"Covering!"
Tanya's voice crackled over his comm line, nearly drowned out by a background of gunfire. He could hear those gunshots for real; they echoed from the ship's hangar, muffled, heavy bass beats that rolled against the sound-sensitive tissues of his cheek, reaching into him and stoking the fears that were burning inside his head. I should be there with her. Another voice, strained, erupted in a burst of static. "Suppressive!" Losif's voice didn't do much to ease his worries. Tanya had cover and comrades...but it seemed like poor substitution for a trusted friend at her side. He could only hope that she'd be alright.
The docking bay had been a mess of heat and noise, awash with flashing gun barrels and echoing shouts, but the interior of the ship was quiet and peaceful in comparison. It was through those hallways that Kosso prowled now, one hand clasped around the hilt of his pistol, the other poised ready at chest level to lash out at any potential ambush. He was moving quickly, opening each door as he came across them, sweeping the interiors quickly with a raised gun before moving on. Tanya and the others were occupied in the hangar, but open spaces and sustained firefights didn't quite suit Kosso's style. He was better here, in the cramped corridors, securing the rest of the ship so that his compatriots didn't find themselves flanked and outgunned by any stragglers. A necessary job, and one that was proving to be largely uneventful. Back when he was with Nova, he would've taken right to it, glad to be out of the danger zone, but the only thing he'd felt when splitting off from the main group was a twinge of guilt.
A door to his left opened suddenly. A Turian came rushing out, one hand reaching to unholster his gun, the other fumbling at the fly of his pants. Behind him, Kosso could see the pristine whiteness of a bathroom. Oh for fuck's sake. The Turian's eyes met his own. They were wide with shock, and his mouth was stretching into an "O" shape as he tried to formulate a shout. He never got the chance.
Kosso's forearm shot out in a blur, catching the man's throat. The words on his tongue morphed into a dull grunt and a spray of spittle. He staggered backwards, onto the bathroom tile. Kosso made to follow, bringing his gun to bear, but the door was beginning to slide shut already, blocking his shot. Cursing under his breath, Kosso kicked a foot out to wedge the door open as he slid inside, where the Turian was already regaining his composure, the barrel of his gun swinging upwards with alarming speed. Kosso swatted his arm away casually, stepping closer into the man's instep. One of his hands reached to grasp the back of the man's crest, and with a sharp yell he was pushing downwards, smashing the Turian's face into the edge of a nearby sink. There was a sickening crunch. The man's form went limp, slumping unceremoniously to the floor, leaving behind a bloody dent in the stainless steel sink. Kosso didn't take any chances; a quick shot to the head meant he could be sure the man would stay down.
It was over within seconds. Afterwards, Kosso realized he had blood on his fingertips. He took a quick second to wash them off in the sink he'd just damaged. His reflection stared back at him from the mirror hanging above, stony faced. His sunglasses were dark and unexpressive, and he could see the Turian's dead body in their reflective surfaces, distorted and darkened. Poor guy never stood a chance.
Then he knelt, lifting a limp arm and activating the man's omnitool. He wouldn't be needing it anymore, but Kosso might find some use from it. Now, if Tanya has taught me anything... A short moment of fiddling and prodding, and then he had what he was looking for: a map of the ship. It was marked with a mass of extraneous data, meeting times and ship regulations, but Kosso still saw what he needed. He committed the lines of the map to memory with a glance before closing the program and dropping the dead man's arm. It was past time he got down to real business.
To his surprise, there was someone in the hallway when he exited. An Asari shouted at him from the end of the corridor, bringing an assault rifle to bear. Kosso had only a second to duck back into the bathroom, lashing out with one arm emblazoned in blue light. The Asari saw the attack coming and neatly shrugged it off with her own biotics before resuming her barrage. It was all Kosso could do to snap a few shots at her from around the corner, but she was closing fast, her own biotics flaring as she laid suppressing fire down on him.
Fuck me, why did I tell Tanya I thought this was a good idea?. His eyes roamed the room, but he found no other means of escape: just a few urinals, bathroom stalls and a dead Turian. Like hell I'm going to die in a fucking bathroom, he fumed, opening his omnitool and loading a program he dreaded. Colonel materialized in front of him, looking strangely smug for a drone. "If'n you're in need of assistance, fella, I'm the drone for the job. I say, I-"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm not really in the mood for the whole spiel right now." With a sudden kick, Kosso sent the drone crashing into the hallway in a blast of biotic energy. "Go get em', Colonel!"
Colonel, of course, didn't stand a chance. No sooner than he made his spectacular entrance and the Asari had shot him ten times through, chewing through his fabricated shell with an efficient burst of gunfire that caused the drone to fall apart instantly. It was just the distraction Kosso needed. He swung out from the doorway of the bathroom, flicking on arm upwards to send a blast of energy careening towards the Asari's chest. She moved to block it again, but it caught her before she could counter. Instantly her body went rigid, locked into a solid stasis field.
Kosso never stopped moving. The Asari had closed a lot of distance; now he closed the rest. Already she was breaking free from the stasis, her own biotics ripping outwards and tearing the field to shreds, but Kosso was well prepared for that. He slid as he neared her, letting his momentum carry him over the polished metal floor. His slide tackle caught one of the Asari's legs, sending her sprawling. Kosso turned as he passed her, pushing himself seamlessly back to his feet. His gun was arcing upwards, finger on the trigger. She saw it all, eyes wide. "Wait-"
Her shout was cut short by the crack of the gun. She didn't say anything else after that. Kosso brushed himself off, checking over his shoulder for anymore surprise arrivals. So far, so good. Maybe now that all this fun is over I can actually do something useful. The ship's floor plan was laid out in his mind's eye, every detail precise. Hangar. CIC. Auxillary passage. Past engineering, shortest route. His plan set, he began to jog. The CIC was his target now. Saseen was supposedly making her way there, but if it was heavily guarded he couldn't expect her to take the whole place by herself. And with the CIC secured, maybe they could finally get this ship out of here.
Kosso sighed. Every second that passed made that hallex in his bag seem like more and more of a good idea.