Anika stood outside Kolmes. The holo sign outside the dor saying they were shut. Looking at the open times she saw they were still supposed to be open for another three hours.
Yeli.
It had to be that layabout she thought as she stepped up to the doors. They didn't swish open and Anika jammed her armoured fingers into the crack and pulled. The doors protested at first, then with the sound of something springing the wall frame, they groaned open and Anika stepped inside.
The office was empty.
Running cadences were a natural with Tallis, since she sang both the 'ping' and the 'echo'. The four commandos were running the same route the C-Sec officers and cadets were used to on the Presidium. There were rules, like anywhere else, so it had to be clean, but though they had just started out, it was one of the nicest runs they'd ever been on from a scenic point of view.
Father, Father don't you cry
Your lil' girl's jumpin' from the sky
And Mother, Mother, don't be pestered
'Cause your lil' girl's wearin' Commando leather
Those kids are all right
Fit to fight
They gotta go
Day or night
Jenus was running alongside the new add, Ereba, and though Iole thought Jenus would never admit it, the new add seemed to be growing on her quickly. Iole was with Tallis behind the two (they preferred it more when Tallis would sing the cadence from behind, rather than in the lead), and lost in her own thoughts. Earlier, they'd passed a smashed X3M skycar that had somehow fallen off a platform in front of a high end hotel. But that wasn't so much occupying her as Mira's loss was.
Iole felt oddly alone. She had her companions, of course, and Tallis was easier to get along with, but Mira had held them together. Ereba seemed all right, but at the same time, Iole didn't like Jenus' 'vibe'. Mira had somehow kept everything in check, and Iole didn't really think that her companion, great in combat, was really responsible enough to lead. Not from the point of view of keeping everyone in one piece, at least. There was that interaction in the conference room too, which had made her so angry....could Jenus not put things together? Insinuating that Iole somehow didn't know the danger they were going into. As the memory came back, Iole felt her strides get harder.
The answer, for Iole of course, was that no, Jenus couldn't put things together. That was the problem. That's why she ended up blowing up the Nova Dawn building with a skycar's eezo engine. She didn't listen to instructions so exactly how was she supposed to give them? And Iole didn't like the nickname 'Team Boom'. Apparently she was the only one who couldn't separate the insult of incompetence, which mostly did come from Jenus' blowing up that skycar. What they did on Duellos had worked, had been under orders from Mira anyway, ultimately from the Spectre in charge of the base. They weren't making a mistake, they were taking the risk. Iole was reminded of it every time the twins on the Janiri's second commando team passed in the hallway. Sure, they had lightened up about it, no longer teasing with the name so hard. But it didn't matter, because Iole heard the inflection in her head, and it had gotten meaner with each repetition, her mind adding a nasty tone. 'Teammm BOO-oom!" Sometimes, she'd even imagine the twins laughing.
And what happened to Frank? Iole didn't know. He was just so strange, but in a way that Iole had liked. Maybe, when she was talking about that imaginary friend he had, she'd blown it. Can't make someone like you, Iole, she said to herself. But it didn't make her feel better. She probably wasn't interesting enough for him. Just another soldier in a suit, after all. Shallow. She wouldn't be surprised if Frank thought she was shallow.
Why not? Look at my new team leader? Why would I be different? Iole wasn't one of the Spectre's special team members, as much as they were called up over the other commandos. Her internal voice scolded her. Feeling sorry for yourself, Goldie? That also didn't seem to help.
"Feeling sorry for yourself Goldie?" Jenus shouted over her shoulder, breaking the cadence. "Come on, pick it up."
Iole, lost in her thoughts, had dropped back slightly. Her golden eyes burned a moment as she watched Jenus' back. She didn't want to say even to herself what she was thinking, as she pushed herself to match pace with the team.
"Why do people do this?" Frank asked, while frantically wiping away the red mucus that streamed from his nose. The 'Red Sand' he had picked up on the Citadel turned out to be powdered Cayenne pepper.
Using his other hand, he wiped his watering eyes.
"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"
Stepping inside the office Anika made her way to the back door and was about to press her finger's to the release panel when she noticed two things. The first was that the door was already ajar.....
The second was that she could hear shouting inside.
Her helmet was stowed at her hip and so her ears easily heard the sound of Yeli shouting at someone she didn't recognise who in turn was shouting back at her.
".... This wasn't the plan"! Yeli was screaming. "I had everything under control here"!
"You call a sister appearing in the shop control"? The male voice shouted back. "You knew... YOU KNEW!!! The Kings and Queen's had ties to this place. Keep our involvment low we said! Don't let them know we skimmed the grey goo we said! Keep the old man in the dark...."!
"You didn't have to hurt him"!
"Well maybe if YOU'D DONE YOUR DAMN JOB HE'D BE HERE"!!! The mans voice increased in pitch.
"Where is he"?
"Somewhere he won't get in the way. He found where we were building the armatures. He tracked us down! Something you said you could prevent"!
Anika dropped to one knee and pushed the door open a little, trying to see who was talking to Yeli.
Continuing the Run - The Commandos (SJ & Kel)
While they were jogging around the route Jenus had picked out for them, Iole decided to find out some more about their new teammate. Ereba seemed okay, but she wanted to know if she was someone with enough character to keep Jenus in check.
“So Ereba, why did you become a commando?” Iole asked.
Ereba kept lock-step cadence with Jenus. “It’s complicated.”
“What do you mean complicated? Do you mean difficult because of the training? It isn't supposed to be simple,” Iole said. “If you can do it, you get a great deal. You get paid well, you aren't going to have a problem finding a job when you're done, and you put yourself on the line for something worthwhile. Without us, who would protect the Republics? Or even the other Council nations? The mercs? I don’t think so. Was that your reason?”
“No.”
“No and what?” Iole asked. “You just came aboard and are supposed to be part of our team. We know nothing about you.”
“She can fight,” Jenus said.
Iole kept at it. “You can fight and what does that tell anyone, Jenus? Having a crest as thick as a rock isn't good enough.”
Jenus tossed an angry look over her shoulder, and demanded, “Then what is enough, Goldie?”
“I've had to put up with you for thirty years, Jenus, which is more than I ever believed I could have with your penchant for yanking the wrong box out of a skycar. But at least I learned you, and Tallis too. Enough, that kind of enough, for us to put our lives in each other's hands,” Iole replied ”What about you, Ereba? Shrugging off a question when I've got to know you've got my back? Why don’t you just tell everyone about yourself, Ereba?”
“Yes, yes.” Tallis agreed.
“Okay,” Ereba said.
“You don’t have to humor Goldie,” Jenus said.
“Okay. My mother’s a commando. My dad’s Krogan.”
“Is that supposed to mean it's some sort of tradition?” Iole asked.
“No, it’s not tradition,” Ereba said. “I tried the school thing. That didn’t work out. Then I worked odd jobs that didn’t pay jack and ran up a bunch of bills. I tried the mercenary thing. That didn’t work out. I got arrested a couple times, and that f*cked up getting a decent job anywhere. So I tried dancing. You know, I mean any Asari can get a job dancing unless you caught the ass end of the ugly stick.”
The group passed a series of shops and cafes in Zakera Ward. Ereba continued. “I was working in a sleazy bar on Sanves doing a table dance for a Turian and he reached up and touched my ass. So I beat the sh*t out of him,” she said. “The cops were called in; I was arrested. Apparently, I failed to disclose that I had a Savant X biotic amp – a gift from Dad for my 100th birthday, and my third strike. I was fired… Beating a customer with his own spine is bad for business… And the customer sued the club. Apparently I was supposed to let him touch me in that environment. F*ck that sh*t.”
“So what happened?” Iole asked.
“The judge saw that I came from a ‘decent family.’ My mom is a Captain, but she and I haven’t spoke for years. I was raised pretty much by my dad, and it shows don’t it?” Ereba said as Jenus took a left turn and everyone followed. “Anyway, the judge gave me a choice: prison or join The Commandos and he’d wipe the slate clean. Satisfied? So no, there wasn’t any patriotic call of duty. And as it turns out I like the life, even though they’ve busted my blue ass a couple times. Insubordination, they said. Stupid f*cking orders, I said.
“But I made a promise to someone that it’ll be different this time, and I’m working on making a go of it. I want to make first sergeant before I muster out.”
“Right,” Iole remarked, thinking about what Ereba said but not giving her any quarter at the moment. She ran on in silence, thinking about how Mira had wanted to get in one more run before the team was sent on the mission that had her lose her arm.
- Sigurd's Cradle, Decoris System: Sanctum - Brunfeld Mining facility -
Commander Machaera Fay'yar stood with his arms folded across his chest, watching the communication array give out data as its converted receiver intercepted, archived, and then transmitted the information out to the appropriate relay site, all in real time to prevent a noticeable delay in data being sent out to the relay bouy. The messages they recieved were mostly from a region of the planet relatively uninhabited, beyond the habitation belt of the world, in the more frozen tundra of the planet, where there were multiple operating labs off the radar of law enforcement.
Machaera was interested only in one of them, the one which his sources had confirmed, after much negotiating with his impromptu surgery attempts, was owned and controlled by Cerberus, a number of their front companies in Terminus Space, as well as some of the more sympathetic corporations, put both money and resources in studying with genetics, experimental technology, and potentially, prothean artifacts.
'Not that it matters what they're doing there, as long as we stop them doing it...' Machaera thought to himself as he hummed a short tune going in his head, watching the readouts as they flagged messages and data packets going from the site, as finding any going to the secret lab would flood their small system with too much data to go through, even with VI assistance, 'Find the money, you find the blood. Stop the blood flowing, and you kill the beast. Cerberus will fall, and we'll show these human worms why they should have stayed on their ball of watery mud.'
Machaera was not one for complex goals or ambitions of power, at least not for himself. But even he could not help but envy the Illusive man and his oh so illusive empire in the shadows. An empire he would gladly see burned, for what it had inflicted on his people for so many years.
"So..." Machaera finally spoke up, getting the attention of his technicians, who took off the visors enhancing their data shifting abilities and looked to their commander curiously, "Who are some of the people funding the lab?" he asked, curious about what they'd found.
"Sir. As of now, we've gotten no names, but we have identified certain recurring private corporations who appear to be reciving updates from the lab..." The technician said as he brought up the 4 companies and their data signitures, "Genex Chemical, a chemical company with contracts throughout this system. Guanghui Solutions, a human owned genetics corp with various colonial and scientific endevours. New Dawn Pharmaceuticals, another privately owned company who seems to operate mostly in the Terminus and Traverse. And Sonax Industries, a mining corporation as you well know."
"And whose been getting the most data sent to them?" Machaera asked as his technician went to work pulling up the display, "Genex Chemical has recieved most of the offical reports and updates. However, Guanghui has received the most data traffic, and a large quantity of it not recorded in the official logs. After them is Sonax, and New Dawn seems to be supplying the largest amount of funds for this facility along with Genex." The technician explained, slipping back on the visor as he turned to keep at his work, prefering it to having to talk to other people.
"So Genex and New Dawn supply the funds and the faucility..." Machaera said as he looked to the companies logos displayed on the massive screen within the communications room, "And Guanghui and Sonax get the actual information..." he said as he pondered what to do with this new data, pieces fitting together in his mind.
"The question now is, which do we go after first. The fruits of this labs work...or the water giving it life..." he said to himself as he pondered which action to take. His superiors would want him to deliver a crippling blow to cerberus on this time out of his home system. He'd need to make a wise choice, or risk upsetting the ones funding his efforts.
His right hand tightened on instinct, remembering the price he payed last time for failure. He couldn't fail, nor make a mistake. Not again. Never, ever, again.
Molly watched Jess walk away and stood feeling like a fifth wheel. She didn't know where to go and watched as another man passed with a red bandana on his head to go help 'Dogger' in the mess.
Jess made Iyana serve coffee.
The thought brought a smile to Molly and almost a giggle. It really was a moment of victory in all that darkness. Good stuff, putting a megalomaniac on her heels, particularly after what she did (and those ramblings from the Captain's former crewmate, 'Luscious'). Iyana, big on control, big on image, still holding it together as best she could when Jess turned her into a waitress. And then something had come out, what Hagen referred to as the beginning of a confession. Iyana had started talking to Stone, instead of trying to toy with her. 'I do what I must,' she said. An excuse, the truth in her eyes? Both, Molly determined as she ran the recorded interaction over in her mind. Then that desire that things had gone differently, of course with a heaping of (paraphrased) 'well, that just can't happen'. More justification, reasoning, excuse. Jess extends her hand, an olive branch, a chance to surrender....Iyana disconnects because she can't take it? All of Molly's old X-Men collection stacked in the closet of her apartment (yes, in paper form. The insurance was getting to be outrageous on the collection), for a view of Iyana before and just after she disconnected. There was that delay though, before the plug was pulled. The delay that showed Captain Stone had hit home. Was it that someone had actually given her the chance to give up? Compassion to a monster?
'You're not well, Iyana. There's something wrong with you,' Jess had said. Then further along, '..you have to want to be forgiven...'
"Excuse Largo!"
Molly snapped out of her thought at the slab of man came back her way. Largo wasn't about to run her down, but perhaps he'd learned to overcompensate with his warnings, given he looked like he'd come straight out of a comic book himself, like The Hulk, or The Thing, or really The Barbarian.
Hagen stepped further into the wall, hands jammed in her coat, as Largo went to help with the kitchen and the mess. "Oh, all right," Molly said as she mentally gave in while Largo was passing. "Let me see if I can help too." Detective Hagen went into the mess after Largo to see if she could help with whatever was going on.
Leaning with his back against the wall of the darkened spinal corridor of the Medusa, like he had just gotten up, Morgan stood with a bloodstain on his nose that looked like it had been freshly wiped. The red stain on a once white sleeve added to the evidence of a scuffle. His head down, Morgan heard the loud heavy clacking of leather heeled boots approaching. Naleena noticed him and briskly drew near with her coat trailing behind. He looked up and saw her.
“I’m out?” she said in a stern tone, ignoring the blood on his face. “What in the void is that? I’m out!”
Morgan was hard looking, jaw set, bristling. His stare was restrained by years of being forced to control his emotions, but his dark eyes were wild, swirling with emotion. ”You got here fast,” he remarked off-hand, not answering the question and for a moment, staring down the spinal passageway in the opposite direction. Naleena noticed the slightest edge come off its high, but the swirl was still there. ”Your detective, Naleena. Your goddamn detective,” he then said, as if he was answering her.
“What about my detective? She's here?” Nalena asked. “What happened?”
“She's with Jess,” Morgan looked back a second longer, then down. “She mentioned my family.” As if suddenly aware of what he must look like, he added, “The blood isn't from that. Just from a crew member I was teaching a lesson to.”
“You sent me a message: 'I'm out.' What is that supposed to mean?”
“It meant...” Morgan replied. The wildness in Morgan was replaced with confusion. What was he supposed to say? I'm worried about Jen, Keith and Mom. The people in my life I've tried to save and who are going to be killed now because of me. Because I can't even cover the trail when I'm supposed to be dead.
“...I want to stop thinking about them. Knowing someone either is coming for them or had their claws wrapped around them, waiting to squeeze it shut.” Morgan didn't clarify the 'them', taking it for granted Naleena knew what it meant. “Jess had said I have to stop worrying about protecting them...” He wanted to be telling Jess something. His fear had turned into something else now, a need to lash out. Morgan was coming around to something that he hadn't quite figured out yet. ”It was a knee-jerk reaction. I didn't mean what I said in that message.”
Naleena's greatest fear was put to rest. The fear Morgan was going to run off and do something stupid... at the moment. When she came aboard the Medusa she was angry, now she was calming down.
She instead took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. “Morgan, you're the most obstinate, impetuous, and predictable person I've known. If you hadn't had that encounter with the crew member, you'd have been off this ship and somewhere on The Citadel in some out of the way bar slamming down some whiskey. Am I right?” she asked and looked around. They were still alone.
“Maybe.” Morgan's reply was actually in response to Naleena's assessment of him. Obstinate, yes, 'single-minded' he'd been called in the military. That skill he needed to survive. To hold what was important close while someone with a biotic whip, and much worse, held over him.
“I know this is difficult, and you're known as Morgan on this ship. But our mutual enemy did such bad things that she caused one Broker agent to defect, and another to report false information. If the Broker is backing her it does not bode well for him because he won't be able to trust his intel. If he's not, it does not bode well for her. In either case, her position is not as good as it once was.” And she has no idea of what I will do to take her down.
The information Naleena gave him didn't so much help but it made sense. ”Did I ever tell you my sister was...is...studying to be a neuroscientist? Top shot, heading for the Alliance Academy of Science...or would have.” Nostalgia came over Morgan with his words. It had been so long since he'd seen Jen, or any of the rest of them. “It's a crazy family. It doesn't deserve what's been brought upon it.”
Naleena felt like her heart stopped. Hearing this from Molly was one thing. Seeing it in Morgan’s eyes was another. It was two and a half centuries ago. Her own sister was putting herself through university. She couldn’t save her. Morgan was trying desperately to avoid the same fate. “No, it doesn’t. But what do you mean was… is… or would have?”
"If I could somehow have gotten to them on Earth, I'd know for sure," Morgan explained. "But I can't imagine Jen getting along with the...interruptions." He stood straight off the wall now, lost in thought, but square in the shoulders. Morgan didn't look directly at Naleena, but off to the side, as if trying to remember his past life. For some reason, he seemed taller to Naleena, as if he'd regained something of himself. "Jen, my sister, the youngest. Last I spoke to her she was studying at New York University to become a neuroscientist. She gets grants to do her work, that sort of thing. I'm not surprised, she's driven. I guess it runs in the family.
"But Jen can't study anywhere she wants. She has a medical condition for which there is no cure. She has to be around a proper treatment facility, and medicate herself daily. That's where the money has gone by the way, to take care of that and other things. Her condition doesn't have anything to do with neurology, but it does mean there are only five cities on Earth where she could expect to get full and proper treatment. So her options are limited. Vancouver is one of those cities, because it is home to the Alliance Academy of Science. Which, by the way, is the location of many of the most advanced research humanity is conducting, including neurological science. And... if Jen could get in, she'd have the best opportunity to conduct research with other top centers of research across the galaxy: Sur'Kesh, Thessia, anywhere in Council Space.
"Or... she doesn't make it because she's been forced to lay low, or hasn't heard from her brother who is now supposed to be dead, or something's gone wrong with her high end procedures. Any number of things that could throw her off track. Any number of things that might not have happened if things hadn't gone the way they did." Morgan peered down at his sleeves, and started rolling them up, in part to hide the blood mess on one of his arms. "I'm not regretting what we did to that white haired witch, but it doesn't make saving my family easier. Iyana could be dead, but it won't help if that pale arm of hers has finally decided to reach out and do something to the people I care about. If your detective found out I was alive...what's to say it can't be done by someone else?" Morgan stared again back at Naleena. "And if Iyana finds out I am alive?...." He didn't finish the thought.
END PT 1
Janiri, Medbay.
Frank's first intentional experience with drugs didn't go exactly as planned. With his sinuses and eyeballs still on fire, he sought professional medical help.
"Capsicum annuum." Tolus closed his omni-tool.
"What?" Frank coughed a little, forcing one eye open slightly.
"Earth fruit. Also known as 'Cayenne pepper'. You inhaled the powdered form. Commonly used as a spice in foods that would be considered 'hot' by human standards."
Well, I got ripped off.
"Good. I totally thought I was ODin' or something."
Tolus smirked. "Thought it was Sand, did you?"
"Heh. Yeah..."
The salarian's smirk faded.
*POP*
"Jesus, Doc! What the hell?" Frank rubbed at the side of his face where the backhand had landed.
Tolus seized Frank's head with both hands, and brought his face close, in order to supply him with some critical medical advice.
"Stop being an idiot."
Frank nodded quietly.
"Eyes or sinuses?"
"Eyes."
Tolus began selecting the proper equipment for irrigation.
Medusa – Morgan and Naleena PT 2 Kel & SJ
"If she discovers you're alive? I don't know. Perhaps that detective's charge has to change to investigating the murder of Morgan Severn in addition to the murders of the crew of the Medusa?" Naleena said. "Even though it was my bullets that 'killed' you, because she had committed murder aboard the ship and was fleeing a crime scene, that charge automatically transfers to her. I don't know how long we can keep up this charade, though."
"That's what's gotten to me." Morgan was shaking his head, feeling the futility of trying to keep secrets. Then another memory came to him. He began telling Naleena about the encounter with Iyana on Omega, when Jess had chased him down.
"Jess came for me, and stood up, and she had no idea what she was getting herself into. She's trying to stand up for me and I was trying to keep her out of it, then I knew. It was in Iyana's eyes; I was never getting out. And worse, neither was Jess. I knew that Iyana wouldn't let go of what she had, and she'd try to keep it...or kill it if she couldn't. Why, I couldn't tell you. Jess calls me a martyr. All I was aware of was that Iyana would keep me as her hound and kill Jess. And that was when I pulled my gun, even when Iyana had made it perfectly clear it would cost me my family." And kill Jess, who came along to save a perfect stranger...
(For reference, it all started here: http://forum.bioware...res/?p=16663162 )
Naleena pulled a cigarette out of her case, lit it, and blew the smoke up in the air. "You can't win, can you? In a sense, Iyana has already won. Your action cost you your family. For your family to remain alive, you have to fake your death which we just did and never return, or be killed for real. Or if you go back to being alive she finds your family and takes them as your punishment."
"She hasn't won," Morgan said, shocked at himself for actually believing what he said. "But I fear for them, and then this detective comes around and reminds me that I can be found."
"She preys on fear. You know her better than any of us, Morgan. What does she fear?"
Brows furrowed, not just in negativity, but in despair of not having the answer, Morgan answered, "It hasn't come to me in the years I've known her. Who knows? Maybe that detective of yours is so good at finding me she can figure it out. Something, you would believe, since she seems so hell bent on keeping her control, all her people under her control. Iyana has a thing for Jess and that's clear. It isn't coming together for me. Maybe the clues are out there and it is just a matter of having all the people who know them in the same place at once. Can't promise that, but..."
Morgan shifted his stance. "...But we've got places to go, right? Onto the next thing. I'll get through this, as much as I have my ghosts come back to haunt me." Naleena could see Morgan's determination, even if he was still wasn't nearly as convincing as he tried to sound.
She flicked the ashes off her cigarette on the floor and took a drag. "Yeah, there's another mission. Deep space this time. Are you going to be alright?" Naleena asked.
"For now."
Naleena put her hand on his shoulder. "That's all I can ask. I need to see Hagen. Can you tell me where I can find her?"
Morgan jerked his head towards the aft, in the direction he came from. "Further back, talking with Jess...who must still be talking to her. Speaking of people I thought you'd be looking for, where's Anika. I thought...you two would be around each other more."
Naleena dropped the cigarette butt on the floor and extinguished it. “Chains of command, Morgan,” she said. “Chains of command.”
Team Boom had just gotten back aboard the Janiri, which was readying to leave port. Iole hung back a little as they cooled down from their run, catching Jenus give her an annoyed glance but ignoring it. Ereba seemed tough enough, and Iole wasn't really bothered by her, she thought to herself as she stretched. Time to hit the showers before the luxury cruise liner to our deaths sets sail, Iole told herself, and when she was done stretching, she only cordially asked to be dismissed so she 'wouldn't stink like a swamp varren'. Jenus was only too happy to oblige.
After a quick shower, Iole dressed in ship casuals and headed out of the cabin she shared. None of the other team members had come in, and there was a bit of downtime left over before the Janiri launched. Not knowing exactly what she wanted to do, she decided to head to the lounge, but the unhappy feelings hadn't gone away. Iole was about to give into being alone when an idea hit her that she quickly brushed away. A sort of longing brought it back, though, and she had typed three words on her omni-tool in a message before she paused to ponder what she was doing. She pushed ahead and finished the message:
To: Stunt Man Frank
From: Goldie
I saw you were recently located in medical, which either means you lost two more fingers or you're stealing drugs. Or both. Yes, I'm kidding, don't be so sensitive. I'm burning time in the lounge before launch, and I heard there's only one person on this ship who might even be able to keep up with me in a game of Skybike Racer. Surely your familiar with all the asari pro racers and their stats, because, you know, you're smart like that. Anyway, could use some company if you aren't too busy making friends with Dr. Tolus.
Dead serious I hope you're doing okay with the fingers. Maybe you can tell me about it when you get up here.
One more pause as Iole reread her message. This sounds stupid, she thought to herself then hit send.
Frank was securing the final pieces of his armor, when his omni-tool chimed with a message notification.
"It's about time." Frank smiled. He opened the message and read it.
Do measurements count as stats?
He typed up a short reply, stating his intentions.
[On my way to kick your ass.]
Frank took one last look at himself in the mirror.
"Well, I look like sh*t." He pulled down his puffy lower eyelids, and checked out his eyes. Of course, they were still red as sh*t, and looked terrible. He winked at himself. "Sort of." He stepped out of his room, and headed for the lounge.
There were two other crew members in the lounge, checking messages at terminals with their backs to the couch that Iole sat on near the center of the room. There was a low table in front of it, and she resisted the urge to pop her feet up on it to relax. The game controller (which, of course, included the console) was in her hands. She also had one on the seat next to her, along with HUD glasses, waiting for Frank. Iole was fiddling with the settings for the game, and she had her own HUD glasses on partial view, so while the game screen was projected into her view, she could also see the room through it by altering her focus.
When Frank came in, puffy and red-eyed, Iole barely noticed. Frank was, after all, that kind of guy. If she'd been in a bit more of a sarcastic mood, she might have said, Hey, Frank, looking like s**t, that's an improvement, but instead Iole went with turning her head nonchalantly and greeted, "Hi, Frank. Hope you're feeling better." Iole patted the seat next to her with the controller. "Nobody's beaten me in this game on the ship yet. Maybe you'll be the first."
Morgan took a moment for himself, finally looking down at his rolled up sleeve in disappointment. What would you be in nice clothes anyway? Morgan asked himself. Well, at least the rest of the clothes are okay...for now. Naleena had gone and Morgan figured he'd probably just gone one step too far with Jess, which is why he didn't see her.
There really weren't words Morgan could think of for what he was going through, and it got him agitated even thinking about it. Doing things kept Morgan in action, thinking about things stopped him. Often, he couldn't help it, but the weight of the events that had happened and the voice that wanted to drag him back weren't giving him room to spend time peacefully pondering everything. The only analogy Morgan had was one time, when he was a child on Earth, he was on a car on a family ride along the 'skyway' (once the 'I-87 Thruway' through upstate New York). The sky was very dark in the middle of the day, with a greenish tint, and he saw what looked like clouds going up from the ground and into the sky.
"That's a reversal of the pressure system," Morgan's dad had told him. "Sometimes it's a sign of a tornado. But we don't really get those around here much."
For Morgan, it was like that moment. But unlike the assurance his father had given him, Morgan felt the reversal of pressure was a sure sign that a tornado was building within him.
On his way back, Morgan did finally see Jess heading his way, coming to check on him, make sure he was all right, even while handling whatever antics had happened with her crew that had undoubtedly delayed her. His conscious mind was confused, apologetic, worried about his family still. But when Jess was within arms reach, maybe ready to say something or maybe ready to listen, Morgan grabbed her tightly and pushed her against the passageway's bulkhead in a fierce, but longing embrace. He kissed her, pressing in on her with passion, before letting off. A second of staring into her beautifully different colored eyes and then Morgan said, "You don't have to worry about me, I've got everything I need right here. We're going to take all these people who stuck around, build them up, turn them out, and take them on a ride they'll never forget."
"What do you mean 'maybe'?"
Frank stretched his legs, as if preparing to participate in an athletic event. It was about to get serious.
"You're going down, Commando." He said with confidence, despite the fact that he had never played it before. He sat next to Iole, and took the second controller in his hands.
Can't feel sh*t with this thing...
He tapped at his omni-tool a few times, and pulled the black leather glove from his hand, taking the two prosthetic fingers with it.
Better.
"Fifty creds says I can beat you with only eight fingers."
The Medusa - Naleena & Det Hagen - Kel & SJ
Naleena headed back and heard Jess' voice coming from somewhere near the Galley, and then heard Molly answer. A call came in. It was VERA.
"Boss, I have some information you might want to pass on to Detective Hagen," VERA said, "It could be important."
"I was just about to speak with her," Naleena replied. "Perhaps you could brief the two of us at the same time."
"That would be most efficient," VERA said in a cheerful voice.
Naleena poked her head in the mess, and her jaw dropped at the decor before setting foot inside the room. The only thing strange was the smell of something terribly burnt. She exhanged pleasantries, and found Molly walking out of the kitchen with a box of something charred and mangled in it.
"Molly, I have a couple of things I need to discuss with you," Naleena said. "The first is that you're going to officially add the murder of Morgan Severn to the list of charges against Iyana. I believe VERA has the rest."
Hagen was hesitent. "I'll add them...until the truth comes out. He's not dead but I get your point if you want it to appear that way. It'll go in a report and I'll file it." She put the box down. "Kitchen fire. It's fine but, well, needed a few hands cleaning it up." Hagen was still wrinkling her nose from the odor.
"Go ahead, VERA," Naleena said.
"Since Detective Hagen and I communicated, I had some things that are of high probability that I wanted to discuss with you," VERA said. "It is known that Iyana is a powerful biotic by human standards. Humans have an innate distrust of biotics, and they are treated with much prejudice except in the Alliance military. Their military initiated a program at Gagarin Station, also known as Jump Zero in 2167 where it continued until 2176. In 2176, the program at Gagarin Station was terminated and a new program called the Ascension Project started at Grissom Academy.
"Beginning in 2167, humans who showed potential received L2 biotic implants. Most of these were quite weak, but there were a few who had excellent results and were suitable for military service. However, the vast majority of those who were powerful enough for the military had side effects of some sort."
Hagen nodded. "It's been on my mind. I don't know Iyana's age but I can take a guess providing she hasn't had too many artificial alterations to her appearance. Call it something in the early thirties?"
"There is a non-zero probability that Iyana is in this group. In 2170 they began using L3 implants which were less powerful but more stable which indicates a low probability that she is in the 2170 to 2176 group.
"However, in 2176, at Grissom Academy they were experimenting with new L4 implants. This may be worth investigating. She may have had retrofit surgery to have an L2 implant replaced with the powerful L4. The surgery involves high risk. There is a probability that she may have been part of the Ascension Project either as a subject or as staff. It is not known if she was always going by Iyana. I have observed from the Medusa video that she places high value on her appearance. There is a high probability that has not changed."
Naleena took a deep breath. "That was interesting. Do you think 'investigating for a Council Spectre' will hold any weight with the Alliance? Or is this something I'll have to do myself?"
"I think VERA is onto something," Molly confirmed. "The important part is to find out, and that is part cross referencing and part knowing what to look for. Wherever we get back to the Janiri, I'll start the work with VERA and I'm pretty sure accessing files is something I can do. If I run across any roadblocks, I'll let you know, Naleena."
Molly's wheels were turning now. It was hard not to be too eager, but good investigations meant not leaving stones unturned. And the process was generally more tedious than exciting. VERA would help with a lot of that tedium, however.
"Grissom is a good lead, but I would think something would have shown up there. Maybe it's hidden?" Molly thought aloud. "But I definitely want to find out what I can about the L2 program, because the pool of biotics there is much smaller and the history...well, you know the history. Something is hidden somewhere, is my bet, because otherwise this would have been easy to find. But maybe no one has looked hard enough either." Her hands jammed in her pockets, Molly had almost forgotten about her quick stop on the Citadel between her tasks. She pulled out one of the circular containers she'd hunted down, almost obsessively, and held it out to the Spectre. "Here, by the way, I picked this up for you, Naleena. It's that lip balm. You've got to try it."
"Thank you, Molly. And Molly, a couple more things. We have DNA samples from Iyana," Naleena said. "She may have changed her appearance, but Grissom may still have her old DNA files from Gagarin or Ascension. And then there's the matter of Luscious, Jess' former first mate. He's still in my brig on terrorism charges. I can hold him indefinitely. Don't bother interrogating him. He's mad, but I extracted everything from his mind about how Iyana took over the Medusa and murdered the crew. He was complicit and witnessed all of it. Since you are building a profile you need to know how she operates. If you consent to a meld I will share his memories with you. I warn you, they are very disturbing."
Hagen leaned back and held up a hand. It was instinctive, and she really didn't quite know why she did it but she said, "Maybe when we're under way. Or maybe after I've had chance to sort things out with VERA. Anyway, I have a suspicion on the DNA. No one is required to give a sample by law, but the things that were done in the L2 program...or possibly the military...there's a lot to chase down. I have this feeling though...you know...that this trail has been covered up. DNA would be the obvious link, and no Shadow Broker worth their name would ever alllow themselves to be traced with such a thing. Which takes some extensive meddling, yet we're talking Iyana here."
Molly didn't get into quite why her suspicions were so strong. But Naleena was already aware that someone was able to oust her from her job on the Shadow Broker trail. She was pretty sure the Spectre could get an idea of how a past could be erased, even with all the information out there.
"I should get going. I want to talk to Morgan, too, but I think maybe I'd wait until I can get him in a room with you. Or....," Molly paused as a better idea crossed her mind, "...Jess."
"Okay, Molly. I should go. I have mission prep. We'll be leaving for the Omega Cluster soon. I'll brief Jess as soon as the crew finishes installing the QEC," Naleena said and left the ship to return to the Janiri.
“No way! They’ve even got Tara Ro!” Frank finally selected his racer. “She was my first love, you know.” He glanced over, despite having both sides of the HUD glasses displaying the game.
“Found an early 2174 issue of Fornax in a dumpster one time while lookin’ for food. And guess who was on the cover? Tara freakin’ Ro! Centerfold, too…” Frank smirked a little. “I didn’t eat for like, three days, ‘cause I was too busy… uh… reading.”
“Aaaanyways, I totally cried when she was killed in that seemingly extra-firey explosion. It’s a shame she died so young...”
Frank noticed that the countdown for the start had begun.
Bout to get rekt.
“By the way, how’s Mira? I would have gone to see her myself, but I’ve only talked to her like, once. It woulda been super awkward.”
Frank leaned forward, as if it would make him more aerodynamic. Despite his focus, he was still trailing behind in tenth.
“Sure about that?” Frank threw his shoulder gently into Iole’s, in a poorly disguised attempt to slow her down. Instead, his bike sideswiped one of the AI opponents, and glanced off a wall. “Sh*t.”
"You know, I’ve never been very religious either. Unless of course I think I’m about to die, or something.” Frank shrugged.
Hell, as much as that happens…
”I mean, it’s kinda hard to believe in God, or a Goddess, or whatever, when half of your life has been nothing but a giant kick in the balls, you know? I’ve had some pretty shitty luck so far.” Frank switched to partial view, and glanced over at Iole.
Although it seems to be improving...
“But every once in awhile, I’ll see something that makes me believe otherwise.”
Although Frank was about as serious as he could be, there were still credits on the line. He eyed Iole’s controller.
“Like the fact that Mira is still alive. I could have sworn up and down that she was dead on the floor of Afterlife, and yet, she’s still here. How you and the Doc managed to save her is beyond me."
He shook his head
Even with the best medical care and equipment, people just don’t survive injuries like that. If I was ever asked if I had witnessed an act of divine intervention, that would have to be it."
Frank swatted at Iole’s controller, and made contact. His own bike began to spiral out of control.
“Nooooooo! Not again!”
He pouted, as Vitrual Tara Ro and her bike exploded.
“It’s the ‘77 Astella Grand Prix all over again…”
"Oh, you are such a brat!" Iole said as Frank hit her controller. She tried to recover as 'Longbow' slipped sideways, pulling her nose towards the center of the track, but she clipped the side of Eccentric, and both jet bikes went flipping over into the ocean they were crossing. "Frank!" Iole shouted, half laughing, half in aggravation. She had found herself sitting up, so she crashed back into the couch. "It's okay, I wasn't going to pay you if you won anyway."
Iole tossed the controller and her HUD glasses on the table, spun herself sideways, and laid down as if it were nothing. Her head was against the arm of the couch and her legs were thrown over Frank's lap, crossed at her ankles. She put her fingers together and let them rest on her tummy. Iole's casual wear, that she seemed comfortable in, was a full length navy blue body suit with gold trim and black a pair of high boots (which while accentuating Iole's form, also reminded Frank of how ridiculous Morgan had looked in the asari attempt at male human fashion). "You know that was a freak accident, about Tara Ro. She should have lived. Most of those bikes have state of the art safety systems that will wreck the bike in a crash, but probably save a pilot, at least while they're on the course. There are never any guarantees of course, and what happened with Tara Ro was that her crash field never energized. Disaster straight from the void."
Frank saw that Iole's eyes moved to stare up at the ceiling. She was smiling, but her eyes had become wet. Eventually, the edge of her smile quivered downward, and he couldn't tell if there was the faintest sound of an exhausted sigh, or he had just thought he'd heard it.
"I'm sorry, I've been a little stressed out lately." Immediately Iole felt bad. She didn't understand what Frank had or was going through, and it wasn't as if she'd lost fingers in the last fight, but there was the sense for her that all was not right with Mira gone. "You're right, I should be happy it wasn't worse for her. That's funny, because she'd probably say something like that, too." With a tone of regret, Iole then added, "f**king J-," and cut herself off before she said the name.
Ereba was in the Commando quarters finishing unpacking after getting into her casual jumpsuit. There was a spare bunk, bottom rack under Jenus, who had moved to the top upon hearing they were getting a new commando. Mira's single bed was empty and had her stuff around it, and Ereba was over looking at it. Mira had left it immaculate as usual before her last mission. Tallis walked over next to Ereba.
"This your leader's? Mira?" Ereba asked after seeing her name on the shelf next to it.
Tallis looked up at her and nodded.
"You liked her, didn't you?" Ereba asked.
Tallis made a sign indicating they were friends and that she missed her already.
Ereba sat on bed and took out a picture, and set it on the table next to her bunk.
"Special? Special?"
"Yeah. We were supposed to be bonded before I got sent on this mission," Ereba said. "Then my old unit got shipped off to Sanves. So that's where she is right now. I really miss her. Her name's Shayrana."
Tallis made motioned with her hands that they were both Asari.
"I know. But it's something I can't help," Ereba said. "I can't help how I feel about her. She's the reason I'm making a real go at this. I don't want to get into trouble anymore. I've got a temper, a mouth, and I've got to watch it. It must be the Krogan in me. But I've got your back. I've got everyone's back on this team."
Previously...( http://forum.bioware...res/?p=18787311 )
...Somewhere in the Terminus Systems, aboard the Khukuri
...enroute to a Mass Relay...
Xhuan was in Iyana’s cabin for the first time since her superior had come onboard since the colony, and noticed that while the furniture was much more sparse (most had been moved planetside now), she had brought up both the mask she’d gotten from Jess Stone and her data cube. They lay on the white table next to her stand-in, smaller, bed.
Iyana sat at the desk in one of her sleek, elegant dresses that she often did business in, with one leg crossed over the other, letting the expensive white high heel of her upper foot dangle from her toe nonchalantly. “This Sulllivan, my hawk, can be trusted to keep everything in order while we are gone?”
“He’s proven himself enough,” Xhuan answered. Sullivan was the deep voiced, human merc she’d worked with. His sallow, withdrawn expression his a calculating and alert mind. “Sullivan isn’t a Jrudek but he can handle everything down there.”
“Well, he’s going to get more on his plate,” Iyana remarked, nodding to Xhuan’s assurances. “I want him to receive the heavy transport shuttle and make restitution on our behalf once we negotiate the deal with one of the local bandit lords. Also, he better be ready to receive more off-worlders and keep them in line.”
“Yes, my superior.”
“You are prepared for this trip, Xhuan? You realize that we must move through Council Space and cannot afford to be detected. I am trusting you’ve made the right hires for scouting our relay destinations?”
Xhuan affirmed.
“Gille is safely restrained aboard?”
“Yes.”
“And the beasts are comfortable?”
“The two you have aboard have adjusted to their cages in the cargo hold, and are being tended to as per your instructions.”
Iyana rose and gently brushed her hand across Xhuan’s shoulders from the front. “Always reliable, Xhuan. I must go now to take my call. Leave and tend to your vessel.”
With a bow, Xhuan exited Iyana’s quarters. Once gone, Iyana wasted no time teleporting through the solid wall to the Quantum Entanglement Communicator installed on the Khukuri. For her meeting, she sat in a chair, leaning to one side and again, crossing one leg over the other. Her voice commands activated the QEC as her receiver indicated her contact was on the other end.
Sitting in front of a blazing sphere was just the man Iyana needed to speak to, as much as she detested him. Fabricating her affinity, she opened with, “Hello, Illusive Man.”
“Talk to me, Commando.” Frank said, while wiggling his arms free. He rotated in his seat slightly. “How are you gonna begin a sentence with ‘f**king’, and then just leave me hangin’ like that, huh?” He smirked, before leaning forward to reach for his glove.
“Go on. Spill it.”
Vayne cracked open the double barrel shotgun, examining it as he curiously looked it over. Not a lot of moving parts, not like he was used to, but he had to say he liked it. Made cleaning a heck of a lot easier to do.
"I'll make it up to her...somehow." Vayne said with a frown as he cleaned the gun. Irina didn't deserve her life being turned upside-down like this, not after one of her friends nearly bite the big one and this had been a time for her to unwind a little. Vayne didn't much like the thought of the bloodpack after him, but people had been after his hide for a while, worse then the bloodpack as far as he was concerned, and he'd outlived them all.
But Irina? Krant that she was, she was still human. And there was only so much a human could do, before a krogan would simply win out. Vayne snapped the gun closed after he had cleaned it properly, "50 year's too much time for a shortlife to spend watching over their shoulder..." He grumbled to himself, curious what she was up to know that he thought of it.
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"So the medigel's gonna disperse on the area automatically?" Essul asked curiously as he looked down towards his new set of armor, as it was being worked on by the technicians, "That'll come in handy. Thanks." He said with a tilt of his head as he left the armory, heading off instead towards another part of the ship.
He undid his sling on his arm as he walked, wincing a bit as his limp slowly moved to his orders. Even with his damaged nerves, flashes of muscles protesting their movement made themselves known to him as they flexed for the first time in days. He undid the cast that had held his arm in place, and flexed his hand experimentally, not for the first time that day.
The doctors had been able to work with his bones well, refusing and realigning them back into place and accelerating his bodies natural healing process. What would have been a life debilitating problem before modern medicine, now only took a few days to properly heal. Though there was another hurdle to deal with.
His arm and hand shoke a bit as he held it in place, flexing his fingers as they moved to his commands. A few days didn't mean a lot of physical therapy, but he did have to do something to get his blood pumping and muscles moving again in the decomisioned limb.
With that in mind, Essul made his way towards the Janiri's gym, as he called it. Eager to get a nice work out for the first time in what felt like ages.
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"A single recipient!?" Machaera exclaimed as he looked to one of the technicians, having been examining his blade and doing some practice drills to keep himself busy when his men came to him with the news, "Are you certain!?"
"Yes sir. We've been looking at the data being sent out, and we noticed two sets of data appear to be sent to the same source. Not all the data between Guanghui and Sonax, but enough of it to hint at a shared information source..." The batarian explained as he showed what he meant on his omnitool, lines of code and data with highlights of red, blue, and green, signifying when the data coincided.
"What's more however, was the designation for this data. It seems both were sent to one "Cell Leader 5" for review. From what we can gather, the discoveries from this lab are being sent to a single source for approval. If I may be so bold-" He said when he suddenly found a blade pointing at him, the technician stopping as Machaera smiled. He gulped, he really didn't like it when his boss smiled.
"Go on, and be bold, Dear Talza. This is getting most interesting..." Machaera said as he felt a tingling go up his spine, knowing what that meant as he reached into one of the pouches on his armors belts. He extracted a syringe pen, the vile of Di-Isolyn Neuropovazyne ready to go as he injected it into his neck, feeling his nerves dull instantly. He relished the feeling, curious a moment if this might by what humans experience when they did red sand.
"...A-anyway...if I may be so bold, Sir. I believe we may have found one of Cerberus's infamous cell leaders. Capturing them, or eliminating them, could allow us to set back cerberus's operations in this area..." Talza informed Machaera as his commanding officer whiped the blade away from his face and brought it back to his side, holding it in what he recognized as a traditional sword stance.
"A Cerberus cell leader...within our grasp. It's exactly what we've been waiting for!" Machaera said excitedly as he gave his blade a flurioshing twist, planting its tip to the ground as it cut a line in the industrial grade floor plating of the listening outpost. "Where on this rock are they? We should storm them at once, take them by surprise."
"Well, sir, that may be a problem..." Talza said, expecting a blade to his throat for that but instead found Machaera staring at him intently, no longer smiling as he took the silence as he que to talk, "The signal isn't sent on this planet. It's actually not sent to anywhere in this system..." He said as Machaera walked towards him slowly, Talza's 6'1 frame towering over the man as he came eye to eye, but sweating bullets at the shorter batarians deathly stare.
"And where...pray tell...are they?" Machaera asked with a whispering growl, his cybernetic eyes flashing a dangerous red as Talza felt himself trembling. His boss wasn't the most stable, but by the gods. He was downright terrifying when he got mad and quiet at the same time.
"After doing s-some research, t-triangulating the signal and eliminating possible dummy accounts or serves used. T-the cell leader is..." Talza paused to take in a breath, almost forgetting to do that as Machaera stood inches away from him, eye boreing into the taller batarian, "They're on the planet Garvug...presumably, with the others of Guanghui and Sonax battling the krogan and vorcha insurgents...the lab appears to be some sort of side project for the cell leader, perhaps as an advisor or some sort of supervisor."
Talza was dead, he didn't doubt it. Being the bearer of bad news to someone like Fay'yar was the worst, absolutely most dangerous part of working in this outfit. He was sure that any second now, he'd get to feel what it was like to be decapitated, and find out if you stayed alive a few seconds before brain death took effect.
"Oh, is that all?" Machaera said, sounding positively pleased as he walked away from Talza, giving his blade a twirl of his wrist as Talza blinked in surprise. He was suppose to be dead. Why in the seven hells wasn't he dead?
"D-does this report please you, sir?" Talza asked, hoping this turn wasn't some kind of act.
"Yes, Yes. Most definitely pleasing. I'd feared from your tone that our target was nestled deep in alliance space, far away from harms reach..." Machaera said as his Cheshire smile returned, eyes glinting dangerous as he turned to face his subordinate, "Instead, they're in terminus space. Far from the safety of the alliance, or the council..." He said with absolutle glee as he couldn't help but feel giddy about this. Things, it seemed, were coming up Machaera for the good commander.
"We'll need some better ships. And some reinforcements. Contact HQ and have them send out some of the Malleus Class Frigates the R&D boys sent us, and a couple dozen men. We're going to need them if we want to get to Garvug in one piece. " He said as he gave a small and throaty chuckle.
"After all, I hear its become quite the warzone lately."
...on the Janiri
Even for a rather social asari, the one crew member left in the lounge was one too many for Iole to feel at absolute ease saying anything. Iole’s golden eyes rolled towards the crew member’s back, then to Frank. There was a second where it looked like she’d say nothing, then there was a glimmer in her expression and she said, “I don’t have time to talk about this stuff, we’ve got to go through a systems check on the shuttles. Come with me.”
It was a lame excuse, but it was excuse enough. Iole pulled her legs and shoulders up (just with her abs…those Commandos…), turned to stand, and took Frank by the hand. It wasn’t so much that she was forceful, but she tugged him out the door to the lounge. Letting go of Frank’s hand once outside, she walked with the confident presumption he’d follow her, all the way down to the hangar bay, which was on the other side of the ship, aft and below them.
In palpable silence that seemed to last forever, Iole strode until finally she could pop the hatch on the Spectre’s custom Scythe, get herself and Frank in, and close the door. She didn’t start blurting right away, but seemed distracted by the technology for a moment, flipping switches, typing text and checking readouts at eye level. Then she turned to Frank and he could see the wetness in her eyes return.
“F**king Jenus!” Iole may have been young for an asari, but over a century of expressing feelings could really wrench an emotion out when she put her heart into it. Two tears popped at that point, and Iole looked away at the readouts again. As if apologizing, she said, “Don’t worry, I put the sound dampers on and asked VERA if she would keep her ears off the conversation while we’re in here. I hope she will. But f**king Jenus…”
Now Iole put her forearm against the display, and stared at it with unseeing eyes. “I love Jenus like a sister but she’s got rocks under that crest. She’s our leader now, but void if I trust her to make the important decisions. You don’t have to be a coward to not want to be thrown into a meat grinder. Goddess, if this came out to the team, or to the ship, you’d find me getting packed and sent to an outpost world for good for the duration of my service.”
Iole’s message was conveyed with moist eyes that caught the light from the readouts like golden fires. They searched back and forth, as if something would leap out of the screen to give her an answer. A crease formed down the side of Iole’s face as it looked like she was going to smile for some odd reason, but it was really the beginning of a hard grimace. “I don’t trust her. I love Jenus but I don’t trust her.”
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