Nemean Abyss, Unknown System
Atmosphere of Tortuga
0207 Local Time, June 15th, 2185 Gregorian Calendar
"Brigade HQ, this is Hammerhead Actual! Hill 175.2 has been captured! We're leaving our mortars and are moving into the settlement!"
"Copy that, Hammerhead. Be advised, orbital imaging suggests that local security and militia forces are experiencing infighting. If possible, surround or bypass."
"All callsigns, this is Scarecrow. The second wave is inbound in sixty seconds. Repeat, the second wave is inbound in sixty seconds."
"Scarecrow, this is Monolith Five. Encirclement complete. No contacts will be leaving the zone."
"Solid copy, Monolith. Hold the perimeter. Null Actual will be touching down shortly. Assist as necessary. Their objective supersedes everything else."
"Acknowledged."
Irill Or'Zaal stood upright, surrounded by his new team, and looked at the holomap in front of him with satisfaction, all the while monitoring the radio traffic.
So far the retaliatory action conducted by the 3rd Assault Division and its attached naval units against Tortuga has been going spectacularly. They entered the system from a vector opposite to the present location of its mass relay, achieving total surprise against any and all lawless elements that encountered them. A cyberattack mounted shortly afterwards made quick work of most of the automated orbital defense systems, allowing their strike craft to move unopposed down onto the planet's surface.
The preliminary bombardment, both by their bombers and their cruisers was devastating. Whatever was left of their ground-to-air defense systems was too little to stop the first wave's landings. Initial reports indicated that they haven't lost a single flyer during their descent. Now the remaining two brigades of the division were moving in to fulfill their objectives.
Their trump card was an artificial intelligence attached to the naval detachment assigned for this operation. Codenamed 'Scarecrow' for brevity, it was helping coordinate the movement and combat operations during this assignment. And while from what Irill had heard, Scarecrow was one of the weaker models in service, there was nothing 'weak' about the destruction that was wrought against Tortuga's automated defenses, both on and above the planet itself.
"Thirty seconds till touchdown. Friendly contacts engaged with the enemy at the LZ. Ready up, we're coming in hot." The pilot announced over the intercom as she brought them closer to the front line.
His new team reacted immediately, quickly running last checks on their equipment and standing at the door, ready to disembark as soon as it opened. A couple of thuds then rang across the hull of the shuttle, followed by a more continuous vibration. The Sand Roach wasn't a particularly well armed vehicle, but it could do basic CAS before landing with its missiles and autocannon. And the Stormfire Autocannon was perfect against swarms of soft targets they expected to face during this operation.
Irill finally turned away from the map and readied his own rifle. The cold he felt from his new implants was gone. The uneasiness and anticipation that made him so restless just before this mission were gone. Combat was his element and in it he felt most comfortable.
The door of the shuttle slammed open and a scene of immense destruction was unraveled before them. Buildings were burning, multiple civilian vehicle wrecks littered the streets, large piles of rubble intermixed with both. Bodies of aliens lay dead in the open, some of them visibly scorched. The entire visible area was engulfed in a massive cloud of dust, which thankfully was heavy enough that it stuck close to the ground.
Ahead of them little over a dozen Orbital Assault Troopers from the 3rd Brigade were holding position at an intersection, trying to suppress a large group of what must have been around 30 members of some sort of irregular militia that now stormed their position.
"Advance to the allied position! Move!" He ordered, and all five of them leapt out of the shuttle, firing their weapons on the move.
Even within the first seconds of combat, it had become apparent that the thorough brainwashing and conditioning did not impact the combat performance of his team in any meaningful way. They were quick, disciplined and ferocious.
"Moving away to pick up another package. Good luck out there." Their shuttle pilot reported and her vehicle soon disappeared out of their sight in the smoke and chaos of battle.
"Maintain pressure! Nobody's getting through here!" A soldier, whom Irill quickly recognized as a higher ranking NCO, shouted while laying down a stream of laser bolts.
The attacking militia itself was more akin to an angry and disorganized mob than any sort of military unit. They put very little effort put into coordinating even between the individual fighters. At the very least the humans, batarians and turians among them had enough self-preservation instinct to stay in cover. The vorcha, which made up the majority of the hostiles, were borderline suicidal.
But Irill did not want a prolonged fight. He had a job to do and every second he wasted fighting with this filth increased the chance of his target either getting away or accidentally dying in all the chaos. "Null Five, dispatch them! Free engagement! All other allied forces, check your fire!"
Null Five, or Wraith (as he was affectionally called by High General Tivennia) was armed solely with a heavy laser pistol and a Ravager shotgun, both of which were holstered. But as Irill himself found out in the past that did not at all mean he was defenseless. The tall, monstrous brute of a soldier dashed out of cover, unfazed by the shots that periodically bounced off his biotic barrier.
He let out a guttural roar and slammed his glowing fists into the ground, which seemed to shake under the impact. Immediately a biotic shockwave erupted from the epicenter of the impact and headed for the hostiles ahead. Rubble, bodies, and even vehicle wrecks that the militiamen were using as cover, were all flung into the air at a speed that made Irill both impressed and disturbed at the same time.
But Wraith wasn't done. Surrounding himself in a violet ball of biotic energy, he launched himself into the remnants of enemy forces, crashing into one unfortunate human that just happened to stand in his way. The human's body seemed to have popped like a water-filled balloon, creating a gory display.
Meanwhile Wraith started lobbing what looked like spheres of biotic energy at the remaining hostiles. Whenever an orb made impact with an enemy, it either flung them backwards with deadly force or seemed to engulf them in a layer of a rapidly pulsating biotic energy. The latter in particular was a gruesome sight, since the victims kept squirming and wiggling in pain, and after Irill got a closer look, their bodies looked like they were torn apart or mangled by dozens of tiny little arms. This 'Warping' ability sure was unpleasant.
It took them a moment, but they mopped up the remaining resistance. Some of the aliens tried to retreat, but were expertly picked off either by the Assaulters or the Null Group. With the enemy dispatched, Irill sent a 'rally' command through his TEAMCOM and gazed upon the group of soldiers that they had just assisted. "Who's in command here?"
"Senior sergeant Tor'Laan, sir!" One of the privates quickly answered and pointed towards the man who Irill recognized as the one who was shouting orders just after they landed.
The NCO in question was kneeling beside another soldier who was working on some sort of malfunction in his arm, but upon seeing the special forces troops he quickly stood up and walked up towards them.
"You Null Actual?" He asked, which Irill found a bit off-putting. For someone of a lower rank, the senior sergeant was quite disrespectful towards a superior officer. Then again the OATs were always a bit more unhinged than the rest of the Army.
"Depends who's asking." Irill replied.
"Detachment from Monolith 4, 3rd Company, 1st Battalion of the 3rd Orbital Assault Brigade." The man recited with a fluency and brevity indicating extensive experience. "Our orders were to hold the perimeter and prevent anyone from escaping the settlement until Group Null arrives."
"You're looking at it. Where's your platoon commander?" Irill asked. The intersection was clearly an important location. The absence of an officer commanding its defense was a little concerning.
Sergeant pointed at something to Irill's left which turned out to be a fairly tall building, sticking out above most of the one and two story buildings of the settlement. "Storming that warehouse, sir. Figured that with the limited number of people we have to keep this place in check, a good elevated firing position would help us control a greater territory, and dedicate more of our boys to support whatever your objective is."
As if on cue, an explosion erupted from one of the walls of the warehouse. Its color and sound made it clear that it was caused by a carvin explosive, which was reassuring.
"Apparently some of our mechanized and tanks are being rerouted to our position, since they cleaned up Point 168.1 down south." He added while putting a new power cell into his rifle. "If we're particularly unlucky with the enemy resistance, they could potentially join up with us."
"Good. Leave three or four rifles behind as rear guard. We're moving out." Irill ordered, receiving a nod of acknowledgement from the senior sergeant.
What they may have lacked in manners and respect for the proper code of conduct, the Assaulters made up completely in efficiency. They quickly elected the four soldiers to stay behind and gathered their equipment in record time, ready to move out. A heavy repeating laser cannon was left with the rear guard, and while Irill initially wanted to object, he realized that Wraith's biotic powers were more than enough to compensate for the decrease in firepower that the lack of the cannon would bring. And should any hostiles slip past them while they headed for the target, it was clear that the four troopers defending the intersection would need the extra punch more than he did.
Hourglass Nebula, Sowilo System
Hagalaz, Shadow Broker's ship
0211 Tortuga time, June 15th, 2185 Gregorian Calendar
Shadow Broker had expected the carvins to react. He was not surprised when, following the 'change of plans' during their most recent exchange, the carvins searched every nook and cranny of their own networks, planets and cities for his agents. The purges they conducted within their own ranks did little to hinder his operations, while at the same time hurt the carvins themselves.
What he did not expect however was a concentrated and frankly overzealous offensive on Tortuga.
To be fair, this was partially not his fault. His major contact on Tortuga failed to inform him in time that one of the carvin commandos sent to supervise the recent disastrous exchange had actually survived the ambush. And when he did finally receive this critical information, the carvins had launched an attack mere hours after. The damage they caused to the communication systems of the planet was substantial, and he was out of contact with all of his sources and agents in the system.
Thankfully the carvin assault force did not sever the connection to the system entirely. As such he could still access the few working security cameras. Even so, the footage painted a grim picture.
Carvin forces seemed to have concentrated on completely exterminating all of the settlements in and around sector 17 of the planet. And while there were a few instances when carvins did seem to take prisoners, they were almost exclusively very young or very old humans.
The major exception to this thorough cleansing was the settlement in which the ambush against the carvin special forces team took place a few weeks before. There the carvins had meticulously surrounded the town and were now moving deeper into its center.
Shadow Broker knew what their destination was, however in this instance he was powerless to stop them. But it was not an issue. The lead they would undoubtedly find would not grant them the information they sought. He would make sure of that.
Still, the eagerness of the Carvin Empire to find him did put his network in a somewhat precarious position. Liara T'Soni was already pursuing the means to find him in an effort to enact her misplaced revenge. Having these two players hunt him down was not good, but still manageable as long as they worked separately.
As such he had to put some contingency plans in motion in order to ensure that things stayed that way.
They would continue to fumble in the dark, while he would still hold all the cards.
Nemean Abyss, Unknown System
Tortuga, Sector 17
0222 Local Time, June 15th, 2185 Gregorian Calendar
Silence was not what Irill was expecting to find within the settlement.
Well, this was probably an overstatement. Gunfire and an odd explosion still echoed from the other parts of the town, but for the most part there wasn't really much going on. And that's what worried him.
"You know, I saw what biotics could do on my previous deployments into the Terminus." Sergeant Tor'Laan broke the eerie silence and brought Irill back to the present. "The things some of these asari bitches did with their abilities... it was almost like magic. Good thing Command figured out how to give that stuff to our own soldiers."
Irill did not respond, only giving a silent nod. Partially because he knew that he couldn't talk about most of the things he had seen in the lower levels of Military Research Facility 45, but partially because the things he had seen disturbed him greatly. The way Wraith was created, and more importantly WHO he was before acquiring biotic potential... it was all just a bit too much for him to discuss while sober.
At the very least all his new teammates performed well during the recent firefight, though they were already getting some sneaky glances from the OATs that walked next to them. Wraith especially was getting the most attention, which wasn't surprising. He was the first ever successful biotic to become active within the Imperial Armed Forces.
His deliberations were once again interrupted as one of the Assaulters lifted his fist into the air, causing all of them to stop. "Hold up. I got movement, 40 degrees left."
(A/N: I don't want them to use the clock system, because that would make absolutely 0 sense. This, while not perfect, is in my opinion a better alternative)
Indeed through the scope of his rifle, Irill could see what looked to be two young humans stumbling out of a door of a damaged one-story building.
"Hold your fire, our orders are to spare civilian humans if possible." Sergeant Tor'Laan warned.
Irill scowled at the remark. He had read the directive of limited human casualties and frankly it did not make any sense to him. These humans were not Alliance. They were criminals. Nobody living on a planet such as this was innocent. Still, orders were orders, and all of them carefully began to approach the couple with their weapons ready.
The man must have noticed them first, since his eyes widened and his movements became more erratic. He started saying something to the woman by his side, but the distance made it impossible for his translator to discern what was said.
"Stop! Put your hands in the air!" One of the Assaulters shouted, followed by the same message being played in the human language from the trooper's helmet microphone.
It was at that moment that through his scope Irill noticed a metallic object hidden under the coat of the man. It was barely noticeable, but thanks to the fires that were burning all around the settlement, the reflection became visible for a split second, enough for him to discern what it was.
Oh no, you don't. He growled and took aim at the human's torso, watching the movements very carefully.
As he expected, the man started to back away, pulling the woman with him. She started to say something to her partner, but again it was too far to tell what it was.
"Stand down, or you will be considered hostiles!" The Assaulter repeated his demand, moving ever closer towards the couple that was now clearly trying to get away.
They were about to start running, but Irill made a split-second decision to stop the farce.
*BZZEW*
*BZZEW*
Two laser bolts escaped his rifle in quick succession. The first hit the man between his shoulder blades, while the second struck the woman in just below her left armpit. Both collapsed onto the ground. Two clean kills.
The soldier turned back towards Irill and gave him a look of mild irritation. "Hey, I know you spec-ops think you're hot shit, but that was a violation of the divisional directive."
"Can it, Private. You're out of line." Irill snarled and walked up to the corpses. He then used his leg to turn the human male onto his back and pulled out the shiny metal object from underneath his coat. "You might want to work on your visor if you did not see this."
He gave the M-6 Carnifex hand cannon to the private to inspect. Not a very deadly weapon by modern military standards, but still dangerous enough. A few of shots could take out a personal shield from close enough range, and it had very good armor penetration.
"Fine, but just so you know, if someone up there is not gonna be happy about this, it won't be your tails on the line but ours." The private scoffed.
Surprisingly that remark earned the guy a growl from every single one of Irill's new teammates. A strange reaction. Perhaps they were conditioned to be protective of their commanding officer? Regardless, in order to prevent an argument he once again used the 'rally' command, prompting his silent companions to leave the private alone.
"I'll try to handle any potential paperwork once the mission is ov-"
"GET DOWN!" Another OAT screamed, as a missile suddenly came out of one of the houses ahead of them and hit Wraith directly, creating a massive explosion.
Within a second, the once too quiet street erupted into a massive firefight. Shooters concealed within the ruins of burned up buildings started taking potshots at the Assaulters, who themselves dutifully responded with laser fire.
Irill dashed into cover behind one of the buildings on the side of the road, briefly checking the status of his team. To his relief, Wraith's status icon did not change. He looked at the black cloud of smoke that came to be after the missile hit its target. Sure enough a purple glow started to emanate through the smoke, before the brute himself ran out of it, with an expression of pure rage.
"Second floor! Gunner! Take him out!" Tor'Laan yelled and a marker appeared on Irill's HUD, indicating the location of their target.
The sergeant was right to call it out. A well concealed rapid firing weapon was now engaging at them from a ruined building ahead. It was practically impossible to see it with a naked eye, let alone its operator, as both were expertly hidden within the smoke and behind several metal plates that constituted a primitive barricade. Its presence was betrayed only by the muzzle flashes visible whenever it fired.
But just as he was about to take aim and try to frag the bastard, a laser bolt more powerful than a standard rifle could produce hit the exact spot where the muzzle flashes kept appearing, silencing the gun.
"Target down." Null Three gave a cold, emotionless report. Somehow amidst all the chaos and confusion, he had managed to climb a building just across the street from where Irill was now standing and position himself on the barely stable roof of said building. He now rained effective supporting fire onto the ambushers with his sniper rifle.
Irill's gut instinct screamed that something was not right. This wasn't a disorganized mob they had been fighting earlier. These militiamen were organized, their fire accurate, and their tactics, although unimpressive on a galactic scale, still too advanced for a simple rabble. He thus used the new functions of his cybernetic eye and tried to get a good look at their assailants.
The way he controlled its actions still felt a bit shaky and janky at times but this time his implant seemingly decided to cooperate. After a slight adjustment, he managed to get a view on a couple of silhouettes, just barely visible through the dusty cloud. He switched the view to thermal vision and quickly managed to recognize the outline of the armor - a standard issue mercenary kit, used by most of the mercenary bands in the Terminus systems. But these tactics, this coordination. Only one group would be able to maintain this level of competence under the circumstances.
"Everyone, be advised! I have a positive suspicion that the enemy are Blue Sun mercenaries! Expect the enemy to heavily utilize Disruptor Ammo and adjust tactics accordingly!" He exclaimed over the comms, receiving pings or vocal expressions of confirmation from the rest of the group.
While Blood Pack had hordes at its disposal, and the Eclipse had its 'smart solutions' in the form of biotics, mechs and slightly better gear, Blue Suns were the most conventional of the Big Three. Discipline and order was their strength. And one had to simply break it to defeat them. Take away their greatest asset and they would fall like flies.
"Sergeant! Keep the Suns occupied! I want fire superiority, now!" Irill ordered before turning to the rest of his team. "Null, group up! Null Five, barrier bubble!"
He saw a similar tactic employed by some of the asari huntresses from the combat footage he was browsing before the mission, hoping to learn some ways to utilize biotics in combat. This fight would determine if he was a good student.
His teammates complied immediately. The moment Null Three jumped down from his overwatch position, Wraith lifted his arms and a purple bubble surrounded them.
"Advance! Keep firing through the barrier! Use laser weaponry only!" He instructed.
Just as he had predicted, the metal slugs fired by the mercs' weapons had little effect on the barrier that Wraith was now projecting. Meanwhile their own lasers passed cleanly through the purple bubble. The mercenaries, clearly surprised by this course of action, slowly began to retreat, and Irill now saw an opportunity to turn that little withdrawal into a rout.
"Disperse into the buildings! Search and destroy, then move over to the next building! Stay off the street and prioritize the roofs or upper floors!"
Leading by example, he rammed the door of a building that was housing a particularly annoying nest of mercenaries holed up on the balcony. He made his way upstairs, mentally cursing the narrow stairway that was just wide enough for him to fit through it. As he was about to run into the room where he predicted the mercs were holed up, a volley of prefire slammed into the wall where his head would be just a split second later.
Growling with annoyance, Irill pressed his back to the wall and pulled out a plasma grenade. He primed it, and after cooking it for a second, threw it into the room. An explosion, followed by screams of agony, convinced him that it was time to breach. He switched to his Ravager shotgun and peaked through the doorway. Only two of the five mercs survived the blast. He disposed of them easily with two point blank shots to the head, before jumping out through the balcony and onto the roof of a neighboring building.
Urban combat may have been every general's worst nightmare, but it was exactly that close combat melee that the carvins favored due to their superiority in strength, speed and firepower. Even the OATs, despite not receiving orders to do so, joined in on the action and started climbing onto the roofs of the ruined buildings.
With the elevation advantage nullified and the distance closed, the tide started to turn in favor of the attackers. Irill ran his knuckle blades through the throat of a batarian mercenary and watched in satisfaction as the order and discipline that the Suns took so much pride in was evaporating before his very eyes.
Even so, they maintained pressure. Thanks to their superior speed and barrier-penetrating weapons, they managed to push almost to the end of the street, where it ended in a T intersection. There was less than hundred meters left for them to cover, and the Suns were mostly running for their lives. Irill could even see the outlines of the bar, their objective, over the other burning structures ahead. Only a little more pressure and the enemy would be totally defeated.
But then a rumble of engines dashed Irill's hopes for a quick victory.
From the both sides of the road perpendicular to the one they were currently advancing on, three large wheeled vehicles rolled over the dirt, rock, steel and corpses. All were of human design, all carried a heavy cannon on top, and all had a characteristic set of 6 wheels. The issue was that they weren't one and the same.
Irill's thoughts ran quick through his head, trying to remember the vehicles. But before he could even connect them to a name, the barrel of one of the AFVs shifted and now pointed directly at Sergeant Tor'Laan and his men.
"SCATTER!"
They all sensed the danger just in time and dashed out of sight of the vehicle before a massive explosion tore off most of the supporting wall of the building that just a few moments ago was occupied by several OATs.
Nemean Abyss, Unknown System
Orbit of Tortuga, CES Nareviis
0239 Local Time, June 15th, 2185 Gregorian Calendar
The battle was practically won.
Their forces had mopped up most of the designated areas, and the few prisoners that were taken would be transported off the planet shortly. Resistance in Sectors 7, 13 and 20 were the only significant remaining pockets of enemy activity, outside of the main focus of the attack, which was Sector 17. Combat AI Unit 112137, or "Scarecrow" found these results quite satisfactory. Once that particular operation was concluded, they could proceed to Phase Two, but until that happened, Scarecrow was left with a part of its processing power unused.
Aside from gathering important information about the Shadow Broker and his network (most of which was delegated to Group Null and its supporting elements in Sector 17), the raid on Tortuga had several other aspects to it as well. The short time allowed for preparations was a means to test the rapid response capabilities of both the Army and the Navy, both of which needed to operate closely together for maximum effectiveness. Preliminary results were within acceptable range.
In addition it was a test of performance for Scarecrow itself. This was the first combat deployment it had been a part of, and the divisional command requested that local ad-hoc unit management be relegated primarily to the AI so they could gauge its capabilities. As such, this was as much of a test for the troops as it was for Scarecrow.
Finally the operation had a punitive aspect. It was a continuation of the anti-piracy and policing measures undertaken by the Empire in an effort to either exterminate or force out the criminal elements from the areas it wanted to claim as its own. But while other expeditions allowed the survivors to flee and live to tell the tale, this time things were different. As an act of retribution, after all of the settlements were cleared and any potentially valuable intel was extracted, a circular area of about 100 000 km2 with its epicenter in Sector 17 was designated for a total, unrestricted annihilation. Supposedly such a move would 'send a message' to all of the criminal elements still near the Empire's borders (especially those remaining on Tortuga itself) and convince them to withdraw their operations somewhere else.
Scarecrow, despite some extensive research (for which it surprisingly received permission from its organic superiors), still found the study of organic emotions to be quite problematic. It could understand the basic emotional motivations behind retreating, advancing or holding ground, but deeper comprehension of emotional responses in more complex situations continue to elude it.
"Scarecrow, this is Null Actual, do you copy!?" A message akin to dozens of others the AI was used to processing at once was received by one of Scarecrow's semi-autonomous subroutines.
"Null Actual, this is Scarecrow. Go ahead, over." The AI responded after taking over the transmission from the subroutine.
"We have three heavy AFVs on the street, right ahead of us! Our handheld ATGM is inoperable and we have several wounded! We need immediate air support, over!" Null Group's commander, Irill Or'Zaal reported. "We're designating the targets for CAS!"
Deciding to continue its reflections at a later time, Scarecrow brought up the map of the battlefield and zoomed in on the action in Sector 17. Indeed the combined forces of Null Actual and Monolith 4 were engaged with three AFVs, which according to Scarecrow's database were an M29 Grizzly and two M35 Mako vehicles, both of Alliance design. The presence of the latter was particularly concerning, since the Mako was the newest mainline armored vehicle of the Alliance and wasn't available in civilian variants. How the mercenaries managed to acquire such hardware was so far unclear.
"Negative, Null Actual. Your position is too close to your objective, our forces cannot risk straying munitions." Scarecrow replied, before getting an idea. "Open a connection through your omni-tools. I will attempt a cyberattack."
This time one of Group Null's soldiers interjected. "Already attempted. Enemy battlenet is inoperable, these vehicles are disconnected and offline, likely operating only rudimentary communication system."
Scarecrow was surprised at the speed and deductive capabilities of the responding soldier. A quick glance at their dossier had cleared things up slightly but it was still impressive for an organic. However that still left them without an immediate solution.
Luckily they likely did not need one. Since several armored elements of the 3rd Orbital Assault Brigade were already heading to reinforce their forces within the settlement from various directions, all the Null Group needed to do was await the arrival of the closest element. Although it would be optimal if they arrived sooner than later.
Thus Scarecrow opened up a comm link to the battlegroup which exfiltrated from Point 168.1 "Firebrand Actual, this is Scarecrow."
"Go ahead, Scarecrow." Came a swift response.
"Group Null and elements of Monolith 4 have encountered enemy armor within this settlement of Sector 17 and do not have the means to eliminate it. Accelerate redeployment to maximum effect, make adjustments as necessary." Scarecrow said, sending a map ping to the commander's combat computer.
"Copy. Any ID on the vehicles?" Commander of Battlegroup Firebrand asked.
"Three AFVs, all Alliance design. An M29 Grizzly and two M35 Mako." Scarecrow replied.
"Mako? Damn it..." The commander cursed, quickly. "Alright everyone! Once we reach the settlement, I want Ibex E's and Ps in pairs, with the E's taking point and an infantry screen ahead of them clearing the streets and buildings! MCTs stay close behind the tanks! I don't want a single scratch on the paintjob!"
A strangely unrealistic expectation given the circumstances, but Scarecrow did not see the need to deliberate on it at the moment. Instead it returned its attention to the Group Null, only to find a peculiar sight.
Through a helmet camera of Irill Or'Zaal's second-in-command, Null Two, Scarecrow saw the soldier in question finish constructing what appeared to be an improvised explosive based on the parts of the damaged PR-21 handheld ATGM from Monolith 4. What was even more peculiar was that Scarecrow then observed the trooper run through the burning rubble and wreckages, all the while under heavy fire, towards the nearest AFV, the M29 Grizzly.
Blue Suns mercenaries that escorted the vehicle were easily dispatched, and Null Two dashed into the dead zone of the vehicle, preventing both its main cannon and the coaxial machinegun from engaging him. Having reached relative safety, the soldier placed the explosive slightly ahead of the vehicle. When the Grizzly started wheeling forward (in order to possibly run the soldier over), Null Two activated the explosive just as the vehicle's center of mass was exactly above it. A massive plasma explosion erupted from underneath the AFV, quickly causing it to burst into flames. The soldier was left unharmed, as most of the blast was absorbed by the now disabled Grizzly.
"Null Actual, this is Scarecrow. Hold your position, armored support is inbound." Scarecrow, having elected to wait for the daring plan to be implemented, now reported. For a moment it analyzed whether or not it should refer to what it had seen, before adding "Impressive work."
"Acknowledged. Over and out." Came the response and Scarecrow made one of its subroutines quickly update the tankmen on the number of the enemy vehicles.
The 1st battalion HQ was also seemingly reacting to events, as the units surrounding the settlement were slowly moving out deeper into its heart. The pocket began to gradually shrink, but the low density of forces made the initial progress slow. Once the reinforcing elements would arrive that would change, and a proper concentration of force could be achieved.
All of the orders were in place. Now all that was left to do was await the reinforcements. This was the frustrating part because, as an AI, Scarecrow perceived time much faster than any organic could. Therefore all it could do was keep analyzing the combat data from the few still ongoing engagements, and occasionally ping enemy positions using the orbital imaging suite from the naval vessels above the planet. This was a fairly limited way to influence the battlefield, but as was underlined to all of the AIs during the training process, it was the easiest way to consistently and reliably support the fighting troops in orbital superiority conditions.
Fortunately the terrain of Tortuga favored the mechanized vehicles, and before long the first armored elements of Battlegroup Firebrand have reached the settlement and a selected vanguard of 2 Ibex tanks accompanied by 3 MCT-301 IFVs started moving down the same path that the Null Group took before them.
The infantry have dismounted their vehicles and now formed a defensive screen ahead of the advancing tanks, using demolition charges or grenades to remove any obstacles that their armored vehicles couldn't deal with.
Meanwhile the Null Group and Monolith 4 continued their engagement with the Blue Suns, who have actually retreated slightly following the unexpected loss of one of their AFVs. From what Scarecrow could see, six Orbital Assault Troopers have been wounded so far, one of them severely.
"Scarecrow, where are our tanks!?" Irill Or'Zaal practically screamed into his helmet microphone.
"ETA for armored support is 45 seconds. Be advised, allied infantry is approaching to assist you. Check your fire." Scarecrow warned.
Sure enough just a few moments later allied indicators moved into a supporting position behind the Null Group and began laying down supporting fire. The two M35 Mako vehicles found themselves even more distracted, as with an increased number of carvin infantrymen on the battlefield, they struggled to pick their targets effectively. It did not help that a significant portion of their infantry escort had been killed, and especially that the reinforcing troops have brought anti-tank rockets with them. Two EMP rockets were fired, but the hard-kill active protection systems of both vehicles shot them down.
But it was at that moment that the leading Mako was struck by a powerful energy bolt right on the turret, eliciting cheers from the soldiers.
"Cavalry has arrived, ladies and gentlemen." One of the tank commanders spoke over the comms, as the two Ibex tanks rolled into effective range.
The lead tank fired again, once more aiming for the turret of the nearest Mako. A direct hit left a large part of the turret melted and deformed. Having disabled the first vehicle, the tank aimed at the second one, but the Blue Suns had reacted quickly and fired first. An explosion engulfed the lead Ibex for a short while, but the shields held, as they flickered around the tank. Before the Mako could fire again however, the leading Ibex's gunner aimed directly at the barrel of the opposing tank. The high power laser struck the target, melting the barrel and making the gun unusable.
It was a new tactic used by the crews of Ibex-E's in order to mitigate the danger of enemy vehicles' longer range. Despite inferior range and armor penetration power, the Ibex-E tanks enjoyed a total penetration of eezo shields and barriers. Therefore, in order to prevent the enemy from retaliating, tankers were instructed to aim for the primary weapon or its turret, as disabling it was sure to render the vehicle inoperable, at least for a time.
With both Mako's disabled, the now emboldened allied infantry charged forwards, routing the mercenary foot soldiers still remaining around their vehicles. The second Mako was struck again by a heavy laser cannon, and this time its turret exploded in a small fireball. Given that the two vehicles were now inoperable, their crews tried to bail out and escape, only to be met with laser fire and grenades.
Their efforts were supported by the second Ibex, the P variant, which fired its plasma shells to devastating effect. Blue Sun forces possessed no real counter to this weapon, and given that the superheated plasma melted through armor, flesh and bones, the unrelenting pummeling of the retreating mercenaries produced gruesome results. It wasn't long that all resistance in the area was mopped up.
"Scarecrow, this is Null Actual. Enemy is destroyed or no factor. We're moving to secure the target." Null Group's commander reported. "Thanks for the assist."
"Acknowledged, Null Actual. Be advised, orbital imaging suggests that the target is still on site. Other units are moving in to surround the building. Pick up the pace, we are behind schedule." Scarecrow answered.
"Understood. Group Null, moving into position. Over and out."
Nemean Abyss, Unknown System
Tortuga, Sector 17
0251 Local Time, June 15th, 2185 Gregorian Calendar
"Stay sharp and don't do anything rash. We get in, get the intel and get out before our ships wipe this place off the planet." Irill called out to his team. An eerie feeling of déjà vu overcame him, as these words were dangerously similar to what Captain Zarr had told him and the original Group Null before Shadow Broker betrayed them. "Do not take any chances with any bystanders, but the target stays alive at all costs."
Things went far from perfect on their way, but now they stood in front of the building that housed Irill's most painful recent memory. But he wasn't planning on letting his inner demons fester. He would put things right, starting with finding the bastard batarian who set up the meeting with the Broker.
"Null Five, move to designated location. There is a secret back exit from the building. Head there and herd the target along with any potential bystanders into the main lobby. Use force as necessary, but I want the target speaking." He ordered, placing a ping on the map. He wasn't naïve enough to think that the scrawny shithead was going to stay at the bar cleaning glassware.
Wraith silently complied and used his enhanced mobility to quickly reposition himself several dozen meters away from their position with a single biotic-assisted jump. Irill had no doubts that the massive brute would find his way into the building sooner rather than later, and so signaled the rest of his squad to come with him inside.
Not much has changed since Irill was last here, aside from the lack of customers and the unfinished meals or drinks laying around on vacant tables. The flashing lights were still on. The upbeat, bass-heavy music was still playing. And against all odds, the bar was still stocked up. It was as if he never left. Realizing that it would take some time for Wraith to get their target where it needed to be, he sat down on one of the empty chairs, rested his weapon against the table and reflected on the achievements of his new team.
It went without saying that all of them were experts with their weapons. They had conducted themselves exemplary during the skirmishes earlier in the day. Granted this wasn't against a professional military, and such skills were expected or even required of special forces troops of this caliber, but nevertheless, Irill could appreciate that he was going to work with a highly effective team that was intimately familiar with the equipment they were using.
Null Two, his second-in-command, had practically saved Senior Sergeant Tor'Laan and his men through his on-the-spot initiative when he destroyed the lead vehicle that counterattacked them. The way he so expertly created an IED from the parts of a broken missile launcher, basic combat supplies and some omni-gel was both impressive and concerning at the same time.
Null Three, his sharpshooter, was surprisingly agile for someone of his role. His quick thinking and speed allowed him to climb to an advantageous position in mere moments after their team was ambushed by the Blue Suns. Still, the trails from his sniper rifle had been giving away his position way too often, and Irill now started to see merit of suggestions about outfitting the Army's sharpshooters with eezo-based sniper rifles. They were generally less conspicuous, especially in combat, where the sound of gunshots could easily drown in the overall noise of the battlefield.
Null Four, his tech expert, hadn't gotten an opportunity to shine, through no fault of his own. After Scarecrow had utterly ravaged the enemy battlenet, there was nothing left for anyone really to hack. He was still quick enough to recognize the futility of hacking attempts against the Blue Suns' armored vehicles, and his own combat abilities were not lacking in any regard.
And finally Wraith, or Null Five. Truth be told, Irill was actually disappointed. Not in Wraith's performance of course, there was enough evidence to support the claim that he in particular had outdone himself during this battle. The power he displayed throughout both of the engagements made it certain that Irill would give the High Command his ringing endorsement for the expansion and acceleration of biotic combat integration program. No, Irill was disappointed in his own understanding of biotics. It was clear as day that they were a powerful asset that he most likely did not use to its full potential due to his lack of familiarity with them. He had to make sure that before any future battles he had gained enough understanding of them to maximize their effectiveness.
"Contact. Backrooms door." Null Two's sudden callout instantly brought Irill back to the present.
He reached for his rifle, but quickly realized that, with all the chaos going around outside, there wouldn't be anyone left in the building aside from some scared staff or petty looters. Thus he pulled out his standard issue pistol instead. It wasn't as powerful as some of the eezo-based hand cannons available on the market, but against unarmored and unshielded targets it was deadly nonetheless.
Shortly after, sounds of screams, footsteps, breaking glass, and for some reason... a steel pipe hitting the ground (what?) could be heard from the other side of the door, followed by the signature bellow of Wraith. His teammates raised their weapons and aimed at the source of the noise, their hands steady and calm.
The sound of footsteps intensified, and just seconds later a small group of various species of aliens barged through the door. They wore civilian clothes, some were cooks, others likely technicians, and there were a few that Irill could not connect to any specific profession.
In an instant, all four carvins unleashed a hail of laser bolts which cut down most of the fleeing aliens in less than a second. Screams of pain and fear echoed through the room, though partially drowned by the music. Some tried to desperately escape back through the door but were not quick enough to escape the onslaught of lasers. The sense of tension vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.
"This is Null Five. Package is secure. Moving to your position now." Wraith's emotionless and monotonous voice rang through Irill's helmet.
He gave the brute a confirmation ping before massaging the side of his head. The music was slightly getting on his nerves, even after he partially closed off his sound receptors.
It did not take long for Wraith to join them. He dragged what at first glance looked like a corpse, but as soon as it started groaning and moaning, Irill quickly recognized the target. A dark green-skinned batarian was barely moving, and blood ran down from his nose. Seemed like Wraith was just a little bit more forceful than necessary, but no one in the room had any sympathy for the alien.
"And so we meet again. You thought we wouldn't come back, didn't you? Look how that's turned out for you..." Irill sadistically hissed, but seeing the batarian stare at him in confusion, he scowled. By now the loud music was interfering with the interrogation. "Someone shut down the speakers."
Before his other teammates could even properly react, Wraith dropped the batarian onto the floor and lobbed a ball of biotic energy at what was probably some sort of music mixing device on the other side of the room. On impact, the whole machinery exploded into a fine rain of wires and sparks. The speakers, which were blasting synth dubstep moments before, erupted into static. Nothing that a few well-placed shots from his teammates couldn't fix.
"Now, where were we?" Irill turned back towards the bartender with an expression of annoyance.
"T-there's a mistake... You've got the wrong person. I... I don't know nothing!" The batarian blabbered as he slowly regained consciousness. He tried to awkwardly crawl away from them, only to be painfully stopped by Null Two stomping on his kneecaps.
"Tsk tsk tsk... wrong answer." Irill clicked his jaws in sadistic satisfaction, kneeled beside the batarian, then extended a single knuckle blade from his right hand and pressed it against his victim's face. "Now here's the situation. You start answering questions, or I start poking out your eyeballs."
The touch of cold metal against the soft warm skin of the bartender caused the latter to shiver, both in fear and from the chill. By this moment he had likely fully regained his ability to reason. Which was good, since they wanted to be done with this assignment as quickly as possible.
"Let us start again." Irill retracted the blade and stood up. "You have facilitated a meeting between a group of carvins and an agent of the Shadow Broker. I want to know wh-"
"No! I didn't do it! I did not-ARGH!" The bartender screamed in pain, as the pressure from Null Two's foot got just a little bit stronger. "Our boss... he set up the meeting... I only *cough* knew the code phrase and where to lead both groups..."
Irill did not entirely buy what the scumbag was saying. Criminals were cowards and would say anything to get off the hook. "Okay... how do you feel about your top left eye?"
"Wait! Wait, please! A few days... before your friends arrived... He-OW! H-He got a message from someone... about the meeting!" Despite tears forming in his eyes, the batarian continued, before something changed in his expression. "Wait... yes! The boss' terminal! Y-You could find something useful on it! I can lead you... to his office! Help you!"
Irill scoffed. This was already pushing it a bit too far for his liking, and they were already significantly behind schedule. Still, if there was a non-zero chance that this piece of filth was saying the truth, he had to investigate it. Not that they had any better leads anyway.
"Get him up." He ordered, and with one strong motion his teammates lifted the batarian onto his own feet, all the while maintaining strong grips on his shoulders. "Lead the way."
It took some time, since the batarian was slowly limping forward, but they made their way through the somewhat familiar hallways that Irill so strongly associated with Shadow Broker's betrayal, and finally reached a door distinct enough from the others to indicate that something much more important than cooking supplies or expensive booze was awaiting inside.
"It's locked." Irill looked at the red holographic lock that now stood in their path. He was about to force his way in, when he had an idea. "Four. Get us in."
"Affirmative. His hacker teammate nodded, and for a split second Irill could swear he saw an expression of gratitude on the otherwise soulless face of the soldier.
Four activated his omni tool and linked it to the door. After less than a second, the angry red light turned to a much more approachable green before the door opened.
The inside revealed a rather spacious room, with a desk made of a type of expensive stone. The walls were adorned by various pieces of art, hunting trophies, and even a bottle of what Irill assumed was high-class alcohol, placed in a glass cabinet. Guess he was not completely correct about the booze part.
But what was most important for them was the personal computer on the desk. Irill immediately signaled Null Four to get working on it, and the rest of his team to search the room for any other potentially valuable intel.
"So... this is it then." Their batarian prisoner said awkwardly, and Irill already knew where this was going. "I got you here... done my part of the deal."
Called it. Irill mentally sighed. "There was never a 'deal'. Whatever you're deluding yourself into, drop it. You're not getting out of here alive."
For a few seconds the batarian seemed like he did not hear or couldn't understand the answer. But whatever confusion remained was soon replaced by fear once again. He took a step back, but Irill stopped him as he pulled out his weapon.
"What does a single man change? If you spare me... you lose nothing! Y-you want money? I can give you all my savings! Just-" He stuttered and stammered, however seeing Irill's unchanging expression, his own shifted once again, this time to that of hopelessness.
At this moment Null Four closed the terminal and stood at attention. "We have what we need. Ready to exfiltrate."
Irill nodded and gestured at the team to leave the room. They all dutifully did, leaving him with
"I don't think you understand. If I let you go now, you'll run into a checkpoint outside, and they'll be the ones to gun you down." He said calmly, savoring the moment. "You stay here and the moment our forces withdraw, our ships will turn this place into a crater. Like I said... no way out."
He then switched the settings on the weapon into a high-power bolt and pointed it directly between the batarian's eyes. Whatever the man wanted to say did not concern him anymore. That slimy little shithead might not have been the salarian who shot up their team, nor was he the Shadow Broker himself. Irill's comrades called for vengeance. And he wouldn't keep them waiting.
"What I'm doing is merciful. Outside they sometimes let the soldiers play with their food for a while." He snickered, reveling in the brief moment of absolute control. The thought of having the life of another being in his hands exhilarated him beyond reason. "Oh and please, DO take it personally."
*BZZEW*
A/N: A few clarifications. First I used "Senior Sergeant" for Tor'Laan, since just simply copy-pasting the existing military ranks into the universe without any change was a bit lazy and unimaginative. That's why I opted for something familiar but still distinct enough from the US armed forces rank system.
Second, yes, the Orbital Assault Troopers are partially inspired by Halo's iconic ODSTs (I mean, who doesn't love them? WHO DOESN'T!?). However I also think that dedicated units for conducting the initial stages of planetary invasions are a niche that exists within many other sci-fi (and sci-fi like) universes, and may as well manifest itself in the future of our civilization... assuming we survive up until that point. I mean for goodness' sake, people sometimes forget that this was also the role of Stormtroopers in Star Wars, to operate alongside the regular Army Troopers (until they basically replaced them completely, which in my opinion slightly took away from the depth of the Empire and its military).
Third, halfway through writing Scarecrow's bit, I was reminded of the Battlefield 4's commander system. Just a little fun fact. And Scarecrow is referred to as 'it' in the story because carvins for the most part do not program their AIs with gender-based personalities. Some AIs may choose to develop their identities into either gender, but as of this moment in the timeline this rarely occurs. Also Scarecrow may potentially appear later in the story, though I'm still debating it.
And fourth, while nothing explicitly states it, I refuse to believe that a modern sci-fi military would not outfit its frontline combat vehicles with hard-kill Active Protection System. Even today's Bradley is equipped with Trophy system, and I wouldn't see the reason for the Mako to not have something similar or more advanced. Barriers are just an evolution of armor protection and will always be less effective at protecting the vehicle from enemy munitions than the system that outright destroys these munitions. As such, to paraphrase Darth Vader: "I'm altering the cannon, pray I do not alter it further".