บท 91: 79 – Defeat
Everyone in the Phoenix heard Samael, and Samara was taken aback by such a response from him, so she asked. '' What's wrong with Saren?''
'' Think about it, Samara. A Spectre appeared in Thessia, with no prior warning, right after a major attack on the planet? Think!'' Samael roared at Veronica as he left Samara to think about. '' GO!''
Veronica used the maximum capacity of the motor of the Phoenix, and in the meantime, Samara finally arrived at a frightening conclusion, '' Are you suggesting -''
'' I'm not just suggesting, I'm affirming. Saren is working with the Reapers. We had a lot of suspicion but never proof. Now, we have it.'' One of the problems of knowing so much about the future is exactly this. Justification.
Sure, from the beginning, Samael could've warmed everyone about the Reapers and Saren, but without proof, it would not be very meaningful. Hell, even with proof, the galaxy almost didn't believe him about the machines, imagine accusing a Spectre.
'' In my opinion, even if just suspicion, we should've killed this guy long ago.'' Grunt, with all his wisdom, said it out loud.
'' ... I agree with you. But, there's nothing we can do about the past.''
Just then, Veronica screamed, '' We arrived at the temple... the situation isn't looking good.''
'' You don't need to land, just get close to the ground.'' Samael said that as he rushed to the hangar, with Samara and Grunt following.
'' HA, Samael, are you saying we will drop out of a flying ship?'' Grunt was excited. Today was a good day for him, even though thousands died, the Krogan was having fun and no one could say anything about that, as that was his nature.
Samael nodded and looked at Samara, '' Are you ready? It will be quite the fall.''
'' I can handle it.'' Samara didn't care about her wounds, now her entire focus was on the situation inside the temple.
Veronica's voice came through the cooms, '' Opening the hangar door in 3, 2 ... Give them hell!''
With that, the Hangar door opened and the trio realized Veronica was very close to the ground, 20 meters or so. With that height, there was no problem for Samael to land safely, nor Grunt.
' I should make a jet pack after this.'
With a swift motion, Samael carried Samara and jumped out of the Phoenix, with Grunt following right behind.
Just to be safe, Samara put a barrier around them, to soften the fall.
BOOM
Still, nothing broke and they landed safely. Veronica choose this location because there are no enemies there.
Samael tried one more time to communicate with the people inside the temple but to no avail. It seems the Reapers jammed all communications, not only interplanetary.
So, they had no choice but to go in blindly. The call with Tevos ended less than 5 minutes ago and with the Matriarchs there, the chance of them being safe was huge.
Still, Samael was in a hurry, so he said to Samara and Grunt, '' Listen up, we will charge ahead and as we know, the surrounding is filled with enemies we don't have the luxury to deal with. Grunt, you will tank the shots as we rush inside. Samara, make a barrier for him and for you, and go ahead.''
'' And you?'' Samara asked.
Samael looked at her with a somehow crazy smile, '' I'm feeling quite angry, you see. This whole thing wasn't supposed to happen so soon... they fucked my plans, they delayed things, and now they will pay the price.''
Samara said nothing more as she and Grunt understood the implications. While both will tank the shots and get the attention, Samael will kill all the enemies.
'' Ready?'' Samael asked as they got close to one of the temple entrances.
'' Ready.''
'' Always.''
With that, the trio entered the temple.
INSIDE THE TEMPLE
The layout of the temple was quite simple, with just a few different spaces. The problem was the size. It was quite big but only one entrance, besides a few others that were secret.
Upon entering the temple, Samael saw Ash, Kaidan, John, and a few other members of his and Shepard's crew, fighting the Geth.
The situation was just like what he thought. Bad.
The stalemate that was maintained until now was broken, most likely thanks to Saren and the jammer, and the Geth now had the upper hand. There were many corpses of Asari around the area and even more of Geths and husks.
Samael knew the Beacon was in the deeper areas of the temple, so he had no idea what had happened to it. Regardless, his plan continued the same. The bonus of it all is that Samael, Samara, and Grunt were behind all Geth forces, allowing the trio to ambush them quite easily.
The trio joined the battle, with Samara and Grunt being the most destructive, and disturbing the Geth foramtion long enough that Jonh noticed.
The man smiled upon seeing the trio, '' FOCUS NOW!''
With John's roar, everyone else noticed the trio and their face changed to one of hope.
While Samara and Grunt gathered the attention, Samael did his best to sneak up on any unsuspect enemy he found and he killed it. He was glad he took the serum before coming to Thessia, otherwise, things would get even more complicated, as his favorite style of fighting was head-on.
Now, with his new strength, he could deal with the Geth barehand.
Sneaking upon a Geth, Samael tackled it to the ground, and with a roll, he got to his knees and killed it with a shot. Other Geth close by noticed Samael but before it could do anything, a Singularity hit where it was, followed by a grenade.
BOOM
Samael didn't care who helped, didn't stop there, and continued killing Geths. Thanks to the confusion that the newly arrived trio caused, the Geth numbers diminished considerably, but from the place where the trio entered, reinforcements were coming.
Still, the fight was in their favor now, and Samael knew John and the rest could handle it.
'' SAMAEL!'' John scremaed something alarming, '' LIARA IS ON THE BEACON!''
It seems Liara and Kasumi had changed positions right after Samael's radio message.
John didn't know about Saren and the dangerous situation deep in the temple, but he knew that Liara and Samael were in a relationship, and seeing as the situation there was more or less solved, he told Samael that, so the Captain could go to her and see if she needed help.
Contrary to what John was expecting, he saw, for the first time, genuine concern on Samael's face. Before he could ask what was wrong, Samael rushed deep into the temple.
With that, John knew things deep inside weren't so simple, but he had a job to do and Samael was more than enough to deal with dozens of Geth. So, he held the position.
Soon after Samael left, Grunt followed, with Samara staying behind to help John.
For the first time in this cycle, Samael felt real fear that something might have happened to his loved ones. This attack in Thessia, while not having happened in any other cycle, would not affect much in terms of the whole war, as it will only serve to unite the galaxy sooner.
But, the only thing that scared him was losing his loved ones... He honestly didn't know how he would react to it, and that scared him. And with Liara being in the worst place ...
It didn't take long for Samael to arrive at where the Beacon was and what he saw wasn't looking good. Saren was there, a little bit injured, with a completely destroyed Beacon, with a few Asari down, their state unknown.
Kasumi, Liara, Tevos and Benezia amought them.
Samael saw red for the first time in a long while.
WITH SAREN
' I can't believe the plan worked.'
A few weeks ago, Sovereign told the Turian to prepare to attack Thessia, in what he thought was a dangerous move. Still, this was the last place left to check, so he had no choice.
The information the Shadow Broker gave Saren, the rumors about possible Beacon locations, almost all turned out to be fake. Still, he found it in the end, thanks to Sovereign suggestion and the info he bought.
He used his status as a Spectre to get close without any problems, dealt with the Matriarchs along the way, and, not only he had the knowledge inside the beacon, he destroyed it.
Now, he would finish the job. But first, Saren contacted Sovereign, '' I have it.''
'' Good. Kill the maximum Asari you can and retreat.''
'' Go-''
Before Saren could finish, a fist hit him in the face, caving his cheekbone and sending him flying.
The Turian flew quite a bit before stabilizing himself. He held with face with surprise and fear, ' What hit me?'
Saren was a prodigy, a Spectre, the best of the best. But, he was sent flying with one punch he didn't even realize it was coming. The damage was extensive too. The turian applied med gel on his face while tapping his omni tool to request extraction, all while facing the man who did this to him.
The man was on his knees, close to the Asaris, applying med gel to all of them.
Saren clicked his tongue. He should've killed all of them, but his objective was the beacon, so he only knocked them out. The only ones that suspected anything were Tevos and Benezia, but he overpowered them, thanks to a few augmentations he had received from Sovereign. Both Matriarchs put up quite a fight and he was injured quite badly.
After fighting both, he faced a younger Asari and a human and almost lost too. But, he relied on his experience, as he threatened the Matriarch's lives, making both surrender. He knocked both out too.
Still, the Spectre now just had to stall time until his ride arrived, so he started to speak, '' Hey, do you know who you just hit? I'm a Spectre!''
'' I also arrived not long ago, and I saw the same situation as you. Someone destroyed the Beacon and injured the Matriarchs! I was in the middle of investigating when you hit me!''
Silence. The man said nothing as he continued applying med gel.
Saren was getting irritated but before he could say anything, he felt goosebumps and shivers down his spine. He immediately broke the persona of a good guy, got his gun out, and aimed at the man.
He felt a horrible sensation when the man stopped in front of one of the fallen Asari.
' What the hell is this situation!?'
The situation didn't make any sense to Saren. He was feeling fear from a normal person. This wasn't normal.
The man sat down and applied med gel to the Asari. He checked its pulse and breath in relief.
BANG BANG
Feeling the situation was too weird, Saren acted and shot the man two times, but the man's shield took the bullet and he didn't react.
Finally, after applying med gel to everyone down, the man turned to face Saren.
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG
Saren immediately retreated while shooting. The face of the man was morphed into something hideous. It was like Death was looking at him and Saren retreated immediately.
He had already done his mission, and it was a shame he didn't finish the Matriarchs off, but oh well. Now, he just wanted to leave this place.
But, the man didn't seem to want to let him leave. The shield broke after being shot many times, and the armor also broke, but the man seemed like he had a sixth sense, as he was fine. He was shot a few times, but not in lethal areas.
The man was getting closer and closer.
CLICK CLICK
The thermal clip was overheated and Saren knew the man would get close before it was recharged, so he put the gun away and prepared to fight hand to hand. Still, as the man was shot a few times, it should be weakened quite a bit, so he would face him in combat. The earlier fear was long gone, as he felt the man was at death's door.
If only he realized the man was ok, he would have never gotten close. Samael was taking the shots because of his med gel. As long as he is not shot in the head, heart, or killed instantly, he would be ok if it's applied soon. And, the fight would not last long.
As Saren threw the first punch, the man easily grabbed it. The Spectre tried a sweep, but the man simply stood still and let the kick connect.
PANG
Saren felt he hit a wall with his foot. His soldier instinct kicked in, and he tried to get his hand away, but the man didn't let him. He tried to use his omni blade to slice the man's hand, but the man crushed his omni tool, alongside his wrist.
'' ARRGGH!'' Saren headbutted the man, trying to get his hand away, but to no avail. He only got more injured.
Saren tried to get his gun out, oh how he regretted not waiting it to recharge, but the man didn't let him. He reached for it, but the man kicked his other hand away, breaking the arm in the process.
You have to remember that now, Samael had a Krogan strength and he was angry. He was not holding back and even though turians were strong, in front of a Krogan, they were only second.
He then grabbed Saren's gun and pointed at the turian stomach.
'' You can't escape.'' The man said in a raspy voice, '' You should not have provoked me.''
The man, Samael, was going to kill Saren right now. He was shot in a lot of areas, like the stomach, and shoulders, but he would live, '' Any last words?''
'' Wa-''
BANG BANG BANG
The continuous barrage of shots broke the spectre armor and hit him right in the stomach. If not treated, he could die.
'' Wa- sounds nice.'' Samael applied Meg Gel to his injuries while aiming at Saren. The turian was holding his stomach with his broken wrist.
After all his injuries were dealt with, Sameal aimed at the head, '' Goodb-''
SHIVERS
Before Samael shot the turian, a faint sound was heard. So faint almost no one could hear it. But, Samael lived a lot of time and things. He knew right away what that sound was.
It was like a warming death gave before arriving. He heard it a lot of times when fighting the war against the Reapers.
He ignored Saren completely and rushed towards the fallen Matriarchs, Liara and Kasumi.
Grunt was already there, with them, looking at the fight. He was impressed with what Samael was doing, and knew the human won the fight, but he was confused when he saw Samael running towards him with a face full of resolve.
Samael only shouted, '' COVER!'' as he pointed at the Matriarchs on the ground.
Grunt immediately acted, as he knew Samael must know something he didn't. He stood over the maximum of Matriarchs he could.
Before he could ask anything to Samael, who was beside him, also doing his best to cover the Matriarchs, an explosion occurred.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
--
Some people would call it a laser, but it was more a Death Beam. Sovereign was talking with Saren when Samael attacked so it knew his 'pet' was in danger.
So, he helped. By completely destroying the temple. He used his 'eye' for the first time in this cycle. What once was a symbol to the Asari, was now a pile of rubble, thanks to a single beam.
Everyone who saw it stopped fighting, their resolve shaken to the core. A single attack from that big machine destroyed a temple that stood for millennia.
Moments after the temple was destroyed, a few Geth were seen taking out a body that belonged to Saren. If he was alive or not, no one knew.
The Geth and the Reaper then left the planet.
Only one thing was certain. LD, Thessia, Samael, and the Asari had lost. The Reapers had taken the knowledge inside the beacon, now they just need the to unlock it to know about the Citadel and bring forth the whole Reaper army.
The galaxy was in danger.
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Pop0
Pop0 AN: I loved writing the chapter but damn, I struggle so much writing fighting scenes. I don't know if it was entertaining, but I think I conveyed what I wanted: Samael is fucking OP against 'normal' people, but in front of the Reapers, he was weak.
Now that the galaxy has faced defeat for the first time, will things change or not?
Thessia arc is done with this chapter, and the next Arc will be a small one, with 5 to 10 chapters.
Also, spoilers: Samael survived but I will make him lose something, to show how dangerous the Reapers can be. I'm still writing it, but it's between an eye and a hand.
Thanks for the support!
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