AN: I had originally intended to try weaving the three plots together. But I ended up going insane trying to make it work in a coherent way. I got way too frustrated that I had to take a break. Now I'm going to just go back to standard format. Clever tricks don't really work right. Sorry about that.

Kal'Reeger, Pirate Radio Station

"Can you please shut the damn thing off?" Kal groweld. "You're human music is so out of time it makes my head hurt."

Laral'Trac chuckled as he pulled up his omnitool. This was a civilian radio transmitter, so it was a quick tap and the music cut off abruptly. "Aww, Kal, it wasn't so bad. The beat wasn't awful, and one could dance to it."

With a short sigh, Kal looked around the small converted cargo pod that the humans had set up. Other than the transmitter, the place was full of opened ration packs that nearly hid a small cot, and a cooler unit that had human beverages of some kind. And blood. It was spattered along the walls, some even on the ceiling. It gave testimony for the violent attack the batarians had made here.

"Looks like the batarians caught the humans by surprise," Ves grunted as she did her own inspection of the area. Captain Shepard had bought the krogan mercenary in the middle of a combat. It wasn't for money,

however. Shepard had offered her something better. Revenge on the turian that had implanted a bomb in the krogan's head and making her a slave.

"What's your read, old lady?" Darrens grinned up at Ves. They were an odd pair. They seemed to have gravitated to each other to the point that they spent most of their downtime together.

Ves's eyes narrowed slightly as she gave Darrens a sideways look. "The humans were probably lax. They were supposed to be on a patrol, but who would attack an asteroid?"

"Apparently, batarians," Laral snorted.

"Yes," Ves nodded. "The batarians probably caught them literally napping. I'd say one but up a fight and got knifed for their troubles." Ves gestured around the room before jerking her thumb over her shoulder.. "They drug the other human and the body out side, one shot the the back of the other human's head, one in the head of the one that had been knifed one to be sure."

Darrens stepped outside and looked at the bodies of the civilians. "Poor fuckers. Didn't even-" The marine was cut off as his body was suddenly jerked around, nearly spinning him all the way around. Blood sprayed out from the upper side of his left shoulder as he went down.

"Darrens!" Ves roared as she smashed her way out to the slightly too narrow doorway. She jerked slightly as the upper portion of her helmet cracked. Barely slowed down, she threw her body over Darrens as two more holes opened up in the back of her armor. "Fucking sniper!" she snarled, ignoring the smoking furrow that had been dug into her forehead's plate.

Costa'Nok, Fusion Torch Beta

"Dropping the turrets….Now!" Sorey nodded as he hit a key on his omnitool and gave a satisfied nod as the auto turrets outside the main door to the fusion torch wobbled slightly before dropping, barrel first, into the dust.

"You're covered!" Illia called, her heavy gun swived on its bipod, scanning for threats.

Clair, however, was up and out even as the turrets dropped. She charged forward in a zig-zag pattern, just in case. Which, it turned out, had been a good idea, as small puffs of dust were kicked up behind her heels.

"Incoming fire!" Clax, Clair's partner, called out as he dogged the opposite direction Clair had gone, dividing the enemy's attention.

"I zee zeem," Illia growled as she shifted her sights upward. "Zay goodbye, leelte sheets…." Her finger squeezed the trigger.

The Volus made K-55 heavy mass rifle was an older model that fired rather slowly, about two rounds a second. This particular rifle had been with the Migrant Fleet since the quarians had been driven from their homeworlds. But, old as it may be, it was reliable. Better yet, it was powerful.

Illia slowly ran the rifle's mass rounds across the side of the fusion torch, ripping apart the maintenance walkways that a pair of batarians had been firing from. Sparks and flashes gave visual guide to the trail of destruction that followed the panicked and fleeing enemy. Then, just as the batarians reached the end of the walkway, the fire stopped.

"Ancestors!" Costa burst put the breath he didn't know he had been holding. He glanced over to Illia as she pulled back a bolt on the heavy rifled action. Steam sprayed out the sides of the long barrel's housing as coolant flushed through the weapon. As it was an older weapon it had been deemed not to be worth the resources to use thermal clip conversion.

"Almost cruel," Sorey chuckled. "Pinned them in then, nothing."

"Heh, never zaid I vas nice," Illia nodded. There was humor in her voice, but Illia was one of the most professional soldiers Costa had ever seen. Her body was still as a rock, her helmet set along the rifle's sightline. The coolant washed over the helmet of her visor, but she didn't even twitch.

"Tangos moving!" Clair called as she leaned around a corner. "They're...climbing onto the structure!"

"Tango?" Costa tilted his head slightly in confusion. "You mean the batarians?"

"Umm...yeah?" uncertainty wavered in Clair's voice.

"Gun up!" Illia announced as she slammed the bolt closed, locking the weapon's vents shut. A split second later the rifle's steady thumping began tracking the batarian's, suddenly, more desperate movements.

Interestingly, it wasn't the rifle that killed the batarians. Not really. As the mass rounds tracked over to the superstructure they must have hit something important. There was a sudden flash of light, a dull boom, then a wave of dust and debris rolled over the team.

Costa cried out as he was thrown back down the dune they had been on, tumbling feet over head. As he rolled, he reacted as he had been trained, pulling his knees up to his chest, his arms wrapped around his helmet. By the time he hit the bottom, he was fairly sure he was nothing but a giant bruise under his suit.

"R-report?" Costa wheezed as he levered himself into a sitting position.

"Alive," Sorey laughed heartily. "That was a big damned explosion!"

"Zink I'd rather be dead," Illia groaned from wherever she had landed. "Rifle is down. Barrel spleet."

"Clair? Clax?" Costa staggered to his feet, stumbling slightly, but staying up.

"Clair is down," Clax's voice came back, shakily. "She's alive. Not seeing any external wounds."

With a shake of his head Costa looked up at what was left of the fusion torch. A giant rip cut almost the entire length of the long barrel. At the bottom, where it met the fusion assembly, was a giant smoking hole the size of a drop shuttle. Edges of the superstructure still glowed, and even dripped slag in some places.

"Vell…." Illia limped up behind Costa staring at the wreckage herself. "Ve got ze batarians….."

Jane, Corsair Ship Perugia

"Captain, I'm reading an explosion at Torch Beta!" Kellogs called out. "Big one, the Torch is out!"

Jane's was by his side and starting over his shoulders almost before he finished speaking. "Any idea on cause? The Batarians having explosives is within my expectations, but using them this early smacks of desperation."

"Captain! Last communication from the ground team was that they engaged the enemy," Conway called from her comm station. "I am unable raise them now, however!"

"Kellogs?" Jane looked down at the man.

"Radiation interference," he shrugged slightly. "No clear readings, probably cutting the comm links. The torch is still there, however, but i can't tell how bad the damage is."

"One torch gone….current velocity will put them…" Jane's eyes went a little glassy as she glanced over Kellogs's boards. "Still two torches. Not enough time for a significant target shift. Still hit the planet." She blinked as she spun to Conway. "Contact with other teams?"

"Still good Captain," Conway nodded as she shifted screens. "Reeger eliminated patrol teams and the radio station. He is currently on route to the main control bunker."

"Good," Jane nodded, stepping back to her command platform. "Tell him to double time it. Our window is closing faster than we would like. Now, tell me about Alpha."

"Alpha reports clearing the torch, minimal casualties," Conway nodded as she listened to the incoming report. "Two injured, none serious. No deaths."

Nodding, Jane's face went slack again as her mind raced through various scenarios and variables. "Alright. We have no contact with Beta Team, so we are assuming the worst for the moment. Have the shuttle land hot and move them to Delta Torch. They know we're here now, so no point in being subtle."

Marcus Rodriguez, Fusion Torch Alpha

"I am underwhelmed, LT," Krak grunted as he rolled a battarian body over with his boot. "These idiots are young and under equipped. Hell the one that have armor are all simple civilian crap."

"The young are easy to corrupt," Halla sighed as she finished applying medigel to one of the wounded. "Especially when they are feeling hopeless. It's easy to blame somebody else instead of facing your own reality."

Krak just grunted and began to go over the bodies. Here and there he collected a few explosives and detonators. Not enough to blow the whole torch, but enough to take out the controls, making it impossible to shut off in time.

Then there was a rumble under their feet. An explosion with enough force to shake the whole asteroid rocked them, the team just able to keep their feet.

"Report!" Rodriguez spat as he brought up his magna-viewer, sweeping it around the torch area.

"Report from Command!" Martin kneeled behind the edge of one of the torch supports. "Torch Beta went up. Not contact with Costa'Nok's team!"

"Damn it," Rodriguez spat as he turned back to the team. "Looks like the batarians on that torch knew what they were doing if they used their explosives to take out the whole torch."

"New orders, LT," Martin raised a hand to get Rodriguez's attention. "We are to take the drop shuttle to Torch Delta."

Rodriguez grimaced, but he could see the logic. Without the advantage of surprise, they needed to hit hard and fast, before the batarians had a chance to dig in. "Alright team, lock in and reload. I want us on that shuttle before it touches ground."

Jane

"Reeger reports contact with one of the civilian contractors," Conway hal rotated her chair to regard Jane. "I've already run the name, Kate Bowman. She's one of the project leads."

With a small frown Jane's eyes narrowed for a moment. "She must have a low band transmitter if Reeger is able to connect an we aren't picking it up. He probably didn't pick it up until he was, what, a hundred yards?"

"That's the report," Conway nodded. She had stopped being surprised by the captain's leaps of logic. "I might be able to catch the signal if Reeger links us in, but the boost will give away her position."

Jane gave a small snort. "Do it. I need information. Too many lives ride on this to worry about one techhead."

"Yes, Captain," Conway nodded slightly as she turned back to her boards, a slight shiver running through her.

Kal'Reeger

"Turrets down," Laral called as the guns in question dropped barrel down into the dust.

Kal dropped his hand on the back of Darrens's leg to not break the man's focus. Two thumps from the human's large bored rifle rocked the leg in question.

"Targets down," Ves nodded as she watched with the range viewer

With a nod of his own, Kal hefted his rifle and signaled the rest of his team. "Up and over, I want the door secured and breach charges set. From here in, we stop for nothing."

Megan slapped the pack of charges she had strapped to her chest and gave Kal a sideways grin. "Set Reeger!" her voice contained that cheerful note it always seemed to have, even loaded down with explosives.

Ves was already up and moving. She had reached down and grabbed Darrens by the backstraps of his armor, hefting him up. When she hit the bottom of the dune, she dropped the man onto his feet. Hitting the ground running, Darrens almost didn't break stride. It was almost like they practiced the move.

"Oh gods….they know something's up!" Kate Bowman's worried voice came over the comm. "I think they're onto me! They...they're coming this way!"

"Keep calm," Kal told her as his team hit the doors. "We'll be there soon." Switching channels, Kal looked at this team, watching as the placed the charges then moved back. "Hit it!"

Jane

"Reeger is in," Conway reported, pushing a screen with the helmet cams on Reeger's team to a side screen. "Batarians are on Bowman...they have her…." Jane stood watching Reeger's team, giving no indication of hearing Conway's report. "Captain?"

"Cut Bowman's feed," Jane clasped her hands behind her back, her eyes never leaving the screens. "I don't want the batarians tracking the signal back through Reeger."

"I…" Conway started, but a look at the predatory look in the Captain's eyes made her swallow her words. "Yes. Feed cut."

"Lighter resistance than I originally expected," Jane said dispassionately. Leaning over, she clicked Conways board. "Reeger!"

"Ma'am!" the marine answered, his voice undercut by rifle fire.

"Numbers aren't adding up," Jane continued, still watching the cam screens. "I expect they fell back to the main control room. Probably have the surviving engineers there as hostages."

"Acknowledged. Recommendation?"

With a small smirk Jane nodded. It was nice having a team leader that knew when to ask. "Yes, if they are barricaded, most likely, secure the area. We are almost out of time. If for some reason they aren't as organized go in shooting, just remember we need the control boards. Civilians are expendable."

There was a short pause. "Yes, ma'am."

Kal'Reeger

"Well...I didn't expect quarians," the batarian leader chuckled. He sat back on the edge of of the barricade, a pistol to the back of a human female's head. Her hair was dark brown and matted with blood. Probably a head would. Tear lines streaked the dirt on her face as she shook slightly in fear. Her clothes were disheveled, hinting at other torments. "Humans, certainly, but you also seem to have krogan and turians."

"You have one of those personalities," Kal shrugged. "Everybody hates you."

"Do I now?" the batarian shrugged and fired a single shot into the woman's back. "Lung shot," he explained with a chuckle. "She's dead. Well...in a couple terrible minutes anyway."

"You son-of-a…." Darrens took a half step forward before Kal held up a fist. He understood his anger, but letting the bastard provoke then now wouldn't get them anywhere.

"How about you connect me to your commander?" the batarian leader suggested matter-of-factly. "I want to hear what kind of offers I'll get."

Kal, just nodded, his hand carefully tapping his omni-tool.

"Balak?" Shepard's voice snorted on the comm channel. "You're alive?"

The batarian, Balak's entire demeanor changed. Gone was the air of control, amusement. In Kal's eyes it was like liquid rage roared into the being.

"Shepard." Balak spit the name. His gun came up and put two rounds into another pair of hostages. "I was almost willing to walk out. Now I'm thinking I'll kill everybody and make sure the controls for the boards are gone. I only wish I could see your face, Butcher."

Jane

With a small shake of her head, Jane almost smirked. "Balak, I was never going to let you off that rock. Let the people go and I'll make it quick for you."

A small part of her mind noted that her bridge was entirely silent. The crew stared hard at their boards, almost unwilling to breath in the tension.

"I see," another shot echoed. "That's one more dead. Good work. I see you haven't lost your touch."

"Really?" Jane half grinned now, wandering over to tactical station. "I remember you being a coward on Torfon. Running away with your tail between your legs." Looking at the tactical boards, Jane tilted her head. She gave Semma a single jerk of her thumb.

"I learned a lot from you," Balak's voice dripped venom. "No quarter. No surrender. No one is innocent." there was another shot.

With a small laugh, Jane slipped into the now empty tactical station. Her fingers danced over the systems. Scans, comm data, diagrams of the torches. Her smile grew into a wicked grin.

Kal'Reeger

"Balak," the Captain sounded almost bored now. "Stop posturing. We all know you don't have the guts."

The batarian quivered with rage as he spun, snatching a trigger device from the hands of one of his people. "One push!" he snarled. "I blow these controls and the asteroid never changes course. I'm going to be taking revenge for Torfon! For my people! For my family!"

"The family you, literally, left in my hands to die?" Shepard laughed again. Kal looked over at Megan, catching the raloi's wide, horrified eyes. "Besides, you don't even know how those torches work."

"I know this!" Balak screamed as his thumb came down. Kal's people flinched behind their cover as most fo the control center exploded in a shower of fire and shrapnel. The hostages that had been in front of the panels were shattered, their broken bodies thrown apart by the force. "You killed millions now, Butcher!"

Jane

With a small sigh Jane shook her head slightly. A small chuckle grew in the back of her throat. It grew to a low laugh, then higher. She began laughing hard enough that it shook her entire body. "Oh my god! You really need to do more research on your targets! All I had to do is keep your stupid ass busy and focused on me!"

"What?!" Balak snarled. "I won! There is no way to stop the asteroid now!"

"Well, you're right on that part," Jane's voice suddenly dropped to an icey growl. "But one of my teams already broke one of the torches, so your aim is off. I have another team in another torch."

"It doesn't matter!" Balak yelled now, his voice was quickly losing its grip on sanity. "Without these control board you can't change the remaining torches! Admit you're failure! Or are you just that prideful? That uncaring?"

"There you are wrong," Jane's icy voice made the crew on her bridge shudder slightly. If there is no system connecting the central hub and the torches, they can be taken manually."

"What?!" Balak's voice wavered, uncertainly creeping in for the first time. "I...I have hostages still! I have your team here!"

Jane leaned forward, her voice actually dropping to nearly a whisper. "Yes. But you forget. I'm the Butcher of Torfon!"

It was a simple flick of a finger. The guns of the Perugia spat fire.

AN: It was also a plan to make it get more frantic toward the end of the chapter, not sure if didn't get too confusing.