Mass Effect : Shepard 's Letters
Chapter Seven – …And Still The Game Continues.
Part two
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The loud crack from the near boulder alarms Vega and Javik. The Prothean is quicker to raise his Particle Rifle vaporizing an exposed Cannibal's head, and for an inch not getting Vega's also.
"What the fuck?!"- As the bulky Marine ducks from friendly fire. "Watch out, Chupacabra! I'd like keeping my two ears… and my head for what matters."- He concludes seeing the minion to fall headless in green flames.
"I'm not to blame for saving your life, Primitive…Those bandages are taking my sense of perspective." The old warrior points annoyed to the dressings over half of his face as he gets also cover from the spot the first noise had come.
"You still got two eyes and…four pupils?! How the heck you lost perspective?"
"Evolution is the Galactic Imperative, if it says Protheans should have four eyes to rule over Primitive races so it had a reason! And...the bandages are covering all my left ones!"- He concludes in a frustrated tone.
"I'll remember to cover both sides next time…Hey…What?"- Carefully, Vega discovers the bodies of more two Cannibals after the rubble. He glances the burnt holes on both and the matching other hole at the wall at his back. "Who the Hell?…"- He shakes his head. "No time…It's clear, let's run or we'll lose her!"
Both take the path further away, climbing the half-down walls they've seen Jack just fly over.
"How are you holding up anyway? The medi-gel wasn't working right on you."
"You don't worry about me, Primitive. I do have my own genetic repairing abilities. This Cycle's Panacea is…quite impressive although, just doesn't seem to fit with my physiology."
"Oh! It must be that thing about you having four times more DNA than us, right? It sucks, eh?"- And jumps down to the next street bellow.
The Prothean was baffled.
"It's two times! You must know at least you are from a double helix… Vega! Incoming!"
Too late! A vehicle is thrown aside by the charge of a Brute. It hindered the Monster's movement but Vega was still tossed aside like a doll. The Marine curled into a ball rolling painfully ahead. From his upper position Javik's rifle laid green fire at the beast, distracting it so Vega could craw to cover and recover breath. The Prothean had to quickly duck for cover himself as some Marauders followed the Brute, and put them both stuck under suppressive fire.
Not under Javik's hindrance the big minion remembered the Marine he was just about to smash, turned its hideous head looking for him, just to receive a bullet right in the mug! Vega's Mattock should have opened a hole at abomination's head, but was baffled by some shield it shouldn't have.
"The Marauders are shielding it! Cover me, Javik!" And Vega sprints avoiding the Brute's advance, but Javik is too far to try something against the covered Marauders. The Prothean clenches his jaw and tries the Brute instead. His hate and wrath as a biotic attack, a mass effect field punishes the beast at molecular level, slowing it to receive an extra grenade's explosion at his back.
The Marauders were targeting Vega as he ran against them using anything in the way as cover. The moaning sound of Husks warned him of more trouble coming to brighten even more his day. The Mattock was slow for an assault rifle, but had the kick of a mule to compensate for it and on incendiary mode was perfect for those shitheads,… if he could at least get cover to shoot them! The Brute was starting to run again and it could make pulp out of Vega with the next strike. His Shields were out of juice and Vega had to do the only thing advisable while running head straight against close quarters enemies with a rifle as slow as shotgun.
Not missing a shot.
Making each round count, each Husk head popping out in flames at his advance. Vega breaks into an old pawn shop evading the Brute. The Monster just put down the wall holding the shop's doorframe as it rammed into the building. Same time Vega bulky frame just smashed out through the big window at front, using the cumbersome maneuvering time of the Brute to gift it with a sticky grenade explosion that just put the small building down upon it.
And put Vega just under sight of the Marauder's rifles…
Then a Marauder was hailed from behind with neatly put disruptor shots by a submachine gun.
Miranda loved the gun Shepard gave her times ago. It was classy. Kasumi got the original, but that ivory-handled beauty she held was still deadly precise, just like her anyway. Even from distance she put down easily the minion's shields. On a fluid move she extended her arm, grabbing the Marauder on a blue envelope of biotics, hammering it with prejudice…against its colleague! The third got distracted enough to get a point-blank shot from Vega, and it was over shortly.
"Hey! Miranda Lawson? I'm sure happy you could come to the party…WOOOAH!"
The destroyed building's ruins behind burst debris as the missing Brute leaped out at Vega's back, knocking him ahead missing his rifle. Javik and Miranda tried to shoot the thing without getting the Marine, but it raised fiercely a disproportionately big club of an arm and as the Monster's shadow loomed over him James Vega just thought how his ass was sure grass…
Then the neck of the Brute burst black blood and goo and the beast fell limp aside.
Vega's eyes were wide. He was still at the ground and glanced at all sides… He seemingly had a guardian angel…bearing a cannon!
"What just happened?"- The Marine reaches the offered Prothean's arm to get to his feet. He could see now someone running to meet them from two blocks back.
Javik sounded annoyed as he used his senses to answer. "It's the female Spectre, she thinks that if you look just another time at the other female's behind after she saved your life twice she may start shooting your head instead."- That last part was a bit more amused.
"Oh!... Ohhh…Ok, then…" Vega was disconcerted yet, but got suddenly got more focused as the repercussions of what Javik had just said got clear at his mind. "Chupacabra… We should hang out more, you know?"
"Ahem!"- Miranda tried to call back their attention and not to sound too flustered about the way her "behind" had come around as a topic.
"Oh! Miss Lawson, thanks again for the rescue, and it was just in time!"
"Don't mention it, Lieutenant. Are you after Jack too? Lost sight of her."
"I track the Biotic's rage that way. We must hurry if really intend to get to her before she reaches the Reaper, even if I don't see much of reason for doing it."
"Yes, Lawson, why are you after Jack? I heard you hated each other guts anyway."- Ash was already kicking herself inside her head. She just got to them and first thing was to start Horizon all over again against the Operative? But she was just too shaken to hold herself now…
Miranda seemed more intrigued at the question than offended herself. "Well, I guess we've survived together a suicidal mission once…"
"Forget it, Lawson. I know the reason." Vega looks at Ash as to make her drop the attitude and raises his Normandy badge into view. "It's here, we're Normandy's crew. We look after each other's back. That's what Shepard would do."
The memory of the rumors about Shepard's fate at her comms just minutes ago strikes heavily Ash to the reality at hand.
"You right, James. Let's hit the road."
That's what they did, dashing through the block using the narrow alleys till get the other side, and then it was like entering a shitstorm.
Javik, as a strategist, had to hand it to Jack. Her tactics on a suicidal strike against a Reaper Destroyer as it was called at this Cycle were solid. It seemed that if you just ran through the Reaper Forces fast and scolded them bad enough, the minions would get so shocked that the first attacker would make clean ahead while the supporting forces could put the now alarmed reaper forces under suppressive fire, buying more time to the real strike. Of course Jack would be carrying a nuke for it to work, in Javik's opinion, and preferentially he wouldn't be at the suicidal supporting group himself…
They were pinned under fire as soon as they got back to the streets. Dozens of Cannibals, Marauders and Husks turned them full attention from the direction the Biotic had just went. Brutes or Banshees, if charging against them would make short time of their defenses. The proper next movement should be to fall back immediately, but as Javik saw the Reaper further ahead he knew he would not.
As soon as that red eye pointed at them its deadly ray they would be done, but Javik was alright with that already. He could feel the weight of the Memory Shard he carried, and the burden within it. He released a long-held battle cry and went ahead, the Primitives struggling behind to cover him.
He had assisted dutifully Commander Shepard to make through to the Conduit. The Avatar of Victory was probably dead but had accomplished his duty to this Cycle, and by helping him, Javik had done the same for his own. However, he wasn't done yet… He relished greatly on the confusion among the minions, on the delightful pain coming from the Destroyer itself… The Avatar of Vengeance abandoned himself to the lust of the fight. His reunion to his people, his lost friends would be soon at hand… just as he brought along as much Reaper blood as he could muster with him…
"DAMN IT, JAVIK! Shit! Cover him! Fire!"- Vega got surprised by Javik sudden outburst from cover and going berserk against the Minions but went with him anyway. He had friends alongside him as before; all of them would probably die there on the next minutes. But this time would not be like his squad back at Fehl Prime… If that was their last stand he would make sure falling right beside them…
The ground started vibrating differently… Vega cursed thinking on reinforcements to the Reaper's forces, but was surprised by Ashley laughing loud.
"Look sharp, people! Help is coming with a good old friend of mine."- The Spectre shouted over the sound of her rifle.
Miranda attended to her Comms and her perfect eyebrows went high with surprise.
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"BoboomBoBoBoBoomBo…BoboomBoBoBoBoomBo…BoBoomBomBo!"
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"Right, Williams, I'll bite, why there's a Krogan singing "The Ride of the Valkyries" at our Comms?!"