Lieutenant Harrensâ decision to try and draw some of the pressure away from Titusâ own team only helped for a few moments. The husk numbers were simply too great and cutting them down seemed to do nothing. When the Victory team used their jump packs to land atop a ruined structure, the husks left on the ground turned to resume their assault on Titus, despite several attempting to follow the escapees by scaling the buildingâs walls.
âCommander!â Lance called out, loading a fresh thermal clip into his M-8 Avenger. âWe canât keep this up! Iâm running low on ammo; and they just keep coming!â
Villaynâs voice came over the comm next, with more bad news. âIâm afraid Operative Williams is right, Titus. Our sniper rounds are rapidly depleting, and these things are trying to make their way to us. It wonât be long before they get smart and come up on our flank. We need to exfil.â
Titus nodded in agreement, though he doubted anyone of his teammates saw the gesture of accord in the middle of the shit storm they had gotten themselves into. He opened up a direct line to the Kodiak. âGround team to Kodiak.â
âGo.â
âSend a message to the Vindicator. Tell Darcy I want his ass in the atmosphere, ASAP. This artifact is too dangerous to be left intact. If the boss wants a husk, he can have a pile of them⊠dead. Also, Lieutenant Harrins and Captain Villayn are split up from us. Egress them first, then have Darcy send another Kodiak to pick up my team. How copy?â
âI copy that, Commander. Theyâve got the message, Helmsman Mansfield is bringing the Vindicator into suborbital altitude now and Iâm oscar-mike to the LTâs location. ETA: one mike.â
Titus repositioned himself against the railing and opened up a hail of fire against any husk that crossed into his scope. He shouted orders for Lance and Erik to hold their positions and keep firing. The seconds ticked by, John counting every one of them as he fired, chambered, and fired again. Finally, when things seemed grim, he saw the Kodiak that had brought them in arrive in time to pick Lt. Harrensâ team up off the rooftop, hovering just a few feet away with the passenger bay door open for them to jump inside. When the team was loaded, it dipped down to Villaynâs sniper nest, allowing the three turians to cram inside with their colleagues from the Victory with only seconds to spare of husks overwhelming their position.
Now we just need to hold off a minute longer, Titus thought. He only hoped that minute would be a second, picturing Darcyâs bringing the Vindicator through the cloud cover and reigning down a firestorm barrage of air-to-surface missiles. Before he could finish the hopeful thoughts, however, another earthquake rumbled beneath them. This time, a chunk of debris from the structure supporting Keownâs end gave away and crashed into the scaffolding. It destroyed the staircase, preventing the husks from advancing on his end, and the operative nearly escaped being crushed himself. But when Titus ran over to help his comrade to his feet, the worst happened. The observation bridge began to give away from the impact of the debris, and Erik found himself tumbling toward the center.
âErik!â Titus yelled as he tossed his Excalibur to Lance and dived on his stomach to try and catch his friendâs hand before he fell completely over, towards the artifact in the center. His palm and fingers grabbed onto Keownâs wrist at the last second, but he was forced to use his free hand and claw into the grating of the catwalk, lest he pulled over by the weight of Keownâs heavy Cerberus armor. His arm was straining and his wrist was screaming to let go, but the commander held on.
âJohn! Dammit! Let me go! You donât have time to waste by trying to pull me up! Go help-â
âYou donât give me orders, dammit!â Titus yelled back. âNow donât you fucking let go! Pull yourself up here! Now!â
âI canât⊠You know that. Iâm too heavy in this shit. If I use both arms, Iâll just bring you down with me.â
âErik! Shut up!â
âTell the Illusive Man⊠that since he wanted a husk so bad⊠I volunteered myself.
âNo! You son of a-â But it was too late to convince him otherwise. Operative Erik Keown let go of his commanderâs wrist and forced his own out of Titusâ grip. His body plummeted and punched through the energy sphere atop the four Reaper supports. Time seemed to slow as John watched his friend fall all the way through, rattled by arcs of electricity and energy spikes until he exited through the bottom of the sphere and continued to fall until he crashed on the dusty surface below. âAaaagggghhh!â
Titus brought himself completely over onto the catwalk and pushed himself up. He took several deep breaths and took a second to absorb what had just happened. It wasnât the first time as a soldier that he had witness a man give his life for a cause; and so he knew exactly what to do. A life given out of noble pursuit must not be taken for granted, not simply dismissed or only wept for. Titus raised his head, straightened his back, and rolled his shoulders. He turned around sharply and picked up the Excalibur rifle from Lance, who was continuing to mow down husks charging after him with tears rolling down both cheeks. He had seen what had happened⊠what Erik chose to do; and he was venting by unloading every thermal clip he had left onto the sorry, forgotten slaves.
[Begin playing soundtrack, "Embolden"]Disengaging the rifle mode, John separated the Excalibur pistols and rearmed them with new thermal clips. Out of daring rage and a need to avenge Erikâs death, to honor his sacrifice, the Commander, flanked by Operative Williams, charged down the staircase, unloading round after round into the husks. Barrels collided with faces, and rocketing rounds pulverized those faces. Every cybernetic freak of nature that came too close to the duo fell to their fury.
The engines of a Kodiak roared overhead and Titusâ eyes glanced up only long enough to look past it at towards the Vindicator breaking through the cloud cover. Darcy was already giving orders to unload the much-needed rocket barrage. All the commander had to do now was retrieve Erikâs body from underneath the artifactâs sphere before the Vindicatorâs hell storm destroyed it and buried the fallen hero.
âLance: Kodiak. Move!â
âAye-Aye! Iâll see you aboard!â
As Williams took off sprinting for the landing Kodiak, Titus spun around and aimed his torso toward the artifactâs base. He punched the activation for the ARSâ fission pack and rocketed at high velocity toward his target. A husk had managed to break into his flight path and Titus took aim with one of the Excalibur pistols, driving the barrel into the mutantâs screaming mouth. The neck snapped back under the speed, effectively âkillingâ it, but the commander pulled the trigger anyway, exploding the huskâs cranium with an overkill shot.
When he landed, Titus rolled for several feet; finally stopping to a skidding halt before Keownâs lifeless corpse. In order to carry the man, Titus had to field-strip the Cerberus armor off of him. The visor came first, and John could see the manâs already pale-skin; unusual, but no doubt a side-effect of the artifactâs sphere. The chest plate, shoulder pads, gauntlets, and leggings came after. It was a hassle, constantly having to left and heave Erikâs body in order to get to every release latch; but when everything had finally come off, Titus lifted his friend into a firemanâs carry over his shoulders and ran as fast as he could.
Thankfully, the Kodiakâs pilot had repositioned closer to the artifact, though safely away from the sphereâs energy output. The passenger hatch flew open and Keown jumped out to assist his commander in helping to carry Keownâs body inside. Two other Vindicator marines lent their support in gently bringing in their fallen comrade.
The Kodiak rapidly pulled away, just in time for the missile strike to enforce its punishment on the Prothean ruins and Reaper artifact. Because the Vindicator was in close, Darcyâs transmissions came through crystal clear.
âBringing the pain, mother fuckers!â
Each of the flanking structures that had been used to support the observation bridge around the artifact crumbled inward, landing on top of the device and effectively destroying it once and for all. As Titus watched the devastation unfold beneath them as the Kodiak approached closer to the open landing bay of his ship, he heard a sharp ringing in both ears, and his head spun. A gravel voice in the back of his mind, one that spoke with authority and determination, was none like he had heard before. Unrecognizable, but worthy of his attention.
You cannot stop us, human. This war you wage is a pathetic and futile attempt at escaping what is destined to come.Braden⊠Braden⊠Come on, sweetie. Time to get up.The young Reynolds awoke in one of the medical bayâs recovery beds in a sweat, gasping for air. He through the covers back, attempting to cool his half naked body down as quickly as possible before it went up in flames. Every muscle cried out in pain, and he only ended up falling back on the sweat-soaked pillow and bed sheets. As he lay there, starring up into the light above him, he kept thinking of the womanâs voice he heard in his dreams before waking. It was familiar, comforting, loving.
âMom?â his hopeful voice cracked.
Fast approaching, but light footsteps could be heard approaching him from the side, and another familiar voice pierced the silence of the ward. âNo, honey; Iâm afraid not,â answered Dr. Porter as she came into view of Bradenâs peripherals. Her head bobbed above him as she checked his vitals on her Omni tool. When she done, she gently slid a cool hand underneath Bradenâs neck and then worked her way up to the back of his head, slowly lifting it to remove the old pillow and replace it with a fresh, dry one.
âYouâve been out for several hours,â she said. âYou knew better than to go so long without a sufficient amount of food in your system. Biotics need the calories, Braden. If Tony hadnât have raced your unconscious body up here as fast as he did, you could have slipped into a coma. We donât need
two heroes hanging between life and death, now do we?â
Braden couldnât bear to look at her. The why she was scolding him, upset but loving, reminded him too much of his own mother. He messed up, but Veronica was there to take care of him, a sick child in need. He actually felt⊠âSorryâŠâ
Veronica folded her arms, but offered a warm smile. She walked around the bed to check up on a monitor and said, âNo need to be all blue about it. Your girlfriend told me the whole story. Personally, I think it was romantic how you held out for her; but professionally, Iâd say you were an idiot.â She chuckled when she said this, finding the conclusive judgment to be quite amusing now that the boy was going to be okay. âWe had to stick you with a few IVs, to rehydrate you and get enough nutrition in your system to keep you going. Iâm sure youâre starving though, so Iâll have a tray brought in from the mess hall. Mess Sergeant Miles is already preparing something special for you. Oh, and, sorry about the clothing situation. Your body was reacting to the lack of sustenance by creating a fever; thatâs why youâre sweating and dehydrated. Iâve got your shirt, jeans, and boots over there on the chair.â She pointed to the white and chrome chair adjacent to his recovery bed. Braden recognized it as the exact same chair he sat in while Vala Buchan was recovering after saving his life on Illium.
âIf Lizzie comes in to see you, make sure to keep the covers pulled over.â Veronica winked before turning away. âNow, if youâll excuse me, I need to check up on Operative Buchan.â
âValaâs here?â Braden asked. He turned his head over to see the woman sleeping peacefully â as ironic as that seems â in another recovery bed at the end of the bay.
âYes,â the doc replied. âShe just underwent surgery to have her biotic implants upgraded to the new L5x. Sheâs like you now.â
Veronica continued on down the bay to check on Valaâs readings. Braden could only watch the blonde woman sleep soundly and wonder why in the galaxy she would put herself through the immense risk of doing such a thing. Bradenâs own implantation surgery was risky enough, and thatâs when he was at the age it was
supposed to be done. At Valaâs age, such a procedure could be life-threatening if not handled right. He had been outfitted with the Ascension Project's experimental L4 implants when he had been taken into the care of the academy. His upgrade to the L5x didn't happen until a year later when he was selected to be apart of the Eden Prime training. The surgery left him sore for weeks, and he would often suffer from mind-splitting headaches. He wondered if Vala was going to have to endure the same effects.
"Okay, so... not a
bad first date," Lizzie said, startling Braden so much he nearly jumped out of the covers. The teens locked eyes for a moment and started to laugh. Lizzie pulled the chair over to the edge of the bed and sat down, holding Braden's left hand under both of hers. "You scared me down there," she said after a while, unable to look him in the eye. When she finally looked up, she had tears in her eyes. "Don't ever do that again."
"Liz, I-" Before he could finish, she stood up and leaned over him, meeting her lips with his own. They remained there for well over a minute, and Braden could hear the persistent tone of his heart rate on the nearby monitor beep slightly faster. Finally, Lizzie pulled away but only enough to stare into his eyes with an inch between their noses.
The boy opened his mouth again to say something, but her finger pressed down ontop of them. "Wait," she whispered. "I'll come back after you eat." Her finger slid down from his lips, brushed down his chin, and dropped to his exposed upper chest. Before pulling away, she gave him a light peck on his forehead.
Dr. Porter returned and placed a bottle of water on the folder-over table attached to his recovery bed and courteously unscrewed the cap. "She's a keeper," she mused at the expense of a red-faced Braden. She turned away and headed back to her desk near the front of the bay, taking her seat a second later to begin to tapping away at her haptic keyboard. As she worked, the boy took small, but greedy gulps of the water. He wasn't sure why, but there was something in the air that didn't quite feel right.
"Where's the commander?" he asked. Veronica's typing came to a dead stop, but she only stared straight forward, completely quiet. "What's wrong? Did... something happen?"
Dr. Porter finally turned to look at him with an expressionless face. "He's... down in the Kodiak bay," she said. "Operative Keown..." She only sighed, unable to finish what Braden already knew. The teenager threw the covers off and over the side of the bed, fighting the protest of his sore and cramped muscles as his legs hung over the edge. "Braden! No! You can't be moving around just yet!" Veronica jumped up from her seat and raced over to stop him, but Braden held up his hand as he slid off the matress and reached for his clothes.
"No," he insisted, "don't."
If he were any younger, or less assertive, Dr. Porter probably would have restrained him to the bed, but he had made his intentions crystal clear. There was no stopping him. He struggled to pull on the jeans and shirt, but didn't bother with the boots. The floors of the Vindicator were cold, but flat and clear, and would only offer some relief to his body's fever if he went barefoot. The first few steps were a rush to the head, but he quickly gained his balance as he made his way closer and faster to the door.
Finally, leaning the against the threshold, Braden swiped his hand in front of the access panel and turned back to look at Veronica and say, "Don't worry about me. I'll be back; I promise."
Braden quietly stumbled out of the lift and into the Vindicatorâs Kodiak bay. No one had heard the blast doors hissing as he stepped out, or they at least paid no attention to him. As the boy looked around, he saw what must of the been the Vindicatorâs
entire crew, all gathered and standing in two impressive military formations of several ranks. Each Cerberus crewman was standing with feed shoulder-width apart, and their hands clasped into a V in the small of their backs.
Parade rest, they called it.
The room was quiet, save for an echoing tapping sound somewhere near the front of the formations. Braden snuck around behind several supply crates and mechanical units. When he finally found a perfect view of the front of the formation he saw Commander Titus standing at the head of another smaller formation. Four men and two women, dressed in the black and white dress uniform of Cerberusâ higher ranking officers were unfolding a blue and white fabric between the six of them. Gently they lowered their arms, but kept their backs straight, and allowed the cloth to rest on top of an object between them; three of them on one side, three on the other side. A whispered command was given by one of them, but Braden was unsure who it was, and the six instantly snapped to face the rest of their shipmates. Another command was given, and Braden noticed this time that it was one of the men in the rear of the six. In response, all of them marched through the center of the formations. As the heels of their boots met the metallic surface of the Kodiak bay, the tapping sound from earlier was revealed, as was their role.
Those six were the Vindicatorâs honor guard; and they had just unfolding and rested a blue and white flag atop of a fallen soldierâs casket. To whom the casket belonged was no mystery. Dr. Porter had already given Braden the answer up in the medical bay. Though he could not see the flagâs emblem, he recognized the colors. His time aboard the Jon Grissam space station while, attending the Ascension Project as a biotic student, allowed him to become familiar with the Alliance.
How Operative Keown died, Braden did not know. But what was clear to him now was that he must have been a former member of the Alliance Navy; and Commander Titus was giving him the honor worthy of a soldier that had made the ultimate sacrifice. The commander himself seemed grimmer than the rest of his shipmates. His eyes were downcast, full of sorrow and guilt. The young teenager had spent enough of his life feeling the same emotions that it was easy for him to tell when others were experiencing them.
âErik Keown,â the commander said aloud, lifting his head to face his crew. âA man. A soldier. A friend. He sacrificed himself so that we may continue to fight for our survival; for our freedom. I knew Erik; and he wouldnât have wanted it any other way.
âIt pains me that I must return an empty casket to his family; and even more so that I cannot tell them why. Because of the importance of our mission, and the oath we have sworn to secrecy, I cannot explain to them that Erik Keownâs body is slowly becoming a tool for our enemy to use. But I
can tell them this: that his sacrifice will not have been made in vain. Cerberus will avenge Erik Keown; and the Reapers⊠they will
pay for what they have done and what theyâre doing.
âBut we have a mission. And we all knew the risks of this mission. So did Operative Keown. So if weâre going to bring humanityâs wrath to our enemies, then we must first annihilate their Collector servants. So if you want revenge as much as I want it right now⊠then set your cross hairs on them. The crew of the SIC Titan, Erik Keown, and all of the innocent humans that have been taken from their homes â the women, children, infants â deserve to be avenged.
âSo we carry on; and weâll wait for the right moment to hit them with everything weâve got. And when we do⊠weâll make them hurt so much that their masters will feel it all the way out in dark space.â
There was silence in the room once again, and the Vindicatorâs commander snapped to the position of attention with arms straight down to his sides. He held his chin high and in a one, loud command, yelled,
âATTENTION!â Upon the command, every man and woman in the formations before him snapped to the position of attention. Their boots, all in sync with one another, made a thundering echo throughout the entire bay.
âCENTER! FACE!â Both of the formations snapped out a perfect facing movement, turning their bodies to face the opposite formation across the center aisle.
Braden repositioned to another end of the line of cargo crates for a better view. The tapping of the honor guardsâ heels could be heard again, echoing down the aisle. When he finally found another spot, he watched as the six of them were already carrying Keownâs empty casket, still adorned with the Alliance flag, down the aisle. As it passed by the servicemen, each rank presented a very slow salute. It wasnât fast, like a traditional salute, but the presentation of arms given to the fallen â raised six paces before the honor guard, and lowered six paces after. Gentle and humble, but honorable.
The casket was gently carried up a small ramp and into the passenger bay of an awaiting Kodiak. When the honor guard carefully lowered it onto the floor and secured the clamps that would hold the casket in place during flight, Commander Titus marched down the aisle, head held high. He continued on up the ramp until he was merely a foot away and looked down at the casket. Like the his crew behind him, the leader presented a slow salute, held it for several seconds while whispering inaudible words, and then lowered it.
âTitus,â the Illusive Man said, putting out a cigarette in his tray as the hologram of the Vindicatorâs commander materialized before him on his projection pad, âIâve just received word back from the Alliance. Keownâs belongings and casket have been safely received. No interruptions, no discrepancies. Iâve personally contacted his family, providing an explanation for what happened; however, if you still wish to send a personal message condolence yourself, Iâm sure they would appreciate it.â
John nodded his head. âI was going to do that anyway, sir. Itâs just⊠difficult, right now.â
The Illusive Man stood up from his seat and slowly walked forward to Titusâ hologram. âTake all the time you need, Commander. It might be best to let Erikâs loved ones have time to mourn first, anyway. It will only be easier for them to receive your message afterward.â
âI see.â Titus didnât want to spend the entire conversation with his employer wallowing in sorrow; and the he was sure the Illusive Man didnât want that either. He was still assigned to a mission, and it had to take priority, regardless of the situation. âThe Vindicator is standing by for orders.â
âI'm not willing to put either you or the Call of Victory back up against the Collectors just yet; not after the hits both of you have taken. Omni Cell still needs time to recover, and besides, two of my best operatives arenât even battle capable. Vala is still recovering from her surgery, and Jason is still in a coma. When heâll wake up, no one knows. Thus, his second-in-command must learn how to take the reins of his ship and get used to it. Sheâs our contingency plan should Commander Horn fall any farther away from us.
âInstead, Iâm splitting the Vindicator and the Call of Victory up again to complete some smaller assignments. While weâre analyzing Keownâs body as it progresses through the stages of becoming a husk, I want you two to focus on gathering back your strength. The Vindicator is now down a man, so I suggest you start with that. Iâve already taken the liberty of contacting a skilled combat engineer by the name of Stephen Valentine. He goes by the name "Sentry"; and will prove to be a valuable new member of your team.â
âWhere do I find him?â
âHeâll be waiting for you at a refueling station in the Terminus. Go to the Chandrasekhar system; and dock at the station orbiting Hebat. Once you meet up with him, Iâll send a personal message to your terminal with your next assignment.â
Titus nodded, but before the Illusive Man cut the transmission, he held his finger over the kill button for a moment. âAnd Commander... you have my word that Iâll treat Erikâs body with the utmost respect.â
âThank you, sir.â