The Red Moon Collection - 2 - Three Phantoms

Chapter 20

Missile Defense Station 04, Lorek

"Clear," Will announced. "Hold position for a minute. Let's catch our breath."

After moving through two sections of hallway uncontested, the squad had finally met more resistance in the form of two trigger-happy scouts. Both had fallen relatively quickly, but they had managed to put a heavy burst into Will and drop his shielding completely. His armor was able to absorb a pair of shots that would have struck his leg, leaving the plating heavily warped. Will took a quick look at the rest of the squad to see that they had relaxed their weapons while still appearing alert. He activated his omnitool and opened a channel to the second team.

"Vayren, what's your status?"

The salarian's response was curt and muffled by the sound of a firefight. "Meeting moderate resistance." The mic remained open as his rifle fired off two shots. "Approaching a flight of stairs. Second level is the most expansive and has a few large rooms, one of which may be the control center."

The sound of Kallux's cannon and Eleena's SMG rang in the background. Will brought up the map Vayren had sent them and identified a stairwell nearby.

"I see one near us as well. We'll head there." He smirked to himself. "Sounds like you all are gathering more attention than we are."

"I'm sure you'll get yours," the salarian replied, the sound of gunfire now absent.

"I hope so," Will stated cockily. "Hume, out." He immediately opened up a second channel to the shuttle. "Shansa, Tul, everything alright up there?"

"We've had no resistance," Shansa answered. "I'm guessing they didn't expect a counterattack and opted not to pack their anti-air."

"Still nothing useful from monitoring their comm channels," Tul added. "Though they seem to know you have split into two squads."

Will sighed and began walking toward a door that would lead them to the stairwell. "Let's hope they don't send their whole force to overwhelm one group. Anything else?"

"Nope, just waiting on the extraction order."

Will was always struck by the way Shansa became nearly a different person while flying. The normally upbeat and jumpy woman suddenly became stoic and straight-faced behind the flight controls.

"Hopefully we'll be giving it soon," he replied. "Will, out."

Corsin, T'lees and Tyrixis had already grouped up at his side and were waiting with their guns aiming at the door.

The Spectre gave him a sideways glace. "We ready to move?"

Will nodded in response. "If you are."

With no objections, he reached for the control panel and opened the door. They were met with an empty hallway that was lined with yet another set of windows to the shaft of a missile silo. Will stepped forward and hurried to the end of the hall where another door stood waiting for them. Behind this one, according to their map, was the stairwell that allowed access to all three levels of the facility. He reached for the lock, but was met with an unsatisfactory buzz.

"Allow me," Corsin said as he raised his omnitool.

The turian worked his technical prowess for a few seconds before the door relented and slid open. The stairwell was worryingly dark, and the squad quickly switched on their flashlights to illuminate their path. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, Will stepped in and turned to the left where the stairs descended to the floors below.

"Vayren and the others are headed down to the second level," he informed them as they began slowly making their way down the stairs. "He believes the control center is most likely there."

"And when we find the control center?" Tyrixis inquired.

Will came to a stop at a door with the sign "Level Two" printed above it and waited for the others to circle around him. "We'll figure that out when we get there."

He readied his weapon and tapped the control panel at the center of the door. It parted to reveal a long hallway with at least a half dozen doors and intersecting halls lining either side. Will moved forward and deactivated his flashlight as he led the group through the door and into the hall. He held his weapon straight as his eyes wandered the walls, floor and ceiling.

"Where the hell are they?" Corsin muttered quietly.

Will was considering a response when something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. His head jerked to the left to see a small, gray puck on the wall with a green light blinking on its side. He jerked to a halt and raised his hand. Will's eyes widened as the rate at which the green light blinked began steadily increasing until it froze and turned red.

"Get down!"

Will turned and dove back to the floor as the mine exploded and sent shrapnel and fire roaring through the hall. Corsin, Tyrixis and T'lees did not have a chance to drop to the floor and were blown back off their feet. Luckily, they were a few meters behind Will as he had led them forward. The powerful blast filled the hall with smoke and debris, while also rendering them temporarily deaf. As Will rolled over and pulled himself up he jerked to the side as something impacted his low shields. A bullet. Through the smoke, he could see the muzzle flashes bursting to life from the sides of the hall. He scrambled to turn and run for the nearest intersecting hallway, grabbing for Tyrixis as he passed by. The doctor was pulling herself up as Will tugged at her shoulder, beckoning her to follow as he darted around a corner and into cover.

He opened his mouth and attempted to shout. "Follow me!"

His own voice was barely audible inside his own head. Even so, Corsin and T'lees managed to come stumbling around the corner, trailed by bullet holes and swirling smoke. Will raised his hand and waved for them to follow as he turned and limped toward the nearest door. He slammed his fist into the panel and hoped beyond everything else that the door would open. To his relief, the control panel became green shortly before the door itself slid apart, allowing the squad to run into the room and shut it behind them. His hearing began returning at an exponential rate the instant they found safety.

"Why must you ask such inane questions?" Tyrixis scolded as she looked to Corsin with a cough.

"They'll follow us," Corsin managed to gasp as he caught his breath. "The gunfire is already gone."

"Captain, come in. Is everything alright?"

Will wheezed and opened his comm to answer Tul. "Ambushed... we're okay, but we might not be for long."

"Yes, I hear it on their comm network. Try to lay low. Help is coming."

Even with his adrenaline spiked and flowing, pain was spreading over Will's body. He turned to scan the room they had entered and quickly determined that they were in some sort of dormitory. It was reasonably large, about twenty meters in either direction, and filled with bunk beds. On the opposite wall was another door that most likely opened to one of the adjacent halls that their attackers had taken position in. Behind him, Corsin had finished applying a lockdown to the door in an attempt to slow their foes.

"Get to cover," Will ordered while moving into the rows of beds.

The squad did not hesitate. Together, they hurried to the center-most aisle in the room and brought their weapons to bear on the door they had come through. Tyrixis reached down to the pack on her hip and grabbed a small orb, gave it a quick tap to activate, and threw it side-armed to the door behind them on the far side of the room. Will raised a brow curiously.

"Proximity mine," she said. "No point in leaving our flank exposed."

"Learn from your enemy, right?" Will gripped his rifle and chuckled. "You're wicked, doc."

His laugh was silenced as the door in front of them buzzed from their pursuers attempting to force their way inside. Four weapons held their sights on the door as the control panel hummed and spun in place. T'lees raised a hand and began channeling a ball of biotic energy, giving Will an idea. He plucked a grenade from his belt and glanced to the asari at his side.

"Are you dropping one of those anti-grav fields?" Will felt rather silly not knowing the technical term.

T'lees nodded. "A singularity, yes."

"Right, singularity." He primed his grenade and cocked his hand for a throw.

The asari gave him a brief look before nodding slowly in comprehension. In front of them the security panel finally turned green, allowing the door to slide apart. T'lees threw her singularity forward, causing it to impact and expand just through the doorway at the center of the hall. Three of Antarian's soldiers, all in position to breech the door, were caught in the biotic field and lifted from their feet just as Will tossed his grenade. The explosive entered the singularity and lost its momentum, coming to a floating stop between the three enemy soldiers. After two seconds, the grenade exploded, killing them instantly and sending shrapnel into the room as the squad ducked into cover.

"Nice!" Corsin remarked as he rose up and took aim with his rifle once again.

As the singularity faded, two more enemy soldiers leaned from cover and began unloading into the room. The Hyperion squad fired back, still kneeling behind the bunks to give them as much cover as possible. Cheap sheets and pillows were shredded in the exchange of gunfire and after a good fifteen seconds of crossfire, two shots impacted one of the attacking soldiers square in the helmet, dropping him. The other disappeared back into cover as Will let out a sigh of relief and waited for his M-15 to cool.

"Behind!" Tyrixis shouted.

An explosion rang out from the far side of the room as the doctor's proximity mine exploded. The two turians spun to face the new threat as Will and T'lees remained focused on the others. Corsin and Tyrixis squeezed their triggers to deter a pair of batarians from forcing their way into the room as Will and T'lees waited for their turn. Unsurprisingly, two more of Antarian's men appeared in the doorway and took aim, a few shots finding their mark on Will and T'lees. As their shields dipped, one of the assaulting soldiers reached to his belt and grabbed a grenade. Will caught sight of the action and attempted to place a shot into the explosive to no avail. The soldier tossed the grenade toward them, landing the throw on the edge of a bunk a few meters to the left of T'lees.

"T'lees, grenade!" Will grabbed the asari and attempted to pull her toward him and away from the explosive.

It was too late. The grenade detonated just as the asari had turned in search of the danger. Will stumbled backward from the combined force of the explosion and T'lees being thrown into him. There was a small pause before the asari let out a gut-wrenching scream and began shaking terribly. Will slid out from beneath her, grabbed his rifle and jumped back up to shoot at the soldier that had thrown the grenade as he attempted to step into the room.

"Tyrixis!" Will shouted over the screams of their wounded asari squadmate. "T'lees is hit!"

"I'm on it," she answered firmly.

Will couldn't turn to show her, so he trusted that Tyrixis could find the obvious injury. The enemy turian soldier who had attempted to sneak in was dropped as Will finally downed his shields and ripped open his chest with a burst from his rifle. He shuddered involuntarily as T'lees continued to scream unnervingly, her vocal chords clearly straining in pain from the ravaging. Will turned his sights on the second target in the doorway, a batarian, only to see his foe look to the side while being hit by a series of heavy shots.

"In here!"

Kallux's voice was music to Will's ears. The imposing krogan stepped up to the doorway and waved for them to follow.

"This place is a deathtrap!" Kallux glanced down the hall. "Follow us."

Will turned to see Tyrixis kneeling over a whimpering T'lees, scanning the asari's helmet with her omnitool. Or what was left of it. A large portion of her helmet was caved in, with some of it even having been blown off. The visor itself was shattered, leaving only half of the cracked glass in its place. Will couldn't see very much with Tyrixis leaning over her, but what he could see was an unsettling amount of blood.

"We need to move," he said authoritatively.

Corsin, who had been firing at his doorway almost continuously for the past thirty seconds, glanced over his shoulder and nodded to Will and Tyrixis.

"Grab T'lees, I'll cover the flank!"

Tyrixis deactivated her omnitool and reached under the asari's shoulder as Will knelt at her side and did the same. T'lees moaned in pain as they hoisted her up between them and hurriedly moved toward the door where Kallux stood waiting. Corsin ripped a smoke grenade from his belt and threw it toward the far door as he stood and began backing away, his weapon still raised and at the ready. Kallux had turned and begun marching down the hallway, his cannon in hand. As Will and Tyrixis stepped through the door they were met by Eleena and Vayren. The salarian had his arm wrapped around the asari's neck as an obvious puncture in his leg armoring leaked a dark green blood. The group moved cautiously down the hall as Corsin exited behind them and backpedaled at their rear to ensure they were not being pursued.

"Left here," Vayren said in a strained voice. "Found a room on the map with only one entrance."

They turned and walked down another hall, passing two doors on either side before coming to a third on their right.

"This is it," the salarian grunted.

Kallux opened the door and stood to the side as he ushered the others inside. After all but Corsin had entered, the krogan finally turned and stepped into the room, leaving Corsin to follow and lock the door behind them. The room was much smaller than the dormitory, and relatively empty with a few crates sitting against the walls. Will and Tyrixis moved to one of the walls and gently set T'lees to the floor as Eleena moved straight to the back of the room and propped Vayren up with his back to the wall. The salarian retrieved his pistol from his holster once he was seated and held it with the barrel toward the door. Will stood up and back slowly to the center of the room, his heart and mind racing in panic. Tyrixis had already retrieved a small medical kit from her pack and was leaning over T'lees once again. Luckily, the asari was now completely silent, most likely from sedative medi-gel.

"Fuck... what the hell happened?" Will turned to Vayren and dropped to his knees in front of the salarian.

"Proximity mine," Eleena answered quickly as she activated her omnitool.

"We hit one as well," Corsin informed her.

Kallux and Corsin had assumed a position by the door with their weapons drawn, ready to retaliate in case they had been followed. Will moved to the side as Eleena knelt next to Vayren and applied a dose of medigel to his leg. The salarian let out a small sigh of relief and looked over to the asari.

"Thank you."

Eleena nodded. "Yeah, of course." She glanced over her shoulder to Tyrixis and T'lees. "What happened to her?"

"Grenade." Will realized he was gripping his rifle far too tightly and relaxed. "Short fuse... I tried to warn her, but-"

Tyrixis looked to them for a moment. "She's hurt. Badly."

Eleena stepped over to the other asari and winced. "Fuck..."

The doctor turned her attention back to her patient. "You don't want to see it without the gauze."

"Captain, do you copy?"

Will nodded to himself. "I hear you, Tul."

"Good news. It sounds like they're falling back to where this 'Talon' fellow is."

"And the bad news?" Will muttered.

"How did you know there was bad news?" Tul sounded worried.

Will closed his eyes and shook his head. "Just tell me."

"It sounds like they're about to initiate something... I don't know what."

"The control center," Vayren said with a small cough. "We were fighting toward it when I hit that mine."

Corsin turned from the door in surprise. "You found it? Why didn't you say anything?"

"We had bigger problems," Kallux countered. "Such as getting our wounded to safety."

Vayren nodded and raised his omnitool. "I've marked it on the map. Antarian's men were retreating toward it."

"Then let's move," Corsin declared.

Tyrixis shook her head. "We need to get these two back to the ship, now," she objected. "T'lees is severely wounded, and I haven't even looked at Agent Vayren."

The squad jumped in surprise as the loud, artificial batarian voice of the facility's VI rang out from the intercom.

"Attention: all personnel. A strike sequence has been initiated. Launch will commence in fifteen minutes. Evacuate all silos immediately."

Will brought up his omnitool and set a timer for fourteen minutes and fifty-five seconds.

Corsin's mandibles twitched lightly. "That's... not good."

"Alright, listen..." Will lowered his omnitool and looked around the room to the entire squad. "Kallux, Tyrixis... can you get these two up to the landing pad for evac?"

"Don't send Kallux," Vayren interjected as he pulled himself to his feet. "Tyrixis and I can take T'lees. You need all the firepower you can manage."

The krogan glanced over his shoulder. "You sure?"

The salarian winced as he set weight on his wounded leg. "Yes." He stowed his weapon and limped to Tyrixis. "Let's get her up."

Will frowned and watched as the asari was once again hoisted up to be carried, her shattered helmet on the floor and her head now half wrapped in gauze. Tyrixis and Vayren got under each of her arms and nodded in acknowledgment, ready to move.

"Can they make it to the landing pad alone?" Eleena asked to the others.

"If the enemy has fallen back to a single position, we should not meet any opposition," Tyrixis informed her. "I hope Tul'Sorrin is correct in his assessment."

"I am," the quarian said confidently. "The comm traffic is virtually non-existent, meaning they are most likely all in the same place. No need for comms when all your men are in one room."

Will shook his head in defeat. "Alright, go. Fast. I'll contact Shansa."

"Way ahead of you," the pilot radioed in. "Tul already updated me on the situation. I'm inbound now, be there in about two minutes."

Corsin stepped up the door and opened it with a quick tap of his finger. He leaned out and looked in either direction before nodding to Tyrixis and Vayren as they approached with T'lees between them.

"Looks clear." The turian Spectre moved to the side.

Tyrixis looked over her shoulder as they entered the hall. "Don't sit there watching us, your time is growing short!"

The squad perked up and raised their weapons as Tyrixis, Vayren and T'lees disappeared down the hallway and out of sight around the first corner. Will raised his weapon and moved into the hall with Kallux, Eleena and Corsin on his flank, ready to fight. He brought up the marker that Vayren had given them on his HUD and turned in the opposite direction that their evacuating group had gone. The squad was silent in following Will as he set off toward their destination: the control center.

"Do we know how many are left?" Eleena asked with a hint of apprehension.

"Don't worry about that," Corsin answered. "Just keep your head in the fight."

A small cloud of biotic energy emitted from the asari's body then disappeared. "Oh, I will."

Will led them around a few corners until the waypoint he had received was only a few dozen meters ahead. He was about to order everyone to get ready when Corsin grabbed his shoulder and yanked him to a halt.

"Don't move," the turian said curtly.

"What?"

Corsin raised his omnitool and pointed it toward a small, gray puck on the wall a few feet ahead of them. With a quick overload, Corsin extinguished the blinking light on the side of the mine and nodded.

"That's what," he answered.

"Good catch," Kallux complimented as he stepped forward. "How 'bout I take point?"

"If you really want to," Will replied. "But we don't have much further to go."

He pointed down the hall. At the end was a security door with the words "Control Center" painted in red font above it. Kallux wasted no time and set forth, his cannon primed and humming impatiently. Moving slowly, Will raised his wrist to take one last look at the map. They were approaching a room near the northern end of the facility that, much to his surprise, was nowhere near the largest.

"Captain, are you there?"

Will opened his comm. "I hear you, Tul."

"We've just picked up the others and are headed back to the Hyperion now. We'll head back toward the facility once they've been unloaded."

"Understood. Thanks for the update." Will closed the comm link and nodded to the door that lay ahead. "Looks like this is one of the side entrances." His voice was low as he deactivated his omnitool and raised his rifle.

"I'm betting the door's locked," Corsin mentioned. "I'll hit it with hack, but it will probably take a second to open. They'll know we're coming."

Will drew a deep breath. "Alright. Let's hit them. All in."

Kallux came to a stop in front of the door and planted his feet firmly. Will pressed his shoulder to the wall beside the door and gripped his rifle as Eleena stood to the krogan's side with a biotic shockwave growing in her hand. Corsin activated his omnitool and injected his hack into the lock of the door before quickly readying his weapon as well. The lock spun in place for a few seconds before blinking green, allowing the door to slide apart. Time slowed to a crawl. Kallux squeezed the trigger of his cannon, causing it to whir in preparation before the door's halves had parted. The first heavy slug blasted forth and tore deep gash into the metal of the door as it slid open, followed by a second that flew threw and into the room. Will stepped out from the wall and planted his feet, aiming down his sights as the control center was revealed to them.

They didn't have time to take aim. The six figures in room opened fire at the same moment the Hyperion squad did, creating a terrifying tempest of crossfire. Kallux roared almost as loud as his cannon, the heavy slugs finding the first kill on a completely exposed soldier only a few meters from the door. Will saw the squad's shields begin to dive a mere second into the exchange and let his instincts take over. He dove forward for an overturned desk just inside the door, sliding into place as Eleena's shockwave finally exploded forth and sent a trio of Antarian's soldiers off of their feet. With only two of their opponents returning fire, Kallux took the opportunity to lumber forward, his shields wavering dangerously low. His cannon tore into one of the soldiers hit by Eleena's shockwave just as Corsin placed a shot to the same target's head while standing in the safety of the doorway. The numbers were even. To the left, two of the enemies hit by Eleena's shockwave were pulling themselves to their feet while at the center of the room a salarian engineer was preparing to deploy a set of drones. To the right, just in the corner of Will's eye, a bulky turian with the insignia of a claw on his shoulders leveled a fierce-looking shotgun toward Kallux.

"Kill the krogan!" The turian shouted.

Kallux roared in primal bloodlust. Will had only seen this side of him on a handful of occasions. Will raised his rifle on one of the soldiers to their left and squeezed the trigger as Eleena suddenly rocketed by in a ball of biotic energy. She impacted the salarian at the center of the room, sending him flying head over heels into the far wall. A split second later, the turian soldier's shotgun unleashed a heavy blast into Kallux, ripping into the krogan's chestpiece. The krogan growled in pain and turned to charge the turian, his cannon's omniblades extending in the blink of an eye. Corsin and Will placed the killing shots into one of the remaining targets, leaving only a batarian soldier fumbling to ready his weapon. Will jumped over the flipped table he was using as cover and lunged for the batarian, slamming the stock of his rifle into his visor. The soldier fell back as Eleena's SMG riddled his body with bullets.

"Aggh! No!"

Will, Corsin and Eleena turned to see the turian wail in pain as Kallux swiped his omniblades straight through his armor, severing his left arm at the elbow in one fell swoop. The krogan squeezed his trigger half-way through the swipe, sending a pair of shots into the turian's torso as he finished the attack. The turian collapsed onto his back, his shotgun sliding across the floor and into the wall. Kallux stood over him, panting heavily as dark orange blood dripped from the bullet holes in his chestplate and onto the floor. Corsin darted through the doorway and leveled his weapon on the subdued turian.

"Talon?" Corsin asked as he looked to his claw insignia.

The turian shook in pain, but did not respond.

Will stepped up to Kallux's side and peered down. "Russon?"

"You... you're the Spectre?" The turian sputtered.

Corsin knelt down and hugged his rifle to his chest. "Corsin Rentarius. A pleasure. Now answer me... are you Russon?"

"Y-yes... fuck... just give me some medi-gel," he pleaded.

After a brief hesitation, Will knelt down and applied a conservative dose of medi-gel to his bleeding half arm. Corsin, however, went straight to work. He grabbed the Russon's right wrist and activated his omnitool, quickly scanning it with his own to retrieve its data. Corsin stood and immediately began parsing through his find.

"I'm sending a copy to everyone," he said.

Kallux, who had recomposed himself, looked up to a descending countdown clock on the wall. "What's the timer?"

Will waited for a few seconds for the turian to respond before giving his a quick smack. "Russon, answer us. What's the countdown for?"

Russon shook his head slowly. "It's... it's the launch timer."

"Yeah, no shit," Eleena remarked. "We know that. Launch timer for what?"

"Hold on," Corsin answered. "I've got an archived message here. Twenty hours old and from Narenthus Antarian himself. Mission objectives for the eyes of Russon Fintius only."

Kallux stepped back from the mortally wounded turian beneath him and looked to Corsin. "What's it say?"

"Multiple missile strikes. This first series will target the planetary regime's military intelligence headquarters and a population center of known anti-government sympathizers." The Spectre scrolled down, his eyes darting across the screen. "Minutes after the launch they'll send a declaration to both sides implicating the other as the aggressor."

"We... would have..." Russon coughed. "Won't be getting the chance now," he laughed weakly.

Will shook his head. "That's it...? That's all Antarian has been doing?"

"It wasn't this way... on Sharkeer," Russon muttered almost incomprehensibly. "We used... assassination. Missiles... were the easier option here."

Corsin deactivated his omnitool and ran for the center control console as Will continued to kneel beside Russon.

"How do we stop it?" Will asked the dying turian.

Russon coughed and spit up a mouthful of blood, but did not respond.

"Answer us, damn it." Eleena clenched her fists slightly.

The turian was clearly struggling to remain conscious as blood leaked from his body drop by drop, taking his life with it.

"You don't have to let this happen," Kallux said quietly. "You've got nothing to gain from killing these people... look at you."

"That doesn't mean I can't... remain loyal," Russon argued, his voice barely more than a whisper.

Corsin looked up from his control console. "We annihilated your entire force. We will find Antarian. Help us stop this so you can die without a burden on your conscience."

Will glanced back up to the countdown timer. Just over five minutes remained.

Russon closed his eyes. "You... you're right."

"Then help us!" Eleena shouted.

"He can't," Corsin interjected.

Will looked back to Corsin. "What? Why not?"

The Spectre shook his head and stepped back from the console. "The missiles... their trajectories and launch sequences... they can't be altered from this console. They're hard coded onto the on-board flight computers themselves."

Russon shook his head gently. "Yes... we programmed them all individually... so there would be no way to trace back the logs to the launch computer." His eyes opened partially. "But you can change them. The access panels... they're on the side of each missile."

Eleena shook her head. "With four missiles about to launch? We can't reprogram them all."

"Not if we're sitting here," Will declared as he jumped to his feet and activated his omnitool. "Closest silo is this way, come on."

"Good luck," Russon muttered in a whisper.

Kallux, Corsin and Eleena hurried after Will as he led them through a door on the far side of the room at a near sprint. A few meters down the hall, he turned to the left and continued onward until a series of windows appeared on the wall. Inside they could see one of the missiles that they had observed from the first level. He reached the door and, thankfully, it parted without requesting any security clearance, allowing him into a small airlock. The squad moved in behind him as he opened the next door and stepped into the launch silo itself, a twenty-foot missile standing ominously at the center of the room. Will, Eleena and Kallux came to a stop and stared up at the device as Corsin stepped past them and jumped up to the indented rungs on the side of the missile that acted as a service ladder. He scrambled up until coming to a stop near the top and activated a small, non-holo screen that was built into the side of the missile.

Will slid his rifle onto his back and looked up. "What's it look like, Corsin?"

The turian had already brought his omnitool up and begun scanning. "The flight computer is..." He shook his head. "Not friendly."

Above them, the VI sounded through the facility's intercom."Attention: launch will commence in three minutes."

"Can you do it or not?" Eleena asked bluntly.

Corsin shook his head. "Not fast enough to do all four, but I have an idea."

Kallux nodded impatiently. "Spit it out, we're out of time."

"I'm reprogramming the detonation procedure; it's much easier to alter. I can set the warhead to explode instantly on launch." The turian's fingers blazed across the screen. "The explosion would be large enough to take out the facility."

Will nodded eagerly. "Good, good! I'll call in the shuttle." He opened a comm link to the Kodiak. "Shansa, are you there?"

"I hear you, Will." Her voice was calm and collected.

"Get to the landing pad, now," he ordered. "And be ready to get out fast. Understood?"

"I'll be there in just under a minute."

Will looked back up to Corsin. "We need to go!"

The turian waved them off. "It's not done. I'll catch up, get to the Kodiak!"

Kallux and Eleena paused momentarily before turning for the door. Will stared at the turian and opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by the facility's VI.

"Attention: launch will commence in two minutes."

Corsin looked over his shoulder. "Go!"

Will turned and ran for the door as Eleena and Kallux waited on the other side. Together, they turned and sprinted down the hall as Will looked at the map on his wrist to guide them toward the exit. Adrenaline coursed violently through Will's veins as he turned into the stairwell and leapt up the stairs three or four at a time. They barreled through the exit on level one and into the hallway. Straight ahead, at the end of the hall, was the exit to the landing pad. Will slammed his fist onto the control console, forcing it open and allowing them out onto the platform filled with the driving rain. The squad stepped over the collection of dead soldiers they had dispatched upon their arrival the Kodiak descended before them with its boarding hatch open and waiting. Kallux jumped up into the shuttle, causing it to shake slightly from his weight, before turning and offering a hand to Eleena and Will. As he climbed in, Will turned back to the look through the open door the hallway, only to see that Corsin had not caught up to them. He glanced down to the timer on his wrist and felt his heart jump. Thirty-two seconds remained.

"Just about have it," the Spectre's voice reported over the comm. "Tyrixis, can you hear me?"

The doctor's voice chimed in. "Yes, what's your status? I'm dealing with these injuries and haven't been-"

Corsin interrupted her."Do me a favor, would you? Tell father I'm sorry for not returning his messages a few months ago." There was a short pause as his attention seemed to turn away from the comm. "There, detonation sequence set."

Will looked down to his omnitool. The timer was at eleven seconds. "Shansa, get us out!"

"Corsin?" Tyrixis seemed more confused that concerned.

Shansa complied without question and threw the thrusters into full gear. The Kodiak blasted up and away from the landing pad, throwing Will, Eleena and Kallux off balance and forcing them to grab the railings that lined the ceiling to balance themselves.

"Sorry, gotta go. I... love you, Ty."

Will, Eleena and Kallux stared out the side hatch as far below them on the surface of Lorek a brilliant flash lit up the night sky.