by Colin Cook
"Well, I guess that hit a nerve. What happened Axel? Did things not go so well between you and your sweetheart after my dramatic death?" Jarrod asked in that same
sardonic tone after steadying himself and pulling his hand away from his slightly bloodied ear. My scowl returned, but this time fueled by a sense of loss and pain rather
than hatred.
"You'll never know how much your little stunt cost me in the end," I hissed slowly at him, my own eyes beginning to glisten slightly as the memories continued to strike at
the outer edges of my mind.
Seeing this physical response caused Jarrod to blink and slowly drop his smirking expression, half replacing it with a slight frown, as if he were confused by my reaction.
Quickly however his face hardened as he ripped his combat knife out of its sheath, holding it upside down from the hilt in a defensive form.
"Since we're pretty much back to where we left off, why don't we just settle this once and for all like we should have back in that village. Like men," he said with finality,
raising the knife across his chest and bending his legs a bit in a melee stance. I could only shake my head with a scoff and gesture to our surroundings with my other hand.
"In case you hadn't noticed Jarrod, we're not on Earth anymore. This is the Mass Effect universe, the universe that I've been brought to to complete a great quest and to
help save from two besieging forces that are getting ready to conquer it. Which means I've got bigger problems to deal with than you, so I think I'll just skip this little
dance and put you back in the ground the same way I did two months ago." Jarrod's eyes lit up with a blood-crazed rage as I said this.
"You'll face me one way or another! You backstabbing COWARD!" he shouted before charging at me like a rabid animal, raising the knife high above his head.
I was about to adjust the aim of the Phalanx and simply blow a hole through Jarrod's head for the second time in my life, when all of a sudden the ring once again lit up
bright silver!
In the next second a giant portal opened up right beside the charging lieutenant, and before we could do anything, a massive black and brown-scaled Pterodactyl swooped
out of it directly toward him!
Jarrod yelled as the enormous flying dinosaur screeched in surprise and flapped its leathery wings, clumsily arcing upward into the air and accidentally slamming the
bottom portion of its body straight into Jarrod's chest. This only made things worse, for the sharp talons on the ends of the Pterodactyl's two back claws slashed and
unintentionally hooked into the folds of his camo-shirt, causing the flying creature to inadvertently pick him up into the air along with it. I was struck frozen with shock,
watching the dinosaur soar out over the Docks' sudden drop off, struggling to remain airborne under Jarrod's heavy weight as he fought to free himself, stabbing the blade
of his combat knife repeatedly into the Pterodactyl's soft underbelly.
"KNIGHTS!" Alec suddenly warned from beside me. Spinning around in alarm, I reared back in surprise when I saw that he wasn't joking. Charging toward us from a
second glowing silver portal that had just opened up, were two Knights-at-Arms dressed in full suits of shining metal armour, both of them with humongous Broadswords
raised above their helmeted heads.
"Die accursed knaves!" one of them shouted in a thick British accent as they brought their swords down on us. With instant reflexes, Alec jumped in front of me and
snapped the Predator Combi-Stick horizontally overtop of himself, catching both blades within its center. Thanks to whatever material the spear was made out of, it
effectively blocked the attack with a thick metallic clang. However the weight of the combined Broadswords and the strength with which the huge knights had swung them
was more than enough to send Alec stumbling backward, both of us yelling out as he smashed into me and sent us toppling to the ground!
"All forces report they're being engaged by some kind of hostile creatures! Each is giving a conflicting report, some say dinosaurs, others say monsters, and some say
something else!" the driver said quickly, holding onto his barking earpiece as flashes of light from discharging weapons began to light up the area of the Docks below the
patrol car, adding to the glare of the silver portals that were momentarily popping up all over the place.
"INCOMING!" Chellick shouted with a point of his talon to the windshield. Barely a second after he said that, a huge flying reptile coloured in beautiful patterns of green and
blue smacked into the side of the car!
Plastering itself across the windshield as it struggled to dig the sharp claws on its wings and feet into the patrol car's hull, the creature looked in on the three occupants
with a large yellow eye, causing them to yell in fear from the dangerous rocking and thrashing movements it was putting the car through. After a moment of futile
attempts, the reptile slid off the vehicle's front hood with a hissing cry, plummeting through the air for a moment before spreading its wings and swooping low over the
escalating battle spanning across the docking platforms.
"There's more of them!" Bailey stated suddenly, the others seeing what he was talking about immediately.
All around them, materializing high in mid air briefly, were more glowing silver portals!
Several stayed open long enough to allow more of those strange reptiles to fly through, others gave way to more Pterodactyls and other flying dinosaurs, while one or
two had gigantic birds of some kind that neither Bailey or Chellick had ever seen before.
"We need immediate air-support, reinforcements, get our damn reserve units down here!" the driver shouted to Chellick as he frantically manipulated the controls, lurching
the car into a series of twists and turns in order to avoid the dozens of winged beasts hissing or screeching all around them.
"Looks like we may have some help in that regard, they're tearing each other apart," Bailey commented to his comrades, looking out through all of the car's windows as
Chellick sent out an emergency call for any nearby gunships. Sure enough, with the car rocketing out of the danger-zone to safety, the three began noticing the massive
aerial battle that had started up between the different kinds of creatures. All around them, Pterodactyls were dive-bombing and latching on to the strange brightly coloured
flying reptiles, biting and snapping with their toothy jaws, while the reptiles themselves began ganging up on the dinosaurs in groups of three or four, clawing at them
savagely with their talons and forcing the larger predators into crash landings all across the platform.
I was lying on my back, my eyes wide and flitting back and forth as I looked upward from the Dock's platform. All around us the sounds of assault rifles and the shouting
of combat could be heard, nearly drowned out by the resounding shrieks and hisses coming from the bloody battle that had just begun overhead.
'Even after everything we've seen, this is weird!' I thought with a glance to the now non-glowing ring as I quickly reached up and latched on to the railing spanning across
the edge of the platform's drop-off, pulling myself up to my feet. Keeping my Phalanx in hand, I couldn't help but be struck by a sense of half fear half awe from watching
the deadly aerial battle going on between the additional Pterodactyls the ring had summoned, and the groups of smaller multi-coloured Ikran, the flying bird-like reptiles
from James Cameron's Avatar!
Upon seeing the new Pterodactyls, I sharply spun around with a new sense of apprehension, my eyes frantically searching across the wide-open space of the drop-off.
Quickly I found the first Pterodactyl flying several hundred feet out from us, still awkwardly fighting to keep its wings flapping while at the same time trying to release its
thrashing burden. I could barely see Jarrod properly from this distance, but I could tell he was still furiously stabbing his knife into the dinosaur's body, covering himself in
blood as he ripped into its chest.
"JARROD!" I called out to him, hoping to make him pause in his struggling for a moment. But it didn't work, he only continued to fight harder, grabbing onto one of the
creature's wings and pulling himself up closer to its head, swiping his arm and burying his blade deep in its neck. The Pterodactyl gave a dying scream of pain, finally
succumbing to its wounds and ceasing in its desperate flapping. As its body began careering down through the air, Jarrod quickly ripped himself free of its claws and
climbed up onto its back, sheathing his knife and grabbing both of its wings. The body started to slightly right itself on the air currents as Jarrod tried manipulating the
wings in an attempt to turn the carcass into a makeshift glider; but it was too heavy after having become a dead weight and the wings were too thick. Despite his best
efforts, I soon found myself watching my former friend plummeting uncontrollably down toward the compacted streets and dark building complexes that spanned out far
below us.
"This isn't the end Axel! I came back from the dead once, I can do it again! Luc will be avenged! I will have my revenge!"
Jarrod's final words boomed out defiantly across the distance between us, he and the dead dinosaur continuing to fall until they disappeared within the dark folds of the
buildings, followed by a sickening metallic crash that echoed out across the entire expanse.
I gave a shuddering breath, feeling oddly sick inside at having just seen my best friend die for a second time, this being more violent than the last. But then the hatred I
had developed for him came back in a flash, the memories of his betrayal on our friendship, the rest of our unit, and our very country rushing to my mind all at once.
"Good riddance," I uttered out spitefully, the image of two sad emerald green eyes appearing before me just like the others.
"I could use some help over here!" Alec's voice barked over from behind me, snapping me out of my dark thoughts and back to the situation going on around us.
Wheeling around, I could see the Guardian cringing in effort down on one knee, holding the Combi-Stick out before himself locked in a stalemate with the Broadswords of
the two knights standing over him. However that stalemate was quickly breaking, the combined power of the two armour-clad men forcing Alec back, making him bare
his teeth and strain every last ounce of effort he had to keep them at bay. Quickly snapping up my Phalanx and gripping it with both hands, I fired several shots into the
chest of the nearest knight, the rounds sinking through his armour like a hot knife cutting through butter. As that man dropped dead without a sound, the second knight
turned to me and staggered back in shock, his eyes wide through the slit visor of his helmet as he eyed my smoking pistol.
"What devilry ist that…" he began before the length of the Combi-Stick's shaft suddenly came up and swiped him across the face. Standing back up to his full height, Alec
began delivering a brief series of blows to the knight's armoured body, ending with him harshly sweeping the man's legs out from under him. With a metallic crash that
sounded like a kitchen falling apart, the knight landed painfully on his back before beginning to helplessly move his limbs, the tremendous weight of the suit keeping him
pinned to the ground like a turtle that had just fallen on its back. Breathing heavily as he compacted the spear and slid it under his belt behind his back, Alec turned to me
with a concerned look.
"Are you alright?" he asked. Casting a glance over my shoulder to the drop-off and the area where Jarrod had vanished, I paused for a moment before nodding with a
steeled expression on my face.
"I'll be fine, come on…" I began saying when suddenly a long steel-headed arrow struck against my arm, the suit's hardened scale plating only just managing to ricochet it
away!
I yelled out and jerked to the side as the projectile hit me, both Alec and I looking over in the direction it'd come from.
"HOYAHH!" an angry roar came out of the seven individuals grouped not far away from us on top of another crate stack. Each was dressed in familiar red or black scaled
armour plates, with curved branching helmets and dark masks resembling either lion's or dragon's mouths covering the bottom portion of their faces. Two of them were
aiming drawn Yumi bows at us, while the rest held razor sharp katanas high near their heads.
"Samurai!" Alec stated in apprehension, his hand stealthily reaching behind his back to pull out the Combi-Stick again.
"Aoww…not again!" I complained in a tired voice, having already had my fill of samurai since my brief trip through Feudal Japan not that long ago. Both Alec and I tensed in
readiness, waiting for the samurai to either jump down and charge or unleash their arrows at us. But they never got the chance, for just as they were about to make their
move, a tremendous squawking cry pierced through the air behind us.
"We have a bogie incoming!" Haxon's voice suddenly warned, having stayed silent throughout the entire reunion.
Both the samurai and we turned toward the direction the screech had come from, all of us widening our eyes and dropping our jaws as an enormous bird-like monster
swooped down low to the platform, dive-bombing directly toward us!
The bird looked like a cross between a short mutant Ostridge and a Golden Eagle. Its leathery neck and legs were longish and gangly, while its beak was pronounced and
curved along with its wickedly sharp talons. Its entire torso was covered in black and brownish golden feathers, extending out and blending in with the larger dark feathers
that made up its massive 40-foot wingspan!
The bird's menacing brown eyes flashed as it opened its beak and screamed again, bowing its head low in readiness to snatch one of us up from the platform.
"Hit the deck!" Alec shouted as he grabbed my arm and forced us both into a drop to the ground. As we were in mid fall, I chose this last second opportunity to raise my
Phalanx and fire off a blind wild shot. Luckily this shot succeeded in flying up and striking the bird-monster in the side of its belly as it blew by overtop of us. The pain from
the new wound caused it to screech in pain and instinctively rear its head back, while at the same time lose control of its flight path and crash full-on into the stack of
crates the seven samurai (an awesome movie by the way!) were standing on before they had a chance to fully jump out of the way!
With an angered screech, the great bird rolled over onto its back covered in debris from the destroyed containers, frantically kicking its legs and wildly trying to flap its
wings. The samurai had quickly recovered, several of them screaming out war cries as they raised their katanas high above their helmets and charged at the struggling
monster. But the bird was more than ready for a fight, giving another screech as it thrashed its long claws out at its attackers, opening its giant beak and catching one of
the swordsmen around the waist.
"Do you see that?!" Alec shouted with a jab of his finger to the giant monster as we quickly stood up. I shot him a look before casting a deliberate glance all around the
area, both at the skyward battle happening between the Pterodactyls and Ikran, as well as whatever we could see of the fight going on with the grounded beings the ring
had brought to confront the Military Dock's marines.
"How could I miss any of this?" I asked casually with a wave of my gun toward the encircling chaos.
"No Axel, that's a Thunderbird, and it's pissed off! We need to get out of here now!" Alec shouted before both of us suddenly ducked our heads
as the Thunderbird threw
the thrashing man it had been holding in its jaws, sending him screaming through the air over the edge of the drop-off.
"What an excellent idea. MOVE!" I barked sarcastically before we both began sprinting onto the Corsica's docking pier, narrowly avoiding the monster-bird's thrashing limbs
as it continued fighting off the remaining samurai. Running as fast as we could, we noticed up ahead the two bumbling Alliance marines stationed by the ship's docking
corridor, both of them keeping the barrels of their assault rifles trained on the battle behind us.
"See, I wasn't crazy! I TOLD YOU I WASN'T CRAZY!" the first marine shouted over the roaring and gunfire, viciously jabbing a finger against his partner's shoulder.
"Thanks for keeping the ship safe boys! Wish us luck on the quest!" I called to the still oblivious duo as we ran right in between them. Immediately another samurai was
thrown down the pier from the struggling Thunderbird, causing the two marines to yell and dive out of the way as the warrior crashed into several shipping crates.
"Cause we're gonna need it!" Alec threw back over his shoulder as he and I began running down the corridor toward the Corsica's sealed outer airlock.
Amazingly the battle raging across the Docks was rapidly swinging in C-Sec's and their marine allies' favour. Mantis gunships were beginning to sweep through the air,
unleashing volleys of thermal rounds that struck down both the Pterodactyls and the Ikran in droves. The same was happening on the ground, with the marines and
joining agents forming up into defensive divisions and cutting down any creature or person that charged at them. It was truly a sight to behold, with more katana wielding
samurai, knife throwing Cossack soldiers, small feathered Velociraptors, and many other strange beings all either killing each other or trying unsuccessfully to gang up on
the rifle firing security forces.
"All enemy creatures are being repelled as we speak. So far no deaths from any of our units have been reported. Despite several injuries after the initial attack I'd say
we're winning sirs," the driver said with relief over to Bailey and Chellick, all three of them sitting in their floating hover car and watching the battle from a safe distance.
