Chapter 2

Colonel Hoffman watched in discontent as Shiro climbed down out of the Raven and as soon as his feet hit solid ground Hoffman blocked his way and closed into his personal space.

"A traitor like you doesn't deserve to wear the uniform." He grumbled in his military drill voice. Chiyoko heard this and turned to look at the two of them with a huff as she rolled her eyes, her helmet now back on her head.

"This is my armour, not a COG uniform and it seems to me like you need all the help you can get."

Kim jumped down from the Raven and sauntered towards Hoffman and Shiro while hiding a smirk.

"Step aside!" Hoffman growled to Shiro before ignoring him to talk to Kim, "Lieutenant I've got good news," he stated as they walked away from Shiro and Chiyoko, who were now stood next to each other "We have a plan to end this war once and for all."

"Yeah right." Chiyoko said as she handed Shiro a Lancer and a Black Widow Sniper Rifle. He holstered the sniper on his back after a quick maintenance check but held the lancer one handed with the barrel pointed towards Hoffman's back. Chiyoko took hold of the end of the gun and pointed it to the floor,

"No killing the Colonel." She sounded serious but had a grin plastered on her face.

Samantha Trainer stepped out of a second raven that had been waiting nearby and radioed the colonel through an earpiece, "There are numerous enemy signatures closing in nearby."

Just as she had finished talking a barrage of gunfire rained down upon the whole area. Shiro, Chiyoko and Carmine ducked down behind a set of sandbags that had been piled to create a defendable position, Hoffman and Kim crouched behind another set only a few metres away as Locusts began swarming down some stone steps that led into a large desolate building. Shiro and Chiyoko began to fire their lancers each shot was precise and almost always hit its target. Hoffman continued his conversation that was apparently more important than his life.

"We now have a light mass bomb! It'll take out these bastards with one shot!" he paused for a moment which gave Chiyoko enough time to yell to Carmine and Shiro, "Up high!"

Hoffman continued "But it won't work if we don't have the targeting data, that's why we need the resonator!"

"Watch the sides!" Shiro stated.

"You missed!" Chiyoko giggled at Carmine as she pulled the trigger.

Hoffman pointed to Kim "It'll map their tunnels, so we can hit those sons of bitches where they live!"

Chiyoko ducked down and looked at Shiro "Now I'm pissed!" she grumbled and watched as Shiro stood up and used his biotics to hit a locust with dark channel that slowly sucked away its life force.

"How much can they take?!" Carmine yelled as a mortar exploded close by.

"We've lost contact with Alpha Squad; their last transmission was from Embry Square." Hoffman continued "I want you to get in there, find those men, and deploy the resonator."

Kim looked at Hoffman while collecting his resolve "Will we have air support?"

"What? Are you kidding? You are the support, son!" Hoffman yelled as he pulled his head down to avoid getting hit by a stray bullet. "Nemecysts are keeping our birds out of the area! You'll have to move in on foot!"

Chiyoko heard Hoffman and sighed "We're screwed. Although I'm not sure whether or not I should feel appreciated to be the support, but if we're the support for them, then who's our support?" she pondered what she had said for a moment before continuing to fire.

Hoffman pointed to Trainer who was now hiding in the back of the raven "But the lieutenant here will be feeding you Intel."

"All clear" Shiro said as he stepped out from behind cover.

Trainer radioed to Hoffman, "Yes I will, and the smart thing to do now would be to leave."

Hoffman turned and nodded to Kim "Get it done!" and with that said he walked over to the raven and only turned back to glare once more at Shiro before it rose into the air and was out of sight.

Once Hoffman and the raven were no longer in ear shot Kim turned to Shiro who was now surveying the area with his enhanced Drell vision.

"You heard the Colonel, now get up those stairs!" he yelled at Shiro and then glared at him continuously until he turned away and started walking. Chiyoko followed after him in leaps and bounds up the stairs and giggled as she heard Shiro mumbling.

"Would it be bad if he tripped and fell on his own bayonet?"

Chiyoko laughed twice as much as she heard Kim call after them,

"I heard that soldier!" he grumbled with an enraged look on his face.

"That was the whole point of leaving my radio on. Idiot." Shiro continued up the stairs without even looking back at him and Chiyoko just grinned at Carmine who was trying to avoid getting in the way of Kim's hissy fit.

The four of them continued towards Embry square with Shiro taking the lead and Kim at the back in case they got surrounded. They encountered locusts often in small groups and spent very little time dispatching them. They climbed higher up the building as they scanned the area and came out onto the rooftop. Large metal columns that had once held up skyscrapers were broken and rusted, they had then been replaced by stone columns which had also been partially destroyed. The world was in ruins and no building looked anything like it had in the past. As they were surveying the area another small platoon of locusts ambushed the four with intent to kill. E-holes broke through the ground and more locusts emerged to join the fire fight. Chiyoko and Shiro ducked behind what had once been a small garden encased in stone and used it as a shield from the bullets. Carmine and Kim circled round behind the columns and flanked to the left of the horde.

"Shepard, Vakarian, flank to the right and take em out." Kim ordered into the radio.

Shiro peered over the top of cover to discern the positions of each locust. Shiro then turned to Chiyoko with an idea brewing in his head

"Do you have some grenades by any chance?" he asked after turning off his radio.

"Yeah…why?" Chiyoko replied with a curious look on her face

"I need you to throw them as covering fire." Shiro pointed to a small group of locusts that were huddled closer together than the rest, coincidentally they were to the right of the building. Chiyoko nodded and waited for Shiro to push off with his biotics from behind cover before tossing the grenade straight into the middle of the locusts.

"Special delivery!" She yelled.

Shiro was half way to cover when one of the locusts noticed the grenade and tossed it back towards him instead. In a split second decision Shiro jumped and biotically punched the grenade which sent it flying back at the locusts

"Sorry no return policy." The timer detonated leaving them scattered in pieces on the floor. Chiyoko saw this as an opportunity and vaulted over and out of her defensive position she ran towards the locusts at full speed and biotically charged into them leaving only red mist in her wake. Shiro and Chiyoko then watched silently-after having cleared out all of the locusts from the right of the building-as Carmine and Kim went to great lengths to shoot down the remaining grubs that were scattered along the left side. Kim took the liberty of finishing off an incapacitated locust with a few more bullets than needed and then marched straight up to Shiro and Chiyoko.

"Why did you not take out the grubs on the left when all you were doing was standing there?!" he grumbled at them both.

Chiyoko gave him a slightly pissed off look and then returned to her normal cheery demeanour

"We wouldn't want to overachieve now, would we?" She smirked slightly but made her comment sound so nonchalant that Kim couldn't find the words to retort. He looked at Shiro down his nose but he just ignored him and continued walking through the crumbling ruins into another dilapidated building across the street.

Shiro stopped halfway across a small platform and peered down the old street that was now full of cracks and potholes. Chiyoko immediately came to a standstill as Shiro lifted his arm up as a sign for them to stop, both Carmine and Kim- although reluctant- did the same. They faced the way Shiro was looking and saw the body of another COG soldier lay next to a destroyed and rusted armoured vehicle that was precariously perched on a bottomless pothole.

"Control this is Delta, we have a visual on alpha, possible KIA. No sign of the resonator." Kim radioed back to Trainer with a sigh. The reply that came was simple and short.

"Roger that Delta, keep looking." And with that the radio went silent.

The four continued along the platform in silence and came to a large door that was locked via a keypad that needed a code. Kim tried to barge into Shiro as he walked to the front but hit only the air as Shiro moved slightly to the left just out of his range. Kim grumbled under his breath and then punched in the code that was needed. The large metal doors slid open with a crack as dust sprayed from the hinges. Once they had stepped inside the ground began to rumble and more E-holes opened up in their way. The room was full of broken down pillars and everybody hid behind a separate one as more locusts horded the area. Kim tossed a grenade at one of them but it only got as far as hitting a piece of pillar and landing a few feet short of its target. The locust laughed as the grenade exploded but did no damage.

Shiro looked at Kim and commented in his monotone voice.

"That was the worst throw…ever." And watched as Kim pouted

"It's not my fault somebody put a pillar in my way." He grumbled and then threw another one which actually hit its target this time. Chiyoko giggled and then stood up from behind cover.

"I'll handle this. My biotics are awesome in confined spaces." She biotically charged each locust, without giving them enough time to counterattack. Shiro grabbed hold of Kim and Carmine and held their heads down so they didn't get caught in the cross fire of her biotics and while doing so noticed some COG tags that lay in the corner of the room. Once Chiyoko had finished off the last locust she noticed Shiro pick up the tags and looked at him confused.

"Why are you picking those up?" She asked and watched as he placed them in a pocket in his armour.

"We should always remember the dead." He replied as he stood back up to full height, a set of tags hung around his own neck hidden under his armour next to a band/collar with a name etched onto it. Chiyoko stared at his back for a moment as she caught her breath and then followed after him onto a balcony connected to some stairs that led down onto the street. Kim was now kneeling down next to the dead COG soldier with Carmine searching through the rubble for the resonator.

Chiyoko whispered to Shiro through her helmet and he could immediately hear the concern in her voice.

"I hope that's not Rojas down there. His little boy just turned two last week." When he heard this Shiro tapped her on the helmet and replied in a firm tone

"If it is we'll remember him."

As they got to Kim he turned and spoke

"It could be Alpha."

Shiro knelt down in front of the body and then looked around it.

"The tags are gone."

Kim turned to Carmine who was now fiddling with a piece of equipment he had found.

"Is that the resonator?" he asked in a hopeful tone.

"Nah." Carmine replied as he dropped whatever it was into the pothole he was sat next to.

Chiyoko tapped Shiro on the shoulder and stepped slightly further away as Kim began to talk to control again on the radio.

"Shiro what do you think about this? Don't you think it's kind of…odd?" she asked him her voice as serious as it could possibly be. Her voice changer made her voice sound more like a man than a woman.

"What do I think? It could be Alpha…or it could be the locusts setting a trap or…it could be neither." He added the last suggestion as a more positive possibility. Chiyoko was silent for a moment before speaking again.

"It's the second one isn't it, it's always the second one." She mumbled as her shoulders slumped.

Kim turned as he finished talking to control and immediately started barking out orders.

"Our next target is the House of Sovereigns. Move out!" he stomped past Shiro and watched to make sure his team were actually following him.

A few minutes after starting to walk down the road again a locust on a Troika almost gunned down the four of them with ease. Kim and Carmine were being pinned down too close to the gunning station to get a clear shot and Chiyoko couldn't biotically charge without there being no obstructions in her path. Without hesitation Shiro flared up his biotics around his body and glowing blue teleported himself in front of the Troika. The locust manning the gun became confused and pointed the barrel down towards Shiro in an attempt to subdue him, before the barrel even aimed at its target he had teleported again and was behind the locust.

As the gunfire seized the three who had been avoiding the bullets until now looked towards the Troika to see what had happened. They heard the sound of Shiro's chainsaw bayonet before they saw it and were just in time to watch the rotating blade cut a line through the locust's neck. Its head slowly parted from its body and both parts landed on the floor with a thud. Shiro was nowhere to be seen and only when his teammates looked behind them did they see him casually cleaning locust blood off of his gun and blade.

"Well you guys were useless." He said as he walked past them. Carmine looked at him wide eyed and then ran after him in hysterics.

"That was awesome!" he shouted, his high pitched voice breaking the silence. Chiyoko stepped over to Kim whose jaw was hanging level with his shoulders.

"Hey captain you're catching flies." She giggled and ran over to Shiro who had now stopped and was waiting for them both to catch up.