Ryder's arms were numbed as she slammed a fresh magazine into her rifle. She glanced at her HUD. Solarin's, Díaz's and Teo's vital signs pulsed in the corner, strong and steady.
Good.
It was turning into a tick. Checking their vital signs every couple of minutes, even if it was a mere flicking of her eyes towards the corner where the infographic was displayed. Kovács' falling body still played at the back of her mind whenever the bullets started flying. Ryder exhaled loud and harsh as she forced the image from her mind.
This isn't the time.
"Alpha, breaching secondary perimeter," Shepard's voice through the din of battle. "Delta keep the assholes pinned."
"Got it, Commander."
"Bravo and Charlie, touched down," the LT reported.
"We're inbound," Williams chimed in. "Leave some for us."
"If all goes well, there should be none for you," Shepard replied.
"Boo, Skipper. That's no fun."
Ryder snorted and slipped out of cover and shifted closer. Solarin's drones whirled ahead and their smaller caliber rifles went rat-tat-tat. Díaz's shotgun boomed somewhere off to her left while Teo's rifle on her right.
The mission was going well. And soon, she prayed, Kovács would stop haunting her dreams.
Ulva and Arashi pressed their bodies against the side of the door. They nodded their readiness. Shepard slammed her palm against the holo-lock before twisting out of the way. The pair swung in, rifles leading the way. She followed closely behind.
Her rifle magazine was fresh, she hadn't even fired a single bullet since she had set foot on Omega, but something stank about the entire thing. This place should be crawling with Cerberus operatives. The prize, after all, was secured here, waiting on a hand off. This wasn't the final destination for the artifact. Omega was too open and had too many probing eyes. The de facto queen of Omega wouldn't tolerated anyone messing with unknown ancient things in her domain.
Has the hand off happened? Are we too late?
Shepard's skin crawled like a million ants were running over her body despite the armour she was wearing. Room after room, all of them empty. They weren't hastily emptied just moments before. They were completely and utterly unfurnished, a mere shell of a hideout. Sure, there were some stray food wrappers, some cigarette butts, maybe a Fornax magazine or two but there was nothing else that indicated this was a long term hideout for Cerberus. It was like the fucking thing wasn't here. It was like Cebereus knew they were coming.
Everything just screamed decoy, trap.
There was an odd crackle in her comms channel. Was someone trying to reach her? Was the connection that poor? The room was long and narrow, more akin to a wide corridor than a room proper, with another opened door leading back out into the corridor on the other end. Crates opened and smashed were piled in a corner. She sighed, her shotgun swung, directing the high powered beam of light down the length of the room. It confirmed what she already knew.
Empty, empty, empty. Where the fuck is Cerberus?
Solid thuds against the ground caught her attention, her shotgun smung, the beam caught as a handful of black objects rolled towards them. "Grenades!" Shepard cried, tugging at her core even as she dove towards the exit she was nearest.
"Take cover!" Ulva screamed.
Arashi jerked his arms out, a blue shield flickered up around the grenades in a fertile attempt to contain the blast. Shepard grimaced, knowing it probably wasn't going to be enough, joined her field with his. Before they could properly mesh them together, her vision turned white as pain erupted across her flank.
"I need a little help here!" Ryder shouted.
Overhead, a shuttle roared in. "Corporal, we have more incoming!" Teo shouted.
Ryder peeked out from cover. Operatives bearing the black, white and yellow mark of Cerberus poured out. All of them carrying a fresh load out and not fatigued unlike her team. "Fuck."
"Charlie, Bravo!" She yelled into the comms. "Come in!"
There was nothing but static.
It's happening again. This is just like Janus.
Her heart stuttered and skipped.
"Shit, shit, shit," she muttered under her breath. Her eyes darted to her team. All of them had theirs eyes on her. She took a shuddering breath and exhaled, attempting to force the fear and anxiety out. All it did was shove the screaming panicking kid to the back, enough so she could think clearly, her hands weren't trembling quite so obviously.
"Teo, Díaz, Solarin, what's your ammo situation?"
They sounded off. Her heart sank with each response. Shepard was still in there, trapped or cutting through the enemy. She couldn't tell. Comms were down. Bravo and Charlie were still holding their position as far as she knew. The priority was clear.
"Solarin, can you track whatever that's disrupting our comms?"
"On it."
"Teo, Díaz, set up there and there," she directed. "We're going to funnel them."
Ryder could feel her amp burning as she Pulled at the enemies while Teo and Díaz lit them up. Her arms heavy as she threw Lance after Lance at the clustered Cerberus operatives. Watching the small pile of emptied magazines grew made her chest clenched.
Díaz grunted. His vitals were highlighted red in her HUD as his blood pressure spiked. "I'm hit!"
"Fuck, get some medi-gel on it," she shouted, firing her rifle.
"I'm out," he shouted.
As she was about to toss him one of her packs, Teo shouted, "Cover me, I'm heading over."
"On three," she shouted.
"One!" She pulled from her rapidly drying well of biotic stamina.
"Two!" She picked her target.
"Three!" Teo launched himself from behind cover and made a beeline for Díaz. Ryder stood and threw her arms forward. A blue wave shot from her arms into the Cerberus operatives. The force sent them tumbling and flying against the far wall. She switched over to her rifle quickly firing upon them haphazardly, shifting to take Teo's position.
"Solarin, any time now."
"Almost there," she shouted. "There, got it! It's a disruptor field, probably Cerberus tech"
"Where is it?"
"It's deeper into the facility."
"Teo, how's Díaz?"
"He'll live," Teo declared, slapping a palm against Díaz' shoulder. Díaz yelped in jest.
Ryder suppressed a shudder that ran down her spine. "All right guys, we got to take the party on the road. We're going in."
"But what about our orders?" Teo asked.
"That went out the window when the comms went down."
"What about sending a runner to Charlie or Bravo?" Teo suggested, his eyes wide as he stared at the entrance swarming with Cerberus troops.
"We can't contact them, we don't know where they are if they are even still where they are supposed to be," Ryder growled, her patience fraying.
"But—"
"Teo, can it. We're going in. Now."
"Yes, Corporal," his mouth snapped shut promptly.
Shepard's senses activated one by one, in waves, between consciousness and not. The first to return was her sense of smell. Burning plastic, foul and nauseating filled her nostrils. She coughed hard but every attempt to rid herself of the smell just made things worse.
Next, her hearing. A high pitched whine filled her ears, Wincing, she pushed herself to her hands and knees. Shouts sounded muffled and far away. Her head was stuffed full of cotton and she couldn't get them out.
Her sense of touch returned. Hands belonging to others, tugged at her. Someone pushed her back onto the ground. Her shattered helmet pulled from her head.
"That's not Persephone," a voice said. "We've got the wrong person." Static crackled as a tinny voice spoke on the other end of a omni-tool speaker. Feet shuffling. "Move out, Persephone is located."
Shepard barely had the capacity to process any of it. Overriding everything was pain across her back and side. A sharp jab pierced her thigh. Medi-gel flushed through her body, turning her body all tingly where pain once was.
Her sight came back in the form of bright lights that seared her retinas. Shadows danced at the edges of her vision threatening to tug her back under. Shepard growled, a sound feral and frustrated as she fought to stay on this side of consciousness. Clenched fists, fingernails digging half moons into her palms.
The final sense to return was taste. Her mouth hung open as she panted. The air tasted bitter and acrid. "Ulva, Arashi," she called. Her voice barely a rasp above the ringing in her ears. She cleared her throat. "Ulva, Arashi, status!"
Her braid hung loose, her helmet laid on the ground, broken and sad. She frowned. Did the blast did that? She shoved the thought aside. Scrambling on her hands and knees and shuffled towards the two figures on the ground.
Groans huffed out of the first as she flipped them over, syncing their suit's medical VI with her omni-tool. Without her helmet, she could only rely on her omni-tool for information. Ulva's vitals were stable, there were some bleeding and lacerations through her armour, but she was more rattled than badly injured. Shepard dispensed an extra dose of medi-gel via her omni-tool.
Ulva braced herself into a sitting position. "Sit tight, get your bearings," Shepard ordered. "We're moving out when you're not seeing double."
"Got it, Commander," Ulva coughed.
Shepard moved to Arashi. Her heart stuttering and skipping as she looked at the amount of blood pooling around him. When his vitals popped onto her omni-tool, her jaw tightened.
"Shit."
His suit's medi-gel banks were flashing red and empty. The blast had damaged that part of his armour and the contents of the packs were all dribbling down his side onto the floor, wasted. Her hand snaked around her side and reached towards where her spare medi-gel were stored. She found nothing but a wet patch.
"Fuck." Another curse uttered into the bitter air. Without hesitation, she popped the remaining pack of medi-gel from her suit and jammed it into his armour, dispensing it manually.
Arashi's eyes fluttered open a couple of minutes later. "I don't feel good," he groaned.
Shepard snorted, turning her attention to the comms. Ulva had grabbed a rifle and was checking it over. "Bravo, come in." Static crackled. Ulva tried to the same result. "We're leaving," she growled. "Come on."
Shepard ignored the tearing pain across her back, the analgesic effects of the medi-gel were fading fast, as she hoisted Arashi up to his feet. He groaned, "Gently."
"Suck it up, I don't intend to stick around." She pulled his arm over her shoulders and hooked one hand to the webbing around his waist. Glancing back at Ulva, there was an unspoken question in her eyes. Ulva nodded tightly, her grip tightened on her rifle.
"Let's go."
"Fuck! Baby-2 down!" Solarin shouted.
Ryder watched as another drone crashed, rapidly turning into a pile of slag. She grimaced. The waves of Cerberus operatives were endless. Most of them were content to set up turrets to slow them down while others tried to flank them. This was a battle of attrition. Their ammo against Cerberus'. It was one Ryder knew they would lose. She had been resorting to her biotics, leaving the clips to the others. If the resistance was this fierce inside, where they could funnel and box their enemies in, what about outside? How were the other teams faring?
Please, please, please. Let them all be ok.
"How far is it?" Ryder bellowed over the gunfire.
"Just ahead," Solarin replied, firing her pistol from behind cover.
"How are you holding up Díaz?"
"I'm good." His shotgun boomed taking a Cerberus operative trying to flank them.
"Teo?"
"I'm out of ammo!" His voice was high and thready. The look he shot her a little wild, a little too unsteady.
Ryder's jaw tightened and slid her last magazine towards him. His acknowledge was a quick jerk of his head before he slammed it into his rifle.
"One step at a time, Teo. Watch our backs," she said, forcing her voice to be calm and confident. "We'll get out of this."
"You owe me a drink," he laughed.
"You can collect at our next shore leave."
Then, the bullets ceased. Ryder narrowed her eyes and popped her head out of cover. The turrets ahead had fallen silent. The silence that rushed in to fill the void was loud. All she could hear were the ragged breaths from both sides catching their breaths. Sweat trickled down her spine as her breath huffed against her helmet. She strained her ears to catch any telltale noises boots shuffling to flank them, drones whirling to life behind them, just anything.
The operatives ahead peeked out from behind cover. Solarin shot her a look, Ryder shrugged. Díaz grunted as he shifted his weight from one foot to another. Teo kept one hand on his last grenade, eyes darting to the enemies that remained just out of range.
They were waiting, but what for?
"Ryder," Solarin called, her voice tight over the comms. "I'm picking up their signal."
"You tapped into their comms?"
"Listen," she said. "I'm putting it through now."
An unfamiliar voice came through. "Red hair? N7 strip?"
Silence and more static. "No, that's not Persephone. We have found her. Stand by for extraction."
More static and then the connection died. Icy fingers seized Ryder's heart and squeezed tightly.
"Who the fuck is Persephone?" Díaz growled. "And what the fuck are we waiting for?"
"Persephone is a Greek goddess of—"
"I'm not actually asking, Teo."
Ryder cleared her throat and they fell silent. "How far away is it coming from?"
"Just in the room ahead," Solarin supplied.
"That's where the disruptor signal is coming from?"
Solarin nodded. She sighed. Movement ahead caught her attention. A soldier clad in a suit of red, white and black stepped into view. Cerberus? Or some other group?
Ryder recognised the pattern. It looked like Shepard's N7 armour but the colours were inverse. Red where it was black, black where it was red. It was a mockery of the coveted N7 designation. The helmet was the same dull red of the suit, almost daring them to aim for it, like a big fat target.
Ryder couldn't see their face, hidden behind the almost entirely opaque helmet but she could feel their eyes on her team. Prey, that was what she felt like. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, screaming at her to move, to shoot, to just do something. She shoved it down, her only concession was a firmer grip on her biotics, ignoring the stabbing pains her amp was sending up her head.
Through the distance, their eyes met. She felt her blood turned to ice. Her breath was caught in her throat. "Teo," she growled urgently. "I'm going to Pull them in. Throw your grenade when I do."
"Got it, Ryder."
"Solarin, send whatever drones you have left after me. The rest of you, follow after."
"What are you planning?" Solarin's voice hush, her breath shallow.
"Get ready, Teo," Ryder called, ignoring the question.
The grenade hummed softly as he armed it. She dug deep into her well, asking for more than she had ever done before. The situation wasn't quite dire as it was on Janus. There, she was prepared to die; here, she wanted to live.
"Now!" She roared.
Blue flames engulfed her. Heat that radiated from her core reached out towards the Cerberus operatives behind cover. The grenade sailed overhead and detonated in a loud boom. Before her ears stopped ringing, before the dust settled, Ryder was on the move.
The red armoured operative wasn't a mere grunt like the others they had faced. A blue shield shimmered over them, not a single speck of dust marred their pristine armour. Ryder did as Shepard taught her.
Do not fight for control, give in to it. You're born with biotics, it reacts to your instincts and needs more than you know. Just let go.
A burst of speed, a flash of dark energy. Ryder streaked across the room, hoping to catch the Operative wrong footed. She bowled into them, pushing them back by sheer force. Drones whirled over her into the room ahead while the others rushed forward, firing at any that weren't taken out in the initial blast.
Ryder didn't have the capacity to care about the others. She found an elbow hammering against her shoulder, trying to dislodge her. As they crashed into the far wall of the room where the disruptor field was, her grip failed and she tumbled to the ground. Pain flashed across her chest, bruises would be the least of her complaints at this rate.
She scanned the room and found the device. It was set up on a table. The jamming device was unassuming, merely a portable console with a dish pointing upwards. She growled and lunged towards it only to be tumbling passed it at thrice the speed she had expected to. The Operative laughed, biotics swirling around them.
"Get ready for extraction. Persephone is about to be acquired," they ordered. The remaining Cerberus troops scrambled to obey. But as her team entered, they were forced to seek cover. Their solo remaining drone firing upon the Cerberus troops.
Ryder slammed into a nearby desk. She could feel the armour plates on her back shattering upon impact. Something sharp slicing into her flank. She gasped. Her HUB flashed red, indicating she was out of medi-gel. A growl ripped through her throat as she forced herself back onto her feet.
The Operative was upon her again. They were not going to give her time to take out the disruptor. She had but seconds to act. Teeth gnashed, she ignored the Operative, committed to the mission, she lifted her pistol. Taking careful aim, she fired.
Once, it pinged against the device's shield. It shimmered but held.
Twice, it flickered and dimmed. A blue spear snapped to life in the Operative's hands.
Thrice, the shields powered down, leaving it vulnerable. The spear sliced through the air.
And one final time as her pistol clicked empty, the device sparked and caught fire. Something punched into her thigh. Her shields took the brunt of the biotic lance, but her leg buckled. Twin spikes of pain penetrated her knees as she fell. Ryder stared, a deep furrow was dug into the side of her leg, her armour scoured away.
As the device exploded, she twisted to avoid the blast. In an instant, the comms were restored.
"Delta, requesting reinforcements!"
"Delta! Charlie! Bravo! Come in," Shepard yelled for the umpteenth time. She wasn't expecting a response.
However this time, the static cackled and a voice came through. It was Baby Ryder.
Shit.
"Alenko! Williams! Where are you?" she barked, labouring under Arashi's weight.
"Charlie is heading towards you, I'm keeping our LZ clear," Alenko replied. His voice tight and curt as the staccato of gunfire peppered the background.
"Skipper, where are you?" Williams cut in.
Ulva nodded, tapping at her omni-tool, sending Williams their location via encrypted channels. This mission was a disaster. It was nothing but a trap.
Hackett is going to hear about this. Fuck him and the fucking intel.
"Hurry."
When Charlie rendezvoused with them, Shepard issued her orders quick and crisply. She tasked Rai to get Arashi to the LZ and on the first shuttle out. The rest, she took with her to get Delta out of trouble.
Why the fuck is Delta not where they are supposed to be?
Anger and frustration threatened to turn to rage, but she shoved them aside. Chakwas' words echoed in her head as she bit her tongue.
Fuck!
"Move out!"
Ryder backed away, fighting to gain her feet, but her thigh could barely hold her weight. Her hands clawed at the ground as she inched towards cover.
Solarin's voice loud in her ears. "Ryder! Come on!" Her arm stretched out, palm open, fingers reaching.
I can do this.
Dragging her leg behind her, Ryder scrambled, ignoring the shooting pain. Trusting the others to cover her, she crawled. Solarin flinched as gunfire pinged against her cover. Ryder could feel them slamming into her shields.
Hold, hold, please just hold.
With a grunt, she kicked out with her good leg, giving herself a short burst of speed. Her hand reaching for Solarin's. Their grip firm and solid for an instant and then she was yanked away. A cloud of blue surrounded her as she floated into the air.
"No!" Ryder screamed impotently, twisting to see the Operative's arm lifted in her direction.
She braced herself, expecting bullets to shred through skin and flesh, biotics to slam her into the ground or grenades to blast her to bits. Tears pricked at her eyes and fear formed a lump in her throat as a ragged sob escaped her pinched lips.
"I don't want to die." The confession lost over the chaos of battle.
"Ryder!" A familiar voice burst into her comms. "Hang on! We're coming."
"Shepard," Ryder whispered.
She caught sight of the Commander's black, white and red armour. Orders flew briskly over the comms as Charlie and Alpha reinforced her team. Hope flared in her chest.
"Time to go," the Operative chuckled as they lobbed a couple of grenades in her team's direction.
Ryder's world went white in an instant, hands wrapped around her waist as she was half dragged and half carried away. A wave of intense heat chased them as she struggled. She kicked but only found air, her hands scratched and pushed, but her limbs didn't do more than twitch. The Operative snarled at her, slamming an elbow into her helmet. The blow made her vision flicker.
No, no, no!
She reached deep, asking for everything her body could give. Palms pressed against the Operative's side, she Pushed. Her amp seared her flesh and skin. They lost their grip on her. She went tumbling, sliding to a stop a distance away. Her breath was harsh against her ears, her heart raced as she fought to stand. Her leg was molten liquid pain, lighting her nerves on fire.
Then, she froze. The Operative had their pistol out and it was aimed at her chest. Her jaw tightened, teeth biting down quivering lips. There would be no help, not from Shepard or her new found friends.
I am a Ryder. I won't die on cowering.
The pistol fired and her breath rushed from her lungs. As her world turned black, she heard, "Persephone secured. Get the shuttle ready."