Mass Effect Universe created by Bioware

Commander Jonathan Titus splits!

Don't leave me!

Gah!

What's that move called?

Braden twirled his fork in the small scoop of pasta linguini on his tray. The biotic was starving, but he and Lizzie had made plans for dinner earlier that day, and he didn't want to spoil his appetite, if food was the kind of dinner date she had in mind. Instead of filling himself up on the mess hall chow, he stuck to eating just enough to keep the headaches and dizziness at bay. It had been a long time now his diet with the Ascension Project, where all of the students had received strictly controlled meals consisting of nearly 2,000 calories each. The expensive provisionary diets were required if one were to exercise their biotic potential. Throughout the sparring match with Villayn, Braden had used his biotics in small doses, but had also refused to take any breathers. Combine the abnormal exertion of energy with a lack of a healthy breakfast and lunch, and the boy was flat out exhausted.

Villayn had been busy going on and on about interesting war stories, talking about his years as both a soldier and then as a pirate. His lieutenants, Arkan and Darak, chimed in with their own dramatic retellings and Braden found himself more intrigued by the minute. Rather than staring back with glazed over eyes, he was actually asking questions, like "What happened next?" and "What does that mean?".

The story telling continued on for nearly half an hour before a tall figure joined the group and sat down right next to Braden. The teen hardly recognized Lance until he fully turned his head to look up at the grease-covered battery operator, who was currently eye-balling Villayn with little emotion.

"Operative Williams, am I right?" Villayn asked, though with an air of caution in his voice.

"That's right," Lance replied. "Just finished up some heavy maintenance on the Thannix. I didn't realize one of the gold coils came loose when we used it against your ship."

Dead silence fell over the table. Braden received a distinct feeling of discomfort and wanted to slug the man in the shoulder for being so callous; yet, Lance's surprising comment had taken him by such surprise, the boy hardly knew how to react.

"My, my," the turian captain replied without a hint of emotional reaction, "I hope it was nothing too serious. I'd hate for carelessness to be the demise of us all."

Lance smirked and then glanced down at Braden. "These guys aren't troubling you, are they, little man?" The kind, gentle face he had on while looking down at the young human was completely different the look of unsavory disdain he had expressed towards the turians only seconds earlier.

"Uhm...," was all Braden could manage before the familiar, authoritative voice of Commander Titus bellowed from across the mess hall.

"Lance! Come on over here and sit with the rest of us! Keown's got a sick joke you have to hear!"

Lance ignored the request and kept looking into the teen's eyes. Braden felt a lump in his throat and his hands began to clench each other under the table. He knew he wasn't in trouble, or doing anything wrong, but the way Lance was boring into him with only a brutally invasive stare made it seem like he was.

"Williams!" The voice belonged to Operative Taylor and was far more demanding in nature.

The big man huffed before standing up from the seat and furiously grabbing his tray from the table. As he turned to head back and sit with the other officers, Braden leaned over and whispered to the turians, "Sorry. He's kind of-"

"You don't have to explain," Darak said, stopping Braden. "Trust us... we know."




After the awkward final moments in the mess hall, Braden turned in his tray and headed toward the quarters. He figured that Lizzie might wait for him in his room, or outside his door if she wanted to find him easily. There weren't many places aboard the Vindicator that the two hung out at. They were far too young to be given tasking that required muscle or technical knowhow, and the lounge was off-limits per Titus due to the alcohol; not that Braden really cared anyway, considering he had no interest in drinking something that tasted so vial to him. The CIC used to offer a mild form of amusement to walk through - watching operatives and navigators hard at work at their control terminals, or running around and barking orders during exercises or real-time events - but even the energetic command deck had lost its spark. Now, the two spent most of their time in each other’s' rooms; playing games, surfing the extranet for holovids, or even practicing their... relationship.

Once again, the hormonal teenager found his mind slipping into the proverbial gutter. He could no longer dismiss what they had as a simple flare. It very well could be the simple fact that she was the only female around his age on the ship, but even so... his attraction to her was undeniable. He wouldn't settle for any other girl, not after knowing Lizzie.

At first, he thought her voice echoing down the hall behind him was a figment of his imagination, but the second time his name was called; he forced himself to glance around. Lizzie was poking her head just around the corner at the end of the corridor, signaling with one finger for him to follow. She didn't have to ask twice...




His steely eyes stuck to the holographic image of the ancient device like glue as it twirled above the black, polished tiles before him. It wasn’t until a trickle of smoke from the lit cigarette in his fingers glided into his line of sight that the Illusive Man finally pulled himself out of his fascination. The object was old, far older than any of the sentient species in the galaxy today; maybe as old as the Protheans, but that’s what his concern was. The device had been oddly positioned in the middle of a Prothean tell – a city so old that it had the remnants of cities below it – and where most Prothean technology was now inactive and decayed beyond repair, this particular machine wasn’t. Any archeologist that dismissed the Reapers as myth would jump at the chance to study this “Prothean” artifact up close; but the Illusive Man knew better. It was obvious to him what it was, unmistakable.

The machine wasn’t like the monoliths he had encountered in his past; it was much larger, and instead of a spike-like shape, it had taken the form of four tall braces supporting a large, blue sphere. The sphere itself seemed to be nothing but powerful, kinetic energy; like the kind one would witness enveloping an element zero drive core. The design of the supports was definitely not Prothean, black and misshapen, compared to the more regal and elegant architecture of the dead race.

“Orders, sir?” asked the man behind him, projected by the pad of the Illusive Man’s communicator. He was an operative working inside one of Cerberus’ many command centers throughout the galaxy. He stood with hands behind his back and his feet slightly spread, appearing disciplined and ready to carry out any task his employer had for him.

The Illusive Man slowly turned his chair around, away from the hologram of the device, and lowered his cigarette over his ash tray to flick off the build-up on the end of the stick. “Dispatch the Vindicator and the Call of the Victory to Lucr’n. Once on the surface, they’ll need to exercise extreme caution, especially when they approach the dig site. How many reports have we intercepted pertaining to sudden disappearances amongst the archeologists?”

“Dr. Kelton, the team’s director, has received reports of at least thirteen missing persons. He’s becoming paranoid and has withdrawn all of the scientists from the dig site. Their base camp is located approximately one klick south of the artifact. Since their withdrawal, no one seems to have gone missing, or is showing signs of indoctrination. Of course… Dr. Kelton wouldn’t know of indoctrination, so… our intelligence analysts suggest precautionary measures should be taken around them, regardless.”

The Man took a quick drag of his cigarette and rested his arm back down before saying, “Titus and Invaru only to obtain one Husk. I don’t image it being too difficult for them… as long as they keep their distance from the artifact and also ensure they’re not within the vicinity of its effect for too long.”

“And after they’ve succeeded? What should we do about the device?”

“Until we know about the process of indoctrination and develop a successful counter measure, I’m not willing to risk lives to study it, nor destroy it. Remove the archeologists and have the entire Prothean city cordoned off.”

“Yes, sir,” the operative said before the transmission was cut.

The Illusive Man turned back around to face the hologram, and took a deeper drag of his cigarette. He allowed his mind to fall back into the thought pattern of fascination and intrigue. The technology the Reapers possessed was evidently beyond all modern comprehension; but it was still a device that was created, not simply begotten – that much was clear. If he could find a way to recreate the technology of the Reapers, perhaps this war could take a turn for the better. Perhaps humanity would finally acquire the tools they need to dominate the stars.

As he sat in the violet light of the dying star outside the grand view port of his office, the words of Clark’s Third Law echo in the back of his mind: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

The arching spikes of discharging dark energy around the Vindicator's element zero core was tantalizing to the eyes. Being a biotic, Braden felt nearly renewed being so close to a massive sphere containing the same energy he could manipulate with his mind. The eezo core had a relaxing effect on his mind, despite the lack of nutrition. Lizzie, who had her head leaned back against his chest, with the two of them sitting on the floor of the core's surrounding deck against a bulkhead, had brought them some food from the mess hall to munch on. It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep the boy going for a while longer.

Both of the teenagers had spent the last hour with each other, in the exact same spot. The engineers hadn't objected once to their presence, and Braden assumed that was Lizzie's doing. He figured she must have convinced them sometime earlier in the day that they wouldn't get in the way. As Lizzie slumbered against him, his mind began to recall the events of the past day. Waking up and feeling hateful animosity towards Cerberus, finding comfort in the arms of the girl he loved, releasing the hate still inside him through Villayn's training, and finding peace once again with Lizzie. He still felt angry at the people he was working with, and he knew that only time would tell if he could truly trust Commander Titus and Yeoman Brown.




"Darcy, what the hell is up with the beret?" Titus demanded with an amused smirk as he approached the helm of the Vindicator. His pilot was wearing a black beret, perfectly formed over his right ear. Judging by the fact that the wool was smooth and shaven, Darcy must have had it for quite some time. Though it wasn't a part of the Cerberus crewman uniform, it matched the black, white, and gray colors.

Darcy spun around in his chair and revealed a giddy smile from cheek to cheek. "Isn't it sick, Commander? A few marines on deck five found them in starboard cargo, we must have accidentally picked up the shipment at our last resupply stop. Terminus depots aren't always the most reliable when it comes to tracking their customers' goods."

"That was three days ago," John noted, folding his arms.

"Yup. I've been shaping it in the shower every morning; finally shaved it last night and let it dry out. How does it look?"

Titus leaned back, inspecting the ridiculous hat left and right, but he honestly couldn't find much to object to. It was dorky, but sharp at the same time, and it conveyed an air professionalism about Darcy that Titus thought he would never see. Besides, the beret out-did the stupid ball caps any day of the week. After taking a moment to fully appreciate Darcy's new fashion accessory he let his arms drop and asked, "How many of those were in the shipment?"

"More than enough if you're thinking what I think you're thinking."

"Then I'll keep thinking." The commander moved around to stand beside Darcy, directly between him and EDI's ever-present sphere, and changed the subject, asking, "Is that our relay?" The mass relay Titus was referring to was growing closer as the Vindicator made its approach.

"That's it," Darcy confirmed, rapidly tapping away at his cyan-colored haptic interface. "We'll make the jump through and I'll plot us a direct course to Lucr'n. Our current ETA to target is two hours, fifteen minutes. Now EDI's already taken a look at the planet's recent geological surveys. She found a few things you might want to take note of."

On cue, the ship's AI chimed in with her report. "Lucr'n is located close enough to its system's sun to warrant the use of heat protective armor. Over the past millennia, the planet's protective atmospheric layers have deteriorated due to a build-up of greenhouse gases. This was most likely caused by a planet-wide war event during its final moments of civilization. Whatever cataclysm started the decay is no longer traceable. While your shields are strong enough to hold out against the penetrating radiation, they will be ineffective in a firefight. Mass accelerated rounds will go straight through and your hard suit's armor will have to absorb the impact alone."

"Wonderful," Titus mused. "So, what have the archeologists been using for protection?"

"Thermal resistant white suits," EDI replied. "They sacrifice armor in favor of specially designed shield boosters. The suits are also equipped with a thrust capacitor."

"A what?"

"Adding to the dangers of Lucr'n are frequent earthquakes and tectonic tremors, possibly another result of the cataclysm that ended the Prothean civilization-"

"It was the Reapers, EDI," Darcy retorted. "We all know it was the fucking Reapers."

Ignoring the helmsman's interuption, the AI carried on without any emotional inflection toward him. "Some quakes can cause large debris to break off of ruins and endanger the lives of nearby archeologists. To compensate, a back-mounted thrust capacitor provides a powerful enough boost - using a micro fission core - to propel the individual several hundred meters, safely removing them from the danger zone. It is not a 'jet pack', but a more level alternative."

Titus nodded, but rubbed his eyes. “Berets, earthquakes, and jump packs... Just get us to Lucr’n, Darcy.”

“Aye-aye, Commander.”

Titus spun around and walked back down the helm toward the CIC. As he passed through, he observed many of the CIC operators settling down in at their terminals, preparing for the eminent mission. Each of them, though they appeared to perform the same task as their neighbor, played a vital, unique role in keeping the Vindicator running and operational. Most of the technicians in the CIC were combat operations managers; relaying vital intelligence to and from the battle grounds, or assisting in space warfare. While EDI did most of the data logging and calculations, it was up her human counterparts to execute commands.

“I hope you’re ready, ladies and gents,” the commander said as he briskly made his way past them. “This mission is going to get interesting.”




“All hands, prepare for relay jump, in thirty seconds!” Engineer Sullivan announced as he practically ran at full speed from one end of the core room to the other, skipping nearly three full steps as he partially jumped up onto the main observation platform. In response, Braden and Lizzie, now fully awake and alert, jumped to their feet and made their way up to the platform for safety. Being too close to the drive core during a relay jump could be dangerous if something went wrong.

Already, the giant sphere began to pulse violently with massive arcs of discharging dark energy. “Core levels stable, eezo reaction normal,” Engineer Foster stated as she approached a wide haptic interface and began to busy herself at the controls. There was another pulse, one more massive than the others, and Braden figured that the Vindicator was now very close to the mass relay that Darcy was about to make a jump through.

There was a crackle over the core room’s intercom as Darcy’s amplified voice came over. “Relay jump commencing in three… two… one!” As soon as his tongue struck the “n” on “one”, a final pulse burst outward from the sphere. The room was blinded in a brief second of blue-white light, and Braden felt a surge of energy passing into his own body; a vibration spreading throughout his nervous system. His head went light, and the room started to spin. Though the light was now dissipating, nearly gone, so was his vision. During the final few seconds before total darkness, he felt his legs give out, and he saw the ceiling of the core room high above him come into view, and heard the muffled voices of his friends call out to him.

“Braden? Braden?!”

Kelly sat in the Comm. Room with Daniel, who was still wearing his workout gear of just a black muscle shirt and some black shorts. His hair was still wet from having given it a short wash, and he held a towel around his neck to wipe his face with when it needed it. They stood at the head of the table, listing off the communiqué they got from the Illusive man and mapping out the sector of the planet they would be exploring to try and get themselves a live husk.

"I still can't believe we're thinking about this. Those things are, quite literally, modern day zombies." Daniel said as he looked over the orders. Kelly simply nodded.

"I don't like the implications this mission gives us either, but it's straight from the Illusive man, and we have an obligation to follow." Kelly replied in her usual professional tone.

"The Illusive man is fucked up sometimes." Daniel replied, focusing his attention on the planet specs. "I mean, grabbing one husk would be hard enough, since there is always more than one." Daniel brought up a more detailed scan of the planet. "But radiation, electro-magnetic interference that fucks with our shields and equipment, earthquakes, jetpacks a necessity? This place is a walking death trap."

"And yet the scientists went down there most likely with excitement." Kelly stated as she gave him a small smile.

"I ain't no coward ma'am...I just don't like the odds of this. With Horn on the down low and Linda...gone, I'm the only one really certified to operate a jetpack with proficiency."

"We don't need to train them to sky dive with them Daniel, we only need them to know which button to hit that makes them go up." Kelly replied. "Besides, the section we'll be searching is relatively secure, and if we're lucky, the husk count will be only as much as 13, seeing as that is how many scientists have gone missing."

"Nothing is ever that simple." Daniel stated. He stopped for a moment, then looked over at her. "So what would you have us do?" Kelly looked over at Daniel, realizing he was testing her first command decision.

"We'll have two fire teams brought down; yours and another led by Lieutenant O'Ryan. From there, you will fan out in a standard search pattern." She stretched the frame to show the topography of the ruins and displayed courses for both fire teams. "From there, we'll search every area until we find one. Orders regarding possible other husks have not been stated, so we will assume that they are of no significance. Once we have one, we all pull out." Kelly looked up at him. "Coordinating with Titus's team, we'll be able to fan out over a large area. Radio contact from up here will be difficult, which is why we'll set up a small relay attached to a Kodiak here." Kelly marked another spot just outside the danger zone near the scientist's base. "This will allow us to bounce our signal and remain in contact with each other."

"You're not coming down ma'am?" Daniel asked, even though he already knew the answer. Kelly simply smiled.

"I may be temporarily in charge Lieutenant, but I'm not Commander Horn." She looked at the layout once more. "I was never much of a field operative, more of an information holder." Daniel simply nodded.

"So who will be in my team?" Daniel added.

"That is up to you to decide, although I would make the recommendation to take Operative St. Jean with you. Her biotic arm could come in handy when dealing with the husks. Aside from that, the decision is yours." Daniel went in deep thought for a moment.

"Alright, so say I take Saint with us, we need a biotic. One of the stronger ones we have is Nerita, or so I'm told. I'll take Carly along as well, another trained marine is always helpful to have along." Kelly nodded.

"Of course." She minimized the maps on the table. "Once you are on the ground, you will be given operational control of the situation. I will be updating you from the Victory as the mission progresses and keeping tabs on all teams. Call sign 'Oversight'". Daniel gave a nod.

"Alright, sounds like a done deal. When will we be arriving at Lucr'n?" Daniel asked.

"In just a little under 2 hours. You'll have time to rest up and get ready Lieutenant." Kelly gave a small smile. Daniel gave a wide one back.

"Yeah, I heard of walking off your cramps, but that would be nuts. I'll make sure everyone is geared up and ready to go ma'am." Daniel gave a nod, and walked out and left Kelly standing in the room looking at the empty table. It was a disturbing mission to say the least, but they all knew their roles in this situation. Harold's voice came over the intercom.

"Prepare for jump in 30 seconds." Kelly wandered out of the room and wandered into the CIC and watched as everyone prepared slightly differently. She hoped the mission went smoothly, but remembering Daniel's words as she could feel the hum of the mass effect enveloping them and taking them through the relay.

Nothing was ever that simple.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A couple hours later, and Kelly was standing with Daniel in front of the two fire teams in the Shuttle bay. Daniel was prepped in his standard 'Demon' gear, while everyone else in front of them was a mixture of differing armour types that suited their needs. For the most part, Lieutenant O'Ryan's Fire Team 3 wore strictly Cerberus assault armour with the added benefit of a small retro booster attached to their back allowing for a quick boost upwards, but the charge was limited to two due to fuel.

Carly wore the same thing as O'Ryan's fire team, while Nerita wore a modified version of light Colossus armour mixed with a Umbra Visor to help guide her biotic tendencies. Tia wore her standard armour mixed with whatever gear she deemed would help with the electro-magnetic tendencies and radiation. Each of them was also equipped with a retro booster to their back. Kelly took a step forward to address the group.

"Alright everyone. You have all been selected to perform a not so simple snatch and grab mission." Kelly tapped her omni tool, and brought up some screens on a holographic display that showed the image of a husk. "This will be our target. We refer to them as Husks. They are shells of their former selves, heavily indoctrinated by the reapers and nothing more than mindless servants to their machine masters." Kelly looked to everyone. "You will be required to bring one back alive for testing."

There was a few murmurs among Fire Team 3, but O'Ryan shot a quick glare backwards that instantly shut them up. Instead, the Lieutenant himself looked back to Kelly. "Has this ever been attempted before?" O'Ryan asked.

"No." Kelly stated bluntly. "We have never been in a position of opportunity to do so, nor has anyone's first thought been to capture one of these beings. As Daniel quoted to me earlier, these are modern day zombies, capable of nothing but destruction." She hit a button on her Omni tool and the image disappeared. "If we are correct, there should only be a maximum of 13 Husks, as that matches the number of missing scientists from the head researcher. Keep in mind, we only need one, deal with the rest as you see fit." Kelly hit another button on her Omni-tool and it brought up a display of the planet.

"This is Lucr'n. A volatile and unstable world at best. Electro magnetic interference omits much of your shields, meaning that any ballistic or kinetic force will be repelled by your armour alone. However, your shields should protect you from the sun's harmful radiation for a time." Kelly hit another button and the image zoomed in, revealing the collapsed city they would be searching. "This is the area where the scientists went missing. The planet is prone to large earthquakes, reaching farther than 10.0 on the Richter Scale, and often collapsing or destabilizing mass amounts of earth." Kelly shut off the image, and replaced her hands behind her back. "This is why you have all been fitted with retro boosters with enough fuel to supply two short jumps. Keep in mind that these are, in no way, like Lieutenant Harren's. They are to be used only in extreme measures." Kelly then motioned at the Kodiak.

"The Kodiak has been outfitted with a strengthened relay that will allow us to keep in limited communication with each other due to the electro-magnetic interference." Kelly turned back towards them. "As for the ground operation, Lieutenant Harrens has tactical lead. I will be aboard the Victory giving tactical data as the mission progresses." Kelly then looked back at Daniel. "Is there anything you would like to add Lieutenant?" Daniel gave a quick step forward.

"I realize this is not our standard mission, but that does not change things. We have our orders, so lets do them right." Daniel brought up his own Omni-tool, which showed an overlay of the region they would be scouting with arrows indicating search patterns. "Lieutenant O'Ryan, you will be taking Fire Team 3 along this ridge here." Daniel stated pointing to the top most region of the city. "From there, fan out and try to cover as much area as possible as you push inwards. Under no circumstances are you to lose visual contact with each other. It's dangerous enough with the earthquakes and radiation, but husks never act alone." Daniel pointed on the bottom section. "My team will be taking this bottom region here, we will meet up in the middle of the city here." Daniel marked a spot on the map. "From there, we will form into one unit, and make our way across the rugged landscape." Daniel looked to everyone to make sure they understood before shutting off the image and stepping behind Kelly once more.

"It will be dangerous down there, as Daniel stated, not just from the husks but the landscape as well. Exercise extreme caution." Kelly stated. "This is also a joint operation, meaning Commander Titus and his team will be on the ground as well, the Vindicator will be in orbit. He is not your commanding officer, and as such, you are not required to follow his orders. However, that being said he is an officer of superior rank in the same cell as us. He will be given the respect his position and standing award him." Kelly stopped and looked over everyone. "Any questions?"

"What about the missing scientists?" Carly spoke up. "Are we looking for them as well? What happens if we find one?"

"The missing scientists are secondary at best, once we have the husk we are being ordered to pull out of the region. If you are to spot a scientist that has been reported missing, approach with extreme caution and with the thought that they're most likely indoctrinated." Carly simply nodded.

"Any other questions?" Kelly asked.

[hr]

After Kelly had answered all questions, she had wished them luck and the teams were on their way to the surface. Lieutenant O'Ryan and his Fire Team 3 sat on one side of the Kodiak while Daniel's team sat on another. There was no animosity between the two teams save for Leonard's occasional look over at Nerita, which she returned. Daniel was sitting next to Tia during the descent, and couldn't help but look out the window. If this were his regular team, he would have jumped out a long time ago, but none of the people in this drop ship were trained or prepared for such a drop with calculated precision. Instead, he focused on St. Jean.

"Hey Saint." He said, grabbing her attention. "When we find that husk, I'm thinking that arm of yours is going to come in handy." He pointed to her bionic limb. "I've seen those claws shred through armour before, and with that, they wouldn't have any problem getting through our organic tissue underneath. With that limb there, I'm hoping it will be more resistant to such a thing when we get close to it." Daniel stated a bit bluntly. "Basically, when we see one, I'm going to be looking to you to move in first to capture. I know it's risky, but I promise to spring for any repairs it may need, along with a cold one once we get back...deal?" Before Daniel could shake on it, the Kodiak touched down and the door opened to reveal a rather bleak looking landscape.

"Alright everyone, let's hit it up!" Daniel marched out of the Kodiak and planted his boots on the soil first. Once everyone was out and the Kodiak was flying back into the sky, Daniel looked to everyone around them. "Alright, we wait until Commander Titus touches down, and then we proceed as planned. Prep while you can people." Daniel looked to the sky, waiting to see a Kodiak drop shuttle approaching.

He simply wanted this mission to be over with before it got too complicated.

Tia had just finished stripping and cleaning her replacement HMW shotgun when the call came to gear up and meet in the shuttle bay as part of a fire team. She donned her own light armor supplementing it with some heavier chest and back pieces before adding her M-3 Predator, the M-8 Avenger rifle and her favorite, the shotgun. Taking up her helmet, Tia was on her way out of her room in less than 15 minutes, checking the settings on her specialized Omni tool and the enhanced shield settings on her armor. She'd learned a long time ago that you had to be as prepared as possible for those inevitable nasty surprises.

She still felt feverish and wan, but shunted that aside. There was no time to feel sick. Joining the others in the shuttle bay, Tia found herself assigned to Daniel, one of Horn's Demons. One of the last ones, Tia realized. Even Horn was out of the picture for the time being. She'd only spoken to the man once before, so she didn't know him well. She'd just have to hope he knew what he was doing. Hoping and praying seemed to be all she was doing lately. It felt bad. Really bad. She couldn't keep dodging the proverbial bullet forever.

She and the others listened to the briefing from Invaru and then from Daniel. The very idea of trying to grab a husk started a low murmur of disbelief from the 2 fire teams. Lt. O'Ryan squashed those immediately. Listening to Kelly, Tia tried to remember what she could about Husks. She'd never been in a combat with them. But, in her year of surgery and rehab, she'd been briefed and read up on everything known that Cerebrus might possibly run across. Husks were no more than shells where organic material is replaced with cybernetic devices. These shells are controlled in some way, but Tia couldn't locate by who. She knew they always came in packs and staying out of range is usually the best strategy. Taking out their legs, she remembered also worked remarkably well, her grip tightened on her shotgun.

Tia glanced at the display Kelly pulled up of Lucr'n next and the details there made Tia very uncomfortable. The electro-magnetic fields would play havoc with their shields, so they would be useless in no time. Her own arm might well be affected, though it did have some substantial internal shielding that was supposed to be more than adequate to most such fields. It had never been tested, that she knew of, anyway. The earthquakes could be another issue. Their footing would be sketchy at best and if they were in the midst of being attacked, then it could seriously hamper their movements. She'd have to keep that at the back of her mind.

The overall plan was laid out, including the search area and news that the Vindicator would also be backing them up. That made Tia's brow's raise in surprise. Just what was so important about grabbing a single husk that warranted risking 2 of Cerebrus' precious few resources. She sighed in frustration because she knew that she'd never know the answer to these questions. She had to admit a small sense of relief having some back up on this one.

Soon after, the two teams were seated in the drop ship when Daniel, who was seated across from her got her attention. He laid out his idea of using her synthetic arm to her advantage in order to grab a husk. Tia's brow raised at the very idea. "You understand I'm an Engineer, right, Lieutenant?" She suddenly grinned at him, "Can't get your own dates?" He returned her grin and before they could shake on the deal, she was already working out how to pull this whole thing off. The door opened onto a ruined landscape that had been ravaged by radiation, earthquakes and war, even so, Tia was still considering her little snatch and grab. The claws were supposed to be dangerous....cuff them. Was a husk stronger than a human? Maybe...definitely err on the side of crushing it, if it came down to it. She stepped out behind Daniel, HMW in her hands immediately upon her feet hitting the ground.

Tia's brain was still working. Grab the thing from behind, break it's arms or immobilize them, then, left arm under the left armpit and across the chest. Needed to be a short one...something she could lift completely off the ground if needs be. She wouldn't be able to use her jump pack until she had the thing. She had the feeling it would prove to be a crucial point in getting her bundle of joy back to the ship.

Tia was so engrossed in working out her strategy, that she had nearly walked right into Nerita who was moving out front with Daniel. "Oh! I'm sorry, Nerita." She whispered. Nerita glanced down at her then stepped aside, "I will watch your back, Saint." The Asari said quietly. It surprised Tia, but she nodded her thanks and moved up beside Daniel. "Ready when you are, Lieutenant."

“Checkmate.”

“…I fucking hate this game.” Roger threw his hands up in defeat, glaring darkly across the table at Edward. “I’m here to shoot things, not point little men around in some shitty board game.” The corporal shook his head, taking a sip of his coffee as the private continued his ramble. “When am I going to need to know the number of moves these things can make? Or about castling? When?”

Maya thumped him lightly on the head, before resting her coffee mug on it as a makeshift coaster. “Haven’t you ever seen a holo-vid? Many a brave hero has been saved by his ability to stay one step ahead of his enemy.” The private glared darkly, trying not to move so the coffee on his head didn‘t spill, although his lips twisted in a crooked smile.

“Ah yes, holos, the best source of life experience in the galaxy.”

Lifting her coffee from his head, Maya nodded. “Damn straight, and don’t you forget it.” Shoving the private roughly from his seat, the woman sat down across from her corporal, grinning wide. “Alright, Ed, I think it’s time for a rematch.”

“Somebody’s confident. What’s the score again?” Ed winked, earning a glare from the medic. Neither heard the tell tale hiss of the door‘s hydraulics. “Ah right, 30-6. My favour.”

“Pride before the fall!”

“Another time, Specialist.” The marines looked to the door, and Lieutenant O’Ryan stared back. They wasted no time jumping to attention and snapping a salute, which the officer quickly returned. “At ease. “ They complied instantly, as O’Ryan continued. “We have an upcoming mission, and you’re the team I’ve chosen to deploy. We have just less than two hours to prepare, and you each need to be briefed and prepped for special equipment use.” They nodded in understanding. “Head to the armoury immediately and retrieve your equipment, then report to the hangar. Operative Invaru will brief us on the details when we’re close. Corporal Stevenson, I‘ll need to speak with you over some of the equipment details.”

“Sir, yes, sir.” They chorused, and the lieutenant turned on his heel, leaving them to their orders. Roger broke his stance first, grinning wide at the prospect of some actual work. “It’s about damn time we get to do something! I was worried we were just gonna sit on our asses all day!”

Edward shot him a sharp look, and the private chuckled nervously at the sudden intensity behind the man‘s eyes. “Stow it, Private.” That caught his attention far more than the hard look. “This will be your first real operation, Pollard, and our first time working with you, not to mention our first impression on most of the officers. Keep the attitude in check, and don’t do anything stupid.”

The young marine blinked once, before waving his hand dismissively. “Alright, alright, I get it. I’ll try to suppress the sheer badassery in my blood.” The Corporal simply stared, before shifting his gaze to Maya.

“Salazar, get these two in gear and combat ready. I’ll meet you in the hangar for briefing.” She nodded, and the two shared a salute, before he disappeared into the hallway with only the faint echoes of his even footsteps to mark his passage. There was a brief moment of silence as the Specialist turned to look at the privates, before Roger opened his mouth.

“Someone mind telling me what the fuck that was?”

Logan chuckled softly. “Ed’s a bit of a different person when it’s mission time. He likes it to be professional.” Roger muttered disbelief, but Logan clasped his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it too much.”

Maya leaned casually against the bulkhead, eyebrows raised at the privates. “You girls done gossiping, or should me and Ed just take care of the whole mission so you can do your nails? I can give you some pointers if you want.” Roger’s sourness vanished, and he shot her a winning grin.

“Please! You poor bastards wouldn’t stand a chance without me!”

Maya snorted, starting out the door. “Well then, Private Badass, I suggest we go get guns and armour, or were you planning on killing people with smiles and jokes?” Roger growled, starting after her, leaving Logan behind in the room. The man sighed, flicking off the holographic chessboard before heading out after them, following the bickering echoes.

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Maya frowned as the lift came to a halt, allowing the three marines to disembark. For the better part of an hour and a half, they had been going over their equipment and safety protocols for the rocket that had been lovingly strapped to each of their backs. She’d done some stupid shit in her day, but there was little appeal to flinging herself about the atmosphere with a rocket. Roger was thrilled at the prospect of blasting all over the place, disappointed he’d only be able to do it twice. It really shouldn’t have surprised her. In the brief time they’d gotten to know the young marine, he’d painted a rather clear image of himself.

Now, however, was a different situation. Ed and O’Ryan were nowhere in sight, so she found a comfortable spot near the Kodiaks and settled in. Roger and Logan spoke, or rather, Roger did, and Logan spoke a word of agreement every few seconds when the private paused for breath. They’d never served with him, and as enjoyable as he was off duty, this was his trial with the team. Ed wouldn’t take any reckless shit, not from a kid like him. He’d sooner leave him in the Kodiak and deal with the shortened man power. She smiled beneath her visor as Logan laughed at some comment he’d made. Still, he’d made it through Cerberus’s recruitment and training, so he had to have some potential.

She glanced over to the approaching footsteps, waving two fingers in greeting to the armoured figure she knew was Ed. “Nice of you to join us, boss. Have a good chat with O’Ryan?” The corporal came to a stop beside her, helmeted head staring out towards the rest of their team.

“Nothing special. Recapping a few things, safety protocols for joint use of these retro boosters, his accompanying us on this mission…” Maya sighed, dropping her gaze to the floor.

“That last bit was your idea of a joke, right?” His silence was answer enough. “Bloody brilliant. I’ve got nothing against the Lieutenant, don’t get me wrong, but he’s not going to make wiseass’s first mission any easier.”

“I’m aware, but there was little to be done about it. Pollard will just have to rise to the occasion.”

“And if he fucks it up?” He clasped his hand on her shoulder for a moment, before patting her shoulder and starting forward.

“That’s why I bring you along, Maya, to keep our asses alive.” She snorted, straightening out and following a few steps behind him.

“And here I thought it was for my charm and stunning good looks.”

“Sorry to break it to you, I know how fragile you are.” Ed spoke as they reached the privates, who looked to their leader expectantly. “You two all geared?”

Logan nodded, and Roger flashed a thumbs up. “Retro Boosters secure and supposedly operational, although who can really trust the functioning of a mini-missile strapped to your back, am I right?” Maya snickered, while Ed just shook his head.

“We wouldn’t put it on you if we were worried it’d blow up, Pollard.”

“That’s what you want me to think. I’m onto your tricks.” He laughed, rolling his shoulders and cracking his knuckles expectantly. “Just fucking around. I can’t wait to test this puppy out.”

Maya raised an eyebrow. “You do know we’re suppose to use these things in emergencies, right, Roger?” The young marine shrugged, lacing his hands behind his head with a cocky grin. “You’re a nightmare waiting to happen.” The specialist looked to Logan for a moment, who responded with all of his usual enthusiasm, which was to say, he shrugged. Returning the gesture, she fixed her gaze back on Ed “Well, boss, I figure you should know our load out limitations. We’re equipped with only standard stuff. Avenger rifles and Predator pistols. They wouldn’t authorize an M-77 due to the retro booster. Risk of it detonating the rockets or some such bullshit.”

Edward nodded in understanding. “Well, hopefully we don’t run into anything heavy down there that needs your…womanly touch.” Before she could reply, the lift opened once again, and Operative Invaru stepped out swiftly. They had barely even noticed the rest of the team wandering in, but they wasted no time focusing on the Victory’s commanding officer. Wasting no time, she quickly launched into the briefing. The moment she announced their objective, Roger gave an audible mutter of ‘Dah fuck?’, only for O’Ryan to silence any further comments with a sharp look. Logan and Maya shared a knowing glance, but said nothing.

Once it came to the environment, the inclusion of the retro booster made perfect sense. The entire place seemed like a death trap waiting for someone stupid enough to spring it. Unfortunately, they seemed to be those unfortunate nitwits. Regardless, if this was anything like they were describing, Roger would be getting to test out the retro booster. It wasn’t overly visible behind the tinted visor, but you could practically feel the grin beaming underneath his helmet. Lieutenant Harrens promptly explained their search plans, which weren’t anything overly fancy. Standard sweep, really.

With the threat of the ground practically blowing up beneath your feet.

“Yep, Standard.” Maya muttered, earning an elbow to the rib from Ed, and she obediently shut her mouth for the rest of the briefing. The mention of another Commander joining the mission peaked all their interest, curious to see who else was in the Cell they had just transferred to. After the few questions where addressed, the teams loaded into the Kodiak.

The trip was generally quiet, save for the odd glance between Leonard and Nerita, although most of Fire Team 3 could feel Roger’s eyes practically boring a hole through the alien’s head. After a few moments of it, she fixed him with a cool look that just screamed hostility. “Something on your mind, soldier boy, or do I need to remind you why I’m on this ship?” There was a brief moment of silence, before the young marine moved to respond, earning a prompt thump on the back of his helmet from Maya. He shot her a look, and the two shot back whispered insults for a moment before he sunk back into his seat with a grunt.

The ship touched down minutes later, and Lieutenant Harrens gave them a few minutes of prep. O’Ryan stuck near Harrens, and the fire team took the moment to talk.

“Never really though we’d be dealing with husks again.” Maya muttered, as they paced about the perimeter of their little LZ. “Got enough of these fuckers in the Eden Prime War.” There was a satisfying click as she popped a heat sink into her Avenger, a dark grin settling on her lips. “Still, won’t hurt to put a few more in the dirt, right, Logan?”

“Agreed.” He stared out silently at the barren wastes that had once supposedly been a beautiful garden world. There was a tragic beauty to the desolate ruins of where life should have teemed. “They deserve to rest, not pace the earth.”

“Save the biblical shit.”

Roger sat lazily on a rock, watching the two of them continue their little ‘patrol’, when he heard the footsteps approaching. “They seem pissy, boss.” He glanced up at Ed, although it was impossible to gauge his reaction with the tinted black visor blocking his face. “What’s got their panties in a bunch?”

“Not my place to really say, Pollard.” The Corporal met his gaze. “If you really want to know, ask Salazar when we’re done here.”

“I figured Logan would be the better bet. Maya strikes me as the type to ignore those questions.”

“She dodges, but do you find Fischer particularly chatty normally?” That gave the cocky private pause. “Thought so. Don’t worry about it for now, Pollard. Focus on the job at hand.” The young marine sighed, rising to his feet.

“You got it, boss.” Un-holstering his rifle from his back, he jogged over to his comrades, shouting for them to wait up. Edward watched silently for a moment, before looking towards the rest of the mission‘s team. Most of them were veterans from the Titan, save for O’Ryan, but the man had a reputation all his own. He’d not had the privilege of getting to know any of them, but there was little doubt that they were skilled if Lieutenant Harrens had chosen them as his fire team.

This was a chance to make a positive impression on him and Operative Invaru, plus their actions would speak as a representation of their fellow marines back aboard the ship. Swallowing, he approached, noticing the tell tale steak of a Kodiak shuttle descending from the sky. It looked like their support was arriving. Stopping just behind Lieutenant O’Ryan, Edward saluted before speaking. “Sir, it looks as though Commander Titus’s team has arrived.”

O’Ryan nodded, focused on Harrens. “We’ll move out now, Lieutenant. Good hunting.” Without another word, O’Ryan and Edward started towards the remainder of Fire Team 3, who had wandered a little ways ahead. O’Ryan wasted no time taking control of the situation the second they caught up. “Alright, we’re commencing the operation. Check your corners, and keep in formation. If you spot a husk, radio it immediately. No exceptions, no excuses, no bullshit. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

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The steady walk through the ruins was uneventful, to put it mildly. The sweep found no husks, but the constant risk had the team on their toes. 13 husks alone wasn’t much, but the prospect of getting ambushed by the robotic slaves was unappealing. Every now and again, O’Ryan would order a quick sweep of the few buildings still structurally intact, and the team would snap through the darkened hallways and crushed debris, but the search rarely turned up more than dust and salvage.

Every now and again a tremor would halt their progress, and the team would have to stay put until the earth decided to quiet down again. Ed’s worries aboard the ship seemed to be realizing, the very ground threatening to split beneath their feet and swallow them whole.

A few foot prints in the dust might have been husks, but the tracks always ended up leading deeper into the city. O’Ryan forbade them from trailing them, and the marines had returned back to the pre-planned route without delay. “Are there even any husks here?” Roger asked after what felt like hours of searching. “I mean, aren’t they hostile? You’d think they’d have at least thrown something at us by now.”

“As much as I hate to admit it, I have to agree with Pollard.” Maya looked towards O’Ryan’s position at the head of the team. “The husks I remember didn’t wait. They just came at you like suicide bombers.” Logan nodded in agreement, but the Lieutenant turned to look at them, his gravely voice harsh.

“Stow the chatter, marines. Focus on finding the husk.”

“Yes, sir.”

Moments later, the shit hit the fan. The ground began to shake with a fury that made the tremors prior look like a temper tantrum. Cracks split beneath their feet, and the team shared a look between them. O’Ryan wasted no time, motioning back from center. “Fall back! Move! Now!” He didn’t need to tell them twice, all five breaking into a sprint away from seemed to be the epicentre of the rapidly worsening quake. Once they had managed only a few feet forward, the buildings ahead came alive with eerie blue light, and they ground to a stop.

The first husk to break from the building was cut down in hail of rifle rounds, but the moment its body hit the dirt, a legion of the creatures erupted from their hiding places. No orders were needed, the team falling into positions, cutting down swathes of the husks as they sprinted across the wide terrain. “Remind me again, didn’t we check those fucking buildings?! I don’t remember any fucking blue glowey fuckers!” Roger popped his heat sink, slamming another in and firing a burst into a husk that reared close.

Edward grit his teeth, firing a burst through a husk’s head before shredding another with the rest of his sink. “Shut up and shoot, Pollard!” Before he could reply, another building burst to life, swarming towards their right flank. “Shit!”

O’Ryan’s voice boomed over their comms, even and firm, seemingly unaffected by the mob pressing in on them. “Fischer, Stevenson, suppress the right flank! Salazar, Pollard, keep the front! I'll support as needed!”

Maya left off a burst, back pedalling slightly as the husks drew closer. Roger took up his position beside her, unloading wildly down range at the Reaper slaves. “I don’t even need to aim! Eat it bitches! I got plenty for everyone!”

She grinned at his enthusiasm, chambering a fresh heat sink. “Hey, Pollard!”

“What?”

“Fifty Credits says I get more than you!” He popped a heat sink, looking at her incredulously. “You’re keeping count, right?”

“No, but I’ll still take your money!” The two bumped fists quickly to seal the deal, before opening up with a renewed vigour.

Edward laughed over the comms, kicking a husk back from his meagre mound of cover. “They need to get their priorities straight.” Logan grunted in response, slamming the stock of his rifle into a husks face.

A shuddering groan echoed through the air, and the marines looked up at the teetering building looming over their head. The earthquake seemed to only be intensifying, and the once great sky scraper groaned louder, wavering on its aged beams. “Oh shit.” Ed had to agree with the quiet man's assessment.

“Fall back! NOW!” O’Ryan didn’t need to repeat himself, the fire team firing off a few more rounds before hurrying down the route they had originally planned to take. The supports gave out, and the super structure toppled, the looming shadow falling over the retreating soldiers. Each searched for all the speed they can muster, but the plummeting building threatened to crush them all. “Retro boosters! Go, go, go!”

The near simultaneous sound of the boosters charging filled the air, nearly drowned out by the groan of metal and screeching husks. Roger grinned wild beneath his helmet, slamming the launch key, only for the booster to lift him clean off his feet and tossing him forward. The others followed suit, bodies launched clear of the collapsing wreck as it buried their pursuers in a sea of rubble and debris.

Skidding to a stop, Roger wasted no time looking back towards the disaster that they had barely escaped. He laughed thunderously over the comms, as each of the team caught up and managed to stop themselves from pancaking into the ruins. “That was fucking awesome! Why the hell aren’t these things standard equipment?!” Edward panted slightly, staring back at the building that had almost become their grave. “Fuck it; I’m bringing this thing everywhere!”

“Cut the chatter, Private.” O’Ryan gave him a sharp look, and the young man winced visibly, before muttering something along the lines of ‘yes sir’. The Lieutenant took a moment to survey their surroundings, noting the lack of husks at the moment. “It seems we’ve got a moment of reprieve. Check your weapons, and heat sinks. Any injuries?”

Maya gave the group a quick once over, before shaking her head. “No injuries to report, sir.” She paused, as the Kodiak pilot’s voice came over the comm.

“Victory 3-2, incoming communication from the Call of Victory. It’s urgent.” The marines exchanged nervous looks, unable to shake the feeling things were about to get a lot worse.

Once it was clear that Commander Titus had touched down, the plan had initiated itself. Daniel took his team and split up from Leonard's in order to cover more ground. It took them a couple of minutes just to get to their starting sweeping point, from there it was simply a mess trying to get anywhere. Collapsed buildings, fractured ground, and debris covered every square inch of the ruins, and even amidst that, there were still some buildings standing tall. A optimist would look at it and say that they are standing because of their construction and integrity, a realist would look at them and say they were another hazard just waiting to happen. Daniel waved his finger around in a circle, signalling everyone to fall in. They all complied without a further word, and Daniel took a small breath.

First time being a squad commander...let's do this. Daniel thought to himself as he slowly started making his way through the city. He could have gone faster using his jetpack, but his team didn't have that luxury and every waking moment he missed being a part of the Demons. Still, he had to make do, and was pleased that everyone was keeping up with him surprisingly well save for the odd time Tia would stop and seem to be slightly out of breath. Daniel chalked it up to being the first mission back, it was that way for a lot of people.

They had been travelling for quite a ways now, and were almost at the meet up point when things started to take a change for the worse. As Daniel's team moved forward, clearing whatever buildings they passed as they did, gunfire erupted West of their position. Daniel looked over in that direction, but couldn't make out anything other than the fact that either the Victory's second fire team or Titus's team was spending a lot of ammunition.

"Lieutenant!" Carly yelled, and Daniel whirled around quickly, his rifle raised. About twenty yards off, obscured by dust and debris, stood one lone husk. The creature looked at them, and reared it's head back giving off a scream that sounded like nails on a tin can. Suddenly, husks started crawling out from everywhere. In front of them rushed a small horde, and as Daniel looked around, lights started to come from the buildings they had just secured.

"360 degree coverage now!" Daniel yelled as they all went back to back and watched as the incoming horde started to press in on them. Soon, they were expending ammunition as quickly as they were taking breaths. Daniel made every shot count, dropping husk after husk, but they still pressed on. Where did all these come from? This is way more than 13. Daniel thought to himself as the horde got ever closer. Daniel quickly looked to Carly and pointed back in the direction they were heading. "Carly, make us a path!"

"Understood!" She yelled as she broke formation and lead the charge through the horde. Her commando armour allowed her to take a bit more punishment than Daniel's, whose armour previous to now relied a lot on shields. Carly proved her worth by punishing any husk that got within range and bashing a few out of the way with her shoulders. Nerita jumped in every so often with a biotic push that would send a few husks flying. Tia seemed to be handling herself, allowing her bionic arm to do most of the work.

Just when it seemed possible they may simply run their way out of this situation, the ground beneath them began to shake. Fuck, why now!? Daniel thought to himself as they all struggled to keep themselves upright as they ran. Luckily, the husks were having the same problem and the earthquake was throwing them off their feet as well. However, up ahead was the greater challenge.

Just a few yards away, the ground started to crack and open up as the earthquake continued. Even the short distance that they were away, it was opening quickly. Carly was in the lead, and she didn't slow as she approached the makeshift cliff. She sprinted as hard as she could, and when she was close enough, made a jump over the ever widening gap. The others were a few feet away yet, and already the jump was reaching six feet and continuing to expand at a frightening speed. Tia was the next over, her foot slipping near the edge but pulling herself up anyways. Daniel and Nerita both jumped at the same time, and Daniel made the choice to look down as he did so.

The drop was easily a few stories, definitely enough to kill them. Daniel made it over, and quickly did another standing jump as the earth gave away beneath him. Nerita landed, and started to tilt backwards when Carly reached back and grabbed her by the collar of her armour and yanked her back onto solid ground. The gap started to slow as the earthquake passed, and finally stopped at ten feet wide. The husks ran up to them, but simply ran into the fissure in the ground rather than try to jump it. "No chances, wipe them out!" Daniel stated as the entire team opened up with their weapons on the remaining husks. It was only a couple minutes longer before the rest were either dead on the ground or fallen into the crack in the earth.

"There's not enough bodies." Nerita stated as she looked down into the fissure. "Some of them must have broke off and entered the buildings."

"Alright, another complication for getting back." Daniel stated as they looked around them quickly. They seemed to be secure for the moment, but that would never last so long as the husks kept appearing like they did. Daniel was about to order them on when a voice came in over the radio.

"Lieutenant Harrens? This is Overwatch, please respond." Daniel took a couple paces away from everyone.

"Lieutenant Harrens here. Go ahead Overwatch." Daniel replied, and was greeted with Kelly's voice.

"Lieutenant, we've just gotten word from Commander Titus that the researchers are under attack from an unknown number of husks. I'm ordering Lieutenant O'Ryan's team to head back to help with the defence of the installation." Daniel nodded subconsciously.

"Understood." Daniel stated.

"Along with this Lieutenant, it appears that Commander Titus's team has been pinned down by husks near the artifact that seems to be causing the mass husk infestation. You are to attempt to relieve and assist Commander Titus with best speed. I'm marking his location on your HUD now." Daniel took a moment to read the map, the grimaced inside his helmet.

"Husk central, understood ma'am. Do you have a suggestion for a flanking or overwatch position?"

"Negative, the terrain is throwing off our charts with each earthquake, you're going to have to improvise Lieutenant. Overwatch out." Kelly cut the connection, and Daniel wasted no time raising Lieutenant O'Ryan.

"Did you get those orders Lieutenant?"

"Yes I did sir. We're moving now. Good luck." Leonard replied before cutting the connection. Daniel gave a small sigh, realizing that he had been right one again with nothing being as easy as it seemed. He turned back towards everyone.

"Change of plans, Commander Titus is pinned down, we're being ordered to move in and relieve. Let's go." Nerita gave a huff, but aside from that, there was nothing else said among them as they all ran as fast as they could to where Titus and his team were supposedly pinned down.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
It took them a few minutes to reach the last known whereabouts of Titus's team, and from there they simply followed the gunfire. Daniel was the first to round the corner, and the moment he did, he simply stopped. In front of him, crowding the staircase leading up to some scaffolding around the Reaper artifact, was the biggest horde of husks he had ever seen. What was worse, was that they were all ground level with them. They had yet to be noticed, but Daniel didn't waste any time as he ran instead of firing. The others followed him as he got to a semi-defensible position atop of some rubble. The husks would be hard pressed to climb it without getting shot right away.

"Suppressing fire, bring the heat off of Commander Titus!" Daniel yelled as he stood and unloaded his rifle into the husks. Immediately a good chunk of the husks broke off in order to attack their new found enemies. They rushed towards the position, being cut down as quickly as they ran, only to be replaced by two more husks. Daniel and his team managed to keep this up for about a minute before the husks actually managed to reach them, and they were forced to fire and fight at the same time. Daniel smashed the butt of his rifle into one of the husks, and kicked it off of the rubble much like the Spartans kicked the Persians into their pit. Nerita seemed to be getting swarmed by three or four husks, but before Daniel could turn to help Nerita pulsed with biotic energy and threw all of the husks off of her in a brilliant display of electric blue. She started panting, and took a moment to catch her breath before returning to the fight.

Carly was dual wielding her assault rifle and Carnifex pistol now, seeming to have taken the best parts of her training and amplified them as she maintained accuracy for both weapons despite the obvious weight disadvantage. Tia was finishing up a battle with a husk by the looks of it, punching her bionic limb into it's skull and flattening it. Despite their minor victories, it wouldn't be long before they themselves were overrun. Daniel looked around for a possible escape route when it hit him. Just a few feet away was a two story building that, while looking ready to fall, was still standing.

"Everyone, boosters to the top of that building! Do it now!" Daniel gave covering fire as one by one they managed to fire off their jets and make it to the top of the building. Daniel was the last one away, wanting to make sure the team made it first, and just as he was about to boost away, a husk grabbed his leg and was drawn into the air with him. His trajectory was thrown off as he kicked and punched at the attached husk. Finally it dropped to the ground, but by the time he looked up he flew through an open window and slammed against the roof of the interior. He dropped down hard, his assault rifle escaping his grasp and sliding several feet away. He brought himself to his knees as he fought to regain his breath, and finally stood up. He quickly ran over and grabbed his gun, and only then did he hear the moans from the other side of the room.

The husks were climbing up the side of the building and had entered through one of the many windows. Daniel fired some more rounds as he quickly ran to the nearest window and looked down. Sure enough, the horde they had been just fighting was clawing it's way up the building. One reached over the lip, and Daniel gave a swift kick that sent it flying down and taking a couple with it. Without any more hesitation, he jumped out of the window and boosted to the top of the building. There Carly, Nerita, annd Tia were all spread out over the roof trying to cover the walls from the approaching husks.

"What do we do? There are too many!" Carly stated as she fired some more.

"We hold until either the horde dies out or Titus finds an opening. We managed to draw at least half of them away, it should by them some time!" Daniel said as he took a firing position.

"What if neither happens?" Nerita asked, her tone as cold as ice. Daniel shot one husk off of the side of the building before looking over at her.

"We didn't survive the SIC Titan to die to some mechanical zombies Nerita! I will be damned before I let us die in this situation." Daniel stated with such conviction that it caught Nerita off guard. She simply nodded, and went back to firing at the zombies. Daniel looked off towards Titus's team, hoping they would find a way out of their situation before things escalated. One thing was for sure, Daniel meant what he said.

He wasn't going to die here today, none of them were.

The group of 4, Tia, Daniel, Nerita and Carly, split off from Lt. Ryan's team and Tia absently considered what it would do to the bunking situation on the Call, if she and the other two women went down here on Lucr'n. Her thoughts always seemed to go off onto bizarre tangents in situations like this one. They'd moved as a tight group with little chatter when they all heard gunfire coming from the West. That wasn't good. But it might give them a chance to grab..."Lieutenant!" Carly's voice interrupted her thoughts.

Looking up, a lone husk stood, much like a sentinel, staring at them. A wide-mouthed scream from the creature signaled hundreds of it's friends and family to come crawling from the wood work. Under Daniel's direction, they pushed themselves back to back and laid waste to anything that cam close. Her own shotgun proved extremely devastating when she took out a husk's legs, but the husk had to get uncomfortably close to get a decent shot off with it. They were about to be over run. As if reading her mind, Daniel shouted for Carly to take the lead and plow a path through the creatures to get them in the clear. With her heavier armor, the young Marine was better able to withstand the glancing scrapes and blows than the rest of them.

Tia followed behind Carly and Nerita, using her synthetic arm to bash anything that thought about getting close and her right was handling her shot gun as best she could on the opposite side. It was taking a lot of effort, but at the moment, she was highly motivated. They small group outpaced the majority of the husks but just as they appeared to be clear, one of the Lucr'n famous earthquakes wrenched the already unstable ground beneath their feet. A gaping hole opened before Carly, but she never slowed down. A huge leap, took the Marine across the widening span and Tia was right behind her. Tia landed a little awkwardly, her right foot slipping, but her momentum carried her forward onto safer ground. Daniel and Nerita followed very quickly afterward, but it was only because of Carly's quick action that Nerita didn't end up falling back into the abyss beneath them.

Tia looked from the huge canyon at their feet to Daniel and snorted, "You know how to show a girl a hell of a good time, Lt." She commented dryly. Nerita, also looking over the edge dispassionately added, "There's not enough bodies." The Asari looked up, "Some of them must have broken off and entered the buildings."

Just as they were catching their breath, a call came in from Invaru to Daniel. After a small conversation, Daniel came back to tell them that they were now detailed with providing cover and support to Commander Titus and his team, who appeared to have gotten themselves up shit creek. Tia, Carly and Nerita all nodded to Daniel's new plan and headed out to Titus' last known location. The sustained gunfire was easy to find from there. The large structure seemed to be crawling with husks all trying to reach the Commander and his team. "Where in the hell did they all come from?" Tia asked rhetorically as she put away the HMW and took up the M-8. She wasn't spectacularly quick with the rifle, but she did wait to make every single round count. The problem was that the husks were like the proverbial heads of the ancient Hydra. You cut off one and two more grew in its place.

Even from their vantage point, they were getting over run. Tia found herself taking raking hits between her shots and massive punches of her synthetic arm. "Lieutenant!" She shouted. "We no longer have the advantage!" Daniel was already ahead of her, though when he ordered them to use their precious booster packs to leap to the top of the building so they could hold off the horde. Tia immediately began tinkering with her Omni Tool, adjusting something in her arm. "I hope to christ this works." She muttered to herself. She barely heard Nerita and Daniel speculate about what might happen should they be unable to hold off the husks. And it was probably as well. After a precious few moments, Tia's arm began to glow a faint green. Right....let's see if this works on husks.

In all the fighting and running, Tia had forgotten about her feeling of malaise and sluggishness. But as the husks began climbing the building in greater and greater waves, she came to the realization that something was horribly wrong. Beneath her helmet, she could feel blood trickling from her nose and the glow of the electro-magnetic field about her arm dimmed and winked out like a guttering candle in the wind. "Oh shit..." She murmured.

“Yes, I did sir. We’re moving now. Good luck.” O’Ryan cut the line, looking straight to Edward. “You heard it. Let’s move double time!” The fire team nodded in unison, moving quickly but cautiously towards the massive domes that marked the research camp. Gunfire echoed through the ruins around them, reminding each of the plights of their comrades fighting deeper inside the former Prothean city.

Regardless of their worry, they pressed on, but the absence of husks impossible to not notice. It was as if every single one of the abominations had simply vanished into thin air, but even without the mindless slaves, the city felt as if it was crushing in on the isolated marines. More than once, Roger popped off a few rounds into a lurking shadow, finding nothing but a twisted girder or pile of earth. The private panted heavily, eyes leaping to every angle of attack. “It’s way too quiet…”

O’Ryan didn’t even glance back, holding up a fist to signal a stop. Crouching down, they craned their necks to look up the slope to the research facility. The stretch of open ground, perhaps 30 feet or so, was littered with fallen husks, although mangled bodies soon started to mingle with the zombie fallen. Whatever guards the facility had seemed to have met their end, and the sole door that had protected the fragile contents was torn apart, a throng of husks pulsing around the entrance as they all tried to enter at once. “You were saying, Private?”

Roger chuckled humourlessly, his rifle trained on the abomination swarm. “How are we going to get through, sir?”

Edward stepped up slightly, sighting his rifle on the door. “I’ve got a surprise they might enjoy, Lieutenant. Concussive round. Should disperse them for a few moments to allow us entry. Only got the one, though.” O’Ryan nodded.

“That’ll do. On my mark, fire it straight for the door. Second he does, we go in. Thin them at the door.” Everyone checked their weapons quickly, knowing full well they likely wouldn’t get another chance once inside the facility. “Mark!” The round boomed as it launched, the marines breaking into a sprint the second it had left the barrel. Firing into the group, several fell before the bulk could even turn towards the new threat, seconds later the round clipped into one of the center husk’s chest, detonating in a flash of light that sent a hail of parts to pelt their armour.

O’Ryan hit the horde first, charging through the gap with his rifle barking shots every step of the way. Numerous as they were, the husks were notoriously fragile, shattering under the barrelling form of Logan, followed closely by Maya, thinning the flanks with feathered fire from her Predator, the heavy pistol punching holes clean through the robotic slaves. Edward was right behind her, laying down covering fire for the slightly slower Roger, who practically leapt over the encroaching horde to rejoin his team. Rolling to his feet, he and Ed poured fire backwards as they hurried into the building. “Fischer! Seal the secondary bulkhead!”

Logan wasted no time, sliding up to the control panel and dropping his rifle to the ground as his fingers moved furiously across the haptic keyboard. Countless lines of code flashed by his eyes, the tech specialist examining each rapidly before moving onto the next. The scraping screech of the husks drew closer, as Roger and Edward were forced to give more and more ground just to avoid being torn to shreds by the claws.

“Anytime now!” The corporal hissed, punching back a husk before blowing another’s legs off. It moaned, seemingly unaware of its injuries, crawling forward to attack again, only for the hydraulic hiss of the door to sound over the combat. The bulkhead slammed upwards, shearing the husk in half and taking the arms of several others off as it activated the locking mechanism. The team stared at the door silently for a moment, before breathing a sigh of relief.

“That’ll buy us some time,” Maya began, looking about the chamber they were in for any further hostiles. “But I doubt the other domes are gonna be much better.”

“Regardless, our objective is to secure as many of the scientists as possible, and escort them to safety.” He gestured towards the few rooms that the dome housed. “Sweep the area.” The marines complied without hesitation, and the lieutenant quickly opened the comm channel to the Kodiak waiting for them. “Lieutenant O’Ryan to Kodiak, come in.”

The pilot responded instantly. “Kodiak here, sir. What do you need?”

“Relay an order to the Victory; we need a secondary Kodiak on standby.” There was a moment of silence, before the pilot responded.

“Order away, sir.”

“Good. Do you have a vantage point on the facility?”

“Yes, sir. Those things are crawling out of every nook and cranny. There’s a landing facility on the northern side, but it’s covered in them. It’ll be the easiest extraction point, just needs to cool down a bit.” O’Ryan nodded as the fire team returned from their sweep, unfortunately empty handed.

“Get on standby. We’ll clear that zone out for you, and I want touch down the second it’s clear.” After the pilot gave an affirmative, he cut the line, and took lead of the squad once again. “Alright, we’ve got exfil coming but the LZ is hot. Fischer, we’re heading to the north side to clear it out.” Logan nodded. “Stevenson, take Pollard and Salazar and sweep as many of the domes as you can. Don’t risk it though. Be at the LZ in ten minutes, or I’ll come kick your ass there myself. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Let’s move!” The team split, Ed, Maya and Roger taking one access while Logan and O’Ryan hurried through another.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The second dome was no better than the first, more dead scientists than there were husks. Once the sweep had confirmed all their fates, Edward lead them towards the third dome, a blood curdling scream greeting them the second the door hissed open. “Move!” Pounding down the corridor, they rounded it to find one of the scientists grappling with one of the deformed creatures, and a small swarm of the creatures barrelling forward to assist their kin in its bloody work. “Check your targets! Open fire!”

The first few husks dropped with little difficulty, before the others sensed the bigger threat and began their mad dash towards the marines. The avengers made short work of them at mid-range, but as the group reached them, the risk of friendly fire grew too great, and it degenerated into a melee. Maya ducked and weaved, pounding armoured fists against the joints, knowing the husks to be fragile to trauma. Her experience rewarded her, knocking off several arms and leaving one unfortunate husk wide open for a brutal uppercut that sent it’s head sailing through the air.

Edward kept the offensive, driving his combat knife into every opening he could find, his predator barking whenever a shot presented itself. The husks scored several scrapes against his armour, but the Assault armour was tough stuff and shrugged the hits away with minimal damage.

Roger fought far wilder, no real style or order to his hits, just pure adrenaline powered combat. He kicked, elbowed and punched, dealing as much as he took, but ignoring any of the lucky hit’s they managed to land. Grappling with one, he slammed its head into one of the research stations, rewarded with a shower of sparks and husk bits splattered across his visor.

As soon as it began, the fight was over, and Edward wasted no time pumping the rest of his clip into the husk attacking the scientist. The woman collapsed backwards as it suddenly became deadweight, screaming as it fell atop of her lifeless. Roger promptly booted the corpse off her body, and pumped a round into it for good measure. One could never really be sure with husks. Maya knelt beside the woman, lowering the tint on her visor so the woman could see her face. “It’s alright, ma’am, we’re here. Are you injured?” She shook her head rapidly, eyes darting to the room behind her.

“W-we tried to hole up in the room when they got in.” She started to rise, Maya slowly guiding her to her feet, the woman wobbling slightly. “We have several injured.” Edward nodded to Roger, motioning towards the other rooms. “Can you..?”

“Don’t worry, ma’am. I’m a field medic. I’ll get them patched up.” Hurrying into the room, she grimaced at the sight. Two scientists sat huddled behind an over turned desk, pistols gripped in their shaking hands. One sported a nasty gash across the head, while a third lay silently behind them, their arm a bloody mess. Moving to the still scientist, she checked for a pulse, sighing in relief when she felt the feint thump of their heart. “I need to treat him immediately.” Pulling the small medical kit from its magnetic clamp on her back, she held out a roll of medical gauze to the others. “Bandage up that gash for me.” The woman nodded, wasting no time to do as ordered.

Focusing on the task at hand, the medic bit her tongue, retrieving one of the few medi-gel syringes and the other spare roll of gauze. The scientist was pale and gaunt from blood loss, and she doubted they would survive long without real proper treatment from an actual doctor. But it was her job to make sure they lasted long enough to get that treatment. Lifting the limb, she did her best to right the mangled bones before jabbing the syringe into the tissue and releasing its miraculous dose of medi-gel. How medics did their job before the wonder drug was beyond her.

She began to wrap the wound, but the sound of a single echoing gunshot drew her gaze to the door, eyes wide with worry. Had they run into a lone husk? Several more shots sounded, before the building fell silent, save for the distant rat-ta-tat-tat of automatic weapon fire from outside. The room was still for several seconds, before she opened the comm. “Ed? Roger? Everything alright?” Any worry was kept from her voice, but the scientists could almost see the way her body tensed beneath her armour, ready to move at the slightest provocation.

“Roger here. We’ve got a…” There was a muffled curse, but not of his usual type. “…got a dead one. Seems like he was the director. Dr. Kelton.” She sighed in relief, starting back on her work with the unconscious patient. The tension in his voice was palpable, and she tried to console the rookie marine.

“It’s alright, Roger. We can’t save them all.” It was quiet on the other end for a moment, before she heard a mutter of agreement. The medic frowned lightly, opening her mouth to speak, but Ed beat her to the punch.

“Alright, we’re heading back. It’s getting close to the deadline, and I’m not in the mood to piss of the Lt. Salazar, get the scientists moving, we’ll meet you at the corridor.”

“You got it, boss.” Slinging the scientists good arm over her shoulder, Maya hoisted the deadweight up, hauling the unconscious figure towards the door, the others falling in behind her.

“By the way, do they happen to have guns?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. We’re gonna need’em.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ed hadn’t been lying. As they had regrouped, the previously sealed door to the dome had buckled, revealing a very pissed, screaming husk, whose head exploded promptly from a well placed predator round. Seconds later, everything went to hell. The door crumpled, and the husks barrelled in, but the corporal was faster. Ushering his squad through the other exit, he wasted no time dropping a pair of ‘presents’ for their guests. Sprinting down the hall, even he couldn’t suppress a grin at the satisfying boom that showered his back with bits. Spinning around, he sprinted backwards, firing bursts into the husks while periodically checking on the team ahead of him.

Maya pulled the unconscious scientist along, single handing her predator with a lethal accuracy. Roger lead the way, relaying on the stock of his Avenger more than the trigger, cracking any husks that got close away. The two marines worked in unison, Roger dispatching everything in a whirlwind of melee, with Maya picking off any that threatened his flanks. Every now and again, shouts of numbers barked over the combat, and Ed laughed over the comms, earning a few from his comrades.

The scientists, surprisingly, were actually helping out, even if their accuracy left something to be desired. Roger made sure to complain whenever one of the ‘nerds’, as he called them, winged his armour with a stray round. The pace was slower than they would have liked, but you couldn’t expect an egg-head to keep up with a marine. The door to the next door hissed open at the approach, a group of husks snapping their heads to look at the rapidly approaching private. They screeched, but Roger simply smirked beneath his helmet. “Face the wrath of Private Badass!” Drawing his Predator with one hand, he leapt towards the table that dominated the center of the room, covered in various pieces of equipment big and small.

He showed little care for the no doubt expensive materials, using his momentum to slide forward across the table on his back, Avenger spraying rounds one way while he focused more precision shots with the predator on the other. About the half way point, his slide ended, but he rolled to his feet and attached the pistol back to its clasp on his hip. Those husks that survived his initial assault pushed forward, prompting the marine to boot one straight in the jaw, detaching it with ease and sending it arcing across the room. The others opened fire without delay, cutting down the few remaining husks.

Roger laughed, striking a pose briefly on the table. “Nothing can sto-” He didn’t get to finish, as a grey hand coiled around his ankle and ripped it out from under him, sending him toppling to the floor. The husk, a legless one he now realized, wasted no time clambering atop him to try and attack the more vulnerable face. He managed to grip its wrists, preventing it from getting a swipe in, but also preventing him from retaliating. They wrestled for a moment, before the husk’s head jerked to the side suddenly, and it fell limp on his chest. Seconds later, a boot kicked the freshly dead-dead corpse off his body and Ed hoisted him up to his feet.

“Nicely done, Pollard.” There was some sarcasm to his tone, but Roger simply laughed in response. Climbing to his feet, he fell in behind the corporal, who opened the door leading to the landing pad and started down the hallway. Maya and the scientists were up front, but the group froze temporarily at the sound of rapid gunfire from just outside. Edward and Roger nodded at each other, moving past the worried scientists. “Salazar, keep a watch on the rear approach. We’ll support Lt. O’Ryan in securing the LZ.” The door hissed open, and the group squinted momentarily at the sudden surge of light. When their eyes adjusted, it took all Ed’s will to suppress a whistle.

O’Ryan and Logan stood practically back to back, forming a 360 degree circle that meant the untimely death of any husks foolish enough to press on their line. And press the husks did. Countless bodies littered the pad, and numerous thermal clips lay discarded amongst the fallen. Logan snapped his gaze to the door for a moment, nodding before opening fire on the encroaching husks once again. They needed no further notice.

Sprinting to their allies, Roger took up position beside Logan, adding his fire to the all ready impressive bullet rain the big man was laying down, while Edward took up arms beside O’Ryan. “You’re late, Corporal!”

“Sorry, sir! Had a run in with a few hundred of these bastards!” The Lt glanced at him, and Ed looked back. “Looks like you’re batting a thousand though, sir!”

O’Ryan pumped a burst into a husk, dropping it before it even neared the landing pad. “Fire Team 3 to Kodiak.”

“Kodiak, go ahead.”

O’Ryan looked out over the seemingly endless horde, his lips set in a thin line. “We’ve secured the LZ for the moment, but we need exfil ASAP.”

“We are Oscar Mike to your location, sir. ETA, two minutes.”

“What about Lieutenant Harrens?”

“Vindicator Kodiaks are handling it, sir.”

“Good, looks like we won’t need that second Kodiak.” He cut the line, before opening another to Maya. “Specialist.”

“Sir.”

“What’s our numbers and status?”

“We’ve got four scientists, sir, one heavily injured, and two others sustaining light injuries. Fourth only has superficial injuries.”

He nodded, letting off the last of his clip into a trio of husks, before popping the heat sink. “Get them out on the pad. They’re first aboard.” He slammed the clip home, noting grimly that it was his final one.

“Yes, sir.” The door to the dome opened seconds later, revealing two scientists hoisting a third as the fourth lead the way out onto the battlefield they were calling an LZ. Maya stepped backwards slowly, firing short bursts backwards into the corridor, trying to suppress the horde that had stirred within the research facility. “There’s no fucking end to these fuckers, is there?!”

Roger laughed, as he popped his Avenger’s heat sink. “C’mon, you’re not scared, are you? We’ve killed hundreds of these things already! What’s a few billion more?!” Despite the bravado, the private was visibly antsy, preferring to bounce about the pad instead of standing still. “Although a lift would be appreciated right now! I’m halfway through my last sink!” A husk leapt at the platform, and he unloaded into its head. “Scratch that. I’m tapped.”

Logan turned slightly, lobbing a sink to the private who snatched it out of the air and ready his rifle again. “That’s my last too.” He murmured, seemingly unphased as he turned back to his post and put another husk down. Maya frowned, but did little more than loose a burst into the nearest husk, biting her lip harshly. This was not her idea of a well run operation.

As the counter on O’Ryan’s rifle ran low, he glanced to the sky. The Kodiak swept in low, sweeping wide slightly to bash a few husks from it’s landing pad before opening its door. “Let’s move! Readings are picking up another quake!” As if on cue, the ground beneath them began to shake violently, earning a number of swears from the group. The scientists clambered aboard, gently seating their colleague down before strapping themselves in.

“Everyone on, double time!” O’Ryan back pedalled slightly, standing up on the hatch and laying down covering fire for the retreating marines. Logan was first in, followed closely by Edward. The ground beneath the LZ buckled, and the structure shook wildly beneath their feet. Groaning earth and protesting steel filled the air, and the pilot swore, veering the Kodiak upwards to avoid the crumpling landing pad. Maya pushed her body forward, adrenaline and training forcing her to go faster and faster as more of the landing pad shattered under the quake’s assault. Jumping the short distance, she half fell, half rolled into the open hatch, panting in relief as the Kodiak backed away a little further. A foul litany of curses filled the comms, as Roger weaved past the doggedly persistent husks and splintering metal. “I signed up to kill things, not outrun god-damn earthquakes! Be a hero to millions, not a fucking safety statistic!” He pumped his legs faster than he thought possible, eyes narrowed on the Kodiak hovering just up ahead. Every rumble threatened to be his doom, and the private briefly wondered how much it would suck to be buried underground with all the husks.

“Pollard! Booster! NOW!” Logan’s voice boomed in his ear, and the private swore under his breath. Aim the rocket on his back through a barrage of rock and steel to land in an opening maybe a few metres wide? He grinned wild beneath his helmet. If he was going to be pancaked by a rock, he might as well launch himself at it.

Pulling up the activate button, he took a steadying breath before slamming the key down, and the retro booster roared to life on his back. It flung him forward, bringing a primal yell from his lungs as the Kodiak grew closer and closer. Vaguely, he heard a mutter of ‘crazy bastard’ over the comm, before Lucr’n herself threw up on final protest to his escape. The ground erupted, shards of stone pelting against the hovering ship, and causing it to lurch upwards. “OH FUCK!” Flinging his hand up to catch the lip, the private paled as the booster faltered and died, his momentum slipping and his body dipped back down towards the ground. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!”

His body jerked to a stop, and he blinked for a moment before gazing upwards at the dark visor of his saviour. “Pollard, I’m going to kick your fucking ass when we get back, you psychotic Sonuvabitch!” Blinking once, he laughed at the concern.

“Why yes it is nice to be alive, thank you for the concern.” As they hauled him aboard, the Kodiak peeled away, hatch shutting just in time for them to fireworks from the Vindicator’s barrage. The detonations didn’t out of place at all on the violently turbulent planet below, and Fire Team 3 glanced between each other for a moment.

They couldn’t help but laugh.

Daniel unloaded yet another clip from his assault rifle at the encroaching horde as they scaled the building in such a way that it defied their lanky manner. Everyone seemed to be doing the same thing, and Daniel started having doubts about whether or not they would get out of here alive. Daniel was on the opposite side of the building from Tia when she went down to one knee, something was wrong. Nerita was the first to notice it, and between shots she yelled at Daniel. "Operative Saint is down." She stated, managing to sound neutral despite her voice being raised. Daniel spared a glance backwards, and could see that despite having no husks near her yet, she was struggling to stand upright.

"Carly, pull Saint's ass to the middle!" He ordered the marine, who complied without a word. Without consent, she grabbed the Operative under the shoulder and dragged her to the middle of the rooftop, allowing her the most space out of them. "Everyone watch your peripherals! We've got an open flank now, stay focused!" Daniel ordered as he kicked the face of a husk that was gripping the edge of the rooftop down into the crowd below. "Saint! What's your problem!?" Daniel asked, not exactly in the position for niceties at this point.

"Something's...wrong...I don't..." Tia seemed to be having a hard time breathing as she was barely able to fire her weapon at one of the husks that climbed over the ledge. Daniel cursed under his helmet as he fired until his weapon clicked. He reached for another thermal clip, only to find that his pack was empty. He switched to his Carnifex heavy pistol, already loaded with a thermal clip and started backing towards the middle of the rooftop.

"I'm out!" Daniel yelled into his comm.

"Same here sir!" Carly replied a second later as she backpeddled to meet him. Nerita stood her ground for a few more seconds before retreating to their position as well.

"I'm out as well." Her voice calm and cool as always. They picked their shots, making sure to make each one count as the husks found their way over the ledge. Even amidst the firing, Nerita spoke to Daniel. "What was that about getting out alive Lieutenant?" She said, her voice almost accusing. Daniel said nothing as he continued to fire. They still had at least one more boost on their packs, but where would it send them? It would drop them right in the middle of the horde with no way out. Evac couldn't get there in time if they called it right now, and they were all running out of ammunition. Daniel glared through his visor as his Carnifex ammo counter ticked down.

3

2

1

"Lieutenant Harrens?! Vindicator Kodiak 2 here! How about we give you a lift!" The Kodiak came around the building and parked a few feet away from the ledge to keep the husks from grabbing on. Daniel almost jumped for joy when the Kodiak appeared, but managed to keep his head.

"Nerita, clear us a path!" Daniel ordered. "Carly, get to the Kodiak, provide covering fire for as long as you can!"

"Yes sir!" They both stated as Nerita released a biotic throw that cleared a few husks off of the building clearing them an avenue of approach. Carly ran forward, and jumped the few feet landing on the Kodiak. She immediately turned around and used whatever ammo she had left. Nerita was next as she did the same thing, turning around to provide suppressing fire. Daniel stopped, and picked up Tia. She wasn't unconscious, but she wasn't able to move on her own fast enough. He quickly picked her up in a fireman carry, and brought her to the edge of the building. He built up enough speed, but still said something to Tia.

"This is most likely going to hurt, or kill us." Daniel said in a tone that meant he wasn't joking as he took the extra weight and tossed them both onto the Kodiak with a crash. Tia flew from his grasp, landing on the far side of the vessel in a heap, and Daniel was stuck hanging onto the edge of the Kodiak with his feet dangling below. Both Carly and Nerita grabbed a hold of each arm and yanked him up. As soon as he was inside, the door closed and he could feel them moving. Daniel didn't waste any time. "Pilot, what's our next destination?"

"We have to pick up a Vindicator sniper team about to be overrun sir, Captain Villayn." The pilot responded.

"Confirmed. Do you have spare thermal clips back here?" Daniel asked next.

"Top shelf on the left side, there should be a bundle of them." Daniel reached up into the compartment and grabbed a few thermal clips for himself and tossed out a few more to Nerita and Carly.

"Carly, patch her up, see what's wrong with her. Nerita, with me." Within moments, the pilots voice was heard once more.

"Opening the doors in five seconds!" He said. Daniel and Nerita stood on either side of the door, and the moment it opened, they saw yet another horde almost directly on top of the sniper team. They unloaded their new found clips from their rifles as Villayn's team simply broke and ran for the Kodiak. Daniel and Nerita didn't let up, slaughtering dozens of the creatures as Villayn and his team finally got aboard the vessel. The door closed, and the feeling of them lifting into the air was such a welcome reprieve that Daniel actually sat down placed his head on his rifle.

"Thank you for your assistance." Villayn stated, looking between Nerita and Daniel as he took a seat himself.

"Not a problem." Daniel stated, allowing himself some rest. The Turian managed a look over at Carly and Saint, who were crouched in a corner. He didn't say anything though, for the lack of wounds was apparent yet she was in obvious pain. "Carly, what's the issue?" Daniel asked.

"Physically she's fine sir. Whatever is affecting her, it's beyond what little medical knowledge I have." Carly replied.

"She's been sick for a few days Lieutenant." Nerita spoke up as well, but didn't say anything else. Daniel simply looked over at her.

"Sick? Aren't the nanites in her body supposed to prevent that?"

"Maybe it is the nanites." Daniel looked over at Villayn who simply looked back. "When we were aboard the Collector vessel, she was hit and her suit was breached. Seeing the way these...Reapers can control organic beings, it might have happened then when the nanites came into direct contact with them." Daniel simply shook his head.

"Indoctrination doesn't work that way. Hell, I've had my suit breached before by these bastards, I'm still good to go."

"Yes, but you don't have microscopic robots in your bloodstream." Villayn stated. Daniel looked over at Tia, then Carly.

"It seems logical sir. I can't see anything else wrong with her." Daniel looked down, before opening a comm. channel to the Victory.

"Overwatch, this is Fireteam 1, we're going to need a medical team standing by upon our departure."

"Already in place Lieutenant." Kelly replied. "Fireteam 2 is on their way up as well with survivors from the research team. Dr. Grass is standing by."

"Copy, Fireteam 1 out." Daniel cut the connection and looked over everyone else. This mission had been FUBAR, and there was literally no one to blame. No one could have known the numbers, let alone about how powerful the damn artifact really was. In the end, the mission was a failure at least on their part. They failed in securing a husk, and barely got out with their lives.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Kelly stood watching through the window to the shuttle bay, waiting for Fireteam 2 to come aboard with the wounded scientists from the research base. Dr. Grass was waiting just outside the door with a couple of nurses and orderlies to assist with the wounded. Finally, the Kodiak came aboard, and Dr. Grass wasted no time meeting the group at the Kodiak. A couple of the scientists were put on stretchers to avoid further damage, while others were carefully walked off. Kelly stood patiently from behind the window, watching as O'Ryan's team approached the door and came out into the hallway to meet with Operative Invaru.

Once Leonard was within the hallway, he removed his helmet and gave a smart salute. The others followed their Lieutenant, and Kelly returned it but gave Leonard a look. "I already told you to stop with the salutes Lieutenant."

"Sorry ma'am, old habits die hard." He replied as he turned towards the rest of the fireteam.

"Squad! Debriefing will take place an hour from now, dismissed!" He stated. He was about to turn back around, when he stopped himself. "Oh, and good work out there team." He dismissed them as he turned his back on them to talk to Invaru. They quietly walked away from the two officers, leaving them to their conversation.

"Give me the quick version Lieutenant." Kelly asked, placing her hands behind her back. Leonard held his helmet under his arm as he swiped a hand through his hair.

"Well...the plan was a bust ma'am. Unless Fireteam 1 managed to get a husk, which I highly doubt, the Illusive man isn't going to be pleased with us."

"Where did all the husks come from?" Kelly asked, seeing if Leonard knew more than her.

"I don't know ma'am, but if I had to guess I would say numerous pirate and private research groups going for the same thing these researchers were going for. These ruins always attract the greedy, the brilliant, and the stupid." Kelly simply nodded. "Do we have word from Lieutenant Harrens?" O'Ryan asked keeping his voice neutral.

"They're on their way up as well. They have wounded, but they're all accounted for." Kelly replied, and Lieutenant O'Ryan nodded as he stopped himself mid-salute.

"Good to hear ma'am. If you need me for a formal debrief, you know where to find me." He turned smartly and made his way to the elevator. Kelly stood there watching him leave for a moment, before turning back to the window. Just a couple minutes later, another Kodiak was making its way into the shuttle bay. The elevator door opened at almost the exact same time, and Dr. Grass came out once more.

"You're timing is impeccable Doctor." Kelly said with a slight smile. He simply adjusted his glasses as a couple of orderlies came behind him with a stretcher.

"In my job, timing is what saves half the patients. Did he tell you the nature of the wounded at all?" Grass asked watching as the Kodiak finally docked.


"No Doctor." Kelly replied, and Grass simply gave a sigh.

"And people say marines are the only ones who go in blind." As soon as the words were out, Grass opened the door and walked in. "Alright, let's get in there." Kelly waited outside the bay, knowing that the Kodiak was actually the Vindicator's and would need to leave once Daniel's team was off. It took a couple of minutes, but she saw Tia loaded up on a stretcher much to her discontent and taken out. Even as they passed by through the door to the elevator, she could tell Saint wasn't liking the doting father treatment that Lincoln liked to hand out to everyone.

Once Daniel's team was safely inside the ship, the Kodiak left to join the Vindicator. Daniel, Nerita, and Carly all stood in front of Kelly who only seemed to look over them. "I assume you were unsuccessful in grabbing a husk Lieutenant?" Kelly asked, her voice not reprimanding but asking a simple question.

"No ma'am. We'll have to hope that the Commander Titus managed to grab one himself." Daniel responded as he gave a wave to dismiss the others. Carly and Nerita both gave a nod before heading off towards the elevator. "The truth, ma'am, is that we barely got out of there ourselves. I do not recommend sending another team down, even with the bombardment the artifact got with the Vindicator's cannons. There are simply too many for them to have gotten them all."

"Understood Lieutenant. Go, get some rest and hand in your report of the situation when you are able too." Daniel gave a nod and left for the elevator. Kelly turned towards the window for a moment looking into the shuttle bay as if waiting for something. After a few moments, she herself left the area and took the elevator back up to the CIC.

Not long after the interrupter field around her arm winked out, Tia went down to one knee fighting an overpowering need to toss the meals she'd had for at least the last year. She panted trying to get enough air in the restricting helmet and armor. When Lt. Harren's yelled at her and she was dragged into the midst of the three of them, she shook her head, "I...don't know." She hadn't been sick since being awakened from cryo. What if something was going wrong. Her mind flashed on the new Nanites she'd been injected with when they'd been on leave on Earth. What if they were killing her? She lifted her HMW and blasted the legs out from under one husk because that's all the higher she could raise her weapon.

One by one each of them counted down as they ran out of ammo. She was the last having used less than the others, but soon enough, she was out as well. And still the waves of husks came. Suddenly, a miracle happened. Daniel got a call from one of the Vindicator's Kodiaks. Nerita and Carly managed the leap into the open hatchway and covered them. Tia looked at the distance and knew she'd never make it. She cursed and suddenly found herself flung across Daniel's shoulders as he began a sprint for the edge of the building. This is most likely going to hurt or kill us."

Tia found herself hurled from Daniel's arms as he made the jump for the Kodiak. She hit the deck and rolled heavily until she crashed into the bulkhead. Her head was left spinning and her ribs felt heavily bruised from the impact. She grit her teeth so strongly so she wouldn't throw up that her teeth almost cracked with the effort. She felt Daniel also hit the edge of the Kodiak, but he fell slightly short forcing Carly and Nerita to grab and drag him aboard.

Next stop was to pick up Captain Villayn and his Turian crew. Tia huddled in a corner, lacking the strength to even get up into a seat. Carly knelt over her, lifted her helmet away. The cycled air inside the Kodiak was like pure heaven. Carly looked her over, but found nothing. She reported as such to Lt. Harrens with a frown.

Nerita offered that she'd been sick for a while followed by Villayn and Harrens speculating about her nanites and indoctrination.

Tia grimaced, "Can we not talk over my head? I'm right here." Despite the pain she was in, she couldn't help a wry grin. "I'm special.." she gasped and continued to Harrens. Tia eyed Vilayn and the other Turians, but frankly she hurt too bad to do more than lay against the bulkhead.

Once the Kodiak had docked with the Call of Victory, the tram was meant by a medical team and 2IC Invaru. Despite her protests, Tia wasn't permitted to walk to the med bay and she took the ride in a chair with sour disapproval.

Once they arrived in the med bay, Niki explained the potential of an infection of Tia's nanites, having been advised by Lt. Harrens.. The Doctor's brows rose. This was beyond anything he'd ever heard of before. While Tia was moved from the chair to a medical bed. She mutters, "It's getting crowded in here." The Doctor ignored her. "I'll look into it." He promised.

Dr. Grass took several blood samples to run tests and they confirmed that the nanites were indeed, being converted and attacking her organs. It was a very slow process, but they couldn't waste any time. Grass sat as Tia's bedside, handed her a damp cloth so she could sooth a growing fever. "Operative St. Jean, your nanites are being indoctrinated. Your organs will be next" He paused to let that sink in.


Tia corrected him automatically, "Saint." Her voice was soft. "Am I going to become one of them?"

"No. I think I have a solution. The problem lies in the nanites. If we kill them, we stop the indoctrination. But, I don't know what will happen to your body when we do that. Any residual damage from your extended time in cryo may resurface. We just don't know."

Tia took a deep breath. "So. We cure one problem and wait to see if another one shows up and cure that one next, huh?"

The Doctor nodded. "That's basically right. As soon as we can, we'll get back to Earth and see about replacing the nanites."

Tia nodded. "Alright. I'm too good looking to end up one of those husk things." She smiled softly. "Better get as many samples beforehand as you can. I'm sure TIM would want them."

Dr. Grass nodded to the suggestion and prepped the shielding needed to protect Tia's flesh from the explosively pumped flux compression generator. It had never been used in this capacity, but in theory it should work as a highly contained EMP blast. An hour long surgery was all that was required to removed her synthetic arm to prevent permanent damage to it. With the help of Niki who suggested tweaks and ways to protect the rest of the ship from the untested procedure.

"I am compelled to tell you that this is a dangerous and untested procedure, Dr. Grass. It will likely be extremely painful, Operative St. Jean." The A.I. intoned calmly.

Dr. Grass and Tia shared a look. "Wow. That's very reassuring, Niki. Thanks." Tia said

No one heard the screams Tia tried to squelch as the EMP blast hit her and the billions of nanites in her body were destroyed along with the infection the Collectors tried to implant within her. Though the EMP blast had lasted only seconds. The pain continued long after the single pulse had ended.

Tia woke after several hours to find her arm back in place with a lovely new line of stitches circling her shoulder and Nerita seated across the room from her. She frowned heavily. "What happened?

Nerita's flat eyes regarded Tia. "Absolutely nothing, Operative." She rose, "I was only concerned."

Hearing Tia's voice, Dr. Grass entered the room and paused to look between the pair of them in curiosity. "Should I come back...?"

Nerita, shook her head, "No. I'll leave you to your patient, Dr."

Dr. Grass approached Tia. "How do you feel?"

Tia grunted, "Like 10 miles of bad road?" She looked to the Dr. "Did it work?"

Grass nodded, "Yes. You'll be fine after a few days of rest. The weight of your arm will be a problem until we can get some new nanites into you though."
Tia made a face. "Anyway we can get that expedited? This thing already hurts like a mother."

"Maybe. We'll see, But rest for now. You're going to need it."

Titus turned and watched after Valentine brushed past him and made his way to the Vindicator’s docking bridge. He remained where he was for a minute, waiting until the air lock closed behind his new crew member, before walking back out into the main terminal. He continued to walk, gently weaving in and out of several spacers and travelers waiting for their vessels to refuel or finish being worked on. As he was now deep within the Terminus systems the language barrier was dense, with the tongues of several cultures feeling reverberating about the terminal.

He finally came to a stop when a woman’s voice, singing in perfect English, asked from within an alcove, “Long time no see, Captain.”

Titus turned and smiled to the dark haired woman leaning her shoulder against the wall with arms and legs crossed. “Lieutenant Carson,” he said, stepping closer to the woman named Sibyl. “It’s has been a long time hasn’t it?” John opened slightly opened his arms and she pushed off of the wall to accept the embrace, returning the smile.

After stepped back to her spot, she asked, “It’s Commander now, actually.”

“Promoted?”

“To the head of a new Alliance program called Oracle. Though, I’m surprised you didn’t already know.”

Titus shrugged his shoulders and slightly shook his head. “The Illusive Man must have forgotten to mention that the last time we spoke. So what’s Oracle?”

Sibyl leaned out of the alcove only enough for her to glance up and down both directions of the terminal. In a lower voice, she replied, “It’s the navy’s new special intelligence division. After my work in their InOps branch, they offered me the position of ‘the Operator’; the director of this new and improved group of spooks.”

John raised a brow. “The Operator? You’re not going to become recluse on a space station orbiting some random gas giant now, are you?”

His friend laughed and poked him in the stomach. “Of course not; so long as there’s one mystery man already doing that, the galaxy can sleep well at night.” She bent down to one knee, dipping her hand into a small bag that had been laid by her feet. A second later, she stood back up and revealed a small black box that she had recovered from the satchel. There was a silver piece on the front, where one would normally press in and lift up to release the latches and open the lid; but Titus recognized this particular model to be designed as a security lock box, built to protect small items of immense value; jewelry, credit chits, data disks, anything else a paranoid – or just very careful – individual could not trust themselves enough to keep on their person.

“I’ve brought what you asked for,” she said, handing the box over to him. “There is a DNA scanner on either side of the box. It’s been coded to only allow him to open it. He’ll just have to place each index finger on either side, let it read his DNA from his skin cells, and then he can just push in and up on the silver latch on the front. Simple; but secure.”

Titus took the box in both hands, examined it for a second – feeling the weight, the volume, the mere eye value – and nodded his thanks to Sibyl. “I could use someone like you on my team, Carson.”

Sibyl smiled, but replied, “Sorry, Titus; but I can’t. I have a duty with the Alliance, and my loyalty is also with them. I may look out for humanity just as much as you or the Illusive Man, but Oracle has standards; the first of which being integrity.”

It seemed a shadow had just been cast over Titus as he looked slightly away from the woman who used to serve with him as an N7 marine. They had been through hell and back in more than ways than one, and always came out stronger, closer, and more defined by their actions in the field. Both of them had taken lives, but in doing so they have saved thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands. Now, they had gone their separate ways. John had joined Cerberus, and Sibyl had migrated to the intelligence community. Now, he felt he was being accused; and if that’s what her aim was, she had every right to do so. He couldn’t blame her, and wouldn’t.

“I have to go, Titus,” she said abruptly, looking down at her Omni tool which had pinged aloud to grab her attention.

“Uhm, yeah. I’ll see you around, Sibyl,” he replied.

She turned to leave, stepping out of her alcove and past John; but before reaching even ten feet from him, she stopped and looked back. “You know Commander Titus,” she began, “it’s not you that should be asking me to tag along. It should be me asking you.” After passing him a quick wink of her eye, she turned back and disappeared into a crowd of humans that walked through a nearby air lock.

“Perfect timing as always,” John mused before heading the opposite direction with a smirk on his face.




Braden’s slammed downward and crashed into the blue mat in the center of the gym’s floor. Every last bit of biotic energy he had built up around his body channeled through his arm and released into a widespread shockwave, surging out from his knuckles. The blue and purple blast sent Villayn, Darak, and Arkan flying in an outward direction. The turian captain crashed into one of the treadmills situated in the corner of the room. His head rolled around for a second as he struggled to recover.

“Okay!” Villayn said, holding up his talons. “That’s enough for today.”

Arkan stumbled back onto the mat, and gave the human child a heavy pat on his shoulder. Braden was so exhausted from the session that he dropped to his knees as soon as Arkan’s talons made contact. “You okay?” the turian lieutenant asked sincerely.

“I’m fine,” Braden replied, standing back up to his feet with ferocity, attempting to maintain a tough appearance, which made Darak laugh.

Villayn walked over, but had a more serious look than his friends. “Promise me you’ll eat a full meal this time,” he said, pointing one of his long, bony digits at the boy. “Dr. Porter gave me an ear full the other day. I never realized that your species’ females can be just as aggressive as the asari. She actually had me worried she’d eject me out the air lock if you wound up on one of her recovery beds again after our training.”

Braden laughed and shrugged. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly.

The door to the gym hissed open and Commander Titus stepped in. He was carrying a small security box designed for private belongings. He nodded in greeting to Braden before looking to Villayn to ask, “Would you mind giving Mr. Reynolds and I a moment together, Captain? I won’t take too much of your time.”

“Take as long as you want, Commander,” Villayn replied with a nod. “We’ve just finished up for the day. You should know he’s doing quite well; already able to take on all three of us and come out on top.”

Titus actually seemed pleased with Villayn’s praise for the teen. “Well then, I’ll definitely have to come down and watch tomorrow. Thanks for everything you’re doing, Captain.”

“My pleasure, Titus,” Villayn replied as he made his way out of the gym with Darak and Arkan behind him.

When the door hissed shut once more, Titus walked over and onto the mat to meet Braden. He handed the boy the small box, who took it with great curiosity in his eyes. “What’s in it?” he inquired.

“Open it and find out,” John said gently.

Braden pressed each index finger on the sides of the box, and heeded to the sound of a hum coming from somewhere within. After a tiny click was heard at the front, he pressed his thumbs on the silver latch, press in, and then up. He transitioned one hand under the box for support as his other hand gently and slowly lifted the top back. Inside, he saw two titanium dog tags on a matching chain, perfectly polished, resting like feathers on a satin-gray silk display pillow. He reached in and gently lifted the tags off of the pillow, setting the box down on the mat after doing so, and lightly ran his thumb over the embellished print.

REYNOLDS
ADAM C
486850125 AN
O POS
CHRISTIAN

The boy’s knees began to shake, and Titus’ arms reached around behind his back and pulled him in close. Heavy, overwhelming sobs violently bore into his jacket, but John stood there the whole time: looking ahead, holding him close, and letting the young man release it all. Braden’s arms close around his torso and they remained locked in the center of the room for several minutes before Braden finally pulled away and looked back at the tags.

“Service Chief Adam Reynolds,” Titus said after a long silence, “that was your father. He was a very brave man, Braden. He was a proud Alliance MP, who gave his life defending you and your mother. You’ve gone through the last two years not being able to remember who they were. I figured it would help if you had something that the geth or Gavin didn’t take away from you.”

Braden lifted the chain around his neck, and let the tags rest against the outside of his shirt. His fingers twirled and fumbled with his father’s precious identity for a few seconds before whispering the words, “Thank you.”

John pulled the teen in for a final hug, rubbing a rough hand through his already messy hair before letting him go, and said, “Now, go eat. Veronica just about smashed my head into the wall because you passed out last time.”

Braden raised a brow and replied, “She is so my mom!”

It wasn't long after Sentry made his first steps onto the Vindicator that a crew member found him and showed him to his quarters. His jaw dropped as he stared at the waterfall and the plants and what looked to be the cushiest bed he'd ever seen in his life. "Holy...I knew being a soldier would work out for me at some point," he said to himself as he began unpacking his things.

Minutes later, he was changed into a thick pair of navy blue cover-alls and taking his first steps into the Vindicator's shuttle bay and began his mental inventory: Four Kodiaks sat in their designated areas, all looking to be in working condition no matter how banged up, dented, or scratched they seemed to be. Tools were strewn here and there where the engineering crew had been working and just left their mess to be dealt with at a later point. He sighed inwardly and ran a hand through his messy ginger hair as he started picking up the tools at his feet.

The sound of whirring gears caught his attention just moments later, and he turned to see the shuttle bay door dropping, followed by the sound of hoverjets. He watched intently as a large metal container was maneuvered into the bay by a twiggy-looking man controling the pallet by his datapad. The man stopped the pallet underneath an unused spot for another Kodiak and turned to Sentry.

"Can you sign for this, please," the man asked. Sentry stared at the man for a moment, then at the container, and then back to the man.

"Um," Sentry replied, "you might want to get Commander Titus' signature for...whatever this is."

"Listen, man, I really don't care who signs for it. I just need you to get it out of my container and off of my pallet so I can go back to what I was doing."

Sentry looked back at the container and then snatched datapad from the man's hand, mumbling something about the man looking "ever-so-busy" and something else about how signing for packages wasn't his job, and a few choice curse words as well. The man nodded to him as he took the datapad back and dropped the pallet to the floor before fiddling with his Omni-Tool for a moment. The container's lid sprang open and hit the shuttle bay deck with a loud bang. His face contorted into a look of supreme confusion as he brought his Omni-Tool closer to his mouth.

"Uhm, Titus," Sentry said, the confusion evident, "we got a new toy..."



"How'd the 'refueling stop' go, commander," Darcy asked as he spun his chair around to face Titus. There was a grin plastered across the helmsman's face, but there was something else about it that made Titus feel a bit awkward.

"It went...fine," Titus replied, though the upward inflection made the statement sound more like a question than anything else. "Braden liked his gift, we picked up Valentine...Yeah. It went fine."

"I saw you talking to a pretty lady, you sly dog," Darcy exclaimed in a very sing-songy voice. "Well, I mean, EDI 'saw' you with a pretty lady, but she was kind enough to fill me in on the latest gossip. Spill it. Who's the mystery woman, hmm? Did you kiss her? Please tell me you kissed her. I'm living vicariously through you, so if neither of us get lucky then no one's winnin-"

"Darcy," Titus replied, cutting the helmsman off, "she's just an old friend from the Academy who helped me get ahold of Braden's gift. Nothing more, nothing less." Darcy let out a disgusted sigh.

"Fiiiiiine," he said dejectedly, "don't fill me in on any juicy details."

"Just get the clearance for us to get out of here and stop whining, okay?" Darcy threw up a sarcastic salute

"Oui oui, mon capitaine!" He spun his chair back to the proper position and started fiddling with the displays in front of him. Titus was just about to leave when Darcy spoke up again. "Well that's odd."

"What's odd?"

"Well, for one, you won't give me the scoop on the pretty lady-"

"Darcy."

"-and for two, we're about three and a half tons heavier than we were when we docked. Three options: Braden's gift is made out of some sort of futuristic, super heavy steel that only he can carry, Mr. Valentine is an unholy ass-ton heavier than his dossier says he is, or....I haven't figured that last option out yet."

"Uhm, Titus...we've got a new toy..."

Titus looked down at his wrist as his Omni-Tool sprang to life and Valentine's voice came with it. "A new toy," he asked. "What do you mean we have a new toy, Valentine?"

"You might not believe me if I told you. Come on down here and check it out for yourself."



"...he sent us a Hammerhead?"

Sentry nodded slowly as he hooked the Hammerhead onto the overhead mechanical arms and started hoisting the vehicle in behind the last Kodiak. "It would appear so, yes."

"...why would he send us a Hammerhead?"

"I have no idea. Got any missions lined up for us that would involve a three ton, self-healing, jumping hoverboard that has a big gun and can dig?" Titus ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"Not so far as I know, but it's not like he ever gives me a straight forward answer in the first place." Titus held his hand out to Sentry and Sentry took it, shaking it firmly. "Welcome aboard the Vindicator, Valentine."

"Call me Sentry," he replied. "Is every day with you guys this weird?"

"Nope," Titus replied as he walked back towards the elevator. "It's worse, usually."

"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.