[Book Four] Chapter 55: The beginning of the end

Chapter 55: The beginning of the end

The space battle had been going on for four days. Despite the clear advantage in technology, especially with EVAs in the fray, had helped sustain the massive number of the Ketts waiting for the allied forces to attack. Joker and Hilary had particularly been successful at taking enemy ships down swiftly. It was like their EVA had been dancing in space. There had been casualties of course, most notably, the smallest ships or ships that had been too old to have been properly fitted with a last generation’s shield. That had been expected and counter measures put in place though with the chaos of the battle it didn’t always work.
A significantly big enough breach had been made an hour earlier and allied ships containing crew and supplies for creating fortified outposts on the ground had arrived through the conduit and were already landing on the planet. Among them the Normandy.

“Everyone is ready?” asked Jane in the cargo deck to the different team leaders

Everyone was geared up and inside their respective tanks. Two of the latest models fresh out of the factory. Each one was looking like the proper tanks of old though the similarities stopped there.They took so much place that they had to remove the gym area to fit them and the kodiak.

“My team is.” Rick answered his sister.
““Mine too.”” Adam and Mathew answered together.
“Be careful, especially you.” said Jane as she looked at her brother. She knew the hatred he had for the Ketts and despite everyone's best effort to help him get better she wasn’t sure if he would keep control of himself or not. Burying his emotions and acting with his head was his default mode but there had been some instances where he had lashed out during a fight. And that was before he had died multiple times over the course of his disappearance. Ever since he had been back in the field, thanks to cerberus, two years ago, she didn’t miss the sign of a volcano ready to explode.
“Me? Mathew’s team is the one infiltrating the ketts' buildings.” Rick replied with a frown.
“We’re doing it with the latest camo tech. You on the other hand, you’re going to be right behind enemy lines creating as much chaos as possible and you’re not the most… stable when Ketts are involved…”
“... Cheeky brat.” answered Rick with a smile. “Fine, I won’t do anything outrageous or stupid.”

Both Jane, Adam and Matthew, looking at him with a deadpan face prompted him to correct his statement. “I’ll try to not do something outrageous and stupid. Happy?”
“““...”””
“I guess that’s the best we’ll get.” Jane commented, getting a wink and a blowing kiss from Rick who left them to go to the tank he was assigned to.
“You know… Sometimes I wonder… Who's the parent and who’s the child.” Matthew thought aloud.
“Come on, give dad a break. After everything…”
“Yeah, yeah I know, still… Still the best dad ever.” the blonde man replied with a sigh.
“He has always been like that though. Five years old mentality or two hundred and no in between.” confessed Jane. “It can be tiring but it always keeps things interesting. Anyway, be careful boys.”
““Boys?””
“Really? You’re going to do that now?” she replied now faking her unamusement as her son and nephew looked at her with a barely contained grin. “The apple really didn’t fall far from the tree. Like father, like sons.”
“Best compliment ever.” exclaimed Matthew to which Adam nodded.
“Come on, time for you to go.”

The two men left for their respective vehicle and Jane joined Samara at the side. The former Justicar was wearing a red armor and was inspecting it thoroughly.

“You ready?”
“I am. I was just checking my ammunition reserve.”
“Samara, we can shoot energy beams from our hands.”
“Say the one who’s sporting guns on her hips.” the asari retorted and stashed a few more thermal clips in the appropriate place on her armor.
“Touché. Though it’s more out of sentimentality for this once.” she said as she gently tapped the latest version of her Lion’s roar. “And this one is if we’re really in deep trouble.” This time she tapped the energy gun that Rick had perfected.
“I understand.”

As Jane and Samara picked up their helmets to put it on, the first tank, containing Adam’s team, exited the cargo deck to fall towards the ground. They would land behind allied lines and make their way from key points to key points. Soon enough, the kodiak piloted by Steeve and upgraded with a stealth mode, left too with Matthew’s team. Being their turn, the two women began to run in their heavy armor and jumped out of the Normandy, immediately beginning to fly towards the nearest point of action EDI had shared with them.

The only team left was Rick and its members were getting impatient.

“Where the hell is dickhead?”
“He said he was checking one last thing.” replied Tali.
“Checking what?” Garrus asked.
“If the seat belts were working correctly.” Rick said as he entered the tank through the driver’s hatch and immediately turned on the engine.
“““HELL NO!”””

The whole team exclaimed their protest at the sudden knowledge that Rick would be the one driving. Tali immediately tried to get out of the tank but fumbled with her seat belt while Garrus and Kaidan tried to move to get Rick out of the driver seat. Unfortunately for them, Rick pressed on the gas pedal and everyone was sent backwards making everyone scream.

____________________________________________________________

“What’s the situation down there?” Hackett asked one of his subordinates monitoring the battlefield and communications. The Cassiopeia, allowing a quick retreat or a quick deployment from the cluster, had been left behind. The HQ was now temporarily relocated on the Gaeia, as it was the most impregnable ship around. It was a point of ralliement for everyone. Any ship that couldn’t take the conduit back to the Cassiopeia would simply dock on the Gaeia, for safety or repair. The facilities were at the disposal of the war effort (though for a fee that had been negotiated by Sandra beforehand).
Steven  couldn’t help himself but feel great being at the head of the most powerful vessel that had ever seen the light of day. However he still preferred the Cassiopeia as it was smaller and was more of a homely station than an actual ship.

“Area A to I, minus area G, are cleared and under our control. Resistance was heavy but casualties are less than ten percent, sir. Area G presented a more difficult position to take because of the terrain. Casualties are around thirty percent but they keep pushing. The Commander is on her way to provide support and Team Bulldozer just arrived on location.” an officer answered as she pulled up on the main display, the situations of each area the councilian species had begun their invasion of. “Areas A, B, D, E and H are currently undergoing fortification. The bunker packages had been sent twenty minutes ago. Area C, F and I received the package too and will begin fortification once the troops there are done preparing the terrain.” the woman added.
“Good. Any word about Team Chaos and Team Ghost?”
“Team Ghost already infiltrated one of their targets, target Beta, and backed out in direction to target Delta. They cut their communication off so I believe they had begun their infiltration.” another officer on Hackett’s right answered this time.
“Team Chaos?” the Admiral asked again not getting a report.
“Hmm… They… They are successful in creating a distraction for Team Ghost, sir. However…”
“However?”
“Too successful perhaps. They have more than half the Ketts troops from their last position on their tail.”

With that information delivered the officer hijacked the main display and played what happened live with Team Chaos from a different point of view. Hackett watched non-plus as from Area E’s view they saw a tank being chased by at least thirty Ketts’ vehicles, up a mountain. What made him raise a brow was the very high and sharp cliff Team Chaos was going to because at the feet of it was as many Ketts units as behind them.
Switching from the inside of the tank view, Steven turned up the volume to know what was going on.

“Hmm… Sir?” asked a worried marine sitting next to Rick who was behind the wheel. How was a marine with team Chaos was a question that Hackett let slide for now too focused on what was happening.
“Yeah, kid?”
“The road!”
“Don’t worry, where we’re going, we don’t need roads.”
“Oh?! I didn’t know the new Tortoise model could fly.”
“It can’t.”
“Ah. In that case, sir… CLIIIIIFFF!!!” yelled the marine as he hung to his seat for dear life, just as the tank reached the end of the way.
“I BELIEVE I CAN FLY! I BELIEVE I CAN TOUCH THE SKY!”

As he was singing very badly, Rick activated his biotics and from Area E’s point of view, Hackett could see that the entire tank had been covered by a blue biotic field. The war engine had clearly had its mass reduced to zero as it went way farther than expected thanks to its initial speed. While they technically went over the Ketts troops way down below on the ground, the air resistance had begun to have an effect on the tank, soon making them a stationary target.

“Garrus! Correction flight 6:37!” yelled Rick and soon after the tank’s main canon fired, propulsing it forward, way forward. “Wrex, watch out for any missile! Jen, Kaidan, biotics on those bitches on our ass. Tali, the red singularity grenades on the ones on the ground.”

Immediately, the whole team acted and did as ordered while Rick kept giving information to Garrus who shot in the appropriate direction.

“Are they… making their tank fly?” asked an incredulous Victus on the side.
“After forty years I thought I was used to Wald’s brand of insanity and kept a bit of my own sanity left. Clearly, I was wrong.” said Hackett before giving new orders. “Keep an eye on Team Chaos at all times, warn me of any new development about it. Take a six hour shift and sign up that marine and any one watching over the team for mandatory visits to a psychiatrist, God knows they will need it.”

The poor officer gave a ‘sir, yes sir’ that had been punctuated by a sigh of relief. The man had been watching Team Chaos from the very beginning and their antics made him think that he was either dreaming or in severe need of a bottle or two of strong schnapps. Knowing that he wasn’t the only one affected by what he saw made him feel a bit better. He couldn’t wait for his shift to be over.

____________________________________________________________

“Well… That was a hard fight but we did it.” said Jane in the control room of Area G. The fight to take this position had been a hard one and hers and Samara’s aerial support had been a godsend for the ground troops. Team Bulldozer had joined and was deployed and completely obliterated the Ketts resistance. The problem was that the fortification had been badly damaged and the late Ketts reinforcements, while exterminated, had further delayed taking proper hold of the area. Their numbers were lacking, there were plenty of wounded, and the bunker package they had just received needed too many people to be set up quickly. The position was unholdable and another Kett assault would finish the troops for good. Jane's words were not comforting at all for the soldiers in the room.

“Steven said we would get reinforcement soon. This area was the last of this part of the planet to be captured, so once the other areas are secure…” Hannah began but Jane interrupted her.
“If we’re not getting attacked beforehand…”

As if she had tempted fate, an analyst called out to her mother.

“Ma’am! Ketts forces coming from the north.”
“How many?! When will they be here?!”
“A.. H-hundreds of vehicles, ma’am and half an hour.” replied the analyst, clearly distraught.
“Damnit! Send a message to Command, tell them to hurry the fuck up with those reinforcements! We needed them yesterday! Tell the soldiers out there to forget about the walls’ construction. I want everyone to retreat to the main building where we’ll deploy the shield area! I want it powered to the max, forget about anything non-essential, take BLUEs from tanks or shuttles to boost its strength and make it last as long as it can!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Jane, Samara and you…”
“Ma’am the enemies! It’s like… They’re not coming for us.” said another analyst.
“They’re not? Why are they coming here then?” Hannah exclaimed looking at the woman who just spoke to her.
“I think… I think they’re fleeing.”
“Fleeing? Fleeing what?”

Hannah was even more worried now. If hundreds of Ketts troops were fleeing, what were they fleeing from? Clearly not something good.

“Hu.. I…”
“Well?”

The analyst was so lost at what she was seeing that she wasn’t sure if it was real or not. Pulling up the scouting camera’s feed to the biggest display in the room she simply said ‘this’.

“What the…” Jane began.

____________________________________________________________

“Sir! We just received a message from former Fleet Admiral Shepard, she says that Ketts…” began as a communication guy but cut himself off abruptly.
“Well? What does she say?”
“I… That hundreds of Ketts troops are heading toward Area G and needs reinforcement yesterday but…”
“But?”
“I just received another message, she says that the Ketts are fleeing towards them.”
“Fleeing?” repeated the admiral in surprise. “What could possibly…. Lieutenant, what is Wald doing?!”
“He’s playing cards on top of the tank, sir?”
“...”

The information quieted everyone in the room. You could only hear the beeping sounds of small alerts from the consoles.

“What?” was the question Hackett said in a confused but done with this shit tone.
“Er… See for yourself, sir?”

At that, the Lieutenant pulled up the camera feed from inside the tank, where the marine (who Hackett still didn’t know anything about) was behind the wheel, with Tali manning the turret while Wrex was using the main cannon, shooting from time to time. The camera on top of the tank showed something even more interesting. Rick was playing cards with Kaidan and Garrus, while Jennifer had removed her armor and catsuit to tan. The tank was still up in the air and just when he wondered how, he saw Kaidan creating a singularity a dozen meters forward just below the tank and Jennifer detonating it, creating a biotic explosion that pushed up the tank higher all the while Rick made the tank weigh nothing.

“They… They’ve been flying around ever since… well they got in the air. They kept bombarding Ketts’ troops and outposts and I… I think that the forces going towards Area G are the remnants that got away.”

“...What the fuck.” whispered Hackett, completely dumbfounded by what he was seeing and by what he heard. “They’ve been flying for five hours?”
“Y-yes, sir.”
“... I need a drink.” he muttered but not low enough for the people around him to not hear him. All agreed with his statement, especially the Lieutenant.

____________________________________________________________

Kyle Gonzales has been reconsidering his life choices for a while now. He was part of the first generation of humans being born in Andromeda, on Ryder to be exact, and had decided to enlist into the Alliance once he turned sixteen. That was three years ago. When the Commander Jane Shepard had announced to the whole councilian species that they were at war again and for their survival, again, he had wanted to help immediately. After all, Andromeda was his home and he wasn’t going to let the Ketts destroy it and turn him or his loved ones into one of them. When he had voiced his intent to join the navy to his parents at thirteen, they had been supportive. Nothing surprising here, his father was a former soldier himself who had fought in his late teens during the Reaper War and his mother had been working as a security guard. They both got lucky to be chosen to be part of the Andromeda expedition and met during a common shift during the trip. When the colony on Ryder was established, they decided to quit their respective jobs, get married and join the colony’s police force. In consequence for three years, they trained and taught him the best they could to prepare him for war. He was no great soldier but he was firmly above average. Enough that he had been selected to be part of the project immersion that pulled your mind into a virtual world and let you experience war without endangering oneself. True, he still felt it when he got shot or burned or hurt in general but the pain was lessened.

Kyle had to admit, this training had been very beneficial when he didn’t freeze during his first deployment and dealt properly with the multiple emotions a fight made you feel. After all… when you had experienced the kind of mission the Commander herself went through during the war, not much could intimidate you if you survived it, no matter how diluted the experience was.
Three years in the navy (only two and a half as an active soldier though) Kyle thought that he was a rookie no more. When his commanding officer had ordered a deployment of a small team to scout the areas ahead of their position and by doing so overriding the orders that had been given to stay put, Kyle didn’t flinch. When his whole team got caught, he didn’t flinch. When it was decimated and found himself the only survivor, he didn’t flinch. When Rick Wald and his team came out of the blue, picked him up and went on to fly a tank and rain death and terror on the Ketts he didn’t flinch.

He fucking panicked.

He had known the man from his reputation and from the old TV show about the Reaper War, he also knew about each member on the team, they were legends after all. But he would never have thought that they were completely insane.

‘They made a fucking tank fly! What. The. HELL?!’

It took a good hour for Kyle to get his bearings and calm down and that was thanks to Tali giving him a shoulder massage helping him greatly relax. As he was thinking that maybe life in the army was not for him or that he would need help to deal with the bullshit he was currently in, Rick came back inside and waved at him to move out from the driver seat.

“Sir?” said Kyle as he switched to the passenger seat.
“We’re done fucking around. The Ketts that escaped all banded together and are making their way towards Area G. Our friends will get slaughtered if we don’t help.” Rick explained that he pulled up the holo map from the console in front of them. “You proved you were good at flying, how good are you at driving?”
“““Better than you!””” came the united reply from everyone else in the tank.
“And how do you know that?” the blonde man protested, sending them a glare as his head turned around.
“Anyone is better than you at driving, Dickhead. Even Jane! I’ll take the kid driving over you any time!”
“And we don’t even know if he can drive at all!” added Tali.
“We’re still alive, aren’t we? Must not be that bad, then!”
“Wald, you’re so bad at driving that you made a tank fly!”
“When it’s not supposed to do that in the first place!” finished Kaidan.
“You ungrateful…” he began but quickly put an end to the rant he was about to make. “How are we ammo wise?”
“We’re out of grenades.” Kaidan answered.
“Which type?”
“All of them.”
“The turret?”
“Enough clips for a few thousand rounds.” replied Tali.
“I guess we can’t piss on their parade anymore and have to take the fight to the ground.”
“And how are we supposed to do that? We’re flying!” Garrus exclaimed, annoyed. “Last time I checked the propulsors underneath got damaged and are useless. We’re stuck in the air.”
“We fall, duh.”

Just as he said that, Rick cut off his biotics on the tank. It immediately fell and every passenger began to scream as gravity was once again doing its job properly.

____________________________________________________________

“Dad is so cool!” a young Asari exclaimed as she was looking up at a holo screen, displaying a tank very high up in the air. She had stars in her eyes.
““Of course you would think that.”” the twins commented under their breath.
“Despite decades spent on the battlefield, I’ve never seen anything like this, not even during my cycle.”
“Am I the only one seeing the problem at hand, here?” said Adam.
“What problem?” James replied.
“How will they land?” answered Dorothea.
“Well…”

At that moment they saw with their own eyes the familiar bluish glow of biotics surrounding the tank disappear. It was with panic and horror that they saw the war machine fall from the sky and land right atop one of the Ketts’ own armored vehicles making it explode. Smoke and dirt obstructed the sight and everyone watching was too dumbfounded by what just happened to say anything.

“BEEP BEEP MOTHER FUCKERS!”  Everyone heard as the tank came out of the cloud of dust in almost preem condition.
“YOU BOSH’TET!”
“I SWEAR I’M GOING TO KILL YOU FOR THIS!”
“CAN’T BREATHE! CAN’T BREATHE!” they heard Rick yelled as the tank began to move around erratically while firing at everything around.
“JENNIFER, YOU’RE KILLING HIM!” now they heard Kaidan.
“THAT’S THE WHOLE FUCKING POINT!”
“DO IT WHEN HE’S NOT BEHIND THE WHEEL!” Garrus said.
“YEAH! KID TAKE THE WHEEL! AND SOMEONE TAKE THE CANON, I CAN’T TAKE THEM ALL BY MYSELF WITH THE TURRET!”
“ON IT, WREX!

The tank suddenly began to behave properly as a biotic shield began to appear around it. It momentarily stopped and everyone saw Rick being ejected forcefully from the heavy armored vehicle. The silence in the command room of Area G was broken by Hannah.

“I’m going to murder him! He nearly gave me a stroke!”
“Take a ticket and wait for your turn!” Jane protested. Clearly she had felt the same and wanted to do the same. Her heart was still beating faster than it ever did.
“Boys, you’re forbidden to do anything like this. EVER.” Dorothea said with a murderous glare towards her nephews, who suddenly all felt like little kids and not the veteran men in their late thirties that they were.
“““Yes, auntie.”””
“Ha! Sucks to be you! I can’t wait for dad to teach me how to do it!” Aezzia exclaimed, completely oblivious to the atmosphere in the room and the situation.