Time. That was the only win condition this war had, the only way that the fighting would end with our victory. The alternative was the destruction of New Damond. We could perhaps evacuate people, and there were some who I’m sure would be eager to leave at this point, but no one voiced it as a possibility.

It wasn’t as though people weren’t scared, but rather that everyone knew at some level that this was the deciding moment for Earth. The most common citizen in New Damond was aware of the fact that no single city across the globe was spared attack. Every single one, no matter how remote, how large, small, defended, bare, there was no oasis in this war. Where people where, biotics attacked.

Information about the psy-emitter wasn’t withheld, giving the people a beacon of hope. However, most didn’t think it would be possible to complete in time. That had resulted in unrest in the massive underground bunkers, but somehow no one panicked.

These people were family of the Legion; uncertainty and fear were a constant in their lives, as it had been ever since the incursion of biotics. Every day away from their families was another day that they might experience the dreadful, hollowing sensation of loss. I had personally experienced that, though after my rebirth all of those thoughts and memories had dulled. Still, all of these people were sturdy enough not to panic, to control themselves and to help each other through these tough times.

That became easier when they were given word that the psy-emitter was completed.

I was only distantly aware of Mr. Faun’s efforts with the many disparate shelters, he and his people working to manage them and keep them informed of what was happening in such a way to limit as much of their fearful imaginings as possible. Wondering thoughts and war seldom ever bred positive thoughts, and so it was that I found myself grateful for their efforts in managing the non-combatants.

What he didn’t tell them was the same as what I hadn’t told the rest of my Legion on the frontlines. The psy-emitter was a hurdle, but the biggest problem was figuring out what wavelength the biotics were on. The Lab had no more biotics, and the most that they were able to do right now was try to figure out which wavelengths seemed to affect humans rather than biotics.

Though Dr. Ross said that they were making progress, I could tell that he was notably less enthused at the moment.

“We need a biotic test subject,” he spoke through the feed into my mind, “at least one, but preferably a larger group. We can perform long range tests through the module you have there.”

“That…” I sighed, before nodding, “I’ll make it happen. Just be ready to test as much as you can.”

He snorted, “Of course. You just make sure to stay in one piece.”

I restrained myself from expelling a deep breath as I closed the channel. Just capturing a biotic in this situation wouldn’t be nearly as hard for my Determinators as it would be for a human. The problem was that the King would know where our relay was well in advance of it being ready.

‘No chance that he ignores it.’ I clicked my tongue in annoyance before looking back at the Legion as they did their best to get comfortable and eat whatever rations they could get their hands on. ‘Looks like their break is going to be shorter than anticipated.’

The biotics would hammer down en force for this, I was certain of that.

Just as I was walking forward, I felt the metal in my body shift ever so slightly. I smiled, turning my gaze upwards to the approaching winged form. “Fran, good to see you.”

She nodded seriously before giving a small smile, “Matt. I see the Determinators are out in force.”

“They should be able to hold the line for a considerable time.” I glanced back to the Legion, “you should go and relax for a bit, too. We’re going to need to make our last stand around the relay.”

A brief moment of silence passed between us. I couldn’t see her face, but I could tell from her worried tone what was on her mind, “I hear that the emitter’s done?”

“We need to test the wavelength more.” I answered her unspoken question, “I’m going to get a few of them now, then we can try to run through the cycle.”

She stiffened at that, “Won’t they know that…” she trailed off, realizing that it didn’t matter if they knew our progress.

“Looks like I’ll get whatever rest I can, then.” She chuckled, “good hunting.”

“Rest well,” I waved over my shoulder as I turned and walked away. Nearly silently and in sync with each other, another ten of my personal guard modeled Determinators stepped out of buildings and formations to flank me.

The front line of Determinators three blocks away hadn’t yet made contact with the biotics, the bulk of the building's turrets overhead having kept them thoroughly away for the time being. In less than ten minutes the foremost ones would be empty of ammo. And roughly every five to ten minutes after another set of buildings further on would suffer the same fate. Still, that gave us nearly an hour of sustained fire before the biotics would reach our lines again.

I extended my will as my guard and a few dozen other Determinators detached from the battle line. Without hesitation they sped up as I broke into a sprint, our speed easily eclipsing a civilian vehicle for a few seconds before we began to slow. In less than a minute at our top speed, we’d reached the kill zone.

‘Dismember about ten of them when the firing stops and drag them back. Keep them alive, but we don’t need them to be armed.’ I sent the mental command to my squad, the chime of acknowledgement ringing through their links to my mind.

With another flex of my will, I connected to the local defense grid. I studied the biotics ahead, watching as the wave flexed forward an inch at a time, punished brutally for every step. A thick step had formed a meter deep with biotic corpses, impacted even as it disintegrated. Silver ichor and bursted parts acted as the mortar for the macabre floor.

“And they don’t even care.” I couldn’t help but feel disgust at the way they stepped on their dead without a second thought. I’d always disdained biotics, and this scene wasn’t anything new, but I always felt that biotics were flawed creatures in so many ways.

With contempt, I had the buildings cease fire for just a few seconds, just enough to let a cluster of them through. A dozen stumbled forward, showing no sign of surprise, only the mindless desire to continue their headlong charge forward. I reactivated the guns, keeping any others from joining them.

My ranged determinators synchronized their firing, gauss cannons roaring as one. Almost instantly, the dozen biotics fell to the ground, legs and arms torn from their bodies. The acidic cannons were shattered, and in the next moment, a pair of guards swept forward with their glaive weapons, hissing through the air with lethal accuracy. In a second the tails of the Centaur were severed, and in the following moments the Determinators swarmed over their downed enemies. It happened so fast that even through the mental suppression the Centaur didn’t move, confusion overwhelming them as to what had just happened.

Even in spite of how much I disdained the biotics, the sight of the Centaur being hefted over the shoulders of a Determinator like a piece of luggage, wrapped in synthetic cord, stirred a distant whisper of pity for them.

I snuffed that whisper out with my next command, ‘Bring them quickly. We have to begin the experiments as soon as possible.’

The Determinators fell into step, only mildly slowed by their living backpacks. The biotics hissed and snarled, but couldn’t so much as open their jaws, bound as they were. A hundred Determinators greeted us silently, only the cyberspace between them alight with congratulations for a job well done.

In the camp, we moved quickly still, the people only looked onward with bewilderment at the scene. Still, they moved on, not expressing even a fragment of concern.

Strauss even laughed. I shook my head at that.

The Determinators set them down in the lobby of the relay station. We didn’t need them any closer to the device for this to work. No humans were allowed in the building, however, nor in the immediate vicinity around it. Just in case whatever signals were being used could harm them during testing. I wasn’t nearly concerned about it; I wasn’t strictly human and barely had any kind of reaction to psionic influence, meaning that I was as safe here as the Determinators beside me.

“Dr. Ross, we’re ready to begin testing.” I spoke through the communicator, seeing the man clutching his head with annoyance through the video feed.

“Great,” he muttered dryly, “We’ve certainly found a few that work on people. We’ll use those as a baseline over there. Ready to begin?”

“On your word,” I nodded to him, sending my mind across cyberspace and confirming the device was active one last time.

“Alright, well, here goes nothing.”