Hey everyone, here is the next installment of Virmire. I hope you are all enjoying the story. Please R&R and enjoy!
000
The teams had moved. For the members on the Normandy, that waiting was torture. Joker probably would have been pacing if it would not have been so noisy and painful.
Mallory watched Kaidan as he took readings on the bomb. The Normandy felt so empty with the entire ground team gone and everyone else glued to their monitoring stations. Two other marines stood over the bomb as guards.
"I wonder how everything is going," Mallory said starting to pace. She hated having to stay on the ship. Why couldn't she be on the ground with Claire? Damn it, I'm a good soldier. I follow orders and accomplish the mission.
"Shadow team just went dark for the infiltration and the Salarians are starting their push." Kaidan had his finger to his ear listening to the radio chatter. Mallory quickly tuned in the signal on her omni-tool. As she listened, she heard the battle raging between the salarians and defenders. She could almost see the towering walls of the facility pressing down on the under-strength unit as they fought desperately to keep the geth defenders' attention while Claire and the rest of the team slipped through the defenses on the opposite side of the facility.
"I feel so useless just sitting here waiting for orders." Mallory crossed her arms sitting down on one of the crates.
"All we can do is be patient and wait for the signal." Kaidan went back to running stats on his omni-tool. Mallory could not understand how her boyfriend was able to be so calm and collected. Their entire mission was riding on this plan working and the only thing that she could do was wait on the ship with the bomb for orders. It annoyed the hell out of her.
The radio crackled again as the battle at the main entrance of the facility. "Give a little ground Williams. Bring them out of their bunkers." Kirrahe's voice was easily discernible.
Mallory rubbed her forehead as she listened to the battle. They were picking up more chatter now and it was starting to get confusing. Mallory turned her radio down tuning out the chatter.
"How long do you think it will be?" Mallory asked looking over at Kaidan. He shrugged as he closed his omni-tool and pulled his pistol.
"All we can do, honey, is wait for the commander to give us the signal to drop the bomb off." Kaidan checked his pistol and set the firing chamber for disruptor rounds. Mallory nodded and took out her rifle. She had just check all her weapons over but at least it was something to do while they waited.
000
Ashley slide through the water as the geth defenders fired from the facility entrance. The entrance was a massive gate covered on both sides by gun emplacements. Other than a few fallen boulders that provided cover, the entire approach from any angle was covered by one or more geth emplacements.
"Their confused about something. Williams take the shot," Kirrahe shouted over the radio. Ashley popped up from cover and fire several controlled bursts from her rifle. Ashley smirked as she watched two geth troopers collapse into the shallow water.
"The air threat on the right flank is withdrawing probably to regroup," Aegohr Squad's commander stated over the radio. Ashley peeked over toward the right flank and saw the drones falling back behind the cliff face. She pulled back into cover just as a haze of bullets ricocheted off the boulder sending sand and pulverized rock into her hair.
"Jaeto, use grenades to cover Mannovai's approach," Kirrahe ordered through the radio. Ashley looked back at the salarians that were with her.
"Captain, Jaeto is closer than Mannovai is. Let us make the breach on the gate. Have the other two teams cover us before the drones come back." The team nodded at her plan.
"Alright Williams, cover fire on my mark. 3…2…1…cover fire!" The amount of fire that poured down on the defenders was unbelievable. Ashley had not seen this many bullets flying since the firing range in boot camp. Ashley vaulted the boulder with her team behind her and charged the doors.
"Shift your fire!" Ashley shouted as they got closer. She hurled a grenade into one of the bunkers and slide to a stop against the wall waiting for the explosive to erupt. Fire belched from the small ports the geth had been firing from and cooling fluid sprinkled down like a misty rain. "Take four men across to the other bunker and secure it. I need whoever is good with demolitions to get us into the base."
The team moved. Of the twenty men that had started with Ashley two were already dead and three others were seriously wounded and back at the camp. At least her team was doing better than the other teams were. Nearly half of the salarians had been killed or wounded.
Ashley watched as the five men took cover next to the opposite side bunker and slipped an explosive charge over the edge of the gun port. "Status?" Ashley asked as the other bunker exploded.
"We are going to breach the wall of the bunker rather than the gate. The teams can move through and head for the AA tower along the defense platforms." The salarian set up a charge on the wall of the took cover.
"The aerial threat has not materialized, we must be getting some help from shadow," Kirrahe reported over the radio.
"Breaching!" Ashley shouted. The charge erupted ripping a large hole in the wall of the bunker. Ashley and her team leapt to their feet and charged through to secure the other side for the rest of the salarians.
"Mannovai, stay and hold the main gate. We will need to make quick exit once this is done. Jaeto and Aegohr will proceed to the AA tower and reek some havoc." Kirrahe wave the teams on as the remaining men in Mannovai took cover and set up a defensive position.
000
Luke moved slowly with Wrex and Garrus on his flanks. The bodies of krogan mercs and geth troopers littered the field. Luke did not like this. The entrance to the main facility would most likely still be guarded but if they set off alarms anywhere in the facility, the other teams might get overwhelmed. They would have to deactivate the alarms, breach, and go in hard.
"Claire, we've got the entrance secure. I'm ready to deactivate the alarms." Luke opened his omni-tool as he holstered his pistol.
"Hold up Luke. I think I might have found an alternant way in," Claire informed him over the radio. Luke turned to look at Claire's position. She had taken an over-watch role with her sniper rifle in a small cave that had an opening with a clear line of sight on the platform that Luke now stood on. "We're moving up."
Luke turned to his companions and leaned against the wall waiting for Claire to join them. "I'm still getting a bad feeling about all this. It's like there is something wrong with this whole facility, not just the mission." Wrex and Garrus looked at each other and looked back at the facility. They must have felt it too; the discomfort in the back of their heads, the thoughts that did not seem to be their own. Luke shook his head and watched his sister's approach.
"There is a tunnel under the platform over on the left. It might lead into the lower levels of the facility. They might not have as much security," Claire said as she, Tali, and Liara joined the three men.
"If we knew where they went I would agree, but what if it is a maze that we get lost in. We don't have the time to wander aimlessly through what is probably the facility sewer. Ash and the salarians won't last long enough for us to find our way." Luke's protest seemed to strike a nerve in several of the team. Hopefully, they would agree with him.
"We are taking the tunnel Luke. I'll spend a little extra time to avoid a larger fight," Claire stated. Luke opened his mouth to protest again but Claire stopped him. "That is an order."
Luke sighed and nodded. He did not like the way she dismissed his concerns about the time it would take, but he had no choice. She was the commander. He promised that he would follow her orders in combat.
As they moved down the hill to the tunnel, Luke kept his eyes up making sure that there were no enemies baring down on them. He could not help the feeling of impending doom creeping up into his mind and sending shivers down his spine.
"What are you thinking about?" Laira asked. The question startled Luke causing him to jump splashing muddy, stinking water all over the group.
"Keep it down," Claire whispered as Luke composed himself. Liara and Tali giggled, no doubt at his making a fool of himself.
"I was just…this place gives me the creeps. I don't want this place to exist any longer than necessary." Luke's eyes scanned his surroundings. Nothing appeared to be off but he could not shake the feeling that there was in fact something very wrong.
"It is unsettling but as long as we are together nothing can beat us." Liara's encouragement calmed him a little but that feeling simply would not leave his mind.
"It looks like there is an open area ahead. Could be an entrance to the facilty," Claire said as the team took cover. Tali hacked the door only to be met with several shots impacting the frame of the door. Luke pulled his pistol and fired a few times around the corner before sprinting through the water with Wrex on his heels. Luke heard the krogan's shotgun erupt sending shrapnel across the room.
"Those bastards are salarians!" Garrus shouted. Luke took cover behind a metal column and peeked around to get a view of their enemy. Garrus was right. Their assailants were all wearing STG uniforms and were armed with rifles and pistols. Could they have been indoctrinated just like Benezia had been? No matter what the case maybe, they were a threat to the mission and were trying to kill them. They had to die.
Luke turned the corner and fired several rounds as he charged up the ramp toward their attackers. A few shots ricocheted off his shields before he put a bullet through a salarian's chest. He could hear nothing but his heart pounding in his head. The blood rushing through his veins carrying nothing but pure, unfiltered, and unhindered rage as he killed the other two defenders.
"What was wrong with them?" Claire asked kneeling beside one of the corpses.
"They looked crazed. Maybe they were indoctrinated," Luke panted. "Kirrahe said that he lost quite a few men investigating this place. I'll bet that they are indoctrinated like…" Luke paused. Mentioning indoctrination or her mother normally had a debilitating effect but this time only seemed to make her mad.
"Let's get that bastard. Disable the alarms and keep moving. I want Saren's files before we leave." Claire turned and looked over at Wrex. "Let's try to get a sample of this genephage cure if we can." Luke nodded approvingly and Garrus and Wrex joined him. They had one hell of a fight ahead of them but they were going to make it, all of them.