Alright, just to sum it up:
In the last chapter, shit hit the fan and pretty much every squad ran into a problem, one kind or another.
Nic was scarred by a fountain and found a familar (to most of us) person dead on the ground.
Feltan was shown not to have any love for Quarians, or at least not trust in Tali's abilities.
Wrex played baseball with the bugs, and Liara had a badass moment with flaring biotics.
Also, Jacob turned out to command a squad of... special people.
Now, let's see what happens further.
Noveria - A band of brothers
Delta-Team
Two seconds before separation from squad.
"Let go of him you fucker!"
Sev was just barely hanging on by Scorch's legs as the bug pulled his brother into and through the vent systems, ignoring the extra ballast as it continued tearing away at his brother still body, not even stopping to check if the clone it was dragging was still alive or not. It also seemed to completely ignore the second clone's shouting and cursing, probably taking it for the panicked screams of its prey. With tears forming in his eyes, and constant pain from the odd angle from which his arm was being pulled in, Sev gritted his teeth and asked whatever divine powers that existed, not to save his life, but to let him kick enough ass for Scorch to get out alive.
"I said: LET GO OF MY BROTHER!" He now screamed, using his free arm to attempt to reach for his handgun, only to find the entire holster torn to shreds, with no gun anywhere near him. In the end, all he could do was to hold on, and not let the alien creature escape with his brother.
After what seemed like an eternity of pain and cursing, both he and Scorch, whom had yet to awaken as he didn't utter more than a weak grunt, were sudden tossed into a freefall from what turned out to be a vent in the ceiling of a room, landing in the midst of what could almost pass as the inside of a Geonosian hive, seeing as it was too large for him to see the end of it, while being filled with pillars made from the same material as the one coating the corridors.
Having shaken of the sense of the entire world spinning, Sev managed to stand on one leg, using his other knee as support. Slowly getting up, he dared not look up from the ground as he felt sure there would be one of the monsters from before, ready to crack open his head and spill his brains all over the floor.
Having stood like this for a few moments, he finally looked up, but instead of facing instant death, he faced what he himself would have called far more bone chilling. Slowly closing and opening his eyes in slow then quick repetition, he finally was able to make sense of what he saw in front of him.
"Mother of… force…" He managed to mutter as he saw just what the pillars in front of him were. Stepping closer to one of them, he was confirmed in his suspicions as he recognized a human face in the material. The person, a man in his late years, was scarred and frail, face covered in blood and grime, but he was alive.
Probably noticing the nearby presence, the man slowly raised his head, laying eyes on the armored figure in front of him. Instead of the hopeful look in his eyes the battle-worn clone had hoped to see, it was a look of dread and fear, as well as a look of sorrow that made even the heart of the otherwise so cynical trooper collapse upon sight. Noticing that more of the man's body was actually free, Sev could see that only the arms and legs were sealed up. The rest of the man was somewhat free, with the torso completely untouched by the thin layers of grime and hardened excrements.
"P-please… hel- help my daughter!" He pleaded, gesturing in the direction of what Sev recognized as a human woman, somewhere in her twenties. Sev also noticed the large bloody hole in the woman's chest, looking like something had exploded outwards inside her body and given her a relatively slow and quite painful death. Turning his head back to the old man, Sev could feel the inner voice saying that he should save his brother first, but another voice was shouting that he had to save these people, however many there might still be alive in the room. That was also when he finally looked around for good, discovering how the room stretched on for what looked like miles, and filled to the brim with pillars consisting of the same as the one in front of him.
"I… can't…" He finally managed to say, although his voice came out so low he was surprised that the old man even heard it. The look in his eyes grew ever more desperate;
"N- no… No, you have to help her! Look, she's almost free, she just needs help, that's all!" The man insisted, yet again nodding towards the corpse of the woman. Realization then dawned upon the clone: The man in front of him had gone mad, believing his dead daughter to be on the verge of escaping. Looking back at the corpse, Sev noticed what looked like a big leathery egg, placed right in front of the woman's face. It looked like the sides had been peeled slightly off, allowing the top of it to open. Understanding what had happened; Sev returned his eyes to look at the man in front of him again, noticing an open egg here as well. Next to the man, a half meter next to him, he picked up the dead remains of one of those hand-like creatures he had seen in the movie. Looking back at the old man, he could see some faint marks on his neck.
"Did… did you have this on your face?" He gently asked the man. As gently as a two-meter hardened trooper sporting the mentality of a serial-killer could that was. The man didn't seem to hear him, as he just continued a frantic nodding and mumbling. Having received a short temper from birth, Sev did the only thing he knew worked on most crazies. He slapped him.
"Hey! I asked if you had one of these…" He said, shoving the dead creature in front of the man; "on your face."
"M-maybe… but you have to help Maria… help my daughter… she's right over-"
"She's dead. And if you don't let me help you, so will you be soon as well."
"Dead? No… no she isn't dead… we both had that thing on us… nasty… choking feeling… and I'm fine… no, she's not dead."
"Listen… I've had one fuck of a day, and I want to save you and anyone else in here, but you have to help me too." Sev repeated, his voice becoming desperate as the sounds of something big moving around made it clear that he wasn't the only thing in the room.
"But you have to- to save her first… She's not dead… mm, not dead… not dead…" The man rambled on, showing no signs of actually listening to what Sev said. Shaking his head, Sev looked around and found what he looked for. Picking up the yellow creature from before, Sev pushed it into the face of the man, practically placing it on his face. He was rewarded with a terrified scream as the man snapped out of his rambling and seemingly had some kind of flashback;
"NO! Not again! No no no no no no no! I don't want to! No, stop!" Sev finally removed the facehugger again, and gripped the man's chin with an armored gauntlet.
"Now, I'm going to ask again: Did you have one of these on your face?" He asked, and finally seemed to get through to the man. He definitely nodded with fear in every movement;
"Y-yes! Yes it… it hung to me… it… strangled me… yet it let me breathe… it pushed something down my throat, as if… are you sure you can't help my daughter?" The man's eyes were full of tears as he talked, finally looking down at his chest, as if searching for any damage to his clothes.
"Sorry. She's dead. Been for a while from the looks of it. You had one of these push something down your throat? How long ago was it?" He asked, all the while keeping an eye on the still unconscious form of his brother next to him.
"A… I think… a few hours. Impossible to keep track down here… can't… heh, can't even see my watch… expensive piece of crap… doesn't help me now, does it?"
"A few hours… okay, there might still be hope. I think it takes about nine to ten hours for… for you to die from it, and if we can get out of here and find you some help, we can perhaps save you." Sev said, risking instilling some hope in the man. Instead, he just received a head-shake;
"No… no I have nothing to live for if she's dead… there could be others still alive in here… help them instead." Sev was pretty taken aback by this response, but instead of protesting, he nodded.
"Alright… I'll see what I can do." He said, getting up.
"Wait… what is your name?" The old man asked. Stopping to look the man in the eyes, Sev swallowed lump.
"I'm Delta-Oh Seven… But you can call me Sev." He said, returning to check on Scorch. Kneeling down next to his brother, he started slapping him on the helmet, to check if he could wake him up.
"Hey… Hey Bro, wake up. We've got some work to do, and I can't do it without your help, so get your ass up, or I'm leaving you here." He said, finally getting some reaction in the form of Scorch moving his hand to his helmet, probably trying to massage a sore temple;
"Osi'kyr (Damn)… what happened?" Scorch muttered, slowly getting up in a seated position.
"One of the bugs knocked you out cold, and I ended up in a tug-of-war, with you as rope… then we were dragged away from the others, and ended up here."
"Wow… sounds like I missed out on something… Liara, Fixer and Boss here too?" Sev could only mentally sigh, still not understanding how Scorch could sound positive when they had just been dumped in a place that could have made General Yoda crap his… whatever he was wearing under that robe.
"Nah, I think they are still up there somewhere. Don't worry about your blue princess: she'll be safe with them."
"Fuck you and you sense of humor…" Scorch just muttered before looking around; "So… what's the plan?"
"Seeing as we're in the devil's den, I would normally say get the fuck out, but there seems to be some of the people from the port still alive in here, so you help me get those out who are alive, and we all get the hell out of here… but one thing first." Sev said, absentmindedly checking if he still had his grenades fastened to his belt. All but one seemed to have followed the gun in being lost somewhere in the vents.
"What?"
"I dislodged my shoulder hanging on to you… care to pull it back straight?"
"Sure… but I'm going to slap you if you fart when I do it." Scorch said, getting to his feet where after he got a grip on his brother's shoulder, and pulled it in place. Sev merely grunted as the bones reconnected with each other at the joint, flexing and rolling his arm for a few seconds;
"Alright, get to work. You free them, and I keep a lookout. Something else is down here, and it aint human… or any friendly type of E.T." He said, as they moved in between the pillars, checking each person they came across, finding the room filled to the brim with aliens and humans alike.
"You know Sev… I'm sorry I smacked you back on the ship…" Scorch said as he shook his head, having come across a turian whose chest seemed to have suffered from an internal explosion.
"Nah, don't be. I was a bit pissed, blame Wrex and his habit of drinking… and I guess I might have been a little jealous." The last words were said with a hint of embarrassment to them, causing Scorch to stop dead in his tracks.
"What, you like her as well?"
"Heh… who doesn't? I mean, there's a reason the entire galaxy loves her species… sexy as hell. Still, I guess it's not as serious as you. But yeah, I could do her, in case you decided you weren't interested." Sev responded, letting the head of a human fall down as he proved to be quite dead.
"Vode… I hate you kind of joking, you know that?"
"Who said I was joking?"
"Never mind… found any live ones yet?"
"None… you?" Sev asked as he moved to the next person, a walled up amphibian, what people called a Salarian or something. There didn't seem to be a hole in his chest, so Sev actually got his hopes up for once.
"Hey Scorch… I think I might have one over here…" Sev whispered into his comm. His brother silently walked over to join in.
"Hmm… scans show he's still alive… try waking him." Scorch suggested. Sev nodded, and kneeled down to pat the unconscious Salarian on the cheek.
"Hey, hey frog-dude. Wake up." Sev said as he repeatedly clapped and patted the alien.
"Eh? Mmm? Where… how… where am I? What happened?" Finally, they had found someone who was alive, and seemingly not insane.
"Easy. Take it easy. We're here to help. What's your name?" Sev said, changing to as friendly a tone as he knew how.
"I… I'm Padok Wiks… STG. You heard our distress-signal?"
"Yeah, the SSV Normandy is here along with the TSF Centurion. We're gonna get you out of here. But first you have to-"
"Let me guess… answer if I had one of the carriers on my face? Yes I did, and no, I'm not infected. For some reason they can't use Salarians as hosts. Probably due to our metabolism, the extreme rate of our bodies' reaction. Our anti-virus and immune systems are probably too fast-paced for the parasites to develop." The Salarian already seemed in a talkative mood, despite being walled up with bug-goo. Sev couldn't help but feel slightly impressed.
"Wait… you're saying you fro- you Salarians are immune to this shit?" He asked in disbelief. Padok nodded.
"Yes. Now kindly get me down from here… or just out from this tissue and I'll help you along." He said, already issuing orders like he was in command. Sev and Scorch looked at each other, and then helped the Salarian getting out of the goo. Rubbing his sore wrists, Padok Wiks looked around;
"How many others so far?"
"Only you… how did you end up here?" Scorch answered, checking for his sidearm. He was reassured when he found it to still be attached to his waist.
"We were holed up inside the hotel. We tried to barricade ourselves, but the bugs still came through. Before we knew what was happening, most of the people were either dead or taken. Then, I was passing under one of the vents in the ceiling, got grabbed and ended up here. A few hours ago, I threw up what I believe was the remains of the parasite."
"Wait, how many were yo- you were the guy who sent the distress call! Now I remember. Padok Wiks of the STG. You said you were somewhere under thirty people right?" Scorch asked, finally having grasped the situation, earning a tired sigh from his brother.
"Yes. Me and a Krogan were the only ones with actual military experience… the guards were just… well they didn't know how to handle something like this." The Salarian said, before Scorch placed a hand on Sev's shoulder;
"Sev, if your comm. still works, try contacting the others." Sev could have slapped himself for not thinking about that earlier. Tapping the comm. on his wrist, he tried contacting the others;
"This is Delta-Oh Seven reporting in. I've joined up with 62, and we've ended up in some kind of chamber with lots of dead people. I repeat: lots of casualties. We've found and recovered one Padok Wiks of the STG, as well as discovering that Salarians seem to be immune to whatever is put inside them. Anyone copy?" Sev said, waiting for a response. It came sooner than he expected
"This is Captain Jane Shepard, Baker-team. We've found and passed a barrier leading into the hotel. Lot of blood, as well as a few bodies. Most are Salarian. Can you confirm if Wiks was staying in the hotel?"
"Roger that. Wiks says he and a bunch others had barricaded themselves in there, but that the bugs found some way in anyway."
"Alright. We're cleaning up in the hotel, re-sealing the vents. Can you find your own way out?"
"We'll try. Can't promise anything though. Got any word from the others?" Sev asked, tentatively looking around in the room as Scorch and Wiks searched for more live ones.
"Able-team has reached the garage without trouble. We've lost contact to Charlie-team, though no red life-signs, they are fifty-percent blue. I was going to send your group to assist, but I haven't been able to get through to Boss, Liara or Fixer… I'll see if John can divert some people to help, though I doubt he would like getting more split up than we already are… if not me and my team are heading back to assist." Jane said through the comm. as Sev felt his spirit fade. Boss could always answer the comm., even under heavy fire. Something must have worsened the situation since they couldn't respond.
"Alright… can you somehow get a fix on my position?"
"Wait a minute… hold on. Alright, you… damn, you are pretty close to Charlie's position, you know that?"
"Not really, spent the last ten or so minutes being hauled through the vents… but give us directions and we'll try and get there. Oh, and do tell the rest of Delta we're fine. Else Scorch's little princess is gonna wet her panties in fright." Sev added as soon as Scorch was too far away to hear him."
"I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear that last part… okay, let's see… north of you there should be a door… about normal size. See it?" Jane asked. Sev looked around, and spotted the door, about one hundred meters away from him.
"Yeah, got it. Alright, I'll radio back when we need more guidance. Oh Seven out." Sev said, cutting the link. Looking back at his brother, Sev could see that Scorch and Padok Wiks were looking at something in one of the pillars. He quickly closed the distance to find out what they were looking at.
"- Go home! I don't wanna- I don't wanna- help me! Where's my mom? I want my- it hurts!" Sev's blood froze, as he recognized what was the sound of a scared child. Thoughts raced through his mind as he slowed down; almost afraid of what he would see when he arrived.
"Easy kid, easy. We're going to get you out of here. What's your name?" Scorch asked while working on tearing someone, the kid obviously, out of the pillar.
"Bashír. I'm - I'm Bashír Parrasini. Where's my mom? I want to go home!" Reaching the group, Sev saw the boy, and his surroundings. He immediately felt his heart drop as he spotted the tell-tale dead bug lying next to the kid's pillar. It's too late… we're too late… he thought, feeling a lump rise in his throat.
"Bashír, listen to me, alright? We're gonna get you out of here, okay? We're going to get you someplace safe, and we're going to find your mother, alright? But then you have to be strong, okay?" Scorch said, probably attempting to comfort the kid, although child-care had never been part of the commando-program.
"Indeed. We need to get as many survivors as we can before-" Padok started, but was cut off as a ear-piercing scream tore through the room, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps coming their way. Looking around the pillar, Sev spotted the silhouette of a Xenomorph. At least, he was pretty sure it was a Xenomorph. Only problem with that theory was that this one was far too big to be a Xenomorph. It was the size of an Aklay, at the very least. Dropping back into cover behind the pillar, Sev sought for the exit, and wasn't exactly excited about it when he discovered that the exit lay behind the big creature coming toward them. He grasped for his gun out of habit, but found it to be missing again. Looking at the scene in front of him, Scorch having picked up the kid in his arms, and Padok Wiks supporting himself against the pillar, Sev saw how their window of opportunities was closing uncomfortably fast.
"Alright. Scorch, I'm going to borrow your handgun for this one. Padok…" Sev said as he snatched his Brother's pistol from his holster before he could even protest.
"Yes?"
"Scorch is gonna carry the kid. We don't have time to look for more people. Sorry, but that's how it is. Now, I assume you have some kind of self-defense?"
"Of course. The creatures didn't take my Omni-tool. I can send an electrical current at a target at-"
"Yeah yeah, that will do. Listen… you get my brother and that kid to safety, or I'm gonna find you, cut your head off and piss in your throat, understood?" Sev sneered, although it was more due to the stress of the situation than his dislike of the Salarian. Under normal circumstances he would probably have received a bullet from the STG for speaking like that, but instead the Salarian simply nodded.
"Sev… what's the plan?"
"Alright… when I give the signal, you guys strafe to the left and avoid that big fucker. Head for the door and be ready to seal it the second I follow. Got it?"
"Wait, Sev you're not thinking of-" Scorch started, but Sev cut him off;
"Alright, now! Run you fucktards!" He shouted, practically scaring his two comrades off. He then made sure they were following his plan, before stepping out of cover himself, facing the big bug armed with but a handgun. I'd like to see Cody pull this shit off… He thought before initiating his own plan;
"Hey! Hey UGLY! I'M RIGHT HERE! COME AND GET ME!" He screamed at the big alien to get its attention. However, it seemed to have spotted much slower and closer prey as it turned its head, which turned out to consist of a huge scaly shield-like appendix extending backwards from its head. Seeing as his opponent had spotted Scorch and the Salarian, Sev saw no other option than to raise the gun and fire. The second he pressed the trigger, he was rewarded with a blue bolt of plasma, flying through the air I what seemed like slow-motion before it impacted on the body of the alien, causing it to scream in pain and rage, and turn its head towards the pesky fire-flinging opponent who dared interrupt its hunt.
"Yeah, that's right, this way you son of a bitch! I'm right here!" He shouted as he fired off bolt after bolt from his gun, allowing the alien to run closer and closer before he finally started running around it, narrowly dodging as its tail was sent as haymaker against him, crashing into one of the pillars behind him and causing it to collapse, killing who or whatever was in there, if the person wasn't dead already.
"That's the best you can do? I've met droids who presented more of a challenge!" He shouted as he fired off another bolt, this time hitting one of the claws, sending it flying off as it was separated from the hand by a speeding orb of superheated blue plasma. It screamed in rage and pain as it probably watched the finger-like claw sail through the air.
"What's the matter? You don't like when the little guy is shooting back?!" He shouted as the alien started running towards him with its head lowered as if it wanted to ram him. Which, when he jumped to the side, turned out to have been exactly what it was planning all along. But instead of squishing the clone, it ended up ramming one of the pillars, causing it to crumble on top of it, momentarily showering it with boulders the size of the Sev. Seeing as it was otherwise occupied, Sev turned and made for the exit, thinking himself in the clear.
He was brought back to reality when he failed to hear the sounds of the alien breaking free, and was instead sent flying into one of the pillars when the alien managed to catch up to him and hit him with a swipe of its claws. Sev didn't even get to scream before he hit the pillar with a sickening crash, feeling multiple of his ribs break in the process. That was also when his comm. lit up again;
"Hey Sev, we're at the door. Where are you?" Scorch's voice sounded through the comm. he sounded more than just a little worried, having probably heard the screaming and the crashes.
"Ugh… I'll be right…" He started, then began coughing, feeling a hot liquid pouring from his mouth, as well as his breathing becoming more troubled. Logical conclusion: His lungs had been punctured.
"Sev? I didn't hear that last one… come on man, don't leave me hanging like this!" Scorch's voice became even more frantic now.
"Hey… Padok, you still there?" He sneered through his teeth, feeling each movement becoming more and more difficult to perform.
"Yes, I'm helping Scorch and the kid get up the stairs from the door. What is it?"
"Listen… I'm not going to… I'm going to find another way out. Seal the door." He coughed the last words out along with a small shower of blood that showed up on the inside of his visor.
"Are you sure? There are no other ways lead-"
"I said: Seal the fucking- fucking door!" I won't have it following you guys!" Sev shouted, feeling as the cracked and broken ribs caused his nerves to flare up, making him clench his jaw as tears started forming in his eyes. While he couldn't hear anything from the comm. for a few seconds, he could clearly hear the sound of the big bug moving in for the kill, its heavy footsteps echoing in the room.
"Alright… but you better get out as well, or I'm coming back for you!" Sev could clearly hear the sound of fear and dread starting to fill Scorch's voice. No… you won't… Sev thought as he turned the comm. off and turned around on his back to face the creature, suddenly finding himself face to face with it, less than a meter between their heads. Sev looked down on his own body, and quietly observed how his armor had cracked multiple places, and how the bacta-dispensers in his armor had been crushed, leaving a pale blue-colored liquid seeping from his armor. Not the best sign. Looking up again, he slowly took his remaining grenade in hand, priming it. The bug hissed at him, planting its claws on his body as it probably made ready for a 'kiss'.
"Damn… you… you're even…ugh… uglier up close." He muttered as he held the now live grenade in front of him, watching the colored dots decrease in numbers as they neared zero. The bug seemed strangely mesmerized by the shining lights, and didn't even get to react as the lights vanished and the grenade went off, destroying the majority of the room.
…
Noveria, Port Hanshan.
Mjolnir-six
Leaning over cover, Jacob could see the situation getting worse by the second. The ground team below him, consisting of, from what he could see, four people. Though one of them, a human wielding a minigun similar to the one 'Blue-tooth' sported, seemed like he was having some trouble firing his gun faster than the xenos could replace each other. As it became apparent that his squad had trouble, it looked like he at first tried assisting them, but was then forced to guard his own ass, as more and more of the creatures started focusing on him instead of his team, cutting him off with a wall of bodies. Sliding back into cover, he signaled his people to take up firing-positions along the ledges, allowing them to rain down fire on his command. Satisfied with their positions, Jacob looked over the ledge again, only to discover that the situation was getting worse by the second… again. The Krogan in the group had been pressed into using his minigun as a club, sweeping two or more creatures away with each swing, but still receiving lots of close-encounters. The Turian and the woman in the group had been forced together, and were practically spraying and praying as there wasn't the slightest chance they would be able to miss a hostile in the mass of bodies. Looking to find the last human, he saw him being overpowered by one of the biggest of the creatures, fighting an already lost, but still impressive hand-to-hand fight with it, even knocking it on the side of the head and, from what Jacob could see, grabbing onto its tongue when it attempted to pierce his helmet with it. That's when he had seen enough;
"Mjolnir, open fire!" He bellowed, and leaned over the table himself to join in on the sudden rain of incendiary ammo that started raining down on the hostile creatures, catching both them and the defenders off guard. Jacob didn't dare shoot at the big alien, seeing as it was directly above the man, and he knew what the blood of the creatures did to people, even when in armor. Shifting his fire to help take some of the pressure off of the turian and the female soldier next to it, he almost thought his eyesight was going bad from the acidic fumes when he noticed an eerie green glow in the edge of his vision. Looking back to the man under the big bug, he nearly dropped his rifle when he saw what was happening. It just all happened so fast.
One second, the man was about to be speared by a razor-sharp tongue, the next he had not only thrown off the bug, but was hovering a foot above the floor as he sent the creature, being about the size of really big Elcor, and probably one of the ones spawned from one, sailing through the air as a rocket, smashing it against the opposing walls while both it and he were coated in green shimmering lights.
Jacob Taylor wasn't sure what he was supposed to look at first. The giant alien creature smashing against the walls while coated in green light? The fact that a single person below him was radiating said green light while pouring it from his palms, seemingly drowning the creatures surrounding the remainder of the man's team? Or the fact that that there was a veritable ocean of dead black bodies strewn over the floor around the team, making it look like they had been painting the floor, not firing at aliens. Nevertheless, he broke from his trance and ordered his team to keep the fire up, hoping to kill the last creatures without any casualties, other than those already sustained by the others' team, if anyone had been killed prior to his arrival.
Seeing as the last of the creatures finally disappeared down the vents, he ordered his team to cease fire, inwardly hoping their little timely rescue would buy them some credit with the ones they had just rescued. Still, he hadn't recovered from the shock of seeing what he could only describe as green biotics throwing something that big. Or that fast for that matter. It even had different characteristics than regular biotic energy. It almost looked like a giant hand was doing the work, not biotics. Jacob could only gulp as he watched the person in center of it all, the armored-up man with a broken minigun hanging by his waist, slowly touching down on the ground and promptly collapsing, as if the power-show had taken a too strong toll on him.
Jacob decided now would be a good time to introduce himself, but decided to let his team stay where they were: Visible but in cover and having the high-ground. Signaling his men to stay put, he slowly got to his feet, only to find himself aimed at by the very people he had just saved;
"Hey, hey it's okay. We're friendly." He said as calmly as he could, all the time keeping an eye on the unconscious biotic on the ground. The woman, also sporting a minigun, was busy tending to him, probably checking for any injuries and in the process of removing his helmet to check properly. After a few tense seconds, the turian, obviously being the leader of the group, motioned for the others to lower their weapons.
"Thanks. I don't know if we would have lasted any longer without your intervention… who are you by the way, and why are you wearing our armor?" He said, pointing at the phase-II armor Jacob sported, including the helmet obstruction Jacob's face from view.
"We… we're here to assist in containing the biological threat currently causing panic and drops on the stock-market. Special-troops, or just the clean-up squad, if you prefer." Jacob said, not having been prepared to have a cover-story ready.
"Hmm… take off your helmet. I don't trusts someone I can't see… and Tequila, how's he coming?" The Turian asked, turning to look at the woman tending to the downed soldier. Having messed a bit with her Omni-tool, she looked back up at her commanding officer;
"Don't really know… whatever he just did, it pretty much knocked him out cold, but that's about it. Give him a slap or electro-shock, and he should be good to go." She said, sounding worried, and at the same time amazed. Jacob couldn't quite help the feeling that these people were just as surprised at the display of biotics as he himself was.
"Sorry to… ask, but what the hell was that just before? Biotics don' glow green… at least not any kind I know off." Jacob. He didn't really like the look of mistrust on the Turian's face, but luckily, before the situation could go from good to bad, the soldier on the ground groaned, and started to move.
…
Fuck… FUCK! That hurt! Roku, just what the hell just happened? Feels like someone just took a burning shit in my blood veins!
"I apologize, but it was the only way to save your life… and that of your squad. I overloaded your nervous systems, but I've managed to repair it to the degree where you've lost part of your olfactory senses… should only last for some hours, until I can get it repaired completely, but you might eventually experience some heavy migraines… sorry."
"Argh…. Don't be, I guess… just… that was about the closest call I've had yet… that wasn't self-inflicted I mean… by the way, what did you just do?"
"I… took over your body. This time completely, hence the stronger pain than on Feros, or when I simply speak to others. I used you to channel a bit of my power, as much as was possible without ripping you to shreds that is. Now, get up and try finding some tissue paper or some ice… your nose is bleeding."
"Thanks… I noticed." I can feel my head spinning around as if on a flying, spinning and exploding boat in high waters, and it isn't as funny as it sounds. As I move, I can feel how every muscle in my body is sore to the point of direct pain. It feels like I've been through a thousand push- and pull-ups at once, and then been kicked by a krogan.
"Thomas! Try not to move too much… Damn, that was one hell of a stunt you pulled back there. How did you do that? Thought you weren't a biotic?" The voice of Tequila cuts through my head like a razor, and I slowly move my hands to my head as if I can block the sound from entering my ears.
"Not… not so loud… thankyouverymuch… My head is… killing me… what… what happened?" I ask as I slowly, with the help of Tequila, get to a seated position from where I can slowly start opening my eyes, all the while the corporal is injecting needle after needle in my legs, and I'm too wasted to even be scared of them.
"Honestly? I've got no idea… you just started glowing green, threw the big bug across the room and squashed it against the walls, then you started fucking hovering and sweeping up the remaining bugs… apparently with the help of some new people who just arrived… don't know who they are, but they helped save our hides, so… why don't you stand up and say hello for yourself?" She says, and before I can even protest, I'm being hoisted to my feet, feeling the headache pound my brain into scrambled eggs.
"Fu- Please Tequila… not that fast… my head… gods, I could kill for some Pinex or a strebsil right now… or just five gallons of tea, if you've got that on you?" I say, trying to see if a bit of humor can help the headache buzz off. Instead, it remains, and I'm left with looking at a man in what looks like our own armor, armed with an Avenger rifle, and a handgun.
"Who… shit… who are you?" I ask as my headache continues its relentless pounding.
"LT Taylor, cleanup squad six, as we're called." The man says, and the voice is the same as a week ago. What the hell are the odds for this?
"Jacob?" I ask, not sure if I'm even right, but not really giving a fuck all the same. The only one in this squad who doesn't know about my little meeting with him and Miranda, as well as that Asian dude who was with them, is Tequila, and she doesn't know enough about Cerberus yet to hate them like the rest of us. I look through the visor the man has in his helmet, and true enough, a pair of brown eyes are widened in shock. Probably over having been recognized. Frankly I'm surprised the others haven't recognized his voice by now. They were at the meeting too.
"Who… wait, it's you! Thomas Fisher!" He says, slowly unfastening his helmet and letting it come off his shoulders. He looks a lot different now, clad in armor and everything. Next to me, I can hear Garrus almost choke on his tongue as he points a handgun at Jacob, followed by a low growl;
"So… cleanup-squad eh? Why am I not surprised to see Cerberus here? Let me guess, these things didn't get off Therum… you transported them off, you sick fatherless assholes. And now you are going to tell me that you released them on this planet, as what: an exercise? Too bad civvies got caught in the middle huh? So I suppose the 'clean-up' part is actually removing witnesses, am I right?" Garrus sneers, borderline pressing his gun at Jacob's temples. Before I can even take a step to intervene, a bright blue blur emerges in front of Garrus and knocks him on his ass, causing his gun to fly through the air before said blue blur quickly catches it, returning to Jacob's side in the form of another armored person, this time a woman. She returns the gesture by pointing the gun at Garrus, which in turn causes Wrex, now having caught up with the rest of the group, to snatch her from behind, holding her in a dead-lock, not budging an inch no matter how much she kick and punches him in the groin. Suddenly, as Tequila lifts her own weapon, several armored figures appear on the ledge above us, all training their guns one way: at us.
"Drop your weapons!" One of them shouts, making his point with a red dot on Tequila's forehead.
"Drop yours of the chick here dies!" Wrex bellows, making his point by hugging her a little tighter. This is going wrong far too fast. The fuck do I do? I can't make them stop on my own! What the hell do I-
"Drop your weapons, all of you!" Everything, except for that. Fucking great Roku, just great! Now Cerberus will find out about you, and I end up with my brain on a platter after all!
"What the holy fuck was that?!" Some of the troopers shout, pointing guns at different points of the room, all in vain as none of them seem to recognize the voice coming from me. And let's keep it that way!
"If you say so…"
Despite not dropping their weapons, everyone suddenly seems to have more crucial plans than to point said guns at each other, which I'm pretty impressed with actually. Luckily, Garrus manages to save my hide, probably thinking the same as me;
"Thank you. That was merely a mike. Now, Wrex if you would please let go of the nice woman, and if said nice woman would care to return my gun to me, we could perhaps start over?" He says, although I can see the way his eyes move, rapidly to and fro, it's clear he's nervous about the implications as well.
Slowly, Wrex lets go of the woman who almost collapses on the ground, but quickly gets up again and kicks the gun to Garrus's feet where after he picks it up, and the figures on the ledge, four in total I think, also seem to lower their weapons.
"Thank the Divines… that was too close…" I whisper into my comm. Tequila just nods, seemingly at nothing, but still agreeing with me. My head is slowly turning for the better, though Roku popping out didn't exactly help things along with my headache. On the other hand, I might not have a head now, if not for his intervention. I decide to try out my skills at diplomacy, seeing as Garrus doesn't exactly trust Jacob. Which I can understand, He did come here and presented himself as someone he wasn't… I think;
"Alright, let's agree to that. Now, why don't we all calm down, and refrain from pointing boom sticks at each other, hmm? I'd say that would be a good start." I say while I'm taking off my helmet and trying to sound as friendly as I can. Causing the woman next to Jacob to sigh;
"Sir… this guy is full of crap, he sounds like a fucking kid." She says, turning to face me, not removing her helmet; "Just how old are you?" She says, sounding a bit pissed over dealing with what she takes for a green newbie. That's pretty fucking annoying , actually;
"Old enough to have collected more scars than you, done more messed up shit than you and smart enough to frustrate miss Lawson, so don't come here… and take me for some green rookie, alright? I've seen shit you wouldn't even be able to see in your nightmares, gone through hell in more than one way, and killed things more hostile than anything else in this universe. Thank you for the attention, now kindly tell me one thing: What are you and your guys doing here, that is so important they send Jake here on a mission?" I ask, getting a bit of my frustration out, and taking off my helmet in the meantime, showing off my scars. I think the one across my eye makes an impression, as well as the yellow tint in the artificial eye. However, it's not her but Jacob who answers me;
"Okay… that was some unexpected info… but alright… I wouldn't be too surprised if it turned out you knew a bit about what we are doing here, so… squad, stand down. We're all friends here." He says turning to face the remainder of his men, one of them holding a still spinning minigun pointed at Wrex. The sounds of weapons being put on safety is one of the most reassuring I've heard all day.
"Yeah, I think Garrus just about covered it… I must say, I'm pretty disappointed Jacob. I always took you for a descent man, but if you are here to kill the witnesses…" I say, not being able to hide the bile in my voice. Jacob has apparently done a one-eighty, marching in here to shut up witnesses with the business-end of a gun.
"What? No! At least… no, we're here to contain the threat. 'six' isn't a shut-em-up kind of squad, we're SpecOps."
"Then let me guess. Garrus was right that you guys tried playing gods, like with a certain project Doctor Archer is working on, and it failed… am I closing in?" I say, feeling a deep satisfaction from the look in his eyes. Apparently Operation Overlord isn't known to more than the top-Cerberus staff for the time being, and judging by his expression, Jacob is among the few who knows about it.
"That's… the jest of it, yeah. We're here to rescue some scientists from one of the facilities… but we didn't expect things to be this bad. They might be dead for all we know, but we've still gotta press on and try." He actually sounds sincere. Okay, I guess he isn't here to kill witnesses after all. Thank the Gods… I'd hate for him to become a douche…
"Hmm… Well Garrus, you're in charge here, what do you say we do?" I ask, turning to face the Turian who looks like he is walking the border between wanting to shoot the Cerberus people, and offering to help them.
"Hmm… this is too big for me to decide. I'm calling the commander, see what he says." He says, turning on his comm.
"Yeah, that would… probably… wait… fuck! No Ga-" I try to stop him, imagining how John is going to react when he learns there are Cerberus people here, and even better, that all of this is most likely their fault. And that I met with them!
"Hey Commander? Charlie-squad here… yes, we're fine. Saved in the neck of time as humans say… I think. Anyway, we've… come across some pretty interesting people… yes… no, they're not local security… better come here and see for yourself… the garage? Well, we're supposed to maintain this area until Delta arrives… what?! When? How bad…" Garrus is working himself up, and I can't help but get a bad feeling about what he's going to tell us when he gets off the comm.;
"Yes, I did notice how we're having a red dot, but… spirits… how did it happen? …I see… try see if Jane can get into contact then, ask them what happened. We'll go retrieve the data then, and then we head for the garage to regroup…alright, Garrus out." Garrus says, cutting off the link. He doesn't say anything at first, just turns to face the wall, and punches it so hard I can hear something break;
"S'KAK! S'kak, S'kak, S'kak¸ S'kak!" He yells, repeatedly punching the wall until his gauntlets start cracking, and Wrex has to hold him to stop him;
"The hell's wrong with you Vakarian?" He asks with a worried sneer on his face.
"Fuck it… Delta was ambushed… worse than us. Now Sev and Scorch are missing, and Sev's suit has him marked dead… this is going down the shitter really fast, and… and now we need to carry out Delta's role while John sees if he can have Jane's squad help Delta… what's left of them, out of their shithole. He just can't reach her." He says, gaining a tired and weary tone. At first, I'm not quite sure I believe my ears;
"Wha- dead? But… he… how… N-no, I mean he… he can't… he's Sev for FUCKS SAKE! He can't be dead! No one's supposed to be able to die yet!" I shout, not giving a fuck if Jacob starts wondering what I'm talking about.
"Well he is! Most of Delta is wounded, and Sev is dead. We can mourn him later; we still have a job to do!" Garrus sneers back. This is too much. Reality has finally come to bit us in the ass, and shown that people die: That this isn't a game. Never was, I guess.
Sev… the badass clone with the blood-smear… dead? It's not even four hours since I saw him the last time… armored up on the Normandy…
Leaning against the wall, I slide down it, ending up sitting on the floor with both hands covering my face as I try to breathe in slowly. My headache is flaring up again.
"We… lost someone? But… this isn't supposed to be possible… not… not possible… fucking xenos… they shouldn't even be… here." I say, finally remembering just why the xenos are here: Cerberus. I look to find Jacob and the female commando still standing where they stood before, Jacob looking a bit worried. I get up, slowly and unsteadily, and walk to where Jacob is still standing. Without what I guess is any warning, I punch him in the face with my left fist, sending him staggering backwards, and the female to his left pointing her gun at me. Like I give a shit…
"Ow… what the hell was-" He says, looking at me in disbelief and surprise;
"-'that for'? You wanna fucking know what that was for, eh Jacob? Eh? Because of you, and your FUCKING BOSS, we've lost members of our crew, and innocent people have lost their lives here, BECAUSE OF YOU ASSHOLES! I don't care if you just saved our lives, because none of this would have happened if you fucking racist extremists hadn't experimented on xenos in the first FUCKING PLACE! But noo, you had to play gods for Arkay's sake, see if you could control some new and freaky race of bugs, and then you fucked up and thought you could just cover it up! Now… now your idiocy has costs us a team-member, cost another his brother and nearly got all of us killed! You can be fucking glad you have your little group of KKK-wannabees with you, or I'd step aside while Wrex tore you apart, or even better: do it myself!" I shout, raising my fist to punch him again, but then I think better of it, and instead send my leg flying towards his crotch. It's only because Tequila grabs me and pulls me backwards that I'm not robbing him of his ability to have kids in a single motion.
"Corporal, calm the fuck down! They saved our lives!" She orders. Orders my ass, we're equal ranks!
"Calm down? CALM DOWN? This is me 'calmed down' Tequila! You don't see me or Roku killing someone, do you?! No, I'm perfectly calm! If I was any calmer, I'd be five feet fucking under!"
"And I am grateful for that, but right now we can't afford to lose any additional support, not even… not even these people…" She says, and I can actually hear the distaste in the last words. I shake myself free from her grip;
"Fine. But I swear, if we lose even one more member of the teams… if we lose Nic or Ash… I'll simply let Roku at them. Understood?" I sneer, looking at both Tequila and the dumbstruck Jacob.
"Don't worry… if we lose Nicolai, I'll even join in." She sneers, low enough that only I can hear it. I suppose she means it.
…
Jacob could still feel the burning sensation on his feet, as well as the feeling that one or two teeth had been knocked loose. The man across from him now, looked nothing like he had done on the Citadel. The face was the same, yes, but now it was contorted in a fit of anger Jacob hadn't seen anywhere in a long time. Actually he couldn't even remember the last time he had seen someone this pissed. Even Mirada on her worst days would appear blissfully happy in comparison to the corporal right now. He could also feel how tense his own men got, as well as keeping an eye on the gun in Valkyrie's hands, aimed at said man's head.
"Fine. But I swear, if we lose even one more member of the teams… if we lose Nic or Ash… I'll simply let Roku at them. Understood?" He said, starring at Jacob with what looked like a mixture of inhuman rage, as well as a bit of fear. He had already proven to be far more capable than first assumed, especially because the info on him hadn't listed him as being a biotic, and a green-glowing biotic wasn't something the data-recorders would refrain from noting.
And then there was this 'Roku' the man kept mentioning. Jacob couldn't see anyone in the squad fitting to a description of 'being let loose' on someone, like an animal. Neither did the Normandy's crew-compliment boast anyone by that name. Yet, it seemed the corporal's team took the threat more serious than that of guns being trained on them. What the hell is going on here? He thought, as he could suddenly hear footsteps rushing in from behind, and turned just in time to see a four-man squad, all but one clad in the same armor as the others, rushing towards them with weapons drawn. It consisted, from what he could see, of two humans, a man and a woman, a Quarian and a Turian. The latter wore distinctive armor, fitting for an officer of the Turian Hierarchy's fleets. About the time when they drew close enough to make out the details, the woman in the lead raised her hand to signal a stop, as well as trained her rifle on the squad of Cerberus commandos. This was getting ugly, real fast.
"Drop your weapons!" The woman shouted, pointing her rifle directly at Jacob's head.
…
Running through the facility while listening in on Charlie's comm. had proven a highly disturbing experience. Not only because she could not get into contact with John's group, and he not with hers, but also because it turned out that the very people who had created or brought the bugs to Noveria, were here as well, and were currently occupied with Charlie-squad. When she heard the sound of Corporal Fisher's fist hitting one of the operatives, the one called Jacob, a side of her couldn't help a grim smile, seeing how he had grown, not only a moral spine, but learned to throw a fist. Said side was just disappointed over not having seen it.
Still, she didn't like hearing how Thomas threatened with letting Roku, the so-called 'ghost' or spirit residing inside of his head, kill or attack the other group. It was a stupid choice of words in the heat of the moment, but Jane could understand why he had said it, especially since it was due to their bugs having killed Sev, the commando she had been on the comm. with not ten minutes ago. Rounding a corner, she came upon a new pair of corpses, both sporting the holes in the chests that were quickly becoming trend on those parts. Not even bothering to get her hopes up, Jane kneeled down next to the bodies, a man with a little girl next to him, both lying with wide-open and horrified eyes as they stared into the ceiling, trails of blood leading away from both of them, while trashing-marks in the dried blood told the story of just how painful a death they had experienced. Now Jane had a mind for punching some faces herself once she caught them, and continued her run after she had closed the eyes of the two humans, ignoring a Salarian lying some feet away, with no hole in his chest. The reason was simply: most of his head was missing, dissolved, probably by the same acid found to run in the bugs' veins, or just in their bodies generally. She did, however, offer a quick running prayer for their souls, even the Salarian's, even though she doubted they shared humanity's version of Heaven. Not that she would know. Past actions had long since banned her from going there when her life ended. It was a fact she had come to accept. It still caused her some pain though, and just made her all the more hell-bent on bringing similar swine to justice, public or covert.
"Keep it up; we're fifty meters from their po- up ahead, armed personnel, not ours." She ordered through the comm. as she raised her own gun while running, finally changing to loud-speakers;
"Drop your weapons!" She shouted, pointing her gun at the man looking most like the leader, standing relatively close to her own people, rubbing his chin.
At first, the people closest to her, the ones armored in the same way as her people, didn't react, at least not by obeying orders. Instead, they trained their own weapons on Jane and her new arrivals, while one of them had his or her gun pointed at a person she recognized as Fisher, down at the other group.
"I said drop your guns and get down on your knees Cerberus!" She repeated, turning on a small laser-dot on her rifle and letting it rest on the forehead of the supposed leader. A man she just now recognized as being the one and same she had spotted and photographed at the exchange a few days back, on the Citadel: Jacob Taylor.
Taylor looked like he was unsure of how to respond to this, seeing as he and his men were caught in something akin to a pincer move, just with no one having opened fire yet. Finally, after some tense seconds where Jane and her people had armed and aimed their guns at the opposition, ready to take them down NLT'wise, the dark-skinned man held up his hands, and signaled for his men to do the same. Even the soldier next to him, whom Jane now recognized to be a woman, complied, putting her handgun on the ground. Some exclamations were made, both from friendlies, and Cerberus.
…
"Jane! Spirits, aren't you a sight for sore eyes!" Garrus shouts, probably keeping his sights switching between the woman in armor, and his captain and the second-in-command of the Normandy. I've gotta admit, I'm pretty damn happy to see her as well. Even though a more cherished sight would be Nic and Ash storming in with spinning miniguns. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers. And considering I just punched Jacob in the face, which is bound to get me into trouble in two years time, I guess I'm glad that Jane arrived just now. Also, it causes the lady next to Jacob to drop her gun, instead of being ready to plant a round in my head. Yeah, I bet I scared the shit out of her with my little tale. Best part of that one, is that it was all through.
"Captain Jane Shepard… I've never been happier to see you. Like, really. I was more scared than happy back in the med-bay." I say through the near-contact comm., watching her shake her head in what almost, for just a moment, seems like amusement.
"I know. And now we have ourselves some culprits for this whole situation." She says, letting her squad, which I'm glad to see is still whole, stand guard at the now kneeling commandos, while Wrex is lumbering up to join them, minigun in hands. It's practically a miracle that it didn't get busted like mine when he used it to plow through the bugs. If Cerberus, Jacob included, really is to blame for Sev's death… what would you think of letting Boss be the guy leading the… interview?
"You're asking me?"
"Just… wanting to know if my idea is horseshit or a good one." I answer, not taking my eyes of Jacob and his men, and woman, as they are being zip-tied by a krogan. I'm guessing that's why none of them are trying to fight back. Seeing as these guys are partly to blame for the state of this place, I'm actually amazed that Wrex hasn't 'accidentally' broken someone's arm or wrist.
"I… think it sounds good. Just make sure to get it by either Jane or John before you propose it to Boss… speaking of… what do you wager John is going to do, when he learns that not only are there Cerberus-personnel here, but that they are the ones to blame for the death of one of his crew?"
"Nothing can be too bad, seeing as we lost Sev. As long as he doesn't maim them, I don't think anyone would mind some… education, from his side." I 'say', not being able to contain a grim smile as the woman who just aimed at me is handcuffed, for one reason or another, a little more gently than her colleagues. Wrex is such a big softie.
"Agree… just remember that there's a chance you're going to depend on Cerberus feeling in the mood to resurrect Jane or John after Alchera…" Bugger… He does have a point though. Putting my helmet back on, I decide to go have a chat with Jane… and maybe Jacob. Not that I'm going to apologize, no way in hell that's gonna happen. If someone had simply been wounded: sure, I'd say sorry for trying to break his jaw. But we lost Sev. We fucking lost Sev! There's no apologizing there. Hell, he should be happy I didn't kick him in the balls. Or, he should be thanking Tequila, who just now seems to be catching up to some kind of subject with Tali, who in turn is keeping her shotgun trained directly at the head of the nearest trooper. I suppose she of all here has a reason to dislike… scratch that, to hate Cerberus, after what they did to her and John.
"Jane… can I talk to you for a second?" I ask as I tap her on the shoulder, pointing to a spot a bit away from the rest. She nods, following me away.
"So… I suppose I should be asking what's actually going on here, but I heard most of It through the comm. the second we were close enough. Sounds like you've become quite the pep-talker… and heavy-hitter. Just which I'd seen it when you smacked down that Taylor-guy. It's funny though, when I saw him at the meeting, he didn't strike me as the insane 'The end justifies the means' kind of guy. Granted, I didn't really get to interrogate him, so… anyway, what is it?"
"This Jacob… he's actually not that bad a guy… still, what do you say, that before we venture any further… if we venture any further, 'cause I sure as hell don't see any reason why we should… what do you say we allow John or Boss to… ask these guys a few questions?" I ask, and it causes Jane to open her eyes wide, probably not having expected me to come up with that kind of idea.
"Fisher… seems like conflict is hardening you a bit too fast. Though I agree we should take them into custody, I say we at least have someone keeping watch over Boss and John… in case one of them loses it. I get it, you want payback, and the bringers of all this shit are the perfect targets, I agree. But we are the Systems Alliance. Torture and killing of non-combatants and unarmed isn't part of who we are." She says, looking at the group of captives, now seated against a low wall, courtesy of our Turian officer, Feltan. Hell, she of all should hate Cerberus with a passion, seeing as they are racists and xenophobes. It's odd.
"Didn't stop you on Torfan…" I say, before I can clasp a hand over my mouth, or… the voice-emitter, that is. Suddenly, Jane's eyes narrow, and I can actually feel how the mood around us grows colder and more depressing;
"Don't… go there. I've had my fair share of devils in my past, and whatever people say or think, I've done my best to make up for my sins. Don't go make the same mistake as me. Letting hate and emotion guide you will only lead you to make the wrong choices." For a moment I thought she would have said 'lead to the dark side', but then again, Mass Effect and Star Wars never shared a fictional shelf like Star Wars apparently did with Aliens. Still, I suppose she does have a point.
"Right… I know. And sorry, I didn't mean to bring up some old wounds, especially if what you say is true, and you've made up for whatever actually transpired on Torfan. So… what, we just lock these guys up and serve them to the Alliance?" I ask, not taking my eyes off of the commandos. A few of them seem to be starring back, though the helmets makes it difficult to be sure.
"That will depend on what happens in the interview. For now we keep the tied up here, and wait for Able and Delta to return… what's left of the latter anyway. I've sent out our coordinates, as well as a priority-message."
"And… what is the message?" I ask, looking back at her.
"Basically, it's 'drop your shit and come to my position'. The actual version is a bit longer, but most of it is military jargon." She says, making to return to her place at the wall, and I just follow.
"Hmm… I suppose that's a good thing. Just one last thing before I head out… or a few meters down the hall… what did you mean by 'conflict is hardening me'?"
"When I first served with you, on Feros, you struck me as an idealistic individual, willing to be shot at and hit, before you would shoot an infected individual. Now, you're talking about torturing people who saved your ass. Admittedly, they also caused the demand for it to be saved in the first place, but still. Try and make sure you don't grow cold. I doubt Ashley would find that attractive." She says, and I swear, it sounds like there is a small knowing smile behind the visor. Nodding, and saluting, I return to where I stood before, then thinking of a better way to spend the wait, and go to lean against the railing next to Jacob, putting myself in a place between him and one of his men, a guy sporting an insignia depicting a key sliding into a lock. Not that I understand what the hell it means, but I don't really care either. Jacob is my main source of interest now. Time to find out if he really is as innocent as I somewhat hope he is, or if I should just shoot him here and now.
Holy shit... I know, 'why you kill Sev? he was awesome!'
Well... I loved that guy, and it pained me to do it, but... well... yeah.
remember to review and all that, though at the moment I'm too tired to care much about it :)