Remnants

by General Rage

From Halo's ashes, a mismatched Alliance is born. UNSC soldiers now serve alongside both Batarian deserters and shifty Jackal Space Pirates. Now Shepard and Master Chief have to keep these strange bedfellows from killing one another before they can stop an emergent new threat to the galaxy. The Next Swashbuckling Chapter of the Wormhole Chronicles.

36. A Bigger Boat Part 1

Chapter 35 Part 1: A Bigger Boat

Ten Thousand Dollars for me by myself.

For that, you get the Head, the Tail, the whole Damn Thing.

-Captain Quint

Linda's position from atop the prison wall gave her a wide view of the inner workings of the slave camp. The place was a desolate plain in comparison to the lush fields and forests just beyond the walls. There was mud as far as you could see and a lot of machinery for a very specific kind, mining.

Apparently, there was more than one reason Snarlbeak had picked this place for his plunder nest. Above ground the island was a lush vibrant paradise, below it was a resource goldmine. Of what Linda couldn't say for certain, but if the gas canisters, pump equipment, and carts were anything to go by it was more than a few things.

She wondered if the slave pit had grown around this place as Snarlbeak required more and more labor to mine it out. Or, had it been born out of necessity? To keep the idle hands of his living sapient product busy so they wouldn't think of escape?

Whatever reason Zhoc had used to justify this was inadequate in her mind though, given the conditions she saw the slaves in. She mostly saw grunts, being pushed about by their Jackal masters, but there was a sizable portion of fellow Jackal slaves among them as well. One of the grunts dropped into the mud, probably stumbling more than being tired, and he was brutally kicked at least twice before being forced to stand up.

Another group of grunts came up from a shaft sticking out of the ground. Their breathing equipment was clearly inferior to even the Covenant's. They were dirty and disheveled. They likely didn't smell good either. Linda also pinpointed their living quarters on the far end of the camp. A bunch of dilapidated shacks, falling apart or sinking into the mud.

As appallingly predictable as the conditions were, Linda could not spy on any humans. Not yet anyway. She could see a larger walled complex at the back of the slave pit, but it was pretty closed off. It looked like a proper prison, with steel construction, towers with armed guards, and an oppressive-looking central building. It was like a little fortress in the middle of the desolate plain. Like something out of an old high fantasy novel. Zix's intel suggested the humans were held there, but she couldn't see them.

Down the road from there was the main guard area, where could see the Jackal Security personnel milling about. It was a small base, and clearly better constructed than every slave-centric building here, but she could see no humans there either. Just looked to be an armory, barracks, and a small motor pool. That could probably come in handy, to be honest. So it was good to keep it in mind.

She could see something else though, further down, near the center of the pit itself, was an encampment. Better structures, housing, like yurts in shape and function. Smaller barricades dotted the perimeter and patrolling the area, skulking about and grunting as they were want to do, were brutes. A whole mess of them, at least three full packs worth, maybe more. Their armor wasn't Covenant issue, it was rusted metal, cracked, smoldering, custom job in appearance even. They had red highlights crisscrossing their plates, but a symbol on their shoulders appeared to be crossed out. She couldn't make it out, almost as if they wanted to hide it.

Zix said the brutes would be guarding the humans, so she had told the truth and they were here. However, they weren't all at the high-security complex Zix claimed the humans were being kept. They were down here. A cursory glance back to the high security area allowed Linda to see there were Brutes in the towers, but that still didn't make sense. Why were their forces split? Was this just a rest area? It was hard to believe there wasn't space for that inside that compound.

There was also a number of guards surrounding one of the buildings in the Brute Outpost. Stepping out it was a chieftain, that was clear from his stature and armor. As he left he turned back inside, seemingly shouting at something before throwing what looked to be a chunk of meat he was holding back into the hut.

It was clear, there was someone important inside that hut, someone worth keeping under guard but directly under Brute supervision. Not the likely mix of Jackal and Brute found at the high-security compound. Why? Linda could only speculate. Perhaps a high-level UNSC officer or ONI Operative? Earth or Colonial Government official? Maybe it was a Hunter they had chained up in there, who knew?

All Linda knew for sure though, this confirmed their suspicions. Zix was lying about something. There was a reason the Brutes were here and it wasn't just for some human colonists locked up in a tower. Assuming they even existed of course. They still hadn't confirmed that. She quickly reported her findings to the Master Chief, who shared her sentiments.

"Sounds like we should take care of this Brute Outpost first," he stated. "Not only is it the most direct threat to our advance on the high-security area, it also contains an HVT of some sort. Likely the real reason we're here considering Zix didn't mention anything about human prisoners being split up."

"Not that I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt, but could she not know?" Fred asked.

"Doubtful," Kelly answered. "She has this much intel on this place but somehow isn't aware the Brutes set up shop outside where they're supposed to be? Seems like a bit of an oversight for a professional pirate spy."

"Agreed," Linda chimed in. "No one who claims to be as good as she says she is could be that sloppy."

ONI would kill you for missing that detail in a briefing, or at least sack you down a few levels. The only reason you'd leave something out was an ulterior motive. Linda and the other Spartans had been involved in enough ONI-sanctioned ops by now to know how often that was. She supposed if you could trust a spy, they wouldn't be that good at their job. That wouldn't stop her from criticizing the blatant lying, not when it put her and her friends in danger.

"Bomb is primed," Kat reported in. "Good to breach."

"Alright, Kelly and Fred you take left. Kat and Jun will go right. Anton, you're with me in the middle. Samara will back us up with Biotics from the rear. Grunt push up behind me and Anton, hang back until the Brutes respond or we reach their outpost. You're our lynchpin against 'em. Stack up everyone, mind your shots and hit all tangos hard. We secure that outpost and move to the security base from there. But first, we find out why we're really here. Let's get this done."

Linda waited on her perch for a few more seconds, lining up shots in her HUD by marking targets on the display. There were a lot of Jackals patrolling the area, she'd have to take them down quickly before the initial shock of the breach was over.

The blast came suddenly, ripping the gate clean open. Some of the Jackals nearby were blown away as metal tore loose and splintered everywhere. Linda didn't waste time in picking her shots and taking them. The first jackal she spotted turned to flee. She gunned him down in the back. Another was already aiming his needler rifle, she squeezed the trigger as her crosshairs passed his eye. A third was darting for better cover, his shield over his head. Big mistake, it left his side one for a clean shot through his neck. Her fourth shot lanced the top of a Jackal's head as he ducked behind his own shield.

As she reloaded, she watched her comrades below, exchanging fire as they rushed in. John was of course front and center because it was just what he did. Anton was with him, covering his direct flank as he pushed forward. The Jackal pirates were caught completely unawares, and forced to flee as the mass of Spartans rushed in. They faired even worse against Samara's biotics, which knocked two Jackals into the air as they were thrown like ragdolls, blue energy bleeding off of them.

When Linda was finally reloaded, she focused in on the column of slaves that had been crossing the road. They were ducking down for cover, clearly not sure what to do. Well, most of them anyway. One jackal slave in the line suddenly broke from the line and jumped the nearest master whom he proceeded to beat down with his fists. There was likely a story there that she was not privy to, but Linda only really cared about the initial spark she could turn into a full-blown rebellion. One of the slave drivers attempted to force the attacking servant off his comrade, pressing a button that seemed to shock the slave. Linda put a stop to that, putting a bullet between the master's eyes.

The slave was stunned, unsure of where the bolt from the blue came from. It didn't matter, the slave quickly grabbed for a remote on the dead guard's person. The jackal slammed on some of the buttons of the device before what appeared to be little disks dropped from the necks of the various slaves in the row. From there it was a mad dash. The guards who had left the slave detail to engage the Spartans were suddenly jumped from behind by various grunts and jackals in worker gear, using tools or their fists to bludgeon their captors. They saw an opportunity and were taking it.

"Sir, some slaves are breaking out," she informed Chief. "They're dressed in plain ragged clothes and mining gear. Positioned currently to your direct left."

The slaves had gathered what weapons they could from the few captors they downed. Some headed for the slave quarters, while others moved toward the Spartans.

"Scratch that, coming up on your left," Linda warned. "Watch your fire, team."

The slaves noticed the Spartans but did not engage. In fact, they generally gave the masses of metal muscle a wide berth as Kelly and Fred, the Spartans closest to them waved them off. The grunts and jackals did so, moving away from the assault team and down the road towards the mining shafts as well as the security depot.

"Linda, keep an eye on them," Chief ordered. "They might not be engaging us but we need to know their position. We don't want to risk accidentally changing that when we have enough problems up ahead."

"Copy, I'll stay on station," Linda said, looking up to the Brute outpost to see a flurry of activity. "Be advised, Brutes are moving to defensive positions. Let me know when you're getting close, I'll provide cover fire."

As Linda said that, a hail of green rounds struck her immediate cover. She turned her rifle and quickly gunned down a Jackal armed with a carbine across the way from her.

"Relocating further down," Linda reported. "Keep you posted on the position."

She quickly started heading down the battlement wall. She couldn't afford to stay in one place now, not with the whole compound alerted. She imagined the other teams were shifting into more overt actions right now.

---

Retz bounded up to the security office fuming, his anger barely contained as he burst through the doors. He found Zix, no less concerned or perturbed than before, leaning over a console and continuing to scroll through its contents. He grabbed her and pushed her into a support pillar.

"You knew there were razorfins!" He accused her. "You knew there were razorfins in the distillery's cove and you didn't tell us! You didn't think that was important?"

"I guess that was something we didn't pick up in our scouting," Zix claimed rather plainly.

"Cut the shit," Retz spat. "You expect me to buy that? You honestly think I'll believe your spies and you are too stupid to not notice patrol boats on the water? To not notice they're feeding something? To not notice the fucking fins!? You are incapable of being that stupid and thoughtless!"

"What a nice compliment, thank you, Retz," Zix grinned broadly. "I didn't know you thought so highly of me."

Retz pulled out his plasma pistol and aimed it at her head. That got everyone's attention, even as Zix's smile deepened.

"Whoa, Retz, easy now," Kasumi warned.

"The human is right, Retz," Zix warned. "Kill me and the deal is off. No distraction to draw off those ships from the relic. No way to find out where the invasion muster point is. And the Syndicate will be back on your ass faster than flies to a stinking rutvuker fish."

That may have been a good reason not to shoot Zix under normal circumstances. But when she was deliberately keeping secrets from them that endangered their lives, well, it wasn't. He wouldn't put the gun away until he got some kind of answer.

"Tell me why you kept the Razorfins from us," he growled.

"Because it would've complicated matters. Because you would've had more issues with coming down here," Zix claimed angrily. "I know how it is with Razorfins. They make the lot of you jumpy and scared, so I kept it from you so you didn't get cold feet. Happy now?"

Retz didn't believe her, but he decided it was good enough for now. Nothing he could do about it at the moment. He put the plasma pistol away and skulked back over to the window.

"This is now rightly fucked," he said. "Thanks a lot, Zix. Thanks a fucking lot."

"Can't we just cut the net keeping them in?" Kasumi asked. "They'll swim out and the Chorka will have a fighting chance."

"They won't leave," Zhad informed her. "They can smell the Chorka, they know they're here. They won't abandon that buffet."

"And we can't bring the building down on them with them in here," Keth added. "That much is clear."

Zix cleared her throat, garnering their attention once more.

"Gentlemen, you're all being far too pessimistic," she said. "The solution is simple... fly the Chorka out."

Retz looked at her like she was insane.

"What?"

"There's a dock we literally just left," Zix reminded them all. "I'm sure there are enough massive ships we could use to cart every Chorka away easily."

"We need those ships for the slaves we're freeing," Kasumi reminded her.

"Oh so they have to share some space with a few Chorka, big deal," Zix brushed off. "I am positive there is a big enough ship to hold them all with ease. Snarlbeak would have one on hand to whisk his whole stock away in case of an emergency."

More likely, Retz thought, Zix knew there was a big enough ship. Why else would she be so quick to suggest something on pure chance? That wasn't how she worked. She knew there was a big enough ship to cart the Chorka away. That wasn't the problem, the problem was it was a ridiculous solution to the problem.

"That pulls resources away from Shepard's team who are securing the dock," Retz reminded her. "Securing the dock and our escape route. Not to mention fucks with our timetable. How long would it take to load all these Chorka up?"

"Well what else would you suggest?" Zix asked. "There aren't exactly many options. Either you open the gate and let the Chorka try to make a run for the open water, Razorfins chasing them all the while or you blow up the building with them still inside. Either way, you're breaking a major taboo among kig-yar kind.

"The direct or indirect killing of a Chorka is a black mark on any pirate, signaling you have destroyed a free real estate resource, a unique and wonderful vintage line that will forever be denied to your fellow pirates. You can forget climbing up any social status in the underworld after that. So, I'd suggest... you make it work."

Retz grimaced at her, Zix's words tantamount to a confession. She knew that this would be a problem. She knew this would hurt their standing among other pirates. Damage their ability to get jobs and contracts. Unless they did what she said, they were screwed. That is until Zek offered a solution.

"Or... we kill the fucking Razors," he declared rather simply. "Go out on the water, blow them the fuck up, and give the Chorka their passage to safety."

Now everyone was looking at Zek like he was insane.

"Boss, that's nuts," Keth told him. "That's three fucking Razorfins! Three! And it's not like you can just get in an aircraft and fly around dropping bombs. The anti-air will go after you! And we can't wait until it's down either!"

"He's right," Krez confirmed. "They're gonna be on our asses any minute now, trying to bust down the doors. The raid is on, they know we're here now. Or at least that their stuff is under attack. They'll be sending people here to protect the distillery either way."

"We don't need everyone, just me," Zek assured. "I go out there alone, the rest of you stay here and hold the line. I need any help, you can just start shooting from the shoreline."

Retz already hated the idea even with the vague description.

"Zek... you can't fight three Razorfins alone!" He feverishly informed him. "Are you crazy? What would you even be hunting them with?"

"There's still that patrol boat out there," Zek noted.

"That dinky thing? You're gonna hunt Razorfins in that pushover excuse for a boat!?" Retz asked near infuriated by his friend's audacity.

"It's got a plasma turret on it and a few other guns from the look of things," Zek pointed out. "Besides, they know that thing gives them food. Its the perfect way to lure them out."

"Lure them to you because you ARE the food!" Retz frantically reminded him in a rage. "Have you completely lost your mind!?"

Retz paced around as Zek tried to explain.

"I know what these things are, we almost got killed by one years ago, remember?" Zek recalled.

"That was a long time ago," Retz replied. "And it was one and we did not kill it! We got the hell out of those waters because it was a fucking Razorfin!"

"These things really are no joke huh?" Kasumi asked inquisitively. "I've never seen you this nervous."

"You don't take Razors lightly, Ms. Goto," Keth declared. "They are the demons of the waters, a predator that we kig-yar have learned not to trifle with. They stalked Chorkas for centuries before we started milking ichor. Then they went after and got a taste for us when we started killing them to protect the Chorka. They've cut through ships like butter, they circle you for hours, just learning where you're weakest. They learn, Ms. Goto! They learn! They ain't stupid fish, they're fucking monsters!"

"I've heard stories myself," Zhad added. "How the bastards circled shipwrecks, just pulling down survivors into the deep like fruit from a tree. They bite you first, hold you in their first mouth, the outside one. The inside one, the one that got at the back... that one juts out and that one starts eating you... alive. Damn things shouldn't be real, they're nightmares made flesh."

"And you want to go out there and kill three of them," Retz reiterated to Zek. "For what, cred?"

"Partially, but it's our best option," Zek claimed. "We can't waste time loading every one of these chorka onto a ship, no matter how big it is and we can't bring this place down on them. What we can do is eliminate the threat in those waters and it will be a hell of a lot easier I think in the long run. Unless someone has a better idea?"

Retz looked to Zix, already none of her ideas would be helpful or even trustworthy. No, Zek was right. Their best bet was killing the Razorfins, but that was no easy task.

"You need to take someone else with you," Retz told Zek.

"I'll go," Varvok spoke up at once. "I'm not putting one of my men on this, but I'm not letting Zek put his neck on the line alone either. Besides, I've gone fishing before."

Zek looked at the batarian and grinned.

"Thanks, Four-Eyes, I accept your application for the position of skipper," the pirate replied graciously.

"Wait, skipper?" Varvok questioned.

"Too late, it's already decided," Zek informed him.

"You'll also need better guns," Retz added. "I don't trust that plasma turret to be enough."

"Well, there's a small armory listed down in the security barracks according to the schematics," Kaz said. "I can crack the thing open, grab some of the guns and give whatever looks like it would blow a hole in the Razors. And we can use the rest to defend the distillery."

Zek nodded at that.

"Alright, that's what we're doing," he declared. "Retz, as always you're in charge until Varvok and I get back. When Zhoc's fuckers show up to take this place from us, blow them away. We'll be back inside to help lay the charges, grab whatever isn't bolted down and book it the fuck outta here."

"I still hate this, but fine," Retz relented. "If anything goes wrong though, you get back to shore and let us take potshots at the Razors from here. Alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Zek said half-heartedly. "We'll be fine, Retz. We can kill these bastards, we got the firepower. Come on, let's move, the other teams are probably halfway done by now!"

The group hurried about their business, gathering what they needed for the fight ahead. Retz did not like how cool Zix was taking all of this in any case. She also just went back to her console, whereas everyone else was doing other work. He had no idea what was so interesting on that thing, but he had a feeling it was the truth to why she hadn't told them about the Razorfins, why she actually wanted that bigger ship.

She couldn't keep up her lies forever, not with him here and not with Zek's life on the line. With all their lives on the line. She wouldn't win, not if he could figure it out before it was too late.

---

The Marines were ready and waiting positioned near the drug refinery. They were close enough to the western gate to almost reach out and touch it. The fields granted them some cover from the guards patrolling the perimeter of the plant.

The only pirates they encountered in the fields were single-man patrols spreading pesticide on the plants. They were armed with plasma pistols and wearing hazmat masks, so they likely weren't slaves and were easily dealt with. McKay's Drop Troopers reported they had run into a group of grunts doing maintenance on the irrigation system. They had killed their Jackal Overseer and left behind a team to watch them. They weren't hostiles, but they couldn't take chances. Her people were now positioned on the Eastern end of the plant.

The refinery was a fairly large complex, although Sergeant Johnson expected it to be bigger given the size of the fields. Perhaps they were just so efficient at pumping out products that they didn't need a dozen extra buildings for storage, power, and whatever else this operation required. It was the "whatever else" part though that worried him, who knew what the Jackals needed to make their "special medicine" worth buying? He wasn't taking chances and neither was McKay. The Drop Troopers had their helmets on and sealed before they even entered the fields, now it was the Marines' turn to suit up.

"Hazmat masks on, people," Johnson told his squads. "I don't know what these turkeys use to get high, but I don't need you breathing it in."

The Marines all quickly put on their gas masks, the S90s may have looked old-fashioned but they filtered out unwanted exfoliants and toxins just fine. While they didn't use them often given the Covenant didn't use biological or chemical weapons all that much, the threat was always there and every Marine had it drilled into them how to properly put the things on. They would stay on until this refinery was cleared, maybe even a while after. Chances were this whole area was going to get extra toxic once it went up in smoke. That was to say nothing of the fields themselves which no doubt catch on fire before long.

They'd have to exfiltrate the area quickly once this place was done with regardless. Who knew how volatile some of these chemicals were? But, that was a far-away concern. Destroying the refinery came first. With any luck, it would go like clockwork. Johnson knew better than to rely on luck though, not in this war. Something was likely to go wrong, especially when you had a lying pirate spy feeding them all the relevant intel.

When the Spartans made their presence explosively known, Johnson quickly moved into action. First, he issued a command to the sharpshooters that had been lining up their marks. While the snipers dotted across the roof of the refinery looked to the explosion in the distance, bullets sliced through the back of their skulls. Next came the heavy artillery, as the rocket launchers let loose on guard towers, the front gate and one of the power generators that was more readily visible. The blasts rocked the compound significantly and certainly woke up the remaining pirates from their daze.

"Move in, Marines!" Johnson ordered. "Cut 'em all down!"

A cry came up from the fields as the Marines charged the gates, now smoking and on fire. The pirates soon opened up on the attack humans, blasting away as they broke through to the refinery perimeter.

Johnson was in the lead, of course, he wasn't about to hang back in the middle of a full frontal assault. He let loose with his assault rifle on a singular Jackal, cut off from the larger squads. The Jackal only had their single shield to stand up against his harrowing fire. They were unable to get a proper shot back as their defenses were peppered with lead. When Johnson got up to them, he kicked them over onto their backs and finished them off before they could recover.

The other Jackal Pirates had formed a small defensive line with their shields, however, pinning down some of the advancing Marines. Johnson chucked a grenade into their formation and let it tear them to shreds. As he did, he watched a storage unit suddenly explode and a pink fireball erupted into the sky. The unit had been close to another group of Jackals who were now screaming as flames licked hungrily at their backs. One other couldn't scream, he was completely engulfed, walking forward for a short while before collapsing dead.

It may have been a good result, but it was a dangerous one. A risk they could not take again given where they were. The Sergeant made sure his Marines knew that.

"Watch your heavy ordinance," Johnson called out. "We do not want that getting set off next to us!"

He pushed forward with a squad, rounding some transport vehicles in the yard that had been flipped over onto their sides. No doubt as a result of some of the initial rocket shots. As he approached the end, a hail of plasma fire erupted near the nose of the overturned craft. Plasma turret, firing out a window on the corner of a walkway above them. He wasn't about to risk having someone shoot a rocket into it not knowing what was behind there.

"Suppress it," he ordered one of his men. "I'll move up towards it."

The Marine did as told, firing on the turret as Johnson ran out into the open. As he moved, another group of Jackals moved into his path from behind the building's corner. They saw him of course and began opening fire. Johnson just pinpointed them as he ran, firing at each in the succession of how close they were. One went down after the other, clean bursts to the head. The last held his shield high to prevent an easy kill and Johnson's shoulder checked right into it. As if a Jackal could ever slow him down.

Not for a lack of trying though, as the psycho pigeon immediately began pushing back. He then tried to bite at the Sergeant with his beak, poking it over the shield's lip and jabbing it at him. That only succeeded in making Johnson angry.

"Do I look like breadcrumbs to you?" He asked, annoyed at this rather desperate attempt to kill him.

He grabbed at the Jackal's beak and forced it back before smashing his fist into the alien's eye. The pirate reeled back in pain and Johnson quickly grabbed for his gun that he had dropped in the scuffle. He filled his attacker with the last rounds in his magazine, ejected the spent magazine, and quickly reloaded. The body of the pirate was on the ground by the time he was done and Johnson was already making for the stairs leading up to the plasma turret next.

He had to round the corner at the top of the stairs to get back to where the nest was, but he still managed to catch the pirates operating it by surprise. They were too busy trying to kill the squad hiding behind the overturned vehicle. He quickly let loose with his assault rifle, ripping the pack of ugly parrots to pieces, ending the threat of the turret. He looked to his men's position and waved them forward to keep up with the rest of the assault.

"Sergeant, we're pushing through the east gate here, how are you holding up?" Asked McKay over the comms.

"We caught them with their pants down, but that's likely not gonna last once we get inside," Johnson warned. "Chances are they're already setting up defenses in the building. We need to push through fast. Watch for volatile substances, this place is a powder keg."

"Yeah, I saw the fireball," McKay confirmed. "Anyone hurt?"

"Only if you're not a fan of roast chicken, but I say we limit explosives unless needed," he cautioned.

McKay copied on that and Johnson resumed his task. That Plasma Cannon had been a right pain in the ass after all, time to pay these Jackals back for it. He wrenched the massive weapon off its mourning, he wasn't nearly as strong as the Master Chief, he doubted he could walk and fire this thing, well maybe if he tried hard enough he could. Right now though, he just wanted to move it, these scummy pirates had likely already consolidated a defense on their entryway by now.

Sure enough, as he began heading back down the stairs, he got an update from one of his Marines.

"Sergeant Johnson, sir, enemy have dug in around the side entrance to the building! They're not budging!"

"Don't worry, son, I picked up an equalizer," Johnson assured. "I will do all the budging for us."

Johnson moved along the upper platform, snaking around the buildings until he had a line of sight on the entryway. It was a large garage door, likely used for loading and offloading their supply. He placed the plasma cannon on the railing overlooking the Jackal's line of defense. A series of popup energy shields and smaller barricades made out of boxes and the like. These pirates could move faster than they gave 'em credit for. Already the Marines' advance was slowed, his men stopped dead by the enemy fire.

It would not last.

Taking aim, Johnson pressed down on the plasma cannon's trigger and let the weapon rip through the enemy lines. Bolts fell upon them from all sides as Johnson let loose with a furious storm of fire. The Jackals with shields faired better, for a time, until their one defense overloaded from sustained fire and they too were cut down.

The other pirates began to retreat inside the structure, and a few attempted to fire on Johnson. The Sergeant didn't let up, he laced the entire area with deadly plasma. The ones he didn't take out were shot by his Marines as they pushed up through the makeshift defenses.

When the Plasma Cannon ran out of juice, Johnson switched to his assault rifle and vaulted over the railing to the floor below. The Jackals were already routed, there wasn't much left to take down. Their path into the building was clear. He waved over to the Marines that hadn't pushed up yet, ushering them to follow inside. The easy part was over, now came the tricky bit of this assault, rooting out what remained of the defenders.

Once inside they saw several large industrial vats of, well who knew what. Johnson was now very happy they had gas masks, he doubted this place smelled nice. He could see the fumes cooking off the open boiler vats, its sickly greenish-yellow hue did not look like it carried the scent of roses.

The more debilitating thing was the sound, of which there was now really good defense. The machinery was ear-poundingly annoying. He had to yell extra loud to make sure his men heard him.

"Search and destroy teams, break into pairs," he ordered. "Watch every corner, break open every door, kick over every box in this place. We need to secure this factory. Watch your fire, though, McKay will be breaking through on her end soon enough."

As some of the Marines paired off and began to move, a blast struck into of Johnson's Men, hitting him in the shoulder. Johnson quickly rushed to the ground, taking cover behind a pillar near one of the vats.

"Sniper! Up top!" One of the Marines yelled.

Just as soon as he said that, other Jackals opened up, firing from their own cover, up in the catwalks or down the floor. It was mostly futile, once McKay broke through they'd be caught in the pincer, but that didn't make these pirates any less dangerous.

To his Marines' credit, Johnson saw them still going about their tasks, moving to search the factory and provide cover fire as one of them dragged the hit Marine to safety. They were doing what they were trained to do, stay on mission, protect each other. Now he'd do what he was trained to do, find and kill the baddest bastards on the field before they did more harm.

Johnson brought out his sniper rifle and scanned the upper deck. He was looking for a Jackal with a long weapon, he suspected Beam Rifle, the shot sounded similar to one. He spotted a few targets, mostly with carbines, he took a shot at one. He hoped it would draw the real sniper out. Sure enough, shortly after the pirate with the carbine tumbled off the side of the catwalk and down the floor, a beam cut into the support pillar.

The blast missed Johnson by a hair, but he had a location now. He quickly rolled out of his cover and took direct aim at where the shot had come from. There was the Jackal, beam rifle in hand, Taking aim.

Johnson was faster though. He let off a shot that split the Jackal's head wide open. However, he was still exposed. The Sergeant ran for a nearby crate as plasma fire ripped at his position. A trio of Jackals with plasma pistols, they were behind a desk of some sort next to what looked to be a boiler.

After what had happened outside with that fireball, Johnson didn't want to push his luck, but that boiler valve really looked under pressure in his scope. He took aim and fired, blasting off the valve with ease. A second later, the boiler erupted in a burst of water and air that sent the Jackals nearby flying and reeling from the scalding burns.

Coupled with the actions of other Marines, the pirates were soon losing ground on the factory floor. When McKay's Drop Troopers broke through the other end of the production line, throwing several flashbangs inside, they were pretty much done. A few of the smarter pirates dropped their weapons, the rest ended up getting cut down as the ODSTs rushed in. McKay quickly met up with the Sergeant at the center of the production area.

"Nice work, Sergeant," she told him.

"Same to you," he replied. "My men are already mopping up the area now, how about your end?"

"We're sweeping the building floor by floor, but we gotta move," she warned. "Garrus set up an Overwatch position in the tower with his team. He's spotted movement along the road our way. We're gonna have company eventually. I have people garrisoning the upper floors, along the rooms that overlook the entrance to the factory compound."

"That will buy us time," Johnson said, turning to his men. "Alright people, get those charges set, asses and elbows. Find your sectors, mind the fumes and get this bonfire of ours prepped. Double-time, let's go!"

The easy part was over, the hard part was getting this place ready to go up in flames. Zix's intel would help them more easily take this place down safely, but with reinforcements already closing in, they did not have much time. Johnson just hoped the other teams were having equal success in their tasks. The longer they were down here, the longer everyone took, the sooner this raid would go wrong.

Assuming something hadn't already of course.

---

Chief and his Spartans' timing couldn't have been better. When the bomb went off, Shepard's team were all in ready position. They had found the central docking area packed with Jackal Pirates, all loading and unloading large crates to and from their main warehouse. There were two freshly arrived cargo freighters currently idling on the landing platforms, perfect easy targets. Quickly, Shepard set his people into motion.

Legion was perched on an overlooking rooftop, sniper in hand, was providing overwatch. Thane was acting as his spotter from a different angle. They were both supremely capable of staying hidden, so sneaking up there had been child's play. Miranda and Mordin were ready at the landing pads, while Shepard, Tali, and Jack were settling in closer to the warehouse, hiding inside a small garage. They had to deal with a lone pirate mechanic, but that was it.

In fact, everyone had managed to sneak into their desired positions with little trouble. All pirate hands available were busy getting their newest shipment in order it seemed. The foreman's talk about being run ragged hadn't been just an idle complaint. They really were working overtime. It wasn't that security wasn't tight, but that was mostly along the docking facility's perimeter. The few patrols within the area were small and spread out. Clearly, they weren't too concerned about outsiders getting in. Why should they? It wasn't like anyone knew this place existed, let alone gotten inside. No one had up until today.

The explosion at the slave pit changed that reality for the pirates. The focus of the Jackals suddenly turned to the plume of smoke and fire emanating from the prison compound's direction. A few were already scrambling to grab at their weapons or move towards vehicles. A few patrols started breaking into a run towards likely Battlestations. Perhaps they assumed it was a slave revolt of some kind and they needed to be ready for attempted escapees.

The reality would hit them like a truck when Shepard ordered Thane and Legion to open fire. Sniper shots ripped into various Jackals near instantly. Legion's dead-eye precision and lightning-fast reflexes ripped at the enemy patrols moving into positions, while Thane focused on the guards at the warehouse. Shepard wouldn't let them get their bearings though, he didn't want his sniper support to get triangulated after all. As soon as the first few Jackals were downed, he gave the order.

"Everyone, move in!"

Jack was the first to voice her elation.

"Finally! Off the leash!"

Jack flung herself into the fray, using her biotics to toss the nearest pirates around. Shepard provided her cover as Tali had her drone role in to support her advance. They began moving up once Jack let loose a shockwave that broke the first line of defense among the pirates. They had not been readying for an attack this close so soon.

That didn't mean this was a milk run though. While they were no Elites, nor were they Covenant, Snarlbeak's pirates had long proven they were a threat all their own. When Shepard charged into battle, his biotics blazing and rocketing him forward, he made sure to aim at the biggest threat he could see. A larger Jackal, with a heavy Carbine Rifle raised. He was trying to fire at Jack, now taking cover behind some boxes. Shepard's collision with the pirate sent the alien bird flying before a shotgun blast blew him away.

Tali moved up to Jack, keeping her drone close to support their advance.

"Keep going," she told her as she opened her omni-tool. "I'm going to sabotage their guns."

"I'll try and save at least one for you," Jack snickered.

The ex-con rushed forward, biotics flaring and shotgun pointed outward. Tali let loose a sabotage attack at the same time, that overheated the plasma pistols of the nearby shield-carrying Jackals. Their weapons discharged in their faces, leaving them open for Jack to smash into them full force. Her shotgun blasts tore open the pirate lines with ease. She also used her biotics to levitate and then fling several large boxes at the pirates further in. The Jackals not fast enough to get away soon found themselves smashed beneath the falling crates.

Shepard continued to push as well, charging into the Jackals and then firing a shotgun blast or two into their ranks before quickly taking cover. The pirates held fast, but the fury of the assault was evident. As was the fact Thane and Legion were picking off whatever capable leaders they had among them. One of the pirates attempted to advance on Shepard, his shield pecked by several sniper rounds. Eventually though, one found the hole where he was aiming his gun. The shot tore the alien's arm off. That was likely Legion's shot, not so much for the precision but the fact that the Geth's Widow was a devastating anti-materiel weapon.

Tali scrambled up to Shepard's position as shockwave ripped at the pirate lines.

"I've got DOT logged into the enemy comm feeds," she reported. "They're panicking. It seems like all the teams are attacking on schedule. Resources are getting redirected everywhere!"

Shepard hit one of the floating Jackals with Reave, detonating them and taking out a few of their friends beside them.

"What about the distillery?" Shepard asked.

"No one can reach them, I'm thinking their infiltration was a success," Tali told him. "But they are likely sending people to check on it as we speak."

"Well, let's hope Zek and Retz have a welcome mat ready," Shepard told her. "We need to keep pushing here, come on."

Shepard charged out from his cover as another one of Jack's shockwaves rippled through the enemy ranks. This time, when he biotically charged into one of the lifted Jackals, the subsequent detonation ripped apart several of the pirates close to the area. Tali was close by, using her shotgun to take out what few remained in the blast radius.

The pirates were soon running for the cover of the warehouse, as Shepard, Jack, and Tali kept chasing them the whole way. It wasn't long until they were inside the building itself. Their attempts to find cover were futile though, as Jack used her shockwave again and caused one of the shelving units to fall over, its contents crushing a number of pirates under its weight.

"Fuck yeah!" She called out.

Shepard was more methodical, he and Tali moved among the racks, blowing away the pirates as they tried to mount a desperate defense within the aisles. The defensive lines were fractured, completely unprepared for this sudden raid. They attacked in desperate charges, hoping their shields could protect them.

Shepard's biotics proved them wrong, their shields little help as they were pulled into the air and blasted out of it. Tali kept her drone close as she drained enemy shield gauntlets completely and then gunned them down. All the while though, they watched for falling debris from Jack's "Bull in a China Shop" method of assault.

It wasn't all easy though. A few Jackals managed to form a barricade in one of the aisles and cracked open a weapons crate with a plasma cannon inside. As Shepard turned the corner, he quickly had to duck behind a box to avoid the incoming fire.

"Tali, go left," he called out.

The quarian did so, going down a separate aisle. She then sent her drone up first to harass their flank before opening fire herself. The Jackals had a well dug-in position though, firing back to protect their gunner's constant barrage. Jack joined the fray by attacking from the right, her shotgun blowing off pieces of their cover as they fired back,

The plasma cannon eventually stopped firing though, when Tali's drone ran up close and blasted it with sparking energy. The burst of concentrated constructed lightning overheated the weapon instantly. Shepard quickly sprung out from cover and let a Shockwave ripple into and fling the Jackals in the embedded position into the air. Jack then let off a biotic throw that tore the pirates apart in a biotic detonation. The warehouse now fell silent.

"Miranda, Mordin," Shepard called through the radio. "Warehouse secure, how's the landing pad?"

"Small problem," Miranda reported. "They've retreated into the ships. They're trying to hold the freighters. They might take off if we take too long."

"We need every ship we can get for the escapees," Shepard told her. "Hang tight, we're coming to you. Legion, Thane, shift fire to the landing pad. We're moving."

Tali was already working to bypass the back door to the warehouse. When they cracked it open and got outside, they spotted Miranda and Mordin on the landing pad, firing on the Jackals currently holding the open cargo bay doors. Mordin let loose a stray incinerate that engulfed one of the pirates on the ramp. As their body rolled down to the pad, another of his friends moved forward to take his place.

"Jack, Tali, secure the second freighter," Shepard ordered. "I'll help Miranda and Mordin with the first."

Shepard rushed in as Tali and Jack moved to the next pad. Miranda used a Slam attack to ensnare one of the Jackals on the ramp. Shepard used Reave on the floating alien to detonate the biotic field. It cleared the freighter's runway as the Commander rushed inside. Mordin and Miranda were close behind, quickly backing him up as they pressed into cover among the still-loaded ship.

"Shepard, should secure ship promptly," Mordin advised. "Highly likely perimeter guard approaching."

"Don't worry, we got this," Shepard assured him. "I'm heading to the cockpit, cover me."

"Will do, go," Miranda confirmed.

Shepard charged in, slamming into another pirate clear across the cargo bay. As that Jackal flew into the back wall, he turned his gun on a second. He then quickly rushed up the nearby ladder, his team moving in behind. As he "approached the command deck, a few of the plasma bolts whizzed by, confirming there were still a few more pirates aboard. As he took cover behind a console though, Shepard's comm-link suddenly sparked to life.

"Commander, I trust this isn't a bad time."

Retz's voice, what did he want? It was too early to check-in.

"Retz, I'm a little preoccupied," he explained, a plasma bolt hitting the console's edge.

"I understand, Commander, but this might be important to the mission," Retz replied.

"Just hold that thought for a second," Shepard asked.

With a double pull attack, Shepard wrenched both Jackals into the air. He then rushed out and fired on both of them with his shotgun. He approached the cockpit carefully, as Mordin and Miranda joined up with him. Another Jackal in the cockpit suddenly turned and opened fire on them. As they ducked for cover though, Mordin let off a Neural Shock attack that paralyzed the pirate, leaving him open for the Salarian to fill him full of lead.

"Command deck, secured," Mordin reported. "Efficient."

Shepard contacted Tali.

"We got the first ship locked down," he reported. "How are things over there?"

"We got their captain cornered, Shepard," Tali reported. "I've already locked the engines down. Jack is working on the door to-"

There was a loud sound, like metal being bent and twisted followed by a loud screaming war cry and a biotic blast.

"Uh, nevermind, I think Jack just took care of the captain."

Shepard acknowledged the call.

"Miranda, Mordin, sweep the ship for stragglers," he said. "We're gonna have to lock them down and clear out any patrols that come our way before moving on."

"Copy that, Commander," Miranda confirmed.

As his team headed off, he re-engaged Retz's call.

"Alright, Retz, go," he said. "What's so important to the mission?"

"Well, surprise, surprise, Zix left some things out and destroying the distillery just got... complicated," Retz summarized. "I'll spare you the details, they're not important. Zek is going fishing for sea monsters, it's a... thing now."

"Uh huh, do I want to know?" Shepard asked incredulously. "Because this feels like something I should probably know more context about. I'm just afraid of what the answer is."

"I don't have time to explain, I have defenses to oversee," Zek replied, sounding almost as annoyed as Shepard felt. "The short version is getting the Chroka out of this place safely isn't so simple anymore. Zix's solution to the problem is that we need to airlift them out. She suggested finding a bigger ship to carry them all."

Shepard quickly caught on to what Retz was saying.

"And you don't think she'd suggest that if she didn't know there was a massive ship capable of carting away all those Chroka," he reasoned rather astutely.

"Precisely, Commander," Retz answered approvingly. "She's too methodical to NOT have this planned out in detail. Listen, we won't need that ship to get the Chorka out if Zek's plan works. You could use it though, to get those slaves out more efficiently. More immediately though..."

Shepard also caught on to Retz's goals, as he wasn't trying to hide them for once.

"You wanna know what exactly this bigger ship is for? Why Zix wants it and all that."

"I need to know why we're actually here, Commander," Retz said, his voice devoid of the usual charm and droll tambor that so often permeated his speech. "If I know what that ship is outfitted for, I'll know why Zix wants it. I'm not sure if her true goal is there or somewhere in this distillery, but I suspect there's a clue either way."

"I'll see what I can find, Retz, but you're not the only one with company coming," Shepard told him. "Do you have any idea where to look?"

"Try the larger shipyard hangars," Retz suggested. "If it's not there, well at least there should be plenty of other ships you can use. I don't see where else they'd keep it though, we didn't see anything like the tub we'd need on the way in."

"Alright, gotcha, good luck over there, Retz, Shepard out."

Shepard quickly left the cockpit to check on his team, heading back towards the cargo bay. Miranda rushed up when she saw him on the upper catwalk.

"We cleared engineering," she reported. "Pirates are all KIA. What's next?"

"Lock the ship down, get everyone to regroup and prepare to repel potential reinforcements," he said. "Then we gotta find some more ships. Retz has a good idea of where we can find one that might be more than enough for our needs, or at least a bunch of ships that will work just as well."

He didn't mention the whole scope of the conversation, he didn't know how to explain that Zek was apparently hunting... sea monsters. Maybe he should've asked for context, but frankly he was not in the mood for it. Retz did not sound at like his usual self-assured confidence man. That worried him a little. For whatever else you could say about Zek or any of his crew, Retz was clearly the most capable among them. Nothing seemed to phase him. Except Zix it seemed. Something was bothering him about this whole mission, had been since the start.

Every bone in his body told Shepard that the longer they stayed down here, the greater the danger became. They were stepping into something they were not truly prepared to get into. Something that was putting them all in jeopardy. If they didn't find out what it was soon, they were likely to get caught up in whatever scheme Zix was truly planning.

---

It had been years since Zek had to pilot a watercraft, but some things just never left you. Hovering across the waves, he and Varok's appropriated patrol boat moved into the open water of the bay. As they cruised across the surf, they took a tentative look back at the shore.

They could see a number of smoke plumes wafting into the air, sounds of gun and plasma fire echoing in the distance. The raid was well and truly underway by this point, so they had little time to lose. Zek turned them towards the middle of the bay, directly in the distillery's shadow. Peering through his scope, Varvok scanned the roof of the building.

"Zhad on overwatch for now," he told Zek. "He's got a plasma cannon set up and ready."

"Whatever eases Retz's mind," the pirate replied. "We won't need him. We'll bag all three of these bastards ourselves."

The patrol boat was a long sleek number, its open plasma cannon fitted over the vessel's cockpit for ease of access. It was lightly armored, but sturdy, with a decent lift off the water's surface from the hover capacitor. A bit basic, but this wasn't exactly a yacht nor was it meant to be. Zek had hoped there were some explosives on board, depth charges, or the like. He supposed that been hoping for too much. Luckily the armory had plenty of plasma grenades, among other things.

The Concussion Rifles would be most useful in cracking the Razorfins' jaws. As would the Death Lobber they found. Zek had no idea what it was doing here and not with one of the Jiralhanae at the slave pit. Perhaps Snarlbeak had purchased it directly. Whatever, it would be useful here.

Varvok brought a grenade launcher and Kishock Harpoon Gun to assist in the hunt. Although Zek wasn't sure if the latter gun was really going to be useful since, despite its name, it didn't actually fire real harpoons. But why split hairs at this juncture?

"Let's not waste time," Zek told his batarian skipper. "I'll spread the chum out in the water, get them close to us. With any luck, we'll take at least one out by surprise."

Zek grabbed for the bucket of fish guts at the side of the captain's cockpit and head up to the side of the boat. As he begun pour blood and severed sea life heads into the water, Varvok took up the Plasma Cannon, wearily surveying the water.

"I don't see anything yet," he said. "You think they're still hungry?"

"They're always hungry," Zek insisted. "Bastards only know one thing, eat. Well, one immediate thing I guess."

"Well since they're not taking the bait yet, mind telling me the truth," Varvok asked. "Why did you volunteer so fast to go fishing for Razorfins?"

Zek supposed this question was coming. He honestly wished he had come up with a better lie or at least some kind of story. Frankly though, Varvok would likely see through any smokescreen at this point. He had let the batarian get too close to his thoughts, he knew him too well by this point.

"A few reasons," he told the four-eyed alien. "First and foremost, Retz needs space to work his angles with Zix and I don't need to be in his way. If I'm not around, he'll be more focused on her and figuring out his scheme."

"He won't be worried about you out here?" Varvok asked.

"Oh loads, but that's just going to impress upon him the urgency of untangling her deceptions," Zek clarified. "Trust me, it's easier for him to work if he's not as worried about her using me against him somehow."

"Okay, and the other reasons?" Varvok once again questioned.

Zek emptied out one bucket and went to find another. He located a storage compartment on the floor, opening it wide to reveal more foul smelling fish guts. Pulling out the bucket, he resumed spreading the chum as he continued.

"I don't want someone else doing this shit," he answered. "Keth is a decent enough sniper, they need him playing defense more than they need me and my marksmanship, great as it is. I need my team to keep Snarlbeak's forces out and searching for whatever ichor crates and recipes they can snag. Stuffing them on a boat to kill Razorfins will make that job decidedly more difficult."

"Okay, I guess that makes sense," Varvok confessed. "Still not getting why YOU volunteered so quickly."

"That's the last reason," Zek replied rather plainly. "Razorfins are the greatest enemy of any kig-yar sailor since the time we first travelled the open waters. There are three of them in this bay, three! All holding back more Chorka from freedom than any pirate has ever seen in one place."

Varvok raised a brow at that.

"So it's about freeing the Chorka?" He asked. "So you can personally snag a few for yourself?"

"No, well, freeing the Chorka is a bonus but its the prestige," Zek explained. "It's the goddamn pathos, man. Everyone yaps on about their ancient monsters from the deep, their cryptids their boogeyman, their myths... but our monsters ARE real. We know they exist because we fought them, we hounded them, we killed them and they killed us. The Razorfins are our sea monsters of legend. Every great pirate in history, from fleet queen to lowly privateer, anyone from the golden era that is worth mentioning... has killed at least one. You know how long it's been since a pirate has had to kill a Razorfin?"

"Given that Snarlbeak has a near monopoly on the ichor trade and your people don't sail around on the water anymore... probably a long time?" Varvok assumed.

"Exactly, and three of them being here, that's a sign, four-eyes," Zek insisted. "I'm not one to believe in destiny or fate or whatever, but we're after the Astral Cutlass here. It's an epic story and I know my stories. Killing a sea beast is almost a prerequisite for them. I kill three, well, the Cutlass is as good as mine at that point. It's just inevitable."

Varvok snorted a bit, now he knew the reason, it was plain to everyone who gave it any degree of thought.

"You kill Snarlbeak's guard sharks and that's basically you giving him the finger," the batarian deduced. "It's telling him 'I'm a better pirate than you, equal to the legends of old. Fuck you, old man.' Am I right?"

Zek shrugged, why deny it? Although there was a bit more to it.

"That bastard is trying to take away everything that makes us kig-yar," he told Varvok, a look of resentment in his eyes at the very thought of Zhoc's ultimate scheme. "At the very least, the Syndicate is doing something right in opposing him. They want to send a message today? Fine, but I'm sending my own. My way.

"Ever since I was a kid I heard about the Razorfins, the baddests motherfuckers in the ocean. I knew if I ever took one down, they'd all know I was the baddest motherfucker. Then me and Retz ran into one out in the wild and we ran off like we were still scared kids. It was the smart thing to do, the only thing we could do, and no one ever blamed us for running. But it still stings to know I chickened out. Today is a do-over, times three."

"All well and good, Zek," Varvok said, sounding a bit concerned. "But let's not make this about ego and settling scores, whether it's against a bunch of fish or a rival for the Cutlass. If everything you say about these things is true, this is not going to come easy."

Zek just smiled smugly.

"Not come easy? With an arsenal of deadly ordnance at our disposal? Ha! My people's ancestors would've exterminated the fuckers if they had all of these toys at their disposal," Zek declared proudly, marching over to a needler rifle he held aloft. He headed over to the side of the boat and poked the weapon down at the water, peering through the scope. "Those Razorfins are gonna realize they bit off more than even they could chew. We're gonna catch all three of these fuckers, chief. Just you wait and see."

"Chief?" Varvok asked, noticing the new sudden nickname.

"Uh, never mind," Zek said, still looking through the scope. "We'll churn up the water a bit to attract their attention then we-"

A toothy maw burst out of the water and swallowed several severed fish heads whole in a single gulp. A thousand fangs flashed in an instant in front of Zek's eyes through the scope, causing him to jump back in a fright. As he fell to the deck, Zek quickly scrambled back to his feet and peered over the side. Coasting the water around their little vessel was a large double fin attached to a shadowy image beneath the waves. And before long, other fins were sailing into view to join it.

"Guess they finally heard the dinner bell," Varvok observed, his fingers now firmly on the plasma cannon's triggers.

"Relax," Zek said, regaining his composure. "The bastard fish don't see us as a threat. Remember, we're the patrol boat, we feed them. As far as they know we're just more of Snarlbeak's flunkies."

"Until we open fire," Varvok said, finishing the train of thought. "Alright, so we need to make this first shot count then."

"One of them is gonna come up again," Zek said, heading over to grab a plasma grenade. "When it does, I stick one of these on its big fucking eye or in its big old gob. Five seconds later, WOOF, deep fried razorfin sticks."

"Will one grenade be enough?" Varvok asked, his eyes never leaving the circling fin, nor the shadow beneath it.

"No idea, we'll have to see," Zek confessed.

"I'd prefer a plan that you were more confident in than that," Varvok growled.

"I'm confident in it," Zek insisted "It's my plan after all."

The Razorfins circled the patrol boat now, their fins cresting the surface. As predicted, they didn't charge the vessel, it was their source of food. Why disrupt that? They had snacks to munch on. Zek briefly wondered if they'd get into a frenzy, bite each other, but apparently these Razors were better behaved. Maybe they just expected there was enough to go around? After all, they wanted the Razors to guard the Chorkas. If they attacked each other, well... what was the point of having them?

Zek always hated that about Razorfins. How much smarter they were than they looked. They were fish, big scary fish with giant mouths full of teeth, but still fish! They weren't supposed to be this clever. They were the only fish on their home planet that acted like this. It was an unnerving thought in the minds of all kig-yar, that these things thought on a different wavelength than their fellow subspecies. For the kig-yar, who prided themselves on cunning, the idea that an alpha predator, an animal, was near their equal had always been the underlying theme that permeated the nightmare of the Razorfin since forever.

They could learn. They had kept learning. And one day, they'd learn enough to surpass them.

It was a sailor's superstition, and one that was outdated. No matter how smart the Razors were, they were never going to get into spaceships of their own accord and chase after the kig-yar. Zek himself knew better, they were just smart. That didn't mean they were smarter. It was just, at this moment, them being so close, Zek understood why his pirate ancestors felt the way they did.

One of the razors crested up along the top of the water, skimming it for chum. Sitting on the edge of the boat, it had been the closest Zek had been to a Razorfin in a long time. As well as the longest he had stayed this close to them. He got a look at the eye of the monster, its black, dead pools, staring back at him and also at its food. Its eyes were capable of that. It was why they were efficient predators. But even if it could see Zek, it would never see this coming.

Zek activated the plasma grenade and flung it at the Razorfin. The explosive hit the monster's eyes, sticking to it... but only for a moment as the slick slimy skin of the sea beast seemed to dislodge it. The Razor then dived, but it couldn't get away fast enough. The grenade detonated, ejecting a pillar of water into the sky, alongside bits of gore. It was hard to tell though how much was Razor and how much was the remaining chum. Zek briefly fooled himself into thinking that, even though the grenade didn't stick it could still have killed the bastard.

Then he saw the oncoming shadow beneath the waves and reminded himself why you never fooled yourself when dealing with a Razorfin.

"Shoot! Shoot!" Zek called out frantically.

Varvok opened up instantly, plasma bolts slashing at the water as Zek backed off from the edge. The Razorfin crashed into the boat, striking it along the side with its head. Zek got a brief look at predator and saw it was wounded. One of its eyes, the second one on its right side, looked damaged and plasma scoring could be seen across the beast's side. There was a gurgling, vicious, snarling roar from the injured killer fish. It crashed down into the surf as fast as it had struck the vessel, sending a splash that sloshed over Zek.

He was up in a flash, rushing to the steering wheel and hit speed into overdrive forward. The boat sped away from trio of Razors, who were now following. Varvok, in turn, kept shooting, firing at the shadows beneath the waves. One of the Razorfins, not the injured one, stuck its head above water as it sped closer, trying to open its jaws and clamp down around the speeding boat. Varvok opened up on it, forcing it back beneath the water as plasma bolts struck its face and jaw.

"Well, they know we're not their regular chum service now!" The batarian called out.

The plasma bolts managed to keep the Razors back, but Zek knew he'd have to break off their pursuit more effectively. The plasma grenades had at least proven they could hurt the creatures. If they were smart, they'd know well enough to try and avoid them.

"Varvok, take the wheel!" He called up to the batarian.

After a final burst, Varvok took up the wheel of the boat while Zek headed back to plasma grenade box. Taking as many as he could cradle in his arms, he began activating and tossing them at the Razorfins racing behind them. The forthcoming ocean plumes resulting from the detonations came one after another in a tremendous symphony of explosions. The lack of gore meant none had hit, but when the water had settled again, the surface fins were gone and the shadows of the Razors themselves were as well.

"Well great," Varvok groaned. "So much for an easy first kill."

"Don't worry, they haven't gone far," Zek assured him. "They're feeling us out now, they know we can hurt 'em. They'll be back though, they see us as a threat in their waters now. Good news though, the plasma grenades can scare 'em off if they become too much trouble."

"And when we're out of explosives?" Varvok asked.

"Well it's not like they know we have a limited supply," Zek said, trying to be confident in his words. "It will make them think twice."

"We need a new plan in any case," said Varvok, glaring out at the water. "We can't just wait for them to come at us again."

"We patrol the bay," Zek said rather self-assured. "Try to lead them to the shallow ends, the rocks, lure them in to places they're at a disadvantage. Then, we hit 'em hard with the big guns."

Zek looked towards the grenade launcher Varvok had brought. It made sense, it had better accuracy than just throwing the things, plus they detonated on impact. Less chance of the grenade slipping off the skin. While the batarian seemed to agree, however, he did voice a concern.

"Their hides are pretty thick," he warned. "I think our best bet is to aim for their mouths, maybe the eyes."

"That might be a tall order, but if we can get them to charge when and where we want them to, we might just be able to give you an opening," Zek told him. "I'll steer, you get back on the gun. Next time they come at us, at least one of them is going down."

---

The Brute Camp was now in sight. They were still among the mess of equipment and rock formations when the big apes opened up. Spikes slammed into stone, embedded themselves in metal machinery, and struck their shields. Forced to take cover, Chief took the moment to reload and get a sitrep from their Overwatch. Linda reported on the enemy defenses, the Brutes had quickly erected barricades for cover. Mostly large tables and crates. Crude, but effective. Anything a Brute had to eat off of had to be able to stand some punishment.

An explosion burst among the rocks, they brought out their Brute Shots now. Chief knew this would be a perilous part of the assault, but he did not want to have to deal with a mess of Brutes on their flank on the approach to the central holding structure up the road. These hostiles needed to be dealt with.

Besides, he wanted to know why they set up shop here. Why divide your forces like this out of a far more defensible area? Either the Brutes were overconfident in their abilities, highly likely, didn't like hanging around kig-yar if they could help it, also highly likely, or there was some other reason unknown to them.

"Linda, Jun, direct suppression fire on the enemy positions," he directed. "Reposition as needed, but keep their heads down. Prioritize the Brute Shots when possible."

"Will do, just mind your advance," Linda warned. "I know we got a deadline but..."

"I know, no need to get reckless," Chief agreed. "Fire for effect, we'll move when you shoot."

Which he didn't have to wait long for, as sniper fire soon echoed throughout the area. While he couldn't see it, Chief suspected that at least one Brute got hit because he could hear the audible death snarl. Brutes never went quiet.

He pushed up now, firing down the line to assist in the suppression. He saw Anton moving up on his right, weaving through the rocks and what Chief assumed was some kind of excavation vehicle. Chief pressed himself into cover alongside him.

"They're really pouring it on, Chief," Anton told him. "I think our suspicions about these Brutes are becoming more confirmed by the second. I know they don't usually pull back, but they're intent on us not taking this ground."

"Agreed, but we'll worry about it when the area is secure," Chief told him. "What you see out there?"

Anton gave a quick peek and pulled back.

"Big hairy gorilla with some of those souped-up plasma rifles," he warned. "Spraying bolts everywhere."

Chief looked out on his side, only to pull back just as quickly when spikes slashed into the side of the vehicle.

"Yeah, same but with a Spiker," Chief grumbled. "Alright, toss a grenade out, move up. I'll cover your approach."

Anton just nodded. He threw out a grenade and moved just as the explosion erupted. Chief quickly opened fire on the barricade, strafing the area with bullets. At least a few hit the Brute in the armor and forced them to duck down. Anton made it to the next bit of cover and opened fire in turn. Chief then rushed the barricade full-on while their opponent was suppressed. The Brute jumped up just as he got there, and received a rifle butt to the face for his trouble as Chief vaulted the crate the ape used for cover.

The hairy bestial alien roared at him as he turned, only for bullets to strike him in the shoulder. Anton rushed the gun-toting gorilla. In response, the Brute kicked the crate down towards the Spartan. Anton tucked and rolled at the last second, the crate bouncing over him. He kept firing as he stood back up, hitting the Brute in the chest. Chief let loose with his own weapon, ripping into the alien's flesh with a full clip. However, Chief took some hits to his shield from the right. It was the Brute with the Spiker, trying to defend his comrade. However, he had taken his eye off the defensive perimeter. Big mistake, because that's when a big scaly freight train hit him at terminal velocity.

Grunt's head slammed so hard into the Brute's chest, Chief swore he saw a visible bulge along the hairier alien's back, his spine rippling against the skin. He could almost hear the Brute's ribs cracking alongside the tabletop that the krogan had burst through. When the body landed a few feet away, Grunt roared aloud in triumph before breaking out his Claymore Shotgun and firing off another shot as he charged forward.

Chief turned back to his Brute, who was now raging, trying to smash Anton into the ground as the Spartan moved around him. Chief intercepted the next swing of the alien primate's arm and socked him one in the jaw. That of course didn't put the alien in the ground, but by then Anton had his pistol in the ape's face. One pull of the trigger ended the monstrous gorilla's threat.

To their left, the outer defenses were already being breached, as a singularity pulled two Brutes into its vortex before a throw attack struck them and detonated. The blast sent the hostiles flying, while a third Brute was hit with an electrical overload before two bullets hit him square in the face. Samara and Kat moved up through the carnage they wrought.

Kelly and Fred had breached the line further down to the right, opting to stay mostly out of Grunt's way. A grenade from Fred had landed among one of Brutes, the explosion killing him instantly. Fred himself pushed up, firing as he did. One of the hostiles, armed with a Brute Shot tried to charge and slash at him with the weapon's massive bladed end. A sniper shot struck him near the collar bone, forcing him to stop. Linda as always had her friends' backs, something Kelly wasn't going to waste. She quickly rushed up to grab onto the ape, sticking her submachine gun into the open wound. Then she simply laid on the trigger until the Brute just collapsed, riddled with lead, blood soaking the ground beneath them.

"We're in the wire," Chief declared. "Move in!"

In most cases, breaking the defensive perimeter of an enemy position meant you had the momentum, the hardest part was over. Not so with Brutes though, they preferred this sort of fight after all. Thankfully, Spartans could match their ferocity. Add in a krogan and a powerful Asari Justicar, it made the odds a lot more even.

In fact, Grunt seemed to relish the close-quarters combat. He was rushing through the camp like a tornado armed with a shotgun. The Claymore had enough power in it to basically knock a Brute right off its feet. Maybe not kill them every time, but at least make them vulnerable. It almost made up for the fact Grunt had to reload after every shot, but the krogan was pretty quick on the draw there. Not always of course though, in the middle of stomping the head of one Brute, he ended up getting a Brute Shot slash along his back.

A deadly blow for most, not a krogan though.

He shoved the Claymore into the Brute's face and pulled the trigger, the ape's head just vanishing in a dark-colored mist. Grunt then ripped the Brute Shot out of his back and began shooting it off into two other Brutes attempting to engage him. This resulted in at least one Brute's arm getting blown clean off and the death of other after at least two direct hits. Grunt ran over and began slamming the Brute Shot's blade into the still living partially "disarmed" one until its head split in two.

In light of his carnage-filled rampage, Fred and Kelly continued to give Grunt a wide berth. They would probably just get in his way otherwise. Besides, he had the situation well in hand... and under foot... and possibly gnawing on it a little. Kelly wasn't sure and didn't want to really find out. They opted to hook back up with Chief, who was still with Anton. They were engaged with a number Brutes, Chief of course taking the brunt of their attack while Anton went for their flank. The hairy monsters were boxed in between their fire, but it did little to dull their ferocity.

One Brute laid on a furious spray of spikes at Chief, but Anton's shots raked across the alien's side. One burst got the ape's attention, a second hit his square in the side of the skull. That took him out and enraged the Brute beside him. He charged over cover, lashing out at Chief first, practically rushed on all fours and roaring at him. Chief jumped on his back and let loose with a full clip, yet the Brute bucked him off. Chief managed to recover, rolling to a knee, but the Brute was still moving, practically fueled by rage.

Fred rose to his leader's aid first. He fired on the raging primate, trying to take him down. The bullets lashed at the shoulder of the creature, directing his attention now at Fred as a result. Fred jumped away from an incoming strike and Kelly let loose as she went in the opposite direction. The mad alien was now growling in three directions, but he had largely forgotten Chief in the melee. The Spartan leader peppered the alien with his own discarded spiker gun. When the Brute turned to attack him, Chief lashed out, using the gun's bayonet underside to rip into the alien's eye. Chief then fired point blank up into the mutant gorilla's open maw. The spike exited partially out the back of the alien's head and the Brute collapsed to the ground at last, his rage silenced forever.

Anton had already been engaged with a third Brute, keeping him from joining melee nearby. Fred drew a bead on the alien and opened fire, his bullets catching the creature in the back of the head. Even critically wounded, the Brute kept shooting wildly. Only a second shot from Fred as he approached methodically, staring down the sight of his gun, did he finally collapse dead.

Fred would've taken that as an end to the fight, if he didn't see his motion tracker go off. He dove forward as a wild Brute came charging through one of the tents, Brute Shot in hand and mad as hell. Fred turned to fire on him, only for the alien to block the shots with his weapon. A few bullets hit him in the arm, but it was of little consequence.

Kelly moved in swiftly, strafing the Brute with her submachine gun from the side. The Brute turned and let loose several shots from his weapon, the explosions trailing Kelly by inches. Chief quickly fired what was left of the Spiker's rounds into the alien's back before shoving the blade of the gun deep into the neck of the beast.

And yet that still didn't stop him, as he turned around suddenly, the blade of his Brute Shot narrowly missing the Master Chief, as he ducked beneath it. He then rose and uppercut the monster in the jaw, sending him reeling. Chief then moved out of the way as Anton and Fred together lay into the alien with fire. Fred had switched to a shotgun while Anton was using his pistol, trying to nail him in the head. It took several hits before the Brute stopped moving and even then, he only dropped to his knees, his head slumping forward. Fred moved up and poked his shotgun into the alien's head, causing the Brute's body to crumple to the ground.

"Holy shit, I know Brutes are demented when they go all feral, but... this is something else," He said in astonishment. "It's like they're possessed. Maybe even more than Covie regulars."

"They're clearly not Covenant though if their armor is any indication," Kelly said. "I still don't know what that symbol on there is or why it's crossed out."

"They gotta be a mercenary outfit," Anton insisted. "Zix was at least telling the truth about that. Although everything else doesn't add up. Like why they are down here and why are they so rabid if they aren't Covie fanatics?"

"We need to find that Chieftain," Chief insisted. "He's likely still at his hut, guarding whatever it is that's so damn important to them. Has Grunt mopped up things in the lower part of the camp?"

There was a distinct explosion followed by hearty manic laughter and then the proclamation of "I Am Krogan" shouted at a very high octave.

"I think that's a good indication he's pretty much cleared it," Fred commented.

"Get him up here," Chief told him. "We need him to take on their Chieftain. If his underlings are any indication, he's probably ten times harder to put down."

At that moment, Chief got word from Kat on his comm.

"Chief! Samara and I have fought our way to the Chieftain's hut! We're thinning out the guards, but their leader has us pinned! Jun's proving sniper support, but they've dug in! We could use your assistance!"

"On our way, Noble 2, hold tight!" Chief declared. "Spartans, double time!"

If Kat was having problems dealing with this Chieftain with Samara backing her up, that confirmed to Chief that these Brutes weren't typical. Zix had left something out, something important, about why they were here and what their deal with Snarlbeak was.

He just hoped it would not get his people killed, for Zix's sake. Because whatever history Retz had with that kig-yar would not matter in the end, he'd put that lying little criminal in the ground himself. Withholding vital information from soldiers on any operation was dangerous and this situation proved it. He had just gotten his people back, he was not going to lose them because of a scheming Pirate's lies.

---

AN: We're back, and as a result of writing way too bloody much it took long while to get this properly edited and everything and we also have to split into two chapters. I don't feel like coming up with a second name because the title for this chapter it significantly tied to a sub-theme for and I just don't want to. So I'm doing a pet peeve and Calling this one part one and the next part 2... but I have different quote for each because screw it.

The BTS Notes will be written AFTER the next chapter goes up. For now, this is just to show you all I'm not dead, this story isn't abandoned and to assure you the next chapter will be sooner rather than later.