6315 réponses à ce sujet

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Irina took a deep breath and sighed knowing this was a sore spot with even some of the Council races. "We sent out a sublight ship to colonize a planet we discovered, before we discovered the Mars Archives and FTL. You have to understand that our homeworld was becoming overpopulated, and our resources were depleted. Then we started setting up colonies in our local cluster. There really wasn't much to be had there in the way of garden worlds either, but we made due. There were resources to send home. If we hadn't gone to the stars our civilization would have collapsed into chaos, so the experts say.

 

"Then we found the mass relay, and after a long debate among the politicians we unlocked it. It led to Shanxi. That's where we encountered the Turians who immediately declared war on us for violating a Council regulation by not seeking Council approval before we opened a mass relay.... f*ckers. How the hell were we supposed to know? If it weren't for the Asari stepping in they would have wiped us out. 

 

"Then suddenly, The Council turned around and welcomed us. Apparently we hit the mother lode on Mars with Prothean tech unlike some of the other races, and they wanted us to colonize the Attican Traverse which was way the hell over on the other side of the galaxy. So they told us to colonize this swath of worlds in between. And that began the bad blood between your people and mine."

 

She sat on the bench perspiring after cranking out three sets. "Look at what happened. We colonized some worlds that The Council claimed and told us to colonize. The Batarians claimed the same worlds. We weren't told. Then we complain to the Council. The Council says it's our problem. Haliat attacks. We counterattack. Then some idiot goes and blows up an entire system. So your people retaliate on Caleston. Where does it end? Sometimes I think it'd be best to give assault rifles to everyone. It'd keep roving militias out of apartment buildings. An armed society is a polite society. Okay, my turn. How do you feel about your caste system?"

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Janiri - leaving

 

The team that installed the QEC on the Medusa had returned and reported the job was completed. They had tested it and it was fully functional. The Medusa could communicate directly with the Janiri and Jess could set up six additional frequencies.

 

Naleena gave the order to Commander Selani to prepare to depart. She still hadn’t heard from Anika, whom she’d contacted a few hours ago to return to the ship. Anika could handle herself, and there was probably some business she was handling. She could catch up later. She sent the message to the Medusa that they were heading to the Amada System, and that she would brief them via QEC along the way.

 

The docking clamps disengaged from the Janiri and Lt. Jorril guided the ship out of port. Naleena emerged onto the CIC.

 

“Take us out of here, Mr. Jorril, ahead one-third,” Selani ordered, "Destination, Omega Cluster/Amada System."

[Cainhurst Crow]

"Can't say I agree..." Essul said to Irina's comment with a smirk, the idea of arming everyone with a gun somewhat an amusing one, "I've known some dumb people in my time, who really shouldn't be allowed near fire arms..." He said as he helped her set the bar back in place with her reps. Hearing her question made essul blink at it.

 

"Truthfully? I don't know how to feel about it..." Essul said as he gave Irina some time to rest, at least enough to catch her breath before they got to lifting once more, "The slave caste aught to be treated better, and there should be a lot more freedom to move out of castes with exceptional behavior. But at the same time...well, it's hard for me to see my people without one. So many people use them to decide what kind of job they'd want to do. Whole families can go into the same profession..." He answered honestly as he got ready to help her out with the next set.

 

"I do know for certain though, that things shouldn't be as rigid as they are. Heck, I'm a former slave caste who became a special forces member..." He said with a smirk, letting out a sigh, "Though I guess I'm not the best example of giving lower caste a chance, huh?" He asked jokingly before he shock himself out of that darker chain of thought.

 

"Alright, let's move on from politics a while. I hear your planet has this animal, small furry thing with big eyes that climbs on stuff and has claws. Your kind keep it as a pet, I think. I forget the name of it..." He explained as he thought of a different, lighter thought, "You know what I'm talking about?"

[Kel Riever]

Morgan spotted Dogger and it was clear when Dogger meant to move, that's what he did.  He happened to have the detective in tow, and she looked at him nervously.  Morgan wasn't about to engage in any talk with the detective, however, when Dogger looked like he meant business.

"Morgan," Dogger gave a nod as he briskly walked down the passageway to one of the cargo holds, namely the one that had the new target practice crates in them.

"What's going on?"

"This one here," Dogger thumbed over his shoulder at the detective, "Offered another set of hands for helpin' out, seeing her ship set sail, at least until she says she's done with the Captain an' you, whatever that means.  Got a call from Anika, she needs things."

To keep talking, Morgan had to follow Dogger trucking along.  "What kind of things?"

"Guns, crates, and quick."  Dogger pushed through the hatch into the cargo bay.  Molly looked at Morgan uncertainly.  He made a sarcastic twist of his mouth and motioned an upward palm for her to go first.  She looked away from him and stepped on through.  Morgan entered last.

Inside the bay, on the 'range', was Miss Priss, all in her usual pink (the Stetson really sealed the cowgirl look), standing with her pink holdout held upwards in one hand, and her opposing hip thrust out in the other direction.  There were three crewmembers by her, none of which Morgan was very familiar with.

One crewmember was heard, saying with trepidation, "That's not how we learned to shoot in Alliance basic."

"Dear, I don't care how you learned to shoot," Miss Priss said with the sweetest scolding voice Morgan had ever heard, "I care you hit that there target."  She immediately proceeded to snap off three shots with her holdout, scoring three bulls-eyes on the target at a good medium range.  Morgan had to suppress a laugh as it looked like Priss had done everything wrong with her shooting:  fired with the gun held sideways, out to the side no less, not aiming down the iron sights, flicking her wrist with each shot.  He swore she just bulls-eyed three shots firing like a kid with a toy gun.  "There, sweetie, it ain't the size of the gun, but how you use it, if you get what I mean."  The three crewmembers looked at Priss aghast while she simply smiled and winked at them.

"Practice is takin' a break," Dogger interrupted.  I need some volunteers for getting gear to Anika."  Dogger paused a moment as he realized most people present didn't know who he was talking about. "Ah, someone important."  Then he turned to Morgan.  "You could help with that.  Got ideas who should go?"

Morgan looked around the room.  "You pick, Dogger.  Miss Priss could bring them, Molly could."  Morgan started to think about who he'd met.  "Largo.  Even Yori, though I'd have to keep Marshal on helm.  But she seems competent.  You pick, Dogger."

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"Alright, let's move on from politics a while. I hear your planet has this animal, small furry thing with big eyes that climbs on stuff and has claws. Your kind keep it as a pet, I think. I forget the name of it..." He explained as he thought of a different, lighter thought, "You know what I'm talking about?"

 

"Is this the one you mean?" she asked an pulled a picture of one up on her omni-tool.

 

"Yeah, that's it."

 

"It's called a cat," she said as she headed over to do some squats. "I wonder if they'd allow me to keep one on the ship? They're good at killing vermin, you know things like rats and stuff that get on board at various ports. Some officers in the Alliance had pets, but I was just a gropo^* and we lived in barracks and didn't know if we were coming back alive or in a bag from the next mission. Fancy flyboys got all the perks.

 

"You know cats used to be thought of as an evil creature back about 1000 years, so they started killing them off in cities. Then a plague broke out and 1/3 of the population died off. Turned out that the plague was caused by the fleas carried by the rat population which cats had been keeping under control. Once they figured that out, they allowed cats to live again, the plague nearly vanished and population rebounded and we had a renaissance. Nice creature, cats. They come in different colors. I'd like a black one with green eyes myself," she paused and showed him another picture of one on her omni-tool.

 

 

^* ground pounder

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Priority Eingana

Team Briefing – Janiri

 

The Janiri had emerged from relay transit in the Sahrabarik System and began its FTL travel to the Amada System. Travel would take another 12 standard hours. Naleena convened a team meeting in the Conference Room in 30 minutes. She had VERA set up a QEC link with the Medusa so that Jess would be briefed on the mission. Yet she was a bit dismayed that the Medusa still had not left port.

 

“What about the Geth unit?” VERA asked.

 

Naleena paused for a moment. “It’s on board. It cooperated on Omega and has not posed any threat while aboard the ship, has it?”

 

“No, although its chess skills could do with some improvement.”

 

“Very well, have it come here, too. And make sure Faed gets out of his room, will you?”

 

“Yes, Boss.”

 

Within 15 minutes people started filing into the room. Naleena was seated at the head of the table and had provided the usual coffee, and d-drinks, and snacks for the team. Legion was the last to arrive. The QEC went live.

 

Naleena stood and looked over her crew. “Good afternoon. As you know we left The Citadel. I received what could be a very important lead to a Prothean site of some sort so we’re going to investigate. VERA….”

 

VERA displayed the map of the Amada System in the Omega Cluster.

 

“Our journey takes us back to the Omega Cluster, this time to the Amada System to the third planet, Eingana. Surveys have shown it to be a  hot tropical planet over which a war was fought about 127,000 years ago between the Inusannon and the Thoi’han. Hundreds or more ships were lost in the battles over the planet and its moon, Barraiya, and many of the derelict ships were pulled into Eingana’s gravity well. This could make this a very unique ecology given that refined eezo was widespread. I would imagine it to be somewhat like Thessia, except my source said that the isotope of eezo is unstable.”

 

VERA pointed out that the other planets in the system were important. “This is also the same system where the Normandy SR-1 was destroyed by the Collectors two years ago. The inner planets are too hot to sustain life and previous surveys have shown nothing of value. However I suggest that we explore the outer planets by probes."

 

“Good idea. We should also keep our eyes and ears open for a distress signal. My source sent a scout ahead to see if this world would be of any value for us,” Naleena said. “I decided we’d take the chance and investigate and rescue the scout if we find him. He’s Drell so if he is alive, we have to hurry, the humidity could kill him. Just a warning – Thessia has biotic lifeforms other than Asari. Even though they are not powerful, be careful. Some of them can be territorial. I would not expect anything different here. Questions?” 

[Cknarf]

Frank's hand shot up.

 

"Yeah, I got one."

 

He pointed to the synthetic.

 

"Does anyone else see this, or is it just me?"

[Kel Riever]

The four Commandos from Team Boom were in the room:  Jenus, Ereba, Iole and Tallis.

Clearly, Jenus hadn't gotten used to there being a Geth onboard.  She looked like she was about to try and rip its head off, though she said nothing and remained a tense ball of steely eyed killing machine in her chair.

Iole had her eyes fixed too, but not on the Geth.  Of course, when Frank looked over, Iole's eyes flickered away, with the subtle hint of 'I absolutely was not just looking at you' on her face.

But the second time Frank almost caught Iole peeking, he did see Tallis leveling her gaze directly at him.  He saw Tallis jerk the top of her head head  sideways twice towards Iole, when nobody else in the room would be able to notice.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Ereba spoke up too. "Yeah, didn't these things attack the Citadel a couple years ago?"

 

"Perhaps I can answer this," Faed said. "This is Legion. We met it on Omega in the Fusion Reactor Room. It was attempting to repair the reactor. It allowed me to control it so we could inspect the inside of the reactor and determine the damage."

 

Naleena interrupted. "Legion explained to me that it was part of Commander Shepard's team, but left when she decided to follow the path of what it called the 'Old Machines.'"

 

Legion turned to face Frank. "That is correct. We choose our own path. The Old Machine, the one you called Sovereign, offered us that which we seek - true unity, but to do so we would follow their technological path. Some Geth, the Heretics, chose to follow Sovereign and left. The rest of us remained in the Veil building our own path to unity. This platform was created to study organics so that we may gain a better understanding of you, and then we must return to the Consensus to complete our mission. We fight the Old Machines. Naleena fights the Old Machines. Our purposes are aligned."

[Cainhurst Crow]

"Great, a geth with an alliance of convenience. And it used to be part of shepards crew too?" Vayne asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he regarded the geth unit with skepticism, "That's just great. Promise me you'll be able to keep him from changing his mind about organics or the old machine. Or at least while it's aboard the ship?" He asked faed as he crossed his arms and continued to give a somewhat distrustful gaze to the geth as he returned attention to the mission briefing.

 

"I trust we'll need to be careful with our biotic and munitions use while on the planet, correct?" Essul asked as his eyes looked to the map and the planet they'd be traveling to, both hands behind his back as he stood up straight, "The eezo could interfere with biotics, and explosions could trigger a wider effect if we're not careful. With respect, while the atmosphere will be like thessia, each of these drive cores will likely have formed pockets of decaying and unstable eezo in the geography. We'll need to be careful what we attack, and when to retreat instead." He said, the situation reminding him of munitions disposal in a way. Pockets of deadly material could form just under the surface of the ground, and setting them off could have disastrous effects for anyone in the blast radius.

[Cknarf]

Frank just shrugged, as if he didn't know what Tallis was talking about.    He turned his attention back to the geth as it began to speak.

 

Holy sh*t, It talks.

 

Frank rose from his seat, and approached the geth as it explained. Opening his omni-tool, he scanned the geth unit.. The plates on the machine's head appeared to mimic the curious movements of Frank's eyebrows.  He looked to Faed, while pointing a thumb at the geth, as if to say, 'you cool with this, Slick?'

 

He put an arm around the machine and smiled, before taking a photo with his omni-tool.

 

"Ha. Adir's gonna freak when he sees..."

 

F***.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"That would be wise, Essul," VERA said. "It is suggested that standard, armor piercing, or incendiary ammunition be used. Use of lift, cluster, or arc grenades would not be advisable."

[Kel Riever]

Tallis made a barely audible groan.

Jenus, forcing her tone to remain even, kept an eye on Legion and added, "I would make sure we pack some disruptor ammo as well."  Finally, she looked to Naleena.  "We can break out the heavier weapons for this, if we can't rely on biotics as much.  Maybe Iole here can get some recommendations from Ereba on the heavier arms for the Commandos."

"Come on, Jenus," Iole stepped in, "I'll do the gear check on the guns and work with the fabricator.  I do it more than anyone on the team."

With her dark eyes and jaw set, Jenus turned her head to Iole.  "Couldn't hurt getting the input.  Run it by Ereba before we go."

"Right," Iole confirmed, with all the enthusiasm of someone who had been undermined.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"What kind of resistance are we expecting down there?" Irina asked.

 

"Probably native life forms, if any," Naleena replied. "Why?"

 

"I just want us to be prepared," Jenus said. "You don't know what's out there."

 

"Our ETA in Amada is about 10 hours. I suggest you get your gear in order and get some shut eye," Naleena said. "Dismissed."

[Cknarf]

Janiri Armory

 

Septerax placed a small, battered, metal box upon the counter. It was painted dark blue, with a white Alliance insignia. It looked like a standard munitions crate, only smaller.

 

“Grenades?” Frank guessed at the contents.

 

The quartermaster shook his head, before turning the box around, and sliding it towards him.

 

DEVLON IND.
HELMET, BREATHER, EXP. M-05
2160-09-13

 

Frank pressed two small buttons, one on each side, causing the magnetic latches to pop open with a satisfying ‘click.’ He raised the lid, and pulled away a layer of foam.  Underneath was a helmet like his own, in factory-new condition.

 

“Where did you find this?” Frank glanced up, while prying it from the foam within.

 

“I had some business on the Citadel, and happened to come across it.  I figured since I couldn’t repair your old one…”

 

Frank placed it on his head.

 

“It smells so… not bad!”

 

“Well, I’d hope so. It’s never been issued.” Septerax pulled it off, and turned it upside down. “According to the date, it’s been sitting in that crate for about 25 years,  so I went ahead and replaced the seals.” He ran a talon around the rim, before tossing it back.

 

“Oh, and I almost forgot…”

 

“There’s more?”

 

Septerax produced a pair of dark gray gauntlets.  “These aren’t as nice. They’re used, but it’s better than what you have.”

 

“I’d say so.” Frank agreed, while equipping one. He flexed his hand.

 

“They’re from a set of Devlon Liberator, but with a little modification, they should fit perfectly with your current set of Explorer.”

 

“How long do you think it’ll take?” Frank began pulling off his armor, starting with the arms. “‘cause I’ll be needing it here soon.”

 

“A couple of hours, three at the most.”

 

“Great!” His voice echoed, while pulling his upper body armor over his head. He handed it to Septerax, before taking a seat on the counter and starting on his legs.

 

“What’s the mission this time?”

 

“I don’t know, I wasn’t really payin’ attention.” Frank held his arm up over his shoulder, and displayed the photo he took with Legion. “Ain’t that some sh*t?” He chuckled. “All I remember is something about ‘unstable eezo’ and ‘indigenous biotic lifeforms’.”

 

I should probably wear heavy armor…

 

Augmented strength from the motorized joints would be a big plus if he happened to find some alien beast chewing on his helmet.

 

“Take your time, Septerax.” Frank hopped off the counter, and gave the turian the rest of the armor. “I think I’m gonna go with the Predator heavy this time.”

 

Septerax said nothing, as he immediately got to work.

 

Frank went to his personal locker, and began digging for his gear.

[Cainhurst Crow]

Essul got up from his seat as he glanced towards the geth unit. 10 hours was quite a bit of time, he doubted he'd really need some sleep.

"*Yawn...*" Essul found himself covering his mouth as he blinked in surprise, "Sleep sounds good..." he muttered as he left to his quarters to take a power nap, passing vayne who was staring at legion.

"So the old machines were the ones who attacked the citadel. And your part of the geth from the old days. What's the difference? Havent your consensus been pretty damn ruthless whenever any ship went into the veil, hostile or not?" He asked, not wuite sure he bought the old machines argument.

"The heretics follow the decisions of the old machines. They seek to leave our system and combat organics for the old machines. Geth do not seek to leave our system. Geth want to be left alone..." legion stated, sounding a bit less confident at the last statement as vayne raised a brow in curiosity. He then had tO stiffle a sudden yawn as he shoke his head.

"Whatever..." He said as he left the room to go and prepare his gear.

[Redbelle]

As the Janiri pulled out of the Citadel, Anika, unbeknownst to Dogger, was riding a lift car down into the wards as Dogger's eye's canvased some of the men he'd assembled. He ran his keen eye over each one in turn, judging their value as he had countless times before before making his announcement.

 

"Keats.... Arthur.... Coco, and Chris. You got drafted. One our own put out a call for help so we're going to help her. And that's all there is to it".

 

Keats, a rough looking wrench monkey and a Scotsman from his accent, asked. "S'all well and good boss. But I'mma.... We're all gonna need more detail if we're gonna help the wee lass. What's all the buzz about"?

 

Dogger nodded. "She was looking into a situation. Situation turned out to be bigger than she thought so she called in the cavalry. She wants guns. More guns. And people to carry dem more guns. She also called for containers.....".

 

"Oh I say how exciting!" Coco interjected, his cut glass British accent swimming between him and Dogger that felt like honey being poured into his ears. "So we're the gooooon squad as it were? I always wanted to be a heavy growing up. Do we get to shoot some ranshack ruffians? Fill some sucka's full of the old lead"?

 

'Okay.... he's not getting a gun'. Dogger thought to himself. Out loud he said. "Anika wanted people who could haul some heavy loads. We're talking quadrupedal tanks....".

 

"Woah, woah, woah"! Chris interrupted. "Tanks? On legs? We're going to be fighting friggen tanks"!

 

Dogger gave him a glare. "Course not. Anika says most of them aren't working yet....".

 

"Most? As in, some of them are"?

 

"She's scouting ahead". Dogger growled at the man who deflated at Dogger's sudden scrutiny. "That girls done more fire work than anyone on the ship. She knows the score. If it's a job she thinks we can pull off she'll call us in. If not.... She'll tell us to wave off". Dogger looked over to Arthur who looked like he was in danger of falling asleep. "You getting any of this son"?

 

"Hmmm mmmm". Was the response. "Crewman in need. We're her support. Possibly stealing tanks".

 

"I didn't say we were taking them....".

 

Arthur went on as if Dogger hadn't said anything. "I suppose the hard part will be getting getting the crates onto the ship once their loaded. I hear the ship's parent company allows for crew to board with weapons....".

 

"We got a way aboard". Dogger interjected quickly. "Coco and Chris will be using load flyers to get the crates down to the wards using the freight lanes. We can smuggle the big guns in the lifters. Done it before. I got work crews doing some quick structural work on the two crates left over. Soon as their done. And as soon as the lifters I hired come.... we go".

 

"Oh Bravo"! Coco crowed. "So I get to be the getaway driver! Racing from pursuit.... Defying the law! Letting the Citadel and it's grand council sit on my mid digit and swivel till they squeal like pigs on a honeymoo.....".

 

"I'm going with you". Dogger said deadpan. Then turning to the others who were watching, nodded to them. "The rest o yah. These four can cover the basics but some more grunt power wouldn't be a bad thing. Won't know what we're facing till Anika calls it in".

[The Red Shadow]

(Finally back again)

Yori was at the turrets of the Medusa starting to equip the installments for the Turrets. Everything was already taken apart.and neatly pulled apart and neatly scattered across the floor. 

She hummed a tune as she went on with her work.

'

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Janiri - Commandos (SJ & Kel)

 

On their way out of the Conference Room, Ereba approached Iole as Jenus disappeared down the corridor, and spoke quietly to her. "Am I missing something here?"

Tallis was going to catch up with Iole, but held back a bit.  Besides, she dropped back and decided to watch Frank.  

Iole, eyes of gold, looked at the newest member of the Commando team.  "No, I don't think you are," she said, with a none-too-subtle indication that she wasn't happy with the way things were going.

"Ereba, I'm not here to cause you trouble.  It's just that these aren't two person jobs here, and you have to know that.  One person makes some load out recommendations, whoever usually does that on the team, and then everyone picks what they'll actually carry according to them.  There are some rules we follow by the book, and some things we do differently.  Like any outfit, it may take getting used to but eventually it all clicks and comes together.  That is, unless someone starts trying to fix things that already work.

"Since you've got the Team Leader's confidence, why don't you go ahead?  I'm not interested in having some sort of list approved.  Jenus thinks you've got eyes for it, then you make the load out recommendations.  You don't need me, and you know what's around.  The fabricator will let you know our available weapon systems.  You don't need me second guessing you or coming up with some list you'd just go ahead and make changes to anyway."

 

"You're not second guessing me Iole," Ereba said. "You use the Hellbringer. That's fine. I'm not going to change that. Jenus ordered a heavier load out. Now that's all fine and dandy, but if I issue weapons you're not checked out on that's not good either. A commando needs to feel balance with their weapon, you know that; and we've got what, maybe 15 hours until we hit the LZ? Some of that will be sleeping."

 

"Sure, then," Iole replied, half-heartedly.  "Let's go ahead and get it done as fast as we can."

 

They arrived at the weapons fabricator and Ereba started looking through the menu. She selected the Hellbringer for Iole, and her own usual load out. Then she looked at shotguns and saw Dahlia's model of the Claymore.

"Hey, Tallis. Can you handle this?" Ereba asked.

 

Tallis came forward with the question, peering around Ereba.  "Uh-huh, Uh-huh."  But Tallis put her hands together, and pulled them apart like she was opening a book or a rainbow.  Afterwards, she placed both her palms forward in the air, wiggling her hands in and out.

"Right, but you heard the briefing, we might have problems with biotics anyway," Iole said to Tallis as if she had made perfect sense.  Then Iole realized she should be explaining to Ereba.  "Sorry, she's saying yes, but she won't be able to use her barrier, or more accurately, her ability to use a barrier will be compromised."  Iole turned back to Tallis.  "Ereba gets it.  I doubt she doesn't understand that."

With a shrug of her shoulders, Tallis bounced her head in approval.  She then pointed to the mods and ammo menus on the fabricator and looked at Ereba with a questioning gaze.

 

Ereba smiled at Tallis and Iole. "Okay, so this modded Claymore for you, Tallis, and I see Jenus usually uses a Disciple, and since she asked for a heavier load out, I'll give her this as well. And for ammo, how about standard, incendiary, and disruptor for you Tallis, and instead of incendiary, Iole, you carry AP. Jenus... I'll give her the same loadout as Tallis." Ereba asked. "And grenades? VERA recommended frags and concussion grenades, so I'll stick with those.

 

"Now for a rapid fire weapon, Tallis, you need to try this," Ereba said holding up her Kassa Locust, and handed it to Tallis. "Feel the balance. It's great for taking down barriers. Very low kick."

 

Tallis handled it, smiled, and passed it to Iole.

 

"So I'll issue one for each of us," she winked at Iole, "just in case. I'll take my usual M-98 Widow because I can pick a flea off a varren's ass at half a klick. AP, cryo, and disruptor ammo. And that should do it for us. Any complaints? Let me hear them."

 

Tallis nodded, seemingly very happy.  She gripped the Locust in both hands, getting comfortable with it.  "Okay, okay."

Iole did the same thing, but then tested reloading it as quickly as she could.   She looked at some readouts on the fabricator giving her weapon statistics, hesitated, then said, "I...would give Jenus a Tempest.  She seldom engages at long ranges and we can always cover her.  The accuracy isn't as important and the damage output on the Tempest is better."  She immediately regretted saying anything at all, and distracted herself with reloading again.  Even though she'd never held a Locust before, Iole's hands worked deftly over the weapon.

 

Ereba grinned and looked around. Jenus wasn't there. "Are you saying that Jenus isn't that good of a shot? Okay, Tempest for Jenus."

 

Iole couldn't hold back a smirk.  "I'm saying the last time I saw her shoot anything farther away than she could biotically charge, she was being forced to re-qualify with sniper rifles on Duellos.  And that was because Xanthe Remi was a stickler for the rules.  I think Jenus cursed every shot.  Even if she can't use her biotics, she'll close range, feeling a lot better causing mayhem and threat than putting shavings down at range."

With a flick of her eyes towards Ereba momentarily, Iole inquired.  "You're going to keep that Widow?  It will be nice adding to the long-range firepower of our group."

 

"It's my baby, and I carry it everywhere. I saved up six months’ pay for it," Ereba said, "But sure, I'll let the fabricator scan it if that's what you're asking. You never know when I'll need spare parts."

 

"No, you don't have to.  I meant it will be nice having you to add to the long range firepower of our group."  Iole found herself changing her mind about Ereba.  It wasn't the new Commando who had her tied up in knots.  "Maybe you can show me what it's like firing it at the Janiri's onboard range."

 

"Sure. I need to do a pre-mission check anyway... make sure the sights are lined up right," Ereba said. "Why don't you meet me on the range in about 10 minutes? I'll grab some practice rounds."

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Vayne & Irina (JB & SJ)

 

"So Vayne, unstable eezo, biotic life forms, hot, tropical rainforest. Sounds like this could be a bit more tricky than a walk through the woods," Irina said. "I think I'll pack my shotgun, smg and a Firestorm for this. And this makes me glad I got the skin weave. BDU pants and a tee shirt will be a lot cooler than armor out there."

 

"You're kidding me?" Vayne asked.

 

"Vayne, you heard her: Wildlife. We're not facing Collectors," Irina said. "What are we gonna run into? Godzilla? And if we run into that, I'm getting the f*ck out of there."

 

Vayne had a puzzled look on his face. "What the f*ck is a Godzilla?"

 

"Some fictional monster my people made a lot of movies about," she replied as she grabbed her weapons from her locker. "It's about as tall as a skyscraper. So if we see one, armor is the last thing I'd worry about."

 

"So it’s a lizard the size of Kalros." Vayne said with a nod, "Not sure how scary that could be." The Krogan said with a chuckle, imagining a giant Krogan stomping through a city.

"I’d still wear some sealed armor on the count of not wanting some new horrible form of cancer. You could not, but I know I'll be playing it safe." Vayne said with a smirk, not sure with Irina if she was joking or serious about the t-shirt.

"’Sides, I’m more bummed about the no-explosives rule. A missions just not the same without some fragmentation poppers and incendiaries going off." He lamented with a sigh, a bit bummed he had to reign in his usual arsenal.

 

"VERA said frags and incendiaries were fine, Vayne," Irina said. "It's just that I don't think we'll need the heavy artillery. And don’t worry, I’ll have a vest on."

 

"Still never hurts to overkill" Vayne grumbled, relieved a bit thst he could use his favorite weaponry. He must be feeling his age, or maybe the geth had distracted him. All pleasant excuses to cover up him not hearing right.

 

"It's alright, Vayne. How old are you now? 1000? And you're still tough," she said and had some second thoughts. "You realize my other suit of armor is leathers, right? And they have a hole in the leg."

[Kel Riever]

(Finally back again)

Yori was at the turrets of the Medusa starting to equip the installments for the Turrets. Everything was already taken apart.and neatly pulled apart and neatly scattered across the floor. 

She hummed a tune as she went on with her work.

'

Babe lunged to push the thermal dumb closed once more on the cannon.  "Like that!"

Sophie stared wide-eyed at Babe, and quickly decided to make an excuse for herself.  "I've gotta get down ta engineering anyway.  We're gonna launch."

"That's fine, you've got the basics," Babe confirmed, "In a fight I know where you'll be.  This is a, 'Just in case,' thing for you.  By the way...isn't there a friend you have down there in engineering who is supposed to also be learning this?  I haven't seen her yet, and forgot her name."

"Uh, I'll, uh, I'll have to send her up later."

"Are you sure she's not trying to skip out on this?"  Because, let me tell you, I understand about wanting to skip out on things a lot..."

"Nope!"  Sophie was still staring at Babe, wide-eyed.

"All right."  Babe sighed.  "Dismissed."

Sophie practically ran off.  When she was gone, Babe got a message from the bridge.  Duncan was on the other end of the com.  "Babe...uh, thought you should know, Yori's back.  She's already started work."

Babe smiled.  "Nice!"

~ ~ ~ ~

 

 

...

 

"I'm going with you". Dogger said deadpan. Then turning to the others who were watching, nodded to them. "The rest o yah. These four can cover the basics but some more grunt power wouldn't be a bad thing. Won't know what we're facing till Anika calls it in".

 

 

"I'll go too, darlin'!"  Miss Priss twirled her hair as she volunteered for Dogger.  She grinned mischievously while blowing the barrel of her holdout.

Molly raised an eyebrow, but also volunteered.  "If you're going to need guns, you better bring me along too.  At least I've seen Anika in action before."  The memory of Anika's run through Omega sprang freshly to Hagen's mind.  "And having seen her in action might come in handy.  I think you know what I mean, Dogger."

[Cknarf]

“Hm.”

 

Frank scratched at his chin, as he overlooked his own personal stash of weapons. He wasn’t too satisfied with the performance of his ancient Hammer II on the last mission, so he collapsed it, and pushed it to the side.  He did the same with his Raikou.

 

Definitely taking this one.

 

He holstered Vayne’s old Scimitar on his back.

 

“Hmmmmm…”

 

All that remained was the uncollapsible, three-and-a-half feet long, 17 pound, metal and wood monstrosity that was his rifle.

 

Eh.

 

He shrugged, before picking it up.

 

“I’m headin’ to the sim.” Frank said, while slinging his rifle over his shoulder. Team Boom had picked up a new member, that could supposedly wield an M-98 like it wasn't no thang, and he kinda wanted to check her out.

 

“Mm.” Septerax grunted, still focused on the task at hand. Without looking, he opened a drawer with his foot.

 

Frank reached in and grabbed some training rounds, just in case.

 

“Thanks.”

 

“Mmhm.”

 

Frank just smiled, and shook his head, before heading for the simulator.

[Cainhurst Crow]

"Good point." Vayne said with a laugh, feeling a good mood after the ribbing, "And I'm not even 500 yet, don't go calling me a fossil now." He said chuckling, "Anyway, I'll have your back down there. So don't worry. My gears all prepped and good for anything." He said as he gave it some thought.

 

"Your asari friends gonna be okay though? Don't think I've seen them go an engagement while keeping their biotics in check." He asked, figuring if anyone would know, it'd be the one who worked with them a lot.

 

 

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

 

Essul sat in his quarters as he sat on his bed, staring across to the desk, where his old helmet lay like a paper weight, next to an empty vial of Di-Isolyn Neuropovazyne. Half the face shield had been blown off, and bullet holes riddled the side, but he couldn't bring himself to throw it away, or to refurbish it without his old armor.

 

"What will be, will be. What has come to past, is the past..." He said to himself as he layed in the bed, closing his eyes as he set his omnitool to the mission time. "The future lies through the present, and the presents all that we have."

 

'It's a proverb, I read it in one of my dads old books about philosophy...' a voice from his past spoke within his mindscape, as he slipped into his memories, 'Don't know what we're going to face in Anhur. But I figured keeping things in perspective might help. You ready seargent?' he voice asked.

 

'Of course commander. On your mark, we'll drop...' A young essul replied eagerly, excited for his first military engagement as he saluted his commander, and it was outside of batarian space as well, all the way in the terminus system. He looked away from the older mans skull engraved helmet, and down towards the floor, where they'd be dropping to the planets surface from.

 

The frigates punched through the atmosphere, and the shock troopers were dropped as the undersides of the ships opened up, and all of them were launched towards the ground, large aerial guidance packs with enough eezo to reduce their mass for gliding helping them soar through the air.

 

Out of the skies, and straight into the maw of hell.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Naleena retired to her quarters. She poured a drink, lit a cigarette and stood watching the fish swim lazily in the tank. Her favorite was the Illium Skaldfish. Observing the fish relaxed her. Her eyes grew heavy after the long day and she finished her drink and went to bed. Images started flashing through her mind of things long past as she drifted off to sleep. She found herself on Illium 150 years ago operating under the alias Carina.

 

She’d received a call from her contact to go to the drop point and pick up the details for her next job.

 

Hmmm... a piece of artwork? A 40 cm tall ivory figurine, hand carved from the Asari Bronze Age era. Artist is named Talixi. A museum heist? No. No. No. 50,000 CR. The copy is in the museum. The real piece is in Tazzik Ledra’s Penthouse in a display case. Laser-triggered alarm system. Weight displacement alarm trigger. Plus camera security. Ledra loves this piece. It’s priceless. He lives in a neighborhood with high-rises. The Agent said 25,000 is deposited in my account immediately should I accept the job. ACCEPTED.

 

This should be a snatch and grab. Dual zip lines. Drop. Just need to find out exactly how much the figurine weighs.

 

Carina did some research on the extranet and had the exact weight to the tenth of a milligram, thinking it couldn’t be any more accurate than that due to dust. But do I trust that? The replica in the museum is supposed to be exact, and it will be under high security. Probably similar.... I can hit both on the same night, but I can visit the museum during the day. I can’t wait to try out this Geth Sapper Tech. Next, I need to hack into the building database and get the building plans.

 

The exhibit in the museum was in a plate glass room with IR lasers floor to ceiling. The figurine was enclosed in a second display case and placed on a pressure sensitive alarm plate. Carina had made a weight that exactly matched the item. It was a figurine of the ancient Asari Goddess Cyone, the goddess of war, who is no longer worshipped. She is depicted in this statue throwing a spear. An Asari world is named after her.

 

Carina parked her vehicle behind the museum and cloaked it. The vehicle cloak was illegal tech available only in the Terminus on the Black Market and was made by a Quarian on Omega; at least he was on Omega at the time she bought hers. He moved around a lot. She remained in the shadows and cloaked and activated the sapper tech and leaped up three stories on the building. She then moved around looking for a ventilation shaft.

 

Here it is. Now to pry it open very carefully.... there... and I’m in. She decloaked. This should put me over the security office. I can hack into the camera feed from the room, time the full camera sweep copy, and loop. Now, I’ll disable the IR lasers and go quietly down to the exhibit room.

 

She went down the ventilation shaft which made a sharp turn to the right, then again to the left, and came to a junction. One way was an exhaust fan. Two other ways were available, but she knew it was straight ahead. Here we are. The vent screen and it’s in the wall. How convenient. Remove and bring it inside here, and do a quick scan for the IR. Clear. She pulled out her gun, fired a bolt into the ceiling right over the exhibit, clipped the rope to her belt, pulled herself up and swung over the exhibit before lowering herself slowly and cutting a hole in the top of the display case. She held the cutting blade between her knees, lowered herself, and inverted herself to where she was able to replace the figurine with the weighted coffee mug of the same weight. Then, she retracted the rope and fired another anchor bolt into the wall over the ventilation shaft. She swapped ropes and escaped.

 

She drove over to the building across from Ledra’s penthouse to do a snatch and grab. She scaled the building using her sapper tech. When she was at the top of the taller building across the street, she realized it would be a little bit tougher than the previous one. She checked her thermals and saw two guards on the roof. This wasn’t going to be a problem. She assembled a long barrel pistol with scope and used tranquilizer rounds. Killing wasn’t in the contract, and besides, on a straight theft job it would look sloppy. She was anything but sloppy. Both guards were down.

 

She could see the prize with her scope. Carina used her grappling hook and fired the anchor bolt across into the other building to make a zip line. She hacked the cameras. Next, she needed to cut a hole in the window big enough for her to crawl through. She put a suction cup on the window adjacent to where she was cutting the hole to secure the piece of plate glass.

 

Now, to check all spectra for beams to make sure we’re above them. Oooo. Tricky. I see pressure plates on the floor. Now up to the ceiling like before, easy.... And drop down, cut the hole right in the top, and swap.

 

She shot another anchor and swung back over to the window clipped onto the zip line; then she rappelled down the building to the ground to her awaiting vehicle and sped off to the drop point.

 

What a ****** rush! she thought. The drop point was in sight, but there was an accident in front of it and police were on the scene.

 

****! I can’t make the drop. Not tonight. she thought, then punched in her number. “Drop point is compromised.”

 

“Ms. Brown?”

 

“Mr. Orange?”

 

“Yes. Sending coordinates on encrypted channel.”

 

“Got it.” she replied. ****! A set up. I knew this was too easy. I’ve got to ditch this thing, and get the **** out of here.

 

Naleena awoke sweating, her bedding was soaked. She shook her head, and got out of bed. She put her robe on, went into the bathroom, splashed cold water on her face, and patted it dry with a towel. Then she lit a cigarette. VERA’s light blinked, and she acknowledged it.

 

“We have dropped out of FTL 250,000 km from Alchera, Boss. This is the planet where the Normandy SR-1 crashed. I suggest we scan the surface,” VERA said.

 

“Thank you, VERA. Have Commander Selani take us into orbit, and run your scans. If you find anything send a probe. I’ll be right down,” Naleena replied. “Any word from Anika?”

 

“No, Boss.”

 

She was tired. It had been a fitful night’s rest; however there would be coffee in the CIC. She got dressed in her leathers and headed down to the wardroom for breakfast.

 

Grag had a bowl of erutan, a hot cereal from Thessia, eggs, chaska sausage made from the wild cow-like creatures found on Chaska, toast, and a cup of black coffee ready for her. Biotics burn over 4000 calories per day if they are sedentary. Breakfast was good. She needed the energy of something more than alcohol burning in her system.

 

VERA’s light flashed again on her omni-tool.

 

“Go ahead, VERA.”

 

“We have found something, Boss. I sent a probe and it indicates there may be useful salvage in the area,” VERA reported. “I suggest you send a team to investigate.”

 

“Any hostiles in the area?”

 

“Negative, Boss,” VERA replied. “This is the Normandy crash site. The atmosphere is Methane and Ammonia. Ambient temperature is -22^o C.”

 

“Thank you, VERA. Send a call out and awaken the team. Let’s see what’s down there.”

[Cknarf]

Frank's omni-tool blinked with a notification. He rolled over in his bed, inadvertently ignoring it in the process.

 

"Heh."

 

"Frank."

 

"[Unintelligible]" He shifted a little more. 

 

"Frank." VERA's voice echoed in his helmet.

 

"Mmph." One eye popped partially open, before closing again. "Not now. Performing... system checks."

 

"Frank." The AI was persistent.

 

"Heh."

 

"WAKE UP."

 

"Uuuugh." Frank groaned, and sat up in bed. He rubbed at his faceplate. "What do you want, VERA?" He asked, sounding a little annoyed. 

 

The one time I actually have a proper dream... This had better be good.