Mass Effect Death of the Legion

Not for the first time and hopefully not for the last Lieutenant Dercius felt unease above him, in air about Akuze the electrical storm howled and flashed. But nothing stirred out over the long cornfields that stretched to the shrouded mountains to the south. Somebody entered the bunker next to him and he turned from the viewpoint

"Are the sentries set?" he asked the man who had entered

"Aye sir, their jumpy" Dercius nodded his acknowledgement to the Platoon Sergeant as he removed his white kepis, Dercius knew by the look on his face he wanted to say more

"Just say it sergeant" the Sergeants eyes locked on to his own

"I know how much she meant to you sir, I understand your mourning… but I've been with these men since training… there scared, they miss the reassuring sight of their officer" Dercius just nodded and turned back to the look out, he hadn't left the bunker since she had gone, the Lieutenant felt the lump find its way up his throat, they'd found her two days ago, her transport melted to slag, just a leg and foot saved from fusing with the rest of the vehicle to identify her.

It had been the first of many mysteries, Akuze, the peaceful farming world that held only a platoon of troops and twelve scientists as garrison, testing new ways on crop growth before a colonization ship arrived. And then there had been yesterday, Corporal Auterrio and his squad, wiped from the face of the planet without a trace, just the death screams and babbling of the haughty veteran left echoing over the radio to remind them of the once great man Jim Auterrio had been. It had devastated the platoon only the Sergeant seemed to remain unaffected, for the Platoon Commander, Dercius, it had just cemented his position within the Command Bunker making him even more unwilling to tour around the men and try to give them hope when he had none himself.

They'd sent transmissions of course, but had had no reply. Dercius was unsure whether it was because of the electrical storm or just no cared for a stranded platoon of Légion Unie an almost arcane and forgotten wing of the Alliance force. Drawn from all over the human population no questions asked, the very dregs of society. Built on tradition for hundreds of years, men with nothing to lose but everything to gain. There wasn't a unit with more Espirit de Corps anywhere within the Alliance.

Dercius partly blamed the Légion for the pain he felt now, sent from mission to mission, killing and dying, Akuze was meant to be a rest respite after the fortress world of Rahmar, two months of protecting scientists and their projects, a command of 50 Legionnaires. Two months was all it had taken for him to fall in love, his first love. And now she was dead, killed by the unknown, suffering terrible pain before the end. Dercius couldn't think of her anymore, her white lab coat, her pretty face smiling at him. The wound was still too painful, then Chief Corporal Auterrio and his squad on top of that

The Sergeant was making himself a warm drink, his back lit up by the flashing consoles of the command area

"I've talked to the scientists… about their research, see if it might be connected" he didn't look back as he filled the two mugs in the reinforced room

"And?" Dercius asked as the Sergeant came over, handing him a cup and casting his own gaze out onto the cornfields, the electrical storm was beginning to pass and the bruised purple sky was beginning to make way for the deep blue hue and brilliant sunshine

"I got the impression they were lying" the Sergeant grimaced before continuing, "he's a sly one, that Doctor Holm" Dercius nodded

"I've got a bad feeling about all this Sergeant" the Sergeant grunted, slumping into a command chair to look over the patrol routes Dercius had plotted for the next day, fighting patrols that had no one to fight "I was right on the money at Rahmar wasn't I?" the Sergeant rubbed his face and turned around to find his officer staring intently at him, his patrician features and intelligence so out of place in the Légion Unie

"Aye you were sir, Rabidium Ridge, no finer way for a Legionnaire to go than that… I wish I'd found Pluto's Glory with the rest of them that day" the two gave a silent toast to the men they'd lost that day

"I'm going to see Doctor Holm myself… stand half the sentries down at day break, there going to need all the sleep they can get".

Lieutenant Dercius moved swiftly down the trench line, the Legionnaires perked up as they saw him pass

"Good to see you sir"

"You to Reynolds"

"Fancy a brew sir?"

"No thanks Marcs, I've just had one"

"Tell him the truth sir… its because it smells of piss really" there was laughter. Dercius's morale rose with every step, taking heart from the men around him in a mutual building of courage. The defensive line was set out like a 'V' with the open side against the rocky outcrop of a mountain where buried deep within was the laboratories of the scientists; a great massive door sank deep into one of the crevices. In the middle of the 'V' buried below ground level were the barracks, command bunker and scientist quarters. That was where Dercius was heading now. The air about him was growing light and the storm had finally receded the scientist still wouldn't have gone to work yet. Unlike the soldiers in white kepis who guarded them, they were always late to rise.

Dercius passed Corporal Castor on the firing step as he turned down a section that would lead him to the scientist quarters

"Looking for the scientists sir?" Dercius nodded "they never came back from yesterday, not even to eat" Dercius face twisted, the scientists did as little work as possible, why the overtime now?

"Thanks Corporal".

The thick metal door rolled back from its position, opening up an entrance that lead down into the laboratory, a long cylinder shaped tunnel lined with glow orbs that disappeared from view. Dercius begun his decent, he'd never been into the scientist sanctuary before, not even when he'd been seeing Kate… his mood darkened. It took him two minutes to make the descent down the numerous steps until he finally emerged into a giant cavern the dark lit up with soft glow orbs strung everywhere, like an eternal fight between light and darkness that neither side seemed to be winning. Numerous cables, large and small snaked all across the gravel floor. Over to the right side of the cavern a large blue coiled power generate beat like a slow heart.

The scientists were all gathered around one of the many control panels in the center of the room, just a little to its right a large square machine hummed with power. Dercius crossed to them

"Doctor Holms?" the scientists physically jumped, turning to face him all in one fluid motion, he could read it on their faces, something was wrong. The Sergeants words echoed around his mind and he pulled his pistol from its holster, listening to it arm itself, he edged closer and the scientists edged further away

"I must protest Lieutenant, this is unorthodox… your not allowed down here" the front scientist spoke up, lowering his hands slightly

"Shut up" Dercius growled and the man did, pushing his glasses further up his nose, they'd cleared the console now and Dercius could see what was on the screen, pict screens and a radar, the radar was flashing with life, long thick lines swirling around it, twenty or thirty. But it was the pict screens that were the most shocking to Dercius.

Jim Auterrio withered and died as the stream of acid engulfed him, stripping his body of its flesh and setting his hair alight, two more of his squad where hammered into the ground as the 30m long worm like creatures head struck down on them, flesh torn and bones broken. Dercius watched on in silent fascination, the scientist and his weapon forgotten, thankfully the video had no sound, but Dercius had heard the screams of Corporal Auterrio and his imagination filled in the silence for him, the others of his squad began to run, Lance Corporal Shan leading them away in a hurry, right into the path of another as it irrupted from the ground. Dercius couldn't watch anymore instead he turned his view to the other pict, a transport moving across the valley floor and with a sickening feeling Dercius knew it was Kate and he knew how it was going to end just as the ground next to the transport erupted in pushed out rock and earth…

"Drop the weapon Lieutenant" Dercius had been so transfixed on the screens he had not heard someone come up behind him, he lowered it "drop it I said, to the floor" he let the weapon clatter on the ground and turned slowly to meet his would be killer. Doctor Holm stood holding his own weapon, he looked capable enough Dercius thought, the pistol didn't waver in his hand like a novices might, he'd killed before, the Doctor stood ten feet off him the pistol pointed squarely at his chest. Dercius noticed out of the corner of his eye the other scientist relax and his mind flicked back to the pict screen, anger began to boil within him

"You bastards, you bastards… you knew all along…"

"An experiment, a new weapon…" Holm's sighed, "I don't expect you to understand Lieutenant"

"I understand you killed one of your own… I understand you let a squad of the Legion go to its death" Holms, his hook nose and broad face so out of proportion to each other smiled

"Ah yes, Kate I'd forgotten you had a soft spot for her, she didn't want to go ahead with the project, her conscience got in the way of her common sense… still I didn't kill her directly, she knew the risks of trying to make it to the shuttle pad" Holms gestured with the pistol "on your knees Lieutenant, lets make it easier" he turned to the other scientists "gather your weapons we will have to kill the others sooner than anticipated" the other scientists moved off into a side area, Dercius could hear the sounds of lockers opening

"You mother fu…"

"Sad isn't it?" Holm's cut him off "that the great Légion Unie will die here in such an inglorious place, killed by shadows"

"They'll be more" Dercius hissed his anger evident "and who will defend you then?" Holm's sighed as if growing tiresome of the conversation

"The Legion is no more Lieutenant, you are the last… Alliance command couldn't have such an old, barbaric unit for such a new age, all across the galaxy the Legion is being disbanded Rahmar was their last honor. The orders came in over two weeks ago. Apparently my signals jamming has been more successful than I had hoped… so my dear Lieutenant, the Legion is obsolete and you are forgotten and there fore shall not be missed" Dercius spat on the floor

"Someone will come, and then you'll pay" Holms laughed, re-ignited by the conversation and his nature to gloat; he stayed his finger from the trigger

"Lieutenant, those creatures out there will defend me against the biggest army the Alliance could possibly scrounge up in this area"

"So you're counting on worms to defend you now! Nothing could control something of that size! Their isn't the technology" Holms smirked and then the smile faded to anger

"Thresher Maws a bi product of the Holms Seed that produces 300% more crops and yes Lieutenant they are controllable as you've seen, I built the technology and soon I will sell it to the highest bidder…" he gestured with the pistol vaguely behind Dercius to the slab machine that hummed softly "alas I grow tired of all this talk, I have men to kill… starting with you John" he pointed the pistol squarely at Dercius and his finger began to squeeze the trigger.

Dercius rolled sideways in a swirl of movement as the pistol banged twice, a third shot _thunk_ed into the ground next to him, he kept rolling straight behind a large control consoled as four more shots punched through the thin metal narrowly missing the Lieutenant, the console began to spark and someone cried out in rage, the cry quickly turned into a whisper of terror

"What have I done?" Dercius crept around peering through one of the holes that had punched through the control console, Holms stood stock still his jaw agape the pistol loose in his hand. Dercius followed his gaze to the slab of the machine he had been stood next to moments ago, it no longer hummed with life instead electrical sparks flew from it and energy curled up over it. Holms turned and fled without another word, heading further into the cavern. Dercius watched the sparks curl up and meet each other and as if to cement the thought racing through his head the radar began to bleep, growing louder and louder. Dercius sprang up into a run and pushed his legs as hard as they would go. He charged up the tunnel that led to the surface at full pelt, behind him their were shouts of surprise from the scientists, then the almighty crack of rock and a harsh swooshing and crackling noise that soon joined in crescendo with death screams.

Dercius burst into the bright light of day slamming his fist into the door control so that it would close

"Stand to!" he screamed into the early morning air and kept running down the trench watching as groggy eyed Legionnaires pulled themselves from their blankets "up on the firing step! Up on the firing step!" he was screaming the men obeyed. The radio earpiece crackled

"Sir? Were getting coms traffic again, the colonization fleet is here, their about to start sending people down" it was the Platoon Sergeant

"Sergeant? Sergeant? Tell them to abort, get them to bring down a retrieval on the plateau above this position do you understand me Sergeant? This is priority one!" Dercius wanted to explain more, he wanted to tell the veteran everything he keyed the radio again as he ran "start pulling all units back Sergeant and up to the plateau" it was nearby, less than a 500m into the rocky outcrops and the waste land beyond "get everyone out of here!" Dercius strained his ears for a reply but the tearing of rock and earth ripped through his hearing

"What the fuck! Fire! Fire!" One of the NCOs called. Gunfire exploded all along the firing step, heavy weapons and assault rifles. Dercius swerved in and around the men charging along the trench he managed a look up, stained against the sky was one of the Maws, towering above them, the din of gunfire suddenly and painfully became overpowered with a high pitch screech that made Dercius involuntarily clap his hands over his ears. Up on the firing step two men screamed and exploded as an invisible force ripped them apart the air distorting and waving around them. The sound was gone as quickly as it had come and Corporal Castor was the first on the step firing again, rounds punching up and into the Threshers gapping mouth. Further behind Dercius another Maw reared its head out of the ground and punched down on one of the heavy weapons and its crew, it crushed them against the floor like ripe fruit and began snapping at the men to either side of it. Lance Corporal Mettal launched a grenade straight into the teeth lined mouth at close range and evaporated herself and two meters of trench in the ensuing explosion. The Thresher Maw's body snapped back from the explosion headless a fountain of acid spluttering up from its ruptured neck.

Dercius was where he wanted to be at the apex bunker, the last of the line, the men their were firing out of the slits as three Maws crossed the crop fields towards them, their heads raised above the ground like some un believed monster Dercius grabbed the man in charge there, the short sweating Corporal Frettas his face covered with gun oil

"Pull back Corporal up onto the plateau! All the men out now!"

"Yessum" Frettas spoke in his own native tongue and then turned back to the men in the bunker their fire increasing as the Maws grew closer. Dercius turned and left, he now had to get back up to where the lab entrance was to direct his men up onto the plateau. He hazarded a look to his right and was glad to see men fleeing up the trench, ducked down as more and more Maws appeared over the parapet he began to run just as behind him the bunker burst and crackled, the walls began to misshape and steam bellowed from the entrance way. A figure Dercius could only presume was Frettas stumbled from the bunker, skin and clothes hanging from bone, he fell into the trench bottom and lay still. And then the three Maws were towering over the acid remains of the bunker, Dercius ran, there was nothing more he could do. He charged past Corporal Castor and his squad still firing out into the looming Maws as they began to circle and made quick dashing forays into the trench line to be beaten back by fire. Falling back to make way for more of their kind to make their own dash

"Back Castor! Up onto the plateau!"

"Right behind you sir! 3 Section… peel right!" the Legionaries jumped to the commands and began to withdraw up the trench to the rock face, one man running while the others fired, as soon as the last man on the left had past the second he too turned and ran falling back in on the right-hand side of the line and beginning to fire. Dercius ducked into the Command Bunkers snatching for the heavy caster-set and his assault rifle, unlike the newer Alliance Marine models that collapsed, it was full length, a sight and grenade launcher locked into place.

Dercius dashed back out of the Command Bunker and up past Castors squad, the Maws had noticed the change of pace and now ten were edging in closer and closer just on Dercius side, he hoped the Sergeant was having better luck up the right. Dercius pulled the eyepiece and coms unit over his head and slung the caster-set over his back. The eyepiece flashed a HUD over his eye and the caster-set instantly scanned for all channels within range

"This is Alpha… Squad Leaders sit-rep"

"Alpha… One Two Charlie" Corporal Myo "were heading up into the rocks now, as soon as were at the top will give covering fire!"

"Alpha… Alpha…" the voice was desperate "One Four Charlie" Corporal Toombs "Jesus Alpha their trying to get through the door! We can't get out of the bunker… oh shit!" the bark of gunfire was loud over the comms, others were screaming "we aren't going to make it Alpha!" Dercius didn't have time to reply "for Cameroné!" Toombs cry was clear over the radio, the Legions most honored name then the link went dead. Dercius cursed

"Is he gone?" someone asked, the net was reserved only for Squad Leaders and 2ic's but Dercius couldn't make out who's voice it was. He had to get back in control of the situation

"Squad Leaders where are my sit-reps?" it worked

"Alpha… One Three Charlie" Corporal Castor "were right behind you!" Dercius grinned at the sarcasm looking back just as a Maw burst into the trench behind Castor and his squad, the left hand men turned their weapons on it and it withered, diving back into the ground. Dercius began to clamber up into the rocks, just three hundred meters to go

"One Alpha to retrieval anyone hear me?" the caster-set hissed as it tried to lock onto the desired signal

"This is retrieval Alpha what are you orders?" Dercius heart lifted

"Retrieval come down as close to this signal on the plateau as possible, do not land… I repeat do not land just hover…"

"What the fuck is going on down their Alpha?"

"Be advised retrieval Ground contact at this time"

"Roger Alpha down in 50 secs"

Dercius turned back to look over the defensive positions he was half way up the slope. The position was swarmed with Maw's killing any stragglers and last survivors. Corporal Castor was the first one up onto the rocks out of his squad, behind him his men still fought on desperately taking their turns to scramble up the scree. Part of the trench line wall exploded inward and a snapping jaw swallowed one of Castors men before he could scream a second Maw erupted right in the middle of the group spitting acid as it came up. The back four men were court in the steaming green liquid their shouts splitting through the gunfire as their armor and skin peeled from their bodies. Then the Thresher was gone back into its hole, leaving only Lance Corporal Barrows alive missing his arm and leg his body being slowly eaten by the acid, he cried out in anger and despair firing a grenade down into the hole after the creature. Corporal Castor turned back from the slope anger and agony evident in his cry of surprise. Castor and his two men still with him heading back down the slope for Barrows

"Don't be a fool Castor!" Dercius cried but it fell on deaf ears. Castor dropped into the trench bottom and charged to Barrow's still smoldering figure, the black man looked up at him, agony across his face

"I can feel them Marc! I can feel them moving under me!" terror was locked in his eyes. It wasn't just one Maw who lay in ambush but three, they erupted from either side of Castor forming the points of a triangle and cutting off his retreat, his men began to fire in desperation

"I'm sorry" Dercius heard the whisper over the radio and turned from the scene as the three Maws belched acid in unison into the trench and the remainder of Third Squad.

Dercius was scrambling up the slope again, pulling himself from boulder to boulder; he didn't want to think he only had one squad left, a platoon of the finest heavy infantry in the Alliance lost in all of ten minutes. Over to his right, on the other side of the slope, his legs braced from atop a boulder the Sergeant was firing his assault rifle down into three Maws as they advanced up the rock face, their progress slowed by the large boulders that they had to knock out of the way with their large heads. The Sergeant was firing at the nearest, stitching tracer fire up its chitin front and into its mouth, it had already lost a few feelers and one of its clawed arms. The Sergeant fired a grenade into its open maw as it bent to throw another rock from its way the grenade traveled down through it, exploding some seven meters down its length almost shearing it in half, from the inside their armored hides were no protection. Above the Sergeant the rest of the squad were firing in support of him, the second Maw pushed past the decapitated first and surged on with renewed fury, the Sergeant held his ground as the creature reared up close enough to spit its load of acid, the Sergeant calm as a robot unclipped a thermal satchel from his around his shoulder and used the strap to hurl it up at the Maw. The resulting explosion tore out of the satchel like a new sun, drowning all other battlefield noises in an awesome clap of thunder, the Sergeant was knocked flat on his back at such close range and the Maw simply evaporated along with all the boulders within ten meters of the creature. The third Maw shaking itself from its daze bellowed in anger and started up the hill over taken both its fallen brethren. The Sergeant picked himself up and realizing he was out of tricks began to propel himself up the boulders towards the summit. The Maw in hot pursuit.

Dercius was about to add his own fire on the pursuing Maw when the ground began to shake next to him, tearing and ripping the rock parted for a smaller Maw able to weave its way up through the rock face rather than having to plow through in the open. It came up close enough to Dercius that he could clearly see the acid building in its sacks as it drew its head back to vomit on him. For the first time Dercius wasn't afraid to die, instead he felt a unique calm as he swung up his assault rifle and began to fire at the creature his rounds punching through the acid sacks and into its mouth, the Maw reared higher in pain Dercius could see its body ripple as it made to lunge forward, their was a crack in the bright air and a heavy laser round punched through the side of the Maws head, exiting in a puff of tissue and armor plate. The Maw slumped over thumping into the rocks where it heaved a final time. Dercius turned up the slope to see his savior, Corporal Myo, his sniper rifle held across his chest

"Boats here sir!" Retrieval! Dercius legs found their life after bracing for certain death and he began to bound up the rocks as fast as he could. At the top of slope out over the flat dirt expanse the retrieval ship hovered a crewman beckoning them from the open door side. One hundred meters that's all there was to it, Dercius looked at the men around him, half a squad then Corporal Myo and the Platoon Sergeant

"As fast as we can people, no stopping for anyone! Do you understand?" all their eyes found his "I've never meant an order more now than ever… just run" they nodded "Sergeant you go first… I'll bring up the rear"

"I should be at the back sir, that's my place" Dercius shook his head

"Not this time, dump your kit! Lets go!" the men threw down everything they could as quickly as possible, only keeping their weapons and kepis head dress. Dercius dropped the radio and tried to ignore the knots and tightening in his stomach, he took one last look at his men "no finer bunch" they grinned, even through the terror they grinned and Dercius knew he hadn't been lying "for the Legion!"

They set off as fast as they could, some could run one hundred meters in fifteen seconds but they were exhausted, the fighting and climbing had taken its toll, and then the ground began to move.

The dirt rippled and bulged up and a Maw burst from the ground for a split second like a shark out of water snapping at one of the Legionnaires on the far right, taking him back under, he didn't have time to scream. Then the ground in front began to ripple, they were out their, circling. The door gunner on the retrieval ship saw them and began to stitch the ground with high caliber fire. Others at the front began to fire their own weapons as the ground shifted and settled and then shifted again

"Don't shoot just run!" Dercius screamed seeing that it was slowing them down. The first was on the transport, the Sergeant turning to help the next man up, the second was half way up when a Maw surfaced right below him coming up out of the ground a meter and snapping him in half with its powerful jaws before disappearing back into the ground. Another flash of purple chitin and a Legionnaire disappeared. Dercius turned to Corporal David Myo running along side him they were the last two. They shared a nod before Myo jolted to a stop instantly. Fear and pain etched across his face, his beloved sniper rifle dropping from his grip into the dirt. Dercius stopped forgetting his own orders and ran back to him, watching him sink as he got closer and closer, blood boiling up from where is knees where disappearing into the dirt, he held out a hand to his Platoon Commander and Dercius reached for him, with a flash that confused Dercius, Myo was gone, pulled into the ground in a split second, his final words hanging where he just was

"Bastards… got me…" Dercius stopped still and turned back to look at the retrieval, it was too far another fifty meters, the ground was swirling around him, they were circling, closing in for the kill. The Sergeant was beckoning him to run but he just shook his head sadly. He though of Kate, of Auterrio, he thought of Toombs last stand as he sank slowly to his knees casting his assault rifle aside. They could have him he'd run enough. They'd already taken Kate from him they could take no more. He thought of her in those final moments as the swirling creatures cast dust up into the retrievals down wash. He smiled as he saw Kate beckoning to him.

The last shot of the battle was aimed at Dercius as the Maws, almost ten of them sprung from the ground surrounding him, acid already pumping. The round punched through his forehead and snapped him back into the dirt. The Sergeant lowered his weapon and fell back into the crew compartment as the pilot launched them back into the air unwilling to stay on station any longer. The Sergeant stared at the ceiling for the whole journey up to the colonization fleet.

Doctor Holm lowered the pistol pointing at the badly injured Legionnaires head, the Threshers had moved on, content with their kills, both Holms and the Legionnaire watched the shuttle vanish into the air, through the atmosphere

"Looks like they've forgotten about you my dear friend"

"Fuck you" Corporal Toombs croaked through melted lips.

Serviceman Lech rubbed his hands down his coveralls as he finished placing the fuel line to the just docked ship, a weary soldier dropped heavily from the door and headed across the bustling deck, as the colonist around him prepared for their travel back to Earth. The sole survivor Lech thought. A Colonel from the Marines was there to meet the Sergeant and the two swapped hasty salutes

"Sergeant Sheppard, 13 DLU 1st Platoon" the Colonel cut off his words with a fatherly smile and put an arm around him, leading him away from the busy deck. The pilot of the retrieval boat was the next out removing his helmet and placing it back in the crew hold

"Hey Mikey" Lech asked, "we saw the live pict feeds man, it was crazy! what was going on down there?" the pilot turned to him and scowled

"The death of the Legion Serviceman Lech" the pilot too turned to watch the hunched shoulders Sergeant "the death of the Legion".


End file.

Mass Effect