Our wait took longer than feared. Despite Drutus throwing his weight around, the entire station shut down as a blizzard rolled through. A small, intense storm, but it still took 3 hours to pass. More than enough time for someone to let slip to those in Basin 33 we were coming. Would the Saboteur, if there was one, be expecting us to recover so soon from Dell's death to continue the hunt? My mandibles waved, watching Drutus pace. Admirals don't like to wait, Spectres in particular and Drutus was getting more than agitated. Spirits, my head wasn't in the right place for this. My fingers rubbed my eyes, listening to the wind die down behind us.
We fought for the go ahead despite the blizzard, but the 'sensitive nature' of the facilities meant blizzards threw every base into lockdown, meaning even if we got there, we'd be sitting ducks. How anyone got anything done here was beyond me. Even with Drutus helping, we waited, waiting for the snow to stop. When it did, our team threw every regulation at the facility leader to get the shuttle through without another word, unwilling to risk any further delays to the mission. Inside the shuttle, away from the stuffy collars of the admiration, my main role kicked in to refocus the team. We had an uphill battle ahead of us as the snow fields swelled below us. The glittering snow hid the secrets below the frozen snow drifts, the sky clear of any clouds. The sun blinded us though, forcing us to instrument fly.
Around a broken peak with glacier waterfalls slipping down the flanks, the base spread wide. In the caldera basin, steam billowed from the geothermal generators, the sail shaped building hugged the steep cliff to the north. A barrage of smaller towers poked from the snow, cranes growing them ever taller as the snow drifts creeped. In the sun, the metal pillars shone as snow slipped free. My mandibles clicked at the sight of a series of large buildings in the centre, the thermal escape from below melting the snow to expose to jagged rocks below. The snow drifts built away, an easy gradient, from this rare exposed area of low lying rock. My eyes skimmed a hologram nearby, searching for a hint. What did they research here? Nothing. Just abnormal activity. The damn briefing didn't even tell us what kind of abnormal activity. Fucking Noveria…
Due to Noveria's adverse weather, the shuttle pad had about 2m of snow on top of it, forcing us to drop the shuttle near the ground vehicle entrance. We sank to our knees. The shuttle eased away, disappearing to a peak to wait out the mission. We would not have a repeat of the last mission where the shuttle was out of reach. With our boots on the ground, our focus turned to the massive doors leading to the garage. Leagan jogged over to the controls, working the controls with deft hands. The team split up, guarding each side of the door. Seconds later, the door lifted, metal creaking. My head poked around the corner, peering into the darkness beyond.
An explosion blasted us backwards. Screams rang in the crisp air. A wheeze croaked from my throat as my hands grasped for something solid, but only found dry, powdery snow. On my stomach, my head lifted. Through the fire consuming the garage, bodies waddled forward. My stomach plunged as a biotic shockwave powered from the shapes towards us. My attempt at a biotic barrier shattered, my body hurled across the snow. When they crept forward enough for sunlight to stain them, dread swam. The humanoid creature shambled, a large blue bulge forcing the head to the side. The bulge consumed the entire left side, cables running over the mass. A husk, a new human husk. And the large swarm marched straight towards us. Another wave of biotic quakes rushed towards us. My legs gathered under me and leapt out of the way, rolling in the snow. My eyes swung to the team flailing on the ground. An audible crack sounded as my mandibles clicked.
"Lay down cover fire! Get a smoke screen up! Find cover!" I barked. Smoke bombs and flash bangs erupted on the snow, the team stumbling to safety behind a nearby storage building. My head ran a headcount, dismayed to see one missing. Zeedra. My head pushed out from cover, towards the warehouse. The asari crawled on the ground, a biotic shield between her and the endless sea of quakes. The husks pushed through the smoke, their fire focusing. "Searte!"
"Got her!" she snapped, a biotic aura surrounding her as she leapt from cover. Her hold grabbed the asari. Zeedra grit her teeth as her barrier shattered, her body flying towards us. Searte gave one last pull, the pale purple asari crashing into her. Savanor grabbed the two and pulled them behind the cover as another series of quakes crashed past us. Zeedra wheezed, leg twisted. My mandibles clicked, wincing as another wave of quakes thundered by.
"Straight off the bat," I muttered.
"They know Dell has passed. Now they are on clean up duty," Drutus said. "We need to move to a better vantage point,"
"Agreed. Cathleen, get Zeedra to a safe distance and have her evac. There's a sniper up there if she wants to help. Everyone else, follow me!" I ordered, jogging through the snow around the building. Cathleen bundled up the injured asari before retreating, her voice calling over the radio. My mandible pinned as my eyes scanned an area of open ground. The husks continued to follow our last know location.
We took the risk. We bolted across the distance to a warehouse near the middle of the compound, exposing ourselves. The answering quakes ached my toes. A dive behind a pile of crates absorbed the hit, but another wave followed soon after, leaving us scrambling for cover. Iona dived behind the building, a wave of smoke bombs flying out of her hand. Her armour piercing ammo poured from her gun into the smoke. We crawled and scrambled to safety. Alder, Laegan, Searte and Phentos clambered a nearby ladder to reach the roof of this assortment of box shaped buildings slapped together. They took cover behind a raised wall. From their position, they peeked over the smoke. Gunfire split the groaning thunder. Their distraction gave us the chance to curl around the building to get more distance between us and these husks. Although, after rounding one corner, a door lay open to a warehouse surrounded by exposed rock. A chitter escaped the shadows. My blood turned cold. We shared a look.
"Doesn't that sound like…?" Shaul said. My throat tightened.
"Hunters," I agreed. Shaul snarled. "Shit, we can't deal with these cannon things and Hunters,"
"Suggestion," Drutus said, mandibles pinned. "Use the mechs,"
"We need them if the Saboteur is Sensory Overload," I grunted, eyes trailing towards the last known shuttle location.
"We will not get far at this rate. Those large husks are driving us into a nest of Hunters," Drutus said. My mandibles clicked.
"Can we not drop a big bomb on this place?" Savanor asked.
"Wish we could," I sighed. "Alright, send the mechs in. Do we have the drones?"
"A few," Shaul said.
"Get them here stat for cover fire, get the armoured mech for these damn Hunters," I ordered. Utren raised a hand to his ear, relaying the order as we backed away, deciding climbing the ladder was a better idea.
On the roof of the building, we bunkered down for a long fight. The hulking husks pushed on, but armour-piercing ammo broke through them. We swapped ammo types. As time went on, the creatures dropped, the number of quakes battering up the wall dropping. My eyes scanned the sky, looking for any sign of the mechs or drones. The large husks meandered, seeking a way up to our location, but they didn't seem able to use ladders. That was when hell broke apart. Screeches rang through the air. The Tempest quivered in my hand. Within seconds, scythe like hooks clicked against the lip of the roof. Deciding the larger husks were not a threat so long as we kept cover between them and us, we snapped around to open fire on the oncoming hunters. The speedy salarian husks screamed as they charged towards us. Searte threw up a barrier as a solid mass of bodies poured towards us.
A massive explosion ruptured the air before us, the ceiling groaning. The Hunters flew, limbs scattering as more scrambled towards us. Overhead, the drones lay down gunfire on the larger husks. The shuttle spun above us, door opening. Cathleen stood on the mini-gun. We buckled down as it roared above our heads. The husks collapsed, screaming as they did. But the wave didn't end. My eyes rose to the shuttle above our heads. My hand tapped Drutus, nodding my head up. He nodded. During reload, my biotics, while weak, gave the turian enough of a push to leap the distance upwards between the shuttle and us. He pulled himself in. Next reload, the shuttle dropped, letting Iona and Laegan jump in. It rose again to a safe height to keep the Hunters from clambering over us. This repeated until we all climbed inside. Shaul pulled me in as the shuttle backed away, the husks leaping at us as the roof collapsed. The larger husks turned, but their attacks couldn't run through the air. My eyes scanned the team, finding Zeedra on the floor preparing a sniper. My mandibles clicked. A finger rose to my ear.
"Autillin to Jorgal, we're pulling out. This is bullshit," I said.
"Have you located the Saboteur?" Raisha asked.
"No. We can't even get into the damn building. There's a new human husk running around. And it's a bitch," I grunted.
"Then you do not leave," Raisha said. My mandibles slackened, turning to the other crew. They turned, a few losing their colour. The krogan growled.
"Raisha, we're getting our asses kicked down here-" I began.
"Is the Saboteur dead? No? Then you stay," Raisha ordered. Drutus snorted.
"And here I remember someone scolding a certain late Captain about charging headfirst," he said.
"I recall. But now I understand Endellion's position. We need to find an effect way of killing these husks. We gain nothing by fleeing," Raisha dismissed.
"This is bullshit! Raisha, we're pulling out!" I snapped.
"Are you defying your superior officer, Autillin? Ah, I forgot, you do this when Endellion is not giving the orders. Then allow me to make this clear. Retreat and someone will replace you. It is about time we used those prison cells on the 6th deck," Raisha said. My jaw dropped. My mouth opened to bark back, blood boiling, but Iona grabbed my hand. Our eyes snapped together. She shook her head. My mandibles smashed into my cheeks.
"Understood," I said through gritted teeth. My hand fell to my side, plates drown together.
"Val, we need you," Iona said, understanding my pointed glare. "I don't know who she'd put to replace you, but we need someone who will not crush us into the ground,"
"She's only been in charge for 4 days," Laegan sighed. "This doesn't bode well,"
"We'll push through, early days are always tough," Drutus said. "But the mission stands. We must find and destroy the Saboteur. So, I suggest we reassess the situation and then try from another angle,"
My hands ran down my face, dreading the coming minutes. If we couldn't find the Saboteur – and there had been one here at least – then Raisha would pile through me like a thresher maw. My head shook. The shuttle scuttled back to a safer distance, to peer through the glaring sun at the compound filled with shambling husks and Hunters. Even through the binoculars, nothing leapt out at us. My mandibles clicked. We wouldn't be able to firebomb the place with the Starquake and getting any help from the nearby labs was out of the question. The only thing we had would be to push through and hope there was something inside we could use to detonate the place. That was too risky though. Down a man, we had little going for us.
So we decided that the mechs were our best bet. If the mechs could hold the husks outside the facility, then we could get inside and start a proper search. We had to get rid of those damn quake husks. 'Scion', someone said. Whatever they were called, we had to deal with them. Shaul broke out the weapon's crate, throwing everyone a sniper. We dug into the snow, peering down the scopes. The yellow light of the armour piercing lit my eyes as we trained our sights. We fired upon two foes, the team split in two. The Scions stumbled, but a second round dropped them. Another reload, another round. The lumbering husks tumbled. No more shambled free from the buildings, but the Hunters swarmed. Satisfied, the snipers clicked back into the weapon's cache. We reloaded our normal weapons while Laegan and Alder got the mechs moving. The hulking YMIR mech thundered after the LOKI mechs, a group of FENRIS mechs following behind. The shuttle lifted off the ground.
We watched the mechs engage with the Hunters. Only the FENRIS mechs and the YMIR stood any chance. The LOKI mechs, despite running, still tumbled to the ground. The FENRIS mechs were more manoeuvrable, but the YMIR could take the punishment as a swarm of Hunters clung to the mech's outer skin. Large rockets tore through the frail husks. We slunk around behind the carnage, jumping out onto the roof of a larger building. Utren charged at a door, breaking it down. We filed in after him. The silence hit us, despite the gentle hum of machinery radiating through the air. Well, the place had power at least. We eased down the stairs, testing each door. All locked. Laegan hacked one, the doors parting us into a long corridor. Nothing of any real value, just a bunch of cleared offices, no trace of any paper, computers and even furniture. Empty room beyond empty room. My eyes skimmed past Drutus as he clicked his mandibles. We found a set of stairs, moving down a floor. Everything opened into a larger foyer, but everything was empty, as if just built or just abandoned. Concern rose. Despite our best wishes, we pressed on. Down another floor, then another. We hit the first floor. My heart leapt to my mouth.
Boxes. Boxes upon boxes upon boxes of explosives. The whole entrance room filled to the brim with them, floor to ceiling. Wires connected them together, a maze of cables. My stomach twisted. We didn't stay. We turned and trudged up the stairs again, quick and quiet. If it was sound activated, we would be dead. A timer left us with no time. If someone else the detonator, they couldn't know we were here. We sprinted down a hall back to the original stairs. We raced up to the top floor. The shuttle hovered, waiting in case we needed it. Boy did we needed it. We launched in, screaming 'Go, go, go!' towards the cockpit. The shuttle whined as the engines thrust to max, the door closing as we soared away from the site, from the impending explosion. We didn't hear the blast. We felt it. The shuttle tumbled through the air, only the heat shields protecting us from the heat pushing away from the place. The sound hit us, a roar of chaos as the shuttle tumbled to the ground. Only our holds on the sides, chairs and floor kept us from flying in the cabin. When the roar rumbled silent, we released our breath. My hands quivered as they reached for the door release. It seized. My mandibles clicked, shoving my shoulder into it before realising it wouldn't budge. Searte checked the second door. It popped free.
Seconds later, the shuttle filled with screams. Pain blinded me, my voice choking me. While a spasm held my muscles, a roar rang in the cabin. It faded away before it cut short. But seconds later the pain vanished, leaving an ache in its wake. My body twisted onto its stomach, shaking arms pushing me up. The scene before me held me captured. Shaul, Utren and Savanor tumbled in the snow, a flurry of blue lit black cables flying around them. My eyes found a tan salarian, the left side darker with a series of dark brown stripes reaching towards the right. His green blue eye passed over me, the other grey with two scars criss-crossing it. Reaper plate coated his body, two large fan shaped shields holding the charging krogan at bay. My teeth grit, forcing myself to my feet. The other rallied around me as we piled out of the shuttle and into the snow. Shaul grunted as a cable wrapped around his neck, hoisting him in the air. Iona shot him down with a well-aimed shot. We surrounded him, krogans front and centre on three points around him. The salarian snorted.
"I suppose we hoped for too much that the Advocacy's destruction would put you down," he muttered.
"We're just going to fight harder now," I growled. The salarian smiled at me, a cold smile that sent shudders down my spine.
"Then we must put our plan into action then. Only the Enforcer escapes us now, and now we have 2 useful tools to bringing him to heel… or to his destruction," he said, tone dropping. My brows furrowed. Two tools? Dell would be one of them but what would the… Oh spirits!
"Gideon…" I breathed. "Where is he!?" the salarian smirked.
"And why should I tell you where he is? Besides, you won't find him. Don't worry, the Advocacy would prefer he fall into our hands. After all, didn't she ask you to look after him? My how she trusted you. And look what happened," he said.
"He's playing you," Drutus said. My blood boiled, hands quivering as rage blinded me. "If they had him, he would be here and be used against us. Or the Constellation would be under attack. Neither of these are happening. They wouldn't wait," The salarian passed him a stare, blinking once. "Besides, I've got a hunch about where he may head to. Good luck to any Saboteur trying to get him," My muscles jolted, head snapping to the Spectre. My mandibles waved, head shaking. He was right, they would use him against us at the shortest possible time. They didn't have him. My blood tempered, the gun steadied.
"Give us a name, Reaper," I said. The salarian narrowed his eyes, realising his plan failed. "So we can carve Dell's spine with every Saboteur we have felled,"
"You learn nothing from our spines, turian. Not even from our Martyrs. Even with the Advocacy's corpse in your hold, you learn nothing," he said. My heart leapt. He didn't know Dell's body was missing… then he couldn't know about Gideon since he took… My resolve hardened.
"I will assume he's Tiberiu, last salarian Saboteur, organisation Saboteurs aside," Laegan said. The salarian snorted.
"Alright ladies and gents, you know the game. 100 points to whoever rips the spine out," I said.
"Please, you guys are so far behind you ain't catching up," Phentos smirked.
"I'm only one off, asshole," Iona growled. Tiberiu frowned at the banter.
"I see, we will need to deal with you all then. Fine, we'll send Narciso after the Advocacy's spawn. I shall deal with all of you," he said, the cables wiping around his feet.
The krogan charged, a hail of bullets following them before the specialisation downed the rest of us. The krogan stumbled, but recovered, their bodies prepared for the Physical Disablement. Lightning pain flooded my system, the cold snow forgotten, even as the sensitive patches of skin burned. By the time the krogan distracted the Saboteur enough, my head spun like a top. Holding the cold snow until my balance stabilised was all I could do to stop myself throwing up. Someone grabbed me and hauled me back, a black cable slamming into the ground a few seconds later. When my sight straightened out, the Tempest straightened out and released a burst. Tiberiu's shoulder swung wide, a pop ringing in the air. Over my shoulder, the shuttle hovered, Cathleen and Zeedra ready. We scattered.
The machine gun popped through the Saboteur before he could retract the towering shields on his arms. The blasts threw him backwards, splattering on the ground. During the reload, we compensated with our own firing to minimise the regeneration. Drutus, Iona and Utren curled around behind him as Cathleen emptied another machine clip into him. When she reloaded, the trio pounced. Cables spun out from the spine to choke them, but the omni- and metal blades gleamed in the sun. Shaul and Alder rushed in to help, blades in hand. While Tiberiu's body lay still, the muscles contorted while my attention turned to the flanks. We didn't need an ambush this close to killing a Saboteur. Grunts sounded behind me before something popped free. A glance at the scene, showed Alder and Iona falling back on the snow, spine between them as they fought to free themselves of the cables still choking them. My shoulders relaxed when they pair breathed easy. My armour beeped, ruining any satisfaction of a job well done. Bloody climate hazard. We bundled into the shuttle to shut the damn warnings up. We collapsed on the floor and chairs.
The shuttle soared over the old facility, flames licking up the side of the basin. A scattering of Hunters remained, but the cold would freeze them solid soon enough. None of the crew could lift a weapon now. My hand battered on the wall behind me, telling the pilot to speed it up and get on the ship. We were returning to the 'diplomacy' of Noveria, not for a second. Within about half an hour, the shuttle slipped inside the belly of the Starquake, Rosmeni pulling her Spectre weight to free us from the shipping clamps before they learned what happened. When they learned of what happened, we were long gone from the system. My concern, however, was to get the crew seen to. Many of them needed medical care, Zeedra in particular. Shaul, Utren and Savanor escorted everyone up to med bay, I stayed behind to do the gun count. The ammo count could wait until tomorrow. All guns account for, my feet trudged to the med bay myself, just in case. Saere rushed around the med bay, Aurentia and Sherin rushed off their feet as she stabilised Zeedra. Deciding to wait, my back pressed into one bed. It could be a long wait for help…
It ended up taking 2 hours, but Saere said I was fine in the physical sense. My shoulders rattled at her words, but my eyes stayed forward, walking out to report to Raisha. On the bridge, a tense air hung. Raisha sat in the Captain's chair. A throat gurgling growl rumbled from me. Dammit, she wasn't even 4 days dead! My feet stopped by the chair, muscles tense.
"Mission complete," I said, voice stuff.
"Good. We will process the corpse and spine. From the Council databases, it seems to be a salarian called Cohol Nelben, was part of the STG before leaving and heading to work with the military department for the Salarian Union. Not important now. We're heading to Belan," she said. My mandibles waved.
"Belan? Why?" I asked. Raisha frowned at me, eyes narrowing.
"To hunt for Saboteurs," she said. My mandibles flared.
"What? Already? But we've need to recover from this. We nearly got killed down there!" I snapped.
"Then I suggest you work harder to make sure you don't," she rumbled. "The Saboteurs are moving, we must remove them,"
"Raisha, we need to recover," I pressed.
"It will take a week to reach Belan, I am sure that will be long enough," she said.
"Zeedra will not be ready by that time," I snapped.
"Then replace her with something else, we should have enough on standby," Raisha said with a raised brow. "Anything else,"
"Sure, we need more mechs," I said, tone turning sarcastic. "The last ones kinda got blown up in a half gigaton explosion," Raisha blinked once.
"Very well, I will have Indira send a requisition order in for the Council. I am sure they will send a new order," she said. My mandibles clicked, shoulders trembling. People around us watched us, dead eyes falling on the krogan. A snort erupted from me.
"Hope you are getting comfy there," I said through grit teeth. Raisha snapped to face me, but my feet marched across the floor towards the elevator. One week to recover, to receive new mechs… dammit, Dell would never run a ship… she wouldn't let Raisha pull this shit.
The Saboteur Sheet has been updated for this chapter. Please see profile for link to Archive.