Eradi Mines, Yasilium
Day 1, 0428
"Grab the cargo, come on, move, move, move!"
Emmet's men were already leaping down from the elevator as Murphy burst into the loading bay once again, Kass ever so slightly behind his heel. Head and shoulders above the mercenaries, Yui and Dax went lumbering off for two of the crates stacked nearby - a quick scan of the room gave a count of four, and even as the krogan grabbed theirs, the Shadow Broker men were making for the other two, two men at least to each. The rest advanced across the room with Emmet, clutching at rifles, shotguns, handguns…
Crack crack. Crack crack. The sound of gunfire tore Murphy's attention away, just in time to see the last members of his team come sprinting at the open door. Sam was a couple of paces behind, running backwards and blasting off shots from his Viper to cover Kan through the door.
Bang. On a cocktail of instinct and adrenaline, the captain snapped his rifle up to his eye and picked off a husk bolting at the C-Sec officer's side. Behind the two fleeing snipers, a mess of crossfire was coming at them, baying creatures rushing at the narrow bottleneck of the doorway.
"Move!" Murphy roared, hand sliding up to the bolt of his rifle and yanking it back. Sam glanced back over his shoulder, gave the slightest of nods, and then slung his own gun up over his shoulder, setting off at a full sprint through the door after Kan, who had now fallen in to one side.
"Time to go!" Emmet barked, drawing up next to the captain with a Carnifex outstretched towards the door. "We need to-"
Thud. One of the black-armoured mercenaries dropped, a stray round of crossfire catching him under the jaw as it whistled through the door.
"Jesus!" the mercenary leader swore, almost leaping backwards. "We gotta now, somebody drag him!"
"No point," Kass snapped, coldly. "He's dead, leave him."
Emmet growled at that, but one glance down seemed to prove the salarian right - the unfortunate merc was splayed out motionless, a rather copious amount of blood now spilling out of the exit wound behind his ear. For a moment, the motley gathering around the door seemed to pause in indecision, before the captain took charge of proceedings:
"Sam, Kan! Ammo?"
"Low."
"Get moving," he nodded. "We've got rearguard."
The two snipers knew better than to hesitate or argue - they set off at a run towards the elevator, overtaking several of Emmet's men on their way. Murphy just propped his rifle in one hand and backed away from the doorway, as more fire came whistling through it. Through that odd gravity of squad movement, Emmet and Kass backed off with him, as did half a dozen or so of the Broker's men, still with them in a messy firing line.
Bang! A grenade ricocheted off the doorframe, buckling it in the middle and throwing metal debris their way. A stumbling husk came after it, but before any of them could pull the trigger on it, Kass had beaten them to the punch, landing a biotic blast that turned to creature to shimmering dust in a heartbeat. Another came after it, however, and then another - Emmet took the first with his pistol, a couple of his men mowed down the second... with a dull rattle, another grenade came flying through, this one skittering harmlessly off across the room, and-
Boom!
It took Murphy a moment to gather his senses. When they returned, he was bowed down on one knee, rifle clutched tight to his chest, a sense of light and cold on his back…
"Captain!" someone hollered - maybe Alec? "Drop, through the roof! Watch your backs!"
Crack crack crack… the warning came a moment too late, as a torrent of fire opened up on their firing line from behind. Two of the mercenaries went down, shot to ribbons, and Emmet stumbled forward, shields flaring as a round slammed into his back. A moment later, however, he wheeled around, as did Murphy, and they brought their weapons to bear. The big merc sent heavy rounds skidding through the squad of Cannibals that had just arrived, while Murphy picked off the Marauder leading them with a well-placed shot to the head.
Only a crackle of SMG fire behind his head reminded Murphy that the enemy were on both flanks. Even as Kass laid into the creatures on their rear, one of the Broker's men took a shot through the leg and fell. His fellow leant down, making to grab him under the arm, and-
Bang! A grenade wiped the both of them away, in grisly fashion. Murphy, Kass and Emmet exchanged a glance for just a moment, and all of their minds seemed to be made up.
They set off at a sprint, rounds cracking around their heads, screeches and howls coming from the now-abandoned doorway. Ahead across the room, the five crates had been stacked on the cargo elevator, and the remainder of Emmet's men were taking cover behind them, letting off covering fire whenever they could. Sam and Kan were with them, and the krogan - finally freed to enter the fight - had taken one side of the elevator each, pouring machine gun fire across the bay.
Murphy gave up on taking any shots himself - he just ducked his head low beneath the covering fire, and slid a new round into his rifle. Emmet and Kass were running either side of him, along with two mercenaries-
One mercenary. The other had just fallen away, blood spraying from his chest as he took a shot to the back.
"Get it moving!" Murphy yelled, as they got within a few feet. Sam seemed to get the message first - he dove back from his cover, and slammed one fist into the control panel at the back of the elevator. There was a shudder, and the sound of mechanics grinding into life…
The captain hopped up just as the elevator began to rise, vaulting one of the cargo crates to land between Kan and one of the Broker's men. A moment later, Emmet joined them, immediately going to reload, and off on the far side of the lift, Murphy saw Dax haulKass up by one arm, even as the Reapers' fire nipped at his heels.
"Where's Alec?" he shouted over the firefight, finally noticing the marine's absence.
"Up top!" Yui replied, reloading his Claymore as he did. "They're on the roof, too!"
"Shit… fresh mags, everyone, cover all angles!"
There was a general air of panic as the surviving mercs and Alpha team made use of the moment's respite. Even as they went for fresh rounds and shifted to better positions, the sounds of battle were drifting down from above, rifle fire crying out loud…
"Sixty seconds," Kass noted, examining his omni-tool - apparently, someone was running a timer of their own.
"Emmet, you and your boys make a run for yours ship," Murphy muttered, a little breathlessly. "We've got enough men to secure the cargo."
"You sure?" the mercenary frowned.
"Sure," he nodded. "We've got the legs, you need a head start."
Emmet just grunted in assent, and made for the front side of the elevator with his pistol in one hand, and what looked suspiciously like a grenade in the other.
"Kass, you and me grab one," the captain continued, as they rattled ever-closer to daylight. "Kan, Sam, get the other!"
"Copy that," Sam replied. "Heads up!"
Crack, crack, crack… as the elevator emerged into daylight proper, the firefight around it became deafening, guns blaring out from all directions. Alpha and the Broker's men quickly added their contribution, shots pouring out to every side as Murphy cast around for a target…
He found one in the shape of a Ravager, scuttling towards a certain human marine. Inhaling once, the captain brought up his scope-
And started in surprise as the human summoned up a burst of biotics, hurling the rachni-creature off across the rooftop. A moment later, he had a hand-axe out, burying it in the nearest Cannibal as it came charging towards him.
After a second's confusion, he spotted Alec off to the right, gunning away at a squad of Marauders near the mercenaries' little freighter. The two figures fighting at the base of the Cambrai's cargo ramp, meanwhile, were… well, not him. Thorne and Cross were lashing out to left and right, both decked out in full armour and helms. Behind them, at the top of the ramp, Lisk was bare-faced and bare-armed as ever, pouring his own rifle fire into the mix.
"Move!" he barked, confusion giving way to panic. Slinging his rifle onto his back, he ducked down towards the nearest cargo crate - Yui was already hauling one onto his back as he did - and grabbed a hold of one end. Kass appeared on the other end a moment later, and the salarian's slim arms nonetheless made a valiant effort, as the two of them dragged the crate up between them.
A stray round skimming off the top of it lent a certain urgency to proceedings, and they made for the cargo ramp at a jog. Kan, Sam and the krogan were doing the same, as the Broker's men made a beeline towards their ship, and the four remaining men of the Cambrai forged a rearguard - Alec came backing up towards them, clapping Murphy on the shoulder and giving him a brief nod before dropping to one knee, pouring shots into the midst of a newly-arrived Cannibal squad…
The last few feet were a blur, as the cold whipped around them and the crossfire intensified on their fading rear. Murphy felt himself stumble up over the top of the cargo ramp, and the crate tumbled down as his arms failed, his body slumping down behind it a moment later. As he went for his rifle, he saw Dax throw the final crate down to the left, saw Alec sprinting back as his magazine finally ran dry, saw Thorne dispatch a husk with his axe before summoning up all the biotics he could to shield them…
Murphy didn't see the ramp lift skywards - he blinked once, and it was already shut, the sounds of crossfire rattling off the hull outside as the engines flared, and the ship lurched into the air.
"Whew…" Thorne sighed, collapsing down next to Murphy and Kass. "You weren't... kidding about the cold, boss."
"Idiot," Murphy snapped, the both of them panting slightly. "There's a reason we brought thermal shields."
"Yeah…" the biotic nodded, weakly. "I'm… starting to see… what the rea… what the reason was… shit, I can't… I' can't breathe…"
"Jesus… somebody get him to med bay, now! Cross, you too!"
The big trooper didn't protest - he was doubled over not too far away, and even nodding seemed to be a laboured effort. As Murphy tried to labour upright, however, nobody seemed to be moving towards them.
"Come on!" he barked, blood surging. "Get 'em out of here!"
Kass just looked at him, a little blankly.
"Err… captain?"
"What?"
The salarian just nodded downwards. Murphy's eyes shifted to follow his, and for the first time, he noticed the swathe of crimson painted across his chest, the ragged hole punched in his chestplate. The numbing cold seemed to fade away, replaced by a searing pain and a jolt of panic.
"Ah… shit…" he murmured.