Log 31
Date: 19TH DEC 2186
Location: LONDON, UK
The ship was immense in size which helpfully provided us with plenty of hiding places to wait out the journey until we reached London. In the end we decided our best bet would be to climb inside one of the shipping containers which weren't locked (who would try to steal from the Reapers afterall). Most of the space inside was filled with scrap metal, piled up to the ceiling and comprised of anything the Reapers could lay their hands on. Iron railings, streetlamps, shuttle parts, I even spotted the remains of an old push bike in there. We remained hidden there for the rest of the night, not speaking to each other (We decided it would be safer that way).
"Do you think this will ever end?" Daniels asked me suddenly, breaking the silence. "The war I mean."
"It will soon," I promised. "Shepard's working on something that should turn the tide."
That much was true, at least to an extent. Having spent some time on the QEC at Oslo I'd found out that Shepard was going to Thessia, the Asari homeworld to chase down a lead that might help with the Prothean weapon the Alliance was building. Apparently the superweapon is almost complete except for an unknown component referred to only as 'the Catalyst'. Thus far no one has had any luck in determining what the Catalyst might be so I could only pray Shepard's mission would prove a success.
"Sir, it's not that I don't trust you or the Alliance but-"
"You're worried that nothing we've got can stop the Reapers," I noted with a sigh, it was afterall a valid concern.
"How can anything stop those things?"
"We do all that we can," I explained, dredging the route learned words up from the past, a reminder of basic officer training as your duty to the Alliance is drilled into you for the first time.
"We keep going whatever it takes until either we fall, or they do. Our duty is to humanity, the Alliance and Earth, no other considerations matter."
"With all due respect sir, I've heard the Black Storm speech before. I'm not sure when the Alliance wrote it they imagined it actually happening."
He wasn't wrong to be completely honest. Black Storm was written after Humanity first joined the galactic community and heard about threats like the Rachni Wars and Krogan Rebellions. It indicates the existence of a threat that is so powerful and so fundamentally incompatible with our way of life that peace is impossible until victory is achieved. If it is declared then it is to be assumed that surrender would effectively destroy our entire species. The Reapers certainly qualify but frankly it's an analogy any Alliance officer would hesitate to use. Having never been invoked in any combat situation in Alliance history it had developed a stigma around it that suggested that it's usage indicated the situation was completely hopeless.
Not exactly the effect I'd been going for but before I could try to clarify my point, Daniels gestured at the scrap pile behind me.
"I mean look at that. It's our civilization being pulled apart, sorted into piles and shipped off to some Reaper construction project. And anything they don't need just gets left to rot and rust and crumble away. I'm sorry sir I don't mean to-" he trailed off as he saw the expression on my face.
"It's alright son, I understand." I replied, though I realized I would have preferred to avoid this discussion altogether. My headache was now back again with a vengeance, feeling almost like something was trying to smash it's way into my skull.
"I'm not going to pretend I don't feel that way myself sometimes," I continued, the admission somehow seeming to make my head pound all the harder. For a moment I even thought I could hear voices or even screams,though they seemed incredibly far off.
"The Reapers are powerful, intelligent and ruthless but even if we can't beat them every life saved is a victory."
"I don't know sir, sometimes I can't help but wonder if it would be more humane to-" Daniels began saying before being cut off as I ordered him to be quiet. I was certain now that there really were faint screams coming from below.
"I think the Reapers might be transporting more than just construction materials on this thing," I said.
We crept through the bowels of the ship, careful to avoid being spotted. Fortunately the guards all stayed at their posts on the top deck so we didn't have any patrols to worry about. As we got closer to the source of the noise we caught sight of the cages. It wasn't just a cargo ship, it was a prison.
The entire front end of the ship was lined with row after row of cages. In each one at least a dozen people (mostly humans) were packed inside. It was barely more than standing room only inside the cages, with most of the prisoners trying to get as close as possible to the bars. They screamed and shouted and banged on the metal bars but their efforts went unnoticed by their captors.
"How many guards do you count?" I asked.
"About thirty I'd say including a Ravager, I'd say we're badly outnumbered."
Personally I put the estimate at more like twenty but the kid still had a point, if we were going to free these people we'd need a plan.
"Any ideas how we can get these people out of here?"
"I'm not certain that's a good idea Admiral," Daniels replied.
"What do you mean?" I asked frowning at him.
He pointed at the cages by way of a reply.
"See those ones in the middle that are just staring, staying silent?"
I looked closely, I hadn't spotted it earlier but he was right. In several of the cages I could see people standing like statues, staring blankly out at the sea.
"I think they might be indoctrinated," he continued. "If we let them out they might go crazy, alert the Reapers maybe even try to kill us."
He had a point, not to mention that while we were still out at sea we were all trapped on the ship. Doubtless the Reapers wouldn't dock the ship until every escapee was either recaptured or killed. Nevertheless as I took another look at the scenes of misery on deck my resolve hardened. It wasn't question of if we would free them but when.
"How long until we reach London?" I asked.
"Could be about four more hours I guess?"
"We'll strike then."
The time passed slowly as we spent the remainder of the trip on edge, worried about being caught given how close we were hiding to the cages. Not to mention the distressing sounds we heard in the form of a symphony of screams from below us. Every new shout made me want to leap out and rush to the prisoners aid but for the time being we were powerless.
The one advantage to staying so nearby is it gave me an opportunity to clearly map the numbers, positions and limited patrol routes of the guards. Piece by piece I hatched a plan to free everyone present (even if it did bank on a considerable amount of chaos once things got started) until I was distracted by the city rolling into view.
To say London, the city in which I was born had changed, was something of an understatement. As we continued to head up the Thames past Dagenham we got a clear view of Husks and indoctrinated servants laboring to construct a long wall stretching way out inland on either side of the river. From what little our scouts had been able to tell us I knew the walls were being built all the way around the city. They were crude (not sure the Reapers are even aware of aesthetics as a concept), built mostly out of collapsed buildings and roads blocked with the kind of debris our cargo container was hauling over.
The purpose had becoming increasing obvious to the Resistance as time went on. The wall, the AA guns being constructed, the attacks on neighboring countries like Finland, Sweden and Ireland (We think the only thing that spared France and the like was that the channel was so easily defensible). It all pointed to one thing, the Reapers were turning the city into a fortress and trying to prevent anyone from getting close. For the Resistance it meant one thing. When coming to London was first suggested the idea was met with considerable skepticism. By the time many were arriving we were committed, the Reapers didn't want us there and that seemed as good a reason as any to go.
We docked near Poplar and the Reaper started to set about mooring the ship and unloading the cargo. All things considered this seemed to be the best chance any of us would get. If we could get the cage doors open then at least everyone here would have a decent shot at escaping.
"So what's the plan?" Asked Daniels.
"I'm going to create a distraction and try to take the Ravager out of play. Once that starts you need to make your way to the cages and start unlocking them. That should cause enough chaos to keep the Reapers off balance and give us a chance to escape, " I explained.
Daniels pulled a face. "The prisoners won't stand much of a chance against Reaper soldiers, they're not even armed."
"That's why you'll be unlocking the big cage in the corner first," I said pointing at it.
Daniels followed my gaze until he finally picked out the one I meant his face going pale at the thought. The cage in question was built larger in order to house its rather larger occupants, namely about a dozen Krogan. Technically they were still unarmed like the rest of the prisoners if you didn't count their fists and head. Having fought a few Krogan in the past I knew from experience to respect their races ability in combat (not to mention their headbutting power).
"If they turn out to be indoctrinated they could rip our heads off!" Daniels pointed out.
"I'm not seeing any other alternatives, we'll just have to take the risk."
I could hear Daniels grumbling slightly under his breath but he crept away towards the cages. Now I just needed to provide an adequate distraction. First things first that Ravager, if I didn't take it out, it's cannons would cut through the crowd causing a massacre. I lobbed a grenade down at its feet (actually it didn't exactly have feet as such but the bottom of its legs in any case) and as the explosion tore it and several Cannibals apart I stood up revealing myself to the guards. Standing on a cargo container high above everyone I shouted out 'The Alliance has returned!' before ducking down to avoid the incoming fire as every gun in the place was turned on me.
I lay flat against the roof of the container, listening to the rattle of gunfire against the metal. I was completely pinned down, forced to wait until Daniels brought in some extra muscle to the fight. Or so I thought at least but I had left the flock of Harvesters out of my calculations. Unable to use their cannons for fear of sinking the ship they simply swooped down towards me.
I rolled off the back of the exposed roof and into the complex maze of the ship, seeking to put some kind of barrier between myself and the Harvesters. Unfortunately nothing deterred them, they smashed through obstacles and knocked containers aside in their efforts to reach me. In the madness of it all I'd lost track of what was happening with the prisoners. It was all I could do to keep myself from being crushed, constantly on the move.
Suddenly Daniels appeared in front of me lobbing more grenades at the head of one of the winged nightmares just behind me. That bought us a short reprieve and we leapt off the ship into the water below.
"The prisoners?" I asked as we dragged ourselves out of the water.
"I unlocked as many cages as I could, seemed like they were starting to get the upper hand when I left," Daniels replied.
"Though I'm not sure how long that'll last."
"At least we gave them a chance."
Daniels nodded. "We did that at least, I think some of them will get away but many of them won't be so lucky."
With nothing more to be said we pressed onwards, determined to reach the rendezvous and rejoin the rest of the Resistance. It wasn't easy making our way to the agreed rendezvous. The occupying force here was larger than any I'd seen, larger than any I'd even heard about from other Resistance cells. Our only saving grace was that much of the workforce was busy constructing the defenses.
As we made our way through the winding streets we often saw indoctrinated servants working alongside Husks, Cannibals and even Marauders. In a way the effect was more disturbing than being attacked by the things. I was used to seeing Husks snarling with a primal rage as they threw themselves at me. Seeing them blank faced, calmly working on construction projects was apart from anything else incredibly creepy.
When we finally (and I do mean FINALLY, it feels like I've been trying to get here for YEARS) arrived at the base it appeared to be abandoned. Of course that was rather the point. All Resistance bases where possible were designed so that from the outside nothing should give the Reapers cause to attack. Nevertheless as we crept inside I admit doubts clutched at my heart. Once inside the empty shell of a building we took the elevator down to the bunker we knew was below. If we had found no one inside then the whole journey would have been a catastrophic disaster for the Resistance. In the next few moments I would discover whether I had managed to bring the Resistance together or completely destroyed it.
Fortunately as the doors opened I found myself blown away at the sheer number of resistance fighters in the main hall of our new base. The entire place was a flurry of activity and general busyness so at first no one noticed our arrival and I was able to stand back and soak it all in.
The room itself didn't look like much (largely crumbling brick walls and temperamental rigged up lighting) but what had my attention were the people. Hundreds of them just in this one room all working together. People from every walk of life and every species you could think of.
In one corner I saw Lara relaxing with a whole bunch of Asari. Some were from her crew but there were dozens I didn't recognize and I thought to myself that the Justicar were finally here (one of them, with deep purple skin and a lethal looking sword noticed my attention and gave me a quick nod before turning her attention away).
In another corner I saw a parked Mako being worked on by Xi Chan and a team of engineers. At the far end of the room I saw a mess hall (well the sign said mess hall but it looked promisingly like a bar to me) with Major Coats sitting on stool waiting to be served. Just to my right there was an armory with scavenged weapons of a thousand different types piled up and Karlakh running a critical eye over all of them.
And in the center my comrades in arms, the leaders of the other Resistance cells (and Coberg). Most of these people I'd only ever spoken to via the QEC but already I was looking forward to working with them in person.
And then finally I was spotted still standing there next to the elevator and everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look. As I was quickly surrounded by people, making introductions and reconnecting with old friends from the Resistance it occurred to me that I was home. Back in England, in the city where I was born, surrounded by the people that had become part of my family. And though the challenges we face are no less massive than they were yesterday, things seem just a little bit brighter today.
Well we've reached the end of the penultimate section of the book. Hope everyone is still enjoying it, please review.