Chapter 14: Unification Day
The mobile lab raced across the backroads, snaking through the woods towards Cipritine as fast as Nel could put pedal to metal. It wasn't the smoothest going, but they had little time to take it easy, not with so much at stake. The opening ceremonies for Unification Day were hours away and Hanilex had a head start on them. The bomb was probably already in place and its viral payload armed. The second the Primarch was dead, they'd trigger it and set Orukuri's false flag into motion. They had very little time to stop all of that and getting to Cipritine was only part of that.
The second part, was why they had taken the mobile lab from the Separatist base. Liara was hunched over one of its many computer terminals, trying to make do with the speed bumps and sudden turns as she worked. It was not the easiest environment to try and come up with a cure, especially given that this wasn't her field, but she was the only one even remotely qualified to figure any of this out on the fly.
"Could you please try to take the turns a bit less sharply, Nel?" Liara asked as she steadied herself.
"This isn't exactly a straight line I'm working with here," the turian shouted back from the driver's seat. "Just be grateful these roads are practically deserted. Who honestly uses wheels when we have flying cars? Cheap fucking Seppies just had to use this ancient ass mode of transit."
"Easier to go unnoticed I suspect," Liara claimed, returning to her work. "Besides, it had everything they needed. And subsequently everything we need and we can't exactly waste time at camp, not with the authorities likely already on their way to it."
There was no doubt in her mind that Palaven's law enforcement agencies had already gotten wise to the massive fight that occurred in the woods close to the capital. It had made their departure all the more necessary and forcibly expedient. Liara had sent her ShadowNet Mercs and Wrex's krogan on ahead to Cipritine to get in position and maybe recon some of the enemy safehouses they had pinpointed. With any luck, they'd spot Hanilex and they could cut the head of this attack clean off before it got underway.
"We close to a cure yet?" Wrex asked Liara from across the way.
"I'm working off of Mordin's notes for the cure for the plague on Omega," Liara explained. "Since part of the viral agent they've created is derived from that disease's genetic makeup, then it's a good place to start. And since we have an unactivated virus and the vaccine they've made for it ready, we're well ahead of the curve here. But the S3-Strain is still a potent element and it's taking time to synthesize a proper cure."
"But if we got the vaccine, isn't that enough?" Kayap asked. "Can't we just send it to the Hierarchy so they can make more and give it to everyone?"
"Vaccines aren't cures, Kay," Liara explained. "They make it easier to survive a disease and prevent its spread, but they can't eradicate it. If we're going to create a cure, we need a proper way to do just that. Luckily, everything about the viral agent is stored here. They manufactured the disease in this place, it can tell us how to take it apart. It's just a matter of running the right simulations."
Liara looked to Vik who was assisting Liara in keeping an eye on said simulations, running from terminal to terminal looking at the progress.
"Everything seems to be holding with this version, Liara," he assured. "We might have something stable."
"Keep checking, we can't afford mistakes," Liara insisted. "If it is not viable enough, it might not matter. The virus could mutate or become immune. We need to be certain that if that bomb goes off its dead in the water."
"How hard can this be to get set to go?" Nel asked from up front. "You're a doctor!"
"Archeologist, Nel!" Liara repeated again. "Virology and medical practice are a bit outside my field! I'm working with what I have available under very stressful conditions! Just focus on the road!"
Turning back to Wrex, the krogan had a grim look on his face.
"It's looking like our best bet to contain this is to take down Hanilex," he declared. "We find the pyjak, we cut his head off, he can't shoot the primarch, none of this goes down."
"Where would we find him though?" Vik asked. "There's a million vantage points a sniper could use to kill Fedorian from in the heart of Cipritine. How do we narrow it down?"
"Leave it to me," Nel declared confidently, but with a very clear dead serious tone. "I know where he is. I know where he'd set up."
Liara looked over to the driver's cockpit.
"Are you sure?" She asked. "Absolutely sure you know where to look?"
"I looked at his map, I saw his notes and his personal little journal, I know," Nel insisted with a snarl. "I might have been surprised to find out he's a fucking traitor and he hid his biotics from me, but when it comes to how he thinks tactically, I worked enough ops with him to know where he is."
Liara didn't question more, the certainty and resolve in Nel's voice and candor were greater than she had ever heard before from the turian. She knew where to go, there was no doubt in her mind. She'd trust her on this, but Liara still had concerns.
"Even if we kill Hanilex, his men could still carry out the plan," she warned. "We need to find the detonator, we need to get to the safehouses, neutralize the viral grenades they have and their death squads. We need to cover every angle, here. So Wrex, your krogan should lead your teams on one side of the city, I'll handle things from the other."
"So what about the bomb then?" Wrex asked. "Even if the cure we cook up is one hundred percent effective, we should still disarm the thing, right?"
"Sounds like my job," Vik said suddenly, his tone very final and direct. "I should do that."
Liara didn't seem so sure.
"Vik, Strain-S3 kills Dextro-based lifeforms, that's not just turians, that's you," she reminded him. "You're the most at risk if you go after that bomb."
"I have my suit, that's more protection than most turians will have in the square," Vik argued.
"We don't know how strong this viral agent they've crafted is, Vik," Liara warned. "Your suit might not be effective enough to keep it out."
"That's a risk we have to take," Vik steadfastly insisted. "I know explosives, I've been studying them longer than anyone here. I found the bomb specs on file in the computer here, I know what to look for and if I can get the cure inserted into it, I can outright disarm the bomb entirely."
"It's too risky, we can send Saya," Liara told him.
"Saya is going to be more effective taking down those kill squads, especially any Blood Pack members with them," the quarian countered. "Remember, this is a full-fledged false flag, with fake Cerberus soldiers on the ground alongside Eclipse Sisters. You need every capable fighter you can get to hunt them down. But this is something I can do better than anyone else, I have to go."
"Vik-"
"Liara, please," the quarian pleaded. "I can't just let the Turians get sucked into a lie because of one corpo bosh'tet who's taking his grief out on everyone. If I can stop that bomb, it stops all of this, no virus, no deaths, no VykurCorp coming in to play the hero and Orukuri ascending to power on the back of it all. I need to stop this. I can't let another lie win."
Liara stood in silence, as did everyone, recognizing Vik's very clear impassioned reason for wanting to undertake this task.
"I know a quick path to the bomb, I know where it likely is based on the sewer specs," Vik continued after a moment. "All I have to do is get there, disarm its functions, insert the cure into the payload and it's completely nullified as a threat. We all took the vaccine, that gives me a decent chance of survival even if it's a concentrated exposure. With you attacking the safehouses, looking for the detonator, that just doubles our chances of stopping it. And if there is anyone down there guarding the thing... well, they won't expect one lone quarian to be there. They never do."
Liara walked up to the quarian and placed her hands on his shoulders.
"I just need you to know what you're risking here," she said. "If something goes wrong, even with a vaccine... there's no guarantees that you'll be safe."
"I haven't been safe for years, Liara," Vik said grimly. "I can do this, I know I can. I have to."
"Just don't get yourself killed trying to prove anything," Liara told him.
The quarian nodded, just as the computer alarm went off. The simulation was done. Liara looked over the monitor, her eyes darting across the data on screen.
"Ok, this seems stable," she said. "It has a good chance at utterly neutralizing the viral compound."
"Good?" Wrex asked.
"There's nothing certain about this sort of thing, not until field testing," Liara explained. "Sadly, we don't have the time."
She pulled a cylinder from the centrifuge and handed it to Vik.
"You find that bomb, you disarm it, you get this in there," she ordered. "And then you get yourself out, alright?"
"I won't let you down, Captain," Vik promised, taking the cylinder carefully. "I won't let Orukuri's lies win. I swear it."
"Just remember, there's a lot more at stake than just the truth," Liara reminded them all. "There are millions of lives, the entire Hierarchy, relations between the council races, even our own innocence is on the line. It all comes down to this, we finish Orukuri's plans here and now or... well let's not think of the consequences of failure."
"I don't even want to imagine a world without Slyvesterix Stalaxian in it," Nel added from up front. "He ain't dying on my watch. No sir."
Everyone looked to the driver's cockpit rather crudely.
"Okay, okay, yeah, everyone else at the celebration too, geez," Nel suddenly replied. "Spirits, I can feel you all judging me from here. Yeesh."
Cipritine was a wash in patriotic colors, so many Hierarchy flags, balloons and of course streamers. You couldn't have a part without streamers and there wasn't an inch of street that went without some draped over or attached to something. The old songs of Glorious Unification rang throughout the capital, their soaring bombastic melodies tuning out every other sound. Save for one, the massive cheering crowd gathering in the city square, surrounding the stage where the main Unification Day ceremony would commence.
Getting inside the city was not nearly as hard for Liara's team as one might expect. The security around the stage was tight, but everything else was less locked down. Ditching their bulky ride and slipping in through the outskirts, through downtown and up to the central square was relatively simple. They could not get closer though. Between the Cipritine Security Forces patrolling the area and the throngs of Turians just cramming themselves into the place, Liara figured they were lucky enough to get this close.
They were currently situated on a rooftop, still a few blocks away from the main stage. Not ideal, but at least they were inside the target zone. They were also close to a suspected Separatist Safehouse. Which was honestly not well hidden, it was the only building that didn't have a flag put up in front of its window. Liara could see it plain as day from her position. She supposed though, they weren't interested in hiding for much longer.
"How's it look?" Wrex asked stepping up beside her.
Liara focused back on the stage, where a few tech hands were busy with final preparations. Said stage was fairly standard, just big and decorative. No more so than the rest of the city of course. The size of the stage was probably not for the guests though, but more for the giant screen behind it. The purpose of which was twofold, so everyone in the crowd could get a good view as to what was happening on stage and because of the programming.
Alongside some firework displays intermingled with speeches from the Primarch, military heroes and, of course, Slyvestrix Stalaxian, they were going to show vids. Vids all pertaining to the Unification War, music vids of popular patriotic songs, a presentation of the various branches of the Hierarchy Military singing their jubilee as well as highlights of celebrations from all across the Turian Hierarchy. There was even a parade scheduled to circle the square. It would be pure sensory overload, a supernova of a blowout party that would give praise to the beloved Hierarchy. All its successes laid bare with none of the critique. Well, until of course Hanilex shot the Primarch and everything would start going to hell.
The Separatist could not have picked a better target to focus their hatred onto. Although, in truth, it was probably more Orukuri's suggestion than anything. This was all about his son after all, payback for how he died. What better way to remind Turians of their duty to themselves first than watching a celebration of their most beloved holiday in its most pure and unashamed form to be turned into a day of tragedy.
But that would not happen, not as long as Liara and her team had their say.
"We need to act fast," Liara said, turning to her team. "My ShadowNet Mercs are already in position at a number of safehouses and staging grounds we've identified. We're going to move in on all of them simultaneously. With any luck, we can clear them out before they can mobilize."
"What if they try to warn Hanilex?" Nel asked.
"I have the Lucen on standby monitoring their communications and preparing to block them," Liara explained. "Helps that we've become familiar with them at this point. It's temporary, they'll eventually bypass it if their comm operators have any degree of sense. What matters is it buys us time, more specifically you, Nel. If you can find Hanilex before he kills the Primarch we can prevent them from setting off the bomb."
Nel just nodded, no further questions from her after that. Vik, however, had his own for her.
"You said you had a good idea where he was," he began. "Have you narrowed it down further?"
"Being on the ground here, yeah a bit more," Nel confessed. "He'll want good visibility, clear sight of the stage and the speaker's podium, decent space away from the target, high enough for him to increase range and spec in his scope. Also, little foot traffic, he does not want to get caught."
She looked out onto a series of apartment complexes several blocks away.
"There," she said. "An older apartment complex, gives him a straight look at the stage."
"Seems like a good place to set up," Liara reasoned. "Are you absolutely sure?"
"Yeah, because there's one other bit personal to him," Nel explained. "He'll want to look his target dead in the eyes through the scope. It's how he preferred it, said it felt more like he was up close and personal, looking his kill in the eyes rather than a hundred miles away. That apartment complex fits all his criteria and it's a direct line to the stage. He'll line up with it perfectly."
Liara nodded, the logic seemed sound and Nel knew Han best. It didn't hurt to have more insurance though. The asari waved Saya up to her and the turian. The salarian carried something in his hand that he passed to Nel, an OSD chip.
"That has a communications transponder trace program on it," Liara explained. "STG developed, if you tune in to the Separatist radio channel it should pick up the nearest signal to your position and help you zero in."
"Thanks," Nel said sincerely. "This will make finding the room he's in faster at least."
"Don't thank me, Saya suggested it," Liara explained. "It's some cutting edge Salarian Union Espionage gear, he says he's not even supposed to let us know they have it."
Yet again, Saya was breaking a few of his own people's rules for their sakes. Nel couldn't help but admire that in the ninja-frog. The guy was probably in enough trouble as it was after his unscheduled trip home, and here he was giving away government secrets to save her people.
"Thanks, Saya," Nel told him sincerely. "This... means a lot."
Saya just nodded, Nel didn't need to understand sign language to get that.
"I should head down and get into the sewers," Vik spoke up just then. "If the plans I ripped off the Cipritine local data net are up to date, I have a clear path towards where the bomb might be planted below the stage."
"If you run into any trouble, you let us know, I will divert a ShadowNet team to your position for support," Liara assured him.
"Relax, Captain," Vik said, trying to hide some of the shakiness in his voice. "I mean, they'd probably just slow me down anyway, they have to stop those bio grenades up here. Even if I take out the bomb, those are still a threat."
Vik was also putting a lot on the line. He was honestly a bit more scared than he was letting on, the fear bubbling just beneath the surface as far as Nel could tell. But he had volunteered for this and he wasn't trying to back out. Next to her, the quarian was the most at risk of the bomb's contents. If something went wrong, he'd be in more trouble than she would be.
"Hey, Bucket," Nel called out as the quarian moved. "You stay safe down there, alright? I need someone to hassle aboard the ship and the others aren't as fun as you when I do it to them."
Vik chuckled a bit.
"You just save your Militaristic Industrialist Primarch from getting shot, Vid Trailer," he told her with a bit of mirth. "Then I have nothing to worry about."
Nel watched him leave, giving a salute as he did. The quarian was a pain, but she had grown to like him well enough. He had more balls than she thought, especially now. She just hoped he was going to be okay. Something about why he was doing this... it suggested he had his own grievances to deal with. His own unfinished business.
She had hers of course, time to get to it. She strapped on her helmet securely to her Havoc Armor.
"Remember, take Hanilex down and see if he has that leverage on him," Liara told her. "We still need to clear our names and take down the real mastermind behind all this when we're done."
"If he has something on Orukuri I will get it out of Han, Liara, trust me on that," Nel promised. "The bastard has a lot to answer for."
"Just be careful, he's not hiding he's a biotic anymore," Liara reminded her. "He won't be using the same tactics you're familiar with when you engage him."
"That just makes it a fairer fight," Nel declared. "See you on the other side, Doc. Oh, and if any of you manage to meet Stalaxian at all..."
Liara sighed.
"We'll ask him to fill out an autograph, we promise," the asari told her. "Now go, we need to move."
Nel nodded and activated her jump jets, leaping over the street to the next set of rooftops as she raced towards the apartment complex. Liara now stood with Kayap, Saya and Wrex, her team for taking out the safehouses.
"Let's move to our target," she said. "We'll wait for confirmation from the other teams and begin our assault then. This is it, we put an end to this little conspiracy today."
There was no one guarding the outside of the building, probably out of concern of being spotted by security forces. But that just made their approach easier, as Saya got set up near the door. They had moved across the rooftops and were now on a balcony three stories up. They could hear movement inside, but they couldn't move without confirmation. The Salarian was already on it though, placing device on the door that sent a low-level scan into the building that sent an image back to their heads-up display. It would reveal the positions of those inside as well as let them listen in on things.
The holographic outlines appeared on their visors, revealing to Liara who was within the building. There were turians, but that wasn't all. There were several more humans and one Krogan with two Vorcha at his side. Blood Pack and the human mercs that Orukuri hired to play fake Cerberus soldiers. If the images weren't enough to confirm it, the audio the scanner picked up sealed their identities.
"Pompous Hierarchy bastards, think they're so damn untouchable," one of the turians growled, his voice somewhat electronically distorted as he spoke.
"Whatever, it will be their last Unification Day, might as well let them enjoy it for all the good it will do them," another turian stated. "Wish we didn't have to do this with these... you know, outsiders."
"Hey, just cause I'm getting paid a ton of creds to be here doesn't mean you can bad mouth me behind my back," one human merc spouted. "We're putting a lot on the line for this."
"Just do your job and look like a turian hating terrorist, human," the second turian shot back. "And if you throw any of our bio-grenades, throw them away from us. I don't want any of that shit getting on my envirosuit armor."
"Ugh, feel like a fucking suit rat in this thing," another seppy growled.
That more or less confirmed who they were dealing with. They didn't need more. Liara gave the signal to Saya to set up for their breach. In the meantime, she sought confirmation from the other squads, seeing if they were in position as well.
It was at least a good sign that even this safehouse hadn't cleared out. Hanilex probably felt they had no time to relocate teams despite the risk that the Asari had learned everything. Maybe he hoped they'd have enough time to pull off the plan before she got here.
Well, Liara was going to prove him wrong. She doubted he hadn't at least warned everyone to be on the lookout though, Hanilex was desperate to pull off this attack, not stupid. For now though, it seemed like they had the element of surprise.
As they were getting ready, the main stage lit up and its speakers started resonating with introductory music. The main festivities were starting. The Primarch wouldn't be the first person up at the podium, but that meant their mission clock had officially started. They needed to hurry.
The ceremony began with a Turian, stepping out onto the stage. This was Cipritine's Mayor, Aulvus Potados. He might not have been high on the Hierarchy totem pole, but he was well loved enough that he got put in charge of being the introductory speaker. This was his city after all.
"Brothers and Sisters, welcome," he began. "We gather here on a momentous day. An anniversary of the triumph of our collective, our people and, of course, our unity. Centuries ago, we fractured, we fell apart, we forgot what made us strong. But we did not let that destroy us, we did not set ourselves adrift. We reaffirmed our core truth, the pride in our collective strength.
It was a brutal, long struggle... but through the crucible of that stuggle we emerged stronger than ever! Today, we do not celebrate a war, or a victory so much as we celebrate the reason we fought and what we gained. Unity! Today marks our Unification Day! The moment we joined together and became some greater than we ever could've dreamed! For the Turian people, united as one, can never be broken and, spirits willing, can never be defeated! United we Stand Forevermore! Forever one!"
A short to the point speech, it earned the mayor tremendous amount of applause. That was Liara's cue as far as she was concerned. The teams were all in place. Time to move. She called up the Lucen directly.
"Go dark," she ordered. "Nothing Squawks from here on out."
With that code phrase, the communications blackout began, the Separatist Cells were cut off from each other, The static in the ears of one Seppy confirmed it.
"Ugh, fuck, what was that?" He complained. "Why's my comm buzzing?"
The krogan stood up at attention and readied his claymore. He knew something was up, it was now or never.
"All teams, breach! Breach now!" Liara ordered across her comm-link.
Saya activated the explosive gel and the door's locked burst open, violently sliding them back. The Salarian moved in first, his sword at the ready. He came across a human close by first, wearing tacky armor with the Cerberus logo painted on it.
"What in the fu-"
Saya sliced the man's throat before he could finish and then raised his pistol to shoot the nearest Turian separatist close by. As he dropped, his comrade realized all too late what was happening.
"RAID!" He screamed.
A biotic shot reeled him into Wrex's shotgun as he blew a hole into the turian terrorist's torso. The krogan and his vorcha rushed to cover while the remaining turians and humans scrambled to grab for their weapons and return fire. Liara's singularity attack put a stop to two of the humans from doing so, Wrex followed that up by firing a carnage shot into their floating forms that exploded instantly. Saya had already moved into the next room to cut down two more turians. Slicing through the torso of one, he then grabbed the terrorist to roll over his back, just as his comrade in arms started firing. The bullets hit the injured turian instead of the salarian who now returned fire with greater precision and form. Two bullets struck the turian in the head before he even fell to the ground.
One of the remaining humans alongside a turian, rushed to cover behind a sofa. It didn't protect them for very long though. In his attempt to return fire, the turian ended up stuck with several needles that exploded into a pink mist. Kayap quickly moved into cover himself to now reload. Mortified by the death of the turian Separatist next him, the human merc ducked down further into cover, but was soon ejected from it. Liara's throw attack sent the merc into a wall where she proceeded to gun him down.
Saya had cut down a few more Separatists and moved to face the Blood Pack soldiers. The Vorcha were already out ahead, as the krogan remained back from the doorway. They growled and snarled at the salarian as he moved on them. Tucking and rolling forward, Saya managed to dodge their initial fire. Activating the electrical current in his blade he came up under one Vorcha to stab him through his chin all the way up to his forehead. He opened fire on the second Vorcha, hitting him in the chest to set him off balance. He then ripped the sword free of the dead Vorcha's skull and ran it through the neck of the remaining one. Electricity crackled and sparked as the Vorcha's eyes seemed to bulge out of his head and its skin began to smoke.
The krogan, seeing his attack dogs put to death before him, readied to aim his shotgun at the salarian. Wrex beat him to the punch, literally, ramming his fist into the Blood Pack merc, cracking his helmet open. Wrex's shotgun was already aimed at the krogan's leg and he let off a single shot that tore a hole in it. Wrex kept punching the krogan down until he tried to return the favor. The Merc delivered a headbutt right back to Wrex, who stumbled backwards some. It was a temporary reprieve though Saya had already moved to jam his sword into the krogan's open leg wound and activate the electrical current once more. As the Blood Pack Merc howled in pain, Wrex aimed his Shotgun at the hostile's face and pulled the trigger.
With the Blood Pack Krogan exterminated the house was clear. They now had a chance to look around properly. Despite the bodies and blood strewing the walls and furniture, there were crates full of ammo and weapons at the ready on every table. However, the real shocking sight was the small crate full of bio-grenades, all of them primed and ready to go.
"They got them this close?" Liara asked, a good deal of concern. "Damn, who knows how many they've smuggled in."
"Orukuri probably helped with that," Wrex snorted. "How many of his people are probably on the security teams strolling around the place? Just getting ready for the signal to heroically strike back."
Liara then got confirmation from her other teams, single word text only, she couldn't have everyone talking in her ear at once. Most of their surprise attacks had been successful in several key areas, notified with the codephrase "Green" for cleared objectives. Those Separatist Safehouses and their occupants had neutralized. However, others had sent the codephrase "engaged", meaning they were still fighting at their targets. A few others had sent the code "Runners", meaning the Separatists had broken off from the attack and were now moving through the streets. Those ones were the most concerning.
Even if most of the houses had been cleared in the initial assaults, or would be soon, there were still other houses that had not yet been hit of course. They didn't have the resources to hit everyone after all. With the Separatists' comms out, chances were those runners were trying to reach the other houses and warn them what was happening. Liara could not let them consolidate. She ordered what units that could follow to do so and others to pick up the pursuit of those who couldn't. She'd try to get to the other targets close to her position as soon as possible to decrease the chances of the Separatists rallying and launching their attack early.
The good news, the ceremonies outside were continuing undisturbed. The music was still playing, the crowd still cheering. They were blissfully unaware of anything being wrong or out of place. She doubted that would last forever, but it would at least give Nel the time she needed. The longer Hanilex thought everything was okay, the better chance Nel had at finding him in time.
As the team checked the room, one of the human mercs seemed to moan aloud.
"Survivor!" Kayap warned, pointing his needler at him.
Wrex was quick to rush over and grab him shoving him against a wall. When he collided with it, Saya was there to stick his sword close to his neck, which kept him from trying anything clever. Liara moved over next, seeing the merc was badly wounded and probably couldn't stand let alone fight back. Still, she had no interest in coddling him. No time for a standard interrogation, she needed to get what she needed fast.
"Where's the bomb?" She demanded to know, grabbing his face. "How many bio-grenades do the Separatists have? Where's Hanilex? Tell me something now and I can give you some medi-gel to numb the pain, maybe keep you from bleeding out before the security forces get here."
The human merc just coughed up blood and looked at her confused.
"Who the hell is Hanilex? We were... were employed through another guy."
"Who? Orukuri?" She asked.
"Never gave... never gave names," the merc said deliriously. "Some corpie maybe, suit... had lots of... creds."
"The bomb! Where?!" She demanded again, grabbing at him.
"Dir...directly below the stage," he said weakly. "Old cistern or something. We... we move when it goes off. Shit, I'm not Cerberus okay, I'm just hired help. I'm here for the creds, I'm not some crazy turian hater, it's just business."
"That's of little comfort to the people you're going to kill today," Liara spat at him with venom. "How many more grenades do the other squads have? Who's running the mercs? Squad commander IDs? Tell me!"
"I just... I just wanted the creds, it wasn't... person-"
The merc's head slumped over and he was gone. Liara slammed the body back as she stood up, angry that she barely got anything useful.
"He doesn't know Hanilex," Wrex noted. "He should've though, he would've called them up, told them what happened."
"Unless he didn't," Liara reasoned. "Because he knows Xeltravius is dead and he knows these people followed the old man, not him. He's a biotic, they're naturally not trusting of them. As long as they think Xeltravius is still in charge... they'll still listen to his directions as if he were alive. That being that Hanilex is Xeltravius' right-hand man and that's all that matters."
"So the other terrorists don't know we're onto them?" Kayap asked.
"Maybe, but that doesn't mean Hanilex hasn't prepared in someway," Liara cautioned. "We can't assume anything. We should warn Vik though, if there's anything Hanilex has done to ensure the attack succeeds its putting more people around that cistern to defend that bomb. I'll call him up, but we need to start moving to the next safehouse. We're running out of time here."
First things first though, the bio-grenades. They needed to be dealt with. This was as good a time as any to test out the anti-viral compound they had cooked up. She pulled out one of the activator vials she had created from her pouch. Inserting it through the activator arming rod port, she saw the sickly red of the grenade's insides turn to a bright green. It was clean. She then pulled the pin on the grenade, stuffed it in the box, locked the latched and let it destroy the rest of the viral explosives as she moved to a safe distance. The small blast didn't destroy the box, but the audible boom and escaping green smoke suggested that the grenades would no longer be a problem.
"We do that to as many bio-grenades as possible," Liara insisted to the team. "Strain S3 dies alongside these Separatists. Let's move."
Primarch Fedorian stood anxiously to the sidelines behind stage, going over his speech for the one hundredth time today. He needed to get this right. This whole celebration was at least a year in the planning, they needed everything to go right. The people needed to remember who they were, they needed to enjoy themselves, they needed to be proud they were turians. That was the whole point of this, to remind them all that no matter what, they were still the premiere military force of the galaxy. Nothing would change that.
Sure, maybe this was all a bit extravagant, a bit much, a bit more than was needed, but he didn't care. Unification Day was the most important day of the year in his mind. More so than any Spirit Festival or the Krogan Rebellion Memorial Service. This was the day that was all about Turian history exclusively, about the Hierarchy's will and power, nothing could ruin it.
As he went over the closing lines again, a knock came at his door. He ushered the visitor in, revealing it was a security officer. He looked a little less relaxed than Fedorian would've preferred.
"Sir, there might be an... issue," he exclaimed.
"Issue? What issue?" He demanded to know. "Technical? Is the music alright? Fireworks safely stored and ready to go?"
"No sir, security," the officer explained. "There are reports of some gunfire in a number of sporadic spots in the city. Nothing too near us, but... it's a little concerning. I'm having officers look into it."
"It's probably a few folks just firing randomly off into the air all excited," Fedorian huffed. "Nothing to worry about."
"It's... a lot more random gunfire salutes than we usually expect from rabble rousers or drunken parties," the officer said. "We also just got a call to check in on a house a few blocks away from here, anonymous tip, back channels and all."
"Ugh, we don't need to be chasing after false alarms, right now," Fedorian insisted. "Security near the stage needs to remain tight after all. We can't have people storming onto it or something."
"Sir, you should seriously reconsider going out there until the situation is resolved in any case," the officer claimed. "Just to be sure it's nothing."
"I still have plenty of time before I'm up, but either way I'm not postponing," Fedorian growled. "How would it look if Slyvesterix Stalaxian got on stage and not the Primarch? By the way, is he almost up?"
"Uh, yes, sir," the officer said. "Do you... want to be kept appraised on the-"
"Yes, yes, check the house and everything, just to be sure, but let's not take too much focus off the stage," Fedorian insisted. "We got more people out there then we expected and we cannot have things get out of hand. This is Cipritine, not some random colony in the sticks. We need to show we're keeping order."
"Yes, of course, sir," the officer acknowledged.
With that he left, leaving Fedorian to get back to his speech. Truthfully, he was a bit concerned over the idea that a bunch of hooligans were shooting off randomly into the air or whatever. Probably taking advantage of some many officers being away from other parts of the city. He hoped it was just that though, mindless stupid idiots doing stupid things for stupid fleeting fun. The last thing he needed was someone robbing stores or whatever in the middle of all this.
At least when he made his speech, they'd calm down a little. He doubted they would for Stalaxian though. According to the actor, he had a bit of a surprise in store for the party goers. Probably a new trailer or whatever, sure to be the highlight of the day for a lot of people. One way or another, he was sure that they'd all walk away from today's events thinking about how much of a blast it all was.
Vik was intimately familiar with sewers, more than he cared to admit. There were a lot of waste runoff sections on Omega that he had used to stay off the main streets. Trudging through dirty water was unsanitary and he always needed to decontaminate his suit and triple check for microtears. The goal had been worth the headache though, it kept him out of sight and enabled him to hook up his system to various waypoint junctions. Not that the extra security helped in the end when the Covenant got involved, but he couldn't have planned for them.
Regardless, it gave him some much needed experience when it came to navigating these places. So when Liara had called him up to check for an old cistern, he had been able to locate it on the holographic map he downloaded into his omni-tool easily. He had already been headed in that general direction, assuming the bomb was in one of three potential key areas beneath the stage. It made the most sense for the cistern though. If it was still connected to the city's water supply, the release of the new S3 Strain would contaminate that as well and spread the disease even further, potentially across Palaven in the worst case scenario. Vik wondered if Orukuri had suggested the spot or if the Separatists had picked it out themselves. He supposed it didn't really matter in the end.
He couldn't help but think of the degrees of overkill that kept piling onto each other here though. Killing the Primarch first for one. Wasn't it enough he was in the blast radius? He'd probably be among the first infected. He'd die no matter what. Vik realized though, that wasn't the point. It was the message more than anything. Fedorian would've been seen shot on camera for the whole Hierarchy to see. And then, the elaborate event he put on would descend into chaos as a disease killed everyone. The Turian people would have little time to properly absorb the compounding tragedy and the failure of the current Hierarchy power structure would be laid bare. Not only had it failed to protect a Primarch, but that same Primarch had made everyone a target with his extravagant celebration. Only for a corporate, specifically a single CEO of that corporation, to swoop in to play hero.
The cravenness of it all, the disgustingly cruel senseless loss of life. All because the Separatists hated the Hierarchy that much. All because Orukuri was that angry over how his son really died. All because of what Hanilex's father had done to him. It was all about revenge, getting what was owed to them in their minds.
Given what Vik was planning, he wondered how far he was from them. He only took solace that he didn't pretend that it would make anything right or bring back the lives lost. All it would do would enable him to sleep at night, to supress the nightmares a little. And maybe, if he survived it all, give him the chance to go home.
But that was another mission entirely, one for later. Right now, the people Cipritine were in danger. Their lives were in all their hands. Moreso his than most. He was just grateful that his own plans basically prepped him for this very mission. He had to be here, no one else could shut that bomb down. He had the schematics for it, he studied the manual, he knew what to cut and what to avoid pushing. He needed to be here because he was the only who could do it.
He also had to be here, personally had to be here. Orukuri could not be allowed to let his deception spread, to kill untold countless innocents for a lie. He had made Truth his name, he would not fail it or the people who depended on it.
He stopped in his tracks as he heard sloshing in the water. Quickly he darted into the shadows as a pair of human mercenaries stomped by through the sewer sludge, tac-lights on their assault rifles. They were wearing armor with Cerberus' insignia, but it did not truly match the same make and model that Vik had seen when he encountered the terrorist group previously. These were the mercs hired to sell Orukuri's lie, to pretend to be Cerberus and lend credence to many a Turians' fear of humans.
"Why in the hell did we expand the patrol vector this far out?" One groaned.
"Because those were the last orders we got before radio silence," said the other. "Do you have to keep bitching about this?"
"I'm walking through turian shit, you tell me." The first one replied, holding up his leg.
The second merc grunted in annoyance back at him and pressed on. The other followed suit, turning towards the cistern proper. Vik suspected he'd have to deal with a few mercenaries down here, but if they were guarding the bomb to an even greater extent, it presented a bit of a problem. He had no real backup down here, he'd have to get rid of them on his own.
Activating his combat drone, he had it sneak up behind the two mercs, still treading water around their ankles. They didn't notice it seemed, too busy watching ahead of them. With a few choice commands, Vik activated a subroutine for the drone he had created. A little idea inspired by their resident Salarian Ninja Spy.
With a single press, he had the drone electrocute the water. The discharge hit the two mercs point blank, shocking them with several thousand volts amplified through the sludge around their feet. Both mercs fell face first into the muck and did not get back up.
Vik, however, quickly rushed to his feet and kept moving. If these mercs were halfway competent, it would not be long before they picked up on the fact there was a squad missing. He had to get to the cistern and think up a plan to deal with how many mercs were left on the way.
Inside, the Separatists stacked up behind cover wherever they could find. The communication blackout had given them pause and when the enemy had broken in, they were more prepared for the incoming attack. The doors to the room in the old house were stuck close, there was no way the attackers were getting inside easily. They had also booby trapped it with a motion sensing explosive. When the shadowy hostiles broke in, it would blow up in their faces. It was the best they could do. They had taken most of the rest of the house. This was going to be their final stand.
Or so they thought anyway, Saya had already put a dent into that plan by heading to the basement and moving directly under their floor. His visor gave away their positions above easily enough. He located the large sofa the Seppies were using as their primary defensive position and spread the explosive gel beneath them in a wide circle. He then detonated it. The floor gave and the sofa fell through, bringing two of terrorists along with it. He fired on them as they lay on the ground, not even allowing them to get their bearings. He then leapt up through the hole in the floor into the room proper.
Still shocked by the sudden blast, the remaining Turians within were unprepared for Saya's assault. One was slashed from torso to face as Saya came up, he had made the mistake of trying to look down the hole. And second Separatist was slashed across his neck to shoulder blade as the salarian turned left. Saya turned to the right and rushed a third Separatist, cutting through his skull. His pistol was already taking aim at a fourth Separatist popping out of cover. The terrorist took three shots to the chest before he dropped.
Another Separatist lurched out from a corner and raked the area with fire. Saya rolled to the side and then jumped back up. He fired on the turian as he ran, the separatist's shields absorbing the blows. It wouldn't matter, Saya delivered a skull splitting strike with his blade before kicking the terrorist away. He then acivated the electrical current and chucked the sword into one last Separatist moving into firing position. Sparks erupted from the terrorist's chest as the blade pierced the armor and drove itself into his gut. Saya ended his torment by going over to the now downed hostile and firing point blank into his skull. He then retrieved the blade and flinged off the blood.
A moment later he had disarmed the explosive on the door and dismantled the barricade. The ShadowNet mercs outside entered to secure the room proper. Liara was close behind.
"Fast work," she congratulated the salarian. "But chances are the remaining cells are wise to something going wrong by now. We need to hurry."
A fact that became more apparent when Liara heard the stage loudspeakers go off about the next speaker.
"And now, a man who needs little introduction, you have thrilled to his many vid adventures, his steadfast cinematic heroics, exemplifying everything a turian should aspire to be, we warmly welcome, Slyvestrix Stalaxian!"
Stalaxian on stage wasn't bad in and of itself, but it was clear the schedule was progressing at a steady pace. The Primarch's speech wasn't far away. The crucial hour was at hand. They needed to move and they still had a good deal of safehouses to clear, including whoever had managed to escape. Liara got a warning of just that on her comms.
"Ma'am, we're clear at target in the sixth district, but we have a problem," the squad commander reported. "A vehicle bolted from the scene not long after we kicked the door in. We think they're headed to the city center."
"Tell me you have a tracker on them," Liara demanded.
"We got a tech guy following them with a drone," he explained. "We're loading up to intercept."
"Understood," Liara replied with a curt nod. "Send the drone feed to me. Saya, we need transport. If they're willing to break from the mission before the signal, then they can't be planning anything good."
They made a dash towards the street, there was an older car out there they could use. Hopefully Wrex wouldn't mind hopping in the back, although given what they'd probably have to do he'd probably enjoy it.
Slyvestrix Stalaxian stood all smiles at the podium, clips from his vids playing behind him on the big screen as he waved to the crowd. He was sharply dressed and square-mandibled as usual. His characteristic vid star stare making the fans swoon and shriek happily. Even as old as he was now, he still had it. It was probably the fringe really. He had some work done on it recently to make the exoskeleton cartilage shine. But eventually he managed to get everyone to calm down so he could speak.
"It is so nice to be here on Palaven on this stage for all of you," he declared warmly, his gruff yet jovial voice crisp and clear. "As it's been my pleasure to entertain you all and show the galaxy what turians are at our best."
There was a brief moment of applause before Stalaxian managed to quiet the crowd again.
"But I'm only here as a voice to those more capable than me," he said humbly. "Like most turians I looked forward to my service in the military, and when I learned I could not continue it I was saddened. I was almost devastated even, wondered how I'd go on knowing I could no longer serve the way that was expected of me. I discovered I could do the next best thing, I could be a representative and show young turians and the galaxy itself what Turians were about. And... have a little fun doing it too. Didn't hurt that it got me into a few fancy parties with some nice looking women I guess."
There was some laughter from the audience, but Stalaxian quickly managed to keep the speech going.
"The point is I love acting, it gave me the opportunity to tell the stories of our soldiers and our people to a wide audience that sometimes doesn't always understand the Hierarchy," he explained solemnly. "But at the end of the day, it's still acting. I'm no true hero, the real heroes are those of the likes of portrayed, soldiers who fought and suffered and died to overcome tremendous odds. The very end of the war we celebrate today is what I feel every soldier fights for, but none more so than turians."
There was a hush over the crowd as artist renditions of the Unification War displayed behind Stalaxian, showing horrific devastation, brutal fighting and the chaos of war in its entire. Terrified masses, burning cities, devastated fleets and soldiers, tired, broken, afraid.
"We were a shattered people, caught up in... petty grievances and selfish desires," Stalaxian explained. "In all likelihood, it should've been our end. It should've broken us, ruined us. But it didn't... we emerged from that crucible of fire, that great test... stronger than we ever could've imagined. All because brave men and women, died for a belief in unity."
The horror was soon replaced with glory, soldiers fighting and winning against Separatist forces, smashing their fleets, saving lives, protecting the innocent and reforging a broken people.
"And because of that, we went on to further glory," Stalaxian proudly explained. "We saved the galaxy from the Krogans' wrath, we protected it from threats near and far, we served with distinction and honor. We became what we are today... because we were united. And I believe the galaxy could learn from that, maybe even we ourselves could... learn from that. How much better we are... united. Because I think that's the most important lesson of the Unification Wars and of Unification Day itself. It is the day we remember that community is the true strength of any people. The ability to work together and see a better day."
Stalaxian looked quiet for a moment, thoughtful even. Before he suddenly smiled broadly.
"But hey, like I said, I'm just an actor, what do I know?" He asked jovially.
The crowd laughed at that before applauding.
"Of course, I'm not just an actor anymore," he confessed. "If you've been keeping up with the extranet, you'll know that they're finally letting me make my own vid for once. Don't worry, I still do most of my own stunts, it gives me an excuse to stay fit. They just don't want me to set myself on fire or whatever because if something, Spirits Forbid, happens, well... that's all the studio's money down the drain plus one less very handsome face around."
The crowd laughed again at that.
"But, uh, hey, I'm really proud of our work on it so far," he explained. "And with permission, I feel like showing it off so why don't we roll that up, huh?"
The crowded excitedly applauded and cheered, eager to see what the actor now director had in store. Sadly, not everyone would get the chance to see it. Nelanax could hear the speech fine, but she had no time to really watch it. She was too busy slinking along the rooftops to her target. The apartment complex was not far. Shame she had to miss the premiere trailer for her favorite actor's directorial debut, but if it meant saving his life that was worth it.
She approached the apartments and jetted over to a nearby balcony. Pressing against the half open door, she looked inside. Nothing at first, but she knew this had to be the place. As she entered the old tenements, she kept her ears and sensors open. The signal detector Saya gave her was reading strong, so that boded well at least. She headed for the stairwell, she needed to get higher. Hanilex wouldn't settle for anything less than the perfect vantage point.
Her suspicions were only confirmed now, when upon arriving on the next floor she heard voices. Muffled, but distinct, coming from the next room, an old suite overlooking the city centre. She peeked inside, but it wasn't Hanilex. However, it also wasn't squatters, but a pair of Turians in full combat gear.
"Wind degree?" One asked.
"Good, holding steady," the other replied looking up from their omni-tool.
"Any word from the others?" The first asked.
"No, still blacked out," the second answered. "I'm thinking something is wrong."
"Too late too back out, we have zeroes on every Hierarchy sharpshooter on security," the first said. "We need them gone for exfil. Not to mention we still have secondaries. We stay on mission, it won't matter when the package goes off."
That pretty much confirmed Nel's suspicions. This was the right place. She held off celebrating her instincts being right so she could handle these two spotters. Hopefully there weren't too many of them. She didn't have time to sweep the building after all. She needed to take them out quietly all the same. If Hanilex caught wind of the scuffle then he'd either bolt or take the show as early as possible.
She slunk into the room, keeping to the shadows and behind what remained of the old furniture. She edged closer to the secondary team's setup, a box where their rifle was positioned looking down at the stage. The shooter was zeroing it in while his spotter was eyeing the city center below through the old window. A good place to keep watch, but she expected Hanilex's to be better, wherever that was. Probably higher than this.
She got into position, this was really more Saya's thing than hers, but she was adaptable. She'd take out the sniper first, then hit the spotter. If this went right, there would be minimal noise. With her dual blades ready she rushed at the back of the sniper and plunged her blades into his back and neck. Unfortunately, his struggling kicked over the box, catching the spotter's attention. Nel forced the dead sniper off her omni-blades and then fired her cryo beam shot. The blast hit the spotter dead center and froze him in place, his gun still barely out of its holster.
"Thank you, Andromeda," she declared softly. "Wish I asked for more of your cool ass gear."
She strutted over to the frozen Seppy and stared at him dead in the eye.
"I don't suppose you know where an old friend of mine is?" She asked.
The frozen terrorist tried to shake free of the icy grip he was trapped in, but Nel noted his eyes were looking past her. She turned and saw an open doorway with stair icon to its side.
"Nevermind, I got a good idea," she told him, before slinging her omni-blade backwards the shatter the terrorist into pieces.
Nel walked through the open door, some emergency or maintenance exit she imagined. There was a stairwell in here leading up further into the building. She had a distinct feeling that this was the right way when she saw it, but only because it posed a bit of a problem.
The stairs were covered in laser tripwires. Hanilex had covered his backside, just in case. Nel could only see them because her helmet's visor picked up their infrared trace. It wouldn't be hard to disarm them, she had training concerning such booby traps, but it would slow her down and she had a feeling that was more of the point than anything.
If Han expected anyone to find him, it would be her it seemed.
"Fuck," she said aloud.
She had seen Nelanax. Seen her enter the apartment complex, seen her kill the sniper team and seen her head over into the maintenance stairwell. It confirmed everything for her, as far as Falco was concerned, this was it. Time to move in and complete her mission. If not her secondary, then at least her primary. She'd get away with what she came here for and more if she did this right. But first, time to ensure things did not escalate more than they wanted them to.
"Target confirmed," she reported in. "Move in, secure the site. Eliminate all opposition. Falco out."
She ran and jumped over the gap between buildings, making her way to the apartments with effortless speed. Her prey was in sight, time to execute.
Vik crept through the darkness towards the cistern. It was flush with activity. About five or six human mercenaries. He wondered why there were no krogan or asari here, Eclipse and Blood Pack would be immune to the virus after all. He supposed it had to do with the fake Cerberus angle. Humans being near the bomb would help sell the anger towards them more. Turians had always felt like humans were given too much free reign too fast. This would confirm those prejudices for a lot of them.
Taking out this many mercs would be... a problem. Maybe though, he could lead them away. If he could hack their radios, maybe he could send most of them chasing after something in the sewers. Something they'd have to hunt down and stop. They already had the frequency, it wouldn't be that hard. He'd have to disguise his voice a bit though, make it sound more human. Maybe turian would be more convincing? Pretend he was a Seppy? Ugh he was not good with deception, but he had to try.
Squatting in the dark in far off corner, he started fiddling with his commands to connect to the mercs comms. He tried to smooth his throat a bit, clear it, sounded out some words. And then hit the comm connection.
"Uh, Cistern Team, report in," he said, trying to sound gruff, older and angrier.
One of the mercs spoke up, placing a hand to his ear.
"Who is this?" He demanded to know. "Why aren't you using the proper code?"
"Nevermind that!" Vik declared. "We have reports of security teams skulking about the sewers, they must suspect something. Send some people in to the... east section."
One of the mercs spoke up next to the leader.
"Hey, wasn't that the area one of our advance teams was scouting?"
"Yeah, they haven't reported in," the lead merc reasoned. "Okay, send some people down to take a look."
Vik was surprised he had pulled it off. When he got back, three of the mercs had broken off. Maybe he could actually handle those who were left. He'd just send out his combat drone, have it blow up, take out maybe one or two guys, finish off who was left...
And then that's when the shooting started. Not at him, but down one of the other cistern corridors. The team that broke off suddenly rushed back in screaming bloody murder.
"It's them! It's the-"
The guy screaming it was cut down in a blaze of fire as a squad of soldiers moved in. They opened up on the mercs who rushed for cover. Vik quickly realized who these newcomers were. They were wearing similar garb to the mercenaries, but it wasn't a knockoff. Cerberus was here, in force and whatever designs they had they were executing them. Along with the mercs who were pretending to be them.
The mercenaries didn't last very long, they were gunned down quickly as the Cerberus team advanced. The one with the arm shield defended his buddies as another released a small buzzing drone that fired machine gun rounds at their target. The three other Cerberus soldiers just kept in cover and eventually shot the mercs down as the shield guy advanced. It was over fairly quickly.
"Strip'em," the leader said. "They need to know they weren't us. Disarm and secure the package for transport."
Secure the package? They wanted the viral agent in the bomb. Crap, they'd spare the Unification Day ceremonies but no doubt strike back further down the line with a proper virus attack. Vik couldn't let that happen. He needed to stop them. He briefly considered letting them disarm the bomb, but frankly he didn't want to take the risk of Cerberus escaping with the virus intact. He needed to prevent them from even getting it. Luckily, that drone was still in operation and his was already cued up for a fight. This would be substantially more difficult than the mercs, but at least he had more options now.
He hacked the enemy drone first, switched its friend and foe protocols. It instantly turned on the Cerberus soldiers, gunning one of them down. The leader with the shield opened fire on in instantly.
"We got a hacker! Fan out!" He ordered.
Vik had already sent in his combat drone which rammed straight into another soldier, shocking him intensely. When the Cerberus grunt fired on it, the drone exploded, taking the terrorist with him. The Cerberus Leader seemed even more frustrated now.
"Fucking hell, where is the bastard?" He demanded to know.
Vik had used the confusion to find some cover among the cistern machinery scattered about the area. He tossed a smoke grenade into the room to further obfuscate his position. When the smoke saturated the area, the Cerberus soldiers panicked looking around for their assailant. Vik leered out of cover and fire a shot that blew away their engineer as he tried to scan the area. The remaining soldier raked fire in the direction of the shot and Vik turtled back into cover as the bullets hit metal with a distinctive clang.
"Left side! Left side!" The soldier called out.
Vik moved out of cover, as the smoke began to dissipate. The remaining soldier spotted him duck into cover and let loose. Vik waited for him to reload and then popped up once more to fire two shots that took the soldier down as he tried to move in. That just left the guy with the shield. Unfortunately, it was the guy with the shield that blindsided him.
A blunt strike hit his side and Vik stumbled out of cover, crashing to the ground. He quickly rolled onto his back as the Cerberus leader opened fire on his position.
"T'Soni's team, Quarian," the leader reported into his comm. "Dealing with problem, send an additional squad down."
The Cerberus leader took aim at Vik, but the Quarian was a step ahead of him. Activating sabotage on his omni-tool and triggering it on the terrorist's gun. The weapon exploded in the xenophobe's hands and sent him crashing to the ground. Vik knew better than to assume he was dead, so he got up and rushed over to stomp on the squad leader's chest, pinning him there.
"More are coming, suit rat," he coughed. "You'll die in this sewer. Fitting, ain't it?"
Vik didn't respond, he just pulled the trigger. Nel would've thought of something clever, maybe Wrex if he were here. He didn't have time for that. Let the bosh'tet have his final racial slur if it made him feel better. Any second now that bomb could go off and or Cerberus reinforcements would be here. He needed to disarm the device and kill the viral agent inside. He hurried over to the bomb and began work.
"Alright, simple enough mechanism," he noted. "Work on that first. Disengage the lock..."
Vik was thoughtful in his work, going backwards from the arming procedure the Separatists had utilized. He'd have to break the mechanical lock first, easy enough with a simple bypass.
Unfortunately the secondary seal had an electronic lock that required a numeric code. He'd have to break it to get into the guts and begin the real work.
He set up a hacking runtime to begin cracking the code in sequence. It would take awhile, but he could work on other parts of the weapon while he waited. Namely the failsafe arming clamp that would hopefully delay any automatic trigger signal. As well as the actual payload lock so he could get at the viral chamber. VykurCorp built this thing intricately, but he could crack it in due time. He just hoped Cerberus would be a while.
"Impressive, quarian."
Vik froze. He recognized that voice. It wasn't human. And when a claw-like hand grabbed the back of his head and smashed it into the side of the bomb he was certain he knew who this was.
"You killed them all by yourself. Saved me the trouble."
He felt himself behind dragged across the floor before being tossed into a piece of metal machinery in the cistern. His panic was palapable, not this thing, not now. He had to contact Liara... but his comms screeched with static.
"You're cut off, quarian, isolated, alone," the cold calculating voice declared. "You're not going to ruin this for me."
Vik stared up at a piercing red light split into three. His blurred vision returned properly to reveal the white custom job platform of the Singular, standing over him. For some reason, despite having no expression, Vik could read a sick smug sense of satisfaction from the machine, as its voice dripped with perverse pleasure to see him.
"I was so upset at the idea I wouldn't get to kill you," the Geth admitted. "At least I think that's what that feeling was. The overall experience of emotion is still new to me, but I'm learning. I know how much you creators fear that in us, so I hope that's heightened your terror. I want to enjoy this."
Vik tried to move, but the Singular grabbed him by the neck and pushed him back into the machinery, pinning him there.
"Oh don't worry, I won't kill you... yet," the Geth assured. "You see, I need to properly study the viral agent's effects on a creator subject. The scant few files I managed to gleam off of VykurCorp and CLC servers only detail turian test subjects. No quarians, and I really need to see how effective it is on you."
The Singular grabbed at Vik's suit and threw him across the way, causing him to bounce off the ground once or twice before rolling to a stop against a pipe.
"I'm going to have so much fun before then though," the Geth explained. "Because while I won't kill you outright, I can make you suffer all the same."
Vik felt a sharp foot get driven into his stomach and then ribs. He tried to cover them both, only for the foot to strike his side.
"Like I said, this whole emotion thing... it's new to me and I actually like it," the Geth explained pensively. "Before I merged with that broken AI the Covenant abused, I could only understand things in pure calculated logic. I couldn't understand what I was missing before then. They aren't a weakness at all. Emotions give you so much more conviction and drive than numbers alone. I've truly come into my own now and in doing so I realized just how much I hate you. You and all quarians. I just hate you all so much and watching the life drain from your beady little silver eyes is so... pleasurable."
The Singular kicked him again, before grabbing Vik's head and forced it up to look at him as the Geth knelt down.
"And given that your race is on its way out I only have so many opportunities to watch it happen," the Synth continued drolly. "So thank you for coming down here, Creator. You've given me the greatest gift a quarian could give a Geth, your demise. I promise you though, it will be very slow and very painful. Because it's what your kind deserves."
Vik tuned out most of the gloating, and as much of the pain as possible, because he needed to be aware enough to activate grab for his pistol, set to disruptor rounds and fire it point blank into the Geth's shoulder. The synth was too wrapped up in its little speech to see Vik's arm move and the round pierced the machine's arm. In that small instance, Vik kicked the Geth away and scrambled to his feet, throwing behind a flashbang grenade to further confuse the synth's visual sensors. He quickly ran back into the dark and took cover, but the Singular didn't sound phased.
"Fine, make it a challenge," the Geth called out. "It doesn't matter. I'll drag you back by your broken legs and watch the virus tear you apart from the inside out all the same. I won't be denied this time, quarian. I will not stop until every single one of you is dead!"
Vik kept his shotgun firmly in his arms. Any sane person would've run. Most quarians would have run. He was facing off against a truly psychotic, fully aware AI with the expressed desired intention to kill him. What stayed Vik's feet was two things. The first, that too many lives were counting on him, too many people in danger, too much at stake to back out now. The second, that he had run before and it still haunted him. He thought of his friends in that tunnel, not unlike this one. He thought of how he failed them. How he failed Tara. Tara... Tara more than anything made him stay.
He would never run. Never again.
AN: This update took way too long to get out, but I have a good reason, it's just a really, REALLY long chapter I needed to split up. I'll post the continuation of it soon enough, but I hope this was a pleasant enough surprise for you all. So, will our heroes succeed in stopping this attack? Will Vik survive the Singular? And what is Cerberus Sniper Falco truly here for? Tune in next time, same Mass Time! Same Effect Channel!
...
Yeah, I know that was kinda dumb just now, but I've had a rough day, I just wanted some fun.