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[favoritehookeronthecitadel]

Avan continued to walk with Mira and the rest of the assault team. He looked at Irina. The two had never gotten to know each other very well. Though getting to know others really well for pure friendly reasons wasn't his style, he made some exceptions throughout the years as a bounty hunter. Mira he was starting to really like, but the rest...well, none of them can be trusted with very much. 

 

"So...since we're just walking in a barren perimeter at the moment...we should talk about something. Irina, your fighting back on the Medussa was impressive. Did you learn all of that? Was it easy, or just another day for you? For a human, that wasn't bad."

[Redbelle]

Anika raised an eyebrow at the 'for a human' part but kept quiet. The last thing they needed was a confrontation just outside of a potential conflict spot. Her Typhoon was out and her large frame made carrying it look easy despite the heavy mods she'd placed on it. Jess would have struggled to lift it. To Anika however, her breeding made hoisting it as easy as lifting a bag of sugar.

 

She kept her eye's moving, searching the area. They weren't expecting anyone. That didn't mean no one would turn up unexpectedly.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"For a human? You're human yourself, or have you forgotten that? I served in the Alliance Marines for seven years, Avan. I saw action on Elysium under Shepard, and Torfan under Kyle. It was brutal," Irina said, "Now take Blondie up there. I heard she had Asari Commando training, and you see the way she swings that Typhoon around? I wouldn't want to mess with her. It would be a good fight though. What she has in strength and agility, I make up for in crazy as that Krogan found out. The boss likes her, so I figure we're gonna be seein' a lot of each other. Maybe after this mission Blondie and I can have a couple of pints and get to know each other better. You know, get off on the right foot this time? Right, Blondie? I'm buyin'."

[Cknarf]

I miss MY armor. 

 

Frank walked on, his legs spread just a little farther apart than usual.  His new gear was totally chafin'.

[favoritehookeronthecitadel]

"Im just saying its impressive. Humans are primarily known for fighting with guns and biotics. Elsewhere we fall flat." Avan commented to Irina. "But you do fight well. I wouldn't call that crazy, but creative."

[Redbelle]

"Sounds like a date". Anika called back to Irina. "We'll bring the girls, get smashed. Prowl the town ports looking for fresh out of the academy alliance types with the cadet smell still clinging to them. It'll be a blast"!

[Kel Riever]

"I'll do that," Jenus remarked in an upbeat tone. "Ten times over."

"It'll be a competition for Jenus," Iole quipped.

Mira shook her head and kept an eye out.

 

Tallis drank more coffee.  She had mastered holding the cup in one hand and aiming her lightweight Disciple with the other.

[favoritehookeronthecitadel]

"Wow Tallis, you must like the coffee." Avan observed.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"Hell, yeah, Blondie! That's what I'm talkin' about!" Irina replied.

 

"Naleena says we have Batarian refugees coming through and to let them pass," Anika said, "One is armed with a Predator."

 

"I would have taken it, but she's the boss," Dahlia said.

 

The Batarian refugees passed through the team on their way to the exit without incident.

 

Naleena and her team moved forward following the path VERA had mapped. There were no IEDs along the way. They arrived at the exit. Naleena did a life sign scan with her omni-tool and it appeared to be clear above. She looked up at the manhole cover, climbed the ladder, pushed it aside, then poked her head above street level.

 

“It’s clear. Follow me,” she said as she climbed out onto the street.

 

Williams knew the area. “I suggest we go through this office building to minimize our time on the street. We can cross another street, break into the Yoshizawa Building. The main entrance to that is on the main square with the support column.”

 

“What about alarms?” Naleena asked.

 

“I heard you were good.” Williams replied.

 

“I am.”

 

Anika and the assault team began climbing out the utility tunnel.

 

“So do you think the boss and company have the place secured? Or are we gonna have to bail them out?” Irina asked.

 

“One brandy says they’re secure,” Jenus said.

 

“You’re on,” she replied. “I know they’re secure. I’m just up for a drink after this. Hey, Frank, how ‘r you doing in that suit?”

 

“Uh, it’s a bit rough and doesn’t fit right,” Frank replied.

 

“Chafing, eh? Don’t worry. It’ll get worse before it gets better,” Irina replied, “They should have given you some padding, but then that defeats the cooling system.”

 

“Cooling system?” Frank asked.

 

Irina rolled her eyes. “They didn’t tell you about it? Get over here and turn around.”

 

Frank went over to Irina and turned his back to her. She flipped a couple switches, and something kicked in. “There that ought to do it. They didn’t even turn on the power boost for you. Bloody wombats! You should be able to move around easier now, too. You owe me a pint.”

 

“Irina!” Dahlia said motioning to her to climb up the ladder.

 

“Look, the quartermaster didn’t bother to give him proper armor training. What am I supposed to do, let the guy suffer?” Irina countered.

 

“Cut the chatter!” Anika said.

 

At street level, the alleyway was dark and cluttered like most alleys, and like most alleys it had a certain stench about it. That of rotting food and feces without the dampness due to the lack of weather inside the dome. Still like with all human cities, rats and cockroaches managed to find their way here. It seemed like humanity packed them along as part of their cargo like old companions ready to add to the ecosystem of every world they touched.

 

Anika saw Naleena looking down at the end of the alley and approached. Naleena explained the situation and what Williams had said about going through the buildings.

 

“Do you think that’s a good plan?” Naleena asked, “Or should we brave the streets?”

[Cainhurst Crow]

Essul frowned as he contemplated the new options, weighing the pros and cons in his mind. If they took the street route, they could run the risk of bumping into a patrol squad, and even with the tactical cloaks, things could get heated fast if they did it. He looked to the buildings from his position, frowning beneath his helmet. The buildings had their own problems though, the risk of them getting caught in the building meant they might end up pinned down there, and that would put the hostages in even greater risk, though it would allow them easier and stealthier ways of travel to their goal.

 

"The alarms..." Essul said as he looked to naleena and williams, "How long would it take to disable those alarms? If we get caught in the buildings we might end up stuck there if we can't guarantee a stealthy journey through them." He said as he looked to the street, still frowning, "If it takes more then a few minutes, we should take the street. If not, we take it. I'd rather bypass the risk of running into a on street patrol."

[Kel Riever]

The agreement was to move along the streets, and so the infiltration team advanced, using cover, shadows, and their tactical cloaks when they had to.  Towers within the dome rose on all sides, either the polished and smooth surfaced financial buildings or the rough and worn textured low end apartment buildings that bordered the area.  The first two of the dome’s support columns came into view, rising up to dwarf the towers. 

It was clear that the support columns were stabilized by some of the building structures.  To get to the columns from street level, without entering the buildings, involved accessing one of the maintenance roads that cut through the towers propped up against the columns.  The infiltration team spotted one of the maintenance roads cutting between two small retain and office centers before an alley formed between towers.  No one could be seen down the alley but there wasn’t a single member on the team who doubt it was being watched.

[favoritehookeronthecitadel]

 

"Keep an eye out." Naleena commanded. "We're a little blind."

 

"I've seen worst." Ashley said.

 

They kept going forward. The realization that they were being watched made the team more careful.

 

"Wow, this feels better now. I definitely owe you that, Irina." Frank said.

 

"Just promise me you'll get me really drunk when this is over. No I didn't mean it that way." Irina replied.

 

As they kept moving, Ashley eyed Avan. They were walking close together and she spoke up.

 

"So, you're the famous bounty hunter." She asked.

 

"Um, yes. How do you do?" 

 

"I'm fine. I suppose I should keep this to myself, but we've crossed paths before. A few months ago, Alliance sent me and a squad against a group of terrorists like this one, a lot small and more trigger-happy. They had hostages, so we had to be careful about how we proceeded. There could be no casualties. It was held underground in a closed-down power plant, on Earth. But when we got there...all of the terrorists were dead, and the hostages...they were pretty freaked. We eventually discovered that you were payed to take them out."

 

"Well, maybe they got what they deserved. Miss Williams, allow me to offer you some advice. You've garnered quite a reputation, especially after the events that transpired on the Citadel when the...whatever you want to call it...ship and the Geth army attacked."

 

"Yeah." Ashley titled her head down a bit. "But I wasn't the only one. A lot of people lost their lives saving the citadel, and the council. And Commander Shepard, well...he saved me, more than once."

"Right, well, if you're really good at something, you shouldn't do it for free."

 

Ashley chuckled. "No, I serve the Alliance. I'll never kill because someone pays me."

 

"No, you kill if the Alliance tells you to. You trust their judgement."

 

"And why shouldn't I?"

"That's a good question." Avan smiled.

 

"Are you usually this annoying?" Ashley got defensive.

 

"Unfortunately, he is." Frank commented.

 

"Wait." Naleena stopped. "I think I saw something."

[Kel Riever]

“Did you hear that?” One of the batarians guarding the access to the column asked.

“You mean you talking?  I can hear you loud and clear.”

“Stop being an idiot, I’m serious.”

“Well, go find out if you think you heard something.”

“Come with me, watch my back.”

The second batarian snickered, “This is the best vantage point we have.  If someone was approaching, you’d have seen them by now.”

The first batarian stuck his head up nervously over the low decorative planter he was behind.  “I thought it was voices.”

“You probably heard the patrol.  Or some stragglers that haven’t been caught yet.  You know there are a few out there, hiding.  It’s a big part of the city.  And the patrol will get them.  We have enough hostages, the bombs are what matter, and we’re here, guarding them, doing our job.  Now if you want to go make a one-person patrol, be my guest.  Go out there and see what’s going on.  I’m sure Camak will have no problem with your loose interpretation of orders.”

The first batarian ducked back down.  He took off his helmet, removed a cloth from an armor compartment and wiped his sweaty brow.  “Camak is a bastard and you’re not taking me seriously enough to make a stupid comment like that.  Good thing for you that you are probably right.  Of course, if there is someone out there moving in on us, I swear if they don’t kill you first, I will rip open your ass with my shotgun.”

The two batarians glared at each other, then neither could keep a serious face.  Both started to laugh, the anxiety of their situation getting to them.  Further away by a good fifteen meters, another batarian watching the building approaches peered at them over his shoulder, wondering what was going on.  “Hey, you jaw flappers.  There’s a job to do.”

“That there is,” the second batarian said.  “Now let’s shut the hell up and keep on task.  I wouldn’t be surprised if these joker cops send some of their jingoistic hero types after us.  We should spot their fat asses about a kilo away but that doesn’t mean they won’t try.”

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Naleena raised her fist to stop and gave the “no noise” hand signal. She gave a signal to Essul to cloak and go behind the parked vehicle she saw across the street. She pointed at Williams to cloak and move behind the dumpster. And she had Eteon stay at the corner where she was. She signaled for the assault team to be ready. Naleena had her SIG drawn. She cloaked and moved up to a parcel service drop box that offered a close vantage point about 15 meters from the terrorists.

 

The one Batarian sat on the curb and put his helmet between his legs, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it. “So, any word from Camak?”

 

“No, the coms are still down. I’ve tried several times and can’t get through,” the squad leader replied. “That’s why we need to follow his orders. Hey, Kharos. Can I bum one of those?”

 

“Sure, Gralek.”

 

Gralek took his helmet off and turned to his corporal. “You, keep an eye on things. I’m going on break.” He took a seat next next to Kharos and the two began talking quietly.

 

Naleena briefly decloaked and signaled to Essul to take Kharos. She lined up her shot on Gralek, and she set a timer on her omni-tool linked LOS to Essul for a synched takedown. 3 – 2 – 1  *fire*. 

 

Gralek and Kharos felt stings in their necks, and pulled out the darts, looked at them, then collapsed.

 

“What the…? Gralek and Kharos are down! Take cover!” the second in command shouted.

 

Naleena pulled her Locust, and selected armor piercing rounds. “Assault team. Move up! Williams, lay down suppressing fire for the assault team.”

 

Williams drew her Avenger, and began firing on the Batarians, and hit one of them in the leg. Naleena opened up with her Locust in bursts.

[Cainhurst Crow]

Essul drew his Cazador smg as he kept behind the car, lining up his shot with one of the batarain soldiers hiding behind another car out in the street. Essul aimed for the cars body, using a three round burst on his gun to pepper the car now and again with rounds.

 

'Keep them pinned for the assault team...' Essul thought to himself as he kept his aim true, "Don't go for lethal shots. Aim for their cover. No spray and pray...'

 

Seeing williams down one of the batarains in the leg, essuls eyes widened as he got on his comms, linking to williams, "Watch where you're shooting..." He said through gritted teeth, stopping himself before he let out an audible sigh, "...Keep those wounding shots to a minimum if you can help it. It...it was good." He said before quickly cutting off the comms and smacking himself in the head.

 

"Get it together..." he muttered to himself as he saw one of the batarians drawing a long barreled rifle he recognized as a sniper. Essul threw out his hand as his biotics kicked into life, using his lash ability as he snagged the batarian sniper, dragging him forward and causing him to slam into a nearby car, cracking the window and knocking him unconscious.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"Hey, I'm following orders!" Ashley shouted, "Don't tell me how to do my job! Wounding isn't killing."

 

Irina saw a support column for a skyway linking two buildings. She looked to Ashley and pointed. Ashley nodded and laid down a barrage of bursts. Irina sprinted across the street to the column. That will give them something else to think about.

 

Dahlia used the opportunity to sprint to the column opposite Irina.

 

"Thought you'd join me over here, D Lightning?" Irina winked.

 

"I thought you could use the help," Dahlia replied.

 

Naleena kept laying down bursts from her Locust.

[Redbelle]

Jess was so focused on the map, trying to trace paths for their group to advance that she missed the figure who swaggered in through the front entrance of the tent that had been setup.

 

The figure had both fists on his hips while puffing away on a cigar. His armor clean but carrying the unmistakable scuffs and faded paint markings that implied it wasn't just for show.

 

Reaching up, the figure pulled the cigar from his mouth in a puff of smoke and cleared his throat. "Alright ladies! Whose in charge of this sideshow"!

 

Jess's eye's pulled away from the map as everyone looked up and their eye's went wide. Jess to looked and seeing who was in standing there, wracked her brain to come up with a name. The figure looked familar. Someone on the news.......

 

Aww crap. Not him!

[Kel Riever]

The hostage takers could hear gunfire in the dome.  Several of the batarians looked at each other nervously, though some of the more experienced warriors settled themselves in for what was clearly more than a few loose cannons roaming around.  All had been trained in some degree if the coms went dead, but the experience of being reduced to simple verbal commands didn’t help moral.

Camak smacked one of the batarians designated to deliver messages hard in his back.  “Get moving!  I’m not having Osarem be bothered by a team of overconfident want-to-be heroes.”

“You want me to tell the teams instructions for when to blow the support pillars for the dome?”

Swinging his fist this time, Camak punched the batarian messenger in the arm hard enough to knock him sideways.  “Don’t be an idiot and listen to what I am saying!  You tell those teams to hold!  If they can go root some of whomever these people are out, then do it.  But you tell them to hold those positions and don’t let anyone get close.  And you better get the point across, because if I see you back here, and I hear one of our positions has been compromised, I’ll put a harpoon through your knee!”

The batarian messenger ran off.

~ ~ ~ ~

 

None of the three batarians who were the last line of defense for the explosives at the first support pillar saw the attackers, but gunfire had hit the skyway above the alley access to their positions.  Each had taken cover behind planters, close enough to talk.  There was a shout from one of their companions in the skyway.

“You alive up there?” one of the batarians called up. 

No answer from the skyway.

“Should we blow the column?” another of the batarians asked.

“And blow ourselves up with it? No, they can have this.  One of the other teams can nuke their pillar and still cause the dome to collapse.  We’re going to retreat and regroup.  We’ll say they came at us with too much force and we were cut off.”

“How did they cut us off?  I’m looking at the bomb from here?  And how many are there anyway?  We haven’t even seen them?”

“Shut up!  We stick to the same story or we…”

The clatter of something landed on the batarians’ side of the planter.  One of them saw a squat, alloy cylinder bounce on the pavement.

“Grenade!”

Blue-white arcing streams of electricity shot from the cylinder and raked each of the closely packed batarians.  Voltage caused each of their limbs to shoot out in an uncontrolled spasm and they fell to the ground.  Still conscious, but stunned, the batarians looked up, armor smoldering from the arc grenade detonation.  Everything was quiet except for their groaning.

Two of the batarians got to their knees.  “Our shields!” One exclaimed.

A female voice suddenly shouted out and the one who spoke went flying backwards, smashing into a wall and falling unconscious from the impact.  The other on his knees stood and tried to level his gun, but was blown backward by a biotically charging asari.  Her knee had crushed into his chest with enough force to crack ribs and knock all the air out of him.  After he went down, the batarian tried to get up but the asari followed up with a Disciple butt to the head and knocked him out.

The third batarian was only beginning to get up and before he could even sit fully, another asari was standing over him, aiming a Disciple at his face.

“Freeze!  Freeze!” the asari said.

Jenus made sure the batarian she had biotically charged and then hit in the head was out cold.  Then she came over to Tallis and the batarian on the ground.  She pulled the batarians weapons off him.  Jenus cheerfully gloated, “You’ve been boomed!”  Then she called over her shoulder.  “Nice throw, Mira.”

Mira came around the corner and hoisted up the disarmed batarian to stand.  “’You’ve been boomed?’  What does that even mean?”

“I don’t know, textbrain.  It’s like a slogan.  You know, put some dread and fear into the enemy.”

“Those two words mean the same thing.”

“You never come down on Tallis for saying the same thing twice.”

“True.  True.”

The one standing batarian was confused by the three asari standing around him.  “Are you going to kill me?” He asked.

Jenus was behind him and looked down below his waist.  “How the hell do you go to the bathroom in that armor?  Don’t you have a release or something?”

“What?”  The batarian asked, confused.

Tallis waived the Disciple in his face as a reminder.  “Answer.  Answer.”

“Uh,…you uh,..you just release the backside plate with a lever on the right hip, just below the belt.”

“This?”  Jenus placed her Disciple on her back holster and reached over to a small lever, more like a tab, where the batarian had indicated.  She then pushed the tab down.  The armor plate protecting the buttocks area unlatched and hung from two hinges.  Jenus lifted it with her left hand, revealing the soft undersuit beneath.

“What are you doing?” The batarian cried out.

“It isn’t that bad a design,” Jenus commented.  “You could probably take a rocket in the ass with that plate affixed.”

“I…suppose?”

Jenus drew the SIG from her hip and point blank shot a tranquilizer into the batarian’s buttocks.

“OW!”  The batarian leaped forward as Tallis stepped back.  He reached behind himself and pulled out the dart. “Hey! Hey…what are you doing…”  The batarian then lost consciousness and collapsed.

“Nice,” Mira commented, “Humiliation as a secondary mission objective.  Go ahead, Jenus, say it.”

Jenus would have said it anyway, but Mira kind of made her feel bad about it.  So when Jenus spoke at the unconscious batarian, it sounded more like she was asking a question.

“You’ve been boomed?”

Tallis did a fist pump.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Naleena switched on her com. "Jess, it's Naleena. Start talking. We're having to improvise," she said. Jess heard gunfire in the background. "Go! Assault team. Get to cover!"

 

The terrorists saw the full team moving into position. They'd taken cover behind the barricade in front of the support column.

 

"Try to raise Camak. We need reinforcements!" one of them shouted.

 

"I told you, the coms are down. We don't need them." their corporal said. He pulled the rocket launcher off his back. "Suck on this!" He fired it at Naleena's position. "Now, let's get the hell out of here. The other columns can bring down this place."

 

Naleena rolled out of cover to another position behind a nearby concrete planter, and she had a better vantage point. "Take these bastards down!"

 

"Copy that." Ashley replied, switching to tungsten rounds.

 

They saw the commandos react quicker than the batarians. The rocket provided cover for the batarians retreat.

 

"Frank, disarm this thing." Naleena ordered. "The rest of you, secure the perimeter. Good job. Jess are you there? Jess? We're disarming one column. They retreated, and we have four prisoners. I'm expecting a hell of a firefight later unless you can talk them out of this. I can only assume they've sent runners to the other outposts, and they'll be waiting for us now."

 

Naleena called Mira over. "Tell your team 'nice work.' And have Iole give Frank a hand."

[Cknarf]

"On it." Frank slung his rifle across his back and made his way to the bomb. "I'll uh... just be a second."

 

Holy f***.

 

It appeared that the terrorists had used the batarian equivalent of human plastic explosives. The bomb was a giant, crudely shaped hunk of off-white clay, with a piece of tech slapped on top. It didn't look very sophisticated, and could have been positioned better, but there was more than enough explosives to get the job done.

 

Frank brought up his omni-tool, and began scanning.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Iole joined Frank at the bomb. "This looks like your Semtex. The tech doesn't look very complicated but there are detonators all over the place on this. One mistake and I think you say 'adios muchachos.' Tell me what to do."

[Cknarf]

Okay...

 

Frank closed his omni-tool.

 

Seems easy enough.

 

"Look over there!" Frank pointed to his left. As Iole looked away, he began pulling out detonators like nobody's business.

 

"What do you think you're doing?"

 

"Uh... disabling the bomb?" Frank rolled his eyes. 

 

"Are you sure that's--"

 

"Yep! You can't detonate without detonators, commando. That's some bomb disposal 101 level s***."

 

"What if it's--"

 

"It's not. Start yankin'."

 

"Are you sure?"

 

"We're still alive, aren't we?" Frank glanced up at her. 

 

"I...okay?"

 

Iole slowly reached for one of the detonators.

 

"No wait!"

 

She froze.

 

"What are you waiting for, commando? Take it out, already."

 

She placed her hand on a detonator, and began pulling.

 

"Stop!" Frank shouted, as he removed another one.

 

"What? I thought you said..."

 

Frank snickered.

 

"I'm just messin'" He lightly punched her shoulder.

 

"Now isn't the time." She frowned.

 

Frank stuck out his tongue.

 

"We are so dead." Iole pinched the bridge of her nose.

 

"Relax, commando, I got this."

 

"Uh-huh."

 

"No, really." Frank pointed to the tech that sat atop the explosives. "This here? Simple wireless receiver. Or something."

 

Iole gave him an unsure look.

 

"Some a**hole in this dome has a trigger. If he activates it, it sends a signal to that thing..." He traced a wire from the device to one of the detonators. "That thing does something to these things..." He removed one of the last detonators. "Then this thing makes that thing explode. Know what I'm sayin'?"

 

"Sure."

 

"Great!" Frank smiled. "So are you gonna get that one or..."

 

Iole pulled the final detonator from the explosives.

 

"I couldn't have done it without you commando. Good job." He scoffed. 

 

Frank removed the tech from the bomb, and chucked it. The detonators, still attached by their wires, trailed behind as it sailed through the air.

 

"One down, four to go." He dusted off his hands. "Hopefully the others are as simple as that one."

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Iole inspected the bombsite a bit more after they were done. "Frank, what's this? This doesn't look good."

[Cknarf]

"F***ed if I know." Frank shrugged. "What do I look like, an EOD specialist?"

[Redbelle]

Jess faced off against the cigar smoking Turian as everyone in the tent looked to her. The Turian noticed. "I guess that makes you the monkey, huh". He looked her up and down. "You call that regulation attire or you just rolled outta bed that way and came here? Doesn't matter. Guyvatus Artalus. Special forces. We were on maneurves and got a call saying there was a situation. Guess this is your lucky day". He reached up with a hand and gestured. "I need your comm key's. Your tac sheet's. And whatever passes for armoured transport around here. Then sit back and watch how a pro team handle terrorist situations". His mandibles clacked in a way that denoted  amusement. "I think you'll find my authority supersede's yours".

 

Jess raised an eyebrow. "My authority"? Jess looked as a data tech handed her a tablet that showed the Turian was who he said he was. "Guyvartus, I appreciate the desrie to help, but we have a team rolling in.....".

 

"From where"?

 

Jess looked up from the tablet. "Their taking a back door approach".

 

"Not what I asked soldier. I want details so I know they won't get in my way. Tac sheets"! He called to another data tech who hurried to do his bidding.

 

Jess walked over and stopped the tech as he pulled the data into a padd. "Guyvartus.... Your not listening. There's a team in there right now. They have a plan and they don't need anyone making it more complicated".

 

"Back door huh? That's fine. I was going through the front. We'll get there before they do so we won't cross".

 

"You can't do that". Jess insisted. "The plan.....".

 

"Plan's changed. I'm in charge now. Get on the comm and tell your people to stand down".

 

"Their silent and if you take the front....".

 

"We'll hit them harder and faster than anything they've ever known before and save as many can be saved". Guyvartus did his best impression of a beaky grin. "MAybe you don't know who I am darling.....".

 

"The the hero of the Raglamesh liberation". Jess said stony faced. "You lead the op that saw the largest slaver camp liberated, so the news said".

 

"Then you know I was the one who created a team especially made to deal with hostage situations".

 

"By hitting hard and fast? Your liberation was blood soaked. A fact that didn't get mentioned I noticed in the news".

 

"If it ain't reported it didn't happen darling".

 

"But you came away looking good".

 

Guyvartus reached out and took hold of the padd in Jess's hands. "Of course I looked good. I made hero that day. People see me and know they'll sleep safe in their beds tonight". His eye's bore into Jess's. "And I'm accredited high enough up the ranks that you don't have the authority to stop me".

 

Jess's eye's bore back. "I have Spectre authority".

 

Guyvartus looked amused. "Really? And where's this Spectre now"?

 

"On mission".

 

"And under comm silence.... how convinient.... I have a Spectre back at headquarter's told me to come here and stop a terrorist plot going down.... Can't get in touch with him though.... relay malfuction".

 

Jess could tell he was lying. He was simply being a smartass with a healthy dose of jackass poured on for added flavour. Up close Jess read his intent. She found it worrying.

 

The man wanted a win. Something to prop up his hero status. The liberation had been a long time ago and his picture on the news had stopped circulating. He was certainly special forces of the type that assaulted. perhaps since the liberation he'd taken the time to look back on his liberation and spotted the mistakes that led to so many innocent deaths but to hear he was going to assualt the front door?

 

And he was right. She hadn't authority over him to stop him. Heck, not giving what he asked for would be tantamount to setting him up for failure if hewent and did it anyway......

 

Her hand opened and Guyvarus took the Padd. "Thanks". He said before popping his cigar back in his mouth and taking a drag. He blew smoke into Jess's face. "Don't get your people in my way".

 

Then he turned and left leaving an extremely agitated Jess in his wake.