Remnants

by General Rage

From Halo's ashes, a mismatched Alliance is born. UNSC soldiers now serve alongside both Batarian deserters and shifty Jackal Space Pirates. Now Shepard and Master Chief have to keep these strange bedfellows from killing one another before they can stop an emergent new threat to the galaxy. The Next Swashbuckling Chapter of the Wormhole Chronicles.

26. A Cruel Harvest

Chapter 25: A Cruel Harvest

Each Man shall keep his Piece,Cutlass and Pistols

at All Times Clean and Ready for Action!

-Article V of the Pirate Code of Captain Bartholomew Roberts

It seemed like Snarlbeak's pirates were everywhere at once. They fired from the fields and ran off back into the dark. It didn't take long for Shepard to figure out what they were doing, this was standard demoralisation tactics. They taught this in Officer's Academy, when you are outnumbered make what forces you do have feel like ten times their number. However many people Lurz had with him, they were doing their best to keep spread out and everyone fully engaged. To what end, he wasn't sure, but Shepard knew if they pushed back they could break them. Problem was, trying to go into the stalks was a dangerous proposition. It was an easy place to get ambushed in, especially in the dark.

Maisey suspected the same issue and tried to alleviate it.

"Get the spotlights on the fields!" She called up. "Drag them into the light!"

Lights turned on, makeshift lanterns focused into bright beams. It should've been enough to spot them, maybe it would've been, but the enemy Pirates seemed to pick up on the idea. Suddenly, needle rounds penetrated the lanterns, busting the jury-rigged spotlights and sending the fields back into darkness.

"They adapt quickly," Shepard noted.

"Ibie'Shans might be backwoods freaks, but they're as wily as any kig-yar," Retz warned as he huddled with the Commander.

"So they're hicks with brains, wonderful," Asha groaned. "We need to flush them out into the open."

"Agreed, but they want us to head into the fields," Shepard warned. "They'll hit us soon after we enter their perimeter."

"We can try smoking them out," Asha suggested. "Not fire, just smoke bombs. That wouldn't harm the crops but it would disorient them a bit."

It was worth a shot. Shepard even knew where they could find what they needed. The Marines had smoke grenades with them, they were standard equipment. He contacted McKay to tell her the plan.

"McKay, get to the Marines' Camp, gather up whatever smoke grenades you can," he ordered.

"Got it," McKay responded, seemingly understanding his intention. "Moving now."

Until McKay came with the smoke, they'd have to keep holding the line. Thankfully, a good number of Shepard's crew had been nearby when the shooting started. Thane was with some ODSTs, firing his sniper rifle at the flashes of plasma in the fields. Jack kept trying to use her biotics to pop the enemy Jackals up so others could fire. The problem was it seemed that the raiders had learned to stay out of sight and stick to the dark while constantly moving. A fact that annoyed Grunt for the most part.

"Stupid pirates, come out and fight!" He ordered, firing a concussion shot at one of the plasma flashes.

They had already called for reinforcements from the main camp in the forest, but it would take them time to arrive to assist. Shepard hoped they'd be enough to dislodge the Raiders from their positions. Hopefully they'd bring a few extra Warthogs with them, maybe a Pelican for air support.

There was a positive in all this at least, the ODSTs and Marines stationed here were fighting alongside the Colonial Security Forces. Even better, the colonists were not arguing the point. Shepard even spotted one of the Security Guards coordinating fire with a Marine as they took turns supressing a team of Raiders hiding in the fields.

It was then a message from Varvok came over Shepard's comms.

"Shepard, I have a team deep in the fields," he stated. "We're defending one of the Colony's silos. I can't be sure, but I think the Raiders are concentrating a good deal of their numbers on us."

"They must be trying to isolate you and pick you off," Shepard warned. "Can you get back here with your people?"

"No, can't risk it," Varvok said. "Even if we could avoid getting picked off, I don't like leaving these silos unprotected. They could use them as sniper towers on your lines. We need to hold, but we're outgunned here."

"We have the same problem but I'll see if I can find someone to send your way," Shepard told him. "Hang in there, Varvok."

"Trying to," Varvok replied, the sound of gunfire clearly audible as he responded.

In the middle of all the fighting, Zek's pirates were doing their best to provide roving cover with their shields. A pair of them protected Jack as she got closer to the fields and sent a few Shockwaves rippling through the stalks. She managed to push at least one of the Raiders out into an open path, where her Jackal companions fired on him. He was forced to pull back.

Retz was close by, using a small equipment shed as cover. He kept firing his dual plasma pistols into the darkened field, but it wasn't to hit anything. It was to light up the dark just a little so Zek could fire his Needler Rifle at some of the Raiders, hitting them with some well-placed shots where he could. Kasumi was with them as well, tossing out flashbang grenades to blind the Raiders and give Zek more chances to land a hit.

Shepard decided to contact them about Varvok.

"Zek, Retz, I got a call from Varvok, he's in trouble at the silos deeper in," he explained. "He needs help. Do you think you can get to him if we pop some smoke to cover you?"

"We can try if Four-Eyes needs us," Zek replied. "My targeting visor helped us find our way here. Doesn't have night vision perse but it can help us navigate in low light. Should be a snap to get to the silos."

"Do it, take Kasumi with you," he ordered. "She's good at staying unseen."

McKay arrived in that moment with the smoke grenades.

"Gathered up everything I could find," she said. "I've ordered the ODSTs to switch their visors to night vision. We're going to try spotting them for the Colony's Sharpshooters."

"Good idea," Shepard agreed, turning back to his radio. "For now, we try smoking them out. Zek, Retz, Kas, get ready to move!"

They began tossing the grenades towards the fields. The smoke soon billowed up among the crops, some coughing could be heard amongst them as it did. There was a considerable lull in the plasma fire, but it didn't completely let up. All the same, that was their chance.

"Move guys!" Shepard ordered Zek's group.

The trio of Kasumi, Retz and Zek ran towards the fields, determined to reach the silos. Shepard could only provide them cover fire as they vanished into the dark. He hoped they'd reach the batarian in time.

Zek led his little team through the dark best he could. The smoke made it difficult and all the shooting was somewhat disorienting, but they had a goal in mind. Not to mention a landmark to keep their eyes on. The silos stood high above the fields themselves, it was easy to spot them.

"Keep moving," Zek said. "Four-Eyes can't last this long out here alone."

Kasumi kept her head low as they moved, but she suddenly turned in the dark. There was a sudden burst of movement from some of the stalks. Then, a glowing purple energy cutlass dashed at them.

"Crap! We've been spotted!" Kasumi warned, firing her pistol at the cutlass.

The enemy Jackal took a few hits, but he got in between the team before Retz slashed at him with an energy dagger across the neck. He went down, but his friends opened fire. Zek positioned his shield between them and his two compatriots.

"Get to Four-Eyes," he ordered. "I'll cover you!"

He held his Needler Rifle awkwardly in one hand and fired sporadic shots at the Raider lines.

"You'll be right behind us!" Retz insisted.

"Go, damn it!" Zek ordered.

The other two ran for the silos and Zek began to back up. Key word began, suddenly, from out of the dark he felt something big crash into him. In the struggle, he dropped his gun into the dirt. He felt something grab his head and then throw force him down into the ground. It then picked him up and threw him further into the fields.

Zek landed deeper within the corn stalks. As he got to his feet, the darkness was lit up with another purple light. Zek now could see his attacker and he wasn't that surprised given how hard he had been hit. Lurz towered over him, breathing heavily with a mad look in his eye.

"Aw, fuck," Zek said, spitting a bit of blood into the soil.

Zek got into a fighting stance, reactivated his shield and brought out his plasma machete.

"I, uh, I hardly think either of us have the appropriate equipment for reaping cornfields on hand," he said. "Then again, you don't seem like the farming type so I doubt you care."

Lurz only growled back as he advanced slowly.

"Not much of a talker, huh?" Zek asked. "Sucks, I always kinda look forward to some witty repartee during these things. Silence is so tedious, you know? Come on, give a one-liner, anything really. It's better that way, trust me."

"Skin you alive," Lurz replied, cold, simple and directly.

Zek gulped a bit.

"You know... maybe banter is overrated," he confessed.

Lurz lunged forward and Zek blocked his attack with his shield. He had gone in here to save Varvok, but now he was the one isolated, alone and looking at almost certain death. Just his luck really. To think, the day had been going so well up until now.

---

Sentinels kept rushing into wherever they were. The only real defense against getting overrun was to keep moving, never stop, find the exit to the room they were in and push through it. It was the only real chance they had, as Cortana kept informing them about clusters of Sentinels moving through the ventilation system. If they stayed put for any length of time, they'd run out of bullets just fighting off the swarms before they reached the main terminal. The only way the Spartans were going to clear the complex, was to shut their problem down at the source.

Chief had Cortana relay positions of incoming Sentinels, using every sensor his suit could afford her. At least they knew what was coming most of the time. He spotted one of the Sentinels charging down from above, strafing the area with laser fire. He opened up with a stream of automatic shots, ripping into the machine's under belly. It exploded in mid-air and smashed into a wall.

"Exit on our left," Cortana informed them. "Keep moving!"

Fred and Anton covered them as they moved towards the door. As they reached it though, the opening shut on them. They were now locked inside the room.

"They're trying to slow us down," Chief observed. "Kat, Kelly, override it! Linda, Jun, help Anton and Fred! Keep them covered!"

Linda moved into position and took aim at a pair of Sentinels floating down into firing range. She took careful aim and fired a single shot that cut through one of the robots before blowing open what she assumed passed for the second's head. Jun fired three rapid shots in succession to remove three more incoming hostiles, one after the other.

"We can only play with these things for so long," Jun warned.

"Working on it," Kat assured him, prying open the door's control panel.

"Disconnect that circuit there and plug into that socket," Kelly told her, looking up briefly from her wrist computer.

"Got it," Kat replied, doing as said.

In moments the door opened and revealed another Sentinel waiting on the other side.

"Shit!" Kelly shouted, kicking Kat out of the way of its laser beam.

Kelly fell back and began firing at the robot with her submachine gun, tearing through its shield. It turned to attack her, but Kat had gotten back up. She used her metal arm to punch through the outer housing and deliver an up close and personal overlord attack from the inside. The Sentinel collapsed to the floor, dead.

"Thanks for the kick, saved my ass," Kat said, pulling Kelly up.

"You just saved mine, so we're even," Kelly replied.

Kelly eyed the Sentinel briefly, cocking her head to the side.

"What?" Kat asked, recognizing the look. She had been told she had a similar one when she was thinking.

"I think the laser weapon is still intact on this one," she suggested, pulling up her wrist computer and scanning the machine. "Yes, it is. I think we can salvage it though."

Kat moved to the machine's remains.

"Where's it located?" She asked Kelly, kneeling beside it.

"Ignition and power systems are there," Kelly pointed out. "If you pull back the plate carefully you should-"

Kat dug her metal arm in deep into the machine and yanked the laser weapon in its entirety from the Sentinel's body. It slightly more time for her to locate the trigger for the weapon, placing her fingers around it. Kelly just shrugged.

"Well, whatever works," she said casually. "Chief, let's move!"

Chief was already backing up with the others, firing on the Sentinels trying to surround them. Kat fired her newly acquired Laser Beam, pulling hard on the trigger. The sustained beam cut through three of the Sentinels in quick succession.

"Keep moving, go!" She called to the others.

They pushed through the door into the next room, just as a large hatch began to open along the left wall. It was the giant sentinel again, already blasting away at them as it pushed on them. The Spartans ran for cover as it began to spray fire around them.

"Damn thing is relentless," Anton growled. "It just keeps tracking us through the facility."

"It might not be as compact as its smaller brethren, but it clearly has its own pathways through the facility," Cortana observed. "I wouldn't be surprised if it keeps after us all the way down to the main terminal."

"Starting to wish we brought some rockets," Fred claimed.

"Make due with grenades for now," Chief told him. "Anton, toss one, Fred, you next, we'll move to the next door before they can lock that one down like the last one. Go, now!"

Fred and Anton tossed their grenades beneath the Giant Sentinel. The pair of explosions took the machine by surprise and gave the Spartans the opening they needed to run to the next door. They barrelled through it as Chief fired a sustained burst at the giant robot. The machine's shields absorbed it, but a few shots landed before it could turn directly towards them.

Chief followed after his Spartans through the next corridor, leaving their giant pursuer behind.

"How much further, Cortana?" He asked the AI.

"A few more levels," she replied. "We just need to keep pushing."

Chief knew that wouldn't be the end of their problems though. That big Sentinel would catch up with them no doubt once they got to the Terminal. It was an inevitable outcome really. Which meant, if they wanted to finish this mission, they would have to kill it. He was already formulating a strategy. Hopefully, it would be enough.

---

While most of the raiders stuck to the shadows, there were a few that tried their hand at taking ground. They weren't Ibie'Shans like Lurz, but they were just as well armed. They charged in with supressing fire pinning the sharpshooters. Making their way towards one of the barns, shields up and ready they prepared to breach the door. Instead, a smaller door on the side of the barn burst open wide. Standing in the doorway was Zara, a shogun in hand.

"Get the hell off my property, ya vultures!" She shouted, firing off two blasts.

The shots killed one of the Jackals and the suddenly assault caused the other start running back to the fields. Zara kept shooting at him as he ran, finally tagging him in the back with some of the spread. He stumbled into a spare gardening hoe as a result. The handle sprung up and busted his beak, ending the pirate's flight to freedom.

"Damn it, who left that out?" Zara asked incredulously. "How many times I gotta tell y'all? Pick up your tools when you're done for the day!"

Asha ran in from the side and tackled Zara into cover, as a series of plasma bolts flew past them.

"Zara, priorities!" She shouted at her as she fired back over the crates they were now behind. "You can scold the hands later!"

"I'm sorry, I am," Zara said defensively. "It's just a little stressful is all. This whole gunfight thing is really gonna put us behind schedule."

Asha sighed, but decided not to press the issue. Like she said, they had more important matters. The smoke had helped to flush out the Jackals some, but they were still relentless in their assault. Asha tried to use her scope low-light vision setting to pinpoint the exact positions of her targets. She spotted one of the Raiders slinking through the fields, attempting to circle around to another flanking position. She fired at him, using the Beam Rifle's lancing blasts to cut the legs out from under him. She succeeded, and the Jackal fell to the ground, but the Raiders were accomplished marksmen themselves it seemed. They were able to trace her fire back to her position and open up on her. She was forced to dig deep into her cover.

"I need a better vantage point," she snarled to Zara. "I'm too easy to spot down here!"

"You can try for the loft in the barn," Zara suggested. "Better cover than these crates and you can see more."

Asha nodded in response, but she still needed some cover to help her get there. Luckily, her assailants were distracted by incoming fire on their own position. Marines with Automatic rifles ripped through the fields, forcing the Jackal raiders to defend themselves with their shields.

"You get to better shelter too, Zara," Asha ordered just before she made a break for it.

"Fine, just keep those turkeys out of the strawberries!" Zara replied. "I was going to make a pie with them later and I'll damned if they ruin that for me!"

Zara crawled out of cover before making a move for the safety of a group of Marines and Colonists that were huddled together behind some hastily erected barricades. There, McKay was held up with some of her ODSTs, trying to pinpoint and destroy the Pirate Raiders' positions. Their sharpshooters were having some luck, but as soon as they spotted and opened fire on one squad of Jackals, they just as quickly repositioned. They weren't fighting like Covenant Jackals, constantly on the offensive, pushing up, aggressive tactics. Probably because they weren't being commanded by Elites like they would be in the Covenant. So they were allowed to think for themselves. It made chasing them down all the harder.

"This would be easier if they came out and fought us face to face," Romeo growled.

"They're pirates, you really think that's their style?" Dutch asked in kind.

"I don't care what they are," McKay snapped at them both. "We are flushing them out! Dutch, get us a damn Machine Gun set up! We're going to speed up this harvest and cut down some stalks along with this little pest problem!"

"You got it ma'am!" Dutch complied, moving towards one of the equipment boxes.

"Everyone else, fire to suppress!" McKay ordered. "They move, stay on them! Do not let them get comfy out there!"

The ODSTs and Marines began shooting at the Pirate Raiders positions in more sustained bursts. When the Jackals ran, another Marine or Trooper would pick them up in their field of fire and open up. It was a decent attempt to supress them, but the Raiders still had their shields and that was more than enough to protect them at times.

At least until Dutch finished setting up the machine gun, positioning it so it had a wide view range across the field. He spun up the barrels and began firing like mad. The Raiders couldn't hold under the sustained heavy caliber onslaught. They began to scatter, making them easier to pinpoint and pick off. Dutch managed to kill a few as they ran, but he still ended up cutting down more stalks than enemy pirates.

It seemed the only way to dislodge the Raiders was to go into the fields after them and at least one person was happy enough to oblige. Leaping into the fray with her biotics flaring, Jack landed within enemy lines. Before the wave of dirt she had kicked up had even settled, she began bombarding the Raiders with biotic blasts. Shockwaves that broke apart their squads, sending several jackals flying. One taking aim at her with a rifle was sent hurtling through the air from a biotic throw. Another hid behind his shield, but Jack simply pulled him over to her and battered his face with a single punch.

"Worthless bird brain little shits," she snarled. "You all should've stayed home tonight!"

She fired off her shotgun in tandem with her powers, trying to overwhelm the Raider squads. However, the deeper she pushed, the more Raiders she had to deal with. Soon enough, Jack had gone deep enough to get a little surrounded. Armed with energy cutlasses, Raiders poured out of the dark, trying to cut the powerful biotic down to size.

Jack had been in scrapes where she had been outnumbered before. This was no different than those times. Even if she couldn't use her powers at every opportunity, she still had her fists and her feet. All of which were as good as any biotic attack, provided she could get close enough. One of the Raiders came from behind her, but she delivered a kick square to his beak before he even managed to swing his blade. Her side was left open somewhat and she quickly fired her shotgun to blow apart one of the Raiders. A third she turned to a bit too late and was forced fall backwards, away from his slash. She used her biotics to send a forceful punch that knocked him back. A fourth Raider came at her, she rolled out of the way of his strike, but didn't get a chance to kill him. A bullet struck him in the face, taking him down. Two more bullets shot the Raiders that were coming up behind him.

"I have you, Jack," Thane's voice came in through the comm-link. "Keep pushing."

Normally, Jack would've said that she had things under control. That Thane wasn't needed. That she didn't need his help. She would've expected him to tell her to fall back, or not put herself in danger or scold her for taking some damn initiative, as if she couldn't take care of herself. He didn't say any of that though and for that alone she saw no reason to reply.

Besides, the assistance was not unwanted.

"Just keep them away from me while I focus on tearing the rest of them apart," she told Thane.

Jack kept pushing, but her actions did have some consequences. To make up for her counter-offensive hitting their squads hard, a few of the Raiders moved to the flank and tried to hit the defenders from the side. They ran into a few Marines and Colonists holding the lines among the greenhouses, gardens and equipment sheds near the barn. Haverson was among them, using his service pistol to hold the Raiders off. He managed to take out one of the Raiders by hitting the alien's legs as he moved up with his shield. took a few shots to land a hit, but he managed.

"I want to do some field work, sir," he mumbled to himself as he reloaded. "I hate being on desk duty, sir. I'd like to volunteer for some more high-profile operations, sir. God I wish I could slap younger me right now. Beats working in the mail room, I guess."

He fired off a few more shots using the Pistol's scope. Three managed to hit the trigger fingers of one raider through his shield's gun port, and then his chest and head in quick succession. Pretty textbook takedown, but he had not brought nearly enough clips for all of these guys to keep making those shots. He turned to the Marines.

"Don't give them a path through," he ordered. "Bunch them up and then move to intercept! We hold them here!"

Rushing beside him suddenly came Maisey, firing off an old rifle at the Raiders as her fellow colonists moved among the Marines to assist them. Their weapons were older, civilian made models, but they still did the trick.

"I put some sharpshooters in the Barn's loft," she told him. "They're going to whittle them down for us. We just need to spot them and call them out."

"Where's your Chief of Security?" Haverson asked her.

"Brant is up on the pallisades of the Colony," Maisey explained. "As well as coordinating his officers from there. He's suggested bringing out the Cyclops suits, thoughts?"

Haverson looked at her a little confused.

"Are you asking my permission if you can use them to defend the colony?" He questioned, a perched brow on his face.

"I don't need your permission," Maisey stated firmly. "I'm asking because it seems the respectable thing to do, what with them being such a sticking point for you. That and I haven't fought these people before, I wouldn't mind an opinion."

Haverson gave it some thought, he figured he owed Maisey that much since she was being a lot more formal than usual.

"Right now we don't know the full scope of their attack," Haverson explained. "Hold off for now, they could have something waiting in the wings. We shouldn't play all our cards just yet."

"Fair point," Maisey agreed. "But the way things are going we might have to."

Maisey spotted something in the distance and pushed Haverson back into cover. She then fired a clean two shots that took down a Raider who had sneaked on top of an equipment shack and had been taking aim at some Marines.

"Just saying, these aren't the typical crows you'd find menacing your corn," she said. "They might require a different kind of scarecrow, if you will."

A bit of humor, perhaps she was softening a little. Perhaps seeing the Marines fight beside her Colonists had eased the tension a little, convinced her of their intentions somewhat. Or she just didn't want to raise any ire right now with her people's harvest at stake. For now, Haverson would just accept she was being more amicable.

The tide was seemingly turning in their favor despite the all the setbacks. The Raiders were becoming disorganized and Jack's push was soon getting more assistance than just Thane's sniping skills. Shepard had moved into the fields with Grunt and Johnson, leading a team of Marines. They walked among the crops, or what remained after all the shooting anyway, and kept scanning around for potential Raider squads in the dark.

Grunt believed he spotted one and fired a concussive shot at one. The blast knocked down one of the shielded raiders and others quickly opened. Luckily, a few of Zek's pirates were with them, acting as portable cover with their own shields and protected the team. Shepard returned fire with his assault rifle before sending a Biotic Shockwave rippling through their ranks. Before long, the Raiders pulled back.

"We got them running scared," Johnson laughed. "They might be craftier than the Covenant, but they're still just pirates."

One of the Jackals with them snarled a little.

"Uh, no offense," Johnson quickly added.

"Let's not underestimate them," Shepard warned. "Snarlbeak's people aren't your average outlaws. That much is clear from this attack. We need our Main Camp's reinforcements ASAP before his gets worse."

Their attention was caught when they heard a low rumble off to the side of them. Johnson recognized the sound.

"I think worse is here, sir," he reported.

Red concussive plasma blasts rocked the field. Marines and Zek's Pirates ran for cover, as did Shepard and Grunt. Despite the bombardment of plasma, they got to the edge of the field. There, they saw three shapes cresting along the plains before them. A pair of Revenants, highly modified from the looks of things and one support vehicle with a mounted plasma repeating turret on top.

"A Spectre," Johnson observed. "They brought in some decent heavy hitters."

The Spectre opened up with its turret on the friendly lines, forcing their people into cover. They also went after the Marine Outpost close to the farms, the Revenants opening up with fresh salvos on the area.

"We got to get rid of those vehicles," Shepard stated. "They're going to tear us apart otherwise!"

"Marines! We need to get to the outpost!" Johnson ordered. "Secure heavy ordinance and take those bastards down!"

The Marines acknowledged and Shepard followed them. These Raiders were hitting them hard, pinning them down. Shepard just hoped Kasumi, Zek and Retz had made it to Varvok in time. If it was this bad for them over here, how bad could it be for his small team of batarians?

---

Varvok's perch in the silo gave him a good view of every Raider coming at them. However, after a few solid kills, they had pinpointed his position. Now their own sharpshooters were raining fire at him, needles to be precise. His men were in a similar situation down below, hiding in their own cover. Every now and then someone popped up to fire back and then, just as quickly, was reminded why they were hiding to begin with as plasma bolts nearly scorched them. Their brief bursts of fire, however, Gave Varvok a small opening with his Kishock Harpoon Gun.

He fired a quick pair of shots off, hitting two of the Raiders with clean headshots. They dropped down and, soon enough, Varvok was back in cover as needles cascaded onto his silo. The batarian reloaded his weapon in the meantime, hoping he'd be able to make another shot again and soon. These Raiders were taking a toll on his thermal clip supply.

As he prepared to take aim again, though one of the sharpshooters was smacked down from behind. The strike had come from Kasumi, her cloak dropping alongside her foe. A series of plasma bolts flew out of the field and killed another Raider while Kasumi fired on a third. By the time Retz came running out of the stalks, the last of the enemy Jackals had taken off into the crops.

"Bout time," Varvok shouted down to them. "What kept ya?"

"There's a lot of crap going on right now," Retz reminded him. "Give us a bit of a break here."

"Yeah, there's a bit of a war on and everything," Kasumi noted. "You know, like usual. Also, it's really dark out there save for the muzzle flashes and plasma bolts."

Varvok eyed both of them recalling that Shepard was sending more than just them.

"Where's Zek?" He asked.

"We don't know," Retz explained, his tone rather anxious. "We got ambushed out there and he tried to hold them off. He said he was right behind us and then..."

Zek was many things, but Varvok never knew him to bail on a mission for no good reason. When he was on the clock, he at least attempted to maintain an aura of professionalism. So he was either lost or in worse trouble.

---

Zek used his shield to block the incoming blows from Lurz's blade. After a quick series of slashes, Zek bunted the Ibie'shan in the face and then locked his machete with Lurz's cutlass before the brute could counter. The snarling teeth of his opponent snapped in his face, rage in his eyes.

"I'll spare a comment on the swamp breath for now," Zek grunted. "Cause really, a few things are running through my head and I need some proper answers."

Lurz kicked Zek away. The pirate leader tumbled over the soil, but recovered before Lurz could deliver a direct blow. The Ibie'shan hacked and slashed, cutting down the corn around him as he tried to catch Zek. The pirate rolled away from the furious series of cuts, barely escaping with his head. Scrambling to his feet, Zek kept his machete to his front as Lurz advanced.

"See, something was bothering me from the moment you sprung your little raid," he said as he kept his eyes alternating between the Ibie's feet and hands. "Why start shooting and blow your cover? Why try sneaking through the fields? You had to have been watching for a good while now, you'd know it was heavily defended. It's not an optimal sneaking route."

Lurz lunged, forcing Zek to hold his shield up high and spin left. Lurz's blade caught his shield and the Ibie bounced off and away. Not that it mattered. Like some kind of jungle cat, the musclebound lizard-bird had already turned to face Zek again. He has surprising reflexes for being so much bigger than the average kig-yar.

"And those are heavy support vehicles blasting up the area right now," Zek continued speaking, refusing to stop his train of thought mid-fight. "I can hear them tearing it up out there clearly enough. You might as well have just used them to bust the front gate open and pour in through there. Why hold off on them as long as you did? Why call them in so late? I doubt Snarlbeak hired you for your smarts, but you don't strike me as that stupid."

Lurz rushed at him, slashing close and fast. Zek bobbed and weaved from the various slices. He moved to the side and smacked the Ibie with his Shield. He tried to slash at the brute, but Lurz was quick to counter. He punched Zek in the face and the pirate leader stumbled back. The blow wasn't strong enough to knock him off his deduction game though.

"Unless, you already knew this wasn't a good way to sneak in," he reasoned quickly. "But it's also a vital part of the colony. You knew they'd defend it with everything they had if it looked like it was about to fall. Moreso if you brought in the heavy guns all of a sudden. So why would you do that? Why would you go after the fields knowing you'd get stuck and knowing you'd bring every humie with a gun down on your ass?"

Lurz stopped his approach for a moment and just grinned. And in that second, Zek knew what was happening. His attempt at banter faded, replaced with a grim realization.

"Because if everyone with a gun runs over here to stop you, that leaves fewer guns everywhere else," he slowly concluded. "Which means you have a straight shot at sneaking into..."

Zek looked up to the towering Forerunner Facility.

"Oh fuck," he said.

Lurz lunged and Zek dropped down to turtle under his shield. Lurz landed on him with a thud Zek pushed him off into the dirt. He then quickly got on his omni-tool's comm.

"Shep! Shep! It's a trick! A double cross! A fucking fake out! They're after the-"

Lurz grabbed Zek's break from behind and held it shut. The pirate dropped his plasma machete as he was wrenched from the ground and held Zek up over Lurz's head. The brutish Ibie'shan ripped Zek's omni-tool's powersource out of his gauntlet in one swift motion.

"No more talk," he snarled.

Zek agreed and reached down to his boot with his free hand and grabbed at a small blade he kept there. He could feel Lurz crushing his beak with every second, so he acted fast. He slashed at Lurz's shoulder tendon, forcing him to pull on his hands away. Zek then kicked Lurz in the face, causing the Ibie'shan to drop him. Zek gasped for breath as he crawled for his plasma machete. He ignited it just in time to stop a wild chop from Lurz's blade.

"Take the relic," Lurz spat. "Then skin you all."

"Tempting offer," Zek winced. "Does the fact your breath smells like rotting swampchomp carcasses help you in the negotiation room often?"

Zek swung his other hand into Lurz's face to get the Ibie off of him. It was a brief enough reprieve to allow him to get up onto his two feet again.

"See, questions answered," he groaned, feeling at his sore beak. "Now I'm gonna talk shit about the fucking bog you backwoods dipshits live in all night!"

Lurz rushed in hard, clashing his sword with Zek's over and over. But now Zek knew this was a distraction. Taq and the rest of the brain trust team were in danger. He had to get to Shepard, or McKay, even Haverson if he had to, and warn them before it was too late.

---

Tali's hands fidgeted constantly as she paced about the room. They hovered over her holster and then her omni-tool and then back to her holster in a cycle of anxiety. It was impossible for her to stay still. Frankly, it was getting on everyone's nerves.

"That is not helping anyone right now," Taq told her, as she continued making adjustments to her tools. "Aren't you supposed to be getting the plasma cutter working?"

"It's hard to focus on that when there's a battle going on literally just outside," Tali explained. "I should be there helping them, me and Legion."

"Were you like this when Shepard didn't take you on missions?" Taq asked.

"That's different, there's not much you can do from orbit," Tali explained. "I'm groundside right now, Legion and I should be over there."

"Tali, don't worry, the others got it covered," Rowan assured her. "Brant, Maisey and Asha are over there and they're basically the toughest fighters I know. Plus Zara is likely trying to scramble over everyone to kill anything that even looks near the vicinity of her private garden. Sweet lady, vicious undercurrent, rarely see it myself, but it's there."

Tali sighed at that, although her legs remained jumpy even as her hands eased up.

"It's not that I don't have faith in them, Rowan," she explained. "Shepard is there and so are a lot of the others. They'll be fine, but I still hate being so close and not being able to help."

"I hear ya, Tali," Caleb stated, looking up from his work on a terminal. "But we need to keep doing our work. The best thing for this colony in the long run is getting the defenses online to protect us from these Raiders as well as removing their much-vaunted prize from the planet altogether."

"Yes, my thoughts exactly," Taq agreed. "Admittedly because I want my relic more than most things, but all that other stuff is true too. So at least tell me the Plasma Cutter you've rigged up is ready to go."

Tali supposed they were right, so she got back to business.

"I think it will be good to go," she stated. "I just want to do a few more tests. It's a very delicate piece of jury-rigged machinery. Last thing we want is for it to explode in our faces and set us back to square one."

"I think we'll have bigger problems at that point should it come to that," Rowan noted. "Namely, our face meat melting off and everything."

"I would prefer that not to happen," Taq agreed. "How soon can we get these tests running?"

It was then Halsey suddenly rushed over to them from her section, her personal wrist computer opened and a growing expression of concern on her face.

"We might have to delay that test further," she stated. "We have a problem."

She held up her computer's screen to the others. It was showing a live feed of the front entrance to the Forerunner Facility. Two squads worth of Jackals, all dressed in black armor were rushing through door, heading into the complex. They were all well-armed and looked nothing like Zek's people, which Taq confirmed.

"I don't know anyone from the Serpent that looks like that," she said. "Zek doesn't waste money on stolen special ops gear."

"Then the Raiders got in," Tali reasoned. "How?"

"They probably used the cover of the gun fight to sneak in over the wall another way," Caleb suggested. "Sneaky little turkeys, no offense Taq."

"Fuck them, they want my relic, call them whatever you want," Taq snarled.

Caleb nodded in response, but Tali brought up another important question to mind.

"How are you getting this feed anyway?" Tali asked Halsey.

"I installed some cameras earlier to keep an eye on the only way in or out of this place," the good doctor explained. "I don't like not having eyes in the back of my head, I've been at ONI long enough to know that's just asking for trouble."

"At least they can't get at the Relic," Caleb offered. "They'll run into a dead end eventually, just like we did."

"But if the Spartans lift the lockdown they'll be just as close as we are," Rowan reasoned. "And probably use a lot less discretion."

"Even if they can't get to the relic, they could wreak havoc while inside this place," Halsey warned. "If they aren't all eliminated, they'll find a place in here to hide until they can accomplish their mission. Worse, they might kill us and steal our equipment to finish the job, if they don't have their own tools handy."

"The damage they could cause to the facility in the meantime could make it harder to get the defenses online," Caleb reasoned. "You're right, they're too dangerous to just ignore. But how are we going to track them down?"

"Hacking into the security scanners for the complex should allow us to pinpoint their position within the facility," Legion offered. "However, we advise caution. Hostile element are clearly better armed and more capable in this combat scenario."

"Outgunned we may be, but we are not outsmarted," Halsey declared. "We've been in this complex long enough to become familiar with all its in and outs. We have the homefield advantage here. We can use it to our benefit."

Tali unfurled her shotgun and loaded a fresh thermal clip.

"Looks like the fight has come to us then. So what's the plan?" She asked.

"As Legion said, first we pinpoint the Raider Teams," Halsey devised. "Then we hunt them down and use the facility's own defenses, as well as our technical skills to outwit them. This place has been a pain in our necks for a few days now, time it started playing by our rules."

Tali agreed and her eyes soon fell in the plasma cutter they had building.

"Maybe we shouldn't hold off on our testing phase after all then," she said, a devious smirk in her eyes. "Maybe we just got a better opportunity."

They all looked at the plasma cutter and instantly realized what the quarian was suggesting. Rowan grabbed her blowtorch, a wrench and dropped her welding helmet down on her face.

"Ho, ho, this is gonna be fun," she said cackling. "Not for them though, just mostly us. Entirely us."

---

Master Chief kept firing as he backed into the chamber. Sentinels fell under the hail of bullets from his assault rifle, clogging the hallway with their wreckage. Once he was inside, Kat locked the door back up.

"You know they'll just take the vents," Anton reminded her.

"It gives us a little time at least," Kat told him.

They were now in the central node of the offsite. A single terminal, similar to the one Chief and Cortana encountered on Halo when they were searching for the Silent Cartographer, stood before them. A floating holographic representation of the massive Forerunner Lab complex floated above the console. A number of doors, pathways and entry points were marked in red, likely indicating they were locked down. Chief wasted no time in rushing over to the terminal and inserting Cortana into the system. The AI soon appeared before them all.

"Okay, good news, I can get the codes to terminate the lockdown," she reported. "It is going to take a bit of time though. I need to usurp the admin protocols to gain access to the sequence."

"I'm sensing bad news," Kelly observed.

"Yeah, I'm linked to the Security System for the Offsite," Cortana reported. "The big guy is on his way, as in... seconds."

Chief quickly switched into action mode, readying his assault rifle and turning to his Spartans.

"Seconds is enough, we have the drop on it," he claimed. "Fan out across the room. If we can get behind him, that shield it has won't matter. We take it down hard and fast, do not give it room to breathe. Move!"

The Spartans did as ordered, running to cover where they could find it. Linda and Jun took up opposite positions within the room, and took aim through the sniper rifles' scopes. The others prepared as well, watching and listening for any sign of the giant machine hunting them. It was then one of the larger vent hatches in the ceiling opened wide. Drifting down from above, like a foreboding angel of death, appeared the giant sentinel. Its sensors scanned the room, while its offensive systems shifted into stand-by. This time though, it would not get to shoot first.

The Master Chief jumped up from cover, firing his assault rifle into the Sentinel's shields. The bullets bounced off of course, but it didn't matter. It focused its attention on him, ignoring its surroundings. As a result, it gave the others the opening they needed as the Sentinel returned fire. Chief was forced into cover, but as the Sentinel swooped low to the ground, a pair of grenades landed beneath it. The two consecutive blasts sent a ball of flames of and shrapnel up into its underbelly.

"Take it! Take it now!" Chief ordered, using the explosion to renew his own assault and keep the machine's attention on him.

Jun and Linda targeted the laser cannons on either side of the Sentinel. The shield did not cover the robot's flank, leaving it vulnerable while it faced Chief. The armor piercing rounds dug deep into the machine's systems, disrupting its stream of fire. That's when the Sentinel broke out the missiles and started firing them in every direction.

The projectiles raced at Linda and Jun at dizzying speed, swarming about the room like hornets. Linda rolled out of cover to safety, while Jun ran to a more stable piece of machinery. However, now distracted in three different directions, the Sentinel didn't spot Anton and Fred coming up from behind. Fred circled the machine's flank, blasting away with his Battle Rifle, taking aim at the central processor which he assumed was the closest thing to the robot's head. Anton took the low road, sliding under the machine in the middle of a run and firing up into it with a shotgun. The machine buckled as flames and sparks exploded out of its shell. It was far from finished though. It locked onto Anton, firing at the Spartan with its repeating lasers as he scrambled to reach cover.

In the middle of its attack, however, it took a devastating electrical shock to its systems. Kat had gotten into position to fire an overload attack that seemed to affect the robot immensely. Kelly, currently standing beside her, took a careful look at the Sentinel's shields in this moment and noticed they had changed color from blue to red.

"I think its defenses are weakening," Kelly said. "Hit it again!"

"Way ahead of you!" Kat assured.

She fired a blast from the Sentinel Laser Weapon she had ripped out earlier. The burning energy seared the shields of the giant forerunner machine, draining what was left of the robot's shields. They stuttered for a moment and then died as the laser cut deep into its side. Unfortunately, that was when Kat's souvenir lost power as well.

"Back to basics," Kat said, pulling out her pistol. "Shoot it in the head!"

"Assuming you can call it a head," Kelly stated. "But that sounds like an effective strategy!"

She pulled out her own pistol and started shooting at the Sentinel, filling it full of bullets before it could even make a move. They advanced slowly, spreading out as they took careful aim. When they ran out of bullets, they quickly inserted a fresh clip, while the other continued shooting. The central processor was soon fairly shredded and the other Spartans began to pour it on as well.

Chief made the finishing blow, he pulled out a grenade and tossed it up at the Sentinel. It landed on top of the machine and exploded moments later. The blast ripped the upper part of the robot wide open and it soon began to waver. A second later, light left its eyes, it collapsed to the floor as it exploded into pieces. The Spartans made for cover as debris scattered across the room, shielding their eyes from the light of the flames. And then, it was over, their hunter was dead.

In that moment, Cortana appeared back on the console, looking relieved. Chief was quick to join her as she reported in.

"I got it!" She declared. "I sent the codes! The lockdown at the facility should be lifting!"

"What about the hundreds of the little bots whose big brother we just killed?" Anton asked, rushing over to the AI and Spartan leader's position.

"Once the lockdown codes went out, I was granted access to implement a stand-down order for the Sentinels," Cortana explained. "It should be kicking in now. Best news of all though, I've located the kill switch for whatever was creating that dead zone. Try contacting Efren, tell him we're done here."

Chief was happy to oblige, turning on the comms himself.

"Efren, we've sent the codes to terminate the lockdown and shut off the dead zone generator," he reported. "How's everything out there?"

"Bout time you reported in," Efren said with an anxious snarl. "I've been trying to contact you for the past hour. I can't reach the Colony, no one is answering."

"It might have been the Dead Zone," Kat told him, joining the comm chat. "Try again."

"I already did, I moved back a ways into the jungle, closer to where we last made contact with the Colony," he explained. "No one is answering, something is wrong."

It wasn't like Shepard to not answer, not when a mission was so important like this one was. Efren was right to be worried, something was wrong. He imagined it was what they had feared.

"Cortana, can you link up a communication feed from the Colony to us from here?" He asked the AI.

"Working on it," she said. "Accessing long range communication hubs, connecting to the old Forerunner network... ok, got something."

A moment later, her eyes went wide.

"Oh crap, I'm getting a lot of panicked chatter from Marines over our channels, Chief," she told him. "They're under attack, right now."

"And we're a two-days hike away from them," Fred snarled in frustration. "Crap, what do we do now?"

Chief knew that was the wrong question. What could they do? Nothing. The real question was, could they could get back in time before the Colony was overrun? Something for all they knew was highly unlikely. All he knew was that they needed to return to New Teteocan fast, before it was too late.

---

The unggoy had all fled to the Marines' Camp close to the Farm. They figured if they'd be safe anywhere, it would be where most of the guns were kept. Most of them had been taken by the Marines and ODSTs once the shooting had started though, leaving only a few spare rifles and pistols behind. The same was true of the Covenant weapons stored in the area as well. The kig-yar had taken most of them. Still, it was as good a place as any to hold out until the shooting stopped. There were at least a few Marines there guarding the place.

Then the enemy vehicles showed up and began bombarding the whole area. The unggoy either jumped into foxholes or dug their own with their hands to escape the cascade of plasma fire. Clutching their plasma pistols and needlers tightly, they tried to keep calm as the explosions rained around them. They had been promised no forced combat missions, that these fields would be easy. They had been so proud of themselves convincing the pirates to give them better living conditions, wages and allowed to take better weapons with them just in case something went wrong. They thought they had played the kig-yar at their own game. Now they were stuck in another war zone and the memories of their far worse servitude were flooding back.

They weren't the only non-humans there though. Not long after the hostile vehicles arrived, they took notice of someone else rummaging around the area. Another kig-yar in fact, Boz the Pirate morale officer with that very loud radio show. He was here and he looked frantic. He had a bodyguard of course, one of the pirates' sharpshooters, Keth. Currently, he was crouching beside him, taking pot shots at the vehicles as they strafed the area. At the same time, Boz was searching through every box, ammo crate and storage bin for something. Most likely a gun, given the fact he seemed to have none of his own.

"Can you stop shooting for a second?" Boz asked Keth. "They're going to zero us in!"

"They're overshooting," Keth claimed. "We're fine! I need to knock out their drivers and stop them dead before we're dead! That's the only way any of us live through this!"

"Can you at least wait until I find something that can shoot back already?!" Boz asked panicking.

"Why didn't you bring your plasma pistol?" Keth asked in kind, sounding rather annoyed.

"I didn't think we'd be under attack the same day I decided to visit!" Boz screamed back. "I was trying to make a good first impression by coming unarmed! If I knew this would've happened, I'd have taken a freakin' rocket launcher from the human armory!"

"Can you even carry that plus that transmission box on your back?" Keth asked.

"I don't care, I'd find a way! Anything is better than being on a battlefield practically naked!" Boz screamed aloud. "Where the hell are all the boomsticks already?!"

The majority had probably all been grabbed by the humans, thought some of the unggoy. Although a few of them had grabbed some of the spare guns when they first got here. They wondered how mad or grateful Boz would be if they went over to give him something to shoot back with. Knowing kig-yar, even Boz, probably a mixture of both.

Not that it would seem to matter as, with the way things were going, chances are a pistol or shotgun would just hold off the inevitable massacre. The bombardment of plasma was inching closer to their position and Keth couldn't seem to get a decent hit on anyone. Whoever was operating those vehicles was clearly a better driver than most would give a kig-yar credit for. If only Keth could just get a decent shot off, maybe he could take out a gunner or something.

That was when one of the unggoy got and idea. His plasma pistol clutched in hand, he crawled out of his foxhole. One of his friends tried to stop him of course.

"No, Smuy! Stay! Safe here!"

For whatever reason, Smuy didn't stay. Most unorthodox for a unggoy. Maybe it was because he didn't feel like waiting in a hole to die. Maybe he just wanted to get one over on the kig-yar by saving their asses for once. Maybe the constant shooting all around them drove him to take action. Whether it was bravery, stupidity or a combination of both, Smuy leapt from his hole and ran over to Boz and Keth.

Both kig-yar watched as the little gas sucker charged his plasma pistol, aiming it down the range. He fired an overcharged bolt that flew across the grassland and slammed into the Spectre. The engine for the raiding vehicle died with a sputter, as the Electromagnetic pulse of the bolt killed it for a few fleeting moments. It wasn't much, but it was all Keth needed. The Spectre had also stopped in a way that gave the pirate marksman a clear shot at their gunner. He quickly took aim and fired a full burst of his Needle Rifle. The Spectre's gunner took three clean hits and exploded in a fine pink mist, ending the barrage of plasma fire that was striking their position from that vehicle at least.

"That was a decent enough shot," Keth said. "For an unggoy anyway."

Smuy didn't respond as a blast from one of the Revenants kicked dust in all their faces. The defenders were forced to go to ground as red explosive plasma bursts exploded near them. Boz ducked low and tried to crawl for safety when he spotted one of the Unggoy. He was jumping out of his foxhole ever so slightly, holding something in his hand. When the gas sucker was sure the kig-yar saw him, he tossed it over to the pirate DJ. It was a pistol, a human one to be exact. Not perfect, but at least it was something and, to Boz's credit, he was not ungrateful.

"Thank you, thank you!" He shouted graciously, grabbing the gun. "If you weren't an ugly little spud, I'd kiss ya!"

Boz took up the weapon, and probably just in time. The renewed bombardment was not what it appeared to be. The Revenants weren't trying to take out the Marine Outpost, they were trying to give cover to a small group of their fellow Raiders. They rushed up the small incline, into the encampment. Marines still stationed there fought back. As did a few unggoy who bothered to poke their heads out of cover. So did Keth and any other kig-yar from the Fallen Serpent who were nearby. However, the close proximity of attackers to the defenders soon led to a bloody brawl.

Marines smashed their rifle butts into the faces of the Raiders, otherwise they used shovels. Zek's pirates used their shields in tandem with their guns to engage in close quarters. An unggoy lucky enough to have a shotgun managed to blow the legs out from under one of the raiders as he charged his foxhole. Boz was soon in the thick of it, with his transmission equipment blaring music like mad as the fighting escalated. It was probably something from "Sepultra", he couldn't be sure as he had forgotten his play schedule in all the craziness. That and the fact there were at least three raiders coming at him.

He pulled up his gun and took aim, firing two quick shots into the torso of the raiders. He stumbled forward enough for Boz to strike him in the side of the head with the pistol and shoot him once more as he fell to the ground. The second guy, slammed into Boz with his shield, roaring at the DJ as he pushed him backwards. Boz managed to kick beneath the shield and hit the bastard in the knee. That gave him a chance to spin himself off the shield and get behind the raider, where he proceeded to fill his attacker full of lead. The third raider tried shooting at him with dual plasma pistols, forcing Boz to run. He managed to get behind an ammo crate before one of the bolts could catch him. The Raider charged in to flank Boz, only to get a fistful of dirt in his face for rushing in. Boz then fired two clean shots into the Raider's skull.

"Rock N' Fucking Roll, Asshole!" Boz screamed. "That's right! You don't fuck with the buzzard! The buzzard fucks you! Ha ha!"

Boz was riding on his success for about two more seconds, before one of the Revenants crested the incline for the outpost. The raider riding shotgun pointed his rifle at him and grinned evilly. Boz could only gulp as he looked for an exit. Before his assailant could fire though, something smashed into the side of the Revenant and sent it flying into the air. The mangled mess of a vehicle crashed down a few feet away and Boz looked up to see who his savior was.

It was a giant mech suit, one of the Cyclops Exoskeletons he had heard about. Sitting in the driver's seat was none other than Brant, New Teteocan's top cop, or Chief of Security as he went by. Boz had been wondering where he was, since most of his men were out here. He didn't sound like the guy who fought from behind a wall.

"Get back into cover!" He shouted at everyone. "I got this!"

He rushed out into the field, his mech's footsteps causing the earth to tremble with every stomp. The remaining Revenant tried to fire on him, but its blast barely phased Brant's charge. The burst hit the soil to his right and the Cyclops just kept coming. He brought a massive metal fist down on the Revenant, crushing it in one swift action.

The Raiders abandoned the vehicle, as the Spectre gained a new gunner. He fired on the Cyclops, hitting Brant in the side. The armor was still sturdy enough to take the repeated plasma bolts, but Brant could not absorb the fire forever. He grabbed the remains of the Revenant with both of the exoskeleton's massive hands. He tossed the whole wreck into the Spectre, causing the Gunner to spin out. The barrage slowed. Brant charged in like a football player. He slammed into the Spectre with a full burst of speed, causing it to tip over onto its side. He then put his foot through, just to take it out of action completely.

Within a few seconds, Brant had destroyed the Raiders' ground-based fire support and left them without their heaviest artillery. Already, those who had managed to breach the defensive perimeter started to fall back. A number of ODSTs, as well as Commander Shepard and his group, moved in to regroup with Brant near the Marines' outpost.

"We got them on the run," Brant reported. "See, what did I tell you? These suits were a good investment."

"Right now that's beside point," Shepard told him. "But I'm glad you brought this one out of storage. We need to start pushing them out of the fields while we still have this momentum."

That was when Shepard's comm-channel lit up. If his omni-tool was right, it was from Tali. He quickly took the call.

"Tali, what's wrong?" He asked.

The others nearby didn't hear what the quarian was reporting, but from the way Shepard was looking back at the Colony with wide eyes, it was clearly nothing good.

---

Taq opted to stay in the main security room to be the eyes and ears of the group. She had holographic displays detailing the positions of everyone inside the facility. That meant her fellow smarty pants and the Raiders moving through the complex. They had been forced to move quickly to set their plan into motion, however Taq had not expected a bit of good news among the bad.

As she was sitting alone, she saw the constant red glare of some of the panels fade away. They turned to a calming blue and flashed a few symbols. Then she saw a number of doors within the facility being marked as unlocked. All the way up to the top security levels near the center of the massive ancient lab, which remained locked as Taq had expected.

This was both incredible news, the Spartans had succeeded and her relic was now in reach, and also bad because these Raiders were inside and looking for the same damn artifact that she wanted. She quickly notified the team.

"Okay, guys, the Spartans pulled it off it seems," she reported. "Every door below top level access has just opened," she reported over the comm. "Which means, our new friends can go anywhere they want now, up until the top levels of course."

"It's not like they can get inside," Tali stated.

"No, but do you want them lurking around here and possibly trying to get at the relic anyway with whatever they're carrying?" Taq asked. "Because I promise you, they will damage systems and, just as likely, set something off that they shouldn't that will make our lives harder."

"Plus in this maze of corridors we could lose them," Halsey warned. "We can't let them find a place to hole up in. We need to take them down."

The plan hadn't changed, but they needed to work fast. Taq looked back to her other screens, the ones detailing where the Raider teams were.

"Okay, we have one group headed towards your section, Tali and Rowan," she warned. "There's a good number, so don't draw it out. Make your hit and run, draw them in."

---

"Don't worry, Taq," Tali assured. "We have this."

The quarian looked to Rowan, her welding mask already down and her fingers on her control pad. It hadn't been easy to set everything up on such short notice, but there was at least one thing that didn't need advanced preparation. As the jackal raiders, currently trying to hack the door blocking their path would soon discover. When Rowan was ready, Tali remotely unlocked the door. The Raider Squad was shocked to find the quarian and human just standing there, which was entirely the point because it took their eyes off the corner of the doorway.

"Eat burning plasma, ya stinking crusty cockatoos!" Rowan shouted, pressing down on her controls.

Before any of the Jackals could prepare for it, the plasma cutter resting just out of sight let loose a powerful jet of flame as it moved into the Raiders' path. The torch scorched the eyes of the nearest, most careless of the Raiders. It set another's torso ablaze as the cutter's arm swung low. A third Jackal avoided getting injured, but only because he used his shield to block the flame. The consequence of which damaged his shield gauntlet's emitter and shorted it out.

That was enough damage for the moment, Rowan pulled the plasma cutter out, driving it away from the Raiders as fast as its treads could carry it. She and Tali then pulled out, as the Raiders chased after them, shooting at them as they did. Tali fired back, if only to give her and Rowan some space to keep running while also making sure these pirates would keep up the chase.

They rounded the next corner and splashed through some spilled coolant on the floor. As expected, the Raiders were too focused on them to worry about slipping on anything. Which one did, but slapstick antics were hardly the extent of this trap. Rowan activated a nearby terminal, causing power to surge through the exposed wires that were touching the coolant. The electricity struck the Raiders standing in the coolant. One of the Raiders shot the terminal creating the surge, which did shut the power off, but not quick enough to save some of their squad.

By now, Tali and Rowan had pulled ahead, but too far. They still needed to draw them further in along the path they wanted. Although they suspected the Raiders would be smart enough to figure that out eventually. However, not soon enough as they were still blinded by their desire for some payback. Luckily, they had some spare fuel on hand for some generators they had brought in to assist with extra lighting in here. Otherwise, they wouldn't have had what they needed for their next trap.

As the Raiders ran to catch up with Tali and Rowan, the young human engineer put the flame of the Plasma Cutter to the floor. Where it ignited the fuel they had spilled on the ground, travelling along a small path to set fire to a whole puddle of the stuff laying just around the corner they had passed by. The Raiders were already running through it when the fire started, torching another of their number.

The flames gave Rowan and Tali a bit more time to get further down the corridor. By now the Jackals had to be a bit more wary to follow after them so closely. As predicted, they tried to keep their distance as they followed after them. They kept shooting of course, but they weren't as eager to close in on them. They took their time in pursuing them. Tali and Rowan ducked into an alcove as the plasma bolts struck their cover.

"Are they close?" Tali asked Rowan, readying her Omni-Tool.

Rowan peeked out briefly before pulling her head back in.

"Two seconds," she assured her.

Tali counted on her fingers, took a breath and then activated a command on her omni-tool. It was synced to a power conduit in the corridor that the Raiders were next to. One that she had jury-rigged to overload. The forthcoming explosion rippled through the assaulting Raiders, tossing them around like ragdolls. Rowan pumped her fist in excitement as she watched the display.

"Ha! We are killing this!" She declared.

Through the smoke appeared more of the Jackals though, firing their weapons at the pair.

"Not killing enough though," Tali stated. "Come on!"

She grabbed Rowan and hurried through a nearby door. However, the pursuing Jackals didn't follow, as Tali discovered when she poked her head back out the doorway. They instead raced through a different hallway instead that split off from their path. Tali quickly contacted Taq.

"They diverted, just as we thought," she reported. "They probably think they're gonna cut us off."

"Zhoc's people are smart, but they're not that clever," Taq laughed. "I have control over the doors there, we're ready to go. Get your little zap ball ready, Tali."

"Got it," Tali replied.

Tali and Rowan headed off towards a nearby vent that, earlier, they had the plasma cutter rip off the cover of. She then activated Chiktikka vas Paus and sent the little combat drone through the vent. She then turned on the feed so they could watch through the little ball's eyes.

"I locked them in," Taq reported to them over the comm. "They're probably freaking out about how the door in front of them just shut closed along with the one behind them. Hit them now."

"Don't worry, Chiktikka has them," Tali assured the brainy Jackal.

The Drone's feed gave them front row seats to the chaos that followed, as Chiktikka rolled through the Raider squad, blasting at them all from close range. She zapped and blasted at the pirates, taking a number of them out.

"So is there anything... special about the name you gave your little drone thing?" Rowan asked as they watched.

"Oh it was a pet of a hero from a quarian fantasy story I loved as a kid," Tali explained. "I always wanted one, but, you know, pets carry contagions and everything which is dangerous for quarians."

"Robot pets are cooler anyway," Rowan shrugged. "You can arm them with mini-rocket launchers and stuff."

"Very true," Tali agreed.

Moments later, Chiktikka was taken out, but it was of little consequence. The Raiders were still stuck for the time being and forced to try and rip through the door. It was up to Legion and Halsey now. Taq could close the doorways and lead the Raider squad right to them. For the moment, Tali and Rowan needed to get back the security room.

---

Delving into the security files had proven to be more useful than for just avoiding setting them off accidentally. Now they knew how they could use it to their benefit. They just needed to be sure it wouldn't turn against them somehow. However, from the sound of things they were almost out of time, as the Jackals would be breaking out of their trap soon enough.

"How are we looking, Legion?" Halsey said as she kept working on the console nearby.

Legion was near a large pedestal of some kind, connected to it via a port.

"Spartans' timing beneficial," they claimed. "Release of lockdown facilitated upload of biometric data into system. All friendly units should register as non-threats. All hostile pirates, not as immune."

"Excellent," Halsey said. "Then all I need to do is set the parameters and activate the thing."

An explosion signified to her that she had to get on that right now. The Raiders were coming right at them now. She had to work feverishly to activate the pedestal now. She had to pick a form for one, as well as figure out how to activate the shielding function. It was close though, and she wasn't sure if she was going to get everything working how she wanted it. As the Raiders came out of the winding halls into the atrium, Halsey decided to call it. She quickly activated the console.

In moments, a Forerunner turret constituted itself onto the pedestal. It charged up, spinning its spindly spires which Halsey presumed were its equivalent of gun barrels or plasma coils. Which proved to be correct, when a strong sustained beam of yellow energy lashed out and blasted one of the Raiders square in the face. The others activated their shielding to defend themselves as the turret kept shooting them, they fired back in response.

Halsey retreated behind the turret with Legion. They needed to fall back to the security room, while these Jackals were distracted. At the same time, Caleb arrived, running hard from an opposite corridor.

"The other group is coming this way," he said. "The terminals I rigged blew, but it didn't take out as many as I hoped. The omni-tool you lent me though is helping. I managed to use its sabotage function to cause a few of their plasma pistols to blow up in their faces."

"Better than nothing," Halsey said. "We need to get back to Taq. There are a few more pedestals we can see about activating near there. Legion, cover us as we pull back."

Legion nodded, bringing out his assault rifle to fire on the Raiders. As he fired, they retreated. They were in the last stand phase now. They had to hold the security room at all costs, at least until the others arrived to assist.

---

"If they are under attack, we need to head back now," Fred insisted. "The more we delay, the longer it's going to take."

"We still have a jungle full of killer predators and, considering what's happening, who knows what else," Kat warned. "We run off into there without a plan, we're going to get into more trouble than its worth. Besides, it will still take us two days to get back there, even if everything goes swimmingly. We need to find a way up to the canopy, radio for a Pelican and get us back as fast as possible."

That did seem to be their only option, at least if they wanted to get back there in time. However, there was a problem with it, one that Chief saw and Jun stated aloud.

"If they're in the middle of a fight, will they be able to send a Pelican our way?" Jun asked. "The Carrier could, but that going to take more time than any transports that are planetside."

"It's still our best option," Kat argued. "Whatever we do, we have to do it quickly. Even assuming Shepard can beat these attackers off, another assault will be in the works before too long."

Chief knew that was true enough, it was the real reason they needed to get back quickly. Shepard and his people could hold off a small probing attack, a raid, even an initial full-fledged assault. A second wave though would be more difficult. They needed to get back quickly, before that happened.

"If its our only option, then we need Efren to lead us to the canopy so we can signal the Justice for a Pelican," Chief declared. "It might take some time, but at least we'll have a quicker means of getting back before dawn."

"Hold on a sec, Chief," Cortana suddenly spoke up, her chip still inside the Forerunner security console. "I think I just found something that could help."

Chief's mind went to a very specific place.

"A Forerunner warp grid like on Halo?" He asked.

"No, not exactly," she confessed. "It was hidden in the blueprints for this place with the lockdown in effect. Now that it's offline and I have full access to this offsite's systems, I was able to locate this."

Cortana revealed a lower level, beneath the one they were on, through the holographic grid display. They could see some kind of station residing there. As well as some sort of shuttle and a track leading away from the facility.

"A tram?" Kelly asked.

"Near as I can tell, it was built for shuttling people away from the main facility in case of an evacuation," Cortana explained. "With the lockdown in place, I couldn't find it, the system blocked me out. And it seems the tram's track was locked down as well. All power was shut off to it, another means of hiding its existence."

"Why do that?" Anton asked. "It's an emergency escape vehicle."

"In practice yes, but it could also be used as a means to sneak into the main facility," Cortana explained. "As long as the lockdown was in place, the backdoor was closed. Now that it's offline..."

"We can use it to get back to the colony quickly," Linda concluded.

"Call Efren," Chief ordered. "Get him down here. We just got lucky, let's not waste it."

Chief pulled Cortana from the console and put her back into his neural interface.

"Okay, I'll guide you to the station," she said. "Keep in mind, this thing acts like a bullet train, so hold onto your lunches."

They followed Cortana's waypoints into the further winding dark beneath the main security terminal. It took a bit of time of course, especially since they were waiting on Efren to make his way down, but they eventually arrived at the station. There, they found the tram, operational and ready to take them back to the main facility. It looked similar in design to other Forerunner constructs, the track was singular rail of light though which was different from most trains.

They all piled inside, Efren included and took their seats where they could.

"It's still going to be a few minutes before we arrive inside the main complex and it will be relatively unfamiliar territory as we previously did not have access to the area," Cortana warned. "Once we're in though, I'll be able to guide you all. I have an extensive layout of the structure at this point."

"Let's just make it fast," Chief said taking up the main controls at the front of the tram. "Where's the go button?"

"That one over there," Cortana pointed out through the hud. "But again, this thing is going to be fast so-"

Chief pushed the button and the tram rocketed down the track of light. The Spartan leader was pushed back into the wall of the control room as it sped along.

"I did warn you, twice," Cortana scolded him.

Chief only responded with a "hmph," if only just because he remembered Cortana was bothered by how often he used it. His main focus though was on getting back and hoping the others had held out even without them being there.

---

It was probably about the third time Lurz headbutted him that Zek was starting to realize that this Ibie'shan was more than just a big burly badass. He was some kind of genetic freak that Zhoc had probably stolen or built in a lab specifically for the purpose of killing people in very brutal ways. That was one theory at least. The other one was that Lurz had some sort of metal plate in his head, or his skull was just that strong. Either way, Zek was starting to feel the fight wearing on him.

The next time Lurz came in, Zek used his shield to block the successive amount of strikes, both from his cutlass and his fists, that Snarlbeak's enforcer laid on him. He then planted himself in the ground and simply let Lurz keep pounding on the shield. His mistake was playing fair, or at least relatively fair in accordance with most pirate rules of combat. Which there weren't many of to begin with actually. They were just there to establish a baseline before things went which ever way the wind blew. Either way, it was time to fight sneaky.

So while Lurz kept pounding him, Zek pulled out a spare Plasma Pistol he had on him. With the Ibie'shan so focused on beating him into the ground like a sign post, Lurz wouldn't notice a quick plasma bolt to his ankle which he had allowed to be exposed. First real rule to win any fight among the kig-yar, ALWAYS bring a gun. Even if you have to strap it to somewhere unpleasant. Lucky for Zek, he decided it was easier to just keep it strapped to his back. A human vid taught him that recently actually.

As Lurz pulled back to hold his leg in pain, Zek took his chance to fight back. He slammed his shield into Lurz's face. Once, twice, three times over, before kicking him in the jaw. The Ibie'shan fell backwards as Zek came at him again with his plasma machete. The blade missed initially as Lurz managed to roll to the side and back onto his feet, but the plasma bolt hit was still affecting him. So Zek feinted one way but struck towards Lurz's side. He sliced a fine hit across Lurz's shoulder before cutting him across the chest.

Zek only realized he had made a mistake seconds later. As the blood pooled from the wounds he made, Lurz's eyes seemed to boil over with rage. Never a good sign with ibie'shans. Zek tried to block the Enforcer's next cutlass strike, but Lurz stepped deep into his stance, knocking the machete away from him. He then delivered a powerful punch across Zek's eye. The Pirate leader tried to aim his spare plasma pistol, only for the gun to pulled away as Lurz grabbed his arm and threw him over his shoulder.

An impressive feat for a guy who was still nursing a gash on said shoulder, Zek had to admit. Before he could even get up, Zek felt the side of his stomach get walloped by an excruciating kick. He tumbled over in the dirt for a few feet, before Lurz grabbed him by his quills and picked him up off the ground. Zek now stared back into the eyes of Snarlbeak's enforcer, closer than anyone would feel comfortable with. He was frothing at the mouth, spittle running down his maw, blood covering his forehead. Some of it was his own, but Zek knew at least little of it belonged to him.

"I take it you are mad," was all the pirate leader could manage to say out of fear. "This is expected really. A lot of people get pissed off with me real fast. It's a gift and a curse."

Zek would've gone for another his stashed energy daggers to stab Lurz in the neck with. But Lurz punched him hard enough in the stomach in the next second that his hands went to hold his bowels instead of where he wanted them to go.

"Rip you!" Lurz screamed.

"Oh good, we're getting into the single syllable words now," Zek sarcastically groaned in pain. "That could only mean good things."

"Tear eyes out!" Lurz screeched. "Pull Skull out!"

"I'd really prefer to keep both of those in," Zek mumbled, trying his hardest to think of anything to stall him while he thought up an escape plan. "Maybe you can just cut off one of my toes or something and we can call it a tie!"

Lurz pointed his thumbs out as he grabbed both sides of Zek's head.

"Okay, one eye!" Zek said frantically. "You can have one eye! How's that working for ya? I get a cool cyborg one out of the deal down the line maybe! It's win-win for all!"

The thumbs of the ibie'shan moved closer to his pupils.

"You're really taking that swamp breath comment harder than I thought, huh?"

Lurz started digging his thumbs into Zek's eye sockets, eliciting screams of pain from the pirate. Lurz roared aloud in gleeful fury as he kept pushing. Zek started kicking wildly, trying to knock the bastard away from him. Nothing seem to be working, until a single shot rang out and Zek found himself getting dropped onto the ground again. As his vision returned, blurred and hampered by a combination of pain and juices he really hoped stayed where they were supposed to, he saw what had saved him. Lurz had taken a grazing plasma burn to his side. Fired from a Beam Rifle if the damage was right. Zek looked back to where it had to have originated and saw Asha, Maisey's kid, aiming through the burnt corn stalks.

Lurz still had fight in him though, he probably would've come at Zek again with his energy cutlass, which he quickly recovered from the ground. However, it was then he heard his fellow Raiders fleeing through the fields and the approach of Marine assault rifles on their tails. From the side, several bullets and plasma bolts were slung out near him. Zek looked to see it was Varvok, Retz and Ms. Goto, all rushing in to converge on Lurz. For as blood crazed as the big guy was, Lurz knew when he was beat. He picked up his weapons, roared one last time at Zek and ran into the darkness.

Zek fell back to lay on the ground, just glad his skin, eyes and skull where all more or less where they were supposed to be. At the same time, Varvok, Retz and Kasumi surrounded him, soon joined by Asha. It was both nice to see them and a bit embarrassing.

"Before you say anything, I was doing well up until the point I wasn't," he claimed.

"Whatever you say, sir," Retz reassured him. "I'm certain you left him with far more egregious scars."

"Can you walk?" Varvok asked, sounding a bit more. "Any major pain?"

"Oh everywhere, honestly," Zek replied. "But I'll get over it and make up a cool story about how I did way better than I actually did. That's standard pirate practice."

He looked over to Asha with a slight grin that was obviously upside down from the human's perspective.

"You saved my tail, thanks," Zek said earnestly. "I'm assuming this means I owe you big time of course."

"I'm just glad for your sake these plasma beam rifles are actually fairly useful," she stated. "And accurate to boot. As for owing me, I'll think about that."

Zek just nodded, smart human this one. Not one to demand, but keeping the option open. Maybe there was hope for this species after all. However, he suddenly remembered the fight was far from over. Even if the Raiders were apparently retreating, not all of them were dead.

"The Lab," he groaned, trying to pick himself up. "They got a second group headed for the Forerunner Lab! We gotta- ow!"

He grabbed the side of his head in pain as Kasumi knelt down beside him.

"Don't worry, Tali sent Shep a message," she assured him. "As soon as the Raiders started turning tail, he and the others headed for the Complex. He's got it covered."

Good to hear, Zek thought. That meant he could focus on finding out if he was internally bleeding or not. Still, he hoped Taq was okay and Shepard would reach her soon.

---

Taq pressed againt the edge of the doorway to the security room. Plasma bolts struck against as an endless shower of burning death. She pointed her needler out the door, firing several bursts at the Raiders. A few clean shots stuck onto one and the resulting explosion took him down. But there were plenty more where he came from.

"You think if we told them their friends just ran they'd give up?" She asked aloud.

"Unlikely," Halsey told her as she worked at a nearby console. "Criminals backed into a corner tend to fight harder."

Tali blasted her shotgun out at one Jackal as he approached with his shield raised. The blasts bounced off of it of course, but she had other methods. Using her sabotage function, she caused the alien's plasma pistol's battery to overheat. The resulting explosion of the gun dropped the Jackal to the ground. Before he could stand, Tali shotgunned him once more for good measure.

"We could use some extra firepower," Tali said aloud.

"On it," Halsey replied. "I just needed another minute, sorry."

She had managed to hack in and activate another of the turrets. The pedestal outside activated and began firing like mad into the Jackal forces with a furious barrage. However, this time it was more accurate, as Halsey was controlling the gun manually. She was using the terminal's screen to see the turret's point of view and draw a bead on the Raiders.

Legion was next to the turret's pedestal, using it as cover as they fired on the Raiders with their sniper rifle. With pinpoint accuracy, the Geth was able to take down a good number of them. The Widow's force was more than enough to knock the kig-yar back onto their backsides, where they became easy prey for the follow up shot. However, the problem was when their own sharpshooters locked onto Legion and started firing at them.

"Assistance required," they asked.

Caleb used the loaned omni-tool's functions to reply to the Geth's request. He sent an incineration blast at the sharpshooters, setting them ablaze with ease. That forced him to drop back into cover as plasma bolts cascaded down on him.

"Shepard told Tali he was on the way, where is he?" Caleb asked.

"Be patient, knowing his type he needs to show up when everything looks the most hopeless and all that," Rowan claimed as she continued tinkering behind her own equipment crate.

"What are you doing over there?" Caleb questioned, looking at her curiously.

"Just a side-project that I've been fiddling with here and there when I heard we might have to defend ourselves at some point," she replied. "Just a few more seconds please."

That was when Caleb heard a strange charging noise, as if something had powered on. Rowan turned around to reveal a large coil of some kind hastily attached to some kind of power tool. Said tool was in fact plugged into an open panel on the floor.

"The problem was finding the powersource, and in lieu of that, I decided to just plug it into the facility's own power functions," she explained, while at the same time not really explaining because she hadn't told Caleb what the thing was. "Well, time for a test phase!"

She popped up out of cover, pulling down on the trigger to the tool. The coil activated and shot out a wild beam of electricity that assaulted the Raiding Jackals. Two of them got zapped quick enough, a third tried to run but got hit by a random arching beam. And that was when the power tool itself sputtered and smoked, forcing Rowan to drop it.

"Ugh, I knew I forgot the surge protectors," she grumbled. "See, this is why I don't work well under crunch, okay? I forget things! Important things!"

Suddenly, the Forerunner Turret exploded in a plasma grenade blast, ending its barrage.

"I think crunch is the least of our problems right now," Caleb observed.

Tali kept firing her Shotgun, sending Chiktikka out to keep the Raiders at bay. They just needed to hold out, Shepard would be here. He said the Raiders were in retreat, he was on his way. They just needed a few more seconds. As the Raiders advanced however, she wondered how many seconds they had left.

Then, a burst of assault rifle fire ripped apart one of the Raiders. Tali looked to its origin and saw it was, not Shepard, but the Master Chief and his Spartans, rushing in from their right. The Jackal attackers soon turned their attention to new attackers, but they were on them in seconds. Kat's robotic arm knocked one of the Raiders away with enough force to snap his neck. Anton actually trampled over one of the Raiders, forcing his foot onto his shield before blasting away with his shotgun at the Raider's head.

The Jackals fell back as the Spartans advanced, the Master Chief getting into the thick of, butting their heads with his rifle and blasting at them from point blank range. The Jackals would've continued their retreat, had something not come up from behind them, Commander Shepard and his squad appeared in that moment, attacking the Raiders from behind. Grunt actually charged into what was left of the enemy squad, sending them flying as he unleashed his krogan fury. It was only slightly worse than what Jack had to offer, jumping up and then landing down with her biotics to send out a shockwave to break the back of what was left of the Raiders. Shepard followed suit with a biotic charge of his own, right into the side of the last of the Jackals, firing his shotgun off as the pirate's body flew off into a wall.

"Hostiles down," Chief declared to his squad. "Cease fire, we're done."

Shepard quickly moved over to the Spartan, a look of surprise on his face.

"I didn't expect you back this soon," he said, almost laughing a bit.

"Bit of a surprise for ourselves, sir," he assured him. "But not unwelcome."

"Not unwelcome indeed," Shepard confirmed.

The Brain Team soon exited their cover to greet their backup. Everyone breathing a sigh of relief. Caleb especially it seemed.

"That got heated," he said.

"Told ya though," Rowan laughed. "Waiting for when it got the most desperate."

Chief, however, was quick to get down to business.

"What's the situation currently?" He asked.

"All doors save for the inner top security levels opened," Taq reported. "We're closer than ever now."

"And the attack has been routed," Shepard added. "But... well, I think it's only going to be a brief stay. We best get ready for the long haul. We might end up getting into another one of these brawls soon enough."

On that, Chief was most certain. They needed to get a proper debriefing with the others underway. The good news was, next time, they would be here for the whole attack. And they would not be caught unprepared when it happened.

---

The damage from the attack was mostly circumstantial, but it was soon clear why. The raid wasn't supposed to destroy the colony. The Jackal Infiltrators made that clear, they just wanted to grab the relic and get out if possible. They hadn't counted on the complex being locked up or decently defended. That was the real operation, everything else was just a distraction. However, it was obvious the Raiders could've done more damage if they wanted to.

There were some casualties among their numbers, but things could've been worse if the pirates were going for broke. That made the second goal of the attack clear to all, a show of force. This was Snarlbeak telling them all that they were vulnerable, that this was just a taste of things yet to come. That he knew where they were and he'd come for them harder next time.

There were worse revelations though, as Rowan reported in to the others. They were standing outside the village's command bunker when she arrived. On her way over, she passed by several groups of Colony officers and Marines busying themselves with repairs or assisting with the wounded. In her hands, Rowan was carrying one of the Raiders' helmets. No one knew why, but from the expression on her face it didn't seem good.

"This was from one of the infiltration teams," she explained to Maisey. "It has a long-range transmission feed and an optical visor lens. In short, they were watching the fight. Chances are, a lot of the Raiders had these or similar equipment."

"So they have actionable intel on what we're dealing," Shepard sighed. "Especially of the inner complex. Great, just what we need."

"My spotters counted a sufficient number of the hostiles running off into the jungles," Brant added. "We got a lot, but there were plenty more who lived. Including the guy leading this whole thing if Asha is correct."

They all looked to Zek, who was still nursing a few wounds.

"Call him Lurz," he stated. "And he's a lot tougher than I gave him credit for. He'll be back, with a lot more friends. Snarlbeak will just see this loss as a reason to get serious."

Given how many fires they had to put out and all the damaged farming equipment, not to mention those wounded and killed, no one really wanted to see what would happen when Snarlbeak got serious. He had a whole fleet at his disposal and a lot of powerful weapons to throw at them no doubt, all of them on par with the Covenant. Which meant they couldn't play with kid gloves anymore either.

"They might know a bit about us, but not everything," Brant assured them. "They only saw the one Cyclops and it still kicked their asses. They don't know about the tanks at least. If they attack again, we can surprise them with that."

"Chances are though that they're going to be expecting a few surprises," McKay warned. "We also need to consider the possibility that they already have a decent amount of forces here already. They're probably prepping for the real invasion force as we speak. We need to find out where they're coming from."

"What about your carrier?" Asha asked. "If a bunch of pirate ships are inbound, can't you just use it to blast them out of the sky?"

"There's only so much they can handle alone," Chief warned. "They'll try what they can, but if they are sending a whole pirate fleet they won't be able to stop everyone."

"So no matter what we're going to be dealing with a ground war," Shepard stated. "Which means we need to have a solid, united defense or this is going to go terribly."

Haverson and Maisey looked to one another briefly. Neither could deny that they had worked together well enough when forced to. Even their Marines and Colonists respectively managed to tolerate one another long enough to get the job done. However, if a stronger force was on the way, they needed to consolidate a lot quicker than they thought. For his part, Haverson offered the first olive branch.

"If... if I suggest to Holland and Whitcomb to give permission to allow the Colonists access to UNSC equipment for the defensive of a strategic asset," he began tepidly. "I... I think the tanks and cyclops would fall under that purview. As well as other weapons if need be."

"And I'm sure that Brant and his security would be more than willing to go over defensive operations with your own officers," Maisey replied, doing her best to act diplomatic in the face of a significant compromise on the Lieutenant's part. "I can even grant you a degree of access to our secure files in order to help coordinate our collective forces with expediency."

Brant just nodded in response to his leader's statement. However, she wasn't done.

"Right now, the security of the Colony is paramount," Maisey was quick to add. "Everything else is secondary. That includes... whatever business we feel is still left to be discussed."

Haverson knew what she was referencing, but held his tongue.

"I'm willing to put things to the side for the betterment of all of us if you are," he claimed. "So long as there are no further... additional concerns at least."

He said that while looking towards Zek, who merely shrugged.

"Oh, we're picking on the bird who might have massive head trauma, sure, classy," he said rather annoyed. "If this is about the plasma beam rifles, considering how many lives they saved tonight, including my own, maybe don't be so quick to judge, Lieutenant. You weren't exactly helping before now."

"That's hardly my point," Haverson snarled.

"And my point is this," Zek countered. "Those Plasma Beam Rifles were mine to do with how I saw fit. I gave them to these people, and they used them to defend themselves. You have a problem with that, Lieutenant?"

Haverson was clearly growing annoyed with how Zek said "Lieutenant," but he brushed it off and maintained composure.

"I'm just wondering about the parameters is all," Haverson stated, before turning to Maisey. "Out of respect for you, I'm not going to ask. But if I may offer some advice? Don't trust him."

Maisey just shrugged.

"I have more reason to not trust you, but I am because right now my people's lives depend on it," she stated. "But I'll keep that in mind all the same."

Haverson just nodded.

"I'll contact Holland and Whitcomb," he said, his due diligence returning. "We'll get things squared away."

He marched off and the group largely began to disperse. However, Shepard still caught Zek before he left.

"I'm just letting you know, whatever you're playing at, it's starting to get real dangerous," he warned. "Going behind our backs on something, even if you do have good intentions, is still problematic. And we both know that your intentions are rarely good for goodness' sake."

"Complications keep things interesting," Zek shrugged rather nonchalantly. "Trust me, none of this affects you and is a net gain for the colonists. Now, I need to get some more painkillers before these wear off. See ya, Shep."

Zek waddled off, leaving only the Master Chief behind with the Commander. They were soon joined by Taq though, who at least offered a silver lining.

"Whatever side business he's after is unimportant in the grand scheme," she claimed. "We'll be out of here soon. If the lab's layout is correct, we only have three doors left to get through. We bust those open, we find our relic. Snarlbeak will chase after us to grab it, these colonists will have full access to the Forerunner complex more or less and everyone gets what they want."

"Let's just hope what Zek wants doesn't make getting the rest of this mission done more difficult," Shepard stated. "How long until you can crack the top levels?"

"Depends on how much time is needed to melt the locks on the doors," Taq confessed. "But we should be okay. The plasma cutter we've been working on is good to go. Those Raiders had some spare breaching charges that might make it easier. We're going to start work now, see how far we get by morning."

Good, the sooner they were done here the sooner they could lead Snarlbeak away. Assuming nothing went wrong with that relic of course. Which thinking about the possibility of it going wrong suggested to Shepard that something would go wrong. It was just the law of averages.

"I suppose in the meantime, we should just worry about holding off these pirates," Shepard presumed. "You think there might be more intel on those Raiders we took down?"

"Worth taking a look," Chief concurred. "If they were high level operatives trusted enough to carry out this mission, they might have had something on them that might give us an idea of how much Snarlbeak knows."

Shepard agreed, he'd take a look at some of the bodies himself. Last he heard, they had been moved to the morgue for further study. So that was his next stop.

---

Calling this place a morgue was being pretty generous. The colonists did what they could, but you couldn't make a perfectly sterile environment out of sheet metal and bulkheads you had ripped off and then welded back together. Tiegan had asked for the Jackal Raiders' bodies to be moved here for further examination. After checking Zek's wounds over briefly and giving him his painkillers, she apparently wanted to know what exactly had done this to him.

Zek explained how kig-yar apparently developed differently depending on their environment, something Tiegan wanted to explore. Mostly to look for weaknesses or ways to combat them. Every advantage they could get was worth exploring in some way. Shepard arrived in the middle of one of her autopsies, she was in full hazmat gear.

"Don't worry, there isn't anything contagious," she assured him. "I've been using this thing for years, it's the only medical equipment that was aboard the ship that was suitable for the job. So, you don't have to worry about coughing blood or getting irradiated."

"Well you say that, but... well, it's not exactly comforting precisely because you say that," Shepard informed her tepidly.

Tiegan sighed, walking back over to one of the slabs.

"This is the price I pay, you know," she claimed. "I want to work in a little colony. A small clinic, helping normal people, soil of the earth folks who don't usually get Class-A treatment. I bring all my best equipment, my best tools of the trade. Then cut to a few years later, it's all glassed and before I know it I'm working in eternally substandard conditions just trying to avoid going back into the dark ages of drilling into skulls to relive headaches. If my professor at the college could see me now."

"My own medical professionals would probably say you've done amazing work," Shepard told her. "In fact, my chief science officer specializes in the challenge of working in subpar conditions. At least that's what he would say."

"Heh, I suppose there's a degree of prestige to making the best of a bad situation," Tiegan confessed. "It's just hard to see that after so many years of various frustrations just keeping people alive. I'm just grateful they're all so appreciative and understanding. I'd probably have snapped at this point otherwise. Being the only real medical professional here just puts you under a lot of pressure is all."

"I know all about pressure, so no argument there on how it can feel," he confessed. "Now, where are the Raiders' bodies?"

"Over here, I haven't gotten around to these ones," she said, ushering him over to a slab. "I've been mostly treating wounds since the attacks ended so I haven't gotten around to any proper autopsies, just preliminary work."

She pulled up a makeshift chart she had started taking notes on for one of the Raiders.

"Ibie'shan, I needed to ask your friend Zek for the proper spelling," she began. "More muscle mass, clearly reptilian in nature. Different from their avian cousins. Retain some of the traits though, like these quills. They're beefier but they're no less agile. Very vicious incisors, clearly carnivorous. Like, giant two-legged monitor lizards. These ones were set on fire in one of the corridors."

Shepard gave the bodies a once over, he didn't expect to find much on them, at least nothing paper related if they were burnt. He was hoping to find a wrist communicator of some kind. A portable device that would contain some plans or information or Snarlbeak's fleet. However, as he examined the corpse, he noticed something strange. There was a bullet impact, in the skull. Small, but fairly visible.

"Did you recover any bullets from these guys?" Shepard asked.

"Hmm, no," Tiegan explained, soon noticing what Shepard had. "I guess I missed that at first glance."

She tried using a pair of long pliers to pull out and bullet, but found nothing.

"Hmm, must've went clean through," she said. "Pretty small hole though."

"Especially when Tali and Legion were the only ones carrying weapons, our weapons," Shepard stated. "Most Mass Effect based guns leave fairly small impact holes. Save for high powered rounds, like shotguns or sniper rifles like Tali and Legion were using."

Shepard gave it a closer look.

"If I remember my academy days, that looks more like a shot from a pistol from my universe," he claimed. "So, it wouldn't leave a bullet. Because what you'd describe as a bullet would be like the size of a pea."

"That is a bit strange," Tiegan confessed. "Hmm, perhaps one of your fellows used one of your pistols and just... forgot in the ensuing chaos."

"Maybe," Shepard said, his mind working overtime. "But, why would this guy have a bullet in his head if he was set on fire? That's a bit overkill. Unless..."

"What?" Tiegan asked curiously.

"Well, our weapons have mods that can turn those little bullets into another ammo type," Shepard explained. "They can poison targets, destroy armor, knock out shields... or set people on fire."

Something started to click in Shepard's head, something he didn't like.

"Tiegan, where was this body recovered from again?" He asked.

"One of the side corridors the Brain Team used to whittle down some of the attacking Raiders," She recalled, looking at her chart. "I believe... yes, I believe we've counted this as one of Caleb's kills according to their after-action report. Strange, no one mentioned them giving him one of your guns."

"You sure?" Shepard asked.

"Hmm, maybe he didn't want to say anything after this whole business with Zek handing out Beam Rifles," Tiegan shrugged. "It would make things a bit more tenuous than they should be."

"I guess," Shepard reasoned. "Still..."

That was a really good shot for someone who was using a gun with entirely different mechanics than what some people would be used to. He had trouble adjusting to the weight and feel of this universe's pistols and shoguns. They had to train the Marines a bit on how to make them work. Tali or Legion would've at least taught him some basics if they gave him a pistol and they would've said something. They wouldn't have forgotten that. Something was off and he needed to find out what.

---

Caleb's shack was fairly out of the way. It took a while to get to it. When Shepard arrived, he knocked on the door. For a moment he thought he wasn't home, but after a few seconds he finally he heard a response from inside telling him to come in. Opening the door, he found a room strewn with computer equipment, or at least the remains of a lot of it. It was hard to tell what everything had once been, there were a lot of motherboards, transistors, motors, just strewn about the place.

"Don't mind the mess," Caleb said appearing from behind a pile of assorted parts. "This stuff has just accumulated over the years. What bits and pieces I can salvage from the Forerunner facility and what was left of the ship's computers we didn't repurpose. What brings you here, Shepard?"

"Nothing much, just wanted to talk," Shepard explained, playing it cool. "I heard from Tali that you got into the thick of it during the attack."

"Little bit, yeah," Caleb confessed. "But we all got out in one piece at least so that's good. It was hairy for a good while though. Almost didn't think we'd make it."

Shepard nodded at that, giving the room another once over. He knew what he had to ask, but he didn't want to show his hand. He needed answers, which he wouldn't get playing hardball. For all he knew this was just a simple misunderstanding. So he might have stolen a mass effect pistol, better to resolve this peaceful like.

"You got good use out of that omni-tool I hear," Shepard noted. "Torched a lot of guys."

"Oh yeah," Caleb said, shuffling a bit, sniffing once. "I, uh, I guess I just pick up computers quick like that. That's basically what that thing is, a little computer. Helps for once it was in a language I understood."

It was a little strange for a response, to be sure. Shepard put the weird mannerisms to the side though, kept on point. He needed to figure out where he had taken the gun from, if he had.

"How'd you manage it," he asked. "You know, without a gun. Even I can't rely on my omni-tool for everything, Tali can't and she's a quarian."

"Well it's a pretty devastating little device," Caleb claimed. "That incineration blast really took a bunch of them down easy. Then I just high-tailed it, nothing more I could do once the consoles I rigged were set off."

Shepard had hoped he'd just come clean, but that was a deliberate omission.

"A gun probably would've made it easier though," he said.

"It would've, but the fire did most of the work," Caleb claimed.

"So, you don't wish Tali had given you her pistol or something?" Shepard asked.

"I did fine enough without it," Caleb stated, turning towards a pile of parts.

"Funny, cause I checked the Jackals you apparently killed," Shepard told him.

Caleb looked up and, for whatever reason, his face was a little flush. Almost as if he suspected what was coming next.

"They looked like they had been shot... while also being set on fire," Shepard concluded.

"Oh, well, uh," Caleb sniffed. "I guess I left out a bit of a ghastly part. Um, when they were burning, one of the Jackals, he uh... he used his needler to... shoot himself."

"Suicide?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah, I guess no matter the species, burning alive hurts like hell," Caleb continued. "Better to... to go out quick if you can."

That would probably explain why there was no bullet, needles shattered. It still looked a bit too clean for a needler wound though. He had seen what those things could do up close. That, and was far too neat an explanation. He hadn't even mentioned that there was no bullet. Like, he had this answer planned. Then again, it could be just what happened. It didn't seem implausible.

"That sounds... pretty gruesome," Shepard said, sounding as sympathetic as he could.

"Yeah, it was," Caleb concurred. "You don't see that often out here, took me a bit by surprise. I guess I just... didn't wanna mention. Didn't seem important. Hope it didn't cause any confusion."

"No, none at all," Shepard assured him. "Just was wondering about the whole thing. Felt a bit weird is all."

It was better not to push him, there were already enough accusations and resentment running rampant. The last thing Shepard needed was to create more of it on a hunch that he had no real proof for. But something still felt weird.

"You've been in more warzones than me I can imagine," Caleb claimed. "You'd know what's weird, I guess. We've been as far away from a war as we could possibly be, our biggest concern was wild animals up until now. Tonight it just all... came flooding in at once. Being under siege from Covenant, well Pirates anyway. Makes you remember, you know, a lot more people out there weren't as lucky as we were. Reminds you... of what's going on out there while you're sitting in paradise, comparatively speaking at least."

"I won't begrudge you on that position," Shepard told him. "I'm sure a lot of colonists just want what you do, safety, security. You have that in a time of war, that doesn't come cheap."

"Well, I'd like to think we don't take it for granted, sir," Caleb chuckled. "We're just trying to survive and everything. Which, honestly, I don't think we would've tonight if you and the Spartans hadn't shown up. Then again, that's how you made your name."

Shepard's brow perched at that. What did he say?

"Excuse me?" He asked.

"I was just saying Spartans are famous for-"

"You didn't say Spartans, you were referring to me, specifically," Shepard told him, his suspicion growing with every syllable

Caleb's face returned to a more flushed expression, one he tried to hide by turning around. Shepard approached him slowly, growing more wary with every tepid step. Now something really felt wrong and more things started to click.

"How would you know my service record?" Shepard asked.

"I don't," Caleb said, not turning back around. "I was... I was just... I must've mixed you and the Spartans up. I mean, you're a lot like. I... just presumed you save colonies, it's what Marines do, right?"

"It is what I do," Shepard said, a cautious air to his voice. "It's how I got famous, actually. During the Blitz."

"I didn't know you were famous," Caleb said a bit too quickly. "Never heard of you or this Skyllian Blitz until now."

"I didn't call it the Skyllian Blitz," Shepard informed him.

Caleb's fingers rolled up and he took a long exhale. Then he grabbed for something on the table. Shepard backed away as the old man turned and fired something at him. From the looks of it, Caleb had been aiming for his leg, so he wasn't trying to kill him. That hardly mattered though, given the old colonist was holding a pistol that was clearly Mass Effect-based from its design. More troubling was the insignia on its side, one Shepard was familiar with.

Cerberus. Caleb was Cerberus.

---

AN: You probably have questions right now. None I can answer as they are all spoiler related. But don't worry, the answers will come in the next chapter, I assure you. For now, I hope you enjoyed this little firefight, the big one comes later. Please remember to review if you can and check out my profile for the chapter notes. Have a good day! Stay safe out there readers!