Mass Effect: Event Horizon
A Mass Effect Fanfiction
By Drussius
Chapter Thirty-Eight: Hordes
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Mivian Heights…
Husks poured into the building in a veritable swarm, screeching in anticipation of the kill. All at once the sounds of a half-dozen rifles firing drowned out the voices of the Reapers, echoing off the surrounding walls in a deafening cacophony. The sound of one rifle stood out from the others, because while most of them shared a distinct tone and measured rhythm, the standout fired each round with a resounding bang and the shots were irregular in pattern. One husk after another pitched over, riddled with bullets, and within moments the room was deathly quiet and still.
"Clear," someone called out.
"Maybe for the moment, but it won't last," Zaeed muttered under his breath. He lowered his Mattock, surveying his work with satisfaction.
The Alliance's Avenger rifles were fine weapons and capable of putting enemies down, but he vastly preferred the precision and power of his favorite rifle. It was nice to have one in his hands. By his count, the kill shots that had taken down exactly half of the husks had come from his weapon, while the other half had gone to the five Alliance soldiers combined.
The harsh roars of harvesters, the shouts of humans and the sounds of gunfire and explosions echoed from the streets outside, but Zaeed and the men with him paid little attention. Without heavy weapons or a few more guns on their side, most of the men in the streets had been forced to retreat indoors to get out of the harvesters' sights. Almost every one of the men in the room was injured in some way, though most, like Zaeed, had minor cuts from shrapnel or broken glass, rather than any form of significant impairment.
"We have to keep moving," one of the Alliance soldiers urged. "Tarrislav's transmission said to get out of town and head into the plains."
There were murmurs of agreement from the others, but Zaeed shook his head, stepping up to the doorway. He shoved the remains of a husk out of the entryway, letting it slide down the ramp into the street before surveying the scene outside. They might be able to hide from the harvesters amidst the tall grass in the fields, but he didn't much care for the odds. Plus, no matter how obvious it was that Tarrislav's order was intended to keep the Reapers from finding the hospital, Zaeed still didn't trust the man. He seemed unbalanced, and so the veteran mercenary had no intention of following his orders.
I guess it's lucky I'm not Alliance… I'm not actually under anyone's command here.
"You coming?" one of the Alliance soldiers asked as they headed for the rear door of the building.
"No," Zaeed shook his head. "Get out. I'll cover your arses."
Apparently the young man had no intention of arguing. His footsteps immediately receded from the room. Zaeed crouched beside the doorframe, aiming his rifle into the street, calmly scanning for a target. After spending such a long period doing nothing, he'd finally gotten his wish. The Reapers had decided to invade the town, and he intended to take as many of them down as possible before withdrawing from Mivian Heights. He figured every one of the creatures he finished off was one less that could pursue the Alliance forces into the grasslands.
Two cannibals shambled out of a doorway across the street, and Zaeed set his weapon's sights upon them immediately. Both of the creatures had haphazard, almost scabby-looking plating across their bodies, so he picked his shots carefully, aiming for the most vital areas that were not protected by the armoring. The sharp crack of each shot echoed through the street, and the first of the creatures fell within seconds. The second one managed to bring its weapon to bear and fire a few shots in return before it too suffered several precise and debilitating bullet wounds. The mercenary snorted.
"If this is the best the Reapers can do, they're not conquering shit," he muttered.
The question that now plagued the mercenary was how to proceed. The Alliance was slowly withdrawing toward the grasslands that surrounded the town, and while Zaeed didn't trust Tarrislav, he did recognize the necessity of not drawing the Reapers to the hospital. To that end, he didn't want to be the one jackass that headed into the gorge and drew the Reapers in after him. He could head along the tram line toward the city, but he had no information about the location of defenders or Reapers in Scott, so he'd be heading out blind in the hopes of finding something useful to do with his time.
"So what do I do?" he muttered his thoughts aloud.
His musings were interrupted when a rocket streaked into view over the buildings, leaving a trail of smoke in its wake. The projectile struck a harvester in the flank and exploded, rolling the creature over in the air. The beast plummeted into the street on the next block somewhere. An instant later, there was a bright flash over the buildings, and an even more resounding explosion shook the ground beneath Zaeed's feet.
Two trident fighters soared overhead, one trailing a little behind the other, and they concentrated their fire upon the other harvesters over the next street, obviously making an effort to clear the airspace. Watching the display, and the appearance of another rocket moments later, Zaeed quickly realized that they were trying to cover a priority target. Thoughts of his plans for the coming days fled, and the mercenary seized the opportunity to do something useful in the here and now. He ran for the gap between two buildings, cutting over to the next street to help protect whatever the Alliance was making such an effort to guard.
He stepped from between the buildings and into the next street just as a large transport truck rolled by, with smoke pouring from its back end. The turian was braced between the cab of the truck and the rear cargo area, and was struggling to reload a missile launcher while the truck ran over bits of debris and the corpses of cannibals and husks. The rough road was obviously making his job difficult. Zaeed wasn't sure where the truck was headed or what was aboard, but he found himself questioning the wisdom of using it. A mobile vehicle was bound to become a hell of a target out in the fields, and it was too big to be concealed by the brush.
A trio of husks ran by, trying to catch up to the truck. Zaeed snorted at the sight and took aim, firing three shots in rapid succession. The husks pitched over one by one, each hit squarely in the backs of their heads. The mercenary hurried down the street, keeping close to the walls, firing whenever a target presented itself. He couldn't keep up with the vehicle, but lagging behind was actually proving a benefit. More than one cannibal or husk stepped out of cover as the truck passed to fire at it or to chase it, only to be gunned down by Zaeed's Mattock.
One of the trident fighters skimmed low over the buildings, the wake of its passing causing the mercenary to stumble when it rocketed by. Two harvesters were hot on its tail, firing on the vessel with rapid-fire bursts that quickly pulverized the ship. The second fighter was behind the flying Reapers, but it couldn't kill them fast enough to save the imperiled fighter. Zaeed shielded his eyes when the lead trident exploded, the remains raining over the southern end of the town.
He quickened his pace, rushing to the end of the street, where the truck had rolled to a stop outside of a small building that might once have been a shop of some kind. When he stumbled up next to the vehicle, Prathus and McSween were headed up the steps, the engineer supporting the turian. He headed in behind them.
A handful of Alliance marines were gathered inside, along with the arsenal of weapons that had been brought into the town just the day before. Now that it was clear what the truck was intended to carry, however, Zaeed found his misgivings about its use magnified greatly.
"You're not planning to load all this on the goddamn truck, are you?" he demanded.
"We were," Prathus shook his head. "Until the damned Reapers demolished the back half of the cargo section four seconds after we started moving."
"Aye," McSween slumped to a seat against the wall. "It was'na a great plan, but it was a plan…"
"Got a backup?" Zaeed asked.
"No," Prathus's mandibles twitched in agitation. "We can't just leave the equipment for the Reapers."
"Load up on weapons," Zaeed suggested. "Your armor has two maglocks on the upper back, one at the waist, one on each hip. So everyone takes two pistols and three rifles, and as many grenades as you can carry."
"Well, that'll let us take about a twentieth o' this stuff, but what about the rest?" McSween asked.
"No, he's right," Prathus quickly cut in. "Each of us takes five spare weapons and carries one for use. We load up on grenades and thermal clips. Then you get on the radio and tell those two tridents-"
"One," Zaeed interrupted. "One of the fighters went down."
"Damn," the turian shook his head. "Then tell the surviving trident to draw as much enemy fire as it can toward the far end of the town. Someone can take the truck that way too. While the Reapers are busy that way, we call in any soldiers nearby to load up with weapons the same way. If we distribute all these guns and grenades among as many soldiers as possible, we can carry most of it out."
"Right," Zaeed walked to the nearest table and started grabbing rifles, securing them to the magnetic holsters on his armor. "As far as the armor and the other spare equipment is concerned, you throw it all in those crates. Then you get your team together and toss them all into the goddamn gorge."
"You want us to throw all the armor and non-combat tech into the gorge?" one of the marines repeated.
"Yeah," Zaeed regarded the young man steadily. "The crates are impact resistant and shock-proof, right? So anything that can't be used to actively kill reapers gets tossed into the gorge. You can go get it later, when there aren't any Reapers flying around overhead."
"Captain Tarrislav said to stay away from the gorge," another young marine pointed out.
"Then leave it all behind," Zaeed shrugged. "The most important stuff to salvage is the stuff that can be used to kill Reapers."
"He's right," Prathus supported him. "The Reapers aren't going to use the armor. At worst, they'll destroy it. They might even leave it alone. They don't seem all that bright. But we'll need all the weapons and thermal clips we can get."
"Aye," McSween nodded. "I'll take the truck an' provide the bloody diversion. So grab all ye can carry."
Prathus was quick to claim all the weapons he could secure to his armor, and helped himself to a healthy number of grenades and thermal clips. The other men soon followed suit. All except for McSween, who watched them with a pensive expression.
"Aren't you going to take some weapons?" Prathus asked.
Zaeed knew what the engineer was thinking even before the red-haired man shook his head. If he was going to be a diversion, giving him five weapons and a bunch of grenades could very well be a waste of supplies.
"They'd just be destroyed if this diversion gets me killed," the engineer confirmed Zaeed's suspicions. "I 'ave one to use in case I dinnae die. That's enough."
Zaeed nodded his approval. He liked the man's realistic and sensible attitude. However, just as the mercenary was starting to walk toward the door, a series of crimson blasts struck the truck where it waited outside, ravaging the vehicle from the cab to the back end in a line. Smoke poured from the twisted metal of the frame. Everyone present simply stared at the ruined vehicle in silence. Zaeed grabbed a rifle from one of the tables and tossed it to the engineer. The toss startled McSween, but he managed to catch the weapon.
"Might as well take some now," Zaeed suggested. "You won't be driving that pile of scrap anywhere."
Resort Hospital, Mivian Heights…
Julisa listened to the distant sounds of explosions and gunfire with barely-restrained fury. Being bound to a bed in the current situation was extremely difficult for the former commando. Since regaining consciousness, she'd been unable to visit the injured members of her crew, had been told that her medic was arrested and had been unable to intervene, and now was lying in a bed and listening while the town above was apparently being demolished by Reapers. Every fiber of her being was screaming at her to block out the pain, climb out of bed, and go protect her crew. Of course, she knew intellectually that she was in no condition to walk, let alone fight, but it didn't diminish the urge any.
The lights throughout the building had been shut down when the fighting started, and the only current illumination came from an emergency light sitting on the bedside table. It cast only a faint glow through the room, but it was sufficient to see by. She hadn't been told what was going on outside or within the building, but she assumed that the power had been shut down to prevent the Reapers from spotting the structure. Aida had told her they were located in a secluded gorge. It seemed sensible to try to avoid drawing attention.
The human doctor walked into her room, gazing at her with some amount of concern, but also with sympathy. She regarded the woman in silence for a moment, and then finally let out her breath in a sigh.
"I hate being confined to this bed. I should be fighting."
"I understand," the doctor nodded. "But you need to rest and recover. The men up there are risking their lives to keep us and this hospital safe."
"I figured as much," Julisa nodded. "They are keeping the enemy occupied while the injured hide, correct?"
"Exactly."
"Do you know how bad the situation is?"
"Original reports sent to us said there were dozens of harvesters, and that they were dropping off a sizeable ground force. After that, the only transmission we got was orders from the base commander that all personnel in town were to flee in the opposite direction from us."
"Harvesters?" Julisa repeated. "The flying reptiles found on Tuchanka?" They were found on several different worlds, but she had first seen one on Tuchanka, and would always view them as native to that planet.
"I believe so," the doctor nodded. "The Reapers have corrupted them. Turned them into armored air support and makeshift shuttles."
"I have a great deal to learn about the situation," Julisa admitted, and then shifted subjects. Since there was nothing she could do to contribute to the fight, she figured she might as well learn what she could. "Has there been any word in regards to my medic?"
"Aida? No," the doctor shook her head, frowning.
"What do you know of the man that arrested her?"
"Lieutenant Mullins?" the doctor paused thoughtfully, her gaze far away. "I don't know him well, but his reputation suggests he is level-headed, logical, and a bit of a perfectionist, if a little cold."
Julisa considered that description for a moment, and decided that if a member of her crew was going to be detained as part of an investigation, that wasn't a bad sort of investigator to have on the job. Someone patient, logical, and thorough would be best-suited to figuring out Aida's innocence if the investigation continued, and unlikely to leave her to die if the situation demanded that the detention area be evacuated.
"Can we get a signal out?" she asked. "Can I contact my crew?"
"Not right now," the doctor smiled apologetically. "We're under orders to maintain radio silence, so that the Reapers can't trace any signals to our location."
"I thought you said your only orders came from the transmission about the town above."
"Not exactly. Lieutenant Gradian was assigned to this hospital as commanding officer. It is his order that we maintain radio silence," the human explained. "While we are out of contact with Captain Tarrislav, Gradian is the ranking officer here."
"I see," Julisa fell silent, considering the situation.
"I need to check on the other patients," the human woman smiled. "If you need anything, just call. There is a guard stationed in the corridor. He'll hear you."
Julisa only nodded, and the doctor walked out of the room. In the silence left behind by the woman's passing, the asari considered the situation.
My recovery will take weeks. As I understand it, Selura will need a similar period of time for recovery. Do these humans really think that the Reapers will remain ignorant of our presence for that long? Somehow, I think it unlikely.
She took a deep breath, wincing at the sharp pain from her ribs as her chest expanded. She let that breath out slowly, and she tensed the muscles in her legs, slowly allowing them to relax. She repeated the process over and over, doing her best to keep her muscles from weakening too much. She wouldn't have the luxury of rehabilitation. As soon as she was healed well enough to move around without reinjuring herself, she would have to get into the fighting.
As she performed these small exercises, her thoughts turned to Thessia. Her daughter would inevitably be in danger. The Reapers had hit Earth and Palavan, and had obviously sent forces to Terra Nova, which meant they were probably attacking planets and colonies all over the galaxy. She could only hope that it would take them time to beat the turians and humans far enough into submission to spare forces for Thessia.
I should be there with her, she thought angrily. If she dies, it will be a result of my stupidity. Had I not abandoned her, she would be with me. Safe…
Grasslands Outside Mivian Heights…
Aida rose from her spot amidst the tall grass, quickly picking out a target. Wispy tendrils of blue rose from her body, and an orb of biotic energy formed in her hand. She hurled the glowing orb in an arc over the weeds to strike a cannibal, lifting it and suspending it helplessly in the air. Beside her, Mullins immediately fired upon the exposed creature, riddling its bloated body with bullets. The asari ducked below the level of the grass quickly, creeping a bit farther away from the town.
Throughout the fields all around her, she could hear assault rifles firing, and when a dark shadow passed overhead, she quickly dove to the ground and covered her head. The harvesters were pursuing the soldiers into the fields, and the Reaper ground forces had drifted after them. She'd almost been killed by several passing harvesters; the creatures were crisscrossing the grasslands, strafing the ground in hopes of hitting targets. The soldiers, like her, were mostly keeping below the level of the grass to conceal their movements, standing up only for long enough to fire a few shots at a time. The majority of the fighting now seemed – at least to her – to be taking place outside of the town.
Aida watched as an Alliance fighter soared past. Black smoke trailed from one of the vehicle's engines, and as she watched it fly, it seemed to be having trouble staying on course. She shook her head, both in admiration for the pilot's courage for staying in the fight, and in sorrow for the inevitable loss of their last piece of air support.
"Keep moving," Mullins barked. "And take this," he added, thrusting a cylindrical container into her hands.
Aida noted the liquid sloshing around in the container and nodded, glad to have something to drink if she needed it. She stuffed the bottle into a pocket as she turned and weaved her way through the tall grass, with the Alliance lieutenant right on her heels. The man refused to let her out of his sight, and had told her more than once not to move in a straight line. Aida wasn't sure what the point of weaving back and forth was if they weren't in an enemy's sights, but she supposed it might make their path harder to predict.
A husk suddenly sprinted out of the grass just in front of her and leapt for her, drawing a startled shriek from the asari. She hadn't expected any enemies ahead of them. She reflexively raised her weapon, but before she could even pull the trigger, the creature was on top of her, driving her into the ground. It raised its arm as if to strike her, but at that instant, its head exploded, showering her with a disgusting grayish sludge. She shoved the body off of her and rolled over, coughing. She felt as though she might throw up.
"Be sick later," the human growled, seizing the collar of her shirt and jerking her to her feet.
"Where are we going?" Aida asked, coughing at the taste of bile that rose into her throat.
"Away from the town," Mullins answered. "We'll regroup after we've lost the Reapers."
"How are we ever going to lose them?"
"We-"
"…evere engine instability…" a transmission interrupted the human, and then almost immediately faded into static for several seconds before returning. "...can continue to provide air support for a few more minutes but…" Aida listened to the feminine voice, frowning when the message cut out again. "…be shot down for sure if I don't retreat now," the message returned. "I need orders!"
"Is she asking whether your captain wants her to stay and be shot down?" Aida asked in amazement. "She would actually do that?"
"To save the rest of us? Absolutely," the lieutenant nodded.
"Fall back," the voice of Captain Tarrislav answered. "Rendezvous at grid reference T-188718."
Aida was amazed that someone managed to get a whole message through the interference without the transmission breaking up. Overhead, she watched as the damaged fighter wheeled around and soared off to the west, no doubt to circle around to whatever point was designated as the rendezvous. Mullins gave her a light shove, and she took the hint, heading off through the grass.
The sounds of gunfire grew more and more distant as they moved, and the frequency with which harvesters passed over their heads decreased dramatically. Looking back, she could still see the creatures swarming over the area behind them, but they didn't seem to be attacking anything specific. Dark storm clouds were rolling in from the north, and Aida smiled at the sight. Surely once the area was shrouded with dark clouds and the haze of rain, it would be much easier for the surviving soldiers to lose pursuit. Still, she was confused about one thing…
"Why do the remaining soldiers not simply scatter? Quit shooting and lose themselves in the grass?" she asked.
"Because we need to draw the Reapers away from the town," the lieutenant was quick to answer. "As far away as possible," he added.
"This is not far enough?"
"Not yet," Mullins shook his head. "We're still close enough to the town that if they lose track of all of us, they might double back to search. The farther out we draw them, the less likely it is that they'll double back as far as the gorge."
"It seems like so much sacrifice to save some injured people," Aida mused. She didn't want to sound ungrateful, especially since the majority of the injured were her friends, but she couldn't help voicing her feelings.
"The injured are only part of it," a voice interrupted her. She turned to see Captain Tarrislav emerging from the growth to her left. "The gorge is a death trap anyway. If we withdrew to it, we'd all be cornered with no viable escape route. What we're doing now, we're doing to save anything we might be able to go back and salvage later."
Aida turned to glare at the human, who was regarding her with a decidedly unfriendly expression. "Salvage? That seems like a small gain for the cost. Order your men to retreat!"
"Our strategy is none of your business," the captain stated flatly. "I won't discuss tactics in front of a traitor." He glanced toward the lieutenant. "You should have left her to rot with her Reaper pals," he muttered.
"What? I am not allied with the Reapers! They are repulsive!" Aida shouted at him.
Almost immediately, the captain was aiming a pistol at her head, and Aida felt her heart skip a beat.
"Keep your voice down!" Tarrislav growled. "You'll draw them to us! But maybe that's what you want…"
"Put up your weapon, sir," Mullins warned, pushing the other man's hand upward, so that the pistol was no longer trained upon the asari. "I haven't cleared her, but I haven't found any evidence that she colluded with the Reapers either. This is just the response you expected. The Reaper devices were destroyed, and they sent a force to investigate."
"Because she destroyed the devices," the captain insisted, though he did disengage his weapon and return it to the holder at his hip. "Keep her quiet, or she'll draw the Reapers to us."
"Whether she did it or someone else did is irrelevant now," Mullins shrugged. "We've had to give up Mivian Heights. Site T-188718 is a hell of a hike from here. Is that really the designated rendezvous sir?"
"Not anymore," the elder man muttered with his eyes upon Aida, who continued to glare at him. "The results of your investigation aside, I don't trust her or her friends. See that she heads in a direction away from the rest of us. Neither she nor any of her companions are welcome on Alliance bases anymore. We need to ensure our security."
"What?" Aida's eyes widened, and then narrowed dangerously. "First you exile my best friend, and now the rest of us? You… you…" she was so furious she almost lost the ability to speak. Before she thought about what she was doing, an orb of biotic energy formed in her hand, and she hurled it into the captain's midsection. The force of the biotic throw sent the older human rocketing backward, and he disappeared into the grass.
The butt of a rifle slammed into the side of Aida's head before she could even recover from the motion of the throw. She collapsed in the grass, struggling to rise, but she was seeing double as she stared up at the blurry figure of Lieutenant Mullins, who was standing over her.
"Apologies, asari," he said softly, "but you can't assault my superiors while I'm around." He slammed the end of his rifle into her head one more time.
Everything went dark.
Mivian Heights…
A cylindrical object sailed directly at Prathus's head, prompting the turian to duck to the side. The movement had been reflex, but the brief look he'd gotten at the object was enough to tell him that he needed to put space between the spot where it landed and himself. He dove forward just as the grenade detonated, and the force of the blast collapsed his shield. He rolled to the side, sure that the Reapers would target him while he was down, but he needn't have worried. There was a brief burst of fire, and the cannibal standing at the corner of the building ahead pitched over, twitching upon the ground.
"Thanks," Prathus muttered. He wasn't sure who had killed the creature – he was traveling with a sizeable group – and he doubted anyone could hear him over the sounds of rifle fire anyway.
Zaeed dashed ahead to the corner of the building and put his back to the wall, quickly leaning out to get a look at what waited around the turn. Prathus struggled to his feet, moving closer to the building and resting against it while he waited for his shield generator to recharge. The turian's legs were aching, and the pain was mounting as the fighting dragged on.
They had been fighting their way to the edge of the town, but it hadn't been easy. Husks and cannibals were all over the streets, even though the majority of the harvesters had moved out into the grasslands. The Alliance plan to draw the Reapers out away from the town only seemed to be working on the airborne enemies and a small portion of the ground forces. The remaining Reaper troops were swarming through the buildings, looking for any signs of life among them.
"We've gotta get out of here," an Alliance soldier complained. Prathus could hear traces of panic in the man's voice. "We're gonna get killed if we don't run."
"Easier said than done," Prathus muttered. "We can't just drop everything and sprint into the fields. The Reapers are all over the place. We'd just get shot in the back."
"But this is taking too long!" the man shrieked.
"Get a hold of yourself!" Prathus growled, grabbing the soldier by the plating that covered his shoulder and shaking him. "If you panic, you'll get yourself killed. And probably someone else too. We've got plenty of men here to fight our way free."
The remainder of their group was gathering in a line at the side of the building, each man loaded down with weapons and explosives. They'd drafted several more to help them carry the supplies, and now had almost twenty men. It was an impressive and extremely well-armed fighting unit. The only problem was that they didn't want to create so much commotion that they would draw more Reapers back into the city. They were trying to keep their skirmishes small and very brief despite their numbers.
"No good," McSween announced breathlessly as he staggered up to the group. "Back to the armory is'na gonna work," he reported. "There must be twenty o' the buggers by the wreckage o' the truck."
"Then we're surrounded," the demoralized young soldier bowed his head.
"Only until we punch a hole through whatever enemy lines are ahead of us," Prathus said grimly.
"Incoming," Zaeed hissed, dropping to a crouch and aiming his weapon around the corner of the building.
"How many?" Prathus demanded.
"Twelve. Equal split, cannibals and husks."
The turian nodded and pulled a grenade from a compartment in the thigh of his armor. Zaeed glanced at it and nodded, apparently understanding exactly what Prathus intended to do. McSween likewise nodded his head and readied his weapon. Several other soldiers followed suit.
Prathus clicked the activation trigger and stepped out into the street with McSween at his side. The engineer and the mercenary opened fire, providing cover while Prathus hurled the explosive into the midst of the Reaper forces. The moment the grenade left his hand, the former soldier ducked back behind the building, waiting for the sound of the detonation.
The flash and the thunderous echo of the explosion served as a signal for the assembled group. Zaeed, McSween, Prathus and half a dozen others quickly moved out into the intersection, firing on the handful of Reapers that hadn't been killed by the blast. Within seconds, the street ahead of them was clear and quiet. The turian waved the remaining men out, and the group filed around the corner, keeping close to the buildings as they moved on.
"…tention all Alliance personnel: This is Captain Tarrislav…" an incoming transmission broadcast to the entire group, except for Zaeed and Prathus, brought their progress to a halt. "Alliance personnel are hereby advised that…" the transmission faded to static briefly, "repeat: part ways with non-Alliance personnel at the first opportunity… security concerns necessitate this unfortunate deci…" the transmission broke off.
Prathus and Zaeed exchanged glances, as did many of the men among their Alliance allies. McSween, however, was the first to say anything.
"That man's lost 'is bloody mind," the engineer shook his head in disgust. "He's got to be indoctrinated. Or he believes that ye are," he added, with a glance toward Prathus.
"Show some loyalty," one of the marines growled. "We have our orders. And we don't disregard orders from our superiors. Take the gear from them and let's go."
"That's bullshit," another marine spat. "We don't abandon our allies either. It's a questionable order at best. If these guys are indoctrinated, I'm a hanar dancer."
Several other men spoke up, arguing for or against the captain's orders. Prathus listened quietly for a moment, and then finally stepped closer to Zaeed. Since the human mercenary was in the same position as 'non-Alliance personnel,' it seemed that they needed to decide what to do.
"Whether he's indoctrinated or not, clearly we can't fall back to wherever the Alliance is going," Prathus pointed out. "So what do we do?"
"We figure out where to find Salik. And then we start looking for a way off this planet," Zaeed suggested.
"Maybe he's looking for the same thing," Prathus muttered. "If we can figure out where to find a ship, we might find him by default. I'm sure he had a plan. Especially since he blew up his own ship."
Before Zaeed could respond, a raised voice caught both of their attention. Clearly the Alliance soldiers were divided over their new orders.
"You're talking about desertion! We should detain you here and now!" one of the men roared.
"Are ye daft?" McSween growled at the man that had spoken. "If ye cannae see that Tarrislav is'na firing on all thrusters, maybe ye need to 'ave yer own head examined. I'll not abandon allies on the say-so o' that bloody idiot!"
Several other men voiced their agreement. Others were muttering angry comments. Prathus only sighed. Clearly the Reapers were getting exactly what they wanted. Defending forces were divided, arguing, unable to trust their leadership and each other… the turian wouldn't have been surprised if half the men around him were at least partially indoctrinated… if it were actually possible to be half brainwashed.
"The way I see it," Zaeed spoke up, capturing the attention of everyone present, "Tarrislav may be indoctrinated, or he might be concerned that we are. Either way, it means the same for me. I'm not fighting with men I can't trust. So I'm leaving."
Prathus was about to agree, but they'd spent too long standing in one place, arguing. The rhythmic metallic clink of cannibals' arm-grafted weapons interrupted any further conversation, peppering several men in the group with fire. The danger briefly brought the two disparate groups together, and everyone scrambled to take cover and return fire. Prathus, McSween, Zaeed and a few others ducked into the nearest building and took up positions at the windows.
Grenades sailed into the midst of the Alliance men outside, and one was hurled through the window that Prathus was using for cover. The turian scrambled to get out of range of the explosive, as did the other men in the room, but when the detonation occurred, everyone in the small chamber was staggered by the blast. Fortunately, Prathus's shield kept him from being injured, and he assumed the same could be said for the Alliance soldiers. He braced himself against a wall, shaking his head in an attempt to clear the momentary disorientation caused by the force of the blast.
A stream of dark figures dashed through the door from the adjacent room in the building. One emaciated form leapt upon Prathus, while others charged at his allies. The turian pitched over under the weight of the husk, and he struggled to shield himself from the creature's blows while he activated his omni-blade. As soon as the weapon snapped into position, he thrust the blade into the husk's ribs, giving it a quick and vicious twist. It wasn't enough to kill the creature, but the thing paused its attack long enough for the turian to hurl it aside. He deactivated the omni-blade and rolled over to grab his rifle, but the swarm of husks seemed endless. They were still pouring into the room.
The turian was surrounded by screeching human corpses, and was being pummeled from all sides. The husk he had injured was already on its feet and closing again, and because of the press of enemies around him, Prathus couldn't bring his weapon to bear. When he tried, one of the husks grabbed his arm and slammed a fist into his jaw. He was forced to fight hand-to-hand, punching, kicking, and shoving the desiccated monsters until he managed to buy enough breathing room to bring his rifle into play. Even then, he could only use the weapon as a club; with allies spread throughout the room and struggling in close quarters with enemies, he couldn't risk gunfire.
The husks were relentless, but once he had his rifle to use as a bludgeon, he quickly took down several of his enemies, collapsing the knee of one to put it on the ground and then following up by swinging the end of his rifle into the temple of another. He brought the weapon down again and again upon the head of each husk to fall, pausing only when he was forced to drive a new opponent back. By the time he finished beating the fifth one to death, his arms were shaking from the exertion.
He looked around for another target, but there seemed to be no more husks standing. There were several smoldering husk corpses near McSween, a headless one and a number of mangled others near Zaeed, who was just putting away a combat knife, and a few dozen other bludgeoned bodies strewn about. One Alliance soldier was lying on the floor, being tended to by his friends, and all of the others had bruises or cuts. Prathus could feel blood trickling down the side of his face from a cut on his brow, and he was tender in several other spots. Outside, the weapons fire had gone silent, so he limped to the window and surveyed the scene.
The street was littered with Reaper corpses and a few Alliance ones. There was no sign of the rest of their Alliance allies. Or perhaps former allies would have been a more appropriate descriptor, the turian caught himself thinking. He shook his head and turned to face the other men in the room. Aside from Zaeed and McSween, there were five other Alliance soldiers left.
"What now?" he asked. "It seems the rest of the men have moved on. They were ordered to abandon us, after all."
"It's bullshit," one young man muttered. "Part ways with non-Alliance personnel? Does that mean we abandon the civilians too? You guys aren't a security risk."
"Right. If anything, I think our security suffers without you," another soldier said, his expression troubled. "If Tarrislav is willing to turn his back on our allies, he's not fit for command. We need to get into the city and find our people there."
"Alliance command in the city is dead," McSween frowned. "Illitha said the men in charge at the Walters Center were killed."
"We should still head into the city," Prathus suggested. "We can find Illitha and help her with whatever she's doing there."
"What about your friends in the hospital?" Zaeed asked.
"We can't go down there without risking drawing the Reapers after us. We'd be better off leading them toward the city if they happen to spot us and follow us."
"Aye," McSween nodded. "Illitha could use our help, I'm sure. She was worried that there were indoctrination devices spread throughout the ruins."
"Fine," Zaeed nodded. "If this friend of yours has a plan that'll hurt the Reapers, I'm in."
"Then I guess we need to get out of this town and head north," Prathus suggested.
"Out o' the fryin' pan an' into the fire," McSween chuckled. "It sure is'na any safer in the city."
"The planet is under siege by Reapers," Prathus reminded him. "I don't think anyplace on this planet could really be called 'safe' anymore."
"Let's get moving," Zaeed interrupted their banter. "I'd like to get to the city sooner rather than later."
Prathus nodded and headed for the door, warily scanning the street for signs of activity. They still had to fight their way to the edge of town. And then there was a long walk to reach the city, after which they'd have to search for Illitha amidst a whole lot of ruined buildings, he imagined. They'd be lucky if they found her in under a week.
In thinking about the long walk to the city, Prathus found his thoughts turning to the Cerberus shuttle. He glanced at Zaeed.
"What happened to the shuttle? It would make it a lot easier to get to the city…"
"Yeah," the mercenary muttered. "The first place I went when the Reapers hit was the shuttle. The harvesters blew it to hell."
Prathus sighed. So much for sparing myself the walk…
Scott, Capital City of Terra Nova…
Illitha glanced across the rubble-filled street toward the shell of a building on the opposite side, where Jay and his younger brother were stationed in the windows. Jay had a sniper rifle trained upon the two-story ruin outside of which Illitha and Rachel were currently crouched, and was scanning the gaping holes in the walls, looking for signs of Reaper activity. She could see the young man's lips moving, and Elliot nodded and started signaling with his hands, using the prearranged signs they had developed over the course of their day of work.
"Three cannibals on the second floor," Rachel whispered, confirming the signals that Illitha had just seen.
The asari nodded slowly and glanced over at the other human, Jack. He looked extremely nervous, but he nodded his head just the same. Illitha led the way into the building, quickly surveying the scene and finding no signs of Reapers on the ground floor. She was very pleased so far with how well their new recruits were working. Together, their team had managed to disable twenty-five of the Reaper devices over the course of the day, and had been responsible for killing dozens of Reapers, all without raising an alarm. Jay and his younger brother were being used as spotters, while Jack joined Rachel and Illitha in entering the buildings since he had an omni-blade to use for close-quarters combat. The other teen, Danny, was tasked with watching Jay and Elliot's back, so that Reapers couldn't sneak up on the pair.
They had also collected a fair bit of material that could be used to construct protective gear for the group. None of it was quite military-grade… it would be of questionable use against any serious firepower, but if she could cobble it together into some vests, it might save their lives in a firefight long enough to find better cover.
She headed for the stairs to the upper floor, glad to see that they were still in one piece. The last time they'd found Reapers on the upper floor of a structure, the stairs had been collapsed, and they'd been forced to boost Jack up through a hole in the ceiling so that he could hoist them up. She crept up the stairs slowly, testing each step before putting her weight upon it fully, waiting patiently until she could see over the edge of the stairwell to get a view of the upper floor.
The whole second floor of the structure, she soon found, was an uneven, broken landscape filled with rubble. The ceiling was almost entirely missing, save for a small section directly above the stairwell that had remained intact. Three quarters of the height of the walls were still partially intact, but the rest had fallen inward when the roof collapsed, leaving a bunch of jagged barriers spread throughout the rubble. She quickly spotted the cannibals Jay had seen. They were crouched, motionless among the rubble, waiting patiently for some unknown signal or instruction.
Illitha turned and signaled to Rachel and Jack, holding up two fingers and gesturing toward the back wall, where she'd seen the first two creatures, and then holding up one and motioning to the left, where the third had been crouched. Only one of the Reapers was facing directly toward the stairwell, so she knew that she would have to deal with that one first. Then they would rush the others and try to finish them before they could raise an alarm. When Rachel and Jack both nodded to signal their readiness, she slowly crept up a few more steps, focusing upon her biotics. A glowing bluish-purple orb formed in her hand.
She dashed up the last few steps and hurled the biotic orb toward the Reaper facing the stairwell. The creature rose and opened its mouth to make a sound, but the orb struck it in the face and sent it sailing over the remains of the wall and into open air with a squeal. Rachel rushed past her while she prepared to use another throw, sprinting toward one of their remaining enemies.
Illitha concentrated on the other cannibal. Since Jack didn't have any armor to protect him, she always insisted that he stay out of the line of fire until she could knock a target down. She arced her throw high into the air, so that the force came down upon the top of the creature, slamming it into the ground. Jack ran by her as soon as the biotic orb left her fingers. Rachel's cannibal got off a few shots before she leapt upon it and jammed her omni-blade into its skull; the other creature was just rising when Jack impaled it upon his blade.
"Clear," Rachel announced, warily surveying their surroundings.
Illitha looked around a little to locate the Reaper device, and when she found it, she gestured to the other two.
"Y-you two cover the ground floor," she murmured. "And signal the others… tell them w-we're clear."
"Aye aye," Rachel saluted with a grin, and the two humans headed for the stairs.
Illitha activated her omni-tool and went to work, accessing the Reaper device and deftly disabling both the emitters, and the emergency protocol when it came online. After having dealt with so many of these devices, it was becoming increasingly simple to do her work. She never would have imagined that dealing with Reaper tech would become 'easy', but then she had never pictured herself in her current position, either.
With the device rendered harmless, she climbed a nearby pile of rubble so that she could get a clear view of the surrounding ruins, accessing her search algorithm to locate the next device. While the program was running, her eyes roamed across the shattered and burned-out buildings all around them, studying the devastation by the light of the setting sun. Her gaze then drifted north, toward the Reapers in the distance. When she saw the huge machines, however, she felt her heart skip a beat, and she quickly crouched.
The larger of the two Reapers had stopped moving and was facing directly toward the building in which she was standing. A series of lights that looked suspiciously like eyes were glowing with a bright yellow radiance and the machine stood absolutely motionless. Though she didn't think the Reapers could spot her from all the way across the city, for an instant she had still been certain it was staring right at her. She remained crouched, just able to see the thing's glowing eyes over the shattered wall on the north side of the building.
An immense shadow fell across her, and she turned to watch in awe as a massive Reaper floated slowly down into the city to the west of her position. Forgetting all about the Reaper in the distance, she rose to her feet and watched this new arrival settle amongst the buildings, crushing several beneath its feet. The new Reaper looked subtly different from the others. While it had the same basic shape, its body was oriented more horizontally, and its legs were distributed more evenly along its length. Once it was on the ground, it lowered itself slowly to rest upon the ruined cityscape, crushing a multitude of buildings beneath its bulk. Once it was settled, it remained absolutely motionless. It looked as though the Reapers had simply landed a building in the midst of the city.
"Are you seeing this?" Rachel's voice startled her. The human climbed the pile of rubble to join her in staring at the new Reaper structure. Illitha hadn't even heard her approach.
"What is it?" Illitha wondered aloud.
Before Rachel could offer any theories, a large door opened at the rear of the new Reaper building, and an army of figures swarmed out. Illitha blinked, activating her night vision visor and engaging the optical zoom, because these new figures were unlike anything she'd ever seen. With the zoom engaged, she felt her heart sink.
Reaper versions of turians were pouring from the interior of the structure in droves. Amongst them were dozens of massive, hulking monsters with huge metal claw arms, spines along their backs, heavy armored plating on their chests and shoulders, and the heads of turians attached to their brutish bodies. The new arrivals started to spread out through the city.
"Goddess," Illitha whispered, feeling a deep sense of despair wash over her. If the Reapers were bringing new troops to the fight… turian troops… the battle on Palavan must have been going very badly indeed.
"That thing is some kind of troop transport?" Rachel guessed.
"I… I do not know… but the indoctrination devices can wait. I want to keep an eye on this new Reaper for a little while. Y-You should bring the others up," her eyes drifted northward, toward the larger Reaper in the distance.
"A third Reaper in the town," Rachel said softly. "This doesn't bode well."
"I… I do not think this new thing is a real Reaper," Illitha whispered.
"What makes you say that?"
"I… I thought it was, but… That big Reaper in the distance… When… I… I noticed that while this new one was coming down, that big one was standing still, and there was this yellow glow in its eyes. Now that the new one is settled, the big Reaper has returned to moving through the city, and I don't see the yellow eyes anymore. Maybe… Maybe it was bringing this new thing down on remote control…"
"Maybe," Rachel said softly. "The new one sure isn't doing anything. It looks more like a portable building than a Reaper at the moment."
"Please gather the others," Illitha asked. "I would like to pick out a building with a clear view of the new Reaper structure… we should… We… We need to watch it through the night. I w-would like to know what it is used for."
"Okay, Spectre," Rachel nodded. "Maybe we can use what's left of the building over there?" she pointed to the northeast.
Illitha followed her gaze, and saw the shattered remains of what had once been a towering skyscraper. She estimated that there were still a good twenty floors mostly intact. It would offer an excellent vantage of the city and the new Reaper building, but something told her that there would be Reapers all over it. Still, it was the best option. Their current position was only a handful of blocks from the new Reaper, and with turian Reapers and those strange brutes swarming through the area, they needed to get out of the vicinity. Fast.
Unknown Location…
Aida's head was throbbing when awareness returned to her. She was lying on a hard surface, and she could hear the sounds of people crying or muttering softly all around her, and over those sounds, a repeated 'whoosh'. When she opened her eyes, she could barely see anything. Wherever she was, the place was illuminated only by a faint red light. The chamber that held her was irregularly-shaped, and only about half again the size of a shuttle's passenger compartment. The floor was flat, as was the wall on her right, but the left-hand side of the room was concave, from the center of the ceiling around to the center of the floor. She rolled over, shaking her head in an attempt to clear it, and came almost face-to-face with a cannibal.
She shrieked and scrambled backward, her biotics immediately flaring around her, but before she could summon or hurl a biotic orb, a hand grabbed her wrist and an arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her to the floor and holding her still. A voice hissed into her ear.
"Believe me, you don't wanna do that."
Aida could feel herself shaking, and struggled to get free of her captor. Around her, the sounds of people crying and whimpering had only grown louder. The man who was restraining her held her fast. The cannibal hadn't moved when she reacted to its presence, but she noted that there were three or four husks that had closed in around her, and all were now standing motionless, glaring at her with their strange, glowing eyes. Since none of them were attacking, she ceased her struggles for the moment, trying to make sense of what was going on. She looked around in confusion, taking in the sight of the rest of the room for the first time.
A bunch of humans… Alliance soldiers, civilian men and women, even a couple of children… were spread throughout the room. Most of them looked absolutely terrified. Mothers held frightened sons and daughters, men were curled up, shaking their heads and muttering, and a few were even unconscious. But far more numerous than the prisoners were the Reapers. Cannibals and Husks were packed into the room, leaving very little floor space unoccupied. The cannibals mostly squatted in place, motionless as statues, while the husks milled around aimlessly. There was very little space for the humans to keep their distance from their captors. Aida's trembling only increased when the horrifying reality of the situation finally sank in.
She had been captured by the Reapers. From the subtle motion of their prison and the continued whooshing sounds, she was guessing they had been stuffed into a compartment of some kind inside of a harvester. The noises had to be the result of its wings beating.
Her captor slowly relaxed his grip, leaving her once again free to move. She eyed the husks warily, but they continued to stare without moving or making a sound, so she assumed that for the moment, she wasn't going to be attacked. She turned her gaze upon the man that had held her, unsure whether she should thank him or curse him for preventing her from attacking while surrounded by Reaper troops.
The man was clean shaven and dressed in an Alliance uniform, but his face was badly bruised and covered in dried blood. His left eye was so swollen that it was sealed shut. His hair was styled in the cut that seemed popular for Alliance soldiers, and he wore an Alliance uniform. She glanced down at his hands, and saw the faint gray stains that she was so used to seeing on her best friend's skin… the discoloration of engine lubricants.
"You are an engineer," she whispered. She couldn't think of anything else to say. She was still struggling to adjust to the situation.
"Todd Harper," the man introduced himself. "Sorry for grabbing you like that, but… When I first came to, I attacked the first Reaper I saw. The rest of them beat me bloody."
Aida nodded, reaching toward the human's face. He flinched when she raised her hand, but it seemed only a reflex. He was quick to relax and nod. She probed the area around his swollen eye gingerly, feeling for signs of bone displacement that might suggest a break in his brow bone. She couldn't do anything to help him in their current situation, but she had become so accustomed to dealing with injured humans since arriving on Terra Nova, it was habit.
"You're Illitha's friend," the human muttered.
"What?" Aida's eyes widened. "You know Lith?"
"She was briefly assigned to my engineering team when we were on F.O.B. Alpha-5," the human explained. "Then we ran into her again in the city. She sent us back to the Alliance base to warn them about the Reaper devices… But… When Captain Tarrislav wouldn't listen, we…" the man trailed off and bowed his head. "This is my fault…"
Aida's expression darkened when the man mentioned Tarrislav. Because she had attacked the human captain, Lieutenant Mullins had struck her with his rifle. It was the last thing she remembered. Apparently, the Reapers had simply scooped her unconscious body out of the grass and taken her to wherever she was now. She noted that the pistol she had been carrying was gone, but the Reapers had left her with the water container she'd been given by Mullins.
"I do not see how you can blame yourself for the Reapers," Aida tried to reassure him.
"We destroyed the Reaper devices," he muttered. "If we'd left them alone…"
"You?" Aida was surprised. "You were responsible for the bombings?"
"Yeah," the man's shoulders hunched. "Me and my buddy Ian."
Aida nodded. She'd been imprisoned because she was suspected of participating in those explosions. And now she was a prisoner again, but she suspected that this time, it would be a lot less pleasant. She felt like she might be sick at the thought, so she tried to distract herself by focusing on other things.
"How is Lith?" she asked. "Is she… safe?"
"Safety doesn't exist in the city," Harper shook his head. "But she's one of the strongest people I've ever met. The things she's accomplished in the city…" he trailed off, and then finally shrugged. "She'll manage to survive. I'm sure of it. I'm more worried about us…"
Aida sighed and looked around one more time, trying to make out the faces of some of the other prisoners in the dim red light, wondering if she might recognize any. When she spotted a young blonde girl sitting against the wall, however, she stopped. The poor child looked absolutely terrified, and seemed to be the only child in the room without anyone looking after her. Aida eyed the husks warily, but slowly made her way toward the girl. The husks turned as she moved, always keeping their eyes upon her, but they made no move to stop her. When she reached the child, the poor girl immediately threw her arms around her, clinging to her desperately. She could feel the girl shaking violently.
"Shhhh… It will be all right," she murmured soothingly. "I am here."
The girl started sobbing, pressing her face into Aida's shirt. Aida held her tightly, hoping that having someone to cling to might help the poor girl in some way. She only wished that she actually believed what she was telling the child. Somehow, she couldn't make herself believe that it could possibly be all right.
.
.
Author's Note: My heartfelt gratitude goes out, as always, to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited/followed, or otherwise given any attention whatsoever to my story. The continued interest is awesome, and I'm glad I'm entertaining a few people out there. The next Chapter, barring any unforeseen complications, will be up on Tuesday.
As far as this Chapter goes, there is a lot going on, but I don't have a lot to say about it, save that the use of a Harvester as a miniature transport is a leap of logic on my part that I know not everyone may agree with. It's just that almost every time they show up in the game, there are also crimson balls of energy hitting the ground and spewing out Reaper troops, so my mind connected the two prior to my even starting to write this story. Additionally, the non-Reaper versions of Harvesters also carried around other creatures and dropped them off. I've mentioned them dropping off troops in past Chapters, and I just wanted to take it one step further with this last scene. If they are used for transporting smaller units, then perhaps they could carry prisoners as well. Anyway, that's just my thought process on the matter.
There are several Chapters upcoming that I'm really excited to share, so I will do my best to keep on schedule as promised. I hope everyone has a great weekend. And thanks again for reading!