Ben swallowed nervously, while Sam stood close behind him.
Both had seen the defenses Harper was preparing for the Palace, not if, but when the rebels finally came knocking at their doors. Brutal urban warfare had blanketed the city with constant artillery fire and gunfire; if Ben looked out of one of the many windows of the Palace, it would have looked more like Stalingrad as opposed to the once great Port City of Baltimore.
As the elevator climbed the floors of the palace, Ben took note of all the defenses Harper was putting on each floor. Once he gave the command, the Elevator would continue to work, but it would stop at every single floor so that any rebels climbing it would find themselves beset upon each of the unique foes Harper had managed to repurpose for his own use.
How did he even find those prototypes? We scrapped those drones because they were just as likely to shoot each other to get at their targets, as opposed to killing what they were shooting at.
After what felt like an hour, the elevator reached the topmost floor, and Hilsop stepped off; Sam followed close behind, her red eyes looking every which way behind her Assassin's helmet.
Ben could tell that she was nervous, and frankly, so was he.
Walking down the hall, they reached the massive wooden doors that led to Harper's office; two Elites standing on each side with their AR2's at the ready, though neither pointed their weapons at him or Sam. Knocking on the doors, they opened, and Ben smoothed some wrinkles on his uniform before striding inside.
To his surprise, Harper wasn't dressed in his uniform as Consul; instead, he was wearing his white armor and trenchcoat.
After a moment, Ben said, "Jack."
The man looked over from what seemed to be a Combine containment pod, and he tapped a few commands before giving the old Sergeant a smirk. "Ah, Ben, so glad you could join me; though I'm surprised that you aren't wearing your combat uniform." He stated, gesturing to Ben's dark blue dress uniform.
"Didn't have time to grab it before rebel mortars started hitting my office." Ben replied, walking over to the containment pod with a worried expression. "So… what's this? Another surprise for our friends down below."
"Of a sort…" Harper stated cryptically. "This city, City 17, City 10 in China, City 5 in South America, and City 20 in the Middle East are all that is left. But I have little doubts things will be resolved one way or another."
Then he turned to Sam and gave a grim smile, "Glad to see you brought your personal Assassin, we'll need the help. See, I've had a… dream of sorts that an old friend, well multiple old friends will be storming my office within the next few days."
Ben turned back to Harper with a confused expression, and Harper just walked up to the containment pod and hit a few buttons. "If the person who I think is coming is really going to be here, I think it would be best to have some… insurance don't you?"
Ben stared as the pod opened, and he felt all the color drain from his face.
She had aged incredibly well in the past twenty years; could easily pass for someone in her thirties. Except for some crows feet at her eyes and some grey streaks in her hair, she looked exactly the same as twenty years ago. "I… I thought she was dead…" Ben managed to choke out.
"Oh no, she was half dead when we found her; but… well let's just say that brainwashing is always an unpleasant experience." And with those words, she opened her eyes; and Ben saw nothing lurking behind them, except for the same animalistic instinct that rested in all brainwashed assassins.
The urge to kill.
The Normandy and her escorts drifted above the Moon's dark side equator. Nobody was risking any of their ships suffering the same fate as the ill fated Destiny Ascension. Captain 'Mal listened to status updates from the reconnaissance flight that had been launched to the L-4 and L-5 Lagrange Points to drop off monitoring satellites.
"There's some chatter on the assigned frequencies about 'the Freeman', and it looks like a large number aerial units are being scrambled all over. No signs that they've completed another ship."
Tali sighed in relief from her position next to 'Mal. "Thank the ancestors for that. I don't know why they didn't build another ship; they certainly finished this one fast enough, but at least it means they're still planet bound."
'Mal winced slightly. "Let's not get complacent. We need confirmation of that; that means groundside intel. See if you can raise this 'Lambda Resistance'."
"Opening a link to Lambda Commander Hackett in City one." The Comms officer answered, trying not to look at Shepard.
The human was incredibly intimidating to everyone, but especially the Quarians given his height and his bulging muscles. Age had not slowed the old Marine Corps sniper one bit, his Scottish-American blood just as fiery as the day he swore in to serve his beloved corps.
Shepard turned away from the tech, and walked up to the Holo-table where Shala, Zaeed, and Wrex were waiting; and he smirked lightly at the sight of the old Marine Major popping up on the screen.
"Zaeed… I wish I could say I'm surprised that you somehow managed to find more friends to help us out; but truthfully I'm not. Anderson was quite sure that you would find a way." The older man grumped, crossing his arms as the other four commanders took in the destruction on the screen.
"Where are you Steven, Baltimore or Stalingrad?" the Master Sergeant joked half heartedly while Shepard just shook his head.
The withering glare the older man sent Zaeed would have cowed a Krogan, but then he caught sight of Shepard and tilted his head; "Adrian, is that you Corporal?" He asked.
Zaeed stepped aside and Shepard reluctantly stepped into focus, giving a quick salute to the camera. "It's good to see you Major, glad to see you managed to survive the invasion in one piece… well… mostly one piece." He amended on seeing the horrific scars covering the rebel commanders chin and face.
"And you sound like you've smoked a pack a day for the last twenty years; christ, not even Jackson sounds that bad compared to you." The rebel commander grumbled before getting serious. "Now then, I'm glad you're here; because we've got too many problems and not enough manpower to deal with it."
Zaeed just sighed, glancing at Shala and Wrex who remained out of the view of the camera; "Lay it on us Major."
"Right, first we have the issue of pockets of resistance in much of the residential areas of the city. The vast majority of the rebels here are either citizens who picked up a gun and joined us; or dedicated rebels who only have experience with asymmetrical warfare in the mountains." Hackett explained. "Great at holding the line and inching forward with clear set battle lines; horrible to coordinate. I got the rest of 3-4 trying their best to herd these sheep into something cohesive; but it's not going well."
Shala stepped into the camera view, deciding it was time for her to contribute to the conversation somewhat. "My Marines and the Expeditionary's can certainly help with that; the Gunnery Sergeant and the Master Sergeant trained four platoons worth of troops specifically for this kind of warfare."
Hackett stared at her for a moment, his eyes drifting to the eyepatch over Shala's right eyehole for a split second, before he refocused on what she had just said. "That would be greatly appreciated ma'am. As for the second problem… Dr. Lawson managed to escape to his research facility. He still holds a healthy number of political prisoners that he can turn into shock troopers if he so desires; and if our informants are to be believed, a company's worth of Assassins waiting to strike under the command of Eva Core. We need someone to go and deal with her."
Adrian looked at Zaeed, and he knew he wasn't going to like the Master Sergeants answer. "We have at least company's worth of Vortals aboard our ship; and they have been trained by a master. They can deal with Lawson and his pet assassins."
"Send Miranda too, she'll know all their weaknesses and how to counteract them." Wrex mumbled from the side.
Shala glanced over as Captain 'Mal subtly cleared his throat. She nodded and refocused on the hologram. "There's some concern that your 'Consul' might have constructed another Normandy. Do any of your intelligence sources know about another possible construction site? As I've been led to believe, this is all for naught if the Combine gets off world."
Hackett rubbed his jaw, suddenly ducking as several loud explosions shook the camera for a moment; before he popped back up no worse for wear, although the sounds of gunfire seemed to be drawing closer. "Not that we're aware of, the Consul built the Normandy as a power play to try and take control of the puppet government; but after we stole it, the whole affair was revealed, and the Administrator made sure to watch the man like a hawk to make sure he didn't try anything."
'Mal perked up at that. "If that's the case, we have a number of aerospace assets that can support ground operations and take out targets of opportunity. We'll be keeping the Capital ships out of the range of whatever brought down the Destiny, but our fighters and fighter-bombers are at your disposal."
Hackett nodded at that, "Right, we'll be calling for a number of orbital strikes on certain areas. Suppressor fields, Overwatch field headquarters; things like that. Hope you guys aren't adverse to nukes or Rods from God strikes; because if that Palace or any of the other Citadels on Earth try to open a portal, you obliterate those damned towers." He ordered coldly, "The last thing we need is for the Combine to call reinforcements from their overworld."
Nearly the entire bridge balked at that until Shala waved a hand. "We're at war with the Citadel Council, and their edicts no longer apply. Still, I'm not comfortable with that level of destruction unless there's no other choice."
Hackett snorted, "Glad one of you's got some balls up there. And I mean it, unless Gordon Freeman himself is in one of those towers; you destroy it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a war to win." And with those words, he cut the transmission.
Shala had to fight down a smile, reminded of Rael in his younger years, before she turned to the other ground commanders. "I leave things to you. Go get your homeworld back."
Adrian watched his daughter float next to his son in law as they entered their own shuttle.
He didn't want her to go without him and deal with that mad scientist that made his granddaughter, and he sure as hell didn't want them dealing with Eva Core alone. She may have been second best next to Ayashe, but that didn't mean that she was weak by any stretch of the imagination.
A bump on his shoulder jostled Adrian out of his thoughts, and he turned to look at Zaeed, his gas mask making him distinct in comparison to the other Expeditionary's; especially with the two of them having broken out their old uniforms for old times sake. "Hey, buck up, we get to see old gang again; I know for a fact that Jackson is still grumbling that you didn't show up to the barbeque before Black Mesa."
Adrian just rolled his eyes and boarded the dropship, adjusting his old Gas Mask as he did so; quickly taking a seat closest to the ramp.
It wouldn't be the same of course, since all of them were commanding their own groups and they wouldn't meet up until the Command meeting to coordinate the assault on the Combine Loyalists defensive positions; and again when they reached the base of the Palace, but it would be nice to play catch up with them assuming they all survived the battle.
"Gunny, Master Sarge… any advice for urban combat?" Shepard turned in his seat to Sergeant Fenneba, the Batarian looking distinctly uncomfortable as the rest of first platoon piled into the cabin.
Shepard licked his lips and as the shuttle began its take off, he raised his voice to make sure the rest of the platoon heard it. "Alright. Listen up, and listen good; I'm going to be honest with you. We're about to enter into the most ruthless, deadly, and bloody form of modern war; urban combat. Humanity has perfected the art of urban combat, and some of the worst battles in human history pre-Seven Hour War was in urban combat.
"Human buildings will have either narrow corridors where you'll be, at best two abreast, or straightaways several meters wide with no cover. Assume every entrance has an enemy behind it, so room clearing will be crucial to survival. If you even think there's a hostile on the other side of a door, remember Massani's favorite saying: when in doubt..."
"Frag it out," the troops all replied in unison.
Adrian nodded and smiled grimly behind his mask. "Also, keep away from windows. Human structures aren't built as fortresses, so your best bet against a sniper on the other side of the street is not being seen. Don't be afraid to call down some Steel Rain if you confirm the presence of a sniper."
Silence descended on the dropship for the rest of the ride, and no one said anything as the dropship landed; at which point, Adrian stood up and cracked his neck, grabbing an MP5SD and a CM-1 Garand.
He'd been trained as a sniper for God's sake, and now was an opportunity to finally show it in action. It's a shame really, Sparky would have enjoyed this. As much as he'd wanted to, the Shockroach had refused to come with for good reason; he was in ailing health, and him getting Adrian off that Asari planet had really been his last hurrah. If he went through combat like that again, the strain would kill him; and he likely only had a few years left regardless.
I would prefer to go out in a blaze of glory, but then I do have other stuff to live for. Sparky doesn't, but then I'm not a sentient alien roach capable of shooting electricity. He mused, trying to find some humor in the grim sight that greeted him as the ramp opened.
City 1 had once been the City of Baltimore, a place known for its rampant crime, the prestigious medical school Johns Hopkins, and for its stunningly beautiful inner harbor. He was honestly surprised that Harper hadn't chosen Washington DC as his headquarters, but perhaps the old captain had been sentimental; deciding to spare the home of the modern Republic.
"Holy Jesus hanging on the cross Christ, you're both still alive you old codgers." A familiar texan drawl stated, and Adrian turned and practically sprinted off the ramp, Zaeed on his heels; massive grins on their faces.
"Goddamn Jackson! It's twenty years after the apocalypse and you're still smoking those things like no tomorrow." Zaeed exclaimed, sliding to a stop in front of some people neither of the two had seen since Black Mesa.
Former Lance Corporal Thomas Jackson, the resident combat engineer of 3-4 platoon, stood there and grinned; the big texan planting his hands on his hips while chewing on a cigarette.
Former Private John Williams, the close quarters expert; stood by with his face hidden as usual behind his black balaclava and goggles, the man's SPAS-12 loaded, upgraded, and ready to go.
In front of them was former Petty Officer 2nd Class Bob Jenson, the corpsman of their old team; his glasses still firmly stuck on his face, although he was missing his left eye which was covered up by an eyepatch.
And finally, standing tall behind all of them was former Private First Class Richard Tower; the towering black man lugging a Combine Pulse Minigun, which was used exclusively by Suppressors, like it weighed nothing at all.
Shepard looked around and asked, "Where's Anderson?"
Tower just huffed and turned to the other three, "Hasn't seen us in twenty years since our chopper went down; and he's worried about our fuckin' pet SEAL. How's that for a reunion." He said, his tone clearly joking and not at all serious.
Jenson just rolled his eye and jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, "With Hackett; we were waiting for you two before we started the Commanders brief, so we could say hello before we all split up back to our units and all that fun stuff."
Williams just shook his head and checked his SPAS, "Nice to see you managed to somehow sound more manly than the rest of us in the intervening years." He grumbled goodnaturedly.
Shepard chuckled while Massani went up and dope slapped the shotgunner. "Nice to see you dumb cunts again; with all of us together, we may have enough collective braincells to actually win this city." He grumped.
"Um…" The six of them turned to see First and Second platoons standing there blankly, Sergeant Fenneba looking particularly off put by their little reunion. "Hello…"
Williams walked up to Fennaba and looked her up and down. "Well, you're not the Blue Space-Babe, but not bad."
All four of her eyes hardened as Williams froze in place. Shepard just walked up and clapped his friend on the shoulder, grinning behind his mask. "John, meet the Knife Witch: Sergeant Palla Fennaba. Play your cards right, and she might let you keep your balls."
He turned as Williams gingerly stepped back, Palla's knife returning to its sheath. He nodded to the platoons behind him. "Gentlemen, meet the new generation. Every one came to us with prior combat experience. Gunny and I trained them ourselves, and Fennaba's platoon is blooded." He looked back to his old team. "They'll get the job done."
Massani mock glared. "They damn well better, or we're going to have a long talk over an extended PT session!"
Tower rubbed his goatee and stepped forward, looking one of the smaller Quarians up and down, "Could snap you in half without my PCV." He mumbled absently.
Jenson was next, pushing up his glasses as he poked Corporal Sapius in the fringe with one of his scalpels from his field surgery kit. "Natural armor easily negated with a sharp point; only really protects against blunt force trauma, which the Combine fortunately prefer." He noted even as Sapius buzzed uncertainly.
Jackson walked up, and quickly withdrew one of his precious cigarettes; sticking it in one of the female Quarians mouths, "Have a light." He stated, showing her how to inhale and exhale.
Said Quarian immediately turned blue from her normal lavender and coughed and wheezed for a moment, but she kept the cigarette in her mouth; and tried it a second time, managing it much better.
The four of them turned to Zaeed and Adrian, ignoring the angry looks they were getting from the Expeditionary's; and all four nodded in unison. "They may just have some hope yet." Jackson declared with a shit eating grin, turning back to the young Quarian. "Save that for a rainy day, huh?"
The poor girl just coughed out some smoke, but nodded weakly.
Adrian just shook his head and turned to walk to the command center; "Sergeants! Take command of your platoons and take them to the holding area; we'll give you your orders then." Glancing at the rest of the squad, he jerked his head; "C'mon, let's get this reunion over with shall we?"
Palla glanced at the rest of First and Second platoons and shrugged as the Gunny and his old friends all walked off to be briefed; Sapius still rubbing his fringe from the medic poking him there. She didn't want to admit it, but those men terrified her.
They had that same look the Gunny and Master Sergeant had; the look of ruthless killers able to tear through entire armies before anything was able to stop them. The Asari Commandos and even the Migrant Fleet Marines had nothing on those six men.
"Right…" She started uncertainly, "Sapius, you and Second Platoon follow me I guess."
"Hey! You guys the Alien support we've been promised?" It was comical how the seventy or so Aliens all turned to look at a human rebel, dressed like all the rest they had encountered. Simple 'Flak Vest' like armor, a shoulder pauldron with an orange Lambda spray painted on it, hoodie and pants, and simple billed hat.
Drawing herself up, noting the hard look in the older humans eyes, Palla nodded; "Sergeant Fenneba, Systems Alliance Expeditionary Corps."
The human nodded, and jerked his head, shouldering his submachine gun. "Come on I'll take you over to the holding area where the rest of the platoons are waiting." He said, turning on his heel and walking towards a small town square of sorts.
Palla looked at Sapius, and they both shrugged and followed the man, ignoring the sounds of gunfire and mortars in the near distance.
Palla was about to reply, when she heard an odd sound; Is that… singing?
"I'm just a poor wayfaring stranger
"Traveling through this world below
"There is no sickness, no toil, nor danger
"In that bright land to which I go"
Palla slowed down as they entered the square, and she was treated by an odd sight. At least two hundred or so humans all sitting, squatting, or propping themselves up against various surfaces; all gathered around in a circle, where one human male was singing.
She felt her breath catch in her throat, both at the absolutely beautiful singing voice and lyrics; and the fact that all of the humans seated around looked so young. She had learned how to gauge a human's age, and all of them were in their mid teens to early twenties; with a few exceptions of those humans that were in their thirties, forties, or fifties even.
She idly remembered that even though their birth rates were highly restricted and low, they could still reproduce provided they were outside of their own cities.
She looked at the other Aliens and gestured for them to take their own seats.
"I'm going there to see my Father
"And all my loved ones who've gone on
"I'm just going over Jordan
"I'm just going over home"
Palla took her own seat next to Sapius, and felt a heavy bit of melancholy take over her for a moment. Home… I can never go home. She reminded herself, Not so long as the hegemony exists.
Sapius gave a mournful buzz, remembering that the Hierarchy was in the midst of their own civil war; and that he too would likely never return to his home if the rebels failed.
"I know dark clouds will gather 'round me
"I know my way is hard and steep
"But beauteous fields arise before me
"Where God's redeemed, their vigils keep
"I'm going there to see my Mother
"She said she'd meet me when I come"
Palla lowered her head mournfully. Plebs grew up knowing their fate before the Pillars was a cruel one, and the few folk-songs her people were allowed shared that sentiment. This felt very similar. It was a Dirge sung by people who knew their fate was sealed. It was sung as a balm for the spirit that was burdened, in the hopes that something better, anything better awaited them at the inevitable conclusion.
"So, I'm just going over Jordan
"I'm just going over home
"I'm just going over Jordan
"I'm just going over home."
A light round of applause broke out from around the circle, but it was subdued as the rebels likely didn't want to draw the Combine's attention to such a large gathering of enemy forces.
Palla just reached into her pack and got out some flavored water, taking a quick drink; before pulling out a duel-amino acid chocolate bar, then taking a bite before handing it to Sapius.
The Turian in turn seemed lost in his head. Palla could almost see the memories flashing behind his eyes. How long has it been since he saw his homeworld? How long since I saw mine? Will we even live long enough to see them again?
The two platoon Sergeants were drawn out of their fugue by the sound of Sergeant Major Massani's barking voice. "Alright! Platoon XO's, get over here and receive your orders."
The two exchanged a look, and nodded. "Well… to the meat grinder we go."
Ayita took a breath and allowed her consciousness to spread outward, taking in the minds of the creatures around the area they had landed. She had missed this place, the feeling of the Bull Sharks in the Potomac on the hunt for the Xenian Leeches; the Blue Crabs cutting said leeches in half with their claws. The Feeling of Wolves, Coyote's, Coywolves, wild dogs, and foxes on the hunt for Rabbits, Deer, and lesser Xenian wildlife like Headcrabs.
She floated cross legged on a rock outcropping overlooking the Potomac River, her eyes closed even as she maintained her shadow disguise.
"It's beautiful…" Cato whispered into her mind, and Ayita smiled slightly.
"If only the eternal winter was not here; my mother, before she disappeared, showed me some memories she had of the old City from before the war. And after being reunited with him, my father obliged me as well." She replied absently, opening an eye and glancing at her husband. "With the Combines technology and your help… it can be restored to what it once was."
Cato smiled, "I wasn't talking about the river."
"You're sweet, but now isn't exactly a good time for flirting." She stated, though she did blush lightly beneath her disguise for a moment. "Are they ready?"
"Of course they are."
With those words, the two moved from the overlook and towards where the Apprentices were gathered; along with the company of Lambda Rebels that had been sent to support them in capturing or killing Doctors Lawson and Core.
Miranda was standing at the head of the group looking impatient to go. Once she saw the two approaching, she straightened and cocked her head; "All ready?"
"Yup, everyone knows the plan?" Cato replied.
The Rebel commander, a former American Army Soldier, stepped up and nodded; "Yeah, a squad of troops and two of your Vortals for each of the tunnels; Ms. Chambers, you two, Mr. 'Vigar, and Madam 'Saezu will hit the main entrance and storm the control room so that fat bastard can't get away." He reiterated, making sure everyone remembered it.
Everyone else nodded in turn and Ayita felt a pang in her soul that Ulysses, her Father, nor even Shala were with them. For some reason, she felt that their guidance would be needed soon.
Lan liked his lips, thankful for the simple armor and helmet that the Marines had given him.
"You'll be approaching something called the Capitol Building soon, you sure the secret entrance is there Miranda?" Captain 'Zorah's voice echoed in his ear, and he winced slightly; the sudden sound in the mostly dead city was grating on his danger senses.
He could tell it had once been a prosperous and beautiful place, but it just looked… dead…
"Yes, I'm sure. Dr. Core and Dr. Lawson took me and a few other Assassins there to oversee some executions by Zombification." She paused as they turned a street corner and stared at the building; and Lan found himself following her gaze, "Hard to believe that was once the Capital of the most free nation on Earth." She noted sadly.
There were Headcrab Zombies all across the open ground in front of the marble building. Some were very fresh, still resembling humans and wearing the clothes they were condemned in. Others had completely transitioned into the ragged monstrosities that the Xenian parasites mutated their hosts into. There was even one bloated mass, nearly imobile sprawled across the steps.
As they walked up the marble steps, Lan looked over at Juli, and he could feel his unease reflected in the Vortal Medics own mind. The Mistress simply waved her hand, and any Zombies that got in their way collapsed to the ground dead.
Lan gave a weak chuckle. "Could you teach us that trick?"
The Mistress' never wavered. "No. There isn't time, and after today there will be no need."
Miranda glanced at her, then shrugged; "The entrance is hidden in the National Statuary Hall; under General-President George Washington."
They made their way through the shambling masses as quietly as possible. Only one other Zombie required The Mistress' attention, and then they were inside the Rotunda. As they reached a side room, they found it surprisingly empty, and Miranda simply gave a sad sigh as they approached one statue in particular.
"It's a shame that something honoring a man of such impeccable moral character and honesty is used in such a way by my Biological Progenitors." She mused sadly, pressing a button at the base of the statue.
As the statue of George Washington slowly slid backward, the small gravity lift was revealed, and Miranda gave Sergeant 'Zorah a smug look; which the Vortal refused to return, and the five of them squeezed onto the small lift, and Miranda hit another button.
Lan jumped slightly as the small lift dropped, much faster than a normal elevator, and they reached the bottom in no time at all. As the entrance opened, The Mistress lashed out with a bolt of Energy, striking a tall, busty, armored human female in the chest. The black-clad female dropped dead in an instant.
Miranda walked over and pulled the helmet off, and Lan and Juli's jaws dropped.
Under the mask was a woman who looked like a carbon copy of the Normandy's chief nurse; the only difference being that she looked a tiny bit older, and she had striking red hair rather than black. "Sorry sister, but we have spared you from a fate worse than death." Miranda mumbled sadly, before standing and drawing two Enhanced 1911's. "Be on your guard, my sisters are just as augmented as I; and far more ruthless, as they have no minds of their own." She warned.
Lan just swallowed, as he remembered how Miranda was able to arm wrestle Battlemaster Urdnot Wrex himself; and was actually able to beat him with some effort, so long as he didn't use his Biotics.
The group moved quickly and quietly down the hall, noticing a closed hatch at the end; but no other side entrances or exits. As they came upon the hatch, the Mistress seemed to grow impatient and forced the door open; before freezing dead in place. "No…" She rasped. "He… He couldn't have made more…"
Lan tilted his head, even as Juli, Sergeant 'Zorah, and Miranda forced their way past her; and all three froze as well. "What?" He started, "What is the-"
He stopped dead as well as he realized what he was looking at.
Rows upon rows of clear see through cylinders filled with Amniotic Fluid, all of them had floating inside… "What are these?" He finally asked, pointing at what looked like a baby Quarian; only it had five fingers and toes. All of them had the same kind of infant inside; although some appeared to be more human, and some appeared to be more Quarian.
The Mistress flared in rage, and the occupants of the tubes all seemed to react. "They are Humarians:Vortal hybrids of harvested Human and Quarian DNA."
"Marvelous, aren't they?" The group spun and leveled their weapons and powers on the owner of the voice: Doctor Lawson. Cato instinctively lashed out with a lightning bolt, which struck the meter thick bullet proof glass embedded in the concrete wall. Lawson stood behind the glass in the safety of a bunker with that same sadistic smile on his face; that same smile he'd had when singing to the tune of Die Forelle while torturing Cato.
Lan immediately went on the defensive, searching the seemingly endless pillars of the hybrids for any Combine troops; but he found none. So why does this feel so bad if it's just him? He thought.
"Hm… not very talkative are you? As for the woman cloud… Well I'd like you to test something for me love." The Doctor continued absently, typing on something out of sight of the window.
Two Combine turrets popped out of the roof, and the four Vortals immediately fired their energy at the turrets while Miranda fired on one of them with her pistol. To their shock, the energy didn't seem to do anything to the turrets; and while one sputtered and died from Miranda's .45 ACP DE Accelerated bullets, the other whirred and fired it's own bolt of bright blue lightning right at Lan.
The Vortal Quarian took a step back in terror, but in the blink of an eye, The Mistress appeared in front of him; and the bolt struck her right in the chest.
Lan expected her to either shrug it off, absorb it, or redirect it; but instead, she screamed in pain, even as she was launched backwards. She crashed into Lan, knocking him flat on his back; and she tumbled through the air into one of the tanks, shattering it with the force of her impact.
Immediately, the infant Humrian inside took a deep breath and started wailing and crying, flailing its little arms and legs around while sparking with emerald green energy. But that wasn't what caught Lan's attention.
No, what caught his attention was what was lying at the base of the baby hybrids container.
Rather than a mass of black clouds and shadows, there lay a pretty, young, human female; long choppy brown hair, light-brown skin, glowing emerald green eyes, and she wore a Quarian environment suit modified for a human's use. She wore a leaf green and silver Sehni and Raelk over her head and body, both bearing the patterns of the 'Zorah clan.
Lan couldn't find himself to speak, but Juli could, "Who… who the fuck are you?" the Vortal medic rasped.
Lan was more subdued. "You're… you're human…" He realized dumbly.
The two were shocked out of their fugue by the -Crack- of Cato's enhanced rifle knocking out the offending turret. "Focus up!"
"Yes, you might want to concentrate on not dying to my daughters. I'd be rather bored to see you all die in such an anticlimactic way." The Doctor added, quickly jotting something down in a small book behind his window. "Oh, Eva? Subject O-19997 will need a new tube, assuming he survives and we get him back of course."
"Will you just shut up!" Miranda unlimbered her enhanced submachine gun and began drilling through the protective glass with sustained fire. She had blown through six inches and was swapping magazines when she barely dodged a sweeping kick from another black-clad female figure.
Lan felt a tingle on the edge of his senses as two more black clad females dropped down; and he rolled out of the way as both of them fired without restraint at where he'd been standing only moments before.
Thinking quickly, he yanked the catwalk they were standing on out from under them, but both females jumped up without effort and landed up a level above them.
Undeterred, Lan fired another bolt while holding one of the females legs in place telekinetically; and was rewarded as a hole was blown through her chest, electricity arcing all throughout their body.
He spun to deal with the second only to see her collapse in two pieces. Cato flicked his glowing bayonet. He glanced at Miranda just as the former Combine Assassin slammed her opponent's head against a nearby tube.
The assassin groggily turned her head. "Now now, M-91811441; is that any way to treat your mother?"
Miri slammed a fist against the armored helmet. The force of the blow bent the armored material slightly and caused a spiderweb crack to form in the tube. "Not at all. What does that have to do with you, Doctor Core?" She then dislocated both of the stunned woman's shoulders and one hip.
The human female meanwhile was picking herself up off the ground after Juli's treatment, and her eyes flared crimson for a split second, before she lashed her arms outward and two more assassins froze in midair; and she clenched her fist, and both dropped to the ground dead. With that task done, she turned to the glass window; and with a voice that confirmed that she was indeed the Mistress, the woman growled. "I'm coming for you Lawson." Before turning and walking over to the shattered breeding tube, and tentatively withdrew the wailing Humrian infant and held it tenderly in her arms.
Lawson just grinned. "I'm looking forward to it, Ayita Shephard."
It had been two years since she had last had human contact of any kind, but she didn't care.
She knew that that blue alien had been sincere when she said that they would return; that she would be free from her exile from all sentient kind. So when she felt the discordant buzz at the fringe of her senses, she slowly opened her eyes and grinned; running a hand through her mop of greasy reddish-brown hair.
She had grown it out slightly, now it reached down to her shoulders as opposed to being bald.
Although she was still mostly naked, wearing just a loincloth and a tattered cloak that barely reached past her breasts. Sighing deeply, she stood and rubbed her hands together, sending out a series of electrical notes to the Antlions around her; standing them down as they buzzed uncertainly at the familiar sense approaching them.
"So…" She started, her voice rasping slightly from disuse. "You finally decided to bring me back from my exile." She looked down from the top of the digger, watching as the blue woman, Liara, and a small squad of humans and what looked like more militarized versions of Ayita's boytoy. "Has the time come? The time for the Queen of Rats to step into the light?"
"It has." Liara replied simply, inclining her head with a slight smile, "And I think I know exactly who I can direct your anger at."
Jack just smiled.
Adrian ducked behind a pillar as the blue infrared laser slowly tracked around the windows.
Looking back at Sergeant Fenneba, he quickly sent her a few hand signals; and she nodded rapidly, before she turned to one of the rebel militia members and yanked the men's beanie off. She stuck it to the end of her gun and slowly peeked it up over the edge and waved it back and forth.
The Combine sniper immediately turned its attention to the distraction, and Adrian popped out of cover and fired several shots into the window; and was rewarded by a spray of blood and the blue infrared laser going dark. He smiled behind his mask and looked back and shook his fist.
He went to move onto the next hallway, when a tremble went through the ground, and Adrian froze in place; as did everyone else for that matter. "What was that?" He asked.
Palla looked around as everyone seemed to start moving again and frowned behind her helmet. "That… that felt familiar." She wondered before shaking herself, "We're close to the Palace, we need to keep moving."
They carefully advanced down the road, huddled against one wall. She caught a glimpse of something and signaled them to stop. There was a murder of crows, all silently perched on the roof of the building they were about to cross in front of. She squinted at them for a moment, and they all turned to face her.
-Caw-
She watched the avian that had sounded off. The rest of the flock simply ruffled their feathers and stared at her.
"Something is in the building just ahead of us." She glanced at the squad and nodded to two of the militia. "Set up in this alley, and get ready to call in an air-strike. Gunny, Sapius, stay with them. If this goes FUBAR, you'll still be able to complete the mission." She saw Adrian nod, then turned to the rest of her squad and signaled the advance.
They dashed into the alley and went to the fire door, but were brought up short by a -caw- from the fire escape. Trusting in the birds, Palla snuck up to the door and listened.
"Echo One switching position."
"Realigning to hostile."
"Forming visual confirmation."
"Echo One no visual on target. Moving."
She waved the rest of the squad back. "Team at the door." She looked at the fire escape, then at the other building making up the alley. "Rapid ascent to that landing, then over to the target roof. We'll sweep down. Adrian and Sapius can engage any that try to escape."
Everyone confirmed, and the squad leap-frogged their way up and over. The roof itself was in severe disrepair, with several holes. Her squad Tech dropped a drone through one in stealth mode. The drone detected several heat sources, as well as Dark Energy and electromagnetic signals consistent with Combine technology. The Squad's PCV AI's marked all the locations, and Palla motioned everyone over to the edge of the roof.
"Fire Team One, go through that hole and stack along the west wall. Fire Team Two will open fire into the room from here, then you will sweep. We'll follow you in once the room is clear."
Everyone made their way silently to their positions. Palla's HUD could clearly pick up the heat from the seven Grunts through the roof, and she took aim at one, while the rest of her team aimed at three others. They fired as one, and the enhanced rounds tore through the roof and into the heads of the Grunts below. They didn't wait for any response before jumping to the hole. She could see Pulse-Rifle fire tearing up through the roof where they had been standing a moment before, and heard the cacophony of Fire Team One breaching into the now distracted Grunts.
She and her team stacked on the door as they heard the Grunts from the ground floor begin yelling confirmations.
"Team One, coming out!" Her team focused on the shotgun hallway as she waited for the Quarian Corporal to report. "Light machine gun, a rocket launcher and a small collection of warheads, and a bunch of what looks like radio gear. No other dorne contacts on this floor or the one below."
Palla nodded. "We'll secure it once the building is cleared. Team One cover. Team Two, advance."
She and her team rushed down the hallway to the corner then stacked as Team One followed. They made it to the stairwell next to the elevator. The Grunts could be heard heading up, while the elevator indicated it was ascending. She signaled Team One to take the stairwell, while she pried open the elevator doors. "Grenades."
The team readied the charges just as she sliced the cables with her enhanced bayonet. The machine screeched and shuddered to a stop. The Grunts inside began trying to open the top hatch, only for the first to be beaned in the head with an iron-clad explosive. The stunned Grunt fell back inside, followed by two more grenades. The explosions were more than the poorly maintained machine could take, and the smoldering wreck plummeted back down the shaft with a thunderous crash.
Satisfied with her team's work, she looked over to Team one as she heard the sustained cra-cra-cra-crack of enhanced rifle fire.
"Status?"
"Grunts are withdrawing."
"Gunny, standby for company."
A double click was all the response she received before the buzz-saw sound of Sapius' General Purpose Machine Gun.
"Entrance is clear. Sending Drone"
"Stairwell is clear. Sending Drone."
In less than a minute, the drones met up.
"Building is clear." Palla turned back to that first room. "All units fall in on the fifth floor."
Adrian eventually joined her at the large radio and monitor setup. She glanced over at him. "It looks like they were tracking something, and it wasn't us."
Again, a massive rumbling shook the area, and this time Palla finally put the pieces together as to exactly what was causing the trembles to run through the area. "Oh shit…" She realized as the trembling started to increase, and everyone braced themselves against the walls.
For her part, Palla rushed over to the nearest window to look out at the sandy shore of the somewhat drained inner harbor; the Palace and the base complex still greeting her vision as always.
But at the sandy shore, the ground seemed to part, and crablike legs dug their way out. It had been months since she had been to Xen with Admiral 'Raan, but Palla still remembered the Xenian beast. More importantly, she had since learned its name.
"A Gonarch…" She whispered.
The other platoon members watched in slack jawed horror as that beast from Xen slowly crawled its way out of the ground; only now it was different. It's armored carapace now had metal armor plates overtop of it; its legs were augmented with metal splints, it's giant gonad having fish scale armor covering the majority of its weak spot.
The Gonarch roared in fury as its den collapsed into the ground, and it seemed like all fighting in the entire block stopped for a moment as both sides realized what they were looking at.
A Strider that had been busy suppressing a rebel squad turned and roared in kind, turning its pulse cannon on the Xen creature and firing; the pulse rounds seemingly reflecting off it's armor. The Gonarch just roared again and charged forward at lightning fast speeds, ramming into the Strider and sending it flying into a nearby building.
The Strider warbled pitifully as the Gonarch walked over and jammed one of it's spiked legs right through the Combine War Machines armor; killing it instantly.
The Rebel squad that had been pinned down started to cheer, which was instantly stopped when the Gonarch turned and roared again; before swinging it's gonad at them and launching a spray of white acid at them. Four of the six rebels seemed to melt instantly, and the other two dropped to the ground screaming in pain at the chemical burns covering their arms and faces.
"Oh…" Palla just mumbled.
Gunny Shephard just huffed, "Yeah, 'oh', and you wonder why Freeman's such a badass; he took one of those things down alone." He grumped.
She felt the rumbling steps of Urdnot Wrex stepping up beside her, and the Krogan just snorted; "Yeah, fuck that. You would have just as much luck fighting a thresher maw on your own." He remarked, even as the Gonarch absently turned as a small pack of Combine Hunters charged it.
The lethal Synth assassins immediately fired a storm of their explosive flechettes, which only seemed to annoy the Xenian creature; as it kicked a large lamppost towards the pack, flattening a good portion of them, before charging forward while the rest were stunned and impaling the rest with its legs.
"Actually, you'd have more luck; cause at least Thresher Maws are slow." Wrex amended, remembering all too well just how lethal the Hunters were.
"So we don't fight it." Shephard stated simply, "HEALY!" He snapped, and their radio man came running up to them; the Quarian panting slightly. "Gimme a line straight to the Normandy, we're dropping a 'Rod from God' strike right on that walking testical."
"Right sir!" The Quarian quickly went to work while everyone else watched the massive Xenian creature begin tearing a building apart, Combine troops screaming as the animal tore them apart.
Palla just looked past it towards the 'inner harbor', which was more like a shallow moat considering the fact that the Combine had been draining Earth's oceans. "The Palace is right there, and we're stuck here because that things in the way." she grumped, taking a seat at the window.
"Won't be for long." Gunny Shephard promised as the radioman handed him the communicator. "Normandy-Actual, this is Hitman 3-1, requesting a 'Rods from God' strike on grid Kilo 1-9. We have a Gonarch rampaging across the no man's land, preventing us from making our push to the Palace." He stated calmly.
"This is Normandy-Actual." The soothing voice of Admiral 'Raan was a pleasant change compared to the usual grating rasp of Gunny Shephard, but her voice had that same harsh edge to it. "'Rods from God' strike is on it's way, I suggest you find some cover." She warned.
Everyone tensed as Palla shouted, "Here it comes! Everyone cover!"
There was a pause, and then a loud shrieking sound pierced their ears. Despite herself, Palla looked up in time to see the glowing orange rod of tungsten screaming through the air; and in a split second, slam into the ground right next to the Gonarch. A wave of dust slammed into everyone, followed by the shockwave and the minor earthquake that followed.
It felt like the planet was being shaken apart, but after what felt like an eternity, the shaking stopped; and the dust started to clear up a little bit.
"Did… did we get it?" She heard Sapius buzz next to her, and Palla flipped on her thermal vision function for her helmet.
There in the center of a glowing orange crater, sat a massive white blob. "I… I think we got it!" Palla cheered, and soon the whole platoon began to follow suit; as whoops and hollers began to go up and down their lines.
Still grinning, she turned to Gunny Shephard, but to her concern; she saw that he was still frowning behind his mask. "That wasn't a direct hit." He mumbled, "I don't think we killed it." He stated, though only Palla heard him.
"Gunny, that rod hit right next to the damned thing, there's no way it-"
Another rumble stopped the cheering short, and everyone watched in horror as the Gonarch slowly climbed up to its clawed legs; and the beast roared in utter fury, turning towards the rebel lines as the cheers immediately died away. The Gonarch dug its legs into the ground and charged for their lines at top speed.
Shepard just sighed and unslung his rifle, "Well, looks like we're doing this the hard way."
Pilot A/N: Yeah, a Gonarch… bet you guys didn't see that coming did you?
This isn't going to be a walk in the park for our heroes, and you bet your ass that things are going to be bloody for Ayita in DC. So, the Gonarch is actually a bit of a reference to the Half Life 2: Beta, where the Combine had a captured Gonarch and was using it to produce the headcrabs they used for Headcrab shells. I don't think they got any further than that, as I get conflicting reports as to what they planned for it; either Freeman would end up mercy killing it, or it would break free and he would have had to kill it to stop its rampage.
Well… this is that concept reborn.
Alright, you got anything to add Ian?
Ian A/N: Thus begins the fight for the liberation of Earth! For all this is Ayita's and Cato's story, I truly enjoy writing the Palla sections, and I hope it shows. Not much else I can think of to say or add. Stay tuned, dear readers.
Pilot A/N: Right then, leave a review and let us know what you guys think.
A TV Tropes page and recommendation would be loved and appreciated.
And I will see ya when I see ya.