6315 réponses à ce sujet

[Kel Riever]

The doctor stepped ahead, putting a hand to her neck and becoming pink in the cheeks. "Thank you," were the only words that spilled out of her at first. She wasn't used to compliments, and her brain ran a mile a minute. Predominantly, she tried to think of her mission to distract her, so she perked up into a tight stride that had her boots clicking on the deck to the double doors she was instructed to pass through.

A strong, steady sound was immediately audible as the heavy, sealable doors slid aside. Beyond were the beginnings of the Medusa's engine room. While all parts of the ship needed work, it was clear where certain priorities had been set. There were still wires coming out of areas of the wall, and markings where someone needed to attend to things, but at least in the entryway, much of the damage had been replaced with clean, gunmetal panelling. Again, Hayashi found her initial anxiety turning into a bit of fascination and she reached out to touch one of the newly replaced panels, before she pulled her hand back.

"Mind if I ask you a question or two?" Amy's intrigue jostled her norm, but the entrance to the engine room set off a string of thoughts that she'd been compiling since she'd first seen the Medusa. Without waiting for an acceptance, the doctor went on. "I don't work directly on engines per se, but I do have to know outputs, particularly as it concerns our satellite. Power, trajectories, etc. So...your ship...is an old freighter base hull? Engine too? I mean, you sound so confident about its abilities so despite the work everything must be in good shape."

Now Amy became embarrassed she was being too forward. She stopped for a moment and turned sideways to the Captain so she could look at her. Of course, she then decided not quite to look directly at Stone, but just a little down and to one side. Hayashi fidgeted with her neatly manicured, but plain hands with short, undecorated nails. "You were mentioning about being able to hit a pinhead in the dark, figuratively of course. But I guess I was wondering why our trip to the comet would have such a margin of discrepancy in it?"

Amy was nervous again. She smirked defensively, and then found smoothing the pants of her uniform to be absolutely something necessary to do right at that moment. "Heh. I mean, shouldn't we actually be able to reach that comet much sooner than the projections we received on our briefing?"

[Redbelle]

Jess gave her an appraising nod. "Your right luv. Under normal circumstances we'd have a better ETA for you.... But you can see that we're a little.... frayed at the seams at the moment. We had a run in with a terrorist who took the ship and let a group of nut jobs run rampant in it. We're still finding damaged sections. Now this ship doesn't network but the power distribution system still ties into everything. Some systems are fluttering on their power draw, taking a little, then a lot, then a little again. Those variations create instability in the power grid. Excess power that needs to go somewhere. If enough power builds up to get through the anti surge circuits we could blow a whole system and we don't know which one it would be. So we're running the reactor in a lower power mode. The engines might be okay but they still draw power from the same source and the other ships systems might have trouble drawing that could end up blowing out the circuits governing the engine output.....".

 

"Simply put luv, I'm playing it safe. Before the ship was taken this vessel had virtually no energy variance in it's system. Now we're see sawing and until the damage systems are all repaired I'm not about to risk the ship's performance by being shortsighted. We'll get to your comet within your time frame so don't you fear about that. It'll just be a little later in your timetable. Still, that's better than not at all, right"?

[Kel Riever]

Amy was leaning in more and more as Jess spoke, drawn into her as she went on with her explanation.  As the captain with different colored eyes talked, Amy strangely found herself focusing on her moving lips until the rest of Stone disappeared.  Hayashi blinked her brown eyes and ran another finger through her rather uncomfortable collar as she listened.  Though the captain’s speech was initially quick and filled with winding logic, as the explanation went on, things seemed to slow for Amy and words were lost, until only part of what Jess was saying was getting through.

This is what Amy heard after Jess gave an apprasing nod:

"Your right luv.  Under normal circumstances we'd have a better ETA for you.... But you can see that we're a little....frayed at the seams at the moment.  We had a run in with…took the ship and let a…run rampant in it. We're still finding…sections. Now this ship…the power distribution system still ties into everything. Some systems are fluttering on their power draw, taking a little, then a lot, then a little again. Those variations create instability in the power…Excess power that needs to go somewhere. If enough power builds up to get …we could blow…and we…So we're running…in a…power mode…okay…draw…from the…source…might…could…blowing out…output.....".

"Simply put luv, I'm playing it…we're see sawing and…I'm not about to risk…performance…We'll get to your…within your…so don't you fear about that. It'll just be a little later in your…still…alright"?
 

So when Jess stopped talking, Amy simply said, “Yes.”

[Redbelle]

Jess clapped her hands together and rubbed them vigorously. "Great! Now let's see if we can't pop the cork on the old gal and get the juice flowing like it's meant too"!

 

Jess moved passed Amy and called out to the engine room. "Oi! Sophie and Gwen right? And anyone else! Someone get down here and start explaining why my ships slow"!

 

From up above on the upper scaffold there was a clang and some muttered curses. Jess looked up just in time to see a pipe wrench tumbling down towards her and she stepped back and snagged it before it hit the deck.

 

From on high, a face peered over the scaffold. "Damn it woman! Don't sneak up like that! I'm trying to figure out the problem up here"!

 

Jess looked up and saw the face of a red headed, freckle faced woman looking down at her as she called up. "What's the problem"?

 

"I don't know! That's the problem"!  The face retreated, but then popped back a moment later. "If your coming up bring that"! She pointed to the wrench. "And tell Gwen I want that extra coolant piping half an hour ago when you see her!.... If you see her.... Durg Nab it I don't know if there's a more useless pile of unmotivated.....". Her cursing, mercifully was cut off as she rolled back over to what ever she was attending to.

 

Jess looked over to Hayasi. "Want to see an ships engine up close luv"?

[Cknarf]

Kima District, Apartment complex, Room #403.

 

"My 15th birthday was coming up, and I was supposed to leave for training." Trudas shrugged. "But without dad, there was no income. Mom was too sick to work, and even if she found a job, it wouldn't have paid enough to cover both her meds, and food for us. I couldn't just leave them behind, so one day, I got suited up in his old armor. Grabbed his rifle, and went to the nearest Suns HQ."

 

"At fourteen? I thought the Suns didn't recruit that young?"

 

"They don't, but the guys there knew who I was, and the situation I was in.  They bullshitted a few records, wasn't hard to do, especially since my father and I shared a name, and I was in."

 

"So that was you patrolling Gozu back then."

 

Trudas nodded. "And you were that kid that always seemed to be hanging around."

 

"Yep. Sometimes I'd follow you, plotting my revenge." Frank chuckled. "I thought I was so sneaky." 

 

Trudas shook his head. 

 

"Your route also had the best dumpsters." Frank smiled. "Once in awhile, I'd find something that was still in the package."

 

"I know."

[Kel Riever]

Like snapping out of a dream, Amy watched Stone and her interaction with her crewmate.  Back in the normal world, everything became proper and analytical once more.  Certainly, the Captain had appeased her concerns to some degree, though they weren’t entirely gone, now that she started thinking about them again, but the offer to see further into the operations of the ship had cgangedfrom one of allaying her fears to one of genuine interest.

With another bun pat, Amy said, “Of course, I would love to see the engine up close.  Please, I would like to know all about what keeps us moving, power, output, performance, statistics.  Really, anything you can show me would be greatly appreciated.”

[Redbelle]

Jess grinned as she walked over to one of the tool stations. Reaching out she ran a finger down a seam and the panel unlocked revealing a interior on which tool belts hugged further panels within. Jess pressed a button to the side and as she held a belt and it came away, held to the surface by magnet's that held the tools to it's surface. Jess cinched the belt around her waist and dropped the wrench into it. "Been awhile since I've had to wear one of these. Follow me luv. We're going up".

 

Putting action to word, Jess moved over to a nearby metal rung ladder and swung herself up with practiced ease till she'd disappeared onto the upper level.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Naleena entered main Afterlife and headed directly to Griss, one of Aria's men, a Turian. Griss escorted them over to the private room she'd reserved. The room was a banquet room with a crystalline conference table, holo projector, and bar. Naleena ordered coffee, tea, and water for her team.

 

"I'll be standing guard outside and checking IDs of everyone trying to enter," Griss said. "If you need anything, just let me know."

 

"Thanks, when everyone arrives, I'll probably call you inside," Naleena replied, and then she contacted her team by omni-tool. "To: Janiri team members. Please report to Afterlife, Private Room 6 for mission briefing. Show your ID card to Griss. - Naleena."

 

The message did not go to the commandos or to Faed.

[Kel Riever]

Doctor Hayashi watched Jess climb up the ladder rungs with admiration.  Amy was somewhat diminutive by comparison to the Captain, being only a bit over one and a half meters in height.  Her light blue and white coat, pants and boots were comfortable for moving, and she grabbed hold of the rungs to follow not thinking much of the climb since Jess had made it look so easy.

Amy climbed the first few rungs and noted that each rung seemed widely spaced.  She wasn’t exactly known for her upper body strength so as she climbed, she let out a huff or two.  Even though the soles of her boots were meant to prevent slipping, she misplaced her feet once or twice and had to pause.  Finally, Amy got up to the Captain’s level and peered around.

[Redbelle]

Jess was there and pulled her up, reaching out a hand and clasping Hayashi's to pull her up. The cut out on the upper gangway made the hole in the floor alot smaller what with safety railing surrounding it to prevent people accidentally falling through so for a moment Jess and Amy were practically nose to nose.....

 

Jess let go and turned without a thought and stepped over to where a lone redheaded woman lay on the gangway, a panel was raised off of a gigantic lump of metal that rose from the floor to another level high above their heads.

 

The redhead was up to her elbows in the machine as she lay on the metal grating, curses muttered every so often. Finally the shadows of Jess and Amy caused her to look up. ""Wrench"!

 

Eye's cinching at the tone, Jess nonetheless pulled out the wrench and croached to hand it to her, whereby the redhead put it down on the grating and used it to prop open the panel, wide open, that had been resting on her forearms. "Thanks. Can see what I'm doing now". She said turning back to meddling with something inside the hatch. "Names Sophie. I'm your new engineer. Mostly by virture that no one else wanted the job. Before you ask.... No. I've never worked a ship this old. Best I ever did was midlife pleasure vessels. Mom and Dad owned a ship firm. Pleasure yacht's. When I was grown up Dad let me play with the engines..... This hunk of tin's even worse than the engines he used to build. Nice regulators though..... Looks like the power management systems overloaded on a few boards and damaged a few so we're throttled back. If your mad, to bad. If I'm crewing I run this engine room my way and I don't take risks with engines....".

 

There was aloud clunk and Sophie, bared her teeth in a feral grin as she withdrew her arms and pulled out a component. Circuits were evident on it's board and a few looked to have been charred. Sophie hissed in anoyance. "Dunno who put this together.... Bad wiring if you ask me. Oh sure it's nice to have a backup circuit pathway but c'mon! Would it have killed the person installing this to build in amp modulators"?

 

Jess stood and crossed her arms. "We were low so we came up with the next best thing".

 

"Well, it's a crappy kind of thing. Gimme half an hour. I'll put this back together. If ships stores don't have any I want soe bought in. I brought some with me but they'll be a overwhelmed in a month. We need the beefy mind and.....".

 

"Whatever you need". Jess said holding up a forestalling hand. "Just tell me how long till we can pick up the pace".

 

Sophie shrugged. "How long is a piece of string"?

 

Frowning Jess turned back to Hayashi. "Looks like we'll be hitting the back end of your deadline luv. Could you wait by the door? I need to have a chat with our engine woman here".

[Kel Riever]

Amy had been eavesdropping contentedly in on the conversation, and making study of the little that she saw of the Medusa’s large engine from her point of view.  She was a bit surprised when Jess asked her to go back to the door, but she didn’t make much of it other than the Captain might have to give her engineer a point or two in discipline.

Even a rough ship like the Medusa probably needed a crewmember placed into line once in a while.

Back down the rungs Amy went, with another huff or two even though descending was much easier than climbing.  She went to stand by the double doors, where the reactor sound prevented her from hearing anyone talking in a normal tone of voice up on the gangway. 

While Hayashi was physically patient, she was not so much mentally, and so her brain went to work with an old child’s jingle she had memorized to help her begin to learn physics.  She sung quietly...

Position velocity accel-er-ation

They are in order like a one, two, three

Velo-ci-ty is changing your position

Acceleration changes your velo-ci-ty

That’s when the doctor noticed the spot on her uniform, on the the white part of her coat’s waist.

It was a black spot, and Amy thought it might have been a fleck of grease flung from the component that Sophie had removed.  The doctor quietly thanked that her uniform coat had a liquid impervious surface, so she pulled out a chemical wiping cloth from a pocket, folded it precisely four times to make a perfect square, and rubbed the spot away.  Simple grease was not a problem for maintaining the pristine look of her uniform.

The black spot had turned into a long smear.

Perhaps not long by most people’s standards, maybe five centimeters, and at least a centimeter wide.  Plus it now had a washed out, watery look to it.  Hayashi rubbed a bit harder, noticing that some of the stain came up onto the cloth but most went to spread across her coat.  It was unbearable and Amy was wondering if the length had gone to six or six and a half centimeters, while the fraction of the width had expanded twenty five percent or significantly greater than that number.

Amy calmed herself.  Whatever the spot was, it clearly had one of the few reactive chemicals to her uniform.  No matter, a scientist was always prepared.  The doctor refolded the chemical wiping cloth, replaced it, and pulled out a laser pen from another pocket.  It was a handy tool, meant for cutting small objects or burning things away.  One of its functions was exactly what she needed it for.  Amy adjusted the settings for automatic stain removal and turned it on.

The light at the end of the laser pen flickered and went out.

Impossible.  The battery was good for a lifetime on her five hundred credit laser pen.  Top of the line.  She’d had it for years.  As if it would help, Amy shook it and gave a frustrated grunt.  Nothing.

Amy stared at the laser pen, and then the smear.  She knew she must be imagining it but it was as if the smear was getting wider.  Quickly, Hayashi put the pen back, pulled the wiping cloth out again, made sure to fold it precisely into a square, and rubbed the stain vigorously.

[Redbelle]

Jess turned to Sophie as Hayashi disappeared down the ladder with a frown. "Seriously luv. How soon till we're fully up and running"?

 

Sophie's look was nearly acidic. "I told you....".

 

"Hours? Minutes"?

 

"An hour to two hours if you want it done right.... Miss..."?

 

"Captain luv". Jess moved to her side, turning her with her presence and threw an arm over her shoulder. "Look, I appreciate you want to do a good job, But I need the engines firing on full inside of the hour".

 

"That's not....".

 

"....Possible"? Jess finished. "I know. I used to work these engines. What I need you to realize is that the ship is on a job. And if we don't do the job, we don't get paid! I need the engines firing at full in the next thirty minutes and I know you can't rig a permanent fix in that time.....". Jess let the statement hang in the air as Sophies eye's narrowed.

 

"You mean.... bodge it".

 

"I mean get us to where we need to be.... And when you've rigged the circuits, I need you to deliver false readouts to the displays".

 

"WHAT THE FU-MPPFffffhhppph"! Jess hand snapped over Sophies mouth. Jess shoved shoved her up against the engine housing and waited till Sophie settled. "Don't argue with me girl". Jess growled. "I know that you know how to fix those boards. What you don't know that I know is that we have more than one job and the whole thing hinges on us getting to our destination ahead of time..... without our passenger's knowing we got their ahead of schedule! And the whole house of cards comes tumbling down if you decide to go OCD on my engine".

 

"You don't screw around with engines..... Cap-tain". Sophie drew out the syllables making it apparent she was using her rank sarcastically.

 

"I'm not asking you to do anything dangerous. Just rig the boards to operate for as long as we're in this system"!

 

"And how long will that be"?

 

Jess's brow furrowed. "Two days tops. We'll arrange for new parts to be shipped in after we're done and you can go to town on the drive.... With me looking over your shoulder of course".

 

Sophie looked Jess hard in the eye's and Jess returned her gaze without flinching till Sophie finally looked to one side. "Fine. But after this you and I are going to have a talk".

 

"Count on it luv". Jess said as she released her grip and stood back. "Work on it. I gotta catch up to the doc".

 

With that hanging between them Jess turned and stepped over to the ladder, feeling Sophies eye's boring between her shoulder blades as she did. Reaching the ladder she descended a ways before sliding down the rest and alighted on the deck. She waved over to Hayashi. "Hey luv! Sorry about that! It'll be a few hours before we're up to full speed. You want to grab a bite to eat in the galley? Hope you don't mind but it's been an age since I had a bite".

[Kel Riever]

"Eating," Amy said distractedly as she scrubbed at her stain with the square piece of wiping cloth.  She swore the stain had gotten at least half a centimeter longer.  "Yes."

[Cknarf]

Kima District, Apartment complex, #403

 

An alert flashed on Frank's omni-tool

 

"Excuse me."

 

"Please report to Afterlife, Private Room 6 for mission briefing. Show your ID card to Griss. - Naleena."

 

Afterlife? Fuckin' sweeeeet! I've always wanted to check that place out.

 

"That's work. I'd better get going." Frank stood from the table, as if he wasn't just there to kill someone earlier.

 

"I understand." Trudas stood as well. He held out a hand. "It was nice meeting you, Frank."

 

I busted you in the head with a shotgun, but okay. Whatever you say, man.

 

"Likewise." Frank nodded, while shaking his hand.

 

"I'm sorry you didn't find what you were looking for." Trudas said, as Frank headed for the door.

 

Wait, you woulda been cool with me poppin' a cap in your pops? That's cold, son.

 

"It's better this way." Frank looked back and smiled, before putting his helmet back on.

 

Executing people isn't exactly my thing, anyways.

 

Frank stepped out of the apartment, and closed the door behind him.

 

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

Outside Afterlife

 

Frank exited Gozu District, and entered the area in front of Afterlife.

 

I've passed this place a hundred times, and never got to see past the front door.  Then again, I was like, ten...

 

He smiled wide under his helmet, keeping his eyes focused on the club as he approached.

 

I'm gonna get soooooo wasted. Maybe I'll finally get laid! Oh, right. 'Briefing'. Nevermind. Oh well, it'll still be fun to see the inside. I wonder what--

 

Frank's thoughts were cut short. He tripped on something, and landed face first on the ground. He climbed to his feet, and looked down at the obstacle that he had plowed over.

 

Oh, a person. Feeeemale person. 

 

"Sorry about that, miss. I uh... something about peripherals and all that, ya know?" He pointed a thumb at his helmet.

 

Offer assistance, you f***.

 

"Right." Frank answered himself, before offering a hand.

[Kel Riever]

Detective Hagen needed to get to a communication hub, and not simply rely on an omni-tool message that might be intercepted on Omega.  That was going to cost and also involve speaking to the right person.  Not exactly her forte in a station rampant with criminals and outside her jurisdiction. 

Molly deactivated her omni-tool and stepped out of the alcove.  There was an argument of some sort brewing on the line in front of Afterlife.  Her natural reaction was to see what was going on, and noting there wasn’t anything other than normal disgruntlement in front of Aria’s club, she kept walking.  She was looking the wrong way to notice the young man on her left and collided into him.

Hagen tripped, her raincoat serving to prevent her from putting a foot out to steady herself.  Hitting the floor was a reminder about her being tossed down the stairs from Afterlife, though it didn’t hurt nearly as much.

"Sorry about that, miss. I uh... something about peripherals and all that, ya know?" The young man pointed a thumb at his helmet, which had the word ‘Beans’ written across the top.  "Right,” he then said, as if Molly had said something.  The young man offered his  hand.

On Omega? Hagen wondered.  She hesitated a moment, then took the hand offered and let the man help her to her feet.  Molly swept aside the long strand of hair that had fallen in front of her face, unconsciously revealing the massive bruise on the side of her face.  “That’s a nice gesture,” she said, “Especially given the day I’ve been having.  You must be from off world.”

[Cknarf]

"I am. I'm not. I'm from here actually, I've just been away a long time. I was just on my way to--"

 

Holy hell, what a shiner.

 

Frank subconsciously put a hand up to his helmet, in the same area where the woman's bruise was.

 

"What happened to your face?"

 

Smooth.

 

"I meant the bruise, of course. Not like, 'oh god, what happened to your face.' Your face is fine, otherwise. It's a nice face."

 

Silky.

[Kel Riever]

“You’ve got a way with words, kiddo,” Molly said as she gingerly touched her own bruise.  “And that bad, huh?”

Who is this guy? Hagen wondered.  He is packing a shotgun so it isn’t like he’s unarmed.  Still, the man in front of her was about a decade younger, slender and lacking the off-putting act most people, even not from Omega, put on for the purpose of protecting themselves. 

The detectives straightened her jacket, and brushed more of her loosened hair to the side of her face.  She extended her hand this time to offer a shake, and introduced herself.  “Molly.”

[Cknarf]

"I knew a bum named Molly once.  Well, it was more of a nickname, actually. Turian fella. Had a crazy long first name that none of the other kids could pronounce."  

I wonder if he's still around?

 

Frank stroked the 'chin' of his helmet with his free hand, still shaking Molly's with the other.

 

You're supposed to give your name

 

"Oh, and I'm Frank." He nodded, before finally releasing his grip. He looked down at the time on his omni-tool.

 

Late.

 

The walk from Kima to Afterlife had taken a little longer than he'd expected

 

Ah, f*** it. What's another few minutes?

 

"So, Mols, What brings you to this fine rock?" He checked the time again.

 

Another few minutes of me not chillin' in Afterlife, that's what.

[TheMajonese]

In front of the Afterlife

 

In the aftermath, Arian wasn't really surprised about the human's reaction after seeing the turian. After the things he had done during his time with the Blue Suns, it was no wonder that some people were seriously pissed off. His actions had gave him quite a reputation, although it wasn't a really good one. For some reason, the other Blue Suns had called him "Werewolf". Arian still had no idea what the name meant and since many of them had been afraid of Arian, he wasn't sure if he really wanted to find out what it was about.

 

Suddenly, his omni tool drew his attention. He had recieved a message from Naleena and after reading it, Arian sighed. She wanted the crew in the Afterlife and that now included him as well. He was hoping that she had a task for the team, the harder and more dangerous the better.

 

 

 

While heading for the private rooms, Arian had no eyes for the Afterlife. It wasn’t the sort of club he liked to be in. Everything, from the music to the asari dancers and the weird lightning atmosphere, made him feel uncomfortable.

 

When Arian entered the private room in which Naleena wanted to meet the team, the spectre was already there. Aside from her, there was a krogan who looked rather small and a female turian. Without saying anything Arian leaned against the wall next to the door and crossed his arms. As always, he felt like he should open his mouth and say something but in the end he just kept still and let others talk.

[Kel Riever]

"Pleased to meet you, Frank.  Really, I'm not exactly sure what the chances are of meeting a polite stranger on Omega but I'm sure they're pretty low.  Got somewhere to go, by the way?"  Molly motioned to Frank's omni-tool which she saw him check twice.  "Don't let me hold you up, I'm not up to much here other than being thrown out of Afterlife."

Hagen spotted a turian with red markings and a rather violent looking appearance over Frank's shoulder.  The turian went to the head of the line at the front of Afterlife, had his ID checked and went right in.

"Oh, come on!"  Molly couldn't help her outburst.  "I guess Aria's letting everyone in these days.  Wouldn't be surprised if he knows a Spectre."

[Cknarf]

"Ha. That's totally how I'm getting in."

 

Frank looked at the club behind him, before turning back to Molly.

 

I need to get in there.

 

"Speaking of, I should probably get going. Gotta meet the boss. Not like the boss boss, but my boss, ya know?"

 

Frank did something on his omni-tool.

 

"Call me sometime, huh Mols?"

 

He turned, and began heading towards Afterlife. "My info's already on your 'tool."

 

Afterliiiiiiiiiiiife yeeeeeaaaah!

[Redbelle]

Dahlia was taken back by Higgs' question and had to bluff her way out of it. She continued her work. "And you are?"

 

"Higg's.... Ma'am. We spoke earlier. You mentioned serving on other vessels. I was just curious where you served before the Cap'n made you this offer".

[Kel Riever]

Hagen started laughing at Frank’s comment about how he was getting into Afterlife.

At first.

Then she realized he was serious.

Molly suddenly grabbed Frank by the arm as he moved to walk away.

“Wait!”  Tugging perhaps a little too desperately, Molly softened.  “Wait, Frank.  You’re not joking are you?  There’s a Spectre you work for in there?”

The look on the detective’s face was suddenly concerned and intense.  Colliding ideas that the young man in front of her couldn’t possibly be working for a Spectre, and that she knew he wasn’t lying, caused Molly to reach for some way of making sense of it all.  “I…need to talk to a Spectre.  And I’m sorry, I don’t even know you Frank, but I’m at the end of my rope here.”

[Cainhurst Crow]

"Why is it that every place we go seems to always have high end meet up places?" Vayne asked as he ran a hand over the conference table, tilting his head to look at the crystal composition and how absolutely sparkly it was to him. It unnerved him a bit, how much good stuff their team always seemed to get, having spent most of his life having seedy and cheap backrooms and brothels to host his own meetings. That or his cramp office back on illium, which wasn't that much of an improvement given his general cheapskate attitude.

 

"Not complaining or nothing, fact I love it. Can't help but miss the old rusting wall, unidentifiable odor motifs a lot of the cheaper places have." He said, voice dripping in sarcasm as he took a cup of the coffee offered and gave a breif thanks to naleena for ordering some.

 

The first person arrived, and vayne looked to see it was one of the turians they'd recently recruited, he thought anyway. He hadn't meet arian, having been in the medbay during his recruitment and training, and so didn't know if he was a new recruit or a member of the audrons crew who'd found his way to serving on the janiri. His face markings didn't look familiar to him, so that was a start at least.

 

Vayne watched him get settled in along the wall, raising a brow as he walked over to the lad, making sure to keep his one eye on him as he gave a small smile.

 

"Kavadar Vayne..." He said as he put a hand to his chest and pointed a thumb at it, letting the turian know it was his name before raised a brow at the turian, "What's your name, kid?"

 

===========================================================

 

Essul got the message on his omnitool as he was getting ready to get another training session in, pausing as he let out a sigh. Being out in the field would normally be something he looked forward to, a chance to be out of the cramp walls of the ship and out in an open space again.

 

Now things were different, everything was different. And essul wasn't sure what it was going to be like, being his own man for once. Not worrying about higher ups or bureaucrats ready to tear his reports apart for new information. The thought giving him pause as he made his way towards his quarters, slowing his pace as he marched forward. No more reports being sent home, no more home to report to once all this was done. To call his situation lonely was a drastic understatement, at least when he was alone there weren't people actively seeking to kill him.

 

The thought and emotions clawed inside him, and essul forced them down as he finally reached his door, opening them up and stepping towards his armor case. He unsheathed his belt and placed it on the table, getting to work getting dressed in his battle attire. Each piece of armor felt like it weighed a ton, strapping and securing them in place taking longer then he thought they would as he came to the last piece, his helmet.

 

Essul held it firmly in his grasp, turning it around so he looked down into the carved image of his faceplate, the skull pattern staring back up to him in an expression essul could never decide upon, seeing it change with every turn he made examining it, and every mood he felt at the time. He ran an armored hand across the etching, feeling the rough surface as brought it up to his forehead and rested it against his own. He closed his eyes, standing still as he held his helmet like a halmet skull, inside the helmet having 2 small inscriptions written along the lower lip.

 

"Fear of death is a weapon. Become death, and live as a weapon of peace.", scrawled in messy hand made text, across from a more official looking message, "Property of Lt. Cdr Anusiya. Please return to owner for proper disposal".

 

Essul stood still for a solid minute before he slowly turned the helmet around, slipping it onto his face as he locked it securely, walking to the table to pick up his knife. He held it as well, feeling its weight as he took in a heavy breath, holding it before exhaling slowly, and slide it into his chest holster.

 

Essul now set for work, he set out to meet the others at afterlife, feeling as if he were going to meet them for the first time.

[Cknarf]

Note to self: 'I work for a spectre' Line works well. Perhaps a little Too well.

 

 

"Relax, Mols." Frank gently pried her grip away from his arm. "I'm sure the boss could spare a few minutes."

 

Maybe.

 

"But you're probably gonna have to wait until we're done here."

 

Whatever it is that we're doing.

 

"I'll be glad to pass the message along, but I can't just go in there like 'hey, boss. There's a stranger outside looking for you.', you know? She's gonna want a reason."

 

Frank shrugged.

 

"State 'cha business, Mols."