The sounds of magic and accelerator fire filled the barren hell scape that once the jungles of Virmire. The defending Batarians had been force behind the facilities walls from the barrages of fire, and Utsuho's attack that seemed to melt the very jungles, and as soon as they could they had redeployed to their positions and began firing on the advancing alliance forces. Unlike in the jungles however their movement was not restricted. Instead of a powerful yet slow advance that could be stalled, the Alliance force had become a tidal wave crushing all before them.
A wave that even the walls of the facility could not stop. For while it slowed them for but a moment once the defenders outside the walls were destroyed, Earthrazers among the assaulting force got to work on the walls. Hallways behind the walls and thin spots in the foundations were found. Magic, demolitions charges and pure strength were used to tear them open, and the tide began flooding into the entire facility.
"Bloody Batarians, learn how to fight!" Wrex roared as he turned into a hallway and let his gun roar, scattering burning plasma all across its length and blowing apart a number of Batarians heads before he ducked back behind the wall, narrowly avoiding a barrage of accelerator fire.
"Well, they know how to defend hallways at least!" Tali said as she walked past Wrex and into the open hallway, her exosuit protecting her from fire as she raised her automatic laser rifle and began firing down the hall nonstop. "They do not seem to know how to do much else though."
"Probably clones. They all seem to look and sound the same," Wrex grumbled as he threw a grenade down the hall past Tali, blowing apart a barricade that her lasers were simply going through, but not destroying. When the smoke cleared the Batarians were fleeing down the hallway, only for that hallway to start blowing apart, Desolas and Adaaya coming down the hall with Nihlus right behind them.
"Anything good down that way?" Garrus asked as the three of them came up to their group, having split off barely five minutes before to check out a split down a section of hallways.
"Just a small security station with some cameras," Adaaya said with a shrug.
"There was a computer with a map of the facility. Should be helpful once it gets uploaded to the combat network," Nihlus added with a smile.
"Yeah, once it gets uploaded. Should've just given you a wristcomp, would have been faster than you using that omnitool," Desolas said as the distant sound of explosions and accelerator fire seemed to peak and then just as suddenly drop.
"I suppose, but I have been using this omnitool for years. That doesn't matter though, from what the computer said this facility is sectioned into four areas. The military zone we are where their forces stay, a research area, a central area labelled, 'the capsules', and a large hanger at the rear of the facility."
"So tactically we should control their hanger first, no?" Garrus asked.
"Yes, but the problem is the design of the facility," Nilhus said as everyone's omnitools pinged, alerting them to new information on the combat network. Desolas then brought it up via a hologram as Nihlus continued, "The facility is built so that you have to go the central area. And it looks like the hanger can only be reached through the research wing."
"We have to go through the whole facility to stop them from escaping then. Keelah," Tali swore as she looked at the map and tilted her head. "It looks like the research wing is where the facilities generators are. If we cut the generators it might make things easier."
The entire building seemed to shake alongside the sound of stone being broken apart. Cracks even formed in the walls in some places.
"Hmm, one moment," Desolas muttered as he tapped his wristcomp, causing an overlay overtop of the map of the facility, showing green blips all over the area they were in, with a few entering the central courtyard area labeled the capsules. "Looks like Yuugi is focusing on this area, while Youmu is leading forces into the central area. Let's head there and go straight for the research wing."
"Alright, then we'll clear the way!" Adaaya exclaimed as she turned and rocketed down the narrow hall, slamming into a wall and bouncing right off of it out of sight, leaving crack marks on the wall itself. Barely a second later Desolas was following and disappeared just as quickly.
"Spirits, I wish they would stop rushing off like that!" Nihlus grumbled as he, and everyone else followed suit down the hallways.
Many rooms in the military area still had swarms of Batarians in them, using them as holdouts and chokepoints. Some were more effective than others, but as most of them were already under siege, they managed to get past unscathed.
It did not stop Nihlus from taking a moment to watch or provide assistance as he moved. He had, of course, heard stories of Alliance Bladebreakers. They were said to be nightmares on the battlefield and the primary reason that Shanxi had been such a massive loss for the Hierarchy. Most Turians did not believe it unless they had been there, and even seeing The Normandy's crew and how they worked he still believed that some of the stories ha to be over exaggerated some.
The more he saw though, the less likely it seemed to be.
One hallway area was turned into a shooting range as a trio of Batarians manned a pair of accelerator turrets, spraying rounds down the hallway to such an extent that the far wall was starting to have a pile of metal pellets pooling below it. It was undone in barely ten seconds as one Bladebreaker came around the corner and charged the turrets with nothing but what looked like a giant metal head of some kind of horned animal. The accelerator rounds bounced of their shielding as they rushed forward, not stopping before they reached the turret and allowing them to simply crash through the Batarians and the door behind them. The doorway was then stormed by almost a dozen other Bladebreakers that flooded in behind the first. Screams and the sound of metal on hardsuit armour echoed out of the room as Desolas drew way, making his blood chill.
That was only one of the simpler events he had seen as well. Some hallways were cleared by Bladebreakers who were tearing through Batarians with their own claws, while others used their teeth, and many used swords, spears, clubs, axes, and even spiked mauls. The variety of their weapons was both astonishing and horrific in how brutal they were, and many halls were already starting to turn a sickly combination of red, brown and pink from Batarian blood and gore splattering across them.
The military area of the base however appeared to be only the beginning, for when the group caught up to Desolas and Adaaya in the facilities main central courtyard area a whole different scene greeted them.
The central area appeared to have a split purpose. It was a huge area crisscrossed with trenches of stone filled with an off blue liquid, and in the middle of many of the crisscrossing rivers were towers of metal and glass pods. Some were filled with nearly fully grown Batarian clones, while other looked like children, or not even Batarians yet. Most however, seemed empty, as if they had been recently unloaded. Metal grate bridges went over the rivers of fluid at regular places, each one connecting where the towers of pods were. Underneath the bridges were what looked like fragile mechanical pumps, forcing the fluid to continue moving and not become stagnant.
Hundreds of dead Batarian bodies littered the area. Youmu and a handful of her forces were in the area cutting down soldiers like it was nothing, but the towers provided ample cover, and the Batarian soldiers were using it to their advantage. Worse still, some of the towers of pods looked to have been destroyed or knocked down, turning the already very complicated area into a maze of walkways, ruins, bodies, hardpoints and flooding pools of cloning liquid.
"Adaaya! Finally come to join the party?" Youmu called as she cut a Batarian's gun in half, then swung her blade back up and cut the Batarian's head right off. It landed with a splash in the river of cloning fluid.
"Got held up in the bunk areas. Got a map though, it's on the network," Adaaya called back as she backstopped and dodged the shot of a Batarian with a sniper rifle, then proceeded to fly straight at him and kick him into a cloning tower, glass shattering and metal cracking from the blow.
"Be careful, those towers are not very sturdy and I've had a few come crashing down already, its making things difficult," Youmu called out again as she pulled out a second blade and began swinging them both rapidly, seemingly cutting or knocking accelerator rounds out of the air before they hit her. The one firing at her couldn't be seen, but Nihlus figured they were getting more than just a bit annoyed at the sight.
"Which way to the research wing?" Nihlus called out to Youmu as he took a position behind a cloning tower and began taking shots at the Batarians he could see.
"Why!? There's still a lot of enemies here!"
"We need to get to the hanger and make sure that Saren cannot leave from there," Garrus said as his weapon, an Alliance beam rifle, sent a searing stream into a Batarian and bored a hole right through his chest, causing him to fall backwards into a broken pod tower.
"It's somewhere on the other side of this area, I think. However the cloning towers are not in a perfect grid, and it is difficult to see anywhere here, let alone to the other side," Youmu said as she swung her sword behind her. Then she suddenly disappeared, and a trio of cloning towers suddenly fell over, crashing into others and creating a cacophony of tearing steel and shattering glass as they crashed into the ground, other towers, and the rivers of fluid. Suddenly Youmu was in Nihlus's line of sight, cutting down a Batarian before leaping over a river and slashing a pod off of a tower before striking it with the pommel of one blade and sending it flying into another, knocking them into the fluid river. "If you intend to go that far ahead though, it will probably be a while for support, this place seems to have hundreds of Batarians everywhere. It's like they're ants coming out of the woodwork!" Youmu exclaimed as she came over to where the group was.
"Well, we do. Can you hold the attention of the ones around here for a while? Just until the rest of the forces catch up?" Adaaya asked hopefully as she picked up a metal plate and threw it across the area she could see, the plate colliding with a Batarian and decapitating him.
"I can, but you Citadel types probably won't like it," Youmu said as she looked to Garrus, Nihlus and Wrex.
"Why? Whatever you are planning can't be that bad," Wrex said with a shrug.
Youmu smiled as she took out a piece of golden paper that looked rather sturdy, and was covered in symbols and runes that seemed to glow.
"High end spellcard, we need to move now!" Ashley yelled, speaking for the first time in quite a while, her eyes filled with actual fear and worry before she broke from cover and began running.
"Uh, what is her problem?" Wrex asked.
"Past experience. She's right though, we need to move now!" Kaiden said as he moved to follow.
"Move now, no weapons, just running," Desolas commanded as Wrex and Garrus watched Youmu throw the card into the air and impale it on her sword, a strange light covering it and then her.
"200 Yojana-,"
"RUN NOW! Don't stop for anything!" Tali screamed in panic, her exosuit moving at a speed no one thought possible and causing Nihlus, Garrus and Wrex to get the message and follow the group.
"- in one slash."
Nihlus looked back as he heard Youmu's words just in time to see her take a stance that would draw her blade. Then she was gone. He didn't think anything of it and turned back to see Batarians raising their guns at their group. Desolas and Adaaya seemed to deal with them at a distance, but there were too many. Why did they insist everyone put their weapons away and just run?
The answer came a second later when a silver blur, barely noticeable for even a fraction of a second, past him and everything he could see. Red blood spurt in ribbons out of every Batarian he could see simultaneously, as if the spirits anger had been made manifest. They cried out, unaware of what had just happened, and then every tower of cloning pods was sundered as their lowest points were shredded alongside an omnipresent cacophony of steel on steel and tearing metal.
Then the towers surrendered to gravity and began to fall in whichever direction was easiest for them. Shattering glass and screams filled the air as they ran, ducking and barely managing to avoid being crushed under towers of steel as they moved.
"Why is everything falling apart!?" Garrus yelled in confusion as a piece of flying pipe almost struck him in the head, missing only due to his reflexes.
"Youmu's spellcard, it was one of her most powerful," Desolas stated as Adaaya flew down from above and punched a broken cloning tower out of the group's path, creating even more noise and chaos before doing it again. "As I understand it, she compresses her power and it allows her to make a slash at a target, or many, at the speed of 200 Yojana in just under a second."
"What in in the spirits name is a Yojana?" Garrus asked.
"An old measurement from Earth," Kaiden provided. "If I understand the math right, it allows Youmu to move at somewhere between mach 30 and seventy, or something.
"That is impossible!" Nihlus yelled as he noticed that he could see a building ahead of them through the cleared path Adaaya was making.
"Explain that to the one who essentially destroyed a massive area and killed nearly every Batarian around!" Ashley yelled in a near hysterical panic. "spellcards are power, the ultimate power. Without a spell card it would take her far longer to gather enough of her power and pull off even a fraction of what she did. And trust me; I know what spellcards can do!"
"No, it's impossible. Nothing can move that fast on a terrestrial body."
"Youmu does not care!" Adaaya called out with a laugh before rocketing down and crushing a tower that was in their way, revealing the building before them and a sign that clearly stated it as the research wing. "We're here!"
"I'll get the door," Desolas stated as he threw his arms forward and then to the sides. In response, the blocks of metal in the holders in his armour shot out as liquid and plunged into the door as solid spikes, only to then swung to the sides and rip the doors into the walls, far past where the frame was. They turned liquid and returned back to him as the group passed through.
What greeted them inside the research wing was utter and complete silence.
"Well, this is. . . .concerning," Nihlus said as he tried to catch his breath, the amount of running far more than any normal Turians would be capable outside of a life or death struggle. And considering how many towers had nearly fallen on them it had been.
"Yes, but it works for us," Desolas said as he turned to Wrex, Garrus and Nihlus, the latter two breathing heavily. "Take a second to catch your breath everyone." He brought up the map of the facility again, prompting Nihlus to come over to him and look it over as well.
"This facility has three areas by the looks of it then. Only one appears to go to the hangers," Nihlus noted as he looked at the map.
"Yeah, not the best situation," Adaaya agreed. "I think we should hit the labs here and here before hitting the hanger. They may still be moving things if the facility is being abandoned, and by how quiet it is, that seems likely."
"If Saren is abandoning this place he'll be at the hanger though," Desolas said darkly. "I am not letting him get away again."
"Then let's split out forces. The three of us hit the labs, and the rest hit the hangers and hold anyone there until we can catch up. I doubt a bunch of scientists will hold us up anyway," Adaaya said with a wave of a hand.
"As much as I hate splitting power, I think that is best," Nihlus agreed as he pulled out his rifle and checked it over for a second. "I can go anytime."
"Alright then," Desolas began was he took a step around Nihlus. "Kaiden, Ashley, Tali, Wrex, Garrus. We need you five to head to the hanger and hold it. Do not let any ships leave. We will be hitting the research labs in case anything of note is there, and then joining you at the hanger. Understand?"
Kaiden, Ashley and Tali all nodded in understanding.
"Good, see you in a bit then," Desolas said unceremoniously as he turned and ran off, Adaaya follow in the same instant and forcing Nihlus to rush to not be left behind.
"There are three research labs; I'm assuming we're hitting the biggest one first?" Nihlus said as he caught up, fully aware that Deoslas and Adaaya were moving intentionally slower for him.
"No, let's hit the two smaller ones at the edge of the facility first. Feels like where Saren would put himself if he needed a lab for anything," Desolas said as the trio turned down a hallway, finding it disturbingly empty.
It didn't take long for them to enter the first of the two smaller labs. The door was unlocked, and the inside of the lab looked to have been the site of a small explosions. Its few computers and screens were in ruins, the floor was burned, and lying in a heap to one side was the body of an Asari, lying headless against the wall.
"Well, there's nothing usefully here, huh?" Adaaya said as she walked up to one of the computers and tapped it a few times to see if anything would respond. Nothing did.
"Yes, I am surprised. Was this sabotage, or a betrayal, I wonder?" Nihlus asked out loud as he looked around, his eyes scanning for anything of note and finding a small data slate that had fallen off a desk. Picking it up, he found it still in working condition and began scanning the file names on it. "I found a log by the looks of it. Of a doctor Rana Thanoptis. Neurosurgeon."
"What does it say?" Desolas asked as he was looking over a glass case that was broken and full of broken vials and containers, scanning them with his wristcomp.
"She was developing the mental stimulation program for the Batarian clones so that they would have a full understanding of a few languages and know how to fight at least as proficiently as a soldier out of basic training," Nihlus explained as he scrolled through some of the files. "One of her logs mentions working with another scientist in the larger lab among strange artefacts. It also states that she felt strange after being around them. . . . . the logs get less and less coherent as they continue. The last log was written, seven hours ago and says she fears for her life and want her masters to protect her. Doesn't say from what though."
"That doesn't sound ominous at all," Adaaya said with a scowl as she walked over to the door on the small labs far side and tapped the console. Then tapped it again to no avail. "Huh, this door is locked."
"Then open it," Desolas said as he looked over. "Not like a door could stop either of us."
"True," Adaaya said with a grin as she slammed both of her hands into the doors, embedding her fingers in the metal. The doors groaned, creaked and sparked as she reefed on them, and finally after a few moments of a horrendous groaning the doors parted, becoming embedded in the frames at awkward angles.
With a sigh Nihlus followed the two of them into the lab and were surprised at what they found. It was even smaller than the neurosurgeons lab, holding only two computers atop a narrow walkway, with a ramp that led down to below to some kind of monument. It was the monument that caught Nihlus's attention however, making him immediately head toward it.
"Wait, is that a, beacon?" Adaaya asked unsurely.
"Yes, it is," Nihlus replied as he walked up to it, but not so close he thought it would activate. "A working, and undamaged, Prothean beacon."
"Going to activate it?" Adaaya asked as she stepped up behind Nihlus. "You got a partial message of the other exploding maybe this will complete it for you?"
"Perhaps. I am, unsure if trying to do so is safe," Nihlus admitted before he took a step forward. "Unfortunately, we have little time for safety. Step back."
Adaaya did so just as Nihlus walked right up to the beacon, so close he could touch it with a claw. As he did it began to glow and he was lifted into the air. For a few second he looked to be in incredible pain, but just as quickly the beacon stopped, dropping Nihlus to the ground, breathing heavily before swearing. "Spirits, dammit!"
"Didn't fill in the blanks?" Desolas asked, having come down to watch a second earlier.
"No, it did. Sort of. I have more of the vision, but it is still jumbled and mixed up," Nihlus said as he stood up. "I'll have to consult with Doctor T'soni again. Hopefully she can help me make sense of the visions."
"So you saw nothing that you can make sense of?" Adaaya asked curiously.
"Not yet, no. I think I may be able to the doctor's help and some time. The images are, vivid. Too vivid at the moment I think. It shouldn't impede my abilities, however."
"That's good, because the computers up there are blank. No drives whatsoever," Desolas said, sounding very angry about it as he ascended the ramp backup. Only for one of the computers that had not responded whatsoever, to light up with red lights.
"Well, that looks promising," Nihlus said as they all moved toward it, the red lights forming a strange shape, like some kind of multi-legged creature with a shell.
"YOU ARE NOT SAREN."
"What the, a VI? No, this is, I think I recognize this, somehow," Nihlus muttered, his body going cold for reasons he could not yet grasp.
"YOU, ARE NOTHING BUT RUDEMENTARY BEINGS, OF BLOOD AND FLESH, YOU FUMBLE IN DARKNESS, UNAWARE, OF YOUR IMMINENT FATES."
"Imminent, argh . . . you, . . . those ships in the visions. You are what destroyed the Protheans!" Nihlus yelled in sudden understanding, looking like he was having a migraine.
"YES. YOUR FATE IS SEALED, AND THE END OF YOUR CIVILIZATON IS SOON TO-"
"Ahah, ahahaha, ahahahahahahaah!" Desolas began laughing at the top of his lungs as if he had suddenly become mad, making the ominous hologram stop for a moment before seeking again.
"ORGANIC THAT REFUSES THE CYCLES PARAMETERS, WHAT DO YOU FIND AMUSING, BY YOUR INEVITABLE DESTRUCTION?"
"This, you, all of it!" Desolas said with an insane grin. "I understand now. What Yukari's plan is, at least our part in it, and what happened on Karshan. That ruined hulk, the Leviathan or Dis was the same thing you are! We're not stopping Saren, we're stopping whatever you are! Now it all makes sense!"
"YOU KNOW THE REASON FOR ONSLOUGHT'S DISSAPEARANCE."
"I do, I was there, after all! I saw it, sitting broken and shattered. It tried to control me, then I watched another destroy its very existence!"
"What, are you talking about?" Nihlus butted in, confusion clear on his face.
"The Leviathan of Dis was in a lab on Karshan. It is why there was that nuclear fireball, courtesy of Utsuho. To get rid of any remains of that thing that could control other people. This is not a machine, but some kind of monster," Adaaya said as she stared at the hologram.
"MONSTER. CATACLYSM. DOOM. REAPER. ALL SIMPLY NAMES, GIVEN TO US BY THOSE WE HAVE ENDED. IN THE END, WE SIMPLY ARE. AND YOU HAVE NO CHANCE OF VICTORY."
"The galaxy will fight you," Nihlus said seriously. "We have many races, and ships. We will fight you and win."
"LIKE ALL OTHERS YOU WILL FIGHT, BUT YOU WILL NOT WIN. I AM SOVEREIGN, AND I WILL BRING YOUR DOOM," it stated before the connection blurred and shorted, the computer it was coming from beginning to smoke all of a sudden.
"That, uh, my head, that was, what is going on!?" Nihlus demanded to know as he leaned against a railing.
"What is going on, is we finally know who, or what, our actual enemy is," Adaaya said with a smile.
"That is impossible though, that ship, many like it, I saw them in the Prothean vision, killing and destroying. But that is impossible for it to be here."
"No, it's not, but we really do not have time for this when-," Adaaya was cut off when the sound of a roaring explosion filled the air and the only window in the room became shadowed.
"Is that a ship?" Desolas asked in horror,
"Yes, a Salarian frigate," Nihlus said after he rushed to and looked out the window, "Usually used for scouting or mobile research."
"Shit, we head straight for the hanger then, screw the other lab," Desolas decided just as his wristcomp began blinking at him. "What is it?"
"We have a problem sir, there are four different ships in the hanger prepping to leave!" came Kaiden's voice.
"Then stop them!"
"That would not be a problem if we were not surrounded on three sides and outnumbered three hundred to one with the enemy having supporting armour."
"They have tanks in a hanger?" Nihlus asked as the three of them quickly made their way out of the labs.
"No, giant exosuits made with Citadel tech. They are a hassle," Came Wrex's voice alongside a chain of explosions through the line.
"Damn, not those things again. Hold on, we'll be there in a moment or so,"
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"I don't think we can, but we'll find out!" Kaiden yelled as a grenade went off on the other side of his magical barrier, causing him to flinch a bit. "Dammit!"
"Hey, can't you do that spell card thing?" Wrex asked from where he was standing behind a stack of metal containers, firing his weapon around it blindly.
"No, I am not powerful enough to need spellcards. And they are expensive," Kaiden responded as he willed more strength into his barrier. "In so many ways I cannot even begin to explain!
"Well, shit," was all Wrex said.
The situation was not good. They had arrived at the hanger with no problem, only to find the reason why the research wing had been so empty was that everything had been moved out, and that there were four large ships in the hanger being filled with supplies, weapons, and even some vehicles in regards to large mechanized suits. A fifth ship, half the size of the others, was leaving as they arrived and the shooting started barely a half second later. Hundreds of Batarians were in the hanger and immediately took cover behind walls and plating on catwalks, pulling out guns and firing on the group.
They took cover fast enough, for what little cover there was, but the situation was not ideal. The Batarians had more defences, and far more guns, and there was little protection by the hanger's main entrance. Only two piles of crates and one stack of metal plates.
Luckily accelerator rounds did not have the armour piecing ability of kinetic rounds with more weight, or those of lasers. This meant that they were able to shave away the cover in places where the Batarians were, and keep their mostly intact.
Kaiden was stuck holding a barrier by the pile of metal plating, allowing Garrus and Tali a place to duck to allow their shields to recharge, though Tali's needed less. Wrex was behind a crate pile, as was Ashley, but the crates were slowly being chipped away by the volume of fire coming at them. And that same volume made it far more difficult to fire back. All it would take was a half second of a shield going down, and an accelerator round being at just the right place.
"Dammit, barely have time to line up a shot," Garrus mumble at his rifle let out a stream and cut through a Batarian, before he had to duck down as a number of them focused on his position. "Spirits, if there's one thing I don't like about these beam rifles it's the time to fire them for effect."
"Speak for yourself, Turian. Some of these guns are so destructive its almost criminal," Wrex said with a chuckle as he moved his gun out from cover and fired a few rounds blindly, creating an entire area that exploded in chaos and energized plasma. His own shield broke a second later from the volume of fire, a handful of accelerator rounds pinging into his armour and some digging deep into his flesh and making him grunt as he leaned back into cover, allowing his regeneration to deal with it.
"Yeah, that's great you like Alliance guns. Can we focus on our objective please?" Tali yelled as her laser rifles fired near constantly while her shield was taking the brunt of enemy shots. "We need to stop any of those ships from leaving!"
"Easiest way would be to close the hanger doors, but I don't see any doors so they must use a kinetic barrier to protect the hanger from the weather," Garrus spoke up as he peeked over his cover and looked around. "There is probably a control panel for them by the hanger doors themselves, this end or the far end. Probably both."
"I think I see one on this end," Ashley spoke up as she looked down their side to the wall where, just as Garrus figured, there was a console of some kind built into the wall right beside the hanger doorway. "There's no cover on the way over there though."
Kaiden looked over his cover, spying five of the large mechanized suits with Batarians in them that were the cause of so much of their difficulties. Their arms were comprised of heavy accelerator machine guns, and they alternated firing to create constant streams of accelerator fire. They were slow, but heavily armoured, and one had taken three full rounds from Wrex's pulse cannon before it had fallen. Another had managed to hold off against the beam rifle Garrus had for three full second before the beam had carve into its chest sufficiently, and even then the pilot still tried to move it, as if he had no care for his own life.
He died shortly later, leaving the mechanized hulk as cover for his allies when it stopped moving.
"So whoever goes there is probably dead is what you are saying?" Garrus asked nervously.
"No, I can shield them, but it won't be as strong if I'm keeping this one up," Kaiden said, making it clear that while it wasn't a death sentence, it would still be very dangerous.
"Alright, put that shield on me then," Wrex spoke as he leaned out of cover and fired a few shots, crippling two of the mechanized suits, and utterly killing a handful of Batarians around them.
"You're a biotic."
"Doesn't matter. I have one of those bracelet things," Wrex said before shrugging. "And a little pain never hurt much anyway. I'll live."
Kaiden looked at Wrex and nodded before sitting down and pointing a hand at him and muttering under his breath. A moment later a shimmering slightly off blue barrier appeared around Wrex, barely noticeable symbols floating through it as he shifted around.
"Yep, feels weird," Wrex said with a nod before smiling. "Shoot any that aim at me."
Before anyone could respond, Wrex rushed out of cover and right past everyone else, heading straight down the uncovered catwalk towards the console. The Batarian response was almost immediate. Some turned and began firing at him, missing terribly as they shot at him, not in front of him. Others, those who were further back and clearly far better trained, likely mercenaries or soldiers, were firing ahead of him with assault weapons as well as sniper rifles. Accelerator fire struck the magical barrier surrounding him and were pushed to the sides and it seemed he was making perfect progress.
Right up until a mechanized suit came around the front of one of the ships, both of its arm weapons replacing the accelerator guns with what appeared to be explosive Accelerator cannons. They began alternating fire, sending explosive tipped rounds at Wrex and the area around him. The catwalk was torn to shreds, the walls were filled with craters, and smoke began covering the area, but Wrex continued to move, his centuries of skill allowing him to move just right even with his bulk to dodge the direct lines from the cannons.
The magic barrier broke right as he reached the console, causing accelerator rounds to start pinging off his armour and into his hide.
"There!" Wrex yelled as he slammed the control panel, causing light blue kinetic barriers to form over the hanger openings just as massive gusts of air began to fill the hanger as the closest ship began to lift up out of its berth.
"Good. Now get back here!" Ashley yelled just as the side door of the lifting ship suddenly opened up.
There, standing in the doorway holding a Kishock harpoon gun, was Saren. He visibly scoffed at them as he raised the Kishock with his one mechanical arm and fired, impaling Wrex through the torso with the nearly meter long metal spike and sending him flailing backwards into the wall where he fell limp. Seeing the Krogan down, he then tossed the Kishok behind him and pulled out a small pistol, firing at the console that Wrex was lying near. The shots did not seem to do damage, until they began to explode a second later, resulting in a chain of explosion that destroyed the console completely.
A second later the kinetic barriers flickered out of existence.
"Oh, come on!" Tali yelled as she turned her lasers on Saren, burning spots on the ship's hull as he leapt back in recognition of the danger and disappeared inside the ship.
"Shit, no!" Ashley yelled in anger as she started firing on the ship as well as it began gliding out of the hanger.
Just as the other three ships began to lift out of their berths as well.
"Oh shit, we need to get down! This many ships are not supposed to leave a hanger at the same time!" Garrus yelled just as the wind around them began to pick up even more.
"But we can't just let them get away!" Ashley roared over the noise as the first ship fully left the hanger and began to ascend out of sight.
"If you do not want to be thrown around like a hunk of garbage I would suggest you grab something!" Garrus yelled as the wind from the remaining ships increased as the next began to move forward, followed by another.
Kaiden scowled as he looked sown the adjacent path, seeing that Wrex was twitching, meaning he wasn't dead. A positive, but considering that none of them had enough individual power to cripple a ship they still couldn't stop them from leaving.
The second ship began leaving the hanger, the third following after it a moment later.
"Don't just stand there!" came a scream as Adaaya flew into the hanger, right past the doorway and straight at the third ship, slamming into its rear side with so much force that it twisted, its engines slamming into the side of the fourth ship in the hanger. With a scream her wings beat and she pushed it even farther, into the fourth ship into the wall with the third.
"Adaaya, pull out!" came Desolas voice as he walked into the hanger, blades of metal circling around him like a storm as jolts of electricity arced between them. Adaaya did as he said, suddenly pulling away from the ships, just as a torrents of electricity began pouring from Desolas's hands and across the hanger onto the two ships. The Batarians that were not on the ships were not spared as electricity arced down and burned, electrocuted and bore through them at random. Electricity coated the ships until the glowing lights across them began to flicker and their systems all shut down, causing both ships to fall straight down. The resulting crash was deafening and sent pieces of concrete and steel all over the hanger.
"Well, that was good timing," Garrus began to say as he looked to Desolas, only to see the most horrific expression on his face, his mandibles twisted in an unnatural yet clearly displeased way.
"Is Saren on either of those ships?"
"N-, no."
"Where is he then?"
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Codex –
Spellcards – Originally a system of rules that allowed for quick, but non-lethal, casting of high level magic, Spellcards have changed as time has moved forward. They still act as a catalyst to cast high level magic and abilities, but no longer are connected to specific system with subsets of rules, nor are they any longer non-lethal.
Spellcards are created by acquiring the manufactured cards (white, silver or gold in color to denote the capacity of the spell they can hold), and then by having the user 'engrave' the spell into the card. Doing this require time, concentration and ample manna reserves and as such is usually done in a sort of meditation state in a safely enclosed space. As most spellcards are used to quick cast high level magic, only those of power level C or higher often are seen having them on their person as they are simply too costly to produce, or the effort to do so is not worth the time. For those with grander power, they tend to be used to simplify the casting of their most powerful spells and abilities, though there are regulations about where they are allowed to be used.
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Authors note: Alright, this is the last piece of Virmire, and what I had intended to be the other half of the previous chapter. Luckily this part came out onto paper very easily, so I was able to get it out and proofed before my proofer goes on holidays.
So yes, anyone familiar with ME1's storyline can tell that we are approaching the climax, so I hope people like the chapter.