A/N: Here is the next chapter and please review, I really enjoy reading them. Don't make me beg like the last story please. Anyway enjoy.
3-3-2184 2034 hours (Citadel standard time)
SSV Terra Nova
Super carrier
Alliance Colony Rover
Captain Ahern, a man at the age of 38 with brown short hair, was a relatively new captain in the alliance navy. Having graduated from the Citadel academy on Mars, he understood the concept of warfare. Standing in front of the holographic images of his ships, he watched as they got into combat formation. It wouldn't be long until the Batarian fleet would arrive in the system.
While the Alliance usually focuses on mobile defenses, they were keen enough to established fixed emplacements such as the rail gun cannons in orbit over the planet or the numerous nuclear mines near the relay.
At his disposal, Ahern had 56 Alliance ships, 2 super carriers, 3 carriers, 8 battle cruisers, 12 cruisers, 19 destroyers, and 12 frigates. It was a rather small battle group made mostly for routine patrols than frontline combat. Ahern was responsible for doing routine patrols in vector 15, which would mean covering 6 core worlds and an Elcor colony, spread out over various systems. Only two contain Mass Relays, which meant that only two areas were really prioritize. However, he had gotten a tip from an anonymous source saying the Batarians were poised to strike in this sector. Ahern relayed the information to Alliance Command, unfortunately they were more concerned with protecting colonies closer to Batarian territory. Nevertheless Ahern remained vigilant.
In charge of the Alliance ground force was Major Jen Rose; they numbered at 720,000 soldiers and an extra 6,000 militia spread through the planet. Unlike the Batarians, whom would use large numbers to overwhelm defenders, the Alliance prefers quality over quantity similar to that of the Salarians. While in case of war the Alliance army can become as large as 4.2 billion soldiers, however Alliance command was very reluctant to mobilized that many men and women.
"What is our current status?" Ahern asked his XO, a dark skinned man by the name Abur Jackson.
"We are currently at Def-Con 2, sir." Jackson replied with a thick Eastern European accent.
Ahern stared at the relay from the command deck of his super carrier. 'I can handle the action. But it's the waiting that kills me…the anticipation of wondering when the enemy is going to make his move.'
Ahern was brought out of his thoughts, when Jackson informed of activity near the relay. "Captain the relay…it's powering up."
"Well time for the fireworks." Getting on all available Alliance ships' QEC, he said "All ships prepare for combat. The Colony and its people are counting on your to stop the barbarians here, god speed." He cut the connection and watched as hundreds of ships poured through the relay. Some of which, he had never seen. What little fear he had, was now gone as he was prepared to give his life for the Alliance.
"Quarry, get a message to the Alliance. Tell them we are under attack!"
"Message sent, Captain." Quarry, the ship's AI said.
HSV Black Diamond
Dreadnought
Rear Admiral Sidek Gef aligned his ships as best he could. He smiled at the improved armor his ships had, thanks to the Quarian's and their engineering skills.
"Sir, our ships are approaching the relay." An ensign informed him.
Smiling, Gef said "Good. Are the diversionary craft in position?" he asked.
"Yes sir. They are amassing with the first wave."
"Excellent." What Gef was referring to was the numerous outdated frigates scheduled for decommission. Unlike other Batarian commander's, Gef was not naïve and arrogant. He was cunning and ruthless and was able to find a weakness in his enemies.
Prior to the discovery of the Systems Alliance, the Hegemony was, unquestionably, the most powerful associate race of Citadel space. Over 18 billion of its inhabitants were in arms and another 72 million in reserves, though these were the unlucky slaves force to fight for their freedom. The Batarian navy once had 8 fleets with 400 vessels in each, however with the Quarian's engineering skills and the Collector's technology, the Batarian navy now had over 16 fleets, double what they once had in 2178. Both their military and economy, though not by much, increased slowly bidding their time to strike at the Alliance. They could also count on various mercenaries and slaver groups to aid them in their attack if it ever came to war with the other races.
After various calculations were made, the Hegemony concluded that only through relay 748, the most lightly guarded, yet furthest away from Batarian territory, was the only route in which they could launch an attack. Despite this, they knew that if the worst came to pass, they could find themselves fighting the whole Citadel races, however they an ace in the hole, the Collectors.
Gef wickedly smiled as he was about to be the first Batarian ever to burn an Alliance colony to the ground.
As his ships neared the relay, Gef made one last statement to all 600 of his ships, aided by 250 Quarian warships, though reluctantly, and 400 collector cruisers. "Take pride my fellow brothers, today we erase this stain on our honor! Rejoice the blight of the galaxy is about to meet its end!" Cheers were heard all over the radio.
SSV Terra Nova
Super carrier
"Sir, we have contact with over one thousand ships, about 400 of which are unidentified! The rest are either Batarian or…Quarian!?" Jackson was left speechless. He would have never guessed that the Quarian's would blindly attack any military super power. 'Well there's a first time for everything.' He thought.
The unidentified grey vessels appeared round-ish in nature, having a honey combed design. The armor plating showed the protection and armor that it had attached. The massive cannon, or what Jackson thought to be the cannon in the middle of the ship, looked like it could do some damage.
"Detonate mines at defensive line Alpha and I want those orbital Ion cannons firing now!" Ahern ordered.
Near the relay a massive fireball of nuclear fire enveloped over 87 frigate class vessels and 5 of the strange ships, destroying them all in a bright light.
Ahern couldn't place it, but he felt something wasn't right. 'Surely they Batarians know about the mines, so why are they sacrificing so many ships?' He questioned in his head
He was brought out of his thoughts when his ship shook from the alien ordinance as it struck the hull. Alarms started blaring on the bridge. " Damage report!", Ahern yelled.
"We've got multiple hull-breaches: starboard side! Decompression on decks: 5, 8, and 10! We have several casualties!"
"Sealing all exposed decks." Quarry said.
"Scramble all fighters and bombers and get us even as far as away as you can from the enemy ships! Jackson get me a line to Major Rose!" Ahern ordered. Even though his carriers were in the rear of the battle group, a few of the unidentified ships were able to hit them, even from that range. Ahern didn't think it was possible, but here he was seeing otherwise.
"On it. Sir, the Ion cannons are firing." Jackson informed the Captain. He was at work, multitasking between setting up the connection to the Alliance ground forces, and trying to update the Captain of any new developments of the battle. The AI Quarry saw this and took over informing the captain of new developments.
In geosynchronous orbit above the planet were fifteen heavy rail gun cannons. Each locked on an enemy ship, the muzzles of their cannons aimed towards the unknowns. Their barrels flared in silence as they fired their shots. However the Collectors, though the Alliance was not yet aware of their name, were aware of the Alliance's defensive capabilities and made sure to place frigates in their path. 45 frigates and 1 unlucky Collector cruiser was destroyed.
"Sir, Major Rose is on the line." Jackson informed the Admiral.
On the holo-projector, the image of Major Rose appeared. She was naturally tan, with bundled up black hair. She was wearing Alliance armor, it seems she too was expecting trouble.
"Captain what the hell is going on!?" Rose demanded.
"Major Rose, we are under attack. I need you to mobilize your men as quickly as you can!"
"W-hat..are you bullshitting me!?"
"'I'm an Alliance navy captain, bullshitting isn't in my job description. Now I need you to prepare your ground forces."
"Alright. Good luck Captain." Major Rose disconnected, leaving Ahern with a crew depending on him to get them out of this situation.
Ahern turned to his AI. "Quarry, can you hack into the unidentified ships and see if you can find any intel on them?"
"I'll try my best captain." Quarry then proceeded to try to hack his way into the enemy ships. At his first attempted he saw that the ships had superior cyber warfare suits as the regular methods weren't getting him access to the ships, so he tried something risky. He temporarily shut down his defenses, and just as he thought the species attempted to hack into the ship, however he immediately isolated their connection and began investigating their firewalls.
HSV Black Diamond
Dreadnought
Gef stood in the CIC of his dreadnought looking at the enemy's forces; he had already sent the Quarian ships to land troops on the planet, and the Collector ships fired on the Alliance ships along with the Batarians.
When the battle began the Collector vessels were able to fire at the Alliance super carrier approximately 53,000 km away, though it merely scratched the vessel. The Alliance ships responded by firing their main guns and managed to destroy sixteen frigates and five cruisers. Then six Alliance frigates disappeared using their worm-hole drive, only to appear to his ship's left. With his ship's pointing their main guns at the destroyers and cruisers, the Alliance frigates unleashed hell firing all of their missiles, torpedoes, and main guns. They destroyed ten cruisers and one dreadnought, however numbers where still on his side.
Gef watched as his ships tried to turn around engage the Alliance frigates, only for them to disappear again and reappear right next to their blasted carriers.
'No doubt they are rearming for another attack.' Gef thought as he watched the frigates dock with the carriers and began receiving armaments and repairs.
"I want half of our frigates to start landing troops on the planet. Launch all fighters to target their ships, get our cruisers to overwhelm and collapse the enemy's ships shields." Gef ordered one of his ensigns.
"Yes sir, right away." His men proceeded to carry out his orders like a well train crew. Unlike most Batarian sailors, Batarian soldiers of the 9th tactical brigade were above standards of the average soldier. In fact one general even stated that 'If they were any better, they'd be SIU's.'
In space the Batarian fleet frigate's attempted to land troops on the planet, however they were harassed and destroyed by Alliance destroyers. The Alliance cruisers engaged the Collector vessels. They fired half of their geothermal missiles and disruptor torpedoes at the Collector battle group, trying to destroy or cripple their ships before getting anywhere close to the Rail gun platforms. The Alliance cruisers were able to destroy fifteen Collector cruisers at the cost of six of their own. A collector cruiser had a large Mass Accelerator able to fire 59 kilotons of firepower at the rate of every 8 seconds, however the Alliance cruisers held strong.
The Alliance spacecraft numbered at 5,625, consisting of bombers, fighters, and drones. The Batarians however had 8,378 interceptors and 1,234 bombers. Even though the Alliance hawks were out-numbered they had an advantage in quality. During the first stage of the dogfight the Batarian pilots realized that the enemy fighters now had kinetic barriers, which cost them about 239 of their own fighters. The Batarians managed to regroup and placed each other into squadrons to target the Alliance hawks, it managed to work and the Alliance lost 78 fighters. It continued to work, until the Alliance unleashed its 450 Eagles to intercept the Batarian bombers and fighters. Risking total annihilation of their bombers, a tenth of the Batarian fighters disengaged to protect their bombers. However, the Alliance then ordered their bombers, escorted by ARC drones to make attack dive runs on weaken enemy ships. A total of six Batarian cruisers and fifteen frigates were destroyed, however 56 bombers were lost. An Alliance frigate was destroyed after concentrated fire from Batarian bombers and cruisers.
The SSV Germany, an Alliance destroyer, managed to take out two Collector cruisers. Managing to use its superior speed to close from the rear, the SSV Germany engaged the cruisers at a range of just over 300 meters. It fired all of its EMP warheads and missiles on one, which it attempted to evade the barrage, allowing the destroyer to fire its PAC and rail gun cannon on the other, effectively destroying it. The ship then target the other cruiser, slightly weaken from the attack, and fired its main cannons and point defense guns. The cruiser exploded in a large fireball as debris from both ships floated in space. The SSV Germany then pulled back, using the debris as cover, to avoid getting swarmed by the Batarian cruisers.
The enemy had split into two groups. The Batarian ships were coordinating their barrages, ensuring that maximum damage would be done. About thirty of the Collector cruisers made a breakneck run towards the planet, their hasty rush cost them sixteen cruisers and three Quarian frigates.
One might have asked why the Batarians were fighting the enemy instead of retreating. The answer was they wanted to sow fear into the Alliance, showing that their territory no matter how far could and would be attacked by the Hegemony. Already evacuations of civilians were underway in major cities on the planet. One of these cities was New Flora, named for its display of beautiful flowers found in the city's ecosystem nearby. Ironically enough, a large crocodilian like creature also lived in these areas, but were more tranquil and lived from eating plants and fruit rather than meat.
SSV Shakespeare
Cruiser
Commander Sanjii Gupta had not been expecting to fight on the frontlines. He was the son of two merchants from the colony world of Central, and had chosen the navy due to his fascination of military science.
This was his first tour of duty as a commander, and the first engagement where he was fighting a national army, not measly pirates. He was as nervous as he had adrenaline rushing through him.
However, now his ship was being boarded by Batarians and he ordered the Alliance troopers to meet them head-on.
From the bridge, he watched as two more frigates made a turn towards his ship and began orienting themselves for an attack run. "Ferguson fire the main cannon at the two frigates at vector J-3." He commanded.
"Aye, sir. Firing…now. HAHA! Now that's a sight!" Ferguson cheered as the two frigates were destroyed.
Gupta was impressed as 85 kilotons of firepower completely annihilated the ships, however he did not get cocky as his ship was still taking fire from the Batarian ship port side that forcibly docked with them At this range he couldn't order the main cannons to fire on the enemy ship or else his own ship would be destroyed in the ensuing explosion. Broadside cannons on both ships exchanged fire as explosions and rounds shook the ships.
The sensor operator called over to him, "Shields are holding at 58%! Rerouting engine power to the shields! Sir, I recommend we ditch the Batarians fast, because we are a sitting duck right now.
Gupta grimaced. He had to destroy the Batarian ship or he, along with his crew, would be destroyed by incoming fire.
"Have the ship launch the disruptor torpedoes." Gupta commanded.
"Aye, sir." Ferguson replied.
An Alliance force were on their way to sever the docking tube via the ships airlock, however they had meet resistance along the way. It was up to these brave and well trained soldiers to free the ship and take out the Batarians.
SSV Shakespeare
Cruiser
Deck 6
"This is…epic Earth-clan!" Fide shouted as he fired his pistols. He shot one Batarian in the eye and another in the neck. So far he had managed to get the most hits out of all the squad, which was seven in total. The squad comprised of three Alliance troopers, a medical officer named 'Doc', Fide, Laforeck, and Daniel. The Volus took cover, just about a Batarian sniper fired.
"How in the hell is a Volus beating all of you!" Sergeant Spice shouted. He was utterly embarrassed that a Volus was beating him, a trained soldier in the Alliance army, and no matter how much he tried he simply couldn't beat him.
"Guy's got talent." Jenifer said. The other Alliance soldier gave a nod as he agreed with her assessment.
Spice turned his attention to the medical officer, who simply said 'I'm a medical officer, not a soldier! I shouldn't even be fighting!"
Spice grabbed him by the shirt and said "You are in a war zone. If you're not shooting you're fucking dead!"
Doc swallowed and shaking, he agreed to continue to fight, though armed with only a side-arm that wasn't too much plausible.
The team was taking heavy fire as a platoon sized force began suppressing them and started to advance. "Damn someone get a grenade over there!" Spice shouted. To answer his wish, a batarian soldier threw a grenade and it landed four feet from them.
"He didn't just…."
"Shit." Both Spice and Doc cringed at the sight of the grenade and they each hugged their cover. If they were to attempt to get the grenade and throw it back, they would be exposed to incoming fire.
Just as all hope was lost, out of nowhere came the greatest sight they have ever seen. Dashing into the battlefield Lt. Fullerton kicked the grenade towards the batarians and it detonated right above their heads, killing five of them. He then fired his rail carbine in short bursts, killing three Batarians by shooting them in their eyes, neck, and torso. He ducked immediately into cover right next to the misfit team as the position he was held was swarmed by heavy fire.
He began speaking to them. "Alright the hallway is narrow so we can't fight our way through, but I have an O.I.T team going around the Batarians backs and they should be there….now."
In the rear of the Batarian lines, eight O.I.T troopers disintegrated any soldier with four eyes with their Tesla cannons. These guns were made primarily for heavy armor, however the Alliance soon saw that they also made great infantry weapons. They had low recoil and great accuracy, however the cannons drawback was its rate of fire. As one trooper put it 'you only need one shot. Anything more…and its overkill'.
The team breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks we owe you one." Spice said.
"Don't mention it, however there is still more and we could use the help. The captain wants me to disengage the docking sequence, however I'm going to need help as a company sized force is guarding all hangars or hallways leading to it." Fullerton informed them.
Each member of the team stared at the insanity of the Titan. He was actually considering engaging a company sized force.
"How do you…propose to get to…the…" Fide began to say, but was interrupted by Fullerton.
"Well I have two marine and six O.I.T squads ready to jump lift over there through space, however I was thinking you could use super strength cables to fire and latch on the ship. From there all you need to do is rappel towards the ship guns blazing."
"ARE YOU INSANE!? Why not just use the airlock!" Doc yelled.
"The airlock is being guarded on the Batarian side, as we've learned following 6th squad. All nine troopers were killed, however they got us useful information. Now who's with me."
Everyone, but Doc stepped forward and Fullerton motioned them to follow the O. . Fullerton turned his head to Doc, who said "You can count me out." He had his arms crossed and didn't appear to budge.
"Alright. Just be careful with the firefights happening throughout the ship. Also watch out for Batarian stragglers, they'll rape you, then kill you regardless of gender." Fullerton said as he began walking away.
"Hey wait up, I changed my mind." Doc said and immediately began running towards the Titan. Underneath his helmet, Fullerton smiled.
In space, the fleets drew closer to one another as the fighters met head on. Bombers were damaging and crippling ships all over the place. The barrage from the Ion cannons destroyed seven Collector cruisers and eight Batarian frigates.
The broadsword bombers stayed close to their carriers as they tried to pick off damaged frigates and cruisers, while Hawks and Eagle fighter engaged the Batarian interceptors. ARC drones were also wreaking havoc on the enemy fleet providing much needed numbers and distractions. The Batarians lost 60 bombers and interceptors to the ARC drones alone.
The Alliance ships, minus the carriers and their corvette escort, and Batarian ships met face to face and the battle became a free for all. Batarian cruisers fired at the Alliance battle cruisers, but their rounds were harmlessly absorbed by the shields. The Collector cruisers and Batarian dreadnoughts fared better, destroying four frigates and a destroyers. Most of the frigates used their superior speed and maneuverability to avoid most of the fire.
Two Alliance battle cruisers paired up and targeted both the strongest and furthest ships away, using their long range to maximum effect.
The ion cannons were in danger as three were destroyed from combined fire, though the enemy lost seven cruisers and fifty-nine frigates.
Alliance Colony Rover
Maelemen city
Rover Defense HQ
Major Rosen had been watching the whole battle on the holo-screen, through satellites. It was going reasonably well. The Batarian's vast numbers were the main problem. However, what intrigued her more were the unknown ships fighting alongside the Batarians. Despite this, she believed that the Alliance would win this battle, but only at the cost of many brave men and women.
However, Rosen was currently busy mobilizing planet-wide defenses. The Quarian, Batarian, and a few of the unknown ships had breached the atmosphere and were deploying shuttles. Alliance AA guns were pounding the enemy ships, however there were just too many. After losing fifty trying to land in the city, the shuttles started deploying their troops away from AA fire in the forest surrounding the city, no doubt gathering strength to make a push.
She smiled at the fact that the outskirts of the city contain a beast that even the Alliance feared, the Bokari. The Bokari were quad-ped animals that had black skin with razor sharp claws. They had one tail, but it branched off to three at the end, their faces were covered by natural plating armor and they had four red orbs for eyes that allowed them to see well at night and in the day. They were six feet long, five feet high, and can weigh up to two hundred pounds of muscle. Initial settlers came into hostile contact with these beasts. Entire town occupants were found dead with deep claw marks embedded into their skins. When it was learned that the beasts were not only intelligent, but also posses the ability to understand human language, as the Bokari also communicated orally through sound. It became clear these animals were either protecting their territory or were naturally vicious creatures. As Alliance settlers built away from Bokari territory, attacks became nonexistent. After humans became a part of the planet, contact with Bokari became less and less hostile. In fact Alliance scientists were able to determine that they had a culture similar to wolves on Earth, however these animals were not domesticated as they already possessed higher thought processes. They were the apex predators on this planet and the Batarians were soon going to find out why.
"Are the city's defenses up?"
"Yes, ma'am. They are online. Various sensitive buildings are now on lockdown. Troopers and mechs are patrolling the city streets, along with some militia. Majority of civilians are secured in hospitals, subway systems, and bunkers."
"Good. Fire the kinetic rods." She ordered.
Following the impressive display from the Raloi's kinetic rods on ships. The Alliance decided to place them on their colony worlds as an added layer for protection. However they were few in number and only core worlds received them first.
Across the Northern Cite continent, forty rod silos appeared and began targeting the sky. Each silo contained twenty rods, all launched at Batarians and unknown ships. There trails lit the night sky as they showed a clear message to any Batarian invader, the Alliance will never break.
Rover
Batarian shuttle
Sergeant Bajo Ilec sat in his shuttle with three combat teams of Batarian soldiers, flying in the sky of the enemy's world. There were thousands of shuttles landing and deploying troops across the continent, however 45% were committed to the city with the most numerous populace. Following the heavy bombardment from frigates on the city, the majority of Alliance presence was either dead or scattered.
Their mission was to land at the outskirts of the planet's capital city, set up a base of operations, and then press into the city until it was captured. If the opportunity presented itself, then they were ordered to capture slaves for the Hegemony.
Ilec looked out the view screen that showed the view outside the shuttle. They were currently approaching a forest and he could see the highlights of the city beyond it. He estimated that it was 8 kilometers from their location. As he continued to watch, he saw large missiles rising into the sky heading towards the Allied ships. Their launch brighten the dark horizon. Soon dozens of their frigates and a couple of their cruisers were either destroyed or crippled forcing them to land into enemy territory.
He shuddered at the idea of having to face the locals.
"All shuttles this is General Ilinous Cornel. As you may or may not know, there were Alliance missiles launched into the sky that managed to destroy a few of our ships. They are being jammed, however our mission stays the same. The enemy city is just 8 kilometers way and were are to capture it and take slaves and hostages in case the Alliance reinforcements arrive. Good luck."
"We're eight clicks out people get ready," Ileck called out as he saw his squad check and double check their gear.
The shuttle landed and Ilek and the combat team that he was in command of quickly vacated the shuttle. Around them other squads and teams were exiting their shuttles. Hundreds of infantry and tanks were offloaded. Ilec had never seen so many Batarians on an enemy world.
Their comm's sparked to life "Alright men, we'll set up an HQ here and we'll start advancing into the city. First and second battalions, I want you to head into the city and engage any targets. " Cornel ordered.
After five minutes the Battalion of Batarians and Quarians headed out into the forest, unaware that they were being stalked the moment they had landed.
In the forest watching the batarians from afar was Kier, the chieftain of the six-hundred Bokari in the region. They gathered reconnaissance on the Batarians squads and prioritized separated squads. They de-cloaked and headed into the forest ready to hunt and kill their prey. If there was one thing the Bokari loved, it was the hunt. The bigger the hunt, the more Bokari gather from different clans.
As if to signal the hunt. A massive deep howl vibrated throughout the country side. It was heard all the way through the city, and immediately the few Alliance citizens that hadn't evacuated, locked and barricaded their doors.
Sergeant Ilec and his mean had been walking for about thirty minutes. A few of them were a bit paranoid following the series of howls that were heard a bit earlier. Within the safety of their vehicles, the Batarians filed out. The Batarians and Quarians were so focused on reaching the city that they failed to pay attention to the grass, which were being separated by a no visible source.
Suddenly three Quarians on the far left disappeared, screaming as a unknown force snatch them. Trails of blood stained the ground and screams were heard, followed by screeches of growls and the sound of bodies being torn apart. Suddenly the screams and cries for help stopped and bones were launched towards the Batarians.
Ilec saw the bones of the Quarians remains. The body was stripped of all meat, down to the bone. The sight petrified a Batarian who decided to run off, only to be torn to shreds by an animal that couldn't be seen. A few Batarians fired at the poor Batarian, hoping to kill the animal. A deep whine, and drips of green blood leaked on the Batarian, possibly from the animal.
"EVERYONE STICK TOGETHER!" shouted Ilec. His men attempted to follow his orders and stuck close to the vehicles. Growls and howls came from the forests and a few Batarians shot off.
"HOLD YOUR FIRE! Don't waste any ammo." Ordered Ileck.
"HOLD FIRE!? DID YOU NOT SEE THOSE MEN GET TORN APART BY INVISIBLE ANIMALS!" A private shouted.
"I did, but don't you think those beasts are waiting for you to waste your ammo to make you an easier target."
The private swallowed deeply as he let Ilec's information sink in.
"Now calm down and get back in file." Ilec ordered. When Ilec saw that the troops were ready to move again he ordered them to proceed into the city. Those riding in the vehicles were thankful that they weren't exposed to what was out there.
They did not get far, before more Bokari descended upon them and attacked. Batarian and Quarian troops were them torn apart by the creatures. Yellow and red blood mixed together as they were bitten, clawed, and disemboweled. However a Batarain managed to get a luck shot and kill one of the creatures. The body de-cloaked and the troops got a look at what they were facing. The sight of the creature caused some Batarians to clutch their rifles closer. What they saw was a creature honed to kill.
Then Ilec noticed something strange, the attacks stopped. Groans and cries from the injured were ignored as the soldiers attempted find where the creatures had gone.
"Humph, looks like they aren't so tough once their dea…." The soldier in questioned stopped, when all of a sudden around the forest, hundreds of Bokari growled. De-cloaking, the Batarians soon saw the size of each creature, some were even larger than the one the soldier killed.
"I think you killed a youngling." Ilek muttered.
"GET US OUT OF HERE!" A private, riding on top of an APC yelled. The driver, and others, wasted no time flooring the vehicles leaving the infantry to fend for themselves. That was when the Bokari attacked.
Ilec had managed to take cover underneath a rock. When he looked at his men, he saw the creatures were ripping apart as they tried to run for their lives. He saw one of the Quarian females tried to omni-stab one of the creatures in the head, however the natural plating was too thick. The Quarian backed away from it slowly from the creature who began walking forward as if toying with the Quarian. She continued backing until her back hit a tree. Saliva poured down her suit and when she looked up, she screamed as she saw a Bokari jumped down to kill her. The two Bokari attacked and tore her body in half. They were throwing dismembered bodies as if they were rag dolls. He saw as one Batarian tried to run, but one of the creatures jumped on his back and began eating him from his legs. Ileck was extremely horrified now as he watched a good Batarian get eaten alive, the poor solider screamed and cried as immense pain filled his remains as he was devoured. Yellow blood splattered from his body. Another Quarian was grabbed by four Bokari, from the legs and arms and was pulled apart. The poor Quarian yelled as his limbs were severed. The only thing that was left was the upper body, and the poor Quarian was still alive to feel the pain and blood spilled from his remains. Maybe that was the point in the way the creatures were attacking, inspire as much pain and fear as possible.
The Batarain troops tried to fire back with their arms, and some were successful as they managed to kill a few, however they were soon maimed by the creatures who overwhelmed them.
Knowing he would die if he remained there, he made a run for the city. "Advanced into the city!" he called out. He imagine that the creatures would have sealed off all routes leading to the main HQ and he didn't think the creatures were dumb enough to attack 800,000 troops that had access to heavy arms.
He didn't know if any had managed to follow him, but Ilec was only focused on running and didn't look back. He made it all the way out of the forest and saw the city was close.
He heard footsteps behind them and looked back to see a fifteen Quarians and Batarians following. Ileck wondered how the collectors were faring on the isolated human settlements.
Then something made him, along with the other Quarians and Batarians, trip and fall forward on their faces. He turned around and looked down to see his feet were strap together with some sort of strap, then a net above them deployed.
From the edge of the forest, a squad of A.C.S de-cloaked and Ileck counted sixty Alliance soldiers stood up from their hidden cover. They were visibly camouflage, having uniforms matching the terrain, with local fauna and grass strapped on their uniforms in a ghillie suit.
'This is why we have had such a hard time with the turians lately, the Alliance has been practically training them how to counter us.' Ilec thought as he remembered reading reports of turian black watch squads firing from out of nowhere.
Rover
Maelemen city Suburbs.
Hell. That was the shortest word to describe the situation in the capital city of Rover. After gaining air supremacy over the continent, the Batarians started to destroy any planetary guns and anti-ship turrets around the city. Once that was done, swarms and swarms of bombers and fighters were launched and engaged to planet's air force, however they were pushed back.
The evening sky overhead was streaked with smoke and flame, and lit up by mass accelerator and missile fire. Smoke billowed from the half-dozen ruined buildings. Rivers of ammunition cut through any infrastructure. In the distance the Captain John Bradley could hear the crack, roar, and thunder of artillery fire.
Within the city limits, Alliance troopers were laying mines and Claymores in strategic areas. All routes heading towards the HQ were barricaded with junk, some vehicles, and other things. Captain Bradley was leading a platoon size force of 64 men and women.
"Sir any idea what Major Rosen has in mind. Setting up these barricades seems a lot of work to stop the Batarians." Connor asked.
"Well, Connor the point is to delay them as much as possible, you know wait until reinforcements and ambush as many times as you can." Bradley replied.
"Cap, I see Batarian movement just under 500 meters. Mostly light and heavy armor. No sign of any infantry." Foley informed him. As an elite sniper, Foley peered down the street and the clusters of hundreds of enemy element zero signatures. The size determined that it was mostly vehicles and not infantry, which in urban warfare was good for ambushes.
The perimeter security walls had been breached in the initial assault, when the batarian fleet had bombarded the city's automated defense systems from orbit. Over a hundred shuttles had attempted to land within the city, however for their efforts they'd been wiped out by AA fire.
Bradley peered through the barricade and saw the Batarians coming. "Alright everyone dig in and hide. We are going to give these four eyes some military lessons on why you always have infantry guarding heavy armor." The men and women began hiding in trees, behind tall grass, and behind and inside the houses in the street.
Whatever remained of the 1st and 2nd Hegemony Battalions reached a roadblock. Immediately the highest ranking officer, Warrant officer Gec Heil ordered to advanced with the heavy tanks in the front, which was a big mistake. Underneath the tanks on the road were remote detonation mines made for tanking out heavy armor. Jones pressed the detonator and the lead tank shot up in flames. Connor immediately fired a Guardian missile at the rear, creating a kill box. The blasts impacted the rear squads that had disembarked instantly killing them. Their bodies were charred and smoky, but a few were still alive. This quickly changed when Foley and Sherman put bullets in their torso's and skull's .
The remaining Batarian infantry dismounted and began firing, using their vehicles to good effect, however since they couldn't detect where the Alliance forces were exactly there were not effective. A rocket-grenade exploded on the far side, followed by a couple of glowing pulses of energy. The volume of fire continued to grow, and Bradley figured that the Batarians had an idea of where he was. He ordered the Alliance forces out of the homes. Firing his grenade launcher, Bradley was able to take out a squad of Quarian engineers.
A burst of rounds impacted the ground near Connors, cutting the ground near him. He fired his light machine gun and suppressed the infantry. He knew he couldn't stay put, so he dashed to the nearest safe cover, which was a nearby tree. Then an enemy APC pulled out of the street and into the forest firing randomly, but managing to injure a few soldiers. Connors ducked as one of the rounds hit 22 meters from where he was standing. "Ugh, damn that was a close one." Getting on the radio, he said, "Hey Jones are you going to take out that APC?"
A missile detonated a few meters away as the APC was severely damaged. The crew tried to get off, only to be cut down by Connors machine gun.
"Satisfied Connors?" The sound of Jones voice was heard over the radio.
"Very." Connors replied. Firing his weapon, he could see the enemy drawing closer as the enemy infantry pushed down the street. Soon enough incoming fire picked up, slashing down the street toward the Alliance line.
Foley and Sherman tried to pick them off from a slightly elevated positioned near a boulder overlooking the street. They ducked low as an Ogre tank's round impacted the rock. Foley gritted his teeth as the impact damaged his ears. "I'm going need to see a doctor about that." Foley stated, getting back up and firing at the enemy infantry.
"Don't worry it'll be fine." Sherman stated. Her shields flashed, bullets flattening against the mass effect fields her suit threw up to deflect incoming rounds.
"Shit." she rasped as she ducked back down to recharge her shields.
Foley merely laughed at this.
"Shut the hell up Foley." She demanded. Foley continued to laugh a little bit, however he soon focused on fighting back the enemy.
Bradley and Jones were near the front, delivering and taking heavy fire. A rocket-grenade detonated a few meters away. Mass accelerator rounds smashed into the debris on all sides of their cover, while armor-piercing rounds lanced straight through the concrete and thin metal of destroyed buildings and cars. A squad of Alliance soldiers were killed as the heavy armor started to move out. Bradley looked back and saw a breach in the security wall thirty meters away. A blue light flashed twice indicating the breach had been booby trapped for the Batarian tanks. Bradley could now evac his troops out, however running meant that they would be exposed to the heavy fire that they were facing. "Foley, Sherman, cover the withdrawl. Alright everyone we are falling back. Standard formation."
From Foley's location, he tapped a few commands at the lap top that he had. This activated the surrounding drones to activate, that until now had been hidden. Heavy fire impacted the Batarian line. The Alliance soldiers started to fall back . Half of the platoon retreated as the other half covered their retreat.
Once they had reached Foley's position, they provided covering fire as Bradley and his group fell back. "Fall back everyone!" Bradley ordered them.
Bradley had a laser designator trained on the armed convoy and soon Alliance rapiers descended down upon them like a hawk stalking its prey. Artillery and rapier fire covered their retreat into the city. The Battalions of Batarian and Quarian infantry were reduced to companies of men, as they tried to find cover from the heavy Alliance bombardment . Using superior numbers they managed to inflict causalities to the Alliance as they retreated.
Rover
Maelemen city
A company of Batarian SIU soldiers, under the command of Jorth' Abed, were currently traveling as fast as they could under the cover of night. They had so far been able to avoid detection, but the streets were starting to get crowded with Alliance militia and soldiers. They were getting close to their objective. Mobad, the navigator for the company, identified a supply depot that they could regroup in and plan their next move. Motion trackers and thermal vision showed that the depot was currently empty. Mobad activated a hologram showing the layout of the city.
"We're here." he pointed to the depot they were currently in. "Our target is about two blocks away," he pointed to the location of the Alliance tanks they were targeting.
"We won't be able to reach those tanks like this. The streets are crawling with human soldiers and we're pretty close to their front line." said Bore, the company's head sniper.
"Well bring them on. I prefer to fight my way towards the objective, than doing all of this sneaking around." replied Abal, making sure her LMG was loaded.
"We'd get overrun pretty quickly. And we don't have the firepower to blast ourselves out." said Jibab.
"If we can capture this building here," Mobad said pointing to a sky scrapper a block away, "I should be able to use the designator to call in an airstrike on the tanks."
"Well let's get to it." said Abal anxious to get in the fight.
"Everyone has their silencers on?" Jorth asked the company. Everyone gave a nod. "Alright let's go." he said.
Half of the company took off towards the objectve, while the other half stayed in place providing over watch.
As Jorth's team rounded another corner, they ducked into an alley as a squad of local militia passed through. Jorth gave the order and silently the militia riflemen were easily killed. Their bodies were hidden to avoid enemy presence.
Reaching the door to the building , Modad said "Okay lets see what we are up against." Looking through the door using a flexible camera, he saw a squad of Alliance soldiers in the hallway. "Looks like a squad in the hallway, but its likely there are more. Maybe a platoon or a company."
"Us versus a few hundred human soldiers, we've faced worse." Abal spoke up.
"The lack of intel on the number of soldiers in the building is going to be the real problem. Good thing there's only one though. Mobad pick the lock.
Mobad got to work picking the lock on the door, and once the door was open Jorth silently opened the door. The Alliance soldiers had the back turned to him and quietly Jorth approached the first one. Quickly he grabbed the human in a shield and fired his pistol at two of them. Before the last one could raise his gun, he was killed by a headshot from Bore's rifle. Jorth snapped the neck of the human he was holding.
"Let's move Echo, times a wasting." Jorth ordered them.
With a plan formed the team set off to get into position. Bore, Abal, and Jab, the demolitionist, went to the nearest window. Mobad scanned the building and found there were no more remaining hostiles.
The waited until the sound of Alliance tanks could be heard. Jorth gave the order and fire was poured on the Alliance soldiers. "Heads up Echo we have company."
Jorth proved to be right. Not even ten seconds later after they taken out the tanks, they came under heavy fire. Humans came running towards them in droves. All firing their rifles in full blaze in target areas. Jorth's company fired on the humans soldiers with their new particle beam rifles, given to them by the collectors. The humans shields were only able to stop so much bolts from the batarian weapons as they went down with two good shots to the head or multiple to their bodies.
Abal fired her machine gun, cutting entire rows of soldiers at a time. Jab fired his rocket launcher at the infantry killing dozens of soldiers. By know the Alliance deployed their drones, and they targeted the building.
"Everyone move from the windows." Jorth said as he ran back. Almost an instant later the place he once was destroyed as the Alliance drones poured heavy fire into the area. Jorth saw 20 batarians were killed
The humans were still closing in on them and they were pinned down. Jorth analyzed the situation as his shields recharged. Despite his best efforts, the humans were slowly encircling them. Their situation was not good. Right now he needed a miracle.
A miracle was delivered in the form of a missile blowing up a squad of Alliance soldiers, along with a drone. Jorth turned his head to where the shot came from and was overjoyed to see the other half of the batarian SIU company firing down the street. As the humans turned their attention to the other half of the company, Jorth's team once again fired from their position. The enemy soldiers were pumped full of fire as missile and grenades poured down on the Alliance.
The humans, now exposed on two sides, scrambled to find cover, however there wasn't any in the streets below. The Alliance deployed smoke grenades to cover their retreat. "Switch to thermal." Jorth ordered.
The Alliance used their drones to cover their escape, however about a dozen were still wounded in the retreat. BOOM! the sound of a large explosion was heard as Jab fired a missile and destroyed the human drones.
"Command, this is Jorth. Mission is a success."
"We read you over. Jorth take your men and fall back to the shuttles we are pulling out."
"WHAT? Why?" Abal asked dumfounded by the order.
"We accomplished our purpose here. We were never meant to capture the planet, but show we can strike at the humans anywhere. Now fall back, how! The 65th and 34th volunteer brigades will cover your retreat."
"Copy that." Jorth then turned his attention to his men. "Alright, you all heard command we are pulling out." Jorth took his company and retreated back the way they came.
3-4-2184 0100 hours, (Citadel Standard time)
The next day
The Batarians had hit the city hard. Their frigates bombarded buildings and bridges making heavy armor almost impossible to navigate the ruin streets. Nearly all Alliance forces stationed in the city were gone, so Alliance command made defensive deployments and were planning a counter attack. No one knew when that was going to happen, but every Alliance soldier within 300 miles was praying it would be soon.
Sergeant Jeremy Thompson took cover as fire from Batarian bombers impacted near his position.
Over the speakers, the voice of the Major was heard. "This is command to the 57th tactical battalion, we are currently busy evacuating civilians. Heading your way are over two brigades of enemy soldiers. You are all that we have in area so you will need to hold off as long as you can. I have a company of local militia and the 128th infantry battalion heading you way, however they will take time."
"Roger that ma'am, out." replied Commander Blake Wolf. He turned to his men who were on the frontlines with him. "Alright, all you I'm sure have heard that. Now I do not need to tell you what happens if they get past us, so let's make sure we don't." If the enemy breached this position they would flood through and attack the civilians in the city.
The sound of heavy tracks rolling on gravel was soon heard, followed by the explosion of a Batarian ogre tank's main cannon. As soon as the Batarian advance was within visual range, a series of explosions rocked the enemy armored advanced. After a few of their tanks were destroyed, their set up lines were in disarray. To mount any sort of attack the enemy had to either mad rush the Alliance line or pull their armor back as they were being torn apart, however they still had many tanks, APCs, and troops remaining. Batarian and Quarian troops, using the cover of their armored vehicles fire, rushed forward firing their rifles, taking the Alliance forces by surprise and inflicting casualties. Their armor fired heavy rounds killing or suppressing the Alliance forces.
Commander Wolf's sensors displayed the number of enemy contacts. There were more than a hundred enemy troops incoming, advancing up the street by companies. Far, far too many for him or his men to take alone. Wolf, however did not let this faze him and along with his men stared down the belly of the beast.
As the start of the barrage ended turian snipers, that were on planet in part of the soldier exchange program, shot any lightly armored soldier that they saw with their hawk-like eyes. Guardian troops and O. appeared on the demolished roofs and in the mid level windows of the buildings. They poured down heavy fire into the streets trying to thin out the huge mass of troops. Grenades were dropped in front of the enemy advanced, explosions were destroying the area even further, and Sgt. Thompson was in the middle of it.
"Riley get suppressive fire on the right flank, Davidson fire the guardian and take out that Quarian floating tank!" Behind him, craters were made from the blasts of the heavy tank. He saw a radio operator prone on the ground. Thompson tapped him on the soldier, but he didn't move. Thompson tapped him again and when he didn't get a response he turned the operator over. It was then that he saw that the radio operator was dead and there was a bullet in the radio set. He cursed to himself. They needed help right now. To answer his prayers heavy missile fire wreaked havoc on the enemy lines, and Thompson saw a squad of Elcors firing at the enemy armor.
He was equally stunned as he was grateful. He crawled over to them and asked them, "What group do you guys belong to?" he shouted over the explosions and bullets firing in the air, though the Elcor didn't seem to be bothered.
One of the Elcor answered, "With immense pride we are part of the 22nd Elcor armored division, 'Dukenna's pride.' The name was chosen in temperance of the fallen Elcor hero Dukenna on Elysium.
Looking towards Alexis, he ordered her to take a few men and try to flank the west Quarian line. She took a few dozen men and headed out. The shouts of the wounded was heard as an Alliance solider was hit in the face with shrapnel. "AAHHH! SOMEONE HELP ME! I CAN'T SEE!
"Soldier stay calm." Marcus Felix ordered. He was a turian who immigrated to the Alliance after he married a Caucasian human female. He had served in the Hierarchy for three years and another six in the Alliance. The blinded soldier gave a nod, though one could see he was in immense pain. "Ruiz get this man into the medical tent ASAP!"
The Alliance doctor Joseph Ruiz, ran into the middle of cover and got the man into the tent.
Commander Wolf ordered the assault drones to be activated, assault drones were bi-tread machines with a mini-gun attached to it. They were found to be cheap, reliable, and easy to put together and maintain. They were mean to overwhelm in numbers, however Wolf only had 38 placed on the windows. Their fire tore the frontline troops, however a few were silenced from ogre fire.
He saw as the ogres prepared to fire at the O. and snipers in the buildings. "Alpha company get out of there!" he shouted. He saw a few managed to jump lift or get out of the building in time as the rest were killed as the rounds from the tanks impacted the building. They were close to overrunning them now, so Wolf ordered an immediate withdrawal. "Alright men, fall back there are too many of them."
Then the sound of gunships rotors were heard. Sergeant Thompson looked up to see the sky filled with Batarian gunships. "Shit. They are sending the entire Batarian air force."
The Batarian gunships fired, tearing the Alliance forces apart. They tried to retreat, but any attempted resulted in death.
"SARGE I NEED HELP!" Riley yelled.
Thompson turned to where the voice came from and saw a Quarian was trying to stab Riley. Quickly Thompson unsheathed his own knife and ran towards the Quarian. The marine was unprepared as they were stabbed by an Alliance knife.
"You good?" Thompson asked, extending his hand.
Riley drew his side arm and fired. Thompson turned around to see a Batarian dead on the ground.
That was when it happened. Hundreds of ARC drones appeared over the battle field and fired at the enemy gunships and troops. Riley and Thompson hid underneath a demolished building as explosions, missiles, and bullets impacted anywhere near with a Batarian presence. After the 15 longest minutes of his entire life, the barrage winded down. He heard the moans of the wounded soldiers on both sides, but he also heard footsteps near them, when a he took a look outside using the nearest window he saw an Alliance platoon walking.
"Hey over here." Thompson whispered.
The platoon leader looked up and saw an Alliance squad. He smiled and said "Damn it's good to see a friendly face. The name is Bradley, any of you guys know where the nearest Alliance station is?" He asked them.
Thompson sighed and he got out of the building, "Well just up ahead was an Alliance battalion, but-"
He was interrupted by the voice of Commander Wolf over the radio. "Attention all Alliance forces. Reinforcements have arrived. We are now mounting a counter attack. Let's take back out city."
Above the city the sight of three frigates could be seen. "Mount up men we got work to do." Bradley ordered. Alliance Falcons arrived and began deploying troops, while the Blue jays were evacuating the wounded.
QMS Qwib Qwib
Tali Zorah was busy repairing the ship's engines when she heard the news of the Quarian assisted attack on the Alliance colony she couldn't believe it. 'What is Shepard going to think?'
"Tali I think you should take a break." Zaal'Koris told her. As an admiral of the civilian fleet he attempted to dissuade the Quarians from allying with the Batarians though few listen to them. The promise that Rael gave them of reclaiming their home world blinded them. Now with the Aleria confiscated by the Batarians and the attacks on the Alliance colony the Quarians were reconsidering the alliance, but some still stubbornly held to the believe that reclaiming their homeworld at all cost was the way to go.
Sighing she turned to face Koris, "I know it's just….."
Koris put a hand on her shoulder and said "Tali, I know. The split of the migrant fleet, the abduction of your father, the war that is going on. I don't know when or how, but I believe everything will turn out for the better.
"I hope you are right." Tali said, not sharing the same enthusiasm.
"I am. Now get some rest." Koris ordered. Tali reluctantly left and when she was out of earshot, Koris stared at the nearest window out into space.
"Keelah. Rael wherever you are, please make it back for your daughter, she needs you." Koris prayed.