A/N Okay, apologies for the long time between posts, I hope you enjoy this latest chapter of Nat's carnivorous adventures! I am trying to get more writing time, but please bear with me, and please keep the reviews coming, they are a major boost to my enthusiasm.
Ezkutu: Thanks for reading and well pleased that you're enjoying it. I hope that Nat is more rounded than a lot of characters, she definitely has flaws. Cliff hangers…yeah I love them, but wish I was better at writing them, hopefully your comment means I'm getting better.
Boostercc: And the answer to your question is….right here weeks later than planned though. Glad you're enjoying it.
Shashenka: Thanks, please let me know what you think of this next bit.
Guest: Sorry it took a while, glad you're enjoying it.
Saberguy: More Vampires? Hmm strange that you should mention that. We'll see.
KidSavesTheWorld: Nat doesn't know yet…and actually I don't yet, so far Nat hasn't been big in leaving survivors, and hasn't gotten into a donor situation yet. I have some ideas and it should be interesting to find out.
ElDani: 3 months. Hope your fingertips didn't hurt too much on the cliff! I think Lexi's development could be awesome. Hope I do it justice.
Deathgeonous: That was a really wonderful review and does wonders for me so many thanks. Most Epic Mass Effect OC would be a really cool title to have. I'm happy you think I have a claim. Would be interested to know what other OCs there are out there people would rate into a top 10 or 20. Maybe someone should do a poll.
Subsider34: Glad you appreciate the development. Lexi will be great. A self adaptive VI. Just how would that develop with access to additional hardware. I want Furti to become an important character as Nat builds a team and a rep, and possibly a trainer for those pesky biotics, but first there might be a hiccup or two. Also pleased I got the grammar right. Gonna go and read this chapter again and try and spot more mistakes.
Michae1ange1o: Hope you enjoy the raid, but bear in mind the first law- no plan survives contact with the enemy. Thanks for the review, let me know what you think.
Ironjaw: Glad your still reading and reviewing. Thanks and sorry about the wait.
GreenRena: My Muse can definitely be a bitch at times. Currently beating it up for Chapter 13. Thanks
KhazintheDark: Glad you like long chapters. Personally 1000 word chapters bug me to read, and there's no way I can write them, it just doesn't work for me, so happy you agree. The plan ended up completely different from your version which was cool. Have to admit I wish I could have made a Krohan airdrop fit. What an image. I hope you enjoy my version.
Ozymandeous: Glad you enjoyed it, hope that you like this one as well, please let me know. Formatting. *&$5^!# Formatting. I screwed up. Sorry.
GreviousPridakArbiter: Thanks. Sorry it took so damn long.
Anyone I might have missed: Thanks for reading, please keep the reviews coming. Enjoy the slaughter.
The meeting in the bar went on for an hour, as I detailed my basic plans for the assault. Furti and Havnoc were moderately impressed, but as I didn't know enough about their skills and specialities, it was really very generic, and after discussion we quickly concluded that we could do better. So without further ado we all headed back to my apartment for a proper planning session, which went on for hours and ended up being radically different to the original. Once all was settled, Havnoc got Ecktar to supply the additional equipment and soon we were ready to go. Which leads to my present situation.
The torpedo shaped cavern is huge. Mined out centuries ago after the discovery of a mineral hot spot, it's over 3km long with a maximum height of around 150m and is 1200m at its widest, tapering to a meagre 90m where it breaches the surface of the immense asteroid that is Omega. Over the decades the cavern has been engineered and modified, reinforced, and built into eventually becoming a warehousing area that links to a small set of commercial docking bays. According to Lexi's hacking the clan of Batarian slavers took control of this area years ago, turning it into their main base and depot for their merchandise, with the docking area providing them with convenient transport for the slaves into and off Omega.
It's taken 2 hours for me to get into position, Lexi assisting in navigation as I walk, crawl and climb through the labyrinthine network of tunnels and vents high above the slaver facility. Another 30 minutes is spent setting up my equipment, a powerful stabilised winch mag clamped to the metal surface of my chosen vent, with a spool of monofilament reactive cable. Incredibly strong, damn near unbreakable this will hold my weight once my descent begin, while the stabilizer system will hold me in position over my target. With the winch in place I hook myself up, then carefully remove the vent grate, stashing it to my side where it can't fall, then lower myself to the vent's rim. I scan the area, my suit's zoom facility essential as I watch the small figures of slavers patrolling the facility far below me. Lexi tags each target as I scan around, quickly building a map of obvious weapons and sensor positions, to compare to the data we already have.
"How does it match up Lexi?"
"100% match to the hacked data Nat. I recommend being aware of the possibility of unexpected changes, but at this point it appears our planning is indeed based off reliable data."
"Excellent. Send Furti and Havnoc the confirmation we're in position, and good to go please."
There is a slight pause before the VI's husky voice speaks again in my helmet.
"Done Nat."
"Thank you."
Moments later Furti's voice sounds in my ear as the commando gives her own confirmation that she and Havnoc have reached their starting point successfully. While I've been clambering in the vent they've infiltrated the docking bays and now are preparing to kick off our op.
I shift my vision to a maintenance gangway some 100m immediately below my position, where a pair of slavers have recently taken over their shift on guard, and are already looking bored. They're armed with high power sniper rifles, and their guard position has powerful sensors providing overwatch for the whole slaver base, plus most of the rest of the cavern. The gangway itself has been blocked off at both ends by the slavers, and our data shows both barriers are heavily booby trapped. Access to the gangway is now only possible from below by climbing up stairs in the dangerous looking tower from the top of the slavers' main accommodation barracks. The building itself is 6 storeys high with additional sensor globes mounted around the building just below the roof line, each one providing targeting data to high power defence turrets equipped with cannon and grenade launchers. During our planning session we concluded the scum below hadn't skimped on their defence, and this single station was the weak point that would, hopefully with some imagination allow our attack.
The rest of the site is protected by a ring of 12 guard towers with automated weapons pods and sensors facing outwards, as well as the Mark 1 eyeball provided by a slaver in each tower. Outside the towers a 5m high fence of molecular wire runs around the whole base as well as an inner smaller electrified fence. Roving heavily armed 3 man patrols of slavers walk a continuous circuit of the base, while the whole facility is covered from multiple angles with sensor pods, and surveillance cameras. The accommodation block I'm high above sits roughly central in the base, surrounded by a multitude of buildings including an armoury, power sub station, engineering workshops, garages, administration blocks, medical facilities, their central command and control bunker, parking bays outside of their main auction house, as well as the blocks where they house their merchandise under constant guard, and their access system to the bays at the far end of the base where their transports dock.
Furti voice gives a 5 count in my ear, before a sharp "GO."
"Take us down Lexi."
The winch system starts unspooling and in a second I'm hanging spread eagled in space, as the whisper quiet mechanism drops me down towards the guards that suddenly seem a really, really long way down. Gods I hope nothing breaks or I'm so fucking dead. It will take a full minute for my winch descent, and I feel so vulnerable. A slaver just needs to look up and I could be seen. I know in my head it's incredibly difficult to spot a human sized object around 140m up when it's hidden in the dark and shadowed cavern ceiling but it doesn't stop my muttering to myself. Please let them not look up. As I descend past halfway Lexi catches my attention.
"Hacking sensor systems now. Complete."
The powerful VI takes over the sensor globes before they have a chance to detect me and I keep on descending, with the Batarians below slowly getting bigger. Even though the whole cavern is enclosed there's still some air movement, and my line begins to gently sway. I curse quietly to myself then breathe a sigh of relief as the stabiliser system kicks in feeding a small current to the monofilament which responds by stiffening, cancelling out the sway before it really gets started. I'm only 10 metres above the guards now.
"Black 'em out."
On command Lexi infiltrates the 2 guard's comm systems and locks them out. Now they're alone. I run through my planned actions in my mind one final time.
"We ready Lexi?"
"Sound dampening is active Nat, all systems fully operational. Holding at 8 m as planned."
"Ok, send Furti the 5 second warning."
"Done."
5. 4. 3. 2. 1. 5 seconds is a long time when you are hanging in space. Lexi detaches the cable and I drop, twisting feet down, and plummeting into the Batarian directly below me. He never knows what hits him, dead before he hit the floor with a snapped neck and pulped brain, as I use my momentum to thrust the corpse back, and myself forwards in a lunge at the other guard, combat knife punching through his throat armor and a gout of orange blood jetting out as I savagely twist the blade as I pull it out. Ok we are officially now on the clock. No idea how long until someone realises these 2 are no longer alive. I land on the walkway without a sound, and head for the stairs down.
"Lexi, lock them down."
"Activating intrusion package."
Deep within the computer systems of the slaver's base the data package that Lexi left them goes active in an orgy of electronic savagery. Simultaneously across the camp all internal and external communications fail, doors and bulkheads slam shut and lock as their overrides activate, sensor systems drop and the targeting systems of weapon pods go active as their Friend and Foe identification system is recalibrated. Chaos erupts as the pods' auto cannon begin firing on any slaver they can target, and grenades blossom in deadly flowers across the facility. I ignore the sudden lethal cacophony as best I can, practically blurring as I charge down the tower stairs to get onto the roof of the barracks below as fast as I can.
They may be brutal thugs and complete scum but the slavers caught in the open react with commendable speed, darting into cover where they can and returning fire on their sabotaged turrets. Lexi gives me a count of their numbers and casualties as I reach the Barracks roof, relieved that so far no one has noticed me, I'm sure that won't last much longer. 11 of the 37 active targets Lexi has detected vanish almost immediately under the barrage, and even over the dull crumps of explosions I can hear the agonized screaming of a particularly unlucky Batarian whose legs have been destroyed and is lying in the remnants of his mangled armor that somehow has kept him alive.
The explosions and weapons fire continue, the slavers' patrols responding now and weapons pods gradually start to fall silent, but I crouch in the centre of the roof and hurriedly work on the next phase of my part of the operation. I pull the carry sack off my back and tip out the contents. A hand held automatic bolt punch, a circular black disk in the form of a dome, 40 cm in diameter and 20cm in height, a custom shield emitter and a signal receiver. During our planning session, the fact that the slavers drastically outnumbered us was our biggest obstacle, and Furti had pointed out that preventing the reinforcements in the barracks from joining the fight was vital. The location of a weak point in their sensor coverage high above the base was a happy coincidence. The commando's solution? Explosives. The problem was that it would take too long, and be too obvious trying to position explosives around the walls where they could be effective.
It turns out that the development of Mass Effect weaponry has had the side effect that older techniques of destruction have become...almost forgotten. This time still uses explosives, and their modern chemicals of choice are far more destructive than the venerable C4, but the provision of high energy weaponry has rendered most ballistic shell based warfare obsolete, and with that the shaped charge seems to have been forgotten. Which will make this a very short surprise to the poor bastards it obliterates. Imagine… take a 20kg block of C19 and then compress it into a hemisphere. Clad the outside of said hemisphere in a 2 cm coating of high density armor attached to a super strong alloy circular mounting frame. Place flat side against the roof and use your handy bolt punch to attach said frame into roof very permanently, although for a very temporary period of time. As I mount the shield emitter on top of the hemisphere, Lexi interrupts.
"Nat, Furti and Havnoc have cleared their first objective."
"Good." I grunt.
"The firewalls I have in place are under attack." That makes me pause for a second.
"Shit. How long? And how, I thought we established their security systems weren't that good?"
"It's not a VI, there's a tech or team of techs in their command centre hacking the lockouts I put in place and they are good. You're losing 12 minutes plus from the plan."
"What? Fuck, in case you haven't noticed Lexi this is a fucking war zone, and I'm stuck on the top of this building while there are patrols still alive down below."
"Yes Nat."
"So I have what 8 minutes to get off here before those fuckers get all their systems back?"
"Sorry Nat more like 7."
"Fuck, fuck, fuck."
I mutter the curse like a mantra while I hurriedly work, Lexi keeping track of the rising casualties surrounding the barracks, where the weapons fire is aimed at and letting Furti and Havnoc know about our increasingly dire situation. I focus, messing up with explosives is bad for your health. Checking the one time high impulse shield emitter is correctly aligned I run the test circuit on its power supply, which blinks a happy green. Next is the receiver.
"Nat."
"Furti."
"Is your bastardized device ready?"
Jeez. "Almost…a minute or so." There's silence for a second.
"There are still 19 targets live in your vicinity. We are through to the secondary access lock, nothing major so far."
"Can you reinforce me in time?"
"No."
"Figured."
"3 minutes 20 seconds to failure." Lexi cuts across the signal.
"You said I had 7." Shit that almost sounded like a whine.
"The hacker is skilled Nat, outer layers of the firewalls already down, I can concentrate on a particular system and retain control longer but the slavers will almost immediately gain access to the rest."
Do I tell Lexi, to distribute her cycles or focus? Stick or twist? Bollocks.
"Keep control of the access systems as long as you can, burn out the armory hatch controls if you can. They will know I'm here, and can tell those fucks below but at least the turret can't actually target me here."
"Done Nat. I have full control of all access points. Losing active control of comms, sensors and weapons in 42 seconds."
"Furti, I suggest you and Havnoc go with contingency 2, I'll meet up with you as soon as I can. Lexi, how many still down there?"
"14."
I grunt an acknowledgement as Furti wishes me luck, and finally manage to slip the signal receiver into its slot, the metal contacts clicking together reassuringly. A final check and I activate the power cell attached to the shield emitter which will, fractions of a second before the explosives detonate, focus an expanding cone of shield energy below it to reinforce the effect provided by the armored shell on the charge. If all goes to plan, virtually all of C19's destructive power will be focussed downwards. All I can say is right now I'm at glad I'm up here not in the building below. My scanners tell me that there are targets at the roof access. Which is still sealed, for about another 18 seconds. Time to leave.
I punch my suit's shields up to maximum recharge rate, turn towards the compound's central command building and with my biotic shield flaring into a brilliant sphere, throw my full enhanced speed into my sprint for the edge of the roof. Planting a foot on the raised edge of the roof I hurl myself into space, at the same time as I squeeze the detonate switch.
KKAAABBBBOOOOOMMMMMMM
The blast wave picks me up and throws me, the impact making my biotic shield flare then collapse as it's overloaded by the energy. Fractions of a second later, my suit shields almost collapse under the impact as I smash into the wall of the command centre opposite, then tumble to the ground, my head ringing in pain as I struggle to put my biotic shield up again. My shield is just going up as I hit the concrete, and both shields collapse as I impact. I black out.
It's a couple of seconds before I wake and find myself lying against the wall, gazing at the devastation that was the slaver's barracks. There's precious little left. The charge went off with a force roughly equivalent to 700kg of 21st century C4. My shaped charge worked. The force of the explosive flattened the building, the overpressure catapulting each floor down into the one below it. The 6 storey building collapsed like a house of cards while the expanding pressure wave blew the walls outwards, in an expanding doughnut of rubble, debris, dust, smoke and pulverised contents of the building including the Batarians.
My helmet audio sensors reset from their automatic dampening to protect my hearing, and as I lie on the ground, thick dust engulfing the area, it's like the whole world is stunned to silence. I can't hear any gunfire, just the sound of pieces of debris falling out of the air all over the area. Fucking hell that was way more than I expected. Lexi flicks my suit sensors over to IR as I look around, looking for the slavers that should be around here somewhere.
"Lexi. Targets?"
"Scanning Nat. The dust cloud is severely degrading resolution. Havnoc is asking what the hell happened."
"Tell him my bomb worked better than I thought. Suit status?"
"Moderate impact damage to rear left pauldron, and rear left hip armor. No punctures, shields prevented shock or pressure damage, hazard seals held ok."
"Good give me a map, plot any targets, let's get the fuck out of here. I have a serious fucking headache."
Lexi doesn't respond but I feel the pain in my head and neck ease as the suit's med system kicks in. I take a drink of blood, and feel fresh energy clearing away the fogginess. I pull myself to my feet, and ready my shotgun, then glance at the HUD minimap Lexi displays for me. I need to go…this way. I head for the access to the slavers' HQ, as my HUD flashes warnings about active sensor systems. Nothing I can do about that right now, need to get in that building and lock it down behind me, so the remaining slavers can't follow me in. A Batarian in light armor stumbles into sight, his face streaming orange blood from a scalp wound, shock and probably deafness making his reactions slow and clumsy. I'm not bothering with finesse, just drag him towards me with biotics and level the shotgun. His head dissolves into gore, corpse hitting the ground with a dull thud as I speed past it through the dust. My shotgun blast attracts attention, return fire from more slavers hidden in the murk riddles the general area where I was. I crouch and run, glad of my speed, helmet sensors still mostly blind in the murk, as Lexi tries to triangulate the gunfire and display threats.
I almost collide with another slaver as I stumble into the flank of a group of 3. Shit. Maybe one of their roving patrols. Too late to get away. My shotgun blasts again but my target has decent shields and they don't quite collapse. I'm almost out of ammo. 2 shots left. Diving sideways as my target's companions open up with ARs, my biotic shields flare repeatedly as they track my movement. I hit the ground and bounce to my feet, pulling my shotgun back on target before the slaver's shields can recover. The thunderous boom of my weapon would be deafening if it wasn't for my helmet's audio dampening. The slaver's shields fail and his armor is no match for the blast's remaining force. He's punched backwards dying as his torso is pulverised.
My biotic shield's failing. Taking the time to aim my last shot also makes me a target and both remaining slavers are hitting with every round as they try to drop me. 2 targets, no cover handy and 1 shot left in this clip. Just wonderful. I launch myself at the first, maybe 7 metres away and have time to see his expression change to shock at my speed. Lexi is in my ear, warning of comms traffic from the other guard who is backing up. Jinking left and right, the slaver's next burst misses, and I'm able to get in close, nothing complicated just my last shotgun round into his torso as I smack the barrel into him. Shields do no good when there is no distance at all. The Batarian collapses like a puppet with his string cut as the shotgun blasts a gaping hole in his torso, removing spine and most of his organs. Crap I'm taking fire from another group now, 4 more slavers closing. Their combined fire is enough that my biotic shield collapses and my suit shields are rapidly falling. The door I want is only 10m away. Suit shield at 45%. My anger surges at the situation and with a surge of biotics I grab the 3rd slaver and hurl him straight up as hard as I can, forget him then turn and sprint for the doorway, hoping the approaching group will lose me in the still swirling debris and dust.
A second later and I'm through the hatchway as it slams shut behind me, Lexi firing the pressure hatch's emergency circuitry and burning them out almost immediately afterwards. The heavy metal reverberates under the impact of the weaponry outside but shrugs off their fire. I'd like to say my situation is improving but I'm lying. I'm at the end of a long wide corridor, with a small security station just to my right. My suit shields are down at 9%, and the pair of slavers on guard are taking aim as they react, already alerted by the gunfire outside. A biotic throw slams one Batarian hard enough backwards that I hear multiple bones and his skull breaking as he hits. 1 dead, but his partner's firing.
Pain. My shields are gone and the fucking guard has a shotgun. His first blast takes out my shield and knocks me back into hatch as it totally wrecks my left shoulder pauldron, and upper arm guard turning my shoulder joint and muscle to bloody wreckage. Lexi's medical protocols take effect as she freezes the armor, and I lose the use of my left arm for now. This isn't going as planned at all now, and the predator inside me is raging. I pull myself off the floor expecting another shot to the head but I'm below his field of fire. Lexi flashes a warning on my HUD and I hurl myself back into the recessed station as down the corridor a pair of security turrets open up shredding the walls and floor as they try and track my movement. Fuck my life, or death…you know what I mean. I suck in blood through the tube in my helmet as Lexi's interception gear clearly relays the guard's panicked call for reinforcements. I manage to cut him off as I dart around the station and hurl my knife. Straight through his throat with enough force to pin him against the wall. Not before he fires again though.
He's still alive but dying, orange blood bubbling up around the knife embedded in his throat, and out of his mouth. The rest of his body is hanging twitching, as he drops the weapon, finger ligaments no longer receiving nerve impulses to grasp. A knife through your spine will do that to you. Still his blast to my guts fairly well fucked me up as well. Looking down I see wreckage where my torso armour should be and my own blood running down my armor. Strange that there isn't more pain but I guess Lexi's is already doing her best to dull it. I groan, pulling myself upright against the security station.
"You killed me Human, but I have the last laugh." The Batarian cough's up more blood, life giving blood.
"Actually you just became dinner."
My helmet mouth guard retracts, I lunge for knife, jerking it out of the wound, grabbing my meal as it starts to collapse fangs extending, sinking into his flash around the hideous wound as I gorge myself on his ebbing life. The vampire knows what it needs and stored blood just isn't going to cut it right now. I feel the slaver's life force bolstering my own, energy surging around my body knitting together my wounds, bone fragments pulling together as shattered ribs and shoulder bones solidify once more, while flesh and muscle roils as my body spits out fragments of armor. I pull away from the Batarian, ignoring the horrified expression frozen on the corpse's face, I need to feed more, my arm and shoulder is usable again but weak, missing muscle and sinew still, my abused torso half healed, the bleeding slowed to an oozing trickle, the organs themselves mostly healed.
My mouth guard moves back into place and I ravenously suck at my remaining blood supply. It vanishes in seconds and there's barely enough to raise me out of my fugue state. I still need more. What a mess. Glancing around I hear Lexi relay someone's response to the guard. Help is on the way. Too late for him and a major problem for me, right now I have nowhere to go, the hatchway is sealed and the 2 turrets at the far end of the corridor are gonna do their best to blow my head off when I stick it round the corner.
"Lexi, where are Furti and Havnoc?"
My HUD map zooms out and I spot my team's indicators, on the other side of the complex working their way towards the base's power systems. Without control of the security systems we have to blow the base's power to have a chance of success, let alone survival. Now the slavers have their comms they will call back troops from the outlying bases I made them reinforce with my small campaign of terror. So shortly we'll be swimming in Batarians. Either Furti and Havnoc take down the power shutting down the turrets so we can call in help, or I manage to get control of the turrets back to defend the base from slaver reinforcements. Right now I'm counting on Furti and Havnoc. I move to the edge of the recess and then quickly glance back out and pull my head back in as the turrets let off bursts of fire a fraction later, chewing out chunks of the wall as I hunker down. All I really had time to see was that there aren't any slavers in the corridor yet. With quick efficient movements I reload my shotgun. How do I do this? I don't have time to take pot shots at the damn turrets.
"Lexi what's your best estimate of enemy forces between here and the central bunker?"
"When I lost control of sensors there were 14 slavers plus the security turrets at the end of the corridor in this section of the complex. The complex is still locked down and at the moment my firewalls are holding against the hacker attempting to regain full control. Analysis of security footage shows that apart from their commander and his bodyguards only light arms are present."
"So if I get past the turrets it's a clear run?"
"Negative. There is opposition Nat, but they are just as trapped as we are."
"Huh, how many bodyguards?"
"4. Armed and armored. The remainder are mostly unarmed."
Gods, I'm hungry for blood, only just in control, if I lose it there will be a massacre. But at least I'll get fed. Need to remember to keep the commander alive long enough to get their creds. My somewhat erratic thoughts are interrupted by the slight electric whine as my suit shields kick back in and cycle to full strength. A thought occurs and I take a quick look up the corridor to confirm. Ducking back in again as another burst takes chunks out of the walls. I was right. The turrets aren't ceiling mounted, they're wall mounted. Those stupid Batarian bastards. I can do this, and they're gonna die.
I crouch down for a sprint start, and throw up my biotic shields, poring power into them, making them as resilient as I can, then bring the vampire to the surface, let the hunger, rage and inhuman strength power my limbs….and launch myself into the corridor.
I'm no Olympic sprinter. They're slow. The corridor is less than 40m long and I go full tilt. The turrets react in milliseconds and open up, sustained constant fire that tracks me remorselessly even as I jink left and right as I run. I take it back the Batarians aren't as stupid as I thought. Yes the turrets can only fire down the corridor and only have a small range of movement, but they're shielded, react damn fast and throw down some serious firepower. I cover the 40ish metres in less than 2 seconds from a standing start, and I get around the corner and out of their field of fire. My biotics collapse in around 1.4 seconds, and my suit shields last another .5 seconds or so before the turrets started punching more holes in my armor and my body. Fuck me it hurts. I slump bleeding heavily against the wall and let my mouth guard retract as my fangs extend and the vampire comes forward again. I must feed. Now. Feed or die again.
From the back of my mind I watch disjointed images as my consciousness flees the agony, bloodlust and rage that consumes me. The vampire hunts, loping forward with unnatural grace, rounding a corner. Through a doorway. I see prey its back to me talking to another prey. Now a glimpse of torn broken bodies, the prey caught and now to feed, surge of life that speeds my healing, staunches some of the wounds. The vampire is lost in blood lust now, acute senses tracking more prey. 3 of the prey wait in another room. They fight and die, small hand weapons that do little damage and they aren't fast enough to keep track of the vampire. It feeds again, drinking deep of life giving blood, angered that only 2 of the prey live to feed on, the last killed outright by a sweeping blow that smashes it into the wall. The hunt continues. I can't watch the slaughter anymore.
I try to surface from the recesses of my mind to the conscious world. My body is almost healed now, the vampire's gifts dealing with the wounds in minutes with plenty of prey to feed on. I'm still weak though reserves of power perilously low, and the vampire is still hunting. 9 prey have been fed on. I have impressions of the vampire attacking a pair of armed and armored targets, relying on its speed and strength to overpower the Batarians. They were probably bodyguards so that leaves 2 more and their boss plus another 2. I force myself to the surface and regain control, it's threadbare, one more wound and the vampire will surface again. I hear a voice.
"Nat. Nat? Nat, answer me."
"Lexi?"
"Nat!" I never thought a VI could sound relieved but Lexi does.
"Yeah, I'm back Lexi."
"Are you alright?"
"Not really. I just had a monster running around in my body Lexi. What's the situation? Where am I?"
"Outside the command bunker. I still have it sealed. The hacker is inside but I have adapted to their techniques and can keep them from accessing the hatchway controls."
"The others?"
"Havnoc is fine, Furti is lightly wounded but still fighting. They are currently engaged with 5 slavers outside the generator substation. They've been trying to comm you for several minutes."
"Crap. Okay patch me through." There's a momentary pause followed by Furti's loud angry voice, weapons fire and Havnoc roaring in the background.
"Where the Goddess have you been Human?" Yeah, she's pissed.
"Killing slavers, I got held up. I'm outside the command bunker, should only be 4 inside, the hacker, the boss and his bodyguards. Still plenty of slavers locked down on the other side of the building though."
"Stay in contact idiot, we were about to blow the generators."
"Hold off Furti, just set them for remote. Give me a couple of minutes and I'll have the base turrets under control."
"Gah. Be damned fast Stern, their reinforcements will arrive soon."
"Understood. Plant the explosives and then secure a position until we have the turrets."
Furti clicks off the comm without a word. I crouch down to the side of the armoured access to the Batarians HQ, readying my shotgun, and stun grenades.
"Go."
Lexi disengages the lockdown, a moment later the heavy alloy hatchway slides open, and a hail of mass accelerated rounds punch craters all over the corridor wall opposite. Crap their reactions are good. Taking advantage of my speed I hurl 3 of my flashbangs around the corner into the room. There's a shout inside followed by a triple blast of blinding light and deafening noise. I glance in and pull my head back, letting the suit's sensors pick out my targets and Lexi analyse the results. Half a second later I know that the tech is down out cold. The boss is still up but stunned as he isn't fully armoured, while the bodyguards have just retreated behind cover, their armour protecting them. I start to move forwards then hop back as another storm of fire splatters the far wall. Fucking hell. My biotic shields should cope but my armor is seriously damaged, and the suit's shield emitters are barely producing a third of their normal strength.
"Lexi can you hack the bodyguard's suits?"
"Unknown."
"Try I need them disabled."
"Working…frequency matched…worm initialised…accessed."
"Good. Overload their helmet audio systems, on my mark give them a high pitched sound burst at maximum possible volume until I tell you to cut it. Understood."
"Yes Nat, preparing…..audio emitters safety controls overridden and sound burst configured to Batarian physiology. Ready."
As Lexi talks I ready my omnitool's inferno.
"Mark." Half a second later I swing around the door frame. The slaver boss opens fire but most of his rounds go wild as he's still recovering from the stun grenades. His bodyguards are on their backs writhing on the floor, hands scrabbling at their helmets, as high pitched noise tortures them. They're in no condition to fight. I throw an inferno at one, then ignore him for now as I take down the other guard's shields with a shotgun blast as I sprint in. Shields down and still helpless with the noise the guard dies still holding his helmet as my second blast obliterates his helm and head. More rounds flare and disintegrate against my biotic shield, with a casual low powered sweep of my mind I pick up the boss and throw him against the wall with a thud then put the burning screaming bodyguard out of his misery with the rest of my heatsink. I swap heatsink and put a round through the back of the Tech's head. Their boss, Dtcharten bar Yeis slumps against the wall out cold for the moment. I quickly disarm him and tell Lexi to retake control of the facility's systems.
"Already on it Nat. Should have full control in…16 seconds."
"Good."
Stowing my shotgun I disengage my visor and mouthguard, as the slaver comes round spitting blood as he coughs. Oops I guess I broke something inside him, what a shame. The smell of his blood is enticing and I have to force myself to wait.
"Comms….Environmental…Sensors…Security…all systems penetrated and secure Nat."
"Well done Lexi….get me locations on their reinforcements, and reverse the turrets IFF please. Then shut down their suit comms network and send an invite to Archangel and his crew please."
"Done…turret controls reconfigured and multiple turrets tracking and firing. Sensors report 7 slavers in the locked off section of this building, 6 remaining in the slave pens, and the first squad of 7 reinforcements has arrived, the next group is 80 seconds out and will be in range of outer turrets in 20 seconds. Reinforcement request has been acknowledged by Archangel. ETA 15 minutes"
"Engage asap , send enemy positions and a regroup signal to Furti and Havnoc please, tell them the ETA for Archangel."
"Done. Furti has acknowledged."
The Batarian chieftain struggles to his feet. Another gobbet of bloody foam splatters the floor as I watch him try and get his bearings, reaching for his weapons and realising his position.
"A Human? It can't be, you have been attacking my clan? This….cough….isn't over, my men are coming, and they will make you beg for death."
"Dtcharten bar Yeis, Aria Tloak sends her regards, you owe her and I'm here to collect. As for your men, more of them are dying at the moment, I switched your turret IFF. Much easier than shooting them myself."
"Human whore, I'll kill you!"
Dtcharten bar Yeis lunges at me away from the wall, but he might as well be moving in slow motion. I step left planting my weight on my left foot and slam my right knee into his stomach, folding him over my leg with enough force to pick him up and hurl him back against the wall with a dull thud. In my ear Lexi confirms that the 1st group of reinforcements have been eliminated and the 2nd are being engaged. Through the thick walls you can barely hear the gunfire. Yeis collapses on the floor puking, desperately trying to get air back in his lungs. I crouch down beside him, getting his attention by grabbing him by the back of his head, forcing him to look at me. The Batarian's eyes go wide as he sees the still wet orange blood all around my mouth. I give him a wicked grin, letting my fangs extend enjoying his fear and the panic in his frantically speeding pulse as he tries to struggle away, I just tighten my grip, armor gauntlets threatening to crush his skull and he squeals in pain and stops his attempt to escape, so I relax my grip slightly.
"What the fuck are you? You're not Human."
"Your powers of observation are stunning Yeis. I'm one of Humanities oldest nightmares, and your death. Make no mistake slaver you die tonight. The only question is how. Aria wants her money. Give me it quickly and you get a quick death, or you can let me have some more fun and I can take my time with you, the choice is yours."
"Ancestors curse you Demon, I will give you nothing. Tell the Asari whore she will suck my cock a thousand times before I give her a single credit. Kill me, my clan will avenge me, on you and the blue bitch." He spits a bloody glob at me, catching my cheek. I wipe it away as my anger rises again, then let him know his punishment, my voice as cold and unforgiving as the vacuum of space.
"That was unwise. One of the best things about Batarians is you have 4 eyes, and you only need 1 to give me the access I need."
The slaver is hysterical as I draw my combat knife, but he's far too weak to escape my grip and I play enie menie mini mo with the knife and his eyes before holding his screaming head steady as I dig into his skull with the blade to remove his lower right eye. The scent of his fear and terror is like ambrosia, the smell of urine starting to rise from his suit where he's pissed himself in fear, as I pull the knife away, the ruins of his eye still on the tip, waving it in his gaze before keeping it in his blurring vision as he weeps at the pain.
"Monster…I will tell you nothing."
"Yes I'm a monster and you're just food to me Yeis. You can give me the access codes to your accounts and I'll kill you quick, or I can simply hack them once I finish eating."
"Phah you can't crack secure credsticks Demon. Do what you will bitch."
"Actually I can, how do you think I got through your systems earlier. Still no matter."
I check the status of my team and Archangel's reinforcements. Furti and Havnoc have started fighting their way through the other side of this building, only 5 slavers left there. Archangel's team is now 9 minutes out. The base turrets have taken out 2 of the slavers in the pens, pinning the others down, fortunately with no casualties yet amongst the slaves. No matter they're Archangel's job, he's the one with the contacts to move large number of slaves to freedom, and as glad as I will be to see them freed, Aria job is her credits and this bastard's head.
"Last chance Yeis."
He tries to spit again but this time I just twist his head away from me, not quite savagely enough to break his neck but he'll really feel it, just not for long. Holding his head firmly I use the knife again, and he writhes in my grip, trying to scream himself hoarse as I take my time and remove the left eye of his upper pair, both sets now impaired, fresh blood spilling down his face to run into the lower left eye, partially blinding him there as well. I set the knife down as the Batarian's screaming turns to whimpers, he's hanging in my grip now, any strength gone from his legs.
"Ready to talk yet?" I ask him, almost as though sharing a conversation with him. There's no response other than a slight stiffening of his neck in defiance. I give him a full 15 seconds to consider, then with no further warning stick my armoured thumb in his mangled eye socket provoking a hideous squeal of agonised pain. I flex my thumb around, and the shrieks crescendo again then collapse to strangled whimpers once more as I remove it and then swap hands where I grip his head and prepare to do the same to his other bloody wound.
"NO! Please...mercy…I…I'll give you the credits."
"There you see, that wasn't so hard now was it?" I taunt the broken slaver but there's no answer, just rasping breaths as he tries to get over the pain, while just pointing shakily at a wall mounted safe.
I let him drop and walk over, Yeis numbly gives me the 15 character code. The safe pops open and inside are a pair of datapads, and a small stack of cred sticks. Lexi scans them and quietly confirms she can break the coding with no difficulty. Astonishing software my VI now has at its command. I take my haul and then have Yeis enable the credit sticks for access, until we reach the last one.
"Do what you want to me Demon, I don't have the coding for that stick." The Batarian is resigned, sullen, defeated.
"Really? Who does?"
"My clan head, you'll never get those credits." A trace of defiance there. Soon deal with that. I have Lexi start cracking the chip.
"Well see the problem is that these chips you opened for me only total about 2.7 million Yeis. So yeah I can give Aria her cut, but that doesn't leave a whole lot for me, so I'm gonna have to crack that stick."
Yeis gives me a smirk and coughs up a bloody foamy laugh. "My clan will hunt you down Demon, my ancestors will haunt you and when they catch and kill you, you will be my fucktoy in the next life. I tire of this, kill me."
"Oh, I will Yeis, I will, but first I want you to see something really cool. Watch."
I hold the cred stick in front of him, smirking as Lexi tells me she's cracked it. The small status light that announces the stick is secure flashes 3 times and then switches to enabled, and I have Lexi transfer the contents across to my stick as Yeis' jaw drops in shock then his face flushes in anger.
"Guess you really fucked up everything didn't you Yeis? Wow, that's a lot of creds."
With a scream of rage the Batarian tries to lunge at me, but he might as well be a child as I grab him, wrench him around and then sink my fangs into his neck, drinking deep. Oh gods that tastes so good. I keep feeding, enjoying the tang of his outrage, desperation and shame. An exquisite flavour.
The pulse weakens, stutters and stops as I finish him, his life energy surging through me replenishing my reserves. I'm not fully charged but definitely no longer starving. I let the body drop and casually wipe the worst of the orange blood off my mouth, as I try and get my head around the numbers. 4 sticks for a total of 22,743,218 credits. We scored. I flick open the comms channel to Furti.
"Furti, how are you doing?"
I hear a scream in the background, and Havnoc laughing, then realise I can actually hear it in stereo. I turn around as my team mates walk through the entrance to the command bunker, Asari and Krogan eyes flashing to the gore and blood that is spattered all over my face and Yeis's neck. Ah. Yeah this could be a problem.