Anderson strode through the maze of corridors with purpose, people moving out of his way in a sea of salutes. The ship he was attached to had been about to embark on a routine patrol when he'd been pulled from the detail without warning and without explanation, usually that meant something had happened somewhere else that the normal troops couldn't handle and they needed an N7 to fix it.
As he neared the briefing room he was surprised at just how many familiar faces were present. It looked as if every active N7 not currently on assignment was there, queuing up to be relieved of their weapons before entry. He knew without a doubt that it would be a very slow queue and that was before he saw the argument at the front.
"You'd think he'd learn you can't take weapons into a brass briefing by now, but every time he argues about that damn knife." A familiar voice said behind him and he greeted the latest addition to the queue without turning.
"Ryder."
"Anderson."
Years of practice had him able to withstand the urge to fidget in frustration or boredom but as they continued to NOT move in the static queue he reached for anything to fill the empty time with, even if it had to be something as mundane as small talk.
"So... How's the kids doing? Sara and... Scott wasn't it?"
"Yeah. They're good. Growing up far too quickly for my liking though..."
...
"Gentlemen, ladies, thank you all for coming, I'll get straight to the point. Four days ago members of the 108th marine corps responded to a distress beacon on the planet Akuze, fifty marines went down to check it out, only one made it back. What you're about to see is helmet cam footage from that engagement, it's not pretty, but it's all the details we've got on this new threat. We're trying to talk to the council races, see if any of them have encountered it or anything like it before, but in the mean time we need to come up with a strategy to use against them in the future."
"What are the chances he means: 'as soon as you come up with a viable plan we're sending you in'?" Came a quiet mutter from the back as the techs queued up the video footage for playback.
...
"There. Possible weak spot." Ryder called, shining a laser pointer on his omni-tool at the screen. The techs paused and then rewound the footage, everyone concentrating on the highlighted area as the battle resumed.
"Good catch. Mark that spot as a probable." The 3d holo-model off to one side of the main screen acquired a shiny new red targeting dot but it looked very lonely on the seemingly impenetrable enemy.
The helmet cam they were watching suddenly ceased moving, the marine wearing it diving out of the way of an acid spit and into cover at the last possible moment.
"You crazy Sarge?" came the inquiry from the man already occupying the small crater.
"Maybe. Cover me a moment I think I saw something." She ran back out, firing a burst of rifle fire on her way to the dubitable cover of a melted M29 chassis. Switching her ammo over to tracer rounds, she activated the unit wide comm: "Concentrate fire on my target."
She leant out to fire and Anderson noticed humorless smiles appear on the faces of several audience members as the bullets illuminated a path straight to Ryder's weak spot. It had been a good catch from the safety of a briefing room but to have noticed it in the midst of the chaos and carnage of the battlefield was even more impressive.
The remaining marines switched their aim to target the same spot and the monster disappeared back under ground. However any relief the combatants might have felt was short lived as it popped back up in the foxhole she'd so recently vacated, what looked vaguely like a human body visible in its jaws.
"Orlov! Fuck!" The moment of audible frustration was brief, quickly replaced by small arms fire and a hastily thrown grenade that didn't seem to do anything against the beast other than get its attention.
She had to dodge another acid spit and kept running, zigzagging randomly as she radioed: "If that bastard grabs you, you're already dead. Try and throw a grenade down its throat on your way!"
She slid behind a rock formation, a marine who'd been providing covering fire for her ducking back in response to another projectile vomit of acid flying in their direction.
"I think you made it angry Shepard."
"Really Badger? I hadn't noticed."
As they crouched down, Shepard catching her breath and Badger waiting for his rifle to cool down, sustained fire from another direction caught the monster's attention, undoubtedly saving their lives as it turned to face the more pressing threat.
"I think we need bigger guns."
"Echo squad had the new Storm shotgun, you wanna get up close and personal with that thing be my guest."
"I was thinking bigger than that."
"Now what's she looking for?" An N7 murmured quietly to their little group as the camera panned around. A telltale flash of blue light caught their attention and the camera was moving, running across the battlefield before hunkering down beside another marine.
"Lim! Reckon you can flip a Grizzly?"
"I can try."
"Good, on me." The head lifted slightly, scanning the assorted debris, presumably noting things the video viewers weren't privy to because suddenly an arm pointed out at one of the M29s: "There, that one."
A quick check that the monster was still otherwise engaged and then they were treated to another running cam sequence.
"Wait a second." Shepard entered the front compartment and started fiddling with wires and turning dials in a manner that was not only untranslatable to Anderson but seemed absolutely ludicrous in the middle of a firefight. He was aware of quiet whispers a few rows over as a couple of the engineers tried to figure out what she was doing.
"Ok, Badger I want you on turret. Lim if I'm right, the moment you flip the IFV it's gonna be gunning for us, you can jump in or run like hell but whatever you decide, do it fast."
"I'm with you Sarge."
The video bounced as the Sergeant nodded an acknowledgement and then the whole world seemed to turn upside down as she clambered awkwardly into the driver's seat, strapping herself into the harness so gravity wouldn't pull her straight back out. The biotic looked at her incredulously.
"You sure you want to be in there when I flip it Sarge? I don't even know if I can."
"Well I'm not gonna be able to climb in and get her started up in time afterwards." Was the answer as she double checked the vehicle was in neutral. "You guys ready? We're only gonna have one shot at this."
They signaled their confirmation and the world tilted once more, this time accompanied by a bluish tinge. As soon as the wheels touched the planet's surface the marine's hands were moving, hitting the starter button and as soon as was feasibly possible switching to first gear.
"In."
"In."
As soon as the second confirmation was uttered she put her foot down, pulling away fast and only just in time, the radar suddenly showing a new contact appear out of nowhere in the position they'd held just moments ago. There was a sharp cry of alarm and muffled swearing from the back.
"Sitrep?"
"Shield's are still at 98% but there's a fucking hole through the armour!" Lim reported.
"You hit?"
"Negative."
The next half hour was witness to some of the most intense and impressive combat driving Anderson had ever seen. The sergeant switching seamlessly between aggressive and defensive driving strategies as required, depending on the gunner's calls of 'Ready', 'Firing' or 'Cooling'.
The only other chatter inside the vehicle was Lim's updates on direction and distance as they desperately awaited any sign of where the burrowing monster would surface after its many disappearances. The dancing and dodging of beast and acid came to an abrupt halt when Shepard suddenly pulled hard on the steering wheel, only just avoiding being impaled by the rising monster.
"Shit! Fucker's learning my moves!"
"Then do something it won't expect!"
He couldn't speak for their adversary, but if the muffled cursing was anything to go by, Anderson was willing to bet that the crew of the M29 certainly didn't expect to suddenly be hurtling at great speed, in a straight line, directly towards the monster.
To their credit, they may well have set a new Alliance record for the time it took for the turret to adjust its aim and resume firing.
...
At long last the monster fell dead. Exhaustion was the primary emotion on the crew's face as they clambered out the Grizzly, other survivors limping over to join them, a disbelieving sense of wonder that they had succeeded hanging in the air.
From the once fifty strong platoon there was a mere sixteen soldiers left, each one bloodied and tired. It took a few moments of looking at the assembled privates and corporals before her for Shepard to realise what Anderson had already noticed, she was the highest ranking person left alive.
The camera rose as she pulled herself back to her feet, offering brief congratulations before issuing them with new orders.
"Hopkins, Washington, I want you to keep eyes on that thing. For all we know it could have some krogan style regenerative, voodoo magic shit. It so much as twitches, start shooting and the rest of us will join in."
The marines in question nodded, unslinging their assault rifles as they went to find a better vantage point.
"Stitches, crack open the medi-gel and get to work. Langton, Jellicoe, McLeod check if there's any more survivors and make sure there's no sensitive information left in the vehicles. While you're at it gather any grenades, water or medi-gel you find. Blondeel reestablish comms with the ship and give them a sitrep. The rest of you establish a perimeter best you can and stay alert, I want a two man crew in that Grizzly at all times, who knows what else this delightful tourist spot has waiting for us. Badger with me."
"What's the plan Shep?" He inquired quietly once they were out of hearing range of the others. "You know they can't extract us from here." The video footage bobbed once more as she nodded.
"The drop point was the nearest LZ the analysts could find, we need to get back there. You saw the state of the men, no way they can hump it that far, and even if we strap people to the roof we're not all going to fit in one Grizzly. We find some more that still work, or failing that I'll fix one up if need be and then we get the hell out of here."
...
"Stand to! Stand to!" They had more warning the second time as they felt the ground tremble beneath their feet.
Shepard rolled out from underneath the IFV she was working on, dropping her tools and pulling out her weapon. She could see the others running towards cover or climbing into turrets of any Grizzlies still standing.
Any hope of repeating their previous miracle was limited however, there was something about the way their only mobile Grizzly was moving that made her doubt its current driver was up to the 'out-dodging an acid spit' level of driving.
She ran mental calculations on her current job's finish time. No, it simply wasn't possible, her vehicle would be immobile for the battle too. If she wanted maneuverability she'd have to use her legs, if she wanted decent fire power she'd have to be a sitting duck...
She grabbed the extra webbing of grenades that McLeod had issued to everyone, she'd only taken hers off so she could fit underneath the chassis to work, and then clambered into the vehicle's turret, raking her eyes across the valley for any clue as to where the monster would surface.
She caught sight of Badger running towards her, still lugging the heavy machine gun she'd sent him to strip off one of the crippled M29s. The mounted gun's cooldown times had been the biggest problem in their earlier fight and they had decided to jury-rig an extra weapon onto the turrets of their chosen extraction vehicles. But it was too late now, he'd be better off dropping the excess weight so he could run faster.
Even as she thought it another idea entered her head: they were the furthest away from the beacon that had originally been their objective what felt like a lifetime ago, a mere twenty meters away the ground started sloping up into the side of the valley, and so far she'd only ever seen their adversaries surface from flat ground.
If they took the machine gun up there, they'd have better firepower than their assault rifles, better chance of dodging on their legs than inside the stationary turret and plenty of rock cover everywhere to hide behind. Of course the plan's viability depended on the enemy's actions.
A mere six hours ago she wouldn't have spared a second thought to the subtle change she felt around her. In fairness she didn't think twice this time either, wasting no time on analyzing what it was her senses had picked up on but merely responding instinctively to the threat, dropping down into the interior gunner's seat with a speed and precision that could only be accomplished by the muscle memory from a hundred training hours or a single near death experience.
Her quick reflexes saved her, she undoubtedly would have been killed if her head was still sticking out the cupola as the vehicle rolled over 450 degrees.
Fortunately the angle left her with an escape point and she managed to crawl out the metal tomb, dragging her rifle with her. Concussion was still a serious concern however and Badger arrived on the scene to find her disorientated, covered in dozens of small cuts and bruises but alive.
Aware how lucky they'd been that the monster had kept going and not stopped to inflict further damage, and mindful of how quickly the situation could change, he helped get her into the cover of the nearest rock formation on the slope. Sitting her down before holding up a hand.
"Shepard! How many fingers?" He was perturbed when her gaze stayed distant instead of focusing on him, but then she reached up and grabbed him, rolling them both to the side as acid struck their former hiding spot.
He saw the paint ripple on his arm, then the ceramics begin to melt and he quickly ripped off his bracer before the acid could reach his skin, thankful that it had merely been splash damage and not a direct hit. An involuntary scream of pain drew his attention down and he'd swear he froze for several long minutes at the sight of a patch of Shepard's armour bubbling.
Fortunately the rest of the world must have frozen with him because when the Alliance reviewed the helmet footage there was only a split second of hesitation before he scrambled into action, unlocking the relevant suit clasps as easily as if they were his own and peeling off her chest plate, revealing the reddening skin of her lower abdomen already attempting to blister.
He upended three canteens of water, attempting to wash away the acid before it could make it's way deeper into the sergeant's body and ripping open an entire pouch of medi-gel, it spilling haphazardly onto the wound.
"I'm fine. Go." The pain was evident in her voice as she spoke through gritted teeth and he shook his head. "That was an order! Move!"
He followed the angle of her eyes in time to see one of the two monsters heading their way and had to admit: if he stayed there they'd both die.
Even if by some miracle it changed direction, the pair of them couldn't defeat the giant beasts alone, especially not on foot. If he joined the others maybe they had a chance of killing the enemy first. Maybe he could even lead it away from Shepard, then he could deal with her stubborn ass later.
Decision made he pressed the medkit into her hands.
"Don't you dare die."
Picking up his rifle he turned and raced towards the heavy machine gun that he'd abandoned mere minutes ago. Shepard fumbled with the first aid kit trying to treat her own injuries, more as a distraction from the inevitable rather than out of any real hope of survival.
She never did figure out if it was her brain or body that ultimately gave out first as she slipped into unconsciousness. Even as her senses stopped receiving input, her helmet camera continued to record.
Four days and several solar systems later Anderson watched as the marine he knew of only as 'Badger' reached the usually turret mounted machine gun and lugged it out onto the flat ground of the valley floor, setting it up on some rocks and opening fire on the giant worm still approaching the unconscious sergeant.
It disappeared into the earth and knowing what would happen next Badger stood and ran, zigzagging and praying that he'd be able to relocate before it broke the surface.
His prayers went unanswered as the ground beneath him broke and he raised up into the air, staring into the very jaws of hell.
The adrenaline coursing through his veins allowed his brain to store every sensory detail of the experience, despite no longer having a need to; he would never have a chance to recollect it. Even with his odds of surviving at zero, he didn't give up. Performing one last act for his comrades. Priming one of the grenades on his webbing. When it went off it triggered a chain explosion with the rest of his miniature armory, ripping the creature apart from the inside.
His sacrifice helped level the playing field for the final round to one acid worm versus nine marines. Unfortunately with subpar weaponry, immobile vehicles and no leadership... the result was a foregone conclusion.