"Speaking"

Thinking

Letter/Website Writing

"Cellphone/Communicator Speak"

000

Saeko sprinted through the streets, dodging falling rubble and debris. The whole situation was just deteriorating nonstop. Several other Reapers had landed within the city, and dozens of dropping pods containing Reaper grounds troops were constantly smashing into the ground or buildings. Saeko tried not to think about all the civilians that were encountering those forces at this moment.

The N7 Captain ran around a street corner and immediately rolled back around. Fuck! There's got to be at least thirty of those hunchback's with machine guns. No shields, no armor, and I've only got a couple clips. No way I'm gonna be able to push my way through all those baddies.

She backtracked to an alley she had passed earlier. This should get me close to the barracks. If I can just avoid enough hostiles to get there, I can get my armor and weapons. Then its kick ass time. See if we can get some matter of organization down here, and get as many as civilians outta here as we can. Kami knows we are gonna need volunteers. God, how the fuck are we gonna fight these thing? Tactical Nukes!? We are gonna seriously need a-

Three husks dropped from the higher balconies in the alley and landed on top of her, beating their hands against her body. Saeko struggled, but for every one she threw off her, two took its place. And the scrawny bastards were a lot stronger than they looked, and with their fists repeatedly slamming down on her body, her strength began to wane.

Damn it! Not like this. Not like some retro zombie vid. I'm N7 damn it! I can't die like this!

The sound of some kind of biotic power went out, and the sound of a drawn blade followed. Suddenly several of the husks fell apart off her, as the black blur ricocheted around her, taking down every husk in the alley. The final husk leaped back, only to have a ninjato impaled threw its mouth and into the wall. When Saeko looked up, she immediately picked up her Phalanx and pointed it at the newcomer.

"Now, now, Captain is that anyway to treat the person who just saved your life?"

The man was also of Japanese descent. He had spiky black hair, and tanned skin. An odd feature was his bright green eyes, (Saeko suspected they weren't natural and the result of some upgrade he had received at some point in his life). He wore a slimmer, more streamline armor than most soldiers, under a black jacket with blue trim. He had an Eagle strapped to his leg, and Saeko knew he had sveral hidden gadgets, grenades, and knives hidden on his person.

"Kaiza. Shoulda known it was too much to hope that you died like scuttlebutt said you did." Saeko growled.

The man known as Kaiza chuckled cruelly as he pulled his blade from the husk. "You should know better than to believe rumors, Busujima-san."

Kaiza swung the sword several times before returning it to the sheath on his back, all without slowing down. "I assume you are headed to the Alliance barracks?"

"What's it to you?" Saeko challenged.

"I just came from there, it's still intact, but getting hit hard. They will have to abandon it soon. You'll probably get an assignment since you are N7."

"So where the fuck are you going?"

Kaiza gave an evil grin. "My assignment. Classified. You should thank me; I went out of my way to save you. I am now behind schedule. Good luck to you."

Before Saeko could respond, Kaiza primed a stance to jump, and then disappear in a purple inversion.

Saeko sighed. "I hate that guy."

000

Bullets tore through the air in a no man's land between Reaper forces and the marines desperately trying to hold the crumbling building.

Saeko snapped on the final lock of her heavy armor. She secured her Phalanx to her hip, and hefted her Striker assault rifle. Locking in a thermal clip, she turned to the other three people near her. "Yuri, Liam, Hale, you boys good?"

Three men strapping N7 armor to their bodies grabbed their weapons and nodded.

"Yes ma'am."

"Rog'."

"Ready to rock Captain."

"Alright boys. You heard the General in the debriefing. We have to get to Vancouver General Hospital, secure the roof, so that the doctors and injured civilians can evacuate."

"Yeah about that. We are under heavy attack, and command wants us guarding a civilian evac point?" Yuri asked.

"This whole situation is gonna get worse, and we are gonna need a lot of those civvies and doctors for future resistance. And even then, it doesn't matter. We go where we are ordered." The captain replied.

"Yeah, but-"

Liam stepped forward. "Saeko is right man. Besides, you're complaining about keeping a bunch of people alive?"

"I'm not complaining, it just doesn't make any sense to me." The dirty blonde replied.

"Stow it ladies. Our job is our job, now let's move out."

000

Saeko's Striker assault rifle roared as the explosive rounds decimated the husks and batarian looking hostiles down the street.

"Yeah that's right you sons of bitches. Don't like me when I bite back!" Saeko growled.

Hale's Piranha shotgun barked shells, Yuri's M-99 Saber took out enemies with pinpoint headshots, each shot letting out a boom, and Liam was firing his Eagle from behind his Omni-shield.

"Keep it up! We are destroying these bastards! Just keep-"

Another loud tech boom rang out, deafening the team. Gripping her ears, Saeko forced her gaze upward. While she knew it was far from over, that this was only the beginning, her spirits dropped a bit more as they watched another Reaper descend from the sky.

"Damn! Another one! How the fuck are we supposed to fight these things!?" Hale yelled.

"One thing at a time Hale. Priorities. We need to get to Vancouver General." Saeko told him.

"If it's even still standing." Yuri muttered.