Alrighty then, Enjoy guys. The beginning of the end starts here.
He could feel the ground under him rumbling as the weapons of Genesis fired at two different points. Looking at the station, Clark watched closely as the points of the target were made. He counted thirty-eight points that his weapons targeted, thirty weapon stations that fired on Genesis continuously and five hanger-like structures that seemed slightly larger than his ship's own and three very large docking stations that he could see were used to dock the Collector cruise ships.
As the portside cannons loaded into the station, whatever shields and armour it had proved unable to handle the raw power of his weapons, they were overloaded after one round from the rail guns hit. Once the plasma and de-atomizers hit, there was very little left of targets. After just a minute the once large station was now full of fiery holes of wreckage, it would be very easy to destroy the entire station now but that would be counterproductive.
While very little could be done on the starboard side of the ship as the Reaper ships and their escorts were still out of range. Practically on the other side of the system, it would be a couple more minutes until they would be in weapons range, sure he could fire now but they would just get out of the way. At least, that would have been the case if he didn't have a really smart A.I helping him out.
"Kelex, get the weapon tunnels ready. Let's give the Reapers a surprise" he smirked.
"Good idea Master El. This would be a good way to test it out, I should also tell you that I have taken the liberty to block all outgoing communication signals from the station and the Reapers themselves" Kelex spoke out next to him, that was good, Clark didn't get the wrong idea of course. Kelex wasn't so far into their systems that he could just switch off their communications, if that was the case, he could just switch them off. It was more so that he was using the systems of Genesis to create a type of dead zone for radio signals "Before we begin, however, I should remind you that the station is now open for assault" he added.
"Oh right" Clark said allowed to himself, getting so caught up in the moment of testing the new tech that he forgets. His throat quickly, he opened his ship com "All Marauders, Launch" he ordered.
As soon as the words left his mouth, he could feel a small tingle in the back of his head. All the ships teleporter bays lit up with power and the thousands of fully armed and individual units left the ship he watched as the 3D image of the Collector base lit up with seven different points, indicating that the force had landed.
They all moved quickly, running through the open corridors as the station shook from the impact of the attack. Word quickly spread that their ships had been destroyed, and the Alpha had ordered all of them to take defensive positions and prepare for an invasion. Something that has never happened since the station's creation, never in all their years where they were on the defence.
Within the large corridor, many of them moved together with very little in terms of formation. A bright light filled their field of vision and their yellow eyes shut trying to block it out. Not that there was much point, squinting through the light, trying to find the cause of it. The Collector only made out a humanoid figure and a flash of green before it felt a great deal of pain as its body slowly melted away into nothing but ash.
All around the station, the Marauders appeared and with brutal efficiency, they began to cut down the Collector forces that got in their way. Their bodies repaired themselves when hit with their weapons, the Seeker swarms found themselves unable to affect the metal particles that make up their bodies.
Getting confirmation that their force had landed, Clark opened the link to the Normandy "Normandy ground force you are cleared for landing, be advised your landing zone is hot" he told them as he moved his hands over the controls on his command chair, the colossal ship slowly started to turn away from the station and face the oncoming Reaper ships.
"Copy that Genesis, ground team is moving in. Knock'em dead" Joker's voice called through the radio before the line was ended.
Seeing through the ship cameras that the Normandy was now moving to the only hanger on the station left in one piece after the attack, of course, that was done on purpose. They needed to land somewhere after all.
"Ok Kelex, let's see how this goes" Clark said as his eyes locked onto the incoming Reapers. They seemed to be coming at him in a triangle formation, with gaps in-between them allowing room for a smaller ship that seemed to be a similar design to the larger Reaper ships but was otherwise new "Set the target to the lead ship" he ordered.
All across the top of the ship's hull, the barrels of the large anti-ship weaponry lifted into a firing position. Pointing forwards as if to fire directly at the Reapers who were still half the system away, clearly out of range "Calculations complete" Kelex called out.
Nodding at the confirmation, Kal made a few motions with his fingers and ordered the changes in his head "Firing first volley in three two... one" he said as the cannons fired their artillery. He watched with fascination as the multi-coloured volley only just left the range of the body of the ship before two dozen small but recognizable wormholes opened up and each round disappeared from view.
"Please work. Please work" he muttered to himself, hopeful that he wouldn't have to deal with going over all the math and engineering to get to work. Thankfully that didn't seem to be the case. Looking through the ships camera's, scanners and telescopes, he looked with a smile as he saw the leading Reaper ship get ripped apart from a torrent of fire that appeared right in front of it.
He smiled at the sight, it was clever. Using his ship's own method of FTL as a weapon. Firing his weapons into wormholes that are used to close the distance between them. While not a weapon he wasn't to rely on all the time but it was good to know that it worked, something he could use if he had to. It was good to know that his weapons proved to be so effective against the Reapers.
"Ok, everyone! Listen up" Miranda shouted as she stood in the middle of the two shuttles that were being prepped for take-off to the station. They had a small moment of respite from the fighting as Genesis started to pound the station defences and make an opening for them. Within the cargo hold, every member of the ground team was going over their equipment one last time, getting ready for the most important mission they had so far. To be perfectly honest, it was taking everything she could to not think about how Reaper ships were now in the system and heading towards them.
Everyone turned to face her when she spoke "We have two minutes before we head out so this is going to be a quick brief. There will be three teams going into the station to take it down. Team Alpha will be led by myself. Grunt, EDI, Thane and Jacob, you're with me. Our job is to head to the station's core and be ready to either hold it or blow it up. Team Bravo which is going to be led by Garrus Samara, Tali, Mordin and Williams, you're with him. Your job is to head the station's command centre and take out any leadership you can find and cause as much trouble with the station's controls as you can. Team Charlie is the smallest, Kasumi you're going to be going through the smallest gaps and ventilation present and make your way to the ships data centre, from there you can create a solid link with the station to Genesis that Kelex can use to start to download all the data he can. Legion you're going with her to act as a bodyguard and a helping hand to get through any tech and hacking hurdles that get in the way. Questions?! Quickly!" he hastened them.
"How will we know where we're going?" Williams was quick to ask.
"Each of you is being given a live mapping of the station that the Marauders will be getting as they move through the station with their sensory equipment. We also have estimations based on deep scans of the station" she said back.
"If there's an army of every advanced machine with powerful weapons currently making their way through the station then what's the point of us going?" Tali added with crossed arms.
It was a fair question and Miranda didn't snap when she answered "Because each of the Marauders is being controlled by Kelex to a certain extent, who is already overseeing all of Genesis and now that Reapers are in the system no doubt trying to fight off hacking attempts. We need to do this to lighten the load on its virtual shoulders and give it some breathing room" The answer was short and to the point, it made enough sense that everyone nodded along once they heard it. Even if it wasn't completely true. Kelex did have complete control over all of the Marauders, but they did still have a level of autonomy.
"We've been cleared" EDI said as she took a step forward, her know body dressed in a Cerberus uniform and carrying a loadout similar to Jacobs.
"Alright then people!" she shouted as she turned around "Alpha and Charlie on the right! Bravo on the left! Good luck!" as the words left her mouth, the others all started to pile into the shuttles.
She stood just on the edge of the entrance and watched as everyone stepped in. She looked to the other shuttle and saw Garrus doing the same, once everyone was on board, she shared a glance with the other team leader before they gave each other a small nod. Closing the doors behind her, she banged her fist on the wall to the cockpit the signal is well known enough.
She and many others felt the ground under them shake as they left the Normandy and started to fly the small gap in the void between them and the station. Glancing out the window, Miranda and she bet a couple of others as well saw Genesis slowly start to turn away from the station and completely face the opposite direction.
When it did so, they all had to shield their eyes in order to try and block out the large glowing thrusters of the ship, like eight small stars right in front of them. Thankfully the window sensors seemed to be able to tell that it was too bright and a tinted Lense went over the whole thing. Thankfully it seemed to be enough and she could look at the ship more closely.
"So, EDI, Joker ok with you coming with us" Kasumi asked EDI, speaking in the same casual voice she always had.
The new body of the Normandy A.I turned to look at the thief with a small smile "Yes, though there was a noticeable tone of concern in his voice" she told him.
"Well, isn't that adorable" she mused.
"Enough talk" Grunt spoke up as he looked up from the floor "The battle is about to begin. A test of strength unlike any that came before, will we not be distracted" he snarled, eyeing the thief.
Who in return just let out a shrug "Just trying to ease the tension" she said.
"We're heading in! The landing zone is hot! Get ready for it!" shouted a voice over the com, no doubt from the pilot you could see inside the hanger.
"Get ready for it!" she shouted at everyone who all got their weapons ready.
"I go in front" Grunt let out a growl as he pushed himself to the front of the group and towards the door, normally Miranda would have given him a small reprimand for pushing himself past the others but in the end, a Krogan shield would be nice.
The shuttle rocked slightly, and the tale-tale sounds of weapons could be heard "Get ready! Three! Two! One!" the pilot said again and the side door of the shuttle opened.
Bright flares caught their attention first, along with an almost defining sound of weapons "AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Grunt yelled as he jumped off the shuttle that was hovering a few feet off the ground. With weapons firing, the rest of the teams Alpha and Charlie jumped from the shuttle and landed on the hangar floor. Each one of them moved to nearby cover and Miranda took that moment to take in the situation.
She counted numerous enemy contacts guarding what she could only assume was the primary entrance to the rest of the station, a handful of overhead walkways where Collectors stood firing down at them. She lifted her rifle and started to fire, Jacob, joining her in trying to take them down "I AM KROGAN!" Grunt shouted as he moved out from cover and slowly started to push forward, taking all the shots head-on and not flinching.
"Damit" Miranda hissed, knowing that while tough Grunt was far from invincible.
"Go" Jacob said to her "I've got you covered, EDI with me. Fire up above" he said quickly and the A.I quickly changed her position and fired at those above them.
Not waiting for them to confirm her cover she leapt over the small lump of material that seemed to be made from the same insect hive as martial that all of the Collector tech and structures seem to be made from. She sprinted forward a couple of feet and didn't stop until she was next to Grunt, slowly moving forward and firing at all those who started to come through the main door.
She counted seven more. That was when a fresh barrage of fire came at the door from the right. Not turning completely away from the threats, she glanced over her shoulder and saw that Team Bravo was slowly pushing forward as they were. After a few moments, there were only two Collectors left at the main door, she didn't know how many remained on the overhead walkway but based on no help being requested, the others have it handled.
Miranda was about to order her team to move forward but stopped when there was a large flash of silver and a loud screech. All their fire halted as a large silver... mech? Tank? Crawled its way into the hanger, screeching as it did so.
"Light it up!" she shouted as they all opened fire on it as it moved forward towards them. Conventual weapons seemed to do very little against it as it continued to move forward towards them. It stopped moving for a moment as it let out another loud screech, this time she noted as a large mouth-like structure opened up in front of it and it seemed to be full of... skulls? She didn't know if it was real or not but what she did know was that they needed something stronger "Jacob, the heavy ordinance" she ordered.
"Copy!" he shouted back as he quickly moved around the back of the others until in between both teams, kneeling he reached behind his back and pulled out the heavy launcher. Waiting just a moment before two large shots were fired and hit the vehicle. The others let out a wince as he let out a large screech, but it didn't go down, instead, it did the opposite and lifted off the ground.
"Scatter" she shouted as these things weapons were unloaded on them. They were forced to dive for cover as the ground around them was scorched with multiple explosions the size of grenades. Jacob however was in the middle of reloading and was too slow to get out of the way, thankfully he wasn't completely defenceless.
Raising his hands, a biotic shield was raised around him. Blocking the attack and no doubt saving his life. Seeing the biotic field however gave her an idea, picking herself up off the ground. She was surprised and impressed to see Samara already on her feet with her hands raised, using her biotics on the vehicle which proved unable to completely shrug the Asari.
Though she could that Samara was struggling to completely bring it down, quickly moving forward she raised her own hands and latched onto it with her Biotic powers. While even with one, two proved too much for it and it was forced back to the ground. Seeing the opportunity, Grunt ran forward with his usual gusto "AAAAHHHH!" he yelled, he quickly shot the front of it but when that proved as useless as before, he dropped his shotgun and jammed his hands into the small slit between the mouth and the rest of it. Growling with effort he slowly opened it, though just barely. Thankfully that proved to be enough.
Seeing the chance, Garrus ran forward and pulled a grenade free from his waist, moving in he quickly tossed the explosive inside of it and dived back. Grunt being the unmovable fighter that he was simply let go of the mouth and allowed it close, though instead of diving away he used his hands to keep the mouth shut. The blast happened quickly, and the implosion was clearly noticeable. The metal all bent outwards but stopped just before the entire thing blow up, smoke started to creep out of the cracks that were formed.
For a moment Miranda thought that it would continue to fight, though when she and Samara shared a look with each other and at the same time they dropped the biotic field. Without them keeping it up it fell to the ground in a heap.
While the immediate threat was dealt with, it wasn't peaceful. The entire station was now a battleground and the sounds of it echoed all around them, some sounded far away, and some sounded just around the corner. With their weapons still raised, Miranda brought out her Omni-Tool and checked the map data. Thankfully she didn't need to do much as the map was already there ready for them "Team Alpha moving out!" she ordered as she took point and started to leave the hangar with her weapon ready. Her team followed behind her.
"Team Bravo, with me. Let's move it people!" he shouted as the others followed him out of the hangar in the same way. However, when they stepped out of the large hanger and into the corridor it was clear that they were moving in two different directions.
Kasumi stayed behind in the hangar and Legion waited for her. Bringing up her Omni-Tool, she saw her own travel points for getting where she needed to go. Quickly running to the far wall of the hanger, Legion followed close behind her with its weapon out and ready. Crouching near the wall, she brought out a small tool and started to cut into the metal "Sorry pal, but this is going to be a tight squeeze" she told him as she made it halfway.
"Apologies are not necessary; this unit is capable of folding in on itself to allow it to fit into and move within small spaces" it said back to her.
"Good" she said before the small square was made. Standing up she brought her leg back and kicked it in. The metal fell back and allowed room to enter "You got my back?" she asked him one last time, looking over her shoulder at the machine.
"Yes, Goto Kasumi" it confirmed with a nod before she smiled back and got on all fours, crawling into the hole that led to the vent. Legion took one last look around the hanger before turning back and crawling in behind her.
Garrus fired his weapon first and the round went right through the Collector's head, it fell to the ground after that with no further trouble. He, Mordin and Williams were on one side of the wall while Tali and Samara hugged the other, the best they could do as there was little cover where they marched.
The sounds of fighting started to get louder to them, stopping at the end of the corridor. A large, sealed door cut them off "Tali, you're up" he ordered.
"Cover me" she said without another word, putting her weapon away and moving to the door controls. Everyone else readied their weapons and prepared for an attack from the back. Unlikely since they just came from the hanger that was cleared but they couldn't take any chances.
It was a tense couple of minutes, with no one lowering their weapons for even a moment. During that time Garrus started to go over all the strengths and weaknesses his team had, all the enemies they might run into. The one thing that gave him cause for concern would be the Seeker swarms, everything else he would be confident that either they or the Marauders could take down. Thankfully they had Samara here and worse comes to worse, they should be able to use her to create a biotic field that should keep them away.
"Nearly there" Tali called out to them and the three turned to face the door weapons ready "And... got it!" she shouted as the door opened and they were all able to move inside.
The sounds of fire were immediate as they stepped through and when they did, they fired their own weapons quickly. The first thing Garrus noticed was that they seemed to be on a large walkway that overlooked a large chasm area, it seemed like large sections of the station were hollow. It briefly reminded him of an empty missile silo, just much larger and not as symmetrical. And of course, made from the same hive-like material as the rest of the place with just a handful of silver metal pieces scattered around. The sounds of battle echoed all around the area, the sound bouncing off the walls as if it was coming from all around them.
They couldn't go forward due to a large drop so the team turned right and saw that the walkway started to turn upwards into a ramp that led upwards in a spiral. Of course, many Collectors were present as well, both sides raised their weapons and started to fire. There was very little in terms of cover, so they had no choice but to keep the pressure coming and move forward so they don't get pinned down.
Garrus was in the front of the group along with Williams, it was the most logical choice as they carried the heavy weapons and armour. He was on the left so he had the view of the rest of the large chamber, when he had a single moment not to fire his weapon, he turned his head and looked over the edge.
It was carnage.
It was no wonder that they weren't being swarmed by the enemy, across multiple levels, he could see tides of green and yellow as the weapons fired. While the Collectors were swarming and taking cover, trying to use their numbers to overwhelm the enemy. But the Marauders were an unmoving force, their metal bodies proving very resilient to enemy fire. The Collectors couldn't say the same. Marauders didn't go for cover, they just slowly marched forward, firing their weapons as they did so, each one finding their targets. A single green beam goes through the air like a laser and hits its targets.
Garrus has never seen something like this before, he fired the weapons on targets, tested the weight, and even had a look at the schematics (it might as well have been written in an alien language for all the good it did him) but this was the first time he saw them an organic target. And it terrified him, when the beams struck the targets, the effect was immediate. There was a small crackle of green lightening as the beam pushed its way into the back but instead of gore, only dust and ash fell away. It only touched the target before moving on to the next but that seemed to be enough to complete the entire process and the body fell to the ground, even when the beam stopped touching the target it continued to turn to dust until there was nothing left.
Turning away from the other fight, he instead kept his focus on his own enemies. It was good that he did as well, as the team started to climb up the ramp that hugged the walls of the chamber, he caught sight of many small black forms coming out through the holes in the walls and ceiling "Samara! Create a shield around us!" he knew that it wasn't the most specific order but thankfully the Justiciar took it literally.
While the rest continued to fire at the Collectors that tried to approach them, Samara was quick to move into the middle of the group, place her weapon back in its holster and raised both her hands. Her body lit up with the familiar biotic glow and rather than explode outwards from her hands, the dome-like shield materialized around them. Just in time as well, as what must have been thousands of different insect-like organic machines tried to attack them.
"Close one!" Williams shouted as she kneeled down and aimed her rifle taking down another Collector.
"Keep moving forward!" he ordered the team as slowly they started to move.
"Mordin. Find us the correct route" he added.
"Understood" the doctor added as he quickly took place standing behind Garrus, using him as cover as he lowered his weapon and pulled out his Omni-tool. Squinting slightly as a holographic map appeared over his arm, it was like what was told before. He could see a rough 3D image of the station, he could see multiple sections that showed all the corridors installations, however, it seemed to constantly be expanding showing him more of it, no doubt the Marauders that were moving all around the station clearly out the enemy.
Thankfully the points of interest were highlighted. At least the points that are believed to be the points of interest for the teams. As the fighting happened all around them, Mordin's mind drowned them all out and he instead typed away, finding the right path to their objective.
His hand moved as soon as he saw the movement in the corner of his eye, his pistol was brought up and he fired hitting the Collector that was flanking them. When he saw others coming, he took a small sigh of relief as one was blown away by a shotgun and Tali moved to stand by his side "Path found!" he shouted as he lowered his arm and brought his weapon back up "thirty-two meters forward, right turn, fifty meters forward, right turn, twenty-five meters, left turn. One hundred meters" he said to everyone.
"You all heard him! Forward!" Garrus shouted as the team started to move forward.
Miranda was quickly tackled to the ground by Jacob as an explosion rocked the spot she was just standing. No words were spoken between the two as they both quickly got back up and continued to fire, there was no need for words when they'd been working together for so long, she would have done the same for him.
"I AM KROGAN!" Grunt shouted as he took all the fire, not bothering to take cover.
The corridor they were in was large and long, it was full of multiple entrances. The collector forces simply kept coming, something that wasn't unexpected given that they were now making their way to the core of the station. Hence, their reinforcements. Green flashes came all around them as the Marauders stood around them, providing both cover and firepower.
Getting back to her feet, Miranda continued to fire and lead the team "There should be a large chamber coming up soon" EDI spoke aloud for all of them to hear over the sounds of weapon fire.
"The core?" Thane asked as he took cover behind a piler but quickly span out of it and fired his pistol with rapid speed and movement, each round finding their target with an impressive amount of skill and hitting their targets, four Collectors hitting the ground with noticeable holes in their heads.
"No" the A.I answered "We're too far away from the centre of the station for that but it is generating a large amount of power. Whatever is in there, it's important" she said as the team neared the front lines of the Collector's defence, EDI must have seen an opening that Miranda didn't as the machine in the brand-new body suddenly turned and sprinted forward towards the enemies, whether it was skill or luck. She didn't know, but there was no denying it was impressive.
When EDI reached its target, it leapt over the cover that the Collectors were using cover and acted with a great deal of skill. Using the no doubt powerful strength of the body it now had, EDI slammed its fist into the head of a Collector and the metal fist went through its flesh. Before it could fall to the ground, however, it reached forward with both hands and grabbed the body, turning it around and using it as a shield against the incoming fire. EDI started to run forward, continuing to use the body to block the fire. When it got close enough to the remaining ones, it through the body at them to distract them, then to the shock of the others.
EDI's entire hand shifted and morphed until it was no longer there, in its place was a long sharp blade. The A.I made use of it with masterful skill and slashed the two Collectors into pieces within just a few seconds.
Rather than take a moment to be impressed by the skill, the team moved forward and Miranda could clearly see that the Marauders were splitting off and heading down all the different entrances to the long open corridor they were now in.
Whatever they were about the face, they would do so with fewer helping hands.
Nearly there now, only just of few more chapters to go. I thought I should mention that when this story is over, the slot is being taken over by 'A New Origin' and the Star Wars Rebels story will not be stopped until it's finished so that should make some of you happy I hope.
Anyway, let me know what you all think in the reviews down below and I'll see you in the next chapter.
Next Story Update: Return of Hope
