Her head burned as though the fires of hell were all compressed inside her skull. Aniya gritted her teeth, determined to let nothing leak through her steely expression. She did, however, spat out a glob of blood from her split lip onto the blood stained table before her. Seated across from her was the same monster of a Krogan she'd seen earlier through her scope, only now he seemed bigger in person.
She wasn't too sure how she even got here in the first place. One moment she'd been scoping out the fortress in the scrap yard before she'd been knocked out, then she woke up here, tied hand and foot to a chair. She didn't know how much time had passed since then, they'd taken her omni-tool, along with all her weapons but leaving her armor on. But the real trump card they had was the slave collar wrapped around her neck. A piece of tech from Batarian space, made specifically for Asari to nullify their biotics. With that active, she was defenceless, and there was no help coming for her. But that didn't stop her from trying to find a way to escape. There were few, if any. One thing was for sure, she thought bitterly, Volvan certainly took no shortcuts when it came to their equipment. The Prefab she was locked up in was built solidly, with a reinforced door, strong window shutters and heavy encryption on both. There was no way she was getting out of here, even if that Krogan wasn't here to watch her.
She shifted irritably on her chair, trying to find a comfortable way to sit with her hands bound behind her back. There were none, of course, and she resumed glaring at the Krogan. Neither of them had said a word yet, either in insult or interrogation. But then again, she hadn't spoken a single syllable in years.
The Krogan sighed, his old wrinkled face contorting in a satisfied grin before he raised his arm and activated an omni-tool. Her omni-tool.
"I must say, I'm impressed," he said slowly, his rich, practiced voice filling the Prefab as he studied her personal information. "I haven't heard of anyone that could evade Krual's Spec-Ops for that long. Even if it was unintentional."
Aniya didn't answer, but her hard eyes never left his face.
"But then again, they had you from the start. A sensor net for tracking escaped slaves works just as well for locating spies, don't you think?"
Her mouth stubbornly remained shut.
Getting nothing, the Krogan hummed deep in his throat and returned to her omni-tool. There was silence for a minute before he spoke up again.
"Your dedication to Aria for the past decade is... commendable, but misguided all the same. I mean, what were you even hoping to gain from it all? Money? Power? No," he said, narrowing his eyes as he studied her. "No. Something more... personal then that."
Though her face remained an impregnable mask, Aniya silently sighed at the Krogan attempts. Many had tried and all had failed to get a reaction out of her. Her omni-tool was wiped clean of all but the most basic of information about her, making her past impossible to track. If he thought to torture her, he'd learn what dozens of others had learned before him: She never opened her mouth, never screamed, and never said a word. She was as silent as she was ten years ago, and hadn't uttered a single word since.
If the Krogan thought he could get anything out of her he was dead wrong.
"But," he continued, "for all your service, all your hard work, what has it given you. What has Aria given you in return?"
He paged through her files and she silently cursed, remembering the various documents she had forgotten to delete. Notes from informants, contacts and her paychecks.
"A lot spent on information," he noted, raising an eyebrow. "And all of it revealing... nothing. But why?"
He shut down her device and straightened in his chair, eyes studying her closer than ever. "What are you trying to find."
The room fell deathly quiet as the Krogan fell in to speculation. After a full minute, his eyes became distant, as though remembering something before his face spilt into a triumphant grin.
"I believe we got off on the wrong foot, as the humans would say," he said leaning back, the grin still on his face. "You can call me General Titanus. Pleased to meet you Aniya Navari. I would shake your hand, but..." he motioned to her bonds, "you appear to be rather... tied up at the moment."
She couldn't help but roll her eyes at that.
"Bad puns aside, I must say it is a pleasure to have you here in person. Ex-Huntress and daughter of a recently deceased Matriarch. A tragedy in itself, but when her very own daughter runs off before the funeral leaving the father a frantic mess, then things just get ridiculous."
She glared at him.
"But I digress," he drawled, waving a hand dismissively. "What you have done and what can do are two very different things. So, I will make you an offer, Asari."
He leaned across the table, still grinning. "I will send you home safely, if you can do me a small favor. You see, Aria has such tight control over the landing platforms and docks around Afterlife that we are finding it hard to land there. Anti-aircraft guns and all that. You get me the codes to those guns, and I send you home, unharmed."
She glared all the more. She wasn't going back, not yet. She still wasn't finished what she'd set out to do. It pained her to ignore the grief filled letters from her father, but she wasn't finished. She hadn't found what she was looking for yet.
"Hmm," Titanus hummed as he took in her stone cold expression. "I see you have other things on your mind. Very well, I'll sweeten the deal."
He paused, the grin still on his face as he took in every pore on her face, every twitch she made before he slowly said: "Get me those codes... and I'll give you your daughter back."
If he was hoping for a reaction, he got more then he dreamed of. Her back went rigid, eyes widening and nostrils flaring as she sucked in air. That wasn't possible. And how did he even figure it out?
"Surprised?" Titanus asked, triumphantly. "Imagine my own surprise when I first saw you getting dragged in. I thought to myself, 'isn't there I slave we have that looks exactly like that.' I mean, how old would she be now? Twenty two, isn't it?"
She nodded mutely, too shocked to even think about denying him.
"Right on the dot. I even took the time to ask her personally. It was… interesting to learn that she was one of the few to be taken captive on that colony. The rest... well, who has any idea what goes through the mind of a drugged up slaver. And do you know what the best part is?" He leaned in so close she could smell his putrid breath. "She's still fresh. No one has had a chance to taste her, if you know what I mean. Don't know if it was luck that we happened to show up when she was on sale. Granted, she was part of a package, but labour is labour, and she hasn't been broken yet."
He leaned back, leaving her, for the first time in ages, in stunned silence. "So here is my offer to you, Asari. You get me the codes, I give you your daughter back and let you leave."
Aniya could do nothing but stare in shock for a minute, her brain racing at unheard of speeds. Could he be telling the truth? Ten years she'd been looking for her ever since that fateful day that the colony was attacked. She had almost given up hope. But now, could she trust this Krogan.
She swallowed dryly, before her throat opening for the first time in years and she asked in a dry raspy voice; "how can I trust you?"
Titanus grinned again, activating his own omni-tool and pulling up a picture before holding it in front of her. As she laid eyes on it, she had to hold back a choked sob. It was her little Miya. She was filthy, clothed with rags, covered in small scratches and carrying a heavy pack of scrap metal... but it was her. By the Goddess, it was her!
She didn't care that she broke down, didn't care that her hard, cold eyes turned to tearful waterfalls or that she was doing it in front of this Krogan. In her eyes, he'd done more for her then ten years under Aria's employment.
She swallowed again. There was only one thing she could do.
"I'll do it."
-Linebreak-
"Are you sure that's wise," Xran asked, watching the Asari disappear over the mountains of garbage. "She could just be running for reinforcements."
"I don't think so," Titanus smiled. "Never underestimate the material instincts of an Asari. They will do anything for their runts. This one in particular."
They watched as the tiny form disappeared over the hills before they turned away from the main gate of the Chop Shop and started walking through the complex, past dozens of slaves dragging in scrap for the forges and headed for the headquarters in the middle.
"And what about her daughter?" Xran asked. "Do you intend to free her as well?"
"Of course," Titanus replied. "If you haven't heard the gossip in the slave pens there's talk of a warehouse on Omega that takes in runaway slaves, if they can make it there. Then they try to get them home, for a cost, of course. And if they come off a rich family then they reel in the big credits."
"What does that have to do with this?"
"The story has been circulating in the slave bunk rooms and we have even had a few hopefuls who tried to get there while harvesting. They didn't get far. No doubt the runt has heard about it too."
"How is it relevant?"
"Fortification. Rumour is nearly twenty slaver groups busted their asses trying to break in. The place is more heavily fortified then Afterlife and it's been standing for the past fifty years. Problem is, we can't find it, and only the slaves have any idea where it, and they'd rather die than give up the only hope they have."
"So you plan to release her, then follow her there?"
"Something like that."
They reached the steps leading up to the main building and stopped on the threshold.
"And this all ties in with 'Omega of Omega,' I take it?" Xran asked as Titanus mounted the steps to the door.
"Of course," he replied, pausing on the first step. "When Aria starts to lose her shit it'll be best to have a fortified position close to the front lines. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a little gift to give to our little 'runaway.'"
He walked up to the door, which opened silently as he approached, then paused again halfway through it.
"The next few days will be glorious," he said in an awe filled tone. He glanced back over his shoulder at Xran. "You will be present for the dawning of a new age. A new dawn for the Krogan. You should be proud. Few will reap the true benefits of the new Krogan Empire."
Giving him one last grin, Titanus stepped inside the HQ, the door shutting behind him, leaving Xran outside.
"Indeed," Xran muttered to himself. "A new dawn for the Krogan. But who's Krogan?" He glared up the door. "The Krogan people, or your Krogan?"
The door remained as inanimate as ever, and offered no reply. Snorting, Xran turned and headed off to his own personal quarters. He needed to make a call.
-Linebreak-
"Still no word from Aniya?"
"Nothing."
Kriln sighed, then winced as it stretched his bandages. He had recovered well after the hurried retreat from Naven's warehouse. The explosion had only singed his armor and stopped any fatal shrapnel, high quality stuff as it was, and burned the right side of his face. It was coated with bandages and layer of medi-gel, but it was healing slowly, and with his hearing still rather addled he was hardly fit to go back into the field.
"We could probably wait for her for another day or two," he continued, a bit louder then necessary. "Phil, any progress?"
Phil frowned and started fiddling with his omni-tool. "Temporary accounts. My worst enemy."
"Can you still do it? Aria has started breathing down my neck since Naven was been hit. Apparently he supplies some of her best toys."
As the two started bickering back and forth, Crimson crossed his arms and tried to relax. It had been a long day and a half since acquiring the scanner and he hadn't gotten a lick of sleep since the day before. The action of keeping his optic online becoming more forced then usual. He quietly resisted the urge to rub it, some human motion left from his pilots no doubt, and fought, once again, to keep his eye online. It was starting to get hard. The wall he was leaning against was beginning to feel so comfortable. Glancing to the left, he saw that Cherno had given in and was slumped against the cold metal, a low purring sound coming from his core as he slumbered. How he managed to stay standing was anyone's guess, but he wasn't about to knock him over.
To his left, Striker was in much the same boat as he was. The silver Jaeger's head kept drifted downward to rest on his chest before jerking up as he forced himself back to awareness.
And Gipsy...
He sighed as he looked across the table, where Gipsy was standing ramrod straight beside the door, hugging her new Revenent to her chest. She hadn't been acting normal since the scan was taken, gripping the weapon like a lifeline.
He couldn't really blame her.
Nothing, nothing in the whole extranet, from the lowly periodic table, to the notes and books of the highest scientists and chemists in the galaxy had any mention of the gas that resided within her. The basic instruments in his omni-tool were no help, saying the same thing that the scanner did: It was everything and yet nothing at the same time. Every single element on the periodic table was present in gas form, drifting in and out of each other, including some that it had never seen before.
But that was nothing compared to the thing filling her core. Even after hours of searching the extranet for any trace of what it was, he hadn't found a single thing. He had poured over the readings for hours, Gipsy hovering over his shoulder with palpable appreciation. It made no sense. But then again, everything about them made no sense.
He had almost welcomed the message from Kriln, telling them to get their metal asses over the HQ, but then the truly hard part came: Trying to stay awake while listening to reports and statistics.
Ever since their little raid on the outpost the Maws had been busy. More troops had been deployed to the front lines on the lower levels, pushing the Blue Suns and Eclipse harder than ever, and gaining more territory by the day. More than that, it appeared that they were spearheading the attack in between the two factions, pushing through to attack Aria's turf directly. And it was working. Little by little they were getting closer, but from the looks of it their forces were thinning. Apparently that was what Aria was counting on. Get themselves spread too thin, then the Suns and Eclipse would wipe them out for her.
Crimson couldn't help but agree that it was a sound strategy, but something nagged at him from the back of his mind and he was too tired to think about it right now.
His eye snapped online and he groaned as he realized he'd drifted off. As he stretched his arms overhead, easing the growing aches in his joints, he noticed that both Phil and Kriln had left while he was out.
He blinked blearily. Enough was enough. Whatever it was Kriln wanted them for it could wait until tomorrow. He pushed off the wall with a groan and swayed as fatigue took a toll on his balance.
"Can we go now?" Striker groaned from beside him, voice lacking its usual snarky tone.
"I suppose so," Crimson replied sleepily, before reaching out and shook the shoulder of the sleeping Cherno. As soon as his hand left, the giant Russian swayed before pitching over and fell face first to the ground with a loud clang.
"Ugh," Striker groaned again as Cherno let out a sleepy rumble, trying to find a more comfortable position on the hard floor. "Too tired to... insult."
After a hazy moment of watching, Crimson lightly nudged Cherno in the side with his foot. "Come on, get up. We're going home."
The Russian rumbled, sounding dangerously close to a hibernating bear that had been woken by a hunter, but groggily crawled to his feet.
When the three had manged to pull themselves together enough to walk they started for the door where Gipsy stood waiting. She looked, Crimson thought, rather scared. Though he couldn't actively see it, he could feel her gaze glancing around nervously, searching for something he couldn't see.
Or maybe that was just his sleep deprived processors making up things.
With her in tow, the four of them stumbled from the warehouse, trying to look as threatening as possible as they made their way through the various streets and plazas before finding a sky-car terminal. The ride was a long, quiet one and Crimson had drifted off again before realizing that they had arrived at the apartment complex. The walk through the hallways took longer than it should have, none of them having the energy to manage a brisk walk before they arrived at their door.
The moment it opened, Striker, mustering some sort of inner energy, strolled forward, turned sharply into the burned out bedroom and disappeared from sight. A cloud of fine ash and dust billowed out of the doorway as the Jaeger collapsed onto the burned out bed before the door shut with a hiss.
Cherno didn't even make it that far. The moment his feet crossed the door's threshold he stiffened, then, with a sound like a falling tree, fell to the ground. He didn't bother to get up, and soon loud metallic snores echoed through the apartment.
Crimson had the will power to stay awake, just long enough to calculate the trajectory of his fall to land on the ruined couch before he shut off his optic and let gravity take over. He was out before he even hit the cushion.
He didn't know how long he'd been out, but the time from when he shut down to when he jerked awake seemed much too short. He wasn't dead tired anymore, but the thought of being robbed of a few more hours of blissful oblivion caused a surge of irritation to stir within him.
He slowly onlined his optic, glaring at the old cushion he lay on before pushing himself up. As he stood, stretching to get rid of the accumulated stiffness from sleep, he looked about, blinking away the last of the static and noticed Gipsy. She was sitting on the opposite side of the couch, perfectly still, save for the forever rotation of her turbine.
For a moment he thought she was asleep, still cradling her Revenent. But then her head slow turned and her visor glowed wearily as she took him in.
"Hello," she said, voice a curious mixture of exhaustion and vigilance.
"Hello to you too," he replied, sitting down beside her, making the tormented couch groan even worse. "How are you doing? Did you get a good sleep?"
"A bit," she nodded. Crimson noticed her hands tightening around the grip of her gun as she spoke, as if in reassurance.
"That's good," he said, shifting slightly. "So how are you feeling? You seemed... kind of jumpy last night-"
"This morning," she interrupted. "It's two in the afternoon now. Earth time."
"Ah." He looked away, trying to think of something to say when she beat him to the punch.
"Was I...really gone for two hours?" she asked softly. "I mean... when I supposedly vanished?"
Crimson glanced back at her. Her grip on the Revenent seemed almost frantic, visor glowing with something he couldn't place. Hope? Panic?
"Yes," he answered slowly.
"Did you check?" she shot back. "I mean, really check? I could have been sleepwalking, or I could have been... I could've..." she trailed off with a strangled gasp, clutching the Revenent tighter.
"They can't be real," she whispered fanatically. "I couldn't have gone back there... not again... not again!"
"Gone back where?" Crimson asked slowly.
She instantly stiffened, back going ram-rod straight as her head turned so fast he could hear her internal components screech in protest.
"W-what?" she stammered. "I-I mean..."
"Gipsy," he said in a soft yet stern tone. "What happened?"
She stared at him, visor bright with fear and desperation.
"I..." she whispered before shaking her head. "Crimson, please stop. I don't... I don't..." Her vents heaved as a sob burst out. "I-it can't have happened... I couldn't have gone back... they... they..."
"Gipsy," Crimson said softly, reaching out and giving her shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Gipsy, please, I only want to help. Who... what are you taking about?"
Another sob escaped her. "I don't want it to be true... I don't..."
"Don't want what to be true?" he pressed calmly.
Her sobs stilled as her head slowly turned to face him. Then in a voice so quiet he could barely hear it, even with his advanced senses, said: "Them. That they brought us here."
"They?" Crimson asked. "Who's the-"
His omni-tool call function beeped, startling them both. Grumbling, he checked the caller ID, not missing the relieved sigh from Gipsy. It was no number he recognized, but then again he didn't know a lot of people here to begin with. He briefly pondered if he should answer it, then, with a sigh, gave into his curiosity and pressed the accept call button.
"Who is this?" he asked stiffly when the device said the call was active.
There was silence for a few seconds before a raspy voice came over the line. "Crimson Typhoon?"
"Yes," he replied suspiciously, glancing over at Gipsy, who seemed to have recovered her composure quiet quickly with the change of subject. She shrugged at his questioning gaze before he asked; "who is this?"
There was a pause, then a heavy cough before the reply came. "Aniya."
"Aniya?" Crimson murmured to himself, racking his mind to remember who she was talking about before it came to him with a jolt. "The same Aniya from the GI-7?"
"The same."
"Okay," Crimson said. "Is there a reason why you called?"
Another pause, broken only by a deep sigh on the other end. "I..." she coughed dryly. "I... would like to ask for a favor. A big one."
"Uh," he glanced at Gipsy again, but the Asari didn't give him time.
"Please," she was starting to sound desperate. "There's no one I can trust here, no one that wouldn't sell me out first chance they got."
The two Jaegers shared a look. There was something in her voice, something they'd both heard before. A desperation that only came to the things you held dear. Whether it be a city or a single person, the intent was the same. It was as if a switch had flipped inside them and their minds shifted once again into the metallic knights that patrolled the oceans, ready to face anything that threatened them or the people they defended.
Gipsy gave a small nod, and Crimson couldn't help but admire her. Troubled though she was about... whatever was bothering her, there was still the call to duty that presided over all. He could feel it too, a tightening in his insides as his systems shifted into a more battle ready stance.
Looking down, he raised his omni-tool and said; "what do you need?"
-Linebreak-
"Wow. She wasn't kidding about it," Gipsy quipped, gazing at the building Anyia had directed them too.
"I know, it kind of reminds me of the Shatterdome," Crimson replied.
Gipsy hummed in agreement, holding her Revenent loosely in one hand, while the other hung by her side as she took in the scenery.
The warehouse, if it could even be called that, was an imposing hulk of grey steel, interspaced with a few boarded up windows and doors, only one of which was still able to open. And though they might have been invisible to the naked eye, only with his enhanced sight was Crimson able to pick out the hidden squares of metal that could slide away to reveal turrets and other nasty surprises.
This certainly was the place, according to Aniya's description. The place itself had been a nightmare to find, if not for Aniya's directions they might still be wandering the upper levels wondering where to begin. Maybe that's why the place was so deserted. The only soul they'd seen in this area was a young, ragged Asari crawling out of a dusty vent. She'd taken one look at them and ran the other way as fast as her feet could carry her.
A runaway slave, Crimson had guessed, and the way she'd ran matched up with their directions to the last turn. So what was this place anyway?
It was just the two of them this time, given the nature of the Asari's request they didn't think it necessary to wake the others and drag them along. He doubted they could wake Cherno anyway, who still lay sleeping in front of the door. He was one of those people who could make sleeping look like an art, as evidenced when Gipsy tripped on him going out and all she got was a snore from his prone form.
They didn't even bother checking on Striker, still in the burned out bedroom, who probably would have complained that they were going in circles again. He would have also called this whole thing boring and a waste of time. As it was, Crimson was silently questioning the whole thing himself. Apparently when they had been deciding on what to do, Aniya had taken their silence as a negative. She had almost broken down into tears over the channel, something he had never suspected from a hardened mercenary like her, before Crimson's words had registered on her.
The mission she then gave them was… surprisingly simple. Go to some place and ask if someone was there, a girl named Miya Navari. When he asked why Aniya couldn't do it herself, she replied with something along the lines of; "because if they lied to me, I'll kill them." He had tried to ask who 'they' were, but he got about the same as he got out of Gipsy; nothing. It irked him to no end.
But, not being one to go back on his word, he'd followed her instructions on how to get to the place with Gipsy in tow. On the way he tried to ask Gipsy more about her vague reference to 'they,' but got nothing in return. So instead, he'd taken time to memorize the instructions Aniya had given them on how to get inside the fortress-like warehouse until he was confident he could get them in without getting shot at. According to Aniya these people didn't take liars and infiltrators very well.
Finally having enough of just staring at the place, Crimson squared his shoulders, took a deep breath, and strolled towards the one door that was left uncovered. He could feel Gipsy behind him as he raised his hand and knocked three times on certain spot on the exposed metal.
They waited for about five seconds before a small slit on the door opened and two beady eyes glared out. The slit was a little under eye level for them, about seven feet, and the eyes inside were looking downward, as if expecting someone smaller. So it was rather amusing to watch the orbs slowly follow his legs up until they made eye contact. The eyes widened briefly in surprise before narrowing.
"What do you want, scum?" said a rough voice that could only belong to a Krogan.
"I hear the Salarians here are quite tasty," Crimson replied, grimacing slightly at the morbid passphrase. "Maybe you should fire up the barbeque and throw a Bloodrave."
The eyes narrowed to slits and Crimson worried he'd gotten something wrong.
"Who sent you?" the voice growled.
"Aniya," Crimson said. "I'm sorry, but she didn't tell us her last name."
The eyes glared for a moment more before the peephole slammed shut. A second later the sound of clanging and turning locks drifted out from the other side before the door slowly creaked open on old, rusted hinges. On the other was a Krogan in red armor, holding an ancient looking Claymore shotgun.
"What do you want?" he asked, hefting the weapon.
Crimson briefly considered the time it would take to disarm him before replying. "Aniya wanted us to check if someone was here."
"Who?"
"Miya Navari."
"Oh, her," the Krogan grunted, moving away from the door frame. "Come inside. But be warned, if you try anything, I'll blast your fancy ass to bits and sell you as scrap. Clear?"
"Crystal," Crimson nodded as he stepped inside, Gipsy following close behind. When they were through, the Krogan shut the door and barred it with thick beams of steel before taking a key from somewhere on his armor and inserting it into a hidden slot. Crimson heard the sound of deadbolts closing in at least several different places.
"Nice security," he said as the Krogan deposited the key in a pouch around his waist.
The Korgan grunted. "It's the one security system that is truly unhackable. Nothing to hack." He turned and stalked past them, motioning for them to follow.
The inside of the warehouse was less impressive then the outside. Rather empty, save for a few large piles of crates, most likely filled with supplies. There were few doors leading out and some stairs that led up to a catwalk that stretched around the walls, about twenty feet off the ground. On it resided a large collection of Humans, Asari and a few Turians, all with drawn weapons staring down upon them. Crimson could even see a few mounted turrets lining the railing.
As he watched, he noticed a pair of Asari whispering to each other before one dashed to an open crate beside her and pull out a rocket launcher, handed it to her companion before taking out another for herself. He grinned with amusement, but the action struck a chord inside him. What kind of operation could they be running to warrant this kind of security?
His fists clenched as the thought that they might be slavers crossed his mind.
The Krogan led them to a door which opened automatically, leading them to a short hallway with a door on the far end. The two Jaegers silently followed their guide as he led them up and through it into a control room of sorts. Glowing terminals and holograms filled the medium sized room, along with a large holo-table in the center. The room was empty save for two Asari. One, clad in a suit of light armor with a rifle attached to her back was strolling around the holo-table while a box of holographic light followed her around. In its glowing boundaries, the words 'Archangel' and 'call online' predominated. The second Asari, Crimson realised with a jolt, was the same one he and Gipsy had encountered on the way here.
Now that he could see her in proper lighting, he winced at her condition. Though he couldn't exactly place the age of an Asari, living for a thousand years and all that, he couldn't help but think that she was young. Very young. If he had to take a guess he would have said she had just left her teen years. She was thin, appearing more like a skeleton with skin draped over it, covered in scratches and bruises and her bare feet were a mess of scar tissue and blood, as if she had been forced to walk on broken glass for weeks on end.
She was a slave then.
He felt his hands tighten into fists, and the only thing that stopped him from demanding she'd be freed was the fact that she was wolfing down a protein bar as if she hadn't eaten in days. She finished it in seconds and reached to a small box by her side for another before she saw the Jaegers. She froze, eyes widening in fear.
"Are you sure you can't get us anything?" The voice drew Crimson's attention away, as the Asari in armor starting talking into empty air with her back to them.
"We've tried," a voice said from the holo-table, who he identified as Turian. "All the ways are packed, and the slavers are cracking down hard. They're practically going for anyone who doesn't have gun."
The Asari leaned heavily on the table, sighing. "I thought you cleared the paths a day ago?"
"We did. Twice. They're getting desperate, short supply and all that. I wouldn't recommend taking the main roads either, you have a big enough bounty on your head."
"Not as big as yours," the Asair replied without humor.
"Well, yeah. But then again, I'm doing things far more devious then you are."
"Back to the point," she said forcefully. "Can we go along with the plan or not?"
"No. Everywhere is too hot, and if you dodged every slaver band on the station you would miss the pickup."
"Then we leave early."
"And run the risk of someone selling you out. Listen, just take my advice and use the trucks. You can get past them all and none of them would be the wiser."
"The only safe way through is the Afterlife passage, and if we go through there that's where we'll end up. Aria's guns will blow us out of the sky, you know that. Expired heavy transport pass or some other bullshit."
"Boss," the Krogan grunted, stepping up beside her. "We got company."
The Asari growled, sounding dangerously like a Krogan for a second. "What now?" she asked, whirling around and saw the Jaegers for the first time. Her irritation vanished and worry etched itself on her face.
"Archangel," she said, never breaking eye contact with Crimson's single glowing optic. "We may have bit of a problem."
"Oh boy. Is it that weird Hanar again? The one that kept asking for Blasto? She was creepy."
"No," the Asari replied, slowly.
"That one Batarian with three eyes that kept demanding you sell his soul back after you poked one out and told him you stole his soul… that was actually kind of funny."
"You heard of those new mechs Aria got?"
"Yeah, what about th…" the voice trailed off as the realization sunk in. "They're standing right in front of you, aren't they?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "I'll call you back."
She waved a hand, severing the connection before straightening her posture and addressed them.
"Right," she said, looking Crimson in the eye. "What do you what? Urdnot Cralk let you in, but he always lets people in who knows his password."
The Krogan, Cralk, scowled but said nothing.
"So what do you want?" the Asari repeated, trying to look intimidating but failing due to the fact that Crimson was a good three feet taller than her. "Or better yet, who sent you? A lot of people know about us but damn few can find us, and those who do guard it with their lives. So who sent you… mech."
"Is this going to become a running gag?" Gipsy asked over the radio, glancing at Crimson. "We are Jaegers. Y. E. A. G. E. R. S. You would think people would remember it by now."
"Probably," Crimson replied, "and you spelt it wrong." Then to the Asari: "We were sent by Aniya. She wanted us to make sure someone was here."
Out of the corner of his eye, Crimson saw the younger Asari's eyes widen again, this time in shock.
The armored Asari didn't look convinced. "There are a lot of people named Aniya. It's a fairly common name."
"And how many of them could have given us the password… if it could even be called that." Crimson shot back, calmly.
"You have something against my password?" Cralk growled.
"It's revolting."
"Enough," the Asari sighed, before gabbing a finger towards Crimon's broad chest. "Right, you have me convinced. Yes, only one Aniya knows where we are and we… understand each other. More than that, she told us about you a few days ago when she last stopped by."
The finger dropped and she sighed deeply. "So let me guess; she wanted you to check to see if someone made it here: Niya Navari?"
"Correct," Crimson nodded slowly. "How did you know that?"
"She comes by asking every week," she said, a sadness creeping onto her voice. "It's a long story" Then a small smile crossed her lips as she gesturing at the younger Asari. "But now you should probably call her, tell her the wait is over."
Giving the younger Asari a dubious look, Crimson raised his arm and brought his omni-tool online, keying in the number Aniya had left him. A moment passed as the call connected, before a hesitant, raspy voice spoke. "Is she…?"
"She's here," Crimson replied, watching as the apparent Miya's face broke out in joyous recognition. "But who-"
The call ended with a sharp click.
"…is she," he finished lamely.
Cralk sighed, holstering his shotgun as he headed for the front door. "I'll go let her in," he grunted. The door shut behind him, leaving an uneasy silence. It stretched on for minutes, the two Asari watching the metallic warriors with different shades of worry and nervousness. Crimson simply examined the room and the various displays floating around, all the while sneaking glances at the younger one, wondering what she was all about. Gipsy, on the other hand just stood there, fiddling with her Revenent. If there had been incinerary mods installed why not something else? The innocent act only seemed to aggravate the older Asari even more, but she couldn't seem to muster the courage to ask the machine to stop.
This continued on for a while, before the door opened again and Aniya barged in, her wide eyes scanning the area with a feverish intensity.
"Mom," Miya gasped, then yelped as she was scooped up into a bone crushing hug. Then she relaxed into it, years of pain, hardship and despair breaking through as she cried, wrapping her arms around her mother as the dams opened up.
"Aww," Crimson heard Gipsy coo over the radio. "That's so sweet."
He nodded silently in agreement, a strange warmth blossoming in his chest.
"Probably a good thing we didn't bring Striker. He would have ruined the moment."
He nodded again, a small grin lighting up his optic.
"I never thought you'd come," Miya whispered, head buried in her mother's shoulder.
"I would never give up on you," Aniya whispered back, tears beginning to leak from her eyes as she clutched Miya closer. "Never."
A deep sigh drew Crimson's eye away from the rejoicing pair and he saw the armored Asari leaning against the holo-table, a broad smile on her face. As if sensing his gaze, she glanced over to him and frowned, as if daring him to break the spell. Giving her a shrug, he looked back to see the two separate reluctantly. Tears still fresh in her eyes, Aniya looked over her shoulder to him and whispered "thank you. Thank you so much."
"You're welcome," Crimson replied simply, unable to find the words for anything else.
As she turned back to her daughter, heavy footfall alerted him to Gipsy moving beside him.
"Does it make you feel good inside?" she asked, motioning to the pair with her free hand. "I mean, a good feeling that you just can't describe but you want it more?"
"Yeah," he replied. She had summed it up perfectly.
Quite suddenly there was a loud pounding of footsteps as someone charged down the hallway to the room. A moment later Cralk stuck his head in, shotgun ready in his hands. "We got trouble, boss," he growled.
"What?" the armored Asari asked, pushing off the table.
"Garbage haulers, lots of them. They're setting down outside the sector."
"Garbage haulers?" the Asari raised an eyeridge. "What the hell are they doing up here?"
Cralk shrugged. "No idea. But we counted at least fifteen setting down."
"G-garbage haulers?" Everyone turned to look at a stammering Miya and the look of horror that slowly worked its way into her eyes. "F-from the garbage bays?"
"Yeah," Cralk replied suspiciously. "Where else?"
"W-we were working on them for the past three weeks," Miya continued, a slight tremble shaking her knees. "They were f-forcing us to convert the holds and…"
"Convert the holds?" Cralk repeated slowly, before realization dawned on him. "Troop transports!" he bellowed, before storming back the way he came, shouting orders into his omni-tool.
"How did they know where we are? Did you lead them here?!" the armored Asari demanded, drawing an SMG from her back and pointing it at Crimson. He could hear Gipsy tense beside him, raising her Revenent to counter the possible threat, despite how ineffective a Tempest SMG would be against them both. The thing probably couldn't even scratch them for how much power it had.
Crimson was about to reply and deny her accusation, when he noticed Miya slowly raise her hand to eye level as horror flashed across her face. Then he saw the metal band wrapped around her wrist. It looked like a simple omni-tool, but he doubted any slave would have been allowed to wear one for any reason. She didn't look like a thief, and so far as he knew no one gave out of charity on Omega.
He stepped forward, gently grabbing her wrist in a firm yet light grip before she could run, not an easy feat when you have the equivalent of metal pincers for hands. Crimson could feel fear emanating from her as he towered over her petite form. He could also feel the barrels of two different guns aiming at his head. Aniya had drawn her sniper rifle so fast he'd barely even seen it come out, but the powerful Black Widow aiming at the weakest part of his anatomy left him feeling a little nervous.
"Let. Her. Go." Anyia growled, voice made of pure steel and her aim never wavering.
He ignored her, despite his instincts screaming at him to counter the threat, and looked down at the frightened Asari. She blanched as his glowing eye met hers as he pointed at the metal band.
"Where did you get this?" he asked gently.
"T-the Krogan gave it to me," she stammered. "H-he said he was letting me go t-then he just gave it to me."
Crimson sighed, air blasting out of his vents as she confirmed his suspicion. "Tracking device," he murmured, slipping the band off her wrist before crushing it in his hand.
Releasing her, he turned to face Aniya, the barrel of her sniper rifle still in his face. He opened his hand and showed her the remnants of the devious device. "I wasn't going to hurt her," he said softly as he let the fragments fall to the floor.
She glared, but didn't respond as she returned her rifle to its magnetic holster.
Suddenly an explosion echoed throughout the warehouse, followed closely by a shrill, blaring alarm.
"Front door has been breached!" the armored Asari shouted, turning back to the holo-table and frantically tapping buttons. "Ramirez, how are we doing?"
"Good so far," a disembodied voice said from the mass of holograms, gunshots ringing in the background. "We started moving people before they showed up and got them to the garage, but we- dammit!" There was a burst of gun fire, followed by a quick order to keep them pinned before the voice came back. "Sorry, I've never seen Krogan move like that before! We're holed up in the garage right now, trying to push to the evac point but we're pinned down!"
"Forget about it," the Asari said. "Warm up the trucks and load everyone up, we're leaving."
"What?!" the voice shouted. "But what about the guns? They'll tear us apart!"
"We'll work out something," the Asari retorted. "Maybe we can organize a strike team to go in and…"
"The guns won't be a problem," Aniya rasped, going over and hugging her daughter before adding ruefully; "I made sure of that."
To her credit, the Asari only raised an eyeridge before turning back to the holograms. "Load everyone up Ramirez, we're coming to you."
"Got it, we'll- shit!" More gun fire echoed over the line and through the building. "They're pushing forward! How the fuck are they moving this fast?!"
"Just hang on," the Asari growled, loading a fresh thermal clip in her SMG before turning to the two Jaegers. "We could really use your help too."
Without a word, Crimson raised all three of his arms and allowed his buzz-saws to deploy, the sinister sound of the spinning blades filling the room. He didn't know what was making him do this, but he had a good idea who was attacking the warehouse. And though he didn't know yet what they were doing here, the fact they had helped Aniya reunite with her lost daughter struck a chord inside him, that their cause was something worth fighting for.
"Tell us where to go," he said grimly.
"Count me in," he heard Gipsy say beside him.
If she was thankful for their support she didn't show it, only pointed to the door. "Head back to the Atrium. Cralk will tell you what to do."
Nodded, he strode past her, the door opening with a quiet hiss as he walked out. He didn't need to look back to know that Gipsy was following him.
"Think it's the Maws?" she asked, hefting her rifle in preparation.
"I'd bet my saws on it," he replied dryly, picking up the pace as the sounds of gunfire grew louder. At the end of the hallway the door opened to scene of complete chaos. Bullets were flying everywhere interspaced by the occasional explosion as a grenade detonated, followed by the screams of the wounded.
In seconds he had glanced around and took stock of the whole situation. The door that they had entered by had been blown opened and the invading force was streaming in. Krogan, lots of them, all clad in the grey armor of the Rising Maws and all armed with a variety of heavy weaponry: Revenent machine guns, Black Widow Sniper rifles and Claymore shotguns. It wasn't the only thing they were equipped with, however. At least two dozen of them had large rectangular shields, reminiscent of old riot shields back on earth held in one hand, protecting them from hostile fire while the other hand returned the favor with Tempest SMGs.
Given the lack of available cover, the shield units were using their gear to great effectiveness. The twelve were arranged in a circle, shields locked and tilted upward, blocking most of the fire from the catwalk while their SMGs kept most of the shooters suppressed while more hostiles poured in from the breached door. Very rapidly the number of attackers were outstripping the defenders, the Humans, Turians and Asari simply not able to keep up with the amount of fire power directed at them.
Tearing his gaze away from the worsening situation, Crimson suddenly noticed Cralk, the Krogan who had let them in grappling with a grey counterpart. The two were fighting for control of Cralk's heavy shotgun, and the Maw soldier appeared to be winning. His arms were a blur of movement as he punched Cralk again and again, dodging or blocking every attempt of retaliation. Then the Maw feinted before kicking his opponent in the knee. There was a sickening crack of bone as the joint bent back on itself, but Cralk only grunted in annoyance, a sound that was silenced as the Maw drove his fist under his chin.
That was as far as the fight got, however. With a great push, Crimson launched himself forward, his single left arm drawn back in preparation. To late the Maw soldier heard the Jaeger coming and suffered the consensuses. The powerful buzz saw/plasma cannon struck it under the chin. Crimson could hear the dull crack as armor and bone shattered under the literal tones of force behind the blow. The Krogan died almost instantly, the corpse lifting off the ground, flying a full five feet before landing hard on it's back.
"Nice," Cralk grunted, steadying himself on his injured leg as he nodded at his metallic savior.
Before Crimson could reply a shot flew past his head. The death of their comrade hadn't gone unnoticed by the other Maws. One of the shield units had turned to face him, SMG spraying him with light shots that simply bounced off his armor. But it wasn't that he was concerned about, it was the five others toting Revenent heavy machine guns turning his way.
His body seemed to move on pure instinct, turning and sprinting as fast as he could as shots whizzed past. Ahead, he saw Cralk, who had managed to hobble behind a large pile of crates. He made for it, running as fast as he could.
Just as the roar of the machine guns filled his audios he slid into the protective shadow of the crates, hearing the pinging as the heavy rounds struck his cover like a hail storm.
"Watch out!" He barely registered the voice in time and ducked to the side as Gipsy came flying past, diving into cover beside him. There were a few new scrapes and scratch marks on her armor, but she seemed to be okay.
"Well, you picked a hell of a time to join us," Cralk grunted, checking his shotgun.
"We have our reasons," Crimson replied. "But what's our situation?"
"Let me check," the Krogan muttered sarcastically, taking a peek around the crates, only to instantly withdraw it as a tidal wave of incoming fire flew through the air, missing his face by an inch.
"We're fucked," he growled, looking back at the Jaegers. "They got us pinned down good alright. Normally I wouldn't care, but that's some heavy fire power their packing."
"So what do we do?" Gipsy asked, Revenent clenched tight in her hands.
"We need to get there," Cralk said, pointing to an open door further down the wall. The opening was blocked by another pile of conveniently stacked crates, behind which at least five defenders were peeking around cover and doing their best to suppress the advancing Krogan. To the side was a small ladder coming down from the catwalk which strained under the weight of people climbing down to their escape route.
"Of course," Cralk continued. "It's almost a twenty meter run, all the while being pincushions to those clanless bastards." He racked his shotgun, ejecting a spent thermal clip. "So unless you got any bright idea's we're gonna get across that without being turned into ribbons, we're fucked."
"Oh," Crimson replied, a grin lighting his eye as he stared at the pile of crates. "I may have a few."
A Rising Maw Centurion hefted his shield, withdrawing his SMG to load up another clip. As he did so, a shadow suddenly darkened the viewing slit of his shield. He leaned forward to see through it and was instantly knocked down as a crate weighing a full ton collided with his shield.
"Nice throw!" Gipsy exclaimed as Crimson withdrew behind cover again.
"Thank you," Crimson nodded, pointing at another crate. "Now grab that one right there… no, that one, and hand it to me. I don't fancy being turned into mincemeat right now. Wait, what are you doing?"
The Centurion staggered to his feet, shaking off the shock of being pancaked between the floor and his own shield. A few shots pinged off his barriers but his comrades seemed to draw most of the attention as the pathetic vermin tried to escape. He reached down to retrieve his shield, and that was the only thing that stopped him from seeing the other crate flying at his head.
"Gipsy, I needed that," Crimson growled as he watched the corpse get crushed under the heavy box.
"Sorry," Gipsy replied sheepishly, picking up her Revenent again. "Couldn't resist."
Crimson glared at her, before noticing another, larger crate in the pile. "Never mind, help me with this."
The rest of the Maws, having seen their comrade's 'death by box' situation, now shifted most of their attention away from the retreating vermin to focus fully on the killer. Not one of their number had been killed in this attack, only a few wounds here and there, but the deaths were a true blow to their pride. Being personally selected for this mission by the General himself set them in high standing among their peers, proving that they were the best. Now that two of them had fallen in battle jeopardized that standing. There were many other units that had completed assignments of similar difficultly (hardly any) and returned with barely a scratch. Now they would avenge both their fallen and their reputation with the blood of the killer. Blood for blood, as they were taught.
They had the three pinned down, and it was only a matter of time before they would try to run and escape with the others. At a silent signal, half of them stopped firing, giving the illusion of reloading, waiting for their prey to emerge.
They emerged quicker than the Maw anticipated, and in a most… unexpected way.
A crate, taller than a fully grown Krogan and twice as long was pushed out into the open, crawling along the floor like a slug. The guns opened up once again.
"I have to admit, this is a pretty good idea," Cralk nodded appreciatively, seemingly uncaring of the thousands of bullets pinging off their mobile cover as he watched the front corner for any Krogan that might come around and charge them.
Crimson grunted, straining to pull the heavy crate across the rough ground. His hands clutched whatever handhold he could find as he slowly but steadily dragged the crate towards the exit.
"We could go a bit faster though," Gipsy added, walking slowly behind him, watching the back side.
"You're welcome to help out, you know," Crimson growled, feeling his leg servos burn from the strain of dragging four tons worth of metal.
"I need to watch the back, remember," she replied cheekily. Grumbling something under his breath, Crimson returned to the task at hand. Pull after pull, step after step. It was a long minute that the crate was dragged across the floor, bullets bouncing off it as the Maws fruitlessly poured fire into it. It was a huge relief to Crimson as the crate collided with the other pile before he staggered behind it, legs burning from the effort. By now most of the other defenders had escaped, save for the couple dozen that lay dead on the catwalks, gunned down by the furious Krogan. In fact, there was hardly anyone left, just a few Turians cowering behind the safety of the pile, giving their moving crate as much cover fire as they could. As soon as they reached it, the Turians started sprinting for the escape route. Crimson staggered after them, Gipsy and Cralk following close behind as they ran through the doorway. When they all made it through, Cralk keyed something into his omni-tool before the door hologram turned red before disappearing altogether.
"It'll take them a while to get through that," Cralk grunted, turning and stumbling down the hallway they had just entered into.
The two Jaegers followed him down the bland metal corridor until it opened up into a wide hanger bay of sorts. The rusted and decrepit backdrop of Omega filled the large hanger door as one of the oddest skycars flew out into open air. It half resembled a flying pickup truck with a closed bed and almost four times as big. The bay looked as if it could hold a dozen of the flying bricks, but at the moment only two remained. Both of which were being loaded up with...
He blinked in surprise, burning limbs forgotten, as he saw the cargo being loaded into the trucks: Children.
Almost two dozen children, an assorted mixture of Asari, Human and even a few Turians were being bundled up into the trucks by panicked looking Asari. The only thing that stopped Crimson from thinking they'd stumbled on some sick slaver op was the fact that the young ones weren't panicking. They calmly allowed themselves to be lifted into the trucks before strong arms from inside pulled them in without a sound.
As he watched, the second truck lifted off the ground with a groan of taxed engines before it flew out the hanger door and disappeared.
"How are we doing!" A voice shouted from behind him. Crimson turned and saw the same armored Asari from before striding towards them. Her armor was visibly scratched up, covered in dust and... were those cobwebs? He wasn't aware that spiders were on Omega. Behind her, on the far wall, he saw that the grating on a vent had been removed and now both Aniya and Miya were crawling out, both looking rather filthy.
For a moment, Crimson felt a touch of resentment for having kept that route hidden from them. Then he actually looked at the vent and saw there wasn't enough room to fit his torso through, let alone the rest of him.
"Okay, I think," Cralk replied as she drew near. "We're the last bus to leave, that's all I know."
The Asari grunted in response, walking past them and towards the truck. "Are they all safe?" she shouted.
Another Asari, this one decked out in pilot gear leaned out the back. "Left with the last one," she shouted back. "We're the last and good to go."
"Good." The armored Asari turned back to them. "Load up, we're getting out of here!"
They all approached and started to get in the vehicle, Aniya taking special care to make sure that Miya was loaded up first. Cralk had just set a foot on the running board when an explosion echoed down the way they came.
"Must have finally grown some brains," Cralk noted as the loud tramping of boots came from the hallway. He crawled in along side the armored Asari before seating himself on a bench that ran along the inside of the truck. Then, surprisingly, he held out a hand to Crimson, as if to help him in. Crimson couldn't help but chuckle at that. With his weight he was more likely to pull the Krogan out then the other way around. He instead stood aside and allowed Gipsy to test the Krogan's strength.
As she stepped onto the running board, he heard something. A small rustling sound, little more then the swish of cloth, but was enough to make his head turn to investigate.
A lone Human woman crawled out of the vent, the same one that their allies had used. As she emerged, Crimson could see her face break out in joyous hope at seeing the truck still here. As soon as her feet left the vent, two more figures crawled out after her. Two little Asari girls, probably no older then six.
The woman bundled the two children into her arms and started running for the truck, just as the pounding boots from the hallway reached a crescendo and the first Rising Maw soldier stormed in. At first it looked to be completely focused on the truck, but then Crimson saw the helmeted head turn to target the running trio. Faster then the blink of an eye the Krogan had snapped up it's rifle before loosing a long burst.
As if in slow motion, Crimson watched the woman turn mid-step, shielding the small forms in her arms as the shoots made contact, shattering her barriers and passing through her body and erupting out the other side with a spray of blood. As the woman tumbled over, he could her the children scream in terror as they hit the ground, the corpse landing on top of them as the Krogan continued it's devastating barrage.
At that moment, something seemed to snap inside him. The gunshots, the pounding of boots, the urgent voices of his allies urging him to get in faded and all he could hear was the two girls screaming in fear. Before he could process what was happening he was moving, running full tilt towards terrified pair, cowering under the body of their guardian.
A pressure began to build in his left arm, energy following through his body directed towards the powerhouse that was his cannon.
Just before he reached them, he jumped, putting all the power he could into his legs. He could feel the rockets on his back flare, pushing him even higher, up and over the Krogan's incoming fire.
As he started to come down, time seemed to slow and it was like he hung there in the air. He could see everything in perfect clarity. The Krogan, surprised by his sudden entrance, trying to adjust his aim to the flying mech that appeared in front of it. Crimson glared at him, eye locking onto him with single minded intensity, bring his cannon in line with it's head.
The pressure in his arm reached a peak before a large blazing ball of plasma erupted from his limb, travelling the distance faster then the Krogan could react. Ignoring its barriers, the shot stuck it in the snout and the Krogan's head seemed to detonate in a blazing ball of blue fire.
The headless body fell to the ground, just as Crimson landed with a mighty clang, directly in front of the frightened girls. They stared up at him, shock and awe written across their faces as they beheld the massive metal giant that had saved them.
Before they begin to scream again, he scooped them up, just as more soldiers stormed into the hanger. Their eyes darted to their dead comrade then up to Crimson, hatred burning beneath their helmets. They raised their machine guns as one, preparing to fire before a horn echoed through the hanger, reminiscent of the old fog horns of the oceans. They turned to face the sound, just in time to see Gipsy charging towards them, swords extended and stabbed a soldier through the gut. Before it could cry out, Gipsy jerked her arm up, dragging her blade through it's thick chest and out the top of it's head, nearly cleaving the Krogan in two.
The rest were given no time to react as Gipsy lept into the fray, steel obsidian blades flashing as they cut through flesh, bone and metal without reservation. Such was her ferocity that the Krogan couldn't bring their weapons to bear, packed to close together and to close to the steel mistress of death.
As Gipsy managed to push them back to the entrance of the hallway, Crimson started running, the girls still clutched in his arms as he headed for the truck, which had lifted off the ground, it's open back end facing towards them. The others were all leaning out the back, weapons firing at any Krogan that managed to get past Gipsy.
They immediately pressed themselves against the walls as Crimson took a running jump into the vehicle, which groaned as he landed in a crouch.
As if sensing he was safe, Gipsy disengaged, swords sliding back into her forearms as she turned tail and ran. The Krogan tried to follow, but the incoming fire from the truck kept them pinned in the hallway, giving Gipsy enough time to climb in. The moment she did, a hatch slammed shut, casting the inside of the truck into darkness. A second later the vehicle put on a burst of speed, flying out of the hanger bay and into Omega's hellish skyscape.
In the darkened bay, only the sound of heavy breathing and the creaking of armor could be heard. Then came a small clinking sound and a wet squish before Gipsy's voice rang in the darkness. "I think I have brains stuck in my fingers."
"Well that ruined the moment," Cralk's voice grunted.
Lights set into the ceiling snapped on, revealing the interior. As he looked at Gipsy, Crimson couldn't but think that brains would be the least of her worries.
Her whole front was splattered with blood. Small flecks of it clung to her visor while small puddles formed beneath her drenched forearms, staining the deck with red.
That would take a while to clean up. Letting out a sigh of both exasperation and relief, Crimson looked down to the girls still wrapped in his arms. Now that he could see them better, he could see the dirty faces and the thin, starved appearance each one carried, His core clenched at the sight, wondering how any sentient being could willingly enslave someone like this.
As if feeling his gaze upon them, the two girls slowly lifted their heads from where they were buried in his metallic shoulders to meet his glowing eye. He stared back, the warmth once again blossoming in his chest. They weren't scared, more fascinated in the Jaeger that saved their lives. But he could still see a twinge of fear, or rather a shyness that came with meeting a person that was taller then a Krogan.
"Are you alright?" he asked softly. They nodded, eyes wide as they learned that the big red walking tank could speak.
"Good," he nodded, sitting on one of the side benches and loosening his arms, allowing them to slide into his lap. "What are your names?"
The two looked at each other before the one on his left raised her hand. "M-my name is Tila," she whispered.
"Tila. That's a nice name," Crimson replied, a grin slowly blooming on his visor. Tila blushed and ducked her head, embarrassed.
"And yours," he prompted, looking to the one on his right.
The young Asari gazed up at him, meeting his unblinking yellow gaze with wide eyed fascination. "Lila," she replied without hesitation. "Mister, why do you only have one eye?"
He blinked in surprise, but then realized he was going to get that question out of them soon or later.
"Well, that's just the way I was made," he said, just as she opened her mouth again.
"Do you have a name, mister?"
Crimson hesitated briefly, then decided it didn't matter if she knew or not.
"My name is Crimson Typhoon," he said, then paused as the tiny Asari wrapped her small arms around his waist and gave him the biggest hug she could.
"Thank you for saving us, mister Tyfume," she murmured out from where her face was pressed against his plating. After a moment of hesitation, Tila joined in, wrapping her arms as far as they could around his middle.
"Awwww," Gipsy cooed across from him, drawing his gaze upward.
The Jaeger was seated on the bench opposite, visor glowing in a broad smile as she beheld the snuggling trio. Beside her sat Aniya and her new found daughter, who was leaning against her mother's side, relishing in the contact. Both of them were drinking in the sight of the metal warrior being used as a plush toy. To Gipsy's other side were Cralk and the unknown Asari, the former cleaning off his shotgun with a rag, ignoring the scene while the latter looked on with a curious expression on her face.
Then she sighed before saying, "you aren't what I expected."
"Excuse me?" Crimson asked, forcing his eye away from the girls around his waist.
"I once met a Geth," she continued, meeting his gaze, "before the rebellion, of course. They were... blunt, inquisitive... child like. They were considered to be the pinnacle of artificial intelligence, but they were always so cold. They couldn't understand feelings, and how us organics do things, our drives, our motives. They ran on numbers and orders, nothing else. I remember one time I was with a friend of mine, a Quarian engineer working on the Geth, and I got to ask it a question. I asked it, what it would do if there were three people in danger, itself, a soldier and a child, and it could only save one, what would it do? It said that, without prior orders, it would calculate which one had the highest odds of survival before doing everything it could to insure that that being survived. Seventy percent of the time that being was itself. I wanted to call it selfish, but it wouldn't have understood. After that, I thought all synthetics thought the same, ran on numbers... then you came along."
Her eyes softened and she smiled softly. "The Geth I met would've just turned it's back on them and left, if not ordered to rescue them. You... your different."
"How so," Crimson asked, looking back down to the bundles in his arms.
"You think like us," she replied. "You don't think like a machine, but like a real, living being."
"That's... just the way we were made," Crimson shrugged, mind racing to come up with a reasonable explanation without revealing too much about themselves. "It was a... long process and... and the deaths of people closest to us."
Her eyes softened. "I can relate to that. My daughter was stolen more then fifty years ago by slavers and sold to a buyer that had... unique tastes. By the time I tracked them down it was... to late."
A single tear trailed down her face before she wiped it away.
"After that, I made myself a promise: That I would do my best to save others from that fate. I've been holding myself to that for the past fifty years."
She gave a small smile, her eyes shifting to the two girls still wrapped around his waist. "It has it's own rewards besides money. They're twins, stolen about four months ago, snatched right from the Presidium. We managed to intercept their transport and rescue them before the sick bastard could get his hands on them. We were just preparing to send them home when you showed up."
"Is that what that call to Archangel was about?" Crimson asked.
"Yeah," she nodded. "We pissed off enough slavers on Omega that they posted a large bounty on us. It's been hell getting people out. But now this..." She trailed off before her voice turned professional. "Why the hell were those Krogan even there?"
"Tactical advantage," Cralk grunted as he cleaned away a spot of rust on his weapon. "Best damn fortified place on Omega, after Afterlife, of course. It'll be bitch to take it back, and we're the ones who made the damn place."
"But why?" the Asari pressed. "So far as I know we didn't do a thing to piss them off."
"Again, tactical advantage," he repeated folding up his shotgun and attaching it to his back. "Think about it. The base was right on one of the main skycar highways of Omega leading straight to Afterlife. In theory, our place was one of the best places to mount an attack. A refueling station, repair shop and mustering area all in one. Come to think about it maybe that's why Aria sold it to you in the first place, knowing that you wouldn't try anything on her."
"That's insane," The Asari said. "Your talking about attacking Aria, the queen of Omega for the past hundred years or so who has survived dozens of attacks and assassinations. How the hell do you think they have a chance."
"They took us down, didn't they?" the Krogan shrugged. "Ex-Huntresses, Turian Black Ops and Alliance Marines and they walked right over us. Three dozen dead on our side while they only lost ten, all thanks to them." He jerked his head at Gipsy. "But we were some of the best, and they wiped us out. How long do you think Aria's little gang of pirates and murderers will last?"
Before the Asari could answer, a frantic beeping emerged from Crimson's omni-tool. The girls unwrapped themselves from his waist as he brought his device up to eye and glanced at the display. It was a call from Kriln.
He tapped the accept button then spoke. "Yes?"
"Where are you?!" a frantic Turian shouted back over the line, the sound of gun fire and explosions echoing in the background.
"Uh..." he paused, glancing about the inside of the truck before Kriln cut him off.
"Never mind. Get your metal asses to Afterlife, NOW!"
"Why, what's happening?" Crimson asked.
"The fucking Krogan rebellions, that's what!" came the reply. "Get yourselves over here now! We're holed up in Afterlife, but we can't hold out much longer!"
"We'll be there," Crimson assured him before terminated the link.
"Well that was fast," Cralk noted as Crimson turned on the unnamed Asari.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"To a hanger," she answered. "We arranged a pick up deal with a ship from Thessia a few days ago to get these little ones home," she gestured at the girls.
"Okay," nodded, glancing at Gipsy to see her picking up her Revenent from under the bench. "Could you drop us some where near an skycar station?"
"Consider it done."
Chapter 13 is up, one of my longest ones yet. I'm quite proud of it, even though it took me two months to write the damn thing with all the rewrites and all. But I hope you all enjoyed it.
And to BringontheJaeger and anyone else who is wondering, this is the abridged version of the Rising Maw I had planed. After this there are only three more chapters with the Rising Maw, all of which I plan to post this week. I do have a little spat with Cerberus planed before meeting Shepard, just to get some very important plot points out, but that shouldn't take too long.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed and I will see you next time.
DJ out!