Delta

Based on N7 Paladin (Sentinel)

Delta's patrol ship flew through space close to the speed of light. If he deactivated the allowance mechanism, his body would grow to at least 500x its current mass, not something he wanted to try, but it was always good to keep in mind.
He was in orbit around a planet, awaiting his next mission. His 'ship' was small, a one-seated jet with a compartment behind the main control desk for sleeping and eating. The rest was machinery.
Being a Sentinel, he was used to the workings of various tech pieces, though his knowledge was more 'basic-all-round', and better suited for combat than spatial flight. However, he had adapted various parts of the ship, and it now presented a homely feel to him. It was like a second home, away from the permanent residence he held at ASA.
Waiting for missions seemed to take up the most part of his day. He was an escort by trade, "a delivery boy", the Batarians mocked. As a human, despite ASA being human in origin, he was among the least popular species for work like this. The favourites were Batarians, their brute-ness earned them fame and fortune. Krogan were surprisingly rare, tending to stay to their own colonies and organisations, whilst Turians were there by council demand. A few Asari appeared every now and then, but it was mainly for the guns that didn't get the hits big enough to be Citadel standard, in Delta's opinion.
Humans, Drell, Salarians and even Vorcha were the least popular, due to biological weakness, race weakness, and other factors.
Customers wanted their work done efficiently and quickly, no messing around and no complications.
A flash of the monitor broke his trail of thoughts, a flagged assignment, priority 1, opened before his eyes.
A highly secretive escort mission needed to be done, with generous pay, and he was the closest person to it. He'd have to pick up a ship more suited to his needs on route, a cargo ship, but he breathed a sigh of relief under his helmet. He would hopefully be eating again soon.

3 Hours later

The cargo ship tore through the atmosphere at terrifying speeds. The best he could manage was a large, powerful cruiser. The email had been specific about the nature of the package he was to secure. It needed guarding with his life. Pretty simple.
He slammed the breaks and felt the heavy cruiser protest almost immediately, a large groan rippling through it.
Delta felt he could get to grips with different vessels pretty quickly, being quite the pilot himself. It was just his luck that the facility he had to secure the package from was under attack. He'd discovered a distress signal en route and had had to double time it.
The ship pulled into a steep curve, it's back end flying outwards as he levelled it neatly into the hangar, a few bumps but speed was of the essence, no harm done.
The hatch opened allowing him entry into the facility. He held his gun ready but only found a crowd of injured awaiting him.
"What's going on here?" he asked an official looking soldier.
"We were attacked by Geth forces about two hours ago; these are all scientists and engineers who work here, they aren't soldiers, we have to evacuate them," the soldier said.
"How many injured?" Delta asked, looking over them.
"Quite a few, no gun wounds, just explosion. I don't think any are serious," he replied.
"This isn't part of my mission," Delta admitted, but then a thought occurred to him. If he turned up with package and survivors, he might just get some recognition around ASA, this could be his lucky break.
He looked over the faces of the scared people, and guessed a few had never seen battle before. He sighed, "Load them up."
Another Soldier awaited close by, he approached him, "Soldier, I've arrived to secure a package, apparently it's called the Alpha Package, can you tell me where I can find it?" he asked.
"Sorry Sir, never heard of it, The commander might know what you're talking about, she's over there," he indicated a woman with greying hair who was helping to usher people onto the cargo ship.
He jogged over, "Excuse me, I'm here to retrieve the Alpha Package."
"Ah yes, I wondered when they'd pick up on that, sorry but it's below deck and secured, it'll take too many men to get it out, we have to leave," she replied.
He hesitated, he could leave with the survivors, but his employer had been very keen to have that package retrieved, "Sorry but, I don't leave without that package, and neither does my ship."
She looked at him, making him feel very young. He was glad his helmet covered his expression; Delta had never been good at confrontations like this.
But she gave up, desperation got the better of her, "Very well, I think we have a couple of fighters who could go and claim it, I'll go and send the word."
"I shall wait on the ship," Delta said, "I have limited medical supplies but what that thing has is yours, I'll see to your people."
She nodded thanks and ran off to a computer on the far side of the room, soldiers awaiting her orders.
Delta turned and jumped up on the gangway, taking the hand of an elderly engineer, guessing by his uniform, and pushed him along with the rest.
"There's a few medi-gel along that wall, try not to use more than half, we still have to get off this planet!" he called to the passengers, "Heal only the worst."
Whilst he was waiting he climbed up to the control desk, a rusting component which hinted at the age of the ship he'd been handed.
"I hope you've got some moves," he said, expecting to find resistance. The engines began heating up after the torture he'd put them through arriving. The ship groaned again in protest, but the fires ignited and the dashboard lit up. He was very aware the front end was sticking out of the hangar, the vessel being too large for it, so he raised the shields to half power.
After checking all systems were still intact, he left the seat and returned to the hangar. Everyone who had previously been waiting now sat on the ship, secured in a room and guarded by a few of the soldiers, however the large metal box room was still buzzing with activity.
"Geth, you say?" he asked a surprised soldier.
"Yes sir, two and a half hours ago, came from nowhere," the soldier informed him.
"It's odd for Geth to be this far out, let alone fighting," he murmured. A commotion was occurring at the doors that led into the hangar, the package had arrived finally.
He relaxed a little until he saw what it was: a huge container, black and red, angular, with pipes going in and out, it looked very alien.
"I've prepared a place for it," he said, allowing the Asari who was carrying it with biotics to push it up onto the walkway.
Several more people, probably survivors, jumped up and helped him secure it. He had it placed away from the passengers, mainly for his own peace of mind; he didn't want it tampering with.
Everyone had jumped on, and he was anxious to leave.
The Asari was chatting to another soldier who stood in the hangar.
"We have to go!" he called, now eager to get away. He didn't like the look of the package, and the facility had been strangely quiet.
He jumped up to the control desk and pushed the alarm for the walkway to close. He could see the soldier running back into the facility, probably to meet up with another team and fight off the Geth, Delta didn't care, he closed the ship and pushed the shields on maximum.
"Ok, you hunk of junk, give me some speed," the ship vibrated violently as it pushed its big self off the hangar floor. He slammed his right hand on the thrust and felt himself being pushed back in his seat by the force of the acceleration.
It became greater as he pulled the control stick towards him, causing them to enter a steep vertical climb straight out of the facility, when he pushed the thrust as far as it would go and they flew into the open air, higher and higher, till the window before him suddenly turned as black as space was.
"Not bad!" he said, surprised at the speed. He opened the on board communications system, "This is your pilot, we have left the atmosphere and entered space, please secure yourselves as we'll shortly be reaching L-speed, and I haven't tested the on-board gravity system. We're on route straight for ASA, E.T.A 4 hours."
He quickly surveyed his radars and had a peek around the windows, but couldn't see any Geth frigates, or any other ships in the immediate vicinity. He relaxed slightly, and got himself comfortable in the chair, activating the gravity system. The bulky cruiser adjusted its position steadily, and he gradually dragged the secondary speed thrusters close to full, watching the stars become a blur as he sped through space once more close to the speed of light.

"How it everything, pilot?" came a voice.
Delta almost jumped out of his seat, he turned and faced the person.
A Drell was perched on the ladder behind him, watching over him.
"All's well so far," Delta replied, "Do you work for the facility?"
"More or less," the Drell replied. His voice contained that signature croak, yet he sounded almost… mystical. Delta hadn't met many Drell in his life.
"More or less? I didn't know Drell took contracts so far away from home," he pressed.
"My religion forced me into choosing that one," he replied.
"Your religion?" Delta asked, the disbelief layered on his voice.
The Drell laughed, "Yes, I guess it is difficult for humans to comprehend. I suppose it's accurate to say it's a 'rite of passage'."
Despite his interest, Delta didn't press that issue further, "I see. Are you a solider or one of the engineers?"
"Actually, I'm neither," he replied, "I was an observer. My name is Psi."
"Delta, nice to meet you," Delta said, taking the Drell's outstretched hand.
"I observed you come up here by yourself, and feared you would end up talking to yourself if someone didn't come and distract you, I can sense your discomfort, all is too well," Psi remarked, "I came to keep you company."
"I appreciate it, but there's really not anything you can do, please have a seat though," he indicated the empty navigators chair on the right of his control desk. The cargo vessel had no need of a navigator for this mission, Delta knew where he was heading.
Psi sat down anyway and stared at the computer map, "ASA, I have never been there before. Are there many different species?"
"It's quite varied. I don't see many Drell there though, so you might stick out," Delta warned.
"It does not bother me," Psi replied, "The more notice you make the better, I intend to find passage back to my home world, maybe someone there can help me."
"Probably, people come and go all the time," Delta replied.
"Are they good, willing people?" Psi asked.
"Not all of them. They're the people who couldn't 'make it' at the citadel, out for cheap work," Delta replied.
"Not like yourself then?" Psi asked.
"What?" Delta said, caught off guard.
"You diverted your mission in order to help those of us in need, that is kind of heart in my opinion," Psi explained.
Now Delta felt guilty, "Actually… I was thinking about the added bonus I might get if I return with all these people."
"I see," Psi neither looked nor sounded disappointed. He must have been new to the ways of the galaxy, at least the part Delta worked in. His eyes, large and black, betrayed nothing to Delta, who was generally a very poor reader of people anyway.
"I guess ASA isn't that bad," Delta continued, "It's not really for people who didn't make it, it's for people who either don't like the citadel, or who get rejected. The Citadel offers better pay, but you have to join the companies, here you're just on your own, and some people prefer it that way. I know I do. ASA actually take care of some pretty serious stuff around the galaxy, stuff the Citadel doesn't want to get its hands dirty with."
"How interesting galactic politics have become," Psi said, "I studied them along with history for some time, though I have heard of ASA before, I always wondered just what a human organisation was doing so far out in space away from Earth."
"To attract more races," Delta guessed, "Better coverage."

E.T.A - 2 hours

His nerves were tense. No mission should be going this smoothly, he thought.
Space had been quiet, as quiet as it ever was. No signals, no attacks, just open vacuum.
So when the ship picked up a very faint distress beacon, he was practically expecting it.
The red light flashed and twirled in its socket, he turned it off and jumped to the navigator desk, which contained the on-board computer, to have a look.
"A call for help?" Psi asked, he had returned to the ladder to 'meditate'.
Delta fine tuned the signal, "Two distress beacons, superimposed, very faint, I'd say they're about to give way."
"Origin?"
"Noveria, half a parsec away," Delta replied.
Psi moved over to the desk and had a look, "Should we help?"
"I'm not sure," Delta replied, "Could be a trap. I don't want to go off course."
"We should help," Psi said, "Look where they are."
Delta searched again, the distress beacons were out in the arctic desert, hundreds of miles away from any on-planet help.
"They'll never be found in time," Psi added, "The planet's been battered by a storm that's scrambled the signal… we must have hit it at just the right spot…"
"You think it's real?" Delta asked.
"Only one way to find out. You can stay here, I'll help them, if the worst should happen, tell your boss I put a gun to your head," Psi said.
"You're eager to help," Delta observed.
"My religion calls me to help those who need help," Psi replied, "I'll get myself ready."
Delta grunted with dissatisfaction but he slowed the ship right down and altered course, heading through the scrambled distress signal.
"Attention all, we're just taking a slight detour," he called on the mouthpiece, "A distress beacon has been identified on a nearby planet, this should only take half an hour, thank you for your patience."
He didn't like playing captain, having to sound formal and explaining everything, but he also didn't want to worry the passengers.
He had left the control desk once to Psi as he went to check on them and the cargo. Psi was capable of flying the cargo ship, to Delta's surprise. He had scanned the passengers, identifying various races of engineers, from Salarians to Quarians, Humans to a few more Drell; it gave him the impression that the facility was a pretty important place, though none had said what they'd been doing.
Delta turned the ship into the atmosphere and disabled the gravity system, the ship shuddering as it descended and picked up speed.
Psi had gotten on a suit ready for the freezing temperatures of Noveria, and Delta shut the doors in the vessel to preserve heat, he even closed the hatch that led to the control desk.
He was blinded by a snowstorm, everything was white, and flying towards him, it was disorientating. He closed the window shutters and relied solely on his calculations and navigation equipment. After ten seconds of descent, he pulled sharply on the breaks and flipped the ship around so that it descended backwards, meaning he was even more blind.
But the ship was descending slowly enough, the landing gear broke through the frozen body of the ship and they hit the ground harder than he expected, but all in all successfully, he thought.
"You've got ten minutes Psi," he said, not wishing to stay any longer than necessary. The source of the distress beacon may have moved since its activation.
"I won't take long."
Within two minutes, Psi ordered the ship to leave.
Delta sat at the navigation desk, calculating how much time it would take to get back to ASA from here; another hour at least.
He wasn't due back for at least three, to his relief, he needed this pay slip.
He stormed the ship forwards, almost forgetting to close the walkway when Psi shouted out at him. When they had left the atmosphere, Psi returned to his side.
"What was it?" Delta asked.
"Two people lost, I've put them in with the others," Psi said.
Delta nodded and activated the secondary speed again, grabbing onto Psi as the Drell fell backwards by the sudden acceleration.
"Activating gravity field," Delta announced.
"I've done some calculations, I can drop them off on the port that's part of the route we're taking, we can give them supplies from this ship, but I don't want any sign they were here when I return to ASA," Delta said, "If my employer finds out I took a detour, he's likely going to be mad."
"Very well, I shall inform them," Psi muttered.

E.T.A - 45mins

"A few more people left as well?" Delta asked.
"Yes, in order to seek medical care," Psi replied.
"Ok, here's my plan, I'm going to drop you lot off at the medical station and make my way to the destination alone," Delta said.
"Why is that?"
"I don't like the sound of this employer, I received further instructions; it's like he knows what I'm doing. I just want to get this over with and get my money," Delta said.
"If that is your decision," Psi said, his voice betraying no emotion once again.
"There should be someone else there waiting to take the cargo away anyway, so it shouldn't take long at all, the sooner I can get medical care for everyone the better," he added.
The radar suddenly perked up, an ominous bright spot was in their vicinity, the first ship since the last port.
Delta tensed and Psi sat in the navigator chair.
"Have they seen us?" Delta asked.
"With engines burning as bright as ours, I'm sure they have," Psi replied, his eyes hastily taking in the signals and dials.
"Can we identify them?" Delta asked, his hands were on the controls.
Psi paused, the silence made Delta more tense.
"Well?" he pushed.
"Cerberus, and they're heading straight for us," Psi said.
Delta looked at him, his terror hidden by the black visor of his helmet.
"Are they bad?" Psi asked.
"You have no idea," Delta said, he looked at the desk and hesitated, the ship had impressed him so far, but it was a cargo ship, not a fighter. He ran his hands along the control desk, getting his senses attuned to the workings of it, "Let's hope this thing's not as dated as it looks."
He pulled the microphone towards him, "Brace for evasive manoeuvres, secure all passengers, doors will be locked in ten seconds."
He heard the outcry from below the ladder.
"What's going on?" someone shouted.
"Another ship, possibly hostile," Delta announced, "remain calm, I'm powering down; they may not have seen us yet."
He turned to Psi, "Going dark."
With a flick of a switch, the engines died down, the lights went out, and the ship creaked on through space almost silently.
With metallic groans from the sudden cooling down, Delta held his breath as the ship groaned and creaked, relaxing after the work he'd made it do.
The navigation desk remained powered, oversaw by Psi.
"Still there, still heading in our direction," he said.
Delta jumped out of his chair and retrieved his rifle, positioning it in the holder built in on the back of the seat for convenience. He jumped up to the second layer, an observation point and tried to make out the dark ship moving towards them.
"Can't spot them. How far?" he asked.
Psi poked his head up, "About a mile or two that way."
Delta strained his eyes in the direction Psi had pointed, and he just thought he could make out something moving; by the way the stars disappeared and reappeared within a flash.
"They're moving fast," Delta said, "If I'm looking in the right place."
The blackness grew closer, and suddenly they were illuminated by a huge light.
Delta swore and dived back for the controls.
"They've found us!" he said, "keep an eye out."
"They're firing," Psi said calmly.
The engines rattled into life once more, a great whirring sound, and they sped away from the Cerberus ship, entering a nose dive.
"I'll try and get under it, scramble it's sensors," Delta said.
The first few bullets hit their shields to no effect, the next barrage missed as they accelerated away.
"Why would they attack?" Psi wondered.
"They must know we're carrying something, they can probably sense it, Cerberus has got some crazy tech," Delta said as he swung the controls and the ship back upright, they were flying just under the ship. It was bigger than theirs, but not by much. He guessed it must be a small platoon of Cerberus soldiers.
"Should we activate the distress beacon?" Psi asked.
"No, let them think we're not bothered," Delta replied, "Let's see how long we can hold this off."
As he accelerated away from the Cerberus ship, the shields were buffeted further, and the ship began to shake.
"We're on full power, if I can turn around, we should be able to make it to ASA, if we can outrun them and the shields last that long," Delta said.
"Do you think you can pull it off?" Psi asked.
"It's a rare thing, surviving an encounter with Cerberus, but I've come this far, so I'm not giving up now," Delta remarked.
"Then I am with you too," Psi replied.
He swung the ship around as tightly as he dared until they were facing the enemy battleship.
"I'm going to try something," Delta said.
The ship suddenly sped up, but gained height over the other.
"You intend to go over them?" Psi asked.
"If the shields will only last, they'll have to turn straight around and by that time we should have a head start," Delta said, "It's crazy, but we can't attack them."
He swung the ship from side to side, hoping to avoid as many bullets as possible, in the meantime accelerating to full speed.
"They'll tear right through us," Psi observed, "Shields down to 50%"
"Focus the power on the front," Delta said.
Psi did as instructed, "Back to 70% on the front."
As the distance decreased, the rain of attacks increased.
"Come on… hold out!" Delta hissed.
They climbed until they were almost vertical, the Cerberus ship coming to meet them, like the joining of a v shape.
"If we're faster we can do it," Delta said, though he could feel the rattles and shifts of the ship as it was bombarded, and he doubted they would be faster than Cerberus.
"Maybe I can add my strength to the shield," Psi suddenly said and jumped away from his seat, down the ladder and landed smoothly on the floor below. Delta barely noticed, he was concentrating on avoiding as many bullets as possible.
The shields did go up, the ship started to glow with biotic power, and Delta saw the Cerberus ship visibly slow down as they caught sight of it. It did look like an attack.
He had an advantage, and he took it, pushing the speed up to max, then engines burning brighter than ever before, he roared over the Cerberus ship and thrust the controls downwards, the cargo ship lurched horizontal, more forcibly than he intended, and they were free.
Until they started slowing.
It wasn't an engine failure, it wasn't a lack of power, but something was decreasing their speed, rapidly.
"I thought we should be getting as far away as possible?" Psi asked, returning to the control deck.
"We should, something's not working!" Delta cried out.
"Or maybe something's stopping us?" Psi asked.
"What could…" Delta began then he saw it. The Cerberus ship on the radar was approaching faster than possible.
"They intend to board," he said, "We're in some sort of powerful magnetic field, they're slowing us down and pulling us together."
"What do we do now?" Psi asked.
Delta thought quickly, "Grab a weapon, go help your colleagues, I will go and fight off Cerberus alone, maybe they'll just think I'm the only person here and you can all catch them by surprise."
"What are Cerberus like as fighters?" Psi asked.
Delta hesitated again, "renown."
Psi nodded, "Then… it has been fun, my friend. You will do well with the Gods. They appreciate heroes."
"I'm not a hero yet," Delta said, picking up his rifle.

Cerberus blasted through the door within minutes.
"Go!" Delta shouted to Psi as he locked the Drell away with the other passengers.
As the first fire begun to hit the area around him, he crouched behind sme crates the cargo ship contained and retaliated. The Cerberus troopers were being bottle necked by the small entrance they had made, and Delta activated a snap freeze into them, hoping to slow them down.
When his suit had recharged he sent overloaded their suits, causing a huge explosion that rocked the ship violently, the troops behind fell backwards, and Delta advanced.
Behind another crate, closer to the oncoming platoon, he waved his gun and fired so they couldn't see him, "You're not getting past me!" he shouted over the noise.
However, the Cerberus troops weren't interested in him; they hastily set up barricades and began to move elsewhere on the ship.
'Searching for the cargo,' Delta thought.
Luckily he had secured it, and it should take them time to get to it, which he hoped would allow him to fight them off.
A Trooper came from another doorway, meaning they were in the west side of the ship. Delta dived behind more cover as his suit was buffeted by bullets, and his shields cracked.
As the Trooper moved towards him, Delta swung himself over the crates, grabbed the trooper and yanked him over to his side, aimed his gun at the helmet and finished him off quickly.
"Woo!" Delta said, smiling, he'd never done something like that before.
But now he had to move and save the package. The doorway was quiet, as if Cerberus had finished coming in and were all inside his cargo ship.
He could hear their voices though, and knew they too were setting up resistance, should he show up.
He took a glance at a small blueprint of his ship, taking note there was only one way to where he needed to be.
His eyes caught something however, a smaller section of the cargo ship could be ejected, an escape pod.
It was a floor lower, and on the Cerberus side, but it was worth a try.
"Psi," he whispered into his microphone, "There's an escape pod lower down, it should be able to fit most of the passengers that are left and allow them to carry on."
"Most?"
"Maybe all at a squeeze, I don't know how many passengers we have left after we dropped some off at that dock," Delta admitted.
"They're pretty scared over here, and besides, won't the magnetic field stop us?"
It was a good point, and Delta wasn't going to enter a Cerberus ship to try and cut it off, not yet.
"I think they're all on the west side, get some guns for the soldiers who can fight, they may find you. I'm going to try and stop them," Delta ordered.
"Be careful," Psi replied, and the link went quiet.
Delta breathed carefully, and tried to steal a glance around the corner. Sure enough, they were waiting for him, with supply pylons and shield boosters already set up.
"Damn you and your technology," Delta said to himself.
He had to finish this mission, he'd come too far to call it quits now and give up, he'd never have another job again if he failed.
He took something that was attached to the back of his suit and positioned it on his arm, a prototype he was also supposed to be testing.
After he was satisfied it was secure, he turned into the corridor and ran full pelt, hoping to take them by surprise, if only a little.
They noticed almost straight away, and Delta veered left and right in the tight space as bullets flew past him. He activated the device, and a large shield popped up on his arm, absorbing the damage effectively.
With his other he lashed forward another snap freeze, and the bullets stopped. The troopers fell to the ground frozen solid and he jumped over them, and disabled the shield boosters temporarily.
The Centurions were working on the door, but a few turned to attack him. He overloaded their shields quickly, and they all faltered. He flipped over one, ramming into another and sending him crashing into the others at the door. With another snap freeze, he froze the one he'd flipped over and wheeled around, activated his shield again and buffeted the others with bullets until they were dead.
He paused, and then suddenly felt hands on his shoulders throwing him back into the shield pylon where he crashed and fell over backwards. An electrified baton striking his abdomen as he went, causing his shields to break and him to fall over awkwardly.
The Centurion, who had become unfrozen, kicked him into the ground and aimed his gun at Delta's helmet. Delta's gun was elsewhere, it'd been knocked away as he fell.
He desperately tried to freeze the Centurion again, but the Cerberus suit of armour had adapted and just blew it over.
A click sounded, the shield pylon repaired itself, Delta's shields flashed into existence, the Trooper shot, and all Delta could see out of his visor was flashing as his shields absorbed the bullets.
He took his chance. After grabbing the Centurions foot, rolled over and the Centurion fell to the ground as well.
He activated his shield, swung it down with all his might, as if setting up his own barricade, and the edge sliced straight through the Centurions unprotected neck.
The others had disappeared, retreating back down the corridor, heading for the passengers. The sound of fighting echoed through the hall way, and Delta swore under his helmet.
He left the corridor behind him and sprinted towards the other side of the ship, stopping a few times to dismember troopers.
"Psi! What's going on?" he called through his helmet.
"They've breached the back door, no one's been killed yet, but we're retreating to the escape pod," Psi replied.
Delta chose to flank the Cerberus troopers, when he reached the main section he turned right and headed down the small corridor that would lead him straight to them.
None of the Cerberus troops had been taken out yet, but there was plenty of gun fire.
Delta didn't hesitate; he launched himself on the back of another Centurion, bought his gun around to the neck, and quickly disposed of him with a single bullet. Another regular trooper noticed this and turned to fire at Delta, who flashed his shield into existence and rammed it into the trooper, knocking him flying, before he froze him solid.
More were starting to notice and begun turning their fire on him. There were too many this time, Delta had to retreat back out the corridor.
"I'm coming round to meet you, hold on," Delta said to Psi.
"They've pushed us back to the main area."
The route down to the lower regions of the ship was via a small one man ladder, which Delta had failed to notice. The passengers had set up hiding behind as many crates as possible, while the soldiers who could still fight were out in the open, but not directly in front of Cerberus fire.
Delta came from the back of the ship and jumped straight into the line of Cerberus fire, slamming his shield down on the floor and blocking the doorway.
"Hurry up!" he shouted.
"It'll take too long!" an engineer called back, "We're heading for cover in this corridor!"
He'd indicated the one where the Alpha Package was hidden.
"Psi, cover them," Delta said, "I think there's another room down there, lock the door."
He hadn't seen the Drell at all in the fight, nor could he see him now.
His shield was close to overload, so he begun to open fire with his rifle; hoping to slow the onslaught.
The troopers, however many there were, begun to pile up at the doorway, falling on top of each other.
When the shield burst however, it sent a force out that almost broke apart the ship; Delta flew backwards, slamming into the wall, the Cerberus firing stopped instantly as they were wiped off their feet, and the passengers all flew into the corridor, some hitting walls, and some sliding metres across the floor. Delta sat in a daze, his head spinning, his arm almost broken he wagered.
"Sir! Are you alright?!" a soldier picked himself up and ran over to his side, trying to help him up.
A bullet flew through the air, Delta saw the explosion of blood that shot out of the other side of the soldier's helmet, the metal cracked like it was paper, and the man fell to the ground as quickly as he'd died.
It was the first person Delta had lost that day. He screamed in rage, pushing himself to his feet, grabbing the soldier's rifle and his own, he ran to the Cerberus troopers and opened fired from atop the pile of bodies he'd created.
The passengers didn't stay to watch; they got up and went to hiding along with the others.
"You. Won't. Take. This. Ship!" Delta screamed at them as they fell to the floor in a mass of blood and bodies.
He jumped down and finished the ones who were trying to get back up, unloading round after round of bullets until all was quiet on the ship.
Maybe they were troopers out for training, new to Cerberus, but Delta stood there and couldn't believe his luck. He revelled in the silence for just a moment longer, before he jumped back up to the control desk and spoke to everyone.
"Brace for escape!" he shouted.
He jumped back down and sprinted across the gangway inside the Cerberus ship, navigating its quiet halls to the control room where he quickly killed the unprepared troopers who flew the ship.
He left one alive, and jammed his shield into the man's stomach.
"My ship is going to leave now, where do I deactivate this magnetic field?" Delta ordered.
The trooper winced in pain under the helmet, Delta knew, but he was trying hard not to break. Delta popped a bullet into the man's feet.
"Where is it?!" He shouted again.
The trooper screamed and pointed at a secondary control station, Delta left him whimpering on the floor and jumped to take a closer look. It was as clear as crystal, and Delta laughed at the obviousness of it, "Many thanks my friend." he called, and put the soldier out of his pain.

E.T.A - 5 minutes

"We're entering too fast," Psi called.
Delta swore, he'd forgotten to deactivate the secondary speed system.
ASA dock flew into view faster than they'd ever have like to see.
"Break!" a soldier called from below.
"Reverse thrusters!" Delta shouted, and slammed his fist down hard on a black button on his control desk.
Every passenger flew into the wall, Delta almost broke the restrainers on his seat, and Psi had to grab hold of the railing as his feet left the floor.
The force of deceleration gave Delta tunnel vision, but he got through the worst of it, and managed to turn the ship away from a direct hit with ASA; not something he wanted on his report.
The cargo ship had suffered heavily after the Cerberus attack, with an engine failure and a hole in the end of it, Delta had had to jam it up with objects to stop the air and the passengers flying out into space.
"Ok Psi, get them to the medical station," Delta said as Psi regained his feet.
The plan was that Psi would fly the passengers down to the med station in the escape pod and Delta would go by himself to the drop off point and meet his arranged package handler.
Psi nodded and placed his hand on Delta's shoulder, "Until we meet again," the Drell said.
"Hey!" Delta called, "I'll see you in the bar afterwards."
He waited until Delta gave the signal and opened the hatch that would allow the escape pod to fly away. After a small explosion, he saw their ship turn and head away, perpendicular to his own direction.

He was alone, his ship littered with Cerberus trooper bodies, and one very secure package. Being the only life force again made him feel strangely alone, so he pressed the two working engines harder and hastened to arrive.
The docking bay was in the main collection port for ASA, where many cargo ships came and went all day long, so he didn't look as out of place as he thought he might.
"This is Lynx 3 requesting docking in bay 7," he called, "I've sustained damage and require fuel."
He would need the cargo ship to go back and reclaim his own vessel after he was done. He wanted it to be working at full speed again.
The permission was granted faster than he anticipated, was his employer waiting?
The bay looked quiet, no one was waiting for him.
He turned the ship slowly into port, and landed much more gracefully than he had done on Noveria.
After lowering the gangway, he stepped onto safe, metallic ground that he knew well and sighed happily. It was over.
And then, someone did approach. A soldier, with armour like he had never seen before.
"You are here to deliver the Alpha Package?" the soldier asked.
Delta hesitated, "Yes, it's on board."
"Very well," the soldier said, but then raised his gun, "Unfortunately, my employer doesn't trust your silence. He thanks you for your hard work."
Delta reacted instantly, as if he was expecting this. His shield flashed into existence once more after the long recharge it had had, and he forced the soldier away.
After snatching the gun out of his hands, Delta shot through the soldier's shield and armour.
He noticed the Cerberus emblem on the gun and swore to himself.
"Why are Cerberus on ASA," he said to no one.
More troops were surrounding him, appearing from behind crates, under the floor, out of doorways; he was completely cut off from escape. And he had no ammo.
Before they could get close enough, he stormed back onto the ship, but all the weapons had been taken by the soldiers he'd saved.
He opened the door to the Alpha Package, not sure why, and looked at it. Maybe it could help him; maybe it was some sort of weapon.
It looked big enough to be a weapon that could destroy the whole of ASA itself, but he was desperate to try anything.
Aware that the Cerberus troopers were probably jogging up to the cargo ship now, he desperately tried to open the container, trying to find out what was inside, disgraced at his own insistence.
"Damn it!" he shouted as he gave up, and slammed his fist on the top of it. The cover was welded shut, he couldn't break it open.
Delta finally gave up trying. He slumped against the container and awaited his death, activating the shield to try and find out what had caused that huge explosion that made his arm now ache.
Perhaps it just had too high a damage count and needed tuning down into little bursts before he could reactivate it again. All in all though, he was mightily impressed.
There was a huge noise behind him, and he swung away, turning to see what had happened. The noise had come from the container.
His mouth dropped open as he saw two fists, human fists, protruding from within, he looked up and saw the lid now part of the cargo ships ceiling.
The Alpha Package suddenly came to life, glowing and flashing, as the largest soldier Delta had ever seen in his life rose out of the machine, the pipes that were plugged into his suit dropping and spraying some residue over the ship.
"What the…" Delta wondered, but the figure, angular, black shining armour, almost twice as tall as him, stared at him.
In his hands were two shotguns.
Delta shook his head in disbelief, "go kill."
He followed the armoured figure out of the ship and braced his shield, but the Alpha Package didn't notice, he strolled straight towards the oncoming Cerberus troopers, who also didn't stop.
A Centurion launched a rocket that hit the Alpha Package square in the chest, but Delta was stunned to see the shields didn't break, and the soldier didn't even stop walking, he just loaded his shotgun and started emptying shells into the troopers.
Delta watched in awe and fright as the soldier grabbed, crushed, swung, knocked and killed the Cerberus troopers with as little effort as humanly possible; if you could call it human.
Within ten minutes, the Alpha Package had chased after the retreating Cerberus troopers, killed them and returned to Delta, awaiting next orders.
It wasn't long before ASA security finally made it to the hangar and a general approached him.
"Is your name Delta?" the general asked.
Delta nodded.
"A group of people who we've just received in the medical wards, and a Drell who was leading them, told us you'd be here and that you may need help. They also told us you've travelled halfway across the galaxy in order to save them?" the general inquired.
"I… guess I did," Delta suddenly realised.
"Come with me, we have a lot to discuss," the general said, "Bring your friend."

5 years later

"But you wouldn't do something like that again would you?" Psi asked.
"I'm just saying, things definitely picked up after that mission, and I finally got some recognition!" Delta argued, "Would it be the worst thing in the galaxy if circumstances like that revealed themselves again?"
The Drell continued to look at him, and then turned away, "You're as stubborn as you ever were."
Delta laughed, "I was a hero! How can I ever top a mission like that?!"
"You're trying to do that now?" Psi asked.
"Maybe, I don't know, what if Project Earth leads to something bigger? I could finally get out of here. They say it's a one way trip to the Citadel," Delta admitted.
"I wouldn't have thought they'd reward you with a one way trip to the Citadel," Psi replied, "Best you got last time was a new suit and shield."
"Ah yes, I still don't know my way around this thing," Delta said, shifting his weight around.
"Regardless, whether you die or not, you're on the team at least, that must be good for you?" Psi asked.
"It is, but… I just miss doing… something. I want adventure again! The thrill of having the lives of passengers on your hands," Delta said, "This team is terrible; they don't like each other at all! Maybe if I can show them how good I can be, then they'll all try harder, and we might be able to complete a mission."
Psi looked out into the void of space, a whole galaxy of dangers and jobs, but Delta wanted the worst of it. He certainly had changed since that mission, whether it was the immediate publicity he received after, or something else, something deeper, like losing that soldier, that had affected Delta like it had; Psi guessed he would never find out.
"Just be careful, it seems like it's always me telling you to do that," Psi said.
"You're the one who goes into battle wearing a coat and armed with nothing but biotics," Delta retorted.
They had become close friends in the aftermath of the mission, but barely managed to see each other.
"Can't believe if we'd have stayed… ten seconds longer, that facility would have destroyed us both," Delta said, "Crazy how fate works."
"I do not believe in fate," Psi replied, "It was just your eagerness to leave."
They both turned to look at Alpha, who stood a few feet away and was watching nothing in particular. The soldier had proved difficult to be rid of, so Delta allowed it to follow him around.
"I intend to research my team anyway," Delta started, "see if I can find out any history. I'm sure there's something between the infiltrator and vanguard."
"They were picked because they were the best," Psi exclaimed, "I'd be surprised if you don't find anything."
"Come on Alpha, let's go home," Delta called, "Take care, Psi."
"I hope to see you again soon," Psi replied, and strolled away.