Chapter 36: Feelings That Won't Reach
The past few weeks had been tough to say the least for a certain member of the Hunter clan. He'd finally rejoined his former colleagues and friends within the most elite branch of his family's organization after recovering from the retribution they felt was necessary for his leaving in the first place. He also had to endure the lingering animosity that several still felt towards him. Despite that, he was fully prepared to commit himself to the mission that his squad had just been handed. He and his companions hadn't been granted much time to recuperate following their battle against a detachment of rival mercs who'd made the surprising decision to attack one of their supply depots outside of Nos Astra. Now they found themselves facing the very real prospect of fighting the most dangerous of the Forgotten pirate band. The whole situation was shaping up to be more perilous than any of them realized but they had their orders. More importantly, the life of a Hunter was at stake and Vince had no intention of losing another brother.
"Who would've figured Lou's guys would end up on Illium? Last I heard they'd just finished destroying the batarian raiders on Lorek. Small galaxy, isn't it?" Dylan casually pondered in an effort to ease the tension.
His team was already riding a shuttle that was headed towards Nate's last known location somewhere in a high class residential district.
"It seems Lucas has been rather prolific in the hunt for those responsible for the Heshtok Tragedy so far. It's commendable." Zeke quietly added.
"Of course he's been successful. Lou has always been amazing. Strong, confident, a superb leader, charming-It's a shame he has to put up with some of the filth that are his brothers." Meena scoffed while glancing at Vince. "One's a lazy layabout who's finally bitten off more than he can chew and another one is a fickle deserter who's eager to play the role of big brother until he gets bored again. At least he has Ray and someday Jordy. He deserves that much."
"Still not gonna lay off Vince, huh?"
"It's fine, Dylan. Let her fume. She'll run out of fuel eventually."
"Don't count on it and don't count on me trusting you either. I don't care what Mal says, you lost that honor the moment you left. And I won't let you screw this up, not with everything that's at stake. This is my chance to finally prove myself, to get Lou to consider letting me…Nevermind."
"So you still wish to join Lucas' Beast Brigade? They are among the most prestigious within the Terminus Wolf divisions." Zeke mused.
"Is that true?" Vince asked in shock. "But why Lou's team? Why not Liv's Amazons or Victor's Pride or-"
"Oh, Vince. You can be so clueless sometimes." Dylan casually cut in. "Our dear Meena has no interest in any division that's lacking a certain little brother of yours."
"Not another word, Dylan. I mean it." Meena angrily warned.
"You mean Lou? Wait, are you saying-"
"Shut. Up." Meena snarled.
"You must remember the fight she and Rain had a year or so back. What did you think it was about?" Dylan quipped.
"I just assumed it was Meena being Meena. I had no idea…"
Vince still found himself struggling to comprehend the revelation. He knew that many of the treasures idolized his younger brother but it had never really dawned on him that some may have harbored deeper feelings for him.
"It must've really hurt your ego to have someone younger defeat you in a fight but there's no shame in losing to Rain. She is Leo and Libra's daughter after all and Victor's big sister. If she wasn't following Lou, she could be leading her own crew right now. She's easily the strongest out of her siblings. So don't beat yourself up about it." Dylan consolingly offered.
"I don't need your pity." Meena bitterly responded before turning her attention to her assault rifle and growing quiet.
"I've heard Lucas has many admirers. They say Eleanor Rowen is smitten with him as well. I suppose that would explain why our ties and contracts with her family have increased during the past few years." Zeke placidly stated.
"She's unworthy and if she ever gets too familiar with him, I'll kill her."
"That charmingly homicidal nature of yours won't win you any points with Lou. Miss Rowen is a friend of his, you know that right? I'm pretty sure he'd be upset if anything happened to her." Dylan reminded his companion.
"I have to agree but more importantly Lucas is devoted Rain. We all know this. Someday she will be-"
"I never said I wanted to take her place. I already know what they and their parents have planned. All I want is to be near him so that I can act as the bodyguard that he deserves. Lou needs a proper escort, especially now. We can't afford to lose him, I can't afford to lose him." Meena seriously interjected before Zeke could finish.
"Um, I hate to break this to you Meena but Lou's not big on having bodyguards. He used to dodge the entourages that Tess assigned him all the time back when we were kids. In fact, we all did." Vince informed her.
"Which is why I plan to join his Beast Brigade. He shouldn't have any complaints if I'm acting directly under his command and the forces serving under him now are a joke. They're mostly vorcha and ill-suited to protecting him. Just look at what happened on Heshtok. He ended up saving them. He'd just lost his brother and had to fight a chain of battles that no other man could've…Someone has to be there to help him. He may be mature and more responsible than most but he's still young and too many people tend to forget that."
A thoughtful silence followed her remark while the others pondered what she'd just said. "I've been meaning to ask you for awhile now but exactly how and when did you fall for our new king?" Dylan finally joked.
"Go fuck yourself Dylan since Adriana obviously won't be doing it anymore." Meena viciously responded.
"Ouch! Alright, I guess that's my cue to shut up."
While Zeke patted his friend on the shoulder in a mild effort to console him after the rather brutal verbal jab, Vince took a moment to observe Meena who was once again staring at her Lumina Assault Rifle. It was a customized model that she'd personally upgraded but he had the distinct feeling that there was another reason why she seemed to treasure the firearm more than most.
"I guess the men in this family are destined to break a few hearts." he quietly lamented while leaning back in his seat.
"Cal quickly pulled her into an embrace. Their heartbeats pounded together in a passionate resonance that only heightened their mutual yearning. His hand slowly ran through the length of Valora's hair before gradually reaching her back and descending lower. The gasp of ecstasy that she released as he approached her more sensitive areas was immediately covered by a kiss that Cal planted on her luscious, welcoming lips. Their steamy exchange was only interrupted when her lover suddenly received a message on his omni-tool. 'Duty calls but I think it can wait. Jason can lead the men in my absence. Right now, something more important requires my attention.' he amorously explained between heated breaths while gazing into the eyes of his beloved. 'Cal, we shouldn't. Little Prince will be home from school any minute now. What if he catches us?' Valora nervously responded before taking a quick glance towards her front door. 'Then he'll realize how much his parents love each other in spite of the circumstances. I can't wait any longer, Valora. I need you, I want you, and today, I'll finally have you once more.' Despite her concerns Valora gave in and leapt into her eager beau's arms before tearing into the collar of his shirt while he carried her to the bedroom. They had both waited for far too long."
After reading a passage from the wildly successful romance novel, Rabbit slowly placed the datapad that it was stored in back onto the coffee table before staring blankly at everyone in the apartment.
"It gets a LOT more explicit after that." he finally stated. "Who in the hell wrote this?" he added incredulously before glancing down at the story. "This Lady V…she's gotta be an asari."
"And why is that?" Liara asked while eyeing him.
"Because, you know, you're all-Actually, forget I said anything."
"You're way off base Rabbit. The principal characters are all human and the setting isn't someplace your typical asari would think up. Terminus Systems, a protagonist who's an ex pirate turned mercenary who falls in love with the married leader of a merc company-Oh no." Nate suddenly groaned from his bed as a startling realization dawned on him. "She didn't, she couldn't. What am I saying? Of course she could've. Dad lets her do whatever she wants. I can't believe this. I wonder if anybody else has figured it out."
"What's the big deal?"
"Rabbit, think about it. Valora's love interest is named Cal. He's married with children and his wife's name is Jess. He's also got a bunch of friends who work for him and one of them is named Jason. Not only that, he and Valora have a son named Prince. Is any of this clicking?" Nate replied in exasperation. "And the author of the book writes under the penname Lady V. Ring any bells?"
Rabbit took a moment to consider the info before finally growing wide-eyed once he'd pieced everything together. "But how did she-"
"Dad probably let her publish the damned thing after she sweet talked him into it. You know he always lets my mischievous aunt get her way. I really hope mom doesn't know about this little serial. Even though it's pure fantasy, she'd still explode."
"No kidding." Rabbit quipped.
"What are you two talking about?"
"We'll tell you about it later, Lynx." Rabbit promised.
"Me too, I hope." Leanne added from Nate's bedside.
"Of course." Nate assured her.
"Tell your mystery author that I'm looking forward to the next installment and that I'll be deeply upset if Kaya has her heart broken." Liara added while getting to her feet.
"Who?" Nate and Rabbit both asked in confusion.
"She's a friend of Cal's and they have a history together. She melded with him back in chapter-Just read the book." Leanne brusquely responded before helping Nate to his feet.
"She even threw Taya in." Nate whispered to himself while shaking his head before releasing a chuckle. "Now that I think about it, this is pretty funny. I can't wait to mess with Dad later."
"We should prepare to leave and soon. My sources have informed me that the Forgotten are already closing in on this location and I doubt the security measures here will be enough to hold them off." Liara announced before leading the way to a secret door that suddenly revealed itself after she waved her omni-tool in front of a section of wall within the living room of her dwelling.
Awaiting behind the door was the entrance to a large pneumatic tube that presumably led to a secret escape passage from her apartment building. A minute later, everyone gathered around the newly opened doorway while Liara began locking down her residence. Within seconds, a series of shutters and kinetic barriers erected themselves over her windows while a magnetic seal reinforced the door that led inside her home. Once her work was complete she turned her attention back to her guests.
"The thief can go down first to make sure the route is clear. Leanne, you and Nate can follow and Lynx can proceed after your trip. I'll go last once I've secured the entrance."
"Where does this thing even-"
Liara didn't bother to let Rabbit voice his uncertainty any further before tossing him into the tube using her biotics. After hearing his voice trail off below, everyone was eventually greeted by the bitter sounds of cursing as Rabbit hit the surface of wherever the escape tube led.
"I'm fine by the way! You're a real stand-up lady, Doc!" he furiously shouted from below.
The smallest of smirks appeared on Liara's face before she directed the others down. Within minutes, everyone had rejoined Rabbit inside of a dimly lit underground corridor.
"This all seems really elaborate, Liara. Even for an info broker. I know it's a dangerous business but still…" Leanne mused.
"You can never be too cautious." Liara replied dismissively while leading the way forward.
After reaching a ladder that led up, the group carefully ascended their way to a hatch that led into a small, deserted alley behind Liara's building.
"We should proceed to the Terminus Wolves' Den. Your soldiers should be able to provide ample protection for Leanne until I can reach Shepard and the others. I'll also have to warn Jacob about the situation before he arrives." Liara suggested.
"A few of our people are already on their way to meet us. Some of the Wolves are still dealing with the scattered remains of the Tiburon Rojos' incursions outside the city." Lynx explained while helping Leanne shoulder Nate. "But the ones who are on their way happen to be among our best."
"I'd vouch for her but she still won't tell me specifically who's coming." Rabbit added in agitation. "Wait a minute. Lynx, a certain jackass who gets way more passes than he deserves had better not be one of them. I swear I'll-"
The beginning of Rabbit's tirade was promptly cut short when Liara suddenly pulled out a Spider Heavy Pistol and opened fired behind him. He didn't have time to be outraged or question her actions before a phantom suddenly fell dead after decloaking.
"Go, NOW!" Liara commanded as more of the agile biotics began appearing in the narrow alleyway.
Afterwards, she covered their escape with gunfire while the youths struggled to flee the ambush. After reaching the front of the apartment building, they found themselves surrounded by a staggering number of hostiles that included troopers, phantoms, dragoons and nearly a dozen war mechs of the Gaia variety that were being piloted by seasoned veterans.
"I'm sure you realize the severity of the situation so just make this easy on yourselves and surrender Leanne Shepard. I'd prefer not to be responsible for the Terminus Hunter losing another child. I know what that feels like."
The request or demand depending on how you viewed things came from a phantom in orange armor who was leading a contingent of forces that were conspicuously distant from the others.
"I met a girl who looks a lot like you earlier tonight. I didn't want to fight her and I don't want to fight her mother either. But you're not leaving me with much of a choice here." Nate calmly responded while leaning on Lynx.
He was still quite injured and it would take at least a few hours for his wounds to fully heal but he wasn't planning to back down.
"He's all talk, just look at the state he's in. Malik really did a number on him." another of the lead phantoms quickly responded while observing him. "But I'm glad he's still breathing. I owe him and his friends for wiping out my pawns."
"We need the Shepard girl alive, Flora." another phantom reminded her. "And you aren't the only one who's suffered losses tonight."
"Strange, isn't it Shar? Amber and her nauseatingly hypocritical husband have their entire division intact, meanwhile everyone else has taken some nasty hits thanks to these Hunters. It really makes you think, doesn't it?" Flora bitterly pondered.
"If you'd actually been thinking in the first place you wouldn't have lost so many people to begin with." Amber coolly stated, visibly angering her compatriots.
"Ladies, this is all one big misunderstanding-A simple case of mistaken identity. We all happen to be exotic dancers who are just trying to find our way to a private party that's being thrown by a raunchy elcor millionaire. Our client wanted us to dress up as celebrities, hence the disguises. I'll admit our makeup guys did good work but-"
"Kill the little one first, he annoys me." Flora ordered her people.
Her subordinates responded instantly and opened fire on Rabbit, who once again foiled the attempts on his life by utilizing a skillfully placed decoy while he dove on top of his companions before they could be targeted as well.
"If you hadn't opened your big mouth earlier that might've actually worked!" he grumbled while taking cover with Nate and the others behind a parked sky car.
"Yeah, I'm sure." his friend replied in annoyance.
"You can bicker with each other later, we have bigger concerns at the moment." Lynx informed both as the Gaia mechs began advancing.
"The defensive encryption on these things is a joke." Leanne stated in amusement while working on her omni-tool.
Within seconds of her remark, the Gaias had turned on each other and their allies while the confused and panicked pilots inside struggled to regain control of the mechs.
"Nice!" Rabbit exclaimed in appreciation.
"Idiots. They were told she's a tech genius and yet they insisted on bringing their worthless machines anyway." Amber lamented while observing the chaos from a safe distance with her team.
"What should we do? Help?" an amused young trooper hesitantly asked.
"Don't be ridiculous, Pierre. We'll do what we always do. Wait for the opportunity to clean up their mess and then make our move." Amber calmly informed him before disappearing with several of her fellow phantoms.
"We've gotta make an exit and soon. Even without those oversized mechs, these bastards still have an advantage." Rabbit raged while exchanging fire with a pair of troopers.
Half of the Gaias had destroyed themselves while the rest were wreaking havoc on the remaining Forgotten forces but there were still enough left to pose a serious threat to their intended targets and the situation only grew worse when a drop ship full of reinforcements arrived with a pair of familiar veterans leading them.
"Damn, it's that dragoon who kicked your ass earlier and his girlfriend!" Rabbit furiously announced in between gunfire.
"Good, I owe him some payback."
"You aren't moving from this spot until we've got an escape route cleared." Leanne commanded.
"I agree. Even at your best, that monster would be a dangerous adversary to face." Lynx concurred before toppling an advancing squad of troopers with a shockwave. They were immediately replaced by an even larger detachment within moments as well as two dragoons. "We can't keep this position secure for much longer!"
"Well we can't move either!" Rabbit shouted in desperation.
Before either of them could panic any further, another vehicle suddenly crashed onto the scene and mowed down the approaching enemy soldiers. After spinning around and depositing its passengers, the newly arrived sky car came to a stop beside the besieged cover position where Nate and the others were struggling to hold out.
"Nice driving Dirka! We'll handle it from here!" a familiar voice shouted in the midst of gunfire and explosions.
"I can't believe it! I never thought I'd be so glad to see Bruiser!" Rabbit happily announced after Ray unleashed a barrage from his Meteor Machine Gun.
After vaporizing a small contingent of troopers and toppling several more with a shockwave, Ray quickly dove behind the parked and battered vehicle where his brother and friends had taken refuge.
"Hey Ray. How's it going?" Nate weakly greeted.
"You stupid, lying, two-faced, dumbass, clown." he berated while glaring at his brother. He took a moment to take in the sight of Nate's wounded form and the signature armor he was wearing. "This just keeps getting better. You're not just an assassin, you're the assassin. You're Ghost Fang! Nate, I'm gonna kill you later!"
"Can you please give him a break right now? You're not the only one who had to learn about this tonight." Leanne pleaded.
Ray almost did a double take when he finally noticed her. "You're one of Old Man Shepard's grandkids. What the hell are you doing here?"
"She's the Forgotten's target. They're trying to abduct her and devoting a lot of time and effort in the endeavor." Lynx quickly explained.
"And how exactly is this our problem?" Ray quickly responded before firing an explosive particle blast overhead, damaging the enemy drop ship and forcing it to retreat.
"It's our problem because I say it is, Ray." Nate responded in a tone so stern it actually surprised his younger brother who wasn't accustomed to seeing him be so serious.
"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
"Bruiser, it's a long story and we don't have time to go over it right now. Just trust us when we say that Leanne Shepard can't fall into enemy hands. It's important to Nate." Rabbit cut in.
Ray quickly glanced down at his beaten up brother and instantly recognized the look in his eyes. It was a look he'd seen only a few times before but often enough to realize its importance. He'd observed it while helping his older brother Lucas during a particularly brutal fight against pirates several years earlier in order to reach Rain, who'd been surrounded. He'd witnessed it even earlier whenever his reckless baby brother Jordan felt that Cherish was being threatened. And just recently, he'd seen it in Julian's eyes whenever he caught sight of Olivia and thought no one else was looking.
"A Shepard Nate? Goddammit, you're really pushing me to the limit, you know that?"
"It's what I do little bro." Nate quietly joked before taking hold of Leanne's hand. "But this is how things are. Deal with it."
"Mom's gonna lose it. Liv's gonna be pissed too. At least Dad will be happy. Her father is that Ethan guy, right? His old buddy. I guess that has to count for something." Ray wearily responded before releasing a sigh.
"Ray, does that mean you'll-"
"It means your girlfriend should keep her head down while I go to work if she wants to make it out of here alive." Ray quickly interrupted in annoyance. "Seeing a clown like you be serious for once…she must be something special."
Afterwards, he deployed his tech armor and erected a barrier while readying his machine gun before promptly diving over their cover position and rejoining the battle that had now escalated thanks to the arrival of Nate's Shadow Fang subordinates from the club.
"Wow. I expected him to blow up after finding out. Maybe Bruiser's more grown up than I thought." Rabbit thoughtfully pondered.
"I must admit, I'm fairly shocked myself." Lynx agreed.
"Sometimes, Ray can surprise you." Nate responded while smiling.
"Alright, who wants some?!" Ray roared after overheating his Meteor and dismantling another contingent of troopers.
He quickly found himself the target of two phantoms who met some very swift and brutal ends once he'd pulled out his hammer and charged it with biotics. A dragoon attempted to retaliate while he was distracted but found his arms shattered after Ray's hammer made contact during his whip assault.
"Save that crap for those Alliance pushovers who don't know any better." Ray taunted before bringing his hammer down on his foe's head.
He continued his rampage across the battlefield while the Shadow Fangs covered his assault until a massive dragoon in blue armor rushed him from his left, almost catching him off guard. The veteran was already fortified with a barrier and Foucault Currents and his whip strikes were far more precise and powerful than his subordinates.
"You're not as pathetic as the other one. Who are you?" the stranger demanded after closing in on Ray.
"Raymond Hunter, fifth born and the strongest son in this family outside of the Beast of the Abyss." Ray confidently declared while staring his newest opponent down. "And who are you supposed to be? Another lousy dragoon looking to die?"
His adversary simply laughed. "The name's Malik and I'm the guy who nearly killed your brother earlier tonight."
Ray immediately tightened his grip on his hammer while instinctively increasing his muscles using his focus. "Is that right? Then I owe you a special ass kicking."
The next exchange between the two men saw Malik send a tremor at Ray after driving his whips into the ground while Ray directed a shockwave at his adversary. Both sustained damage that was almost completely mitigated by their respective defenses. Malik quickly followed up his initial onslaught with massive biotic sweep of his whips, tearing through the earth and everything else in front of him with ruthless efficiency. He hadn't expected Ray to be dead but at the very least wounded and stripped of his barrier and tech armor. Thus, the barrier detonation that blasted him off his feet afterwards completely caught the veteran by surprise. Before he could recover, a biotically charged battle hammer was already being swung downward on a collision course with his chest. Fortunately for him, three of his associates took that exact to moment to decloak and stab Ray from three different angles using their monomolecular blades. Moving in tandem, they each followed up with a warp and cut into Ray's tech armor once more, finally breaching it and bringing him to his knees as the swords cut into his upper body.
"You dirty whores." Ray snarled after falling.
"It's called tactics, boy." Flora casually stated while smirking at her mark.
"It's surprising that he actually had Malik on the ropes. You're starting to slip." Shar taunted while glancing at her dragoon colleague who'd just returned to his feet.
"It's either that or this child happens to be one of the stronger heirs. I suppose there was some truth to his bluster. We should finish him now before he becomes a problem in the future like his older brothers." Delilah suggested.
"I'll do it." Malik angrily announced while pulling out a heavy pistol and aiming it at Ray's head. "Farewell, brat."
Sadly, for the second time in one night he found his execution interrupted, this time by the arrival of a shuttle that was already depositing Terminus Wolf reinforcements. One of the new arrivals quickly made his presence known by sabotaging and overheating Malik's pistol along with those of every Forgotten soldier nearby, scorching their hands in the process. After they'd dropped their weapons, a slew of particle beams began tearing through their ranks as the small squad of Wolves made their advance. The Forgotten veterans quickly identified the symbol on one of their aggressors' armor and realized who'd just joined the fight.
"A wolf with a fist at its back. That's him, the Nemean Enforcer. The Terminus Hunter's oldest son." Flora quietly stated before disappearing after activating a cloak.
"Damn it, where's our backup?!" Shar angrily demanded before vanishing herself.
"Think you can handle him? Chances are good that he's tougher than the brat who almost took you down earlier." Delilah seriously inquired.
"He got lucky." Malik stubbornly insisted while readying himself for Vince's approach.
Whether Delilah believed him or not, she promptly cloaked herself and left her colleague to face the young Hunter alone.
Malik decided not to wait for his enemy and took the initiative by sweeping across the area with his whips. En route, he was blasted with a warp that actually managed to destroy his barrier. Undeterred, he continued his charge while being bombarded by a string of warp laced particle beams that tore through his Foucault reinforced armor and finally slowed his approach. Realizing he was vulnerable, he reached for a submachine gun but found himself on the receiving end of a burning omni-blade slash that cut across his chest once Vince finally closed the gap between them. After falling on his back he stared up into the furious eyes of the Terminus Hunter's former right hand man who already had an assault rifle aimed at his face.
"Hurry up and finish it." Malik spat.
"With pleasure." Vince coldly replied before pulling the trigger.
After executing the troublesome vet, Vince turned his attention to Ray who was wounded on the ground nearby. He quickly approached after opening fire on the scattered opposition that was still taking shots at them from behind a series of shield pylons that had recently been deployed by a few enemy engineers. He continued to return fire before finally tossing a pair of cluster grenades behind the pylons, flushing his targets out into the open where he promptly drained their shields and sent them all sailing into the air with a biotic pull where they were immediately killed by the next barrage from his Lumina. With the most immediate threats dealt with, he focused his attention on Ray. After confirming that his younger brother's armor had administered medi-gel to his wounds, he quickly breathed a sigh of relief.
"You haven't changed at all Ray. You're still too reckless. A barrier and those muscles won't always keep you safe." he gently scolded.
"Go to hell." Ray groaned from the ground. "What are you even doing here?"
"Looking after my little brothers." Vince responded while attempting to help him to his feet.
"A little late for that now." Ray coldly countered before shoving him away. "You wanna help? Go check on Nate."
The two brothers stared at each other briefly before quietly going their separate ways.
"I must say, this is a fascinating revelation Nathan. I doubt anyone suspected you of being the infamous Ghost Fang." Zeke placidly stated while wiping out the remaining Gaia mechs with a Hyperion.
The serene behemoth had already made his way over to Nate and the others with minimal effort on his part.
"How many times am I gonna have to hear that before the night is over?" Nate replied in exasperation.
"Too many. Just do us a favor colossus, clear a landing area so the shuttle can swing back and pick everyone up before these bastards start to regroup or get any more reinforcements." Rabbit wearily requested.
"I'm afraid it may be too late for that." Zeke calmly informed him as several more enemy shuttles arrived along with a gunship. "They really are insistent on capturing you Miss Shepard."
"Why? What do they want from me? This is insane." Leanne whispered as a small army of fresh hostiles began converging all across the area.
The street outside of Liara's apartment was officially a warzone and attempts by local authorities to close in were now being met by heavy artillery and mass accelerator cannons from Forgotten aircraft that were steadily circling the area.
"Could anyone really be worth this kind of carnage? What if Liara got hurt because of me or worse. I-I can't…"
"Leanne, look at me." Nate ordered while tightening his grip on her hand. "This isn't your fault. None of it. The Forgotten instigated all of this and you can be damn sure that the Terminus Wolves are gonna finish it. Okay?"
The small smile that appeared on her face put Nate at ease. But the tender moment wouldn't last. Several things happened during the next few seconds. Zeke was hurled across the battlefield by biotic lash that was powerful enough to tear a tree from its roots. Nate and the others were subdued by a salvo of concussive rounds and Leanne was finally captured by the phantom who'd never taken an eye off her.
"Forgive me, Nathan Hunter. And if you can't, at least forgive my children."
With those parting words, Amber the veteran phantom nimbly departed with an unconscious Leanne slung across her shoulder.
"Dylan, they've got Leanne! You and Meena cover me! I'm going to catch that phantom!" Vince furiously shouted while bolting after the agile pirate leader after witnessing her abduction.
"I'm afraid I can't allow that." an even-tempered dragoon casually declared after cutting him off.
"Then we do this the hard way."
Vince instinctively created a warp using his right hand but before he could fire it, he found his entire body being pulled forward by a biotic lash. The mystery dragoon met his arrival with a fist to the midsection that caused him to keel over in pain. The man had done more than simply knock the wind out of him and the uncontrollable coughs that followed his assault were proof that he was no ordinary pirate.
"Bastard took Vince down in one blow. That's one helluva dragoon." Dylan grudgingly admitted from across the battlefield while maintaining his fire on the troopers who were blocking his path towards the kidnappers.
"Don't forget about Zeke. He ko'd our big guy without even touching him. He's gotta be their boss." Meena speculated while assisting him.
"Lou warned us and we still let them get the upper hand. Damn it!"
"It's not over yet. I don't give two shits about that Shepard girl but I'll be damned if I'm gonna let Lou down. I'll be back."
"Meena, don't even think about-"
Before Dylan could stop her, his unruly companion had already disappeared in a blur after initiating a biotic charge. When she reappeared in front of Amber, she immediately tossed a pair of throwing blades that pierced her target's legs and caused her to drop Leanne.
"You're skilled, very skilled." Amber stated in admiration. Her legs were already going numb. "Poison, that's an unusual approach for the Wolves."
"Maybe but not unheard of. A turian biotic taught me. She's an old vet just like you and an original member of the Terminus Wolves." Meena informed her.
"She must be proud like any teacher would be."
"Don't patronize me. What would you know about it? About any of us? Actually, forget I asked." Meena angrily responded before gathering the energy from her barrier into the palm of her hand in preparation for a phase disruptor. "Someone close to my heart taught me how to do this. It's a move he learned from his father, a man who I also happen to admire. His son, our leader, ordered us to keep that worthless little girl away from you and I don't plan on failing him."
"Let me give you a little advice young one." Amber serenely responded while drawing her monomolecular blade. "Life is full of disappointments."
What happened next was a brief exchange of hostilities as Meena fired her phase disruptor, seemingly killing her target who turned out to be a decoy. The real phantom then decloaked behind her and knocked the young soldier out cold with a strike to the back of her head using the hilt of her sword.
"I hope you enjoyed that because it won't be working on me." an angry newcomer suddenly warned her before a shockwave tore past.
"Raymond Hunter, I saw your fight against Malik. It was impressive, your father must be pleased with your growth."
"Me and you are fighting not talking." Ray bluntly responded before opening fire with is Meteor.
His target was moving considerably slower thanks to Meena's poison blades and several of his shots found their mark, eventually destroying her barrier. As he prepared to finish her, an enormous tremor from the ground suddenly floored him as a pair of biotic whips stabbed the earth nearby. An armor piercing round followed the offensive and wounded his shoulder before he could recover.
"That wasn't very gentlemanly of you, young man. My wife isn't an old ragdoll that you can toss around or abuse."
"Earnest, take the girl. My legs won't move anymore."
"Then I'll just have to carry you." Before his wife could object, the old dragoon veteran had already scooped her up into his arms. "Elise, Tobias, you know what to do."
Within seconds of summoning his children, they both appeared after decloaking along with the other members of their squad while the rest of their faction's forces joined them and left the rival members of the Forgotten to deal with the resistance left in the street nearby.
"Be careful with her, Tobias. I don't know what our clients have planned and I don't really want to think about it. The least we can do is make sure she doesn't suffer before we deliver her." Elise regretfully requested as her brother gently lifted Leanne from the ground.
"If she's with us, there won't be any problems. But if Blaine gets his hands on her once we return…"
"Tobias, I won't let that happen. She won't leave my sight or your mother's until the exchange. We'll all keep watch over her, now let's go."
Following his promise, the old dragoon veteran quickly departed as several shuttles arrived to pick him and his people up, leaving behind a battered battlefield in their wake.
"Leanne…Leanne!"
The minute Nate roused back to consciousness, he sprang to his feet like a man possessed. His eyes immediately began darting across the torn up street, past explosions and gunfights before eventually locking onto the departing Forgotten forces in the distance who were in the middle of retreating at the end of the block.
"Like hell I'll let you get away!" he roared before sprinting towards them in a frenzy.
He slipped past firefights, cut his way through troopers with his omni-blades, bombarded phantoms with biotic salvos and flung an approaching dragoon through a third story window using a biotic leash when he tried to get in his way. As he struggled to reach Leanne's abductors, a monomolecular blade suddenly found its way into his stomach as a veteran phantom appeared in his path.
"Poor baby. Did we take your favorite toy away?" a sickeningly sweet voice mockingly whispered as he fell to the ground. "We did you a favor Ghost Fang. Shepards are nothing but trouble."
The sound of laughter grated on Nate's ears for several agonizing seconds as he watched the source stroll away. Her people were finally withdrawing but it didn't matter. They'd gotten what they came for, who they came for. He'd failed her.
"Delilah…I'll kill that bitch." he gasped before blacking out.
"Nate! Nate! Wake up you clown! Damn it! What's wrong with him? Why's he convulsing like that?!"
"That stab to the gut must've been worse than we thought. His armor is administering red-med. This is about to get ugly. Lynx, get the shuttle ready. I'll carry him over.
"I swear, that crap gives me nightmares no matter how many times I see it get used. And don't get me started on actually taking the stuff myself."
"Dylan, NOT NOW."
"Sorry."
"I should've had his back. I'm so stupid! I could've come up with a scheme or something!"
"Rabbit, don't do this to yourself. He'll pull through but it won't be pretty."
"I could make arrangements for a physician if necessary. I have contacts-"
"We appreciate the thought Doctor T'Soni but we can handle this. We've got our own doctors and this isn't something we like outsiders to see. Superhumans suffer the most from the side effects and…believe me, it's better you don't see this."
"The spasms are beginning to escalate. The hallucinations will begin soon. We should hurry, Vince."
"You're right, Zeke. Let's go. Meena, quit sulking and move. We've still got a chance to get Leanne back before they leave the system. Lou won't end up hating you over one mishap but he might if you keep brooding."
"LEANNE!"
The shriek startled everyone present after Nate suddenly opened his eyes and steadily progressed into more and more spasms.
"Is that normal?" Ray nervously asked. Seeing his brother in such a deplorable state was painful and slightly unsettling.
"Yeah, it is. Let's get to the Den. Nate, we'll get her back. You hear me? Your big brother is giving you his word. So hang in there." Vince vowed while holding his delirious sibling.
The promise was a small comfort but a comfort nonetheless.