And here's chapter eight. Sorry about the two month wait but this chapter took wayyyy longer than expected for me to wright. I also apologize in advance for any spelling and grammar mistakes. It seems that no matter how may times I re-read these chapters some always slip through the net.
Enjoy.
Chapter 8
News of the Batarian raid on New Seheron had travelled fast and it wasn't long before the Darkspawn requested (demanded) an audience with the council.
Tevos could already feel a mounting sense of dread and from the look of her fellow councillors, they felt the same way. Darkspawn were not know for their self restraint and this whole situation could easily escalate into a galactic war if they weren't careful.
The only one who seemed clam was the Batarian ambassador, Artis Gat'mock, who was currently standing on the petitioners stage and looking rather smug.
Then the Messenger arrived. He stormed up to the petitioners stage, almost knocking Artis over, and yelled "We want our people back. NOW!"
"That is understandable" began Tevos "but I'm afraid that the council is..unable to assist you in this-"
"WHAT! Batarians have attacked our colony! They have taken our people and you are just going to stand there and do NOTHING!"
"I object to that." said Artis "The attack on New Seheron was carried out by unaffiliated raiders, not the Hegemony."
There was a general murmur of discontent from the assembled diplomats gathered on the balconies above. They'd all heard that line before.
"The Hegemony funded the attack" snarled the Messenger "we have proof taken from the raiders own computers."
"That data could have easily been fabricated. Either by the pirates or by the Darkspawn." countered Artis.
"Enough." said Tevos before the Messenger had a chance to yell at Artis. "Ambassador Artis is correct. This data alone is not proof enough of the Hegemonies involvement."
"Perhaps if you'd joined the Citadel our fleet could have protected your colony." said Sparatus snidely.
"Like you 'protect' all of your colonies that have been raided!"
Artis let out a bored sigh. "If there is nothing else then I have other duties to attend to. Perhaps the Darkspawn should reconsider building colonies in such an unfriendly area of space."
The Messenger stared at Artis for a moment, then he punched him in the face. Artis was knocked off the petitioners stage and crashed through the glass floor below into a garden area.
"THIS IS THE FINAL STRAW!" yelled the Messenger. "Batarians have been raiding outer colonies for centuries yet the Council sits here, safe and content to let them continue!"
The crowd of diplomats had started to recover from the sight of the Batarian ambassador being assaulted and were now muttering in agreement with the Messenger.
"The Thedas clan is right!" yelled a Volus "The Vol clan... have lost five transports this month alone, ...yet the council refuses to do anything about it!"
"Accusatory: The Council has always stood by and allowed the Batarians to do as they please." said an Elcor diplomat in a monotone voice.
"The Hegemony will pay for their actions." the Messenger continued. "And if the Council will do nothing then we will take matters into our own hands."
"Messenger, please!" Tevos pleaded "There is no need for rash action. We can still-"
"I will listen to you no more! The Darkspawn will be declaring war on the Hegemony. We will free every slave and burn every slaver den we find!" There were cheers and shouts of approval from the crowd as the council looked around nervously. "Any who wish to join us can. And to those who don't" he stared directly at the Council "stay out of our way! This meeting is over."
The Messenger stormed out of the Council chambers with a whole host of diplomats following close behind.
"That was impressive." said Valern "I don't think I've seen anyone unite all the lesser races like that before." He looked down at the hole in the glass floor. "Someone should really call a medic for him."
With everyone gone the Council had no choice other than to return to their own private chambers. While Valern and Tevos immediately went to contact their respective governments, Sparatus decided it was best to weigh up his options first. And open up a bottle of Asari wine as well.
He took a sip of the wine, sat down in his office chair and stared out of the window, already deep in thought. The soldier in him sort of admired the Darkspawn. The Batarians had been flaunting galactic law for centuries and now they were finally getting their comeuppance. The politician in him, however, was furious. The Darkspawn had just made the council look completely useless. He already knew that some Volus were talking about leaving the Turian Hierarchy and becoming a protectorate of the Darkpsawn instead and this would only add strength to their cause.
Sparatus took another sip of wine. If the Hierarchy sent aide to the Darkspawn they might just win back the galactic community, but his fellow councillors would be less than pleased which would endanger many of the Hierarchy's most lucrative trade agreements. Supporting the Batarians was out of the question as that would anger everyone and doing nothing was almost as bad. What he needed was a way for the Hierarchy to save face without actually taking sides.
Sparatus tried to take another sip but then he saw that his wine glass was empty. He reached out for the bottle but stopped halfway.
"Hmmm. That might work." he muttered to himself "Yes. It's perfect." He spun round to face his desk and placed a call to his personal aide. Seconds later his computers holographic display changed to an image of his aide's face.
"Councillor. Is there anything you require." he asked respectfully.
"Decanis, I have a job for you. I want you to contact every freighter captain in the Hierarchy. And make it quick. We don't have much time."
Three Days later. Darkspawn first fleet near Batarian space.
It doesn't take much to get Darkspawn angry and thanks to their racial empathic bond emotions like hate can spread like a virus. Military enlistment had gone up by nearly two hundred percent and almost an entire fleet of new ships had been built practically overnight (thanks in large part to the Geth and their advance construction techniques).
The plan of attack was simple. The first fleet along with the Grey Wardens would head to Kar'Shan and capture the Batarian leaders. Three other fleets, the second, seventh and fourth, had been split into smaller groups and told to attack various enemy colonies. The third and sixth fleet had stayed in Darkspawn space to protect against attack which only left the fifth and eighth fleets strangely uncounted for.
It wasn't just Darkspawn heading for Kar'shan, a large number of mercenary craft was accompanying the various fleets. Most of them had been hired by races who wanted to attack the Batarians indirectly, some by families willing to pay for revenge. There were well know groups like the Eclipse and Blood Pack and other less recognisable merc outfits like the Black Skulls and the Corsairs.
Onboard Cruiser 'Asariel'
After the attack on New Seheron, The Shepard had enlisted in the military. Thanks to his skills as an arcane warrior he'd been fast tracked through his training and placed in a squad. Skyfall was there too, mainly because of his 'expertise' in explosives. The two were currently in the ships mess hall watching a drinking game between and Ogre and a Krogan, who was being cheered on by his Blood Pack comrades.
The rules of the game were simple. Each contender would take turns drinking a shot of the other races most powerful liquor until one of them passed out. It was a little pointless as Darkspawn couldn't get drunk but no one had told the Krogan that. The Ogre finished his fifth shot of Ryncol and the Krogan, with great difficulty, downed another shot of Legacy White Shear.
That was when the Ogre brought out a long necked bottle with a yellow liquid inside and set it down on the table in front of the Krogan.
"Huh. Dragon Piss. The Krogan won't know what hit him." whispered Skyfall.
The Krogan poured himself a shot of the yellow liquid and gulped it down. The he fell over backwards and passed out.
"Attention" said a voice over the ships loud speakers "We are currently half an hour from Batarian space. All crew report to your posts."
"See you on the ground." said Skyfall, cheerily. He got up and made his way through the crowd of Darkspawn leaving the mess hall.
The Shepard took one last bite of the freeze dried nug he was eating, then he followed the others out.
"Just a reminder" continued the announcer "mutilating the enemy dead is strictly forbidden. However, should the need overtake you apparently gouging out their eyes is the worst thing you can do."
Shepard followed the other Darkspawn until he reached the hanger bay. The rest of his squad was already there, waiting in front of a transport shuttle. Their alpha was a scared veteran Hurlock called The Hollowed. Shepard had only met him twice before but he seemed decent enough. Next to him was another Hurlock, Redsky, who was busying himself by cleaning his rifle. The squads mage, a Genlock named the Wanderer, was currently talking with Vhenadahl, a Shriek who was the teams tech specialist. Finally there was The Swift and The Shielded, twin Hurlocks who were the squads heavy weapons specialists.
The Hollowed looked up as Shepard approached "Shepard, you're here. Good. Now, let's go over the plan one more time."
"Again!" exclaimed Redsky "The plan is just to land and shoot anything with more than two eyes. Did I miss anything?"
"There's more to it than that." said Hollowed. He brought up his omni-tool and taped a few buttons, bringing up a flat holographic map of Kar'Shan's capitol.
"Batarian cities are divided into three 'rings'. The outer ring is the poor district. The people there live in substandard housing, or no housing at all. They have no amenities and no say in what their government does. I suppose you could say it's like an alianage without the charm. We'll avoid this area, give the people there a chance to run. The bulk of the horde will be landing here" He pointed to a clear are just beyond the poor district "to engage the batarian armed forces who'll come running when the Grey Wardens land in the city."
"Middle district is for regular citizens, soldiers, merchants and such. It's more no par with what you'd expect in a modern city. That's where we'll be landing after the bombardment has softened up the resistance. Finally you have the central district where the elites and nobles live. The batarian leadership will all be assembled there in a command and control building. Our job is to support the Wardens and help keep the Batarians occupied."
"I don't get why we just can't bombard the city to dust." said Vhenadahl.
"It might have something to do with all the Rift Mages." muttered Shepard. Everyone looked at him in surprise "Don't tell me no one else noticed them? I saw twelve on my way here."
"Rift Mages." said Redsky. "I think an orbital bombardment would be less brutal."
Cargo Bay of Grey Warden Cruiser 'Vigil'
Close to two hundred Grey Wardens had assembled in their capital ship's cargo bay to hear the First Warden Anders himself give a speech before the battle.
"You all know why we are here." he began. "When the Batarians attacked New Seheron they took hundreds as slaves and killed many." There were roars of anger from the Wardens. "This, what we will do here today is not mere vengeance. It is justice! Justice for every living soul that the Batarians have ever harmed!"
The Wardens all cheered and bellowed.
"We are going to shatter the Hegemony and rescue our people. We are Grey Wardens. The successors of Lyna herself! In War, victory. In peace, vigilance. In Death, sacrifice!"
The Wardens cheered even louder and began chanting the Grey warden motto. "Victory, vigilance, sacrifice! Victory, vigilance, sacrifice!"
In orbit around Kar'shan.
You can't move a fleet of over two hundred ships across the galaxy without being detected. When the Batarians realised that the Darkspawn were heading straight for Kar'shan they recalled almost every ship they had to protect their home world. Other colonies had been left with a few ships but they had basically been left to fend for themselves. Of course all the noble families living on Kar'shan weren't satisfied with just military protection so they'd hired almost every Batarian pirate gang in the Terminus systems.
In total the Batarians had just over four hundred ships, meaning they outnumbered the Darkspawn two to one. And then of course there was the planetary defence grid, a series of large mass accelerator turrets that surrounded Kar'shan.
As the Darkspawn fleet approached Kar'shan, with the dreadnaught Dumat leading the way, they were contacted by the man in charge of the Batarian armada, Commodore Abesis.
"Attention Darkspawn." announced the Commodore "You have violated Batarian space. As you can see we have you out numbered. Flee now and your lives will be spaced."
There was no reply.
Abesis was about to give the order to fire when there was a bright red flash. All round the Darkspawn fleet the outlines of phantasmal ships began to appear and solidify. The Batarians watched in horror as the fifth and eighth fleets materialized, there were now six hundred Darkspawn ships in total. The Dumat had been joined by four other dreadnaughts, Zazikel, Toth, Andoral and Urthemiel.
Then the Darkspawn replied to Abesis' message. All five Archdemons fired their main guns simultaneously. The Commodore's ship was the first to be destroyed, ripped in half by a massive projectile. The other two Batarian dreadnaughts didn't last much longer and the five huge nuclear explosions that followed ripped great chunks out of the Batarian fleet. Soon the space above Kar'shan was filled with laser fire, missiles and debris from destroyed ships. Battlecruisers shielded allies from enemy fire while fighter craft and frigates weaved amongst the enemy ships destroying gun turrets and uploading virus's into ship computers. At the centre of it all were the dreadnaughts. Keeping in a close formation they ploughed towards Kar'shan, blasting apart any ship that tried to stop them.
Half an hour into the battle, bridge of the Battlecruiser 'Perendale'
Another console exploded as the ship was hit by more mass accelerator rounds.
"Primary shields have failed! Backups at forty six percent!" yelled the Shriek tactical officer.
The ship's captain, an Ogre named Meraad, gave an annoyed grunt. "Shunt as much power as you can to forward guns! Cause as much damage as you can!" Meraad's looked at the ships view screen and surveyed the battle raging outside. Most of the Batarian fleet had been destroyed, the main obstacle now was the planetary defence grid, a series of automated turrets controlled by a manned space station.
Outside there was a brilliant flash of light as a Darkspawn cruiser was shot down.
Meraad gritted his teeth. He was going to bring that station down no matter the cost. "Helm! Put us on a collision course with the control station! Tactical! All power to forward guns and thrusters!"
"Aye Captain!"
The tactical officer switched on the ships intercom and sent out an alert "All crew prepare for ramming speed. This is not a drill. Evacuate the forward section!"
Meraad stood up from his massive chair and pointed at the view screen "Ram this warship straight into the heart of that station!"
By the time the Batarians on the space station realised what Meraad was doing it was too late. The battlecruiser smashed into the middle of the station, demolishing everything in its path. Anyone unlucky enough to be in the ships way was either crushed or blown out into space. Once the ship was firmly lodged in, the surviving Darkspawn crew grabbed any weapons they could find and started taking over the station, most of them heading straight for the main control room.
After a few short but bloody battles what was left of the station as under Darkspawn control and Kar'shan's last real line of defence was gone.
Bridge of the Dumat
As the Darkspawn feet reorganised itself above Kar'shan Admiral Returned decided to give the Batarians one final chance.
"Open a channel to the Batarians." he ordered. "This is Admiral Returned of the Darkspawn. You have one last chance to return our people or die at our hands!"
He didn't have to wait long for a reply. The main view screen changed from a view of Kar'shan to a Batarian. "This is Supreme Chancellor Harvock of the Batarian Hegemony. How dare you attack us! We will not give up our property to you!"
Returned snarled at the Batarian. "You have sealed your fate. Just as Andraste burned Tevinter, so shall we put your whole world to the torch!"
"Your bluffing" said Harvock, fear tingeing his voice "Citadel conventions' forbid bombarding Garden planets!"
"Yes, they do. But we're not a Citadel race. Are we."
Harvock's eyes widened in horror. He was about to say something when the Darkspawn ended the transmission.
"This is Admiral Returned to all ships. Commence bombardment!"
Transport shuttle, entering Kar'shan's atmosphere
Shepard lurched to the left as yet more turbulence rocked the shuttle. The only thing that kept him from being thrown against a wall were the straps of the seat he was buckled to. In his mind he could picture huge anti-aircraft guns taking shots at the small craft as they made their way to the planet's surface.
"If we live through this I swear I'll never complain about commercial flights ever again!" yelled Redsky.
There was another massive jolt to the shuttle, more violent than the last.
"We're through the atmosphere!" announced The Hollowed. "Now we just need to get past the AA guns!"
The shuttle was rocked by another round of anti-aircraft fire, and another, and another. Then Shepard could feel the shuttle slowing down and with a final metallic clang it landed.
"Everyone out!" ordered The Hollowed.
Shepard needed no further encouragement. He quickly unbuckled himself, drew his sword and followed his squad out into Kar'shan's capital city.
Defence post 16, outer suburbs
"I can see the shuttles landing from here!" yelled the Batarian look-out as he peered out of the small grey bunker. Inside were five Batarians, most of which were gathered round a concrete table in the middle of the bunker.
"Their avoiding the outer district altogether." noted one of the soldiers "They probably won't head this way."
"And if they do we give them a taste of these!" boasted another soldier, lifting a rocket launcher.
Their commander remained silent and reached for a glass of water. He stopped when he saw the water in the glass ripple. Then there was another ripple, an another. The next ripple was accompanied by a distant thud.
They all heard it.
"Tank?" asked one.
"No." said the commander "It sounds more like something-"
"BY THE GODS! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!" screamed the look-out.
The other Batarians jumped to their feet and ran over to look out the bunkers windows.
A massive...creature was thundering down the street towards them. It had five long legs atop which sat a long, thin body with two shot arms. One of its large front legs came down on a car and crushed it. The creature raised its head and sniffed the air. It looked directly at the bunker and let out an unearthly shriek.
One of the Batarians fired a rocket at the creatures head. It struck the monster right in the face, enveloping it's head in a fiery explosion. There was a loud crunch and the sound of breaking glass as the monster toppled over, crushing another car and smashing into the side of a building.
"I GOT HIM!" cried the Batarian who'd fired the shot.
"We'll be heroes for this!" said another.
"What do you mean 'we'. I'm the one who killed it, I'm-"
THUD
They all looked over at the fallen monster. The creature wasn't dead, it had just been knocked over and was now getting back up. It let out another ear piercing screech and ran straight towards the Batarians position. Another rocket was fired at the creature but it jumped out of the way , scuttled up the side of a building and continued running along the rooftops. When it was close enough it leapt from the roof and landed right on top of the bunker, almost caving in the reinforced concrete roof. It reared up on its rear three legs, putting as much force as it could behind a final massive blow that broke the bunker open.
It rummaged round through the rubble for a moment before pulling out a screaming Batarian clutched in its hand. The Batarian fired a few shots from his rifle before he was smashed into the ground and killed.
The Varterral threw back its head and let out a roar of victory that could be heard all across the city.
Underneath the main highway
Running below the capital's main highway was a large sewer drain, with the road above supported to a number of stone pillars. The same pillars that a Genlock demolition team were attaching explosives to. There was a rumbling sound from above and dust began to fall from the ceiling as a Batarian tank column moved into position overhead.
Skyfall looked up and chuckled to himself. Those four eyed idiots won't know what hit them. He'd just finished setting up and priming his last charge when the team leader announced.
"Showtime people! Everyone out."
Everyone dropped what they were doing and quickly made their way to the safe zone back down the sewer line. Skyfall took cover behind an old stone wall and placed his fingers in his ears.
"Three...two..."
Main Highway
The ten Batarian heavy tanks trundled along the main highway in single file, their caterpillar treads crushing parked cars as they went. Their orders were to make their way to the closest Darkspawn landing zone, destroy it and kill any Darkspawn they found. The tank crews themselves had no doubt that they would succeed in driving the Darkspawn from their world, single handily if need be. As they moved through the city in their heavily armoured war machines they couldn't help but feel invincible.
So you can imagine their surprise when the road gave way beneath them. With a great plum of dust the entire tank column disappeared into the earth. None of the Batarians had been killed, miraculously the worst injuries they had sustained were a few broken bones. But the tanks weren't going anywhere anytime soon.
One of the Batarians tried to climb out of the pit, hoping that he could find help once he was back on the surface. He managed to get as far as the lip of the pit, where he came face to face with a Drake that promptly knocked him back down.
The Drake surveyed the trapped Batarians for a moment, then it turned to look at the rest of its pack.
"Grrrr!" which roughly translated to 'Get them!'
The other drakes surged past him, skilfully navigating their way down into the pit. The Batarians shot at them but drakes are tough creatures, their thick scaly skin protecting them from the bullets. Once they were close enough the lead drakes let out great bursts of flame from their mouths, engulfing several Batarians. The pit was soon filled with the sound of screams and the smell of roasting meat.
On the edge of the central district. Four hours into the siege.
Shepard brought his sword slicing up into a batarian's torso, then fired off a shot from his pistol, killing another. He yanked his sword free and ran over to where the rest of his squad was taking cover, throwing a fireball at the enemy position as he went.
"Did you get them all?" asked Redsky.
Shepard nodded as another burst of bullets tore into the concrete just above him. He and his squad had made it to where the cities middle district joined the central district. Many of the buildings here were taller and looked more modern, more aesthetically pleasing. Well, they used to. Now most of the windows were smashed, debris was scattered across the streets and in the distance there were great plumes of smoke rising up into the evening sky. Most of the fighting was still in the middle district but it was starting to creep into the centre.
The Darkspawn squad were taking cover inside what was left of a jewellery store and across the street their opposition was firing from a recently set up guard post made of sand bags, complete with a mounted heavy machine gun. As you can imagine this made attacking without being slaughtered a challenge.
"Hey, Shep!" yelled The Wanderer "You're a primal too right?!"
"Yes!"
"Did you take math back at the College?"
Shepard looked puzzled "Yes?"
"OK" Wanderer unholstered his mages staff and began summoning up his mana. "Blizzard plus Tempest plus a shed load of mana equals..."
Shepard smiled as he realised what the Genlock was planning. He quickly began casting a Tempest spelling the same area that Wanderer was casting his own Blizzard spell. The two magics combined and all hell broke loose.
"The storm of the century!"
The wind instantly picked up, becoming a raging gale in a second. Sleet and freezing rain began to drive down from above. Bolts of lightning lanced down, scorching the ground. The shooting stopped as the Batarians took cover.
"Now! Get 'em!" yelled The Hollowed over the howling wind.
The Darkspawn broke cover and ran through the still raging storm. The Batarians saw them coming but by the time one of them manned the machine gun it was too late.
Shepard jumped over the sand bags and buried his blade in an unlucky soldier. Another Batarian raised his shot gun, hoping to take off Shepard's head but before he could pull the trigger Shepard blasted him with a lightning bolt. Around him he could see the rest of the Batarians being dispatched by spell and bullets.
As the magical storm began to fade Shepard caught sight of something moving further down the street.
"TANK!" yelled Shepard.
The rest of the squad followed his gaze and saw the heavy tank trundling in their direction. The metal behemoth fired a round that smashed into the upper floor of a building just above them, causing debris to rain down on the street below. The Darkspawn dashed for the nearest cover they could find, cars, fallen debris, shop corners, none of which provided any real protection.
"How many!?" asked Hollowed, who was now standing in a shops doorway.
The Shielded poked his head out from his hiding place behind a burned out car. He ducked back down as another tank shell rocketed past.
"You missed!" he yelled. Two more shots flew past. "Three of them!"
"Ok, so three tanks. Two weak spots on each so we need six perfect hits with a rocket launcher" said Redsky. "How may do we have left!?"
The Swift examined the ammo counter on his rocket launcher "One!"
"OK" said Redsky "On a scale of zero to dead how much trouble are we in!?"
"We're not done yet!" yelled Hollowed. The rest of the squad looked over to where their alpha was standing, in the doorway of a Batarain shop. He held up a bright red cylinder for them all to see, then he broke cover and ran at full speed towards the heavy tanks.
"What was in that canister?" asked Shepard.
Redsky grimaced "Red lyrium."
The Hollowed leapt over a heap of fallen rubble and darted in between cars all the while the Batarain tanks continued firing but they were more concerned at keeping his squad pinned than with stopping him. As he ran he opened the small cylinder and grabbed the red crystal shard inside. At once he could feel a surge of new energy, new power. He reached the first tank and threw a grenade down it's gun barrel. There was an explosion from inside the tank accompanied by muffled screams as the crew inside were killed.
The Hollowed didn't waste any time getting to the second tank. With his newfound strength he ripped off a chunk of hull plating and began tearing at the wires underneath. He felt strong enough to rip the world apart with his bare hands and that singing was...so...beautiful.
A sharp pain in his shoulder brought him back to his senses. He looked up and saw a Batarain standing atop the tanks gun turret, firing down at him. Hollowed picked up the slice of metal plate he'd torn off and threw it with all his strength. It spun through the air and imbedded itself in the Batarians chest. The Hollowed saw another Batarian clambering out of the tanks top hatch. He jumped up onto the turret in a single bound, grabbed hold of the Batarian and tore his throat out with his teeth.
There was only one tank left now. It tried to blast The Hollowed apart but the red lyrium's power made him too fast for the tank to get a good target lock. He felt the pain in his arm where he'd been shot intensify. He looked down and saw that a small red crystal was sprouting from his wound. As he watched the rest of his arm began to slowly crystallise.
He didn't have much time left.
The Hollowed ran straight at the last tank and slammed his now fully crystallized arm into its hull. The red lyrium continued to spread over his body but it was now passing on to the tank as well. The singing in his head was getting louder and louder until he could think of nothing else other than the beautiful music.
The red lyrium covered his entire body, leaving him, the tank and the Batarians inside as crystal statues.
The other Darkspawn had emerged from their cover and stood silently before the crystallized body of their leader.
The silence was finally broken by Redsky "Now what do we do?"
Shepard looked past the red lyrium statue at the city beyond. "We still have a mission." he said "We keep moving, and we make the Batarians suffer."
On a rooftop elsewhere in the city
Thalia T'senis instinctively ducked as another round bullets flew past where she was standing. As Citadel News' war correspondent she'd been sent to report on the Darkspawn-Batarian war. At first she'd jumped at the opportunity but now she wanted more than anything to be back on the Citadel, in her apartment with a glass of Asari wine.
She checked that her camera drone was broadcasting and began her report.
"This is Thalia T'senis reporting to you live from Kar'shan. In an unprecedented move the Darkspawn have launched a direct attack on the Batarian home world earlier this morning. Two entire fleets of ships appeared out of nowhere and overran Kar'shan's orbital defences. This crushing victory was followed by a brutal orbital bombardment and then a ground invasion. There are Darkspawn forces all over the capital and they seem to have the defenders on the ru-"
Thalia was cut off as a mighty High Dragon swooped by. The camera drone followed as it glided just above the buildings before landing on a nearby rooftop. It surveyed the area for a moment then it opened its jaws and bathed the street below in fire.
The camera turned back to Thalia who was staring at the dragon in both shock and awe. Then she noticed the camera was back on her and she regained her composure. "The..um..creature that you have just seen is a Dragon. The Darkspawn use them as beasts of war and there are whole packs of them that have just been let lose in the city. The Darkspawn seem determined to utterly destroy their...wait...something's happening on the street below."
Thalia leaned over the edge of the roofs guard rail to get a better look. The drone followed her, training it's camera on the street. A group of seven Darkspawn, all carrying staffs, had arranged themselves in a circle with one of their number in the centre.
Thalia squinted as she tried to make out what they were doing. It almost looked like they were...dancing.
Then the one in the middle shot two feet up in to the air. Green lightning began to play around the others, then a great bolt shot up from the floating Darkspawn's body into the sky. A long green line appeared above the city. Thalia could see more pillars of green lightning rising up from the city, joining the first. The green line grew larger and larger until finally it split open, tearing the sky apart. Through the hole in the sky Thalia could see green smoke and what looked to be a dim sun. Then balls of green smoke began falling through the tear and landing all around. The camera followed some of them, it caught images of horrible creatures made of fire and smoke, it saw the bodies of the dead lying on the ground twitch and rise up.
A ball of smoke landed on the roof where Thalia and the drone were filming. She watched with horror as a monster with strange purple skin and large horns rose up. It turned round and looked down at the trembling Asari.
"Gaze upon the perfect form of Pride mortal!" it demanded. Somehow it seemed to talk without actually moving its mouth.
"The veil is torn! Soon all worlds will tremble before us and you will all scream at the very thought of us! Muahhahha. MUUAAHHHAHHAHA!"
Rich district. Apartment building.
Jarith had heard something, he knew he had. He slowly approached the door of the fancy apartment, raising his shotgun. The rest of his police team were right behind him. They thought he was hearing things, that they should continue evacuating the nobles but Jarith knew that there was something in this apartment.
Jarith kicked in the door and ran into the apartment, the rest of his team fanning out behind him. Standing in front of a large glass window that ran the length of the room was something that looked like a woman. Jarith wasn't sure because she had her back to them.
"Mam?" Jarith kept his tone respectful just in case this was some easily offended noblewoman. He didn't lower his shotgun however.
The woman turned round. It was defiantly not a woman. It had eyes like some jungle predator and hair made of purple fire. It was horrifying.
"Shoot it!" ordered Jarith. When no one obeyed he looked over his shoulder at his squad. They were all staring at the...thing. Not with horror but with wonder.
The monster stepped towards them. "You wouldn't harm a poor, defenceless lady would you now?" she asked in a voice that somehow managed to be both sultry and terrifying.
Jarith was about to blast this monsters head off when one of his own men grabbed his gun and rammed a combat knife into his chest.
"You will not harm the lady!" said his killer. Jarith's body slumped to the floor.
The desire daemon walked up to the Batarian that had just killed Jarith. "I would like to walk about the streets of this city, but it is so dangerous out there. Will you brave knights protect me?"
"Yes lady!" they all said eagerly.
The daemon smiled to herself. This was going to be more fun than the Orlisian Civil War.
Rich district. Slave holding area.
"So don't get any ideas of escape." continued the slave master as the strolled past the large metal cages. "This Darkspawn raid will be repelled soon enough. I don't want to hear any more talk of rescue. You all belong to the Hegemony now."
Toniss Galeix watched the batarian pass by his cage and wished for the millionth time that he could just reach out and strangle the four eyed basted. Toniss had originally worked in a furniture shop on an outer Turian colony until the Batarians had attack and he'd been dragged off into slavery. Now he was crammed in a cage with about fifty other frightened people who were all going to be sold to the highest bidder. There were five other cages in the room, three on each side, all filled with people. The only way in or out was the front door, even if someone got out of their cage they would be cut down by the guards outside.
Once the slave master was out of earshot a Salarian next to him whispered "Do you really think the Darkspawn are attacking Kar'shan?"
Toniss nodded "There's way too many explosions outside for a raid. I think that Kar'shan is being invaded."
"Finally someone's going to give the batarians what's coming to them." muttered an Asari.
"What did you say!?" yelled the slave master.
The Asari suddenly went pale "Nothing. I didn't say anything."
"I think you did. I think you-"
"You're going to die." The salve master stopped in his tracks. He forgot the Asari and turned to face the speaker. It was a Darkspawn, a Hurlock, in the cage opposite Toniss.
"Is that so?" said the slave master, smugly.
"I know what those sounds are." continued the Darkspawn "You are so outgunned it isn't even funny."
There were loud shouts and gunshots from outside. The salver master looked from the Darkspawn to the door and back again. Beads of sweat were starting to run down his forehead. "The Hegemony will not fall." he said, more to himself than anyone else.
"Tell the spirits that." said the Darkspawn "They'll be coming in three. Two."
The door was smashed off its hinges as a spectral figure charged into the room. For a moment Toniss thought he'd gone mad. The figure was partially translucent, wore medieval armour and was armed with a sword and shield.
The spirit looked at the Batarian and raised its sword "In the name of Justice!" it boomed in an echoing voice "Relinquish your weapon and surrender!"
The slave master clumsily brought up his pistol and fired three shots, all of with passed through the phantom warrior like he wasn't even there. The spirit marched up to the trembling batarian and ran him through with his spectral blade.
None of the captives said anything, half of them weren't even sure that what they were seeing was real. The spirit set about breaking open the cages, telling the slaves to make their way outside. Toniss was one of the first out. The first time he'd seen Kar'shan was when he was being dragged into the holding area. From what little he'd glimpsed it had looked like a normal, well maintained capitol city. Now it looked like a warzone. Buildings had levelled, burned out cars, rubble and bodies littered the streets and in the sky was a great rift like some otherworldly power had torn a hole in reality.
There were more spirits outside, Tonnis couldn't count how many. They were all identical to the one that had rescued the slaves.
"Warriors!" the spirit walked past Tonniss to address it's fellows "This day, brothers. This day we destroy a foul and corrupt empire of slavers a decadents. Today we bring justice to those who have been wronged!" The Spirit turned to face the newly freed slaves "Mortal friends. Know that if you chose to stay here that you will be protected. But if you wish for justice then I ask that you join us and help bring down this dark empire."
Toniss needed no further encouragement. He picked up a rifle from a fallen Batarian's corpse and went to stand with the spirit army. All the other ex-slaves joined him, arming themselves with whatever they could find, from dead soldiers weapons to large rocks.
"Onward then!"declared the spirit. "The hour of justice is neigh!"
Near the city centre
Shepard and his squad cautiously made their way from cover to cover as they advanced on their objective.
Vhenadahl looked up at the sky yet again. "Mental note: I came, I saw and I don't believe my eyes."
"Movement up ahead alpha." said Redsky.
Shepard nodded and signalled for the others to advance. Although nothing had been said Shepard was now leading the squad which made him the alpha. Shepard had doubts about being in charge, he'd only joined the military a few days ago, but he suppressed his fears and focused solely on the mission objective: Find the Batarian leaders.
He heard gunshots up ahead and the unmistakable sound of magic being cast. Rounding a corner he saw a large group of Grey Wardens engaged in close combat with the Batarians.
"They look like they need help." said the Wanderer.
"The batarians or the wardens?" asked Redsky, jokingly.
"Support the wardens." ordered Shepard "Slaughter the Batarians! CHARGE!"
The Darkspawn ran down the ruined street and joined the battle. Shepard used his sword to cut down the first Batarian that got in his way, and another, and another. Next to him a shriek ducked under a batarian's clumsy punch and stabbed him in the back. A dragon swooped overhead, plucking an enemy soldier off the ground then throwing him through a window.
Some batarians tired to surrender hoping for mercy only to find the Darkspawn had none to give. Soon there were bodies everywhere.
When all the Batarians were dead one of the wardens approached Shepard and his team. From his gold and silver armour Shepard guessed that he was a ranking officer.
"Thank you for your aide." said the warden. "What is your name, arcane warrior?"
"I'm The Shepard."
"I am First Warden Anders" Shepard stood up a little straighter. This Hurlock was the leader of the entire Grey Warden order! "Calm down Shepard. This isn't an inspection. Where is your alpha?" Anders continued.
"He's...he's dead. I guess that makes me the alpha now."
Anders stared at Shepard for a few seconds before continuing "We are almost at the command bunker. All the Batarian leaders will be there, cowering. Would you join us in capturing them?"
Shepard looked around at his squad. Being in the presence of the Grey Wardens had lifted their spirits, he could feel their desire to carry on and complete their task. "We're with you all the way."
After half an hour of walking, interspersed with occasional gun battles, the Darkspawn finally made it to the Batarian command bunker. It was a short but grand looking building that was probably meant to inspire the batarian people, like a monument. It didn't look very inspiring anymore though. Bullet holes riddled the walls, chunks of masonry had been blow out by heavy weapons fire and two large statues that had once flanked the entrance had been demolished.
The ones responsible for all the destruction were another group of Darkspawn that had arrived first. There were two Ogres, one was a Grey Warden, the other a normal soldier and six Genlocks who were inspecting the metal blast door covering the entrance. As they got closer Shepard recognised one of them.
"Skyfall?!"
"Who...Shepard?! I should have guessed. How was your trip here? Oh, this city is fantastic, there is so much to destroy. We brought down an entire tank column by-"
"It's good to see you too you mad bomber."
"Is this the only way in?" asked Ander, interrupting Shepard and Skyfall's reunion.
"That it be." said Skyfall "But fear not. There isn't a door or bunker or aquarium that can't be knocked down with enough explosives."
Anders looked at Shepard and mouthed 'Aquarium?'
Shepard shrugged and followed Skyfall up to the blast door.
"Now, I'll need some lyrium powder here, some wire...or maybe I should go for qunari formula..."
While Skyfall was talking one of the Ogres moved away from the group and took aim at the door. All the other Darkspawn realised what he was doing and got out of the way, except Skyfall who was still planning on how to get past the blast door.
"Um...Skyfall?"
"Busy Shepard. Hmmm, maybe a combination of..."
The Ogre charged at full speed at the blast door. Shepard pulled the genlock out of the way just before the ten foot tall Darkspawn slammed headfirst into the metal, caving it in. With a final hammer blow from the Ogre's fist the blast door fell with a loud clang.
"Or we could just throw an Ogre at it and see what happens." said Skyfall, a little disappointed that he hadn't been able to blow something up.
The Darkspawn cautiously entered the building, except for the two Ogres to were too big to fit through the door. Inside was a marble floored reception area with a circular, finely carved, wooden desk in the middle of the room.
At the very back of the room was yet another blast door, only this time there was a wall console next to it and the words 'Command Centre' written in batarian above. One of the Warden Shrikes walked up to it and began typing on his omni-tool. Five seconds later the door slowly lifted.
The inside of the command centre was what you'd expect to see. Rows of desks upon which sat advanced computers, large monitors showing statistics, battle plans and a mass of screens dominating the far wall that showed security footage from whatever cameras still worked.
The Batarians inside had been in the process of destroying any information before the Darkspawn could get their hands on it. Now though they were just staring at the door. It didn't take long for them to snap out of their inaction. The guards went for their weapons and everyone else dived under their desks.
Shepard brought up his pistol and gunned down the closest guard before he could even raise his rifle. Looking around he saw that all the other guards were either dead or had surrendered.
"That was fast." muttered Redsky. "I was expecting a 'death before dishonour' style last stand."
"We don't always get what we want." said Skyfall, still sounding glum.
"We just caught the entire Batarian leadership." said Anders. "With them out of the picture this war is...Supreme Chancellor Harvock."
One of the Batarians turned to look at Anders. He was clearly afraid and obviously not used to being under any kind of threat.
"Today just keeps on giving. Wouldn't you agree chancellor?"
Back in orbit.
Admiral Meredith looked at the image of Kar'shan on her ships viewing screen. There were great fires raging across the planet, mainly in the cities, that made it look like the whole world was catching fire. Then there were the bright green rifts scattered about the sky. Meredith could actually see them growing slowly even from space. The veil had been torn apart on Kar'shan and it wasn't ever going to heal. This world would remain a haunted place with nightmares as its sole inhabitants.
"Amdrial!" Meredith turned to face her tactical officer "We have more ships coming through the mass relay. They're Turian but none of them seem to be warships."
That surprised Meredith. She had known that Council interference was possible but she'd been expecting them to send a fleet to force the Darkspawn to stand down. "What are they up to?" she muttered to herself. "Open a channel."
"Channel open."
"This is Admiral Meredith of the Darkspawn fleet. State your intent Turians!"
The ships view screen switched to an image of a Turian with blue face paint. "This is Captain Valius. We are here on behalf of the Hierarchy to provide medical aide to all who need it."
Meredith could pick up a tinge of nervousness in the man's voice. "So, a mission of mercy then. Very well Captain, you may pass. But each ship will undergo an inspection beforehand. If I so much as suspect you of smuggling weapons to the Batarians I will destroy each and every one of you."
Valius gulped "Understood Admiral."
Back on the surface
After searching the command bunker from top to bottom the Darkspawn had found the entire Batarian council, bar a few who taken their own lives rather than be captured. The ones that were still alive had been ushered outside and were now surrounded by a ring of Darkspawn and murderous looking liberated slaves.
First Warden Anders approached the batarians and said in a board voice "Supreme chancellor Harvock. I arrest you for crimes against the Darkspawn...Right, now that's done, come on men, we're leaving."
The Darkspawn started walking away, leaving the Batarian leaders behind, surrounded by the ex-slaves.
"Wait!" yelled Harvock "You can't leave us here with them! This isn't how you treat prisoners of war!"
Anders turned round "My job was simply to arrest you and your fellows and I've done that. Now I'm going home. With luck I can catch my favourite soap opera."
Shepard looked from Havrock to the ex-slaves. "Sir, he's right. We can't leave them like this." Harvock breathed a sigh of relief. "You can have a thirty second head start."
"I...but you...this isn't..." Harvock stuttered.
"Twenty nine. Twenty eight." The Batarian leaders all started running as fast as they could in various directions. "Twenty five, twenty four, three, two ,one. GET THEM!"
The mob of ex-slaves ran off after their former masters. None of them got very far, Harvock made it about three blocks before he was rugby tackled by a Krogan gladiator and the rest of the mob caught up with him.
The Darkspawn didn't follow the salves, they just stood where they were and watched. Shepard felt a sense of rightness and accomplishment that he'd never known before. It was...good.
"Let's give them five minutes to have their fun, then we'll escort them back to the evac zone." said Anders "I must admit Shepard, I'm impressed." "You stepped up to lead your squad. You kept focused on your mission despite the odds against you. You helped topple an empire."
Shepard looked back at the rest of his team "I didn't do it alone, sir."
"Modest as well. Tell me, have you ever considered becoming a Grey Warden?"
Council Chamber. The Citadel. Twelve hours later.
The Messenger couldn't keep the satisfied grin off his face as he walked up to the petitioners stage. Ambassador Artis was already there. His left arm was in a sling and his face was covered in small cuts.
"I take it there is a reason you called me here?" asked The Messenger.
"You're here to explain just what happened on Kar'shan!" yelled Sparatus.
"I think that's obvious. We fought a war and won."
"I believe that Councillor Sparatus is referring to the...paranormal phenomenon." said Tevos, with difficulty. She was a rational woman and despite what she'd seen she still didn't want to believe in daemons and monsters.
"Very well. We sundered the veil and allowed the spirits to enter the mortal world. You saw the results."
"This is an outrage!" yelled Artis. "The Darkspawn launched a vicious and unprovoked attack on the Batarain people! We demand that reparations be made!"
"That reasonable." said the Messenger, calmly. "Only..."
"Only what?" asked Councillor Valern.
"With the death of their leaders the Batarain empire has fractured. Planets, cites, fleets of ships, they've all declared that they are each the one true successor of the Batarian empire. If we give reparations to any one of these groups then they will use our resources to attack the other factions. So we cannot, in good conscience, give any reparations."
Tevos looked over at Valern "Is any of that true?"
The Salarian nodded "Unfortunately yes."
"This isn't right!" yelled Artis "You can't stand there and let them get away with this!"
"I wonder how many have stood here and said the same thing about you." muttered The Messenger.
"YOU FILTHY MONSTER!" Artis pulled out a concealed pistol and aimed it at The Messenger. " YOU WILL PAY FOR-hucck!?" Artis looked down and saw a metal shard protruding from his chest. With great effort he turned his head and saw a monstrous thing made of fire rising up from the floor.
"You didn't think I'd come here without some kind of protection?" asked The Messenger. "Artis, meet Wrath, a greater rage daemon. Wrath, meet Arits, an arrogant twit."
Wrath didn't seem to be listening, it was far too focused on its victim. "AND NOW YOU DIE MORTAL!" The rage daemon raised its arms, telekinetically lifting Artis up into the air. Then it made a violent downwards motion and the Batarian's body was slammed into the floor.
The council were too stunned to say anything. The Messenger looked up at them and said "This meeting is over". He walked out of the council chamber with the rage daemon following close behind.
Codex Update
Red Lyrium: Red Lyrium is a more potent form of blue lyrium. Just a small shard can give increased strength, speed, endurance, limited powers of flight and the ability to animate motionless objects. This power comes at a terrible price as any who use red lyrium are slowly driven mad by voices in their head. Even brief expose causes insanity, paranoia and irrational behavior long term exposure can lead to being petrified in red lyrium. The Darkspawn military gives one shard to squad Alphas to be use only in dire circumstances.
Lyrium Wells : The method of constructing Lyrium wells was recovered from Amgarrak centuries ago, along with information on how to create Harvesters. These wells can shift a person or object between different levels of the fade, making them phantasmal (unable to touch, be seen or heard but able to see and hear what's going on around them).
Varterral: Varterrals were spider like monsters built by the Arlathan Elves to protect their greatest treasures. Strong, smart and fearless even death would not stop a Varterral for long as they always rose again provided they still had a charge to protect. Most of them were destroyed by the Magisters when they sacked Arlathan, the few that survived into the Dragaon age were wiped out in the apocalypse save three. Although they cannot build new Varterrals, the Darkspawn have learned how to magically 're-program' the surviving ones to perform new tasks such as "defend this" or "attack that position". Perhaps the only weakness Varterrals have is that they are incapable of taking any sort of initiative, simply following their orders to the letter.
Rift Mages: Rift mages are Darkspawn emissaries who are given special training on how to sunder the veil and allow spirits into our world. While any blood mage can summon daemons, rift mages tear open the veil itself, creating portals into the fade that any number of spirits can use. This practise is extremely dangerous both for the mage and any nearby as any spirits that come through are liable to attack anyone they see. These portals can only be close with both great magic and the aid of helpful spirits.
I promise that the next chapter wont take so long. Maybe...possibly...errrmm.
Moving on. I'm not too sure about the fleet sizes. If anyone thinks that either side had too many/ not enough ships then please let me know and I'll change the numbers.
Next chapter will be set on Eden Prime, where Shepard will meet a familiar character from the Dragon Age. Will this familiar face be a friend, enemy or something else entirely?