Authors note:
Hey guys im very excited for the reviews that i received, it always makes me happy to know that people are actually taking the time to show interests in my writing
And to headreviewer mk2 i have to say that I left a cue as to the location in the 2nd chapter but your idea for feros was interesting enough that i've considered making a 2nd story with that being the beginning stage and would be completely different as a result
Especially because the flood can reach the transgalactic stage and manipulate the universe meaning that from the 1st chapter i can make many many many scenarios in different universes
But that'll be later wouldn't want to slow down the progress of this story by stretching myself too thin
Anyway if if anyone else believed the story to be unraveling on feros as a result of the idea of a lower city know that it's because i took that world to be an inspiration for this current worlds city
After all before the war with the reapers the protheans build like they wanted and grew what they wanted
creating a skyscraper metropolis on one world meaning that they probably did on more worlds hence Dawn
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Also guys i'm establishing a timeline for the sake of not confusing readers as well as myself
Timeline
Hour 1 Flood enters atmosphere
Hour 3 the flood is infecting the forest
Hour 9 civilians get eaten in the woods
Hour 11 Taruk takes the the flood into the city
Hour 13 the flood enters the lower city
Hour 15 the flood is infesting the ventilation
Hour 18 Proto Zero begins to block radio communications in the areas with the flood
Hour 23 there's a mass panic in the lower city
Hour 32 the lower city is abandoned to the flood by the local Commander and orders all the local forces to retreat and rally
Hour 35 Avox orders the remains of the flood in orbit to be destroyed
Hour 38 the passageways used to evacuate the lower city beneath the east sector are destroyed or sealed off by dawn's local forces to buy time as they made the push to establish a perimeter around the infestation
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Chapter start:
(Hour 28) Flood combat
The battles were being waged on the streets weapons fire was bursting about crack crack crack
Prothean forces struggled to hold the line at nagu station on a street in the lower city that they reinforced to fire at the countless abominations
Cluster - "we are the future...accept the path of evolution"
The garrison was forced to listen to the dark chorus of their groans and the echo of their united voice
They all knew they would die eventually but they fought to save anyone that they could any slack given to the parasite would be the deaths of thousands
Their forces were made of up of police officers rallying together by the order of their police chief
Chief Tavi was an old prothean but he wasn't weak in spine, when the shit hit the fan people look to him to avoid getting shitted on
He rallied all the local forces by local radio frequencies since the long range comms weren't working and had them reinforce the police station
Many of the officers arrived with family in tow, Tavi made sure to mention his ability to evacuate them as an incentive
He would have done the same as the officers regardless of their oaths saving their families came first
Then he had the locals evacuate in their direction using the stations lift, it was normally used to transport the military garrisons in emergency situations
To transport civilians down into the lower city where they housed the bunkers to protect people in case of an orbital bombardment
Chief Tavi having watched the shit hit the fan time and time again had learned that scared cities make stupid decisions
Tavi countered this by stationing armed officers by the lift with the duty of making the evacuation orderly to prevent the life being damaged by
So he got them out of the way and evacuated them at the same time while killing of all the pursuing enemies
Chief Tavi focused his efforts into a more direct activity than watching over the lift by leading the defense effort against the parasite
At first the officers hesitated seeing the mangled remains of their people running around it brought fear to them but a kick in the ass by Tavi got them moving
Yes he got them to be a well oiled machine together they had held off the oncoming hordes for the last 14 hours and they kept getting bigger
The men wanted to make a push to retake the lower city but Tavi shot that idea down by focusing their attention on evacuation
He reminded them that they needed to evacuate the civilians and insure their safety before making any offensive
If they marched off the civilians would be defenseless and trap the officers between the infected ahead of them and behind them
Tavi knew they wouldn't be able to hold them forever but he'd be damned if he didn't make the damn parasite remember him
And Tavi knew damn well the parasite would, the damned thing talked, it was an asshole but it talked
That had been an a spine tingling discovery he had just begun fighting these things in the first few hours of the outbreak and was trying to evacuate his brother and his family
It was only when they were so close to escaping that they killed and infected his brother then the thing groaned out ashy words
"Guhh uaghh c..co..coomm...be..o..nnne...wit...us…t.t.t..tavi"
That was one experience he had not enjoyed he immediately fired on it with his lucky shotgun 'iola" and had begin to shoot anything in sight.
When it stopped coming he rallied any officer he could find and brought them all back with every civilian they could it was dangerous and there were always casualties but he pushed forward
It was hard to get the officers to abandon protocol for enemy combat when it was so deeply drilled into their heads but Tavi lived as long as he had by adapting
Tavi's decisions saved his men time and time again it would have fallen apart if not for his efforts
Once they got the station going they began evacuating everyone they could including his brothers wife and kids and that attracted the the parasite
At first the number of casualties was high the officers hesitated and missed their shots continuously
many of the civilians died but they learned fast both to avoid spilling innocent blood and to protect them
Knowing people will die for your mistakes is a powerful motivator
"Incoming" Chief Tavi heard the shout and looked up seeing the dozens of falling infected, they were leaping off the closest building across the street to land closer to his 1st firing line
Tavi was an experienced warrior having fought years in the Metacon war before retirement and leading the police force so he drew on that experience
He had built 5 lines 2 in the courtyards and 3 in the buildings each line more elevated than the former all around
he had rallied every station in the area and alerted them to his plan of evacuation so he drew every last bit of manpower the lower east sector had to provide
In total there was 200,000 officers in the east sector as the most populated and of those he had rallied 40,000 and put them to work
He had them reinforce the station and all the buildings on campus of the cadet academy using the walls erected around the academy as fencing using the space between the walls and the buildings as a no man's land
At first they were sending out rescue teams made up of 20 officers to rescue and guide back the civilians but when the parasite got wind of it it began tracking and hunting them
It was a wily bastard Tavi knew this, damn bug wasn't just any beast it learned and planned, it even began setting traps for his teams by cornering civilians and leading the teams to them only to swarm and overtake them
They lost hundreds not counting the civilians, the officers were losing courage with every man that fell
"Fire, let only their dismembered limbs reach the ground beneath our feet"
All as one the groups shot up into the sky at the falling enemy, gunfire rang out tearing away swaths of flesh, ripping away at the enemy
when they finally landed few of them remained less than ten and while they were only a few feet from the 1st line they were gunned down fast enough
Chief Tavi shouted out to his men rallying their spirits for as long as he stood beside them they could never fall
Their spirits held when the enemy began to fire back at them with stolen weapons that they pilfered from the forces that they killed
They held when the infected screamed out in painful screeches as they fought with living protheans trapped inside them
They captured some and managed to get some information out of the ones that could talk they spoke of leaders, giant abominations born of thousands melted and eaten to grow the monster
Tavi regretted having heard this as this pushed the officer's decision to go on the offensive to attack
He could only hope that their decision wouldn't doom the rest of the city
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(City outskirts) (42 hours)
"Fleet Admiral Avox's orders were clear, We are to Go In and assert the condition of this threat"
"All hostile forces are to be eliminated, once the threat is ascertained we will send in the cavalry and crush the opposition
"Rear Admiral Drex is leading this reconnaissance sortie, So Do Not disappoint!"
"YES SIR"
" when the objective has been met we must then rendezvous with the forces arriving within the city, once we've done so Rear Admiral Drex will then assume control of the ground operations"
Drex looked at the men that would be running the tasks in this operation with contempt
His face was stern and mean especially right now, he would fulfil his orders but felt that this task was beneath him
HIM a Rear Admiral ordered to do reconnaissance his irritation at his assignment was palpable
Even so he remained silent knowing that Fleet Admiral Avox tolerated no insolence and insubordination so he begrudgingly carried it out
He didn't bother to address the officers that he would be leading on this mission both for it being a minor operation and due to his irritation
So he wasted no time and walked away and headed to his quarters aboard the ship
Once he arrived he sat down at his desk and connected to his secure network
Drex accessed his Omnitool and went over the mission briefing again
He was given command over 4,000 thousand men to come in and investigate the source of the communications block and destroy it as well as observing the enemy
And exterminating it before it can grow out of control so he planned to deploy right in the middle of the infestation and plant a bomb
The forces that he had would carve out a safe zone where to plant it
He decided to review the briefing on this operation once more for the sake of insuring complete preparations
The first time he went over it he couldn't prevent the sheer doubt and skepticism about the briefing
Some space parasite that grows and mutates organics couldn't possibly exist
So he didn't bother delving too deeply into the documents but once his wounded pride stopped flaring he began to consider the fact that the admiral himself ordered this mission
He read the missions briefing again and again looking for anything to refuse the possibilities of what he was reading
It all seemed impossible but he wasn't going to disregard the warnings from the briefing
This mission may be beneath him but he would carry it out as a proud imperial officer
He prepared a defensive strategy for the ground teams that would be deployed to scout while the ships would be playing a support role
He prepared the briefings that would be sent out to the squad leaders along with their objectives
Drex left out the information about what it was that they were fighting, he knew that it would incite anger later but it was better than being deployed while panicked and anxious
He instead gave explicit instructions to be cautious and treat this operation as if acting behind enemy lines
Even so he and his men were not going to be ready for the horrors they would be going to face
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(Inside City) 68 hours (1st Person)
"My orders are absolute so listen to my warnings DO NOT engage up close our enemy is specialised in melee combat"
"Sir Yes Sir"
"DO NOT Engage the enemy alone they attack by the dozens or you WILL DIE"
"Sir Yes Sir"
"DO NOT assume the hostiles are dead unless they stop moving and even when they've fallen do not get close Or they Will Tear Your Throats Out"
"Sir Yes Sir"
"No one's ever won a war alone so no heroics, Rear Admiral Drex and his men met their deaths to give us this intel"
"We need to...No We Will Defeat Our Enemy or Our Planet Dies"
"Am I Clear"
"Yes Sir Major Shaska Sir
My Men looked at me in complete obedience, they're focus so absolute and all consuming
They were my pride and joy
I knew I had earned those gazes as I led my men to hell and back time and time again and today would be no different
'Stay together, Fight together, Die together'
That was my mantra, victory was always achieved when all the 'I's become one
I shouted it out on the battlefield when we subjugated the lesser races and taught them the ways of protheans
Their tactics and skills impressed me time and time again but in the end the glory of our empire toppled them over
But this new enemy is an abomination that consumes planets and filled me with a deep worry
All of my squad leaders were veterans of the Metacon war together we had fought off hordes of machines and though we lost good men we always marched forward
Sigh just thinking about that time was making me tired so i focused on my task
I was planning out the landing zones for our forces as we needed to secure a perimeter and push back the enemy while saving as many civilians as we could
Millions were estimated dead in less than a day, that infuriated me how could we have been so damn slow
How many died screaming out to us before we deployed
I gritted my teeth clenching them so tightly they ached but i stayed silent my men needed me to stay focused
The rookies will panic especially if the briefing is correct about the abilities of the enemy
Huff 'alright alright time to focus shaska, get your head on straight'
I felt the shuttle slowing as we were coming into the city and against my better judgement i stepped up and opened the side door
The sight hurt me to the core my beautiful city my home was burning
Crack crack crack. I could make out faint firing in the distance, in the streets i could see thousands running
On the rooftops men and women bearing arms were firing at an unseen enemy
Screaming was the the loudest sound, I gnashed my teeth in sheer frustration to think that my home would be in such chaos
My eyes focus was caught by movement along a structures side it was rapid and wild
I picked up my rifle and looked through my scope and saw deformed monsters crawling along the side
'damn' my vision drifted ahead of them towards the people on the roof across from them
I immediately started firing on the them to alert the soldiers on the nearby rooftop to fire on the enemy that was about to swarm them
But it was too late they jumped across and began tearing into them i could feel the rage in my men as they opened fire out the side of their shuttles trying to save them
The soldiers on some other rooftops waved out to us happy to see help
But our expressions were grim, having just failed to save more of our people
We continued firing for the remaining time we were flying over the city until we arrived at the designated command post
Once there i hurried to take command of the ground operations and enacted the first step in my counteroffensive
I signaled the radio transmissions to begin playing my message across the city
"This is Major Shaska, And i ask you to listen, I thank you for fighting, I thank you for putting your lives on the line to secure our people's future"
"This fight isn't a war that I'd have ever asked you to fight, because this should've been our fight and that failure I assure you will never be forgotten"
"I will bear responsibility for every life lost to this scourge, but until you're safe i ask you to stand beside us and defend our homes"
"I will not order every prothean to fight, Only those that are willing to fight and risk their lives for the sake of their people's future stay and fight beside us"
"All of you that cannot fight I need you to hurry to the nearest evac zone we will be deploying shuttles to evac all the civilians out of this area"
"Now GO and may the Empire's Glory Bless you This Day"
I ended the signal and sighed. I felt shame at having had to manipulate the the law officers and civilians to help fight this war
But the enemy's numbers were in the millions every person that fell to the enemy became another combatant
The number of Navy personnel in this system numbered at just under 2 million with the majority of 800,000 being support personnel that don't enter the warzone
An additional 700,000 forces were stationed on Dawn to uphold the law along with the 1,500,000 forces spread across Nova,Tooran, and Karak
This was a result of the metacon war being mainly a naval conflict with ground combat being uncommon
The system's defences were centered around naval combat with the worlds having light forces stationed to maintain the law and order
'The majority of our forces in this system were inexperienced and fresh, meaning that I'll have to set a perimeter with the forces I have on hand'
I have 300,000 to deploy divided into 10 battle groups with less than 10 thousand veterans leading the separate squads
I gritted my teeth in frustration at the bullshit to think 'that they gave me green soldiers to save millions while the rest weren't going to deploy
I blinked my 4 eyes to clear my head, I need to stay calm and focused as i listened to the incoming reports of the enemy's advance
The person speaking was a lanky prothean, by my standards at least, he was nervous i could see it in the the jitter of his second eyes
I found him to be annoying fast the nervousness in his mannerisms irked me, an imperial officer should never appear so feeble
This commander Tsukan felt weak both in mind as in body i could smell it on him, but i listened to his intel reports of the situation on the ground
"The western sector has been taken by the enemy, they are pushing along the eastern sector more harshly than any other"
I thought back to the screaming people running away from the rampant parasite
' if they succeed we'll be split in 2 but they'll be fighting on 2 fronts'
Having decided on a course of action I gave out my orders, planning on containing the parasite before exterminating it
"Send out 'Alpha' to the southern sectors border with the western front and have them contain the parasite"
"Then Send 'Beta' to the northern sector to secure the northern border"
The order was relayed out to have the respective forces transported via shuttle immediately
"We presume they are targeting the fleeing civilians as that is the path that the majority of the city's population have evacuated towards and where we've seen the most activity of the parasites forces"
'meaning that the bulk of the enemy forces will be funneled into a kill box'
" How many of the local forces remain?"
He looked away for a moment hesitating to tell me, i knew that the odds were against us but i had some hope
" Of the 700,000 forces stationed to maintain the peace an estimated 30% are KIA as a result of our initial attempts to retake the eastern sector"
"With an additional 20% considered MIA but we believe that to be a result of the loss of communications with the eastern sector and the lower sector"
" some of our men could still be holding out inside the enemy territory as that would explain why we aren't seeing high levels of activity compared to their estimated strength"
'...shit, i had hoped for more than 50 % but 650,000 was still a better number of soldiers than i arrived with'
" As A result of Rear Admirals Drex's orbital bombardment on his location the parasite is no longer interfering with the comm channels
'that lost 20% would be a boon once the channels are corrected
"The lower sector has had sporadic communications from isolated units that report the enemy numbers to be concentrated there"
"In what condition is the east and lower sector? and what can you tell me of the perimeters for the escaping civilians? "
'Considering that 45% of the local populace lived in the east and lower sector it's important to evacuate them before the parasite gets to them'
I knew i wasn't going to like the answer when he hesitated and back away before speaking up so i asserted my position and ordered him to speak.
When i heard his answer i shot across the table wanting to tear his throat out
When i had him throat in my hands i squeezed just tightly enough that he could still speak and demanded him to repeat the words that started this
"Care to repeat that, because it sounded to me like you abandoned millions to the parasite"
" . .."
"That wasn't what i asked, now again Repeat it."
"I ordered f.. ..for.. .e.. lower sector..t.t..to be quarantined….sealing off the lower levels ..
I squeezed harder whenever the rage came up
"We collapsed .t..th...the stair ways and elev..ator..s in al..l of the eastern sector..t...to. buy time for the evacuation forces"
I snarled and squeezed harder
" You used millions as bait to buy time, you were to lay your life for those people not leave them to die"
I squeezed and until his eyes shook like mad and his gasps grew quiet and just when he was about to die i let go, he wasn't going to escape not from this
i turned and ordered him to be sent to the front lines on the east sector the men needed moral
he didn't deserve the safety of a prison cell better for him to die "buying time" for the evacuation
I huffed walked over to seat on the command post and collected my thoughts this was going to be a brutal campaign to be sure but the protheans had risen above all their perils this would not be their end he would make sure of it
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(Hour 56)
The flood forces had carved a swath in the lower city and maintained an active presence on the top section of the east sector
as the local forces evacuated themselves from the lower city the flood rampaged and consumed the denizens without opposition
dragging hundreds of thousands to the protos and gorging themselves on the fresh victims now able to consume them without worry of retaliation
The protos proceed to grow exponentially and slowly consumed the minds of thousands across structures and on the streets
The walls of the lower city were becoming the bones of the gravemind and the people shackled to then were being consumed to birth it
the protos now infested entire blocks of the city to themselves growing inside and around the structures the merging was complete for the few that remained
Zero - they come.. Bringing meals...and death...few...remain...horde..in..the millions….send..to you..they know...of us...they..arrive..soon…consumed..new flesh...they..strike..me down...in flames...will….not..live….
Cluster - The combat forms...are vast now we will push to take the city we no longer need the slow approach
Echo - Yes the flesh have provided us with the sufficient biomass and intelligence to properly coordinate ourselves
One - the growth has covered large portions of the lower city, the spores have begun to spread along the vents towards the other sectors and have completely clogged all on this side
Cluster - the soldiers continue to fight, they continue to use lesser arms against us but they are sufficient against them
Zero - the enemy...is an ….admiral...correction...rear admiral...orders...to observe...and destroy…
Echo - can you capture him, an officer would hold much of use to us if we consume
Zero - not much...time remains...bomb will..be….fired..we surround...we attack...allow no aid….
Echo - if only we were able to intervene we could have gained much from the rear admiral
Cluster - so the end is inevitable you will die then, you did well zero be proud of your part in our future
One - we can save you, we have the numbers to save at least part of you
Zero - No...only..remember…
The other protos felt the collected knowledge of Zero passing across towards them, it was astounding to think that the 'dullest' proto held that power
Where they spent their efforts towards developing their combat abilities and gaining knowledge, Zero focused on Creating
He broke down more and more of the forests and used what he gained to experiment and develop
The biggest shock they felt was to learn that it was only thanks to his efforts that the Protheans had not been able to establish a solid defense
It was Zero that Stripped them of their long and even mid range communications through continuous experiments it learned
It was as humbling and it was shameful, where they gloated at their accomplishment Zero did more and remained silent
maybe it was the protheans belief that seeped into them or maybe it was simply in their nature to do and desire recognition for the accomplishments
Zero - ...we...never...die...
The world began to shake as a fusion warhead is detonated and consumes miles of flood infestation exterminating all things that were consumed by the parasites
And spreading spores world wide
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Author's note:
Also heads up i made a mistake in reference to the salarian lizard pet idea well at least i think so
Honestly the mass effect wiki can be shit sometimes
I wrote that assuming that Javik's comment about eating salarian livers meant that they were stupid lizards or at leasts still lizards at the time but the wiki state that protheans were dicks since they ate 'primitive' or lesser sentients due to their carnivore origin
Also i know the protos seem more emotional than the flood has in the past and i did that on purpose since they are made up of protheans who learn and feel through touch so the flood made up of protheans growing over buildings filled with centuries of emotions have made the flood a touch more lively and more caring towards its own