a/n: Thanks for the encouragement sexytits and w1p. You're guy's offering to my soul has been satisfactory. But even now the beast hungers and demands appeasement. So keep the reviews coming. And it's time for death and more death. Enjoy

-brittsis

Rae found them raiding people's houses, pulling them from their beds and into the streets. If they fought, they were shot and disposed. The other's were divided and thrown into cages. Screams and rifle fire echoed off the houses as children cried out for their parents. Rae ran into the street and took a few out before they noticed she was there. She'd been trained with a pistol but the rifle was something else. Unsure of her aim and control, she'd shot the ones furthest from the civilians. The kick had cost her to loose her balance and she stumbled back. The bullets collided with her barrier and knocked her down. Growling she rolled back unto her feet, rifle shooting another bastard in the gut.

"Fight, stand strong!" Rae yelled at the stop of her voice as he butt of her rifle smashed on in the face. Her hand lashed out and clenched, another dropping to the ground gripping his chest. It was a trick her biotic instructor had taught her. Don't exhaust your biotics trying to warp the entire body, instead go for the lungs or the heart.

Two boys rose to her call, taking two of the Batarians while their attention was on her. She turned to the last and knocked it out with the butt of her rifle. She shot the unconscious ones before turning back to the survivors. She helped release the caged ones and armed the two boys with pistols from the dead.

"We're going to city hall. From there we can send for help." Rae looked them over. They were scared, huddled together. She didn't know how she was going to protect them but she had little choice. If she couldn't do this how could she go through with her career choice.

It seemed to take forever to reach city hall. They had come upon four more raiding parties and had doubled their party. However, which each raiding party there was less and less survivors. Raegan was running out of time and she knew it. Gritting her teeth, she ushered the last of her group into the hall and locked the doors behind them.

"Rae is that you?" Bodie called and beckoned her over. She ran to his and hugged him tight. "You scared me running off like that, what were you thinking?"

"I've been trained for this Bodie. I admit I'm still learning, but this is what I do. What I want to do." Rae sighed and looked around the room. It was a sad sight that was presented to her. The lights were off, the room only lit by emergency lighting. The shadows seemed to mock them as everyone sobbed in fear. Her few "soldiers" stood by the door with their pistols in hand. They were untrained but determined to protect their family.

"Come one, lets send for help."

"No good, first thing I tried. The coms are out." Bodie sighed and rubbed his face hard. "All we can do is barricade ourselves in here and hope for rescue."

Rae cursed under her breath. They'd never last like that. All the Batarians had to do was hit the place all at once and they'd be dead meet. "What about the extranet? Maybe we can get a message out?"

"We aren't a rich colony Rae, the only terminals are at the high school."

"Then I'm going to the high school."

Bodie growled and grabbed her, "You can't go out there. You're just one person Rae. How can you possibly win?"

"I don't know!" Rae screamed at him and shrugged his hand off. "I don't know but I've got to try."

"Then let me come with you. Let me watch your back." Bodie held up his hand, stopping her protests. "We're a good team Rae. Remember man hunt?"

Rae nodded and reluctantly agreed to let him come. She did need someone to watch her back. She gave Bodie the spare rifle and climbed onto the roof of the building. The moon was full and high in the sky, giving them plenty of light. They had a few hours of night left and planned to use it as their cover. "This is the best way to get their quick. We get there, get in, send the message, and come back."

Bodie swallowed and glanced over the edge. They were five stores up. The fall wouldn't kill them but it would hurt. He looked across the alleyway at the building ten feet away and closed his eyes. "Why the roofs though? Couldn't we run on the ground?"

Rae grinned at him and tightened the shoulder strap on her weapon. "Three parts brave, one part foolish remember? Just remember to roll."

She backed up, jumped on the toes of her feet and shook her body loose. She sprinted to the edge and jumped at the last minute. She was airborne a few minutes before she landed on the next building, rolling to take the blow. She stopped and grinned back at Bodie before taking off again.

Bodie was breathing hard when they reached the school, bent over and trying to catch his breath. Raegan was barely winded as she peered around the corner. They hadn't encountered any more raiding parties but they had stuck to the roofs for most of the journey. The building was thirty yards away, only the yard and fence blocking their path.

"I… haven't…. since…. You… left…" Bodie managed out between breaths.

"I can tell," Rae teased and unhooked her weapon. "We're almost there, but we've got nothing but open ground and no cover."

She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, reaching for that spot deep inside her head.

"What are you doing?" Bodie asked only to have her hush him. She glowed blue for a brief second before the barrier went clear. He had known she was biotic but never witnessed her abilities before. "How long can you keep that up?"

"Not long, I haven't been outfitted yet." Rae admitted. "I'll tie out quickly and it's not as strong as those already retrofitted, but it's better than nothing. Now let's go."

She turned the corner and ran for the fence, Bodie right behind her. They kept low as they crossed the distance, eyes alert for any movement. They vaulted over the five foot fence and headed straight for the door. Rae's fingers touched the handles just as she heard someone yell. Cursing, she yanked the door open and pulled Bodie inside. Guns fired outside as the two threaded the flag poll through the doors handles.

"That won't hold them long." Bodie cautioned as they backed away from the door.

"Then we better get going." Rae grumbled and rushed through the halls, heading straight for the library. She pulled the door closed behind them and Bodie rammed a chair under the handle. "Watch the door, I'll get the call out."

Bodie nodded and got on one knee for better stability, sight trained on the door. Rae slid into the terminals chair and activated it. She logged in and thanked her stars that her codes still worked. It didn't take her long to put the address in and place the phone call over the extranet. "Please answer, please answer." She chanted as the call rang. She could faintly hear footsteps out in the hall and knew time would be short.

The call picked up and Rae received a sleepy answer, "Commander Anderson, do you have any clue what time it is?"

"Sir I'm sorry but this is very important."

Anderson engaged the video feed and blinked sleepily at the screen. "Shepard? What's going on?"

"No time sir. We need help on Mindoir. Batarians…" Rae jumped as something rammed into the library door. She looked over her shoulder as Bodie fired through the doors window, receiving howls in pain. "Send help."

Anderson was already up and moving, putting information through his Omni tool. "Helps on the way Shepard, but it's going to be a couple of days before we can reach orbit. Stay alive Shepard, you hear me?"

Rae nodded, "I'll try sir, but no promises."

She didn't even bother logging off. Jumping up, she ran over to Bodie and added her own gun fire. They broke through the door but was stupid enough to come at them through the choke point. With each squeeze of the trigger Rae became accustomed to the recoil. The bodies piled up until they stopped coming through.

"Stupid fuckers," Bodie chuckled and stood, rubbing his sore shoulder. "Is help coming?"

Rae nodded and glanced at the terminal behind her. Anderson was gone, but the screen was still on. "Let's get back to the others."

The two of them reentered the hall to find that the other's had been busy. They had piled furniture against the door and blocked the windows. Someone had broken through the shock and got smart in their absence. On their way back, Rae had insisted they raid the grocer. They carried back as much water and food as they could without weighing them down but it wasn't enough. Rae now stood guard at the door, relieving the two boys. Bodie came over and pressed an energy bar and a bottle of water into her hands. "You need to eat and drink."

Rae shook her head and gave it back to him. "I'm fine." It wasn't true. Her biotics were eating her from the inside out, but she knew how to control it. She could go a few days but it would soon become a large problem.

Bodie frowned and uncapped the bottle. "At least get some water in you. The last thing you had was popcorn and soda at the movies, that was hours ago."

The sun was just peeking through the windows, casting beams of light through the barricades. She lost count of the hours she had spent on her feet. Taking the water, she drank half of it without stopping.

"Give the rest to one of the kids." Rae insisted and handed the bottle back. He left her and Rae shook her head, freeing it of the cobwebs. She needed a proper meal and sleep but it would be a long time until she could get either. It would only be a matter of time before the Batarians came looking for them and she needed a plan. Her mind went over everything she learned at the academy and everything told her to get the civilians out. But that would mean taking them out in the open with little to no guard. So they had to stay here and wait for help.

The doors shook violently and Rae snapped to attention. People screamed behind her and she turned to hush them, seeing Bodie already moving through their ranks. The doors shook more as someone cursed outside. They stopped trying to come in but she could hear voices, human voices. "Hey help me!"

A couple of people came to her aid as they cleared the furniture. Rae raised her rifle and signaled them to open the door. Three dirty people stood outside, one held between the other two. She motioned them inside as she guarded their backside. Once everyone was inside, they relocked the doors.

"We need help, he's hurt really bad." The female spoke up as one of the boys from earlier moved to relieve her of her burden. Rae turned back to them and gasped. Ayden was the hurt man, blood seeping from his stomach. There was a rush of motion as Ayden was carried to the center of the room and laid down. He groaned and hissed in pain, eyes opening.

"Hey little sister, happy to see you're okay." He coughed and grinned at her as she knelt beside him.

Rae tore his shirt away and got a better look at the wound. He had two bullet wounds in his gut, death wounds. Without immediate help Ayden was going to slowly bleed to death. She balled up his shirt and press it tight against the wounds. "What happened Ayden? Did you try to be a hero?"

"Had to rescue the damsel didn't I?" He chuckled then groaned in pain.

"Looks more like the damsel saved you old man." Rae smiled at him as she waved for help. The woman that helped him knelt beside her and pressed against the wound. "We have to get the bleeding to stop," Rae whispered to her and received a nod.

"I'm going to get you help Ayden, you hang in there." She stood and headed for the stairs. Bodie caught up with her and grabbed her wrist. "Where are you going?"

"He needs help. There's got to be a doctor left, or a nurse. Someone." Rae clenched her fists and looked over his shoulder at her dieing brother. "I took first aid Bodie. They have a name for that wound. It's called the slow death. Without medical attention he'll bleed to death or die of infection."

"It's light out there Rae. You're half asleep on your feet and you haven't had anything to eat. Going out there is suicide." Bodie tried to talk sense into her, but he knew that look. Her mind was made up.

"I can't stand by and watch another brother die." Rae sobbed out before she could stop herself. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath to calm herself. "Are you coming or staying?"

Bodie frowned and cursed softly, knowing his answer before she even asked. Fetching his rifle the two climbed to the roof again.