Thursday 10 October 2013

Revenge - Part 4

Emi was crying. She had started just after the attack. Thomson was desperately trying to comfort her. They were sat next to each other, holding hands, and her head was tilted so it rested against his shoulder.
Her suit was expelling her tears through the emergency induction port as a gentle stream of liquid, which patted slightly on the sand and started forming a small pool. Her tears were quickly soaked up.
Thomson kissed her helmet, then called to Srateris, "I think we should take that as a sign to turn back and leave."
Srateris shook his head, "We should take that as we're getting close. They were freshly made. The Reaper created them to attack us."
"How do you know that?" Bei questioned.
"The transformation wasn't complete. Their eyes weren't glowing."
"Do you want to go back to the ship?" Thomson asked Emi, embracing her tightly, "I can set a course for the Citadel if you want."
"... Will... Will you come with me?" she sobbed.
Thomson sighed, "I don't think I can... I'm sorry..."
"... Then I'm staying too..." Emi said softly, "... I'm staying with you."
"No matter how many times we're attacked?"
"... No matter how many times you're attacked."
Bei walked up to them, "Well, Quarians are loyal. Once they are in a relationship with someone they'll stay with them for the entire life. Not only that, but you're a human and you let Emi have children. I'm pretty sure she'll stay with you no matter what. Even though it's probably slightly less because of having children, and slightly more the making of them, knowing her."
Emi sighed, "... I've never been that bad..."
Her tears were starting to slow to the odd drop from the induction port.
Thomson kissed her helmet, "I love you, Emi."
"... I love you too," she answered, "... And I always will. No matter what."
"No matter what," Thomson agreed, and squeezed her hand.
"We'll move now," said Srateris, "The Reaper knows our position. We need to start moving closer to it to take it out. And when we do..." He took out a very large rocket launcher and fastened it to his back, "... We'll give it hell."
"Can't we just wait?" Thomson asked, "Emi needs a moment longer."
The Turian shook his head, "Every moment we waste, the Reaper has more time to build up another army to attack us with."
"It isn't a waste of time," Thomson frowned, "I care for her, and to be honest a single Reaper isn't as important to me as she is. So we wait, or you can go without me. And not having a biotic on your team against another Banshee wouldn't be the best idea. It's up to you."
Strateris stood up, "Don't threaten me, Lieutenant Thomson. You might be a Spectre but I am older than you. I have had more experience. I know what I'm doing. And as team leader, I say we're moving out. Now."
"As team leader," answered Thomson, "You should care about those who are in your squad. Emi is here too. If you want us to work at full capacity, we'll have to wait for a few moments longer. Hell, if the Reaper can detect us here, moving won't make any difference. We'll still be under threat. And I'm sure if it had more forces, it'd have sent them against us. There aren't actually many beings that populate Tuchanka."
"Love has blinded you, Thomson," Srateris pointed out, "If you had any sense about you, you'd realise that staying here is a bad idea."
Thomson stood up, too, and looked him in the eye, "If you had any sense about you, you'd realise that your team matters more than a single Reaper on a practically empty planet."
"This isn't just about the planet!" Srateris yelled, "A Reaper can cause untold damage to everything. A few years ago, a single Reaper nearly managed to destroy the Citadel. Imagine if that'd happen again."
"I know what would happen," Thomson responded, "I was there when the Citadel was attacked by Sovereign and the Geth. Don't you think, if this one was capable of inter-stellar travel it'd already have flown away? It isn't about the fate of the galaxy. It's about one Reaper. One Reaper. When one of your team needs just a few more minutes to recover from a near-death experience?"
"But she isn't important! She's one Quarian, no offense Bei, who doesn't even know how to handle a pistol. In comparison to what could happen, she doesn't even matter!"
Thomson hit him in the face. Not hard enough to break anything, but enough to make him stagger back, "She matters to me!"
"Keelah!" Bei yelled, "Just shut up! We'll wait for Emi, OK? Bosh'tets!"
Srateris ignored her, and punched Thomson in the stomach. He doubled over and the Turian smashed his knee into Thomson's face.
Thomson dropped on to the sand, but threw Srateris backwards with his biotics. As he fell towards the ground, Srateris grabbed his sniper rifle and brought it around so it was facing at Thomson.
"Stop," Humin said, "Fighting illogical. Reaper is enemy. Not each other."
"... You're a bosh'tet!" Emi cried at Srateris, "... Just stop... Thomson was just trying to look after me... there's no need for this..."

More weaknesses, Revenge noted, as Vengeance closed in on the group. Once again the Human was trying to protect his mate, whereas Srateris was doing probably the more logical thing under the circumstances, even though that was pointless too. Its scans were too broad for them to hide.
It sent a stream of data to Vengeance, who demanded to attack the group first. Not to kill them - just to test them. The data translated as "The Turian will be number one target. Incapacitate him first. If you wish to deal with the Human, go after the female Quarian who is not armed. They have an emotional attachment."
There was a delivery report as Vengeance received the message, but did not answer.
At least Revenge's partner did not realise he had activated his indoctrination pulse as soon as they had met. Having another somewhat more mobile body could prove useful.

Thomson and Emi had returned to their tent and hadn't spoken to Srateris since. Emi had thanked him for thinking of her, but had said that she didn't like violence. She seemed slightly better, whereas Thomson kind of felt guilty. It was slightly selfish of him to argue with someone whilst Emi had been upset, even if it was for her benefit.
The only sounds from outside the tent were the soft whistling of sand as it passed over the polymer fabric.
A low pitched laugh echoed across the darkness. It sounded almost synthetic in nature, and a second throaty chuckle gave the impression that it was getting
closer and closer by the moment.
"... What was that?" Emi asked from beside him.
"I'm not sure. Maybe a Krogan," Thomson replied, keeping his arms wrapped around her stomach. They were laying in the bedroom section of the tent, their heads resting on a medium sized pillow.  Both of them were facing the same direction, though Emi was curled up in his arms. Both hands were on her slim stomach, holding her close to him as they tried to get to sleep.
His hand, almost by itself, travelled the full length of the side of her environment suit. He felt the curve of her neck, the gentle smoothness of her stomach, and the sloping of her hips. She responded by humming slightly, the glowing orbs in her helmet disappearing. She had closed her eyes.
"I love you," Thomson said, "I really do."
"... I love you too," she said, "... I was threatened, interrogated and kidnapped, but I wouldn't change our meeting at all... It's the best thing that has ever happened..."
"You really are the best thing that has ever happened to me, too," Thomson said, stroking her hips slightly, "And that's why I want you to have my shield generator."
"... But..."
"No buts, Emi," he said, "I want to make sure you're protected. I'll be fine. I always have my biotics to help me."
He unfastened a black rectangular device from his back and fitted it against Emi's hips. He activated it with the push of a button.
The laughing noise got closer.
"I'll go and tell that Krogan not to come near," he sighed, standing up and exiting the bedroom compartment. He fastened on his breather helmet and unzipped the tent, stepping out into the cool night.
He took his M-3 Predator pistol from his holster and held it in his hand.
"Excuse me, we're trying to get some sleep here," he called to the person making the laughing noise, "Would you mind being quiet?"
There was a dark figure a few metres away from him, clad head to toe in a black cloak, with a hood that shrouded his head in shadow.
"Who are you?" he asked the figure, "You're too small for a Krogan."
"You can call me Vengeance," hissed the figure. His voice was strange, almost like a thousand different people speaking at the same time, "Don't worry, quoting my friend Revenge 'We will have plenty of time to get to know each other'."
"Yeah, right-"
The figure spun and caught Thomson with a vice-like grip to his throat. He was taken by complete surprise, and was lifted off his feet with his hands hanging limp by his side. His head started pounding from a lack of oxygen almost instantly.
Thomson's arm almost instinctively levelled the Predator at the figure and emptied a full magazine into the figure's stomach. The man, however, raised his hand and his palm crackled with dark energy, blocking the rounds as soon as they exited his weapon.
The concentration of sustaining a powerful mass effect field gave Thomson the chance to knock the figure's hand away. He hit the floor, coughing and forcing air back into his system. Yes he was wearing his helmet, but it still didn't stop him from being unable to breathe when someone's hand was around his throat.
He reloaded quickly and backed away from the dark figure. Thomson quickly tried to remember the training he and Renswick had gone through. How to combat someone who could block bullets.
Thomson fired twice, once at his stomach, once at his head. The cloaked figure summoned a biotic barrier and blocked both with a solid field of kinetic energy.
The figure splayed his hands and a shockwave knocked Thomson off his feet. He was thrown backwards several metres and landed in a pile, but was up again and launching his own biotic shockwave. It was countered instantly however, with a biotic barrier.
Both he and the figure threw a warp at each other, and they collided in the air - causing a blue explosion that knocked both of them backwards and rattled the tent that Emi was inside.
"Srateris!" he called, "Bei! Humin!"
"They cannot help you," laughed Vengeance, "No one can."
Srateris exited his tent with his Black Widow drawn and raised. The figure launched a warp at him, disabling the Turian's shields with a small blue explosion and making him duck back into his tent whilst they regenerated.
Thomson meanwhile drew his knife and used the distraction to leap at the figure, slashing at his chest. The blade cut through his cloak and into the skin beneath. Thomson's blade had a small trickle of blood on the tip.
The figure hissed in pain and sent a mass effect field around his leg and then pulled, making him shoot across the sand like a slingshot.
Emi walked out of their tent.
"... What is... oh... keelah..."
The dark figure flung a shockwave towards Emi, this one more powerful than any that he had used on Thomson. The only thing that kept Emi alive was Thomson's shield generator. It flickered but still kept running, and Emi staggered back.
Srateris fired his sniper at the figure, but the man used a biotic barrier to block the round, then threw him backwards with a mass effect field. Emi meanwhile tried to run away but was dragged back by the figure's biotics.
Humin stepped out and sent a neural shock through the air towards the man, but it was blocked by a sphere of dark energy. Thomson leaped back at the figure with his knife, stopping him from attacking by firing repeatedly with his pistol until it clicked empty.
Bei's shotgun fired a beam at the figure, but once again the gunfire was halted. Thomson failed to draw blood because the knife was knocked out of his hand, and he was thrown backwards.
Srateris fired his sniper, but it was in haste so the bullet past inches away from the cloaked man.
Humin activated his Omni-blade, an extension of the Omni-tool, and slashed at the figure with it. The man casually backed out of the way, and launched a biotic warp into Humin's stomach.
It ripped the Salarian apart almost instantly.
"No!" Srateris yelled, firing another shot from his sniper. It was countered with a small blue sphere of energy that seemingly sought the round and intercepted it.
Thomson pushed a mass effect field at the figure and he was thrown off his feet. But the stranger biotic jumped towards Thomson and slashed a short sword at him. He got a large cut across his chest and he fell to the floor.
There was a splashing noise as a round from Srateris' sniper hit the man in the hand. He hissed in pain, kicked Emi in the chest, and then vanished.
Thomson struggled to get to his feet. He put pressure on his wound, though a small trickle of blood did drip through his fingers. His first concern was Emi.
He half-crawled over to her winded form on the sand. She was gasping for breath and was curled up in a ball, hands cradling where the figure had kicked her.
Srateris and Bei went to the rapidly dissipating particles that once made up Humin. They were without a medic. Humin had been a good warrior, and in the end he had thought about the team rather than himself. It had been an unnecessary sacrifice, especially just for a distraction, but it had ultimately led to them surviving.
Thomson held Emi's painful chest as she groaned in pain. Her hands rubbed her knee where she had been dragged back. It was a good thing for her suit. Otherwise she'd have been leaking blood. Which, for a Quarian, would be an invitation for a slow and painful death caused by the common cold.
She turned her head towards him, "... You're injured..."
"So are you," he grimaced.
"... I'm not bleeding, though..." she said, rolling over. She called Srateris and Bei over to Thomson with some medigel.
They rushed over away from Humin. Bei took out a canister of a clear liquid and some bandages from her belt. Thomson made sure they could see the wound by opening his armour.
Luckily their location had low levels of radioactivity in comparison to the rest of Tuchanka, which meant that Bei could apply some medigel to a bandage and fasten it round his torso without any kind of exposure to harmful levels of radiation.
Once the bandage was fastened, he sighed with relief as the pain started to be dulled by the chemical. With the help of medigel, the wound would be healed in a less than a day.
"Who was that guy?" Srateris asked, "He killed Humin!"
"I don't know," responded Thomson as he climbed to his feet. His body felt tired and was aching, but at least he was alive, "But whoever it was, I'm going to kill him."
"Does anyone want to say a few words in Humin's honour?" asked Bei, "He unknowingly sacrificed his life so we survived. I think that deserves something."
"He was a good soldier," said Srateris, "But a better friend. He was a valued member of our team, and it won't be the same without him."
"And now he will be with the ancestors," Bei added.
Thomson helped Emi to her feet. Bei and Srateris had both known Humin previously, and he didn't want to say anything since be hadn't known the Salarian that well.
Emi hissed in pain with every step she took. Unfortunately because she was Quarian, the medigel couldn't be applied so she'd have to rely on her body's healing alone. It was clear she had severe bruising on her chest, stomach, hips and knees, but nothing was broken and nothing was bleeding, so she'd be fine as long as she was allowed to recover.
Thomson grabbed his knife and his pistol, and returned them to his belt. He helped Emi into their tent and lowered her down on the makeshift bed, then went back outside to Bei and Srateris.
"In future we should coordinate our attacks better," Srateris sighed, "Work as a unit instead of individually. Thomson, without your biotics we'd have all been killed, so... thank you."
Thomson nodded.
 "We should remain here tonight and set off in the morning," Bei said, "It's unlikely that Vengeance will attack again. We did manage to injure him, after all."
"I agree," said Srateris, "But I'm keeping watch."
"I'll go see how Emi is," Thomson responded, "She really shouldn't be here..."

"You failed," said Revenge with a stream of data, "You're supposed to be powerful."
"I am powerful!" responded Vengeance with a short transmission, "I just got distracted by the human."
"Keep concentrating on what matters," Revenge told him, "Otherwise we will fail."
"I know. I just hesitated. Almost like I was unsure. It will not happen again."
Well, that was the indoctrination working.
"Make sure it does not," Revenge said, "Or I'll go and attack them myself. You will strike again at dawn. In exactly six Earth hours."
"Yes," said Vengeance as he applied medigel to the wound on his hand, "And this time I will kill everyone."
He won't, thought Revenge, the group, though diminished, was still powerful. He'd be lucky if he could take down the unarmed Quarian with his current injuries.
Oh well. Once Revenge had taken control the wounds would have no effect.

2 comments:

  1. Poor Humin. :(
    You write action really well. :)

    Betrayal! I think it'll fail, though. It could just be my natural pessimism as far as stories are concerned, but I think Vengeance knows Revenge's going to take over him and that he's got a plan for it.
    I have a horrible feeling everyone's gonna die, but yeah. :P

    #ChaseForBookNine

    ReplyDelete