Chapter 16: Blood Pack War - Part 1
POV: Marc Wayne
The attack came during Omega's peak hours, when the station's corridors were choked with traders, refugees, and desperate souls pursuing their various forms of survival. It was a calculated choice—maximum collateral damage, maximum visibility, maximum pressure to force Marc into the open where Garm could end their conflict permanently.
Marc was reviewing inventory in the rebuilt bar when the first explosion shook the entire district. Emergency lighting activated, casting everything in pulsing red while alarms shrieked warnings that came too late to matter. Through the reinforced windows, he could see Blood Pack mechs taking positions in the street, their weapons trained on any exit that might offer escape.
[THREAT ASSESSMENT: CRITICAL]
[BLOOD PACK FORCES: 20+ DETECTED]
[HEAVY WEAPONS: CONFIRMED]
[CIVILIAN CASUALTIES: PROJECTED HIGH]
[TACTICAL SITUATION: SIEGE WARFARE]
Garm's voice boomed across the district through commandeered speakers, carrying the absolute authority of someone who'd never been denied what he wanted: "The regenerating human comes out, or everyone inside dies slowly. You have ten minutes to consider the mathematics of sacrifice."
The message was clear, brutal, and effective. This wasn't about capturing Marc for bounty or settling a personal grudge—this was about making an example. Garm was demonstrating that interfering with Blood Pack operations carried consequences that extended far beyond the individual responsible.
"He's escalated beyond personal revenge," Marc realized as civilians in the bar began panicking. "This is about reputation, about proving the Blood Pack doesn't tolerate resistance. He'll kill everyone here just to make a point."
Anto was already moving with military precision, sealing blast doors and activating defensive systems that had been installed during the bar's reconstruction. But his professional assessment was grimly practical: "Twelve mercs inside, twenty-plus outside, heavy weapons, elevated positions. We're not set up for siege warfare."
[TACTICAL ANALYSIS: DEFENSIVE OPTIONS]
[SURRENDER: 87% PROBABILITY OF DEATH]
[FIGHT FROM CURRENT POSITION: 12% SURVIVAL CHANCE]
[TACTICAL RETREAT: 34% SURVIVAL PROBABILITY]
[UNCONVENTIONAL STRATEGY: CALCULATING...]
Marc's enhanced mind processed the options while his Varren Alpha Instinct analyzed the tactical situation through predatory logic. The conventional approaches were all variations of defeat or desperate escape. But he had capabilities that conventional tactical doctrine didn't account for.
That's when Kreek and his pack arrived.
The Vorcha appeared through maintenance shafts and emergency exits with the coordinated precision of a military unit, their usual chaotic energy focused into tactical discipline that spoke of Marc's inadvertent pack conditioning. They moved like extensions of a single organism, each individual positioned to support the others in ways that multiplied their collective effectiveness.
"Pack-leader in danger!" Kreek announced, his compound eyes bright with the kind of aggressive enthusiasm that made Vorcha both terrifying and oddly endearing. "Kreek brings all-pack! We fight! We die for alpha!"
The casual acceptance of martyrdom should have been inspiring, but Marc found it horrifying instead. These beings had bonded with him through genetic accident and pack dynamics he didn't fully understand. They were prepared to die for someone who'd never asked for their loyalty, never earned their sacrifice through anything more than biological compatibility.
"No," Marc said firmly, his enhanced authority carrying enough pack-leader resonance to stop Kreek's enthusiastic planning mid-sentence. "No suicide charges. No glorious deaths. We coordinate, we survive."
Kreek's expression shifted from confusion to something that might have been hope. "Alpha wants pack alive?"
"Pack stays alive," Marc confirmed. "But we fight smart. Show me what organized Vorcha can do."
The transformation was immediate and remarkable. Instead of the chaotic berserker charges typical of Vorcha combat doctrine, Kreek's pack began moving with tactical precision that rivaled professional military units. They established overlapping fields of fire, coordinated flanking maneuvers, and maintained communication through the pack-bond hierarchy Marc had accidentally established.
[PACK COORDINATION ACTIVE]
[ALLIED UNITS: +25% COMBAT EFFECTIVENESS]
[TACTICAL MULTIPLIER: 8 VORCHA = 12 CONVENTIONAL SOLDIERS]
[NEW STRATEGY OPTIONS AVAILABLE]
Marc's enhanced perception processed the battlefield through multiple sensory channels—his Four-Eyed Vision tracking enemy positions, his Alpha Instinct reading pack dynamics and territorial control, his tactical training identifying opportunities for coordinated assault. The combination created awareness that transcended human baseline capabilities.
"Anto, can you provide overwatch from the upper level?" Marc asked while mentally designating priority targets for the Vorcha pack.
"Already moving," the Turian replied, his rifle components assembling with practiced efficiency. "What's your plan?"
Marc studied the tactical situation through his enhanced awareness, noting weapon positions, cover availability, and most importantly, the psychological dynamics at play. Garm expected either surrender or desperate resistance. He wouldn't anticipate organized assault using pack coordination.
"We're going to show the Blood Pack what happens when you threaten a predator's territory," Marc said, feeling the Alpha Instinct resonating through his modified biology. "They want to see how dangerous I am? Time for a demonstration."
[COMBAT LOADOUT ACTIVE:]
[BATARIAN FOUR-EYED VISION] [VARREN ALPHA INSTINCT]
[THIRD GENE SLOT: AVAILABLE]
[READY FOR EQUIPMENT BASED ON COMBAT SITUATION]
The battle began with coordinated precision that caught the Blood Pack forces completely unprepared. Marc's pack coordination turned eight individual Vorcha into a tactical unit that moved like extensions of his own will, each member positioned to exploit weaknesses his enhanced perception identified in real-time.
His Four-Eyed Vision spotted Garm's command position before the Krogan leader realized he'd been detected. Through pack-bond communication that transcended verbal language, Marc directed flanking units to cut off escape routes while Anto's precision fire kept the enemy suppressed.
[COMBAT FUNDAMENTALS: JOURNEYMAN 62% → 71%]
[PACK TACTICS: APPRENTICE 45% → 58%]
[TACTICAL LEADERSHIP: NOVICE 23% → 34%]
The System tracked his development in real-time as combat experience forced rapid learning. But Marc was no longer just adapting to survive—he was actively leading, making command decisions that affected the lives of beings who trusted him enough to follow his tactical assessments into lethal situations.
The Blood Pack mercs found themselves facing something they'd never encountered: organized Vorcha resistance. Instead of chaotic berserkers who could be channeled and contained, they faced a coordinated unit that anticipated their movements, exploited their weaknesses, and operated according to tactical doctrine that turned individual combat effectiveness into multiplicative force enhancement.
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: MAJOR COMBAT ENCOUNTER]
[LEVEL UP!]
[CONGRATULATIONS: LEVEL 5 ACHIEVED]
[STATS INCREASED - BONUS POINTS AVAILABLE: +5]
[THIRD GENE SLOT UNLOCKED]
The advancement hit Marc in the middle of combat like lightning channeled through alien biology. His body adapted and improved according to parameters that were becoming increasingly familiar—stronger muscles, faster reflexes, enhanced processing speed that turned milliseconds into tactical eternities.
He allocated his bonus points with growing expertise: +2 STR for melee damage, +2 DEX for accuracy, +1 VIT for survival. The changes were immediately apparent as his enhanced capabilities integrated with combat experience to create effectiveness that transcended his previous limitations.
[PACK COORDINATION: ENHANCED]
[RANGE INCREASED: 50 METERS → 75 METERS]
[EFFECTIVENESS BONUS: +25% → +40%]
[NEW ABILITY: COORDINATED ASSAULT]
The enhanced pack coordination transformed the tactical situation entirely. Marc could now direct his allies with precision that approached telepathic communication, each Vorcha responding to designated targets and tactical modifications with instantaneous adaptation.
But across the battlefield, visible through the chaos of coordinated violence, Garm was pushing through the melee with singular focus. The massive Krogan's attention was fixed solely on Marc with the kind of obsessive determination that spoke of personal vendetta transcending rational tactical assessment.
[BOSS ENCOUNTER IMMINENT]
[TARGET: GARM (BLOOD PACK LEADER)]
[THREAT LEVEL: HIGH]
[RECOMMENDATION: SURVIVE]
Marc reloaded his weapon while his enhanced awareness tracked the Krogan's approach through multiple threats and tactical complications. His third gene slot remained empty, ready for whatever biological adaptation the coming fight might require.
The streets of Omega had become a battlefield where evolved humans coordinated alien pack tactics against mercenaries who'd never faced anything like organized Vorcha resistance. Civilians fled the crossfire while automated systems struggled to process emergency situations that transcended their programming parameters.
But at the center of the chaos, Marc Wayne stood as something the galaxy had never seen before—a human alpha directing alien pack hunters against enemies who'd underestimated the tactical advantages of voluntary evolution.
The fight that would define his reputation on Omega was about to begin, and Marc was finally strong enough to meet it on his own terms.
This ended with him or Garm. No more running.
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