The floor of the tier above me acted as a thin cover, only being on the lowest tier at the time of attack saved me any immediate injuries. The middle tier's floor provided little cover but with bullets skimming my shoulders, until my head straightened itself out, moving from here guaranteed injuries. My mind swam as it fought for focus, unable to assess the situation. From my ball on the floor, my eyes narrowed when they found Alea, watching as she strolled out the room. Teilia squealed and sprinted from the area. At least that Matriarch wasn't indoctrinated… or at least a good actress.
"Fucking Commandos? Are you fucking kidding me?!" Iona roared.
"Less cursing, more cover!" Val snapped.
My breath ragged in my throat, a wave of nausea overcoming me. Air refused to fill my lungs. My hand struggled to pull my helmet free from my belt. An eternity passed, watching shadows lick up the edges of my vision before my helmet unfurled and locked into place. My hands yanked it over my head, securing it as best as possible without as little head movement. The oxygen supply activated, forcing my lungs to intake something. My swimming vision eased for a time. Tiny tendrils of shadow licked up the edges of my vision. Without air, this would cause me to pass out. Passing out here would be a disaster if I ever heard of one. With oxygen now flowing to my brain, my muscles relaxed, listening to war roaring above my head. The gunfire deafened me. My head lifted to peer to the back of the room. 2 seconds later, a bullet crashed into my helmet. A surprised scream ripped from my lungs, draining much needed oxygen from them as my head slammed back to the ground. The bang on the floor swirled my eyes, vision transfixed onto the spider web like cracks dancing on the helmet. A cold sweat broke out over my skin, more memories of my kinder past flooded me. Was this what it was like to see your life flash before your eyes?
"Are you alright, Captain?" Andria called. My voice choked on stagnant air, on the brink of hyperventilating. What was wrong with me?
"N-No!" I said, my breath rushing out in massive gasps.
"Stay down, Dell! We'll be there is a second!" Val said. "Dammit, Rosmani, aren't you a biotic specialist?! Get rid of these bitches!"
"And ruin the fun?" Rosmani laughed.
"Oh please, this is Fa'Ano we're talking about. She can't lift a fucking rock with her biotics," Marruns snapped. "Better off in a bloody strip club!" The air electrified, the hairs on my arms and necks standing to attention. My skin tingled.
"Oh, piss off, boy!" Rosmani thundered, biotics roaring to life, the room shuddered with her might. Surprised cries sounded and the shattering of glass tinkled the air before the gunfire ceased. My throat contracted, to swallow but it felt too dry. My body rolled onto its side, seeking respite. Seconds later, hands grabbed me, helping me onto my knees.
"Dell, you ok?" Val asked, voice laced with worry. My head shook. Why was it so hard to breathe?
"She's…" I said. "A Saboteur," No doubt about it, she had to be one. The commandos appearing to kill us, her calm exit while her companion screeched and ran off, her knowledge of my home. Oh God, this wasn't like Saria at all! With Saria, her manipulation of my mind was obvious within seconds. Sure, I had a headache here but not on the same scale! Why was the headache less yet the effects more flooring? A new… A new method or technique? Silence surrounded me while my lungs gulped down air.
"Autillin to Delern, do you read?" Val called, hand on my upper back, supporting me.
"Delern here. What's the situation?" Mat'al asked in my ear.
"Alea Shea'kal is a Saboteur. We need backup. I don't know what the hell she did to Dell but she's not right, not right at all," Val said.
"Roger that. We're on the way. Keep Dell safe," he said, stressing the final part.
"Aye, Aye," Val said turning back. "Alright, let's bunker down here for-"
"No," I said, kicking my lungs into action. "Stop her. Dammit, she has to die!" My teeth grit as my knees struggled to take my weight. Val supported too much of my weight for my liking.
"Dell, we don't know what that Saboteur did to you-" Val said, eyes on the door should more foes appear.
"All the more reason to obliterate her," I wheezed, relieved the shadows at the edge of my vision eased. A discontented robotic rumble in my head told me Nyryntha's attempt at whatever had failed. Was she relieving me now? Was that why my breathing became easier? My head shook. That Reaper had been to quiet. Far too quiet. "Rosmani, Marruns; find her. Kill her," I ordered.
"I'm not taking orders from yo-!" Marruns snapped in horror. Rosmani grabbed his carapace and hauled him out the door. Marruns screamed in rage. My shoulders shook out, my body recovering from whatever the hell just happened.
"We have to find her, more indoctrinated servants will be on the way. C'mon people, let's move!" I rallied, taking a few stumbled steps into Val until my legs worked.
The silence in the hallway sent dread crawling up my knees, the blue-tinted hall void of any life. After a look down both ways, there was no way to determine what way the Spectres went. Determination boiled, stubbornness to do something other than stand around while that Saboteur fucked with my dead, dragged my feet down to the left. A sprinkling of light at the end of the hall greeted me. Val shadowed me, keeping his eyes on our 6. We reached a tall, arched doorway, the metal doors parting to grant us access to a large room with 3 floors open above us. Plants decorated raised flower beds in the middle of the lowest tier, vegetation tumbling over the upper balconies like green waterfalls. All was still.
"Poor little, Endellion, so far from home," a female voice rang out, echoing in the large room. My eyes spun, grabbing the pistol at my hip. The clicking of guns beside me reassured my quivering nerves. "You have come so far, further than any Shell I have encountered before. I am impressed, is this what admiration feels like?"
"Show yourself, Commando!" I demanded, my voice bouncing in the air like a lead balloon. Her light laughter taunted me.
"And you know of some of our ranks. I see Xanthe was careless," her voice said. "Even Dionysius was not careful enough with you. You foiled his attempts to bring you to heel,"
"I don't even know who the hell Dionysius is!" I snapped. My attention swung to Val. "Call Rosmani and Marruns, tell them to get back here stat!" my voice hushed to a whisper.
"I believe 'Rolidin' is his Shell's name, if that is of any aid to you," Alea said. My frown only grew, my cold, combat skill putting my earlier fears and shaken nerves aside. At least we had Rolidin's Reaper name.
"I notice you're still hiding like a coward though," I said. Her laughter returned.
"My apologies," she said. My gaze snapped skywards, attracted by movement. Every gun pointed up as she appeared on a balcony several floors up. "So, little Endellion, what do you hope to achieve through hunting us, your own kin?" she asked, pacing beside the glass banister, staring down at the crew around me. At this distance, small features were impossible to see, no way of looking at her eyes from this distance.
"First, you are no kin of mine! I am human, loyal to the human race and every other race you want to destroy!" I snapped, although that heat eased as her words radiated through me. "Second, we will kick your ass. You won't win this cycle, hunting you helps us that little bit more. Third," The gun shuffled in my hand, staring down the scope. "What's with the 'Endellion'?" Alea tilted her head to the side.
"Oh? Is that not your name? …Ah, I understand. You are asking why I use your name rather than 'Shell'. I see no harm in answering. It is what we do to Shells that have proven themselves to be most resilient. You organics call it 'respect', an acknowledgement you are above the usual cattle. There has been a consensus, you have proven to be stubborn, able to adapt despite your programming. Few Shells have survived for as long as you have," Alea said. "But you will fall. You know this. You already feel this," The gazes of the crew behind me burned, my muscles twitching under their scrutiny.
"I'll sooner put a bullet through my brain before succumbing to Nyryntha!" I growled. Alea smiled, a slow smile.
"I see. A pity, you have such potential now. Before you were but a human girl, lost and alone, so helpless in a world so different to your old one. Now? Leader of a mighty force with authority close to the Spectres, if our sources are not mistaken. Such high potential," Alea purred. A cold weight fell through my body, starting from my chest.
"So you will not keep trying to kill me then?" I asked. Alea smirked.
"No, you are so close to stumbling to our indoctrination it is only a matter of time. Just a hair keeps you from us, a lone rope securing you from the abyss. It won't be long now. Nyryntha has been working hard over the last few months, it would be an insult to Nyryntha to end you now," Alea said.
My resolve cracked, her words striking like lightning. My mouth opened to retort, to deny her claims. No words escaped me, however. My tongue remained silent. Relief flooded me when a gunshot hummed in the air, Alea stumbling back with a hole in her forehead. My shoulders sagged, collapsing under her words. She wasn't wrong, not with the indoctrination. We had to make contingency plans once we got back. No, focus on the mission! My mind refused to waken, as if overworked. My eyes turned skywards, watching a sniper above our heads reload. Mat'al spared us a glance. Elation rolled over my shoulders, lower back collapsing in relief. Oh thank God she was-
RECYCLING
"Incoming!" Someone cried above us. My senses snapped awake, Carnifex raised but my mind couldn't figure out if it was straight or not.
A biotic shield flew towards us, slamming us to the ground with a bone crunching crash. The field pinned us to the wall for a few seconds before the snipers above us shot the asari behind the biotics. My body crashed to the floor behind a raised flowerbed, the concrete plinth acting as cover against the biotic shields rolling in from other asari. Bullets ricocheted off the floor around me, making me wince with each high pitched ping. My jaw tightened, poking my head out of safety. From what was visible for those few seconds before ducking back for cover, ground forces shuffled across the expanse to us. The reinforcements on the upper floors had to give us more details though, the hail of bullets was too thick. My gaze landed on a door behind us, leading into hallways that acted as a maze around this massive room.
"We're sitting ducks here! Everyone, move into the hallways, we can at least get cover back there!" I ordered, ducking at a loud ping above my head. "Cover fire!"
The crew backed up towards the door, eyes flying to watch all sides as bullets rained down upon us; foes before me, exit behind me, crew all around. Only when Val tapped my shoulder did my body twist to run through the door into hallway. Only once the doors shut behind me did my muscles relax, eyes on the crew around me. Few had scratches and burns. The worst was a limp from a bullet to the thigh. My ear pressed to door, gauging the ongoing firefight. The fight raged onwards.
"We need to move, we need to flank them if we can," I said, frowning as a long corridor awaited us, stomach dropping. "We have to get to an area we can dive behind cover. Move up, people. Come on!" I ordered, pushing onwards.
"We can flank them if we go left at the next junction, most of them are coming through from the windows!" Phentos said. My head nodded, grinding my teeth as my anchors slammed on near the junction, checking down both corridors. Once clear, we ran left.
The door behind us opened and gunfire followed our attempted flank. My gaze snapped back, assessing any new injuries the crew may have picked up. No one seemed injured and the asari didn't sprint up the hall. We reached a new junction, allowing us to fan out and aim with some cover. When the 4 commandos screamed around the corner, they met a hail of bullets. Within seconds, they collapsed under our fire, the servants wild without their Reaper master. We began the last run of the flank, it would take us to the opposite end of the room we had entered in from. They were so disorientated they couldn't co-ordinate each other well enough, but we had little information on Saboteur indoctrinated servant behaviour. My eyes locked onto the furthest away door, nearest the large windows. The further over we could strike them, the easier it would be to strike at their backs. The door sat opposite a new corridor, windows presenting Thessia before me as my hand reached for the door. A click of guns behind me twirled my gaze down the new corridor. A small group of asari commando began a wild charge. Surprised, my grip on my gun flailed, firing off a round of dishevelled bullets. My crew were 5 steps away from me. Then something grabbed my arm, like a firm hand, a blue aura in the corner of my vision. The ground left me as one asari raise her hand and flung it to the side.
The window shattered from the force. My screams rang in the air, gaze locked down at the drop before me as my crew vanished from sight. My body twisted in the air, limbs flailing for anything to save me, the smooth flare of the building's shape rushing to greet me. A breath caught in my throat, my vision tunnelled on the rising face of the metal building. My shoulders hit the building first, beginning the tumbling down like a steep hill. Grunts interrupted my screeches as my arms flailed for a hold, for anything as pain smashed every muscle that hit the building at each tumble. As the steepness eased, the tumble slowed, but not quick enough. The lip of the building rushed towards me. High pitched squeaks of desperation croaked from my clogged throat. My hands made one last attempt to find something to stop me. The building vanished from beneath me. Everything fell. Blue rushed up to meet me. The river below the city swallowed me, the gushing water droning out my senses. Instinct pulled me up. Survival flailed my arms and legs until my head burst from the surface. A nearby pole offered sanctuary. In armour, swimming proved difficult, my limbs unable to move as much as they could before. Yet my hands grabbed hold and clung on while my lungs recovered from the near death fall. My back felt like a truck ran over it, my legs quivered as weakness set in, my arms ached as they held me and my fingers ached. Sitting in the water, gunfire popped about 20 or 30 stories above me. A dead breath cleared my lungs, calming myself. My hand pulled my helmet off to gulp down fresh air.
A fish brushed past my leg. A terrified squeal rang from my lungs, hands clambering upwards out of the water as the ribbing acted as a makeshift ladder. My grip slipped twice but my fingers always found their hold as instincts told me to flee. Fish! Of anything, any bloody thing, that I had to deal with, fish was at the top of my nope list! My hands grappled with the banister above my head, once again hyperventilating as my body rolled over it, back onto dry land. On the ground, my body recovered, although now soaked. For the fourth time that day, my breath refused to work. Why did Saboteur missions always go sour? Why? Could they not give me one good day, just one? A sigh released the last of the pressure on my chest, plucking up the courage to test my legs. They quivered and my knees knocked, but nothing broken. A finger pressed to my ear.
"Shaik to Delern, do you read?" I called. No response came. A frown grew. "Shaik to… wait a second," My finger rubbed in my ear, noticing something odd. There wasn't anything hard in my ear now. Only the translator loop remained in my ear canal.
Are you kidding me? The comm piece fell out? How did it fall out?! When?! Damn this whole bloody mission! A mutter rattled my shoulders as my eyes looked over the banister, staring into the water. It was in there, somewhere. My helmet had a radio on it too though, so I wasn't helpless. Although the helmet was also in the water. Thank God it floated on the surface. My head shook, preparing to jump back into the water to salvage the floating helmet and the all-important radio. Without that radio, letting the team know of my status was crucial. Although, the sudden ripples from a nearby splash froze my legs in place, warning me to the other danger found within this lake. Helmet or fish… Dammit, it was no contest. My arms shoved me away from the banister, stumbling back into the building. They would hear me once back on the same floor. The gunfire will be easy to follow. The floor ground floor was empty, a maze of corridors and stairs. Up, had to go up. Preparing for the long hike ahead of me, my feet trudged upwards, using every stairway climbing up as possible. Unfamiliar with the building, it consumed me in seconds. Some faint gunfire lingered but beyond that, nothing showed any signs on how much further there was to reach the top. Upon turning a corner, a grumble escaped as the stairs stopped again, forcing me to wander around the hall. My grumble died once turning a corner, feet frozen to the ground.
Alea Shea'kal sauntered towards me, a contented smile on her face. How was she- She took a Mantis to the head! Even from the ground floor, everyone could see the hole in her head! My hand dropped to the pistol, a mad grab for protection. My hand only found air. Sweat broke out over my skin. The pistol had been in my hand when the asari threw me out the window. In the fall, my hand released it to save me… time to use the never-used backup. My hand grabbed bolt from a pouch on my hips and snapping it to my omni-tool palm. My body took up the archery stance, omni-bow drawn.
"Not another step, Saboteur! How the hell are you alive anyway!?" I demanded.
Alea didn't respond, but she smiled more. My teeth grit together as my shoulders quivered. The holographic string released, the bolt flying towards the asari. Her biotic shield took the brunt of it. She raised a hand, an azure aura shimmering. My left hand, my omni-tool hand, slammed against the wall. An automatic yelp escaped from the initial pain, soon followed by grunts as my feet pushed against the wall to free it. It was useless. Alea reached me, my breath stalling. My remaining hand attempted a punch but my hand just rebounded and it too bolted itself to the wall. My vision swam.
"Shh," she hushed, drawing a hand down my cheek. "It is alright, little Endellion. Shh," The air soured, an ache spread up from spine.
"How," I gasped. "Are you…" Alea smiled, her finger pressing over my trembling lips.
"Oh my dear, you have so much to learn," she said. "We would be very inefficient Saboteurs if a simple head injury could stop us," My eyes bulged. "But my dear, you look terrified," she brushed hair out from my face, tucking it behind my ear. "It's alright, it's alright to be scared. But you'll be coming home soon. Back where you belong, little Advocacy. We have missed you. And Namacuix, oh how he worries. He does not wish to harm you,"
"W-Who is… N-Namacuix?" I asked, shuddering under her voice. Alea smiled.
"You are a Saboteur, my dear. You know who he is. Who is he, Advocacy? What is he?" Alea asked, her voice brushing me like a cool summer breeze. My lungs choked on the air, the room spinning.
"I-I don't-" I said.
"Yes you do, my dear. Who is Namacuix?" she said. "Don't think. Feel," her finger tips dropped my trembling eyelids, shutting me into darkness. What the hell did she want with me? What was she doing to m-… what was that? A… a pulse in my chest. Not my heartbeat, this pulse beat off-time, like an anti-mirror to my heart…oh that wasn't even a word! It was-! …not a pulse? A voice? A frown formed, confused. Yes, it fluctuated, like someone talking. A hum of noise that drifted clearer with each second What was it saying? It wasn't couldn't- Blood. Pain. Mad Laughter. Screams. Warmth. Security. Fury. Passion. My scream froze in my throat as scenes flashed past my vision. It took hold of me, shook me, crushing me under its weight. The red scenes flashed for a second, a stabbing sensation through my entire bloodstream as words screamed through my mind. The final scene, the scene burned into my soul. A pair of brilliant blue eyes. A name screamed itself at me.
"Who is Namacuix, Advocacy?" Alea asked. My dry throat swallowed, struggling more with the task than it should have.
"T-The Ravager," I gasped. Alea's grin burned me.
"Excellent, excellent. And my name? Who am I, Advocacy?" she asked, her nose brushing mine as she leaned close. "What is my name, Advocacy?"
The 'pulse' send terror rushing through me, driving sane thoughts away from me. Whispers sang in my mind, a soothing whisper of death and pain, the whispers getting louder the more my mind focused on them. The pulse quickened, becoming words once more. Oil slid over my skin, grease sending shudders down my spine. The human in me, pure animal instinct, burst free to fight for survival. My teeth clamped down on her. Desperation twisted my head until her nose ripped clean off, jaw locked. My hands freed as her surprised screams of rage thundered in my ear. A fist formed, smashing into her bleeding face before my legs sprinted down the hallway, spitting the nose out as flight instincts overwhelmed me. All the time, her name wished to ring in my head, to drown me in oil and filth. My screams blocked it out, screams, thundering feet and a pounding heart. Metal crashed under my as my feet slammed up and down stairs and down corridors. Nyryntha screamed in fury but even blinded with pain and white dots before me, my instinct, my hearing, told me where to go. My feet skidded around a corner, seeing a form before me. It spun around, an assault rifle raised. It lowered a second later. My eyes focused as my legs continued to carry me. A sandy toned turian sulked before me.
"And where the fuck have you been? Spirits, I've had to turn this bloody earpiece off from all the bloody clamour on it-Ahh! What the fuck are you doing!? Get off me!" Marruns screeched. The turian squirmed, struggling to free himself from my grip. My arms locked around his chest, mind running like a rampant ape. A familiar face. Friend. Not foe.
"Oh for fuck sake, would someone get down here?! Spirits, the bloody murderer is possessed!" Marruns called, abandoning his assault rifle to tango with my arms. My grip tightened for dear life, for sanity, to security. "Let go dammit!" No more startling blue eyes, no more pulse, no more Reapers! I didn't want to lose, I didn't want to die! Someone make this all stop! Take me away from here! From her!
"Oh thank fuck! You barefaced bastard, this bitch is craz-OW!" Marruns cursed. A snarl rumbled above my head, every muscle tensing, sending pain rocketing through every nerve.
"Dell? Dell, it's ok, hey! Endellion! Dellion! Shaik!..." a voice called. "…Delly!" My head snapped up, my eyes locked onto emerald green eyes. As my eyes refocused, taking in the whole face, they found scarred skin, copper skin. Then a turian. He looked familiar, like someone I trusted. A turian… Valérien. "Spirits, what the hell happened to you? You're covered in blood! C'mon, Dell, you're all right, calm down. Let go of that asshole before you catch something," Val soothed, easing each finger free.
"I beg your pardon!?" Marruns snapped.
Val spared him a heated glare before freeing Marruns from my death grip. He pulled me into a hug. My eyes squeezed shut, letting my muscles relax as they trembled. My knees collapsed, although Val caught me when he felt me slip. An eye pried open, watching my hands – pressed together – shake. A lump in my throat burst and as a series of sobs escaped, the realisation of safety crushing me. Val continued to sooth me with hushes and gentle jokes about Marruns, causing the sandy turian to curse. With my head pressed into his chest, a break in the sobs allowed me to speak.
"I wanna go home," I wept. "I just wanna go home," My body tensed when the sound of pounding feet echoed down the halls.
The Saboteur Sheet has been updated for this chapter. Please see profile for link to Archive.