NOTE1: Hello, folks! Glad you could join me! I know this chapter is short, but it is the best I can manage now, considering all the work I have on my head recently. I wanted this to be a 15k chapter, but... i guess it is better than keeping you waiting too long.

Chapter 29: Operation ILLIUM FREEDOM II

"Operation ILLIUM FREEDOM might have been a bad stain at the time it happened, but in the greater scheme? It was the best thing that could have happened to Illium. After the Humans and Quarians shocked them into waking up, their paranoia skyrocketed and the corporate entities invested massively in its military sector. The Illium Defense Force went from an underequipped and poorly trained militia to a professional and well equipped military. If not for that, I doubt Illium would have held against the Reaper onslaught at all. I will be fair to the other military forces who were there with the IDF, and to the Alliance Navy. But the greatest brunt was carried by Illium's own. They bought just enough time for Rolling Thunder to come sweeping."

(Planus Photius, historian and director of Palaven Military History Museum, for the documentary A Galaxy Undone, episode Illium)

Operation ILLIUM FREEDOM: T + 3H 0M

Crescent Nebula, Tasale System

Illium, 48km north of Nos Astra

She was still hyperventilating when somebody took a hold of her and began dragging her to the rear. Her hand was still covering the exit hole of the wound, below the right kidney at the back. Her eyes gazed upwards, Tasale rising up over Illium's horizon. A tracer flew came flying at lightning speed from the forest. She felt a sting in her neck – a syringe with a liquid was being pumped into her body. A loud metallic sound resonated from behind her, a very heavy groan followed the sudden stop. She hit the ground again, flat on her back.

Whatever was in that syringe it helped her calm down. Raditora stopped hyperventilating. She consciously began to process the noises around her, her eyes unable to see through the grass at soil level. Frantic shouts and sporadic gunfire.

"The commander's been shot!"

"Has anyone seen her?"

"She's dead! Get back! That's suicide!"

She rolled on her belly. The body of the soldier that had been dragging her to the rear was lying in a growing pool of blood. A clean hole had been punched through the armor on her chest. But the bullet took a strange angle once it was through the armor, maybe it got deflected to some degree. Because there was a strange bulge at the base of her neck, at the front. The tongue had been pushed out of the mouth a little bit by the pressure, looking like a macabre clown. The bullet remained in that bulge under the skin.

'Curses!' her mind spoke to itself. Commander Raditora dragged her body into the lower ground where she was safe from the hail of enemy bullets. The entire attack force was running in the direction opposite of the enemy. They have lost every vehicle except the command APC and a preliminary estimate of at least 50 killed and nearly a hundred wounded. She cursed the poor discipline the Asari under her command had. Or the overwhelming majority of the Illium Defense Force, not just her regiment. They still had the numbers to push, but the right flank faltered and retreated. This was like a domino, the center following their example as soon as they noticed the retreat. And the left flank was the last to pull back.

She noticed how the Human forces fired with purpose, accurately. They did not lay down suppressive fire just to keep their heads down. Every burst was fired to kill, not to discourage or delay them. The accuracy spoke of great skill, very good training, trigger discipline and technology that enhanced that training with accurate firearms and aiming modules. But it reminded Raditora of something else – the Humans' firearms were much more conditioned by ammunition than mass effect based firearms. A grim thought flashed through her mind, one that could probably solve her problem to a good degree. One that she would also struggle to materialize.

She could use her perceived numerical superiority once the other battalions arrive to launch a mass attack against the enemy. With how shitty the situation looked, she was confident she'd be literally climbing on a pile of dead subordinates. Judging by the firepower brought upon her unit, she was confident the Humans were severely outnumbered if a mass attack was to happen. It would definitely cost her way more if she failed to secure that ghetto than if she sent her whole regiment to death. But would her subordinates follow the order? The accuracy of gunfire also instilled a sense of fear into them. Perhaps this was also a planned.

"MEDIC!" she shouted from the top of her lungs, the pain becoming more and more unbearable as the Asari equivalent of adrenaline's effect subsided. "I want a medic right now!" she shouted again, but the battalion was still in a retreat. "STOP!" she commanded. "Hold your ground!"

It took Raditora a good ten minutes to stop her soldiers from a disorganized route. It took them another ten minutes to regroup. Then she had to come up with an attack plan. And she fancied only one that might work now that the whole regiment was here.

Operation ILLIUM FREEDOM: T + 3H 10M

"Come on!" Corporal Eckhart Huwyler encouraged the four other paratroopers he had with him. "Set up the machinegun over that rock," he instructed the private who carried the Minimi light machinegun. "Ed, Toby, keep an eye on that river bed."

The Fallschirmjäger with the Minimi jumped behind a rocky outcropping that had a commanding view over the riverbed for a good 50 meters before the riverbank turned left and offered a secure lane of approach for hostile forces. The water was very shallow near the riverbank, depth varying between up to the ankles to knee deep. There was more space between the trees by the riverbank. The rocks offered good cover from bullets or shrapnel.

The fireteam of five paratroopers had been dispatched by Captain Reiner to prevent the Illium Defense Force from flanking along the river. The last thing the Alliance soldiers wanted was to have the enemy flank the two platoons that held the IDF at bay until the Quarians are evacuated from the complex.

They're sent only now because the prospect of the IDF sending a force up the river had been deemed zero. And every man was required to bear the full brunt of the first attack, stop it and repel it. Now that the IDF was regrouping, Reiner sent a token force to keep his eastern flank secure.

They only had a small surveillance drone in the area to keep an eye for any moves. Corporal Eckhart was alerted by the drone that they did have an enemy force, the size of a platoon, coming along the river.

"Be ready! We have 60 heat signatures marching up the river shallows!" he informed his fireteam. Then, he switched to the company frequency. "Eagle Actual, Corporal Eckhart. We have 60 hostiles pushing up along the riverbank, estimated time to contact: 30 seconds. Requesting reinforcements. Over."

Reiner's reply came after seconds of chatter on the channel. "Corporal, this is Eagle Actual. I am sending three more men your way. Five minutes until arrival. Over and out."

"Roger that, Eagle Actual. Over and out!" the corporal acknowledged. He stood ready, his M7 Lancer rifle in hand, peering down into the shallow side of the river from where the IDF was expected to push. A 40mm grenade was primed in the launcher that's attached below the barrel. Small rocks provided the enemy some cover. "Let them come around the riverbank. Let's catch as many of them in the open as we can," he instructed.

Fifteen seconds later, the Asari of the 4th Nos Astra Volunteers began flowing around in a single line from behind the riverbank that covered their avenue of approach. Eckhart watched as up to ten of them were now in their sights, like shooting fish in a barrel. Any more of them and they'd be able to push close enough to their position. He lifted his rifle just a bit, just enough for the 40mm grenade to hit the turning point. "Fire!" he ordered to the LMG gunner and then fired the grenade.

The explosive hit where it was aimed. It hit a rock in the shallow water, bouncing off slightly over it and then exploding. Shrapnel and water were thrown into the air, wounding troopers of the 4th Regiment. At the same time, the Minimi Mk II LMG barked its cannonade of death, spitting 7.62mm bullets into the row of Asari soldiers caught by surprise. One by one, they fell in the water with holes in their bodies, purple blood leaking through and painting the water surface. The current of the water carried the blood downstream. In seconds, ten bodies were lying dead in various positions.

"They're taking cover behind the riverbank!" the LMG gunner reported.

Frantic shouts erupted from among the Illium soldiers when they lost 10 of their numbers. The ones at the front cowered, while the ones at the rear didn't know what was happening. Some poked heads over the riverbank. Grenades had been thrown their way, but they fell short and exploded among the tress and in the grass, sending dirt and small vegetation into the air.

The chaos of combat climbed on its righteous throne, taking a hold of the battlefield for the billionth time since intelligent beings fought each other in an organized manner.

The Asari fired their modified Vindicator rifles over the river embankment. The fire was inaccurate at first, but it was getting accurate very fast. Omnitools were being used to enhance their combat performance, and their helmets had HUD displays that scanned, identified and tracked the few German paratroopers.

"Grenades! Flush them out with grenades!" Eckhart ordered. He unplugged a fragmentation grenade from his belt, armed it and threw it in the water behind the embankment. A loud, wet explosion sent a column of water and shrapnel in the air, peppering a few of the attackers with flying metal pieces.

The IDF soldiers fired a wave of concussive rounds. And one found its mark on Eckhart's chest. He was thrown a meter back, his chest aching. The armor absorbed the overwhelming majority of the force, at the cost of shattered ceramic plates. Now he could only rely on the Kevlar and titanium armor to keep him safe from bullets. The ceramic plates were a one trick pony anyway. Their purpose was to dissipate the energy of the bullet at contact, thus shattering and absorbing most of the force.

He did not lose his rifle when he was thrown. The old school leather belt that was thrown over his shoulder and attached to the gun at the stock and at the front kept the rifle with him. His eyes caught a glimpse of the purple-bluish sky, as Tasale rose higher and higher into the sky and bathed Illium into light for the new day.

Eckhart clutched the M7 Lancer in his right hand and rolled over to the cover of a tree. Only when he was behind the tree did he stand up to a crouch position. He checked the indicator on the rifle and saw he still had 20 bullets in the magazine. He shouldered the rifle and peeked on the right side of the tree, aiming at the embankment. He saw the Asari soldiers crossing over, climbing the embankment and taking cover behind the trees that were near them. The Minimi gunner fired another burst, catching an Asari as she was in the process of finishing her climb and moving from the slope on fair ground. Time slowed down for Corporal Eckhart, the frenzy of battle and adrenaline had this effect. He was able to distinguish how a 7.62mm bullet hit her in the left shoulder, throwing her left hand backwards. She still held to the small sapling with her right hand. Another bullet, almost immediately, caught her in the chest, a few centimeters from the first wound. Bone fragments and blood flowered from the exit wound in her back. The bullet's momentum forced her back. She let go of the sapling, her eyes closed, and fell into the river, through the shallow water and into the mud beneath the water. Purple blood was carried by the water downstream from her body.

Eckhart took aim and fired at another Asari that was trying to climb, this one at the cover of friendly fire. The Minimi was being suppressed and his comrade had ducked down. His own three bullets caught the IDF soldier in the chest, the result very much similar to the previous example. He shifted just a few degrees and aimed his rifle at one of the Asari that were suppressing the Minimi. He fired three bullets. One hit the three's trunk at the side and ricochet off, leaving behind a gash in the thick wood. The second bullet was millimeters off to the right due to the recoil, still hitting the trunk, but it was off to the side enough to hit a thinner part and not deviate. It scratched the bark and then hit his target in the thigh. She did not have the time to clutch the wound yet, barely registering the pain in the time the third bullet hit her thigh and threw her down, injured but breathing.

The German corporal did not have time to finish off the downed Asari. His eyes noticed two grenades fall in the rocky outcrop where the LMG gunner had set up his overwatch position.

"Johann! Get out of there!" he shouted. Private Johann had also seen them. With a speed that can be attributed to training, he picked his weapon and sat up. "Cover fire!" Eckhart ordered and fired his remaining bullets in an attempt to force the IDF soldiers to stay down. But the numbers were shining through and they were unable to cover effectively. A sustained burst drained his shields immediately. Some mass accelerated rounds hit Johann in the back. The hits were sustained in the most protected part of the armor, but his balance was thrown off. He staggered sideways, unable to fully vacate the rocky outcrop when the concussive grenades went off. The blast threw Johann flowing a few meters through the air, the Minimi slipping off his hands.

He rotated once through the air, as he was lounging forward when the grenades went off and he was thrown feet first upwards. When his body completed the rotation, his helmet crashed against the trunk of a tree at high angular speed. The loud thud and a loud groan of pain alerted Eckhart that he was not ok. He fired off the last bullets as he made his way to his injured subordinate. In the time it took him to reach Johann, he had reloaded his assault rifle. A quick glance at the river embankment and he saw the Illium troopers moving over it in numbers, now that the main threat – the machinegun – was neutralized. Eckhart aimed and let loose a long burst that might have hit or might not have hit somebody.

He grabbed Johann by the shoulder. "Private! Are you with me?" he shouted at him. A powerful grenade exploded near two IDF troopers, engulfing them in dirt before sending them flying a couple meters through the air with injuries.

Johann had pulled his helmet off his face with clumsy moves. "My head hurts… I feel dizzy. And I can't feel my feet," he reported while Eckhart fired his rifle and attracting return fire. Thankfully, the rocks were still good enough cover. But it was only a matter of time before another grenade was sent their way.

"Come on, can you walk?" he asked. "We must get moving. Arne! Toby! Ed! Fall back!" he ordered the other privates that had been sent with him. "Put that helmet back, soldier!" he ordered Johann before turning to face the other soldiers. "Fall the fuck back! They're pressing us!" he indicated. Eckhart grabbed Johann by the armor and dragged him through bushes and mud. 'Where the fuck are those reinforcements?' he asked himself. Even a single man on the enemy's flank could halt their push.

His shields deflected a few shots. He raced as fast he could with the weight of two men in full gear. His eyes darted as he scouted a good spot to use as cover. A small ditch was ahead, a small course of water flowing through it into the Atifal River that was a few dozen meters to their west. Eckhart was about to jump over the large roots of a tree that were sticking out. They were close when another concussive shot threw him face forward in said ditch, helmet splashing against the centimeters deep water with mud and rock at the bottom. He could hear the Asari to their rear. He had dragged Johann over the roots as he fell. 'Fuck!'

His rifle was still by his side. Eckhart reloaded and poked his head over the ditch. Johann was to his right, in the open. "Johann!" he shouted at him. The private turned his head. Eckhart gesture to him the "come over here" sign. He then noticed the M11 pistol he had in his right hand, aimed in the direction where the Asari were expected to come from. He then looked to the southeast. Toby, Ed and Arne had been pushed to the south, leaving a gap in their defense; also cutting them off. Gunfire continued to resonate through the trees.

"Two went this way!" he heard a feminine voice shout from over the large tree roots sticking out of the soil.

He focused again on the dire situation they were in. He radioed back to his commanding officer. "Eagle Actual, Corporal Eckhart. Flank is collapsing! Two of us are cut off! There's a hole in the defense! We're being overrun! Over!"

An Asari in IDF colors planted her right foot into the roots and was about to jump over them when Johann had fired his pistol and put her down, unknown whether injured or dead. More followed behind her, charging like crazy at the Fallschirmjäger. Both fired their weapons at the attackers. The Asari were charging the last ten meters with their weapons firing.

Eckhart sent one more message on the radio. "Those fuckers are about to swamp us!"

Johann had emptied his pistol's magazine and tried to stand up and use his close quarters tactics. But his legs failed him. His shields had already been depleted, much like Eckhart's. An IDF trooper stopped over him and fired into the eye slit of his helmet, killing him. Eckhart, despite having three Asari mere meters from him and still charging him, aimed his Lancer at the Asari who just executed his comrade and squeezed the trigger in retaliation. The 7.62mm bullet traversed her head from temple to temple, the helmet not doing much to protect her against a magnetically accelerated projectile of relative large mass.

He turned his rifle just enough to squeeze a last shot that injured the lead Asari. She lost her footing and fell upon him. He clumsily stepped to the side, allowing her to fall into the water with a splash. The second Asari butted into him, sending him on his back against the rear slope of the ditch. Eckhart raised his right foot and kicked the second Asari away. The third one then came upon him, an omniblade ready to cut him. Eckhart deflected her right arm upon which the omnitool was mounted with the barrel of his rifle and then head butted her, shattering her visor. He let go of the ruined rifle. The omniblade had cut multiple inches into the barrel. This was the moment he had to take advantage of the moment of dizziness his opponent experienced. He drew his pistol and fired multiple shots into her stomach. He let go of her body, purple blood flowing from the torn flesh.

Searing pain suddenly radiated from his right side, between his ribs. Eckhart swiveled his body. The second Asari was preparing to stab him again with her omnitool. He barely dodged the second stab as he took two steps back, just outside her arm's reach. The paratrooper caught her by the arm that almost stabbed him a second time. He took a step forward and used his left arm to hold her by the neck. Her neck was under his armpit, an iron grip putting pressure on her throat. He unknowingly let go of his sidearm. It could have been useful to end her, but it was in the mud below.

She struggled against his grip. "Let go… pyjak!" she cursed as she swept one of his legs from underneath him. They both fell. Eckhart placed the forehead of his helmet on the Asari's elbow. With all the strength he could muster, he struck her elbow with his head, holding her arm extended, as if one would use his feet to break sticks or planks of wood. The sick and wet sound of breaking bone followed by the shriek of the Asari signaled his success – he had broken her arm by the elbow. Her arm was bent unnaturally from the elbow.

Now that the member of the body that fought with the omniblade had been neutralized, the paratrooper could deliver the killing blow. He reached for his combat knife, unsheathing it. His right hand's fingers were gripping the hilt of the blade. With a grunt, the blade was driven into the Asari's chest, only to be stopped by the layer of chest armor she wore. Eckhart took note and went for a stab where every armor was the thinnest or nonexistent – joints. He bent her head backwards so that more of her neck is revealed. "Die, you bitch! Aaagh!" he cried as the knife pierced the neck armor articulation. Then, it pierced her skin and flesh. Eckhart stabbed her once. Twice. Thrice. In quick succession. When the gurgling sounds became too loud, he stopped.

He let go of her. Her left hand – the only one working – tried to wrap around her neck wounds, stop the bleeding and help her breathe. The gurgling sounds of her drowning in her own blood masked the whereabouts of the very first Asari that fell upon the German paratrooper – the one he'd planted a bullet in. He looked up at her while he was getting up, his armor all bloody and dirty.

Eckhart took the full brunt of the mass accelerated torrent. His body was pushed back by the multiple impacts on his chest armor, some even punching through and into his body. She was able to recover long enough to fire her Vindicator rifle at the paratrooper when he was getting up. His body was thrown backwards. He felt tremendous pain inside his torso. His lungs were punctured by that omniblade and by the mass accelerated rounds. He would not go down without taking her down. He reached to his belt and unplugged the last grenade he had on him. He struggled against the pain, strength leaving his body. She thought him dead if the fact that she was paying more attention to her own wound was any clue. Eckhart unplugged the pin and threw the grenade her way.

"Bitch…" he muttered before the grenade exploded with a deafening thud a meter from the Asari. The explosion threw her body a meter up from the ground. She let out a loud groan of pain as she hit the ground again. Eckhart could swear he saw flesh flying.

"-stabilized the line!" his ears registered the radio chatter as he relaxed. Explosions and gunfire was still echoing throughout the forest. "I repeat! The enemy push along the river has been halted! The corporal and Johann are missing!"

"Corporal! Where are you!?"

Crescent Nebula, Tasale System

Illium, 50km north of Nos Astra

"What the hell is going on?" one of her friends inquired.

"Vael! Don't stick your head out the window!" she warned him.

"There's shooting going on out there!" Vael pointed out.

"Yes, mister obvious, we know."

"Listen," Vael prompted them all to make silence. The firefight was raging outside, but their window was on the other side of the building, from where they couldn't see anything. A distant, loud boom was heard through the open window. "That was an explosion!" Vael exclaimed. It was indeed an explosion – the paratroopers blew up another tank two kilometers away.

"Vael, get the hell away from the window before something happens to you!"

"Nothing's going to happen, Nila," he protested.

However, Nila was not impressed. The whole room was on its toes. The Quarians present were tired and frustrated. They had been woken in the middle of the night. They had a full day's work ahead of them and they required all the sleep they could get. They had no idea what was actually happening outside and they were forbidden from going out. There was a power shortage as well and the complex was plunged into darkness until the auxiliary generators kicked in. There was wild talk about an attack on Illium by Terminus pirates.

There was a lot of commotion in the hallway. Nila felt that familiar feeling in her stomach, as if an endless abyss just replaced it. There was gunfire in the hallway and a lot of shouting. Loud gunfire. "Vael, get back here, you bosh'tet!" she commanded him. She grabbed him by his right hand and pulled him away from the window. All eyes were on the door. There was no more gunfire.

"Öffne die Tür!" an unknown language was spoken outside their door. Their translators didn't recognize it.

"System ist offline. Ich kann mich nicht durcharbeiten."

"Zurückweichen!" another person commanded.

Nila looked anxiously. Vael had partially secluded her with his own body.

"If there's anybody inside, you have three seconds to move clear of the door!" somebody said in Keelish. Nila knew they were going to breach the door. She counted down in her own head. A breaching charge went off and threw the metal door back against the wall with huge force. Smoke and dust filled the air around the door. Through it, the silhouettes of two Quarians jumped in, weapons at the ready and aimed forward.

"Republican Marines! Republican Marines!" one of them shouted and lowered his rifle. He probably noticed that only his kin was present. "How many of you are here?" he asked.

"Two hundred!" Vael answered almost immediately. "What is happening? And who are you?" he asked in return.

The Republican Marine stepped forward. "Lieutenant Kal'Reegar, Quarian Republic Marine. We've come to get you all out of here."

"What are you talking about? The Republic's gone since the Geth Uprising," Nila pointed out.

Another figure stepped into the room. To Nila, it looked like a Batarian. She did not recognize the armor the figure was sporting, looking rather fancy and simple at the same time. The dark green disruptive pattern would have blended him in nicely with Illium's vegetation. She did not recognize the rifle in his hands either. It did not look like anything she had seen before, or even remotely resembling standard designs. His eyes examined the large group of Quarians that jumped off their beds and came forward to have a better look at their visitors.

"Lieutenant, we must move. We've started evacuating the first floor to the LZ. The local military has already deployed in our AO and Captain Reiner is barely holding them back," the figure spoke in an alien language.

"Yeah. They too," Reegar gestured toward the Quarians in the room, "are in the dark about what's going on. Every single worker here has been cut off from the outside world. Literally."

"Let's begin the EVAC, sir."

This Kal'Reegar, after listening to him, turned to the Quarians again. "Attention! We have come to free you from this ghetto. We will take you back to friendly space. Follow our instructions and you will be aboard a ship, headed for home, in no time." He looked and gestured for them to follow. "Follow the instructions and move fast. We have a narrow window to get you all out of here before the Illium Defense Forces are upon us."

"Come on, people!" the other Quarian Marine encouraged. "We have no time to gather personal belongings."

"We have almost nothing," Vael stated. "I, at least, have nothing."

"Follow the Alliance soldiers' indications," Reegar instructed them. "We don't have much time."

Vael and a good number of other Quarians were moving towards the door, falling into an organized line. He held Nila by her hand to make her follow him. However, Nila was not too impressed by the situation. She grabbed a hold of Vael and jerked him out of the line. "Wait a minute, you bosh'tet!" she began. "Who are they?" she inquired with a finger pointed at the Alliance soldier in the room. His attention focused on Nila. "And what is this wild talk about a Republic? What happened to the Migrant Fleet?"

Reegar nodded to the Alliance soldier. The paratrooper let the rifle hang by his side, the leather strap of the rifle over his shoulder. His hands reached to his helmet and unplugged it. With a brief clicking sound and a brief hiss, he raised the helmet and revealed his face to the Quarians present. Nila and the other just looked at him for a few seconds until he thought it was enough and he put the helmet back on. She then looked at Vael, and then at Reegar.

"Hold on- when and-" she stuttered. The half alien face she had seen was not what she was expecting. Sure, his facial features were reminiscent of the Asari, very much so. But the head on top? The color of the skin? The ears? The totally non-female features? And the different armor and weapons? That screamed alien to her.

"They helped us a year ago," Reegar addressed the Quarians in the room, a hand stretched in the direction of the Human. "They gave us a planet. And the Migrant Fleet became something new."

"We have a home..." a Quarian muttered.

"And we'll take you there. Come on, we must get you to the ships," Reegard told them. "Move swiftly!"

His words had not moved the Quarians yet. A few began to move forward, the others still considering what they had missed since they arrived on Illium. "Come on, people! Get a move on!" Reegar's subordinate shouted.

Vael reached again for Nali's hand and held her close to him as he lead the way out of their living and sleeping room. Behind, they were leaving a life they chose over certain death. A life that was miserable, in livable conditions, but not one they'd enjoyed. Cramped quarters and dangerous working conditions, operating and maintaining high risk machinery.

The two walked down the hallway, two more Alliance soldiers standing watch and coordinating them. A flights of stairs at the end of the hallway awaited them. They knew the layout all too well after all this time. "Head out into the courtyard and go with the rest," they were told by another Quarian Marine. In what looked like a line of ants, they descended down the stairs until they were at the bottom floor. A gruesome sight met their eyes down there. The hallway was littered with dead guards – the same guards that the previous evening were watching over them in the canteen. Vael stopped by the body of a Turian.

"What are you doing?" Nali asked him.

"This is Voruns..." he recognized the Turian. His body was resting against the cold floor. The grey uniform of his, with a chest armor, was all dirty and bloody. Vael was able to distinguish multiple wounds caused by the Arc assault rifle of the Quarians.

Nali looked at the Turian and recognition dawned on her. "But..."

"Keep moving!" a Republican Marine ordered them. Others were also stopping to see what the couple was looking at. "We don't have time!"

"He used to give us extra rations... he even smuggled sweets to us..." Vael remembered.

"Doesn't matter," Reegar said as he approached them from behind. "Move to the evacuation zone. We have no time to mourn." Reegar gently pushed Vael and Nali with his own body to make them move again.

"...he was the only good person to us in this shit hole..." he muttered as vicious gunfire erupted close in the woods nearby.

"Hey, that's Voruns!" somebody else joined them.

'Oh great...' Reegar thought. "Alright, you want to be left behind, that's your choice! Everybody, move!"

The line of Quarians made it outside and were now prompted by the soldiers to move even faster. So they began to run. The large gate was open and guarded by Alliance soldiers. A few mercenary guards were lined by the barracks wall, every single one of them handcuffed and with their backs to the rest of the courtyard. Smoke was rising from the woods.

As Vael and Nali approached the gate following a trail of blue light sticks that went up the hill in front, a large group of soldiers came into view. They were aiming down the road to the south.

"Contact! Hostiles 500 meters south!" somebody shouted in one of the aliens' language, the voice similar to what one would hear from an Asari.

"Deploy smoke grenades to cover the civilians! Six, open up with the LMG! Fire!" an alien male by her side said in return. Some soldiers threw small canisters in the open space that was delimited by the forests on each side of the road. Colored smoke was filling the air, forming a curtain between the last of the Quarian civilians and what Vael assumed is the Illium Defense Force pushing up the road.

Blue tracers began to fly out of the smoke, looking for targets. "Keep your heads down and move fast!" Reegar advised them. Vael and Nila both complied. They were running almost crouched through the open field. Tracers were flying over their heads.

"PANZER!" a paratrooper shouted on the other side of the smoke screen.

"TAKE THAT BASTARD OUT!"

"SHIT!" Vael cursed as he was thrown off his feet by an explosion meters from his position.

NOTE2: Well, I wanted to also add a scene starring Presly, Joker and Anderson. Also a scene where this whole thing concludes and maybe one more scene with Raditora. Maybe in the next installment of ILLIUM FREEDOM. I know, a half assed installment of this operation, but it is what I can get out right now :( One more thing, I will be focusing on The Lost Civilization the coming month and want to publish a few chapters for it. Then, we are back to TIHoM. I already have like 40% of Chapter 30 written – politics, black ops, gunfights, ghosts and loads of reveals! Maybe I will hold on to the reveals part a bit and not give you too much in a single chapter :D Best regards, Apollo

A STORY BROUGHT TO YOU BY Apollonir