"Speaking"

Thinking

Letter/Website Writing

"Cellphone/Communicator Speak"

The shuttle bay doors opened and the team leaped out onto the landing platform of the small facility, built into the Cliffside. As the cleared the platform, their shuttle pilot, one Flight captain Frank Williams, shut the door behind them and maneuvered the Kodiak back into the sky. "Landing zone is too hot to stick around guys. Reaper and Cerberus air support won't be a problem for you guys 'cus you'll be inside the base, but I can't just sit out here waiting. Radio me once you've gotten the good doctor, and I'll be back to pick you up."

"Got it Frank. Okay guys, let's get the doc and get the hell outta here." Nick said to the squad.

"Sir, yes sir!" Kya shouted in return."

"Agreed. Let's do this fast. The situation deteriorates by the minute." The long haired man, who had introduced himself as Mike Janus, said.

The squad simply got a quick green blip of agreement on their omni-tools from Wolverine.

"Doesn't talk much, does he?" mike quipped as the entered the facility.

The second the squad turned their first corner, barricaded Cerberus troops opened fire on them. Rolling to cover, the team prepared a response, but before they could, Wolverine kicked…KICKED …his cover pad toward the Cerberus troops, impacting against several of them. Without losing momentum, Wolverine covered the distance between him and the troops within seconds, leaping, and rebounding off the wall, landing within the center of the Cerberus squad. Immediately, he mule-kicked the two troop to his back, sending them careening over the N7 team into the far wall. They hit the wall, and fell to the floor, unmoving. Wolverine recovered quickly from his move, returning to his feet. Picking up a trooper that had yet to recover from the debris Wolverine had kicked at them earlier; Wolverine brought him over his leg, and snapped the trooper's spine with it. Throwing the body into two other troopers rushing him, he reached out and grabbed the thirds M-25 Hornet, crushing it slightly in his hand. He grabbed the troopers head with his other hand, and released the semi-crushed weapon to grip the troopers shoulder, and promptly snapped his neck. To finish the quick ballet of death off, Wolverine quickly retrieved his Harrier assault rifle, and tore through the remaining two troopers who were just getting back up.

All of this took about ten seconds to accomplish. Needless to say, the rest of the squad stood, stunned with slack jaws.

"…Holy shit." Mike muttered.

"I've seen vids from the Krogan Rebellions, and I don't think I have ever seen anything as lethally swift and brutal as what I just saw." Nick said to no one in particular.

Wolverine merely shrugged in response, and gestured his head in the direction of dr. Gunthar's location.

000

"Hold the position! We can't let them get to the target! We bunker down here and stall them enough so that Poseidon team reaches the doctor!" A Cerberus Centurion yelled to his team as they exchanged fire with the N7 team in a large vehicle depot room.

"We gotta find a way past these guys!" Kya shouted as her Saber picked off troopers with its powerful rounds.

"I have an idea. I can force them into cover with a couple grenades, then Wolverine can rush them, while we pick off who we can."

"With respect Robson," Mike turned to him. "I think I have a quicker plan that doesn't rely on the super soldier."

"Go for it man, if you got an idea. There is no established leader." Nick responded.

"Okay, here goes." Mike placed his Raider down, and reached out with his two arms. Suddenly, two purple tendrils of biotic power lashed out from his hands and attached themselves to the ceiling.

"AAAAAAUUUUUGH!" Mike screamed as he pulled, and brought a section of the ceiling down right on top of the Cerberus squad.

"Wow. I can pull of some crazy stuff with my biotics, but biotic cables!? That's incredible!" Kya said.

Mike staggered to a knee, taking deep, painful breathes. "Trust me; the process to get is not worth it. Plus, I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to pull that much weight."

Nick picked off any remaining troopers, or the few that had dug themselves out of the rubble. "Can you move man?" He called back.

Mike slowly returned to his feet. "I'm good Robson. I'm not some punk ass recruit."

"Then let's go. We are closing in on the doctor." He replied as he opened the door leading out of the room. The squad moved quickly down the hallways, their weapons and skills ready to be unleashed on whoever would be unfortunate to appear in their way.

Reaching a door at the end of the hallway, the team stacked up on either side, preparing to breach.

"Okay," Kya said. "This door leads to a large cargo area of this facility. According to the schematics we have, on the other side of it is an elevator that leads to the command center. That's where Dr. Gunthar is."

"Almost got this thing done." Mike muttered.

Kya slapped the door opening hologram, and the doors slid open. The squad brought their weapons to bear, gritted their teeth, and bound into the cargo holding bay. And immediately skidded to a halt and backed right back through the door.

"Fucking hell!" Nick cursed.

"You've got to be fuckin' kidding me." Mike shook his head.

Inside the large cargo area, what was occurring could only be described as a combat nightmare for the small but lethal squad. There was Cerberus on one side of the room, and Reaper forces on the other. Husks, and a unit that was coded 'Cannibals' for their tendency to devour fallen units of their own side. The two sides were mercilessly assaulting one another, neither giving an inch. And the N7 team was stuck right in the middle.

Everyone's omni-tools received flashing little red icons from Wolverine.

"The big guy's right. There's no way we'll get through that alive." Mike said.

"There is no other way to Dr. Gunthar. No air ducts, no alternative routes, nothing from this side of the facility." Kya replied.

"Shit. It's gonna take a Godsend to get through that." Nick added.

No sooner had the words left his mouth when suddenly dozens of YMIR type battle mechs dopped from the ceiling, half turning to Cerberus, and the other half turning to the Reapers. This had the effect of leaving a path directly to the elevator in between the hulking metal behemoths.

Nick and Mike both turned their heads upward. "Thank you!" They said in-sync.

The team sprinted through the chaotic gunfight, bullets whizzing and cracking around them, as the mechs, Reapers, and troopers tore each other apart. Kya reached the elevator first, then Nick, then Wolverine. Mike blasted a Cannibal that slipped past the mechs and turned to enter the elevator, but suddenly a grenade sent the YMIR closest to him into self-destruct.

He was blasted several feet into the air, into Reaper "territory" of the room.

"MIKE!" Kya shouted as she prepared a biotic move. Suddenly, Wolverine leaped past her, sprinting at an incredible speed, punching a path directly to the fallen operative. Reaching him, Wolverine picked up Mike, lifting him and before he could protest, threw him into the elevator, before re-entering a few seconds later.

"Thanks. I owe you one." Mike breathed as he rubbed his head. The landing had not been the kindest.

The elevator lifted off the ground, taking the N7 team safely away from the chaos below.

"Welcome brave soldiers." The intercom chimed. "I've been expecting you. That was quite the show."

00000

Elsewhere in the galaxy, small cargo ship sped toward the Citadel. Beneath its rugged hulls, it was packed with refugees escaping the Reapers. In one of the ship's cargo bays, where you would expect to hear crying and empty promises of everything being okay, the temporary residents of this area of the ship were all watching in utter confusion at the scene before them.

"Jorthan, bro, I understand fighting is fun. I'm a mercenary, I know. But you can't try to Leroy Jenkins a two mile tall metal squid. It doesn't work like that." A handsome man with dirty blonde wavy hair said. What drew attention to him however, were not his good looks, but the tattoos on his face. Turian colony markings.

The other individual was a batarian who looked very unhappy with the man in front of him. "What would you know Lions? How do you know that was my goal!?" He growled. "I'm sick and tired of you humans judging my species."

Lions threw his hands in the air. "Wow, really guy? The race card? We've worked together for all this time, you still pull that load of bull crap on me. You're cool bro. Real cool."

"Don't act like we're friends Lions. We're co-workers. I don't even know why I put up with a human as immature as you." Jorthan snarled.

"Yeah? Well you're ugly." Lions countered.

A refugee turned to the asari that had come onto the ship with the arguing mercenaries. The asari was beautiful, but all asari are, so what really stood out about her was the color of her skin. It wasn't the usual blue, teal or purple, but an exotic mix of blue and green. She was doing the hair of some young human girl that she had brought aboard.

"You travel with those guys?" he asked her.

"Yerp-a-derp." She replied.

"What?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, the human is my boss."

"Are they always like this?"

"No actually. They usually get along. Well, as well a human and batarian can I guess. Can I ask you something now?"

The man blinked. "Yeah I guess."

"Does her hair look like a butterfly to you?" The asari asked, gesturing to the little girls hair.

"…what?"

"Don't mind her. Just let her be, and maybe you won't get sucked into the madness."

"Veck! There you are you helmet faced mother fucker!" Lions said smiling.

The quarian nodded. "I was helping the captain fix up some of his systems. Figured it was the least I could do."

"Knowing you it probably was." Jorthan muttered.

"Love you too man." Veck replied.

"Captains headed to the Citadel right?" Lions asked.

"Yeah, we should be arriving in a few hours. Why?" The quarian replied.

"There someone I gotta talk to. Someone who is gonna need our services."