W.i.t.G
Dun-dun-dun! Update!
A shocker, I know.
I know that the last chapter was relatively short so this one should make up for it. At least Mordreek will be able to give a proper review this time ;)
Just kidding. I appreciate every follow, favourite and review. I do my best to try and respond to everyone. If you don't get a message from me, it's not because I'm ignoring you. I just have a brain like a sieve.
I hope everyone's well, and that you enjoy the chapter! And the story in general, obviously.
Without anymore rambling and procrastination, here we go!
Are you ready?
...
Do you see that joke I just made there?
No?
... Sorry.
"On your left Garrus!," Shepard roared, as his assault rifle peppered another Geth trooper full of holes; Garrus spun around with his own rifle poised and ready. There were no immediate threats however. "No not your left, my left!"
An explosion suddenly went off from one of the Gunny's grenades, causing a large group of Geth to scatter, "Why are you humans so damned confusing?! Which way are they actually coming from?!"
"ON YOUR RIGHT!"
"Thank you! Why couldn't you have said that in the first place?!" Garrus viciously grinned as a pair of Geth Hunters suddenly became visible next to him. In what could only be described as panic, the Geth Hunters hadn't anticipated their cloaks being suddenly disrupted. The Turian struck out with the butt of his rifle, crashing downwards into the optics of one of the Hunters. With another well placed shot, the remaining Hunter lurched, its right arm suddenly missing, before falling over in a crumpled heap.
"Thanks for the assist, Boss!" Garrus waved in Shepard's general direction, before he began to unload his sidearm into another group of Geth.
"Don't thank me Garrus; thank Tali. She's the one that disabled their cloaks and picked them up on the scanners." The large human signalled towards the lithe Quarian next to him. With a comical wave, Tali cheerfully interjected, "You're welcome Garrus!"
The commander and his Quarian 'bodyguard' charged forwards, away from the Turian, to support the rest of the ground team.
Wrex Ashley and Liara were holding their own, cutting down troopers in large swathes. It did seem to be all for naught though.
The Geth were a swarm. When one trooper fell, another quickly replaced it.
Garrus looked around, across the makeshift battlefield. Although Garrus had done his required years of service in the Turian military, he had never seen battles as vicious as the one they were currently in:
Synthetic bodies littered the floor, with white and black fluid staining the walls; the crates with the dismembered mechanics they'd found previously had been upturned as soon as the fight had started, allowing the ground team to have some form of makeshift cover. Random turian and human limbs were interspersed with fallen Geth weapons. The sound of electronic warbling and chirping, alongside the steady stream of gunfire caused a cacophony of noise that was deafening if focused on. And the smell... Spirits the smell...
War was brutal.
War was messy.
War was necessary.
Garrus soldiered on though, and with rugged determination the Turian ran to assist Liara; reinforcing the left flank of the ground team's position.
They'd hit somewhat of a stalemate with the Geth troopers. There seemed to be an infinite number of platforms that spilled into the garage, like termites out of the woodwork. The team could hold out for as long as they needed, but without some form of push, they wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.
Garrus could see out of the corner of his visor that the commander and Wrex had met up together, next to one of the larger overturned crates. The pair seemed to be deeply engrossed in a conversation, as bullets flew past their heads and explosions sounded all around. With a solemn smile, Garrus peeked out from behind his cover before aiming his sniper rifle at an advancing rocket trooper.
It was too late though.
Time seemed to slow as the rocket trooper began to fire an explosive projectile towards the ground team's dug-in position.
With a bark of his rifle, and a quick prayer to the Spirits watching over him, Garrus could only watch in disbelief as the rocket trooper exploded into a shower of scrap and sparks.
He'd hit a once in a lifetime shot. He'd somehow managed to clip the missile just as it left the Geth trooper's launcher.
Multiple platforms were destroyed in the inferno that engulfed the Geth ranks, with a Prime staggering from the concussive force, it's aim having been knocked off considerably.
With a shout of joy, Garrus pumped his fist in the air, before sliding back into his cover.
"That's one less to worry about!"
Shepard's voice was mirthful, as he addressed his squad over the comms; "Nice shooting Garrus! You've got impeccable timing. That was exactly the distraction Wrex and I needed."
"Distraction?" Garrus' voice was tinged with confusion as he looked towards his superior. The commander lowered his head from a glancing projectile, before signalling towards the large Krogan mercenary.
"Now Wrex!"
"With pleasure."
The Krogan roared with primal rage as he vaulted over the squad's cover, his shotgun cutting through the disoriented Geth platforms.
"You wanna live forever?!" Chris remarked with childlike glee, as he too vaulted over the crates, his own assault rifle bringing a Prime to its knees, a deep electronic warble signifying that the large synthetic had been critically damaged.
Wordlessly, Ashley, Tali and Liara vaulted over as well, their own respective weapons picking off as many targets as they could focus on. They hadn't been privy to the conversation between the Krogan and their commander, but they acted out of instinct. They followed the two juggernauts wildly into battle.
"They're crazy. Every last one of them..." With a sigh, and a tightened grip on his rifle, Garrus could only grin wildly.
This was what he lived for.
With a final grunt, the Turian clambered over the crate he'd been hiding behind, before firing into a disorganised pack of troopers.
"Wait for me, damn it!"
Captain Maeko Matsuo checked her armour and weapons for a final time. According to her combat VI, her shields were working at full capacity and her installed modifications were all looking green across the board. She was ready for a fight.
The elevator she was riding in lurched slightly, and a muffled explosion caused the overhead lighting to flicker for a few moments.
As soon as she had got the call from a nearby security patrol that heavy gunfire and explosions could be heard from the garages, she'd gathered every available guard under her command, before setting off into what was being described as an 'active warzone'.
Truth be told, she had planned on investigating the garages soon anyway. She'd not heard anything from them for the past couple of days. Although the mechanics would sometimes not emerge for days at a time, it was odd that she'd not heard anything from the garages, or Peak 15 for that matter.
Shaking her head to rid herself of negative thoughts, Captain Matsuo looked upon her assorted squad. Although there were twenty of them present, Maeko knew that only a handful of them had actually seen any form of combat before.
They may have been security guards, but most had never really held a rifle before basic training. She could see that a large number of her squad were visibly on edge. Some were shaking slightly in anticipation, and others were shaking out of pure fear.
Another muffled explosion caused a few guards to visibly jump in astonishment, whilst a few chuckles could be heard from the veterans.
"Stay sharp everyone. We have no idea what we're about to face. Everybody needs to be ready." Maeko barked, as she readied her assault rifle.
Sounds of agreement and understanding met the human woman's ears, and before long the elevator doors swiftly opened, allowing the large squad to file out into a large corridor.
The group of guards ran in an orderly fashion down the hallway before coming to a residing halt, just before a side entrance into the garages.
"Get your minds focused people! We're about to be dropped into the biggest fight of our careers. I need everybody to remember their training, and stick together. Stay in formation and used focused bursts to take down your targets. Don't hammer the trigger; you'll just overheat your rifle," With a grunt, Captain Matsuo rapped her gauntleted fist against the helmet of the closest guard next to her, her voice bellowing with an underlying passion, "Let's get this done people!"
Shouts of confirmation and separate battle cries could be heard, as the captain palmed the haptic interface, allowing entrance into the garages.
"Move it!" The captain barrelled in first, her rifle aiming at the closest targets she could find.
The squad of security guards were quick to follow, filing through the entrance in single file. Although they had barely any intel, they'd all learnt in basic training to try and cover as much ground as possible in a combat scenario.
A loud crack could be heard, before the guard that Maeko had rapped her fist on, slumped over into a wet heap. The young man's brains were smeared all over the walls as blood began to pool underneath his limp corpse. An electronic warbling caused an icy grip to envelop the captain's heart, before a squad of organised Geth troopers began to fire on them.
"Get to cover! Find some cover!"
Maeko could only swear loudly as she dived behind a thick steel support column, her mind racing away.
She'd led her squad to a slaughter. One that she knew she wasn't going to leave from unscathed.
"Skipper!"
"What is it Gunny? I'm a little preoccupied here!" Shepard exclaimed with a grunt, as another Geth trooper fell, its optics having been blown to pieces from a precise burst of rifle fire.
"It looks like we've got reinforcements on our right flank! I think... I think it's that security captain from earlier."
"What?!"
Chris peered around from the ground team's new makeshift cover, an overturned Mako, before spotting the reinforcements in question.
"It looks like they're getting torn apart over there..." Tali remarked sadly. Liara numbly nodded her agreement to the Quarian's statement, as another one of the security guards fell.
Without a moment's hesitation, the Commander barked out his orders, "Alright everybody, on your feet! Let's get over there and help them out."
With a low grumble, Wrex struggled to get up, "I've only just sat down..."
"Come on old man, there's some more Geth for you to kill!" Garrus shouted in a mocking tone, his assault rifle in his hands already.
"Shut it, Turian."
Maeko popped out of her cover once more, before squeezing off a couple of bursts into an advancing Geth hunter. The synthetic fell to the floor in a crumpled mess, causing the guards to cheer.
Another sniper shot rang out this time, causing a female Turian to fall against her cover, clutching the stump of what remained of her left arm.
"We've got to do something here captain! We're getting picked off, one by one!" One of the guards screamed in terror, as she held onto her injured squad mate. Although she tried her best to keep calm, Captain Matsuo was ready to just run.
Nothing could have prepared them for this kind of fight.
The Geth were fine tuned killing machines, waiting for the optimal time to strike. They had to try and run. They had to try and find some way to escape.
Maeko's breathing was shaky as she engaged her comms. Her words spilled out rapidly: "E-Everybody listen up. We're gonna make a t-tactical retreat. Try and file b-back the way we came."
"What about the injur-?" The guard that was about to ask a vital question, had unfortunately fell into the sights of the Geth sniper on the catwalks. His helmet had been blown backwards, as his head lurched forwards, causing a wet squelch to punctuate the security team's need to escape.
"We need to move. Now! We'll c-come back for the injured later."
Sounds of disbelief met the human captain's ears, as Geth gunfire began to pepper her cover.
"We can't leave them behind!"
"We'll never get out of here alive!"
"We're screwed!"
Maeko closed her eyes as tightly as she could, her mind reeling. She didn't want to be here. She wanted to be far away. As far away as she could possibly be. No more death. No more violence. No more responsibility.
Her gaze lingered on her fallen comrades, their eyes seemingly staring back into her own.
"Captain?! What are your orders?! CAPTAIN!"
Maeko could only numbly look at her subordinates, her response was meek and subdued, "I-I don't know what to do..."
Somehow, she could feel the sights of the Geth sniper resting on her head. Looking towards the rafters, Maeko accepted her fate. It was her time to die.
Suddenly, in what could only be described as a miracle, a shower of sparks rained down from the catwalks, with a Geth hunters metallic corpse causing a resounding crash to ring in her ears.
A large human man, clad in charcoal armour, and a smaller humanoid in a similar kind of suit, charged headfirst into the encroaching wave of Geth that had surrounded the guards. The barks of shotguns and electronic warbles caused Maeko to cover her ears as she slowly slid to the floor.
It felt like an eternity had passed before Maeko took her hands away from her head. Astoundingly, the sounds of fighting had petered out.
No more loud explosions. No more lethal projectiles. No more screams from the dying.
An odd miracle, but a miracle nonetheless.
With a sniffle, Maeko suddenly realised something was standing in front of her. Peering upwards, she saw an outstretched hand reaching down towards her.
"Come on. Let's get you out of here."
"O-Okay..."
She held onto the larger human's hand like it was a life raft in a perilous storm.
Maeko Matsuo, was no longer the fierce captain that her guards had looked up to and aspired to be. She was a broken woman.
Maeko ignored the death and carnage that lay all around her, as she slowly hobbled away, clutching onto the only thing that anchored what sanity she had remaining; she was alive.
But she had not walked away unscathed.
It felt like she had been walking for miles, before the pair had come to a halt.
Some more people had appeared now, and Maeko did her best to try and hear what was being said, but her brain just couldn't make any sense of it.
After a few moments of silence, the larger man spoke to Maeko, his voice calm and soothing, "This is Corpsman Miller, Captain. She's one of my marines. She's going to look after you for a while."
"T-Thank you..." Shepard gently handed Maeko over to the corpsman, before watching in despair.
The determined captain that had met him earlier when he'd first landed on Noveria was a shell of her former character. She hadn't been ready to see so much death in such a short amount of time. No matter how experienced she thought she was.
Chris waited for a moment, watching his marine escort the captain out of the garages. Once he'd broken the Geth lines, it had been a simple clean up operation afterwards. The ground team had picked off what resistance had remained, before trying to assist the guards that remained.
Out of what looked like twenty or so guards, only eight had survived.
Kaidan coughed gently to bring the Commander's attention back to the present, "What are your orders Shepard?"
Chris thought for a moment, before quietly replying, "I need you to stay here Kaidan. We need to get to Peak 15 as soon as possible, but we just can't leave this," to punctuate his statement, Chris spread his arms wide, "In the state it's in. You're gonna have to try and restore some order. Speak to Gianna Parasini if she's still on this frozen rock. Tell her what's happened. Let her know that I'm using my Spectre authority or some other bullshit excuse to lock this place down. Keep the marines on their toes. They threw a lot at us to stop us from making our way to those labs. There must have been over a hundred Geth. Easily. But that doesn't mean that they might not send some more squads to check in and see what's going on."
"Understood Commander. I'll get it done."
With a gentle smile, Chris placed his left hand on Kaidan's shoulder, "I know you will, Kaidan."
The lieutenant produced a smile of his own, before pointing to two large vehicles that took up a large amount of space in the garages: "I'm surprised we managed to salvage these from the mess you all caused."
A vicious grin plastered Shepard's face as he began to make his way to the lead vehicle, "It's not all that bad. There's probably a couple of holes and dings in them, but they should still run fine."
"Do you even know how to drive that thing? It's not like a Mako you know..."
A bark of laughter could be heard as Shepard nonchalantly saluted his combat XO, "It's an M-29 Grizzly, LT. I know it's been a while, but how hard can it be?"
Kaidan smiled in response, "I've got to admit, I'm kinda glad I'm staying here to clean up this mess. I know how you drive, and it isn't exactly the smoothest of rides."
"Ouch, Kaidan. That hurt." With a wink, Shepard clutched his heart, feigning pain at the lieutenant's words.
With simple nods, the two men left each other to their own devices; and after a brief moment, the lieutenant began to bark out orders to some of the marines.
The rest of the ground team said nothing as they saw their commander approach. One by one they silently loaded up into the tanks, before the large garage doors started to slide open.
Tali and Liara had accompanied Chris in the lead tank, with Wrex, Garrus and Ashley taking the second one.
Howling winds and a furious blizzard met the ground team as their tanks started to slowly lumber forwards.
The internal comms suddenly blared in the lead tank, "Everything alright in their Skip?"
"We should be fine, Ash. Thanks for asking. We're green across the board. It's also surprisingly more comfortable in here than it is in the Mako."
"Tell me about it. From what I can see on the navigation system, we've got a long drive ahead of us."
"We should have brought some snacks, don't you think?"
"Maybe next time."
Silence resided for a moment, before Shepard asked a vital question: "Are you sure you can drive one of these? This blizzard's looking pretty fierce, and we have no idea what's waiting for us."
"Don't worry about me Skipper. I received my basic combat vehicle training in an M-29. I'm pretty confident. Although, I never did work out why there's six pedals when there's only four directions. If, you know what I mean."
"I hear you. Shepard, out."
Once the comms had disconnected, Shepard chuckled lightly to himself as his attention rested on the driver's main screen.
"What's so funny, Captain?" Tali asked jovially as she made herself comfortable.
"Ah, nothing Tals. Just something the Gunny said. There was this joke back in basic training that every Alliance marine's heard. It's from an old show back on Earth."
"Must have been a pretty funny show then..."
"Nah. Not really. It lost it after the forty-sixth season."
Tali merely nodded her head in understanding, as Liara spoke up from the back of the tank: "How long do you think it will take us, Shepard?"
"We should be at Peak 15 in about an hour, if we don't run into any obstacles."
When no reply was given, Shepard softly smiled as he turned to face his Quarian assistant, "So, to pass the time, why don't you tell me some more about the Migrant Fleet Princess?"
"Bosh'tet... I really wish I hadn't told you about that."
"Too late."
I should put something witty here.
Ah well.
Hope you enjoyed!