In Infinitum
Chapter 25
Enemy Advances
Palavan, Cipritine. 1910 Hours.
Adrien ducked low as a stream of rounds passed over her cover. An explosion rocked the building and a Spartan shouted. "Perimeter breach in the northern sector!" gunfire sounded through the com line.
"Damnit, they've been pushing hard all damn morning," Nathan said from beside her. He held out his hand.
Adrien tossed him a thermal magazine and he loaded his Banshee. "I know, how's the generator situation looking?"
"They're all engaged," he replied simply before leaning from his cover and firing at a pair of advancing Cannibals. They went down with the spray of rounds. He ducked back down and took a breath.
It had been mostly quiet all that night and that should have been their first warning to this assault. Theta and all nearby Turian and Alliance forces had heavily reinforced the generator complexes and headquarters after the Spirit had deployed its marine contingents along with all its armor. They were still sorting their positions out when the sun had started to come up and suddenly hundreds of Husks had rushed the headquarters in one large wave.
As they were engaging that front the western perimeter reported a ten Reaper Strike teams of Cannibals and Marauders engaging them with Harvester air support. Then the other fronts reported heavy Brute activity and have been out of contact since. All through the morning they had been switching positions and burning through ammunition.
Warren's light winked red.
Adrien and Nathan jumped away from their large window vantage point in time to avoid the strafing run from a Harvester as it flew back. It heavy auto cannons left hand sized scorch marks along the wall where it impacted.
Gunfire was a constant. As were the screams and roars of Reaper grounds troops and the pained screams allies as they were overwhelmed. It was Hell.
Darius was across the room from them, sporting a blackened hole through his chest the size of a finger and his right arms armor had been melted from the bicep down from an explosive charge that a Marauder had tossed through the window. Adrien looked away, it was because he had tossed her away that she had survived. At the cost of his life.
She should feel honoured. But all she felt was useless, she should have been able to protect herself. "Head in the fight, Adrien." Nathan said as he hefted her up by her hand and they moved back into their position as three Turian Gunships streaked back with their guns in a strafing run over the two dozen Cannibals pushing forward.
Most of the advancing foes were down. Others were getting back up and the combined Spartan/Turian/Alliance forces mowed them down before refocusing on the Husks that were clawing their way over their makeshift barriers of wreckage and Combat barriers. They were quickly dispatched. But each soldier was beginning to notice a distinct lack of ammunition as time went on during this long conflict.
Reaper ground troops didn't drop thermal clips like normal weapons and their weapons didn't work for them at all. Scavenging ammo from dead allies was all there was along with sharing as needed.
"Harvester group coming in carrying Brutes!" Warren shouted over the com as two shots rang out over his side. Then he added, "Can't stop em! Prep for big partiers!"
Adrien peaked out of her cover and watched as four Harvesters flew down while gripping a Brute in their legs. The large monsters roared and were let go the moment they were over the command center, they hit the roof and rushed at the few soldiers stationed topside.
That included Warren and the snipers from Oscar, Sapphire and Orion were up there as well. She hoped they could handle the four Brutes. The Harvesters turned back around for a strafing run… then were shot down by two MEDUSA missiles.
That was one headache down, she supposed as she fired upon three Cannibals who were trying to dig in behind a building corner across the street. She took down one and her shields took a small beating as they returned accurate fire.
That had also changed, the Cannibals and all Reaper ground forces had been far more efficient in their tactics and overall accuracy since this morning as well. Why? She couldn't figure that out and it bugged her to high Heaven.
"This is Indigo Team! Generator four is under heavy assault, requesting backup ASAP, we're going to get overrun at this rate!"
Adrien looked to Nathan. "If one of those generators fall we could lose two or three of the cannons." Which meant a large opening for the Reapers to pour into the city from the air.
"I know…"
"This is Zulu. Don't worry Indigo, we and Foxtrot are en route to your location with air support," there was a pause for a chuckle. "You better remember this shit at Christmas, Varone."
"Yeah, yeah, just get here." some gunfire, "Close that damn door and plant a charge!"
The com closed. "How do you think its going upstairs?" Adrien asked.
"Considering we're not overrun yet? I'd say only barely good." Nathan replied and ejected his magazine, then sighed. "I'm out."
"Me too," Her Banshee counter read empty.
"Damn," Nathan drew his predator and keyed the com. "This is Onyx one and two, we're out of ammo and down to our sidearms. We need a runner up here with some spare thermal mags." he said and waited.
"Roger that, we have an Alliance armored convoy making its way to our position. Turns out we're being reinforced," there was a crackle of static before Warren spoke again. "Brutes are down, Turians suffered a few casualties and Marcus is bleeding badly. Medic is trying to stabilize him now."
That information didn't solve their ammunition problem at the moment. But it was still good news at any rate during this hellish siege. A Turian shouted incoming before he and two others leapt away from the large hole in the wall that had been caused by a stray MEDUSA missile. The room was flooded with a bright flash as the Reaper styled grenade detonated.
When it died down two more Harvesters stopped next to the opening while four more flew in on strafing runs to keep attention away from the strike team of Marauders jumped from the Harvesters into the room. They raised their weapons and opened fire on the nearby Turians who were still getting their bearings.
Adrien and Nathan fired their Predators at the five new targets. One went down under the hail of fire while the other four jumped nimbly behind a turned over desk, a moment later a grenade flew over and landed beside then two Spartans.
They leapt as the grenade detonated. The pressure wave shook Adrien internally and she flew into the wall by the door, leaving a dent in the once smooth metal surface.
Nathan corrected himself as he slid across the floor and got to his feet. He rushed forward and checked his shields, they were still at half strength. Good, he'd need them. The Marauders opened fire on the rushing opponent and their shots pinged off his shields.
His shields blinked red and faded as he ducked low and gripped the Turian made assault rifle and levelled it with the marauders. He held the trigger down and sprayed their position with fire, they ducked low and waited for a pause.
"We have a breach on the third level! Strike team-" his words stopped when he glanced at the corner of his eye. He was right in the firing angle of one of the Harvesters that had unloaded the marauders.
"Shit." he cursed.
They opened fire and without his shields the heavy machinegun rounds pinged off his armor. Other penetrated the dense alloy. He spun to face them as a round tore through his chest and knocked the wind from him. He held the trigger down and continued to fire at the Harvester.
The large flying creature took a shot to the eye, screeched and flew off when two missiles streaked by and reduced it to scrap. Nathan turned back to the Marauders and they took opened fire. He tasted blood and flew back with the impact of their combined fire.
Adrien's vision focused then blurred again, She bordered on the brink of unconsciousness. She witnessed Nathan rushing the enemy then the Harvester firing on him and then him hitting the floor. She blinked and opened her mouth, but she was so tired and her muscles ached with each attempt to move them.
Nathan's biosigns flatlined.
Her world fell into darkness.
"Impact on the forward shields. They're down to seven percent," Seth reported as the Spirit of Fire rocked again and an alarm blared. "Deck two, area B has been penetrated. We're venting atmosphere and electrical fires spreading… contained." The AI sighed and looked to Ardulus. "We should pull back."
"That will leave this flank vulnerable, Damnit, "Ardulus growled as she watched the four Reapers manoeuvre to the right to try and move out of the way of the Spirit's MAC. "And I will not let those bastards know they got the better of Captain Ardulus!" she narrowed her eyes. "Tell the Mercury and Savior to meet target those cruisers. This formation is not breaking!"
"At once, ma'am," Seth replied simply and then blinked once. "I'm reading an anomaly. Slipspace transition behind the Reaper forces…" he paused and frowned. "Silhouette does not match the Reach or Normandy."
That was wrong. No other vessel in the galaxy had a slipspace Shaw-Fujikawa engine, unless the Alliance had been holding out on them with how many ships actually possessed the technology to jump into Slipspace?
The space behind the two Reapers warped, tore apart and reveal the purple-pink ripples of Slipspace. And out appeared the massive nose of a bulbous head followed by the mid and finally full size of the behemoth. The hull was a reflective black with stripes of white, blue and gold. It was huge! It dwarfed every ship in the known galaxy, even a Reaper Flagship such as Harbinger wasn't as large.
"Scans indicate it's length at twenty-four kilometres, height of six. The head is four in width, the rear section is seven across, quite impressive." Seth reported as he watched the ship on the view screen. "Oh, and the Cerberus insignia is most alarming."
The viewer magnified to a point on the nose and highlighted the standard Cerberus insignia.
Ardulus growled. "Damnit, get ready to fight two enemies!" she ordered her crew. This was bad, that ship was insanely huge. Where did the even assemble that thing? No dock on any planet could construct that in secret.
"Ma'am, the Cerberus vessel's energy readings are spiking," Seth stated. Pinpoints of red appeared along the massive Cerberus ship. They glowed white hot then lanced outwards at blind-sided Reapers.
Each bolt of energy glowed white and were the size of a fighter. They struck the Reapers and their shields flashed before falling. The remaining fifteen rounds of energy impacted their intended targets. Ardulus watched in awed fear as the bolts melted into the Reaper's hulls a few feet then exploded into a flash of electric blue.
The Reapers were reduced to scrap.
"Reaper forces have taken note of our savior, they're moving to engage the Cerberus Dreadnought," The AI explained as more then half the Reaper fleet turned and shot towards the massive vessel.
The Cerberus vessel started to roll to reveal its under belly. A circular purple "eye" started to glow brightly as energy gathered inside it.
"Detecting massive energy readings from that central eye," Seth replied with just the barest hint of awe in his otherwise cool tone. "Their main gun, perhaps?"
Before Ardulus could reply the Cerberus vessel fired a stream of energy towards the approaching Reapers fleet.
The beam approached a Carrier. But it didn't so much as strike as it cut. The Reaper's shields stopped the beam for a brief moment before falling and powerful beam sliced it clean through before it moved to the side and bisected it like a surgical laser.
The Reaper fleet broke apart as the beam sliced through four more that were too close to the first to fall. They charged and fired their main guns, angry red beams slashed across the behemoth's shields. Which flared brightly, then cooled and settled under the combined fire of roughly seventeen Reapers.
"Incredible," Seth muttered from his spot. "Those shield systems are reminiscent of Cyclonic barriers, but they're modified somehow… These readings and the damage output of the Reaper's weapons…" he blinked. "My word! The amount of power they'd need to sustain that sort of shielding is massive!"
"Ya think?" Ardulus growled from her seat. She and the other ships in the defense fleet didn't move, no. They stayed still and watched as Cerberus handed the Reapers their rear ends extra crispy. "They just destroyed four reapers in a single shot! And four more before that with a single salvo of whatever those weapons are!"
"Plasma." Seth added. "They're plasma, very huge amount of plasma. If I had to guess the rounds are encased in a magnetic field to contain their power until they impact a target then they detonate." he paused and his form faded slightly. "Most impressive."
"In English, Seth?"
"If they turn on us. We're boned, Captain." Seth said flatly.
Ardulus frowned. "Just say that then!"
The Reaper fleet sustained three more casualties before they broke off and retreated away from the planet at top speed, the Cerberus vessel didn't pursue, it corrected itself and simply floated in space like a triumphant wolf who frightened off other predators.
Then it hailed the Spirit.
"Answer it," Ardulus muttered, straightening her hair and uniform before the image of a female captain appeared on her screen. "What do you want?"
The female's steely gray eyes focused on Ardulus and she replied, "That's gratitude for saving you and likely saving Palavan too," her voice was level and professional. "I'm Captain Carossa of the Cerberus Dreadnought, Legend," she said as she bowed her head. "I've been ordered personally by the Illusive Man to deliver a message to you."
"What's the message about?" Ardulus asked. She glanced at Seth, who nodded. Good, Seth had hailed their entire formation to target the Cerberus Dreadnought. Legend, what a name for a ship of that size. Then again, Ardulus found it fitting.
"Earth is about to come under major Reaper attack."
Ardulus blinked once, then twice and finally. "That's funny. Because last I checked, the Reapers hadn't even probed Sol since this war started. What makes you thin-"
"We know they're going to attack. A massive Reaper invasion fleet has been amassing in secret at the edge of the system." Carossa growled and stood. "The reason I was told to deliver this message is because the com buoys that connect Sol to the rest of the galaxy have been… disabled."
"And I'm just supposed to believe you?" Ardulus raised a brow.
"You will if you don't want Earth to burn."
Ardulus considered it. She had to, they couldn't win against that ship. Well, they might but it would be too costly with how many ships they'd lost in the last few hours that if they did win. And that was a seriously big if, they'd be too weak to repel another Reaper assault. It also made sense, Cerberus was a pack of anti-alien, hate filled extremists. But the goal of it had always been clear. Humanity's dominance and losing Earth wouldn't help that goal at all.
"Say for a second I believe you," began Ardulus as she glared heatedly at the other Captain. "How did you know? And I want the truth."
"Because its one of our agents who's indoctrinated! He's the one letting the Reapers through undetected and he's the one who should have been commanding the Spirit!"
Ardulus' eyes widened. "Lieutenant, get me a com to Alliance frigate Normandy! We're going to need Alpha team!"
Cerberus wasn't lying. Earth was about to get hit.
Alliance Headquarters, Earth. 2010 Hours.
Admiral Benjamin Terrence sat inside his large office behind his desk that overlooked most of the city with its generous view. His back was the to the window however as he looked over the reports that had been sent in from Omega team. They had been deployed deep behind enemy lines and out of contact for the last day and a half. Their report explained they had been out of contact due to communication being impossible due to their situation inside Batarian space.
But they also said their objectives had been completed. The Reaper processing stations across one of their primary colonies were destroyed, that however left a difficult situation of extraction for Omega. They assured Terrence that they would find a way but the Admiral still worried.
Pushing those worries aside he focused on more recent events. Palavan had been reinforced by the sixth fleet two days ago and reports that came in said they were holding the ground well enough. The space above the planet was another story, the Reapers kept reinforcing their fleets and pushing at the lines like a hang mans noose.
Shepard had also contacted him and Hackett about the negotiations. The Turians wanted Krogan support to help the fight on the ground at Palavan and the Krogan wanted a cure for the genophage as payment. That idea was a double edged sword, but it was an offer Palavan couldn't refuse, especially since the Dalatrass had been keeping it hidden that several fertile and cured Krogan females were being kept on Sur'Kesh.
Now, Shepard had been ordered to retrieve females and ensure that the Krogan and Turians get buddy-buddy within the next few days so the Alliance could relocate some of the ground forces from Palavan to Benning. Which reported heavy Reaper activity as of two hours ago. No other communications left that part of the space.
And then, there was the radio silence from Grissom Academy. A general distress beacon had been sounded and a Turian ship said it would go aid them, but something about that situation smelt bad to Terrence. So he sent Alpha Team to deal with it. He frowned and decided he knew what he was going to do about Benning.
He would put Delta Company on that mission. Normally, he would have entrusted Omega Company this mission. Omega however was currently deployed on Feros since it too had recently come under Reaper invasion three hours ago, heavy Reaper invasion. The Reapers were still trying to harvest humanity it seemed. Reports put the number of "taken" humans in the hundreds of thousands now.
But where were they taking them? The Collector base had been destroyed. So, that was a mystery, if they were making more Reapers where would they construct them? He sincerely wished Omega Team were here, but he would have to settle for the Normandy alone to try and find out where the Reapers were taking the taken humans.
It was all a major headache and can of worms waiting to happen.
Terrance's console chimed and he turned to it, "On screen," he said and straightened out. Placing the datapads on the desk.
"Admiral, something has just been brought to our attention," Admiral Anderson's face appeared on the holoscreen. "We've just discovered a small… anomaly inside the system, turns out our scanning probes near the relay were feeding us looped reports."
"Looped?" Terrence frowned.
Anderson nodded, "Yes. They've been feeding us false intel for the last twelve hours apparently. I took the liberty of trying to find out who did it. All signs points towards someone in your division, A Captain Macavre?"
"Macavre?" Terrence blinked, then said. "Admiral, he asked to posted inside the scout ship posted at the relay, he's been there longer then the probes have. If he's been paving the way for the Reapers. Then how come they haven't struck yet?"
"I don't know, but I'm recalling his ship under the guise of a supply run," the screen flickered and static distorted Anderson's voice. "Arrest…Capt…Rence? Do…read me?…" the channel died.
Terrence didn't like this. He switched channels to the orbiting flagship, the SSV-Everest. No response, just static. Again. He changed to local com channels, they were jammed too. "The Hell is this?"
Light flashed through his window then the building rumbled. He turned and looked outside. His eyes widened and he stepped back as hundreds of burning debris fell from the clouds and crashed across the city, one impacted the side of the massive structure he was in and the building shook again. He steadied himself and stared to the sky.
More and more broke the clouds and soon the sky itself reddened. He narrowed his eyes and watched in fear and awe as half the Everest broke through the clouds, its hull melted and burning as it descended into the nearby lake with a hiss of vapor and steam.
Terrence rushed out of his office and into the hall way which was bustling with activity as people scrambled. Soldiers and staff alike grabbed weapons and moved to their stations to arm the planetside defenses and mobilize the forces. They couldn't even do that now though with the communications jammed.
The Admiral turned and ran to the elevator. He had to get to the committee and ensure they were evacuated to the shelter beneath the headquarters. The building rumbled again and soon the loudest metallic roar sounded through the walls, screams from staff echoed with it as if the roar was right in his ears. Terrence glared at the floor and proceeded into the lift.
Outside in the city. Panic spread as civilians ducked for cover from the falling debris from ships in orbit. They looked upwards when the loudest screech, like metal grating against metal, echoed across the sky. Red lightning struck across the clouds and soon their worst fears made real descended from the Heavens like wrathful deities.
The Reapers had come.
A massive Reaper Flagship touched down, crushing several smaller building beneath it. Standing tall and letting out another deafening roar it announced. "I am Harbinger. And Your world is ours."
In orbit. The fleet was being torn to pieces by the combined force of Twelve hundred Reapers. Ships exploded as they were overwhelmed by the superior firepower of their foes. Carriers flew to the surface followed by capital ships. Any Alliance ships that turned to escape were merely shot in the back as they fled.
End of chapter 25
That's chapter 25 and Earth smack down begins. Humanity is now going to get its stuffing kicked. Thanks you to those who reviewed and gave their thoughts on my little ficlet here. I appreciate it. Hope the story continues to prove interesting to you all as I continue it.