Chapter 46
"Major." A marine rushed up to Kaidan reporting in.
"Distribute those." Kaidan pointed at a crate of supplied against the docking bay's wall. He motioned toward the C-Sec officers ducking behind the holographic shields.
The officer rushed off with grenades swinging in a belt pouch under his arm. More supplies poured in as Alliance officers continued to report in. The building churned like a mad house. Terra Firma troops poured in all over the building. Explosions and gunfire flashed in the hallways outside the cargo bay. Kaidan waved in another lost-looking man in civilian attire.
"Go there." Kaidan motioned to a group of riflemen covering an engineer setting up turrets. "Here." Kaidan tossed him a rifle. The man looked familiar - a second lieutenant on ground forces, Sikes or something like that.
They needed more guns and clips. It should have come in already. Kaidan twisted to Miranda standing beside him.
She lowered her pistol. "What?"
"Something's wrong," Kaidan said. "The team I sent for the weapons, they should be back."
Miranda gazed around at the soldiers crowded in the docking bay and swarming in the HQ hallway. A spray of bullets hit the wall behind them. Kaidan and Miranda ducked. Kaidan lifted his rifle and fired back. A group of commandoes slipped just outside the biotic shield protecting the Normandy's cargo bay. A grenade sailed overhead into a group of soldiers on their left.
"Behind the shields! Get down!" Kaidan yelled rushing their direction.
It exploded. Holographic shields toppled over on the men ducking behind. One of the soldier held a bleeding leg and grimacing, but the rest were unhurt. A soldier in the front jumped up and lobbed a grenade back at the commandoes.
"No!" Kaidan roared, but it was already thrown. "Everyone in front, get back!"
The grenade ricocheted off the commandoes' biotic shield and rolled back across the floor into the soldiers. The men holding the front stumble back, and Kaidan waved the shield-soldiers closer. The explosion knocked them back. Shields fell over, a man down, and two turrets on their side.
"Damnit." Kaidan searched around. "Garrus!"
Garrus stood a few meters off looking down his sniper rifle. He hunched inside a horseshoe of control panels controlling the docking bay.
"Garrus," Kaidan yelled across the gunfire and motioned to the squad struggling up from the explosion. "Show them how to use the grenades."
Garrus nodded and set his rifled back against the wall. He sprinted around the console in a crouch and rushed to the soldiers. A man in civies stood and lifted up a grenade. Garrus caught his arm. Hopefully, the soldiers would listen to a turien.
"Tali?"
"I'm here." Tali rushed up from the open door to the hallway. It flashed with gunfire behind her. "Problems, Kaidan."
"What problems?" Kaidan rushed around people to get a better view down the hall.
A row soldiers fired their rifles into a coalescing sea of Terra Firma agents pushing in on the cargo bay. They were sandwiched then. Judging by the drones and flashes of blue, the terrorists had engineers and at least one biotic.
"They think we have the Councilors," Tali said.
"What?"
"Someone was yelling it at us."
"Miranda," Kaidan said taking a few steps over to get her attention. "Lead those soldiers in the hallway. Terra Firma's coming from behind. The team that went to retrieve the weapons may be trying to get through."
Miranda dashed around him and was shooting before she cleared the hallway door on his other side.
"Will they listen to her?" Tali asked.
"She's hard to ignore." Kaidan ducked under more bullets. A grenade bounced off the wall beside him. "Go! Go!"
Kaidan staggered into Tali pushing her toward the hallway door. They tumbled around the corner. A spray of metal exploded and peppered into the floor of the doorway.
"We still can't get to the bomb?" Tali asked. "It's in the Normandy's cargo hold?"
"It's when they actually succeed in offloading it, I'll be worried."
A grinding shriek reverberated from the inside the docking bay. Kaidan's forehead pinched, and he shoved around Tali back into the fray. Sunset shined through a slit opening in the docking bay wall in front of the Normandy.
"They're opening the doors." Kaidan pushed around a soldier focused in changing his rifle clip.
Kaidan hopped over the horseshoed desk of console controls. It had to be the docking bay's controls for the gate. Kaidan reached out to search the screens, but stopped. Sparks spit out from the cracked glass under Kaidan's hands. Accidentally or intentionally, the controls were dead.
"Major." A marine rushed up. "They're bringing the warhead down the ramp."
Kaidan rushed around the marine and peered through the rows of men and rifles. The warhead, about the size of man, rolled down the Normandy's cargo bay loading ramp. Commandoes surrounded it. Their massive shield around the Normandy's cargo bay flickered but held. They pushed the shield forward down the door's ramp as they advanced. The docking bay's massive gates rumbled still grinding all the way open. The Normandy could almost fit through now. Kaidan's heart jumped into his throat.
"Tali," Kaidan said.
Tali stood in the hall doorway where he'd left her. She released a drone.
"They're opening the docking bay gates remotely from the Normandy," he said. "The bay's controls are out."
"You reverse the gate doors manually," Tali said. "The operation circuits are on the wall left of the gate."
Space in front of the Normandy by the gate was mostly clear of the fighting as it concentrated around the Normandy's cargo bay. Kaidan squinted to see the manual operator paneling beside the gate.
"I'll do it, Kaidan," Tali said. "Look! The Normandy's FTL drivers."
"What?" Kaidan's head snapped to face the ship.
The propulsion cells at the back of the ship fired with a low blue ripple. They did plan to burst out the dock the minute they offloaded that nuke. That kind of energy release would flash vaporize everything in the bay, and set off the nuke for sure. They wouldn't have time to disarm it. The ship would have to be pretty damn fast to escape the nuclear blast, but the Normandy wasn't a regular ship. Aria must believe the feat was possible. That, or she was just desperate.
"Go. I've got you." Kaidan turned to Tali and motioned at the gate.
Tali hugged the the wall as they darted through the tide of soldiers pushing forward around the Normandy. Kaidan kept at her at her heels. He threw up a biotic shield as they left the crowd of soldiers and broke into the open toward the cargo bay gate. A grenade bounced off Kaidan's shield and rolled away. He didn't even feel the explosion as they rushed forward. Bullets rippled over the bubbled shield, and two commandoes broke away from Normandy. One held up a shield to cover them as they rushed after Kaidan and Tali.
"Go! Go!" Kaidan spurred her faster.
"I am," Tali panted through her mask.
Kaidan flung a field of energy at the commandoes. It didn't faze them, just absorbed over their shield. They neared the gates, and Tali slid to a stop in front of the panel. She ripped it open and spread a hand over the circuitry. The Omni-Tool glowed on her wrist.
"Here it is," she murmured.
The Normandy's engines hummed louder. The gate doors had completely contracted and stood wide open beside them. Kaidan planted his feet next to Tali, lifted his rifle at the commandoes, and fired. The mercs skidded to a halt as it speckled their shield, and they looked back and forth between the open gate and the rising hum of the Normandy. Kaidan threw a reave at their shield, and it flickered with a sustained burst of energy. They backed up as Kaidan hit their shield again, and it collapsed. They turned on their heels and raced back toward the ship. A team of marines moved to intercept them but stumbled back in a wave of blue light as the commandoes shoved through them. The nuke might have been offloaded. The ship looked ready to leave.
"There," Tali said.
The gate doors screamed as the metal grated and rumbled into motion. They started to shuttered close.
"Can they go faster?" Kaidan turned to her.
"Of course not."
The gate was opened well beyond what was needed to fit the Normandy. Even retracting, it was so wide. The Normandy roared with energy. Mass fields flickered behind the Normandy from the brightening propulsion cells. He couldn't let that nuke be offloaded.
Kaidan charged back toward the ship and absorbed into the seas of soldiers. He danced to the side to see through the heads and shields. The cargo bay's ramp flashed with biotics and a heightening commotion. They commandoes festered at the bottom of the Normandy's cargo bay ramp fighting with biotics. Their shield had broken, and someone was driving against them. It looked like Grunt.
Kaidan pulled in closer. Grunt pushed the warhead up against the commandoes holding the cargo bay ramp. Alliance soldiers huddled around Grunt and fended off the commandoes trying to get at him with biotics. The warhead cleared the edge of the ramp as Grunt drove toward the Normandy's cargo bay. Commandoes not on the ramp by holding back the soldiers on the floor of the docking bay raised their rifles. They trailed Grunt's ascent but hesitated, looking back and forth at each other and gesturing at the bomb. A few flung biotic fields after him as drove the line of commandoes all the way back into the Normandy's cargo bay. Soldiers piled up behind him and pushed into the Normandy's cargo bay.
The docking bay gate in front of the Normandy closed with a echoing bang, and the room darkened as the sunset's light cut away. The FTL drives still flickered overhead on the Normandy. With the bomb aboard, they weren't going anywhere though. Kaidan shoved through the rows of men crowded around the ramp.
"Careful firing," Kaidan called. "Don't hit the warhead."
He clawed through to the front line. The commandoes' shieldwall reappeared in cargo bay in a sudden flash. Grunt and the other soldiers were already inside the Normandy's bay within. It made the hair stand on Kaidan's neck as the commandoes walked down the ramp pushing the shield outward. Whatever soldiers were left on the ramp reeled back from the advancing shield.
"Everyone, back!" Kaidan yelled motioning the front line to retreat.
The soldier were too packed in around the Normandy to move. The commandos stopped on the bottom of the ramp. The shield expanded out from the ship's ramp and grew brighter and brighter.
"Down!" Kaidan yelled.
The shield burst. The explosion flung Kaidan to the floor. Some men flew against the far walls. Every soldier that had been crowded around the ramp was down. Soldiers screamed pushing up off each other and shoving away debris. Some weren't getting up.
A blue form broke from the line of commandoes on the Normandy's ramp and sprinted into the docking bay. It was Aria. She ran toward the docking bay's manual gate controls and Tali. Kaidan threw off a metal shield pinning his legs and pushed up off the floor. He tore to his feet after her.
Tali turned to see Aria approaching and raised her Omni-Tool. Electrical charges streaked from her Omni-Tool at Aria, but she dodged. Tali fired her pistol. Aria slammed into her and threw her against the wall. Aria ran her hand over the gate's manual controls, searching, then drew her pistol and backed up. She fired at the panel. It exploded in sparks as Kaidan neared. She punched it with a glowing blue fist as if to finish it off, and it broke apart. Kaidan shot her in the back of the head.
Point blank, even against a barrier, was enough to kill anyone. Usually. Aria slammed forward into the wall. The wall was clean of blood as she slipped down. Kaidan's mouth opened with a furrowing frown. He aimed down at her and fired again. Her barrier flashed, but it was still holding. Impossible.
His feet came out from under him. He slammed back onto the floor as Aria drew back her leg that had tripped him. Kaidan struggled to sit and aimed his pistol at her. Aria hit him with a burst of energy, and it tore through his barrier. She raised her pistol at his face.
A boot kicked Aria's pistol out of her hand. It flew through the air as Tali kicked her in the chest. Aria caught her foot. She shoved Tali back and regained her balance. Her hand shot out. She grabbed Tali's facemask and smacked her against the wall sending pulses of energy rippled over Tali's body. Aria's pistol spun at her feet from hitting the wall. She reached a hand out. It glowed blue and flew into her grasp.
"Call off your men," Aria said glancing down at Kaidan and pressing the barrel to Tali's mask.
Kaidan stared up the barrel of his pistol at her. He pushed himself up with the other hand and stood in front of her.
"You shot me point blank," Aria said. "I'm strong. My barrier's impenetrable. That won't do anything. Call your men off, or I kill her."
"And then I'll kill you. No barrier's impenetrable."
"Last chance."
Kaidan hesitated. He lowered his pistol.
"Now call them—"
An echoing boom exploded behind them. Tali dropped from Aria's grasp, and Aria reeled into the wall. Her shield flickered. Kaidan grabbed Tali's wrist. A shield bubbled out around him, and he yanked her close. Aria flashed out and snagged Tali's other arm. Another boom echoed, and Aria fell back against the wall it. It sounded like a sniper rifle. Kaidan pulled Tali in close under the shield. Aria righted herself on her feet and slammed a storm of enegery into his shield. Kaidan stumbled back, and pressed his pistol through a slot in the shield. Aria dashed away.
Commandos fired on them as Aria broke clear. Kaidan spurred after her, but Tali wasn't coming. Kaidan stopped and glanced back. Tali held a bleeding leg and waved him on. Kaidan hesitated, glancing after Aria, and rushed back to Tali. He threw up a shield and held back the spray of bullets covering Aria's dove into the swirl of commandoes and soldiers fighting around the Normandy. In the distance, Garrus stood up from the broken bank of consoles against the wall.
The docking bay's gates squealed beside them and started to draw open. The Normandy must be opening them remotely again. The manual controls blinked under cracked paneling. They couldn't manually override the gates now.
Kaidan squinted at the Normandy with a heavy feeling in his chest. The commandoes had pushed his men and the warhead back onto the Normandy's cargo bay ramp. It was on the outside of the commando's shieldwall being driven down the ramp. It still wasn't on the cargo bay floor. At least, they had that.