CH: 10 Arrival
September 9th 13:17, Me'lanum, HMV. Spirit of Vengeance
"Admiral more enemy ships have broken through our lines!" Shouted an officer over the sounds of battle.
Admiral Galie growled to herself. From the very start of this battle, things had been going wrong. The Me'lanum system while not crucial to the Turian Hierarchy was still one of great importance. Firstly it had a large colony by the name Byrtus which had a population of over a billion souls. That alone would have prompted her people to defend it with whatever forces they could muster, the fact that there was a relay in the system only contributed to their desire to defend the system. If the enemy were to take the system, a reality that looks to be a likely outcome, then they would be able to launch assaults on dozens of defenseless colonies across Turian space. There was a possibility that they could even start attacking the core systems of the Hierarchy.
"Order Cruiser groups 17 and 19 to reposition themselves to defend that breach." She ordered, feeling her ship shudder violently as it took another hit from an enemy dreadnought. "Are we in position to fire on that enemy dreadnought?"
"Yes, sir. The main cannon is primed and ready." Said Tactical.
"Fire!" She was treated to the sound of a twenty-kilogram slug being fired from the dreadnought's spinal cannon. An instant later the image of the opposing dreadnought winked out of existence. A part of her was mildly disappointed that she did not get to see the 427 dreadnought violently explode with her own eyes, it would have gone a long way to soothe her soul. But she has to settle for knowing that the monstrosity was gone now. For the thousandth time since the beginning of this damn war, she thanked the spirits that the enemy vessels were for the most part inferior to their Turian or any other citadel counterpart. Enough so that it often took a seven to one ratio or greater for them to achieve a victory.
Unfortunately for her and the rest of Citadel space. "Sir, more contacts coming in," Tactical said just as they felt the Spirit of Vengeance quack from enemy fire. The enemy that came to be known as the 427s tended to bring way more than just seven for every one of their vessels, instead, they usually brought fleets that were ten to fifteen times bigger than the defenders. By the spirits! It was like fighting a swarm of insects, no matter how many they killed more would just take their place and overwhelm their target. That target often being a Turian warship full of good men and women.
Not for the first time and likely not the last, at least she hoped it would not be the last, she had to ask herself. 'How did this happen? Oh, right those damn four eyed freaks had to go and get greedy.' Two years ago the Citadel had sent a small task force of seven ships into Batarian space, to investigate why they had suddenly gone quiet. Not even a few hours later, the task force returned, or rather what was left of it. Only a single frigate the Light of Palavan had returned from that ill-fated mission. The Survivors had brought with them news of what the Batarians had done.
A few months prior they had opened a dormant relay in hopes to expand their retched empire. Two months later their territory had been overrun the 427s (their namesake coming from the relay that the Batarians had opened, 427). The council didn't get much time mull over the news as days later the 427s began their assault on citadel space overwhelming the megger border defenses almost immediately. Thankfully with the tensions that built up after the Batarians had cut themselves off from the rest of the Galaxy, the higher-ups had seen to it that the systems farther behind the boarders would have their defenses bolster in case of an attack from the Hegemony. That combined with the warning from the almost decimated taskforce enabled them to hold back the attacking fleets. For a short time, the sheer numbers of the enemy overwhelming them in months. Since then everything had been downhill from there.
'Damn the Batarians and their greed for power. The next time I see one of them I'll shoot them in between their four eyes on principle alone.' It was disappointing to know that whoever ordered the opening of the relay was most likely dead, eaten by the same monsters the Turian military was fighting now. Galie would have loved to get her talons on the idiot. The news of the former hegemony ambassador being lynched a few months ago did put a spring in her step.
Shoving her morbid thoughts to the side, she carefully analyzed the tactical display of the battle, trying to find a way to turn the tide into her favor. Her forces were doing will to inflict significant damage to the swarm and slowing its advance down. A fact she took with pride. While the forces of the Citadel were being pushed back every day, they were slowing the 427's advance with more success every day. The past two years had taught them a great deal about how to fight this enemy. The ships of the "Big Three" navies were being outfitted with new technologies that would enable higher rates of fire from their weapons and shorter cooldowns. New VIs with improved targeting and tracking processors were being installed, and new tactics meant to deal with vast numbers were being implemented. On the ground side, soldiers were being trained to fight swarm like enemies in an effective manner, such as forcing the swarms of enemies to spread themselves out to attack as many targets as possible, reducing the effectiveness of their vast numbers. Despite the cost, armor-piercing and incendiary mods were becoming standard issue to counter the durability and regenerative abilities of the 427's. Further military analyst were working around the clock to come up with new defensive and offensive strategies to combat the 427s. Engineers were being pushed to design new technologies and scientists of all fields assemble to study the enemy. There was even word that bio-logical warfare was being considered. In short, the races of the Citadel were doing everything in their power to survive the war.
The results showed themselves in this battle of the swarm's original thirty thousand ships over a third had been wiped out by her fleet, at the cost of losing half of the fifteen hundred ships she commanded. If the trend continued then by the time they managed to defeat her fleet, then this swarm would likely be in no position to launch farther attacks into Citadel space. Giving the Council fleets time to reinforce the vulnerable systems that lied beyond the Ma'lanum Relay. It was sad truth of the war, much of the council's wartime resources were being spent just to slow the swarm's advance. Her fleet was just another example of that reality.
Credit where it was due they were doing a better job of it then they were at the start of the war. A combination of the citadel improving its war standing and the 427 swarm stretching itself had enabled the Hierarchy to slow the advance, even halt it in some fronts if the rumor were to be believed. Unfortunately for her, her fleet the 10th defense group would not be able to repel the enemy here.
"Target the closest enemy ship." She ordered her command staff. "Order frigate groups seven, nine, and thirteen to begin attack runs on the cruisers closing in our position, see if they can't draw some fire away from us."
"Yes, sir."
"Try to get me a line to General Desolas." Several seconds and a destroyed swarm cruiser later, the image of an older Turian male dressed in a general's garb appeared.
"Admiral Galie," Said the man, his voice is somewhat muffled by the sounds of battle in the background. "I assume by your expression the battle in orbit isn't going favorably is it?"
With a shake of her head, the Admiral confirmed the general's fears. "I'm afraid so Desolas. Half of the fleet has been lost to the enemy, and more of their ships are breaking through with passing second."
"And dropping more of their soldiers to the planet's surface." The General finished for her.
"We have however managed to destroy a little over a third of their force. If we can keep this up by the time we're defeated by the swarm will be in no position to attack other worlds. They'll have to stay here and wait for whatever reinforcements they'll get." Galie didn't fancy the idea of dying here, before the war started she had hoped to live out a good long life in service to the Hierarchy before retiring and living out the rest of her days on Palavan. Maybe take up a hobby or two to pass the time, face painting was a fine old tradition to take up.
Her sense of duty overruled such fantasies, if it meant the millions or even billions of lives would be saved by her actions, then she would gladly sacrifice herself, every time. She saw a sympathetic look in the general's eye. "Is there any you can escape the battle?"
For a moment the Admiral was taken aback by the General's question but quickly hid it. General Desolas Arterius was known as a hard man who committed ruthless and sometimes questionable actions to complete the mission. He rarely ever retreated in the face of adverse odds. She supposed that even he found throwing lives away worthlessly to be distasteful. "I'm afraid not General. The 427s have cut off all means of escape, we have no choice but to fully commit to the defense of this world."
The General rubbed his Mandibles thoughtfully. "In that case try to make every ship count. The ships they have the better for us. Meanwhile, my forces will do everything they can slow their ground forces down. We can hold out for a long even without orbital support."
It was true, even when a world was lost the people on them would continue to fight on, for months after. Even now they heard rumors that there resistance groups still fighting on some of the first worlds to fall to the swarm. In a way it was comforting to know that should the Citadel ever manage to go on the offensive and reclaim its lost territories they find survivors on the lost worlds still fighting for their homes. This fact alone assured her that they would eventually win this war, every day the people of the Citadel were fighting. Not for land or simply because their governments told them to do so. They were fighting for so much more they were fighting for their friends, family, their homes, and their very way of life. The swarm cared little for such things as family and peace, all they seemed to care about was devouring everything in their path without so much as a care or thought to what it meant to others. That in her opinion would be their ultimate undoing. Even if she were to be struck down here today, a thousand more like would rise to take her place. The swarm in their bid to devour all had awakened a terrible force.
"I know that General." She said finding that her voice held more conviction then she thought possible. "I just thought that you should know that you'll find yourself fighting alone soon." Her ship shudder as more fire was direct at it.
"Barriers down to seventeen percent." She heard a frantic cry.
Today was a good day to die. "General it has been an honor and a privilege to serve alongside you."
For a moment she thought she saw a sad twitch of the man's mandibles. "The honor as been mine Admiral. Die well and take as many of those monsters with you."
Galie allowed her mandibles to twitch in amusement. Before she could respond to the man's sentiments, she heard one of her officers shout something out. Turning her attention to the officer, the image of Desolas winking out of existence. "What was that?" She asked.
"The relay is activating." Said the officer.
"Reinforcements?" She asked more to herself than to anyone else. With a few swipes at her control console, the tactical display of the ongoing battle shifted to show the system's relay. Just as the man said the relay's twin rings were spinning rapidly a clear indication that something was coming through.
"I don't sir." The officer answered unaware that the question had not been directed at him. "The signals we're getting are not clear. The chaos of the battle and damage sustained to our sensors are making it difficult to identify them."
Could the Hierarchy have deemed the system important enough to send reinforcements? It was possible, the Ma'lanum system while not a crucial one, could still be considered an important strategic with a relay that leads deeper into Hierarchy space. However it was unlikely, other systems like Veltous had been attacked and never received reinforcements. In fact, reinforcements in response to any attack was a rarity, as it would only add to their mounting losses. Those forces were deemed more useful in reinforcing more vulnerable areas of Citadel space. Which begged the question if they weren't reinforcements from the Hierarchy; or any other member of the Citadel as each race was becoming more concerned with defending their space then her people's, then who were they?
Her question was quickly answered as a cluster of ships she had never seen before appeared on the display, having come from somewhere beyond the relay. More appeared as the other ships moved head in a tight formation before coming to stop at what she guessed was a designated area. She had to give them credit, whoever they are they're a disciplined bunch judging by the way their ships were flown and the tight formations the held. A few seconds later the stream of unknown ships came to an end, revealing a rather respectable sized fleet.
"Tactical who are they and how many of them are there?" She asked her mind too occupied to notice that the shaking of the dreadnought had suddenly ceased.
The reply that came was quick. "I've run them through the database. They are of an unknown design. No other species matches them. As for your second question sensors identify one thousand ships."
One thousand ships? What was a fleet like that doing here? Then there was the fact the ships were of a design that no other known race possessed. Her mandibles twitched and her eyes narrowed in suspicion. There was no way. In the middle of a battle and with a fleet that large? What were the odds? She could only think of one possibility that could account for these ships, one she found hard to believe and to be a little too convenient. A new species had entered the scene.
"Sir there was something else that the sensors picked up on," Tactical said, her body tense as she picked up a note of apprehension in his voice. "While the ships appear to be made of materials similar to ones we use in our ship construction, there were some oddities detected."
"Oddities." She inquired never taking her eyes off of the display.
"Aside from the fact that these materials come from worlds that are not known by the Citadel, they show signs of having biological components. Components that are of a similar nature to the ones found in the 427 ships." He said, his voice holding no trace of emotion.
Similar biological components to the 427 swarm? Her mind began to panic. Could these be another variation of the abominations that had thus far gone unnoticed? Could they be stronger than the ones they had fought so far? Was the Citadel really truly doomed, and they had deceived themselves into thinking that they could win?
'NO!' She thought to herself, shaking her head. This was no time to go into doomsday scenarios. Thinking about it clearly, it was obvious that these were a separate group from the 427s. First was that they came through the Ma'lanum relay and not from outside the system like the swarm had. To her knowledge there was no enemy presence beyond the relay. Second, the designs of the ships were where uniformed, unlike the 427s who seemed to build their ships at random, nor did they act in the same manner. They lacked the swarm-like mentality that was apparent in the way they flew. Instead, the unidentified ships flew in a way that suggested intelligence and held tight and neat formations. Then there was the fact that accord to officer the ships were only partially organic versus the entirely organic ships of the 427 swarm. The conclusion they were a separate group from the swarm, though she would accept the possibility that they had some kind of relation to them. The question was what kind of relationship was that?
Before she could voice her thoughts, she saw the unknowns disappear from the display. "What happened to the unknowns?"
"According to sensors, they entered FTL." Tactical began. "Their cours-… The unknown contacts have reappeared! Their five thousand kilometers away from the swarm."
"Show me, now." The Admiral all but shouted. The display shifted away from the relay back to the battle and was met with a surprise. Indeed as Tactical said the unidentified fleet had reappeared near the battle, but what shocked her was that the swarm was no longer attacking them. They simply just floated where they were, seemingly in a daze. Her forces had stopped firing as well likely in shock at the sudden turn of events. The next moments would be forever summited in her mind.
"Admiral the unknown fleet has opened fired on the swarm." Just as he said the display showed the unknown fleet firing into the swarm. To say the effect was devastating would be like saying water is wet. In mere seconds countless numbers of the swarm blinked out of existence. She would have not believed it had she not seen it with her own eyes, and still had a hard time believing it. "Spirits." She heard a mutter. "If these readings are to believed more than half of the swarm was wiped out in that attack." The officer said dumbly.
For a brief moment, the universe seems to stand still as the Admiral tried to and failed to comprehend the sudden change in events. A fleet of unknown origin quite possibly made by a new race had entered the system and proceed to lay waste to the swarm. The destruction she and the rest of the Turian fleet saw be inflicted on the swarm had never been seen. In the two years, they had been fighting the monsters, in almost every engagement they had against the 427 swarm, the forces of the Citadel had struggled to inflict noticeable losses to the swarm's numbers. It was true that a single citadel ship could destroy several swarm ships by itself, with the number going up with larger battlegroups. The problem was that no matter how many they could destroy a dozen more would take their place and a dozen after. These creatures had shown that they were more than willing to take massive losses to achieve a victory, and could easily replace them. It was mainly the reason why the Citadel had taken so many losses over the years, the swarm was replacing their numbers faster than they could kill them. The same went for their ground forces, in some ways being worse. To see so many of the swarm ships destroyed in such a short amount of time was a shock to the Admiral's system, to say the least. Whoever these people were, they knew how to fight the swarm.
She wasn't the only one who this thought. The swarm having been caught in the same stupor as the Turians, suddenly came to life and surged towards the unknown fleet in a fury she never has seen in them before. Seeing the swarm acting once had caused the Admiral's mind to snap back to reality.
Regardless of what had occurred and the intentions of the unknowns, their attack had presented her with an opportunity that she could not pass up. "Coms." She shouted, causing her command crew to snap back to reality and resume their work with a renewed fervor. "Order the fleet to form up. We're going on the offensive." Her questions for the unknowns would have to wait.
Ma'lanum system, space
The next few minutes or so would be engraved in the memories of every Turian present forever. The swarm caught up in its blinding raged had thrown themselves at the Unknown fleet, completely ignoring the battered Turian fleet. A fatal mistake and one they would never have the chance to learn from. While the Turian fleet had taken significant damage from the swarm with several hundreds of ships lost. But they still around seven hundred warships ready to tear their enemies apart.
Without releasing it the Swarm suddenly found itself being attacked from two sides as for the first in more than a year a Turian fleet had gone on the offensive. In moments several swarm ships would meet their end as weapons from both fleets tore into them. Then to the surprise of the Turians, the unknowns launched wave after wave of strike craft against the swarm ships, the majority of them being deployed form small ports line across their hulls. The strike craft that seemed to number in the tens of thousands flew right into the ranks of the swarm and began a devastating attack run. It was almost cathartic for the Turians to see the swarm fall prey to its own tactic.
All to quickly the 427 swarm had found itself fighting a losing battle, a fact that all present took great pleasure in. The swarm, however, did not seem to care about their losses and continued to attack the unknowns with a fervor that no Citadel race had seen before. As a result, the unknown fleet started to take losses. They were mostly smaller ships either being a corvette or frigate, occasionally a cruiser sized ship would be shattered being felled by the main cannons of the few large ships the swarms employed. Those same ships would quickly be cut down by the larger ships of the unknowns. A swarm dreadnought was annihilated when kinetic rounds fired from the main cannon of the Spirit of Vengeance and the main cannon of an unknown warship that was around the same size as the Hierarchy's pocket dreadnoughts, stroked it at the same time.
Then the largest swarm ship came out from what was left of the Swarm. A ship that measured around thirteen hundred meters, and was quickly identified as swarm superdreadnought. It was the most feared ship in the swarm's ranks, its appearance often signaling the doom of defending Citadel forces. Since their first sighting one had never been felled in battle. Until now.
The unknowns seemed to realize the threat posse by the monstrous ship as they focused their attention on it. From within their ranks three ships all them bigger than a Turian dreadnought emerged their main cannons facing the massive swarm ship. Around these dreadnoughts were several of the pocket dreadnoughts ready to support their larger counterparts.
The Turians were no slouches in this regard as Admiral Galie ordered that her dreadnought ordinate itself so that its main cannon faced the swarm superdreadnought, several other Turian pocket dreadnoughts doing the same. They fired striking the rear of the titanic vessel. While the swarm superdreadnought was far more durable than any other swarm ship or even a Citadel ship, it was no much for the combined firepower of four dreadnoughts, and a dozen ships close to their size and power. Whole sections of the ships wear torn off, exposing its interior. Turian gunners cheered in delight as they saw the bodies of countless 427s be jettison out to the cold vacuum of space. However, they would not have the satisfaction of seeing the titanic being destroyed as it would turn to expose its broadsides to oncoming fire. Both fleets instantly recognized the intention, but not have enough time to react as the massive suddenly sped away into FTL. A small handful of other 427 ships would join it.
The rest of the battle could only be described as a one-sided cleanup, as both fleets began to pick off the remaining swarm ships that did not escape. In a matter of minutes, the last of the swarm ships were destroyed, clearing the Veltous system of all hostiles.
The two fleets gazed at each other.
September 9th 13:32, Ma'lanum System, HMV. Spirit of Vengeance
For the first time in two years, the command center of the Spirit of Vengeance sounded with shouts of victory. It was unbelievable, the Admiral had just witnessed what could be the first major victory since the start of the war. It was almost like a dream to her and she half expected to wake up in her quarters to find out that none of it was real. That they were still losing ground to the swarm.
To her relief, no such thing happened, and the more logical side of her mind told her that this was very much real. They had achieved a victory here today, granted it was because of the unexpected aid from an unknown force. But she would take it, her people needed a victory, even if it wasn't entirely won by them alone. They needed to see that their enemies could be beaten, made to bleed for nothing. Today they had seen that, and once word got out the Admiral had no doubt it would reinvigorate her people, give them a sense of hope. That hope would drive the Turian people to new heights as they fought against the swarm as they now knew that it could be beaten. They would drive the swarm out of Citadel space and back to whatever spirts-forsaken world they crawled out from.
She gazed at the projection of the unknown fleet as it silently sat across from her fleet. A part of her hoping they had gained a powerful new ally that would help them in their cause. "Hail the unknown fleet. I think its time we met our new friend." She said grabbing the attention of her comms officer.
"Right away, sir." He said an edge of excitement in his voice. "Sir, they're already hailing us. Broadband signal, it appears to be a signal to the whole fleet."
'Their quick.' She thought. "Play it." The projection changed, and Galie was not the only one who gasped in surprise. Before them dressed in what was likely a high ranking officer's uniform was a being that looks disturbingly like in an Asari. Take away the strange fur on their head and face than paint its skin blue and you have what could be a male Asari.
The Asari like thing spoke in a clear deep voice. "Turian fleet this is Admiral McKinley of the 4th Reaction Fleet. We represent the United Terran Federation by order of our leaders we have come to join the war against the Dragon Orphans, the creature you know as the 427s. With your permission, we would like to begin landing our forces on the planet to aid your soldiers in fighting the enemy ground forces. We await your response." The man had spoken in perfect Turian.
Whoever these "Terrans" were they appeared to know enough about her people to be able to speak their language, a disturbing implication. But that would have to wait for later, the forces on the planet needed all the help they could get. She wasn't about to deny them major reinforcements. Judging by what they did to the swarm fleet, the Terrans would likely do more than just "help".
"Get me General Desolas, he needs to be informed of this new development. Tell him reinforcements have arrived."
September 9th 14: 18, City on Brytus
Saren Arterius was not having a good day , to be more accurate he was not having a good year, two of them actually. However, today, in particular, was varren shit, as a Krogan mercenary he fought once would put it.
"Watch out!" This was the reason for his foul mood. Taking the warning as a queue to jump out of the way of whatever was coming their way he threw himself to the ground. Unfortunately, someone either didn't hear the warning or were not fast enough to react to it, the end result was the same. There was a scream which was silenced with the sound of something heavy hitting a squishy body. Two of them if the sound of sickening pops were anything to go by.
Saren rolled around and got to his knees behind some nearby cover and looked where the sounds originated. Sure enough, there was a hover vehicle where it wasn't before and pinned under it were the squashed remains of two turian soldiers. Behind him he heard a loud roar, he peaked his head out from cover to see the culprit. One of the giant variants of the 427s was standing over some fallen rubble, its normally red skin stained in the blood of its victims. It roared again and held out its overly muscled arm out as telling its smaller brethren to charge. They did, dozens of the bipedal monsters charged out towards the crumbling Turian line, paying no heed that they had exposed themselves to a counter-attack. Saren took his rifle, a Phaeston that had been modified to fire heavier rounds than normal, a response design to counter the 427s unnatural durability and regenerative abilities. He fired mowing down several of the approaching monsters. Then he ducked back to cover, avoiding a hail of organic shards, fired from some gunner 427s that had stayed behind the oncoming swarm. When the shards ceased to rain down on him, he stood up and pointed to where he saw some of the gunners, he fired. He was able to pick off two of them before being forced to take cover again to avoid being impaled.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a squad of Turians preparing to fire a rocket launcher, the most probable target being the giant. It would take them a few seconds to get it ready, time they may not have. Saren looks out from his cover, searching over the ruined city street to find anything that could be used to slow the swarms advance. Some hanging ruble on a nearby building caught his eye, it right in the path of the giant, that would do.
He held his hand to his chest. Breath in and focus. He thought to himself, remembering the simple routine that would help him channel his biotics. It had been a surprise to him and his family when they first found out that he was a biotic. Turian biotics were rare and his family showed little history of biotics. But it had not been an unwelcome one if anything it had brought great honor to his family. Turian biotics were considered a valuable resource by the Hierarchy, and they provide special privileges and an elevated standing to families that produced at least one biotic. In the words of a long-dead primarch whose name Saren couldn't be bothered to remember right now. "The loyal parents that produce such gifted offspring rightfully deserve to reward for their contributions to the Hierarchy." He consciously channeled the electrical currents in his nervous system towards the biotic nodes laid out his body. From there they went to the bio-amps implant in his body to channel and amplify the energy. His arm started to glow with visible blue fire. A second passed before Saren was certain that he had built enough energy for the task he had in mind.
He stood from his cover, turning to face the incoming swarm the giant close behind them. It was almost right underneath the rubble, if he wanted to slow it down he would have to act now. He shot his arm out in the direction of the rubble, with a single unconscious thought much like breathing, he fired a bolt of biotic energy. The energy bolt sailed through the air and impacted the area where the rubble was hanging from. The force behind the blast being enough to throw a person back several meters, exploded destroying its target sending a shower of debris everywhere. The rubble that had been hanging from the building now fell to the ground below, right on top of the enemy. Some of the 427s paused and looked up, only to be squished under the weight of the falling debris. The giants as expected took the worse of the impact as the largest piece of debris struck it dead center. It toppled over the sudden impact of the weight being too much for it.
Saren allowed a small twitch of triumph in his mandibles. Than quickly stopped, as he heard the giant roar in rage. It was down but not out. The giant stood up quickly, the ruble covering its body falling off, visibly shaking in rage. But before the giant had the chance to act on its anger, its upper torso explodes in a ball of fire and metal. Seconds later its topless and charred body fell lifelessly to the ground. Taking cover again and turning his head saw the squad of soldiers cheering in triumph, close by he saw that his commanding officer was giving him a nod of approval.
A gesture that Saren took with pride, being a biotic in the infantry he was distrusted by his fellow soldiers. The animosity stemming from the belief that biotics received special treatment simply because they were born with abilities that others didn't. The Hierarchy being a meritocracy based society one could see the argument behind that claim. Saren, when he was first assigned to his unit, had been viewed with suspicion, though there was no outright hostility directed at him. Saren at the time did not care about how he was treated and still didn't care, all he cared about was serving the Hierarchy and getting the mission done. Today though his peers respected him for his ability, his bravery and though it sometimes rubbed them the wrong way his ruthlessness in battle. He can still appreciate the gesture though.
The small moment of victory was cut short though as they heard more of the 427s approach. Looking back at the ruined street, Saren growled in frustration. More of the abominations were pour out into the street and charging their way toward the Turian line. This time there were some of the varren like creatures in their ranks, and winged 427s flew through the air.
The battle was not yet over, Saren knew. He fired his rifle again joining in the hail of fire his united unleashed on the incoming swarm. Occasionally other members of his unit would throw grenades into a cluster of enemies, killing them. Saren himself would periodically throw bolts of biotic energy at the swarm of enemies, tearing their bodies apart, or he would throw up a barrier to shield his comrades. But no matter what they did to slow the tide of enemies, and how many losses they took the swarm was quickly gaining ground. Much too quickly for his taste Saren and the rest of his unit found themselves fighting a retreating battle.
When he saw three of the giant types appear, he knew that they had no choice but to make a full retreat. He hated to retreat and he had been in far too many throughout the war. It came too close to being cowardly for his taste and was an open admission of defeat to their enemies, not that they seem to care. He did understand the necessity behind retreating, it saved lives that would otherwise have been uselessly lost. A soldier dying for a cause was one thing, but one dying and accomplishing nothing was another. By falling back to a more advantageous position not only did they save valuable lives, but the ones that were lost held more worth. This much he could understand, but it did not mean he had to like it. A good soldier should not have to retreat in the face of their enemies.
"Full retreat." His commanding officer said, forcing Saren to repress a growl. "Fall back to the next defensive position. Saren I want you and your squad along with squads 14 and 15 to cover our retreat. Understood?"
Well, at least he would get to fight the enemy as they ran. "Yes, sir." He said receiving an approving nod from the man.
"Let's get moving."
For the next several minutes Saren and about a dozen other Turian soldiers would be engaged in a fighting retreat, while the rest of their unit fled. Every time their unit got a certain distance away, they fall back to a safer position to keep up with them, and at the same time continue to do their best to slow the swarm of enemies. For every inch the monsters took, they paid a bloody toll. Grenades, incendiary rounds, biotics, one soldier even manage to detonate a nearby fuel canister close to a long abandon vehicle the resulting killing one of the giants and numerous other 427s. Saren would fire his rifle while being careful not let it overheat, at the same time he would throw out powerful biotic attacks. Singularities, throws, warp everything at his disposal were thrown at them having a great effect. The races of the citadel had quickly learned that the 427s were highly vulnerable to biotics, a weakness that they exploited whenever they could. This gave rise to using biotic units on the frontlines more frequently than most militaries would under normal circumstances. Excluding Asari, Biotics where rare and ones strong to be trained for combat even more so as such they usually in special forces roles where they could be used to maximum effect. But war, especially one where one was losing tended to breed a strong sense of pragmatism that overruled such preferences.
It was why Saren had been assigned to infantry units like this one, instead of being placed in the CABAL as most other biotic Turians would. It probably would not have mattered if he was assigned to a CABAL unit, as several of them were deployed to the frontlines to aid the Hierarchy army in slowing the enemy invasion. Either way, Saren was inflicting heavy damage to the advancing swarm. As expected the enemy took note of his actions and began to concentrate their attention on him.
'Good.' The more they focused on him the better. He threw up a barrier, blocking a hail of shards directed at him. He fired his rifle after it finished cooling down, aiming for killings shots. He ducked out of the way a varren creature that had gotten close enough to pounce on him. A second later he sent it flying into a wall with biotic blast. It impacts creating cracks in the wall, where it fell to the ground never to move again. A scream caught his attention, one of the giants had mange to right on top of couple Turian soldiers. It swung its large arm done on them.
The next thing Saren knew he was right in front of the giant a biotic barrier standing between him and certain death. He didn't know how he got there so fast nor how was able to hold back the force of the monster's arm, his body had simply reacted.
"GO!" He shouted to the stunned soldiers. The monster began to pound on his barrier.
"But sir." One of them tried to protest.
"I SAID. GO!" He roared again, this shooting them a look that left no room for argument. Sufficiently cowed the soldiers nodded and ran for their lives. With no else to worry about, Saren's mind began to race trying to find a way of the mess he found himself in. Unfortunately, he would not have enough time to think. He raised his rifle to fire at the beast's head, but it swung its arm out swatting the weapon and sending it flying to the ground. No time to thing Saren was forced to throw up another barrier to block the monster's next attack. The impact forcing him to his knees. Another impact later and Saren found himself on his back his head spinning from the impact. He gazed up to see the beast raise it's arm up. It swings down.
'So this is how I die.' He thought, anger coursing through him. He knew that there was nothing else he could do to stop it. It infuriated him that he would die by the hands of such a creature, never having the chance to exact his vengeance on its race. He closed eyes, not wanting to give the monster the satisfaction of seeing the life drain from his eyes. The only comfort he had in his death was that the rest of his unit had likely gotten away. They would avenge him and every other Turian that felled here today. He knew even as his life came to an end that the Hierarchy would eventually defeat these foul creatures and driven back to their home-world. Where they would be made to pay for their crimes against the galaxy. He waits for death to claim him.
A gush of wind passed and there was a strange sound of flesh being torn then something fell to the ground with a loud thunk. Saren opened his eyes wondering why he was still alive when he should be a bloodstain on the ground right now. Still standing on top of him and just as shocked as he was the giant with its arm missing, blood flowing from the stump. In front of the giant was a figure dressed in an odd grey and black armor. It was bipedal in form, and if Saren had to guess it was around his height maybe a little shorter. But the strangest thing about the figure were the two dark blue crystal-like wing structures that were protruding from its back. One of them extended out to the front of the figure blood dripping from its jagged edges where the blue hues were lighter. The figure was standing between him and the giant in an almost protective manner.
It took Saren almost a second or two to fully process what had happened. The giant also having caught up with the sequence of events roared and raised its other arm to attack the figure. The figure, however, was quick to react as it shifts slightly to bring its smaller wing and his surprise he saw the odd wing grow and bend to the same size as its counterpart. The giant's arm struck the odd wing the figure showing no sign of being affected by the impact. Then in one motion, the figure used its wing to push the arm off, causing to stumble back. The figure did not stop though as it jumped at the giant and just as it reached the stumbling monster it spun around to bring a wing onto its neck were in single fluid motion it cut right through the creature's neck, blood exploding out from the gash. A second later the other wing finished the job and completely decapitating the giant, its headless form falling onto its back. The figure landed on the prone body, where it stood up.
Saren could not believe his own eyes, he had just witnessed something that should be impossible. This strange figure had just single-handedly killed a giant, a feat that required a whole squad to use heavy weapons to do, and even then it was still a struggle if they didn't hit it in the right place. Worse yet the figure made it look easy.
"What are…" He tried to saying only for his voice to suddenly fail him. The figure turned and started to walk towards Saren.
When the figure reached him, it lowered itself to its knees and held out an arm, its hand had five fingers. Like an Asari. "Need some help?" The figure said in Turian, its voice sounding like a man.
Saren didn't bother to question this, he already had too many questions as it is. He hesitantly took the figure's hand surprised by how strong its grip was. An instant later the figure pulled Saren up. None standing shoulder to shoulder with the figure he could now get a good look at the figure's face. While the figure was wearing a helmet covering most of its head, there was clear visor attached to the front that allowed Saren to see the figure's face.
Saren almost gasped in surprise, replace its pale skin with blue hues and you had what could pass as a male Asari. Most notably was that it had two different looking eyes, the one on the left had grey iris with a black pupil in the middle all surrounded by a white sclera. The one on the left, however, had a pitch-black scleral with a red iris and pupil, red streaks emitted from the iris and extend to the surrounding skin. There was something oddly familiar about that, a fact that bugged Saren to no end. "Who are you and why are you here?" Saren asked him, suspicion spilling into his voice.
The figure held his hands up in a defensive manner. "Hey now, no need to give the third degree. I'm certain that you have a lot of questions to ask. But right now," The figure pointed his finger in the direction of the swarm. "But right now we got bigger fish to fry." He finished.
For the first time since his "rescue" Saren took notice of the 427 swarm. He would have chastised himself for forgetting that he was in the middle of a combat zone and that his inattention could have gotten himself killed. If weren't for the fact that the swarm of 427s was completely standing still hissing and growling. It was like they didn't know what to do and they all were staring at him.
'No, their not staring at me.' He realized looking back at the figure, who had an unreadable expression on his face. They were glaring at him. He looks back to the swarm. "Why are they…" He tried to ask to be interrupted as wave after wave of fiery explosions rippled across the swarm sending charred body parts everywhere and knocking countless others away.
Saren turned around his sight following the trails of smoke back to their source. In the sky were dozens of aircraft he has never seen before, most of them he identified as being transports of some kind, and the rest attack craft.
"Ahh, that would be the rest of my unit." He heard the man speak in a tone of voice that Saren could only describe as being… embarrassed? The transports landed and their doors opened, soldiers dressed in the same armor as the figure charged out their weapons drawn. "Don't be surprised if my commanding officer yells at me. I kinda jumped out of my transport to save you." Saren whipped his head around to give the figure an incredulous look. He did what?
But before he could say anything to the man he heard a shout. He saw what he guessed to be an older man of the same species as the figure that saved him, walking up to them. The man spoke to the figure in a language he had never heard. Though judging by the tone of the man's voice it was clear that he was angry with the figure. A part of him wished that he could understand them, that way he could give his own opinion on the matter. Knowing that there was nothing he could do for the man that saved his life at the moment, Saren turned his attention back to the battlefield.
He was pleasantly surprised to see that the aliens had formed a new defensive perimeter, one that was holding back the incoming tide of enemies. In the air, he saw several gunships firing into the horde, and descending from the air were transports that look like they were landing assault vehicles to bolster the newly formed defense line. He also took note of the weapons they were using to fight. At a glance, while they were alien in design, he could already tell they were firing rounds that were smaller than the ones currently being used by the Citadel races to fight the 427s. Yet they were tearing through the swarms like nothing he had never seen before. It quickly became clear to him that whoever these people were they had experience fighting the 427s. Then there were the aliens that had the same crystal wings as the man from earlier. Interestingly those wings were extended and pointed at the swarm, they firing shards very much like the ones that some of the 427s were able to fire. Saren's eyes narrowed in suspicion at that detail, there was definitely a connection between them. They were enemies, there was no arguing against that, but instinct told Saren that there was something more to that.
"Saren!" The familiar shout caught his attention. He turned to see that his unit had apparently broken their retreat and where now rejoining the fight. The shout had come from his command officer. Saren walked up to the man ignoring his fellow soldiers running past him. Coming up to the man he gave him a salute. "Lieutenant Saren Arteries reporting."
The man waved him off. "No need for that Lieutenant. I'm just glad that you're alive." The commander's gaze turned to the battlefield, prompting Saren to do the same. He saw Turian soldiers taking up firing positions alongside the aliens.
"Sir, who are these people," Saren asked, never taking his eyes off of the battle. He saw one of the aliens knock a Turian soldier down saving him from a hail of shards.
"I don't know Saren. Just moments before they showed I got a message from your brother." Saren tore his eyes away from the battle and look at the officer with an expectant expression. "Apparently they call themselves the Terran Federation and claim to have come to join the war against the 427s or as they call them the Dragon Orphans." Dragon Orphans? An odd name they gave them. "Their fleet arrived about seventy minutes ago, they along with Galie's were able to defeat the swarm fleet in orbit."
There was no hiding the look of shock on Saren. An entire Swarm fleet defeated? Since the beginning of the war two years ago such a feat had never been achieved. The smaller fleets could be beaten oftentimes with heavy losses to Citadel forces, but one of the larger fleets like the one that attacked the planet that was unheard of. "An entire fleet destroyed?" Saren asked for clarification.
"Not the entire fleet, a small hand full of their ships including their command ship escaped the battle." The officer said the awe in his voice unmistakable. "Now as you can see they have landed their forces on the planet to assist us. Help I'm glad to receive even if I have my reservations about certain aspects of this species." The officer looked at one of the so-called Terrans, specifically one of the ones with the strange wings.
"Aspects?" Saren Inquired.
"According to your brother which I can now confirm with my own eyes, these Terrans have demons in their ranks." He said a small trace of disgust in his voice.
At the utterance of the demon, it finally clicked in Saren's mind why some of the Terrans had such familiar characteristics. They resemble those who were infected by a strange infliction that gave them enhanced physical abilities and the ability to produce odd appendages that could be used as weapons. Another distinctive feature they had were eyes like the one that the man that saved Saren had. But the most disturbing thing about them was their inability to eat any kind of food, only being able to eat the flesh of their own species. He had been near one of them and never realized the danger he had been in.
"They allow monsters in their ranks?" He said without thinking.
"For your information." Saren jumped at the voice. The man that saved him was now standing close to them, his commanding officer close by. Both had expressions that Saren guessed were ones of contempt. "This monster so happens to have a name Hideki Kaneki. I enjoy all the same rights as any Terran in the Federation and so do the rest of my kind."
"Your kind?" Saren said his voice sounding surprisingly weak to him.
The expression in the man's eyes seemed to soften, it was hard to tell he was going off what Asari were like. "We're called Ghouls, one of the three races to rise on our home-world of Earth. I can understand why you think of us as monsters, the citadel races have not gotten a very good first impression of their equivalents to ghouls." The man looked out to battle, more specifically at the swarm of enemies that were now dying by the droves to advance and failing. There was an odd look in his eyes. "Trust me when I say, that there was a time when relations between humans and ghouls were very different. The result was tragedy."
For some reason, Saren felt as though that there was more meaning behind those words then they appeared to have.
September 9th 14:45, Turian Command post
Desolas Arterius looked over the tactical display of the city. The arrival of the Terrans had completely flipped the momentum of the battle. The once unstoppable 427 swarm advance had been brought to a halt. In some areas, they were even being pushed back, with his forces aided by the Terrans going on the offensive, a refreshing change of pace in his opinion. He sent out a few more orders before turning his attention to the figures before him.
One was a Terran Admiral calling himself McKinley, he appeared to be an older member of his species, and had strange red fur with greying streaks on his head and face, his dark green eyes telling of the experience he held. The other was a woman who looked a little younger than the admiral, she brown fur stretching down to her shoulders, General Xi was what she called herself. Desolas still held his reservations about working with these people, with them having demons in their ranks and the use of synthetic soldiers.
But Admiral Galie had mange to convince him to let the Terrans land their forces. A decision he was glad to have made. With the Terran's apparent experience in fighting the 427s or Dragon Orphans as they called them, his people were gaining real victories against the enemy. Victories they sorely needed.
"I must admit," He began to say. "At first I did not trust you when you said you could help us in fighting the enemy. I was mistaken. For that, I owe you both an apology and a heartfelt thank you. You have saved many lives today." He gave a respectful to the aliens and the rest of his command staff followed suit. Desolas may still have his reservations but he knew where to give credit where it was due.
"No need for such things." Said the Terran general prompting the Turian general to break his bow. "The Dragon Orphans are our ancient enemies and are born from a great mistake. It is our solemn duty to fight them, where ever they may lay." Desolas had to wonder what she meant by Dragon Orphans being "born from a great mistake". It implied that the two held deeply tied histories to each other. He a great many questions to ask of them, but for now he had more pressing concerns.
"Be that as it is." The terran admiral spoke. "The Dragon Orphans will not give up on this system so easily. Especially with the Dragon General escaping. It will more than likely attempt to attack the system, possibly with a larger force. Pending on much trouble the rest of our forces give them on the other fronts." So they do have other forces deployed to aid besieged citadel forces throughout the galaxy. The ones he was seeing here were likely a smaller taskforce. "With your permission, we would like to begin establishing a defense network in orbit of the planet."
"You'll have to talk to Admiral Galie about that one," Desolas said to the man, receiving a nod.
"In the meantime, I'll come down to the planet's surface to personally greet you. We have much to discuss in regards to the defense of this world." General Xi said.
Desolas gave an approving twitch of his mandibles. "I'll be sure to give you landing coordinates. I look forward to meeting you in person. Desolas out." The two figures nodded at him before disappearing, having been holograms the whole time. With the communication link broken, he turned his attention back to the Tactical display. There is much that needed to be done, but first.
"Get me a link to the Citadel. Tell them it is a priority One Transmission."
And so the Terrans arrive on the scene. What will the rest of the galaxy think of them and will they be enough to drive back the swarms of Dragon Orphans?
We'll have to find out next time. Saren makes his debut in the story and to make it clear, yes I am going for a GOODSAREN in this stories. Personally I think we don't get enough of those, I've any found three or four stories that did this, so I though it be nice to have another story were he's a good guy. He might still be a bit of an asshole at times though, haven't decided yet. Course that means some one else will be Sovereign's puppet when the story's version of the Mass effect games rolls by, some of you can probably quess who.
See you in the next update.
