For continuity's sake, this takes place during and just after chapter 23 of my fanfiction Warframe: Prisons. Not that continuity means much when Eliza gets going, but still this should make things a bit easier to understand. Elizabeth reset the reality (Angering the Lady yet again!) but that leaves Shogun and crew in extremely hostile territory. Never fear. Backup is on the way.
Break turn
Jane Kelly stared at the empty space where Elizabeth had fallen, the energy fire from the odd humanoid robots that garrisoned the place scoring the cover she was in. That wasn't Advent plasma fire. Whatever these things were, they were human in origin. But not entirely. Each and every one of the monsters had been human but now, were animated by familiar purple energy. She wasn't a big fan of the word 'monster' after all of her misadventures but it fit. There really wasn't any other word for the stitched together corpses that had been animated psionically.
"Move!" Aroa's warning came just in time as a grenade landed behind Jane's soft cover. A duck and a roll avoided the blast of cold and Jane ran for heavier protection as fire sought her again. Odd. That was a cryo grenade of some kind. Not a fragmentation one like X-Com had used for so long or a plasma grenade like Advent used. A burst from Jack had the enemy thing that had tried to freeze her falling with half its head gone but Jane as not hopeful. Whatever these things were, they regenerated better than any Advent she had ever faced. It wouldn't stay down. She had cut several in half with her sword and the halves had rejoined, the bodies coming back to the fight with new scars across their bodies.
It was weird though. The rest of the team was being hemmed in by projectiles and plasma fire. Whoever was shooting at her wasn't using that. She had been grazed by a couple of the shots and they had tingled her nerves but not hurt her. Some kind of stunner. The only reason she could think of wasn't a good one. They wanted her alive. That gave her team options. Maybe not her, but her people.
Jane slid into cover beside Aroa and checked her teammate automatically for wounds. The Viper hissed at her, but her heart wasn't in it. She knew. Jane looked at the Viper and handed the data disk to the nest's intelligence specialist who took it, securing it in a pouch. Aroa had a better chance of getting out of this trap than Jane did and the data on the disk was what they had come for.
"Go. Get to the rendezvous." Jane said quietly. "I will extract and meet you."
Aroa stared at the swordswoman, but all of the nest were professionals. They all knew that the mission had to come first. In a touching gesture, Aroa reached out to pat Jane's arm and then, she was gone, slithering into, around and through cover as only a snake could. Projectiles chased her but she was away. Jack and the others would cover her. They would make it. Jane had to believe that. She poked her Storm Gun's muzzle around a corner and fired off three shots, just to keep the enemy distracted from Aroa's flight.
"Colonel!" Jack called from his hiding place.
"Get out!" Jane commanded. "I will lead them away!"
"If anything happens to you, Alley will have my head!" Jack retorted. "What the hell happened to Elizabeth?"
"I don't know." Jane replied as she eased to one side of the massive set of pallets that she was using as concealment. Whatever was in them was dense enough to stop the shots aimed at her, so maybe it counted as cover? Maybe. "Get to extraction! Hollywood! Beta! Bug out!"
Her people did not quibble even though they surely wanted to. They knew not to argue in combat zones. She had led them through so much, seen friends and not-friends at her side die so many times that it blurred. She was tired, Jane Kelly was. She jerked. That wasn't her! She gave herself a stern shake. Whatever fatigue was pushing in on her was not from her mind. It was another attempt to disable her. She darted from cover to cover, limiting her exposure as only a veteran of far too many fights to remember did instinctively. She was running out of places to hide however. The bay was only so big and there was no cover near the only exit. Aroa was out and everyone else had been just outside, so that was a win.
A roar sounded and Jane stilled as a huge form ran into the bay. Oshina had insisted on sending one of his warriors with them and she hadn't been able to argue him out of it. It was like arguing with a rock. (She wasn't sure why every member of her team had snickered when she had muttered that and wasn't going to ask) She couldn't pronounce the Muton's name, but he had proven to be just as professional as the nest. So what was he doing? She stared as he ran to one side, slammed into something and another of the monstrous human parodies went flying, this one bursting in ice as its weapon shattered under the Muton's energy bayonet. Some kind of launcher that it had been about to fire at Jane! The Muton had just saved her! But...
"NO!" Jane screamed as lethal fire came from four different direction, catching the hulking alien out of cover. Even as he staggered, he fired back with his plasma rifle and a monster fell, torso on fire. Jane knew Mutons were ungodly tough and Oshina's Mutons were even tougher than that, but there were limits. He fell. Jane's heart was thudding in her chest and she felt the red rage of her bloodlust rising yet again. She fired again and again at whatever enemies she could see as the Muton crawled into what meager cover was close, pulling himself with the wreck of his left arm. He was still firing with his good hand!
"Human! Go!" The word was hard to hear and it was clear that English was not his first language. It was also clear to Jane's battle weary soul that there was no saving this one. His next words proved that he knew it too. "I! DIE! FREE!"
Jane could only stare in shock as the Muton rose and charged again, blood streaming from several wounds. While they had waited for Elizabeth to finish her data theft, they had set this area as best they could for a hot extraction. Three doors led into the base, one allowed exit and her team had left that way. Two of the doors had slagged when enemies had tried to access them, but the third had been the one Elizabeth and she had needed an egress point. Hadn't she? They had trapped it and covered it with their guns, but no one had expected one entire side wall to be a hangar door! When it had opened, all hell had broken loose even before the alarms had gone off and Elizabeth had come running. Jane gasped as the Muton made it into the hangar behind the door and then, he fell, never to rise. Some sixth sense warned her and she looked away just as a massive explosion came from where the Muton had fallen. Whatever it was, the blast threw her cover halfway across the bay, pushing her with it. Nothing conventional that Jane knew of that was man (or Muton!) portable could have done that.
Was that a nuke? When her ears stopped ringing,Jane gave herself a shake and stared at what had been a hangar. Now, as far as she could see into the base, twisted wreckage was all that she saw. Then her heart froze as something moved. One of the animated corpses was stirring. Bravery was all well and good, but she was over-matched and knew it. She turned and ran. As she ran, she thought hard.
This was a trap for me. We figured it was a trap, but for the nest. Not for me. Jane swerved to avoid a series of outcroppings as she slammed towards the extraction point. She knew she was to late however. Firebrand had to extract. There was only so long that even X-Com's technical wizardry mixed with the nest's skill could spoof targeting. The defenses of the base were formidable even discounting the odd animated corpses. They had to get the cure to Milodi and see whatever else Elizabeth had managed to download.
"And where do you think you are going?" A calm voice heralded Elizabeth stepping into view from behind a tree nearby. No, this wasn't Elizabeth. This one wore a smile that was almost crazed. Lizbeth. She shook her head as Jane aimed at her. "There is no need to be violent here, Colonel. Humans will not be harmed."
"That was almost funny." Jane said with a growl as she started off again. If this being had the same powers as Elizabeth, shooting at her wouldn't work. She was tempted. So very tempted. "Almost." She not actually surprised as a golden dome sprang into life surrounding her. "Then again, what was it you said? 'X-Rays will die'?" She sneered at Lizbeth as the woman shook her head. "And I was touched by several, so I must have their cooties."
At that schoolyard insult, Lizbeth just shook her head.
"You are the strongest pure human he has ever seen." Lizbeth said quietly. "I won't hurt you. You will not be harmed. You are needed."
"Right." Jane snapped. "Pull the other one."
"You will need to be decontaminated, but that won't hurt." Lizbeth was trying for reassurance, but it fell flat. "I can free you from the bonds that hold you and I will. Look, Jane… May I call you Jane?" She asked.
"No." The colonel snapped as she fired off two bursts at Lizbeth, more to see what happened than in any hope of hurting the evil woman. The razor sharp shards of alien allow projected by plasma hit the inside of the dome and just stopped.
"There is no need for that." Lizbeth said gently. "Be calm, Colonel Kelly. No one will harm-" She broke off with a sigh as as Jane rotated her Storm Gun and slid the muzzle under her jaw. "Now you are just being stupid!" Jane jerked as gold energy flashed and her shotgun vanished out of her hands. Lizbeth shook her head. "I am trying to be nice, Colonel. It doesn't come naturally."
"I am sure." Jane retorted. "After all, psychopaths don't need to be nice, do they?" She frowned. "Or would you be a sociopath? Hard to say what kind of crazy you are."
"Crazy is as crazy does." Lizbeth shrugged. "I have been a bit unbalanced. I freely admit that. I try very hard not to hurt humans. He doesn't want to hurt humans." She bit her lip, suddenly looking young and a bit lost. "Jane. He can give Jenni back to you."
Whatever she intended, the pure, cold rage that flew through Jane at the mention of her lost love was not going to be denied. The inner berserker that had lost her love tore through her mind, shattering her remaining control. In a flash it took full possession of her as the world turned red to Jane's eyes. The burst of Scandinavian profanity that flew from her mouth was only matched by the blade that slammed again and again into the barrier between her and Lizbeth who recoiled. A flash of gold surrounded her blade, but in her rage enhanced speed, she pulled it away from the energy field before it could grip her sword and the energy vanished. She hit the barrier again.
"Oh crap." Lizbeth sighed deeply as Jane slammed again and again into the barrier. Blade and fist strike did nothing but fan her rage further. "I.. Um..."
"Enough." A calm male voice sounded and Jane snarled as a familiar form appeared nearby. An Avatar. One of the Elders' vessels for their will, created using human DNA harvested form unwilling donors in a horrific process. X-Com had fought several of them in the course of defeating the Elders. But, this Avatar was tattered. Damaged. It held up a hand and Jane felt power the likes of which she had never imagined slam into her. Her rage fought back as her limbs were pinned to her sides. This time when the golden energy flared, her sword vanished. "You are needed human, Jane Kelly. You will not be harmed."
Jane spat a Northmen curse at him as she continued to struggle. The bindings around her frayed under her rage and faded. She hit the barrier with her fist, then the other fist. All it did was hurt, but she was beyond caring.
"She will hurt herself!" Lizbeth sounded far younger now. Scared. "Master! We have to stop her!"
"Jane Kelly, be calm." The Avatar spoke again, but Jane was far beyond reason, spitting and all but frothing at the mouth as she kept hitting the barrier with her fists, feet and then her head! Purple energy flared, but then it faded. The Avatar heaved an all too human sigh. "We need to let her wear herself out. Whatever damage she does can be repaired. If not quickly. Ah Jane Kelly. You are exactly what we need. Strong and unbreakable. All we need to do is explain and you will understand."
"Oh, she understands just fine." Both the Avatar and Lizbeth spun to see Jian step out of the gathering gloom. The day was turning into night. "It is you who has thoroughly screwed the pooch."
"You!" Lizbeth retreated a step to stand by the Avatar who had a psionic amp in hand. "Just go away, you monster!"
"Pot, meet kettle." Jian's retort was calm, amused even. "You have no idea, do you?" She asked the Avatar who stared at her. "You have no idea just how many people you have angered. He cannot come back. He is dead. There are rules for a reason."
"You have no place here." The Avatar said slowly. Jian shrugged and he snarled. "Leave, interloper. Now!"
"If you wish, sure." Jian smiled grimly as a sound came to the pair and to Jane through her rage. A familiar tread. No. More than one. Large metal feet. "In that case? You get to explain it to Advent."
Everything stopped as a pair of Sectopod walking tanks stepped into view. The largest and most powerful automatons in Advent's arsenal, they had torn through Earth's military forces with ease when the Elders had first come. Both had their weapons extended and aimed at the Avatar. The Avatar spun, his amp in hand. Lizbeth vanished and the Avatar snarled something at Jain who shrugged.
"See you soon, monster." Jian promised as the Avatar ran back towards the base. She eyed he dome around Jane and shook her head. "As I am, I cannot break that and any weapon powerful enough to breach it will kill her." Jane slammed into the barrier again and again. "And if you breach it, she will kill you or die trying." She sighed. "Secure the perimeter. I will try to talk her down."
Dark forms in familiar armor scattered through the darkness that was growing. Advent Hybrid soldiers, moving with skill and purpose to surround the facility. Several Advent Mechs followed them, mobile fire support. A Sectoid stepped out of the gloom to stand beside Jian who shook her head as Jane hit the inside of the dome again.
"She is not going to stop fighting as long as there are beings who she sees as enemies here." Jian said firmly. "Let me handle this." The Sectoid looked at her and Jian shook her head. "Please?"
Even in her rage, Jane was astounded when the Sectoid stepped away, joining the forces that were surrounding the base she has just run from. In moments, only Jian stood in earshot and Jane stared as the woman knelt and her face altered. No, a hologram faded, showing her eyes as pure black. She bowed her head and spoke. Not in English or in any language that was common. In Gaeilge! Jane's first language. The language of her first family. She barely remembered, but it came back as Jian spoke.
[You can take off the cap, Grandmother.] Jian said quietly in the mother tongue of Ireland. [They do not know this language. It was never recorded by Advent. Too obscure. They will not act. They are ordered to obey me. For now.] She qualified.
[Who…? Are…? You…?] Jane managed to grate the words out in the same language through still fully fanned rage.
"As I told you before, my name is Jian." The kneeling woman switched to English. "I have had to be very careful in what I said and how. Now? I have to be just as careful or more so. There are many ears here now, Colonel." She frowned. "Idiot. She just had to say that, didn't she? She just had to!" She sighed. "I am going to get you out of there, get you some healing. You will need it, you have broken both of your hands."
"You are working with Advent! I am going nowhere with you, traitor!" Jane snapped.
"Technically, they are working with me, since one of my men has the Speaker at sword-point." Jian said mildly and Jane stared at her as she smiled. It was not a nice smile. "He doesn't like politicians and he took what the scum wanted Alley for as a direct insult. Say what you will about Hollywood depictions of ninja or shinobi or whatever you want to call them? Even discounting that none of us are Japanese… Insulting an entire clan of sneaky infiltration types is not a good idea." She actually winced. "They took what happened to Alley as a direct insult. That gets messy, as the Speaker found out."
"What happened to Alley?" Jane demanded, her rage fanned anew.
"She got sick of being manipulated and took action." Jian shook her head. "Insane action, but what can you expect?" Jane stared at her and then hissed."She let Lizbeth take her. We tracked her here and now she is elsewhere. We can get there through this base and we are going to."
"You are working with Advent!" Jane snarled but paused as Jian smiled grimly. "What?"
"They are going to secure this base." Jian replied. "And no more. They will never touch Alley or you again."
"Or what?" Jane inquired.
"Or I will lose my temper." Jian's smile was a death's head now. "My troops are going to attack the base. When we do, the enemy are likely going to sortie their star fighter. It is really the only chance they have. In space, we cannot match it and they know it."
"So, what do you plan?" Jane demanded as her rage faded and pain came from her hands. She ignored it as always. Pain was inconsequential.
"I am going to cheat in the exact same way these idiots did." Jian smiled again. "But… To do that? I need someone to make sure we don't go too far. That's you."
"Cheat?" Jane asked as the dome faded and she relaxed a bit as nothing happened. Too soon. A form in black leather appeared beside her and took her hands in strangely gentle ones. The woman's chest was emblazoned with a red snake! She stared at the glasses the woman wore and the woman nodded. She didnt' seem armed. What kind of crazy...
"Yeah." Jian smiled wide. "X-Com needs a way to defend against such and that guy needs to be stopped. Alley wants him alive, so we will try. If not? She will mad, but she will be alive." She shook her head. "He is not from around here, as you have no doubt guessed."
"So how do you stop him?" Jane demanded as her hands went numb. She stared at them as the woman wrapped her hands in some kind of odd bandages.
"They broke the rules first. We pull in other things from not around here." Jian's smile should have split her face and would have scared away a tiger. "Just not many."
"The Lady wont be happy." Jane said weakly as the black clad woman woman patted her now not hurting hand and silently nodded to Jian and Jane. She rose, took a step and vanished. Jane barely noticed after all of the other strangeness.
"Actually, she is the reason we are allowed to do it at all. She dictated that you be the cut off. Say when it is enough and we stop." Jian promised as she rose. She left her face as it was as she stepped to Jane's side and reached down to take Jane's arm. "You are in command, Colonel. What say we get Alley and Maya back?"
"Wait! What?" Jane felt her guts plummet but her anger was fanned again. "MAYA?"
"Yeah, they took Maya too. We will get them back. Let's go, Commander. I can brief you on the way." Jian started to lead Jane away from the base.
"I need a gun." Jane snapped. Far from cowed, Jian just smiled again.
"We have it covered."