Chapter 28: His Hero

"I hope Simon is getting the proper rest and that Katelyn isn't pushing herself too hard to be strong like Hannah. I have to get home and soon." Isaac anxiously stated while standing watch at the entrance of a supply room.

He and Bishop had managed to fight their way into a guard station that was en route to the docking bays. Making a quick stop to gather ammunition, explosives and spare thermal clips seemed to make a lot of sense given the current state of anarchy that the prison was in.

"Don't worry Professor, I'll get you back safe and sound. Maybe I can meet your kids once we make it out of here. Cammie's always talking about her cousins. I already got to see Keith whenever Darryl brought him aboard the Shiloh for a visit. The kid and I sparred a few times for fun, he's actually pretty good. Kev sent me some tickets for one of his fights not too long ago, the seats were great. And Jayce…well, I don't have to get friendly with everyone." Bishop cheerfully remarked before growing slightly bitter after mentioning Hawkins' oldest son. He quickly recovered and continued his recollections while ransacking a few ammo crates. "I've also hung out with Angelica plenty of times and Leanne got me a discount on some really sweet omni-tools awhile back. They're both pretty cool and popular too, just like Cammie." he pleasantly continued while loading up on armaments. "Now that I think about it, most of the initial introductions went lousy for one reason or another except for my first meeting with Angelica and Keith. But they all gave me a second chance. It seems like Cammie's brothers and cousins are a lot easier to get along with than their parents. Most of them anyway. They're a lot of fun too and I always get a kick out of the jealous looks we attract whenever I'm escorting the girls out somewhere." he added before laughing. He abruptly stopped after an annoying realization suddenly struck him. "Damn it! I hope no sleazy bastards have been making any moves on Cammie while I've been gone!" he raged. "Then again, with my luck her father probably set her up on another blind date with some dickless pencil pusher. Real nice guy, your brother-in-law." he sarcastically added without bothering to hide his agitation.

"Perhaps I can try persuading David to give you a chance to make a better impression. I'm still quite puzzled over why he dislikes you so much. It isn't in his nature to be so judgmental."

"Like I said before, our first meeting was a complete disaster and the worst possible way any father could meet his daughter's boyfriend which is why part of me can understand why he hates my guts so much. The fact that the admiral happened to be there too was just icing on the cake." Bishop sadly explained before rejoining Isaac at the door. "Promise me something Professor. Once you do hear the story, try not to hate me too much yourself."

"As I said before, you seem like a perfectly decent young man to me. I can't imagine hating you, though my assessment will likely mean little to the others. I'm not exactly an authoritative voice in the Shepard family. Hannah and I have maintained a certain distance from most of her siblings due to their involvement in the military. I can't say it's a decision I'm proud of but…perhaps having children changes us. We love and nurture them, watch them grow and eventually find ourselves facing their departure into the precarious realm of adulthood. Despite that, the desire to protect them remains and may even blind us to reason. In that regard, I can certainly understand David's feelings." Isaac earnestly explained.

"Damn Professor, that was deep. But I still think you're the coolest old guy I've met in Cammie's family other than Darryl."

"Thanks, I guess."

"No problem. Now let's be on our way. This place has officially become an even worse hell than it already was and I'm not eager to stick around and watch it get uglier."

"I couldn't agree more. Let's go."

The two men continued their trek through several chaotic warzones that included prisoners of every species clashing with Tiburon Rojo guards who were finding themselves outnumbered and in some cases, overpowered. After observing a rampaging yahg tear the arms off his former jailor, Bishop and Isaac quickened their pace considerably while carefully avoiding drawing attention to themselves. Their cautiousness worked for the most part until they actually reached the elevator that had been their destination.

"Don't look now but I think we've been spotted." Bishop warned as a small mob of prisoners began closing in on them.

The inmates were unfortunately armed thanks to their recent murder of a small squadron of guards. They were also deranged or at the very least, bloodthirsty and irrational based on their manic appearances.

"This brings back far too many unpleasant memories." Isaac lamented while struggling to summon the elevator.

Bishop could see how uneasy his companion was and quickly took the initiative of dispatching their enemies himself. After summoning a pair of omni-tools, he immediately created a power surge in both before releasing an explosive blast of electricity at the opposition, completely flooring them. As the elevator arrived, he shoved Isaac inside before tossing an inferno grenade at the stunned prisoners and entering himself. The explosive went off just as the doors closed behind them and both men breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, I'm guessing you fought in the war." Bishop carefully inquired while observing Isaac. "Darryl told about some of the monsters he faced and I wouldn't want that crap haunting me."

"No, you wouldn't. Lieutenant, take it from someone who's seen a great deal more evil than he ever wanted to, the worst monsters are the ones who wear the faces of men." Isaac solemnly responded while trembling slightly. After their elevator came to a stop, he finally calmed himself and took a deep breath.

"You gonna be alright Professor?"

"Yes, I won't slow us down. I'm sorry about this, Lieutenant. Many years ago, I made the choice to fight and I'm still carrying the consequences of that decision and the scars. This…this is the part of me that no one else is supposed to see. My fear, my weakness, my frailty, my shame. It's a part of me that only Hannah has had the misfortune of witnessing during my occasional nightmares and by the grace of god, she's carried me through it. I'm not a strong man, Lieutenant. I'm not a soldier like the rest and I'm afraid war has left a far more debilitating mark on me." Isaac sadly explained. "So you see, I'm not a man you should admire."

"Well that's too bad because I still do, maybe even more." Bishop plainly stated. "I don't have a clue what you, Darryl and all the other guys who fought in the war went through but what I do know is that you didn't break. You both soldiered on and put your effort into making this galaxy a better place, each in your own way. Most of the Alliance scoffs at Darryl behind his back even though he's saved hundreds of those ungrateful bastards over the years. They call him a demon and a rabid dog who's only useful to have on hand when a situation calls for blood. His own son is actually ashamed…my point is, he wears that label with pride and does plenty of good with it. Every member of the Shiloh's crew was rescued by the Biotic Brawler. He gave them a place where they could all feel welcome in spite of their pasts and reputations. But more importantly he gave them a home. And he also happened to give a foulmouthed punk who tried to rob him one day a chance at a future. The very same thing you give to every student in your care. Heroes aren't just legends or galactic saviors, the people who help make tomorrow brighter, they're just as important Professor. Don't ever forget that."

Isaac spent a few moments staring back into the earnest eyes of a young man who hadn't stopped surprising him since they'd first met. "I think you're a far better man than you let on Lloyd Bishop, just like someone else I happen to know."

"Damn Professor, you're a cool guy and all but also a terrible judge of character. Let's go." Bishop humorously responded before opening the elevator and leading the way forward.

Isaac simply smiled while following him. The duo had officially arrived at the docking bays where they promptly met a sizable contingent of Tiburon Rojo guards and the warden himself.

"Arturo, nice to see you again. I noticed you got your stomach patched up pretty well. A real shame I had to spill so much of your blood earlier but I guess you didn't really learn anything since you decided to follow me down here." Bishop quipped while eyeing the warden.

"Matar a ese cabron!"

"Yeah, well, right back at you!" Bishop shouted in response to the warden's angry outburst.

He then drew his shotgun and began firing a series of surprisingly powerful disruptor rounds. They were clearly more potent than normal and Isaac quickly noticed that the young soldier had summoned his omni-tools while firing and that they were glowing as he continued his rampage. After surprising their enemies with his unexpectedly destructive assault, Bishop immediately dove on top of Isaac to shield him from their retaliatory shots.

"Just let me handle this Professor. After all, you're a schoolteacher now." he firmly ordered after tucking Isaac behind a cargo container.

Once Isaac was out of harm's way, Bishop switched weapons and began executing everyone in range with disruptor rounds from his pistol. They were once again proving to be far more lethal than an ordinary barrage as his omni-tools flashed during his onslaught. His opposition's shields were proving to be as useful as paper against the gunfire and Bishop's precision was too keen to ignore. After executing a substantial portion of the guards, he promptly stunned the stragglers with an overload that seemed to engulf their entire squad in electricity. Before they could recover, he tossed a pair of inferno grenades to finish them off and ignored the flames and screams of agony while he closed in on the warden who was both furious and astonished by the display. The warden then revealed a surprise of his own when he pulled out a missile launcher and began opening fire on his adversary.

Bishop quickly avoided the bombardment by leaping behind a damaged Tiburon Rojo shuttle. While in cover, he began channeling a series of Foucault Currents through his omni-tools before extending a pair of omni-blades that were now charged with the energy.

"Adios Arturo." he whispered before dashing from his cover position.

While closing in on his target all four of his limbs disappeared, confounding the warden who'd just run out of missiles. Bishop's arms and the rest of his appendages reappeared the moment he sank both of his electrified omni-blades into his victim's chest. He promptly retracted them as his quarry fell to the floor and casually returned to Isaac's cover position.

"We can leave now, Professor. My shuttle isn't far."

"That was quite the display. I've never seen anyone utilize omni-tools in such a manner before. And the way you harnessed Foucault Currents and a partial tactical cloak…Lieutenant, you aren't an ordinary soldier, are you?"

"Of course I'm not ordinary. I'm a cut above incredible. Why else do you think I'm allowed to handle ops like this alone? But don't get the wrong idea. I'm no tech genius or anything, I'm just a brawler who learned how to use electricity for his own benefit. Some people use omni-tools for programming, hacking, decryption, repair jobs and a bunch of other boring garbage that puts me to sleep. I use my mine to play with lightning and kill people who piss me off." Bishop explained.

"Thunder Blade, I think I understand now. An appropriate title and an impressive one." Isaac mused before getting to his feet.

"Gina was the one who came up with it. I wanted to have a nickname with 'brawler' in it but mommy always did get her way." Bishop humorously lamented.

"Mommy?"

"Yeah, it's hard to explain. I never had a family of my own but that sort of changed when I met Darryl. After he picked me up I spent most of my time bouncing between the Shiloh, Gabe's place and Old Man Hackett's. Gabe is an old friend of Darryl's and he used to serve as his XO on the Shiloh before he retired and started his security firm. And I'm guessing you already know who Hackett is. I mean, how couldn't you? He's the former Head of the Alliance Navy. Anyway, whenever Darryl was at home and the Shiloh was docked on Earth, I'd stay at Hackett's place in Buenos Aires and spend the occasional weekend with Gabe. But my favorite home was always the Shiloh. It may sound weird but those guys became my family. And I'm not ashamed to admit that Darryl is like a father to me. It's been that way ever since we first met…"


"Did you just try to rob me kid?"

"Yeah, so what? You Alliance guys think you're so tough! Well I've beaten down every rookie and recruit that's ever come through this base. They all lost to this 'kid' and now I'm rich! So HAHAHA!"

"Rich huh? Is that why you're still fighting and stealing to feed yourself?"

"Shut up old man! You don't know a damn thing about me!"

"I know plenty kid. So, are you hungry?"

"Fuck off!"

"Fine, but if you happen to be in the mood for a sandwich with no strings attached, I'll be in the diner down the road. Just ask for Captain Hawkins. Daisy will know where to find me, I'm a regular whenever I'm in town."

"You're a captain?"

"Yeah, against all odds, I'm a captain. I also happen to be a SPECTRE if you're curious. I can give you my full credentials over lunch. I'm starving and the mess hall here is awful."

"I know what you mean. The rolls are stale, the chicken is always dry, even the bottled water tastes funny. Looting the leftovers from this place is just depressing-Hey! You tricked me!"

"How so?"

"Shut up! Just shut up! You don't know me!"

"So do you want to change that or not? Despite the rumors, I'm not always a demon who's out for blood."

"What?"

"So you don't know me either. How about that? Are you coming or what kid?"

"Y-Yeah, I am! I'm gonna stuff myself on your credits old man and leave you with the bill!"

"Whatever you say kid."

"Stop calling me kid. The name's Bishop, Lloyd Bishop."

"Well Lloyd Bishop, my name is Hawkins. Darryl Hawkins. It's nice to meet you."

"Can we just skip the introductions and get to the food? Actually, that's not a bad idea."

"Hey kid! Bishop! Lloyd! Wait up!"


Bishop's brief recollection was gently interrupted when Isaac posed his next question.

"I don't mean to pry, but I feel it would be more appropriate to ask you directly rather than approach Darryl. Why…that is to say, Darryl has a house and-"

"Why didn't he adopt me?" Bishop laughed. "Professor I told you before, didn't I? I'm the most unruly soldier in the Alliance other than Darryl. You may not believe this but I was even worse as a kid. I gave everyone trouble, especially Darryl and Gina. It took a ship full of outcasts to keep me in line and a former navy admiral. Darryl already had Keith to deal with at home, he didn't need a reckless, disrespectful teenager to add to his problems."

"I suppose that's true, Keith does have a history of being somewhat difficult at times." Isaac agreed. "So you ended up forming familial bonds with those closest to you."

"Is that a problem or are you just analyzing me?"

"No, I'm simply being curious. It's a habit of mine, I'm sorry if you find it off-putting. Besides, psychiatry isn't my field."

"I guess that's good to know." Bishop replied in amusement while leading the way towards his shuttle. "Well like I said before, Darryl is like a dad to me and that'll never change. Hackett is my stern ass grandpa and Gabe is my fun loving uncle who's not shy about getting us both into trouble from time to time. And regardless of what Gina says, she's mommy. She was mommy the moment we first met and even now-"

Bishop's explanation was promptly cut short when his shuttle suddenly exploded several meters away, knocking both him and Isaac backwards. As the duo scrambled back to their feet, they noticed that they weren't alone. Several strange aliens were swarming into the docking bays from the elevators and attempting to surround them. The creatures were unlike anything either of them had ever seen before with massive physical builds, large craniums, three fingers on each hand and deep crimson armor that was almost organic in appearance and resembled a sleek fitting shell. After encircling the pair, the two largest of the aliens, both bearing orange circles on their chests, approached.

"Isaac Graham, you will come us."

The words practically pounded inside both Bishop and Isaac's heads causing them to stumble slightly from the intensity.

"Telepathy? Is that possible?" Bishop whispered.

"Perhaps, but I fear this is something far more sinister." Isaac warned.

"Yeah, no shit. Sorry, the Professor's with me. Toodles."

Bishop quickly followed up his flippant remark by creating a power surge that decimated the unusually powerful kinetic barriers of three nearby creatures before stabbing two with his omni-blades and slapping a sticky grenade on the third. He and Isaac then slid past the leaders of the hostiles and dove behind a large piece of burning debris from his now destroyed shuttle. The sound of the explosive going off was their cue to carefully peer over their cover position.

"Oh man, I can't believe this." Bishop stated in shock.

He was certain he'd taken out at least three of the creatures in his surprise attack and that his grenade would thin their numbers further. That assumption was quickly proven false when only one of the unidentified hostiles failed to recover, the one who'd absorbed the brunt of his grenade. The two he'd stabbed were already healing and the others weren't even hurt. The traces of blue blood that splattered the area, though somewhat grisly, didn't appear to bother the aliens in the slightest which only unnerved their opposition even further.

"Okay, giants with blue blood, shell-like armor, enormous heads and fucking telepathy. Who the hell did you piss off, Professor?" Bishop quietly demanded while preparing his shotgun.

"I honestly don't know. I'm still not sure why I was even brought here to begin with. I can only guess that it has something to with my research and someone's desire to discover what I've learned. That is what the guards were 'questioning' me about." Isaac earnestly responded.

"Perfect, just perfect. I've got the galaxy's most wanted scientist rolling with me. Cammie, your family is just too much." Bishop sighed. "Well, our ride is officially scrapped. But we've definitely got bigger problems now."

"I'm sorry Lieutenant. It wasn't my intention to involve you or anyone else in this madness."

"Forget about it, Professor. My girlfriend is a Shepard. This kind of crap is practically expected when it comes to your family. Speaking of Cammie, I haven't seen her in awhile and not long ago you mentioned wanting to get home to your family. I meant what I said before. We're getting out of here together."

"Lieutenant, no, Lloyd. Thank you. Now, I think it's time I repaid some of your effort on my behalf. Would you mind laying down a bit of cover fire?"

Bishop quickly obliged and fired several disruptor rounds that wreaked havoc on the enemies' shields while Isaac unleashed an enormous dark sphere that slowly engulfed the aliens.

"Nice one, Professor!" Bishop exclaimed.

His enthusiasm was short lived when the creatures suddenly absorbed Isaac's attack using their gauntlets and then redirected the energy into a series of energy blasts that tore through their targets' cover position, wounding both men in the process.

"You gotta be kidding me." Bishop groaned after rolling from his stomach.

He recovered just in time to avoid another barrage of energy blasts from his mystery antagonists. He was being attacked by three of the creatures, perhaps as payback for his initial decision to engage a trio of the monsters. One of the creatures was keeping him on the move and on the defensive from a distance using a steady storm of shots from his right hand gauntlet while his cohorts closed in using jets that had sprang forth from the back of their armor.

"Well now you're just cheating!" Bishop raged while sprinting around the docking bay.

After approaching another Tiburon Rojo shuttle, he quickly executed a jump and used the side of the aircraft as a springboard before spinning around and kicking one of his pursuers in the face. Before his assailant could recover, he sank an electrified omni-blade into the creature's chest while simultaneously gunning down his second tailgater with a series of disruptor rounds from his pistol that tore through his foe's skull. Once he confirmed they were dead, he quickly hopped inside the shuttle and began working the controls.

"Okay, okay, I trashed the sensors and took out the guidance systems on these heaps but the weapons should still…Yes! Let's see you bastards absorb this!"

A moment later he began bombarding every alien in sight with fire from the shuttle's mass accelerator cannons. His storm of destruction caused significant losses for his adversaries whose leaders eventually returned fire with a series of synchronized energy beams that instantly tore through the shuttle. One of the towering giants quickly flew to the scene of the wreck to confirm their quarry's death after deploying a pair of jets. While circling the aircraft, the monster was suddenly blasted by a massive overload that shorted out his propulsion system and sent him crashing into the ground near the destroyed shuttle.

"Surprise asshole!" Bishop roared while unloading a slew of disruptor rounds from his shotgun after appearing from within the fiery debris.

After emptying his thermal clip, he extended his omni-blades and closed in for the kill when he suddenly felt an enormous pressure inside his head. The pain was excruciating and immediately dropped him to his knees as his nose started to bleed.

"Futile. You can't win. Your struggle is pointless."

As Bishop writhed in agony on all fours he noticed his wounded target staring back at him and quickly realized what was happening. As his agony intensified, he promptly armed an inferno grenade and tossed it at his torturer in the hopes that it would kill him before he permanently succumbed to the creature's mental assault. The explosion and the relief that he felt afterwards told him his gamble was successful. After struggling to his feet, he stumbled over to his victim's charred remains and noticed that he'd killed one of the larger brutes who had an orange circle on his chest.

"So, a hundred points instead of ten." he quietly joked before scanning the rest of the area.

He didn't have time to savor his moment of levity before noticing that Isaac was being swarmed by the remaining creatures. He'd erected a biotic sphere but the aliens were simply draining it as the warp effects that it attempted to inflict were effortlessly absorbed by their gauntlets.

"Damn I hate these things." Bishop muttered before sending a series of Foucault Currents through his armor.

He then drew his pistol and began shredding the creatures' shields with his powered up disruptor rounds, taking the pressure off Isaac and getting their attention focused on him. It was becoming more and more obvious that the aliens weren't accustomed to having their kinetic barriers destroyed so easily but their armor was still proving to be annoyingly resilient. If it hadn't been for Bishop's superlative aim and concentrated fire, they wouldn't have likely suffered such devastating losses in such a short time. After witnessing Bishop executing one too many of his underlings with a headshot, the remaining alien leader promptly fired a series of small, silver disks at him that he instinctively dove away from. He was immediately relieved that he'd done so after watching the small devices explode once they made contact with his former position.

"I'm gettin' tired of your bullshit you big red bitch! We don't have time for this! The whole prison is gonna blow in less than an hour! You hear me! Take your freak show and get the hell outta here! WITHOUT the Professor!" Bishop roared in anger.

The colossal alien leader ignored him and promptly fired a series of energy blasts with homing properties.

"You vindictive piece of-"

The hail of energy blasts that found their mark promptly cut Bishop's insult short.

"Lloyd!"

The scream had barely escaped Isaac's mouth when he found himself within the grasp of the giant with the orange circle glimmering on his chest.

"As I said before, you WILL come with us."

The behemoth's victory didn't last long as a pair of electrified omni-blades pierced his back, shocking him in more ways than one.

"You get to learn two lessons before you die. Don't ever take your eyes off your target and don't ever underestimate just how tough I can make a set of armor, no matter how ugly or second rate it may be."

The alien leader never got to see his killer's face before the blades were retracted and three disruptor rounds tore through the back of his skull. Once his foe was down, Bishop staggered slightly as the remnants of his battered and stolen armor gradually fell apart while the Foucault Currents that had been reinforcing it slowly dissipated.

"You okay Professor?" he asked in between breaths.

"I'm fine, Lloyd. But I think you could use a break." Isaac kindly responded before offering the young man a shoulder to lean on.

After accepting Isaac's hospitality, Bishop turned his attention towards the scattered remains of the enemy soldiers. "I've got practically nothing left, Professor. I'm out of thermal clips and I'm down to my last few explosives. On top of that, my armor just crumbled. Things aren't looking good for our team."

"No, they aren't. But you've done your part, Lloyd. You're a fantastic soldier and I'm certain that Darryl is proud of you. So just rest a bit." Isaac calmly advised before easing Bishop to the ground.

He then summoned his own omni-tool and began tracking all of the remaining alien soldiers on the battlefield while initiating an incredibly complicated tactical scan.

"I'm glad I took the liberty of initiating a preliminary diagnostic the moment you appeared. Your attempts at abducting me and killing Lloyd also provided a bit of extra time for analysis of your armaments. If biotics alone won't work against you, then I suppose I'll have to get creative."

After pinpointing every remaining hostile's location, Isaac unleashed a sophisticated energy pulse from his omni-tool that quickly disrupted their gauntlets. Before the enemy forces could fully comprehend what he'd done, he fired three massive siege pulses from his device, obliterating the remaining stragglers. He remained alert while scanning the area to confirm that all of his targets were dead before finally banishing his omni-tool altogether and turning his attention back to Bishop, who was thoroughly astounded.

"When I was younger I had to transform my entire omni-tool in order to get the power output right. Over the years I've streamlined the process and now it's as easy as crafting an omni-blade. But to be perfectly honest, I prefer using the more mundane functions to help teach my lessons. A simple flashlight and shadow puppets can be surprisingly effective in a lecture about singularities." Isaac pleasantly explained.

"You're really something Professor." Bishop replied in a mild state of awe before chuckling a little. The two men then laughed together before quickly realizing that they still needed to find a way to escape.

"I suppose we'll have to take our chances with an enemy shuttle. I may be able to reverse some of your sabotage work if we move quickly enough." Isaac suggested.

"It's better than waiting around here to die. Let's move Professor." Bishop agreed before getting to his feet.

The moment he did so, the inside of his head nearly exploded and his mind was flooded with words he could scarcely follow.

"…Two Controllers and this many Proletarians? Killed by a pair of ordinary humans? This is a disgrace to the entire Gen Two Division…Augury will not hear of this…We should be fighting the Hunters…No! Keep the Gen Threes out of this! We have Graham, that's all that matters…Why even ask? Dispose of him. Our time grows short…"

The abrupt end of the jumbled tirade was marked by gunfire, explosions and the sounds of shouting that somehow drew Bishop back to reality. He hadn't realized that his eyes had been closed and he wouldn't have been surprised to discover that he'd actually fallen unconscious. Dream or nightmare, whatever he'd experienced was instantly banished once he caught sight of the image that greeted him after he awoke.

"What are we gonna do with you?" Hawkins anxiously pondered while leaning over his protégé.

"This is all your fault. He's always trying to be like you." Torres replied in a harsh but loving tone while cradling Bishop's head.

"Darryl, the professor, your brother-"

"Easy, we got him. For now anyway. But it looks like the bastards who're after him aren't gonna make this easy." Hawkins replied before standing to face down a veritable horde of arbiters in red who were being led by a titan with a V on his chest.

At his back was a wrecked Kodiak Drop Shuttle and a group of people that Bishop knew all too well. The Biotic Brawler and his crew had arrived and the fight was just getting started.