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Mass Effect: Synthesis

Leroy Jenkins

Cenkin, the CEuman of the SILO Cenkin lay under the bush, watching as Batarian mercs advanced. He suppressed a growl. He'd been at home, having dinner with his family who'd moved back to Eden Prime once he'd begun synthesis, when the warning alarms had started. His Mom and Dad had quickly taken his little sister into the shelter but he'd been angry. He'd been away for years and all he had been doing was catching up but no, the Batarians couldn't take a hint! Red had flashed over his vision and Cenkin had agreed with him. It was time the Batarians were brought to heel.

But that was not their decision and Harbinger had been adamant that no assistance was to be given to the humans. They needed this test, this trial by fire but Harbinger had never said that they couldn't defend themselves. No Batarian had so much as touched a CEuman and that wasn't about to change now.

He didn't have any formal training. He didn't even have any weapons on him. He didn't need them. As a human he might have been just eighteen when he'd agreed to synthesis but Cendain had the knowledge of a nation, knowledge he now had. Cendain knew how to fight, both as the huge form of the ship he had been and as an organic body and right at the moment a hundred moves danced in the forefront of his mind.

The Batarians were almost in range. There were five of them. They were armed. It meant nothing. Lightning played through his fingers and his toes dug into the dirt as he surged forward. They saw him coming. With their four eyes, they had excellent peripheral vision.

He grinned, almost bearing his teeth. It didn't matter, because he was faster. Human limits meant nothing to him. His hand touched the closest Batarian even as the alien turned towards him. The Batarian jerked as energy that was like biotic but wasn't quite flowed into him. The energy was close enough to electricity that it acted the same. The alien couldn't even scream and Cenkin moved as the others dragged their guns around to him.

He dodged right, a stray shot passed by him. Cenkin flicked up his left hand. The shots that followed hit his barrier and he chuckled as the Batarians looked at him. He knew what he looked like. His eyes were glowing, just as his hands were and the cobalt blue lines on the jump suit he wore looked like they were pulsing with energy.

"Impossible," one snarled. "Humans don't have biotics!"

He didn't bother to reply. Instead, Cenkin flicked his right hand out, casually picking up the speaker and hurling him into the air before driving the batarian into the ground. The crack of bones was audible to all and the alien lay still in the dirt. The throaty gurgle of his death rattle signalled that he would not be getting up.

The other three fired again and he watched as one pulled a grenade. The batarian threw it quickly and Cenkin almost laughed as he caught it. A tiny charge of electricity surged through it, disabling the charge and while he maintained his barrier he held the weapon up, and then threw it from hand to hand.

The batarians backed away. They wanted to run. They were on the verge of it but there was nowhere to run. He flicked the grenade at the still twitching batarian, not bothering to hold back his laugh as it detonated when it hit the prone form.

The other aliens stared, their eyes going wide but he just grinned again and charged forward. It was a hard few minutes for the batarians, minutes that only ended when Cenkin gripped the neck of the last one and twisted sharply, ending their pain. As an afterthought he kicked the bodies, a derisive snort the only regard he gave them as he looked to the stars.

"Now that was not a Leroy Jenkins!"