Omega
Captain Abigail Shepard moved quickly through the airlock door as it opened on a hallway inside Omega's twisting labyrinth. Valkyrie out, eyes peeled looking for any threat, ears pounding to the crescendo of the battle, but it sounded distant, far away, they were safe. Garrus and EDI secured the area behind her, watching her blind spots, Garrus moving to close the door as they passed through.
"Alright people, on your toes, we don't know what's in here, or where the bad guys are. We know they have mechs and we all know what those can do."
"Yes, flop around at you going 'hostile presence detected' and generally making good targets for our guns."
Abby smirked at the joke but redoubled the hold on the Valkyrie and advanced forward. Through another door.
When the door cleared they saw a Krogan slumped against the next door frame, lying there, Shepard could make out a pained and grimaced expression, but little else as for identity or purpose. The Krogan weren't really aligned with anyone, but there was no reason to be reckless. They advanced in a line, pointing their weapons in the general direction of the figure. Closer and closer.
"Kurl?" Abigail said taking her Valkyrie off the target and pointed it out skyward.
"Shepard," The Krogan Warlord breathed out.
Shepard secured her weapon to its port and leaned down on her heals towards him, "Hang on, let me get you medi-gel."
The Krogan began choking and spluttering, a smile slowly spreading across his lips. "No, it's too late for that. The Pyjack who was shooting me had modded rounds, hopefully he's the only one, or one of the only ones…medi-gel won't work believe me I tried." He hacked and blood spluttered up a bit.
Abigail nodded somberly, "I don't know what to say, and anything I can do for you? Do you have family out there I can contact?"
The Krogan hissed and tried to look her in the eye, "No, nothing, no one, just me."
"I'm sorry."
He eyed her, "for me dying? Don't be, it's a good death…or are you upset that I am dying here and you are forced to admit you were wrong about me?"
She gasped and brought up a grin, feeling a solitary tear slowly making its way down her cheek, "Yeah, it doesn't happen often."
He chuckled, "Well, then I can die a happy Krogan." He closed his eyes, and Abby wondered if she should leave, if he was dead, she began to get up and started as he grumbled out, "We are so much alike, you and I, maybe not in the past but your defeat of me changed, my outlook, my place in the universe. Made me find a cause, this miserable station."
"Oh?" Shepard asked.
The Krogan nodded, and glared at her, "Is it so hard to believe that I could change? That you taught me a lesson when you defeated me? About humility and loyalty?"
She bit her lip, "Maybe, but you left Tuchanka, when the Krogan needed you."
He grunted, "The Krogan didn't need me, and I was stifled there, I needed to find my own path, away from people. Alone."
"Carving out your own little empire?" Abigail bit sarcastically and disgustedly.
"No, just to be left alone, where I could live in freedom and chart my own destiny, and hopefully encourage others in the attempt. That I could give meaning to people who lost it in the war, and that they could give me meaning, and together we could live in freedom. Is that so bad?"
She started and choked on her words, "no, no it isn't."
"Then take care Abigail Shepard, find the freedom, find your own destiny, for the both of us." Kurl stated, closing his eyes, and leaning back.
Abby glared down at him, "Good bye Kurl, and find peace in whatever gods you believe, wherever your soul may go."
She straightened and moved to join her companions, and sniffed, "Come on people, let's go."
She led them through an open door at the end of the corridor, towards the sounds of battle.
Normandy
Ashley Williams gritted her teeth as the Normandy pulled another radical evasive maneuver, slicing through the defenses and battle lines of the fleet, firing for the few seconds she could establish a target lock on an enemy ships as they flew past.
Omega's defensive batteries were now fully invested in the battle, the Freedom Fleet, I should come up with a better name, had drawn the forces representing tyranny and oppression into Omega's defensive envelope and the station was taking pot shots at enemy vessels.
One of them flashed past the Normandy's hull as it completed its maneuver, nearly scorching them, causing a Cruiser behind them to ripple and explode.
"EDI, what've we got?" Ashley asked glaring towards the cockpit.
"The 'enemy' forces are attempting to engage the 'friendly' forces in ever closing ranges, almost point blank, using our forces to shield them from Omega's powerful defensive batteries. Our forces are trying to pull back and maneuver firing their fusillades to try and disable the enemy. Right now it appears the Super Dreadnaught is staying out of this fight with a pair of Cruisers as escort." The AI reported in her matter of fact not stressed out in the least tone.
"Wonderful, so if we have any chance to take them out we also need to take out their-"
Her stomach fell out from under her as the Normandy 'plunged' through space.
"Uh, sorry Commander, but our friend is back." Joker reported.
Ashley instead of giving any obvious orders steeled herself for what she was sure was going to be a long ordeal, gripping onto her station with renewed vigor.
The ship pitched suddenly but Ashley heard a distinct boom and hiss as the limited lighting in the CIC darkened and reoriented itself.
"Laser hit, armor is holding." EDI reported.
Great, Ashley thought.
Omega
Abigail Shepard led the squad out of the service corridors of Omega and onto a main boulevard, a main boulevard in the middle of a pitched battle. Mechs charged rhythmically firing into a crowd of Omega citizens on the right who doubled their efforts and returned the fire.
Abigail snapped the Valkyrie up with incendiary ammo and fired it into the crowd of mechs, moving from left to right along the line, and making sure to put three precise bursts into the chest of the lead of the pack. She finished by tossing a grenade at the feet of the charging mech and it slammed into the chest of the mech, causing the fire to explode and wipe out the first rank. Garrus and EDI joined in, Garrus firing his Phaeston, EDI lanced out with an Incinerate catching one mech and Garrus added a proximity mine causing a second fire explosion ripping through the heart of the enemy ranks.
The mechs were decimated, Abby smiled, she frowned when the first rank was instantly replaced by a second wave of charging synthetics.
"Come on!" She shouted, "We're not here to secure the station we need to find Burke!"
They fell back in order, Shepard using the Valkyrie to keep the mechs somewhat at bay as they opened continued down the hall. Streams of bullets erupted from the skyscrapers into the ranks of mechs, keeping the mechs at bay, keeping them clear, at least for the moment.
Abigail broke from the line running with the Valkyrie across her as Garrus and EDI followed her in. As she was reaching the line a hit across her back bowled her over sprawling her out on the ground, Valkyrie temporarily falling from her gasp. She spun around to face her attacker and found a mech deploying an Omni-blade to cut her off, she ripped the Eagle out of its holster and began to fire, her two squad mates tried, but the things defenses ignored them all. Finally a boom roared out catching the synthetic's head in the blast, then causing it to explode dramatically.
Abigail scrambled away as it fell and retrieved her Valkyrie, and looked around to see a Batarian by a service door waving over at them.
"This way!" She heard him yell out.
She picked herself up and her and the squad moved towards the figure. "Thank you." She said as Garrus filled in around her.
"Sure," the Batarian shrugged, "just trying to save our last best hope and all."
With that he sprung back to the line shotgun booming as he joined his compatriots in trying to hold this major junction of Omega. Shepard gave the battle one last look, I wish I could help them, before closing the door shut behind her and sealing it off.
…
Cameron was forced into a dive away from a blast from Amanda's Spike Thrower and charged into the outstretched arms of a mech who was trying to tackle him, the mech staggered from his force and he fired his Revenant, and then rolled back farther away from the battle spilling more fire covering his retreat.
Nathan, his squad, and his band of mechs were pursuing his squad through the bowels of the station relentlessly. Forcing them to separate on numerous occasions, rally with the other two, and then regroup yet again. Cameron was using every biotic trick up his sleeve, every ounce of his strength, every calorie of his copious Spaghetti eating to gain the advantage. In the tight quarters his Revenant was perfect, but since he was badly outnumbered he had to stay on the move, trying to gain the advantage.
The former Commander was currently with Paul and Cynthia, as they were surrounded by at least ten mechs and Nathan's band of merry marauders. Cynthia was dueling with Nathan a nasty looking gash in her head, and Paul was trying to find a better position to snipe from.
Cameron was jolted out of his tactical analysis as another blast from Amanda's shot gun nearly took his head off, even though his shields. He rolled and launched another pair of throws down range trying to at least give her something else to worry about.
…
This is ridiculous. Paul grunted behind his Valiant as he had destroyed what had to be his fiftieth mech with a precise shot to its head.
The armies of the enemy were pinning them in, over running them, forcing them to use their ammo, dogging them at every turn. Like they had it out for the squad and were using the bare minimum to capture the rest of Omega. It was certainly an effective tactic but not something that he would've expected for a bad ass multi species Special Forces squad, it was they who were supposed to hold down legions of enemy forces, not the other way around. I would like to have seen them on the roof of the Trygerisch Corporation, or trying to hold the cargo loading area.
But there they were, and there Paul was, so he flipped out his Valiant for a Lotus, and went to work, diving down from his porch and firing a full clip into the head of a mech, he ducked down from another sweep of the Omni-bladed Mech, he applied an Energy Drain to the mech, and another blast from the Lotus.
…
I'm not exactly good at this, Cynthia thought, when it comes to picking on indoctrinated rent-a-cops, sure, but this guy is good.
As if to emphasize the point Nathan swung his samurai type sword at her head, she elected to roll off to the side and tried to bring her Talon pistol up out of its holster but it was batted out of her hand by the sword, and then she went sprawling back to a precise kick to her stomach. She gasped and floundered like a fish rolling for a split second, and then scrambled back on her hands, pushing with her feet, trying to get up and face Nathan.
She managed to get to her feet bit winced as she was trying to catch her breath, Nathan was marching ever closer, his sword held at his side.
Cynthia started backing away again, as she could feel herself losing control. Nathan smirked and pressed on picking up his pace, his sword twirled at his side, and he plunged forward.
Paul appeared before her, facing her, a look of pain contorted his features. They looked down as one and saw the gleaming red tip of Nathan's sword, coated in Paul's blood.
"Paul!" Cynthia gasped.
The infiltrator grunted, with a satisfied smile on his face, and fell over. Nathan and Cynthia traded a look, and the latter smirked.
"You!" Cynthia raged, charging in with one of her Omni-blades, her blow was intercepted and she was knocked against a wall, knocking her senseless.
She just had the sense to see Nathan again stalking to her, sword twirling in one of his hands, attempting to kill her once and for all.
Someone let out a feral yell, and Cynthia blacked out.
…
Abigail Shepard launched herself at Nathan Burke, the arm which held the sword, keeping him off Cynthia, and saving her life.
The two struggled on Omega's hulled floor before Nathan was able to separate and knock her off; he used his sword and slashed it across Abigail's stomach. The woman jolted back as the blade missed her by mere inches. She screamed to her feet and deployed her Omni-blade in her hand and got ready for a fight.
"Abigail Shepard," Nathan smirked, "you sure it is wise facing me? After all I have already beaten you once, and I know what this sword can do to living tissue."
"You'll find I'm a changed woman since then." She snarled back.
"Oh?" Nathan mocked with a grinning face, "We'll see about that won't we?"
Without any additional preamble he charged in, Abby brought her Omni-blade up blocking his first blow going for her head. The second blow she missed a strike with the curved pommel to her head, spots burst in front of her eyes and she collapsed, spitting and spluttering.
Nathan grabbed her by her red locks and slammed her into the side of Omega's hull, knocking her out almost again, causing her to cut her lip and another gash in her cheek. She recovered by slamming her armored elbow into the face of her attacker. Breaking his teeth, she slammed a fist into his stomach causing him to double over, and another one causing him to gasp, but he launched himself into a tackle knocking her down.
She kneed him launching him off and sprawled pouncing, Omni-blade pointed right at the bad guy. Who managed to roll away and launch his foot at her catching her and causing her to grunt out and fall to the deck.
Again Nathan charged and swung his foot catching her in her stomach and rolling her over. She choked and coughed and tried getting to her feet, only managing to get to her knees, and looked through bleary eyes at Nathan who was smirking.
"The great Abigail Shepard, will be felled like a great tree, alone and forgotten, in the wash of the new order."
Abigail coughed, "I'm never alone."
Nathan only grinned wider and moved to slash it at neck level, taking her head off, killing her. He did it in slow motion, enjoying the kill, savoring it.
Abigail counted, one breath, two breaths, three, then she dropped, rolling to her side and hitting the decking. A shockwave blasted above her and she rolled to see Cameron standing there, the shockwave catching Nathan in his chest and causing him to become suspended in midair.
Her Valkyrie came up and she fired a Concussive Shot, the blast hit him again causing him to slam into the ceiling of their corridor and then ricocheted to the bottom, he coughed and began sliding away, sliding off the drain and into a garbage chute.
Abby followed putting bursts in after him, but didn't hear anything aside from sparking metal.
"Damn it." She cursed. "Come on, maybe we can find him, or isolate his squad."
"Right Shepard," Garrus said moving off cradling his assault rifle.
After the two squad mates went she turned to Cameron, "Thank you."
"Any time," he smiled.
They redoubled their holds on their weapons and took after EDI and Garrus.
Normandy
"Torpedo incoming! All hands brace for-"
The combat operator's voice was lost as the deck came out from under her as Ashley went weightless for a few terrifying seconds. Her feet slammed to the deck causing her to almost collapse.
"Damage!" She hissed out but found herself too hurt to really say anything else.
"Direct Hit!" EDI started. "Kinetic barriers are down on starboard and we have a hull breach, the war room is gone."
The sizzling of static caused Ashley to look up as some of the wiring in the CIC and a single light exploded and sparked above her, Ashley gathered herself.
"I thought you said we'd lose them!" Ashley yelled into her com.
"Yeah, I say a lot of things!" Joker replied sounding strained.
"Hey if we can't beat them then maybe we should join them." Traynor commented wiping her hand across a blood soaked chin.
"Interesting." Ashley mused, working on the problem in her mind.
The Normandy rushed forward between two Geth frigates that slid in beside them, the two Geth ships and the Normandy began to lace the stars with fire power, driving the enemy frigate off, trying to find a way to break through the blockade. The two Geth Frigates were joined by three more, an Alliance and two Quarian, and a Cruiser assumed over watch position.
"Normandy, this is General Beck, we've got your back, let's turn the tide shall we?"
The Normandy and her task group formed into a flying wing, knocking any enemy ships out of the way with combined fire, using their combined power to take out the enemy with minimal damage to their ships. The spreads of weapons caused several frigates before them to explode, and one Cruiser, as they cut through the heart of the enemy lines, Omega's defenses clearing the way of anything that could pose a serious threat to them. The precision of the Geth along with the skill of EDI made those ships fight as one; the Quarians and Alliance were bringing up the rear, but still managed to hang on.
The enemy sent everything at them, Fighters, Frigates, Cruisers, but more ships joined in on their flank and moved to keep space clear for them, the Normandy was rapidly becoming the focal point of the entire battle.
But that made them a target for the Dreadnaught as the ship was now making its way into the battle for the first time.
The Normandy and her forces slowly managed to push back and headed directly towards the gaping maw.
Omega
Abigail Shepard rushed off towards the sound of repeating weapons fire, followed by the boom boom of a repeating sniper rifle.
Her Valkyrie out she sped around the corner and saw Garrus double his efforts with another blast from the Indra at a target which was going down range.
"Garrus!" she yelled at.
The Turian shifted slightly in his cover to turn to her to report in, but a boom happened, his neck exploded with Turian blood and he toppled down and layed out.
Garrus!
Abigail went over and fired a blind spread with her Valkyrie, hoping the sniper would take a moment or two to find cover. She then fired a grenade off towards the target just hoping to drive her away.
She took Garrus and began dragging him away to what she hoped was even better cover.
"Come on Garrus!" She grunted trying to remove his combat armor and get underneath to check for a pulse, come on, not now, I'm sorry! OK, I know I have…but come on I can't lose Garrus!
She applied medi-gel, and gave his chest a sharp pound; the Turian's eyes opened and he started to splutter.
She fell back and held her hand to her head.
"Don't, do that, again." She grunted.
"Believe me," he gasped, "I don't intend to."
She smiled but ripped her head around as sparks exploded off the box next to her. Amanda was closing on them rapidly, Talon out, a vicious smirk on her face.
Shepard rolled to another box stack and ripped the Valkyrie off its port. She fired two bursts, Amanda rolled out of the way, Abby tried to track the target and fired, but a hissing beep, out of ammo.
Her Eagle came up and she fired the jerky weapon at the target, inaccurately spewing bullets until the clip ran out of ammo.
"Come on Abby, you are finished! You are a relic of your past and you have to make for the new!"
Shepard tried to launch into a retort but was cut off by another boom from the shotgun.
"This is the end of your life Shepard! You will die! Alone! Forgotten! Only remembered as the one who tried stopping the advancement of human progress for generations!"
She fired of another burst from her Eagle drawing Amanda off for half a moment giving Abby room to retort, "A new order for whom? All of humanity or a few chosen elites!"
"For anyone who can take it!" Amanda retorted sending a new blast at Shepard. "We are all alone, there is no God, no love, no friendship, and all we have is what we can take on our whims!"
"I wonder how Nathan would feel about that!"
"Nathan?" She began cackling, "the biggest dupe in the Galaxy, just take people for what you can get, not like you, love gets you attached, and it's all for nothing in the end! Only take, whether or not it's someone's body!"
"I can see why you gave in so easily!" Abigail snapped finally running out of ammo on the Eagle; she spied a Talon laying by a soldier just a few paces away.
"I did not give in, I was set free!" Amanda howled.
Shepard silenced the conversation thinking, her mind racing. She squeezed the trigger on the Eagle again and got another trill beeping, in the silence it sounded like a gun shot. She looked up to see Amanda dart off to the side out of eye shot.
Abigail rolled and picked up the Talon pistol and checked its charge two bullets left, it'll have to do. She got into a crouch and started to maneuver herself into a slightly better position for what she had in mind.
"You know why I have been successful?" She said suddenly.
Amanda came around at her and held her Shot gun. "Why is that?"
"Because I have friends."
Right on cue the ziiip of the charging Cameron Vanguard slammed into her side knocking her into the stack of boxes. Abby rushed forward slamming Amanda's arm to her side, ripping the Talon through her defenses, and squeezing the trigger, once for the shields, twice for the armor, Amanda's eyes widened under the assault and the sudden turn of events.
"But-but how could you?" Amanda spluttered as she fell back, her life spilling out through the holes in her stomach and her chest.
Abigail crouched above the woman for a split second and closed the woman's eyes as her convulsions finished, no matter who she is, I guess she deserves our respect.
She held her hand over her heart for a moment and bowed her head, before moving on, looking over at the fallen Turian. Cameron was already over him waving a medi-gel application over him and healing the Turian's neck slowly and surely.
"Hey Shepard." He grunted at her as she came up.
"I think he's going to be fine," Cameron reported glancing up at her, "The medi-gel seems to be holding and is actually healing the wounds."
"On the bright side," Vakarian trilled, "I'll have a nice beautiful neck scar to go with the one on my face."
Abigail arched her red eyebrow and leaned conspiratorially to Cameron, "Are you sure you aren't over doing that, that stuff can make people drunk you know."
"I'm finnnneeee." Garrus assured, and promptly started snoring.
Cameron looked perplexed at his patient and knitted his brow, "Well, it has been awhile since I've done this…" he admitted bashfully.
"Right." Abigail patted him on the back, and then looked behind her, James, EDI, and Miranda had gathered around her, waiting.
"Alright, James, Miranda, you're with me, let's see if we can't hunt for Nathan Burke and secure the station, EDI stay here and cover Cameron."
"Right away Shepard." EDI replied.
"Right with you Lola." James agreed.
The three squad mates moved out, Abigail picking up Amanda's thermal clips and refilling her Valkyrie.
…
Nathan rolled over and grabbed the side of his ribs. He could have sworn that Cameron's shockwave had broken them, but the medi-gel was busy doing its things. But with Amanda dead, something I'm sure I'll feel later, and with Rael off having a fit somewhere, it left him alone, with only enough time to regroup.
He glanced one more time at Amanda and Abigail marching towards him, before slinking off and merging back with the shadows.
…
Cynthia crawled over to the fallen form of Paul Leighy, blood was streaming out everywhere, leaking on the floor in pools. She made it over to him and started to whimper, trying to roll him over.
"Paul." She breathed.
He gasped and his eyes opened, a gurgling noise exploded from his lips.
"Help!" She said trying to apply the little medi-gel she had. "Some please, help!"
But no one, for the moment, was coming.
"Just hold on Paul!" She pleaded, staying with him until someone heard them, activating the emergency transponder on her Omni-tool.
Normandy
The Market Garden had broken off for Omega given the Normandy and its task force time to make a run for the Dreadnaught. The flag ship of the enemy fleet sat in space, rushing the station, but its Cruisers had been picked off by Omega's defenses leaving the flank wide open.
The Normandy, the Alliance Frigate, and the two Geth ships sped forward. Four blasts of Thanix Canons fired on the flank of the ship, the Normandy's stream cut into its aft section by its engineering sheering armor and hull plating off causing a rupture.
Each ship fired a pair of Disruptor Torpedoes which hovered in space allowing the four ships to break off, before they rushed the Alliance Dreadnaught and plowed through the hull exploding in the ships interior mesh ripping the Dreadnaught apart.
The rest of the fleet broke, with the Allied Fleet nipping at their heals, all the way till they jumped back through the Mass Relay.
AN: Ok this might sound a little petty, but I think I have good cause and a good question to ask. During recent readings of the blueninja's Mass Effect Reloaded she thanked her fans, and pointed out that her story was becoming well followed among the ME fandom…so ok why? I highly recommend the story and its one of the best and well written stories I have read on here. If you have enjoyed my fic and Picking up the Shards of a Broken Galaxy, you will enjoy that one.
But simply put, always looking for criticism since I hope to do this successfully as an original author one day, what am I doing wrong? (or right) Why did Shards get so many more reviews and Galaxy Fall gets so few? What attracts certain readers to certain stories so they review them, but leaves other fics in the dust? It is a puzzle especially since Shards was so well received.
Just a thought, something I wanted to bring by my loyal readership (thanks for reading) and anyone just passing by.