Post by vault on Apr 21, 2012 18:08:09 GMT 1
Author's Note: Welcome to my new Mass Effect story! I've worked pretty hard on this over the last month, and after some extensive editing, I feel like it's in the best shape it'll be in. I hope you enjoy it, and I'd love to hear what you liked and didn't like in a review or message! Thanks for checking my story out!
This fic is rated M for some strong language in later chapters and some descriptive violence and gore. It's nothing too bad, but a little beyond normal.
Special Forces: The Black Aegis
Chapter 1 - The Briefing
The wait to get to a mission was always the hardest part. There was always a mix of feelings running through a soldier, even a seasoned veteran. Confidence, second guessing, nervousness, anxiety, adrenaline, rage, in some cases happiness, but whatever they were, they were always a mix, especially if you were going in against odds that didn't lean in your favor, which was often the case for Special Forces. Recently, several small squads of Special Forces troops had been stationed around the galaxy to help aid in the battle against the Reaper forces. Though each victory didn't seem like much, the battles mattered as far as the big picture was concerned, the tiny details were what sculpted the big picture, and each soldier knew that heading into a mission.
It was no different for the four Special Forces squad members in a transportation shuttle en route to Firebase White. Petty grudges were amok amongst them, there was a Krogan, a Salarian, a Human, and a Batarian, and each seemed to have a small quarrel with the other. Not personally, of course, they knew they were on the same side, but as far as the species themselves went, they weren't the easiest to get along. But the mission came before any of their personal issues, concerning the whole species, or otherwise. A good amount of soldiers had made the mistake of reversing the order of those, and often ended up getting their whole squad killed as a result.
Everyone was completely outfitted in their armor and helmets, and their weapons rested in their holsters on the slots, avid to be fired. However, nobody told them the trip itself would take 6 hours, and impatience was mutual between them, constant sighs and groans made that evident. They were close now, though, or so the pilot had informed them.
The Human soldier got up from his seat, restless and eager for some action. He'd just been brought back in after a 6 week suspension for physical confrontation with a Batarian. Things had been tense between the Batarians and Humans after Shepard destroyed the Bahak Systems relay, which had been the catalyst for the Human soldier's fight with the Batarian, and ultimately his suspension. He could sympathize with the Batarians, but didn't take kindly to ones who wished his whole species dead because of it. He hoped the one who had been sitting next to him thought the same.
The Human approached the cockpit, and knocked on the metal hull of the shuttle. "Hey, pilot. They didn't brief us. What are we going up against?" He asked, curiously. His voice was deep, and had a small hint of a Hispanic accent.
The pilot glanced back in the general direction of the human soldier, his loose black hair sweeping across his face. "Can't say for certain. I dropped another team off just like yours here about 4 hours ago, they went dark, and either way we need this base back, finding them is just a secondary objective." He stated coldly, returning his gaze to the holo controls in front of him.
The human soldier winced, as hardened as his training had made him, he still couldn't get used to human life, and much to the same extent the other races, being so disregarded, especially as just a "secondary objective". He turned back to face the others and planted his back against the wall, his heavy armor clanking against the metal.
"Anxious, human?" The Batarian soldier asked, a hint of sarcasm and bitterness in his voice. It was no secret the Batarians hated the humans right now, they had lost 300,000 people. Friends, family, soldiers, all gone because of Shepard. Knowing whether the Human soldier even knew of Shepard didn't hinder the Batarian at all.
"Human?" He retorted back at the Batarian, shaking his head. "Name's Dominic. Dominic Vega. But you can call me Dom." He stated firmly, before letting his eyes wander to his left, staring at the Krogan who had been silent since departure. "And what about you?"
It took the Krogan a moment to realize that the human had been talking to him, He let loose a groan, before stretching his arms. Having been lost in deep thought, he hadn't even noticed the conversation."Dezor." He said blankly.
"No clan?" The Salarian chimed in. His voice was fairly high pitched, and the way his accent differed from most Salarians was interesting, his voice seemed to crack a lot as he was speaking, although it could have just be nervousness.
"Hmph." Retorted Dezor, clearly annoyed with all the questioning, which to him was unnecessary. Names were names, they were soldiers, and that's all that should matter. "Ganar. Ganar Dezor. Satisfied?" He asked, spicing up the last of his words with a fair amount of sarcasm.
"I am. And you can call me Phaes. Major Phaes Jush of the STG, transferred to Special Forces as deemed necessary one year ago." He stated, though his tone wasn't that of boasting or cockiness, just confidence.
"Impressive," Dominic replied, shifting his position and looking at Phaes. "Seen much action?"
"A good amount, yes." Phaes said, nodding his head. "Not much the first few months. Training. But I passed that easily. Recently it's picked up 100%. I helped a team secure Firebase Reactor four days ago."
"No shit? You were there?" The Batarian asked, a sudden peak of curiosity that seemingly came out of nowhere.
Phaes nodded again. "It was...brutal. The geth were tearing us apart. There were only four of us, and we lasted over 5 hours against them, we pushed and pushed...lost one man to a Prime, and another was hurt severely, entire right arm blown off by a rocket trooper. The only others were myself, and a-"
"Batarian? Jorga?" The Batarian asked.
"I-yes, Jorga, the female. I'd never seen a female Batarian before, but she's a hell of a soldier. She saved me from certain death a couple times that day." Phaes finished. "Why do you ask? How did you know?"
"She's...the only family I have left. After the Bahak...destruction, my family was gone, except her. Ironic that the two members of the family who join the military are the only ones who survive. Wrong, even." He said, shooting a one-off gaze towards Dominic, which was met eye to eye from the human.
"I'm sorry for your loss...I don't believe we got your name?" Phaes asked, looking slightly sympathetically towards the Batarian.
Slowly, he tilted his head, glancing out the window. It was evident his mind wasn't clear, and these issues were weighing him down, but he was going to do his best to focus on the mission at hand, and get the job done. "Javar Al'Rah."
"Good to meet you, Javar. Dominic. Dezor. I think-"
The Salarian was cut short as a hard jolt shook the shuttle, and nearly everyone fell to the floor with a groan.
"The hell?" Javar asked, bringing himself back up from the ground, rubbing his face.
"Alright boys, the LZ is hot and we're 10 seconds out! I'll keep in radio contact, but it's go time!" The pilot shouted from the cockpit, hands moving swiftly over the holo controls, bringing the shuttle down right in the center of the landing zone.
The shuttle opened to reveal four well-armed soldiers of the Special Forces who looked more than ready for anything they would face. They stepped down, and the first thing to greet them was the large roar of a brute slowly coming into view, along with a group of a half dozen cannibals. The Reaper forces were horrifying. Mutated slaves bending at the Reaper's command. It was a sight to truly be in awe of, if it wasn't trying to harvest you.
Firebase White didn't look good. It was mostly bare and void of anything but Reapers, sending eerie, foreboding vibes to the Special Forces team. The base itself had a decently sized layout, directly in front of them sat a small fighter aircraft, and going past that, both an entrance to the facility and a path leading around itto the side, wrapping around the base. There were plenty of small paths and multiple ways to get to a certain place, so ambushes were more than possible. The advancing Reaper troops seemed to know the area, which was a huge disadvantage. In contrast to the horrid sight of the Reapers, the snow coated everything an innocent, deceiving white, almost telling them their orders were wrong, and everything was fine here. They could go home, and nothing horrible would happen...
Another gut-wrenching roar from the brute suggested otherwise.
"Extraction in 2.5 hours, secure this base, boys!" The pilot said over the radios, before speeding off.
The four soldiers stared at the advancing Reaper troops with a confident, but cautious, stare through their helmets. It was indisputable that the odds blatantly stacked against them, but each of them knew the stakes, and wasn't going to go down without the fight of their lives. Dezor reached behind his back and pulled his shotgun from its holster, slamming a fresh thermal clip into it.
"Let's give it to them!" He shouted, before charging straight towards the group of cannibals.
The mission had begun.