With Grunt about to undergo the Rite of Passage despite the protests of some of the more traditional clans that still supported Urdnot, Shepard couldn't help but feel slight concern at the fact they were about to go to town and fight what was probably some of the local fauna. The transport vehicle they rode in on, an Urdnot armored truck with a twin cannon turret up above, rolled over the rough terrain of Tuchanka's destroyed cities, crunching under wheel centuries of debris.
The Commander felt a little tense. So far, the minimum of troops she recalled having as backup was five, with all of Blue Team usually on tap for support, if she didn't deploy with General Tano and the Clones. Or all of them at once. She sighed, scratched the back of her neck and said, "Sorry for dragging you into this, Fred."
"Grunt needed a Krannt, ma'am," The Spartan replied, looking at the eager Krogan as he tapped his foot. He then turned his gaze toward Shepard again and stated, "If he asked for me, I can't say no to a team-mate's request. Especially when it's something like this," before he checked his com. He had to have Blue Team on tap, in case he needed backup.
"Did you two actually get to spar…?" Shepard asked, looking between the Krogan and Grunt.
"Would you believe me if I told you that we did, ma'am?" The Spartan replied. Grunt nodded in approval and Shepard just now noticed the faintest crack on his carapace. She blinked, look at the Spartan like he grew a second head and he told her, "Turns out you can knock Krogan out by hitting them at that exact spot."
"... Uh-huh…" Shepard blinked.
Okay, yeah, she knew Spartans were badasses already, but that just kind of reinforced it. She asked, "And no damage whatsoever was done to any part of the ship…?" to which Fred shook his head. Grunt grinned at Shepard and shook his head, too, causing the Commander to really, really wonder just how well-trained Spartans were to avoid the kind of Collateral Krogan would cause.
She honestly didn't want to know, simply stating, "Alright. I guess that's that," in a mumble. She drew her gun as the vehicle began to slow down and stood to her feet, stating, "We get this done and you're fine, right?" as she stared at Grunt. She wanted him to say yes so she knew she wasn't doing something like this just for the hell of it.
The Krogan huffed and nodded, "Once this is done… I will have a clan to return to once the mission is complete, Shepard," as he checked his own shotgun. He capped it off by saying, "I'll be prepared for anything that may come and my life will be yours to give," as he racked the pump of the gun. Shepard nodded, though she wanted him to be able to come back.
If he was gonna become an Urdnot, Wrex was gonna kick her ass for letting him die. She told him, "Alright. Gear up, boys," before she stood up. The driver of the truck called out to them over the com, letting them know they were arriving at the trial area. When the vehicle ground to a halt, the team dismounted, weapons at the ready, before looking around.
An Arena greeted them, what seemed to be a crater of some kind within which an ancient complex had been built, housing the 'Keystone', the strange percussion device that would summon the hordes of enemies they had to face. Three waves, three hostile types, god only knew how much time they needed to hold.
Wrex had told them everything with the Shaman's help. Grunt loaded a fresh thermal clip into his shotgun and said, "Whenever you're ready, Shepard," while he and Fred set themselves up to welcome any incoming enemy. Shepard noted possible ingress points for smaller creatures like Varren and wondered if that was their first target.
She nodded, stepped up to the first Keystone and hit it. A deep, reverberating clang filled their ears as the Commander and her squad prepared. The roars of beasts echoed around them as the dusty atmosphere of Tuchanka vibrated with seeming excitement. Shepard joined the boys in the middle, mumbled, "Here, doggies…" as she aimed.
The first of the Varren, a red-colored one, appeared at the base of the platform. It hissed its strange, half-reptilian hiss, before surging up the stairs with a tidal wave of its siblings not far behind. It, however, had its head ripped clean off by Grunt's first shot. The Urdnot initiate laughed heartily as he fired his weapon at the crowd of beasts.
Shepard and Fred were more tactical with their shots, aiming for the eyes of the beasts. Their rifles barked like a drumbeat, one after the other, the Spartan's aim an impeccable display of his enhanced physiology. He swiveled about as one of the alien beasts jumped him, bearing its claws and fangs. Lifting his arm, he watched its teeth shatter against the Titanium gauntlet before slamming it against the floor and shattering its spine.
With a whine upon its death, it caused its siblings to pause as the Spartan, a laughing Grunt and a Shepard that was continuously ever more glad they were friends with the Spartans, because the multitude of displays of their sheer ferocity in combat was a daily reminder that these soldiers were abnormal in the most clear sense of the word.
Grunt, meanwhile, stomped down on the head of a Varren and put a slug through another, seemingly having fun in his Rite of Passage. Admittedly, he was still fighting tooth, nail and tail to get the bastards clear of them. Their shots continued to connect, the Spartan taking down the hostile alien monsters with gun, blade and fist.
A flurry of alien quadrupedals was normally nothing too bad. Shepard had dealt with worse, to the point she barely even had to use her powers here. Her biotics, namely, were relegated to only armor-stripping strikes like Warp, hits that tore off the thick scales of the lizard-dog creatures before either she or one of the boys put a slug in their heads.
Shepard spoke, "Lots'a bad dogs!"
Fred replied humorously, "You should've seen Requiem!" as he snapped off a shot at an Alpha Varren and watched the creature, one a little larger than its siblings, tank the hit while charging him, its much sharper fangs bared as its scarlet skin was stained by its own blood. It pounced as Fred aimed for it and, just as it was about to land, Grunt came out of left field, slammed against it and pinned it to a wall.
Fred put two rounds into its eyes, pat Grunt on the shoulder as thanks and got a nod from the Krogan youngster, who went back to slaughtering the beasts in close quarters. His once-grey armor and his orange skin were being stained red by the amount of blood they were shedding, with Shepard staring a bit disbelievingly at the sheer number of creatures that was coming.
She sighed, powered her Biotics and, with a heave and a ho, threw a Singularity in the middle of them all, catching several in its gravity field before powering her Warp and shooting it right into the center of the tiny black hole. The explosion that ensued spread far enough to take a bite out of the enemy's numbers.
Fred dived low, grabbed one of the monsters by the throat and slammed it into the ground. He drew his knife and pistol and stabbed and shot his way through four more like he was a bloody blender. Stacks of Varren corpses piled high on the stairwells around them by the time the last of the beasts scrambled back into their holes.
Panting and stained by blood, much like her comrades, Shepard stared at the corpses, dumped the spent thermal clip in her rifle and cracked her neck, before mumbling, "Strays, man…" before looking at Fred. The man was counting his ammunition, to which she chuckled and said, "What's the matter, Spartan?"
"The disadvantage of running bullets over thermal clips is hitting, ma'am," The Spartan replied as he quickly reloaded his magazines. He was obviously joking, but going by the tone of voice, one couldn't exactly tell that was the case. In the meanwhile, both looked over at Grunt, who was seemingly happy despite being the most covered by gore and viscera.
He exclaimed, "This is fun!" like a very happy child at a playground…
Understandable, Shepard thought. She told them, "Alright, you two… Brace for the second wave," as she approached the Keystone. She looked for their approval and both gave nods of approval, Grunt being incredibly eager to see what the second wave was. She smirked, hit the button and the Keystone clanged again, the loud dinner bell.
Shepard tensed as she heard the sharp roars of beasts and the flap of alien wings. She looked up, then saw Fred immediately swivel about to where the contact was coming. She aimed and paused, watching a giant alien monster resembling a mix of a snake with bat wings and a giant insectoid appear. Its top scales were orange, while the exposed belly glowed gold.
Its four glowing eyes glared at Shepard as it screamed down at them, before dropping a red-glowing, scorpion-like insect, then another, then a dozen more like it was a bombing run. She knew the aliens:Klixen. Rather voracious and famous for exploding upon being killed. Shifting her aim toward the first one, she fired and nailed it, staggering it and stopping its charge toward Grunt.
Grunt completed the killing procedure by blasting it with his shotgun, causing the alien beast to detonate. The Commander ordered, "Keep these things at a distance!" as she joined the perimeter again. Backs against the gate, they fired at the monsters that surged up the stairwell, beastly roars filling their ears as they fought.
Grunt, to his credit, did manage to keep the little bastards at bay with his close-range weapon, stating, "That flying creature's going to be a problem!" as he fired. Shepard agreed, considering it'd just keep dropping these things when the wave they killed died. Shepard, however, had an idea. She fired at the organic transport, causing it to shriek in anger as it waved off.
She then utilized her biotics, barking, "Fred, Grunt, on me!" and sending a rippling shockwave forward which killed several of the enemy bugs. A half-dozen of them detonated, shattering rock and killing several more of their buddies, causing a chain reaction until but a few of them were left. The Spartan and Krogan formed up with Shepard, the latter kicking away one of the bugs into a crowd of their own and shooting it.
"What's the plan!?" Grunt demanded.
"The moment that Harvester lands, you catch a Klixen and throw it my way!" Shepard replied, ducking under the swing of one's claws. She gunned it down because it was getting too close, then took a couple of steps back to avoid the detonation. They watched the Harvester fly around, deploying more of its minions, before Shepard explained, "I use Biotics to redirect it to our lovely bird there and Fred snipes it. Should hopefully kill the Harvester…"
"Noted," Fred replied
"A bit desperate," Grunt spoke as he blasted another Klixen before it jumped them. He told Shepard, "But worthy of an attempt!" as he gunned down another pair of Klixen. Fred nodded in approval, already on-board with the plan, while Shepard watched the creature take off from the area around the platform they were on, hovering a bit and glaring at them.
It then flew off, with Shepard ordering, "Be ready to do it the moment it comes back!" as she lifted her rifle and charged her biotics. She fired into the crowds of alien creatures, making sure to hit only disabling shots on some of them so they could be used. Grunt, meanwhile, tanked blast after blast and cut after cut from the aliens as he gunned quite a few of them down.
Fred kept multiple away to the best of his abilities, killing any that got way too close for comfort, but staying in the rear with his DMR to conserve ammunition. He'd actually switched to his pistol and knife again, blade shearing through alien flesh as he stabbed and pushed the creatures away, while his Magnum barked loudly, each shot tearing limb and chitin off from the aliens.
When the beast's flapping wings and mighty roars echoed again, Shepard barked, "EXECUTE!" as she powered on her Biotics once more. She watched Grunt tangle with one of the beasts up close as Fred switched to his DMR, only to brace and prepare to send forth a strong Push toward the alien beast as its glare settled onto her.
Grunt grabbed a Klixen by the tail and began spinning in place. After he considered enough momentum had been reached, he threw the explosive bug perpendicular to Shepard's arc of fire. She watched it fly in what felt like slow-motion. Cocking her hand back, she charged her push and felt her lungs sting. The lilac biotic aura around her body flared…
When the beast was in the line, she roared, blood dripping from her nostrils, as she sent forth twin dark matter kinetic strikes. Both impacted the monster in unison after a short dance, sending it forward like a bullet, right into the maw of the Harvester that landed in front of them. Shepard looked back toward Fred and gave a nod.
The Spartan replied with his own slight tilt of the head, tightened his grip on his rifle, then fired. The rifle-caliber round punctured whatever sac the Klixen had its explosives stored in, causing it to flash-boil and explode like a hundred pounds of tannerite. The detonation ripped the Harvester's head clean off, gore and viscera scattering across the ground ahead, yellowish.
Shepard fell to her knees, breathing and wiping her nose with a smirk, before stating, "Nice job, guys…" as the Spartan and Krogan rushed to her side. The Krogan laughed, giving her a slap on the shoulder that actually shifted her a little, while the Spartan injected medi-gel into a port into her armor. She said to Fred, "I think I still have a bit of minagen in my lungs… Or, well… Had…"
She coughed and spat out phlegm to the side, then wiped her mouth and looked at the red streak on the right gauntlet of her armor. She sighed and mumbled, "Could be worse," as she struggled to her feet, feeling the medi-gel drift through her body, repairing the damage.
The Spartan asked, "One more wave, right?"
"Yeah," Shepard nodded as she looked back at the keystone. She stood up, dusted herself off and checked her ammo. She then asked, "How're you doing on ammo, Fred?"
"I'm yellow for the DMR," The Spartan replied, but he still seemed ready for battle, much to the woman's surprise. She nodded, looked to Grunt, who simply let her know she could hit the button again. She did, letting the damn thing clang for the third time against the steel below it, then she readied her rifle.
The shuddering ground below their feet told them that whatever was coming wasn't good. Shepard mumbled, "Oh, great fucking job, Shepard," as she readied up. The dirt around the arena rose, a wriggling mass of chitin and flesh dancing through the dirt. She barked, "THRESHER MAW!" as the worm-like creature emerged.
A blue-glowing tongue and eyes greeted them. Red, hardened flesh resembling a segmented carapace danced as the giant alien worm emerged. Shepard barked, "TAKE COVER AND AIM FOR ITS MOUTH!" before she rushed behind one of the concrete pillars just as the monster spat out a volley of acid which melted the steel and floor she ran past.
Sliding into cover, the Commander immediately appeared, pulling the trigger of her Mattock as fast as possible, watching small craters form on the creature's blue tongue. It hissed, roared in pain, then spat again and dived underground, its tail tanking several shots from those that invaded its territory. It appeared to the left and sent forth another volley of acid, right toward Shepard.
Fred stepped in-between the shot and Shepard, his shield taking the brunt of the hit. The Spartan then swiveled about and fired his gun as Shepard pushed forward, throwing warp blast after warp blast at the creature to strip as much of its armor as possible. Grunt, meanwhile, dodged and weaved through the strange worm's projectiles, firing his shotgun. Slugs tore skin off the beast, but only pissed it off.
"Grunt!" Fred barked as he and Shepard joined him, firing into the Maw as it repositioned again and spat. He told the Krogan, "Fastball it!" before tossing him a plasma grenade. Grunt giddily laughed while the Spartan rushed the beast, throwing two of his own grenades and firing his gun at the re-emerging beast until it pinged and clicked, running dry.
Slinging it onto his back, he cocked his fist back as the beast leaned forward to try and rip him in half with its jaw. As his armor enhanced his strength by pouring what was tantamount to a cocktail of enhancing drugs into his system, he threw the punch, hitting it square in the mouth and causing it to stagger. It roared and dived on him again. He locked his leg armor and stopped its charge in place.
"NOW!" Shepard barked. Grunt activated and hefted the grenade, then threw it. It had an arc that would land it short of its target, but Shepard quickly corrected via biotics, the beast still screaming and pushing against Fred, the ground cracking below him as it did so. The Spartan watched the grenade arc in…
Then pushed himself away from the beast the moment it landed in its esophagus. The monster screamed before a burning blue flash blasted through its throat and mouth, causing it to retract into the ground, presumably dead as the quakes stopped. Shepard panted, while Grunt and Fred stared at the hole in the ground.
Grunt then laughed heartily and said, "A worthy foe!" before sighing. He looked at the pair of humans, then said, "You spoke truth, Shepard. You truly are a good Battlemaster," before patting her on the shoulder. Shepard let out an awkward laugh, then rubbed the back of her neck, mumbling something. The young Krogan then looked at Fred and nodded, stating, "And you… Fred. Thank you."
"No problem," The Spartan nodded. He paused as he heard footsteps, then stated, "We've got company…" as he checked his ammo pouches. Sighing, he mumbled, "Fresh out…" while Shepard was bleeding from her nose again. He looked at her, then at the incoming contact, pausing as he saw… Okeer… Clad in armor.
"Okeer," Grunt scoffed, "What are you doing here, Old Man? Came to congratulate your creation?" only to pause as his 'father' drew his shotgun and fired. Grunt pushed Fred and Shepard behind cover, taking the hits to his armor, scattershot rounds ricocheting off of the kinetic barrier and the plate. The younger Krogan demanded, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" his voice filled with rage.
"Your final mission is this rite!" The alien barked as he kept on firing, "Nobody else but you and me… You vowed your knife would rip my chest open, so accomplish your Rite of Passage and kill me!" all while Grunt moved back. The Krogan looked at Shepard and Fred and nodded, to which Shepard was about to go help.
Fred held her back and shook his head, then looked at Grunt and nodded in approval. Grunt, meanwhile, huffed and moved back, slamming home a fresh thermal clip for his own Shotgun. He demanded, "I would've presumed you would finally be happy with what you created, you bastard!" as he fired back.
Okeer had run out of ammo. Tossing his gun aside, the Krogan roared in anger, surging forward toward Grunt and slamming against him with all his might, pinning the tankbred against the steel pipe behind them, denting it. The Warlord spoke, "I will not be happy until I know you can kill something smarter than a few beasts!"
Grunt slammed his head against Okeer's in a patented Krogan move at this point, before throwing the first heavy-weight punch against the old man's face, staggering him. Grunt then kicked him back and demanded, "And you'd throw yourself to death!? For what!? WE STILL HAVE SHEPARD'S MISSION! Perhaps you can return home with it!"
"These pyjaks would never let me return home after everything I've done!" Okeer replied, taking his turn in the fight to throw punches. One of the many that connected nailed Grunt in the nose, causing the Krogan to double over before quickly recovering. He told the boy, "You're the bright future of this race, but even so, they can't throw away their own idiocy and past mistakes to see it!"
"Clan Urdnot does see it!" Grunt snapped back.
"Are you sure?" Okeer demanded.
The two clashed again, Grunt seemingly deciding to forego talking as he slammed his own armored head against Okeer once more, staggering the Alien. The two continued to fight each-other, throwing punch after punch much to the surprise of the Spartan and Commander. Shepard herself spoke, "We gotta stop them…"
"I don't think we can, ma'am. I doubt Okeer would've made it here without Wrex letting him… That, or he's a really sneaky bastard," Fred replied.
"I know, Fred…" Shepard sighed deeply, "Twisted sense of morals and honor aside, I meant…" then she looked on, watching Grunt block one of Okeer's punches, then another, then pull the old man toward him and slam his head into his face again, cracking teeth and, seemingly, the lower jaw of the elderly alien.
The Warlord replied with a rage-filled roar as he pushed against Grunt's attacks, picking his creation up and throwing him ahead, causing Grunt to land, face-first, against the Stone, a drop of blood now staining the ground. Grunt, however, was quick to recover compared to the old man, jumping to his feet and doing what Okeer had done to him in return… A hundredfold worse.
He slammed into the alien with a mighty beastly roar, grabbed him by the collar of his ancient armor and swept his legs out from under him, before picking him up and raising him high in a burst of adrenaline and slamming him down against his knee to the point both the Commander and Spartan heard the Warlord's spine audibly crack.
Okeer groaned and rolled off Grunt's knee, his lower extremities limp. Grunt put his foot on Okeer's neck and demanded, "You lost!" as the two glared at each-other. Though even in his broken form, Okeer let out a defiant growl. Grunt attempted to suppress it by pressing the boot deeper into his neck. It did shut him up, thankfully, so Grunt could ask, "Why would you do this…?"
"As long as I live…" Okeer sneered, "You will only ever be seen as my puppet by these self-absorbed fools…" then he looked at Shepard and Fred as they walked out. He looked at Grunt again, his expression surprisingly softening, "But… By killing me… You'll be released from the strings of being created in a tank by a madman who was banished, so you may carry out your destiny as the future of the Krogan…"
"... You did this because you want Grunt's loyalty not to be questioned?" Shepard blinked, surprised. She might've pegged Okeer wrong.
"Someone…" The alien huffed, his breathing slowing, "Has to think about the future. You swore an oath in front of the leader of Urdnot that you'll kill me. Anyone bound by all of our customs and stupidity will be silenced at the sight of a Tankbred killing his creator and thus severing his ties…" and he looked at Grunt again, watching the confusion in his eyes, "Let me die in the light of Aralakh. Do it… Finish it now! Be free to be the future we were meant to have… Grunt…"
The tankbred blinked, staring at his creator, his father, for a moment. Shepard looked at Grunt and said to him, "Do what you need to do, Grunt…" as she pat him on the shoulder. Okeer coughed blood, clearly not long for this world, but suffering all the while. It was almost strange in a way, seeing the Warlord that had so far been so abrasive so… Resigned.
Grunt stared a little longer at the frail form of what was once the most argumentative piece of pyjak shit he'd ever had the displeasure of meeting, now revealing his true reason for going so far after surviving. To accomplish his Oath. Grunt sighed deeply, then replied, "As you wish… Go with the sands of Tuchanka, Warmaster Okeer, Clanless, Banished…" and he whispered one last word before he twisted his boot and pushed down, feeling the windpipe and spine crack underfoot.
"You okay?" Shepard asked the young Krogan. Grunt stared at the broken corpse of Okeer, then huffed and nodded. She smiled, looked at Okeer again, then sighed deeply.
Grunt told her, "Those same Customs he kept belittling made our people what they are. So says the genetic memory he imprinted into me. Even if some may seem strange, it'd be a dishonor not to follow through with them," before looking at Okeer again. He joked, "I'm going to miss arguing with him, however. It was almost interesting to hear his nonsense."
Shepard snorted, then said, "Alright. Let's pack it up… Take the corpse with us."
… A short trip back through the tunnels later, they arrived at the Urdnot camp and walked out of the vehicles, to the whispers and murmurs of approval of several of the Guards and other Krogan around. Nods of approval, smirks and laughter echoed as they, alongside the Shaman who'd been there to supervise the event, walked in with Okeer's corpse on a stretcher.
The Shaman nodded to Grunt, stating, "You've done well, boy! That was the first time in generations anyone took down a Thresher Maw during the Rite! The last one was…" and they looked ahead at Wrex, who was grinning. Shepard smiled, then looked at Grunt, watching the young Krogan approach his new Clan Leader.
"That was one hell of a show, kid," Wrex spoke proudly as Grunt walked up the steps. He said, "This is bound to shut up everyone who was murmuring…" and he looked at the corpse, before mumbling, "Bastard stole one of our trucks. We only realized when we saw it was out of our Berth. And now I hear you killed him."
"His own request," Grunt replied.
"Honorable in his last few moments, then," Wrex huffed, "That'll also quiet down some other dissenting voices…" then he put a hand on Grunt's shoulder, said, "Welcome to Clan Urdnot, Grunt. Your strength and pride will bring great change to this world," and squeezed. Grunt nodded, thankful to finally have a clan of his own.
"With this, you may pick to serve under any Battlemaster you wish," The Shaman spoke.
Grunt turned to face him and said, "Shepard is my Battlemaster. She's proven her strength countless times and I would serve under nobody else," to which the Krogan superiors around him let out bellowing laughs. Wrex gave a nod of agreement as soon as he settled down, then turned toward Doctor Halsey, the rest of Blue Team and Garrus and Tali.
Right, Shepard thought, there were two more things to do on this planet. Might as well get Mordin's job next…
Caprica
It was another night on one of the Twelve Colonies. One of the many suns of Cyrannus set over the horizon as the ODSTs pushed into the ruins of the city of Delphi, weapons at the ready as they traveled through the sewers. Thankful their helmets were sealed, meaning they didn't have to smell the overflowing amount of literal human waste in the background, the troopers pushed up.
"We sure about this call? Could be a false flag…" Melissa asked as she covered one of theirs. He climbed up the ladder toward a Manhole right at the intersection they'd stopped in while the others formed a perimeter, checking their motion trackers for patrols. Thankful there were none for now, the leading ODST poked his head out from under the manhole, scanning the streets.
The Lieutenant replied, "Resistance scouts and our own intel corroborated a lot of activity at this hospital," as he racked the bolt of his MA40. He looked back at the rest of the team as they checked their weapons' suppressors, then looked at Melissa and the Sergeant and told them, "We're checking it out…"
"Roger," The girl replied. The group soon moved out through the manhole and toward the Delphi General Hospital. It was about as big as a general hospital back home. They moved down a side alley in a staggered column, rifles raised and scanning rooftops and windows as they did so, before reaching a rear access door.
Noting a red light, Holden said, "They've got power… Meaning something is going on here," before he checked his HUD for movement. Nothing yet, thankfully, but they were not inside. The Lieutenant tilted his head and said, "Mercer, cut the alarm when you find it. Everyone else, be ready for slow infil," then he put his hand up to his ear and spoke, "Bravo Six Actual to Romeo Actual, making insertion into the hostile-controlled hospital. Activating Helmet cams now…" and, indeed, their cameras turned on…
"Copy last, Lieutenant… Watch out in there," Sam replied over the com, "Romeo will be on-station to deploy reinforcements if you guys need it…"
"Roger last. Bravo Six, out," The man replied, then nodded to Mercer as the man found the connection to the place's fire alarm. A lucky find, all things considered, the group thought. Mercer quickly disabled it, then unlocked the door through a series of quick lockpicking maneuvers before pushing it open. He took a step back and let the shotgunner go in first, followed by the Lieutenant, Sergeant, Melissa, then the rest of the team.
Last man in closed the door, hearing it lock behind them with a click. They gazed upon the dark back-rooms of the hospital. Storage areas emptied of medication, trash heaps strewn about and even blood staining some of the walls, mixed with bullet holes. Though, yet again, no corpses. Holden waved the shotgunner forward, then signaled the team to rally up on them.
They pushed forward, stepping gently through the darkness, their VISR systems online. Melissa spoke through com, her external speakers shut off, "Looks like not a lot of power is on, boss…" as she aimed her Battle Rifle past a corner. The Lieutenant nodded in agreement as the team pushed out from the back rooms and to the reception area.
Signs of struggle were visible. Bullet holes in the floor, in the ceiling and on the walls, blood smears and splatters, an overturned gurney and destroyed waiting room chairs, as well as the broken computers on said desk were a stark reminder that this place had been in use as a medical center until a few months ago.
The hallway ahead split into three distinct sections, one of which was cordoned off as a radiation area. Unease crept upon the soldiers as they looked down the halls filled with flickering lights, Holden mumbling, "We walked right into one nasty Horror movie," as he aimed his rifle down one of the corridors.
"Not seeing any patrols on scopes yet," The Sergeant added, taking a knee beside one of the corners. He ran a hand over a blood smear that was about waist-high, feeling the roughness. Then, he looked down and saw shards of glass on the floor. Above them, the neon tubes that were part of the light fixtures were shattered.
The rest of the place looked just as disheveled, broken panels and extensive bullet damage to the walls telling of the possible string of executions the Centurions carried out in here. Holden sighed, then ordered, "Check rooms in pairs. Watch your fire and look out for booby traps. We'll move on to the second floor once we're done."
"Sir," The fireteam replied quietly. Melissa took Mercer as her pair and the two walked into the farthest room down the northern Hallway while the others checked the ones behind them. The room was the ICU, a wide room with a lot of beds lined up against the walls. The two ODSTs scanned the place, noting blood stains on the hospital beds, scattered gowns and even the foot-marks of Centurions.
"Clear," Mercer called.
Melissa replied, "Clear. All clear… Let's move…" and her voice grew low, a tad angry. So many people, helpless, defenseless immediately after the bombs dropped, slaughtered to the last. They walked out toward the next room, which was a closet. Opening it, they found nothing but cleaning supplies, mops and several bullet holes.
The task force cleared the first floor's open areas rather quickly, finding only the marks of death, but no bodies to speak of. The Lieutenant, who had been in the place's offices, walked out with files and rallied the team before they went down the radioactive hallway. He showed the team, "This place is a pediatric and neonatal care hospital…"
"Fuck…" Melissa whispered.
Mercer stared at the patient files and said, "That's… Jesus, fuck…" as he leaned over.
The Lieutenant nodded in agreement. He then ordered quietly, "Main stairwell is down the radioactive corridor. Check rooms for survivors, otherwise move fast. I think I heard one of those fucking Toasters moving about upstairs…" which caused the entire group to tense up. They did as ordered, however, weapons ready.
Going down the hall to the stairwell, they didn't find anything horrific in any of the radiation rooms, aside from minor spikes from their Geiger counters. Obviously, the signs of the slaughter needn't be mentioned. Passing by a light fixture barely hanging on by a wire, sparks flowing out of it to denote that there was still power, the ODSTs pied the corners and found the stairs.
Climbing them slowly, keeping their eyes both pointed above and at anything below, they basically crawled through into the creepy, 'abandoned' hospital as quietly as humanly possible. When they got to the second floor, they found yet more signs of struggle. Actual spent casings lay on the floor with pools of blood to match.
Yet again, the same tactic applied, though the rooms up here were surprisingly even more torn to shreds, with overturned beds and clawed-out pillows. Melissa whispered to Mercer, "This is fucking creepy, man…" as she pied one of the larger rooms, an office area that was completely screwed, looking like a Hurricane had passed through Some of the windows had been broken, too, the gentle outside breeze blowing through and moving the trashed papers on the floor.
"Agreed…" He replied, then asked, "Why the hell did Sam seem so worried about us going here…?"
"Fucked if I know, man. Apparently both him and Starbuck have an aversion to local hospitals," She replied as she led the way out of the room. She gave the all clear to the Lieutenant, who rallied the team up. They moved to the next floor, with Melissa adding, "I really don't like this damn place. It feels wrong…"
"No shit," The shotgunner replied.
Mercer added, "Yeah…" before they got up to the third floor and all paused upon hearing the lumbering steps of one of the Centurions. The Lieutenant balled his fist, showing them to stop, then peered around the corner as his motion tracker finally picked up movement. He saw the monster turn a corner and disappear.
"Eyes peeled. Search these rooms thoroughly and if you meet a Tin Can, kill it," The man ordered, then lead his partner forward. Once more, the team went on scouring through the place, finding little but damaged equipment and the likes. There were two Centurion guards here, plus a couple more they were picking up in the place's final room.
Both were dispatched surprisingly quickly, the high-caliber ammunition of UNSC weapons ripping through their armor and letting them drop dead. When they reached the last doors on the floor, they found them to be double doors leading to a wider ICU/Surgery area. There were at least two more Centurion contacts inside. Alongside grayed-out contacts. Unknowns. Maybe two dozen.
The Lieutenant gave a countdown, the troops prepping. At three, they loaded fresh magazines. At two, now stacked up, they prepped to breach, Shotgunner and LT in the lead, plus half the unit on each side. At one, the Lieutenant and Shotgunner kicked the door down and their guns barked. The Centurions ahead were filled full of holes, gunned down on sight. Both dropped dead.
… The team wasn't worried about them, however. The moment they stepped foot into the room, the most horrific part of this hospital came into view. The hum of machines filled their ears, the beeping of life-monitoring devices and the screech of air pumps and oxygen filters working. They stepped inside, eyes widening.
Attached to multiple strange machines, connected via tubes, tubules, wires and horrifying contraptions, maybe two dozen people, male and female alike, lay, legs spread, in medical beds. White as bone, their bodies barely fed by the IV drips beside their beds, they almost looked like they were being used as incubators.
Tubes connected to the areas between their legs and to their hands ran up into the ceiling of the room, which had been stripped bare. All of them lead up, further. There were other tubes connected to the machines as well, filled with strange liquids and what even looked to be cellular tissues of a kind the ODSTs didn't want to think about.
Melissa took her helmet off, revealing wide eyes and a pallid face. She hunched over, throwing up on the floor, while the Lieutenant approached one of the prisoners of these machines, mumbling, "... It's a fucking Farm…" as he lifted one woman's hospital gown to note the wires attached to her belly. He swallowed and spoke, "It's a fucking Breeding Farm… And we're the damn cattle… What the fuck…?"
"Sir?" The team's medic spoke from one of the consoles. The Lieutenant turned to face him and nodded, to which the Medic added, "This is… The tissues specific to the experiments these fuckers are running, sir…" his voice cracking. He swallowed, turned and said, "They're fucking Cylon, sir. Looks like the Knockoffs have reproductive tissue, too… Though no successful embryos were created yet…"
"Oh, God," Melissa whispered, gagged and retched again, while the other ODSTs tightened the grips on their guns. The implications of this experiment alone caused stomachs to turn and churn. Mercer gave a pat on the woman's back. He was just as horrified, but wasn't showing it, readying himself instead to wipe whatever guards were in the area.
The Lieutenant spoke, "We're still filming," in a whisper, "Tape everything. Every single fucking thing… I want Halsey to have the full picture," only to pause and aim his rifle at one of the two Cylon, the one that moved. Its vocoder sputtered, but before it could transmit anything, Holden shot it. He emptied his entire magazine into the monster's head, showering the area around them with sparks and synthetic, dark-red coolant.
He swallowed, cleared his throat, then said, "Bravo Six to Romeo… Transmit priority call to the UNSC Quiet Night, code scarlet. Requesting CASEVAC for approximately twenty-four human individuals. Heavy medical assistance requested. We'll clear the place out before they come to land…" and his barely contained fury was finally let loose as he closed com, "I want five of you guarding these people! THE REST OF YOU, ON ME! If there's even one of those Copied Fucks around, we're taking them in for a 'chat'!"
"Oorah!" The Troopers cheered. Melissa, who was done emptying her lunch, dumped half her canteen of water on her face to clean away the muck and mucus, then put her helmet on and loaded a new magazine into her rifle. With boiling blood and a new mission objective, the ODSTs pushed out, leaving behind the five guards.
They pushed deeper into the building, climbing up a few more flights of stairs until they reached the presumed office area. Truth be told, their objectives really hadn't changed. They were:Find out what the hell the Cylon were doing in old hospitals, locate possible Cylon command units and eliminate or seize them. The pendulum just swung in favor of 'kill everything' now.
They met heavier numbers of Centurion guards in the hospital itself, but were quick to dispatch them without alerting others. They were blitzing through the enemy's defenses and deep into the proper office area of the Hospital, finding yet more signs of previous combat and a few more units of Centurions they dispatched.
They arrived at the area around which the hostile units were concentrated:A meeting room. Approaching it, they took cover by the door and listened in, enhancing their helmets' audio receptors as they picked up multiple hostile targets inside. The Lieutenant also noticed there were multiple entry points and scattered his unit accordingly.
From the inside, they could hear them talking. Cylon Humanoids. A male one, the same as during the ambush at that base, spoke, "... The situation near Picon just became worse. Multiple ships we were building at the old shipyards went missing alongside a contingent of Centurions and even a few Number Twos and a Number Four… What do you think, Caprica Six?"
"I think I don't like the situation we just got ourselves into. Ever since we found that Artifact in the Caprican Base, it's been nothing but trouble. And then there's the other Artifact, that Gateway without a key…" Another voice spoke, though she wasn't familiar. A Number Six, then, born or made here on Caprica.
"The Galactica and its crew stole the Key from that Shrine," Another spoke, though she had the familiar voice of 'Sharon'. A number Seven, then. She continued, "Same way they stole Sharon from us… And now I'm hearing reports that one of our Ones met a new contact down here. You sure it isn't just some better-armed Resistance units?"
"Yes. The bastards shredded a battalion-strength unit of Centurions right in front of my eyes, then disappeared," The Number One replied, "I don't know what the Resistance managed to find, or what the surviving humans in that refugee fleet found, but these soldiers seem a bit beyond even standard Caprican Special Forces from the early days of the occupation."
"That's… Concerning… So, we're dealing with a possible Civil War between our people, strange alien artifacts and reinforcements for the Resistance," Another Six, this one with a sharper voice, spoke, "What do we do, then? We need to hurry the Farms along, get some god-damn results before everything blows up in our faces…"
"How? Without Sharon and her healthy child, we'll never understand how to create life as God intended," A Seven shot back, annoyed. She went on to add, "We need to get her back, whatever the cost… Our sister's our only answer to this mess. Her and her lover, Agathon."
"Shouldn't we focus on dealing with the crap that's currently stopping our plans here? The Resistance and those of us who went AWOL," The One shot back, "This place and our ability to procreate as God wills would be useless if we let ourselves somehow lose track of the fact we're still at war. The human subjects themselves are proving to be useless in our research. Worse off is if they attack us-What? Huh?! We lost contact with… Oh, no…"
"Now?" Melissa asked, rage bubbling in her voice.
"Now," The Lieutenant confirmed over com. As the Cylons turned toward the doors, they were kicked in by the dozen or so Orbital Drop Shock Troopers present. The Humanoids all turned on their feet, standing up from their seats around the table just to stare down the barrels of the UNSC. The Lieutenant barked, "FIRE AT WILL!"
… And a fusillade erupted. With weapons set to fully automatic, the ODSTs filled the central area full of lead, rounds ripping through the six-foot tall Centurion guards and putting them down. One of the Cylons, a blonde, had her chest blown open by the Shotgun, while the others were raked by the troops' machine guns. Blood sprayed across the floor, fresh stains on the dirty carpet below, spent casings dropping to the floor.
The ODSTs held down their triggers until the last of the bastards was on the ground and even after. They fired until the last of them ran out of ammunition in that magazine, rounds ripping through the glass, through the floor, through the flesh, bone and steel of Cylon and Centurion alike and shredding the table and them.
When the guns ran dry, the Lieutenant barked, "CEASE FIRE! AREA CLEAR!" and dropped his spent magazine, slapping in a fresh one. He and his team advanced into the room, pausing above the corpses of the human-looking Cylon, noting the Number Seven with Sharon's face, the Six, a beautiful blonde, the One, an elderly man in a black suit, and the four, a wily blonde-haired man.
There were at least two of each model present, clad in different clothes matching personalities. The ODSTs' boots crackled against the broken glass of the destroyed light fixture above as they walked forward. Melissa herself approached the Number Ones and kicked one in the head, then took her helmet off and spat on him, calling out, "Fucking Toasters…"
"Keep recording, people," The Lieutenant mumbled as he examined the dead. He flipped one of the Sixes onto her back, noting the blood foaming at her mouth and the stains on her red dress. Vacant eyes stared up at them from each of the dead, with the man asking, "All of'em are dead, rig-" only to pause as the same Six he'd flipped onto her back coughed out blood. He called out, "And there's our capture. Doc."
The team Medic moved up and checked the woman, noticing she was looking around at them, then told the Lieutenant, "She's in rough shape, sir. Ten out of the twelve shots that hit her didn't go through. Pulse is erratic, but she's salvageable if we get her to one of our ships," only to hear her groan as she grabbed onto his arm. He slid a painkiller syringe into her neck and worked to keep her awake.
He nodded, then radioed, "Command, this is Bravo Six Actual transmitting on a secure net… We have one HVT captured… Heavily injured by the raid. Requesting MEDEVAC ASAP if ONI wants their spooks to have an interrogation target," and knelt in front of her. He grabbed her chin as she breathed heavily, forcing her to look at her reflection in his visor, then said, "Your freak buddies are lucky they're dead, because once ONI sees what you've done here…? Heh," He snorted derisively, then stood up, showing his team to pack up.
Raheel-Leyya
The Quarian Migrant Fleet
Though it had been a surprise when it was first communicated by their human friends, the arrival of the newfound intergalactic human vessels, Galactica and Colonial One was met with both suspicion and a sort of expectant jubilation by the Quarians Admiralty Board. Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay, commander of the Patrol Fleet, checked her Omni-Tool continuously for reports from her ships.
Aboard the Quarian Lifeship, the Rayya, the Admiralty Board had met to discuss peculiar matters, including the issues pertaining to one Admiral Rael'Zorah, who was currently not answering his calls. Despite that, Shala had assured the rest of the Board not to worry, because Rael always got stuck in his own experiments, and instead focus on the fact that a human force belonging to a migrant fleet of their own was coming to say hello.
And indeed, they did. With a procession of Marines that included Kal'Reegar and his men, all of whom were saved by a unit that included members from the Colonial Navy, they waited at the largest airlock available on the beautiful Rayya. Shala smiled a little behind her mask as she watched the Marines interacting, then cast a glance out in space, through the windows.
The Patrol Fleet's most distant warships stood guard over the system, scanning and scouting through the orbit of the sibling stars for both hostile and friend. Thus, it wasn't long before their commander received the report of two vessels, one much larger than the other, appearing at the edge of the system. She linked her com to that of the Charybdis, the leading ship of the Second Patrol Squadron, and listened.
The voice over the com was a bit distorted by whatever telecommunication system they were using, but the callout was familiarly human. The man spoke, "This is the Battlestar Galactica to the Quarian Migrant Fleet. We come in peace. Our President seeks to open discussions with the Admiralty Board and the Conclave in regards to our common ground."
"Patch me through," Admiral Raan spoke to the crew of the Charybdis. When the green light came, she spoke, "Galactica, this is Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay, of the Patrol Fleet. The Conclave and Admiralty Board extend their greetings to the human vessels of the Colonial Navy. Please, come to a halt alongside the Lifeship Rayya, with your weapons disengaged, and proceed to docking point zero-one-zero."
"Roger, Admiral. We are on approach now with our weapons offline and MASTER ARM SAFE," The officer on board the Galactica replied as the massive, one-point-four kilometer-long vessel's engines glowed for a moment as it, alongside its hammerhead-shaped ward, traveled toward the Migrant Fleet at ahead slow.
When the two ships came close, the Galactica gently turned, radio communication between them and the Rayya's ATC system reporting about the ship performing escort duties for the meeting. In the meanwhile, the blue-and-white Colonial One approached the docking port just as the three other admirals present on-board walked over.
"So," Daro'Xen vas Moreh, one of the leading Scientific minds aboard the Fleet, stared at the Galactica in her new clothes and gear. She said, "That would be an intergalactic human warship… Impressive and unsurprisingly lacking in mass effect field technology," as she pointed out the guns, "Magnetic cannons, dual-purpose. Point defense guns on the Pods and magnetic launch rails for starfighters…"
"You seem to have figured her out ahead of time, Xen," Shala spoke, arms crossed, "It's a human escort vessel and a carrier…"
"I'm more interested in the fact of them being alien to our own Galaxy, yet still Human, Shala," Daro replied, cupping the bottom of her mask. She spoke, "Don't you think it's strange? We've received a data package from Tali a few days ago regarding these peoples, with their permission, mind you. The UNSC, the Colonials and the Republic… All human or human-adjacent… All post-War or Wartime, capable countries."
"I think we'll understand them better as we meet them, Admiral Xen," Han'Gerrel vas Neema, Admiral of the Quarian Heavy Fleet and overall military, stated. He watched the Colonial One, a comparatively dainty ship to the Galactica, as she docked with their vessel, then stated, "Our guests are here. Marines! Attention!"
"This should be interesting…" Murmured Zaal'Koris vas Qwib Qwib, the Civilian Fleet's Admiral as, behind him, representatives from the Conclave followed. They marched toward the reinforced door that led to the airlock umbilical, then paused there, hands behind their backs, with Shala and Zaal at the front.
"Be nice," Shala whispered to Zaal.
He hummed, "I will do my best…" before adding, "If they've come in proper suits…" in a quiet mumble. They listened to the decontamination system beyond the door activate, hissing showers of decon fluid presumably washing their guests in disinfectants and germ-hunting substances for about a minute before the door lock turned from orange to green and the door itself slid in two, opening.
It revealed the humans and their entourage. The leading woman, who somehow managed to wear her glasses underneath the bulky transparent helmet of her enviro-suit, wiped away the wet disinfectants and thus cleared her vision. She smiled at them, then nodded her head in greeting. The Admirals greeted her in kind, then noticed her entourage.
A dozen people, representatives of the 12 Colonies' survivors aboard the human Fleet, each with varying skin tones and faces and builds. Beside them on each flank sat soldiers wearing dark-green, armored suits with attached gas masks and with weapons on their backs. The leading woman, President Laura Roslin, extended her hand and said, "In the name of the Twelve Colonies and the surviving people of the Colonial Fleet, greetings to you."
"To you as well, madam President, from the Quarian Flotilla," Admiral Zaal replied calmly, gently shaking the woman's hand. He motioned to himself and said, "I am Admiral Zaal'Koris, of the Civilian Fleet section. These are my comrades, Admiral Shala'Raan of the Patrol Fleet, whom you've spoken to," he motioned to Shaala, who bowed her head, "Admiral Han'Gerrel of the Heavy Fleet, our Military arm," and Han gave a quick salute, "And Admiral Daro'Xen, of our Research Division."
"Greetings," Daro'Xen said with her own small smile and wave.
"If you'd follow us to the meeting room," The man offered to Roslin, who nodded her approval. The Marines snapped-to, saluting as the Admiralty turned about and led the guests through the inner area of the docking ring, showing to them the outside and the inner greeting area of the vessel, one of the only three ships in the fleet with any form of greenery…
An impressive sight to behold, nonetheless…