Omega Maintenance Corridor
Doru District, Residential Sector
The lights became dimmer as they proceeded along the dingy maintenance corridor. Debris was strewn everywhere. The first sign that there had been a struggle was the burnt marks on walls and floor. The broken defensive wall of crates. Skeletal remains, weapons and spent thermal clips were scattered everywhere. None of the remains, April noted carefully, was fresh. The bones were old, black blood pools were dried and flaking which meant the incident took place years ago. The corpse near the airlock could have been the last survivor of this group. There was no sign of whatever it was that took them out. If it had demolished the group, it or they wouldn't leave anything of themselves behind. The other good sign she could see of this site of death was the thick layer of dust. No one had tread the maintenance corridor since the event.
Exactly what had rampaged through the unfortunate group? Of the slew of bones scattered along the corridor, there were no more than four near complete skeletons. The rest were scattered every which way. Either those victims were torn apart or something smaller was responsible for the disorder. Like rats. The little critters were notorious. They could scurry past security and sanitary protocols, leading to a galaxy wide diaspora. Of course, human activities like illegal trading and smuggling helped in their dispersal. Unscrupulous traders and smugglers didn't care if their cargo held extra passengers that might pose a health and environmental hazard to other species.
It was unfair to think only humans would bring their vermin out with them. The other races had done equal share in spreading their own home pests as well. As if her thoughts were a summon, a eight-legged cockroach like insect raced across the gritty floor, followed by a few others as she stepped over small broken crates. She supposed there were earthy cockroaches around with their other unearthy counterparts everywhere. Yes, definitely, the station was filled to the brim with vermin. Wouldn't it better to blow the whole damn thing up? That was what most wanted. Remove Omega, gone the roost of the dregs. The danger they represented would also be eliminated but that was, in her view, a short sighted measure. Like weeds they would sprout out of control. Everywhere.
Her visor display flared with warning from Liara who was monitoring their progress and keeping watch of the route ahead. She halted immediately and gestured to the squad behind her. Crouching down behind a pile of debris, she studied the scan data Liara was sending. They were near the entrance of the corridor, beyond which was Doru district. The district was an enclosed structure than the erratic open designs constructed centuries later when the rock was broken open to expose the rich eezo deposits. The water treatment facility, the main ventilation system and the central support column of the station was located right next to the district. Omega Control, now part of the Cerberus base, was smacked in the middle.
As far as April could make out from the scan, a group of mutants was wandering through the street beyond. There were odd protuberances along the arms, reminiscent of arm-mounted cannons of Scions and humps along the shoulders. Unlike the upgraded husks, these appeared man-size or close to it. A mixed group for she spotted salarian-like horns on slightly elongated heads. An unknown element. There were no recorded vids of this particular group. She had no idea what they were capable of and no interest in finding out. Flicking another signal to the squad to remain where they were, she squatted there in the shadows, perfectly content to let the mutants passed. They could slip out after this group was completely out of sight.
Her visor flared twice in warning and additional images began to fill in along the periphery, dashing her hopes. Nerves began to tighten when a cacophony of whines and fluctuating shrills filled the air when the first group of mutants spotted the second. Stuttering growls rose in answer, sounding somewhat like the snorting gasping grunts of vorcha. Her suspicion was borne out when the second group approached at a run, passing the probes bobbing above and floating along the street at the edges. Their hands were large claws and were those serrated edges along the arms? Flashes of fire erupted from the arms of the first group. Definitely, they were scion-like. A few vorcha were blasted away but several in the first wave dodged the blasts and leaped upon the first ranks of the humanoid-scions, their claws swiping viciously. Gore splattered.
Taking her eyes away the fight, April gestured to the squad to fall back. They were too near the exit of the corridor. A buffer of several metres was prudent. The squad withdrew as she got up, half-crouched when a wailing howl arose from the sounds of the battle. It became louder, heading her way. She rolled instinctively. The crates behind her exploded as a body came hurtling through to land in the corridor, sending bones and crates flying.
A snarling whirlwind of claws leaped in, flailing away. Gobbets of flesh and blood flew. It raised its head, its mouthful of teeth gleaming. Before it could respond to the presence it was beginning to sense, she darted forward. Her fist slammed down on its back, knocking it down. Bones cracked. It tried to get up, hissing. She threw a hard blow into the base of its neck, below the skull and felt the bones gave sharply. It dropped silently, like a stone. She slammed down another blow on its back to make sure and gestured to the squad.
They picked up their speed and retreated back to the intersection, keeping themselves out of sight in the adjacent corridor. It was just as well they did so. The live feed from the probes showed the fight had spilled into the corridor from the street, the result of the humanoid scions smashing their opponents wildly about and barrelling them down. The scions were putting up a good fight despite suffering horrible wounds, using their cannon-like arms to smash at their enemies when they closed in. It was about even, she decided. Their numbers were down to about half and the fight would continue for a while yet. They would sit tight and wait it out. Her comm beeped softly.
"Eyes Actual to Sunstone."
"Sunstone," she murmured.
"Ferret is advancing smoothly. Aitser made it to the street but ran into several sharks."
A pit came to settle in April's stomach. She hated the feeling. "What breed?'
"It looks like the same composition as the ones in your area but they are split into two opposing groups. Aitser is taking cover but they are separated."
"Separated," she muttered flatly. She'd thought Aria kept a tight rein on her mercenaries. "How did that happen?"
If the mercenaries were wiped out, it would make their task a little more tougher but she and Ulros would still press on. Removing Cerberus was after all, the primary point of the mission.
"One of the groups was advancing too quickly." Liara's faint distaste implied much. "By the time I gave warning, it was too late."
It looked like her misgivings about the effectiveness of the mercenaries, a subject she had debated over with Dorrin, might be right. It was too soon to discount them however. Aria, after all, wouldn't have picked fools for this mission and she wouldn't go down so easily. There was nothing she could do. Her group and Aria's were separated by several hundred meters. It was up to the pirate queen to get herself and her people out of the mess.
"Let me know when the situation changes. Sunstone out."
SE Maintenance Corridor
Doru District, Omega Market
It had originally started well enough. It was deplorable that she, the pirate queen of Omega, had to fling herself out of a shuttle in order to enter what was her domain. Never before in her long tenure of the space station did she have to gain entry in such a manner. Granted, the view she had was far more breathtaking than standing at a window, looking out. A glorious sight that brought a myriad of sensations and a tiny pinprick pique that most of her time was spent in her club or kicking useless rags. Out of necessity, she admitted.
The little stroll along the hull brought back recollections of another time, another space station. Much much smaller but serving the same purpose as Omega after the salarians lost control of it to mercenaries and pirates. That little stroll saved her life after a strenuous self-appointed battle against a formidable opponent that left her pockmarked with more wounds than she had ever received from her previous jobs. It was her choice, a mutual agreement and she didn't regret it. It was by far, the best duel she had ever had in her innumerable encounters. She was pushed to her limits and beyond but she was able to walk away. This time, however, she might well be walking to her own destruction.
It seemed like she had once she stepped past the airlock. She was mentally prepared for the devastation within. Corpses she had seen aplenty in her march to her current position but not like the ones that spoke aloud of their struggle, their fear and their failure to hang on to the life they fought so desperately to retain. The corridor was littered almost two feet deep with parts of dessicated bodies, shattered bones, spent weapons and debris from broken barrier defenses. It must have been the same on the Citadel when the Reapers took it over but she had never seen it, thanks mostly to her gut instinct that she had to leave and find a hideout before they arrived.
The sight spooked a few in the group, much to her annoyance. Their reluctance to wade through the mess was an affront to their supposed calling. When they balked, a few choice words was enough to compel them to move. Unfortunately, it also sent the most squeamish of them, Rufio, to plow through without any observance to stealth and concealment, running so many steps that set him so far ahead that his cronies chased after for fear of losing him. Leaving her and the other half to tread cautiously behind. By the time they emerged from the corridor, Rufio and his little group were far ahead. All they could do when Liara's warning came was to dive for cover in broken down shops on opposite sides of the street.
As she kept an eye on the images through the video feed of her helmet, Aria examined the shop her group had taken cover in. Like every other shop everywhere, there was the front room and a back storage room. Whatever items there were in storage were long gone, leaving no clue to what merchandise the shop once sold. The upper half of the fabricated wall of the storage room was shattered and lay in pieces at her feet. All of the display racks in the front room had been torn apart or pulled down. Three of her group were crouched behind the sales counter while she and the rest were in the storage room. Given an opportunity, she would pull them out of the back door she spotted, half hidden by a few crates. Unfortunately, if any of them were to try it, the chance of being seen by the combatants out front was high.
She fumed silently, wishing she could get her hands on Rufio. If only that stupid brain spike of a turian had kept a level head, they wouldn't be caught out and separated, stuck behind flimsy covers, listening to a riot of terrifying sounds that didn't resemble anything she had ever heard before. She could only hope that every single one of the freaks was wiped out without ever discovering their existence. Chosen more for his skill with his weapons than his ability to think, maybe the idiot would make good use of them before some mutant picked his brains for lunch. If he managed to survive this assignment, she would do more than warp that face of tattoos.
She jerked back when the wall she was taking cover behind shook suddenly. It shook harder as explosive impacts went off nearby. The discord outside seemed to have increased. She checked the live feed, cursing her distraction. Both groups of freaks had closed in, firing and striking out indiscriminately. Sooner or later, the boundary of the fight would widen. That decided her. They would take their chances and go out the back door. Before she could tap into the comm to get both groups to move, the situation that she wanted to avoid materialised. Several of the grappling humanoid scions crashed into the shop Rufio and his cronies were in, pinning whoever was behind the sales counter.
The comm cackled loudly as Rufio shouted in panic. "Spirits! Get them off!"
Explosions went off, too near to the probes, creating a frizzle of lights over the live feed.
"Argin is down! Auxgax it!"
She cursed. "Open fire!" She stood up and poured a hail into the freaks as the others began to shoot. "Fall back through the back door! You hear me, Rufio? Pull out whoever's with you!"
"No! Charzar and Fior are still out front!"
Stupid turian. If he wanted to stay, there was nothing she could do. Her eyes widened when she had her first clear sight of the mutants. "Pull out now!" she shouted as her worse fears were borne out.
The freaks had biotic barriers and they were no longer focused on fighting each other. All their attention was on the mercenaries.
"Now!" she ordered as she ducked and rolled from a biotic cast from the freaks starting in her direction.
Half the wall she took cover behind earlier shattered. The three that were at the sales counter had been quick to move to the storage room the moment she called for a retreat and were not caught in the blast. The rest had exited through the back door. She raised her own barrier as she ran through the exit. Another biotic wave rolled in. The entire storage room walls splintered. She nearly fell as the crest of the wave reached past the outer wall to shake the ground outside.
Knowing Rufio, there was only one thing he would do once he realised he was on his own. Without a word, Aria began running down the alleyway to get away as fast as possible, without bothering to check if any of her group was following. A growl escaped her when she saw the wall to wall crates piled ahead. Not wishing to expend her energy so early, she made an estimation and cast a throw. The crates on top jumped and toppled over, leaving a gap wide enough for a body six feet up. Good enough. Without slackening her pace, she jumped and dove through, hitting the ground on the other side in a roll and smoothly regained her feet. As she sped away, dodging piles of debris, a confusion of heavy thuds, thumps and muttered curses could be heard behind her. A smile stretched her lips. Good, at least some of her group were keeping up and they had better do so, she could hear the angry shrills of the mutants and gunfire.
A thunderous explosion rent the air, sending a fountain of of fiery debris flying everywhere behind her. That would be Rufio. She did not stop running. The displays on her helmet visor blanked out for a moment before weakly coming back up again. She halted and turned around as fragments of hard and organic materials rained down. Too busy dodging falling pieces, her squad ran passed her without noticing she had stopped. When they realised it, they backtracked to her. She was pleased to find all of them had survived. It would make her task that much easier. Working alone was really her much preferred mode of operation when it came to taking out a target. In this case however, having tokens to place at certain points worked in her favour.
Looking back the way they came, her eyes narrowed when she spotted movement. The freaks were on their trail. They must have been the farthest from the blast to survive it. She and her remaining squad could get away but would the freaks be able to follow them? If they were caught in another fight later and the remnants of this lot of freaks showed up, they would have a lot of trouble. Better to get rid of them now, she decided.
Setting the squad to defensive positions, Aria waited patiently from her vantage point, the roof of a prefabricated shop. She peered down the scope of her M-13B Raptor sniper rifle. It felt like old times, the moment of the hunt, when the prey was at hand. Her lips thinned when the first of the pursuers came into sight. It didn't look anything like a human, more of a salarian but so twisted that she wouldn't have recognised it as such if not for the horns on its head. Time seemed to freeze as she squeezed the trigger.
The first shot impacted against its barrier, the following salvo pierced through and its head exploded. Its compatriots shrieked their fury and began to run. At that, the mercenaries cut loose with a barrage. Packed into that alley choked with debris, the mutants were hampered by one another, increasing their agitation. The ones behind cast their biotics blindly, rending the ones in front into pieces before they went down themselves.
"Cease firing!" she said as she peered through her scope.
The sight was satisfying. All the freaks were down and there was nothing else beyond their bodies. Peering over the edge of the roof, she frowned when she saw the disposition of the men and said icily, "Good dusting. Now if anything takes a shot at me while I'm busy, you boys are going to regret it."
At that, those below hurriedly widened the defensive perimeter instead of standing around, gawping at her. She tapped into the comm as she watched them.
"Aitser to Eyes."
Silence.
"Aitser to Eyes," she repeated.
Where was that T'Soni brat? If she was watching all the while, she should know it was safe for communications. Why did she remain silent? They couldn't remain where they were. That explosion would have caught the attention of any freaks within the vicinity. Without T'Soni acting as scout, the chances of her men surviving was slim, especially since they were down to half.
"Aitser to Eyes."
Aria glanced at the ground, searching for the probes and realised there was none when she tried to link up with them. What in the name of the Goddess had happened to them?
No wait. What did that fool brought with him? Didn't her visor displays blanked out for a while? Damn that turian. EMP grenades of course. How could she have forgotten? That meant the probes that were shadowing and scouting for them were destroyed. Liara would be sending more probes towards them but they couldn't hang around for them. As if her thoughts had conjured them, she heard faint wails. That decided her. They had to move.
Omega Nebula
Sahrabarik System
SSV Glasgow
An icon on the display went red, then another. Liara toned down the overloaded receptors on the probes as the firefight between the mercenaries and the mutants flared bright. Directing the tiny devices to pull back, she wondered what was going to happen to the second group of mercenaries whose cover was blown. The chances of them making it out was slim. She counted at least a dozen mutants converging and directing their attack on the shop. She bit off an exclamation when several icons went dark. The probes had been wiped out. How?
"Dr T'Soni?" one of the assistant techs said from his station as she frantically pulled up the readouts of the last couple of minutes. She wouldn't want the same thing to happen to April. The radius of the backout was huge when she checked for the next lot of live probes.
"There was a EMP surge prior to the disruption. It originated from the mercenaries."
"EMP?" she repeated in confusion before it dawned on her that the besieged mercenaries must have set off their grenades and rockets. For that many probes to be destroyed, it would have been the entire arsenal they were carrying. A last act of defiance? Aria's last? Somehow she doubted it.
"Decker, Trista, transfer a quarter of the probes in your sector to D3. Let me know once you have a clear signal."
"Yes, ma'am," the techs responded, bending over their consoles.
After a check of the vid at the maintenance corridor at the residential sector, she enabled the comlink. "Eyes actual to Sunstone."
April's immediate answer was a relief. "Sunstone copy."
"Lost contact with Aitser. EMP blowout, eyes disabled at D3. Rerouting."
Liara knew April was weighing alternatives and possibilities when she didn't answer immediately.
"Any sign of detection by Lerna?"
"No movement." Liara examined the screens focused on the Cerberus base. It looked as tightly buttoned up as before. "If they have detected the explosion, their security measures would have gone up another notch."
"Noted. How many out front at the street at my end?"
Transferring and enlarging the vids of the maintenance corridor, Liara grimaced at the sight of the victorious mutants dining off the bodies. Unable to differentiate which was which, she supposed it made no difference to them either.
"15 are congregated at the entrance and within the corridor."
"Having a snack." April squinted as she leaned slightly out from her cover, magnifying her targets at the corridor on her visor. "Confirm 15?" She signalled to the snipers to move up and another to the rest for a sustained barrage. The marines took up positions and waited as they selected the targets in their sights.
"Confirm. Outer zone is clear."
Working her way up front where she would have a clear shot, April made sure she had a sighting, ignoring the grisly spectacle in her scope and grimly took aim. "Open fire."
As Liara watched, four of the mutants were immediately taken down, shot through the heads. The rest took hits to the shoulders and necks, staggering back as more shots impacted. Singularities blossomed among the rest, lifting six mutants into the air. completely helpless. These fell and the last dropped as it brought up its arm cannon.
"All targets are down," said Liara. She looked up in surprise when the lights turned amber, the floor glowed blue in response as the a-grav system went offline.
"All decks, condition one. Condition one," the V.I. announced.
On her console, a small vid window opened up. "Dr T'Soni, status of Asunder?" Dorrin queried, eyes tensed.
"They are in phase one. We lost contact with Aitser due to a EMP discharge. We are taking steps to reestablish the link. Captain, what has happened?" she asked anxiously. There was only one reason why the cruiser would go to battle stations. Would the teams be recalled? Or would they carry on?
"Sensors picked up a silhouette that made translation via the relay a few minutes ago. There's a probability it's the rogue Normandy class frigate." He looked aside for a moment. "We'll update you as soon as we received confirmation. Tell Shepard we might have to call it off."
SSV Glasgow
CIC
The old SR1 Normandy was an experiment in hardware and in diplomacy. The success of the cooperative effort sealed an amiable accord between humans and turians. The frigate was touted as the symbol of peaceful cooperative technological achievement between them. When the stealth systems of the Normandy was tested in the final stage, none of the ships taking part in the exercise was able to detect the frigate. In other circumstances, it would be the proverbial needle in a haystack. Now, that stealth advantage was negated by the probes sown near the relay.
This old Normandy shouldn't be where it was. Instead of residing in its final resting place, it was resurrected as the vanguard of a hated adversary. Officially, it was designated the Blackguard. An apt name. Dorrin knew exactly what it was after.
"Transfer last known vector of the Blackguard to the Normandy," he said to the comm officer as he read the incoming data on the holo-display. "Have the Ain Jalut matched a parallel course.
"Flight decks are ready, sir. The Titian and Ranoch are standing by," commander Canning reported.
"Have the shuttles get to the evac zone now and stay doggo."
He debated again whether he should pull Shepard and the teams out. At present, the Blackguard was the only enemy element in the system. There were a few guesses why Cerberus had sent it. The most obvious was the mushroom-shaped space station. The timing was suspect however. Was it coincidence or were there moles within the Systems Alliance? Was the rogue frigate scouting out the area for a bigger force? How many more enemy warships would show up?
The Glasgow was parked between Omega and the fuel depot. Easy enough for the Blackguard to detect. Would they think the Alliance had sent a lone cruiser to sniff around their former base? How good were their intelligence gathering? Did they know about Operation Asunder?
He looked at the chronometer. Minutes had gone by. No word from the frigates on the hunt. He shifted and moved to brace himself on the railing around the tactical plot and realised his finger nails were digging into his palms. He unclenched his hands. Too tense. That was something he had noticed about himself since the end of the war, an increasing tendency to swing into high tension. He had reined himself in before he loose control but he wondered if there would come a time when he would simply explode and lose control.
He took the opportunity to bounce something off against Shepard whenever they came together. As a fellow officer, she could empathise with him. He was appreciative of the fact that she was willing to listen to his blathering. The discussions they had were insightful and helped him a great deal. A lifesaver she was. She and Liara. They were receptive and supportive. They made a great couple. If only some hardheaded idiots back home would just get over their prejudices, they would see it too.
"Relay coming online!" The tactical officer reported tersely, reeling him back from his distracting thoughts. "Reading one vessel translation."
Dorrin waited, drumming his fingers on the console before him, waiting for the other shoe to drop. It would have to be something big, he was sure.
"Scan matches that of a turian dreadnought, sir."
"Designate as Tango," Dorrin said crisply. Oh ho, was it the same turian dreadnought that showed up near Asteria? He had a feeling it was.
"They sent their heavyweight." Canning cocked an eyebrow at the new icon on the plot display.
"They're here for the same reason as we are." Dorrin nodded towards the Omega icon. "A ship of that size can carry a bellyful of nasties. Any word on the Blackguard?"
Checking his data, Canning shook his head. "Nothing, sir. They would have spotted us by now. Orders?'
"We saw the big bad wolf so we must tuck our tails in and run." Dorrin grinned at Canning. "Plot a course for Omega. Notify the Normandy and the Ain Jalut." He hit the ship wide intercom. "This is the captain. All decks, braced for impact. Helm, break vector at first sight of the Blackguard, Sierra two."
"Aye, sir."
Come on, you bloody SOB. Nice fat target here. Take your best shot.
Dorrin eyed the tactical plot intently. The green icon of the Glasgow began to move towards the space station. Two green icons shadowed her path, the Ain Jalut and the Normandy. The red icon of Tango was right behind it but the dreadnought was too far away to launch any effective strike. If the Glasgow continued to run, there was no point. Dorrin was willing to bet that wasn't what they were planning on. Several minutes passed by. Just about right. He nodded to Canning.
"Signal Ranoch to go hot now."
Canning turned away, bending over a com tech.
"Contact. Aft starboard," the tactical officer announced.
A fresh red icon blossomed on the master plot. Blackguard had shown itself. There was only one reason it would do that.
"Helm!" Dorrin barked but the pilot was already making the course change.
He watched as the Normandy and the Ain Jalut made a beeline for the Blackguard. Had it fired? The deck trembled slightly beneath his feet in answer.
"Damage report."
"Glancing blow, sir," Canning said. "Normandy and Ain Jalut are on Blackguard's tail. Ranoch is active. They are launching fighters. Tango has seen them, they're coming about."
Time to close in and hurt Cerberus. A prospect Dorrin looked forward to very much.
"Helm, come about. Line in for Tango. Signal Titian to launch their fighters," he said with relish.
Numerous green icons spewed forth from the green icon of the geth dreadnought, Ranoch. It had been lying in wait for such a moment. Another friendly lit up near the fuel depot. Titian, an Alliance carrier. More green icons flowered, heading straight for Tango. His hands clenched when the enemy also launched their own fighters. It was going to one hell of an ugly fight. The icons merged.
"Sir, we have confirmed sightings of occulus," Canning said tightly.
"How many?"
"Sixty."
"Inform the Normandy and Ain Jalut. If they could expedite, do so."
Shoulders hunched, Dorrin contemplated the plot. The possibility of Cerberus occulus making an appearance had been taken into account. However, not knowing what sort of upgrades they had, a single fighter might not have much impact. The geth and human pilots had their orders, they would lure the occulus within range of the heavy guns of the dreadnought instead of going one on one. Tango was going to be a handful but not unmanageable.
With any luck, the dreadnought was the one hammer Cerberus saw fit to send. If there were more enemy ships on the way, they would have to withdraw for they were all the forces that Hackett could commit to this mission. The geth had been brought in due to Shepard's relationship with them. It's really odd how the geth revered her but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. If more enemy forces showed up, he fervently hoped there was time to extract Shepard and the teams. If not. He shied away from that thought and concentrated on the current situation. The cruiser was in range.
"Launch fighters."