Chapter 6
Hannah knew that reaching New Wien wouldn't be simple, but in the back of her mind she hoped. She hoped the moment that they were within the city's perimeter they would be relatively safe.
She didn't expect to see the whole city under siege at the dawn of the fourth day.
'They tore through the Vektans so fast.' Hannah, like every Helghast, had a healthy dislike for Vektans. Albeit she never allowed it to get the better of her in interpersonal relations. Unlike many of her people she also respected them for their combat ability. The 5th Ranger Regiment was among the best Vekta had to offer, and seeing them only able to slow down the alien's for three days, on their own turf, was disturbing to say the least.
The city was built on a mountain side, slowly climbing up to the top. Like the capital it was divided in two by a river, who's source was in the mountain. It was also the main source of building materials and precious metals, like as titanium and steel. Thanks to that discovery Shanxi could grow at an unprecedented speed.
Thanks to it's location the city was a natural fortress, giving the defense high ground, forcing attackers to climb under heavy fire.
Now the city was surrounded on all sides, except the mountain top. Hannah's squad could see rows of artillery, tanks, and something that looked like a gunships waiting for the signal to attack.
Human artillery pounded mercilessly at the enemy, but they seemed to deploy some form of force field, which protected them from fire. The alien's weren't idle either, returning fire even though it looked like they deliberately avoided living area's, only targeting office and military buildings.
Hannah scanned the area through her binoculars, but the area was full of aliens of all kinds, with absolutely no way to sneak past effectively. They were lucky that no one found them yet.
Up until this point they lost five more men in skirmishes, yet this seemed to be a relatively good score. They encountered dozens of human soldiers butchered in the forest. Those numbers seemed to grow the closer they got to the city.
Seeing no way in she jumped down from the tree, and returned to her squad to discuss their next move.
"There's no way in." She stated bluntly.
"Told ya." Rick replied, cleaning his rifle. "The city's surrounded on almost all sides, and we don't even have climbing equipment. Not to mention that it would take too long to do anyway."
"Charging head on is basically suicide." Michelle stated. "So what options do we have left?"
"If we only had someone who knew…. wait a bit wasn't Hassan's base around here? He might know how to get into the city undiscovered. Rick go get him."
The man moved without complaint for once, and two minutes later he returned with the pilot.
Hannah explained the situation to him, making him rub his chin.
"There are two ways to get in that I know of." His statement made their hopes soar. "As a mining city there are lots of underground tunnels beneath the city. Some even reaching deep in the jungle, but sadly I don't know where those entrances are… The second is the sewage system, which is linked directly to the river."
"But how do we get into the pipes? The river isn't exactly shallow." Rick pointed out.
"There's a sewage treatment plant nearby that has direct access them. We should be able to get inside from there." Hassan stated.
"It must be overrun with aliens by now." Michelle stated.
"Then we have to break through them." Rick smirked. "They won't except us coming, but if we are to stand any chance we need to do it after dusk, or else it'll be a killing field."
"Great, now we just have to make a plan on how to get inside. We don't even know the layout of the building, so basically we're going in blind." Hassan stated.
"You seem to forget that we have a certain advantage that can get us the plans." Hannah smirked mysteriously, making the trio quirk their eyebrows. "Someone get me Tulius."
Jungle Near New Wien
"KYAAAA!" A human woman screamed as a Batarian solider tried to put a collar on her.
"Quit squirming primitive!" He backhanded her, put the collar on her limp form after.
A few meters away Ilana furrowed her brows in disgust. She recalled something similar happening when she was captured.
"Damn barbarism." She mumbled angrily, really wanting to use the rifle she was holding.
"Better keep comments like that to yourself, or it will cause you trouble." Kilan whispered to her calmly. He had seen such things too many times to be moved by it any more.
Their squad, along with the mercs, managed to rendezvous with a larger group of regular Batarian forces. On their way they encountered few more alien soldiers and suffered some losses, but their advance was mostly undisturbed… until they came across a group of over one hundred aliens that didn't look like soldiers.
One swift strike and few paralyzing shots later, the humans were surrounded like a heard of sheep.
Then with mechanical precision the soldiers began to collar the humans, mercilessly thwarting down any attempted defiance.
"How can you be so calm about this?" She asked her comrade, her tone full of misery.
"You get used to it. I'm from the Earth Caste after all. People getting enslaved is a norm on the streets…Sometimes they go to a better places, and that's a comfort, but it's also rare." He shook his head.
"Was it always like this?" She asked. It was the first time she was able to have a conversation with a Batarian who wasn't a death threat or worse.
"Long before I was born, and will be long after I die." He said a tinge of sadness in his voice. "The Hegemony is stagnant."
"No one's ever tried to oppose it?" She pressed.
"Of course they tired, but every time they failed. The government has much experience in quelling rebellions." Kilan replied. "Their spies are everywhere and punishments are severe. So much so that it usually lasts for years in people's memory."
"That's horrible. I wish the council would do something…" She shook her head. As per usual the council seemed to avoid their responsibility.
"There's nothing that can be done, we just have to accept it." Kilan said as he stared at the ground.
"You can't give up Kilan." Ilana put her hand on his shoulder. "That's the worst thing you can do."
"You're an optimist." He stated blankly.
"That's what's helped me survive." She replied with a small smile. "I believe that things will get better."
"Have they?"
"I'm not wearing a collar anymore, am I?" Her smile widened a little.
"Point taken." Kilan chuckled. Before he said anything more Wrex walked up to them, along with his companion Aleena.
"Listen up kids, we have a proposal for you two." Wrex rumbled. "We want you to join our squad, since we're down a few men."
"Why us? There are dozens more who are better fighters." Ilana asked.
"And all of them serve in the regular forces, or in other merc groups. Listen kiddos this's a onetime offer. We'll give you better equipment, food, and probably won't use you as meat shields." Aleena said way too cheerfully.
"Joy." Kilan deadpanned. "But I'm in. What about you Ilana?"
"Since you're going I don't have much choice, do I? It's either that or try to find another nice Batarian." Her remark caused both Aleena and Wrex to snort. "So I'm in too."
"Perfect! Now seeing as the so called nice Batarian is already well equipped, come with me and I'll find you some better gear… unless you like parading in those rags for your nice Batarian." Aleena grinned, and Ilana blushed purple. "Thought so, now come with me." Both Asari went off, leaving the males behind.
"Nice Batarian eh? You work fast kid." Wrex chuckled.
"I don't know what you're talking about." KIlan replied. To tell the truth he was to surprised by Ilana's comment. "What do you think of these humans, Master Urdont?" After getting to know who Wrex really was, Kilan decided that it was wise to address him with respect.
"I'm no master kid. Call me Wrex, or Battlemaster if you must." The old Krogan told him. "These humans are capable, I see that. But like the one I tried to interrogate earlier said, we haven't seen anything yet. This world is just a colony we caught off guard. The moment their rulers catch winds of it, we're screwed." He crossed his arms.
"What makes you say that Wrex?" Kilan felt his stomach tie in knots.
"We lost two hundred ships to a single battle station and just thirty theirs. They have directed energy weapons, better armor, shields, and camouflage systems more advanced than I have seen anywhere on the Citadel. Save for the STG Cloaks." He explained.
"Wait they have shields? Then why aren't they using them?" He asked confused.
"When we turned it on it lit up like Omega. It makes you an easy target. Guess they have to work on their light emission, but in quality it was almost on par with ours. Slightly weaker, but it recharges faster." He looked at the bright blue sky. "They're advanced. It seems that their technology evolved without Eezo, and from what I've heard, their Mass Effect guns are still primitive. So they must have discovered it quite recently."
"This mean that their home world must be somewhere near right?"
"Maybe, maybe not." He mused, his face turning thoughtful. After that both stood in silence, contemplating.
After few minutes a frigate reached their position and landed casting aside some trees. The humans were promptly moved into the ship, those who refused were electrified into submission.
When the packing was done the frigate rose into the air. It flew at the low altitude for a while to avoid human Anti-Aircraft defense.
With that done the army moved towards the nearest large city. After a few hours of marching the jungle abruptly stopped, giving way to fields of some golden plant, swaying gently on the winds. The whole field was filled with large mounds of said plant placed everywhere.
On the horizon they saw the city.
Many groans ripped through the group. No matter which race you originated from, some things remained universal.
Urban combat is a nightmare. Mountain combat is a nightmare.
But together?
Disaterous.
The effort to take this city would be tremendous, they knew it. Especially with orders to not harm the civilian population that much.
It seemed that fights were already raging on, if the columns of smoke on the horizon were any indication.
First soldiers and mercs stepped into the field, making their way towards the city. But not even ten meters in the first explosion happened, ripping two unfortunate Batarin's apart. A second later another explosion went through the field, when some Vorcha decided to move forward.
"Mines!" Wrex rumbled, putting his men on halt. "Don't you dare to move a step."
No one seemed stupid enough to question his warning.
Yet that was not the only surprise the humans prepared for their guests.
BOOOOM!
An enormous explosion ripped through the jungle line, as the mounds fired on them, or rather the jet black tanks hidden in them.
The barrage set ablaze the front of the jungle, causing the aliens to panic. Some ran back to the jungle, others, namely the Vorcha, charged forward with feral screams. They met their end by mines or tank volley.
After a minute or so an officer managed to restore order, and pushed their anti-tank troops forward, beginning to return fire.
Much to their surprise the shots from their AT weapons did little to the tanks. Only the rocket launchers seemed to have any effect on the machines.
Yet the sheer amount of troops they possessed nullified the stronger plating of the Human warmachines.
"Incoming!" Someone shouted pointing forward. A swarm of small bots swarmed towards the invaders.
Seconds later the machine guns mounted on the drop ships spat fire on the disorganized aliens, cutting down dozens of them at a time. This allowed the tanks to safely retreat back to the city, while laying down suppressing fire.
Kilan finished taking down one drone, while Ilana created a biotic field around them, managing to hold the others at bay.
Ordinary shields seemed to fall prey to the electric attacks the drones possessed, leaving their users defenseless. Seeing that the soldiers and mercs gathered around their biotic users, adapting Kilan and Ilana's strategy.
The number of drones started to dwindle rapidly, forcing them to change tactics. The remaining ones concentrated their fire on a singular target, quickly draining the biotic user. The moment the barrier fell the massacre started.
While this tactic proved to be sound, the remaining drones were quickly shot down by sharp shooters.
In few minutes the battle was over.
The surviving men looked around in disbelief. In just few short minutes their numbers were cut by half, and the screams of the wounded and dying filled the air. Bodies littered the field, blood already making pools on the ground.
Human losses were just two smoking tanks and dozens of drones.
Right now the stunned aliens stared at the drones in disbelief. One thought crossing their minds collectively.
These insane bastards have combat A.I..
5th Ranger Regiment HQ
General Hetfield needed a drink. Badly.
Yet his sense of duty was stronger than the need to get wasted. In just a day every single extraordinary idea of alien life proved to be true. Magic, or rather biotic, high-speed regeneration, eagle eye and so much more. Some of the prisoners claimed to be slaves of this so called Batarian Hegemony.
After trying to take the collar of one neck and killing him, he was inclined to believe their statements. He had his best technicians working on something to remotely deactivating the collars.
That might prove helpful in the future.
'Yeah right, future.' He thought bitterly, preparing the report for General Williams. The situation was growing worse by the hour.
His soldiers in the North were pushed back to the very suburbs of New Wien, meaning that the whole northern front was gone. This left the city as the sole point of resistance, with the exception of a few surviving squads in the jungle.
The South was only slightly better. Due to the larger number of Arc Towers, and larger garrisons. The aliens were still a day away from reaching the farming fields, being deadlocked in jungle combat.
Yet there was another matter which worried him more.
The dam.
The aliens were already storming it, but the defenders held their ground firmly, thanks to the two Arc Towers installed during construction.
Probably for the first time in his life General Hetfield was happy that someone agreed to the Helghast's ridiculous need to fortify everything.
Hetfield shook his head, returning to filling out the report, but he wasn't able to finish. Suddenly a window popped up on his screen with General Williams face.
"General." Hetfield greeted him. "What can I do for you, Sir?"
"General Hetfield I have a mission for you. One I cannot stress the importance of." Henry said furrowing his eyebrows.
"I'm all ears." He relied shortly, straightening in his seat.
"It's a rescue mission. Due to the incompetency of the Settlement Department Chief, we have ten million people outside the bunkers." Williams growled.
"I've gotten reports from my men about groups of civies in the jungle…." Hetfield replied. With a heavy heart he gave the order for his men to not take any unnecessary risks. Meaning that even if civilians approached them they had to send them away…
"Yes… among those people are my Daughter-in-law and my Granddaughter. Hetfield I need your men to rescue them at all costs, and bring them to the command bunker. I'm sending you their coordinates and the frequency of their signal." Williams told him. Only years of experience allowed him to keep his voice steady.
"What about the people accompanying them?" He asked already knowing the answer.
"Secondary concern, save as many as you can, but if it becomes hazardous focus only on those two." The General ran his hand through his hair.
"Understood. Hetfield out." He cut the transmission. Next he contacted his comm specialists, and relayed the orders, hoping that they weren't too late….
Council's Spectre & STG team
Tesla Vasir, Saren Arterius, and twenty STG operatives carefully approached the small sized human city. They estimated about thirty thousand people lived here.
But now it was a ghost town, with no living soul around.
The team moved in three groups, from shadow to shadow, avoiding what they had to admit were quite a few ingenious traps.
They left them in case some Batarian stumble upon them…
At some point Tesla signaled them to stop. They were currently before a plaza, many plants and benches decorated the entry to a large six story high building.
Using hand signs she ordered them to move forward with extreme caution. They were now in open, and seeing what those aliens could pull out in jungle, she could only imagine what awaited them inside their cities.
To her utter surprise no one fired upon them. They entered the building, listening for the faintest sound, but ominous silence was all they heard. Looking around they had seen the reception, with signs above it pointing to various directions.
One of the Salarian's moved forward and scanned the letters on the pointers.
"Mayor's office, restaurant, library…" He mumbled.
"That's our cue." The Turian commanded.
"Indeed. Saren take half of the squad and hunker down here. Secure the entry but remain unseen. Inform us immediately if anyone attempts entry." Tesla stated, moving in the direction where the sign pointed, followed shortly by the rest of her team.
Behind the reception was a large open space, with lots of plants, which divided the building into two sides. The library was on the left, while the administration/dining area was on the right.
The building itself as a mixture of steel and glass, with open terraces on every floor. This allowed for a good view of the garden below.
Tesla's team moved inside the library, noticing that it was filled not only with computers, but books.
Despite seeming quite advanced in their own way, these humans seemed to favor some very outdated solutions. She only saw books at the offices of oldest matriarchs, museums, and collector's collections.
Nowadays everything was digitized in Citadel Space. Her fingers caressed several book covers. She pulled a random one and scanned the title.
"Art of War, By Sun Tsu." Her Omni Tool informed her. 'They call war an art?' That thought mildly disturbed her. She dearly hoped that the Batarian's hadn't found a Krogan-like race. She continued to look over the books while the STG operatives started to hack the computers, pulling out every scrap of data they could.
To Tesla's relief the other books she found were about philosophy, art, and history.
Then her communicator crackled to life
Saren: Specre Vasir we have a situation here. A group of fifteen alien soldiers entered the building, four of them look wounded.
Tesla: Do not engage. I'm on my way.
Saren: Copy that.
Tesla left five Salarian operatives at the library to siphon as much data as they could. Moving towards main hall with the rest of her squad. She swiftly reached the terraces, and saw a group of human soldiers below. She noticed that Saren and his men took up positions on the opposite side of the building. She signaled him to stay put. Then in one swift move she jumped over the railing, slowly descending towards the floor. Predictably eleven rifles were instantly pointed at her, yet no one took a shot. Not like that mattered, Tesla was able to set up a biotic barrier in the blink of an eye if necessary.
"I don't wish to fight you." She said calmly. Despite them wearing helmets, she could almost see the disbelief on their faces. "We're not really with Batarians, we're here to help you."
"Why should we believe a word you say, witch?" One of them spat, making her raise her eyebrow at the insult. She decided to ignore it. "Because I could've killed you the moment you entered this building." She let a whistle.
Before the Humans even knew it, they were sitting ducks, standing like a band of fools in the open. Aliens stood on the terraces on both sides, aiming their guns at them.
But then their training kicked in. They quickly formed a semi-circle, shielding the wounded and surprising the aliens by activating their own shields.
'They're well trained.' Saren thought with a new found respect. He would have expected such a reaction from Turians.
"Like I said there no need for violence. We just want to talk." She said in conciliar tone. Not the usual way she handled stuff, but it was better than a fire fight.
After what seemed like eternity, the same human spoke.
"We're listening."
"We are a part of an undercover mission. Our employer wanted to know what the Batarian's were plotting. We found more than we ever dreaded for. I would like to meet your leaders and discuss terms of cooperation. We can bring help and lift the siege from your world." She explained.
"And bring more aliens into the fold? I don't think so." Another human snapped.
"Look, I know that you don't have the slightest reason to trust a word I say, but see the lack of logic in your statement. If we were with them we could call down reinforcements at any time." She hoped that she could reason with them. "If it makes you feel better I'll go with you unarmed."
The soldiers looked at each other, with what seemed to be disbelief, but slowly lowered their guns.
"This's way above my pay grade." The speaker human said. "I'll need to contact HQ…"
"Please d- LOOK OUT!" Tesla suddenly screamed, pointing behind them. The soldiers turned just in time to see a rocket breaking through the glass doors.
Time seemed to slow down.
Tesla jumped back, creating a barrier around herself. Her men ducked behind the nearest cover, while human's…. well some of them managed to swear before being ripped apart.
The explosion sent glass and steel flying everywhere, creating a sizeable hole in the building. Dust and debris filled the building, obscuring the view.
Tesla scanned the building and entry carefully, seeing silhouettes through the smoke.
'Shit.' She mentally cursed. Through the hole in the wall walked a few dozen Batarian Regular Army soldiers.
"Tsk mercs." One of the soldiers scoffed. "What were you scum were doing with those aliens?"
"We were trying to capture them." She lied smoothly. "They were wounded and about to give up." Her tone took a hostile note.
"Looks like we saved you the trouble then." He replied, before coughing diverted his attention. "Eh? One of them still breathes?"
Tesla moved her eyes to where the Batarian was looking and saw a human solider attempting to crawl away. The poor soul had his legs and left arm ripped off. He was leaving several trails of blood behind him. It was obvious that he would die soon, yet he still persisted determined to survive. Following his path she noticed a weapon a few feet from him. The man was going for it.
Spectre Vasir found herself admiring his will to live. She saw one of the Batarian soldiers point his rifle at him.
"Wait!" She shouted, drawing their attention. "I might be able to get some useful information from him."
"Do what you want. He's dead anyway." He shrugged. "Alright we're moving on to secure the rest of this town. Be careful, we've lost seven men to those damn traps already…"
With that the Batarian's left.
Tesla walked to the still crawling solider who neared the gun. She kneeled at his side, and put a hand on his shoulder. The man tried to struggle, but he was too weak. She gently pushed him on his back.
He grabbed her arm, but there was no real strength in the grip. Tesla searched over his helmet, looking for the clasps. She unbuckled them and took off his helmet, revealing a scarred face.
The so Asari-like face was marred with various wounds, creating a web that covered most of his face. The man was bald and had a dark brown eyes.
"Just…do….it…already." The man wheezed, closing his eyes. He expected to feel a cold barrel pressed to his forehead. Yet a second later he felt something warm. He opened his eyes and gasped, staring right into pitch black eyes of the alien.
"Embrace Eternity."
In a blink of an eye, the mind of Tesla and Samuel Prescott melded together. Tesla could feel his panic and used it to peek inside his disoriented mind. Normally the melding allowed one to see only what each other allowed.
Yet there were they ways to force the other to show the Asari what she wanted. Something like this was considered a taboo and a rape in Asari society, and was severely punished.
While Tesla wasn't even close to using brute force, the fact that she put strain on the receiving mind was disgusting to her. Yet her mission demanded it of her. The man was lucky that his mind was in such a chaotic state, so the process was relatively painless, but if he began to resist….
A flood of memories entered her mind as she processed the information at high speed.
His parents, childhood, school, first fight, first love, fist sex, work, army, wife and children, then a war…. a war unlike Tesla had ever seen in her life.
The Turian's have long since set the standards of galactic warfare. Total destruction by military force and subjugation of the enemy.
Clean, precise, and mechanical.
Yet what she was seeing in this man's memories was something else. Legions of invaders in black, with glowing orange almost red eyes, annihilating everything.
Men, women, children and old, no one was spared. Where Turian's were elegant, humans were savage and brutal, often preferring melee combat. Their tactics resembled one of the Krogans, using shock value to break the enemy.
The mental images turned to another planet, filled with a sea of gray buildings and monuments. From his memories she understood that it was the invaders home world, now under the siege of their almost victims. If it was possible the fight was even more brutal. Both sides filled with hatred, savagely ripping each other apart.
Then she witnessed the largest explosion in her or rather his life. Only a shot from the Destiny Ascension could compare to it.
To say that Tesla was shocked would be an understatement. To have such things set off in your own city.
What madness.
Her intense thoughts caused Samuel's mind to focus. Then she felt his amusement.
"Yes a madness, we're a species of madmen." He chuckled.
"Show me more." She commanded, trying not to be disturbed by the idle way he treated this event.
He obeyed showing her probably the biggest land vehicle she'd ever saw.
"That's a damn cruiser on legs!" She stared in awe.
"Yes…it is." Came a weak reply.
"Your time is growing short." She said bluntly.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious." He chuckled again. "Now one last thing I want you to see…"
Soon Tesla found herself in space looking at the planet below. The most noticeable part was the large dreadnought falling towards it's surface.
A second later it was hit by a rocket and exploded. What happened next chilled her to the very bone.
An eruption of some sort of green energy, created a massive explosion which covered the whole planted in a green glow. The energy erupted into space in a violent burst, trying to drag the ship Samuel was on, but the pilot managed to avoid it.
"I can't hear anything from the planet…it's silent." The pilot said.
"Jesus how many people where there?" Then the memory went dark.
"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." Samuel said.
"By the Goddess." Tesla uttered in horror.
"That is what we are capable of Asari…" His mind was on verge of death.
"We don't want to fight you, we want peace!" She stated firmly.
"Peace is a lie…"
Finally his mind faded away, bringing Tesla back to the reality.
"Spectre are you ok?" Saren asked, seeing her distraught expression.
"No it isn't." Her voice wavered. "We're changing the mission. We're going back to the Citadel immediately. We have to stop the Batarian's before their reinforcements arrive."
"Just what did you seen in there?" He asked, feeling slightly thrown off balance. If an experienced Spectre like Vasir was shaken by what she saw, it must have been big, or horrible.
"I saw how they fight each other…."
For the first time in his life Saren felt a tingle of fear.
New Honkong - East Side
The atmosphere hanging over Hector's squad could be cut with a knife. Ever since he mercy killed Victor Heinz, Livia flat out refused to even look at him, which in his opinion was a positive. Even the other members of the squad were hesitant to talk to him, which depressed him a little.
He knew he somehow screwed up, but the man was asking to finish him off. And even if he wasn't, the doctor's guts were spilling out of his side, definitely fatal.
It was a mercy kill.
But for some reason the thought hadn't given him any comfort. After the bombarding ended they were moved to help the wounded and clear the rubble.
It was hard and tiring work, but it allowed Hector's mind be occupied with something else besides the image of the man he killed.
When the work was finally done Hector sat alone, making some distance from his squad. This broadcast that he didn't want to be bothered.
Yet he was soon pleasantly surprised when his comm crackled to life.
Adrian: Hello? Do you copy man?
Hector: How the hell did you manage to get this frequency?
Adrian: Ahh, you see I met a very nice girl that is quite skilled in that area.
Hector: Any other areas she is skilled in?
Adrian: We met yesterday, you dog. Anyway we got a total nut job for a Captain, but he's a hell of a guy. I'm telling you Zaeed Massani is one deadly son of a bitch. Heh heh.
Hector: Good to hear you're having fun.
Adrian: Whoa, what's with the claws? Shouldn't you be having more fun than me?
Hector: I'm hated by my Commanding Officer, and few hours ago I mercy killed one of my squad mates. Now I'm sitting all alone chatting with you. Yeah I've been having a great time.
Adrian: ….
Hector: Any more smart comments?
Adrian: Sorry I didn't know… Damn Hector what the hell is going on your side? We've been bombarded pretty bad too, but none of us were forced to mercy kill anyone.
Hector: I wasn't forced. I did it on my own accord. The guy had his guts spilling through the hole in his side, and they were yapping on about moving him to a hospital.
Adrian: Was he really a lost cause?
Hector: Yeah… I believe so… He begged me to kill him….
Adrian: You know I can ask Captain Zaeed to try to take you into our squad. He just might be able to do so.
Hector: And prove that I ran at the slightest sign of a problem? No, my place is here. If this squad can't accept me, how can I become the ruler of my people?
Adrian: I thought your women ruled your people? You know your Grandmother and Mother?
Hector: The fact that we had two women rulers doesn't mean that the position is hereditary or exclusively to them.
Adrian: I see. Thanks for clearing that up. I have to tell Niko that he owes me money.
Hector: You made a bet on that?
Adrian: Well it was more along the lines of you ever even becoming the Chancellor, but either way I still win since you're the older twin.
Hector: I'll address that in a minute, my lovely officer is coming. Be back in sec.
Adrian: Copy that.
Hector watched his Lieutenant swiftly approaching him and suppressed a sigh. If the glare was any indication, she was about to chew him out thoroughly.
'Maybe she will even want to court martial me?' He thought humorlessly. She stopped right in front him, her glare intensifying.
"Just who the fuck do you think you are?" She asked venomously.
"That depends. A man, private, human, what exactly are you asking for Ma'am?" He inquired.
"Don't be a smart ass! You disrespect me, don't follow orders, you're arrogant and you're a fucking murderer!" She growled just shy of shouting. "You killed your own squad mate without batting an eye!"
"I ended his suffering goddamn it! He begged me to!" Hector stood up, feeling irate.
"He was delusional, he could've been saved!" She stabbed his chest with her finger.
"His organs were spilling out of his side, there was no hope for him." He said darkly.
"Oh and since when are you a field medic Visari? You think that having a fancy name makes you omnipotent? That you can do anything here and suffer no consequences?"
By now the whole squad was watching their verbal skirmish.
"You really what to know what I think?" Hector snapped.
"Enlighten me." She replied in heavy sarcasm.
"Very well. Then let me make something very clear, I can end your military career with just one word. It won't even be hard for me. Tons of people would simply love to gain my favor." He said shocking Livia. "I can do things to you that no man should do to a woman, and suffer no consequences because the state cannot allow such a scandal. They would sweep the matter under the rug mostly by sending you to some remote outpost. That is if anyone would believe you. After all you're just a lowly solider, and I'm a Visari."
During his rant Livia's face turned pale and red at the same time. But it quickly flushed red in disgust.
"But that would happen only if I was that kind of guy you think I am. Yes I'm a Visari. I don't know why you hate my family so much, and frankly I don't give a goddamn."
"Of course you don't give a damn about people like me, your Highness. Living in your palaces, never having to worry about shelter and food!" She snapped back. "Do you know how it is to live on the streets? No, of course you don't. Your whole life has been fucking easy!"
"Easy?" His tone turned dangerously amused. "Yes, I never experienced hunger or lack of shelter, but you know what? Surviving seven assassination attempts on my life might just make my life more difficult."
Livia's expression morphed to surprise.
"You didn't know? Of course you didn't, it's a state secret after all." He parroted her. "I had to watch how my parents almost died, taking bullets for me and my sister. How my childhood friends were ripped apart by an explosion, or died by poison that was prepared for me. Yes, I never knew what is it like on the streets, but I had to live in constant fear for me and my family. Even that pales in comparison to what I have to face as a quarter-breed. Every time I failed I heard whispers about me being worthless, and not fit to rule. About my Mother whoring herself to a Vektan and producing a weak heir." He balled his fist standing up and getting into Livia's personal space, who despite herself started to step back. "I had to be perfect, anything less than that was unacceptable. I had to constantly prove that I am worth having Visari surname, and try to not shame my parents. I dreamed about being a normal Helghast, without that mile long fucking shadow of my ancestors looming over me, but you know what?"
Livia remained silent, which he took as asking.
"I AM A VISARI!" He finally roared, releasing years of pent up frustration. Add to that the intimidating Hunter Trooper helmet, and that made him truly fearsome. "I worked my body and mind to the point of collapse, because I am a Visari! I entered the army and gave them best till I bled every time, because I am Visari! I will fight and die for the people of Shanxi, because I am Visari! I'll protect all those who can't protect themselves, and kill every alien scum that tries to harm them, because I am Visari!" By this point he was shaking with rage. He missed that everything around him was deathly silent. Not only his squad, but the ones working nearby too. "I killed Victor Octavious Heintz to end his suffering, but I, Hector Lucas Visari-Kellan, swear that I'll avenge him and take care of his family as long as I'm alive. I won't allow any harm to befall them, and do know why?!"
To his surprise she spoke.
"Because you are Visari." For the first time he heard something other than contempt in her voice. A softness he never expected to find there, if only just a bit.
"Yes, all sons and daughters of Helghan and Vekta will one day be my people, and I will lay my life for any of them at moment notice. My family owes that much to our people for going with us to hell and back."
He stared at Livia's face, seeing a sadness in her dark eyes. Before he managed to ask why she hated his bloodline so much, his comm crackled back to life with a loud cheer.
Adrian: FUCK YEAH! You friggin did it! Hahahaha!
Hector: What the hell are you talking about?
Adrian: You frigging pulled a Scholar! HAHAHAHA! I fucking won the biggest pot! I'm so rich now!
"What the hell is he talking about?" Livia asked with a frown.
Adrian: Wait, you can hear me? I thought that this was a secure channel?
"It's an open channel solider, why do you think I approached him? I was fed enough with his supposed bullshit about Victor." She added.
"You heard all of that?" Hector paled behind his mask.
"Nice to know I'm lovely." She smirked mockingly.
"Does that mean that everyone heard what I said?" Hector felt his face heat up. 'How the hell it is possible that an open channel is so silent?! There should be chatter!'
General Obsman: It's unsecure and under alien surveillance, so no one's using it Private Visari.
Hector: General? Please don't tell me that-
General Obsman: I heard your speech? Very impressive young Visari, your Great Grandfather would be proud.
Adrian: I don't think making the despotic tyrant responsible for millions of deaths proud would be a good thing.
General Taylor: That aside, it was really a fine speech. Albeit screaming state secrets aloud might not be a good thing. Nevertheless good job.
General Williams: Williams here, I order everyone to get the hell off this channel, NOW! We are certain that the aliens have it under surveillance, and we don't want them to know that our soldiers are bunch of morons.
Admiral Arnak Tornak: Too late for that human, your kind is more foolish than we thought. We'll be coming for you Visari.
Adrian: Look it's Admiral Asswipe!
Tornak: How dare you to insult me, you primitive! Prepare for a slow torturous death!
Adrian: Listen up you alien scum, you might have destroyed our fleet and SD station, have orbital and air superiority, outnumber us at least six to one, and outgun us by more than I can comprehend with your advanced technology, not to mention have a soldiers with freaky powers-
Hector: God Adrian shut up! Just listening to you makes me want to surrender.
Livia: Looks like we finally agree on something, Private.
Adrian: Awww it was the same with Hannah. When're you gonna bang her?
Livia: How dare you!? Learn your place, Private!
Tornak: Don't try to ignor-
Zaeed: Shut your trap, this is getting good.
General Williams: Enough! Everyone off this channel, or I swear I'll personally shoot all into space!
Lots of soldiers: Awwww
A few seconds of silence followed, indicating that everyone indeed went off this channel.
Livia started blankly at Hector, who returned the stare.
"We'll talk about what you said later, understood?" She asked slowly.
"Yes ma'am."
Sewage Treatment Plant
"I think it's a stupid plan." Tulius pressed his mandibles in annoyance. "It's not going to work."
"It will, these aliens are dumb." Rick waved off his concern.
"I'm one of those aliens too!" He snapped.
"Oh, right, sorry." He rubbed his neck awkwardly.
"Oh listen up Tulius, you're the one who has the biggest chance of infiltrating the base and getting the layout plans. Our lives depend on you." Hannah said.
"Bah, fine. But if I die, spirits I swear that I'll haunt you after death." He warned and took off towards the Sewage Treatment Plant's main entrance.
"Think he'll make it?" Hannah asked.
"I think he will. He looks capable, but I'm more worried about him betraying us. How do we know that he's not leading us into a trap?" Michelle asked.
"A crowd of aliens screaming murder, running at as guns blazing might give us some hint." Rick suggested. "But I guess we'll have to wait."
Meanwhile Tulius was moving forward, cursing his rescuers for sending him on a suicide mission.
"Sure send the Turian, he knows the ropes. It's not like he was a prisoner that was imprisoned for a few years. I feel like those bare-plated that always die in the vids."
He saw guards at the entry, both Turian.
'Perfect.' He thought with glee. He boldly marched forward, radiating an aura of confidence. When he got close enough he heard their conversation.
"Those aliens are hilarious… Admiral Asswipe." One Turian chuckled.
"True, but the other one almost makes me feel bad about conquering them. I mean come on, when they put it like that we really go for the over kill." The other one said.
"Yeah almo- wait who goes there!" The first one demanded, noticing Tulius approaching.
"Easy there." He said casually, not stopping.
"Stop! Identify yourself!" He snapped, pointing his gun at him.
"Listen here kid, I've spent my whole day fighting in this fucking jungle. Getting dirt in the places it never should have reached. So fucking excuse me if I don't stop when some damn low raking grunt orders! Now let me pass or I'll swear I'll have your commander plate you alive!" He growled in a military tone.
Both Turian's stiffened, and despite being mercs, snapped a perfect salute.
"We're sorry, Sir." They replied in unison.
"I hope so, now let me pass!" He growled. They hurriedly parted and let him inside the building. He moved through the main doors, and entered a lobby that was filled with bullet holes.
To the right from the entry were two piles of bodies. Smaller ones belonging to humans, and larger one belonging to the invaders.
Tulius had to withhold the bile, seeing Vorcha and some Krogans feasting on the deceased humans. The only reason they hadn't done so on their dead allies, was because the contract with the Batarian Hegemony forbade them.
It was bad for morale.
"AHHHH tastes like Asari! Yummy." One Vorcha commented, munching on an eyeball.
Tulius sped up, not wanting to witness this barbarism any longer than needed.
'Spirits, we think ourselves as civilized, yet we allow something like that.' He thought in disgust. He passed randomly through some corridors, looking for something that looked like a control room.
The humans gave him some sort of advanced glove, which kind of functioned like an Omni Tool, but was less universal when it came to hand shape. So now with the awkwardly fitting glove, he had to find the control room, download the schematics, and send them to the squad in the jungle, all the while remaining undetected.
Tulius scoffed and scanned the writing on the wall with the markers. The glove translated the writing, working in tune with his translator.
The signs said: Engine Room, Storage Room, and Control Room.
"Finally." He muttered, following the signs right up to the control room. Opening the last door, he found a sole Batarian solider watching the screens for any activity.
"I've come to relieve you." He said casually, moving closer.
"What are you talking about? I just got here, and next shift change isn't for four hours." The Batarian growled, then he noticed the markings on his neck. Even hardened Turian skin wasn't immune to the stress of the shock collars. "Hey, wait a minute, you're a-gyah!" He could complete his sentence because of a crushed wind pipe, courtesy of Tulius's deadly jab.
"That's great to hear." He moved the weakly struggling Batarian to the servers, and threw his now cooling body behind it. "At ease soldier."
He moved to the console and activated his glove, quickly gaining access to the system.
Tulius: Colonel Hannah, do you copy? I'm in their systems. I repeat, I'm in their systems.
Hannah: Copy that Tulius, send us the data asap.
Tulius: What?
Hannah: As soon as possible.
Tulius: Copy that, sending data…. and done.
Hannah: Ok. We got it, we'll need some time to formulate a plan.
Tulius: I've got four hours.
Hannah: Roger that, Hannah out.
"Why the hell did she call me Roger?" Tulius muttered, confused.
With Hannah's Squad
"Ok everyone, here's the plan. Michelle, Rick, and I will take care of the guards at the entry, and clear the path for the rest of you." Hannah pointed the main gate on the holographic structure.
The boiler was at the top of the artificial lake, created for the waste water from the city and mines that which connected to the river. The trough was filled with a few lines of filters that purified the water of any pollution, before allowing it to flow into the river.
The Sewage Treatment Plant consisted of two buildings. The larger one with the pipes leading directly to the middle of the lake. The structure looked like a road tower, that widened the higher it got.
The smaller one was the administration and control building. It had a blocky shape, and was built on the shore. Both buildings were connected via a series of ramps.
"Tulius has taken control of the control room." She glared at Rick, who snickered at it. "He will aid us, since it also doubles as a monitoring room. Once we clear a path to the building, we'll send half of our squad here to secure the boats that are placed outside the building." She pointed to the port below the building. "The rest are with us. We have to clear out the building before we advance to the tower. As you probably guessed, some of us will travel via boat to give the enemy a target to shoot at. I know it's brutal, but we're all we got here, and things are only going to get worse. But we'll make it, I have faith in you. Does anyone have anything to say? And no Rick you're not eligible for that offer." Her comment caused a round of quiet laughter. "Ok Team A is led by me, Team B is Led by Hassan. Despite him being a pilot he has more experience in combat that all of you combined, so I don't want to hear any complaints. Are you up for this?"
"Yes Ma'am, that wasn't the first time I was shot down." He replied.
"Wow you're a crappy pilot." Someone commented.
"Let's see how many times you survive a crash landing and fight your way through aliens, green horn." He snapped, silencing the bolder ones.
"Perfect. Everyone it's time to strike back at these mother fucker!" Hannah exclaimed.
"Hoorah!"
Helmets were thrown on, and night vision activated.
Hannah, Rick, and Michelle activated their camouflage and proceeded forward. They quickly dispatched the two Turian that were guarding the entry, and tossed their bodies to the side.
Tulius: Ok you're going into the main lobby. There are bout twenty mercs there, sixteen Vorcha and four Krogan. It's an open space so you will need to act-
Rick: Guys bring the rocket launchers!
Tulius: Spirits, sometimes you're like those damn Krogans!
The squad marched forward heavy weapons first.
"On my mark!" Rick announced, grinning behind his mask. "Ready, aim-"
"FIRE!" Michelle shouted.
The front row released a volley of missiles at the front doors, obliterating them in one large explosion.
"You always take the fun out of things." Rick muttered.
"That's why it's so fucking funny." She laughed. "Charge!"
The squad ran inside shooting away at the dazed aliens. Before they knew what was going on eight Vorcha were dead, and one Krogan was limping towards the nearest cover… meaning that in about ten seconds he will be totally fine.
The group flooded the destroyed lobby, forcing the aliens back into the corridors simply the by the pace they were advancing. So much that a few Vorcha tripped trying to walk back so fast.
Their small brains weren't able to do such a tasking thing while shooting at the same time.
Tulius couldn't believe what he was seeing. He heard that they were a green horns, fresh out of a boot camp, slightly longer than usual, but still recruits. But what he was witnessing was a well-trained unit, acting like professional soldiers. He paused when he saw one of them furiously stabbing a Vorcha with a knife.
Humans were almost as disciplined as Turians, yet they fought with the ferocity of Krogans.
Down in the lobby the soldiers slowly make their foot hold, almost completely pushing the aliens out of it.
"Jesus look, they've been eating the bodies!" One of the soldiers pointed out. The scattered bones and meat were nearby the pile of human dead.
"Leave no one alive! Kill all these fucking monsters!" Hannah ordered in fury.
Tulius: Ekhm.
"Oh right, except for Tulius. No move double time!" Hannah snapped. Her soldiers ran into the corridors, and more gunfire could be heard. Just for safety she ordered all of them to activate their shields.
Hannah: Hassan what's your status?
Hassan: We've secured the docks ma'am, just a few guards out here. We're sniping everyone that tries to leave the building.
Hannah: Good, take your men to the boats and assault the tower. We'll join you shortly, oh and take care of snipers. We're going to get slaughtered on those catwalks otherwise.
Hassan: Copy that, Hassan out.
Rick just successfully blew the head off some unfortunate Batarian soldier with his sniper rifle.
"Ten, booyah!" He exclaimed.
"Eight! Take that motherfuckers! Grenade in the hole!" Michelle pulled the pin and threw a grenade around the corner. The moment it exploded a shower of limbs shot from the corner, painting it in multiple colors. "Way more than you! Now more let's move, loser!" She shouted and ran around the corner.
"Michelle stop!" Rick ran after her. "We don't know what's in there!"
"I just threw a grenade! Probably some horribly mangled bodies!" She turned back still running. "There's nothn- ufff" She slammed into something hard and bounced back, landing on her butt. "Ow why the hell! There's a wa-" A really large Krogan stood before her. He bloodied and was missing an eye." Llllllllll….gyah!" She pointed her rifle at him, but in one strong swipe he knocked it out of her hands. Then he grabbed her by both arms and lifted her off the ground. She struggled an kicked, but the Krogan was unfazed.
To her horror he opened his fanged mouth and started to move her closer towards her, likse he was some giant sandwich. She could see the insides of his mouth, and to her even greater dread hairs were stuck between his teeth.
"RICK! FUCKING HELP ME! PLEASE!" She screamed in desperation, as the jaws got closer.
"Let her go!" Rick shouted bloody murder, slamming into the Krogan with his whole body. Then he furiously stabbed the monster's face with his knife. Since the Krogan was holding Michelle as a shield he couldn't shoot him.
The large alien let go of Michelle and with a blood curdling scream grabbed Rick by his neck, ripped him off. Then he slammed him into the wall repeatedly, creating a dent with his body.
"Shoot him!" Michelle screeched grabbing her rifle. The soldiers that were with them woke up from their daze and unleashed a storm of bullets on the Krogan's back, making him shout in pain. He let go of Rick body, which limply fell to the floor.
The beast started to retreat, moving his arms to protect its head. His shields were flaring up and breaking under the constant hail of bullets.
Finally, even the famous Krogan regeneration couldn't keep up, and the beast fell. It's body filled with a few kilos of lead.
Just for a good measure Michelle shot two bullets in its head, spilling the Krogan's brains on the floor.
After she made sure the perimeter was safe, she ran to her fallen friend's side and kneeled next to him.
"Rick can you hear me!" She dropped her rifle and started to unclasp his helmet. His head fell out of it limply, trails of blood streaming down his face. A moment's observation found he wasn't breathing. "Nononono! Don't fucking do this to me!" She quickly took her helmet off, and started to perform CPR. 'Come on you perverted fuck, pull through.'
Suddenly in the middle of her breath his tongue came to life and intertwined with hers. When she tried to pull back, his hand went to the back on her head and forced her to deepen the kiss.
Finally being fed up with this, she socked him in the chest, causing him to cry in pain and let her go.
Michelle quickly moved back, and was about to hit him again, but the sheer agony on his face stopped her. Anger was instantly replaced by worry.
"Fuck Rick, you alright?!" She kneeled next to him again.
"I've been better." He hissed. "That fucker got me real good…. Why were you kissing me?"
"I wasn't kissing you fucktard…. I was giving you CPR!" She snapped. "I mean who the hell kisses back just after waking!?"
"Aha! So that was a kiss!" He cheered, but then clutched his chest. " Fuck…"
"Here have some adrenaline." She dug in one of her pouches and handed him a syringe.
"I want Medi-Gel, adrenaline is so cold war stuff." He whined.
"Stop being a baby!" She injected him as she said this. After a few seconds to course through his system, he was up and running.
"Ok I take it back, this stuff is awesome. Let's kill something." He said really fast, and took off trying to find someone to murder.
"I see why they're starting to take it off from active use." She quickly followed him, but before Rick managed to do something stupid Hannah announced that the building was secure.
She called everyone out to the ramps double time. Hassan's squad was already engaging the enemy, and needed a distraction.
Luckily for them the night was cloudy, so there were under cover of darkness, which increased their chances of survival. Inside the building they already lost five men, and Hassan reported losing three on approach.
The tower was already on fire, with dots of fire escaping the structure and illuminating it like a Christmas Tree.
Hannah: Everyone move! This will draw every alien in the area! OH SHIT SNIPER!.
She ducked when the head of the solider running in front of her exploded into a shower of gore.
Everyone dropped hearing another shot ring through the air.
Tulius: Taken care of.
The humans plus, one Turian, moved forward. They finally reached the tower which was right in the middle of a fire fight. The area was filled with various pipes of all sizes deadlocking the attackers.
Vorcha were especially annoying in this terrain, since they were able to squeeze themselves pretty much everywhere.
"God I already hate these bug motherfuckers! How many head shots does it take to finally die!?" Rick scoffed.
"Maybe they don't have a brain! Try shooting them in the chest!" Michelle suggested, yet that didn't work either.
"Just shoot them till they die! We're running on a tight schedule here!" Hannah snapped.
"If you have any incendiary rounds it helps." Tulius offered.
"No such luck."
The battle continued at a painfully slow pace, but Hannah's squad was slowly clearing the tower out of them. It was arduous process, but about fifteen minutes later it was done. The tower was theirs.
The operation was a success, but at a cost. Fifteen of her men paid the price for this success.
"No enemies left, Colonel." One solider reported.
"Good. Tulius which pipe we should enter?" She asked. The Turian activated the holographic image of the pipeline network.
"Hmmm, it should be this one." He pointed to the only pipe that was not ejecting high pressure water, only a weak steam was coming out of it.
"Ok people you heard the man…alien…you know what I mean. Now lets move it!" She ordered. The whole group moved to the cat walk above it, then jumped on the top of the pipe. Finding a maintenance hatch they swiftly moved inside it, all while pretending to not see the mass of rumbling water below them.
Well all except for Tulius.
"What do you mean you can't swim?" Hannah asked incredulously. "Don't you have water on your planet?"
"We do, it's just Palaven is very dry… So Turian's are not that good at swimming… Better at drowning though." He gulped, watching the angry rushing water below.
"Someone give me a rope." She said in exasperation. Then she tied it around Tulius's waist.
"What are you doing?" He asked, his mandibles nervously twitching.
"Relax, we're going to lower you down nice and easy." She reassured him. "We going to do it slowly, and- whoops no time." She pushed him off the catwalk.
"Spirits fuck me!" He screamed, but the line prevented him from hitting the pipe. "What the fuck was that! You could have killed me!?"
"My traps were set off in the administration building. You're friends are here, now go solider!" She snapped, jumping down herself.
The rest of the squad followed, and soon they were inside the pipe moving as quickly as possible through the cramped complex network. Tulius moved up front since he was the one with a map.
"How long do we have to walk in this?" Rick asked.
"It's says that that we're about five kilometers from the city, and there will be few turns we have to take." Tulius said as he navigated the way.
"Great." Rick muttered. "Never was more happy to have air filters."
"Don't say." Tulius replied dryly, shutting him up.
For next four hours they waded a labyrinth of pipes, getting lost a few times, since the plans were harder to read than anticipated.
But finally they found a ladder leading to the surface.
"Ok Tulius climb up." Michelle said.
"Do you really think that it's a good idea for me to be the first person that steps out of the sewer?" He deadpanned.
"Sorry my bad. I'll go then." She began climbing.
"Right behind you!" Rick pushed forward.
"God you're such a loser." She snapped, but he wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible. Hannah carefully moved the lid and stuck her head out…. just to come face to face with dozens of rifles aimed at her.
"Oh hi."
The Helghast weren't amused.
A/N
Ok another one down sorry for the delay but I had lot of stuff going on.
Anyways I think it's high time to see how the things on Helghan are going...
Don't forget to drop the review