Log 16
Date: 26TH OCT 2186
Location: 15 KLICKS EAST OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, USA
So this was it, the big one as they say. Given the size of the compound we believed there could be as many as five hundred prisoners being held there, a huge rescue operation by resistance standards. More than that if we were successful today then other resistance cells could use our tactics to attempt similar missions. Set against that the risk that if things started to go wrong we wouldn't even be able to retreat for fear of leading the enemy to our base. Our best hope would be to scatter and hope the Reapers wouldn't be able to chase all of us at the same time. This would be a major test of the our ability to act against the enemy on a larger scale. I felt like everything I had built so far was being put on the line today.
The order of battle was simple enough, we had divided ourselves into three groups for this operation. The infiltration team would be lead by the Justicar and attempt to sneak into the facility and disable the defenses. Assuming this was successful the two attack groups led by myself and Major Coats respectively would assault the compound from the North and West. In order to free all the prisoners safely we would need to capture the prison camp and secure the surrounding area for several hours. To help us in this endeavor the Major had been brought in from his posting at Welcome to assist with the attack along with a number of his men. I couldn't say that I knew him well (apart from the fact he had saved my life) but given his general effectiveness in several border skirmishes in the villages I felt confident he was the right man for the job.
The operation began with the infiltration itself which was an incredibly frustrating time for me personally. Lara and her squad had taken up residence in a burned out building on the Reaper agent's patrol route. The bulk of our forces were being held back at this stage but I had a small unit with me to observe the the initial contact. The idea was we'd be far away enough not to be noticed but close enough to rush to their aid if the need arose.
I watched the agent through the scope of my rifle as he approached the house. He was very well dressed, in a tailored suit that seemed deeply out of place among the debris of ruined buildings. But already I could see the reports had had been accurate; he walked as if in a daydream. There was a vacant, empty expression on his face while his legs pulled him forward along a familiar patrol route, muscle memory replacing intellect.
The Husks followed behind him at a distance. It was strange seeing them out in the middle of the day doing such a menial task as guard duty. The bright daylight seemed to diminish their terrifying appearance. As I looked them clearly for the first time I noticed the cables that burrowed into their chests, the metal face plate fused to their bald skulls and felt a powerful surge of pity. I'd often thought of these things as abominations, the stuff of nightmares but they were merely tools of the Reapers, no more evil than a gun. In fact if they hadn't been so far gone I might've tried to save them.
The Reaper's agent seemed to rally slightly as they approached the house and saw that it was occupied for once. There was a sense he was waking up from a daze and he moved more purposefully as he approached. He called the occupants out to talk I guess because they all swiftly emerged, their hoods pulled over their heads, faces looking down to obscure their appearance. Luckily the agent was far too busy attempting to deliver his pitch to notice.
I wasn't nearly close enough to hear what was being said but Lara told me afterwards that he claimed our government had surrendered to the Reapers and that they were taking people to relief centers until it was possible to re-establish Earth's utilities and infrastructure. A lie of course but a clever one, designed to target anyone without the ability to learn what was happening around the world (which thanks to the Reapers frying our comm buoys was pretty much everyone). Still according to Lara his delivery was poor, it felt like he was reading off a script he'd been handed, another sign that the indoctrination was taking hold.
I was tense throughout the meeting, it would be all to easy for the plan to go wrong here before it had even really begun but the agent seemed to accept their story and lead them towards the compound. Not that this helped my stress levels much, they had been accepted as human but they still had to get past the guards at the gate without raising suspicion. We followed them to the compound and then ordered our army to take up positions around it in preparation for the attack. At the compound a dozen Marauders stood guard at the entrance, their keen eyes constantly scanning the horizon for potential threats. Luckily the Reapers logical nature helped us here, the agents were used to identify prisoners so the guards assumed anyone escorted by an agent must be safe. They were all scanned for weapons but their identity was never once questioned.
Once they were inside all we could do was wait and hope they would be able to deactivate the defenses. If they were discovered or couldn't reach the target they would be stuck inside the slaughterhouse and we would be left outside with no means of helping them escape. Xi Chan had advised them they had to reach a very specific area of the compound to be certain of knocking out all the defenses. If they couldn't get there for any reason, the operation was over.
So there we were, lying in the grass watching the compound through our rifle scopes while slowly turning into nervous wrecks. When we finally saw activity ahead it wasn't what we had hoped for. Sirens started going off all around the compound and many of the guards rushed back inside. I was certain that the infiltration team had been noticed, by rights the mission was over and we should already be retreating. I decided against that, it was still possible the infiltration team had deliberately started a fight in order to reach their target. For the moment the enemy was focused on the threat within the compound, we could afford to wait a little longer I told myself but truth be told even I was issuing orders to be ready to retreat.
It might sound melodramatic but I really was about to abort the mission when an explosion of biotic energy tore a hole in the side of the base. I couldn't see the infiltration team through the smoke but the signal had been given, hadn't it? Believe it or not we had overlooked this critical point, we hadn't planned on the infiltration team getting into trouble this early on. Now I had to wonder, had they hit their target or had the fighting simply forced Lara to use a powerful attack still a very long way from her objective? Were the defenses really down?
Picking up my rifle I scanned the area for a suitable target. There, in the corner I saw a lone Cannibal still thinking it was protected by the kinetic barrier. Praying that this attack wouldn't alert the Reapers in some way, I took the shot. The creature was knocked off its feet by the force before it ever knew it was defenseless. It was all the proof I needed so I immediately gave the order to begin our assault. Our makeshift army had spent what had seemed like nerve wracking hours (probably only about half an hour in reality) keeping hidden, now the order galvanized the entire force and they moved forward swiftly, eager to attack. The battle was on.
From the outset our plan had been to show our enemy just quite what they were up against here on Earth, it was a statement as much as a battle. Our two battle groups moved in, my force attacked from the North while Major Coats approached from the West. We deliberately attacked on a wide front, attempting to fool our enemy into believing we possessed a far larger army than we actually did. Unfortunately we had only managed to bring three shuttles as air support as our fuel supplies were running low but it was still an impressive force. We hoped that this display might force the Reapers to waste resources by committing many more troops to a city they had already destroyed and giving us more room to maneuver in the outlying settlements.
The results of our initial push were impressive, the enemy was divided as most of their forces had gone inside to track down the infiltration team unaware of the greater threat. We were able to pin the remaining guards against the walls of the compound and pick them off quickly. Several more troops rushed out of the doors, predominantly Husks but also several Brutes as well. Unarmed (well Brutes are like living weapons but you know what I mean) they were reduced to attempting to charge into our ranks and rip us to pieces. An effective tactic against small groups or civilians but a joke against our larger force out in the open. A torrent of enemy fire greeted their charge cutting them down where they stood. The Brutes endured the pounding better but ultimately even they had to succumb to hailstorm of incoming fire.
The men began cheering and celebrating. We had suffered few casualties and appeared to be destroying the enemy with ease. But in truth the Husks had been sent out like sacrificial lambs to the slaughter, a delaying tactic to give the rest of the Reaper army time to mobilize its forces. I suspected the main force would gather within the compound and force us to go in after them. My greatest fear was that they might use the prisoners within as human shields. As we still didn't know the layout beyond the exterior walls taking the base itself might quickly become a bloodbath.
I ordered my squads to begin advancing on the compound and they moved in swiftly. I let the trained soldiers take the lead at this point, holding the civilian volunteer squads back to provide support. The battle within the compound would be no place for the untrained or the inexperienced. I ordered my men to use explosives to blow their way in rather than risk an ambush at the doors.
However when it came, the ambush arrived not from within the base but from behind us. Everyone was focusing on the enemy base when suddenly we were in the midst of a firefight. Marauders had somehow come up from behind us and caught us by surprise. My troops were now under heavy fire and the Major's squads were too far away to provide aid. Something dropped out of the sky in the distance and I realized they were coming out of the ship above us. I was yelling into my communicator, ordering our shuttles to target the ship when a massive shape crashed to Earth a few feet from me, a Brute within killing range.
It was dazed from the fall, that was the only thing that saved us as we ran, scrabbling to put some distance between us. We weren't fast enough, I looked behind me to see a man get crushed under the Brute's hammer blow fist. Turning back I attacked with blind rage, firing my assault rifle point blank into it's head and chest but nothing seemed to phase it. It swung again, this time at me but I managed to step aside just in time. Before the thing had a chance to raise its fist again, I activated my omniblade and drove it into the creature's shoulder before ripping it out again.
The Brute staggered slightly, I'd wounded it but it could still move, if I wanted to survive I had to kill it. The Brute raised itself up again, preparing to bring its massive arms down once again and laminate me to the bedrock. I waited until the last second and then dove straight at it. I was told later by one of my men that he thought I'd gone mad, attacking such a powerful beast head on. Seeing my own men flattened had driven me a little crazy but there was a method to the madness. The Brute had unbalanced itself in its haste to strike me and as I hit it we fell backwards. Honestly all I can remember after that is seeing that it was dead. Apparently I had landed on top of it and gone berserk, hacking and slicing at the thing until it finally stopped moving.
After I had killed the Brute I saw that the shuttles had arrived, mopped up the Marauders and were turning their guns on the Reaper ship. Unfortunately their weapons while more than enough to kill ground troops were simply no match for the ship's heavy armor. Their weapons pounded against the hull but didn't leave a dent or even a mark on it and all the while more Reaper troops were dropping down on our heads.
We were losing the battle, our troops within the compound were pinned down but we couldn't send reinforcements to help without being swamped by the footsoldiers dropping from the sky. The longer the battle lasted the greater the risk of being joined by more Reaper reinforcements which would finish us. Then one of our shuttles got too close to the processor ship's maneuvering thrusters. These powerful, conventional thrusters immediately sucked the shuttle straight in and following a massive explosion ejected it just as quickly as it ripped itself apart. The ship started to spin madly as the damaged engines threw it about like a rag-doll. The thrusters went haywire trying to bring the flight back under control but it was hopeless. The ship jackknifed its way downwards, briefly skimmed over the top of the base, collapsing half the roof before finally crashing on the far side.
That was enough to end any major enemy resistance. What few Reaper troops survived the crash were easily picked off by the shuttles we had in the air. Now we could turn on the base from all sides. We opened so many breaches in the outer walls that we easily overwhelmed those guarding the inner perimeter. That freed up the squads within and allowed us to push deeper into the base. As I led one of the main teams I got to see firsthand all the horrors the Reapers were capable of. It was more chaotic than I had first imagined. I'd had mental images of some sort of abattoir of gruesome efficiency. In reality they acted like their prisoners were no more than meat. In places we saw dead bodies dumped in piles and ignored, we found simple cages throughout the compound filled either with those who were still screaming in protest or broken beyond reason. At the heart of the compound was a larger pen, where more prisoners were allowed to walk free (ish). They given the barest minimum to survive on and otherwise ignored completely. The Reaper footsoldiers hadn't seemed to register their existence at all, much less their cries and pleas for help.
Little resistance remained once we had breached the inner perimeter and the area was declared to be secured within the next half hour. Then we faced the task of freeing the prisoners, which had been made harder by the processing ship smashing into the building as it crashed. Falling debris had trapped several of the survivors and the ceiling was no longer structurally would have to work quickly but cautiously to get this done (the ruins might have concealed Reaper troops that had survived the collapse) but I breathed a sigh of relief. Despite the odds, despite the near invincibility of our enemy we'd proven that we could resist them and that we would.
Unfortunately we had to cut short the celebrations at least for the time being. It was imperative that we got everyone out of the area as quickly as possible, it wouldn't take too long for the Reapers to react to our victory. To that end we had established a small temporary base prior to the battle. It wasn't far away but it wasn't in the immediate area and was hidden well enough that the Reapers wouldn't find us straight away. The plan had been to rapidly evacuate the prisoners to that area where they could receive medical treatment and we could look for signs of indoctrination (a significant risk for anyone held within a Reaper facility for an extended period of time). That plan hadn't taken into account the roof collapse which significantly complicated the task.
In the end we settled on remaining in the area for one hour to help everyone we could. After that the risk of being caught in the open and endangering the lives of all the prisoners (and ourselves) would be too great. We'd have to leave anyone still trapped behind (did I ever mention that I really hate this war?). With that in mind we all joined in helping get people out of there. Most of the prisoners were shell shocked, suffering from dehydration and malnutrition (the only reason Reapers keep prisoners alive at all is to keep them fresh for processing). We tried to help where we could, sharing rations, clothes and just trying to reassure them that the worst was over.
Out of all of us who were helping Will was the most active and determined. I saw him working himself to the point of exhaustion in a selfless effort to rescue more people. Since the day he joined he's always been pushing himself hard out of compassion for others. I wasn't sure if he'd ever make it as a soldier but given the fire that burned within him I felt sure he'd be a great man one day. That being said I still assigned a guard to keep an eye on him as he worked, he was afterall young and (slightly) foolish. I didn't want to see him hurt himself in his efforts to help others.
As for myself? I helped out where I could but I have to admit I got sidetracked more than once. The first time was a rather unusual encounter with a man named Dr. Serkov.
"Admiral I need to speak with you immediately."
"Can you hold this a minute?" I asked indicating a beam I was lifting up to gain access to a buried room. He took over lifting the beam and I was able to get a trapped family out of there who quickly hurried out without saying a word. I returned to the stranger who was still holding up the beam.
"You're stronger than you look."
"Thank you, I am glad to help out."
"So how can I help you Mr-," I began.
"Doctor Serkov, Admiral. I am - I was a scientist on secondment from the Russian Federation to study certain alien plant samples known to have some interesting affects on the human brain."
I was taken aback for a moment
"The Thorian?"
I'll try to keep this story brief as the Thorian is (hopefully) extinct now. It was a form of sentient plant life discovered on the colony of Feros. The Thorian was a single massive entity that was capable of controlling other creatures including humans by spreading its spores, it ended up being destroyed after it tried to seize control of the colony. The doctor looked astonished that I had heard of it but then he noticed the look on my face.
"Relax Admiral, our reasons for studying the creature were purely scientific, whatever else it may have been it was an ancient, unique and fascinating subject of research. Actually I must insist you allow me to get back to it as soon as possible."
"We're in the middle of a war right now doctor. Forgive my attitude but we have bigger priorities at the moment."
"Oh my apologizes, I'm not explaining this very well am I? After the outbreak of the war we quickly determined that Reaper indoctrination was in many ways similar to the brainwashing methods of the Thorian. We've been working on a means of curing the effects."
"Maybe you would be safer if you continued your research back at our base in Seattle." I suggested.
He shook his head and politely declined.
"I'm sorry Admiral but there is a lot of irreplaceable equipment at our lab, far too bulky to be moved. Don't worry about us too much, the base is an Alliance facility. It's small and well hidden enough not to have been noticed so far."
"Well we'll take you back to our base for now and in a couple of days after the heat's died down, I'll arrange for some of our men to escort you back there."
He looked at me for a few moments with an almost calculating expression on his face.
"That would be, acceptable Admiral. Thank you for your cooperation."
Well that was one distraction easily dealt with. The next was slightly more... Actually I really can't find the right word to describe it (but horrendous might fit). As I was evacuating room after room I eventually came face to face with (there's no easy way to say this) General Coberg.
"You!" That was me, eloquent as ever.
"Who were you expecting, the bleeding tooth fairy? Took you long enough to liberate this place, how did you know I was here?"
"Believe me, I had no idea. Is anyone else from the Vancouver base here with you?"
"A few of my officers were taken prisoner as well as well as some of the civilians I guess. Several of them got carted off to that ship up above us, no idea what happened to them after that."
"Then they're dead, its a slaughterhouse."
He didn't look surprised.
"Figured as much. Well we best head off to wherever we're going, I'm assuming you lost the Vancouver base?"
You lost he says, like he didn't offer up the base to the Reapers on a silver platter. Clearly a couple of weeks in captivity hadn't managed to change the General's attitude much.
"We were forced to evacuate yes. Was a woman named Maria taken alive with you?"
The general looked blank when I said the name so I added
"She was the chief of police."
"Oh her? Yeah she was taken alive."
"Do you know where she is?"
"She was one of the first to be taken, she'd been making trouble for the Reapers I think. Did she mean something to you Admiral?"
"Just, just go join the others please General. We'll discuss the situation in more detail later."
So Maria was dead, I'd already assumed as much when I saw her disappear in the fighting in Vancouver. I felt the loss all over again, the General said she been killed for 'making trouble'. I smiled briefly, Maria never had known when to quit, if she is really gone I'm glad to know she went down fighting. I took a moment alone in the now empty to cells to remember all the people we'd left behind in Vancouver wondering who else had survived in this place. Pointless to speculate really, still worse to hope for one person over the lives of others (the General's the exception that proves the rule in this case).
I headed back outside, we'd pretty much run out of time in any case. I looked up and saw the shuttles were still firing on the enemy ship but from the look of it they were wasting their time. I ordered them to head back to base with the worst of the injured. The rest of us would head to the fallback camp and hideout until the Reapers left the area again. This was still a victory for us but while walking away thinking about the conversations I'd had today, I couldn't help but wonder what the future held for the resistance.