As Ryder Charged, Cora stood and unleashed a Shockwave at the operatives nearest to her. At the same time, T'vera extended a shield over the Leadership and the Moshae. Drack bowled into the enemy line heedless of the weapons aimed his way. Captain Zaex was flustered for a split second before joining the fray with his squad. Bodies braced as they tackled the enemy. Hands wrestling for weapons as every person fought for their lives. It was brutal. Everyone knew this was their only chance to get out of this place alive. With the tenacity of the dying, they were gaining ground and turning the tables. One by one Perseus operatives fell.
Drack's battle cry was ear-splittingly loud as her Charge took Siegfried down. Her biotics-enhanced punch connected with Siegfried's unarmored face with a sickening crunch. He howled as blood spurted from his crooked nose. As her hand swung at Siegfried again, an intense pain overwhelmed her. Ryder spun. Raeka was upon her before she could dodge. Chaos reigned around her as she struggled to gain the upper hand. It's a tough line to walk between incapacitating someone but not injuring them too much especially when the opponent was a master at hand to hand.
An ache begin to spread over Ryder's neck.
The ground was slick with blood. The air sizzling with biotic and tech attacks. Over the din of battle, a sharp cry pierced the air. Cora spun on her heels just in time to see Ryder fell. Her body arching as her senses went white hot.
Goddess no!
"A little help here, Jaal!" Scott yelled over the comm.
The angara signalled his team to move up as Peebee snapped up a Backlash, shielding them against the hail of bullets. Liam firing his rifle from over the cover. Jaal pressed his body behind cover next to Scott. "What's ahead?" Jaal shouted.
"Something important, given the level of resistance," Scott replied, popping up to fire at the enemy.
Jaal risked a glance over the cover and took in the layout of the space. A shot plinked against his helmet and he quickly shrank back behind cover. Too close. "I'm taking my guys to flank them," he said. "At this rate, we will never be able to break this impasse."
Scott nodded. "I'll keep them busy."
"SAM!"
There was no need to actually voice her question. SAM understood anyway.
"There's nothing you can do for her right now," SAM replied. "Your best option is to subdue enemy as quickly as possible."
Cora gritted her teeth. She knew it but she still wished there was something she could actually do for Ryder. The collar was working as intended albeit during the worse possible time. It was working too damned well as Ryder's muffled agony raised over the cacophony of battle. With loud expel of air from her mouth, Cora forced herself to push Ryder out of her mind. The battle waited for no one.
She slammed her back against an overturned table. Her breaths coming quick and halting as her heart hammered in her chest. Glancing to her side, she saw Evfra was crouching behind his own cover. Blue angara blood was seeping from various points of his armour. Evfra winced as he shifted to peep beyond his cover. Cora cringed at the large scorched mark on his arm. The leather bracer had turned into a smouldering mess. Drack retreated behind cover, pressing his heavy body against the table, shifting it a little. "Are we not going to help the kid?" he rumbled, his yellow eyes sharp and hard.
"There's nothing we can do!" Cora growled. "The faster we get this done, the faster we can help her."
"ETA to your location in ten minutes," SAM informed.
Cora didn't bother acknowledging the information. She had no time to do so. Craning her neck out to check, most Perseus operatives were done. However, they weren't faring much better. It was down to Zaex, Evfra, Drack and herself. Raeka and a handful of Perseus operatives were still keeping them from the hostages. Siegfried with his broken nose took cover behind them. Ryder's screams were reduced to whimpers as her body jerked and contorted. Cora's jaw tightened. Hang in there, Ryder…
She glanced at Evfra. "How much ammo do you have left?"
Evfra checked the pouch at his hip. He pulled one clip out and slammed it into his rifle. His face darkened as he shook his head. Cora turned to Drack. "Just a couple of shotgun magazine," he reported as he wiped the blood from his eyes.
Cora tossed both of them her remaining clips. "Make them count," she said as she flared. "On my mark."
Jaal grunted as he vaulted over haphazardly set up barriers. Perseus were routed. They weren't retreating in the orderly fashion of trained soldiers but in a run-for-your-life manner. "Clear!" Jaal shouted as his men went ahead securing the area.
Scott, Peebee, Liam and Vetra jogged over, joining him. The unease of working with Scott had been hammering out by the chaos of battle. Both of them were united in their concern of Sara. However, they might disagree, on that point they would be the strongest allies.
There was a whole slew of terminals here. Jaal and Vetra quickly got behind one each and begin the painstaking work of hacking into the system. Fingers danced across the interface, almost in a song of clicks and clacks.
Cora grunted as Raeka's fist connected with her face. The pain was sharp and deep around her eye. Her vision instantly went hazy. It didn't clear no matter how much she blinked. Goddess, not in the middle of a fight!
The hard shell's onboard computer took over. A sharp pierce into her thigh and a wave of relief came washing over her. But it did nothing for her vision. Out of the corner of her eye, she could make out Ryder starring at them. Blue flashed across her palms a few times.
"Don't do this," she said over the comms, hoping Ryder would heed her words. "Just rest, we've got this."
Those flares were Ryder's attempt to gather the energy to help, to do anything but to be helpless. Cora pulled her eyes from Ryder. She couldn't afford the distraction. Even as her body danced with the deadly waltz of battle with Raeka, her mind couldn't shake the image of Ryder. Waves of agony wrecked through her curled body as she quivered and tried. Why? You're in no shape to fight!
All Cora could do was channel her frustration on Raeka.
"Got it!" Vetra shouted, preening proudly.
The screen flickered once and it revealed a control panel. Clearly labelled on the buzzing screen were each individual online Cetus chip. All the Pathfinders were on the screen and there were many more names on the same list. "Spirits!"
Next to Sara's and Raeka's names were the red and flashing word.
Active.
Jaal growled as Scott bent over Vetra and stabbed his finger against the screen. "Can you deactivate them? All of them."
Peebee and Liam tried hard to hear what's going on while keeping an eye out for Perseus operatives. Worry and anxiety etched on their face even as they tried to keep minds on the job.
Vetra bent over the interface studying the options available. Her talons no longer the sure dance across the panels but the tentative slow navigation across dangerous waters. Jaal couldn't stand to watch. He turned away and started transferring all the information they found. If they wanted to help Sara, they needed every single shred of intel they could get their hands on.
Scott paced. It was no wonder the operatives fought as hard as they did to keep them from the control room. This was the headquarters of the entire Cetus operation. Someone must have sat here and activated and deactivated the Cetus chip. Scott wanted the hand of that person so badly. He bit his tongue to stop himself from asking Vetra to go faster. He knew Vetra was going as fast as she could. It's been radio silence since the Tempest landed on Kadara. There was no way to know if Cora's team was successful. That flashing red "Active" felt so ominous.
"Done!" Vetra announced at the same time the terminal beeped for each Cetus chip that was deactivated. The red flashing "Active" winked out, replaced by a greyed-out "Inactive".
Peebee pumped her fists in the air, exchanging high fives with Liam. Jaal clapped his hand on Scott's shoulder. Scott turned and grinned at him. Jaal pulled him in for a hug.
Ryder was still. Her eyes closed. Cora's heart clenched. Is she… dead?
Zaex took an Overload in his chest and fell. His arms spread wide to break his fall as he careened into Evfra, leaving both of them wide open for Siegfried's operatives. Cora threw her hand in the familiar mnemonic as a flash of blue enveloped both of them. Evfra took the chance to pull Zaex behind cover. Then a sudden pain bloomed over her chest. She groaned as she fell to her knees. Raeka was looking confused at the carnage around her. Siegfried snarled and snatched the pistol from Raeka's hands. He stood over Ryder with a smoking pistol aimed at her. Siegfried smirked.
His finger tightened around the trigger once more. Cora struggled to move but her strength just didn't come. This is it. She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable boom and pain. Goddess, forgive us. We've lost.
The shot rang out, drowning out the sounds of the entire place. Cora flinched but there wasn't the sensation of bullet rending flesh. She opened her eyes as she felt the hair on the back of her neck stood on their ends. The energy in the room was almost electric. Ryder had her arm up. Her shield had stopped Siegfried's shot.
Drack took the chance to drag Cora back behind cover. With a cry of effort, Ryder Pushed. It was a force so strong Cora felt her body weighed a good two times more even behind the shield. Anyone caught in the blast got slammed against the wall. Cora coughed as tried to take a breath. Her lungs felt like it was being crushed by her ribs.
It was an eternity.
It was just a split second.
It was both.
With a strangled groan, the pressure disappeared. Drack was hurriedly slapping a fresh medi-gel pack into her suit. Within moments her chest was nice and numb. Drack smacked his claw over her shoulder. "You'll live. It's just a little scratch."
"Ryder," Cora said as she levered herself up. "Help her."
She felt tingly all over. It felt like her nerves were all fried and would never stop feeling that way. Ryder pulled herself upright with the help of the wall as she dragged in breath after breath. Let's not do that again.
Shaking her head to clear her vision, she took quick stock of the situation. Raeka was down for the count. Finally. T'vera had dropped the shield over the hostages, hurrying over to render first aid to the fallen Pathfinder. The remaining Perseus operatives on the ground while her people were slowly getting up to their feet. It's over?
Her scar throbbed. She knew she was missing someone. Her eyes raked over the battlefield once more. "Where's Siegfried?" she asked.
As if he had heard her question, there was a loud bark of laughter. Ryder scanned the hall for the source of the sound. She found him standing at the locked exit. "You!" Siegfried rasped as he pressed his hand against a rapidly spreading red patch on his abdomen, his finger pointed straight at her chest.
"If plan A fails, go to plan B."
Ryder tried to move as Siegfried tapped on his omni tool. The holo-lock flashed from red to green. The door slid open. Siegfried took two steps over the threshold as he pulled his arm up again. She willed her legs to move faster. Her amp seared her neck as she tried to Charge. Nothing came, nothing happened. Ryder was spent.
His finger fell on the interface like the hammer of Kalros. For a moment all was still. Then, a series of sequential detonations went off. The earth beneath her feet rumbled and shook. The walls cracked and bent. Finally, the floor gave way.
Evfra coughed as he came to. Gingerly, he moved his limbs and found he was surprisingly unhurt. What happened? The last thing he remembered was that accursed human triggering something on his omni tool. Then, darkness.
He took quick stock of his surroundings. It was dark but there was a blue glow to everything. Debris littered the floor. He covered his nose and mouth with his hand as the stench of burning plastics was close to overwhelming. Cocking his head as his ears picked up sounds coming from the other side of the fallen furniture that hemmed him in the small space. Evfra pulled himself to his feet as broken furniture and ashes shifted and scrapped against the floor. He glanced up. There was still light coming up from above. They must have fallen into the basement level where Perseus operatives were originally hiding. Evfra couldn't help but growled as he remembered how Siegfried had bested them.
Evfra put it all at the back of his mind. His priority was the Moshae. Where is she?
All of a sudden, the broken furniture that fenced him in shifted. Drack emerged from the other side. "Move!" Drack ordered.
Zaex and Addison had Tann between them. Their arms were the only thing propping the Director up. He was pale and barely unconscious. Without the two helping Tann, he wouldn't have been able to make on his own. Regardless of his need to find the Moshae, Evfra could still spare a moment to glare at Tann. Ryder was right all along. He had sent a team down to Havarl. He was the cause of all our troubles. If only we had taken action then. All of this could have been avoided.
Guilt swell up from his gut. He knew he owed Ryder an apology but more than that, a debt. She had tried to put things into motions the best she could but what had he done? Nothing and worse he had called for her death at the trial. Evfra clenched his fists.
Drack tilted his head at him as he passed. "Are you all right?"
The krogan looked at him with a critical eye, lingering particularly at the bad burn wound on his arm. "I'm fine," he growled defensively. "Where's the Moshae?"
Drack jerked his claw towards the back before turning back to the others. "Hurry up!" he roared. "You can't expect them to keep holding it up!"
Evfra dismissed the others from his mind the moment he moved beyond the barrier. Just beyond the barrier were three biotics users working in tandem to hold the entire roof up for them. Harper's face was wrinkled up in effort. Red sweat dripping off her chin where blood mingled with perspiration. The Director of Pathfinders was labouring under the immerse weight on her shoulders. Her arm was bent at an unnatural angle as the Moshae was ripping her sleeve to fashion a sling for the asari.
The blue dome over their heads flickered as T'vera's eyes sagged shut for a second. The roof and the level above their heads shifted as it sagged. Debris and rubble fell. Evfra flinched even as he hurried over to the Moshae. The lowered ceiling felt like it was about to bury them any minute. It only stopped when the blue dome held steady. Harper's face was paler than just moments before. The effort expanded to hold it all up must have been considerable. Evfra shuddered to think how this was all possible.
His eyes fell on the only other biotic left. Ryder. She was still dressed in her all black armour, faceplate remained anonymously opaque. Her stance was stiff and unyielding. With her helmet on Evfra couldn't even tell what was going on inside there. She seemed to have come through the entire ordeal relatively unscathed. Then her cries of pain echoed in his head. He ducked his head. Ryder tilted her faceless helmet at him. "Are you ok?" she asked, her voice a rasp, shaking and wavering.
It was the only sign of exertion from Ryder. Evfra just nodded at Ryder in reply. He stepped over to the Moshae. "We got to get you out of here."
The Moshae had just done helping T'vera put on the sling. The broken arm rested gingerly in it. The asari seemed to breath easier after that. The elder angara turned to face Evfra. Her eyes hard and blazing. "I will not abandon the people who fought so hard for me, for us."
"But…" Evfra started to speak.
The Moshae glared at him. "We will all go, together."
"Moshae, please lead the way," Cora said, her words came out as a choked cough.
"It'll all be for nought if you fall here," Ryder growled.
Cora glanced at Ryder. Outwardly, she looked fine but Cora was sure Ryder was suffering the same way she was. There was no way she wasn't. In the battle before Ryder had expanded a significant amount of biotic energy. Then when the collar got triggered it must have sapped her strength judging from what much help Ryder needed to simply walk after the collar was activated. Ryder's breaths were heavy in her ear. The comm channel between them live and transmitting. She could hear music was still softly playing in Ryder's helmet.
Welcome to the end of eras
Ice has melted back to life
Done my time and served my sentence
Dress me up and watch me die
Legs like lead. Arms quivering as if physically supporting the load of the building.
If it feels good, tastes good
It must be mine
Dynasty decapitated
You just might see a ghost tonight
Every step was a herculean effort. Knees shook and threatened to buckle with every lift and fall of feet.
"Almost there," Evfra called back.
The building rumbled again. More rubble fell. T'vera stumbled and fell. With one arm in a sling, she couldn't break her fall. Her weight crashed into her broken arm. She cried. At the same time, the ceiling grew that much closer to their heads. Cora groaned. T'vera struggled to pull her biotics up but the pain was scattering her concentration.
Ryder moved as if wading through mud. "Can you see the exit?" she asked.
Evfra pulled another broken crate that was blocking them out of the way. "It's just ahead," he said. "But it would be a tight squeeze."
He glanced worriedly at T'vera. The previously 2.5 metres tall door was now crushed and blocked. It left them a sliver of space to escape the rapidly unstable pre-fab. Cora and Ryder by some unspoken agreement had been steadily shrinking the shield. Everywhere the biotic shield wasn't supporting had collapsed. If either Cora or Ryder fell, it would mean the end of all of them.
"Go," Ryder said in a choked voice. "Get T'vera out too."
The Moshae turned to face Ryder. "No, this isn't right. I will not allow someone else to take on responsibility for my safety in this manner. You deserve a chance as much as I do."
Evfra realised the Moshae didn't know who she was speaking to. "Yeah but if I go first," Ryder replied with a growl. "You'll not get out."
"Moshae," Cora spoke. "She is right. Please, we can take care of ourselves."
"I have failed one Pathfinder, I don't want to fail another," the Moshae admitted.
Ryder snorted. It was harsh and sharp. The Moshae frowned at her. Evfra didn't think it was appropriate to let her in on Ryder's identity at the moment. All he wanted was the Moshae out of this trap. "I'm sure Ryder wouldn't begrudge you going first. She would probably tell you that the Moshae isn't replaceable."
"Moshae, please," Evfra pleaded. "We will follow behind."
The Moshae opened her mouth to protest but the pre-fab rumbled again. "It's getting fucking heavy here," Ryder went on. "Please just go."
Evfra wrapped his hand around the Moshae's and tugged her towards the shrinking hole between freedom and death. The Moshae took a moment to look at Cora then at Ryder before wriggling her way through the hole.
Then, Evfra gently guided T'vera towards the exit. The asari whimpered and cried as she forced her way through the hole.
"Thank you, Evfra," Ryder whispered.
He nodded. Cora grunted as the roof shook again. This time harder than before. The pre-fab was collapsing. Cora was wavering on her feet. Evfra's eyes turned to the black mask that's Ryder's face. A jolt of electricity ran down his spine. He was sure their eyes met.
"Go!" Ryder shouted urgently.
Evfra rammed himself through the rapidly closing space. Hands clamped down on his shoulders dragging him into the fresh air of Kadara. As soon as his legs got free, the rest of the pre-fab collapsed, burying two Pathfinders in the rubble.
Lyrics taken from Emperor's New Clothes by Death of a Bachelor
