Shepard leaned forward, allowing Sgt. Johnson to light up her wormwood cigar as she then took a deep puff. Her and Johnson smoked the last of the Boss's cigars as they stood amongst the solemn Legion of the Damned. Drinks were passed around to all members of the Legion that could drink, mostly glasses of rationed Soviet-era Vodka, or some fantasy world wine they had lying about. Those who couldn't drink attended in respectful silence as well.
As Shepard took another drag of the cigar, smoking it in memory of the leader she promised to share a cigar with, she looked at the rest of her allies. Amongst all of them she could see a sense of resigned sadness, but at the same time none of them looked like Snake's death would break them. They were all soldiers and warriors who died for a cause. Death was a part of their lives, who they were. While it saddened them that the Boss was no longer with them, they knew they had to honor his sacrifice by winning this battle. Even Pyrrha, who took the Boss's death the hardest, stood amongst their numbers with a renewed fire and determination. And now they all looked to Shepard, who held the reins of the Legion.
"To the Boss." Shepard toasted, raising her own glass of alcohol.
"To the Boss." The rest of the Legion parroted, everyone downing their drinks together.
Savoring the burn going down her throat, she placed her glass on a table and looked at her allies. "What happened to the Boss was a mistake. We won a victory, and let our guard down. We got complacent, and paid the price." Shepard paused to allow her words to sink in. "But the Boss's sacrifice wasn't in vain. By detonating Zeke's nuclear payload, he has dealt a crippling blow to the forces of Chaos. Hundreds, if not thousands of Imperial, Covenant, and Grimm are now dead thanks to him. Meanwhile, we have an army of our own."
Activating her omni-tool, Shepard brought up a hologram of the Citadel of Chaos. The Citadel itself was located in the center of a flat, red sand desert plain. The building itself was a massive construction, a discordant mash of gothic spires and flying buttresses made of black stone. Random pieces jutted and twisted out, as if the building had no actual plan and rooms were just randomly pasted on.
"From our own reconnaissance missions, as well as data gathered by the Geth from when they were under Reaper control, we have a good idea of the general layout and design of the base. It's located on the far Southern edge of Korriban, and while we do not know what the interior design of the Citadel is like, we do have eyes on the general organization of their forces." Pressing some buttons on her omni-tool, she zoomed in on the ground surrounding the Citadel, revealing a series of defensive walls and trenches. "Majority of the Covenant and Imperial forces are located outside of the Citadel, in the surrounding fortifications. And while we don't know where the Grimm are, we can assume that they are located nearby."
"That's a lot of mobs we're going to have to fight through." Six commented. "Even with the Geth, we'll be exhausted by the time we get to the Amalgamation."
Shepard nodded. "I agree. Which is why we are going to split up our forces. Half of the Legion will go with the Geth in attacking the Citadel by land. Meanwhile, the other half will fly in above the battle accompanied by as many Geth Primes as we can fit, and drop into the Citadel itself. Once inside we are going to cause as much havoc as we can, taking out any of the leaders we can find, and killing the Amalgamation."
"A bold strategy." Tassadar said. "But both teams run a great risk. We shall not be leaving this battle unscathed."
"Leaving the battle unscathed is never a guarantee." Shepard countered. "And this… I am not exaggerating when I say this is our last chance. We fail here, we will not have the resources to launch another offensive. Either we throw everything we have, and stop Chaos here and now, or we let fail and let them escape into the multiverse."
A silence fell over the group as they took in the implications of the consequences. "So who's going where?" Sev gruffly asked.
Shepard immediately responded. "I'll be in charge of the infiltration team going for the Citadel. With me will be Galen, Pyrrha, Sarah, Thane, and Gray Fox." Shepard said, to the agreements of the others. She then looked to Tassadar. "Tassadar, I want you leading the ground forces. Divide the rest of the Legion as you see fit to command the Geth. You'll need to tie up the infantry so we don't get overwhelmed inside."
Tassadar nodded his head. "I shall not let you down, Commander."
The Commander then looked over her allies, and decided to give one final speech. "None of us asked for this war. For this responsibility. We fought and died in our worlds and deserved a rest that was denied to us." Shepard paused as she collected her thoughts. "But we cannot lament that which we have no control over. But what we do have control over is our actions in the next few hours. We are the only thing standing between an unsuspecting multiverse, and the Amalgamation. It is up to us to fight for those left behind in our worlds so they may have a chance to live in peace, free from the threat of Chaos."
Shepard continued to pace around the room as she spoke, making sure she met each of her friend's gazes. "But take heart, for we do not fight alone. Together, each and everyone of us has fought and bleed, forging a bond that nothing can destroy. Not the Super Mutants, not the Reapers, and not Chaos. And it's together we will defeat our enemies!"
The Geth Headquarters was a flurry of activity as hundreds of Geth platforms, armatures, and rocket drones filed into the dropships, awaiting orders for combat. Similarly, the Legion were finishing up their last equipment checks as they prepared for the final battle.
Galen, double checking the kinetic barriers and light armor plating that reinforced his robes, felt someone approach from behind. The former Sith raised an eyebrow as heidentified who it was, turning around to see the eldery Wynne moving to him, similarly dressed in her own armored robes.
"Wynne." Starkiller greeted. "What can I do for you? I hope you're not here to profess your hidden love for me before the final battle." he lightly teased.
Wynne rolled her eyes. "I was coming to give you an item that I thought would aid you on your mission, but now I am reconsidering it."
Galen lightly chuckled. "Apologies, Wynne. Perhaps I have been hanging out too much with Cayde-6. Anyway, what was it you wanted to give me?"
Reaching behind her, Wynne pulled out a staff, one of the items that was taken from the Armory. It was a long wooden staff with a shaft decorated with deep, runic engravings, and at the top was some kind of glowing aqua-green orb held aloft by a series of claws.
"I have taken some time to study this item, and have found that it is a powerful artifact. This is called the Staff of Magnus. As to who this Magnus is, I do not know, but he must have been a being of great power to wield it." Wynne explained as she handed the staff to Galen. "From what I understand, the Staff can drain its target of its magical power, as well as its very life force should it have no magical energy left."
Galen cocked his eyebrow at that. "That indeed sounds very powerful. Something that could very well change the course of a battle. Thank you, I shall ensure this is put to good use."
"I would expect no less." Wynne nodded. "Now shoo, we have more work to get done."
With a smile, Galen gave the Mage a small bow before returning to his own preparations. Meanwhile Wynne made her way to the rest of the ground team and several Geth platforms who surrounded Tassadar.
The Protoss Executor nodded at Wynne as she arrived. "Now that we are all here, we can discuss our plan of attack. Ancient Rylanor." Tassadar turned to the massive dreadnought looking down at him. "You shall be leading the Geth's armored units, the armatures and colossi. T3, you and a squad of Geth shall pilot the AT-TE and operate under Rylanor as well. You all shall be the tip of the spear that will break through Chaos's line. Once you break their initial defenses, the infantry will follow the momentum and swarm upon them."
"They shall be broken before our might." The cyborg boomed.
"I expect nothing less. Now then, Sergeant Johnson, Noble Six." Tassadar then turned to the UNSC humans. "Both of you will take command of a battalion of Geth. The Sergeant shall take command of the left flank, while Noble Six shall take the right. Church, you shall go with Six in his armor. Wynne and I shall command our own battalion in the center."
The Spartan I, III and hologram all nodded as they accepted their command details. Tassadar then turned to the two remaining members of his team.
"Cayde, Sev, you two are in command of the sniper and stalker companies. Stay back, and provide support where needed."
"You call em out and we'll put 'em down." Cayde said with a wink as he stuck out his fist to Sev. Sev only raised his brow, causing Cayde to whisper to him. "Dude come on, don't leave me hanging here."
Rolling his eyes, Sev reluctantly bumped fists with Cayde, who made a quiet "boom" sound when they did.
"Very good then." Tassadar concluded. "I shall not give a grand speech, for the Commander has already said all that needs to be said. But I will say that while we may not be the ones that will strike down this Amalgamation of Chaos, we are no less essential. Without us, the Commander and her team will be overwhelmed and this will all be for naught. As such, fight hard and die well my friends."
The ground team all nodded and left for their units. T3 was lifted into the AT-TE while the others mounted the specific Geth dropships meant for their units. Once both Rylanor and the Republic walker were attached to their ships, the ground team's flight group was off.
The flight to Korriban did not take that long for the Legion. The Geth ships had long since charted the best flight paths to avoid Imperial detection for their inevitable conflict with them, and the Legion were more than happy to capitalize on their expertise.
Soon enough, the Legion and their Geth landed on the red sand of Korriban a few kilometers away from the Citadel of Chaos. They touched down at an open clearing at the edge of a mountain range East of the Citadel. The path towards the Citadel was a series of winding, twisted trails through the mountains. They wanted to be close enough that moving by foot and vehicle wouldn't exhaust the troops, but far enough that the drop ships would be out of range of their anti-air defenses.
Cayde and Sev landed first with their stalker units, establishing a sentry position as the rest of the forces took the time to deploy their troops and get into formation. Luckily, no ambushes came and they were able to establish a forward operating base without incident.
Once the infantry and armor were fully deployed, Sev took a squad of snipers to scout out the enemy rest of the Legion was forced to wait about half an hour for Sev to get to the Citadel, observe what he could, and return. The lack of artillery fire and explosions indicated that Sev and his team were undetected, and his return a few minutes later confirmed that.
"Sev, what did you see?" Tassadar questioned as the scouts returned.
"These valleys are a straight shot to the Citadel of Chaos, the different paths converging to a single, straight basin where the Citadel itself is. Covenant and Imperial forces are dug in tight around the Citadel. They have several defensive lines surrounding the base in rings, mostly trenches fortified with watch towers and plasma turrets." Sev quickly replied, before turning and pointing to the direction he came. "The army seems to have been split up between Covenant and Imperial Forces. The Covies are holding the center, while the Imperials are on the left and right flanks. Mostly infantry, no sign of armor or Grimm, but I think they're holding them back by the Citadel."
"I see. Most likely keeping them in reserve should we push in too far." Tassadar nodded his head. "The plan stays the same. All forces, take a separate pathway and advance!"
T3 let off an electronic affirmation as Wynne, Rylanor, the larger Geth walkers, and the AT-TE fell in behind the former Executor. Meanwhile, Johnson and Six took their respective armies to different valleys as they slowly made their way towards the Citadel. The allied force moved slow, as the mountains and cliffs above them provided many good ambush points. Luckly, no ambushes came, and soon enough the Legion and the Geth came upon the Citadel of Chaos.
True to Sevs words, Tassadar saw the army of Chaos laid out before him with the Covenant in the center of the fortifications and the Imperials at the flanks. Taking a moment to overlook the forces in front of him, Tassadar reached out with his psionic powers to get a sense of his opponents morale.
Amongst the Imperials he felt fear, but truly he also felt a sense of grim determination emitting from them. He then turned his attention to the alien Covenant forces. From them, he found that amongst the weaker races, the Jackals and Grunts, he also sensed fear and uncertainty, their loyalty only maintained by their even greater fear of the Brutes above them. Meanwhile the Brutes were loyal to their chieftain, but instead of fear they exuded anger and frustration, annoyed that they were forced to serve beneath and alongside humans, even if they were from a separate universe. Tassadar could use this. The Protoss also sensed alarm rising throughout the army, the sentries no doubt having seen the Geth force advance. They were moving quickly to man the defenses, so Tassadar had to strike quicker.
"All armored units concentrate fire on the center of their formation! Ground them into dust!" Tassadar commanded as psionic lightning crackled at his fingertips. Extending both hands forward, Tassadar then released a massive psionic storm above the Covenant forces, unleashing a torrent of lightning that struck down at the cowering aliens.
Tassadar's attack was then joined by a volley of plasma fire as the Geth walkers and the AT-TE opened fire. Then a fireball appeared above the Covenant lines, exploding in a burst of conflagration. Tassadar peered to his side and saw Wynne raising her Staff of the Magi into the air, casting a high level Fireball spell. The volley decimated the defensive fortifications of the Covenant, metallic walls, plasma turrets, and watchtowers were all reduced to sparking piles of slag. Any Covenant troops that weren't able to hunker down in their bunkers or trenches were similarly evaporated by the concentrated bombardment.
With the Covenant lines heavily suppressed and it's defenses cracked open, Tassadar turned to Rylanor and yelled, "Ancient One advance! Bring them down!"
"For the Emperor! Forward!" Rylanor boomed as he charged forward, the Geth armatures bounding after him.
Still reeling from the artillery bombardment, the Covenant forces had no opportunity to mount an effective counter attack against Rylanor's charge. The venerable dreadnought sprinted across the battlefield, crashing through a defensive wall that still stood, crushing several grunts into paste as he did so.
A few Brutes, Hunters, and braver spec-ops Grunts turned to face the Space Marine, firing brute shots and fuel-rod cannons at the cyborg. But neither weapon could pierce Rylanor's automantic shields nor his adamantium hull. Rylanor's assault cannon then began to spin, unleashing a torrent of bullets that shredded its way through any target that came into his auspex. When T3 in his AT-TE and the Geth Armatures caught up, the morale of the Covenant plummeted, causing many of the cowardly Jackals and Grunts fleeing before the armored column.
Leading his walkers forward, Rylanor continued to advance towards the Citadel in a vicious blitzkrieg that would not be stopped. They gunned down any Covenant they could see, ignoring those who had hidden in the bunkers and the trenches as they kept moving forward. That task was left up to Tassadar, Wynne, and their Geth infantry as they followed in Rylanor's wake, cleaning up the remaining shell shocked aliens as they stormed each trench.
As the central force continued to smash through the Covenant lines, the Imperials on both flanks moved to intercept. The Legion's initial attack was so sudden and violent that the Imperials were caught off guard and momentarily stunned. However, the Stormtroopers quickly regained their senses and opened fire on the Legion, repositioning to try and converge around the flanks of the central force.
Before they could even really begin their encirclement however, Johnson and Six moved forward, their forces moving to engage the two Imperial units and prevent them from slowing Rylanor's offensive. Six, leading a small squad of Primes, led several Geth troopers dug leapt behind vacant fortifications and natural rock formations for cover, engaging the Empire's right flank.
Multiple heavy weapons emplacements opened fire on the Geth infantry. E-WEB blaster turrets shredded through advancing Geth that were too slow to find cover, while Imperial Scout Troopers fired off sniper rounds that pinged off the flashlight heads of many synthetics. Six and his Geth kept low, hiding behind their cover while lobbing grenades overhead to try and displace the Imperial sharpshooters and machine gunners.
That's when several plasma shots rang out from behind the Legion's forces, slamming into the heads of the heavy blaster crews and killing them instantly. Several hundred meters from behind the Geth Infantry, Sev and his sniper team had set up in the nearby cliffs, allowing them to provide sniper support to the ground teams. No longer suppressed by the heavy gunners, the Geth could then pop out of their cover and begin counter-firing, suppressing the Scout Troopers and forcing them into cover in turn.
Sensing an opportunity, Six yelled out Church, "Church, speed enhancement and overshield!"
"Gotcha!" The AI shouted back, quickly rerouting power and calculations to selected armor abilities.
Six was then coated in a light red aura as his armor's shields temporarily went into overdrive. The Spartan then sprinted forward and inhuman speeds, blaster round pinging off of him harmlessly as he leapt into the Imperial trenches. The Stormtroopers could do next to nothing as the near invincible Spartan-III charged into CQC and began dismantling them with buckshot and his bare hands.
Meanwhile Johnson's company on the left flank slowly ground forward as well. Supported by Cayde and his unit of snipers and stalkers, the left flank traded blows with the Imperials in grueling trench warfare. On both sides troopers fell one after the other, neither the Legion pushing them back, nor the Imperials pushing past to stop the armored columns advance.
However, what did stop Rylanor's advance was the opening of the main gates to the Citadel. From the gothic fortress's interior strode out a massive AT-AT walker, not the same one that helped destroy Mother Base but a sister vehicle of the same class, flanked by AT-ST walkers. From behind them SPMA turbolaser walkers and Covenant Wraith battle tanks slowly moved out, providing ranged artillery strikes for the forces of Chaos. It seemed that the Covenant decided to finally commit their own armor to stopping the Legion's Advance.
A volley of plasma and turbolaser bolts were flung towards the Geth armor as the artillery attacked. The first wave alone crashed along the armatures, too slow to dodge. Half a dozen armatures exploded as the plasma overwhelmed their barriers and melted them into slag. Rylanor himself was hit by a wraith plasma bolt, which could not break his shields but forced him back from the sheer physical force alone.
The AT-AT then followed up, its massive chin-mounted laser cannons focused on one of the Geth Colossus. The Colossus tried to avoid as it scuttled to the side, firing its own plasma bolts to try and counter. But the AT-AT's pilot was too skilled, and with another burst of laser cannon fire, destroyed the Colossus. Meanwhile the AT-STs engaged the smaller armatures at mid range, the two rival walker units trading blows and lives.
While Tassadar couldn't do anything about artillery in the back, he knew that the AT-AT was the largest threat to their advance. "T3, Rylanor! Focus on that AT-AT!" the Protoss commanded.
T3 dotted an acknowledgement,. Knowing that the Imperial Walker had a vulnerability at the base of its neck, T3 commanded the AT-TE's gunner to focus at that point. The Geth gunner aimed the mass driver and fired, the hypersonic shell crashing into the successor walker. The armor around the neck of the AT-AT exploded, sending shrapnel and debris flying clear. It was enough to damage the walker, but not put it down. The AT-AT's head then swiveled to look at the T3, and before the Geth gunner could finish loading another shot, the AT-AT fired a volley of lasers at the smaller walker.
The side of the AT-TE exploded with fire as the laser impacted the armor plating. Luckily for T3, the AT-AT hit the heavily armored top of the walker, damaging it but not outright destroying it. This exchange however, provided Rylanor the opportunity to move forward at the AT-AT while it was distracted.
Rylanor bounded for the AT-AT, assault cannon roaring as he shredded two smaller chicken-like AT-STs escorting it. The AT-STs tried to return fire, but Rylanor ignored their smaller scale laser cannons that were unable to pierce his shielding as his cannons completely overwhelmed their armor. Once the escorts were reduced to scrap metal, Rylanor got underneath the AT-AT, the taller walker unable to aim directly beneath itself.
Activating his power claw, Rylanor then began tearing through the left foreleg of the Imperial Walker, the claw shearing through the metallic limb. The AT-AT tried to lift its leg up to escape, but the lumbering machine was too slow as it only took seconds for Rylanor to slice off its foot.
The AT-AT stumbled forward, landing on the stump, trying to balance itself on three and a half limbs. But Rylanor would not relent, as he moved to the right foreleg of the AT-AT and tore through it as well. With both front legs gone, the AT-AT then fell to the ground face first, immobile and unable to fire its main armament. Ryalnor then sauntered to the walker's cockpit where he saw stormtroopers and officers flee to the rear of the mech. Rylanor's might fist then drove through the front window, completely destroying the controls and disabling the mech.
With the AT-AT taken out, the remaining Imperial armor and whatever infantry was left retreated to the artillery line. While the Legion was able to destroy the deadliest machine on the side of Chaos, they had taken heavy casualties to their armored division, and their blitzkrieg was now forced to halt. Now, they had to begin a slow, grinding battle of attrition as the two sides bombarded and charged one another with waves in infantry.
As Rylanor continued to fire his assault cannon at the Imperial lines, he heard the roar of several jet engines above him. Looking up, Rylanor saw the two pelicans flanked by a pair of Geth dropships flying in, making divebomb right for the top levels of the Citadel. The dropships opened fire with a combination of missiles and plasma bolts, cracking a hole in the roof of the structure.
An entryway created, the dropships then hovered over the breach, depositing their payloads of Legionnaires and Geth Primes directly into the Citadel. After a few tense seconds, the infiltration team had penetrated the fortress and were now on the way to accomplish their goal. Rylanor gave a satisfied nod, as their distraction had successfully provided the others the opportunity to enter the Citadel and slay the Amalgamation. The Ancient One then looked back down at the enemies across from him and once more charged into the fray, making sure he killed as many of the foul followers of Chaos before they finished the fight.
A/N, 3/17/21: And we're back! The final battle for the fate of the Final Destination now begins! Who will win? Who will survive? Find out next time!
Review Responses:
Djmegamouth: Went out like a true Snake.
Brother Bov: RIP Boss. And thanks!
MarauderPrime12: Thanks!
Jack Smith1: Exactly. And the Ancient remembers all betrayals.
And with that I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you in the next one!