Recon.
Ashley's hand shot up, white armoured knuckles digging deep into the rock as she climbed the mountain that seemed to consist of mainly boulders stacked upon boulders, as if it wasn't a mountain at all but larger a large pile of – Ashley's hand sunk into the rock, revealing it to be another one of the ones that were more mud then stone – shit...great...I'm climbing a giant pile of shit.
The mental image did nothing to improve her mood, nor to distract her from the annoyance digging into her mind.
He put me on recon.
Sure, she knew reconnaissance was important, even vital, to a mission, that she as such was trusted with a lot of responsibility. She was also aware that there was a reason for the other team being called 'alpha team'...and that he apparently didn't need her for that...the fact that the two teams would merge didn't matter. I could have read the fucking radar, reader, Tali only gets sick anyway...
She didn't get it.
Grumbling she kicked her foot in, hoisting herself further up as they neared the summit.
Didn't even put me in charge either, hell, I would have accepted Kaidan too, him being my superior and all. She glanced up and to her right, finding the Lieutenant a few steps ahead of her, his black shell-covered armour making him resemble a beetle as he climbed further up. At least the ass is human enough... Ashley smirked under her helmet as she eyed the Lieutenant moving rear. Damn, too many fine men among the officers, a shame. She felt a stab of guilt at the thought, both remembering Michael, and that Kaidan was not only a superior, but a friend.
It was easy to shrug off though, her grumbling resuming as she looked up and to her left. Now that's not a human ass... Garrus climbing was...strange, his clawed feet and fingers, even when covered in armour, gave him a good grip and it didn't look as if he was swinging himself up as much as climbing a ladder as he scaled the mountain. Can't believe Michael put him in charge...
Sure, after their many missions there wasn't a lick of doubt that Garrus wasn't loyal – though Ashley still didn't understand why –and he had more then proven himself during those missions as a capable leader and all that...yet it was still a bit insulting, as if he didn't trust the two other humans on the ground team to do a good job, despite them both having shown themselves skilled at the job as well. Kaidan keeps things by the book perfectly and I always manage to push my team well...so why Garrus!
"Approaching position five." Garrus muttered into the comlink above her, then hoisted himself over a ledge. "Taking up position, not yet compromised."
Ashley found her face twitching. Okay, so we managed to get this far through enemy patrols without being spotted, yippee...give the lizard a medal... She shook her head even as she continued, watching Kaidan as the man too disappeared just above her. Fine, that was unfair, still...dammit I'm grouchy today, damn distracting dreams keeping me up...
Wrestling, kicking, fighting...no audience...sweaty and naked...
She shuddered, then shook the memory of the dream aside with an irritated frown. This is all Michael's fault...
As if to further make her feel like a complete ass, and not a nice one but one made of the crap she was climbing, Kaidan came leaning over the ledge to offer her a helping hand, smiling politely and looking like the perfect gentleman. Helping the sordid libido-suffering ass out of the shit...great...I'm such a jerk... With a small grumble Ashley forced herself to smile back as she reached up, taking his hand.
His other hand clamped down on her forearm...a grunt...and Ashley found herself pulled upwards, armoured body sliding against the ledge, making the white armour a muddy brown at the front.
Hmmm...mud-wrestling with Michael...that big body covered in... "There you go." Kaidan was smiling at her, polite as ever...and now arching an eyebrow as he noticed her burning cheeks, and ever the gentleman asked: "Something wrong?"
I'm an ass. "No, nothing." Ashley averted her gaze, looking over to Garrus, the Turian already unfolding his sniper rifle with efficient movements as he knelt in the dirt at the other end of the plateau they had found themselves on. There were a few smaller boulders and gravel scattered on the ground...but other than that the now somewhat crowded plateau was bereft of anything interesting. Right, get moving, can't have the Turian waiting for us... Not letting Kaidan have a chance at any further prodding, it was annoying how he could remain so polite while still being so insistent... Ashley brushed past him and pulled forth her own sniper rifle.
Behind her she felt Kaidan's gaze, then heard him move to kneel down to Garrus' left side as Ashley with an unfolded sniper rifle came down on one knee to the Turian's right, watching the grey mandibles of the alien twitch as he sighted down his scope, the swings of his aim telling her he wasn't really aiming. "Recon team here, fighting on surface is over, unknown below. I count...perhaps three dozen Geth, two Geth Primes among them, as well as a Krogan mercenary that is acting as a commander."
Sighting down her own scope Ashley found her vision projected down to the small settlement below.
It wasn't a large settlement, two long boxes that probably acted as barracks facing a larger two-storied structure which mostly consisted of a large hollow in its centre where a tilted and now open door lead down a tunnel Ashley could only see a hint of from her angle. A few hasty barricades of white – now blackened – tables had been placed in a rough semi-circle around the entrance to the tunnel, a few blackened corpses in armour laying behind them. In front of them the majority of the bodies lay strewn however. One or two Geth...and the corpses of several armoured mercenaries and white-clothed scientists that hadn't reached the barricade or the tunnel behind it in time.
Geth, good at surprises, catching people off guard... Ashley found her closing her eyes, her heart fluttering as she struggled with a wash of emotions and memories. This time they'll fail.
"Did you say something?" Ashley shook her head at Garrus' question, not having realised a growl had escaped her. Instead she narrowed her eye at the scope and focused on the animated foes.
Garrus had been right, there were a lot of Geth before the tunnel, some entering the two barracks with lowered rifles but searching heads. Wonder what they're looking for? The two Primes stood before the entrance to the tunnel, flanking the entrance with lowered rifles, still as statues as the odd Geth moved in. Most of them however just stood there, looking at the figure in the centre of the area between the three buildings.
The Krogan was massive, only dwarfed in height by the Primes because of his head being so firmly set between his wide shoulders. In a bright yellow colour the skin of his bare head stood in stark contrast to the dark brown crest topping his skull and the black armour straining with his bulk His dark green eyes glowed with anger as he waved his arms around with his shotgun in hand, obviously wanting the Geth to move faster...and equally obviously not getting through properly.
"In position, awaiting command." Garrus clipped through the comlink, making Ashley glance to her right, seeing a small cloud of dust not too far in the distance, the Mako making good time through the maze of passages covering the rocky planet. Poor Tali... The sympathy was a bit muffled by bitterness, but Ashley comforted herself with that it was there.
"Hold position." Even over the com Michael's voice was like ice. I like him better on the Normandy, warmer...new thought! Forcing her head to turn she looked over at Kaidan, watching the man dutifully checking his pistol as a smirk stole its way to her lips. As a specialist with biotics and technical skills he was a perfect support for any squad, however he only carried a pistol...and couldn't well hit the enemy with his biotics from that range. He wouldn't see much action, yet was still prepared to guard them, as if he wouldn't have much time when they got engaged. Typical, always by the book...Ashley smiled.
Next to her Garrus shifted his stance, making Ashley turn back to her work with a shrug. Heh, perhaps it's good that he was in charge after all, I'm apparently a big softie now...She nearly chuckled at the idea. "You take out the shield of the Krogan, I follow up with a shot." She glanced at the Turian, finding his gaze intense, that of a predator, as he sighted down his scope. "Krogan regenerate so we'll keep hitting him until he's down properly, then we move on to any Geth snipers, I count two."
"On your word." Ashley muttered, feeling her body tighten in readiness, and as always, revelling in it. "Let's kick their asses."
The two shared a chuckle, the enjoyment of the hunt gripping them, staving off the fear of death. Ashley knew most soldiers preferred discipline...but it had never been for her, and apparently, neither for Garrus.
The cloud of dust was now visible in the corner of her eye not looking through the scope, approaching fast. Michael's voice only confirmed the rapidly closing distance. "Recon team...fire at will."
"You heard the man, get to it." Garrus' casual tone elicited a smirk from Ashley as she sighted down at the Krogan, watching his head turn left, then right as he with a mouth shooting spittle glared at the Geth around him. Just knocking the shields down is easy...must do it in style...
An aim...and then a gentle squeeze of the trigger...
The shield around the Krogan lit up in a blue light, centred above a large green eye, making the creature take a startled step back even as the shield died out in an explosion of white light as the powerful shot overloaded his kinetic barrier with a cracking echo of her firing weapon.
A blink of an eye...and the Krogan fell onto his back, the eye her bullet had been stopped from striking exploding into orange gore as its howl echoed over the Damn...that's a... "Nice shot Garrus." The Krogan, exhibiting the usual stubbornness of a Krogan unwilling to accept the bullet in his brain, struggled up to one knee. Oh no you don't! Ashley's shot took the knee out with a loud crack, sending the creature face first into the dirt.
"You too." Garrus replied, his rifle jerking as another shot was released, this one striking the Krogan's crest as he began to rise, sending him back into the dust, dust now painted orange with his blood.
"Is he down?" Ashley frowned, then shrugged and put another bullet in the twitching corpse,
"That should do it." Garrus remarked dryly, his weapon moving to track his chosen target. "Snipers."
Ashley didn't reply, her own weapon moving to aim. Everywhere Geth were standing...a few moving slowly, as if through water, now even more unsure what to do without their commander. Error messaging eh? Idiots... Resisting the urge to just start firing she moved her aim around, finally finding the dark brown Geth sniper, the thing slowly raising its rifle, as if unsure how to wield it.
Her rifle jerked against her...and the head of the machine twisted in an odd angle as the top disappeared in an explosion of sparks, shards of glass and twisted steel pieces. Next to her she heard the crack of Garrus' rifle as he took out his own target.
Below there was a jerking of mechanical limbs as the Geth finally began to move. Their movements were stilted, but rapidly becoming smoother, as they turned to face the threat, rifles rising up...
Then the air was filled with white pulse-shots as the Geth fired, moving towards the cover offered by the boulders of the sniping squad's mountain.
Ohhh, full auto fire from all the way down there, I'm scared. Ashley scoffed, her rifle sweeping round, catching a Geth still walking sideways out in the open.
With a stutter of struggling electronics the thing spun and fell, its white blood covering the ground as its left leg came off at the knee.
Next to it another ducking Geth fell, twitching hands reaching up towards a head that was nothing but a few leaking cords and a smashed steel vertebrae.
"Prime at eleven." Garrus mutter was a low growling sound.
"See it." Ashley calmly replied even as a lucky shot from a pulse rifle made her shield glow around her shoulder. Ignoring it, and the shots sweeping over her head, she watched the tall white monster of a Geth rush across the field towards the cliffs. "Firing."
The machine's shield flared to the crack of her rifle, then again as Garrus' shot struck home, this time with a flash of white as it died.
Ignoring the hiss of her sniper rifle Ashley quickly fired again. "Fuck!" The shot struck the running Geth in the shoulder, shattering the plate covering it, but otherwise did no damage. For fucks sake...and now the rifle is overheating too! She glared at the hissing weapon, yet continued to follow the Geth through her scope. Just a few moments and I can-
A crack of Garrus' rifle...and the thing stumbled, then fell to its knees. Its hands reached up...then dropped as white blood spurted from the gap right between the chest-plate and his neck...and then from every edge of the chest-plate as the bullet ricocheted within the creature's torso, tearing its insides apart.
Ouch... She offered the Turian a nod. Fine, you're the better sniper, just you wait until the Geth get up here...
And the Geth were hard at work at just that, the near three dozen machines climbing the cliff-side of the mountain in small leaps, ducking behind individual boulders in turn as others offered covering fire, however inaccurate it was at the range. Sweeping her scope around Ashley spotted the second Prime, this one moving towards the cover offered by one of the barracks as it covered its lesser allies. "The other Prime?"
Garrus had a smile in his voice. "Wait."
Huh?
Then the barrack was flattened.
The barrack was built as a shelter against the weather, a place to sleep and to eat, not much else.
It was not built for repelling the ram of a twenty ton armoured personnel carrier hurtling into it at full speed!
With a crash the outermost wall fell inwards, the roof shattering into pieces and the inner being split in two as the Mako continued in a shower of plastic cups, mattresses and broken pieces of furniture. Its bumper smashed into the side of the unprepared Prime, sending it hurtling through the air before crashing through the tables placed around the entrance to the dig, collapsing in a broken pile of torn metal and white blood.
With a thump the Mako came to a stop even as the near shattered Prime struggled onto all fours, the thing's broken lens turning to look at the vehicle with a cold glare, a near shorn hand clutching at its rifle as it struggled to bring it to bear...
The Mako's main gun spoke.
And the Prime was torn asunder in an explosion of dust, mud and metal shards.
Then the turret swept round, the machine-gun attachment speaking in its staccato barking as it threw up plumes of dust and mud along the cliff-side, as well as sending several of the climbing Geth face down in the mud as their exposed backs were torn apart by the large-calibre bullets. The staccato bark of the gun being complemented by the stuttering cries of dying electronics as the Geth begun to fall.
There was chaos among the Geth ranks, they didn't flee, but there was clear confusion among them as some still tried to climb the cliff-side, others turning to shoot at the new threat...and others looking left and right, bewildered. Is it just me or did they just get dumber? Ashley snorted as she placed a bullet in the back of the head of a Geth that was trying to shoot at the Mako, then into the back of the neck of another one as its fired missile went wide from the vehicle.
Next to her Garrus fired and fired, the barrel of his rifle glowing red as Geth upon Geth struggling to climb up to them had their vitals torn to pieces, no matter how fast they tried to move between the cover of the boulders. Even Kaidan got to do something now, the man muttering something under his breath as he with a hand aglow with power pulled up a boulder and hurled it down the cliff-side, smashing the legs off the closest Geth before luckily crushing another on the third bounce of the falling rock.
The Mako was wheeling around, dodging a few stray shots, though it was hardly necessary as the turret moved left and right, tearing apart the Geth in droves, those behind cover faring little better as the bullets tore the rocks apart in their search for their foes.
It was all but over.
Everywhere Geth fell, many rolling down the cliff as they lost their footing, only to be crushed under the Mako driving back and forth...the few still standing struggling to even fire back as they were peppered with superior firepower.
And then it was over.
The last Geth, its head twisted to the left, its right arm but a stump, listed as it leant against a rock...before the left leg gave up and sent the machine crashing head first into the mud, never to get up.
"Site secured." Michael spoke through the comlink, cold and calm as always even as Ashley tried to soothe her intense heartbeat. She shared a grin with Garrus. That was awesome! "Recon team to merge with Alpha team, we proceed on foot."
Good. Ashley got to her feet, securing her sniper rifle to her back before reaching for her assault rifle. She found a grin stealing its way to her face. Warm-up down, now I want some proper exercise... She eyed one of the fallen Geth, its mangled body leaking its white blood everywhere, head twisted nearly backwards.
I'm going to enjoy this...
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Thanks to Abydos Jackson for all her input.