Chapter Sixteen: Battle for the Citadel Pt. II
"When you've secured the area, make sure to tell the enemy."
- UNSC Marine Corps Handbook (Unofficial)
Pelican En Route to Disabled Cerberus Frigate
"Didn't know we had Force Recon with us," Fred remarked.
"Well the Infinity herself didn't, but two Battalions came with Battlegroup Yorktown," informed Cortana.
"That many?" asked Linda, surprised.
"Sixty seconds," notified their pilot over the intercom.
"Skyheit's Yorktown is one of the main deployment locations for most Force Recon," said Cortana. "I've just got word, they've breached into the hangar bay. Two Platoons are onboard, with more waiting in support."
"What do we know about the Marines already there? Who's in charge?" asked Chief.
"C Company of Second battalion is establishing the beachhead, led by a Captain Miller. Tough, smart guy, he and most of his Company are veterans of the second half of the Covenant War. Force Recon live for this kind of high-risk, high-reward stuff anyways."
There were a few seconds of near silence, the only sounds being the soft whooshes as Fred twirled and spun one of his knives through the air of the troop bay. "What's to keep Cerberus from just blowing up their own ship if they figure out what we're up to?" he asked.
"Well," started Cortana, "Although we don't know much concerning the schematics of their ship, we think that the salvo from the Yorktown that took out their engines also disabled their reactor."
"Proof?" asked Linda.
"All forms of weapons fire ceased abruptly along with their running lights. Also, even with their engines disabled they could still move with maneuvering thrusters that we saw active during the battle, but we're seeing no evidence of them using those now."
"Could they have a secondary reactor?" asked Chief.
"Almost definitely, our ships that size do," answered the AI.
"One that has enough power capabilities to facilitate a self-destruct?"
"Perhaps."
"That we're going to have to be quick," said Chief. "That means quiet too, we won't have time do get bogged down in lengthy engagements."
"Thirty seconds."
"Gear check," ordered Chief, and the Spartans spent the next several seconds visually checking over their weapons and armor for any faults while Cortana performed various systems diagnostics of their individual Mjolnir's, displaying the results in their HUD's.
"Everyone good?" asked Chief, receiving three green dot flashes in response.
"Ten seconds, be advised the LZ is hot."
Blue Team congregated near the door to the Pelican's troop bay, and as they felt the craft decelerate the floor shook as a long burst from the 30mm chin gun was let loose.
With a thump the Pelican set down on the ground, extending struts that absorbed the shock of the landing and the troop bay quickly fell open. Blue Team activated their active camouflage and rushed out, performing a U-turn as the dropship had its bay facing the hangar's atmospheric containment field.
The Spartan-II's turned around right into a large firefight between the Force Recon Marines and the Cerberus defenders. Chief quickly surveyed the scene.
The Force Recon marines, about a hundred of them, had set up defensive positions in-between and around the six Pelicans that had brought them here, using deployable hard-light shields and appropriated Cerberus crates or other equipment as cover as well. Dressed in the SPI-II armor that had been issued to all higher-echelon non-Spartan UNSC soldiers, the individual soldiers visually showed up as constantly morphing images that camouflaged them with their surroundings, but with Blue Team's enhanced HUD's they clearly saw their service tags along with solid body outlines.
Smoke and gunfire filled the hangar as the Marines traded fire down the fifty or so meter distance towards the other end of the hangar and the similarly dug in Cerberus defenders, with a Pelican occasionally firing another 30mm burst where enemy concentration was heaviest. There were a couple of Marine bodies lying on the deck that he could see, one that was being attended to by Corpsman and one that wasn't.
Chief found the service tag which designated Captain Miller and led Blue Team towards him, the Spartans holding fire as to not give away their position.
Chief saw that Cortana had patched him into Miller's command frequency and he said, "Captain Miller, Blue Team reporting."
Miller ducked back behind his cover after firing a burst from his Battle Rifle, spinning his head around and looking at what his visor portrayed as Blue Team's service tags due to their camouflage.
"Good to have you," he said, "Your AI told me we don't have a lot of time so here's what we know so far. Cerberus hasn't stopped pouring troops through two main entryways at the other end of the hangar so getting through to other parts of the ship that way seems dicey. However, my men have spotted something that looks like a large grate, possibly a part of a maintenance hallway if we're lucky. That's your best bet. We brought suppressed weapons as well for you, they're in the Pelican right beside us. Take what you need and let me know when you're going to make you move, we'll keep their heads down."
"Affirmative Captain," said Chief, about to move to the Pelican to collect some suppressed weapons when suddenly a loud crack rang out. A Marine besides Miller took a powerful round to the chest that sent him sprawling backwards, his hexagonal orange hardlight barrier shattering with a pronounced hiss having just barely absorbed the round.
Miller reached out his arm and grabbed the downed Marine's arm, dragging him closer to cover and out of the line of fire of follow-up shots. Chief saw another Marine a few men down the line take careful aim with an SRS-99, then let out a quick pair of shots.
Cortana had switched Chief over to what his HUD said was First Squad's comms channel and he heard, "I got the bastard."
"Good work Jackson. Caparzo, are you alright?"
"I'm fine Captain, just a little short of breath, that's all," replied the lucky Marine in between some wheezing coughs.
"Jesus Christ Caparzo," started Miller, firing another burst in Cerberus' direction, "What the hell is it with you and snipers?"
By this point Blue Team had acquired their suppressed weapons, putting their ACS to magnetic weapons plates on their backs. Fred and Chief had both picked up specialized Battle Rifles with suppressors built into the barrel, while Linda had chosen a DMR with the same setup. Kelly had opted for a pair of silenced SMGs, and they all had replaced their M6 Magnum sidearms for the M6S silenced variations. With a passing thought, the Chief grabbed a shotgun lying to the side of the suppressed weapons and secured it to the magnetic plates on the small of his back along with a small bag of shells that he put into an empty compartment on his armor.
"Captain Miller, we're ready to make our move to the grate," said Chief after they had armed up.
"Roger! Grenadiers, prepare to – wait – damn, they're bringing in a Mech! Pelicans, bring it down!"
The Hangar floor shook violently as the vibrations from seven 30mm chinguns firing at the same time were sent rippling through the Pelican's landing struts and into the metal deck. The Atlas Mech that had been lumbering through one of the entrances on the far side of the hangar didn't stand a chance really, the torrent of heavy high-explosive or armor piercing cannon rounds smashing down the Atlas's shields in less than a second and proceeding to utterly obliterate it.
As the Atlas exploded, taking out several Cerberus troops that had been standing behind and in front of it, Miller repeated his interrupted order. "Grenadiers, cover the area with IR smoke!"
About a dozen Force Recon Marines reached to the small of their back and withdrew an M319 Grenade launcher, loading the weapon with a specially marked IR smoke grenade from the bandoliers wrapping around their chests. They took careful aim, then launched their grenades into the no-man's land between Cerberus and them, the grenades dispersing large, white clouds of infrared and thermal defeating obscuring smoke which would hinder Cerberus' vision long enough for Blue Team to access through the grate.
Taking their que Blue Team quickly sprinted past the Force Recon lines and into the white smoke clouds, their Promethean vision and Cortana's HUD projected routes guiding them towards the grate. They reached it in only a couple of seconds at a full sprint, Chief and Kelly taking place on either side of it while Fred and Linda kept watch towards the Cerberus side of the Hangar. Chief and Kelly grabbed into the metal grate and simultaneously pulled hard, shearing the grate from its metal attachments.
"Into the shaft," said Chief and they quickly filed into the maintenance hallway, a tight fit for the heavily armored Spartans.
"Chief, there's a terminal right there! Get me close!" said Cortana, highlighting said terminal. Chief did as she asked, allowing the AI to interface with with the terminal.
"What do we have Cortana?" said Chief, inquiring to the data that Cortana was now sifting through.
"I've just defeated their firewalls, so let's see… I've got basic diagnostics, camera access, door access, schematics, but it appears more advanced functions are locked into the bridge systems which are physically separated from these auxiliary systems I have access to now. I've updated your path to the bridge."
As Blue Team started moving down the maintenance corridors, Cortana continued. "The good news is that I don't believe they can initiate a self-destruct with the secondary reactor alone, and the main reactor is definitely offline like we thought. There is a large team of Engineers working on repairing it though, so that could be subject to change."
"Do we know anything about the guard force?" asked Fred.
"Platoon strength at least, spread throughout the corridors leading up to the bridge doors, but I think there's a way to get around them. These maintenance shafts lead all throughout the ship and are seriously lacking in security. No laser trip-wires, no self-sealing denial doors, not even a single incinerator. Anyways, I think I've found an exit that will drop you into the bridge from above."
"And when we get into the bridge? What's to stop the Platoon of Cerberus soldiers right outside from just storming in?" asked Kelly.
"I don't have door access to the bridge, so I'm still working on that," replied Cortana, pausing for a second. "I've got it. If I can manage to penetrate into the bridge's systems quick enough I should be able to override the door controls and keep Cerberus from getting in while you apprehend the Captain and I sift through all of their data."
"And if you can't?"
"Well, it is only a Platoon…"
They were silent the rest of the journey, Blue Team following Cortana's instructions until they ascended a ladder that would put them in the ceiling above the bridge. From there they slowed their pace to reduce any chance of the bridge members hearing them above, moving quietly and deliberately while using their shields as a buffers against the various metal conduits and pipes surrounding them.
When they arrived above the sliding ceiling panel that they would open to provide their entryway to the bridge Chief asked, "Do they know about us down there?"
"I'm not sure. Cerberus could have no idea, or they could have a substantial welcoming party waiting," answered Cortana.
"Well let's hope it's the former," said Chief. "Kelly, you're in first. Find the Captain and incapacitate him, that's your first priority. I'll go next, then Fred, then Linda. We'll worry about any secondary targets. Kelly, on you."
Kelly raised her SMG's and said, "Do it Cortana."
Cortana activated the release that caused the ceiling panel to retract, and Kelly fell through the hole. Chief followed close behind, falling the roughly twenty meters to the bridge deck and absorbing the shock in his bending knees.
The first thing he noticed was a white-and-gold uniformed body lying on the floor just in front of the bridge's large central viewport, a blood pool surrounding his head and a pistol a short way away from an outstretched hand. He immediately knew that Kelly hadn't shot him as he hadn't heard a shot and Kelly was too precise to accidently deliver a fatal shot from this distance after being given the order to incapacitate only.
The next thing he noticed was Fred dropping down beside him and the distinct lack of any other being in the entire bridge. There was no one manning the various consoles spread out along the edges of the walls, the only other significant figure was that of who Chief assumed was the former Captain.
Weapon raised and eyes searching, Chief stepped towards one of the consoles until Cortana said, "That's it, I'm in."
"Kelly, check the body. Find the cause of death. Fred, Linda, spread out and search the room."
Kelly toed the facedown body of the Cerberus man over, exposing the small entry wound of a round through his left temple. "Headshot, looks self-inflicted," she said.
"The Captain?" asked Chief, hoping Cortana would be able to find out.
"Unfortunately, yes," answered the AI. "We can still sift for data however… I've cut off bridge door access and I'm about to start delving into encrypted files."
"Where's the rest of the bridge crew?" asked Fred, his tone wary as he confirmed that he could see no other bodies. "Did they desert?"
"It's quite curious," said Cortana. She then paused, something that Chief immediately noticed. "Wait – that's not right - Chief! The walls! It's a trap!"
Out of the corner of his eye Chief saw a section of the wall slide open and two lithe, lightly armored figures brandishing swords of all things flip out of their hidey holes. A quick glance at his motion tracker showed six more red dots spread out throughout the room, and Chief yelled, "Hostiles!"
He raised his Battle Rifle and set loose a string of bursts towards the leading hostile. The relatively small, feminine figure stopped in her tracks and raised a hand as soon as she realized she was taking fire, summoning a biotic barrier that deflected the Spartan's rounds. Meanwhile the other hostile was able to close the distance and send a sweeping horizontal swing towards the Chief's midsection. As Chief deftly hopped backwards to avoid the strike he heard Cortana in his ear as she gave Blue Team rapid-fire information on the foes they were facing.
"Cerberus elite troops, code-named: Phantoms. Biotically enhanced, monomolecular, energy-infused blades, be careful!"
"Noted," grunted Chief, ducking under a high swipe aimed at his head. Chief wondered why only one of the two Phantoms was pressing the attack while the other hung back, then promptly found out when the front Phantom flipped away, giving the back Phantom a clear line-of-sight. A beam of darkly-colored energy shot out from the back Phantom's upraised palm and Chief had no choice but to clench his teeth and hope his shields would be able to withstand the hit. Cortana, with reflexes infinitely better than even a Spartan had already diverted some of his shield strength to the front, and as the beam splashed against his chestplate he saw as his energy shield bar decrease by about a third.
Chief knew that he had to at least distract one of these Phantoms if he was going to take care of the other. He saw as the front Phantom started a powerful vertical swing, and knowing he didn't have much of window he quickly reached down to his belt and snapped off an M9 Fragmentation Grenade, flicking off the pin with his thumb and hurling it at the feet of the back Phantom. Knowing he had used his time to dodge to throw his grenade Chief rose his Battle Rifle to intercept the downwards-travelling sword, not surprised when the monomolecular blade cut right through the hard metal in a shower of sparks.
The sacrifice of his weapon had lowered the momentum of the swing just enough to buy Chief the room to take half a step back, and the tip of the blade passed a few centimeters in front of his visor. His Battle Rifle now useless, he instead delivered a jab to the midsection of the Phantom with one of the jagged halves of his rifle that sent the operative doubling over from the quick, yet very powerful, blow. Out of the corner of his eye he saw as his grenade detonated and his shields flickered as shrapnel from the blast covered the area. He quickly located the Phantom not in front of him, who was on a knee recovering from the grenade's explosion, and he hurled the other half of his battle rifle to keep her occupied for just a second more.
By this time his immediate Phantom had recovered from Chief's jab and hoping to regain the initiative stabbed forwards at the Spartan. The move was hasty and ill-timed however, allowing Chief to easily side-step the attack and in the process, seal the Phantom's doom. In one smooth motion he reached to the small of his back, palmed the handgrip of his M45D Shotgun and brought the weapon forwards pointing right at the Phantom's midsection. He fired, the 8-Gauge shell releasing a torrent of buck-shot that at this close range demolished the Phantom's protective biotic barrier and forced her backwards.
He pushed the slide of the Shotgun forwards to eject the spent and smoking shell then chambered a new one by racking the slide back again, aiming again for the Phantom's head. He pulled the trigger, the lack of any protective barriers now allowing the 8-Gauge buckshot to completely obliterate the Phantom's head into a bloody pulp.
He turned his attention to the remaining Phantom and as he pointed his Shotgun in her direction she lifted her arm and summoned a protective biotic sphere around her. Chief methodically pumped the remaining four shells from his Shotgun into the barrier, the force of each spread of buckshot not breaking the biotic sphere but forcing the Phantom to move backwards towards the wall from which she jumped out of. The Spartan advanced forwards with each shot as well and when he had expended the rest of his rounds he delivered a viciously kick to the biotic barrier.
The blow broke the Phantom's biotic sphere and slammer her against the wall. Chief rushed forwards, taking his left hand off of his shotgun and activating his left gauntlet's hard-light melee blade. With a punch aimed at the Phantom's lower abdomen Chief pierced through the Phantom's primary body-hugging biotic barrier, the foot long hard-light blade knifing through the Cerberus operative's gut and embedding in the wall behind her.
The Phantom's guttural scream of pain was short-lived as Chief violently swung his arm up in an uppercut, resulting in the hard-light blade eviscerating the Phantom's body above the stomach nearly completely vertically. His two attackers now dead, Chief deactivated his hard-light blade and withdrew the bag of shotgun shells from his armor, quickly setting out to reload the weapon while he looked to see how the other members of Blue Team were fairing.
Fred seemed to have things under control, with him being in the process of parrying a Phantom's sword arm with two crossed knives while her comrade lay writhing on the floor in her death throes, blood spurting out from a deep cut across the throat. Kelly had dispatched one of her attackers as well, Chief could see the bullet wounds from a couple of dozen SMG rounds, and was now in the process of deftly dodging every single attack her remaining Phantom swung at her while quickly battering down her biotic barrier with lightning-quick jabs of her own, waiting for the opportunity to fill the Phantom with lead.
Linda however, was in a bit of trouble. Neither her DMR nor her lengthy ACS-H were suited for this kind of face-paced, close-quarters combat so she was trying to fight both Phantoms with a pistol and a hard-light gauntlet blade. Against one Phantom Linda would have had no problem, but because there were two she was being hard pressed to find opportunities to counterattack. In Chief's HUD he saw that Linda's energy shields were half spent, likely brought there by glancing blows from electric swords or Phantom's palm blasters shots.
His six shell reload complete, Chief racked the slide and sent a shot at one of the Phantoms on Linda in an attempt to gain the operative's attention and take the pressure of the beleaguered Spartan. The distraction worked, the buckshot pellets not doing significant damage to the Phantom's biotic barrier at this range, but she turned to face Chief nonetheless.
The Phantom began taking shots at Chief with her palm blaster and as the Spartan returned fire with his shotgun Linda pressed the attack on the other Phantom. Through she was arguably the best long-range specialist in the entirety of the UNSC Linda, like all Spartans, was still extremely proficient in close-quarters combat. After dodging a quick flurry of strikes from the Phantom Linda delivered a powerful slash with her hard-light blade across her opponent's midsection that depleted her biotic barrier, then finished her off with two quick shots to her head followed by one to the chest.
Meanwhile, Fred and Kelly had dispatched their last Phantoms and turned their attention to the final remaining Phantom, the combined fire of Chief, Fred, and Kelly quickly overwhelming the Phantom's barriers and filling her body with UNSC lead. Their ambushers eliminated, Linda looked at Chief and gave a slight nod while she reloaded her pistol, a thanks for the assist.
The resounding silence that followed the end of the quick skirmish barely had time to settle before loud claxons and bright red and yellow alarm lights started going off throughout the bridge.
"Cortana, what's happening?" asked Chief, reloading his shotgun with the last of the shells from the bag.
"The clever bastards, they weren't trying to get the main reactor running again, they were just trying to destabilize it enough to trigger a self-destruct sequence!" said the AI.
"Back to the Pelicans?" asked Fred.
"No, that will take too long. The reactor is cooking off as we speak we need to get out now," said Cortana, her tone urgent.
Chief thought quickly, his eyes shooting towards the bridge's large viewport. "C12 on the viewport, we're going EVA. Suit check!"
Chief was relieved when he saw three green dots in response, he would never forget how their fellow Spartan-II Sam had sacrificed himself after his armor was compromised during the mission to destroy the Covenant Frigate above Chi Cheta all those years ago.
As Fred withdrew the plastic explosives that he always carrier on missions from compartments on his armor Chief asked, "What about the data? Can you get all of it?"
"No, there's not enough time. I have gotten a substantial amount though."
"Force Recon?"
"They're finishing loading into the Pelican's now."
"Charges planted," said Fred, having stuck enough blocks of C12 to ensure that the viewport would be destroyed.
"On me," called Chief, standing a significant distance away from the viewport. The rest of Blue Team joined him, getting in close and grasping each other's forearms tightly. They locked their arm armor so that their grip was true, as they would use the force of the vacuum of space sucking the air out of the bridge as a means to launch themselves out of the bridge and away from the doomed ship.
Fred activated the C12 and the viewport exploded in a cloud of fire which was almost instantly put out as the vacuum of space sucked out the now exposed bridge atmosphere and along with it, Blue Team. The interlocked Spartans shot out through the shattered viewport and away from the ship, their overlapped energy shields protecting them from any debris that hit them. As the Spartans began to spin around in zero-G Chief could see the Cerberus ship and friendly Pelicans flying away from it as fast as they could. After about another second a small blue-white sun engulfed the back half of the ship and sent a series of rippling explosions through the rest of the hull that shook the Cerberus vessel into peices.
"Blue Team to Ops Control, mission accomplished. We are currently EVA and are requesting orbital pickup. Activating search-and-rescue beacons now," said Chief, letting out a deep sigh. "Cortana, find anything interesting?"
"Interesting, certainly. I've got the locations of some Cerberus research laboratories and military bases, a couple of plans for future attacks, small-scale personnel lists… but here's the kicker. That biotic woman that attacked you when we first arrived on the Citadel? I've found out her identity… she used to work with Shepard."
Presidium, Great Hall Landing Pads
The efficiency and coordination of the UNSC absolutely astounded Shepard.
In the time it had taken for Shepard to get the word out to the Normandy, get his crew back to the ship, have everyone arm and armor up, get Viper and Viper-Heavy out of the shuttle bay and headed towards the Presidium, the UNSC had managed to set up a full-fledged evacuation center/medical base/fortress/staging ground that now filled up the Landing Pads and the Grand Atrium that lay beyond them. Although it irked Shepard to admit it, it was highly unlikely the Alliance could match this scale of coordination and efficiency.
After the main Cerberus attack had been eliminated a swarm of dropships had come and whisked away the Spartans, followed nearly immediately after by another swarm of dropships that delivered what he guessed was about a company of Marines to take their place. Then, yet another swarm of Pelicans had come in bearing defense equipment such as deployable fortifications, stationary anti-aircraft guns, portable shield-dome generators that now covered the Landing Pads, medical personnel and their equipment, and pre-fabricated structures that were dropped and locked in together that would go on to form triage centers or surgery bays.
A constant stream of Citadel evacuees was arriving via Pelican or by another smaller, dual-rotor craft that a Marine called a 'Falcon' into the waiting arms of UNSC marines that either guided the scared civilians to medical if they were injured or further into the Atrium into safe waiting areas. Meanwhile, loads of Marines were either being taken or delivered to the evacuation center based on where they were needed around the Presidium and Pelican gunships were landing and being rearmed by technicians with munitions delivered by Pelicans before them, then taking off again to go wreak havoc among Cerberus.
If Shepard looked towards the 'sky' of the Presidium he could see dozens of UNSC and a few surviving C-SEC aircraft flitting about, as well as a couple of squadrons of fighters that were continuously circling over the evacuation center serving as aerial defense.
Out of the corner of his eye Shepard saw a flash of blue metal travelling through the sky, a stark contrast to the greys, tans, and blacks of the UNSC, and when he turned his eyes to look he saw Cortez's Kodiak shuttle approaching the Presidium Landing Pads, followed by the jagged jet-black profile of Viper-Heavy.
As a pair of UNSC traffic controllers waved down Cortez to a landing spot with some lighted wands, Wrex stepped up besides Shepard, massive Claymore shotgun still in his hands. "It'll be good to see some of the old crew again," he said.
"I'm sure they're thinking the same thing," said Shepard. It had been a few months since he and Garrus had last seen Wrex back on Tuchanka when they had taken Grunt to prove himself, and he knew from talking to Kaidan and Liara that they hadn't seen Wrex since Shepard's 'funeral', something on the order of two years or so ago.
The troop bay door opened and revealed Garrus to be the closest to the opening, with Liara, James, and Kaidan behind him. They were all fully armored, minus the helmets on their belts, with their weapons holstered.
Garrus stepped out of the bay onto the landing pad and headed towards Wrex, mandibles upturned in a grin. "Well, if it isn't the king of the lizard-people."
"Hehehe," started Wrex, a toothy grin forming between his rough lips. "Always the warmest welcomes from you bird-brain."
The two met, grasping forearms tightly. Liara and Kaidan walked towards Wrex as well, all smiles. Shepard saw that Kaidan was carrying a medium-sized portable locker in his arms. James stayed more near the Kodiak however, not knowing Wrex nearly as well as the others did.
"Haha, Liara, Kaidan, my friends," said Wrex, grasping forearms with Kaidan as well while Liara gave the Krogan a light punch to the shoulder.
"It's been quite a while Wrex," said Kaidan.
"Indeed it has," said Wrex, "Yet still we find ourselves doing the same thing we usually do when we're together, getting ready to kick some ass."
They all shared a laugh at that, the close bonds of friendship between the four breaking for a moment the tenseness of the situation. Shepard waved over for James and to join them. "Wrex, this James Vega, an Alliance Marine who we picked up on Earth. He's N-program."
Kaidan had set down the locker he was carrying and had entered in the combination, opening it and revealing Shepard's N7 armor. "Your armor is in here Shepard, and Liara's got weapons and ammo for you."
Shepard nodded and started to reach for his lower leg armor when his omni-tool beeped. Someone was trying to call him on the comm, yet it wasn't an address he recognized. When Shepard keyed the communications key he was as surprised as anyone to hear a familiar raspy, reptilian voice.
"Commander Shepard? Can you hear me?" said the voice.
"Thane?" responded Shepard, "Yes I can hear you. Where are you? My omni-tool shows that you're using Citadel call frequencies."
"I'm at Huerta Memorial Hospital receiving treatment. Shepard, Cerberus is trying in earnest to seize the hospital. Myself and a contingent of C-Sec guards just barely repelled a determined assault, but there are not many defenders left. If they attack again, which I believe they will, we will not be able to hold."
Cortana, who had been listening in on the conversation and who was already aware of the situation, said "I've got Marines already on the way Shepard. A heavy weapons platoon and two ODST rifle squads. It should be more than enough to hold the hospital from all but the most determined assaults."
"Thane, we're sending reinforcements your way, they'll be there soon," said Shepard.
"More C-Sec? Citadel Defense Fleet forces?"
"No, but you'll know them when you see them."
"Whatever you say Shepard. Commander, there are a lot of wounded here as well. The medical staff is severely overwhelmed."
"I'll send some medical teams too," said Cortana into his earpiece.
"Extra medical personnel are on the way as well," said Shepard, "Just hang tight Thane."
"I will Shepard. I must go now, one of the nurses is requesting my assistance."
"Copy, stay safe," said Shepard, the link then closing.
"So Thane's at Huerta Memorial?" asked Garrus, "Is he alright?"
Aside from Shepard, Garrus was the only one out of their group who really knew Thane.
Shepard just nodded, Liara helping him secure his armor's breastplate to his chest.
"What's the plan Shepard?" asked Wrex, massive Claymore resting on the Krogan's shoulders.
Shepard thought for a few seconds, then said, "Kaidan, have Cortez take you and Liara to Huerta Memorial. I'm trusting you two to make sure that hospital stays out of Cerberus hands. Link up with Thane and the UNSC reinforcements and shore the place up. Get going."
"Copy Commander," said Kaidan, while Liara pulled up her omni-tool to call for the Kodiak.
"Dolton, bring the gunship down here for pickup," ordered Shepard. As Cortez took off Viper-Heavy flared out for a landing, and Shepard said to the rest of the group, "The rest of us, we're going right to the heart of this Cerberus infestation, C-SEC headquarters. We're going to root out every last one of them and see if we can't restore station-wide systems."
Guided by the UNSC traffic controllers, Viper-Heavy set down on the landing pad and extended the ramp to its reduced troop-bay.
As the group stepped into the Pelican Shepard pointed to the 7.62mm M247 General Purpose Machine Gun bolted to the edge of the bay and said, "James, take that gun."
"Don't mind if I do Commander," replied the Alliance Marine, lowering himself to the deck and holding the gun.
"We're all in Dolton," said Shepard.
From the gunship's cockpit Dolton replied, "Roger Commander," pressing some keys on his dash that would prepare the Pelican for liftoff by retracting the landing struts and increasing lift to the ventral maneuvering thrusters.
On his holographic dash an avatar suddenly appeared, her graceful feminine figure dressed in Roman-style robes, long hair flowing way down past her shoulders to the small of her back.
"Flight Sergeant Dolton, Senior Airman Cehack, I am Venus, coordinator for all UNSC aerial and orbital flight ops around the Citadel. Cortana has notified me of your destination and I have constructed your flight path. Do not deviate from it," she stressed, saying once again to clarify, "I repeat, do not deviate from your flight path."
Roran glanced back towards Sam and the UNSC pilot just shrugged, keying in Venus' assigned flight path into his computer, saying "Affirmative Venus."
He pressed down on the throttle, tilting the stick back to lift the Pelican into the air. As he did so a squadron of Pelicans passed by not fifty meters above his current point, Scorpion tanks and Mantis Mechs attached to their magclamps. Wherever they were going, Dolton guessed that Cerberus wouldn't be having a good time.
With a couple of switches he activated the gunship's stealth fields and as he started on the flight path he gave a small whistle at what he saw around him. This was the absolute definition of 'crowded airspace' if he's ever seen it. Dozens of Pelicans, Hornets, Falcons, and Broadsword Interceptors zipped to and forth carrying troops, vehicles, various supplies, or otherwise deadly ordinance to stamp out the Cerberus invaders. All aircraft were flying in precise, coordinated manners, guided by the algorithms of their AI controller Venus and the skills of their pilots.
As Dolton turned the Gunship off of the main Presidium 'Ring' into a smaller sub-corridor Cortana's avatar popped up on his dash. "Flight Sergeant, I see you're on your way to C-SEC HQ."
"Yes ma'am, just following the flight path that Venus gave us," replied Dolton.
"Good. I've got some details to fill you in on, but first there's an urgent matter that's just developed. Three C-SEC officers are trapped and pinned down by Cerberus forces, a large squad of eight troopers supported by an Atlas Mech. Conveniently they're right along your approach."
"We'll take care of 'em Cortana," said Cehack, "Just tell us when to expect them."
"Well, you should be seeing them as soon as you as you round this corner, right about… now."
Just as Cortana had specified, the Cerberus forces appeared on Roran's scopes. Cerberus was physically separated from C-Sec by a divide that split the two respective platforms they were on, but Cerberus was laying into the C-Sec officers nonetheless. Against this kind of firepower the beleaguered officers could do nothing but hide behind the wreckages of some grounded air-cars.
"Targets sighted," said Roran, determining the best way to engage Cerberus, preferably eliminating them in just one pass to save time. The infantry would be easy enough to take out, a couple of bursts of accurate cannon-fire would make sure of that. The Cerberus Atlas mech would be harder to take out though, and would require some planning. He decided he would open up with a Gauss round to the Atlas, followed by a long cannon burst that would at first be aimed at the Atlas, but then would sweep the area around it to take care of the Assault Troopers. Then he would fire an ANVIL missile, and while it was travelling fire another Gauss/cannon round burst at the Atlas to ensure that it's shields were down, allowing the missile to take it out.
"Hit 'em Roran," said Dolton and the gunner depressed both firing studs on the dual chin turret, the brilliant blue-white streak that the hypersonic Gauss slug left in its wake accompanied by its sheath of yellow-tracers from a couple of dozen cannon rounds.
The Gauss round impacted the Atlas, the linear streak ricocheting off at an angle and lancing into a nearby wall as the mech's shields deflected it. The kinetic force of the impact however caused the Atlas to stagger, and as the cannon round salvo followed shortly after the pilot crouched his mech and raised an arm in an attempt to brace himself.
While he did that Roran rotated the cannon reticule around the mech so that the shieldless assault troopers were turned into bloody chunks by the high-explosive rounds, then pressed the button for his ANVIL missile. The gunship's integrated firing computer processed Roran's aimpoint for the missile, the Atlas Mech, found and locked onto its LADAR signature, blew open a missile pod cap, deactivated the stealth field around the pod, and activated the missile's engines all in the time it took Roran to lift his finger from the firing button.
As the missile accelerated Roran sent his second Gauss/cannon round salvo at the Atlas and watched with satisfaction as the combination broke the Atlas's kinetic barrier with a visible burst of energy. Raw armor exposed, it was no surprise when the warhead designed specifically to devastate armored targets blew the Atlas to smithereens in a resounding explosion.
"Targets eliminated," said Roran, seeing as the C-Sec officers tenderly peeked out over cover to find that their enemies were suddenly gone, and then starting to look around to determine who, or what, did it. Viper-Heavy had reverted back into stealth-mode, so they wouldn't see anything of course.
"Good shooting Roran," commended Dolton. A UH-144 Falcon landed a couple of seconds later, coordinated by Cortana and Venus, and the bird's crewchief quickly ushered the freed C-Sec officers into it.
Cortana popped back up on Dolton's dash and said, "Good work you two. Now everyone listen up, Shepard?"
"We hear you Cortana," came Shepard's voice through the cockpit's speakers.
"Okay. Commander, we've quickly come to the conclusion that C-SEC headquarters is one of the last, and strongest, bastions of Cerberus left on the Citadel. A combined force of Spartans, ODST's, and Marines are currently enroute to eliminate Cerberus once and for all and establish a temporary UNSC command center on the station proper. As it turns out, you and your team is looking like it will be the first to arrive. Venus's flight path has you landing at the Southern Vehicle Bay. Here's where the problem comes in. I've got advanced schematics from Citadel records but that's all the help I'll really be able to provide you, as Cerberus seems to have wizened up and cut the power to the entire headquarters, meaning I don't have camera or sensor access."
"We'll manage Cortana," assured Shepard, confident that his team could handle whatever Cerberus could throw at them.
"Are you sure you don't want to wait for some backup?" asked Cortana. "Marines and ODSTs are even now mopping up the areas surrounding C-SEC headquarter and are tightening the noose. They'll be on station in five minutes. Additionally, C-SEC fast response teams are also enroute and should be there not long after."
"No. My people operate best in small squads, and working together with larger units that don't know how to fight alongside biotics will just slow us down. We'll get Cerberus' attention, draw them to us as we make our way to the central power generator and hopefully give your guys some breathing room as they land."
"Alright Shepard, but just know that we'll will be right behind you," clarified Cortana.
"Copy," simply responded Shepard.
Dolton put the gunship through the last turn on their flight path and the Southern Vehicle Bay came into view. A couple of dozen or so C-SEC aircars were laid out amongst the landing pads, some destroyed, some not. Through his scope Roran could see other obvious signs of battle: scorch marks, blood, strewn weaponry and equipment, and dead bodies both Cerberus and C-SEC.
Roran flicked through his alternate thermal and infrared visions and furrowed his brows when he saw that there was no Cerberus presence throughout the landing pads.
"The pads look clear," said Roran, uncertain.
"Drop us off fast and quiet, then circle overhead in case we need a quick exfil," ordered Shepard.
"Roger, but be advised we won't be able to give you fire support once you pass into the headquarters complex," said Dolton.
"Acknowledged," said Shepard.
Dolton brought the gunship quickly and expertly into a hover a few feet above an open space, activating the troop bay door's quick release. Through a camera watching the troop bay Dolton saw as Shepard an company hopped out onto the deck of the landing pads and jogged away from the gunship, weapons raised and scanning the surroundings.
Shepard looked back over his shoulder, and even though he couldn't really see Viper-Heavy he could certainly hear the gunship's thruster's whine as Dolton took the craft to a safer distance.
The group paused for a moment, and after finding out that no one was engaging them Shepard ordered them all to the closest door. Since the power was out there was no door activation hologram, so Shepard opened up a small box to the side of the door which contained a manual hydraulic release button. Wrex, James, and Garrus had stacked up on the opposite side of the door, ready for Shepard's signal.
Shepard counted down from three with his fingers, then slammed the door release. The door slid open and Wrex burst through, the reverberating sound of a Claymore firing signifying that there were indeed hostiles on the other side. James and Garrus followed in the massive Krogan's wake, and with a quick glance Shepard checked behind them one last time before rushing into the room as well.
They had entered into a large, two leveled general prep area/armory where the C-Sec officers got armed and ready for their patrols before debarking in their patrol cars. The two levels were connected by two wide stairways, the larger lower level lined with rows of short lockers presumably filled with weapons and gear, while the smaller upper level contained various large briefing tables, holoscreens, and chairs.
The first thing Shepard saw was an Assault Trooper missing most of its chest, courtesy of Wrex's shotgun. Vega, his assault rifle raised, put an accurate burst into the Troopers partner besides him as Wrex reloaded, dropping him dead before he had a chance to raise his own weapon.
There were a group of four Assault Troopers and a Centurion on the other side of the armory room, and as they took notice of the new intruders they moved to cover behind the various lockers around the room and began to fire.
As his barriers took a couple of rounds Shepard extended a hand and enveloped the Cerberus Centurion in a stasis bubble before moving to cover of his own. A headshot from Garrus' Viper took down the Centurions shields and Shepard finished him off with a biotic explosion via a throw.
Wrex's next Claymore shot just barely missed a Trooper as he ducked behind cover, but that didn't stop the Krogan as he sent a biotic pull curving over the Troopers cover, which yanked him from safety and sent him flying into the air. Shepard sent another biotic throw towards the exposed Trooper, leading the target and setting off another biotic explosion.
From a bandolier on his chest Vega withdrew a fragmentation grenade, expertly tossing it just a little bit behind the cover of the two remaining Cerberus Troopers. As they scrambled to get away from the beeping grenade Vega and Garrus filled them with rifle shots, and the fragmentation grenade finished them off.
Suddenly the two doors that connected the upper level to the rest of the headquarters complex opened up, and six Centurions rushed through, two carrying some long-barreled heavy weapons.
"Upper floor!" called Shepard, and the squad repositioned so as to not give their enemy enfilade fire. Having the upper ground, the Centurions had good firing lines on Shepard's squad and laid down some heavy suppressive fire. Just those couple of seconds allowed the two troopers with the long-barreled weapons to set up their bipods on the briefing tables, and the new saw-like brrrrraaapppp combined with the tenfold increase in incoming rounds led Shepard to the conclusion that they now had light machine guns trained on their position.
Dammit, thought Shepard. One machine gun was suppressing him, Vega, and Garrus by sweeping between them while the other focused solely on Wrex as his large back hump stuck somewhat over his cover and offered a vulnerable target. Knowing he was exposed, Wrex turned and held out both arms, summoning a biotic barrier in front of him to stop the rounds and started slowly moving towards the stairs against the kinetic energy of thousands of rounds-per-minute impacting his barrier.
Shepard followed his lead, erecting his own biotic barrier while Vega and Garrus fell in behind him. Vega withdrew another grenade, preparing to arc it above Shepard's barrier and behind the Cerberus vantage point, but the fire abruptly halted.
The four Centurions tending the guns suddenly fell dead, shields breaking and armor failing as something sliced open their necks, causing viscous dark-blue blood to spill out. The two remaining Centurions spun around firing wildly looking for the assassins of their comrades before they themselves fell to loud rifle shots.
Shepard had seen the air flicker as the shots rang out, and as he deactivated his biotic barrier he saw four white-and-red armored Spartans materialize into view on the upper level.
"Spartans, identify yourself," said Shepard as his squad regrouped and moved up to upper level.
"Fireteam Crimson," said one of the Spartans, which stepped up to Shepard to signify herself as the leader of the team. "We were close to the area and Cortana sent us to assist you."
Shepard looked towards the dead Centurions, blood still oozing out of their wounds onto the floor. "Thanks for the help, they had us pretty well pinned down. Are you operating as part of the main UNSC assault on the headquarters?"
"Negative, the main forces aren't scheduled to arrive for another seven minutes. Cortana redirected us to support your push to the central power generator, then wreak havoc on Cerberus from within. Cortana let us know about your combat preferences. We'll stay out of the way and in stealth, covering your flanks and rear and offering supporting fire if you need it."
Shepard nodded, satisfied with the arrangement. "Well let's get going then."
Shepard's squad and Fireteam Crimson made quick progress through the Cerberus held-headquarters, as most of the Cerberus forces were busy preparing for the main UNSC assault forces which left most of their path occupied by only small guard forces. The team had made their way down the final hallway to the central power generator in just a couple of minutes. Shepard's squad stacked up near the door while a Crimson Spartan set a door charge, then moved back to the rest of the hidden Fireteam a little behind Shepard's team.
Shepard waved his hand to give the signal to detonate and the door exploded in a flash of light and smoke. He rushed through the door rifle raised in one arm and biotic energy ready in the other. The vast electrical machinery of the Central Power Generator lay dormant, and no overhead lights meant that it was pretty dark inside.
His visor was able to enhance what little light was available though, and he saw that two sword-wielding feminine figures flanked another woman in black and yellow-trimmed Cerberus Battle Armor that Shepard recognized back from his own days of working with Cerberus. The central figure was hunched down over a large container and her head shot up towards the new intruders.
Shepard started by trapping one of the Phantoms in a stasis bubble while James and Garrus laid into the other one with their rifles, forcing her to flip to a nearby overturned table for cover. Wrex charged towards the vulnerable Phantom trapped in the stasis bubble and Shepard was about to send a biotic throw towards the central woman before she beat him to the punch, the biotic energy pounding into his barriers and sending him sliding back a couple of inches.
The woman quickly keyed in some numbers on the container before turning and making for an open door at the far side of the room. Meanwhile, Wrex obliterated the head of the trapped stasis Phantom with a point-blank Claymore shell while the other Phantom was cut down by the combination of fire from James, Garrus, and the just-entering Crimson team.
"I'm going after her," said Shepard, dashing after the fleeing woman and threw a biotic warp her way which she avoided by dashing around the corner of the open door.
"Shepard wait!" shouted Garrus, but the Commander didn't heed his request. As Shepard rushed after her Garrus took a look at the container left by Cerberus and his eyes quickly widened.
"Jesus Christ," he said, so shocked that he borrowed an expression from Humans. "I recognize this casing, this is a military grade Gravity Fission Bomb! This will take out the whole goddam Presidium!"
The Turian ran over and slid in front of the case, setting his rifle on the ground and tapping on the small, sole screen. It was blank, not even a visible countdown to be seen.
"Can you disable it?" asked James, rifle still raised, scanning the room.
Garrus tried to tap on the screen again, then quickly popped open his omni-tool to try and hack into the device. After he was unable to make even a basic code connection, he deactivated the orange arm-device in frustration. "The console's locked. I can't access it."
"Could we open it? Try and get at it from the inside?" asked Wrex.
"No go, I'd need access to the console to open the case," said Garrus.
"What about moving it?" said a female voice.
Garrus swiveled his head in the direction of the new voice, and saw that it came from one of Spartans of Fireteam Crimson, who had unstealthed herself to be visible to him.
The Turian looked back to the bomb, then nodded. "It should be safe to move, but how? These kind of devices can weigh up to four tons."
The other three members of Crimson decloaked before they all took positions around the bomb. In something that would amazed even Wrex, the four Spartans carefully lifted the bomb up onto their shoulders. "We'll try and get this off-station. Go after your Commander. Cortana, we need a Pelican at our Exfil," said the same Spartan who had spoken to Garrus, her voice more strained and breathing more pronounced under the strain of the bomb.
Bomb-laden Crimson Team jogged out the door from where they came, and Wrex, Garrus, and Vega shared a glance before they rushed towards the other door in an attempt to follow their Commander.
In the meantime, Shepard was in hot pursuit of the Cerberus woman who was attempting to flee the scene. She was crafty, Shepard had to give her that. He had been barely able to send out any biotic attacks, let alone any that connected, as the woman was darting in and out of various rooms and hallways as if she knew the Presidium like the back of her hand.
Shepard had attempted to trap the woman in a stasis bubble which would have made the chase quickly end, but to his annoyance he found that the technique wasn't effective, the only reason he could find being that her armor was specially treated to resist biotics. Shepard turned a corner to find that the woman was running down a long hallway, and when he saw that save for a large window at the end there were no doors or other passages on either side, he decided that this was going to put a stop to this now.
He surrounded himself in biotic energy, preparing himself for a biotic dash forwards. As he manipulated the mass effect fields to propel himself forwards at incredible speeds the armored woman he was chasing was able to glance back for just a second and see the fast approaching Shepard before she was treated to a biotic body slam.
The force of the tackle overwhelmed both of their shields and biotic barriers, and actually knocked the helmet off of the Cerberus woman. From underneath spilled long locks of black hair laced with golden highlights and as she looked towards Shepard trying to push him away from her the Commander finally got a good look at her face.
His jaw dropped, as even though her hair was colored differently there was no way Shepard wouldn't have recognized those features.
"Miranda?" he questioned in disbelief, grip loosening and allowing the Cerberus operator to scramble away from him.
'Miranda' just snarled at Shepard and threw a biotic warp at him, which the Commander just barely rolled away from. As the floor where he just was started to disintegrate Shepard shouted, "Miranda!" at the running back of the Cerberus Officer, who was nearly to the large glass window at the end of the hallway.
Shepard was gathering energy for another biotic sprint but suddenly a Cerberus Kodiak stopped right beyond the window that Miranda was running towards, bay door open and two Cerberus turrets facing outwards. The Commander had no choice but to divert his building biotic energy into a front-facing barrier as the two turrets started to spit out hundreds of rounds at him, shattering the glass that Miranda was running towards.
While Shepard was pinned down behind his barrier Miranda reached the end of the hallway and leapt into the waiting Kodiak, giving a brief look over her shoulder at Shepard before the shuttle flew away.
"Cortana, can you track that shuttle?" asked Shepard, withdrawing his barrier.
"Negative, power still hasn't been restored. I can have sorties in the area shortly though."
"Yes, do that," said Shepard, slowly walking over to the Cerberus helmet that he had knocked off. He picked it up, looking at his own reflection through the tinted black glass of the visor. Miranda… working for Cerberus?
He asked himself in a whisper, his mind racing at a thousand thoughts per minute, "Why?"
Cronos Station, Anadius, Horsehead Nebula
If you asked most people, the mission would have been considered a complete and utter failure. Near complete elimination of all ground, air, and orbital assets. Minimal main or even secondary objectives completed. It was also a rather large call of attention to the organization, and would only resukt in subsequent aggression directed their way.
However, to the Illusive Man, the Assault on the Citadel was a resounding success in terms of one thing: Information.
All throughout the battle he was gathering information and data on the one variable that had been previously unknown to him: the UNSC. At his fingertips he now had a wealth of knowledge about their warships, vehicles, soldiers, tactics and strategy.
This United Nations Space Command was certainly a force to be reckoned with. The Illusive Man's forces certainly weren't mediocre, at least up to par with standard Systems Alliance troops, but the fact that the UNSC trampled all over them proved to him that they were a far stronger force than he had first imagined.
Then of course, there was their effectiveness against the Reapers. Though the Illusive man admitted that he had a deep, wholehearted respect for the capability of the UNSC, the fact that they were just so… deadly, posed problems for his future plans. Henry Lawson was finalizing the construction of their newest research station on Horizon, and once that was completed the real work behind starting to control the Reapers would begin.
If the UNSC truly joined in the fight against the Reapers, then he would have to figure out a way to dissuade them from participating. His initial plan had been to kidnap the UNSC Admiral, Lasky his name was, from the Great Hall, but that certainly didn't go to plan. Now that it was proven that his forces couldn't hold up to theirs, more creative methods would have to be explored.
Possibly something regarding indoctrination… if he got the UNSC working for the Reapers, then he would truly be unstoppable once he took control of them. He would delve into further thought on that later. He pressed a couple of holographic keys on a screen in front of him, and an orange-hued hologram of Miranda Lawson appeared in front of him on the transmission pad. He had been waiting for her report, as she was among the last sources of intel that he had regarding Cerberus operations on the Citadel, as all of the electronic surveillance systems he had installed were suddenly gone.
"Miss Lawson, I see that you have made it off-system?"
"Barely. UNSC aerial and orbital control was extremely tight, but the new prototype stealth Kodiak performed admirably."
"And what of the Gravity Fission device? I saw that the detonation signal transmitted."
"The bomb detonated off-station unfortunately. They must have found a way to move it."
The Illusive Man frowned, yet another thing that didn't go to plan. "That is unfortunate. Anything else to report?"
"Yes. During my escape I was pursued by Commander Shepard. During a scuffle just before I exfiltrated he knocked off my helmet and saw my face."
"Hmm… I suppose that ruins any further chances of getting the Commander to confide in you."
"I would assume so."
"Well, did your replacements give you any trouble?" he asked, referring to the complete replacement of the agent's pulverized left hand and knee joint with advanced Cerberus cybernetics.
"No, the replacements performed exemplary."
"Well, at least there is that," he said, taking a sip of whiskey from his glass. "Proceed back to the station after taking the necessary precautions, we will discuss future actions once you arrive."
He keyed off the transmission, taking a long, deep drag of his cigarette. That woman right there was why he was convinced that he would be able to eventually control the Reapers. The Illusive Man thought back fondly to the day where his agents had captured Lawson and brought her back to him.
"You should have known better that to betray me, Miss Lawson" he had said. At the beginning she was so strong-willed, so defiant, and extremely resistant to even their most brutal physical torture methods. However, when they had brought in Cerberus' most basic prototype of indoctrination technology it was only a matter of days before she was completely broken, and subsequently became a slave to his wishes.
If even their most basic indoctrination technology was capable of that, imagine what could be possible with more scientific advancement, the kind that he soon planned to achieve at Horizon.
Indeed it was certainly an exciting prospect, but for now, he had some studying to do.
Special thanks to me beta JonHarper