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Sorry for the long hiatus, just lacked inspiration on this for a minute and was so busy with work. Hope you enjoy it regardless.
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It took almost three hours for them to reach Earth, but luckily enough, the Reapers didn't seem to have developed a way to tell their pods apart from random debris and torpedoes. That much was obvious from how they simply moved around them, letting what they no doubt thought to be pointless trash fly by and into the atmosphere. As their drop pod began to rattle and rumble, he turned to speak to his partner.
"Five minutes." He warned, "Be ready, it'll be rough."
"Bah." Wrex snarled, "I'm a Krogan with a thousand years on me. How bad could it be?"
As it turned out, thanks to a storm front headed through, the answer was 'pretty damn bad'. Inside a few seconds of hitting the clouds, his view-port was too covered in frost and water for him to see much of anything. Which left him to sigh and swap over to the ladar-radar systems to hopefully land somewhere in the vague area of where they were supposed to be.
Hopefully...
"The hell was that?!" Wrex demanded when the pod shuddered violently and pitched to the side, forcing John to wrangle it back under control while an alarm chimed gently.
"An altitude alarm." He grunted, flicking the alarm off. "And turbulence."
"No shit, what's it mean?"
"It means brace." He answered quietly, flicking the systems to full automatic and leaning back in his seat. "Touchdown in five."
"Five what?"
"Four, three, two…"
"Son-of-a-Var-"
Wrex was cut off by the heavy impact of their shuttle slamming into, and through a hill. It sailed on, tilting slightly as it went until it slammed into a tree with a deafening crack and splinter. Their shuttle pitched up and spun around it, before slamming into another tree and crushing it under its heavy metal weight. The sounds of branches and heavier thunks he took to be the heavier wood from the trunk slammed down onto the pod for a few long seconds before, finally, everything went quiet.
"Wrex?" He asked, thankful at least that they'd landed right side up, if at a bit of an angle. "You dead back there?"
"You Humans are fucking insane." He growled irritably, "What the hell…"
"Don't like it?"
"Did I say that, Doe? 'Cus I don't remember saying that." Wrex laughed loudly, his voice booming around the small pod while John worked at the door releases. The primaries were damaged, but the emergency explosive release was in perfect shape, so he primed it, "I wanna go again! No wonder my shock corps love these damn things so much."
"It's pretty wild." He nodded, "Explosive breach in three."
"Explosive wha-"
With a loud, easily recognized whump of shaped explosives, the hatch flew free and crashed into a tree a few feet away. They were at a slightly sharper angle than he'd thought so once he'd unstrapped he let himself fall free, sinking to a knee with his upgraded Harrier held tight in his hands. The forest around him was dark and wet, and muddy now, thanks to his pod's entry, but thankfully clear of anything angry and synthetic.
"It's-" Wrex thudded down into the mud beside him, splashing him and grinning widely, and he sighed and smiled thinly. "-clear. Damn it, Wrex… This is a brand new paint job, and you got mud all over it."
"So?"
"How are the Reapers going to feel, not getting to dirty it up themselves?" He chuckled, rising and rolling his shoulders. "I'll overwatch, you grab our gear. We need to get out of here before someone comes looking for whatever crashed in the woods."
"What about the pod?"
"Explosives in the spine." He answered simply, shrugging and nodding to the tipped craft's ridged, scorched top. "We leave and we set them to go off. Hopefully everyone thinks it's nothing important."
"Hm. Better idea." The Krogan growled, turning and grabbing the lip of the pod. Grunting for the effort, he pulled it over onto its side, dumping some of their gear in the mud but, more importantly, putting the rest in easy reach. Grabbing his Revenant, he grinned, "Get your shit and let's get the hell outta here."
It took less than a minute for them to unstow their packs and snap their weapons into place, and he had to admit the weight and bulk of his M7 on his hip was… Comfortably familiar.
"Ready?" He asked quietly, turning to his Krogan companion. Wrex only grinned one of his wide, feral grins, but that was answer enough. Turning and rolling his shoulders, he walked away and grunted, "Charges will go off in ten minutes. Probably better to be clear."
"Probably, yeah." Wrex grunted, joining him as they walked through the dark, wet and quiet forest.
Apparently the storm front they'd come in through had already passed by, which was at least some good news. He hated fighting in the rain, where the water ran down his visor and he had to keep cleaning it to see right. Though, you could at least collect rainwater while a storm was passing through, so it wasn't all bad.
Plus, idiots tended not to consider that his VISR could see them in the rain, and that was always fun.
The forest itself was… Remarkably intact, actually. It was wet, but the sun was still high in the sky, and he could see the green stretching out in every direction. A branch cracked nearby and he spun on his heel, rifle snapping up to watch some kind animal sprinting away through the thick tree-growth.
"Any idea where we are?"
"None." He answered quietly, "Probably highlands, though. Lowland Africa has savannahs and jungles, mostly. Mountains have more temperate forests."
"Really?"
"I think so." He shrugged, watching the trees as they wound their way down the hill, winding along a winding pseudo-path that managed to dodge most of the under-brush and steep drops made by gnarled roots and the soil they'd collected. "We need to clear the forest. See where the city is."
"We're about three hours walking distance north of our drop-zone." Wrex said suddenly, turning and pointing off to their side. "We head that way, and we should get to the location we're meant to hit."
"How do you…?"
"Pinged a salarian satellite." Wrex answered simply, turning to trundle off and adding, "They sent 'em ahead. "
"That could get picked up…"
"It's Salarian tech." The Krogan rumbled in answer, "They're conniving little pyjaks, but their gear is good. Damn Reapers can't even find the damn things. And besides, it's better than blundering around in the woods until the fun's over."
"Fair." John nodded, "You have the map?"
"I know the way, more or less, yeah." The Krogan nodded, turning his head at the distant crack and whump of their pod's explosives going off. Then he hummed and asked, quietly, "Just askin, Doe, can those go off on their own?"
"Only if an electrical charge passes through them."
"Uh huh." He nodded slowly and then asked, "Didn't you take us through a storm front?"
"...You said this way, right?" He dodged rather obviously, pointing his rifle off to their side and moving along when Wrex nodded. "We should hurry if we don't want to miss the welcoming party."
"Psychotic sodding bastards…" Wrex growled as he followed behind him, "And that's comin' from a Krogan!"
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Primarch Victus stormed through his command bunker like a war Spirit had taken him and only slowed when a warning alarm blared across the station. His two guards surged around him and forced him down, black armored bodies covering his as the entire complex shook around them. The tremors passed quickly, though, and once the all-clear chime went up his guards released him and helped him up.
He didn't thank them, though.
They'd only feel insulted by it, even if they wouldn't dare to say a thing about it.
He pulled the door open to his command room and swept in, leaving his guards by the door as he stalked across the room to the raised command platform at the center of Menae's Sector Defense Command bunker. Turians, Humans, and even Krogans and a few thoroughly vetted Salarians all swarmed the concentric circles of terminals and communications consoles, all working heatedly to coordinate planetary defense and the defense of the Palaven Sector itself.
"Status!" He demanded as he reached the platform and the secondary commander stepped aside. "What's happening out there? Commander Ranus?"
"Primarch." The secondary commander saluted crisply, in spite of his worn officer's armor. Even on Menae, soldiers had to go without so cleaning and maintenance supplies could reach the war front. It was unfortunate, to be sure, but they had more important matters calling for his attention. "A Reaper battlegroup dropped out of Relay almost as soon as Operation : Troy began. Perimeter defense engaged, but a section of the Reaper forces broke through and maneuvered straight for Menae."
"Probably lookin' to wipe out Turian command." An old, battle-worn and darkly colored, Krogan growled from beside him. "Hold Relay defense at bay so they can't help, then punch right for the throat. Take Palaven in the chaos."
"A good plan." Primarch Victus murmured, "Yours?"
"Once upon a few centuries ago, yeah, it was." The Krogan warlord laughed, shaking his great, scarred head. "Not now, though."
"Mhm." The Krogan were shockingly staunch allies, now, after everything they'd all been through. "Krogan shock corps is holding across the surface, doin' their best to shoot back at what they can. Thinkin' I'll join 'em."
"Do so." He knew the old Krogan was more letting him know than asking, but his stamp of approval would go far. Turning as the warlord thundered off, he called out, "What are the reports on sector defense?"
"Green and at arms, across the board." A Human voice called back from the concentric rings surrounding him, though none looked. Instead they seemed to focus on their work, adding, "Multiple sectors engaged and holding. Orbital support moving, Primarch."
"Good." The building shook again, but he and his officers ignored it. The bunker would hold or it wouldn't, and no amount of thinking about it would matter. More importantly, "What about Palaven Defense?"
"Tracking four Reaper vessels, tonnage unknown at this time, attempting to break for Palaven." An operator answered, "Orbital facilities angling to defend. Commander Sparatus wishes to know if we are going ahead with the dispersion plan for the monitors."
"We are, order top priority." And though it hurt him to add it, he did, "If the Reapers break through, prioritize pod dispersion. Hell, if this very bunker itself gets hit, I want priority on pod dispersion."
That actually drew a few stares, even from his more disciplined officers. For a moment, he even wondered if he needed to signal his guards, military commissars to the last and chosen for that reason, to enforce his orders. But the moment passed and his officers returned to their work, murmuring their quiet 'Sir' and 'Yes, Primarch'. A testament to their discipline, he supposed.
Or maybe their faith in him…
"Soon." He murmured lowly enough that he knew his officers couldn't hear him over the comms in their ears and their screens. "Soon, they'll know…"
He was sure of it, but another officer turning to alert him of some other catastrophe cut off his train of thought.
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True enough to what he'd been told, the duo spent just over three hours navigating the thick woods towards their drop area. The terrain was rough and rolling, split by winding rivers and steep hills they had to navigate around, or most often through, to stay on pace. It was hot and only getting more humid as they descended towards the drop target, but the forest was alive and intact and Earth.
And that made him feel oddly comfortable, somehow, even after the hell run.
Why, though, he wasn't exactly certain...
"I see somethin' out there..." Wrex's words yanked him out of his head and both of them out of their run. Backs slammed into trees and knees into dirt as the two caught their breath and looked ahead of them, through the trees.
"I see it." He murmured, pointing with the long barrel of his rifle ahead of them, "The trees thin out suddenly… One hundred fifty feet away."
"Doesn't look natural…" Wrex grumbled, looking up at the trees and then around them. "And the woods are quiet, too."
"Mhm. Too quiet to be natural…" A blink and his helmet's systems cycled his VISR on, pinging for electronics. He found nothing except the dull black and blue of an area clear of electronic signals, and cycled to thermals next, but didn't see anything on that setting either. Quietly, he said, "It looks clear-"
"Up!" Wrex cut him off, pointing a long, stocky finger up at the sky and shoving himself against the tree.
John followed his finger, VISR straining to highlight the shapes of the clouds in the evening sky until the great, terrifying form of a Reaper broke through them. It descended quickly, and for a long moment the ODST thought it was descending on them, its thermal lance tipped fingers stretching out like a hand to close around their throats. And all they could do was sit still and hope that their armor's internal ECM systems kept them from being detected. They wouldn't do anything to its eyes, if it saw them, but hopefully it couldn't thanks to the tree cover.
Luckily, it didn't seem to, landing far ahead of them with enough force that the ODST felt the shaking in his bones.
It recovered from the landing quickly and stalked awa, each titanic step sending quakes through the earth under them as it stalked away from them. Then it shuddered and turned towards them, its primaries glowing a warning red. It didn't fire, though, instead looking at the forest for a long, quiet moment.
"Lookin' for us, probably." Wrex growled, "Must'a sense our entry."
"It should have thought we were debris…"
"Used that trick a few times now, Rook, on a few groups." Wrex pointed out quietly, eyes locked on the Reaper as it turned to scan through the woods. "Reapers aren't stupid. They must be figurin' that something is up…"
"Mhm." And just in time to be a nuisance, too. Wonderful, and just his luck too. "Whatever the case, I don't think it can-"
Suddenly, the machine bellowed one of those ear-shattering Reaper roars, scattering birds from the trees back the way they'd come and sending the two drop-troopers back against the trees they were hugging like a child might their blanket. Then long lances of red fury lanced out, carving through the forest behind them in long, wandering lines. The massive machine turned and John looked up the mountain they'd come down as fire and hate lanced across it, annihilating the woodlands and scorching the earth around where its lines traced.
It was so painfully like a plasma bombardment, he felt his hand shake for it...
"Doe!" Wrex's voice dragged his attention back to the situation at hand and he turned as the Krogan rose, "We have to have to move!"
"No." He answered quietly, waving a hand back the way they'd come as the lances of wrath grew closer. "It's looking for us. We run, it'll probably detect our motion. ECM doesn't work well against motion systems."
"Damn it…"
The barrage lasted another handful of minutes, red lances ripping apart the peaceful world they'd walked through to get there. But eventually, finally, the Reaper seemed satisfied and the barrage ended. With another roar it turned once again, facing away from them and the hellscape it had made and launching something high into the sky. Something that detonated above them, showering the forest in… Water.
It was using water to put out the fires.
"I guess they really don't want to ruin the worlds they fight on, if they can avoid it." John murmured, turning to Wrex and shrugging coyly, "Who'd have thought the Reapers were environmentalists?"
"Not me, s'for damn sure." The warlord rumbled as the water pounded down on them. They watched the Reaper launch a few more of the strange mortars and turn, stalking off while the rain pattered down. "Wonder why they didn't do this on Palaven…"
"More importantly," he asked, "did that Reaper come down here because it was defending something?"
"Good question." Wrex smiled, rising slowly and stalking forward. "Let's find out."
It didn't take long to reach the tree-line now and they knelt there, at the edge of a vast expanse of annihilated woodlands. The Reapers had, apparently, not liked the lack of visibility and had burned and blasted over a mile around where they'd emplaced their defenses clear of anything. At the center of the rolling hills of burnt trees, ash filled and wood-clogged rivers was an old, small mining set-up. At one point, it had probably been a town, but the ODST could only see an annihilated expanse of concrete where homes and buildings had been.
And at the center, set up over the entrance of the strip mine that had been built there, they could see the massive air-battery looming on the horizon.
"There's the target." Wrex murmured, pointing at its feet. "And there's the complication, too…"
Toggling his VISR on again he sighed, watching the forms of hundreds of people drawing slabs of stone down the hill away from the mine. Husks were there too, from the banal Human Husks to even Brutes, all working to haul the stone away. He followed the little clusters of workers down the hill to where they were dumping the stone and frowned.
"They aren't quarrying." He murmured, "Or mining, unless they set up processing in the pit."
"What say we skip the wonderin' and get in there to find out?" Wrex growled, pointing at the steep incline of the hill that had been built up around the mine out of waste rock. "No workers 'round the side there. Probably no guards, either."
"Mhm." It let out at the top of the hill with a couple dozen yards to go before they'd be at the emplacement itself, but it was the best route he could see, too. It would mean crossing the open ground, but… "The Reaper is gone, at least. We circle around and come in with the sun at our backs, they shouldn't be able to spot us."
"Good plan." Wrex nodded, "Wastes some time, but… Eh, better to actually do the damn job. Eh?"
He nodded and together, they backed away and turned to circle around inside the tree-line.
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Possibly Gigan :
*innocent whistling*
Francisco :
No, the UNSC won't show up in this story.
Astute Guest (Guest) :
Kind of like the 40K SM drop pods, yeah, albeit with a sleeker design. Didn't catch that on designing them, though.
Dr Killinger :
*innocent whistling*
Mr McNasty :
*just so much innocent whistling*