HOLOCAUST
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE:
CARDS AGAINST CERBERUS
August 5, 2186
1621 hours.
10th Delilah Street, Rubicon Quadrant, Zeta District, Omega.
Second War for Omega, Battle of the Zeta District.
Captain Marcus Lee Shepard, Military Advisor Garrus Vakarian, Chief Engineer Tali'Shepard vas Normandy, Shadow Broker Liara T'Soni, Soldier Javik, Master Thief Kasumi Goto, Moses, EDI, Second Lieutenant James Vega, Second Lieutenant Imogen Keeling, Major Kaidan Alenko, First Lieutenant Jack, Ruler of the Terminus Aria T'Loak.
The battle was going well.
Ever since leaving the gunnery control center and exiting the tram, the squad had been making a constant push towards the Tuhi District, where Aria's secret bunker was located. With the Cerberus particle cannons out of action, the UGC fleet had steamrolled back in, slamming into the Cerberus fleet. Unfortunately, while the particle cannons were still active, their fire support gave the rest of First Fleet to rally and regroup. Despite the loss of their flagship and almost half of their ships, they were ever relentless, reforming into a strong battle line infront of Omega, using the cannons as naval artillery.
This tactic was shattered when the squad brought down the cannons, but this didn't mean First Fleet was unprepared: with a strong formation, they could hold fast against their enemy. As a result, the UGC was currently entangled in a tense game of attrition with the Cerberus naval forces, but resolved to deploy their ground forces regardless, using their cloak-capable geth dropships to deploy them. As such, the plan was a success, with all of their forces deploying into the Zeta, Caj and Ecez districts without losing a single man. Quickly advancing from all directions, the UGC army converge on Tuhi, engaging Cerberus troops in every direction. There could be no doubt that Petrovsky was taking notice.
But they were absolutely committed: there could be no turning back. Such were Shepard's words as the captain ordered them forward, engaging enemy units wherever they came across them. Despite being initially disorganized, Cerberus forces eventually rallied and began using proper tactics, eventually bringing Shepard's seemingly unstoppable advance to a halt as they were pinned in a street. A platoon of troops, with two more apparently moving in to reinforce them, were currently pushing Shepard's squad back, using dragoons to counter Jack and her students from delivering their normally devastating attacks.
"Push them back! We have them on the run!"
"Kill Shepard!"
"Sniper, flank left!"
"Reinforce the center. Dragoons, push forward. Troopers, covering fire! Where's the goddamn sniper support? I told her to flank left!"
These commands and more were shouted from the centurion in command of the platoon, the commander in question carefully planted behind a parked skycar, occassionally appearing to fire his mattock rifle more accurately: the rest of the time, he blind fired. But all these commands were shouted over a secure comm link, one that Shepard's squad couldn't hear. Or at least shouldn't have been able to.
Unfortunately for them, she was a hacker. And a good one at that.
Together, Tali, Moses and herself were an unstoppable force when it came to hacking. They cracked the heavily encrypted Cerberus communications, quietly listening in on their comms and quickly countering whatever moves they made: this way, they prevented the Cerberus platoon from making any serious headway. What could have been a quick retreat for Shepard's squad turned into a slow, steady one. But not for long: all they had to do was wait for one of the UGC units to arrive and push the platoon back.
She gasped a little as a shot pinged off the wall next to her, the master thief ducking and pressing against the wall. Her cloak was active, so she was worried for a second that Cerberus had somehow spotted her. Luckily for her, the shot had simply been a stray one, with the trooper responsible having fired one last round from his rifle as a sniper round blew the top part of his skull off, spraying shredded metal and brain fragments across the ground. She held a thumbs up, knowing Garrus had likely fired the shot, and quickly returned to her assigned task.
Shepard had given Kasumi one mission: in his words, that mission was "kill that fucking sniper."
Despite hearing their communications quite clearly, the nemesis ordered to snipe on the left flank had managed to reach their assigned position, causing the team a crapload of trouble. Only peeling her cloak to fire her sniper rifle, the nemesis was not only hard to find, but incredibly fast: in the time it for her to down her cloak, fire a shot and then recloak, only a second would pass. Garrus had tried his best to put her down, but all that had done was create a game of snipe-the-sniper, and that hadn't been going well for the squad. James had been nicked across the shoulder by a lucky miss, Hillary had almost been shot in the foot and Moses had taken a round in the torso meant for Javik's head. Overall, that sniper would eventually land a shot, and when it did, somebody would die or be seriously wounded.
Marcus deemed that unacceptable.
She made sure her movements weren't too quick or loud, so that her cloak wasn't rendered useless. That was the thing with cloaking: despite contrary belief, one wasn't completely invisible when using it. There was vibrations and warping left in the air where she was, making it very easy for a skilled and clever soldier to spot and pour fire into: it also didn't help that cloaks had a cooldown timer, as the energy used to fuel it caused a significant drain, and needed time to recharge, making it only useful for quick traversal of the terrain.
Luckily, Kasumi had a rare version: a cloak that didn't need a recharge. It took energy siphoned from her omni-tool, overclocking it to create a permanent cloak, but rendering her omni-tool unusable in the mean time. She was also quick and agile, and few were able to spot her when she had her cloak up. That's what she was a master thief. Why she wasn't famous: to be a famous thief was to be caught, and Kasumi was never caught.
But to call herself a thief now was to be ironic. Thieves didn't take orders, and they most certainly didn't navigate enemy lines to take care of snipers.
Life used to be so easy. Nothing but heists and delicious goodies to steal. Now I'm reliable and dependable. Now I take orders like a proper soldier.
She inwardly pouted. Should have just gone to work on the Crucible. Probably would have been easier. All that tech lying around...it's not like they would have checked my pockets after the project was finished. That would have been very nice indeed...but noooooo. No, Shep reeled me in with promises of Jacob's abs and Garrus' uncompromising charisma. Damn I'm so buyable.
She stopped, groaning mentally. There was an assault trooper in her way, having recently taken cover and preparing to use a grenade launcher to fire upon their left flank. The trooper was loading a fresh round into the chamber of the M-100 launcher when Kasumi contacted her turian friend, "Garrus, we've got a trooper on the left. He's got a grenade launcher."
A mere second later. "I see him."
The trooper, still loading his weapon, was thrown back into the wall, weapon falling from his grip as blood erupted from his throat, quickly drenching the front of his armor and squirting across the deck. Kasumi winced, having never truly gotten used to the sight, and the more gruesome the death, the more sick it made her. But the thief had long since learnt to control her bowels, turning away from the choking trooper and stepping carefully over him, moving into a split second jog so as to escape the smell and the sight of his corpse.
"Thanks Garrus."
"No problem...damn!"
She stopped, wide eyed, "Are you okay, Garrus!?" Don't be dead, don't be dead, don't be dead...
"I'm fine!" the turian yelled out, and it was only now Kasumi realized her heart was racing at a million miles per hour. She began to calm down, but was confused at her odd behaviour, "Damn sniper! Only just managed to avoid getting my head blown off. My fault, I guess. Got sloppy. Should have checked my corners."
Despite the situation, she managed a laugh, "Just like you to not pay attention, Garrus."
"It's hard to when you're constantly prancing around like a thief who just got away with a heist," the turian rebuked.
"I am a thief, Garrus. A master thief."
"Yeah, well do us both a favour and steal the life of that sniper for me, would you?"
She nodded, wiping the grin from her face as she unholstered her SMG, quickly approaching the beginning of the second dragoon's biotic barrier, "Got it. Approaching the barrier now."
"Understood. Remember, once you're in that field I can't cover you. You'll have to take down the sniper and that dragoon. Copy?"
"Loud and copy, Garbear."
She revelled in the groan over the comm, "Can you please stop with your strange human nicknames! I will never understand a single one of them..."
"Moving in now, Garbear."
Garrus didn't bother with a response, simply going silent as Kasumi approached the barrier. Like a glowing dome of light, the biotic field stood strong and impregnable, sizzling dark energy protecting the majority of the Cerberus platoon from the squad's combined arms fire. She could see the dragoon responsible standing behind cover with his arms spread wide, the liquid blue flames extending from his fingertips to diverge in the sky like a cloud...a protective, impervious-to-bullets-and-explosives cloud. The second dragoon stood on the right flank, a barrier of his own protecting the other half of the street. If even one of them fell, the Cerberus platoon would be vulnerable.
She crouched immediately, checking her SMG to ensure a clip was secured inside: she had done this four times on her approach, and she was no less paranoid. No telling what could happen. Weapon could jam up, could turn out to have no ammo loaded or have loaded a clip with no ammo in it...I have to be careful.
Or I could just use my omni-blade.
She thought on it for a second before sighing and nodding, holstering her weapon in favour of the omni-blade program loaded on her omni-tool. No need to worry about this having ammo...this thing'll take her head right off without much effort.
With a final exhale, she grabbed the edge of her cover and lifted herself up and over it, mantling over the sheet of metal and sliding over its smooth surface, the skycar powered down and offline. It was littered with bulletholes and the glass cockpit shattered. As she slid across it, numerous, smaller, glass fragments were knocked onto the ground, and Kasumi winced as some of it cut into her suit, piercing her skin and drawing blood. She bit down on her lip and kept the pain to herself, dashing pas the biotic barrier and towards a nearby wall where she could blend in.
Crossing the barrier felt odd: a cold, bubbly feeling washed over her skin, making her shiver slightly but also warming her up inside. The feeling passed as quickly as it arrived, Kasumi effectively finding herself behind enemy lines and without fire support. She quietly slid up next to the wall, holding in her breath as a guardian stalked forward, his shield pressed up against him, eyes looking through the slot while his other hand fired his Talon pistol. Two assault troopers advanced up behind the guardian, using him as cover while coming out to fire the odd shot. They crossed the barrier, where the guardian immediately collapsed onto the ground, Garrus having blown his head off through the slot. Shield dropped and now out in the open, the two troopers attempted a fighting retreat, only to be cut down by James' Revenant machine gun, their bodies falling to the ground in seconds.
Turning back, she heard a loud gunshot off, the sniper round passing through the barrier and EDI in the chest. Luckily, the AI had augmented her frontal armor plating, allowing her to survive the impact. EDI quickly ducked back behind cover, out of the sniper's line of sight. But Kasumi turned in time to watch the nemesis in question disappear behind cover again, the sound of a cloak being activated unmistakable.
Her eyes narrowed, brows furrowed. She clenched her right fist and began to slowly stalk towards the sniper's position. I see you.
The nemesis was positioned exactly four meters from her: she was hiding in an alleyway, the lack of lighting aiding her cloak's invisibility, giving her the perfect sharpshooting positioning. Given the sniper's lack of a response, it was clear she hadn't spotted Kasumi: which was perfect. The thief steadily moved forward, ever so light on her feet, careful to not surrender her position to the sniper's likely augmented hearing.
She arrived, crouching and moving around the corner quickly, managing to reach the other side just as the nemesis finished reloading and turned back around, her M-13 Raptor sniper rifle firing off six shots in rapid succession, the rounds pinging off cover as the squad remained in cover, only rearing their heads to take down any troops daring enough to attempt to close the gap.
Kasumi knew it would be best to wait until the nemesis moved to fire again. As it was, Kasumi prepared to drop her cloak, silently watching as the nemesis slipped back around the corner, cloaking as she slaps a new clip into the semi-automatic, armour-piercing, STG designed sniper rifle. There was a few seconds of hesitation before the nemesis emerged from cover, turning her back to Kasumi, and therefore giving the thief the perfect opening...
Kasumi dropped her cloak, and swooped in for the kill, summoning her omni-blade. The nemesis dropped her cloak, preparing to take the shot. Kasumi brought up her omni-blade, and swooped in.
...only for the nemesis to duck under the sweep, Kasumi's blade passing harmlessly by. The nemesis, crouched, spun on the spot and punched her in the stomach. Kasumi, winded by the cybernetically reinforced blow, blew back into the opposite wall, omni-tool deactivating as the nemesis stood up, dropping her sniper rifle as she lunged at the vulnerable thief.
Wincing painfully as the open wounds caused by the glass from before stung from the impact, Kasumi quickly brought up one leg and lashed out, striking the nemesis in the head. Staggered from the impact, the thief was given enough time to stand back up, her hood knocked off her head and crinkled to one side, her hair tied back. The thief frowned.
This one's pretty smart. She must've known I was there and elected to lure me into a false sense of security. And me being behind the barrier means I'm left to fight her alone...
Growling with their usual feministic electronic tone, the nemesis charged forward, lithe body lined in body armour not nearly being as threatening as a armoured assault trooper, but no less a threat.
Raising her Locust SMG, the thief moved to take aim and fire, only for the nemesis to speed up and punch Kasumi in the hand, the pain causing Kasumi's hand to reflexively to open up, dropping the SMG. The nemesis kicked it away and out of the thief's reach, delivering a quick strike to the face. She staggered from the blow, but used the momentum of her spin to fly back and strike back at the nemesis' own face.
The nemesis quickly blocked it, her reflexes and cybernetics making her superior to Kasumi in hand-to-hand. She struck Kasumi twice in the stomach once more with her knee, before quickly reaching under Kasumi's body, wrapping one arm around behind her knees, picking the thief up and into the air, before slamming her back into the ground.
She cried out as the impact likely left bruises along her back, the air exploding from her lungs as she desperately tried to breathe it back in, coughing at the intense reek of refuse. The nemesis muttered electronically, likely communicating and reassuring her cohorts, before kneeling down and straddling Kasumi. She quickly wrapped her hands around Kasumi's throat, tightening her grip as she began to choke the thief to death.
Kasumi's cheeks puffed, the thief gasping for air as she felt it brutally stolen from her. The nemesis was relentless, despite Kasumi's attempts to fight back. In the end, the thief knew she would die if she didn't get her shit together.
You helped defeat the Collectors, girl. Get up! Quit being such a wuss and fight back!
The nemesis screeched at her, as if demanding Kasumi die in some alien tongue. The single red optic seemed to burn into Kasumi's skull with the intensity of the light shining in her eyes, almost blinding her. She struck the nemesis in the face with a fist, but the blow merely pinged off the nemesis' helmet, knocking her only slightly. She remained unmoved, face staring down her victim as her grip tightened and tightened. She could feel armoured fingers digging into her skin, scraping at it.
Black tendrils began to feed on her vision, and her throat felt like it was on fire as it worked and worked to consume what little air was left in her lungs. All while this happened, she reached to her hip, fumbling for her knife...
Die...you...little...bitch...get...off me...
Finally, her barely functioning fingers wrapped around her knife and unsheathed it. The nemesis discovered the sound, turning her head to address it, but was too late. Kasumi tore the knife free and immediately lunged it upwards, slamming it into the exposed neck of the nemesis. It screamed as the sharp point penetrated the unarmoured suit around her neck, digging deep and likely rupturing her oesophagus.
The nemesis' grip on her neck released, and Kasumi inhaled the largest amount of air she had ever breathed in. It was almost overwhelming, her lungs spasmed as they consumed the large amount of oxygen they took in. The thief shoved the nemesis off of her, rolling over and coughing onto the ground, saliva dripping down her lips and some being spat onto the ground. A few seconds passed as Kasumi rubbed the red marks around her throat, waiting for her breath to start steadying before she turned to deal with the nemesis.
She needn't bothered. The nemesis lay face first on the ground, arms spread out, blackish red blood pooling around her head. She had stopped moving, with only her fingers twitching ever so slightly. No sounds came out of her, and Kasumi could see the nemesis had tried reaching for her sniper rifle, only to fall woefully short. Regardless, the nemesis was now dead, and the threat she posed gone. Approaching her, Kasumi kneeled down and reached under, wrenching her knife free. Her nose twitched at the intense bloody stench, her removal of the knife causing a veritable flow of fresh blood to pool out, causing the already present pool to rapidly expand. Kasumi navigated clear of it, wiping the blood on her blade on the nemesis' leather suit before sheathing it.
She turned back, rushing over and picking up her SMG. At this point, she was exhausted due to the fight for her life, and having had enough of the battle already, she raised her SMG, taking aim and fired at the side of the second dragoon's head. His kinetic barriers reflected the blast initially, but Kasumi continued to empty shots in short bursts until the barriers flashed and fell. By the time the dragoon had turned to address the attack, Kasumi fired her final shot, the SMG clicking empty as she tried to fire again.
The dragoon's head snapped back as the shot burst through his visor and blew his brains out, body falling backwards. The blue energy erupting from his hands dissipated instantly, taking the barrier with it: before they knew it, half the Cerberus platoon was now exposed.
Kasumi hit the comms with Marcus, "Sniper is down. Barrier is gone. They're all yours, Shep." Before the Cerberus soldiers could respond to her attack, she reactivated her cloak and returned safely to the squad, joining up with them as they pushed forward, but not before she used her omni-blade to nick at the femoral artery of a guardian's leg. He collapsed forward, red essence pouring down his leg, kneeling on one knee, neglecting his massive shield. Exposed, he was finished off by Kaidan, who fired once into the soldier's face, putting him down for good.
As Kasumi fell into cover, James stood up and opened up with his Revenant, tearing apart a trio of assault troopers attempting to withdraw. Before he could target an exposed guardian, the guardian in question spun and slammed his shield down, the LMG's rounds pinging harmlessly off the shield. The guardian fired back with his heavy pistol, Vega's shields flashing and the marine cursing as he was forced to resume cover. He was joined by Javik and Keeling, the former of who summoned his odd, green biotics to bring up a barrier, deflecting any further shots from impacting. The guardian began to move back, holding his shield up, firing all the way.
Kaidan was getting up to fire again when Marcus landed beside her, hand on her shoulder and turning her around. His eyes seemed to widen at seeing the red marks on her neck, and he looked into her eyes, "Are you okay? What happened?"
Kasumi rubbed her neck slightly, the entire area being extremely sore, but refused to give in to his concern, "I'm fine. Nemesis fought back, that's all. She's dead now and I'm alive, so it doesn't matter, Shep."
He frowned at her before simply nodding, "Just making sure you're alright. If you're good to fight, I want you to join Garrus in moving up."
"Shepard!" yelled Aria, punctuating her shouting with the boom of a shotgun blast, "We going to sit here or move the fuck up!?"
"We're moving up!" Marcus fired back in return, barely sparing Kasumi a glance before he stepped up and sprinted over, pulse rifle peppering the retreating guardian and the many troops beside him as the N7 Spectre joined Aria, Jack and Liara in using their biotics to engage the last dragoon holding the flank.
Following orders, Kasumi quickly located Garrus and activated her cloak, closing the distance. She found Tali and EDI beside him, the turian having propped up his sniper rifle and firing at any target stupid enough to rear their head. Tali was on his right, back against the wall and fingers dancing on her omni-tool, likely hacking the enemy's systems and causing chaos amongst their ranks. EDI was on his left, drawing most of the enemy fire as she used her SMG and her own tech abilities to assist in their own advance.
Landing beside Garrus, she crouched and decloaked, adopting a cheery tone as she propped her chin up on one elbow, "Hey, Garry. Miss me?"
His mandibles clicked, but he otherwise remained vigilant, ever focused on picking out targets, "Of course I missed you. I'm not out to kill you. Yet."
"You're a funny guy," Kasumi replied dryly. She turned to Tali, eager to see what the quarian was up to, "And what exactly are you doing, Tali?"
"There's a combat engineer running riot with our weapons. Sabotage, omni-tool viruses, shield overloading...you name a tech attack, he's doing it. Well, attempting it. Pity he doesn't know I'm here. Keelah...he's getting sloppy. Hasn't even developed cyberwarfare firewalls on his own omni-tool, so now I'm reflecting everything he's trying to do back at him. He tries to overheat our weapons, his own overheats. He tries taking down our shields, his go down and gifts energy to me. I think he's getting just a little frustrated."
She turned to EDI, grinning all the way and feeling her fighting spirit coming back, "And you, EDI?"
"Trying to find said engineer," the AI remarked, ducking back down to reload before standing up and rapidly snapping off shots again, "He is very well hidden. I'm relying on Tali to compromise his position."
Tali yelled in triumph, Kasumi turning to see the quarian turn off her omni-tool and whip out her pistol, "...which you will be getting any time around...now. Managed to trigger the bosh'tet's translocator device...and he's transmitting straight to us!"
"Nice job, bucket!" she held up a hand for a high-five. Tali reciprocated it, the two girls slamming their hands together before Tali turned back and started firing at targets with her arc pistol.
"Engineer located. He is with the centurion, behind the skycar," EDI announced.
"Moses!" Garrus barked, waving at the geth prime, who was currently launching everything it had at the enemy, "Target the skycar! Two high value targets! Destroying the car should do it! Or at least expose them anyway!"
"Acknowledged," was the prime's monotone response. Reassigning targets, it fired its pulse cannon at the skycar, the repetitious bursts destroying the vehicle after two hits in a fiery blaze of mayhem. The vehicle was thrown aside like a leaf on the wind from the blast, flames trickling out from under it as it went crashing into a wall. Where it once lay...the knocked over forms of the centurion and combat engineer.
Garrus fired his first shot through the skull of the combat engineer, ending his reign of technological terror. He then took aim on the centurion, who was staggering to get up, firing another shot through the side of his head, killing him as well. With the platoon's only defense against tech attacks and commander both dead, the platoon would soon be finished.
Her knees, almost covered in grime from kneeling on the ground for so long, began to ache. The thief ignored the discomfort, too focused on just how close had come to death in those few short moments. Cybernetic hands tightening around her throat, clenching and tighter than a vice...arms too powerful and strong to knock away, sucking the life out of her, and she had been nearly helpless to stop it.
If not for that spare knife...I don't think I would have gotten out of that alive.
It was just one more reminder that Kasumi was no soldier. She was a thief. People hired her to capture paintings, not to kill armed men and women. I robbed art galleries, for crying out loud! What made anyone think I was qualified for this?
The last Cerberus soldier caught outside the barrier fell, body almost shifting spastically as bullet after bullet hit him from multiple directions. He eventually fell, chest smoking from the amount of ammunition poured into him. It was the guardian from before.
The rest of the enemy platoon lay behind the first dragoon's barrier, who remained absolutely adamant. The dozen or few soldiers left prepared for one final defense, waiting for Marcus and his squad to charge through the shield so they could hammer them with arms fire. But just as Marcus ordered Jack and Aria forward to bring down the last dragoon, the soldiers seemed to gain newfound strength...as if motivated by something. They charged from the barrier, reclaiming their former positions and assuming their original battl-
"Fall back!" Marcus barked over the comms, Kasumi turning in a hurry to see him, Kaidan, Liara, Jack, her students, Aria, and the others falling back while Javik covered them with a biotic barrier. It didn't take long for her to see the reason why.
Cerberus reinforcements had arrived. The two platoons sent in to reinforce the dwindling unit had finally arrived, coming in from opposite ends of the street. A line of guardians, eight of them in a phalanx position, moved forward with their shields obscuring their features, their weapons holstered and simply acting as a forward line from where the enemy backup could move in without being harassed. Smoke grenades shot out from behind them, coming to a stop infront of them and spewing thick clouds of smoke over the street, obscuring their vision. Marcus didn't have to ask: everybody switched to their thermals, including Kasumi, who quickly found her vision lighting up with the movement of dozens of orange smears.
She ducked as gunfire assaulted their position all at once, the Cerberus reinforcements pouring into defensive entrenchments all across the street. The sniper Kasumi killed was replaced with another, as well as one on the other side of the street, while four combat engineers moved in to replace the one the platoon lost. Another dragoon, along with two more, moved in and recreated the barrier the other one had lost, while the other dragoons acted as the biotic artillery Cerberus had lacked so far. Before the squad knew it, they were right back to square one.
It was almost like they hadn't made any progress at all.
"Fuck!" Marcus cursed over the comms, angry and frustrated, "These assholes just keep coming! We need to find a way to circumvent their defenses and get around them! If we can attack from the rear as well as from the front, we can box them in! Kaidan, take Javik, Keeling, Liara, Moses and EDI and get around them! We'll coordinate with you and strike simultaneously! That should divide their attention! But we have to act quickly...no doubt more reinforcements are on the way!"
"Keelah!"
Kasumi turned to Tali, who was now back on her omni-tool, but before she could speak, Marcus had already done so, "What's wrong, Tali?"
"Those combat engineers have overridden my hack! We can't hear their communications anymore! I'll try my best to hack back into them but until then we're-"
An unearthly scream sounded across the street, silencing any and all combat.
The whole squad turned to the source of the scream, lowering their weapons and seemingly forgetting the Cerberus platoons infront of them.
Kasumi recognized the sound. It was the sound of monsters. Of an angry, furious army. A relentless foe was headed their way...
...for Cerberus' way.
Down the street, directly behind them, was a horde of angry, red and green chitin storming through the street towards them. Their screeches got louder, solidfying into a single, prominent and well heard war cry, their thunderous march punctuated by their stampede. They rushed towards the squad at full pelt, sprinting as fast as they could: insects of varying sizes, from the size of a cat to the size of a small krogan, each type intermingled with one another to become a seething mass of furious murder.
Kasumi was glad the rachni were on their side at times like this.
"Everybody, get out of the way!" Marcus barked, and nobody bothered to argue. Garrus immediately collapsed his sniper rifle and holstered it, with Tali and EDI picking themselves up and running to the right of the street, Kasumi not far behind. The others rushed towards whatever direction was closest, with Jack and her students, Aria and Liara ending up on the side where Kasumi had chosen to go. And they got off the street just in time too.
The rachni horde stormed past, stopping for nothing and focused entirely on its enemy. The Cerberus troops, their thermals likely picking up the rachni, focused on their new enemy, firing as quickly and as accurately as they could. A dozen rachni workers were shot and killed instantly, rolling along the ground, green blood oozing out from the massive holes in their chest, but it barely slowed the rachni advance.
Her thermals still switched on, Kasumi watched as the rachni practically skipped through the smoke and slammed into the Cerberus front line. Over a dozen soldiers were instantly slaughtered, the rachni soldiers using their arms to tear whole limbs off, with one bissecting a centurion in half, using his upper torso as a projectile to throw at a nearby guardian. Screams and more gunfire were heard as Cerberus realized exactly what was happening, desperately trying to retreat as the rachni surged over their lines and butchered their troops.
For Kasumi, it felt like minutes passed as the rachni annihilated their foe methodically and without mercy. Brood warriors used their biotics to battle the dragoons, eventually coming out on top and ripping them apart with pure dark energy. Rachni workers swarmed across the guardian's phalanx, getting around their shields and devouring them.
In reality, it took the rachni all of eleven seconds to completely deconstruct the Cerberus platoons and send the rest routing.
When it was all over, and the smoke cleared to demonstrate the raw power of the rachni charge, there was nothing but a red expanse, stretching across the street. Brains, gore, severed limbs, blood and viscera littered the street. A combat engineer stumbled, right arm missing, looking dazed. He eventually collapsed to his knees and fell face forward, dead, the remains of his chewed up arm beside him. It was a bloodbath.
"Keelah..." Tali mumbled under her breath.
"I'm never going to get used to seeing that," Kaidan admitted, "I know the rachni are on our side, and I'm glad for that, but this is...damn. Just damn."
"Cerberus forces will be retreating. We musn't let the rachni's push go to waste. We push forward squad," Marcus declared, turning to Garrus and Tali, "You two, on me. Kaidan, Keeling...watch the flanks. Moses, you're behind us with Jack and the students. Aria, you lead the way. We've got to get to your bunker."
Aria shook her head, wiping the blood from her forehead before reloading her shotgun, "First, we've got to find and link up with my daughter. She's leading a contingent of my men towards the bunker, and I'd recommend regrouping with her so our forces are stronger."
A few moments passed, and Marcus seemed to frown, turning away and nodding at someone who wasn't there. Before anyone could ask what was wrong with him, a rachni soldier appeared, stopping infront of Marcus. The N7 nodded silently to the rachni, before pointing to himself and then pointing ahead. The soldier's pedipalps shifted to show its acknowlegement, and the rest of the rachni army soon appeared to accompany the squad.
Marcus turned to the squad, who all frowned at him. Realizing what they wanted, he held up a placating hand, knowing they'd want an explanation, "Rachni like to talk telepathically, remember? I was just discussing our next move with them. They'll accompany us to Aria's bunker and provide further combat support."
Oh...telepathy. So that's totally a thing.
With a sigh, Kasumi simply shrugged. Ah, what the hell. Amount of stuff we've done, telepathy isn't exactly the weirdest.
Without waiting much longer, the squad, along with their rachni reinforcements, moved up the street as planned, moving past the slaughtered Cerberus platoons. The stench was so much that Kasumi had to activate her olfactory filters to get rid of it. The smell of Omega was bad enough, it didn't need the smell of fresh corpses too.
Lots of limpless corpses...bloody corpses...and I'm a thief. Why did I let myself get dragged into this.
She couldn't help the glance she gave Garrus. It seemed almost...mandatory, given her thoughts. Almost as if her mind was directing her to a certain line of thought. She frowned, finding the implications implausible, the two of them having already accepted what their friendship was. But the thing was that her heart had a different opinion.
Silly heart. Always the emotional one. Remember who owns you.
Still though, it did make her wonder why she stuck around if not for Jacob.
He's dead and I'm still here. I clearly hate this war and I'm not a soldier. So why hang around? What's stopping me from leaving? Is the answer obvious or am I just a git?
She paused on that, even as she physically advanced along the street, passing the dead bodies and equipping her SMG, aiming high and scanning for targets, especially of the cloaked nemesis variety.
It's sad when I honestly can't tell which I'm supposed to be. Git or dense. Dense or git. Or maybe I'm a dense git? They're not necessarily mutually exclusive...
She shook her head, exasperated.
For somebody who's mind is made up, you seem awfully argumentative, Kasumi. Perhaps you haven't decided after all.
But thoughts like that were for another time. Right now, they had a mission to complete. They had to get to Aria's bunker.
Aria's voice was enough to shatter her thoughts for her, "Wait up ladies, we have to go around this corner. We have to reach the Tuhi district, and it's to the west of here." The asari pointed left, around a rather large corner. One Cerberus forces could be hiding behind...
"Be ready," Marcus ordered, moving up and tapping Aria on the shoulder. The asari turned to him, annoyed by the interruption, "I'll see what's waiting for us. Then I'll signal us to move up if it's clear."
True to his word, the captain moved forward and around the corner, weapon raised...
...only for him to immediately return, his shields dead and gunfire trailing him for a few moments before dissipating.
"Well shit," Marcus gasped, shaking his head and banging the wall behind him with his one free hand, "It's going to take more than rachni to breach this defense line."
"More Cerberus?" Liara asked.
"Yep, and a fuckton," he replied, not daring to peek his head out for fear of his head getting blown off, "They're dug in deep: looks like they've been waiting for us a while now. They have several soldiers equipped with grenade launchers, and a row of at least three machine gun emplacements, using scavenged crates to put them on. The've got what looks to be an entire company entrenched, and they've got guardians and dragoons lining the wall. I saw an Atlas mech in support, as well as two M28 Angel IFVs and a single M32 Thresher. From the looks of it, they're not going to budge, and no manner of rachni charge is going to break their line. Looks like we'll have to dig in and prep for a siege until we get some reinforcements," Marcus quickly hit the comms, speaking on the entire dedicated UGC frequency, "All forces, this is Captain Shepard. We're bogged down in the Zeta District and we've got a Cerberus company dug in deep. Require immediate assistance to punch through their line, over. Any forces in the area...please answer."
A few moments, followed by a, what might as well have been, a heavenly voice, "This is Battalion Commander Urdnot Grunt of the 1st Aralakh, somebody call for some backup? I should think eight hundred angry krogan commandos will be enough."
"You're a god-send Grunt," the captain replied, "We're on 10th Delilah Street, how long until you can conceivably reach us?"
"From where we are? Fifteen minutes. You'll have to hold out until then."
Marcus nodded, "Will do. See you soon, Grunt. Shepard out."
With a sigh, he turned to the squad, nodding, "I know, it's not what we wanted to hear, but it is what it is. I want all of you to dig in and spread out. Moses and I will provide covering fire so that some of you can reach the other side. From there, we will divide their fire and keep them bunkered down: we'll whittle them down with bug bites. By the time Grunt's battalion arrives, we can use their heavy weapons to punch through. Until then, let's get to it people."
Kasumi sighed, holding up her SMG and gripping it tightly, watching as the squad prepared for a fifteen minute siege of the Cerberus entrenchments.
I'm not a soldier. I'm a thief. I'm not a soldier. Not a thief.
If she kept telling herself that, maybe someday it would be true again.
{Loading...}
August 5, 2186
1627 hours.
Cerberus Military Barracks, Omega Apex, Dyuko District, Omega.
Second War for Omega.
Major Randall Ezno, Agent Kai Leng.
He turned the helmet around in his hands, fingers smoothing over the helmet of his Liberator armor. For eleven years of his life, this armor had as much a part of his physiology as his own skin. He had worn it when he was in the Corsairs, and he had taken it with him when he defected to Cerberus. He had repainted it at least four times, and there was enough dried blood, red to blue to green to white, marred on its surface to form a series of intricate patterns along the chest, helmet and legs. He never washed it off...it was a reminder of the lives he had taken to get to where he was. Some would call them trophies: he called them sentiments. Fragments of his past.
He turned the helmet until the visor was facing him, Randall Ezno looking down into it like was looking into somebody's eyes. He almost wished for a response, like he wanted the helmet to talk to him, tell him what to do. Instead, he got silence, his tinted visor looking back up at him, representing what he already knew: an empty carapace waiting for him to gift it with his wearing of it. A material designed for protecting him and nothing more. Not a person.
Not a person.
As he sat on one of the crates in the barracks, looming over his armor, he began to think of his purpose and existence. He was a soldier, through and through. He practically bled the same white and gold color that Cerberus used to represent themselves. He was a firm believer in what the Illusive Man stood for, and he would willingly die for him if it meant he was defending humanity. For him, there simply wasn't a difference. So when he was enlisted as a manhunter, with the sole purpose of hunting down those the Illusive Man viewed as useful and capturing them, he didn't hesitate to answer his call. He was his servant. Humanity's servant.
Sure, he wasn't Leng. He didn't bark every time the Illusive Man told him too. Randall had disagreements with the Illusive Man, but unlike men like Jacob Taylor, he kept it to himself and got on with the mission. Because no matter how much he disagreed with him, he was still their leader and knew what was best for all of them. That's what seperated him from men like Leng and Taylor. He wasn't some mindless attack dog. He wasn't a rabid animal who's only goal was to kill those he didn't agree with like Leng did: he was a sadistic scumbag. Randall was anything but that: he questioned, he listened and he did. He didn't have the luxury of extended conversation or debate, and he certainly didn't have the time to question the Illusive Man's every move, especially when humanity's survival depended on listening to him. Taylor may have come from the same breed as Ezno, but they were entirely different people when it came to their modus operandi.
And now Taylor was dead, and Randall wasn't. Goes to show who prevails in the end.
Just like always, that brought his thoughts to Shepard. A man he despised.
Everything about the man irritated him. His hatred of Cerberus and their ideals. His utter contempt for their goals and intentions. The lack of respect towards the Illusive Man in general. Shepard had outwardly gone out of his way to make hell for Cerberus, ranging from disclosing the location of important Cerberus facilities to countering every Cerberus attempt to stop the Reapers. Where he saw an enemy to be destroyed, the Illusive Man saw one to be controlled and dominated: it was difficult to see Shepard as the good guy here.
Everything they did was preservation. When Cerberus landed on Eden Prime, it was to prepare the planet for the inevitable Reaper invasion. When they invaded the Citadel, it was to remove the weak leadership of the Council and replace it with an all-human Council that would properly lead the galaxy in fighting back the Reaper threat. Even now, as the UGC invades Omega, with Shepard in command...Petrovsky was the only man to give Omega exactly what a proper state needs: security, justice, freedom, welfare and order. Without those five things, Omega was just a shithole: Petrovsky was changing it for the better.
And then Shepard just had to 'liberate' Eden Prime, leaving it vulnerable to Reaper invasion. To 'save' the Citadel, allowing the weak Council to continue their entirely impudent rule. And now, they were going to 'reclaim' Omega, perhaps ensuing the worst insult of them all: to replace a fair and just ruler with a ruthless, reckless and chaotic bitch of a woman. How Shepard could sleep knowing what he was trying to do to Omega was beyond him, but Randall knew it was within his power to stop him.
Shepard was indoctrinated, that much had to be obvious. Why else would he do everything in his power to stop Cerberus, the one organization actually trying to stop the Reapers through unconventional means? While the UGC fumbled around with their Crucible, seeking to use it for malevolent purposes, Cerberus saw a future: one filled with control of the Reapers, one where the Reapers served humanity and the galaxy for the greater good, and not for their extinction.
Shepard was no good guy. He was not the man of the hour. He was a monster. And worst of all, he was indoctrinated. Randall was sure of it.
If I have to put him down, I will. His continued destructive behaviour will only doom us all. He must be stopped. If I have to help a man like Leng achieve that goal, so be it. I can live with it. I've lived with many other deaths, Shepard will just be another addition.
Shepard was an honourable man once, but perhaps Project Lazarus had changed him in ways the Illusive Man couldn't begin to comprehend. Now he was selfish, self-destructive and a force of nature with negative connotations: his path of destruction and the piles of the dead he left behind him only cemented this belief.
Shepard had to die. It was that simple. Cerberus was through with Shepard, and Shepard was through with them. To describe it as anything else was folly.
He gently leaned over, now wearing the undersuit of his armor from neck to toe, and picked up the chestplate of his Liberator armor. He fitted each piece onto his body with careful moderation, making sure to check every seal, every piece of hardware and the very integrity of it all. As he locked his helmet over his head and booted up the HUD, he checked his vitals, ammo, motion tracker, omni-tool readings, biotic implant readings and more. Confident that everything was linked up to his armor and was in perfect working order, he fitted on the rest of his armor, finishing with his gauntlets. Looking down on them, he clenched and unclenched his fists, feeling them creak with each flex. This armor had seen a lot of action and many battles. It was by no means state-of-the-art, but Randall would never replace it. It held a special place within him. No matter what happened, he would never get rid of it: he would only modify and upgrade it.
Suddenly, he felt a growing pain in his chest. It was subtle at first, but grew in intensity. It felt like his gut was being crushed under a massive chest, almost as if the muscles within were tightening and untightening at a rapid enough pace to be excruciatingly painful.
He winced, biting down on his lip as he waited for the moment to pass, both fists clenching with a loud creak and an audible strain. These muscle spasms were something Randall encountered often, and they almost never happened consistently: there would sometimes be weeks of inactivity before a spasm, and other times mere hours. They left as quick as they arrived, but left Randall in immense pain for a short period. While muscle spasms were a natural phenomenon in all humans, these were made more persistent and agonizing due to his cybernetics which, unlike with Leng, hadn't reacted well to his physiology. While they initially rejected his body and his body rejected them, they both eventually worked in tandem...at the cost of the muscle spasms.
After a minute or two (he lost count), the spasm wore off, muscles untightening as they relaxed and his fists unclenched. The gauntlets practically sighed as the stress placed upon them was immediately lifted, with Randall sweating slightly from having to endure it for so long. He took a deep breath, remaining silent and doing his best to not draw attention to himself.
That was the longest spasm yet. They're definitely getting worse. I'll have to see a doctor at some point to get my cybernetic implants checked out, see if they're malfunctioning or if my body is rejecting them again.
Either way, with the pain gone and his armor fitted on, he reached out to his omni-tool and slipped it on, activating it and quickly bringing his kinetic barriers online, Randall watching on his HUD as an additional bar across the top rapidly filled up. Before he could reach down and pick up his rifle, a grating, smug voice interrupted his thoughts, approaching from his immediate left.
"We should have received orders to move already," Leng complained, Randall continuing to look at his omni-tool as the Cerberus assassin began his rant, "While we wait, Shepard continues to advance. I say we take a company of troops, intercept and kill him. Finish him off, once and for all."
And there was a man Randall hated more than most. He wasn't a man to dish out prejudices without rational thinking. For instance, he didn't hate quarians or krogan or geth or any of the other Citadel races, they were just his enemy. He didn't hate groups that support peace and cooperation with them. He was no xenophobe by any stretch. He may have despised Shepard's current actions, but he held no real malice towards the man: they were both doing what they thought was right, and it was just inconvenient that what they thought was right meant killing the other.
For former Captain Kai Leng, Randall made an exception. It was this man that Randall chose to hate.
There was a multitude of reasons for why. The man was impossible to work with: a lone wolf by nature, an imbecile when it came to tactics and an inept leader: he was everything Shepard wasn't, and everything Randall found irredeemable. Randall was, unofficially, Leng's field commander, despite Leng technically operating under the Illusive Man's beck-and-call: after all, he was an assassin, and Randall was a manhunter: two entirely different goals. One assassinated, the other captured. One was adept at killing, the other was adept at withholding the urge to kill. They were entirely different fields working together towards one goal.
Leng was just especially hard to work with: rash, reckless, prone to anger, violently hateful and xenophobic, sadistic, a quick decision maker, desperate to please and impress the Illusive Man and loyal to the point of being a kissass: when Randall said he 'followed orders to the letter while silently questioning them', he was beginning to believe it was impossible for Leng to question anything he was told by the Illusive Man did: it was half the reason everyone in Cerberus called him the 'living embodiment of Cerberus', as well as, more pejoratively by Cerberus and its enemies, the Illusive Man's attack dog.
Leng also had the potential to be an incredibly intelligent special forces operative, but squandered it. Randall had done his research on Leng: the man had a disturbing past, but one that demonstrated the potential for Leng to be a deadly warrior. He joined the Systems Alliance Marine Corps on November 14, 2172 when he was 16, although he had faked his credentials at the time (military enlistment age for the Alliance was 18). He was, at some point, assigned to a patrol and reconnaissance mission in the Terminus Systems within the same year, where he racked up 37 confirmed kills on batarian slavers, and participated in sixteen seperate raids on slaver outposts.
He was promoted to Sergeant in 2173, and was given command of a patrol and reconnaissance mission into the Exodus cluster. There, he and his men intercepted and stopped a batarian slaver ship, the BRS Blessed. The Alliance discovered the ship belonged to the batarian Slaver Corps, confirming the existence of the Hegemony's secret navy program, but were forced to cover it up when it was discovered, and latter admitted, by Sergeant Leng that he had torn medals from the bodies of dead soldiers and kept them as trophies, going as far as to keep an eyeball cut from a dead batarian corpse to hang around his neck. However, in light of his exemplary service record, the Alliance brass simply demoted him to Corporal and reassigned him to Entiyon, where he would remain until 2174, when batarian slavers, using hired Blood Pack mercenaries, attacked the colony in an attempt to enslave them.
Leng, wasting no time, left his squad behind and engaged the mercenaries alone, single-handedly slaughtering them all, before taking one of their shuttles, loading it full of explosives, and then flying it directly into the batarian slaver ship in orbit. Afterwards, he boarded the ship, killed the crew, and then flew the ship into a nearby moon, destroying it. While the Alliance military found his actions reckless and irresponsible, as well as needlessly endangering the lives of civilians on Entiyon's surface, public opinion of Leng after the incident pressured them to reward Leng: as a result, he was given the Medal of Valor for actions committed 'beyond the call of duty' the Raid on Entiyon. For two years, Leng was a hero, and he was subsequently promoted to Lieutenant. In the same year, he was offered a place at the Interplanetary Combatives Academy, specifically as part of the N Special Forces Program. Leng accepted.
In 2175, Leng, now an N5, was attached to a unit of fellow N5s deploying with two N7s as part of a training exercise: these two N7s, Captain Alec Ryder and First Lieutenant Susan Rizzi, took the group on a classified mission into the Kite's Nest, with the directive to neutralize a batarian weapons manufacturing facility located by the SIA. The operation, codenamed Operation: BUZZARD, was done in top secret. Out of the eight N5s deployed, two were injured and one killed by a sticky grenade. Leng racked up eighteen confirmed kills, more than any of the other N5s present. However, Leng was caught by Ryder torturing a batarian officer. When confronted about it, Leng apparently showed 'no remorse, but plenty of glee' at his actions. The facility was destroyed, but Ryder advised against Leng becoming N6, arguing for a dishonorable discharge from the N program. Whilst considered, this suggestion was disregarded after Ryder was found to have illegally experimented with AI and was himself dishonorably discharged. Rizzi, who had not been told of Leng's actions during the raid, was asked to testify: she supported Leng's promotion, and was promoted to N6. After six more similar deployments, he was given full N7 status in 2176.
Then the batarians attacked Elysium, and the Lion had his hour. With Shepard now the Alliance's new champion, they had no reason to defend Leng any longer. Leng was given fewer missions, and after a reckless rampage during the Battle of the Dhopris System in the Skyllian Blitz where he massacred forty-two batarian soldiers (although eye witness accounts claimed they were unarmed and had surrendered), he was reassigned as a military attache' to the Citadel, temporarily replacing Ryder until another N7 could replace him.
The final straw occurred in May, 2177. Angry and bitter, Leng murdered the krogan ambassador to the Citadel in cold blood, who had been there to discuss land rights with the Council. Hiding his corpse, Leng was then confronted by his commanding officer, who he then decapitated and hid in his apartment's bathroom, later claiming during his trial that he was 'threatening to ruin his career.' While drunk, he later kidnapped and raped an asari working for the Consort, before slitting her throat and dumping her in the Presidium lake. Leng, before he could carry out his plan to assassinate Ambassador Anita Goyle (the human ambassador to the Citadel prior to Udina), followed by the Council, C-Sec finally caught on to his actions and confronted him. When he resisted arrest, a Special Response Unit was called in. When this too failed, the Alliance discreetly deployed Susan Rizzi.
Due to miscommunication from within, the Council dispatched a Spectre to arrest Leng, and both the spectre and Rizzi worked together to eventually pacify Leng and arrest him. The entire incident looked bad on the Alliance's reputation, and they were willing to do anything to get rid of Leng. Backroom talks were held and, for whatever reason, the Council and the Alliance agreed to let the event slide, with the provision that the Alliance publically disavow Leng, label him as a traitor and terrorist, strip him of his ranks and titles, dishonorably discharge him and have him court-marshalled and given a life sentence: all of these were met, with even Admiral Garrong himself disavowing Leng.
And now here he was. The Illusive Man had taken notice of Leng's actions, and had been impressed: not by his obvious xenophobic attitude, but by the fact that Leng had taken down a krogan with nothing but a knife, managed to neutralize a C-Sec tactical squad by himself and that his actions were enough that it took a spectre and an N7 working together to stop him. All of these convinced the Illusive Man that Leng was the man he needed, and Cerberus broke him out of prison, later recruiting him into their ranks.
Looking at him now, Randall could tell that Leng was both the same man he was now, and completely different at the same time. The man was now packed with cybernetics, much like Randall himself, courtesy of Cerberus. His eyes were covered by two black plates, he wore black light armor, wielded a sword as his primary weapon of choice, and had all the features and capabilities of a Cerberus phantom, just with special forces experience as well as command of his own personal squad of elite phantoms he had handpicked himself.
Randall couldn't believe this creature, this Leng, was the same person whose service record he read. Sure, he was hardly a saint then, but he was at least smart about it back then: nowadays, with the Illusive Man practically giving him the leeway to do as he wants, Leng was more ruthless than ever. He was hardly cunning, but to say that, and then call him stupid and reckless, was a tautology: one Randall knew Leng was no stranger to.
He finally turned to Leng, turning off his omni-tool and standing up, holstering his rifle as he did, "You heard Captain Banes. We will move when ordered to by Petrovsky. Not before and not after the fact. You'd be smart to use this time wisely."
Leng scoffed, whipping out his specialized ninjato, slashing it through the air in wide arcs, relishing in the whooshing sound it made as it swiped through the air, slicing up a target that wasn't there. Sheathing it, he turned to Randall and ran a hand through his raven black hair, curling it back behind his ears, "And how do you suggest we use this time, Ezno? We are stuck here until Petrovsky has the balls to commit us. That could take days, perhaps weeks. What we need to do is go on the offensive. Fight fire with fire. If we can take Shepard off balance and strike pre-emptively, we can push them back."
Randall nodded, "I couldn't agree more. No doubt the General sees it your way as well, Leng. But we will not make any sort of move like that until we're ordered to. So stay put and await orders."
A grin almost graced the assassin's lips, tugging at the corners, "Such a yes man you are, Ezno. Waiting for orders like a good little dog."
Randall just shook his head in mild amusement, picking up his Talon heavy pistol and holstering it at his hip, "I hope you mean that unironically, Leng. We both know you would do anything to please the Illusive Man. Hardly a fault, but not something to gloat over. You are as much subject to the command chain as I am. So please, if you must insult, think smarter and be better or stick to your sword and leave the witty remarks to me."
That seemed to strike a cord within Leng, which Randall found was all too easy to accomplish, "Watch those lips carefully, Ezno. I might just give you a permanent smile."
Randall didn't give Leng the satisfaction of an answer or reaction, simply turning his back to the assassin, pretending he wasn't there as he called out to a nearby centurion guarding the doorway opposite the room, "You, Captain. Come over here."
The centurion did not hesitate as he approached Randall at a hurried pace, quickly arriving and offering a sharp salute. He spoke, voice electronic and of a deep monotone, the same one all Cerberus soldiers who bore the SPARTAN armor seemed to have, "My men are awaiting your orders, sir. B Company stands at your behest."
Randall nodded, "That's excellent. I want you and your men to form up in the middle of this room right now. We might get our orders at any moment, and I want to be ready to move as soon as we get them. Get to it, centurion."
"Yes sir!" the commander replied, turning almost robotically as he shouted orders of his comm, getting his company formed up in the middle of the barracks.
He turned to see Leng typing at his omni-tool. Randall chose to ignore his actions, simply bringing up his omni-tool to make sure all settings and programs were ready to be used at a moment's notice. He didn't even turn when he heard B company file into the training room, eighty or so men setting up in a typical box formation, perfect lines and weapons holstered on their backs, standing rigidly straight like any other Alliance marine had been drilled to do. None of this was acknowledged as he focused on preparing himself for the upcoming mission.
Then it finally came. Orders.
Randall's omni-tool began to beep as he was hailed by Petrovsky over a secure comm link. The major didn't hesitate in responding to the General's call, immediately answering it as Petrovsky's voice came over the loud speaker, "Major Ezno, these are your orders. Take B Company and proceed to the Zeta District to assist E Company. They are currently pinned fighting Shepard and his men, but are managing to hold. Further reinforcement may be necessary to maintain this. Hold them there until further orders. I will also be directing the 5th and 22nd Mechanized Infantry Battalions to that location to hit them in the rear, but they will not arrive for sometime: it is up to you to hold the line, gentleman."
Randall nodded, glad to finally have orders, "Understood, General. We will stop Shepard."
"Excellent. You have your orders. Petrovsky out."
Randall switched off his omni-tool, nodding to Leng. The assassin, answering with nothing but a smirk, quickly leapt off the box he had been crouched on and followed Randall as they made their way to the front of the room. The entirety of B Company was assembled: assault troopers, centurions, guardians, combat engineers, nemesi, dragoons, phantoms...they even had an Atlas with them, although that was waiting outside. Randall turned to the centurion normally in command of the company, nodding to him, "We will be leaving the Atlas behind: we need mobility, and that mech will only slow us down. The rest of your men will follow behind us. Our orders are to link up with E Company in the Rubicon quadrant to help them repel Shepard and his men," with that said, he reached behind his back and drew his rifle, tinting his visor with a simple command on his omni-tool, "Move out! We are oscar mike, troopers!"
Once outside, Randall kicked off into a light jog. Leng was beside him, sword sheathed on his back and currently wielding no weapon, simply keeping up pace with Randall. The rest of the company formed up behind them, centurion commander in the lead, also jogging at a light pace. They jogged past the Atlas attached to B Company, currently sitting in a fetal position with its cockpit open and the mech itself inactive, its pilot given a rifle and assigned as the usual assault trooper. They would have taken a kodiak shuttle, but the amount required would have forced Farland to redirect some from his quadrant to help fight the UGC, but he currently needed them for Operation: Darksword. So, as it was, they were forced to jog. And what a long jog it would be.
Their journey was punctuated by long sweeping streets, flights upon flight of stairs, numerous corners and even a cargo elevator. Overall, just leaving the Dyuko District took a long time, but they eventually managed it: entering the Pefashi district, Randall and his company had officially arrived in the Rubicon quadrant. It was simply a two kilometer jog through a couple of narrow streets to the Zeta District, luckily approaching from behind E Company, and not from in front: otherwise, they would be forced to fight Shepard in the open, and everyone in Cerberus knew that was a disaster waiting to happen.
Randall quickly ordered two squads to be sent in ahead of the main group, sweeping the area for hostiles and making sure they weren't ambushed. With reports of UGC forces coming from all over the Zeta and Felmuk districts, he didn't want to run the risk of running into them blindly. As such, with two squads moving ahead of them and the rest of the company behind, they would be able to deal with an ambush from any of the two directions.
But even then, Randall couldn't shake off the feeling that they were being trailed and watched.
Unable to get rid of it, he stopped in his tracks, holding up a fist and shouting for them to halt.
They did as ordered and without question. Leng, however, did so more vocally. He turned on Randall, frowning at him in irritation, "We are nowhere near Zeta, Ezno. We must keep moving or E Company will be overwhelmed."
Oh please...you only want to kill Shepard, that's all you're interested in.
He shook his head, raising his rifle, "Something isn't right. We're being watched."
Leng took that more seriously, beginning to look around himself. After a few more moments of silence however, he turned to Randall, a sneer on his lips, "There's nothing here, Ezno. I think you're losing it. Not surprising for an old man such as yourself."
"Silence," he hissed, turning away from the assassin and scanning the nearby houses and apartment buildings for any sign of movement. He found none: not a single barrel or laser sight, not even a flicker of movement or the sound of communications or orders being whispered. After a moment, he lowered his rifle and turned back to Leng, ready to order the company forward again.
But Randall had made the mistake of not checking the rooftops.
Like a crack of lightning, a round smashed into the side of the centurion commander's helmet, blood spraying over Randall's visor and obscuring his vision before he heard the body slump to the ground. He rose a gauntlet to wipe the blood away, hearing gunfire erupt from all corners of the street as battle began in earnest. Another crack, and Randall instinctively ducked, only for the telltale sound of an energy field being formed to block the round, likely Leng protecting himself.
With the last of the blood coating his visor wiped away, he stood up, noticing that six other assault troopers had fallen, with one nemesi riddled with bullets and dying, while a combat engineer rolled over the ground, most of his left leg shredded and outright missing.
"Form up!" Randall spat, raising his rifle, "Form up on me!"
Leng repeated the orders, still holding up his barrier and repelling any rounds coming his way.
His company did as ordered, with a few more falling dead before they were able to do so.
Then he heard it. A roar of anger that made up a war cry.
From both sides of the street, they descended: humans, turians, salarians, batarians, asari and krogan: all dressed, head to toe, in full body armor, their own visors tinted but yelling all the same. They rapelled down the sides of the buildings, ropes flung from the side and lowered to the ground, tightened at the top by the snipers supporting them. The krogan, knowing the rope wouldn't support their weight, simply jumped from the rooftops, landing with a crash and a roar of vehemence. The soldiers repelling down held their assault rifles and SMGs in one hand, pouring fire into the enemy company as they descended, their aim either precise or a sort of 'spray and pray' movement. Either way, as they descended from sides of the street, his men found themselves only able to fire back.
Randall quickly took command, dispatching his guardians to the flank, four to each side, to block the incoming fire: he had the dragoons using their biotics to take out as many of the rappellers as possible, while he set the nemesi to work combating the enemy sharpshooters. The rest took cover behind the guardians and returned fire.
This new tactic worked, but to minimal effect. They managed to kill one or two of the soldiers before they touched the ground, bodies falling from the rope and landing with a thud. The nemesi were far more effective however, with sniper after sniper falling to the timed and precise shots of his own, who were equipped with cloaks while theirs weren't. His dragoons, rolling with biotic energy, tossed those who made ground around like ragdolls, using an array of warps, biotic whips and pulls to wreak havoc, managing to kill half a dozen before they made contact. But the soldiers had biotics of their own, and pretty quickly, two of his dragoons, along with several of his troopers, were lifted into the air by a singularity, before unceremoniously being vaporized as a warp impacted it, causing it to explode and kill those caught in its gravity well.
Randall knew it was too late to stop the enemy soldiers from reaching their lines, and he quickly ordered his men to set up a picket line to gun down the advancing troopers. Still, B company had taken quite a few casualties, including their commanding officer, which wasn't a good start.
One turian closed in, yelling as he charged with his shotgun, blasting round after round into an assault trooper opposite him, blowing chunks off the trooper before finally embedding a slug into his face, killing him. That turian was the first to breach their line, but his victory was short lived as Leng emerged from cloak, impaling his sword up to the hilt through the turian's chest, piercing his heart and killing him instantly. The turian's mandibles creased into an 'O' expression before Leng, without a modicum of respect for his foe, kicked the turian's corpse off his blade, now covered in blue blood. Leng grinned wickedly at Randall before activating his cloak again, dashing off towards the approaching soldiers, two phantoms at his flank.
Randall quickly approached the dead turian, kneeling down and flipping his corpse over, hoping to get fresh ammo off of him. What he found was the familiar mark of an insignia, one he recognized almost immediately. It was painted, with a red T standing in the middle of a white circle. The 'T' however was double-pronged, with one extra horizontal line below it, while another line hovered above it. The logo was one that had plagued Cerberus for months on end.
Not UGC. These are Talons. Possibly coordinating with the UGC assault or simply taking advantage of the situation?
Either way, it confirmed this ambush was of Talon construction, not UGC. That was good.
Means the UGC haven't caught on to what we're up to.
Taking what he needed, he stood up and quickly inspected their picket line: it was holding firm, with the number of casualties shortening significantly. One of his nemesi were dead, likely from a retaliating sniper shot, but the remaining six were holding firm and had dispatched the rest of the enemy on the rooftops. All that was left was the ones on the ground.
Taking aim with his rifle, he fired into a charging krogan, the fury in his eyes clearing showing he was in a blood rage. Like any krogan afflicted with his temporarily blood lust, the krogan barely flinched as the harrier rounds struck him head on, his shields flickering as a hail of gunfire tore into him. Bloodied and battered, he still persisted, eventually reaching their line.
He bashed into one guardian, roaring angrily. Grabbing the top, he yanked it from the guardian's fingers, before roughly bringing it back and using it to bash the guardian. The guardian in question fell to the side, firing into the krogan's side with his pistol. Orange blood spurted from his gut, but this only made the Talon angrier, and he quickly set to brutally smashing the guardian's face in with the shield, painting the tip with brains and viscera.
The rest of the guardians, with help from the troopers behind them, emptied everything they had into the krogan, finally putting him down as his regenerative abilities were overwhelmed. He collapsed to the ground, this time laughing as he coughed up his blood. Randall frowned, realizing too late the krogan had primed a grenade on his hip. Reaching down he grabbed the guardian's shield, falling backwards onto the ground and holding the shield tight to his chest as the grenade detonated.
Saved from the blast, Randall tossed the bloodied shield away and stood up, noting the remains of eight assault troopers, another centurion and a second guardian. With their line breaking, Randall ordered six more guardians to the front, hoping to hold the rest of the Talon assault off. After all, they would run out of men eventually.
The staccato beats of dozens of rifles, shotguns, SMGs, pistols and sniper rifles went off, accentuated by the ocassional thump of a M-100 Spiculum grenade launcher or screech of a M-560 Hydra missile launcher. One by one, Talon bodies hit the ground, torn to shreds by the combined Cerberus firepower. What had started off as a successful ambush quickly degenerated into a slaughter, with the Talon forces beginning to waver. More Cerberus soldiers fell, but their casualties were nowhere near as great as they had started out. Blood pulled along the ground, explosions littered the landscape...the battle waged on.
His own rifle joined the symphony, picking out targets and scoring headshot after headshot, making sure to conserve his ammo and making every last bullet count. Slowly, but steadily, they were winning: the Talons would soon be forced to withdraw or risk a suicidal last attempt to kill as many Cerberus troopers as possible. Either way, Randall's B company would be the victor.
Leng appeared before three Talon rebels, one of them human and two others being salarians, one of the latter dragging away the body of his injured turian comrade, who gripped what was left of his shoulder, now reduced to a bloody stump. The four of them beat feet, steadily retreating as they fired upon their Cerberus enemies. Leng's sudden appearance from cloak caused them to immediately turn to attack their new target, two shotguns and an asssault rifle immediately firing into the assassin, followed quickly by the injured Talon's pistol joining the attack.
Leng simply raised one hand, activating his augmented palm-based kinetic barrier and deflecting the shots with calm ease. Waiting for them to reload, Leng then dropped his shield and charged. The human dropped his rifle and activated his omni-blade, but was too late as Leng descended upon him, slashing downwards with his blade. The sword cleanly decapitated the human, his head rolling along the ground with a thud. Kicking the body aside, Leng immediately turned and kicked the raised shotgun of one of the salarians away from him, using his momentum to drive his ninjato through the salarian's right eye and out the other side. He immediately ceased moving, shotgun dropping from his hands. A shotgun blast slammed into Leng's shields, causing the assassin to stagger back for a moment, before regaining his balance and yanking the sword from the salarian's skull, causing his corpse to simply drop. The turian opened fire with his pistol as well, and together they managed to down Leng's barriers.
The assassin was faster however, spinning and raising his augment barrier with one hand, while using his other to key an omni-tool overload. The combined attack caused their weapons to jam up, as well as draining their barriers. Angry, Leng charged forward, ducking under the desperate pistol whip of the salarian, lashing out with his sword and slashing the salarian's stomach. Even amongst all that armor, the sword pierced through like it was nothing, causing the salarian to cough and sputter, green blood erupting from his lips in driplets. His entrails spilled from his gut, and he fell forward, holding onto his intestines as he died painfully and slowly. Nobody to hold him up, the injured turian fell to the ground, rolling over to empty his entire clip into Leng's body.
By this time, the assassin's barriers had recharged, and the shots were merely absorbed. Turning to the wounded turian, he raised his sword one final time and slammed it into the turian's face, impaling him through the mouth. Choking sounds were heard, followed by twitching of the limbs, the turian dropping his weapon. And finally, after a moment, all movement ceased: satisfied, Leng removed his sword, wiping the mixture of red, blue and green blood onto the dead Talon's armor, before recloaking and moving off to kill more of the rebels, grinning to himself the whole time.
Randall just rolled his eyes, pouring fire into another charging Talon, this one an asari, and putting her down, signalling his combat engineers to set up sentry guns. He ducked, reloading his rifle with a quick slap and snap, before darting back up, taking aim and opening fire again, becoming one with the repetitious beat of death and lead.
The Talons were withering, and it wouldn't be long before they retreated. Well over a dozen were killed by this point, while the Cerberus casualties were only getting lighter and lighter now that they were organized and fighting back. Instead of pushing forward, the Talons were falling back, dragging whatever wounded comrades they could with them, all while Leng and his phantoms outflanked and killed them from within, ensuring that there was no survivors.
A ruthless, and methodical, butchery.
Then, suddenly, the combat engineer on his right, crouching and using his omni-tool to set up his sentry gun, was suddenly wrapped in a biotic aura, pulling him forward and away from the gun he was setting up. Randall frowned, looking up to watch as the engineer was then dropped, flopping and rolling across the ground like a fish out of water. Before he could stand up, a turian in nothing but a robe and a hood appeared, roughly wrapping their hands around his head and snapping it, before spinning around, reaching out with her hand. It glowed with biotic fury, and the warp that lashed out quickly dealt with the turret his engineer had been setting up.
He turned with his rifle, ordering three troopers to assist him, and opened fire on him. He caught on quickly, using the same hand to raise a biotic barrier, doing so with a mere flick of the wrist. Their shots pinged harmlessly off of it, and he raised his own pistol to deal three, quick headshots that killed Randall's trio immediately. The turian stalked forward, hooded eyes fixed entirely on Randall now.
He fired a few more rounds, but quickly realized it was futile effort. He reached down to his belt to grab a grenade, but found himself knocked to the ground instantly as he was biotically pushed away. He quickly attempted to regain his balance, finding the turian ontop of him in an instant. He lowered his pistol at him, but Randall was faster, knocking aside the weapon with a slap and darting out with a kick to one of his legs.
The turian staggered, giving Randall enough time to leap to his feet, dropping his rifle. Unarmed and without enough time to draw his pistol, he assumed a martial arts posture, hands raised in tight fists and eyes fixed entirely on the turian before him.
The turian seemed merely annoyed at the kick, quickly recovering and turning to the Cerberus operative before him. A slight click of the mandibles was heard over the gunfire of his men, Randall filtering the rest of the battle out as he focused on his one Talon merc. He too was focused entirely on him. Seeing his raised hands, the turian took that as a challenge, holstering their own pistol.
This surprised Randall. Foolish, but brave. I have cybernetics, he doesn't. This fight will inevitably turn in my favour.
The turian raised their own fists, doing so without a word and in complete silence. Not so much as a grunt, laugh or growl. Just silently waiting, seeing what he'd do.
Randall made the first move, launching a series of fake strikes at his face. The turian strafed them, responding with an uppercut. Randall saw that coming however, tucking his belly inwards as he moved back. Once the turian had pulled his arm back, he moved back in with his own, incredibly fast strike to the chest. The turian, unable to counter the move, was struck head on. Winded, Randall took the chance to deliver one quick blow to the head. The turian was ready however and, despite being winded, quickly parried the blow, before delivering one of his own to Randall's face, impacting the area around his left eye.
Pain flashed up around Randall's eye, lashing out with a quick roundhouse punch. The turian ducked under this, dealing three quick punches to the belly, before crouching, spinning and sweeping at his legs, attempting to footsweep him.
He wasn't having it. Despite the three rapid punches, he mustered the energy to see past the pain and simply jumped over the footsweep. Vulnerable and exposed, he was able to raise a foot and kick the turian in the back of the head. He was thrown back onto the ground, the Talon only managing to forestall their fall by reaching out with their hands at the last minute and stopping their collapse.
Quicker than any normal human, Randall reached out and grabbed him by the robe, pulling him up and off the ground, before twisting around, raising him up into the air in one arm and roughly slamming them back into the deck with a loud bang. The turian cried out in pain, arm pinned between their body and the ground. It didn't break anything however, allowing the turian to roll away as Randall delivered what should have been a crushing blow to the head, his fist instead impacting the ground, causing pain to flare up his entire arm before his cybernetics could compensate.
He winced, pulling his arm back, looking up to see the turian leaping to their feet, toes raising him up. However, in that one movement, the turian's hood had flung back, revealing his face...
...Randall was surprised to find the turian was female, a large red marking down the center of her face as her colonial facepaint.
Well...what a surprise.
"Nyreen Kandros," he spoke, lips creased, "Does the Talon general usually risk themselves in battle like this?"
The turian was quick to respond, cocking her head in amusement, "Real generals do, I guess. I don't believe we've met. You're not like the other Cerberus soldiers I've fought. Most die very quickly...guess those augmentations don't mean much."
Randall smiled, "They don't: it's what you do with them that matters. I am Major Randall Ezno, armourer aboard the Deliverance."
Nyreen's eyes glowed blue, followed quickly by the rest of her body, "Well, Randall Ezno...I would politely ask you to get off this station. These people are under my protection."
Randall shook his head, "They are under Petrovsky's protection...from you. You are not the hero here, Miss Kandros. You cannot win."
He saw the biotic blast coming. He quickly rolled to his right, dodging the torrent of dark energy that cascaded past him. A cold wave washed over him briefly as he avoided, Randall quickly arriving on his feet and ready to fight the turian once more.
She leapt into the air, biotic energy formed in her fist. Randall watched as she descended, her fist becoming a glowing, dark energy gauntlet as she descended on him. Normally, she would have been too quick for anybody to counter: in the seconds it took for her to launch up and descend, a normal soldier would be dead before they could even look up.
But he wasn't a normal soldier.
His hand snapped up, grabbing the arm with the biotic fist in a tight vice. The turian cried out in pain from his grasp, and he quickly yanked it downwards, forcing her to one knee unless her arm was broken. His face was stripped of emotion, Randall simply forcing her further and further down...
...only for biotic energy to be blasted into his face as her other arm summoned enough to blow him backwards. He almost cried out as his face numbed from the dark energy, shaking his head to clear his blurred vision of the obscurity. His hand remained latched onto Nyreen's however, his cybernetics allowing him to resist reflexes despite being staggered. This time, he did cry out when he felt something sharp penetrate the skin in his arm, penetrating deep. This caused him to finally let go, falling to one knee and looking down to see what had impacted him.
A jagged blade, turian in origin, was jammed in his arm up to the hilt. He quickly grabbed it and yanked it out, admiring the design of it. A reslius tarn blade. This is the standard issue blade given to all members of the turian military. She has experience. Interesting.
Blood spurted out from his arm, pooling across his arm and quickly drenching him. He quickly used his omni-tool to apply medi-gel to the wound, knowing that his regenerative abilities would quickly deal with the wound in earnest. Hearing the approach of Nyreen's footsteps, he turned the blade in his hand, holding it by the blade, before twisting and tossing it at her.
She was quick: he respected that. Biotics flared within seconds, a flick of a talon allowing her to swat the approaching blade aside. But in the time it took for her to focus on tossing aside the blade, he managed to charge at her, closing the distance too quickly for even her reflexes. His arms wrapped around her torso, using his momentum to lift her into the air before slamming her back into the ground.
He moved in, preparing to straddle her: doing so would allow his cybernetics to dominate her, making it impossible for her to escape. But Nyreen wasn't having it: she lashed out with two quick strikes to his face, followed by her peeling her legs back and slamming them into his chest: turian females had a kick like that of a kangaroo, and her taloned feet didn't make that any better: they cut into his armor, the force of her twin kick literally sending him flying back, landing half a meter away from her.
Right next to his rifle.
It's time to finish this.
Reaching out and grabbing the harrier by its grip, he rolled over, appearing in a crouch, rifle raised at Nyreen in an instant.
...she had also seen this coming, and she was waiting for him, her own pistol snapped out and ready. Her pistol was also turian build, a Pugio III heavy pistol. Built sometime after the Eden Prime War, the Pugio incorporated elements of the geth SMG's design, utilizing heavy firepower at a semi-automatic rate. It was deadly, packed a punch, and despite the recoil, could be deftly handled. And for someone like Nyreen, he had no doubt she was a crack shot.
So...it was a stand off. Both sides knew if they opened fire, they likely wouldn't survive it: both would die, neither would win. Besides...even if Nyreen chose to continue battling him in hand-to-hand, it was clear she couldn't win: he had more stamina, more pain resistance, more speed, strength...
The gunfire began to die down...it was then that Randall knew his men were mopping up the remainders of her men.
He nodded to her, "You best be leaving, Nyreen Kandros. The battle is nearly over, and your men are in retreat."
"Indeed," Nyreen narrowed her own eyes at him, finger twitching at the trigger of her pistol, "But how do I know you won't just shoot me in the back?"
"Let's see," Randall poised, lowering his rifle and holstering it. He quickly stood up, hands held up in a sign of trust. This confused Nyreen for a moment, before she quickly holstered her own pistol. Still confused as to why Randall hadn't fired yet, she began to back away, starting off in a slow walk before quickly speeding up. Eventually, she darted down the street towards the rooftop, Randall keeping his part of the deal and not lifting a single hand to stop her.
Petrovsky will have my head, but he'll understand. There will other chances to stop Nyreen Kandros. After all, she is not our priority anymore.
A few more moments passed before the Talons finally retreated, Nyreen likely having ordered a withdrawal. What few men were left, less than six, quickly followed their turian general back into an alleyway, dropping smoke grenades to ensure they wouldn't be immediately followed. And neither would they.
Leng appeared beside him, his sword still out and in his hand, soaked with blood, "I say we pursue them. Kill the rest of them."
"Negative," was Randall's reply, "They've been defeated. We push on to our objective. Unless of course...you're more interested in killing retreating rebels than Shepard?" The question was clearly aimed at the assassin, who seemed to pause for a moment to contemplate the order.
After a moment, his decision was made. Sheathing his sword, he turned to Randall and nodded, before breaking into a jog. Randall turned to what was left of his company...at least fifty or so men. Nodding to them, he motioned for them to move forward, unholstering his rifle once more as the group pressed on to E Company's position.
Nyreen Kandros will have her day. But it will not be today. Today, we stop Shepard.
He looked down at his left arm, feeling a dull warmth filling him up as the medi-gel acellerated his healing process. But he did not fail to remember what had created that wound in the first place.
...she was a formidable foe. She probably could have killed me if she wanted.
The thought finally made him smile.
{Loading...}
August 5, 2186
1636 hours.
Cockpit, Normandy-Class Stealth Frigate CAW Deliverance, Sahrabarik System, Omega Nebula.
Second War for Omega, Battle of Sahrabarik.
Captain Armistan Banes, Flight Lieutenant Elena Flores.
Banes, having now seen the carnage for himself, knew Petrovsky was right.
He stood in the cockpit of the Deliverance, hands clasped behind his back and looking over the battle. His pilot, Elena Flores, was at the helm, fingers pulling off some elaborate dance as they flicked gracefully across the orange screens before her, going through numerous status reports with the perfect simultaneous operation of the ship. She was no Jeff Moreau, but Elena Flores was handpicked by the Illusive Man because she was the best in Cerberus: an artist behind the controls, a lover of all things aircraft...she had been perfect in filling the role of his pilot. And with EVA's help, she was almost on par with the best pilot himself.
Elena suddenly made a blowing sound, Banes glancing at her to see her blowing a lock of hair that had fallen into her face. She blew at it again, finding it still refused to stop obstructing her vision. With an annoyed sigh, she moved a hand up and physically removed it and placed it behind one ear, her movement lethargic and irritated: almost as if the simple action had greatly inconvenienced her.
The Deliverance had only just left dock, moving upon Petrovsky's given objectives: their primary objective was to eliminate the Normandy once and for all, while reinforcing First Fleet and helping them push back the UGC fleet if possible was strictly a secondary objective: the General had been very clear on that much. As it was, he had ordered EVA and Chief Engineer Tyrone Rawlings to immediately engage the IES system, hiding them from the UGC's sensor arrays: not even the geth ships would find them.
The Deliverance's last confrontation with the Normandy was still stuck in the minds of the entire crew. During the Citadel Siege, the Deliverance had been deployed against them for the first time, although during that time, it was under the command of Kai Leng: how times changed. Regardless, Leng had been too cocky: he thought that having the same firepower and capabilities as the Normandy made them equal, but he had failed to take into account the symbiosis that existed between pilot and AI. While EVA and Elena worked fairly well together, EVA was a shackled AI: she was nowhere near as flexible as EDI. As a result, the Normandy's victory during that engagement was inevitable.
Banes tightened his jaw reflexively, narrowing his eyes. This time, we won't make the same mistake. We won't offer any surrender. We won't even give them time to fight back. By the time they know we're coming, they'll be close to destruction. And without the Normandy, Shepard is nothing. Just another man with a rifle.
The Deliverance quickly arrived around the other side of Omega, where the battle was taking place. It was then that Banes saw the full extent of the situation.
Despite the cannons giving the Fleet time to regroup and set up proper formations, they were still getting decimated. Backed against the station and with no room to maneveur, the UGC ships were running-and-gunning. The geth ships swept across the Cerberus forward lines, pounding them with hot plasma bolts, lighting up the area around with them with brillant purple and blue glows before making impact, Cerberus corvettes and frigates almost immediately bursting apart. The destroyers and cruisers were holding up much longer, but the rachni ships were making short work of them too, getting up close while decimating them with their own, powerful particle and laser weapons. The Elbrus was long since destroyed, along with the entirety of fleet's carriers. With no fighter coverage, the UGC fighter squadrons had free reign to harass and destroy enemy ships at their own free volition, with nothing but the ship's individual anti-fighter GARDIAN batteries to defend themselves.
It was very clear that no matter what the Deliverance did, it wouldn't be enough to save their naval forces.
But they still have to take the station. The war is far from over yet.
Without turning, he gave his first order of the battle, "Flank speed, Flores. Get us over there."
"Yes sir," Elena replied, immediately increasing the ship's speed to full military thrust, causing the ship to move at an exceedingly faster pace than it had been. Within moments, the battle that had seemed so far away was now right infront of them, the Deliverance steering clear of UGC cannon fire, MAC rounds, GARDIAN rockets/lasers and plasma being exchanged by both sides, a dance of light lighting up the space like a deathly disco. An explosion flashed to the right, a rachni cruiser slicing up a Cerberus heavy frigate, its heavy green beam cutting a long streak across the side of its hull. The wounded frigate's reactor quickly went critical, the resulting explosion rippling along its spine like a droplet in a puddle. The frigate burst apart like a watermelon, debris shooting in every direction. Elena swerved to starboard to avoid hitting the larger chunks, but a few pieces inevitably bounced off the ship's hull, doing no damage.
The IES must have been doing its job, as none of the UGC ships had locked onto them or taken any offensive action against them: a matter of fact, it was almost as if the Deliverance wasn't even there.
A geth battleship appeared directly ahead, its massive hulk gliding slowly across space, its dark frame almost blending in with the space around it so much as to look like a massive area where stars simply weren't present. Banes looked at the massive warship, observing its gigantic batteries as they rippled with energy, dishing out a constant stream of plasma bolts at its targets, decimating everything it fired at. It was just one of two of the colossal juggernauts, and Banes wondered whether First Fleet would have an easier time if it wasn't eliminated from the playing field...
...he decided it was worth a try, if only to dish out equal amounts of pain to the UGC in their one sided assault.
"EVA, deploy the main gun," Banes ordered, "Flores, give us a firing solution on that geth battleship. Let's flex our muscles. The Deliverance could do with some target practice."
"Understood, captain," EVA replied, following up his orders by deploying the thanix cannon. Flores quickly locked onto the ship's center mass, ensuring their shot would cause as much damage as possible.
"Target locked. Firing solution calculated, sir," Flores replied almost robotically, sighing heavily as she swiped away an empty holographic screen, causing it to evaporate, "EVA's deployed the cannon and its fully charged and ready."
"Fire," Banes stated flatly.
A hurricane of blue, cobalt light erupted from the Deliverance's bow like an angry tornado of molten metal, a blue lance spreading from the ship to instantly cross the thousands of kilometers between them and the battleship to connect with its hull, penetrating its kinetic barriers and punching into its heavily armoured side. Banes marvelled at the sight, finding himself shocked by the raw power unleashed from the thanix's hungry maw, the ship devouring armor and hull like a starved dog. It ate through it in seconds, piercing the battleship's outer side before finally dissipating. The lance evaporated, and EVA retracted the cannons to allow them to recharge. But the ship had done its work.
He heard Flores chuckle slightly as they watched the battleship begin to break up. What had been an unstoppable demolisher of firepower had been destroyed by a single shot to the center by a thanix cannon, explosions rippling along its side as it broke apart, entire sections detaching from the main bulk with enormous explosions. Flores gave the ship a wide berth, Banes thankful for it when he watched the battleship explode in a final, cascading blast, the ship's rear section floating away, the twisted and mangled bow continuing to tear itself apart with smaller blasts.
"We shall inform the Illusive Man that the Deliverance's thanix cannon was not a waste of investment money," Banes declared, smiling a little himself at the devastation caused by the single thanix blast. Imagine what we could do with an entire fleet equipped with these...the UGC would be helpless to stop us.
"That we shall, sir," Flores complimented, "Damn fine ship we have here. This cannon just makes it all the more worth while."
Banes, quickly moving on from their brief victory, turned to EVA's interface, "Run a scan, EVA. Find us the Normandy. No doubt we'll have at least gained their attention with our little show of power. They won't be able to resist meeting us in battle again."
"Running a scan now," EVA announced, "This could take several minutes, captain. If I find them, I will relay it to Miss Flores. However, it is likely the Normandy currently has their own IES engaged. Finding them will be extremely difficult."
Banes shook his head, "I don't care how long it takes or how you do it, EVA. We have our orders: destroy the Normandy. Now find me that goddamn ship. I don't want excuses, I want results."
A few more seconds, followed by a quick response, "Understood, captain."
Bloody AI thinks we give it intelligent and that gives it the right to talk back. Even shackled, it's a pain in my ass.
Several minutes passed as the battle progressed: it was quickly becoming evident that First Fleet wasn't going to make it. They were down to just over fifty ships at this point: most of them were cruisers that were already damaged, and the most powerful capital ship still active that he could find was the heavily damaged light cruiser CAW Green Tree, which was shown to be venting atmosphere on all decks including engineering and most of its weapon systems were either gone, disabled and unable to be deployed. Just seconds later, the Green Tree erupted into rapidly extinguished fire as it was finally destroyed by a quarian frigate. Outflanked on all sides and caught in a brutal crossfire, Banes decided to disregard their secondary objective as simply infeasible.
The Illusive Man will send reinforcements...he'll have to. He won't risk losing Omega, and he knows Petrovsky can't afford to allow them to have naval supremacy. He'll have to break their stranglehold or we'll inevitably lose the station.
With First Fleet doomed, the Deliverance was focused completely on locating its arch nemesis and sister ship. EVA's scans took some time...several minutes in fact. Banes was beginning to wonder if they would ever find the Normandy, but just when it seemed they wouldn't...
"Captain, I have found the Normandy," EVA declared, immediately grabbing Banes' attention, "They recently disengaged their IES system. It is unknown why, but it could be that they need to discharge excess heat from their central fusion plant. Heat signatures show that engines have slowed and they are holding in a stationary orbit behind the UGC ships, nearest the asteroid belt. Weapons are online, but their thanix is undeployed and GARDIANs are powered down."
Banes frowned, turning to look back at the battle. Why would the Normandy simply sit there? Sure, they need to discharge heat from their core or the IES will overheat their reactor, but they could still at least have some defenses in place: they're vulnerable just sitting there.
He inhaled, quickly coming to an epiphany. They know we're here. Our thanix attack must have alerted them. They want us to engage them in a one-on-one dogfight. A rematch.
Flores seemed to reach the same conclusion, "Mr. Moreau must want a rematch, sir. They want us to come out and meet them," there was a crack of knuckles, followed by a sigh, "Ah...at least I can do that. I've been itching for some payback for last time. Just give the word, sir."
Banes nodded, quickly turning back to address the holographic pawn that was the representation of EVA, "Is the thanix operational?"
"Negative," the AI replied, "It will require another full minute to recharge. Having our IES engaged simultaneously with the thanix firing caused a significant draw on our systems. Engineer Rawlings advises against doing it again until it is fully recharged. Doing so could cripple us as well as potentially overload the drive core."
Banes sighed, rubbing his forehead. He contemplated their next move, before finally nodding, crossing his arms, "Very well then. Flores, turn us around and bring us onto an intercept course with the Normandy. EVA, ready the Chimera batteries. Give us a firing solution once we're in range. Hit them where it'll hurt."
"Understood, captain," EVA replied.
"Gliding like a bird, sir," Flores declared, a smile across her face now that they were finally meeting the stealth frigate in combat once again.
The Deliverance and the Normandy, both unofficially classified as 'Normandy II-Class Heavy Stealth Frigates', had almost identical armaments, especially in regards to their Chimera autocannons. Known fully as the Chimera-class autocannon, the weapon was a ship-mounted assault gun designed to be used by fighters, interceptors, corvettes and frigates, and essentially any other aircraft with high speed and maneveurability. Always mounted on the bow due to its direct fire method, and more of a built-in heavy machine gun than a turret, the Chimera-class is of Alliance design, firing high velocity DU rounds that can rip through shields and melt armor.
And both the Deliverance and Normandy had six mounted on their bow, three on each side, aligned symmetrically in a triangle-like position. And unlike any of the ship's other weaponry, it required the least amount of power to utilize. Enough to buy them time for the thanix to fully recharge while giving Jeff Moreau the dogfight he so badly wanted.
It wasn't long before the Deliverance infiltrated the enemy fleet and made it past them, coming up on the Normandy. Shepard's frigate was waiting near a rather large asteroid, but was out in the open enough to be vulnerable. Just like EVA stated, the ship was completely stationary, the normally intense blue glow from its engines absent. The only defenses it had online was its kinetic barriers, the ship simply sitting there and waiting for them.
"Firing solution acquired, sir," Flores declared, cracking her neck this time by rolling it around slightly. She straightened her uniform, before sitting up in her chair slightly, hands reached out and ready to move at full flank speed when given the order, "Chimera-class batteries spinning and ready to fire. IES engaged and systems steady. Thanix at 82 percent charge."
Banes turned to EVA one final time, "Their sensors?"
The AI's response was just as quick, "They have not detected us."
With nothing else to be done or said, and Shepard's frigate simply sitting there, Banes gave a single, stern nod, "Bring us into stationary orbit. All batteries, fire."
Flores did as ordered, slowing their thrust until they were as unmoving as the Normandy, before tearing into them with their machine guns. Six, rapidly oscillating streams of deadly DU lead spat from the guns, their thunderous beat vibrating along the ship as they fired. Five bursts went off, followed by another three, all of them hitting the Normandy on her port side. Those rounds would be enough to at least drain the ship's shields, even with their cyclonic barriers active. Then, they could use the thanix on the ship, rendering its Silaris armouring useless.
The Normandy's shields flared as each burst made its impact, ripples appearing all over its port hull as it was hit multiple times. Banes smiled at the aftermath, patting the back of Flores' chair at a job well done. The pilot seemed to congratulate herself, fist pumping the air.
EVA's next statement killed the moment as soon as it occurred, "Confirmed impacts. Final observation...shields remain intact."
Banes' head snapped to look at the AI, eyebrows furrowed, "What? That's not possible! We ran the calculations! Eight bursts from six Chimera-class autocannons would be sufficient to overwhelm the cyclonic barrier system! We even ran simulations! They all turned up conclusive!"
EVA's reply confused him further, "And we were correct. The simulations were correct."
"Then what the hell happened?" Flores responded this time, looking at the AI incredulously.
"It appears they've upgraded," EVA replied, taking a few moments to run further scans before continuing, "The Normandy shows signs of large-scale improvement in all areas."
Banes' frown only deepened, "When did this happen? There's no way Shepard could have upgraded the ship without us knowing about it!"
"Captain, we are receiving a transmission from the Normandy. It is...Jeff Moreau," EVA declared.
Exhaling and inhaling, Banes stroked his chin. He realized that the battle might not be as easy as it initially seemed. It ultimately didn't matter how they had upgraded, but they had.
He wasn't having any of it, "Denied. Bring all GARDIAN batteries online and lock onto them. Disengage the IES and deploy the thanix. If we have weapons, I want it locked onto that fucking ship. Take it down."
"Captain, powering up so many weapons at once will drain power from other systems," EVA pointed out, sounding genuinely worried at his decision, "We will have to reroute power from engines, shields, communications, water recyclers..."
"Fine," Banes spat, moving away to sit in the seat they had recently added to the cockpit. Arms resting on the armrests, he turned back to EVA, teeth gritted, "Then open the javelin torpedo bays, power up the GARDIANs. But I want the IES dropped so we can use the thanix."
What he got in response was not EVA. Her pawn turned from purple to a blood red in colour, indicating she had been hacked, "Jeff would like you to know that denying his request to engage in derogatory conversation is considered impolite. As is, he would like the following message relayed to you: hope you enjoy our new toys."
Our new...what?
Before he could reply, the blood red color turned back to purple, EVA's voice filtering through, "I have reassumed control. It appears I was temporarily hacked. Although from what scans I have conducted, I recommend immediate disengagement. Captain...we are thoroughly outmatched."
He shook his head, "No, not again. Flores, is the thanix charged and is the IES system down?"
Flores turned to him slightly, her head craning to speak to him. She looked worried, "Yes and yes, but sir, we-"
"Then lock onto them and fire!" Banes barked, feeling his temper beginning to rise as his head throbbed, "Destroy them right now!"
"Sir, we can't!" Flores replied, "They're fucking gone!"
He scoffed, shooting up from his chair to close the distance, grabbing the edge of her chair as he looked down at her, "What, you mean they engaged their IES? We have windows...we can see them."
"That's just it, sir!" was the pilot's hurried reply, hands flicking over numerous screens before finally falling to her sides, baffled, "I am. The Normandy hasn't just disappeared from sensors, we simply can't see it. There's nothing there!"
Banes was incredulous. Does she expect me to believe that the Normandy can just evaporate into thin air? "Ships don't just disappear, Flores. Find me that-"
EVA interrupted him, immediately drawing his attention, "The Normandy appears to have a cloaking device. They are using it in tandem with their IES to render them completely undetectable."
"How the fuck is that possible!?" Banes shouted, slamming a fist down on Flores' chair, "Ships don't have cloaking devices! The technology simply isn't there! Who developed it, if not us!?"
EVA seemed just as lost as he did, "Unknown. Although, given the full extent of my readings on their ship, I would assume the technology, along with the rest of their upgrades, are geth. It appears they have surpassed us technologically."
Banes turned back to the cockpit, jaw clenching but emotions running rampant. He was both frustrated, annoyed, shocked, confused and helpless. As he looked through the forward windows, he could indeed see that the Normandy had simply disappeared. Any trace of it was gone from sensors, and the distinct outline of a cloak would be near impossible to pick out in the darkness of space, especially from the naked eye.
"Sir, orders?" Flores asked, seeming slightly shocked by their turn of events. It definitely wasn't how they planned this.
Damn them. Always seem to be one step ahead of us.
"Sir?" Flores repeated, finally getting his attention. He turned, seeing her looking up at him expectantly, awaiting his command. Her hands had stopped moving, waiting until he had given her permission to do so. He inwardly growled, looking between her, EVA's interface and the dark void before them, an expanse of lazily floating asteroids all that was in front of them, their foe having once more evaded their grasp.
He would have to make a decision. Either he would continue to engage them, and inevitably lose, or inform the Illusive Man and Petrovsky that he had once again been defeated by the Normandy.
He turned to Flores, ready to make his final decision. Suddenly, the sensors on Flores' flight terminal went ballistic, beeping erratically with a new contact.
"The Normandy has decloaked!" EVA loudly announced, sounding utterly calm but with what Banes swore was a hint of frantic urgency, "They have appeared ninety degrees to port! They are charging up some kind of energy-based weapon system...nothing we've encountered before, but its technology pings as geth in origin. They are locking onto us. If we stay here, I cannot guarantee the cyclonic barriers will hold against a barrage of plasma, captain."
More toys. Just how much geth tech has been stuffed into that frigate? His fingernails bit into the chair, hands reddening as they tensed. He knew they couldn't win, and that persisting would only result in the inevitable. He had no choice. He made his decision.
He turned to EVA, pointing at her immediately, "Engage the IES and get us the hell out of here. Fire our GARDIANs at them until they return to cloak. Once done, full flank speed into the asteroid belt. Our IES combined with the asteroid belt will allow us to escape."
He turned and made his way back to his command chair, barely moving an inch as the Deliverance's GARDIANs retaliated, showering the Normandy with laser-guided missiles. Then, just as ordered Flores, went into full military thrust, the Deliverance's hulk lurching as it moved towards the asteroid belt, and away from danger.
Banes could only sigh.
{{Loading...}}
August 5, 2186
1640 hours.
Cockpit, Normandy-Class Stealth Frigate SSV Normandy SR-2, Sahrabarik System, Omega Nebula.
Second War for Omega, Battle of Sahrabarik.
Flight Lieutenant Jeff 'Joker' Moreau, EDI.
"They are retreating into the asteroid belt, Jeff. Our kinetic barriers managed to absorb the brunt of their GARDIAN attack, but I doubt their intention was to disable us. Should we pursue them?"
Joker grinned, leaning back into his leather seat as he watched the Deliverance through the forward view window, the ship boost away from them, engines flowering with blue vibrance as it was navigated away from its hostile sister ship.
He turned to EDI's holographic pawn, still grinning, "I don't know, EDI. I think we've taught them a lesson." Don't mess with my baby. The Normandy is one hundred times better than that knockoff. Looks better too. Can't believe I'm saying it, but the blue and black paintjob looks SO MUCH BETTER than the white and gold from before. At least those retrofitters got something right.
EDI seemed to understand the sentiment, "I believe the necessary intimidation factor to ward off any further attack has worked effectively. Their captain likely understands that we now outmatch him in everything. I will default to your judgment, Jeff."
Joker, turning back, had EDI reengage the cloak, deactivating their new plasma cannon, simply watching in glee as the Deliverance disappeared behind a rather large planetoid.
Run Forest, run! Oh, damn it, Joker. That reference was dated since before you were born.
Now he just had to think of a better reference for later.
"So you defeated the Deliverance in battle, proving the Normandy's superiority once again. What about on the ground? You said you and your squad were assaulting a pinned Cerberus company in the Zeta District?"
- Reia'Inas pav Earth.
"I did indeed. Quite the conundrum, in fact. Although I do remember that resolved itself."
- Marcus L. Shepard.
A/N:
Just finished up on Voeld. If you guys spoil anything beyond that area, I will exalt every single one of you primitive vermin (Havarl is good though, finished that planet too. Mostly).
Right. Next chapter is a multi-part one, so strap in. It'll be a long one.
Until then,
Keelah Re'lai, troopers!
