Revenge - Part 6

Thomson did not sleep. Instead, he planned. He logged on to the extranet and, using coordinates given by the tracking system that belonged to his pistol, he brought up some rough plans of a long-since-abandoned Krogan laboratory. It was where Vengeance was hiding with Emi.
Apparently his planning was also keeping Srateris and Bei awake, so they were helping him too.
"So this is what we're going to do," he told them, "Srateris, the facility is located in a bowl of sand. I want you providing sniper support from the top, since you'll be in an elevated position. Bei, you cover him. I will enter the facility. They haven't had time to make that much of a force so I could probably deal with them by myself. We will stay in radio silence unless if it is absolutely necessary. Any questions?"
"Yeah," Bei said, tilting her head in confusion, "What happens if you meet a Banshee?"
"I'll kill it," he said, "I'll go and get the equipment I need."
As Thomson turned towards the several silver crates that held the equipment the group had, Bei sighed and said to Srateris quietly, "What's wrong with him? He can't enter a Reaper facility alone."
Srateris nodded in agreement, "I read his file. Apparently he has entered several enemy facilities alone and come out alive. There was an incident in London whilst the Reapers were attacking. He tried to rescue Emi by launching a small attack against a large Cerberus safe house, in the middle of Reaper-controlled city. He must kind of go into a blood rage mode when Emi is kidnapped."
"It's understandable, though," Bei said, "They do love each other and they've had children together. Seriously, Emi told me how much she loves him. It's gone beyond a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship into something where they can't be apart from each other. Like they mentally can't stand being apart. I've never seen anything like it. I've seen people who love each other and want to be with each other, but they would do anything for one another. It's..."
"... silly?" Srateris questioned, "A military man shouldn't be allowed to have a wife and child. Especially with the situations Thomson has been in over the past few years. They can only be used against him."
"I wouldn't say silly. I think it's cute," Bei shrugged, "But I agree with the other stuff. They're easy for the enemy to exploit. Going back to the point, though, don't you think it's like... They are so in love. I will bet you two thousand credits they'll still be together by the time they die."
"Deal," said Srateris, "But if one of us dies, just upload the credits to the account anyway."
"What if both of us die?"
"Thomson can upload the credits."
"And what if we all die?"
"Then the deal is off. Because we'll be dead."
They shook hands, though somewhat awkwardly. Both had been in contact with humans, but had not yet mastered the action of a handshake. They accidentally did it in the wrong direction, instead of moving their hands up and down, they ended up moving them horizontally. But still. It had the same effect.
"I can hear you, you know," Thomson said, "You're not exactly being quiet. Yes, Emi and I love each other. And I'm going to rescue her. But you don't have to put a bet on something that is practically certain. As you said, Bei, Quarians are extremely loyal. And so am I."
"I can see that," Srateris said with a nod as Thomson loaded two M-11 pistols and two M-3 Predator pistols and attached them to holsters on his belt.
"How many weapons do you want?" Bei asked, nodding towards him.
"As many as I need. About twelve. Well, that's what I have so far."

As Thomson had said, the empty Krogan facility was in the middle of a large dip in the sand - like a bowl. It wasn't exactly the best place to hide a facility, due to the fact that it was in a completely useless tactical position... But it had been a medical research centre. It had no military importance. So for whatever reason why Vengeance had decided to make a base out of the array of laboratories, Thomson knew that it was in no way connected to a defensive position.
There was something else going on, he was sure of it.
Srateris was laid at the top of the hill with his extremely powerful sniper rifle aimed at the facility below. The facility was made up of what seemed to be several long white corridors, though Thomson knew that each would probably lead to a different laboratory.
He made his way down the hill, which only took him a few moments. The inclination of the slope meant that he had no choice but to run down. He was armed to the teeth with weapons. Two M-8 Avengers, two Katana shotguns, several knives, two M-11 silenced pistols, two M-3 Predator pistols, two Phaeston rifles and two Locust sub-machine guns. He couldn't move very fast because of this, but he had no need to move fast. The back of his armour was full with compacted weapons.
Thomson reached the front door. There were no guards, no nothing. Not even a single Husk was in sight.
He had not yet drawn any weapons, so he summoned a mass effect field in his hand and threw a shockwave at the heavy metal door. It crumpled inwards and was sent flying into the interior of the abandoned medical station.
He stepped inside, grabbing a M-3 Predator from his belt. The bright lights on his helmet activated and lit up the darkness. Even though it was daytime outside, the bowl of sand prevented any light from entering the facility, shrouding it in a mysterious band of darkness.
There was a growling noise. He turned just to look into the eyes of a Husk, who stared back at him with its blue, lifeless, synthetic eyes.
He took it down with a well-placed headshot at point blank range. The now completely lifeless corpse hit the floor.
More growls were audible all around him. The room came alive with glowing eyes and flashing synthetic equipment. All Husks.
He growled back at the organic-synthetic zombies. He saw their twisted muscles clench as they prepared to dive at him. His muscles clenched in anticipation.
The first one moved, but so did he.
As a Husk sailed through the air at him, he stepped to the side and shot it in the head before it had even hit the ground. He double-tapped a Husk that was running at him and it dropped with two rounds in its chest.
He then spun, and began firing at the Husks on the other side of him, shooting almost blindly at the glowing eyes. Several dropped, but the others started closing in even more. When his pistol clicked empty, he threw the useless weapon at the Husks, and drew one of the Locusts instead.
For the pistols, each weapon, he only had one magazine left. So that left his second M-3 Predator with no ammo.
Thomson pulled the trigger on the sub-machine gun and it immediately sent several rounds through the head of a Husk. He didn't stop firing until every blue light in the room went dim.
He returned the Locust to his back and detached his trusty M-8 Avenger as he walked into the next laboratory. There was a high pitched scream that pierced the air around him. Banshee.
The laboratory he was now in actually had bright lights that lit up the room. He could see a lot better than he could in darkness, although it took his eyes several moments to adjust.
There was a blue flash and a Banshee appeared in front of him. It towered over him with its long twisted body. It had its hands - and its sharp claws - at its side.
Thomson dived to the side as a pulse of blue energy flew at him. He put his M-8 away and drew one of his shotguns. His rifle collapsed for ease of transport as the M-23 Katana folded outwards.
The first shot he fired did absolutely nothing but cause miniature ripples across the surface of the Banshee's biotic barriers. If he wanted to take it out easily, he'd have to get in close. Which would be somewhat problematic since Banshees tended to stab you with their claws, and had devastating biotic powers.
Oh well.
The Banshee launched a biotic warp at him. Thomson dodged it by jumping up on to a lab table, which put his head on the level with the Banshee. As he moved in close it slashed its claws at him, meaning that he had to take a step back to avoid his head being severed from his body.
He kicked the Banshee as it attempted to stab him, knocking its hand down. As he did so, however, he pushed the barrel of his shotgun through the biotic barrier that encased the creature, and pulled the trigger right into its face.
Its head was torn apart nearly instantly. It was dead before it hit the ground.
He collected his M-8 again, and put the shotgun back on his back. The rifle unfolded as the shotgun collapsed.
Thomson continued walking into the next laboratory. The second to last.
This was full of the Reaper-Krogans. They growled at him as he walked into the lab and began firing some energy weapons that had been grafted to their arms. He took cover behind a table, but could still hear the sounds as the bullets hit the wood on the other side.
He rested his rifle against the top of the table and began firing. Luckily they had no armour or shields, so he was able to take them out with about five shots to the head. Each. They had the thick skin of the Krogan after all.
The last laboratory. And he'd bet any money that was where Emi was being held. But that also meant that Vengeance was there too.
Once again, he ripped the door open with a biotic shockwave, and stepped in. The door made a clanging noise as it hit the floor.
It was no laboratory. The walls were a dark brown, and there were bars on the windows, making it seem like a dungeon than a medical facility.
Emi was sat on a chair with blue energy surrounding her arms and chest. She was being held in place by mass effect fields.
The dark, cloaked figure - Vengeance - was stood next to her. He had got himself in a defensive position as soon as the door had been knocked in.
"... Thomson!" Emi cried, "He's..."
"Hello Lieutenant," said Vengeance, interrupting her.
"Hello you son of a bitch," Thomson responded, putting his rifle on his back and drawing a large knife. Vengeance drew his own blade, this one with a vicious serrated edge. Thomson noticed a small device was protruding from the sleeve of his cloak.
He summoned a mass effect field in his hand and sent a shockwave at Vengeance. The device unfolded and there was a soft whump and a concussive shot intercepted the rippling field of biotic energy.
There was only a handful of people who Thomson knew who had figured out what a concussive shot could do to a mass effect field. Most of them had been killed when the Reapers struck. The only remaining one he had killed himself.
"But that's impossible..."
Vengeance moved his hands to his hood and swept it back, revealing a face covered with cybernetics. Wires were trailing in from his neck and shoulders and there were pulsating lights beneath his almost translucent skin.
Despite the radical changes from the indoctrination, the face was very recognisable.
Vengeance was Renswick.

Revenge - Part 5

"He's here!" shouted Srateris from outside. Thomson's eyes snapped open. He was already in full armour, so all he had to do was collect his M-8 Avenger from the side of the bedroom compartment, and exit the tent.
Thomson immediately levelled his rifle at Vengeance, and fired a quick burst of rounds. They were blocked, of course, but it was worth a try.
His mind went back to his training as he started closing in.


Seven Years Earlier...

"When it comes to biotics," explained Thomson's commanding officer, "They are pretty impossible to get past. Your only chance is to make sure they can't use their powers. Most biotics will have a relatively long recharge time, so they will be weakened for a few seconds after every attack they make. Some Asari, however, have pretty much no breaks between attacks. They can launch warp after warp after warp at you without any rest. So just rely on your weapons. If they get lost there's always a tracking device in them."
"So how do we deal with them?" Renswick asked, "There must be a way to stop their attacks."
"No, I'm afraid not. Biotic energy is pretty much impossible to stop unless you're a biotic too," the CO pointed out, "So Thomson, you're fine."
Thomson grinned, "Yay. Renswick, I bet you're regretting your parents not exposing you to Element Zero."
Renswick glared at him, "There must be a way. Not even biotics can stop a blast of dark energy at close-quarters. I'm going to try and find a way around it. Thomson, throw a shockwave at me."
"Uh, now?"
"Yes, now. Practice makes perfect."
Thomson stepped away from Renswick and a mass effect field gathered in his hand. He thrust his hands forwards and a blue shockwave tore through the air towards his partner. It wasn't the strongest he was capable of doing, more for practice than anything else.
Renswick tried punching the shockwave but he was knocked to the ground.
"Again," he said as he stood up from the ground. Renswick prepared a concussive shot ready to fire.
Thomson waited for the tingling feeling that meant his biotics were ready to use again, then launched another shockwave.
Renswick fired the concussive shot. There was a ripple in the shockwave as the round detonated. The shockwave was halted and dissipated completely.
"Fuck yeah!" Renswick laughed, "Ha! Biotics! Who needs them?"
Thomson threw him backwards with a pulse of blue energy, then grinned. "Well, they are kind of useful."

Thomson fired a quick burst of gunfire from his rifle to cover Srateris who also started getting closer. Not even a biotic could prevent a blast of dark energy at close quarters, so his entire plan consisted of getting in blast range and trying his best to take Vengeance out.
As Vengeance turned towards him, Thomson noticed that his eyes were glowing blue. Almost like a Husk's. It looked like some sort of indoctrination, maybe caused by the Reaper. Still, any advantage they could get would be extremely useful against such a powerful foe. Indoctrination could only work in their favour, since it would make Vengeance slower than usual.
Vengeance fired a blast of biotic energy at him, but Thomson had enough time to throw up a quick mass effect field to block the strike. When his rifle clicked empty, all the bullets being blocked, he threw it to the sand and drew his Predator pistol instead and began firing with that.
Srateris fired his sniper, but the round was blocked by a biotic barrier. However, the distraction by having to summon a mass effect field and concentrate on sustaining it, doubled by the fact that he was indoctrinated, meant that Thomson could draw his knife and slice into his back. It wasn't a deep cut, but it would reduce his combat capabilities.
Vengeance turned and back-handed him across the face. Thomson staggered slightly but raised his pistol and tried to shoot the powerful biotic in the face. His pistol was grabbed and knocked to the side. Vengeance dissembled his pistol with the press of a button on the inside of the trigger guard.
As his gun fell to pieces, Thomson punched Vengeance in the face. He grimaced slightly as it felt like his fist had hit a brick wall.
Vengeance swung a punch at him, but he ducked, smashing his palm into Vengeance's stomach. The biotic doubled over, so Thomson took a step back and unleashed a shockwave.
Emi had not been part of the attack planning. Bei had just woken up and was scrambling for her Reegar Carbine, but they had presumed that Emi would have kept out of it.
They presumed wrong.
Emi cautiously walked out of the tent, and saw the battle that was happening before her. Srateris was firing his sniper repeatedly, all rounds being blocked, whilst Thomson was in a fist fight with a powerful biotic.
There was a flash of blue and then Vengeance biotic jumped next to her, then they both vanished.
"Emi!" yelled Thomson. He stamped his foot on the ground in anger and sadness. His foot kicked up a small cloud of sand, "Fuck!"
Srateris sighed, "Now there's only three of us. We don't know where they are to even try and rescue her."
"We're going to rescue her," Thomson pointed out firmly, "We have to."
" Where do you think we should look first?" Bei questioned. Her voice was raised in frustration. Emi had been her friend, after all.
"Well," growled Thomson, "We should start in the location that is shown on my tracking beacon, after I slipped the tracker in my pistol into Vengeance's pocket when he disassembled my gun."
Srateris smiled, "Clever."
Thomson was in no mood to joke, so he just nodded and took out a device from his belt.

The Reaper disabled Emi's voice amplifier system inside her helmet by hacking into her suit. It had changed it to such an extent that no matter how much she shouted and screamed, no one could hear her. But shout and scream she still did.
She was escorted into a room by two Banshees. The Banshees frightened her. She just wanted to run back to Thomson... She started crying. She didn't know where she was or how she got to the small building. She had seen hundreds of frightening Reaper creatures. Blue-eyed monsters with grey, twisted flesh and almost translucent skin.
The room was small and dull. The walls were a pale brown colour. There were two pieces of furniture, and that was it. Two chairs. One soft and leather, the other misshapen and made of wood.
She was forced to sit down on the wooden chair. She could feel every lump as they started digging into her, but none were thin enough to pierce her suit.
Instead of having her hands tied her back, they were forced behind her and held that way using a mass effect field. Her arms were in an uncomfortable position and they started aching nearly instantly.
Whilst she was being held in place, a Banshee lowered itself down to the level of her helmet. Emi was so close that she could see wires through its grey flesh and sharp teeth in its mouth. It screamed at her and she screamed back, but hers was filled with fear. She tried to back away but the chair prevented her from doing so, so all she could do was shut her eyes. She felt herself starting to shake uncontrollably.
The Banshee extended its hand, which had several long claws protruding. Its nails must have spanned about half a metre, and looked extremely sharp. It placed its hand over her helmet and pushed her head back against the chair, and held that too in place with a mass effect field. She tried struggling but it had no effect on the blue energy that bound her.
Tears were spilling out of her helmet through the induction port. It ran down her environment suit and landed in a pool at her feet.
The Banshee also seemed to be smiling at her when it moved back to its normal level. There was a blue flash and then the Banshees vanished altogether.
She was trembling uncontrollably, crying and screaming. But she could not be noticed inside the confinements of her suit.
She not-so-silently begged and cried for Thomson to come to rescue her. He always did - he even launched a near-suicide mission for her when Cerberus had her captive... But it felt different. There was outnumbered, then Reaper outnumbered. Thomson couldn't even know where she was, let alone the military strength of the Reapers.
The cloaked man who had attacked Thomson strode into the room. Even though the Banshees were no longer nearby, the energy that was holding her in place remained.
"Hello Emi'Derik," said Vengeance. He was still wearing his hood, though light from his blue eyes and advanced cybernetics protruded outwards. Almost like a man fused with a robot.
Emi said nothing. She glared at him, not that it would have any effect considering she had a helmet on.
"Well," Vengeance chuckled, "This is no fun. Let me activate your helmet's electronic systems again."
"... Bosh'tet!" she screamed at Vengeance as soon as he had disabled the Reaper code using his Omni-tool.
"Well, I presumed a young... thing such as yourself would have better manners," laughed Vengeance, "But then again, all your species are just a bunch of liars and thieves. I can't expect you to have common decency like us."
"... You're no human," Emi sobbed, "You're a monster..."
Vengeance shook his head, almost sadly, "And I thought you'd remember."
There was something about his voice. Something familiar. It was horribly distorted by cybernetics, but... She realised in complete shock that she knew who and what it was.

Quarian Model - Right Foot

After 3 hours of work yesterday I have built... Its foot.

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.

Revenge - Part 3

Revenge managed to convince those who he had indoctrinated to come to his giant metal form.
It didn't take much doing. Krogan weren't exactly the strongest creatures when it came to mental capacity.
The controlled group lowered themselves on to large metal spikes on its interior so the tips pierced their skin. Blood started leaking out of their bodies and gently dripped on to the floor.
Then Revenge began the transformation.
Reaper nanomites entered the bodies of those who were sat on the "dragon's teeth" as they were called by the other races in the galaxy. They began to convert their major organs into a synthetic equivalent. Their hearts. Their brains. Slowly their flesh began to change colour. They began to become a dark grey as the nanomites twisted and converted their flesh.
Now Revenge had an army.

"So," Thomson said, "What class of Reaper is it? Is it a destroyer, a flagship... what?"
"I don't know. The datapad contained no information about what it was. All we know is that it has to be destroyed."
There was a high pitched scream.
"... What was that?" Emi asked, grasping Thomson's forearm in fright.
"I don't know," said Bei, "But we should check it out. Someone might be in trouble."
"It didn't sound like a cry of fear, Bei," smiled Humin, "It sounded like a war cry."
"Defensive positions!" yelled Srateris, scrambling for his sniper.
They had set up a small camp next to the Falcon. It consisted of four tents. One for Thomson and Emi, since they didn't mind sharing. "... We definitely don't mind sleeping in the same tent," Emi had said. Then Humin had a tent to himself, and so did Srateris and Bei.
Thomson grabbed his M-8 Avenger and pressed it against his shoulder, levelling it in his hand. A moment later, each one of the group apart from Emi was armed.
Luckily the sandstorm had stopped, giving them a reasonable view of what was around them. The air was still clogged with dust, however, which obscured their sight ever so slightly.
But they could clearly see shapes moving. Grey, deformed shapes that were coming towards them. All but one were running. The other was using biotic jumps to close in, a few metres at a time. There were blue flashes every time it moved closer.
There was an explosion of sand and Bei disappeared, a slight hole left where she had been before.
"Bei!" Emi cried.
Thomson took quick aim and began firing in bursts at the incoming enemies to maintain his accuracy. There was a bolt of light that erupted from the muzzle of Srateris' Black Widow and two of the creatures dropped, a hole through their heads caused by the same round.
Only when the enemies came close enough, they could see what they were.
They looked like Husks with a Krogan - almost reptilian - body. Their skin was twisted and grey. The creature that was teleporting towards them was a Banshee - an Asari who had been converted by the Reapers.
Asari were naturally powerful biotics, and even when turned, they still kept their abilities. This led to them being well... problematic to say the least.
One of the Reaper-Krogans dropped with a single shot to the head from Thomson's rifle. Srateris' sniper fired again and hit the Banshee, but with no effect. It had a biotic barrier surrounding it, he would be lucky if he even damaged it.
The Banshee screamed angrily and used more biotic jumps to come even closer. It seemed to be smiling at them, showing its sharp teeth. Its long claws scraped together, making a sound similar to dragging chalk across a blackboard.
Humin fired his plasma sub-machine gun at the Banshee, staggering it despite the biotic barrier that surrounded its form. The Banshee's hand started glowing blue and it launched a biotic warp at Humin. The Salarian dived to the side to avoid the potentially life-threatening attack, and it flew centimetres past him.
Thomson fired his Avenger in full-auto, hitting the Banshee's barrier. The combination of his rifle, the Black Widow and the sub-machine gun managed to weaken the biotics until only its heavy armour remained.
He swept his hands wide and made several Krogan shoot backwards with a biotic shockwave, then summoned a mass effect field in his hand, throwing it at the Banshee to prevent its barriers from regenerating.
The Banshee biotic jumped towards Emi, who was trying to hide behind Thomson for protection against the Reaper enemies. It came within a few metres of him, so Thomson drew a knife and slashed at the heavily armed enemy. The blade had no effect, not even cutting through its thick skin. But it served its purpose and gave the Banshee another target but his girlfriend.
The Banshee grabbed him by the helmet and lifted him into the air with a single hand. It screamed at him, so loud it hurt his ears. It drew its arm back, claws outstretched and ready to plunge into his stomach.
That was when he raised his hand and threw a biotic warp directly into its face.
The lack of a biotic barrier meant that it's face was ripped apart almost instantly. It screamed, this time in pain, and it hit the floor. Dead.
"Thomson!" Emi yelled from behind him. He spun, just to see her legs being entwined by a thick vine about as thick as his wrist.
The plant that the roots belonged to was as grey as the Krogan, leading Thomson to believe that the Reaper had also gained the ability to change plants as well.
The main part of the plant was shaped like a dome, with a thick mouth in the middle. The mouth contained row after row after row of sharp thick teeth that flexed hungrily as Emi started being dragged closer. She screamed, so Thomson quickly reloaded his weapon and shot the plant several times in the grey dome.
The roots suddenly relaxed as the plant died. Emi got to her feet.
Thomson was grabbed from behind and lifted off the ground. He turned his head, just to look into the face of a Reaper-Krogan. It punched his helmet once, twice, three times, then dropped him on the floor. Whilst stars were flashing behind his eyes, it raised its arm and prepared to crush him against the ground.
There was a flickering behind the creature, then Bei appeared after deactivating her tactical cloak.
"Hey! Bosh'tet!" she shouted. The Reaper-Krogan turned, and she raised her shotgun. A blue beam hit the enemy in the face, and it fell heavily into the sand.
Emi rushed towards Thomson. She slid slightly in the sand as she got near him. She knelt down and held his hand in hers, "... Are you alright?"
Thomson nodded, and grumbled, "Yeah just give me a moment..."
"Is that it?" Srateris asked, "No more enemies? Bei what happened to you?"
"Thresher Maw," she sighed, "But don't worry, it gave up."
There was a gentle rumbling. Thomson got to his feet and rubbed
"Uh... Bei..." said Srateris, "Thresher Maws never give up..."
A long almost worm-like creature exploded from the surface, making a screeching sound. Its skin was also grey and deformed. It hissed angrily at them and launched a globule of acid towards them.
The group dived out of the way. The thick liquid spilled over the makeshift camp, landing on their supply of first aid equipment. The acid sizzled through the metal of the box easily, and it started cutting through the kits that were inside.
Srateris fired his sniper, but the Thresher Maw seemed to sway and avoided the potentially lethal round.
Bei took out a small spherical device from the pocket on the skirt part of her suit. She pressed the top, and threw it.
The grenade detonated a moment later. It didn't do much to the creature but blacken some of its skin, but it still let out an angry screech and dived back underneath the ground.
Thomson moved Emi away from the acid-covered equipment and stayed close to her so he could make sure she was safe.
The Tresher Maw appeared a moment later, but Humin activated his Omni-tool and the creature froze, white lightning dancing across the surface of its body. Neural shock.
Thomson formed a singularity in his hand - the attack, he remembered, that he used on the two Cerberus agents back on the Citadel before they had been arrested. It was a sphere of dark energy that contained a point of nearly infinite mass. It could only last a few moments before dissipating, but in that time it tended to drag anything in its radius towards the centre.
He threw it and the singularity caused sand around the Thresher Maw to rise into the air, giving Srateris enough time to bring the animal down with his sniper.
The group let out a sigh of relief.

They were certainly good, Revenge noted, but he had seen plenty of weaknesses. The Quarian who had a firearm underestimated the enemy, which was easy to exploit. The Salarian had hesitated when it came to using his gun, which, being a sub-machine gun, could prove somewhat problematic for him in close-quarters combat. The Turian had been too eager to use his sniper, when, judging by Revenge's scans, he had plenty of more suitable weapons at his disposal.
Then its mind went to the weakest links in the chain, the other Quarian and the human. The human had been a considerable biotic. Not the strongest, but not the weakest by far. The Human had potential, but his lack of biotic training and the low frequency of his attacks meant that he had relied more on his firearms. Meanwhile, he was trying to protect the second Quarian female, which indicated that they were emotionally attached to each other, it thought. The Quarian female who had no weapons or powers to use was statistically the weakest out of the entire group. But she was Revenge's advantage in the upcoming battle, which increased her importance several hundred times. The weakest, and yet the most important. Emotional attachments were somewhat unusual things. But they were incredibly easy to exploit and manipulate to his advantage.
His sensors started picking up a life form close to his base. It directed its visual optics towards the humanoid figure, who was wearing a dark cloak. A hood covered the figure's head, so not even with its advanced sensors, Revenge couldn't see its face.
It powered up its weapon system and revealed its red spinning orb of energy by folding two pieces of its shell to the side. Revenge was about to fire when a voice suddenly hissed into its mind, "Stop!"
By all physical means, Revenge could not have heard the figure's voice from so far away. It was almost like the voice was inside the Reaper network.
Where emptiness had been before in its consciousness, data began to flow. Revenge connected to the stranger's mind. A vast and complicated array of different codes flowed into its system.
A humanoid figure had managed to connect to the network of the Reapers - impossible.
"I believe we are after the same thing," said the stranger through the network that connected them both, "Revenge. You are the last of your kind, I am the first of mine. We have both being wronged. I am more powerful than you think, Reaper. You decided to call yourself Revenge? Rather simple, but effective. I never knew Reapers had any reason for a name. But you're different, aren't you? You can feel. The Crucible weapon, though it didn't kill you, did harm your consciousness, didn't it?"
Revenge decided to be silent.
"If you're Revenge," continued the dark figure, "You can call me Vengeance. Together we can harvest the galaxy. What do you say?"
Revenge analysed the situation quickly. Having a second powerful being - yes the stranger was indeed powerful, its biotic readings were off any measurable scale, and although its form appeared to be damaged, the humanoid contained synthetic equipment and a weapon system even it could not identify.
Having someone as powerful as the stranger would be a tactically sound move. And if they were after the same thing... the figure could prove useful.
Revenge broke its silence with a stream of data into the mind of Vengeance, which translated as, "I'm listening."






Vote time!

Now Revenge and Vengeance have teamed up, there's a quick vote just because I'm wondering who you think Vengeance is. Here are the choices.

1. An psychotic enemy who has not appeared in the story so far. A tech expert who managed to hack into the Reaper network. Though empty, the network still had residue indoctrination energy, making Vengeance go insane and believe what the Reapers do.

2. A person from one of the group's past who had been wronged and now wants revenge. Srateris, Bei, Humin, Thomson and Emi all have had a relatively action-packed lives and they are bound to have created enemies without their knowledge. Maybe it could be a background character who had been unknowingly treated badly. People create demons.

3. An old enemy of one of the group who has decided to get revenge because they well... can.

4. An old friend, maybe an ex-crew member, who had been abandoned after the main story and felt they were treated unfairly by Thomson as he left to be with Emi and dislikes the situation they were left in. Maybe there had been a shuttle accident which resulted in a head injury, resulting in a lack of any kind of emotional control.

5. Someone who had been indoctrinated by the Reapers on Tuchanka.

6. A rogue Geth unit who disagreed with the situation between its race and the Quarians.


If you wish to vote, just put the number at the end of your comment.


Note: This is not voting for which one it will be, it is voting for which one you THINK it will be.

Revenge - Part 2

Emi had explained to Bei about what had happened. The Reapers, Cerberus, the lot. Sparing no details, either. Thomson checked his watch. Only a few minutes until they'd reach Tuchanka.
The journey had been somewhat interesting, especially since he and Emi had disappeared into his quarters for an hour or so when they had left the Citadel. Luckily it was one room he insisted on keeping 100% clean.
Bei and Humin had repaired the weapon systems when they returned. Back to full functionality. They only had the armour and the shield generator left to repair.
Thomson's mind skipped back to the events concerning the Human-Reaper and Renswick. It almost seemed like a dream. Renswick had caused considerable damage to the ship, and he knew that the Falcon would continue feeling the effects of the fight for years to come.
And so was he. He had barely slept since the events of the two years previously. Nightmares haunted him. Plagued him. Always the same one.
In his dreams, he was walking through the Cerberus laboratory. White equipment dotted the walls. As he walked, a trooper would pop up from behind cover and shoot him repeatedly in the arms, legs and stomach. And as he would lay dying, the trooper would take off his helmet, revealing a face like that of the Human-Reaper. Big orange eyes and the mouth cannon. Then he'd wake up.
Emi on the other hand, seemed unfazed. In some respects, she was stronger than him when it came to recovery. She just seemed truly happy to be in a relationship with him, as if nothing else mattered.
He loved her so much.
There was a high pitched whine on board the ship which grew in both pitch and loudness, before it suddenly turned off.
"Armour and shields are online," Bei said through the intercom system, "We're back at full battle capacity, though there still might be some glitches. I'm not used to repairing a ship that is this damaged."
"Thanks, Bei," Thomson responded into his communicator, "Just in time, too."
Srateris was up in the cockpit flying the ship. Before they left, he had enquired about the location and status of the crew of the Falcon before it had been nearly destroyed, but they were all in different corners of the galaxy doing different things. It seemed Aquila Felis and her drone Butterfly were on the planet Rannoch helping the Quarians who had retaken their planet from the Geth. They were trying to increase their immune system so they could permanently live without their suits on their home world. The Geth meanwhile were sharing the planet with the Quarians after a war spanning hundreds of years. The fight with the Reapers had completely united the galaxy.
No matter how much Thomson thought about it, he was truly glad for the Reapers. Yes, a lot of people had died, but because the galaxy was now working together - tonnes more would be able to live without war.
Not only was there no war, but the entire galaxy was pooling their resources together to make sure that what happened with the Reapers could never be repeated. So no one would starve. No one would be without a roof over their head. No one would be without protection.
What had happened, in a way, was the best thing that had happened to the galaxy for thousands of years.
His old pilot, Max, was running a flight school for Alliance ships.
"Commencing landing procedures," Srateris said through Thomson's radio, "We'll be landing in about a minute."
Emi held his hand tightly as the Falcon passed easily through Tuchanka's barely-habitable atmosphere. There was a soft bump as the ship levelled out and touched down on the surface.
They had arrived.

The Falcon's cargo ramp opened and the team stepped out into the middle of a sandstorm. All but Bei and Emi were wearing breather helmets to protect them from the harmful atmosphere. They had all calibrated their shield generators to protect them from harmful radiation that the planet contained in its nuclear wastelands and radioactive ruins. It was a wreck of a planet.
The view that greeted them of the planet Tuchanka was an endless mass of sand, most of it in the air. There were no plants, no animals. Only sand and a blistering sun.
But it had not been created by the Reapers. Tuchanka was still feeling the effects of a previous war. A war that had been finished by a genetically modified disease to make all Krogan - the natives of Tuchanka - completely infertile.
The Genophage, as it was called, had been cured in a diplomatic attempt to get all the galaxy's forces together to attack the Reapers. But it didn't prevent the fact that Tuchanka was barely inhabitable. The only creatures, plants and animals alike, that still existed, were predatory.
It was a world where you'd eat or be eaten.
The team moved down the ramp in a "V" formation with Srateris, the most experienced out of the lot of them, in the centre. Those with guns - Thomson, who had the M-8, Bei who had the Reegar Carbine, Humin who had a Geth Plasma sub-machine gun, and Srateris who was armed with the Black Widow sniper rifle, swept their weapons back and forth and desperately searched for movement in the sandstorm.
Even under his armour, Thomson was starting to sweat. He had no heat regulators like the Quarians, which led to him feeling extremely warm.
"How far to the Reaper?" Bei asked. They had all disabled the audio filters in their helmets so no one could hear them from outside. They were communicating via the radios they had set where their ears would go.
"Not long. Now we're sure everything's fine we need to go and get the equipment," the Turian answered, "Humin, see to it as we set up camp. Night is falling already. Just tread lightly. You don't know when a Thresher Maw will pop up and drag you under ground."
Emi sighed, "... Why can't we just take the Falcon to the Reaper?"
"Because we're not strong enough to fight it in the ship. And we'd show up on its sensors. So far we are outside of its scanning area. And we're too small to show up anyway."
"So what will we do tomorrow?" Bei asked as Humin ran back up the cargo ramp and went inside the Falcon.
"I think we should do a quick recon operation. Go and see what we're up against. The Reaper will be alone. Damaged, most probably," Thomson said, "So let's go see it. Scout the area. It'll give us every advantage if things go bad."

Foolish creatures. They completely underestimated it. Victory had blinded them against the true power of the Reapers. They were by far in scanning range. Military formation was hard to miss in thermal vision, and the radio signals they were broadcasting was almost like giant lettering above them saying "We are open to attack."
But no. It would be patient. Take some time to get to know them first. Find their strengths and their weaknesses, their combat ability and how effective they were as a team. It would analyse them as they foolishly attempted to destroy it. Just to make revenge more personal.
They would have plenty of time to get to know each other.
As for being alone, it could change that easily. Get its own army ready to fight the small team.
It let out an invisible energy pulse. The pulse swept past Krogan by the dozen, a Thresher Maw, a carnivorous plant and a single Asari.
Despite the lack of people, when its sensors indicated that the pulse had been successful, a satisfying status update flickered across its mind.
[Indoctrination Device Active]

Revenge - Part 1

Slight change of plan, will be doing the story set after the main one before doing the one about Thomson and the Geth. It'll give me more time to think about what comes after.


Tuchanka

Deep within the bowls of the planet, something stirred. At the surface, there was an eruption of sand and two giant shapes appeared, locked in combat.
One was giant and black, synthetic and robotic in nature. The other was clearly organic and was a light brown - long and relatively thin in shape, almost like a giant mutant worm. It had hundreds of tiny limbs jutting from its armoured skin, and its mouth was almost like a sharpened funnel.
The Thresher Maw wrapped its powerful body around the last surviving Reaper, and squeezed. Metal began to give way under its grip, but it was thrown off with a giant black leg and landed back down on the sand.
It burrowed beneath the machine, going deep down so the Reaper had not got a chance to sense the disturbances, then leaped at it from a completely different direction.
The Reaper was thrown off balance, but it managed to twist itself around and let loose with a beam of red energy that scorched the ground before hitting its target, ripping the Thresher Maw in half.
Kalros, the Thresher Maw, had once been worshipped as a god. And it had just been killed by something far more powerful than itself.
The Reaper was severely damaged. Sparks flickered across the surface of its punctured hull, and scratch marks from the Thresher Maw were visible after its talons had raked across its body.
But it was alive. Damaged, but still fully functional. Kalros and it had been trying to kill each other for the past week, slowly getting closer and closer to the surface. Ever since a human had called the Thresher Maw and made it attack the Reaper. The same human that had wiped out the rest of its kind.
Where previously had been a mass of open communication between the entire Reaper species, there was just silence. Not even a single packet of data had survived.
It considered itself lucky, under the circumstances. The ground had protected the Reaper from the energy pulse that had wiped out the rest of its race. It was the last of a kind.
There was an unfamiliar sensation. It felt alone. Sad, almost. No, not sad. The rest of the Reapers had annoyed it anyway... Since when had it started to feel emotions? That was new. Maybe the pulse had affected it after all.
It decided to take revenge on those who had been responsible for the downfall of its species. It was weak, almost powerless, yes... But it would be great again. It would finish what the rest of its kind had started.
It would harvest all life in the galaxy, starting right there on Tuchanka.
It would have to think of a title for itself. Something that would help people to understand what it was and what it was doing.
The Reaper thought for a moment, and decided to take something from a human language.
It decided to be called Revenge.


Citadel

Things had changed since Thomson had last been in civilisation. There were changes in political powers and the annihilation of several key groups of enemies had changed the stability of the galaxy.
Cerberus had been destroyed. The Illusive Man had been indoctrinated and had been killed by Commander Shepard. There were still signs of them, but nothing with any type of organisation. They no longer posed any kind of threat.
The Reapers had been destroyed by the same person. Apparently a device called "The Crucible" had been activated and had destroyed all the Reapers. The galaxy's fleets had stood against the Reapers and won.
Shepard really gets around, Thomson thought to himself.
The part that the Quarians had to play in the events granted them a seat in the council. And, much to everyone's disapproval, there was also a Geth. The Geth and the Quarians had finally come to an agreement, and were at peace.
Thomson lowered the report that had just taken him an hour to read, when someone just could have told him "everything's fine". All races in the galaxy, even the Krogan - who also now had a place on the council - were working together.
"And there's one last surviving Reaper," said an Alliance Commander from the other side of the table.
He had been called in to deal with the new threat. His friend had suggested to be a client of the Alliance and he had agreed. If they called him in, it must have been bad.
"You could just bomb it?" Thomson suggested to the Commander. He wanted to stay on the SF-2 Falcon with Emi and his children. The four things he loved most in the world - his girlfriend, his two kids, and his ship.
"Negative," came the reply, "All attempts have been averted by what seems to be a kind of inter-planetary defence system. Your ship has a Stealth Drive, one of the only ones that do. It can get you in undetected."
Thomson sighed, "But once I get there, what do I do?"
"Kill it. And there won't just be you, you will be in a group of four."
"Four people to take down a Reaper? Who are they?"
"There's a Turian called Srateris, a Salarian called Humin and a Quarian called Bei'Lucto. And then you."
"Why such a random selection?" he asked curiously.
"The Turian is the soldier, the Salarian is the medic, the Quarian is a technical genius and you're a biotic. Less random than it seems."
"When do I set off?"
"Immediately. We want you to deal with the threat before it can escalate. There will be another team inbound shortly, but it has been... delayed."
"And who are they?"
"Commander Shepard of the Normandy SR-2 and his team," the Alliance Commander pointed out, "Yes I mean the one who destroyed the Reapers. He and his squad will be joining you in a few days."
Before the Commander left, he had given Thomson a piece of paper stating the time and place to meet the rest of his team, so he sent Emi a quick message so she could meet the squad too, and then set off on his way to Docking Bay D17.

When the elevator hissed open, a blue scanner activated as he walked down a narrow corridor, passing by a landed shuttle. The corridor opened up into a large room. On his left hand side there was a lounge area, where only three people were sat. The Quarian was playing on her Omni-tool, on what looked to be a space invaders game. The Turian was checking his sniper rifle, that appeared to be a Black Widow - one of the more powerful snipers in the galaxy. The Salarian was just sat there quietly.
"So," Thomson said, walking up to them, "I'm Lieutenant Thomson. Pleased to meet you."
The Quarian, Bei, turned her head towards him, "Oh! You're the one who Emi'Derik chose, right?"
"You know Emi?" he asked.
"Yes. We're friends. We talked for a while before she set off on her pilgrimage. It's good to meet you. And nice work with the Human-Reaper by the way. I read the file."
"Thanks. Good work with the abandoned mine full of Husks. I read the file."
"There are too many damn files around here," grumbled the Turian, Srateris, "People can read them without you even noticing."
Humin, the Salarian, grinned, "Files needed. Must keep copy all data. There are still enemies in the galaxy. Need to be cautious."
"What weapons are you lot bringing on the mission?" Bei asked.
"Black Widow," said Srateris quickly.
"Geth Plasma Sub-Machine gun," responded Humin.
"M-8 Avenger?" Thomson grinned.
"... No offense, Lieutenant," Srateris frowned, "But the Avenger is a pile of crap. Why not something more powerful?"
"I like it," he shrugged, "Served me well. What weapons are you bringing, Bei?"
"Reegar Carbine," she replied, "Shotgun. Awesome for taking down well... everything."
"The Reegar Carbine. The one that fires beams. Right?" Humin questioned, "Like it. A lot."
"I think you missed out a verb there," Srateris pointed out with a slight chuckle.
There were several soft footsteps behind them, and Emi entered the Docking Bay. Thomson marvelled at the fact that giving birth hadn't changed her body in the slightest. She had gained no weight at all and looked exactly the same - maybe it was a Quarian thing. Maybe their bodies somehow altered themselves to the way they were before they had become pregnant. Or something.
Thomson and Emi embraced tightly.
"... So this is your team?" she questioned, looking at the mixture of alien soldiers in the lounge area. The lights from the room glinted off her purple visor.
"Yes. This is Srateris, Humin and Bei."
"... Bei?"
"Yes?" Bei responded, "Emi!"
Bei and Emi grasped each other's forearms, "It's been ages!" Bei said, "We were back on the ship the last time we met. How are you?"
"... I'm fine. How are you? And I know! It's been ages. How were the Asari?"
"I am good," Bei replied, "And they were fine. But then I got bored and decided to become a soldier. What about you? How were the humans?"
Emi nodded at Thomson, "... Well... it's been good and bad... mostly good... I'll tell you about it if I get the chance..."
"And you have children? How?" Bei asked.
Thomson smiled, "Some sort of development with the protein research. They changed my protein so it was compatible with hers."
"I heard about that, yes," Bei said, "And it worked? Your children are half human, half Quarian?"
Emi nodded, "... Yes. They're being looked after by some friends whilst we'll be with you lot..."
"We?" Thomson questioned, "You're not-"
"... I want to... I'll be safer with you... You said I should wait behind last time and then... I'll be safer with you than I will be on the ship..."
Srateris laughed, "At least she'll keep you occupied."
Humin cocked his head, "Sexual reproduction is not... advised... on Tuchanka. Bad atmosphere. Try somewhere with less radiation and sandstorms."
"Emi..." Thomson began.
"... Thomson... I'm not joking... Please let me come with you..."
"But it's a Reaper... They're dangerous... I don't want to risk you..."
"... But... I won't be in any dangerous situations... I'll just wait at the camp or whatever... Please..."
"I'd like her to come too," Bei pointed out, "We have a lot of catching up to do."
"And me," said Srateris, "Because damn those hips are fine..."
"You've never complimented my hips," Bei complained, folding her arms.
"Because your hips are armored. They don't have the same effect. Though they are nice too."
Bei shook her head at Srateris.
"... Ok," Thomson said, admittedly not very happy, "... You can come. But be careful..."
"... Thank you..." Emi sighed with happiness, wrapping her arms around him, "... I always wanted to see Tuchanka..."
Thomson hugged her back, and still held her as Bei turned around and asked Srateris when they were setting off.
"Less than an hour," the Turian replied, "Gather all the supplies we need and we can go. All we have so far is a few guns."
"How are we actually going to get there? Shuttle?" Thomson asked.
Humin shook his head, "Too small. We need ship. Who has ship?"
"Well I have a ship but it isn't exactly combat ready," he said.
"Bei and me are good in technology," explained Humin, "Can do repairs."
"I got the Alliance to look at it," Thomson pointed out, "They couldn't do anything but repair the hull."
"Alliance, ha," Humin laughed, "We have a Quarian. Can repair anything."
Bei put her hands on her hips, "I'm so glad you have so much faith in me, but I'm not the only Quarian here."
Emi looked down at the floor, "... I don't go well with technology... Remember what happened at the school?"
Bei laughed, "How could I forget? Seriously, you all need to hear this story. It's the funniest thing I've ever seen. We were trying to get a pencil to precision jump across the room, well to a other Mass Relay that was stationed a metre away. Emi was in charge of building one of the Relays, then the next thing I know, there's an explosion and a huge hole in the floor. She made a weapon out of a Mass Relay, and then was kicked out of the school."
"... That wasn't my fault... The equipment was faulty..."
Thomson laughed, "You should have told me this before."
"Well," Srateris chuckled, "You're the only person I know who is capable of making a weapon when you're supposed to be transporting a pencil. Nice one."
"I have lots of Emi's dirty little secrets to tell," Bei giggled, "If any of you are interested."
"... Dirty little secrets? I was always well behaved... Apart from the weapon thing..." Emi answered.
"As soon as anyone gave you a piece of paper you used to doodle pictures of humans and planets and starships," Bei explained, "We all knew about your love of their kind."
"... And now I have a human boyfriend..."
Srateris sighed, "Fine then. I'll go and get the supplies."