"RYKARN, FOLLOW MY VOICE! ALSO, TALK TO ME!"
"Rykarn, we're over here!"
Like a decidedly fatalistic game of Marco Polo, the intermittent flickering of the IFF signals and volumetric dust played hell with visual contact, leading Rykarn towards the sounds of Salissa and Partinaxsβ voices on one end and the unintelligible utterances of the Husks behind him. Everything bloody well ached, between the concussive forces of the blast and the countless dozens of claws that had tried to pry through his now battered armour, the krogan was rather looking forward to sitting down and drinking when this was all over.
After fending off a few more Husks with ferocious backhands and liberal use of his shotgun, the krogan soon heard the staccato of gunfire and the flashing of omni-blades through the dust, his comrades having reached him. At least theyβd stayed the hell back when he set off the charges; it would be clean-up duty and containing what was left. When he caught sight of the cybernetic woman, Rykarn shook his head.
βYouβre louder than the explosion, but thanks. Didnβt want to walk back alone with an entourage of monsters.β he watched as the turian Specter cut down yet another Husk with an incandescent orange blade. He looked about as good as Rykarn felt, he decided. With the krogan secure, Partinax ordered a retreat back to the line. Looking the Spectre over and offering an agreeable nod, he made an understated observation.
βYou look like shit.β Rykarn said, his helmet concealing his grin. He followed Partinax back towards the firing line, turning on occasion to take a few more shots at trailing Husks, the shotgun doing gruesome work against the unarmoured Husks. Vella had apparently joined the rescue effort, and Rykarn was surprised to find that she didnβt show up on his HUD. His omnitool must have taken a hit.
"That was stupid!" The asari exclaimed. It was something Rykarn was far too accustomed to hearing from just about every outfit heβd worked for, save for the Blood Pack. Turns out when you get a bunch of krogan leading a bunch of vorcha and donβt give a shit about collateral damage, you get used to doing things that make even turians have second thoughts. Krogan were nothing if not pragmatic; if it fixes your problem but kills a bunch of your enemy, then it would be stupider not to do it. It`s not like he was on the bill for fixing the damn metro.
What Rykarn wasn`t ready for was the asari`s follow-up statement.
"You should totally teach me sometime!" she exclaimed, perhaps far too cheerfully.
The krogan grunted, tossing a grenade behind him. It detonated, silencing several shrieking vocals behind the group.
βSpend your next leave on Tuchanka and pick a fight with everyone you see. Youβll learn fast enough.β he said, continuing his stride back towards the others. Back in formation, it was a lot easier to stand their ground now that the source of Husks was restricted. There were still more than anyone could count and the dust destroyed line of sight, but it was starting to feel more like a fight they might win. His commander might give him crap for breaking the line, but he wasnβt about to make excuses. London wasnβt currently being overrun by Husks and they werenβt all torn into hundreds of bloody ribbons. End of the day, thatβs what bloody mattered.
Nyxella
TokyoPewPew
Tlaloc
