Chapter Twenty-Six: Tuchanka Pt. IV
"A retreating enemy is probably just falling back and regrouping."
- UNSC Marine Corps Handbook (Unofficial)
"Now that's what I call Krogan hospitality! Hahaha!"
As Shepard crossed back into the threshold of their impromptu command center located in the heart of The Hollows, he couldn't help but offer a small smile at his friend Wrex's jubilation. The assault on the surface-to-orbit gun complex had gone off without a hitch. All involved had completed their objectives in a timely manner, and the only casualties suffered came from two dead and four walking wounded from Aralakh company. The Reaper in orbit was no longer a threat, various lifeless bits and pieces now captured in Tuchanka's gravitational pull and awaiting the moment until they burn up in the atmosphere.
Wrex strode over to Shepard and the two grasped forearms. The burly Krogan exposed his sharp teeth in a smile, saying, "Knew I could count on all of you. How did Grunt do?"
The commander of Aralakh Company wasn't present, instead having chosen to organize his unit's inclusion into the main Krogan assault line that along with the Turian ground forces, would assault the Shroud head-on. It was more important for Shepard to be here anyways, as it would be his team making the real assault on the Shroud while the Krogan and Turians distracted the Reapers.
"He performed admirably," Shepard responded truthfully. Indeed, Aralakh company had taken everything the Reapers had thrown at them and returned it twofold.
"Good to see that he's still rising to the challenge," Wrex said. "I got a lot of flak putting a tank-bred in charge of that unit. Where's the rest of your squad?"
Shepard pointed his thumb over his shoulder back towards the entrance he had come in. "Back that way restocking on ammo or other supplies from our shuttles." In the case of the Master Chief, replacing the heavy weapon that had been destroyed during his encounter with the Brute.
The Commander still almost couldn't believe what the Spartan had told him in his brief report. Fought a Brute, one of the most heavily armored and dangerous Reaper ground units they had yet encountered in this war, in close quarters combat, and won. The way the Chief had nonchalantly reported it made it seem like killing a Brute with bare hands and a shotgun was just a typical afternoon to him, and not the awe-inspiring feat that Shepard thought it was.
His train of thought was interrupted by Commandant Praetus barging in through the entrance on the other side of their command center. There were a few additions to her armor, a small submachine gun strapped to her right hip, a collapsed Phaeston on her back, some extra thermal clips, and a device placed on her shoulder with a short antenna sticking just past her shoulder that Shepard assumed was comms gear. It was obvious she was in a hurry, as she strode up to the central holotable and set her helmet down to the side with a thud, sending a minor electronic ripple through the holograms displayed on the table. Cortana, who was sitting cross-legged just outside their operational map, gave a disapproving look towards the Turian officer.
"Aerial recon is reporting some Reaper ground units advancing across our approach vectors. I'm guessing they're trying to establish forward positions, trying to steal the initiative from us. Let's make this quick," Praetus said, speaking quickly.
Cortana stood up, starting to mosey around the holotable, fingers flicking towards spots on the ground that designated points of interest. The first few gestures produced the topographical information relevant to them: the desert plains and small, ruined villages between The Hollows and the Shroud, the small mountain chain bordering the east side of their map also running from The Hollows to the Shroud, the old highway running along said mountain range, the entrance to the underground ruins of the Krogan City Shepard and his group would sneak through, and the ancient shrine to Kalros just outside the boundaries of the Shroud.
From the next few gestures came the Reaper forces they knew about, the various groupings of infantry in their defensive positions, the new group Praetus had mentioned that had abandoned their trenches to try and found forwards position, and finally, the menacing Reaper Destroyer itself. Lastly came the virtual representations of Tomkahs, Turian armor, air support assets, and the various allied infantry units.
Shepard and Wrex put their game faces on, the former opting to circle around the table to get a better view of the information presented in all its entirety, the latter leaning heavily on the rim of the table with both arms. From the other side of the table Commandant Praetus matched Wrex's stance, eyes focused on the holographic representation of their allied forces.
"I've made sure that every unit is in position and ready to move out. This area, these large plains and these three small villages, along with the Shroud, we'll label Theater A. The mountain chain, the highway that runs alongside it, the entrance to that ruined city, and the Kalros shrine we'll mark as Theater B," said Praetus. Cortana added said labels as the Turian talked. She continued, saying, "Even if we set out within the next five minutes those Reapers that are moving forwards are going to reach the closest village to the Shroud before we could, so that will be our first obstacle to overcome in Theater A."
"Why can't we wipe them out with gunships or strafing runs from your fighters?" asked Shepard.
"Too dangerous. They would be in clear range of the Reaper and the only targets around. We'll deal with them when our advance reaches the village," said Praetus. "Anyways, we'll be advancing in a staggered line, Krogan in front like you requested Wrex, with my troops trailing slightly behind. Our Talon gunships will be shadowing even farther behind since the Reapers still have some Oculus fighters they can throw at us, and I want enough of a buffer so our interceptors could respond if needed."
Praetus pointed towards the mountain highway. "Now, while the main force is advancing through Theater A, your special group will be taking the highway to the entrance of the ruins, right?"
Wrex nodded. "Aralakh Company will be escorting us. Luckily, the mountain range will block us from the Reaper's sight. Once we reach the entrance, Shepard's squad, four Krogan from Aralakh, and myself will enter the city."
"Only four extra Krogan?" asked Praetus.
"Yep. Supposed to be an infiltration mission, remember? Only Aralakh's scouts are coming with us, and they know how to be quiet. The rest of Aralakh will rejoin the main assault," said Wrex.
"You're coming as well? I thought you would be leading the main assault alongside the Commandant," questioned Shepard.
"No offense meant to you Shepard, but those Maw Hammers are old fashioned. It'll take some real Krogan strength to activate them," the head of Urdnot answered.
Shepard gave him a raised eyebrow. "And the four scouts from Aralakh aren't real Krogan?"
"Of course they are," replied Krogan, sneering. "It takes two to lift the Hammers. I'm coming as a failsafe. And because I want a front row seat when Kalros kicks the everloving pyjack-shit out of that Reaper."
Shepard couldn't help but chuckle. He didn't expect anything less from his old friend.
"Just remember," interjected Praetus, "The effectiveness of our distraction relies on the timeliness in which you complete your mission. The longer you take, the more Turians and Krogans will die to the Destroyer's main weapon."
Shepard and Wrex nodded somberly.
"Aralakh's head scout Jax knows the ruins like the trigger of his Graal. He'll get us through quick," assured Wrex.
"I've downloaded as much information about the ruins as I could find," added Cortana, "So I'll be able to help as well."
"The only real holdups that might come are if we run into Reaper troops in Kalros' shrine," said Wrex, "But they won't last long."
"Alright. Sounds like we're all settled," said Praetus, picking her helmet back off the table.
"What about Mordin and Eve?" asked Shepard. "Where are they in all of this?"
"Here, safe and out of the way," said Wrex resolutely. "I was hoping that once the Reaper is taken care of they could hop on over to the shroud on one of your shuttles Shepard, since you won't be using them for this op."
Shepard nodded his head. "Yeah, that's fine. I'll notify Cortez."
"I'm heading back to my command vehicle. Wrex, we'll await your word to begin our advance." Praetus nodded at Shepard and Wrex, pivoted on her heel, and strode out of the room.
Wrex pushed himself off of the holotable. "Meet you at the Tomkahs."
The Urdnot Krogan followed in Commandant Praetus' wake, leaving Shepard alone in the command chamber. He took one last look at the holotable, saw Cortana wink out of existence, then turned to get back to his squad in The Hollows open ground. They were all standing there waiting for him, rearmed and resupplied.
"We moving out?" asked James, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet in a small display of anxiousness. Cortana had been piping the audio from the short briefing to James, Garrus, and Chief, and providing visual aids when able.
"Yes. Everybody ready?" Shepard was met with nods all around, and he motioned for them to fall in behind them. It was a short jog to the vehicle bay where Aralakh and their four Tomkahs were waiting, and Wrex waved them over to one at the end. He was the only Krogan in sight, Shepard presumed that the rest were buttoned up in their vehicles.
"We'll be in this one," Wrex said when they reached him, waving a hand at the massive vehicle in front of them. "Let's go."
There was an access ramp extended for them, and the group made their way into the interior of the Tomkah. Surprisingly it wasn't too cramped to Shepard, likely because the armored vehicle was designed with Krogan in mind and not humans. They all took seats and fastened safety harnesses, Shepard recognizing the profiles of Aralakh's head scout Jax and another Krogan scout whose name he didn't know. The access ramp closed with the mechanical hiss of a seal and Wrex pounded on the metal inside of the Tomkah.
The massive engine in the front of the vehicle roared to life and without pause they lurched forwards. The ride passed in relative conversational silence, differing only from an approach to an LZ in Cortez's shuttle by how much more bumpy the ride was. He remembered Wrex telling him when he had first rode in one that passenger comfort wasn't a chief concern of the Krogan.
Shepard wondered what was happening in Theater A. They were probably engaged with the frontmost Reaper ground troops, waiting for the sign that the infiltration team had started on its way before advancing on the main Reaper holdings around the Shroud.
The Tomkah jerked to a stop, accompanied by the hissing jets of air that were expended as the vehicle lowered closer to the ground on its suspension. The access ramp they were familiar with extended, along with a similar one farther towards the front.
"Everyone out!" Wrex exclaimed, punching the quick release on his seat straps and jumping from his chair. They all piled out of the Tomkah, Shepard taking in the surroundings as his boots hit pavement at the bottom of the access ramp and scanned his surroundings.
The mountain range was directly in front of them, jagged peaks of dusty red and brown rock jutting into the air. The familiar pockmarked and burned hulls of the four Tomkahs of Aralakh Company had all stopped, arranged in a single-file line, each ten meters apart from the next. The Krogan that were embarked on said Tomkahs had dismounted and formed a perimeter around the halted convoy.
The distant sounds of battle from the desert plains of Theater A echoed off of the mountain faces and back towards them, which when combined with the whistling wind surrounded them in an eerie atmosphere. Small arms and heavy cannon fire, explosions of varying intensity, even the occasional roar or scream of pain. All came out in stark clarity even at this range. It just made the mission just that more poignant to them.
Movement towards the back of the convey caught Shepard's eye, three Krogan jogging towards him and Wrex. Must be the scouts, he thought, swiveling his head to the other direction and seeing one more Krogan approaching from the front of the convoy.
Suddenly, a series of thundering supersonic booms crashed over them. Shepard's eyes shot up into the sky where he saw a squadron of Turian fighters rushing down from low orbit to engage a few Reaper Oculi that had finally decided to make themselves known. He had heard that fighter combat was one aspect of this war where they had the advantage, and it quickly showed. Outnumbered and outclassed by the skill of the Turian pilots, the Oculus fighters were swatted out of the air like flies. A particular Turian interceptor Shepard was watching stitched the right side of an Oculus with mass accelerator fire, setting the mechanical construct aflame and spiraling out of control. Now lacking the capability for any kind of maneuvering, the Reaper fighter's burning husk set along the path designed for it by nature… right - towards - Shepard.
You have got to be kidding me, thought Shepard, incredulously. Shit. He turned towards Wrex, his squad, and the four scouts that had just arrived in the group. "We have to move! NOW!"
If there's one thing that people who had worked with the Commander knew, it was that when he yelled an order in the way that he had just bellowed, he really meant to do it, now. Obviously having seen the approaching Oculus on a collision course for their location, the others of their designated infiltration group abandoned any hope of a short meeting to discuss and finalize their plans before descending into the underground city ruins. Instead, they turned towards the decrepit entrance, large stone door just a short hop off the side of the onramp, and ran like hell.
They weren't fast enough. The rearmost Tomkah attempted to divert or destroy the Oculus with a shot from its top-mounted heavy mass accelerator, but the gunner was off target. The Reaper Husk skipped off of the top of the second Tomkah in the convoy, the one in which Shepard's squad and Wrex had been riding it, shearing off its heavy mass accelerator in the process, and hurled not ten meters above them into the mountain face. Bits of rock and metal pinged off of Shepard's shields and the armor of the Tomkah behind them when the Oculus promptly exploded, but that wasn't the most concerning thing that happened.
As one could probably expect based on the look of their planet, environmental conservation and protection had not been high on the old Krogan's list. When constructing the highway that Shepard and company were currently on they had unceremoniously blasted the path out of the mountain with explosives, and rather crudely at that. Not much or no attention was paid to things like minor fault lines, points of potential collapse, high-risk rockslide areas, or other dangerous things to ignore. The result of all of this was that the rockface of the orange-red mountain surrounding the entrance to the ancient Krogan city was just one minor physical manipulation away from total, catastrophic collapse.
The near super-sonic impact of the Reaper Oculus was definitely not a minor physical manipulation.
From his position near the back of the group all sprinting towards the ruin entrance, Wrex close besides him, Shepard could only watch in horror as a tidal fall of rocks cascading down the mountainside right towards them.
Grunting in discomfort, the Master Chief picked himself off the ground. An alarm warbling in his ear signaled the complete depletion of his shield, but other than a few scratches on his armor the Spartan was physically fine. He had been running full tilt towards the entrance of the ancient Krogan ruins, dodging falling rocks and boulders, when the ground collapsed underneath him and sent him tumbling downwards. He heard the rustle of motion behind him and he flipped his head around to look, flicking on his powerful headlamp beams to illuminate where he was looking.
Vega, two Krogan, one of whom he recognized as Aralakh's head scout Jax, were getting up to their knees and feet slowly, groaning or coughing. Their own helmetlamps flicked on, adding to their light sources. He saw one Krogan figure lying prone, head horribly caved in by a large rock or boulder, obviously dead. To his left Garrus announced himself with an audible wince of pain, and when Chief looked over he saw the Turian sitting up yet hunched over, both hands covering his midsection.
Recognizing the signs of a wounded soldier when he saw one, Chief slid over to Vakarian and gestured for him to remove his hands so he could see. It wasn't good, but it wasn't bad. A piece of metal shrapnel, likely from the Oculus, had embedded itself in Garrus' gut, nearly three inches of the piece extending outwards from his armor. Cortana was forwarding medical diagnostics from Garrus' armor to his own HUD, and he learned that the shrapnel had luckily missed the stomach, liver, and kidneys, but had grazed his large intestines.
Though the air was thick with dust his advanced vision systems allowed him to see clearly around. By his guess they were a dozen or so meters inside the entrance to the Krogan ruins. To their front and sides were long, bare walls and ceilings that reached inwards towards the inners of the lost city, towards pitch black darkness. Directly behind them was a mass of rock that Chief found had blocked them off from the real entrance, the highway, and Aralakh company.
Chief made his way back to Garrus, idea having hatched in his head. The wounded Turian had laid his head back and was breathing heavily as the pain-blocking medicine started to course throughout his system, numbing the bite of some of the pain. Pressing his thumb to the side of his forefinger and depressing a certain button, the energy blade of his left gauntlet snapped to life. He aligned the blade carefully, then cut into the piece of shrapnel as close to Garrus' armor as he could manage. Catching the falling piece with his other hand as the super-heated blade finished cutting through, he tossed it away and withdrew a can of biofoam from his belt.
"Will this kill him?" Chief asked Cortana on their private line, knowing about the amino acid difference between the Turians and the Humans for which biofoam was designed for.
"No. It's a neutral substance," she answered quickly. "Should work as well on him as it does human beings."
Chief looked through Garrus' clear faceplate, warning, "This is going to be cold."
"Alright," the Turian responded. His voice was still strong and calm despite his wound.
The Spartan applied the biofoam, the self-sealing and hardening substance packing the wound around the shrapnel, stopping the bleeding, and would prevent any more movement of the metal still in his body. To his credit, Garrus didn't make a sound. Chief used the whole can, knowing he had three more still available, sending the empty metal cylinder clanging along the concrete floor in the same direction as the piece of metal he had cut earlier. "Is anyone else injured?"
James and the two Krogan shook their heads in response to Chief's inquiry.
"Weapons check. Make sure nothing's broken," Chief said, withdrawing his ACS from his back and surveying it carefully. Finding nothing out of the order, he repeated the process with his Spartan Laser, his Magnum, and the Krogan shotgun 'Helmsbreaker.' Everything was still in one piece.
"All good here Chief," Vega said.
"It'll take more than a couple hundred tons of falling rock to break my Graal," head Aralakh scout Jax rumbled.
The Krogan that Chief didn't know brandished his Striker Assault Rifle and said, "Rifle looks fine."
"What's your name soldier?" Chief asked.
"Khav," he responded, "Third Platoon scout."
"Call me Chief," the Spartan said. "Garrus?"
Vakarian tossed his Phaeston onto the dusty floor like as if it were a secondhanded trinket. Even in its compact form, Chief could see the front half bent at a twenty-five degree angle. It was useless. "My Mantis is still intact, and I still have my sidearm."
"Have you been able to reach Shepard?" Chief asked Cortana.
"No. Wrex neither, nor the rest of Aralakh," she responded sadly.
Chief grimaced. Hopefully the Commander, Wrex, and the rest of Aralakh weren't lying crushed under the massive rockslide they had just barely managed to escape. Perhaps it was just a communications problem.
"What now?" asked Vega.
The answer was obvious to the Master Chief. "We continue our objective."
"At half strength?" asked Vega, not the only one aware of the fact that the absence of Shepard, Wrex, and the two other Krogan scouts represented a substantial reduction in available firepower.
"Half strength is better than no strength," Chief stated. "Theater A is counting on us to ring those maw hammers, and that's what we're going to do."
"Ha, I like your attitude Spartan," chuckled Jax. "Nothing comes from inaction."
The head scout slapped his comrade Khav's shoulder, saying, "We'll follow you, Helmsbreaker."
With the two Krogan throwing in their support behind the Master Chief, he realized that he had taken impromptu command of the group.
"Can you stand?" Chief asked Garrus.
"I'll try," replied the Turian. Using his Mantis as a prop to help him push off the ground, Garrus surely but gingerly got to his feet. He stretched, mandibles pressed together in a silent grimace as he tried to work the muscles affected by his lower abdomen injury. "Doesn't hurt too bad. What was that stuff you used?"
"Biofoam."
Garrus nodded. "Should be able to walk, even jog. Running though, that might be difficult."
"We need to get moving," said Jax. "Our brothers are dying while we're milling about."
"Jax, you know the way, you're on point. The rest of us behind single-file in this order: Khav, James, Garrus with Previa right besides him, then me in the rear. Let's go."
Jax started down the hallway in front of them, the rest of the group filling in behind him. The head scout had his Graal in one hand and his omni-tool active in the other, the hard orange light arranged in a map of the ruins. He lead them down the wide corridor, everyone's helmet and weapon lamps lighting up the previously dark chamber. The walls and ceilings were a rough, plain concrete, inelegant in every sense of the word, yet practical and durable. The floor was the same concrete material as the walls and ceilings, yet was tinted a darker black color, surface covered with coatings of dust and small debris that the group's boots kicked up into the stale air.
They followed Jax down a number of unimportant corridors and small rooms, and around dozens of turns and twists with no issue. Chief noticed that in his HUD map their current corridor ended into darkness, where Cortana hadn't been able to access electronic records.
"Large room ahead, be ready," alerted Jax, obviously familiar with the upcoming room even if the electronic records weren't.
As it turns out, 'large room' was an understatement. The space was circular and enormous, at least eighty meters wide and two hundred in length, with high, arching ceilings that tapered off in a singular point forty meters above them in the air. The floor, instead of concrete, looked to be marble, smooth, reflective surfaces dulled and dirtied by time. On one half of the circular wall, huge, chipped, and blanched frescoes showed images of a green, luscious world filled with grass, trees, and tall fields. Wide tables filled to near overflow with food and drink were set in the shade, laughing, feasting, joyous Krogan occupying the numerous benches. On the other half of the wall scenes of battle took center stage, Krogans portrayed in glorious combat with dozens of different kinds of ancient enemies. At the top of the room where the ceiling came to its point, a large yellow sun was painted, streaming golden rays of light down on the scenes of both battle and feast.
However, the stunning visual imagery on the perimeters of the room wasn't even the most striking thing about the place. Hundreds of monuments, statues of Krogan, filled the floor space of the room. All were arranged in neat, uniform lines, large bases cementing the monuments to the marble floor. The statues were differentiated only by the material they were made by. Most were either rough granite, dark iron, or shining steel. There were a few that stood out greatly however, a dozen or so statues made of jet black onyx that seemed to absorb the light of their helmetlamps, a couple dark, almost pulsating red, and one that was obviously pure, shining gold.
"What is this place?" asked Garrus, head swiveling, no small amount of wonder in his voice.
Jax turned to them, smiling sadly with his thin, reptilian lips. "A hallowed place. A mausoleum."
"A Mausoleum?" Vega said disbelievingly, "But these look like statues. Aren't Mausoleums supposed to be tombs?"
"The chamber is the Mausoleum," clarified Jax. "The statues are monuments to individual Krogan. Representative of their tombs."
"Mausoleum… To what?" asked Cortana through Chief's helmet speakers, taking in as much data as she could via the Spartan's suit and physical senses.
"This is the final resting place for the disciples of Kur, Ancient Krogan God of Honor," said Jax. He motioned for them all to follow, knowing they were on a timetable. "Upon death, loyal followers would be granted an eternity of glorious battle and extravagant feasts."
"Didn't know Krogan were religious," said Vega, casting mesmerized glances at the incredible workmanship of each towering, unmoving figure as Jax led the way to the other side of the room.
"Not anymore. Not after the nuclear self-destruction of our society so many millennia ago," Jax said, hints of sorrow laced in his words. "The last vestiges of Krogan religion died out with the introduction of the Genophage. With the Genophage, that all available time was needed just to try and survive, and reproduce."
"Why are some statues different in make than others?" asked Garrus as they passed by one of the black onyx figures.
"The make of the statue represents the status each disciple had gained within the Order of Kur. The rarer the material, the higher status they obtained during their life," said Jax.
Judging by Khav's swiveling head and agape mouth, Chief guessed that this was the Krogan's first time seeing this place as well.
"And how did one reach higher status?" asked Garrus.
Jax grinned a toothy smile. "By killing one's foes in glorious, honorable combat of course."
James pointed to the solitary, gold Krogan statue several rows over, but clearly visible as the light from the group caught and reflected off its shining surface. "So that guy? How many 'foes' did he defeat?"
"Supreme Battlemaster Krodtar Jurda. Defeated eight-thousand, four hundred and sixty-three foes in single combat before his death at one-thousand six-hundred and two years of age."
Though the chamber and the succinct Krogan history lesson Jax was giving were certainly unique, Chief delegated most of the incoming information as background noise. Instead, his war-honed senses were observing the surroundings as one would a battlefield: identifying suitable cover, possible enemy avenues of attack, egress routes, ranges, elevations, lighting conditions, structural integrity of surrounding objects, et cetera. One thing that was clear to him was that though likely hundreds, if not thousands of years old, this chamber looked, clean. There was no dust on the floor like there was in the rest of the ancient, buried city, the statues were polished, and the torches in the scones around the outer walls weren't rotted away like they would be after such a long passage of time.
"Someone's been here, recently," said Chief.
"Yes. Me," answered Jax matter of factly. "I am the caretaker for this place, and the only one who knows of its existence." The Krogan chuckled, saying, "Well, not anymore. But, cutting through here shaves a third off of our route, and considering the circumstances I decided that it's revealing was necessary."
The rest of the journey through the chamber was, luckily, uneventful, as well as the entirety of the rest of the journey through the Krogan city. Sure, they passed by and noted several surviving lost age artifacts, works of art, and architecture, but such things mattered little to the Master Chief. Instead, what was most forefront on his mind was time, and the possibilities of Reaper forces clogging their objective of the maw hammers.
The first signs of the enemy came when they exited the ancient Krogan city through a series of ascending stairways. The group emerged onto a large mezzanine, old stone weathered away by the elements yet still structurally able. Below them past a wide, demolished staircase was a plaza about a hundred meters square, and directly on the farthest side away from them was the entrance to the Shrine of Kalros, and by extension, the maw hammers. The shrine was sunken down into the ground, and aside from the columns of the entrance possessed no walls or ceilings, meaning that even a hundred meters away the group could see clearly into the depression. Past the plaza and the Shrine the tall, angular, tapering form of The Shroud loomed over the surroundings. Directly besides it, with its back turned in the other direction, stood the menacing jet-black armored form of the Reaper Destroyer. The air was filled with the sounds of the Reaper's heavy legs thudding into the ground as it maneuvered, and the cracking bwoom of its main cannon.
The Master Chief turned his attention to their more immediate concerns, namely the Reaper ground troops milling about in the plaza and beyond in the shrine itself. Cortana had quickly identified, counted, and assigned recommended priorities to what Reapers the Chief could see. In the plaza below them, four squads, labeled by Cortana, of eight Cannibals, each commanded by a single Marauder, patrolled about amongst the fallen pillars, decorative stone, and wide pathways. However, near the back of the plaza closer to the shrine were two Reaper forms that Chief hadn't seen before. Four legged, insectoid, with large fleshy sacs protruding all over its body, at the front 'face' of these creatures protruded two long cannon barrels and a singular, large, robotic eye. Judging by the size and length of their weapons protrusions Chief came to the conclusion that these creatures were long range, heavy fire support and thus needed to be eliminated quickly. Past all of these in the shrine proper strode not one, but three of the hulking, armored Brutes. None of them had seen Chief's small squad.
Chief surveyed the soon-to-be battlefield with the ease and practicality that only a seasoned veteran could do. The plaza itself was littered with cover, and he was already picking out several avenues of approach towards the shrine that would keep their flanks secure and their enemies hard-pressed to put down accurate fire. Swiveling his head he found a couple of spots that would be suitable nests for Vega to provide covering and suppressive fire down on the Reapers with his SAW. He also saw a small, mostly intact minaret a bit farther down, accessible by some spiraling stairs. He gauged that someone posted there would have an even more commanding view of the battlefield, perfect for a sniper.
When the Spartan spoke the orders came quickly, clearly, and confidently. "Vakarian, can you get up to that minaret?"
"Yes," replied the Turian. "Want sniper cover?"
Chief nodded, popping the Spartan Laser off of his back and handing it to the Turian. "Take this. Sight is here, trigger is here. One and a half second charge time, no recoil, four shots."
Garrus took the large UNSC weapon in his hands, nodding at the Chief. "I'm on it."
As the Turian trotted off towards the minaret as fast as he could in his wounded state, Chief turned to Vega. "There's cover on that mezzanine, over there. See it?"
"Yeah," replied the Alliance Marine, bouncing on his toes in anticipation for combat.
"Set up the SAW there. You'll be providing covering and suppression fire as the rest of us advance on the shrine," Chief said.
"Got it Chief," Vega nodded, moving quick and low to the pile of rubble and support columns that Chief had pointed to.
The Spartan looked at the remaining two, Jax and Khav. He thought for a second, looking at Khav's menacing Striker assault rifle that the Krogan carried in his hands. He remembered that the weapon was unique in that it didn't fire bullets, but rather miniature grenades that exploded on contact. A vicious weapon, one that he had seen decimate Reaper flesh back at The Hollows when the mass of Husks had attacked them. Chief's ACS and Jax's Graal were all precision weapons, even though the Graal fired gigantic spikes instead of typical kinetic rounds.
"We are the assault squad. Jax, you and I will be out front," Chief said. He reasoned that since he and the head Krogan scout were the most heavily armored of the group, then they should be at the front weathering the brunt of the Reaper fire. " Khav, you're at the rear. Use your Striker as area-denial, and target condensed groups."
"In position," said Garrus over their comms.
"Same," notified Vega.
"Garrus, target that leftmost insectoid creature with the Laser. Everyone else, target the right one. Once they're down, Vega will provide covering fire while the assault squad gets to cover down in the plaza and starts to engage the Reaper footsoldiers. Garrus, if those Brutes look like they're coming out of the Shrine, blast them with the Laser. If not, use your sniper rifle to engage other targets at your discretion. Cortana, try and find out if Shepard, Wrex, or either of the Praetus' are alive. If they are, tell them that we'll have the maw hammers activated shortly."
He was met by a chorus of affirmatives from each party. "Alright, everyone sight that rightmost Reaper. Garrus, we go on your shot."
Chief raised his ACS and centered the targeting reticule on the center of the fleshy insectoid's eye and. It looked armored, but he had strong confidence that hardlight rounds would penetrate. Even so, he selected his ACS to shoot its heaviest caliber, knowing that the rate of fire would be reduced but that the penetrative power would increase. His sharp eyes caught a glimpse of the thin, flashing, nearly invisible targeting laser of the Spartan Laser as the Turian aimed at his target.
A second and a half later a violent ruby-red beam of pure energy lanced out from the minaret where Garrus was posted and travelled to its target in a split second. The weapon's beam, originally designed as an anti-vehicle instrument, slagged through the front of the Reaper long-range support creature and out the back, melting into the stone behind it. Not a second later everyone else opened up on the other creature, the hundred yard distance not at all saving it from its violent fate. Rounds pierced into its front armor, popping the large fleshy sacks all around and filling the creature with holes. Out of the sacks spewed green-looking acid, and several smaller insects jumped out as well, which would have scurried away were it not for Khav's Striker grenades bursting the small bugs into scraps of flesh and thin metal.
The rest of the Reaper footsoldiers spun around to the sudden eruption of gunfire, but the assault squad wasted no time. As Vega raked the special issue 7.62x51mm depleted uranium rounds across the Reapers scrambling for cover, Chief, Jax, and Khav had already bounded down the stairs into the plaza, picking off those Reapers that were too slow to get out of the open. A sharp crack rang out as Garrus took off the head of a Marauder who wasn't safe behind his cover, followed by the explosion of a grenade thrown by the Master Chief that killed four Cannibals nearest to the headless Marauder.
"Vega, suppressive fire, Reaper squad four," said Chief, noticing how the gunner shifted his fire instantly to follow Chief's command.
"Jax, close and engage the remains of Reaper squad two. Khav, keep down squad three. Vakarian, cover me while I advance on squad one," said Chief.
Jax grinned, shouting a war cry as he ran headlong towards the already weakened Reaper squad, rounds bouncing off of his strong kinetic barriers. Chief saw a Cannibal's head get pinned to a column by a long Graal spike before he shifted his focus towards his own Reaper squad, who was arranged behind a number of jutting stone formations and a crumbled wall. He switched his ACS back to fully automatic, knowing that against the number of enemies he would value the increased volume of fire over the penetrative power of the larger rounds.
Two Cannibals peeked over their cover and aimed to take shots at the quickly advancing Spartan, only to receive a flurry of blue hardlight rounds to their soon-annihilated heads. Chief snapped another grenade off of his belt and threw it into leftmost Cannibals of the squad, noting with satisfaction as the explosive shredded three of the bulbous Reaper husks. Chief advanced on the other side's flank, Garrus firing at the Reapers cover to keep their heads down.
Suddenly, the remaining five Cannibals and single Marauder burst out of cover simultaneously and aimed their weapons at the approaching two. Chief deftly stepped in front of Previa, knowing that his shields and armor would do a much better job of absorbing the incoming rounds, and sighted the first Cannibal. The two groups, the Master Chief, and the Reaper squad, exchange fire. As the Spartan put round after round into the heads and bodies of his opponents, similar rounds struck all along his protective forcefield. Chief's shields weathered the storm, but just barely, alarms warbling in his ears as the last Reaper, the leading Marauder, fell with half of its throat missing and two gaping holes in its upper torso.
He ducked behind a broken pillar, peeking out at the battlefield as he waite for his shields to recharge. Jax was fully enthralled in the middle of a group of Reaper troops, vicious bayonet extended from the bottom of his Graal, whirling around like a violent maelstrom of pure Krogan rage as the scout tore apart and shredded Reaper skin, bone, and armor. Khav's Striker had rendered most of the third squad of Reaper's cover useless, and Garrus and Vega were picking off the exposed enemies while Khav reloaded.
Shields now fully recharged, Chief bounded out from cover on an opportunistic vector which would take advantage of Vega's suppressive fire and allow him to set up a flank. He moved quickly, knowing that the Alliance Marine would have to pause to reload soon. The Spartan picked a solid piece of cover on the squad's left flank, raised his ACS, gave thoughts of approval to Vega's shooting when he saw the Marauder and two Cannibals lying dead in puddles of their own viscous, black blood, and began shooting. The remaining Cannibals fell quickly, hardlight rounds tearing into their unprotected sides. The rest of the plaza soon fell quiet as the last of the Reaper troops were disposed of, and they all took quick seconds to regain their bearings and reload before moving onto the shrine, and more immediately important, the three Brutes who had stayed their guarding it, almost goading the team of fighters to come and get them.
Garrus needed no prompting, blasting off the top half of one Brute's torso. As the armored beast thudded into the dust ground, dead, the other two attempted to get out of the line-of-sight of the Spartan Laser toting Turian, but Garrus had too good a position, and too good an aim. His third ruby-red lance splased into the second Brute's side, coring through its midsection and vaporizing important central organs. This one fell dead too, but its limbs spasmed and twitched slightly for a couple of seconds. The third beast, whether by luck or by skill, waited a couple of seconds for the laser to charge, then flew forwards in an inhuman burst in a random direction. Garrus tried to compensate, but the laser only grazed the large claw arm of the Brute.
Knowing that the Spartan Laser was out of charge, Chief ordered to his squad, "Concentrate fire! Bring it down!"
Everyone brought their weapons to bear on the lone Brute. Hard-light, heavy sniper rounds, Graal spikes, Striker miniature-grenades, and 7.62 depleted uranium SAW fire all rained down on the Reaper beast, ricocheting, embedding, and penetrating into the Brute's heavy plate. While the rest of the squad had slowed their approach to better aim at the Brute, Chief had instead accelerated to his top speed of sixty-four kilometers per hour. The Brute stood up straight, concentrated fire bouncing off and burrowing into its central chest armor, and roared before charging right at the Chief.
Not breaking stride, Chief drew Helmsbreaker, gauged distances and space requirements to make sure his upcoming maneuver was possible, then fell down into a slide. Time slowed as the Spartan passed just inches under the Brute's swinging claw arm, and if the beast had a face capable of showing expression it would have been bewildered. A boost from Chief's thruster pack kept propelling him forward, and as he passed under the Brute he aimed and fired Helmsbreaker at near point-blank range at the soft, unarmored part between the Brute's legs. The massive shotgun dug into his shoulder, but Chief's kept sliding out from under the Brute and in one smooth motion rolled up back to his feet, reloaded Helmsbreaker, pirouetted as his momentum continued to drive him forwards, fired Helmsbreaker again, then kept on running towards the farthest maw hammer without missing a stride.
The Brute's, insides shredded into a mechanical-organic pulp by the Spartans' first blast, gouging hole just below the back of its neck a result of the second blast, staggered, gurgled, and collapsed to the ground.
"Jax, Khav, first maw hammer, go," said Chief, still sprinting towards the farther hammer. Hearing affirmatives from the two Krogan, Chief decelerated as his approached the second hammer.
The 'hammer', as it was, wasn't an actual hammer. Not the kind of one you could lift in your hand. Rather the maw hammer looked to be a massive piece of metal, hung in the air by cables, which when released would fall along a path guided by parallel support structured deep into the ground below, onto a resonating plate which would cast the call to Kalros for dozens of miles around.
Chief quickly figured out that the hammer, the large metal deadweight, was already cocked and ready to drop. However, Wrex had said during their briefing that the hammer needed to be lifted and dropped several times until Kalros emerged. Cortana pointed out the release mechanism, at the same time pointing out the thick, stone lever that penetrating sensor scans revealed was connected to a complex series of gears and pulleys. The Spartan swiveled his head back to the first maw hammer, watching as Jax slammed the stone button that released their hammer's catch and sent the multi-ton cylinder of metal plummeting to the resonating plate below ground. Luckily, their drops didn't have to be synchronized, at least according to Wrex, so Chief followed Jax's example and palmed his own stone button.
The first maw hammer struck the resonating plate, the sound and vibrations seeming to burst up from the ground so severely that Cortana dialed down his audio receptors several notches, and Chief widened his stance to stay stable. The second maw hammer hit an instant later, its own resonance building off of the first and even further increasing its intensity. Chief wasted no time gawking at the power of the maw hammer strikes, moving to the lever that would lift the metal striker back up. He set his feet, lowered his stance, gripped the lever with his large, gauntleted hands, tensed his powerful muscles, and lifted.
The lever, not used for hundreds of years, broke free of its sedentary position and began moving, activating the series of cables, pulleys, and gears that would lift the hammer back up. Chief didn't hold back, lips pursed as he used his considerable strength to try and accelerate the process as much as possible. After a few seconds the metal hammer had ascended from underground back and settled into its catch, ready to be dropped again. He looked over at the Jax and Khav, teeth gritted, eyes bulging as famed Krogan strength muscled the hammer back up. However, their metal cylinder hadn't even risen above ground level yet. Chief reached over and slammed his release button, prepared for the resulting effect this time.
He worked the lever again, bringing the hammer back up, and suddenly noticed how the Reaper Destroyer seemed to be turning their direction, despite the mass of shellfire being directed at its body. Chief and the two Krogan both set and dropped their maw hammers as the same time, the simultaneous strikes enough to vibrated Chief's teeth even through his Mjolnir. The Spartan went to lift the lever again, but suddenly a side-to-side shaking had been added to the maw hammer's pulsating vibrations. The shaking became more and more violent, so violent as to force Chief to a knee lest he fell over, and he knew that this had to be Kalros answering the call of her maw hammers. By now the Reaper had made a full about-face and was angling its main weapon down towards their meddling band.
A large, impossibly long shadow darkened the sky above the Chief. He looked up, seeing nothing but a massive tube of brown, chitinous armored shell flying above him like grenade being launched from a grenade launcher. The massive worm, Kalros, mother of all thresher maws, slammed into the front of the Reaper Destroyer, flapped mouth fully expanded, teeth as large as Tomkahs' flaring in the light of the sun. The Reaper was tossed back off its feet like a ball being hit off a tee, ricocheting off of the side of The Shroud before toppling over onto the ground with a massive slam. Kalros, screeching a battle roar that pierced the sky for dozens of miles around, wrapped her body around the Reaper like a giant constrictor, the massive muscles throughout her form denting and cracking the Destroyers advanced armor plating as if it were an aluminum can while it dragged the machine into the sand.
After a few very violent seconds, it was over. The Reaper was gone, dragged down by Kalros to a violent destruction underneath the sandy, rocky ground, leaving The Shroud finally unguarded, However the building had been damaged by the accidental strike by the Reaper, top floors billowing smoke and minor licks of fire. They reestablished contact with Shepard, who along with Wrex, Grunt, and the majority of Aralakh Company, had managed to survive the rockface collapse that had separated them in the first place. Cortez had picked Chief and his squad up in the Kodiak and brought them to rendezvous with Shepard's retinue at the entrance to The Shroud.
Aralakh Company was busy securing the perimeter, and as Chief had his squad join in the effort he listened in on a terse conversation taking place between Shepard, Wrex, and Doctor Solus as they quickly made their way to the elevator that led to The Shroud's central control room.
"I'll take the cure. They're my people," said Wrex urgently.
"No," refused Mordin. "Strong leadership of Krogan provided by you necessary for the future. Same goes for you Shepard, you're too important to lose, will play too important a role in this war."
They had reached the elevator and Mordin had pressed the call button, door sliding open. "Shroud damaged, window closing, no time for debate. My disease, my cure, my responsibility."
The Salarian stepped into the elevator and turned to Shepard and Wrex, who stayed outside of the threshold.
"Mordin," started Shepard, reached out his hand.
Dr. Solus waved him off, smiling tiredly. "Had to be me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong."
The elevator doors closed, leaving Shepard and Wrex staring at nothing but a wall. They watched the elevator ascend through the gaps in the shaft until it reached the top. A minute later a light green cloud shot out of the top of The Shroud in all directions, followed shortly by an explosion where the central control room was. The green cloud kept spewing though, the distributions systems of The Shroud obviously unaffected by the destruction of the control room.
"He did it. That Salarian bastard did it. I swear on the honor of my name that my first child will be called Mordin," said Wrex.
Shepard just watched, nodding numbly, as the cure to the Genophage started dissipating into the air, marking the beginning of a new future for the Krogan.
Cronos Station, Horsehead Nebulae
"Operative Lawson for you sir."
The voice floated down from the high ceilings of the wide observation room/personal office like soft leaves falling from a tree. The voice, artificially feminine in nature was musical as it alerted the Illusive Man to the operative's arrival. Too musical, he thought. He would rework the VI later; he was still tinkering with finding the perfect artificial assistant ever since Dr. Eva met her untimely demise on Mars.
"Send her in," the Illusive Man said.
He flicked away the various holographic viewscreens he had been watching in front of him and rubbed his eyes. He was tired. The Illusive Man had been watching, studying, and learning from video recordings for days now with little rest. To say he had been busy since the 'failure' of the Citadel attack was an understatement.
He put the world 'failure' in mental quotation marks for a reason. It was what news outlets around the galaxy had been branding Cerberus' attack on the heart of civilized government. Cerberus Terror Attack Failed, Human Supremacist Terrorist Group Fail in Plot, Cerberus Attack Fails as Brave Security and Military Forces Thwart Hostile Takeover, the various headlines had gone.
Yet, the operation had been anything but a failure, the Illusive Man thought smugly. Sure, thousands of troops, tons of equipment, and a number of warships had been lost, but all of those were replaceable and ultimately inconsequential.
No, a complete hostile takeover of the Citadel had not been his objective. Rather, it had been one of information gathering. Destabilizing the current political atmosphere through figurehead assassinations and sowing general public chaos was certainly a secondary goal, but wasn't the primary.
In truth, the Illusive Man had become utterly fascinated by the United Nations Space Command. Humans, but from a different galaxy, or so the information he had seen had said. The statistical improbabilities of such a thing happening were astronomical and the data by itself was extremely thought-provoking. However what the Illusive Man was most interested in was their firepower. He had watched surveillance vids of their ships holding off the Reapers above Earth, tearing apart his ten-cruiser task force that had attacked the Citadel, and then absolutely dismantling the large Reaper group that had attacked Despara, hundreds of times now.
After days of comprehensive study, he had truly determined that their warship capabilities and ground forces were so much more impressive than anything he had seen before. It was clear that he had a new objective: capture, analyze, and reproduce UNSC technology. Unfortunately, the small number of Cerberus personnel that survived and escaped the Citadel didn't manage to bring back any of their tech, so he had to manage on video records until they did.
Alas, he would save the brainstorming on how to accomplish his newest grand objective for later, for now he could hear the sharp clacks of Operative Lawson's heels behind him as she approached his chair. He swiveled around to meet her face-to-face, yet remained seated. She looked different now, near unrecognizable. The Illusive Man had put her into surgery for an appearance change after it was revealed that Shepard had seen her face on the Citadel, and knew that she was with Cerberus. Involuntarily of course, but Shepard didn't know that. While The Illusive Man knew the real truth, that Miranda was bound to his commands by the first iteration of the mind-controlling nanosoftware injected into her brain that would eventually control the Reapers, to the Alliance Commander it would appear that one of his closest friends and allies has betrayed him.
Gone were the long, thick locks of black hair, replaced by a severe, light blonde ponytail. The irises of her eyes had been surgically altered to a dark brown instead of her natural blue. Her face was different, cheekbones more sunken, lips thinner, nose slightly larger, chin more protruding and no longer slightly cleft. Her height hadn't changed, yet her breasts had been severely reduced in size. Her wide hips and significant backside had survived the surgery, much to the satisfaction of The Illusive Man, who had taken much pleasure in said features a few hours ago.
"I have a new mission for you," he said as she stopped a few feet away from him, tight black body suit leaving little to the imagination.
"What is it?" she asked dully.
"Assassination."
"Location?"
"The Citadel. Huerta Memorial. Floor three, room 3-B."
"The target?"
"Thane Krios."
Special thanks to my betas JonHarper and Bearmauls