"Scratch one!"
Tali glared at Garrus, finding his enjoyment of the fight reprehensible. There were many things she liked about the man...but his love for the fight was not one of them. People out there in the darkness were dying...and Garrus was enjoying the fight.
Mostly she was glaring at his leg though.
Even straightened it was clear that it was broken within his armour as it limply lay resting on the patch of grass behind the downed Mako. Broken, useless, keeping him stuck in the cover of their downed transport...and keeping her stuck with him!
I should be... She looked over at the elevator to the Citadel tower, and not for the first time.
Yet she would do what Michael had ordered, it drove her mad, but she would do it...anything else was betraying his trust...and a betrayal of her friend.
She shot Garrus another glare for good measure. Damn friend and his damn leg...
"You know...that's getting distracting." The Turian shot her a glance, then returned to looking down the scope as he lay underneath the tilted front of the Mako, virtually hidden in the debris of it from any casual observer. Another thump of his sniper rifle against his shoulder...and a distant shape of a Geth on the bridge ahead of them fell over the railing with a wail and a splash.
"I'm so sorry." Tali retorted with a sigh, the pistol in her hand feeling useless as she shot a glance out into the darkness and glowing flames. "Is the Quarian that straightened your leg annoying you as she plays your babysitter?"
Garrus chuckled, the rifle jerking once more, destroying something out in the darkness. "You protect not just me you know...I'm sure Michael would approve of this." He nodded backwards, making Tali glance back.
They looked...horrible.
Ten people. Four of them Asari, two humans, a Volus and two Turians...finely dressed...and covered in smudge, ash and blood...eyes wide as they stared at Garrus and Tali, apparently fearing them as much as they feared the Geth.
Panicked...shame they can't appreciate the irony of them being protected by one of the gypsies they used to look down at...
The thought brought Tali some amusement...only for her to remember why they needed protection.
Michael...please be okay.
A sigh...and Garrus growled: "Would you stop worrying?"
Tali glared down at him, anger surging through her. "And would you start?"
A pause...then the Turian shook his head, voice low: "Look, who's better suited to handle the situation then Michael?"
"I..."
"That's right, he stands the best chance of us all...and worrying won't help."
"I..." Tali sighed, shoulders slumping as she looked out over the darkness. "...hate it when you make sense."
"Well some of us can't be all lovestruck and stupid." Garrus retorted with a little chuckle, making Tali blush. "Some of us have to-" He stopped mid-sentence, his grip firming on his sniper rifle as it moved to track something, eyes narrowing. "More civs coming out way...heading for the bridge...they're pursued."
Ahead there were white strobes of light from pulse shots...and moving shadows of many running people.
"Ready for this?"
Tali nodded, not sparing Garrus a glance as she stepped over him, preparing to run forth. "Ready."
A scream, one of the shadows falling with a flash of white as they moved over the bridge...and Garrus called out: "Now!"
Tali ran even as Garrus rifle fired, smashing into a distant thing even as Tali saw the hazy outline of a human woman running over the bridge, her face screwed into a grimace of panic. Behind her a cluster of Asari came, shrieking even as the one furthest at the back fell, a glowing hole in her back as the pursuing Geth came into view.
The first one fell, head blown apart...only to be pushed aside by the others as they levelled their weapons upon the fleeing civilians.
Always ready. Gritting her teeth Tali's left hand shot out, omni-tool aglow...and one of the Geth at the front whirled about, rifle pouring shots into the gut of the one behind it...only to fall as those following blew it apart.
Well that didn't work... Running faster Tali saw the flash of Garrus shot as it whizzed past her waist and struck another Geth even as the others opened up, felling yet another Asari.
Running up the bridge Tali passed the running crowd, left hand moving to the right to push the shoulder of the last Asari onwards as she sent a shot into the chest of the closest Geth...before turning and running, putting herself between the running people and the Geth.
Instantly her shields flashed with impacts, the Geth shots slamming into her as she ran, forcing herself to keep the pace down to cover the running people...
Garrus' sniper spoke...and another Geth fell with a wail.
The Mako looked painfully distant...as the human at the front fell with a scream, her leg burnt by a shot that had missed Tali...
Again Garrus fired...even as the human with a cry reached up for the Asari running past her...only to be ignored by the panicked people.
With a thump Tali's shields failed, her suit calling out a warning as a shot thumped painfully into her back. Not breached yet... She ran, hand reaching out for the wounded woman...only for the desperate hand to drop as a Geth shot struck the human in the back of her head.
Ahead the crowd of Asari practically ran over Garrus in their hurry to get into safety even as the Turian ended the existence of another Geth...and Tali felt a stinging pain in her left shoulder.
She spun with the impact as she came up next to Garrus, pistol swinging wide, firing wildly at the Geth crossing the bridge...and two fell over the railing even as the others fired a flurry of shots at her. White balls of light hurtling at her...
Pain!
With a gasp Tali fell backwards, her head hitting the ground with a crack, her vision full of white...then swimming as she felt her mind detach from her body...
"Tali!"
Garrus' cry was distant, perforated with the crack of his rifle firing...
She looked down, blinking at the sight of the glowing holes burnt into her suit, white smoke lazily drifting from the impacts...
Her VI spoke, voice calm as ever: "Suit rupture, torso. Antibiotics released, emergency sealant released."
"I'm...okay." Tali muttered, raising her head as she moved a trembling hand to aim her pistol up...and fired a round into the Geth atop the bridge...and then another...and another.
Ahead the creatures broke...fell...and retreated, leaving their smashed brethren littering the bridge.
Tali's head dropped back, her pistol dropping from a limp hand as she let her arm drop back...resting.
Garrus' voice was tinged with worry: "Are you...sure?"
"Yes...had worse..." Tali muttered, taking a deep breath as she stared up at the darkness above, letting the pain simmer down...
Behind her she heard sobs as the people clustered together, one of the Asari muttering, voice full of terror and disbelief: "W-were w-we j-just resc-rescued by a...Q-Quarian?
She smiled.
Then Garrus grunted, irritated: "And a Turian you know, bah, never any appreciation for the fire support..."
Her smile turned into a smirk.
A smirk slowly dying as she forced herself to sit up, her shoulders slumped as she stared out over the destruction and darkness ahead.
Michael...please be okay.
8
8
8
Wow...
Joker stared out through the view-screen, watching the blossoming explosions across the purple haze that was made by the glow of the star Widow.
The Citadel was a massive thing compared to the battling ships around it, resembling a closed peanut. Closed being the word.
Yet ahead the Destiny's Ascension was still a large ship, one Joker had always admired, an Asari dreadnought that would put any human dreadnought to shame...and now visibly listing to its left as it tried to move up towards the human fleet, the Geth cruisers around it resembling tiny mosquitoes biting piece after piece out of a dying animal.
"This is admiral Hackett." The comm called out, making Joker brighten up as he felt the jolt of excitement that preceded a fight. "We are clear to engage, primary objective is to secure the Destiny's Ascension and the Council." Joker rolled his eyes. The Council? Michael you idiot...oh well...a fight is a fight. "Jakarta, Madrid, take point, all cruisers form up in diamond formation. Frigates, proceed to form wolf-packs and wait for command."
His controls beeped as instructions filtered in...and Joker rolled the Normandy rightwards as instructed while he saw the cruisers of the Fifth fleet surge forth to his left in a sharp pyramid-like formation pointed straight at the listing Asari dreadnought.
"All cruisers, fire at will." Hackett's order was calm...and instantly followed by the jerking of the main guns of the long ships, hurling mass accelerator rounds straight at the Destiny's Ascension. Or rather...forming a web of around it, shots tearing through the space around the Dreadnought, tearing into the Geth ships around it, the in comparison tiny ships turning into pieces of blossoming explosions and flying pieces of metal.
This ought to be good...
Ahead Geth ships were turning towards the new threat, ignoring the dying ships of the Citadel fleet as they found the human fleet bearing down on them.
"Wolf-packs, engage your given targets." Joker's eyes narrowed at the given coordinates, not at the least surprised to find the choice of target being close to the Destiny's Ascension.
He could feel the other two frigates at his back as he hit the accelerator, sending Normandy hurtling forward, past the still accelerating and firing cruisers...right for the Destiny's Ascension.
Ahead the dreadnought was struggling forward, its engines flickering on and off, orange blossoms of explosions bursting forth from its cracked hull.
Normandy spun under it's right 'wing', acquiring a target...javelins and disruptor torpedoes firing half a moment later, tearing the suddenly visible Geth cruiser in two. The two pieces of it was like that of a broken egg as they fell to the side, letting the Normandy fly through the debris, kinetic barriers shoving the broken stuff aside even as he fired again. Javelins shoot forth...and striking another Geth cruiser at point blank range, making it twist in something akin to agony before it came apart as the two frigate's on the Normandy's back opened up.
A thump...and Joker grimaced as blue blood splashed over his view-screen as they struck a floating Turian corpse, the space before them full of broken pieces of the Citadel fleet and Geth ships alike.
And showing a lot of still intact Geth ships.
Spinning to the left the Normandy avoided a torpedo, only to lurch further to the left as one of the frigates behind it blew apart.
"Come on you fuckers!" Joker ignored the look those behind him shot him as he banked right,disruptor torpedoes shooting forth in a full spread at the approaching Geth, forcing them to evade even as he himself moved to get out of their line of fire.
Then the comm crackled, Hackett's orders soothing with the calm in them: "The Destiny's Ascension is clear, break formation and engage on full front, wolf-packs to engage targets of opportunity. Break through to the Citadel."
"Normandy acknowledges." Joker called in, jerking the Normandy into action and hurling it through the screen of Geth ships, making several turn after him when they really should focus on the approaching cruisers. "Got an opening at my position."
"All cruisers mass at the Normandy's position, we must reach the Citadel."
Around him Geth ships exploded as the human cruisers concentrated their fire, making the Normandy lurch even as Joker forced it into a spin, javelins firing into two Geth cruisers trying to disengage, tearing both of their engines out in fiery explosions.
Still, in the middle of all the explosions...Joker's gaze drifted to the closed Citadel.
Come on Michael...where are you!
8
8
8
Thanks to Abydos Jackson.