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.

38. The Liar's Cause Part 1

Chapter 36 Part 1: The Liar's Cause

I'm not talkin' 'bout pleasure boatin' or day sailin'.

I'm talkin' 'bout workin' for a livin'. I'm talkin' 'bout sharkin'!

-Captain Quint

They had all come at once it seemed, rushing at the distillery in consistent waves. They were using transports to protect their approach now, firing on the building with plasma fire as far as thirty meters. Snarlbeak's men seemed to be focusing especially on them. Given that Retz could see the drug fields burning in a blazing inferno, he took it to mean that they had largely written the drug half of their operation off. Or, just as likely, they knew losing the ichor would cost them all dearly. If not their lives, certainly a good deal of their pensions. For a kig-yar pirate, that was probably worse than death.

Either way, they now knew that this attack wasn't specifically aimed at stealing whatever wasn't nailed down, but destroying whatever couldn't be taken. If the majority of the defenders were now focusing on them, that just confirmed his suspicions that Zix was after something valuable in here. And thanks to her not telling them about what exactly was so damn important about this place outside the obvious, it would probably get them all killed.

Keth at least pulling more than his weight. His sniping slowed the enemy advance to a crawl, particularly when he managed to take of the drivers of the armored transports. It did get him more than a little flak of course, at a lot more of plasma fire and needles were aimed at the roof than ever.

That was where Zhad came in, he was still holding strong at his plasma cannon nest. The front entrance was piled high with bodies as Snarlbeak's men threw themselves at his position, trying to power through the hail of fire. Retz supported him every time he had to let the weapon cool, making sure the enemy remained suppressed. They could try going around of course, but Varvok's men were still holding onto the garage. And if a transport got close enough, Krez broke out one of the Fuel Rod Cannons they had and launched a shot their way. They only had so many of those though, which was why they never fired until one got close.

The strategy was working, flaming hulks littered the outside lot of the distillery. Despite the fact they were absolutely surrounded and outnumbered, the Plunder Nest's defenders were being kept at bay. That didn't mean the attacks let up. Besides the odd probing attack or a rush of shield armed guards or some Ghosts racing in to take pot shots, they had to deal with bombardment. Nothing like a Wraith, they didn't want to take the building down, but the Revenants were enough to start blowing out walls and forcing Varvok's men away from their forward positions.

Luckily one of the Batarians had scored a long range hit on the pilot of one Revenant, much to Keth's annoyance of being slightly outdone. In response he had been hunting officers among Snarlbeak's men, cutting them down in the positions the defenders had been setting up.

Now they were dealing with another armored transport push, supplemented by some Revenants. Retz found himself running from window to window, trying to keep the enemy from getting through any hole in their perimeter. They relied mostly on Kaz's keen eyes on the security cams, tell them where the enemy was approaching from and at what angle. Retz just hoped it didn't distract him too much from his real objective at the console.

The situation was dire in any case. They were spread increasingly thin between the attacking waves and constant barrages. Retz was grateful Kasumi had tagged along, as she was managing to catch a lot of enemy pirates who go through on the ground floor. They never saw her coming, thinking they had gotten past the worst of it. They didn't think an invisible raider was lurking down there, just in case.

And while Kasumi was keeping an eye below, Retz kept his on Zix whenever possible. She seemed to be pulling her weight, using a Carbine against the attackers. Retz could tell she was frustrated though and not because they were in surrounded and at risk of collapsing. No, she was annoyed this was taking away from her search time. She wanted the attackers to let up so she could find what she was actually after.

Retz was firing twin plasma pistols at a line of shield-bearing pirates, overloading their centre-man's protection, when he got the call from the Marines. Sergeant Johnson specifically and he didn't sound happy.

"Retz, we got a problem," he declared. "There's shit in here that was NOT in the briefing. Surprise, surprise."

Johnson wasn't saying anything that Retz hadn't already voiced about their own predicament. Problem was, he was not currently dealing with a siege of the same ferocity.

"A moment, Sergeant," he requested.

Retz let loose two overcharged plasma blasts that completely overloaded the shield line of kig-yar. Zhad then cut them down with heavy plasma cannon fire. Needles cut into the window around Retz, forcing him to duck for cover, pink shards crashing and bursting close to him.

"Go ahead, Johnson," he said gritting through his beak.

"I'll keep it short," the Marine Non-Com replied. "We've discovered some sort of chemical weapon in here. What we're getting from our scans and tests here says its some kind of nerve gas. Possibly homemade from whatever toxic runoff this plant produces for its Alien Heroin. I don't know what exactly it is, but whatever they've cooked up in here does not sound good. If we don't dispose of this properly, it's gonna blow back on all of us when this building goes sky high."

Retz was hardly surprised to find out Snarlbeak was dealing in chemical warfare. He was shocked to know he was stockpiling it here and using his drug operation to supplement it. Johnson was right to be wary. The toxins produced as a result of many kig-yar medicinals were likely even more potent against humans.

"I'd suggest then that you place additional explosives on the nerve gas containers directly," Retz offered. "And you should probably vacate the area by... well... a considerably further distance than originally planned for safety. That should minimize any contamination."

"That's what I was intending to do," Johnson informed him. "But we considered the possibility that this might be what your old friend is after and how destroying it might impact the mission."

A wise course of action, the Sergeant and his men were hardly meatheads. Retz decided he needed to give them more credit next time he spoke to them. Yes, he too was suspecting that Zix had intentionally left the possible existence of chemical weapons on site out of her intelligence reports. Maybe she had hoped they could snag them, assuming it would be too risky to leave them in the plant to be detonated. Retz wasn't sure though, that sounded so small time for the Syndicate, stealing homebrewed chemical weapons?

No, he suspected this was another obfuscation. The real prize was here, the nerve gas was just a possible cover. A means of getting him off the scent once it was found. He couldn't be entirely sure though. He would have to talk to her. All the same, it didn't really matter in the end. The Syndicate wasn't getting those weapons.

"Rig them to blow anyway," Retz told the Sergeant. "I'll deal with any fallout from Zix. Apologies for the choice of words."

If the weapons were her target, then fine, she'd pay the price for not being honest with them. If they weren't, Zix would feign anger, but not really make a big deal about it in the end. Either way, he'd know the truth, but he was banking on the latter result at the moment. Johnson acknowledged Retz's suggestion, confirming he'd get it done. The Sergeant wasn't going to sacrifice his men's lives to extract alien nerve gas anyway. Retz would've then gone to Zix straight away to confront her with this, if not for two things.

First, a Revenant blast struck near the wall. Retz was thrown back as part of it exploded into the hallway. Luckily, he wasn't terribly injured, but if he had walked just a bit further or if the Revenant had aimed a few more feet down, the end result might have been very different. As he brushed the debris off of him and avoided the now giant hole in the wall leading to the outside, the second thing happened. Commander Shepard contacted him over the line.

"Retz, we found your ship," the Commander reported. "And it's pretty big alright. Maybe big enough for all those Chorka, but I'm not so sure it's intended for them."

"And why is that?" Retz asked curiously.

"Because the majority of its cargo hold is one big aquarium," Shepard reported. "There's a few smaller tanks, sure, but there's one huge central tank. It's bigger in length than width though and its got a lot of interlocking systems. Including some sort of giant winching crane mechanism over a lower cargo hatch in the floor."

A tank that was taking up a ton of space but didn't sound big enough to hold every pod. Very peculiar indeed. Not that one would store every pod in the same tank anyway, it would mess with the family units and risk tampering Snarlbeak's designer breeding program. Something Shepard had picked up on and remembered thankfully.

"Yes, that sounds... very suspicious," Retz confirmed. "Don't worry too much about that yourselves though. Is the ship good to launch at least?"

"We're doing flight checks and refueling it right now," Shepard informed him. "We're setting up a defensive perimeter, we're expecting to get hit with a heavy counterattack soon. Are you almost done over there? We could use the extra hands."

"Unfortunately no, we are... currently engaged... heavily," Retz told him. "I assure you, we seem to be the primary focus of the current counter attack. We are endeavoring to get back on schedule."

"I don't like the sound of that, Retz," Shepard replied, sounding most concerned. "We need to get some relief here so we can go after the guns and get control of them. Otherwise we're not getting out of here."

"I understand, I do," Retz told him. "Zek is working on it and so am I. I'll try and redirect support towards you if I'm able, I promise."

Retz didn't like making promises, but Shepard was right. He needed the men more than they did at the moment. He just hoped the Marines and their ODST compatriots would be done with the processing plant soon.

"Alright, I'm trusting you, Retz," Shepard replied. "I should go, but take care of yourself, alright?"

"Doing my best," Retz answered, letting Shepard log out of the call.

If nothing else, his suspicions were now clear. Zix needed that ship for something specific, something special. The question was what. However, his greater thoughts on the subject had to wait. He barely managed to get past the newly open hole in the building when a blaze of plasma fire lanced across it. Retz tucked and rolled as the bolts streamed at him.

"Krez!" Retz called out.

The rookie pirate rushed up with a fresh fuel rod cannon and fired out of the hole in the wall. There was a tremendous booming explosion and a great green light tinged with blue.

"Good hit," Krez reported. "Another transport smoked!"

Retz got up and, almost as if by clockwork, he got another call.

"Spartan team to Retz," The Master Chief's voice reported in. "We have a... situation."

He did not like the way the Spartan Leader used that word. It suggested something that even he hadn't been expecting. Retz was already getting fed up with surprises by now, he didn't need more.

"What kind of situation?" Retz asked.

He listened attentively as the Master Chief explained about the brutes their fought, the armor they wore, the crossed out symbols on said armor and... what they were protecting in their camp within the slave pits. Retz didn't believe it for a second, until the Spartan put the distressful damsel on.

"I have no interest in speaking to another of your infidel followers, demon! Remove your heresy from my sight this instant!"

Definitely a Sangheili, no doubt.

"Well that is just great," Retz groaned. "An uppity female sangheili. Wonderful. Can you... describe this symbol on the armor for me a bit?"

The Spartan did so and it did not make Retz happy. Now he needed to talk to Zix and he didn't care how many of Snarlbeak's men were at the door. He would demand answers from her because this shit had gone too far now. She had endangered them all... deliberately and he was incensed.

He found Zix sniping at attackers from afar, cleanly killing each coldly and dispassionately as she systematically tore their little squad apart. She nailed one of the hostile pirates in the knee and as he fell, she delivered another pair of shots to his falling form. She then shot the next as they looked back, catching him in the eye. A third she shot out the gun in his hand before shooting him square in the neck. All the while she had a self-satisfied smirk on her face, like she knew this would be the outcome.

Retz wanted to punch it off her, but he'd settle for just screaming it off her instead.

"Nerve gas? Did you really think the Marines wouldn't find the nerve gas in the processing plant?" He asked her outright.

"Is this really the time for this, Retz?" She asked, looking away while firing another blind shot that killed a transport's plasma gunner.

Retz grimaced at her, joining in to fire on an advancing group of Snarlbeak's pirates below. His plasma pistols eventually shorted out their shields before a haze of bolts caused to either run or be taken down. There, he contributed, now to keep this interrogation going.

"Zhoc has been using his toxic drug runoff to make chemical weapons," Retz informed her flatly. "The Marines just found some. Try and tell me you didn't know, just try."

Zix shrugged, almost uncaringly.

"We had suspicions," she confessed. "He was cutting deeper into the weapons market and you can't do that with just guns. We've been seeing more than a few outsider clans and mercenary groups using chemical warfare lately, not enough to gain the notice of the Covenant, but concerning for us. Your Marines just nipped this problem in the bud for all of us. Are you honestly that upset about it?"

"So was THAT what this was really about? Stopping those weapons or getting a hold of them?" Retz asked.

Zix still looked nonplussed, uninterested, even bemused.

"Quit whining, Retz," she replied. "It wasn't important so I didn't tell you. You're clearly already taking care of it and there's likely no way to get the weapons out now even if I did want them. So what does it matter?"

"It matters because I can't trust you," Retz declared angrily, stating the obvious was after all most enraging. "It matters because it puts at us at risk! If they didn't find those weapons and blew up the processing plant, they could've been killed in the aftermath. It could also affect us! Depending on where the wind blows in that scenario, we could end up choking to death! This isn't something you just keep from people who are supposed to be your allies!"

"We're business partners, Retz, not allies," Zix replied simply. "I don't have to tell you everything because it's not in my best interests to do so. Simple as that."

"Does that include the fact that Snarlbeak has apparently employed the Banished on his payroll now?" Retz demanded to know.

Zix said nothing, but her eyes said it all. They twitched a little, shifting somewhat. She seemed to expect this, but also found it a bit disarming that it had come up now. The silence was only broken by a new voice.

"What's a Banished?"

Retz looked over, it was Kasumi, up from her position downstairs. Retz didn't ask her how she gotten up here so fast. Likely she was splitting her time between stalking Zix and keeping the downstairs on lockdown. The fact that the shooting had somewhat subsided suggested this attack wave was waning and gave her a chance to catch up on her quarry. Retz didn't miss a beat, using Kasumi's arrival to push forward.

"The Banished are a group of mercenaries that broke away from the Covenant and have been fighting them in a guerilla war for years! Almost as long as they've been fighting the humans! They're led by some of the craziest, most brutal Jiralhanae in the galaxy, their leader being the worst of them and the Spartans just fought several squads worth of them! All to find out they were guarding a female Sangheili!"

Kasumi looked more than a little offput by the information. Zix, just looked pissed off and angry that she had to field more questions. Which said everything to Retz about what he already had guessed at. She knew, she had always known who those Jiralhanae were.

"To correct you, they are Ex-Banished," Zix claimed. "I'm sure your Spartans have noticed the crossed out symbol on their armor by now, haven't they?"

"Exiled Banished?" Retz laughed. "That's not only a double negative, that's impossible."

"They're runaways more than exiles," Zix clarified. "That female sangheili being the chief reason. These Jiralhanae raided a Covenant-Friendly Sangheili warlord while he was away from his home. They slaughtered most of his people and raided his treasury, but they found a girl there. I believe she is his daughter.

"You know Sangheili, they're very big on honor, even their females. Sure, they act more as housecarls keeping democratic affairs in order, but they are also homefront defenders and are appraised on all their war assets. She has intimate knowledge of all her father's holdings, his fleets, his soldiers, the logistics of his entire house and clan. She was a major prize... and as a result these Jiralhanae got greedy. They wanted to use her, ransom her off to potential rivals or the Covenant, whatever."

"But they needed to get away from their Banished brethren first, so they sought out Snarlbeak for protection," Retz grumbled in realization.

"It was a simple enough deal as I understand," Zix explained. "Amicable, really. Zhoc offered them protection for their prize and the offer to work as a mediator for her eventual ransom. All they had to do, was provide extra protection for his burgeoning slave trade, especially since he's been scooping up more and more humans and it's starting to get a little less controllable in there."

"So he sets them up in the Slave Pits and pumps them full of steroids to keep them nice and savage while on his side," Retz surmised. "What's his real angle?"

Zix scoffed aloud with a huff, seemingly annoyed Retz hadn't figured it out himself or at least not voiced it.

"Isn't it obvious? He wants one over on the Sangheili Warlord, you know how he feels about them!" She said, almost laughing as she did. "His obsession with revenge on their kind has boiled over into the absurd. From what we can gather, he's already ransomed her off to another pirate clan, but it's a front! It's a small group of off the books brigands that work for him!"

"A shell company of pirates?" Kasumi laughed. "Geez, can this Snarlbeak get anymore corporate? Why the runaround just to pay for the female sangheili he already has locked up?"

"It's best not to piss off the help, especially Jiralhanae," Zix told her flatly. "This way they get their money, he doesn't make enemies with these Runaway Banished by trying to steal her from them and he covers his tracks for his real plan. To hold the girl hostage indefinitely, threatening her father with her death or worse if he doesn't comply and use his resources for Snarlbeak's benefit. Namely undermining other Sangheili houses, affirming Zhoc's interests..."

"I get it, Snarlbeak owns a sangheili army for as long as he holds the daughter hostage," Retz groaned. "Meaning he has that much more leverage when he makes his move to consolidate the Syndicate under Covenant rule."

Zix's proper smug grin was back.

"Now you get it," she said. "So don't you see? We've just liberated her from servitude!"

"Sounds more like you've just stole Snarlbeak's idea with fewer steps," Kasumi argued.

"Not true," Zix claimed. "The Syndicate has no interest in holding an entire sangheili clan hostage. It does like the idea of one being grateful to them though. We will return the daughter to her father, unharmed, free of charge, with only the knowledge that it was Syndicate Pirates who saved her. You can get a lot more with earnest goodwill than you can ever hope to with vindictive grudges."

Retz rolled his eyes at the statement.

"Oh please, what hypocrisy," he scoffed. "Earnest goodwill? You're only sending her back to her father because you don't want the heat holding her hostage would create AND you get something out of it. I'm sure this warlord has some trading positions you'd like to be a part of."

"If it reunites a child with her parent, what does it matter if we gain some sort of monetary compensation down the line?" Zix questioned. "Would you prefer to keep her in bondage? A slave to the Jirahalnae? Forever separated from the people that love her? Or is that just something you can't appreciate at all, Retz?"

He grimaced at her, she was not doing this, she was not bringing this up. She was going to stay on the subject, she would not deflect him.

"If anyone should get credit it should be the Spartans," Retz insisted. "They have her now and they'll get her to safety, although I imagine she'll be less than thrilled. Either way, it doesn't change that you lied about your entire purpose for wanting us to come here! Your entire blasted scheme to snatch this girl away from a variety of captors. Why lie about this? Why not just tell us the truth?"

"Because the Banished, Ex or Otherwise, always complicate matters when one involves them," Zix claimed. "I didn't want to risk you getting cold feet before you were committed. Besides, how would the UNSC feel about being told a high value subject was in play, one that was a part of the species that's been most responsible for glassing their planets?"

"The Spartans might have accidentally killed her, you know?" Kasumi stated. "That was a big risk."

"Please, she's in no position to fight back. Sangheili females rarely get the opportunity to fight anymore, thanks to the Covenant's intervention," Zix stated rather plainly. "No doubt her lack of a proper enemy to face off against is why she was so easily captured. She was at least safer with the Spartans running to her rescue then a pack of your gung-ho Marines. The Master Chief and his kind seem like more disciplined soldiers. Besides, if the UNSC didn't object, I know one person who would've instantly backed off at the mere mention of Banished being involved, Runaways or no."

Retz knew exactly who she was referring to and he had had enough of it. She could backtalk him all she wanted, he knew how Zix felt about him, how she despised him or at least was disappointed in him. But he was done with her insulting his friend repeatedly, especially this.

"Zek is many things, but he is far from a coward," Retz spat back at her. "He is out there right now trying to finish off the Razorfins that YOU failed to mention so we can get the Chorka out safely."

"Trying and failing given how long it is taking," Zix chortled.

"At least he's doing something," Retz sneered. "More than you, who can't be trusted worth a damn and hasn't been honest with me since she first showed her beak on that arid rock we met on."

Zix took a very long annoyed sigh.

"You know... if you just admitted you want to fuck him this would be SO much easier to swallow for me."

Retz took a very long look at Zix, his expression featureless, the anger drained but not gone from his face. He answered very affirmatively.

"Fuck you, Zix," he said bluntly.

"Oh that's a sudden change from how your usual modus operandi works," Zix chortled. "I didn't think you even knew what that word meant."

"I am not doing this shit again with you!" Retz snarled back.

"Do what? You continuously wringing hands about what you can, can't, will and won't do?" Zix demanded to know. "You know I thought a person like you would have an added benefit in the organization and to the craft, it would insure you don't form attachments, make you colder, but you can't even reliably fake it! You know how much of a disadvantage that is? It's been your downfall since the start, the thing that made it clear you could never hack it!"

"Shut up, right the fuck now," Retz demanded angrily. "Shut the fuck up! As always you know nothing!"

"I know that if at least it became clear you were sweet on that moron it would prove you've gotten over this stupidity," Zix chastised, getting in his face. "That you weren't still so obviously confused!"

"I know who I am and what I am, Zix," Retz said, pushing her back. "I've known for a long time and I'm sick of being told the opposite because you refuse to accept it. That the whole damn family, the organization, couldn't accept it! I'm here because Zek is my friend and that's what matters. Despite what you and the others think, I CAN feel! I feel more than you, any of you. Because you all sit atop those fucking little perches you've made for yourselves, convincing everyone that you know best! Well you never knew what was best for me then, Zix, and you sure as hell don't know now!"

Zix was unmoved, her arms crossed, her expression dour. As always, she didn't care. Probably because she had gotten what she really wanted, a reaction. Retz didn't care in kind, because he was done tolerating this from her.

"Good, is it all out of your system now or do you want to go crying to your shipmaster?" She asked. "He is your friend after all, that's apparently all he is to you. Which doesn't explain even a tenth of your devotion to him."

"I don't expect you to understand, Zix, ever," Retz glared back.

"I understand more than you realize, Retz," Zix replied. "I understand that you're lying to yourself. Maybe not about how you feel, that's obvious enough, but about what HE is and it's exactly the reason why we're not worried about Zek getting the Astral Cutlass. We're not worried about you even. You're already irrelevant and when you find out why, maybe I'll explain it to you."

Another explosion rocked the building.

"But it looks like the reprieve is over," Zix observed. "So this little family chat will have to wait."

Zix scampered off, smacking Retz in the shoulder as she did. Retz could only glare back, and resist the urge to just shoot her in the back and be done with this already. Kasumi stayed though, looking rather distraught at Retz. The pirate didn't think she meant ill, but his emotions got the better of him for once.

"What?!" He asked, ruder than usual. "Say something? Oh I didn't realize you were that much of a freak, Retz. I didn't realize you were just that much more alien than me! Well, I'm sorry, Ms. Goto but I can't-"

Kasumi didn't say anything, she just bent down and hugged Retz. Probably the first time she had ever done that. It caught him by surprise. Kasumi was a woman who wore her emotions very much on her sleeve, never fearful to express them, even as she remained garbed in a hood. She had spoken at length about romance, love and all things that Retz just... had never felt the same way about as others had. He didn't think or perhaps even consider that someone like her would understand. That she'd realize that, right now, validation was what he needed in this moment.

"I'm sorry, Retz," she said to him. "I... I didn't realize. I didn't know."

"I... don't really talk about it," Retz assured her.

"No, I mean... I made a guess, an educated one," Kasumi explained. "What I mean is, I didn't think... well, for how poorly you talked of them, I still didn't consider that the Syndicate made you feel... less because of that. I'm not sure what the kig-yar word for it is though. Humans would say you're asexual, or somewhere on that spectrum."

Retz shrugged and nodded a little as Kasumi pulled back. That seemed accurate enough.

"I... I always felt strange, out of sorts," he explained, summarizing as best he could. "I didn't feel... normal. And I always wondered if it was the conditioning, of being what I was in the Syndicate but... no. It was just who I was. And it was not what they expected of me.

"Then I met Zek and, on top of everything he taught me, he showed me... it was normal. That I was okay, that they didn't do something to me, that I didn't fail them because I didn't see things the way they did. They failed me, they always had. I am what I am because it is who I am. And I don't need them or anyone to tell me otherwise. It's why I owe Zek so much."

He hadn't bothered to tell many people this. There was no point. Being honest with one self didn't mean sharing everything with others. Even now wasn't the best time to do so. As if to illustrate that, there was another blast and they could hear Zhad's plasma cannon going off.

"Okay, Zix is right about one and only one thing, this is not the time," Retz told her. "She's still lying about why she's actually here."

"It's not the sangheili girl?" Kasumi asked confused.

"If it was, she wouldn't have come here, I just made it look like I bought her story," Retz explained. "That whole blasted argument at the end probably helped cement it. Probably thinks it caught me off guard, but I was ready for that shit. Hurtful as it still was. No, the Sangheili hostage is just one thing they were hoping to get away with. Zix is after bigger fish, the ship Shepard found confirms it. I need you to tell Kaz to narrow his search. Hack security for the inventory on livestock, for lack of a better term."

"Okay, when do we make our move?" Kasumi asked. "Once he finds something I mean."

"As soon as Zek deals with those damn Razors," Retz explained. "We hold the distillery until then and don't let on to what we know. Meanwhile, I'm calling the Spartans back, they need instruction on... a number of things."

Things were coming down to the wire in case, Zek really had to kill those damn Razorfins, and soon. Otherwise, there wouldn't be much left of this distillery to destroy anyway.

---

When Retz got back to them, he had nothing good to say. Chief only asked him a few things in response and it revealed the full gravity of their situation. When he explained it to the others, they were equally unhappy to hear about their dire situation.

The Brutes were runaways from some kind of militia terrorist group that had been fighting the Covenant for almost if not longer than humanity. There were likely more of them up ahead in the prison with the human colonists. And the female sangheili they had saved was some sort of Warlord Covenant sympathizer's very important daughter. No one liked a single syllable of any of that information.

"So there's more of these bastards and we got their meal ticket," Anton summarized pretty succinctly. "Yeah that certainly sounds like we stepped in it, alright."

"It doesn't change the mission," Chief insisted. "But now that we've liberated the only important prisoner to them, they're going to make the situation that much harder."

"Agreed," Samara confirmed. "It is likely they will make a bargain for the girl's life with the colonists as the penalty for not surrendering her. Or they will just as likely move against us to take her back by force. And until every one of them is dead, they will pursue us all the way to the docks. It is the nature of their kind."

"We need to liberate the motor pool," Kelly stated. "It's our best and only chance. Grab a wraith or two and use them against the prison complex."

"That's a good way to bust in and even the score, but they could turtle up," Fred warned. "Do what Samara suggested, use the humans as shields to protect themselves. We need to even the odds."

"How? We can't call in the other teams, they're not done yet," Kat reminded them.

"I say we just bulldoze the front gate to the prison and rush in!" Grunt declared boastfully. "They can't kill us all! Least of all me."

"I'd like to motion for another plan that doesn't involve that please," Anton requested.

Chief had already settled on a plan, but he didn't particularly like it.

"We have reinforcements, the slaves," Chief suggested. "We could arm them, use them to help liberate the security complex. There's more than enough to overwhelm them while we focus on saving the colonists."

"It is as much their fight as it is ours at this point," Fred reasoned.

"They're Covenant, same as the Elite in the hut," Kelly reminded him. "They won't listen to us, even if we're the reason they're getting out."

"Well, they might listen to her," Anton noted, pointing to the very same hut. "She's an Elite, they boss around Jackals and Grunts all the time."

"She clearly hates humans! Why would she do anything on our behalf?" Kat asked.

Because she had few options, Chief thought, and he was going to make that clear. He entered the hut again, finding the Female Elite on the floor. But she quickly jumped to her feet, proud and tall.

"Demon, have you and your abominable brethren made a decision on what to do with me yet?" She asked haughtily. "If you are going to kill me, make it quick. I go to my end without fear."

"I'm not killing you, we're not here for that," Chief said, repeating himself again. "We're liberating this camp. You included. We'd like your help."

The Elite just laughed at the Spartan, she didn't even pause to take in the request. It was just that ridiculous to her. He didn't let that stop him from explaining.

"There are hundreds if not thousands of slaves in bondage in this camp, like yourself," the Spartan leader informed her. "If you can convince them to follow us, we can give them weapons after we hit the motor pool. Use them against the Brutes at the prison complex, liberate the other slaves there. Then we all get out of here. Together."

"Those other slaves are humans," the female elite decried. "Why should I care what befalls them? Why should I rally others to your cause?"

"Because those Brutes at that prison complex, they're going to come after you," Chief informed her plainly. "You know it, I know it. You try to run, you won't make it very far before they chase you down and catch you again. And whatever is left of them is going to flee this planet and take you with them. You don't have a weapon, you don't have armor-"

"Your ignorance is as astounding as it is predictable, like every other race that does not understand. A noble sangheili is a born fighter," she proudly declared, a fist thumping on her chest. "A warrior without peer. I do not need your help to escape."

Chief sighed, obviously appeals to common sense were waning. Perhaps a more blunt approach was needed.

"You might be able to fight, but you can't handle however many Brutes are left and you know it," Chief informed her. "My team took this group down on our own. You've seen our capability, you know our reputation it seems, we have people down at the docks securing ships for escape right now, we're your best bet at reaching them alive... and you're arguing about it. Why? Pride? Because that's not going to get you out of here."

The female elite roared and rushed towards the Master Chief, but he stood his ground as she came within feet of his face. The stare down lasted for half minute, just her glaring at him, anger boiling in her eyes and her breath hot in his visor.

"All I have left is my pride," she declared. "I have remained steadfast in the face of these... animals, for weeks. Just waiting for the moment one of those filthy birds comes to take me away in chains. And now you think I will assist humans in their own escape because why? You ask? Because you beg for me to speak to a bunch of cowardly slaves I do not even know? What makes you think I have any authority over them?"

"Because Grunts and Jackals more often than not defer to your kind," Chief reminded her. "And more importantly, because it's better than the alternative. Being used as a bargaining chip against your father by mercenaries and pirates. Your people are great field commanders, I've fought them enough that I know that all too well. You're going to tell me you can't rise to the occasion?"

"Sangheili women are as capable as any of the men," she said, outright denying the accusation. "Warriors true, all of us. We merely take up battle in the political arena more than anything, but we defend our houses from our enemies in all forms! As I did before I was taken!"

"Then prove it," Chief said, egging her on just a bit more. "Talk to the slaves, lead them to the motor pool, let us arm them and take every last Brute left in this place down. You'd return to your father a hero, instead of a ransomed damsel. Of the two options, which sounds better for your house, your father and yourself?"

The female paused a moment, looking away. She walked back a bit, her eyes glaring about her. Her scowl never vanished, her anger never dimmed. She was infuriated it seemed at what she was being reduced to, but Chief could tell she had already made up her mind. Because he could read it in the stance. When you had to make a hard choice, both bad options, you had to inevitably go with the least worst one. By the time the Elite turned, she had made the call he suspected.

"I will speak to who I can that is left," she declared. "But I make no promises. You are asking me to rally an army of filthy cowards after all. And if, by some miracle, you... demons, can deliver me from this place. My house will privately acknowledge your actions in our halls, but no more. And once we leave this system, we will be enemies again. Clear?"

"Perfectly," Chief nodded. "I'll send one of my people to watch your back. Before you say anything, there might be some of Snarlbeak's men about. Even if you can take a few of them down easily, you'd be better off not going alone."

"Hmph, fine," she replied, a sneer across her mandibles. "Know this demon, betray me at any time and my father shall hunt your kind down until ever one of your helms decorates our hallowed halls."

Chief just nodded and exited the hut with the Elite. Looking to his team he raised his rifle up and clicked in a fresh magazine. By now the Sniper team had returned after looking over the perimeter, ready for what they knew was the next part of the mission.

"Alright, Linda, take our new friend here to round up some reinforcements," he said. "The rest of us, we're headed to the motor pool to grab ourselves a ride to two. Then we're going to bust down that door and get every human colonist inside out alive. Let's do this."

---

Zek grimaced at the water. He honestly thought he'd be done by now. Or at least he'd have killed two of the bastards. He hadn't expected them to be so damn clever. He really hadn't. He thought they'd get greedy for a bite, make more mistakes because they were just dumb fish. Now he was in a boat, not a grav boat, just a boat. He was on the water, not hovering over it. They had a damaged plasma cannon, a patchwork keeping out the leaks and they were running out of time if the sounds of battle were any indication.

And all the while as he thought about all these compounding problems, he watched the Razorfins cresting the water, the dorsals parting the waves. They kept crisscrossing each other's path, disappearing in one place appearing in another. They were taunting him, he thought. Trying to mess with his damn head. Trying to get inside and make him do something stupid that made him their lunch.

Zek smashed his palm into the side of his head.

"Shut the fuck up, Zek," he told himself. "They're fucking fish. They're just fucking fish. You're doing this to yourself."

Varvok was checking over their weapons, trying to pick out what they could use next.

"Can the beam rifle cut through the water?" Varvok asked, if he had heard Zek's frantic attempts to stave off paranoia, he didn't address them. When Zek didn't answer though, he spoke louder. "Zek, can Beam Rifles shoot into water?"

"Yeah, yeah, they should," Zek told him suddenly, standing up at last from his sitting position. "Like all plasma guns though, they loose effectiveness the deeper it goes. Motherfuckers can see pretty fucking good too. And the ocean is their element. They can dodge pretty easily. You're better off getting them to the surface regardless They'll just go deeper."

"Do they have blind spots?" Varvok asked. "Some place they can't see us shoot?"

Zek thought, trying to remember what biology lessons he got about the damn things. Biology lesson being a very loose definition of every ancient sea tale, sailor's shanty and rip-roaring holo-adventure yarn. He was regretting now not having gone to a proper school... but only just.

"They sorta can't see directly behind themselves," he remembered. "The tail and dorsal, blocks them a bit."

"Well that's a problem then," Varvok sighed. "Since they seem so... fixated on us now."

No one to really blame for that but themselves, mostly him, Zek thought. He had pissed them the fuck off, killed their friend. Kept trying to kill them. It made sense the fuckers hated them. Didn't change anything, but Zek got it. In any case, Varvok was right.

"We need to give them something else to fixate on then," he declared, heading over to the console in the pilot's cabin.

There was a bunch of stupid sensors and other crap that Zek didn't care for right now. He was a spaceship Captain, not a boat guy. Sonar, depth detection, fuel, engine status, anti-grav function, which was of course offline. None of it was helpful as far as Zek was concerned. What was though was the comms unit. It looked like a standard system, mainly for communicating between the other members of the security team on the land, possibly even other patrol boats. Zek only cared about if it could pick up anything else.

Testing it out to a degree, fiddling with the channels. Finding that the standard channels got nothing, he tried inputting their personal encrypted codes. Zek rechecked the channels once more. He eventually managed to pick up what he wanted. Boz's broadcast was still running, playing more human rock music and that was just fine by him. It didn't matter what song it was, only that it functioned for their purposes.

"Is this really the time to play music?" Varvok asked.

"Not my plan," Zek insisted.

Zek began to pull the comms unit out of the dashboard, along with its personal power supply. He then proceeded to lash an emergency floatation device he pulled out of the storage trunk nearby. It was a simple enough life vest that utilized buoyant materials.

"What exactly are you doing?" Varvok asked once more.

"I'm making a decoy," Zek grumbled. "The fuckers use sound to hunt a lot. The plasma grenade shockwaves make them run, but its this shit that will split their focus. We can probably get a few decent shots in when they surface, maybe hurt them hard enough to fuck them up."

"That's a lot of work to just wind them up," Varvok told him. "You don't think the Beam Rifle can at least cut one down?"

"I think the Beam Rifle can at least put a hole through some of their fins," Zek stated. "We're sailing around in a crippled boat, might as well even the odds."

"Fine, I'll go for some of the weak spots," Varvok said. "But we need to really think up a plan that takes one of them down quickly all the same."

"If I had a timed explosive, I'd do that, but we're limited on options," Zek told him. "Let's just at least land some actual hits on the fuckers on our terms."

Zek flung the comms unit into the ocean, its volume turned up on high. It landed a good bit away from them, but Zek had Varvok pilot the boat away from the splashdown point. Meanwhile, he watched the Razorfins and the comms unit now bounding up and down in the surf. It took a while, but the Razors did respond as expected. They went for the comms unit, beginning to circle it, mostly out of curiosity.

Zek wondered what they were thinking, probably whether or not this was something worth eating. They were circling it, pushing it around. For the most part it looked like the plan had worked to a degree. They were more interested in this new object than anything else. Zek doubted they had forgotten about them though. They were just trying to figure why this thing kept making sounds despite not seeming to be alive.

Varvok took aim at this time, his Beam Rifle pointed directly at the Razorfin duo. Zek was more than happy to let him try the weapon out. Perhaps having an extra pair of eyes would make even more accurate. He didn't say that out loud though, the last thing Zek wanted was to unintentionally offend his skipper.

"What's a good place to hit," Varvok asked while he aimed.

"The tail, one of the larger fins on their bodies," Zek listed off. "That would slow them down. It would also eliminate one of their major weapons. One less fin means one less bladed accessory. Two real critical spots, the eyes and gills. You take out even one eyes that's gonna damage their near omnidrectional sight. So really, go for anything that gives us an advantage over it. Even the odds."

With that in mind, Varvok readied his shot. Then he fired. A beam of purple shot across the water, followed by a second. There was a terrible snarling roar and one of the sea beasts turned. The other just dove, but Varvok's target locked in on their boat and was coming right at them at incredible speed.

"I got him in the tail!" Varvok said. "I thought you said it would slow it!"

"I said it would make him SLOWER," Zek clarified. "I can't quantify percents! I'm not a calculator!

The Razor was slower though, just not slow enough for the batarian's liking it seemed. Varvok kept shooting all the same, his beam shots bouncing off the beast's nose, some of the hitting the exposed dorsal fin.

He also tried shooting one of the side fins as well. The charging Razorfin ducked and dodged those shots, only one managed to connect. Between the water and the creature's speed, it was a nominal hit, nothing substantial.

However, Varvok managed to get one critical shot. Firing two quick succession blasts, the beams flew across the water and entered one of the monster's giant black eyes.

Roaring in pain, the beast's charge was marginally disrupted. It sways about the surf violently, thrashing around as blood poured from it. Soon enough though, it had righted itself and its rage seemed to block out whatever pain it was in. It continued the charge, its first mouth opening wide.

"Shoot it again!" Zek called out.

"I can't!" Varvok shouted, "It's already out of juice!"

Varvok tossed the Beam Rifle aside and opened up with his own assault rifle. At least with the creature so close, he didn't miss as much and he was mostly aimed at its open mouth. As a few teeth got blasted out, Zek went for one of the Concussion rifles and took aim just as the monster closed in. He fired one single shot, letting it explode right in front of the attacking creature.

The blast upended the Razorfin's charge just as it started to leap from the water. Instead, it flipped back over, its tail lancing the boat as it fell into the surf. Zek and Varvok were flung back by the force of the impact, but it could've been worse given the state of their craft. Zek quickly scrambled to the ship's controls and started moving away before the injured Razor could reposition.

"We hurt him, that's what matters, YOU hurt him, Four-Eyes!" Zek laughed. "With any luck the fuckers will attack each other maybe! Feeding frenzy! Blood in the water and all that!"

"Does that happen often?" Varvok asked, clearly wondering if Zek was trying to convince him or just himself.

"Depends on the type of Razor you're dealing with," Zek insisted. "But given how they got distracted, they can't be that fucking smart. I'm telling ya, this proves it! We got them on the ropes!"

It was then their boat suddenly lurched in the water, something striking their bow. Thankfully it didn't do any terrible damage it seemed. The indicator just said it had dented the hull. The brief second Zek worried the bastards had caught up and rammed them from below subsided with that. They would've likely suffered worse if that were the case. Still he needed to check.

He climbed onto the patrol boat's bow and found what had hit them. Floating in the water, now in pieces and slowly sinking, was the comms unit. It had been thrown at them. With enough decent aim that it had connected with them. And hard enough that it had stopped them in their tracks. There was little doubt how given that Zek looked off to see a splashing tail several yards away quickly ducking beneath the water.

Varvok was looking over the side of the boat now and Zek soon caught the batarian's gaze on him. He looked fairly skeptical at this point. Zek did not entirely blame him.

"So... still think they're dumb fish?" He asked.

Zek did not want to answer. If he did answer, he'd have to start acknowledging some uncomfortable truths. That some old sailor stories weren't just stories. That perhaps the fear he and other pirates had about the ravenous cunning of razorfins wasn't so irrational. Instead he just looked around for some kind of harpoon, because he was starting to consider the imagery of those old stories more and more. Well, the ones that ended better than most anyway.

---

The drug fields were still burning, but it had largely moved on from the initial ignition point. Not that it mattered, Snarlbeak's people couldn't use the field for cover anymore. It was just a barren charred wasted strip of land. So no one was going to come up that path anymore.

Actually, very few attackers were coming at them anymore. Garrus could see Plunder Nest's defenders movements from his new overwatch position at the west end of the Processing Plant. The majority were going for Distillery or creating a blockade around the docking yard.

They weren't even attacking the Docking Yard, they were just closing it off. Good for Shepard in the moment, bad for everyone else in the long term. They needed to get to the docks for the final escape and Shepard still had the chance to turn the Base's defenses against the ships in orbit. So until that was dealt with, they were stuck here.

However, something told Garrus that wasn't exactly the point. They had only marginally increased security around the central security tower. They had to have figured that was a prime target, didn't they? No, they seemed more interested in taking back the distillery. Why? Did Snarlbeak's boys really like their booze that much?

"Kasumi and our pirate friends sure are popular," Garrus forebodingly told Jacob. "I don't like it."

"Same," Jacob agreed. "And we're the ones sitting on a pile of chemical weapons beneath an alien drug lab. I should feel a lot more concerned about that. THEY should be."

Jacob pointed to a small group of Ghosts and accompanying pirates approaching their perimeter.

"I mean, in their perspective, what's stopping us from using their own arms against them right now?" He asked. "But they're sending all their big guns to save their whale-ooze beer. That doesn't make any sense. Unless..."

"Unless there's something more valuable to Snarlbeak in there that they know they can't lose," Garrus concluded. "Yeah, we need to wrap this up and get over there or they're going to get absolutely destroyed."

Zaeed was already taking shots at the incoming attackers, as were a number of the ODSTs. The first Ghost charged in through the gate, blasting away like mad. One Drop Trooper managed to blast the pilot off the vehicle as it tried to retreat. The Trooper then got into the Ghost himself and let the incoming pirates have it. Zaeed himself, after taking shots at the encroaching squads of Jackals, tossed one of his inferno grenades at the charging Ghosts. It impacted close to the driver's seat, the flames causing the Jackal to veer off course. Zaeed then blasted at the slightly singed Jackal as he passed by, the vehicle crashing into a wall as the pirate's body flopped out of it.

Garrus and Jacob shot at the attacker's from above on their perch, letting loose on he token force of Snarlbeak's men. Garrus hit one Ghost pilot in the face while Jacob took out a second. Before long the enemy group was retreating. Garrus traced them back to a much larger group of defenders who were coalescing outside the perimeter, along the path to the docks and potentially the security tower. It was composed of at least one Wraith Tank, a few Revenants, a lot more Ghosts and even more Jackals. Not as big as the blockade forming around the docks itself, but enough to give their band of Marines and ODSTs pause.

"They're trying to block off our escape," Garrus presumed. "They're just probing us for right now."

"Lucky us," Jacob observed. "If they hit us with all of that we'd be pretty screwed. Although, the fighting would probably damage the processing plant... or ignore the chemical warheads they're cooking downstairs."

Those chemical warheads were probably part of the reason their attacks had been so infrequent and not nearly as devastating. This place was too volatile and important to them to risk destroying in an all-out assault. Which made Garrus question the ferocity of the Distillery's assault even more. Wasn't there a risk of killing their beloved Chorka? Then again it looked like that Brewery of theirs was built like a fortress given how much of a beating it had taken already.

Before Garrus could really think about it more, he spotted Johnson and McKay below joining the defenders with most of their people. Garrus presumed this meant they were almost done with the charges and tapped Jacob to follow him down. When they got to the ground floor and hooked up with Johnson and McKay, the two were in deep discussion, mostly about the same issue they saw.

"We can't stay here and we can't go to the security tower," McKay observed. "We're blocked off. Maybe, head to the slave pits? Help out the Master Chief and the Spartans?"

"We might just be getting in their way," Johnson cautioned. "We could try to outflank their roadblock, hit the security tower from there. Might be risky though."

"Well we can't stay here," McKay reiterated. "Either they come in or this place blows up with us in it."

"Demolitions are ready then?" Garrus asked.

McKay and Johnson turned readily to the turian.

"Primed and armed, we're going to remote detonate them from a safe distance," McKay explained. "It should take down the processing plant just fine. It's the chemical warheads that are still a concern."

"This whole section of the Plunder Nest is going to be a damn toxic cloud," Johnson added. "How well those incendiaries we planted burn up the fumes will determine how big and how long that gas is going to be around. We didn't exactly plan for this after all."

"Thank Zix for not informing us on that," Jacob grumbled.

McKay herself growled audibly beneath her helmet.

"I'm getting seriously sick of this Syndicate bullshit," She declared. "Zek and his pirates might not be the easiest allies to get along with, but at least they were as in the dark about their little treasure hunt's surprises as us. Doing the the dirty work of a bunch of criminals is not what me or my boys signed up for."

"Starting to see why Retz was so against us taking the job," Johnson added. "Even if we do get what we want outta this, I'm still going to feel like we were suckered."

"Maybe we should make our complaints known directly?" Garrus asked them to consider. "She is at the distillery. It's taking the brunt of the enemy's attacks hard, but I'm sure she can make time to hear our criticisms out."

That caught McKay and Johnson's attention, as they considered the plausibility.

"They don't seem to be blocking the pass to that building," Johnson acknowledged. "They probably don't think we'll run to a place that's taking even heavier fire. Huh, guess these pirates don't know Marines very well."

"Or Helljumpers," McKay confirmed, turning to Garrus. "I like the idea, especially since it sounds like they're getting battered. But how exactly are we going to blast through all that firepower and break the siege long enough to reinforce them?"

"We have quite a few enemy vehicles scattered around," Garrus suggested. "Be a shame to waste them."

Johnson seemed perplexed by the turian's suggestion.

"I'm not sure those transports and Ghosts are going to be much help against the Wraiths," he stated. "Even if we do have the jump on them from behind."

"It depends, Sergeant," Garrus clarified. "How many explosives do you and your men got left?"

In that very second, despite the gas mask, Johnson just seemed to brighten up.

"Vakarian, are you absolutely sure you weren't a Marine in a past life?" He asked jovially.

"Not as far as I know," Garrus told him

"Well, I'm making you an honorary one," Johnson laughed, before turning to his men. "Alright people, gather up any Pirate Crap that can still switch on and move! We got some more packages to deliver!"

---

Linda knew this was probably a bad idea, but in a bad situation, bad ideas were all they had. Trusting an Elite to help them though was pretty high up on the "bad idea" chart. The only reason she was going along with it was because the logic was sound. The Elite didn't want to be in here, she didn't want to be ransomed off, it made sense to work with the people who were against your captors rather than refuse the help. Also she was unarmed, so Linda wasn't as on edge around her.

Still weird to be working with an Elite though, a Covie one at that.

They approached the edge of a cliff towards the lower sections of the Slave Pits. They looked down on an ongoing revolt, already underway without them. Grunts were rushing Snarlbeak's men, beating against their shield barricades. Jackals were doing the same, using their tools or throwing rocks. The pirates were embroiled in battles against their slaves, locked in tiny squares or behind a large line of people. They were firing some sort of foam that forced the slaves back or trapped them. Others were using shock sticks or trying to trap the slaves in electric nets. It did little to slow the mob, who were quick to assist their fallen or beat back their captors' line.

From the looks of it, the majority of the garrison of the pit had been held up by the slaves' uprising. The Spartans had gotten a bit lucky, they'd likely have had to deal with a few more Jackals on top of the Brutes had the slaves not seized the opportunity. But Linda could also see there was no plan, no direction, no leader. The Grunts sometimes assisted the Jackals who got in trouble, but more than a few got confused and saw the Jackal slaves as no better than the Pirates, attacking them as well in the confusion of the moment. The Jackals themselves rarely cared for the Grunts in kind, mostly ignoring them while they worked on their own side of the battle. It made Linda shake her head.

"They'd probably have already won by now if they were working together instead of barely tolerating each other," she observed.

"It is their nature, human," the Elite declared. "The Kig-Yar and Unggoy are savage ingrates, too greedy or cowardly to truly accomplish much on their own merits. The Sangheili, through the Covenant, gave them true purpose. You see them now in their natural state, squabbling children, no direction, only desperate flailing stupidity."

Linda grimaced, more than a little surprised at that reaction, from herself and the Elite. For herself, she felt a degree of sympathy for these aliens below them. They were mostly civilians, not military, and they had never asked for any of this. Here they were though, still fighting for their dignity, their lives, however messy and uncoordinated they were going about it.

For the Elite, it was how dismissive she was. She had never thought about it much, but the idea that the Covenant did not have any true camaraderie between the various races that formed it was depressing. When she was a child, her family of friends, the other Spartan Candidates, were all she had. They were friends forged through a desperate situation, one none of them wanted but were sadly trapped in. The hardship made them brothers and sisters, made them closer than any team could ever be. It was a huge comfort to her on the worst of days.

The Covenant meanwhile? They forged their bonds through fear, enforced it with brutal dogma. They didn't sympathize or empathize with anyone outside their own race.

Shepard's team had proven that diversity could be a strength in teams, the Covenant squandered that advantage. It was probably the reason humanity had lasted so long in this war, because the Covies refused to use what made them truly unique to their full capability. Their hierarchy system actually fractured them more than united them. And while it had been a weakness to exploit in a fight, seeing it outside that context only made Linda feel depressed. As well as a little angry at how the Elite beside her looked down on her fellow prisoners.

"At least they're taking the chance given to them," Linda stated. "Coordinated or not, they're at least fighting. Even the Grunts are. They deserve a little credit for that."

"Credit matters little in terms of battle," the Elite claimed. "The effort to fight matters little if one fails. The vanquished remain so, regardless of zeal."

Linda shook her head. It was pointless to try reaching her on human grounds. It was better to speak to her on her level. Important even, because if she went in there being a belligerent asshole bitch this wasn't going to work. Maybe the Grunts and Jackal slaves would fear her, get in line, maybe. More likely they'd just see her as another slave driver, even one imprisoned like the rest of them.

"Listen, I don't know exactly who you are in the real world, but right now... you're not much different than them," she reminded her. "Just another dirty, honorless captive. You're just lucky they haven't made you work your fingers to the bone, that they haven't degraded you that much."

"I am unsullied by shame," The Elite insisted. "Even captured I remain defiant."

"So are they it seems, but it doesn't make your situation any less dishonored," Linda argued. "You're being used as a bargaining chip, they're being used as cheap labor. Right now, you're basically just things, tools."

"Your point, demon?" The Elite snarled.

"My point is you need them to get out of here and they need you to lead them. That's the only way either of you get your dignity back, your honor back," Linda chided. "So I suggest you take the stick out of your ass already because this attitude of treating them like shit isn't gonna help. They get that enough from those pirates they're fighting down there right now. What makes you think they'll listen to someone who treats them no better?"

The Female Elite looked back to the put, scanning the desperate struggle below them. After a moment, she looked as if her features softened some. Oh she was still annoyed, but not as much.

"They are not honorable or dignified, but they are the warriors we need," she confessed. "And at the moment, I am indeed no better than them or what they most likely expect. To regain what we've both lost, they must be rallied. But what can I possibly say that shall move such lowly creatures to act on my behalf? They are not sangheili, they cannot be made to act as such. My words hold little meaning to those not of my kind. Who do not understand, cannot understand what is to be sangheili."

"Well... don't talk to them like they're sangheili," Linda suggested. "Talk to them like what they are... warriors. Or at least, if you can't see them like that, tell them something that will make THEM believe they're warriors. Give them a reason to follow you, to fight with you. Prove to them that if they follow you they stand a chance. Because like it or not, they're YOUR only chance."

The Female Elite's posture changed at that, the advice seeming to speak to her on another level. Reaching down to a pile of tools, she pulled up a single shovel and hefted it a little, feeling its weight. She nodded at it and steeled herself against the slope.

"Perhaps, Demon, your kind does know something about my people after all," she confessed. "Let us find out."

"I'll cover you from here," Linda told her. "I've already found some weaknesses in the Pirates' lines to exploit. Might help you a little in rallying them to the cause."

"Hmm, to battle then," the Elite replied.

The Female Covie then leapt down the slope, sliding across the rock and dirt as she headed for the ongoing melee of soldiers. Linda tracked her. She needed to thin the Pirate ranks a little, strategically of course. Enough to turn the tide here and give their new leader a chance to get them behind her.

The Elite moved swiftly once she touched dirt, rushing over to a pirate Jackal that was forcing a grunt slave down beneath his foot. Then a shovel smashed into his face, flinging him off and freeing the slave trapped beneath. Linda watched the Elite push on, barely stopping, as she smashed the sharpened end of the shovel into the side of another Pirate's face.

It was a swift kill, but the other pirate did not register the attacking female. Not until she came upon one of the pirate's shield squares, which she battered her way inside. First she slammed the shove down flat on one pirate's head before slicing it into a second pirate's face. Now forced into the square she began battering the Jackals around her. Linda watched with rapt attention. She had half thought the Elite to be mostly talk concerning her abilities. Apparently, looking after an estate didn't make her any more rusty on the battlefield.

"Guess it's just in their blood," Linda shrugged.

The Elite kept up her attacks, forcing pockets of Pirate resistance to disperse. She then freed trapped slaves from nets or stopped them from being beaten into the dirt by their captors. Linda followed her, making sure to keep her from getting ambushed. She couldn't inspire the slaves to fight if she was re-captured after all. It was mostly Jackals with shock rifles or nets, they kept trying to get behind the Elite while she was busy with her rampage.

Linda easily centered her sight on the Jackals' torsos and fired a shot that ripped into their very core. She easily dropped at least one of the pirates each time and that gave the Elite a moment to respond to the remaining one post-gunshot sound. The Pirates didn't last very long after that. That shovel was a lot deadlier than it had looked originally.

Eventually, one of the pirates in the main line of slave drivers took some initiative. They grabbed the hose of the foam sprayer and tried firing it towards the Female Elite who was decimating their ranks. The shots were wild, this wasn't a rifle they were aiming and while getting close the Elite was still a ways off from their ideal range. Linda realized that the foam sprayer and its massive tank were the biggest problem for them. So, she would take it out of play before it ensnared more slaves or their would-be leader.

Linda took aim at the tank, scanning it up and down for structural weaknesses. She found what looked to be a valve of some kind on the outer tap. Close to where the hose connected to the tank itself. That seemed as good a target as any. She fired on the valve, expertly blasting it off.

Suddenly, the pressure inside the foam tank burst forth. Like some explosion of marshmallow fluff, the foam encapsulated everyone close to it, the tank rupturing as a fast-moving blob just seemed to form around it. Before long, the center of the pirate's defensive line was basically a big ball of sticky white goo, the slavers trapped inside it.

This was when the Female Elite, dragging a half-beaten to death Jackal up onto a rock before tossing him away like a ragdoll, finally spoke up. She clanged her digging instrument, now covered in blood, against the stone. Before long, the rowdy crowd of Jackal and Grunt slaves turned to her.

"Prisoners of the Pit, hear me!" She cried out. "I am Kesa 'Ralkamee! Daughter of Khydo 'Ralkamee! Guardian High Steward of House 'Ralkamee! At least I was, until I was brought here! Now, I am like you, a prisoner of these vile brigands! My capture stripped me of my honor, shamed me with shackles of failure, but I shall not die in them! I intend to regain what was lost, by slaughtering as many of my captors as possible and freeing myself of this place! Join me, and I shall help you do the same!"

She was forceful, but she seemed to be getting attention. A lot of Grunts and Jackals were gathering around Kesa now, her voice entrancing them. Perhaps they had noticed her skill in battle. Maybe it was just because she was an Elite. However, Linda was wondering if it was a combination of that and the fact she wasn't letting her pride get in the way. She had admitted she had been captured and however much she danced around it, she wasn't placing herself above them.

"You may not be warriors, but this scum stole you from your lives, took you because they saw weakness they could exploit for themselves," Kesa continued. "But they are the weak ones, they sought you instead of soldiers, thinking they could more easily control you. They have failed! Look at them! Hiding behind their shields, panicked at your numbers, quaking in fear of your fury! They are but insolent wretches, bloated and overconfident. They sought to break you! To break me! But I am sangheili, I am not broken, even imprisoned I stand strong! No, it is they who will break! Their bones, their skulls, their bodies, all shall be shattered alongside our chains!"

The Jackal and Grunt slaves now seemed to be in a frenzy, they were shouting feverishly together, almost speaking over one another, as Kesa continued. She clearly had them, now she just needed to give them direction.

"Form into ranks, take up what rocks and arms you can find," Kesa ordered. "We shall puncture the enemy lines and free more numbers from the caverns below! And when that is done, we shall move up out of this pit and steal their weapons from their armory! They are under siege by the humans even now! Here and outside these walls! There are even Demons among their ranks! You no doubt have already heard this, I can confirm it! Now is our moment! There is no better chance than this! But we must work together! Bickering will not assist us! Only unity shall do so! Now then, break your weapons against the bodies of our enemies! Let them know our shame and may their blood wash the stain of it away forever! CHARGE!"

With that, the Grunts and Jackal began to form into groups, Kesa at its center. They formed a sort of wedge shape with their numbers, heading towards the gap Linda created by destroying the Foam machine. In moments, the already weakened enemy line was faltering, the slaves were picking apart what weak points in the defenses there were.

Linda just sat and watched it all unfold. The pompous Elite had pulled it off, with a little advice from her. Not that the Covie would admit it of course, but if it got the human colonists out alive, she would hardly care about getting due credit. She could already see more slaves joining the rebellion, being released from the mines below. She really hoped Shepard had found enough ships, cause it looked like there were a lot of them.

Either way, for the short-term, the Master Chief and the rest of the team were about to get a major influx of reinforcements. With any luck, they'd be out of this pit and at the docks in no time. Then it was just a question of switching the Nest's defenses around so they could get the hell out of here.

---

Zix was on the front window, picking off their attackers as they slunk through the debris now littering the field. However, plasma blasts forced her to seek cover as they traced the windows. Worst was when the Wraiths launched their own attacks, rocking the distillery with every strike. Zhad had by now abandoned the overlooking window on the front entrance. He had repositioned to the lower floor where a new stack of bodies covered the front porch by now. The fact they were getting inside though was still evidence enough that they were running out of time.

Retz was holding out on the second floor, using Needlers in place of his plasma pistols which had long run out of juice. At least the extra explosive kick of the needles took out a few extra hostile pirates as they rushed their positions. Very little could be done about the Wraiths and Revenants hitting them from afar though. Keth had taken out some drivers and even fired a fuel rod cannon shot or two. However, the targets were so far away they easily moved out of the incoming shots. At least it disrupted their barrage for a bit.

"If they really push, we're screwed," Retz cautioned to Zix.

"They'd need to level half the building to risk that and they won't," Zix stated.

"How do you know that?" Retz questioned.

"Because with everything else going wrong they won't risk losing their main product," she argued. "Besides, what do you want me to do about it? Your damn drunkard captain was supposed to be done by now!"

"We could fallback," Retz offered. "Regroup with the other squads, make another attempt with a coordinated strike!"

"No," Zix declared. "They'll reinforce this whole place, we'll never retake it. And your precious shipmaster out there will be a sitting duck!"

"Then we retreat to the Chorka Pens! They won't risk attacking there will they?" Retz questioned.

"Still too risky," Zix insisted. "We'd lose a ton of defensive capability!"

Retz didn't buy it completely, Zix just didn't want to lose whatever prize she was looking for here. However, there was a certain logic to it. Giving ground now would make destroying the place all the harder when the time came. Still, they were running out of options. They needed to change up their strategy or they'd never get out of here alive.

It looked like they were boxed into a corner, a new barrage of plasma fire raining down around them, when Keth contacted Retz.

"Sir, um, I'm seeing movement behind the enemy lines," he reported. "It looks like... a bunch of troop transports, Ghosts, all speeding towards them."

Retz groaned.

"Wonderful, enemy reinforcement," he surmised. "They're going to rush us!"

"I don't think so, sir," Keth corrected him. "I don't think the drivers are kig-yar."

Retz's eyes went wide at that statement. He looked out the window, glaring at the enemy lines. He saw a Ghost barrel towards one of the Wraiths, before its driver bailed out and rolled away. Moments later, the Ghost exploded in a massive fireball, taking both it and the Wraith it collided with out. A cry suddenly came over Retz's Radio.

"Explosive Cavalry incoming! By way of the UNSC Marine Corps!"

That was Sergeant Johnson's voice! Before long the first explosion was joined by a chorus of others, as various vehicles smashed into the enemy Wraiths and Revenants at the back of the line. Glorious balls of fire erupted across the way, the Plunder Nest's defenders running for cover, either set on fire, blown to bits or fired upon by the advancing Marines and ODSTs. Johnson and McKay had come to the rescue it seemed. While he suspected the two humans would gloat a bit, he reasoned they had earned it. The silencing of the heavy bombardment was more than enough thanks.

The Marines and ODSTs bypassed the now flaming hulks of the Wraiths and Revenants, the last of their rigged vehicles smashing into the line and going up in flames. The UNSC, along with some of the Normandy Crew, quickly piled into the distillery and moved to reinforce every defensive point inside. Retz didn't waste time in getting downstairs to greet their reinforcements, grateful that they had come so swiftly. He had honestly not considered asking for their help, presuming they'd avoid the heavy fighting altogether. He was happy to be proven wrong.

He found McKay, Johnson and Garrus as they headed into the garage. Varvok's Batarians were there, reluctantly accepting UNSC assistance in shoring up their defenses. Retz was just glad they weren't complaining, being bombarded by plasma for a good while made you rethink priorities it seemed. As for him, he just wanted to confer with their backup, get them filled in on all the details before Zix could make a mess of it.

"Thanks for coming," he told them. "The assistance is more than appreciated."

"Well, we needed a place to settle in for a while that wasn't rigged to blow yet and considering how late you are on that front your target seemed as good as any," Johnson explained with only a little sardonic wit. "What exactly is the hold up?"

"We have a pest problem in the bay to clear out," Retz clarified. "Zek is on it and he'll be done soon. I don't blame you for being disappointed in our progress, I'm just glad you didn't hold that against us."

"Well, you should probably thank Garrus, really," McKay explained. "It was more his idea than ours."

Retz looked to the turian who merely saluted.

"I know a thing or two about being pinned down with no backup," he explained. "I didn't want you to go through the same scenario. Besides, you do have one of our own with you."

As if on cue, Kasumi appeared right next to Vakarian, decloaking with a grin on her face.

"Oh, Garrus... you DO care! You played cavalry AND you brought Jacob along, how thoughtful," she declared, partially looked towards Mr. Taylor as he busied fixing the barricades. "This mission just got a lot more visually stimulating."

"He's still in full gear, you can't really see anything," Garrus argued.

"I have a very vivid imagination, Vakarian," Kasumi insisted, before just as quickly vanishing.

The turian just sighed.

"You know I hate how she ends every conversation like that," he complained.

"Well, quirks aside, Ms. Goto is still grateful and so am I," Retz assured him. "Chances are high though that more security forces will be rerouted to this position before long."

"More than likely," McKay concurred. "But if any of them are to the east of our position, it's about to become a lot less breathable for them."

The Drop Trooper Leader pulled out a detonator belt. Johnson did as well. Both counted to three and then pulled the trigger.

Seconds later, everyone watched as the processing plant miles away exploded. Its stacks went up first, blasting flame out into the sky before they began to crumble. The main building erupted and an even bigger blast blew open the foundation. Debris, fire and smoke soon littered the area around it.

Said smoke took on a sickly greenish hue as it spread out from the initial blast point. Snarlbeak's central drug supply factory had just been turned into a devastated crater in seconds, along with anyone stupid enough to try and retake the place.

The Marines and Drop Troopers were cheering a job well done, even the Batarians were joining in. Johnson was just cackling.

"I do love the sight of well-executed demolition," the Marine Sergeant said. "I am glad not to be smelling it though, unlike any of Snarlbeak's men over yonder."

"Let's just hope that smog doesn't stick around for long though," McKay added. "The fires should eat up most of the nerve gas at least. In the meantime, where do you need us most Retz? Like you said, more guests will be incoming."

"Keth could use some extra sharpshooters up top on the roof," the pirate suggested. "We also have defensive points along the second floor hallway facing the front of the building. Everyone else should try to maintain chokepoints near the front doors and the garage here."

"And Zek? Is there anyway we can help him out right now?" Garrus asked.

Retz gave it some thought but shook his head.

"Zek will be able to handle this," he assured him. "He just needs a little more time."

Time that the UNSC and Garrus had bought them, but only so much. Retz just really hoped Zek was almost finished with those Razorfins.

---

They were circling them now, never staying still, closing slowly by the minute but slowly. They were waiting for them to make a move. All Varvok could do was keep the boat moving, keep looking for an opening.

Zek remained on the top deck near the broken turret, eyes on the water, mindful of the foam and cresting waves. He knew they couldn't wait for them; aggression was key here. They had injured both of these bastards, they just needed to finish at least one off. It would be enough to even the odds and the last one would be all alone out here.

"We hit one of them in the eye," Zek mused. "It's got a bigger blind spot. We can get on their ass, we can kill him that way. Just need the right tool. Need the right means."

He looked down to the nose of the patrol boat, spotting an old fashioned harpoon. It was clearly meant as a tool more than anything, not actually meant to be fired or thrown. They probably just used it to hook themselves into port, poke at the chum, maybe bleed a live fish or catch one.

Not for the Razorfins, not unless it was needed.

There was no gun to shoot it, no line to attach it to. Just a regular old steel spike with a bit of a hook. They had tried pretty much every modern weapon, maybe back to basics would work.

He headed down to the deck and grabbed the harpoon. Varvok instantly spotted this. It was hard to miss, the harpoon was lying on the bow of the boat directly in front of the pilot's wheel. He looked more than a little skeptical.

"Please don't tell me this is your plan," Varvok asked with a sigh.

"One of them is partially blind, we get in close, I jab this into it's brain or another eye, we have a shot at killing it," Zek insisted. "We're running out of time, we need to end this."

"Just cause it's blind doesn't mean its deaf," Varvok warned. "And it has its backup out there. If we make a move it's gonna come at us in response-"

"Do you have any better suggestions right now?" Zek asked impatiently. "Because I don't, I'm seriously running out. Just get us close. I'll jab it the fuck in. Right the fuck in!"

Varvok sighed, he took the wheel and placed his hand on the throttle.

"Where is he?" He merely asked.

Zek look out and saw a damaged fin crest the water for a brief moment right in front of them.

"Hard starboard, passing our nose, intercept... thirty degrees," he called out.

Varvok hit the speed high and turned hard.

"Zek, I really hope you don't get yourself killed over this," the batarian told him. "I really do."

"I'm not dying to a damn fish," Zek sneered.

"Well you're letting it get into your head at least," Varvok warned. "Maybe they are smarter than your people gave them credit for, but it's obvious their true weapon here is how easy that gets under your skin. You don't have anything to prove here."

"I have a ton to prove," Zek argued back. "That Snarlbeak can't beat me. That his stupid pets aren't gonna stop me. That he won't ruin my climb to the top of the food chain. That I'm the better pirate because tore into his fucking nest and robbed him fucking blind and left his fish floating belly up."

Varvok's glare bore into the back of the pirate's skull. He had been holding back his thoughts on this, the pirate's little rant forced the rest out.

"This is more than just Snarlbeak, Zek," Varvok insisted, trying to remind him. "This is more than just your vendetta. Or even the next relic and the Cutlass. Remember the Covenant, what they're planning?"

Zek looked back at him confused.

"What do you care about that?" He asked. "That's the UNSC's baggage."

"The Covenant are my primary target, Zek," Varvok reiterated. "My chief concern, my only concern, is defeat them so my people won't become another vassal of their empire. Ending that Armada's threat to Earth, as weird as it might sound coming from me... that's where our priorities should lie."

Zek just groaned.

"Oh please, Four-Eyes, don't get noble on me," he pleaded.

"I'm just reminding you, there's more at stake than your pride here," Varvok reiterated. "Retz is counting on us to get this done. Those Chorka are counting on us. Shepard is counting on us. Those slaves the Spartans are liberating... they're counting on us."

Zek looked back in astonishment.

"Since when did you care about human slaves?" Zek asked.

"Since I started to realize... every Batarian is about to be no better than a slave," Varvok tried to explained, shifting a bit uncomfortably. "Since... I saw that human colony first hand. Defended it. I've... I've never defended a human colony, Zek. It's... a lot to consider in my mind. It's very... un-batarian like."

Zek's guard lowered, noticing Varvok's shaky voice, his indecision. He had come to a realization that was not exactly something that sat well with him. Perhaps he had been coming to terms with it for a while.

"Thing is," Varvok continued. "I don't think I mind it. Which is probably the most damning thing of all, really. Very damning. One way or another, I'm helping in the liberation of human slaves on top of defending a human colony. And... I'm perfectly fine with that."

Zek said nothing, he could tell this was a big deal to admit to out loud. Besides, it wasn't really his point it seemed, as Varvok quickly reiterated.

"My point is, I'm ultimately not just in this anymore for the Batarian people," he concluded. "I'm in it for a lot more. So... if I have to accept that perspective, you have to as well. It's the only way we win this. We lose sight of that, the bigger picture... we're going to get lost in... things that don't matter anymore."

Zek would've said something at that moment. Something akin to pride in Varvok's conclusions. Sure, Zek didn't agree with going back to the war, but at least Varvok had some perspective on his choice. He wasn't fighting himself anymore on it. Given everything he'd been through, Zek had realized fighting yourself was a fool's game. So, Varvok coming to terms with that was actually something he could relate to.

He really would've said more of that, had they not closed in on the Razorfin. Varvok pointed off to the side, causing Zek to turn. He saw the massive predator of the seas cresting the water and they were in his blind spot, perfect positioning. Zek readied the Harpoon as they closed in on the Razorfin. It didn't spot them until the last second, by the it was too late.

Zek plunged the harpoon deep into the damaged eye, trying to drive it in deeper. He pulled out and stabbed again, trying to pierce the skin this time. The monster thrashed in the waves though, its anger overriding any pain it might have felt. The tail slammed into the boat as Zek lifted the harpoon once more and the Kig-Yar felt the ship practically jerk upward beneath him. He slammed into the side of the railing on the boat, his stomach hitting hard into it... before toppling over the side.

Splashing into the surf, Zek went underwater hard as the boat sped past him. It turned hard of course, Varvok realizing Zek had dropped off into the water. As for the overboard pirate, he was trying to get his bearings as the current pushed him about. He looked about the world of blue he found himself, the coral below, the sandy bottom, the smaller fish swimming about. His focus was less on sightseeing though, he was just trying to get his head on straight and his situational awareness steadied. He was in the last place any Kig-Yar wanted to be on a Razorfin hunt. Their domain was the water, they owned it.

Zek turned at just the right moment, as a massive maw of teeth nearly closed around him. Harpoon still in hand, he lashed out with the pointed end, catching the beast across the nose, slashing deep into its nostril. Just enough to force the Razor's path away from him. Zek didn't forget that wasn't the only danger though. He used his legs to kick off the creature's gills before the sharpened fins could cut into him as the killer fish swam by.

The Razor would turn soon though and with little time to get to the surface, Zek went for the rocks below. He quickly swam into a small archway of rocks as the monster turned towards him, charging ever harder. Perhaps its damaged eyes or rage impaired its judgment, because it kept coming at Zek despite the rock formation with the narrow opening. The Razor slammed into it just as Zek got through, It was stuck there now, thrashing about like mad, but only for a moment. It soon broke the rocks apart, dust and debris floating about the area as it tried to renew its hunt.

It hadn't seen Zek swim below, where it couldn't see the pirate ram the harpoon hard into its exposed stomach. Zek watched the big fish lurch at the strike, pulled back and attempted to do it again, only for its tail to strike him hard. Luckily, it hadn't slashed him with the sharp ends, just the blunt side, but that was still good enough to knock Zek a good few feet away. That was one powerful tail, that was for sure.

Already the Ocean Terror was coming at Zek again, racing at him hard, mouth slowly opening as it edged closer. Zek had little choice but to just try for a proper hit. He aimed at one of the eyes and flung the Harpoon hard just when it was close enough that the resistance of the water would not affect the momentum too much.

It was a risky move, but it worked, the harpoon sunk into the bottom of one of the eyes and diverted the beast's course. Just enough for Zek to grab onto the harpoon itself. He pulled it free and then slammed it down into the beast's backside.

The Razorfin jerked wildly in pain as Zek plunged the Harpoon deep and forced it inside, twisting and turning it. He forced the beast to turn to the surface where they breached out of the depths and into the air. They flew through the sky for a short while before crashing back down. The Razorfin stayed close to the surface though, speeding along as fast as possible, twisting and turning to try and force Zek off of it.

Zek bent down, pulling a shard knife from his belt. Still holding the harpoon embedded in the monster's back, Zek began to just stab at the beast below him, trying to kill it with a thousand cuts if possible. The Razor responded by rolling over in the water. Not because it was going belly up, no. It was twisting in the water, trying to shake Zek off as they spun about. First clockwise, then counterclockwise, the pattern repeating like mad, Zek's face smashing into the surf repeatedly. All while the pirate screamed aloud at his watery foe and its stubborn refusal to give in.

"Just!" Splash and then surface. "Fucking!" Splash and then surface "Die!" Splash and then surface. "Already!"

That moment saw the Razorfin shift hard right and Zek was forced from the monster's back, his grip on the Harpoon gone. It splashed into the water, remaining on the surface this time. He looked back and saw the beast closing the distance, it's first mouth opening wide as it closed in. Zek raised his Sharp knife, determined to kill the bastard from the inside if he had to and screamed aloud as the monster got within inches of him.

And then... a power shot hit the monster's side of its face hard. Zek looked to the right and saw Varvok on the deck of the patrol boat, firing a Kishock Sniper Rifle. Once he reloaded, he fired again, this time hitting the beast in the eye. That completely broke its concentration and it turned for the boat in anger. Zek swam after the fish, even as Varvok kept shooting at the creature.

The Razor collided with the patrol boat, knocking Varvok down. Zek, however, scrambled up the side of the monster as it began biting at the vessel, trying to break through its hull. Zek kicked at one of its eyes as he ran across the head and dropped down onto the boat.

The Razor did not let go, in fact it was now trying to get its jaws around enough of the boat to get a grip and when it did it began to swim backwards. The whole craft listed to starboard as the beast pulled hard. Varvok now grabbed at his pistol and began firing point blank into the monster, trying to force it to dislodge. It did not, it kept trying to drag them into the water. Anymore listing, it would capsize them.

Zek did not wait for that to happen. Seeing the harpoon sticking out of the Razor's head, he got an idea. A terrible idea, but Zek was on a roll with those at this point. Why stop now?

He ran to the control dashboard. Finding a panel on it, he forced it off, revealing the electrical wiring of the boat. He then pulled one of the live wires free, not really thinking too much about which one it was. He just cared about how big and long it was. It was long enough and big enough. He brought the cable back, stopping right in front of the Razorfin.

"Fry fucker!" He declared.

He plugged the spark live end of the cable into the top of Harpoon. Now embedded there, its electricity traveled down the metal spike right into the Razorfin's flesh. The sizzling arcs lit the predator up like it was a fancy Casino's front entrance. The fish shuddered and jittered like crazy until one of its eyes popped. Just as its optical juices were spilling out everywhere, an electrical discharge ripped into the Razorfin, forcing its jaw open wide before it crashed into the surf. The cable snapped as the beast hit the water. The patrol boat flipped back upright, splashing back down on the port side and causing Zek to fall on his backside while Varvok rolled to the other end of the boat.

When they managed to get up, dusting themselves off, Varvok looked at Zek with a scowl. Zek imagined he was about to get a lecture, when they heard something splash up and hit the side of their ship. They rushed over to the side, weapons ready. They found the Razorfin there, floating in the surf, its charred body smacking against their hull, it's first mouth open wide and its remaining eye filled with blood. It then sunk back down into the water, its form slowly vanishing entirely.

Zek just breathed a sigh of relief.

"Two down," he declared.

Varvok was not celebrating, he was over at the controls. He was not at all happy with what he found.

"You shorted out most of the instruments!" He informed Zek. "All we seem to have left is minimal engine power."

"There's only one left," Zek tried to reassure Varvok. "We can handle him now! The fight is in our favor!"

"Not when this boat is about to sink!" Varvok informed him. "And without any sonar or positional tracking, we're basically blind out here."

"We'll make it work," Zek promised. "We get this thing close to shore, just enough to make it easier to spot below us. Then we fire everything we got left at it from close up. Just unload on the bastard until-"

Zek didn't finish, as they were soon struck hard on their port side. They both rushed over as a tail lashed against them. Zek with a Needler Rife and Varvok with his pistol opened fire into the water as it swam off once again. They both suspected though that it wasn't far.

"We aren't gonna make it to the shoreline at this rate," Varvok snarled. "And we are running low on literally everything at this point. We need a better strategy. One that kills this bastard dead and fast."

Zek looked around at their stores of weapons and spotted one that might work to their advantage. The Brute Shot, sure it was running a bit low on grenades, but it and the Concussion rifles had enough shots that they could do some real damage. If they could hit the monster in its weak spots. The real question was how they could expose those.

Well, Zek had some more bad ideas on how to do that. Those had managed to work out so far, if barely. Might as well keep rolling with them. Right?

---

AN: I'm not happy how long these things are still taking to get out. I'm hopeful the next crop of chapters go quicker. In any case, yeah, I had to split this one up too, for a number of reasons. As a result, no behind the scenes until next week when we drop the second part. For now, I hope you're enjoying your summer and are looking forward to seeing Zek and Varvok finish their fishing trip.