---

Phalanx reloaded then aimed its sniper rifle again, but the female Turian Unit identified as Sicaria Velinian and Ja'Far Balak had taken care of the remaining hostiles. Sicaria Velinian promptly eliminating two of troopers while Ja'Far Balak simply incapacitated them. Joining the Centurion on the floor in pain from being shot. Threat neutralized, the Geth stood up from its position, cloaking out and headed down the steps to join the others. It was then the alarms started blaring. As well as the sight of the human Spectre yelling at a aged human scientist. As it was explained that the aged human had released a horde of husks, and the explanation of the reason why, Phalanx's flaps rose abruptly before slowly lowering, though its left upper one remained slightly ajar like a cocked eyebrow.

"Illogical. Probability of safe escape is 34.324% non accounting the delay of husk arrival and having to get through our armed forces first. Instead of safe escorting with proper behavior, now face higher probability of being flesh being forcibly torn apart and consumed." Phalanx chirped, finding such a desperate attempt quite unfathomable. Is this a human thing or just a general organic thing? Scientists were supposed to be logical, correct?

Odd odd creatures.

"HOLY SHIT IT'S A GETH! voiced one of the scientists as they noticed the towering synthetic. Eyes stretched in both terror and intrigue.

"Requiring refraining of loud outbursts due to upcoming horde of aggressive mindless hostiles." Phalanx replied in its robotic monotone, sounding a lot more calm in comparison to the terrified scientists.

Listening to Jake Anderson's plan, the Geth platform processed it over. In order to protect the innocent lives living above, the team the Spectre's just formed had little choice but to hold off this army. It was apparent everyone was quite capable, however, taking on a full on army was a near death sentence. Even if it was with mostly mindless creatures, they were outnumbered. They would eventually run out of resources that would be required to just keep them at bay. The close quarters however did assist them in the endeavor as husks tended just charge straight forth their opponent without thought. Could shoot them in a line, or throw grenades to take out several at once. They could attempt to collapse the place if it came down to it. Risked destroying the structure and the team but it was better then so many lives dying. For now, that suggestion will remain as a last resort.

Listening to the human Spectre give each team member a designated position, Phalanx responded with a, "Acknowledged, Anderson-Spectre." before getting into position on the groups left side. Taking its sniper rifle and popping out the clip. Switching to Cyro Ammo, the Geth flicked its flashlight head toward the Cerberus troopers as the Husks finally arrived and started to rip them apart. The synthetic being didn't react, or at least not one could tell with something that had a flashlight for a face, but the metal flaps around its head shook ever so slightly.

Moving with the group as the Turian Female Unit Alria “Angel” Vicrinus lead, Phalanx examined the group of scientists as it flanked their left. Making sure none tried anything suspicious or made a attempt to get of line and escape their escorting prison. A few of them flinched away from the towering synthetic being, perhaps remembering that Geth had once assisted in creating these husks that were currently chasing them down and held no hesitation in ripping the soft organic flesh from their bones.

Gunfire flared up behind them as husks attempted to lunge themselves at the group. It was then the Geth spotted a Marauder charge through the horde of regular husks, pushing its way to the front and leading the charge. Phalanx instantly raised its sniper rifle, took aim in order to not land a bullet into one of its comrades, then fired into the charging Turian Husk. It squealed as the head shot blew it back and flat onto two other of the husks. Moving along, Phalanx reloaded watched as Alria “Angel” Vicrinus opened a door to reveal two husks. Alria “Angel” Vicrinus took care of one with a couple of shots. The Geth calculated that Ja'Far Balak had the other, but if for some reason he did not, the Geth would take another shot.

Switching out its sniper for its shotgun as they entered a room that looked like a mess hall. As they traveled through, doors burst open as husks charged toward them. Several starting to spark to detonate their electrical blasts that would take down their shields and cause damage. Many spilling over from overhead, in which case Phalanx immediately fired its shotgun as hordes spilled overhead while moving to push the prisoners in a attempt from being landed on. It couldn't get them all, however Phalanx was soon ripping husks off of scientists and flinging them into the tables. Assisting scientists up while aiming its gun and shooting again. It had to be cautious of where it aimed and what it used. It couldn't use incinerate at this close proximity without burning some scientists.

"Do not scatter. Stay close to this platform. Remain silent." Phalanx ordered the scientists, before emitting a high pitch sound in order to assist in attracting attention, as it slammed a metallic fist against a few husks in order to shove them away before blasting them again with its gun. This particular platform did not have a lot of melee capabilities, so for the most part, it had to body block as much as it could in order to protect both the scientists and Creator Rayes'Xum vas Fowal. Despite that however, there was no hesitation as Phalanx moved to do anything in its power in order to protect them. Husks moaned and groaned, clawing at the larger metal body, teeth biting into the synthetic muscle in its shoulder. Ripping and tearing to the best of their ability through the Geth shielding and into the actual platform. White liquid spilling out of the torn synthetic muscle. For the most part, the Geth managed to get them out from the center of the group and return back into position with the assistance of its teammates. Scratches scraped against its metallic form, white liquid trickling down from around the neck, shoulder, arms and waist. Sustaining quite a bit of damage due to its effort to protect.

As it spotted a scientist trying to make a move to slip out using the chaos as cover, the Geth snapped its hand on his shoulder and pulled him back into the middle. "Remain in formation. Percentage of death increases if you should leave armed individuals willing to protect you." it warned before reloading and continuing, using its Omni-Tool to help assist repairing some of its injuries in a quick patch up job. It was then that three more husks appeared in the front. Alria “Angel” Vicrinus took care of one before having one cling to her back. Phalanx moved up as she shot it a couple times before the Geth moved and grabbed the husk by the skull with its Omni-Tool. Removing it as Phalanx used incinerate to burn its skull then toss it to the side.

Navigating to the new room, Phalanx turned its flashlight head around to examine the boxes that surrounded them. It was then they bursted with husks that charged at them from all around. There was too many to fight to the lead Turian called for them to run for it. Phalanx quickly followed, urging the scientists to move while shooting its shotgun into any upcoming husks that got too close. One of the female scientists tripped and fell. In which case, the Geth quickly doubled back and grabbed the human, who screamed as the synthetic life form approached, struggling a bit from its grasp. Having no time to deal with this, Phalanx let out another scattered shot from its shotgun to its left then used waved its omnitool using incinerate to leave a flamed wall. Scooping up the panicked human scientist and flinging her onto its left shoulder before running back to its original assigned position. She kicked at it and punched it, but it didn't appear Phalanx either felt or cared. Although the struggles made some of its injuries worsen and some reopen. The quick fix up not able to sustain the stress of the struggling body.

Finally, they arrived their designation and with the Assault Team in sight, Phalanx urged the scientists through, but moved in front of them, so they didn't make a break for it once they passed the Assault Team. Once somewhat safely behind the Assault Team, Phalanx turned to the scientists. "Stay down and take cover. Watch her." it instructed, setting the terrified female down as the group knelt down with whatever cover they could find. The Geth mostly made sure the scientists were in place, but did throw a fireball to the husks and made a few shots with its sniper rifle when it spotted a Cannibal or Marauder in the horde.

He was burning up. His right arm sparked and seized, and his knee, his left knee was crushed and scraped from the container he'd thrown. He'd exhausted a considerable amount of resources already,and now, felt it full force. He coughed, blood and black ichor, the blood from physiological stress, and the black goo a by-product of his medication. His brain screamed for air, and his lungs could barely comply.

You arrogant fool...

His HUD told him what he already knew: he was overheating, horribly. Primarily in his right arm, the heat sink had taken all it could. But it wouldn't survive, and needed to be sacrificed. He, gasping and coughing, ordered NERO to direct all unnecessary VI processing power on controlling the jerks of his right arm. The primary servos in his elbow had taken a heavy hit, the strain causing one to snap open, shifting discs, and causing it to produce even more heat from the friction. His other arm was only a little better. "Pop the left... The left arm."

We're fucked, thanks to you.

The Thermal Clip ejected in a puff of smoke, with a smell like burning rubber. He could still control his right arm's fingers and shoulder, so he waited for the right moment to yank his hand out from under his girth, to grab another Clip from his holster-

Nonlight covered his body and lifted him, slowly and painfully, from the floor, like the unholy light of some primitive god, raising a faithful warrior from the ashes like a-
“Katabasis, there’s been a development. This institution has been used as a Reaper research station, and now we have upwards of two-thousand Husks on the loose."

The Asari dullard comes to your rescue. How pathetic...

He took this opportunity, grasping earnestly each time his arm's seizures brought it close to his holster. Once, twice, thrice-

YES!
YES!
YES!

His fingers wrapped around the small cylinder that held so many hopes, and his shoulder twisted for the last time as the joint caught fire, to slam the clip into place and Ellis ordered it to be ejected. It popped off like any other component, burning quietly on the floor.

The nutrient supplement was doing its work, Ellis' ravenous metabolism processing the calorie-dense slime faster than a human digestive system should ever be forced to. It was a system that was more than effective for combat, but would kill him in the long run. His former employers couldn't have cared less.

An auto turret opened fire, pounding against Ellis' armor like rain on a roof. He wondered if it was cracking his suit at all. His internal sensors were far too damaged to tell him anything other than the fact that he could catch fire at any moment, and even those could be false readings.

You shouldn't have charged ahead.

My colleagues, my kills.

You idiot, you've crippled yourself. Keep yourself in check.

Maybe now, they won't doubt my capabilities-

Those weren't your capabilities. You're not an ATLAS.

Well, they won't doubt my loyalty-

They'll always doubt your loyalties.

There was a deep dent in his hip, holding the magwell for his left leg sealed.

The knee is fucked anyway.

And whose fault is that?

The gunfire ceased suddenly in a beep-boop and a bright red flash. His right leg was undamaged, and as he slammed in the second thermal clip, his suit's mapping system came back online. He couldn't tell just how many there were, specifically, but there were an awful lot of red dots headed their way.

His vitals were starting to stabilize, still indicating an very weak EKG, but it was enough. He figured he had enough in him to at least Throw a few more. Now was the chance he'd been looking for.

Maybe they knew you'd rush ahead. Maybe this is a clever assassination attempt. They force you to do their dirty work-

No one forced me to do anyth-

-and then they leave you to provide a distraction while they handle the husks-

So be it.

His voice was suprisingly soft when he spoke. "Asari, drop me in the path of the Husks. I'm big. I'll provide enough of an obstacle to slow them down. Improves your chances."

IDIOT! FOOL! MORON!

He slipped his Mattock off his back, careful not to drop it. Without another arm, he would have to make every shot count. All twelve rounds.

DOTARD! HAVE YOU ANY SENSE?

Once more, he berated himself for losing his sidearm. What good is a warrior who loses their weapons?

There is no victory here.

If he survived this, he would need the mother of all repairs. Maybe the Quarian...

Things went downhill fast, the specter shouting at her to watch her fire to not hit Ellis was the most dumb thing she had heard in a while. She was firing like this exactly for that reason! The YMIR was by him, if it kept it's attention on him, it would kill Ellis before they had the chance to deal with … it... Before she had the time to finish her thought a loud bag echoed throughout the tunnel. She recognized it, it was the drell's sniper. Then she recognized the following sound coming from the mech. She turned to look back at it, only to see it's missing head...” My god...” She said, realizing what was going to happen any moment now. The fool made it go into self destruct mode! She right away then opened fire on the remaining turrets. That drell was so getting a beating if they survived this!

Following that they received the next great news... HUSKS! Who the hell allowed Cerberus to keep husks! No wonder she found none on her routing patrols! Those bastards had wrangled them up and kept them somewhere and now they unleashed the horrors of the war once more. So on one side they had huge explosion going off and on the other a swarm of husks...

“DAMN IT ALL!” She shouted in frustration, before bolting in the direction of where the husks were drawing near along with the infiltration squad that was leading the swarm to them.” BIOTICS, JUST FOCUS ON THE METAL HEAP, I WILL DEAL WITH THE HUSKS!” Salissa shouted as she moved towards the entrance, her Revenant ready to provide fire support on the incoming ally units, but the main attraction was her left cybernetic arm. A number of it's armored plating had as if opened, revealing some sort of emitters. What's more it was giving off a distinct growing up humming noise. The fortified barrier generator was already primed and she was now only waiting for the allies to come through so she can active the shields and cut off the husks so the squad can reorganize into proper defensive line. She had to make a choice, use the barrier now to protect Ellis or use the barrier to ensure they didn't get swarmed by husks before they can regroup... She chose the safety of the entire squad.

From one problem straight into another, the grenade situation seemed to be relatively contained, even with Skarr deciding to smash the bundle with his hammer for some reason, and the remainder of the Cerberus troops incapacitated or killed, all without causing the ancient metro system to collapse upon them. The YMIR mech went down with a well-placed shot into its optics, and as it came crashing down before self-detonating, as most of the mechs from that manufacture did as a failsafe to keep the tech out of enemy hands, and possibly take down a few of them who got too close. Even though Rykarn didn’t consider himself to be “up close”, he still covered his helmeted face with an arm as scraps of shrapnel impacted his armour, far lower than their apex velocity. The threat gone, he assessed the situation; other than Ellis being trapped in a useless can of a suit, the rest of the team made it out intact. Not a complete write off, after all.

Taking the brief downtime to top up his grenade launcher’s heavy weapon cells as the team collected itself, and their commanding Spectre seemed to be less than enthused about the combat display. When he ordered for someone to retrieve Ellis, Rykarn grunted. ”I got ‘em.” he said over the comms, starting to jog towards the human. While he didn’t exactly want to see the ex-Cerberus agent get blown into gibbets by friendly-caused explosives, the krogan acknowledged he was the one who put himself there and taking down a YMIR mech fast was all but essential; it had the potential to kill off entire squads and still have munitions to spare.

Before the krogan could make it too far, Anderson came over the comms, sounding level-voiced considering the sitrep he dropped. Two thousand Husks? Reaper research division? Rykarn felt even less empathy to the two troopers he tossed on the grenades. ”Joy. Those are shit odds, even if we had ten times our number.” he observed, looking around. The sentiment must have been shared, but the consequences of letting the literal wave of monsters escape to the city was unacceptable.

”Alright, listen up!” he shouted towards the others. ”I didn’t spend the past year rebuilding this stinking city to have it all be destroyed by these putrid fucks. Search the bodies, gather as many thermal clips and weapons as you can get your hands on. We don’t have much time; move!” he growled. At this point, he didn’t care if he was overstepping his bounds in the chain of command, an idea was an idea and if it meant the difference between getting torn apart by hundreds of cybernetic claws or having even a pyjak cock’s chance of survival, things had to get done. Not content to see if anyone else kicked into action, Rykarn hurried from body to body, stripping their belts of anything useful, including a few grenades and carelessly tossing the inert weapons in a similar direction to make something of a community pile. He was barely half-way through when the first all-too-familiar wails started emanating from the tunnel. They were out of time.

"Friendlies coming out!" a female voice came over the radio with turian flanging. Rykarn was able to picture her after only a few moments.

”Copy that. We’ll check our fire.” The krogan affirmed, taking up position near the small pile of Hornets, Mattocks, Talons, thermal clips, and fragmentation grenades that had managed to be collected. There were even a couple guardian shields recovered, which may or may not prove to of use. The assault team were out moments later, and nipping at their heels were one of the things Rykarn had rather hoped not to see again. He activated the Cryo rounds on his Striker assault rifle and began to open fire on the first-line Husks, the heavy and slow firing weapon impacting the deformed bodies with explosive munitions that began to dismember limbs and flash-freezing the parts that were still connected to whatever drove those creatures. Frozen chunks of body parts were beginning to pile up, and after even popping out a second thermal clip, seemed about as effective as using a sandbag to try and stop the tide. Keying in the activation for Adrenaline Rush, the familiar needles digging into his back once more, Rykarn’s perception and reaction time increased, making the world seem to move in slow motion while he continued to rain explosive hell down on the Reaper fodder.

It wouldn’t be enough, he knew. They’d have to bury these things, one way or another. ”We may have to collapse the tunnel! We get overrun, and these things still get out into the city!” he shouted to the others, in particular Anderson and Partinax. They were calling the shots, and even though it had only been… what, an hour? Out of his life, they were still his commanders. You listened to the chain of command, or you died.

Didn’t mean you had to like it.

---

Ja'Far lifted himself from cover, Incisor held snug against his shoulder. He was met by the sight of Sicarius eliminating a man, blood spraying. He lowered his barrel and sighed in relief under his breath. "Amen." He held his rifle in one hand as he descended down the ladder, seeing the situation in control. He was used to this kind of firefight, it was quick and efficient. There were no theatrics or silly business, no showboating. It was all strictly professional and he loved it, this was a team he could work with. Judging from the amount of explosions and gunfire he could hear in the distance, he would be uncomfortable amongst hotheaded powerhouses. He was used to working with common people, people who wouldn't even be blinked at in the galaxy, a blur in other's memories.

As his feet hit the floor, Ja'Far nodded at everyone in the room in approval. It seemed as though that the situation was finally stable and he could reach for a cigar. Being under fire never really affected him too much however he always had a cigar after a quick victory. Everyone was dispatched quickly and things were quieting down. He just hoped that none of their hostages had any ideas. Unfortunately, just as he was about to reach for the cigar, sirens went off and attention was directed to a middle aged Human fiddling with the consoles. Everything happened in quick succession, his weapon was held tightly in his hand, ready to fire if the situation went out of control. And indeed it did, as Anderson harshly shouted at the man, the ear-piercing screaming started.

Husks.

Trauma is a fickle thing. Sometimes, you wouldn't even recognise your trigger. You would have no reaction, no click in your brain and you would move on with your life. But there were situations in which the places fell exactly where they once was, it clicks immediately and you're taken back to the past, a dark place in your own history. Somewhere that you try and bury under happier memories, somewhere that most sane people would reel at the sight of. It is a strange thing, for it seemed to come at you in the most inconvenient at times, meaning that it was a massive fucking bitch.

It was a flood. The inorganic screams. Comrades, worked with for decades of warfare. Through assassinations, terrorism, murder, mass slaughter, kidnappings. It was all justified because they were right next to him all the way. A friendly pat on the back, a gentle punch on the shoulder. Every step of the way, they were there. And now dead. Dead bodies, his pistol aimed at his closest friend, the round flying. Tears upon tears streaking down his face, asking why? Why did he have to go through this? Your brother impaled upon a spike, his screams piercing his heart as he hid. Like a coward. Ja'Far stilled suddenly, his eyes glassing over before they returned to normal. He controlled his heartbeat to slow, calming himself down. The war was far away now, they were with Athame and the Divines. No point in missing them if they were in paradise, one with the Goddess herself. He steeled himself, gripping his rifle a little tighter.

Ja'Far bit his inner cheek, swallowing spit. The sound left a bitter taste in his mouth. His people had been terrorised, traumatised and killed by these reaper creations. Dozens of world burned and scourged in Hegemony space, whole populations of Batarians and slaves were slaughtered. Everything he fought for was burned to the ground and stamped on. Never forget. And Cerberus dared to treat these monsters as playthings? Disappointment came to mind, disdain directed towards these foolish, ignorant people. They were tampering with horrific monstrosities. They thought that they could escape in the chaos? Be would have shot them himself, unshielded scientists were easy targets for his Incisor.

Thousands of husks were currently zooming in on their location and the Boogeyman felt uncomfortable with the thought. The screaming intensified, his ears picking up the stamping feet of an uncontrollable horde. He was assigned to point, to support the newest member of the group, Alria. He felt no hostility against the order, she seemed like a capable Turian with CQC specialty. Someone he could support with his burst-firing Incisor with ease. He let her lead the way, his three eyes looking the team as they organised themselves. He could trust the rear-guard to hold themselves against the coming horde and for Phalanx to look over Rayes and the scientists. The Quarian had yet to prove himself in combat, despite his obvious proficiency with technology.

As husks came through an opposing entrance, Alria opened the first door into a hallway occupied by two husks. The first was dispatched quickly by the Turian while Ja'Far pulled his Carnifex away from his hip clamp. He raised the weapon's barrel with his right hand, twisting the pistol with his fingers. He started a battle prayer, praying to the Pillar of Redemption to bless his weapon. He fired twice while he marched, his Incisor held in his left. There would be no point in wasting precious Incisor ammo on one mere husk and in such close quarters within the hallways, a rifle would be clumsy. He stepped over it's corpse, ignoring the rolling head kicked away by his feet. Its eyes were wide, mouth agape in a silent scream.

They entered another room, a small mess hall with an exit opposing the doorway they had just came out of. He marched with purpose, clamping his Carnifex back onto his hip, shouldering his rifle. A group of husks swarmed from various other entrances, screaming and running towards them. He raised his Incisor and let Alria do her thing, covering the right of the group, pulling his trigger in a rapid succession. The recoil increased and rounds flew rapidly, some missing but most found targets, tearing inorganic flesh in packs. He noticed a scientist straying from the group but it seemed as though Phalanx had the situation in control.

He spotted a Cannibal amongst the horde, screaming much louder than the rest. He raised his Incisor and twisted his hip to face it's direction. Inhale. Three rounds entered it's skull. Exhale. He noted at how he could still see the Batarian underneath the ugly flesh. How it's movements were very similar to his own except different. They were always different, in a way that made it unnatural. He twisted his hips back to face forwards, wiping away such thoughts as he reloaded another heat sink. They were unnecessary, thoughts that should be meditated on but not in battle. Prayers should fill a Batarian's mind in the midst of battle, not useless observations.

They approached through the second hallway, three husks suddenly arriving. Ja'Far, with his rifle already shouldered, fired quickly at one, pulverising it's torso with a burst. Alria had taken a husk down and another that she had grappled with was executed by Phalanx. They entered a large cargo room with crates strewn around. A large swarm of husks screamed loudly, snarling and crying out to the group. They ran at the group, some blocking the intended pathway. The soldier snarled and pushed down any nervousness he found in himself, repressing it and turning himself into the cool visage of a soldier as he decided to cover for Alria and the mid-section of the group as they ran.

Marching towards the doorway, he emptied his clip at the coming horde as he walked, aiming his barrel in their enemy's vague direction. Once his Incisor warned him to place another heat sink, he pulled his pistol up and aimed, firing at closer husks with scary precision. He was a marksman at heart and valued accuracy over randomly spewing rounds at the enemy. Husks were felled all over the large room, their heads blown off by powerful Carnifex rounds as they neared closer towards them. As he was reloading, two husks lunged for him from the mass of bodies, one tackling his legs and another tackling his torso. He quickly let go of his pistol and reached for his sharp interrogators knife, his back hitting the ground as he let himself fall.

"-the Pillar of Redemption shalt appease thine forgotten soul, miń child." Ja'Far gripped the neck of the husk directly on his abdomen, reaching for it before slicing it's throat in an ugly wound. The knife shredded through the skin and he pushed his nearest assailant's dead body off of him. The other husk was killed by one of his comrades and he muttered a small thanks. He grabbed his pistol and clamped it as he stood, shoving the last scientist through the doorway as the horde snapped at their heels.

He entered through to the new room and looked at the defensible position the assault team seemed to have formed for themselves. He had caught on to the last tidbit of Rykarn's speech as he spun around, walking backwards as he fired at any figures of interest. Any marauders or cannibals were targeted first though only a few were downed before he had to reload. As he reached for another heat sink, he shouted over the orchestra of screaming. "I hast explosives within miń backpocket, I beseech miń commanders to consider sér Rykarn's suggestion! We shalt fall in these tunnels if there is no quick action, I canst place miń explosives miń self." He slammed another heat sink into his Incisor, preparing another shot as he finally stopped next to the Assault Team's location.

---

---

🇪🇦🇷🇹🇭, 🇸🇴🇱🇦🇷 🇸🇾🇸🇹🇪🇲

The team's first mission began when both Anderson and Aegon started walking deeper into the tunnel. Other members of the group started to follow both Spectres, including another Alliance soldier. Rol'Naaris worked with dozens of Alliance soldiers during his time at Alexandria and came to respect them. It was good to see one of Earth's finest on this team. Even know she was not on the infiltration team, most of the teammates were fine in Rol's book. He started the long walk across the darkness as he got his sniper rifle ready for any sort of fighting. Several minutes of walking led the group to a small enough crack in the wall for them to crawl through. One by one, almost all of them went through the crack and Rol was the last one before he made his way. He wanted to be careful about accidentally damaging his suit. After all, he still was a quarian.

On the other side, there was a door that led to the hidden base. When Rol'Naaris joined the others, the door began to open as a tall Turian female stood on the other side. Anderson introduced her as Alria Vicrinus, another additional to the crew. Rol did not have time to get a clear reading of Alria because Anderson started to give out orders. Everyone was a part of watching someone's back while Rol'Naaris had to guard the door. Simple enough.

He did not mind at all guarding the door since he might be needed later in the mission. The quarian nodded to Anderson as everyone began to split and try to accomplish their orders. With the sniper rifle to his side, he leaned against the wall and waited for gunshots. He smiled as soon as he heard the distant firefight for the assault team and nearby gunshots from the infiltration team. Everything was going too perfectly until the alarms came on. Rol was not surprised at all by the alarms going off at the last minute and got ready to guard the door. Then, Anderson came on the comm channel and said that two-thousand Husks have been released.

Guarding the door was not the main objective anymore. Anderson gave new orders to everyone, including Rol and Sicaria to fight rear-guard with the Spectre. He raced down the hallway and saw the group of scientists along with Phalanx and Raye. Rol held onto his sniper rifle and got into position as the rear-guard began to fire on the massive wave of husk. He crouched down with one knee on the ground and aimed his sniper rifle towards the crowd. It was easy enough to do. Just aim, breathe, and pull the trigger. He saw the thing going down with the instant kill shot in the head. He did that for a few minutes until Rykarn suggested to collapse the tunnel, trapping those freaks in their hell.

It was a better plan than to wait for reinforcements.

Ja'Far also supported Rykarn's idea and voiced it towards the others. Rol'Naaris said to Anderson while reloading his rifle, "I suggest we follow Rykarn's plan because there are enough explosions to collapse this hell hole. And this place deserves to be buried."

---

---

Everything was going according to plan, it was glorious! So much data flowed into his Omni-Tool until suddenly there was none left to take, causing his Omni-Tool to give a satisfied beep. Perhaps that was not the best word to describe the sound he heard, but seeing how easy it was to get what was required, he believed he did much to help out. While it may not have been combat related, and with several bits of information flowing and reappearing in Rayes’ thoughts, things could have been a lot worse. It even seemed the threat was being taken care of, with wounded instead of dead…

But of course, nothing is that simple, is it? Within moments of completing the download and standing up, he took note of Anderson approaching. He was seemingly concerned with Rayes state of being, something that caught the Quarian off guard. Normally it was a human to throw an insult or literal jab, but Anderson was doing the opposite. He must have turned his head slightly in confusion before the alarms went off. The Quarian could not do much to silence the noise coming in from his mask, forcing him to hold onto the edge of his mask and stare at Anderson’s direction, noticing the position of the scientist and button. Slowly, he walked towards the duo, watching as Anderson pressed the button… But there was no silence. Instead, only screams told in stories could be heard, evil and vile… What was it?

He would get his answer soon enough. Husks.

“You bosh’tets!! You were experimenting on them here and decided to release them?!” The Quarian yelled at the scientist, furious at their stupidity. The glimpses of reports explicitly said they were experimenting on husks, but at the very facility they were stationed at? Wouldn’t the blueprints provided have noticed such a place where experimentation could take place? Rayes scrunched up slightly, a strong desire to just shoot the scientist and be done with him swelling inside, but as he was given the battered old fool, he forced himself to take a long breath in an attempt to calm down. Anderson just told him to make sure the scientists were kept save and not allowed to ‘disappear’. Well, he certainly wasn’t going to let the tuho out of his sights, or the woman who had answered the question of husks.

And while he got into the middle of the group with them, he was terrified and pissed, and for good reason. He couldn’t remember a time he’d seen a husk in person, only in recordings or told in stories about the Migrant Fleet. During the Reaper War, he was more concerned with Rannoch, and then was away from all the conflict on the Crucible. This was his among his first experiences with them, and as such, he was not sure what to expect. But turning around when he heard a burst through the door caused him to stare in shock for a second. Those monstrosities, those freaks of nature were husks? No… they were not of nature, they were vile creations, vile experimentation on the biology that only a Reaper could think of. As they began to move, he watched as they viciously and cruelly tore the Cerberus troops they had abandoned behind. It was a sight Rayes was likely not to forget for a long time.

He shuddered as they moved, attempting to focus, but the rush of a Quarian equivalent of adrenaline was happening, “Focus, focus, focus…” He kept repeating under his breath, clutching his pistol and holding the trigger, causing the weapon to begin to activate and glow. Whatever he’d aim at was sure to be blown away, either entirely or a portion. Give or take. He knew he couldn’t dwell on the situation, but seriously, this wasn’t an everyday occurrence for the poor Quarian. He was a scientist, not some soldier. If he knew he’d be going up against an unreasonable amount of Husks, he would have brought the Arc Projector instead, though he realized in that split second he would be extremely slow if he had. Guess he dodged a bloody, Husk hand there…

When they arrived to the first of two rooms, Rayes did his best to take in as much information as possible, just as if he were attempting to work on some sort of tech. At first, it did not appear as bad as it was about to. The room was some sort of abandoned mess hell, plates left in place and utensils here and there. It was actually quite spooky, given their current situation. But the room once void of life besides the team was soon filled with the screeches of what sounded like death itself pouring from various entrances. Not only that, but from above as well, several came down. Had it not been for the Geth that got in front of him, he surely would have…
He shook his his head, aiming at one of the plentiful husks who were tore at S’Geth. The shot he had prepared beforehand desired to find a suitable kill, and that was satisfied when the head of one of the things was obliterated. But there was no time to charge another, and as such, he allowed his Omni-Blade to come out, beginning to hack away limbs in an attempt to save S’Geth. Their efforts seemed rewarded enough, as they forced the husks away from the scientists and killed those who had jumped on them.

So that’s what it felt like to cut through flesh and tech… It made him shudder once more. He stepped on a cut off husk arm, kicking it away in disgust before pulling his pistol up and firing nonstop this time, forgetting the charge function. There was no time for a massive blast, there was only time to kill. He watched as a husk charged from the side, forcing him to activate his Omni-Blade once more and thrust with all his might. It punctured straight through the chest of the creature before he drove it upward, slicing it in two… He nearly wanted to vomit from the situation as strange liquid coated his arm, most likely whatever could be considered the blood.

Shooting, stabbing, and a hell of a lot of shoving and picking up scientists, they eventually made it to the other team. Rayes shoved the scientists as much as he could behind S’Geth as they advised, having overheard talks of explosions and collapsing the system on top of the husks. He continued to shoot his Arc pistol at several husks before deciding to add his own input into the matter.

“What kind of explosives, exactly? If you want to create a large enough explosion, I could incinerate one of husks with a fireball from my Omni-Tool, but I would require someone else to follow up on that. Something like a grenade, the type should not matter, will cause a large explosion… a large, fiery explosion… Things in the vicinity will most certainly be vaporized, and by vicinity, I mean around the original husk.”

It seemed logical enough to Rayes, light something on fire, and then throw in something highly combustible to create an explosion. Though, as the horde began to inch closer, Rayes began to inch backward. He had given a suggestion in the heat of the moment, but ultimately it was up to the two Spectres to have the final say… All he could do now was shoot with his pistol.

"Asari, drop me in the path of the Husks. I'm big. I'll provide enough of an obstacle to slow them down. Improves your chances."

"Oh no, I will not let you die that easily!"

Vella called back over the come as Ellis drifted closer, before she pulled her arm back, yanking Ellis towards the assault team's fortified position and causing his metallic frame to slump unceremoniously down into the ground, safely behind cover with Vella and Tiberius.

"Instead, make use of the Krogan's lethal charity and hold the line, human!" Vella shouted at the fallen Ellis as she motioned towards the pile of weapons that Rykarn had so generously gathered for them, the pile in question reminding her more of some scene she had seen in a post apocalyptic movie but nonetheless welcome!

Vella then turned, priming her weapon with an audible electronic humming sound. She quickly searched her mind, remembering from previous experience fighting the Reapers.

"Husks. Put Beam Intensity to 47%, that will ensure a one-shot kill as well as maximum ammo conversation."

Her weapon primed and ready, Vella would pop back up from her cover, gazing through her blue holo sight at the incoming horde as it surged out of the door like an unholy tidal wave!

First heartbeat: she centered her sights on the monstrous corpse of a bounding husk.
Second heartbeat: she fired off a clean beam of white energy, disintegrating the center of its torso and causing it to drop dead!

And so she continued, faster and faster, her arms and hands moving automatically from target to target without a second thought; focusing center mass; snapping off a shot; and already moving on to the next target before the last target had even hit the ground! It felt like a blur before she had already fired off 17 shots, leaving 17 dead, and the inbuilt safety of her rifle kicked in with a beep, calling for a cooldown or new thermo clips before it would allow continued fire!

"The krogan is right!" Vella called out as she slotted a new clip with mechanical precision!

Vella had never viewed krogans as either science or philosopher materials, never held any high regards for their cognitive abilities. But she had always recognized their brutish, pragmatic intelligence, in much the same way one viewed the sharp cunning of an otherwise dumb predator; simple minded, yet able to read the situation; unable to write a classic, but more than capable of bashing your skull in in the most efficient manner possible!
She knew that even if every one in the party had landed a 100% of their shots with perfect accuracy, the capacitors of their weapons would fry out and melt long before they had even killed half of the husks. She saw only one way out of this situation, and that was to destroy the way out; trapping the husks inside for actual reinforcements to arrive!

"PUSH THEM BACK! MAKE ROOM FOR THE DEMOLITION JOB!"

Vella called out as she once again popped back out from her cover, and fired off another 17 shots. She had no delusions about stopping the wave with the party's guns alone, but she knew that for Rykarn's plan to work, they would need to keep the husks away from the entryway long enough for someone to place the explosives to blast the entrance!

"All because Cerberus has to be the overachiever and build (mostly) blast-proof walls in their secret underground facility... "

Vella dropped Ellis into a literal pile o' guns. His own Mattock would suffice for ranged combat, but if the bastards got in close-
He slapped three scavenged Talons onto his holsters, hoping that, when the time came, he could draw them one handed, without dropping them.
"NERO, set all weapons to Cryo ammo!"

He leaned on his stationary leg, using it as a fulcrum for his good leg to push him into a standing position. He raised his Mattock, and took aim.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Four husks slowed, stumbled, and froze. One of them froze mid-fall, like a modern art piece on the dangers of ancient technology.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

One more, frozen as it fell onto the pile. They weren't providing much of an obstacle on their own, but he was midrange, firing solid slugs. The rifle collapsed, and magnetized to his back, as he drew one of his looted Talons. The husks were entering shotgun range, right on time.

"Cryo ammo, NERO?"

"Verified."

The Talon barked arrantly, and razor sharp shards of metal and nitrogen surged toward the husk army. Two more, frozen solid, and Ellis was out of ammo. He threw down the empty pistol and drew another. Blue energy pulses and red photon bolts surged overhead.

Wait... Husks can't return fire-

Not human ones. The Batarian husks do. The Turians' too.

Then...

Yes?

I'm at a terrible disadvantage.

Yes, you are.

Ellis wracked his brain. We need a weapon... Something large scale, something...Fiery. His eyes caught a stack of white boxes, partially covered by smoldering wreckage- Generators!
He crawled on his hand and knees, gritting his teeth in psychosomatic pain when stones and shrapnel scraped his armor. Finally, it lay only a few feet away, when he realized they were not, after all, simple generators.

"Partinax, I found... Shield pylons. Two of them. Could be put to good use."

He rolled onto his back, to face the horde as it advanced. He was better hidden than the rest of his team, so he took the opportunity to reload his rifle. It was a far clumsier and slower job with one hand than with two. He could see what he needed to from here, and if his CO approved, his position would be the best seat in the house.

Salissa was picking up her shots carefully as the infiltration team was quickly moving towards their position. The real firing began mere moments after the last of the infiltration squad had passed the defensible position. She had not seen this number of husks since he war and she wished never to do so again, but seems like cerberus was up to it's old sheananigans!

The human soldier provided machinegun fire with her exploding rounds for a few more moments, before she was forced to pull her rifle away as it kind of interfered with the shield more or less.” HOLD YOUR FIRE I'M GOING TO BUY YOU THE TIME!” She shouted as she jumped forward, towards the narrowest point of the entrance.

Suddenly the humming sound from her left arm increased and a moment later it switched to buzzing one. The field was deployed with a crackle as a energy field bubble formed around her in a sphere, covering into the ground, the walls and the like. Biotics were all fine, but this was different, biotics could run out and tired the user, is she had a proper external power source she could maintain this pretty much without time limit, but since she was operating off the powercell she had installed, this was going to hold for a little while at least. Luckily the narrow location meant few husks could attack the shield at a time, thus buying them more time. Not so luckily was the fact she was pretty much rooted as long as the barrier held.

“WHATEVER YOU WISH TO DO, DO IT FASTER!” She shouted, now serving as a literal wall between the husks swarm and the squad.” This shield won't hold forever!” She added, feeling the impacts on the energy wall already.

Sicaria Velinian

Following her original snarky statement and the reply she got from Anderson, she could see everyone was starting to wrap up their mission. The theft of the data was completed with an audible beep from Rayes' Omni-Tool, meaning they just had to extract from the area now. It was gonna be another walk back to the main tunnel, hopefully one with a little action now, opposed to the largely uneventful journey over. Little did she know, she would get her wish.

One of the older scientists, probably the elder of the bunch, had set off an alarm while her back was turned, and Anderson was on him faster than she could even follow through with her earlier threat. She had even put away her shotgun and activated her right Omni-Blade with a flick of her wrist similar to how one would draw a switchblade, fully intent to lop the man's finger off. However, the Spectre seemed to sort him out as he explained what he had done, almost as if the reality of the situation hadn't even come close to hitting him yet. "Ugh, fucking... we've gotta move fast if we wanna live. We should leave them behind, they're bait anyway." She was almost certain she got some suspicious looks because of her eagerness to kill off anyone associated with Cerberus, but she knew that everyone in the organization was either indoctrinated or horribly corrupt. In her eyes, anyway. Without another word, she deactivated the weapon on her wrist as the first of the husks found its way to them.

"Right, let them snack on the bodies while we retreat. I'm okay with this." Taking up the rear with the Quarian Rol'Narris, the infiltration squad moved out via the main door, zombies hot on their heels at the scent of fresh flesh. Underneath the professionalism she had on, Sicaria was reliving a vivid memory of Palaven from the Reaper Invasion...

Her squad had been sent in to clear out a tunnel the Reapers had been using to funnel troops to the front lines. Some had suspected that they had even been using them to drag away bodies and set them up to be indoctrinated on Dragon's Teeth... where humans came up with that name was a mystery to her, maybe it had something to do with their mythology. It was irrelevant at this point, those horrifying spikes were enough to make a Krogan cringe on the best of days. It took around an hour of careful movement and idle banter for this crew to find a space where the foxhole opened up, and the sight was enough to make Sicaria bend over and dry heave.

She was used to the realities of war at this point, she had seen people of all races get blown apart by biotics, shredded by turrets, and even killed by drug addictions. But impalement? That was a new one, especially when half of the victims were still alive. With the click of flashlights, faces of agony came into view. Some were contorted in pain, and others peaceful with the blessing of death, though one stood out. "Procnus... who did this to you?" The pain was evident in the girl's voice, Procnus had been the captain of her Cabal squadron since she had been assigned to it. Sure, he was a hardass, but he had been a phenomenal leader up until the Reapers hit the Turian homeworld. Around then, he had gone missing... and this is where he had ended up.

"S-Sicaria..? I told y-you to never... ugh... come after me i-if I went MIA..." It was clear the aging Turian was in great pain, every word was choked out with blood escaping his mouth and running up into his eyes. There was one thing to do, really. Everyone in the room was beyond saving, that was clear. Their internals had likely already been replaced with synthetic material, all that was left to do was for the sweet embrace of death to take them.

Bitter tears ran down the girl's face while one of her Omni-Blades flashed on. "I'm sorry, Captain..."

She snapped back to reality to find a wave of husks advancing on her and the team already down the hall. She shook her head and readied her Wraith, backpedaling rapidly to catch up and firing shots indiscriminately into the crowd of husks that gave chase. For the vast majority of the run back to the entrance, she followed behind the squad taking shots at anything that was both cybernetic and mindless all while protecting lives that she deemed utterly worthless.

At some point, they arrived back with the diversion team, much to the Turian's delight. Sure, it wasn't hard to freeze and floor reanimated dead, but there came a point where one ran out of thermal clips, and she was starting to near that point from her reckless firing into the mob. To her credit, it had been effective to an extent. Though now, while she stood in the choke point, the pressure was starting to fall onto her as the cybernetic freaks inched closer and closer with each reload. By the time one actually got onto the Turian, the human with prosthetic arms jumped in and blocked off the rest of the mess from getting to them. Meanwhile, Sicaria threw the beast to the ground and knelt, shoving the sharp end of an Omni-Blade into its skull before standing back up. She then keyed in on the talk of deliberately collapsing the tunnel to either kill or forever trap the remaining Reaper units.

"That's a good a plan as any. I say we do it, though we'll have to not take out the city above us at the same time." She cracked her neck before swapping her nearly-empty shotgun for the largely unused Phaeston, sights already training on one of the husks pounding on Salissa's shield.

A hot hand of force, sound, heat, and shrapnel screamed down the tunnel. He may have avoided the blast but Aegon felt half-way seared by the heat of the explosion and his hearing was blurred for several moments, his helmet protecting him from the worst of it as he quickly got over the disorientation. Aegon took a quick peek. The retreating Cerberus squad had been fried and the structural integrity of the base' entryway had suffered greatly, with massive cracks appearing in the ceiling. The old tunnel had fared only somewhat better. Debris had rained down from the ceiling and one block had narrowly missed striking Giles in the head. Not that he wouldn't have deserved it for nearly blowing them all to the afterlife. But a quick inspection showed that most of the team was alright, even Ellis, who managed to escape the worst of the blast. Most of the prisoners had been killed however, perhaps two or three were still breathing. Not a complete disaster but Aegon was far from pleased. He didn't get much chance to speak however when Jake came in on the comm with his report.

Aegon vowed he would set the intel guys straight, if he survived of course. How was it possible that they had no idea of this? He would have given orders but Anderson beat him to the punch. It seemed wrong for his partner, his junior partner, to give the orders unilaterally, but he was being decisive and Aegon couldn't begrudge him that. No point in arguing, even when Rykarn decided to put in his own order. He wasn't the kind of officer who was insecure about his command and needed to measure dicks, Aegon shouted, "You heard them! Get into gear! We've got no time and a whole lot of shit coming down on us!"

Despite his team being almost universally a collection of hotheads with far too much power and not enough brains to go with it, he appreciated their tenacity and their resourcefulness when it came down to the wire. The spirits seemed to favor both the the bold, and they certainly were that. They immediately leaped into action, and Aegon knew with a little work they would be a force to be reckoned with. They just needed to survive. Aegon saw the infiltration team coming in, heard the shrieks of the horde behind him, and he grimaced in remembrance. He had seen Husks for the first time when the Geth attacked the Citadel. He saw them again on Palevan. There had been hundreds of thousands of them during the Miracle. Their shrieks were a constant during the battle, as omnipresent as gunshots or the screams of the wounded. Sometimes at night, he still heard those mechanical wails in his sleep.

Aegon shoved all that away and hit his adrenaline rush, time slowing down again as he got his rifle to bead. He had all the time he needed, but to everyone else he moved with lightning speed. Sixteen shots in a clip, sixteen rounds through husk heads, plus a quick draw of his pistol, three more shots; and nineteen husks fell within a few moments. It was barely a drop in the bucket. They kept coming, surging tightly down the narrow hallway and jostling over their fellows as they reached for the team, barely held back by the firepower of the team. Aegon reloaded, and came to the infiltration team shouting out, "Someone get those pylons online! Give us a boost here!"

He made sure the scientists were squared away, before bending down to police some munitions from the downed Cerberus troopers. One of the trooper prisoners, in a sudden flash of life, reached for a Talon and tried to aim it at Aegon. He just barely brought the barrel to Aegon, his finger curling around the trigger when his hand suddenly flew from his arm. The trooper barely had time to scream before his head fell off of his neck. Aegon flicked the blood off of his sword before pointing it at the scientists, "That's what will happen if you try anything while you're within twenty feet." Taking a second to draw and aim, he pulled his Paladin and shot an old lightbulb several hundred yards down the hallway, shattering the glass with a clean shot, "That's what will happen if you're further than that. Stay put."

Aegon turned up his speakers and said, "We hold this position for as long as we can! The civvies need time to evacuate! We hold them here, and push them back so we can set explosives! Just enough to collapse the entryway! There are homes and businesses above us, too much and those go down! Only detonate on my mark!" The entryway's ceiling was already compromised thanks to Giles, it wouldn't take that much more force to bring the ceiling down on the husks. Aegon cursed as he saw Salissa try to hold off the horde by herself. Fool. She had the weight of the horde pressing down on her, she'd be lucky to last ten more seconds. Already her shield was breaking under the weight of the onslaught. If she didn't disengage now, she'd be mobbed.

He shouted out, "Salissa! Get out of there! You're about to overrun!" He yelled at the rest of the team, "Suppressing fire! As much as you can down there without hitting anyone else! Push them back so we can set charges! Then stand your ground!" He walked forward, hitting the adrenaline rush again and firing, reloading and firing nonstop, putting every round he could down scope, every bullet finding it's mark. All they needed was some breathing room, space and time to plant explosives. Then they could hold out, hold them at bay until the last possible second to give the civilians time. Then they could bury the hallway and clean out the base with some Alliance support.

Skarr took some brief happiness in doing something that even the crazed Asari thought was off. It was an odd thing, to see him grin. He usually had such a cold demeanor. Anyhow, he knew if his plan of pushing the grenades at the enemy did not work, it wouldn't falter the odd plan the other biotics were already enacting, so why not do it? Most didn't understand that Shockwave wasn't a series of explosions, but intense pressures.

Either way, everything went to Hell next. The Big veteran was considering the advice of the younger Krogan, though the reason Skarr did not shout it out was simple. He'd been desensitized to how teammates would react after centuries. He guessed it was all of those Vorcha and Batarians he'd fought beside, but most would never listen to orders. Good thing some of these teammates seemed to. He followed suit mechanically, making sure his weapons were reloaded and getting all of the thermal packs he could.

"By the Clans!" Skarr called as the Husks began streaming in. The explosions and rupturing ceiling he was used to, but the Husks he'd not expected to see again. He remembered them all too well. They weren't destructible, and he'd prove it yet again. He aided in the firing of the turrets and Husks with his Assault rifle, but his main addition to the effort was going forward to save that human woman's ass.

Powerful but controlled, Skarr barrelled forward and knocked over any obstacle or stray and half broken Husk in his way to make it to the fore. With one powerful hand, he grabbed the slim woman by the waist and hauled her up. "This isn't a one warrior show. If you want to keep shooting, hold still." The Krogan lifted her to set bottom on his back hump, her legs able to fall across his massive skull like a makeshift seat. As he guided her up there, he unloaded a shell of his Claymore shotgun into a husk, blowing its fragments everywhere. He slowly backed up with Salissa, who pretty much now had a warmount to fire upon.

Giles looked down upon the field after he had destroyed the mechs head, it was only then did it dawn upon him that Ellis was actually very close to the YMIR mech, and if he got caught within its blast radius after taking the damage he had took from the turrets, only meant that he’d be annihilated, his armour wouldn’t be able to sponge the resulting blast from a YMIR mech.
Once again though, Giles didn't really care for the hunk of turn-cloaking metal that was slumped on the ground, he did however begin to care slightly when that asari tried to save him; losing Ellis was one thing, but losing another teammate over him was pathetically low.

The cue for it’s detonation was the missing beat of the seemingly constant beeping it was emitting at its last moments, it was a very silent second that seemed to drag on for minutes.
All of the cold air that filled the dark and dank tunnels was sucked inwards towards the mech just before it was blasted back outwards in an almost fiery wind, the explosion itself was a lot larger than the first YMIR mech he had ever seen detonate in this fashion, it appears Hahne-Kedar had updated its Thermonuclear based core, maybe replacing it altogether with something Eezo based, Giles knew that the “iconic” mushroom cloud that actually boosted this things sales could also be created from a manipulation of mass effect fields, hence how the Cain did it.

When the YMIR mech finally detonated, it seemed as if Ellis and the others were reasonable distances from it - it went up in a cascade of molten hot metal, burning white hot and being flung around the old derelict tunnel network leaving behind the visage of a mushroom cloud, it has scarred the interior of the cerberus base that it been in; causing its once bleach white walls to look charred black, scorch marks exited the base itself and made the entrance into the tunnel look like the maw to some fantastical beast.
The tunnel itself shook slightly causing dust to fall from the ceiling; the tunnels were sturdy though, it’d take more than that to topple them.

When the comms opened and the news of 2,000 husks came through, Gilvert bagen to stock up and mvoe forward.
Husks were unarmoured and unshielded cannon fodder for the reaper armies, he would not waste a precious thermal clip on them; he had other means to deal with these beasts.

Giles moved forward after placing his rifle on his back, moving forward swiftly, but carefully - he stopped and took cover at the midway point, next to Aegon, their supervisor.
"Permission to use some of these explosives sir, they'll make short work of the horde below, small chance of some friendly fire, but a few shrapnel burns is something easily fixed with medi-gel."

Aegon sighed internally, "I thought you were tired of friendly fire? If you want to put explosives down scope, minimize the collateral damage, I want you front and center then; as close as possible without putting yourself or anyone else at risk. A minor wound might be a small inconvenience that snowballs into a disaster. Mitigate the risks."

Giles smiled slightly, being told to go "danger close" was something he had actually hoped for "Mitigate the risks, got it - I'll make sure that those husks only make it into the tunnels in bits and pieces, one last thing - which is the priority, a few dead comrades and/or scientists, or this horde getting out of the tunnels? If worst comes to worst, I want to know what you want doing about it; because I'll do it if it needs to be done."
His smile had gone now, 2,000 husks couldn't be released above ground, they had to be dealt with here, but it was a tall order - if need be sacrifices had to be made, that possibility had to be accounted for.

The Spectre answered without hesitation "Those husks will not leave this place, we'll stop them here and hold as long as possible. If it comes to it, if they overwhelm us, make sure this place is buried. But only after someone escapes with the scientists and the data we retrieved. We need the intel, and if they die here; all of this will be for nothing."

With a nod Giles vaulted the cover; Locust in his hand in case he had to deal with any Husks, he dashed past members of his own assault team and the exiting members of infiltration team stopping near the entrance to the Cerberus facility.

Ja’Far pulled the trigger, exhaling as his shot brought down the target in his sights. It was a troublesome marauder, one of the few real threats that would pose a danger towards the combined forces of Taskforce Katabasis. However, before he could fire another shot, he saw as a shield was put between the entrance and the Taskforce’s current location. ”I give miń thanks, comrade Salissa!” He could recognise an opportunity when he saw one and so he put his rifle away, gritting his teeth. He was hesitant with using his explosives, they were valuable and quite powerful for their small disc-shape size, used mostly for causing chaos during covert operations within bases such as these. Unfortunately, it seems that they would be necessary for the task ahead.

As he began to take them out however, he saw as the green Drell known as Giles ran towards the very same entrance he had planned to blow. Connecting the dots between the fact that he was a presumed explosives expert and that he was running to the same destination, Ja’Far hurried faster. He ran towards the entrance and stopped where Giles had halted, tapping the Drell on the shoulder. ”Comrade Giles, correct? Canst I accompany thee on thine explosive task?” He held out his sticky grenades, things that made a destructive enough explosion for the task at hand. He looked forward to working with the alien next to him, Gilvert reminded him of an old friend from ages past.

A bit psychotic, very fond of explosives and incredibly green. A combination that seemed to prove troublesome in the past but immensely entertaining. The Boodeyman predicted that he would enjoy working with this unnerving Drell.

As Giles made it to the front he had realised that the Asari; not the crazy one, had set up a modified shield generator of sorts, it was holding the Horde of husks back, but not for long was the general consensus.
Placing his locust away he opened his satchel, and began planning in his mind what setup would be the best for maximum effectiveness.
During this moment the Batarian from the Infiltration team came up to him and offered support.
He smiled when Ja’Far held his hand out with a few grenades, they looked like the sticky ones, effective for lone targets or very tight groups of enemies.
They’d be useful here, but alas they would wilt in comparison to Giles’ own payload.

Giles responded to the Batarian “Thanks for offering your own supply Ja’far, but my own will more than suffice. But by all means you can aid me in their placement, may as well share the glory, huh?”
He activated his omni tool and switched his Lift grenade to a Multi-frag and stored it, before switching to Cain mines.
With a practised hand he coded and dispensed 10 Cain mines in as many seconds; handing them to Ja’far, small disks they were, but they packed the biggest punch out of his entire arsenal.
“Place them strategically, the structure will already be compromised after the YMIR mechs detonation, with enough explosives it will collapse and make a fitting tomb for those trapped inside- they’re coded to prime when placed, and will activate by my own hand, so the heroic Salissa in front of us can live to tell the tale.”

Giles moved his attention back to his omni-tool and began making 5 more cain mines and 5 recon mines - both would pack a significant punch, he just hoped it would do the job, this was almost half of his mines he had in his satchel; if this failed, he wouldn’t be sure he would have enough to deal with any survivors.

Ja’Far began to place charges all over the entryway, taking Giles’ advice and placing them in a strategic way. He spaced them out, making sure that the resulting explosions would be as efficient and destructive as possible without being concentrated enough that it would bring down the whole city down on them. He had worked demolition jobs before, breaching doorways or setting traps. He was no specialist but he knew his way around explosives. He couldn't help but feel a sort of nostalgia rise up within him as he worked alongside the Drell, feeling the professionalism and almost artist-like care the man alongside him had when he placed the explosives. He was so similar to his old friend that it almost made his eye wet.

Fortunately, that didn't happen and Ja’Far finished placing all the mines he had been given, tapping Giles on the shoulder as he finished as well. He addressed both him and Salissa, opening the squad radio ”Let us go, miń friends. We must go back and hold our ground for now. Salissa, on Gilvert’s count, thou must drop the shield and we run. I prithee that the others support us from any pursuers.” He looked at the little pause in the fighting due to human’s shield however he could already see the shield breaking under the pressure of the hold. It was time for the slog now, the fierce defence to keep their lives. He reloaded his Incisor once more and calmed his breathing, looking over to the prepping Drell.

”Thou art another marksman? I pray that thine skill over explosions is the same with thine skills of sniping. Canst I beseech of the a friendly competition? How about thou, Phalanx? See who is the best marksman?” Ja’Far made the joke over the radio, making sure that everyone could hear it on comms and hoping that his leaders could understand the reasoning behind it. Kill counting was a good way to relieve any nervousness when it came to fighting insurmountable odds, friendly competition never hurt anyone and could create deep friendships. If they survived this encounter that is, something that he began to doubt.

Gilvert began placing the mines in the places that Ja’Far had not, they didn’t have a great deal of surface area to deal with, as well as the fact that they had the horde of husks bearing down on them, it was a stressful but of mine placement, intense to a level that Giles could feel the pressure above the sense of excitement he always had during these moments.

It didn’t take long but both him and Ja’far had placed every mine handed out, they littered the hallway, small disks that gave off intermittent red flashes of light, they were primed, but not armed.
Their resident bulwark, the human, would have to leave first and clear the blast radius lest she be added to the death toll of these bombs. Unfortunately, the shield suddenly broke and all hell broke loose. The Krogan Skarr had barrelled forward towards them, seemingly zoning in on Salissa. Ja’Far shouted out towards Giles in warning, raising his rifle and fired three successful bursts into two husk abdomens, starting a steady retreat backwards. He saw as the resident Drell did the same, firing into the horde, taking a trio of rambling cannon fodder. He muttered quietly under his breath, prepping another shot as the wave of enemies advanced towards them, targeting the head of an approaching Cannibal.

”Two for miń score.” Ja’Far pulled the trigger, the Cannibal’s head flying backwards, a quick breath of satisfaction was released. ”Make that three.”

Things had gone south, the barrier had broke and the horde pushed forward with mindlessness that was so typical of these now leaderless reaper creations.
Ja’Far had posited the idea of a friendly contest of who can take down the most Husks, but alas, it was woefully one sided, Giles held the detonator to the explosives so the day was his before it even begun.
It was an interesting idea though, so long as he didn’t state this to the artist, on another mission he may take this contest up.

Having fallen back to a reasonably safe distance, it merely befell the rest to do the same, and the spectres to give the command.

_{Staff Lieutenant Jake Anderson}

The screeching was the worst part. It was always the screeching. Before London it really hadn’t bothered him all that much, or at least not as much as it bothered the other guys. Yes, it was inhumane, and eerie, and just plain weird. It had always sounded like jagged nails being dragged across chalkboards being filtered through an autocue. It had always cut right through him. But there had been a time that part of him had been glad to hear that shrieking. Better to know that they were coming ahead, with good time to get ready for them, than to have them sneak up on you, sibilant and unseen. It was a small blessing, but it was a blessing nonetheless, and he’d take any advantage he could get in a fight. Now though? Things had changed.

Now he knew that those wails weren’t an early warning system at all, but the true cries of the damned. It had taken the fall of London, and the death of his -

No. Now wasn’t the time for painful reflections, or to wallow in self-pity. There’d be time for that later, when the job was done. Katabasis needed him at his best right now. The people living in the city above needed him even more than Katabasis did. The soldier, he reminded himself, not the man. He ground his teeth, and emptied another clip into the encroaching horde, only dimly aware of an animal-like growling emanating somewhere from the tunnels. Took him a minute to realise that it was coming from him.

Anderson deliberately took up position in the very rear of their small column, taking the brunt of the hordes attack. He was the Spectre here. Way he seen it, that made it his job to take the brunt of the shit. The Piranha was perfectly suited to mowing down clumps of the Husks at a time, and any that did manage to make it through the hell of his, Sicaria’s, and Rol’s crossfire quickly got themselves acquainted with the business end of his omni blade. Still, there were so many of them that it was only a matter of time until one of the desiccated bastards got lucky and managed to taken one of the team down. If Angel and Balak slowed their breakneck pace, even for a second, things were gonna get damn hairy for the group.

Fortunately the two-point men had done this all before, leading the squad on an unerring course through the underground compound. Anderson didn’t get much time to take in the surroundings, too busy keeping the monsters behind them at bay while also steadily giving ground, but he did have time to see the Husks in the mess hall leap off the mezzanine flooring into his huddled squad. He had a moment of indecision, wondering if he should abandoned his own self-ordained post to help those in the middle, but knew that he had to trust his squad, tried and true veterans all, to deal with the problem on their own. If he left his own position, that would allow the horde to potentially surround them and cut them off.

They continued on, down another hallway and then into a cargo bay, judging by the stack crates, containers, and heavy listing machinery. By the time that Anderson crossed the bay threshold the Husks had already sprung their ambush, and Angel had called the rushed retreat. A good call, though one the Spectre ignored for a moment, laying down some covering fire to give the team time to make good their escape. Rol and Sicaria had almost vacted the room when he began his own exodus, though not before he drew two fragmentation grenades and tossed them behind him, straight into the path of the main horde.

“ENJOY, YOU FUCK … ” He began to yell over his shoulder, before being tackled from his feet by a slavering Cannibal. He hit the ground with a pained oof, the large once-Batarian landing atop him, it’s bulk crushing the air from his lungs. Somehow he managed to get his right hand wrapped around the monsters throat, just about keeping it’s large, gaping, blue-lit mouth groaning inches from his face. Its jaws snapped shut a hairs breath from his nose. A waft of fetid breath and warm saliva washed over him.

The grenades went off, washing Jake in heat and noise and fury, sending Husks and parts of Husks flying in all directions. The last of his squad was out of the compound now, only him and an army of bloody thirsty abominations left within the concrete walls. Things were about as desperate as they’d ever been for the N7 marine, and he had no one to blame but himself. His Piranha had been knocked out of his hands, to where he wasn’t sure, and his omnitool, along with it’s handy-dandy monomolecular blade, was trapped under the Cannibals knee. Pretty soon the rest of the Husks would realise that they’re brother had caught a stupid human, and then he was really gonna be in the shit. With no other weapons to hand, he did the only thing left to him: He used his head.

With a grunt of effort he forced himself up as far as he could get, and slammed his forehead into the cannibals snout. A terrible idea when dealing with a regular Batarian, due to the fact that you’re more likely to injure yourself on all that heavy bone on the sockets around their eyes, and not much better when confronting a Cannibal, but Anderson was desperate. His gamble paid off, and the monster recoiled, not much, but just enough for him to risk letting the death grip on its throat go so that he could grab for his Carnifex. It was just recovering its wits when he palmed the weapon and put four rounds into its torso. Blue ichor spilled across his chest as the dead-thing slumped against him, though he was quick to roll it off him and clamber to his feet.

The screeching began to rise in earnest as the horde realised that there was still fresh meat amongst them, but Anderson was already sprinting at full tilt at that point, pushing and shoving his way through the Husks already pursuing his squad out of the exit, relying on speed and momentum to get him through. Thank God that most of the ugly corpses were too stupid to look behind them, too consumed with chasing the escaped Katabasis members, or they’d have the wherewithal to take him down.

The further he got, the more deeply packed the horde became, until his breakneck pace was slowed to almost a crawl. More and more of the Husks took notice of him, and he was forced to fight for his life again and again, Carnifex shots ringing out and the omniblade swinging clear, electrical-blue blood spraying into the air. They were wearing him down though, clawing at the joints between his armour and his mostly unprotected face. He kept his body flooded with adrenaline, the increased focus and reaction times keeping him in the fight, but barely. They just kept coming.

No. I will not die like this. I will make you proud, dad.

He forced himself onwards, leaving a trail of broken and bloodied Husk behind him. He’d never moved so fast in his life, never fought so hard. He ran out of thermals, and without skipping a beat flipped his pistol and used it to bludgeon the demonic shells reaching for him into the dirt.

The opening was in front of him now, but the horde there was packed wall to wall. With a grim sense of finality, he realised that he was never going to get through that many bodies, not with just an omni-blade and a pistol that had run out of ammo. For a moment, he asked the question: Why? Why here? Why now? What is good about this death?

Then the moment was over, and with a wordless snarl he pushed forwards.

It was at that very same moment that Fortia’s barrier, which had been drained far faster than normal thanks to the Husks ability to discharge electricity capable of shredding shields, shattered, and like the ocean that had managed to force the breakers to crumble into its waves, the horde surged forwards. They threw themselves at Katabasis, snarling and screaming, pouring out of the narrow confines of the tunnel entrance with grim intent.

Michael, the Cerberus scientist, watched as a pack of husks, led by a Marauder, bore down on Aegon, while more swarmed Phalanx, and realised that this was the best chance he was going to get to make good his escape from the Spectre’s clutches. Grabbing a couple of his fellow scientists and pushing them to their feet, he turned tail and fled down the tunnels. Two of the researchers, one of them the woman that had told Jake about the Husks, stayed where they were, but the others followed the greybeard. The escapees sprinted down the tunnel, hit a fork where several outlaying smaller tunnels joined the main thruway, and split up.

Anderson, who despite his own fatalistic premonitions, had managed to push his way through the press thanks to the hordes chaotic rush forwards, advanced towards Aegon and the others.

“I spotted mines affixed to the walls at the entryway of the compound” He huffed, blowing like a bellows. “Our lines broken, we need to blow’em now!”

Unbeknownst to Anderson and the Task Force, their position wasn’t as desperate as it seemed. Mere minutes away reinforcements moved to join them. But would the arrive in time to be any use?

The husks advanced, a disorderly, screaming, wailing wall of mechanized flesh, glowing Reaper-blue and charging with the religious fervor that only the undead can muster. Within their ranks were taller figures, wider ones, Marauders and Cannibals, shoving their inferiors aside, bloodlust taking over.

THUD THUD THUD Went a heavy machine gun, barely audible over the horde.

CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK- The sound of a pistol, slow, rhythmic, speeding up gradually, as the shooter panicked, then going quiet altogether.

POW! A high-powered rifle cuts down a husk, the round fragmenting as it shredded through the augmented flesh, spraying a Marauder behind it with blue gore and ferrous shrapnel, tearing its body into four pieces. The arm flew through the air, and plopped right into Ellis' lap, spilling grey ichor across his massive chest and visor.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! Ellis pumped round after round from his rifle, focusing on freezing the Cannibals in the pandemonium. A larger, wider target, the Cannibal would provide excellent speed bumps for the husks, and good cover from the marauders.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! He brought his Cannibal count up to five, and reloaded. CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!- Four more.

With only one arm, and one working leg, activating the Shield pylons was more difficult than it ever was. Each Pylon requires a cable-connection to a generator, and enough distance from another pylon that the energy doesn't conduct from the live one to the dead one. So, naturally, needing to get rid of one, he hurled the generator into the crowd from where he sat, the pylon flailing through the air like a tail, where it crashed against one of the frozen Cannibals, the resulting shatter-splosion releasing nitrogen-based cryonic gas, a by-product of the Cryo-Ammunition process, freezing two nearby husks, and slowing down a good many. He brought his rifle back up, and searched, to line up the shot.

It was difficult. Blue-grey feet clamored over the filthy floor, making a clean shot nigh impossible. But Ellis was not one for odds, and probabilities. He was a man of possibilities. And right now, he reviewed those possibilities.

Fire a concentrated burst. You'll be more likely to hit it.

No, you don't need that! One round. One good, clean round.

Deactivate your Cryo ammo, for greater penetration.

SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU!

CRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACK! He unloaded the rest of the thermal clip into the general area that the generator had landed. With no landmark to go by, he had no choice but to fire.

The rounds slammed husk after husk after husk, freezing two, then three, then four, then the fourth shattered, taking the others with it, creating just enough concussive force to-BOOM!

-to detonate the generator. The pylon blew in a burst of blue light, setting fire to all nearby hostiles... Not that they cared.

He slapped the button on the other generator, shivering with delight as the energy overcharged his barrier. His suit was literally humming with power. He fortified his barrier, doing his best to ignore the splitting migraine that jolted to life as his Fortification hit home. He was still weak from his earlier stunt, but was unwilling to accept his incapacitation. He forced himself to his feet, using his rifle like a crutch. He set it, barrel end first, into his armpit, and gripped it tight between his arm and chest, reloading it slowly. His last thermal clip. But, he still had two Talons on his hip, but an unknown amount of ammunition.

But again, he was not a man for probability, but possibility.

Just then. "-mines-walls-entryway-compound-BLOW 'EM NOW!" Ellis' heart leapt into his throat, but he was not only in agreement with Anderson, but extremely enthusiastic about blowing the tunnel. Reaper-anything gave him the creeps.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACKCRACK!

His external audio output system pumped the echoes of his laughter down the tunnel.

"BWAHAHA! DESPAIR, YE MIGHTY! HAHAHAHAA!"

"How much ordnance is that anthropomorphic sardine packing?!"

Vella privately thought to herself as she watched Giles work. As a dedicated shock trooper, she had easily recognized the kind of mines that the Drell was deploying; it was the Cain type, as they were called. She knew that a single one of those were sufficient to blow up a small block. Put a few of them together, and you could annihilate an entire neighborhood real fast!

Granted, Gile's were noticeably smaller than what she usually worked with in the past...

"BWAHAHA! DESPAIR, YE MIGHTY! HAHAHAHAA!"

"No no, step back; then you can do your A4 evil Cerberus laughter sans personal vaporization, you primate!" Vella cried back in a response to Ellis; almost as if she had been instructing a child; as the Asari had already begun to step backwards, still firing continuously into the oncoming horde in a dazzling streaks of crystal clear white beams that leaped from her Apostle assault rifle, disintegrating the cores of the enemy husks.
Thanks to her Kinetic Barriers supported by her Tech Armor and further supplanted by her own Biotic Barriers, the Asari usually felt very confident, even in the face of overwhelming enemy fire.

But to hell if she wanted to try her luck with more than a dozen Cain units!!!

"Wait, who let the,-" Vella would suddenly exclaim as she quickly glanced over her shoulder, looked back; paused, then suddenly looked back as she saw the escaping backs of the Cerberus scientists currently fleeing the scene!

"STOP!" Vella paused, interrupting her own reload process as she instead turned to point at the fleeing Cerberus scientists whom; unsurprisingly; completely ignored her!

"GET OVER HERE!"

Vella formed a gestured with her outstretched hand, before throwing her arm backwards in a pulling motion! One of the Cerberus scientists was suddenly stopped right in his track, as if an invisible force had just grabbed him, before he was pulled back like a stunt man from a bad action movie, and came flying back into the room before falling in a trashed heap onto the floor with a painful groan!
However, before Vella could repeat the process with any of the other Cerberus scientists, they had already fled out of sight!

She had to admit, Vella was surprised at how fast those academic eggheads could actually run once their asses were in the fire!

"Oafhh!"

Yet as soon as the Cerberus scientist had hit the ground, Vella felt a force hit her from behind as one of the husks had just leaped on her. She heard another clank, as a second husk had thrown itself at her feet and was trying to gnaw its way through her boot, with a third closing in!

"BY THE GODDESS'S SANCTIFIED ASS, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DAMN LINE?!?"

Vella thought to herself, as she was promptly rammed by a trio of husks! However, that was not quite as bad as her previous encounter with Rykarn, who was a literal bus by comparison! She was staggered, but not knocked prone, and she came back with an immediate vengeance!

With her rifle still overheating and the husks all over her, Vella moved one finger across an omni panel below her wrist; which caused the glowing tech barriers around her to suddenly explode with a violent force, sending out a blinding electric light, immediately charring the nearby husks! The entire front of the tusk latched onto her torso was fried, half its skull immediately vaporized by the violent electric surges emanating from her! The third one behind it was knocked back, but the one lying at her feet had mostly gone unharmed!

"Get - off!"

Vella mouthed as she raised her other foot, and brought it slamming down onto the husk's skull in a hard stomp, causing its skull to cave in on itself with a sickening squelching noise and the desiccated fiend to finally go still!

Taking some steps back, Vella saw another wave of husks come surging forward. The entryway was like the opening of an insect hive, with an endless wave of reanimated, mutilated corpses constantly ushering out in a single, black, writhing mass of limbs, lights and wails; throwing itself against anyone and anything it could find! Eight more husks were already coming towards her, and Vella let out a mechanical chuckle from behind her helmet.

"Stand aside!" She called out, clenching her fists as her entire being was suddenly engulfed in a shimmering, blue biotic light! Teeth clenched, she would suddenly let out a ferocious cry as she threw her arm forward, suddenly unleashing a great wave of force that surged into the oncoming horde like a biotic wind!

Dozens of husks were picked up by the force and swept off their feet, thrown back towards the entryway as if they had been swatted aside like ants!

The actual damage from the attack had been minimal, but it had served to halt a large portion of the advancing husks, leaving them in a sprawling mess near the entryway as they tried to get themselves untangled from one another to resume the charge!

"Beat that one, Ellis." Vella said with a bemused tone as she continued to step back, reactivating her Tech Armor and drawing her Acolyte pistol. Yet as she stepped back, she would turn around halfway and place one foot on the hand of the Cerberus scientist lying on the ground, the man currently groaning suddenly letting out a scared yelp as she grabbed him by his collar and began pulling him after her as she continued to move further away from the entryway.

"You know there are laws against shooting unarmed prisoners." Vella spoke to him as she dragged him towards the back, suddenly whipping out a duo of shots and dropping a charging husk; all the while the scientist in question was scratching at his collar which acted almost like a suffocating noose on him as he was dragged along the ground!
" ... that is, unless they are fleeing from you. I can be a benevolent mistress, but don't try anything again. Next time I'll have a prepared Thermal clip just for you, honey!"

---

The synthetic of the team kept sniping the more dangerous of the husks, switching to shotgun to fire as a horde managed to draw close. Watching as the human female, Salissa Fortia, made a shield while Gilvert Somner and Ja'Far Balak set up explosives. Listening as the Batarian comm about testing their skill of marksmanship, the Geth pondered only a moment over it. "If we are accumulating based on kills, Ja'Far Balak has the advantage. Both mine and Gilvert Somner's weapons favor power and suffer reloading time. Based on accuracy, synthetic forms take the advantage of lack of need for the organic needs of 'air' and 'eye watering' that often distracts a sniper." Phalanx voiced in return as it calculated the odds between the three snipers.

"However, calculations are at times surpassed expectations due to organic determination. This will be good reading of skill." Its systems hummed, taking another shot and snapping another Marauder's head off as the powerful bullet landed straight between the glowing empty eyes of the husk of a turian. The powerful breaking through into a regular husk behind it, making a chunk of its face slide off while its body crumbled on top of the marauder.

It was then the shield broke and the true chaos started to rain down on them. The elder krogan known as Raik "Aralakh" Skarr charged in to lend assistance to Salissa Fortia whom was quite close to getting mauled.

"Two eliminated." Phalanx chirped in response to the batarian's words noting that he had three down. It didn't particularly understand this sort of 'competition' while it was quite possible that some, if not all of them, could die here in this tunnel. However, it went along with it as it might be a organic morale tactic to increase questionable odds. Plus, counting and shooting took very little effort for the Geth.

Just as Phalanx spotted Staff Lieutenant Jake Anderson, as it the human Spectre had fallen behind, the horde had managed to reach its location near the back of the group. Taking out its shotgun quickly, it charged foreword to be sure it was the first foremost thing attacked in order to prevent damage to the scientists and Rayes. Blasting a cluster as they came charging, Phalanx once again had bodies of long deceased humans fling themselves on its larger more metallic body. One clung onto its left shoulder gnawing at the synthetic muscle against its neck, white liquid spilling out sliding over the husk's teeth and down the Geth's shoulder. Another was clawing at Phalanx's stomach and another to the left leg. Teeth gnawing at the metal and synthetic muscle and white liquid that was considered Geth blood trickled out.

Swinging its left fist to smash into the husk on its stomach then swinging its arm around to cause the husk on the Geth's shoulder to smash into a group closing in on it. Using it as a club while it reloaded its shotgun, Phalanx glanced to Aegon Partinax as it seemed the turian spectre seemed to be in a similar situation. Aiming its Omni-Tool, Phalanx fired a incinerate to burn a few corpses around it before aiming and shooting a group of husks near Aegon. Turning its flashlight head back to see scientists making a run for it, Phalanx quickly switched to its sniper and took aim. It had a split second to take a shot and for just a moment it could take a shot and bury a bullet into a fleeing scientist way. For that split second however, the scientist's clothing changed to what looked like a suit. Then the scientists were out of sight. Perhaps its systems were becoming faulty because of the sustained damage this platform had to endure.

Perhaps it was for the better. Risked wasting a shot, plus they at least still had three scientists in their possession. Wasn't too well to let loose possible hostiles for the future, however, at this moment this had a bit of priority and they can further locate the escaped scientists. For now, it had to continue doing all its capabilities would allow to hold the line and protect the remaining scientists.

"Requirement to make haste with the explosives. We will not be able to hold position much longer." Phalanx agreed, ripping a husk from its chest, picking it up and chucking into the horde, knocking several over.

Keeping a careful and deadly eye out, Alria made sure to use her pistol with a lethally effective trigger. Her shots being steadied by her firm two handed grip and made better by the hunk of debris that she chose to take cover behind. Making sure to time her shots and keep her bullet efficiency high, but also to not hit any of her allies as they ran ahead to fight or just RAN AHEAD. Alria was one to enjoy a good close handed brawl, but literally running into a tide of Husks that big was insane, yet she could only watch with confusion and... what's the word for it... Not concern or anger, but something in between.

Regardless Alria knew she couldn't stop the crazy Human for doing her business without putting her own life in unnecessary danger so instead she just watched and provided fire support where she could. Though before long the crazy Human seemed to actually have a plan as she charged through several Husks with reckless abandon and when her barrier went up Alria understood. In truth she still thought the Human was crazy beyond words, but at least she had some plan going in.

To better help the whole event she continued to place shots around her to sink into the bodies of a few Husks, looking for crowd control instead of key target elimination. After all it seemed like the better choice. Also making sure to toss a few fireballs into the fray, sinking up their targets and trajectories to pass around the Human and to strike into the crowd, setting them to burst mode so as to give some flames to more than just one Husk with each shot.

Continuing to watch the events unfold she saw a few other members of their team charge ahead to plant bombs and that only made things harder for her to time her shots, but still when she found an opening she took it. Though as things progressed further and a Krogan charged in to pull the Human out just as her barrier fell with the two demolitionists taking their leave at the same time. This left her with free reign to open fire and toss fire down range to cause the Reaper's pets pain.

Though nobody could see it, Alria had a growing scowl on her face. These were the bastards who cost her so much just a few years ago. Maybe not the ones who did it, but sure as Hell on the same side as the ones who did which meant they were no different. Each time she pulled the trigger and watched one of her eternal foes fall to the ground she felt just a little bit happier on the inside... or did she? After so many Reaper kills over the pasts years, why did she still feel so...

As the battle raged on and with their line remade she continued to hold it, though as time passed it seemed like more and more of a lost cause. There were just too many of them, but they had their ace... Just at Aegon's word it would be played. In the meantime Alria still had a few Thermal Clips to spend.

---

They kept coming like an endless wave, a ravenous swarm of screeching mouths, ready to tear them apart. They walked without grace, without sense, they had no purpose. It was apathy to the highest degree, the dead eyes that stare at you while they rip you apart, the lack of emotion. There was no hate, no anger, no emotion. Their actions were completely detached from the killing, no hesitation, it was techno-barbarism at its finest. It was disgusting, an offence to everything the Divines stood for. The Pillars stood for suffering, salvation through fire, the renouncing of luxury and happiness to make a stronger, better and cynical but kind being. These creatures had no such agony, pain or sorrow. No love, no kindness. It was an affront to everything he stood for, everything she stood for. It was a slow, bubbling anger that stirred within and he quelled it with another shot. The three rounds struck a Marauder in the head, turning it into a bloody pulp before embedding themselves into the abdomen of a husk behind it. "Five.

Blood, or a mockery of it, and limbs flew everywhere, Katabasis was shredding dozens of husks. But Ja'Far could tell that they were struggling, they were slowly retreating and line was already broken. Even in his position, there were husks amongst them. He had noticed the scientists escaping but couldn't do anything to them, they were running and he couldn't risk civilian casualties. A little fidget or mistake could have killed one of them if he tried lining up the shot, and so he let them go. The husks swarmed each team member, each person involved in some sort of close combat. As he shot another two husks dead as they ran towards him, muttering a small "Seven, still ahead of you Phalanx", he worriedly noted how the swarm was coming towards him.

This was just like the shithole his old team had their last stand in, every member for themselves in close quarters combat. There wasn't any cohesion to the battle, it was a mess of both ally and enemy packed together in one space. The team couldn't work together because of the mass of enemy bodies. The horde was isolating most of the members of the team, keeping them in pairs or on their lonesome. It made him shiver, memories of three terrorising days of constant fighting came back to him. He wasn't prepared for this, he had a rifle that he had barely fought with!

The Boogeyman shook his head, clearing it of such thoughts with a couple of deep breaths as more husks approached. He let another three rounds loose, disabling a couple of husks before swapping to his pistol, holding his knife in the other hand. This was no time for regret, for what-ifs or might-haves. This was the present, he was living this situation and there was no changing that. He had been trained for this, decades of fighting for a country that relished in brutality taught him a few tips about close combat. It certainly wasn't his expertise and he didn't have the destructive power that others of the team had but he was a Legionnaire.

The best of the best that the Hegemony could offer, even Special Operations had trouble keeping up with them. Thirty survivors was left, from the five thousand initially chosen for the 1^st Legion, at the start of the Reaper War. They had been trained for this, prepared for missions where they would most likely die and he had survived. They all lived through him and he wouldn't die here. He was a living boogeyman, his targets quivered in their boots when they heard his name. He was known to all Batarians, young and old, poor and rich, seen as a shadowy figure in the night. His name brought fear to the mansions and hope to the slums, he was and still is the premier soldier.

Ja'Far started praying again, turning off his radio to keep the clutter to a minimum. He raised his pistol at the nearest husk and squeezed the trigger, piercing the skull and killing the thing. Blood and brain matter came all over him but he continued, aiming at another husk and let another round loose. He was a dead-eyed shot, calmly switching targets as he felled everything he laid his sights on. "Praise be to thou, O Athame, and all praises are due unto thou, and blessed is thy name and high is thine grace and none is worthy of worship but thine eternal glory." He whispered quietly as a Cannibal lunged at him as he was reloading. He quickly slammed the clip into the Carnifex. Leaning forward to brace himself, he stabbed the beast in the abdomen before using the serrated blade to throw the thing to his side. Pulling the knife as he let go and brought up his gun, double-tapping the bloodied mess once it hit the ground.

Another husk leapt unto his back, clawing at his shoulders. His right shoulder, mostly unprotected with outdated material armour, was bruised badly but his left examined unscathed. Ja'Far snarled, bending forward with enough power to force the husk to the ground in front of him before slamming his boot down on it's head. A Marauder and a pair of husks approached him from the front, the two human husks sprinting with their maws open, screeching loudly. The third husk seemed to wait, as if analysing it's enemy. He raised his pistol and fired thrice at one of the runners in the chest, sending it stumbling to the ground before switching targets. Before he could fire however, he felt another presence behind, coming up on him.

The Boogeyman quickly spun, facing the flanking enemy, delivering a hard right-handed pistol whip on the offender. The blow sent the newfound Cannibal to the ground, making it sprawl on all-fours. During this time, the surviving human husk closed the distance and raised it's claws, letting loose an inorganic war-cry. He received several gashes on the back, making the Batarian grunt and jerk in surprise pain. Turning to face the husk as it reared it's right hand for another swing. He tried for a slice on it's throat but it blocked the strike with it's left shoulder, jumping at him to take the blow. As they fell backwards, he then ripped his knife out and brought his Carnifex to bear as his back slammed against the floor. Swearing and breaking prayer for a second, he felt a hot fire on his back as they opened wider. He fired twice from the ground at the offending husk before pushing the corpse off of him and clamouring to his feet with his pistol hand in the air, steadying himself.

This was when the Marauder, previously biding it's time in the background, chose to strike. Holding what seemed to be a sharpened piece of metal in it's right hand, it kicked Ja'Far's pistol hand, disarming him of the Carnifex before swiping at the his stomach. Leaping backwards to avoid the makeshift blade, he made for a stab at the thing's side. Surprisingly, the former-Turian blocked the blow with it's left hand and directed it past it's stomach to the left, crossing over and pulling him forward. He recoiled, steadying himself with his feet before dodging away from a downwards strike at his head. The two reached a standstill, both circling each other as the fighting went on around them, the Batarian still muttering his prayers as blood ran down his wounds.

Ja'Far lunged first, going for a upwards slice from the groin up before following with two sideways swipes. Seemingly surprised by this aggressiveness, the Marauder dodged all of the strikes instead of blocking, backing up more with each attempt. With adrenaline pumping and the momentum on his side, he went for a sudden charge, slamming his armoured shoulder into his enemy. It sent the thing to the ground and he followed up with a downwards stab down to it's neck, spraying more strange blood all over him as he twisted the knife. "The Divine Pillars look down upon thou with pride, Turian." He whispered, feeling the serrated interrogator's knife cutting through flesh.

Standing up from his opponent, the former Legionnaire made for the Carnifex laying on the ground and activated communications once more. The pain from the wounds made him stagger slightly and his voice strained but kept going, pointing his pistol at another husk. Pulling the trigger three times and downing the husk in the third, he spoke into the comms "I beseech ser Giles to blow this shithole to kingdom come." It was entirely out of character for him, at least from the perspective of the others, but he continued with his royally dry tone. "I also prithee that we may escape this dreadful place as our line seems to be ruined. Evident from the fact that the long ranged support is engaging in close quarters combat."

He needed an infinite supply of cigars if he was going to survive in a team filled with frontliners and half-wits. However, this fact did not discourage the smile that was evident in his speech. Ja'Far was certainly enjoying himself, this team reminded him too much of his old squad to be non-entertaining. He just hoped that he would survive the migraines and the horrid amount of wounds that would be inflicted on his body.