This logfile is imported from aitelogs2 and may contain errors or wrong timestamps.
#CollectorShip – January 16, 2018
Ilyna had good reason for being concerned earlier when she had the feeling this was about to happen, but it's a shame that her concerns went unheard. The barrier glows brightly as Nathan fires the weapon, and she groans as she channels every ounce of her powers into it. The asari has held back countless creatures earlier, and another explosion, so she isn't prepared to handle this. The barrier manages only to
counteract half of the shock wave's energy and the rest sends throws her halfway across the room before she skids to a stop; her head is yanked back by the crest tips against the floor. The asari is not moving.
Halisi shields both Li and the Eclipse mercenary from the weakened shockwave as it flows past. The rest of the people taking cover in the lab are knocked about a bit, but are mostly fine as they braced against the wall. Elena however topples over the outcropping she was taking cover behind, letting out a cry of pain and clutching her injured leg. Makk stands firm.
Ehanis was around the corner by the time the shockwave hits, so she's not affected by it. She knew what the explosion was from the earlier comms chatter, and saw no need to say anything before entering the next chamber. They need to secure that so Nathan can get to work on that locked door.
Zaylus moves himself and Oxaris are far from the blast as he can before having to settle and brace against the wall. He holds them both upright against the solid surface, gripping her tightly so they won't be jostled loose in the looming explosion. He doesn't have to time to speak to her before the cain is fired, and Ilyna's barrier, as well as the asari, are knocked free. Gritting his
teeth, he only tries to hold himself and his turian partner steady through the disorienting fallout.
Oxaris listens to the comm chatter and turns to speak to Zaylus, her NCO instincts kicking in. But she finds herself braced against the wall and her eyes go a little wide as Zaylus puts him between the blast. She drops the Mattock and clings to him to brace, knowing full well that she needs every inkling of support given her wounded state. She closes her eyes tightly and lets out a small yelp as the shockwave, even
Jattic pauses as he enters the chamber, rifle shouldered and ready for action. His gaze travels to the locked door, unsure whether it's a good sign or a bad sign. Is it to keep Redrock on the Collector vessel, or to protect the flank of a boarding squad on the Jack? It doesn't matter, his questions will be answered soon enough either way. It's the only way forward. "The path appears to be clear!" he calls out over comm, "However
they have locked off the way back to the Jack! We're going to need to blow the door!" He wastes no time taking a position to defend against the western corridor as he awaits the arrival of the rest of his team. The sudden, ear-piercing explosion in the distance and slight jostling he sustains causes his head to snap back towards the direction he came from. He heard the exchange between Jason and Nathan, obviously, but the
sheer power behind the explosion gives him cause for concern. "Report!" he blares, sure to be lost amongst the static and white noise filtering through comms.
Jason huddles up against the wall, pressing heavily into it to avoid being tossed about as best as he can. "Hold on!!" he shouts, but even his own words are drowned out to him as his helmet compensates for the loud crack, as if someone has just put a thick, tight pair of earmuffs over his head mid-sentence. As the concussive force washes over the room, he presses his helmet into the wall, eyes tightly shut as the pressure
threatens to knock him over and then.... nothing. Silence. An eerie nothingness as his helmet works to dampen the sound out. He blinks a few times, glancing about.
Jessica huddles up against the wall beside Jason, remaining low to avoid having to fight the blast. She's violently knocked on her side but sustains little damage due to her preparation. The sound dampening on her helmet causes a bit of panic to set in, however. "I can't-... I can't hear!" she's quick to shout as she slowly climbs to her knees, her gaze scanning about.
Leah having been right beside Ilyna in an attempt at shielding Nathan from the blast, is too ripped from her footing, landing not far from Ilyna. Thankfully she has a helmet, saving her from the same fate as Ilyna, but the landing is painful, jostling her about and sending her skidding like little more than a toy doll. Her pained groan is drowned out by the explosion and she rolls back and forth in place. Finding the wind
knocked out of her, her hand moves to her stomach and she doubles over. It takes a moment before the dread begins to settle in and her gaze snaps to the opening. "Nate!" she shouts, her words- and the breathless cough to follow- falling on deaf ears.
Makk moves up alongside Jattic, starting to remove the laser cutter from his back as he crosses the room. "I'll get-..." He has little time to speak as massive creature - no, war machine - charges through the opening just as Jattic gets into position. The mechanical beast stands on four sharp mechanical legs, with a head akin to a Collector, but much larger, with glowing blue eyes, sleek grey metal plating, and tubes that
extend between head and legs. By far the most eye-catching feature is the collection of husk heads, still moving, located in its 'mouth'. A sharp, dangerous-looking spike extends from the top of the mouth. The machine, the Praetorian, slams right into Makk, sending him flying into the pillar opposite the door hard. He collapses onto the floor while the automaton, or rather, the husks within it, let out an unholy
Nathan lays there, unmoving. His armour is singed, black streaks tearing across the colourful pattern emblazoned on his armour. Silence. Silence. More silence. A sudden rush of pain across his entire being. He slowly starts to stir, his HUD momentarily scrambled from the impact and shockwave. "Urgh...". He curls his hand into a fist, trying to prop himself up with his forearm. "Wha-... shit, that... hurt...". He
coughs violently, a flare of pain in his chest. Breathing was difficult. Very difficult. But it was coming back, slowly. Now on his hands and knees, he blinks rapidly, counting down slowly. Leah's cry goes unheard. All he sees is darkness. Hears nothing. His HUD still failing to respond. Was he dead? He feels around blindly for a moment, before falling right back down onto his chest. "Hnng..."
Jattic's concern over the others is very quickly and swiftly pushed to the back of his mind. All four of his eyes snap to the unholy abomination before him, the Vindicator in his arms all but forgotten as he stands in awe of how such a horrific creature could possibly come to be. It may as well have been plucked from his worst nightmares. His large, spiked pauldrons rise and fall as he pulls in deep breaths, the exhaustion
beginning to mount as the battle continues to draw on. Nightmare or not, all that mattered was this creature-... this thing was attempting to get between them and their ride home. He backpedals a single step before glancing to Ehanis and voicing the only thought entering his mind. "It must be killed!" He pulls the stock of his rifle hard against his shoulder, wasting no time before hammering on the trigger
Halisi keeps a tight grip of Li as the girl wakes in a sudden stir. "It's okay! It's okay! I'm here!" she calls out loudly, unable to hear her own words as the ringing drowns out everything else, but hoping her shielding of the girl's ears was enough to spare her hearing. The Eclipse mercenary is just lying on the floor, staring up at the ceiling and blinking, while most of the others have started to move in the wake of the
explosion, the colonists clearly disoriented by the blast. Niklos is already carrying Nadia south. Elena has gotten back on her feet, and is looking back towards the others with one hand pressed against the wall. "Fucking hell! Everyone okay?!"
Zaylus rides through the disorienting aftermath of the explosion without uttering a sound, clutching Oxaris and watching the flash of pictures in his mind. Eventually reality begins to piece itself back in, the design of the wounded turian's helmet the first thing he can see. Straightening himself back up, he tries to assess how she, and the rest of the team made it through the blast.
The fallen forms and Jattic's screaming don't paint a pretty picture, and he tries to pull Oxaris up with him, trying to get her refocused. "Hey, you with me?" He presses, giving her shoulders a light shake.
Ehanis looks on wide-eyed as the creature emerges from the door. "We got a big asshole here," she says over comms before nodding to the batarian. She moves back to pick up the particle beam, and moves back out just enough to not have Jattic between her and the enemy and she pulls whatever passes for a trigger on that thing. This thing better work.
Oxaris hears nothing. Sees nothing. She slowly opens her eyes once the shockwave has passed and she exhales sharply, taking one hand from Zaylus to clutch at her side. She coughs, feeling the metallic taste of blood in her mouth, before looking up at her turian companion. She only just manages to catch his question and she nods numbly, wincing in pain. "I'll be fine... I just... Yeah. I'm fine."
Jason grimaces, biting down hard in an attempt at fighting off the ringing in his ears from the brief moment of explosive sound before his helmet was able to compensate. He turns around, pressing his back against the wall when he takes notice of Ilyna. Planting an armored gauntlet against the wall, he pushes off of it and scrambles towards the asari, nearly toppling over after a few steps due to his still-uneven balance. "Ilyna!"
he shouts, his own words still little more than a whisper to himself as his helmet continues to try to overcorrect itself.
Jessica's gaze snaps to Elena, the tail end of her question all that comes through as her helmet finally begins to correct itself, informing her that her hearing hasn't, in fact, been destroyed. She nods numerous times to the woman, giving a pained grunt as she struggles to climb to her feet. "Fuuuuuuuuuuck!" is all she manages, batting a palm against her helmet. Future technician right here. Hit it and maybe it'll work.
Leah slowly, slowly rolls onto her stomach, forehead pressed against the ground as she struggles for air. Despite everything spinning around her, it's not long before she's on all fours and crawling towards Nathan. He's moving. "Come on, Nate..." she mutters in her hazy state between coughs. "Come on... Get up... Get up!" The interference on her HUD as her systems reboot along with the fog of having her head slammed against
Jattic's shots ping inefectually against the Praetorian's barrier. The particle beam, however, catches its attention as the yellow beam impacts its barrier. It floats off the ground, turning towards Ehanis and responding in kind. Twin blue particle beams shoot out, striking the ground in front of the asari and rapidly sweeping up toward her.
Nathan 's HUD flickers back, rebooting quickly. Bless you Lucy. The first thing to happen after is his visor, allowing light to shine to his eyes. He blinks against it, but finds himself overjoyed. He's alive. Next, sound begins to creep back in, slowly but surely. He sucks in a desperate breath, his lungs protesting at the action and he puts his forearm down. He pushes, now propped up. He pushes his head up, groggily
looking to the lab. They're moving... they're all alive. He sees Leah crawling towards him and he opens his mouth to call out, but finds himself racked with coughs at first. He bites it down and crawls towards Leah, his legs struggling to cooperate with him. "Hey... hey... you okay?!" He forces a husky shout from his throat, but it's there.
Halisi pulls Li into a tight hug as the girl moves around in panic and confusion. "I've got you! I've got you!" she calls out, remaining on her knees. She seems unaware of Ilyna's situation. The others are starting to recover, looking to the people of Redrock for guidance. Elena is moving south, limping along the wall. The sound of particle beams exchanging fire causes her to hurry her step, stopping at the corner and readying her
SMG. The Alliance marine too is moving south with her, rounding the corner and dropping to one knee with his rifle ready.
Ehanis holds the trigger until she sees the monster clearly out-laser her, which makes her drop the heavy weapon in panic. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," she says (over comms, since she didn't switch that off) before running and hopping off the side of the ramp to hide behind the pillar.
Zaylus gives a shallow nod to Oxaris, not acknowledging what is likely a blatant lie. He looks down toward the southern chamber and all the commotion going on there, a low growl dying in his throat. He glances back at the people in the lab, including the turian in his arm, and is held in place by uncertainty or maybe some lingering sensory soup.
Leah halts her crawling as Nathan seems to come to life once again, a long, drawn out sigh of relief escaping her. She gives a few sluggish nods to his question as she lowers her forehead back to the ground to help prop herself up. "I-..." she pauses, her aching muscles protesting any and all movement. She remains motionless on forearms and knees as her armor's systems begin flickering back to life. More gunfire. More comms
chatter. Fighting. It's not over. She swallows hard, digging deep to push herself upright and causing her to fall back into a seated position on her heels. "...Yeah..." she nods, "...I-... Yeah." A long, pained grunt escapes her as she slowly-... slowly begins the unstable process of climbing to her feet without the much-needed assistance of a wall to brace herself against.
Jason frantically looks over the asari, dropping to a knee beside her. His gaze shoots upwards towards the southern corridor as more fighting begins. "Shit..." He brings a gauntlet to Ilyna's cheek, jostling her a bit in an attempt at shaking some life back into her. With a glance back over his shoulders, he searches for Halisi. "Doc! Get over here!" he calls out, still fighting off the ringing in his ears. "Ilyna's down!"
Jessica finally manages to pull herself up, but the erupting gunfire is more than enough to tell her she doesn't have long to shake off the effects. Her gaze scouts about to the others. Jason tending to Ilyna. Leah and Nathan. Halisi and Li. They all seem to be out of action for now. As much as she'd like to ride it out and let the disorientation wear off, there's obviously no time for that. As Elena sets off she, too, begins to
slowly follow. The Falcon snaps open as she reaches for it and fumbles about to get a fresh thermal clip into it. "I-... We are coming..." she announces into comms as she hears Ehanis.
Oxaris reaches up to push Zaylus on the chest, huffing. "The others need help. Go. I'll be fine." She nods sharply to him and lets herself slide down the wall to pick up the Mattock, bracing herself there. "Go..."
Halisi 's attention snaps to Jason and Ilyna, and after hurriedly telling Li to stay put she rushes to Ilyna's side, immediately checking for a pulse while digging through her satchel with the other hand.
Jattic continues to squeeze the trigger from his cover as the creature sends a laser beam off in Ehanis' direction. "My shots are doing nothing!" he growls. "We need heavier firepower!"
Makk stumbles to his feet, hefting the laser cutter and blasting into the metal of one of the Praetorian's legs. This easily catches the creature's attention, and in a swift movement it effortlessly snatches the krogan up in the claw of one of its spindly limbs.
Nathan hears the cries for assistance and he inhales sharply. "Firepower... firepower...". He nods and cracks his fist into the ground. He slowly pushes himself to his feet after a few failed attempts, staggering towards the wall and crashing into it. But he's still up. And breathing is still hard. Why is it so hard? "This-... this is Nathan... I'm on my... my way." He takes a step and slides down the wall, finding
The Alliance marine storms to the top of the ramp, opening fire, but his shots just ping against the Praetorian's barrier. He's soon joined by Elena, their concentrated fire whittling away at the shields.
Ilyna doesn't react to Jason's attempts at waking her, but Halisi does find a pulse. She might also notice a tightness in her neck muscles while searching for a pulse.
Zaylus lets Oxaris go as he's pushed away, unable to admit his gratitude for the direction. He nods deeply, testing his footing as he starts moving toward the south chamber. Now might be the time for words of assurance or confidence, but he can't seem to find them. Instead he just turns, setting off unsteadily but rather quickly, to where Elena and the alliance marine are pouring into
Jessica rounds the corner behind Elena, coming into view of the massive creature who is effortlessly hoisting up a krogan and causing her to pause in sheer horror. "What in the fucking fuck is that?!" she exclaims, nearly dropping the weapon in her arms.
Jattic continues ineffectually peppering the Praetorian with his Vindicator. "How are we supposed to know?!" he barks back.
Jessica doesn't challenge the batarian for once. Shoot it. That's something she can do. She shoulders the grenade launcher and begins squeezing the trigger as she descends the ramp, hoping to at least force it to release its grip on the krogan. Crack Crack
Halisi lets out a sigh of relief at the steady pulse, no longer searching for last-ditch measures in her satchel. But she knows things are far from good. No time for a full-body scan. She just runs a quick, localized scan on the asari's neck with her omni-tool, checking primarily to make sure windpipes and spine are intact while she produces an injector from her satchel.
Jason shuffles back on his knees, looking fro Ilyna to Halisi as she does her work. "What's wrong?" he asks frantically, splitting his attention between the doctor and the hallway separating him from a firefight. "Is she gonna be alright?!"
Leah remains on one knee for a painfully long few seconds as she watches Nathan crumble. She takes a deep breath, holding it as she picks herself back up with some effort. She's slowly recovering from having the wind knocked out of her, but hasn't exactly shaken the cobwebs loose from the hit to the head. "Come on, Nate. We're not-..." a pained grunt interrupts her as she moves to her teammates side, "...we're not done yet..."
Pressing one hand against the wall to brace herself, she leans down, offering a shoulder for assistance.
Ehanis peeks out of cover at the other side, and upon seeing the krogan in its grip, she quickly hurls a biotic throw his way. She's aiming for the krogan's side since the spindly arms are too small a target for her at that distance. At the very least she wants its attention her way, since she can easily duck back into cover while the others wail away at his barrier.
Ilyna is still breathing without any apparent disruption. The scan reveals that her neck muscles are sprained from the whiplash, but her spine and windpipe are unharmed.
Nathan looks up to Leah, his head swimming, stars dancing in his eyes. But her words ring in his mind and he nods. "No... not done yet." He grasps her shoulder and uses it to help him haul himself back to his feet. His legs are starting to feel more like his now, back to his control. His chest seems to hurt less. Breathing aches, but no longer a terrible stab to his organs. Focus. "...Always heard about Cains. Got to
use one...". He chuckles weakly. "Alright...". He looks up and nods to her, inhaling sharply as he squeezes her shoulder. Not to much effect because of the armour, but still. "You good? I know I'm good. That explosion? Pfft, barely did anything to me. Totally good."
The Praetorian's barrier is knocked down just in time for the throw to hit Makk, ripping him out of the machine-beast's grip. The micro-grenades cracking against its armor turns its attention to Jessica and the others atop the ramp. Another blast of twin particle beams sweeps from low to high, crumbling the chitinous cover atop the ramp. The Alliance Marine lets out a cry of pain as his shields go down and he's hit for a second
time, the armor on his left arm boiling and cracking and his weapon destroyed as he falls to the floor. Elena tosses herself to the floor to narrowly avoid the attack.
Halisi doesn't spare a glance Jason's way as she works. "She's alive. Concussion, whiplash. No major spinal damage. No time for a full scan, but she can be moved." she says, readying the injector and pressing it to the asari's neck. A basic 'wake-up' cocktail.
Li , never the best at listening to instructions, rushes over as her confusion lessens. "Mommy? Mommy!" she calls out, the fear obvious in both her voice and her face as she looks down at Ilyna, arms pulled in close to her body.
Ilyna opens her eyes and sits up slowly, looking ahead of her. She doesn't acknowledge anyone around her right away, not even Li who was just calling for her. The first thing that really grabs her attention is the pain in her neck, and she lifts a hand up to grab the side of it.
Zaylus has barely gotten into place before their position is cut with the particle beams. He stumbles backwards to avoid the violent streams, falling onto his back and scrambling away to pulls his legs out of its path.
Halisi is already readying the next injections. She seems prepared to stop Ilyna from sitting up, but ends up supporting her instead. "Careful." she says, gently pressing the new injector against the asari's neck and activating it. A weak muscle relaxant and pain killer. "Do you understand me? Can you see? We need to keep moving."
Li immediately rushes to Ilyna, hugging her tightly before the sitting asari has any chance to brace herself.
There has been no sign of movement from the north after the Cain went off. The corridor contains nothing but smoldering husks.
Leah winces, tightly shutting her eyes as another pang of pain shoots through her aching body. "Me?" she grunts, giving a few hollow nods. "Didn't feel a thing." she says, nudging for him to get moving. After a moment, she leans into the wall. "Hey Nate? Next time you decide to blow something up...?" she asks, peering at him through her visor, "...How about just-... not making it us? Maybe consider it?" It's followed by a
Jason gives Halisi the space she needs to work, but as Li joins them, his attention moves to her. "She's gonna be fine, Li." he assures, shooting Halisi a glance. "Just-... Just give Halisi some room to work, alright?" His gaze darts around the room. Ilyna down. The biotic down. Oxaris wounded. Leah in bad shape. Fighting ahead. But hey, at the very least there doesn't seem to be any more Collectors coming from behind them. Maybe
the plan worked. At least for now. He collects his Revenant from the ground as Ilyna sits upright, causing him to give a deep sigh of relief. "Get her ready to move out." he says to Halisi, gesturing to the asari on the ground. His gaze moves from the corridor to the downed biotic, giving a deep sigh. As much as he wants to assist the others, she's not going anywhere on her own. The large LMG collapses as he presses it to
Jessica's eyes go wide as particle beams swirl her way, causing her to frantically backpedal in a fruitless attempt at avoiding them. As the beams begin to close the gap, she attempts a last ditch effort to avoid them by recklessly diving over the side of the ramp.
Ehanis frowns as the creature fires the lasers at the others instead of her position. She got Makk free, but that won't mean much if they can't capitalize on him being out of the crossfire. "I'll try a distration," she says. "Someone use the gun I dropped!" She doesn't know whether anyone has picked it up yet, but she has also not seen the beam. Ehanis remains where she is, out of cover by the pillar, and with a
loud grunt she sends off warp field targetting its center of mass. Once it's out of her system, she places her hands on her knees and pants heavily.
Nathan shrugs his shoulders, finding that, despite the blast, he seems to be in slightly better shape than her. Must be the armour. Or his thick head. Or both. Lungs still hurt though... only thing that doesn't seem to be getting better. "Hey... come on, how many opportunities am I going to get to use a Cain! I gave you warn-..." he grunts and coughs his own lungs up, groaning. "Fuck... right, come on...". He makes to
put her arm over his shoulder and help her into the room. "Hey... Jase! Take... take this, will you? I need a moment, but the others still need help." The grenrifle unfolds as he motions to it and pulls it off with his free hand.
Jattic continues to pour rounds into the creature until his gun runs hot. Click Crack Pop A fresh thermal clip and he's good to go again, adding whatever firepower to the pile that he can.
The Praetorian is struck by the warp field, the edges of its armor peeling. Jattic's shots seem to do little more than ping off the plating however. Ehanis certianly succeeds in getting the creature's attention, and it floats higher into the air as the choir of husks howl louder than ever. A blue glow surrounds it and CRASH, it smashes into the floor, sending out an electrified shockwave in every direction, its barrier instantly
going back up. The Alliance marine is breathing hard from pain, but he gets back on his feet, pulling his Phalanx and firing at the machine as he starts staggering down the ramp. "Come on! Come on! Over here you ugly fucker!" Elena is scrambling back up, activating her omni-tool. "Bring down the barrier again!" she shouts as she queues up an attack. There are sounds from the doorway next to Jattic. They offer only the briefest of
Ilyna moves her own arms around Li to hug her, and were it not for Halisi's support she would have been lying on the ground again. "Yes," she mumbles. "I... I don't...." She sighed, and looks down to Li, which causes a spike of pain even with the medication Halisi gave her. She ignores it, however. "Just... give me a minute." She is still disoriented, and she doesn't look well. "We're going home, Li," she murmurs.
Zaylus picks himself back up when the lasers have passed, raising his weapon again at Elena's yell. Along with the alliance marine he fires upon the creature in what feels like a futile act.
Ehanis looks up in horror as the thing flies into the air, and she scrambles to get back into cover. The shockwave does manage to bring her shields down before she gets out of the way, however.
The Eclipse biotic is in a bad state. Her armor is cracked and scorched, coated in blood. Her gaze turns to Jason as he comes into view, struggling to focus on him. Her breathing is strained, pain ever-present in her face. A brief smile crosses Halisi's lips at seeing Ilyna and Li hug, even in this dire situation, but her attention snaps north as sounds of groaning metal and crumbling rock mix with howling and the whine of alien
machinery. "We-... we have to move." The colonists seem to be looking to Jason, but Xiu, Lucy and Wrench have started moving south.
Li shows no sign of letting go of Ilyna, holding on tight as fresh tears run down her cheeks. "I don't want to be here..."
Zaylus picks himself back up when the lasers have passed, moving himself back into position to fire. Something at his feet catches his attention, and the words, "the gun I dropped" imbue him with sticky fingers. He quickly holsters his own weapon and scoops the particle beam up into his grasp, heading down the ramp after the alliance marine, holding up his new weapon in anticipation of
Jason looks up from the downed mercenary, gaze moving to the grenade launcher. He reaches out, accepting the explosive bounty with a nod of his head. His gaze moves from Nathan to Leah. Then to the half-seated asari on the ground. Finally to the colonists before speaking. "Catch your breath. Take a second to pull it together. But then I expect you to be a half a step behind us, alright? Nobody is getting left behind today." His
attention snaps to the Eclipse mercenary. He may not know her, but she put her ass on the line with them. "Nobody. I don't care if you have to carry her." And with that, he turns the grenade launcher in his hands, wrapping a gauntleted hand around the grip to allow it to interface with his armor's targeting systems and sets off towards the hallway.
Jessica finds herself left with little options for cover as she impacts with the ground hard. The electrical discharge causes her shields to flicker and flare up, the internal beeping in her helmet informing her of the lack of shields. With little else to do, she rolls onto her side and reorients the Falcon in her hands, cracking off another pair of grenades at the large creature.
Jattic's shields take a tap from the new group of Collectors and he gives a warning of: "More contact from my direction! We must take care of this thing! Now! Before they have a chance to push us back!" The creatures shockwave finishes off what was left of his shields. He leaves the creature in the others' hands, opting to fire a few bursts down the hallway in an attempt at keeping the Collectors suppressed, hoping to buy them
Ilyna releases her hug. "That's... why we're moving," she says. "We're leaving." She places a hand on the floor and starts slowly rising to her feet. "You can hold my hand, just... let me get up, okay?"
Leah wraps her arm around Nathan's shoulder, a bit of a limp in her step as she moves with him. She looks to Li, a small smile crossing her lips beneath her helmet. But she's not safe. Not yet. "Final stretch..." she says softly, looking back to the man at her side. She tests her legs, shuffling in place a bit before releasing her grip on Nathan with a grunt. Fights not over and people need her. With a glance towards the downed
Nathan nods at her. "Final stretch," he agrees as she releases herself from him. He looks to Jason as he sets off and he sucks in a deep breath. He turns and quickly looks around, searching for the Cain and the condition it is in. "Alright... I'm gonna grab that Cain, then I'll help you with the wounded and the colonists." He looks to Oxaris, who seems to be limply holding the rifle in her hands and has merely sat
The Praetorian 's barrier takes a multitude of shots from Jattic, Jessica and the marine, but stay intact. Elena joins in when it becoems clear they'll need more firepower, as does Makk after finally getting back on his feet, firing off a blast of spikes at it. Jattic is fortunately ignored as the thing flies with surprising speed for such a large creature, snatching Zaylus up in one of its limbs and lifting him up towards its
'mouth' a gruesome combination of a large spike, two spider-like mandibles, and of course, the ever-moaning mass of husks within, dozens of eyes staring at the turian as he's brought in. Past the doorway, the Collectors move into cover as Jattic returns fire, but the three of them have no problem putting a hail of gunfire down the tunnel, no doubt forcing the batarian into cover.
Li nods several times, reluctantly letting go of the hug, but keeping a tight grip of Ilyna's hand as the asari stands up with Halisi's help.
Zaylus 's laser intentions are swiftly cut short by the praetorian's targeted grasp. He growls reflexively, kicking his legs as he's hoisted across the gap, greeted by the mouth husks in a less than inviting maw. Fear and rage culminate in one, eloquent remark, snarled at the top of his lungs- "Sick fuck!" Though restrained in the creature's hold, he tries to maneuver the particle beam
Ehanis draws and reloads her Predator. "What's taking you so long?" she says over comms before moving out seeing the answer for herself. "Fuck," she mutters. She starts preparing to throw the turian as well, but she notices what he's planning and opts to open fire at the creature with her pistol instead.
A choir of shrieks sounds from the many overlapping voices to the Praetorian as several of the husks within are incinerated by the lance of the particle beam. Zaylus is tossed harshly aside, landing atop the Alliance Marine, who is knocked to the floor. The gunfire that strikes the Praetorian is still hitting the barrier. The Chakram Launcher's interface lights up for Jason. Ama-Lur Equipment Chakram Launcher. Heat Levels: 25%,
Ilyna gives her hand a gentle squeeze and starts walking down the hallway leading south, stopping just past the first outgrowth. Her steps are slow and careful, but she manages to walk just fine. She stops and brings up a small barrier to surround her and Li. It fickers and looks very unstable, but Ilyna is aware that it's purely symbolic. She doesn't know where she is exactly, but she trusts the others to find
Halisi moves over to the Eclipse biotic, checking on her. As much as she'd like to stick with Ilyna and Li, she has a duty to help. The medigel has stopped most of the bleeding but a lot of damage is already done. She's quick to make sure no blood has pooled in the mercenaries mouth before looking to Leah. "I... I will need help. Can you manage?"
Jattic gives a pained growl as he's winged by the return fire. He snaps back into cover, pressing against the doorframe as his systems administer medi-gel. His gaze shifts to the small gash that was torn through the arm of his undersuit. Just a graze. "They're not letting up!" he shouts, "We need to move! Now!"
Jason rounds the corridor, stutter stepping as the horrific monstrosity comes into view. With Zaylus in its creepy little bug arms. And a sea of heads in its creepy little bug mouth. "I'm gonna need a beer when this is over..." he mutters, studying the Chakram Launcher's interface as it relays information across his HUD. Ama-Lur Equipment Chakram Launcher. Don't care. Heat Levels: 75%. Nice to know. Omni-Gel Levels: 90%.
Well, that's important. Uninteresting, but important. Ammunition Select: Fragmentation. Inferno. Snowblind. Hooooo baby, now we're talking! Inferno? Don't mind if I do! He thumbs the selector, swapping grenade types. As he sights in on the creatures big, alien, mouth-thing, he squeezes the trigger, causing the weapon to whine to life for a few seconds before firing off a fragmentation disk.
Jessica looks on with horror as Zaylus is plucked from the ground, moving ever closer to the creature's gaping maw. Click The telltale sound of an overheated weapon. "Fuck!" she growls, slamming the Falcon to the ground as she climbs to her knees. Zaylus freeing himself affords her an opportunity, however. Off the ground and away from friendlies. Her hand reaches back, yanking the Cobra free. "I am sick of looking at this
fucking thing!" she shouts, lining the shot up through her visor as she brings the heavy weapon up, planting one knee against the ground. A loud whizz announces the rocket's departure from the launcher.
Leah moves over to the mercenary's side, taking a knee over her. Her left hand is still idly hovering over her midsection, pulled in close as her sore muscles pulse. She's quick to nod numerous times to Halisi's question. "What do you need me to do?" she asks, reaching down with her free hand to keep herself propped upright.
The inferno grenade strikes the barrier of the Praetorian, exploding without much initial effect, but splashing thermal paste across its armor plating, setting it ablaze and eating through the outer layers of the alien alloy. The abomination of machine and flesh starts to turn towards Jason, its particle beams charging. Then the rocket hits. A short-lived plume of smoke across the chamber, and an explosion that flowers outward from
the side of the Praetorian, sending the thing tumbling, crashing to the ground in the doorway. In the confined space the sound is defeaning. Heat and a shockwave, nothing compared to the Cain, but still enough to unbalance those closest, washes over anyone not in cover. The Praetorian, struggles to get back on its feet, burning and much of its armor wrecked. It moves like an injured insect, one leg missing.
Halisi looks to Leah. "I need your biotics." she says. "She's badly injured. I can't risk someone carrying her normally."
Lucy and Niklos arrive in the doorway just in time to witness the rocket impact the Praetorian, the former quickly pressing against the wall, while the latter swivels around to shield his sister. Xiu is leading the colonists south, but the sounds of combat cause pause.
Zaylus cackles malevolently at the charred husk heads, incinerated by his own hand. His violent delight can only last so long, as the rushing feeling of being thrown, and then a hard landing takes the joy right out of him. The particle beam is wrenched from his hands and skitters to a halt somewhere unseen as he tumbles over the alliance soldier. The rough landing sends spines up his
left arm and he bites down on a cry of pain, grasping with his other hand as he rolls. The shockwave prevents him from recovering immediately, or even noticing the man he fell on, as he tucks his head away from the rocket blast.
Ehanis is very close to the creature and barely manages to keep her balance by bracing against the wall. She gets back into cover and reloads the pistol, giving a frustrated sigh as she hears the thing gets back to its feet again.
Leah nods numerous times. "Right!" she agrees. There's little left in the tank, but there's no stopping. Stopping is giving up, and she doesn't give up. Banged up and exhausted, a blue shine once more envelopes her and she takes in a deep breath through her nose. Her left hand moves from her midsection, extending out in front of her, palm upwards. She slowly and evenly begins to raise her hand and, soon enough, the mercenary's
weightless body rises off the ground. "Alright, let's go!" she calls out, climbing to her feet in turn.
Jessica whooooshes backwards from the blast, jostling the Cobra out of her hands, but she's quick to prop herself up with her arms. A loud, manic chuckle escapes her as she watches the creature struggle. With a grunt, she pushes herself back to her feet, scooping the Falcon up in the process. "Oh no you don't!" she threatens, quickly freeing the spent thermal clip and popping a fresh one in. "Is time to die you fucking-.....
Jason is once again shuffled into a wall. Explosions are tiring! But it seems to be working. Whatever in the hell this thing is, they hurt it. "Don't let it recover!" he orders over comms as he regains his footing, clutching the Chakram Launcher in his hands. One good inferno deserves another. He sights in on the creature once more and squeezes the trigger.
Nathan blinks and the lack of response and being ignored, so he merely tacks it on to nerves and the situation. Instead, he walks over to Oxaris and pats her on the shoulder. "Come on, up you get. We're leaving." She looks up at him and nods numbly, accepting his offer of help. He draws his pistol in one hand and uses the other to support the turian. She holds Leah's Mattock and tucks it under her arm as before,
Halisi moves alongside Leah, ready to move in should her strength fail. Her attention also moves to Oxaris, trying her best to keep an eye on both of their most injured.
Jattic braces against the doorframe, Vindicator hanging loosely in his right hand, left hand pressed against the graze in his right arm as the medi-gel begins to course through his system. He takes a few deep breaths, passing only the briefest of glances across the room to the action before nodding to himself. He takes another moment for the beeping in his helmet to die down, indicating his shields have recharged, before leaning
out to both spray a quick bout of suppression fire towards the Collectors, and get sight to see where they are- what they're doing- whether or not they're advancing.
Jattic braces against the doorframe, Vindicator hanging loosely in his right hand, left hand pressed against the graze in his right arm as the medi-gel begins to course through his system. But he has little time to catch his breath as Jessica's rocket sends the Praetorian careening in his direction. Even when she's not trying to be, she's still a thorn in his side. He pushes off of the wall, attempting to rush out of the way and
in the general direction of the ramp. He hugs the wall tight to stay out of the line of sight from those on and near the ramp. "Is it-..." he begins, but the creature's struggle quickly answers his question. Jason's orders don't need much elaboration, however, and he quickly snaps his Vindicator back up, adding whatever fire support he can offer.
The Praetorian is struck by a series of grenades as well as Elena's incineration attack as it struggles to get back up, the explosions chewing into its shredded armor and dismantling vulnerable insides. The remaining husks moan and shriek as the metal insectoid's mass effect generator kicks in and it floats into the air, sighting in on the small crowd gathering at the bottom of the ramp. Twin beams shoot out even as shots ping
against what's left of its armor from Lucy and Jattic. The Alliance marine has just started pushing free from under Zaylus when he spots the attack. "Look out!" He's quick to push the turian off and roll to cover him, taking the brunt of the attack himself as the beams arc over them, demolishing what's left of his shields and cutting through armor plating, the smell of burnt flesh filling the air as he slumps partly on top of
Zaylus. As if the somehow-still-moving Praetorian wasn't enough, sounds of shuffling and howling announces the arrival of husks in the western passage. Makk finds his spike thrower useless against the mechanical creature, and instead rushes to the southern side of the doorway, opening fire at the husks.
Jason's attention is pulled between the telltale sound of approaching husks and the still-fighting Praetorian. "How in the fuck is this asshole still coming at us?!" he shouts, hefting up the large weapon once again to charge up a follow-up shot. "Ten! We're running out of time up here, buddy! Locked door in our way! You have any breaching charge-shaped keys?"
Jattic finds himself right in the starting path of the creatures beam and it makes short work of his shields. One of his large, spiked pauldrons is peeled away by the attack before the intense beam travels up the ramp to cleave through the marine, leaving slightly-charred undersuit beneath it. A pained roar erupts from Jattic, but it doesn't seem to be keeping him from holding down the trigger as he puts more rounds into the
Zaylus is still largely disoriented, the pain in his arm still throbbing as medigel automatically begins to flow. He knows he cannot avoid the attack he can't see coming, but the alliance marine saves him from that uncertainty by shielding him from the beams. As reality is finally setting in, the burned soldier falls limp against him, his choice already made. "Spirits... What the fuck?"
He whispers in disbelief, using his good arm to move the man so he isn't trapped under him, but also to get a look at his wounds. If it looks like the damage might not be immediately fatal, he would quickly administer medi-gel. Otherwise...
Ehanis hurries out of cover and opens fire at the creature. After four shots, she hurls a quick weaker than normal warp field at it in hopes of annoying it enough to focus on her and her cover just long enough for the others to do actual damage to it.
Nathan chimes in over comms, walking a little down the hallway before setting Oxaris against a wall, where she slides down to the ground and nods to him, bracing the Mattock in her hands. "I'm out of charges! Used the last of my frags to open the door for Oxaris... if any of you biotics got any charge in you, warp that door! Anyone with frags, place them on after! I'll come and blow it open then with my launcher!" He
The marine's abdomen has been cut right through, boiling his vitals inside his armor. It becomes very clear just how close Zaylus was to meeting the same fate - the front armor plate is scorched and buckled. The beam nearly made it all the way through. Makk growls as he hears the comms, still fending off husks best he can. "The laser cutter!" he shouts, gesturing back at the discarded tool by the pillar.
Nathan nods sharply. "That works too! Cover me!" Nathan makes a dash for the cutter. Upon grabbing it, he would move to the locked door and start cutting through it.
Ehanis moves out of cover and goes to take the laser cutter, since she's right next to it. "I'll cut the door open," she says over comms. "I'm fucking useless right now anyway." She hurries over to the door and starts working on it, slowly at first to figure out how (well) it works.
Ehanis cuts near the eastern side of the door, so that she can make it to the nearby cover should the big Collector take an interest in what she's doing.
It's clear that cutting through the entire door is going to be slow work, but it is working. Then again, cutting the whole door may not be necessary.
Zaylus 's breath catches as he looks over to see just how brutally the man went. Stunned, and almost... ashamed, he lets the body fall down his arm and lay limp against the ground, flinching at how rough the small motions seem. He scrambles backwards, the chamber full of deafening sound retreating into a swimming mess of voices. One word repeats on end. 'Why?' His limp left arm painfully
encounters the particle beam, reunited with him by chance. He reaches over to scoop it with the right arm, dragging it up onto his legs as he tries to navigate firing it at the creature again.
Nathan peers around, moving to get a view of Ehanis. He sighs and says over comms. "Try the middle!"
Jessica's frown deepens as more cybernetic creatures begin to funnel into the western hallway. "More of those-... Gah! Things! They are coming!" she announces, eloquent as ever. Still, they have a krogan doorman they need to get through before they become a real threat. The big ass floating creature slicing and dicing like an infomercial wet dream is the immediate problem and her Falcon isn't hungry for thermal clips yet, so
the choice seems clear. Crack Crack Another pair of Falcon shots ring out. "Mmm!" she hums in response as she hears Nathan. "I still am having grenades left!" she announces, though Makk's suggestion cuts that plan off at the pass. She, however, is far too busy slamming a new thermal clip into her weapon and preparing to lean into the Praetorian with another volley to take the lead on that one.
Leah continues down the corridor, keeping the biotic steady and even. She pauses beside Ilyna and Li, sliding one arm beneath the Eclipse merc's knees and the other to support her neck in order to not have to rely so heavily on her biotics as they await confirmation that they can continue their progress safely.
Jason's gaze darts to his HUD as he troubleshoots why the Praetorian isn't erupting into flame once again. Right. Of course. Thermal clip. He frantically thumbs at the weapon to pop the thermal clip free. It takes him a moment to get a grip on just where the thermal clip goes, having never used one of these suckers before, but a gun is a gun, right? It should be pretty evident. He quickly replaces the clip, seating the new one
into place before attempting to sight in once again on the creature- hopefully before he finds himself in its crosshairs.
Ehanis sighs, disengages the cutter and moves over to the middle without a word. Maybe he has a point.... Besides, if it doesn't work, she can just fall back to making a person-sized hole in it and blame Nathan for wasting her time. She starts cutting vertically upward along the seam in the middle of the door.
Boom. Boom. Another pair of explosions tear at the inside of the Praetorian. Arcs of lightning shoot from damaged components, and the husk choir grows louder. Another inferno grenade disk buries itself deep inside the machinery as it sets its sights on the top of the ramp. Particle beams shoot out, sweeping up towards Jason, Nathan, Lucy and Elena. But the beam doesn't make it far before being interrupted by the fiery explosion,
flames licking at the shell of the thing from inside, one of its eyes cracking and sparking as it starts to list. More electricity arcs and shoots out as the mass effect generator starts to fail. It crashes into the pillar, seeming to rock the entire room and causing small bits of debris to tumble from the ceiling as the pillar cracks. The Praetorian seems to float upward toward the ceiling as it collapses in on itself,
disintegrating in a glow of bright blue light and flashes of lightning. Nothing but cinders is left behind. There's no peace to be found however, as husks are spilling through the entrance, Makk unable to hold them all off. He's stabbing, punching, headbutting and wrestling, but some are slipping by.
Elena once again finds herself hitting the floor to avoid the beams, wincing in pain from the strain it puts on her leg.
Jason's attention snaps to the beam heading right for him. He has armor. Nathan has armor. Elena has armor. He doesn't have time to think. He just acts. He charges right in front of Lucy, preparing to tank the hit and just hope to high hell that his shields and armor are enough to keep him from suffering the same fate of the marine not too far away. His shields fizzle and crackle as the beam tags him and then.... Poof. His gaze
snaps down to his chest, Chakram Launcher in one hand as his other presses against his chestplate, making sure it's still there.
Nathan nods. "Yeah, tha-" He looks to his right. "Oh." He braces himself for a very, very painful hit... and finds nothing. He looks up. The beams stopped. How 'bout that. He turns around and heads back to where Oxaris was, helping her up and nodding to the others. "Okay, looks like we're going to get swarmed again and I have no more ammo for the Cain. It's going to have to be a mad dash once the door is open." He
Lucy 's reaction time is not that of a soldier. She has time for little else than to close her eyes and shield her face with her arms as the beam heads her way. She lets out a breath as she realizes she's still alive, eyes opening in astonishment as she realizes Jason blocked the beam.
Ehanis is interrupted when the room shakes, and she looks up to see the big asshole go out. "So it can die," she mutters to herself as she lets out a relieved sigh. A glance to the right snaps her out of it and she continues cutting the door.
The laser makes short work of the door's locking mechanism. Seems Oxaris had the right idea, but just not the right tools. It slides open as the maglock disengages, revealing the tunnel beyond, which seems empty.
Zaylus staggers to his feet in the glow of the praetorian's demise, craddling the particle beam in the crook of his arm. He looks up the ramp at the people there before swinging his gaze over to Makk and the free husks, doing all he can to avoid looking down. He points the particle beam at any husks that get too far into the chamber, letting out short bursts from his weapon.
Jattic widens his stance to brace against the shaking room as the Praetorian finally succumbs to its wounds. He passes another brief glance down to the wound in his arm. The medi-gel has already sealed him up quite nicely, numbing the pain for now. Unfortunately, he can't just open up on the doorway with Makk getting swarmed unless he's willing to risk friendly fire. So once more into the breach. He takes a few heavy steps
towards the doorway, snapping his folding Vindicator into place on his back. That deep red glow once again illuminates the area around him as he tightly clenches his fists. "You must pull back so the others can hold the door!" he calls out to Makk, a grunt prefacing a heavy clothesline into the nearest husk to get past Makk as he moves in to assist the krogan in freeing himself so they can create distance.
Jason sucks in a deep breath, gaze still locked on his chestplate as Nathan's voice rings in over comms. He gives a couple of breathless nods followed by a thumbs up to nobody in particular with his free hand. "Path-... Uhh-..." he gives a few more nods as he distances himself from the close call he just had and attaches the Chakram Launcher to his back, replacing it with his Revenant once more. "Yeah-... Yeah. Not a problem.
Let's just make it quick! Keep moving, people!" He descends the ramp, popping a fresh thermal clip into his weapon as it's still quite overheated from their previous stand against the husk hordes.
Jessica stumbles a bit as the room rocks, grasping at the pillar with one hand to keep herself steady. As she hears the chatter, she glances over towards the door where Jattic and Makk are making their stand. "I have one more big-boom!" she announces, holstering the grenade launcher as she hurries across the room. "Keep these fucks off of me and I will put it at the door again, yes?! Then we go and boooooom! Nobody is following
Leah nods attentively to Nathan's intel. She remains still. Waiting. As she hears Jason's orders, she passes a glance towards the others. Ilyna. Li. The colonists. "Alright! It's time to get moving!" she calls out for the sake of those without comms. "Let's go! Stay close!" The Eclipse merc still in her arms (Assisted by her biotics to keep her from being jostled), she leads the way out of the corridor and starts down the ramp,
Zaylus' controlled bursts of particle beam fire cut down many husks, but it's not long before the weapon stops firing with a fizzle. Makk starts to fall back as Jattic joins him in melee combat, headbutting back one husk and cutting it down with a point-blank Graal shot and impaling another as he tries to slow their advance while giving room for the others to open fire. Elena is back on her feet soon enough, drawing her SMG, and
firing aimed bursts into the swarming husks once space opens up, starting to move down to assist in closer combat. The non-combatants start following Leah as instructed. Lucy snaps back as Jason gets moving, keeping her weapon ready as she follows him down the ramp. Niklos, still carrying Nadia, is moving just ahead of Leah. There's no waiting, they have to push on past the horde. Although Jattic and Makk are holding north and
Nathan moves along with the others, Oxaris and he taking point. The duo raises their weapons and fire single shots into the encroaching horde when they are able, Nate glancing at the others. "Go!"
Ehanis grins and stands back up, holding up the laser cutter. She's seen its capabilities in combat before, and she hoped it would serve them again. She opens up on the husks with it, aiming slightly downward to avoid possible friendly fire if it manages to cut through them.
Ilyna frowns and the barrier around them dissipates. "We're leaving, Li," she says. "If I let go of your hand, run ahead with Leah, okay?" She follows right behind Leah, looking straight ahead to avoid moving her neck too much.
Li frowns, her gaze wandering the alien hallways of the Collector vessel. She gives a reluctant nod, but her grip on Ilyna's hand tightens.
Halisi shoots a glance to Ilyna and Li, but the sounds of combat up ahead draw her attention. She'll be needed. She gets moving, and rushes for the Alliance soldier when she spots him, only to stop mid step as she gets close enough to see the severity of the damage his body has suffered. She purses her lips and nods to herself, turning her attention to the husks. And to the doorway to the ship. Almost there.
Jason falls into a shooter's stance as he takes a position near the center of the room. Once more his HUD is overwhelmed by targets, single IFF indicators intermingling with masses of enemies. "How much further do we have to go?!" he calls out as he begins sighting in on those slipping through the cracks and firing short, controlled bursts at them. His HUD can tell him that the Jack isn't far, but for all he knows given his
Jattic grunts loudly as he gives a large, sweeping punch to an approaching husk while backpedaling away from the door. "Just down that corridor! We're almost there!" He doesn't retreat far, however, holding his ground a good distance from the bottom of the ramp in order to ensure that none get by him and cross into the path of their retreat.
Jason nods to himself. "I don't know if you're hearing this, Pivin... But we're on the home stretch! Might wanna think about releasing the parking break because we might be coming in hot!"
Jessica gets to work planting her charge just beside the southern door, hazarding a glance every now and then towards the husks Ehanis is keeping at bay. "Come on... Work more faster, fingers!" she grumbles to herself as she pokes at her omni-tool.