This logfile is imported from aitelogs2 and may contain errors or wrong timestamps.
#RuinsOfRakhana – September 28, 2016
There is nothing for Korio to see from the bottom of the mesa floor, due to ridges that surround the ship's landing site. He'd have to climb up the roughly 45 degree incline of the ridge to get a better view.
Ehanis is still taking off armor pieces, blissfully ignorant of the impending attack. Though, her armor suit in its powerless state is probably not going to offer all that much protection against sustained fire. Despite her fatigue, she's mostly out of the armor suit now.
Jake looks to the others in confusion as Seriah starts shouting. "What's going on? She see something?" he says, pushing away from the boulder.
Nathan tries to scramble himself upright, but his weakened state does not favour him. He manages to have himself half-standing, half leaning after a moment or two. He grasps his pistol with trembling fingers, his face a contortioning of pain and grit.
Plara looks up from her meal. The asari studies the others in silence, a grim look on her face at the sudden commotion.
Seriah looks between Korio and Jason. "Fot kio ba kio?" she asks before peering through her scope again, speaking as she looks to the north. "[Vehicles]. U fet an fan."
Jason sighs loudly and looks to Nathan. "Are you good to fight if you need to?" he asks. "No bullshit here, Ten. Be honest with me. The last thing we need is to have you blacking out on us mid-fight." As Jake speaks up he gives the man a nod and climbs to his feet. "She sees something. No idea what. Might be best to get your weapons ready just in case."
Korio lowers his rifle, quickly folding it and holstering it onto his back before approaching the ridge. "She's saying something about vehicles." he relays as he begins to climb the steep ridge, "Perhaps it is Kell's people...?"
Nathan sighs and manages to sit on the crate. Well, less sit and more drop onto it. "Not really," he admits. "Unless someone has a...". His eyes widen and he looks around frantically, a spark of renewed energy in his system. "The medkit! T-that had combat medical stims! To get wounded soldiers back in the fight, right? Give me one of those."
Jake mumbles a curse under his breath as he heads towards the ship to go get ready for trouble. "Doubt they're stupid enough to attack this place... the bugs'll eat 'em alive. They've tried before."
Plara grunts, taking another big bite of bug meat as she listens to the conversation, still sitting by the fire.
Jason gives a quick nod to Korio and retrieves his weapon from his back, gripping it in both hands. Great. Vehicles. Kell is certainly the only people they've ran into since their arrival that has the capabilities to launch an attack like that. "I'm not about to pump you full of drugs on the off chance that we've got a fight on our hands, Ten..." he says with a sigh, his eyes on Korio as he awaits a report back from him. "For
now, get inside the ship and get the others ready. If we have no other choice and need the backup then-... then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." he says, making it very obvious that the stims are a last resort option. With all of the blood loss and exhaustion Nathan has sustained, the last thing they need is his heart giving out due to the stims.
When Korio reaches the top of the ridge, which is also the edge of the mesa, he finds himself looking out across far-reaching waves of sand, with occasional rock pillars, and off to the west, more mesas. On a dirt ridge about a kilometer away, well over a dozen vehicles have appeared, lined up along the ridge. They have varying degrees of armor, and most of them have mounted weaponry, manned by drell.
Korio drops to a knee as soon as he reaches the ridge and unfolds his rifle from his back, bringing the scope to his eye to scout the vehicles out. He looks for any sign that it may be Kell's people. Armor similar to those who came by the bunker. The designs of the vehicles. Anything to connect the two before reporting in.
Nathan sighs and nods, albeit reluctantly. "Sure," is all he offers before he manages to drag himself towards the ship. He navigates his way inside, looking around for the others. "Hey, we got incoming," he says, holstering his pistol and slumping against the nearest wall. "Prep up... we're the back-up." Given his state, 'back-up' is a generous term.
Ehanis is on her way out of the ship when she runs into Nathan, carrying her folded-up armor undersuit. "Fuck, they were right on our heels?" she asks before throwing the undersuit towards the pile of armor pieces, weapons and water canteens. No time to hang it up to dry outside now. "Do I have time to grab a bite to eat?" While the asari is only wearing her underwear, she didn't appear bothered by it before being introduced to
the idea that a fight is incoming. The upper parts of her left arm have some visible swelling, which is coated with Medi-Gel to soothe the pain. The wounds on her back from the grenade are still there under the old medi-gel and dried blood. At least the latter doesn't hurt anymore.
Steve would feel the vehicle he'd spent the last couple of hours in come to a stop. He's lying on a metal surface, wrists and ankles tied up, gagged with a piece of cloth wrapped around his head, and his amp stripped from his implant. The door to at the back of the truck opens, the gloomy light of the twilight outside flooding into the darkness. A large drell grabs him by the arm and drags him out, doing nothing to cushion the
Nathan | If Nathan is bothered by Ehanis' state of undress, he's doing a good job of hiding it. "I dunno, maybe?" He shrugs lazily, waving in a random direction. "Look, sorry to be a pain, but could you see if the others are somewhere in here? I think at this point I'm just dragging myself across the floor." He's keeping his gaze firmly locked on Ehanis' eyes,
Steve struggles against his restraints as he's ripped from the vehicle, muttering a number of insults and death threats through his gag. A loud, pained grunt escapes him as he falls to the hard ground. His entire body throbbed in pain, from the burned-shut wound in his side to his dry, cracked lips. All that was on his mind at this point was wrapping his fingers around Kell's throat. Sooner or later the lizard would slip up.
Korio would be able to see the large, spike-armored drell drag Steve out from behind one of the largest vehicles, an armored truck, and shove him to the ground in front of him. Another drell, Kell himself, although Korio wouldn't know it, steps out from another vehicle, Steve's Carnifex in one hand and an omni-tool in the other. The large drell draws something akin to a cattle prod from his back.
Jason looks to Plara briefly before resting his gaze on Korio once again. "You might want to head inside." he suggests. "Just until we know what this is about." He activates his comms to send a message to the rest of his team, "We might have an 'all hands on deck' situation, people. I know we're all tired, but I'm gonna need everyone suited up and ready for action."
Ehanis frowns. She doesn't have time for this if she's to get a bite to eat before its too late, and she deson't know this place any better than him. But, he's in a much worse shape than her, even if it was his own fault for being stubborn and not listening. "Fine," she sighs and walks off, looking for any signs to follow as she starts exploring the ship in hopes of finding the others. Someone to ask for directions would be
Korio studies the scene through his scope. It doesn't take long for him to recognize Steve. "It is most certainly Kell." he announces over comms. "Many armored, weaponized vehicles. Plenty of drell dressed in armor similar to that of those we have already met and-..." he hesitates, steadying his scope on his ally, "...it appears they have Steve with them. A prisoner. He does not look... well."
Unhelpfully, there are no signs to point the way. Nor anyone to ask for directions. Inconvenient. There is a door ahead which stands open due to a number of cables running through it, and stairs that lead up to another door on the deck above, which is closed.
Ehanis glances at each option before her and chooses the upstairs. Wires meant tech things, and crew quarters don't have as much of that. Besides, what ship has crew quarters at the bottom? Once she's at the top of the stairs, she'd try to open the door.
Kell lifts the omni-tool to his mouth and a moment later Kell's voice sounds on an open channel: "Alien pillagers. We survived your assault. We captured one of your raiding party."
Nathan stays leans against the wall, listening in on the channel. "Steve... is alive?" He manages a sigh of relief, but then furrows a brow. Well, this means that this is going to turn into a proper fight.
Plara swallows a bite of food and then rolls her neck as she stands up, turning to Jason and then shaking her head.
The door leads to a corridor with doors on each side, and one at the end ahead. The door to the right is open.
Ehanis has left her omni-tool among the pile of equipment, and she's already inside the room by the time Nathan speaks and is thus unable to hear it clearly. She could hear that he said something, but she had more pressing issues right now than bothering him to repeat it. She stops in the doorframe of the open door, and looks inside.
Renala is still fast asleep in the crew quarters, only stirring slightly when her omni-tool plays back the comms message through its speakers.
Mahmoud is sitting on the edge of one of the bunks, and looks to Ehanis as she appears in the doorway. "Something's wrong." he guesses by the look on her face.
Jessica stirs and sits up from her bed as all of the comms chatter begins. She blinks hard a few times, looking towards Renala's omni-tool
Korio's scope snaps to the drell with the omni-tool. "I have him in my sights. Say the word." he announces over their private channel.
Jason shakes his head as he looks up to Korio. "Hold your fire." he instructs, squeezing the grip of his rifle tightly at the idea of them having Steve. "You hear that, people?" he calls out over comms, "He has one of ours. And he's posted up outside our campsite with vehicles and weaponry. We came out here to protect people. To keep them safe. The parameters of the mission might have changed on account of Zelyner being a-....
uhh.... a fucking fuck, but our job is still the same. Namira is depending on us. These people who were kind enough to let us in to their campsite are depending on us. Steve is depending on us. So do whatever you have to do to conjure up the energy for one last fight so we can wrap this little trip up and go the fuck home. All of us." He decides to await a response from his team before engaging with Kell yet. Best to make
Nathan takes that as the go-ahead for stim-usage. "Someone get me the med-kit," he replies over comms. "I'll be ready to go on your word, Jase... one last hoorah from me," he replies, somehow managing to find the energy to stand up and prop himself up against the wall.
Jake walks past Ehanis in the hallway, having heard the radio chatter. He quickly makes his way out of the ship, his Viper rifle now loaded thanks to the loan of clips. "Ah fuck..." he mutters under his breath.
Kell speaks again as the armored drell lifts Steve into a kneeling position, by his arms. "I can be merciful. Even towards those who would brutally slaughter my people. Surrender now, and you will all be spared. Even this one."
Ehanis nods. "Yeah," she says while looking around the room. "We've got incoming, and it's no doubt that's Kell's bunch of assholes." Ehanis only has Nathan's words to go on, not the comms chatter. She glances over her shoulder as someone passes behind her, but her attention is quickly returned to the mercenaries in the room as she steps inside. "Wake up!" she raises her voice. "Everyone gear up! We've got incoming!" And that's
Mahmoud stands up with a groan. By the look on his face, he doesn't have very high hopes for their chances in a fight. He walks past Ehanis and into another room.
Jessica swings her legs out of her bed, bringing her elbows to her knees and rubs her hands across her face for a few moments as she urges herself to wake up. "Mmm. Yes, yes... People wanting to kill us. Is the same shit, different day." she says groggily as she begins to climb to her feet to gear up. She scoops her omni-tool off the edge of her bed and activates it. "So you are still alive, Ten. Mmmm?" she says, "Is a shame. I
was thinking maybe I had heard the last of your shit." she adds, a small smile tugging at her lips as she gets another dig in, "I am getting ready. Tell me where you are and I will bring you the medical gear."
Renala sits up as she's pulled out of deep sleep, appearing disoriented at first. She looks around the source of the shouting. "Incoming? Where?" she mumbles tiredly. Wait, that's Ehanis, that means the trading team is back. She leans forward and picks up her omni-tool. "Steve?" she asks over comms, using the Redrock team's channel.
Nathan manages to smile at hearing Jessica's voice, somehow finding himself pleased to hear her. "No quite yet," he muses back. "I'm by the entrance to the ship. I... am not moving very far, so take your time." He grunts as he tests his leg, wincing at the sharp stab of pain coursing through it. "Bugger...".
Ehanis glances at the human passing her. "Do you have any spare batteries lying around?" she asks. "Mine's dead, and I don't think there's time to charge it."
Jason lets out a deep sigh. Well, everyone seems to be doing their part. No point in delaying it any more than necessary. He switches to the open channel as his gaze continues to rest on Korio. "Funny, Kell. The way I hear it, you tried locking one of my people up when we came all that way to bring you supplies. And now I've been told that you've already tried attacking these people before. I'm getting the impression that your
intentions haven't been entirely innocent. Tell you what: You're not going to get a surrender out of us. We're dug in. Heavily armed. And we have more of our people on their way to pick us up..." he says, a bit of a bluff though there's no doubt in his mind that Vasquez is on her way. "But that doesn't mean this has to end in a fight, Kell. Turn him loose and we can go our separate ways without anymore violence."
Mahmoud stops, turning to Ehanis briefly to shake his head. "We don't have shit." he says with a sigh. "All our power cells are busted." he moves on to get ready for combat.
Jessica sits back at the edge of her bed and begins plating up, having slept in her undersuit. Which is beginning to become offensive to the senses at this point. Though everyone is probably pretty ripe by now.
Ehanis gives a frustrated sigh and sits down by the doorway. Just more bad news. "Any of you pack any clothes I can use?" she asks, looking around at the people inside the room, inviting another opportunity for disappointment. "My armor's only good for cooking me alive right now." She would have to rely on her biotic barriers should the fight reach her, but without food that's not going to last.
Kell sighs, although only Steve would be near enough to hear it. "That is unfortunate. I suppose we will have to do this the hard way then." He makes a gesture with his arm, as three of the larger vehicles begin opening up their rear-sections, from which large missile racks ascend, pivoting to take aim at the mesa.
Renala is putting on armor pieces in a hurry, glancing at her omni-tool a few times. A frown crosses her lips upon getting no immediate response, but she doesn't ask yet. Maybe he's just busy preparing for combat. She's still very tired, for 3 hours is far from sufficient to recover from the day before.
Korio scans across the missile racks before bringing his crosshairs back to rest on Kell. "They appear to have missiles." he states calmly. Nerves of steel. "Many missiles. I could take the shot, but even if I were to fatally wound their leader, there's no telling whether or not the rest would execute Steve. Orders?"
Jason cusses under his breath before looking to Plara. Then Jake as he announces his arrival. He holds off on issuing any orders to Korio for now. "You think this bucket can withstand something like that?" he asks, cocking a thumb towards the ship. "If so, our best bet is to hunker down inside and try to wait out the bombardment. Make them get close."
Nathan blinks slowly. Missiles... MISSILES?! "Um, Jess? Could you, uh, hurry it up? Please?" He starts to shuffle about, panic slowly settling in. They're going to turn this area into a burning wreck... with crispy fried Redrockers.
Steve chuckles through his gag as he stares at Kell. A muffled string of words escape him as he pulls at his restraints, testing them. What they're made of. Whether they have any give.
Renala raises her brows. A surge of energy suffuses her as she receives the drell's status report, and she's picking up the pace. "Does this vessel have working kinetic barriers?" she speaks in the comms, urgency clear in her tone. "If not, that has to change. Now."
Jake sucks on his lower lip for a moment, looking around with a frown. "...nope. She's taken a beating... had to land because she was in danger of falling apart. Shields are long gone, man. They went before we landed. Nobody thought to fix 'em. No use down here, right? Except for now they would be pretty nice, I guess..." he rambles.
The restraints are rope, strong, but not infallible. There is of course the matter of the drell with the cattle prod right behind him as well.
Jessica shakes her head at Ehanis. "I leave my clothes at the bunker. We only take what was necessary." she announces as she quickens her pace. "Yes, yes. I am coming!" she shouts into comms as she straps the last of her plating on and grabs her Avenger. "You are not going to make me move any quicker by stressing me out!" She pushes past the others in the room, muttering to herself as she scoops up the medkit.
Suddenly the drell leader grows tired of waiting for a response. He had figured it would probably end up this way anyhow. With a gesture and a command into a radio separate from the omni-tool he orders the missile artillery to fire, and with a series of drawn out, almost whistle-like noises a massive volley of missiles speed into the air, ascending upward rapidly, behind them trails of orange.
Jason winces, allowing his Revenant to hang at his side as he brings a hand up to his head. "Shit..." he mutters aloud. "Is there any chance of getting them back online, Jake?" he asks, "I can do my best to stall for time if you think there's any possibility. But if not...." he trails off, simply shaking his head. As the whistling fills the air, his gaze moves skyward and his eyes go wide. "FUCK! Everyone get to cover!" he
shouts over comms, "He's firing on us!" He turns on his heels, clasping his free hand onto Jake's shoulder and urging him back towards the ship. Cover is cover at this point.
Plara curses under her breath, gathering biotic energy for a barrier in the likely futile hope of shielding herself from the blast.
Seriah wastes no time climbing down the side of the ship and running for the entry ramp, figuring it to be safer than the outside.
Nathan immediately starts to limp further into the ship, aiming to hide in the lower-levels as the bombardment screeches towards him. He however, trips and crashes into the metal, a yelp of pain accompanying. He then starts to drag himself towards the nearest door, gritting his teeth.
Renala sighs. "Shit," she says, standing up while putting on the gauntlet pieces. "You know the ship best. Where's the safest place while we weather the bombardment? Engine rooms?" She does not know the missiles are already underway, however. "You, get into your armor now," she says, pointing at the young maiden. "Better cooked alive than sliced to pieces when this place-" Then Jason's warning sounds over comms. She runs over
to the doorway in hopes of intercepting Jessica, and puts up a barrier dome (2.5m / 8ft diameter) to shield anyone who can get under it in time.
Korio would have no way of making his way all the way back down the ridge and to the ship in time. He instead moves forward, figuring the lower altitude that the rockets are likely targeting will cause him to be shielded by the natural rock formations if he remains up high. He surges forward a few feet before hurling himself onto the ground prone. He brings his scope back to his eye. No more time for waiting for orders. He
whispers a short prayer under his breath as his finger slides over the trigger. The leader? No. The others would merely execute Steve and press the attack. Those operating the missile platforms? He would only be able to get one or two before they were onto him and, again, Steve would likely pay the price. The scope dances over to the drell that is obviously assigned to stand watch over Steve, aiming for center mass before
squeezing the trigger and hoping perhaps it will be enough to cause chaos amongst Kell's people and give the human enough time to free himself.
Ehanis stands up upon hearing Jason's warning through the speakers on the matron's omni-tool. The older asari had a point, the searing hot armor suit would be very useful right about now. She steps under the barrier dome, figuring that's the only cover she can get to before the missiles makes impact. If only she had bothered to learn that biotic ability outside the very few lessons Ilyna taught her.
There is a thunderous roar as the Siren’s Call breaks through the dark clouds above, the avian shape of the frigate hovering over the mesa. Sudden explosions dot the sky, illuminating the hull and the clouds as the missile volleys are detonated in transit by the ship’s GARDIAN lasers. There is no shortage of shocked and fearful cries among Kell’s people at the sight, and the sudden collapse of the drell guarding Steve does little
to help matters, as a few of the vehicles start to turn around, struggling on the narrow spaces of the ridge.
Vasquez turns to look at Victoria on the command center of the Siren’s Call. She’s wearing her Redrock uniform and has a Shuriken machine pistol strapped to her side. "Alright, now take out those artillery trucks! Quickly!"
Jessica is already well on her way, though the sound of Renala behind her causes her to look back. As she spots the barrier, she turns back, briefly considering hurrying up under it before her gaze moves back down the hall. After a moment of conflicted feelings, she tilts her head to the side and continues on her way. As much as he annoyed her to no end, he was there when she needed help. She had let far too many people come to
a fiery end to just leave another one to burn. She limps down the stairs, calling out for her teammate. "Ten!? Where the fuck are you, you fucking [Batarian word that loosely translates to varren doody]."
Steve jolts as the shot rings out and his guard goes down. There's a brief moment of confusion as he looks back and forth over each of his shoulders. Fuck it. No time to question it. He pulls against his restraints. Maybe this was the opening he needed.
Kell looks around in confusion and anger. "No, no! Fire another volley! Bring it down!" he commands, looking all around at his wavering men. He pays little mind to Steve as the ropes around the prisoner's wrists start to loosen.
Jake is still staring up at the sky, but the resignation is replaced by confusion. "What the shit...?"
Ilyna is standing in the command center, as well, looking down at the feeds from the situations. She's exchanged very few words with Vasquez during the trip, though she's been curt with most of the others as well. She had lit up when the distress signal reached them earlier, and is now eager to find Ehanis and tell her exactly what she felt about this. After a big hug, of course.
Renala grits her teeth as she braces for impact when she hears the thundering roar outside, pushing more energy into the barrier. But the ship didn't even shake. Did they miss? She keeps the barrier up as she asks over comms, "Status?"
Plara 's gaze darts around the sky, across the ship and searching for more missiles. Her biotic energy remains gathered.
Nathan leans up against the wall, resigning himself to his fate. Imagine his surprise upon hearing Jess calling out his name and... wait, what did she just call him? "Here!" He manages to croak out, sufficiently loud enough until the roar of a ship thunders across the sky. Hold on, a ship!?
Victoria gives Vasquez a nod "Understood. Joric, target any heavy hitting vehicles first. Vansic, try to take down any missiles they fire." She stops for a moment "Austin, we should to be fine to take a few some of those hits." She then looks at Vasquez "I'll take the shuttle down with Krath, so we can leave as soon as possible."
Seriah looks around to the others in the cargo hold as they do not all in fact explode in a barrage of missiles. "Fo-... Fot qoralan?"
Ehanis gets down upon the sound, and covers her head. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," she mutters. That doesn't sound like missiles hitting them, and she feels nothing. That's something else. "What the fuck is going on?"
Vasquez nods. "Bring them back as fast as you can." She looks to Ilyna. "Go with them." she says with a gesture, her tone professional. No time for arguing. They're both here with the same goal.
The artillery trucks launch a scattered second volley, much smaller than the first. The lasers make short work of most of the missiles, the rest striking the ship's barrier fruitlessly. It is not long before two of the artillery trucks and one other vehicle seem to spontaneuously combust, erupting in balls of fire, crew bailing out, some dropping to the ground and rolling as they try to put out flames, and others just running
away. More and more of the drell are now retreating, some vehicles going into reverse and others turning around. Chaos erupts as they start slamming into each other and getting stuck, more people bailing out and running for their lives in the face of the alien spacecraft.
Ilyna nods. "Understood," she says and walks off towards the elevator. With a Locust on her thigh, and enough clips to fight an army, she's ready to fight off anyone that stands between her and the people she cares about.
Victoria makes her way towards the elevator and activates her personal comms "Hey Krath, get the shuttle warmed up and open the cargo bay door. We got some people who need a ride." She knows her crew will continue to with the orders she issued while she is away. Once reaching the elevator she waits until Ilyna is in before hitting the button for the cargo bay.
Vasquez activates her comms and calls out to the Redrock team on the ground: "This is Chief Vasquez. Ground team, what is your status?"
Ilyna heads for the shuttle immediately once the elevator door opens again. There's not a word spoken to Victoria or the others from her. She eagerly listens in on the comms in hopes of getting any status message.
Jessica uses the sound of Nathan's voice to track him down. Her eyes go wide as the sound of explosions ring out then-.... nothing. No shaking. No rumbling. "The fuck just happened, mmm!?!?" she shouts, looking towards the ceiling. She sucks in a few deep breaths as she accepts that they're not dead yet, then thrusts the medkit at Nathan. "Here! You see! You almost get me killed, too! [Varren doody]!"
Korio immediately sights in on a follow-up target, though his concentration is briefly disturbed as the ship rips through the heavens above him. His eyes move skyward. "By the grace of Arashu..." he mutters to himself as he stares at their savior. He quickly snaps out of it and his focus returns to the scope as he lines up another shot at any targets of opportunity.
Steve musters up as much strength as he can and yanks at his bindings, eyes filled with rage and focused solely on Kell. The rest of the chaos hardly even registers with him.
Jason continues to urge Jake towards the ship, jogging along behind him right up until the missiles are ripped out of the sky. He comes to a slow stop, jaw-dropped awe turning to a bright, but tired smile as he recognizes the ship. His smile grows as the familiar voice fills his helmet. "Our status? Well, you know... We were just out for a sunday stroll through the desert. Then-..." he shakes his head, even he's too tired for
bullshit at this point. "A whole lot better now that you're here, Linda. Not that I ever had a doubt in my mind that you'd come. We've got wounded and they've got Steve prisoner, so watch your shots."
Kell is turning back and forth, shouting loudly: "Come back! Come back you cowards! Attack!". He doesn't notice as Steve's bindings snap. Next to them the truck tries to back up, but is blocked by another vehicle, and instead starts heading forward into the sand.
Vasquez turns to Joric and urgently calls for him to hold his fire once the artillery trucks are taken out, to make sure they don't hit Steve.
Nathan takes the med-kit with a bleary expression. Hearing the comms, listening to the roar of the vessel, the abuse of Jessica... he laughs. And laughs and laughs. "WE'RE SAVED!" He announces aloud, although it tears his throat up to do so. Not that he really cares at this point. He can worry about it later when he's in an air-conditioned room, stuffing his face
Steve reaches up and yanks his gag out of his mouth. He makes short work of his ankle bindings before clawing his way to his feet and full-bore sprinting towards Kell, his intent to tackle the drell to the ground. Hard. And tightly wrap his fingers around the drell's throat.
Kell lets out a surprised cry as he is tackled, and both of them end up rolling down the ridge, tumbling over dusty ground until they slam into the sand below. The drell scrambles away from Steve, towards the Carnifex pistol that has landed a couple of meters away. Even as he does, the sands near them shift.
Renala lowers her barrier and sighs relieved. "Looks like our rescue team has the galaxy's best sense of timing," she says to the other asari. "Come on, I don't think the chief wants to see you like this." She keeps her biotics ready as she begins leading Ehanis downstairs.
Ehanis gets back to her feet in a hurry when the matron confirms they're safe and heads downstairs. She couldn't care less what state the chief saw her in right now. However, she could bet a lot of creds that her sister was on the rescue team, and Ehanis has injury written all over her.
The chaos on the ridge continues, most vehicles retreating, some being abandoned as they get stuck, and others driving forward into the sand. As more vehicles cross the sea of sand, the dunes shift, and human-sized insects start clawing their way out of the sand, clicking and snarling as they scurry towards the intruding vehicles, some running on many legs across the surface and some taking flight, the buzzing of their wings
Victoria exits the elevator once it had reached it destination, Krath has gotten the shuttle warmed up and the cargo bay door is opened as well. Once reaching the shuttle, Krath was waiting inside and Vicky took the pilot seat.
Steve tumbles end over end down the ridge. He hits the ground hard, but wastes no time in scrambling back to his feet, paying no mind to the shifting of the sand. His mind is in kill mode. And nothing- not Redrock, not a thousand angry drell, not even a giant sand serpent- is going to stop him from squeezing Kell's throat until his fingertips touch. "What did I tell you!?" he roars through a hoarse throat as he's right back on
Vasquez speaks again over comms. "Understood, Jason. Steels is taking the shuttle to extract you. You'll all be out of there soon."
Ilyna gives a nod to the krogan before taking a seat near the shuttle door, and buckles up. She is still not saying a word as she listens in on comms. He mentioned no casualties, but there's injured. Who? If anything has happened to Ehanis....
Kell grunts as he jabs an elbow back in the direction of Steve's face in an attempt to free himself long enough to reach the pistol. Several insectoid legs are starting to claw their way through the sands nearby. "Let... go of me... you... alien... f-... gargh..."
Jason's voice cracks as he lets out a long string of laughter, eyes closing tightly. "Yeah.... Yeah..." he nods in response, "We-... uh.... we got a few more to bring back than just the team." he says warily, suddenly allowing himself to feel the fatigue he's been repressing for days. "It's-... It's a long story." he says as his gaze locks onto the ship high above, his gun hanging loosely in his hands.
Jessica allows a short smile to shine through her usually-annoyed exterior before wiping it away once again. "Mmmm. Now you can stop being a scared pussy, yes?" she says, hand quickly moving to her side as a pang of pain shoots through it. A reminder of the help he gave her. With a sigh, she rolls her eyes and looks down to her wound. "....Thanks. For-... you know..." she mutters, though she seems none too happy about it.
Seriah exits the ship and looks to Jason. "Fot in qoralis? Bin ba fina?" she asks, her tone fearful. As her gaze is drawn upward by the sound of the ship her jaw drops and she just stares, eyes wide.
Jake grins from ear to ear. "Oh man... oh man oh man... we're finally getting off this dustball! Wooo!" He thrusts his rifle into the air in celebration.
Korio isn't ready to stop the fighting just yet. He coldly lines up his next target. Boom. And another. Aiming for drivers. Those left behind. Anyone his scope can find. He hums a constant stream of prayer to himself to occupy his focus, only pausing to squeeze the trigger each time.
Nathan laughs still, too jovial to even register her insults. However, he does quieten a smidgen, looking up to her with a grin. "Don't mention it," he says, sinking onto the metal as he cradles the med-kit, not making any effort to use it just yet. Home... he can go home... and away from the horde of nasties that live in the crevices of this planet.
Steve's head snaps back as the elbow lands, causing blood to instantly run from his nose. But that's not going to stop him. He's had worse. He slams a fist downwards at Kell's head. "Oh, I ain't ready to let you go just yet!" he grunts, swinging again, "And this time when I kill you. You're gonna stay dead! You understand!?" he rants.
Jessica allows herself to slide down the wall beside Nathan, letting out a deep sigh. "I think... I think I do not like this job." she decides. "Too many assholes. Everyone trying to kill me. If I wanted this, I would just stay in Adrasteia."
Kell lets out a gasp as the punch hits, but his fingers grip the pistol and he rolls over, simultaneously aiming to slam the grip into Steve's... well, anywhere, really. There's an awful lot of clicking and skittering around them.
Several drell drop from sniper fire, and many more are killed as their vehicles are overwhemled by insects that swarm them, breaking through reinforced glass windows and pulling the occupants out to feast on them in their burrows below. One still-remaining vehicle starts opening fire on the insects, the autocannon tearing into them - and the other vehicles beyond. A struck fuel tank ignites, the fireball lighting up the horizon as
Victoria begins to pilot the shuttle, having the doors shut and lifting the shuttle off from the ground and proceeds to fly out of the cargo bay. She then starts making her way to the location of Redrock's ground team.
Ehanis quickly gets to work putting on her armor undersuit, though she doesn't bother with the plates. It looks like the drell has a much bigger problem than she could ever be.
Renala has moved to the doorway, looking out towards the scene. Though, her location doesn't offer her much. She has picked up the fact that Steve was captured by the drell, and that worried her as she saw the inferno in the distance. Fuck, she should have spoken up back when Nathan and Jason argued. Maybe none of this would have happened in the first place.
Steve allows himself to be pistol-whipped as he digs his fingers up under Kell's chin, hands wrapping around the drell's neck as he postures up, moving to sit on Kell's chest. He barely even feels the pain as it just rolls into the rest of the aching at this point. Every muscle in his body burns like it's on fire as he squeezes as hard as he can, focused only on crushing the life out of this entity in front of him. Kell's face
shifts and distorts and Steve blinks hard to make it go away to no avail. First into an old ally who got in his way. An enemy he caught in an alley on Omega. A woman after a chance meeting in a bar during a particularly bad episode. A friend on a barren desert planet. His face goes bright red as he pours every bit of energy into snuffing the life from the shapeshifter in front of him.
Jason glances over to Seriah with a big smile and reaches out, clasping a gauntlet on her shoulder before pointing up towards the sky, then tapping his chest. "Allies." he says softly, another deep breath escaping him as he awaits their rescue. "Everyone. Out here. Now." he says over comms, trying to muster up as much authority as he can given his tired state. "Bring Namira. We're going home as soon as we can get a bead on
Kell struggles against Steve's grip, trying to form words but letting out only choked grunts and gasps. Just as he raises the pistol to fire a bug bites down on his hand, and a muffled cry of pain escapes him. His throat inflates to break Steve's grip and he starts punching wildly at the man with his free hand, trying to get a leg in between them to kick him off.
Renala nods and starts towards the staircase. She was doing nothing but worry right now, and this was a chance for her to finally do something useful. "I'll go get her, boss," she says over comms, still sounding tired. She heads upstairs and into the crew quarters. "We're going home," she says as she crouches down beside Namira. "We're finally going home!"
Nathan chuckles grimly, glancing across to her with a tired sigh. "Yep... it may not be the live for everyone. You should go personal security. Bodyguard or something," he mumbles as he closes his eyes. Fatigue sweeps over him and he stifles a yawn, poorly. "Holy shit... we're going home...".
Namira awakens, a dazed look on her face as her eyes turn to Renala and she smiles weakly. She doesn't move otherwise.
Ehanis starts gathering her armor pieces into an unstable tower. The swelling was still visbile, and she had no doubt in her mind that Ilyna would notice, but there was nothing she could do about it. "One minute," she picks up her omni-tool to say into comms.
Jessica groans loudly as she hears Jason's order just as she sat down. "Fuuuuck." she groans. Though she can't be too angry about going home. She uses the wall to climb back to her feet. Slowly and painfully. Then offers a hand to Nathan. "You look like shit, by the way. You know this, yes?" she asks.
Steve's grip loosens as Kell forces a leg between them, causing him to stumble back slightly. But he goes right back to dropping hammerfists on the drell, frenzied roars escaping him each time his hand comes down. First a right. Then a left. The pain in his shattered left hand only serves to make him angrier. More agitated. He strikes downward again, a blue glow enveloping him as he musters up whatever biotic energy he can. Amp
Renala returns the smile, happy to see the asari respond to her in some way. A biotic field surrounds the other asari as Renala lowers her mass enough for her to comfortably carry her. She slips an arm under knees and her other under her upper back and lifts her up. She begins making her way out of the ship, being extremely careful with the stairs and any doorways. She still has some things to pick up, including her helmet, but
More insects swarm, one of them flying onto Steve's back and digging hard claws into him as it tries to drag him with it, even as Kell reels from strike after strike, struggling to block the attacks with only one arm free, his face twisting in agony as the other insect continues to pull at his other arm.
Jason sucks in a deep breath, tearing his gaze away from the ship finally. "If you have anything here you need to take with you-..." he begins, looking between Jake and Plara, "...I suggest you get moving now. We don't need to be around when those bugs finish with Kell's people. As soon as the shuttle touches down, we're gone."
Nathan clasps her hand and manages to drag himself upwards, carrying the med-kit in his free hand. He sways dangerously, but somehow keeps his balance. "Very aware of this, yes. Like the day after a night-out... but worse." He starts to slowly shuffle towards the exit, his limp visible.
Plara watches the shuttle approach in silence, seemingly still ready to lash out with her biotics at any moment should it be required.
Mahmoud exits the ship, having just geared up for a fight when he heard the chatter. He joins the others as the shuttle starts to approach.
Korio rises to a knee, eye to his scope as he searches for any sign of Steve amidst the chaos. "I lost Briggs. I-... believe he slipped away. Attempting to reaquire visual on him." he announces over comms.
Jessica limps along beside Nathan, low grunts escaping her with each step. "That is a very generous description. I would say, like a week in the desert...." she says, glancing to her side at Nathan, "...But worse. Though you were looking like shit when we arrived, so I am not so sure is the desert's fault." she adds, her shoulders rising and falling as a chuckle escapes her, though it quickly turns to pained coughing.
Victoria continues to make her way to the surface of the planet and the safest and closest landing zone to Redrock. She figures those on the ground would not want to stay there for very long and believed they are already organising themselves.
If Korio were to follow the trail in the dirt down the ridge spotting Steve and Kell would not be hard, although the chaotic events going on around them might distract. Even now the drell that still remain are varyingly trying to flee or fight off the insects that have been disturbed by the vehicles.
A cloud of dust is kicked up as the shuttle descends into the little valley in the middle of the mesa where the ship is landed. The Eclipse mercenaries back off to make room for it to land. Seriah just stares at it with fascination.
Ehanis exits the ship, carrying an unstable pile of armor pieces in her arms with the helmet swaying on top. Two trips, what's that? Some are on her person, however, just so she can attach the canteens, weapons and her omni-tool. She stops when she sees the shuttle approach overhead, waiting for it to land before continuing.
Jason steps to the side to make room for everyone to begin piling into the shuttle. "Ride is here, everyone!" he calls out over comms, "Mount up! Korio, we'll pick you up! What's the word on Briggs!?"
Nathan offers a weak laugh in return, exiting the ship shortly after Ehanis. "Well, you have a point there, I suppose," he quips. At Jason's command, he picks up the pace, snatching his helmet up as he passes. "C'mon... let's get out of here. I need a hot shower." He chuckles, shuffling towards the shuttle with a more fervent step.
Renala appears in the ship entrance shortly after the other Nathan, still carrying Namira. She would have adjusted her carrying if it was clear it was uncomfortable. Renala also waits for the ship to land before she moves any closer. Now Steve just needs to be found and extracted, and this will finally be over. At least as far as she's concerned, for dealing with the aftermath of this is above her pay-grade.
Steve slaps a hand ineffectively over his shoulder at the bug with his free hand, his other still reaching out towards Kell. As the claws penetrate his back, he cries out in pain and falls off of Kell, struggling against the pull of the bug and digging his knees into the sand, attempting to dig in before the creature is able to tear him away.
Korio continues to scan the area through his scope before finally spotting the disturbed trail of sand and following it down. "I have eyes on him." he says, slowly lining up a shot on the creature grasping at Steve's back. "He is no longer on the ridgeline. We must hurry, or these creatures are going to rip him apart." he announces over comms. It's a risky shot, but it doesn't look like Steve is going to have much of a chance
Ilyna unbuckles and gets up from her seat, holding onto the handholds. She looks out the viewports, waiting for the very millisecond she can open the doors and get out.
Jessica continues alongside Nathan towards the shuttle, eager to put as much distance between them and this planet as possible.
Just as the insect claws start to tear at the flesh of Steve's back the creature's body explodes in a shower of flourescent green goo and viscera, claws still embeded in the human's back. Kell takes the opportunity to kick himself free and scramble to his feet as he finally thinks to pull the trigger of the pistol, killing the bug attacking him instantly. He drops the pistol as he pulls his mangled arm free, cradling it as he
looks around at the destruction and chaos. "You've ruined everything!" he shouts at Steve. "Alien scum! Come-... come to our world... and..." he trails off, staggering and aiming a weak kick at the human.
Jason offers the others a weak smile as the others join up. "Let's get moving!" he says, slapping a hand against the side of the shuttle to urge them to open the doors, "Sounds like Steve needs a hand! Let's go give it to him!"
Renala starts towards the shuttle with careful steps. She can buy a new helmet, and she can take the heat for the expensive surveillance cameras later. Steve was much more important.
Victoria brings the shuttle down for landing. The shuttle hovering just above the ground and the door of the shuttle open. Krath was standing in the middle of the shuttle, there was enough room to move past him.
Steve stumbles forwards as the bug explodes, the counterweight he was applying against the bug's force sending him right into Kell's kick which puts him right back on his ass. He spits a mouthful of blood at Kell, shoulders rising and falling as he stares at the drell through a sand-and-bug-goo-caked grin. He rolls forward onto his knees, hand pressed into the sand in a three-point stance as he struggles across the ground
towards his pistol. "Y-.... Yeah?" he manages, "Ya'll just didn't know who you were fuckin' with... Big-... Fuckin'-... Mistake-..." he grunts. Just a few more feet. A few more feet and he can put an end to that cocky sonovabitch.
Jason remains off to the side, waving everyone else in. As much as he just wants to hurl himself inside and sleep for the next ten years, he still has a job to do. His team comes first. "Everyone inside! Let's gooo!" he urges, "Might be a little tight, but we've had to put up with each others' stink for days now, a little longer isn't going to hurt anyone!"
Kell kicks the pistol, and it slides away across the sand. He pants, his face controrted in pain as he stops holding his mangled right hand, and instead presses a button on the omni-tool in his left, activating the omni-blade. There's a single-minded, murderous look in his dark eyes as he lifts his arm to strike down at the human with as much force as he can muster.
Nathan limps towards the shuttle, staggering and almost collapsing multiple times. Just as he's about to fall in, he falls to a single knee. "Damn it," he gasps, trying to pull himself to his feet. So... close. Come on... nearly home... nearly there!
Jake and the other Eclipse mercenaries waste no time getting onto the shuttle. None of them have much of any real consequence to bring with them.
Ilyna hops out of the shuttle and starts walking towards the entrance, her eyes locked in on Ehanis from the very moment she saw her. She wanted to shout, to accuse, to cry, but now was not the time. Even the hug had to wait since Ehanis had the hands full, and she might be injuried. She certainly didn't look to good. Why wasn't she in her armor? One of a million questions she resists asking. "Let me help you with that," she says
as she takes most of the armor pieces off her sister's hands, rendering the load much more stable. She returns to the shuttle, casting a few glances back at the sister.
Ehanis freezes completely as Ilyna approaches her, bracing for the storm. She relaxes when there's nothing, though she fears it's yet to come. She couldn't read her sister's face at all, and that worried her. The asari forces a smile at the glance Ilyna casts her way. Terrible as they might be, Ehanis would take the consequences of this any day over being stuck on this dry rock for another minute.
Steve's eyes go wide as the glow radiates around the drell's hand. Not this shit again. He falls backwards into a sitting position. A last ditch effort to get out of the way of the omni-blade's arc. The familiar smell of burnt flesh fills the air once again as a thin line is carved across his chest once the tip of the omni-blade narrowly comes into contact with Steve. Not a single bead of blood escapes as the wound melts shut,
causing a surge of pain to resonate through his entire body. A pained howl fills the air. "That the best you got!?" he follows between deep breaths, hurling himself at the drell in an attempt at toppling both of them back into the sand as he struggles to gain control of Kell's wrist.
Korio readjusts his aim, attempting to sight in on Kell, but the fighting makes it too risky of a shot. He lines it up, finger hovering over the trigger as he waits for his opportunity.
Jason gives a pat to each passing person as they load up into the shuttle, offering a small smile to Ilyna as he spots her. But now wasn't the time for discussion. They could all reuinite once Steve was safe. As Nathan drops to a knee, he starts forward, but resists the urge to get in the way of the others as it looks like Seriah has it under control.
Jessica quickly wraps an arm around Nathan's other arm, dragging him forward with Seriah's help. "Come on-..." she grunts, "...you stupid piece of shit. You are not giving up this close to the fucking shuttle! Gah, can't you do anything right!? Mmmmm!?" she berates. It's how she shows she cares! "Get inside!"
Renala enters the shuttle next and gently puts Namira into a seat and buckles her in. She should probably not be seated, but there was no telling what this shuttle might have to weather should Steve's extraction prove troublesome. Renala pats her shoulder before taking the seat beside her, wasting no time getting herself buckled in. "Hurry up!" she says to the approaching mercenaries, getting frustrated at anything that delays
Nathan , with the help of Seriah and with Jessica's 'encouragement', manages to haul himself into the shuttle. "Argh!" He collapses into a seat, falling out of their grip as the last expenditure of energy fades. He drifts in and out of a state of consciousness and coherency, but he manages to smile through his dazed expression. He looks to the drell woman and
Jessica. "Thanks," he mutters. Even if Seriah couldn't understand him, his features should be enough to convey his gratitude.
Seriah grabs at Nathan's harness once he is in, not quite sure how to buckle him in, she glances at Jessica.
Kell 's fist, and the omni-blade, slams into the sand as he put all his strength into the strike, and he is easily knocked over by Steve, the blade disappating. He grapples for the human's throat with his good hand, trying to keep the other between them. A pair of insects are strafing around the two fighting humanoids, seemingly momentarily hesitant to strike. Autocannon shots pound into the ridge above, sending dust and
Jessica looks to Seriah in confusion. "What? You want me to tuck him in, too?" she scoffs before giving a roll of her eyes and harnessing Nathan in. "Yeah, yeah. You are welcome." she mutters, "But do not forget this! Mmm!? I come to save your life when I could have let you just die to a missile barrage. You owe me!" she says as she slumps into a seat of her own, removing the Avenger from her back and tucking it beneath the seat
Ilyna leaves the gear beneath her seat and helps Ehanis into the shuttle despite the other asari trying to wave her off. "You have a lot of explaining to do," she says as she gets her into a seat. "Buckle up." She begins stowing her armor pieces away in the compartments beneath her seat.
Ehanis complies with her order. "Yeah, yeah," she mutters dismissively. Of course she has a lot to explain. She would have been worried she'd be an imposter if anything else was the case.
Ilyna then sits down and straps herself in. At least she didn't need her weapons. "I'm ready to leave."
Seriah takes a seat of her own and begins strapping herself in, struggling with the harness for a moment. She definitely does not want to be standing when this thing flies off.
Jason hops into the shuttle last, closing the door behind him before he moves through the shuttle. He slaps a gauntleted hand against Ilyna's helmet playfully as he passes her by. "You saved our asses." he says plainly, "Thank you." He hurries towards the cockpit, hunkering down and pointing out the viewport towards the ridge Korio climbed. "Korio is right up that way." he says before glancing over at Victoria. "You know, I
never thought I would actually be happy to see you, Vicky. Been a strange week, that's for sure." he offers through a grin.
Ilyna stares at Jason after he slaps her helmet, though her expression is otherwise unreadable. He was as guilty in this as Ehanis. Arguably more, as Ehanis would never make a clear promise to her like he did.
Nathan nods numbly to Jessica, offering her a weak thumbs up. He now, at this point, falls silent as he slumps in his seat. He struggles to keep his eyes from fluttering closed and he squirms in the seat.
Steve reaches for the wrist the omni-blade dissipates from. Even in his rage-induced state, he realizes he needs to keep it away from him unless he wants to be skewered. He wrestles to pull the hand free from his throat with his right hand. With his left, he begins raining down elbows on the drell, the severe pain from his shattered hand giving him brief cause to restrain from punching with it. The bugs surrounding them are
Victoria gives a shrug at Wolfe "I could always leave you here, if you like." She clearly jokes back at the man. She closes the door of the shuttle and starts making her way towards Korio. "So, had a nice vacation so far?" She asking Jason in a joking manner.
Jason grunts as he slumps into the seat beside Victoria, giving a weak shrug of his shoulders. "Eh. You know. Good place to visit, but I'm not sure if I'd ever consider picking up a timeshare out here. Plus the locals are assholes."
Kell 's chestplate protect him from most of the elbow-strikes, but as one hits his head his grip of Steve's throat weakens. He fumbles to activate the omni-blade again as his hand is forced away from the throat, the searing hot, razor-sharp blade coming to life between the two of them, but he finds himself unable to manuever his arm to stab Steve's body. He struggles to create enough space with his bad hand to be able to shift
Korio takes a shot at one of the bugs circling Steve and Kell. Then a second shot. Doing his best to buy Steve as much time as he can by slowing the insects. He rises to his feet as he hears the shuttle approach, slowly backing towards it as he lines up a third shot before swiftly turning on his heels and gracefully hopping into the shuttle in one fluid motion. He turns his back to the door and folds up his rifle as he steps
through the shuttle and towards the cockpit. "Steve is down there." he says, extending his arm as he points in Steve and Kell's direction through the viewing port. "He seems to be engaged with one of the drell. I was unable to get a good shot without risking hitting him. We should move quickly."
Steve musters up as much strength as he can, bringing both hands to control Kell's omni-blade, keeping his body pressed tightly against Kell's to minimize his chances of becoming a Steve-kebab. He jams his left arm into the crook of Kell's elbow and squeezes the drell's wrist with his good hand, trying to wrench it over his own arm and turn the omni-blade back on Kell. "I-....I warned you!" he growls, every exerted movement
causing sharp pain to shoot through his body. Caked up sand and dried blood- both his own and bug blood- is beginning to dry across his skin.
Victoria gives a nod at Korio and shuts the shuttle door again. She then begins to head towards the direction of Steve.
Kell lets out a loud cry of pain as the blade slices into his shoulder, causing his strength to waver, and in an instant Steve overwhelms him, the blade cutting through flesh and bone like butter, going deep into his chest before overloading and sputtering out of existence.
Jessica holds on to her harness as the shuttle hovers this way and that. "I am going to eat an entire fucking varren when I get home..." she groans.
Steve sucks in a deep breath as he feels the blade slide through Kell. He falls back into a seated position atop the conquered drell as the omni-blade overloads, shoulders rising and falling as he struggles to suck in air. Low, pained groans are all that escapes him. His entire body shakes with pain, but it's the throbbing in the back of his head that he focuses on. The familiar pain that he has come to know like a close friend.
He steadies himself, placing his shattered, left hand on Kell's shoulder as he looks him over to make sure he's dead. Regardless, Steve punches him in the head with his right hand. And again. He sits back down, wobbling back and forth slightly as he spits the coppery blood from his mouth before taking a third swing at Kell.
Kell doesn't move as he is struck again and again, but around Steve several insects are circling, and now the first two of them lounge at him, one skittering across the ground from behind, and one flying at him from the front, clawed legs outstretched.
Renala watches intently out the view port once the shuttle takes off towards Steve's position. She was definitely going to demand an explanation from the other two in his team later. Renala draws and reloads her Locust, preparing to shoot this drell if she can get a clear shot on him.
Steve doesn't even have enough energy to dodge out of the way. He reaches sluggishly to the side, fingertips extended towards his pistol that he'll never be able to reach in time. It's just too far and his legs aren't doing him any favors right now. His mind races, but everything is made fuzzy by the pounding, throbbing pain in his head. He's not going anywhere fast. He retracts his arm and begins searching Kell, prying open the
The omni-tool is easily acquired, and upon pressing the proper key a new blade forms without issue, purple light bathing the sand as the holographics glow. The flying insect slams right into Steve from above, scratching at him with its claws.
The shuttle is rapidly approaching Steve's position, soaring over the chaotic fighting below in the sands. They arrive to see Steve struggle to fight off the swarming bugs.
Steve swipes at the bug with a sweeping arc. It's sloppy. He's just trying to stay afloat at this point. To say he's exhausted would be a massive understatement. "C'mon-... C'mon you ugly fuckers!" he taunts as more wounds are torn open by scraping claws. He shoves at the bug with his other hand, causing him to fall off of Kell and onto his side.
Jason cusses under his breath as he sees Steve through the viewing port and rises from his seat. "Get him in here!" he orders over comms. "Someone! He's not gonna last long out there!"
The flying bug is badly cut, blood spraying as it withdraws in a hurry. The one behind Steve crawls atop him as he falls to his side, snapping its mandibles in front of his face. More are swarming up, grabbing his arms and legs as they start to drag him across the sand roughly.
Victoria starts slowing down the shuttle when she gets closer to Steve "People who can fight should get close to the door." She begins to circle around Steve's location "Open the door when you guys are ready to save him."
Nathan is fluctuating in and out of consciousness, his body struggling to stay awake until the rest of the team are aboard. His mind, however, screams for him to just pass out and embrace slumber. "C'mon... Steve...".
Renala unbuckles and gets up upon getting a glimples of him through one of the viewports. "Krogan, come with me," she says as she she slams the interface to open the door and hops out to run over to him. She'll start tearing the insects off him, and throwing them aside, buying him time before the krogan can get over to do the heavy lifting. She's thoroughly exhausted, and there's no way she can conjure up another biotic field
All but one of the bugs dragging Steve are hurled aside, struggling to right themselves as their many legs wriggle to find purchase. The last one turns towards Renala and leaps at her, wings buzzing as it attacks.
Steve winds back with the omni-blade, striking out at the final bug with it the moment it releases its grasp on him, attempting to slice it cleanly out of the air, an effort that would end, whether successful or not, with the momentum carrying him right back to the ground. His teammates haven't even registered yet. Right now he's just in a fight for survival.
The insect is long gone by the time Steve's blade slices through the air, still coming right at the asari.
Korio hurries back into the cargo compartment, at the very least so he's no longer blocking Jason's way. He pulls the rifle from his back and lowers to a knee near the door, scouting for any more threats in the distance as the others handle those nearby.
Jason gives Korio a few light shoves, urging him out of the way as he takes a position on the other side of the open door, waiting to offer assistance if possible.
Victoria | Krath jumps out of the shuttle after Renala, taking out his Graal thrower when his feet hits the ground. He begins to run towards Steve, shooting at any bugs that approaches.
Renala reaches out to catch it, and will throw it away like the others if she is successful. "Hurry up, krogan!" she shouts.
The bug is almost upon her, one of its claws scratching her face before it is thrown away. The others barely have time to turn themselves upright before the krogan fills them with spikes. More are unburrowing all over however, swarming towards them rapidly. A few are picked off by Korio's sniper fire.
Steve slams his shattered hand against the sand, wrestling with himself to get back up despite the pain raking across his body. He sluggishly hops to his feet and reaches back, leveling his omni-blade at Renala with a loud warcry. His arm tenses up as it threatens to strike out at the asari before a moment of confusion washes over him once he realizes who he's looking at. More mind games? Has to be. Kill now, sort it out later.
He swallows hard, his eyes rapidly searching the sands for the drell's dead body. His gaze comes to a rest on Renala once again, then moves to the shuttle. The krogan. He bites down hard, urging himself to strike. 'You question yourself, you die, Steve' he reminds himself as he moves forward, planting a heavy step against the sand as he moves to lunge and impale her on the purple blade. Another hesitation as he stumbles
through the sand towards her, arm lowering to his side. "F-...Fuck...." he stammers, swallowing hard as he sucks in another deep breath. "...Knew you wouldn't leave without me, Ren..." he says, though it sounds more like he's trying to convince himself than anything else as he looks her over, nostrils flaring as he struggles to breathe. The purple glow dissipates and he continues on his way right past Renala and towards
Jason steadies himself against the shuttle doorway, firing wide at any bugs in the distance looking their way. "Get him inside!" he orders, "Now!"
Korio calmly readies his next shot, finger gently gliding across the trigger before lining the next one up. A practiced, graceful move that seems to come natural, as if he's on autopilot.
Jake seems to consider joining the others in fending off the bugs, the the entrance is crowded already. He remains in place.
Renala groans when the bug leaves a mark on her face. If only the krogan wasn't too preoccupied with shooting bugs, they could have been out of here by now. She stares at Steve as he tries to attack her and takes a few steps back. What is he doing? Maybe this fight is too much for him. "Easy," she says. "The fight is over. We're going home." It's only when the omni-tool flickers off she hurries to his side and starts helping
Victoria | Krath begins to slow down as he approaches the human. "Tough little human." He holds his Graal in one hand and then go behind Steve, so he can pick him up and carry him like a football. He then begins to run back to the shuttle. He would still shoot at any bug that approaches him and his Steve-ball.
Ilyna is standing by the shuttle door, she's holding up a barrier to ensure that nothing enters this shuttle without her permission. Despite her feelings of betrayal surrounding Jason and the agency, she still had a job to do.
Several bugs go down to the combined fire of the mercenaries at the shuttle hatch, keeping them back for now, but more and more are starting to take flight, buzzing over their downed kin.
Steve wraps an arm around Renala's shoulder, grunting in pain at even having to lift his arm as he uses her to support his weight. Blood, dirt, sand, and bug guts encrust nearly his entire body, matting up his hair in places. He struggles against the krogan's attempt at carrying him, pushing his hand away. "Back off!" he growls, giving the krogan a shove. "I don't know you, stay the fuck back!" he threatens.
Nathan 's head lulls to the side as exhaustion finally clasps it's cold, dead fingers around his mind. However, the rattle of gunfire and the screeching of bugs linger in his weary mind, haunting his every thought. Even in the dark embrace of unconsciousness, this planet and its horrors still plague him.
Renala keeps walking beside him, but the tired and fatigued asari doesn't make their walk back very quick. "Careful," she hisses at the krogan. "If you're going to carry him, do it right!" She felt guilty for the reaction towards the krogan, since it was her that implictly ordered him to do so. But she wasn't going to let him harm him.
Victoria | Krath growls, visibly annoyed at the human "Trying to save your fucking life. I'll carry you on my shoulder or I will leave you here to rot." Krath was speaking the truth, if the human did not accept his help he would leave him. He look at the asari as he tried to 'softly' get the human on his shoulder "Either he accepts my help or I leave him here." He stated bluntly.
Steve's expression contorts into one of frustration. He simply leans an arm against the krogan, using him to help stabilize himself as he walks towards the shuttle. "I can walk on my own, krogan." he spits. "I ain't a damned cripple."
Jason extends an arm towards his approaching teammates to help them into the shuttle. "Hurry up! There's a fuckton of those bugs!"
The bugs continue to swarm closer, and some have approached from the other side of the shuttle, now starting to jump atop the shuttle, blocking the cameras and scurrying over the roof.
Victoria | Krath just growls and lets the human use him as support. "Great, now we can get swarmed." He raises his Graal thrower and starts firing at the bugs on the shuttle's roof.
Renala keeps walking at Steve's side, helping him keep stable. "We're going as fast as we can, boss," she shouts back.
Steve takes Jason's hand as they near the shuttle and, with a grunt, pulls himself inside. Instantly tumbling to the floor, face first.
Ilyna is still holding the barrier up. "Please, only one at a time go through the barrier," she says. While she could handle two people, even three, it was risky and could leave the barrier too vulnerable should a bug follow one of the mercenaries.
Several bugs are hurled off the roof as they're impaled by spikes from the krogan's weapon, and the rest start smashing against the barrier bubble as they reach the entrance, letting out loud clicking and insectoid screeches.
Renala gets into the shuttle with his help and immediately gets out of the way. She breathes a sigh of relief as she's finally out of immediate danger and moves to Steve's side. She detaches the medi-cel canister from her armor and begins looking him over for injuries.
Jason yanks Renala inside and leans over to offer the krogan a hand, though assumes he probably won't take the help. Krogan. "Get inside!"
Korio continues plinking away at the bugs. Once they're upon the barrier, he swaps out to his sidearm, simply folding his rifle and tossing it to the ground as he begins to systematically detatch the bugs from the side of the shuttle and the barrier by way of precise pistol rounds.
Ilyna glares at the insects through her helmet, their efforts futile against her barrier. She was well rested and full of energy. Even if she wasn't, she would sooner pass out than give up.
Victoria | Krath rushes into shuttle, he did not accept any help getting back into the shuttle. He is visibly angry, as in his head this could have been over fast if the human was not an idiot. "Shut the door and go!" He shouted to Victoria.
Victoria did just that, closing the doors if possible and taking off as fast as possible to shake off the bugs.
Nathan barely stirs from his current state, his head slumped over and lulling uselessly. Gunfire, screeches, buzzing, shouting... All linger and form in his mind, melding them together in a brutal myriad of images.
Steve's injuries are numerous. A large gouge in his side, burned shut. Probably deep enough to have damaged bone. As he rolls over, a similar burn can be seen across his chest, ending near his abs. Given all the gore and dirt covering him, it's hard to tell what is what. A third mark is seared into his forearm. The swelling around his eyes and nose indicate that his nose is probably broken, and his left hand is definitely
Ilyna lets go of the barrier as the door closes, and the remainder of the field offers little resistance to the door chomping down on it. She moves back to her seat.