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[Kel Riever]

The facility was only fifteen meters away, the distance kept on purpose to give the turret a good field of fire and prevent an enemy rush.  Piling out of the shuttle was quick as it was the least safe place to be with concentrated fire and an open door.  But shields held despite the mean sound of mass effect projectiles in the air, impacting around Stormhammer. 

Catching the enemy by surprise, and a lack of contest in the air wereas important to the success of the landing as anything else.  There were, perhaps, only six attackers, either black clads or traitor Brigade, meant to cut off anyone trying to flee the facility in retreat.  They hadn't planned on anyone coming back it seemed.  There was cover, but they were outgunned by Stormhammer and the team had their moment as they were able to clear and return fire.  Arcadia, coming from the co-pilots seat, wasn't the first to exit, but when she did, her armor still blood stained, she came on with determination.

"Forward!" Cadi screamed.

Arcadia moved, with expertise, using her Avenger to keep enemy heads down until some firepower could be brought to bear.  And when it was, it was devastating.  Lauren got a grenade off that left part of the black clads under cover splattered against the facility wall.  Kuric ventilated another two and Menos took care of the last.  There, the butt end of the facility faced them, emergency doors closed but an Omni-tool scan determined they were not locked. 

"Make it quick!" Liz shouted over the com. "They're going to close in on us now that they know we're here!"

Loud gunfire could be heard through audio reception from inside the building, louder than small arms.  But the fire wasn't in any way toward the direction of the craft and more indicated a fight within.

"We're here!" Cadi said on the Stormhammer channel, trying to reach Reith or Vihaan.

"We're retreating your direction," Vihaan came back, "Still inside the facility.  How many can you take aboard?  We have friendlies."

The idea of being able to accommodate more in a rescue wasn't a pleasant one.  There were few the Kodiak could take on besides the current team.  "Not many, what's the situation?"

"Can't give details, under fire!  Can you get to the doors?"

"Affirmative," Arcadia answered.  The Stormhammer team had moved up to the doors without issue.  "Coming in now!"

With cover from her peers, Arcadia opened one of the sliding emergency doors.  As with the rest of the facility, it led to an airlock.  She got in with whoever was on the point team, leaving at least Tolema and Juric outside to help keep the path clear back to the Kodiak.  Once the lock cycled, the team got their first look into the wing they once were bunked in.

It was filled with residual smoke, and there was debris everywhere.  The very first point of focus was on what looked like an olive drab YMIR mech, squatting its hulk to fit in the still rather large hallway.  It's heavy cannon roared in the opposite direction of the team, fighting unseen enemies beyond.  Nearby the mech, but under cover was Vihaan, who was using his drone to execute repairs on the mech.  Meanwhile there were two other apparently friendly Koehler's Brigade members with him, helping with defensive fire, and about five vorcha enclosed in environmental suits.

"Reith is in the mech!" Vihaan informed.  "But the press is shoving towards us!"

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"Look Kurik, you're obviously better qualified to use this than I am and will make some better shots with it. Why don't you take it?" Lauren said, handing him the grenade launcher. "I'll see if Gnish knows anything about any communications in the area and see if we can manipulate those Vorcha. Meanwhile, blow up some sh*t."

 

Lauren used her Hurricane to cover Gnish as they entered the facility. When she saw Vihaan, she approached. "Is there any outgoing communications in this area? I need to get Gnish on it."

 

"What? Why?"

 

"Gnish will try to convince the attacking Vorcha that their new masters want slaves of them, while we'll give them true freedom to be true Vorcha, and that they should not fight for their new masters," Lauren said. "He'll say it in Vorcha. That language won't violate Siarist ethics, but these Vorcha are in bloodlust and some of them could turn. The goal is to cause chaos in the enemy. We're outnumbered and out gunned. it's worth a try. If it fails give me a rocket launcher."

[Cknarf]

Kurik had made his way near Reith. Hefting the grenade launcher, he fired one toward the enemy. Another round clunked heavily into the tube, just before the first exploded. Those that weren't shredded by shrapnel were shut down by the concussion alone.

 

"Attempting to reason with any of them will likely result in failure."

 

*THUMP*

 

He sent another downrange.

 

*cool explosion*

 

"We can only hold them for so long." Just as Kurik was finishing, one of the defending Khoeler's brigade dudes ate a rocket.   Like, that sh*t pierced his skull without detonating, and he just fell to the ground with un-exploded ordinance hanging out of his face. It was pretty fuckin' gross.

 

"I think it would be in your best interests to relocate."

 

"Indeed." Vihaan wiped some mercenary goo from his face.

[Kel Riever]

Gnish, despite being fairly brave under fire as his companions' lives were threatened, didn't have much of an idea of what he was doing and hesitated as he went forward with Lauren.

Vihaan tried to access some sort of com signal.  "I cannot get to any sort of main communication from here, or paging system.  We'd have to be back at some sort of control room for doing so.  But I can do my best to get a channel open, or try the general one.  Of course, that would depend on the vorcha listening, even if it does work."  He started with his Omni-tool.

For those inside, they could see the enemy through the smoke now.  Constant return fire kept them at bay but, the press was on, likely because as the base began to turn, there was more fodder to send. 

Arcadia asked the wounded Saba.  "What about Hestyas?!  Where is she?"

Saba didn't answer, but Reith did through the com.  "Hestyas is dead.  This is it as far as who we can get out.  How much room do you have in that shuttle?"

"Just three more," Cadi answered.

"Get the wounded aboard," Reith replied, making some hard decisions in seconds.  "Then get the vorcha here.  That means you stay off the shuttle, Cadi, and I need one more fighter to volunteer.  The rest of us who won't fit are going to have to search for another vehicle."  Shots whizzed closely by, then Reith said.  "Everybody suits sealed, this is our pull back!"

The over the shoulder missile pod on the mech's left shoulder clicked as it switched loads, then fired.  There was a hiss from the small ordinance as it cleared above the heads of the enemy, to impact all the way down the wing.  The explosion that ensued was far greater than would be normally imagined from the size of the missile, and even though the smoke hid much, the shadows and then shift of light as the fire receded showed that Reith's shot was designed to cave in the other end of the wing. 

"That's going to buy us some time," Reith said.  "Mop up anyone still coming but get out to the shuttle now!"

Vihaan turned his helmeted head to Lauren and said, "Sorry, we have to go."  

"Who's the plus one staying with me?" Cadi asked, as she lifted Saba by the shoulders to drag her backwards.
 

[Cknarf]

"I will remain with you." Kurik nodded, swapping the grenade launcher for his Vindicator. 

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Lauren threw Cadi her belt with six frags. "You'll need these."

[Cknarf]

Kurik gave Cadi a pat on the shoulder, and gestured to Saba.

 

"I'll take her from here."

 

Since the standard fireman's carry wasn't exactly possible when performed by a fully-armored turian, he had to go with a less effective, yet far more heroic looking method of carrying someone. Unfortunately, that meant he would be unable to use a weapon.

[Kel Riever]

The pull back was as ordered as could be expected. Maddened vorcha had been stemmed, with the collapse of the wing created by the missile and enough firepower to handle those who had gotten through, the Stormhammer team retreated to the shuttle.

“Come on! Come on,” Liz shouted. “The air isn’t going to stay clear forever!”

Tolema jumped on first, giving a hand to help Saba on as Kuric got her back to the craft. Each of the friendly vorcha boarded next. Somewhere back in the wing there was the dull thud of a heavy explosion, though what exactly it was couldn’t be seen from outside. Reith’s mech swiveled in search for enemies, while Cadi was busy finding a vehicle.

“Another Grizzly, behind us down the steep slope, at the bottom. I hope it is in running condition!”

‘Steep slope’ was an understatement, if ever there was one. The drop-off behind the team was more cliff than slope. Still, a peer over the edge confirmed that there was a vehicle down there, intact, a possible ride for those who couldn’t fit aboard the shuttle.

“Everybody else who can fit, on! The rest of us fall back,” Reith shouted.

There was a report then, a heavy report. Those familiar with battle knew it had the singular sound of a sniper rifle and a large caliber one at that.

Liz’s body dropped out of the shuttle, the hole in her helm affirmation that she was gone.

[Cknarf]

"Sniper!"

 

A quick glance at Liz's helmet gave Kurik an idea of where the shot had come from, and while he couldn't exactly see the target, he proceeded to fire in the general direction. If this were an 80's movie, he might have dropped a one liner as he did so.

 

"F***." Rastus looked back from the cockpit at the empty gunner position. It was clear from the splatter that Liz had just gotten popped with an anti-materiel round. "We're pullin' out!" Working the controls, he took the shuttle a little farther off the ground, as sitting still was a death sentence for anyone aboard at this point. "Somebody get on that gun!"

 

"I'll let you know if I see anything on the way out. Good luck!"

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

The back of Liz' head exploded all over Lauren's armor and the bullet whizzed by her head out the exit wound. She hit the deck in the shuttle. This was not the welcome to combat that she wanted. It shook her. Then she heard Rastus' voice and she pulled herself to her knees. pulled Liz' body off the mounted gun, and slapped a fresh belt of thermal clips in. She couldn't see where the sniper was. Her basic training told her they usually were up high and she began a strafing pattern suppressing any second shot on the team entering the vehicle.

[Cainhurst Crow]

Menos turned as he scanned the higher areas and perches, spotting nothing clear with his thermal and knowing the truth even as he didn't want to admit it. The sniper was most likely out of range for any of them to take on. Their round was powerful enough that they could very well have been over 1 thousand km's away. Even with an accurate enough gun, there were hundreds of areas a sniper could have used to make the shot.

 

It was hopeless, one of many hopeless situations as Menos ran into the ship with the others, looking instead to do his best to cover Liz, futility be damned.

[Kel Riever]

Reith was finally able to move back to cover the open hatch to the shuttle.  Another sniper round fired, smacking against the armored hull of the mech.  Juric was the last to load, and got on the shuttle's gun immediately. 

Cadi pointed to Lauren and Menos.  "You two are in charge!  Don't argue with each other.  Get up and to a safe distance, but keep in touch!"  Then Cadi grabbed Liz's body and hauled it off the shuttle. It was a cold but practical decision to keep the weight off the craft with the damaged engine.  "Go!"

Rastus wasted no more time.  With most of the team, the Siarist vorcha, and Saba loaded, he pulled away.  Juric provided heavy sustained fire as did Reith, Kuric and Cadi, to keep enemy heads down.  That is for those who would.

The vorcha were coming.

Kuric had moved into position, already thinking of what Reith commanded.  "Down the hill!" Reith shouted over his com. "Both of you first!  Give me clearance three seconds after you hit bottom!"

Cadi fired a burst, smacked Kuric hard in the shoulder as acknowledgement, turned and leapt off the steep slope, using the planets 0.32 G's to her advantage.  She made a controlled bound down the embankment, which was at least 35 meters to the ground below.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Lauren could see the vorcha coming. The block was about spent. "Menos, keep looking for snipers," she shouted over the loud whine of the engines.

 

She slapped another belt and block in the gun, closed the top and cleared a round. She turned to the pilot. "Take us down low."

 

"But...."

 

"Do it!" she shouted.

 

The pilot reluctantly followed her order and she opened up on the assaulting vorcha ripping them to shreds. Anything on the ground that moved in front of her was laid waste. This bought time for Cadi, Kurik, Reith and whoever else was with them to do what they needed.

 

"Now get us out of here!" she shouted to the pilot.

 

Rastus took the shuttle up and out as was the original plan.

[Cknarf]

Kurik had gone down in a slide. Unfortunately, his path wasn't nearly as smooth as Arcadia's. Catching a rock, he more or less rolled his way down. A firm yank from Cadi brought him back to his feet just before Reith's mech touched down in his place.

 

He nodded slightly in appreciation, as vorcha began to pile clumsily over the edge a little farther down.

 

"Orders, Major?" Kurik asked from a crouched position, wiping at his helmet's dusty visor with an even dustier forearm. He took a few shots at the first few vorcha who managed to stand.

[Kel Riever]

Rastus was flying the Brigade Kodiak that at this point was commandeered.  He seemed intent on trying to make contact with someone.  “No response on any channel,” he said to Lauren, who he presumed to be leader since she’d given him the instruction.  “Not unless you want to hear that woman go on, giving orders, not caring who’s listening to her.”

Tolema’s eyes were wild.  She’d seen some tough situations, and wasn’t as fazed as someone might think.  Tolema asked Menoth and Lauren.  “Where are we going to go?  Hold out of range until we know the others are safe?”

“I’ll tell you where we aren’t going,” Rastus interjected, “Back to that base.  It looks like they aren’t intent on chasing us, at least yet.  But there’s at least three shuttles in the air, probably armed, keeping an eye on us.  Not to mention any infantry portable weapons that might be designed to take us down.  Your people on the ground are going to have to make it on their own.”

~ ~ ~ ~

“Keep falling back to the Grizzly behind us,” Reith responded, “It’s about forty meters back.”

Kuric knew where they were now was bad, tactically.  The high ground was where they’d been, the top of the cliff, and when someone with weapons reached the edge above, they’d be able to rain down gunfire with maximum cover. Cadi seemed to be on the same page, keeping an eye on the left flank as she retreated towards the Grizzly behind Reith’s mech.  Reith, for his part, walked backwards, using the silhouette of his mech to shelter Kuric and Cadi.

Somewhere in the distance, the white streak of a planetary defense missile soared into the sky.  It couldn’t have been close, many tens of kilometers away, but likely launched from one of the main cities.  The meaning was clear, that an enemy vessel was moving in on the planet, close enough to be fired at.  Kuric spotted another set of white streaks moving across the sky, from high altitude.  Oddly, they were not in the vicinity of the missile fire.  A large fixed wing craft?  A ship?  Whatever it was, it wasn’t a target for the planetary defenses.

The thought was interrupted as a rocket slammed into the side of Reith’s mech from the side.

After staggering for a moment, Reith recovered, and fired back with his cannon.  “Watch the flanks!  They’re also coming around to cut us off!”

They weren’t large forces, but they were well armed, the black-clads and traitor Brigade that approached from the left and right, down on the same level as Kuric, Cadi and Reith.  Trained, obviously, as they were spread out and using other cover such as rocks or the occasional piece of mining equipment. 

Then, a surprise.  A voice broke through on the Stormhammer frequency.  It was familiar, and what it said brought hope.

“You got yourself in a rattle-snake hole, that’s for sure!”  It was Sally, the quarian captain of the Lucky 7.  “You hold your keysters out, you here! I’m on my way and I’m gonna pick you up, hot as pancakes!  You be ready, set the clock, I’m there in ten!”

Ten minutes to hold.  Cadi turned to Kuric, her visor glinting in the pale sunlight.  And when she spoke, Kuric swore she could just have been a turian.

“Do you want to live forever?”

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Lauren slapped another belt in the machine gun. "But I'm not going to lose them, Rastus!" she shouted over the whine of the shuttle engines. "We can provide covering fire for them. You get me in position and we'll keep that grizzly safe until the Lucky Seven gets here. Is that clear? The facility is lost. We're getting the hell out of here. All of us.

 

"Menos, Tolema, you know what to do."

[Cknarf]

"Do you want to live forever?"

 

Kurik replied with an enthusiastic grunt, while hefting his grenade launcher. He headed to cover Stormhammer’s left flank, while Cadi took the right side. Reith would focus on keeping the approaching horde of vorcha at bay.

 

“Be sure to keep a safe distance from the mech, this thing’s a goddamned magnet.” Reith said, while rounds pinged off of the machine’s armor. Directing the mech’s gun away from the vorcha for a brief second, he used it to take out an incoming rocket. He took a puff from the cigar that was clenched between his teeth, because you just know he's been smoking that bastard the whole time he's been in control of the mech. “Targets armed with heavy weapons are priority.  If I go down, you two are gonna be in some deep sh*t."

 

Cadi ran for a better firing position, keeping a good portion of the attackers on her end pinned with a steady stream of fire as she moved.  Kurik took a far more casual approach, advancing calmly with the launcher at the ready. The first head to peek out of cover was met with a firm *thump*, launching what was left of the target flying through the air a great distance.  Although the blast had kicked up quite a bit of dust, Kurik was still able to locate targets from their muzzle flashes as they fired wildly through the smoke. He fired off one last grenade, before the alarm beeping in his helmet sent him into cover. While waiting for his shields to recharge, he checked his remaining ammunition.

 

Empty...

 

He threw the weapon down, and it landed with a clunk.

 

Reith was holding reasonably well, considering the sheer number of targets he was facing on his end. The steep slope helped to keep the vorcha from advancing as quickly as they would have been normally. The biggest issue he was having came from those attacking from above. Any time they would appear, he would be forced to focus his fire on them, or risk taking an anti-materiel round to a critical area. A well aimed missile took care of that problem, causing a decent sized portion of the hill to give way beneath them.

 

Cadi might have pushed a little too far into the enemy line, and she had found herself pinned. Taking advantage of the gravity, she lobbed one of the grenades that Lauren had given her earlier over her shoulder.  Exploding in mid air, it had a devastating effect on anyone unfortunate enough to be directly beneath it.

 

Kurik moved slowly through the dust, and around various pieces of machinery. Visibility was extremely low, and little could be heard over Reith’s constant fire. Rounding a corner, he was caught off guard by one of the waiting enemies. He reflexively fired a burst into the ground, before his rifle was twisted away from him and cast aside. Kurik was shoved back, and nearly lost his footing. Seeing the laser from his opponent’s handgun come to life, he threw himself forward in an attempt to grab the weapon.  He wasn’t able to stop him from firing, but managed to direct the gun away from his face. His armor stopped the first round, but the second passed through.  The helmet-to-helmet headbutt that ensued was hardly effective, but managed to knock the attacker off balance.  Kurik charged again, driving his shoulder hard into the target.

 

“Son of a b*tch!” Reith’s mech dropped to one knee after taking a hit to one of the legs. “A few might slip through. Get ready!” He informed the others, the sound of alarms could be heard easily over comms. While the partial collapse of the hill had given him a better view of anything above, it had also provided the vorcha with a faster way down.  As the Vorcha swarmed, he swung the mech’s powerful arms outward horizontally, sending them flying. Those that weren’t killed instantly had their bodies broken to such a degree that they were no longer a threat.

 

Kurik pushed up against the body, and pulled hard at his ridiculously turian blade in an attempt  dislodge it from the armored chestplate. Before he could, gunfire erupted behind him. Instead of releasing the body, he turned with it, using the handle of his knife to help support his newly acquired meat shield he advanced. Hurling the corpse at one of his targets, he moved to draw his pistol, taking some pellets from a shotgun just as he fired a few rounds into his target.  By the time the enemy he had knocked over had managed to push the body off and take aim, the grenade Kurik had left behind detonated in super slow-mo as he walked away.  Kurik suddenly stopped, and pivoted fabulously. His knife that had been blasted into the air, slipped smoothly back into its sheath.  Kurik went over, and picked up his rifle.  After dusting it off, he went to punch some vorcha in the face, which was literally one of his favorite things to do. 

[Kel Riever]

Rastus called back to Lauren, "Forget it!  I'm not getting you, me and everyone else on board killed.  There's three enemy shuttles approaching and groundfire, making it suicide.  You might as well just put your gun to your head and save the rest of us the trouble!"

Tolema was about to take Rastus' thought and show him what having a gun to his head was like, when Sally broke through on the Stormhammer com. 

"Listen ya'all you clear the area, hear?  I'll pick you up soon as I got them others on the ground.  Don't worry, I got their signal, but I'm gonna need you out of the air because I am dropping a payload and I need you outta the way!"

~ ~ ~ ~

"Up high!"  Cadi shouted what seemed to be a never ending series of warnings to Reith and Kuric, while firing to keep her flank at bay.  The gray dirt of Parasc had been kicked up and covered almost everything in at least a fine film of its dust.  Her wound was finally getting to her physically, though she paid no heed with survival on the line.  But she was wearing down.  And for all the vorcha who had been killed with the shuttle guns, Reith's firepower and Kuric's, well, plain ability to fight, they would be overwhelmed.  The enemy was spread out enough to limit the effectiveness of area attacks, until they got close, at which point several times it was almost too late.

The mech had fired its last missle and though Reith got his mech back up, the one leg was locked and slowing him down.  He fired the mech's cannon to clear another group of vorcha that were coming at Kuric while he was engaged in melee, but he had to immediately switch to the fore.  The Grizzly was close, maybe only ten more yards away, still a struggle to reach.

That's when Cadi, Kuric and Reith heard the distant boom of thrusters met with what was the unmistakable sound of alloy ripping the air apart.  Sooner than anyone could react, the line of vorcha bounding towards them from the front disappeared under a massive impact that blew the ground up around them.  A wave of black dust made it impossible to see what happened at first, and when enough of it had cleared away to get a sense, nothing was approaching.  The ground, in fact, had shifted from what must have been a crater made where they had tread.  There was another incoming shot that obliterated the enemy just beyond Kuric.  The group near Cadi was in full retreat or digging deep for cover. 

It was the Lucky 7 that was responsible for the artillery.  The atmospheric light freighter had passed over head and was circling around for the approach.  As it did, return fire was targeting the ship from the base, smaller but the kind of firepower that would wither it down over time, shots from the shuttle, possibly some other anti-aircraft weapon.  The enemy that had been left behind wasn't absent of threat yet, and projectiles could be seen lighting up the shields.

"I got a hell of a kick!"  Sally said through the com, "But we ain't got all day.  Mount up, using the rear loading ramp when we touch down!"

[Cknarf]

"You heard the woman. Get your asses up that ramp!"

 

 

Reith's voice echoed inside Kurik's helmet. He kept a hand over the wound in his torso, as he moved towards the glow of the ship's engines.

 

"I'm... *clang* right behind you."

 

Through the bloody, caked on dust that covered his cracked faceplate, he managed to make out Cadi's silhouette. She was a few meters ahead, and moving at a slightly slower pace. He offered what assistance he could, as they both headed up the ramp. Immediately after passing through the field that kept Parasc's harsh atmosphere out, Kurik tore his helmet off, and let it fall to the ground.  He looked back towards the mess outside, waiting for Reith to appear.

 

Sure enough, the major's figure appeared, calmly ascending the ramp sans helmet. Because f*** you, he's Major John Reith, not some lil b*tch. As if he gives a sh*t about some thin atmosphere and a little bit of dust. Also, everyone knows you can't properly smoke a cigar(which was still totally burning at this point) while piloting a mech if you got some clunky ass helmet on.

 

"Stormhammer is on board."

 

*insert ridiculously western Sally response, or something here.*

[TheMajonese]

"How bad is it?"

 

"I don't know...I guess the bullet was stopped by the bone...if we had medi-gel I could stop the bleeding..."

 

"I won't bleed out until we get out of here..."

 

Chris didn't share Naomi's optimism when he saw the wound. His sister was leaning against the wall of one of the hallways of the base, her right leg stretched out so Chris, kneeling next to her, could assess the injuy in the lower leg. The bullet had pierced through the thin plating of Naomi's armor and hit the shin bone from behind. She was right, the blood loss wasn't going to be a problem but from the look of the hole in her leg, Chris believed that the bullet had broken into many smaller fragments. Even though he was no doctor, Chris knew that such a wound had to be treated as soon as possible. Besides, the injury would significantly slow them down.

 

"Let me get up, I'm sure I can walk!", Naomi said as if she had read her brother's thoughts.

 

With a sigh Chris helped her so she could stand on her left foot while still leaning against the wall. "So what now?", he asked and glanced at the corpses of two vorcha and two members of Koehler's Brigade. After the twins had reached the base, there hadn't been any resistance except for a few vorcha and three of the unknown soldiers with black armor but dealing with them had gone quick. Someone- and the twins knew very well who it was- distracted the majority of the enemies so moving through the buildings was no problem at all. Until they had run into the two traitors from Koehler's. The only reason they were still alive was because Naomi's biotic nova had knocked both the humans and vorcha off their feet so Chris had enough time to finish them off but she got shot and now it would be impossible to run.

 

On one foot, Naomi hopped away from the wall and then carefully placed her right foot on the ground. "We follow the corridor until the next crossing, then we go left. The train station shouldn't be too far from here..."

 

Chris shook his head. "Naomi, the train station is on the other side of the base!"

 

His sister didn't give a reply at first, she groaned in pain as she shifted her weight from one left on to the injured one. 

 

"Are you alright?", he asked.

 

"Yes! Yes, of course...!", Naomi gasped and tried to walk a few steps. Even though her face was hid behind the helmet, Chris knew that it showed her pain. But as much as he hated himself for letting her do this to herself, he knew that there was no other way. They had to keep going. Chris picked up Naomi's shotgun and handed it back to her.

 

They followed the hallway for a while and heard the gunfire from outside getting louder as they came closer to the next junction.

 

"Come on, the train station is this way!", Naomi said and wanted to head left but her brother stopped and turned in the opposite direction. "Chris, what...?" Then she realized what he wanted to do. "NO WAY! We can't go out there..."

 

"They are still alive. They are still fighting", he gave back laconically. He stared at his sister and the twins didn't have to say a single word to know what the other one was thinking.

 

It would be impossible for them to reach the train station now that Naomi could barely walk and they were dangerously low on ammo. Aside from that, chances were good that even if they reached the space port with a train, no ship would be left to take them off planet. Their best chances would be to get back to the others and besides, from their position, Chris and Naomi had a good opportunity to hit the enemy in the back while they were busy with the rest of stormhammer. 

 

"Fine!", Naomi eventually said with a sigh. "But you go ahead, so you can take the next bullet!"

 

Without saying aother word the twins took the right path and followed it until they reached the wing with the cabins for stormhammer. The gunfire now sounded quite close and when the closer they came to the airlock, the more corpses they saw scattered throughout the corridors. To their surprise there was nobody familiar among the dead. It didn't seem to look as bad as they had expected. But they couldn't inform the others that they were behind the enemy lines as any communication attempt could give away their position.

 

Chris opened the hatch to the airlock, his sister followed him. While they were waiting for the outer door to open, Chris checked on his ammunition. "I got one frag grenade and three thermal clips left", he said. "And you?"

 

Naomi couldn't answer, she was heavily breathing, so she just raised two fingers to show how many clips she still had.

 

There was a mechanical hiss when the outer door began to slide open. Chris held his Mattock ready. "Get to cover, I'll have your...nevermind", he interrupted himself when they saw what was happening outside.

 

There was a large area that was filled with dozens of vorcha, as well several heavily armed soldiers. They were standing at or moving toward a cliff. The vorcha mindlessly jumped down while the soldiers took position at the edge to fire downwards. It was obvious who they were fighting with. Nobody was paying attention to the twins as they moved out of the airlock and took cover behind a disabled vehicle.

 

But they didn't start firing immediately. They took some time to line up a good first shot and waited until the majority of the vorcha was gone. Chris turned to his sister and she nodded back.

 

One of the soldiers who just reached the edge of the cliff and knelt down to fire his gun suddenly stopped mid motion as a bullet hit his chest from behind before he dropped down the slope. It took the other soldiers a while to notice that the bullets weren't coming from the stormhammer members down the slope but from behind. By the time they were able to react, several of them were already dead or wounded. The twins tried to take out as many of them as possible before they were able to get to cover.

 

"Is that our ship?", Naomi suddenly shouted over the gunfire and only a moment later Chris saw the Lucky-Seven as it descended to pick up the survivors down the slope. "HEY! We just tried to save their asses and now they leave without us?"

 

"Yeah, but you wanted to leave, remember?", Chris gave back before he tried to contact Arcadia to give them his and Naomi's position. "Cadi, do you hear me? We're just outside the base and..." There was a deafening crack right next to his hear and Chris dropped to the ground. At first he thought that a bullet had hit his head but even though his vision was blurred, he knew that he was still alive.

 

Naomi saw him go down. "CHRIS!", she yelled and tried to get to him but he just waved with his arm to show that he was alright. And still...something was feeling weird...

 

He heard Naomi's voice and she sounded worried. "Chris, your helmet!" When he moved up one hand to the left side of his head, Chris was surprised to actually touch his skin instead of the helmet and a moment later he realized that his visor was broken. The bullet had hid the helmet with such force that the complete left side of it was gone, shattered like glass. It was probably the same kind of explosive ammo that had caused the injury in Naomi's leg and when he looked at his fingers, he spotted his own blood. "Ah, ****...!"

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"You heard her! Get us out of range and prepare for docking!" Lauren shouted.

[Cknarf]

Shortly after the Lucky Seven had lifted off, Rastus set his wounded shuttle down carefully in the ship’s cargo bay, and the occupants piled out. Those who needed help were tended to by members of the crew.

 

“Reith, are you hearing this?” Cadi asked, as she listened to bits and pieces of what was happening to the twins on the ground.

 

Reith, looking over the mech’s damage, said nothing.

 

“John!”

 

“We are not risking the Lucky Seven and its crew. Not for two people.” Reith replied, not bothering to look away from what he was doing.

 

“But they’re our people.”

 

“They were our people. They aren’t anymore. What happens to them is no longer my concern.”

 

“We can’t just leave them to--”

 

“Like hell we can’t!” He stood, flicking his cigar away with gusto as he looked down at Cadi. “They bailed out when sh*t got heavy, and now they expect us to risk all of our lives to save them, knowing full well that they wouldn’t do the same for us? I can tell you right now, that is not going to happen!”

 

After catching a glimpse of Stormhammer over Cadi’s shoulder, Reith softened his tone a bit as he regained control.

 

“This isn’t the first time I’ve had to make this decision, Cadi. I’ve been in this position enough times to know that you can’t save everyone, all the time. You, of all people, should know that.” He patted her on the shoulder, and headed back towards the mech. ”I’m sorry.”

 

“But what if you could?”

 

Reith stopped, looking back over his shoulder, as Cadi followed.

 

“What if you had a chance to go back and save those you couldn’t before? ” She asked, moving in front of him. “Would you take it?”

 

Reith stared hard at Cadi, not bothering to answer the question. He knew she already had an answer.

 

“Sally, we’ve got two more to pick up. Can the Lucky Seven survive another run?” He asked.

 

“Reckon she could. Ya’ll best grab on to somethin’, it’s gonna get a lil’ bumpy!”

 

The lights dimmed, and everyone in the bay wavered a bit as power was directed from the dampeners to the kinetic barriers.

 

“Naomi, this is Reith. Sit tight, we’re coming to pick you up.” He turned his attention back to Cadi. ”If we get them back, it’s up to you to keep them in line.” Reith wagged a finger. “I’m trying to run a business here, not a goddamned day care center.”

 

“Understood.” Cadi nodded. She took the helmet from under her arm, and moved to place it on her head.

 

“I don’t think so.” Reith intercepted it. “You’re sitting this one out, Del Castillo. Get yourself patched up.”

 

Lighting up a fresh cigar, he moved back to the rest of Stormhammer.

 

“We’re going back for the others. Volunteers?”

 

Kurik latched his helmet, inserted a fresh clip, and took a step forward.

 

“Trudas, are you sure you’re good?” Reith asked, pointing at the turian’s obvious torso wound.

 

Grabbing a tape dispenser from a nearby crate, Kurik applied some to both the hole in his torso, and to his damaged faceplate.

 

“I’ll take that as a yes. Anyone else?” Reith asked, looking at the team.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Lauren grabbed some fresh thermals and an Avenger off the rack. "Ready to go, Sir!"

 

The Avenger packed more of a punch than her Hurricane and was still relatively easy to handle. She at least had some training with it. Bursts. Three round bursts.

[Cknarf]

"That's it?" There was a hint of disappointment in Reith's voice as he spoke. "After the sh*t we've been through today, I can't say I blame you."

 

He puffed at his cigar.

 

"Now I don't have the time to stand here and browbeat the rest of you into coming along, that mech ain't gonna fix itself, but if any of you decide to grow a pair sometime in the next five minutes, I expect to see you at the ramp."

 

===================================================================

 

"Make it quick, ya'll!" Sally commanded over comms, as the ramp began to lower.

 

Mass accelerator rounds whizzed by, as Reith dropped out of the Lucky Seven before the ramp had completely touched down. Stormhammer used the machine for cover, as they filed out of the ship, before breaking off in separate directions.

[Kel Riever]

Kuric, Lauren, Vihaan and Reith were out and the Lucky 7 had to pull away, but not before three rockets fired from long range slammed into the ship, a sitting duck when unloading. Fortunately the shields held for two, but the third left visible damage on the hull. There was return fire from the ship, but most of it was custom added mass effect anti-personnel weapons; even the GARDIAN system were useless at an effective zero range for a weapon meant for ship combat or to fend off fighters and longer range missiles.

"Chris! Naomi, it's Cadi. There are people coming for you. Hold on and we'll get you." Arcadia's voice was still broken up somewhat from the jamming, but was clear enough to hear.

"That's them," Vihaan called out, gesturing up to the top of the cliff. "Naomi and Chris, you can move down the cliff side using the low gravity. The slope is shallow enough to take in three to five leaps." From this distance, it was evident Vihaan hadn't noticed that Chris was wounded.

The surviving enemy was still far enough away to advance, though they weren't giving Stormhammer a break as the projectiles kept whizzing by. They may have been inaccurate but with the volume, there was a chance something would hit. Reith move forward to return fire, and the mech dragged the leg that had beein hit before. "Vihaan!" Reith shouted.

"On it!' Vihaan moved behind the mech and pulled out his Omni-tool. "It's locked pretty well, sir, I'll need a minute to repair."

"We don't have a minute," Reith growled. With the mech's open hand, he reached down for the damaged armor plate inhibiting his movement and tore it off, exposing the machinery and gears underneath. "How's that for a field job?"

Vihaan nodded. "Job's a good one. It can't take a solid hit so keep it back."

There was the sudden pitch of an eezo engine, this one not from a ship, before a small, three-wheeled vehicle jumped up a slope behind and to the right of the team. It was Kamau, in his scout vehicle, racing for the cliff. Thrusters fired from beneath the vehicle and with mass effect displacement devices, the trike went vaulting up towards the cliff side. Then, defying even the light gravity of the planet, the off road wheels began churning and it slowly ascended the cliff face.

"I'll get up to the twins and use the scout trike to give them cover." Kamau said over the com. "One of them looks hurt, they're going to need help getting down I think. We better make this quick. There are many more enemies coming, we've attracted their attention."