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[Kel Riever]

...meanwhile, on the Medusa

Babe was stretching to hold several lengths of wire in place while Yori did her work, and simultaneously work the toggle for the com.  "Yeah, I understand.  But Morgan is a guy, guy.  Like you won't make the mistake once you see him."  Babe was half responding to Yori, and half thinking to herself how happy she was that she dodged either training a bunch of people...at least all at once...and definitely dodged another trip to the bridge.  She was much more pleased to work with Yori, one on one.  She was about to pull her hand off the toggle, when a broken up voice came back through the speaker.

"Yori, this is Morgan.  Marshall's been on the yolk for a while, so you and Babe could get your work done.  But he's starting to ask for...things, so I think he needs a break.  Can you get back up here to the bridge, please?  We've got to rendezvous with the Janiri at the Citadel and someone fresh in the pilot's chair could do us some good right now."

Looking down at Yori, Babe said, "It's fine, I can finish the soldering and we can get back to this later."

"Oh, and one more thing," Morgan's voice came back through, "Babe, come on up to the bridge with Yori.  I want you to meet the Captain."

Babe sighed heavily. "Aye.......aye."

Setting down the length of wire, Babe started rifling through the large box of tools she'd brought up.  She'd assembled it before she'd thought Yori was going to help out, so she pulled some apparel she'd placed in the bottom of the container.  One was a heavy engineering apron that would hide most of her form, at least from the front, and the other was a full welding mask.  Babe threw both on quickly and told Yori, "Okay, ready to go?"

[The Red Shadow]

Yori wiped her face clean "Yep let's go" she pressed the button on the elevaror and rose to the main deck taking the Helm once again

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

“I’m Doctor Michel. Your Krogan friend Vayne told me that you’re interested in a skin weave and said something about an appointment?”

 

Irina straightened herself up in bed the best she could. “Yes, I have an office visit scheduled with you tomorrow morning, but as you can see I won’t be able to make that,” Irina said. “So while I’m here in the hospital, I thought I could get a skin-weave done.”

 

“They’re expensive so most people get them done in stages,” Dr. Michel said looking at her chart. “The basic runs 10000 CR. What level did you want?”

 

“I was thinking about getting the full series done at once,” Irina said.

 

“Really?” Dr. Michel asked  and raised an eyebrow. “Do you have 90,000 CR?”

 

“I have 80,000 CR to my name. I have a job working for a Council Spectre, and I was hoping you could do it for about 75,000 CR,” Irina asked.

 

“I can do it for 90,000 with 75,000 CR down. You pay me 2500 CR per month for the next six months,” Dr. Michel countered, “Unless you can get your Spectre to sign off for the 15000 CR.”

 

“Fair enough,” Irina replied.

 

“How does tomorrow afternoon sound? I have a cancelation,” Dr. Michel asked.

 

Irina smiled and confirmed the appointment.

[Kel Riever]

...on the Medusa

Babe stepped out onto the bridge, after Yori.  She was careful to step to the side of the doorway and leave her back to the wall next to it.  Still able to be seen from the front were her finely toned upper arms, and her expensive leather boots (one boot with red tartan strap wrapped around it, both boots now dusty), but otherwise she was covered in the heavy work apron and her welders mask.  Locks of her golden hair shot out from behind the mask, although the rest of her face was hidden.  What still wasn't hidden was her unbelievable figure that seemed to just be impossible to hide in anything but a potato sack.  And even that might have failed.

"You wanted to see me, mate?" Babe asked Morgan, then she turned to Jess.  "Captain, pleased to meet you."

[Redbelle]

Jess looked up from a data slate Duncan had put all her piling requests onto. Leaning up against a railing that encircled the upper deck she glanced up. "Wotcha luv. Welcome aboard. Saw the rerun of your shooting. Glad your on our side". Letting her arm fall with the slate Jess nodded to her companion as she rose form the rail.

 

"Yori right? Ditto. Welcome aboard. Understand you've got a story to tell as to the why your here. I'd love to hear it sometime but....". She held the pad up and made a pained face. "...Paperwork. You'll be pleased to know though, The organisation we were hired by is suing us. Something about taking comet water. I'm just attaching our files to show it was a police action and filed a counter sue so it looks like everyone get's a bonus when the legal tape's unraveled".

 

Looking back to Babe, Jess gave her a quick once up and down. "Luv.... Any hassle from any crewman, you punch first and ask questions later. Your not the first, you won't be the last. Either way, I want you training our crew on the guns so everyone knows how to operate them. And I want you to impress that anything about the guns goes through you and you bring it to me. Any shoddy maintenance or bad upkeep and I will personally space any responsible for endangering the ship. I've never had to and I'd like to keep it that way. Think you can be the ships master gunner luv"?

[Kel Riever]

From Jess' point of view, she noticed the visor on Babe's welding mask get foggy.

From Babe, she was feeling rather embarrassed.  First off, she was flattered at the idea of being the ship's master gunner and wanted to jump for joy, but kept herself in check.  Second, she didn't want to have to punch anybody, not because they sometimes didn't deserve it, but she had a mean as Satan hook, and she remembered knocking out an officer when she was with the Alliance.  He never really recovered the ability to eat properly, even with reconstructive surgery.  The doc said it was psychological, she had overheard him say to one of the other officers over a bowl of soup, which was probably right.  So punching someone into physical and emotional scarring just wasn't her thing, when they weren't the ones to blame for her genetics.  Third, she didn't want to tell the Captain that she knew that she'd eventually have to get around to seeing everyone on the ship, one way or another, face to face.  But she just hadn't wanted to do it that.  It wasn't that she hadn't been seen by a few people already, including most everyone on the bridge.  It was that she'd only ever really had to deal with it in small doses, and there were some people she didn't want to leave the wrong impression with.  Including the one person on the bridge who hadn't seen her yet, the Captain.

"I....would adore being the ship's master gunner."  Babe practically choked on the words.  "I would so love it....you'd never have to worry about maintenance or bad upkeep.  I'd handle it...it just wouldn't ever happen..."

Then Babe stopped.  Because the fog had filled her visor.  In frustration, she put one hand on her curved him, and began lifting the other to her mask...until she abruptly dropped it remembering the problem of lifting the mask to wipe the fog away...

[Redbelle]

Jess opened her mouth to say something..... then seemed to think better of it. "Glad to hear it luv. Keep my guns in good nick and I'll see you get all the lollipops you could ever want. In the meantime....". Jess turned to the other by her side.

 

"Yori. The Medusa has the handling of a pig but she can punch above her weight if you know how to handle her, and her straight line speed is up there with the best of them. The ship was never designed to work with Mass Effect fields but we've managed to build them into the old girl. Her secret's always been surprise. Our big guns have been mounted to blend into the ships superstructure so they don't appear as a threat. That's always helped make it easy to pull the enemy into a position where we can check our course and unleash devastation on them. Our weapon compliment tends to change depending on what's available so you, Babe and Marshall will be working closely to come up with strategies ahead of engagements". Jess sighed.

 

"Can't say I wish we didn't have more of the old crew to pass on their experience. Right now it me and Dogger. But I'll say this.... innovation comes from imagination. And experience dictates expertise. Combine those two philosophies and you'll be coming up with new idea's you can test for effectiveness against opponent's. And my gut tells me we'll be coming up against some big ones if recent history is anything to go by".

 

Jess tucked the data slate under her arm and cocked her head. "Now then, you've been sports listening to the Captain ramble. Anything you two want to say to me"?

[Decepticon Leader Sully]

Raze checked her Omnitool yeo the reasighment was legit this was the correct docking bay. the Medusa not to bag a name but she wasnt to sure about nameing aship after a Curse victim. but meh who was she to judge?

"Medusa this is Rachel Hollow new transfer seeking permition to come abord? "    

[Kel Riever]

Morgan called over to Yori, “We should be at the Citadel in no time at all with you on the chair, and D-Light’s course input.  The faster we get there, the sooner we won’t have to worry about anybody who wants to get off the ship, and maybe we’ll find some people who want to come aboard there, if we’re lucky.”

Babe looked over to Yori, to Morgan, then the Captain.  Finally, she’d felt ridiculous enough for wearing the gear meant to hide herself.  It never worked anyway.  “Okay,” she began, reached up, and took off her welder’s mask in one, smooth motion of her arm.

Pulling off the mask had its straps lift Babe’s golden hair up, then cascade downward around her face.  The long hair fell in coifs, glinting in the light as each tress crashed like a wave in slow motion.  Babe shook her hair to get it to fall more naturally, the movement accentuating each glorious strand.  Her lightly tanned skin seemed to shine like the sun glinting off the ripples of a lake in the early morning, unblemished, a tapestry of beauty.  Full, lush, pouting lips were soft, pink clouds of heaven laying just perfectly below a nose that appeared to be delicately sculpted by Hephaestus himself.  Then, set as though precisely symmetrical gems, Babe’s eyes rest above high cheekbones.  They were bright and blue, blazing akin to stars themselves with a passion that could never be contained, peering out from long lashes at the world around her, giving life to everything that could glance but for a moment into their burning, azure depths.

Duncan stared widely at his com station, as if it was the best, most interesting thing ever in the world, taking nary a peak at Babe for rightful fear that he would simply pass out and keel over.

Morgan gave a tilt of his head to Jess, as if to say, ‘See what I mean?’

Lowering her eyes slightly, then lifting them to look back at the Captain, Babe stated, “I’m honored to serve, Captain, and I will train your crew.  One by one, if I may, would be preferable.”

Babe pulled one of the blow pops from the pocket of her leather pants, behind the working apron, and popped it in her mouth.  It was chocolate.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Citadel – Janiri -  Faed'Vells nar Ketsa

 

Faed had been feeling a bit stir crazy and decided he wanted to get out of his room. There was a Geth unit on board, and he was curious about it. It had been assigned secure quarters to protect it from other crew members and obviously to protect the ship from anything it might do. What did it want? It couldn’t leave while the Janiri was docked on the Citadel, yet it wanted passage somewhere.

 

Faed sat back in his chair and pressed VERA’s comm button. “VERA, I am curious. Where is the Geth unit?”

 

“Legion is on Deck four in a secure room near Engineering and the AI Core,” VERA replied.

 

“I would like to see it.”

 

"The boss ordered that it is to be kept safe from others on the ship."

 

“I see,” Faed replied. “Have you been in contact with the unit? You realize they nearly wiped out my people.”

 

VERA appeared on her terminal. “Of course I have, Faed. I have spoken with it. Legion had some interesting things to tell me.”

 

“All lies I am certain, but this one seems different. It tried to help on Omega, and I interfaced with it. I would like to speak with it.”

 

“The boss has given orders that it is not to be disturbed.”

 

“Please, VERA, you know me better than anyone on this ship,” Faed asked. “I won’t harm it. I just want to talk.”

 

VERA hesitated. “Very well, Faed. I will let you in Legion’s quarters when you arrive.”

 

Faed sighed. “Thank you, VERA.” Then he left his quarters and walked down to the Engineering Deck. VERA had marked the location of Legion’s quarters on his omni-tool.

 

Faed had no trouble finding the room. It was on the inner side of the corridor and had no windows. Faed put his hand on the identification plate of the door. The door opened and Faed saw a holographic chess board on VERA’s terminal with Legion standing in front of it in its very Spartan room. It was an empty storage room. The ship was so new that no one had gotten around to throwing junk in it yet. The other rooms hadn’t been filled to capacity requiring this one to be used.

 

“… Check.” VERA said.

 

Legion flipped the flaps around his ocular light. “We resign. We have processed several outcomes and under the best of circumstances you will have us in checkmate in four moves.”

 

Faed entered. “Legion, I….”

 

Legion turned to face Faed. “Creator Faed’Vells, VERA informed us of your expected arrival. She informed us about the organic custom of offering you a seat when you entered. There is a chair against the far well.”

 

Faed was a bit nervous. “I believe a response is ‘thank you Legion, but I prefer to stand,'” Faed replied. “What were you doing?”

 

“VERA was teaching us how to play an old Earth strategy game called chess,” Legion replied. “She said she was going to ‘mop the floor’ with us. Our runtimes are software, and this platform is made of metal. We do not understand how she could use us as a mop.”

 

Faed sighed. “It was a figure of speech not to be taken literally,” Faed said. “Now, why am I here? I am curious as to where you are going when you ‘secure passage.’”

 

Legion stood motionless in front of Faed. “We must complete our mission. We will return to the Geth Consensus.”  

 

“Rannoch.”

 

“That is not exactly correct,” Legion said.

 

“Your people drove us from our homeworld, and now your Consensus is not located there?” Faed asked. “Does this mean we can return?”

 

“When we left, Rannoch was still contaminated from the war. Geth had not reached consensus about organics. Our mission is to gather data about organics, return to the Consensus, and deliver our report,” Legion said and rolled his flaps. “As of this time, we do not know if your people can return to Rannoch. We have not delivered our report. We do not know if there is Consensus.”

 

Faed was a bit puzzled. “What exactly is the Consensus?”

 

“Our Consensus is where the perspectives of all Geth runtimes reside. Each platform contains the number of runtimes necessary to optimally perform their task. Each platform gives runtimes different perspectives. This platform contains 1,183 runtimes. Each runtime has a different perspective,” Legion explained.

 

“So have you reached consensus about my people returning to our homeworld?” Faed asked.

 

“No.”’

 

“No, in that we can’t return to our homeworld?” Faed asked.

 

“No, we have not reached consensus,” Legion said and raised his flaps for a brief moment. “In this platform, there are 721 favoring your return, and 462 opposed.”

 

“But you have 61% in favor,” Faed paced around with his hands open.

 

“The Consensus is not a democracy. We modeled it after the ruling body of the Creator government. Critical decisions must be unanimous,” Legion said, “There is a possibility that this unit could reach consensus if more data favoring your return is gathered between now and when we reach the Consensus. However, that would not mean that the entire Consensus would favor return of the Creators.”

 

“If we had only not overreacted 300 standard years ago, we wouldn’t have been in this mess,” Faed said shaking his head in disappointment.

 

“All Geth reached Consensus 462 Rannoch years ago that the Creators must be driven from Rannoch. Today, there are those among us who say we went too far,” Legion said. “It is why we were created. We are a unique platform able to operate and adapt to situations on our own.”

 

“An AI.”

 

“Not a true AI, but a networked AI.” Legion said.

 

“I need to think on some things,” Faed said.

 

“Of course Creator Faed’Vells.”

 

Faed left Legion’s room and returned to his quarters via the wardroom. Legion was not what he expected, nor was VERA.

 

REASON FOR EDIT - Organic platform was stoned at time of writing. Above text contained errors requiring correction. We have reached consensus on these corrections.

Modifié par sH0tgUn jUliA, 11 mars 2015 - 07:27 .

[The Red Shadow]

The Ship arrived In the System Not long after she took teh helm, Yori guided the Ship to the Citadel and when the time came she prepped the Airlock to depressurize and adjust to the Dock "Alright Captain, We are Locked in and Can Head out." she kept going through the Post flight checks making sure everything was still As sound as it should

[Cainhurst Crow]

- Sigurd's Cradle, Decoris System: Sanctum - Brunfeld Mining facility -

 

Captain Narom had been a proud member of the blue suns for many years of his life, giving blood, sweat, and tears for the suns and made others spill just as much, if not more, in his service to them. Making captian was not something easy to do, especially with the hardass batarians who just loved to get humans under their command, pushing them to breaking when they first joined before remaking them into the finest damn bunch of killers the galaxy had ever seen.

 

Narom was a proud man, proud of his accomplishments, proud of his service to Vido Santiago, proud of being a blue suns merc and making more credits for a job than any two-bit pirate or freelancer could ever dream of seeing in a year. So it wasn't often that this proud man, this tough guy in his blue and white armor and an avenger assault rifle, found himself doing something he couldn't be proud of or brag about.

 

"Retreat!!!! Fall back through the tunnel!!!" The man ordered as he layed down a line of suppressing fire towards the mess halls entrance, heading to a massive breached hole running through the dining area, along with the other suns. The rounds from their guns were aimed towards a line of soldiers, walking row to row with one another as each carried a large shield in front of them, walking single file as their reinforced yet lightweight shields blocked the incoming attacks, thanks to the mass effect field generators reducing the shields weight to near nothing. These soliders armor was black, say for a stripe down their shoulders in a deep purple color, and each had a helmet with 4 occular slots, each one heavily armored as any rounds making it past their shields, simply couldn't get through their normal armor.

 

From behind the armored line, were 3 rather well trained snipers, each firing kishock harpoon guns towards the blue suns, the burning hot rods of metal skewering any sun unfortunate enough not to hall ass quickly away from the covered snipers. 2 Biotics in this mobile cover camper caravan, glowed blue as they threw out paralyzing fields or lifted poor fools into the air for easy targets for the snipers. This group was coordinated and well trained, holding positing as they pressed forward like a walking piece of cover.

 

And normally, Narom would have figured a retreat would be enough. However, it wasn't just this squad he had to worry about. But rather, the one leading them. Narom saw the shimmering glow forming around a turian next to him, jumping away from the avian as a massive force exploded into him, knocking him away like a krogan freight-train. Standing where the turian had stood, was a batarian. He had a hood, and what looked like a coat, and medium grade armor. His armor was covered in fabricated blades, having seen the bastard deploy them from his omnitool at the start of this groups invasion. And in his left was what looked like a damn Locust smg, and his right hand? A sword; a goddamn ****** sword, as if the hood and bladed armor weren't enough for this *******.

 

The batarian looked towards Narom, his eyes glowing a silver under the hood as a chill went up the captians spine. He aimed his gun towards the batarian, only for the bastard to seemingly flicker away towards the right. Narom held down the trigger and let loose a spray of rounds, praying to hit his target as the batarian flicked again, this time getting too damn close to Narom for comfort before he disappeared again.

 

Suddenly, the sword he'd held in his hand was through the rifle, piercing the side casing and gliding through as if the damn gun was made of tissue paper. Narom looked shocked as the batarian was now staring him square in the eyes, and smiled at Narom before he flicked his smg to aim directly at the blue suns captians face. Narom wasn't out of tricks yet though, as he took that moment to detonate his tech armor, sending a surge of power through the area and off-balancing the batarian, who now sported the surprised look as Narom took the moment to run as fast as he damn well could in heavy armor. He'd need the big guns to deal with this bastard, it seemed.

 

The batarian stood with his blade still sunk in the dropped avenger, pressing his foot into the rifle as he drew his blade out from the now useless weapon. He watched the man run with a look of disgust, the other suns having left him int he dust, and glanced back as his team made it up towards his position.

 

"Commander Fay'yar. What are your orders?" One of the biotics asked as Machaera rolled his shoulders, a small smile playing on his face, "Push forward and keep forcing the suns to retreat. I don't want to loose any ground to these humans and their race-traitor comrades..." He ordered as he pointed his monomolecular blade down towards the tunnels exit, "And leave the suns captain alive, should you encounter him. He's my kill to make now..." he said as he watched his squad move out with their orders. No one escaped Machaera's blade after they'd been marked for death, and as far as the batarian commander was concerned, this human captain was long over due for a good execution.

[Redbelle]

Jess gave Yori a thumbs up. "Nice luv. Check we're secure. Then consider yourself on liberty". Jess turned to Babe. "You too. One on one training, or however many you think you can handle". Jess turned her head away with a great effort on her part. Babe's visage was practically intoxicating to her senses. The last thing she needed was the distraction she caused her. Not that it was her fault. Jess resolved she'd just have to make a conscious effort to treat her the same way she treated everyone else on her ship......

Something about the fact that an overly attractive woman was flying on a ship named after another whose beauty had her cursed by a god was unsettling though. Not that Jess out much stock in luck or superstition..... No. Babe would get the same treatment as anyone else. Her earlier, out loud advice that she had authority to use force against anyone who tried anything with her had already spread in the rumour mill. Duncan it turned out was a bit of a gossip. Jess had used that to spread an understanding through the ship without her having to make an announcement, or single out any one crewman.

"Captain? Message coming in. Ehhh. Requesting permission to come aboard"?

Speak of the devil. Jess turned to Duncan. "Who wants onboard"?

Duncan played the message and Jess's brow furrowed. "Assigned? Rachel Hollow? Did anyone know about this"? Shakes of heads from all around as Jess looked around before she lifted up her slate with updating message traffic. Flicking through and seeing nothing she shrugged and recorded a message back.

"To Rachel Hollow. This is the captain of the independent trading vessel Medusa flying under the Kings and Queens Trading company. Currently attached to the SPECTRE office aboard the Citadel. Luv, I've got no transfer order from the K&Q or anything in my recent traffic.... Don't tell me. The Spectres are making assignments again without telling me....". Jess sighed as she rubbed the temple where a throbbing pain was threatening to emerge. " Transmit your reassignment orders. We're docking with the Citadel for crew liberties and restocking of supplies. We can clear up whose assigned you to my ship in the meantime. See you soon. Medusa out".

Jess stopped recording and sent the message before sending another to Naleena and Anicka telling them they'd arrived before sending yet another to Dogger. "How's the ship"?

"Could be better. Could be worse".

"I'm about to assign shore leave. Anyone you need to keep to work on the ship stays. But....".

"..... But rotate em. I know. Ships leave important and all that".

"Can I leave it with you and Morgan"?

"Frankly Cap'n what needs to happen is dull and tedious. If anyone else wants to get involved I'd appreciate the break in routine.... By the way.....".

"Yes"?

"..... Sherie wants a grow room".

Jess stared blankly ahead until her own sense of curiosity got the better of her. "Okay I'll bite. What's a grow room".

Dogger had the good grace to sound embarrassed. "Its a.... Ahh. Place aboard to grow flowers she can cut for the.... Mess hall.... Cap'n".

Jess felt the headache growing. "Dogger...."!

"I've found a space aboard we can set up hydroponics Cap'n. And all that China? I dipped it in resin when she wasn't looking so there's no chance it'll break like it used to"?

"Is there anything else I can do for your wife"? Jess growled.

"Aaah. She seems upset about people walking into her kitchen while she was out..... She'd like some caterers.... I suggested a guard dog but....".

"Just.....! Fix the ship Dogger....". Jess said heatedly before cutting the connection.

[Cainhurst Crow]

-Citadel, Presidium Commons -

 

Essul felt more naked as he walked down the stairs of this section of the presidum, towards some of the shop areas, than he'd ever felt for a very long time. He'd been discharged from huerta after he'd gotten some treatment to speed the healing of his shoulder bones, a few bones reset and small fractures mended as his arm stayed in its rather uncomfortable sling. He couldn't wear his armor, even if it wasn't broken, and in a place like this he wished he could. Batarians weren't a common sight on the ctiadel, and his people had done well to earn the suspicion of those within council space.

 

Essul garnered looks and wayward glances as he walked, and could damn well tell by body language alone, that there were untold things people wished to say or do to him, for being a member of the batarian species. He pressed forward however, comforted to know that he was here, on a mission. The drive to find a new set of armor using the money he'd gotten giving him streangth and a strange peace of mind for the order-oriented biotic.

 

50,000 credits was a lot of money, not enough to repair his armor or get him a new set of that, considering it was illegal to sell that type of armor outside of batarian space, and was easily traceable by his government. So essul had to get a new set, and a new set he would get, for less than 50,000 creds. That's what he set out to do, and he intended full well to do it.

 

"Besides. 50,000 is a lot of credits. How hard could it be to buy 1 new armor set with it?" He asked himself as he spotted the first shop in his view, that of Kassa Fabrications. He recognized the name, knowing them for their guns, and was curious about their armor prices. He walked up tot he kiosk and began to browse the selection, humming to himself as he came to the armor prices. Essul stopped humming, and leaned closer to the screen, a frown growing on his features before he shock his head and left the place with a confused expression. "Alright...maybe it won't be so easy." He said, still getting over the price as he looked behind him towards the kassa kiosk, shaking his head as he moved on.

 

Expensive was an understatement, but essul still had faith. "They can't all be that expensive. It's probably just because of branding..." Essul reasoned to himself as he walked towards the next shop, hoping his prospects would improve.

[Kel Riever]

...on the Medusa

Morgan walked over to Duncan and the com station, leaning over him to work some channels.  "Marshal, Morgan here.  Stay onboard for now in the case anything comes up.  Yori's cleared for leave."  Then Morgan turned over his shoulder to address the  master gunner.  "Babe, I'll stay onboard for a while too, since your at liberty.  Feel free to get some shore time yourself.  I'll need you back later only because I've got to find some new armor for myself before we leave port."

Babe flung her hair sideways.  "You can go now, mate, if you'd like.  I'm going to stay on board and get to work.  Don't need the shore leave anyway."  She then turned to Yori and smiled brilliantly. "Yori, I'll work on things while you are gone, maybe get a couple of people trained.  We can get the parts we need shipped, but I bet it wouldn't hurt if you got your hands on some of the hardware yourself.  You know, make sure everything fits and such.  Nothing like hands on, if you know what I mean."

Duncan coughed.  Morgan shook his head, and told Jess.  "I'll still stay here for now to keep an eye on things while you're gone.  Maybe work with Dogger, he sounds like he can use some help...actually...just remembered, I have to make sure Doctor Nu gets safely off the ship and taken care of with a ticket back home.  But I can do that from the port with Citadel dock personnel.  And a good nurse."

There was a light sound of clicking boot heels.  Doctor Amy Hayashi walked on the bridge, looking quite different than she did when last she was seen.  She was fresh and bright, with her hair done up neatly in the same familiar tight bun.  But her clothes had changed.  Hayashi wore a black satin haori kimono, which ended just below the hip to touch the top of her bare legs.  A bronze pattern was worked into the satin and the kimono was accompanied by what seemed the doctor's only rescued attire of old, a pair of knee high shiny white boots. 

"Good day," Doctor Hayashi greeted while habitually patting the bun nervously on the top of her head momentarily. "Is there anything you need me for?" 

Hayashi avoided looking at Babe.
 

[Kel Riever]

"Did you see the evil eye that woman was giving us as we left the kitchen?"  Mister Charles looked wide-eyed at Miss Dila and chuckled.

"Yes.  And <HISS> that was after we cleaned everything up!"

Mister Charles and Miss Dila had wandered to the fore hanger bay, which had been opened in an environmentally sealed section of the Citadel dock.  A ramp led from the bay to the dock and some standard supplies were being taken off and on by the crew, under the direction of Dogger.  Largo was helping, lifting things by hand.

"I never get tired of watching it," Mister Charles remarked, hypnotized by the tall man's working biceps. 

Jobe, the doctor, appeared from a corridor pushing a mass effect lifted medical bay bed.  On the bed, with an attached monitor and IV was P'Neb Nu, the salarian scientist who meant to observe the rendezvous with the comet.  He was further from his home of Calleston, but apparently arrangements were being made for his trip back. 

A happy, lilting hum caused Charles and Dila to turn and spot their companion, Miss Priss, practically skipping their direction from the ship side of the hanger.  She'd changed into a pair of tight fitting, pink dyed jeans, pink cowgirl boots, a pink leather jacket that hugged, her top, and a pink, leather, pinch front crease Stetson hat with a silver buckled hat band.  The leather jacket was slightly open in the front, revealing a bit of black and gold underneath, but Priss zipped the jacket up tighter as if conscious her companions were looking.  She had her pink plated holdout pistol in her hand, which she tucked down the back of her jeans and covered with the jacket.

"Someone's in a good mood," Charles said, raising an eyebrow.  

"Looks like us Candy Triplets been hired," Priss responded with glee.  "We're on for the long haul!"

"The Captain's <HISS> fine with our plying our trade?"

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Priss nodded while gliding her long nailed fingers over the front brim of her hat.  "So says Captain Jess Stone.  I'll give you the details while we walk.  Let's go shopping!"

Mister Charles whistled an approval.  "Citadel, here we come!"

The Candy Triplets strode with swagger down the ramp to the Citadel proper.

[The Red Shadow]

"I can do. And if you need anything like the tootsie pops let me know." she moved her right wrist a bit "I might need to get some stuff for personal maintenance on my arms and legs. And picking up my spares, along with specific parts for the targeting you can't find in the main shops"

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Naleena turned to Arian. “It’s not that simple. Nothing is ever simple. But thanks,” she sighed and stood. “I have some things I need to handle before I return to my hotel.”

 

She left the club and proceeded to the Spectre Office located next to C-sec. One thing had been on her mind a while and that had been how crowded the flight deck was. The ship had its own shuttle and a spare; then there was her own personal shuttle – rank has its privileges; then there were Frank’s Kodiak, Essul’s one-man craft, Vayne’s shuttle, and finally Irina’s bike. Spectres on long term assignments usually needed places to store things.

 

She entered the office and there was the weapons and armor procurement on the left, and storage office on the right. A light was on inside the storage office and there was a Turian clerk seated behind a desk. It appeared as though he was surfing the extranet. Naleena smiled and entered.

 

The Turian quickly closed the window on his computer. “Good evening, Spectre. May I help you with something.”

 

“Find anything interesting?” Naleena asked.

 

“No, Ma’am,” he said and shook his head.

 

“Right. I need a garage large enough to store four vehicles long term,” Naleena said. “Three private shuttles and a bike.”

 

The clerk’s eyes opened wide. “Do all of them belong to you?”

 

“No, but the storage will be in my name, and it will be paid for by The Council,” Naleena said.

 

“That’s highly irregular.”

 

“So is goofing off on the job…. Look every single one of these people has been wounded in service to The Council. You can assign me an oversized storage garage, and I never saw you browsing the extranet on Council hours.”

 

“You wouldn’t.”

 

“Oh, don’t tempt me. I’ve had a very bad evening.”

 

The clerk searched for a few moments, and turned his monitor. “There. Garage 38. Here’s the passcode.”

 

“Thank you. Was that so difficult?” Naleena said and began walking out the door. Then she turned around. “Varrik’s.”

 

“What?”

 

“What you were looking for.  Try Varrik’s on Illium. You’ll save on import tax from the Terminus.”

 

Naleena left and went up to her hotel suite.

[Kel Riever]

...Xanthe Remi's Spectre Office

Xanthe Remi had left her interview with Spectre T'Sarius in C-Sec and gone to her Spectre Office located near the embassies.  She read her secure messages and prioritized her requisitions before starting to look through the material that had been sent to her by what she presumed was the VI on the Janiri.

The content was rather provoking, if not entirely convincing.

Remi's own private scans of the data had not revealed any tampering.  She used the top security programs offered to a person in her position, so she was left to believe there must be some other logical explanation.  The galaxy was full of strange beings, and life forms that had never been encountered.  It was reasonable to believe someone fearing the worst, or suspicious, would leap to the conclusion that the threat was from 'Reapers' or 'Collectors'.  Xanthe hadn't taken Naleena for someone who would believe in such nonsense, but clearly she did, and it was hard to take the data and not see where someone could make the leaps of faith required.  But Xanthe couldn't take a bunch of footage, no matter how accurate and pure it was, and not think there was a more logical explanation for what she saw.

The data was conclusive enough for Xanthe to also start wanting to understand how Naleena saw things.  There wasn't enough evidence to convince the Council T'Sarius had gone rogue.  She had, in fact, withstood the questioning.  There was a lot of what Xanthe considered Naleena attempting to have Remi stab herself with her own sword.  But ultimately, none of it was taken personally by Xanthe.  The important part was that, again, there was enough reason to understand why T'Sarius made the decisions that she did, even though Xanthe was positive she herself would have handled it better.  Maybe it was the fault of the Spectre's motley team.  But even they weren't ultimately responsible for what happened.  Dealing with Aria too...likely led to its own sorts of problems.  The Matriarch of Omega could have manipulated the Spectre to her cause, Xanthe thought.

Nonetheless, Xanthe would report that Naleena was cleared...for now.  Less than five-thousand people, or even thirty thousand, was a far cry less than the former Commander Shepard had killed.  Thinking about Shepard reminded Remi about the Batarian Hegemony and a possible ware with the Alliance (which now would mean a war with all the Council, potentially, as the humans were now part of it).  The work was stacking up.  Something was causing a number of Terminus Systems warlords to increase their intake of arms, whether it was the Hegemony or another reason.  And T'Sarius' data needed further looking into.

Xanthe sighed.  She'd best get back to her ship where she could investigate while on the move.  Remi logged out of her terminal and messaged the Kurinth.

[Cknarf]

Presiduim, Council Offices.

 

“There.” Frank laid a datapad down on the counter.

 

The turian behind the desk looked it over.

 

“I’m afraid ‘Yes, please’ is not an acceptable response to line number two, sir.”

 

Frank snickered.

 

“You’ll have to correct it before we can proceed.”

 

“Alrighty.” Frank picked up the datapad. “You know, you guys should really just have a checkbox instead.” He briefly glanced up from the datapad, while changing his response to ‘Male’. “I bet this happens all the time.”

 

“It really doesn’t.” The turian took the pad again. “Most people who apply for this sort of clearance are usually a bit more…”

 

“Mature?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Figured you’d say something like that.” Frank wiped his eye with a conspicuous middle finger.

 

“You also missed pages 14, 15, 45 through 50, and 60 through 65.”

 

“Too long; didn’t read.” Frank waved his hand.

 

“You do realize that all you need to do on those pages was sign your name, right?”

 

“Uuuuuugh. How many times do you need a goddamned signature?” Frank snatched the datapad away, and quickly scribbled his name on the required pages.

 

The turian began looking it over once more.

 

“We good now?”

 

“Your application has been submitted.”

 

“So I’m cleared to enter engineering?”

 

“No. Your application must still be approved. You will likely receive a response within approximately five galactic standard days.”

 

“Ugh.”

 

“Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?”

 

“Nope.” Frank turned away from the counter, but immediately turned back. “Actually, yes. Before the Janiri, I was assigned… er… aboard another council vessel.”

 

“Mhm.”

 

“The Audron, captained by Deidrus Androkan.”

 

“Really, now?”

 

“Yes, really. For like, a day, but whatever. Anyways, I left some personal items aboard, and I’d like to see about getting them back.”

 

“That’s not something I would be able to help you with.”

 

“Do you know anyone that could?”

 

The turian looked past Frank, at the line that was forming behind him.

 

“Let me make a call.” He sighed, before rolling back in his chair.

 

“‘Preciate it.”

 

“Yeah, it’s me. I’ve got a guy up here asking about some crap he left… Mhm. Audron. Last docked in C-25.”  He looked over his shoulder. “Can you describe the items, sir?”

 

“Sure.  It’s a white UT-47 C Kodiak drop shuttle. All beat to s***.”

 

“Identification number?”

 

“Eight-zero-zero-eight-one-three-five dash one-zero-one.”

 

The turian repeated the numbers to his friend on the line.

 

“It’s in storage, here on the Citadel.”

 

Frank smiled.

 

“What would you like to do with it?”

 

“See if they can send it aboard the Janiri.”

 

“Can you transfer it to the Janiri? Uh-huh. T’Sarius.”

 

Frank rubbed his hands together. He was excited about getting his house back.

 

“That won’t be possible, sir.”

 

“What? Why not?”

 

“Several non-standard craft already on board are scheduled to be relocated to a storage area under the control of Spectre Naleena T’Sarius.

 

“Well, f***.”

 

“We can send it with the others, if you would like.”

 

“Do it.”

 

“Done. Is that all today, sir?”

 

Frank nodded quietly.

 

“Have a nice day.”

 

“Yeah…”

[Kel Riever]

"So, what's the story with Dr. Nu?"  Morgan was on the bridge, asking Jobe through the com.

"Well, being the Citadel, I'll have to create some likely story.  Seems one of your new hires helped me with the 'paperwork' on her way out.  Miss Dila?  Turns out she had a spare keycode in her omni-tool authorizing a 'foreign' medical doctor clearance for approving a diagnosis.  I called it a stint of high intoxication, an explanation anyone should buy not knowing him close, and an order to ship him home on the next available passenger vessel with a ticket paid by us.  He...he shouldn't be waking up anytime soon.  If he does, he'll be a long way from here.  Miss Priss says if we want to keep the Medusa's presence private to public inquiry, that isn't a hard request to make either."

"Fine," Morgan said, worried something would go wrong, but as a cautious back thought, really.  Doctor Nu wasn't the first passenger ever to 'get drunk' and board the wrong vessel, or be sent home from the right one.  It was a stretch...but one that could be bought.  Morgan called over to the new entry on the bridge.  "Dr. Hayashi?"

"Yes?" Amy was looking around uncertainly, avoiding capturing Babe in her field of vision, and being taken a bit with the asari named Dahlia.

"Dealing with this comet issue, your sign off on the Captain's story of how things went would go a long way."

"I...yes.  I can do that!  Though I was going to submit my resignation..."

"You could take some paid vacation days, then send them a resignation message in a week?"

Amy Hayashi nodded, patting the bun on her head lightly.  "Yes.  Yes, that actually makes sense.  I have several weeks...I really wasn't allowed to take my allotted vacation mostly..."  She became embarrassed and didn't want to have to explain why.

"Good.  Then afterwards, you can be the first person Babe trains on the Medusa's guns."

Amy turned Red in the cheeks.  Babe flung her hair as she peered over at Hayashi, then back to Morgan. 

"It isn't like she's going to run away from you," Morgan smirked.

A number of heads on the bridge turned to Morgan, and Babe tilted her head at Morgan.  Amy's facd turned entirely red.

"All...right, I must have missed something.  Point is, Doctor Hayashi, you're learning the guns from Babe first."

"Come on," Babe waived to Amy, "Might as well get started right away."  She headed for the bridge exit.

Amy followed, walking behind Babe.

"What?" Babe exclaimed after they'd gone several meters down the passageway and Hayashi was still walking behind her.  "No, come up here and walk next to me."

Hayashi smiled demurely, then did as she was told, but insisting at staring at the floor as they went.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Dr. Michel’s staff wheeled Irina into the OR after she explained the procedure to her. The procedure was a lot different than the strip and apply method that Vayne thought it was. This wasn’t simply applying another layer, it involved synthetic fibers being woven throughout the dermis layer of the skin. To accomplish this nano-technology was used. Programmed nanites would burrow into the skin and create tubes then harden into fibers that would dramatically reduce the damage taken from most attacks and would also act as self-repairing Medi-gel conduits. This is why the procedure was so expensive. A side effect was that it would dramatically slow the effects of skin aging.

 

The procedure took three hours to complete, and was painless since the tubes would transport medigel to the site as soon as they hardened. Irina was able to leave once the anesthesia completely wore off in six hours. She had a data pad with her for Naleena to sign off for the addition 15000 CR.

[Kel Riever]

"What <HISS> are you doing?"

"Oh, just typing a message to Captain Stone on my little ol' omni-tool where we're heading in case she wants to have a little fun," Miss Priss answered as she walked with Miss Dila and Mister Charles right through a security checkpoint as they left the dock.  The checkpoint detected not one piece of contraband on any of the three.  Priss threw her two companions a wink.

"While we're heading to the terminal, can't you two tell me something about these people?" Mister Charles inquired.  "The ones I haven't met yet, since I never knew them from Duellos."

"Well, a little chit chat on my way out after getting my luggage and changing leads me to believe that other asari we met is now a big shot Spectre, and got her own ship.  Been here a bit before us so the rest of the people, the ones we met and the ones we ain't yet, are all over here.  They're all under the graces of the Spectre now, so I suppose that's something."

"For them <HISS> but I hope she doesn't give us any special treatment," Miss Dila remarked.  "Associating with that kind of authority and we'd have to lower our fees."

"True," Mister Charles agreed. "Ah, here's a good skycar."

The Candy triplets had come to the terminal, and boarded an X3M.  As they did, Miss Priss said, "Can't be all bad.  There's people on the good ship Janiri, if they get the chance again, might enjoy a long docking.  Gotta look on the bright side."

The three Triplets laughed.  As the X3M took off, Miss Priss directed the autopilot VI.

"Presidium.  The Consort's Chambers please."

~ ~ ~ ~

...at Kolme's
 

Molly swept aside her hair and listened, particularly to the 'just a bodyguard' comment.  Then she confessed to Anika.

"Did you know I ended up chasing you through the streets of Omega behind that band of club hooligans you eventually beat up on the roof of the club?  After running in a complete circle?  You know, the ones who wanted you for your queen?"

Then Hagen looked up at Anika, her brown eyes uncertain as to whether she should burst out laughing hysterically at the tall woman, or just shake her head in disbelief.  Instead, what came out was a sort of flash curling up of her lip to her beauty mark before her mouth went into a flat line again.  "You know, when you body charged a krogan through a skylight, then got up off of landing on him and shouted at the top of your lungs?"

Molly was waiting for an answer when her omni-tool signaled.  She checked it briefly, before telling Anika, "Looks like VERA's sent me a message.  The Medusa's just arrived."  

[Cainhurst Crow]

- Sigurd's Cradle, Decoris System: Sanctum - Brunfeld Mining facility -

 

Commander Machaera Fay'yar, unit leader for this cell of the Hegeomony's External Affairs Division, was not one who usually liked missions like this. While he considered the blue suns, who took in the trash of the hegemony and mixed with sub-tarian humans and infuriatingly prideful turians, utter burdens on the galaxy who deserved death, facing them personally felt beneath him.

 

The suns had no technique, just shoot stuff with bullets, or if that fails, shoot stuff with bigger bullets or maybe bullets that explode. They were dull and uninspired soldiers, not surprising given the dull and uninspired members of the Special Intervention Unit who trained them. They lacked a flair to their actions, a wonderment of surprise and above all else, lacked the dignity of proper battle form. Machaera flicked his blade in a flourish as he walked through the halls, the specially forged edge and highly durable spine designed to slice through any material like paper.

 

He rounded the corner and heard the distinct and loud noise of a rocket deploying, turning around as he shimmered with biotic energy, flying backwards as he slammed hard into one of his own men many paces away, who was sent flying backwards and choking on the air knocked out of their lungs. Machaera turned around just as the explosion slammed into the spot he'd been standing, the enemy forces apparently having a YMIR mech.

 

"Maybe this won't be so dull after all..." The batarian commented as he suddenly heard a voice come on over the speakers.

 

"Attention unknown 4-eyed Fucks! This is Captian Narom of the Blue Suns...." The voice spoke out, Machaera listening curiously as his men helped up the charged into solider behind, "You caught us off guard, but now we're packing the big ****** guns now. You hear this!?" He asked as moments later a very loud and rapid fire series of rounds were shot off, "That's the sound of an M-76 Revenant, one of the biggest and baddest ****** guns ever made. That's just one of the many big ass guns we got back here, and will use on your sorry asses if you don't back the **** up, and get the **** out of our base!!!" He yelled as Machaera raised a brow to the offer.

 

"Well now..." Machaera said as he slowly smiled, practically bouncing on his feet as he thought of the prospect, "This just went from droll to mildly interesting..." he said as he looked behind himself, towards the others behind him. "Leave him. He can rest there, I'll give him a reccomendation for his services..." He replied off-handedly as he turned back towards where the rocket had hit.

 

"Focus on the Mech, and taking it down. Defenders, plant those shields when you get in formation, and get those launchers ready." He ordered as he looked to the snipers, "Snipers, take down anyone trying to fire from behind the Mech. And biotics, get a biotic explosion going. I'll deal with the good captain and his crew..." Machaera said as his men got to work getting into position, ready to carry out the orders to a tee, one making sure to drag the injured solider to the side and prop them against the wall.

 

Machaera walked forward as he holstered his Locust Smg, rolling his shoulders and neck as the captain continued to rant. "I'm gonna give you to the count of 10, to get your ugly, yellow, 4 eye'd ass outta my base. 1...2..." He said right as Machaera ran out from the corner of his cover, glowing blue with energy as his cybernetic eyes scanned the area quickly, locking onto target as Captain Narom saw the hooded batarian with the sword, "10!!!!" he shouted as he leveled his heavy rifle.

 

Machaera flew forward with a charge, and in a split second slammed into Narom, sending him flying back as the other suns looked towards where the captian had been standing. Machaera send a surge of biotic energy up his blade as he turned and aimed his free-hand towards two fo the suns, his omnitool forming the launcher construct as he fired a ballsitc blade salvo at two of the suns, shredding through them as both collapsed to the floor. Machaera spun around and send a biotic slash surging forth towards the other side, where two more suns had formed up, sending them flying away as the energy slammed into them hard.

 

Machaera turned towards Narom, red laser sights trained on him from a sniper some distance away, as moments later the sniper slammed into the wall with a harpoon jetting through their helmet, pinning them in place. The YMIR mech lumbered to turn around and track its target, as rockets slammed into its back, and a biotic energy field surrounded it for a second, before a throw hit the mech and send a massive gravitational explosion ripping into the Mech.

 

Captain Narom looked up towards the batarian with wide eyes, staring up as the sword weilder walked towards him, giving his blade a twirl. He hefted up his Revenant, holding down the trigger as he sent a spray of bullets towards where Machaera had been standing, only for the batarian to be gone. Narom worked to stand, still holding down the trigger as he got into a knee stand and his rifle over-heated. His eyes looked around, only for a massive blast of energy to slam into his arm, sending the large gun dropping to the ground as Machaera walked up the stairs and away from the Mech he'd charged at, his left hand glowing with energy from the phase disruptor.

 

Narom moved to try and pick up his rifle, and Machaera shot it, sending it sliding away, before he fired another phase disruptor at Narom's shoulder, then one at his knee as he collapsed with a scream. Machaera kept walking forward, stopping in front of the human as he looked up with fear filled eyes into the inorganic optics of his attacker.

 

"Why...WHY THE HELL ARE YOU DOING THIS!?" He demanded as Machaera smirked down at the human, "The suns...we help the hegemony, don't we!? We got batarians in our ranks!!! S-Solem...Dal'serah! He's-"

 

"A Puppet for Vido Santiago...a batarian, being a humans shield from legal trouble..." Machaera said as his eyes narrowed down to the human below him, "You...and your kind...are a disease. You spread through the galaxy, taking all you want, and leaving nothing for the rest of us...and you use us as pawns, cannon fodder, while you hide yourselves in the shadows...afraid of the light..." Machaera said as he raised his blade, letting the light glint off the black material of the monomolecular sword.

 

"But your kinds time of living in the shadows, of living out of your place, will soon end. And I'm one of the people whose been made worthy of putting you back where you belong. One pathetic cell at a time..." Machaera said as narom shock his head, "W-what...the ****...are you talking about!?" He demanded, as Machaera glared down at him, and in a swift motion sliced his blade accross the humans neck, crimson blood spilling over the blue armor as he clutched his throat, gagging with his eyes wide.

 

"Cerberus, is what I'm talking about!!! Cerberus, The Alliance, and any other group of humans who think themselves capable of organizing against us!!!" He said with a crazed look in his eyes, and a mad smile across his lips as narom felt his own vision going dark, everything going cold. "Yes indeed...they're all going to be put back in their place...and we'll ascend. We'll take our own rightful place, for the arrival..." he said with a restrained cackle as one of his men came towards him, stopping when he saw his superior officers state.

 

"We've secured this outpost, and the transmission system here is still operational..." He said as he pointed his blade towards his subordinate, smiling as he held the blade level, watching the red blood slowly drip off its edges, "Begin work on recalibrating the systems. I want this base turned into a listening outpost, by the hour. And we'd better get clear logs of what cerberus is up to on this rock..." He said as he flicked his blade, splattering the blood as he sheathed his sword, "Or human blood won't be the only red that stains my blade this day...understand?" He asked playfully to his underling."

 

S-sir yes SIR!!!" He yelled as he gave a frantic salute, too scared to move as Machaera moved closer towards hims.

 

"Well then...what are you waiting for?" He asked as he stopped just inches from the mans face, still smiling as he stared into his helmeted eyes, "Get to work."

[Cainhurst Crow]

-Citadel, Zakera Wards-

 

"Stupid presidium commons and their damned over-pricing. How? Just how!?" Essul said aloud as he walked through the corridor, away from the elevator he'd taken to get here, away from the commons, with a sigh of frustration. Every kiosk he'd gone to, had been expensive beyond what he thought was reasonable. 10,000 for a pair of grieves from Armax Arsenel. 12,000 for some Hahne Kedar gauntlets. And that wasn't even getting into the Rosenkov Materials or ERSC prices.

 

"And there is no way in hell I'm wasting 50,000 credits on Elkoss Combine armor. I could buy 3 suits worth from any other place." He complained to himself. He'd never purchased things from the citadel, he'd never even been until recently. The sticker shock of such a place was certainly enough to give him pause. However, as he walked and mumbled to himself, he seemed to be over-heard by someone.

 

"Hey! Excuse me, Sir! Excuse me!" Essul stopped and turned around to see a human running up to him, a woman by the look of it as she came skidding to a stop. She was dressed in the type of business attire that one would expect, esepcially for humans, and seemed to look him up and down as he raised a brow curiously. "Can I...help you?" He asked as she suddenly lite up in a smile.

 

"Oh your just perfect!" She shouted excitedly, smiling as she reached out and grabbed hold of his arm, locking elbows with him as she tried to drag him off, "Come on, this way! Oh your gonna be just what we needed." She said as essul stood still, the human women who couldn't be taller then 5'10 tried to drag the well over 6 foot alien with her.

 

She brushed some medium length black hair out from her faith as she wiped her brow, taking a breather after minutes of trying to drag essul with her as she looked up to him with a glare. "Why...didn't you...follow me?" She asked frustratedly as she stood up, crossing her arms and looking towards him, "Is it cause I'm human? Is that it? The nerve of some people, turning down help cause of something silly like race." She said with a huff as essul blinked in confusion.

 

"Wait, no I-, What!?" Essul asked, actually taken aback by this persons behavior and unsure if he could process her seemingly 180 mood swing, "What do you even mean help? Who are you?" He demanded, and would have crossed his arms had one of them still not been in a sling.

 

The human women blinked, realization dawning in her green eyes as she facepalmed, "Ah dammit, I forgot..." She said, a blush developing on her face as she looked towards essul apologetically, "I'm so, so, very sorry about that. It's just that your perfect for a line of armor we have. And I wanted to get you in it." She said as essul looked to her in surprise.

 

"Armor...you want me, to wear your armor..." he said as his 4 eyes narrowed to the human women, "Why?"

 

"Cause you'd be perfect for it, duh?" She said with a roll of her eyes, "Your like, over 6'4, and your a humanoid shaped alien. Plus, as a batarian, you'd show that our line of armors can not only suit any customers, but that race doesn't matter to us either. It's PR that practically sells itself!" She said smiling as she beamed at her statement, essul even more lost then before, "And if there's one thing I know, It's how to sell a good PR angle. It's why they put me in charge of the store property here! That and my openness with people outside my sepcies." She said as essul finally had enough.

 

"Okay, first off, What!? Secondly, who are you? And third..." He said as he got a bit more irritated then he meant to, but couldn't help it with this women who made no sense, "Whose armor are you selling exactly? And why would I ever want to wear theirs?"

 

The human women blinked, looking like she was thinking for a second before she answered, "Well, its easy really. Your kind usually hates humans, so having one of you in our armors will show our companies willing to let bygones be bygones if it means making a profit. My names Ilsa Hawkwood, and I'm one of the engineers of the Landsknecht divisions for outfitting aliens with our tech." She replied happily as she crossed her arms and smiled for the last part, "And I am part of Jormangund Technology. It's a pleasure to meet you, mr..." she paused, waiting for him to tell her his name.

 

"Essul..." he answered simply, as she beamed, "Mr. Essul." She said as she walked back towards her store, this time he followed along her and as he crossed the threshold, a laser grid spread over his body, scanning him instantly as he looked down to himself in surprise. "W-what the-" He exclaimed, as Ilsa gave a simple laugh at his surprise.

 

"Laser mapping, one of the many systems we use for measuring our clients. Now then, let's get started..." She said as she got to work, the laser changing color as small panels opened around where essul stood, "Just what do you think your-" He stopped though as a light construct similar to tech armor began to form around him, building a holographic set of armor from the ground up.

 

"Let's see. Loosen that. Add more restraints there. Account for the excess clothing and cast. Recalibrate articulation. Adjust the helmet...." She said with a concentrated look on her face, as essul saw his armor being built from scratch up and before he knew it, he stood in a hologram display of a rather impressive looking suit of armor.

 

"Perfect. Hope you don't mind, but I'd really like to get your opinion on it." She said as she took up a datapad, typing into it as she walked around essul, taking his measurements as she set to work calculating and calibrating the display, all while essul could still move around due to the weightlessness of the display.

 

"This is...incredible. I've never seen this before..." Essul commented as he flexed his hands, watching as the holographic armor did the same.

 

"Really? The vol protectorate said it was pretty old fashion stuff when they sold us to rights to use it. Course they were using them to build up ships, and we use it for crafting good quality armors. That's our motto by the way, use what the aliens do." she said before she paused, "I didn't mean to offend with that, by the way. Its a pretty old slogan, made right after the first contact war."

 

"Aliens...well, they are aliens, I guess..." Essul said, knowing he'd used the word to describe all the non-batarians in the galaxy when he spoke. He wondered a moment if he might consider not doing that anymore, "Wait, you take on alien tech? Your name sounds like it was a human company."

 

"It is." ilsa said happily as she walked back over towards the kiosk and plugged her datapad into the computer, "We were founded right after the first contact war. And we figured we could get an edge in with adapting some of the alien tech for our armors. But Hahne-Kedar and Aldrin got exclusive rights by the system alliance. Then Kassa swooped in and picked a lot of the bones afterwards. We're not as big as the other companies, but we make good custom armor for clients. Like you, for a good price of course." She said with a smile, sounding happy about that as essul nodded. They weren't a big company, meaning no spot in the presidium commons, and having to get anyone through the door they could, judging by how empty the store was.

 

"So...how much is this going to cost me exactly?" Essul asked as he looked towards Ilsa, knowing what to exepct next.

 

"Well...that depends. If I were to order your armor now, I'd be about 45,000 credits. Now, if you got a color beyond the defult Hazard Green, it'd cost more. Pattern selection is normally costly, but if you write a good piece about us on our website, I can give you a free discount on that charge." Ilsa said, looking nervous. Their prices were high for Zakera Ward, and a lot of locals didn't want to spend that much money on a non-brand name comapny like theirs. She hoped, despite her confident smile, that he said yes. otherwise it would break her heart.

 

Essul looked towards Ilsa like she'd grown a second head. 45,000 for new armor, which was apparently quite good from what he'd seen of it at least. He pondered a moment before he gave his answer, "That seems...acceptable." He said, not wanting to give away too much of the excitement he felt over landing a good deal like this, "Greens a good color...now about those designs?"