Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or the various X-COM games. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not written for profit. I make no money from it. It is not for sale or rent.
Chapter 7: Citadel Blues
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Part 7
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15 June 2177 CE
Tayseri Ward
The Citadel
The Turian Assault Shuttle shook as it slammed into the atmospheric bubble covering the Citadel Ward and decelerated to mere supersonic speeds. Shattering the sound barrier produced another tremor accompanied by the roar of the interceptors escorting in the assault teams.
"Battle Net is up and we're patched in." Lieutenant Quentus announced and a moment later the HUDs of Strike Team Talon One updated with new information. "C-Sec ERS are assaulting the target as we speak and facing heavy resistance." The LT fiddled with his omni-tool and it projected a transparent hologram of a tall building. "This is our target – a corporate HQ, which apparently had its interior substantially modified without anyone noticing." The veteran Blackwatch operative didn't even attempt to hide his sneer at that declaration. "ERS are facing laser turrets, shielded metal barriers used both as cover and to close off access points, and light infantry, which are mixed bag. So far there have been no sign of enemy Psionic operatives, however the C-Sec operation which prompted this disaster in progress encountered hostiles with Psionic capabilities. Keep an eye on your buddies and if anyone starts acting funny, either stun their ass or shoot to disable if practical. The only good news is that so far ERS haven't encountered anything really nasty and a Huntress team is going to beat us to the building by a minute or so, which means that the Asari will be springing any unpleasant surprises waiting for us."
"We'll be cleaning up after them, as usual." Nyreen muttered.
"Yep, the Specialist has them pegged… and full synchronization of the Battle Net is complete, unless we face heavy jamming we'll have eyes on the Asari so no unfriendly fire, am I clear?" The Quentus demanded.
After a round of enthusiastic confirmations, the Lieutenant somehow despite his heavy armour managed to offer a very smug nod in response.
"That's the spirit! Switch on disruptor and inferno ammo by elements, tech specialists, have overloads ready. So far the only armoured targets are the damn turrets, however those are bad enough. ERS' armours are unable to handle even a single direct hit even though they've been modded to deal with laser threats. Take out any turret that pops up as a priority. When feasible, we're to subdue and capture the hostile elements we encounter, however the primary objective is data recovery. We're to locate and secure any and all servers in the building and recover their data cores for analysis…"
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A squadron of sleek, amphibian looking fighters tore through the skies of Tayseri Ward, followed by three teardrop shaped shuttles. Three fighters led the way followed by one of the assault transports, while the rest of the squadron hung ten seconds behind them, covering the other two. The leading four crafts didn't even slow down while approaching the target building. Instead, the ramp at the back of the Asari transport opened silently and moments before flew past the IC-S HQ, five slim figures jumped out surrounded by dark blue auras. Instead of splattering all over the building on missing it entirely, the Huntresses glided down and nimbly landed on the roof while retrieving various weapons from magnetic clamps on their form-fiting armoured suits.
Their leader waved a hand before clutching it into a fist surrounded by rippling Biotic field and grabbed the sealed door leading down into the building. She heaved and tore the solid metal slab away, before carefully putting it to lay on the roof, while two other Huntresses sent scout drones to lead the way. Moments later, turrets came from the floor and ceiling of the exposed corridor and shredded the drones with good old fashioned mass accelerator rounds. The two tech specialists crafted more drones while their sisters threw in smoke grenades and prepared overload attacks. Five seconds later, the new drones dashed into the silver, metallic smoke followed by two Asari using the machine's sensors for guidance. Overload charges cascaded throughout the corridor followed up by heavy AP slugs and warp fields which tore the turrets apart. By the time the other two drop-ships deposited their own loads of Huntresses and tech specialists on the roof, the advance team darted into the building, mapping the road for the units to follow.
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We arrived to a scene straight out of the first Blasto movie – a tall building surrounded by C-Sec, bathed in the lights of countless sirens, sounds of gunfire, and assault shuttles either landing on the roof to depose squads of CDF marines or halting near smoking holes blown into the facade of the corporate HQ so more assault teams could access it that way.
"That's not good…" I muttered quietly, while tanking all the deities I knew of that Vasir didn't manage to smear us alongside a building or ram incoming traffic on our way here.
"I couldn't have guessed…" The Spectre grumbled back. "We still don't have authorization to joint the fun." She hissed like a particularly irate feline after consulting her omni-tool.
"Everyone else is already here." I reasonably pointed out.
There were more and more C-Sec and ERS units converging on the area, at least twenty ambulances and what looked like two whole wings of Asari and Turian fighters not to mention all the Assault Shuttles and drop-ships bringing in reinforcements. I was sure there would be some Spectres on the fun too, but us two? We had to land at the edge of the cordon, flash our credentials and go to the nearby command post trying to coordinate the clusterfuck in progress.
The CP was an ERS van surrounded by alert C-Sec officers wearing sealed armour, armed with assault rifles. Mind you, they weren't ERS – those people were almost certainly too busy assaulting the building to play guards. Our credentials did allow us access to the van, where a harried ERS Captain and his support staff were doing their best to ensure that the C-Sec units and the fleet marines wouldn't end up shooting each other while securing the building.
"Spectre Vasir, Operative Veil." The Turian Captain glanced our way and greeted us quickly, between issuing strings of orders. "So far we haven't encountered direct psionic threat so your particular talents aren't required. Stand by, I'll call you if the situation changes." He dismissed us with those words and returned his full attention on coordinating multiple assault teams.
Beside me, Vasir bristled at the dismissal, yet kept her temper in check and angrily made her way outside. While she was mostly level headed, there were times the light duties the two of us were stuck dealing with got the better of her. I followed Tela outside, where I found her glaring at the corporate HQ and cursing quietly. I followed her gaze and accessed my gift, slowly allowing my awareness to expand and concentrated on the battlefield, seeking and trace of Psionic activity...
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Part 8
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15 June 2177 CE
Tayseri Ward
The Citadel
Initially, the resistance was underwhelming. The only real danger were the turrets, which were a known quality, considering that the CDF assault teams were yet to encounter a single laser emplacement. The people shooting at them were generally ill trained civilians carrying civilian grade barriers, no armour, and generally using pistols or SMGs – easy pickings, all of them. In fact the resistance they faced so far would have been a complete joke if it wasn't for the need for a rapid advance in order to secure as much data as possible before it could be destroyed.
That happy time ended when they hit the third floor down from the roof. The Asari leading the charge ran into a prepared kill-zone manned by the actual security contingent of the building. The Commandos charged in on the heels of a grenade barrage – concussion and flash-bangs followed by liberal application of smoke and drones to use both as distraction and their eyes. A coordinated application of Overload charges fried the drones and the Asari emerged into a smoke screen bisected by lances of coherent light, disruptor and inferno munitions. The Matron on point biotically charged straight into the cross-hairs of turrets that held their fire up until that moment. Her barriers and light armour proved no protection and she slammed into a wall in six smoking pieces.
The second Asari lasted a few moments longer, her charges detonation deflected the first shots coming her way, however before she could get into cover, she got shredded by disruptor fire and set aflame by inferno munitions. Yet, the sacrifice of the first two Commandos was not in vain. The rest of their unit managed to enter the kill-zone largely unmolested, with everything thrown their way absorbed by their barrier. The Matriarch leading them launched a warp-overload combination at one of the turrets before Biotically charging under the second, just in time to avoid being sliced in two by pulses of laser fire. The rest of the team went left and right, respectively, using their Biotics and shotguns to good effect. Blunt force trauma and sub-munitions blasted through the guard's heavy armour and threw them out of their cover.
Kandros' unit moved in after the Asari fanning in both directions, seeking targets.
It was in that moment when things had a turn for a worse. Corporal Canis sent a burst into the helmet of a guard staggered out of cover by a Biotic shock-wave, before removing his left hand from his weapon, picking up a grenade from his harness and removing it's safeties before letting it drop at his feet and stopping, forcing the squad-mates following him to stumble past him.
The resulting explosion shredded the mind-controlled trooper and critically injured his buddies. At the same time, the Sergeant staggered, let go of his riffle and grabbed his helmet.
"It's in my head!" He managed to hiss before his talons spasmed and his hands went for the grenades on his harness. Only Nyreen's quick thinking and saved him from following Canis in oblivion – she slammed a Biotically enhanced punch in the back of his head, hopefully, merely knocking him out.
"Hostile Psionics in the field! Counter-measures ineffective!" Kandros shouted in the Battle-Net. So much for the hardsuits monitoring their occupants and the medical suites administering strong sedatives if they detected something odd going on with the troopers heads…
Unsurprisingly, that was when the enemy decided to counter-attack. Three four unit mech squads charged into the fray taking advantage of the stalled assault and slammed straight into the rampaging Commandos.
A flurry of Biotics and shotgun blasts saw eight robots going down along with two Asari, whose barriers were unable to take on multiple nearly point blank shotgun shots in quick succession. The Matriarch did fare better – due to her age and experience, she was able to Biotically charge right in the middle of the last mech group and shatter them to scrap. Yet that let the Asari to find herself in the sights of a guard who shot her in the back with a laser pistol. The bolt of coherent light ignored her barriers completely, boiled away her light armour and seared its way through flesh and bone, leaving her to crash on the floor when her legs refused to support her. Before the black clad man could finish the job, Lieutenant Quentus tackled him from behind and slammed an omni-tool blade sparkling with electricity in his side.
"Control, Talon One-One, we need immediate Med-evac, my position. I can confirm, we've got hostile Psionics on site and need backup!" Quentus hissed in the Battle-Net, then for good measure slammed his armoured fist in the side of the helmet of the enemy he just stabbed.
The VI running his hard suit beeped in warning and the Lieutenant wasted no time in kissing the ground. A pair of guards with heavy riot shields were advancing from down the corridor shooting heavy pistols his way. There was a third enemy using them as cover.
"I need a little help over here!" Quintus snapped. He opened suppressive fire with one hand while the other searched his harness for a grenade.
Nyreen ran past the LT surrounded by a glowing Biotic barrier reinforcing her shields and picked up one of the shielded enemies with her Biotics, sending him floating in the air. While that one was out of action, she unloaded shot after shot at the enemy she just exposed. Three bullets shattered his barriers, however before she could tag him in the head, he went behind the second shielded hostile.
That was when Quintus threw a grenade down the corridor, just before the crippled Matriarch rose a thick wavering barrier that cut the corridor in two. With that side temporarily secure, Nyreen whirled around, searching for other targets.
The survivors of their squad and Talon Two were busy shooting at more shield-carrying guards and the shooters they were covering
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I opened my eyes and shook my head with a wince.
"There's a lot of dissipating Psionic energy coming from high up in the building. It's more than enough to mask anything past the fifth floor. I can't get anything but vague expressions. There was a significant Psionic event that took place over there just a few minutes ago." Whoever was responsible, was someone I wasn't eager to encounter without heavy Psionic support.
"That might explain why the civilians over there are shooting at C-Sec." Vasir acknowledged. "However, I doubt it would be enough to get us on this op."
"Vasir, Veil, you're good to go! We just got confirmation of hostile Psionics in there and our counter-measures aren't working!" the ERS Captain shouted from the command van.
"Finally. Get in the car." Tela grinned in a very familiar and very disturbing manner.
"I don't like where this is going…"
"Get in." She ran towards the car and I reluctantly followed her.
Thirty seconds later I was busy struggling with the safety belt, locking down my armour and desperately calling on my gift to protect myself, while Vasir, who enveloped herself in a Biotic barrier drove straight towards the upper floors of the building.
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