538 réponses à ce sujet

[Redbelle]

Wyld blinked as the woman, who identified herself as Marisa, asked who she was. Wyld held up a hand with a single extended digit. “Hold that thought”.

She exited back out through the door and grabbed the handles of the trolly she'd used to wheel the OSS bone repair unit through the corridors. Pulling it towards the room she chortled. “Guess you got the name wrong there, didn't'cha”.

Momma's indignant reply came over the helmet. “I assure you. Her name is Naleena”.

“Momma says yes. Other momma says no”. Wyld said as her back banged into the door which, as she bumped it with her hip, opened violently as she pulled the trolley through the door.

“Scoot”. She said as the mother got out the way of both Wyld and the trolley. Trundling it around, she brought to rest near the bed where Nasyra lay with her leg cast out on the bed roll. “Thanks”. Wyld said. As she tugged the Kestrel helmet off and gave her hair a quick run through before offering her hand to the mother. “Corpsman Wyld. Commander”. She said as the mother took her hand. “And your Sergeant Nasyra Soniri”? She asked the figure in the bed. “Sorry for the mix up. Someone told me you were Naleena.... Nice name Naleena”, Wyld said wistfully as she zoned out for a moment. Then she shook her head. Placed the kestrel on the table, and proceeded to open the bag.

“Regardless. I'm here to repair a closed segmental fracture to an Asari's leg and I'm guessing that's you”.

The woman who was now going by the name of Nasyra Soniri threw a look over to her mother. “If that mean's your looking for someone with a broken leg, then yes”.

Wyld walked over to the foot of Nasyra's bed and linked her Omni-tool to the padd at the foot of her bed. Looking over her notes she made several appreciate noises and an odd cluck. Shutting down her tool she went back to the bag and pulled out a framework of metal with many pins sticking out from the side. Wyld imagined, to those who didn't know what it did, it looked like some sort of ancient torture device.

“Now don't worry”. She said as she placed it on the bed and toggled a switch on the side. The apparatus snapped open and lay there, looking, by all account's, like a bear trap. Waiting to snap closed on whatever was placed in it's waiting maw. “Just put your leg in there and I'll get started”.

Nasyra looked up at her mother who in turn was beginning to glare at Wyld. “Listen here....”.

“I'm sorry I didn't catch your name”. Wyld interrupted.

“Marisa”.

“Pleased to meet you”. Wyld said sincerely. “I appreciate that this thing looks scary, but it's part of the treatment”. She looked down at Nasyra. “And you don't want it to get out to your Platoon that the big bad commando was scared of a medic with a leg brace do you”?

Nasyra looked at the apparatus “That's a leg brace”?

“Designed to immobilise excess movement of appendage and keep bone in line. It works like a leg cast. Only you can manipulate the leg and bone with this thing. Which is what I need to do to repair the bone in your leg”.

Nasyra looked at her mother. “I'm not....”.

Wyld quietly whispered in a way they could all hear. “Sissy”.

Nasyra and Marisa both looked dagger's at her. Wyld shrugged. “Sorry. That usually get's most commando's to man up”.

Marisa straightened and folded her arms across her chest. “Now look here. You walk in here in armour that's practically ruined. With a gun”. She added eyeing Wyld's pistol. “And throw this contraption down with no explanation...”.

“It, and I, will repair the bone in your daughter leg”. Wyld said slowly. “I can't make it any simpler than that. And the reason I look like something the cat dragged in is that I just got here from the field. And it's a war zone out there”. She said emphasising her words.

“Where are the doctors”?

“Good question”.

“Is there a nurse”?

“Haven't seen one in this wing”?

Marisa huffed and started towards the door. “I'm calling security. I don't trust you”.

Wyld caught her arm which prompted Nasyra to sit up more in bed. “Call security and the administrator will know that I'm here with this device”.

“So your sneaking about the hospital”?

“Yes”. Wyld said bluntly. “Because the administrator doesn't want to admit that a piece of field kit designed to mend bone breakage's exists within the hospital walls when there are over a dozen people who could benefit from it. That....”. She went on. “....And the fact that he lied about it's operational condition when I asked him about it. Your daughter could have been dancing out of here within half an hour of treatment. That's how amazing this piece of kit is. And it's simple to use to boot. A second year medical student could operate it because it's designed for field use”.

She let go of Marisa's arm. “I cannot think of a reason why it's not been used so I'm here to use it. Because I need to successfully treat a patient with it so that the administrator has nowhere he can dodge if he says it's broken. And then....”. Wyld said with a little heat creeping into her voice. “Maybe he can explain where all the missing hospital equipment has gone. Because even with the war on, there should be records of it's use somewhere”.

Wyld took a breath and calmed down. “I appreciate that your her mother. But your daughter's a soldier and a commando. So get your leg in that brace and let's get you up and walking”. She said turning to Nasyra. “And relax”. Wyld insisted as she crossed back over to the bed. “The technical stuff happens after it's fully clamped”.

“Do I need the cast off”? Nasyra asked.

“No”. Wyld said. “This brace can accommodate the cast”.

Nasyra sighed and placed her leg in the apparatus with a little help from Wyld. She looked on apprehensively as Wyld began manipulating the rig and was pleasantly surprised when the it closed smoothly and slowly around her cast. The pins, likewise, slowly descended till they touched the cast. And then punched through so that she felt little pricks on her leg. She looked at Wyld who smiled encouragingly.

“This brace is going to help apply pressure to open a slight gap between the bone. And I mean very slight. It's not going to hurt you”. She insisted. “Though it's going to feel really weird. Those pins are taking reading's of the bone and will return it to it's resting state and......”.

“Look....”. Nasyra said, interrupting Wyld explanation. “Can we just get on with this please”? She looked over at her mother. “If she say's I can walk in half an hour then I want to walk again in half an hour. I don't care who does that”.

Wyld grinned “There's that commando spirit. You had me worried”. She leant over. “Don't worry”. She whispered. “I know having a parent around can throw you off your game. We'll keep the whole being afraid thing between us”.

Nasyra snorted and leant back, staring at the ceiling while Wyld got to work. And found herself looking over at Marisa who still stood by the door. Marisa seemed to be struggling with something within herself before she slowly came over and took Nasyra's hand.

About ten minute's later Wyld was finished. She removed the needle, she had taken from the apparatus, out of Nasyra's leg though the second hole she had drilled into the cast. A quick tweak of something on the brace and Nasyra could feel it pulling itself towards it's centre, pulling both the leg and bone to firmly seat together.

Wyld flicked the reservoir atop the needle. “Long story short. This stuff is a mix of nano replicated liquid bone held in gel suspension. The gel will harden but remain permeable while the bone suspension solidifies and turns the gel into a bone substitute. In short, your leg will be as good as new again in half an hour after the reaction takes place”. She looked pointedly at Nasyra. “Do not move it in that time. The brace is holding the bone together since I had to cut the cast into section's. It's a good brace. But all the moving parts means any pressure or movement could have the bone setting improperly”.

“What happens if that does happen”?

Wyld shrugged. “Then I break the bone again and have another go. I much prefer fixing legs than breaking them though”. She rapped her prosthetics. “Call me biased”. She got up and clipped the needle back to the brace. “Well, I'd say that worked out. So if you'll excuse me. I need to grab hold of the administrator”. She nodded and began to turn to the door when it opened and the mousy administrator walked in. Wyld checked her anger as she watched him enter. “Well speak of the.....”.

Two other men followed the administrator into the room wearing patchwork leather jackets. “....Devil”. Wyld finished as the men looked around.

One wore a nose ring and looked at Nasyra lying in the bed. “You were right”. He said with a leer. “She is pretty”.

The other wore a goatee as he glanced between Wyld and Marisa. “And we got extra's too. Not sure about her though”. He jerked his chin towards Wyld while looking down at her prosthetics. “Maybe give her to Joey. He's into that strange sheet”.

Marisa stepped forward. “Who are you and what are you doing here”?

Both men pulled guns from their backs as the administrator cowered away. “We're the Outcasts. We're getting ready to watch the world end. And well, we want to ride the end of the human race out with style. If you know what I mean”.

Wyld stepped forward and the nose ring moved to cover her. “This woman is my patient. They are both under my care”. She said firmly.

“Sheeet girl”. Said the Goat. “You three gonna be under our care by the end o t'night”. He suddenly spotted the OSS on Nasyra's leg. “You said that thing hadn't been used”. He directed at the Administrator who simply whimpered in the corner. “Think he lied to us”?

“Oh he lied”. Said Nose Ring as he walked up to Wyld and without warning, drove a fist into her stomach. Wyld doubled over, falling to her hand and knees, gasping for breath. Her armour unable to offer much protection from the blow. “And I think Joey will have to go without. Cause obviously we need to send a message about what happens when you don't give the Outcasts what they want”.

Modifié par Redbelle, 06 septembre 2013 - 10:17 .

[Kel Riever]

Urdnot Plog impatiently prodded, “Can’t you just fix it already?”
 
Urdnot Bruug snarled, “It is a Tomkah, not some Graal spike thrower, which you wouldn’t know how to fix either, so stop harassing me. Wheels just don’t come off without a reason. Maybe Krayder blew a trans-axel or something. I don’t even know which way this thing is supposed to face. Maybe it goes on either way.”
 
“It’s a wheel,” Plog said as he threw up his hands. “Its round. It can go on anyway you want.”
 
Bruug shouted, “I’m not talking about the round part!”
 
“Would you two stop shouting,” Urdnot Zahn yelled, “You’ll get every Reaper from here to the Relay down on us with your racket!”
 
Plog poked Zahn, “Just because your ancestor over there is a great Warlord from nine centuries ago doesn’t give you a right to order anyone around. Besides, look at him. He’s sleeping!”
 
Zahn, Plog and Bruug peered cautiously at the ancient Warlord, sitting on a pile of rubble with his back to a wall. At full height, he would stand over three meters tall, and even sitting down, he would be able to look them directly in the eye. The Warlord sat in armor more venerable than himself, scored with battle damage, an artifact of innumerable wars. Across his lap lay a hammer that no other single krogan in the group could lift. Despite all the crude gear which allowed power to flow through the hammer for incredible bursts of energy, most of its damage was dealt by the solid iron head, which had crushed countless foes. The three krogan would have searched for the Warlord’s expression, but it was hidden under a bright red, full-faced helm.
 
“He’s not sleeping,” Zahn asserted, “He’s waiting.”
 
Urdnot Krayder popped open the top hatch of the Tomkah and called down to his companions, “I can’t see anything wrong from the inside. Maybe we should just haul those missiles ourselves.”
 
“No. I can fix this,” Bruug protested. “All I have to do is figure out which way this wheel goes on.”
 
~~~~
 
Navarro ran a finger over the old gang tattoo on his left forearm, as he pondered aloud to Riptide who was sitting next to him, “Can’t they just get on with the attack already?”
 
Riptide snarled, “It’s Reapers. Not some coppers, who you wouldn’t know how to take down anyway, so stop criticizing them. Maybe there’s a banshee guarding the missiles or something. I don’t even know why we’re helping go get more of those things. Maybe helping the krogan will make them want to help find Arkeer.”
 
“It’s a bunch of krogan,” Navarro said as he rolled his eyes up, “They’ll kill anything they want.”
 
“Would you two stop,” Cole hissed, “You’ll get every Reaper from here to the Relay down on us with your racket.”
 
Rothan was beginning to regret bringing the Misfits along, when Miranda, Rea and Hugh came back. Rea motioned for everyone to gather around and put a finger to her lips.
 
“We don’t have a lot of time. There’s a small group of krogan, and they’ve got more missiles that we need loaded onto a broken down tank. They’re also in the path we need to go through to find Arkeer. In any case, we’re going to attack the Reapers while alerting the krogan to their presence when we do.”
 
Miranda jumped in, “The Reapers are moving to surround. What we’ll do is attack them from multiple sides. Rea will flank to the right, I’ll flank to the left.  When we're ready, we'll fire and holler at them. Once their attention is split, and no doubt the krogan will notice at that point, Hugh with most of the rest of you will open fire at their rear. You’re job is to concentrate on the cannibals, so they start feeding on each other rather than counter-attacking. Oh, and for once, be as loud as you can when you do. We want the Reapers pulled in all directions.”
 
Hugh gladly agreed, “We can do that!”
 
Rea took over again. “Rothan and Cole, you watch our own rear. And make sure we aren’t exposed while we pull this off.”
 
Rothan was bothered. He couldn’t help but wonder why it was suggested that he be placed on what was essentially guard duty. “What about the shields on the Marauders? They aren’t going to go down with one, well-placed, shot each.”
 
“Miranda’s will take care of that. She’ll overload their shields, and then I have something that can finish them off.”
 
“Better than a shockwave? I could shockwave the Marauders once their shields are stripped.”
 
Rea furrowed her brow, “If you think so, Rothan. Take it up with Miranda, since you seem to have a fairly easy time talking to her. Hugh, pick your people and come with me.” Rea then headed away with a group of the Misfits.
 
The sides of Rothan’s head felt like they were burning. His first inclination was to think that his suit had been punctured and he had gotten sick. After he checked his readouts, he realized it wasn’t any illness at all. He was infuriated. As if Rea hasn't been on my mind the entire time! Before he could even consider a response, everyone had left his side except Cole and Miranda.
 
“Cole,” Miranda suggested, “You can guard the rear by yourself. I recommend over by that ruined air car. If you see anything, yell until you are heard.”
 
“Whatever you say, miss.” Cole headed for the car.
 
Miranda glanced at Rothan and giggled. “You two.”
 
Rothan cooled in curiosity. “What?”
 
“Come on. I don’t have to be a few centuries old to figure out what is going on here.” When Rothan stood dumfounded, Miranda shook her head and smiled, “Never mind. It’s fine. When I strip the shield on the Marauders, use your shockwave at maximum range. Be patient and make sure you get as many as you can in your first strike.”
 
“I’ll do that,” Rothan said uncertainly. Then with more confidence, he repeated himself, “I’ll do that. I’ll place myself so that the shockwave impacts at maximum range after you overload the shields.”
 
Nodding, Miranda pulled two thermal clips from her belt, “Take these; they’ll work with your Tempest and Phalanx. Those are Warp ammo clips.”
 
“Thank you.”
 
Miranda spun to head to her position, but gave one glance over her shoulder and said with a tinge of humor, “You know she’s trying to get a reaction out of you, right?”
 
“What? Why?” Rothan was confused. 
 
“Think about it. Later, though. After the fight.” Miranda trotted off.
 
Rothan couldn’t help but think about it. He moved out of the ruins cautiously, staying under cover as he went. In front, he could spot the group of Marauders and Cannibals heading towards the krogan Tomkah in the distance.   The mob of Reapers began to move out to either side so they could trap the krogan. Rothan had to run as quietly as he could to catch up. Hugh’s crew was in position behind a series of old barricades, but Rothan needed to get closer. As Rothan passed, Hugh whispered, “Don’t worry, Rothan. We’ll cover you, too.” Rothan felt the burning sensation again, wondering if everyone suddenly felt he was incompetent. I’m not that awful!
 
~~~~
 
Rea shouted from a low wall at the Reapers while opening up with her Phaeston. She then ducked back under cover. The Reapers turned her direction, but from their other side, Miranda shouted and let loose with her sub-machine gun. Several of the Reapers rotated toward Miranda. And then from Hugh’s location, the Misfits started firing while whooping and hollering. Rea spotted Rothan, in front of the Misfits. Some of the Cannibals were now heading toward the Misfits and him, but most dropped to feed on their own fallen. The Marauders remained clustered. Miranda used her overload on them. A buzzing filled the air and the Marauders were bathed in an arcing, electrical charge. They staggered about aimlessly.
 
Rothan focused and unleashed his shockwave. A series of biotic impacts travelled along the ground, blasting everything in their path. When the impacts hit the Cannibals and Marauders, they were launched into the air. Some actually blew apart. Rea kept firing but watched as Rothan drew himself up more confidently. Another biotic charge was forming around Rothan, and he began to glow with its energy. The power was welling up inside him and Rea observed as the young quarian trembled with its fury. When Rothan let loose his next shockwave, he put everything into it. The shockwave was enormous, ripping through every Reaper it reached. 
 
A cheer went up from the Misfits as they saw Rothan in action. But Rothan’s body went limp and fell backwards, exhausted from his expenditure. From side streets, Rea could see more Cannibals coming. Rounds cut through the air and the remaining Reapers began fighting back. Rothan was able to raise his Tempest and let off a few bursts, but nothing accurately. Hugh shouted for the quarian, however, his group was too far to help. One of the Cannibals Rothan missed began to rise from gorging itself. It moved towards him with gnashing teeth.
 
Rea ran. Every Reaper that stood in the way was shot, thrown, punched or kicked as she raced to Rothan. A red helmed giant rose above the gnashing Cannibal. Rea saw it wielding a colossal hammer. As the giant pulled back the hammer for a stroke, she reached Rothan, grabbed his shoulders from behind, and yanked him away. The hammer descended, crashing into the ground with a thunderous roar. An energy burst errupted from where it struck, obliterating the Cannibal and anything else nearby.  The asari and the quarian were thrown head over heels as the edge of the burst caught them. When they landed, Rea made sure she was beneath Rothan, holding him, taking the force of the fall.
 
“Are you all right?” Rea turned Rothan's head to face her, trying to see through his visor. She moved her hands over him, to find out if something, anything, had punctured his suit. 
 
“Yes,” Rothan answered, “The suit is fine. My shields held.” He grabbed Rea’s hands to get her to finally stop.
 
“There’s got to be something. How do you know? You need to double check.”  Nothing was threatening Rea or Rothan, and the sounds of the battle were diminishing around them.
 
Rothan, recovering, said, “It is all right, I promise. I’ve been wearing a suit for nineteen years. I know when it’s been punctured.”
 
“Okay, okay.” Rea held him for a brief moment longer, and then she scrambled out. She stood up over him. “No. NO! No, no, no. I had you guarding the rear. That was the plan. You were supposed to stay s….” Rea cut herself off and put her palms to her temples. “What am I doing?” She paced, talking to herself. “Back to the mission. I have to speak with the krogan.” And once again, before Rothan could get up, Rea strode away. She looked like she would break into a sprint.
 
Rothan felt the sides of hs head burning again.  “Bosh’tet,” he cursed.

Modifié par Kel Riever, 07 septembre 2013 - 01:30 .

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

BoL - The Lost Asari XXXVIII

Nasyra had had enough. Nasyra was paranoid. She kept her pistol within reach. This time it was on top of the blanket. The room was so dimly lit, that no one entering would notice. She quickly grabbed it and shot "The Goat" in the left eye with the silenced small calibre pistol. His right eye just went blank when the slug scrambled his brain, and he lost his grip on his firearm and began to slump to the floor. Then she turned her attention to the "The Nose Ring". Marisa just flinched, then dove to the floor.

The Nose Ring had his back turned to The Goat who was supposed to be watching Nasyra. Nasyra slapped a biotic field around the Nose Ring, and lifted him into the air and began to tighten it around his neck. "Oh you're going to ride out the end of the world in style, alright." Nasyra taunted him as he was gasping for air. The Nose Ring just realized they'd picked the wrong room. Marisa was witnessing what her "daughter" was capable of doing.

Marisa was sprawled on the floor and crawled over to Nasyra. Nasyra was laying calmly in her bed not moving her leg at all. Marisa looked up with her brows raised at Nasyra. "Nasyra, stop! This is cold-blooded murder."

"That's right, mother, it's cold-blooded murder. It's nothing less than he deserves. They were going to rape and murder all of us." Nasyra said. "I enjoy killing scum like these two." Her eyes went black, and she tightened her biotic grip.

Nose-Ring started kicking involuntarily, and his eyes began roll back in his head, then his head slumped, and his muscles relaxed. Nasyra felt his brain die and she smiled.

Nasyra looked over at Wyld who was still catching her wind in the corner. "Are you okay?" Wyld was too shaken to answer. Her eyes were wide open, and she was hyperventilating. The administrator was trying to calm her. She was in shock at both what she almost was about to endure, but what she just witnessed.

Marisa had gotten to her feet, her once clean uniform now had blood spatters on it and dirt skids from the floor. She was shaking from the experience, and sat down in the chair next to Nasyra. "You could have just shot him."

Nasyra shrugged her shoulders. "I know, but you heard him. 'We're getting ready to watch the world end. And well, we want to ride the end of the human race out with style. If you know what I mean.' He's done it before. I could see it in his eyes. He got what he deserved."

Marisa was baffled about what to do with this. She was glad to see the two men were dead. They did deserve it. She'd not seen as powerful a biotic as Nasyra, and she frightened her. Nasyra was as powerful as some late age Matrons just before they hit Matriarch stage. 'She really is a perfect candidate for the Spectres. This is what they want. They want people who get the job done without hesitation, and they're going to need replacements. It's better to have her on our side than the other side. I'll just say it was self-defense.'

The administrator was helping Wyld to her feet. She was breathing normally again, and went over to the Nasyra to check her leg. Security arrived at the room and the administrator was talking to them, telling them the situation was under control, and the security officers removed the bodies.

The Asari Captain looked over at the corpsman. "Corpsman Wyld, I know you're a bit shaken right now. What you saw was self-defense, are we clear?"

"Crystal, ma'am." Wyld went to one of the windows, lifted the shade and looked out. The Bucky Valkyr was parked right where she left it.

"May I have a word with you corpsman, in private? Leave your helmet in the room and away from my daughter." Marisa suspected that it had a scanner on it. Wyld complied and she and Wyld walked out into the hall. They walked down the dark hall to an area away from the room and quite private. Only the rats could hear.

Wyld was curious as to what was so bloody important that such an important Asari would go to this much trouble with someone as low rank as a corpsman. "So what do you really want?"

Marisa looked her in the eyes. "I heard some chatter come through on your helm when you first came in regarding a person named Naleena, and that she was in that room. Is this correct?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Where did you get that name?"

"When the hospital checked the dna, that's what came up in the database, ma'am." Wyld said.

Marisa was puzzled. "Which database do they check?"

"The same ones we always check. Alliance and Salarian."

"She's an Asari Commando. Did they not think to check the Asari military database?"

Wyld was a bit puzzled. "Look ma'am. This is an Alliance hospital. We're linked to Alliance and Salarian dna databases, not the Asari and Turian databases. Why is this so important?"

Marisa was panicking a little. "Can we get to a computer terminal?"

"Sure, but why?" Wyld started walking down the hallway toward one.

Marisa was keeping up with her. "The Asari fleet is overhead. Pull my daughter's dna sample and let's link with the Asari database. I can get us in."

Wyld thought about it for a second, then replied to her. "Sure, ma'am. That sounds like a good idea."

They reached an office. There were some people working in there, but there was an empty terminal. There were temporary cubicles thrown up just for the sake of work flow. This area had been kept secure from Reaper attack and it seemed like it would be if this assault were successful. If it failed everyone was ****ed anyway. That's the way they looked at it.

Wyld got on the empty terminal and got into the system. She pulled Nasyra's dna sample and copied it into a temporary file. Marisa got on the terminal and got an uplink to the Destiny Ascension's med bay and linked to the Asari dna database.
Marisa beamed with satisfaction. "There, see? It's a match. Nasyra Soniri, Sergeant, Huntress, Artemis Platoon, decoration: valor, extreme valor 2x, .... promoted to Gunnery Sgt. and that's dated today, she doesn't know?"

Wyld was now really getting curious. "Why is this so important?"

Marisa looked intently at Wyld. "Do you see this insignia? Do you know what it means? It means I report directly to the Council Spectre office. This whole thing is way above your pay grade, and it's way above mine. All I know is that we've got to get these databases reconciled with the Asari database. That means you need to correct the name in the Alliance database to say Nasyra Soniri. I don't know if you're going to be able to get into the Salarian database to do the same thing, maybe if there is a Salarian doctor who can."

"Okay, Marisa, I'll try to make the correction....... It's not taking it." Wyld was a bit frustrated.

"Let me enter my Spectre Office access code and see if that works. Goddess! It took it? Well that takes care of the Alliance. I don't think the Salarians are going to be that easy."

A Salarian doctor was standing behind them and coughed. It was the one who operated on her daughter. "You're quite correct, Captain. The Salarian dna database is not going to be that easy to manipulate. May I ask what you are doing at my desk?"

Wyld stepped in front of Marisa while she bombed out of the screens. "Oh nothing, Doctor."

"Wyld, go check on my daughter. I'll take care of this." Marisa said.

"Yes, ma'am." Wyld beat feet down the hall and returned to Nasyra's room. She nearly ran over an orderly and two nurses.

"Can we step out into the hall doctor?" Marisa asked.

"What do you want, Captain?" The doctor asked her. The doctor was an older Salarian about 29, and was beginning to gray in the face.

"There seems to be an error in the Salarian dna database concerning my daughter's identity." Marisa told him in the gray dimly lit hallway. It didn't help that the walls were painted a blue-gray, and that the military placed white LED strips along the floor for light, either.

The Salarian shook his head. "No. I remember. Your daughter's dog tags say 'Nasyra Soniri', yet dna sample come up 'Naleena T'sarius' in both Alliance and Salarian databases. Salarian database never wrong."

Marisa told him that she recognizes her own daughter, and about the Asari military's database.

"Your database is incorrect. Salarian database correct. Also T'sarius is a dangerous criminal wanted by STG. Good thing her leg is broken and she's going to be out of commission for a few months." The doctor said. "Good time to apprehend her."

"Doctor, I don't know if you're reading me right. I'm from the Council's office. Spectre division." Marisa looked at him directly. "Nasyra Soniri, my daughter, or this Naleena, has been given amnesty. She's a war hero to the Asari people. After the war she's going to be a Spectre. I think you can make a correction in the database, and we can make Naleena go away."

-------------------------------------
Wyld picked up her helmet. Momma was on the other end and started talking. "I'm sorry. I was mistaken. Her name is Nasyra."

Wyld smiled. "It must have been a glitch in the system, Momma. How is the leg, Sergeant?"

"I don't know. How is the leg? Is this going to be as strong as the natural bone?"

"Well considering the doctor put a metal insert inside the bone and you've got this around it, I'd say this leg is going to be quite strong and set off metal detectors in spaceports." Wyld said. Wyld went over to one of the windows and had a look outside for the Bucky Valkyr which was still parked where she left it. "Right. I think it should be set up nice, and you should be able to walk now." Wyld removed the contraption from her leg. "And thanks for taking care of those thugs."

Nasyra began putting on her Commando Leathers. "Before you take off, I want to say good bye to my mom. I might need a ride." She put her AR on her back and her pistol in its holster, and turned her back to Wyld. 

Wyld grinned. "You can stop the masquerade. I'm in on it, Spectre, but I'll play along. Go see your mom. Down the hall, then to your right, second office. I'll wait. And you look good in those."

Nasyra paused for a second and looked at Wyld."Will I be able to go back to dancing after the war with this leg?"

"Yes, but why?" Wyld was a bit puzzled.

"It's great exercise, fun, and well, I sometimes use it during undercover work." Nasyra said. "I should restock before we leave, too."

--------------------------------------
'She's almost as good of a liar as I am.' Nasyra thought about Marisa after the oh **** I've got to kill another one moment which fortunately passed as she walked down the dimly lit hall. She liked Wyld, and besides, Wyld helped her. She saw Marisa and the Salarian doctor having a heated argument out in the hallway about making this Naleena T'sarius disappear from the Salarian database.

She slowed down and deliberately approached the doctor from behind and tapped him on the back of his neck. "I think you should do what the woman asks."

The Salarian jumped three feet into the air. "What are you doing up? A... and where's your cast? Did someone bring one of those bone healers in?"

Nasyra stood there and looked pensively at the doctor. "Here you've been telling her how dangerous I am. Well, here I am. Or, would you prefer the war hero and future Spectre Nasyra Soniri? The choice is yours."

The doctor threw his hands up in the air and walked back into the office. "Alright. Alright... spoiled rotten Asari." The Salarian said as he got into the database and made the "correction", shook his head, and mumbled some other stuff, then hit enter. He showed them the correct information now displayed. Naleena T'sarius was dead.

The two started walking back to Nasyra's room.

"Oh, and by the way, dear, you were promoted to Gunnery Sergeant." Marisa said.

"Really, mother?" Nasyra said. "When did that happen?"

Dr. Silon started muttering and sat down at his desk. "That Asari b*tch thinks she's going to get away with this. I'll fix her as soon as she leaves. I know her real identity. I'll get back into the database and correct it. I'll alert my contacts at STG."

"It went through today." Marisa told her. "You owe me. You owe me big."

"I won't forget, and I'll keep in touch. Thank you, for everything." Nasyra said. "Seems I left something back in the office. Tell Wyld I'll be right there."

"I'll wait."

"No, You go on ahead. It's these stupid pain killers."

Marisa continued down the hall. Nasyra turned, cloaked, and quietly went back down the hall to the doctor's office. 

Dr. Silon was filling out forms and files at his desk. Nasyra noticed a custodial closet in his office. She snapped his neck and dumped his body in there. Then she decloaked in the dimly lit hallway.

Wyld was waiting in the Valkyr.

Modifié par sH0tgUn jUliA, 26 janvier 2014 - 09:35 .

[Redbelle]

After packing up the OSS and putting it back in its bag, Wyld took a moment to sit on the bed and let out a long, deep breath. Then she looked down at the dead bodies in front of her.

The two Outcast’s. One lying in a pool of blood, rapidly congealing around his head. The other whose face had turned blue from biotic strangulation, still lay on the floor. They weren’t going anywhere soon. She rubbed her stomach where Ring Nose had punched her as she looked down at her torso armour. All the wear it had received had resulted in several spider thin cracks, which as she pressed on one, expanded to a deep dark line.

That tore it. Her armour was thrashed. The only real protection it now offered was its barrier system that still worked, but was all but useless against someone who wanted to punch her.

Punch her..... She hadn’t seen it coming. She’d been dropped and left gasping on the floor while her patient and the patient’s, mother? Had been left to fend for themselves. Which, though it had turned out well with both being unharmed. Was still less than an ideal outcome in the long run.

Hospital equipment was still missing. The two bodies would tell her nothing about where or what it was being used for. Or their interest in the bone repair apparatus the administrator had tried to hide from her.... The administrator.

The administrator had bailed. He’d come over and tried to comfort her. Make sure she was alright. But as soon as people started leaving the room, he’d fled.

Wyld’s jaw became taunt. The fact he’d arrived with the two Outcasts, and his behaviour to date, did not spin a good light on his involvement in events. He had something to hide. Maybe he had an explanation, but what ever it was, he owed her answers. Answers she’d be unable to collect.

For all her suspicions she still had a singular goal of making an army available to Bastion. And though her professional medical pride demanded she pursue, what she saw as the rot in the hospital, she knew she didn’t have the time to pursue it to her satisfaction. Best outcome, she’d remove someone who, might, be working to divert resources, for reasons unknown. She’d never know why. For who? If he was working alone? What his motive was?

She tilted her head to the side. Feeling a tense muscle stretch in her neck. Then she smiled. She wasn’t alone.

The medical corps downstairs, who had people running around in the hospital and clinic, would be more than interested in the set of circumstances behind disappearing equipment. The guards would need to be informed of these Outcasts. Babylon had told her of them. How when she’d been pursued by a Banshee she’d run into and been attacked by them before the Banshee caught up and tore them to piece’s before setting it’s sight’s on her.

Wyld felt a weight lift off her. She’d been trying to do so much on her own lately that she felt exhausted. Her armour was a reflection of how she felt. Cracked on the outside, leaving her vulnerable and exposed. She needed to get to grips with this Commander business. Wyld had always thought of herself as a medic first, a soldier second. The war was changing that. She could still be a medic, but her objective view of the war was shifting. Taking in less of the details and more of the bigger picture.

And the big picture told her this facility needed better support. Or just a heads up on the issues so the personnel could get to grips with what was happening here. Having worked in the trenches Wyld knew that there had been more times that she could count, where senior command failed to pass on important information. Information that grunt’s like her could have used to do their jobs to the best of their ability. And in situations of life and death, that was not a statement she made lightly.

Grabbing the bag and her helmet she left the room, took note of the number on the door, and walked to the nearest nurse desk. An overworked man with bags under his eyes sat there typing on his terminal and as she neared, he looked up. “Yes”? He asked. “Can I help you”?

Wyld came to a halt in front of him and leaned forward, propping her elbows on the desk. “Two things. First, can you page a Marisa and Sergeant Nasyra Soniri? Tell them I’ll be outside waiting in the parking lot”?

The man nodded his expression weary. “I can do that. If that’s all”?

Wyld shook her head and leaned in close, her voice dropping. “I think your going to need a clean up in one of your rooms”.

The man’s eye’s squeezed his eye’s shut and shook his head. “Great. Who’s thrown up now”?

“No one”. Wyld told him. “But you’re going to need a mop and two body bags”.

Modifié par Redbelle, 07 septembre 2013 - 10:33 .

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

BoL - The Lost Asari XXXIX
Dr. Silon left his office with his coffee mug after his talk with Nasyra and the Asari Captain. He went to the lunch room and poured the coffee in his mug. The room was a filthy as the rest of the place, but then what would one expect for a war time makeshift hospital lunchroom. They were lucky to even have one, let alone one that had a powered refrigerator.

"Almond milk. Where's my almond milk? Ah, here it is. New container. Love new containers. Fresh. Vacuum packed. 
Get to hear the fiss when opening." he muttered to himself.  

He opened the container and poured a little into his coffee. Then walked down the bleak dark blue-gray corridor to his office. He sat down at his desk, and was looking through his files.

"Hmmm. Have several patients I need to check in with." He took a drink of his coffee. "Ah. Fresh coffee tastes good, too. Not burned today. Excellent. Not too hot either. Nice. Good thing I instructed that Rodriguez kid on how to make it. Good kid. Too bad she's not likely to survive war.

He was about half-way through his cup and set it on his desk. "Why I not feel alert. I'm feeling tired. Want to sleep. Want to... sl....."

Dr. Silon's heart stopped. The two part salarian specific poison would never be noticed. It needed two ingredients: the one that was applied to the neck and absorbed through the skin and caffeine. Cause of death would be ruled: cardiac arrest. He was at that age, and had a stressful occupation.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The supply shack was corrugated metal over some wood 4x4s and chain link. There were motion detectors all over the place. Nasyra looked over the place and smiled, thinking that some rookie would try to break in and get nailed. She knew the best time to steal from this place was when it was open, but then, she was a Commando, so why bother?

Nasyra was sitting on a stool while the supply sergeant was applying the stripes. Sergeant Brooks was a dark haired man in his 40s with brown eyes, a chiseled face and battlescarred face, and a close cropped but scruffy beard. His hair had gotten a bit long and was starting to curl under on his neck, but he simply didn't give a ****. He was not a bad looking man. In his younger years, he would have been handsome. His hair was starting to thin a bit on top, but not bad and he parted it on the right. He wore dark BDUs, but screw the ****ing hat.
 
Nasyra's rank had been verified with Asari command and she was good to go. Captain Soniri was with her and giving her instructions. "Be careful out there. Reapers are a lot worse than those awful men we had to deal with."

"Yes, mother." Nasyra rolled her eyes. "Remember I got run over by a brute, and that's how I ended up in here."

"And don't forget to write. I want to see some pictures of your squad this time." Marisa continued.

Nasyra was making faces at the supply sergeant who was starting to laugh.

"Don't worry, ma'am. She'll be alright. Your daughter's a survivor. I can see it in her eyes. I know the type. She'll get through this come hell or high water, and so will her squad." Then he slapped her on the shoulder. Brooks was finished. "Ain't that right? I'd serve under her any day."

Nasyra held her hand out and the sergeant took it. "Hell, yeah! We're getting through this, and we're going to kick some ass!"

The sergeant was looking over Nasyra's weaponry while he was pulling stock for her. "I haven't seen a pea shooter like that in years. It's a lot smaller calibre than I usually see people carry. Most people carry these large 10 mm pistols these days that just require they hit the target. Last time I saw one of those, I was paired with this guy on a black ops mission against the Batarians before my knee blew out. The guy was so good with it he made 10 for 10 head shots and dropped every single one of the bastards while he was strafing to the left See you hit 'em in the head and the bullet scrambles their ****ing brains. Everyone else was firing stupid ARs and couldn't hit ****. Idiots! Damned fine weapon. You just gotta know how to use it.

"Now this AR is like nothing I've ever seen before. Sweet Jesus! Do you mind?"

Nasyra smiled and handed it to him.

"This is a work of art." He held it up and looked down the sights. "It makes the Cerberus Harrier look like a piece of ****e. Nearly sniper accuracy on single shot, burst shot, full auto, grenade launcher, AP or Warp rounds. Just **** me. Let me guess. You've got the silencer for it. I noticed the threads. And they say Asari can't build weapons? Give me a ****ing break. We got a bunch of goddamn bigots in the press I say." He handed it back to her.

Nasyra smiled and reached into her pack and held up the silencer.

Brooks shook his head and grinned. "I don't supposed you'll need grenades? Preference? You're a biotic, so I'm going to guess you'll want lift grenades, am I right? And you'll need some HP grenades for that launcher. A dozen each should do the trick."

"That'll do it." Nasyra just smiled. Wyld's page came over the com system to meet by the Valkyr. "Hey, that's us. We've gotta go."

Brooks leaned over the counter with a sincere look in his eyes. "Now you listen up. You go out there and kick some reaper arse for me, 'cause I can't do it anymore. And if you get back this way, you look up ol' Brooks here, 'cause I'm buying you drinks. And if there's a place to grab some food open after all this, I'll buy you a dinner, you hard ass. Now good hunting out there."

Nasyra smiled at him. "Thanks for everything. Maybe I'll do that." 'Hmmm. Black ops? Interesting.'
Marisa and Nasyra left the supply shack and walked over to the Bucky Valkyr.

Modifié par sH0tgUn jUliA, 26 janvier 2014 - 09:14 .

[Kel Riever]

Lor Boln guided Rhys’ A-61 Mantis in with light batons. The volus was happy that Rhys seemed comfortable with the gunship now, and worried little about having him land directly outside Camp Bastion's armory next to Farzam’s A-61. Sully watched from the armory doorway, standing next to the camp's salarian doctor. Sully shouted over the wail of the Mantis engines, “Is that going to need a set of reloads like Tempest One?”

“Negative,” Lor called back. He disliked trying to yell with his respirator, but there wasn’t much choice. “They didn’t…see combat. In fact….they are bringing in….missiles.”

“I see ‘em!”

Rhys landed perfectly. When the doors opened, a few privates were on hand to help unload two wounded soldiers and place then on stretchers. Lor noticed the doctor didn’t seem overly concerned and he predicted no one was grievously injured. After the wounded had been disembarked, a hooded N7 stepped off with a small girl in tow. The N7 walked towards Lor, holding the girl’s hand.

“I’m Elaine. Are you in charge of making sure these missiles get unloaded and taken care of?”

“Yes,” Lor answered, “But…who have you got…there?”

“This is Mia. She needs someone to find a place for her, while she waits for her friends to come back from the field. I’ve got to report to a Captain Radcliffe and give him the run down. You’ve got a unit that will be coming in with four Geth Primes.” Elaine curled her lips in a frown.

Lor was taken aback. The Earth Clan girl was almost his own height and stared at him intently with green eyes. He looked at the N7 just to avoid the girl’s intense gaze, “Uh, Geth….Prime you say?” Elaine gave a simple nod.

“You send that tough little lass over here.” Sully had come over and interrupted. He took the girl’s hand, “Don’t you worry, Mia. I’m Sully, this is Lor, and you’re going to be safer here than anywhere else. Come on back and I’ll show you the shop. You can meet some of the other people we’ve got working on things, and we’ll find someone to get you something to eat.”

Mia held Sully’s hand and walked back to the armory with him, but kept looking at Lor. She said as she walked, “He looks like an orange M&M.”

Sully snickered. Lor was confused. Other than referring to his orange suit, he didn’t know what the Earth Clan girl was talking about.

“Yeah,” Sully agreed as he and the girl went inside the armory, “He kind of does.”

Elaine asked Lor where Radcliffe could be found and he pointed her to the command center. Rhys disembarked, approaching Lor as Elaine left. Rhys undid his helmet and thumbed back at the gunship, “Tempest 2 is looking pretty good, Lor, Standard stuff. But those missiles are supposed to be top priority.”

“Don’t…worry about those.” Lor waived him off. “I’ll make sure they’re secure. This is….nothing like unloading ordinance from the fighter-bombers….on Talis Fia…may we remember that place. What is this about….Geth Primes?”

“Oh, they’re on the way, though it will take them a bit of time. Four, like nothing you’ve ever seen. By the way, can you tell me where I’ll find Farzam?”

“Tea…at the pub. He’s trying to take a break. Expects…he’ll be up in the air shortly.”

“Farzam, so serious about his tea,” Rhys chuckled. “No break for me. I’m going to go give Farzam a status report and come back, ready to go, when you’re done with Tempest 2.”

Lor acknowledged, “It won’t be long.”

Modifié par Kel Riever, 08 septembre 2013 - 02:16 .

[Redbelle]

Wyld stood in front of the Valkyr, having left the hospital.

She was both relieved and hopping mad at the same time. And she was having trouble figuring out who to direct her fury at.

“Where were you”? She asked Momma.

“I have been with you the whole time”. Momma replied

“Not you. Her”!

“To which her are you referring”?

“Momma”!

“I'm Momma”.

“Not you, her”!

“We are both Momma. Until we synchronise I am unable to take responsibility for my actions”.

Wyld leant forward and thudded her head against one of the Valkyr's wheel's. “How can you be responsible when it was a separate copy of yourself that didn't come back for me”?

Momma was silent for a moment. “It just is”.

Wyld sighed. “So your responsible but you can't tell me why you did it. Because the knowledge of what happened rests in another you”.

“That is an oversimplification. But essentially yes”.

Wyld shook her head. “So now your in range, can you synch up”?

“I am in the process of syncing now. It seems I made contact with another AI”. Wyld raised an eyebrow. “I also successfully delivered the wounded Ensfield Rifle member's to a Mako Michael's had directed to pick them up”. Wyld nodded. “And it would appear I had to stop while returning to your location as another group of wounded soldier's happened across my path. I could not leave them and decided to transport them to this location”.

“You decided to stop off and help wounded soldiers”?

“Yes”.

Wyld actually smiled. “Good job”.

“Thank you. I was unsure how you would feel, since my decision not to return resulted in your being shot”.

Wyld deflated slightly. “Let's just be thankful it worked out in the end”.

“We appear to have company”.

Wyld turned and saw three people approaching. One was Patterson. The other was the guard she had spoken to at the rear of the hospital. The other she had never met, but from the apron and uniform, Wyld recognised a corpsman when she saw one. Like every other medic in the service in an active war zone, he looked tired. But when he spoke, it was with a singular focus.

“Let's make this quick”. He said looking her up and down. “I've got patients to attend to”.

Wyld nodded and introduced herself. Neither offered their hand. Both knew from the blood stains on the apron where he'd just come from. The man nodded. “Corpsman Blake”. He said. “I got a woman open on the table. This better be important”.

Wyld nodded. Took the bag with the OSS, opened it and held it out for Blake to peer into. He looked inside and sucked in a breath. “Sonova****”.

“The Hospital Administrator tried to hide this from me”. Wyld explained.

“We asked if he had one. He said no. War profiteering”? Blake asked. His tone suggesting this was something he was familiar with.

“Worse”. Wyld told him, and set out what happened in the room where the Outcasts had been killed. “I had the hospital put them in the morgue. Their in there if you want to examine them”.

“What do you think”? Blake asked.

“Greater scheme of things? Waste of time”. Wyld said in response. “But you never know. You may find something that could lead you to them. Maybe find out where all that lost medical gear's gone. You'd be better off tackling the administrator. And while your at it, see if any patient's have been checked out. Your looking for women mostly”.

Blakes eye's narrowed as Patterson and the guard looked at each other. “I'm not getting the picture here”. Patterson said.

Blake straightened and turned to Patterson and the guard. “The picture is we have a potential misappropriation of medical equipment being diverted elsewhere. Equipment we need that could save someone's life. Someone's trading the gear we need to do our jobs for personal gain. And the people"? Blake grit his teeth and took a moment before continuing. "We need to account for everybody. Anyone in or out, with who. I want to know. People may have been snatched right out from under us.... And we didn't see it"! He ended with an angry growl.

Patterson's face looked astonished at the prospect while the guard growled. “You want me to pick up the administrator”?

“Yes”. Blake nodded. “And do it quietly. Take men who are calm under pressure. Then start questioning him. If we can get the details of what's been going here maybe we can get on top of the situation. Anything else”? He asked, turning to Wyld.

“I've spoken to and seen other bodies of Outcast's before”. Wyld said to the guard. “They seem to wear patchwork leather jacket's. The patches can be animal hide. Fabric. Anything they can scavenge. We're dealing with a group of humans who don't care if the world ends or not. There's no law or civilisation to keep them in line any more”. Wyld explained. “That's my take on them”.

The guard nodded. “It helps. I'll get to it”. He was about to move off when he paused. “Commander. If you do send us relief I need something more than troop's to replace the worst off”.

Wyld raised an eyebrow. “What's that”?

“The troops here are equipped for armed combat”. He explained. “You saw how thing's nearly turned ugly at the rear of the hospital. Things can only get worse as time goes on and people become more desperate and all we have are guns. We need crowd control gear. Non lethal ordnance if things kick off and we have to step in”.

Wyld nodded. “I'll see what Bastion has they can spare. Keep reassuring the crowds though. Maybe we can win this war before things get that bad”.

The guard nodded and moved off while Wyld looked back at Blake. “I need soldier's treated here who are combat capable moved to Bastion”.

Blake pursed his lips. “Why not use the treated soldier's here as extra guards”?

“Because we're going to stage an attack on a Reaper POI soon and guarding this place won't help that attack”.

“Then why are you trading soldier's at all? Can't you keep everyone where they are now”?

Wyld pointed to a group of guards standing off by a building entrance. “The problem's not physical fatigue. It's mental stress. The guards here are being pressed by mobs and it's only a matter of time before the mob cracks one of them and we have a weapon discharge”.

Blake blinked. Then nodded as he sighed. “I guess. Yeah. That's possible. Hadn't thought of it”. He looked up. “Looks like we've not seen a lot that's going around here”.

“I've been there”. Wyld said, giving him an encouraging smile. “I know your tired. You have patient's that need you”. She allowed her tone to become stern. “But right now I need someone military to grab this place by the horns and run with all this crap that's happening”.

“Why can't you stay? You seem to have a handle on what's happening here”.

Wyld shook her head. “I've got order's. I have to go back to camp and brief the Captain”. She smiled again. “If it's any help, I've only been a commander since this evening. It's not that hard”. She lied. “Just.... take a step back. Look at what's going on around you. Make it better”.

Blake nodded. “Yeah. Having that gear back would save more people than I could treat. We've had to make do”. He gave her a look. “If your heading to Bastion, could you get them to send some gear our way? In case we can't recover it”?

Great. Something else to organise. “I'll see what I can do. But in the meantime”. She turned to Patterson. “I need every injured soldier whose been treated or able to fight packed in your Mako and shipped to Bastion.” She looked over at Blake. “Maybe we could take the less critical ones too. Make space here for others. Bastion has a medical facility”.

Blake nodded and turned to Patterson. “Let's get it set up”. He said. “Anything else”?

Wyld shook her head and gave him a salute. “Let's get to it”. She said, and they both turned and walked away. Talking about what they were going to do amongst each other.

Wyld leant back against the Valkyr and it took a moment for her to realise that everything was quiet.

She wasn't stressing over details of event's to come. She wasn't worrying about some future event. Thing's here seemed to be in hand. She'd organised and passed it all off to those who had their duty and were better able to deal with all that had occured. She sighed.

Bastion was another matter. As soon as she got back, she'd be up to her neck in problems. Then again, that was where the action was, and that was where the army was gathering. She tapped her helmet. “Momma, we're faster than the Tee-Eff, Misfit convoy right?

“Yes. We can afford to be delayed here and still arrive at Bastion before they do”.

“Sweet”.

“I can also now upgrade Bastion systems by directly interfacing with them”.

Wyld blinked several times. “What”?

“I mentioned that I had interfaced with another AI. Her name was EDI. We only spoke for a micro second but she was very interested in my creation and development path. She also shared several methods for enhancing our communication's and my operating system. I am currently adding these capabilities to myself. I will tell you what further option's they will allow us when I have the options available for use”.

“Okaaaaay”.

Momma was silent for a moment. “May I amend my previous statement about the Asari commando we encountered”?

“No”.

“I believe I may have made an error. Data was changed to reflect her identity, yet more in depth information gathering has.....”.

“Momma....”. Wyld said, thudding her head back against the Valkyr. “This is something we need to keep out of. For now at least”.

“Why”?

“Because....”. Wyld could think of a million reasons, but it all came down to one. “Because I don't care who she is. She's on our side and that's enough for now. If we win, she'll disappear. If we lose. It won't matter. And the bottom line, is that she's not an outcast. She cares if we all live or die”.

“Perhaps she only cares of her own well-being, and has calculated that her odds of survival are greater working with a greater whole”.

Wyld reflected on those words. Then pulled herself up into the driving seat and hit the switch that lowered it down. “I'm going to get a nap. Poke me if Soniri comes over..... And Momma”?

“Yes”?

“I meant what I said about stopping to help those soldier's. You did good”.

Modifié par Redbelle, 07 septembre 2013 - 09:14 .

[FuriousFelicia]

Zia groaned with pleasure, enjoying a tingling sensation that made her hands break in goosebumps as Wyld gently nibbled and licked her earlobes, softly whispering hot breath into her ear. "I miss you Zee..stay with me now." She crooned in Zia's ear. Zia was enjoying so much, she kept her eyes closed as her lips spread in a wide smile. "Mmmm...Wyld..." she moaned.

"Yes it was, wasn't it." A muffled voice echoed in Zia's ears. Suddenly she realized she was dreaming as she opened her eyes and saw Naomi's face towering over her in bed. She was smiling while her eyes lustfully watched Zia's slightly confused face.

"Yes it was." Quickly confirmed Zia giving Naomi a sourish smile. Just as Naomi was about to say something, suddenly a pack of people comes bargin through the door with Ben steering them. They were limping, wounded and in need of a medical treatment. Zia abruptly remembered Radcliffe mentioning two makos coming in. Again she remembered Wyld. A slight notion of excitement and hope sparked in her eyes as she hastly jumped out of the bed, wearing only her underwear. Everyone stopped in their tracks at the sight. Ben broke his way through the mob and stepped in front.

"Alright, alright, what's the hold up?" His voice went silent when he saw Zia standing almost naked in front of the crowd. "What!? You two are still here?" He barked, "Away with you. We've got wounded here desperately in need of a doctor, and you two are fine. Come on, off with ya."

"Dou you mind if we get dressed firs." Zia remarked making a dull face.

"Hurry up, I need to get these people sorted to their beds. We have two people with internal hemorrhaging and one ruptured lung. The rest can wait their turn. Prepare the OR." He instructed Bob hovering by his side.

"Zia, Naomi!" A familiar voice chearfully shouted from behind the crowd. Zia looked to the mob of people before her, and saw a man breaking his way through the crowd. It was Michael's, smiling at them as he got to them and shook their hands.

"How are you, and how are things holding up out there." Zia asked. Michael's scratched his head and then twitched it slightly stiffing his lips, gesting that things were not so well.

"Well thank god, I'm okay, and thank you for asking. I won't lie to you. Things are bad. We've got reapers fighting people, people fighting other people and forming factions. Naturally the scavengers are raging all around, sabotaging and stealing our equipment and supplies, and other civilians are no better. All signs poit out that the apocalypse is
imminent." He stopped to catch some breath.

"Didn't happen to bump in to Jan by any chance? She's on an inteligence gathering duty with the Valkyr somewhere out there." Zia's eyes sparked with inerest as Naomi posed a question.

"As a matter of fact I did." Replied Michael's with a wide smile. "She was at the Churchill's memorial bunker when last time we spoke. I don't know where she is now but she left a message for you." He said looking at Zia. "She said she sends her regards to Naomi and you, and she said to get ready for round two, whatever that means." Zia's mouth curved in a smile when she heard. She knew very well what Wyld ment by it, and she was longing for it.

"Round two?" Flustered Naomi. She didn't get it right away. Zia raised her hand up an nodded. "I get it. It's just a joke." She lied without hesitation trying to maintain a casual face.

"Well anyway, I have to go get this armor patched up, and then I'm off to check in with the brass. I'll catch you two later." Finished Michael's and left in a hurry. Naomi and Zia suited up and gathered their equipment. Naomi looked a little distracted with her mind wandering again. She looked to Zia.

"Zee...you and Jan are just friends, right?"

"What's up with you now?" Zia acted inocent, trying her best to mask her emotions.

"Well you two were close, but now it's just us, right?" Naomi persisted in her attempt to get a straight answer. If the situation was different, Zia wouldn't think a second to respond, and with brutal honesty as well. But not only that the truth would hurt Naomi, which would certainly reflect on her focus and ability to cope with her power, but Zia was also unsure and confused what exactly she felt for Wyld. Zia suddenly found herself in a tight spot between Naomi and her own torn mind. One little harmless lie was one thing, but having to shamelessly lie to a person she cared for was something Zia never expirienced before. If this was just some random guy or a woman she had seduced, Zia wouldn't hasitate to speak her mind, no matter how rough it would be for that person. But not only one's heart was at stake, but also her life and in Naomi's case, probably the lives of every othe breather in the camp. She turned her head for a moment and bit her lip, eluding Naomi's acquisitive stare. She quickly turned back attempting to change the subject.

"Hey, where's your gun?" She exclaimed. Naomi just looked at her bluntly and turned to show her gun hanging clamped on her hip. It was in plain sight all along.

"Zee, everything okay? Are we okay?" Naomi asked with uncertainty. Zia waited for a brief moment before she turned back to face her. She took Naomi's palms and pulled her close.

"Never better." She said with a smile and planted a kiss on Naomi's forehead. "Come now, I'm starving. I've had it with this dry army food. Let's go get some grub and finally I'll get to see that famous pub everyone is buzzing about." She finished and took Naomi's hand as they turned to leave.
Naomi jelled to Ben as they were leaving. "Bye Ben. And thank you again. See you later." He just waved his hand to them while looking at his data pad. "Yes, yes, bye." He panted out in frustration as the infirmary was now full of patients needing his attention. Zia sighed and threw in a quick remark as they were about to step out.

"Oh and doc...you might wanna change the sheets on that bed." She giggled.

Modifié par FuriousFelicia, 08 septembre 2013 - 10:43 .

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

BoL - The Lost Asari IL

Marisa and Nasyra approached the Valkyr. Soldiers were milling about. Security seemed to be on alert since the appearance of the Outcasts, and no one seemed to give a **** that two of them were killed or the manner in which they were killed in the hospital. They were just vermin to be thrown in the furnace after any salvageable materials were removed.

Nasyra looked up at the sky as they walked. It was a nice night. Periodically the full moon would break through the clouds. If it wasn't for the war going on, one would call it a romantic night for a couple. "So, Marisa, are you going to come along to Bastion, or are you going to stay back here?"

Marisa seemed to be in deep thought.

"Marisa!"

"Oh, sorry. I'm guessing the chances of returning to the Destiny Ascension are pretty nil, and I'm not sure I want to stay here with those Outcasts running around." She shook her head and rubbed the back of her neck.

"So you're going to come along, then?" Nasyra asked. "Keeping an eye on your new project?"

Marisa looked over at Nasyra and furrowed her brow. "I guess you could put it that way, yes. And you're not going to do anything stupid with Sgt. Brooks, are you? He seemed like a genuinely nice man."

Nasyra smiled at her and stopped. "Him? Genuinely nice? Ha! That bastard did the same work I did except for the Alliance. Black ops. You heard him in there. He didn't blink an eye the way he described ****. He might be worth a boff after the war. I'm not going to kill him if that's what you're worried about.

"Marisa, with people like Brooks and me, we're instruments for whoever gives us the jobs. We get the jobs done. We do the stuff no one wants to hear who was really responsible for it or who ordered it. It's all about plausible deniability. The difference is I was freelance. You're making me Council. I'll get paid. I'll have a steady job. I'll be happy. The Council will be happy with the results. You'll be happy with the results. It'll be a win-win. I don't see a downside. Now, stop worrying, and come on."

That just blew away Marisa. She'd be a new breed of Spectre. Most Spectres up to now were known and worked with over law enforcement. They acted like law enforcement officers for the Council. Nasyra would infiltrate corporations, organizations, perform assassinations, steal documents, and do the things that the other Spectres were not able to do, and the Council would be able to deny any involvment.

They arrived at the Valkyr. Wyld was jarred awake by Momma poking her "Okay okay. Momma! Stop! I'm awake."

"You instructed me to poke you. Both of the Soniris are here."

Wyld poked her head outside the Valkyr. "So are both of you coming or are you going to be sentimental and say your goodbyes?"

Marisa looked around the mess of the camp. "I'll come along. I'm guessing there are more soldiers in the forward position, and with those Outcasts getting into the hospital. Well..."

"Yeah, she's coming along. And you might want to page Bellarmine and Rodriguez." The Sarge added. "Prangley needs someone to take the heat off of him. I bet he's been catching it."

Modifié par sH0tgUn jUliA, 09 septembre 2013 - 02:24 .

[Kel Riever]

Dale had finally grabbed her second beer, and sat with Farzam and Rhys at the pub. Farzam was intent as he poured himself tea from a miniature samovar in the center of the table. The tea was a deep reddish-brown, and steamed enticingly as it filled his chipped cup. Dale asked, “How did you ever get this contraption?”

“What, the boiler?” Farzam raised the cup to his lips and blew on it. “I think I stowed it away on the A-61 ever since I started piloting it. You want some? Rhys?”

“No thank you, sir,” Rhys answered. “I’ll be airborne soon enough and I’m worried I’ll fall asleep if I have a cup. Even with the caffeine. Besides, isn’t that some sort of religious custom you’ve got or something?”

Farzam chuckled, “Social custom as far as I’ve ever known. Don’t ask me about religions, anyway. Haven’t stepped foot inside a mosque since I was 14. I don’t believe in a god.”

“I won’t, sir. Truth is, I’m just taken by how much work you put into your tea.”

“Why don’t you slide me the datapad with your updates, Rhys.” Farzam picked up the pad the private handed to him and studied it. As he came to the end of the information he was reading, he scratched his chin. “Missiles? Are they expecting to mount them on a Mantis?”

“Doubtful, sir. They’re fairly unique according to a Miranda Lawson, who is in charge of coordinating their use. We aren’t equipped to launch them without heavy modification, which we don’t have time for.”

“We’ve got some company joining the camp,” Farzam said as he gave the datapad back to Rhys. “Dale, we’re going to need to make sure someone’s watching those birds while they’re on the ground. I don’t want anyone poking around them.”

“Oh, sir,” Dale sarcastically replied, “You just like making me work.” She pulled out two cigarettes and handed one to Farzam.

“Thank you,” Farzam added while taking the cigarette. “And sorry. I had a chance to talk to the Captain while we were helping with that…incident with the biotics. It is going to start getting busier around here.” He turned to Rhys, “Need anything else?”

“No, sir. Everything is copacetic. If you’ll beg my pardon, I’ll be off.” Farzam casually saluted Rhys while Dale lit their cigarettes. As Rhys turned to head out the pub door, Zia and Naomi came in. Farzam waved to them.

Zia raised her eyebrow characteristically and came with Naomi to sit down at the table. Zia asked, “No Arok? Oh, and what is that thing?”

“It’s a samovar. For tea,” Farzam proudly answered. “Arok left here about fifteen minutes ago to meditate.”

Nodding once and smirking, Zia pointed to the cigarette in Farzam’s fingers, “I meant, what is that thing? It smells delectable!”

“Oh, this custom rolled beauty?” Farzam took a drag and held the cigarette in front of him. His eyes slid sideways to Dale, “Chef’s specialty. Do you want to share mine?”

Shaking her head, Dale offered, “We’ll share yours, they can share mine.” She handed her cigarette over to Zia who sniffed it and smoked. Her eyes widened as she took it out of her mouth and gave it to an eager Naomi. Zia stared at Dale, “Where did you?...”

Dale placed a finger to her lips. “I didn’t bring enough for everyone. We have to keep it secret.”

Farzam and Dale both noticed as Zia abruptly twitched her lip and looked surprised. Zia peeked over at Naomi, who was distracted waving at Sid. Zia then looked back at Dale and forced a bit of a smirk. “Of course. Let’s enjoy.” Naomi placed her attention on Zia again, pulled her chair closer, and wrapped an arm around Zia’s waist. Zia smiled and took a heavy drag before again surrendering the cigarette to Naomi.

With a questioning glance, Farzam looked at Dale. Below the table edge, so only Farzam could see, Dale swiped her hand steadily sideways, as if to say, “None of our business.”

Modifié par Kel Riever, 11 septembre 2013 - 10:02 .

[Kel Riever]

Gizmo was struggling with a coil of cable as he ran it into the armory. By this point, he and Pepper were regular sights at Camp Bastion, and they were beginning to be easily recognized.

“Back again, Gizmo?” Sully had poked his head around a divider that screened his personal workspace.

“Yeah. Pepper wants me to run cable in here, and hook it up to as large a view screen as you have. Whatever you’ve got. Actually, he’d like to know if you have a few more to spare.”

“Drop the cable, come around here, and let me take a look at my inventory.”

Gizmo placed the coil of cable on the floor, rounded the divider into Sully’s workspace, and stopped. A green-eyed girl was sitting on a tool bench, staring at him. She was covered mostly in dust, but her pale face was wiped clean of grime. The outfit the girl wore was a mish-mosh of scavenged clothing, but her shoulders were covered with two oversized armor pads that had hand painted N7 logos on them. She was probably only a few years younger than Gizmo.

“Uh. Hello,” was all that Gizmo could stammer.

“Our new guest,” Sully said boisterously. “Gizmo, meet Mia. She just came in. I was going to make sure she got herself a hot meal, but if you can take care of that, I can start looking for the view screens you want.”

“Uh, sure,” Gizmo hesitated as he spoke, “Where am I going to get food around here. The pub? The barracks?”

“Nah,” Sully grumbled as he started using a desktop screen to search his inventory, “I can go hungry for the rest of the night. Go ahead and give her a bowl of soup I was going to heat. It’s in a microwave over by the heavy pistol lockers. That’s right next to the M-080 I’ve got lifted over in bay two.”

Mia hopped down and walked up to Gizmo, twisting her mouth slightly. Gizmo noticed a Predator in a worn holster at her side. He exclaimed, “She’s armed?”

Sully rolled his eyes towards Gizmo, “Son, take a close look at that girl. Do you think she just stepped off a shuttle from paradise? I’m going to guess she’s seen some hard times. Now why don’t you give her a hand finding that soup? I bet she’s starving.”

Feeling a bit guilty, Gizmo motioned for Mia to follow. “We’ll get you some chow.” He ambled out from Sully’s workspace and Mia followed. The two headed over to the bay where the M-080 armored personnel carrier Sully had mentioned was raised up on a hydraulic lift. Gizmo saw the lockers, but the microwave didn’t stand out right away. Sully, being busy, probably left something over it, he guessed.

While Gizmo tried to spot it, he made small talk. “So, pretty tough out in the city, huh? You know, the toughest person I ever met was a combat medic. No kidding. Her name is Jerry-Ann Wyld. Seriously, she’s hardcore. I helped put together a tank for her; made it out of spare parts with Pepper…you’ll meet him. We had a beer to send it off. Well, and I had one of my protein bars. Not as good tasting as your soup is going to be, but you know, I’m a little rugged myself....ah, there’s the microwave!” Gizmo pulled an accidentally placed grease cloth off the oven. When he did, something shiny caught his eye at Mia’s side.

The holster at Mia’s hip looked misshapen. Instead of the Predator, some sort of other pistol, with curved edges, was stuffed into the holster. Gizmo asked innocently, “What happened to your gun?”

Mia shrugged her shoulders.

“Did you?...Did you just replace your gun when I wasn’t watching?”

The girl looked down at the holster, and then shrugged again.

“Let me see that.”

Reaching down to the holster, Mia pulled out the pistol. It was white, and clearly much larger than the holster was meant to fit. She gave it to Gizmo.  He examined the pistol and recognized it as a Scorpion.

“This is a salarian weapon,” Gizmo said in wonderment. He turned it over and noticed an engraving on the handle, “Doctor Ben O’Reilly. No way. This is his personal side arm. He must have kept it in here…well, he never seems to need it…did you take this from the lockers…hey!” When Gizmo peered up, he saw Mia had a bowl of soup in her hands and was drinking from it.

“How did you?...Never mind. Don’t drink that cold.” Gizmo took the bowl of soup out of Mia’s hands, put it in the microwave, and set the timer, “Besides, you’re supposed to use a spoon. There’s got to be one of those lying around here…” He felt something like wind at his side. Gizmo about-faced, only to be hit in the nose with a small, wet, crumpled ball of foil. Mia stood in front of him with a protein bar in her hands. A chunk had been bitten off straight through the wrapper, and she was chewing heavily. Gizmo reached down to the pouch where he kept his protein bars and noticed it was open.

Gizmo stood amazed. Eventually he found his words, “Hey, you’re kind of cool!”

Modifié par Kel Riever, 11 septembre 2013 - 10:05 .

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

The Asari sitting around the bar drinking with Clark and the gang were getting pretty rowdy, and wanting to party a bit.

"Hey, so you was asking if we could dance, Banes?" Ranassa asked. "You got any electricity in here?"

Sid started getting a few ideas. "Hey sarge, can we fire up the generator? We got a jukebox. And there's a 10' long, 2" pipe out in the yard. Banes, why don't you go out there, clean it up, and bring it in, and jam it right about there. The ceiling is a bit low there. Let these girls have some fun."

Clark got an evil grin. "Banes, get your arse moving."

[Redbelle]

Wyld, Marisa and Nasyra waited for Bellarmine and Rodriguez to arrive after Wyld paged them. As they waited, Wyld saw Patterson's Mako disappear. Filled with troops and four jet bikes, he'd been adamant they couldn't just leave behind.

After Bellarmine and Rodriguez arrived, Wyld directed them into the back seat's with Marisa while Nasyra took the shotgun position. She sat with one arm on the sill, her hand under her chin. A pose that reminded Wyld of Zia, she hoped, waiting back at Bastion.

Nasyra caught Wyld looking, out of the corner of her eye. “Yes”? She asked.

Wyld shrugged. “You still look good”.

Nasyra smile screamed, I know, as she resumed looking out while Marisa leaned forward. “I hope you don't have intention's towards my daughter”.

Wyld tugged on the Kestrel and the HUD lit up. “I assure you ma'am, my intention's towards your daughter are as pure as snow”. She looked over to Nasyra again. “It's just you said you could dance. I dance. I'd like to see you dance sometime. I like to pick up new things”.

Nasyra looked over. “My dancing can be intense sometimes, for those who watch”.

Wyld fired up the engine. “Dancing's just intense for me”.

Nasyra looked down at her prosthetics. “You must really love it if you didn't let that stop you”.

Wyld was silent for a moment. Then she put the Valkyr in motion and they surged forward. “Okay”! Wyld called to everyone. “We're hooking up with a convoy and making our way to Bastion with them”.

“Why”? Marisa called back.

“Because I want Bastion to see us roll in together”.

“Why”?

“Because....”. Wyld called back. “I've never led a convoy into a camp before. You've seen those films of the all conquering hero returning? It's a to do on my bucket list”!

“That's immature”!

“I know”!

Marisa snorted and leant back with her arms folded. Nasyra however had a question. “What's a bucket list”?

[Kel Riever]

Hugh jumped up with a fist in the air as he watched a krogan dispatch the last Marauder by back-fisting it into the side of a building. He was exhilarated, and as Hugh took visual count of his fellow Misfits, he saw none were even wounded. “Yeah! We kick total ***!”

Riptide came up to him. “That felt really good.”

“Didn’t it?” Navarro patted his own rifle. “At this rate, we’ll be legends in no time. Bigger than the MisQueen.”

“The what?” Hugh glanced at Navarro skeptically. “You believe in that?”

Navarro shrugged his shoulders, “Well come on. We’re not the only band of Misfits running around. And do you really think we could all keep up barely eating if we weren’t trading food and guns? Do you really think everything we’ve gotten comes from scavenging?”

“Well, everything we’ve gotten comes from scavenging," Cole commented as he caught up with the front line Misfits. “I don’t remember any gifts being sent down to us from some nobility.”

“No, Navarro is right,” Riptide said, utterly serious. “I heard the MisQueen runs everything, and she’s a krogan who stands nine feet tall and shoot’s biotic fire from her hands.” Riptide looked over at the giant Warlord. “Maybe that’s her husband.”

Hugh squeezed one eye nearly closed. “Are you kidding me? I’ve heard rumors like the Queen is a volus who pay’s mercenaries to keep her protected. At least someone could believe that story.”

One of the other Misfits chimed in, “I heard the Queen is indoctrinated and takes those she thinks will serve the Reapers to be husks. We should feel lucky she doesn’t want us.”

Another misfit excitedly postulated, “I heard the Queen is the former monarch of this country and has gone into hiding!”

Hugh and a few others snickered. Hugh then rubbed his hand over his head. “I think the part about hiding I could believe because I’ve never seen the MisQueen.” He watched as Rea walked quickly over towards the krogan and Rothan picked himself up off the ground. Something seemed odd about the two, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

Modifié par Kel Riever, 09 septembre 2013 - 07:55 .

[Redbelle]

The guard atop the watch tower put down his oculars, not fully sure what he was seeing. Still, Radcliffe had given the watch team orders. He turned to his companion. “Commander Wylds with them. I'm think it's safe”.

His fellow guard nodded and turned to call down to the gate operator. “Open the gate”!

On the ground, another guard threw a switch and the two gates began rolling apart. As they drew far enough apart everyone who could see saw the Bucky Valkyr approaching followed by a motley collection of vehicles.

The majority of the vehicles where trucks, some large, some small. On the backs poking out, the Bastion personnel could see men, woman  and aliens alike. Some dressed in what looked like rags. Other's, all human, in security force armour. Some of whom held guns.

One of the guards motioned to another. “Better get the Captain”. He comrade nodded and ran off as the Valkyr entered the walls and moved past. To allow the other vehicles access. As it did, Wyld poked her head up and shouted.

“Everyone's to be allowed inside! Get guard details mobilised on key areas. Let Radcliffe know I found him an army, and then some”! Her voice faded as she kept moving past and the trucks with people of nearly every race represented among them, rolled on through. Faces caked in filth, while other that were scrubbed clean peered down at the guards with mistrust and suspicion while the guards resisted the urge to point their weapons at the those Wyld had vouched for.

“Kodiak s incoming”. Someone from the wall shouted and the guards looked up to see a small fleet of civilian model Kodiak s slowly swooping in from the sky”. One of the guards was about to shout to another when a voice boomed out from behind them.

“Attention gate guards and air control”. Came Wylds voice. Guards looked over and saw the Valkyr had come to a halt and Wyld was standing on the bonnet. An MP stood under her carrying a mobile PA system while she held a microphone to her mouth. “Attention all. All incoming ground and air unit's are to be allowed entry and landing. Hold all personal in the areas they are in and await further instructions”!

The guards turned back to the procession which now included a truck containing Alliance soldier's. The words, Ensfield rifles, hastily written on the side. “Hell knows what orders those'll......”. The guards turned around again to see a shocked Wyld staring down at the microphone which was held at her waist. Bringing her other hand up to her face she snapped her finger's and the sound came out loud and clear over the PA. “Is this thing omni-pickup? Turn it off! Fer crying out loud.... Turn it. Look just shut it down! Just shut it....! Okay, just put it down and step back”!

The MP beneath her hurriedly put it down as Wyld suddenly jumped off the Bonnet and landed on top of the PA system, crushing it beneath her feet. She gave the scraps a kick for good measure and gave the MP a thumbs up.

The guards looked at each other in mirth and turned their attention back to the procession. The trucks now held containers and objects covered in tarps. One however was uncovered and the soldier’s gawked as they saw a YMIR mech, with it's arms perched atop the cabin, riding the truck with all the rapt attention of a dog with it's head above the wind shield. It swivelled it's massive head, locking it's two red eye rings onto the guards as it raised it's rocket arm. The guards found themselves being waved at, as the YMIR moved along with the procession. Finally, bringing up the rear, came the more common form of several of Bastion's Mako's which drove inside. And stopped as the path to the Mako bay's were now blocked with trucks and civilians who were climbing out, only to be directed back by the MP's and guards standing near them.

The guards who had allowed them entry looked at each other. Shook their heads. “Let's close the gates”. Said one, and the gates rolled closed. Sealing all those who had entered in side the base.

Modifié par Redbelle, 09 septembre 2013 - 08:27 .

[Redbelle]

Radcliffe came striding out of the command centre and in no time at all, he was surrounded be the military's idea of bedlam. Insanity running rampant. Humans and alien's of all shapes and sizes roamed, or were trying to roam the base, but kept being moved back, politely but firmly, by Bastion's own guard. He shook his head and grabbed the arm of one MP who was running past.

“Get everyone trained in civilian crowd control out here now”. He growled. The MP saluted and ran off while Radcliffe began to wade through the sea of people.

He spotted the differences between the people he rubbed shoulders with nearly right away as he elbowed through. The ones who seemed caked in dirt and grime stood side by side with alien's who were in the same condition. The one's who wore the fancier armour's were all human. All stood a little straighter and were more focused on their surroundings. Almost military, Radcliffe thought. Almost, but somehow, not quite.

He continued shouldering through, following a voice that seemed to come from the centre of the medley. Someone bumped into him from behind and he stifled the urge to turn and tell whoever it was to look where they were going. His once orderly camp had been reduced to mayhem in short order. And he knew, just.... somehow, he knew who was responsible as he broke through a crowd to emerge in front of a Mako access hatch. In front of which, stood Wyld.

“Captain”! She greeted him cheerfully. “I found that army you wanted”!

Radcliffe took her arm and walked her away from the hatch a couple of feet. “That I wanted? Wyld! When I said I wanted an army, I meant pull every alliance unit you could off the field”!

Wyld's cheerful demeaner evaporated as she saw the look in Radcliffe's eyes. “Sorry sir, you didn't make that clear at the time. Though I did find Alliance unit's out there”. She gestured at the hatch as someone began emerging. “They answer to him”.

Radcliffe turned and saw the massive frame of a Solider with his helmet in hand, walk out the Mako. Radcliffe spotted his insignia. “You found an N7”? He asked turning to Wyld.

Wyld blew out a breath of exasperation. “He's sort of an N7. He's Commander Steiner”.

Radcliffe felt a smile creep onto his face as he turned and offered his hand to the man who stood, blinking as he looked around. “Commander Steiner. Welcome to Bastion. It's good to have you here”.

Steiner looked at Radcliffe. Looked down at his hand. Looked up at Radcliffe again. “Drink”.

“I'm sorry”? Radcliffe asked.

“Drink. Booze. Somewhere to rest my men. And the men she had brought here”! Steiner rumbled pointing to Wyld. “Where are they”!

Radcliffe's eye's narrowed. “Medicals over there. Pub's down the street.... Listen Commander.....”.

But Steiner was already moving away calling to his sergeant to fall his men in. Radcliffe turned to Wyld. “That's the hero of the resistance”?

“Yes sir”.

“He's not what I was expecting”.

Another figure emerged and Wyld pointed. “It's her fault”.

Radcliffe turned and out of the hatch came two Volus in ornate suits who turned and began throwing confetti into the air above the hatch. Before Radcliffe could ask what they were doing a dark skinned woman stomped out of the Mako wearing a pristine white wedding dress. “Stop doing that”! She yelled at the Volus, who ignored her and carried on throwing confetti. “And for the love of everything holy! Someone give me a cigarette”! She spotted Wyld standing behind Radcliffe. “Your dead Wyld! I don't know how, when or where. But I shall run such a smear campaign on you that you'll.....you'll....”. She tried to find the words. And failing that, bent down, picked off her shoes and threw them at Wyld who ducked behind Radcliffe.

“That's Amy Babylon sir......” She explained as the shoes bounced off Radcliffe's chest. “She's complicated. And Steiner's publicity manager. And a media hound”.

Radcliffe starred at Babylon who was trying to calm down. “Welcome to Camp Bastion”.

Babylon glared at him and stalked off, Volus throwing confetti, trailing behind her as another Volus came out behind them, pulling a string bag full of armour with yellow and black stripes.

Radcliffe rubbed his eye's. “Please tell me.... And I mean this in all sincerity commander. That you have not collected any more people like this to help us win the......”. He stopped abruptly as a YMIR mech strode past, opening the crowd before it as it trundled through. Spotting Radcliffe, it waved it's rocket arm, then continued to stride through the crowd who closed in around it as soon as it had passed. Radcliffe starred after it. “.......war”?

“Aside from the mech aspect of the army. That's all sir”.

Radcliffe sighed in relief.

“Apart from the last two”.

Radcliffe felt his teeth clench. He counted to five, relaxed, turned around. Looked down at Wyld. “Who”?

“Me”.

Radcliffe turned and saw a man wearing a suit and tie, followed by other suits and ties, on either side of the procession were men in dark jackets and sunglasses. Something about them shouted, politicians.

The first man in the tie strode up to Radcliffe. He radiated charisma and Radcliffe found himself instinctively wanting to trust him. The man was well groomed. Had a thick set of hair that came down like a lions mane that set off his beard nicely. He looked like a lion Radcliffe thought. Well groomed and immaculate. Completely out of place among those in armour and rags.

The man reached out a hand to Radcliffe. “My name is Wilson Armitage. I am the elected leader of the Terra Firma party”.

Radcliffe grasped the hand. Found Armitage's grip to be, not to soft, not to strong. “Pleased to meet you”. He said as Armitage withdrew his hand. He then pointed to Wyld.

“I assume you are the commanding officer of this solider”?

“Yes, she's under my....”.

Armitage interrupted. “Captain. I must ask you to arrest her immediately. Her actions compromised a secure, undetected military facility and could have resulted in Reapers cornering my people in our bunker let rats”. He glowered at Wyld who stood forward to stand beside Radcliffe.

“Sir”. She said. “While I can say that I did things which, may, be interpreted as not entirely according to regs. I can categorically confirm that I did not reveal these people to the Reapers”.

“We have records of her transmission's directly pointed at Reaper forces and their response. She beamed a signal to hostile forces from a facility that was outside of Reaper detection”!

Radcliffe listened. Then turned to Wyld. “What happened”?

Wyld took a deep breath. “I faked a Reaper force coming at the bunker sir”.

“It wasn't fake”! Armitage insisted.

“Begging your pardon sir, but it was”. She turned to Radcliffe. “The Tee-Eff were getting ready to stomp out the Misfit's who were camping their front door”.

“We were besieged”. Armitage said.

“That's correct sir”. Wyld confirmed. “The Tee-Eff were being besieged and they decided the only way to resolve the problem was to kill the Misfit's. I therefore elected to save both groups. Originally there was a plan. The plan fell through. So I improvised and used the Mako force to simulate Reaper signals that we used to convince both groups that Reapers were coming and that both groups had to evacuate”.

Armitage scoffed. “A fanciful tale, commander.....”.

“The Mako crews will back me up sir. I realise it was underhanded but I wasn't about to let these people kill each other”.

“Those Misfit's couldn't hope to defeat us”. Armitage said confidently. “We had mechs. Mechs' she stole from us”! He pointed to the lumbering YMIR who now seemed to be standing guard with the rest of the MP's, who didn't seem to know what to make of the help. “Those mech's are the property of the Tee-Eff. You have no right to them”!

Wyld took a step forward, her temper starting to flare. “If I hadn't taken those Mech's from you, you'd have walked into the Misfit ambush and had your first wave cut to ribbons. Then your second..... Then your third!” She turned back to Radcliffe. “Sir, yes the Misfit's are not equipped or trained as a modern army. But they have received training in guerilla tactics. They've been trained by the MisQueen and.....”.

“ENOUGH! Both of you”! Radcliffe looked between Armitage and Wyld. “Wyld, get these people organised. I want this area clear and able to deal with our Mako's again. Find places for these people. We'll deal with their effectiveness when we know who we're dealing with”.

“And you”. Radcliffe said, swivelling his head around at Armitage. “Rest assured. I shall be looking over the mission reports of Wylds excursion. If there is anything that indicates she did something serious enough to warrant action. I assure you, I will take it”.

He fixed Armitage with a glare as Armitage opened his mouth to argue. “No more Mr Armitage. That's how it's going to happen. If you have reports I'll add them to what I look over”.

Armitage seemed to sense he wasn't going to get any more out of Radcliffe. “I see, well then. I'm sure your busy”. He turned and left them as Radcliffe rounded on Wyld.

“What did you do out there”?

Wyld suddenly looked very tired. “Aside from the army I brought? I was abandoned Alliance forces. Shot by the Reapers. Nearly hauled off as an Outcast pleasure slave.....”. She looked up and Radcliffe saw, beneath the fatigue, a cold simmering rage brewing beneath the surface. “You were right. Before I left, when you said we were losing discipline in the ranks? Steiner refused order's to come to Bastion”. Wyld shook her head. “Look, sir. I'll have it all on your desk. But before that, there is one more person you need to meet”.

“Who”.

Wyld turned and Radcliffe looked over to see one more figure in the shadow of the hatch.

“Captain. May I present, the Queen of the Misfits”.

The figure emerged from the hatch and Radcliffe shook his head and said under his breath. “You gotta be kidding me”.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

BoL - The Lost Asari XLI

Nasyra was still sitting the shotgun seat of the Valkyr, and she wasn't very impressed with all this activity going on outside either. She popped her head outside and the back in again, then turned to Marisa.

"Hey, 'Mom'. There's two thing that make me sick. One is reading about all this chest pounding military **** done by these humans, and the other is actually listening to it. No offense, Rodriguez, Bellarmine." Nasyra adjusted her sitting position to look more directly back. "I happened to see a sign over in the middle that said 'Pub' on it. If I'm not mistaken, that means they've got some alcohol in there. What do you say we just slip out of this vehicle and walk over there and get us some drinks?"

"What about the Captain?" Marisa asked.

Nasyra just scoffed. "Pull ****ing rank on him! You're Asari Navy, and Spectre Office, and I'm under your command. He can't do ****, and you two are with us. Come on, let's go."

The four of them exited the Valkyr and started walking toward the pub. Wyld was still going back and forth with Captain Radcliff, and Radcliff almost didn't notice, but then shouted at them. "And just where the hell do you think you're going?"

Nasyra opened her mouth first and had some attitude. "I'm going to get a drink at the pub."

Radcliff was taken back. "You'll wait. You haven't been cleared yet. We might need you for a push. And cut the attitude."

"They've just been cleared, Captain." Marisa stepped forward in her now filthy dress uniform. "These three are with me."

Nasyra gave Wyld the "see you for drinks" sign. Wyld sighed with frustration.

Radcliff was flustered. "Sorry ma'am. I didn't see you there. And you're Spectre Office. I see. No problem. Sorry for the inconvenience. Go on ahead."

Nasyra gave Marisa the "Yes!" hand signal. Marisa just shook her head. Reilly and Rodriguez were cracking up. Nasyra opened the door for Marisa and the pub suddenly got quiet and everyone snapped to attention, even the Ranassa who was on the pole.

"As you were." Marisa said but it was still measurably quieter

Rodriguez, and Bellarmine entered. Jack and her squad let out a holler for them.

Then the sarge made her dramatic entrance doing backflips, and Artemis let out a cheer.

Ranassa was up closest to her, and approached her and threw her arms around her. "Sarge! What the **** are you doing back? I thought your leg was broken?"

The Sarge smiled that smile she always gave them during those bonding moments. "I missed you guys. And some corpsman named Wyld came in with some bone healer and fixed it. So, here I am. Oh, and this is my mother, Captain Marisa Soniri."

Ereba was grinning from ear to ear. "Hey Sid. Pour our girl a tumbler. Two fingers. Your best. Same for her mother."

"And a Shirley Temple for Rodriguez!" Jack hollered.

Sid handed the sarge her drink. "So what the hell you guys been doing since I've been gone? Pole dancing and getting drunk?" The Sarge asked.

Ereba looked at Nasyra and said, "You don't want to know. Really. You don't want to know."

"Ereba! Come on!" Nasyra was on pins and needles now. There was a story, and she knew it. Clark was laughing.

"I've already told it once. Let's see who is good at telling stories.... Erikka?"

"Huh? What? Hey did you ever buy me a new power cell?" Erikka asked.

Ereba laughed. "No not Erikka. Shayrana is busy talking to your mother, and from the looks of it she's telling her about our last journey. So that leaves either T or Ranassa."

"I'm not telling any stories. No. Not me. No one listens anyway." T went on.

"So I guess that leaves Ranassa." Ereba laughed. Ranassa put her palms up 'you win' position. "I'm feeling good right now and I'm going to do some dancing." Sid cranked up some music on the old juke box for her and the stainless steel pipe did a fine job for a dancing pole in the old pub.

Ranassa told Nasyra the whole story about everything that happened after she, Rodriguez and Reilly left. It was told quite a bit more colorfully than Ereba told the story. They knew eventually they would have to rejoin this war, but for now this respite and reunion was wonderful. There were few reunions that happened during this war.

Nasyra felt good to be back with her squad. It was the only family she'd known in her life. She'd been with these people day and night for six months. She could almost let her guard down with them. She hated herself at times for not being able to do that. But she vowed to protect them, and guide and teach them the skills needed to be the most bad ass squad in the Asari military. After hearing the story from Ranassa, she knew she had succeeded.

[Khambilo]

Rothan wiped the dust off his suit while Rea spoke with was speaking with the hammer-wielding Krogan. The other Krogan were moving in as well.

“What’s this?” Said one of them. “The Alliance must really be desperate if they’re recruiting kids.”

“We ain’t with the Alliance,” Hugh spouted. “We’re the Misfits! You could say we’re assisting the Alliance.”

Another Krogan nudged the one who spoke. “See, desperate.”

“Though that biotic display was quite impressive,” the third Krogan said. “Which one of you whelps was responsible for that?”

Hugh pointed over his shoulder to Rothan. “That distinction belongs to our Quarian friend.”

The Krogan seemed a little miffed, exchanging looks of annoyance and disbelief to each other. Rothan shuffled uncomfortably. His recent run in with Rea had reminded him of what Miranda had said before the skirmish began.

Miranda stepped forward as she holstered submachine gun. “Are you some of Urdnot Wrex’s men?”

The first Krogan nodded, ”I’m Plog. This here is Zahn, Bruug, and Kayder.” He pointed to the others as he listed them off, each nodding.

Miranda nodded. “I remember you now,” she said. “Krogan volunteers for missile duty.”

“Into the heart of Reaper territory and glorious battle,” Zahn said. “With the promise of bringing down a reaper at the end of this… Lady, you know the way to a Krogan’s heart.”

“Although I don’t recall seeing him with you,” Miranda said, pointing to the giant Krogan Rea was speaking with.

“He’s not clan Urdnot,” Zahn said. “He’s Clanless.”

“You mean he’s not one of you,” Hugh asked.

Kayder shook his head. “He is clanless. Pledged to no one. He renounced both clan and name... for killing.”

Rothan looked to Clanless. He towered over Rea, yet somehow she was carrying what seemed to be a coherent convestation with him.

“Ordinarily being clanless would be an insult,” Plog helped clarify. “But he’s crazy, even for a Krogan.”

“A clan would just get in his way,” Bruug agreed. “How Wrex got him to join up beats me.”

“What beats me is how one of you numbskulls busted our Tomkah,” Plog said as he elbowed Zahn and Bruug. They each glared at him.

“I might be able to do something about that,” Rothan said.

“Better be quick,” Bruug grunted. “We need to get moving again.”

That was as close to a thank you as Rothan was going to get. Rothan reminded himself that most Krogan were not like Arkeer.

Rothan moved forward. Fixing the Tomkah would get his mind off of things, allow him to cool down. He casted a sidelong glance at Rea while he moved towards the Tomkah.

“I’ll lend a hand,” Miranda said, jaunting forward to catch up with him. Rothan bristled a little, but allowed himself to relax. Miranda seemed like the alright sort.

The Krogan began issuing orders to the Misfits to keep watch, much to their chagrin, while Miranda and Rothan moved for the Tomkah.

“You really think you can repair this thing?” Miranda said.

“It’s Krogan engineering,” Rothan shrugged. “How hard can it be?”

Miranda laughed slightly as they made it through to Tomkah. It’s didn’t take too long to assess the situation. A control circuit had shorted, preventing communication between the Tomkah’s rudimentary computer and it’s engine.

Miranda helped Rothan by removing the access panel to the Tomkah’s computer as Rothan lowered himself down on his back to get an accurate view the circuitry.

“Keelah, I haven’t done this since the Ketsa,” Rothan said as he set to work with his omnitool.

“Think you’re up for the challenge?” Miranda asked.

“Absolutely,” Rothan nodded, setting to work. How the Krogan could even stand being in here was nothing short of a mystery to Rothan. It was cramped, even more so by Krogan standards, and there was this peculiar rotting smell permeating the air.

Miranda had found the tool kit the Krogan were using to attempt the repair. Whenever Rothan’s omnitool couldn’t do the job she handed him one of the cumbersome Krogan-size tools.

It was taking Rothan longer than he had hoped. Another plate within the circuit board was blocking Rothan from accessing the the exact area in which the short had occurred. On top of that, the screws holding the plate in place had been stripped, probably by the Krogan’s attempts to do the repairs. The source of the problem was just so close, yet so far away.

Why guard the back? Rothan thought as he torqued the wrench to the side. She knows we’re stronger when we’re together. Right?

His movement on the wrench had come to an abrupt halt. Something was preventing him from moving forward.

Come on! It’s not like we haven’t proved that! Like when we cleared out those husks with Ereba’s squad.

Rothan applied extra force, hoping to strong arm this bolt out. It was not budging.

And then Miranda? What was she implying about Miranda? Yes, we talk easily together, but we just met! She can’t possibly think— Not after what I showed her--

The bolt groaned a little bit, but still did not move.

Ugh, besides, there are other more important things to think about right now…What reaction could she be trying to provoke? Why does she want to? Why is she being such a bosh’tet!

The bolt slid out of place, but the extra force Rothan had applied caused his arm to whip back, smacking his hand off the back panel. Rothan yelped as he moved to clutch his hand and ended up smacking his head in the process.

“Are you okay?” Miranda asked. She moved forward, as if to inspect his hand but Rothan moved it away.

“What did you mean ‘she’s just trying to get a reaction out of me’?” Rothan yelled.

Miranda blinked. “What?”

“What you said, before the battle!”

Miranda suppressed a smile. “You mean Rea.”

Rothan sat upright. “Of course I mean Rea!”

“Its one of those things you have to realize for yourself.” Miranda shrugged.

~~~~~

The booming music has long since been dialed back. The drone had seen to that as Joker had passed out over the bar and many others had simply gone to sleep. Shepard and Liara had retreated from the party, but a few stragglers remained awake.

Miranda sat by the fire. Parties were never really her thing. Never enough time or desire, but it was good to see old friends, everyone gathered together one last time.

Even some of the new faces. James. Steve. Samantha. Javik. EDI.

EDI. There was a new face if ever there was one. Still it was good to see that the same effect Shepard had had on her was working on them.

Wrex was having a conversation with Zaeed in the kitchen, both clutching beers in their hands while Kasumi, who instead of cloaking about the party, actually decided to participate now and looked to be in a deep conversation with Javik of all people.

Miranda leaned back into the chair, closing her eyes and taking a deep relaxing breath.

“Sleepy?”

She opened her eyes, looking up to see Jacob. He smiled warmly, holding a bottle of champagne in one hand and two flutes in the other.

“Not really.” She said. “You?”

He shrugged. “Nah.”

She arose out of her seat, taking one of the champagne flutes from Jacob.

“As I recall the last time we split one of these was on the Arcturian Jade,” Miranda said. “After all that business with Jath’Amon.”

“That long, huh?” Jacob said. “Looks like this is overdue.”

Miranda smiled a little as Jacob popped the bottle and poured the champagne.

“I’m surprised, Jacob,” she said. “This nostalgia isn’t like you.”

Jacob cast a look back into the apartment. “I think we’re all feeling a little nostalgic.”

Glasses in hand, they strolled to the wide open windows peering out into the neon chaos of the Citadel.

“So then,” Miranda took a sip. “Let’s talk nostalgia. Any regrets about that particular incident? Jath’Amon and the batarians?”

Jacob continued looking outside. “None.”

“Really?” She asked. “You could have been the next Commander Shepard after that incident. Instead you joined Cerberus.”

“As far as I’m concerned, there can only be one Commander Shepard,” Jacob said with a laugh. “Besides, I like where I’m at now.”

Miranda nodded as she looked to him. “That’s right. I heard that you had gone family man on us. Congratulations by the way.”

“Heh, thanks. Brynn and I… we’re incredibly grateful.” Jacob looked back to the Citadel skyline. “Provided this all ends right.”

Both painfully felt the pause. Everyone had been trying to avoid talking about the war. This night was meant to be one last escape from that.

Jacob looked up. “You know there was a time when you and I—“

“Please,” Miranda stopped him. “I mean it when I say that I’m happy for you.”

“Okay,” he said with a smirk. “Though, you can’t tell me though that someone else hasn’t come along and tried to whisk the mighty Miranda Lawson off her feet.”

“Really,” she laughed. “I don’t think I would have the time. I’ve got my sister to look after. Oriana can’t help but get herself into trouble.”

“Uh-huh,” he said skeptically. “You know for the longest time I though maybe you and Shepard—“

“Come on, I saw the way you looked at Tali when she first came onto the ship.”

Jacob flustered, unsuccessfully hiding his alarm. “What? No!”

“You started this,” Miranda smiled. “I’ll have you know.”

Jacob groaned as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Fine.”

The mood sobered slightly as Miranda turned back to the window. “What a night…”

“One for the record books, for sure.”

She turned one last time to Jacob, raising her glass. “Thanks, Jacob.”

“For what?”

“For being normal.” She said. She quickly clarified, “These last few months have been… exhausting. It’s good to finally get back with an old friend. For things to feel like old times.”

“True, true.” He raised his glass, meeting hers in a neat clink. They both drank deeply from their glasses.

“You know I spoke with Shepard, right here just the other day,” Miranda said.

“Yeah, I met up with him recently too.” Jacob said.

“You don’t think he’s making his rounds…” she thought aloud. “Saying his goodbyes.”

“I don’t know.” He said ruefully. “Maybe that's what tonight was really all about…”

Modifié par Khambilo, 11 septembre 2013 - 04:50 .

[Kel Riever]

Rea stood on the beach again. Rothan was standing just behind and next to her. He was working with a set of tools to get underneath the skin on her back. She felt tugging near her spine, but felt no pain.

I almost have it out, Rothan said, comforting Rea. He pulled something out, and brought around a pair of tongs to show her the object they clasped. It was a small, wiggling, black shrouded figure. Rothan placed the figure in his palm and shut his hand. When he opened it again, the shrouded figure was gone. Rea lifted her chin so she could see him. For some reason, Rothan wasn’t wearing his visor, yet she was unable to make out his face. Instead, a fog covered his visage. Through the fog, Rothan’s voice said, I’m here for you. You can depend on me.

The daydream stopped abruptly and Rea took a breath. She scolded herself, You are about to speak to a krogan who could snap your neck with his little finger. Keep it together. In front of her, the hammer-wielding giant stood, a living monolith. Rea noticed the heavy plates of his armor weigh upon him, and his chest moving slightly in exertion, but that he forced himself to stand proudly.

Posture could be everything when interacting with a krogan, a fact Rea had been trained in as a force integration specialist. She squared her shoulders, strode up to the old krogan well inside his reach, cast her eyes up to him, and said, “I see you fought fairly well.”

The giant krogan shifted to lean on one leg and raised the hammer over his shoulder. Again, Rea noticed the effort.

“You honor me by your display of your simplest war craft,” Rea continued. “What is a great warrior such as you doing guarding these missiles, instead of laying low the Reaper who surround you?”

A phlegm-filled sigh emanated from under the giant krogan’s red helm, “You know how to speak, asari. And you fight adequately, as well. But it is because I serve Urdnot Wrex in honor, though he is no clan leader of mine.” He motioned to the other krogan and the Tomkah. “It is his wish that I take these whelps and missiles to those who need them to fight.”

Rea over-emphasized her movements in front of the behemoth, stretching her arms out to either side with palms facing upward. “This task of yours must be of great importance. However I admit, I would rather see more of your martial prowess in battle.”

“I have been among many asari in my lifetime.” The krogan put his hammer down and leaned on it, “Speak of what you will, while your mate fixes my vehicle.”

Stunned for a moment, Rea lost her posture slightly. “Honorable one,” she said with a tinge of restraint in her voice, “We are not so linked.”

The krogan warlord laughed, “Ah, you protect him like a mate. Perhaps you are not linked because you would prefer to be with the children of Tuchanka?”

Challenged, Rea pushed her chest out. “The quarian is as formidable a warrior with his mind as you are with your hammer. Though there is no equal in strength to either the krogan, nor to you, honorable warrior, the quarian is unmatched in his own arts.”

“Bold words,” the krogan went on as he chuckled, “. Perhaps then it is best that you keep your company, asari.

Rea lowered her head in acquiescence. “The task I beseech of you, great warlord, is an extension of that in which you serve Urdnot Wrex. There is a camp of assembly for our final push to the conduit. The woman I am with, named Miranda, is leading the missile strike. The missiles must not only be delivered to the camp, but then all those who protect them will join together and fight the Reaper. Will they be so fortunate as to stand with you and your kind?”

The giant krogan snorted with pleasure. “I’ve heard of this Miranda from Urdnot Wrex and I speak for all of us. Your people will be so fortunate to stand with us.”

“Woe to our enemies,” Rea said as she clenched her fists and through her arms out. The elder grunted and trudged away, back towards the pile of rubble he had been sitting on. Rea relaxed again after he left and looked towards the Tomkah. Two of the krogan were placing a wheel on while Hugh stood by and watched. They seemed to tolerate his presence. The top hatch of the Tomkah opened and Miranda pulled herself out, waiving Rea over. She headed to the vehicle.

“Rothan has worked wonders,” Miranda informed. “After that wheel is on, we can be under way. The missiles have to get back to Camp Bastion as soon as possible. It will be a tight fit, but the Misfits can go along for the ride, although they appear to want to help find your friend.”

“Actually, we need only one,” Rea hinted as she cautiously regarded Hugh. “But I don’t want to deny anyone the chance to do what they feel is right.”

Hugh peered over as soon as he heard his name. “It’s true,” he said awkwardly, “A ride to this camp is a hard thing to turn down. And you only need one of us. Maybe Navarro can go with you.”

“You can come,” Rea said compassionately. “You’ll do fine.”

“But I blew it, before…”

“Hugh,” Rea lowered her voice, “You care about Arkeer. Put Navarro in charge and send the rest of the Misfits back with the Tomkah. They’ll be in good hands.” Hugh nodded, and shuffled off to tell the other Misfits what was happening. Rea looked up at Miranda, “I assume you’ll stay with those missiles. Thank you for coming this far.”

“Oh, I’m not going with the missiles,” Miranda countered. “The krogan have that well in hand. I put a call into Rhys. He’ll be picking us up in five minutes and we’ll keep looking for your friend. I’m coming with you.

Rea squinted. “Really.”

“Yes, really,” Miranda chimed. “I want to see how this turns out!”

Modifié par Kel Riever, 10 septembre 2013 - 10:33 .

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Marisa was sitting at the end of the bar talking with Shayrana. Ereba was entertaining the troops. Someone had to. She'd had a few too many to drink and needed to burn off the alcohol anyway and that stainless steel pipe they brought in was a perfect way to do it. T and Erikka were cutting it up with a couple of the marines, and Ranassa was all animated with big hand gestures telling the Sarge the underground now. Lisa was wearing Seanne Bellarmine's helmet and playing soldier. Sgt. Clark decided to keep the drinks flowing. '**** it, this really could be our last night.'

Shayrana was about to excuse herself, but Marisa put her hand on her arm. "Sid, another tumbler for my friend here. Two fingers, and the same for me. Your best."

"Coming right up, ma'am."

"That was a really scary down in the underground for you. You all work extremely well as a team, and you say this is my daughter's doing? Tell me about this. I want to hear about it all." Marisa played with her glass. Clark lit up a cigarette next to Marisa, and she looked over at him. "Do you mind?"

"Sorry, ma'am."

"No, can I have one, Sergeant?" Marisa asked, and Clark lit a cigarette and gave it to her.

"Thank you."

Shayrana looked at her puzzled. "She hasn't told you?"

"Well, you know how communications are with the war, and how units move around. High Command keeps unit movements and deployments secret. Even I don't have access. So from when your unit was first formed, please." She waved her cigarette dramatically.

"Well, we were kind of a rag tag bunch fresh out of Commando Training, and we were assigned to this Lieutenant Nasanna Dirouri. I'd never heard of her. She seemed pretty low key. She was going through our files. They called us Artemis Platoon. Athena Platoon was the prestigious one. They got all the top grade Commandos. We got all the screw ups." Shayrana shook her head.

Marisa took a drink of her Scotch. "You didn't sound like you were screw ups to me from what you told me about that underground."

Shayrana pointed over at the team. "Look at them. Screw ups. All of them. I've got a 'medical condition'. Ranassa is a loose cannon. Erikka is an airhead. T just pisses and moans."

Marisa played with the rim of her glass and cast a flirting gaze at Clark. Her heart sank when he showed his wedding band. Shay took a drink. "So what happened?"

"Well, I was at the top of the hill with the rest of the platoon just helping get things organized, and this hovercraft rode up about an hour after the orbital strike decimated the base. A Commando got out and checked in, and it looked like she was being challenged by one of the others, and she stood her ground like she was ready to take her right there. Sgt. Koplanos sent her up to us. Sgt. Nasyra Soniri led our squad section of Artemis Platoon from that day forward.

"She taught us stuff they sure as hell didn't teach us in Commando training. I don't know where the hell she learned it, either, but I'm not about to ask. Some stones are best left unturned, if you know what I mean. Artemis went from being a joke in the Asari military to being arch-rivals to Athena. You know why they called us Artemis, right? Maidens. We were the pole dancers who didn't take fighting seriously. We were a joke. Now we're the bad asses of the Asari military, all thanks to that woman over there."

Marisa took a second look at Shayrana. 'Shay looked at her sergeant as a woman who knew too much, but she respected her and wasn't going to ask questions. That's good. This one's smart.' "So tell me, Shay, you don't mind if I call you that, do you? When did you first start learning these new skills from my daughter?"

Shayrana took a sip from her drink. "Cyone. Our first mission. Ereba was an infiltrator. I'd trained with her, and she was actually good, but I'd never seen anything like this. Ereba was watching her through her Mantis. The sarge had the same weapon, but she was doing something to it in the shop on the ship on the way and had an attachment: a silencer. She told Dirouri to let her take care of the reaper guards. Dirouri chuckled, and she showed her the silencer and AP rounds she had. We weren't given AP rounds. Someone in Athena had standard rounds now, and the silencer she made in the shop. Who gave her authorization to use the shop? Captain T'san, she showed her the pass. It was forged, but good enough.

"Dirouri stopped laughing. The sarge knew what she was doing, and she got the go-ahead. Ereba said it was like watching a magician. She never fired a second shot from the same location. We assaulted the base from the rear that mighty Athena was supposed to have taken from a drop after we'd been wiped out. Half the platoon was about to get hit from a grouped brute charge. We threw what biotics we could, and Ranassa was letting loose with her LMG, but the sarge threw some black dark energy ball at them and they just flew back and collapsed. It was over, and we marched out the front gate.

"Then she switched our pairings. I stayed with Ereba, but she told me to make sure I watch Ereba's back at all times, and 'get a damned thermal scope' even if I have to steal one, because I'm working with an infiltrator. Then she started psych profiling of the squad. By the time we fought on Lusia, nothing, not a damned thing could stand up to us. But here, we got hit by a major Harvester strike when we landed, and we're all that's left. The last six out of 25. Nasyra's squad is Alpha squad. Bravo was still screw ups, but they learned something, right Erikka?" Shay held up her glass. "To Nasyra and Alpha Squad!"

"To Nasyra and Alpha Squad!" Marisa raised her glass and so did everyone else. 'So she actually was telling the truth. I wouldn't have believed it, but to hear it from one of her squad makes all of this sit a lot easier. Naleena will be an asset to the Council.' Marisa had another question. "What happened to Dirouri?"

"I thought she was dead, but she wasn't quite. She had a medical condition. She was taken by the reapers." Shayrana looked sadly into her drink and her eyes started to fill. "I killed her. I should have pulled her out of that rubble. I thought she was dead."

Modifié par sH0tgUn jUliA, 10 septembre 2013 - 11:02 .

[Kel Riever]

The Tomkah had rolled off with the krogan, the missiles and most of the Misfits on it. Miranda, Hugh, Rea and Rothan stood together as Rhys’ A-61 Mantis descended. Rea was at the end of the line of four, with Rothan standing next to her. The quarian was completely inscrutable to Rea, and she swore he was purposely hiding any signs he might be giving away with his body language. Through her mind, Rea went between him coming to save her and not noticing her reach for him at Camp Bastion. Then she started remembering when they melded. She twisted her head towards him and opened her mouth to speak, but shut it and faced forward again.

Rothan asked assertively, “What?”

Rea wanted to say in a thousand different ways that she knew what Rothan meant when they melded. Instead, Rea twisted her head around again, and she perturbedly pried, “You were listening in when I was talking to the doctor, weren’t you?”

Rothan pulled his head back, taken by surprise. Then he exclaimed, “What was I supposed to do? Not care what happened to you?”

“So you admit it!” Rea fumed, “Is that why you keep pulling away?”

Rothan shook his head, and then threw up his arms in exasperation. He yelled something but Rea couldn’t hear it as the Mantis had come in for a landing and its engine wail washed out Rothan’s words. She looked at him puzzled, then scowled, before folding her arms and glaring at the gunship. When it landed, Rea boarded it first, clamped herself down in her seat immediately, and looked straight ahead. Miranda and Hugh came in next, giving her the once-over, before heading to the fore of the Mantis. Rea expected Rothan to continue what he was saying when he entered, and she braced herself for his outburst, but instead he headed directly to a seat opposite her, and silently harnessed in.

Unaware of what had transpired, Rhys updated the passengers, “I was delayed by a Harvester that I could have certified was going to hunt me down, but decided to go the opposite direction for whatever reason. I have no idea why, but I'm not going to start returning my gifts.”

“Roger that,” Miranda replied, “We need you to help us with our search and rescue.” Hugh’s eyes were bouncing between Rea and Rothan before Miranda poked him in the shoulder to get his attention. “Rhys, this is Hugh. He knows the area where we’re searching. I’m going to have him sit in the co-pilot seat where he can get a good view.”

“The co-pilot seat?” Hugh wondered, and then became excited. “Yes, the co-pilot seat! Actually, I can tell you exactly where to go from where we are.”

“Sounds good. Miss, you better get back there with your two companions and buckle in.”

“If it’s all the same, I ‘m going to stand up here with you and look with Hugh.” Miranda peaked over her shoulder and then smiled at Rhys. “I can take care of myself.”

“If you say so, miss. I’m going to ask you to at least use an emergency harness strap to tie to the bulkhead and use a handhold while you are up here.”

“Will do.”

Of course, Rea sarcastically thought as Miranda managed to get everyone near the cockpit but herself and Rothan. And well done Rea, making a scene when the point is to find Arkeer.  She felt embarrassed, and wanted to say as much. As Tempest Two lifted off, Miranda, Hugh and Rhys all concentrated on flying towards Arkeer’s last known location and finding him. Despite feeling maneuvered into her position in the bay of the gunship, it was as good a time as any for Rea to finally clear the air with Rothan. She was about to start talking when Rothan preempted her.

“I’m really confused.” Rothan spoke so that only Rea and he could hear. “And I’m sorry for listening in with the doctor. It is because I care. But I don’t want to…”

“No,” Rea broke in. She reached across and put her hand on Rothan’s knee. “Its my fault. I can’t figure my own self out and I’m dragging you into a mess. You don’t deserve that.”

Rothan lowered one hand towards Rea’s, grabbed it tightly and held her gaze. For a brief moment, he saw her vulnerable, wanting, and unafraid. Before long, however, Rea tensed up, and receded behind silver-flecked blue eyes that didn’t see into Rothan’s through his visor anymore, but became their own hardened windows to hide behind. He leaned forward, “There. There it is again.”

“Rothan-“ Rea’s shoulders pulled away, yet her hand gripped tighter.

“Where are you? Please, stop hiding.”

Rea’s eyes filled with tears. Her jaw clenched and her fingers twisted to wrap around Rothan’s. She began squeezing hard, while whispering in dread, “I don’t want to go there.”

Without warning, Rothan found he had joined with Rea. A myriad of memories assaulted him, but unlike the steady imagery that Rothan was used to, his mind was battered with the turmoil of emotion. There was a flare of blinding pain across his back, the unimaginable grief of a child lost, and then the sheer terror of watching his soul be consumed. He felt as if he was reeling from a fall, and when it finally ended, he found himself on a white sand beach in the middle of the night. It was Thessia, and the ocean stretched away, its surface glittering with the reflection of the stars.

Rea had somehow caught Rothan, and held him. Her eyes were filled with sorrow, and regret rode upon her words, I’m sorry Rothan. I didn’t mean to bring you here. You aren’t part of me. You are someone else. An angry wind was picking up on the beach. Rea looked over her shoulder, and then ahead along the shoreline. Go with Shayrana and Ereba, they’ll get you out. Rothan saw that the other two asari stood where Rea peered, waiting for him to come with them. He then heard Rea defiantly scream at the sky, but in an instant, he was returned to the real world.

When Rothan realized he was once again in the bay of the gunship, he felt weary. Rea’s fingers still held his, but they had slackened their grip. She still stared at him but her eyes were listless. Rea grinned deliriously and said, “Rothan can’t catch me. He’s as slow as an elcor.” Her eyes closed and her head dropped. Rothan quickly undid his harness, crossed over to Rea and checked her.

Miranda noticed the commotion and turned to see Rothan with Rea. “Is she okay,” Miranda asked, concerned.

“Yes,” Rothan replied. “I think she fell asleep.”

Modifié par Kel Riever, 11 septembre 2013 - 04:30 .

[Redbelle]

Radcliffe was no stranger to the bizarre and peculiar. He'd lived a life in the military and seen many things the average human, who had never left the comfort of their world, would consider an oddity. Wyld's recent introductions had pushed his incredulity as she'd made him aware of those she deemed important enough to point out. And as the final figure emerged from the Mako's access hatch, he stood up straight ready to make a good impression on this person Wyld referred to as the Queen.

As, however, the slender, lanky body emerged, ducking under the top of the hatch. Radcliffe closed his eye's and groaned. “You've got to be kidding me”.

A Salarian with purple coiffed hair stood on the hatch. Looking around through an oversized pair of reading spectacles. She appeared dressed in a formally cut suit and skirt. Formal that was, except that the colours of her dress were garishly purple in a way that complemented her hair while the trim sparkled with sequins that caught the lights of the camps overheads.

Radcliffe's eye's fell to the small sequin handbag she held as he felt Wyld draw up to his side. “Commander.....”?

“I know”.

“....Hair...”.

“A wig, sir”.

“What's she....”.

Wyld made an exasperated sound. “I wouldn't ask to many questions in front of royalty, sir”. She said as the Salarian descended the ramp. “Brace yourself Captain”. Wyld warned him as the Salarian walked up to and stopped in front of him. She looked down at his rank insignia. Then her face broke into the widest of smiles.

“Daaarliiing”! She declared loudly grabbing Radcliffe's arms, she brought her face close to his cheek and Radcliffe thought she was going to kiss him.

She brought her mouth up to his ear and in place of her earlier sing song voice, came the low rushed tone of an all business Salarian “Colonel Kreegen, retired. Former STG. We need to talk”. She separated from Radcliffe and swivelled around, taking in the sights. “Well isn't this wonderful!” She said, returning to her lyrical outpouring. “You have such a wonderful little camp way out here don't you. You simply must show me around sometime”.

A group of Salarians popped out of the Mako hatch wearing red armour. In the crook of their arms, they carried tall furry objects Radcliffe recognised as being helmets. One came up to the queen. “You majesty. We should find somewhere secure for your royal person”.

“Must we? Oh dear”. Kreegen turned to face Radcliffe and gave Wyld a wink. “Well if we must be off. I shall not keep you”. She told a slack jawed Radcliffe. “Toodle's for now”.

Radcliffe watched as the Salarian guards formed a perimeter around their Queen and walked away. Wyld watched them go, looked up at her Captain and patted him on the back. “I know”. She consoled him.

Radcliffe watched the Queen move away with a fatalism of a man knowing that, one day, he'd have to meet her again. Then swung his head slowly over to Wyld. “Am I a bad Captain, Commander”?

“Not that I'm aware of sir”.

“I just, cannot figure out, why you would do this to me”.

Wyld nodded, looked around to see if anyone else was in earshot, then leaned in close. “Some good news sir. We made contact with the Normandy who gave us Reaper comm encryption keys and algorithms”. She saw Radcliffe's eye's go wide as he recognised what she was saying. “We can get base communication's back up again”. She went on. “Even gave us a VI that could do it and help run the system”.

Radcliffe leaned back and blew out a breath as he looked her up and down. “You look terrible”. He said, taking in her ramshackle armours appearance. “Is that where you were shot”?

Wyld's hand unconsciously went to the hole in her armours side. “It's fine”.

Radcliffe shook his head. “Get that VI installed. I want Omni tool and field communication's up fast. Then your on light duty”. He went on. “I mean it Wyld. You look like hell”. He paused. “When you've gotten sorted out, report to the command post for your new assignment”.

“Sir”?

Radcliffe eyed her with a small smile. “You brought these people here. Their your responsibility now. I'm making you the acting co-commanding officer of this camp”.

Wyld saluted. “Permission to speak freely”?

“Alway's Commander”.

Wyld narrowed her eye's. “Your a bastard”.

“Your a bastard......”?

“Sir”.

Modifié par Redbelle, 11 septembre 2013 - 04:51 .

[Khambilo]

Miranda gave a curt nod. “No sign yet. Hugh’s taking us to another tunnel exit. It’s possible your friend was confused and… well… I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”

He nodded in response. Miranda retreated back into the cockpit, leaving Rea and Rothan alone again. Rea remained asleep as Rothan slid himself onto the floor beside her.

The joining had been intense, but some how it wasn’t the same as any of the other times they had melded. They had at one time been controlled, a procession of memories or images.  This last time was vivid, a barrage of sensation and confusion.  The battle had to be taking it’s toll on Rea. How else could she find sleep at a time like this?

And yet in some small way he understood now. Something within Rea was boiling in the turmoil of her past. Something new, swirling with the old. Whatever it was, it was dark and Rea considered it to be apart of her.

She was protecting him from something, or so she thought, but it was consuming her. It wasn’t until this most recent experience that Rothan could tell the extent to which this was happening.

Carefully, he slipped his hand into hers, clutching it tenderly. “I may be slow as an elcor,” he whispered, “but at least I’m not as stubborn as a Krogan.”

~~~~

Miranda surveyed the cityscape as best she could. Bodies, both Reapers and otherwise littered the streets. Rhys had brought the gunship down as far as he could to increase visibility, but even in the harsh light emanating from the conduit beam, she could not spot the Krogan.

“Awful lot of trouble for just one Krogan,”Rhys remarked.

Hugh eyed him suspiciously. “What are you trying to suggest?”

“The biggest most important military op in the history of… ever. And we’re wasting resources finding one person.”

“Arkeer deserves it!” Hugh shouted. “He saved us and now, he needs our help!”

“I’m not trying to be glib,” Rhys said. “But, you’re not military. We’re all expendable. The objective comes first. That’s just how it is. Right ma’am?”

“Just keep going.” Miranda said. ‘I’ll let you know when to head back.”

Hugh crossed his arms and huffed, looking back outside.

Miranda placed a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll find him.”

She remembered a certain commander going out of his way, off mission even on occasion to help those in need, even when there was no foreseeable profit in it.

If it wasn’t for such sacrifices, Miranda would have ever gotten to know Oriana. This was the end of days though, and Rhys, young as he was, knew what he was saying. The mission had to come first. It was getting harder to rationalize being out here, even though Miranda was honest when she told Rea she wanted to see this through. Sometimes, there comes a point when you have to put personal feelings aside.

~~~~

Miranda inhaled the steam rising from her freshly brewed cup of tea, letting the aroma sooth her headache. She had spent two years preparing for Project Lazarus. Filing reports during the first phase of the project seemed natural to her, but some part of her thought that the paperwork would decrease when it came time to journey with Shepard.

And Shepard’s deviations from the task at hand were not helping. Bringing down a thresher maw might be all in a days work for the Commander, but Shepard didn’t need to file the ten thousand word report on the incident. And that was tame incomparison to his run-in with that Ardat Yakshi.

At least the mess was quiet now. Cerberus crewmen served shifts around the clock, but at this time of night, no one, not even Gardner was in the mess. Miranda prepared her tea in silence, wanting nothing more than to unwind, but preparing for the work ahead daunted her.

She eased into a seat at the table, taking another sip her tea. It felt like she was still sore from the battle with that Asari Spectre. The peace and quiet eased the soreness as much as the tea did.

“Da-dee-da-dee-da-dee-dee-dee-da.”

Miranda tried not to show her disdain as Mordin rounded the corner from the elevator, singing a tune.

“Ah, Operative Lawson,” he greeted. “Burning the midnight oil I see.”

“Yes, Dr. Solus,” She said, rising from her seat. “I was just taking a short break, but I should get back to work.”

Mordin extended his hand as if to tell her to stop. “Nonsense. Everyone needs a break. Now and then of course. Unwind. Relieve stress. Good for healthy body.”

Begrudgingly, Miranda sunk back into her seat while Mordin procured a mug from the mess. A moment passed in silence while Mordin poured himself a drink. The aroma was unmistakeable.

“Is that coffee?” Miranda asked.

“Yes, Shepard drinks several cups a day,” Mordin said. “Trying it for the first time now. For science of course.”

Miranda shook her head. Mordin was already a ball of energy. She dreaded to see how he might behave on coffee. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Mordin nodded. “Aware of caffeine content. Usually drink dennac tea, salarian herbal remedy, but variety is the spice of life! Earth colloquialism. Proves true in my experience.”

“Right…”

Mordin took a seat at the table across from Miranda. “What keeps you awake at this hour?”

“Reports. You?”

“Discovered new microbe subset while preparing cultures for Collector research,” Mordin said proudly. “Nothing to do with task at hand, but the microbes are highly regenerative. Resilient. Could think of half a dozen diseases that could be cured from appropriately repurposed version of the microbes. But their properties keep shifiting. Faaaascinating.”

“I’m sure,” Miranda said, though not entirely convinced.

“But that is work, this is break,” Mordin beamed, tapping the table a couple times. “Discussing work no longer. Haven’t had much of an opportunity to socialize with you. Others, to varying degrees. Jack told me to… ahem…. ‘**** off.’ Interesting word, ‘****.’ Much utility. More stimulating conversation with the justicar, though.”

Miranda chuckled a little. “I’m sure.”

“Anyway, heard Shepard helped you with something recently,” Mordin continued. “Eclipse. Illium.” He inhaled deeply. “Sounds like nasty business.”

She looked away. This was not how she wanted to speak with him. “I have a sister. Oriana. Shepard helped me rescue her.”

“No doubt,” he said after taking a sip of his coffee. “Shepard seems to go out of his way for his crew. Not always an option available to a commanding officer.”

“I should think it would be obvious by now that this isn’t your typical military endeavor.”

“More than obvious. Transparent from the start. Reason I joined, among others.” Mordin took another sip. “Time in STG… not as smooth.”

“We’re running a smoother operation that the salarian STG?”

“Did not mean to imply that.” Mordin corrected. “Referring to earlier topic. Sacrifices for the crew. Time in STG, mission was paramount. Crew… expendable.”

“I see.” Miranda said, looking down.

“Luckily, I was a part of science division. Didn’t need to make hard choices. Not those ones at least. Lost many friends. Had to. Mission came first.”

Miranda looked up, meeting his big curious eyes. “How do you deal with that?”

Mordin inhaled deeply again. “Believe that is was worth it in the end. Know that you didn’t lose friends for nothing. Mission achieved.”

“And if it’s not worth it?” Miranda asked.

Mordin looked away. “Lie to yourself. For as long as you can.”

Modifié par Khambilo, 11 septembre 2013 - 03:51 .

[Kel Riever]

The difference between melding and dreaming was that Rea knew the other conscience was there. Sharing memories included sharing dreams, and sometimes joined minds even experienced dreams together. But Rea always knew when that other mind was gone. 
 
Rea was still on the beach, and Ereba had taken Rothan away. That is how Rea had wanted things to be. Rothan couldn’t see the Reaper, or at least was safe from it now. Rea had screamed in defiance, trying to show it that she was stronger. But it was still in her, somewhere, searching for a way to convince her to become part of its grayness. 
 
Shayrana beckoned to Rea and shouted, Come on, you have to get out of here! Rea picked herself up and ran with Shayrana along the beach.  Ahead, they saw Rea’s mother’s jet bike. Go, Shayrana commanded, I’ll hold it off! Rea would never leave Shayrana behind, but this Shayrana seemed much stronger and more confident. Vaulting onto the jet bike, Rea fired the engines and took off.
 
Parnitha’s morning glow had broken the horizon as Rea shot low over rolling hills and grassland. She heard Shayrana’s voice over the com, saying, It got through. Don’t stop.  A murky patch of darkness opened in the ground to Rea’s right. It grew, spreading out in all directions. Avoid that for now, Shayrana warned, Head towards the city. Looking to the left, Rea saw the city Shayrana spoke of and banked in that direction. The city was Phileb, where Ben and Tizzy had lived. In a second Rea was there, landing on the rooftop garden of their penthouse. A gathering of people was present outside and when Rea dismounted, they were waiting for her.
 
First to meet Rea were her mother and father. They stood in their battle gear and moved to Rea’s sides. Rea’s father spoke, We’re going to take you inside. There’s something we want you to see. Rea began walking towards the penthouse and the others who waited. Ben welcomed her next. He was next to Tizzy and they held little Denzillian. Rea felt as if her heart would burst and when she approached her sister, Rea embraced her with all her might.
 
Easy there, super-fast Rea, Tizzy comforted. All is one. You’re almost done hiding, but you aren’t ready quite yet. So set foot into the home. Everyone will protect you while you are there. Tizzy receded into Ben’s arms. Rea’s parents then escorted her through the other family and friends who made up the gathering. They stopped at the doors to the penthouse apartment.
 
Rea felt nervous, but her mother encouraged her, Go on, it will be fine. Just remember to suit up. Zanra and Wihsp will help you. The outer doors opened and Rea saw her two oldest sisters waiting with a piece of apparel she was unfamiliar with. When Rea entered, the doors closed behind, leaving her parents outside. Silently, Zanra and Wihsp helped Rea out of her armor, and put on the suit. Rea didn’t realize what it was until the last piece was placed on; a helm with a visor, covered by a hood.
 
Fog filled the helm, but Rea could see. Zanra and Wihsp approved, and Zanra warned, Don’t take that off. It will mean your life. Now please, pass within. Rea took notice that the living room was empty, but she heard sounds from the master bedroom. They were electronic and chirped cheerily. Like an enchanting tune, they drew Rea towards them. 
 
When Rea arrived at the bedroom door, she turned the knob and threw it open. Beyond was the deck of a ship she had never seen before. Quarians moved about purposefully in their tasks, chatting with each other freely. Rea stepped across the threshold of the doorway and was overcome with an energy that coursed through her veins. A flurry of thoughts filled her mind: Formulas for trajectories, lines of code, recipes, videos of countless unimaginable things, and even lines of text chatter. Rea felt separated from her physical environment, but immersed in a dimension of light, technology and magic. The quarians around Rea were her people, her community, and her life. They floated together in space, with only each other to rely on as they travelled through the void.
 
Underlying the sensation of closeness and fascinating light, however, was something else. There were general fears of becoming sick, and of being cut off from other beings, as Rea expected.  But there was also the feeling of guilt; of having to compensate for the sin of creating a horror to the galaxy. The sensations seemed recently mended, but the psyche was imbedded.
 
Two quarians approached Rea, a man and a woman. They greeted Rea, and the woman said, I am Frola'Vells vas Ketsa and this is my husband, Calban’Vells vas Ketsa. Have you seen our son?
 
Rea was about to shake her head, when further in she saw a young quarian at a terminal screen with two other adults standing over him. The adults debated, speaking about the youth as if he were property, and were determining the best use for him. Rea pointed their direction.
 
Calban recognized the youth.  Oh, there's Rothan. Can you help up?  We want to get him but we can’t. Rea knew this Rothan was now only in her own mind, and no longer the living consciousness she had melded with.  But this Rothan and what she was seeing were based in the memories he had shared with her, even if they were abstract tangents of those memories. Rea nodded to Rothan’s parents and strode over, leaving them behind.
 
One of the adults tried to stop Rea. I am Admiral Xen and this is no concern of yours.
 
Rea became annoyed. Well, Admiral, I am Rea vas Ketsa. It is the end of the galaxy and I outrank you. The adults stepped aside and Rea replaced them. Rothan was working away, studying information about element zero.
 
Rea asked, Do you think it will help?
 
Maybe, the young Rothan answered, But I’m looking for my sister as much as me. I’m wondering if I’m the only one.
 
There was an even deeper emotion that Rea felt now. A fear of not only just being separated from the Ketsa’s family-like community, but the guilt of being separate despite it being no fault of one’s own. The young Rothan went on, I hope she isn’t like me. I don’t want her to have to go through what I am.
 
Bring me there again, Rothan, Rea said. Rothan reached up to hold Rea’s hand and he pulled away from the terminal screen. As he did, he grew in age to become the nineteen year old Rea had met. 
 
Rothan asked, Do you mean where the light is?
 
Yes.
 
The deck of the Ketsa swirled in a blur around Rothan and Rea until they coalesced into one focal point that issued forth an eruption of light. Together, they stared into the illumination.
 
Rea squeezed Rothan’s hand tighter and saw that his body had become scintillating, constantly changing in an endless array of colors and patterns.
 
Amazed, Rea said, You’re beautiful.
 
~~~~
 
Rothan felt Rea squeeze his hand gently and say, “You’re beautiful,” before she opened her eyes. Then her eyes widened as she realized she was actually looking at him. Her jaw dropped. “Rothan?”
 
“I’m here.”
 
A green light went off above them and a jolting buzzer sounded. Miranda stepped back into the bay. “Sorry to interrupt, but we’re going to disembark. We’ve searched the area and Hugh is convinced that the only place left to check is covered in thick smoke. Rhys won’t land without visibility, and the heat is making him worried about the thermals picking enemies up, so we’ll fast rope down while he hovers. We’re already over the drop zone.”
 
Rothan rose and cleared his throat, “I’ve haven’t done many live drops.”
 
Rea undid her harness, and stood up next to Rothan, “Don’t worry. We’ll use the same line together. Just stay with me.”

Modifié par Kel Riever, 12 septembre 2013 - 04:57 .

[FuriousFelicia]

The pub was now packed with people, and there was hardly any seats left unoccupied. Zia, Naomi, Farzam and Dale were still sitting together at the table, puffing last smokes from Dale's hand rolled puffs. Zia began to feal its tranquilizing effect as her muscles felt totally relaxed and her mind at rest. Naomi seemed taken by it as well as she waved her head around, eyes closed and grinning to a rithm of music comming from an old juke box. Farzam was occupied with his thoughts as he slowly enjoyed his tea.

"Damn Dale, what do you put in those rollers?" Zia asked squinting at dale. Dale just smiled back mysteriously. "It's a secret. But if it will make you feel better, it's harmles. Just a thing to relax you for a while." Said Dale as she puffed away her last smoke. Zia gave her an under the brow look. "If you say so." She added.

"Anyway guys, whats your story?" Asked Dale chearfully. Naomi abruptly fel out of her trans and responded quickly. "We were sent to reinforce the east front when we were shot down by ravagers. Then Jan found us, and the rest is a bit complicated." Naomi implied.

"Who's Jan?" Asked Dale. "Oh she's a commander and a medic with geth legs." Naomi giggled as she sipped her beer. Dale looked baffled.

"She's geth?"

"No. She lost her legs and now she's got geth like prosthetics." Explained Zia. "Aha." Dale said, but still a bit confused.

"What did you do before the war then?" Dale went on. Naomi was fast to answer. She was just as sociable as Dale. She started going on about her past at the academy and how she commissioned to service not long after her graduation. And how the word had reached her that both of her parents were killed in action here on Earth. As Zia sensed Naomi was about to finish, she knew that it would probably be her turn to unfold her past. A thing Zia had no intention of doing in front of people she barely knew. She quickly reacted before Dale could switch her curiosity to her.

"I think I found a new side effect to your cigarettes." Zia smiled as she got up from her seat. "They are giving me the munchies. I think I'll go ask the bartender if there's something to eat. Excuse me." Naomi and Dale glanced at her, and then resumed their chearful chatter. Zia walked up to the counter and a man behind greated her with a broad smile.

"Greetings my fellow human." He exclaimed chearfully. Zia responded in the same manner.

"The name's Sid, and I run this fine establishment here. I'm just another civilian now, but use to be military, back in the days we thought Turians were the bad guys. Now I run this pub. Im not the owner though. Now how can I be of assistance to you Miss..."

"Zia." Zia finished his sentence. "Zia..." Said Sid waiting for her last name.

"Just Zia." She smiled while Sid made a new entry on his data pad.
"Is there something a girl could get to eat here to relieve her stomach from this dry army junk?" Zia asked.

"Oh we've got just a thing for you my lady." Sid smiled and winked to her as he went to the back of the bar and returned with a bowl of hot brownish mix and handed a spoon to Zia.

"What's that?" She asked looking at the bowl in doubt. "That's just something I've cooked up using those same awful army beef rations and some seasoning we found in the kitchen. I call it the war goulash. Well go on, try it." He implied. Zia reluctantly stuck a spoon in the bowl and slowly took a taste. She chewed slowly and looked at Sid while her eyes widened in suprise.

"Hey this is pretty good for a war gulash. "She exclaimed with a smile. Sid just smiled back and nodded in affirmation. Then he leaned over the counter to Zia, and discreetly lowered his tone.

"Actually, there's real bacon inside. I found a nice piece down there in the cellar with all the stuff. Just keep it quiet becouse there isn't much to go around, and it will last a lot longer like this." Zia just smiled back, and gestured with her hand across her mouth as if zipping them.

"My lips are sealed. Never would have guessed it. Then again, I only tried bacon once before." She said and continued slurping her unusual meal. Sid shook his head looking abashed by this statement but he figured she could be a spacer who has hardly seen Earth and its food. He noticed the table where Zia had been sitting before.

"That girl is your friend?" Asked Sid pointing at Naomi down at a table.

"Yes." Zia mumbled with full mouth of gulash.

"You know, you look like a person who knows to take care of herself." Sid implied. Zia took time to swallow her bite and brusshed her mouth with her sleeve, looking curiously at Sid. "What's this about then?" She asked.

"Well, you and your friend there look like two decent girls. A thing that unfortunately can't be said for everyone here." Said Sid taking a look around the pub that was now crowded. "I don't folow you." Said Zia confused with Sid's sudden secrecy. "Just a word of advice, don't trust every inocent smile. Now I'm talking about your friend there. She's a nice girl, I could tell right away but she also strikes me as a terribly gullible person. There are a lot of people here and not everyone is military. I've seen many shady faces, and suspicious characters and Sid has a nose about these things." Zia watched him with uncertainty. "Really." She said almost mockingly. "What does your nose tell you about me then?"

Sid bored his eyes into Zia's. He observed her for a while and then spoke. "I would say you are a decent person, one who's had her share of life's brutal reality despite your young age. You also strike me as a person who doesn't give herself half the credit you deserve. By the way, you should keep an eye on your friend there. She still has a lot to learn about people." Zia was a little taken back by Sid's perspicacity, and was just about to ask him to clarify when she felt a hand fall on her shoulder.

"As soon as we started talking about our past, you ran away." Naomi stood by Zia, smiling at her, looking a little dazed. "Oh hi Sid." She waved to him. "Hello again joung Miss Brooks." Sid replied and gave Zia an indicative look, and then turned to Naomi. "Seen Julie recently?" He asked while polishing a glass, squinting one eye at ther. Naomi quickly remembered about Julie and her suprise. She widened her eyes at Sid as she slightly backed away from Zia's eyes, and shushed him with her finger on her lips to be quiet about that. Zia didn't notice from all the chatter and grinding sound of her own chewing. Her face was stuck over a bowl as she was just finishing her meal.

"Thank you Sid, that was just what I needed." Said Zia as she shoved an empty bowl back to Sid. Now she turned back to face the crowded bar. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. If it wasn't for armors and guns, it would have seemed this was just an ordinary bar in an ordinary time, and there was no war or the reapers. As unbecomingly as it may have appeared, whoever thought of this was a genius, Zia thought. It was such a morale booster for the troops that hardly made any face look wiery or frightened. Even otherwise spooked Nomi seemed to have loosened and lightened up. Zia joyfully watched a group of Asari having laughs and drinks, and one of them was even dancing around an improvised pole. What a flashback for Zia. An Asari pole dancer. Zia's eyelids fell loose while she delved at the sight, carving her face with a pleasing smile. Other troops were enjoing just as much, sitting in groups, having drinks and conversing, enjoying the site of this Asari dancer twirling around the pole. Zia watched her and sighed.

"Huh, just like home." She mumbled quietly to herself while reminesing.

"Home?" Fired of Naomi as she catched Zia's quiet remark. "Do you wanna tell me about home?" She looked at Zia steeming with desire to learn more about her self-effacing friend. Zia was preparing herself for this moment. She felt that at least Naomi and Jan should know the truth.She sat quiet for a moment and then took a big breath before she started.

"Ever heard of Afterlife?" Naomi startled at Zia's question making a bewildered expression. "You mean like heaven?" She said confusedly rising one brow.

"No dum dum, Afterlife, the club on Omega."

"Oh that Afterlife." Naomi laughed silly. "Yeah, what about it?" She asked as she leaned to Zia, and wraped her arm around her waist.

"Well, you asked me about my home." Said Zia and turned her head to Naomi. Naomi stood baffled.

"You lived in a club?"

"Yup. Told you about Aria, well sort of hinted at least. She runs the place."

"I know she runs the place. She runs the whole station, everyone knows that." Naomi frowned. "But people say she's a vicious gangster and a cold blooded killer. But you are good Zee." Naomi implied questionably, looking for a confirmation but Zia was silent. She flipped her head to look away for a second, and then turned back to meet Naomi's eyes. She took her hand, and smiling lightly, she started speeking.

"You know she's not that bad as people say." Zia grined. "She actually keeps Omega safe, and in a way cares for its people. And if she really is that bad as people say, than I'm afraid you have a very inflated opinion about me becouse I'm actually a lot like her. I worked for her. I was her right arm you could say. Me and two of my so called sisters practically ran the station ourselves later on. We actually made the place much safer, as ironic as it may sound, by rooting out the competition, leaving only certain small parties in business under our protection, naturally the ones that benefited us the most, but the crime levels were brought down to a minimal."

As overwhelming as it was for Naomi she listened carefully, and suddenly managed to brake her silence intrigued by a detail. "You have sisters?" She asked curiously.

"Not sisters sisters, but more like...those Asari there." Zia pointed out to a group of Asari down the counter. "Those are Asari commandos, and they seem like a squad. The same bond that bonds every each and one of them, is the same bond I have with Disdain and Lucy. Well had anyway." Zia finished. Naomi was a bit disappointed when Zia didn't state Julie as one of her sisters but she somewhat understood what she ment with the bonds she had with them.

"Zee you are a good person. I maybe blond but I can at least see that clearly." Naomi rubbed Zia's back assuring her.

"I killed you, remember?" Zia sighed. "I didn't even hesitate long enough to ask myself if we could help you."

"And I would have killed myself if you hadn't. I know why you did it, and you had no choice. Besides, everything turned out fine. I'm alive, though with a bit of a short fuze." Naomi's giggle encouraged Zia to do the same. She smiled back and threw her arm around Naomi's shoulders.

"You know we got to sort you out on that account." Zia smiled refering to Naomi's biotics.

"I know." Naomi confirmed. "Actually, you'd be surprised, but I have an incredible urge to learn all of a sudden." She said firmly. Zia looked her with disbielif.

"And where did this sudden enthusiasm come from all of a sudden?"

"I'm telling you Zee, I felt it this time. Before it was just like I was being pulled helplessly from all sides, but this last time...I felt like I could pull back. And when it was just starting, I sort of felt no force at certain point. It actually felt like I had to push a bit to let it expand. I can't explain the feeling."

"I know. It's called breaking the field threshold." Zia implied. "As the flare starts to expand, it passes the certain distance depending on the biotic before it can be released. In that distance or radius from your body, if it helps visualise, there is a threshold after which the flare will undoubtedly explode, as supose when it is within the threshold radius, where it will either dissipate or it can be controlled in a state of a field that can be also released to blast stuff within its radius. And when active, it acts like a primer. See that's the basic biotic stuff manageable without amps, and the Alliance made it a superpower." Zia laughed but Naomi shook her hed gesting her to clarify.

"Well they added a nice feature." Zia smiled. "My suit is rigged to alow my biotic field to suck energy from other sources to power my own kinetic barriers. We like to call it annihilation field. One reason why I prefer to engage marauders more than cannibals." Zia laughed at her own remark. Since her last experience, Naomi decided that it was in her best interest to learn as much as she can. There was no more denying her own potential, and she was kind of taken by it now that she clearly saw what she was capable of.

"Tell me more. Can you teach me to maintain this annihilation field." Naomi enthusiastically asked. Zia laughed out as Naomi's question made a funny picture in her head. Naomi watched her confused.

"What's so funny?" She asked frowning. Zia took some time to catch a breath from her outbreak of laughter. She pulled herself together.

"Oh man I just had a picture of you running through a host of reaper army, priming them up as me and that group of Asari unload on them with throws and other detonators from Farzam's gunship." Her voice was still shimmering from laughter as she finished.

"Ha, ha very funny." Naomi frowned as she folded her arms.

"I'm just joking you know. You don't have to be so grumpy every time it's on you."

"Aha, and what if we had you do the running with me in the gunship, would you be laughing then?"

"Girl, I would do the running if need be even without your superpowers." Naomi raised her brow at Zia's reply. "Yes you heard me, and don't play a fool like you don't know what I'm talking about. You were still awake when those marauders practically started to court you." Zia continued to tease. Naomi didn't want to confirm Zia's previous statement about being grumpy so she held her tounge. After all, Zia was right. Although sincerely, Naomi was clear that they would never make her do such a thing for real so she switched back to the subject of biotics.

"Ok then, if you won't teach me about the field, what then?" She asked. It was a good question as Zia stopped to think for a while. "Well you could easily manage a throw. It's the most simple thing but it's mostly useless without a good primer. I'll think of something. And don't worry, we'll try the field as well."

"Hey, about the flares..." Naomi abruptly remembered something she heard back at the academy. "Isn't a flare suposed to be a projectile type of power?"

"Ok, here's the short version." Zia started. "A flare is how we refer to that initial biotic spark that starts of any biotic manifestation. It has five possible stages; burst stage, dissipation stage, field stage, projectile stage and projection stage, but the term flare is mostly used to describe the most powerful burst or a projectile it can produce. So what you're struggling to control is your flare bursting out of field stage after which the flare cannot dissipate any more but can only burst out of control. It is impossible to dissipate a flare after the field threshold unless you put a bullet in owner's head." Zia's explanation intrigued Naomi as it made her mind remember some of the stuff she learned back at the academy. But what Zia was saying didn't seem even vaguely familiar to her.

"I'm pretty sure I've heard this the first time now. Are you sure about those flares?" Naomi asked curiously.

"The reason why you didn't hear it is becouse no fool has meddled with biotics without the use of amps for half a millennium. And amps are calibrated for certain manifestations by default. That's why people are in doubt when they hear about a biotic without implants." Zia explained.

"But you have implants." Naomi quickly remarked. Zia curved her lip in a grin.

"I have them now, but most of the things I know, I learned without them. I have been trained since I was thirteen, and I got my implants five years later. Later when I joined the Alliance, I got a whole new set again, and let me tell you, the difference is huge."

"Do you think I'll be able to learn something normal. Something that doesn't involve bursting like a nuke." While a genuine inquiry, Naomi couldn't help not slipping a giggle in the mix. Zia sighed with a smile.

"Yeah sure, we'll teach you to maintain the field. With that modulator set to maximum, it could be easy, especially since you said you felt the threshold. And if you can fire off a throw without bursting your field, then we're set to go." She concluded. Naomi was just about to ask another question when suddenly the door of the pub opened wide and a whole crowd of people came bargin in.