Snippet #1856527

"Captain!" one of the Aurora agents yelled while rapidly tapping away at an expansive haptic interface before him in the Aurora Project's Noveria command and control center. "Cerberus signature detected five hundred meters from the west perimeter! Closing fast!"

Marcus Shire stepped into the dim lighting that circled around the control room's ceiling directly overhead the many workstations similar to the beckoning agent's. He leaned in close to gain a better visual of what his operator was had found to be worthy of alarm, which was a live video feed of a fast approaching Hammerhead, adorned with the unmistakable white, black, and orange colors of Cerberus. Though their emblems were on the sides, and hard to make out in the relentless blizzard outside, the IFF's returned ping confirmed who was inside. A smirk formed across his grisly face and he stood up straight with both hands behind his back and his shoulders broad. "Condition Delta!" he barked. "It looks like Cerberus is bringing the fight to us."

The white lights overhead flashed to red, and the entire command room was now tinted in a darkened vermilion glow. Aurora officers picked up their paces, practically double-timing it across the raised walkways that ran in a similar circular pattern behind the control consoles, surrounding the primary battle operation table in the center of the room. Captain Shire guided himself with a calm grace back over to that very table, where he leaned forward on the chrome and overlooked a giant hologram of the terrain and his precious compound. One simple Hammerhead? Is that all?

He briefly wondered who in Cerberus had decided to attack him so boldly. The NDC could have very well detected and traced their presence on the planet already, and were perhaps sending a scouting party, but Cerberus wouldn't risk openly exposing themselves like that. No, it had be an outside cell; an operation being put together by someone that didn't have any direct ties to the technology corporations on Noveria. Commander Titus? The thought had definitely crossed his mind, and it seemed plausible. If that was true... The sly grin on Marcus' face grew twice as wide.

The captain was going to enjoy this little skirmish.




Commander Titus rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger, wanting to pound Sentry's skull in for the reckless slave comment in front of Braden. Yet, as he told the no-doubt perturbed teen, the man simply didn't know. Besides, there was always the off-chance that Braden might actually play it cool and forget about it. But there was also the chance that he could go on an emotionally-fueled biotic rampage through the ship when they got back. John shook his head free of the thoughts, wanting instead to just focus on the mission. It would be best to simply cross that bridge when he got there.

Both the commander and Operative Taylor stood above the Vindicator's galaxy map in the CIC. With the tap of his fingers on his Omni-tool, the map dissolved and a hologram of the area of operation materialized to take its place. Their new toy, highlighted in Cerberus' famous fiery orange, glided across the ice- and snow-covered terrain with ease. Aurora's compound had been built on a complex base of primarily concrete, with higher elements constructed using a metal alloy. EDI's scans revealed massive thermal heat signatures radiating from below the bases. They were more than likely some kind of heating system put in place to keep the ice from over-taking the foundations. The concrete, Titus also noticed, wasn't poured there; it was placed there. Giant slabs had been molded and dried off-world, and delivered to the location to provide a quick foundation for the base and vehicles.

Overall, it was a well fortified position. Tall cliffs surrounded the compound on all sides but the west, where Sentry was quickly making his approach from. GARDIAN defense turrets had been installed in all corners, capable of providing both air and ground defense; unlike the air-only turrets on Anhur and most colonies. EDI had marked the location of four different power-sources, each linking to a particular turret nearby. Since the compound did not have a single, primary power house, every one or two structures required their own source of energy. If Sentry was going to survive against the turrets, he would have to use the Hammerhead's maneuverability to sweep in and take out their power units. A single tower wouldn't be able to touch him up close because of its height, but his ass would be left open for the other three towers to take a shot if he wasn't in and out fast enough. There was also the concern of the two M35 Mako armored units. They were fast, but difficult to maneuver; and their armor was weakest in the rear. Yet, if their 155mm cannon managed to deliver a direct blow to the Hammerheard, Sentry and Braden might as well abort the mission and bail out.

Titus didn't like the odds; and he especially didn't like his decision to send Braden down there for a "learning experience". He wanted to punch himself in the face, or drive his head into the handrail he was leaning against in front of the map. Veronica had already voiced her disapproval, and if the boy came back in a body bag, she promised to personally eject him out of one of the torpedo tubes. As much as he wanted to bring the Vindicator in for the same kind of bombing run that Darcy performed back on Lucr'n, he knew he couldn't. The Illusive Man planned ahead: knowing that Aurora would have had air defenses waiting, he sent the Hammerhead. That was the only way they could pull this off. He began to wonder if that's also why he had specifically chosen Mr. Valentine to come along with the package.

"Titus," EDI said aloud over the speakers before materializing on a nearby projection terminal next to the map's viewing platform, "I have detected a lot of troop movement within the base. The Hammerhead's IFF has been pinged, and Aurora is now fully aware of who we are. Sentry is now in range of their GARDIAN defense towers."

"Any good news?"

"Yes. Dr. Porter has reconsidered ejecting your body out of a torpedo tube, given the intimate relationship you two share. She has, instead, opted to eject you out of the airlock if Mr. Reynold's returns deceased; finding it to be less cruel."




The memories of his year as a tortured slave under Gavin's abusive and twisted control had tried to crawl into the back of Braden's mind, but he bravely pushed them back. He had to be focused on the mission, and Sentry's joke was just that... a harmless joke. He couldn't blame the man for not knowing his past, even if he wanted to turn his brain back into the primordial muck it had evolved from. But such thoughts were also unhealthy, so the teenager sucked it up and returned his focus to the terminal in front of him. The controls and readings were a bit confusing to understand at first, but his time playing Divide and Conquer on the Jon Grissam Academy's computer network had taught him a thing or two about military lingo. As it turned out, the stuff in video games wasn't so different than the real thing nowadays.

An alert message suddenly flashed across his screen: HOSTILE ARTILLERY FIRE DETECTED! EVASIVE ACTION RECOMMENDED!

He didn't need to be a military brat to understand what that meant. "Uhm... dude! You might wanna-" His voice was overpowered by a boom! somewhere outside the Hammerhead. Considering they were still alive, and the hover tank hadn't rocked or jerked from an impact, Braden assumed that the shot had missed; but probably by only a few yards. Out of instinct, Braden reached for and pulled the M-8 Avenger that Titus had given him closer and set it directly up against his seat, securing the butt of the rifle with one hand pressing it against the cushion.

If need be, he was ready and willing to fight today.