The freelancers bolted over the barricade, guns loaded, ready to take Archangel down. Kacey observed the rushed and reckless approach of the mercenaries; perhaps getting to Archangel wouldn't be too bad.
"Doesn't look like Archangel's got much time." Jacob mused, watching the freelancers hurl themselves over the barricade.
"Well, let's not wait around too long." Miranda said, drawing her pistol.
Kacey jumped up on top of the barricade and signalled for Jacob and Miranda to wait. Before Miranda could asked why, the scarlet haired commander gestured for them to join her. Kacey knew the only way they could get through this is by seeing how Archangel operates; so, she could come up with a plan to get across the bridge without dying.
They watched as several freelancers darted across the bridge, shooting up at Archangel haphazardly. Once they were out of bullets, Archangel popped out from cover and killed each one with a perfect headshot from his sniper rifle. Only a small handful managed to reach the other side of the bridge. Kacey knew what they had to do.
"Come on." She said, "We'll give these guys a surprise of our own. Stick to cover and let's take these mercs out."
They jumped down from the barricade and began to open fire at the mercs. Once Kacey had shot one, another shouted, "She's with Archangel!"
Archangel continued to fire at the freelancers and even at Jacob and Miranda, the latter of whom used her biotics to shield her as she darted from one bit of cover to the next. Kacey, however, was out in the open, unaware that one merc was behind her until Archangel had shot him.
"He's not shooting at you, Shepard." Miranda said, surprised, "I wonder why."
"So do I." Kacey replied, "But now's not the time come on."
"The entire time, Archangel didn't once fire at me, but at everyone else. I thought it was strange but once I got to him…it finally made a lot of sense."
Kacey entered the stronghold and opened fire on the freelancers within. Miranda quickly followed with Jacob arriving a few minutes later. Kacey bolted it upstairs after hearing the sound of a blow torch and turned the corner to see two mercs trying to bust the door open. Sixteen assault rifle bullets later and the freelancers were dead, allowing the humans to enter the room and meet Archangel.
They entered with the guns still raised, looking at Archangel. Kacey could tell by the armour that he was a turian and that was it. She lowered her rifle as Archangel turned to face her.
"Archangel?" she asked.
He put his hand up, signalling for them to stop as he looked down the barrel of his gun. Kacey couldn't see but the sound of a human being killed was enough for her to know that he was finishing the last of the freelancers…for now.
He lowered his gun and stood up, confident that there was not mercs outside on the bridge. He walked towards the nearby sofa and took of his helmet. Kacey walked over as Archangel sat down, her eyes widening in shock, joy, and relief.
"Shepard." Garrus Vakarian said in both shock and relief, "I thought you were dead."
"Wait. Garrus is Archangel!?" Kaidan said in surprise. Kacey laughed.
"Yeah. I couldn't believe it either." Kacey replied, "And hey you did want Archangel to join us."
"That does explain why he was with you on Horizon." Kaidan mused. Kacey's joyful expression faltered at bit, but she was quick to cover it up.
"Garrus!" Kacey said happily, "What are you doing here?"
"Just keeping my skills sharp." the turian replied, "A little target practice."
"Are you okay?" Kacey asked.
"Been better, but it sure is good to see a friendly face. Killing mercs is hard work. Especially on my own."
"Well, that explains why you didn't shoot at me." Kacey said.
"I suppose it's a good thing you stand out Shepard." Garrus replied, "Honestly if it wasn't for the red hair and blue armour, I probably would've shot at you."
"Glad to see I'm so recognisable." Kacey smiled, "Speaking of what are you doing on Omega anyway?"
"I got fed up with all the bureaucratic crap on the Citadel." Garrus replied bluntly, "Figured I could do more good on my own. At least it isn't hard to find criminals here. All I have to do is point my gun and shoot."
"Which leads to you pissing off every major merc organisation in the Terminus Systems." Kacey replied.
"Hey, it wasn't easy. I really had to work at it." Garrus replied sarcastically, "I am amazed that they actually teamed up to fight me. They must really hate me."
"You are such a bad influence Kacey," Kaidan laughed.
"Hey, I led you into a fight with the geth and one Reaper out of necessity. I didn't piss off a bunch of mercs and pirates of my own volition." Kacey laughed.
"Well, you did piss off the Council, and Udina, and—"
"Okay, okay you've made your point." They both burst out laughing.
"Since when did you go by the name Archangel?" Kacey asked.
"It's just a name the locals gave me." Garrus sighed, "For all my good deeds. I don't mind it, but please…it's just 'Garrus' to you."
"Well, we got here," Kacey said, "But I don't think getting out will be easy."
"No, it won't." Garrus replied, picking up his rifle, "That bridge has saved my life…funnelling all those witless idiots into scope. But it works both ways."
Garrus walked towards the edge of room, which overlooked the bridge. Kacey followed as Garrus continued.
"They'll slaughter us if we try to get out that way." Garrus said. Miranda crossed her arms.
"So, we just sit here and wait for them to take us out?" She said. Garrus shook his head.
"It's not all that bad." He said, "This place has held them off so far, and with the three of you…well I suggest we hold this location, wait for a crack in their defences and take our chances. Its not a perfect plan, but it's a plan."
"If we fight together as a team, we'll hold them off." Kacey said.
"You're right." Garrus nodded, "Their numbers won't help them in here, anyway. Let's see what they're up to…"
Garrus walked over to the edge of the window and looked at the barricade with his rifle. Kacey followed him and looked towards the barricade.
"Hmm…looks like they know their infiltration team failed." Garrus mused, handing Kacey his rifle, "Take a look. Scouts. Eclipse, I think."
Kacey lifted up the rifle and looked through the enhanced scope. She saw several LOKI mechs climb over the barricade.
"That looks like a lot more than scouts." Kacey replied. "And a lot more like mechs."
"Indeed." Garrus said with a small smile, "We better get ready. I'll stay up here. I can do a lot of damage from this vantage point. You…you can do what you do best. Just like old times, Shepard."
"Yeah, except with less geth." Kacey laughed. Even Garrus couldn't hide his smile.
Kacey drew her own sniper rifle and began to pick off the mechs with Garrus while Miranda and Jacob bolted downstairs to exterminate any stragglers. Kacey had switched over to disruptor ammo to kill the mechs faster as more and more of them hopped over the barricade. The mechs were pretty straight forward to deal with, never in cover and instead mindlessly moving towards them.
"Heads up!" Garrus called, "They're deploying snipers!"
Laser sights from the Eclipse snipers darted across the room as the mercenaries either ran towards nearby cover or stayed behind some cover on the barricade. Due to the enemies' shields, two shots of cryo ammo were needed to wipe out the snipers. Kacey was patient and careful with her shots, focusing primarily on shooting at their heads to finish them quickly. Miranda and Jacob's biotics helped deplete the shields faster, allowing Kacey and Garrus to swiftly kill the mercenaries. It was a complete bloodbath outside, with the bodies of several dead mercenaries and broken mechs.
"Damn it." Garrus said, "They're sending out the heavy mechs."
Loud whirring noises filled the air as a large mech was dropped onto the bridge outside of the barricade. The mech stomped towards them, firing rockets at both Jacob and Miranda below. Miranda quickly used Overload before Kacey switched to using her grenade launcher and fired multiple rounds into the mech while Garrus picked of the mercenaries assisting the large machine. The mech then exploded after Kacey fired the last grenade she had, with the resulting explosion killing the nearby mechs. Shortly after the explosion, a single salarian appeared on the bridge.
"Looks like their leader has shown up." Miranda mused.
Kacey switched to her assault rifle as Jacob manged to destroy Jaroth's shields. Kacey opened fire using high impact shots while Garrus lined up his shot perfectly, killing Jaroth in one shot to the head.
"Looks like that's all of them." Garrus said as Jacob and Miranda made their way upstairs.
"For now." Kacey sighed.
"You're kicking ass, Shepard." Garrus replied smiling, "They barely touched me."
"As if I was gonna let you be killed by a bunch of mercs." Kacey replied.
"Not to mention, we got Jaroth in the process."
"Jaroth?" Kacey asked as the two Cerberus agents entered the room.
"I've been hunting that little bastard for months." Garrus replied, "He's been shipping tainted eezo all over Citadel space. Half of the goods I seized back at C-Sec came from his team here on Omega. I took out a big shipment a while back and killed his top lieutenant in the process. Not surprised he decided to work with the other mercs after that."
"Neither am I." Kacey said, "Which means we've still got the Blue Suns and Blood Pack left. Think we can make a break for it?"
"Hmm…Maybe." Garrus replied, "Let's see what they're up to."
Garrus turned to look at the barricade, "They've reinforced the other side…heavily. But they're not coming over the bridge yet. What are they waiting for?"
As if to answer Garrus' question, a large bang rippled across the room, shaking it violently. An alarm screeched in the background as they all turned to face the stairs.
"What the hell was that?" Miranda asked.
Garrus pulled up his omni-tool, "Damn it. They've breached the lower level. Well, they had to use their brains eventually. You'd better get down there, Shepard. I'll keep the bridge clear."
"I'm not leaving you alone." Kacey said, "Let's split up two and two—keep one of my team here."
"You sure?" Garrus asked surprised, "Who knows what you'll find down there."
"I'm sure." Kacey replied firmly, "Jacob, stay with Garrus. Keep him alive."
"If you say so." Jacob replied uneasy, "I'm not so sure it's a good idea…"
"Shepard and I can handle a bunch of mercenaries, Jacob." Miranda said, "We'll be fine."
"Okay."
"Thanks, Shepard." Garrus replied, "You better get going."
"We're on it." Kacey nodded.
"Go down a level—the basement door is on the west side of the main room, behind the stairs." Garrus explained, "I'll radio directions if you need help…but you've got to get down there quick. Good luck."
"I should be saying that to you Garrus," Kacey said.
Both Kacey and Miranda left the room and ran downstairs.
"Ready?" Kacey asked.
"Of course." Miranda replied.