Chapter 21: Dragon's Wrath

March 26th 15:45, Brytus Planetary Command Center:

General Desolas Arterius was nervously tapping his finger on the terminal. He had been for the last few hours, along with other small gestures of nervous energy. Normally he would be the picture of a perfect Turian General, calm, reserved, and above all else professional. While the men and women that served under him thought highly of him, sometimes he would catch whispers of them wondering if he had a heart under his chest. But today was a very different day.

As a General, he was used to giving orders he knew would cost lives. He had given out assignments that he knew would likely have little to no survivors. While he didn't like them and would have preferred less costly alternatives, he knew that they were necessary and that the soldiers he was ordering to their deaths knew their duties. It was a small comfort for him, especially when one of those soldiers was his younger brother.

"You're going to wear a groove into the floor if you keep that up." General Xi commented.

It seemed that at some point, Desolas had begun to walk back and forth between the communications terminal and the window overlooking the city. "I apologize." He said, stopping in his tracks. "I have much on my mind."

"That much I can see." The terran general said, walking up to a terminal displaying a representation of the planet. She zoomed on the area surrounding the frontlines. "It looks like that sector seventeen will be needing reinforcing. An attack there as left them critically open."

Desolas nodded, General Xi was always quick to get to business, a fact he respected. He walked up to the terminal, standing beside the terran woman. "I believe the 717th and the 312th are close by. They should be enough to reinforce them."

Xi nodded. "Agreed. I will see about getting the 253rd over there as well. They can also use additional mech units."

"I'll leave that up to your discretion." Desolas said he was still uncomfortable with the idea he was fighting alongside synthetics. A part of him still expects those soulless machines to turn on them and butcher them. But, at this point, he had to acknowledge that it was very unlikely to happen. "It looks like that sector eighteen, twenty, and twenty-one will be needing reinforcements as well."

General Xi hummed. "We're stretching ourselves thin." She spoke. "If the Dragon Orphans attack somewhere unexpected, we might not be able to respond in time."

"True, but look at the Dragon Orphans." Desolas said, bringing up the areas under enemy control. "They've stretched themselves thin as well, perhaps even more so than us." About a year ago, Desolas never would have thought he would say that. No matter how many of these monsters they managed to kill, there was always another wave of them coming. No matter how many different places they were attacking at once, they always seem to have the numbers to spare. The Dragon Orphans seemed to be everywhere all at once. They were like an ocean of death and destruction that had no end to it.

Desolas remembers reading about the Rachnii Wars, how the Rachnii were likened to an endless swarm. How they seemed like an unstoppable storm. He had always written them off as exaggerations and that things could not have been as bad as they were made out to be. After all, had the Hierarchy been in that war, they would have won in a few short years. But now that Desolas had faced one such foe for two years, he had wondered if perhaps the threat of the Rachnii had been understated.

Now though, with the arrival of the Terrans, it had been proven that not even the Dragon Orphans were without their limits. They were not as numerous as they used to be, nor were their attacks as frequent and widespread. Now that he had the time to examine the facts, it was clear even before the Federation joined the war that Dragon Orphans were beginning to stretch themselves out too much. It was likely that the Citadel Races could have halted the advance by themselves, given enough time. But that would have come at the cost of several more worlds and billions of more lives.

"True." General Xi said, agreeing with him. "But I wouldn't risk an offensive. Not yet anyway. But that does mean they won't be as eager to attack us."

"Not with the losses they took from their last push." Desolas said. "Or with some of our forces attacking them from behind. I must admit I didn't think your so-called "guerrilla warfare" would be so effective. They've managed to turn this into a more conventional war."

Xi nodded again, not taking her eyes off the display. "Even the Dragon Orphans will pull back their forces if you hit them in a soft spot. Our forces behind the lines have been hitting them in a lot of soft spots," Xi turned to face Desolas, she had a vicious smile on her lips. "And they're about to hit a very soft spot today."

Desolas nodded silently. "If they succeed." He said after a moment.

The terran general raised an eyebrow. "So that's what has been bothering you." She said, crossing her arms. "The raid against the Dragon's Nest. You're not worried about the success of the mission; you're concerned about the welfare of the soldiers."

Desolas looked away, unwilling to give the Terran woman anything. "They're good soldiers following orders. They know their duty, and as do I." He looks at the terminal. "Once we get more here, we can see about reinforcing our lines. Maybe even see about taking some ground back. I hear we may be getting some Asari commandos."

Xi nodded. "They would be useful. From what I gather, the D-Orphans don't fare well against biotics." She gave the Turian General a side glance. "They may be soldiers, but they are still people, and one of those people is your brother. I know you're concerned about him. I would be too if that were my brother out there." The terran general was giving him a sympathetic look.

Desolas remained silent for a moment. "He has been under my command for over two years now. He has been in countless battles and could have easily been killed by now. I have always been concerned for his welfare. As you said, he is my brother. Family should always look after one another. But until now, I was able to push that concern aside. He was a soldier, danger was always going to be a part of his life. To always be concerned about him was both useless and determinantal to my ability to command." He stood back from the terminal and moved towards the window. "Of the times, why now? Why has my concern grown so much?"

He felt the Terran General's presence next to him. "Perhaps that is because, in all of the previous times, you had some measure of control."

Desolas gave the woman a confused look. "Explain."

"You were his commanding officer. At any time during the previous battles, you could order his unit to withdraw from an engagement whenever things looked like they were getting too dicey." He wasn't familiar with that expression, but Desolas could guess the meaning.

She was right, as a General, he had every right to move his forces as he saw fit. If he felt attacking an area with overwhelming force was the right course of action, he would. If he thought an engagement was becoming too costly, he would have his soldiers withdraw. If that somehow saved his brother's life, he would have considered it as a nice bonus. "Or could have had him assigned somewhere else. Lump him in some forces being moved around, and no one would be the wiser." Desolas concluded the thought for General Xi.

Xi nodded. "Even when he was deployed behind enemy line, you could have his unit recalled the next time they reported in. But now, you don't have the measure of control anymore." The woman turned to face Desolas. "Saren is now participating in a battle that you have no control over, and that is in the middle of enemy territory. You can't give him an order to retreat when things start to look bad. There is nothing you can do, and that is what is eating you up. Your lack of control over the situation."

Again, the terran general had summed up his fears. When this mission had first been put forth, he put his support behind it. While he did have his own reservations about it, he felt the benefits of its success outweighed the costs. It wasn't like they had thought of it on a whim, like some of the lower ranks would believe. They had spent weeks thinking it over, going over every detail of the reconnaissance reports, and debating everything with the other higher-ranking officers. In the end, they had decided the mission was worth the risk and pushed it forward. At that point, it was up to the officer in charge of their forces operating behind enemy lines to pick out the units to carry out the operation. He knew the raid on the Dragon's Nest could easily be classified as a suicide mission, given that there was a chance no one would return, successful or not.

But that had not been his concern at the time. They were soldiers, and they knew their duty. Would he mourn for their loss? Yes, he would have. Contrary to popular belief, most higher-rank officers did not like to throw away the lives of their subordinates needlessly. Then he learned that Saren's unit would take part in the operation. "Perhaps your people have it right." He muttered just loud enough for the Terran General to hear.

Xi gave him a questioning look. "We have it, right?" She asked.

"You don't allow family to serve together. You have stricter restrictions on fraternization." he explained. "I never got why until now." The fraternization part he could understand. But it seemed inconceivable to him that the Federation forbid family members from serving together in the same unit, sometimes even going as far as putting them under different generals' command. In the Hierarchy, it was commonplace to serve alongside family. Not unusual, considering that technically, everyone in the Hierarchy served in the military. Doselas himself had served under his father and even his grandfather. Among the Turian people, close relations were encouraged. It helps each unit work better together and thereby made the larger army a more effective fighting force. Allowing family members to serve together seemed like the logical conclusion. Now Desolas had to wonder if perhaps the Terrans had been wiser than his people had been. "It is to keep situations like this from happening." He said.

General Xi looked out at the window and remained silent for a long moment. "Indeed, it is." She finally said. "Having family serving together could cloud a soldier's judgment. They would be prone to making irrational decisions that could endanger themselves and the unit. The danger increases the higher the rank they have." The Terran General turned to face Desolas. "When it comes to command, one needs to be of clear mind. Any distraction could mean the difference between the life and death of thousands or millions. While some might argue that having members to serve together might allow closer bonds in units. It may even sharpen the mind since they may be more aware of the consequences of their actions. But in the same vein, it could keep them from making the hard choices. There are times when lives have to be sacrificed to gain an important victory. If a commanding officer is worried about the welfare of one soldier, they may not be able to make that choice. It's hard, but it is necessary."

"I suppose your right," Desolas said, feeling like he had just swallowed something bitter. The thing was he knew that if it came down to it, he would make that hard choice. If he had to sacrifice the life of his brother to save the Hierarchy, he would. In a way that scared him, if he were willing to sacrifice family to gain a victory, what else could he be capable of? "Once the raid has been concluded. If they are successful. If Saren returns, I'll have to see about getting him a transfer somewhere else." Desolas moved away from the window.

"I believe that would be wise." Xi said, joining him at the terminal.

March 26th 15:45, Brytus, Dragon Orphan Occupation Zone

There were times when one had to wonder. Does the universe hate me? Hidaki was convinced that the answer was yes. In the years he served in the Armed forces of the United Terran Federation, the half-ghoul man had been in his fair share of bad situations. Most times it was because intelligence screwed up, other times, his superiors made a mistake, and sometimes it was plain bad luck.

He remembered that one time his unit was involved in an operation to wipe out some terrorists, hiding out a barren moon. Now the smart thing to do would have been to orbitally bombard their base to dust. It was a barren moon, and the closest inhabited planet was lightyears away. So, all they had to do was park their ships in orbit and fire until all that was left was a crater.

Unfortunately, intel indicated that were some targets of interest hiding out in that base. Because of that, command wanted prisoners. They had hoped to get information on other terrorist activities in the area. Still, it should have been a simple smash and grab on them. Intelligence believed there no more than a hundred people protecting the base, with limited air defenses. There was a minefield around the base, but it was small and easy to avoid.

Two platoons of Marines had been landed, with limited mechanized support. It was believed to be enough to deal with the enemy forces. Then, about fifty meters away from where the minefield should have been, the mines went off. In a matter of moments, half of a platoon had been wiped out, and most of their vehicles reduced to scrap metal. Making matters worse, the size of the enemy force was three times larger than they thought, and the terrorist had full armored support.

What had once looked like a textbook operation quickly became a fight for their lives. Hidaki didn't remember much of that day. What he did remember was taking command of his squad after their commanding officer was incapacitated and leading them back to the safety of their shuttles. After that, he blackout then woke up the next day in a med-bay. As it were, once the survivors made it back to the shuttles and got off the moon, the captain of the squadron of ships in orbit had the terrorist base turned into a crater. That captain was court-marshaled for disobeying orders and was demoted in rank. Over a hundred marines had been killed, with a dozen suffering critical injuries. Hidaki's commanding officer lost a leg and had it replaced with a cybernetic replacement. Hidaki, for his part, was given a commendation for his bravery. The intelligence officer involved received a dishonorable discharge for incompetence.

That had been one of the worst operations he had ever taken part in. He still wondered how he managed to get out of that alive. But now that had nothing on what he was facing now, it only took four words to sum his thoughts up.

"Oh, fuck you, Murphy." Walkins said.

Faster than anyone could react, the Dragon General had moved on to his next target. The marine that had helped Cartmen had his head caved in from a punch before he had time to register his death.

It was as the body fell that everyone finally reacted. In an instant, the Dragon General's body was riddled with bullets and Rc shards. For what good that did, the monster used his Kagune, a Koukaku, to block most of the projectiles.

"Everyone, fall back!" Hidaki shouted above the noise. "I repeat, fall back!"

The Dragon General took noticed of him. Hidaki felt his heart stop for a moment as the monster smirked at him. He was next. The creature lunged at him, moving at a speed he thought was impossible. The half-ghoul man barely had enough time to use his Ukaku to block a powerful strike from the monster's Kagune. The force behind the blow had almost caused the young man's legs to buckle under him. Then another blow came, and another, and another, and another. Each impact coming one after the other, faster and stronger than the last.

Thinking quickly, Hidaki smashed his rifle into the D-General's gut and fired. The creature scream in pain as the bullets tore into its stomach. In half a second, it jumped away from Hidaki and land several meters away. Now there was some distance between the two, Hidaki was able to get a good look at the creature. It had the appearance of a man in his late-twenties, pale skin, long black hair that messily went past his shoulders. Rippling muscles stretched along with his lean form.

Clenching his wound, the Dragon General gave Hidaki a hateful glare. He removed his blood-soaked hand, examining it. He then looked down at his stomach and smirked again. His wounds had healed completely, leaving only blood-stained skin. The D-General looks back up Hidaki, grinning. "That actually hurt." He said in a raspy voice.

Hidaki and the rest of the squad were taken aback. The Dragon General was talking to them now. That was rare, Dragon Generals usually just killed everything in sight. Typically, when they did speak, it was to taunt their enemy.

The Dragon General chuckled. "You're going to be fun to kill." He continued to speak. The Dragon General looked behind him, gazing at a plum of smoke far in the distance. "That must have been some show you put on."

"It's too bad you missed it." Hidaki responded. He subtly signals for the rest of the unit to be ready to make their move.

"If I had been there, none of you would be alive." The Dragon General growled.

Hidaki gritted his teeth. That monster was right. The operation would never have gone through if the Dragon were still present. Hell, they should be dead now. That told Hidaki something, this Dragon General liked to play with his prey. As much he hated that, he knew that they could take advantage of that.

"I've seen you before."

Never in his life did Hidaki think that such a simple statement would chill him to the bone. "What?"

The monster smiled. "Out in the metal nest, I saw and your pack. You were protecting those helpless things you call civilians. I thought about killing you right then."

Hidaki couldn't process what was happening. That thing had seen them the city? While they were escorting the civilians to safety, they had been an airs breath away from death and didn't know it. How? Once he got back to the Safe-Zone, he was going to have a long talk with his superiors about what is and isn't need to know information. Assuming he somehow got out of this alive.

"But I decided against it." The Dragon General continued, unaware of Hidaki's thoughts. "I thought You might provide me with more fun later, and I do so enjoy having my fun." The Dragon General's smiled vanished and was replaced by a snarl. "Now I see that was a mistake, I should have gutted you and the rest of your pack the moment I saw you."

"Look at the bright side Hidaki. If you die now, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you got one over the Dragon General." Now, if only he got to live long enough to enjoy the feeling. Hidaki held up his rifle and grew out his Ukaku. He knew the D-General was getting close to finishing his speech. After that, they all would be in the fight for their lives.

"A mistake that I will be righting now." The D-General held his hands out as two Koukakus wrapped around his arms.

For a moment, both sides stared down at each other, waiting for the other to make their move. That moment came to an end when one of the Marines charged at the Dragon General, screaming and firing his rifle. A move that cost the man his life, the Dragon General shrugged off the weapons fire and stretched his hand, grabbing the man's head. The marine struggled as his body was left up. Before anyone could react, the D-General squeezed, smashing the man's helmet and his head inside with a sickening noise. The dead man's body twitched for a few seconds before going limp. The Dragon General tossed the lifeless body aside.

The rest of the Marines opened fired on the monster. Most of the shots, however, were blocked by its Koukaku. The few shots that did make it through only grazed the creature's skin, and the wounds would quickly disappear. Next, two ghoul marines, both having Bikakus, charged at the D-General. Using their Kagunes, they lashed out at the enemy. The D-General was quick to react, dodging both attacks and grabbing the Bikaku of one and swung him around, then smashed him into the ground in front of him. Then with a flick of his wrist, he shot out his Koukaku, piercing the chest of the other ghoul and coming out of his back. With another flick, the appendage pulled itself out, and its victim fell over dead.

The D-General was about to do the same to the other ghoul laying on the ground when he was sent flying by a blue pulse of energy. The Dragon General crashed into a building several blocks away. Hidaki looked behind him, seeing that Saren had fired off a Biotic pulse. However, he was breathing hard. "I suggest that we run." Saren said.

Hidaki wasn't about to argue against that. "Everybody run." He shouted. The remaining marines immediately followed his orders.

"All units, this is Lieutenant Hidaki Kaneki of the 312th MAF. We and the 314th and the 356th have been engaged by the Dragon General, three marines down. I repeat, contact has been made with the Dragon General, four dead. We are attempting to retreat from the engagement."

There was a moment of silence, allowing him to hear another Marine shout something, Johnson, he thinks. "Saren! Smoke grenades!"

Hidaki briefly glanced over his shoulder, seeing several familiar cylinders be tossed at Saren. Before the objects could reach him, they were surrounded by a blue aura and sent flying in the direction they were running from.

Hidaki nodded his approval. That would buy them some time, not much. But as far as he was concerned, a few seconds was better than nothing. "Lieutenant Kaneki." A voice over the comm said. "Do you need assistance? If you give us your coordinates, we can get to you and provide backup."

As much as Hidaki would appreciate the help, he wasn't about to risk more lives against the Dragon General. "Negative." He responded. "We will try to escape from the D-General ourselves. Return to the Safe-Zone and inform our superiors of the situation. Do not risk more lives over this."

There was an uncomfortable silence as Hidaki's orders sunk in on the other side of the line. "Aye, sir. We will return to the safe zone and make our report. Godspeed."

"Same to you." Hidaki replied, terminating the link. Now he just had to figure out how to get out of this mess. He roars in the distance, causing him to curse under his breath. "Shit, just what we needed."

"Saren watched out."

Saren had just enough time to duck down, avoiding the claws of a flyer as it swooped down. Just before it could fly back into the air, Saren fired a burst from his rifle. One of the creature's wings was blown off, causing the flyer to tumble onto the ground, where it frantically flapped its remaining wing. Another burst from his rifle ended its life.

Another flyer flew down at Saren, but this he was ready and rolled out of the way. As it flew back up, he took a shot at missing most of his shots while the ones that land clipped its body. "Damnable flyers!" He heard someone say.

It was a sentiment that Saren was inclined to share. They had been making good progress getting from the swarm of D-Orphans, lead by a Dragon General. It even looked like they might be able to escape this disaster alive. But then oversize flying rats started to attack them, costing the lives of two members of their group. With the new threat from above, they had been forced to slow down and concentrate on air defense. It was working as none of the creatures could get close without risking its life. Unfortunately, it had allowed the swarm they are running from to gain some ground on them.

A swarm that Saren had to keep reminding himself was led by a spirits forsaken Dragon General. Never had Saren been so afraid of something, that thing was the definition of a monster. He had read the codex on the Dragon Generals, viewed the recordings, and even listen to a few firsthand accounts from the older Terrans. He had never given them much thought. Sure, he knew just how dangerous they could be, that even the lowest Dragon Lieutenant could kill him just as easily he could squash a bug.

He had never thought he would encounter one, that the chances of him coming face to face with a D-Lieutenant were low at worst. Let alone a full Dragon General. Even if he somehow had the misfortune of meeting one of them, he would have a whole army fighting along with him. He should have known better. One of the first things they drilled into every recruit in the military was anything, and everything can go wrong while out on the field. He never appreciated the bit of wisdom until now. The Terrans had something they referred to as murphy's law, which was similar in principle.

Reading and knowing about something was completely different from seeing that thing's action firsthand. A lesson that Saren was going to take to heart. That is if he got out this alive. "Come on, we need to keep going." He heard Hidaki shout over the noise of the fighting.

With no time to argue, Saren picked his pace and ran alongside the Terran Lieutenant. "Our situation doesn't look good, sir," Saren said.

He saw the Terran nod as he turned around and fired a small group of Dragon Orphans that was gaining on them. Several of them went down. The rest followed suit when Saren and a few others added their weapons fire into the mix. "Understatement of the century, Saren." He said, turning back around. "We need to find a way to get away from that thing and fast. Any ideas?"

Saren looked around their surroundings, trying to see if there was anything they could use to escape from the swarm and its leader. But he saw nothing that could help them. They could try hiding out in one of the abandoned buildings, but Saren had the feeling that would allow the enemy to trap them with no way out. "I can't think of anything." Saren admitted.

Before Hidaki could respond, they heard a scream. A second after, a shadow flew overhead, and both men looked up. They saw that one of the marines had been picked up by a flyer and was struggling against the creature's grip. The beast flew high up in the high as the rest of the unit shot at it. Once it was several meters into the air, it let go of the pour soul, and the man plummeted to the ground. He never got up.

Saren heard Hidaki curse under his breath. In addition to that man's death and the others they had lost, they were down by almost a third of their number. Saren knew that if this continued, none of them would live past to see the day's end. "I don't suppose your records have anything about a situation like this?" Saren asked. The whole group was now altering between picking up their pace to stay ahead of the swarm and slowing down to focus on air defense.

"If there is, I don't recall reading about it." Hidaki answer, using his Ukaku to slice at a flyer that had gotten too close and lost its head as a result.

"Uhm, sirs." They heard Johnson say.

"Report private." Hidaki ordered.

Johnson pointed down the street. "I think our problems just multiplied exponentially."

What?" Both Saren and Hidaki said, looking over at where Johnson was pointing.

They stopped dead in their tracks. Saren was certain that his heart had just stopped. The rest of the survivors stopped as well, confused by why their leaders were stopping. Then a moment later, the reality of their predicament sank in. Saren heard one of the Terrans say something. "Alright, god, you can stop joking with us. Cause I'm not laughing."

Right in front of them, blocking their way, was a second horde of Dragon Orphans. They stood there snarling and hissing at the small group of survivors.

Hidaki was quick to recover from his stupor and began shouting orders. "Everyone turned back and." He stopped himself when he turned around.

Saren did the same and felt his heartbeat quicken again and faster than he thought was possible for it. The other swarm had caught up with them. Their group was now trapped on a two-way street with both ends blocked by the Dragon Orphans. If Saren had any doubt before, they were now laid to rest. They were going to die here.

Hidaki eyes frantically scanned the area around them, looking for any way out of this situation. But to his growing horror, nothing was coming to mind. He held up his rifle, keeping it aimed at the horde in front of him, as he backed away slowly. He was careful not to pull the trigger as he noticed the Dragon Orphans were holding their position.

"Why aren't they attacking?" He hears Johnson ask. "They're just standing there. Why don't they just get over with and attack us?"

"It's like they're waiting for something." One of the marines said, the fear slipping into his voice. By this time, the rest of the survivors had formed a defensive perimeter.

"That's because they are." Walkins respond through gritted teeth.

Hidaki nodded his agreement. He could already guess what they were waiting for. "They're waiting for the Dragon General."

Saren looked at him questioningly. "Why wait for him?" He asked.

"Because the Dragon General wants to kill us himself." Hidaki responded.

"What is this, some kind of game to that thing?" Asalin said, not hiding the bitterness.

"It is a game to him," Hidaki said. "To him, he's the predator that has just caught his poor unfortunate prey. He is going to want to enjoy that feeling for as long as he can." That would mean he was going to them all one at a time, and likely in highly gruesome ways.

Tibena scoffed. "Terran," He said with venom dripping from his tone. "The next time your kind creates monsters, do us and the rest of the galaxy a favor. Keep them on your spirits forsaken planet."

Before Hidaki responded to the Turian's rude comment, he noticed a familiar figure strolling through the horde of Dragon Orphans. "Well, that was an interesting chase." The Dragon General said with a predatory smile. "But now the game can truly begin." He glared at Saren. "You, Turian, is that your kind calls itself?" Saren didn't respond to the D-General's query. Instead, he shot back the glare. The D-General had an amused expression. "No matter. What you did there back there. Sending me flying into the air. That was some trick. I had heard that some of your kind could do things like that. Move objects with their mind and creating invisible walls to protect themselves. I've never seen it until now, and I must admit. I'm impressed." The monster's frown returned, he extended his arm out. "A little too much so." He growled. Then without warning, a Kuokaku shot from his shoulder. It stretched out in a red arc, shooting for Saren. Hidaki felt his eyes widen as time seemed to slow down. Saren was frozen in place as the bladed appendage reached out to him at high speed. Hidaki was about to move when a shadow crossed his line of sight. All out once, time resumed its course, followed by a sickening sound of metal and flesh being pierced.

Hidaki looked at Saren and held his breath. Saren was still alive, unharmed by the Dragon General's attack. The same could not be said about Macmius, she had jumped out in front of the younger Turian. Hidaki could see the expression on her face as it was hidden behind her helmet. But he imagined it was a cross between pain and pride.

The appendage removed itself from the Turian woman's body. She fell over a fast-growing pool of blood forming around her. Saren looked down at her, his mandibles twitching erratically and his eyes portraying shock.

"How disappointing." The Dragon General muttered as his Kuokaku wrapped around his arm. "But no less amusing."

That was when Hidaki heard Saren scream and saw him charge at the Dragon General.

"How disappointing." The Dragon General muttered as his Kuokaku wrapped around his arm. "But no less amusing."

That was when Saren felt something snapped inside of him. He had seen a lot of death over the last two years. Seen countless soldiers and civilians be butchered by these monsters. Some people may think of him as cold-hearted, but he felt remorse for all the lives lost. He, however, knew that there was nothing he could about it. To wallow in that feeling would do nothing for them or for the living. The best he could do was to keep fighting until the enemy was beaten or drew his last breath. However, that did not stop him from developing a deep-seated hatred for the Dragon Orphans for the destruction they brought to the galaxy.

But this Dragon General was something different. At least with the rest of the Dragon Orphans, they were just following their natural as a mindless swarm driven by the need to devour. The Dragon General's callousness, however, was anything but mindless. Instead, it was purposeful and did so with sadistic joy. This being was not being driven by an uncontrollable urge. It was cruel because it wanted to be, and it enjoyed it.

Saren thought he heard Hidaki say something, but he couldn't be bothered to ask what it was. He charged at the monster that looked like a Terran. He felt a raged feel scream escape from his throat. Biotic energy enveloped his body.

He reached out his hand and fired a pulse of that energy, aiming for the Dragon General. He sidestepped, the pulse moving past him and hitting the swarm behind him. Several of the Dragon Orphans were shredded as the pulse exploded. Before the Dragon General could react, Saren pulled the trigger on his rifle. Several bullets were able to cut through the creature before its Koukaku stretched out block out the rest of the rifle's shots. Closing the distance, Saren raised his weapon and tried to smash it against the shell-like appendage. Try being the keyword, as the Dragon General reached out and grabbed the weapon's barrel and crushed it.

Its eyes meet with Saren's, just in time for a punch to connect to its jaw. The Dragon General's head twisted to side from the impact, a small look of surprise showing on its face. Saren seeing a chance, pressed his perceived advantage. He threw another punch. Then another, and another. And another. Each strike from the young turian was fuel by small amounts of biotic energy, allowing them to hit with more force.

"Monsters!" Saren shouted. "All of your monsters. You'll pay for what you've done to the galaxy!" Saren heard a voice from behind him, but he couldn't hear, being swept up in triad. "I'll kill all of you. Every single last one of you!" Saren threw another punch.

He felt his arm being grabbed by a powerful gripe. He looks at his arm to see that the D-General's hand wrapped around his arm. It twisted.

Crack!

Saren screamed when he felt his bones twisted and snap from the force. His scream was cut short when he felt a hand clamp over his mouth. He looks up at the Dragon General, seeing an expressionless face morph into a sadistic smile.

One moment the young Turian felt a pulling sensation in his arm. Then the next, he fell back over to his back, wondering why he could not feel his arm anymore. He tried to move it over his face to see what was wrong, only for it not to respond. His vision was blurring, and the sounds around him were blurring. He turned his head over. The last thing he saw before blacking out was a bloody stump where his arm should be.

The moment Saren's body hit the ground, Hidaki's body reacted. The Dragon General was about to bring its Kuokaku down on the unconscious Turian. Hidaki was faster. In the moment it took to blink an eye, he was standing in front of his comrade in arms, using his Ukaku to block the blow that would have ended his life. Unlike the last time, Hidaki was ready for the force behind the impact, firmly standing on his two feet.

Before the D-General could pull back from its attack, Hidaki pushed out with his Ukaku. Then, turning the momentum against itself, the D-General's deadly appendage was tossed aside, staggering the owner. Seeing an opportunity, Hidaki delivered a gut punch to the creature that had it stepping back.

Hidaki wasn't about to let up his offensive. He leapt at the monster readying a punch to its head. However, the D-General was quick to recover and reach out to grab him. Moving on instinct, Hidaki shifted his course slightly, moving out of the way of his opponent's grip. Unfortunately, it was not enough to completely dodge the D-General's hand. He felt one of his Ukaku be grabbed. The half-ghoul eyes wandered over to his wing-like limb and cursed when they saw the Dragon General's hand wrapped around it and squeezing with enough force to crush it.

Not a good position to be in, Hidaki acknowledges, but not bad enough for him to find a way out. Masterfully controlling the structure of his Ukaku, he softens it and recedes its spikes turning it into a more flexible form. At the same time, in the area around where the D-General's hand was wrapped around, he had it harden, and the spikes shot out, piercing through the creature's hand. Then, using his own momentum Hidaki twisted around in the air, swing his leg out.

The D-General had just enough time to widen his eyes before Hidaki's leg connect with the side of its head. He felt its grip loosen around his Ukaku. He retracted the spikes and slipped it out from the creature's hand. As the D-General staggered back, holding the side of its head, Hidaki had his other Ukaku stretch out and slash at its head, cutting a long gash on its face.

Pulling back his Ukaku, Hidaki landed on the ground. He was breathing hard, and his heart felt like it was about to explode. That was twice now that he managed to injury the Dragon General. A feat onto itself, considering that most would struggle to survive the initial encounter. But he knew that was all he could do. He knew he was stronger than most ghouls, or even half-ghouls, coming from the Kaneki family, saw to that. But he knew there was no way he was going to be able to beat this thing. He was not one of those special forces units that were trained to take down threats like this.

A few times, he had been offered a chance to join the special forces units with the armed service. To undergo the training and augmentation that would turn him into one of the deadliest weapons in the Federation's arsenal. He had always turned them down, not wanting that kind of life. Now though, he wished he had. Maybe then they wouldn't be in this mess. Then again, if he had taken their offer, he wouldn't be here, and his squad would still be here just under the command of someone else.

Hidaki glance over to where Saren was, relieved to see he was still breathing, erratic as it may be. His friend was still alive, but if he didn't get medical treatment soon, that would change. He glanced back over to where the rest of his unit was and seeing they were doing something. He didn't know what it was, but he figures that they might have figured a way out. He saw Walkins look over at him and nod. Receiving the silent message, Hidaki nodded back and turned his attention back to the Dragon-General.

The D-General had recovered and was staring at him fury etched unto its face. The large gash along its face had closed up, leaving a nasty-looking scar. Hidaki hoped whatever his squadmates were doing that they do it quickly. Because Hidaki had a strong suspicion that he now had the full undivided attention of the Dragon General.

For a moment, both fighters looked at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. The D-General was the first to act. He charged at Hidaki, shooting out its arm and wrapping it with the Koukaku making it seem like a thrown spear.

Hidaki reacted fast and moved out of the way just before the attack could skewer him. Then, turning to face the Dragon General, he aimed his rifle at its side, planning on surprising the enemy with an attack to its side. The D-General, however, saw it coming and twisted around and grabbed the weapon crushing the barrel, and pulled Hidaki in. Knowing what was coming next, Hidaki lets go of the gun, and, using the momentum he gained from being pulled in, Hidaki dropped down and slid under the Dragon General. Coming out from behind, he spun up and slashed out at the creature's backside with his Ukaku. The Dragon General growled as its back was cut open. It turned around, lashing out its Kuokaku in an arch, drops of crimson flying into the air. Hidaki ducked under the attack before he could be cut in two. He then rolled out of the way of a kick aimed at him.

The next several moments of the fight were spent with Hidaki mostly being on the defensive. With him dodging out of the way the Dragon General's attack, he would occasionally block an attack he knew he couldn't avoid. A few times, an attack would graze his armor but wouldn't go any deeper.

The Dragon General was fast, Hidaki would give it that. But its movements were sluggish and predictable, though they did pack a lot of power behind them. Hidaki quickly realized that while he had the speed disadvantage, he could keep up and was more flexible and maneuverable than the Dragon-General. He would use that to avoid any attack that the D-general threw at him and manage to get some attacks of his own.

The Dragon General seemed to realize the same thing judging by the growing frustration displayed in its growls. It did not matter how faster or powerful its attacks were. If they didn't hit their mark, they were useless.

Hidaki would laugh if it were not for his own frustration, for one simple reason. He couldn't beat the Dragon General at this rate. Any attack he could get in on it would quickly heal, and Hidaki didn't have the speed or power to overwhelm its regenerative abilities. Worse yet, Hidaki felt himself tiring out, and the Dragon General, in comparison, barely looked winded. Stamina was another key factor in this fight, and Hidaki was at a severe disadvantage in that department.

Dodging another attack aimed at his head, Hidaki thought he saw something flash in the Dragon General's eyes. "What are you planning?" He asked himself. The D-General spun around and lunged at Hidaki.

Hidaki sidestepped the attack and was ready for his opponent's next move. However, surprise than horror took over when he first saw that the Dragon General continued to move away from him and then realized its intent. The D-General was surging towards the still unconscious Saren, its Kuokaku extended out, ready to pierce through his skull.

Hidaki didn't think as his body reacted. "Saren!"

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Hidaki gritted his teeth as the Koukaku went through his armor, cutting into his back and came out from his abdomen. His blood dripped onto Saren's unconscious form. Hidaki tried his best to ignore the searing pain he felt as the Dragon General dig its Kuokaku deeper in. "Bastard." Hidaki spat out.

He heard no response from the Dragon General. But he knew that thing was smiling down on him with sadistic glee. He saw the shadow of its free arm raise and be wrapped by a second Kuokaku.

"I'm sorry, Olivia, Ken, it looks like I'm not coming home." He looked at Saren. "I'm sorry to you to Saren. You could have lived a good life." He saw the shadow swing down.

As that happened, he saw a hand glowing with blue light shoot past his head. He turned his head just in time to see a powerful pulse of biotic energy send the Dragon General flying into the air. Hidaki held back a scream as he felt the Kuokaku inside him be violently ripped out. He held his hand over where his abdomen was bleeding. Saren's hand falls back to the ground, wisps of smoke coming from it. Hidaki look at Saren, shocked that he was still conscious.

For a moment, they met eyes, and Saren gave him the best smile he could muster. "You're welcome." He said. Then his eyes rolled back, and he went limp.

That was when smoke filled the area, and Hidaki felt someone grab him.

Walkins was an old man. Much older than the others on his squad, and certainly older than his commanding officer. He had been in his thirties when the Third Dragon war had reached its conclusion more than seventy years ago. Whenever he looked back over his long life, Walkins would admit while it could have been better, he had lived a good life.

He had a wife who gave him two wonderful children, though it pained him to know she and his firstborn were killed in an attack by the Dragon Orphans. His second son had gone on to become a botanist and later gave him a grandson, who recently gave him a great-grandchild. It was a point of pride for him, equally so was his long service to the Federation.

He had signed up the moment he had become old enough to serve and had stayed in since. At first, it had been out of a sense of patriotic duty to his nation. Being young and naïve, he had wanted to defend the freedoms and values that the Terran people aspired to. To some degree, he still did, but as he grew older, he became less concerned with protecting some abstract idea. His desire had shifted to wanting the protect the people of the Federation, to protecting those he cared about and protecting his brothers and sisters in arms.

In all of his almost eighty years of service, some might question why he hadn't attained a higher rank than he had now. It was a valid question and one he asked himself sometimes. There were a lot of reasons, some good, some bad. But if Walkins had to narrow it down to one thing, it would be this. He was not cut out to lead. Certainly, he could lead a small fire team or even a squad. But anything above that he had never been comfortable with. He was better at taking orders than giving them and preferred to be on the frontlines rather than be behind a desk.

When Walkins imagined himself dying, it was always one of two ways. Either in bed or dying on the battlefield. Today he knew it would be the latter.

About thirty or forty minutes after their encounter with the Dragon General, which was longer than most others would last, they were running from an angry swarm of D-Orphans within the city's sewer system. He had been the one to spot the manhole in the street. Or was it called a Turian-hole since this one of their cities? Walkins shook his head, it didn't' matter what it was called, so as long it gave them a chance to escape. They had managed to put some good distance between them, but Walkins knew that their chances of escape were slim at best.

Even if that Saren guy had sent that Dragon General flying, who knows where. Speaking of, he turned his head over to look at their commanding officer holding the prone of the man that saved his life. The poor kid that was no way to lose an arm. Hell, losing an arm, in general, was bad enough, but having it ripped off like that had to hurt like a son of bitch. Lucky for him, he was unconscious now, and an application of medigel had stopped the bleeding, but Walkins knew what the Turian needed right now was a good doctor.

Something that may not happen if they couldn't find a way out of this mess. "How close is the enemy?" Hidaki asked an officer next to him.

The man looked behind him. "I don't see the enemy, sir." The tunnels echoed with the sounds of roars. "But I sure as hell hear them. I say they're only a few minutes behind us, sir." Walkins was inclined to agree with the man. But, if anything, a few minutes was being generous. The enemy was catching up to them fast, and having to carry wounded wasn't helping their odds.

He heard his commanding officer curse. "I don't suppose anyone has any ideas?"

Walkins had one idea, one that might buy the rest of the unit the time they needed to get away. He stopped running. "I do." He said.

His commanding officer stopped running as well. "Walkins, what are you doing?" He asked, carefully shifting the unconscious turian in his arms.

The others had stopped as well. "Sir, the only way that anyone here is going to survive this day, is if someone stays behind." Walkins readied his weapon. "I'm volunteering to stay behind along with a few others. We'll try to distract the enemy long enough for you guys to get away."

His superior look about ready to argue against him. The roars in the distance stopped him. The young man looks at him with a critical stare, then he nodded at Walkins. "How many do you need?"

"Sir!" Johnson objected.

The Lieutenant silenced him. "I won't argue this, Private. The survival of the unit takes precedent." Hidaki looked back at Walkins. "Now then, how many do you need?" They heard the roars getting closer. "And I would suggest thinking quickly."

Walkins had already had an answer for the Lieutenant. "About five or six, sir."

The young man nodded. "Alright then. If anyone wishes to volunte-."

"I'll stay, sir." Asalin said, stepping forward.

The Lieutenant looked at them for a moment. "Are you sure? Once you made your decision, there is no turning back."

The older turian nodded. "Like my friend here," Asalin said, pointing at Walkins. "I'm an old man who has served his people for a very long time."

"Hey, I'm not that old." Walkins mocked his offense.

Asalin ignored him. "It's up to us old coots to make sure young people like you live on. Plus, can you really imagine me dying of old age." The old Turian huffed. "I'll probably be yelling and raging at all of the people around my bedside. So, I'm going to save them the trouble." A few others had joined them, bringing their number to around six.

The Lieutenant nodded at all of them. "Very well." He gave them an awkward salute being careful not to drop his passenger. The rest of the unit doing the same. "It has been an honor serving with all of you. Die well. If we make it out this, I will put in and commendation for all of you."

Walkins and the rest of the volunteers returned the gesture. "The honor has been ours's sir." He removed his dog tags and handed them over to his commander, as did the others. With that, the remainder of their unit resumed their run down the sewers. Walkins turned around, facing the small group of volunteers. "All right, people, we have a job to do. So lets get to it."

Quickly everyone took up firing positions along the tunnel. Walkins had crotched down next to Asalin. "So, you envisioned yourself screaming all those who would bother coming to your death bed." Walkins jested at the old Turian. "I can't imagine that's a long list for gratitude like that."

Asalin snorted. "Can you really imagine me doing anything else? We both know I'm not an easy person to get along with."

Walkins cracked a smile. He has found a good friend in Asalin. An old man like him who been around long enough to have seen just about everything. "No, I can't." He said. "Actually, I always thought you would be too angry to dye. Good thing I was wrong. It would be awfully lonely in hell without a friend."

"Hell?" Asalin asked.

"Oh, just a nice little place mean old coots like us go to when we die. Suppose to be full of lakes of fire and stuff." Walkins causally explained.

"Sounds like my kind of place," Asalin said. "Certainly, better than this place. Did you really have to pick a sewer for us to escape through and die in?

"Well, it was either that or take our chances with the nearby buildings." Walkins said.

"I think the buildings would have smelt better." Asalin said. The roars were close now.

"Just be glad that these helmets filter out the worst of it," Walkins said, tapping the side of his helmet. "Otherwise, I think we would be passed out right now."

"It must be worse for the Dragon Orphans," Asalin said. "If I remember correctly, their sense of smell is better than ours."

Walkins nodded. "That it is. Which is way escape through the sewers is the best chance the others have. The bastards have our scent, but the longer we stay here, the more our scent will mix with the smell of the sewers."

"Us staying behind is more than just to slow down the enemy, isn't it?" Asalin asked. He didn't take his eyes off the tunnel. "If was as you said, all we had to do was keep ahead of the pack long enough for them to lose our scent."

Walkins smiled grimly behind his helmet. "The Dragon Orphans would have continued to hunt us even if they did lose our scent. They knew we were here and would have swarmed through these tunnels until they found us. That's why we have to stay here." He looked around, seeing the others were nodding. They understood where he was going. "Without the Dragon General, those bastards aren't terribly bright. Once they kill us, they will think they got all of us. After that, Hidaki and the others will have a much easier time getting away. They will still have to avoid random hunting groups, but they'll at least have a chance to get away."

The roars of the Dragon Orphans were much closer now. They would be here any moment. "You think they'll ever find our remains?"

Walkins shook his head. "Doubt it. We'd be lucky if they found pieces of our armor."

"Figured as much." Asalin said. "Hey, Walkins."

Walkins turned his head to face the older Turian. "Yes?"

He knew that the Turian was cracking a smile under his helmet. "When we get to this hell place. Drinks are on me."

Walkins smiled behind his helmet. "I'll hold you to that." A moment later, a group of Dragon Orphans rounded the corner. One of them spotted the small group of marines and roared at them, getting the attention of the others, and doubtless bring the rest of the swarm to their location. They charged, Walkins held up his rifle. "Open fire." He shouted, above the noise of weapons fire. Their last fight began.

Hidaki didn't know how long he and the rest of the unit had been running. His best guess was an hour, maybe two. The sounds of weapons fire had died out a long time ago. He wasn't sure if it was because they had gotten so far from the others or if the fighting had reached its end. Both most likely.

Hidaki looked down at his friend Saren. Still unconscious in his arms, the Turian looked like he had seen better days. "Sir, I believe we can slow down now." Johnson said. "The enemy doesn't appear to be pursuing us anymore."

Hidaki was inclined to agree they had not heard the roars of the Dragon Orphans more sometime now. Nor had they seen any other sign of pursuit from them. Walkin's plan had given them the time they needed to get away.

"And it only cost us a third of our people." Hidaki thought bitterly to himself. It never felt good to lose people under his command. Especially when he knowingly left them to die. He thought over Johnson's request and took a quick glance at the rest of the survivors. They looked tired and ragged from all the running and fighting they had to do today. While Hidaki wanted to keep up their pace, he knew that pushing the others too much do them no good. "Alright," He said, slowing down to a walked. The others did the same. "We'll slow down and try to catch our breath."

"Thank you, sir." Johnson said.

Hidaki nodded at the younger man. His eyes went back down to Saren. "In fact, let's stop here for a few minutes." He ordered, stopping in his tracks. "We'll rest up and tend to our wounded. I want four people to keep an eye out while the rest of us recover. Be ready to move out at a moment's notice. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

Hidaki walked up to one of the sewer walls and carefully placed Saren up against it. Now that they weren't running for their lives, Hidaki was able to get a good look at the young Turian's injury. All the remained of his arm was a stump with bits of flesh and muscle hanging off it. Thankfully, the bleeding had been stopped by a quick application of medi-gel. Hidaki silently thanked whatever deity there was, that the stuff was compatible with other species.

"How is he?" Canus said.

Hidaki shook his head. "Not good, I would say." He responded. "I don't suppose you have any medical training?"

Canus shook his head. "Only the most basic things. Nothing that would help him."

Hidaki sighed as he figured as such. "Would it be okay to remove his helmet, to check if he's breathing properly?"

"I believe so."

Hidaki nodded and put his hands around Saren's helmet, looking for the release of mechanism. He found it, and with a press followed by a hiss, the helmet came off. Setting the object to the side Hidaki got a look at the Turian's face. He was relieved to see that his mandibles were twitching slowly and appeared to be still breathing. "He seems to be breathing right," Hidaki said. "Hopefully, the doctors back a the safe-zone can fix him up."

"That is if we manage to get him there in time." Canus interjected.

It was a grim statement, but Hidaki knew that the man was right. They would have to move quickly if Saren was to survive. "Once we get moving again, we'll try to find a way up to the surface. Once we ascertain our position, we'll move to the closest safe zone." He saw Canus nod his agreement.

Canus looked like he was about to say something when they both heard a commotion. "Enemy contact!" Hidaki turned around and saw several Dragon Orphans charging at them.

"Open fire." Hidaki shouted, pulling out his pistol. Thankfully, the attacking Dragon Orphans were not a part of the massive swarm from earlier and appeared to be a smaller hunting group. Several of the D-Orphans went down from weapons fire. However, a few were able to get in close enough to engage in melee combat. One unlucky marine had his throat torn out by the jaws of a regular Dragon-Orphan.

The creature took notice of Hidaki and charged at him with a roar. Hidaki unloads his pistol into the lone D-Orphan. A few shots miss, but the rest struck its torso. One luck went into the creature's head.

Hidaki smiled briefly, seeing the D-Orphan sway as it died. Then its body expanded, Hidaki only had half a second to widen his eyes. The thing exploded, and the Lieutenant flew back as the tunnels were felled with gas.

Well, that was something. What has happened with Saren will be seen in the next chapter, and boy is he in for a surprise. Anyways to let you guys know I'll be picking up the pace with story as I hope to finish it quickly, so expect a few timeskips after the next chapter.

As always be seeing you in the next update, whenever that will be.