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[Kel Riever]

Iole suggested to Ereba they all get some rest before hitting the range.  Tallis agreed and at least the two of them headed towards the Commandos' cabin.  When they entered, the lights were off.  Jenus had already bunked and was sound asleep.  It was the only time, Iole noticed, that she really saw Jenus look like she didn't want to hit something for at least five minues.  The purple facial markings under her eyes didn't add to the dark iris' that always had a hard glint to them.  Iole had gotten the idea that sometimes Jenus confided in Mira, but not in front of anyone else.  Except maybe Red, but she wouldn't know anything about that.

Iole and Tallis got out of their clothes and crashed.  When it was time for the Commandos to wake up, Iole noticed Jenus was gone, gear and all.  "Come on," Iole said, "Let's get to the range while we still can.

~ ~ ~ ~

Jenus had an extended briefing report and right from the conference room, she could tell getting through it was going to be a problem for her.  Textbrain loves this stuff, she thought, and after nearly going crosseyed as she scrolled down the datapad, she was frustrated enough to toss it on the table.  If Jenus hadn't talked to Mira, she probably wouldn't have bothered reading the report (well she still might not bother...), but since she needed rest before the mission, Jenus decided to get a few winks and wake up early.

Six hours of sleep was more than enough for Jenus who didn't like sleeping much, and when she woke, she saw the other Commandos had come in and done the same.  Good, she thought, we'll all be fresh.  She was quick to slip out to the showers, get back for her gear, and move out without disturbing anyone.  First stop was the kitchen, to pound down some food.  The 'Boss' was there (Jenus liked the name the 'crazy AI' had come up with for the Spectre) and while Jenus said not a word to Naleena, Grag was shrewd enough to start duplicating her order.  One change Jenus made was she skipped on the sausage and replaced it with human pasta (something she'd come across on the Janiri that she couldn't stop eating), and cheese.  She was only disappointed in that Grag had apparently not filled his stock with the heavily processed cheeses which had other chemical nutrients she needed.  Jenus would never tell why she'd prefer a can of compressed, powdered cheese, or a good slice of greasy looking, yellow dyed cheese over some expensive, often natural brand.  It didn't have to do with the taste.

While eating, Jenus checked messages, saw that Ereba and Iole had come up with a loadout of a Claymore and a Tempest.  If it weren't for the mission, Jenus generally disliked carrying the heavy gear around like Claymores, but it was the right move considering where they were going.  And she noticed the Tempest recommended instead of the Locust for the others.  Jenus made a satisfied grunt, then decided to take another shot at the information on the datapad while she ate. 

"Good Goddess," Jenus said under her breath.  Nothing was more boring than reading, and Jenus furrowed her brow as she forced herself to take in the content.  As long as the rest of the team wasn't present to see her struggling, she could at least live with it.

[Cknarf]

Ontarom, 2184. 10 km outside nearest comm station.

 

“Hey, Cooper? Why the hell do you guys even have a Mako out here?” Frank chuckled, before taking another drink of his beer. He scanned the landscape with the main gun.

 

“Who the f*** would come all the way out  to BFE just to cause that kind of trouble?”

 

“Don’t know, don’t care.” The marine in the driver’s seat smiled. She slammed a fist on the controls.

 

”Shiiiiiiiiiiit!” Frank felt his stomach drop, as the tank lifted into the air.

 

It slammed back down.

 

“F***!”

 

“Helluva ride without the dampeners, huh Beans?” Laughed a fellow comms tech who was strapped into one of the back seats.

 

“Yeah…” Frank winced, while rubbing his head.

 

“Shoulda wore your helmet.”

 

“F*** you Kravic. This isn’t what I expected when you said ‘joyride.’”

 

“Coops! Again!”

 

“No wait!”

 

The Mako lifted off a second time.

 

“You guys are dicks.” Frank clutched his head.

 

“Lighten up, Francis.” Cooper chuckled.

 

“To the range!” Kravic shouted from the back.

 

“To the what?”

 

“To the raaaange!”

 

“TO THE WHAT!?”

 

“TO THE RAAAAAANGE!”

 

“THE RAAAAAAAAAAAANGE”

 

“RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANGE AHHHHHHHH!”

 

“To the where?” Frank asked, a little confused.

 

“You wanna fire the main gun?” Cooper looked back at him.

 

“You’re goddamn right I wanna fire the main gun!”

 

She looked back at Kravic, who nodded in confirmation. They exclaimed simultaneously.

 

“RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANGE!”

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

After breakfast, Naleena headed to the lower Armory off the shuttle bay and called the team together. When everyone arrived she began her briefing.

 

“There has been a change in plans,” she began. “If you looked out your portals we’re not orbiting Eingana. We’re in orbit around Alchera. VERA found something of interest. It’s the crash site of the Normandy SR-1 and she informs me that there might be some salvage worth taking. The planet is cold and has a methane-ammonia atmosphere. We’ll take both shuttles, tool kits, and torches since anything we find might be embedded in ice. No hostiles are expected. If any appear, the Commander will handle them from up here. Suit up and let’s go. Any questions?”

[Redbelle]

Anika stopped by an intersection leading to the storage level of a warehouse district of the ward and peered around the corner.

 

Sure enough, there was Yeli. She was approaching a duo of bored men idly talking off to the side of a set of large, closed, hanger doors. Above which lay a large open access skylight for load lifters that could be seen buzzing overhead through the access way.

 

A commotion pulled Anika's attention back as she saw Yeli shout at the two who lazily stood up to their full height and slowly moved off to positions on wither side of the doors.

 

Sentries.

 

Anika pulled back as Yeli opened a door inset in the larger hanger doors and pulled out her comm. "Anika to Medusa".

 

"Oh, hey Anika"! Came Duncan voice. "How's it going down there"?

 

"Quiet. I need you to call Jess. No skirting around it. You call her and tell her to hack into Kolmes shop. There's an Asari who works there called Yeli. She's been moving around the Citadel and I need Jess to track the routes she's taken. I think I've found the warehouse we need but I need to know if Yeli went anywhere else while I was catching up. If my guess is right this place is storing the Armatures.... But I don't know where Kolme is".

 

Anika paused and took a breath. "I'm going to try and get into the warehouse and see what's inside. Send the Calvary to warehouse 4-53-13. Their are two sentries in place by the doors....". Anika looked around and saw a stairway leading to an upper level that headed in the general direction of the warehouse. "I'll be touch". Anika signed off and began to move off up the stairs.

[Redbelle]

As Dogger nodded to Priss and Molly, Duncan came on over the comm. "Sir? That lady.... Anika? She just called again. She's caleld you to warehouse.... erm.... 4 stroke..... 53?..... stroke 31? No... no wait that's wrong.... It was 4.......ummmm..... Wait a minute. Lemme pull up the transcript".

 

"Gawd dammit Duncan"! Dogger barked into his comm.

 

"Give me a break! I just hit a man earlier! I don't like blood"! His voice petered off and then announced. "....Ah! 4-53-13 in the wards. She said she's moving in to see what's inside".

 

Dogger growled. "Typical girly".

 

"Oh, we've also got two load lifters asking for permission to dock and.....".

 

"Get them aboard man. Now! And I mean yesterday"!

 

"Arrrrh.....".

 

"Now Mister"! Dogger cut the connection as behind him, the massive cargo doors began to swing open. As they opened far enough out two load lifters flew in slowly in reverse and settled down in the hanger space. Two people, one a Salarian, one an Asari stepped.

 

"Yo"! The Salarian called out as he approached. "Gotta schedule! Call from ship! Two lifters wanted. Brought them quick. Was asked for speed. Those the crates? Scrap! Dangerous. Own driver's provided. Good good! Damage to vehicles from junk containers! Cost deposit. Understand terms? Good good"! He pulled out a tablet and waved it in front of the group. "Sign here. Who signs? Quick quick! Must make it to facilities! Bursting"!

 

Dogger grabbed the tablet as he looked over to Coco and Chris. "Get the containers attached. Everyone else, grab your gear. We're heading out as soon as those things are rigged".

 

The Salarian practically tore the tablet from his hands before throwing Dogger an attachment before barreling off to the side of the hanger where the locker rooms sat. The Asari followed up more sedately.

 

"Preciate it kindly, y'all have a good haul now".

 

Dogger sighed as Coco and Chris pulled themselves up into the loaders cabins and started the engines. "We intend to miss".

[Kel Riever]

Molly went to the loader the salarian had come in on and looked in the cabin.  It was going to be a tight fit.  “I’ll ride in this one.” Somehow.  Molly got in next to Coco and nervously applied some lip balm.

Miss Priss, a bit more embellishing in accepting Dogger’s orders, raised her hat to him and said, “I like to say, ‘We intend to hit!”  With a chuckle, she skipped in her boots and strode towards the other loader, leaning in towards the asari as she passed.  “Where’s that accent from, ‘cause you stirred the homesick in me a bit.”

The dove in pink didn’t wait long for an answer though.  As if singing a silent tune in her head, each stride of hers was in a hip wiggling rhythm.  Molly glanced sideways out her window to watch Priss jump up on the runner and swing out from the loader with one hand gripping a handle.

“Is this a convoy? ‘Cause I love a convoy!” 

Then Miss Priss let out a YEE-HAW! Her voice echoed off the deck walls as she hopped into the other loader, ready to go.

[Redbelle]

Coco looked over at Molly and grinned. "My.... This is exciting. Don't you think? My names Coco. Really! I was doing a year in the docks, getting my license and all that.... Then this opportunity came along and... well.... I'm sure we can reschedule the examination for some other time....".

 

Dogger swung himself up into the cabin then  and sat beside Coco so that Coco was squeezed between the two. "Kay. Move it".

 

"Ab-sol-lutely!.... Do you have the directions"?

 

Dogger slowly turned his head. "What"?

 

"Well, usually I wouldn't have a problem.... but I've never actually driven one of these on the Citadel! So we'll need directions.... and...".

 

Dogger punched the dash and a display came up. Some quick key strokes and the loaders on board HUD displayed a lane leading out of the Medusa's bay. "Follow.... that".

 

"Ab-sol-lutely! Now hold onto your hats, I'm going to really open her up and see what she's got"! Coco jammed the thrust control to maximum and immediately a series of warnings appeared in the HUD citing emergency fail self overrides had cut in and killed the thrust. The Loader settled back down on the deck as Coco tsked his disappointment. "Drat. Silly overrides. Do we have time to uninstall the software to....".

 

Dogger grabbed the nape of his neck and physically lifted Coco out of the driver's seat and slid into it himself as he deposited Coco into the space he'd just occupied. "Boy....". He growled. "...This is not a joy ride. Only reason I've not kicked you out.... Cap'n likes to train folk.... Likes others to show em the ropes.... So here's the deal.... You stay alive and stop screwing around, you can stay with the ship. ****** me off again and I'll see you floating home....".

 

The other loader pulled into view through their screens drawing it's container behind it as it glided on past. Without another word, Dogger restarted the initialization sequence and smoothly lifted off to follow the loader ahead. Slaving his navigation to the one in front he saw that the one ahead had the destination already loaded and was following it as the loader's pulled out of the Medusa's hanger and turned to move down and into the traffic lane for freight traffic.

[Redbelle]

Inside the other loader, Chris piloted the loader with a practiced hand while Priss was sandwiched between Keats and Arthur.

 

"S'cuse the jam ma'am". Keats apoligised as he tried to shift to push a shielded gun container further out of sight under the seats they sat on. "Gonna be a while fer we get tut Wards. Might want to get comfy as yer can".

 

Arthur looked around the cabin of the Asari driver and shook his head as he saw an Asari flag, depicting what he couldn't say, hung in the back along with streams of Garland around the ceiling. A string light display in the back spelled something in Asari while on the dash, a bobble headed Asari dressed in what he could only describe as an odd looking cowboy outfit shuddered and juddered with every turn and speed change the loader went through.

 

The dash was some sort of faux wood effect and in the forward window, spelled backwards from the occupant's point of view, was a phrase, in Terran this time, that said the words..... 'Keep on Trucking'.

 

On a whim, Arthur pulled open the glove compartment..... Then quickly closed it. His cheeks burning red.

 

'I guess that's one way to pass the time on a long journey'.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Both Janiri shuttles headed down to the surface of Alchera. It was an uneventful journey as Iole guided Shuttle 1 to the source of the probe signal and Naleena followed. As they approached they could see the wreckage of the Normandy SR-1 scattered over several miles, but the bulk of it was concentrated in a small area. In the center appeared to be a wheeled ATV of some sort. The shuttles landed.

 

“VERA, identify the ATV,” Naleena ordered.

 

“That is the Systems Alliance M35 Mako. It must be the one that was in the cargo hold of the Normandy SR-1,” VERA said. “Preliminary scans from the probe indicate it is intact. Extraction from the ice will be difficult. You should note that the nighttime temperature of Alchera is below the boiling point of ammonia. One of the properties of ammonia is that it will dissolve ice. This means that the ice encrusting the vehicle will soften at night and freeze during the day when the ammonia boils away.”

 

“Fascinating,” Naleena replied. “Thank you.”

 

“You’re welcome. I find it amusing that organics are fascinated by such simple things,” VERA replied.

[Cknarf]

“That is the Systems Alliance M35 Mako…”

 

Upon hearing that, Frank practically launched himself out of the co-pilot’s seat, and shoved his way to the door.

 

"Comeoncomeoncomeoncomeon!" He impatiently tapped his foot, as the door opened. "Let's go, guys!"

 

He hopped out of the shuttle, and immediately busted his sh*t on the ice below. 

 

Sitting up, he gazed upon the frozen landscape with an almost childlike wonder. He had lived most of his 23 years on climate controlled space stations, and the rest were spent either aboard a ship, or on the hot-as-balls surface of Ontarom.  He’d never seen anything like this before.

 

“Neat.”

[Cainhurst Crow]

"An ice planet...it had to be an Ice planet." Vayne grumbled as he the shuttle landed, looking out to the world behind his visor and sealed armor. "There's not a lot of things I hate worse then cold. I hope you know that." He said aloud, looking to Naleena as their shuttle doors opened. Then he saw frank in the other shuttle run out and slip on the ice.

 

He then pointed, and laughed, as he gingerly and slowly took a few steps on the ice, knees looking as if they were shaking to keep him standing as he took a couple slow steps away form the doorway, to let the others pass.

 

He really didn't like Ice.

[Cainhurst Crow]

Essul's dreams had been strange, very strange. They'd started off the same, dropping onto his first combat zone, things going wrong and turning into a killzone. Then he'd been shot. Which was odd, cause it didn't happen that way. Then the crew of the Janiri showed up and helped fight off Eclipse mercs, and he was damn well sure that never happened.

 

The result was that Essul had showered, eaten a good helping of military starch and what humans refereed to as bacon with poultry eggs on the side, which he was increasingly liking, and had suited up for the mission feeling strange. At ease, some might say.

 

He walked out after frank, his new dark green armor a striking bit different from his old suit, less bulky and missing the skull faceplate that he'd come to like. "Need a hand?" He asked as he offered frank some help, feeling a bit comfortable on the cold planets surface. He'd trained in worse, and at least the night time was making the ice less hard, and slushy beneath his feet as he walked forward. His armor did well to negate the termperature, and he didn't feel a bit of the cold as he stood ankle deep in amonia slush.

 

It seemed to be snowing a bit as well, a light layer of the stuff resting on the semi-viscous floor and making the whole thing seem like it was solid, rather then a liquidy trap. "We should be careful, And avoid any areas with dips. The last thing we want is to step into a deep section of this stuff."

[Cknarf]

"Well, this isn't what I expected..." Frank sounded a little down, as he watched his feet slosh through the mess. Then he looked ahead, and remembered why he was here. He sloshed faster towards his objective.

 

"Hey, if it's gonna be all mushy, why do we have torches again?"

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"I don't know. I'm just a gropo," Irina said. "If they tell me to load torches, I load torches. But this thing looks like its wheels are off the ground. We have to figure out how to get it on board the ship. I wonder if the boss is jonezing for a smoke?"

 

"I'm using a patch, Sloane," Naleena said over her comm.

[Cknarf]

"Good for you, Boss." Frank said over comms, while inspecting the M-35's hatch, located between the first and second row of wheels. "Stuff's bad for you, ya know."

 

He forced open the hatch.

 

"And what the hell is a gropo?"  He asked while climbing inside.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"Ground pounder. Alliance marine," Irina replied. "Life is usually sh*t for us, but we defend the colonies and Earth. Once I got out, I can't say my time in the Corps didn't help me get stationed with some mighty fine blue ass," she walked by Jenus and slapped her butt as she was bent over getting gear out of her shuttle. "And I made some good friends, too," pointing at Iole and Tallis.

[Kel Riever]

The commandos were in full gear, sealed light armor that protected them from the environment.  Iole was climbing out of the shuttle.  She started with a joke, "Really, Red, I thought 'gropo' is what you just did to Jenus."

"Easy, Goldie," Jenus said, not really caring about either the joke or Irina's loose hands.  She got a look around then, and said, "This is one crash straight from the void.  Shepard's ship?  I hear the stories but there was no way the Commander didn't get away in an escape pod.  You don't walk away from this, I don't care what all the textbrains all over the galaxy say."

The impact of the sight was sinking in with Tallis and Iole as well.  Iole walked past Frank and spotted something that distinctly did not look like wreckage.  It was a monument nearby the Mako, and she approached it with reverence.  "Goddess, Shepard came back and put this here.  It must have been awful."

[Kel Riever]

...on the Citadel

Molly felt a bit better sitting next to Dogger.  It wasn't that Coco seemed, well, eccentric.  It was that he seemed a bit reckless.  Hagen pulled her Predator pistol and affixed the heavy barrel and scope, before relocating it in its magnetic holster.  'No reason not to be prepared', was the look on her face as she gave a nod of confidence to Dogger.

Meanwhile, on the other loader, Miss Priss didn't have much of a problem being squeezed in, but she thought there was a better way.  "Here, let me take care of our problem," she said as she extracted herself from between Keats and Arthure, and decided to sit in Keats lap.  "I hope you're  comfortable there, Mister Keats," Priss said, with a wink.  She started to look around the inside of the cabin, "I don't know who this driver is but I do think I like her style!"

[Cainhurst Crow]

Vayne dredged forward towards the mako, not enjoying himself on this planet at all. It was like the worst qualities of a world, Swamp and Ice, had decided to have a terrible drunken love child together. "Let's just blow the ice up and take it. Whatever gets us off this half-frozen rock faster." Vayne grumbled, sounding a lot grumpier then usual.

 

Essul said nothing as he walked towards the monument, past the Mako. His eyes glanced around at the wreckage, and a little ways away towards the various support ribs and beams that made up the ships hull, a corridor like structure with frost creeping up the sides, as if to escape the ammonia hydroxide below. Hearing that they were coming to the Normandy's crash site; The Normandy's resting place, had made essul unsure of how to feel.

 

Standing here, he couldn't help but feel one thing. Sympathetic.

 

"I used to hear horror stories about this vessel...How this ship was going to destroy the navy's defenses." He muttered out loud as he looked around, "Even after it spearheaded saving the council. It was still an alliance ship..." He said as he looked back towards the monument, then towards the mako nearby, "Now it's a monument to the dead..."

 

"Not the first ship that got blown up and crashed. Won't be the last either..." Vayne shot back with a roll of his eyes, "Just because it was fancy and famous doesn't make it different from the rest. I'm sure the  inusannon's and  thoi'han's had some cutting edge ships filled with folks that we'll see on the next world we pop to." He said, referring to their original destination and the debriefing on it.

 

"I thought you might have more sympathy for a place like this, Kavadar. Even I myself can appreciate what occurred here enough to show some respect." Essul said as he walked towards the icy chunk that seemed to keep the Mako off the ground.

 

"I'm krogan. It takes more then seeing a graveyard to get me feeling stuff." The krogan said with a roll of his eyes, having literally walked across mass graves back on Tuchanka where some roads were paved over blown apart military vehicles and the bodies of the fallen, "At least this one has a big old statue to let everyone know what happened. That's more then most of these get, even today." he said with an irritated growl.

 

He really, really did not like the cold.

[Cainhurst Crow]

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

 

Commander Machaera Fay'yar was not standing as he usually would, but sitting in a chair waiting in the mess hall for his ships to arrive. Navigating from batarian space into the terminus system without getting spotted was tricky, and involved a lot of jumps through the attican traverse, at just the right times, and through just the right systems. He also sat without his arms crossed, and without his sword drawn, two unusual things for the commander of his task force. Instead, he sat with a cup held in his hand, the other hand holding a small coaster like plate as he drank a steaming cup of brakish liquid. Batarian style tea, which was closer to watered down coffee, with camala spices, mainly cinnamon, a ground powder similar to cacao, and desert salt, mixed in.

 

"Talza..." Machaera began as he set down his cup of tea and looked towards the batarian sitting across from him, who glanced up to his superior with a curious gaze as he sat with a sandwich in hand, baloney on white with some cheese. One of the benefits of taking this place from the suns was getting to eat their food supplies, now that they were all dead.

 

"Commander?" He asked curiously as he took a bite of the sandwich, a sense of dread coming over him as he wondered what Machaera wanted now.

 

"How comes the status of the project I asked you to work on?" His commanding officer asked as he looked to his subordinate and chief tech specialist curiously, "The personal one I asked you to look into."

 

Talza thought a moment before he realized which one he was asking about, "The dossier compilation, sir?" Talza didn't see what the big deal was personally, but evidently Machaera did, as he glared at the man and took another sip of his tea. How his boss drank that stuff with a straight face, he'd never know.

 

"Yes. The compilation I wanted you to do in secret. How is it coming along?" Machaera asked, irritation seeping into his voice.

 

"Well, I've been gathering whatever information I can. These computers access to the extranet is making it somewhat easier to do so. But finding information on these individuals has been slow. Even with accessing the planets communication systems and private corporation databanks, it will take more time." Talza informed, going back to eating his meal in mild peace.

 

"Fine, very well. So long as it gets done..." Machaera said as he looked away from his subordinate, continuing to drink his tea in silence as Talza blinked, having expected some form of outburst at being told it'd take time. It made him curious about something, and after another bite of his sandwich, he deicded to chance it and ask.

 

"Sir...if I may be bold on something...what is this list for?" Talza asked as Machaera set down his tea, taking a glance towards Talza as he looked him in the eyes, sweat starting to form on Talza's forehead as he continued, "I mean, these people you have us looking for...their Subverts. Deviants. Criminals, or worse. And none of them are batarian either. I understand fighting cerberus, but must we fight these people as well?" Talza asked in concern.

 

Machaera sat in his spot, as he set down his tea coaster onto the table, his head tilted down as he listened. Then he leaned forward, and began to softly chuckle, grinning wide like a chesire cat, his usual smile, as he looked up to Talza, clearly finding whatever he said funny.

 

"My dear Talza. I appreciate boldness, and your concern for our forces being spread to thin..." He complimented as he leaned back a bit, fingers gliding together to interlock in front of him as he continued to smile broadly, "But I am not looking for targets to fight. I will have plenty of those with Cerberus. No, I intend to use this list in a much better capacity. One that will make combating cerberus, and possibly the alliance, much easier." He said as his eyes seemed to glint deviously in the light.

 

'After all...' he thought to himself as he picked his tea back up, 'If shepard could do what she claims to have done with a mixed team of aliens. Why shouldn't I use one against her?'

[Cknarf]

Frank smirked at the chatter, then he frowned a little, when he heard about the monument that he had completely overlooked on approach. Now he kinda felt like he was grave robbing. The krogan’s outlook on things, combined with the fact that he was inside a freakin’ M-35, made him feel a bit better.

 

“If Shepard had the time, and funding to come back here, why didn’t she scoop this thing up?” He asked, looking down at his omni-tool. “‘Cause for the most part, it checks out.”  He added, while plopping down in the driver’s seat.  There were, of course, some things that required attention, but overall the Mako appeared to be in decent shape, considering.

 

Frank hit a few buttons, causing the controls to come alive.

 

So far, so good.

 

“Might wanna take a step back, guys…” He said, while strapping himself in. He pulled the seat belts tight, and fired the M-35’s micro thrusters. The tank didn’t move, so he tried again. And again. And again. The last firing managed to jar the tank slightly loose, but the wheels were still unable to gain traction on the icy platform.

 

“Oh, p*ss off.” Frank minimized the warning that had appeared on the HUD, thereby silencing the alarm. He hit the thruster controls one last time…

 

Only the right side fired, launching the tank into a roll. After two and a half rotations, it came to a stop, upside down.

 

Oops.

 

There was another quick burst of the thrusters, and the Mako was back on all six wheels.

[Kel Riever]

(Note:  The following was written after running it by RedBelle)

Previously...( http://forum.bioware...res/?p=18846989 )

Cluster unknown, System unknown, aboard the Nostalgia

A gilded cage was the human term Jrudek thought most appropriate when describing his room.  He had not heard from Iyana for some time, cause for reflection as to whether she had considered him a casualty of a failed negotiation.  It was impossible for him to tell, but Jrudek knew he was certainly not forgotten.

That is why it came as some surprised when he was informed by the guard posted outside his room that his master had sent a message via com buoy.  Jrudek was prepared, as he always was, and dressed appropriately, if not stiffly.  He left his room under guard to a terminal where he was allowed to view the intercepted message.

To:  Jrudek Ib-Vu
From: Iyana

I believe it is time to ask his Lordship for the favor he extended.  Though Tarballs undoubtedly knows of this message, respect him and his position with the formality of the request in person.  At least extend your hand in this way.  Politely remind the Lord that we meet as equals, directly, so that we may deal face to face.  To assure these ends are met, and to establish honor in our relationship, included in this message is a general list of requirements I have, given that I am subjecting myself to a meeting at a location of his determination.  In summary, I will be attending with an entourage of my choosing upon one Mammoth class shuttle.  While he may scrutinize our craft in whatever way he deems necessary for the sake of security, he shall not molest the shuttle itself, nor anyone aboard.  If he wishes, he may send a pilot aboard but that pilot will operate under my rules until he is released when we land at his desired location.

There is a spirit in these terms I expect him to honor as well.  Tell him there is only one other person I have ever put myself in front of in such a way, and so I have it on faith that he knows how to treat a lady of stature. Inform him as well that when we deal one on one, I only require that it be in a private place of his choosing, secure in that no other may listen to our conversation.

His Lordship shall be held in highest esteem at all times.  You are my representative Jrudek, and I am counting on you for that.  I think you realize that between Tarballs and myself, your future relies on your proper execution of these instructions.

Oh, and please make Tarballs aware I will need a bit of space around the shuttle when I disembark (as well as proper pressurization).  It is for the gift that I have for his Lordship.
 

[Kel Riever]

Iole was the first on the line with Frank, trying to reach him after she saw the Mako flip, then right itself.  "You all right in there, Frank?" She called over on her com.

[Cknarf]

"Oh, god... I think... I think I broke something..." Frank groaned over comms, as he unbuckled himself. "Pfffft, nah. I'm just f*ckin' around."

 

"I'm in a tank, Commando, I'm more than fine." He chuckled.  "Let's load this b*tch up."

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"Commander, bring the ship down over our location to about 100 meters," Naleena ordered. "We have some cargo to pick up."

 

"Yes, Ma'am. We'll be there in about 30 minutes."

 

"Frank, you stay with the Mako. The rest of us, saddle up in the shuttles and get to that rocky plateau," Naleena said after she surveyed the area.

 

The ship swooped down overhead and hovered with its thrusters. Septerax opened the shuttle bay door, and extended the ramp, and the ship's atmosphere was protected by a kinetic barrier, keeping the toxic atmosphere of Alchera out.