Chapter 13
Illium
And so here is the beginning of the Illium's arc. I shall warn you now: this arc will be long, like at least three chapter long.
As always i appreciate feedback, as long as they are actually useful and not just a collection of insults.
About the problem of me writing IA instead of AI, please look at the beginning of chapter 12
I do not own nothing etc. etc
Lena's room. 6 03 a.m. 23 march 2185
There was some kind of ritual inside the ship, a ritual born thanks to the infamous Ripper and her unfailing habit of coming out from her room exactly at 6 a.m. Every day the Claymore would come out her room alongside her daughter, wash up a bit inside the ladies bathroom and quickly move toward the mess hall for a breakfast. So used was the crew to see this routine that many ensigns, the ones assigned to the night shift, treated the Claymore as their personal watch: she is outside, the night shift is over.
So it is easy to understand why, when such granitic bastion of tradition failed to fulfill her duty all of a sudden, many members of the crew shifted their eyes toward the Rippers's door with uncertainty.
Truth to be told, Lena was already well and truly awake but her body simply refused to move. Placed next to her, over a nightstand, the reason of this unexpected slight in her routine was looking at the Claymore: a small data-pad containing a book called "The three musketeers" written in french; the book that Kelly entrusted to her two days ago. The young counsellor had assured her that Lena would have enjoyed this supposedly classic of literature, and she was right: granted, the writing itself was different from the one from her planet, and not knowing who the hell were Richelieu, or Luigi XIII made the reading a bit challenging in the beginning, but the story was amazing! Even better that the ones told by the bards of Rabona.
It was so good that Lena almost forgot to sleep for two days, something that easily explained the current predicament.
Lazily, agent Lena for the first time in her life considered the idea of breaking down her tried and tested routine, enjoying the softness of the bed for another couple of minutes, maybe even a hour.
She could do that….
Until a small, cute and very familiar missile hit her bed with the strength of ten Yomas and moved inside her sheets with lightning speed.
Her daughter, Raina.
"Wake up mom, wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"
"Hhhm, Raina! I barely slept last night, stay quiet for a while."
"But we are finally here! The planet where there are the forests. I wanna touch a tree once again, mum. Please!"
Lena tried, she really did, to ignore her daughter's plead but, In the end, the Claymore had to surrender: how was someone supposed to endure an assault so brutal as one of a child trying to rip away the blanket from your body?
Slowly, yawning and fidgeting inside the blankets, the Claymore got herself up from her bed, dressed up with actual clothes and see-sawed herself toward the bathroom outside the room; Next to her a giddy and already dressed Raina eagerly followed her.
-So- thought Lena while trying to wake up the old fashioned way, by splashing herself with cold water in the sink.
-Illium. Here we are. According to the texts I received from Kelly, this place is some kind of gigantic commercial hub. Might find something interesting for Raina.-
According to what EDI told her two days ago during a broadcast reserved only for active agents, Shepard decided to move toward this planet for three reason: first because here awaited the last two agents needed to complete the rooster; second because the ship needed some kind of improvements and Illium's shipyards were the best equipped for this kind of job and, lastly, because there were some personal problems to deal with inside this planet. But what really got Lena's attention that day was the announcement that, because of all of this mess most of the crew, agents included, finally had the chance to have some more needed shore leave!
According to Tali, it will take at least a week before the ship, so changed and modified by these improvements, would be able to fly once again: calibration of a new main gun, new plating for the bulkheads, more advanced scanning system and so on and so on do not install themselves on a flash after all. And so, being next to one of the biggest trading hub of the galaxy, and being stuck on it for some time, Shepard decided apparently to let his crew have some fun with the locals.
Lena still had a hard time accepting the existence of something like a holiday: actually paid free time offered by the manager for the employees. It was already a miracle if the lords of her home planet allowed the serfs to have a day off in case natural disasters like earthquakes, yoma invasions or diseases; actually paying someone so that he/she could have a holiday wherever he wanted? Beyond ludicrous!
The Claymore quickly dressed herself up and moved along with Raina toward the mess hall, hoping for a quick and, most importantly of all, alone breakfast. Even after all this time, Lena was still a bit unease about the whole idea of dining with all the crew inside a big, messy hall.
But this time she was in for a surprise: the second she opened the door of the Mess hall was the moment a sonic wave hit her with the strength of a sledgehammer. The Mess hall was a thrumming hive of activity, with dozens of crew members happily chatting and dining with each other, all while small, translucent drones milled around and showed small maps with important landmarks and best touristic places, from the most refined ones to the best bars in the run-down districts. From the lowest ensign to the top tier brass in the ship, everyone was already here, planning for his little vacation; even Grunt was here, looking thoughtfully at a data-pad.
Definitely not what Lena had expected. It even took some minutes for the pair to find a free place in the mess hall, and even more time to receive a breakfast from Gardner.
"Ah Lena" greeted a male voice from behind. Shepard's voice "For once you are not the first one to wake up."
"I can see this." retorted Lena drily "I have to say Shepard, this is….unexpected."
"The crew needed this. After the skirmish at New Horizon and all the high risk missions we endured, a little rest and relaxation is just what they need to vent their tension. However." Shepard's tone quickly lowered to a more professional one
"There is still some work to do, that is why Tali, along with some engineers, will stay inside the ship for most of the week and busy themselves with the new improvements; and why I am requesting some high level agents to stay in active duty for some time. You are among these agents, Lena."
-And the holiday with Raina all of a sudden fly away with the pretty wings of work.- mused Lena to herself. Never count the chicken before they hatch. Next to her Raina's expression slumped in less than a second.
"But wait." quickly added Shepard "I have no intention to rob you from your well deserved shore leave: all the operative agents will follow turns, allowing everyone to have at least two days of free time per agent. I am asking for you today because I need a hard-hitter that actually use his head before charging the enemy, unlike Grunt."
Lena slightly tilted her head in response
"You do not need to excuse yourself, Shepard: i signed a contract and I will uphold it. Just give me the time to find someone willing to take care of Raina for today."
Judging by Raina's sulking expression, Lena's sentiment was not a shared one.
"Take all the time you need, Lena: just be armed and ready to depart at midday, ship hour. Kelly will give you all the necessary data for the mission."
"Understood."
"Good. I should go now, I am leaving you to your affairs. See you next to airlock, Lena."
Lena simply lightly snorted and though about this new unexpected problem, wondering who would be willing to take an eye on Raina this day, especially considering that half the crew was out of commission for the entire day.
"Mum, this is not fair!" sulked Raina next to her, the small bowl of hot milk and biscuits next to her already forgotten. "The commander is preventing us to have fun!"
"The commander is doing his duty just as I am doing mine and, besides, you heard him right? I will be occupied only for a couple of days at worst. Just a pair of jobs and we shall be free to explore this planet."
Raina pouted in response
"We will have the chance to have some fun, Raina. I promise this." continued Lena. Finally Raina relented
"Fine mom. You go and fight bad guys as always, I shall be with teacher Tali."
"That is the spirit, Raina." chided Lena "Now, how to find Tali in this mess?"
Midday. Illium's city. Twelve minutes later.
-This Illium is one of the greatest cities I have ever seen, and I am looking at it from the sky.- repeated Lena to herself times and times again, her mind still having trouble to accept what was happening. The warrior knew that right now she probably looked like a child lost inside a massive candy-store, but the Claymore could simply not stop gawking at the view and, for the first time of her life, she thanked her yoma's flesh for the amazing eyesight possessed by every Claymore.
The architecture of this city was beyond amazing: massive metal buildings, long highways that stretched in the dozens of kilometers, smokeless lights illuminating every nook and cranny of the massive city, all of this was nothing new for Lena at this point, and yet Illium managed to do much more than simply catch her eyes.
First of all, you could see a marvelous sky here: unlike on Omega, where everything was bolted down with bulkheads the size of a small house, here Lena could actually have the sun washing over her body, its touch one of a long-lost lover for the Claymore. Then there were the buildings itself: massive skyscrapers made with steel and reflective glass that gleamed like diamonds etched inside a giant crown, all of them housing thousand of families inside its crystal womb. Hundreds of machines idly moved in the ether like flocks of birds, the one where Lena was currently inside just one of many, many more. And the lights, the lights! On Omega proper illumination was a luxury afforded only to the most wealthy, but here not a single speck of land was left unchecked. Everything was illuminated, nothing was left in the dark.
But what really hit hard the Claymore were the people: there were hundred of thousands people only inside this city; Asari, Turian, Batarian, Elcor, Human, Drell, every race of this galaxy was in front of her, and in such amazing numbers; she could recognize them, all of them, despite the distance between them and the surface, mingling with each other, carousing, trading…
Back on her island, five hundred people were a throng and Rabona, the biggest city on the island, counted twenty thousand people at best! And here a million people were a common occurrence!
How the local government organs managed to feed such a massive number of people, let alone control it, was beyond the Claymore's mind.
The fact that Lena, for the first time in her life, was actually flying inside on of these strange metal contraptions called cars did nothing to ease the surprise.
"I take that you never visited a planet such as Illium, Lena." intervened Shepard behind her seat "Unfortunately we are on a mission right now, so could you lose yourself in sight-seeing later?"
"Ye-yes of course! My apologies." quickly said Lena, scolding herself for such an unprofessional behavior. Shepard simply snorted and tried, emphasis on tried, to calm down.
The mission was quite simple, and interesting at the same time: according to Miranda's informers, someone wanted to kidnap Miranda's daughter from her adoptive family on Illium. As such Miranda needed help to escort her sister, Oriana, and make sure that she could relocate on a safer place. Shepard was not alone with Miranda of course, both Lena and Jacob were coming with them, a balanced squad capable of dealing with anything short of a Collector attack, and yet for the first time in weeks Lena saw a side of Miranda that thought simply impossible: gone was the cold and ruthless woman, capable of dealing with entire squads of enemies without breaking a sweat, replaced by an entirely different person. Miranda kept panting hard during all the travel, growled at every small, little inconvenience that prevented the squad to immediately reach their destination and actually played with her hairs in a way to ease her tension! Her emotions, usually hidden under an impenetrable mask, were open to see for everyone.
It was almost unsettling to see it.
"Here!" said Miranda after ten minutes of driving, pointing at a small industrial hub down of them "We just need to pass this slum and we shall reach Oriana and her family's residential district."
Lena looked at the place pointed by Miranda and almost laughed at this remark: a slum? What her eyes were seeing was considered a slum? Sure the quarter Miranda mentioned possessed less light sources, the metal walls looked a bit consumed, and the place itself looked a bit neglected, but calling it a slum?!
-No whores flaunting their ruined bodies, no dirt-covered roads, no rats stalking the alleys, no crumbling homes left and right, no darkness holding thieves ready to stab you in the back and steal everything from your bloody corpse. Definitively not like the slums back on my home-planet.- mused Lena dryly.
The quarter itself appeared as both a residential district and an industrial one, with small houses placed near massive factories all linked together with massive chains, said chains used to move heavy crates loaded with goods to wherever was their destination.
The place was desert right now, not even a warden. It was strange, almost unnatural, and Lena was not the only one to notice this.
"Miranda, why is there no one down here? Not even a warden?"
"I do not know and I do not care, Shepard. Maybe there is a strike or a festival; right now we just need." snapped Miranda back, only to be stopped all of a sudden by a metallic voice.
"Incoming enemy fire." It was the car's computer's voice, and Miranda immediately reacted.
"Brace!" shouted Miranda immediately.
Immediately the car buckled and twisted like a crazed arrow, forcing its occupant to grab anything remotely stable and hold it for their life. Sparks and bullets started grazing the car's surface despite Miranda's best effort. Some bullets even managed to pierce the car, and Lena almost jumped from her place when a silver lining tore apart the car's metal and missed her head for a hair breadth.
"Miranda, we need to go down! This car will not last for long against consistent fire." shouted Shepard to Miranda. Behind him a small explosion tore bits of metal away from the car's engines
"Will try, Shepard." replied Miranda grimly. All of a sudden the ship buckled and nosedived toward the surface at supersonic speed.
Down of the surface
"Cease fire, you bunch of idiots! Cease fire!" barked a lone officer dressed in bright colored yellow armor with a black sun on his chest. All around him fellow soldiers, the same armor covering their bodies, immediately stopped firing at their target: a small, black car now smoldering from a dozen of bullets holes.
"What part of taking them alive you misunderstood, you bunch of morons? Pray that no one inside that flying can is still alive, otherwise you will deal with captain Enyala, not me!"
Most of the soldiers around their leader visibly shuddered in fear. They all knew Enyala; they all knew how ruthless she was.
"Now, find a decent firing position and let me talk first. Assuming that someone will survive the crash!"
For the first time in her life, Lena truly believed that this was the end for her: she had fought against awakened ones, yomas of all sizes, monstrous creature of this galaxy inside that thrice-cursed arena on Omega, mercenaries, cyber-zombies and much, much more, and never feared death. Sure, it was always here, ready to snatch her in case of one single miss-step. But these were all cases where Lena could do something about this; she was the one in control during a battle.
But being inside a flying tin can, completely unable to control it and being able only to pray for salvation…
It was simply awful, not being in control.
Truth to be told, Miranda managed to somehow avoid the brunt of the crash by scraping most of the car body across the metal floor, allowing the crew inside to survive mostly unscathed.
Shepard was the first to come out from the burning wreckage, weapons ready and scanning for possible threats. Behind him Miranda and Jacob quickly followed; last arrived Lena, a bit bruised and banged but mostly fine.
They were quickly greeted by a dozen of armored mercenaries.
"Stand down, all of you!" shouted the lead man of this band. He was a human man, covered in tech-armor that shined with an orange, eerie glow. The armor itself was painted bright yellow and decorated with a black sun on its center.
It was enough for Lena to recognize them: Eclipse. They were a pretty common sight on Omega after all.
"Listen, Shepard." began the soldier "I know why you are here, and I have been ordered to give you a chance to come out alive. Take your group and move the hell out of here."
"We are not going anywhere!" snarled Miranda in response
"Bitch, we already know where is the boss's daughter you kidnapped years ago. Captain Enyala is already moving and your friend Nicket already told us where to go. You are too late."
Barked bark the merc commander, enough to left Shepard a bit confused. Kidnapped?
"You walk away, the girl goes back to her father, and everyone is happy."
"Everyone but Oriana." muttered Miranda
"Maybe we can talk with your captain. Resolving all this mess without killing each other." offered Shepard, trying to find a solution. The merc leader smirked at this suggestion
"Captain Enyala is not as polite as I am, and she received an astronomic sum just to keep you away from the child. You do not want to be in the way of an asari that can rip you to shreds with her biotics, Specter. Now."
the merc approached Shepard and looked at him right into the eyes.
"Last chance: get the hell out of here or die! Choose wisely."
Shepard waited for some seconds, pondering the situation: there were at least a dozen of soldier ready to fire at them, and no cover in the immediate vicinity. Armor and barrier could protect them only so much, especially against such a massive firepower. He needed a distraction.
Then he saw it: the factory was empty but the automatic conveyor belt were still active and dragging in the air massive container, container that for a split second were just above the mercenaries's heads. He just needed to wait.
"How much time do I have to decide?" stalled Shepard feigning ignorance
"You choose now, Specter." snarled back the leader. The container was so close, so so close.
"In that case." It all happened in less than two seconds: with one hand Shepard hit the mercenary leader right into the neck, stunning him on the spot, while the other hand grabbed his pistol and fired at the metal chain keeping the container afloat. The massive crate, now free, collapsed on the surprised mercs and smashed many of them under its weight, giving all the time to Shepard and his crew to react.
"Lena, charge!" shouted immediately Shepard, and Lena quickly complied. The Claymore grabbed her massive sword and dashed toward the nearest enemy, a mere Salarian recruit, bisecting the still stunned fool with one precise strike. The survivors among the mercenaries immediately fired at Lena in response, and the Claymore's shield flared dangerously after some second of sustained fire while she dashed toward the nearest cover, but in doing this the mercenaries allowed Shepard and his squad to pick them at their leisure.
In less than a minute the fight was already over.
"Good riddance; now let's wake up the sleeping beauty." Shepard kicked the lead mercenary still down. Once awake, it took only a second for the mercenary that he was in deep, deep trouble.
"As you can see, your men are all dead, and you shall soon join them if you don not answer my questions." cooly said Shepard, as if he was talking of the weather.
"First question. How many Eclipse soldiers have been deployed?"
The mercenary tried to stay shut, but a quick glance at the soldier bisected by Lena loosened up his tongue
"At least five parties, all at the direct command of captain Enyala."
"Where are they positioned?"
"No fucking clue! Every squad maintain radio silence during a mission just to avoid leaks. I was supposed to call them in case of success, so now who know what will happen."
"Fine. Last question: where is Enyala?"
One last, stubborn silence greeted Shepard's question
"Lena." simply said Shepard, and the Claymore quickly reacted by grabbing her sword.
"Up in the district! Up in the district!" squealed the mercenary immediately "There is an elevator at the end of the room. Take it, pass the hallway and reach the main storage room of this factory. Enyala is here along with the boy."
"Good man." chided Shepard cooly "Now run away. The Eclipse will never forgive you for this betrayal."
The merc leader, still amazed by the fact that he was still alive, quickly took the chance and ran away from the battlefield….only to have Miranda shot him in the back.
"What the fuck Miranda?!" shouted Shepard. "He was not a danger anymore!" judging by Jacob and Lena's stare they were also surprised
"He knew about my sister." answered Miranda as a matter of fact "He had to die. Now can we move Shepard, please?"
Shepard gritted his teeth but refused to argue with Miranda. This was neither the time nor the place for a bitching contest.
Following the dead merc's instructions, Shepard and his squad moved toward their objective, mindful of any possible enemy squad willing to place themselves between them and their target.
They were not disappointed: true to their reputation, the Eclipse mercenaries attacked them with a combination of entrenched foxholes, biotic attacks and surgical strikes from their commandoes, trying to pin Shepard and his squad down under a relentless wall of fire while their specialists tried to outflank them and their mechs and drones harassed the enemy's shield without pause. A solid plan, and one that would have worked if not for Miranda.
The normal cold operative was currently on fire, quite literally. The Eclipse threw literally everything at her, and still they failed to stop her: entrenched position exploded into a pile of scrap metal and alloys, mechs of every kind flied like rag-dolls without any semblance of control, entire patrols were destroyed by Miranda's power and even their specialists, Asari with at least a century of experience of warfare, collapse under the sheer volume of biotic power coming out from Miranda.
Lena was genuinely surprised by this: the more time passed, the more Miranda started resembling one of those fabled witches of the north used by the parents to scare their children. Hell, Lena even saw Miranda grabbing an Eclipse soldier with her biotic powers and literally ripping his head off with one brutal blow!
Needless to say, this impressive display of brutality, coupled with the rest of the squad's expertise, made short works of any Eclipse patrol that tried to stop them, and no one even got scratched in the process.
Still, the factory had seen better days.
"We are literally destroying this place." commented Jacob after another fight "Why the police is not already intervening?"
"Because most of the cops on Illium are corrupted. My father probably bought their loyalty for this mission." answered Miranda while grabbing something from the corpse of an Eclipse official "One of their computers. I will try to enter inside their communication network."
"While you do that, you may tell me what exactly is the deal with your sister." commented Shepard quietly "What is the deal with this kidnapping the merc kept talking about?"
Miranda had no intention of answering, that was clear to see. Her mouth twitched and her eyes tried to avoid Shepard while pretending to focus on the Eclipse's radio.
"Oriana is my biological twin." Finally answered Miranda "Remember about my father? The richest men in the galaxy? His greatest dream was creating the perfect wife for himself: submissive, intelligent, polite, beautiful, pleasant, you get it. And because there was no such woman in the galaxy, he decided to create one using genetics."
Miranda's left fist tightened all of a sudden
"She looked for a suitable woman, impregnated her and modified the unborn child since the beginning. Nine months later I was born, and my personal hell began.
The moment I was able to walk and talk was the moment he put me to work: my entire childhood is a continuous sequence of me studying, training my body and learning lessons of etiquette, always trying to improve myself for the sake of my father, always trying to become the perfect doll for him while having my body pumped with who know what kind of chemical agents. After the age of ten I already possessed the body of a young woman, amazing biotic powers and the brain power of three scientists, but that bastard was never satisfied with me. He always wanted more!"
This time Miranda's eyes literally blazed with fury. A cold, unrelenting fury.
"He treated me like dirt, never allowing me to have a social life and always pushing me like a slave driver until one day he simply abandoned me, leaving me alone with my rage. I was so furious, Shepard: being alone, not able to talk with anyone and betrayed by my own father, but I was trapped, abandoned, so I simply obeyed and lived like a hermit inside my own cell. Then, one day, I see my father screaming with joy while holding a small bundle of silk containing a child; Oriana, the new perfect woman. I should have feel anger toward her but in truth, when I thought about all the tortures and the sacrifices that my sister was about to suffer, something inside me snapped."
Miranda finally stopped using the terminal of the Eclipse and looked at Shepard right in the eye
"I kidnapped her, yes, because this was the only option left. I tore her away from that monster of my father and ran away with her. For one year I took care of her while escaping from father's agents, until Cerberus found me. I gave the Illusive Man an offer: the loyalty and submission of one of the brightest mind of the galaxy in exchange for a quiet life for my sister, and he accepted. I quickly became one of Cerberus's most trusted agents and in exchange Oriana now lives with a real family that loves her, far away from our father's reach."
notwithstanding to all, Lena showed to be quite taken by Miranda's story while her respect for the Cerberus's agent skyrocketed.
-Could I be as strong as her if necessary? I accepted to serve T'Von for two years but only because I was forced, and it took a lot of persuading and suffering. You on the other hand willingly enslaved yourself in exchange for the freedom of a sister that barely knew!- thought the Claymore filled with admiration
-You are far stronger than me, Miranda.-
"She is almost a woman now." continued Miranda "And I look for her in secret. She is so smart, Shepard, and cool. Only nineteen years old and already on the verge of winning a degree in biology, and the way she laugh with her friends. I am so proud of her, and that is why we must save her. I am sorry for not telling you the whole truth, Shepard, but when it comes to Oriana I get very protective."
"Yes, I saw that." commented Shepard dryly "Still, now I understand your motives. But what about this Nicket? The merc said that is working with Eclipse."
"I cannot genuinely believe that. Nicket is the reason I managed to escape from my father, and the only person I truly trust. I am sure that bastard was lying. Now let's go, we have already lost too much time."
17 minutes later
"Nicket." said Miranda when both her and Shepard's squad reached their objective. They were finally here; after minutes of intense fighting against dozens of enemies, mechs, drones and god only know what else the Eclipse decided to throw at them, Shepard and his squad had finally reached the place where this captain Enyala was waiting for Oriana alongside her personal killers. The only problem was that she was not alone: an Asari clerk, probably a clerk of the factory and a human boy in his mid-twenties were next to her.
A boy that Miranda knew too well.
The clerk, noticing the impeding fire-fight, tried to run away only to have Enyala aiming her shotgun at her; luckily for the clerk, she ran toward Lena and the Claymore managed to grab her and shove her behind some crates next to Lena.
"You sold me out. Why?" there was genuine hurt inside Miranda's voice, alongside grief.
"Why?!" answered the boy, as surprised as Miranda "You wanted to escape, and it was fine! It was your choice and you deserved to do it! But then you kidnapped your sister just to spit on your father! That was not fine!"
"I saved her, you idiot!" snarled Miranda back "My father wanted to use her for his experiments!"
"Your father is the richest man in the galaxy! He would have treated her like a princess!"
"Are you done with this drama, boy?" intervened all of a sudden the Asari commando "Just give me the word and I shall kill this bitch!"
"No!" answered immediately Nicket "I told you: no one kill Miranda or her friend unless absolutely necessary. This will already be a traumatic experience for Oriana, we do not need to worsen it."
-Interesting. It appear that the boy is not a jackass as I suspected, only misguided.- thought Shepard while listening the banter.
"What make you think that you can kill us all, Eclipse?" taunted Shepard while he counted the enemy inside the room. So far he had counted five soldiers and two commandoes all scattered around the room.
"Ah, human! You think that only because you are a specter and go around with an army of bitches you are invincible? I killed and humiliated far more dangerous people than you, and your little bitch with the sword know this very well."
"What?" asked Shepard to himself. Behind him Lena's face remained a mask of stoicism, but Shepard could see small droplets of sweats coming down from her face
"Oh yes, I still remember the quality time I passed with you two years ago, dear Ripper." continued Enyala unabated "Do you remember? How you squealed like a bitch in heat under my touch? The fun we had together on Omega?"
Lena's stoic facade disappeared under a scowl, but still the Claymore refused to answer
"Nicket" intervened Shepard finally "Why haven't you simply tried to contact Miranda? To try to hear her part of the story?"
"I wanted to, I really did. But then I discovered that she decided to leave her own sister in the hand of a random family only to join Cerberus. Cerberus! My best friend kidnap her own sister and leave her to a bunch of no-ones only to join an organization of racists! That is why I decided to contact your father, Miri."
These words actually hurt Miranda. She looked shocked at Nicket, for a second unable to properly answer.
"You...you misunderstood everything, Nicket!" She said in the end "I joined Cerberus because they could protect me and Oriana from our father, and the family I choose for her is one of the best I could find. Oriana is happy with them and you are about to destroy her entire life for nothing."
"Besides." quickly added Shepard "Don't you know that Miranda's father is one of the biggest Cerberus's backers?"
That caught Nicket off guard
"W-what?"
"Mr Lawson is one of the biggest Cerberus backers, and is widely known for his illegal genetical experiments. I made some researches about him, and I discovered that he is one hell of a bastard: kidnapping, thievery, murder, you name he did it, or his scoundrels did it. Do you really want to hand over Oriana to a dangerous psychopath that has already proved to be a terrible father?"
"I..i" stuttered Nicket
"If her father truly wanted what is best for Oriana, he would have come for her in person. Instead he ordered her kidnapping without even thinking about what Oriana desires. Think about it for a second, Nicket."
"He..is with Cerberus? Then why...what the hell?"
"You made a mess, Nicket." said Miranda "If only you'd granted me the chance to explain everything before calling him."
"Oh come on!" snarled Enyala back "Do not dare chickening out right now, human."
"I...i" said Nicket hesitantly "The situation has changed. I cannot lend Oriana to him after discovering all of this. The deal is off."
BANG
Enyala's shotgun boomed inside the room with the power of a thunder strike! A second later Nicket, his chest now a ruined mess of blood, organs and splintered bones, looked at himself with eyes full of surprise. Then, when the pain finally arrive, the boy could do nothing else than gurgling and trying to call Miranda while his legs failed him. Behind him Enyala simply smirked
"Told you boy, no last minute betrayals. Now, could you gently"
the room around Enyala exploded. One savage movement from Miranda and the Asari commando literally flied like a bullet across the entire room, only her biotic barrier saving her from having her backbones smashed.
"You will pay for his death, you fucking bitch!" roared Miranda, and just a second later all hell broke loose.
Enyala's goons immediately reacted and fired at Shepard's squad but it was already too late, and the whole room exploded in a violent fire-fight. Bullets and biotic attacks flied against Miranda only to be stopped by her barriers while Shepard and Jacob picked at any Eclipse soldier stupid enough to stay out of cover for more than one second.
"Lena." simply said Shepard. It was enough for the Claymore.
With a fluid motion, Lena dashed away from the cover and moved toward her targets. Predictably, the image of a mad half-human beast charging against their line without any care for her own safety startled more than one soldier; coupled with Shepard and Jacob's constant barrage, it is not a surprise that once again no Eclipse managed to pierce Lena's shield before it was too late.
Lena's first target was a simple Salarian soldier, lightly detached from the rest of the squad. The Claymore was too fast for the poor soldier and with a single, diagonal swipe Lena cut part of the Salarian head alongside most of his upper torso.
Not even a second had passed that Lena was already moving toward the next target, a female engineer. The girl, terrified after seeing one of her comrade almost cut in two, shrieked in fear and launched a surge of electricity against Lena that destroyed her shields; not enough to stop the Claymore.
Lena thrusted her sword right into the stomach of the enemy's engineer, shattering the enemy's shield on impact and breaking at least five ribs. The Eclipse soldier reeled under this massive blow, dropping her gun and grabbing her chest in desperation while her breath became haggard. The Claymore next to her quickly raised her sword, ready to behead her…..and all of a sudden what could only be defined as a massive ball of biotic energy hit the engineer square in the back, literally ripping the poor engineer apart and slamming the Claymore next to her straight into a pile of crates with a thunderous noise.
Confused, her ears ringing and with bits of the now deceased engineer scattering along her body, Lena wrenched herself away from the pile of broken crates just a second before another biotic attack slammed itself right into her chest, breaking down her armor and most of her ribs in one single blow. Lena's mouth opened in a silent scream, a rush of blood escaping from her lips; her sword escaped from her now trembling hands and the Claymore felt a massive weight inside her chest. Lena tried to regenerate the damage she suffered, only to have a pair of blue hands grabbing her neck and slowly chocking her.
Enyala. Apparently the mercenary killed one hour ago was right about her power: Lena had never suffered such a powerful biotic blow from any foe, even when inside the arena.
"A shame." said her would be assassin with fake regret. Lena tried to react but she could barely feel her hands, and Enyala's grip was strengthened by her biotics "I would have loved to keep you around, as a pet maybe. Scars aside, you have an amazing body." The grip around Lena's neck tightened all of a sudden "Unfortunately, the contract is clear."
Lena tried to react in some way, any way, refusing to die like a weak lamb to the slaughter, but the pain was so crippling! Enyala smirked at this, and one of her hands glowed with ominous blue energy, ready to crush Lena's head to a pulp.
"Say good-bye, darling." chided Enyala. The glowing hand moved toward Lena, even closer.
But just at the last moment, when Enyala's hand was an inch away from Lena's face, another force prevented Enyala from moving. Another biotic aura enveloped the commando's body like a blanket, preventing any aggressive move. Furious, Enyala turned her head and looked at her surrounding, trying to understand what was ruining her fun. What she saw terrified her: all her soldiers laid down dead, their bodies littered with bullet holes; Shepard's squad on the other hand was unscathed and Miranda was literally glowing like a lighthouse, her biotic power trapping Enyala like a fly inside the spider's nest. So focused had Enyala been about defeating Lena that she had completely forgotten about the battle, and now she was all alone against Shepard, his squad, and a very pissed off Miranda.
Miranda made a snapping gesture with her hand and all of a sudden Enyala was yanked off from Lena. The Asari commando tried one last, desperate attempt to free herself, only to discover that Miranda was way stronger that her right now. The Cerberus agent simply kept her trapped with one hand and took her heavy pistol with the other, a savage grin on her lips.
The first shot tore a hole inside Enyala's left arm. The second pierced her stomach, the third destroyed her left foot.
Miranda took all the time she wanted, enjoying every single second of it. Only after she literally riddled Enyala's body with bullet holes, Miranda decided to end this.
"I told you that you would have paid for Nicket, bitch." she whispered to the dying commando. One last shot and Enyala's death exploded like a ripe melon, spraying the room with purple blood.
The battle was over.
Lena, now free from Enyala's embrace, tried to stand up only to have her wounds screaming at her in pain and rage. For a scone her vision blurred and lost her footing, but thankfully Shepard was ready to catch her.
"Easy Lena." said Shepard gently "According to my omni-tool, most of your bones are broken."
"I know." answered Lena weakly "And I hate it: mending shattered bones is such a bitch! Even for me." The Claymore whimpered for a second before continuing "I fear I am combat incapable, Shepard. At least for half an hour."
"Noted" said Shepard "Miranda, do you detect any more enemies?"
"Negative Shepard. Nothing from the omni-tool and the Eclipse's radio." a sight of relief escaped from Miranda's lips. "Oriana is now safe."
"Shepard" intervened all of a sudden Jacob "What about that clerk?"
Shepard had almost forgotten about her: the Asari girl saved at the last second by Lena was still alive, and judging by her muttering and prayer she was still freaking out behind her cover.
Sighting, Shepard slowly approached the girl while drawing out his best secure face.
"Oh goddess!" squealed the girl when she saw Shepard coming toward her "Please don't kill me! I am only a clerk working inside this factory. They ordered me to guide them! I am not an Eclipse, I swear! Oh goddess, save me!"
"Calm down" answered Shepard with his most soothing voice "We know that you are not an Eclipse, and you know that you are innocent. You are free to go wherever you desire, we will not stop you."
The asari girl slowly raised her head and looked hesitantly at Shepard, her eyes still crying in fear
"I...i can?" asked the girl unconvinced "You will not kill or imprison me?"
"I am a specter, not a slaver" answered Shepard "I was just doing my job. I am sorry that you got involved in all of this, and I do not see any reason to detain you."
"Specter!? A human!? Then you...oh goddess, thank you! Yes, I will go." screamed in joy the scared asari. The girl quickly stood up and moved toward the exit, but at the last second she stopped. Puzzled, Shepard followed the asari with his eyes, trying to understand why this sudden indecisiveness.
Then, all of a sudden, the clerk moved toward Lena and hugged the Claymore.
Suffice to say that almost everyone looked at this slack jawed, especially Lena
"Thanks." said the clerk to a thoroughly puzzled Lena "Without you, that commando would have shot at me. You saved my life today, and I will never forget it."
"Well...i...yes...in truth" tried to answer Lena, but she genuinely had no idea how to deal with this: appreciation about her fighting skill, silent approval, hell even playful jabs from her fellow warriors, she was used to things like this. Honest to the goddesses gratitude from a complete stranger that she saved on a whim? That was something completely new!
Next to her Shepard, instead of helping her, was having the time of his life and simply chuckled at the image of her oh so terrifying squad mate behaving like a fish out of its pond.
"Wait" said the asari clerk after embracing Lena and finally noticing all her wounds "You are wounded! But do you not have medi-gel or what?! You must immediately go to an infirmary, and I know one next to this factory."
"No really" tried to protest Lena "This is not necessary. I can take care of this, and I have a duty"
"Actually, I think you should go with her, Lena." intervened Shepard all of a sudden "You heard Miranda: the mission is over, and you need a quiet place where to regenerate your broken bones."
Lena almost jumped from her place after hearing this
"But" she tried to protest only to be immediately cut off
"Go, heal yourself and socialize, Lena. This is an order." stated Shepard. This was more than enough for the asari clerk, that started dragging the poor, confused Claymore toward the exit, despite the Claymore's protests
"What?! Wait, what do...do not push...stop it...Shepard!"
Shepard's answer was simply smiling sardonically at Lena, ignoring all her protests. In less than five minutes both of them were gone.
"Shepard." asked Jacob a second later "I do not understand the reason of this."
"Lena need to come out from her shell." simply answered Shepard "And I doubt that an asari clerk is much of a threat for a soldier like her, even in this state. But let's not dwell on this: we still need to be sure that Oriana and her family are safe."
And so end the first part. Stay tuned for more
Have a good day
