A/N: It's taken a little bit, but I've managed to start the battle over the Presidium. In regards to a few thoughts to the last chapter, Tarak had told Alex the new additions to the plan during the 'cutscenes' that were present. Telling him all of that believing that the warehouse explosion would be enough to kill him.
Also, I know it seems that Alex is a bit unstoppable. But you have to remember, and to those who have never played Crysis before, the Nano Suit is incredibly powerful. And if someone could use it's features at the right moment in time they could be just as unstoppable.
But the suit doesn't make the wearer invincible. Just harder to kill. Anyone can safely bet that the suit wouldn't be able to withstand a full blast from a Reaper's main weapon no matter how strong it is.
Anyway, the fight for the Presidium starts now! (I own nothing)
The Presidium was in complete chaos. Gunfire and explosions ripped through the air as C-Sec and the Blue Suns fought in urban warfare throughout the entire sector.
With the power down no one could get inside the the Citadel Tower to learn of the situation with the council and ambassadors that were trapped inside. Their only protection being two squads of C-Sec officers and a handful of Spectres that had been called back due to the threat of an attack.
Several gunships flew through the air raining heavy machine gun fire and rockets down onto the combatants below while dropships kept depositing more mercs at key locations.
Contact with the Citadel fleet was useless. Until someone could reach the communications control center within the tower they had no idea what was going on in the station. And every time some one attempted to enter the tower they were gunned down by mercs that had already managed to get inside undetected.
The rest of the Citadel saw and heard the fighting going on. News networks were reporting about the attack non-stop while people all over the station were infront of a terminal or on their omni-tools, praying that the fighting would soon come to an end and the Blue Suns stopped.
X
Chellick dropped another merc before going back into cover to let his overheated assault rifle to cool down. Garrus fired two shots with his sniper rifle before doing the same. "They're all over the sector! The comm channels are so chaotic no one knows what to do!" he shouted before drawing a pistol and shooting another merc that was trying to flank them.
"We need a plan. They'll overwhelm us sooner or later." said Chellick standing back up and firing a volley of rounds at a group of mechs that were closing in on them.
A C-Sec officer next to them went down with several bullet wounds in his chest. "SHIT!" Chellick shouted crawling over to the downed man. "He's dead, dammit!" He leapt up and took down the merc that killed the officer.
Garrus aimed down the scope of his sniper rifle and sighted a merc with his own rifle on the edge of a rooftop. The Turian squeezed the trigger and the merc's head exploded in a bloody mist before collapsing off of the roof.
"This is Executor Pallin, any and all C-Sec officers not defending key locations are to pull back to the rendezvous point outside the Citadel Tower." "What good will that do? We can't get inside with those assholes in there." said Ivan firing his shotgun over the low wall he was behind.
"No, but that's a damn good plan." said Garrus getting everyone's attention. "If we can retake the tower and get to the control room, the fleet can move in and help us with these bastards." he explained.
"It's a good plan, but how the hell are we going to get inside the tower with the power out for the whole sector?" asked one of the officers with them.
"The tower runs off of it's own personal power conduit. But we'd have to take the stairs since the elevators inside were all destroyed." said Chellick as he took down another LOKI mech.
Garrus nodded, "We got a plan, now all we have to-GUNSHIP!" he shouted as the aerial unit hovered in the air and began firing on them. "Get inside now!" Garrus ordered as they all ran for cover in a nearby store.
One officer was cut down brutally in the hail of gunfire behind them before he could make the door. "FUCK!" shouted Ivan slumping down behind the counter. "We're fucked guys. They got air units, ground units, mechs. We're totally and utterly fucked!"
"Shut the FUCK UP IVAN!" Chellick roared silencing all seven officers around him. "We are Citadel Security. It's our god damn job to make sure this station is safe for the innocent. I don't care if they got a fucking Dreadnought barring down on us, I will not just roll over and die like that."
The room fell silent, the distant sounds of combat from outside filled the air. "He's right." said Garrus finally. "Like it or not. It's our job to ensure the safety of the public. And we're going to see this through to the end."
Before anything else could be said, Chellick's omni-tool started ringing. "Yeah?" he asked answering it.
"It's me. What's the situation on the ground?" came Maverick's filtered voice shocking everyone. "Hell. Blue Suns got us boxed in all over the sector. Backups coming in from other departments across the Citadel but it'll take time for them to get here." replied Chellick.
"And the tower?" "Mercs managed to get inside before the explosives went off and we can't get in. He haven't received word on the councilors and ambassadors, they must be maintaining radio silence with what resistance they have with them inside." said the detective."
The other end of the call was silent for a moment, "You guys have a plan of attack down there?"
"We need to retake the tower and get to the control room, contacting the fleet is the only way for us to get the manpower and firepower we need to take back the sector." said Chellick.
"I'm en route and I'll be coming in hard. Meet me at the base of the tower. We'll take these bastards down."the call ended. Chellick looked up at all of the shocked and confused faces looking at him. "Maverick was the one who gave me the intel on the attack. He's been trying to stop this from happening this whole time."
"Then what the hell happened?" asked one of the officers as he kept his eyes trained outside the store for hostiles.
"He's never failed yet, something must have changed. If he's coming here then we're getting one hell of an ally." said Chellick as they slipped out the back of the shop and began to make their way toward the Citadel tower.
"How can you trust him so easily? What makes you think he'll even help us at all?" asked Garrus stiffly.
Chellick shot him a look, "I just do. And so should you. This whole time we've been running around trying to catch him, he's been doing everything he can to figure out what the mercs had been up to and protecting the people of the station."
"We should have looked harder in what he was up to instead of the way he went about doing it. Now look around." the Turian said motioning to all the destruction. "Now we're paying the price for not investigating what we should have been."
He looked at the officers and gripped his rifle, "And I don't know about you guys, but given what he's done so far I do trust him. And right now we need all the help we can get."
X
Alexander 'Maverick' Drake
Enroute to Citadel Tower
November 25, 07:10 hours
"Traffic to and from the Presidium Sector has been terminated with the power outage. C-Sec is suffering casualties all throughout the area with reports of heavy Blue Sun units moving in to take further control" reported Prophet as Alex flew the skycar closer to the Citadel tower.
"And the tower itself? Any radio traffic from inside?" he asked as he entered the darkened skies of the Presidium Commons.
"Mercenary units within the tower have not located the councilors or the ambassadors. The guard units protecting the interior are maintaining radio silence to avoid detection." replied the AI.
In the center of the sector the large tower marking the capital of the Citadel was still lit up. A couple of fires could be seen on a couple of floors, most likely from the fighting that had been taking place inside.
"Warning: Hostile Threats Detected." Alex looked out the side windows and saw two merc gunships moving in to flank him on either side. "Shit." he muttered pushing the controls and causing the skycar to go into a dive. The two aerial units went after him with their weapons firing trying to take him down.
The vehicle swerved left as heavy machine gun fire peppered the side of the building it went around. One of the gunships fired a rocket that Alex had just barely moved the car out of the way as it detonated against another building blowing several chunks off.
"I can't shake these guys in this thing." Alex muttered trying to stay one step ahead of the mercs trailing him. Activating his visor, he scanned the space between the buildings ahead looking for structural weaknesses that could give him an edge.
A holographic billboard in between the buildings ahead was highlighted, the supports for it marked with waypoints, "Oh this is gonna hurt." Alex said jerking the skycar right and smashing into one of the supports and speeding away.
The display buckled before it began to collapse. The lead gunship attempted to steer around it but caught it's left wing and sheared it off the edge of the billboard, the unit spun wildly before hitting the side of one of the buildings and crashing to the ground below.
While the lead gunship crashed, the second managed to get out of the way in time and kept up the chase. It's machine gun powered up and firing on the vigilante.
Rounds peppered the back of the car causing smoke and a little bit of fire to billow out of the compartment where the engine was housed. "Gotta get out of the air." Alex said looking down toward the ground through the cracked window.
"Prophet, find me a good landing zone." The visor lit up, several units down below were lit up red marking Blue Suns, others marked blue for C-Sec personnel. Several blocks away a small group of officers were pinned down by a squad of mercs and two YIMR mechs.
The gunship behind him fired it's machine gun hitting the rear end of the skycar causing it to sputter. "Vehicle Damage Critical." said Prophet as a display of the skycar appeared on the HUD with the entire engine section blinking red. "No other choice then!" Alex shouted over the warning alarms within the car.
He shoved the controls forward and had the car go into a dive toward the street.
X
Chellick, Garrus and the rest of their group were hunkered down behind a low wall while mercs and YIMR mechs chipped their cover apart with their arsenal. "Any chance we can flank them?" asked Chellick blind firing over his cover.
One of the YIMR mechs opened his rocket launcher arm and fired, blowing a section of wall apart and sending a couple officers flying. The others in their group grabbed the disoriented men and pulled them back into cover before they were ripped apart by gunfire.
Everyone paused when they heard a low screaming noise. Up above, a skycar with it's tail end ablaze with a gunship chasing after it.
The vehicle went into a dive and was aimed straight for the street. "GET DOWN!" Garrus shouted as the skycar struck the ground where the mercs and mechs were stationed, sending bodies and parts flying in every direction.
Standing, the C-Sec officers looked at the wreck. "Who the hell would be crazy enough to pull that off?" asked one of the men.
The door to the driver's side dented outward from something hitting it hard from the inside. The officers had their weapons up just incase as the door was kicked right off the car.
They all lowered they're weapons slowly as the armored form of Maverick climbed out of the car with an assault rifle drawn. A merc laying prone on the ground attempted to crawl to a shotgun laying nearby when the vigilante put a round through the back of his helmeted head.
"Nice of you to drop in." said Chellick as the group approached him slowly. Maverick shrugged, "Looked like you could use a hand." he said in his filtered voice making all of them, save for Chellick and Garrus, shiver at the cold monotone way it sounded.
Garrus looked up, "They're taken care of, but what about THAT!" he shouted, pointing at the gunship that had been chasing the vigilante as it drew closer with it's weapons powering up.
Maverick shouldered his Grendel before approaching one of the downed YIMRs. Grabbing the mech's machine gun arm and planting a foot on it's back. "Maximum Power." The vigilante pulled, the sound of metal groaning and crunching could be heard before the arm was ripped from the dead mech's body.
Turning, Maverick hefted the large gun in his hands as he aimed at the incoming gunship. Even though the weapon was now separate from the rest of the unit, it was still able to fire because it possessed it's own small power unit.
Powering it up, the vigilante fired the heavy rounds right into the merc air unit. Tearing through it's armor and shattering the cockpit in seconds, causing it to lose control and crash into the ground in a ball of fire before coming to rest several feet in front of him.
The group of officers looked at the sight slack-jawed, "Did anyone else just see that?" asked Ivan not believing it. "We all did. Who or what the hell is this guy?" asked another officer feeling a little nervous being in the same area as the vigilante.
Maverick tossed the now overheated heavy gun aside before approaching the squad. "Where's the rest of C-Sec?" he asked quickly looking around the area.
"The Executor's set up a makeshift command center close to the Citadel tower. He's been trying to find a way inside since the attack started." said Chellick. The vigilante looked back at him, "Civilians?" "Escorted out of the area before the attack, or held up in safe houses all across the sector." replied the detective.
The distant sound of a firefight drew they're attention to the south. "This is Executor Pallin, are there any squads located in the Presidium South?" came Pallin's voice over the comm. "Executor, it's Vakarian. We're in the area what's going on?" asked Garrus.
"One of the shelters housing civilians is under attack. The C-Sec personnel in the area are suffering casualties and are requesting back up, can you assist?"
Maverick brought up his omni-tool and a map of the Presidium Commons. The location of the safe house highlighted along with the Citadel tower. "You guys head to the tower. I'll give them a hand." he said heading in the direction of the shelter.
"Hold it!" Shouted Garrus making the vigilante pause. "This is strictly a C-Sec matter, and the last time I checked your on the wanted list."
Maverick looked at him, his face unreadable behind his helmet. "I don't take orders from you. And from the looks of things you could use all the help you can get." he said before activating his cloak and vanishing from sight.
Garrus growled and made to go after him when Chellick grabbed his arm. "He's right. They need us at the tower, he can handle the safe house and meet back up with us."
Shrugging out of the grip, Garrus spun on his friend. "How the hell can you trust this man so easily? Do you remember what he's done in the last few months?"
Chellick growled, "Yeah, I do. And so should you. He's trying to help us and all your doing is condemning him. If he was with the mercs he would have dropped that damn skycar on us instead of them."
The other detective didn't have a response to the statement. "Despite what we may have thought in the beginning, he really has tried to do the best for the Citadel. We need to give him this chance. And he's right, we need all the help we can get." said Chellick resting a hand on his shoulder.
After a long moment, Garrus sighed and nodded. "Fine. But when this is all over I'll have a lot of questions for him. And you, don't forget that." he said leering at his fellow Turian.
Chellick nodded back before they all began to head toward the tower.
X
Alex moved quickly along the nearly deserted streets. Taking down any and all mercs in his path as he headed for the safe house. "Prophet, what's the situation in the comm channels?" he asked taking down a Blue Sun sniper on a nearby rooftop.
"Casualties reported on both sides. Additional C-Sec units are responding to provide aid. The situation with the Citadel tower remains the same." replied the AI.
"We have got to get in contact with the fleet. These guys won't last long with the firepower the Blue Suns are dishing out." Alex said before tossing a grenade into a nearby store and taking out a small group of mercs that were held up inside.
"Communication with Citadel fleet is too distant for current radio transmissions. Access to Citadel Control is the only way to contact the fleet." Alex cursed mentally as he snuck up behind two mercs that were stationed on the outside of an alley. Stabbing one in the throat before pulling out a Hammer and shooting the other in the head.
The civilian safe house was two blocks away and the sounds of a gun battle could be heard clearly. Alex leapt up onto a nearby building's window ledge, leaping a few more times to get to the roof before running and leaping onto another.
Standing on the edge of a department store's rooftop, the vigilante observed the situation below.
The remaining C-Sec personnel were holed up inside a fortified building keeping the mercs back. The Blue Suns had them outnumbered 3 to 1 at least. The officers only had assault rifles and pistols while the mercs were hitting them with rockets, grenades and heavy weapon fire.
"They won't last long with that much firepower around them." said Alex as he tagged all of the mercs with his visor. There were three squads of seven making 21 total. There were two men with grenade launchers and one with a rocket launcher in each group. He highlighted them as high priority as he drew his bow. "Tactical Options Available."
Drawing three explosive arrows, he fired one right into the first group of mercs. The man with the rocket launcher fell to the ground startling the rest of the group. Alex hit the detonator causing the dead man to explode and send his pals flying back from the blast.
The vigilante quickly fired the other two arrows, hitting the heavy armed mercs in the other groups and blowing them apart, at the same time dealing severe collateral damage to the surrounding mercs. Making a powerful distraction and giving the C-Sec officers valuable time to regroup.
Drawing his Grendel, he dropped to street level. Forming a small crater in the ground on impact as he opened fire on the now scattered mercs.
Several fell dead to the ground before they realized what was happening. When Alex stopped to reload the mercs began shooting at him. "Maximum Armor." The rounds bounced off of the nano suit's heavy weave. The men with grenade launchers fired on him, the explosives missing as the Post-Human soldier's quick reflexes ducked and dodged around them as he charged them.
The butt of the Grendel slammed into the head of the first merc, shattering the visor of his helmet and dropping him. Alex spun on his heel and gunned down a Turian merc trying to flank him. He leaned back as another grenade flew past his face. Shouldering the rifle, he quickly drew one of his Hammers and emptied the clip into the grenadier.
Reloading, he drew his second pistol and fired in separate directions as more rounds bounced off of his suit.
"Energy Depleted." Alex looked at the bottom right corner of his HUD and saw the energy meter flashing red. Cursing, the soldier sprinted out of the way of oncoming fire and into the safe house where the officers were treating their wounded.
"Holy shit...Maverick?" asked a familiar voice.
Alex looked up and saw Bailey looking back at him wide eyed. "Officer Bailey."he said standing back up as his energy meter refilled.
"What are you doing here?" he asked as the vigilante observed the room he was in. The building was that of a technology shop, C-Sec had built shelters under several buildings within various wards just incase something like this happened.
"Assisting where I can. Pallin called for someone to give you back up." Alex replied. "What's the situation?"
Gunfire chipped away at the windows as they all ducked into cover. "Lost half our group trying to hold this place. Civilians are down below in the shelter. More C-Sec are on the way but we can't hold with what their throwing at us." said Bailey.
Alex peered over the cover. He'd managed to take out over half of the mercs leaving only about 8 firing on them. "How many of you are there?" he asked the veteran officer.
"Only five, three are wounded and being looked after by a few nurses down in the shelter." Bailey replied.
The sound of a dropship made everyone tense up. Outside, a large crate fell from the sky and unfolded into a YIMR mech. "Oh great." muttered Bailey readying his pistol for the next wave.
Alex rested his hand on the older man's shoulder. "You and your men stay down. Protect the civilians and the wounded. I got these guys." he said standing up. "You can't take these guys alone." said Bailey going to stand with him.
The vigilante shook his head and made him sit back down, "Your men and these people need you. I can handle myself." he said activating his cloak and leaping out the window. The YIMR was firing it's chaingun on the building while the mercs picked up where they left off. One of the mercs hung back and was tapping his earpiece in an attempt to call backup.
Alex drew his bow again and shot a regular arrow. Piercing the man's throat and dropping him silently leaving his comrades none the wiser. While still cloaked, he scooped up a dropped grenade launcher while grabbing a grenade from his pack.
Flanking the mercs' position. He waited for the right moment before throwing the primed explosive at the large mech and knocking it forward a step. He came out of his cloak and emptied the drum magazine into the Blue Sun's ranks. Their armor and kinetic barriers unable to stop the explosive rounds as they blew them apart.
The YIMR turned around slowly and swung one of it's massive arms at it's new target. Alex stepped back and activated his cloak. The Mech began firing wildly in all directions in an attempt to hit the invisible target.
An explosion went off against it's back sending it crashing to the ground as Alex reappeared with his bow out.
As the large mech struggled to get back up, Alex replaced his bow with the Jackel and walked onto it's back. Putting two rounds in the back of it's head causing it to shudder before shutting down completely.
The whole area was quiet for a few moments before cheers erupted from the shelter. Looking back, Alex saw the C-Sec officers and a few civilians standing by the window and doors having watched the vigilante take the mercs apart.
Alex approached the shelter after making sure all his weapons were reloaded. "Can you hold out until backup gets here?" he asked Bailey.
The veteran officer nodded, "Yeah, thanks to you." He looked at the vigilante, "A lot of people are wrong about you. It takes a lot of guts to come out here and help out like your doing."
Alex nodded, "Just doing my part Bailey. C-Sec needs every available hand to stop all of this. And I intend on making sure these assholes pay for what they've done."
Bailey smirked, "Where are you off too now son?" he asked.
The vigilante looked off toward the Citadel tower, "I'm going to help the rest of C-Sec take back the tower. And put an end to this madness." he looked back at the large group, his sharp eyes seeing a familiar Asari and her small child watching him with wide eyes. The very same Asari that he had met his first day on the Citadel.
Everyone looked on as the small Asari slowly approached him, he tiny blue hand grasping his black and silver gauntleted one. "Can you stop this?" she asked quietly.
Alex's larger hand gently closed around the little girls'. "I will, I promise." the group gasped hearing his voice unfiltered. Bailey recognized the voice almost immediately, "Alex?" he asked in a state of shock.
The vigilante regarded him for a moment before he turned and began walking away. His cloak activating as he vanished into thin air.
X
Chellick
Base of Citadel Tower - Presidium
November 25, 2180 - 08:03 hours
Chellick looked around him. The makeshift command center Pallin had set up used to be a weapon's shop a few blocks away from the Citadel Tower. The weapons now being used by C-Sec personnel as they fought back against the Blue Suns.
The Executor was leaning over a table overlooking a map of the vicinity around the tower as he started planning out how to get a strike team inside without detection.
Garrus went to the roof with a few other snipers and were doing recon of the area while picking off as many mercs as they could find.
So far it was a standstill. With so many units scattered around the sector engaged against Blue Sun forces they didn't have the man power to storm the tower by force. Cruisers were in the air along with a few of their own gunships fighting against the mercs gun and dropships that were patrolling the skies.
"There's a few service tunnels that lead into the basement of the tower." said Pallin highlighting the tunnels. "If we can get a strike team in there and reach the control room, we can get ahold of the fleet to help provide support."
Tela Vasir had been leaning against the wall close by. She'd thrown her hat into the ring and taken down several squads of Blue Suns when the attack started. Only three Spectres had managed to get back to help with defending the Presidium. Her two colleagues were still inside the tower, most likely with the council and making sure that they were safe.
"Good plan. But the mercs will have either rigged the tunnels to blow or have them guarded from entry." said the Asari Spectre approaching the table.
"She's right." said Chellick walking up to the table. "We don't have the firepower to just punch through. We need an infiltration team to make us an opening." he said looking over the tunnel.
"Maybe I can help."
Everyone in the room had their weapons up or biotics flaring as Maverick materialized out of the shadows in the corner. "Maverick." Pallin growled keeping his pistol leveled on him. "You've got a lot of nerve to be showing up here."
The vigilante tilted his head slightly. "I'm not the enemy Executor. And I just got done securing the civilian safe house in the Presidium South, so you have nothing to worry about."
Vasir scoffed, "Likely story. How do we know your not working for the mercs?" Maverick shot her a look and clenched his fist lightly. "If your striving for a remach Spectre, it'll have to wait until these Blue Sun assholes are dealt with." he said coldly making the Asari's eyes narrow.
The officers, save for Chellick, had their weapons trained on the soldier. "Executor," said one of the techs monitoring radio traffic, "We just got word from the safe house in the Presidium South. Bailey says Maverick saved them from being overrun and took down all the mercs in the area. Backup just arrived and they say they can hold with no problems now."
Everyone relaxed slightly, some of the personnel lowering their weapons completely. Pallin looked at the vigilante with a calculating expression, "Whose side are you on Maverick?" he asked keeping his sidearm leveled on his head.
"I don't have a side. I fight to protect those that need protecting." said the vigilante. "I'm no hero, I've killed. I've destroyed. I've sacrificed to get the job done to make sure that innocent people are safe."
The whole room was in a state of silence, many not believing what they were hearing from the man they were told to hunt. Maverick kept his gaze on the Executor through his visor. "The Suns need to be stopped. I'm going to make sure they're brought down, whether you like it or not I'm helping you." he said approaching the table and looking it over.
Pallin lowered his sidearm as the vigilante's omni-tool flared. The tunnel network that went under the tower highlighted, two tunnels in particular lead directly into the basement level of the tower. "These two tunnels lead directly into the tower. Both will be guarded since the mercs have control of the lower levels. They're fighting resistance on the upper floors, if the councilors and the handful of ambassadors are still in one piece they'll be up there."
Vasir approached the table and pointed to a level halfway up the tower. "The council has their own safe room here. Designed to withstand a lot of punishment incase something like this were to happen. They'll be there, along with the other political heads that were inside."
Maverick looked to her before looking back at the map of the tower. "My cloaking ability is undetectable. I can get in and give your people the opening they need." he said to Pallin. "I can also secure the control room and ensure the council is protected."
The Executor cast him a glance, "Can we trust you?" he said dead serious. "We're out of options, the mercs have us outgunned. And without support we can't beat them." he shook his head. "And if they gain control of the stations arms we're in trouble."
Several seconds passed before Maverick deactivated his omni-tool and headed to the door. "Whether you trust me or not doesn't matter. I will make sure you have that opening. When it happens...rain hell on these bastards." he headed out into the hallway, C-Sec officers parting like the red sea as he passed them and made for the exit.
"Your crazy. You do know that right?" The vigilante paused, looking over his shoulder to see Chellick approaching him.
"Too many people have died already. I started this, I'm going to finish it." said Alex with conviction. The Turian nodded, "Good luck out there Alex."
The Post-Human soldier nodded back before activating his cloak. Chellick shook his head, there had been too much death and destruction in the last two hours. They needed to put a stop to this before things got a lot worse.
He was putting a lot of trust in his Human friend. And Spirits help him if he should happen to fail.
A/N: Many of you were probably expecting a lot more fighting in this chapter. But with C-Sec and the Blue Suns at war all over I just wanted to focus on Alex, Chellick and Garrus for the most part. The next chapter will be Alex storming the Citadel Tower and kicking a shit load of ass.
There will also be a couple of guest appearances that will make everyone's day. Review at your leisure, and I'll update quick. I'm on a roll and I don't intend to stop now!