And so the Battle for Ellen continues. Thanks for all of the reviews and I hope this chapter is satisfying. This is only part 1 and I will upload the second part for this chapter soon. I split it up because otherwise I felt it would be to long for a single chapter all at once.
On a side note know that technology wise I refer primarily to the Mass Effect wiki for the mass effect side tech. While there is not as much information as I would like, I use what I can find and I consider what is on the wiki to be canon. I say this because there has been discussion, rightly so, about energy weapons and kinetic barriers. According to the wiki if mass, which energy weapons do have, is moving fast enough or is hot enough it can completely bypass the barriers. Both lasers and plasma fit this category while flamethrowers do not (being slow moving and not as hot relative to other energy weapons). Armor is the primary defense again DEW (directed energy weapons) and there are DEWs in the Mass Effect universe such as the guardian lasers. These weapons completely bypass the the kinetic barriers of both ships and soldiers.
Also I used the ranking system used in the Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel, not the East or West coast variants. I felt that this was more to my liking and I could utilize the ranks better.
As always please review and note any criticisms you have with the story on any level. I read every one and try to work it out to the best of my ability.
Thank you and enjoy.
Chapter 3
Boom City: Part 1
"Contact!" yelled Senior Squire Gage as a storm of metal ricocheted all around. With a lull of enemy firing the six man squad rose from their make shift barricades and returned fire, giving off the sounds of various discharging energy weapons. The invaders kinetic weapons fired more quickly than the Brotherhood's energy weapons, but were not nearly as effective. Another wave of aliens was defeated soon after giving Field Team 3 a few more precious minutes to finish their work.
They were located on top of the city's southern shield tower. Just one of five spread around the city meant to generate Insignia's shield capable of protected the city from various degrees of destruction. Unfortunately the shield system was not due for installation for another month. However the towers anti-air defenses were installed, but were disabled during the aliens initial missile assault that bombarded the southern part of the city. This attack also managed to kill the few support crew left maintaining the tower. The job of Field Team 3 was to replace that team and get the AA platform back online. The only problem was the aliens who did not seem to keen on them doing their job.
They had been dropped off via vertibird onto the top of the complex where they were now stranded. The aliens had managed to advance far enough into the city to overtake the Shield Tower soon after they started their work. The invaders took immediate interest in the tower and began swarming into it, eventually finding the central stairwell that led to the roof where FT 3 worked. Since then they had faced two waves of enemies attempting to push through and overtake the defenders. While they had killed over twenty they had yet to lose one and Knight Kernell hoped it would stay so.
"These things are putting up one hell of a fight, Knight." said Gage to Knight Kernell, Field Team 3's squad leader as she shot a wounded one in the head with her laser rifle as it attempted to seize a weapon. "Nothing in our first contact scenarios said anything about us fighting giant lizards though," said Gage, her joke bringing smiles to her squad mate's faces.
"Just be glad we've all been though combat exercises against the NCR," said Kernell. Thinking to himself he realized what a blessing that was. While the Brotherhood focused on a smaller but more advanced military, the NCR used massive forces using traditional kinetic weapons. The only difference was that the lizard's weapons were much more advanced and the they did not seem to know the word retreat.
As if on cue Initiate Hensley reported that the lizards were vacating the building at break neck speed. Kernell immediately felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand to attention. In the last few hours of battle the lizards had not once retreated like this. Sure they might have been knocked back, but they were always organized. These lizards looked like they were almost running, almost.
To Scribe Lockney, the technical guru of their outfit and the one responsible for reactivating the base's mainframe therefore restoring the AA platform, Kernell asked how much longer to the guns were operational. "Give me a sec..." responded Lockney with another minute passing by. "That's it!" he yelled with jubilation. The whir of machinery immediately followed.
"Activate the tower's defense protocols and put it on lockdown," ordered Kernell. The scribe complied and the building came alive. With the lockdown in place large metal doors, similar to bulkheads on a ship, began sealing off the various sections of the tower. The access way to the roof began closing, the large steel doors moving the dead alien bodies lining their path eventually slicing through them as they came to a close. Then a faint blue energy shield appeared, one on the outside and one on the unseen inside.
A few seconds later the AA guns activated, a burst of red energy left them. Multiple explosions were seen by Field Team 3. The explosions were support gunships the aliens were using to protect their soldiers as they entered the breach into the city. Kernell saw how the crash of the gunships added very little to the destruction of the city wall where they once hovered, though a multitude of lizards were washed in flames and shrapnel as the ships crashed.
Kernell was fortunate that he was not stationed on the southern part of the wall, for it suffered the worst. The aliens, already familiar with the superior weapons technology the Brotherhood, had instead relied on long range weapons to dismantle the city's defense. Wave upon wave of missiles slammed into the walls and her guardians, killing most and forcing the rest to retreat. And since then that was how it happened, but only in the outer and undeveloped sections of the city. Now that the lizards were advancing into the inner and more dense sectors the Brotherhood was holding them with ease relying on superior firepower, if not numbers, as well as good cover that channeled the enemy to them along with power armored troops. With the AA guns operational again the Brotherhood hoped to push the lizards back further, maybe even to the wall though that was unlikely.
"Citadel Command, this is Field Team 3. Mission objective completed. Tower is secure. We are now on standby." said Kernell into his comm, his message being processed and sent by his pip-boy.
"Copy Field Team 3," said an unfamiliar voice over the comm. "A vertibird is on route for your relief. You'll be heading to the FOB and assist Paladin Lord Oxley in the defense. Citadel Command out."
Knight Kernel continued to look over the look over the southern portion of the city, his hands gripped the safety railing hard in anger as he saw thousands upon thousands of aliens. He wished Ellen had more time to set up her defenses. He knew that once this was over any new colonies would be set up drastically different focusing on more security since this setup was definitely lacking.
Gage let out a long whistle as she joined Kernell on the ledge overlooking the city. Her helmet was in her hand allowing her short red hair to be seen. As far as Kernell was concerned she was quite attractive, if a little wild for his taste. "Look at the bastards run, Knight! We sure showed them didn't we. Hopefully they'll get the message not to mess with the Brotherhood, huh?" she said in her cheerful and friendly way.
"I don't think that is why they are running, Gage. They could have got us if they waited a little longer for more of them to arrive. And they ran out of the tower before we got it back online. I have a bad feeling about that." responded Kernell, worry etching into his thoughts. He selected part of his pip-boys recording of the incident, for his gear always recorded what he did in combat and stored it in his pip-boy for later review, and sent it to Command flagged for inquiry. He hoped it was not part of an opening move on the lizard's part.
"Don't worry so much, sir. Soon the fleet will be here and we will send these upright reptiles packing," Gage said with a smile that somewhat put at ease Kernell's worries.
"Vertibird in sight. Looks like our relief is here, Knight," said Initiate Hensley pointing to the rising vertibird, small cheers emanated from the team for the job done. The vertibird's side doors were open, revealing the power armored men and women inside.
Kernell envied those with power armor. He, as well as his team, were not yet eligible for power armor yet which was reserved for those of upper rank or veterans leaving him to use standard combat armor, though it was effective. It was the power armor that allowed the defenders to stall the enemies advance. Citadel Command hoped with this strategy that they would be able to hold the current line at minimum until the fleet arrived.
The vertibird hovered in the air with its tail coming to a rest above the ledge of the tower. The back ramp of the bird then lowered allowing the contained troops to exit and set up around the tower. Knight Kernell led the way for his team up the tower being the first one aboard. Turning around he watched Gage and Lockney walk up a take place in the seats.
Hensley and the other were the farthest from the bird and lagged behind the others. Suddenly burning light and a horrendous crash of destruction overloaded Kernell's senses as he was thrown back hitting the back of the seats of the cockpit. He heard both Gage and Lockney screaming as well as the wail of various alarms from the cockpit. He felt the bird beginning to spin throwing him to the starboard side. Kernell grabbed onto the seats restraints with all his might as the bird went crazy, hoping not to fall out of one of the open doors. Looking out the port side door he saw only flame, smoke and twisted metal that was a second ago the engine. The world outside was spinning but what he saw terrified him.
First he saw the tower as exploded outward and crumbled to the ground. He saw no signs of the remainder of his team or their relief through the rubble. As the bird kept spinning and losing altitude, he saw as what looked like fireballs raining down from the sky travelling at tremendous speed. They impacted the ground with beautiful explosion. Over the sound of his situation he could hear the impacts of the fireballs from all around the city.
The captain yelled for everyone to brace and prepare for impact, his voice coming out as a whisper over the wail of the passengers and alarms as well as the destruction around the city. The bird was now spinning uncontrollably with different scenes begin shown from around the city. He felt the bird lurch violently and his stomach going with it. In the time span of a micro second he saw a steel and glass building come closer and closer. Then he felt himself being thrown once more and hit something hard. As he lost consciousness, he saw only darkness but he smelled smoke and heard the screams of thousands lost in terror in the doomed city.
The ground shook and dust rained from the ceilings in Citadel Command. People were shaken and items thrown onto the ground as the shaking continued for minutes as though Insignia was experiencing multiple major earthquakes.
When the dust finally settled people began acting. "What the hell was that Ralph?," shouted Elder Rayvon standing up after being forced to sit on the floor for the duration of the quake. Wiping off the dust from his purple robes, he looked around the room. Some stations were messy but the command room was intact. Holographic projectors displayed still, their clear bluish light giving witness to what happened above.
"Boss," said Ralph, his voice shaken. "It looks like you were right. They hit us with their ships." A technician at the main terminal station brought up footage showcasing the event. It showed large fireballs falling out of the sky, explosions engulfing the areas where they landed. Buildings fell to the ground including all of the Shield Towers along with most measures of anti-air defense. One scene showed the forward operation base located in the southern part of the city. This was where the defense forces were commanded from, after the wall fell, under the command of Paladin Lord Oxley. So far they had managed to stall the alien advance. But now there was only a crater the size of a full city block. It appeared as those their defense had been countered.
"Elder, sir. From what we are seeing here, all military areas have been destroyed. Not only that, but according to these readings they also managed to disable or kill over ninety-five percent of our armor powered personnel as well as all high ranked personnel located outside command. According to our readings, we have no one left above a Knight that is outside of this base." The technician at the main terminal reported. His face was clearly frightened with the display giving his sweaty face a glowing sheen.
"But why didn't they attack us?" asked someone the elder could not identify. A buzz spread over the command unit and everyone was trying to speak at one.
"Quite everyone. Calm down," said the elder in a louder voice than usual raising his hands to calm the command unit. He scanned around the room looking into everyone's eyes giving them a small comfort. "They most likely left command intact because this is where they will be able to find the best information. But what we need to focus on now is reforming our line. We cannot allow ourselves to put into a disarray by their attack. We need to reform and think of a new plan. Ralph, come here."
The necro-human came over to his long time friend and leader. "What's the plan, boss?" The man gave Rayvon a confident nod as he spoke. They both have been though much and while this was indeed by far more severe and challenging than anything else they faced, they would pull through.
"First," began Rayon, "we need to reform our line. It will most likely have to be further back than the original but we need to maintain some sort of defense for the city. Second, I want to begin moving all civilian personnel to a single location in the northern part of the city. I know we lost some civilians but by these readings the areas targeted were mostly military and defensive and nature. They could have easily wiped our nearly every soul in the city if they wanted to. I am going to assume that his means that they aren't interested in mass genocide on our parts. I also want you to take most of our combat personnel here and have them set up a perimeter around the new civilian camp. You will have to cram them in tight so we can get that perimeter secure. Take what's left of our heavy weapons and food provisions. I know the civies won't be happy but after what we just experienced I don't think they will mind to much. The next part, well, the next part you aren't going like, Ralph. But let's focused on getting the line established first."
"Yes, boss," said Ralph. A few seconds went by before he spoke again. "Boss, after looking at what we got this is the best I got," he said transmitting over the data to the Elder's pip-boy which immediate came to life.
"This will do Ralph. I am just hoping this Kernell has what it takes to hold the line. Get him on the horn and get it established. When you're done with that let's begin our next step." Rayvon thought deeply on what he was about to set up. Damn it, he needed the fleet and they were taking their sweet time getting here. They should have been here over an hour ago, but when does the plan every flow with the clock.
Now that they had lost their main advantage in this numbers game it was only a matter of time before they were pushed back and defeated. The trick was to stall the enemy as much as possible in hopes of giving the civilians and those left under his command the time they need until reinforcements arrived. The Pride had sacrificed their live so that they could mount a proper defensive. He only hoped the next sacrifice helped them half as much.
It was a beautiful day in Texas just outside of Dallas, the capital city of the Texas Brotherhood. John was walking through a field filled with vibrant green trees. The field was part of the land that his parents owned and stretched far out. Across a ways he could see the wheat glowing in the sunshine and the apple orchard his mother tended to with such love and care bathing in the afternoon sun.
As the birds chirped he thought how lucky he was to be on leave at such a wonderful time of the year and back at his home. As the wind blew he smelled traces of smoke. Turning around looking past his parents plantation styled house he could easily see a small trail of smoke rising over the skyscrapers of Dallas. Faintly he could here sirens and he thought he could hear screams but he knew he was too far away to hear to that degree. Then where there was smoke there was a flash. A force flew through the air knocking him to the ground. Raising himself on his elbows he opened his eyes. What once was a city was now a mushroom cloud and the skeletons of the buildings could be seen just so. His parents home was on fire, the very house he grew up in. Looking around he noticed other changes.
Gone was the green grass and lively trees. The dirt was brown and irradiated, the trees lifeless and barren. The earth started to tremble and then he noticed all the birds. Thousand of them were perched on trees circling him and every last one was staring. He though he heard a voice call his name but he was panicking and could not be certain. His family needed him and something horrible that he could not even begin to explain had happened. While he thought these thoughts and started to up he could still hear the voice calling him. It sounded like a female's voice but he was not sure.
Then he remembered the birds. Staring with their lifeless eyes. He had never seen birds like these before. They were reptilian like, like age old dinosaurs formed to a new body. Then like dominos each one went up in fire setting the closest one up as well. As they burned John could still see their eyes, black and present through each miniature inferno. Finally they all caught fire and all continued to stare at him. Then in the shrillest voice possible they all chanted while screaming "KERNELL! WAKE UP KERNELL!"
The ground began trembling even more and along with the wind rocked him back and forth. All the while the birds of fire kept chanting his name in their God awful voice. As he tumbled around on the dirt his head was thrown up. A fireball appeared in the sky and it was coming right for him. He was paralyzed and his body would not move even though his mind screamed for it to. The birds kept chanting and all he could do was look. The seconds passed as he watched it get nearer. Right before it hit him he closed his eyes and prayed to God it would be quick and painless. As the fireball slammed into him he woke up.
"Kernell. Damn it wake up Kernell!" yelled Gage as she shook John almost violently. His eyes opened and went wide as the memory of his dream began to fade. He breathed in deeply and bolted upright and immediately noticed the pain all throughout his body. He grabbed at his side which ached him deeply and felt dried blood painting his armor.
Light flooded through the holes in the building. Rubble was everywhere and he saw shadows dancing around him, illuminated by an apparent fire. Looking around for its origin he saw a vertibird smashed to pieces and encased in debris. He wondered why on Earth a vertibird was in a building then he started to remember. Memories of what happened flooded back into his mind. The explosion along with him losing half his team was almost too much to bear at the point. He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself, taking a few seconds to do so.
"What happened Squire?" he asked Gage while opening his eyes and looking at her. He noticed she was also covered in dried blood and had a multitude of scrapes and bruises covering her face and arms. "Where are the others?"
"The pilot didn't make it," she said gesturing to the vertibird. "He took a lot of damage on impact, more than his armor or pipboy could fix. Scribe Lockney is on lookout. It's not good, sir." After taking a moment to gather herself she continued. "Lockney said they hit us with their fleet. From here we can see over a dozen impact zones and I know there's more around the city. Lockney said that the shots weren't meant to wipe us out, only the defenses cause they could have leveled the city with that kind of firepower." She once again glanced at the cockpit where the dead pilot was. Kernell knew it was hard on her, being the medic on the team. He noticed her hands were coated in blood and knew that it was not hers. She must have tried to save the pilot. Her failure along with their losses would be taking a toll on her soon if not already. He had to get them back to the FOB so she could get some rest.
"Get Lockney back here. We need to get back to the FOB asap. Where are we at anyway? It's a little hard to tell from inside." He said with a small attempt at humor which failed and had no effect.
"Sir," said a voice coming from behind him, the sound of the footsteps in the rubble echoed around the room. "There is no FOB anymore. It was wiped out in the attack." said the speaker who turned out to be Lockney coming around the Knight and squatting in front of him speaking. "I haven't been able to raise command either. They must have hit it along with everything else."
"They couldn't have got everyone..." said Kernell just a his pipboy began to chime. Looking at it he saw it was from citadel command and relief flooded through him. The thought of him being one of the few left and therefore responsible for the city's defense scared him. He did not want that responsibility, he did not feel as though he was ready for it yet if ever.
He accepted the message and his pipboy came alive. A video screen popped up showing the command center in citadel command. In the center of the screen was the face of General Ralph Golunks, second in command of Ellen and the man responsible and in charge of the Ellen's military forces. His face was that of a necro-human and in a state of continuous decomposition. He was a man that had seen a ton of action through his life and remembered a time before the Great War on Earth.
"Knight Kernell?" spoke the general. While to the Elder he was friendly, with anyone under his command his voice was strict and full of discipline. He was a man that commanded both your attention and respect. "What is your situation?" He was quite as he listened to Kernell describe what had happened. The Knight noticed how the generals look softened as he reported on the loss of his men during the experience. "I'm sorry son," said the general after the report. "But we have a lot to do in a short amount of time and you're needed again."
"Who do you want me sir and who do I report to?" Said Kernell standing up. The prospect of getting back into the fray and defending his city eased his mind.
"I am sending to the coordinate to your pipboy of the location of our new defensive line as well as our holding strategy. As for who you will be reporting to son, you yourself will be in charge of the line reporting only to me and Elder Rayvon." said the general causing Kernell's jaw to drop slightly.
"But general, I'm a just a Knight. How hard did they hit us?" said Kernell with his voice filled with worry. He did not want that responsibility. He feared that he would not be able to handle it and people would die unnecessarily because of him and his flawed decisions.
"Outside of Citadel Command, you are the highest ranking officer we have. Everyone else is either dead or too wounded to take command. The Elder has ordered what left of our Power Armored troops north to protect the civilians. Your mission is to buy time for us to dig in and prepare."
"Won't they just hit us from orbit when we are all grouped together?"
"The Elder and I don't think so. They avoided civilians for the most part and concentrated on our military forces. We are going to use that to our advantage by packing what's left of our troops around the civilians. It's a gamble I know but we don't have many choices. With that area being away from their main line it will buy us some time. We also have a plan for stalling the alien advance in the meantime. But that requires you to follow your orders. You and the few down there are all that remain and are the only ones capable to give us the time we need."
"I... Yes sir. Anything else sir?" said Kernell as he gave into his unwanted fate putting aside the fear of this new level of leader ship that gripped his insides.
"Just give them hell Knight. Show those lizards what we are made of." With that the general signed off leaving Kernell and his team alone with their new orders.
With that he gathered what left of his team around him and filled them in on his orders. He knew they could trust them for they had been together for a long time. He would be relying on them to help him get this done. They walked over to an intact window on the floor and looked over their city, now covered in the scars of battle.
Kernell's pipboy came life with men and units now under his command. Most were units like his, sent out to perform a task in relation for the defense and were spared the bombardment. There were only a couple of hundred of them but the general and his men planned a good strategy. Kernell had confidence they could hold them for a time, he knew they had no alternative but to die or surrender. With this new task before them they made their way down to the ground a few stories below and headed to the line, Kernell issuing orders to his men either already waiting or making their way as well.
Colonel Victus respected this new enemy. Even though they had blasted their defense apart still these creatures rose out of the dust, wounded and battered, and continued to fight. The natives new defense was in an outward arc in attempt to protect the city's command center. The command center was the General's primary target in taking the city.
While it would have taken more time, Victus wanted to go around the defensive line. It was only so large and there were not many natives to defend it meaning it could be bypassed. General Arterius however wanted to go straight through the line. He held an extreme hatred already for these natives and wanted to break them every step of the way. He was also impatient in taking the command center.
From his position Victus could hear the sounds of battle, see the smoke rising. Their enemy had killed over one thousand of his men since they had entered the city even with necessary precautions taken. They would have lost more but he ordered the enemy to be hit with long range weapons. That changed as they progressed farther into city. Eventually they came to a point where the long range weapons were ineffective, too many buildings and structures were in the way. The enemy used this to fortify themselves quite well, preventing the turians from advancing any more. Victus had ordered a pull back as well knowing it foolish to attempt an attack on the enemy with superior position and fire power if not numbers. So he did what he had to.
He called the fleet to strike the defenders. He wanted to do this initially before his assault on the city began but General Arterius overruled him. He said the chances of destroying critical technologies and information was to great and that they could afford taking this city slowly. He also prevented Victus from targeted the command center for the city citing the necessity of its information. While Victus could agree with him on these points he also knew that is was costing them many lives for their goal.
So he ordered the bombardment after their stalled advance with the permission of the general who was furious with their progress. Each shot was designed to only effect a small area and target defenders a military structures leaving the city at large intact, and the tactic had worked. They not only disabled the native's defensive line but took down the AA platforms around the city allowing his gunships to move further in.
"Colonel, take a look at this," said one of his aides handing him a tablet. It showed that the natives had abandoned the city in general and the civilians had moved to most northern part, far away from his advance. Along with them were also the native armored soldiers that proved such a challenge. It appeared that this conflict was soon over, at least for the most part.
"What of the command center? Did they abandon it as well?" asked Victus.
"We observed many personnel leaving but it is still defended," responded the aide.
This was intriguing for Victus. The command center was easily the most defensible location in the city but many had abandoned it. Had there been a schism within the native's military causing some to retreat north knowing that turian forces would soon take that location? It might also be that part of the military wanted to abandon the civilians to the turians while others wanted to protect them foremost. Whatever the reason these native had just given the turians a good advantage in taking the command center. What was left in the northern parts could be taken later and if they could surround them then perhaps they could starve them out.
"Relay this to the general. Let him know what's going on and that the command center is now easier for attack." He hoped this small war would come to an end soon.
Bullets rained all around Kernell and his men. They were located in a choke point in the city and the enemy was firing nonstop. He left his cover and fired back with his laser rifle, a comforting feeling in this time of war. This had been going on for a solid half hour and he still had not heard any word from the general.
He heard the whine of a tesla canon as it powered up. An enemy gunship came into view just as the soldier fired the weapon blowing the ship from the sky. Debris rained down onto the lizards below.
With a crack he saw one of his men go down, most likely from enemy sniper fire. A few more cracks were heard following soldier either going down or screaming. What was their defense was quickly being overrun. But his men kept on, showering the lizards with plasma and laser. They got some as they rose from their cover to fire.
Chaos was all around him and smoke filled his lungs. His eyes were burning and his muscles ached. But he kept firing. An enemy missile went into the air and came right for him. Kernell and the men around him seeing this jumped as hard as they could away just before the missile impacted. The impact threw men and rubble into the air.
Kernell looked around him as his ears rang from the attack. He knew it was only a matter of minutes before they were overrun. This enemy was relentless. Even though they had suffered more losses they would not give up. As he was about to head back to engage the enemy again his pipboy chirped. Looking at it he realized that was the cue they had been waiting for. Into his comm he alerted his men to the situation and told them to prepare.
Then he ordered the next phase. When he did men and women that he held in reserve came running to the front. One was Gage who ran past him with determination etched into her face. In her hands, and the hands of the others, was a Fat Man. They only had a few of these weapons and he held them in reserve just for this. With his order the eleven men and woman handling a Fat Man pulled their trigger launching mini nukes into the air. But these were not the weapons of a time past, oh no. Once the mini nuke reached its highest point and began descending, each one broke into twelve, each with the firepower five time greater than their ancient predecessor.
Nuclear fire bombed the enemy. He could hear their screams as they were wiped from existence. They were so close together in concentration of their attack that they had nowhere to run. It tore thought them easily and with the new attack they stopped firing. With his enemy distracted Kernell ordered his men to retreat. They began their journey north where General Golunks waited for them as did the rest of the civilians all squished together. Kernell was just happy that he followed through on his order and stalled the enemy and he was finally able to leave this little piece of Ellen's hell.
General Arterius held his right arm and looked over his burn. The burn was caused by those small nuclear devices the natives were so fond of. During that attack he had lost half of his team and had already undergone multiple doses of radiation medication because of the attack. Many of his men would have to forgo the treatment for a while longer because they had already run out, unprepared for the tactics of the natives. These plague bearers continued to pain him. But that would soon over.
He looked a ways ahead at their command center. They had advanced quickly after the nuclear wielding natives had turned tail and fled following their attack. His men had already overwhelmed the defenders pushing them inside of their base as his men continued their assault. Arterius had taken command of the assault once he arrived and had done a good job at it with little interference from Victus, whom he did not care for. With the division of the native forces this command center would soon fall into his hand.
He could barely wait until they had access the information that base surely held. His mission was to secure as much technology and information possible which hopefully would allow the turians to easily place themselves above the rest of the galaxy as the superior race. He welcomed the day when they could rule the galaxy and did not have to deal with the necessary diplomacy and restrictions imposed by the other races today. That was why the council was uninformed about the turian's assault. It would come out in time but then it would be too late and the turians would be far ahead in developing this technology for themselves.
Just then one of his men reported that the base was secure. Finally after hours of battle they would get their prize. These natives put up a decent fight but they should have known better than being able to hold out against the turians. Assembling his squad he set off for the now secure base. While it was only one story it quickly led down into the bowels of the planet as they descended the stairs. Scars marked the walls where the defenders and turians combated one another. The floors were lined with bodies from both sides and blood made the general's walk slippery.
Finally they made it to the command center. As he scanned the room the general saw how the natives made their last stand. Barricades were around the room facing the single entrance. Natives now dead were spread around the room. He saw the small craters from turian grenades that were used in the room to clear it out. None of the terminal displays were on and the room lacked the glow of the screens. A few men with their guns partially raised stood facing one lone individual, the sole survivor.
As Arterius approached him he looked him over. His eyes were blue and his hair gray. He was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall. His red blood was pooling onto the floor and splotches of it dotted his purple robe. This native was believed to be their leader and once he was patched up he would prove a valuable specimen.
As he reached the native he accessed his omni-tool and activated his translator. They had been studying this language all morning and his men had put together a rough program for communication that so far worked for the natives already captured.
"Do you understand me?" he asked and a second later his omni-tool emitted his question in the native's tongue. It was odd for Arterius to do this for he was so use to other races having translators in their omni-tools preventing any delay during an exchange.
"Yes," spoke the old native, Arterius understanding him a second later when his word was translated.
"Good, now if you want to continue breathing you will do as I say. You belong to me now and your base is under my command," said the general with his voice filled with triumph. He stared directly into the eyes of the native and was surprised. There was no remorse in those blue eyes, only determination of the fiercest kind. The native quickly reached into its robe and pulled out a weapon pointing it at the Arterius causing the general to jump back and his men raising their weapons. "NO!" he yelled to his men raising their weapons after he saw the revealed weapon. It was an old kinetic weapon, not an energy weapon, and would do no damage to him or his men. Arterius gave a small chuckle and said to the native: "You cannot hurt us with that weapon."
With that the native smiled. "Oh, I know," it said in a drawn out way. To the look of confusion on Arterius' face the native took the weapon and pointed it at his own head and pulled the trigger. The slug burst through his head and the native, leader of these people, died in front of them. The general frowned in anger at this but he knew it would not rob him of too much. Then he noticed the native wrist light up in what looked like an altered version of his omni-tool. Various native language units appeared on the screen. The general froze for only a second when he realized what it most likely meant. Then he felt nothing, nor did he see anything. He simply ceased to exist.
Ralph shielded his eyes as he watched the mushroom cloud rise from citadel command. His heart ached in pain and sadness at the loss of his boss and friend. He did not agree with the plan the elder created but could not argue with its success. His scouts reported that vast amounts of invaders were present at the site. He only wished Rayvon would have let him play the bait instead but with all his reasons and protest, he refused. "This must be my burden to carry. To many have given their lives for us this day and I cannot let any other do what must be done if I myself can do it" he said to Ralph. Only Rayvon or Ralph could have stayed for they were the only one who could access the base's self destruct. But Rayvon would not let Ralph do it.
Rayvon then asked for volunteers for his last act and nearly everyone stepped forward. Only a few were selected but the pride Ralph saw in Rayvon's eyes would be remembered by him for the rest of his life. He only hoped that Rayvon went out well and honorably.
Ralph stood in the civilian camp along with the remainder of the command unit. Here they prepared for their final stand against the aliens. The camp was a buzz of conversation with the mushroom cloud forming and everyone understanding the cause behind. Everyone would be safe from the effects of radiation thanks to the pipboys all wore.
He was soon alerted by his aide that what was left of the city's defensive line had arrived. He watched as they made their way into camp battered and bleeding with looks of confusion on many of their faces in regard to the explosion. Knight Kernell approached him, his face covered in dirt and blood plastered on his armor and stood at attention for Ralph.
"Well done Knight. We owe you and your men a lot of thanks." Seeing the fatigue in the knight's eyes he gave him a soft smile. "Go and get cleaned up Knight. We will do a full debrief after you are ready."
"Thank you sir," Kernell said as he departed from Ralph, disappearing into the crowd. He deserved whatever small relief he could find for he had done what many would not, what many could not.
Now the people of Ellen were on their last leg. They had few supplies and fewer men. Ralph looked up towards the sky and hoped that the fleet would be here before the enemy came for them. He knew that this attack did a great amount of damage but doubted it would buy anything other than a small amount of time before the enemy began again. And so he waited.
Hoped you enjoyed.
As many of you most likely noticed I did not include the artifact that General Arterius was originally suppose to recover as per the comic. This was because I felt the time frame that this event is taking place in does not support it. In the comic the turian ship carrying the artifact crashes on Shanxi (Ellen) during the midst of the fighting. Since my battle for the planet is not nearly as long as the Alliance version I chose not to utilize that particular story.
Anyway I hope you enjoyed. Remember to post any criticisms or if you would prefer you could always PM me. The second part on the Battle of Ellen will be up soon.
Thank you.