For all of those who have claimed that everything is "too easy" for the Supernovas, this chapter will prove that your voices were heard! Today, somebody dies!
Big important note here:
This is Alex's mind during the beacon's vision
This is Ryan's mind during the beacon's vision
I say this for reasons that will soon become clear. After the vision scene is over, don't worry about it.
IMPORTANT: My days of updating once every week are over! I have a full load of college courses, and none of them are remotely easy. If I try to keep to my previous schedule, I'll burn out, to say nothing of the quality of my work. Just be patient and accept that good things are always inevitably coming.
ALSO: Like the last chapter, I'm taking certain liberties with location. It would be stupid for controls to one of the two AA guns to stand right in Team Shadow's path, especially when disabling them was the salarians' job. So I've changed that around, giving Cole and the Master Chief more to do.
Summary: Conversing with an ancient machine has sent the Mass Effect Job spiraling out of control. Out of options and time, things only get worse with no light in sight.
Spoilers: All of the main games involved get heavily spoiled. Also heavy spoilers for Bioshock Infinite, the Pendragon Adventures, and possibly KotOR.
Disclaimer: *To lawyers* Your clients are in full possession of their entertainment media. I make no personal claims, nor do I profit from this work. *Lawyers leave in satisfaction while I grumble incoherently*
Out with a Bang
Virmire
Saren's Private Lab
Team Shadow
"Jackpot," the Supernovas declared.
Garrus sighed. "You two are going to do something monumentally stupid aren't you?" Ryan looked at the turian with a raised eyebrow, and that was all it took. "Of course you are. We'll make sure nobody walks in and shoots you while that beacon does… whatever it's supposed to do."
"Alex wait!" Liara shouted. The virus paused, curious at why the Prothean expert of all people was hesitant. She was looking at him with immeasurable worry in her eyes. "I know what the beacon did to you on Eden Prime. If that happens here, what then?"
Tali nodded. "She's right. You both collapsed from the first vision. We couldn't possibly get you to safety and complete the mission."
Alex waved aside the concerns. "It'll hurt like hell, but I've got the Cipher this time. I can take it. How about you Ryan?"
The Splicer King steeled himself for what was to come. "My body will probably do something weird again, like those dreams everyone seems to know about, but I'll manage. We need to do this."
Wrex chuckled. "Tough talk, but I'm not carrying either of you out of here if you fail to back it up."
No further words were exchanged. The four aliens watched nervously as their "human" leaders stepped within the beacon's range. There was a humming noise, but it was quiet, unlike the violent rippling they remembered from Eden Prime.
Then it happened. A rush of energy filled them both and like last time, Ryan was lifted into the air while the much heavier Alex Mercer remained on the ground. Regardless of their position, in a matter of seconds, they were soon on another trip down the Prothean rabbit hole.
Web of Intrigue Node 666 (complete)
Welcome to Rapture
This wasn't like last time at all. Before he could only recognize the horror through the eyes of a Prothean. Now there was a full picture beyond just that mindless destruction. Though there was still plenty of that too. As usual the vision was a display of merciless slaughter at the hands of the Reapers, but perhaps it wasn't in vain. The Protheans may not have died for nothing after all. Civilization was ended. It was absolute xenocide. But there was… hope? Hope that somehow involved the Conduit. Hope that would either make them or break them, that much was certain. They needed to stop all this madness before it was too late. Because if the Reapers came back, it was game over for the galaxy.
WWWAAAAHHHNNN
End of Node 666 (complete)
Returning to the Surface World
Fortunately, they didn't pass out. When Ryan dropped to the ground though, his body was wreathed in a gentle, orange flame. Alex was clutching his head in agony, but he was still standing, barely. All in all, it wasn't the most pleasant sight. These were two of the most powerful men in the galaxy, and a mere dream had crippled them.
The virus, still in pain, steadied himself while Ryan cooled off… literally. They nodded to each other, indicating the "success" of their stunt, but before the next move could be planned, the entire room was filled with a sense of wrongness.
Running up the stairs, the team found that a giant red hologram had appeared in the center of the room. Only coming to the middle of it when on the balcony, the whole group hesitantly drew closer.
"Anomalies."
Virmire
En Route to AA Gun
Team Mannovai
Cortana practically exploded onto the Master Chief's HUD. "We've got big trouble, John! That ship from Eden Prime isn't just a ship. It's an AI of gargantuan size and capacity. Sovereign is alive, Chief. Alive and chatting up Team Shadow!"
"Calm down," the Spartan told his charge, but he knew it was likely useless advice. "Can you get into their conversation? Cole will need to know what's going on."
The smart AI flashed between various shades of blue and purple. "Ryan's trying to broadcast a signal exclusive to Supernovas. Likely for the best. We've got more experience talking with this kind of thing than Ashley, and she doesn't need the distraction."
"We'll fill her in later," the Chief said. "Just get us ears in that room."
Returning to her default color, Cortana took on a determined expression before making it happen. They didn't like what they heard.
Virmire
Cliffs above STG Teams
Team Thunder
Long before Cortana tapped into his dataphone so he could eavesdrop, Cole had known something was off. Maybe it was his conduit affinity for lightning. He doubted it, though it probably made it easier to notice the presence that seemed to weigh everything down. It was the same thing from Eden Prime. That damn ship was more than a Reaper relic. Ryan and Alex were about to find out just how much more.
Virmire
Saren's Private Labs
Team Shadow
"Saren's ship talks," Alex observed, sounding more amused than afraid like any sane person would be.
"Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh," the hologram boomed. "You touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding." The disdain was unmistakable. It considered them a step up from dirt at best.
"That's a lot of 'hostility' for a machine," Ryan challenged.
"There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own, you cannot even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign."
There it was. They were speaking to an eldritch machine. Sovereign was a Reaper, not one of their ships. The Prothean visions suddenly made a lot more sense, but for that one answer there were thousands of questions.
"Trash talk my 'realm of existence' again, and I'll kick your cuttlefish ass," Alex threatened under his breath. It wasn't a smart thing to say, but the opportunity was practically handed to him on a gold platter.
Ryan cut in to prevent another such outburst. "Is there a particular reason that the Reapers wiped out the Protheans? Or is that 'too complicated' as well?"
"Organic life is nothing but a genetic mutation, an accident. Your lives are measured in years and decades. You wither and die."
"Speak for yourself," the immortal virus scoffed, grateful that pain triggered by certain words or phrases only worked once. The longer Sovereign kept talking, the more immune the Blacklight runner became.
Ignoring the interruption, the sentient ship continued. "We are eternal. The pinnacle of evolution and existence. Before us, you are nothing. Your extinction is inevitable. We are the end of everything."
Ryan couldn't help it. "What part of the evolutionary process called for a god complex?"
Alex facepalmed. "Don't even get me started." Megalomania was noted as an overly common theme for the enemies of Uniques and Supernovas alike.
"Your arrogance is irrelevant. The cycle cannot be broken."
"Cycle?" Garrus inquired, voice flanging. "What cycle?"
"An extinction cycle!" Alex cried out in realization. "Liara's theory was right this whole time. They wait for galactic civilization to reach its apex before wiping it out!"
Sovereign's tone was clearly mocking their ignorance. "The Protheans were not the first. They did not create the Citadel. They did not forge the mass relays. They merely found them. The legacy of my kind."
"How generous of you," Ryan retorted. The revelation had definitely shaken him, but he wasn't about to let it show. "So why give us your toys just to rip them from our burning corpses? How can you be so damn old without learning to share?"
"You obviously haven't been to Tuchanka," Wrex grunted. He was also taking this surprisingly well. Though after finding his people's best hope of survival was another lie, he probably just didn't give a crap anymore.
"Your civilization is built on the technology of the mass relays. Our technology. By using it, your society develops along the paths we desire." This revelation didn't have time to sink in before another was driven home. "We impose order on the chaos of organic evolution. You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it."
Team Thunder
Cole gasped. They were called "Reapers" because they harvested the galaxy of its sapient life, treating it like a crop that grew for fifty-thousand years. The phrase "gardener of men" never rang so true.
STG Teams
"Oh my… Chief!" Cortana's eyes went wide, and her colors changed at blinding speed. "The Reapers are like the Halo array but they keep repeating the process! What kind of insanity is that?!"
Her Spartan narrowed his eyes. "The kind I plan to end."
Team Shadow
"Let me get this straight," Alex said slowly. "You let us pretend that the galaxy is a nice place for a while, slowly increasing in technological advancement. Then you show up out of fucking nowhere to burn everything and slaughter us like livestock?" Storming right up to the hologram, he began to scream, "WHY?! What could possibly justify that kind of sadism?"
"My kind transcends your very understanding. We are each a nation. Independent, free of all weakness. You cannot even grasp the nature of-"
"Bullshit!" Alex yelled, angrier than they'd ever seen him. "Maybe you can scare your pet turian with that line, but I don't fucking buy it! As an AI, you follow logic, but I'm not hearing much of it right now." The virus crossed his arms. "Why not wipe out all organic life? You'd never have to deal with these cycles again. For that matter, why make it possible in the first place? If you had been more thorough, there wouldn't have been any Prothean ruins for humanity to study, and we'd still be isolated to the Sol system, planet overpopulated, people starving, culture stagnant. Why the need to jump our technology ahead by centuries? Answer me!"
"Even among organics, you are especially irrelevant."
That took the wind out of Alex's sails just a bit. "What?"
"I see through your lies. I have watched and learned. You are anomalies, and no existing evolutionary pathways led to your creation. No design, natural or scientific, has produced your abilities. In the end, it changes nothing. Your interference born of perceived noble intent simply means you will die in a galaxy that you do not call home."
Oh shit. They were busted. The full force of that knowledge stopped all four powerhouses in their tracks. It was a terrible feeling to realize everything you knew about someone was a lie. It was even worse to be called out as the liar.
Ryan recovered first, opening a comm. "All Supernovas, Code Ravinia. I repeat: Code Ravinia. We've been made!" As the Splicer King's friend's looked at him in shock and betrayal, he pointed his finger accusingly at the giant hologram of Sovereign. "You're dead, cuttlefish! You and all of your kind!"
"Your threats are weightless. I am the vanguard of your destruction. This exchange is over."
CRASH!
The room shook as an explosion blew out all the windows. Obviously, Sovereign liked having the last laugh. If that wasn't bad enough, Ryan got to his feet and came face-to-barrel with Tali's pistol. Out of the corner of his eye, the Son of Rapture saw that Garrus was similarly "threatening" him, already knowing that pointing a gun at Alex was useless. Liara was pulsating with biotics, ready to decimate Alex if he moved an inch. The quarian was quivering, whether from rage or fear even Ryan didn't know. Then she spoke, and the words cut like a hot blade.
"What the hell are you?!"
Team Thunder
"Code Ravinia? You have to be kidding me! Ryan? Answer me dammit!" Cole swore when it became clear that the Splicer King wasn't going to answer anytime soon.
The terrible "Code Ravinia" was an emergency alert phrase derived from the eponymous cult that Old Man Pendragon had to fight off long ago. These days, when the word was used, it meant that everyone on the job had been outed by a Supernova-class threat. The idea may sound stupid, especially since it shattered the trust of friends and allies, but there was a purpose to it. As terrible as it was for everyone they cared about to think they were traitors, it was far more important to get the word out that the enemy knew their most important secret.
Then the number one goal was to silence that enemy before things went out of control. The truth of a multiverse in the wrong hands was enough to destroy a territory. The public wasn't ready to know, and the Supernovas had to keep it that way for as long as possible or they risked jeopardizing everything.
Silencing an enemy was easy, just pound it into dust. Regaining the trust of friends while swearing them to secrecy? That was the really hard part.
STG Teams
"Well it could be worse!" Cortana exclaimed as the Master Chief began gunning down the increased number of geth platforms that wanted him dead.
"How do you figure?" the Spartan asked, kneecapping a destroyer before blowing off its flashlight.
"The salarians don't know yet, nor does the rest of the crew. It also could have mentioned me."
"Our 'luck' continues," the Chief muttered, trading his shotgun for the assault rifle and charging into the fray.
Team Shadow
"Commander, we've got trouble!" Joker radioed in. The Splicer King slowly tapped the comm. He was relieved that the word hadn't already spread like wildfire. There may be hope yet.
"You'll have to be more specific than that."
"That ship Sovereign? It's moving. I don't know what you guys did down there, but that thing just pulled a turn that would shear any of our ships in half! It's coming your way, and it's coming hard. You need to wrap things up in there fast!"
"On it, Joker," Ryan said. "We'll head for the center of the facility and blow this place to hell."
"Copy, Commander. I'll meet you there. Joker out."
"You are nobody's Commander!" Tali yelled, pressing the pistol firmly against her Pilgrimage Captain's chest. He made no move to defend himself. "You always seemed perfect, having the right answers at the right time. Humanity's greatest heroes? Try their greatest liars!"
"You're more than welcome to hate our guts later," Alex countered, knowing that their former friends' rage was perfectly justified. "Right now, we need to get the fuck off this planet."
"He's right," Wrex bellowed. The krogan had been in the know since Cole and Ryan became Spectres, so he was taking this in stride. "The truth won't matter much if we're all dead."
Garrus' mandibles flared, and an almost feral noise came from his throat. Turians really couldn't take betrayal, especially from a superior, but this… growling one last time, Garrus lowered his weapon. "Alright, you've bought yourselves some time, but when this is over, we want answers."
"The real answers," Liara amended, biotics flaring brighter for emphasis before she let them settle down. She wiped the tears from her eyes. Of all the ways a relationship with Alex Mercer could have gone badly, this wasn't on her list. The asari had accepted his violence, his sociopathic tendencies, and the fact that he ate people. But now, to hear that he wasn't from the Milky Way, let alone Earth, she was heartbroken.
"All the real answers," Tali finished, pushing her gun against Ryan one last time to prove she was serious. She didn't know what to think about him right now. Had her father been right all along? They had been kind to her, especially Ryan, but was it all a lie?
"Done," Ryan agreed instantly. "You probably won't believe us, but we'll tell you absolutely everything. Now let's get moving!"
Begrudgingly obeying to order of a man they once trusted, everyone started heading back the way they came.
Team Jaeto
En Route to AA guns
"The geth are turning from your position, Jaeto," Kirrahe radioed over the comm. "Looks like Shadow kicked a sensitive spot."
As the Master Chief moved to intercept the synthetic soldiers, another channel opened up, and this one was far less friendly.
"Tali just gave me some interesting news, 'Master Chief'." It was Ashley and she was pissed. "I don't know what's going on, but I know you and Ryan sure as hell aren't Alliance."
"Not now, Williams," the Chief growled. He was in no mood for the 'you lied to me' routine. Cortana was still a mess, the salarians were getting overwhelmed, and a sentient dreadnaught was coming to kill them all. The Spartan had never actively lied. He'd just remained silent, as was his nature.
"What do you mean 'not now'?"
Sighing, the Chief tossed a grenade before responding. "Marine, when the soldier who's been fighting for over twenty-seven years speaks, you damn well better listen. There is a synthetic horde trying to wipe us off the map, and if you expect me to fight them off and give you an explanation at the same time, you're crazy. Shoot the geth now. Ask me questions later. Spartan-117 out." The fact that he used his real credentials instead of the callsign "Sierra" meant that he was very serious. The Master Chief cut the line and went radio silent. "Cortana, monitor her comm. chatter, and keep our identities secret from the STG as best as you can. Of all people we don't want knowing, the Council tops the list.
"On it Chief."
Team Thunder
En Route to AA Guns
Cole ducked under a rocket barrage and returned the favor, tearing the geth drones out of the sky. A krogan was charging fast, but that ended once the conduit hit him square with a shatterblast. Dazed and bleeding profusely, it still took a pair of shock grenades to finish the berserker off for good.
There wasn't enough power for Cole to both keep fighting and move quickly to help the others. If he chose fighting, then he'd take longer to reach the action. If he chose to ice-dash or spark-step, then there would be no energy left when he caught up with everyone else. Either way, the conduit was screwed.
Suddenly, Cole's passive radar spiked off the charts. Looking to the distance, he saw a total of six geth dropships rising from the hangar levels of the base. "Oh shit."
That made the decision for him. Tearing up the ground with his next ice-launch, Cole was already dashing like a madman when he landed. There wouldn't be any power left in his body when he arrived, but he'd been saving one last trick just for this occasion…
Team Shadow
En Route to Bomb Site
"Damn!" Ryan yelled, noticing that the bridge they first came across was raised. There didn't seem to be anywhere to go for people that couldn't climb walls.
"Trapped," Garrus muttered. While he wasn't taking the betrayal well, he was a turian, and that meant he'd focus on the more immediate threat until the bigger issue of extragalactic meddling could be addressed.
"I don't think so," Alex responded, shifting to whipfist. Lashing out, he snared the edge of the bridge that had been raised on their first time through. Giving a tug, he pulled it down, revealing three krogan eager to kill them. Of course, given recent events, Alex was even more pissed off. Not even bothering to hold back, the virus shifted to hammefists and cracked each of the tank bred soldiers wide open. "That's right, come get some!" he challenged, old habits returning quickly in the heat of his fury. Wrex laughed in wholehearted approval at the display.
They rounded to corner and saw a massive defense turret in the distance. It was the one that the salarians were supposed to take down. Alex raised an eyebrow, impressed. If Blackwatch had packed guns like that, he may not have been so successful at making their life pure hell. "That thing could be a serious problem for our ship," he muttered.
"Like you care," Liara remarked snidely.
That did it. Alex drew up to his full height, and turned to face the three upset aliens. "Call us liars for falsifying out origins if you want. Hell, we pretty much deserve it." His head writhed with biomass for a moment, and he took down his hood. "But do not ever say we didn't care. Never say I didn't care. When this mission is over, you'll see me actually beg for forgiveness. That's how damn much we care! You're feeling betrayed, and hurt, and angry, and it's totally justified. But answer me this: How can I help if you won't fucking let me?"
Several geth platforms had been drawn over by the sound of Alex's yelling, but nobody was in the mood for a firefight. Tali hacked the advanced hoppers, Wrex launched a carnage blast at the drones, Liara caught the platforms in a singularity, and Garrus put a sniper round into the optics of each floating machine. The hoppers, still hacked but now without a target, were put out of their misery when Ryan set them on fire with a snap of his fingers.
"I've never liked the 'good turian obeys bad orders' philosophy," Garrus drawled, "but if you're going to get us out of here, I'll play nice for now."
"But you'll have to earn our trust all over again," Tali stated coldly. "I want to know who I'm really following." Deep down, she knew that this was personal. It was that Ryan didn't trust her enough with his secrets the way she did with him.
The Splicer King sighed. First Alex and Cole told him that, now it was Tali and by extension the rest of the crew. Nobody trusted him right now, and it hurt. He normally liked the feeling of isolation, but right now, it hurt worse than the nightmares.
Liara also gave in for the time being. "I don't know what to think anymore Alex, but you haven't let me down yet. Please don't start now."
Donning his iconic hood again, the virus growled. "Wouldn't dream of it, Blue."
Approaching another elevator, Alex cut down the occupants and they stepped inside, preparing for the final stretch.
STG Teams
AA Guns
Team Thunder has dropped out of contact
"Charges set!" Kirrahe announced. Everyone bunker down! Bunker down!"
BOOM
The entire wall gave out under the force of the flash-forged frame charges, and the salarians moved in with Ashley. Kirrahe's men were quick to deal with the first of the AA guns, and Ashley took Aegohr Team to deal with the second one. She didn't like being fed lies by the brass, and this time it may not even be from the brass at all, but she was a marine, and until the mission was over, the Williams woman had no intention of disobeying a superior. Her behavior once they were back on the Normandy was an entirely different story.
The Master Chief had stayed back. Something had been skirting the edge of his radar for the last while now, and it was beginning to annoy. He didn't get the same gut feelings as Kurt-051, but he knew when something was off. For all the resistance up until now, they had taken their objective far too easily.
Then he saw the movement again, but this time it wasn't disappearing. In fact, it was multiplying in number. Soon, four signals were coming up fast. The Spartan issued a warning before drawing his sniper rifle and engaging active camo.
It was krogan. Three of the warriors Saren had been breeding and a fourth one, a warlord that could pass for an evil counterpart to Wrex. Deciding that one was the greatest threat, the Chief was about to take him down with an assassination shot. The krogan warlord was too smart though. The second he realized that phantom dots were appearing on his radar, he charged to the side, knowing that it meant the "Titan of Humanity" was hiding nearby. By then the Spartan had pulled the trigger, but the krogan's instant change in direction turned a potentially flawless headshot into a through-and-through flesh wound.
And while this would have been enough to kill most organics and even some synthetics, all it accomplished against the krogan warlord was sending him into blood rage. Sending the three younger krogan after the salarian teams, he charged full pelt at the Master Chief. The Spartan countered by using the jets on his back to propel out of the warlord's path before running to intercept the others. Now with four giant angry lizards to deal with at once, the Chief went to work.
What doubts Ashley had were much less severe after watching a single man stand in the way of four krogan for the sake of the rest of the team.
Like on Eden Prime, he manually overheated the sniper rifle and tossed it at the enemy forces. While the krogan didn't die like those geth shock troopers, they certainly wouldn't regenerate easily while being scorched by plasma. Taking out his regular shotgun as well as the High Five for simultaneous use, he prepped a carnage shot on the normal one before letting the nearest krogan have both barrels.
BOOM BOOM
The two overpowered blasts tore the clone apart, burning it beyond the ability to regenerate and destroying it too completely for secondary organs to be of use. The victory was short lived however, as the other two clones charged right at the super soldier. Expecting to crush him beneath their weight, they were surprised when jumped up and used their heads for stepping stones.
Now above his enemies, the Chief couldn't reliably protect the salarians, but the salarians also had clear shots at the krogan while he was well out of the way. The three teams of STG operatives unleashed hell on the warriors, occupying them and wounding them enough so that they could each be finished by a quick pull of the trigger from the airborne Spartan. That left the warlord.
The Master Chief landed, but nanoseconds later, nine-hundred pounds of angry krogan slammed into him, knocking away the shotguns. Grappling for a moment, they both reared their heads back and slammed into each other. It dazed the krogan long enough for the Chief to draw his knife, but it did cause significant loss to his shields. Thirty percent was left, and it didn't look like his enemy would let him recharge anytime soon. Kicking the warlord in the face, he slammed the knife into the side of his opponent's head, pulled it out, and repeated the act on the other side. Finally, the Spartan buried it to the hilt in the krogan's skull plate before using an axe kick to completely sink it inside the giant saurian monster's brain.
The Chief dropped to one knee, the first indication in over a month that he might actually be tired. "Hostiles down," he growled out, still reeling from the most recent battle.
"So are the AA guns!" Ashley yelled, currently respecting him too much to be upset. Whether he was Alliance or not, the Chief was, without a doubt, a grunt like her. Whatever was going on, she could trust in that single fact until there was time for the truth.
"All right!" Joker called in. "Nice work people. That's one less thing to worry about."
"More like six less things," Ryan countered over the comm. "Next time, I swear you're grabbing a gun and joining me when it's time to GTFO."
As the radio buzzed with chatter of Kaidan, Ryan and the Normandy crew setting up the nuke at the breeding grounds, the atmosphere became slightly more relaxed. It hardly lasted for a moment as three geth dropships came in from nowhere. They began dropping shock troopers and destroyers everywhere, along with two primes and half a dozen sniper units. The horde of synthetics began tearing the salarians to pieces.
"Please tell me those ships didn't just attack your position!" Ryan practically begged over the comm.
"They've got us pinned!" Ashley responded. "We're taking heavy casualties." She swore loudly while dragging a wounded STG behind cover. "There's no chance we'll make the rendezvous point in time!"
"The hell you won't!" the Master Chief bellowed. "Get moving soldier!" It was a rare occurrence for him to raise his voice, but when he did, everyone knew to shut up and obey. The commando picked back up his shotgun, drew his pistol in his off hand, and dove into the fray. "Spartan time" as Kelly used to call it, was in high gear.
This turned out to be a terrible idea. Not only were the geth more than willing to ignore the salarians to focus solely on the Chief, but the dropships soon opened fire on him as well. Ducking under a prime, he wrenched the pulse cannon from its grip and turned it on the shock troopers. When that overheated, he slammed it into an oncoming destroyer, but in those few moments, he'd been pummeled from every direction at once. Against this many Nimbus and Nova-class combatants, the only option was to be overwhelmed.
Tossing grenades at his own feet, the Chief locked down his armor just seconds before shields went out. The explosions did a number on his surroundings, and it bought him some breathing room. This wasn't over yet.
"Come on Chief, get out of here!" Cortana yelled, refusing to watch her Spartan keep this up.
"Not yet," he refused, willing his body to keep going.
"This is Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams," he heard over the humming of his armor. "Will somebody get these geth off of us before we lose the best soldier in the damn galaxy?"
KKRRSSSSSHHHHH
The immobile Spartan felt everything shake as twelve separate lightning storms tore the geth and their dropships asunder. When the noise and light calmed down, he released the lock, and looked to see Cole MacGrath shining with blue electricity.
For emergencies, Cole had a trick that gave him a brief supply of unlimited power. The "karmic overload" as Zeke called it, was a kind of meditation. For about thirty seconds, he diverted power away from the brain's morality centers to use as fuel for his abilities. It wasn't safe, and it certainly took a lot of concentration, but it was a necessary risk at times like these when everything had gone to hell… more than usual that is.
The teams looked up at their timely rescuer, but the Electro-Spectre was far from proud of his work. In fact, he was actually scared. Dropping down, he ran up to Ashley. "We've gotta move. There are three more of those ships coming, and I don't have enough charge to take them."
The news was poorly received as Ashley shook her head. "We've got too many wounded. There's no way we'll make it to the rendezvous point in time!"
"Easily fixed!" Cole replied, his hands sparking up. Just don't let anything shoot me." Walking over to the downed salarians, he began using his pulse heal ability. It was unfortunate, but he could only heal them one at a time, having lost the area-of-effect version after the Columbia Job.
"More geth!" Commander Rentola suddenly yelled. Everyone turned to the other three dropships taking off from the STG's previous entry point, having left behind a small army of rocket troopers, shock troopers, and primes. Six primes to be exact, and twelve of each trooper.
"There's just no end to this!" Ashley groaned, firing but not really hitting anything. Cole saw that a distortion rocket was heading straight for the men he was healing. Knowing that a shockwave wouldn't reverse it, he simply jumped in the way and hoped for the best.
BOOM
It hurt like a son of a bitch, but the conduit was still alive. Shutting down his body's cry for a rest, he began limping in the direction of a power source. Cutting off from the action, the Master Chief practically used himself as a human shield for Cole, blocking anything from hitting his friend while the Spectre was too weak to fight back.
"This one's gonna be rough," the two "demons" muttered simultaneously.
Team Shadow
It was insanity. When they separated on Eden Prime, they had been overconfident, but their enemy didn't know what they could do. Now the enemy was smart, larger in number, and much more capable of planning for what the Supernovas could do.
In short, they were screwed if they didn't regroup. The ground team would meet the Normandy at the AA towers after clearing it out, and the salarians would be brought on board. Then they'd swoop in, gather Kaidan and his group, and watch from space as twenty kilotons of nuclear power burnt Saren's facility into radioactive glass.
They realized too late that their plan had a massive flaw. Reinforcements weren't just after the teams at the AA gun. They wanted everyone, including Kaidan and the men with him at the bomb site.
"What gives?" Alex yelled as one of the earlier dropships touched down at the waterlogged zone they'd just left. "I thought Cole said those things deployed their troops already."
Ryan cradled his head in frustration. He should have seen this coming. "One of those ships must have been bluffing!" he announced. They wanted to draw as many of us away as possible, but not all of them actually deployed geth."
"But why…" Tali began."
"We're being overrun, Commander!" Kaidan yelled over the comm. "There's just too many! I'm activating the nuke before they disable it!"
"What?" Alex screamed. "Don't be a fucking idiot Kaidan, we can still-"
"The salarians didn't make it easy to disarm, but if the geth take it, we're screwed. If you come back to do it yourselves, then Williams, Kirrahe, Chief, and the others won't survive! This way, it goes off no matter what." There was a pause. "It's done, Commander. Go get Williams, and get the hell out of here!"
"No, that's not…" Ryan didn't finish. He suddenly looked lost. All of the Supernovas did. Bombs had at one point or another forced them into hard spots, and damn if it wasn't happening again.
"Don't make a girl a promise if you know you can't keep it."
"From one roof hangs Trish, the love of your life. From the other, six doctors… Which is more important, Cole? The life of one, or the lives of many?"
"When the weapon detonates, and they think the infection is cleansed, they won't be looking for me. And when I consume you, I'll be able to withstand even this."
"Do you understand Ryan? Father was blown up right in front of me, and there was nothing I could do!"
Clenching his eyes shut to block out the world, Ryan took a deep, calming breath. "Williams, radio Joker and tell us to meet everyone at the AA tower."
"You're not- Ugh! Yes 'Commander'. I…"
"It's the right choice, and you know it Ash!"
"Did I say it was a choice Kaidan?" Ryan barked. "I'm coming for you myself!" He turned to Alex. "Get them out of here. GO!" He didn't give the virus time to argue before flipping backwards and shattering out of existence.
Alex was moments from beckoning everyone to follow him when the walls shook. It was the other two geth dropships! They may have been out of soldiers, but they still had weapons. Bringing up his shield and tendril arms, the Blacklight runner looked at Liara once before leaping off the balcony and repeating his takedown from back in the Armstrong Cluster. The first one had barely started exploding when the second ship was already directly above him and dropping ordnance, knocking the virus to the ravine far below.
"ALEX!"
Sea of Doors
Elizabeth sighed as the events played out before her eyes. She turned to Zelretch and shrugged.
"I suppose it was going to happen anyway. When humanity is on the verge of extinction, Solara and Alaya were bound to agree."
Zelretch cocked his head. "You act as if it could have possibly been otherwise."
Ignoring him, she strode to the desired door. Taking out a key that had already been in her hand, she unlocked it and stepped aside. The influence of Alaya burst forth and swept over her slice of infinity. Gathering in and around the Rapture Lighthouse, it traced back to Ryan's origins. No matter what kind of "beast" was unleashed in the process, the Reapers would be stopped.
"Good luck brother," Elizabeth whispered.
Zelretch laughed. "You know as well as I that 'luck' doesn't exist. Only probability."
"Well the odds have always been in his favor. Let's see if it stays that way."
Cole "Kessler" MacGrath
AA Tower
There hadn't been a power source for him after all, but there were enough tech experts among the STG to make up for that factor. As they all hit Cole with overloads, it fueled the Storm of Elysium with enough strength to make a difference after all. Ready for battle, everyone was suddenly surprised by the drip of blood coming from his nose. Without saying a word, the electric man propelled himself off a stalagmite and into the distance.
This was only going to get worse before it got better.
Jack "Rapture" Ryan
Bomb Site
When the Torfan Tactician rematerialized next to where he'd thought Kaidan would be, he was far from happy with the sight. Three Normandy technicians were dead, and Kaidan was bleeding out and surrounded by geth. But the geth weren't the worst part.
Saren was there, in the flesh.
A faint yellow tinge appeared in Ryan's eyes. "I've been looking forward to this!"
The turian wisely remained on board his hovercraft. "Don't be so sure, 'Commander' Ryan. Whatever you're hoping to accomplish, it won't even matter. Someone who isn't from this galaxy can't hope to understand." He scoffed. "Even the people that are from this galaxy can't understand!"
Ryan didn't even flinch. He was beyond caring what people thought right now. If nobody was going to trust him anymore, then he'd stop playing nice altogether. "If I'm not from this galaxy, why do I have to bring you down to save it? Sovereign and his family of metal squids destroyed the Protheans and countless civilizations before them. You want to find this mysterious Conduit thing and bring them back? Did I miss something, or are you just that batshit insane?"
Saren rolled his glowing blue eyes. "You've seen the visions, haven't you? The Reapers cannot be stopped. Not by you, not by some green suit of armor. Not even by a walking thunderstorm or a nigh-invincible virus. Think like the pragmatist you claim to be, Ryan. Revolt is pointless. You will simply join the countless fools that tried and failed in the name of petty freedoms. Trillions dead," the rogue Spectre continued. "But what if they had bowed before the invaders?"
Saren clicked his mandibles and delivered a pointed question to the increasingly unstable Splicer King. "Is submission not preferable to extinction?"
THUMP-THUMP
"A man chooses!" Ryan screeched. "A slave obeys!"
The force behind this outburst actually frightened Saren. "What?"
"Don't you get it dumbass? If you honestly believe that becoming slaves to the Reapers is perfectly okay, then you're already indoctrinated and you don't even know it yet!" Ryan laughed. "Isn't that what they do to their pawns anyway? A man chooses, and a slave obeys," he repeated. "I choose to fight. Guess what that makes you, slave?"
"Do you think you can sway me with poetry, Ryan? Fight and you will die. Everyone you know and love. Everyone you've ever met. They will all perish!"
At this very moment, the remaining members of Team Shadow were surrounded by geth. Just when it looked like they'd have to go down fighting, Alex Mercer broke through the floor with his blade at the ready. He was angry, but alive. Carving a path forward with a flurry of slashes, he beckoned the squad to follow close behind him. They were getting out alive, end of story.
"I thought turians put society first. 'Never jeopardize the team' and all that crap." Ryan shook his head and pointed at Saren. "If you're supposed to be the loyal one, then why am I saving my people while you waste countless lives to save yourself?"
Now, while the geth forces advanced without end, the Master Chief engaged his active camo again. They knew he was present because of the phantom blips on the radar, but they didn't know exactly where. This made it a close range slaughter. Always catching them from behind, he would disappear like smoke when they tried to counterattack. This confusion gave Ashley and Kirrahe a chance to mount a proper defensive. They were still holding the line when Team Shadow arrived, pulverizing the geth from the right flank. The Normandy soon touched down, and they began rushing inside, carrying what wounded they could.
"The lives wasted are on your own head!" Saren hissed. "I'm trying to build an alliance between organics and the Reapers. I will thus save more lives than have ever existed." The cabal became quiet. "But you would undo my work. You meddle in affairs that do not concern you, and it will doom all of civilization. For that, you, MacGrath, Mercer, the soldier, and everyone on your precious frigate will die here and now!"
The Splicer King raised a burning palm, but Saren chuckled. "Move a muscle, and my geth kill your friend over there."
"Do your worst, bird-face!" Kaidan snarled. Moments later, a curtain of biotic energy fell over Saren, smothering him and ripping his shields away. Turning to the source, Ryan was astounded.
Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko was hitting Saren with a biotic reave.
It wasn't enough to win though. Not only did it incur the wrath of every geth unit that had so far been standing idle, but Saren attacked the sentinel with his own significant biotic power. Broken and bleeding, Kaidan wouldn't last much longer without serious medical care.
THUMP-THUMP
Ryan said nothing as his eyes turned a shining blood red. Then he opened his mouth, and a noise the Supernovas hadn't heard for quite some time echoed throughout the region.
SKREEEEEEEEEEEEE
Cole heard it, and he immediately took out his dataphone. Rubbing a thumb over the back, where the flume symbol was, he sent a voice message for the higher ups. "To anyone hearing this in New Solara, who the hell brought back the Rapture Raptor?!"
"You're in my domain now!" Raptor screamed. Without warning, the water that flowed throughout the breeding grounds simply began defying gravity. It coiled around the geth at Raptor's will before he clenched his fist, effortlessly turning the helpless machines to scrap metal. Elevating the water beneath his feet, Raptor rose on a column of liquid until he was staring the turian in the eye.
Saren reacted with the skill he was known for, smashing Raptor in the face with his synthetic arm, sending him crashing to the ground. The column that Raptor had been standing on undulated beneath Saren's hovercraft before striking like a snake. It knocked the rogue Spectre off his ride, but the turian never hit the floor. Raptor caught him by the head and smacked him point blank with a sonic boom plasmid. When the turian landed, he was blown back into the air by a geyser trap and hit with two, three, four consecutive balls of fire.
"How does it feel, Arterius?" Raptor mocked. "To be beaten by a 'mere' human?"
"You're no human," Saren gasped out. "You're an abomination."
"Flattery won't save you now."
The beating resumed. Raptor broke bones and scorched flesh. Saren gave almost as good as he got, striking with his biotics and cybernetic limb. Raptor was certainly hurt, but standing in the water, it hardly mattered. Gripping the implanted geth arm, he twisted it a full three hundred sixty degrees before ripping it off. The turian howled at the indescribable pain.
Ironically, Saren was saved by the very thing about to blow up his facility. The nuke's klaxons began to sound off, distracting Raptor long enough for the cabal to release a massive biotic explosion that sent his aggressor flying into the nearby wall. Not wasting any time, the battered turian leapt back onto his hovercraft and retreated quickly.
Sovereign would know what to do. The Reaper would grant him the necessary tools to fight that monstrosity posing as a human.
Angrily tossing fireballs after his escaped prey, Raptor was suddenly hit from behind with a fifty-thousand volt wake up call. A few months ago, Cole would have found electrocuting Ryan to be very cathartic. Right now, it was a matter of zapping him back to the Splicer King's version of normal. Jumping down, the conduit landed on a hastily-erected stalagmite to avoid setting foot in the water. It may have seemed brutal, but Raptor was nobody's friend. He had no loyalties, and with a few possible exceptions, he had no regard for the lives of others. Not only was he a danger to everyone around him, the Raptor was a danger to Ryan, regardless of claims that he existed to protect the Rapture-spawn when the world became too much.
Grabbing Raptor by the face, he forced his way inside and attempted to drag the true Ryan persona back to the surface. "Snap the hell out of it," Cole ordered, "would you kindly?!"
Whether it was the words, the electricity, or both, the red disappeared from Ryan's eyes. He started to cough like a man that had just been saved from drowning before collecting himself and running to Kaidan's side.
The damage was bad. Far too bad for Ryan to teleport him back to the ship, let alone move him. If they tried moving him the old fashioned way, then they'd all die in the blast. Kaidan was fully aware of the situation, and he made the call for the both of them.
"I don't know who you are," Kaidan choked out, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. "And I don't know where you're from." Ryan looked away in shame, and Cole just hung his head. "But I do know you're here now to save the galaxy." The lieutenant coughed weakly. "Promise me you'll get it done."
"I swear it," Ryan instantly replied. There was no hesitation. He wasn't promising for the sake of the job, but because his dying friend was asking him to do it.
Kaidan didn't say anything. He just gave a satisfied smile, content to let this be the end. Tears pouring from his eyes, Ryan sprinted to Cole, still balancing on his stalagmite, grabbed his partner by the arm and teleported them both away.
"I'm sorry Kaidan"
Kaidan's opened wearily. He knew that voice, but he swore he'd never heard it before in his life.
"Who… who are you?"
Kaidan watched as the owner of the voice appeared before him, extending a hand.
"My name is Shepard."
The Normandy tore out of Virmire's atmosphere as Joker got them all to safety once again. "Everyone hang on!"
KABOOM
They all watched in agony as Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko of the Human Systems Alliance died in the heat of a thousand suns. Even if the mission was a success, there was no denying the hard truth:
Today, the Supernovas had completely and utterly failed.
There you have it. The truth is out, and it's crazy from here until the end. The Supernovas have to fess up to everything, and you will be amazed at how that works.
IMPORTANT: I promise you here and now that I won't abuse the Raptor persona. It's something I've been planning for a really long time, and I ask that, as usual, you trust me. Please? Until next time…
Read, Review, and Enjoy!