Wandering New Stars
Chapter-7
No One's P.O.V
Lucifer panted hard as he ran towards the sound of gunfire as fast as he could.
Once the LW learned the Batarian Kid was holding off a hoard of slavers by himself, Lucifer wasted no time running to the fight. The LW just hoped the escaped slaves found the Alliance or his people before they ran into trouble.
Running to the end of a hallway, Lucifer brought up his Pip-Boy to a door.
"About fucking time!"
Lucifer hit the floor as bullets flew over him while he crawled behind cover.
"How bad?" Lucifer called as he tried to glance around, only to duck as a bullet whizzed past him.
"Are you fucking serious!?" The young Batarian shouted as he pointed his gun around the cover and started firing. "We're pinned down and their moving in with a small army, we're fucked! You should have left me behind and made sure Taka and everyone got to safety!" The Batarian growled as he glared at Lucifer.
"Not my style, kid." The LW snorted as he pulled out his pistol and gave the Batarian a grin. "Watch and learn why some people call me the Walking Apocalypse."
Without saying another word Lucifer jumped over his cover and before bringing his Omni-Shield up. The LW then started to run towards a small group of slavers while shooting at them.
"Shit, it's Morningstar!"
"Oh, fuck! Kill him! Elanos put a hefty bounty on him!"
"HAHAHA! I'm going to be rich!"
In an instant, all slavers pointed their guns at Lucifer, and it was only a few seconds before his shield fell.
"You're mine!" A somewhat fat Batarian laughed as he ran towards Lucifer, who just ran behind cover. "I'm going to be so rich, after-BLEAH!"
Just as the Batarian started to raise his weapon, Lucifer moved faster than the Batarian thought possible and grabbed him by the neck.
"You'll do nicely." The LW said with a sinister smile as he pulled out his pistol.
"W-what?" The Batarian choked as he tried to claw at Lucifer's hand. "Let go of me, you-AH!"
The Batarian screamed in pain as Lucifer moved from behind his cover while hiding behind the large Batarian, using him as a meat shield. It didn't take much for the slaver to become limp in Lucifer's hand as bullets were shot at him, but Lucifer kept his grip tight and continued to kill as many slavers as possible.
"You sick fuck!" A human shouted as he reached behind himself and pulled out a grenade. "Take this!"
"V.A.T.S!"
Everything slowed down to a crawl, and Lucifer turned his gun and aimed at the slaver's hand.
*Bang*
*BOOM*
The grenade in the slavers' hand exploded, taking him and several nearby slavers out in an instant.
"Hell yeah, back up is here!"
Glancing to the side, Lucifer saw a large door open to reveal several more slavers armed to the teeth. Glancing up, Lucifer let a toothy grin across his face.
Dropping his meat-shield Lucifer dove for cover while once again activating VATS, only he wasn't aiming at the slavers.
*Bang*Bang*Bang*Bang*
The new slavers ducked and expected someone to get hit, but instead found everyone unharmed.
"Ha, you missed Morningstar!" A cocky Turian yelled as he and the other slavers raised their guns. "Let's waist this-"
*BOOOOM*
Suddenly a large vent exploded above the slavers before crashing down and killing most of the slavers under it and blocking the doorway.
Lucifer grinned. "No, I hit exactly what I wanted." The LW muttered before pulling out his shotgun and turning it on to the closest enemy.
The young Batarian hid behind cover with his mouth hung open as he watched the human fight. What he saw was not something he expected to see from the cocky human. The young Batarian had only heard of Lucifer Morningstar today and what Taka told him, but the last thing he was expecting was this.
Suddenly the Batarian ducked as a stray bullet flew over his head. Looking to the far end of the room, the Batarian saw more slavers rush in, guns ready.
Acting fast the young Batarian pulled out several grenades and wrapped them around in a nearby cloth. Before any of the slavers could see the young Batarian he throw the bundle into the crowed while pushing a single button on one of the grenades.
The sake landed in the middle of the oncoming group and most stopped to see what had fallen.
"What the-"
*BOOOOOM*
Several of the slavers were blown away from the explosion. It was so large and sudden that it even drew Lucifer's attention.
Glancing at the young Batarian Lucifer saw the grin from where he was standing.
"Keep killing, I'll pick them off!" The young Batarian said as he raised his rifle and started to take shots.
Lucifer grinned as he pointed his shotgun and fired, killing another slaver in a gory mess.
Suddenly a large door at the far end of the room open followed by a large thumping sound. Both the young Batarian and Morningstar turned to see a somewhat shocking sight.
"Let's see if you can handle this Morningstar!"
Stomping into the battle was a large mech-suit. The suit stood a good 15 feet tall, armed with a large gun in the left hand and a mace in the right. The suit had graffiti written all over it, as if a raider went crazy with a can of paint while high on jet. The most noticeable graffiti was the big words on the chest that said 'BFR-Big Fucking Robot'.
While the young Batarian started to sweat in worry, Lucifer felt a large grin cross his face as he looked at the pilot of the robot.
"Alright! Now it's a party!"
Taka along with the other escaped slaves all panted as they ran. After separating from Lucifer and the young Batarian almost a half an hour ago the group had run into a few groups of slavers. Fortunately the escaped slaves managed to get the drop on them and come out with practically no injuries.
Suddenly Taka's Omni-Tool beeped, making him stop in his tracks along with everyone else.
"Hello?" Taka spoke into the Omni-Tool while keeping his eyes sharp. "Hello, is this the Alliance, Lion's Pride?" Taka spoke in a hopeful voice.
"...Hello? This is the Alliance. Who is this?"
Taka let out a breath and all the slaves gained hopeful looks on their faces. "We're a group of escaped slaves! Lucifer Morningstar was with us and he is holding off a group of slavers to let us escape!" Taka said quickly.
Their was silence on the Omni-Tool for a solid minute and Taka feared he lost the signal before the person spoke again.
"I'm sending you coordinates to one of our safe zones. Our commander will want to speak with you about Morningstar."
The line ended and Taka instantly received the coordinates to the safe zone, which was not that far away.
"This way!" Taka called back to the other escaped slaves before leading the group.
The escaped slaves ran with a new drive, hope filling their beings as they ran down the metal hallways.
15 minutes later, as the escaped slaves ran nonstop, they started to notice dead littering the floor. Most of them were slavers and mercenaries, but a few looked more soldier like.
"Freeze!"
All at once the unarmed slaves hit the ground while Taka and the armed ones raised their weapons.
At the end of the metal hallway was a large barricade. Standing behind said barricade were three Alliance soldiers all pointing their guns at the slaves.
Taka saw the armor and quickly lowered his gun. "Stop, it's the Alliance!"
Intently the other armed slaves lowered their weapons, but did not dropped them.
"Identified yourselves!" One of the soldiers called as they slightly lowered their weapons.
"We're escaped slaves, I contacted one of your people on my Omni-Tool, they told me to come here!" Taka called out.
One of the soldiers blinked and fully lowered his weapon before turning to his comrades. "I think their legit," He said, grabbing the other soldiers attention. "One of the tech guys called me and told me to be on the lookout for a group of escaped slaves that might be heading our way. I think this is them."
The others looked hesitant but lowered their guns. "Alright, come through! But drop the guns!"
The slaves hesitated but decided to drop their guns if it means safety.
As soon as the slaves dropped their weapons the soldiers lowered theirs before opening the barricades.
"So I heard one of you knows something about Lucifer Morningstar?" The soldier asked as he led the group of slaves to the safe zone.
"I ran into him not to long ago," Taka said as he walked next to the human soldier.
The soldier nodded as he glanced to the Quarian. "Our Commander will want to talk to you, finding Morningstar is one of our prime missions."
Once the group reached a door the soldier raised his Omni-Tool before typing in a code. Once the door slid open the escaped slaves were treated to the surprising sight of the safe zone.
Dozens upon dozens of soldiers, both Lion's Pride and Alliance, littered the large room that was the safe zone. Off to the far left their was a medical station, with both medics and technicians treating the injured and unshackling slaves.
"Hey, I got some more escaped slaves!" The soldier called, grapping some attention.
A man in Lion's Ranger Armor quickly marched up to the large group and gave them a quick look over. "Is anyone injured?" The medic asked.
Taka quickly shook his head. "A bit shaken and bruised, but mostly unharmed."
The medic nodded. "Okay, we'll unlock all your collars and implants before taking you to evacuation station."
"Actually, someone already did that, Lucifer Morningstar." Taka quickly cut in.
The medic's eyes widen at that. "Wait, you were with Lucifer?" He asked, getting a quick nod from the Quarian. "Where, when, what's his situation?" The medic asked quickly after in a worried tone.
Taka took a small step back at the sudden questions but quickly answered. "He was with us not too long ago. He and another stayed behind to hold off a large group of slavers so we can escape."
The medic looked worried before looking to the soldier. "Take everyone to the evacuation station," He said before looking to the Quarian. "Are you willing to stay a little longer and help us find Morningstar? The commander will want to speak to you."
Taka quickly nodded his head. "Yes, I wish to help. Morningstar saved my life and a friend of mine stayed behind as well in order to save our lived."
The medic nodded with a grateful smile. "I'm Butcher, lead medic."
"Taka." The Quarian nodded.
"Well Taka, follow me. The commander is going to want to hear everything you can offer."
With that the two made their way to the one in charge.
"Sectors 3, 5, and 18 have all been cleared out of slavers, no slaves found."
"Good, how's sector 6 and 8 doing?"
"They were met with resistance but no losses on our side. The slavers are too disorganized to pose a serious threat."
Reilly nodded as she turned to a large map on a whiteboard. "With those sectors cleared, the slavers will be forced to retreat here," Reilly said while drawing a large circle. "Get ready to move a large squad to sector 11. Take a few Steady Bots with you for back up. Maybe even a couple of Assaultron."
Assaultrons were the newer robots added to Lion's Pride arsenal. While they lack in range and firepower, they made up for it in strength and melee attacks. Their greatest weapon was a chargeable laser cannon in the head that could blow nearly anything away at full blast. Top that off with the cloaking system and you had a very dangerous robot.
The down side was many people didn't like the look of the robot, since may felt they resembled the Geth too much. Yet no one could deny the robots were useful as cannon fodder.
"Yes, ma'am." The soldier said before leaving the tent.
Reilly sighed as she turned back to the board, a calculating look on her face.
"We're making good progress and minimal loss of life," Reilly said before looking at a part of the large map that had no writing on it. "But how is the Alliance doing?"
Ever since Lion's Pride landed on Torfan they have had zero contact from the Alliance. Reilly knew for a fact they made it onto the moon base, but she had not heard from them or Lucifer's allies since they set up shop. Too much chatter was going on in the moon base that they could not send or reserved a message from the Alliance.
This was a problem as long-range communication was needed to clear out the slavers and scum on Torfan.
"What would Lucifer do?" Reilly muttered as she looked to the board.
Despite what most believed, Reilly was out of her depth, more so than ever. Sure she had led her squad in and out of challenging situations, but never before had she ever led a small army with many lives at stake.
The biggest raid Reilly had ever been apart of was Paradise Falls. Even then, Lucifer was the one leading the various groups that agreed to help him.
Lucifer was truly something else, a living legend in the wasteland and now he was becoming a legend in a completely new universe. She was the vid of Lucifer killing that Krogan and slavers, ripping them apart with his bear hands. It was just like the LW to turn a near defeat into a vicious victory.
That didn't mean Reilly was helpless, far from it. Her mentor thought her well before his passing. Since coming to this universe, the mercenary woman has been studying military tactics in her free time.
"We'll move our men here and here," Reilly muttered to herself while drawing on the board. "If we can set up a communication hub here, then we can-"
"Commander," A soldier shouted while rushing into the tent. "We have someone who says they've seen Morningstar!"
Reilly quickly turned around and was slightly surprised to see a Quarian standing next to the soldier. However, what he said was far more critical.
"What was that about Lucifer?" Reilly asked while looking at the two.
Taka quickly stepped forward. "Lucifer saved me and a few others not too long ago. As we found more slaves and freed them, more slavers appeared and were closing in. Lucifer and a young Batarian stayed behind to hold them off and give us enough time to escape."
Reilly and the soldier raised an eyebrow at the mention of a young Batarian. However, Reilly had learned early on that the Batarian government has been enslaving most of its own people for a long, long time.
"Get a squad ready. We move out in five minutes." Reilly said to the soldier, who quickly saluted before running out. "Can you give me the location of where you last saw Lucifer?"
"I'm coming with you," Taka said, surprising Reilly as he continued to speak. "The Batarian with Lucifer is a friend of mine. Without him, I would have died on this rock months ago. I need to make sure he's okay." He said in a desperate voice.
Reilly gave the Quarian a long look before grabbing her rifle. "You stay behind everyone and do exactly what we say, no matter what." She said in a solemn voice as she holstered a pistol from her desk. "That means no heroics or going off on your own, got it?"
"Yes, ma'am," Taka said with a quick nod.
"Then suit up," Reilly said with a grin as she grabbed her new Ranger Helmet.
"...I'm already in my suit." Taka deadpanned as he gestured to himself.
"...Let's move out!" Reilly said quickly before exiting the tent.
Reilly led a squad down a metal hallway swiftly. The squad consisted of her, Butcher, Brick, Donovan, a few Alliance soldiers, and the Quarian Taka.
After Reilly left she left Fawkes in charges until she came back with Lucifer. She knew she left the troops in good hands, despite being a Super-Mutant the green guy was very smart.
"Contact." A soldier whispered as he saw two slavers check a dead body. They could tell they were slavers from the heavy armor and weapons, escaped slaves would of grabbed just the weapons while only grabbing light armor to move fast. These two were also in much better shape then most slaves.
"Drop them."
Two shots went off followed by two thuds.
"Move out."
The squad moved forward and followed Taka's directions, running into very little resistance. It wasn't long before the group found themselves in a room the Quarian recognized.
"This is where Lucifer and my group split up." Taka said while glancing around the room. "Last I saw, he went that way to hold off the slavers with my friend."
"I'm not hearing any gunfire," One of the alliance soldiers said while glancing around. "So they either moved the fight somewhere else, or-"
"There's no one left to fight." Reilly said in a grim tone. Despite her faith in Lucifer Reilly knew he was still human, still mortal despite his mutations and insane luck. "We'll search the area for any sign of Morningstar, lets move out."
Following the Quarian's directions one again the troops marched down a wide hallway with their guns in had ready for anything.
"Door." Was all Brick said as she spotted a rusted door at the end of the hallway.
Once the troops reached the door Donavan stepped forward while raising his Omni-Tool. "No hostels as far as I can tell." He said making Reilly nod.
"We breach on three, gun's ready everyone." Brick grinned as she raised her minigun, hoping to find some hostels. "Okay, 1... 2... 3!"
Donovan activated the door and the troops quickly moved forward.
"Holy shit!"
"Fuck!"
"Jesus..."
And were greeted to a grizzly sight.
Bodies.
Dozens upon dozens of bodies littered the large room, bloody, beaten, dismembered, shot, you name it. The scene before the group looked to be straight out of a horror movie or a war movie, with blood, gore, and guns littering the entire room.
One of the younger Alliance soldiers put a hand over his mouth and bent over, trying not to hurl. "I think I'm going to be sick."
"What in Sam-Hell happened here?" The other soldier asked while glancing around whirly. "It's a slaughter. Did the Alliance sweep through here, Lion's Pride maybe?"
Reilly gave a sigh as she holstered her rifle before cupping her hands around her mouth.
"Lucifer, where the hell are you!?" Reilly shouted, surprising the Quarian and Alliance soldiers quiet a bit.
*Ahhh~*
A groan echoed through the room making everyone look around whip their guns up.
*Bang*Bang*Bang*
Everyone turned to a destroyed mech on the far side of the room. The hatch to the mech moved with each bang, making everyone point their guns at it.
*Bang*Bang*Crash*
The hatch came flying off the broken down mech and out popped a familiar wanderer.
Lucifer looked like he just walked out of hell and concord it. His body was covered in blood, his upper suit was practically gone leaving him in only his pants. Large gashes littered his body yet none seemed to be leaking any blood.
"...Hurk~" The youngest Alliance soldier bent over and hurled all over the floor.
Lucifer snorted and limped his way over to Reilly and her crew. "Get used to it kid, I'm not stopping any time soon." He said before glancing around. "Speaking of... Hey kid, you still alive!" The LW called out.
A weaker groan was heard as a young Batarian poked his head over a railing. While the young Batarian looked worse for wares, he still looked better then Lucifer.
"...How the hell are you still alive?" The young Batarian questioned with a deadpan look on his face. "Seriously, the fact that your still alive is stupid alone."
Lucifer snorted as he pointed to the young Batarian. "Real charmer that one."
The LW took a single step forward before falling to the ground.
"Butcher!" Reilly ordered.
"On it." The medic said as he rushed to the fallen man.
Butcher made his way to Lucifer along with the rest of Reilly's Rangers while the Alliance Soldiers held the perimeter. Taka quickly went to check on his Batarian friend and see if he was alright. The medic quickly rolled the LW onto his back and couldn't help but grimes before he got to work.
"How bad is it?" Reilly asked while giving the LW a worried look.
Butcher snorted as he pulled out some Med-X and quickly injected it into Lucifer. "Anyone else and I would say they have minutes to live." He said before applying Medi-Gel to Lucifer's wounds.
"But for Lucifer?" Donavon asked with a small smirk.
Lucifer let out a small sigh as his eyes fluttered open.
"He'll be up in a matter of minutes." The medic said while shaking his head in disbelief. "Though he will be sore for the next few days."
"I'll rest when we take this stupid rock." Lucifer grunted as he pushed himself up, feeling the medicine nit his body back together. The LW looked to Reilly and gave her a smile. "Glad to see you Reilly."
"I'd say the same, but you look like hell." Reilly said with a smirk.
"I feel like I went ten rounds with a Deathclaw." Lucy snorted before giving Reilly a serious look. "How's the situation?"
All playfulness left the Ranger's faces as Reilly spoke.
"Thanks to your efforts we along with the Alliance were able to catch Torfan off guard and take out most of their ships and outer defenses." Reilly explained. "Admiral Hackett is handling the space fighting and preventing anyone from escaping and reinforcements. We did as planned with little difficulty, me and our people landed at our checkpoint while the Major landed on there's." Reilly's face then grow worried. "Their were some complications, some of our troops got mixed up in the fire fight and were forced to land in different spots. Same with the Alliance." She said while pointing to the Alliance soldiers.
Lucifer nodded in understanding. Things weren't perfect, but they were better then they could hope for.
"We've managed to establish a small base and have been sweeping different sections ever since we arrived. Killing slavers and saving whoever we could." Reilly said before letting out a sigh. "Currently, our biggest concern is the Alliance. Since landing communication has been trouble and we have yet to contact them." She said in worry. "We're trying to set up a communication tower, but we're having difficulty."
Lucifer looked down in thought as Butcher continued to patch him up. "Forget the tower, by the time you set it up it could be too late for the Alliance side." Lucifer said while shaking his head. "Instead we send a group to the Alliance, five at most. Once their we can set up a way point and start working together to clear out Torfan."
Reilly nodded to the LW. "I'm assuming you'll be going?" The Ranger asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yup," Lucifer grinned while rolling his shoulder. "Give me whatever gear you have and 4 guys to go with me. Once we meet the Alliance and start coordinating with them, taking over Torfan will be a lot easier."
"Easier he says." Brick said with a snort.
"I'll find a way, I always do." Lucifer smirked as he saw the young Batarian and Taka walk up to the group. "How you doing kid?"
The Batarian grunted while Taka spoke. "A few injuries, but thankfully nothing life threatening."
Lucifer nodded as he reached down and grabbed a rifle off the floor. "Well then, let's move." He said as the group quickly left the slaughter filled room.
Lucifer hissed as Butcher started disinfecting the LW's wounds before applying more Medi-Gel.
After leaving the slaughter room and making it back to the safe-zone in one piece Reilly went to prepare for Lucifer's run to the Alliance while Lucifer was dragged off to be healed by Butcher.
Butcher pulled out a piece of scrap metal from Lucifer's stomach before closing the wound with Medi-Gel.
"Why do you have so much metal in you?" Butcher snorted as he continued to pull out more metal.
"Grenade, was took close to get away, so I grabbed the nearest bastard and forced his body on it." Lucifer said with a small hiss of pain. "Killed him and saved me from the blast, but still took some shrapnel."
Butcher shook his head with a laugh of disbelief. "I swear, sometimes I just tell myself your making this shit up, because that is more believable then half the shit you say." He said, getting a laugh out of Lucifer.
Suddenly the flap to the medical tent open, revealing Donovan and Brick carrying a large case.
"Got some toys for you boss man," Brick said with a grin making the LW grin as they dropped the case. "Take a look."
Opening the case Lucifer saw a good number of his usual weapons and armor.
"If you want we got some suits of Power Armor on standby if you feel like going heavy." Donovan said as he sat on a stool.
Lucifer consider the idea of Power Armor before shaking his head. He honestly rarely ever went heavy unless it was completely necessary, most of the time Lucifer preferred to go light for faster movement rather then heavy.
Looking in the case Lucifer grabbed his signature Stealth Suit and quickly slipped it on. He also slipped on his personal Black Duster for style, he wanted everyone to recognize him when he entered a room.
As for weapons Lucifer grinned as he pulled Vengeance out along with Blackhawk. He paused on the his Melee choice before choosing Jack the Ripper. All of Lucifer's weapons went through an upgrade, Vengeance was no longer the bulky mini-gun that needed a large pack to fire, but was now just a large gun that could fit by itself on Lucifer's back.
"So who's going with me?" Lucifer asked as he holstered Blackhawk and slung Vengeance on his back. If he ran into another group of slavers again Lucifer couldn't wait to mow them down with his Gatling-Laser.
"Me and Brick," Donovan said as the heavy-expert woman nodded. "Reilly said we'll do better helping you get to the Alliance."
"Fawkes and Toshiro are also tagging along." Brick said with a grin. "They want to help you out and it will be good to have another big gun on our side."
"And with Toshiro's skill, he'll keep anyone from getting close." Donovan added.
Toshiro was probably the most out-of-place person in the entire galaxy. A Samurai from ancient Japan frozen for a couple hundred years before being pulled into another dimension was a lot for one person, yet Toshiro was a survivor and an honorable warrior. After being explained what his situation was the man seemed lost and only focused on taking revenge against the Zeta being, once everything was said and done the man pledged his loyalty to Lucifer, surprising the LW greatly. The Samurai explained that he saw how powerful the LW was, taking on the entire Zeta being forces, and how Toshiro was eternally grateful for Lucifer returning his Katana to him. Given the fact Lucifer forged Lion's Pride from scratch was enough to prove the Samurai's point.
Ever since coming to the new universe Toshiro has put his skills into training the new requites.
Not only that the Samurai gained a few upgrades to his arsenal.
For one he wore a light weight metal armor that looked similar to his previous armor, but lighter and less bulky. The Samurai was also equipped with a pistol for long-range kills, though he preferred to use his sword most of the time, and an Omni-Shield similar to the one Lucifer had.
"One more thing," Donavan said, grabbing Lucifer's attention. "That Batarian kid you rescued, he says he wants to come with us."
Lucifer raised an eyebrow at that. "Really," He asked before shaking his head. "Send him here, I'll talk to him."
The two Ranger's nodded before leaving the tent.
As they left Butcher handed Lucifer a small pack of supplies. "Here, incase you need to heal someone." He said, getting a nod from the LW.
A moment later Brick and Donovan came back in with the young Batarian in toe.
"So I hear you want to follow me on this suicide mission," Lucifer said as he checked on his Gauss Rifle, making sure the gun was good to go. "Got to ask, why?" The LW asked while slinging his gun over his shoulder. Thanks to his years in the wasteland Lucifer was an expert in carrying more then a few guns. "Right now your home free, just wait here and in a couple of hours you'll be free as can be. So why do you want to go on his suicide mission?"
The young Batarian was quiet, his face stone hard as he stared at Lucifer.
"...I used to live on one of the few Batarian settlements that were not under the Batarian Hegemony. There we lived relatively peacefully... until the Hegemony came." The young Batarian growled, tightening his fist until it shook. "Pirates and Slavers came under the command of the Hegemony, accusing everyone of being traitors to their race, that we were selling information to the other races or the rebellion. Then without warning they started to kill everyone. The elderly were executed along with the males. Women and children were turned into slaves and scattered across if they didn't fight back. My entire family was whipped out and I was brought here." The young Batarian growled in rage as he looked at Lucifer. "Most of the fuckers who whipped out my family are here on this rock, and I'm not just going to sit on my ass wait for them to escape."
Lucifer stared at the Batarian for a long minuet before looking to Brick and Donavon. "Get him some armor and weapons." He said, surprising the two a bit but nodded to the LW, before Lucifer looked back to the young Batarian. "You follow me, you do what I say, no going off on your own or putting my guys in danger or I will knock you out and lock you here. Understood?"
The Batarian nodded as he turned to leave with the two Rangers.
"You sure this is a good idea?" Butcher asked with concern. "He look's to be just a kid, maybe 16 or 17."
Lucifer sighed as he sat on a stool. "Normally I would blow off an angry teen, but I seen that kid fight. He's a great shot and he's looking for blood. If I don't take him with me there's a chance he'll leave on his own and get killed." Lucifer's face gained a mixed look of sad and angry. "I know that type of anger, the kind that's looking for the blood of the people who wronged you. It doesn't leave you... even after you kill the person."
An certain Enclave general flashed in Lucifer's mind, making the LW inhale deeply before letting it out slowly.
Lucifer let a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Butcher giving him a firm look.
"Keep an eye on him... and make sure he makes the right choses." The medic said getting a nod from Lucifer.
Grabbing some ammo and his supplies Lucifer started to make his way out.
Lucifer found his crew just outside the Safe-zone, waiting for him patiently. The one who caught his attention first was Brick, who was in some heavy Power-Armor with Ranger colors. Lucifer knew the woman was training to use the armor and it looked like today was her first run with it.
The second person Lucifer took note of was the young Batarian. The young Batarian wore sleek black Lion's Pride armor and had a Anti-Material Rifle in hand along with a shotgun on his back.
"You sure you can handle that kid?" Lucifer asked with a raised brow, knowing how much kick the rifle had.
The young Batarian snorted as he cocked the rifle. "I'll manage."
"Morningstar-san," Toshiro said as he moved forward, his hand lightly rested on his sword. "We are ready to depart on your orders." He said with a light bow.
Lucifer nodded as he turned to his crew. "Alright, our job is simple! Make contact with the Alliance and asses the situation. After that we go back to killing every slaver on this moon, any questions?"
"Will there be pie at the victory party?" Donovan asked while raising his hand, making everyone look at him with a raised brow, even Lucifer. "Oh come on, half the stuff Lucifer says is sarcastic comments and I can't do it once." Donovan huffed while throwing his hands in the air.
"Because everyone knows you serve cake at victory party, get with the program." Lucifer rolled his eyes dramatically, getting a laugh from Brick.
"How are you people not dead yet." The young Batarian deadpanned while sighing.
Lucifer turned to the young Batarian while raising a brow. "You know, before we leave on this mission, we should really get your name. We can just call out 'Batarian' every time we need you."
The young Batarian shook his head. "I honestly forgot my name, kind of happens when you spend most of your life having every asshole call out to you as 'you', 'hey', 'kid' and 'Batarian' the entire time.
"Well that's depressing," Brick muttered as she looked to the Batarian.
"A name is important young one." Toshio said while closing his eyes. "If you are to reclaim your freedom, you must first reclaim your name."
"He is right," Fawkes said in a gravely voice. "I too had my name taken, but given my self one. With that I never stopped fighting for the freedom I have now."
The young Batarian sighed while shaking his head. "Fine, then give me a name. And nothing stupid." He added while glaring at Lucifer.
Lucifer gained a thoughtful look as he looked to the young Batarian. Suddenly a small smile crossed Lucifer's face.
"Jericho."
Everyone turned to Lucifer with mixed looks. Fawkes looked to his closet friend with a small smile as he nodded his head, feeling the name would fit.
"Jericho?" The Batarian muttered before shrugging. "It'll do, call me Jericho."
Lucifer's grow a wide grin as he cocked his gun. "Then let's roll."
*BOOM*
"Head-shot!" Lucifer shouted as a Turian's head exploded into a gory mess.
Lucifer and his group had left Lion's Pride Safe-Zone about an hour ago, and in that time they killed several slavers, saved dozens of slaves, and managed to get out mostly unscathed.
The now name Jericho seemed to be descent with Anti-Marital Rifle and followed Lucifer's orders down to the letter. He stayed in the back and took out any slaver with accuracy before they could react.
The group moved in in since for the most part. Brick and Fawkes would enter first, taking the heavy hits and taking out the bulk. Jericho and Donovan hung back and took shots from afar, helping with support. Lucifer and Torshio moved around the room, killing anyone with swiftness.
The ex-slaves they saved were sent back through safe-routes they cleared. As much as Lucifer wanted to escort everyone, they had to make contact with the Alliance forces to coordinate a takeover of Torfan.
"Everyone rest up for a second," Lucifer said with a sigh as he sat down on a metal create. "We move in five minutes."
Donovan sighed as he sat down on the floor and started to mess with his Omni-Tool. Toshiro moved around the perimeter while keeping his eyes sharp. Brick and Fawkes went over their weapons and armor, while Jericho did the same with his gear.
Lucifer looked to Donovan. "Anything yet?"
The tech-specialist sighed as he shook his head. "I'm still getting too much static. My guess is when you sent that vires into all the systems it messed with every frequency. Only personal links with Omni-Tools and short commination is possible." He explained while fettle with the settings more. "I'm trying different frequencies and hoping I catch something. If I find a signal booster maybe-"
"Ma-com-we need..."
Everyone turned to the tech-specialist as static started blasting through the devise. Donovan's finger's started to move fast as he started to mutter.
"Come on, come on! I just had it! I am not losing this signal-" Donovan was cut off as Lucifer moved over and connected his Pip-Boy to the Omni-Tool before raising his hand in the air.
"How's this?" Lucifer asked while standing up straight and raising his arm as high as possible.
Donovan worked on his Omni-Tool with sharp eyes. "Hold it just like that, I almost-"
"-mein! I repeat we are being sevearly overwhelmed and need backup ASAP! We have wounded and need assistance!"
"Can you track-"
"Already on it!" Donovan cut Brick off as he started typing faster on his Omni-Tool. "I-I'm getting a signal! I can track it!
"Lock and load people!" Lucifer said as he loaded Perforator. "Donovan, you lead, we'll follow."
The tech-specialist nodded and started to lead the group to the signal's location. It wasn't long before they started to hear gunfire, and a lot of it.
Soon they reached a door, sparking constantly as gunfire was heard from the other side.
"We're here." Donovan said as he lowed his arm and raised his gun.
"Brick, Fawkes, upfront." Lucifer order as he brought up Vengeance. "We move in on three... one... two... three!"
The doors slid open and the group was treated to a very grizzly sight.
The sound of gunfire blasted on the highest volume. Slavers, thugs, and crooks all littered the large room, moving in on a somewhat large group of Alliance soldiers on the far end.
The soldiers were dug in deep, hiding behind a large metal barricade made from whatever scrap they could find. There were also a few biotic soldiers putting up barriers with their powers, and from the look of them they were a few minutes from falling.
"Move!" Lucifer shouted as his crew rushed in.
Lucifer, Brick and Fawkes moved first and turned their guns on a large group of slavers, killing a good number of them before they had time to react. Jericho stayed back and started to shoot at the slaver's closest to the barricaded soldiers, taking a good amount of presser off while Donovan started to hack the slavers gear, even causing a few to short out leaving them defenseless.
Meanwhile, Toshiro gave a battle cry as he charged forward with his shield up, right into the fray of things. The samurai's shield took a good amount of bullets before he found his first target.
A human male shot at Toshiro before his gun overheated, causing it to stop shooting.
This gave Toshiro an opening.
Rushing forward Toshiro stabbed his sword into the slaver's chest, killing him swiftly before raising his pistol and firing.
"Fall back!" A Batarian slaver shouted as he and other slavers moved to a large door on the other side of the room. "We need to regroup-"
*Bang*
*Splat*
The Batarian's head exploded into a gory mess as his lifeless body feel over. The Slavers didn't hesitate to trample the body while making their way to the large door on the far end of the room before slamming it closed.
Lucifer clicked his teeth as he lowered his gun. "Donovan, any more hostiles?"
The Tech-expert raised his Omni-Tool before holstering his rifle. "None, the rest are either dead or gone.
Lucifer nodded as he holstered Perforator. "Brick, Fawkes, Jericho, you secure the perimeter. The rest come with me."
The group split up into two as Lucifer made his way over to the barricaded Alliance troops.
As Lucifer stood in front of the barrier a Biotic trooper spoke as he continued to hold the barrier.
"Halt, identify yourself!" The biotic said while glaring at the LW.
Sliding his orange helmet off Lucifer spoke. "I'm Lucifer Morningstar, leader of Lion's Pride." Lucifer said clearly, hoping he wouldn't have to jump through hoops to get their trust.
The biotic stared at Lucifer for a long while and just as he spoke someone beat him to it.
"Lucy?"
Lucifer blinked at the familiar voice as he was surprised to see who was behind the barrier.
"Butch?"
The grease head looked worse for wears. His right eye was black and swollen shut, a busted lip leaking blood, a large burse on his cheek, and his armor seemed to have gone through hell.
"Man, am I glad to see you." Butch said with a blood grin as he looked to the biotic soldier. "He's cool, it's really Lucifer."
The biotic looked at Butch for a good second before dropping the barrier, the rest following.
The Alliance soldier stepped forward while holstering his gun. "Lieutenant Alenko, acting commandeer of this squad."
Lucifer nodded as he glanced at the other soldiers. There were about 30 in total, most were Alliance but their were a few Pride. Most were injured and exhausted, but Lucifer could see they were far from dead.
"What's the situation?" Lucifer asked while folding his arms.
"Well-"
"We're up shit-creek Lucy!"
"Mr. DeLoria!"
"What, it's fucking true!" Butch throw back with a glare before looking back to Lucifer. "It's been fucked since he landed on this damn rock."
That made Lucifer feel worry as he looked to the two before him. "Alright, explain everything and fast, from the top.
Alenko sighed as he folded his arms. "After we touched down we managed to gain a foothold after meeting some resistance. Major Kyle organized the Biotic we had and managed to push back the slavers."
"So what went wrong?" Lucifer asked.
Butch spoke up first before Alenko could. "We were hit by a surprise attack by the slavers, a shit tone of Krogan along with Asari with their own Biotics got around our Biotics and shot them in the backs, took out most of them before they could react."
"When we did collect ourselves we found the Krogan were handling military grade shields, combine that with thick armor and..." Alenko shook his head as he shuttered at the memory.
"Damn it, it seems the slavers are more organized here, and prepared." Lucifer cursed as he rubbed his forehead. "What's your current objective?"
"During the raid on our safe-zone the slavers managed to grab a few of our own, possible to use as hostages. As we went after them we ran into an ambush." Alenko explained with a sigh as he rubbed his face. "We were requesting backup, but I don't think we could of hold out long enough."
"Lucifer," Butch said in a serious tone, grabbing the LW attention. "They got Clover."
The LW gripped his fist hard until it shook. Grabbing his face the LW rubbed it before shaking his head hard.
"Okay," Lucifer said as he started to pace in front of the two. "They've taken hostages. That means they don't plan to kill them all as long as they don't try anything. Clover's smart enough to wait for use as long as things don't get dicey." Lucifer said as he started to think out loud. "Their probably thinking of using the hostages as a shield to stop us from coming after them and as a way to escape Torfan."
"That won't work," Alenko said while shaking his head. "The Alliance won't take the chance of slavers escaping, any hostages they have will most likely be killed after the slavers escape."
"Right," Lucifer said as he took a deep breath. "Which means we'll have to save them ourselves."
Butch clicked his teeth while shaking his head while Alenko looked shot.
"What," The biotic soldier said while blinking in disbelief. "You want to hit the slavers that are holding hostages. If we launch an assault they'll kill them before we can even get to them."
"Not if I can secure them first." Lucifer said as he tapped his chest. "This is a Stealth Suit, I can turn invisible for long periods of time. That means I can sneak into the slaver's base and secure the hostages without the slavers noticing."
That made Alenko pause before shaking his head. "Even if you can get to them, there is no way you can get them out silently. Getting them out hard will be worse, every slaver there would shoot you and the hostages." The biotic said before shaking his head. "This isn't even my decision, this is up to Major Kyle, he's leading this operation."
Lucifer nodded as he remember the Major. "Lead us back to the Alliance Safe-Zone and I'll talk to Major Kyle myself." Lucifer said as he narrowed his eyes. "We can't let the slavers gain a foothold. If they do it's only going to drag out the fight and a lot more people are going to be killed. We need to hit them when they least expect it."
Alenko gave the LW a look before turning to his large squad. "Everyone get ready to return to base, help anyone who can't stand on their own." He said as the soldiers started to rise to their feet. "I'll lead you to the Major, Morningstar." Alenko said as the LW nodded while calling his crew back.
"Lead the way soldier."
"Damn..."
Was all Lucifer could say as he saw the Alliance safe-zone.
The first thing the LW noticed were the bodies.
A large number of bodies were laid next to each other on the far side of the room, all covered with sheets stained with blood. Their were also a large number of injured soldiers being treated by the medics. The air around them was grim, as if they lost hope and were waiting to die.
"You guys go and rest up, I'm going with Alenko to see the Major." Lucifer said to his crew before looking to Biotic. "Take me to your leader." Lucifer said with a grin making Alenko roll his eyes.
Lucifer followed Alenko and instantly saw a good number of soldiers look at him with wide eyes and whispers.
"Looks like this is going to be a thing." Lucifer said with a sigh.
The LW was used to people looking at him in awe back in the wasteland, and it look like thanks to that video it was happening again.
Opening a large tent flap Lucifer stepped in along with Alanko. What Lucifer saw inside did not fill him with confidence.
Major Kyle was sitting on a chair in front of a board, his head hung low as he looked distraught, ragged, and even a little frantic. Yet Lucifer could tell the Major was trying to put on a strong face.
"Major, I've brought Lucifer Morningstar." Alanko said while standing at attention.
Major Kyle whipped his head up to the two, hope and relief showing on his face.
"Lucifer, thank god your hear!" The Major said as he bolted up from his chair and rushed up to Lucifer.
The LW walked up and shook the Major's hand. "Look's like you've had it rough."
Major Kyle's face fell as he look grimily to the board, as if it was the cause of all their trouble. "We started off with a strong foot hold, but then the slaves launched that surprise attack, hitting us hard. They even managed to capturer a few, obviously to use as hostages to stop us." The Major said as he walked up to the board.
Lucifer did the same and saw what Major Kyle's plan was. "You plan to go on the defensive." Lucifer said as fact as he was Major Kyle was having his men build up their defenses.
"We plan to strengthen out foothold here and wait for reinforcements. Once we regroup we'll overwhelm the enemy and slowly take Torfan." Major Kyle said with a nod.
Yet despite the tone Lucifer heard different. Looking back into the Major's eyes Lucifer saw fear, not for himself but fear for the men under him. Lucifer sighed at that, it was easy to throw your own life away, but it was harder for a good man to throw someone else's life away.
"That won't work." Lucifer said in a strong tone as he faced Major Kyle, making the man take a step back in surprise. "The last thing we want is for the slavers to think they got an out. If they think they can somehow win this by this foot hold out they won't stop until everyone is dead. We need to put presser on them and take them out, fast and hard."
Major Kyle blinked and Lucifer before glaring at the LW. "Did you not see the state we are in right now?! A good number of our troops are injured and the other half won't be able to fight! How can you expect them to throw their lives away for a fight they can't win?!"
Lucifer was quiet for a moment as he looked at Major Kyle, the man looking frantic and angry.
The LW stepped forward until he was only an inch away from Major Kyle and looked the man straight in the eyes.
"Because the only thing worse would be if everything they've been through, all their pain, suffering, was worthless." Lucifer said in a low tone, making Major Kyle blink in shock. "We can't lose here, no matter what. Too many people depend on us to win. The slaves being held here need us to free them, without us they will only suffer and die." Lucifer said as he sighed while pulling back. "Not to mention that if we lose this surprise attack the Batarians will become cocky, meaning they'll start hitting human colonies more and more until it's an all out war. So no Major Kyle, we can't go on the defensive, because losing is not an option."
Major Kyle grit his teeth as he glared at Lucifer, tightening his fist until it was shaking. Alanko looked to the Major with worry, hoping he wouldn't have to pull the man away from attacking Lucifer.
Suddenly Major Kyle looked to the board and slumped, seeming defeated. "I can't ask my men to throw their lives away." Kyle said, sounding shaken as the man shook his head. "I just can't."
Lucifer placed his hand on Major Kyle's should, making the man look to him. "Then give your men to me, I'll lead them."
That got a shocked look from both Major Kyle and Alanko. "Y-you?!" The Major shouted in shock.
Lucifer nodded with a confident look. "I got a plan, something to hit the Slaver's stronghold and rescue the hostages in one attack, but I need your men to follow me." Lucifer said as he looked into the Major's eyes. "I need you to trust me. I won't lie, this won't be pretty, and people will die... but we'll win this."
Major Kyle was dead silent for a long moment before sighing and dropping his head.
"My men... are yours."
Lucifer gave a small grunt as he claimed up a small stack of creates. Lieutenant Alanko and Major Kyle both stood next to the creates, putting on strong faces for the troops.
Once at the top Lucifer took off his helmet, took a deep breath, then pulled out his gun and fired up.
*Bang*Bang*Bang*
Basically every soldier jumped at attention with their gun in hand while looking to Lucifer.
"Can I have everyone's attention please!" Lucifer called out, grabbing not only Alliance Soldiers, but Pride Troopers as well.
After a few moments the soldiers gathered around Lucifer started to speak.
"Most of you don't know me, and a good number of you don't even give a shit who I am. Good." Lucifer said with a grin as he put his hands behind his back. "All you need to know is I'm the guy who has a plan to take down the son's of bitches who call this hellhole home, and I can't do it alone." Lucifer said as he gave a sigh. "I'm not going to lie, some of you might not be coming home, someone of you might be wishing you died, but I can't do this without help." Lucifer saw hesitant looks in the crowed, and knew he had to push. "We came here for two reasons. To show the galaxy that humanity can't be fucked with without reaping the consequences! And to give these slaver bastards a one-way ticket to hell for thinking they can take people for credits! So, who want to show the galaxy what us humans can do!"
"Yeah!"
"Hoorah!"
All the troops cheered with a fire in their eyes. Both Alanko and Major Kyle looked surprised at the sudden shift of moral. Lucifer however had a grim smile on his face as he jumped off the stack of creates. The LW wished he didn't have to use other people for this fight, but it was war, and in order to save lives they would have to risk their own.
"So, Lucy?" Butch asked as he walked up to Lucifer, his face healing up swiftly, with a grin on his face. "What's the plan?"
Lucifer gained a thoughtful look before turning to Alanko. "I need you to round up all the Biotics you can find, anyone that can make a Barrier." He said, getting a nod from the soldier before he rushed off. Lucifer then turned to Butch. "And I need you to grab everyone that can carry a heavy weapon, I need strong guys and girls that aren't a stranger to a mini-gun." Butch grin before running off to find whoever he can.
"Mr. Morningstar, you still haven't told me the plan." Major Kyle said, starting to look worried.
Lucifer turned to the Major with a massive grin that unsettled the man greatly. "A good old-fashion Pincer-Attack." Lucifer said before he walked away with his face turning serious. "Hang in their Clover."
"OoF!"
"How do you like that bitch?!"
Clover couldn't help but give the man in front of her a bloody grin as she spat blood into one of his eyes.
"Ah, you bitch!" The Batarian roared as he smacked Clover with his pistol before pointing it at her head.
"Stop!" Another Batarian yelled as he stopped the first one from shooting her. "We need them alive!"
"She spat in my eye!" The first Batarian yelled while rubbing one of his eyes. "This human bitch is nothing but trouble, let me kill her!"
"No!" The second Batarian yelled as he reached into his bag and pulled out a tin collar. "The more hostages we have the more leverage we have. We he start killing them the Alliance will come down on us hard." The second Batarian before looking to the side. "Hold her down."
Two Turians came up from behind and yanked Clover by her harms while holding her in place. Clover growled and tried to pull away, but the Turians were surprisingly strong.
"Hold her still!" The Batarian yelled making one of the Turian's grab Clover by her hair and yank her head up. The Batarian quickly slipped the collar around the woman's neck and locked it in place. "Alright, it's primed." The Batarian said as he raised his Omni-Tool. "Now listen here human, you try anything and I pop your head faster then you can blink." The Batarian said in a low growl as he jerked his head to the side. "Put her in with the others."
The Turians jerked up and started to drag Clover away, but not before the first Batarian got one good hit in on Clover's face, making a sickening smack.
"Hope you try something Human." The Batarian said with a grin as Clover was dragged out the room.
Clover's vision blurred from pain as she tried to look around as the guard dragged her away. Their were slavers all around, some in groups and some in by themselves, all getting ready for a fight. The woman didn't know how many their were, but had to guess by the size of the room and the large groups she was seeing, close to two hundred.
The three suddenly came to a stop at a large metal door with guards as a guard raised his Omni-Tool, opening the metal door with a rusty clang.
Inside were over 20 Alliance soldiers, most beaten and bruised but still standing, all with collars around their necks.
The Turian slavers throw Clover into the cramp room, making the young woman grunt from the impact.
An Alliance woman quickly rushed to Clover slid while glaring at the slavers, who just gave her a wicked grin.
"Remember humans, you try anything," A Turian said while waving his Omni-Tool. "Pop!"
With that they closed the door, leaving the soldiers locked in the dimly lit room.
"Fucking bastards." The soldier woman growled as she knelt down to Clover. "Hey, are you okay?"
Clover spat a glob of blood onto the floor and nodded her head softly. "Nothing I'm not familiar with beautiful." Clover said with a grin as she sat up.
The woman snorted as she helped Clover up. "Well, she still got her spunk." She said before looking around with a weary face. "Now how the hell do we get out off here?"
"We don't," A gruff looking soldier said in a grim tone, making everyone look to him. "We're behind enemy lines with bombs attacked to our necks, as soon as the Alliance storms in they'll set these off, try to mess with the troops mind frame." The soldier said with a shake of his head, making everyone look scared.
"W-won't they try to get us released first." A younger soldier asked with a shaky tone. "I-I mean we're prisoners, bargaining chips. We still have a shot to get out of here." The young soldier said, getting some nods.
However, the older soldiers looked down with defeat. "Kid, this is a suicide mission." The older soldier said with a snort. "We all came here expecting not to come back if it meant we kill every single slaver on this rock. The Brass isn't going to let slavers walk just to save a few troops. They'll try to save us when they assault this place, but once that happens those bastards will set these collars off."
Grim looks started to shadow everyone's face as they realized what was inevitable. Some of the younger soldiers started to panic.
"I-I can't die here!" A young soldier shouted as he looked around frantically. "I got a kid on the way, I got a life! I am not going to die on some fucking Batarian Moon-"
"We're getting out of here."
Those words said in that tone made everyone turn to the white haired woman who gave everyone a confident smile.
"W-what do you mean?" One of the soldiers asked in a shaky tone.
Clover gave a snort as she stood up tall. "This Ain't my first hostage situation, and I'm damn familiar with Bomb Collars like these."
Reaching into her hair and running her hands through it, to everyone shock Clover pulled out a small Swiss Army Knife.
"How the hell..."
"Learned a few tricks from my boss." Clover said as she started to fiddle with her collar, making everyone take a step back. "Now, we're getting out here, because my boss is here on Torfan, and there is no way in hell he's leaving little old me here."
"Stop, stop!" Someone shouted while waving their hands frantically. "What if that collar goes off! Plus even if we do get free how the hell are we getting out, there has to be over 200 slavers out their between us and freedom-"
*Click*
Everyone stared in stun silence as Clover's collar fell to the floor with a small thud.
"Ah, that's better." Clover moaned out as she rubbed her neck, grinning at all the stunned faces. "Now, we can sit here on our asses waiting for someone to save us," Clover said as she twirled the knife between her fingers with a cocky grin. "Or we can show these fuckers why you don't mess with humanity."
Instantly everyone started to grow a fire in their eyes. Being helpless always made people lose hope, but having a chance to fight would make a world of difference.
A woman soldier took a step forward to Clover and stood still. "Do me next."
Clover nodded as she got to work.
"Hurry fast lover boy. We can only hold out for so long." Clover thought as she got to work on the Bomb Collars.
21N: I! Live! Again!
Sorry for the wait everyone, but I hope you enjoy this chapter! A lot of action, some funny moments, and more of Lucifer showing how much of a badass he is.
Now to go over the story!
1: Jericho the Batarian: The original Jericho was too old to follow Lucifer onto the Revelation. I figure this Batarian would easily live up to Jericho's name.
2: Kadin Alenko: I am pretty sure I remember that Alenko was on Torfan with Shepard if you chose the renegade origin. Plus it will be good for Lucifer to know someone on the Shepard's team.
That's all I wanted to clear up! Hope everyone liked the chapter!
WE WILL FIGHT!
WE WILL ROAR!
AND WE'LL SHAKE THIS GALEXY TO IT'S CORE!
LION'S PRIDE!