Victus and his team had already prepared the area around their camp for the eventuality of having to abandon it. So now, as Saren led the last of the outpost's soldiers towards their new destination, they activated the traps, tripwires and anything else that had been set up that might slow down their enemies. The last of the supplies that could be taken was spread amongst them for the trek to rejoin the others. Saren pushed them hard, taking them on the most roundabout way he could yet still trying to rejoin the others as quickly as possible. He brought them to a halt shortly after the sun had set.
"We'll stop here for a little bit. Private Atlen, take first watch. Private Veryos, take second. Get something to eat before we move again," Saren ordered.
He remained standing, keeping an eye out for any movement from where they had come from. The sound of footsteps brought his attention back towards his people. Nihlus strode up to him and stood beside him. He offered Saren some of the dried meat he had taken from his pack. Saren took it and slowly chewed it, trying to soften it up a bit before swallowing.
"What's your brother like? I only know what I've seen on the news."
Saren looked over at Nihlus; the younger turian's eyes were trained on the forest they had just traveled through.
"Worried about meeting him?"
"A bit. My family is all gone, so there is no one for you to meet from my side."
Saren clapped Nihlus on the shoulder. "He'll like you just fine. And if he doesn't, well, I really don't give a damn what he thinks then."
Nihlus glanced over at him. "I know he is all the family you have left and you've been worried about him. I would hate to cause a rift between you." His voice was soft, but Saren could hear all the worry and doubt in his lover's sub-tones.
Saren glanced around and found that the rest of his people were occupied, so he took the moment that they had for themselves. He gently cupped Nihlus's face and turned his head so that he could look into his eyes. He was not the most demonstrative of people, but he had learned that some things couldn't be left to chance.
"We are together. Whatever happens, we face it together. Including my brother. You kept me going-," he said.
"It was nothing," Nihlus interjected.
Saren snorted. "No, it wasn't. Your wit and humor kept me sane during those first few weeks and it sustained me during the darkest moments of my imprisonment."
Nihlus gave a soft laugh. "First time my smart mouth truly came in handy."
"Might have been the first, but I'm sure it won't be the last," Saren said with a smile.
Saren pressed his forehead against Nihlus's, catching Nihlus with his eyes. "Now stop worrying about Des. If he gets mouthy, I'll just remind him that his younger brother can still kick his ass." His sub-vocals were laced with his feelings for Nihlus.
Nihlus merely nodded his head, unable to give voice to everything he was feeling; instead, he let his sub-tones say what he could not.
"Besides, my brother probably has enough to worry about, what with Shepard and the Primarch there, to give a damn about my personal life."
Amala and Garrus had found spots among all the other turians as they spread out along the walls in the corridors and were finally able to close their eyes and get some rest. The arrival of the second group was noted by all before heads dropped back down and sleep resumed as the new bodies looked for their own spot to rest. Later, the sound of running feet, stumbling feet brought all of them out of slumber. A lone turian, one of the forward scouts, had fallen to his knees, his chest heaving as his body tried desperately to get enough oxygen.
"Asari," he gasped out.
"Where?" one turian barked out.
"Coming up...path," he managed to wheeze out.
Everyone swarmed to their feet, grabbing weapons before charging out of the cavern. Amala stopped short, her gaze sweeping the area for somewhere that would make a good sniper perch. Garrus must have had the same idea, as he paused to search the surroundings as well.
"There," he said as he pointed to a rocky ledge not far from where they stood.
Amala nodded and together they climbed up, the outcropping providing a view of the trail coming up the side of the mountain. Through their scopes, they could see the running firefight between Saren's units and the asari hounding them. As it stood now, it looked like the defenders would be too slow in coming to their fellow soldiers' aid.
"We need to buy them some time!"
"Yes," Amala said as she lined up the foremost asari in her scope.
A pull of the trigger and the asari rocked backwards, her barrier held though, but she did look around trying to spot who had tried to shoot her. Amala smiled as she saw the asari scramble to reach cover even as Garrus's rifle went off. She was too slow and Garrus's bullet finished the job. Those that had been following behind the now dead leader ducked behind anything they could find while searching for where the snipers were. Saren and his people took advantage and charged further up the mountain. When the asari tried to follow them, Amala and Garrus opened fire on any body parts that came into the open, forcing them back into cover. And when the troops from the base joined with Saren, they were able to force the asari back down the hill. It was a reprieve that everyone knew wouldn't last.
The sun sat low on the horizon when the asari returned. This time, though, the sound of trees cracking and falling was their first indication. The sentry on duty sent a runner with the news. He entered the command center and found the Primarch meeting with the two generals.
"Primarch! Something big is coming up the mountain, we've heard the sounds of trees breaking and falling."
"Sounds like their armored vehicles," Saren said.
"They've never tried to bring them up the mountain before," Desolas said.
"The trees make it challenging for the gunships, perhaps they mean to clear the area with them so they can then call in the ships?"
Desolas nodded, one talon scratched idly at his cheek. "Suggestions?"
"Let's see if Shepard has anything of use," Saren said.
He strode out into the hall and bellowed, "Shepard!"
A head popped up and the woman jumped to her feet and hurried towards him, Vakarian on her heels. He waved them inside.
"Sir?"
"We have armored vehicles coming up the hillside. We lack any weapons strong enough to deal with them. Have you any ideas?"
Shepard ruffled her hair. "Crap. Makos. I'll go take a look and see what I can come up with."
"Thank you," Victus said with a nod.
Amala returned the nod and headed into the hallway to grab the Cain. It was serious overkill for one vehicle, but that one vehicle would destroy the ground troops before they could stop it.
"What have you planned?" Garrus asked.
"I'm hoping it's going slow enough that we can use the Cain on it. There is no weakness I can exploit to bring it to a halt quickly. You have to shoot out all six tires to slow it down and reduce its maneuverability, but its guns are still functional."
"Crap."
"Exactly."
She grabbed the Cain where it rested and they headed outside. The crashing and crunching of trees echoed along the mountainside. Using the scope of her rifle, she sighted down the sloping path. What she saw had her swearing again.
"What is it?" Garrus asked.
Several other turians moved closer as they waited for Shepard to disclose her plan.
"It's not one, it's three. And dammit, they are moving too fast for me to target them with the Cain. They are just rolling over the trees in their path."
"So if they, say, stopped to target something, you would be able to use your gun on them?"
The voice sounded familiar. Amala pulled away from the scope to find Sidonis and several other turians gathered around them.
"Assuming they at least slowed down, yes, then I could get a shot off and hope to have it in the right area. But on foot, that's just suicide. They have heavier caliber weapons than a gunship and the base they are shooting from is more stable, making them more accurate as well."
Sidonis nodded. "I'll slow them down, somehow."
He checked his rifle and then sprinted down the hill, three more turians following his lead.
"Crazy ass turians!" Amala growled. She took the Widow off her back and handed it to Garrus. "Try and shoot out their tires. Hopefully I can get a shot off with the Cain."
Garrus set up near her and began firing at the vehicles. Amala prepped the Cain and waited. In the distance, she heard the rifles of the turians as they desperately engaged the ground vehicles. The makos slowed as they swung their guns around to try to hit the small team of turians shooting at them.
Sidonis kept them moving, never staying still. Amala prayed that they would be outside the blast radius. Seizing the opportunity that the turians had given her, she stood up and pulled the trigger. She waited and hoped that the turians' efforts weren't in vain as the gun whined as it warmed up. The asari realized too late that the turians were merely a diversion. The Cain fired.
Amala yelled, "Get down!"
Garrus dropped down beside her. The explosion rocked the ground. Turians poured out of the entrance of the cave, unsure of what had just happened. Several were knocked down by the blast-wave, the rest flinging themselves down to avoid the same fate. Amala climbed to her feet. Leaving the Cain where she had dropped it, she headed down the hillside to search for survivors. Garrus and the rest of the turians followed behind her.
"A squad was out in the field, trying to slow down the vehicles. We need to find them," Garrus said. He pointed out the general area where he last saw them.
Debris from at least one of the vehicles lay scattered around the area; chunks of it intermixed with rocks and hunks of tree. One vehicle lay on its back; there was no sign of the third vehicle, so two must have taken the brunt of the explosion. Amala headed to the remaining vehicle, while the turians spread out searching for their comrades. She walked around it carefully, listening for any signs of life within it. On the far side of it, she found the metal hull had been peeled away. Inside there were only dead bodies. Her best guess from the body parts was that the crew had been one asari and two batarians.
"Over here! I found them!"
Amala headed for where a turian was struggling to move a slab of metal off one of the diversion team. Other turians converged on the spot as well. Together they worked to free the soldiers trapped under tree trunks and hunks of metal. The first turian that was pulled free was dead; they carefully laid the body aside while they returned to the search. The next one was as well, diminishing the hope that any had survived the explosion. A shout went up when the third member of the team was uncovered. The body let out a low grunt of pain when the tree covering it was pushed off. Amala wasn't positive, but the turian appeared to be Sidonis. His eyes popped open. Seeing Amala, he gave her a weak smile.
"I'm hoping that worked, because I don't think I can go another round," Sidonis said, his voice weak.
"Your team did it. All the makos are out of commission."
"Oh, good. I think I'll pass out now," he said before his eyes closed.
Several of the searchers carried him up the hill. An urgent wave of a hand signaled that the last member had been found. A natural dip in the ground had saved her from being crushed to death by the debris over her. By this time, most of the soldiers from inside the camp had joined those outside and she was finally freed from her prison. She was unconscious but alive. As carefully as they could, they carried her back up to the camp.
Amala picked up the Cain on the way back inside to report in. Garrus strode silently beside her. The Primarch and his generals looked up at their entrance.
"I hope that the explosion that rocked us means that you took care of the problem coming up the hill," Victus asked.
"Yes, the vehicles are taken care of. Sergeant Sidonis led a small team and gave me the time I needed to use my weapon. He and another survived, but two others did not."
"Their names will be remembered with honor and placed in the annals of their units. Thank you, Commander."
They returned to their little spot in the corridor. Amala leaned back against the wall.
"You okay, Amala?"
"Yeah, just sorry they didn't all make it."
"I know, but they did what was expected of them. Turians are taught from an early age that society comes first. And what they did bought the rest of us some time before the next wave hits."
"I get that. They were heroes. Crazy ass, but brave."
Garrus nodded. "That they were."
~Thanks once more to Mordinette for all her help, thank you! And one to the readers who make writing this story a pleasure! Now for the bad news, the week of August 12th there will not be an update as I will be on vacation that week. I'm hoping to restart the updates the week of August 19th, but no guarantees!~