The Outer Perimeter of the Hudson residence
Amanda Bronson rushed silently through the night, her steps crunching softly in the spread of fallen leaves. She carried her Graal Spike Thrower cradling it in her hand, the squad rushing behind her as she made her way through the forest around the home of the target.
This was her fourth mission, taking out an ambassador and a couple of senators who were beginning to raise questions on some of Soren's mostly secret activities. And now for Hudson, he was public enemy number 2; he was deemed to be more of a threat then an asset for the current government. A reactionary who needed to be silent if humanity hoped to build a new world for itself after the Reaper war. A world of peace and security.
Bronson knew this, and shared in her agreement with the objectives, but ultimately she was just here to do a job, someone said Hudson was a threat, so he was a threat.
Her squad was there to support her and her sniper as they moved in for the kill, or in the event that they failed to storm the compound then kill the Prime Minister that way.
The trees were thick, the night was deep, and their target was somewhere through the trees. They were starting to clear as they were reaching the edge of the forest.
"Alright, set up," She ordered to the sniper.
She got on the scope and looked through the sights scanning the perimeter of the house…and saw a light on in the top room of the household. She smirked behind the scope, look at the unsuspecting idiot, just out enjoying the night are you?
"Alright, get ready." She remarked off hand for the sniper next to her.
The Hudson House
"Sir, you need to get away from the window."
He sighed at the pronouncement from his unofficial 'guard'. One of Shepard's former crew and former mercenary, the universe makes strange bedfellows doesn't it? "Cynthia, if I am going to be assassinated I am going to be assassinated, you can't really stop it can you?"
"We can at least delay it."
He shrugged, "I don't fear for my life, not anymore, if something is going to happen I am damned if I am going to let it control my life."
"Fine," Cynthia said, Hudson saw her cross her arms over her chest.
He smiled gently enjoying his bourbon.
Kodiak Shuttle
Abigail Shepard watched through the open side compartment of the shuttle as it silently shifted over the forest floor below. After dropping the team off on the ground she decided to do a self-check on the perimeter, looking for anyone who could be a threat. The pitch darkness certainly didn't help.
'Heads up Captain!" Cortez reported in the cockpit, "We've got life signs down there!"
"Where?!" Abby swiveled around to look at the pilot.
"Right around the perimeter on the edge, they got a clear line to the Hudson house hold!"
Abigail's eyes widened, knowing exactly where Hudson was standing right now.
"Cynthia, get Hudson out of there you have shooters in the trees! Ashley, Cameron, heads up, on your feet people."
She turned to Garrus, "Get ready!...Cortez put us on the deck!"
"Right away."
The Hudson House.
Cynthia heard the warning blare out in her com link and leapt to motion, she reached for Hudson springing forward and dragging him down as a shot rang through the air, slamming into the plate glass windows he was standing behind, and shattering them dramatically.
Using her body to cover the former Prime Minister she got her Black Widow off her back port and fired down into the night, towards the general direction of where she thought the shots was coming from.
The Perimeter
Amanda Bronson's smile dissolved into a scowl, the assassination had failed someone had wrenched Hudson out of the sight picture as her sniper had fired, saving his life. Then before she could reacquire a Kodiak swooped in low over the trees heading for the landing pad. Matters continued to complicate as three shots from the house slammed through the trees and the dirt around them, forcing them to duck for cover.
So they have a sniper up there and it looks like Shepard has arrived…good maybe we can get all of them.
Before she could follow through on the idea though, she heard crunching off to her side.
…
Cameron Shepard rushed through the trees where the shots came from, following his new squad leader Ashley Williams…damn it's going to take me a while getting used to that idea, but that was not anything new about his current situation.
After all everyone in this universe was the same, though slightly different. He was a she, Ashley was now commanding the Normandy…like in his universe, but he still had to get used to the idea of actually serving under her. And apparently Shepard had taken in a mercenary soldier into her crew and used her to bring down a vile criminal conspiracy.
It is certainly a lot to get used to.
The Black Widow shots had rung out and Ashley led the squad in the general direction they came from. Cameron followed on the left leaving Paul to cover the right.
There! He saw someone dash just up ahead of him, he crouched down and deployed the Revenant. He heard Ashley's Harrier go to life next to him in the distance. We're spread out, He cursed. Probably trying to make sure they got the people responsible for the assassination attempt.
But that was no longer important, what was done was done, as Shepard tried to require his target through the pitch blackness that had descended on the forest. His head swiveled back and forth down one side of the vicinity he saw his target in last, and then down the other side then back down…wait, he rotated his head back through and saw the barrel of a rifle sticking out around the cover.
"We've got targets." He said into the com link.
Before hearing the response he rushed forward, and charged, fazing through the tree and slamming into the man on the other side. He grabbed the target around the neck and slammed him down knocking him cold.
Out of the corner of his eye someone else popped up out of the darkness waving a Typhoon around. He fired spraying the rapid fire bullets at the targets behind him.
Cameron sprang forward, charging again, slamming into his gut. The target swiveled the Typhoon down and around on Cameron's back.
The Vanguard beat him to it flinging himself into a Nova, which launched his opponent into the air, and slammed him into a tree. He slid down its trunk and twitched into unconscious.
His Revenant came up and he sprayed down two more targets, the blaze of fire shooting out in the night, slamming into their chests draining their shields and slamming into their armor.
Ashley came up next to him firing her Harrier into the group of targets, as the rest began to retreat.
Cameron and her traded a look and he was about to say something pithy on victory, but another Kodiak flew in over the forest.
"Shepard, heads up, you have someone coming in for you."
"Lots of people it looks like." Cameron muttered gesturing into the forest.
As they saw a large group of people rush out of the forest.
The Hudson residence
Abigail heard the message and sighed.
"Nice to see you too Abigail." Hudson greeted coming into the room at her.
She smirked, "Not you, the situation just got a lot more precarious and we need to get a move on, but we have to lead them into an ambush because I am willing to bet they brought heavy weapons with them."
"So what's the plan?" Hudson asked.
"Draw them in, and kick their ass." James stated coming into the room with his Harrier wrapped across his chest.
"Basically." Abby agreed.
She rushed to the window and deployed her Black Widow, looking through the scope she watched the rest of the enemy force come in. Rapid fire flashes dotted one side of the forest as Ashley must have been engaging the enemy on the other side.
She went into Adrenaline Rush and lined up her first shot. She fired and the path of the bullet intersected perfectly with the targets head. He fell. She swiveled around and fired a second bullet making a second head shot; a third victim joined the pile. She figured that was all she had time for as she switched the Black Widow out for her Valkyrie, her brand new modified Valkyrie.
She popped off a grenade at one of the staircases coming up into the Hudson house hold, it exploded in the center of the group and took them out.
"Alright where is the best way to get up here?" She asked the former Prime Minister stalking over to him.
"This way." He said.
She followed him out the door and down a flight of stairs, then to the left and down another top of the pavilions overlooking…
"Seriously?" She asked turning to the man.
He shrugged, "They were my mother's and my ex-wife wanted to keep them. I was thinking of getting rid of them but well then I went to public office for the first time and several other things happened in rapid order."
They were a display room full of glass sculptures. Ducks, Eagles, some fat looking guy with a smile on his face, an assortment of clear crystal glass…artwork, of various shapes and sizes. They were mounted on pedestals made out of wood, and glass.
"You don't mind?"
"Well I would rather sell them," A smirk played across his face, "but if you insist then yes make all the mess you want out of the place."
"Good." Abigail went down the stairs, James and Vega stayed on the top, good men.
"Alright, James there, Garrus there," She pointed at the two places she wanted her sharp shooters. "I will be down here helping establish the triangular fire."
"Will do Shepard," Garrus grunted.
She nodded her mind racing, a peal of lightning interrupting her thought process, the rain started to tap against the glass windows. She frowned but couldn't help but think, this should make my job easier.
The alarm went off and she heard a curse and the crunching of breaking glass in the room beyond the hall of glass, these people were not professional soldiers, concerning, she thought but didn't have time to worry about it.
She got behind the doorway arch and leaned against it, making sure her head was covered from the ornate glass window over her head. Captain Shepard calmly made the rest of her preparations under another peel of lightning, placing the flash bangs out of its bag and calmly prepping them. She then made sure her Valkyrie was prepped and ready to go.
As the lightning finished rolling through the air plunging the world into darkness, she heard the first soldier enter the room. Glancing above her cover she noticed him sweep the room clear, and move on in. The next two soldiers quickly followed and mimicked the movements of the leader.
She turned back to her work double checking the arming mechanism on the pair of grenades and took five deep breaths, after the fifth she unleashed them rolling them down the hallway.
The person looked up startled at their appearance, and she ripped her head around the corner and covered it as the grenades exploded in front of them.
They knocked back shielding their eyes and dropping their guns to their sides, the sensors in their eye night vision display not able to keep track of the roller coaster of sensory input knocking through their senses.
Abigail brought the Valkyrie up and unleashed a torrent of bullets slamming into her target and knocking him down.
James and Garrus's weapons broke into action on top of them continuing to eviscerate the targets.
But the bullets from Garrus's Phaeston over shot the target slightly slamming into the pottery above them and around them.
"Hey Vakarian, you forgotten how to shoot?" She teased over the com link.
"Nah," He said humbly, "Just making them feel better about them for walking into an ambush."
She frowned, "Well kill them please."
And sure enough the next burst slammed into its target knocking him into yet another glass sculpture. Shepard's frown only deepened.
The enemy rushed forward, emboldened now that they were in the thick of things, rushing recklessly into the gates of their ambush. But Shepard had to swap out her spent thermal clip for a new one, taking her off the firing line.
The leader of the new group whipped out a Scorpion and pointed it at the over watch, he pulled the trigger five times, launching five blue orbs into it, they exploded dramatically causing a gout of no small flame to rush from the top.
"James!" She yelled into the com link before taking down the potential killer.
She heard coughing on the line, "Relax, you worried about me Lola?"
"Nah," She squeezed the trigger sending two more rounds into the soldier on the right of the doorway across the hall, "I was just concerned about the," Another burst into the gut of the man taking cover across from him, "armor."
She finished off by launching a grenade down the hallway finishing off anyone else who might have been waiting there.
"Uh huh." James grunted.
She waited for a second, trading the thermal clips out again so she had a fresh clip in the chamber. And then…nothing happened. Satisfied she began to get up and lean around the corner gloating, thinking they were likely done, but a spike of alarm ran through her. This was too easy; I wonder what the hell is going on here…in chess only the pawns go first.
"Is it over?" Hudson asked.
"No, get down; in fact, Garrus take him out of here, hold on!"
It made perfect sense.
A white blue burst of energy whumped down the center aisle of the glass museum knocking into the pillars and spilling their contents onto the floor causing them to shatter.
Abigail dove behind the door as the wave hit the window above her causing it to smash and shatter, spilling the glass on top of her.
She glanced back up over the now destroyed window and a man was walking towards her slowly, smoothly, sword in hand, and pistol on the belt marching to her.
She snapped off five quick bursts at him, the man arched into a cartwheel to the left and her bullets went sailing past him, but it kept him busy. The Spectre used the opportunity to retreat rushing up the stairs in a full gain, hoping against hope that Cortez had picked up the second team and would be waiting for her.
Crossing the room where she had run into the former politician and quickly ran through the door onto the pad roof, and the….lack of a Kodiak shuttle.
"Cortez where the hell are you?!" Shepard yelled into her Omni-tool.
"Sorry took some fire at the LZ and had to pull off for a second, but I got the team 2 out and am coming to you."
She heard the door slam open behind her…
"ETA about a couple of seconds," Cortez finished.
Abigail turned around and saw the man come out of the room, and another peel of lightning highlighted his face.
Nathan? She asked shocked, one of her team leaders on the Special Forces mission.
"Acknowledged Cortez," She said into her Omni-tool and yelled over her shoulder, "Keep the Prime Minister secure no matter the cost!" She yelled. "I will buy you time."
"Lola you sure?" James asked.
"Just do what I say Vega Hudson does not die!" She did not wait for an acknowledgement as she rushed forward with her Valkyrie in hand.
Nathan Burke put his head down, twirled his sword down, and also ran expertly over the wet roof. I feel like my feet are about to come out from under me, but she continued on and deployed her Valkyrie again, getting ready.
The Special Forces soldier before her launched into the air, waving the sword around, and launching another blast. It was too late for Abigail to avoid the blast so she braced herself as it slammed into her, stopping her, breaking her back as her shield generator gave out under the assault. But she had no time to get them back and had to ignore it.
She fired her grenade launcher at his feet and Nathan ran through the explosion, his shields flared and failed, but he moved in.
The vanguard waved his arm around and brought the sword up to bash it down on the Captain. She raised her Valkyrie up knocking the sword back, and she raised it up to block the second blow coming down to slash her from head to toe.
Abigail leapt back, keeping the Valkyrie in a defensive posture, considering she was still well within reach of Nathan's swing. Nathan twirled the sword again and came in, stepping in swinging the sword from the hip. Abby slammed the Valkyrie across the blow parrying it easily to one side, and the sword came up in the other. The Spectre slammed it across and forced it out of her way, she looked for an opening, hoping to bring the Valkyrie up into the head, but Nathan was far too quick for her.
He slammed the sharp edge of his sword across the Valkyrie and slashed it apart at the seams, ripping through the metal bindings and cutting the weapon in half, one falling harmlessly to the ground while the stock stayed obediently in her hand.
Her opponent smiled smugly at her as she tossed the rest of the weapon aside. That was James's gift to me…you'll pay for that you ass.
She heard James grunt behind her and heard him rush forward, she held her hand out palm forward while staring Nathan down, and James stopped. They had only one job, and that was to stop Nathan if she failed.
Deploying her Omni-blade and getting out her knife in her hip holster she twirled it around and got into a defensive posture holding the tool pointing at Nathan, the orange blaze of light sizzling in the rain, her armor dripping with water, the knife pointed out towards the air.
Nathan took the challenge and charged at her, swinging the sword in a sweeping arc, coming at her waist. She brought the tool around in a blaze of light parrying the blow out of the way with a metal snap and crackle.
The sword came up as Nathan twirled in the air, Abigail quickly brought her hands up in an X catching the blade between knife and Omni-blade, Nathan pushed down and Abigail grunted under the pressure, her hair soaking now with a mingle of sweat and rain.
She desperately looked for a way to get the monster off of her, and looked down, she slammed her foot into Nathan's ankle causing him to gasp and stumble, she pushed off on him and rolled backwards, slashing out with her blade aiming for his head closer to the now waiting Kodiak, waiting for me. She looked up at Nathan and saw him gratefully bleeding.
Her opponent did not give her the time or the space to move, he came on stronger again, slamming his hand into the side of her head nearly knocking her silly, and then knocking the sword into her arm causing her to drop the knife.
The whirlwind continued, never relenting as Nathan knocked into her. She tried to rebound holding her Omni-blade up, trying to knock it down into Nathan's head, but he intercepted her hand and with his, pinning her there, then in a blur of motion turned around to where his back was facing her front….
She instinctively maneuvered to the side giving her precious wiggle room…
But the blade came in and slashed through her, her eyes widened with the sudden burst of flame slamming through her entire body, but quickly numbing her. She felt her eyes close, the world going into a blur of dark colors, she fell to her knees, tried to breathe, her breath came hard…and she fell sprawling on the concrete roof of the Hudson house, her hair spilling below her, her vision blurry.
All she heard was a signal distinct "Abigail!" Through the night.
…
James Vega knew what she had done, knew why she had done it, but he could not bring himself to give the order. Even though it was not his responsibility, everyone seemed to wait for him to make a decision.
But he could not do it, his heritage, his DNA, the very fiber of his being screamed for him to not do what he had to do…what the woman wanted him to do.
And now he couldn't, not anymore, not as he saw her fall limply, the ground turning a shocking red as she laid there.
He heard his voice cry out for her, felt his weapon come up, but he was not conscious, all it was simple instinct, ingrained actions, love and duty performing in a semi perfect, but mostly disordered manner to protect the woman he loved.
The Harrier shook in his hand, the dull report of the weapon knocking back to him. He felt Garrus and maybe Cameron open fire next to him. Abigail's…Assassin? No we don't know that yet.
But regardless the man took the first couple of bullets and grunted, he held his arm up making a biotic field, but he quickly retreated flipping over the side of the building.
No longer a threat, James grunted to himself, quickly moving on the thought to secure the fallen Captain.
"Garrus!" He rushed forward, his hair a soaking mess.
The Turian rushed forward with him picking up on his intention, they reached their fallen friend, and lover, and glanced at each other. He picked her limp…body?...up under the armpit and the Turian grabbed the other as they heaved her towards the shuttle.
The sound of an opening door made him shoot his head around; more soldiers were coming up the stairwell, waving their assault rifles and SMGs.
"Cameron!" He yelled out.
The other Shepard marched forward toting his Revenant and laced a blaze of fire into the night, forcing the other soldiers to take cover and knocking the first two down.
Vega rushed onto the shuttle heaving Abigail up, laid down a burst, as Cortez pulled into orbit, the enemy leaving a trail of fire behind them.
"Abigail!" He yelled again reaching for her, his hand moved to her neck after a seconds pause, "Still alive," He remarked taking one moments breath.
"But she is not going to stay that way long Lieutenant!" Ashley said.
James nodded at her. The second human Spectre's Omni-tool blazed out, and she waved it over Captain Shepard, applying medi-gel.
"What the?" Ashley's eyes widened.
"What? What is it?" Vega hissed trying to keep his voice calm.
"It's not working, the bleeding won't stop!"
"What, what do we do?" James looked around.
"Hold the wound," Ashley said her hand also reaching for it, "Here Cameron help us get her out of her armor!"
Expertly the three separate hands descended on Shepard's armor, trying to strip it off, piece by piece, racing to all the release points and all the seams, slowly it came off and they tossed the armor aside manically. They then went back to it, grabbing at her under vest and trying to hold down to her abdomen.
Ashley reached up with a bloody hand for the side of the shuttle and pressed down on the com button. "Team to Normandy, get Chakwas on the line!"
"What is it Commander?" Chakwas's voice drifted over the com as her small face appeared in the screen.
"Doctor prepare the sick bay we have casualties incoming!"
"Who is it?" She said sounding fearful and somewhat annoyed.
Ashley and James traded a look, both of them still trying to claw at Shepard's wound.
"It's Shepard."
Chakwas paused for a second, "I will prepare the infirmary."