HOLOCAUST
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO:
I AM HIS INSTRUMENT PART TWO
August 5, 2186
1722 hours.
Command Center, The New Order Headquarters, Dyuko District, Omega.
Second War for Omega.
General Oleg Petrovsky, Major Randall Ezno, Agent Kai Leng.
Overall, given the severity of the situation they had just extracted themselves from...things could have been much worse.
Broken, dented helmet under arm, Randall walked out of the barracks rugged and pointedly, long sweeping steps carrying him across the large distance fairly quickly. Plastic cup in hand, sloshing with water, he brought it up to his lips, raising his head as he downed the cup in one gulp before crushing it between his cybernetically augmented fingers and tossing the twisted appendage onto the ground, carrying little for where it landed or what happened to it.
B company's retreat had been uneventful and uninterrupted. Having received and understood Petrovsky's withdrawal order, and Leng put in his place, their retreat had been executed in a quick and orderly manner, with his men heeding his orders without complaint, objection or disgust. Leng's pride was a stick well snapped, the jagged edges of said snapped stick hanging out as a hazard to those who got too close. But Leng had followed their retreat regardless, sucking in his dignity, biting his tongue and remaining silent the entire trip back to the Dyuko District. Just as Randall wanted it.
He's already made a fool of himself once. He won't be so foolish as to question me again.
When they finally returned to the barracks, B company was a broken shell. Wittled down by the Talon ambushes, well over sixty percent of the unit had been killed, their bodies left behind as a testament to their sacrifice. The thirty men that were left were quickly dispersed for rest, Randall telling them they had earned it before promoting the highest ranking survivor (a guardian, no less) to its new CO, given the former's death in battle. Randall didn't even have time to strip his armor, drop his weapons or even discard his helmet before Petrovsky had learnt of their return and immediately ordered him to report to HQ for a briefing.
The General had been very particular about that. Briefing, not debriefing. A new mission already? Perhaps Petrovsky has found a way to subvert their lines or is sending us to disrupt Talon operations in the Styx sector.
Leng wasn't far behind Randall: the General had also ordered him to tag along, wanting him to be present for the briefing. Randall wasn't one to question orders, so he had been quick to summon the assassin, motioning for him to follow before practically storming from the barracks, leaving his company to their well earned, if not brief, rest and relaxation. So, even as Randall made distance between himself and the barracks, Leng was not far behind, making sure to keep out of sight and out of mind, likely for his own sake than for any care of Randall's preferences.
Still serves my interest not to have to look at him. Pathetic excuse of a man. Irresponsible and immature to let something like jealously get in the way of a mission. He's a former N7, and yet you would think he's a regular grunt the way he acts and behaves. All he does is highlight another incompetency of the Alliance.
The fact that an SIA Corsair could defeat 'the best of the best' in hand-to-hand combat so quickly was more than insulting, it was absolutely inconceivable. Shepard probably gave Randall a better fight, although Randall guessed that would only inflame a sense of irony if he were to mention that.
So focused on killing Shepard to fix his ego: make himself feel better and less insecure. He's pissed off the Illusive Man favoured Shepard over him. He's pissed off that, in a different world and a different reality, Shepard would be the Illusive Man's go-to man...not him.
But Leng had his uses. So until the day when the Illusive Man ordered Randall to put him down, he would bite down his personal issues with the assassin and work with him...after all, they were supposed to be on the same side, working towards the same goals.
We share the same insignia and nothing else, in reality.
Colonel Farland's fortifications looked to be near completion: his troops had worked around the clock to ensure HQ was reinforced by the heaviest defenses imaginable. Numerous armoured vehicles, mortar emplacements, machine gun tests, sentry turrets, heavy turrets, Atlas mechs and soldiers lined the established perimeter, easily over five to a thousand troops already stationed outside the entrance to the HQ, all of them either in defensive positions or on patrol. Only one Atlas mech was active, facing the barracks and barely moving, its only movement being the sway of his massive gun or the slight rotation of its cumbersome torso.
Marching past four RAMPART mechs standing and facing his direction in a stoic, immovable stance, he managed to guide his own way through the mess of sandbags and weaponry, he slid past an active Steelhead turret, the trooper controlling it standing ontop of its pedestal, hands gripping the triggers and leaning back slightly as he rotated the gun back and forth in a semi-circular sway. After finally navigating past the first three lines of defenses, Randall finally reached the interior, giving him a straight shot to New Order's entrance, despite the sheer mass of infantry gathered around. Even Leng managed to keep pace with the manhunter despite all of that, although he ultimately pinned it on the assassin being trained to keep track of targets regardless of circumstance, and therefore reserved any deserved credit.
He'll earn my respect when he actually shows me he can compose himself, follow orders and kill the targets he's tired to kill. Until then, he's just a tool, nothing else.
He ascended the steps in a hurried manner, hoping to not keep the General waiting any longer than he had to. There were eight assault troopers at the top of the steps, with a dragoon in the middle. Before he could tap the haptic interface and step through however, the dragoon in question held his hand out and bumped the major back, quickly moving to step infront of him.
"General Petrovsky has ordered that all non-senior Cerberus personnel are to remain outside New Order HQ while operations are being conducted, trooper. Move along," the nameless biotic ordered, crossing his arms.
Randall, unperturbed, stepped forth, standing right infront of the dragoon, looking down at him, "I'm Major Randall Ezno, Manhunter of Cerberus, and one of the Illusive Man's top agents. I'm not only senior personnel, but I was requested here by General Petrovsky himself, who wishes to brief both me and my compatriot, Agent Kai Leng, immediately. Every moment you keep me waiting here wastes his time."
The dragoon immediately snapped a salute, before strafing to the right, motioning to the door, "Apologies, Major. Just following protocol: the General ordered us to be very thorough. He was very clear on non-criticial personnel, sir. You may step through."
Stepping forth and tappng the interface, watching the large door slide open and immediately introducing him to the long corridor leading into the command center, Randall nodded, returning the salute, allowing the Cerberus biotic to lower his own hand, "No apologies necessary, trooper. As you were."
Turning back, he continued his long strides through the corridor, Leng no doubt right on his feet, although the major didn't waste time in turning to check. Reaching the other door, he opened it and quickly strode through, ignoring the glances of the three colonels inside who quickly turned to him upon arrival. None of them questioned his appearance, simply returning to their duties as they coordinated Omega's defense.
Looking up, Randall could see that Petrovsky was up in his personal war room, so he adjusted his approach accordingly, making speed for the stairs ascending to his roost. As he approached the top however, he noticed that the General was talking to someone, and from the snippets of conversation that he heard more and more of as he completed his advance, he knew who too.
"That's good to hear, colonel," Petrovsky stated, "With the defenses completed up here, we can begin to look elsewhere. Notably, the situation in the Rubicon quadrant. Colonel Amish is most eager to be self-sufficient in that regard, but I'm sure I do not need to emphasize upon you the importance of his victory. His defeat is our defeat, colonel. An army is nothing without its cohesion. I must be sure your regiments are doing all they can to contain this threat, not just focusing on the Talons."
Moving through the door, Randall simply stood to attention, hands in parade rest and head held high. He noticed the General turn to acknowledge him, giving him an appreciative nod as the major simply stood back and waited. Leng stormed in a moment later, opening his mouth to speak. Upon noticing this, the manhunter's left hand shot up, hold up a single fist. Thankfully, the assassin got the point and remained quiet, although refused to assume as professional and respectful a stance as Randall had and leaned up against the wall on the far left, sighing quietly to himself as he, with the look of a bored child, watched the conversation between the two commanders with muted interest.
To be fair though, the affairs of leadership and battle tactics were not where Leng's skillset lay. Perhaps that's why the Illusive Man ended up reconsidering Leng's ever so brief command of the Deliverance and handed it to Banes. Leng's just not cut out for leadership. He's no Shepard.
Randall inwardly laughed. There's no avoiding comparisons with Shepard when it comes to Leng. Perhaps now I can understand the assassin's frustration somewhat: everything he does gets compared to Shepard, one way or another. In the end, he creates the misery that taints his own existence. After all, his lack of success is attributed to the fact that he won't put aside his personal hatreds for the sake of success.
The colonel in question, Kirk Farland, nodded in response to the General's seemingly interrogative-like questioning, going so far as to meet the General's gaze of scrutiny as he spoke, responding immediately to his questions instead of leaving pauses for Petrovsky to gauge any sort of hesitance, "General, I have my men running around the clock to ensure we are both impregnable and responsive. We will show the people that we can keep them safe as well as hold our territory. I have the 2nd established outside, but I have the 1st, 3rd and 4th making sweeps through all quadrants checking for further UGC incursions. If they have the opportunity to flank or be flanked, my men will find it, neutralize it or take advantage of it. Rest assured, none of us remain idle. The citizens of Omega will soon be made aware of our might. We may not have a fleet, but we very much have boots on the ground."
Petrovsky nodded, looking impressed but not too much so as to possibly inflate Farland's ego, "I'm glad to hear that, but do not be too confident. Remember, Shepard has defeated Cerberus forces several times before. The difference lies in how we respond. Strategy is the key, Colonel. Now go...strategize. I want to be kept up to date on your movements and decisions. If you find a weaknes...by all means, exploit it. If you find a strength, by all means, warn us. But I want you to inform me all the same. I cannot help you if I don't know what's going on."
Farland gave a crisp salute, "It will be done."
Turning away, Petrovsky approached his desk, retrieving one of his datapads, "You are dismissed, Colonel Farland."
Randall stepped to the side briefly as the colonel walked past, door closing behind him and leaving the three alone. Having recovered his datapad, Petrovsky approached the manhunter and held it out to him. Frowning, he grabbed it from the man's meaty hand, twisting it around so he could read it properly, eyes squinted the entire time. All of this was done in complete silence.
After a moment, Randall shrugged, looking back up at Petrovsky, who looked to be waiting for the man to finish and offer his opinion, "I don't understand the point of this, General. All this does is reiterate what I already know: we retreated."
The General shook his head, back ram rod straight and head lowered the entire time, always telegraphing his military history in every movement he made, from the tensing of his muscular frame to the clear, crisp and collected way he delivered his decrees, "I showed you this to help you understand why we retreated, not the fact itself. I don't delve in obviousness, major. I want you to understand that no opportunity was wasted in our retreat. It had a military purpose, and wasn't done because I accepted defeat. Quite the opposite."
"Then you're wasting your breath on me," Randall stated, motioning his head at the less professional Leng, "However, Agent Leng could use a lesson in patience and military dictum. He seems to have a personal grudge against Captain Shepard that is inhibiting his ability as a combatant. He has already questioned my judgment on numerous occassions and, now more recently, your own. If anyone needs reassurance that our withdrawal was a necessary motion...Kai Leng is the person."
With a raised eyebrow, the Cerberus general turned to Leng, eyes looking to be appraising the assassin, "Is this true, Agent Leng? I should like to warn you the consequences of disobeying orders. The Illusive Man has been far less forgiving to such actions ever since Taylor and Lawson turned traitor."
Leng looked between the two of them, not saying a word, but taking note of their glances. Eventually, he turned to Randall, cocking his head, "Oh, I'm allowed to speak now?"
Randall shook his head. Child.
"You're always permitted to speak, Leng," Petrovsky deadpanned, looking equally as unimpressed as Randall. It seemed, to that degree, the two were alike, "However, watch your tongue. Insubordination will not be tolerated."
With a shake of the head, the assassin turned away, looking blankly down into the command center for a brief moment, collating his thoughts. The two of them patiently waited, Petrovsky more so than Ezno, wanting to see how the assassin would defend his actions. Mostly, the manhunter expected him to reply with what he had already said, arguing that killing Shepard would be a 'strategic boon' and 'his death would cause their forces to fall apart.' An inherently flawed idea to begin with, completely refusing to take into account the fact that dreaming something will happen does not mean it will translate into reality.
Like a child.
Finally, the cybernetically enhanced grown man turned around, crossing his arms, but not before running a hand through his rugged, messy mane of hair, pushing it back before responding, "It's true, General, I'll admit. I believed that what we needed to do was continue forward. You ordered our company back, just when we were regaining momentum. Had we been allowed to continue...we may have saved E company, as well as killed Shepard. In one fell swoop, we could have killed the man responsible for this entire mess. Everything that has plagued Cerberus and our attempts to control the Reapers have been all his construct. I felt that eliminating him would have rid us of his destructive idealism."
"Oh, is that the truth?" Randall remarked, "Sounded more like jealously, actually."
Leng shot him a knowing glare, and Randall sneered back. Yes, I know what you're doing: trying to weasel your way out of responsibility for what you did.
To Randall's surprise, Petrovsky seemed to ignore Randall's response, acknowledging no one but Leng. When he spoke, the assassin's attention was immediately drawn back to him, as was the case with his adversary, "B company was down fifty to sixty men. What was left is about equal to a platoon...your arrival would have done nothing to save E company. In fact, when E company was overrun, it was due to a krogan battalion, a rachni horde and Shepard's squad attacking it simultaneously. All your men would have done to aid E company was to add to the body count."
"I didn't know about the enemy reinforcements, admittedly," Leng replied almost coyly, "Had I of known...I would not have acted so rashly."
Absolutely reprehensible. Feigns apologetic understanding while hiding his incompetence underneath.
It wasn't made any better that Petrovsky seemed to buying the assassin's act, "Chain of command exists for a reason, Agent Leng. Without it, people like you do what they want...what you think as strategically expedient is what I see as a tactical blunder. I cannot have people who disobey orders. It creates chaos. How am I supposed to launch an effective counteroffensive or defense if I have disobedient officers doing whatever they want?"
"I understand sir," Leng replied apologetically, his act seeming more and more sincere. Even Randall would be buying it if it wasn't for him already knowing what sort of creature he was. Filthy. Repugnant. Disgusting. A man who can't own up to his own failures sincerely is no man at all. He's an animal. An animal of little moral fibre.
The Cerberus commander nodded to the assassin, before raising his head, eyes meeting eyes without breaking contact, checking to see if the man opposite him was lying or telling the truth, "And as right as you may be about Shepard, you are wrong in what you think will happen. It is no lie that Shepard has become a bane to our existence. His actions on Mars, Eden Prime, Sur'Kesh and the Citadel only enhance that. Yes, he has defeated us time and time again. Now that he's here, you believe eliminating him will change that, and that is where your accuracy diminishes," he walked up to Leng, stopping a mere meter infront of him, "Killing Shepard will not fracture the very structure of his effort. His squad will not fall apart, and the UGC will not splinter and die. What you see as a victory would only make the UGC stronger. His squad would only become more vicious, more tenacious, more resilient. Martyrdom is a powerful thing, Agent Leng. By killing Shepard, you would only be sharpening their teeth and strengthening their resolve," he shook his head, walking back to where he was, back turned to the assassin, but continuing to talk to him.
"So, yes. I agree. Shepard must die," he turned around, meeting Leng's stare back directly, "But so must his squad. And every single UGC soldier on this station. We must set an example. If we destroy the enemy force here, kill Shepard and his famous squad, and eliminate the Normandy...we will demonstrate that Cerberus will not be pushed around and that we are more powerful than ever. We will not only illustrate our ability to give what we take, but also that even legends like Shepard are just men when put under intense scrutiny. He is not invincible, he is not infallible...he has made mistakes, and will continue to make mistakes. And I believe he has already made his first blunder."
Randall frowned, speaking up in Leng's place, "And what may that be, General?"
He did not turn to Randall, simply continuing to look back at Leng, his gaze simply unmoving and unwilling to be moved, "He allied with Aria T'Loak. Of all the people to recruit for an assault, you do not enlist the help of that woman. Her predictability and lack of finesse made conquering Omega all too easy last time. She is a powerful combatant, but she falters when faced with a superior leader. Shepard is as good a leader as he is a soldier...Aria is not. And that was his mistake..." finally, he turned to Randall, looking him down as one would down the sights of a gun, "...placing his trust in her."
"So what now?" Leng asked, voice calm and collected, almost as if they hadn't been talking about the assassin's reckless behaviour and that he hadn't had an outrageous, immature tantrum beforehand, "If Aria is so predictable, figuring out their next move should be easy."
The General shook his head, turning back to his desk and bracing against it, "Aria T'Loak is a woman of ego. She will often broadcast what she plans to do just before she does it: it gives her power. When her plans succeed, she can then gloat about what a confident leader she is. She did it when she defeated the Patriarch and claimed his throne. She is both cunning and, as her return demonstrates, a willful woman. I can respect that. But her inability to keep her plans a secret...the need to be seen doing it...it's almost a ritual for her. An instinct. A primal necessity. She simply can't help it, and Shepard can't stop that. No matter what he does, she will broadcast it. Whether it be the movement of troops in the open, a broadcast to the station, or having her salarian hack our network...whatever it is, we will know about very quickly. Shepard doesn't know it, but we've already played him."
He turned back to them again, twisting on the spot, to bring up his omni-tool, showing them a holographic map of Omega, where the numerous forcefields he had in place were highlighted, "Given Shepard's use of EDI in the past, I've seen to it that our schematics were altered by our engineers. The alterations are subtle enough that they won't pick up on them immediately...at least not until it's already disrupted their operations," he tapped a button on his omni-tool, and the forcefields vanished, "For example, I had evidence of the forcefields and where they are located removed from the schematics. Without knowledge of where they are, the UGC will not be able to plan offensives effectively...especially once this EDI discovers the fault. As of now, my engineers are now adding locations of forcefields to the schematics, but within incorrect areas. Where they think forcefields will be...there won't be, and where they think there won't be, there will be. It'll cause just enough disarray to make our defense much easier."
Randall had to nod, impressed, "You're certainly living up to your reputation, General. You've outsmarted them already and they don't even realize it."
He deactivated his omni-tool, returning his hands behind his back to assume parade rest once more, "As you've just realized, small tactics offer something to the greater whole. Little changes like that can change the playing field entirely. Knowledge is power, and unfortunately for Aria, she no longer has the advantage of possessing that knowledge. Cerberus has been here for months...more than enough to learn everything she knows, and creating obstacles she doesn't. Our forcefields will have the UGC running frantically to find alternate routes, and while they are wasting time doing that..."
"...we can regroup, reorganize and launch counter-operations," Leng finished for him. Without even turning, Randall knew the assassin was smirking, and was not at all surprised when he turned to see the assassin doing what he already knew he was doing, "You know General, that retreat wasn't such a bad idea at all. We may have done more to kill Shepard with that simple action than any assault of mine."
Yours? The command was mine, you insect.
"Chain of command exists for a reason," he looked down at the assassin, the height difference between the taller general and the smaller assassin made painfully clear in that moment, "...we often know better, Agent Leng."
Randall couldn't be sure, but the General's response almost sounded...like a remark. Almost like he wasn't buying into the assassin's bullshit at all...
Perhaps he's playing Leng just like he is Aria. Perhaps he's letting Leng believe he's gullible so that he'll get more out of him. I appear to have underestimated this Petrovsky.
It was not something Randall would make a habit of in the future. Assumptions are dangerous, Ezno. Never make that mistake again.
The assassin paused for a brief moment, absorbing everything he had just heard. Not long after, he finally propped himself up and away from the wall, straightening up before offering a simple, yet expert salute, his former involvement in the Alliance shining in the simple movement, "Too right, General," he lowered his hand, remaining rigidly upright, "Where do we go from here, if I may ask?"
Despite his dislike of the man, Randall couldn't help but wonder at that either. With our forces almost fully regrouped, we'll need to begin planning our next move. The UGC might be in disarray now, but they will eventually find a way around...when they do, we need to be ready. There's only so much our forcefields can do.
Petrovsky nodded, "I recently updated the Illusive Man on our progress. Two fleets are inbound for the station, and will arrive in five days. Until they can effectively support us, we will need to, at the very least, keep the UGC troops pinned and Shepard occupied. I already have Colonel Amish reinforcing positions around the Rubicon and he is currently organizing a large-scale offensive. First, we must find the UGC's FOB. They will need to establish one if they ever hope to launch any effective, directed assault and given Aria's knowledge of the station, she will likely have already suggested one. We must find it and strike pre-emptively and with surprise."
Good. We can wipe them out quickly and with extreme, brute force. Crude, but effective. The UGC will be too busy getting cozy with their new FOB to be able to counter us. The next move would be to have a massive wave of ground troops, armoured units, mechs and aircraft assault simultaneously...the blitzkrieg that Leng wanted.
"That will be our task, correct?" Leng asked, "To find their FOB. More than likely it will be in the-"
"No."
That took Leng aback. "I'm sorry?"
"Colonel Amish is currently deploying advance reconnaissance teams to scour the Rubicon and monitor UGC forces," Petrovsky declared, shaking his head. Noticing Leng's disapproval, he quickly elaborated, "I have no reason to risk high-value assets as part of a simple recon mission. You will stay here until such time as your services are required again."
Before the assassin's fata morgana dropped, Randall verbally stepped in, nodding, "We understand, General. We understand the necessity for asset recovery, and will await further instructions. We have faith that the brave men and women of our forces will find the enemy base."
"Excellent," Petrovsky declared, turning to the two of them and nodding, "Randall, please remain. Agent Leng, you are dismissed."
Craning his head slightly to look at him, wanting to see how the ex-N7 reacted. To his surprise, he bit back the grimace that was beginning to show and simply saluted again, twisting on the spot to walk out the door, his footsteps echoing down the flight of steps before the sound dissipated entirely, doors slamming shut.
Petrovsky pulled his chair out, motioning for Randall to approach as he promptly plopped himself down in it, grabbing the desk to pull himself in, hands landing on its smooth surface, terminal's keyboard flashing to life, waving the cursor to allow the Cerberus screensaver to evaporate, revealing the desktop infront of him. The manhunter arrived behind him, waiting for a few seconds for Petrovsky to speak.
"Captain Banes has emphasized to me the kind of man you are, Major Ezno," the General finally spoke, elbows propped against the table, holding his chin in his hands, "Which is exactly why you are here, and not Agent Leng. You are smart enough to know that I am not gullible or stupid. I know when a man is lying to me."
The manhunter scoffed, "Leng was not driven by strategy, sir. I strongly believe he is jealous of Shepard and his success. His urge is driven by a need to repair his wounded pride more than tactical forethought. I believe him to be a liability."
"As do I, but that's not up to me to decide," Petrovsky declared, sighing, "It's the Illusive Man's. He believes Leng to be an asset, and for now all I can do is restrict him to non-military operations. However, given Leng's uncontrollable nature...somebody needs to make sure he remains under wraps. Given how closely you both operate, and the nature to which you understand his skills and mindset, I believe you to be that person. Keep an eye on him. Make sure he does not compromise anything. If I need somebody to kill Shepard however...I'll know when the leash needs to be cut."
Randall nodded, "I'll keep a close eye on him, sir."
"See that you do, Major," the General ordered, scratching his beard, "I have enough to worry about without arrogant assassins doing whatever they see fit to do. Order must be maintained. I entrust you with that objective. Complete it, soldier."
He snapped a quick salute, knowing that the General couldn't see it, and spun on the spot, walking away at a reasonable, brisk pace. Leng is a rogue element, but I will ensure he remains where he is. We've just got to hold out five days...then Leng can kill whoever he damn well pleases once victory is secured. He can even kill Shepard if he wants.
Five days. Five, gruelling days.
{Loading...}
August 5, 2186
1729 hours.
Courtyard, Aria's Bunker, Tuhi District, Omega.
Second War for Omega, Rubicon Campaign.
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, General Nyreen Kandros.
They were here. Finally.
The long trek to Aria's supposed safe place had been long and arduous. They had been constantly harassed by whatever cohorts of enemy infantry Petrovsky could throw at them, not helped by the forcefields. They had encountered a total of two since the first, but Nyreen's guidance had helped them get around them without too much trouble. And whatever troops encountered only came in small pickets...rarely did they encounter a full squad. Regardless, the maze of winding streets and interconnected alleyways made for a troublesome experience.
It was not for nought, however. Eventually bypassing the forcefields and gaining access to the Pefashi district, it was only a kilometer or so more before they reached Tuhi. Along the way, scattered Talon scouts were encountered, joining them in their journey. It turned out that Nyreen, or 'General Kandros' as her men seemed to call her, had figured out how to lead a capable and organized resistance since Omega's fall. Like all guerilla wars, their progress had been frought with setbacks and their equal share of defeats, but they had given just as much back. Knowing where to strike and where best to lay the mightiest blow only aided the Talons in creating serious problems for the Cerberus occupation.
The hostility between Aria and Nyreen was more than noticable...neither even attempted to hide their contempt for one another. Aria was bitter towards the turian for what she saw as abandonment, where Nyreen constantly chastized the asari for her reckless actions, ruthless behaviour and nonchalant, careless association with violence, death and misery. All up, it was clear that the couple's relationship was either non-existent at this point, or was extremely strenuous.
Regardless of their ongoing relationship, it was clear Nyreen was, at the very least, committed to aiding them in their war. Not only had the UGC's arrival opened up a new theater, but it also gave the Talons the allies they sorely needed: now Cerberus was opposed by two sides, forcing them to reallocate troops to fight on two fronts, not one. This made the battle much easier and much more likely to succeed.
Piling ontop of their good news was that Nyreen had dispatched a few of her Talons to rendezvous with General Zaal'Golo and his army, guiding them to the shortest, most accessible routes to Tuhi. As a result, they were able to arrive at Aria's bunker ahead of time, shoring up the defenses in time for Aria and Marcus' arrival. As a result, their initial plan had gone off without a hitch, despite the new variables put into play.
All objectives were met. Cerberus fleet destroyed, armies deployed onto the station, regroup at and reinforce Aria's bunker. All of these were done in just over an hour. Now comes the difficult part...deciding where to go next.
One final alleyway, and they erupted out into a courtyard. The place looked like it had previously been inhabited beforehand, with many neon signs and holographic advertisement stalls still active despite nobody being present but themselves, glowing brightly with smiling, corporate faces trying to sell whatever products they could. To the far left, closer to the central bridge, was a bar of some sort, its steel shutters closed, but sign still active, a holographic martini spinning in place above it. Opposite the bar, on the far right, was a gun store...specifically, one owned by Batarian State Arms, the official developer of weapons for the Hegemony prior to its collapse. Once again, its shutters were closed, not a single sound eminating from behind them, but the white oval flanked by two 'jagged' back-to-back Ls that was its insignia continued to glow brightly, flashing every so often to attract the attention of previously potential, but now inactive, customers.
To his immediate left, as Marcus examined the courtyard, was a store called 'Marsh Rentals', although the font was worn out and the store itself gutted and empty, looking to have been abused by a decade of neglect and lack of use. Whatever the case, it didn't look it had been in operation even before the Cerberus occupation, and the shattered glass that lay across the floor inside, as well as the peeling wall paint, garbage bags stuffed in a corner, and the musty smell only added to this conclusion. It was just a large, empty space with nothing in it.
To his immediate right however, was 'Tuhi District Storage', an orange holographic sign hovering its locked, interfaceless door shut and dormant. A holographic Cerberus logo hovering above it quickly painted the picture that it was now being used by the organization for weapons storage, something Marcus knew they'd have to exploit at some point.
Other than that, the courtyard wasn't all that impressionable. It looked almost entirely like the rest of the station did: four stairways, one leading to the left and one to the right, while the other two were the same but further down, allowed access to an upper tier, where the stores were...but these were the same featureless, orange and grey hue that Omega seemed to issue as its standard, offering nothing new to look at it, and looking more like a textureless and reused asset than anything else. A few pot plants were located in the middle, but they were lifeless and dead, their green leaves shrivelled up and decayed in appearance, looking more akin to black char than the product of wonderous ecology.
In not-quite-the-distance was a large, towering structure with the label 'D-Deck' painted across its upper half in gigantic lettering, although like everything else, even that looked worn out and faded. The tower looked like a massive cylinder, with the 'lid' being a circular appendage with numerous antennas sticking out the top, numerous wires stretching across from the top to connect to other structures surrounding it allowing it to tap into the power grid. Lights reflected off its mangy walls, perhaps giving it a far too eager glow.
In the end, Marcus knew what it was: Aria's bunker.
"That thing is fucking huge, Aria," Marcus accentuated, turning towards her incredulously as she emerged ahead of his squad, "You can't seriously tell me Petrovsky never knew you were in there. You might as well have had a beacon placed there with the words 'I'm not here, I promise' beaming out across the entire station."
"At the time, Petrovsky was acting upon hearsay intelligence at best, Shepard," Aria elaborated, holstering her shotgun as she realized they were in the clear, "I imagine this courtyard would have looked like a warzone seven months ago. He had artillery shelling this entire district, desperately trying to find me: not before he evacuated it, of course. He didn't find it then, and I doubt he's bothered to try and find it while I was gone. Sometimes, the most obvious hiding place is the best one. It's never the first place they look."
Marcus chuckled, holstering his own rifle and walking beside her as they approached the bridge connecting the courtyard to the bunker. His squad followed behind him, followed not long after by the rest of Grunt's battalion and the rachni they brought with them. It was a lot of troops to filter through a single alleyway, and he had no doubt it would take well over a half an hour just to get them all through and into the base, "That's surprisingly observant of you, Aria."
The asari glared at Nyreen's back as the turian and her Talons marched ahead, but managed to respond all the same, "There's a great many things you don't know about me, Shepard. Until now, Nyreen was one of them. Consider yourself informed."
"So you two have a history?" he asked, genuinely curious.
A sigh was all that followed, "It's such a long fucking story, I could bore myself to tears trying to tell it. She was infatuated with me, I was infatuated with her...we had our differences, and they eventually got in the way. Long story short: we fought, we fucked, we fought some more, we fucked some more...then she upped and abandoned me. Turns out she never really did leave the station. Guess her life was too enraptured with it before her to leave. Funny...she never did like Omega like I did. She always called it a 'cesspool of scum' and a 'river of disgusting filth.' I think she was homesick. That, or she was having regrets about not going."
He raised an eyebrow at that, "Not going where?"
"Fucked if I know. Kept mentioning some Initiative horseshit. Exploring a brave new world, she said. Traversing galactic boundaries, she liked to emphasize," the asari snorted, shaking her head, "She talked in riddles, and it bored me. All it told me was that one of her cousins had gone on some grand adventure to who-gives-a-fuck and she was having regrets not going with him when she could have. I remember that Tiran offered her a place and she turned it down...said it was for me and Sata. Said she loved me. What a fucking lie that was."
He looked at her for a second, observing the subtle change in her body language...fists clenching, eyes narrowing...she was biting down a rage she had long tried to encapsulate, and now it was rising up again. It was clear that Aria was trying to hide her affections, "Do you still love her?"
The question was blurted out, but Aria didn't seem to notice, fists unclenching and expression returning to normal, this time with a distasteful smirk, "I don't know if I ever loved her, Shepard. We weren't lovebirds, if that's what you're asking. We weren't all kisses and love poems like you and your quarian. We didn't whisper to each other and giggle like some idiotic fantasy. We had a mutual attraction, that's it. None of my relationships have ever had meaning beyond that...especially not the one before Nyreen."
That caused Marcus to smile again, "Oh gee, I wonder who that was. A certain councilor, I wonder?"
"Tevos is an uptight cunt who I had no time for," Aria spat, "She dumped me the moment she became councilor. Then she was all morally responsible and politically correct. Couldn't be associated with a crime queen, she said. I told her to get fucked. Told her that maybe Sparatus would allow take her up the ass like I used to...albeit with an actual fucking dick, I imagine."
He cringed at her crude description of her sexual escapades with Councilor Tevos, shaking his head, "There's such a thing as too much information, Aria."
The asari simply grinned, "I don't bother censoring myself, Shepard. I say it how I want it, and how it is. And even to this day, Tevos is still my little bitch. She's the reason I was even let onto the Citadel...I have her wrapped around my little thumb. Blackmail can be a wonderful thing, especially when you threaten to tell her fellow councilors what a dirty little skank she used to be...sleeping with the Queen of Omega herself. Oh, how her reputation would have drowned."
It didn't take long for them to fully cross the courtyard and reach the bridge. The bridge itself looked to be retractable, with a pair of belts on each side running alongside its edges. They immediately walked across it, the bridge stretching over ten meters before arriving at the otherside, attached to a platform on the side of the massive bunker. There, they were greeted by a large door, big enough for a Megalodon tank to drive through.
Four automated chain gun turrets, two on each side, sat on this side of the bridge, their barrels lowered towards the ground and looking deactivated. Their colour scheme was lacking the white and gold of Cerberus, and it lacked any other Cerberus logo, indicating to Marcus that the turians themselves were owned by Aria's forces. Given how they were bolted into the deck, and were deactivated...it was clear they had been there since before their arrival, likely a remnant from Aria's war with Petrovsky seven months ago.
Crouched beside them, possibly two per turret, were pairs of quarian engineers, male and female, each their omni-tools out and typing away, likely trying to get the weapons back online. Acting as a bodyguard contingent were sixteen geth troopers, with two geth snipers on each side, their Javelin sniper rifles propped up on top of their cover, scanning the courtyard for any incoming hostiles, while their trooper counterparts gripped their pulse rifles, putting themselves infront of their vulnerable creators, optics moving back and forth in a sweeping motion. Hovering above them were four geth assault drones, and behind them, a single geth armature stood. If this had been three years ago, Marcus would be opening fire and taking cover...
...instead, he walked right under the armature's bulk, the tank taking no notice of their new arrivals as they approached the entrance. Nyreen had already arrived, banging on the door loudly as she demanded to be let in, six of her Talon soldiers flanking her, weapons lowered but ready to be used. While Aria picked up the pace to see what the trouble was, Marcus slowed down, especially when he saw Tali rush up to him.
"Mark," she said to get his attention, the N7 stopping and turning to face her, ready to hear what she had to say. She motioned to her fellow engineers, her shotgun tucked away on her back, "If you don't mind, I'm coming to stay back with the engineers and help them get these turrets up and running. If this base has a few anti-aircraft units, we should try and get those activated as well."
A shadow was cast over them, Marcus not needing to turn to realize Moses had joined them as well, "I would like to request permission to stay behind as well, Shepard-Commander. We would like to converse with geth platforms to discuss strategies and tactics. What we discuss might be of some use to you later on."
He nodded to both of them, patting Tali on the shoulder, "Permission granted, both of you. We'll talk later when we discuss what to do next. Until then, dismissed." Moses simply turned and left, approaching a trio of troopers to the left, while Tali tapped her faceplate against his visor before turning away to join a group of engineers. Before Marcus turned back to approach Aria, he saw one of the male engineers stand up, snapping a salute. Tali waved a hand to dismiss it, what she said becoming drowned out by Marcus' footsteps as he approached the doorway, followed closely by three columns of krogan commandos and rachni warriors.
Whatever happened must have been settled as the door slowly slid open, screeching due to misuse. Aria winced at the noise, shaking her head, "I'll have to lubricate the mechanisms once this is over. That noise is insufferable."
With the door opened, Marcus raised his hand and signalled the battalion to move forward, his squad not far behind as they crossed the threshold and entered their new forward operating base.
The cargo hold they were welcomed by wasn't just huge, it was colossal. The room by itself must have been capable of housing eight Reaper destroyers standing up, it was that big. Inside, all of General Golo's forces were arranged, with several geth dropships resting inside, parked but ready to take off at a moment's notice, whilst accompanied by several kodiak and STX shuttles and A-61 gunships. The rest of the geth and quarian forces were located within, either running rifle drills or practicing in hand-to-hand combat: no matter what, everybody was occupied doing something. A geth juggernaut patrol scouted the perimeter of the chamber, checking for possible entrances or breaches, whilst the other eleven geth armatures were lined up in single file, idle and awaiting further commands.
"Looks like your quarian general is making himself at home," Aria declared, "I just hope he hasn't tampered with anything. I want my command center intact."
"Just what is the composition of your force here?" Nyreen asked, turning to Marcus to ask the question, keeping her hood down, "What have you brought with you so far in the way of an army?"
He crossed her arms, nodding at her, "We've got just under a regiment of geth troops, with one hundred quarian marine combat engineers in support under the command of General Zaal'Golo vas Zavtee. Other than that, we've got a battalion of krogan commandos, several battalions of mercenaries ranging from Blue Suns to Eclipse to Blood Pack, and we've got, in total, 18,000 rachni troops. Aside from my squad, that's about it."
"So, all up, we've got a force rounding around twenty thousand, minus the casualties already taken in getting here," Garrus piped up.
Nyreen nodded, sighing as her mandibles twitched ever so subtlely, "So...Cerberus outnumbers us when it comes to numbers."
"Yeah, but I doubt adding rachni, krogan and geth to that equation makes it an even fight. In a straight up assault, good tactics and deployment of our forces would eventually prevail," Marcus added, "Unfortunately, a straight up assault would result in unnecessarily catastrophic losses. And with those forcefields being the nuisance they are...I don't see a direct attack on Afterlife being very plausible at this point. It's the beginning to an otherwise long battle, but we've at least made head way."
Aria waved a dismissive hand with a bitter laugh, turning to walk down the chamber towards the back, likely where her command center was, "How things begin isn't nearly as important as how they end, Shepard. All our forces have arrived and are ready to wage all out war with Petrovsky. I'm going to head up to the command center...or 'war room', as you military wardogs would call it...meet me there when you're ready to plan our next move."
"I'll be right there!" Marcus shouted after her, his voice echoing across the gigantic hangar-like area. Aria made no move to respond, simply storming away as Bray, Dreg and the rest of her men fell in behind her, flanking each of her sides like a pack of overly protective bodyguards.
Turning to Nyreen, now finally alone with the mysterious rebel general, he uncrossed his arms, letting them hang at his sides, "I didn't get to say it before, but I respect what you've done here. From the looks of it, you held up pretty well against Cerberus."
Nyreen chuckled, the turian scratching the sides of her head, "No compliments needed, captain: I did what I had to. I should be thanking your timely arrival...it couldn't be more fortuitous. Colonel Farland had our backs against the wall, and he was hammering us with everything he had. Your invasion...gave us a massive opportunity. Petrovsky even postponed all operations against Talon forces to deal with you...only left a few token forces, and my men are doing well enough keeping them from finding our headquarters. To be honest, I wasn't expecting all this to show up. It's quite an army you've got here."
He smiled, "We're here to liberate, Nyreen. Whatever Aria has said to you about my intentions here, it's true. I'm not interested in her power play, and neither do I support her policies...but the fact of the matter is that the UGC could use an Omega under Aria T'Loak, an ally of our effort, a little more than Cerberus, an avowed enemy. Omega's an advantage they've been flaunting too long."
"I understand the tactics, captain. I respect your transparency on the matter," was the turian's reply, seeming entirely unfazed by his a-matter-of-fact delivery, "Aria and I are far from the best of friends, but as much as I respect Petrovsky's moral code, he can't be allowed to continue his leadership here. Cerberus is bleeding this station dry...and everything they're doing here. It reeks of carelessness. Like they don't intend to stay."
He frowned at that, surprised by this sudden revelation, "What do you mean? Petrovsky seems pretty intent on staying put."
Nyreen nodded hurriedly at that, "Yeah, for the mean time. But the way they move, how they've set up defenses...they want Omega locked up tight, but they don't want to make a home here: they'd have set up far more military strongholds if that was the case. As it is, we've only found makeshift barracks...and from what my scouts have reported, the Illusive Man has the general reactivating the old mines. All the equipment up there is ancient, but they're mining whatever they can scrounge up...been like that for four months. That, coupled with the fact that he seems to be preparing the station for new government, means that Cerberus never intended to keep Omega."
"But why abandon it?" EDI asked, coming up beside Marcus, "The Illusive Man will be aware of Omega's importance. Not only its location tactically important, but it allows them to control trade routes, maintain an outpost for Cerberus forces in the area, and act as a naval base from which fleets can refuel, resupply and seek repairs. It would be a strategic mistake to give up such a significant location."
"If I had the answer to that, I would tell you," Nyreen admitted, shrugging, "Unfortunately, we don't. None of the Cerberus channels mention anything regarding their intentions with Omega, but it can't be good. I just thought you should know...in case you find anything confirming my suspicions."
He nodded at her, "Thank you, General Kandros."
She raised a hand, saluting him firmly and surely, "No, I'm just Nyreen or Kandros to you, sir. General's not an official rank I have to my name...my men just took to calling me that, being their leader and all."
"Well...Nyreen. Carry on," he returned the salute, causing the turian to drop her own, turning to her troops and ushering them inside, following quickly behind them.
Shortly after, a few, loud stomps arriving on his right told him that Grunt had arrived, dried blood crusted around his face from when he had battled Cerberus before, "The rest of my men will arrive soon. Should they assemble in the cargo hold?"
Marcus nodded, turning to the krogan, rachni and mercenaries forming up behind them all. Raising his voice, he shouted to be heard by all of them, "ALRIGHT MEN, SPREAD OUT AND GET COZY! I WANT RIFLE DRILLS RUN ON A MINUTE-BY-MINUTE BASIS! IF YOU'RE NOT TRAINING, YOU'RE HELPING SET UP DEFENSES! EVERYBODY IS TO BE DOING SOMETHING! LET'S SNAP TO IT, PEOPLE! MOVE OUT!"
The krogan beat their chests in response, roaring back at him in approval before breaking up and spreading out in different directions...some in pairs, others in large groups of up to twenty...overall, they quickly got practicing at what krogan did best...killing. The many rachni quickly swarmed into the area, although this time not to kill and slaughter...but this time to gather up and engage in silent commune with one another. The numerous Blue Suns, Eclipse and Blood Pack filed out as well, with the turian commander Palisus quickly shouting orders at them to perform whatever drills, exercises or training he wanted them to. Vorcha hissed and howled, krogan grunted and grumbled. Salarian engineers muttered under their breath, turian legionnaires joked and scoffed.
While man after man, woman after woman, walked past them, Marcus turned to his squad briefly, nodding to them, "Take a breather guys, you know where I'll be if I need you or you need me. For the moment, just take a moment to relax, drill or talk. Might be the last time you get to for a while."
They all nodded, a few others like James and Keeling saluting as well, before breaking apart and going their seperate ways...EDI with Kasumi to discuss hacking techniques in combat, James, Keeling, Garrus, Kaidan and Javik to drill, Liara and Jack and her students to practice with their biotics. Whatever they were doing, it was to prepare for the next fight...not to relax.
He smiled. Taking time to relax as a chance to improve upon themselves and how they fight. One day, we're going to get shore leave, and we're going to be held at gunpoint until we actually bloody relax.
Considering sore his muscles got sometimes, Marcus was wondering how he could even stand up at this point. Bouncing from planet to planet, station to station...fighting Cerberus, geth and the Reapers. We almost never catch a break. Go to the Archives, talk to the Council, save a Primarch, rescue krogan females, cure the genophage, repel an attack on the Citadel, make peace between quarians and the geth...now liberating Omega.
What a hectic life we lead.
He turned back to Grunt, smiling as he slapped the intimidating krogan on the back, "So Grunt, been enjoying yourself I see. This right up your alley?"
"It's fantastic, battlemaster," the krogan slammed his fists together in excitement, following Marcus as the two of them traced Aria's path back to her command center...a stairway at the very back of the room being their destination, "So much to kill, and all of it Cerberus. Husks simply groan and moan all the time...when I crush them beneath my fists, I feel nothing. No joy, no exhiliration. I feel bored. But Cerberus...they break. They snap. Less than a foot to sever the spine...I can deconstruct a target, feel their flesh shred beneath my palm...it fills me with excitement. This is my calling, Shepard. This is where I should be."
He laughed, one hand reaching up to grip the krogan's left shoulderplate, "Well, there's just under forty thousand more for you to kill in good time, Grunt. In the mean time, try not to go on any suicide missions without my permission, okay?"
"Heh heh heh," the krogan chuckled, his maw stretching into a normally terrifying grin, "There'll be suicide missions alright, I know that much. Hey Shepard, do you know the tale of Overlord Kredak's assault on Antibaar during the Rachni Wars?"
He raised an eyebrow at the krogan supersoldier, hands clasped behind his back, footsteps echoing across the deck, sidestepping a pair of hissing Blood Pack vorcha, who were currently beating the crap out of each other while one of their krogan squad leaders attempted to break them apart before they killed each other, "No, but I'm sure you'll tell me, Grunt. Don't you have the genes of Overlord Kredak within you?"
Grunt nodded, "That's what Warlord Okeer imprinted in me, anyway. He told me I had the tenacity of Overlord Moro, the vengeful spirit of Overlord Shiagur and the stubbornness and raw strength of Overlord Kredak. All of them were powerful in their own way, and all of them fell during the Rebellions. Actually, it was Kredak who started the Rebellions in the first place when he invaded the asari colony of Lusia."
"So...this assault on Antibaar," Marcus switched back to topic, "What was it?"
"It was late into the wars, a few years after the salarians uplifted us," Grunt joyfully told the tale with a wide grin, clearly empowered by the story itself, "The empire carved a path through the rachni like they were nothing. By that point, everything from the Terminus Systems to Council space itself was controlled by the rachni. When the Tuchankan Empire arrived, everything changed: we wiped out entire rachni colonies overnight. Antibaar was the beginning of our final push. It would only be a year until Suen, the rachni homeworld itself, fell. It would also be the last time all three of our legendary overlords fought side by side. Antibaar however...that was where Kredak became truly famous."
He growled almost primally as he remembered it, "Before, all I could remember of that battle was the sounds of rachni screams. The sounds of Kredak crushing rachni soldiers underneath his boots. The crack of a shotgun as he blew the head off a rachni queen. His cry of triumph as he, a krogan without biotics, defeated three brood warriors in single combat. I remember that he tore off his kinetic barriers, going in with nothing but a shotgun, an Imperial blade the size of an arm and a warhammer the size of your entire body...strength was pure within his genes. He was like me...a krogan of unparalleled strength. A strength the genophage took from us. Such power...such raw power. He was strong. I am strong!"
"The point here, Grunt?" he asked, feeling the krogan was getting a little too enraptured in the details. Appreciate the enthusiasm, though.
"Right," was Grunt's almost sheepish reply, reminding Marcus all too much that the krogan was, by krogan standards, still an infant, "Kredak led a single company straight into a rachni nest. Salarians and the turians cleared the sky of a rachni fleet before they dropped in. Like I said, he wore no armor, no shields, and bore nothing but a single shotgun and his knife. His men insisted he wear armor, but he refused them. He said, 'a man who requires armor to fight is one with something to fear. Krogan do not fear anything, especially not these rachni. I face these vermin naked in that I might please Kalros with a demonstration of my ferocious might. May the queen feel the kiss of my hammer.' His words encouraged his men to strip their own armor...and they infiltrated the nest. Illuminated by Aralakh and Kalros itself, they wiped out the entire nest...thousands upon thousands of rachni. The entire company was wiped out...all eighty krogan! But for each krogan slain, a thousand rachni were torn apart! In the end, only Kredak himself remained! Against all odds, he killed the queen's brood warriors, and stomped her face in with his warhammer! And for that, he earned the title of Overlord. The rachni learnt to fear us that day, as did the Council."
Finally, the two of them reached the back, walking up the steps as they approached one of the doors, two guards flanking each side with their rifles drawn: both of them were turian. He stopped just as they reached the door, turning to face Grunt with a quizzical expression, his arms crossed over his armoured chest, "Absolutely fascinating story, Grunt. But I fail to see the relevance."
The krogan just smiled, "Don't you see? You are Kredak, this Cerberus general is the queen, and his soldiers are the many warriors Kredak stomped between his feet. This is a grand battle, and when we are victorious, they will truly learn to fear you. Only truly great soldiers can command fear with their presence."
He chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head, "Thanks...I think. Although I don't think that's really what I'm aiming for here. I'm here to liberate, not to instill trepidation."
The krogan slapped him on the arm, his grin refusing to relent, "Do you think Kredak wanted to be feared. He didn't demand it, he commanded it. He didn't make it happen, it just did. Like it or not Shepard, you're my battlemaster, and if you were krogan, I'm sure Wrex would make you an Overlord. You've earned my respect, and you've earned their fear. Just thought you should know that."
He nodded, continuing to frown at the krogan, "You're...something else, Grunt. Truly. Thank you for the compliment...although I don't think being told people should fear me is really a compliment, but I'll take what I can get."
"No, Shepard. You take it," he clasped his fist shut to emphasize this, shaking his head, "That is the krogan way. I remember when you first woke me up...you promised me worthy foes. We defeated the Collectors, and they were certainly worthy. We defeated the Shadow Broker, and he was worthy. And now we fight the Reapers and Cerberus...the most worthy foe of all. And despite what my genes scream at me to do, I find myself allied with my old foe. Those that Kredak annihilated world by world are now those I fight beside. Wrex hopes that the krogan will not seek revenge against the Council for the genophage once we've fully recovered. At first, I thought he was a fool. But you showed me I was wrong. I was the fool. Besides, you've pointed me in the right direction."
This time, when Marcus smiled, it was genuine, "Thanks Grunt. Come on, we should get to the command center. No doubt Aria's impatient to get moving," he turned to the door, tapping the interface as he stepped through the door inside, Grunt following him every step, "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't eager myself, although for entirely different reasons."
The command center was a long elongated room, extending to the far left and right. A glass observation window allowed a view into the cargo hold, with another one on the opposite wall showing yet another cargo hold, this one roughly the same in size, with more vehicles stored within. In the middle was a war table not entirely unlike that on the Normandy, Aria waiting beside it with her arms crossed as Ahz typed away at the console on its side, likely trying to bring it online. The entire section of that room was surrounded by terminals and consoles, with most of her men hard at work: an asari coordinated with the quarian engineers outside, Bray ordered his troops around, while Dreg stood at Aria's side, arms braced against the table. On the other side of it stood Zaal'Golo, exchanging words with a geth shock trooper beside him.
They approached the group, Marcus arriving beside Dreg, while Grunt came to stand on Marcus' right, looming behind the N7 almost like a bodyguard.
Aria spared him a mere glance as she turned to the quarian general, gaining his attention as she spoke up, "You've certainly gotten nice and cozy, General. I suspect everything is being done to get my bunker fully operational?"
Zaal'Golo nodded, turning from his geth companion who remained at his side even as he addressed the asari, "Please Aria, we are quarian: for three hundred years, we've had to keep centuries-old ships intact. Bringing this bunker back online took five minutes at most. Bringing your defenses up to scratch is proving to be slightly more difficult, but it's nothing we can't handle. We're just glad the rest of our forces arrived. It proves that Shepard's plan has worked out so far."
"Not everyone," Grunt piped up, keen to remind everyone of the company that was still out there, "I have some heavies running a torch op on those Cerberus hangar bays. Once they've made sure those aircraft are out of commission, they'll meet up with us here. Other than that, the rest of my battalion is here. I'd go so far as to say that we've conquered this quadrant."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here," Zaal'Golo intervened, waving a finger at the krogan as he straightened up, "Cerberus forces are gathering around the quadrant as we speak. We may have taken a few districts, but that doesn't mean the quadrant is ours. And if my scouts are to be believed, then the enemy force amassing is quite large. Thousands of troops, in fact. Possibly two regiments. They are likely reinforcing their defensive line...if they wanted to attack, they could have already. I believe their aim will be to repel us, not expel us."
"If Cerberus already has two regiments ready to engage us, then we've grossly underestimated their mobilization time," Marcus chastized, glaring at Aria with an unamused expression, "Because of this, I believe our next move is rather obvious. We need to dislodge those forces if we want to proceed. I fear a direct assault might be necessary."
"Ah! Success!" Ahz cheered out, the war table lighting up as its systems began to receive power.
"Excellent job, Ahz," Aria complimented, uncrossing her arms and leaning against the table, "Now, get Jarral on the line."
A few seconds and a few moments of typing later, Jarral's voice sounded over the war table's comm, "Miss T'Loak, we've secured the entire area surrounding Omega. Petrovsky's fleet lies in ruin, and we've hunted down and destroyed every single one of his ships. Whatever naval presence he once held is now gone. Victory is ours, for now."
Gerrel's voice soon added to hers, "Admiral Jarral is correct. I have my ships assuming defensive positions within the asteroid belt, and the geth have activated cloak and are holding position next to the station. If Cerberus attempts to counterattack, we'll be ready. Although we'd rather not risk engaging reinforcements if we can help it."
"That's excellent news," Aria smirked smugly, the news bringing her much needed amusement, "Keep us updated on further developments. We've just reached the bunker. So far, the plan has gone off without a hitch."
"Understood," the two responded before the comm was cut.
"Well, we don't need to worry about the situation in space at least," Zaal'Golo declared, "Now we can focus on the ground. We shouldn't waste time. I suggest an immediate offensive. If we swarm both of their flanks, we can crush them quickly and efficiently. We outnumber them completely. Its four thousand against twenty. With those numbers, plus our geth, rachni and krogan fire support, we could easily make the day ours."
"Wouldn't suggest that myself."
All eyes in the room landed on Nyreen as she strolled into the command center, arriving inbetween Marcus and Dreg, crossing her arms.
"Nyreen..." Aria growled in a low tone, almost muted, "I don't remember giving you permission to access my command center. This is for senior personnel only."
"I'm a general, Aria. Commander of the Talons, actually," the turian bit back, ignoring the asari queen and refusing to meet her gaze, "That makes me senior personnel, I should think. Besides, I'm curious as to what you plan to do. Somebody has to look out for Omega's interests."
Aria smiled, her hostile tone shifting to that of one of passive-aggression/mild amusement, "Nyreen..." she began sarcastically, arms crossed once more, "...it's almost like you don't trust me."
The turian scoffed, shaking her head as she finally met the asari's gaze, glaring back at her, eyes narrowed to slits, "It's exactly as if I don't trust you."
He rolled his eyes, slamming a fist down on the table's surface. They both immediately snapped to look at the angry N7, his jaw clenched in frustration, "I don't give a fuck what you two have going on between you. I don't care about the trust issues or the fact you two aren't on talking terms. We're going to war together. I'll make sure we can rely on each other."
Nyreen exhaled heavily, leaning back on one leg as she rubbed her temple. Finally, she nodded, "Agreed, captain. At least one of us isn't on a power trip."
Marcus nodded, turning to Aria. With the asari not responding, he decided to make himself clear once and for all, "Just to reiterate Aria, I am not here for you. I am here because our interests align in only one area: dead Reapers and a disempowered Cerberus. Once this is over, our partnership is done in regards to this station. I will not be your lackey, and I will not help you solidfy your hold. I need you, that's all. Do not delude yourself into thinking I'm some tool you can use, because you're solely mistaken. Tell me you understand so that we can move forward into this war with a clear, crisp idea of the aftermath."
She looked annoyed by his statement, as if she had actually been entertaining that delusion only for it to be shattered in that instant. Finally, she sighed, shrugging, "Sure, whatever. I don't need you to hold power, anyway: I've been doing that just fine before your father was in his father's testicles."
"Good," silence followed after his statement, with nothing further being said. Deciding now was the best time to address the topic, he cleared his throat, hands clasped behind his back as he turned to Ahz, "Now, before we can organize any sort of counterattack, we need to establish a better understanding of these forcefields. They could become a real pain in the ass if we don't deal with them now."
"They already are," Nyreen affirmed, bringing up her omni-tool in the process. With a few idle types, the schematic was projected up onto the war table's projector, with the forcefields highlighted in blinking blue, "My men have had to navigate past them numerous times. Everytime we think we've found them all, another one pops up and surprises us. Truth is...we have no idea how extensive the network itself is...so far, there are dozens across all the districts. From what my scouts tell me, and what we've seen first hand, Petrovsky uses them as crowd control, as you probably already guessed. Any riots occur, and he can seal them off before they spread, containing them and allowing his men to quell it within minutes."
"So these are the locations of all the known forcefields?" Marcus asked. Seeing Nyreen's silent nod, he shook his head. Fuck. There must be hundreds of the damn things. How am I supposed to coordinate any kind of organized assault with these pieces of shit popping up everywhere?
"Wait..." Nyreen piped up, her eyes scanning the schematics.
"What is it, Nyreen? Having second thoughts already? That was awfully quick," Aria snarkily stated.
The turian shook her head, swiping across the map, "No, these forcefield locations...these schematics...shit, they're all wrong."
He frowned at that, "What do you mean?"
"All the forcefield locations on this map are incorrect. They're in places they shouldn't be," she zoomed in on a particular one in the Yelsz district, "For instance, this forcefield blocking the street shouldn't be there...but according to this, the forcefield we encountered in Zeta doesn't exist...damn it. Petrovsky must have deliberately sabotaged these schematics to throw you off."
"Fuck!" Aria slammed her fist into the console loudly, hissing through her teeth, "If these schematics have been sabotaged, then they're useless!"
The turian turned to her, grinning, "Gee Aria, turns out you might need me after all. You see, us Talons have been making schematics of our own as we go...let's just say that Cerberus made maps are hardly trustworthy. Luckily for you, I have one of our own maps right here. It's not complete like this one, but it's definitely far more reliable."
A few more taps on her omni-tool, and the forcefield locations shifted to their actual positions, while a few others vanished altogether.
"Wait," Ahz piped up, suddenly beginning to type frantically away at his console again, "With the two schematics, I can replicate the positions of the new forcefield locations and add it to what the Talons are already aware of. That way, we'll have a complete map."
"I know who can help with that," Marcus stated, quickly tapping his comm, "EDI, we need your help with something. Cerberus sabotaged the schematics, but the Talons have a more reliable map: unfortunately, it's missing important features. Ahz thinks he can use the original to apply the newly discovered forcefield locations to the Talon map, giving us a complete schematic. Can you help speed it up?"
"That will not be an issue, Marcus," the AI replied.
A moment later, Ahz stepped back, his smile stretching from cheek to cheek as new forcefield locations suddenly appeared all over the station. Within seconds, the entire map was completed.
"Success!" the salarian cried out in triumph.
"Thanks a ton, EDI," he thanked, not expecting the AI to reply, instead simply turning to the group.
"Okay, so with a full, unsabotaged map, we now know where all the forcefields are," Marcus declared, leaning against the console as his own eyes scanned it all.
Nyreen gasped, "Spirits, there's hundreds of checkpoints. Navigating a force the size of yours across the station without aircraft would be impossible."
Aria shook her head, hands grasping the edge of the table angrily, "You all call me a tyrant, but tell me...did I ever put up forcefields to control the people? Under my rule, Omega was free. They could do whatever they wanted. It was lawless, but lawlessness is true freedom. Petrovsky controls these people through forcefields, brute force and strategems. He's an asshole, no matter what moral compass he hides behind."
Nyreen scoffed, "Being lawless was the problem, Aria. I hate to admit it, but Omega's been more peaceful in the last few months than it ever was under your reign. The only war is between the Talons and Cerberus...no turf wars. No mercenaries fighting over control of districts. No cross-species plagues. There's law and order...those mechs take care of murderers and rapists. Sure, it's not freedom...but it's security. It's knowing you can cross the street without being shot or murdered or tortured. It's certainly not perfect, but it works. Besides...at least he has a moral compass."
Aria was unimpressed, glaring down at her. She might as well have been aiming a gun at her for all the love that came with the ferocious stare, "Don't you fucking lecture me. Besides, for someone who's supposed to be on my side, you seem to kiss Petrovsky's ass quite a lot. He's perfect in this, perfect in that...never 'he needs to be stopped' or 'he's a monster.'"
"I'm not on your side," she spat back, "I'm on Omega's side. I want these people to be safe. Like I said, if Petrovsky wasn't Cerberus, I'd be content to live under his rule. But he is, and that is why I fight. So far, ironically, Shepard seems to be the only one to act"ually care about Omega's future."
He held up his hands in his own defense, "Don't drag me into this shit. You two have got to grow up and get over this petty feud of yours. We're working together now. Get over it, and work with me here. If we want to have any chance of defeating Cerberus, the Talons, the UGC and the OLF need to work together. I can't help you Aria if you won't fucking help me. Besides," he snapped his arm up, pointing at the schematics. Specifically, the darker, unlit section below the main station, largely the main spire, "I'd like someone to explain to me why there are forcefields blocking off the entire lower section of the station, and why it looks entirely abandoned. According to this, not even basic life support is operational. Only thing working down there is the fucking airlock seals."
He didn't fail to notice Nyreen's reaction to the question. Her head hung low, hands clenching as she seemed to avoid answering the question, freezing up. That caused him to frown, surprised by the turian's reaction. Before he could ask however, Aria spoke up.
"I forgot to mention that," the asari admitted, sighing as her tension seemed to wear off, "Shepard, there's a reason Cerberus was able to take me by surprise. I don't know if Petrovsky authorized it, or if it was all part of his elaborate trap...but those darkened sections on the map are there for a reason. Petrovsky...he's trying to contain them. Keep them from escaping-"
"Keep what from escaping?" Marcus asked, voice raised, "What aren't you telling me, Aria? What the hell is down there?"
"If you let me fucking finish, I'll tell you," she snapped, returning to her recollection, "Before the Cerberus invasion...prior to Petrovsky betraying me...there were creatures they unleashed on the station. Wiped out a good portion of my men, as well as the mercs trying to take me out. They were unstoppable, Shepard. Monstrously strong, virtually soak up bullets and when they get to you..." she trailed off, shaking her head as she finished, turning to him, "Oh, and they're a fusion of cybernetic and organic biology. Remind you of anyone beautiful you know?"
Husks. He sighed, chuckling ironically to himself, "Goody. Fighting Cerberus, and we still can't avoid the Reapers," after a moment however, the gravity of what she said quickly hit him, and he looked back up at her, smile practically evaporating from his lips, "Wait...husks? Cerberus invaded Omega before the Reapers arrived, and after me and my team had wiped out the Collectors. So where did those husks come from?"
"Ooohhhh...now that's the scary part," Aria commented dryly, waving her hand nonchalantly, "These creatures aren't Reaper. Cerberus built them from scratch as part of some experiment. Part of Petrovsky's trap was making me believe they were escaped experiments gone rampant. He lured me to the station where they had been located, and when I found out the truth, he had me imprisoned. By the time I got free and returned to the station, he had most of them sealed off in the lower part of the station and most of the station was his. In the end, though, I think even he was afraid of them. I don't think they were under Cerberus' control, hence why they are sealed off below."
Grunt shrugged, looking entirely undeterred by the asari's story, "We've fought hordes of husks already. This shouldn't be any different. I say, if this Petrovsky decides to release them, we'll kill them all."
"That would be incredibly foolish," Nyreen finally spoke up, raising her head to face the krogan, the turian's eyes looking uncertain: it was subtle, something only Marcus seemed to pick up on, but it did get his interest, "Petrovsky would never risk innocent civilians just to get an advantage on us. Besides...there's a reason he quarantined them instead of exterminating them. Those creatures aren't like the husks you've encountered: they're worse. I've had experience with them, and there's no stopping them. They practically shrug off everything but explosives, and even then they can walk it off. And what they do when they bite you or scratch you..."
"You turn into one of them," Aria finished for her, seeming to note the turian's discomfort, but making no mention of it, "I've seen it happen to some of my own men. The process is startingly quick, and once the victim is transformed, there's nothing left to identify him: they all look the same. Larger than a krogan, and fucking terrifying."
"Great," Marcus sarcastically concluded, removing his helmet gently and placing it on the holo table with a great exhale of breath, "So in addition to a massive Cerberus army, we've also got the literal definition of synthetic zombies, minus the being undead part. Fan-fucking-tastic. Anything else I should know? Maybe Petrovsky has a Reaper parked outside Afterlife? Or perhaps he's an immortal god, and the only way to kill him is to drop a fuckton of nukes ontop of him. Truly Aria, anything else?"
The asari chuckled to herself, surprisingly not getting annoyed by his antics, "Such a vivid imagination, Shepard. Fortunately for us all, none of the above. Even more fortunate, there's nothing else. The...'adjutants'...as Petrovsky calls them, were the first and last weapon he employed to take me down. Once my forces were decimated, he practically rolled right in and took the station. I'm sure he had troubled containing his little huskified extremist pets, but once they were contained, I'm sure he quickly forgot about them."
"Why bother?" Grunt asked. Noting the frowns drawn at him, he pointed a small finger at his point of reference, "If they can survive without oxygen or any form of life support, then why not just vent them into space? He's got it sealed off, and all it would take as a few opened airlocks. No husk, no matter how tough, can avoid getting sucked out into space."
Nyreen nodded, head in one hand, "He's already tried that once. As a test, he vented one upper section into space. Unfortunately for him, because these adjutants survive in vacuum, they were fine: even worse, one of their cruisers was strolling by at the time. Had eighteen adjutants all over it within minutes. Their crew was slaughtered and if it hadn't been for Petrovsky ordering the ship to be destroyed, they might have gone into FTL and ended up anywhere. As mindless as they are, the creatures seem to possess limited knowledge of technology: enough to know how to navigate a ship. After that, I guess he figured keeping them contained would be a better solution until he figured out a better solution."
"What about that massive heat signature in the middle?" Bray spoke up this time. It was then that the whole group finally noticed an extremely large heat signature running down the middle of the entire darkened zone: it was the only one producing power in those abandoned districts, and by the look of it, the damn thing was massive in size.
Aria recognized it instantly, "That's Omega's central reactor. Petrovsky has no choice but to keep that thing powered: without it, the entire station would lose power. And guess what needs power? The tethers keeping the asteroid attached to the station's superstructure, and the mass effect fields that keep Omega from being bombarded by asteroids. There's also the small matter of life support, communications..."
"Luckily for Petrovsky, the adjutants don't go anywhere near it," Nyreen pointed out, "It could be that their limited knowledge of technology doesn't apply to reactors. They probably simply don't know what to do with it, or they've learnt that the sheer heat produced by the damn thing is cause enough to stay away from it. Either way, adjutant interference with the reactor is unlikely enough that Petrovsky can keep it running safely. Not that he has a choice."
"And that's where we have our first problem," Ahz muttered, gaining the attention of everyone in the room.
"What's the situation, Ahz?" Aria virtually demanded, storming over to the salarian's side to look over his console.
She needn't have bothered, "Those forcefields operate on extremely advanced technology: judging from the looks of it, a lot of it is reverse engineered Reaper tech: same goes for those particle cannons: Hellfire-class, they're classified as. Judging from the looks of it, all this technology was acquired from beyond the Omega 4 Relay: likely from the remains of that Base you destroyed, captain."
That only confirmed Marcus' suspicions. Illusive Man must have somehow found an IFF to traverse the relay. Damn it. Destroyed the Base, and he still somehow found a way to use it.
"Yes, that's all very interesting, but get to the point, Ahz," Aria snapped impatiently, waving a hand for him to get on with it.
The salarian nodded frantically, "Of course, Aria. Like I was saying, it's all Reaper tech. Now, the forcefield network is massive...it requires a lot of power. More than the power grid would be able to provide. If he had tapped this directly into the power grid, it would create a power surge: there would have been mass blackouts. To get the power he needs to run the forcefields, without killing the power grid...he's tapping power directly from the reactor itself to power them. He's using an entirely different power network from the standard one."
Sure enough, numerous lines ascended from the reactor across the projector, connecting across the entire station and linking up with their respective forcefields. Hundreds of different connections...it would have taken months to complete, but it was extremely thorough.
"Shit," Nyreen muttered, mandibles twitching in shock, eyes widened. Finally, she turned to Aria, this time with a look of equal parts desperation and disbelief, "To disrupt the entire network, we'd have to find each individual cable and cut it off."
"That's the safe way to do it," Ahz corrected, gulping, "There's a far more riskier alternative."
Aria turned to the salarian, arms crossed, one eye widened, "That is?"
The salarian sighed, rubbing one shoulder, "The reactor itself. Locate its control room, reroute power from the respective cables. It would cripple the entire forcefield network instantly."
Nyreen leaned back on one leg, clearly unimpressed by the suggestion, "But to get there...the entire route is crawling with adjutants. It would be suicide."
"We have the men," Grunt growled, smirking, "Give me my battalion and I'll get your engineer there, Aria. We are krogan. I welcome the challenge."
Nyreen scoffed, looking at the krogan in complete disgust, "You have no idea what those things are capable of! I've seen just one tear apart an entire platoon of men! Petrovsky has a forty thousand strong army and an quickly large fleet, not to mention his own tactical brilliance, to call upon and not even he could get to that reactor if he tried! Those adjutants started off small, but when they attacked Omega, they infected hundreds of people. There could be thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands, down there by now! Petrovsky himself sent teams down there and lost contact with them! Do you think a man of his stature would back down from a fight unless he absolutely knew he couldn't win? Krogan or not, you and your men will die! If you're extra unlucky...you'll become one of them. And then we'll have an extra 800 plus 2 adjutants to add ontop of the ones we already have to deal with! No, I can't endorse a suicide mission of this scale."
With that, the turian turned and stormed out, flustered and angry. Marcus frowned at her, confused by her attitude. She seems like a competent leader and an excellent combatant...but every time one of these 'adjutants' are mentioned, she stumbles. Is it...uncertainty? Perhaps she's fought one of these things before?
Is she...perhaps...afraid?
If that was true, these adjutants must have been seriously scary to spook somebody like Nyreen. Best think of another solution fast. I won't risk troops if I don't have to.
Door closing as the Talon general left, Marcus straightened up, taking his helmet under one arm and turning to the rest of the group, "We're here people: that's the first step. We should give our forces time to reinforce this bunker, check for weaknesses and stock up on supplies. The enemy won't attack us unless they see weakness, and if they do, we'll be ready. Take a day to think on it, and we'll meet up here first thing tomorrow morning. Everybody get some rest."
Aria disagreed, "We can't just rest on this information, Shepard. We need to act now."
He shook his head, turning to his side as he was already facing the door, "We're not machines, Aria: these men need time to rest. Our army will be useless unless they've had proper sleep...the geth can keep watch if need be. If Cerberus is foolish enough to attack us, we'll have a fortified position from which to defend ourselves: good terrain. Any ground attack will have to come through the courtyard, and that bridge is an excellent chokepoint. They'll have to attack us from the air, and we've got enough anti-aircraft assets to make that a no-problem. We've got safe locale, and enough time to rest. Use the time wisely."
The asari shook her head, turning back to Ahz, "Go, have your sleep then. I'll be planning what to do next."
He shrugged, bearing her no mind, "Do whatever you please Aria. However, if I find out you've planned an attack without me...I will make my report to the UGC, and we'll nuke this station instead. After all...we're here to deny Cerberus a strategic location. Nobody said we needed to keep it."
"You wouldn't dare..."
"I would. This is war."
The two glared at each other for a long moment, waiting for the other to break. In the end, it wasn't going to be the special forces operative, "Fine. No attacks, no suicide missions...no fucking charges. Happy?"
He smiled, nodding, "Very much so." I of course have no intention of slaughtering civilians, but she doesn't need to know that. I need Aria on a tight leash. She goes all gung ho on this and we might as well cut this all off.
Continuing his exit, Marcus decided to find somewhere to bunk for the night, but not before he checked up on Tali. He finally yawned, allowing himself a moment to bask in his exhaustion. Muscles slackened, eyes watered. He sighed. Definitely need some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be a big day.
As would the next week.
{Loading...}
August 6, 2186
0511 hours.
Courtyard, Aria's Bunker, Tuhi District, Omega.
Second War for Omega, Rubicon Campaign.
Agent Kai Leng.
Eight quarian engineers out front, sixteen geth in guard position. Turrets don't seem to be online yet, but situation could change. Bunker looks heavily fortified on all sides, and only way for troops to get inside would be through the courtyard...perfect chokepoint. Retractable bridge makes matters worse. Coordinated air assault likely candidate, but would require suppressing their AA capability. Strength of enemy force calculated to be around 10,000. Numerical superiority a certainty, but useless against a well entrenched force. Field of tactics defeats arithmetic. Field of fire would decimate the most elite regiment, regardless of training or equipment.
Concentrated artillery strike could suppress enemy flak long enough for first line to break through turret fire and disable it. Enemy tech support and presence of geth would make hacking difficult, but not impossible. Heavy mech support, possibly from a few squads of RAMPARTs or a single squad of Atlases would be enough to keep their primes busy. Enemy air force is lacking...gives us a significant advantage. Loss of Rubicon hangars unfortunate, but doesn't cripple our own air capabilities. Could prove significantly useful.
These thoughts dominated the assassin's head as his cybernetically enhanced eyes scanned the landscape, locating excellent flanking areas, possible chokepoints, points of attack, vital acquisitions, and even more. Leng may have been an incapable and reckless fighter at times, but he had not forgotten what they taught him in N7: his ability to dissect an enemy force, locate the best points for infiltration and neutralization, and being able to provide accurate advanced reconnaissance and intelligence was what made him worthy of joining the ranks of the galaxy's elite special forces operators.
His 'eye goggles' made it so he didn't need binoculars, his cybernetic improvements providing automatic magnification and his integrated HUD allowing tactical data to be uploaded directly into his brain. Within seconds, he was absorbing this data, providing him a unique analysis that the rest of the Cerberus recon teams under Amish had failed to collect thus far.
Petrovsky had, of course, ordered him to stay put: he didn't want to risk one of his best agents. Leng was also fully aware that Randall had been asked to keep an eye on him, but he didn't care: he was tired of sitting around doing nothing. Leng was better when he was out in the field, and he managed to control his anger at Shepard and focus on his mission.
The mission in question was locating Aria's FOB, allowing for Petrovsky to plan accordingly. So far, none of Amish's teams had any success: the UGC forces were so disconnected from one another that finding one to track back to their new base was close to impossible. Luckily for Leng, he hadn't had to look far. A krogan company full of heavies was returning from torching Amish's fighter hangars (something he imagined had left the colonel more than a little jaded), and all Leng had to do was follow them right back to their FOB: a massive bunker, smack bang in the middle of the Tuhi district.
It's just standing there. The damn thing is huge. How did Petrovsky never notice this?
Although, to the General's credit, the entire district had been bombarded thoroughly during his first war: and with Aria surrendering her forces not long after, there really was no need to try and track it down: now that she was back however, it was crucial: and the assassin was the first to find it.
And as the provider of this intel, he'll have no choice but to have me lead his host in attacking the bunker. And then, and only then, will I kill Shepard like the treacherous pig that he is. He will taste my blade, and I will taste his blood.
The thought excited him, filling him with more than just adrenaline: it also seemed to satisfy the persistent headache that grew in his head every so often. He was told it was a side effect of his cybernetic augmentations, with the scientists telling him it was the 'price paid for his perfection'. Regardless, Leng was grateful, and despite the occassional migraine, he had no issues with the added permutations that were gifted to him because of it. Increased strength, speed, agility, intelligence, stamina...every single one of them and more things he absolutely needed to complete the tasks he was given. Overall, he was the very definition of a supersoldier.
Crouched ontop of a rooftop overlooking the entire courtyard, Leng was gifted with the foresight to use the location as a perch from which to gather his intelligence. Knowing the enemy composition would have helped greatly in simulating a battle scenario in his head, based on the enemy's known numerical composition, it was a no brainer to conclude that the advantage lay in Cerberus hands: at current, the UGC had no idea that Cerberus was aware of where they were, and did not possess the resources that the pro-human organization already had at their own disposal.
I look forward to this battle. I'll finally be able to kill that quarian whore, slit the throat of that asari bitch and flay that turian scumbag. One by one, I will kill them all, and only once they are all dead will I grant him death...let him join his filthy xenos into the afterlife, if it even exists. I already killed that traitor Jacob. Not even the drell assassin, a professional, was a match for me. Oh how I will enjoy beating them to a pulp...
The concept gave him more euphoria than it should for a human being. Some would call Leng a sadist or a psychopath. He was neither: he was perfection. It was Shepard who was the psychopath, and Randall the sadist. Neither of them were tough enough to make the right decisions. Banes was an asshole and an incapable leader: couldn't even defeat the Normandy during his second engagement. He saw the way Petrovsky looked down on him...like he was filth unworthy of his time: an insect he'd sooner crush underneath his immaculate boots than spend anymore time in his company. But the General was just an arrogant fuckwit...and in the end, they were all lackeys of the Illusive Man, no matter how much Petrovsky deluded himself into thinking he was in control.
In the end, I will kill Petrovsky. And that cunt Randall, too. Might even throw Banes out an airlock. Fuck all of them. I am better than they are...superior. There's a reason I was entrusted as the Illusive Man's personal hitman...
Having recovered what intel he needed, he looked at his chrono, deciding he should return to HQ with what he had. Petrovsky and Randall would soon discover he was missing, and he would rather be there to confront them than have Randall sent out to hunt him down...Leng doubted the outcome would resemble friendly.
Touches me again, and I'll rip his hands off. Fucking Ezno. Deserves to drown in his own pus. Fuck him. Fuck him especially. Stupid, arrogant, unbelievable bastard.
Remaining crouched, he quietly backed away, finding a ladder nearby and sliding it back onto the ground. Once landed, he activated his cloak and dashed away as fast as possible, making as much distance between him and the bunker as possible.
Over ten minutes later, and Leng arrived at the doors to HQ. The same dragoon from before stopped him once more, but this time he was surrounded by multiple guardians, their talon pistols drawn on the assassin. He merely smiled, raising his hands to demonstrate he was holding no weapons in his immediate grip, armed with nothing but his ninjato and a few knives.
The dragoon, his M-25 Hornet SMG raised, spoke, confident the assassin was surrounded and defenseless, "General Petrovsky wanted us to greet you the moment you returned. He wants to see you immediately. The charge is insubordination and dereliction of duty."
Leng's smile never once diminished, "Oh, I want to see him too. While I was 'abandoning my duty' and thanks to my 'insubordination', I was able to gather some rather interesting intelligence. The rest is for the General's ears only."
The dragoon barely listened, turning and tapping the door interface, walking through and motioning the guardians to do the same. Leng slowly followed him, making no move to grab his weapon or attack in anyway. The six guardians behind him remained behind him, their pistols drawn every step of the way as the assassin was escorted into the command center, door left open as they stepped through it.
Leng's smile drooped slightly as he recognized the form of Randall standing beside the war table, back turned to them, and hands clasped in parade rest. Breaking off his conversations with one of the colonels, he turned to see Leng, eyes locking onto his for a moment. Shaking his head in disappointment, he turned to the dragoon commander, "I'll take over from here, commander. You and your men can return to their posts. I can take care of one, unruly assassin."
One snappy salute later, and the dragoon turned to walk back down the hall, his guardians following him, lowering their shields to their sides and holstering their pistols. Randall, drawing his rifle, motioned for Leng to move, grabbing hold of his left shoulder roughly to emphasize his point. Leng didn't need prodding, moving forward even as Randall continued shoving him, the barrel of his harrier digging into the crook of the assassin's back, trigger ready to be pulled if the assassin so much as blinked in his direction. Leng didn't fight back.
It wasn't long before they finally ascended into Petrovsky's nest, the General typing away at his terminal behind his desk, Leng having never seen him sitting down. He didn't acknowledge their presence for a moment, likely finishing whatever report he was writing. Finally, he put the terminal to sleep and pushed his chair out, standing up as he buttoned up a loose button at the top of his uniform. Straightening up, he motioned to Randall to let the assassin go.
The manhunter gave one last shove, causing Leng to stumble ever so slightly forward, but allowing him to feel a reprieve as his rifle was no longer pressed into his back. Regardless, Randall stood behind him, harrier nonetheless raised and poised to kill at a moment's notice. Leng had no doubt Randall would pull the trigger without hesitation.
Petrovsky looked over the assassin once, meeting the assassin's eyes. Again, there was that look: the look of a man addressing a bug on his wall, more disgusted by its presence than horrified or in awe. Leng made no indication of his true opinion on that matter, face wiped of emotion and silently waiting for the General to say something.
A cleared throat, and he finally spoke, "Again, you disobey direct orders, Agent Leng. Your habit of compromising operations begins to run its course too often. I'm surprised you even bothered to reappear. Did you kill Shepard? That was the reason you abandoned your post, is it not? No doubt your reappearance here means you either failed to get near him or he once again bested you. None are looking good on my report," he jabbed a thumb at the terminal behind him, "Yes, that report. The one I'm giving to the Illusive Man, or will once this war is over. I had to tell him how you disobeyed direct orders twice in your contempt for Shepard, a contempt that, quite frankly, is beginning to grow tiresome. Do you have anything to say in your defense before I have you stripped of your armor and thrown in the brig?"
Realizing this was his chance to shine, the assassin nodded, "I do, General. I did not abandon my post to kill Shepard. Actually, I abandoned my post to help you kill Shepard. You see, I know where Aria's forces have established their FOB. I know its location, how to tactically approach it...I even know their defensive capabilities. But if you would rather throw me in a cell for the petty crime of doing my damn job, you're welcome to do so General. Just know that you won't find them without me."
Silence followed as Petrovsky's expression changed slightly, going from 'disgusting insect on my wall - be gone with you!' to 'this insect knows where the other bugs are hiding' within the span of a few seconds. Reaching up a hand to stroke his beard, he continued to look Leng in the eyes directly, as if...scanning him. It didn't take Leng long to figure out what he's doing.
He's looking for fidgeting, any trace of a lie...
After a minute, he finally nodded, holding up his hand in Randall's direction, "Lower your weapon, Major."
A moment of hesitation, followed by the distinct sound of a weapon being magnetized to one's armor. Petrovsky ceased stroking his beard as he spoke again, "You are forgiven...for now. But remember that you still disobeyed my orders, regardless of your intentions. Luckily for you, the intel you have is worth enough that I cannot, in my heart, find it in myself to justify throwing you in a cell. However, any further insubordination will lead to further admonishment. Do I make myself outstandingly clear?"
Leng gave a simple nod: an ever so subtle tilt of the head, "I understand."
"Right," Petrovsky replied, leaning back as he crossed his arms, "Now, what do you have for me?"
He smiled, "Tuhi District, D-Deck. There's a large towering structure overlooking the central courtyard: its somekind of bunker. The UGC forces have gathered their strength inside, and they have engineers trying to bring its defenses online. Considering the state of the bunker, I do not doubt that Aria knew of its existence for some time, and may have used it in the previous war."
The General quite clearly epiphanized, "So that's where she was hiding last time...clever girl. Hide in plain sight. And considering my artillery had been bombarding that area...it appears we weren't looking hard enough. This is excellent work, Agent Leng. We now have a target. What's your tactical appraisal of the area? Is a direct assault possible?"
He shook his head, crossing his arms now that he was in no real danger of being shot, "It would be risky, but possible. They have a bridge connecting the main superstructure to the courtyard, but the design of the area makes using tanks and ground vehicles impossible, and any ground troops would be funnelled into a chokepoint on the bridge: a perfect killing ground, especially with those turrets. However, a combined ground and air assault should be sufficient to not only suppress, but overwhelm their exterior defenses. And the chokepoint works both ways, meaning they cannot bring their entire force to bear in defense...they'd have to deploy in waves, whereas we don't."
Petrovsky nods, turning away from the assassin, "Yes, but heavy casualties would be inevitable. Operations relying on aircraft for deployment are rarely successful. However, I believe we can circumvent that. We will have troops deploy from the air, supported by gunships and fighters, while the rest will advance from the ground: that way, the enemy will have their attention effectively divided," he craned his head, facing Leng while remaining faced away from him, "Colonel Amish already has two regiments within the area. When I give the order, he will launch a full-scale assault on Aria's bunker. But once the order is given...this will get quite interesting. Four thousand troops will be deployed. This will be the first large-scale offensive conducted of this war. If that doesn't stress the importance of this to you, then this will be the first battle where we will fully acknowledge the UGC's capabilities to this regard."
The General nodded, returning to his desk, "Yes. We cannot allow them to remain. I will give Amish the greenlight to launch his assault. I also believe that with Shepard and Aria present, we will need competent ground commanders to lead the attack," he turns to Leng, before briefly turning to Randall. After a moment, he turned to Leng again, "If I can trust you, then you may take part in this operation. However, you will remain under Randall's supervision, and you will not compromise the mission by attempting anything by yourself. Keep your emotions to yourself, stay composed and do what's necessary to win, but do not fight Shepard on your own. If you encounter him, retreat and wait for reinforcements."
I am not a child. That's what Leng wanted to say, but he managed to keep his fury at bay long enough to compose himself, silently nodding, "I...understand. Shepard may anger me, but I will not let him get to me this time. I will prove to you that I can be a team player. Major Ezno and I are already powerful combatants. Together, we can win this."
"Good," was the General's response, although he still didn't look entirely convinced, "As of now, you'll be assigned under the command of Colonel Amish, who will be coordinating the assault. Randall, you will have command of 6th Regiment: they will be on the frontlines of the siege. You will be reinforced by the 8th, and any additional reinforcements can be decided by Amish. I wish you both good fortune. Take what risks are necessary, but try not to get yourselves killed. I will still need you for the battles to come."
Randall audibly saluted, "We will be back in time for lunch, sir."
Overly arrogant for Ezno. Leng smiled, "Indeed."
A/N:
Yep. Get ready for the biggest battle so far. Well, the battle for Rannoch doesn't count...I'm talking in terms of Omega! And I know we've only had one battle so far! Leave me alone, you bullies! :'(
There will be another two parts before the end of this multi-part chapter. And yes, the next two will be surrounding the upcoming Battle of the Tuhi District. So strap yourselves in, it's going to be a big one.
Until then,
Keelah Re'lai, troopers!
