Interloper Rewrite: Chapter 17
Friendly Down
The blue painted shuttle touched down gently on the craggy ground. "Alright, heavily wounded go on first!" Ashley yelled. I grabbed the first stretcher in line and hurried up the ramp and onto the transport. Another followed, and another. Some of the marines groaned in pain, while other lay very still. I tried not to look at their faces as we loaded them onto the shuttle. Ashley banged out a sharp tattoo on the cockpit door and the shuttle rose into the air. I watched it leave and let out a ragged breath. The sight of so much blood made me a little queasy. A steadying hand grasped my shoulder. I turned to see the friendly face of Jenkins. I smiled in thanks and returned the gesture.
"Looks like we drew the short straw, buddy. Patrol Duty," he said with a lopsided grin, "gets us away from the triage tent for a while, at least."
"At least," I repeated. I stooped and grabbed my rifle from its resting place against a nearby crate of medical supplies. The iron tang that filled the air near the field of stretchers mixed with the rusty smell of burning lichen. "Shall we?"
Jenkins nodded and led on, past the hastily constructed barricade and dugout that had been scratched from the dull stone. I hopped over the defensive works with a sense of trepidation. Beyond those stacked crates and shallow firing positions was a warzone. Enemy territory. This wasn't a skirmish between Shepard's team and a handful of mercenaries. This was a battle. I gave the Forward Operating Base one last look over my shoulder.
"Come on, man." Jenkins motioned forward.
"Yeah." We took off into the growing shadows of the late afternoon on Casbin. It felt like hours of trekking through the fire crisped algal fields of the alien worlds and we followed our slow circuit of the base, although our chronometers put our time past the wire as less than one. We passed the crumpled forms of fallen Geth platforms, the tell-tale crushed lichen that marked where a marine had fallen or dropped to take cover. Every shadow held a potential threat, at least at first. Boredom eventually won out against the hand-shaking anxiety. "Looks like the Commander's making enough of a ruckus to draw all the Geth away," I joked.
"Yeah, maybe." Jenkin's Omni-tool trilled. "That's our call home. About time, it's getting swampy out here."
"Tell me about it," I responded. The soupy air of the primitive hothouse left runnels of condensation running down my armor. "Wait, what's that noise?" We both froze. The low background noise of battle had picked up, and it was coming from behind us, toward the FOB. "Shit, how'd they get past us?"
"We'll figure that out later, go!"
We ran. My heart raced and worry clouded my vision as surely as the light fog that had settled in with the evening. The sound of fighting drew closer, the expanding gloom lit by flashes of gunfire. Fresh fires had sparked among the scattered stands of lichen growth, casting a flickering light on the scene in front of us. Geth platforms rushed forwards out of the gloom, their weapons alight as they sent waves of fire into the barricade. The embattled marines returned their fire with equal fury, putting down two Geth even as Jenkins and I drew into range. The buzz-rattle of their death screams split the evening.
My rifle was up and firing before the Geth knew they had been flanked. The Lancer chattered and strobed, the rounds punched into the back of an attacking Geth. Jenkins followed, his own weapon laying out a streamer of fire. The Geth, caught between a cross-fire, momentarily froze as their programming struggled to catch up. They fell like bowling pins under the renewed assault of the besieged marines.
"Clear!" Ashley called over the radio, "Liddle, Jenkins, is that you?"
"It's us, Chief," I replied. We shuffled forward, eyes up for and looking for signs of more Geth. None made themselves known, and soon we were back behind the dubious security of the barricade. "Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Do you think we should go in after them?" Jenkins asked as we sat around the gentle glow of the field canteen. Hot bitter coffee steamed between our clasped hands.
"We have our orders, Rick," Ashley said kindly, "I don't like them anymore than you do, but Shepard wants us to hold this point, and that's just what we'll do."
The radio chirped, Cleaver's call-sign lighting on my Omni-tool glove. I was filled with a curious dread. The evac pilot was ahead of her regular pickup schedule. I tapped the accept key.
"Go ahead, Cleaver One," I said. The reply channel was filled with static.
"Mayday, mayday, I'm hit… Going down…." I looked up to see a fiery streak in the sky. The shuttle skimmed the ground not far from the outpost and went down with a crash that could be heard even from our position.
"Cleaver One, do you copy?" I called. Silence hung on the other end of the line for a brief second before the pilot managed to pick up. My heart hammered in my ears.
"I'm dinged up but I'm alive." Her voice remained calm, but her breath came in short, shuddering bursts.
"Can you move? Do you need help?"
"Negative, I think I broke a few ribs. Hold on." The line quieted again. A single shot rang out, then quiet returned. "The Geth know I'm here. One of their platforms came sniffing around. Put it down, but there'll be more." The marines around me were watching with grim expressions. I caught Ashley's eye. She shook her head sadly.
"Hold tight, Cleaver, we're coming to get you." I closed the link and stared down the Normandy's Gunnery chief. "Please, Chief. She needs our help."
"Look, Liddle, I know it sounds heartless, but we barely fended off that last wave as it is. We can't afford to send a party after one pilot who might be dead before we get there."
"Look, I'll go myself. You don't need to send any more marines. I'll hook up with Alenko's party once I extract any survivors."
"I'm sorry, Liddle. I'm callin…" Jenkins had taken her by the arm, in a gesture that mirrored the one she had given him during the landing. The two looked at each other for scant seconds before Ashley relented. "Just you. You keep your head down, and you come right back."
"I'm going too, Ash," Jenkins said, "Mike needs help on this one."
"Dammit Rick, we don't have time to argue about this," Ashley spat. Jenkins gave a lopsided grin.
"I know, that's why I'm going." He turned his back on the startled NCO and joined me at the ramparts. "You ready?"
"Let's go." We hopped over the wall and headed out over the rocky plain. The gloom had become all encompassing, closing in to swallow the small circle of light we had set up on the stone. The guttering flames of our previous battle were all but gone, leaving behind only a smoky haze that mixed with the low-lying fog. Behind us, floodlights snapped on one after another, erasing the darkness in a wide circle. Our shadows loped away from us, long legged and impossibly huge. But Casbin's night would not be so easily defeated, and soon our steps had taken us out of the FOB's light. We had to pick our way forward under the light of burning debris and the dim light of the moons. Ahead, the crumpled hull of the shuttle was silhouetted by its own sparking drive core.
Forms moved in the darkness ahead. Jenkins dragged me down behind a lumpy boulder until they passed.
"That was close," he said, "Do you think they're headed for the crash?"
"No," I replied, "looks like they're searching for Kaidan." We allowed the patrol a little time to distance themselves with us, and continued on. Despite being a little more than a mile, the trek wore me out quickly. Even at night, the planet was almost boiling hot. The seals on my hardsuit were keeping most of the heat at bay, but the constant jogging was starting to take a toll.
"Hold up." I stopped Jenkins. Ahead of us lay the downed shuttle. Its boxy form stuck into the air. Flames had started to spread across the rear compartment.
"You think this is it?" Jenkins asked.
"I'd bet my life on it." I drew my rifle and snuck forward carefully. An arm shot out from under a sheet of metal. I cried out in alarm and whirled around, but stopped when I found a human hand, wrapped in pilot's gauntlets. Jenkins hauled the metal away to reveal the pilot. With a shock, I recognized the face of the shuttle pilot who'd given me and Commander Shepard a lift. She was wrapped in a cut down suit of light armor. In places the undersuit was singed and blackened. She wore a simple breather mask over her pale face. Her short, blondish hair was stuck to her forehead with sweat and blood. Jenkins and I propped her up and administered some of our medigel to the obvious wounds. The pilot's face relaxed slightly, losing its pinched and pained expression.
"Water?" she croaked. Jenkins snaked the tube from his canteen under the edge of the mask. The pilot took a deep pull and seemed to revive. "Thanks. Sorry if I scared you a bit, had to hide from the Geth." She waved her handgun. "Things not cooling properly in this place. Flight Chief Ferro, 42nd Airlift, by the way." She stuck out her gloved hand. I shook it.
"Deputy Liddle. We spoke over the radio. And I think you gave us a ride over to the Valley Forge."
"I remember… unggh. Sorry, I had to set my own fractures. You wouldn't mind splinting the leg, would you?" she pointed at her left leg, which stuck out awkwardly. Jenkins found a straight bar from the wreckage, while I bound the leg tightly.
"Thanks, boys. Listen, we can't stay here. If that fire reaches the eezo core, well, we shouldn't be around."
"No offense, Chief, but you don't look like you're in any shape to move," I said.
"I'm tougher than I look," Ferro said, "You give me a hand and I can get far enough away to avoid being atomized."
I looked across at Jenkins. He shrugged. "Not being atomized is pretty high on my list."
"Alright Chief, let's get you up." I carefully wrapped the injured pilot's arm around my neck and slowly we managed stand up and begin moving away from the damaged ship. Behind us the shuttle groaned menacingly. Ahead, the rattling, metallic sound of Geth chatter alerted us to a more immediate threat.
"Geth troopers!" Jenkins yelled. He dove for cover behind a large rock outcropping. With both arms supporting a wounded pilot and rolling or diving out of the question, I froze up. Through the wall of burning fuel, a Geth platform advanced, rifle raised in a firing position. For a brief second, I stared into its single eye. A shot rang out. The light in the Geth's head winked and darkened. I blinked, in shock. Beside me, Chief Ferro lowered my scarred Stinger.
"Nice gun, pulls a little to the left." She took a deep breath. "We better keep moving, that one will have alerted the others to our position." Ahead of us, Jenkins rose out of cover. He activated his radio.
"Lieutenant Alenko, we have a survivor of a shuttle crash. Can we get a location to rendezvous?"
"Negative Corporal, the commander is pulling out under fire; we've been tasked to assist. Pull back to the FOB and await instructions."
"Damn it." Jenkins looked torn. Knowing how much he idolized the commander, it wasn't surprising. "Liddle, the commander needs help."
"Look, I don't mean to rain on your parade, but I'm in no shape to fight." Ferro said. "If what they say about Commander Shepard is true, she'll get out just fine."
"I'll get you back," I said, "Jenkins, you find Kaidan's squad and go help the Commander." Relief spread across my friend's face. He sprinted off towards the burning outpost. "Hey Jenkins!" I yelled after him. "No heroics!"
"Deputy, we have to move." Ferro reminded me. A high-pitched whistle had started to emanate from the downed shuttle. We hobbled away across the rocky plain, me concentrating on keeping us steady, Ferro covering our front with my gun. "Thanks, by the way, for coming to get me."
"Hmm." I struggled. In the heat of Casbin, carrying someone else was almost beyond my capability. "No problem."
"Thought I was a gonna for a while there." The pilot hopped stiffly over a crag. "So what unit were you with before the Spectre scooped you up? Marines? Navy?"
"Colonial militia," I replied.
"Seriously?" the chief managed a wry grin, "I guess they let anyone in these days."
We ran into a few more patrols on the way back to the FOB. They seemed more disorganized than the Geth that had attacked the base. The Geth on the planet must have taken some heavy casualties, the average IQ of the mobile platforms was plummeting through the floor. Which made evading them much simpler, even with a limping pilot along for the ride. The last pack almost stumbled straight into us. It took the quick thinking of Chief Ferro tossing me into the open hatch of a supply crate.
"You want to warn me first next time?" I said after the Geth had gone.
"And warn the Geth too? I think bruises hurt less than bullet holes. Now give me a hand, I think I bent my splints."
"Deputy Liddle, is that you?" I snapped around to see Williams and a pair of the Normandy's marines with rifles drawn.
"Chief, yeah. I've got the survivor here."
"Where's Jenkins?" Ashley's face was tired and dirty. Her usually tightly drawn hair had come loose, floating about behind her faceplate. From the patches applied over the marines' armor, it looked like the FOB had been hit again, hard.
"He went with Kaidan, wanted to help pull the commander out of the outpost." I helped pick up Ferro. The pilot leaned heavily on my shoulder. I tried to hide the wince.
"You let him go?" Ashley said coldly.
"He's a soldier, Chief, what was I supposed to do, drag him back here?" I stood defiantly. Williams seemed to relent.
"If he doesn't make it, you and I are going to have words. It's all moot now, we're pulling out. The FOB has become untenable; you two are the last outside of the Commander's team on the boat."
Ferro and I limped our way up the rise Ashley was standing in. The five of us made for a flat clearing. "Joker, we're ready for pickup." Ashley said. I looked around, trying to see where our pickup was. With a roar and a downblast like a hurricane, the Normandy descended out of the gloom. Its hatch was down, the darkened hold now in reach. I shuffled up the ramp. Two pairs of arms reached out and took Ferro off me. Relieved, I cracked my helmet seals. The blast of the engines and the climate controlled inside of the hold felt cool and fresh on my face. Around me, marines sat against the walls and crates for support, some nursing wounds. I found an empty spot next to one of the 109ers and almost collapsed into a sitting position. The marine offered me a swig from a canteen which I gladly accepted. The drink was no doubt contraband, but I didn't really care at that point. I returned the flask and lay my head back.
"You the guy that pulled the Iron Maiden out of the fire?" the marine asked hoarsely.
"Huh, what?"
"Chief Ferro. You came in with her; I assumed you were the one who responded to the crash."
"Oh, yeah."
"You're alright, kid." The marine chuckled, "We get off this rock, you come over to the Forge. A bunch of the guys want you to join us for a round of Skylian Five." He offered me the flask again. I faked a gulp, I wasn't much of a drinker, but it seemed expected in these situations.
"I might take you up on that, I needed to buy a new shirt anyway." The marine laughed.
"Now you're starting to sound like Jimmy…"
"Good evening passengers, this is your pilot. Please put your chairs and tables in their upright and locked position as we may be about to experience some turbulence. But seriously people, you might want to hold onto something, Geth drones incoming." Joker called over the intercom. The ship started to shake and shimmy as Joker tried to avoid taking hits. Through the open ramp I saw the ruined landscape fly past. The Normandy was obviously pulling speed and maneuvers beyond what we were feeling in the hold. "Hi, Joker again, you guys are going to need to clear the deck, I'm going in for a hot extract."
"You heard the man, move!" Ashley yelled. Wounded Marines stumbled towards the back of the hold to clear the way for the Commander's team. I hoisted myself to my feet and pulled my rifle from my back. They were going to need cover. The outpost came into view. Shepard had apparently blown another hole on her way out. Retreating figures ran along the ground towards the Normandy. Joker flared the ship's engines, bringing us close to the ground. I could now make out the forms of the retreating team. Wrex barreled ahead of the pack, shouldering his way past blocking enemies. At some point his armour must have caught on fire, because its entire top surface had been blackened. Close behind, Liara and Tali sprinted, occasionally taking a shot behind them. Wrex hopped up onto the ramp and immediately turned to fire at the incoming Geth combat drones. My eyes fell on the face of Jenkins. He was running out to the edge of the group. Behind him, two drones were catching up on him. The scene was worryingly familiar.
I had brought my rifle up and started firing before the entire situation really sunk in. the drones swooped in, firing. Their shots flared against Jenkins shields. My own shots intersected with one of the drones, pitching it into the ground. The other drone changed targets, tracking me. Its arc swung wide missing me. Something heavy caught me in the midsection as something hot splashed across my face. I was knocked to the floor with a crash. I swiped at my face and my fingers came away blue. Confused, I looked down. The thing that had hit me was Liara. She was bleeding heavily from wounds on her back.
"Medic!"
