A Chase in the Dark.
Collab Between Arcarius and Mechon (Tiberius and Rayes)
The Quarian’s gaze shifted from the disgust he felt at the literal wall of husks that continued to pound at the barrier ahead of him, making his Arc Pistol feel worthless in comparison to the horde that kept coming. Shot after shot, clip after clip, and yet there was no visible end to these creatures! Worse still, upon reloading once more, he realized he was on his last thermal clip… 6 shots. Kee’lah, if Rayes knew he had signed up for a traumatizing experience, he would have thought it was just the Eclipse messing with him! He gave himself a light punch in the mask, forcing his thoughts to shift into what mattered. The situation was grim, but there was always a chance things could be worse, right? It could always get worse, and he prayed that it would not be so...
It was the second time he jinxed himself. It all happened so quickly, a blur to the untrained eye of the engineer as the barrier collapsed. And yet, through the chaos, a single organic being emerged from the husks: Anderson. Hastily glancing back and forth at the group, it was only then that he realized their leader had not been with them this entire time. He felt like a fool to not have realized it in such a precarious situation, and yet looking at the stumbling horde ahead revealed the human Spectre. It must have been a miracle to have survived alone… No, no sense worrying the Quarian told himself, after all, there was still the-
Turning back to face the scientists, his face turned sour upon realizing several had begun to make a break for it due to the chaos. It made him want to scream in frustration at how poor this mission had come, and yet, he felt a tinge of regret upon not telling Anderson about the husk experiments he had glossed over. At the time they seemed like simple nothings, and now that the scientists who had done such deeds were attempting to escape… Rayes would not allow it. He was meant to be responsible for keeping them together, and his focus on the husks hindered that to where he got careless. In the moments that followed, he watched as the Asari grabbed one of the scientists, but several more were leaving. It was then that he decided he would have to be the one to give chase, feeling he would be of more use doing so then with his pistol. He turned to face the others to inform them of his decision,but upon doing so…
Tiberius was already on the Quarians heels, he too had noticed the escape and decided to give chase.
“I got your back, Quarian.” he called out as he holstered his rifle in an attempt to give himself more mobility. After all, he was a big guy and would need all the help he could get. The ground beneath his boots sloshed and it didn’t help him that mud gummed to him, but he managed to catch up to the smaller Quarian who couldn’t nearly take the long strides that he could and it didn’t take long before he overtook the smaller being either.
The deep, powerful voice that emanated behind the Quarian nearly caused him to trip and fumble over himself, turning to see the massive Turian on his heels.
“O-Of course, I thank you, Turian.” He replied rather sheepishly, shaking off the surprise that someone else would follow, especially someone such as this Turian. Rayes was easily passed by the giant, making the Quarian feel small by comparison. In fact, thinking about it, Rayes felt rather short compared to everyone. At least the situation didn’t have a need for tall heights, but he supposed he should be thankful. After all, now he had an experienced soldier on his side, and one whose presence gave Rayes the good kind of chills, making him glad someone else would assist him in the chase.
“D-Do you have any idea as to how we’ll catch up, or will we just wait and see when we get there?” He shouted to his comrade ahead, waiting for a response as they ran.
Glancing back
“We might just have to wait and hope they mess up,” he called back, to which Rayes responded with
“I see… C-Continue to lead on!” Tiberius then turn his attention back to the scientist, they were fast but they also were not packing any of the gear that he and his new partner where, deep down the Turian could only hope that they could even catch up at all. His eyes narrowed as he noticed the two scientists stop for a moment and look down a side passage before they both darted out of sight down it, it didn’t take long for Tiberius to reach the doorway and stopped just short of it, looking back at Rayes and motioned for him to stop before he reached back and unholstered his Predator, taking a deep breath and gripping it slightly he quickly swung around the corner and took aim. Nothing, there was nothing he could see besides the darkness in front of him, glancing over at the smaller quarian
“Stay close,” he muttered, then started forward slowly and activating the flashlight on his helmet as Rayes nodded. In response to Tiberius turning on his flashlight, Rayes activated the flashlight on his Omni-Tool in hopes of helping. After all, two lights were better than one.
The tunnel was dark and dreary, with the lights not providing much help in their search. They could see slightly ahead, but there was not much to see here, at least not at the moment. There was the obvious rubble from the old and worn down tunnel, but nothing too drastic. Various beams, pipes leading into the darkness… It all made Rayes very uncomfortable. Luckily, there weren’t a lot of dips or crevices that they passed, but approaching each small corner that could have been a potential hiding spot always gave the Quarian shivers, a small irrational fear that a husk would jump out from the abyss as soon as he turned his gaze away and off to the side. At least, he thought, he had the Turian to protect him… Though these scientists would pose no real threat as they were unarmed, and the husks were behind, not ahead. Now that they had led themselves down this tunnel, it seemed fairly straightforward that the only problem now would be to locate the scientists themselves. Which, of course, would be easier said than done. The maintenance tunnel’s long corridor style soon began to branch due to various doors revealed by the duo’s light. Though upon investigating the several they encountered only lead to dead ends with no trace of scientists, causing them to retrace their steps and continue onward through the darkness.
The further they went in, the more it felt as if they were no closer to reaching the escapees than before, but they continued their search cautiously, looking for any signs they may have left behind. Several bits of lab coats were torn along the rubble here and there, directing them onward, and yet, it was almost too quiet. Perhaps their detours through the doors had caused them to be further than they originally were, causing any noise footsteps would cause to be too far despite the echo the tunnel produced. Either that, or they missed a door, but that was highly unlikely. They had been very observant so far, and doubted they had missed anything. At least, that was until the crack of gunfire behind them filled the tunnel with noise, several of the shots ricocheting off of Tiberius’ armor and into the walls nearby. Clearly, they weren’t alone now. Quickly grabbing Rayes and pulling him around and out of the incoming fire Tiberius brought up his pistol and returned fire as he began to back up, while carefully pushing Rayes back into a nearby room. Rayes was caught off guard by the Turian, but seeing as he was also caught off guard by gunfire, he didn’t do much to stop Tiberius.
Once they were both inside Tiberius looked over at Rayes
“I’ll draw their fire and keep them busy. You keep looking for the Scientist, I’ll come and find you when I’m done here, ready? On my mark I want you to go.” he said then holstered his pistol and retrieved his Phaeston. Rayes stared at him for a bit, processing his words to the best of his ability despite the fear due to just being shot at.
“I...I’ll… Yes, I understand...” He replied quietly, turning off his omni-tool’s light before getting behind Tiberius.
“Three… Two… One… Mark!” Stepping back out into the hall Tiberius open fired on the troopers and moved towards them, and almost immediately they moved back into cover as the Turian began to suppress them. The Quarian wasted no time in moving, hastily dashing out of the room as soon as the firing began. Hopefully, the darkness and suppression would keep them oblivious to the fact he was running away from them in a desperate attempt to find the scientists. Rayes was worried for Tiberius, hoping he could last long enough for reinforcements or the like. He shook his head, forcing the thought of having someone die to protect him out of his head. It was just another thing to add to the long list of potential trauma that he could afford to deal with at the moment, instead focusing his attention on pressing onward while the gunfire was behind him. When he felt a safe distance away, he turned his light back on and began the search once more.
Glancing back to see the Quarian gone and out of danger, his attention was now on the threat that was in front of him, he continued to press forwards while firing small bursts keep this Cerberus troopers in cover until the sound he hated so much, like pressure being released from a pipe, his weapon overheated. Cursing under his breath, he let go of it all together and sprinted forward, drawing his two combat knives as he did; one from the side of his boot, the other from its sheath that was along his lower back horizontally, the movements were quick and precise. Not hearing the fire anymore and the clank of a weapon hitting the ground, the troopers seemed to relax a little before the first and closest moved out of cover and took aim, but his weapon was immediately pushed up towards the ceiling. Out of sheer panic, he fired, causing the other troopers to grip their rifles and move from cover.
Elbowing the trooper in the skull and off his feet, he fell back into the pocket space he had been using as cover. Still holding the troopers rifle, he threw it back the way he had came, then noticing the two troopers aim for him, he stretched out his arm and threw up a barrier just before the troopers open fired, the round bounced off the barrier harmlessly. Clutching his talons into fists and bringing them inward, he then threw them back out causing the barrier to rupture into a shockwave around him, sending the other two troopers to the ground and knocking their rifles away from them.
The Quarian picked up his pace, fear driving him to move onward while the sounds of combat echoed from behind. At least on Rannoch against the Geth, they were mainly visible in well lit environments, but this was essentially a 180 from that. First robots and Cerberus troopers, then their husks, and now even more troopers in a near pitch-black, broken down tunnel. He swore he’d write home immediately if he managed to get out of this. And while his situation paled in comparison to the danger his Turian comrade was currently in, or the rest of his group for that matter, if things went wrong he’d be alone and more than likely would have to deal with it all. But he supposed it could be worse… He could have been shot as he ran away, been clawed to death by the husks… So today wasn’t AS bad as it could have been. And, it seemed things could pick up, as he spotted several doors in the distance on each side of the tunnel. Scared to be alone, yet courageous enough to carry on, he decided he would search the left door first. Clutching his Arc Pistol, he took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself before opening it to investigate.
Meanwhile Tiberius gripped his knives at the ready, his breaths heavy. Two of troopers were still trying to get to their feet, one was behind him with a baton out and ready, Tiberius stayed still his eyes shifting from one trooper to the next, as the two troopers in front of him got to there feet and found that their weapons were no longer in reach they drew their own knives. Tiberius spun around at the sound of the trooper making a move behind him, gripping the baton the trooper brought it over his head and swung it down towards the larger Turians shoulder, Tiberius’ eyes narrowed behind his visor as he sidestepped right, and grabbing the troopers arm with his left talon, he planted his left foot then pivoted his right just for a brief moment before throwing his right knee up into the troopers gut. Still holding onto his arm, he quickly moved his right arm around the back of troopers neck and into a powerful headlock, his left hand moved to the troopers back and pressed down as he pulled up with his right arm, these two movements together made a sickening popping sound from the trooper then immediately after the body when limp, Releasing it, it crumpled to the floor as the Turian turned his attention to the remaining two troopers.
As for Rayes, he was getting over the chills he got from opening the rusted door. It looked like some sort of maintenance area, or maybe he just felt that way due to all the wires sticking out from the walls and overhead. And while that was slightly odd to him, at this rate, anything was fair game. There seemed to be some sort of trail from the door, a path slightly less dusty with swivels and swirls here and there as if something had come through here in a rush. To Rayes, there were many possibilities as to what that could be, but the imprints left from the slightly less dirty floor suggested it wasn’t his fear of a random husk ready to jump scare him, but rather a human. Either that or Asari, but that thought was easily shoved aside as he followed the only clue he had. It didn’t take him long to hear the hushed breathing of a frightened individual, hiding behind what looked like some sort of archaic tech. It was clear whoever was there knew Rayes was, especially since he was shining a flashlight in that direction. Thinking on his feet, he turned to the various wiring that were sticking out once more, deciding to cut off large portions of them for his plan. He then charged his Arc Pistol up for one shot, firing at the side next to where he assumed the scientist was. It must have spooked the poor soul, as the light caught wind of a scientist attempting to crawl away from his hiding place, forcing Rayes to leap upon him and crash down with all his might. The scientist screamed bloody murder, but Rayes wasn’t going to kill the man. Using the cables, he did his best to tie some knots around the man’s hands and legs, rendering him immobile before placing him against the wall in the room.
“You shall stay here, bosh’tet runner… I’ll find the Det kazuat who pressed the button and was leading you away.” He told the scientist before doing the iconic somewhat clapping your hands together to get rid of dust motion. Of course the last scientist to get away was the one who pushed the button… But so far, one more down… Only one to go… And seeing as there was only one other doorway this route…
There was the quick shuffling of footsteps as the trooper on the left lunged forward, thrusting his knife forward, the Turian jumped back out of its reach before grabbing ahold of the troopers arm and twisting it as he forcefully pulled it around the troopers back while he side stepped around, raising his leg he planted a foot into the troopers back and kicked him. Sending the trooper into a wall, Tiberius felt a sharp pain at the top of his right shoulder then that of someone leaping onto his back; it was the second trooper and he had plunged his knife down into the turians shoulder, the blade piercing the soft spot of armor, reaching he grabbed ahold of the troopers arm which had now found its way around his neck, the trooper pulled the blade out only to drive it back in, dark blue blood seeped from the wound and down the turians armor.
By this time the first trooper had gotten back to his feet and rush forwards driving his own knife into the turians left side, gritting his teeth, and with a rageful glare he kicked the trooper back against the wall once more causing him to lose his knife which remained in the turians side, throwing himself back he sandwiched the other trooper against the opposite wall causing him to loosen his grip before Tiberius threw an elbow back catching the trooper in the side, taking a step forward and immediately turning to face the trooper that was on his back, in a single fluid motion he gripped his combat knives in each talon and drove them at a thirty degree angle into both sides of the trooper just below the armpit, the force behind the attack lifted the trooper off his feet, he cried out and squirmed like a fat worm before Tiberius yanked the left knife out and drove it into the side of the troopers skull.
Stepping back into the darkness that encased the tunnel, his light shined down to see what lay ahead, revealing how a large portion of this tunnel ahead seemed to be blocked by debris. No other doors except the one parallel to where the first scientist was as well, so it was the only place Rayes could think of for this last bosh’tet could be. Rayes held a particular grudge against the last one he was attempting to find, remembering how he had been shoved into the Quarian by Anderson to watch. Judging by his recklessness in releasing husks, Rayes came to the conclusion that it was logical that he was also the one who would use them as a distraction like he originally intended to escape. Shame his scheming would all be for naught, but alas, Rayes had no pity at this point. Opening this door revealed several corridors this time; another split up, but one that could easily be dealt with. Observing the different paths, once more there were imprints on the ground where a lowlife scurried away… Deciding to not waste anymore time, Rayes began to walk at a much faster pace in a rush. The sooner he found this asinine individual the better.
Though, turning the corner ultimately proved to be a slap in the face for the Quarian… almost quite literally. In moments, he noticed an object coming increasingly closer to him soar through the corridor’s air, forcing the Quarian to duck instinctively as he dodged the thrown rubble, the debris that followed scattering down near the Quarian’s back. Looking back up revealed the charging madman, seemingly having some sort of desperate attempt to stop his pursuers due to having ultimately taken the wrong tunnel to leave. Rayes quickly reached for his pistol, fumbling with it in front of him for a bit. Each attempt to properly catch the gun lead to the scientist drawing closer, and in a panic Rayes threw his pistol away from both of them before activating his Omni-Blade just as the scientist attempted to tackle him. He had closed his eyes and stuck his hands out in an attempt to block the scientist, but realized soon that instead of being slammed into the nearby wall, he was fine…
Opening his eyes revealed a relatively disturbing scene to the mechanically inclined Quarian: the man had essentially stabbed himself with the Quarian’s Omni-Blade. Blood dripped from the man’s stomach wound as Rayes, shocked by what just occurred, slid the blade out of the man in a hurry, causing the bleeding to worsen slightly. It seemed to be a nasty stab wound… but the Quarian had no medi-gel to patch it up as crimson continued to flow. The scientist fell to the ground in pain, curling up and speaking in an unintelligible language of swears as he writhed. Having froze for a bit, Rayes forced himself to tear off fabric from the man’s clothes in an attempt to fix what he had done. But as he get a better picture of the wound, it wasn’t as deep as he originally feared. The man, idiotic as he was, would most likely survive. He wrapped the fabric around the fool’s stomach before picking him up off the ground, the scientist seemingly in too much pain to fight back now. He made sure to use the remaining cables to tie the scientist’s hands behind his back as he had done to the other, and now was leading him towards the door. Rayes also picked up his pistol, now wondering how Tiberius was holding up now that both scientists had been secured. He hoped his comrade was safe...
This breaths were heavy and slow, but the pain was bearable for the time being as he looked from one corpse to the other, he was just about to turn around he deal with the shuffling behind him when a shot echoed throughout the hall, falling to one knee and grabbing ahold of his right thigh he hissed he his left palm when for the ground in an attempt to hold himself up, footsteps could be heard behind him as the previous trooper then walked into his view, in his hand was Tiberius’ predator, cursing under his breath having realized the trooper must have got ahold of it shortly after he had stabbed him. “You fought well Turian, you killed my friends, and now that I have the upperhand I’ll make your death quick then go hunt that Quarian you were with!” The trooper said as he walked in a circle around Tiberius and stopped as he stood in front of him and aimed down at the turians skull “Any last words?” he said, then in what looked to be a burst of strength Tiberius lunged forward, knocking the pistol to the side then wrapped his arms around the troopers waist and lifted him off the ground, charging down the corridor slightly he then threw the soldier down, who in turn landed hard on his back and slammed the back of his head against ground; dazed briefly the trooper looked up at Tiberius in fear
“The intangible is unstoppable,” muttered Tiberius as a blue hue formed around him, lifting his foot and then stomped down on the skull of the soldier causing a disgusting crunching sound to be heard. Limping back to where the fight had starting he gathered his equipment and holstered them in their respective places before pulling out the knives from his wounds one by one and tossing them to the ground, dark blue blood dripping from his wounds and the right corner of his mouth he coughed slightly before grabbing ahold of a pipe that was hanging near the corner part of the ceiling and used it as support while he walked down the corridor Rayes had gone down
“Hey, Quarian, where are you?” he called out every so often in at attempt to locate him.
After untying the wires that bound the legs of the first scientists, Rayes had begun to lead the two escapees back down the tunnel in a rather slow process. After all, one was wounded and needed the support of the other, all while Rayes had his pistol pointed at them with one hand, light in his other. It took them awhile before the still shocked Quarian began to hear the sounds of someone calling for him.
“T-Turian? I-Is that you? Are you well?!” He shouted back, noticing a small light in the distance that caused him to rush the group in an attempt to meet up with his comrade. If he was searching for Rayes, then that meant everything was fine, right? Yes… Things could have gone much worse… So the fact he was calling for Rayes made the Quarian feel slightly reassured.
Upon finally meeting up, the Quarian would have hugged the Turian due to relief had it not been for the fact that would be awkward, and that there were prisoners that needed to be moved.
“I located them, although the one had a… minor accident…” He replied, the blood having stained a part of the Quarian’s armor on his arm, along with some of his cape fabric near the bottom. It was when he looked at the Turian more thoroughly did he notice that he too was bleeding.
“Kee’lah! You’re injured! We need to move, now!” He said, the worry clearly heard in his voice due to the rising panic resurging.
“You should see the other guys.” the Turian coughed as he briefly grabbed ahold of his own head and shook it for a moment as if to keep focused while he held onto the pipe with the other hand. Turning around Tiberius started to lead them back back the way they came and passed the bodies. The Quarian grimaced at the scene, whispering
“Keelah se'lai...” under his breath due to how gruesome it appeared to him. He did his best to not look at the scene and put it behind him like the bodies were now, but he supposed that was just wishful thinking…
They would walk in silence now, retracing their steps out of the maintenance tunnel and off towards the entrance. As they drew closer, which wasn’t that far off to begin with due to how the scientists took a wrong turn into a maintenance tunnel instead of where they were supposed to go. When they could see daylight, they also saw troops starting to pour in and prepare, but they were not Cerberus… They looked like allies. Was this the reinforcements they had heard about?
Member
