…
"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
(Ralph Waldo Emerson)
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Fehl Prime, January 20th, 10:21 AM, 2185
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I clenched my teeth tightly as Pistis and I moved farther and farther from the fighting going on at the base of the gun platform, moving as quickly and quietly as we could. Seeker swarms still blotted out the sky around us, leaving little room for sunlight to get through. Admittedly, my skin was still crawling knowing those things were around us, and I found myself relating with the colonist we had rescued from Ferris Fields. I couldn't blame him for choosing to lock himself in a freezer if there were these things swarming around him.
We took cover behind a prefab, checking the open ground for activity before we moved farther. It was the colony's park space, an acre-sized chunk of water, grass, and trees that looked quite out of place in an arid climate such as this. Swarms had infested the park, and appeared to be taking shelter in the trees based on the unnatural leaf movement we witnessed.
"Oh, I don't like this at all." I groaned, taking another deep breath as I looked back at Pistis. "Are you sure this is the best way to go?"
"Communication center is located on opposite end of this "green space". It answered, sounding almost hesitant when "naming" the park. "Alternate route wastes valuable time, Doctor-Michaels."
"Fine, fine." I nodded quickly, trying to shake off the bad vibes shivering up my spine. "Let's go."
We both began running across the grass, trying to avoid getting too close to the trees while simultaneously attempting to keep away from the prying eyes of the Collectors circling ahead. It was completely nerve-wracking. We had no cover aside from a few scattered rocks.
Twenty seconds into our run, we took fire from a Collector on the other side of the park that we hadn't spotted before. I dove behind a small knoll near a group of trees, thankful for the extra spring my exo provided me. Pistis fired his rifle twice, surprising me with how loud it was. The Collector's head blew off into three different chunks, attracting the attention of the other Collectors who had occupied a house nearby.
"We've gotta move, it's a death trap out here!" I yelled, jumping back to my feet as another burst of adrenaline kicked in. "Run towards the other side of the park! We can take cover in that shop!"
"Affirmative!" He acknowledged, beams and mass accelerator rounds whizzing past us, hitting several trees and even setting one on fire. A heavily condensed swarm fled the flaming one, moving in and attempting to shield their Collector "masters."
We dove over the counter into the shop, narrowly avoiding another beam as one of those giant tick creatures flew towards us from the north. It smashed through another tree, landing less than one hundred meters away from our cover.
"Goddamnit!" I exclaimed, quickly taking one of the grenades off my belt and attaching a plasma cell to it. "Eat this, you ugly bastard!"
I tossed the improvised bomb at the creature, diving behind cover and pulling Pistis down with me as the thing went off, creating a bright flash and a sharp bang, sounding equal parts like a massive gas and chemical explosion. I could hear inhuman, feral screeching shortly afterwards as I peeked over our cover, seeing a chunk of the tick creature was gone and the rest was covered in reactive plasma. It was melting. A second later, one of the Collectors landed hard next to our building, clawing at its multiple eyes and flailing around uncontrollably.
"It appears you have overloaded the creature's ocular nerves, Doctor-Michaels." Pistis observed as I looked back at the park, seeing the others that had been shooting at us were doing the same.
"Remind me later that we need to start producing more weapons that use our plasma cells." I nodded, hopping back out into the open as we started running again. With the route to the comm array blocked, we decided on a new route.
A few minutes later, we made it to the main admin building for the surface portion of the colony, opening the doors to see the spacious lobby. Going through it was the fastest alternate route to the communications array. Inside, the lobby opened up to a large skylight, and the floors above had balconies looking down at the lobby floor. Several Collectors moved through the offices above us, occasionally looking over the balconies. I could only assume they were looking for the colonists.
"We detect a number of hostiles, Doctor-Michaels. Approximately twenty three, though seeker swarms are interfering with motion sensors." Pistis warned as we stopped behind a row of potted plants just out of their visual range. "We recommend avoiding detection."
"I agree." I nodded, taking a quick peek over our cover to check the ground floor. Mercifully, it appeared that the ground floor was devoid of hostiles for the time being. We moved as slowly as possible, keeping our heads down as the sounds of footsteps and breaking glass could be heard above.
We made it about halfway through the lobby before a much louder crash rang out above us, sending shards of glass falling to the ground floor. Five of the Collectors from upstairs jumped down to the lobby floor shortly afterwards, forcing Pistis and I to freeze in place.
I risked a peek at them, seeing them all look at each other for a few moments before turning towards us. I quickly ducked down, looking Pistis right in the photoreceptor.
"We need to move now!" I "yelled" in a whisper, looking back at our available cover. There were only two options, either we risked moving out of cover into a small seating area, or we backtracked through the ground level offices. In the end, we chose the safer route.
The offices were dark, especially since power had been shut down to all of the colony systems deemed non-vital. It had been a power-saving measure for increasing the charge rate of the colony's defense guns. Now, Pistis' head and my gun-mounted flashlight were our only guide.
"This is Sean, can anyone read me?" I broadcast into my omni-tool in a vain attempt to see if the interference have cleared up at all. Little to my surprise, all I was met with was static.
"Local interference stronger than anticipated. We believe reducing the swarm's mass will improve communications." Pistis commented as we walked, causing me to reflexively roll my eyes.
"Thanks, I wasn't able to gather that myself." I shot back in a dry tone, unable to resist letting a smile creep onto my face. "If you keep making such shrewd observations, I'm going to recommend you to the Conclave's regulatory board."
"You imply we are overly cautious and short sighted." It replied in a quizzical tone, actually getting a small chuckle out of me.
"I'm surprised the Geth keep up with the political humor of the Migrant Fleet." I smiled, bumping into a chair for a moment before turning my attention back to the conversation.
"Geth use any and all social markers found in Fleet communications to predict future Creator activity." He explained, actually piquing my interest slightly. "Though as of late, relocation to Klenot Nebula has made this process much less accurate."
"Yeah, especially after the last Cerberus attack on Reach." I nodded, knowing he was referring to the increased encryption all Fleet communications went through since Cerberus attempted their little incursion into our system.
We both stopped as we heard a bang above us as something was smashed, drowning out the rather pleasant conversation we had been engaged in. We both aimed our weapons at the source of the noise, a pitter-patter of quickened feet and sudden silence.
Then, without warning, I felt the ground beneath my feet shake, feeling like an earthquake. Loose items from the desks and shelves around us rattled and fell as it became obvious something was seriously wrong. Before I could ask Pistis about it, a massive shockwave hit the building, shaking everything apart.
"Doctor!" Pistis yelled out, knocking me to the ground as part of the ceiling caved in, nearly hitting both of us as debris flew at high speeds through the air.
Both of us laid motionless as things became eerily still. I was in a partial daze as my entire body pulsed in pain, especially my ringing ears. Luckily, I had avoided any serious harm, aside from a thin cut on my forehead. We stood back up, looking at the newly formed holes in the walls that flooded the previously dark office with light as anger built up in my chest.
"Fuck!" I yelled through gritted teeth, wincing at the minor pain all over my body, the tinnitus doing very little to improve my mood. "Did the Collectors just set off a nuke?!"
"Negative. Atmospheric pressure and trace element zero readings suggest drive core of Collector vessel has gone critical." Pistis corrected, sounding surprisingly nonplussed about what had just happened. "We recommend using time gained to hasten our efforts."
"If there are still any Seekers left after that." I quipped, shaking my head and brushing a piece of debris off my shoulder as we moved through the now-ruined office.
Outside, the sky was filled with rolling clouds of dust that reminded me of the Dust Bowl. The Seeker swarms still filled the skies, through there seemed to be a whole lot less of them. Massive columns of smoke rose above parts of the colony as buildings burned from both fighting and the damage the explosion had caused.
"My god…" I stammered, feeling as if I had gotten a front row seat to Hell. The utter devastation before me was almost mind numbing. "The drive core on that ship must have been massive."
"Doctor-Michaels, we must return to the task at hand!" Pistis called out ot me, snapping me back to the objective. I took a deep breath of the harsh air, accidentally getting a mouthful of sand and gagging. After spitting it out, I could feel the blood trickle from the cut on my forehead as I marched on with Pistis to the communications hub.
The sudden dust storm that had engulfed the colony, despite the damage, was providing excellent cover for movement. The fighting in the distance had slowed too from the sounds of it, giving me hope that we still had time to turn the battle in our favor. Pistis was using thermals built into his photoreceptors to peer through the dust as I used my breathing mask to keep the sand out of my eyes and lungs.
"At the rate this is going, there won't be anything left of the colony when the smoke settles." I quipped through my mask, trying my best to see through the storm. "We'll be able to fit the remains in a tin can."
"We do not believe a tin can offers sufficient storage capacity." Pistis stated matter-of-factly, actually confusing me hard enough to stop me in my tracks. "Doctor-Michaels?"
"Nevermind." I dismissed, not wanting to get into a discussion regarding figures of speech during our current situation.
We stopped on the edge of the pit, checking our sides for any activity before following it. The sand rolled over the ledge, creating a strong draft that gave me the sensation that i'd get blown off. Above us, the weapons platform was still relatively undamaged, through like the rest of the colony, it was smoking and on fire in many places due to damage from the explosion.
"I don't have a particular liking for heights." I bemoaned, feeling the wind ripping at my shoulders as we inched along the two-foot wide ledge. "Any chance I could survive the fall?"
"Likelihood is low, approximately 23.8 percent… rounded." Pistis quickly stated, giving me a twinge in the back of my skull. That last part, I knew it wasn't mockery, but I couldn't help shake the feeling that it was.
"Doctor-Michaels." Pistis pointed out, climbing over the ledge to see the silhouette of the primary communications relay through the storm. "We have arrived."
"Thank God." I replied, grabbing his hand as he pulled me up.
We walked inside the building, thankful that the Collectors were nowhere to be found here. Once inside, we ran to the main control room as fast as we could, barging in and accessing the consoles. The room was mostly dark aside from a few vital communication relays, leaving it eerily still. The setup was similar to that of some quarian ships, and I couldn't help but feel mildly unsettled by the absence of people in an area that obviously saw heavy activity every day.
"Alright, I've found the transmitter controls… it's still functioning." I said with a smile, looking at Pistis as he wirelessly accessed the console next to me.
"Power grid is damaged. Connections to main defense gun have been severed from system." He assessed, dropping my hopes before his head flaps flew up. "Wait… Grid 2G, damaged substation. We may be able to reroute power from underground facility, though it will require full attention for a few moments."
"I've got you covered. Do it." I nodded, looking back to the console as all the lights and consoles in the room grew much brighter. A surplus of electricity flowed in, reminding me of the first time we hooked up our prototype NM reactor back on Aldrin Station.
"Calibrating transmitter frequency… standby." He said, staring into space as his photoreceptor went dark. I was left with the sound of muffled, distant gunfire and ripping winds as a lone seeker flew into the room, buzzing above us. I ignored it until the buzzing got louder, turning around to see it darting straight towards me.
"Oh shit!" I yelled in panic, batting at it with my left arm in an attempt to hit it away. Instead, it latched onto my arm, attempting to probe my armor for a weak spot. "Get the hell off!"
I pulled out the knife on my breastplate, panicking as it plunged into the edge of my elbow through the gel layer, shooting intense pain up and down my arm. I focused as hard as I could, ignoring the pain long enough to swipe at the creature, cutting it straight in half.
"Son of a bitch…" I groaned as I began feeling the shakes, seeing my own blood seep up through the remaining half of the seeker as I suddenly felt like I had been drenched with a bucket of ice cold water. I lost all feeling in the knees, trying to grab a nearby table before losing strength in my own hands.
I fell to the ground just as Pistis regained awareness of his surroundings and disconnected from the console. He looked "shocked" for lack of a better term, running over as fast as he could. He quickly pulled the bottom half of the seeker off my arm, sending another jolt through my body. I felt cold sweats all over as I felt strangely relaxed.
"Doctor-Michaels, are you OK? We detect an elevated heart rate and a decrease in adrenaline levels." He stated as I pushed myself against one of the consoles. "Do you require assistance?"
"Heh… just pins and needles." I brushed off with a slight sense of euphoria, forcing a smile onto my face as I felt all feeling receding from my left arm. I could still move it, but with great difficulty and with no tactile sensation. "I guess my armor countermeasure was damaged, huh?"
"That would be a logical assessment." He nodded in his usual, exaggerated manner, looking back at the console. "Shall we emit the signal?"
"Yeah, go on!" I dismissed casually with the last bit of enthusiasm I had left, feeling the world spin around me as everything began to move on its own.
I felt a rumble in my gut as an ultrasound signal was broadcast over a range of several miles, quickly building up to a loud, sharp screech that pierced through both head. It felt like my skull was about to split open before the sound suddenly stopped, filling me with relief.
"Frequency broadcast successful." Pistis announced, the flaps on his head going up as if raising his eyebrows. "Doctor?"
"Cool beans." I smiled, the pain from the fall fading as I lost all feeling in the rest of my body. It felt like the first time I had gotten drunk all over again, but even stronger. "Just… don't hurt my ears again, please."
"It appears the paralytic agent mixed with the antidote in your body has put you in an affective state." Pistis quipped, eye aperture narrowing in and out on me. "We must take you to doctor for treatment."
"Gotcha loud and clear, man." I finished as Pistis picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. I was as limp as a wet towel by this point, and even in my addled state I knew I was posing an incredible risk to Pistis in my current state.
Unable to protest with him, he ran out of the building as fast as he could with me over his shoulder, leaving me with a queasy feeling in my stomach as I bounced up and down repeatedly. My head felt like a brick of marble as I tried to lift it and get a better idea of what was happening around me.
All I could tell was that by this point the freak storm had ended, leaving the entire colony coated in a thick layer of sand. My perception of time was screwed up on top of everything else, leaving me unable to figure out how long we'd been out here.
At some point, Pistis set me down behind a wall, kneeling down next to me as he pulled out his large "rifle" once again.
"What's going on…" I stammered out, sounding like a Baltimore City drunk fresh off his last call. "Pis… buddy?"
"Three hostiles, standby." He quickly answered, firing three shots in quick succession rang my ears like a bell. "Area clear."
I nodded, feeling myself get hoisted up once more.
I began to regain some feeling in the tips of my fingers and toes as Pistis unintentionally jostled me around. The return of my senses was both welcome and unwelcome as I began feeling the pain in my arm where the Seeker had bitten me again. I rationalized in my head that the pain meant I was alive, but that mindset could only work for so long under stress.
The sounds of gunfire became less and less distant as we made our way back to the front lines. In contrast, the frequency of said gunfire was slowing, and whether or not that was a good thing I had no idea. I just wanted to be able to use my own legs again by this point.
"Friendlies!" I heard an unknown female voice shout nearby as Pistis scaled a small wall, painfully bouncing me off his shoulder again. "Get over here, there might still be more of them out there!"
"Acknowledged!" He loudly confirmed, jogging over to the woman. Once behind cover, Pistis set me down where I could be part of the conversation.
It turned out the woman was the third-party asari researcher that had joined in on the defense of the colony, holding a large, briefcase-sized medical kit tightly in her shaking hands. Around her were two of the colonists, both armed with our Plasma Guns. They all looked battered and tired, covered in sand, ashes, and blood from the fighting.
"Where is Shepard-Commander?" Pistis asked, getting a worried look from the asari woman and one of the colonists.
"After the explosion, our last baseline broke, severing our defensive line." The man behind her answered, taking a moment to breathe in before continuing. "Those larger creatures tore through us, cutting us off from the main force."
"Did you try the radios yet?" I asked whilst panting, the euphoria starting to wear off. "The Seekers... should all be gone."
"We tried that, but somehow our communications are still being jammed." She explained, managing to confuse both me and Pistis.
"How is that possible?" I questioned out loud, looking up at Pistis as the flaps on the top of his head opened upwards in confusion. "Pistis?"
"Doctor-Nuwani is correct, the jamming signal is still active." Pistis stated as he stared into space, turning back to me seconds later. "Though… it appears to be of a slightly different signature. Standby."
He stared back into space once more, leaving an awkward silence that was met with equally awkward faces.
"Are you sure this thing is safe?" She questioned, looking even more worried than she had been before.
"Don't worry, he's the reason why we don't hear that buzzing sound anymore." I reassured, attempting to get back to my feet only to realize I still had no strength in my arms or legs. My useless state was seriously starting to damage my calm.
"Are you OK?" She asked, kneeling down next to me and opening her dust-covered medical kit.
"I was stung by one of those Seekers. The antidote kept me from becoming fully paralyzed, but i'm still screwed up." I explained, watching her take out a syringe and extract some kind of solution from a glass bottle. "Uh, what is that?"
"It's a special concoction the salarian doctor distributed before the attack, dissolved in a saline solution. It'll help your liver filter the nerve agents from your bloodstream" She said, genuinely surprising me as she stuck me in the arm and injected the mixture into my system.
Several seconds later, I could already feel pins and needles all over my body as her little witch's brew did its work. I was shocked to get most of the motor control back in my right hand, even if my left was still stiff as a board. In addition, I felt my chest tense up slightly as my heart began beating faster than normal.
"Amazing stuff. Any side effects?" I joked, cracking a smile as I tried to curl my toes.
"You'll likely feel the urge to urinate really bad later, but other than that, nothing I'd consider long-term." She quickly answered, closing the case back up as another explosion could be heard nearby. I felt the ground rumble as something got closer, eyes widening in surprise.
"Get your heads down!" I yelled as the Dragoon slammed onto its back next to our cover, crushing a building and sending up another cloud of dust that blew into our faces, temporarily blinding us.
I could hear Dan's voice over the damaged intercom, cursing to himself and panting heavily as he struggled to move the battered mech. In addition to its lost arm, one of the rocket pods was blown to pieces and the mech was covered in numerous holes from beam weapons. The Dragoon was effectively dead.
Before I could say or do anything, one of the large tick creatures landed on top of the cockpit, attempting to pierce through the viewport with its large claws.
"Mother...fucker!" He yelled in a panicked voice over the intercom, attempting to lift the mech's arm to swipe at the creature, only for one of the hydraulic servos to give way. The arm fell to the side of the mech, limp and useless.
Failing to pierce the kinetic barriers, it sent out some kind of energy pulse that left the air smelling like ozone, similar to an old CRT monitor. Whatever it did, the mech's cockpit lights went dark as the reactor on the back forcibly shut itself down. The creature slammed its claws into the viewport several more times before it finally gave way, shattering and going through with a heavy thud.
I could hear Dan yell in agony, then silence.
"Dan, no!" I yelled out from our cover without thinking as shock took over, attracting the attention of the creature. I immediately realized my mistake as it fired a beam at our position, letting out another inhuman shriek and pounding its legs into the chassis of the mech.
"Great! Why the hell did you call out to it like that?!" One of the colonist shouted at me, understandably angry as he grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me. "We don't have enough ammo to kill that thing!"
"My best friend is in there!" I argued, pushing him away as another beam tore through our cover. Dr. Nuwani screamed, the attack barely missing her. Pistis quickly grabbed her, pulling back behind a more sturdy piece of cover as he drew his rifle and fired several shots at the creature with little effect.
"Doctor-Michaels, we must move!" Pistis yelled out in a distorted tone as an explosion hit the side of the creature, knocking it to the side as another explosion immediately hit it.
"Echelon formation! Left and right!" I heard a familiar voice shout as I forced myself to my feet, finally having regained enough feeling in my legs to use them.
I staggered over cautiously, drawing my handgun with a shaky hand as we all watched several colonists and marines take aim at the creature in a staggered line. Leading them was none other than Dimitri, helmet missing and looking pissed off.
"Fire!" He yelled, hefting a grenade launcher and shooting as everyone else around him did the same. Plasma and kinetic rounds rained down on the creature, managing to push it back away from the mech's cockpit.
I started firing at the creature at this point too, the colonists and Pistis joining in. After soaking up so much fire, the barriers on the creature failed, exposing it to the full brunt of our combined firepower. Within seconds, we had reduced the creature to a pile of mush. I recoiled as a burst of static flared up in my earpiece and the jamming signal disappeared.
The colonists let out a triumphant cheer, raising their weapons into the air as I walked as fast as I could over to the mech, trying and failing to climb up the side of its leg. I cursed out loud, looking at Pistis and the colonists as they remembered the gravity of the situation.
"We need to get him out of there!" I shouted, pulling together all my strength and jumping high enough to reach the edge. I hung there for a few moments, unable to pull myself up before Pistis ran over, boosting me up.
I ran over to the cockpit, pulling open a small access panel with an emergency release inside. I yanked on the release, blowing the explosive bolts inside the hatch of the cockpit. It blew off with enough force to send it flying several feet into the air.
I peeked my head into the space. The cockpit smelled like blood and sweat, and inside laid Dan. He wasn't moving.
"Dan! You awake?! Help me get him out!" I yelled out, undoing his harness as Pistis and I grabbed him by the arms and tried our best to pull him out without hurting him. Unfortunately, we came to a grim discovery by the time he had been pulled all the way out.
The creature had taken his left leg clean off up to the bottom of the knee. It was completely gone, the lower end crushed to pieces between the seat and the console. I started to panic, unable to accept what was in front of me as I focused on his ash and blood-covered face.
"No… Dan!" I began to tear up, shaking his shoulders in an attempt to wake him up. "Don't die on me! You're not allowed to die!"
A strained gasp for air entered his lips as his jaw trembled from the pain. I could only imagine how painful it really was as he locked eyes with me, chest shaking as he tried to grab my shoulder. I grabbed his hand, squeezing it to let him know I was here.
"Hang in there!" I urged, watching his eyes roll up into his head as he tensed up and relaxed. "Dan!"
Nuwani ran over with her kit, applying medi-gel to his leg and scanning him with her omni-tool as fast as she could. She didn't look much better than me at the moment, seeming repulsed by the sight of so much blood.
"He's going into hypovolemic shock! We need to get him to proper doctor now, I'm not trained to perform surgery!" She quickly said as I continued to focus on Dan, feeling his heartbeat grow weaker. She shoved me, snapping me out of my trance. "Hey! Focus!"
I gulped, giving her a quick nod as Dimitri carefully picked him up.
"I will take him. Remain here to command these men." He ordered, giving me another sinking feeling in my chest as I attempted to follow him.
"No! I need to make sure he gets throu-" I began to object before he turned around and glared at me.
"You listen! It is your job to set an example for these people. I know you are worried and so am I, but there is nothing you can do for him." He stated, pushing his finger into my breastplate. "I need you here with them. Understand?"
I closed my eyes for several seconds, folding back a lump in my throat as I nodded wordlessly.
"I will be back." He reassured, running off with Nuwani and one of the marines as I looked around, finding myself surrounded by two dozen people.
They all looked at me with various expressions, ranging from shocked, worried, and depressed.
Dimitri was right. They needed someone to look after them. They had all gone through the same hell, and it was now my job to make sure they got through the rest of this.
I clenched my hands hard enough to cramp my knuckles, looking back up with a determined face still filled with tears.
"Alright then." I said to myself, taking a shaky step forward. "I want everyone to do an ammo check, five minutes! We're going to link up with Shepard's group and clear any of these remaining bastards out… with extreme prejudice. Once we're sure we're in the clear, we'll regroup and send out search parties to whatever's left of that Collector ship and the Explorer."
I received an enthused response, with everyone jumping into action without hesitation. While part of me felt better knowing that they were in good spirits, my own was dampened by the thought of the Explorer. I silently prayed to an almighty God, hoping they managed to escape. I needed to know they were OK.
Dan was a bad enough shock to my system. I couldn't handle losing my crew on top of that.
…
A/N: Once again, I have to apologize implicitly for how slow these chapters have been coming out. A lot of things have been happening around my lately, including finals, heavy rain, and lots of errands needing to be run. Life always manages to throw everything at me at any given time, but I suppose every perceived hardship will only improve my disposition in the future.
In any case, I hope this chapter has been an interesting one. As i've stated before, I'm terrible at writing anything having to do with combat, but I do genuinely believe I have been improving. Then again, I guess that's really up to you guys to decide, huh?
I'd love to read any reviews, and I'm always up for suggestions and constructive criticism! Stay tuned!