Chapter 51 – Cade's 18th Birthday Bash – Part 3
March 31st, 2204, 2122 hours – The Planet of Bellara in Rebellare System, Apien Crest
(Specialist Cade Kitiarian – Team One, Blackwatch)
En-route towards the Seccessionist Delegate
There is little doubt that turians are the undisputed masters of large-scale, infantry fighting. You put a battalion of turians against a battalion from any other species in open combat, nine times out of ten it is the turian battalion that makes it off the field when the dust settles. You'd think it'd be the krogan with their brute force, the humans for their ingenuity, or even the asari with their weird space magic – but no, it'd be the turians.
It wasn't all in the training or upbringing either - turians were of course often extremely, almost fanatically, disciplined. No, turians had certain biological advantages as well. For example, turians can actually turn off common survival responses to certain stimuli, such as flinching. More practically speaking, turians did not flinch when confronted with something like gunfire. They avoided it yes – but flinched? Never. Neither do krogans to be fair, but turians didn't because they simply did not have that reflex biologically wired into them. It was probably something in their genes and perhaps a holdover from their predatory background. That advantage also allowed them to stay focused in a chaotic, unruly battlefield. They also had excellent cardiovascular and energy systems well-suited to fuel both fast-twitch and slow-twitch movements for extended periods of time compared to other species, giving them unparalleled endurance.
The turian leaders of old knew of the advantages their people possessed over the other species. They capitalized on it. Turians decided to incorporate, mandatory military training with an emphasis on group-fighting into their society, and made available top-tier standard military equipment to every last turian soldier. As a result, turians became – and are still today - the galaxy's premier infantry units, more capable of engaging in mass, attritional warfare than any other species.
And Cade hated that. He hated large-scale battles and all the chaos and disorder and dirt, and ever since he'd been a small plateling he had dreaded the idea of being a frontline infantry officer like the majority of his family had been. Sure, there were some navy brats and the odd pilot here and there, but almost all of the individuals from his clan began their military career as frontline infantry. Those who excelled (or survived) then had the chance to be diverted into the special forces units where front-line fighting wasn't as common.
And that's why Cade had worked his scaly ass off when he was young. Kitiarians started military training a lot earlier than other turian children from lesser clans, but Cade took it one step further. He'd do his mandatory schooling and combat training during the day, and then he'd spend evenings honing his combat skills even further, specializing in sharpshooting and infiltration. He didn't do it every single day, but he did it enough so that he knew he'd be at a level well beyond his peers and at the level of a turian several years into their military career. Cade knew he was destined for a military life – he wasn't that stupid – but he also knew that with a bit of hard work, he could skip the messy early-infantry stage.
And he'd been right. Once Cade had finished his compulsory military training that all turians began at fifteen, he had been granted an opportunity to try out for a well-respected special forces unit on account of his skills – the Turian Ghost Infiltrators from the 26th Armiger legion. Such an opportunity was unheard of for a turian as young as Cade had been, but Cade supposed the higher-ups were willing to throw him a bone on account of his skills and his family name. Yay for favouritism among elites, Cade supposed.
He remembered telling his father Koltira about his invitation. His father was a quiet, aloof turian with high expectations, and he had been less than impressed. "Getting an invitation is only the first step. You're not going to get an accolade from me for doing the bare minimum. Many have been invited and many have failed. Get in first, and then we'll talk," his father had told him.
And Cade had smiled, given his father a talon and had taken the test. He trained, he had pushed himself and he had passed. Before he was even sixteen he'd been made a Turian Ghost Infiltrator. It was unheard of, and there were many who had told him it was 'just what they would have expected from a Kitiarian' and that he was 'definitely Koltira's son'.
At his initiation ceremony, those platitudes had gone in one ear and out the other without so much as a thought. Cade remembered nodding and smiling and playing the good, dutiful turian while he shook the hands of countless military officers at his initiation ceremony, but he could barely remember a single word that had been said to him. What he did remember was searching for his father's face in the crowd and not seeing him there. He would only find out some time later that his father had not been there. He'd been away on a mission.
Cade had never cared too terribly about what those other turians thought of him, even if those opinions were overwhelmingly positive. The obsession that turians had with clans and lineages was also a bit alien to Cade, and as a result Cade never really bought into the gravitas of his family name. Though his clan's main family branch had produced nearly every Blackwatch commander for the last two-thousand years and many distinguished legion commanders had come from the lesser branches, to Cade they were just his family. Cade did not, and never had, thought of his father as "Commander Kitiarian". He was just his dad.
And so he was made a Ghost Infiltrator. Cade didn't have to suffer in the trenches for four or five years taking gunfire to the face and eating tinned rations amidst mortar fire like other turians would have had to do before applying for a special forces unit. Instead, he spent the next two years spending most of his time either lying in wait behind enemy lines to take a shot or two, walking or crawling in his tactical cloak to a spot behind enemy lines where he could take a shot or two, or just taking a shot or two. It was nice. Relaxing.
Even if he did take direct-action, mostly it was on missions deemed too insignificant or not dangerous enough for the Blackwatch to undertake. He mostly breached nice, air-conditioned villas or apartments held by terrorist groups or gang members. If he did fight in a large-scale battle, it was just to take out a high-value target from long range.
But alas, Cade was a victim of his own success. After almost two years of successful mission after successful mission, someone crackplate higher up on the chain had thought it would be a good idea to let Cade try out for the Blackwatch – the cream of the crop when it came to the Hierarchy's special forces units.
No turian said no, and thus Cade had been plucked from what he'd considered to be his cushy military job to try out for the Blackwatch. Cade had heard the stories. The Blackwatch was a secretive group that reportedly had the highest success rate of any turian unit in history. Its candidates were selected from only among the best of the various lesser special forces units and each candidate was usually already a highly decorated soldier. Cade would have been the youngest to have ever been offered a chance to join them. They took on the most dangerous, secretive, missions.
Cade had wanted to say no. He didn't want the extra danger and the associated marked decrease in average lifespan that came with the job. He had plenty of cousins and family members who already wanted to join the Blackwatch or were already a part of it and who were more than capable of carrying on the Kitiarian legacy. Cade just wanted to lead a simple, easy life.
When Cade had gone to the Blackwatch training compounds that day, he had resolved to throw the test. Except that morning, his father had come to his room to talk to him.
Cade's father hadn't been around for most of Cade's life. He was constantly carrying out his duties as Commander of the Blackwatch and going out on missions on behalf of the Hierarchy. Apparently however, Koltira used to be a lot like Cade when Koltira was younger – a bit too carefree and relaxed for a turian and always up for a laugh. Koltira had been the oldest of his siblings and the next in line to lead the main branch.
Cade's mother and his uncles told him that the Reaper War had changed him. Cade's mother had been pregnant with Cade at the time when the Reapers had attacked. Koltira had been maybe twenty-five years old and had only just started his career as the Commander of the Blackwatch following the death of the last commander upon the initial arrival of the Reapers. He'd fought on Menae with Shepard where he met and became friends with Garrus Vakarian. He and the Blackwatch would later go on to fight on every single turian world the Reapers invaded, partaking in a desperate delaying action while Shepard and her crew worked to bring about the end of the Reapers. He had even fought on Earth.
Koltira had watched as hundreds of thousands of his fellow turians died in combat against a seemingly relentless foe. Rumor has it that Koltira had even watched his own younger brother and two of his best friends burn beneath a Reaper beam, alongside dozens of others in his unit. Either way, Koltira became a different turian after the war. Quieter, more pensive. His wife gave birth to Cade just as the war had ended. Afterwards, he didn't spend a lot of time with Cade or his siblings.
So when Koltira came to Cade's room the morning of his Blackwatch entry test, Cade had been surprised. Cade saw a look in his father's eyes that he had never seen before. His father had told him about all the good work the Blackwatch did for the Hierarchy and how they were instrumental in bringing peace and stability to the galaxy. His father told him about how excited he was for his son to be joining him in carrying out that mission. For the first time in Cade's life, it felt as if his father was acknowledging him.
And so Cade changed his mind about throwing the test. The look on his father's face when he finished the written and combat test with record scores was one that Cade would never forget. He passed, as he was destined to do as a Kitiarian, and was assigned to his father's team. He made a tearful goodbye to his old, cushy life and donned the armor of the Blackwatch. His old Ghost Infiltrator suit was left behind in a chest that now sat in his closet back home, gathering dust.
His first day as a Blackwatch commando hadn't even ended yet, and already Cade was kind of getting the feeling that perhaps he just might have made the wrong choice. The doubt that Cade had experienced at the beginning of his mission over his abilities was not something Cade had ever had to deal with before. He also loathed the fact that he had to fight his own people. His first official day and he had already gotten his ass kicked by a krogan and covered in shit.
Tracer slugs streaked mere inches above Cade's head, snapping him out of his own thoughts. They struck the wall above him and caused chunks to rain down on the young turian.
"Lucius, suppressive fire on the right!" his father barked authoritatively. "Janus, keep the balconies clear!"
"Yes commander!"
"You got it commander!"
The incoming gunfire slackened as Lucius Dartorian fired his Phaeston full auto towards a group of Vindicators that had appeared out of nowhere on their right flank from behind a building, allowing Cade to pop out from behind the shattered car he was hiding behind and pick off two Vindicators from the group. He ducked back down just to avoid another hail of gunfire.
A series of explosions suddenly erupted along their right flank, eradicating the remaining flanking force. Cade heard Dessia Nymera whooping over the channel and shout something in in a Palaveni offshoot language that Cade didn't understand.
A figure crashed in cover beside Cade. It was Garrus. The turian Primarch had put aside his Mantis in favor of a stolen Phaeston appropriated off one of the fallen Vindicators. It was a better weapon given the sheer number of rebels the team currently found themselves up against.
Garrus peered up over the crumbling hovercar they were hiding behind and down the street the team was fighting on. "Cade, we need to push forward, seize a new angle. If we stay here the Vindicators are just going to hammer us down."
Cade nodded. "I hear you sir. I saw a small shop with a blown-out second floor about thirty meters ahead and twenty to the right off this road. Its close enough and off to the side that it might just be outside that heavy gun's field of fire."
The team was currently fighting their way down a broken street towards a bank currently held by the Vindicators. The Seccessionist delegate and their surviving guards had locked themselves in a vault deep within the bank, but the Vindicators had boxed them in and were currently working on digging them out. The team had to get to them before that happened, but before they could do that they had to fight past an entrenched machine gun position that the Vindicators had set up right at the entrance to the bank.
"Just what I was thinking kid. I'm going to call for more cover-fire in a moment, prepare to run."
Cade nodded again. "What about my dad?"
"Koltira is already up ahead, leave it to him to find his own way," Garrus replied. The Primarch put a marker on the team-map where the building was and keyed open his radio. "Septina, Lucius, Dessia, we're headed towards that building over there, give us some cover fire! Janus, join us there!"
A volley of acknowledgements sounded off over the channel and the gunfire headed towards the Vindicators intensified.
Garrus leapt over the hovercar without another word, with Cade mere inches behind him. The two turians sprinted towards the building, hurtling over fallen foes and other bits of debris tossed about by Dessia's endless supply of explosives. A few mass effect slugs got close enough to set their shields off, but luckily neither of them were seriously hit.
About ten meters from the building they were joined by another figure in dark Blackwatch armor – Janus Bryik. The heavy gunfire slackened somewhat, leading Cade to believe that he'd been correct when he guessed that the building was outside of the machine gun's swivel range.
The rear door was made of simple wood, so Cade simply kicked it in. The three turians immediately took the stairs up to the second floor and headed into exposed room.
Cade was the first one in. He flung himself onto his belly and immediately scoped in. His Black Widow barked three times and the turian Vindicator manning the heavy gun and his two closest friends went down.
Another Vindicator grabbed the gun and tried to direct it towards the group, but as Cade and Garrus had both suspected they were just outside its field of fire. Janus destroyed it with a single shot from his Widow, striking it on the barrel and rendering it useless. Garrus mopped up a few of the other Vindicators. The enemy soldiers guarding the bank's entrance began to point over to where the three sharpshooters were hiding and began to take shots. Cade picked off three morning Vindicators in rapid succession, opening up a hole in their ranks.
Suddenly, Cade's father was among them. Koltira wove himself into their ranks and began to dispatch the Vindicators one by one at point-blank range with clinical, precise bursts from his Phaeston. Vindicators shouted in fear and alarm at the sight of the massive, black-armored turian weaving among their number and gunning down their comrades from a mere few feet away. Some tried to turn their weapons on him but Koltira was just too close. He cut a bloody, blue swath through the enemy up the steps of the bank. Lucius, Dessia and Septina followed in the gory wake of their commanding officer, dispatching whichever Vindicators Koltira had decided to leave for them.
Garrus peered over at the carnage left behind by his friend. "I don't think the Hierarchy has a soldier quite like Koltira," he commented. "That's your father for you. Come on, lets catch up."
The three sharpshooters made their way down and joined the rest of the team. Together they made their way cautiously into the bank. Vindicators peaked out from behind towering marble columns but were quickly put down by the Blackwatch team.
Long, continuous scratches marred the marble floor. They started at the entrance of the bank and extended all the way to the back of the initial atrium, down a corridor that extended further into the bank. It looked as if something heavy had been dragged across the room.
Garrus pointed at the corridor where the scratches led. "The vaults are down that way."
Koltira and Garrus took point. The corridor was wide and service booths lined both sides. It wasn't an ideal environment to cross, but the team had no choice. From further down the corridor, Cade began to hear the rumbling of heavy machinery. He tightened his grip on his Black Widow, trying his best to steady his nerves. It'd be hard to hear anyone coming towards the team, and the interior of this bank was perfect for ambushing an attacking force.
The team moved in an steady arrowhead formation. Any Vindicator that dared to confront the team was ruthlessly put down.
The corridor ended at the top of a wide set of stairs descending down into the ground. The scratches continued down the stairs. Here and there, Cade could see chips in the marble created by whatever machine had left the scratches.
Below were the vaults – massive storage spaces designed for holding precious physical objects that belongs to wealthy clans and individuals. Carefully, the team descended into the depths of the bank.
They emerged into a large chamber with a marble floor, a high, vaulted ceiling and more marble pillars, similar to the lobby above, but instead of service booths lining the sides there were huge, circular metal doors decorated with the sigils of various clans.
At the rear of the room in front of the largest and most ornate of the metal doors sat a strange, metal contraption. It stood roughly seven-feet tall. It resembled a large cannon, consisting of a long gun barrel maybe a foot wide which was attached to a metallic box that rested on a stand made up of four metal legs. The scratches along the marble floor ended where the legs touched the ground. The machine was producing a loud humming that echoed across the huge chamber and filled the room.
The barrel was emitting a shimmering, golden beam of concentrated energy at the vault door, warping the door a bright, cherry red. Cade suspected it was likely a mining machine that the rebels had repurposed into a breaching tool. Surrounding the device was a platoon of armed Vindicators, their attention on the door.
Koltira immediately chucked a fragmentation grenade among their midst. One of the Vindicators noticed it and selflessly dived onto it without a second thought. The grenade detonated and the turian disappeared, but the rest of his comrades were unharmed.
The Vindicators all turned. One of them was wearing a Talos mask.
Cade's team immediately split up and took cover behind the closest marble columns. From behind cover they began to fire at the Vindicators.
The Vindicators outnumbered them nearly seven to one. Some of them stayed by the machine while others mirrored the team and took cover behind the marble columns closest to them as well, firing to keep Cade's team in place. About half of their number began to advance forward.
It was a standard turian maneuver. Simple and hard to defend effectively against, particularly when you were out numbered. "Dessia, Janus, push left! Put yourselves in a flanking position and force them to split their fire! The rest of you – cover them!" Garrus immediately ordered.
The two black shapes detached themselves from the group and headed off to the left. Cade took a knee and managed to wound one Vindicator, but was forced back behind cover by a stream of gunfire. There was just too little cover aside from the columns and the enemy sightlines were just too good. The team was pinned down. Even Koltira could do little else but to stay hidden behind a pillar and fire blindly out from beside it. Unfortunately, the rebels had the numbers to push forward.
The rebels gained ground and the Vindicator in the Talos mask raised his fist, shouting something in a Palaveni sub-dialect that Cade couldn't understand. His accent sounded a bit like Dessia's. Whatever it was, it caused a few of his comrades to cheer lustily. He continued to speak and the response from his comrades intensified.
Garrus and Lucius tossed out a couple of grenades from behind cover, but they went off without doing any real damage.
"Got any more nightstalkers, Kol?" Garrus called out.
"Fresh out," Koltira sighed. "Not much else we can do except wait for their front ranks to get here, and then engage them in close quarters. We thin them out until we can push."
"And I'm sure you'd love that, but some of us are less enthusiastic about getting multiple gun barrels shoved into their faces," the Primarch retorted.
Cade was about to prepare his dual Carnifex pistols when Dessia came onto the channel. "Prepare to move up," she said cryptically.
A series of explosions erupted on Cades left. It was followed by a rumbling groan that echoed across the chamber and overpowered the thrum of the Vindicator's digging machine.
Cade and every other turian in the room looked up in awe as three of the marble columns on the left side of the room suddenly began to shake. Cracks ran up the sides of each column, and each column had a large chunk missing from their bases. On each column, the cracks all coalesced into a large fissure that separated the top of each column from the ceiling.
A cackle erupted over the channel and suddenly the columns began to pitch forward.
The marble columns fell and spilled towards the center of the room. Each hit another pillar, and from there came a chain reaction that sent several more marble columns tumbling down. The advancing rebels were forced to dive out of the way, and even then not everyone made it. Two Vindicators barely had time to scream before they were completely crushed. Gray dust began to fall from the ceiling and began to coat the fallen columns and the ground in a layer of what looked like ash.
Dessia's little stunt had effectively knocked over three rows of marble columns, creating a maze of cover in the middle of the room. The Rebels were separated from one another by the fallen columns and the columns also provided cover from their comrades shooting from the back
Koltira didn't waste a second. He sprinted out from behind the column he was hiding behind and dashed towards the enemy. He brutally shoulder-checked the nearest Rebel in the chest, sending the smaller turian flying into a broken bit of protruding column that punched through the back of his armor and out the front. He died with a gurgle, his fingers twitching feebly towards the broken spur of marble sticking out from his chest. Koltira then brought up his rifle and put down the two rebels standing in shock beside their now-deceased comrade. He pulled a knife out of a sheath on his chest and hurled it at a fourth rebel. The knife punched through the seal on his victim's neck and embedded itself up to the hilt in the turian's throat. Blue blood washed down the Vindicator's chestplate as he grabbed desperately at the instrument.
Garrus and Lucius dashed forward and slid into cover behind fallen columns and started to pour fire towards the enemy at the back. Septina was nowhere to be seen, but in the corner of his eye, Cade could see rebels dying suddenly and quietly on the right flank. In a matter of seconds, the vault had evolved into an arena of absolute chaos. Screams and shouts of pain and fear now threatened to compete with the loud hum of the rebel drill.
Cade finished holstering his Black Widow and pulled out his two Carnifex pistols. He took a few deep breaths to steady his nerves enough to take that first initial step. Cade knew himself. He knew that once he could get over that initial trepidation that he always seemed to struggle with, the rest would come naturally and effortlessly. He'd be like a baby bird taking its first leap out of its nest.
He took one last breath and sprung out from behind cover. Time seemed to slow down and everything seemed to be moving at half speed. He took aim at two rebels who had emerged from cover to take aim at his father and fired while sprinting forward. Cade somehow managed to hit half of his shots, which was more than enough to send both rebels onto their backs with fist-sized chunks of flesh missing from their chests.
Cade's Carnifex pistols overheated just as he reached the first fallen column. Hot air hissed from their heatsinks as Cade vault-twisted over the column. He ducked just in time to avoid a hail of gunfire and slid into cover behind the next fallen column, calmly waiting for his heatsinks to finish cooling.
They did, and Cade immediately blew out the kneecap of a rebel that had jumped over the column he'd been hiding behind. The rebel screamed in pain and fell to the floor. Cade put another slug into his helmet. Another rebel tried the same thing. Cade kicked his legs out from beneath him, put the barrel of his Carnifex to the base of his helmet and pulled the trigger again.
The rest of Cade's team had began to press forward as well, and it wasn't long before the rest of the advancing rebels had been entirely routed and crushed.
A loud, almost animalistic roar echoed across the vault room. Cade peeked up to see the rebel in the talos mask standing up on a fallen column. The digging drill was a few meters behind him and still firing its golden beam at the door.
Now that Cade was closer he could see that this Talos impersonator was a lot different than the other one. Whereas the other one had been just above average in height and had possessed a medium build, this one was absolutely huge – taller than his father by at least a head and perhaps the biggest turian that Cade had ever seen. He was likely nearly eight and a half feet tall and probably at least two-hundred and fifty pounds out of armor, with shoulders that could rival any krogan. He was clad in heavy plate and tech armor. In the rebel's hands was a massive red omni-blade almost a foot wide and six feet long. Cade recognized it as an omni-blade replica of an ancient, ceremonial weapon preferred by one of the clans that ruled over one of Palaven's many colonies.
He raised a massive fist and pointed in the direction of Cade's team and then swung his weapon in a wide arc over his head. "You are finished! My blade will drink your blood and my clan will have its vengeance! For Altakril!" he shouted in thick, accented Palaveni.
The Talos impersonator leapt off the broken column and landed with a heavy crunch onto the marble floor. A heavy round struck the Talos impersonator courtesy of Janus but it was stopped by the turian's tech armor. Cade suspected that the tech armor was the least of their worries. If this rebel was willing to bring a sword to a gunfight, then he presumably had some incredibly-strong shields as well.
The rebels rallied around the Talos impersonator and soon Cade's team found themselves on the defensive. Cade peered over the column he'd been hiding behind and was prepared to fire a few rounds at the sword-wielding Vindicator, but shot at another rebel about to throw a grenade over to where Dessia and Janus were taking cover instead. Septina had abandoned her tactical cloak and was now trading fire from a defensive position alongside Lucius, and Cade's father was currently locked in close-quarters combat with a trio of rebels.
The Talos Impersonator walked forward, unafraid. He swept his gaze over the team. The cold, gray eyes beneath the Talos mask lingered briefly over Koltira, but they widened at the sight of Garrus hiding in cover close to the center of the room. His fist tightened around the hilt of his sword.
"Primarch Vakarian, is that you hiding over there?!" the rebel crowed. "When your fellow turians needed a roof over their heads and a hot meal in their bellies to survive the night you were nowhere to be seen, but when those same turians take up arms against you… Well, here you are with a gun in your hand and blood on your face! Ha! Such principle, such integrity," he laughed scornfully.
Cade glanced over at the Primarch. Pain flashed across Garrus' face. "I know I've failed many of our people, I won't deny it! But please – give me a chance to make this right! Put down the weapon and let's talk!" Garrus pleaded.
The Talos Impersonator removed his mask to reveal a scarred, deformed visage. The right side of his face was a mass of scar tissue even worse than Garrus' own. His right mandible was nothing more than a nub, one eye was actually a ghastly white and half of his fringe looked like it had been burnt off.
The Vindicator grinned and raised his blade so that it was pointed at Garrus. "Talk? The time for talk is over, Primarch. Now you pay. Now you die."
The turian rebel raised his blade and charged at Garrus. Cade fired his pistols. The heavy calibre bullets slapped against the tech armor and caused the rebel's shields to flare wildly, but just before they could break an additional layer of golden light encased the rebel.
Fortification tech! Cade thought to himself. Fortification tech was rare and highly-prized. Developed by the Geth for their command and control units, it provided an instantaneous, massive boost of shielding. Skilled users were capable of triggering it just as their own shielding failed, giving them another layer of protection as their personal shields recharged. Between the tech armor, the fortification tech, and the rebel's own impressive shields, the talos impersonator would be very, very difficult to kill with small-arms fire.
The rebel closed the gap between himself and the Primarch with ferocious speed. He held his omni-blade like a shield in front of him as well for added protection, blocking incoming gunfire from Septina. He was mere meters away from Garrus now.
Garrus rose from cover and emptied his heatsink at the rebel, but his shields were too strong. Eventually the weapon overheated.
The impersonator let out a hearty laugh and took a humongous leap towards Garrus, clearing the last few meters between them with ease. As he leapt, he brought his sword up and into a huge, overhand swing aimed right at the Primarch.
The glistening red blade of light came down. Garrus managed to rolled away just in time. The blade carved into the downed marble column that Garrus had been hiding behind with ease. Garrus came out of his roll and tried to backpedal and put some distance between him and the rebel, but the rebel was on him in a second. He tore his sword out of the column and aimed another horizontal slash at the Primarch, which missed Garrus by inches.
The rebel laughed. "Fine, Vakarian. If you'd rather dance then we can dance! Come – dance with me!"
He aimed another swing at Garrus. Garrus brought his cooling Phaeston up in an attempt to block it but the sword cut right through it as if it were butter, nearly taking off Garrus' jaw as well. Garrus dropped the sputtering, broken halves of the weapon to the ground with a curse and pulled out his Predator pistol, which prompted the turian to let out another amused cackle.
Garrus leapt backwards, emptying his heatsink as he did. The rebel simply held the flat of his sword out in front of him again like he had done before and ate the bullets with ease.
The Talos impersonator laughed again and leapt at Garrus, swinging at him again and again and keeping the Primarch on the defensive.
Cade looked around desperately to see if anyone could help. The rest of Cade's team was still preoccupied with the other rebels. Cade's father was far away on the other side of the chamber with his knife jammed in the helmet of another rebel near both Janus and Dessia, while Septina and Lucius were dueling with a fresh group of rebels that had come down the stairs behind them.
There wasn't anyone else. Cade dashed towards the rebel, who was still swinging wildly at Garrus with a grin on his face.
Cade leapt onto his back, grabbing onto the collar of the rebel's tech armor with one hand. With his other he emptied his Carnifex into the back of the rebel's head.
The rebel snarled in anger. His armor erupted in orange light again for a second time, causing Cade to lose his grip. The omni-blade whistled towards his head in a wild, furious arc, but Cade managed to duck just in time. He managed to fire a few more shots before he was forced to roll out of the way to avoid another downward overhead swing.
More gunfire slammed against the rebel's armor, causing him to snarl even louder. Lucius was approaching the impersonator and firing full auto at the rebel, giving Garrus the time he needed to scamper away.
Angered at the sight of his prey escaping, the massive turian leapt at Lucius next. The speed with which he did so surprised the veteran Blackwatch member. The turian landed less than a meter away and swung his sword. Lucius cried out in pain as the glowing red blade slashed against his chestplate. He fell to the ground, clutching his chest. The rebel straddled his fallen form with a grin and brought his sword up for the killing blow.
"Lucius! No!" Cade called out.
Garrus dashed forward and launched himself onto the rebel, wrapping his arms around his neck and giving Lucius time to scramble away. The rebel began to shake and twist, trying his best to shake Garrus off but the Primarch hung on. "Cade! We need more firepower!" Garrus called out.
Cade looked around. What firepower? If his Carnifex pistols couldn't cut it then he doubted his Black Widow would do much better. Dessia might have enough explosives but she was too far away to be of any use. What? What could he do? Think, Cade! Cade told himself.
And just like that, time seemed to slow down. Colors sharpened and sounds slowly began to mute as Cade felt his adrenaline surge through his veins. They deafened until all Cade could hear was his own, beating heart set against the thrum of the digging machine. The digging machine.
With a roar, the rebel reached up, grabbed Garrus around the shoulders and hurled him away. At the same time, Cade turned around and dashed towards the digging machine. A rebel rounded a pillar as Cade ran but Cade executed him with a single shot from his Carnifex.
He reached the four-legged machine and looked around it. There had to be a way to turn it. There, there it was.
Cade flipped a blue switch on the base of the machine where the body met the mechanical legs. He then ran up to the barrel of the machine, placed both hands against it and pushed. The barrel was warm and hot but Cade pressed on. It started to move. He grit his teeth together and continued to push. Slowly, the golden energy beam began to move as well. No longer was it firing directly at the door. Now, it was starting to carve its way across the room.
Another shape joined Cade at the barrel. It was Lucius, bleeding heavily from the gash on his chest. His teammate added his efforts to Cade and the barrel began to move faster. The beam of light inched its way across the room, slagging what marble pillars remained and forcing several of the surviving rebels to drop to the ground.
Meanwhile Garrus was still dueling with the talos impersonator. The large turian was growing frustrated now, and had reverted to cursing at Cade in his native dialect. He seemed to be aware of the beam. He kept throwing furtive glances toward it as he aimed wild swings at Garrus, but given how slowly the beam was moving he didn't seem to think it wasn't a big deal. Instead, he used it to his advantage, trying his best to put Garrus between himself and the beam. Garrus did his best to do the opposite, but he was running out of room to dodge fast, and it would be long before the rebel caught him.
Once the beam was close enough, Cade left his place at the barrel and triggered his tactical cloak. He cut across the center of the room, careful to stay out of his team's lines of fire. He darted among the combatants until he found a safe spot maybe a dozen meters away from where Garrus and the impersonator were fighting. Satisfied that he wasn't likely to be shot accidentally, Cade settled down and waited for his opening.
The two fighters broke apart. The beam of light was just maybe a meter away from both combatants now. Garrus was panting hard, but the rebel was in not much of a better shape than he was. The tip of sword dragged along the ground as he stepped slowly towards the Primarch.
Garrus gestured around the room at the dead bodies of the other Vindicators. "Hey, look around you. You know you can't win this. If you surrender now, no harm will come to you. You'll live – I swear it on the spirits. You and your friends can still make it out of here alive."
The impersonator ignored him and pressed his advance.
"I can't imagine the pain I must have caused you," Garrus continued, "but give me the chance to make it right! Lay down your arms and live to see the future I hope to build for our people! Don't throw your lives away! Live, please!"
The rebel paused and chuckled. "Do you think I care to live? Do you think any of us care to live? You've taken everything from us, Vakarian! Everything!" He roared. "The future you hope to build for us is meaningless. It's empty!"
He gestured with his blade at what Vindicators were still fighting. "My comrades and I… when the Reapers came our families took refuge in the mines of Altakril. The fighting left them trapped beneath a thousand tons of rubble."
A tear rolled down the impersonator's mangled face. It glistened like a ruby under the light of his red omni-blade. "When the war ended we tried to dig them out. We spent months, but we didn't have the equipment or the numbers. We begged, begged, for the Hierarchy to come."
The impersonator looked Garrus dead in the eye. "And did the Hierarchy come to save us? Did you come to save us? Did you send us your ships and your soldiers? No! You sent those ships and soldiers to Tuchanka, to Rannoch, to Earth and to Thessia! The Reapers didn't kill our families, Vakarian! You did! You heard our cries and you ignored them!"
He levelled his sword. ""We have nothing left! Nothing worth living for! Don't you see, Vakarian? We're already dead!"
Garrus' shoulders dropped upon hearing the rebel's words. His mandibles fell slack and his arms hung limply at his side.
The impersonator charged at Garrus. Now was Cade's only chance. Cade sprinted towards the charging rebel, his cloak deactivating with a hiss. The talos impersonator saw him approaching, pivoted, and re-directed his swing at Cade.
Cade got as low as he could to the ground, dodging the swing and wrapped his arms around the turian's waist and legs. With a yell, Cade pushed the Talos impersonator directly into the golden beam.
The bright, golden beam ate through the turian's tech armor and shields in an eyeblink. The rebel activated his fortification module but it was unable to withstand the immense heat any better than its predecessors could, and soon the rebel found himself alight from the waist up. The turian yelled in agonizing pain and dropped his omni-blade.
Cade ignored the rebel's screams and Cade's own tears and tried to hold the rebel in place, but the heat was too great. He eventually let go, fell to the floor and rolled away, shields depleted and his armor singed black.
The turian rebel finally managed to stumbled his way out of the beam. His armor was half-melted and gone in some places, exposing raw, reddened flesh beneath. His face was an absolute ruin, with his fringe melted onto his skull and the entirety of both mandibles now completely gone.
Still, the turian was alive. Cade looked on in horror as the impersonator began to shamble towards him, arms outstretched, determined to fight to his last breath.
And suddenly Koltira was there. He came between Cade and the rebel and placed his hand on the rebel's cherry-red chestplate, starring impassively at the mortally-wounded turian with cold, heartless eyes.
The turian stopped in his tracks. He barely had any eyes left, but still he managed to turn his gaze onto Koltira's face.
The rebel shuddered and let out a great sigh. His shoulders slumped forward and he lowered his arms.
Koltira raised his pistol, put it to the rebel's forehead, and pulled the trigger.
Cade breathed a sigh of relief and let his head hit the ground. And like that, the battle was over.
Garrus came over to Cade and wordlessly offered him a hand. Garrus had a strange look in his eyes. The light from them was gone now, and his cocky, confident gaze had evaporated to be replaced with something unsettlingly pensive. Cade took Garrus' hand and Garrus pulled the young turian up. They both starred quietly at the smoldering body of the impersonator.
Koltira came over to Cade as well. "Are you okay my son?"
Cade took a few moments to "Yes dad," Cade nodded. "I'm fine."
Koltira squeezed his son affectionately on the pauldron. "I'm glad. Come, both of you. We still have a mission to complete."
The team grouped up around the door of the giant vault. The center of it was still red and hot, and now bits of blood had found its way onto its surface as well. Whatever clan sigil used to adorn the hardened metal had been warped beyond recognition. It took Garrus a few moments to gather up his composure. The Primarch knocked on the metal.
"This is the Hierarchy. Is anyone in there?" Garrus called out.
"Is that you I hear, Vakarian?" a muffled voice replied.
"Senator Polanthis is that you? Are you okay?"
Unseen mechanisms were activated and the door began to roll open with a groan. An elderly turian in ornate, light armor walked out. Behind him were several other similarly-aged turians, along with a few younger ones in more traditional, military gear.
"What took you so long, Vakarian?" Senator Polanthis said crabbily.
Garrus gestured at the bodies around him. "Negotiating. With the Vindicators."
"Negotiating huh? With those warmongers? I hope you knew how to speak their language," Polanthis chuckled. Garrus didn't reply.
"We spoke it better than they did," Koltira grunted.
The secessionist senator turned to Koltira. "Commander Kitiarian! You're here as well? Spirits… Vakarian really spared no expense eh?"
Garrus shrugged as he helped another, older senator out of the vault. "What can I say? I want this to work. I want peace."
Polanthis nodded. "Good, I want peace too. Far too many turians have died at the hands of their fellow turians. Despite what the Vindicators may think, you're a good turian, Garrus. We may not agree with how you run things, but we know you care for your people. If we work together, we stand a really good chance at restoring order throughout our colonies."
Garrus turned to the senator. "I agree, senator, and I thank you for giving me the chance. My troops are just outside. They'll take you back to your own forces and if you'd like, some can stay to ensure that you and the rest of the delegate are safe until we can have our summit tomorrow."
Polanthis grabbed Garrus appreciatively on the upper arm. "Thank you, Vakarian."
The senator glanced at the charred body of the impersonator and a dark look fell over his face. "It seems like not everyone is as interested in peace as you are. There will always be those who are willing to fight you to the very end. Don't lose any sleep over these dissidents, Vakarian. Cast them from your mind. Forget them."
Garrus gently broke free of the senator's grasp. "Respectfully Polanthis, no, I don't think I will."
March 31st, 2204, 2205 hours – The Planet of Bellara in Rebellare System, Apien Crest
(Specialist Cade Kitiarian – Team One, Blackwatch)
Shalaran Hotel, 77th floor, suite 3721
Cade plopped down onto the couch with a sigh and closed his eyes. His mind was reeling – stuck in a state of hyper-arousal thanks to the non-stop fighting he'd been engaged in all day. Cade could not believe that his first day in the Blackwatch would be so eventful. Stepping in at the climax of a civil war was not the kind of start Cade would have wanted to his Blackwatch career. He supposed he should just be happy he made it out in once piece.
The team had expected that they'd be spending the night before the summit in temporary barracks like the rest of the Hierarchy forces, but Garrus had decided otherwise. Garrus had decided to put the team up in a very nice, multi-room hotel suite for the night. Perhaps it was meant to be a 'thank you' for their work. Cade certainly appreciated being able to sleep in a nice, soft bed as opposed to his bedroll.
A hand nudged him on the shoulder. Cade opened his eyes. Standing above him was Septina, holding a bottle of combat juice mere inches from his face. It was a mineral-laden, fruit-flavoured beverage designed to replace lost fluids.
"Not exactly a real drink, but it should do until were back on Palaven," she said. She was currently clad in only her undersuit. The Blackwatch soldier had emerged from the fight largely unscathed and covered in blood that did not belong to her, a testimony to her skill in combat and in close-quarters fighting in particular. Cade was wearing the same. Their armor was currently being cleaned up by a team of maintenance techs.
Cade accepted it gratefully and took a sip. "Probably for the best. I'm not old enough to drink yet anyways."
From across the room, Janus shot upwards from one of the other couches. "Are you kidding me kid? How old are you?!"
"Seventeen," Cade answered. "I… actually turn eighteen tomorrow."
The sniper gave an exaggerated roll of his eyes and threw his arms up. "Spirits, you've got to be joking!? Seventeen! You're barely old enough to shed! What the hell are you doing with the Watch? You've probably never even… you know…" Janus made a profane gesture with both hands.
"Janus, because we've been friends for years I am going to pretend for your sake that you did not just question a minor on his sexual activity," Septina deadpanned.
Dessia giggled and Janus' mandibles flapped open indignantly. "Come on, Sept. You know it's nothing like that. He's the youngest I've ever heard of is all. We got a twenty-one year old a few years back and she was the youngest we had in decades. I thought that Kit junior over here was only around that age."
"I would have said it's the family name, but after watching him fight I think he more than deserves his spot in the Watch. Out-shot even you a few times, didn't he? And you've got more than a decade's worth of experience on him," Septina teased.
Cade blushed and Janus muttered something about how a Black Widow could fire three shots without overheating.
"I for one think we could use some younger blood on the team," Dessia chimed in. "The commander is what? In his forties? Lucius is pushing into his mid-thirties and all of us are close to being or are already old enough to opt out of our compulsory service. I don't know about you, but I might be looking to get out soon."
"You are?" Janus said incredulously.
Dessia leaned back on the recliner she was sitting on and laced her fingers behind her head. "You're damn right, Bryik. What – think I want to get shot at for the rest of my life? Lucius and the Commander might be lifers but I'm not interested. I want out, Bryik. I want to live my life – I want to do other things. I want to see the galaxy and not get shot at while doing it."
"What would you do?"
The Blackwatch demolitions expert shrugged. "Don't know. Probably go into construction. Become an architect. In fact, I was thinking of putting my two weeks notice in right after the summit and this war – you know, go out on a high note."
"Damn, Des," the sniper shook his head. "We've been together as a team for years now. I'll miss fighting alongside you."
She grinned. "That's what you'll miss the most about me? Fighting alongside me?" she said suggestively. Janus coughed and his scales began to turn a light shade of red.
"An architect, Dessia? Not what I would have expected," Septina chuckled. "Wouldn't have pegged you as preferring to be involved in that stage of a building's lifespan."
"Yeah, surprised?" Dessia laughed good-naturedly, but then the smile faded. "I'd be sad to leave you guys though. Bryik's right, we've been a team for a long time. I'd miss you guys."
"We'll always be a team, Des. No matter what happens."
Dessia gave an exaggerated sniffle and Janus groaned. "And they call you the 'Ghostwalker'. 'Tearjerker' is more like it."
The door to the suite opened and in walked Koltira and Lucius. The latter was not wearing his chestpiece. A large bandage that oozed medigel swaddled his chest. The team's second-in-command looked a bit paler than usual. Koltira had one arm wrapped around the shoulders of his friend, steering him across the room to seat him on the other end of the couch that Cade was currently seating in.
"Hey Commander!" Septina greeted.
Janus got up off the other couch and made his way over to Lucius and Koltira. "Looking good there Lucius! Commander – is it true that your son's not of age?"
Koltira finished peering at Lucius' bandages and looked up at Janus. "You'd be correct," he rumbled. "In fact, if my memory serves, Cade comes of age tomorrow."
Cade's mandibles drooped in embarrassment as the rest of the team began to tease him. Dessia, Janus and Septina all began to plan for how they'd celebrate when they returned to Palaven. Even the normally-stoic Lucius joined in, congratulating Cade and promising that he'd take him to not only all the best bars on Palaven, but also on the Citadel and on Illium.
Koltira simply stood there and watched as his team poked fun at his son. He watched with the ghost of a half-smile on his face as Janus marvelled at the interesting decals stamped onto Cade's two carnifex pistols and as Cade tried desperately to keep Septina from digging through his utility pouch.
Cade caught his father's eye. His normally-cool and icy glare had been replaced with a warm, affectionate one. However, a deep sadness still seemed to linger in his father's eyes, though Cade could not tell why that might be.
"Cade, could we have a moment?" His father asked.
Cade immediately nodded and extricated himself from the rest of his teammates. A big, goofy grin was on his face. When he was first accepted into the Blackwatch he had dreaded it. It had had meant more work and it had meant more danger. It meant a harder life than the one Cade had wanted to lead.
But if it was a life that included people like Dessia, or Janus, or Septina, or Lucius… if it was a life that allowed him to spend more time with his father and more time working to build the kind of future that Garrus envisioned for the turian people, then Cade supposed that it wouldn't be all bad.
Koltira opened the door that led out to the balcony and stepped outside. Cade followed his father.
The nighttime spring air was refreshing and crisp. It gently tickled Cade's scales. It was the perfect temperature, neither too warm nor too cold. The wind blew but not too heavily up here on the seventy-seventh floor. The moonlight caught and gathered on the tips of the city's many skyscrapers. It was like a city of stars. Below them the city sprawled out all the way to the coastline, where the lights from the Hierarchy naval ships joined the chorus of starlight. In the distance, Cade could see Perdellion tower in the center of the city. There, the peace summit would be held in the morning.
The city was peaceful now. Quiet. The fighting had stopped as soon as the sun had set. Like a collective breath, all the violence that had built up in the city during the day was suddenly exhaled out into the night, to fade away on that soothing, cool nighttime wind.
Koltira rested his arms on the railing and peered out at the city. Cade joined his father. Together the two turians stood side-by-side. Both were in the same stance and had their weight shifted the same way. Were Koltira not half a foot taller and broader of shoulder the two could have been clones fo oen another.
Behind them the squad continued their festivities, but Koltira ignored them.
"You become a man tomorrow, Cade. No longer will you be a pueri," Koltira began.
Cade nodded, uncertain of what to say. Though his father was often gone for long periods of time in service to the Hierarchy and had missed many of Cade's other milestones, Koltira had never missed a single birthday of Cade's. Though he rarely said much at them and he never made any big, emotional speeches, Koltira had never missed a single one. Some years he showed up in full combat armor and some years he only showed up briefly, but Koltira was always there.
Cade stopped wondering why his father would do that a long time ago. He stopped wondering why his father seemed to keep him at such an arm's length all the time and yet would still show up to each and every one of his birthdays – if even just to catch a glimpse of his son.
On some level, Cade supposed he knew why his father was the way he was, even if he couldn't fully put it in words. He knew that the war had damaged his father in ways that Cade would never fully understand. Did Cade wish some nights that his relationship with his father was more normal? Sure he did. But he also understood that it was never destined to be. His father was a Kitiarian. He was a Kitiarian. Their duty to the Hierarchy would always come first, and they would bear and live with whatever scars they needed to ensure that duty was carried out.
Eventually Cade replied. "Yeah, I can't say I'm looking too forward to it, if today was any indication of what my life is going to be like," he joked.
Koltira turned to face his son and smiled. "I am glad to see that you are still quick with a joke my son. Hopefully you will never lose that spark. The burden our clan carries is not an easy one to shoulder… For you and I especially. As the heads of our family the burden will always weigh the heaviest on us. The burden to keep the Hierarchy strong."
His father sighed and turned his head to the stars. The twin moons that orbited Bellare shone brightly overhead. Koltira's scales seemed to absorb their light, making it appear as if he were glowing a light silver.
"Your sisters and your cousins… though they will undoubtedly make great names for themselves in the Hierarchy, they will never feel that burden to the same extent. We stand alone, Cade."
Alone. Him and his father stood alone. Cade glanced backwards to the suite, where his father's team was still celebrating raucously, and then back to his father. Cade disagreed. He wanted to tell his father that he was wrong. He wanted to tell him that he wasn't alone.
Koltira sighed. "My father – your grandfather – Cadmus… when he passed fighting the Reapers and the mantle of Commander fell to me, I felt the weight of our burden double. It felt so… so heavy, Cade. So heavy you cannot even begin to fathom it. Victus was holding the political arena and Vakarian was flying with Shepard... It fell onto me to hold the turian front and keep the fighting heart of the Hierarchy alive."
The Commander raised his hands. "It was like keeping a beating heart going with my bare hands, squeezing every time it grew still. A pulse so weak you could barely feel it. So fragile that you could barely keep it. It fell onto me to keep the Reapers occupied at Trebia and all our other systems, spending turian lives to buy the others time. Time to win the war."
His father closed his eyes and shuddered. Cade didn't know what to say. He had never seen his father like this. So vulnerable. The walls had come down, revealing a turian that was completely alian to even his own son.
"There were times during the war where I prayed that I would not make it through the night – the next fight – just to feel that burden lift," Koltira half-whispered. "But despite how unbearable that weight was, I soldiered on. I did it because I had to. The Hierarchy needed me to, for the Hierarchy was all that stood between the Reapers and the rest of the galaxy."
Koltira tensed up. "But that is exactly why we must be strong. We must be strong enough to carry that burden on to the end. The burden to keep the Hierarchy strong. Do you understand that we can never truly vanquish all the evil that exists in this galaxy? No matter how hard we try?"
Cade swallowed and nodded. "Of course, dad. I – I know that."
Koltira turned to face Cade once more. He stepped in and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "All we can do is ensure that there will always be those that are strong enough to beat back that evil every time it rears its head. Every time."
"The only ones strong enough to do that are the turians, Cade," Koltira in earnest. "Yes, I know that the species worked together to build the Crucible and I know that each species played a part… but some more than others. If the Hierarchy had been weak, all would have been lost. When evil rears its head again, the Hierarchy must be strong. It must be."
An odd lump began to form in the middle of Cade's chest. Cade felt unsettled, but he supposed anyone might feel unsettled after hearing their own father talk of the kind of burden that they were supposed to shoulder. A burden that Cade had taken great pains to ignore. Cade was unsettled, but he was also angry. He was angry at himself. At his own weakness, at his own laziness. He had spent his entire life shirking the burden of his name. He couldn't avoid it any longer. He would not.
A fire was now burning in Koltira's eyes. "That is the burden I inherited, Cade. And it will be the burden you inherit. Our burden – our duty – is to do whatever it takes to ensure that the Hierarchy is strong. That is the only way to not only keep our people safe, but also the galaxy safe."
His father smiled. "And I am glad that you have joined the Blackwatch. I am glad that you are here with me now, son. Now that you're here, I can feel that burden easing. Shared between father and son."
Cade resolved then and there that he would not run from his duty and his burden any longer. Like his father, he would do whatever he had to do to keep the Heirarchy strong and the galaxy safe.
Cade grabbed his father's hand and squeezed. "I am with you, father,"
Koltira sighed. "Good, thank you my son. Together I know that we can do this. You and I. Happy Birthday."