Omega
Doru District
Grey. From the ten metre high defense wall to the ruins of buildings along the street and as far as April could see, everything was coated in black and grey. Dust, soot and ashes. It reminded her of the Prothean settlement on Ilos. The colour of death and ruin. Forming a crooked line that ran parallel to the wall was a thick mound of ashes. It was there not because somebody had forgotten to send the cleaners. No, that thick pile of ashes was there because it was all that was left of the mutants that attacked the base. Leaving the bodies around would not only create biohazards but attract more predators as well. All they had to do was throw incendiary liquids or bombs over the wall and the job was done. Quick and simple. Judging from the height of the mound, there were many such attacks.
Using her visor magnifier, she zoomed in to see the gun turret placements bristling along the defense perimeter. The moderately well lit area, unlike the maintenance corridor and the rest of the level, allowed her see the turrets. Evenly spaced at four metres apart and above a man's height, every shot fired would hit something. Not a healthy prospect for the assault teams. Getting to the shut gates at the wall would require a little more finesse than marching right up and knocking on them. There was no cover if things go south. Every building within fifty metres had been pulverised. She hoped the Cerberus contingent's leader still had his head screwed on right. She wanted to have as many people as possible leaving the station alive.
Behind the wall loomed the huge column that held the key to the success of their mission. Sinking back down behind her cover, she tapped her comlink.
"Sunstone to Ferret 1, status?'
"Ferret 1 to Sunstone, sticking in the needle now."
Ulros knocked his fists together once. The marine next to him checked his target once more before firing his special long range rifle. Darts flew into the ventilation shaft in the ceiling several hundred metres above them. They impacted the metal before exploding in quick bursts, leaving behind a trail of holes. The marine paused for a moment, adjusting his aim and fired off a second round, a third and a fourth, stitching a rectangular shape.
After checking the results through his helmet visor magnifier, Ulros gestured to Sanders. She fired off a grappling hook from her gun. It snick firmly into the ceiling, dropping down a rope in the process. After securing the end to the ground, she tested it with a tug before attaching the Soarer, a rope climber. Ulros gave her the thumbs up after receiving an all clear from Decker, she hooked a safety clip to the rope and activated the Soarer. It drew her swiftly up to the metal panel next to the shot up piece. She kept her eyes firmly to her target for it was a very long way down.
Once there, she began to cut along the perforated lines with a cutting tool. The holes made it easier for the blade to slice through more quickly than she would have working on an integral sheet. She made three complete cuts and the fourth in intervals. Putting away the cutter, she stuck a small hand clamp on the surface of the metal. Toggling the magnetic clamps on her boots, she pulled her legs up until her feet were planted firmly on the ceiling. Grabbing the hand clamp, she pushed at the sheet, bending it inward. Taking out the cutter again, she completed the fourth cut. The metal sheet came loose. She slide a quarter of it into the hole of the other end of the ventilation shaft, opposite the path she meant to take, detached the clamp and pushed the rest of the sheet in.
"Status, N1?" Ulros asked softly, watching Sanders anxiously, a tiny figure high above.
"Ready, sir."
"Stay frosty, you're moving into a spicy pepper zone." Not that she needed any reminder but he felt it wouldn't hurt to point it out again.
"Yes, sir," she said as she braced her hands against the ceiling to steady herself. She made her way into the ventilation shaft, turning herself rightside up and paused for a moment for the rush of blood to her head to disappear. She shot another grappling hook close to the edge of the open shaft and waited for the marine below to fasten the rope. She tugged at it to made sure it's steady before thrusting out her hand and gave a thumbs up to those below.
"You're on, N2 and 3." Ulros waved to the rest of the infiltrators, Pardew and Garza. They ascended smoothly up the second rope and vanished into the shaft. "Ferret 1 to Sunstone, Needles are threading. Moving to primary site." He gestured to the squad to move out. Time to set up their pieces.
Going well so far. April checked her chronometer again. A little over six hours since their entry into the station and the mercenary group still missing in action. If Aria failed to show up, she was going to lose the bet and treat Dorrin to a restaurant of his choice when they returned to the Citadel. The pirate queen had been very confident in getting a free meal at his expense. That and turning his skepticism about her on its head. With the infiltrator team on their way, Aria had at most, forty minutes to an hour to turn up. Otherwise, she was going to miss the storming of the gates and take down of General Petrovsky, the main cog in her drive to retake Omega.
"Eyes to Sunstone."
"Sunstone, go." April frowned at the apprehension in Liara's voice. A nasty new development?
"Contact established with Aitser," said Liara, her gaze fixed on one of the screens. "Be advised that Aitser's composition has deviated."
April was not sure she understood. "Clarify deviation."
"Composition now comprised of three original dusters and over forty converted natives."
The long silence from the other end spoke volumes of her bondmate's shock. She could visualise the little creases on April's brow, those fine but thick eyebrows twisted one up and down in that perplexed but concentrated look in her eyes as she absorbed the news. Would she allow Aria to continue with the mission or have her and the group act as backups?
"What did Aitser 1 say?" April said finally. There were dozens of questions boiling up in the cauldron and no time to ask them. If they survived, they could talk themselves to death afterwards to get all the details.
"That they are reliable, that is all she will say." Liara braced herself against the console with a hand as she rubbed the back of her neck with the other. The hours of intensive focus was giving her a headache. "The other detail she added is that they are all enhanced biotics. Emphatic on enhanced."
"What are they?"
"A mixture of humans, some vorcha, a krogan and an asari." Liara wondered if she was the only survivor out of how many that were on the station. A pang of sadness hit her at that thought. "They are-," she hesitated. How best to describe them? She could see their glowing husk-like eyes and nothing else. They looked close to normal than any of the mutants on the station. "There are signs of modifications but not as visibly extensive as the other denizens."
April tried the comm frequencies and failed to raise Aria. "I presume Aitser's comm range is affected,"
"Yes, I can patch you through."
Aria's voice sounded a little faraway but her hard tone came across crystal clear. "We can help or we can stay where we are," she shot off immediately before April could utter a word. "But I'll still want in on the prize."
Of course she would. She didn't think Aria would forgive her if she missed the boat for Petrovsky but that was beside the point. She was relieved that Aria sounded like herself. "Position?"
"Near assigned point."
That was much faster than April expected, given that the mercenary group went off course right from the start. That group Aria had with her probably helped since they knew the place and all the shortcuts. As to whether they could be useful in the assault, she was certain they might prove more formidable than Aria's mercenaries. The question was how far could she trust them? How much sentience did they have? How much control could Aria exert over them? The last thing she needed was a rampage. If Cerberus troops were flatten, that was all fine but not if essential hardware were rendered useless in the process and innocents killed.
"How many hampers do you have with you?" If there were only two surviving mercenaries, it was unlikely they would have the required loadouts to take out the turrets.
"Not enough but the rest brought their hunting gear."
Aria eyed Patriarch next to her who returned the gaze with bared teeth. His blue eyes were disconcertingly cold. The look of the others was as chilly though their behaviour were contrary to the coldness. Patriarch though, wanted to settle old scores with her but Miona had talked him down. For the moment. As if he knew what she was thinking, he lifted his lips in a snarling grin. Perhaps it was just as well that he was no longer as garrulous, a barrage of the due process of revenge would bore her to death.
She waited for April's reply. The human was plainly suspicious of her present company. So would she in her shoes. Under the circumstances, there wasn't any leeway to pick and choose. There was only one choice the human would make. She smiled mirthlessly when the expected reply came back.
"Aitser, set up at designated position and hold for further directions," April said finally. Not having seen what the new biotics were capable of, she'd rather use them as lookouts and reinforcements. "Sunstone out." She switched back to Liara. "Eyes, let me know if Aitser decides to take a hike."
"Understood." Liara enlarged the screen tracking Aria and her group before checking the progress of the infiltrator team. "Needle is close, two-thirds to go."
A quick check showed most of the probes, as instructed, had gathered as near to the perimeter of the defense wall without triggering alarms. The energy level of the turrets remained the same. Whether this meant that their presence was not detected yet she could not determine. They would know soon enough within the next several minutes. She sent some of them to move parallel to the infiltrators' course, keeping a sharp eye on their progress and an open comm to Lt Ulros.
Up high above, the three marines advanced steadily. Wide enough to accommodate a man with a broad girth, the ventilation shaft was too low to allow standing or even to crouch-walk comfortably. The infiltrators settled for crawling on all fours. They had to make sure they didn't bump up against the shaft, the scraping and thudding of weapons against metal wouldn't do them any good. At point, Sanders kept an eye on her position displayed on her helmet visor and gestured for a halt as her icon drew nearer to the red line representing the turrets. From their position, the turrets could shoot at the marines if they were detected.
Down below, Ulros tensed, waiting with the rest to see if the turrets would respond. If they did, the barrage of rocket fire they set up would take out the immediate turrets. Seconds ticked by. The turrets remained inert. Heart beating rapidly, Sanders crawled on. Behind her, Pardew and Garza slowed down to a snail's pace as they inched forward slowly, trying to breathe evenly. Sanders reached the next point of threat and paused again. The defense wall was right below. The turrets couldn't reach them but long range rifles could. Seconds from death if they were detected. If Cerberus weren't sleeping on the job, they would have installed spatial sensors and should know something other than their own personnel was moving.
It was not however, the plan for them to wait around and be struck like clay pigeons. Below, hundreds of probes roved in, gathered in large clusters and emitted brief bursts of intense heat. The infiltrators could hear the wail of an alarm. They waited for the response but nothing happened. A green light flashed numerous times on their visors after several long agonizing seconds of silence. They resumed crawling, picking up the pace. Ten metres. Five metres. Still nothing. They didn't bother to wonder why there was no active response but concentrated on getting to the intersection ahead of them.
"There is no energy buildup, they are just online." Liara repeated to April's additional query, as mystified by their adversary's odd behaviour. She ran the scan again. The fifth since the feedback from the probes showed the turrets racking up and swivelling about, trying to locate the targets their sensors picked up. With the probes scattered again, there was nothing for the Cerberus techs to work with. Would they think it was a technical glitch?
"They are on their way," she added. "I am moving some of our friends in." There should have been stronger response but there was little activity behind the wall.
Mulling over that surprising titbit, April visually examined the defense wall. The surface was scorched and pitted. "They might have the perimeter defenses and motion trackers. The rest of the better hardware could have been stripped for parts to keep essential services active. That wall doesn't look solid to me."
"No," Liara agreed. "There is substantial deterioration in the substructure and there are signs of patchy restoration."
"I don't think they're going to last another year."
Liara shook her head. There was nothing she could add to that accurate evaluation. Her gaze sharpened when some of the probes found a crack at the base of the wall and slipped in, sending back fresh images.
"Sunstone, there are numerous prefabs behind the wall. I am also seeing civilians. Not all are human. I estimate the prefabs house around two hundred."
That was a surprise to April. Non-human personnel? Perhaps the need for numbers or other nefarious reason compelled the Cerberus contingent to take in the non-humans. The prefabs were easily explained. They were to keep the civilians and non-humans apart from the troops. Put them out near the wall. If there's a breach, they would bear the brunt. She looked at the looming column. The troopers would hole up in the ancient base of operations of the original asari mining corporation. Everything they needed would be stocked up inside. She hoped the infiltration team wouldn't get scrubbed.
Aria had suggested that the lowest slums could possibly protect survivors. Now with evidence that those in the Doru district had chosen to or were forced to work with Cerberus, the original take down plan would have to be revised. The two hundred civilians in there would go up like paper on fire if they weren't careful. If this Petrovsky was as reasonable as he sounded from Aria's account, he would recognise that he and his people were hanging over the pit of hell by their fingertips and not put up too much of a fight.
I sure hope he really has a good head screwed on. I don't want to have to make an almighty mess getting in there.
Looking through the fine scope she threaded through the airshaft access hatch, Sanders could see that the dingy corridor was deserted. No guards, no turrets, no alcoves. The doors to Omega Control stood clear. How long the corridor would stay empty remained to be seen since they had no idea of the duty shifts of the Cerberus staff. She thought it would be a while yet since it was mid-afternoon, station time. Turning the scope and zooming in at any suspicious protrusions and devices she could find, she counted two security cameras mounted at opposite ends of the corridor. There was no sign of high security sensor devices.
Surely it couldn't be that easy? Cerberus couldn't be relying on two simple spy eyes. She was not sure if she should trust the vanilla aspect of the corridor and checked again. After several minutes, she had to conclude perhaps it was plain as day. The only reason they would not post guards was that they didn't think the mutants would be intelligent or sneaky enough to worm themselves in. Judging from the squad's brushes with those freaks, she was inclined to agree.
Sitting up, she retracted the scope back into the armguard of her gauntlet and lay out the situation in a series of gestures to Pardew and Garza. Enabling her tactical cloak, she opened the ventilation hatch and held firmly to her colleagues' arms as they lowered her down. Turning, she lent support as Pardew got down, then Garza who went to the doors with Pardew. Drawing her pistol, Sanders shot two darts into the security cameras, putting them out as Garza began to hack into the control panel of the door. To Garza's puzzlement, instead of layers of encryption, there was only a simple lock. The door slide open.
Pardew was already moving, throwing three small smoke disc grenades in before the door was completely open and darted in. Sanders followed quickly. Garza swiftly planted sensors over the door before entering. They saw techs coughing and bending over their work stations. Sanders didn't think they hit the alarm.
Putting them out quickly with quick taps to their necks, she and Pardew dragged the unconscious bodies away from the consoles. Garza locked the door and began to place a few mines around the frame. Sitting down at one of the consoles, Sanders tried to access communications but drew a blank. Removing a few probes from the weapons mount on her back, Sanders dropped them on the consoles. Electrical strobes roiled over them as they began to hack into the comm system.
"I was expecting a lot more." Pardew looked at the three techs, two men and an asari, on the floor. "They looked a little ragged, don't they?" She gently turned the nearest tech's foot to the side. As she thought, there was a rather large hole in the worn sole of the boot.
"Their buddies cut them off, what do you expect?" Garza snorted, laying the last mine and checking that all was in working order.
"Never thought I'd see an asari in Cerberus," Pardew added. "What'd you suppose they offered her?"
"Friggin shucks, if I'm running short of friendly bodies in this place, I'd take anyone, even the gasboys." Garza turned to inspect the rest of the room. "If I were her, trapped out there and brought back here, no way I'd pass up a chance to live."
"Why're you even assuming she's in up to her tentacles? She's likely one of their thralls." Pardew bent over the asari, lifting an eyelid. "Her eyes are normal," she muttered, her omni-tool flaring as she ran a scan. "Nothing." She sounded almost disappointed.
"Expecting to see a sign "I'm Indoctrinated!" hangin' there?" Graza returned humorously. "You're going to need to cut deeper for that."
"We have company," Sanders interrupted quietly when the sensor over the door lit up on her omni-tool. That shut the other two up. They both looked over her shoulder, hands reaching for their weapons. The motion was arrested as they stared at the view from the corridor. "What does it look like to you?"
"Kids?" Pardew frowned. She exchanged a stare with Sanders. If there were more, the relief teams' strike was going to turn real ugly.
"Fuck," Garza muttered. "Friggin...how many are there in the base, you think? Turned like the older ones?" She stared hard into the vid as the duo, a boy and girl, stood at the door, trays in their hands. The boy was reaching for the door panel. "Food delivery. Detain?" She looked at Sanders who nodded after a glance at the console screen where a single line blinked; manual input was needed.
"It'll buy us a little more time." Sanders reached for the console keys to complete the link to the Glasgow. "Try not to scare them off."
Sander's uplink set off a flurry of activity in the surveillance team on the Glasgow. Liara worked as fast as she could with the help of the techs. The longer the strike teams remained at their current positions, the odds of discovery by roving bands of mutants was high. The techs were good but if she had Glyph with her, the analysing process would be faster. However bringing the drone onboard an Alliance cruiser would invite queries.
The data blocks began to collate. Defense grid network, station schedules, logistics, medical grid, troop disposition, communications, maintenance. She set a crawler to sift out specific files, especially the logs of the Cerberus commander, Petrovsky. She pulled up the grid for the perimeter turrets. They were all tied in to a defense V.I. and running off a feed from the reactor core. Overriding the program and turning off the line to the core would not be difficult. The turrets could still be fired manually. There were afterall, portable cells. She made sure to create a screen to prevent the actual status of the turrets showing up on any Cerberus operating console.
"Eyes to Sunstone. Turrets are offline."
"Sunstone copy. Any dirt on the top?"
"The last log entry Petrovsky made dates back to 5th June 2189 on a supply pickup. Nothing after that."
Was Petrovsky dead? That would certainly take some of the wind from Aria's sails. "What about other logs?" April asked. With Petrovksy dead, who was in charge now?
"There are no further entries. The next officer in the chain of command is a major Craidan. It does not look like he is as meticulous in his duties as Petrovsky."
A slipshod officer could mean anything, especially in such circumstances as Omega. A man who planted civilians out as a buffer wouldn't be on the level. That meant the strike teams would go to the secondary option. She got on the comm with the others and detailed out the change to their battle plans.
"Everyone in position?" Ulros, Aria and Sanders answered in the affirmative. "Sunstone to all teams. Balloon is going up."
April toggled her helmet speakers as well as patching in to the Cerberus comm network. "This is the Systems Alliance Relief Expedition to General Petrovsky and Cerberus personnel currently stationed at Omega Control. Your perimeter defenses have been taken offline. We have no desire to start a conflict that will not end well for either of us. We ask that you relinquish authority peacefully. You have five minutes to comply."
That would certainly set the cat among the mice. How would they respond? Five minutes might seemed rather short but that was all April was willing to spare. The first thing they would do was verified whether she was speaking the truth. Those three marines sitting at Omega Control would be caught at the end of the short stick once the entire contingent in there realised they were compromised. When they found they couldn't get in contact with Operations, they would try the turrets manually.
There was silence for a minute or two. No one answered her over the comm but she didn't expect a fast reply.
"They heard you," Liara reported. "More people are coming out of the prefabs. There is confusion, they do not seem to have any idea what to do. There are children..," her voice seemed to catch, "babies. Cerberus troops are coming out of the tower. I count three squads. They are heading towards turret emplacements."
April cursed softly, glanced at her chronometer and mellowed her tone slightly as she tapped into the Cerberus comm net again. "You have two minutes. I repeat, we do not want a fight. We know you have children in there. General Petrovsky, I urge you to-," she broke off when something crackled over the com.
"Who is this?!" an incredulous voice broke in. "Who are you?!"
"Systems Alliance Relief Expedition. We are here to resolve certain issues occurring within Omega. You have less than two minutes to relinquish control."
"What the-," the voice broke off and the comm went dead at the other end. Before it did so, she could hear the babble of voices in the background. Confusion and fear? Did the Cerberus troops have enough autonomy to dissent? The seconds ticked by.
"One minute."
The same voice returned, sounding defensive. "What do you want?" Presumably he had moved somewhere else for she could no longer hear any voices in the background.
Was he trying to buy time for his troops to figure out where the Alliance teams were? He had to know there were intruders sitting in operations. "We are here to remove Cerberus control over Omega," April said. "Am I speaking to General Petrovsky?"
"He is not here. I am Major Craidan in charge of this station. Omega will remain under Cerberus jurisdiction," he said firmly.
April wondered if the man had taken a look around him recently.
"Major, the extent of Cerberus jurisdiction right now starts from that defense wall to the tower. You have no control over the rest of the station and zero capability to deal with the unleashed experiments running riot. How much longer can you last without aid and reinforcements? You have been cut off for months. You have thirty seconds left to make your decision."
"How do you-," Craidan halted abruptly. "You know a lot," he said, a pinch of anger at his own vulnerability filtering through.
Had the man lost his marbles? Was he delusional? If he lost it, the civilians would be the first to go.
"Major, you have little time left. Either you stand down or we come right in hot." April hardened her voice, she couldn't afford to let him think she wouldn't attack because there were civilians with children in there.
"If I let you in here, what are you going to do?"
"Major, stand down," she repeated. "You have much to lose by refusing."
A pause. "Very well," he said grudgingly. "We will open the gates when you reach them."
She took a few minutes to pass more orders to Ulros and Aria. She waited for Liara's update on Cerberus troop positions before making her way up the street with her squad to the gates of the defense wall. By now, there were people and Cerberus troops lining the top of the wall. A murmur rose and died away when the civilians saw they were really Systems Alliance troops. They reached the gates without incident. She was about to pound on them when they slowly open inward. The screech of grating metal was loud over her helmet pickups, a sound rarely associated with doors except those with ill maintained mechanisms.
Not surprisingly, the welcoming party was a squad of Cerberus assault troopers, weapons ready. For a moment, they stood staring at each other until the troopers lowered their weapons and fell back. Flicking a signal to the marines behind her, April strolled through them, taking in the surroundings. Badly patched up grey prefabs. She could see into the interiors through badly jointed seams. Worn parts and debris were piled untidily off to the right of the gates. Old crates were stacked haphazardly.
Looking as unremarkable as the prefabs was the crowd that stood silently watching them. Human, asari and a sprinkle of turians. Their clothing were drab, faded and hung off their frames. There was an air of hunger to them, their faces lean and still, their eyes dark. She could see several children standing warily behind the adults. Their postures were rigid and yet she felt a simmering pressure from them. Hope and fear. The squad took careful note of their surroundings. The gates creaked shut behind them.
"Follow me," one of the troopers said to April in that nasal tone often heard over Cerberus comm channels. They went up a crooked path that threaded through prefabs arranged as a second buffer to the wall. The crowd followed warily several metres behind. She hoped they would be able to stay out of the way of the firefight that would certainly break out as she doubted Craidan would bend easily. She made a tiny gesture. Sergeant Harris pulled at his helmet as if he was feeling uncomfortable. The squad immediately lagged slightly behind, forcing the Cerberus troopers keeping pace with them to slow down as well. The crowd fell farther behind.
Another Cerberus squad stood at the base of the tower. She mentally totaled them up with the ones following them. 18 Cerberus troopers, not counting others that could be in the tower and standing at the defense wall. A muted green light flashed once in her helmet visor. Liara had taken note and sent updates to the others.
April fixed her attention on the man in Cerberus assault armor standing at the forefront of the troopers. Major Craidan, she presumed. Of all the Cerberus troopers, he was the only one who looked anywhere presentable. His hardsuit fairly gleamed compared to the dingy outfit of his troops. She noted the armor fit snugly on him. No doubt the better rations went to him and the troops.
"State your business." He stood at ease, a haughty disdain in the tilt of his helmeted head when they reached him. The crowd halted silently, several metres behind.
"I understand General Petrovsky is the commanding officer of this garrison," April said. The hostility was roiling off him in palpable waves. "What happened to him?"
"He is dead," Craidan said sharply. "I am in command. State your business!"
Ignoring the question, she asked instead, "How did he die?"
His hands clenched and relaxed. "General Petrovsky died carrying out his duty. That is all you need to know."
Probably gobbled up by the mutants, definitely no prospect of a reunion for Aria who wouldn't be happy that another target in her list had stolen a march on her.
"A pity, I was looking forward to meeting him," April said smoothly. "We are here to liberate Omega. Major, step aside."
"I will not until I know what you intend to do with the station."
"What I intend is to return Omega to what it once was."
"Is that all? he said with a mocking laugh. "Return Omega to the festering hive of low lives? It could have been much more. You came here not to save lives, you came here for a cut of the station, didn't you? I'd never thought you'll sink that low, Shepard, to work with someone like Aria T'Loak." The silent crowd stirred when they heard the names.
She was not surprised that he had guessed who she was. "Step aside, Major."
"We made a mistake with you," he snarled angrily. "The Illusive Man should have left you on that planet! He should have let the Collectors and their masters have their way with you. After all he did for you! The ungrateful bitch bit the hand that gave her another chance. You are responsible for everything that happened at Cronos Station, the Illusive Man's destruction, why the others left us to rot here, you.."
"I am not here to account anything to you," she interrupted his diatribe tersely, not in the least interested to hear what he had to say. "You are where you are because you made your choice."
"You are where you are now because you made the wrong one!"
Moving with the oiled speed of practise, the pistol that was at his side materialised in his hand. Anticipating such a move, she biotically charged at him before his arm moved into position and plowed him off his feet. The pistol flew from his grasp when they impacted against the wall of the tower. Behind them, the crowd reacted like startled birds. They scattered as Harris and the other marines threw smoke grenades at the feet of the Cerberus troops and drew their weapons. They retreated to cover they had marked out along the path they had walked through.
Along the perimeter of the defense wall, Cerberus troops bringing up their weapons to bear on the marines found themselves under attack. Silently and viciously, hands and claws grabbed and stabbed into their backs, tearing them apart. Aria tossed the trooper she had shot over the wall behind her. The rest of her group sprang at will into the compound.
Several of the civilians who saw what was coming, screamed in terror. They ran frantically this way and that in a bid to escape the mutants that were certain to do the same to them. Several stood and resigned themselves to death. Others cowered with their children hugged tightly to them, the rest dived behind flimsy covers and into the prefabs. The braver souls picked up weapons from racks outside the prefabs, ready to fight but found they had no targets to fire on. They could only stand staring in horror when claws swatted the weapons away. An angry howl and snarl into terrified faces before the augmented group leaped off elsewhere.
With less terror induced display, Ulros and his squad made the same attack on the north-west wall though with more caution as their numbers were down by three. Precise rifle shots put down the troopers exposed on the top of the wall. They climbed over and dived for cover from return fire. The exchange was fast and furious, biotics flared here and there. A couple of marines were wounded when they couldn't get out of the way of thrown grenades fast enough. Much as he would like to help in the fight at the tower, Ulros had his orders. He set the squad out to guard the perimeter and checked the wounded. All the ruckus could invite attention of an unwanted sort and that they must avoid at all cost.
At the tower, April rolled away from Craidan as soon as she slammed him into the wall. The troopers with Craidan had split and scattered when he began his attack and were beginning to shoot at her. She threw a grenade at the group huddled behind the prefabs on the right, drew her rifle and threw herself prone in time to avoid a fusillade coming at her from the left. There was no cover on that patch of open ground. As she prepared to do an augmented jump that would land her on top of the prefabs, her comm crackled.
"Popping bogeys on the left, Sunstone," Harris said. "We got you covered."
"We got them on the right," Aria said. The tactical plot on April's visor showed a diminishing number of red icons. A roar snapped her head around in time to see Craidan heaving himself up.
"Bitch!"
He biotically leaped for her. She rolled and reversed her rifle. His head snapped back from the butt of the rifle she used to hit him under the chin. She kicked his knee, feeling it gave slightly as he staggered back with a grunt of pain. As he fell, she got to her feet. Craidan reacted faster than she thought. He rolled and pushed himself off the ground with one leg, his fist struck out at her. She couldn't avoid the blow to her helmet nor the grip on her arm. He returned the favour of her throw earlier by pitching her into the wall of the tower. The impact made her head swim but not enough to put her off from seeing his biotic charge.
She dived aside. She was still holding on to her rifle but she realised he was not reaching for his own. He pulled out a long wicked looking dagger. His intention was clear, he wanted to gut her himself. Despite an injured leg, he wasn't giving up. Whether he had gone round the bend or simply thirsty for revenge, it didn't matter. She wasn't going to shoot when he had plainly issued a challenge. She clipped the rifle on her back and gestured with her hands; come and get me.
She met his swings easily, the augmented armor absorbing most of the biotically charged blows. He was also trying to grapple with her but she was having none of it. She stayed well out of his range, dodging swipes of his knife and his attempts to clobber her. She didn't try to disarm him. No one could sustain a biotic burn or such a fight for long when they were hobbled by a leg. All she had to do was wait for him to run out of gas. She was peripherally aware that her squad and several other people were watching the fight, staying well out of the arena. No one was trying to interfere. It wasn't the way to go about a mission. She was breaking half a dozen field mission regs but something in her refused to flat off shoot Craidan.
After several minutes, she could tell his failure in pinning her down was enraging him further. The swipes of his knife was getting desperate and more vicious as he tried every means to get a chance to nick it past her hardsuit. She knew she was hurting him when her blows landed, thanks to the enhanced armor. However, revenge and fury was driving him, rendering him oblivious to the pain. He wouldn't be able to put off exhaustion though. She tried to see past his visor when they exchanged another flurry of blows but saw only her reflection and his heavy angry pants.
Time to end it. His mistake was to let emotions take over the driver's seat. Her feet stumbled and she wobbled as if unsteady. He was quick to seize it, leaping in for the killing embrace, knife ready. Only to find his arm taken and twisted. Putting all her strength into it, she gave it a hard jerk. He screamed when his arm broke. Releasing it, she skipped back quickly as he bent over, broken arm dangling by his side, the blade down on the ground.
"It's over, major," she said. "Stand down."
"Never..," he rasped. "You have to kill me...bitch."
Before she could answer, an asari in tattered hardsuit strode up. Without a word, her biotics flared. As quick as lightning, she speared Craidan through his chest with her arm. For a moment, he hung there, not a sound from him before he slide off the arm and collapsed limply. Pulling her gory arm away, the asari looked at it before turning to face a stunned April. Her blue eyes glowed brightly.
"Done."