...
"It's always suicide-mission this, save-the-planet that. No one ever stops by just to say 'hi' anymore."
(Jack O'Neill)
…
Serenity Valley, March 24th, 9:29 PM, 2186
...
Sitting quietly at the Last Call, a makeshift bar we had built inside one of the old prefabs, my custom music station Mojave Music Radio played in the background as I enjoyed my beer alongside Mara. It was one of the few things we'd done together in the last month that didn't involve work or Elle, who was being watched by Sira tonight so we could share it together. We were beginning to reach the point of drunkenness, especially Mara, as she tried to match me. This was despite the mass difference between us.
"Heh… soooo… If we went back to Earth, what do you want to do first?" She asked in a long, drawn-out way, obviously drunk. "Your deepest desire?"
"Hm, good question." I answered, leaning on the counter as I thought about it. "I think the first thing I'd want to do is get a real cheeseburger and some french fries. Maybe a nice Coca Cola or Pepsi on the side."
"Pfft, that's what you want to do?" She stifled, the biggest grin in the world appearing on her face.
"Yeah, a good old fashioned slab of dead cow with American cheese... and maybe some bacon." I reinforced, unable to keep myself from grinning back at her as she swayed slightly. "I think that's a perfectly reasonable expectation to have. My Dad used to make some kick-ass burgers on his old charcoal grill."
"Did he also listen to this music?" She inquired, bracing herself against the bar before looking back at me.
"No, this is something I cooked up myself." I explained, opening my omni-tool and switching the track over to "Let's Ride Into The Sunset Together" by Lost Weekend Western Swing Band. "It's good drinking music, really sets an atmosphere."
"Sounds like… country, cowboy music." She correctly guessed as I raised my can and gave her a single nod. "Where do you find this stuff, anyways?"
"I have my sources." I smiled as she moved her shoulders to the beat of the song, enjoying it.
I grinned, enjoying the moments where she really let herself relax. She had kept herself pretty busy the last few days, coordinating the Crucible project nearly non-stop since it began. She could have had her own lab working on the project here on Reach, buried underneath the mountain and defended by the ODPs, but she was determined to stay on the Saint Luke and work alongside me.
I couldn't have found a better woman in the galaxy to live my life with.
As I took another sip of my beer, the door opened revealing Dan, who walked in a nonchalant manner until he noticed us.
"Oh, I didn't kn-know you guys were here." He remarked with minor shock, turning back towards the door.
"Hey, come join us!" I urged, getting him to turn back around and look at us. "We're just shootin' the shit, you're not interrupting anything."
"Oh… OK." He smiled, nodding and walking over. He walked behind the bar and grabbed a bottle of beer from the shelf, cracking it open without a second thought.
"You know, there's cold ones in that mini fridge." I pointed out as Mara leaned against me, still quite wavy.
"Nah, warm beer is f-fine." He shrugged, leaning against the bar as he looked at both of us. "Hey, uh… I wanted to say sorry. You know, about my mel...meltdown on the Normandy. I wasn't th-thinking at the time, and what I tried to do was very stupid."
"Ah, forget it. It's ancient history now." I dismissed, downing the last bit of beer in my bottle. "Grab me one of those cold ones out of the fridge, and you'll be "forgiven", I suppose."
"I think that c-can be arranged." He smiled, kneeling down and grabbing my beer, and one of the steel bottles stored underneath too. "Is this the mo...moonshine Dimitri was brewing?"
"Yeah, I think so." I surmised, grabbing it and unscrewing the cap to smell its contents. Wincing sharply, I quickly closed it back up and pushed it away, getting chuckles from Dan and Mara.
"Is it strong, hon?" Mara asked, giving me a goofy look as I narrowed my eyes and smirked back at her.
"That's either moonshine, or paint thinner. One of the two." I breathed deeply, feeling as if my nose hairs had been trimmed as I popped open my new beer.
"Hard to imagine p-people actually drink stuff that st...strong." Dan shook his head, putting the bottle back underneath the bar. "Oh, hey, I got some g-good news. About the project."
"Lay it on me." I replied, leaning back slightly as I began to feel the beers in my system.
"Dimitri and I have re...recalibrated the Terahertz Locators, boosting the scan ra...range from fifty meters to a h-hundred and twenty." He explained as Mara nodded her head to the radio, now playing "Happy Times", performed by Bert Weedon. "It should also have b-better fidelit… is this the radio music from Fa...Fallout: New Vegas?"
"Hah! I knew it must have come from one of your old video games!" Mara proclaimed loudly, chuckling as she once again braced herself against my arm. Dan couldn't keep a straight face as he leaned back with his arms crossed, obviously committing this moment to memory.
"Don't you say it, I know you want to." I warned him in a playful manner, putting one of my arms around Mara.
"This re...reminds me of that Halloween p-party you got drunk at." He brought up like I knew he would, getting a quick huff of amusement from me as Mara looked at him with curious eyes.
"Ooh, are we exchanging stories now?" Mara asked in a drawn-out way, narrowing her eyes on me.
"Go on, tell her." I begrudgingly said as Dan leaned against the counter.
"It was after Sean's t-twenty-secondth birthday. We were at this college Halloween p-party with a few of our old fr...friends, where Sean drank an entire bottle of schnapps by h-himself." Dan explained in further detail, bringing back a painful, embarrassing memory. "He was s-so me...messed up that he couldn't walk straight."
"Ugh... yes, I remember. Apple-flavored schnapps." I groaned, remembering the event with unusual clarity. "It was quite sweet from what I can recall, and went down real easy. That fucking stuff snuck up and hit me like a ton of bricks."
Mara burst out laughing as I felt my cheeks become even redder, already warm from the alcohol in my system.
"He spent the entire d-day in bed the next morning." He finished, taking a quick swig from his beer as I did the same with mine.
"I'll have to remember that for the future… schnapps." Mara chuckled as she wiped tears from her eyes.
"You keep that shit away from me." I warned with a raised eyebrow, pointing at both of them.
"By your command… Admiral." Dan finished with a sly tone, raising his beer slightly as I laughed.
"Heh… not gonna lie, you caught me off-guard with that one." I nodded and smirked, getting the reference.
Moments like these… you had to appreciate them. With all the problems we were facing right now, it felt good to just sit around and talk casually among each other, not having to think about the war for a little while. At least I'd be able to go to sleep this one night with a warm feeling in my heart, knowing I had gotten the chance to share these moments with two of my favorite people in the galaxy.
…
Serenity Valley, March 25th, 3:29 AM, 2186
…
I groaned as I leaned up in bed, wincing in minor pain as the result of my drinking could be felt in the form of a headache. My omni-tool was ringing, only making me feel more pain as I quickly rubbed the jelly out of my eyes and answered the call.
"What?" I asked, leaning against my free arm as I held my orange-bathed one up. "This better be important…"
"Sean, we've received a priority message from the Ysbryd." The voice on the other side announced, my brain struggling to catch up. "Captain Roho'Iwin says they've discovered a Cerberus facility hidden on Imaneya."
"A facility?" I repeated, rubbing my face as I felt my head spin slightly. "What kind?"
"He didn't say, he kept his message pretty brief." The voice answered, as I finally recognized it was Mal's. "His crew observed a Cerberus transport descending towards the planet, before they suddenly lost the reading on it. He believes they must have a facility buried beneath the planet's ice sheets."
"That son-of-a-bitch better be right about this." I exclaimed, shaking my head and taking a deep breath as I checked the time. "Um… I'll get everyone together at 0800. We should all be there in just a few hours."
"I'll make sure the repairs on your ship are finished in time." Mal finished, sounding satisfied.
"Thanks, I appreciate it." I nodded as the line went dead and I closed my omni-tool. "Ugh…"
I slammed my head back into my pillow, staring blankly at the ceiling. The segmented panels, occasionally interrupted by a vent cover, all appeared as blurs through my eyes. The dull blue glow from the nebula illuminated the room through the window, leaving me with an odd, ethereal feeling through the pulsed pains in my forehead.
"Who was that, hon?" Mara asked in a groggy tone, not bothering to roll over and look at me.
"Mal… we got a lead off that ship I sent out the other day." I replied, unable to move my arms as I kept blinking my eyes. "We're leaving at 8."
"...OK…" She replied in a pained voice, obviously having a hangover much worse than mine. "Just...just wake me later…"
I smiled, exhaling sharply out of my nose as I dragged myself out of bed, putting my side of the covers over her.
I sauntered into the living room, running my hand through my hair as I yawned. Blue light surrounded me, only interrupted when I opened the fridge and pulled out the pot of coffee from yesterday. It was as cold as a stone, sure, but coffee was coffee no matter how you swung it. I poured what was left into a clean mug and threw some ice in with it, putting the pot back on the coffee maker and turning it on.
I sat down at the kitchen table, downing the cold brew with a shiver. I leaned my head back in my chair, lightly slapping my cheeks as I forced myself to fully awaken. I knew that, headache or not, I'd have to be fully aware to prepare myself for the day ahead. I opened my omni-tool again and scrolled down my list of contacts, eventually finding Dixon and pressing "CALL".
"Uh… what can I help you with, Admiral?" He answered after a few seconds, obviously just as tired as I was.
"Sorry to wake you like this, Dixon, but I've just received word that we've got a credible lead on a Cerberus target." I explained, staring blankly at my omni-tool. "Mal is going to take care of the repair situation, I just want you to have everyone ready and back on the ship by 0800. Leave is cancelled, and we're all being recalled for immediate active duty."
"Understood, sir. I'll… no, its the Admiral." He quickly acknowledged before correcting another faint, barely-audible voice in the background. "No, it's Sean. We've got… stop it, this is important! ...I'll take care of it, sir."
A second later, I recognized the other voice as Morgan's. Putting two-and-two together, I cracked a smile, unable to hold back a chuckle.
"I'll leave it to you then. Try not to have too much fun." I quickly finished, cutting the line off as I allowed myself to laugh in earnest.
I was thankful God had granted me a small moment of mercy. While I was aware the two had been in an on-and-off relationship, I had no idea they had decided to take it "that" far. The sheer feeling of absurdity it left me feeling was a welcome one, and one I wouldn't soon forget.
…
UCV Saint Luke, March 25th, 7:42 AM, 2186
…
Finally back on the Saint Luke, I walked calmly into the CIC with Dan and Lydia in tow, happy to see the whole room was fully staffed. Dixon stood in his regular spot on the other side of the center console, a stern yet mildly uncomfortable look clear on his face.
"Everybody has reported as ordered, sir." He spoke, standing straighter than I have ever seen before.
I stared at him for a few seconds before letting out a small smirk, bracing myself against the center console.
"Good. Is the flotilla ready for departure?" I inquired, glancing around at everyone in the CIC.
"Yes'sir, the Icarion, Endar, T'rchun, Discovery and Hoero are all ready and awaiting your command." He nodded, holding both hands together behind his back.
"Ooh, fancy." Lydia remarked, rubbing her suited hands together as she looked up at the monitors. "This is going to be fun."
"Uh… ok then." I deadpanned, doing my best to ignore her odd moment of dissonance as I picked up the phone, connecting to the four ships under my command. "Attention, this is Admiral Michaels. As all of you already know, we're going into a potentially hostile situation with a known and credible Cerberus threat. I want full combat readiness on all ships, and I want everyone to make sure your TLs have been reconfigured with the new improvements before we reach Imaneya. These modifications will allow us to better detect Cerberus stealth vessels before they get within boarding range. Sync your drives to the Saint Luke, and be ready to jump in ten minutes. I'm trusting each and every one of you to get the job done, and I look forward to seeing all of you on the other side."
Hanging the phone back up, I got four pings of confirmation, bringing a smile to my face.
"Very good, sir." Dixon nodded as I hung up the phone, his tone "twinging" one of my nerves.
"Oh, knock it off, I don't care what… or who you do in your free time." I chastised with equal levels of annoyance and smug. "As long as it doesn't affect the quality of your work, I could care less."
"Understood. Sir." He replied with a stilted tone as Lydia laughed, obviously enjoying the banter.
"Now, enough fun and games." I finished, turning to face the pilot. "Spool up the drive, and let's get underway!"
"Yes'sir!" He quickly nodded, looking back at me for a split second before returning his full attention to his station.
As the ship rumbled and moved away from drydock, I turned back towards Lydia and Dan, focusing hard on the former.
"You're sure you want to do this?" I asked one final time, raising my eyebrow.
"I'm the best chance you've got of retrieving as much information as possible." She boasted, crossing her arms. "Besides, I haven't gotten the chance to really… flex my muscles."
"You're scary, you kn-know that?" Dan remarked, narrowing his eyes. "You really w-want to go down there yourself when we have all th...these marines?"
"I can handle myself." She shot back, a hint of annoyance in her voice as she turned back to me. "Though I do admit, I'm surprised both of you are coming along."
"I'm not going to understand this "new" Cerberus if I'm always standing around on my ship." I argued, looking back to Dan. "As for Dan, I think he just wants some good, old-fashioned revenge."
"I'll fight just as w-well as anyone else." He deadpanned, keeping himself very still. "Besides, it's been far too long since I've go...gotten to prove myself on the front lines."
While part of me understood his motivations, I still felt uneasy knowing both of them would be accompanying us. This would be the first time Dan had fought since Fehl Prime, and the depression he experienced immediately after the battle had slowly been replaced with laser-guided determination. While I technically could have stopped him from coming along, I knew doing so would only hurt him in the long run. I decided against my best wishes to let him come along this time, if only to rein him back in a bit.
"Sir, the Captain of the Discovery wishes to speak to you." Dixon spoke up, getting me to whip back around to face him.
"Patch him through." I nodded, picking up the phone as I listened for that telltale burst of static, confirming the connection had been made. "Lenlo, how's it going?"
"It's going good, sir." He answered, bringing a smile to my face. "Hey, I know this might not be the best time to bring this up, but Biss has been bugging me non-stop about this "Crucible" project. He's starting to get on my nerves."
"What does he want now?" I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose.
While I appreciated the "work" Biss was doing, I didn't find it all that important in the grand scheme of things. Ever since he took that trip to Haestrom, he's been obsessed with its star, and managed to annoy just about everyone around him, including his new Captain.
"He wants to meet with you in person at your earliest convenience, says it's very important." He replied, getting me to roll my eyes.
"He always says it's very important." I sighed, shaking my head. "Tell you what… if everything goes according to plan after this mission, I'll bring him over here. Keep him out of your hair for awhile."
"My hair, sir?" He quickly responded, confusing me for a moment before I cracked another smile.
"It's just a figure of speech, Captain." I explained, barely holding myself back.
"Understood, sir. I'll let him know… and thank you." Lenlo finished, the line going dead as I put the phone back on the receiver.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, some things never change.
…
UCV Saint Luke, March 25th, 9:57 AM, 2186
…
Jumping into the outer ranges of the Acheron System, we immediately killed our engines and hailed the Ysbryd on a secure channel, knowing the ship was around here somewhere waiting for us. As long as nothing had changed, we'd jump right in before anyone on the surface has a chance to react.
I felt rather… conspicuous, wearing my armor on the CIC of my own ship, especially with an exo attached and an extra thermal layer underneath for the cold. It had been a while since I donned my armor, and luckily it still fit like a glove.
"This is the Saint Luke to the Ysbryd, come in Ysbryd." I spoke clearly into the receiver, hoping for a quick response. "Roho, are you out there?"
"We're reading you loud and clear, Saint Luke." Roho replied a few seconds later, filling me with relief. "We've maintained high orbit above the planet, though we've detected no further activity from the region where we lost the ship's signal."
"Very good, Roho. Maintain your present heading and course, and keep an eye out for any irregularities until further notice." I finished, cutting the secure line as I looked up at Dixon, who nodded and picked up his own phone.
"Battle stations, battle stations, all personnel report to your stations." He spoke through the intercom as I dialed the rest of the ships. "Marine strike teams, report to your ships."
"Alright, this is it. Sync your drives, and prepare to jump within proximity of Imaneya." I ordered, hanging up the phone as I focused on Dixon. "You have the deck, Dixon. Don't make any of the mistakes I made last time."
"Don't worry, sir. I won't let you down." He reassured me, getting another quick nod as I began running towards the portside hangar.
The heavy footfalls of my exo echoed through the halls as I ran, getting me in the mindset I needed to have for what was about to happen. We had no idea what we'd find down there on that planet, and we had to be prepared for anything.
Reaching the hangar, I stepped inside one of many Cobra gunships, coming face-to-face with Dan and Lydia, who were already here and ready to go along with a dozen marines. Dan wore a suit of armor similar to mine, exo and all, though he had armored his helmet up far more than my facemask. Lydia, in contrast, wore only a basic combat vest over her envirosuit, obviously confident in her body's latent abilities and defenses. Both were equipped with the re-engineered Pulse Rifles, same as me, and we all carried plenty of ammo for them.
"Hey, nice of y-you to join us." Dan remarked with a hint of glee in his voice, leaning forward in his seat.
"I wouldn't miss this for the world, you know that." I joked, closing the hatch behind be as I sat down on the end. "Besides, I need to watch your ass to make sure you don't go crazy."
"F-fuck you." He tried to say in a serious tone, before finishing the profanity with laughter.
"That's more like it." I immediately shot back, putting my mask on and making sure it was sealed properly.
I sat back as I felt the inertial dampeners kicking in, lifting off and going into space. All I could do was focus on the rumble of the engines as we entered the planet's sub zero atmosphere. Imaneya was made primarily of pure ice, but due to it's remote location it hadn't been exploited all that much. The few land masses were frozen tundras, constantly bombarded by an atmosphere of nitrogen and carbon monoxide and buried beneath meters of ice.
It was a great hiding spot. It was my belief that the Ysbryd had lost their readings on the Cerberus ship due to the numerous ice crystals in the atmosphere, especially between the day and night sides. Based on their readings, we narrowed this Cerberus facility to a point in Imaneya's northern poles, where there were months-long periods of total darkness.
"Hold on, we're in for some turbulence." The pilot announced to all of us as the Cobra shook rather violently, even with the dampeners fighting against it. "Wind speed… 49 knots."
"Just a lovely winter morning." I remarked, doing my best to keep a calm face as our four Cobras flew through the cloud layers.
The turbulence subsided as we broke the cloud layer, ending up in near-complete darkness on the other side. I knew we were already at a disadvantage here, but this was just adding to the problem. We landed with a heavy *thud* as the ramp came down, all of us jumping up and rushing out into the cold, snowy darkness. On the eastern horizon, scant light could be seen peeking through, though the sun was nowhere in sight, especially in this storm.
"Orders, sir?" My platoon leader asked in the command channel, walking up to me in the glow of the Cobra spotlights.
"Proceed towards the coordinates on foot in groups of twelve, fifty meter spread. We'll keep the Cobras here and under guard." I answered quickly, pulling my new Pulse Rifle off my back. "I want nightvision only, no lights to give away our position."
"Understood sir." He confirmed as I turned back to Dan and Lydia.
"Good thing I'm wearing an environmental suit, because negative sixty-two degrees celsius is not a pleasant temperature." Lydia remarked, looking around through the darkness.
"Just stick with me, we've got to do this before they have time to prepare." I cautioned, waving my hand towards the marines as we began our long trek through a foot and a half of snow.
Though having the exo on made the task much easier, the trip wasn't a pleasant one. The thermal layers of my suit barely managed to regulate my body heat the entire time, leaving me with a chill that refused to go away. It was a dreadful experience.
After twenty minutes of walking, we finally came across something that indicated a presence. Several blue beacons marked what appeared to be a perimeter, which led to a barely-concealed series of structures nestled in what appeared to be an old ice sheet. We met no resistance as we moved closer, no hidden turret guns, mines, or anything our handheld scanners could detect.
"This is getting creepy." Dan mused, walking alongside me with his rifle held at the ready. "Cerberus pro-protects their stuff better than this."
"That's not always the case, you weren't there to see what David did to them." I argued, knowing anything could be possible.
We finally reached the closest building, stacking up to breach. Lydia quickly accessed the control panel, breaking through the encryption with little difficulty.
"Strange, I'm not reading any obvious comm activity." She remarked, disconnecting from the panel as the holographic display on the door went green. "There must be a communications blackout in effect."
"Who knows, I just hope they don't know we're here." I replied, switching channels. "Alright, proceed with caution."
"Yes'sir." The Geth corporal nodded, opening the door and going inside with the rest of the stack hot on his tail. "The room is clear, Admiral."
We walked inside, seeing an interior that was barely better than the outside. It was a sensor monitoring station from the looks of it, though it appeared completely abandoned. Frost had built up on all of the surfaces, indicating either a bad door seal or broken climate control. I had no way of knowing if this was deliberate or an accident.
I brushed the frost off a nearby console, seeing it was still perfectly active. It did actually detect our entrance once we had passed the blue beacon lights, though there was no alarm or welcoming party of any kind.
"Strange… very strange." I muttered to myself, motioning for everyone to move on as we left the monitoring station.
The next building was much bigger, with full airlocks and what appeared to be garage doors.
"Same as the first, breach and clear." I ordered once more, pointing at the door as the corporal nodded, Lydia hacking it open.
Inside, it appeared climate control was still working, though that wasn't saying much. It was empty, ready for us to enter.
"Alright, my group, six at a time. The rest of you, check the further buildings." I commanded, walking inside with Dan, Lydia, and three other Marines in tow. "Let's see what's on the other side…"
I cycled the airlock, the cold nitrogen and carbon monoxide air being replaced with a nice warm oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere. For obvious reasons we all elected to keep our helmets on, but I was just happy to be out of the cold.
We all aimed our guns at the door as it slid open, revealing an empty motorpool with one rover still in it's spot where it was supposed to be.
"Something isn't ri-right here… where the hell is everyone?" Dan exclaimed, walking forward cautiously as I double-checked with my thermals to make sure there were no cloaked hostiles hiding in the dark.
"Just keep your gun at the ready and don't do anything… drastic." I urged, holding up one of my hands as I opened the rover door, finding its interior empty. "What the hell is going on here?"
"Sean, I believe I've found something interesting." Lydia called, as I ran over and looked down at her omni-tool. "It appears the facility is on some kind of automated lockdown. Magnetic seals on all inner doors."
"Can you override it?" I questioned, looking back at her as I closed the rover door.
"Maybe, give me a few moments." She nodded, ripping open one of the wall panels to reveal several lengths of fiber optic cable attached to a small network hub. She quickly disconnected all the lines, and the door's red holographic display went dead. "There, the door doesn't have a connection to the network anymore."
"Alright, let's take a looksie." I remarked, finding the usual release lever on the inside of the door and pulling it hard, releasing the seals with a sharp pop.
"Admiral, we have a situation here!" One of my sergeants blurted into the command channel, getting me to flip around in surprise as gunfire could be heard in the background. "Oh keelah!"
"Sergeant, report!" I immediately ordered, wanting to know exactly what was going on.
"We've run into hostiles, not Cerberus, I repeat, not Cerberus!" He yelled again, clearly more worried about fighting off whatever they had encountered than giving me a detailed report.
Before I could say anything else, something stuck its fingers through the crack in the door, pulling it open manually. I came face-to-face with one of those husks as it tried to charge me with its decayed skin and glowing, dead eyes.
"Husks!" I shouted out as I leveled my Pulse Rifle and fired into it, cutting it down as several more came charging through the doorway. Dan, Lydia, and my marines pulled back slightly, firing in short, controlled bursts.
"They just keep coming!" Dan yelled as he did his best to land every shot, obviously just as surprised as me.
As we cut down over a dozen husks, gunfire shot past our heads, forcing us to retreat for cover. Me and the three Marines took cover behind the rover, while Dan and Lydia retreated back into the airlock.
"Put down your weapon, we are not the enemy here!" I shouted through my mask speakers, hoping whoever was firing those shots would be friendly. As I poked my head around cover though, I spotted what looked like several Turians, though subjected to the same "process" as the other husks. One leveled a rifle at me the moment we made eye contact, firing several shots right past my head as I ducked back in.
I quickly turned to the other Marines, motioning them to move to the other side of the rover as I pulled a grenade off my belt and armed it.
I threw the grenade, nailing the Turian husk in the front as my men all fired at the remaining ones, cutting them down quickly with our new weapons.
As the smoke settled and the holes in the walls stopped glowing, I cautiously walked back into the open, crouching down next to the body and taking a closer look. The "rifle" it had fired at me appeared to be "bio-mechanically" fused to the right arm, a disgusting fusion of metal and blood. It reminded me of the Strogg in a few ways, seeing how these poor people had been twisted into abominations.
"All teams, report!" I yelled with frustration into the command channel, wanting not only a clear answer but to hear everyone was alright.
"We're clear here, sir. We opened the door to their processing station and were ambushed by several of these "husk" creatures. We've suffered no injuries." The platoon leader responded, filling me with relief. "Sir, be advised, there appear to be ones armed with ranged mass accelerator weapons."
"Yeah, we ran into several of them over here too." I replied, keeping a close eye on the doorway. "As much as I hate to say it, we need to clear out this facility lieutenant. Prep for CQC and keep your wits about you. Report every five minutes."
"Yes'sir." He finished as I switched channels again, motioning for my Marines to move on ahead through the doorway.
"I thought I'd be getting to fight Cerberus, not a bunch of g-goddamn zombies." Dan remarked, sounding quite bemused. "This sucks."
"Yeah, well suck it up, because we have a job to do, and I'm not leaving until we've retrieved every scrap of intel possible from this ice cube." I shot back, not in the mood to hear him complain. "Lydia, can you access any systems from here, maybe clear the way for us somehow?"
"No, I can't access the network directly while the system is in lockdown, we'd have to either end the lockdown first, or access the base mainframe manually." She shook her head, adjusting her grip on her rifle.
"Well, there's only one way to go from here." I sighed, walking into the dark hallway on the other side of the door with my rifle ready for action.
We'd get the information we needed, one way or another.
…
A/N: Freeze those knees my chickadees, I've fought through writer's block once more to bring you this chapter! It's a little less conventional in my option, having the tone between the start and end of the chapter change so drastically, but I felt like surprising you guys, and felt like it worked out well. Feel free to tell me whether you like it so far or not, because things'll only be getting more interesting from this point on.
As always, I'm always up for suggestions or constructive criticism. Please leave a review telling me what you think of the story so far, and stay tuned!