4-2-2184 0003 hours (Citadel standard time)
Omega
Afterlife
Balcony
Afterlife, once considered the main 'tourist' attractions on Omega, was no reduced to what looked like an abandoned ghost town. Broken glass lay everywhere, there was hardly any furniture that hadn't been destroyed, and not to mention the giant sized hole in the middle of the club created by everyone's favorite krogan Grunt, who looked quite pleased with his work. There was even a few scattered bodies still laying on the floor, some were unconscious others…were not.
Afterlife apparently had no competition, as Shepard had learned. There weren't many clubs nearby. Probably because Aria didn't allow it.
"It's going to take a lot of credits to clean this mess, Shepard." Aria told him in a surprisingly clam voice. Shepard was expecting anger, but for someone who just had her club ransacked, Aria seemed quite pleased.
"I'll make sure all damages are covered." Shepard proposed.
He was dumfounded when Aria let out a laugh. "You think credits are the issue here?"
Again, Shepard was dumbfounded. "Is it not?" Behind him, Nyreen and Zaeed face palmed, wondering how Shepard could be any more ignorant.
"I have the credits to repair the club, Shepard." Seeing the confusion on his face, Aria continued "Your little spectacle has caused a blow to my reputation and is a slap to my control. Those mercs you fought, they'll think I've gone soft if I don't make an example out of you."
Shepard did not like where this conversation was heading. Before he could speak, Nyreen beat him to it. "But you won't" She said in a confident tone. Shepard wished he could say the same. His hand instinctively within reach of his holstered pistol
Again Aria laughed, this time at Nyreen's correct statement. "Normally I would, but in light of your past I'm willing to make an exception." She said with a smirk on her face.
"And that past would be what exactly?" Garrus asked, fishing for information. Nyreen sent Aria a glare, warning her not to continue the conversation.
"That's cute, Nyreen. You actually think you can intimate me on my station?" Looking at Garrus she gave him the information he was seeking. "Your little girlfriend wasn't always the noble turian she claims to be." Nyreen gave Aria a pleading look, whom just ignored it and continued. "At one point she not only worked for me, but also shared the same bed."
That was a boom shell on the team, Garrus especially. "Wait you're telling me that Nyreen and you were…were…" Garrus couldn't bring himself to finish the question and looked back and forth between Aria and Nyreen with wide-eyes.
"Yes, we were lovers. Goddess you're slow." Aria nonchalantly finished.
"Well this is all well and good, but you said you'd be making an exception." Zaeed said steering the conversation away from Nyreen's past and controversial partners.
Aria faced the veteran merc and nodded. "And I will." Getting up from her chair, she turned around to face the club. "I can't have people here questioning my rule and I certainly can't have any chance of revolt of occurring."
"So what are you proposing?" Shepard asked arms crossed.
"Killing you would be the fastest way of making sure everyone on Omega stays in their place, but it would only be temporary. Now if I personally ordered a band of mercs to cure the plague that has been having the locals worried then not only would I be seen as a generous ruler…"
"But you will also appear to be in control of those same people who ransacked Afterlife." Nyreen finished, knowing Aria all to well.
"Very good Nyreen, seems your detective skills still function." She said sarcastically.
"Consider it done." Shepard was about to turn to his team, before Aria stopped him.
"Not so fast, Shepard. I can't just have you running freely through my station, plus I need to make sure no one gets any ideas about attacking Afterlife." Looking at Shepard's large team, she decided to boost her own. "I'll take the mercs, the turian and krogan too." She said.
Shepard crossed is arms. "And what makes you think I'll just leave part of my team here?" He asked.
"You have a better place of putting them. The plague affects krogan and turians, it also affects humans, but I don't think that'll be stopping you. Plus you walk out of here you'd be walking straight into the cross hairs of Eclipse and Blue Suns. But if I keep them here, then they'll know you and I have a deal and they'll steer clear. Otherwise you won't last long on this station. Less than an hour and already you've seemed to have made more enemies than me. I don't know if I should be annoyed or impressed." Aria always made sure to hold all the cards in every situation and this time was no different.
Shepard, realizing he had no choice, reluctantly agreed. "Alright you'll keep Garrus and Grunt. But I expect them be returned to me in the same condition I'm giving them to you." Shepard warned. Looking back at his team, he reassured them or at least tried to. "Don't worry we'll make sure to get you guys out of this mess in one piece."
"HA! It's they who should be worried!" Grunt exclaimed, smashing his fist together. Garrus looked as if he didn't know who he should be afraid of more, the pirate queen of Omega or the mad krogan who not only defeated a Yagh, but managed to fly leaving a giant hole as a testament! Something Garrus, part of a bird species, had never seen any turian do. Deep down he felt a strange sense of shame.
"Don't worry Shepard. I'll take good care of them." Aria said as Shepard left. The reassurance did little to settle his anxiety.
After a long chat with Shepard, Aria sat on her sofa once again with a glass of Brandy. This alliance could solver her problems, but how long would it last? She faced her newly conscripted guards. The mercs didn't seem faze by the situation. The large krogan, who dwarfed even her patriarch, stared at the rest of her guards, who seemed to be paralyzed with fear. Aria wished she had a child just like Grunt. The turian, Garrus, was trying his best not to be caught in an awkward situation.
"So you and Nyreen used too…" Unfortunately Garrus avoiding an awkward situation was like a Grunt avoiding a fight, nearly impossible.
"Fuck? All the time." Aria bluntly stated, taking a sip of her Brandy.
Garrus coughed. "Well this is…awkward."
"Only for you." Aria rebutted. Personally she didn't care whether Nyreen was sleeping with someone else, she herself was fucking an asari Matriarch.
"Right." Garrus hoped Shepard would be quick with curing the station. Because he really wanted to be anywhere else, but here.
Omega
Gozu District Entrance
Omega was a big place, but also small. It had over 7 million people living on the station with a million of uninhabited maze-like paths spread all throughout the hollowed-out asteroid where one wrong turn would quickly end your life. Yet despite the large number of people the entire station was only just over 40 kilometers long, the same size as the Citadel with only half the number of people living on it.
Most of the spaceports were found around the center of the station, like the rest of the infrastructure. When Shepard approached the entrance to the Gozu district, he was glad he had a filter within his helmet. The stained walkway and refuse seemed to litter the corners. Three turian and two raloi Red Hand guards stood behind a sand bag, which had several heavy machine guns emplacements and a few drones.
It didn't take much convincing for the Red Hand mercs to let Shepard and his team in. Of the dozens waiting they were the only ones equipped with military grade weapons and armor. The fact that they were planning on curing the district didn't hurt either. In fact the mercs made a bet whether or not Shepard would succeed.
"A plague that can kill humans. Why is it we can never go anywhere nice?" Ramirez asked as the team stepped inside the quarantined district.
"That is something Garrus would've said if he was here." Nyreen replied.
A burst of from Zaeed's ARC5 rifle roared through the air.
"Tango down, Shepard," Zaeed confirmed, indicating with his finger over to where a dead Blue Suns batarian laid.
"Can't you go ten seconds without killing anyone?" Ramirez sarcastically asked.
"No," Was Zaeed's answer.
The two teams made their way through the ruined streets of Omega's quarantined ward. It appeared like a scene from one of those post-apocalyptic vids, bodies in the streets, fires burning for no particular reason, barricades set up long since unmanned. Houses were alternately locked down like fortresses or left wide open, windows broken and contents ransacked.
"My god, this place looks like a ghost town." Ramirez said as they passed several broken down buildings. "And to think people used to live here."
"People still do. The unlucky ones." Nyreen clarified.
"Let's just keep moving this place isn't-"Shepard began, before he was cut off by Mordin movements.
Moridn violently threw himself onto the ground. The harsh crack of a sniper round echoed through the derelict alley and a split-second later the team immediately reacted accordingly.
Samara and Nyreen created barriers around them, while Zaeed and Ramirez dived into cover. Some unknown instinct screamed at Shepard, leaping forward into a diving roll in response. A second later a bullet tore chunks from the steel plating of the ground a yard away, passing through the space Shepard's head had occupied earlier. Definitely snipers. A regular rifle wouldn't have had that much power behind a single shot. It wasn't good. There wasn't much cover in the opened street and Shepard wasn't in a hurry to test of his shields could stop several shots.
"Mordin!" Shepard called out watching the salarian drag Zaeed into the shadow of an old apartment complex. He looked to his left to find Ramirez prepping his grenade launcher with a smoke grenade. Ramirez fired and a few seconds later, the wide open street was obscured in a large cloud of grey smoke. Shepard and Ramirez seized the opportunity and followed Mordin through a shattered window, the frame worn smooth by time. They were followed by Nyreen and Samara just a few seconds behind them. The place they found themselves in looked like an old, broken down rectangular atrium, which was about as nice as you could get on Omega. It wasn't exactly shelter by Shepard's standards but it got them out of sight for a few seconds. The six of them hunkered down behind cover, Shepard and Ramirez behind a large receptionist desk, a solid old construction plated in tempered steel. It wasn't out of sight, but it was the only place close enough to be useful. Sure enough, another shot tore chunks from the floor beside the desk, sending tiny shrapnel ricocheting off Shepard's shields.
"Does anyone have eyes on where they're shooting from?" Shepard asked. Zaeed shook his head, but Mordin nodded and cradled his arm green blood seeping form a long piece of jagged metal in his forearm.
"Yes. They are on top of one of the old factories, about two blocks south. Two snipers. I couldn't see their race or insignia. Wonder if exposure to air makes me susceptible to the virus." Shepard blocked off Mordin's unnecessary musings.
"How sure are you on their numbers?" Zaeed asks, rolling his head up above the dilapidated window sill to check the empty street.
"Certain." Morin didn't grunt or brace himself as he ripped the shrapnel from his arm. The wound started to bleed again almost immediately but an application of medi-gel sealed the wound just as fast.
"How bad is it?" Shepard asked. The piece of metal being a considerable size was mostly dyed in Mordin's blood. If they were on the Citadel, he'd be in a hospital and probably confined to a bed. But being on Omega, he had no choice but to fight.
'What a messed up place' Shepard thought.
"I've been better," he admitted cheerfully. Shepard wondered what it would take to put the surprisingly durable salarian down. Mordin reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of binoculars, "I've also been worse. It's an interesting handicap."
'A handicap! He considers being impaled by a shard of rust metal nearly half a foot long a handicap!?' Shepard thought, knowing of several marines who would be screaming in agony, even with medi-gel.
Another shot slammed into the all of the atrium, a foot or two above their head.
"What do we do?" Nyreen asked.
"Assuming I can have a second to sight them, I am confident we can kill them," Mordin theorized. "Which may be difficult, because they have our location pinpointed."
Samara frowned. "An advantage we do not have. We will have to trick them into revealing their location."
Another sniper shot slammed into the wall less than a foot above Zaeed's head. "Can we please focus on more pressing matters?" He snapped angrily. "Like killing those arseholes!"
"Expect incoming infantry," Mordin summarized as he expected the snipers to relay their location to several mercenaries nearby.
Fuck. Pinned down by sniper fire, unable to retaliate, apparently with clean-up forces moving in. Then again, when had Shepard ever been in an advantageous position? Virtually never. From the moment he had ever fought, from Eden Prime to now he has always been the underdog and had always come out on top.
A round from the hidden snipers chose that moment to punch through the steel-plated counter, drilling right through their cover and ricocheting off Shepard's shields. The warm, protective feeling of his shields still held and the bullet deflected onto the ground.
Without the desk's steel plating, Shepard theorized his shields could take about three more rounds before they collapsed.
Mordin snapped up immediately, eyes glued to the binoculars. If it was a bolt-action rifle, he'll have a second to find the targets. If not, well Shepard hoped Mordin had high shield quality.
"I recognize the gun," Mordin announced happily, dropping back down as another round punches into the wall above his head. "Mantis rifles with tripods for extra stability. That suggests our assailants are of the Blue Suns."
"Aren't you just jolly about that." Ramirez retorted, finding it frustrating how Mordin could actually be cheerful after being impaled and being shot at.
Shepard tuned out Ramirez's remarks. No wonder the shot had so much power. That sniper bastard must be using one of those new platinum enhanced weapons. "With that much power, it has to be a thermal clip weapon," Shepard grunted. "How in the hell did the Blue Suns on Omega get their hands on a gun like that?"
"Probably given to them by the Hegemony." Nyreen answered.
"Well good thing I've packed this beauty," Zaeed grinned as he equipped his M100A sniper rifle. "Let's see them stand against this."
"We'll need a distraction. Any ideas?" Ramirez asked guardedly, uncomfortably aware of the practice of 'bait and shoot' in these kind of scenarios. Normally Alliance soldiers would use thermal vision to pinpoint targets, however the range on Alliance helmets wasn't very far and it was mostly designed for close quarters.
To answer his question, Mordin pulled out a sensor grenade, designed to allow Alliance and Salarian snipers to pinpoint targets. The only problem? They had to get close enough to throw the grenade and have it transmit the location of the enemy snipers.
"We can use this. Need someone who is fast." Mordin said as he stared at Ramirez. He become aware of everyone else doing the same.
Knowing what everyone else was thinking, Ramirez asked hopefully "Can I have a smoke grenade?"
"The lack of sight would only slow you down. Armor and shields should be enough to get you close enough to throw the sensor grenade." Mordin answered.
"You're sure of the model of the sniper rifles their using, their location, and what merc company they belong to, but you don't know if my armor and shields will be enough to absorb the rounds!?" He asked incredulously, his voice rising.
"I could create a biotic field to assist you in your endeavor." Samara proposed.
Ramirez clenched his fist. "If I don't make it; I just want to make this clear. I hate all of you." He said sarcastically as he unequipped his weapons and got ready to sprint through the street. Shepard knew this only came about from the situation; nevertheless he couldn't chuckle at his teammate.
Shepard smiled. "On my mark 3..2.."
More gunfire hammered into the front of ht old apartment building, sending lethal shards of synthetic glass flying into the ruined atrium. Most of them shattered against the wall, covering the bullets that hammered against their cover. Ramirez didn't wait a second longer. Taking advantage of the reload time of the sniper rifles, he sprinted out of the building and across the street, where he caught a glimpse of Blue Suns troopers picking their way across the uneven ground. Thankfully for Ramirez, Samara created a biotic field around him.
Being the center of attention, both the snipers and the Blue Sun troopers fired on him. With the increasing incoming fire and the further Ramirez got, it became difficult for Samara to hold the biotic field. Thankfully, Ramirez was able to jump right into an abandoned sky car in the center of the street just as the biotic field vanished. Unfortunately for him and his team, he was still too far away to deploy the grenade. "Shepard I have five Blue Suns firing on me. About thirty meters from your position. I could really use some help." One thing was certain, his cover would have to be strong if he was to last.
"How bunched up are they?" Shepard asked through the radio. Now that Ramirez had tagged them, he could see them on his radar without looking. With a flick of his fingers he transferred the data to Shepard.
"Three in the center, one on each flank. Even the ones in the center are too spread out to catch, though." They've obviously been trained to fight biotics. Any closer and they'd risk getting caught in a lift field all together. Two of them, maybe, but then they'd be exposed to the rest.
"Don't underestimate me," Samara warned, speaking through the radio. From the sky car Ramirez saw a blue comet erupt from the atrium, winging towards the mercenaries. The mercenaries scattered at the sight of it, though they only managed a few steps before the homing projectile caught them. Samara's biotics blossomed into a dark Singularity, a vortex of gravity with a wider area than anything he'd seen before. All three mercenaries staggered and stumbled in the gravity of the miniature black hole, in seconds they were brought from a full sprint of mercs to useless panicking and flailing in the air.
"Damn, Samara," Ramirez whistled appreciatively. "Now if you guys could get the last two on the edge." Samara's ultra-wide construct didn't quite snare them, but even so it did make them stumble. A moment later Ramirez heard burst of fire from Shepard's MX and Nyreen's Phaeston rifles and both mercs went down.
Good thing Ramirez didn't keep his head out too long as a sniper round aimed at him surged through the air and impacted the ground, sending a small amount of dust in the air. There was no time to think as Ramirez sprung from the sky car and ran the last few stretches of distance between him and the snipers. Two sniper rounds impact his shields, depleting them to half strength. He vaulted into cover and once his shields were recharged, sprinted towards the factories and threw the grenade. Ramirez tried to run into cover, but out of the corner of the factory appeared a turian Blue Sun merc and raised his rifle letting off one accurate burst, the heavy bullets striking against Ramirez's shields inches away from his forehead. He responded by firing his M5 Beta pistol. The rounds fired at high velocity, slammed against the metallic armor of the turian. The turian fell just as he heard two familiar shots from a M100A. The loud roar crackling through the air like a beast as the bullets soared towards their targets.
"The snipers are no longer a problem." Zaeed announced over the radio. The adrenaline in Ramirez's disappeared just as three more Blue Suns mercenaries arrived and pointed their weapons at him.
'An idiot for standing out in the open.' He thought as his reflexes took over and trained his pistol on the targets. Even though in his mind, he knew he was outgunned, Ramirez fired his pistol while simultaneously running towards cover.
Almost immediately one of the three mercenaries dropped onto the ground, crumpling like a marionette with severed strings. In the instant before he hit the ground, Ramirez saw a massive hole through his torso.
'That's interesting.' Ramirez thought as he dove into cover.
Another ear-splitting crack echoes through the street, another mercenary dropped with half a head.
'Very interesting.'
The last merc was lifted into the air and drilled with numerous rounds.
On his radar, he saw four allies approaching from his right. He turned his head to see Samara, Mordin, Nyreen, and Shepard approaching. Ramirez let out a sigh of relief.
"You're welcome." Zaeed said.
"Never again!" Ramirez protested, taking his weapons from Mordin. A few moments later, Zaeed arrived.
"So how far until we reach the hospital?" Ramirez asked, hopeful the distance between them and the only possible safe heaven they might have in the district was small.
"A long long long way, Ramirez." Shepard answered. Ramirez seemed to deflate a bit, more out of comic relief than sorrow.
"Well then let's get a move on." Shepard was surprised when Ramirez took point without complaint or orders.
"Shepard you coming?" The sound of Ramirez's voice brought Shepard out of his thoughts.
"Yeah." He answered as he jogged to catch up to his team.
As they made their way through the district, the team had run across a few random pockets of survivors, directing them to follow in their destructive wake to reach the clinic on the lower level that as their original destination. However, that was four hours ago. After a few brief firefights, Shepard had ordered his team into an abandoned bank. Originally it wasn't, however after taking care of the Blue Suns who had previously occupied the building, things have gotten quieter. 'Day' and 'night' are fairly arbitrary descriptions on Omega, but people needed a routine. It was four in the morning, Citadel time, and Shepard could see the team starting to suffer from lack of sleep. With the makeshift barricades and fortifications, Shepard had allowed a team a few hours to catch up on some sleep.
"Eclipse occupied sections will be heavily guarded," Shepard noted blandly, projecting a translucent set of blueprints from his omni-tool. There was only a few blocks separating the nearest Eclipse base and Shepard's team.
"Problem is we don't know their numbers." Ramirez put in. Shepard frowned, clearly not liking the idea of going in blind.
"We are a bit short on manpower for a proper incursion," Mordin noted critically. "And we know Eclipse operates with mechs for added firepower.
"But for a stealth operation, six isn't unmanageable," Ramirez countered, reminiscing the time on Virmire where Liara, Wrex, and him infiltrated a geth outpost. Ramirez thought how Wrex was doing uniting the krogan clans.
"True," Mordin mused, examining Shepard's layout of the area. "Though we don't know how much firepower they are storing the base. We don't know where their communications are centered either."
"We could try sneaking past it." Shepard proposed.
"Risk Eclipse cutting off any chances of retreat." The ex-STG operative responded.
"We'll we have two biotics, four soldiers, and a doctor/medic/espionage expert. There has to be some way for us to get in close." Ramirez said, eyeing the layout intensely.
Mordin smiled at the many titles he held. "This entrance seems like the best option," Mordin suggested, magnifying the location on the blueprint, illustrating Mordin's proposed route. "If we can get in without raising the alarm, we should be able to make it to this vantage point without much problem." It looked solid, but the guards outside were still a problem.
"The paths of the patrols are set. Aside from the watch guard stationed on the roof, there is little long-distance surveillance. If we can remove the guard there, the other eight on the ground will be much easier to bypass." Shepard said.
"So that's a sniper's job I guess," Ramirez said eyeing the snoring merc in the corner.
"Yep, but we don't want to alert the base so Nyreen would be better for the job. If she misses and the guard becomes a threat, Zaeed can take him out." Shepard replied.
"Alright let's go. Mordin and I will infiltrate the base. You and Samara move cover us and Nyreen can provide over watch." Ramirez proposed.
With a nod of his head, Shepard woke the rest of the team up and explained the details of the plan. Once they were all informed, Ramirez and Mordin moved ahead with Samara and Shepard not too far behind. Nyreen and Zaeed had their snipers trained on the guard stationed on the roof. Mordin threw a sensor grenade, revealing the locations of several guards.
"Mordin?" Ramirez whispered through the team's private channel.
One silenced shot later, the ex-STG operatives replies. "Sentry eliminated. The path is clear, maintaining over watch."
No one said anything, but the team reacted as if they had a telepathic link. Mordin and Ramirez lead the way, while Shepard and Samara maintained their distance from the camp covering the infiltration team's escape route.
As the Ramirez and Mordin approached a locked door via holo-lock, Mordin crouched next to the lock. It only took him a few seconds to break the system and the reinforced steel door slid open. Ramirez pulled the door shut behind them. The two of them move through as fast and as quietly as they could. Cut off from Omega's red luminescence, they were left in darkness. On his radar, Ramirez saw Samara and Shepard moving towards a better vantage.
"No lights?" Ramirez whispered, feeling his way towards the ladder to the upper level, instead finding an internal door. He was right. Even if it's night, total darkness is taking it a little too far. Luckily for him his Alliance had night vision and in a second, the black darkness changed to back how it would look if there was light, though a bit fuzzy.
"The barracks should be behind this door." Mordin replied, picking the lock. Once he was through Ramirez saw six rows of bunk beds. Mordin sneaked into the room and with expert skill planted a motion triggered P-10 charge. Since Mordin and Ramirez had IFFs the charge wouldn't detect their movements.
"Next we need to find where the communication center is." Mordin whispered as he led Ramirez through the bunks, which had several sleeping guards.
Opening the other door within the barracks, they came upon a large square warehouse, which had a stockpile of weapons, narcotics, and tainted eezo. There was a guard patrolling, however the shroud of darkness prevented the salarian merc from seeing Mordin or Ramirez.
Ramirez and Mordin look at each other, knowing what the other was thinking. Ramirez equipped his MP12S and kept a watch for any other guards in the area, while Mordin crept on the unsuspecting guard. Mordin expertly tripped the salarian, who fell over flat on his face, and aimed his weapon directly over the back of stunned guards head.
"I will make this quick. Tell us where your communication center is and I'll knock you out. Or lie or resist and I kill you. Your life matters little to me and the station would be a better place without you so think carefully before responding. Do not worry you have all the time you require." Mordin said in a slightly cheery tone.
"I-its right next… to the stairs… on your right. You can't miss it. I've told you what you wanted please let me go." The salarian pleaded.
With a strike to the back of his head by Mordin, he fell into unconsciousness. "And for that we are grateful. Sleep well and apologize for the headache you'll have when you wake."
Like the salarian mentioned, the door to the control center was right next to the flight of stairs leading down to the basement. Mordin kneeled to pick the lock. As if on cue, a guard opened the door from the inside with a flashlight, blinding Mordin's sensitive eyes.
"HE-" Before the woman could finish her sentence, Ramirez fired his MP12S, drilling holes through her armor. At close range the MP12S was extremely deadly. Blood leaked from the holes making it seemed as the woman was a life sized model of Swiss cheese. However before the woman even impacted the floor, Ramirez stormed into the room, where he found another guard.
Before he could react, Ramirez fired anther burst from his MP12S. The Eclipse merc had barriers and shields, probably as the result of his position as a squad leader. Nevertheless, Ramirez unloaded an entire clip, which was only able to drop both layers of protection. By this time, the guard was alert and made a reach for his gun. He would have been able to fire his gun, had Ramirez not been charging at him and hit the merc across the face with the butt of his submachine gun.
"Mordin you alright?" Ramirez asked.
Rubbing his eyes with his hands, Mordin replied "Yes of course." Walking over to the terminals, Mordin began hacking into it. The salarian doctor started typing, "Sloppy," he declared distastefully as he hacked into the network. The various screens showed the guts and grinds of the computer operating systems, which to Mordin seemed to appear as a drawing from a kindergartner. A few seconds later, the various screens showed two words, "Communications offline."
"Just a thought, couldn't we have asked one of the guards for the password to the network?" Ramirez asked Mordin.
"Of course, but it wouldn't be as much fun." He replied.
"Right. Well we're done so let's go." Both Mordin and Ramirez retraced their steps from the warehouse, through the barracks, and back outside where they met up with Shepard and Samara.
"That was quick." Shepard said with raised eyebrows.
"Surprised we didn't have to shoot the whole base?" Ramirez asked.
"No, I knew you'd get the job done. Now, Nyreen." A suppressed shot soared through the air and impacted the guard on the roof top.
"He's down, Shepard." Nyreen responded over the radio.
"Well that takes care of our rear. I imagine it'll be hours before they realize we've been through here." Projecting a blueprint of the area, Shepard marked the location of the clinic. "Well that's only about an hour by walk. We can cut the time down if half if we jog the way there."
"But we risk making a mistake." Samara countered.
"We don't have a choice. The more we wait the more innocents die. Let's go." Shepard ordered leading his team.
Omega
Clinic
Auxera District
"Ah, finally succeeded. This Vaccine should remove all traces of virus. Best way to cure plague is render it airborne. Need to distribute through environmental controls," said a salarian doctor.
"Dr. Heplorn, we have reports that the Blue Suns and Eclipse have taken control of the environmental facility. We can't get in," said in medical garb.
"Doctor, more refugees are coming in!" called someone from the front of the office.
"Need to look after current patients. Need more help." He looked around for his radio. "Garm, can you spare some vorcha and varren to retake the environmental facility!"Maelon yelled into the radio.
Over the distant sound of gunfire, Garm was able to reply "Not unless you have more mechs to hold this place!" the krogan yelled. The sound then reverted to static, either the bullet had shot the radio or...the hospital had lost its protection.
"What do we do?"His assistant, Daniel asked.
"I can't do anything. Too many need us here, and we don't have the manpower to spread the damn cure! Hopefully this madness will end soon." Maelon replied.
"How do we distribute the cure?"
"We'll worry about that later. Right now we have to first take care of the sick patients . Once we've treated the ones here, we'll figure out how to get the environmental controls. Now take this cure and start injecting it into the patients." The doctor ordered. His assistant did as he was told.
'At least my old professor wouldn't be able to deal with this nightmare and thankfully I never have to see him again.' Even in the hellish nightmare Maelon found himself in, the thought brought a smile to his lips as he continued working.
Omega
Gozu/Auxera District Border
An Eclipse merc screamed as she floated in midair. One shot from Zaeed and a corpse was floating instead.
Samara released her concentration on the dead merc and readied her own weapon on another target that was firing wildly in Nyreen's direction. A burst from her M99 Saber put the human engineer down. After they bypassed the Eclipse base, Shepard had the two teams separated once they reached an intersection. One was a series of catwalks and paths that overlooked the next area and the other ran through the now Eclipse-infested streets. Bravo team took the high route, while Alpha team took the lower one.
"Shepard, I see an ammo dump next to their barricade. Nyreen can't Overload it from here," Ramirez said.
"Perhaps we can incinerate?" Mordin proposed.
"Do it." Shepard ordered.
"Incinerate deployed." Mordin called out.
The explosion destroyed the makeshift barricade the Eclipse troopers were using, scattering and disorienting them. Nyreen and Zaeed used the opportunity to pick off the last of the targets.
"That went well." Shepard said. The sounds of gunfire were easily heard in the distance as Shepard lead Alpha team through the streets.
"Sounds like the Blood pack is putting up one hell of a fight," Ramirez said.
"Let's just hope they're first instinct isn't to shoot at us first," Zaeed said, as he slowly followed Ramirez down the catwalk they were on, Nyreen close behind.
Holding back, Shepard, using hand signs, signaled for Ramirez to head towards the plaza up ahead and relay the opposition.
Ramirez led his team forward through the catwalks and walkways, stopping once they had a view of the scene. "I see four Red Hand mercs and a lot of vorcha. Eclipse seems to have a lot more." He declared as he did a quick head count. "Want us to thin their ranks out a bit?" He asked.
"What are our guys using?" Shepard inquired.
"Flamethrowers and shotguns mostly, with a few assault rifles. They don't stand a chance in long range. Eclipse pretty much has medium range weapons and a lot of mechs. I see three YMIR-class." Ramirez responded.
"Take them out." Within seconds of the order, ear-cracking noises were heard as Bravo team used their long range weapons to their advantage.
"They're going to need help. Let's hurry." Shepard ordered as he gripped his MX carbine close as he ran.
Once Shepard arrived on the scene his eyes danced around the battlefield below. Hordes of vorcha and varren bolstered the defender's number, but they seemed to be rapidly declining as a result of the YMIR mechs firepower. One krogan was defiantly firing at a few Eclipse operatives threatening to overwhelm him.
"Zaeed assist the krogan, Nyreen try to drop the shields on the YMIR mechs, Mordin see if you can help her. Ramirez hit clusters with a 67mm grenade. Samara, you and I are going to try to relieve some of the pressure." A series of affirmatives echoed through the teams' radio as they performed their assigned tasks.
Zaeed fired his M100A letting out three shots, the ear piercing noise engulfed the battlefield as body parts were blown off once the round made contact with their intended targets. After the first two, Eclipse vanguards began targeting Zaeed. Luckily he was able to give the krogan enough time for him to get into cover, who returned the favor. Throwing a lift attack, the krogan biotic concentrated hard as the two vanguards were hanged helpless in the air. Zaeed promptly finished them off and they were dropped onto the ground missing their heads.
Nyreen and Mordin used a combination of sniper fire and tech attacks to weaken the mechs shields, but they prove too durable. Throwing two EMP grenades, Mordin was able to disrupt the shields of the nearest one, followed by an incinerate attack. Nyreen finished it off with multiple shots from her Krysae rifle. The remaining two focused on them, their twin automatic mass accelerator cannons suppressing Nyreen and Mordin.
"Shepard we can use some help!" Nyreen exclaimed as she hid behind a large metal crate high above Shepard's position. Massive amounts of rounds being stopped by the surprising resilient crate.
"Samara, on me." Shepard ordered as he jumped into the fray. During his charge, three varren charged out and bit down a salarian allowing two vorcha to close the distance and exuberantly fire into the Eclipse engineer.
Whatever resistant the Eclipse could've mustered up was soon diminished as a grenade launched from Ramirez's MX carbine detonated in the middle of their position. Troopers, operatives, vanguards, and even a commando were embedded with shrapnel from the explosion. Many more were disoriented, but they recovered quickly with the aid of their remaining mechs. With his MX carbine ready, Shepard was ready to take out the remaining Eclipse troopers.
"Here they come." Samara said out loud, just before pulling the trigger on her Acolyte pistol and killing a trooper that rounded the corner from an alley.
"They're coming from the left!" Shepard warned. He began firing into the enraged Eclipse mercs as they charged towards his position. The two YMIR mechs, aided by six LOKI mechs compensated for the lack of numbers.
He needn't have bothered worrying about the surviving Eclipse mercs as a shotgun blast rang out and quickly killed a human engineer. The Blood Pack, under the leadership of a krogan, joined the fray. "Let's give our new friends some help." The krogan called out as he suppressed the reinforcements pouring in from the alley.
Shepard merely glanced at the krogan running towards the Eclipse line, followed by hordes of vorcha and varren. An Eclipse sniper shot a vorcha wielding a flamethrower. The explosion causing three vorcha to be engulfed in flames. The Eclipse sniper was killed, ironically by another sniper, Zaeed.
Another grenade launched by Ramirez reduced the shields on the YMIR mechs. One of them fired a missile launcher towards his direction. "SHIIITTT!" He yelled as he ran back and dived, the blast barely missing, but still charring his armor. Three LOKI mechs began firing on his position. "Shepard, I'm exposed here!"
"Nyreen target the LOKI mechs, Zaeed you have the YMIRs. Samara keep the Eclipse mercs off of me and Mordin, we'll try to help Zaeed. GO!" Shepard once again delivered orders, making effective changes to the lethal combination to the team. Nyreen targeted and destroyed a few of the LOKI mechs. Zaeed was able to drop the shields on YMIR mech, before he was targeted and suppressed. Samara begin delivering Reave attacks to keep the Eclipse mercs at bay, while Mordin delivered incinerate attacks to the exposed mech's armor. Shepard switched weapons, equipping his M35 shotgun. Firing three rounds into the weakened mech, Shepard was able to deplete the armor, but the YMIR fell back covered by its companion mech.
"Samara, lift the exposed mech. I have an idea." Shepard said. Samara did as she was asked and lifted the mech, now with its shields and armor gone it was susceptible to lift. "Ramirez, launch another grenade."
"Got it, boss." Ramirez launched another grenade, hitting the mech directly and causing it to explode and collapse above the more heavily armed mech, which was suppressing Shepard's and Mordin's position. The result was both mechs and anything surrounding it being destroyed. With the Blood Pack and Red Hand mercs assisting, it didn't take long before the remainder of Eclipse mercs were wiped out.
Shepard, with his shotgun ready, searched the area for anymore threats. He found none, and walked over to a krogan who was having a conversation on the radio.
"WHAT?! You have to be kidding me! Fine I'll be there." Turning his attention to his men the krogan delivered orders. "Everybody back to the hospital. The Blue Suns and Eclipse are going to commence an attack!"
"Wait, you're heading to a hospital. We're going there too." Shepard stated.
The krogan analyzed Shepard and then the rest of the team. "Fine you can come along to. Don't expect a cakewalk. The hospital is nearby. Name's Garm by the way."
Garm lead both teams back to the clinic and thankfully it was nearby.
Omega
Auxera District
Maelon's Clinic
"Armed guards and mechs ahead," Ramirez reported as they entered the clinic.
Shepard held back a sigh of relief as they finally reached their destination. While IED's were obviously set for the mercenaries, Shepard had no idea how they would detonate in their presence. They weren't mercs, but they sure weren't civilians either, which meant it was better to be safe than sorry. After crossing the makeshift minefield, the squad went down some stairs and through another hallway to see a human with no obvious merc affiliations standing guard with two LOKIs.
"Holster you weapons." Shepard called out to the team. The guard seemed to relax as the group holstered their weapons.
"So who's the doctor here?" Shepard asked Garm as they bypassed the makeshift security checkpoint/office.
Garm pointed in the direction Shepard would find the doctor and immediately began ordering his troops around and making fortifications. Shepard had Bravo team help with the defensive efforts.
Shepard moved through the next door and into the waiting room of the clinic. Stepping inside, it looked about what he was expecting. Dirty, cramped, and full of refugees looking to escape the merc war outside. The majority of the people in the room were mostly turian and human, but there was a fair amount of batarians and krogan there as well. The refugees all seemed to be doing fine, clustered in one area of the waiting room and talking animatedly.
"Looks like the doctor has come through for these people." Samara commented as she looked over the area Shepard was observing.
"Good thing too. Though worried about lack of guards. Would've personally handled things more differently." Mordin said as he looked around the clinic.
Shepard walked over to the counter where two humans, a man and a woman dressed in medical uniforms, were working and managing the waiting room. "I'm looking for the doctor."
"In the back, door on the right," The female receptionist distractedly said. Shepard nodded in thanks before stepping around two more LOKIs and walked down the hallway lined with cots filled with plague victims and causalities of the mercs outside. Some of the patients were even Eclipse and Blue Suns mercs, wounded or sick. Each was watched over by a LOKI mech.
"Doctor…we're running low on cipoxidion," a voice said in the room Shepard was approaching.
"Use malanarin. Plenty on hand. Almost as good. Causes cramping in batarians, supplement with butermerol," another voice rapidly answered.
"Wait I know that voice!" Mordin exclaimed, quickly bypassing Shepard and entering the examination room. Shepard soon followed.
"Maelon?" Mordin asked, more out of shock than relief.
Maelon cringed at the sound of the familiar voice and looked up to see his old professor staring at him with wide eyes, well wider than usual.
"Professor Solus." Maelon hissed.
"Two two know each other?" Shepard asked clearly noticing the tension in the air.
Mordin nodded and Maelon just glared at him. "Maelon was a student of mine years ago. Worked on genophage modification with me."
"Which I've since been glad of never having to see your face again!" Maelon retorted.
"We had many disagreements over the ethical issues of the project." Mordin explained.
"Ethical!?" You call condemning a race to extinction an ethical issue?" His former student asked in a deathly whisper all too aware of more than a few krogan in the clinic.
"We never saw eye to eye. After the project Maelon disappeared."
"More like you became even more obsessed with your work."
"Projections were clear! Modification guaranteed peace for the galaxy!" Mordin defended.
"Ohh I can see the peace alright." Maelon retorted sarcastically. "Just look around at the peace you've delivered Professor." Maelon clapped to add insult to injury. "Bravo, I could have never done better myself." He chastised.
Mordin, in a rare display, lost control and punched his former student in the face, sending him stumbling back. "MORDIN!" Shepard yelled in shock.
"I am the very model of a scientist salarian. I've studied species turian, asari, and batarian. I'm quite good at genetics (as a subset of biology) because I am an expert (which I know is tautology). My xenoscience studies range from urban to agrarian, I am the very model of a scientist salarian." Mordin sang to himself quietly and rapidly as he tried to calm himself down.
"Mordin are you alright?" Shepard asked his voice full of concern.
"Yes, Shepard. Apologize for losing control.
"Shepard we have company we might need you over here." Ramirez said over the radio.
"Shepard go. Maelon and I will help finalize the cure. They'll need backup." Mordin said.
"Finalize? In case you haven't seen Professor the cure is ready." Maelon said, angered that Mordin thought his cure wasn't ready.
Mordin shook his head. "On the contrary. Your cure suppresses the disease, not destroy."
In that instant the power to the clinic shut down, ending any retort Maelon was about to deliver. "Fine you can help." Maelon said through gritted teeth.
Mordin nodded his head and the two salarians got to work, though they argued more than they cooperated. Shepard and Samara ran out of the room to assist Ramirez and the rest of the defenders.
Omega
Auxera District
Maelon's Clinic Entrance
"Get ready…here they come!" Garm shouted as the barricades they had constructed were bulldozed, by Silverback jeeps, the choice for transportation for mercenaries on the ground. Yells of Eclipse and Blue Suns mercs were heard through the series of flames caused by several grenades. The mercs were launching a full on assault on the clinic the same route Ramirez had come through earlier with the team.
As soon as the first merc was visible, Ramirez fired his MX, cutting the body in several places. The smoke from the flames made visibility horrible; however the thermal vision in his helmet made it a whole lot easier to target enemy troops. Hundreds of bullets whizzed by his head as the mercs attempted to shoot either him or anyone near him. He along with the rest of the few dozen defenders bunkered down behind several makeshift fortifications. Sandbags, metal desks, crates, sheet metal, even a few beds served as protection from the heavy volley of enemy fire.
"If you see them moving in clusters, throw frags!" Ramirez yelled over the heavy noise of gunfire. Several mercs were gunned down, by him, his team, or by Garm's men, but the mercs just kept coming. Nyreen operated a heavy gun emplacement and was suppressing the mercs advance, but they were too many to stop. Zaeed fired ARC5 rifle at several Blue Suns Centurions with their improved shields made them tougher targets. A Red Hand merc beside him was shot, his blood spilling onto Zaeed's helmet.
"We need a medic!" Zaeed yelled.
Garm showed impressive leadership in the chaos ordering and aligning his troops according to the situation. Red Hand snipers were position in the back, while Blood pack Boom-squads prevented them from being suppressed. Krogan warriors were placed near the front where they could direct the troops. In front were the experienced mercs with medium range firepower and medical supplies. Several vorcha and mechs help supplement the defenders numbers.
'Where the hell is Shepard?' Ramirez thought as he as a round razed his neck.
"We have heavies!" Garm shouted as several Eclispe and Blue Suns heavies approached and fired on the defenders. The majority of casualties were mostly vorcha and mechs with a few human and raloi casualties.
Layers of bodies were stepped on, as the Blue Suns and Eclipse troopers continued the suicidal frontal charge. From the lack of experience they were showing, Ramirez figured these were just the 'expendable' troopers, new and ill-equipped. They yells of agony from wounded soldiers from both sides were drowned out by the wound of gunfire. Ramirez saw more limbs than he did bodies. He saw one a human bend over and pick up his severed leg, before being gunned down. The blood of mixed races reached Ramirez's ankles. He was thankful that his helmet had filters, prevented him from smelling the horrible stench. Firing his MP12s, he wondered when Shepard was going to arrive.
Suddenly an Eclipse heavy fired on the ceiling directly above Ramirez, causing debris to fall and impact his head hard. He was knocked towards the ground as he saw several defenders being gunned down, the heavies continuing to inflict heavy casualties. His vision became cloudy as he seemed to be witnessing events in slow motion. He heard yelling, but couldn't make out the words. He knew what was happening, but couldn't force his body to do anything. It was as if he was momentarily disconnected from the world while being a part of it at the same time.
The Blood Pack Boom squads and Red Hand grenadiers tried to counter with their own heavy weapons, but they were just too outgunned. Ramirez saw a downed raloi Red Hand fire an ARC rifle as a turian commander tried to gun him down. The Blue Suns commander was vaporized as a blast of electricity exited the raloi's rifle. The raloi got back up and retreated back to the second barricade and continue fighting.
"Everyone fall back!" Garm shouted as he killed several groups of mercs.
"C'mon you buggers." Ramirez looked to his left to see Zaeed equipped with a mini-gun and mowing down large numbers of Eclipse mercs. Zaeed was bleeding from his right knee and not too shocking as he was completely exposed wielding the large weapon.
Suddenly, Ramirez felt a hand on the back straps of his armor and a second later he was being dragged. Ramirez had no clue who it was, but regaining control of his arms he raised his MP12s and began firing on approaching mercs. In front of him, several Blue Suns and Eclipse heavies were lifted into the air and Ramirez gladly fired multiple rounds into their bodies.
Several mercs tried jumping over the destroyed barricade, but were soon mowed down as several Red Hand mercs literally ran out in the open and took a kneeling position. Ramirez didn't know if it was to cover his own retreat or not, but it made him feel guilty when he saw them go down from multiple rounds.
Suddenly he was lifted over the second barricade and it was then that he saw the face of one John Shepard. "Don't worry I've got your back Ramirez." Shepard shouted into his ear.
He saw Shepard apply some medi-gel to his wounds and Ramirez began regaining his senses a bit. Shepard offered him a hand and Ramirez accepted graciously. Ramirez didn't have a second to rest as all round him people continued fighting and dying. One dead merc laid next to Ramirez, blood oozing onto the floor with several more joining him.
"I need you back in the fight!" Shepard yelled over the gunfire.
"I'm good and ready, Shepard." He replied.
"Unleash the varren!" Garm yelled, firing a Striker assault rifle, though it could be considered more of a rapid-fire shotgun than an assault rifle.
Cages, which were lined on the side of the walls, were all opened and hordes of ferocious varren charged the Blue Suns and Eclipse mercs. They were chewed, ripped apart, and torn to shreds. Several colors of blood mixed with each other as limbs were literally swallowed. Several varren were gunned down and the rest crawled into ducts in the wall. Shepard suspected those varren were trained to hunt and kill.
"AHAHAHA! FROM TUCHANKA WITH PAIN! Garm shouted in excitement. "Take the wounded into the clinic and tell Maelon we'll need the militia and any remaining mechs." Garm ordered to a turian who was fighting with them.
The Normandy crew fought tooth and nail, ensuring vast amounts of casualties. Shepard and Ramirez were in the thick of the action watching each other's backs and killing dozens of troopers, operatives, commanders, and commandos like an army of two. Zaeed was near them though he had to stay back a few meters as he was completely exposed firing the mini-gun. Garm was near him firing his own weapon. It seemed Zaeed had made a new friend as both warriors stood their ground. Nyreen was directing whatever long range support they had. A few Red Hand mercs deployed combat drones to harass the enemy. Samara grouped whatever little biotics there were and combined them to act as biotic artillery.
"Throwing frag!" Shepard called out as he equipped and primed a grenade. He then threw it and watched as it took out an Eclipse squad.
Near him three mercs were lifted into the air and then slammed down and killed with a wrap attack. "Shepard, we have Eclipse vanguards." Ramirez warned.
"I know." Shepard got on the team private channel. "Nyreen can you focus on the biotics?" Shepard asked.
"Yes, but that will leave you opened to the LOKI and YMIR mechs approaching." Nyreen replied.
"Well they're the least to our problems right now."
"Affirmative." Nyreen responded, redirecting her soldiers to target the Eclipse vanguards.
The noise of wheels hitting pavement swallowed the noise of gunfire and Ramirez knew immediately what it was. "MAKO!" Ramirez shouted as a curved rectangular six wheeled vehicle colored in blue erupted from the smoke. The Mako was part of the Future-war program, which sought to replace the aging Grizzly in the field. It eventually lost to the Prowler for its improved carrying space, better weaponry, and improved maneuverability. However, that didn't stop several private military corporations or surveying companies from buying the Mako. The Mako fired its co-axial machine gun killing a few vorcha and depleting Ramirez's shields.
"Looks like it doesn't have enough room to fire its main cannon." Shepard reasoned, noticing the small space the Mako had to fire.
"Well that's good, now how do we take it out?" Ramirez asked as both he and Shepard took cover from the suppressive fire.
"We need heavy weapons."
"We don't have a whole lot of that. No one expected to be caught up in this scenario." Ramirez hollered over the noise of gunfire battering against their cover.
Shepard nodded with Ramirez's reasoning, but still felt he should have prepared. Alarms blared as gunfire, explosions, and cries of agony mixed in the air. Under the cover of the Mako, three platoons of mercs advanced. Unfortunately for them, they received a nasty surprised. Garm activated the IEDs, which were place in case this would have ever happened. With a push of a button forty-five men and women of the Blue Suns and Eclipse were incinerated along with the Mako.
The sound of gunfire evaporated as the defenders seemed to have finally gotten a breather. Shepard looked around, there were no more than twelve left standing out of the original sixty. Then the loud cheer of several Eclipse and Blue Suns mercs were heard, the noise demoralized the defenders.
"Mordin, how close are you to finalizing the cure?" Shepard asked on the team's private channel.
"Maelon and I need about an hour more." He answered.
"Mordin, we don't have an hour. We don't even have ten minutes!" Shepard practically yelled in the radio.
"Understand, Shepard. Sending militia your way. Buy us as much time as you have, please." Hearing the word come out of Mordin's mouth, Shepard understood the situation. Out of the clinic doors exited fifteen volunteers, most of them refugees and others were rival mercenaries that Maelon had helped. About a dozen LOKI mechs were also shipped to the frontlines.
"Prepare yourselves. We have more incoming." Garm yelled. Everyone retreated back to the final barrier, ready for a last stand.
"Whatever explosives you have, save them. They're going to send in their regulars first, then their more experienced soldiers. Pyros you in charge in stopping their charge," Garm said to three vorcha. "Snipers kill any squad leaders or field commanders. And grenadiers fire at will. Once you're down to one missile or grenade save it. I doubt they'll only bring one tank with them."
Seconds later as series of yells, followed by foot soldiers appeared on the battle field. Dozens of troopers charged the defenders line. Zaeed's mini-gun and several more gun emplacements mowed down several at a time. Once again the front of the clinic was absorbed in death, gunfire, and chaos.
Vorcha pryo troopers unleashed their flames, halting the mercs advance and incinerating many. The entrenched defenders continued to fire on the enemy and began to take back ground. Then a Blue Suns pryo, covered by several Blue Suns wielding riot shields appeared on the battlefield.
"Zaeed,…" Shepard began.
"Yea I know." Zaeed immediately targeted them, but it seemed to only knock back the troopers. "I can't get a good shot off."
"Allow me." Ramirez threw a frag grenade landing in front of riot shield wall. "Samara!"
Samara used her biotics to lift the shields leaving the mercs exposed. The frag grenade exploded causing the pryo's fuel tank to explode and engulf the rest in flames.
"That's what I like to see." Garm cheered.
Zaeed again went on the offensive, firing his mini-gun at the approaching mercs. The hail storm of bullets single-handily wiped out an entire platoon. However, the gun seemed to have enough carnage as it died down. "Bugger, the lady is out of bullets." Zaeed complained.
It seemed a company of mercs remained, but their numbers were too great for the defenders. The side wall of the battleground was blasted opened and a Mantis gunship appeared above their heads.
"We have a gunship!" Shepard yelled.
Ramirez saw a Guardian missile launcher on his right and reached for it. "Grenadiers focus fire on the gunship!" He ordered.
A series of missiles and grenades were launched at the Mantis as it rotated to bring its gun to bear. Once every explosive ordinance was exhausted, Ramirez fired the Guardian. Ramirez seemed to see the event in slow motion as the missile exited the launcher, leaving a smoking trail behind as it soared through the air at the gunship. The pilots were fearful as the rocket impacted just beneath the cockpit, piercing then expanding the metal as the missile detonated. The glass of the cockpit being shattered as the pilots were engulfed in flames, and then vaporized as the gunships exploded. It was reflected on Ramirez's visor as it spun in midair.
Unfortunately, for him the gunship twisted and separated into two parts. The front half, falling right on top of the mercs and the rear-half breaking off and launching itself towards the clinic.
"Fuck my life." Ramirez said once he saw the piece of debris launching itself in his direction. At the very last second he felt a momentum on his side as he knocked to the side, just as a small piece of debris landed on his face making his vision go black.