Massive Disaster 4-26 (Patreon)

The transition was not kind to the guts or the grey matter. According to Kai Leng, it wasn’t kind to anything or anyone at all.

Zedd was honestly never bothered by it.

He treated it like turbulence: annoying, ignorable, and just part of the process. A crack like shattered glass a half-mile wide in the depths of space, far outside any stellar object’s gravity well, the black of the void crinkling from both sides…

Zedd blinked as he found himself staring at space again, proper space, not the humming dimensional static of Shatterspace, as the SSV Jade was spat out in a blaze of violet thruster wash. Inertial dampeners caught the Jade with a mechanical wheeze as the viewport shifted from a translucent azure to proper transparency.

Fuck.

Firm hands found the controls again without thinking about it as the ship eased into orbit and the dropped, twin suns glaring off to starboard and vanishing beneath the curvature. Aviators lifted a fraction, eyes going wide behind them as he stared down at Arkadia IV, the entire place looking… blowtorched.

Thick black smoke, greasy columns of it, coiled up from the eastern skyline, oily and wrong against the starfield. Victory Innovations’ main campus; his monument to getting things done and showing the fuck out was carved and charred, no different than Nina’s first attempt at cooking at his place.

"ADAM," his voice slid out flat, clinical; everything he didn’t want to show pushed back down and deep. "Give me a damage overlay."

"Victory Innovations Central Tower sustained severe damage to forty percent of the entire structure, the upper section specifically.” ADAM didn’t waste a minute in responding, the professional tone matching his. “We’re also looking at a collapse of the VI Research Spire along the Western shore. Along with the main shuttle port on the East. Both, unfortunately, a total loss."

…total loss, huh? Zedd’s jaw clicked tight, teeth on the verge of grinding. Why wouldn’t it be, right? Shitting on a couple billion of infrastructure for fucking what?

Casualty numbers ticked upward on the main holo-display, making money slide out of his thoughts. All of it compiled from fragmented Iron Legion reports and civilian comms chatter that sounded like screaming. 

Already in the thousands.

Don't think about the numbers. Think about the fix.

"Enemy origin?" Kira's voice came over his right, tight and controlled. The N7 in her stood out hard, the panic from the last hour of travel fading away, as her grip rested and tightened on his shoulder in the span of six syllables.

"Multiple signatures," the NAVI answered without hesitation. "Heavy deployment of Blood Pack YMIR mechs. Coordinated Eclipse commando cells. Batarian slave squads still in operation in the residential sectors. Guardian squad and Iron Legion forces are engaging the enemy and chasing them off."

As far as he could tell just from the sound of it, Nina might as well have gotten punched in the chest by a ghost where she sat. Dev swore, damn near spitting, both languages leaving his mouth at the same time.

Zedd said nothing as he simply guided the Jade into descent, the sizable ship cutting through smoky air. The rage was there, cold and dense in his chest, as his eyes scanned the smoke patterns, tracking the blast scoring, and the specific types of char marks that spoke of heavy weapons and nothing orbital.

The landing was rough, tarmac too scorched and littered with twisted shuttle skeletons and police drone parts to be anything approaching smooth. “Let’s move.”No one argued; seatbelts came loose as soon as he gave the order.

A stench hit them the moment the atmospheric seals cracked; a thick wave of melted plastic and burning flesh wafted up and over all of them as soon as the ramp lowered. Sirens layered over shouted orders from militia and Legion both, all the attention turned their way as he and his friends made their way off the ship.

Dozens of civilians huddled under emergency triage tents, faces smudged with soot and bodies flecked with blood. Medics and Legion Rescue Corps moved from tent to tent with desperate urgency that looked practiced. Legion troopers, VEST suits scarred and dented, securing the perimeter broke off toward Dev; a dozen arms snapping up in salute to their Commander.

"Finally," someone said, voice flat and accusatory, cutting through the radio clutter and military chatter. "Glad to see you took your time."

Zedd turned as Shen-Abraham broke from the cluster of relief officers, the trillionaire looking no different than a simple millionaire; suit rumpled and face caked with the gray of ferrocrete dustings. His eyes were chips of ice, expression harder than the younger man had ever seen them.

All that was left walking his way was a pissed and tired governor, a man most likely a decade away from muttering about being too old for this shit.

"I got here as fast as I could." Zedd frowned as the words left him with all the emotion of a lump of charcoal, each word stamped and flat like a 21st century printer. There was no time to properly feel a thing, his eyes roaming the area as he took everything in as quickly as he could manage without moving an inch.

"As fast as…” Shen-Abraham bristled, the man’s fist clenching in time with his teeth as he neared his protege. His voice came out a loud hiss; almost performatively so, even as actual anger leaked into his tone. “Your city is bleeding, Zedd. Your company is in ruins. We've been fighting for our lives for the last two hours. We need answers. Now."

My city, huh? Of all the times for Abraham to slide that into his lap, he hadn’t expected today to be the day the man passed the buck like that in front of a listening crowd. Not 'our city' anymore, why would it be? Everybody knew it was his in everything but name, and the old man was still the governor of the whole thing, even if he gave up one city. Just less trouble for you, I see. 

The thought slid through his brain, sharp and cold as ice, before Zedd pushed back the bitterness as he stared his mentor down.  "You'll get them. What's the status of the Central Hub?"

"Down.” The governor eased back, one hand easing through his hair. “The whole grid collapsed just before the first pods hit. It was a surgical strike. An inside job."

Zedd held back the urge to sigh. Inside job. 

Because it couldn't just be the Citadel trying to eliminate him after tracking down his hideaways and finding out his schedule, of course. It just had to be someone with access, someone who knew exactly where to—

“L’ggo… l’eggo of me!” Noise hit his ears and Zedd dragged his eyes away and down to the edge of the tarmac, the added chaos cutting through his mental track and bringing him back down to the real world.  Two Legionnaires made their way over to him and Dev, both armored-up and dragging someone between them with the added strength the VESTs gave them.

The man in custody stumbled and scrambled, feet weakly kicking at the air as if he could escape the hold of two men who could each crush a watermelon between their palms. A face bruised to the point it barely looked human stared up at Zedd, split lip weeping blood and clothes torn in all the wrong places nearly making it hard to place him.

For a moment, at least.

Zedd’s eyes narrowed to slits as the beaten man’s focus locked onto him, the prisoner’s struggles suddenly wilder and more desperate; an animal caught in a trap. 

Nina spoke his name first, all the color draining out of her skin until she looked as pale as he did purple. "C-Connor?" 

She took a step forward as the word cracked on its way past her lips. She was silent when she took another, eyes going wide, then another, frantic energy building in her movements until she was about to bolt toward him.

Zedd’s arm shot out before his brain caught up to the motion, blocking her path. Not rough, but firm. "Wait."

"Wait?" She spun toward him, confusion and dawning horror mixing in her eyes like paint swirling together. "What do you mean, wait? That's Connor! He might be hurt, we have to—"

"Nina. Stop." The words came out colder than he meant them to, teeth still grit as if he was trying to show them off.

Cold enough to freeze her mid-sentence, the frantic words dying in her throat, Nina stared at him dead in the face. Whatever she found there made her face go even paler. “Y-you don’t mean…”“...” He looked at her for a few seconds longer, one hand squeezing her shoulder. “I don’t know yet. And neither do you.”

The Legion troopers snapped crisply to attention as both of them stopped just feet away from both him and Dev.  "Sirs," the lead one barked, a sharp salute cutting the air.

"At ease." His eyes never left Connor, taking in the split lip, the way he was favoring his left side, the particular type of terror in his eyes that spoke to guilt more than pain. "Report."

The voice came out as grim as could be expected, the man’s scratchy voice half-scrubbed by the suit’s speakers. "Sir, we got some surveillance footage sent our way from the Central Hub not long after it all went down. This one stole an access key to get in on a day he wasn’t authorized for work. Hub went dark not too long after he was caught sneaking out."

The Legionnaire’s shoulders tightened, suit flexing with the motion as he took a breath. "Reports also came on the holo. Chief Engineer Moore… he’s… uh, he’s dead, sir. In the Reactor Bay. Single shot to the head."

Nina physically reeled, her hands flying to her mouth as if she could catch the scream and shove it back down into her lungs. Caleb’s right arm kept her from dropping to her knees, his own face boneless.

"No..." Nina choked out through her fingers. "You...  No..."

Zedd's jaw clenched so hard a muscle jumped along his cheekbone, the words tight and rigid as the rest of him "... Elias is dead?"

"Yes, sir."

"Old man..." Caleb whispered, the super-soldier shaking his head.

Zedd's gaze locked onto Connor, and the air around them seemed to crystallize, getting colder by the second. "Killed by this... this piece of shit?"

The second Legionnaire shifted his weight, armor clanking as he dropped his gaze. Even with his eyes hidden behind the black faceplate, he couldn’t seem to look Zedd in the eye. "Yes, sir. And… uh, we were unable to apprehend him until... after he engaged another… another casualty. One of our own. Unarmored."

Dev was standing there still as the marble in the heart of Providence and just as silent, but his voice came out just as flat as Zedd’s when he finally said a single word. "Who?"

The pause stretched long enough for Zedd's brain to start cataloging the body language of both Legionnaires. Dev wasn’t as patient as he was, though. “I said, who?!”

"...Tommy, sir. Senior Trooper Tommy Hale. He's… he’s gone."

The name rocked the air, Zedd just blinking as he tried to work his mouth to… to say something… 

Nina found the something first, but it wasn’t words. A sound that wasn't quite human, raw and agonized, like someone had reached into her chest and squeezed, poured out of her. She lurched forward and Caleb's hands on her shoulders were probably the only thing keeping her from tearing Connor's face off with her bare hands.

"YOU BASTARD!" Her voice cracked like breaking glass, face twisting up with the kind of grief that made you want to look away. "THAT WAS YOUR FRIEND! ELI WAS AN OLD MAN! TOMMY... OH GOD, TOMMY! WHY?!"

The entire tarmac went dead quiet. Sirens in the distance, the hum of the triage tents, all of it swallowed up by this ringing silence that made Zedd pick up every heartbeat within a dozen feet. 

Everyone staring, waiting, holding their breath.

"Y-you… you don't get it! None of you… notafuckinone of you… you don’t get it!” Bood and spit flecking his busted lips, the man spluttered and rushed the words out of his mouth. His voice came out high and whiny, a grown man with as much to say as a kid caught stealing candy. “I was helping! I was in contact with a Spectre! A Council Spectre! She reached out to me, me! Told me the truth about him—about Zedd!"

His eyes went wild, scanning the crowd like he was hunting for someone who'd back him up. Good fucking luck with that. "He's a murderer! A murderer! And he came here to get us caught up in his shit! That’s why he’s here, he ran here after he killed…” The man took in a raspy breath, words taking up more air than he had in his bruised chest. “He was a gangster on earth! R-running drugs and street killings andandand… he killed people!” 

Connor shook his head, bloody split still dripping down the sides of his mouth as everything spilled from his lips as fast as he could get them out. “He's building weapons to start a war! Working w-with terrorist groups, selling killer mercs weapons andandand—The Spectre said I could help stop him! They said whatever I had to do—whatever it took—I'd be a hero! I'd be protected!"

The guy tried to pull away from the Legionnaires still holding him down, focusing on Nina like she was his lifeline. "I didn't want to kill anyone! I didn't! But Elias... Tommy... they got in the way! The Spectre told me—she told me sacrifices were necessary to stop Zedd!"

She told me. Interesting. Female Spectre, probably Asari judging by the desperate loyalty and belief Connor had in her approach. All that filed itself away in categories his mind didn't have names for.

Zedd didn't say anything, though, not as Connor spit half-truths and greater lies. He just watched Connor's pathetic little breakdown while his hand drifted under his jacket. The weight of it was familiar, comforting; tungsten and magnetic coils, his own design, built to punch through whatever needed punching through.

His fingers found the grip.

Connor was still babbling, still trying to justify murdering two good people because someone in fancy armor told him it was for the greater good. 

The pistol came out smooth and easy, muscle memory taking over. A heavy yet sleek thing that hummed blue and sang the way he tuned it to; Mag accelerant chamber humming to life with a sound only he could hear.

"Zedd, no!" Caleb's voice, sharp and urgent.

"Victors!" Shen-Abraham stepping forward, hand raised like he could stop what was already happening.

But Zedd wasn't really hearing them anymore. The world had narrowed down to Connor's face, to the tungsten slug already chambered and waiting, to the simple equation of action and consequence.

He pulled the trigger.

No loud bang. Just a dull thump as the magnetic coils engaged in time with the kinesis stabilizers. A hypersonic tungsten slug, crossing the distance in a fraction of the time that it took the man blink.

The head didn't explode so much as it just... stopped being there. 

One second he was sputtering excuses, the next there was just pink mist and bone fragments scattering across the tarmac, body still upright for a single moment before gravity remembered it and what used to be Connor collapsed with a wet thud.

Legionnaires flinched back like someone had set off a flashbang as gasps and screams rippled through the crowd, Shen-Abraham standing there with a jaw hanging just as loose as Connor’s.

Nina didn't scream. She just stared at the blood pooling on the ferrocrete, at the space where Connor used to be talking.

Zedd lowered the pistol and slipped it back under his jacket with the same calm motion he'd use to check his phone. The weight settled against his ribs, familiar and reassuring.

He looked around at the shocked faces, at his friends, at the governor, at the crowd of civilians who'd just watched him execute a traitor in broad daylight.

"What?" The word came out flat, matter-of-fact, like he was asking about the weather. "He confessed. Let's end this fucking invasion."

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

5k Words x 2 (200 FP)

ROLL: Mad Geneticist (400 CP) [Rick and Morty] {Crafting Biotech}:

Sometimes science is more art than science, and it’s doubly true when it comes to genetics. When you have even a vague idea of the attributes you want to borrow from a species, you can splice them into a different species with remarkable ease. Backfires? Rare. Probably. Still… be careful.

FAIL: GitD Virus 2.0 (600 CP) [Freefall] {Database Mundane}:

Intended as a selective killer, this program lets you target AIs with precision. You can specify which to ignore, which to harmlessly disable, which to damage, and which to destroy utterly. It starts off as potent as the canonical virus, but scales with your abilities, hardware, software knowledge, and target familiarity.

Forge Points: 400