6315 réponses à ce sujet

[TheMajonese]

"How much for the Typhoon?"

 

"Ahm..." The turian pondered for a moment, then he said: "Sixteen thousand credits..."

 

"Sounds good!" 

 

For a second the shop owner looked surprised that Arian didn't even ask for a better offer, then he just nodded. He certainly wasn't going to complain if a customer was willing to pay the full price for one of his guns. For Arian it didn't make much of a difference to spend a few credits more, in the end, it only mattered that he had a weapon that would fullfil its purpose. Besides there was no point for him in saving his money anyway. He only needed his credits to either buy equipment that wasn't available on the Janiri or to visit a bar.

 

Arian activated his omni-tool to check how long they've been in this weapon store. "That went faster than expected", he said to Irina. "You found what you were looking for?"

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"Yeah, I did, Arian," Irina said and then had a glint in her eye. "You want to make some serious creds? How about we head to the strip and try our hand in the Armax Arsenal Arena. It's better than getting drunk in a bar, and will get you out of that smelly training room on the ship. Besides after some of VERA's scenarios this will be easy. Gold prize money is 10000 CR per match split between us. They'll probably run us out of there after about four consecutive wins, but you'll get to try out your new LMG, with holo-rounds anyway. What do you say?"

 

VERA had been taking the suit and helmet cam vid and analyzing them for combat simulations. Her enemy combat AI had become like the real thing. Irina knew this would be just shooting mooks in a game.

[Redbelle]

The pull of Babe was real Jess knew. When she'd first met her she imagined it had been her stunning good looks that had made her feel warm and fuzzy on the inside but after the scene on the bridge earlier.....

 

Jess looked over at Sherie who looked perfectly at ease with her slightly haughty poise and immaculate appearance, even sitting in the gun control chair she looked like she was owning the space around her with an air of easy authority. It seemed sending Sherie to see to Babe had been the right call after all as Jess turned back to Babe. Like on the bridge, Jess forced her mind back to the weight of responsibility for the well being of those under her.

 

"Hope your feeling better". She began, speaking to Babe. "I met with Priss. The woman who knew you from way back. She's feeling better now". Jess paused as she met Babe's eye's and kept them fixed on her. "How are you? What happened on the bridge..... You'll understand if it raises questions. About what you can do. About why your here. I'm sorry luv but the worlds turning under your feet. I need to ask you about your past..... I appreciate it's probably not your favorite topic but what I said on the bridge still stands. Your part of my crew and I need to know what I need to know to keep you and everyone else safe".

 

Picking a section of wall, Jess sidestepped and leaned her back against it, folding her arms as she tilted her head back to look up at the compartment's ceiling. "Can't say your the first. I've picked up plenty of folk who had things they were trying to get away from. Long as they don't affect the ship or crew I don't mind much. but if peoples past rears it's head and I'm not given forewarning there's not a lot I can do to protect them, or you". Jess tilted her head down and gave Babe a tight smile. "You heard about the ships past right? About when I left to go sector hopping with a Spectre aboard his ship? What happened to this ship and crew? I'm not letting that happen again. But in the dark of space we're all we have and everyone needs to pitch in. Anything you want to tell me will stay between you and me". Jess cast an eye over at Sherie with a raised eyebrow.

[Kel Riever]

...Earth, New Jersey

Morgan stood at the docking terminal area of Teterboro airport.  It was across the Hudson River, in New Jersey two days after finding his family.  The airport catered executives and privately owned craft.  Bingo was next to him, and he was about to board an atmosphere capable yacht chartered by the Yakuza for his journey to the Citadel. 

"Morgan-san," Bingo addressed him as she handed him a small thumbnail drive for his omni-tool, "This is for you."

Accepting it, Morgan looked curiously at Bingo.

"It is from Detective Hagen.  Her condition is severe but stable.  She regained a moment of consciousness before she went under in ER.  Our people were with her, and still are of course.  The drive is from her omni-tool, and she seemed very insistent that you have it."

"Thank you, Bingo.  It has been a pleasure.  And I'm sorry about your sword."

"It was nothing."  The statement from Bingo made it more than obvious that her sword was anything but.  Still, there was a sense that she was proud about its loss.

"Please, keep us up to date on Molly, and when she is able to speak, have her get in contact with us."

Bingo nodded.  "All the best, Morgan-san."

Morgan bowed and Bingo replied in kind.  Morgan then boarded the yacht, which would get him back to the Citadel in time to meet up with the Medusa before she left the Citadel.  There was an excitement in Morgan, though like most feelings he didn't show it.  But he could feel a new kind of energy running through him.  He was almost happy his family would arrive before he did; they'd get a chance to see everything first hand without the immediate concern of the inevitable talk they'd all have to have.  Morgan knew he'd be sitting down with the rest of his family for a long conversation.

[Kel Riever]

...on the Medusa

"I....," Babe started, then became very aware of Sherie.  The woman was about as motherly as anyone could get, but Babe was as uncomfortable enough as it was with Jess present and the topic at hand.  "Sherie, will you please excuse myself and the Captain.  I promise there will be plenty of time for you to get on that gun later."

Babe waited for Sherie to step out.  Once she was gone, she swung nimbly off the ammo crate and planted her bottom sideways in the gun seat, letting her legs stretch out.  For good measure, she put a purple blowpop in her mouth and sucked at it until she could feel distracted enough to begin to talk.  Watery eyes cast towards Jess, and stared warily (it had the affect of making anyone want to just go over to Babe and wrap their arms around her to make her feel all right) before she began.

"I don't know what happened before," Babe replied with a silken voice after removing the blowpop and playing with it in one hand.  "But I've seen what happened around here and it looks terrible.  I'm sorry for your loss and I won't pretend I can fathom what they are to you."

The honest admission of ignorance was shocking most of all because it rang so true and seemed so hard to believe that Babe could not at least have some idea of what went on with the Medusa.  Her blue eyed innocence, however, left no doubt and in that regard, Jess felt in no way manipulated by what she said.

"There are things I've put behind me, Jess...Captain."  The informality seemed to bother Babe for some reason, even though Jess had given her permission to address her by first name.  "I have no excuses for how I acted on the bridge, and you are right to ask your questions.  I feel horrible about that woman who....seems familiar?....but Captain, I don't go back to remember my past on purpose.  It's over, and the people from it I'm trying to get away from.  The less I think about them the better."

Now Jess saw that Babe might not be telling the entire truth with her last statements.  Or at least there was something she wasn't believing about her own words.  As Babe herself seemed to become bothered, she lay the sticky blowpop on the console, got up, and started pacing in the small area.  The bad news was that her pacing brought out every bit of her accentuated form, which was extremely distracting.

"Don't worry about how I feel, Je....Captain.  I'm not as important as everyone else you have here." It was again clear that Babe was not harboring false humility, but instead actually seemed to not value herself.  "Nobody is looking for me, or can find me in the case of my father, who I was taken away from and let's leave it at that.  The others, they've gone because they know I'm a problem.  That's vague, but I just have a knack for firing guns, and I just want a place I can do that without...without anyone bothering me.  That's all I can do, Captain.  I can't do anything more except if you get tired of me, I don't want to but I will go.  I love your ship but I would go without waiting another second if you asked."

Though when Babe spoke, it was as if she were straddling opposite points (wanting to stay yet being happy to leave, causing problems yet providing a value), and yet it was evident to Jess that there was a mechanism at work beyond the alluring one.  Part of what she was saying was undoubtedly truthful, now including a belief that she wasn't conscious of any ability she had over people, difficult as it was to understand given the effect she had.  And then part of what she was saying danced away from dealing with her history directly.  It was as if she preferred to remain shallow, hiding in denial.  Just then, Jess caught a beautiful, child like smile from Babe, and in that moment it was as if the woman was away from all her troubles, but then the smile faded as the concerns of the moment came back.

"If you want to keep me on, though, Captain, I will help you make this ship just like you want.  We'll get rid of all that junk, and make her so sublime, and oiled, and iron clad like she was meant to be.  Get rid of what happened to her, erase it.  Move on.  The moment the last piece of this wreckage that's still on your ship is removed, you won't ever need to go back and remember the damage she suffered.  Smooth sailing.  And if anyone ever comes close, you get me on this turret and I'll take care of whatever's foolish enough to hound you."

[TheMajonese]

Arian didn't really like the idea of fighting in an arena against virtual enemies. No matter how well they were simulated, a fight against them was nothing compared to a real opponent and Arian didn't care about the money. But then he realized that the only alternative for him would be to return to the Janiri and sit in his quarters or in the gym and waiting for something to happen.

 

"Fine", he said with a snarl. "I hope it's worth the time. By they way, do you know if there's something like a real arena here on the Citadel?"

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"Hey, I'm only thinking about making some easy cash to pay for our weapons. I never said it was going to be a big challenge for us," she said. "And besides, it's always better to get used to a new weapon without live rounds whizzing over head. I plan to live a little while longer. We could make about 20000 CR each before they throw us out. Easy money. Want to make it hard? How about we do Geth, Super Elites. Ever fight Geth? It'll be the two of us and we get one more squadmate. I say we take Jenus.

 

"After that let's grab something to eat, then I know a place we can go hang out if you want. Ever play pool? Game of skill."

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

VERA addressed the entire crew of the Janiri over the intercom:

 

"I have received an incoming message addressed to the crew. It is one of thanks. I will read it.

 

"To:  Janiri, Medusa - all members who helped the townspeople on Duellos
From:  Lucky 7 - Sally, Captain of the best little freighter you'll ever set eyes on

Ya'all have a safe trip.  This here ship and crew is alive because of you and there ain't one day goes by we don't think about it.  Good luck, wherever it is you're headed and may you get there across lots.

P.S. You ever need a hand, ol' Sally's got your back!"

[Cknarf]

"Check this out." Frank brought up a photo on his omni-tool.

 

"Keelah..."

 

"He was surprisingly chill."

 

"He?" Adir raised an eyebrow. "You mean it."

 

Frank shrugged, like whatevs.

 

"Foolish. Bringing that thing aboard a council ship..."

 

"Wasn't the first time he'd been on one."

 

"Ah. So that's the one I've been hearing about?"

 

"You heard about Legion?"

 

"An admiral's daughter showed up to her own trial with a human captain and an active geth platform, and wasn't exiled. Of course I heard about it." Adir took a second glance at the photo."I'm sure everyone with ties to the fleet knows by now."

[Kel Riever]

Falling Leaf answered Yron.  "I certainly hope so.  If not, I would hope that he would allow us to part ways in mutual respect."

The human examined Yron with a calculating eye.  "But I take my chances.  If I wanted to lead a safe life, I would stay home, listen to music and tend to my plants.  Besides, isn't there a need for people like us?  My regret is only that if I could have been there sooner, I might have had a hand in preventing what happened to your commander.  You would have done the same for him if you could, correct?  Intervene on his behalf, and in his favor?"

The woman moved from where she was to a small table, to place her helmet upon it.  She drummed on it lightly with her fingers, then said, "A rhetorical question, and I apologize for that. The schism of existence is the interrelationship of needs, I believe.  In this, I hope to fulfill a useful role.  My observation is that all of you seem to have admirable capabilities for war, but there is a certain lack of finesse amongst you.  This is not an insult, simply an assessment of your assets.  Maybe I'm wrong, but even if you have such assets, perhaps they may be enhanced."

[Redbelle]

Medusa Gun Control

 

Jess's brow was furrowed, her eye's wider than usual, her mouth caught between a smile and a frown as she tried to make sense of the woman pacing in front of her. At last she simply said. "...... Your weird..... You'll fit right in here". Taking a deep breath, Jess let out a long sigh. "Well, if I cut you loose our on board Mom would never let me hear the end of it..... Like I said. This ship is your new home till you decide otherwise. I can't force you to liaise with others, but I do need you to keep the crew up to date with the gun systems. Divide the crew manifest into quarters. cycle each quarter through gun training for a week ten move to the next quarter the next week. That'll cut the training time down.....".

 

Jess stopped when she realized she was lecturing and ran a hand over the back of her neck. "Babe.... If your serious about the ship.... You'll find no finer place, no better people than the ones who crew her. And if you stay with us long enough you'll find us taking on losers and scoundrels.... And find that underneath that tarnish they were all damn fine people.....". Jess looked up at her. "....You already have a place here. I can't make you believe that.... but maybe one day you'll wake up and know it's true. Now then.....".

 

Jess pushed off the wall and stood up. "This ships already healing from the damage done to her and what your sister did is between her and me. You didn't have a hand in that so I don't hold any blame over you. But I want you to know, and this I say to everyone who comes aboard. If there's something out there coming for you at this ship, tell me. That not just about your past. This ship has a bit of a tendency to make people.... not like us..... enough to launch fighters and gun boats at us sometimes..... Well twice..... so far..... Feel free to hold up if you want. But don't be a stranger or I'll come down here and bug my chief gunner to distraction. Deal"?

[Kel Riever]

It was Babe's turn to look confused.  "What my sister did?"

Then her eyes sparkled and she laughed.  Hard.  Like she'd just heard the perfect joke.  And in a crazy way, it was so infectious that Jess almost felt like laughing herself, if it wasn't a laugh that seemed to be completely in disbelief.

"You are hilarious, Jess!  Honestly you had me there for a second.  My sister doing what she did to this place?  As if!"  Babe suddenly hugged, Jess, and with a good amount of force as Jess felt the strength of her well-defined musculature. "You don't have to do that to make me feel better.  I'm going to get there myself."  Babe pulled away and looked at Jess with bedazzled joy.  "I really appreciate you giving me a place.  I won't be a stranger with you, I promise.  Deal!  Absolutely a deal. I'm going to run some more couplers, get the crew more gun time...one by one...if you don't mind."  Babe looked away, embarrassed, then went on, "Next time you drop the hammer on someone, Thor himself will be jealous!"

Babe pushed past Jess in the tight confines of the gun turret, her embrace the launching point for the maneuver.  She brushed up with her exquisite body against the Captains.  "Sorry, just moving past you.  Amy did show me a thing or two about the maintenance passageways.  I may get changed into some good clothes for getting dirty and explore them a bit.  Will let you know when I need something, Captain....Jess!"  And then Babe was gone, nimbly pushing herself out the door, on her way to wherever it was that she wanted to go.  

There was the sense, although she wasn't completely out of earshot yet, that the part of Babe that wanted to avoid her past had won.  Like a mouse that shot out of a cat's grasp, Babe had escaped Jess...maybe not even consciously...but the part of her that was trapped under Jess' gaze scampered away with Babe's tight, dark red leather clad legs.  

The gun room seemed suddenly very quiet and lonely.

[TheMajonese]

Arian didn't answer, instead he just grunted and headed towards the skycar that would bring them to the Silversun Strip. He had no idea what to expect since this was his second time on the Citadel and the first time he was actually seeing something of the station that wasn't a bar.

 

There weren't many things that Arian was good in. That included his qualities as a soldier which had greatly improved through both his time at the turian military as well as the special training he later got on Omega. But the art of conversation was certainly not one of his strengths, however the silence in the car to the Strip was unbearable to him. His thoughts always drifted back to Omega and other things he tried to forget. After a few moments of hesitation, he turned to Irina. "How did you end up on the ship with the spectre?", he asked, his question coming out of nowhere, making this attempt to start a conversation somehwat pitiful.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"Well, it started on the backwater frontier world of Duellos," Irina said in her Aussie accent. "I walked into the local boozer and somehow got into it with Blondie, you know, the boss' mate. She didn't like me much. Then I went outside and one of the local Batarian ratbags was messing with my bike. No one messes with my bike. So he ended up having a chat with Ol' Painless," she said tapping her shotgun.

 

"After we cleaned up that mess, some of my tools were missing, and someone saw one of the people from the Drowned Aspire running off with them earlier. The Drowned Aspire was some kind of religious cult. There was something odd about that place, and I wanted my tools back - they were special and very expensive - so I signed on as a guide. Then things went to sh*t at the DA, and we barely got out.

 

"Later things really got interesting. See what originally brought me to Duellos was a job working security at the Asari base for ERCS. That's where I met Jenus and the gang. We used to hang out and party after hours. We even got Textbrain to bungee jump. Anyway, the Spectre the boss worked for then was a Turian and he planned a train robbery. But things went south on the robbery when we stopped the train. Who was holed up in the car we needed? My girls. They worked for an Asari Spectre I'd met a couple times named Xanthe. You can see how this was going to end. Two Spectres butting heads. No one was coming out of that looking pretty.

 

"Now our current boss at the time, I heard stories about she had a long prison sentence waiting, and she did not want to add the count of treason to her record by attacking an Asari military train so she surrendered to Asari authorities before the robbery, but she delayed telling them about the robbery until she had cut a plea and had assurances from Xanthe about our team. But the Asari Spectre had her team surrender and blow the car. They caught Frank and I and saved us from falling. The cargo of Silaris armor was  lost.

 

"Both Spectres were suspended for their actions, and our boss got a full pardon and her name got put forth by some matriarch. Rumors have it that it was Aria. And here we are: the Silversun Strip."

 

Irina looked at the way Arian had behaved. "You want to know why I talk so much? It keeps me from thinking about the sh*t I don't want to think about. And trust me, there's a lot of it. Now let's shoot some holograms; then grab a counter lunch. They have some good Turian eats around here, better than what you're getting on the ship anyway."

[Redbelle]

Jess watched after Babe's retreating back, which she hated to admit was almost as good as her front, and tried to figure out if she'd helped Babe or not.

 

........

 

......Probably not, she decided at length. Like many on her crew her gunner had issues. Probably best to let them lay for now she thought. That Babe could fire the guns was all she needed. Her mental well being? Well that looked to be a long term commitment. If she even needed it. Like Jess herself, she knew many people who had issues and still functioned as a walking talking product of society. Civilized or otherwise.

 

Still, she'd been sure that when she'd heard of the white haired sister...... Surely it was her.... But Babe had denied it. Maybe she'd been wrong? Maybe Babe's sister and.....

 

Her thoughts were cut off by the beeping of her comm as Duncan got her attention. "Shuttle inbound Cap'n. Anika is asking for permission to dock"?

 

"Granted. Have her aboard and roll out the welcome mat".

 

At last, at least something was getting back to normal.

[Kel Riever]

When Frank's Kodiak had finally set down in the Medusa's hangar bay, Keith was the first to step out, still clad in his Marvel T-Shirt, socks and slippers, with his two overpriced guns uncollapsed and strapped to his back.  He took in the sights of the bay, and the busy work being done around him.

"What a piece of junk!" Keith called out.

Jen disembarked next, ahead of her mom and Anika.  As several heads turned in the Severn's direction, including Largo's which did not look friendly, she quickly explained, "It's a quote from a very old movie.  He likes it."

There were confused looks, but most of the crew got to work.  Largo kept lifting a crate but looking sternly at Keith as he walked past.

"That guy's looking pretty svelt," Keith commented on Largo.  "Maybe he can teach me a thing or two.  Who's in charge around here, by the way?"

"Come on, Keith," Jen said, "Let's not get everyone riled up on first impression.  Seriously, you should let mom do the talking."

"It's fine honey," Rosanne said, "I just want to hear what's been happening.  Let your brother go on.  He's excited, which is good given what we've been through."

Jen looked frustrated but agreed.  She then carried her portable care kit off and satisfied her own curiosity as she examined the hanger as well.  One of the crew offered to take her kit from her but she shook her head and gave him an abrupt 'No thanks', less friendly than she intended.

[Kel Riever]

...related

"Way too close!" Marshall shouted as he saw the small freighter in the Citadel Dock adjacent to the Medusa's go full thrust right past the bridge. The white lined, black number 7 in outlaw font was clear for all to see, and the near miss caused the freighter to shake.

"She'll cause damage!" Duncan exclaimed.

Amy Hayashi's eyes were wide, but she was quick to correct. "She's too small. Just a bit of a jostle. Maybe some carbon residue." She pat the bun on the top of her head.

~ ~ ~ ~

"Alert!" An asari called out from the helm of the Janiri. "Small freighter on collision course!"

"Negative," VERA interjected, "The vessel will not collide."

Selani stood from her chair, watching as the freighter passed by with its emblem showing. Everyone on the Janiri felt the high tech ship vibrate. "Get me that ship's license!" Selani ordered. Then she heard a wet splash behind her.

The glass of juice the Commander was drinking from had fallen off the arm of the Captain's chair from the vibrations, and spilled across the floor. Selani's cheeks radiated purple hue.

[Redbelle]

Anika finished the post flight check list as Morgan's family hurried ahead to disembark. Finally the power shut down and the thrum of the generator came to a quiet halt and she leaned back in the flight chair and breathed a sigh of relief.

 

They were home. She.... she was home. Or the closest thing she had to one. Morgan's family though?

 

They'd been chased out and hounded, to find themselves displaced into a new world of galactic concerns. Aliens they may have seen in passing would now be the majority population around them as they would no doubt begin searching for answers as to why they'd been plucked out of their comfortable life.

 

And Molly......

 

Images of her back exploding as the officer.... she didn't remember the name, to focused on her environment for all the good it had done the detective.

 

Anika reached up and ran her hands down her face. Forcibly willing the stress away. It was over now. The mission was done. They had what they'd been after and though it hadn't gone smooth, Molly had been a professional and focused on the mission right up to when they'd parted company.

 

All that was left was Morgan and Frank. He'd want his shuttle back. Hedeki's valet had done a superb job cleaning it out and making it seem like new in such short a time that as she craned her neck forward to look around she remembered wondering if Hedeki hadn't simply bought an identical shuttle. There was still enough of Frank's identity stamped on the shuttle interior to dismiss that notion though. Anika unbuckled herself and rose, only to grab the back of the seat as a tremor caused the ship to shudder. Confused, Anika waited and sure enough the shuddering passed and she followed the family who she found standing outside the shuttles hatch and was about to ask how they were when a call came out from across the bay.

 

"Anika! Luv you are a sight for sore eye's and then some! Welcome back"!

 

Anika turned and saw the captain approaching from the spine airlock that was cycling closed as Jess strode across the bay floor like she owned it. A big smile plastered across her face with Bernard and Sinbad strapped, lopsided, across her waist.

 

"Cap'n"! She called back. Then to the family, with a gesture to the approaching woman in green she added. "This is Captain Stone. She'll see to your needs". Finally after seeing him for the first time, and having spent the whole trip with him in the cockpit, Anika's sense of weapon discipline finally snapped and she cast her eye's over Keith's open weapons strapped to him. "You know..... Those collapse.... For easier handling.... I could show you....". Anika's hand started to drift towards one of his open rifles.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Breaking News * Breaking News * Breaking News

 

This is Amy Takahashi reporting from Vancouver for Citadel News Net. Batarian officials have demanded that the Systems Alliance try and execute Commander Jane Shepard for destroying the mass relay with an asteroid in the Bahak System and destroying their colony on Aratoht. The Batarians claimed to have video footage of Commander Shepard on Aratoht only days before the incident. The Alliance denied any presence in the Batarian system, and said Shepard is in custody pending other charges. Charles Saracino of the Terra Firma Party called Shepard a hero.

 

In a related story, an undisclosed source from Arcturus now in hiding elsewhere, revealed some more embarrassing news for the Alliance that it had been the Batarians who were accessing the Executive Branch VI system, and had been doing so at will for much longer. The source alleges that Prime Minister Shastri’s office had been covering up the damage done by the security breach for months with bribes and other types of coercion. Citadel News Net has seen the source files, and will reveal them upon verification. Meanwhile parliament leaders are calling for a full investigation. We will keep you apprised of further developments in this scandal as we hear them. 

[Kel Riever]

Keith was all in wonderment at the woman who called out across the bay.  He didn't have a lot of time to think about it, though, as Anika offer to collapse something of his, he wasn't sure exactly what, as he had his back to her.  He turned towards Anika and saw her reaching for him.  And he was a bit surprised by the look in her eyes.  It was clear she wanted one of the weapons on his back but he noticed she was a bit 'off'.

"You all right there?  You look like you could use some eggs, and some bacon or just a really big breakfast."  Keith consciously looked at the two weapons he was wearing, and feeling a bit insecure about them, slipped the chrome Revenant from his shoulder with the 'You wouldn't like me when I'm angry' block letters, to hand to Anika.  "Uh, or maybe this'll make you feel better."

There was a sudden rumbling at that point felt throughout the ship and a roar, as another starship passed so close as to still be within the atmospheric shield of the Citadel docking area.  The Severn's looked down, eyes popping in concern, and then the shaking subsided.  Jen and Rosanne did not look well, but Keith smiled.  "Awesome!"

Jen maneuvered her portable care kit further away from the crewman who was still unconsciously reaching for it to help her.  She noticed Anika was looking rather pasty but she was more taken by the woman above, identified as the Captain.  A comforting hand on her mom's arm, then Jen stepped forward in her silvery body suit.

"Hi."

It was all Jen could think of saying at first.  She was feeling rather distressed herself.  Unlike her brother who had the benefit of being able to clod events off with his personality, Jen was still swimming in a good degree of confusion and worry.  

"Pleased to meet you."

Jen started to realize she didn't expect a Captain to look like the woman standing above them.  The flaunting of two guns with gold plated names at her waist, the green body suit, and then...were her eyes different colors?

"We're really happy you've let us aboard.  Especially considering..."

Her gratitude completely authentic, Jen didn't know what she could or should say.  Her brother wasn't here right now and she started to become concerned.

"Could we come in?"  The question felt awkward.  "Um, could we come in and put our things down?  I think we're kind of worn out."

[Cknarf]

"It's not all bad." Frank slid his glove back on.  "It might come in handy when talkin' up some quarian chicks."

 

Adir shook his head.

 

"Then I drop a little Khelish on 'em... Yeah. They don't stand a chance."

 

"Why would you do that?"

 

"The same reason anyone else would." Frank chuckled. "I mean, come on." He gestured with his hands, tracing the outline of the quarian female form.

 

"Not what I meant." Adir waved a hand. "What about the girl you mentioned in your writings, hm?"

 

"Which one?"

 

"Keelah, you're worse than Quintus." Adir sighed. "The most recent one. The asari."

 

"Right! Yeah, she's pretty great."

 

"Then why do you speak of chasing other women?"

 

"Oh my god, Adir..."

 

"Don't oh your god me." Adir wagged a finger. "What is wrong with you, boy?"

 

"I was just kiddin'..."

 

"You think that love is a joke?"

 

"Whoa, slow down there, pops." Frank put his hands up. Adir was getting a little too excited. "I never said nothin' about love."

 

"You didn't?" Adir chuckled.

 

"Nope."

 

"You sure about that?" Adir opened his omni-tool.

 

"What are you doing?"

 

"Checking my messages."

 

Frank prepared his own omni-tool.

 

"Ah. There it is..." Adir began to read an excerpt from an old message. "Never in my life have I met someone who makes me feel--." He stopped reading as the message disappeared, and his device deactivated.

 

"Oops." Frank smirked, as his own omni-tool faded.

 

"You little sh*t!" Adir laughed. "I Never should have given you my Savant..."

 

"No take backs, old man."

 

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

 

"It's not the drinking, or the womanizing, or the drugs, Quintus." Marius counted on his fingers.

 

"Hey, I don't do drugs... on purpose." Quintus muttered.

 

"That is your business, not mine." Marius shook his head. "There is one thing, and only one thing that I ask of you."

 

"What's that, bro?"

 

"When you're out partying, please, answer when I call you."

 

"It's kinda hard to answer calls while unconscious..." Quintus shrugged. "Or when I'm doin' the dirty. Sh*t would be mad awkward."

 

"Awkward is fine. As long as I know you're safe."

 

"Aww, bro." 

 

"I'm serious."

 

"A'ight."

 

"Okay then. Now the reason I wanted to go over this, is because we're making a run to someplace you're going to enjoy."

 

"Bro. BRO. Don't tell me we're goin' where I think we're goin'."

 

Marius nodded. "But you have to keep your word, or else I'll make sure that's the last time we ever go."

 

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Whatever you want, bro. When we goin'?"

 

"Soon, brother. Very soon. But before we go, there's a couple of runs we need to make elsewhere. We lost a lot of stock coming after Eli, and we're going to get it back."

 

"Well, sh*t, what are we waitin' for? Time's a wastin' bro!"

 

"Let's get to work."

 

After Quintus left, Marius contacted Frank via omni-tool. "Eli, come see me in the bay when you get a chance."

 

"On my way."

 

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

 

"Guess I'd better get goin', then."

 

"I'll be here if you need me." Adir remained at the console in front of the core.

 

Frank started up the stairs

 

"Just because you didn't say it, doesn't mean you don't."

 

"Ugh." Frank rolled his eyes, before jogging the rest of the way up.

[Redbelle]

Jess took in the family in front of her and her face changed to one of friendly concern. Cause luv. Cause come on. We'll get you bunked down first..... Anika! Leave the guns alone! Sorry..... Ann loves her guns and....". And then Jess's eye's lit upon the case in Jen's hands and she gestured at it with her chin. "That all you brought with you luv? I was expecting a few bags.....". As her eye's refocused on Jen she could see again the toll the journey had taken and Jess shook her head.

 

"No matter luv. I've got bunks for all of you. Sorry the accommodations going to be a little cramped than your used to but I've got a place for your brother and for you and your mother.....Anika"!

 

Anika, who had been trying to reach for Keith's gun again, looked up. "Cap'n"?

 

"You too. You look awful. You can tell me what happened on the walk over". Turning to Rosanne, Jess just quirked a smile. "Ma'am.... Morgan told me a few things about you. I'm sorry he didn't make the trip with you but for now I want to make sure the three of you are taken care of. Anything you need, let me know and I'll see if we can deliver".

[Kel Riever]

Jen held her case, her one possession that she couldn't leave behind.  "We didn't come with much, mostly having been run out." There was a swell of emotion in Jen and she looked away from the Captain.  

"Ma'am," Rosanne said to what she considered to be the beautiful woman in charge, "As my daughter said, we are deeply appreciative.  I'm Rosanne.  This is Jen, and that is Keith.  We haven't quite sorted out everything yet, but we trust anyone that my son would trust."  Rosanne paused a moment, perhaps detecting something but making no admission of it. "Anything you provide us with we will gladly pay you for in one way or another.  Our family has a habit of not taking anything for granted, but if you know my son, then you know that well.  My daughter may need some privacy for about an hour.  Other than that, we would be thankful to sit down for a simple meal.  There hasn't been much to eat since we left.  Nothing fancy is required, but I will say that I have a fair hand in the kitchen, if you require it."

Keith's eyes were darting about.  He was beginning to be enthralled with the place he was in, and as the Captain began leading the family into the ship, he fell back to Anika.  "Here," he said to her, slipping the Revenant to her while the Captain was distracted, "Take it.  I've never even used it.  FRM won't even let it be replicated.  They're all custom made, of course you probably know that.  Mine, well, mine's been test fired by Kassa Fabrications CEO's son.  He's got his signature down by the butt there.  Those block letters are all mine, by demand, of course.  You won't guess what it costs...okay so it's list is seven thousand credits.  That's stripped down, nobody buys it for that much unless they mod it themselves.  This one...four hundred thousand.  I got ripped off, they think.  Tell you right now, it's worth every penny.  Look at the see through compartment. You can see how much of the block shaving is left..."  Keith stopped talking there as he handed his overpriced prize to Anika.

[Kel Riever]

Morgan lay in his bunk aboard the yacht the Yakuza had placed him on for his return trip to the Medusa.  The ship was first class, with only twelve passengers aboard besides crew, and was a high speed transport, meaning there were no delays between launch and destination.  Not to mention the sleek ship, smaller than a frigate, had quite the engine output.  When Morgan started, he was two days behind Anika.  By the time he'd arrive, he would catch up a day and then some.

The cabin Morgan was in was compact, but spared nothing in amenities.  He preferred staying in, his alias being the name given to the vessel, and he didn't want much interaction with strangers.  For once, Morgan played with his cards less out of habit and more for the enjoyment.  As he flipped through them, he thought of his family, and then spent a lot more time thinking of Jess.  Finally, feeling a bit distant from the woman of his desire, Morgan pulled Molly's thumbnail drive and placed it in his omni-tool.  He wanted to see what the detective was so insistent on that she felt the need to pass it on.  

It took Morgan an hour to skim the information on the drive.  When he was done, he thought of the detective and wondered at the kind of person she was.  She'd prepared for the worst.  What was on the drive needed to be shared, at least with a few of the others, when there was a chance.  Despite the very personal message left, the drive was occupied foremost by the data of Molly's investigation and where she believed it would need to head to find Iyana.  Even in her absence, Molly had provided the best way she could to hunt the white witch down.  Morgan was frankly astounded, and wondered at what had Molly so dedicated to his family.

In the end, Morgan couldn't come up with anything than some people were really amazing.  His mind wandered back to Jess then, and how his family had been received.

[Redbelle]

Finally in hand, Anika hit the manual collapse toggle.

 

Nothing happened.

 

Frowning, Anika hit it again to the same effect. That was when her eye's glanced over the gun in detail and her frown turned into one of dismay.

 

It was a trophy gun.

 

Her eye's took in the see through compartment. as she felt the weight of the weapon, finding the heft to light. Tapping the outer shell she found that instead of standard composite material it was some thin pressed metal that actually flexed under her finger. Turning the weapon around she found the motor compartment responsible for collapsing the weapon and opened it and her dismay grew.

 

The compartment indeed had a motor..... But this motor was an old, worn looking model a decade out of date. It could fire the weapon, but that was about it. The fixing for moving the weapons parts to collapse the gun still poking out of the internal casing, but disconnected from the motor that wasn't built to be fully compatible with the gun model.

 

On a hunch, she turned the weapon again and held it as if firing. Squinting she gave the weapon a little shake and something inside it rattled.

 

She'd seen enough. Taking her hand off the grip she held it gingerly at arms length as if she was holding a serpent she was worried would turn and bite her.

 

"When you bought this..... Did the person say anything about, modifications"? She asked, already knowing the answer. "It's..... Look, guns need maintenance. In this ones case, lots.... and lots of maintenance. In my trade we call these trophy guns. Handy for mounting on a wall and looking good.....But in the field if you took this out with you, you'd be dead when you met the first enemy. This gun.....". She gave the weapon a little shake and immediately regretted it as something inside it rattled again. "....This gun is designed to impress..... Mine....". She pulled out her typhoon. The grip thudding into her hand as she reached for it off her back and unwinding to it's firing position as she pulled it off. ".....is designed to kill..... the enemy". Anika let that statement sink in and watched Keith's reaction carefully before turning back to his weapon. "The good news is that this weapon was a proper gun. The underlying base material and manufacture seems sound but someone did a bad job converting it..... If you like, I can show you how to convert it back. Make it fit for it's purpose again".