61

Omega Cluster

Sarabarik system

Omega Station

The Normandy docked at Omega. The airlock door opened, and there we were, stepping into this cloaca. Already at the dock, I had the right to call it what it was. All because of the pile of Batarian shit drying in a corner at the end of the dock. They found a good fucking place, I can't say.

Shepard, me and Tali came ashore. I wasn't hiding in any way, so everyone could see I was a Geth. There was no point in hiding on Omega. No one would mess with Shepard, who I obeyed. And anyone would not pay attention to me. You don't see this kind of thing on Omega.

So we're walking down the dock and see a Batarian who's definitely waiting for us. It was Moklan. I remembered him. The Salarian wasn't there, which was odd but not critical. Moklan was now digging into his uniki and occasionally glancing at us. He couldn't hide his surprise. When we were almost there, he switched off the unit and straightened up, and then we walked over to him and stopped.

- Welcome to Omega, Shepard," he bowed, but the sight of him made Shepard want to vomit in his direction.

- Do you know who I am?" she asked.

- Yes. Your ship was recognised by dispatch as soon as you called it in. And you're not hiding your face," the four-eyed man explained. They had no other way to detect us; we were covered by all the stealth systems.

- I see. What do you want? I don't use drugs, I don't keep slaves, and I have my own weapons," Shepard lowered her hand to her plasma pistol, drawing the Batarian's attention to it. In fact, Shepard and Tali spent almost the entire flight in the shooting gallery, getting used to their new weapons. Of course, I also had a mass-effect weapon I had refined in case Shepard and Tali wanted to use the weapons they were used to. But Shepard said she didn't care what she used as long as it killed well, and the lighter, the better. So the captain took a plasma pistol, a blaster carbine, and a six-barrel grenade launcher. Tali took a gun and a shotgun. I took an assault blaster rifle, a firearm, and an RPG with one ammunition, a thermobaric.

- I'm not selling anything, Shepard. I'm just the messenger. Aria wants to know what the dead SPECTRE is doing to Omega. So you'd better go to her afterlife and introduce yourself.

- I don't have much time for that right now," the captain said calmly but angrily.

- Aria doesn't like to wait and doesn't tolerate rejection," the batar parried. - And also, let this stay on the ship," he said, looking at me.

- You're hurting my walking ammunition depot, aren't you? You don't respect me at all, do you? You got some nerve, four-eyes? - Shepard shoved the batarian three times with her hand and stepped on him, causing him to retreat. - I think you're in the wrong place, you little punk! - and then kicked him in the face with all her might. Knocking out 14 teeth and disabling him, Shepard looked at her fist in surprise and then looked ahead. - Come on, let's not get in trouble," we didn't argue and moved on. And I noted to myself flashes of aggression. But after a few dozen metres, we came to Massani.

- Zaid Massani, - I said, but he was very busy with the batar.

- Yes. I'm a little busy here," he said, but I had a secret phrase.

- It's time to return the favour,' I said, and Zaid went into a stupor. He turned to us slowly, not a little surprised.

- Shepard," I gave him the captain's picture for a reason. Gave him time to familiarise himself with her background, so he could meet his future boss.

- Yes. I assume you're on our team now," Shepard replied.

- I am. But who is this guy? - he pointed at me. - Is he with you?

- I'm the one you screwed over ten billion. I am Legatus - Massani's astonishment was unrivalled. Even such a hardened mercenary could express such a storm of emotion. Still, we contacted him by unic, so he didn't see me; he only knew my name.

- Я. I must. Getu. Fucking hell," Massani said.

- I know, he's a bit of a douche. Well, welcome," she greeted the mercenary, extending her hand. Zaid shook it immediately.

- Hmm, working for Shepard herself... I'm still good for something. So, where are we going? - He got down to business.

- Right now, we're all going to the afterlife to meet Aria, whoever she is. Then we go to rescue the Archangel...

- Whoa, whoa, whoa, captain, take it easy," Shepard interrupted Massani. - Save the Archangel... You've gone completely.....

- Zaid. You stormed one of my ships and smashed it into a gas giant. What's it to you to break through to Archangel? - I interrupted him when I remembered what he'd done.

- Exactly. Let's not keep this Aria waiting. Let's go.

- What about this one? - Tali suddenly asked, pointing at the batar under Zaid's foot.

- We should send him to the customer," Zaid said, but I already had a plan.

- My guys will take care of it. Send the address to me," I said, and Zaid didn't argue. After exchanging information, we went to Aria's house.

- Dad, I've been listening to the mercenary negotiations on Omega. Archangel seems to be in big trouble," Susie said to everyone, including Zaid. He didn't understand who it was addressed to, but I didn't hesitate to answer.

- What's going on in there?

- Archangel's been cornered. Four mercenary factions have united against him.

- Four? Who's that? - I wondered. That doesn't sound canon.

- Blue Lights, Eclipse, Blood Pack, and Claws.

- Claws? - I was surprised again. - More about them, please.

- They became visible about a year ago, after some war with the Blood Pack. During that war over drug markets, the Claws got a new leader. Nyrin Kandros. After that, the Blood Pack started losing, and after a month, the fighting stopped. "Claws" took over half of the "Pack" market, so they hate each other. But now, all four mercenary groups are working together. I've noticed that this war started almost immediately after you destroyed the Pack outpost on Heshtok," Susie said, and I began to see what was happening.

- We destroyed a significant Pack force and cut off their supply of Vork. And the Claws took advantage of that. Ask the Mediator for information on this Nyrin. Maybe something interesting will come up," I asked.

- I'll do that," Susie said and then disconnected.

- Who's Susie? - Zaid asked.

- My daughter," I said automatically, and when I saw Zaid's incomprehensible look, I added. - I'll explain.

****

Omega Station

The Afterlife Club.

After explaining everything to Zaid and hearing the mate of a hardened mercenary, we entered the club. I'll be honest; it's a mess. There were a lot of people here, all drinking, eating, snorting, stoning, puking, fighting, swearing, dancing, fucking, and some of them doing several things at the same time. I could also see the true face of the Azari race again and see if Xad's disappointment was correct. All three hundred strippers (and some other part-time ones) were Azari. And this was the race the Protheans had spent so much effort and time on. It's a disgrace. A disgrace. Spending their energies on something like this instead of serving their race or using their biotics to master... Never mind what the Azari are doing to the two Turians with their biotics.

And so, we have now arrived at Queen Omega's box. As it turned out, her entire VIP seat was covered by a biotic bubble, and the core was just under the chest. Because of this, everything in the box was clearly audible, and the music could be heard as if behind a closed door. Aria, a bar, and five azari were in the lodge, all level VIII biotics; you could tell by the amount of HE in their blood. When Aria saw me, she was shocked. And while it was reflected on her face by slightly lifting her eyelids, inside her body reacted much more strongly. Her heart was racing.

- Halt," the batarian said and blocked Shepard's way. - We need to check it out," the captain said nothing, and the batarian began scanning her Unicom. He did it slowly so that Shepard's patience was running out.

- Should I bow? - She asked, to which the batar only grinned.

- I won't say no," she asked, and the next second, the batarian received a mighty blow from Shepard's knee on his stomach, causing him to bend at a right angle and somehow miraculously stay on his feet. He couldn't answer or object, but Shepard couldn't take it.

- Lower. Lower, I said," Shepard tried to teach the batarian to bow, but he couldn't go any lower. - Oooh, you worthless shit," Shepard took the batarian by the scruff of the neck and sent him flying down the stairs, where he tumbled, fell to the floor, and continued to squeak and swear at people. And I noted that the aggression was only towards the batarians. - You need to teach your charges better, Aria.

- I see you're a megalomaniac, Shepard," the azari began calmly, then pointed to the couch. - Have a seat," the captain didn't refuse. As I sat down and spread out on the sofa, Shepard looked at Aria, and she looked at me.

- What's this?

- My ammunition depot. Walking. One of a kind. Not for sale," Shepard listed my virtues, which made Aria chuckle a little.

- Oh, yeah. I guess that's what you got the Quarian for," she turned her attention to Tali, who was now feeling awkward.

- Yeah. You could say that. So what did you invite me here for? - The captain came to the point.

- Are you in a hurry? - Aria parried.

- Actually, I am. I've got that Archangel to hire, and then...

- Wow, Shepard. I knew SPECTREs had distinctive tastes, but this much... Heh, you won't make it.

- I'm not a SPECTRE. More extensive," reminded the captain. - What makes you so sure? - Shepard asked, squinting.

- You won't even get to it. He's besieged by four of the strongest factions. He's been able to annoy everyone," Aria explained.

- And you haven't? - Shepard asked, which made Aria grow serious.

- If he'd crossed me, he'd be dead by now. This Archangel may be crazy, but he's not entirely insane, and he knows who he can hurt and who he can't. Now I'm gonna ask you, why do you want him?

- I'm putting together a team. I could use a marksman like him," Shepard replied calmly, downplaying the Archangel's importance.

- Hmm, he'll come in handy," Aria repeated thoughtfully, tasting the word. - Well, Shepard, you can go now. I'll see you around.

- Of course," Shepard stood up and walked quickly out of the box. We all followed her. - So," Shepard continued over the intercom, "How do we get to this Archangel?

- We enlist as freelancers and storm his positions with the others. We'll hit them in the rear, sneak up on Archangel, beat back the mercenaries, and counterattack when they're exhausted.

- That's a shit plan," Zaid argued, "We'll bury ourselves in the cauldron.

- Yes, but that's our advantage," I argued. - We'll have only one way out, but the mercenaries can only come to us through one entrance. There's no other way to Archangel.

- Hmm, if that's the case, there's a chance. Archangel alone can withstand the onslaught of all four groups and with us... Well, it's still possible.

- Then it's settled," Shepard interrupted us. - Let's go get hired.

A minute later, we arrived at the batarian who was taking applications.

- So, what do we have... Oh..." The sight of a Quarian, a hardened mercenary, a human woman, and a GETA was like an electric charge. - That's quite a group. What are you here for?

- We're looking for transport to go talk to Archangel," Shepard lowered her hand to her gun, which was enough for the battery.

- Well. Standard pay, a thousand credits each. Paid after the job is done. In the event of death, your friends will not receive your share.

- A thousand? - Zaid asked in surprise, "It was five hundred yesterday.

- The reward has been increased. And the bounty on his head has reached three hundred grand. He's already pissing everyone off," the batarian explained. - Well, when you get to the place, ask Sergeant Kafka. He will explain everything to you. That's it, go on - a warm welcome, nothing to say. We quickly got out of there and headed for the aircars.

****

Omega Station

Viper Levels

After leaving the aircar, we immediately headed out to look for Kafka. While everyone here was running around, swearing, and trying to shoot the damn Archangel, we calmly walked past the reasonable ones. And lo and behold, we entered where Kafka was, who was fixing the Letoon.

- Kafka? - Shepard asked the three sentients, and they let her pass, going about their business, not forgetting to look at me fearfully.

- Sergeant Kafka," Shepard corrected the batarian, but when he turned and saw me, he was scared. That's right, scared. - You're the group Salky mentioned. You're just in time.

- What's the plan? - Shepard asked, only wanting to talk to the batar as usual.

- Straight to the point, right? That's good. You'll have to pass the bridge that Archangel is shooting at. If you get into his dead zone, consider the job done.

- Got it. Will you have Letoon's backup? - Shepard's playing the mercenary who needs to know everything.

I'm trying to fix it, but it still needs to be fixed. Kafka turned his back to us and started digging into the flyer. And when Shepard turned to us, I took a few steps forward, pushing the captain away, then kicked the batarian where his knee was, grabbed the batarian's head and turned it 230 degrees. A crunch of vertebrae was heard, and the batarian went to hell, and I picked him up, pushed him back, opened an empty long box, put the corpse in there and closed the lid. Then I started fixing the Letoon quickly; good thing it only takes half a minute to repair. In response to mute questions, I pulled out an antimatter grenade and inserted it inside the Letoon. Zaid and Shepard turned their backs and stood guard, while Tali didn't know what to do with herself. In a minute, it was all done.

- All right, now they're going to fly with fire," I said.

- Let's go. Everyone's getting ready to attack," Shepard said, and we went to the front of the line.

It was a good crowd, 32 sentients, plus us, for 36 sentients.

- Charge! - shouted the batar, and immediately ten Claw grenade launchers with M-100s took their weapons off their safeties. - Aim! - all ten of them came out of their hiding places and aimed at the Archangel's fortification. - FIRE! - all immediately opened fire. In a second, 30 shells flew out, then another 30, and another. Grenades started to reach there. Some went straight through the windows and exploded there. 17 grenades hit right where the turian was. Most of the grenades hit the ground floor, wrecking the place. Three seconds later, it was all over. 100 rounds were fired, 17 into the first floor, 74 into the first floor, and the rest missed or hit the wall. The whole building was shrouded in smoke and dust, and I could see through the thermal imager that Garrus had been concussed and was now just crawling on all fours. That's all we needed. - GO! - The whole crowd trotted across the bridge towards Archangel. Everyone was afraid they would get shot, but Garrus was already unconscious.

- Shepard. He's out. We have to move, or it'll be too late," I said on the intercom.

- Shit! All right, stand by. We're starting," Shepard said, and we all slowed down, and when the whole crowd was in front of us, Shepard shouted: "Fire!"

The first shot was behind Tali. The shot of her shotgun blast turned the turian around. Shepard's bullet pierced the Salarian's head, and then the beam went further and hit the human's liver. Zaid shot the human in the head, turning it into mincemeat, then shot the turian, also in the head, and then the azari, who only needed one shot because that fool had skimped on shields by setting up a biotic barrier only in the front. I, on the other hand, started shooting everyone in the head. The first shot pierced one head, the second one another head, the third one pierced the turian's head, went further and crashed into the azari. And just like that, 8 sentients were dead at once. Then I started giving headshots to everyone. Tali was firing her shotgun and killing two or three sentients at a time, Zaid was also shooting at the head just like me, and Shepard didn't bother and hit the heart or intestines. For the first few seconds, this youngster couldn't even understand what was happening, but then, at 1.37 seconds, when the score was 17:0 in our favour, the krogan turned towards us but then received a charge of concentrated plasma from Tali. He turned to black slime, the turian, and the human. I was already a metre away from the man, who was already pointing his weapon at me and pulling the trigger. I couldn't have time to aim my rifle, so I activated my plasma blade. Its activation was accompanied by a transformation of the palm of my hand and the opening of half of my forearm, from where plasma came out, which was held in shape by a magnetic field. Such a blade could cut almost anything, including flesh and armour. And so, when the metal ball began to fly out of the rifle's muzzle, I dodged the shot's trajectory, cut off his arms, then passed the blade tangentially across his side, cutting through a kidney and part of the intestines.

Then, with a good swing, I decapitated the turian with the shotgun, who had already aimed it at Zaid. Then I shot the Azari, who was behind the turian, with the rifle. Then I swung and drove the blade of another Azari into the rib cage and moved forward with the still-living maiden, who was in her third week of pregnancy, covering herself like a human shield, and shot the three humans standing as if in line for their deaths. Letting go of the corpse, I looked around. Shepard, Tali, and Zaid had already finished everything. Only 3.52 seconds. The professionals are here, though. The other side started yelling about what was happening, and we ran to Archangel.

- Zayed, you're on the ground floor! - Shepard shouted. Zaid said nothing but just sat by the window, watching what was happening. We ran to the first floor and noticed a turian in blue armour lying there. Not far from him was my rifle that I had sent him. His armour was reinforced by the exoskeleton I had sent him along with the rifle. I immediately ran over to him, turned him over and removed his helmet. Garrus's face was revealed to us, with his permanent visor over his left eye.

- Garrus," Shepard said, more to herself than to us or him. He just mumbled something, wiggling his mandibles. - Come on, boy, wake up. You can't die like this.

- Uh... Shep... Shepard..." the turian mumbled something, and suddenly his eyes widened to the max, threatening to fall out, and he started squealing. - SHEPARD! SHEPARD! SHEPARD! GET OUT! SPIRITS, SAVE ME! GUNSHOT! BURN! BURN IN HELL! GET OUT! SPIRITS! SPIRITS, TAKE ME AWAY! SAVE ME! HELP! SHEPHERD! SHEPARD! AAAH! - that's the reaction none of us expected. We just stared as Garrus crawled away from us, praying to the spirits to take him away. Realising he was in shock, I walked over to the poor guy and knocked him out with the butt of my gun to his face. At Shepard and Tali's mute question, I nonchalantly replied:

- He's got shock plus concussion plus a triple overdose of stimulants. It's useless to talk to him in that condition.

- Shepard. The Luminals are coming for us. I suggest you get ready," Zaid said, and I looked out the window. And indeed, a crowd of Blue Lights was coming at us, all with maximum shields.

- Roger that. Okay, Legatus, Tali, you stay here. I'll go to Zaid's," we nodded silently, and the captain ran downstairs while we prepared for battle.

- Here. The shotgun won't help you," I said, handing over my assault rifle. I took Garrus's rifle myself.

- Thank you," Tali replied and took up her position first.

- Tali, Legate, stand by," Shepard demanded.

- 'Ready.

- Ready," we replied in turn. And so, with the Luminaries already in the middle of the bridge, Shepard alerted us.

- Fire!

A four-barrel salvo immediately made the Lightyears shit themselves. Three of the ones coming at us defecated right into the armour, and then they went to the other side. I was firing non-stop, and the shots pierced through them, so I could kill several of them with one shot - I was shooting at their necks to hit the ones behind them in the legs. Tali was even more accessible. The beam weapons went through shields, thin armour and bodies with ease. After 50 rounds, overheated occurred, and Tali opened the valve as I had taught her at the Normandy shooting range. Closing the valve, Tali continued firing.

The noise of the shots mingled with screams and cries of pain combined with selective mats in three languages: batarian, turian and human. In 7.11 seconds, all fifty-three had been destroyed, but more were on the way. They were now running with all their legs to get into the blind spot of the snipers at the top. They didn't see that there were two fighters below as well.

Shot. A man's head is blown off. Shot. The Batarian is torn through the ribs and heart. Shot. Half of the Salarian's head is blown off. The man running behind stops, turns around, and runs back but gets shot by the barrage. I point there and see a turian with a rifle. I shoot there and hit him in the neck, making his head fly off. Backwards. Shot. I hit the Azari. Shot. The Batarian drops dead. Shot. Another Azari heading for the Goddess. That was the last one.

****

In 15 minutes.

Same place

I was repairing Garrus' armour, trying to melt down the armour of those who had somehow managed to break into the Garrus dead zone. Luckily, the exoskeleton wasn't damaged, so I could safely repair the armour in the field. The only pity was that no blue paint made Garrus look like a polka-dot, but that would do.

Suddenly the turian started mumbling and opening his eyes.

- Shepard, he's waking up," I said, distracting her from watching through the sniper rifle. She handed the post over to Zaid and came over to us.

- Erm... Go..." the turian mumbled.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, head, I see. Garrus got up, leaned against the wall, looked at me with a surprised look, and then turned his attention to the captain.

- Shepard.

- Hi Garrus," she said hello.

- How... How is that possible? - Garrus asked in surprise.

- Well, the Legate helped with the eviction from the other side of the world," the captain explained, to which Garrus spread his mandibles in a smile.

- "Ahh, our 'strange good geth'. I remember, I remember," he recalled with a grin, and I turned my head to Shepard.

- You gave me nicknames? - I frowned playfully

- Well... Not without that...

- Oooh, they are," Garrus said with an even more giant grin. - This one is still adequate. There was also a "chatty tin can" and a "walking vegetable chopper" and...

- Uh-uh-uh! - Shepard stopped him abruptly. - Ashley's nickname was better left unsaid.

- All right. Eh, I take it you're here for me, huh? - He got to the point.

- Yes. A matter of galactic importance. Only now, I'm not SPECTRE; we're free to do whatever we want. And no one can tell us what to do.

- Oh, brilliant, my father will be thrilled," said Garrus sarcastically. - Well, if this is what you came back from the dead for, then who am I to turn it down? I'm with you, Shepard. On one condition?

- What's that? - Shepard was surprised.

- Do you have anything to eat because I've been on stimulants for the last four days," Garrus asked, to which I pulled a bar of turian chocolate from my medicated hip. - Wow, wow. Elite chocolate, sixty per cent cocoa. You're rich, I see," Garrus happily unwrapped the wrapper and began nibbling on the sweetness while I turned my head to the side and saw Tali's envious gaze. I grabbed the bar, the corner of which was already in the turian's mouth, and broke off half of it. - Hey! - Garrus was indignant, but I just handed it to Tali.

- Don't be a Jew, Turian. Share it with the girl," Garrus was aghast at such insolence and looked pleadingly at the captain, but she only agreed with me.

- Share, share.

- Women," the turian whispered, but Shepard heard it.

- We girls stick together, or you men will starve us to death.

- Hey, what's that got to do with me? - I resented that. - It turns out that I feed them regular food, which the navy in the Alliance even dreamed of; I take away from fellow men chocolate bars and give them to the girls, and they still remain bad. Since when?!

- You men are all the same. - Shepard calmly continued this humorous discussion.

- Since when? Is that... Is that female logic? Oh, God, she's gonna melt my CPU.

- I've already realised you're no different from a man. I saw the way you looked at Tali.

- WHAT?! - Tali and I responded in unison. - You... You don't prove it! - I replied.

- Yeah, so you're gonna confess, right? - Shepard prompted me, to which I immediately found a countermeasure.

- You're not without sin, captain. I saw the way you looked at her during training. Significantly the... lower... roundness..." Shepard's eyes flashed in all directions at that. Her voice was gone, as was her confidence to argue with me. I may not have watched her in the cabin, but I'd seen her at the shooting range.

- Oh, and why do you care, by the way?

- I wouldn't care if you weren't looking at Tali through the scope.

- Is it my fault she's pretty? - the captain decided not to give up.

- It's my fault you like girls.

- And it's my fault that Quarian and Azari are very similar... in some places...

- ENOUGH ALREADY! - Tali shouted, shutting us up. - I... I'm still here, like... Is it normal for a human and a geth to discuss MY forms in MY presence! - Yeah, Tali's outrage was genuine. Somehow we got carried away with the whole joke. It was just kind of boring, that's all.

- We kind of-" Shepard began, but she didn't know what to say.

- What were you two... two... two vulgarities doing just now?

- We were... Complimenting..." I said, and immediately I heard Garrus and Zaid's facepalm sound. That was definitely different from the answer they were expecting. Unable to say anything, Tali simply went to the window, taking off her mask as she went. However, as soon as she took her first breath, she immediately cringed, fell to her knees, and vomited on the floor.

- Welcome to Omega," Zaid said, to which Tali exhaled and wiped her lips.

- How can you live here," it wasn't a question but a statement of fact. Anyway, Tali quickly ate the chocolate, it was delicious after all, and then we started to think about what to do next.

- Okay, Garrus. Can we be approached from the service tunnels? - I asked Garrus, who could already stand.

- No. All the corridors for a hundred metres are mined and covered with turrets. And there's a room behind the doors at the bottom of the stairs. I've messed up the plumbing, so now that room is flooded to the ceiling with boiling water, and the door is welded shut. So the only way in is over that bridge.

- Oh, I see. That's good. Now we just need to repel the mercenary attacks and counterattack.

- Hehe, at first, I would call it suicide, but now, with you... There is a chance, - said Garrus, and then we all heard Zaid's voice.

- Okay, gentlemen, the Eclipse is coming our way. A bunch of Salarians, some Azari, LOKIs, and-" Zaid froze, realising the size of the problem. - IMIR.

- How about this," he suggested before Shepard could start. - You kill the Azari, the Salarians and the Loki, and I'll take control of IMIR. I don't think they're expecting that.

- Good. Get started," they all scattered to the first floor, and I switched off, making myself comfortable so I wouldn't get shot. Having intercepted the robot's control signal, I calmly erased its programme and placed myself there. Figuratively. Now I felt myself as this IMIR, and therefore I could do whatever my soul desired.

****

Legatus/IMIR.

I began to slowly and clumsily turn around towards the luminaries. The Salarian controlling me tried to do something, but I just didn't give a shit about his commands. Pointing the machine gun at him, I turned him into mincemeat and started having fun with everyone else still there.

Three of them start shooting at me. One queue is enough to make them disappear. They point a grenade launcher at me. I shoot at him; he falls down and plugs into the ceiling. Five of them run behind the crates. I fire the grenade launcher at them. There was something explosive in the boxes, which caused a powerful explosion. I get hit by the overload and have half a shield left. I killed the salarian who shot me with excess, followed by two more azari already preparing to do something with biotics. I see 10 LOKIs in a staggered formation in two lines towards me. I stop and turn them into scrap metal with a steady stream. Here, two Blood Pack krogan with Cains come running out. They're crazy, I can't tell you. I fire a volley of grenade launchers, blowing them to smithereens despite their armour. I see Salarians and Azari coming out of the other entrance. I fire a machine gun at them, which puts their deaths on a conveyor belt. 1, 3, 7... At 11, the future corpses stopped running out, and the simple corpses didn't bother anyone. Two more simultaneous overloads knock my shield down, and I see three snipers firing from the second line of defence ahead of me. And they're firing armour-piercing rounds. Three shots hit the hull and hit inside, firing Black Widow rounds. I point the grenade launcher, fire. The explosion blows up the second line of defence; it was not built for the IMIR missile. Suddenly the grenade launcher hits the "Cain", from which I lose my left arm. Now only a machine gun. Suddenly I see a krogan running from my side. I don't have time to aim my rifle, so I just hit him with my hand. But this guy's not bad, though. He clings to my arm, then climbs on top of it and leaps to my head. I tried to throw him off while shooting at the vork that lunged at me. The krogan hangs from behind me, holding my hands over my head. I realise it's over, so I just shoot everything I see in front. Here a vodka with a flamethrower explodes, and fire envelops three more vodka and one azari. Because another Salarian was dismembered. My eyes are already obstructed from trying to twist my head off. I shoot another turian, slamming it into the wall, and then the robot's eyes blackout and I lose control.

****

Legatus

- That's it, the Eclipse is done," I reported.

- Here comes the flyer," Zaid said, and I looked at where his rifle was pointed. I see the pilot approaching us, and it explodes a second later. With the force of 30kg of TNT, Antimatter blows the flyer to pieces, which fall into the chasm over which the bridge was crossed.

- And now the Pack," Tali remarked. I looked over there and saw a crowd of Vork and a few dozen Krogan.

- Well, now it's time to use weapons of mass destruction," I said, and the irony in my voice was noticed by everyone. I just pulled out my RPG with a thermobaric projectile, stood up to my full height and aimed it. And a second later, I fired. The missile flew away from us into the Pack, and two seconds later, the projectile flew into the corridor, and there, after another second, it exploded. A massive fireball with a temperature of 1,000 degrees centigrade began to envelop everything there. All living things started to turn into vapour, walls and all things began to melt from such hellish temperatures, and the division of fire began to move in both directions. It didn't reach us, but I could only guess how far it travelled in the other order. And now there was thick black smoke billowing from it.

- Kila..." Tali breathed out. Shepard and Zaid had a similar reaction, only mute. Suddenly, a silhouette appeared out of the smoke. It was a krogan in heavy krogan armour.

- Garm," Garrus said quietly and with undisguised fear. His rifle couldn't penetrate his armour, and lasers wouldn't help at this distance. And this Garm was holding a... Krogan grenade launcher. That's a grenade launcher that takes out threshers on Tuchanka in five or seven shots. Garm doesn't aim; he just shoots at us from the hip. In 0.0043 seconds, I calculate the trajectory of the shot and realise with horror that the missile will hit our room and Tali. I quickly got up and ran straight to her, as she was away from us since she didn't have a standard weapon. Taking three giant steps, I grab her by the scruff of the neck and throw her into the wall, away from the window. And then, when the projectile was three metres away, I had time to prepare my fist to prevent the shot from flying towards us. After another 0.12 seconds, the shell collides with my fist and explodes. The shockwave practically blows me to pieces, the reactor immediately breaking down, and the spare battery. I crash into the wall, after which I simply pass out due to lack of energy and critical damage.