This logfile is imported from aitelogs2 and may contain errors or wrong timestamps.
#CollectorShip – January 4, 2018
Ilyna closes her eyes as Halisi moves to inject her with the stimulant, trusting her with a needle this close to her neck. She grits her teeth at the sting, unmoving until she feels it leave her. She takes a deep breath and lets out a long sigh. "Thank you," she whispers, offering a brief smile. "I feel much better." She glances at the batarian and nods to Halisi. "Let's move." Ilyna starts moving along the
northern wall. She felt ready to take over Ehanis at the front, and she wanted to, but she knew she was ill equipped for that without communcations gear.
Ehanis looks out into the opposite hallway upon getting the all clear from the turian, and crosses the room to take cover by the pillar. She takes cover by the edge, having a decent view of the doorway to the west.
Two Collector drones exit from the northern passage, seen by Ehanis through the western tunnel. They are directing a floating pod between the two of them, one in front of it and one behind, and they're heading towards Ehanis. They do not appear to have spotted her yet but she's bound to be seen unless she ducks back into cover.
Jattic maintains his position at the rear, moving up with the rest of his team. Eager to get out of view, he uses the turn of the ascending tunnel to remain out of view of the chamber to the south and, once again, holds his position to cover the team's flank.
Elena hurries up into the northern tunnel after Oxaris calls out clear, sparing a glance at the dead drone on the ground. "Collectors..." she whispers, almost disbelievingly, keeping her voice down since she's still lacking a helmet.
Ehanis takes cover behind the large pillar. "Got two coming my way," she says overs comms. "They're carrying a pod, so I don't think we can take them out quietly."
Makk barely makes it out of view of the Collectors that are approaching the intersection chamber, his heavy frame and old age slowing him. He grunts quietly upon joining the others in the tunnel, shaking his head to himself and getting ready upon hearing Ehanis.
Oxaris immediately cloaks once it has recharged and she speaks softly through comms. "This leads to a balcony. Not sure what it overlooks, but I heard chittering. Stay low, stay quiet. I'll see if I can't steal a look but I have the feeling we may-" Oxaris halts as Ehanis chimes in. "I'm on my way. Do not engage yet." She immediately starts to backtrack to Ehanis' position, using the wall on the left as cover just
before entering the room. She peers in and whispers to Ehanis. "Move around the pillar as they enter the room. Make a noise, draw their attention. I'll dispatch them."
Zaylus does his best to stay out of sight while moving with the group, the shuffling dynamics of all these people putting him on edge. The laser drill has grown very heavy in his arms but he fights to keep it up and ready.
The two Collectors enter the chamber, starting to cross it. They do not appear on high alert, and are lightly armed - holstered SMGs. They're heading towards the eastern tunnel.
Ehanis nods and digs a spare clip out of her armor, glancing at the big pipe. "Got it," she whispers into comms, and carefully inches her way along the pillar to the edge south-eastern edge of it. She's listening for their footsteps for whether to stay where she is or slip around before springing her distraction.
The humming of the yellow liquid moving through the pipe is almost enough to drown out the footsteps of the Collectors. They keep heading across, past the halfway point of the chamber now. They'll be exiting to the east soon.
Jattic lowers his weapon as Oxaris joins him, though he remains silent lest he inadvertantly draw attention their way. He merely gives a single nod and remains out of view for now, prepped to intervene if his assistance is required.
Oxaris uses the sound of the pipes to drown out her already quiet steps and she stalks behind them, easily within reach to leap and end their miserable existences. She whispers into her internal comms, "Now."
Ilyna glances anxiously at her sister before getting out of view of the chamber. She may not have heard the comms chatter, but the turian cloaking meant that danger was close.
Ehanis slips around the corner as she picks up the sound of footsteps and guesses that they're at the halfway point. She takes a deep breath and throws the clip at the big pipe before stomping hard on the ground once since she fears the clip won't make enough sound. She takes cover against the pillar, readying her biotics for whatever comes next.
The clip pings against the transparent material of the pipe. It's enough to cause the rearmost drone to turn its head briefly in the direction of the noise. Noticing a subtle distortion in the air out of the corner of one of its many eyes it lets out a series of clicks to call it to attention for its companion, while simultaneously reaching for its SMG.
Oxaris thunders through the air as he jets flare, almost straight up as her knee is brought upwards in a vicious strike towards it's face, her cloak distorting, then rematerializing the Ghost to the visual spectrum. The jets immediately alter course, blasting her downwards so that she crushes the Collector beneath her boosted body. Her hand raises towards the other, the omni-tool forming and discharging to stun it with
another Overload, her free tool forming the blade to bury it in the face of the first combatant. Should her series of movement prove true, she moves to her feet and slices diagonally upwards to cleave through the second Collector. She issues no commands, hoping that her team can make the right call, depending on the situation and how it develops.
Ehanis hears the clicking 'speech' too soon, having expected one of them to die before the other would notice something is off. And she loses her patience. "Going for the front one," she calls out over comms before getting out of cover, following the eastern side of the pillar until she sees one of them, and then sends off a warp field directed at him.
The first Collector is dispatched by the fanciful manuever from Oxaris, its chitinous body crunching under the force of her armored strikes. The omni-blade ensures its not getting up. The second one draws its weapon, letting out strange vocalizations of its own as it backsteps and readies its weapon. The overload strikes just in time to prevent it from firing, but as the warp field impacts a split-second later the lingering
electrical current interacts with the unstable mass effect field, causing a violent reaction as the drone's torso is both scorched and shredded to pieces, electricity arcing towards both the pod and the walls, sending sparks flying. The pod's hover mechanism fails and it falls down against the floor with a clunk.
Oxaris 's shields flare as the violent reaction happens from just a few steps from her and she staggers back. "Spirits," she snaps over comms. "Someone check the pod, now. Jattic, in here, secure the tunnel we came through, I'll cover the other. Everyone else, hold that tunnel, we need to make sure nothing heard that explosion." She turns and glowers at Ehanis, jabbing a finger at her. "You, back with the others, now!"
She doesn't await an answer, instead turning and raising her SMG to cover the tunnel the Collectors came from.
Jattic peers out to watch the display from his position in the tunnel, holding the foreign weapon close in case he's needed. As the drone's torso is shredded by the unstable interaction, he leans back into cover, turning away from the electrical light show. "Fuck!" he growls, "Let us hope that went unnoticed by the others." He lowers his head, doing his best to listen for any sign that the little scuffle may have aroused
suspicion. When Oxaris' orders come through, however, he wastes no time sprinting into action, immediately stomping back towards the door they entered from and stacking up as he awaits for signs of hostiles.
Zaylus flinches hard from the display, reflexively gritting his teeth but holding his expletives in. He rushes in after Jattic, apparently going to inspect the pod they were moving.
Elena moves up just a little further, keeping an eye on the balcony area, but staying low and out of view of the still-unexplored chamber beyond the balcony. "Lotta chatter over here." she whispers back to Ilyna and Halisi.
The overloaded pod is thankfully empty. The electrical flare seems to have fried whatever circuitry is within the strange, biomechanical construct.
Ehanis can't help but laugh as she sees the collector go out like that. "That was-," she begins over comms, but is interrupted by the others reactions. That she caused unnecessary noise they made doesn't even register with her until the turian jabbed a finger at her. "Yeah, yeah," she mutters to herself before hurrying back to the stairs.
It's not long at all before a pair of Collectors appear in the western passage, clearly on alert and searching for whatever caused the noise. The one in the front has an assault rifle at the ready while the rear one wields an SMG.
Ilyna looks down at the floor at hearing Elena's report, the noise hadn't gone unnoticed it seems. She stared at her sister once she spots her going upstairs, having a feeling she had a part in this judging by her swift return.
Halisi lets out a whispered. "What was that noise?!" when Ehanis joins them in the tunnel, the worry obvious in her expression.
Ehanis slumps her shoulders. "I thought she botched her ambush when they started clicking to one another," she whispers back, sounding frustrated. "I... was wrong."
Oxaris ducks back behind cover and waves at Zaylus and Jattic to move to the side. "Two coming this way. You two, back up." She clutches her SMG in one hand, the other hanging by her side as she cloaks once more, fading into nothingness. She gingerly peeks her head around the corner, barely a slither to see if they have begun thundering down this way.
Jattic's gaze snaps back towards the other passage upon hearing Oxaris. He'll be right in their line of sight before long. With an unamused grunt, he hazards one last glance down the corridor he was guarding before backing up towards the northern passage once more, rifle still shouldered as he awaits the inevitable firefight to come.
Zaylus is inspecting the fried pod, thankfully empty, when the order comes around. He hisses softly, ducking down behind the pod and lowering his head out of sight.
The communcation between the two Collectors intensifies as they spot a hint of movement in the chamber ahead. They quicken their pace, moving through the tunnel with weapons raised, rapidly approaching the entrance. The chitinous outgrowth on the northern side of the pillar in the chamber might just be enough to obscure the broken pod and dead drones from their view, but it's hard to tell.
Oxaris watches them jog down towards them and she waits a moment, counting down as they move. She ducks back into cover, a few paces as of not to hopefully be spotted from the corner of their eyes. Three. Her HUD primes her omni-tools. Two. Her jets ready. One. The first one should just pass through the archway as her countdown finishes and takes a step to the corner of the wall, waiting until the second makes it's
appearance to step out and decloak, slashing her omni-blade to slice through the dome of the second Collector. Should her tactic prove fruitful, she would jet at the second to thrust her blade into it's back before tearing it out through the side of it.
Ilyna grabs Ehanis' right arm, still aware of her injured shoulder despite everything else on her mind right now. They still had to get the rest of their people out, not to mention Li, so she didn't take it lightly that her sister may have jeopardized their rescue operation. "You stay close to me from now on," she hisses. "That's an order."
The first Collector goes down before it has a chance to react. The one in the front comes to a sudden stop at the sound of decloaking, turning hastily to bring its rifle to bear, but it ends up with a blade buried into its chest as the turian flies into it, tackling the creature to the floor. It lets out a series of strained noises before its torso is torn open, silencing it. It's unlikely they have long before more Collectors come
Jattic waits until the noise begins before stepping back out from the tunnel- rifle raised. As the gory scene comes into view, he lowers the organic rifle once again. "We are leaving a trail of bodies in our wake." he grunts, "If they are not already aware of our presence, it is only a matter of time." His gaze moves to the two Collectors dispatched by Oxaris and Ehanis before his visor snaps back to Oxaris. "I suggest we up
the pace and hurry to the others." he continues, a bit of frustration in his tone making it obvious that he feels they're already on borrowed time, "We are going to need the numbers and our equipment if we find ourselves having to fight our way back."
Oxaris stands up and deactivates the blades, turning her visor towards Jattic. There is a second pause before she nods sharply. "Agreed. I was hoping we could keep this quiet for a little longer, but Tioran has dashed that. Alright, Jattic, take that passage that these grunts came from with the rest of the team. I have a feeling that will lead to the room where I heard the other Collectors. Tear through any resistance
you find, but don't get bogged down. I'll head to the balcony and scope it out from there. If my hunch is correct, it may provide us with a flanking route." She moves over and takes the SMG from the collector and underhands it to Zaylus. She then scoops up the assault rifle and gets to grip with it for a moment. "Our equipment is a secondary objective, but if you come across it and it won't lead to us getting
pinned, you grab it. If it comes down to it, I'll provide a distraction for the rest of you. Keep a biotic at the front and at the rear to provide cover in case swarms start to appear. If we find Mercier, we'll have another to add to the artillery."
Ehanis nods to her sister's order, but she is already on her way upstairs to see if that's any hints of the others from that vantage point when the batarian speaks. Her sister didn't let go of her arm, though, so she's yanked back. "Change of plans," she whispers to the people around her. "'Lyna join up with Jattic at the front, I'll watch our backs."
Ehanis sighs. "They want a biotic at the front and back." Only then does Ilyna let go of Ehanis, and she hurries off towards wall by the tunnel going west.
Ilyna frowns and looks at Halisi. "I'm sorry," she says, "for not doing more to keep her away from this mission."
Zaylus straightens back up when its obvious the coast is clear, at least for the moment. He anticipates the offering in time to shift the drill onto one arm, snagging the SMG out of the air with his free hand. Frowning, he considers the two pieces carefully. After a moment's consideration he tentatively clasps the collector weapon to his side, unwilling to sacrifice the laser drill
Halisi squeezes Ilyna's shoulder. "This isn't the time. The team needs you. You can do this. Let's find Li." she replies quietly, remaining at the center of the group as orders are relayed.
Jattic gives a single, heavy nod before holstering his own rifle and leaning down to pick up the two SMGs off of the first pair of Collectors. He steps back to get a look down the hallway at the others. "We're moving." he says, making sure to speak through his helmet's external speakers as to be heard by the whole team as he slaps an SMG into the hands of the passing asari harshly, "You're in the front." He extends the second
one towards Ilyna. "You'll be covering our rear." With a sweeping glance about the others, he gives a grunt of, "We're running out of time. Let's go."
Elena is still watching the balcony from just inside, having taken cover behind one of the pillars. She's remaining well away from the 'railing' to ensure she's out of sight to whoever is below. When she hears Jattic call out from below and people get moving, she stars to pull back, assisting Ilyna in covering the rear of their not-so-stealthy group.
Ilyna nods. "You should stay with me, though," she says before hurrying down to meet up with the people. She accepts the weapon without question, it'll either work or it won't and she'll find out soon. "Shouldn't I be at the front?" she asks. "I can protect us from the insects, she cannot."
Ehanis holsters her pistol and takes the offered weapon without a word. She sighs as the orders given are the opposite of hers, and she waits for the batarian to decide for them.
Oxaris just hears the bickering as she moves back towards the balcony. "Decision is with Jattic. He's leading the assault team," she says sharply, as if daring someone to argue with her right now. "What he says, goes." With that, she cloaks and presses the stock of her newly acquired rifle to her shoulder. She starts moving towards the balcony, inching forwards until she can get a view of what lays below with exposing
Jattic regroups along with everyone near the western tunnel. "You are weak." he says, his words unintentionally carrying a tone harsher than the intended meaning of 'you just climbed out of a slimy goo pod'. "And given the circumstances, I believe we may need a more... offensive touch up front." he adds with a sneer in Ehanis' direction followed by a slow, sweeping glance to the bug mess she made. "I saw what your barrier is
capable of, Ilyna. You will ensure we are not flanked from behind. But we have no point of reference for the enemy we face. If we are confronted with battle, be ready to engage." And with that, he stomps forward, nodding for Ehanis to take the lead.
The chamber beyond the balcony is similar in size to the one the rest of the team is in, but the contents are much different. Pods. About twenty in number, as well as five Collectors. Two of them are in the middle of relocating one of the pods to a hexagonal metal platform that sits at northern wall of the room. There seems to be an opening somewhere above and beyond the hexagon, but it is not visible from Oxaris' position. Perhaps
an elevator or something similar. Two other pods are already loaded onto the platform. In the southeastern corner of the space below is a large pile of equipment. Captured weapons are piled haphazardly atop each other along with small crates, helmets, and even an entire weapons locker that must have been ripped out of a ship at some point. The remaining three Collectors consist of one of the strangely horned overseers and two
drones. The drones appear to be heading for a tunnel opening to the south, which, judging by the angle, must lead to where the assault team is heading.
Ehanis snorts as he checks her work on the floor. "I have more where that came from," she says, a hint of excitement in her otherwise deflated tone. A biotic shimmer forms around her and she starts making her way towards the tunnel going east, walking past the batarian.
Ilyna looks almost defensive for a moment as he points out her weakness, and she's ready to protest until he requests a more offensive touch. She was the exact opposite, so she bit her tongue and jogged over to the eastern hallway, taking cover by the side of it. The complinent on her barrier went without reaction from her.
Oxaris observes the room, feeding an update to the assault team. "Large room, seems to be where they transfer the pods deeper into the ship. Twenty pods or so. Five Collectors. One of them seems to be a leader. I see our gear at the bottom of this balcony and to the left. Two are heading towards a tunnel which will likely lead them back to you all. Either wait for them to go by, kill them quietly, or tear through them.
As soon as you assault this room, I'll provide cover from up here, but jet down if needed. Move, now."
While it's hard to tell at such a distance, Oxaris' elevation offers some level of view into the pods. They look occupied. As the third pod is loaded onto the hexagonal platform the two drones remain on it. One of them moves over to a green, hexagonal haptic interface projected by a terminal in the center of the platform, while the other unholsters its rifle and stands guard, seemingly waiting for something...
Jattic nods to himself, halting his progress as he hears Oxaris' update. "You heard her." he growls, gesturing towards the curve in the tunnel ahead with a nod, "Two coming our way." He looks to Ehanis. "Take them down once they come into view. Quickly. Silently, if possible." Giving a glance to the others, he continues, "Our gear is just beyond them and, perhaps, our teammates. If things get loud, prepare to move in quickly."
He rotates his large, spiked shoulders as he leans forward, organic stock pressed firmly against his shoulder as he readies himself.
Makk readies his spike thrower, but keeps his finger of the trigger. He has no means of silently eliminating their enemies, so he waits to see what course of action the others take before firing.
Zaylus rolls his head once to loosen his shoulders, settling back down into a tight stance as he waits.
Oxaris watches for a moment. She then relays, "They're moving pods onto a platform. Three. They look like they're about to transport them further into the ship. I can't see if it's our people or not, but I'm not willing to risk it, so change of plan. Assault team... tear them apart. Watch for the pods. If you can draw the remaining collectors to you all, I'll be able to sneak behind them and flank."
Ehanis holds the SMG up in one hand, while the other is held out to guide the warp field once he's in view, and she stops just ahead of the batarian. "I'll take care of the first one," she says over comms. "Or not, moving," she responds to the change of plans, starting down the tunnel. Her armor had shields, and the Collectors that are coming are definitely outgunned.
Ilyna starts backing towards the cover afforded by the outgrowth of the pillar, not wanting to be too far away. She casts a few glances over her shoulder as she'd be most useful in a more confined space like the tunnels.
Jattic's face turns to a devious snarl as he overhears the change of plans, teeth bared behind his helmet. He gives a glance back over the others. "Change of plans." he says in a gruff whisper, using his external speakers so he can be heard by those without helmets. "We're going loud. Kill them all." He falls into line behind just behind Ehanis, making sure to leave enough space to his side for Zaylus to move up alongside him so
they'll have two firing lanes if needed to push into the room. "The action will be coming your way quickly, Oxaris." he continues, back on comms, "Be ready to move the moment an opportunity presents itself." The moment the comms clear, he gives Ehanis a nod to begin.
The pair of drones appear from the north at the end of the western tunnel just as the assault team approaches. Faced with rapidly approaching, angry mercenaries both Collectors raise their SMGs and fire off bursts of automatic gunfire at the team.
The drone at the interface on the hexagon starts pushing buttons, and the platform comes to life, starting to lift off the ground. The Collector captain meanwhile turns to the southern doorway at the sound of gunfire, raising its particle beam cannon and advancing towards the tunnel.
Ehanis sends off the warp field the moment the first Collector comes into view. She tries to fire a few uncontrolled bursts his way while preparing her biotics for another round, hoping that the others deal with the second collector.
Zaylus acknowledges the order with a gruff chuckle, shuffling up next to Jattic in line just in time to recieve the first wave of gunfire. He trains the laser drill on the other collector, aimed upward to avoid accidental fire on any pods, or Ehanis for that matter.
Ilyna remains at the cover in the middle of the chamber, still watching the other tunnel for any signs of reinforcement.
The first Collector drone is immediately struck by the warp field. It contorts in pain as its carapace is torn apart and its flesh rended, dropping its broken weapon as its limps curl in against its torso. It lets out a horrible insectoid screech. The second drone, meanwhile is in the middle of firing at the team when a needle-thin lance of brilliant blue light suddenly appears, stretching from Zaylus, through the Collector, and to
the wall behind it. It manages only a brief, alarmed clicking as its insides combust, flames enveloping it as it falls to its knees, the laser beam making a clean cut up its chest as the creature drops. The wall seems largely unharmed, perhaps outside the rather short effective range of the cutting tool. The same can't be said for the burning, partially bisected corpes on the floor.
Elena glances over at the front of the tunnel, just barely managing to catch the display. "Playing with my toys..." she mutters, remaining on alert despite the comment. "Let's stick close!" she calls out to Ilyna and Halisi, concerned about the group splitting up too much.
Jattic remains behind Ehanis, rifle lowered as shots begin flying their way. "I think we have their attention, Oxaris. But we must push into the chamber the moment we can!" he says, hoping his words will also serve as an order to those around them, though he's well aware that they can't just rush through a warp field. He shifts his attention to the southern tunnel as they wait for the field to dissipate and raises the organic
Oxaris watches as the platform starts to slowly rise. Not willing to risk the possibility of any of Redrock being on that elevator, her HUD starts to run calculations and adjust power designations. "You have the officer heading your way and the platform is starting to rise. I'm going for the platform, you take care of the officer. Move as soon as you're able." She turns and runs back to the doorway, putting some
distance between her and the balcony. She turns, stows the assault rifle and presses one foot back, lowering herself into a runner's position. The servos in her armour start to whine, her cloak dissipates and the jets flare. Her HUD monitors the build-up, calculating the jump from the balcony to the platform. As soon as it runs the routine, she charges forward, footfalls heavy as all sense of stealth is
abandoned. She reaches the edge and uses the railing as a springboard, her jets suddenly roaring to life as it throws her towards the platform. Her omni-blades extend and she tucks her legs towards in preparation for a hard landing. Her hopeful arc would land her right next to the one at the console, where she would sweep her blades to sever it's legs, then plunge the blade through its chest. Rapidly, she would
Ilyna nods and stands, pointing towards the tunnel. "You should help them if you're ready for it," she says, looking at Elena. "Halisi, stay close to me." She starts jogging towards the tunnel going west.
Makk lowers his Graal slightly. "Huh..." he says, glancing at Zaylus before firing a blast at the still screeching warped drone. The spikes lodge themselves in its head and sends the body across the floor, putting it out of its misery. "Got another one." he calls out as he walks into the crossing and spots the captain coming up behind Jattic.
The captain raises its particle beam cannon, firing off a lance of energy that makes short work of Makk's shoulderpad, melting the metal away and eliciting a loud grunt of pain from the krogan, who tears the pauldron off and tosses it to the ground before moving to cover behind an outgrowth, hoping for the Collector to come closer.
Ehanis frowns as she hears the beam cannon, remembering the sound from the encounter up in the freighter. "I'm ready for another warp," she says over comms. She hurries to the corner and peeks out to see if she has a line of sight to send off another warp field.
Zaylus returns the glance to Makk as he lets out a gravelly snicker of delight. He pulls back sharply as the krogan is hit with a similar beam of energy, following his idea and waiting for a better shot. But with apprehension he realizes, one the captain is in range, so is he. "I'll hold if you have the shot." He replies to Ehanis' readiness.
On the hexagon, Oxaris lands hard, immediately leaving the drone manning it with no feet to stand on. As it falls to the platform it gets a blade through the chest. The other Collector is more than ready for Oxaris' kick however, smacking her armored leg aside with the butt of its rifle and then bringing its weapon to bear to fire off a close-quarters burst at her. The hexagon is still ascending through the opening, leaving the
chamber below and entering into something entirely different. An absolutely cavernous space, so large that it must take up the entire spine of the ship, stretches out in every direction. A circular tunnel. In a feat of gravitic defiance that could challenge the Presidium, hundreds of thousands of Collector pods line the walls in every direction, little more than yellow pinpricks as they fade off into the distance. Clusters of
Collectors can be seen flying in the distance in several directions, and termite-like mounds rise toward the center on many sides, increasing the surface area available for storing pods. Amid all this the hexagonal platform hovers, slowly gaining altitude.
The captain is indeed in Ehanis' line of sight, and it fires off another lance in her direction with the particle beam as she peeks out.
Jattic swings back around in surprise upon hearing Makk. Left with few options aside from cutting off his attacker's firing line, he ducks into the southern tunnel, leaving his flank open to the western chamber. As Ehanis speaks up, he gives a sharp nod to himself. "Hit it with everything! We need to get into that chamber!" he orders in a growl as he swings out, index finger squeezing the trigger of the unfamiliar rifle as he
Oxaris adapts quickly to the kick, using the momentum of her deflected leg to bring her low and let her avoid a few of the bullets, the rest being absorbed by her shielding. One omni-tool folds away and her hand snatches the SMG from her hip. She would swing her still active omni-tool up to carve through the collector's weapon, before she raises the SMG at it and holds the trigger down to empty its contents at point
blank range. The awe-inspiring sight is completely lost on the turian, affording not even a moment's distraction to eliminate the foe opposite her.
The drone is taken by surprise as its weapon is suddenly cut into, and the subsequent burst of point blank gunfire causes a spurt of blood to erupt out its back as it stumbles backwards, tumbling off the platform. Which is still moving. Up, and east.
Ehanis snaps back before the beam gets a chance to whittle her shields down. Once he's done, she leans out and guides the warp field towards the bug. She leans back into cover and prepares herself for another field in case the warp doesn't do the job.
The captain is staggered as the warp field impacts its barrier, starting to eat away at it. It fires off another arc with the goal of suppression, sweeping from left to right in the tunnel as it backs up toward the pod room.
There is movement in the chamber to the south now, where crates were being moved. Two drones are coming up behind Jattic and the others, a burst of SMG fire striking the batarian.
Elena nods at Ilyna and hurries into the tunnel. She narrowldy dodges the particle beam before popping out and squeezing off a burst of gunfire with the strange SMG, striking the captain's barrier.
Zaylus holds tight as Ehanis takes her shot at the captain, peeking out to see the effect her warp has had. He tucks his head back as the arc swipes through the tunnel, pausing for a moment before returning a cutting beam of his own.
Ehanis waits for the sweep to go right before peeking out and throwing a Throw his way. It's a much easier field to aim, so she's not exposed for too long before dropping back into cover.
Gunfire. Warp. Throw. Boom. After the captain's barrier is eaten away the throw impacts the unstable warp field, and the Collector disappears in a chaotic explosion of biotic energy. As the distortion clears, it can be seen writhing on the ground, alive, but its weapon is broken and it is badly maimed.
Oxaris watches the creature tumble away, before stowing the SMG and turning back to look the way she came. With a quick jotting to her memory, she then turns to the console to see if she can either make it stop, go back... or slow it down at the very least. She steals a quick glance into each pod, to see if any of their people lay within.
Jattic's head instinctively flinches to the side as SMG rounds impact his shields and the wall at his back. "More at our flank!" he calls out. Gunfire behind him. Biotic explosions in front of him. With a loud grunt, he returns fire down the southern hallway with his collected Collector rifle before chancing it and backing into the corridor the captain came from. "Ilyna!" he growls. "We must move! Now! Ehanis! Zaylus! Secure
Ilyna catches up with Ehanis after the Collector is dead, and is about to form a bubble around them when the batarian's order cut that plan off. She nods sharply and starts running up the northern hallway.
Ehanis shakes her head and moves to the batarian's side. "I'll stay with you," she said, returning fire towards the Collectors in the southern corridor. "This is my mess, I'll help with cleanup." The rapid biotics has expended a lot of energy, so she's content to just use the SMG for now.
The controls for the platform are entirely incomprehensible. A large green hexagon in the middle is surrounded by a number of smaller hexagons that all have alien glyphs on them. The pods contain Li, Nadia and an unfamiliar human man in his twenties. He's wearing a set of Eclipse heavy armor.
Two other hexagonal platforms have appeared in the main chamber, and are approaching Oxaris'. Her platform has reached enough height that jumping would be highly inadvisable. Highly.
Zaylus snaps his head away from the display at Jattic' call, looking back to the captain just as it can be seen writhing on the ground. He jumps up, pressing into the chamber at the batarian's command, hardly noticing Ehanis' refusal. He sweeps the room, looking for any lingering threats as he makes his way toward the departed lift.
The chamber appears to be clear. The opening to the north offers a view into the massive pod chamber, but Oxaris and the platform she is on has already ascended too far to be seen from there. The two drones in the southern chamber have taken fire on opposite sides of the doorway, popping out of cover every now and then to trade shots with Jattic and Ehanis.
Elena moves up after Zaylus and Ilyna, firing off a suppressive burst towards the southern entrance as she passes.
Zaylus creeps up to where the platform ascended, peering up into the gap and furrowing his browplates. He turns, looking up at the balcony and back down across the remaining pods. "Oxaris?" He chimes in on the comms, holding the north passage with his laser drill.
Jattic ducks against the northern hallway's wall as Ehanis refuses his orders. He doesn't respond right away, though after a moment's hesitation he gives a single nod. "We must not allow them into the chamber! Our team must be awoken and our weapons found!" he says, using the awkward angle of the hallway to pop out and return a few shots towards the Collectors to keep them from advancing. Every time the weapon goes off is a
blessing. With no way to tell how many rounds he has and no idea of how to reload the alien weapon, all he can do is hold out for as long as he can and hope it's enough.
Makk moves out of view of the southern passage as the fighting starts, keeping an eye on the chamber to the east instead.
Jattic and Ehanis would find their weapons overheating pretty quickly under sustained fire, hot air blowing out the right side of the weapons as the advanced heat sinks start the cooldown process.
Ilyna looks around the chamber as soon as she arrives, checking the pods' locations and angles they could get attack from. "Velrin, watch the platform," she says. "The rest of you check the pods. Ehanis said the opening mechanism was on the side of it." Ilyna approaches the wall below the railing. "I'll guad our flank." A biotic shimmer surrounds her as she starts to levitate upwards and over the balcony.
Oxaris steps back and stares hard at the controls, then to the pods and finally the approaching platforms. She cusses under her breath and moves to each pod, finding the mechanism to open each. Once that is done, she turns back to Li's pod and reaches in to pick the young girl out, cradling her in her arms. With her free hand, she takes the rifle from her back and lays it down next to Nadia's pod. Finally, she crouches
with the girl in her arms, using the console as cover as she watches the platforms in the distance. "I've been taken into a chamber. Filled with hundreds upon hundreds of pods. I can't figure out the controls for a way back and I have one of ours here, including one of the Jack's crew. Stand by."
Zaylus grunts in the affirmative, glancing back at Ilyna which turns into a look up as she ascends. He bites down hard on Oxaris' words, "Alright." He replies shortly, not wanting to distract her if shes in a tough spot. He keeps his eye out for other platforms and looks around the north passage, looking for some way to recall the turian's lift as if it were just an elevator.
Li is clearly very disoriented as she awakens from stasis, coughing hard while also wriggling to try and get out of armored grip of the turian. "Mommy!" she calls out before the coughing resumes, tears mixing with a lingering layer of stasis gel on her face. Her hands pound against Oxaris' armor.
Nadia 's initial grogginess is quickly wiped away by the rushing of the wind as the platform moves, and the sound of Li's cries. She sits up perhaps too fast, coughing turning to hurling as she leans over the edge of the pod. She is quick to look around while wiping her mouth. "The fuck...?" she mutters in confusion, eyes widening as she takes in the sight around them, disorientation and shock taking over. "What the fuck?!" she
Ehanis is in cover by the corner between the eastern and southern hallway, and she exchanges fire. She tries her best to suppress the Collectors, and in that effort she manages to overheat the weapon. "Fuck, I think I broke it," she says over comms as she holds it away from her while it spews hot air.
EclipseMerc is slow to wake, groaning and stirring in his pod, eventually a coughing fit causes his eyes to open. "Urgh... wha-... shit... no... v-... no..." he mumbles, looking around with unfocused eyes.
Oxaris holds Li tightly, murmuring quietly to her. "It's alright, Li. I'm here to take you back to mommy. I'm a friend. Oxaris. I know you're scared, but I need you to be brave for me for a little longer, okay?" She then turns to the other woman. "Alright, you listen up. I haven't got time to coddle you, I sure as hell don't give a shit about you after you kidnapped a child, but right now, I need all the help I can get.
We're trapped in a Collector ship. Behind us," she says, flicking her head the way she came, "Is the rescue team. The people of your ship and mine. I intend to get back to them. So I'm giving you two option right now. Either you listen to every fucking order I say if you want a chance at survival, or I shoot you right now and dump your corpse off the side of the platform. Are we clear?" Oxaris is perhaps hoping
that a dose of shock therapy will help jolt Nadia to reality. If not... well, she pointedly lays a hand on her SMG. She then looks to the Eclipse Merc, deciding to wait on him.
The two hovering platforms appear to be rapidly approaching Oxaris', matching height, but moving at a faster speed. The silhouettes of several humanoids can be seen on both hexagons. Three each, at least.
Jattic tears back into cover as his rifle stops firing and begins to emit heat out of the side. With a low growl, he inspects the weapon frantically. "Shit! Mine is no longer working either." he says, hastily looking over the foreign rifle for any indication ammunition or a heat regulating system. When it turns up no obvious tells, he angrily hurls the rifle against the wall. "We're running out of time back here, Zaylus!" he
calls over comms, the turian the only other member of his team with a helmet, "Tell them to get those pods opened and gear up! We will hold them off for as long as we can!" He hazards another glance Ehanis' way as he clenches his hands closed and the deep red glow once again envelopes his balled fists.
Nadia is obviously still more than a little confused, but the turian's words seems to catch her attention. She scrambles for the strange-looking rifle. "The hell is this shit?!" she calls out, only reluctantly grabbing the weapon, her gaze darting around as she tries to get her bearings.
Li 's confused and terrified mixture of coughing and crying is hardly calmed by the words off Oxaris, the cold, hard armor, painted helmet and processed, unfamiliar voice makes for a frightening visage, and the situation at large is no better.
Oxaris grunts. "A gun. Point it at the bugs, pull the trigger. Haven't found any thermal clips, so assume it works on a heating system. Short bursts, squeeze the trigger, don't pull. We have two platforms approaching, three hostiles on each. You got tech experience. Yes or no question, answer now." She glares hard at the woman, holding onto Li tightly despite her protesting.
Zaylus mutters sharply to himself, sidestepping closer to Halisi and Elena. "Move fast, our people got trouble." He urges through his external mic, lingering for a second before hopping back toward the north passage. "I can come back to the tunnel, help hold them off. There's nothing on this side." He offers, letting Jattic decide to call him back or not.
Elena gains a relieved smile as she sees who's in her pod, immediately feeling around until she feels the opening hatch. "Come on, mija, we're getting out of here." she says quietly as she helps Wrench sit up, supporting the young girl while she awakens and goes into a coughing fit.
Halisi furrows her eyebrows. "T-... there's a child in this one!" she calls out, quickly getting to work on opening the pod. "I c-... how many people have they taken?!" She lifts the young boy out of the pod, gently seating him against it and kneeling next to him as he looks around in a panic, coughs following as he tries to speak. "Shh, shh... just-... just get it all out. We're here to help."
One of the Collectors in the southern chamber seems to have had enough, and swings into the tunnel, firing off bursts of gunfire as it approaches. The other remains in cover.
Nadia doesn't answer right away, still looking around wildly, but she nods at the instructions, gripping the rifle in a firing position and taking aim at the approaching platforms.
EclipseMerc is finally waking up, coughing as he stumbles his way out of the pod. "Who the fuck-... what the hell...?!" he exclaims in a shrill voice. "WHERE AM I?!"
Ehanis leans out of cover, checking if she has a line of sight on the Collector approaching them without posing a risk to Jattic.
Oxaris ignores the merc for a second, nodding at Nadia. "Then get ready. If the opportunity presents itself, we're jumping aboard one of those platforms to take it. There we will see if it takes us back to the others, or just deeper into the ship. But it's better than sitting on this, waiting for it to take us where ever." She then looks to the merc. "You're on a Collector ship, surrounded by thousands of them. I'm
apart of a rescue team for a group of people. I'm giving you two options, either you work with me, or I kill you and leave your corpse to fester here." She points the SMG at him, preferring her shock therapy to trying to coddle a grown human. "Decide now."
EclipseMerc blinks as he stands up straight. "Shit. Shitshitshit." he blurts out as he look around the masive chamber, stumbling a little as he realizes they're on a moving platform. "Yeahyeahyeah." he adds dismissively when he notices the weapon pointed at him. "How-... what-... shit. That's the plan?! This is great. This is freaking great..." His mumbling trails off as he rolls his shoulders, waking numb limbs and checking
Ilyna sighs deeply as she hears Halisi's report. Another family torn apart by these monsters. "Hurry!" she calls back, fearing for her sister should they take too long. "We don't have much time." She jogs over to a pillar and leans out, watching the curved hallway.
Wrench nods after her coughing fit is over, assuring Elena she's alright. She seems reluctant to leave the pod, wincing at the sound of gunfire from the tunnel.
Jattic activates comms to respond to Zaylus. "Only if the chamber is safe." he growls. As the sound of Collector footfalls sound out he gives a roll his shoulders and readies himself, leaning forward heavily on his front-planted foot. "Here they come..." he mutters. The moment the Collector comes around the corner, the batarian gives a loud roar and barrels forward, his shields sparking and fizzling as the Collector's rounds
ding off of him. He lowers his shoulder, aiming to hit the approaching enemy low and stand up to sling him over his shoulder for Ehanis to take care of. If successful, he'd continue his charge and attempt to close the gap with the second enemy.
There's a crunch as the drone's carapace cracks under the impact of the enforcement gauntlet. The injured Collector is swung over Jattic and lands with a thump against the floor, struggling to scramble back on its feet. The warp puts an end to those plans. The second one pops out of cover when it hears the commotion, managing only a brief burst of gunfire, most of which goes wild as the rifle is pushed aside by the charging
batarian. Unfortunately the chamber contains other Collectors. A captain and two more drones, all of them now taking aim at the batarian and drone locked in struggle.
Oxaris shrugs her shoulders and lowers the weapon. "Our only choice, Eclipse. You have tech experience, yes or no?"
Elena nods a few times, echanging a quiet word or two before moving on to another pod. "This isn't one of ours!" she calls out, getting to work on opening the pod regardless. "She's in civvies!" As the pod opens she starts to helm the woman inside of it out. She's wearing the rugged clothing of a colonist and looks to be about 30. Elena barely has time to ask if the woman is okay after her coughing fit ends before she
scrambles off towards Halisi and the boy. "Noah! Oh thank goodness!" she exclaims as she hugs the child tightly, still on her knees.
Zaylus takes one last hard look up the north passage before breaking off from his watch. As he passes Halisi and Elena he turns to face them, still sidestepping toward the commotion in the tunnel. "I'm going to help them, you know what to do." He assures quickly, not waiting before turning hard and setting off to regroup with Jattic and Ehanis.
EclipseMerc blinks. "Uh-.. wh-... yeah. Yeah." he says with a few nods, casting a glance at the platforms. They're within firing range. Several Collectors can be seen aboard them, as well as a larger form on the northmost platform. Something lumbering. Bloated. Twisted. Pings of gunfire strike both the platform and the shields of its inhabitants, the two platforms catching them in a crossfire.
Jattic unclenches his left fist, his enforcement gauntlet slipping away the moment he does as if it was never there, and brings his hand up to what would otherwise constitute as a 'throat' on a less bug-like species. Well aware of the firing squad lining up to take aim at him, he attempts to use whatever grip he can manage on the Collector to swing him through the doorway and against the wall on the opposite side of the door,
hoping the 'frame' will afford him at least some cover. Retreating isn't an option. If they get forced back into that chamber as their team is being revived, their groggy, unaware teammates will be little more than target practice. They need to be held here. With another loud, guttural roar, he reaches back with his still-gauntleted hand and aims to drive it full-bore into the head of the creature.
Oxaris points at the console. "Then this changes the plan. You're our best chance of survival. Get on that, see if you can reverse the platform back that way. We'll cover you. If you get us out of here, I'll see you get home safe and compensated. Move it!" She looks at Li and says, listen, I need you to lay down beneath one of these pods. Curl up into a ball and don't move, okay?" She makes to tuck the girl underneath
one of the pods as best she can, finding a spot she can provide the most cover for her. She then looks to Nadia, sucking in a deep breath. "Fight. Remember what I said. Defend this platform." She doesn't flinch as a bullet pings against her shields and she rises immediately, sighting down the SMG and firing a burst at one of the Collectors before dropping back behind cover.
Halisi is quick to move on to another pod after some intitial confusion once she realizes this is clearly a family member. Another stranger. "Come on..." she mumbles, going to open the pod regardless but no longer lingering to help the person inside. They're running out of time.
Ehanis leans out of cover. "What's the status, Jattic?" she asks over comms. She's not going to last long without proper cover, so she stays where she is. Ehanis is preparing for another warp, however.
Jattic successfully smashes his fist through the Collector dorne, hitting the wall behind it as his hand goes clean through. The group to the south are advancing, and shots are flying into the tunnel now, bits of the outgrowth Jattic is taking cover behind flying loose as they strike, and some shots pinging against his shields.
Makk lets out a growl and turns around. "Nothing on this side, moving to assist." he says, turning around and taking cover opposite to Ehanis, he peeks out and then holds out his Graal just enough to send a blast of spikes down at the approaching Collectors. "Gotta hurry this shit up!" he calls out, looking to Zaylus as he approaches. "Get our people out of there!" he urges the turian. The pods have to be the priority.
Nadia returns fire at the approaching platforms, forcing some of the Collectors into cover, but hitting none.
EclipseMerc nods several times, moving over to the unfamiliar terminal. "Uhhhhhh..." he says, opting to press the big button in the middle. What could go wrong, right?" The platform immediately starts to descend, still heading east. The other two platforms are getting much closer. One of them remains above as they unexpectedly start descending, but the other follows, speeding up. The large, twisted creature accompanying the
Collectors can be clearly seen now. A twisted mess of several human corpses and cybernetics fused together, with a glowing blue sack on its back and one arm that appears to have been converted into a massive cannon, it lumbers forward, lifting the strange arm-cannon and firing off a blast of biotic energy that rocks Oxaris' platform, overturning one of the pods and making the whole hexagon wobble. Li luckily remains
Jattic's spiked pauldrons rise and fall as he sucks in a deep breath, the drone's body only remaining upright by the fist pinning it to the wall. "Three more!" he responds, "They're advancing on me from the southern chamber!" His free hand clasps at the rifle in the now-dead-and-twitching creature's hand, peeling it free as rounds strike the hallway walls and tear into his minimal cover. He doesn't seem particularly phased, his
veins are lined with sheer rage by this point. They'll either kill him or they won't, but he's not backing down until their people are free. He jerks his gauntlet free, causing Collector brain slush to slap across the ground once the gauntlet dissipates. He reorients the rifle in his hands, pressing tightly against the door's outcropping and preparing to return fire as the brained Collector slumps to the ground.
Elena moves on to another pod, another relieved look as she spots the captain. She repeats the opening process, regrretfully leaving her to wake on her own and moving on to another pod. Have to hurry.
Halisi frowns as she looks down at the next pod, hesitating for a moment before glancing down the southern tunnel and opening the pod. She moves onto another one, shooting a glance back as the person inside the last starts to come to.
Zaylus slows as the krogan comes into view, hissing as he's rebuffed. He steals a glance down the corridor, grimacing but ultimately not pressing forward. "It won't mean shit if you get overwhelmed here." He retorts, bouncing from foot to foot as he considers something. "Fine," He snaps, stooping down against the wall and propping the laser drill up next to Makk, "Take this fuckin thing
if they press on you, it does the trick." With that he hops backward and runs back into the chamber, lending his hand to opening and reorienting the collected.
Lucy stirs uneasily. "N-... James... James... honey..." she mumbles before her eyes snap open in horror, scrambling out of the pod and falling on all fours as coughing and heaving begins.
Ehanis leans out of cover. "Stand still," she urges over comms before sending off a warp field towards the first non-captain collector she can see; though she won't hesitate if the captain is her only option. The exhaustion is clear in the asari's voice.
The colonist woman is looking around in bewilderment as she holds the child close, still close to the floor. "What's happening?!" she calls out to Zaylus, looking up at the turian in panic and confusion.
Oxaris ducks as the pod is sent spiralling into the abyss. She looks up, trying to see if there is anything beneath the platform that grants it its ability to hover and fly. If there is, she primes an overload and throws it towards the contraption. If there isn't, she merely changes the overload target to the abomination that launches the biotic attacks. She elects not to yell at the mercenary just yet, deciding that
it'll not really help the situation. "Assault team, is there nothing that end that can call our platform back?! I have Li here and she hasn't got any cover!"
The occupant of Halisi's pod starts to stir. A woman in Eclipse light armor, with the Eclipse symbol tattooed across her bald head, and something akin to asari markings along her temples and forehead. She sits up slowly, muffling her coughing as she gets her bearings, gaze sweeping across the chamber.
Ilyna remains where she is. She wants to jump down and help the others at this point, but it was crucial that the Collectors not get control of this vantage point. Oxaris' message would have her abandon her post in a heartbeat, so mabe it's a good thing that she doesn't have communication gear on her.
The scion lets out a demented sound as it is hit by the overload, but it seems to have little effect. Another biotic blast strikes the platform despite Nadia opening fire on the creature. It proves to be too much, and the hexagon starts to spiral out of control, descending more rapidly now. The ground is getting closer. Fast. It's going to be a hard landing. The eclipse mercenary lets out a scream as sparks fly from the console,
lifting his hands to shield himself only to lose his footing and tumble off the unstable platform. Nadia ducks down, holding on tight to the cover offered by the console. The scion's platform remains above, out of reach.
Zaylus looks away from the pod he's attending to the colonist woman, at first only giving a terse answer of "collectors" to her confusion. Then, deciding mass panic won't see anyone safety, he leans down to the woman and her child. "We're here to get our people off this ship and you're welcome to come as long as you can keep up. If you see me run, you follow. Okay? Just follow me, and
One of the Collectors in the southern chamber is struck by a warpfield and goes down, while the remaining two open fire with their assault rifles, aiming to suppress both Jattic and Ehanis. Strangely there is no sign of any reinforcements yet.
ColonistMother nods at Zaylus instructions, looking around with a fearful look as she clutches her son close. "It's okay... it's gonna be okay..." she whispers shakily.
Elena opens Nathan's pod with a quick "Hey! One of yours in here!" to Halisi and Zaylus, gesturing at the pod before moving on.
Oxaris clings to the platform, feeling it descend rapidly. She swears, barking into the comm, "We're going down!" She scrambles over to Li and reaches to grab the girl, her HUD working overtime to calculate the best possible jump to slow her landing should she... evacuate the platform. Failing that, she would shield Li with her body, bracing for the impact.
Halisi opens yet another pod, and a young woman also in rugged colonial wear starts to crawl out of it as she moves on to another.
Zaylus nods along with her, "That's right, you'll be fine. Stay calm, we move soon." He instructs a bit more gently before returning to pod duty. Elena's announcement catches his attention and he weaves over to Nathan's pod. He winces at the turian's voice in his ear. There's nothing he can do for her. Get people up. Get people out. He reaches into the muck, trying to quicken Nathan's
Jattic listens to Ehanis' instructions, remaining firmly against the wall as her warp is sent out. He moves to step out and return fire as soon as she's finished, but is forced back into cover as soon as his shields are struck by suppression fire. "They aren't letting up." he growls. Realizing nobody has responded to Oxaris' request yet, he chimes in. "We are under siege by more Collectors, Oxaris. We're doing what we must to
hold them back while the others attend to the pods, but not without difficulty. Zaylus, have someone look at-..." he begins to order, but Oxaris' update causes him to pause, shooting a glance back Ehanis' way, his visor hiding the look on his face. "Oxaris? Oxaris?!" He sucks in a couple more deep breaths, realizing they're light on time and ventures a brief peek around his cover to try and get a look at just how much
Nathan groggily comes out the pod, heaving up a stomach full of this strange gel and likely onto Zaylus' feet. "Gah... wh-... what...?" He starts before he begins to recollect the events before being forced into this alien coffin. He looks around, the sound of gunfire bringing his senses too. He doesn't respond to anyone or anything, mechanically reaching for his belt to see if his stims are still present.
The two remaining Collectors, a drone and a captain, have taken cover behind crates, and as soon as Jattic pokes his head out a burst of gunfire comes his way.
Ehanis crouches down while the collectors chip away at her cover, taking a few seconds to catch her breath. She starts preparing for another warp, but she's much slower than earlier at it.
The platform scrapes against the side of one of the termite mound-like structures, worsening the wobbling as it coems crashing down hard against the floor of the massive chamber, dust and debris kicking up as the hive structure of the ground is demolished, and the platform itself cracks and pieces scatter all over. The impact is hard, but dampened by the soft, organic materials that they land in as well as the counter-force of
Oxaris' jets. As the dust settles Oxaris would find herself in a trench of sorts, all made out of the same organic materials. The path north is blocked by the debris of platform and the mound they stuck, but the path south leads to an open doorway. The turian would also find Li still in her arms, covered in bruises and scrapes and bleeding from her forehead. She's not moving.
Zaylus holds the man up by the shoulders, ignoring the bile that he's covered in and now expells with great enthusiasm. He either doesn't notice or doesn't care about what Nathan seems to be trying to do, and he lets go of him to see if he'll stand on his own feet. "It's gonna be a fight getting out of here, I'm sure you won't want to miss it. Get your head straight and find your gear."
He speaks firmly, trying to point him in the direction of the pile, but assuming he'll probably have to repeat most of that again.
The Eclipse mercenary in the pod chamber rises to her feet, looking around. She catches Zaylus' words and takes a deep breath, as well as a few steps, feeling out her own body. Legs will still carry her. She lifts her right hand and closes her eyes, a biotic glow enveloping her fist. With a satisfied smile she lowers her hand as the field fades. "Who are you people? You have a ship?" she calls out as she heads right for the weapon
YoungColonist looks to Zaylus, catching the end of what he said to the mother and the child. "You're... you're here to save us?" she says breathlessly, struggling onto her feet and wiping lingering gel from her hands and face.
Oxaris tucks into a roll, tumbling as she clings tightly to Li to cover as much of her from the landing as possible. Thankfully, it was nowhere near as bad as it could've been... until she looks to the little girl. She feels a twinge of panic, but still calmly analyses the child, checking to see if she is still breathing and applying a dose of medi-gel to the wound on her forehead. She spares a quick glance around for
Nadia, then for the hostile platform. Finally, she checks her HUD to see if it still holds the way point back towards the others. At this point, it looks like a case of running and jetting and selective cloaking. "This is Oxaris... we're alive. I'm... I'm going to run back with Li. I've got no other choice."
Jattic sighs loudly to himself, sucking in a deep breath and exhaling. "They don't appear to be making a push!" he growls, sounding angry at that fact. "It's almost as if they're-... They're waiting. Perhaps for reinforcements. It is strange that we have not been overrun by now. Perhaps this ship is even larger than we imagined..." He waits for the first lull in gunfire before leaning out and expelling a burst of shots from his
Li is, thankfully, still breathing, but she doesn't stir as Oxaris applies the medigel. The two hostile platforms are hovering high above. Several Collectors can be seen jumping off of them, using their wings to slow their descent as they head toward the crash site. Nadia lies amid the rubble, bruised and bloodied, but still moving. She seems pinned under part of the platform, and is groaning in pain. The waypoint is intact. They
haven't moved too far from the other, and judging by the angle the doorway to the south should lead close to already explored territory.
Nathan nods dumbly to Zaylus as he finds his stims, still in place on his belt. The merc pops the cap off one and injects it straight into his neck, hissing in pain. The world suddenly comes into focus, his eyes widening as the stimulant takes him from groggy to combat ready. He drops the empty syringe and pulls himself free from the coffin, looking around for the weapon pile. He immediately runs to it, wasting no time
in finding and reattaching his gear, finishing with his helmet. Slotting it down, his HUD begins to rerun its routines and he turns to the others, pulling his Argus free and checking the clip. Having not fired a single shot from it, he nods and runs toward Jattic. "I'll take over. Get your gear," he growls. "Who else have we found?" He asks over comms, firing a burst down toward the waiting Collectors.
The next pod opened by Halisi contains Jessica. The doctor spares her no time, having decided that getting all the pods open first is the better use of time, before checking in on everyone.
Lucy has just about managed to get back on her feet after the end of her coughing fit. She's taking rapid, uneven breaths as she looks around. "Elena... the others?" she manages.
Oxaris quickly places Li down behind some cover and runs over to Nadia, looking at the rubble pinning her. She grasps it and tries to heave it off of her as quickly as possible, using her servos to assist. But if it is clearly not budging, or will take too long to remove, the turian would release it and look at the woman.
Nathan nods dumbly to Zaylus as he finds his stims, still in place on his belt. The merc pops the cap off one and injects it straight into his neck, hissing in pain. The world suddenly comes into focus, his eyes widening as the stimulant takes him from groggy to combat ready. He drops the empty syringe and pulls himself free from the coffin, looking around for the weapon pile and gunning towards it, digging through it
Elena stops as she reaches her next pod. "Holy shit..." she mutters, quickly moving to open it, but she's briefly paused by Lucy's words. "Senya and Pivin are on the ship. Makk and Wrench are here. Still looking for the rest. Find a weapon." she calls out before opening the pod.
Zaylus leaves Nathan as soon as he seems to have himself together. The two strangers have his attention now, and he looks between them, landing on the young colonist. He opens his mouth to correct her... but, eh, its close enough. "Yes, we can get you out. Listen to us and stay close, you can follow us out the way we came." He assures her before looking over to the eclipse merc, his
shifting expression hidden under his helmet. "I assume you'll need less handholding." He mutters, ignoring her questions entirely.
Jessica surges upright, her good eye searching around once they snap open as she sucks in a deep breath. Her shoulders heave violently as she ejects the thick, yellow substance all over the floor beside her and weakly pulls herself free of the pod. Falling to her knees, she leans unsteadily against the pod, chest struggling for air as her unfocused gaze darts around the room. "What-... Where-..." she begins softly before falling
silent in an attempt at blinking away some of the yellow haze. Gunshots. Voices. It all seems very distant for a moment. A peaceful sleep interrupted by violent discourse. She nods to herself as the events leading up to her deep sleep begin to come back to her. She plants one boot against the floor as she struggles to rise from her knees, hands still pressed against the pod beside her. Once she finally manages to get her
feet beneath her, she bends over, still using the pod for support. After a few more deep breaths, a large snort fills the room before she hawks a loogie right on the ground beneath her, eager to rid her system of whatever that fluid may have been.
A man in blue camo Alliance marine armor climbs out of the pod just opened by Elena, bracing against the floor as he hurls yellow gel, coughs following. "Fuck..."
Nadia manages to crawl free as Oxaris lifts the debris, giving her a nod of thanks and slowly getting on her feet, testing to make sure her legs will still carry her weight. She winces in pain but nods. Unfortunately her rifle was lost in the crash. "L-... let's go." she says, glancing up at the descending Collectors.
Jattic's burst strikes one of the crates, forcing the Collectors back into cover monetarily, letting their weapons cool.
Nathan thankfully finds all of his gear, attaching each piece to his armour. He leaves the Firestorm, however, when he notices the prototype launcer. He picks it up and weighs it in his hands. He nods and slides that onto his back... then he sees it. The glorious weapon of all heavy weapons. He slowly lifts up the Cain, like one would a holy relic, and chuckles. "Oh... oh yes." He hefts it up and turns, looking at the
assembled... then stops. "Where's Leah? Jason?" He asks. He starts to move to the unopened pods, looking in each of them quickly.
EclipseBiotic collects a helmet, the Claymore, and a Tempest SMG from the pile, attaching both weapons to her armor before dragging out the Minagen X3 container, placing it further into the room and looking around. "I'm ready." she says with a nod, seeming calm despite the crazy situation. Her gaze remains focused on the southern corridor, and the sounds of gunfire coming from there.
Oxaris nods and moves back, picking up Li and holding her tightly. "Follow me, stick close. Here." She hands the SMG across to Nadia, nodding. "You'll need it more than I. Now move!" With that, the turian begins running towards the waypoint, abandoning all sense of stealth for sheer speed and dexterity to reach the doorway that should, hopefully, bring them near to familiar ground. "Assault team, we're moving back to
you! Three survivors, but we got hostiles hot on our tail! Lock in on my signal and send someone to cover us, we are effectively unarmed!"
Jattic takes the opportunity to slip back across the hallway to Ehanis when the Collectors drop behind cover momentarily. He grunts an affirmative to Ehanis, his new positioning allowing him to catch his breath and wait for the Collectors to breach his and Ehanis' line of sight before having to respond without being under constant threat of gunfire. He breathes a sigh of relief as he hears Oxaris' voice. "Work your way back to
us if you can while we awake the others. If you are not back by the time they are all up and ready to move, we will come for you." he growls. "Ensure you are broadcasting your position. You will not be left behind."
Lucy heads over to the equipment pile, sifting through it until she finds her weapons. She doesn't bother with anything else. She's not a soldier, and she doesn't even have a hardsuit.
The first pod Nathan checks contains unfamiliar middle-aged man in an HMEC uniform. Halisi, meanwhile, lets Xiu out of her pod, moving on to another while the woman recovers, and Elena lets out an older colonist before looking over at the marine. "Ey! Get on your feet soldier, we're busting you out of here, entiendes? Grab a weapon!" she calls out, nodding toward the equipment pile before heading there herself to arm up. Hurricane.
Knife. Flashbangs. Peacemaker. She seems particularly relieved over the latter. After a moment's hesitation she grabs one of the colonist shotguns as well. She also hands a pistol to each of the adult colonists, giving them very basic instructions and a hurried pep talk despite their hesitance on fighting. The marine seems dazed and rattled, but soon enough he's present enough to move over toward the pile while rolling his
shoulders and grunting quietly. He retrieves one of the Valkyrie rifles and a helmet as well as two concussion and two frag grenades from Redrock's supply. Wrench remains near her pod, listening to the sound of fighting and the chatter of the team as if frozen in place. Lucy keeps her stockless shotgun at the ready as she waits for word on the others, looking rattled and drained, but still on alert as much as she can be, adrenaline
keeping her going. Makk pops out of cover, firing off a shot to cover Jattic's retreat in case the Collectors don't stay down.