Vakte — Roleplayer Guild

With a growl, Barb stared at what would be his accommodation for the duration of the trip, a bare grey room, with a bed in one corner and a single terminal beside it, the bed had a pile of bedding and covers, simple and cheap. So much for a comfortable trip, from the manifest he’d read there were two other krogan on this bucket, as well as ten-plus asari, half a dozen batarians and a number of humans that Barb didn’t care to read through, several hanar, and even a turian, and that was just those accompanying the ship to Kajhe, of the crew he didn’t even look into it. It was a sleek looking ship, asari design and well maintained, and obviously making enough money to cover the costs of refuelling and other wonderful expenses that come with owning a large ship. Dumping his pack into the corner, Barb activated the terminal, and ran a security program iBroker had given him, within a handful of seconds the terminal registered as weakly protected, Barb couldn’t help but laugh at the pitiful security surrounding the public access terminal, and activated another program hiding within his omni-tool, it didn’t take long for the VI hidden within the program to pick apart what little security surrounding the terminal, and using the public network as a staging point the VI began to peel apart the security of the secure network, it was better protected, but not that much, it seemed all the money that the asari made went into the looks, not the protection of their ship.

Standing in a half-sleep Barb jerked awake when his omni-tool beeped at him, looking at what it found his eyes widened slightly. One of the krogan was a Weyrloc, the passenger manifest had his full details, that he had given freely, although he had paid a extra in order to claim the final bearth on this boat. Barb growled low, leaving the VI to run its course, he stormed through the halls of the asari vessel, not really designed for a krogan, his information pointed Barb to a room that was just a few dozen metres from him, and as he approached he heard the compressed hiss of the door opening. Weyrloc Saur stared at him for a moment, both recognising one another, both pulling their weapons from their backs, the hall filled with flying slivers of metal hurtled at astonishing speeds. Three rounds slammed into Barb’s chest, his shields absorbing it but only just judging from the insistent beeping in his ear, he slammed his fist into a control panel, the door to his right opened and Barb shifted inside, as the storm of fire from Saur past by him, behind him four asari crewmen stared at him, side arms in their hands, all four glowing with biotics. Barb didn’t care much for them, his attention was drawn to the six large canisters they were obviously checking for damage, the PDAs atop the canisters and maintenance equipment clustered at their feet spoke volumes. A round ricocheted off the doorframe, whistling past Barb’s face and smacking into the forehead of one of the asari, snapping her head back with a stunned expression. Then he heard it, the whined of a weapon overheating, the mods on that rifle clearly made overheating a problem. Spinning back into the hallway, Barb rushed towards Saur, his own rifle returned back to his back, the Blood Pack warrior looked up from his rifle in time to see Barb’s bulky form crashing into him, both of them clattering to the metal floor with the scraping of armour against metal. Barb drew his fist back, swinging it forward to connect with Saur’s jaw, the pair of krogan brawling for all their worth. The hallway suddenly darkened around them, a pale red light blinking as a wailing alarm started. Barb saw Saur grin before he slammed his head into the Blood Pack warrior’s own.

“Who’s coming Saur?” he growled standing up.

Spitting several teeth to the ground, the krogan looked up at Barb, “Our brothers,” he said, before he started to laugh. The laughter died in his chest as he saw Barb’s Spike Thrower unfolding in his hands.

“Bit much to attack a ship for me, Saur,” said Barb, pointing the deadly krogan-made weapon at one of the many who partaken in the destruction of the Red Suns all those years ago.

“We didn’t even know you were here Barb!” shouted Saur suddenly, his cowardly nature coming to the fore once more.

“I don’t care, more Blood Pack to kill. This is for Arik Quor,” growled Barb, pulling the trigger. A spike capable of punching through Thresher Maw hide punched through Saur’s chest, pinning the krogan’s form to the metal deck.

Arik Quor had been a batarian technical expert, captured when the Blood Pack had attacked the Red Suns based, Barb and others had been forced to watch as Arik was literally cut open and crippled before being thrown into a small pit with a pack of varren. His screams in particular haunted Barb, and Barb had watched Saur make every cut, his death deserved to be longer, more protracted than this, but with more Blood Pack to kill, he couldn’t waste time now. He fired another spike through Saur’s skull, and stalked off to find the bridge, the ship was shuddering lightly, obviously under fire, but its shields seemed stronger than Barb thought a transport would boast.

It didn’t take long to find the bridge, getting past the guards did, a squad of Eclipse stood with the captain, their weapons ready and aimed at the krogan who sudden appeared. He couldn’t see their faces, but he noted several salarians and once whose figure was defiantly asari, the rest were humans by the way they held their weapons.

“Confine this beast to his quarters,” said the Eclipse leader.

“Bitch please, I’ve already killed a Blood Pack bastard today, you want to waste time and troops holding me back?” grunted Barb, pushing the first Eclipse to try and hold him back.

“Wait!” shouted the captain, “Which krogan was it? Where was it?”

“Weyrloc Saur, E-Deck, maybe instead of just taking his money you should’ve asked who he was,” growled Barb, looking out the front of the ship, the view-port was filled with the shape of half a dozen frigates, all powering to cut off the Destiny’s Cousin from returning to the relay. Impressive feat for the Blood Pack to wait in ambush outside the relay, beyond the defence ships of whatever system they had arrived at.

“Well they already knew we were coming! So that doesn’t matter! I have six ships in front of us, and another three behind us, they knew we were coming!” yelled the captain.

“Aye, and you had a Blood Pack trooper already aboard. If he reached your engine room you’d already be a sitting pyjak to their guns,”

“You know what they’re after captain, we can’t let them get reach E-Deck, I’ll deploy half my forces to secure E-Deck, the rest shall be deployed along key systems, you know
as well as I do, this battle will end with boarding actions,” said the Eclipse leader, a lieutenant by the insignia on her shoulder.

Barb glanced down at his omni-tool which was beeping insistently at him again, opening the relevant details, Barb sighed in disbelief, he had forgotten about the other krogan, it wasn’t a Weyrloc, but it was a member of the Blood Pack, and as if to highlight the point, the ship shook violently as an explosion ripped through a section of the vessel, the force of the explosion all but threw everyone off their feet, consoles exploded, crewmen died, sparks flew everywhere, and all the while, the ships of the Blood Pack continued to batter the severely weakened shields of the asari transport.

“Report!” cried the captain.

“Engines are gone captain! Massive internal damage, shields at 6%, they’ll buckle in thirty seconds!”

“Change of plan, get the crew to man defensive positions on D, E and F-Decks, the Blood Pack have already taken the ship, we need to stop them taking the cargo, all Eclipse, proceed to E-Deck, activate all defence turrets,” said the asari lieutenant.

Barb liked the lieutenant; she was to the point and already leaving the captain behind, the large krogan waved at the captain, mocking her, before turning back and following the quick moving Eclipse squad. The Blood Pack weren’t after him, so he could only guess that those canisters would be the cargo, hopefully those crewmen were still with them. It was only when the Eclipse stopped short of the dead krogan that Barb had left behind that Barb was confused, the room containing the canisters was a further ahead, and this room was of far higher security rating, with several power lines hinting at shielding as well as multiple passcodes duel security locks. The asari noticed the krogan’s gaze.

“Your handiwork I take it?” she said.

“It’s not him I’m bothered about, what’s behind this door?” grunted Barb.

“That’s classified I’m afraid,”

“Whatever it is, does it get moved in canisters?”

The asari didn’t answer, which was good enough for Barb, as he started towards where he had seen the canisters. The door hissed open at his approach, and a hail of metal pounded into his shields and the frame work. Staggering back into cover, Barb shook his head, shards of chitin lay on the ground, and he carefully rubbed where a neat hole now existed just above where his eye was. Growling he checked his spike thrower, before noticing the Eclipse members had formed around him, with two rolling past the door to take positions there.

“What’s in there?” asked the asari.

“Earlier I ducked in here to avoid Saur, saw four of the crew checking a bunch of canisters, didn’t think much until your captain asked where I had the fight. Thought those crewmen would’ve told her before I arrived,” answered Barb.

“Seleena, flashbang first, Bors and Tito follow through and clear them,” ordered the asari.

The Eclipse moved with a purpose, the flashbang detonating several seconds after being thrown, and two of the team hurried inside, their rifles barking to the screams of the occupants. Barb was impressed, they had obviously worked together for a while, they covered each other while using what little cover was available to full effect. They spoke to the asari on a separate frequency from Barb, as the asari entered the room without a sound, before muttering a curse at the sight. She stormed out and ordered her squad something over the frequency Barb followed her, eager to see what had pissed her off so much. With one of the Eclipse guards who stayed at the main security room turned and entered a code into one of the panels, the asari quickly entered her own and both pressed their hands against the panels. The shielding around the door faded, and the metallic click of the door unlocking and hissing open.

“Veena to all Eclipse, cargo has been compromised, proceed to E Deck immediately, do not allow the crew to join you. Veena to Captain, your crew is compromised, keep them away from E Deck, if they approach we will open fire, Veena out,” snapped the asari.

“Just another day against the Blood Pack,” grumbled her comrade.

“Bors, Tito, get those canisters back in here now, the rest of you, pull the panelling, set the explosives, I want a feasible barricade set up before the Blood Pack board us,” she continued, turning to Barb. “I would say you have to leave, but seeing as it’s krogan we’re against, I won’t say no to having a krogan on our side,”

“As long as I get to kill Blood Pack,” grunted Barb.

It didn’t take long for the Blood Pack ships to finish off what few weapons the Destiny’s Cousin had left, and once her guns were silence, Barb knew the boarding shuttles and tubes would be launched, and then the true battle would begin. From what Barb could tell, the first boarders landed in the shuttle bay, reports from the crew stationed to defend that section spoke of a few dozen vorcha with several krogan, two minutes later there was no word from the shuttle bay. The next batch of boarders entered through the wreckage of the engine room, hidden behind void-worthy helmets and enviro-suits, the Blood Pack cut through the barriers and began to work their way through the lower decks, the third batch entered through the docking port, and en masse, the bridge fell after ten minutes of intense fighting, but from the numbers reported the Blood Pack flooded through them with dozens of vorcha and an equal number of krogan. The last report from the crew was at the entrance to E Deck, where the last of the crew fought for their lives, only to be swarmed from two directions.

Lieutenant Veena motioned for her second in command, a human woman with short black hair, she pulled up her omni-tool, and was activated something. A few seconds later a loud explosion filled the hall, mixed with the surprised screams of those who had suffered its effects. Thirty Eclipse and Barb were all that remained against the Blood Pack from what he could tell, and now the Blood Pack had noticed the sudden thorn in their side in the form of these mercenaries. Two krogan appeared from where the explosion had wiped out their vorcha comrades, their armour burnt and still smoking, Barb was impressive, incendiary bombs, to combat the regenerative traits of both krogan and vorcha. The first caught sight of the barricade of steel wall panelling and broken furniture from the passenger quarters, and fell to five rifles firing at once, the second roared and charged forward, his blood rage overcoming the weight of fire against him. Barb leapt over the barricade, barrelling into the krogan, both sprawling on the deck as more vorcha and krogan appeared to join the assault, exchanging shots with the Eclipse mercs taking cover behind the barricade. Barb could hear the orders being barked, the yells of the fighters, but he cared little, the krogan before him pounded his side, and pushed him back against the wall, still battering his torso with a hail of punches. Barb caught one punch and pushed off the wall to carry the krogan into the centre of the hall, rounds snapped past them, or impacted against their shields, swinging wide, Barb slammed his fist in the krogan’s face, following with another blow, and another, he was targeting the krogan’s eye, not to crush it but to blind it, this krogan was much younger than him, and had the strength to best him in an even brawl. The krogan pushed back, but lost his footing to the shield impacts, staggering back as well. A pair of vorcha hurtled themselves into Barb, they weren’t that much of a problem, as he drew his knife from its sheathe on his thigh, plunging it into the first vorcha’s chest and ripping the wickedly serrated blade from its chest. The second screeched before raking its claws against his chestplate, he gripped the vorcha by the throat, holding it between him and the hail of metal raining from the Blood Pack line. The body twitched and jerked in his grip and he walked steadily back to the barricade, a round punched clean through the corpse in his hand, catching Barb just below the shoulder, shaking his arm and losing his grip on his shield. More rounds slammed into his shields, which beeped insistently in his ear as he felt them suddenly pop. His armour sparked again and again as he was struck by dozens of rounds, he felt warm liquid oozing down his thigh and he grunted as he tried to heft himself back over the barricade. Lieutenant Veena grabbed him by the hump and hauled him over, using her biotics to amplify her strength, Barb landed in a heap, orange blood seeping between his armour’s segments, a hand clenched against his side.

“Tito, keep Second Squad at the rear, let me know the instant the Blood Pack arrive,” ordered Veena, hurtling a ball of biotic energy down the hall.

“We’ll run out of ammo before they run out of vorcha,” growled Barb through clenched teeth.

“Then I’ll blow this ship to the void and back, the Blood Pack are not getting this cargo,” answered Veena, ducking down as a rocket screamed overhead, miraculously passing over every Eclipse member and detonating at the opposite end of the hall.

“Good to know,”

The Eclipse squads battled for the better part of twenty minutes before the vorcha managed to get close enough to use their flamethrowers, a wash of the chemicals bathed the barricade, and two Eclipse fell back screaming as they cooked inside their armour. Barb pulled an explosive from the belt of Veena, priming it and lobbing it over the lip of the barricade, the grenade detonated in a hail of shrapnel that ripped the flamethrowers apart, their fuel tanks exploding violently and casting a momentary wall of fire that barred any further advance.

“Joys of flamethrowers is that if they’re closer enough to use, you don’t need to throw far,” growled Barb, struggling to raise himself, his regenerative powers had kicked in, and although the pain flooded his body with the slightest movement, Barb could move without losing feeling anywhere.

“LT, vorcha to the rear, heavy weapons!” cried Tito, firing his rifle.

“Third Squad split into fire teams, team one here, team two assist Tito,” snapped Veena.

The mentioned Eclipse didn’t get a chance to turn to face the new foe, a flurry of rockets smashed into the barricade that Tito and his squad hunkered behind, blowing it apart in a shower of broken metal and body parts, Tito was nowhere to be seen, and his squad lay in various places, only a few moved feebly. The vorcha flooded over the broken barricade, diving onto those still breathing from Tito’s men, Barb charged into them, his body screaming in disagreement, he slammed on into the blackened wall, plunged his knife into another, and a pair of rocket launcher-wielding vorcha lined him up, his body glowed pale blue as he gathered his biotic powers, hurtling the energy into the vorcha. Both were thrown from their feet with a screech of surprise that ended as they skulled met the end of the hall. One of the launchers flew with its owner, the second fell to the ground, the sensitive trigger jarred by the impact, and Barb watched in silent shock as the rocket flew above him, impacting the roof directly above him. The concussive force dropped Barb like a puppet with its strings cut, raining wreckage and debris atop of him. He gasped in pain as he felt something sharp punch clean through his abdomen, another pinned his right arm to the deck, and Barb struggled to move at all as the vorcha ran over his new tomb, the firefight was remarkable one-sided without the barricade protecting them. The Eclipse members fought hard, but each was cut down by the withering fire of the vorcha, or dragged to the ground under their claws and torn apart. He heard Veena spitting curses and he waited for the explosions that would tear what remained of the ship apart, but it never came, he heard her scream in pain, then nothing. Barb lay silent, unable to move, both of his hearts working overtime to compensate the damage he’d suffered, then it dawned on him again: this was the second time a vorcha had trapped him with a fucking rocket launcher. A krogan stood over his tomb, staring at what little of Barb was visible.

“Ah, Barb, I would grant you a good death, but I don’t have the time, we’ve got plans and a timetable,” growled the krogan, a huge member, one of the oldest Blood Pack members alive, his dark plates of armour in contrast to his relatively pale skin. “Leave this pyjak here, he can die a slow death, knowing that once again he is not worthy to die by our hands,”

The Blood Pack spent the next thirty minutes breaking open the security door, severely damaged as it was by the firefight, and then another ten moving the canisters, twelve in all to their own ships. Barb watched in silence as the Blood Pack left him to his death on this wreck, nothing moved around him but for the few fires that had yet to burn themselves out, and the occasional piece of debris falling from the ceiling, or the screech of sparking power lines, what little power remained would most likely die out before any chance of rescue, but Barb had learned one thing in his years, fate loved her games.

“Fucking vorcha and their fucking rocket launchers,” he growled as he lay there.

His omni-tool beeped on his wrist, ad he struggled to see it, but grinned with genuine surprise as he saw the security program VI had hacked into the ship’s operations and switched on the emergency beacon, hopefully it wouldn’t be long before help arrived, or if they arrived in time to yank him from his tomb in order for him to get to Nova and that ship. Vengeance couldn’t come sooner in Barb’s opinion.

“I’ll call you Blue,” he said to the VI, doubting it cared, but it had saved his life before by locating Saur, and if it saved him again he’d have to buy it a drink.

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