Chapter 4:
The fifth fleet arrived back at Coruscant where a few other fleets was engaged in battle with Aparoid Moths.
"We will be safe at this distance but I will be sending the Turian fleet forward to help out." Decorus said.
Barla Von and Tali walked up to Decorus.
"How is everyone doing in the hanger?" Tali asked.
"I guess it's going to take time as expected." Decorus said.
"What is that smell?" Barla Von asked.
"Let's say we picked up someone with strange powers but is willing to help us. And is high." Decorus said.
Snoop was laying on a couch while inhaling his cannabis and blew it out slowly.
"I see." Barla Von said.
Arentei walked into the bridge with a couple of datapads.
"How is progress?" Decorus asked.
"Slow and steady. I think from what we are learning so far, their telepathy signals originate from somewhere in the far edge of the galaxy, perhaps where the queen is." Arentei said.
"That would make sense for the Queen herself to stay away from the main invasion of the galaxy." Barla Von said.
"Do we got a location?" Decorus asked.
"Not yet, we are trying a few methods to figure that out with the brain." Arentei said.
"Sir, no one has gotten a contact from the northwestern outer rim for twenty-four hours now." A deckhand said.
"You think that's where the Queen might be?" Tali asked Decorus.
"I'd suspect if it went dark first other than the rest of the galaxy." Decorus said.
"I will head back to my group." Arentei said.
As Arentei left, three people walked up.
"Ah, Kugo Ginjo." Decorus said.
Kugo, Riruka, and Yukio who helped Akira and Makoto on Palaven was on Decorus' bridge.
"Atton told me you guys could help us." Decorus said.
"Though it took us a long time to register into helping the Federation." Riruka mumbled.
"Where do you need us?" Kugo asked.
Atton and Ken walked up.
"There they are." Atton said.
Atton gave them a wave and Kugo and Riruka waved back but Yukio was on his game.
"This here is Ken, he will be your squad leader." Decorus said and pointed to Ken.
"Nice to meet you guys." Ken said.
"Back at you kid." Kugo said.
"Wow, such a doll." Riruka said having a grin on her face while checking Ken out.
Both Kugo and Riruka looked at Yukio and Kugo decked Yukio's head.
"Ow, what!?" Yukio shouted.
"Say hi!" Riruka shouted.
"Yeah, hi." Yukio said to Ken before going back to his game.
Ken blinked.
"May I ask what happened on Palaven?" Decorus asked.
"Palaven?" Ken asked.
"To clue you two in, we helped two detectives out on finding some strange orb or something. Met two Aogiri members that I guess was the last of the Aogiri Organization, one claiming to become the new leader but that was short-lived. You guys see the detectives anywhere?" Kugo asked.
Decorus was confused.
"You know, I don't think those two detectives returned with the orb." Atton said.
"Orb?" Eto asked walking in.
"Yeah, the orb you and Ken spoke about. They found it on Palaven and we gave the detectives orders to take it to Coruscant to the smelting plant to destroy it for good." Atton said.
"We were never notified." Decorus said.
"Let me see if I can track them, I got the shuttle number." Kugo said.
Kugo walked over to a console and typed on it and his eyebrows furrowed.
"What?" Riruka asked.
"The shuttle's existence is gone. Last known projector was on course to Coruscant but it just vanished midway, no trace of it at all." Kugo said.
Eto walked over to the console and looked at the screen.
"What does this mean?" Decorus asked.
"It means that orb might still be out there somewhere." Eto said.
"What's the big deal about it anyway?" Riruka asked.
"You ever hear of the Breakdown Sphere? Of the Cosmic Divine Crystalline? Throughout history that orb has influenced many many things, and not for the better. It grants someone three wishes, the third wish, the person dies. Why some people who know it's properties are careful to make just two wishes. Though they get their wishes, that orb still takes away some life force out of you and whatever it does with such energy I do not know." Eto said.
They looked at her in silence for a few seconds before Kugo went back to the console looking at it.
"It doesn't say the shuttle exploded, it just vanished out of existence is all." Kugo said.
"Something doesn't add up about this thing, if history is correct it was created by some Emperor who wanted complete and utter control of all life, and then he vanished. If this guy was so powerful, how come his orb survived but he didn't?" Ken asked.
"Vanishing doesn't mean death." Eto said.
Before they questioned the mystery more, the alarm was going off.
"A hundred Aparoid Moths are heading down to Coruscant!" A crew member said.
Decorus walked over to the intercom to issue an order.
"Decorus!" Tali shouted running over.
"Tali?" Decorus asked running up to her and holding her close.
"Our space probes may have something on a location of the Queen but the main server collecting that data is on Coruscant." Tali said.
"Oh bloody brilliant." Decorus said.
"Guess that means we're heading down planetside?" Ken asked.
"How long will the server be done collecting the data?" Decorus asked.
"At least ninety percent so it can give us a system, but the exact location must be one hundred percent." Tali said.
"How long is the download time?" Decorus asked.
"Two hours." Tali said.
Decorus saw the Aparoid Moths heading down to the planet and looked to Ken.
"We're on it." Ken said.
Decorus gave him a nod and issued the fleets to gather together and head to the sky of Coruscant to engage all Aparoid Moths.
Kugo and his group followed Ken to the Ebon Hawk.
"Joker, we're heading down to a server station on Coruscant. I got the coordinates right here." Atton said plugging in the datapad.
Joker and Atton got the Ebon Hawk up and out of the hanger immediately and headed down to the planet.
"Holy shit!" Kugo shouted.
Coruscant was covered in smoke and flames from buildings, Aparoid Moths everywhere fighting off Federation ships and tearing down buildings.
"Over trillions of people live here, oh god, I wonder what the death count is." Riruka said.
"Sons a bitches." Scourge said.
"I wonder what the death count is around the galaxy." Joker said.
Two Aparoid Moths followed them.
"Ah shit, we got company!" Joker shouted.
Joker operated the top and bottom turrets to turn around and open fire at them.
"Joker, how about you drop us off and fly away." Ken suggested.
"Agreed. Get to the loading bay door, I'll open it and jump onto the roof of the server building okay? They might not see you guys jump out." Joker suggested.
"Jump and roll so we don't get injured." Scourge said.
Everyone got to the loading bay door and gripped onto the sides as it opened and the wind was blowing in.
"Almost there!" Joker shouted on the comlink.
They jumped right as Joker was low enough over the server building and headed back up to the upper city of Coruscant with the two Moth Aparoids following close behind.
"I hope he's got this." Hide said.
"I don't see a roof entrance." Atton said.
Scourge ignited his lightsaber behind Atton and carved a hole.
"Nevermind." Atton said.
Scourge looked inside first and beckoned the others that it was safe to jump down.
Everyone jumped onto a catwalk inside of the server room and they headed to a nearby ladder and descended down and went further into the complex.
"It should be five floors below us, I got the security codes." Decorus said.
As they walked down the stairs to the right door, Decorus was going through his security codes on his holocom.
"I'll find them, just give me a moment." Decorus said.
Scourge ignited his lightsaber again and began to cut through the door leaving Decorus with an unamused look.
"It would have taken you time that we don't have." Scourge said.
Decorus kept silent.
They entered the large server room that was empty.
"Okay, there are six entrances into this place, just stay at each one and make sure nothing comes in." Decorus said.
Decorus ran to the main terminal and typed on it while plugging in two datapads into its datapad slots.
"You got it?" Thane asked while aiming his scope down the way they came from.
"Yeah, we just need forty percent more of data." Decorus said.
They felt a rumble and suddenly a swarm of Aparoid Crawlers was coming from Scourge's side.
Scourge sliced them down quickly.
"Incoming!" Scourge shouted.
Now, Aparoid Crawlers was everywhere trying to get in.
Ken whipped his tentacles out and thrashed at a few Aparoids while Eto was doing the same at her end.
"Do not let them get through!" Decorus shouted.
In the sky, Aparoid Moths was tearing down ship after ship but some of them was battered up by turbolaser fire and fell from the sky and into buildings.
The Quarian Liveship with the Federation began to split apart from the back as two Aparoids using their beams was cutting it through.
Tali was typing on the console giving an alert for all crew members to rush to the escape pods.
"Damn it!" Tali said as the side of her bridge was breached by an Aparoid Moth.
Tali and a few Quarian crew members began to shoot at it.
"It's bringing in- agh!" A crew member shouted being eaten to death by an Aparoid Crawler
Aparoid Crawlers swarmed the bridge while they was attached to the Moth and began to jump on the crew members eating them alive.
Six other Aparoid Moths flew up to the Liveship and attached themselves to it.
"Escape pod bays are failing! We're falling from orbit!" A Quarian engineer shouted on the comlink.
Tali was silent and noticed the engines was still operational and sighed walking over to the terminal.
"Decorus, this is Tali." Tali said on the comlink.
Decorus was shooting at a few Aparoids that was trying to break into the server room.
"Tali! What's going on!" Decorus shouted.
"I want you to be strong and keep fighting no matter what happens." Tali said.
"Tali?" Decorus asked.
"I love you." Tali said.
Tali hung up the intercom leaving Decorus to shout her name.
Tali operated the Liveship to aim for a destroyed skyscraper and turned the engines on full blast heading straight into the building and blowing up, even blowing up the Aparoids that was attached to the Liveship and a nuclear explosion occurred sending a shockwave out, and Decorus felt it.
"Tali!" Decorus shouted in the comlink.
"Behind you!" Kugo shouted to Decorus.
Kugo jumped up and sliced down an Aparoid Crawler that was ready to kill Decorus.
"Download is at ninety percent!" Yukio shouted out.
Six Aparoid Moths was receiving telepathy signals from the Crawlers and headed toward the server building.
Riruka was on the roof watching them coming.
"Guys, we got biggy's coming!" Riruka yelled on the intercom.
"We need to go, come on!" Kugo shouted.
Yukio took one of the datapads while Ken took the other.
Decorus was on his knee's not moving.
"Decorus!" Ken shouted.
"Go, I'll hold them off." Decorus said with an angry voice.
Scourge decked Decorus hard enough to knock him out and carried him over his shoulder.
"We got no time for debate." Scourge said.
"You could of at least told him that first before knocking him out..." Atton mumbled.
Riruka was running toward them.
"Aren't we suppose to go out the way we came?" Ken asked her.
"Run!" Riruka shouted.
Over a hundred Aparoid Crawlers was coming from where she ran from and everyone quickly ran with her.