Chapter 21: Searching in the Dark
Adrien prided himself on his ability to keep collected in times of severe stress. It had saved his hide on more than one occasion, and was once more coming to his aid as he walked towards the main entrance of the bunker. At the moment, his sense of self-preservation was busily screaming at him that he was being utterly stupid and that if he had any sense, he would turn around and head back to his room.
He let his primitive side voice its opinion, and then pushed back with the cold and implacable force of logic. This was the only way; if he were to have any hope of getting everyone out of their current predicament, he needed to know just what was arrayed against them, and he couldn't very well do that stuck underground, now could he?
Still, his instincts refused to be silent, and so Adrien forcibly stuffed them into a corner of his mind. He couldn't afford any doubts right now, not with so much at stake.
Adrien rounded a corner and was then facing the immense blast doors that sealed the bunker. He saw that Taeden was already there, along with the rest of the scouting group. The trooper noticed Adrien approaching, and gave him a perfunctory nod.
"Captain Victus, glad you could make it," he said, as if there had actually been any choice in the matter. He looked over the gathered Turians and frowned. "We're missing one. Where's Corporal Attis?"
"I don't think he's gonna show, Taeden," one of them spoke up. He was one of the veterans that Tarkin had selected; another one of Julek's merry band, no less. Trooper Malgus Serrik, if Adrien remembered the name right, was a disheveled and mean-looking Turian, hard-eyed and exuding an air of casual spitefulness about him like a Krogan who was spoiling for a fight. One look at him told Adrien that neither of them would be forming any friendships on this venture.
"Oh really?" Taeden asked, a cold tremor hanging on his voice. "What, does he think he has any choice here?"
"I'd be surprised if he's thinking about anything at all now," said Malgus. "You need a brain for that, and the poor fucker gave himself a high-caliber lobotomy a little while ago." He mimed putting a gun to his head and pulling the trigger. "Pow!" he added, twisting his head away for effect, tongue lolling grotesquely. He then chuckled heartily, as though there was nothing funnier than the idea of someone committing suicide. It seemed that Adrien's first impression of him had been right on the money.
Taeden shook his head—whether in disgust or sympathy, Adrien couldn't tell—and motioned for them to come in closer.
"All right, here's how this is going to go," he began, calling up a map of Carista on his omnitool. "As of our most current data, the enemy line is about a klick out from the city proper." He pointed to the ugly red semicircle that cut off the city from the rest of the world. "From what I can see of Carista's districts, our best bet for a good view would be here." He indicated a rectangular section that highlighted itself upon being touched.
"That's awfully close to the Hueys," remarked Cacia Baros, one of two females in their group. She looked young, barely into her twenties if Adrien had to guess, and was one of his fellow new arrivals. Though she hid it well, there was a clear undercurrent of fear in her voice. Not that Adrien blamed her; he certainly wasn't brimming with courage at the moment.
"It also should give us a good vantage point to survey their formations without giving away our position," said Taeden. "I say 'should,' because considering they've been enthusiastically demolishing everything out there, there's no telling how much of the area is intact. It's very possible that we will have to find some other place." He collapsed the map.
"Now, it goes without saying, but we need to stay in cover as much as possible. If we get caught out in the open, we're dead. So, when we're out there, stick together like welded metal; we have to move fast and it's very easy to get turned around in places like where we're going, especially in the dark. There's also going to be a lot of hazards out there, and not just potential enemy patrols. Craters are a big one; most of the time, they're deeper than they look and collect water like fucking reservoirs. Falling into one is basically a death sentence, so watch your step."
Adrien didn't miss the roundabout warning that he wasn't going to waste the effort of saving anyone if they did fall in. He quickly resolved to be very cautious about where he walked.
"If we do come across an enemy patrol, do not engage," Taeden went on. "Drawing any kind of attention to ourselves is the last thing we want. We're not being deployed on a sabotage or assassination mission; our job is to go out, get a look at the enemy lines, and haul ass back here. I don't care how juicy the target might be, do not engage. Is that understood?"
There was chorus of affirmations from the gathered Turians. The trooper nodded.
"Good," said Taeden. "All right, now for the fire teams; I'm appointing Captain Victus and Sergeant Horonius as team leaders for this mission. You'll both have five others under your command. I'll take the rest. Given that the environment out there is most likely going to be a complete ruin, I'll be the point man and keep everyone on the straight and narrow. Any objections?"
Adrien glanced over at his fellow newly-minted team leader. He stood out from all the others, outfitted in an armored suit that Adrien had never seen before. It was a heavy-looking assembly, at least twice as bulky as the standard issue armor, and looked to have what he guessed were jump-packs on the back, similar to what the Havoc troops used.
Unlike the other Turians, who bore either assault rifles or machine guns as their main weapon, Horonius carried what was very obviously a flamethrower. It was a nasty-looking thing, painted bright yellow on its sides, and with a red fire symbol on its fuel canister, all of which promised a painful, fiery demise for anyone unlucky enough to be on the receiving end of it.
Adrien was honestly surprised by his appointment. Despite being the highest-ranking Turian out of everyone present, he had expected to be following someone with experience in this theater of war. After all, he was just another fresh face here, a dewclaw, as the veterans often referred to them. But, Taeden was the one in charge, and he knew better than Adrien how things worked on Digeris. He would just have to trust that the younger Turian knew what he was doing.
"None, Trooper," said Adrien.
"No," grunted Horonius. Clearly, he wasn't one for long conversations.
"I have one," said a second new arrival, who went by the name of Ganis Quirro; a lieutenant, as noted on his shoulder pad, but he wasn't a particularly impressive specimen. He was shorter than everybody else, including the females, and looked the very picture of the prim and proper officers that had always sneered at Adrien for daring to go against military orthodoxy. By the look of him, Adrien wouldn't have been surprised if he were from the upper tiers of the Hierarchy. While he made the effort to hide it, there was no doubt that it galled him to be taking orders from a mere trooper, and was trying to assert himself into some kind of authority among them all.
Taeden looked over at him, not the least bit enthused. "And that is?" he prompted in a tone that said that he honestly couldn't care less about whatever objection the lieutenant had.
"The way you've set up the fire teams is incorrect," Ganis said, sounding as if he were accusing the trooper of a heinous crime.
Taeden's eyes went hard as polished gemstones. "You have a problem with that, lieutenant?" he asked, twisting the rank into an insult.
Ganis bristled visibly and puffed himself up in an attempt to make himself seem more imposing. It was a wasted effort; all it did was make him look like a child trying to play soldier.
"Yes, I do!" he declared with utmost pomposity. "It flies in the face of established military principles!"
Adrien barely managed to suppress a groan; he knew how this would play out. He'd been on the receiving end of a lecture about the proper use of standard Hierarchy military procedures more times than he could be bothered to count. Sure enough, Ganis inflated himself in preparation to launch into just such a speech.
"In accordance with Tactical Doctrine 44 of the Hierarchy Military Co—"
Ganis trailed off weakly as Taeden stepped forward until he was practically nose to nose with the lieutenant. Though he only had a few inches on Ganis, he seemed to tower over him through sheer presence. The frigid steel was back in his eyes now, far colder and harder than before.
"What do you think you're doing?" he asked in a dangerously soft voice. Adrien had been on the receiving end of this as well, generally used by drill sergeants who were about to apply a boot to a rear. But in Taeden's case, it promised much worse than a simple ass-kicking.
Ganis gulped visibly. "I-I am only informing you of the sanctioned unit formation for reconnaissance missions," he stammered. He didn't dare try to match gazes with Taeden.
"I went through boot camp like everybody else," said Taeden. "I understand perfectly well how we do things. And guess what? So do the humans; they know all our moves as well as we do, and they've gotten very good at countering them. So, if you want to make it back here alive, you will listen to what I say, when I say it. You try to play by the book, and we'll be sending whatever is left of you back to your next of kin. Is that clear, lieutenant? Because otherwise, I'll spare myself the headache and put you out of my misery now."
A hardier Turian than Ganis would have quailed before the trooper. He visibly wilted, all trace of defiance gone from him.
"Perfectly clear, sir," Ganis said in a subdued tone. Adrien was impressed and not a little intimidated by how effectively Taeden had shut him down. He doubted there'd be so much as a peep of protest from him now.
"Glad to hear it." Taeden swept the rest of the group with his cold stare. "Does anybody else want to voice a complaint?" he challenged.
None came. Satisfied that there would be no further grievances, Taeden went back to his briefing.
"In that case, let's get the teams set up. Cacia, Ganis, Voren, Sarcos and Tymon, you all are with Victus. Malgus, Tullia, Urbo, Farrus and Dromar, you're with Horonius. Everybody else is with me."
The Turians shuffled around, organizing themselves into their assigned squads. Adrien took a moment to look over his newly-acquired team; two of his fellow newcomers and three veterans. And it fell to him to lead them through what was to come out there in the open world. He suddenly felt like he was back in officer's training and had just been assigned his first squad. Only this time, there wouldn't be any second chances if he screwed up.
Best not to think about that, he told himself. There will be plenty of other things to worry about soon.
Once everyone had assembled into their units, Taeden drew his gun, an assault rifle that had been heavily modified, and began looking it over. Adrien couldn't be sure, but he was willing to bet that it had some sort of shotgun attachment on the underside of the main barrel, along with several other bits that he couldn't identify. He looked down at his own gun; it suddenly seemed to be very underpowered and flimsy by comparison.
Apparently content that everything was in order, Taeden looked over them all. "Remember the rules I told you all about earlier; I don't want to send anybody home in a body bag because of some dumb fucking mistake. Got it?"
Another chorus of affirmations rang out. Taeden turned and faced the main entrance and took a deep, fortifying breath.
"Move out."
#
The first thing that greeted Adrien when they all stepped out into the open world was the rain. While not quite a downpour, it was still heavy enough to be very irritating. Fat drops of water pelted against his helmet, running down the visor in little rivers. Thankfully, none of it was getting inside his armor; being wet would only have made things more miserable than they already were.
It was also dark as all hell. Only the barest hint of moonlight managed to filter through the clouds, leaving everything in near-total blackness. While Adrien's helmet could compensate for low-light environments, that only went so far and he for damned sure didn't want to use his gun-mounted flashlight out here. That would be like saying, "Look over here! I'm a total freaking moron who wants to have a meet-and-greet with the Spirits!"
At Taeden's direction, they moved forward and took cover behind a half-demolished building. Adrien peered through a gap in what had once been a wall, trying to see if there were any threats in front of them. It quickly proved to be a pointless gesture; the most he could see was maybe fifty yards off before the darkness swallowed up everything.
"Petran, anything on the thermal?" Taeden's question was directed at a member of his own squad.
"I got nothing," the soldier replied. "The rain isn't helping, but as far as I see, we're the only heat signatures around. Not so much as a smudge of warmth anywhere."
Taeden studied the area before them with the air of a pyjak who was trying to determine if there were any hungry predators out there. Apparently satisfied that it was all clear, he nodded.
"All right, let's go. Wedge formation, fire teams cover the flanks. Move fast and stay alert."
Adrien's team took up position on the right of Taeden's squad. He was point, with the rest of his fire team spread out around him. They all had their guns raised, ready to unleash everything they had. Together, they advanced into the waiting darkness.
As they continued their trek to the destination Taeden had marked, the scope of the devastation the humans had wrought was gradually revealed. As with Coryza before, Carista had been reduced to a complete ruin. Bleak remnants of buildings stood alongside shattered roads, some little more than skeletal frames of twisted metal with bits of rubble on them. A truly depressing sight if there ever was one.
And then there were the bodies.
They were everywhere, hundreds upon hundreds, alone and in heaps. Some were relatively intact, others in two or even three parts. Dismembered arms and legs were strewn all about. Not just Turian corpses, but animals as well, mostly pets that had been left behind by their owners. All of them were badly decayed and reeking to high heaven.
Adrien carefully stepped over a body lying face-first in a large puddle. By the look of it, the unfortunate soldier had caught the full force of an artillery blast. Large pieces of shrapnel were embedded in the putrid flesh and one arm had been completely torn off at the shoulder. Adrien gave an involuntary shudder at the sight.
You won't see this in an army magazine, he thought bitterly, and moved on.
His foot suddenly squelched into something soft and oozing. Adrien's gaze snapped down, mind racing with a dozen horrible ideas as to what he'd just stepped in. To his horror and disgust, he saw that he'd trodden on another body, or what was left of it. The entire torso had been ripped apart, the viscera scattered across a sizable area. Even in its ruined and decomposed state, he could tell that it hadn't been an artillery shell or gunfire that was responsible; teeth and claw marks were visible in the armor around the gaping hole where the midsection had been. The head was nearby, its jaw open wide in a silent, eternal scream.
A wave of extreme nausea welled up inside Adrien and he fought down the urge to vomit. Bile bubbled up in the back of his throat, filling his mouth with a sour taste. He gulped several times, willing himself to not be sick. The feeling gradually faded and he sucked in a shaky breath.
"Watch your step," he told his squad, trying with all his might to keep his voice steady and low. "It's a real mess around here."
They continued on through the maze of demolished buildings for a few minutes longer, navigating around debris and other more unsavory things while trying to stay in cover as best they could. Then, Taeden held up a hand to call for a halt. The entire unit stopped dead in their tracks.
"Hold up," he said. He cocked his head, seeming to be listening for something. Adrien did the same, but all he could hear was the pattering of the rain and the metallic groans of the tortured buildings. As far as he could tell, they were mercifully alone out here.
Taeden's head suddenly snapped around in alarm. "This way! Move!" he ordered over the comms, urgency hanging on every syllable.
He took off in a dead sprint towards what had once been a shopping complex. It was one of the more intact pieces of architecture of the city, being only bombed-out rather than completely leveled. The entire unit pounded after him, splashing through puddles like stampeding herd beasts.
Adrien wasn't sure what had spooked Taeden, but he wasn't about to question him. He and his team ducked into an immense gap where an artillery shell had blasted through a wall. The newfound shelter from the rain was welcome, but they had no time to savor it.
"Get behind something solid!" Taeden barked. "And whatever you do, don't make a sound!"
The unit scurried throughout the room, trying to find something big enough to hide behind. Adrien's team found a ruined stairwell and ducked behind it. He sat there, leaning against the cracked concrete, straining to hear whatever it was that had sparked such a reaction from Taeden. The only sounds were the steady beat of the rain against metal.
Then, over the pattering raindrops, Adrien heard something. It was a soft humming sound, almost like that of a tuned-up aircar's propulsion systems, but with a curious quality to it. The veterans on his team stiffened, clutching their weapons so tightly that it was a wonder they didn't shatter. They apparently knew what that sound was, and it meant nothing good.
The sound grew closer and louder, now a high-pitched mechanical whine. Something was coming towards them, and it was moving fast. Then, it stopped a short distance away from where they were, the sound now clearly audible over the rain. Adrien's heart began to hammer in his chest and he dared to peek out from behind his hiding place.
At first he didn't see anything, just the empty, desolate area where they had been moments before. But then he looked up, and he saw it.
Suspended perhaps thirty feet in the air was a mechanical form, fourteen feet tall and shaped into a facsimile of a living creature. It had a hunchbacked posture, with a line of metal spines jutting from his back. It was colored a purple-black hue, and blended disturbingly well with the darkness around it. If it had not been for the soft blue light emanating from a rectangular port that marked its head, Adrien doubted he would have seen it at all. Even now, it was a strain to pick out its outline in the blackness.
The mechanical creature hung in midair like some evil spirit, rain pelting off its metal hide. The jutting head moved back and forth, looking over the area beneath it. Adrien immediately pulled back behind the stairwell and pressed himself up against it as far as he could. His hammering heart suddenly seemed far too loud and he feared that the thing would hear it.
Then, almost as quickly as it came, Adrien heard it whoosh away, the whine of its propulsion system fading rapidly away. For a long, agonizing several minutes, nobody so much as breathed. It was only when Taeden let out a relieved breath that the unit relaxed.
"Shit, that was close," he muttered.
"What was that?" one of the new kids in his group asked in a voice that fairly rattled with nerves.
"Huey recon mech," answered Taeden. "Looks like they're doing some scouting of their own tonight." He sighed in resignation. "So much for hoping they'd get lazy after keeping us locked down all this time."
"Do you think it saw us?" asked Cacia in a fearful voice.
Taeden shook his head. "If it did, an artillery strike would be raining down on us right now. Or it would have tried to take us out on its own. Don't let the weird look fool you, those things are fast, nimble and hit a lot harder than you might think." He clambered back to his feet.
"All right, enough lying around. We've still got a lot of ground to cover." He looked around at their new surroundings. "This place should give us some good cover, and if it's anything like other big-time shopping centers, it'll spread out for a good distance." He pointed towards the sprawling complex in front of them. "We'll follow down that way for as long as we can. Same rules as before. Let's get going."
#
Walking through the derelict mall brought mixed feelings to Adrien. Enough of it was intact to serve as shelter from the rain and would certainly provide ample cover from enemy eyes, but it was far from a welcoming environment. It was even darker inside the building and the sudden silence was deeply unnerving. Every creak and groan of the ruined mall seemed magnified tenfold and it was an effort for Adrien to keep his primitive side in check.
They walked through the desolate confines of the mall for some time before they came across what appeared to be the main plaza. Here, the mall opened up into a great cross-section of storefronts, some mostly intact, others completely destroyed. Adrien guessed that it must have been quite the vibrant hub before the war came. But now, it was a depressing husk of its former splendor.
Taeden sized up the area in front of them, focusing in particular on the abandoned stores. By the look of him, he didn't like what was ahead of them. Neither did Horonius, who sidled up to Taeden, his whole posture radiating suspicion. Adrien joined them, feeling that it would best to be included in whatever they were about to discuss.
"That's a lot of hiding places we got in front of us," Horonius noted.
"Yeah, no shit," said Taeden, though without rancor. "It's about as good a deathtrap as you could ask for; even a dewclaw could find a good place to set up an ambush."
Adrien was inclined to agree. The chaotic mess before them was exactly the kind of place nobody would want to go through. It was no effort at all to imagine a Nephilim or something equally terrible just waiting in some dark corner, ready to spring out at an unsuspecting victim.
"Should we try another route?" he posited.
Taeden shook his head. "Wouldn't make much difference; it'll be the same deal no matter where we go in this place, and taking detours will only slow us down more." He studied the stores for a brief moment longer, and then seemed to come to a decision.
"All right, this is the setup: I want both fire teams watching either side of that route." He pointed straight ahead. "Give the stores a good once-over, but don't hang around for too long. We can't waste time clearing them all." He looked over at Horonius. "If something does pop out, I'm sure you'll have no problem roasting it."
The optimism was hollow, and all three of them knew it. To be sure, Horonius's flamethrower would be able to fry a smaller Nephilim without much trouble. Adrien had seen them in action a few times; one good blast could turn a Krogan into a charred lump. But if there was a whole pack of them, or if there was one of the bigger types…well, it would only count for so much.
Without any further comment, they all moved forward. The floor of the plaza was a patchwork of cracks and jutting tiles, promising a swift and embarrassing fall with one misstep. In this kind of place, that could prove deadly, and so the Turians made sure to watch where they tread. For Adrien, the ambient silence seemed to become more oppressive the closer they came to the abandoned stores. He was certain that if someone dropped a pin, it would sound like a war drum to him.
After an agonizing several minutes, they reached the first set of stores. Adrien's team took what had once been a clothing department, the name "Avis Attires" spelled out in stylized script. The glass display area had been smashed and the broken forms of mannequins were strewn about the interior. Its merchandise was strewn about inside, mostly just the plain designs of his own people, though he did notice some fancier items here and there, probably from some Asari line.
The interior was much darker, more than what his visor could compensate for, and so he risked turning on his gun's flashlight. The white beam sliced through the darkness like a knife, revealing the sorry state of the establishment. He shone the light at any place he thought might hide something, no matter how unlikely.
When nothing came running out to try and eat him, he signaled for his team to move on. Their guns were trained in every direction, searching for anything that might be hostile. The next one was a sporting goods store, also in considerable disarray. Again, nothing happened when they passed by and their lights revealed only damaged stock.
Just as Adrien was about to have his team keep moving, the comms crackled to life. "Hey Taeden, we got something you should see," Horonius's gruff voice said.
A thrill of dread pulsed through Adrien and he swiftly tamped down on it before it could get ahold of him. "Hold here," he ordered his team. "I'm going to see what's going on."
Adrien hurried over to where Horonius was, trying to keep his imagination from running away with him. The rational part of him said that it couldn't be anything bad, since it stood to reason that Horonius wouldn't sound so nonchalant. Then again, his emotional side argued, he was a Digeris veteran, and so he might have a different idea of what was bad.
As it turned out, it wasn't bad at all. Quite the contrary, it was the next best thing to a divine blessing.
Horonius and his team had stopped in front of what had once been a convenience store. Like all the others, it had seen better days, but that was hardly worth considering when there was something much worthier of attention. On the far side of the store were several displays of dextro-amino snacks. They ranged from tiny vending machine items to great party-sized things that looked full to bursting. Some had been torn open, their contents scattered across the floor, but the vast majority of them were intact and edible.
Adrien's mouth suddenly began watering uncontrollably and he became acutely aware of how hungry he was. After days on end of eating hardly anything, the cross-section of processed foodstuffs looked like a feast fit for an emperor. He swallowed and it took all his willpower not to throw himself at the bounty before him.
He was so entranced by the sight that he didn't notice Taeden come up beside him. Adrien silently cursed himself for being so careless; if it had been an enemy, he'd have been dead before he realized his error.
Spirits, I'm more out of it than I thought, he remarked to himself.
Taeden stared at the plentiful foodstuffs in front of them in silent contemplation. His helmet made it impossible to read his face, but Adrien was willing to be that he was as overwhelmed as he was.
"Well, that is a lovely sight," Taeden remarked. "Never thought cheap prepackaged snacks could be so appetizing."
"Looks like it's all still good," said Horonius. "And it's just sitting there." The hint couldn't have been more blatant.
Taeden nodded. "Yeah. That would be a real waste." He went silent again, and Adrien could almost see the gears turning in his mind. Did they take the time to enjoy this windfall, or keep moving? His tactical reasoning would have said to move on, but the pangs of hunger gnawing in his stomach were making a very convincing argument. Several other troops had also realized what Horonius had stumbled on, and it was plainly obvious that they were practically salivating at the sight.
"All right, we'll take a quick break," Taeden announced. "Fifteen minutes. Get some food and rest, and then we'll move on."
No sooner had he given the okay, when the group famished Turians tore into the snack display. Aside from a few snarls and cursing, it was an orderly affair and soon everyone had an armful of wholesome, preservative-laced delicacies. With their personal spoils secured, they huddled up into their own groups to enjoy them.
Adrien ripped open a package of jerky, not bothering to read what the meat was. His hands trembled with anticipation, and he was dimly aware of a thin stream of drool trickling out from his mandibles. In any other situation, he would have been embarrassed by his behavior, but right now, he couldn't give a damn.
He tilted the package into his mouth and shook out the contents. Chunks of dried meat tumbled onto his tongue and he began to chew vigorously. They were flavored with a medley of tangy spices, and Adrien savored the taste. A small part of him felt guilty; here he was gorging himself while his soldiers back in the bunkers were still on one meal a day. But that feeling was far overshadowed by the demands of his stomach to be satiated.
"Must be some good stuff with the way you're gulping it down," remarked Taeden wryly. He had his own bag of jerky open and Adrien was a bit annoyed that he was eating its contents with much more dignity than he had.
"Right now, I'm at the point where anything edible would be a feast," said Adrien, wiping a bit of stray drool from his mouth with the back of a hand. "I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm very glad you allowed this. I thought for sure that you'd tell us to keep moving."
Taeden shrugged. "In any other situation, I would have. But in this case, we've been on starvation rations for days; being fatigued from hunger won't do us any favors. Plus, it's a good morale booster, and Spirits know, we need it."
And by all accounts, it seemed to be working. The recon group, which only minutes before had been composed of half-starved, edgy Turians, now seemed to have new life breathed into them. For a brief moment, the outside world was forgotten and an air of comparative levity had fallen on them. There were even some muttered jokes and laughs.
"No arguments here," Adrien laughed. He finished off the last scraps in the bag and tossed it off to the side. His hunger had abated somewhat, but it was far from satisfied, and he wasted no time in opening another bag. This one contained bite-sized sausages and Adrien shoveled them into his mouth so fast he barely tasted them. It took only a few seconds for them to vanish and he tossed that bag aside as well.
He went through another three bags before he finally felt full. With a contented sigh, Adrien settled against the far wall, trying to get as comfortable as possible. Idly, his hand drifted down to his belt and reached in to the pocket were the medallion was. He pulled it out and ran his thumb over its surface, staring curiously. He'd been through some very dangerous situations recently, and they'd been close things, too; a Nephilim's slavering jaws snapping shut just a few inches short of something vital, that demon being interrupted by Viggo before it could break his neck, hell even Julek saving him from Ferox's fit of madness. All those and a hundred other near-death incidents, yet here he was, alive and essentially unharmed.
Maybe this thing really is lucky, he thought. He'd seen plenty of stranger things on Digeris, after all.
"What's that?" asked Taeden, point at the medallion.
"Oh, just a good luck token my wife gave me before I came here," Adrien said wistfully.
"So you're a married Turian, huh?" remarked Taeden.
"Yep. Proud husband and new father too," Adrien said.
Taeden let out a bark of laughter. "That sounds like something out of a war drama!"
Adrien gave a chuckle of his own. It felt good to laugh again. "You know, I never realized that until just now. Spirits, I've become a living cliché!" He shook his head in mirth and looked over at Taeden. "What about you? You got anyone special?"
"Sort of," Taeden said. "We're not really an item or anything like that; more along the lines of mutual bunkmates." Despite his casual tone, Adrien detected a much deeper affection towards this significant other.
"So you're still banging Hius, huh?"
Adrien turned his gaze over to the Turian who had spoken. Malgus was lounging about like he didn't have a care in the world. Adrien almost envied him for that. He was currently fishing about in one of his own snack bags, favoring Taeden with a hooded stare that was not in the least respectful. Adrien was willing to bet that they didn't get along very well.
His suspicions were confirmed as Taeden turned to glare at Malgus. "You got a problem with that?" Taeden's question hissed out from between bared teeth. His expression said that, given the chance, he'd happily beat the living piss out of the impertinent Turian.
If he was intimidated, Malgus gave no sign. With a careless shrug, he said, "I'm just surprised that you've stuck with her for so long. I mean, she's not exactly something to write home about. Seriously, how do you do it? Her face looks like a drunken Elcor tried his hand at sculpting."
Taeden's gaze became so cold that Adrien could almost see frost start to form on the surrounding area. Malgus raised his hands in mocking surrender.
"Whoa, easy there kiddo. No need to get all homicidal here. All I'm saying is that there are plenty of other fems to choose from. Like this one." He gestured at Cacia, who was sitting nearby. "Look at her; she's young, got a killer waist and desperate for some comfort in this miserable hell we're stuck in. But hey, if you don't want her, I'll have a shot." He leered at her. "How about it, sweetie? Would you like me to keep you company? A strapping, stalwart guardian to protect you from all the nasty things skulking about?"
Cacia looked at him as if he were a mound of compost. "I'd rather screw a varren," she growled. "And if you so much as put a hand on me, I'll blow your head clean off." She gripped her gun meaningfully.
"Ooh, a kinky girl, are we?" purred Malgus in a tone that made Adrien's skin prickle. His already low opinion of the veteran now plummeted into a black abyss. While he didn't doubt Cacia could fend for herself, his more primitive side demanded that he make sure that this brute didn't even come within arm's reach of her.
Before he could do anything, Taeden spoke up. "Hey Malgus, am I going to have to tell Julek about this when we get back?" His voice was light, but it carried a threatening undertone. "The captain is pretty laid back about most things, but even he has his limits."
Suddenly, Malgus didn't look nearly so arrogant and self-assured. Taeden might not have scared him, but the idea of making Julek angry apparently did. He huddled into himself, muttering darkly under his breath.
"Yeah, that's what I thought," said Taeden with a smirk. He activated his omni-tool and checked the time. "All right people, five more minutes and then we get back to it. Finish up whatever you got and—"
Boom.
A tremor suddenly rocked their position. It felt like a very small, localized earthquake. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked around with a mixture of confusion and fear.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Another succession of tremors shook the ground beneath them. The metal shelves in the convenience store rattled alarmingly. Several miscellaneous store items fell from where they had been placed. Adrien wasn't sure, but they seemed to be getting stronger.
"What is that?" asked Ganis, a note of panic creeping into his voice.
"Quiet!" snapped Taeden. He threw away the snack bag he'd been eating from and pressed the side of his head down against the floor. Another tremor sounded, and this time it definitely was stronger.
Taeden closed his eyes and concentrated. "Impact tremor," he murmured. "About two seconds apart. Amount of force applied…" he trailed off, mouthing silent words. The entire unit stared at him with rapt apprehension. All the while, the strange quakes continued to shake them.
Taeden's eyes flew open, his face a mask of horror. "Oh, fuck!" he whispered.
"What? What is it?" Ganis demanded again, voice cracking with distress.
Taeden sat up slowly, his expression grave. "There's an Engel out there."
There were several sharp intakes of breath from the Turians. A few fearful whimpers rang out, though exactly from whom it was impossible to tell.
"You're sure?" asked Horonius, clearly hoping that Taeden wasn't. Unfortunately, the trooper quickly shot that hope down.
"Yes. The steps are too fluid for a mech. By the sound of it, I'd say it's about thirty feet tall, maybe more." He took a deep breath, as if trying to draw strength from the air around him.
"And it's coming this way."
#
An Engel.
Adrien had heard plenty about those monsters. Half of the horror stories about the Federation revolved around them: armored beasts the size of buildings, leaving trails of destruction wherever they went and always hungry for fresh Turian meat. They were talked about in the same hushed tones as the dark Spirits of the old tales, terrible and unknowable. Just one was enough to wipe out a legion and if the rumor mill was to be believed, nothing short of an orbital bombardment would kill them.
And one of them was heading straight for their position.
Adrien sat there, numb with shock. For the first time in his life, he had no idea what he should do. His training in the officer's corps had taught him plenty of useful lessons, but there had never been any course on what to do about a giant, nigh-unstoppable monster bearing down on you. Even his knack for improvisation in dangerous circumstances was failing him. The best he could come up with was to run around in a circle and scream in terror until his voice gave out.
By the look of it, his idea was shared by the rest of the unit. The new bloods looked like they were about to break into hysterics at any moment. Even the veterans had a despondent air about them, as though they had already given up. And with each earth-shaking tremor, the air of pandemonium became ever more pervasive.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
"What are we going to do?" Ganis's shrill question was directed at no one in particular. "Oh Spirits, what are we going to do?"
"There's nothing we can do," said Horonius in sullen finality. He glanced down at a pile of wrappers next to him. "At least I'll die with a full stomach."
Anyone could see that the situation was about to devolve into total chaos. Fortunately, Taeden chose that moment to step in.
"Get ahold of yourselves!" he ordered. "If we don't keep it together, we're all dead, so shut up and listen to me!"
His command cut through the frenzy that was building up among the Turians, and they all went silent. The instinctive disposition to obey authority figures seemed to have brought them to their senses, and they all waited for Taeden's next words. Without hesitation, he went on.
"Now, we don't have a lot of time, so I'm going to make this quick. Yes, an Engel is coming this way, but in all likelihood, it doesn't know we're here. So, this is what we're going to do: we'll knuckle down in this place, stay perfectly quiet and hope that it just passes by; that's really our only shot. What we are not going to do is lose our heads and panic."
A couple of Turians opened their mouths in what were clear attempts to voice some kind of protest, but Taeden didn't give them a chance to speak.
"I don't want to hear any objections! This is the only chance we have to survive! Now find a place to hide and stay quiet! Move!"
Galvanized into action by Taeden's command, the Turians all scrambled to find a suitable hiding spot in the store. Most hid behind the various shelves around the room, while a few enterprising souls went for a maintenance closet. Adrien opted to dive behind the checkout counter, which seemed to be the most solid thing in the whole place. He was joined by Cacia and Ganis, who wedged themselves in beside him with a desperate energy. There wasn't much space, but somehow they all managed to fit behind it.
Boom!
Another footstep shook the ground and Adrien could have sworn that he was tossed at least a few inches into the air. Bits of plaster and other debris fell down from the ceiling. Out in the mall complex, something heavy and metal crashed onto the ground. The Engel was getting near now, Adrien knew.
Boom! BOOM! BOOM!
The earth-shaking steps now seemed to be all around them. A low growl rang out, so deep that Adrien could feel it in his chest and so alien that it made his blood run cold. He clenched his jaws together, forcing himself to say quiet. Beside him, Cacia had squeezed her eyes shut, muttering a prayer in a voice that sounded like she was choking back sobs. Ganis whimpered like a newborn, trembling so violently that he could barely hold his gun.
There was a final crashing footfall, and another horrible rumble sounded, seeming to reverberate all throughout the mall. Several Turians flinched, letting out soft, frightened cries.
"Quiet!" Taeden whispered urgently. "Stay calm! It's going to try and flush us out! Don't panic!"
Adrien was wondering how the Engel was going to do that, when he received his answer. A great, otherworldly shriek split the air, so loud that Adrien felt as if his eardrums were exploding inside his head. Tears of pain sprang to his eyes and his clasped his hands against the sides of his head in an attempt to block the deafening scream.
The Engel's roar went on for almost half a minute before it finally stopped. Adrien gingerly pulled trembling hands away from his head, wishing he'd remembered to put his helmet back on. His ears were ringing with a vicious intensity and he shook his head to clear them.
Adrien looked over at his two teammates. Cacia had stopped praying and lay where she was, seemingly paralyzed with fear. Only her eyes moved, flicking back and forth feverishly in their sockets. Ganis meanwhile had curled up into a ball and was weeping silently, all dignity gone from him.
The Engel let out another ear-splitting scream that made the mall's foundations shake. Adrien's head throbbed in agony and it felt as if his skull was about to crack open. Spirits, he was frightened! More frightened then he'd ever been in his life!
There was a shrill metallic screech, as though something sharp was being scraped across the mall's outer walls. Tortured metal shrieked and the scraping sound redoubled in its intensity. A dawning realization came over Adrien, and his stomach churned horribly. Spirits, it was clawing its way inside the mall! He could hear parts of a wall being torn apart somewhere out there, and it was close, so very close!
Eventually, the clamor stopped and everything was quiet. Then, a wet slurping sound filled the air, like the mandibles of a mouth was being licked by a great drooling tongue. Adrien shuddered in fear and disgust. The unseen Engel let out another rumbling growl, and Adrien could swear that it almost sounded curious. Was it actually searching for them? Did it know they were in the mall? It was too much to even consider.
"I can't stay here."
A hollow, shaky voice spoke up from within the store. Adrien's head snapped over to see who it was. One of Horonius's squad, Urbo, was sitting upright, posture rigid. His eyes were wide and unfocused; whatever he was seeing, it wasn't his surroundings.
"Urbo! Be quiet!" Taeden commanded.
But Urbo didn't seem to hear him. "I can't stay here," he repeated, voice teetering on the edge of hysteria. "It's going to find me if I don't run."
"No! No, don't run!" another Turian pleaded in a frantic whisper. "Whatever you do, don't run! Don't be stupid!"
Again, Urbo either didn't hear or simply couldn't register the words anymore. By the look of him, he was lost in his own world, deaf to everything around him. He slowly stood up, his breathing becoming heavier with each passing moment.
"Grab him!" ordered Taeden.
Two other Turians hurriedly moved to obey, but Urbo chose that moment to spring into action. Before they could lay a hand on him, the maddened soldier bolted, running out into the main hallway with desperate vigor, and back the way they had first come.
He didn't get very far.
There came an exultant howl and a thunderous crash of metal and rubble. Adrien saw something vast and dark burst through a wall only a few stores down from where they were and directly in front of the fleeing Urbo. A great clawed hand snatched him up and he was suddenly borne high into the air. He let out a tortured scream that Adrien never would have thought could come from a Turian. Then, there was that horrid slurping sound again, and Urbo's scream dissolved into a gurgling death rattle before finally being silenced. A satisfied thrum rang out and there was no mystery as to what fate had befallen poor Urbo.
The debris from the Engel's violent entrance began to clear, and the immense form of the beast gradually came into view. As if to emphasize the monster's presence, a streak of moonlight filtered in through the cavernous hole it had torn in the side of the mall, illuminating it.
Adrien's imagination had conjured up plenty of terrible images of what the Engel might look like. None of them compared to the reality. It was a hulking, stooped abomination, so tall that its hump scraped against the ceiling and broad enough to almost fill the hallway. The armor covering it did nothing to conceal its alien anatomy. Long limbs stuck out from the massive torso, the legs with too many joints and the arms tipped with clawed hands.
But it was the head that was the worst feature. A bulbous thing jammed almost directly between the shoulders, four red lights marking where its eyes must be. And there, right underneath them, was a sinuous black tongue half as long as it was tall. It whipped through the air like a writhing serpent, ready to lash out at anything that might cross its path. Large drops of viscous fluid flew from it, and wherever they landed, wisps of smoke rose up. the bubbling hiss of melting matter was audible even over the drumming rain that now poured in.
The Engel stalked forward with its thunderous steps, head turning from side to side, searching. If it hadn't known there were Turians inside, it did now. It stopped in front of a store and ripped through the interior with one massive swipe of a hand, scattering the contents over a wide area. With a snarl of disappointment, the Engel moved on to the next and repeated the process.
Adrien knew it was only a matter of time before it reached their spot. He looked over at Taeden, who was staring at the monstrous war beast with intense focus. Adrien had to applaud the sheer mental fortitude of the trooper; here they were, faced with a giant bioengineered creature that wanted nothing more than to tear them to pieces, yet he still was keeping his wits about him.
Taeden apparently had come up with a plan, for his gaze turned steely with resolve. Reaching behind his back, he pulled out two grenades, flashbangs by the look of them. Carefully, he stepped out from his hiding place and crept over to the store's entrance.
The trooper clicked the activation button on the grenades and hurled them with all his might out into the hallway. He dove back inside and there was a breathless few seconds before the grenades exploded. Immediately, the Engel turned its attention towards where the sound had come and thundered over, tongue lashing wetly in anticipation.
The moment it had moved out of sight, Taeden signaled to the unit. "Let's get out of here! That's not going to keep it distracted for long! It's now or never!"
"Are you crazy?" demanded a Turian next to him. "That monster is still out there!"
"Stay here and die, then," said Taeden matter-of-factly. "Anyone who wants to live, follow—"
K-SHRAAK!
The ceiling of the convenience store, which had been intact only a moment ago, now had a gaping rent in it and Adrien found himself staring up at the horrific visage of the Engel. Its four glowing eye-slits glared balefully down at the hiding Turians, tongue undulating eagerly. Adrien was close enough to notice the array of long barbs that ran along its length, dripping corrosive drool.
One fact suddenly became abundantly and terribly clear: they were trapped.
#
Looking up at the immense head with its lashing tongue, Adrien was surprised to find that he wasn't afraid. He knew he should be; after all, he was facing certain death, and most likely not a very clean one at the hands of a giant monster. But for some reason, being scared just seemed pointless. So, he sat there behind the checkout counter and waited for the inevitable to happen.
"Well, well, what do we have here? It's a whole nest of turkeys! Looks like we hit the jackpot tonight!"
Adrien blinked. The voice had come from the Engel, a bright, jovial tone that was at complete odds with towering monstrosity before them. It was so unexpected and disconcerting that for a moment, Adrien wondered if he had finally lost his mind.
"It's talking!" someone squeaked in panic-stricken disbelief. "The fucking thing is talking!"
A peal of laughter rang out from the Engel. "Not quite. The dulcet tones you're hearing are from me. That is, the guy sharing a mind with Gadriel here. He doesn't talk like you or me. Speaking of, which one of you is in charge here?"
Taeden slowly stood up, trying to appear as dignified as possible. "I am."
"Good to know. Now, this is normally the point where I let my boy do his thing and mash you all into paste. Believe me; he really wants to do just that. But, you're in luck, because tonight, I'm feeling very generous. So, here's the deal: tell your fellow birdies to throw down their guns and you'll all get to live to see another day." The Engel suddenly raised an arm and the barrel of massive cannon popped up on its forearm, aimed squarely at the middle of the hiding group of Turians. There was a loud whirr and a blue light began to shine within the barrel.
"You've got five seconds to comply," the pilot said. "Otherwise, we start blasting."
Taedn's shoulders slumped as he looked around at the group with a defeated expression. "Do what he says," he sighed.
There was no hesitation. Guns clattered to the floor as they all dropped them and held their hands in the air in the universal gesture of surrender. Adrien followed suit, listlessly tossing aside his own weapon. Beside him, Cacia resumed praying while Ganis just looked like he was in shock; he was now sitting on his haunches, hugging his knees and rocking back and forth, his red-rimmed eyes wide and unfocused.
"Smart move," said the Engel's pilot. "Now, everyone just stay where you are. I've already sent out a request for a pickup. They'll be here shortly, so you're all going to be very good little birds until then. No sudden moves, no funny tricks." There was no need to follow up with a threat; the Engel's presence was more than enough.
As promised, they didn't have to wait long. Scarcely had a few minutes passed, when Adrien heard the sound of roaring engines and the crunch of rubble underneath something immensely heavy. Commands were shouted, though they were too vague for Adrien to make out. The rapid tramp of many pairs of boots hitting ground rang out, coming towards their position.
Moments later, the first humans Adrien had ever seen stepped into view. Their body structure was indeed similar to that of the Asari, but they were all considerably bulkier. How much of that was due to the heavy armor they wore, Adrien couldn't say, but at the moment, it seemed irrelevant.
There were thirty of them in total, a whole platoon's worth, plus two small mecha. Of course, "small" was very relative, considering that they were both at least ten feet in height with plenty of armored bulk. They fanned out in front of the store, covering all possible avenues of escape. Their own weapons were held with a distressing level of competence as they aimed them at the Turians.
"Turians, come out now, or you will die," one of them barked, obviously the leader of the soldiers. The voice sounded masculine and had a synthesized quality from the helmet he wore. Its glowing red eyes made for a particularly sinister appearance.
Slowly, they all stood up from where they had been hiding, making sure to keep their hands in the air. The Engel lurched out of the way, its four red eyes watching the Turians as they gingerly filed out of the store with a predatory focus. The tongue lashed vigorously, no doubt hoping that it would get the chance to eat some more of them.
"Mendez, take your squad and check out the rest of the area," the human leader commanded.
"Yes, sir," another human said. He went off with five other soldiers inside the store like a pack of hunting varren, their formation as professional as any Turian unit. Moments later, Adrien heard a shouted command and they came back out with the soldiers who had been hiding in the utility closet.
"Found these birds trying to hide in a cubby," the human named Mendez said, sounding rather amused. "The rest of the area is secure, sir."
The leader nodded. "Good work, Mendez." He turned his attention back to the Turians. "Form up in a line and get down on your knees. Keep your hands behind your heads. Now!"
Without a word, Adrien and the rest of the recon unit shambled into a single-file line facing the humans and knelt down, fingers laced together behind their heads. Once they had done as ordered, the lead human motioned with his head at three others.
"Horowitz, Surta, search the prisoners."
The two human soldiers voiced their affirmations and started at the farthest end of the line. They examined each Turian with a methodical and efficient pace, probing even the most unlikely parts of them. There were some sounds of protest from the captured soldiers, but thankfully nothing more.
Eventually, they worked their way down to Adrien and he was subjected to a search that was just short of being physically intimate; whatever you could say about the humans, they were thorough. If this were an action flick, he probably would have let loose a snarky quip or a defiant curse at his captors to show off his bravery. But this was real life and Adrien didn't feel like being a smartass when there were lots of guns pointed at him.
One of the humans dug around in the pouches on his belt and pulled out the medallion. He—at least Adrien thought it was a male—cocked his head as he turned the metal disk over in his five-fingered hand.
"What is this thing?" he asked Adrien, holding up the metal disc. He noted that the human was gripping it very gingerly, as though he was afraid it might explode if he wasn't careful.
"Just a good luck token, nothing special," he answered, trying not to sound too anxious.
The human didn't seem convinced. If anything, he seemed suspicious, though Adrien couldn't say why. "Hey LT, I got some kind of artifact here," he called over his shoulder. "Think maybe it might be worth having our people look it over?"
"Couldn't hurt," the officer replied. "Secure the item."
"Hey, wait a minute!" Adrien protested. The thought of losing his wife's gift an enemy looter filled him with equal parts dread and fury. "You can't just take that!"
The human soldier looked at him and even with the helmet, Adrien could almost see the disdainful look on his face. "Well, buddy, that's where you're wrong, because I can and am taking it."
To demonstrate, he took out some kind of case from behind him, opened it up and placed the medallion inside. For emphasis, he snapped it shut with more force that was necessary right in front of Adrien's face.
A hot swoop of anger flooded Adrien's core and he was suddenly seized by the wild impulse to stand up and pummel the human into the ground. His intentions must have shown, because he suddenly felt the cold metal of a gun's barrel press up against the back of his head.
"Don't even think about it, Turkey," the other human growled.
Adrien took several deep breaths, willing himself to be calm. He told himself that there was nothing he could do about the humans taking his medallion. Starting trouble over it would only get him killed.
Once they had confiscated his medallion, the two humans continued their search of the Turians. At length, they finished and the leader gestured upwards with his gun.
"Stand up!" he barked. Once they were all back on their feet, he motioned to the soldiers next to him. "Restrain the prisoners."
Several human soldiers stepped forward and took up position behind the Turians. Adrien's own captor wrenched his hands behind his back and he felt something constrict around his wrists. By the feel of it, he had been tied up with some kind of zip-tie cuff.
"Now, we are going to escort you out of here. Do not make any sudden moves, or we will shoot you. Move!"
Obediently, the Turians started walking with the silent fatalism of those who had wholly given up. The humans took up position on either side of them, guns held loosely, but ready to be brought to bear in an instant. They herded them out through the massive hole that the Engel had torn in the mall's side and back out into the wet darkness.
Outside, Adrien saw that there was what looked like an entire battalion waiting for them. There were dozens upon dozens of other human soldiers, each one as heavily armed and armored as the ones who had taken them prisoner. Vehicles that looked like armored transports were arrayed around them, engines still rumbling.
More worryingly, there were hundreds of Nephilim prowling the surrounding area. They passed by several of the beasts, close enough that Adrien could have reached out and touched one. Up close, he could now fully appreciate just how big and powerful they were. A few let out low, threatening growls, bearing teeth that he could now see in far more detail than he'd ever wanted.
The humans lead them over to one of the transports. Its bay door was already open, and they shoved the Turians in. Inside, it was much more spacious than Adrien had been expecting. By his estimation, it was big enough to hold a whole platoon and still have room to spare. Despite his current predicament, he found himself appreciating the design of the thing; big, solid and clearly made to take a hit. Any Turian engineer would have nodded in approval at the design.
A squad of human soldiers followed them inside and began the task of strapping the Turians into the seats on either side of the transport. They soon reached Adrien and sat him into one of the mesh seats in the transport. While they weren't overly rough, neither were they particularly gentle with their handling of him as they strapped him down. He gave the bands restraining him an experimental push; they hardly even stretched.
These humans proved to be as efficient as the previous batch and soon every Turian was strapped down quite thoroughly in their seats. Their task completed, they took up positions around the prisoners, guns held at the ready. One of them shouted something, but Adrien wasn't paying attention. Dimly, he heard the transport's door shut with a metallic clamping sound and its engines fired up. The massive vehicle lurched forward, and they were off.
By now, the reality of Adrien's situation had sunk in like a well-honed blade. He was captured and there would be no daring escape or divine salvation. His fate was no longer in his own hands, but those of the enemy. Adrien leaned back in his seat, feeling numb to his very core.
That, he supposed, was the problem with luck: it only lasted for so long.