find?" Jack called over her shoulder.
"Address for Aria's primary fallback safehouse in the event that Afterlife is compromised. It's our best shot at nabbing her in all of this fuckery."
"Well come on then, let's go kill that bitch."
Thel 'Vadam hadn't seen so filthy, corrupt, and chaotic a place since he had fought through the ruined streets of the Flood-infested High Charity that had crashed on the Ark several years ago.
Lance leader Uzse 'Taham's second-in-command, Officer 'Zal, motioned the Arbiter and the rest of the lance forwards down the street from his position on point. Split in a 6-7 formation, which each halve hugging the walls of the dirty buildings bordering the unremarkable street, the Sangheili Special Forces lance moved in a quick, hunched run about for about forty meters, weapons and heads swiveling.
They arrived at a four way intersection littered with abandoned wheeled vehicles, civilian by look, and bodies, civilians as well but also a substantial number of armored Omega mercenaries. The Cerberus commando company that was slated to assault Afterlife, Aria's command center and possibly the most well-defended place on Omega, had blitzed through this same intersection a few minutes ago on the way to their objective. The Arbiter and his bodyguards, one lance visible and the other in stealth, unknown to the Cerberus forces, following in their wake.
On point, Officer 'Zal went into stealth and peeked around the corner, looking both ways down the intersecting street for enemy forces. "Contact. Down this left a hundred meters out and closing on this position," he said. Another second passed before he added, "Estimate light infantry, platoon strength."
"Go Black," ordered 'Taham, and the ten Sangheili and two Asari not stealthed shimmered out of sight. "Fan out into the intersection and find cover, in two's. 'Khal, 'Naman, up on these roofs. 'Sraom, keep the rest of your lance in reserve around the corner. Arbiter, with me."
The Sangheili unit smoothly and professionally jumped into action, finding cover behind vehicles, corners, and low barriers facing eastward down the street towards the advancing enemy foot-mobiles. The two Sangheili marksman, both sporting Type-50 Sniper Rifle Systems, grappled up the side of buildings using wrist-mounted devices and took up top cover positions.
Thel took cover next to 'Taham, who was hunkered behind the hood of a vehicle, Operative Levas close by his side. He raised his Carbine and clicked the zoom up on his HUD, the software automatically tracking the position of the weapon in relation to its projected reticle, even through the Sangheili's active camouflage. He centered his sights on the helmet of a blue-armored mercenary moving forwards, picking his way through debris and cover and scanning forward with his weapon raised.
This was the third such group they had encountered on their way to Afterlife. A much larger Cerberus force had established an encirclement perimeter a couple of dozen blocks away from the club at its center and was now steadily pushing inwards. However, the Cerberus commando company was advancing forwards at a breakneck pace, eager to breach the defensive lines of pirates and mercenaries and catch Aria at Afterlife before she managed to somehow escape. While the commandos had succeeded in creating a breach to exploit, bulldozing any Omega defense forces they came across on their advance vector, they had done so at the expense of heavy casualties and the fact that they were leaving their flanks unsecure. Three times a mercenary force came to investigate just what exactly had blasted through their lines, and three times they had been met and destroyed by the Arbiter's elite lances. This mercenary platoon, an assortment of forty-eight Humans, Turians, and Batarians, would not be any luckier.
"Command targets identified," came one of the marksmen over their tactical BattleNet. The Sangheili had quickly learned how to ferret out the officers of this particular mercenary group, the Blue Suns, by what Operative Levas had identified as something called 'Tech Armor.' Though providing a substantial tertiary layer of protection in conjunction with armor and kinetic barriers, Levas had said that the blue and yellow planes of Tech Armor were extremely expensive, and thus only the best paid of the Blue Suns, the officers, could afford them.
Unfortunately, Tech Armor did not provide any additional protection to the cranial region.
Two inverted, red triangles appeared over the heads of the two Blue Suns officers, one a Human, the other a Turian, not that it mattered. The marksmen had marked their prey.
"Assign firing lanes" Thel heard 'Taham say over their comms. This was not done by them, but rather by their suit software. In the Arbiter's HUD two thin, semi-transparent lines formed a corridor in which he would pick his targets.
"Designate targets," 'Taham said next. Each Sangheili marked his primary target, then a secondary, then a tertiary. "Levas, Vaya, biotic crowd control after the alpha strike. On my command… Fire."
In an instant, twelve lives were extinguished. Tight volleys of Plasma splashed against kinetic barriers, inflicting third-degree burns before they even reached the armor underneath. Once they did overwhelm the shields however, the result was even more gruesome than expected. During their Great War the UNSC had steadily adapted the armor plating of its soldiers to better deal with plasma fire, utilizing layers and layers of heat resistant materials like high-end ceramics and dissipating fibres. However, the armor worn by these mercenaries was meant as a backup to their kinetic barriers, designed to deal with partially slowed kinetic projectiles and thus was just simple armor plate. So, the superheated blobs melted right through the inadequate plating, boiling metal, tissue, and organs away in an agonizing flash.
Surprisingly, Thel was the only one who used a Carbine. The older Plasma Rifles had been phased out, becoming more a heavy sidearm than a primary weapon. Instead the Special Forces Sangheili utilized Type-51 or Type-55 Directed energy rifles, more commonly referred to as Plasma Repeaters and Storm Rifles. These weapons, fitted with stocks, advanced cooling systems, built-in sighting apparatuses, and extended barrels, possessed an overall superior performance compared with the old Type-25 Plasma Rifles.
Thel however just couldn't bring himself to switch away from the kinetic power, stability, and magazine-based loading system the Type-51, he wasn't sure why it had the same identification moniker of the Plasma Repeater, Carbine offered. As it were, the first round from Thel's weapon snapped the target's head back, if not penetrating his kinetic barriers then nearly breaking his neck. The second 8mm caseless radioactive projectile hit the neck just under the man's jaw, shattering his barriers and allowing the last tenth of the round's intact portion to slice open the target's carotid artery. Thel's third round, fired in half as many seconds, entered in through the bridge of the man's nose and carried most of the man's brain out through the massive exit wound in the back.
The second wave of mercenary targets fell just as suddenly as the first, the doomed platoon members not having time to fully process what was happening. Only half of the lance's tertiary targets fell though as training and instinct took over, the men rushing for cover against a foe who had struck down more than half their strength in a couple of blinks of an eye. Their commanding officers having fallen in the first alpha strike, and the remaining sergeants and corporals as dumbfounded as everyone else, the remaining mercenary platoon hunkered down against their cover and started to effectively return fire at an enemy they still hadn't really identified yet.
If there was one disadvantage to plasma weaponry, it was that it couldn't easily deal with good cover, other than pouring enough rounds to try and melt it completely of course. It had been a hard lesson learned during the war against the UNSC, that most thin cover was rendered ineffective by standard-issue UNSC FMJ rounds, a tactic that the Covenant hadn't really imitated.
"6-2-2," 'Taham called out, changing their lance's formation. "6, suppressive fire. 2's, move up under stealth and engage at close range."
Two pairs of Sangheili halted firing immediately, maintaining their stealth and darting forwards under a withering amount of suppressive fire being offered by the other six and Thel, whose stealth systems failed under the massive strain of trying to mask the weapons emissions of their users. Meanwhile the two marksman kept picking people off from their vantage points, and the lance's two Asari arced biotic pulls over the mercenary's cover, drawing the hapless souls flailing up in the air to be eviscerated by Sangheili fire.
Two bright flashes of plasma explosions signaled the stealthed pairs assault, and the suppressive fire element lessened their volume, taking care not to stray their sights over the very visible silhouettes of their comrades marked in their HUDs. Another two shots from the marksmen, and only seven mercenaries were left, which were easily mopped up by the four Sangheili who had moved up to close range.
They didn't linger for long, returning to following the destructive wake of the Cerberus commandos, dealing with the occasional mercenary group just as they had done previously. Soon they had reached the outskirts of the Afterlife complex, a thin perimeter of most of the remaining commandos, not many, visible amongst the wreckage and architecture that served for cover.
With a few taps the tacpad on his wrist Thel switched from BattleNet comms to the comm channel that had been designated to communicate with the Cerberus commandos. "Black Actual, calling for Spear Actual."
"Black Actual this is Spear Actual, go ahead." The voice was that of General Petrovsky's. Thel had been quite surprised to learn that he would be accompanying the Cerberus commandos in the assault on Afterlife, perhaps to show his strength and ability to lead from the front, but much more likely becoming a major pain in the backside for the unfortunate man who actually commanded the unit.
"We are fifty meters from your outer perimeter. Requesting permission to enter the main club."
"Granted. We've just finished mopping up the last of the resistance."
"Very well. I'll have my men reinforce yours on the perimeter."
"The men have been formally alerted to your presence now. I'll have someone lead you inside."
Thel didn't respond, instead clicking the line off and switching back to his team comms. "'Taham, spread your men out amongst the perimeter, preferably positions flanking our 'friends.' 'Sraom, have your lance stay black. You'll be following me into the club. The General thinks I'll be coming in alone."
They approached the Cerberus lines visibly, and with purpose. While 'Taham's lance took up positions that would allow them easy lanes of fire not on any potential mercenaries, but on the unsuspecting commandos. Someone who identified as a Sergeant came out to meet Thel, and directed him to follow as he led the way into Afterlife.
They passed through the doors of the main entrance into an antechamber, most of the lights off or flickering, walls pockmarked with scorch marks and bullet holes. A few bodies lay on the floor that they stepped over, most mercenaries, but one a commando.
Thel halted in the middle of the large entryway into the actual club, both to take some time to survery the surroundings areas, and to allow 'Sraom's stealthed soldiers slink past him and into the club proper.
The Arbiter had actually never been to a 'nightclub' before, as it had been called. There weren't many of those in the part of High Charity that he had frequented, and certainly not any on any warship he had served on. It was eerily silent aside from the rustle of armor plating coming from the dozen or so commandos moving around moving bodies or debris to the sides and corners of the large room. There was a large circular bar in the center, most of the stools strewn about on the floor or otherwise destroyed. He saw a couple of smaller secondary bars around as well, Glass littered the surface from broken bottles and glasses, and he could smell the stench of alcohol all the way from the door through his helmet filters. Tables, couches, and chairs, a couple of hours before serving as resting places for the various patrons of Afterlife, were now laying in various states of destruction. He saw several raised platforms with thin poles affixed to the bottoms and embedded all the way into the ceiling, and in a passing thought wondered what their purpose was.
Noticing that the Sangheili wasn't following him, the commando Sergeant turned and motioned towards Thel, and he resumed following past the bars and towards one side of split set of staircases. At the top was a extravagant, lush room open to the air of the club, adorned with expensive looking upholstery and furniture, and its own small self-serve bar. Further examination revealed the broken husks of a few anti-personnel turrets, automated things that had likely sprung forth from hidden recesses. He wondered if a large blood stain on the floor had been an unfortunate Cerberus commando encountering these devices unknowingly.
In this room Thel saw General Petrovsky, dressed in the same armor as his Cerberus commandos, but with the helmet set down on nearby table. Two commandos stood guard near him which the General sent away with a nod of the head.
"Ah, Arbiter," he greeted, walking up to him slowly. "I trust you managed to arrive here without much trouble?"
"Not much. Your forces were certainly very effective in clearing a path," Thel answered truthfully.
"The best soldiers in my fleet. Even so, there was still a heavy cost… yet, here we are." He was trying very hard not to be smug, but Thel could hear the tone surfacing in his voice nonetheless. He understood somewhat, the General had just accomplished one of his major objectives, taking the seat of Omega's power for his own.
"What of the self-proclaimed ruler of this place? Aria T'Loak? Is she dead?"
A sigh. "Unfortunately, no. She managed to flee out of a back entrance, no doubt to one of her many safehouses. I have men searching for her as we speak."
The Arbiter nodded. They would deal with Aria later he was sure, but right now it wasn't the foremost thing on his mind. "You say you know where the artifact I am seeking is? Show me."
Petrovsky gave him a half smile. "Of course. My source close to Aria says she has a vault hidden behind a door panel." He strode over to the bar and took some time observing the variety of liquor bottles, undisturbed by the fighting that had taken place before, until he reached one in particular. "Thessia Malt 2064. A magnificent year I am told."
He pulled the bottle, which Thel saw was connected somehow to the shelf it was on, and a little bit to the right of the bar a large section of the walls slid open. The Sangheili walked over to it, surveying what had to be a safe door in front of him. From his cursory glance he couldn't tell how thick the door was, but he assumed that it was quite formidable. He also saw that the surface was shining with a thin blue-purple aura. A biotic defense mechanism perhaps? Interesting. He didn't see any type of handle, keyslot, or combination wheel. Instead, the only feature on the door was a small screen below a single, small camera lense. Ah. A biometric lock, likely keyed to one of Aria's irises. Perhaps he would have to find her after all. Granted, his technicians could probably melt through the safe door, but who knew if there were self-destruct triggers built into the vault. He didn't want to risk the lives of his Sangheili in that way if he couldn't help it.
He turned back to Petrovsky, switching comms channels with his eyes this time. He clicked the mic three times in rapid succession. He got back three more long clicks in response. Good, everything was ready."
"Once we find Aria, we'll bring her up here to open the vault. Then, you'll have your artifact," said Petrovsky.
Thel keyed his mic again, two short clicks and two long clicks. Execute.
At once, the two commando guards who had gone outside at their General's behest were lifted off their feet, twin tips of energy swords protruding from their upper chests. Down below on the main floor of Afterlife Thel saw several more glowing swords and energy daggers, materializing seemingly from nowhere, penetrating the vital areas underneath the armor of the other commandos throughout the club. The muffled sounds of plasma fire and screams could be heard from outside as 'Taham's own lance engaged the Cerberus commandos on the perimeter.
To his credit Petrovsky acted quickly, trying to bring his heavy pistol off of his hip and aiming it at Thel. The Arbiter backhanded the weapon out of the human's hand, in the process shattering most of the bones in his hand even through his armored gauntlets. Thel grasped the hilts of both of his Energy swords, thumbing them on with a snap-crack.
"I gave myself fifty-fifty odds that this might happen," Petrovsky said, the man bent over in pain, looking up at the Arbiter with equal parts agony, surprise, and acceptance.
"You had a much worse chance than that. We know you lied about your knowledge of the research base. What you were working to create, recreate that is, is a galactic sin unlike any other. For your involvement in it, you must die," Thel said calmly.
"I've made my bed, and I'm prepared to lie in it as well. I only wish that I had been able to kill Aria. I didn't lie about her, she truly is manipulative, irredeemable scum. Be careful around her."
"I will be cautious," Thel acknowledged. The glow of his twin swords illuminated the surroundings in a haze of harsh blue. "But for now General Petrovsky, your services are no longer needed."
There was no warcry from Thel as he pierced through the General's midsection with both swords, the man only able to gasp in shock for a second before the Sangheili twisted his blades and slashed them outwards and horizontally, eviscerating the man into several sections.
He looked at the remains for a brief moment, noting the lack of blood. The intense heat of the weapon immediately cauterized any wounds. He turned around, seeing the uncloaked form of Officer 'Sraom, or at least that is what his HUD told him. It was too dark and the SpecOps armor was too good at blending into the shadows to allow any other sort of visual identification.
"Go help 'Taham in securing the outer perimeter. It may be some time before reinforcements break through the remains of the mercenary and Cerberus lines and reach us," he ordered. "I'll be fine here for now."
"Yes Arbiter," he responded, hurrying off to take his lance to join his fellow Officer outside the club.
Thel 'Vadam cycled through his tacpad comm channels until he found the one for Ultra 'Harum. The real battle for Omega had just begun.
On the other side of Omega a civilian ship received a flash transmission of encrypted codes. The pilot looked briefly over the codes, which told him that Petrovsky had either run into problems and initiated the contingency protocol, or was dead, not that the pilot cared particularly either way. Shrugging, he spooled up his engines and quickly cycled through his pre-flight checklist. Once satisfied, he activated the mass effect fields that would allow his ship to hover, disengaging from the docking clamps as he did so. Once he was a good twenty meters off of the deck his hand punched in the access code contained in the flash transmission, illuminating a red button protected by a glass panel He lifted said panel, taking note of the block letters; Emergency Cargo Release.
His pointer finger pressed down the button, and he saw on his display that all twelve individual cargo pods that had been magnetically attached in the belly of his ship had successfully detached onto the deck of the hangar bay. Not waiting even one second he goosed the throttle and shot out of the bay, eyes wary for contacts on his sensor board. Not finding any that were immediately threatening, the pilot flew an erratic course through some of the denser areas of the asteroid field surrounding Omega, counting on the rocks to shield his mass effect core from the warships still surrounding the station. After clearing Omega's meager gravitational well and checking that his path wouldn't fly through any obstructions, the drive core flared and the ship jumped to FTL.
It was a short hop, into a predetermined portion of deep space in the middle of absolutely nowhere. He allowed himself to relax now. He had enough food and water to last him a couple of weeks, a comfortable bed, some good food, and a bevy of different books, television shows, and movies to occupy himself with. More than enough time to wait it out, he thought, his mission complete.
Special thanks to me betas JonHarper and Bearmauls
