Distress Signal
SSV GABRIEL
MISSION BRIEF
PRINCE, EAMON, TISHKOVA, KITANI, OROCHI, FEY
WEAK DISTRESS SIGNAL DETECTED IN COLONY HIT BY CERBERUS. N7 TEAM FAILED TO REPORT BACK AFTER DISPATCH TO EVAC RESIDENTS. SURVIVING CIVILIANS BELIEVE ALL N7 PERISHED DURING RESCUE. HOWEVER, SIGAL CARRIES COVERT ALLIANCE CALLSIGN KNOWN ONLY TO N7. CERBERUS PRESENCE LIGHT, WITHIN ACCEPTABLE PARAMETERS. MISSION TO INVESTIGATE DISTRESS SIGNAL AND EXTRACT POSSIBLE ALLIANCE SURVIVORS.
CPT. ROSARIO
When the shuttle dropped their squad down on Benning, a heavy acid rain was coming down all around them. They had to run for cover almost immediately to avoid compromising their shields. Kitani spared a thought for her biotic barriers and how it would affect them, too. She shook her head and looked to her commanding officer, who was consulting his omni-tool to scan for signs of life. They had been warned that a residual number of Cerberus were still on the planet. While the residential area was a ghost town, the factory district displayed a dozen or so heat signatures on the scans. The district could be avoided, but their shuttle had probably been seen touching down. They were prepared for some Cerberus interference. Luckily, it seemed the distress signal was not far from the drop point. The squad started moving at their captain's instruction.
'Tish, Orochi,' rang out over local comms in each soldier's helmet. 'Get eyes on Cerberus without them spotting you. Make sure they stay where they are. Fey, Kit, Eamon – with me. Prince, guard the LZ.'
The slender figures of Lien Tishkova and Tarou Orochi disappeared into the night, their shields sizzling in the acid rain until they were out of sight. Bethany Kitani stayed close to her captain, alongside the field medic and the team's engineer. A juggernaut of a man in a Destroyer battlesuit, Benjamin Prince, hung back near the drop-off position. Pulling her synthetic hood more securely around her face, petite Kitani moved like a whisper in her lightweight suit. A breather mask with night-vision lenses sat beneath her hood. Her flat soles barely disturbed the wet ground.
The captain and three squadmates advanced on a small unit that seemed to be a storage shed, following the life signs. When they reached the door, the engineer, Alexander Eamon, activated an amber drone that spun in the air before him. It chirped its confirmation of programmed instructions and whizzed away to find a window. While the team waited for the drone to explore the shed, they hunkered down against the rain in the arch of the locked doorway. Readings fed back to Eamon's omni-tool, and he forwarded them silently to the other soldiers.
LIFE SIGNS PRESENT: ONE. UNSTABLE. N7 SIGNATURE DISTRESS SIGNAL LOCATED. ROOM CLEAR OF ENEMY COMBATANTS.
Captain Rosario nodded towards Eamon. 'Do it.'
After recalling his drone, the engineer moved to the door and knelt. He began decrypting the makeshift lock.
'It's an oddly rigged system,' he reported, his fingers darting over the display of his wrist device. 'Not the original lock, and definitely not Cerberus. Someone did this in a hurry, but wasn't stupid.'
'Can you hack it?'
'Yes, sir.'
Kitani glanced at Grace Fey, the field medic, who was in light armor that did not display the distinctive N7 logo. The way that Fey was shifting – although her face could not be seen – indicated some anxiety. Kitani gave her a brief thumbs-up motion. The medic returned her gesture brightly.
A click and a beep indicated that the decryption was complete. The door to the cargo shed hissed open. The captain stepped to put his back to the wall outside, raising his rifle to a vertical position against his inner shoulder in preparation. Kitani knew the procedure and swiftly ducked inside, to be flanked by the others. The unit was dark and damp, damaged by years of acid rain and unpredictable weather. Kitani, equipped with night vision, crept in on point, casting around the shed with her pistol activated and ready. She moved past crates and containers, peering in corners, searching for the source of the life signs. Her team spread out behind her in order to examine the area more closely. It took several minutes for them to find what they were looking for.
The survivor had taken refuge in a compartment in the wall, in front of which he had dragged several boxes. It was only by the thermal scanner that they were able to locate his hiding place. Kitani shone a light between the crates, which Eamon and Rosario then dragged aside. The wall compartment was only open a crack and there was a bloody glove print smeared on the hatch.
'This is the Alliance,' declared the captain in a low, careful tone. 'Identify yourself.'
A faint moan was all the reply that came.
Captain Rosario motioned to his team to remove the compartment cover, while he aimed his rifle at the unknown person inside. Torchlight filled the opening. At first it was difficult to tell if the survivor was even human; they were coated in dark blood and their face was buried in the corner of the compartment. Filthy Alliance-issue armor concealed their figure, broken in places, scorched in others. From the labored heaving of the chest plate it was clear that the person was alive – but for how long, they did not know.
'Fey,' the captain said, 'is it safe to move them?'
The field medic came to a crouch at the hatch and activated her medical omni-tool. She examined the survivor for a few moments before responding. 'Human male. Losing blood, several broken bones, gunshot wound to the pelvis. Ideally, I'd wait for more medics to help move him safely, but he's barely hanging on. We need to get him back to the Gabriel immediately.' She glanced back at the engineer, an idea forming in her blue eyes. 'Eamon, can we use your omni-shield as a stretcher?'
'Good idea,' agreed Rosario.
Eamon stood upright and stepped back to make space. In one gloved hand he wore a thick band around his palm, set with several buttons and a safety catch. He raised his hand, unclipped the safety, and activated the device. A vivid orange and blue glow poured out into the storage shed as a huge shield of silicon-carbide unsheathed from his glove. It was just a head shorter than him and broad enough to cover his breadth easily. Carefully, he turned the omni-shield horizontally and laid it down outside the hatch.
With haste but great care, the team managed to lift the injured man out of the compartment and lay him out on the shield. When his face came into view he was half conscious and his skin was streaked with crimson. He was a large man, with broad shoulders and short black hair that curled at his temples. His eyes were fluttering open and shut rapidly. Eamon and Rosario took the front and back of the shield, respectively, and lifted him up to waist height. Kitani took point leading them out of the shed while scanning for signs of enemies, and the medic Fey hovered nearby with her medical data device. Together they retraced their steps back towards the landing area.
'Captain,' rose a voice over the communication system. 'A couple of Cerberus troopers are on the move, headed for your location. Must have seen the shuttle.'
'Copy that. Get back to the LZ.' Rosario picked up the pace.
Acid rain hissed against their shields as they carried the makeshift stretcher as quickly as they could safely manage. The medic, Fey, preempted the rain harming her patient's exposed face and cast a biotic field around the stretcher to protect him. Kitani silently chastised herself for not thinking of the idea.
'Incoming, Prince,' called the captain to the soldier who was waiting by the landing zone. 'Injured friendly retrieved, and more than one enemy behind us. Get the shuttle started up.'
Prince's confirmation rang out over the helmet comms: 'Ready to go, Captain.'
The scouts, Tishkova and Orochi fell in behind the team of rescuers and matched their pace. Together, the six of them ran for the shuttle, along with their rescued companion. They were rounding the final corner when an indecipherable command echoed through the area and there arose the sounds of weapons being activated. Kitani glanced behind to see two armored Cerberus troopers giving chase. Assault rifles flickered and flashed, sending slugs racing at the Alliance team. Orochi, the Vanguard, was quick on his feet, and sent up a biotic barrier to repel the initial gunfire. Tishkova took a moment to aim her sniper rifle, falling behind, and shot one of the troopers across the helmet. His shield sparked but did not give way.
'Take them out!' called Captain Rosario, sprinting with the survivor hoisted up on the stretcher.
Kitani and Orochi stopped running and turned to meet the Cerberus soldiers, just as Prince appeared behind them. Conjuring her biotic abilities, Kitani felt the electricity crackle through her blood. She raised a dark channel of devouring energy and cast it at the troopers. Blinding both by the light and the absence of light, the dark channel overwhelmed the two enemies, feasting on their shields and depleting their power. It was the perfect moment for a barrage of gunfire from Prince, who activated a carnage shot at the front trooper. Orochi raised an arm towards a nearby shipping crate, lifting it effortlessly with biotic power and casting it at the combatants. It struck the first, weakened trooper so hard that it almost decapitated him. He crumpled to the ground. The second soldier hesitated, still plagued by dark energy eating away at his defenses, and then turned to run. Tishkova sighted her sniper at him in preparation to take him out, but before she could fire, Orochi broke into a sprint after the fleeing trooper.
'Orochi, get back here!' shouted Commander Prince.
The Japanese Vanguard ignored his superior officer. He gained on the Cerberus soldier swiftly, unsheathed two giant lashes of energy, and flayed his armor to pieces.
'Tish,' said Prince, motioning stiffly. 'Take the trooper out. It's not play time for Orochi.'
Within moments the injured trooper had a bullet in his brain.
Orochi turned back to his team and threw up his arms in exasperation. 'Seriously? You couldn't let me have that one?'
'Get over here before the rest of Cerberus hear the commotion and come to check on their men,' commanded Prince over the comm.
Captain Rosario's voice chimed in: 'Where are you? The shuttle is ready to go.'
'Be right there, Captain,' said Prince.
Leaving Orochi to catch up, Prince, Kitani, and Tishkova sprinted towards the landing zone. The Vanguard was fast and easily caught up. When the team reached the platform on which the shuttle had set down, surrounded by abandoned crates and the scorch marks of past gunfights, the shuttle was powering up its thrusters. Kitani could see beyond the open doors that the captain, Eamon, and Fey had gotten their rescued companion safely aboard atop the omni-shield. The thrusters fired and lifted the shuttle a few inches off the ground. The remaining team members leapt at the vessel, caught by the hands of their squadmates, and thundered into the passenger hold on sturdy, armored boots. The doors clunked shut.
'Let's blow this joint!' hollered Orochi, wasting no time in popping his helmet.
Rosario ignored his light-hearted outburst and moved to the cockpit behind the pilot. 'Back to the Gabriel,' he commanded, before taking the co-pilot chair.
Kitani sank into one of the passenger seats and hoisted her helmet up off her head. Sweat ran down her face and dripped from her black hair. Mixed race features – a delicate blend of Japanese and European Caucasian – shone with perspiration, and she removed one glove so that she could wipe the sweat away from her eyes. She glanced down at the injured man who lay atop the omni-shield. Fey was tending to his injuries as best she could in preparation for medibay admittance. The survivor looked to be an Alliance marine, from his armor, and was now unconscious.
'He somehow survived but was accidentally left behind,' mused Eamon, the engineer, watching carefully. 'Seems he managed to hide from Cerberus and rig an N7 locator beacon that went under their radar. His door encryption was damn clever, too.'
'He must be N7, don't you think?' Kitani said curiously. She leaned down and touched the breastplate of his armor, used her glove to wipe the blood from the surface. Glinting in the light of the shuttle, the familiar white and red shone up at her: “N7”.
