All right, enough with all that namby-pamby-touchy-feely-crap
Here's some good old sex and violence for you.
Well, violence anyway.
One more thing: I'm not gonna beg you to review, but it would be nice to receive some tips on how to improve, you know. So please tell me how much I suck.
Update: Changed the dialogue a bit, and added lines between scenes, all thanks to my lovely reviewers.
Illium
Dantius Towers
"Eclipse...", Shepard muttered, as he was walking towards one wounded member of the said mercenary group.
The batarian was bleeding profusely from his midsection. He tried to stop the bleeding with his hand, but could not.
"I surrender", he moaned, coughing.
"Like you let those salarians surrender?", Shepard said coldly, tilting his head towards two salarian corpses.
The batarian's gaze turned to the ground.
"I had my orders", he said quietly, with a raspy tone.
Shepard looked at the batarian strictly, as he pointed his pistol to his head.
"Don't make excuses", he snapped.
Shepard could understand the batarian. He could understand joining the Eclipse. He could understand wanting to belong, wanting to make money, wanting to survive. He could even understand wanting to kill.
"Please, human...", the batarian pleaded.
That did not stop him from pulling the trigger.
Batarian laid on the ground, motionless.
Death.
Shepard closed his eyes.
He could feel his suit rupturing, all the air being sucked out in to the void. He could feel himself suffocating. He would die.
He panicked, and it disgusted him.
He would have wanted to die with honor, with pride.
With dignity.
Not like this.
Suddenly, a thought came into his mind.
He had.
He had saved all of his friends, all his crew.
Captain going down with his ship, saving his friends.
It was rather poetic. It pleased him.
He felt himself relax. Accepting his death.
He pulled his head back, and spread his arms.
He felt like an angel falling down from the sky.
He smiled, as he closed his eyes forever.
"Shepard, we've got a live one!", he heard Garrus yelling.
Shepard opened his eyes.
Or not.
Garrus stood besided a wounded salarian on the other side of the room.
Shepard walked to the salarian, who was laying on the ground, gasping for air.
"You...", he moaned, pointing at Shepard with a shaky hand "You killed the mercenaries"
His voice was raspy, and his eyes empty.
"Hmm. Condition critical. Immediate medical attention required" , Mordin said, talking very fast with a cold tone of voice, as usual. He inhaled deeply before continuing "Will not survive without"
"Tend to him", Shepard ordered, nodding towards the dying salarian.
"Will do", he said, immediately beginning to work on the salarian, administering medigel to his wounds with his omni-tool.
"Think he'll pull through?", Garrus asked, looking at Shepard.
"It's Mordin", Shepard said, as if it was obvious.
After a while, Mordin rose up, and the salarian on the ground looked to be much less in pain.
"Thank you", he said, turning his head to see all the people around him.
Mordin merely bowed his head.
"Why the mercenaries tried to kill you?", Miranda asked, with her thick Australian accent.
"Nassana ordered them to...clean up the place. I do not know why..", he paused, looking distressed. "They just...opened fire without warning...many...many died quickly", he lowered his head.
Shepard knelt down next to him, trying to get eye-contact.
"You know how we can get to the top floor?"
"Are you...are you going to kill Nassana?", the salarian asked hesitatingly.
"I don't think I have to", Shepard answered, grinning.
"Well, through that door", he pointed the door next to him.
"Follow the corridor on the left, then take the cargo elevator"
Shepard put his hand on the salarian's shoulder.
"You were very helpful. We'll have someone to pick you up"
Trauma victims were never to be left alone, but they had no choice.
It did not make Shepard feel any better.
"It's locked", Garrus said, after touching the panel on the wall.
Shepard rose up and began to walk towards the door.
"All right, you know the drill. Stack up"
The whole team of 6 took their positions at the either side of the door.
"Tali?", he asked.
"I'll open it", she replied.
She moved to the panel Garrus had touched, tapping her omni-tool.
After a few seconds, the door unlocked.
"Done", she said proudly.
"Anything behind there?"
"I'm not picking up any life signs, or mass effect fields", Tali answered.
Shepard nodded to her, then ordered his team through the door.
There were three corridors. One continuing forward, one going to the left and one going to the right.
Shepard again ordered his team to take their positions at the door leading to the left.
"Tali, see if you can jam these doors. I really don't want to leave anybody here to watch our rear", he said to Tali.
"On it", she said immediately.
Few minutes passed, then Shepard heard two loud clicks.
" I managed to disable their respective operating panels"
"So they're jammed?"
"Well, if they manage to bypass standard protocols and enact emergency evacuation ones, then all the doors will open"
"Can they do that?", Shepard asked, brow wrinkled.
Tali's eyes shined as she immersed herself inside the world of technology, taking pride in her work.
"Well, they can enact them easily from the central security station, but that would signal the evacuation alarms everywhere. Alerting us. However, to bypass the protocols at a lim--"
Garrus raised his hand and interrupted: "I take that as yes?"
She snorted, annoyed that she had been pulled away from that world, then retorted: "Yes"
"All right, let's go before they do that", Shepard ordered, his team again forming around the door.
"Anything in there?", he asked Tali.
"Picking up three life signs. Three kinetic shield systems. They are most likely mercenaries."
"Okay. Flash and clear. Go on my signal"
Garrus readied the flash grenade, while Jacob stood ready to open the door.
"Is everyone immune to flashbangs?"
"Huh?", Tali asked.
"Basically, you see enough of these things, and you become immune to their effect", Jacob answered.
"Oh. Well I have not seen a single one before", she answered sheepishly.
"Cerberus has extensive urban combat training, but it never had an emphasis during mine. I am not sure if I've seen the required amount", Miranda said matter-of-factly.
"Mordin?", Shepard inquired.
"Yes. Did the training. During STG. Essential. STG not merely recon. Capturing important strategic goals. VIP hostage situations. All members have all training", Mordin babbled, and Shepard nodded in response.
Shepard knew that both Garrus and Jacob had spent some time with the special forces.
Garrus with C-Sec's Special Response unit, and Jacob with the N7s, so he did not have to ask them.
"All right, Tali, Miranda stay back. Only enter after the bang. The rest of you, get ready"
Tali and Miranda moved themselves at the end of their respective lines on the both sides of the door.
"Go!", Shepard ordered.
Jacob opened the door, while Garrus threw the flashbang in. Mordin ran immediately through, followed by Shepard, Jacob and Garrus.
"Contact!", Mordin yelled.
There was a long corridor, and at the end of it were mercenaries.
They started to turn towards the door, when the flashbang, landing right beside them, went off.
The extremely loud noise, combined with a blinding flash was a very distorting experience. The effect only lasted for a couple of seconds, but it was more than enough for a skilled assault team to clean the room.
The mercs staggered, and Mordin fired a few bursts with his submachine gun, dropping one's shields.
Shepard finished the merc off with a burst from his assault rifle. The bullets went cleanly through the merc's chest.
Garrus and Jacob were now both firing at the two remaining mercenaries, eliminating them quickly.
"Clear!", Jacob reported.
There were three doors in the room. One of them leading to the elevator, one was the one they had came from, and an unknown one.
Jacob covered the elevator and Garrus the unknown one.
The whole operation had only lasted a couple of seconds, so when Tali and Miranda entered the room, all the mercenaries were dead.
"Wow", Tali gasped. "That was fast"
"Hmm. Quick, clean and clinical. Very good Shepard", Mordin praised as well, nodding to Shepard.
"Knock it off, I'm getting embarrassed", Shepard snapped, with a slight grin on his face.
"The elevator's next. Don't know if they are stupid enough to send someone to investigate the noises from here, but we--", Shepard draw his pistol immediately as he was interrupted by a voice behind the door Garrus was guarding.
"Shepard, it came up from there", he said quietly as he pointed the door with his assault rifle, not breaking his stare to the door.
"Miranda, set up the ambush. Tali, Garrus", he waved his hand, signalling them to follow.
They approached the door slowly. He pointed at Garrus, then nodded towards the control panel.
Garrus moved to the panel, Tali and Shepard at the either side of the door. Shepard nodded, and the door opened.
Shepard and Tali immediately assaulted the room, only to find a group of salarians screaming in terror at the sight of them. They were all unarmed.
"Shut up!", Shepard yelled at them as Garrus came into the room. All three of them still had their weapons drawn, pointed at the salarians.
"Don't kill us!", one of them yelled, hands up.
"Hey, they are not Eclipse!", the salarian on the left yelled in relief.
"Aren't you a smart one", Shepard said as he holstered his pistol. Tali and Garrus did the same.
"What the hell are you doing here?", he asked.
"We, uh, we were chased by the Eclipse...", the salarian on the left began
"...when all the sudden, we heard three gunshots and the mercs lay dead"
"Then a green figure came, and asked if we were all right. I hadn't never seen anyone like his species before bu--", he was interrupted by the salarian on the right.
"He was probably a drell"
"Krios", Shepard muttered.
"Yes, well, anyway", the interrupted salarian continued.
"He told us to stay here, so we wouldn't get hurt"
"The assassin told you to stay here? That's unusual", Garrus asked, with an unbelieving tone of voice.
"The assassin?", one of the salarians asked. "Probably here for Nassana"
"What makes you say that?", Shepard asked.
"She definitely has it coming. She told her mercenaries to 'clean us up'. And I've heard that it's not the first time she's done something like this"
"You don't say", Shepard retorted. "But we have to go and you should go back the way we came. First door on the right. There's a wounded salarian who could use some help."
"Yes. Thank you human." they started to move out of the room, when one of them stopped, turning his head to the Commander.
"Tell the assassin, that he has our thanks"
Shepard nodded, and the salarians left.
Shepard's helmet's radio suddenly came alive, with Miranda yelling.
"Heads up Commander, the elevator's coming down!"
"Idiots", Shepard muttered,before yelling to Garrus and Tali: "Move, move!"
Three of them took cover behind a cargo box at the center of the room. Miranda, Jacob and Mordin had also taken cover behind cargo boxes scattered across the room.
Jacob was on the left flank of the elevator, Miranda on the right.
Mordin was stationed between Jacob and Shepard.
"I've set tech mines right before the elevator. Set to explode remotely", Miranda said over the radio.
"Roger. Good job", Shepard responded.
"All right. The team is going to extremely heavily armed, but we got them on our crossfire immediately after they step out the elevator. Do not let them to take cover. We don't want to take them head on."
"Jacob, Miranda, try to push or pull them back to the killing zone if they get out of it"
They both confirmed.
"Tali, you'll overload their shields"
"On it"
"Mordin, incinerate"
"Will do"
"Garrus, you and me. Suppressing fire"
"Gotcha"
The elevator beeped and the doors opened.
There were ten heavily armed Eclipse mercenaries, one of them a krogan.
"The mines!", Shepard ordered on the radio.
Miranda tapped her omni-tool, and three tech mines went off with a loud explosion.
Three of the mercenaries were killed instantly.
"Fire!" Shepard yelled as the mercenaries poured out of the elevator.
Three of the remaining mercenaries were ripped to pieces inside the squad's well prepared killing zone.
Four of them got through, the krogan among them.
The managed to take cover behind a formation of crates, which offered protection from all sides.
Shepard had not put anyone behind the formation, since he knew that some of the mercs would get through, and when they did, the ones behind the formation would be dead.
"Tali, the shields!", Shepard yelled at the quarian next to her.
She frantically tapped at her omni-tool.
"I can't! They have managed to create a dampening field, preventing all tech attacks!"
"Damn, that was pretty smart", Shepard remarked.
"Jacob, Miranda, can you lift them up?"
"Shepard, the damping field also disables the biotic amplifiers", Tali chimed in.
"Damn it! Well, I guess we have to do this the old fashioned way"
"Garrus, switch to sniper! I want that tech of theirs gone as soon as possible!"
"One headshot coming right up", the turian responded with his tired, sarcastic tone.
Suddenly, three of the mercs started raining down heavy covering fire at Mordin's and Shepard's positions.
The krogan surged from the cover and charged towards Jacob.
It moved extremely fast for an enormous lizard, and Jacob barely could react, before the krogan was on him.
The lizard swung his assault rifle, but the hit was deflected by Jacob's kinetic shields.
The force of the blow still swept him off his feet.
Jacob continued the motion, somersaulting back to his feet. He had created enough distance between them to use his shotgun. He pressed the trigger.
The shot was deflected by the krogan's shields, and it swung again.
Shepard could see Jacob dodging the krogan's blows, while the mercenaries had cleverly pinned Mordin and himself down, preventing all aid from reaching Jacob.
"Garrus! You, Tali and Miranda are now Fire team 1. You're the leader, I need suppressing fire. Pin those mercs down!"
"Where the hell are you going?", he asked, switching to assault rifle.
"Gonna take on a krogan in CQB!"
"Shepard, that's crazy!", Tali yelled.
"You hear that Mordin, we are gonna fight a krogan on hand-to-hand!", Shepard yelled over the radio as he dove from the cover.
"Miranda, Tali. Switch to comm-channel three!", Garrus ordered over the radio.
"Lawson, draw fire!", he continued.
"No, no,no,no! Krogan physiology extremely resistan--" his sentence was cut short as Shepard ran by him, grabbed his arm and pulled him with him.
"Tali, fire!", Garrus yelled.
Shepard and Mordin had just reached Jacob's position, both of the men firing a burst from their weapons at the krogan.
"Rah!", the krogan staggered backwards as the bullets ricocheted off his shields, and when they were drained, his armor.
"Team 1! Shield report!", Shepard heard Garrus yelling over his helmet's comm.
The krogan swung at Mordin, and hit the SMG from his hands.
Mordin staggered to the left by the blow, pulling a salarian combat knife from his sleeve.
He slashed to the right and the knife cut across the krogan's face.
Orange liquid poured out of the wound.
The krogan countered by pushing the salarian away, sending Mordin sliding on the floor.
"Tali, flank left, keep 'em out of balance!", Garrus barked another order.
Shepard hit his rifle's butt to the shoulder of the krogan.
The krogan staggered, then tossed Shepard away like a rag doll.
Jacob fired a shot from his shotgun.
The shot landed to the krogan's shoulder, ricocheting off his armor. The krogan staggered forward, and Jacob fired a another, hitting the krogan to the side. Orange liquid splattered at the impact.
The krogan charged while Jacob fired a third shot, hitting the krogan straight to the chest.
Before Jacob could fire again, the krogan had already ran over him.
The collision felt like being hit by a truck.
Jacob laid on the ground, his head spinning.
"Urgh!", Garrus growled on the radio.
"Shields down, taking cover!"
Suddenly, a knife flew across the air, landing on the krogan's eye.
The krogan bellowed in pain while Mordin fired a shot from his M-6 Carnifex pistol. Another burst of orange liquid.
"Catch this!", the krogan roared, while tossing his assault rifle at the salarian The rifle landed on Mordin's shoulder, knocking him off his feet again.
"Shepard! We are taking heavy fire! They have a Revenant! We can't hold on much longer!", Garrus yelled, his voice pained.
Shepard fired his shotgun, the blast hitting the krogan to the shoulder.
"Lawson, suppressing fire. Tali, take cover"
The krogan turned, and swung his huge fist. Shepard dodged under the blow and countered with the butt of his shotgun to the krogan's chin.
"Lawson, where's that suppressing fire!?"
The krogan knocked the shotgun from Shepard's hands, and tried to hit him with a straight right.
Shepard spun around the punch, unholstering his pistol. He straightened his arm, pistol now directly in front of the krogan's face. It's one remaining eye widened from surprise.
Shepard pulled the trigger, and the krogan fell to the ground, it's face a bloody pulp.
"Garrus, status report!", he ordered immediately.
"Lawson's pinned down, I've taken a shot to the shoulder, and Tali's trying to pin the bastard down from Mordin's former position!", Garrus reported, his voice clearly pained.
"Garrus, I'll draw fire, take him out!", Shepard shouted, surging from Jacob's cover.
He ran towards Mordin's cover, where he saw Tali firing.
"All fire, now!, Garrus yelled over the radio.
Shepard heard his shields buzzing from every hit they took.
He wouldn't last till the Mordin's cover.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Garrus taking aim at the merc.
The muzzle.
He dove to the Mordin's former cover, knocking Tali over.
"Got him...", Garrus said weakly on the radio, before falling over.
Shepard laid on top of Tali, who had instinctively wrapped her legs around him.
Both were still disorientated from their collision.
"Shepard?", she asked, stunned.
"Huh?", he mumbled, also stunned.
When she realized that he was on top of her rather...intimately, her face reddened.
Why had she wrapped her legs around him?
This was embarrassing.
"Could you...", she asked sheepishly, gesturing with her hands for him to get up.
"Oh. Yeah, sure..", Shepard answered, and stood up, with a grunt.
As Shepard moved to get up, a quiet moan escaped her lips.
Oh Keelah...
She did not know if he had heard her, but her face still burned.
Shepard was taken aback when he heard the moan.
He coughed in surprise and embarrassment, his eyes bulging.
He had not found the situation to be particularly erotic.
Had not.
Did now.
He could feel the surface circulation of his face heightening and his mind traveling to a far more 'intimate' place.
Shepard stood up, offering his hand to her. She took it, and he pulled her up.
Shepard cleared his throat.
"I'll, uh, check up with Garrus, you go help Mordin and Jacob", he said quietly, avoiding eye contact.
"Right", she answered as quietly, also looking at the ground.
She started jogging towards Mordin and Jacob.
"Miranda, make sure the mercs at the center are dead", Shepard ordered with a cold tone.
"Yes, Commander", she replied blankly.
Shepard sighed, and walked towards Garrus.
He desperately tried to shake the 'intimate' thoughts from his mind.
But.
It was not like he hadn't thought about it before.
Especially after she had told him that she was...
...interested...of the idea.
It was actually her idea.
Interested was a wrong word.
She had wanted it.
The thought made him uncomfortable.
She was not human.
But she was still very attractive.
He wondered if there was something wrong with him.
His thoughts were interrupted by two gunshots.
Miranda.
"It's done", she said on the radio.
Garrus laid on the floor, back against the cargo box.
"Hey", he said weakly, as Shepard knelt down beside him.
"How's my squad leader?", Shepard asked, grinning.
Shepard was getting the medigel ready.
"He's been better...", Garrus answered tiredly.
"...but also worse", his mandibles started to flicker.
Shepard began to apply medigel to the wound on Garrus' shoulder.
"Your armor's a mess"
"It's my lucky armor"
"You don't look very lucky"
Garrus chuckled, then flinched at the pain.
"You always gotta make me laugh?", he chuckled painfully.
Shepard had finished with the medigel, and saw Garrus' pain lessening noticeably.
He got up, and offered his hand to the turian.
He took it, and by using the rifle as a walking stick ,and by pulling from Shepard's hand, he managed to get himself up.
"Thanks", he said.
Shepard nodded and padded him on his healthy shoulder.
They walked towards the place were Shepard, Mordin and Jacob had fought the krogan.
Jacob was sitting, leaning on his knees and Tali was helping Mordin to get up.
"You gentlemen all right?", Shepard asked.
"Yes sir. Hell of a stunt you pulled through though", Jacob moaned, still trying to shake the stars in his eyes.
Mordin was now also up, rubbing his shoulder the gun had landed on.
"Reckless decision. Not tactical. Not prepared. Relying on one's skills very much. Maybe too much? Hmm. Still. Have always succeeded. Still succeeded", Mordin babbled quickly, going through his thoughts verbally. He inhaled deeply. "Hard to believe"
"You'd rather have Jacob dealing with the krogan by himself?", Shepard inquired, eyes narrowing.
"No. Did not mean insinuate that the decision was a wrong one. All survived. Right decision. Maybe the best decision. Still, impressive", Mordin answered, brow wrinkled.
"I'm glad to have your approval", Shepard said strictly.
"Okay, take your time to collect your selves, the next stop is the elevator"
Shepard and Garrus now walked towards Miranda, who still stood near the bodies of the mercenaries, tapping at her omni-tool.
Before arriving to her, Garrus asked a question.
"How did you kill the krogan?"
"I pulled the trigger"
"Shepard..."
Shepard sighed before beginning
"I dodged his straight right by spinning to the left. Then I just pointed and shot"
"Nice move", Garrus said in admiration.
They arrived at Miranda, who was still tapping at her omni-tool.
She lifted her gaze, and nodded "Commander"
"I heard two shots", Shepard said blankly.
"Two were still alive. Barely. I aided their passing", she answered with her usual cold tone.
Shepard nodded, staring at the corpses.
The mercenaries had put up a hell of a fight.
But it was better to make sure that they didn't shoot them in the back.
To show respect for his enemies, he closed all of their eyes.