6315 réponses à ce sujet

[Redbelle]

To:  Miss Babylon
From:  Babe

I suggest you make yourself comfortable.  Your requested meeting will be along shortly, I'm sure.  In the meantime, I would set yourself up to conduct business remotely as the wait may be a bit longer than expected.  You haven't sent out your allotted communications yet, I've noticed, so perhaps you would like to craft one of those.  I'm sure your staff will need proper general guidance in your absence.  Forward any additional requests you have to me and make yourself presentable.
 

 Amy read the message and inside she did a self congratulagtory high five.

 

She was making progress.

 

Soon she'd be beyond Babe. Beyond the house wife who brought her food and drink. Soon she'd be in front of the Captain of the vessel and could state her case. She could order those two to take her offer if she waved enough credits under her nose surely. A freighter captain who didn't want more credits was a rare thing. Oh sure, it would mean extra expense on top of what she'd mentally calculated but she'd come to accept that these people would be tough nuts to crack if she was going to get them on the Vid screen.

 

The plan was simple and straight forward. First would be the public information broadcasts starring Morgan and Babe. Babe was a deadset to be popular. Probably around the 18-40 year old group. Mainly men but after the reaction and response Babe had illicited in her she wondered if she should add a LGBT angle to her mential profile for her. It would add more work to defending her from some quarter's but to have extra eye's and ears looking out for her amid TerF broadcasts more than made up for extra work she'd have to do......

 

Morgan on the other hand was pure house wife and young teenage girl fantasy material. As well as making wives look at their husbands and ask themselves how they could make a Morgan out of him, young ladies would be falling over themselves for more of that manly presence..... Shirtless vid capture's ought to be enough, though if he could sing.......

 

No, to tacky. It was shirtless or nothing, Amy thought as she considered the next part of her plan.

 

The Big Screen.......

 

She wouldn't be a consultant forever. She'd need something to tide her over and acting as an agent for talented people.... or even just pretty photogenic people would provide a tidy income on the side. The memory of two actor's from generations hence..... Rad Britt? And Antega Jolly? She shook her head. the names weren't important. What was important was, people remembered them to this day so back then they must have been dynamite......

 

Grud.... What if she could arrange for a marriage between Babe and Morgan? It would have to be years from now of course. Something in her back pocket in case their fame waned. With those two under her she'd be off in the movie making business and finally.... Finally she could do what she always wanted to do since she was a child......

 

Blasto goes to Earth!...... Directed by, Amy Babylon.

 

Shaking her head she returned to the present. She had much to do and her dreams would have to wait till she attended to the here and now. Looking over at the mirror she appraised the work that the Salarian had done. She hated to admit it, but she looked good in a glamorous red carpet kind of way. The white dress that clung to her hugged her like a second skin and ran down to her ankle where the heeled shoes had been swapped out for more deck friendly flats. Her makeup and hair..... Amy couldn't remember a time when she'd looked as good as she did now.....

 

That did it. She'd make that..... Man?.... Her own personal stylist and make up director. Or else she'd keep an eye on his career and call him when she wanted her client's to look glamorous for the camera....

 

Amy twirled and smiled. If the people in the office could see her now. She'd be beating off the offer's with a stick..... Which would probably be necessary, she thought to herself. A stick, maybe with a pointed end. With a electrical power cell to zap people who got to close. Like a certain Babe who would likely try and put more moves on her. Well she'd have something to say to the Captain about that.

 

But first, that last part of Babe's communications was spot on and she sat at her terminal and began crafting message's to her co workers.

 

To: Public Communications Department

From: Amy Bablyon

 

Subject: Currently involved in negotiations on behalf of TerF that will gain the party greater public exposure and support.

 

Amy stopped and thought for a moment. Babe had said she'd be checking her messages..... Better tailor the message for it's audience. Intended or otherwise.

 

Negotiations are proceeding with difficulty, but please pass on that the increasing human death rate on the Citadel situation we were briefed on is still at the foremost of my mind. I shall impress on the party I'm involved with as to the importance of their participation in alleviating this unfortunate trend. Please also pass on that I strongly believe the people I'm trying to convince are worth an extended absence to speak with them. In the event that they agree please send over a vid/record unit filled with the latest hardware and software update plus full editing suite plus C-Sec uniforms for one man and one woman.

 

She paused. Then amended the last sentence to several uniforms. Giving the dimensions of Morgan and Babe, Amy found she had guess at Babe's measurements as, when she wrote them down, she stopped. Reread what she had written and had a moment of doubt as to her own assement of Babes measurements.

 

The memory of the way she'd thrown her up and pinned her to the wall flashed though her mind. Her body pressing her into the wall as Amy had looked into her eye's and seen the raw power of a predator about to dine on it's prey.

 

She bumped the measurements up and then added it to her message queue before sitting down and crafting more message's, demanding information while sending detailed instructions on what to do while she was gone and how to contact her if she was needed. Satisfied, she sent off her messages before turning to reply to Babe.

 

To: Babe.

From: Amy Babylon.

 

Subject: I would be pleased to meet with a ship representative at the earliest convenience. Please inform them of how long I have been waiting and that I expect she would be pleased to hear my offer in our ongoing negotiations.

[Kel Riever]

A chirp from Babe's Omni-tool interrupted that series of thoughts she was having difficulty imparting to Jess, and the color came back to her slightly.  She read Amy Babylon's message.

"Yes, your sister.  She planned to be away for a bit but I think she might get a little disappointed since she thought she'd have the chance to get some...odd...equipment sent over."  There was a meek smile from Babe.  "So, whenever you're ready.  Or if you want me to stall her, I can."

[Redbelle]

Jess watched Babe go. "Babe or Jocie. Your still gunner number one luv. Catch you later".

 

As Babe left Jess sent a message to Morgan.

 

Hey Cowboy. Get us on route to our destination and pick the extranet for Omnitool prices. I want to see what the market's like before we get there. When that's done we're dealing with Amy. Bring Dahlia up with you. I think it's time to add another to the circle who know the score with who I am. Dahlia's been solid and reliable. If the three of us are out of contact and a decision need to be made, I want her knowing things in full. Babe's settled for now. Memories seem to be resurfacing.... I think. Come on up when the ships set and give Marshall the watch. After Duncan, I need to know how he handles the responsibility.

 

Jess

 

Sending her message off into Medusa's comm server, Jess took the moment of quiet to lean back and closed her eye's to snooze until she was called.

 

Hearing Babe's voice calling she sighed. "What's Amy after luv? Specifically"?

[Kel Riever]

"Well, there was a request for A/V equipment.  And uniforms..."

While Babe went over the content of the message with Jess, Morgan was reading Jess' message.  He asked Doctor Hayashi to help him conduct a few searches for Omni-tool prices, and threw in the recommendation for Illium as a place to get what was needed.  It didn't take long, and with the compiled list stored on his own omni-tool, Morgan got ready to hand over the bridge.

"Dahlia, come with me.  We have a meeting with the Captain.  Marshall, you have the watch."

Marshall looked surprised.  "I'm...Yes, Morgan."

Morgan nodded, motioned to the Captain's chair for Marshall, then headed up to Jess' Cabin with Dahlia, catching her up on Jess' message.

As Dahlia and Morgan arrived, Babe had gotten a few of her things, and tidied up the place while Jess took her nap, but she hadn't had a chance to get out of her towel yet.  She stirred Jess just as the First Mate and Navigator came up.  "They're here.  Do you want me to get your...Amy?"

[Redbelle]

Jess looked at Babe. "If you think you need to go pick her up luv, be my guest. One thing though. You've been handling her. And I understand you've put a few..... restrictions down. I'm good with allowing her request but you've taken her on..... Is there a reason I shouldn't okay these requests? From the sounds of things Amy's love of media is still in her veins. Always was there".

 

At that, Jess looked over to Dahlia and smiled. "Luv, you done a great job at your post. I noticed you were covering for Duncan and I don't want you thinking I didn't see or appreciate you pulling extra responsibility. Fact is, you've been doing good work on the bridge and around the ship in general. So I'm making the senior officer status official. Which basically means, welcome to the first annual senior officer's group meeting". She looked around at those gathered. "Dogger isn't technically staying so he decided against senior status. Right now you three are it. Morgan you all know is next in charge. Dahlia runs navigation, getting us to where we need to be as well it seems being a solid support for just about any station on the bridge. Babe is a crack shot, like we've seen when we hulled the comet stealer ship awhile back.....".

 

Jess paused and went on. "Duncan's off the comm station. I need that station well manned. Communication's hard enough on board without having someone who cracks under pressure. I'll decide what to do with him later. Till then, a certain Turian comm officer I've been keeping an eye on had a run of bad luck recently and without going into details beside a stroke of bad temper and breaking a superior officer's neck, who I'd like to point out is still alive. Well, I had Dogger bring her aboard to man comms. She did good work on the Audron. I suspect she'll rise to the occasion here while she sorts out the fallout from her courtmarshal".

 

Jess rubbed her jaw with her only hand and looked up at them all. "Okay, so Morgan and Babe know a bit about this but Dahlia, I want you in on this too. I've been keeping a secret for years, trying to stop any fallout from past actions affecting the ship and crew but of late things have been happening that's led me re-evaluate some decisions I made in the past. First off..... My name's not Jess Stone. It's Jessica Babylon. That woman down below decks is my sister, Amy".

 

Jess took a deep breath before going on. "Needless to say something happened when I was younger that I couldn't stand and so I went out to do something about it and got most of my upper body blown to shred's for my troubles. That's when I was brought back here to this ship and they helped me recover here. Eventually rebuilding what I'd lost". She glanced at her missing arm. "Should have kept the warranty I guess..... From then on I played dead hoping that everyone's life that I knew before would move on. And it has.... But Amy's..... well I'm going to have her brought up and see if she can tell me what happened in her life that she joined TerF. I think you'll get the picture then".

 

Jess settled back and nodded to Babe. "Go have her brought here Babe.... Though.... Are you seriously going to wear that to her cabin? Anyone who see's you is going to need a moment to calm down some raging hormones....". Jess smiled wolfishly. "....I'm not saying you can't of course, buuuut........".

[Kel Riever]

Babe frowned at Jess.  "Of course I will change first."  She headed out quickly with her things to fetch Amy.

Morgan held back a laugh as she left.

Mostly an expert at maneuvering the Medusa unseen now, Babe got herself back to her cabin without incident.  Once again, she changed her attire, which was as provocative as anything else she typically wore, blew her hair dry into its beautiful golden coifs, and went to Amy Babylon's cabin.

Without announcement, Babe opened the hatch.  She caught Amy in her new dress, looking rather stunning¹, and knee deep in her omni-tool, sending a message.

Babe leaned against the hatch opening, folded her arms, and blinked once languidly with her long lashes.  She then entered Amy's cabin, letting the hatch close behind her.

"Are you distressed at the length of time you've been waiting?" Babe asked Amy, in a leading sort of manner.

Babe wondered if it had dawned on Amy yet that the ship's engines were in full swing, thrusting the Medusa towards the Relay, en route to its next destination.  Likely, Babe thought, that omni-tool had occupied enough of her attention to not have noticed.  Yet.

¹ This is not a picture of Amy Babylon, but of what she's wearing.  Attire, in this post, is very important for all in attendance.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Outside the Janiri's gangway, at the security checkpoint, Jen Severn stared up at the camera.

"Uhm, Janiri, this is Jen Severn.  Morgan's sister.  Uhm, permission to come aboard?"

Jen was in her silver suit, a datapad and her medical kit in her hands.

 

"Permission granted. Welcome aboard." VERA replied. "Please wait at the terminal just inside of the airlock. I will have Triana meet you."

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Commander Selani had given the orders to begin travel to the mass relay in the Serpent Nebula, which was 1 hr away from the Citadel at 1/3 sub-light speed. After relay transit the travel to Thessia would be 4 to 5 hours depending upon the position of the relay relative to the planet. In any event there was some down time. Her com light flashed as well as Essul's. It was Naleena.

 

"I would like the two of you to meet me in the conference room in 15 minutes," she said. "There are some details we need to discuss."

 

Naleena sat in her quarters preparing for the meeting. She was reading the regulations.

 

Essul looked to his comms with curiosity as he made his way to the conference room. A meeting with Naleena and Selani seemed like it'd be important, so he made his way there as soon as he got the message. He was also eager to get to work on his own duties, knowing that there would be certain duties he'd need to fill.

 

He entered the conference room and looked around to see if Selani had arrived earlier then himself.

 

Selani entered the conference room and sat across from Essul, then moments later Naleena entered. She sat at the head of the table between the two of them.

 

“Good afternoon. Commander, as you know I asked Essul to be my lieutenant for team operations. To do this, I had to get approval from The Council, which I did. Here is a copy of the document signed by Councilor Tevos.

 

“Essul, you will need to have Council insignias applied to your armor and the coveralls you wear around the ship as per Council regulations. Your security clearance extends to mission operations, and your duties will also include assisting me with writing mission reports.

 

“Commander, you will remain in command of the ship, and as per Asari Military regulations, you have responsibility for ship security. The Commandos, when they are aboard the ship are part of the ship security force. I have the discretion to use them as an auxiliary fire team for ground or ship boarding missions as I see fit. They have been seeing more action than merely support. I do not expect that to change.”

 

Selani sat back in her chair. “So basically nothing changes.”

 

“That is correct,” Naleena replied.

 

“You could have handled this  in a memo,” she said.

 

“I know, but there is another matter,” Naleena said. “At the conclusion of our briefing, I had a short meeting with Jenus. It did not go well. She has concerns about you, Essul, being a Batarian, and I assume that has to do with the fact that you were once working for the Hegemony. It does not seem to matter that you made your choices based upon what was right and as a result now live in permanent exile. I tried to reason with her and it ended with me telling her that she is to follow orders.

 

“I do not expect her to sabotage any mission. She is too duty bound for that. What I do expect is passive-aggressive resistance. Ideas?”

 

"I cannot say I blame Jenus' s behavior fully on herself. My people have not done much lately to earn much good will..." Essul said as he brought his hands together, a habit he had as he looked to his old uniform. Council emblems on his gear from now on would be hard to get used to.

"Some of what she said however, the parts about slaving. I will not pretend that it didn't hit close to home..." he said with a frown, his own experience as a slave not making the statements go away any time soon.

"I've dealt with disrespectful behavior from those under my command before. Jenus' s attitude is different, but if all she brings is condescension and a constant glare, I doubt I'll have difficulty giving out orders..." he said as he looked to Selani, "If she goes beyond this however, I will assign punishment. Additional hours or maintenance work if need be, and at worse, a mandated stay on the ship."

 

Selani interrupted. "Slaving? Just how did it hit close to home? Were you a slaver?"

 

Essul looked to her as he tilted his head, showing her the old brand scar on the side of his neck, "Not quite. I was property of the Gladiatorial arena for most of my young life. Before that I was a cleaning slave..." He said as he readjusted himself back into his normal sitting position.

 

"Not all batarians have the luxury of holding the whip, as it were. I wonder sometimes if other races know that..." He said with a frown.

 

“I see,” Selani said. “I… did not know. Perhaps this is something that should be conveyed to the others during conversation?”

 

“I agree,” Naleena said.

 

“But first things first, you must take a loyalty oath to uphold the laws of the Council, and it must be done in front of the commandos, and the others,” Selani continued. “And I, as the senior military officer on the ship should administer the oath. There is no option here.”

 

Naleena nodded in agreement. Her senior officer was right. Essul needed to be sworn in.

 

"I understand..." Essul said with a nod, the ceremony sounding like something he was more accustomed to at least, "When do we begin?" He asked.

 

“I’ll assemble the team and crew after we depart from Thessia,” Naleena said. “That will give you time to get your uniform in order. But there are some other things to talk about. Commander?”

 

Selani continued. “Asari commandos work differently than other special units in the galaxy. They have different training. They work usually work in pairs. And quite honestly, despite all of this you’ll still be seen as an outsider. You have to earn their trust. For now I suggest you leave any disciplinary actions to me,” she turned and nodded with respect to Naleena. “That goes for you, too for the time being. Is there anyone on the ship who has worked with Commandos before?”

 

Naleena leaned on the left arm of her chair. “Two: Irina and Anika. Irina has a negative history with Batarians and is very tight with Jenus. Anika on the other hand…. And Anika was once a gladiator.”

 

"Irina is abrasive, but she is not unreasonable. She saw me as an individual last we spoke, and I believe she bears no ill will towards me...at least not me personally..." He said as he spoke from his personal experience.

 

"I will trust your judgement and leave discipline to you, Commander Selani." He said with a bow of his head to the left.

 

Naleena’s eyes flicked back and forth between the two of them. “Are there any questions?”

 

Essul shook his head no.

 

“Then, Essul, good luck, and thank you, Commander,” Naleena said and adjourned the meeting.

[Kel Riever]

Jen hadn't seen much of the inside of starships in her lifetime.

But even she knew the Janiri was special.

Everything smelled clean and looked immaculate.  A host of intergalactic species moved about, in uniform. Whoever the person was that came to meet her hadn't arrived, but apparently those present were already aware that a guest was coming aboard and she was not bothered.  Jen, of course, didn't look entirely out of place in her silver suit; she felt like one of those space women from a 20th Century Earth film. 

Jen thought she should have told her family but they were preoccupied.  Even Mom.  Morgan, of course, was her biggest regret.  But Jen presumed that he was very busy.  And the walk to the next bay where the Janiri was...there were no extra security check points, she had wanted to see the ship, and of course, if she couldn't get a few hundred meters inside one of the most guarded areas of the Citadel safely, then exactly how was she ever going to be safe?

And they let her right in!

"Gotta thank big bro for his rep," Jen accidentally said aloud.

An asari looked over to her and smirked as she passed by, obviously used to strange reactions from people seeing the ship for the first time, and still humored by it.

Jen felt a little embarrassed.  She started searching eagerly from where she stood for the person she was supposed to meet, Triana or something.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Triana, a medium height asari sergeant with red facial markings approached. VERA had asked Jen to complete the form displayed in front of her, and Triana issued the visitor's pass. While Jen waited, she noticed that there were a number of civilians aboard the ship as well as military personnel. She also could not help but notice that the ship was well lit and quite luxurious compared to the Medusa.

 

"Welcome to the Janiri. You must be Morgan's sister," she said with a smile. "I heard about your escape from Earth. That must have been a harrowing experience. Would you please follow me, and I'll escort you to the visitor's lounge. I know what you're thinking so I'll answer the question everyone asks. This ship, due to deep space assignments and due to having civilians as part of the crew is civilian comfort by design. The lighting spectrum exactly matches the visible spectrum of Parnassus, the sun in our system. However, since we have so many other races aboard, VERA adjusts the spectrum in each individual living quarters, but the intensity is up to the person living there.

 

"Pardon me for rambling. Here we are," Triana said as they arrived at the port side observation lounge. "Do you have any questions? If not, I'll notify the Spectre that you're here."

[Cknarf]

Frank

 

Frank was a little restless, as he sat across from Lilith, while she talked about some philosophical sh*t that he really wasn’t paying attention to. His body was saying ‘go!’ but his mind was like, ‘chill, bro.’ Despite his level of intoxication, he still remembered why he was here. Sort of.

 

“Some people go their entire lives without--”

 

“Lil. Lillaaaay. Lilliaaaaaan! Yo, I’m not tryin’ to be rude but… I really can’t control these urges for much longer.” Frank stood.

 

“Mr. Elias!” Lilith gasped a little.

 

“What? You tellin’ me you ain’t feelin’ what I’m feelin’ right now?” He held out a hand.

 

“Well…” She took hold and let him pull her up. “I suppose I…”

 

“Feel like getttin’ down?” With a flick of the wrist, music began to play. 

Spoiler

 

“Uh…”

 

“Bring yo ass.” Frank shuffled out into a more open area on the floor.

 

Lilith may have misunderstood.

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

Kira

 

“You have an idea of what they’re lookin’ for?”

 

Kira nodded.

 

“Hm.” Mica thought for a moment. “Now I’m not really supposed to do this without speaking to mom first, but since she’s... busy right now I guess I could let you take a look. Come on.”

 

[Marius, I might have what we're looking for. Stand by for confirmation.]

[Kel Riever]

Jen Severn looked around, trying to take everything in.  She said to Triana, "Uh, I don't really know what to ask.  And I'm not sure I wanted to bother the Spectre, she must be busy, but I don't want to...if that's the way it goes around her, that's fine.   So I...well, there might be one thing I'd like to see on the way around here.  Is it all right to look at your medical facilities, or your laboratory, or whatever you officially call it?"

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"Usually everyone comes aboard for a meeting with the Spectre, but I can take you directly to Dr. Tolus in Med-Bay if you wish," Triana said. "Please follow me."

 

Triana led her past CIC to the elevator. While waiting for the elevator, Jen saw Asari artwork displayed on the walls opposite the elevator next to the conference room doors. The elevator doors opened and they entered.

 

The medical facility was good sized, had an operating room, intensive care room, lab, and several beds separated by curtains, and a couple of semi-private rooms for more long-term care. Dr. Tolus had a staff of a nurse practitioner and three technicians. Also on the other side of the ship was an empty facility that wasn't being used. Jen noticed the room was dark through the interior window.

 

Triana introduced Jen to the doctor and explained that she was the daughter of Morgan Severn.

 

"I didn't know Morgan very well. Kept to himself, mostly," Dr. Tolus said. "So, Jen Severn. Good to meet you. What can I do for you? Are you here for an examination?"

[Kel Riever]

"Me?  Haha, no! I mean, not that I wouldn't, I came to look around.  I had overheard some crew from the Medusa about this ship, and it sounded state of the art."  Jen couldn't keep her eyes from wandering over the equipment.  "If events hadn't happened the way they did, I'd be at NYU right now doing lab work.  Sorry, that's New York University, in Mahattan.  New York City.  Earth.  Uh, the Alliance."

Jen felt awkward.

"So, yes, I was studying neuroscience.  But that's had me in plenty of hospitals, and I always like to see what's around.  I'm pretty impressed."  Jen managed a smile.  "You have an awful lot crammed into a small space.  I guess you've got some processing power at work down her.  The computers, I mean.  It's nice.  I don't know if I have a lot of time to really look around, but I'm supposed to get back to the Medusa before it leaves, probably.  I really didn't tell anyone I planned on going missing."

Of course, the Medusa was well on its way to the Relay by that point....

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Dr. Tolus smiled. "Neuroscience? Computers? We have VERA. You've met VERA, haven't you? VERA is a fully functional artificial intelligence, probably the worst kept secret in the galaxy. She wasn't standard equipment on the ship, but was installed shortly after we began our mission," Dr. Tolus said. "Just... don't mention her being anything more than a VI outside the ship. VERA, please, introduce yourself."

 

VERA appeared on the terminal next to Dr. Tolus' desk in her hounds tooth suit. She smiled at Jen. "So, you're Jen Severn. I have heard a lot about you. I worked extensively with Detective Hagen. It is a pleasure to finally meet you face to face."

[Kel Riever]

Jen, like her brother, had the uncanny ability to hide her outward expressions sometimes.

But inside, her heart skipped.

"Hi."

That's all Jen said for a moment while she stared at the hologram.  Eventually her face and eyes slowly rotated towards Doctor Tolus.

"Um, I'm not sure what to say."

Then she looked down a bit before staring back at VERA.

"But I do miss Molly a lot.  I wish she was here."

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

VERA appeared saddened. "I wish Molly were here, too. We had just begun to become friends," VERA said, and her biosensors picked up fluctuations in Jen associated with discomfort. So she decided to change the subject. "I understand that you are a neuroscience researcher. I have extensive neuroscience databases at my 'fingertips' and can assist with research."

 

Dr. Tolus had an idea. "Yes, there is an empty lab across the corridor you could use if you were to decide to stay, and of course if the Spectre were to approve," he said. "Most certainly it is more advanced than what they have on the Medusa."

 

"Detective Hagen's concern was for your safety," VERA added. "You would be safe here."

[Kel Riever]

"Oh?  Oh, really!  Well, yeah, I can really get into this stuff.  Hours, no kidding.  I mean...um, I brought along some stuff so I could spend some time here...but I better at least go let Morgan and my Mom know so they don't wonder where I went off to.  And make sure it's fine that I'm on another ship.  I'm, you know, I don't want them to be worried or anything."

~ ~ ~ ~

Back on the Medusa, Rosanne Severn was trying to page someone.  Morgan was busy, the Captain was busy, and even Dogger was busy.  She didn't want to interrupt the bridge and in frustration, she wandered out into the common crew area. 

"All right, where in the...there's one." 

Rosanne had been using some ship com from the room, but didn't want to call the bridge, and didn't know where else to call.  "Seriously," she said over her shoulder to Keith who was now behind her, "You lost track of your sister."

"All right, we'll find her.  We just need to bother the right person.  Who out here looks like they're in charge?"

There was movement, and a fluttering of wings.  Then Tarus landed on Rosanne's shoulder.

"No, not you," Keith said.  "Let me see."

Mister Chris walked by aimlessly through the area at that point.

"Hey!" Keith called out.  "Uh...we're looking for someone..."

 

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Jen felt a slight jolt in her feet as the docking clamps broke loose and the ship was on her way.

 

Dr. Tolus sighed. "It appears that we are underway to our next stop."

 

"As is the Medusa which left a little ahead of us," VERA added. "We are going to Thessia. I can put you through to the Medusa if you would like."

[Cainhurst Crow]

Essul stared at the fabricator with a frown as he held his armor in hand. He'd never in his previous life thought he'd do this. That he would ever mark his armor and uniform with anything of this sort.

He loaded his armor into the machine, letting out a sigh. "Requesting alterations to my armor, on the shoulders and right breastplate, of the council symbol." He said.

"Are you certain you want to do this alteration? It may not be able to be reversed."

"Yes..." he said as he watched it etch his armor, the dark green color now bearing the symbol of the citadel council, and marking bis new loyalty.

Once it was done and he unloaded his armor, he took his old off duty uniforms. He placed them into the machine as he spoke. "I want these broke down and remade into council regulation uniforms."

"Are you certain you want to do this? This break down cannot be undone."

"Do it..." he said as the uniforms were destryoed, and remade into their new form, essul looking In surprise as the color was chsnged to dark blue and black color, the silver council symbol now clesr for all to see.

He took the uniforms as he made his way back to his quarters, going inside. He changed out of his casual clothes and into hjs uniform proper. He stood in front of the mirror, his outfit now looking almost like a c-sec officers uniform as he frowned. It was a lot to get used to. But the color change made it almost easier to copw with.

[Redbelle]

Aelias sat in front of the comm equipment that looked like the bastard offsrpring of antiquated gear mated with older 'modern' technology, if modern meant less older gear, that had surgical graft's of modern tech spliced and wired into the gear in such a way that Aelias had no idea how it interfaced with rest of the equipment. Probably ran on wishful thinking she decided after popping a panel and peering inside to see wire's criss crossed and soldered together. Kind of like her brain as she was nursing a hangover from all the alcohol she'd drunk.

 

Grud she needed a manual. She suspected getting up to speed on the ancient human tech she'd need three manuals since none of it was obviously designed to work together. Fortunately the last operator had seemingly had the same problem and written notes that he'd stuck to nearly every part of the comm gear.

 

Internal ship communication's was clearly marked. It looked like the ship still ran wired telephone's across sections. That made sense in retrospect. The ships hull was thicker by necessity of the methods available to humans of the time and with more decks, that cargo spine separating the command section from the hanger and no omnitool comm boosters she guessed it was still the most reliable means of getting in contact with someone. And PA switch lay next to it and Aelias wondered just how many times Stone had pestered her crew the same way she'd pestered Aelias aboard the Audron.

 

Her bloodshot eye's searched for, and found the external communication system. This was much more her thing, but was again dismayed to find it wholly antiquated Instead of multi orientation domes that allowed for pick up of a multitude of signal's, the Medusa had four large dishes. Straight away she knew that signal intercepts would be impossible as as the dome's she was used to allowed for fast tracking of spacial regions to intercept communications. This setup was superior in terms of picking up faint signals to be sure. But you'd have to be damn lucky to point a dish in just the right spot to do so.

 

Then again, this wasn't a military ship. Why would Stone want signal intercepts

 

Urgh.... This ship.... This crew! Why had she gotten drunk? Why hadn't she just tossed that dress in the incinerator? Why had the XO gone and been a jackass when all she'd wanted to do was play cards with friends?

 

Well it hardly mattered now. The fact was that if she was going to sort this mess out she'd need to communicate with other people and it seemed that job was hers. She literally had the means to dig herself out of her own grave before her.... But had little idea how any of it worked. Her eye's drifted over to a shiny metal block that had readout's on the surface and a scorch mark, where someone had cut a hole for the part and then sealed it in place.

 

Aelias sighed. This ship wasn't like the Audron. If this console was anything to go by, this ship was a work in progress. Evolving and changing with the times. She'd seen the ship before from the outside when she'd been sober. Back then it had looked like a piece of junk. A relic. Something that would hazard shipping lanes....... And now she was on the other side of that equation.....

 

There were so many ways this gear could be improved. Mean's of making it simpler to work. Better to work with too. It dawned to Aelias that Stone had probably never had someone as good as her on this equipment since..... probably ever..... Suddenly the comm station looked less like a bodged together cobbling of comm equipment.

 

It was a canvas. And Aelias could be it's artist.

 

I should probably figure out how this stuff works anyway. She thought. She'd already received some calls. Answering them hadn't been hard when she'd connected the blinking light's to her headset. Connecting other's to others and making calls was something she was struggling on when she saw a locker under the station and reaching down to open it she found she'd been wrong about one thing.

 

She'd bet it would take three manual's to learn how to operated the station. Yet she was hardly surprised to find eight weathered battered, dog eared manual's looking back at her from the understore locker. Grud. It was like being back at the academy. She picked up one, by far the oldest she gathered, and got to work reading.

[Redbelle]

Babe frowned at Jess.  "Of course I will change first."  She headed out quickly with her things to fetch Amy.

Morgan held back a laugh as she left.

Mostly an expert at maneuvering the Medusa unseen now, Babe got herself back to her cabin without incident.  Once again, she changed her attire, which was as provocative as anything else she typically wore, blew her hair dry into its beautiful golden coifs, and went to Amy Babylon's cabin.

Without announcement, Babe opened the hatch.  She caught Amy in her new dress, looking rather stunning¹, and knee deep in her omni-tool, sending a message.

Babe leaned against the hatch opening, folded her arms, and blinked once languidly with her long lashes.  She then entered Amy's cabin, letting the hatch close behind her.

"Are you distressed at the length of time you've been waiting?" Babe asked Amy, in a leading sort of manner.

Babe wondered if it had dawned on Amy yet that the ship's engines were in full swing, thrusting the Medusa towards the Relay, en route to its next destination.  Likely, Babe thought, that omni-tool had occupied enough of her attention to not have noticed.  Yet.

¹ This is not a picture of Amy Babylon, but of what she's wearing.  Attire, in this post, is very important for all in attendance.

There was a moment's hesitation before after which Amy stepped back. Her eye's half shut as her breath descended into gasps.

 

Dammit.... Her damnable presence! Babe had done it to her again!

 

And Amy swore it was getting worse every time.

 

"Stop... that. I'm... I need to get ready to see your Captain. This attire... It's not right. I don't know why you keep trying to humiliate me but I can tell you now, I won't let you". She raised her arms to her side as she half turned in each direction before letting them flop to her sides. "You think this changes anything? You think this changes me? I can be professional. I am professional. It's crucial I'm professional for this meeting so that your Captain takes me seriously. I don't know or care what little game you think we're playing but I need.....".

 

Amy stopped and took a long breath before going on. "I need you to be honest with me. Do you have any interest in my offer? Any at all? If not then fine. I can move on. But I need to know right now. Are you playing me? Or is there any part of you that wants to stop playing children's games and take a bigger part in the affair's of the galaxy? Because.... if not then I need to move onto other's who are". Amy found her hair sliding in front of her eye's and brushed it back behind her ear, unknowingly looking adorable as she did so.

 

"Really Ms Babe. Don't you have anyone at home who'd feel proud of their little girl if she suddenly appeared doing good work for humanity? Fate's given you things. The kind of things other women would pay good money to have. I can appreciate cold feet but using your gifts and talent's towards something greater than flying around in a space ship is.... Well I don't want to see you waste your life away but I also don't want to waste my time when another one like you, waiting for their chance encounter with me, could gain the benefit of my experience. Believe me. I have two people back home who are proud of their little girl and what she does for a living".

[Kel Riever]

There was a clouded look from Babe, as Amy pressed home with a question.  It left Amy feeling like Babe's stomach turned, something she had inadvertently caused, and of course, then Amy felt it somehow too.  But the feeling passed, and then Babe seemed to stare at Amy Babylon with compassion, if not a little pity.

"Walk with me," Babe commanded, and offered her arm, compelling Amy to take it and accompany her, by her side.

They left Amy's cabin, the woman in the white dress and the vision now in the burgundy military coat.  There was no one to be seen, strangely, in their area of the ship, which Amy knew to be fairly well populated.  It was a strange coincidence, but the kind of thing that she got the sense happened often with Babe. 

Babe put her free hand on Amy's arm to comfort.  "I don't think you are wasting your time, and if you are the little girl who has parents who are proud of you, I hope you appreciate that kind of attention." They walked along a passageway, and by an old fashioned readout which displayed something Amy felt might be important, but Babe took up her attention.  "I have an interest in your offer, I admit, but I find you to be a bit abrasive in a certain sense."

That last comment from Babe might have hurt, if Babe didn't look at Amy with a warm appreciation in her eyes. 

"You look great," Babe complimented.  "Very professional.  And even better than that."  There was a large lift they had come to, that Babe called.  "I think what is very admirable of you, Miss Babylon, is that whether your offer or not is accepted by all of us, that you yourself will be making that difference which you wish to share with others.  You are going to take a very big part of the affairs which shape the galaxy, maybe more than you even imagine.  I hope that one day you will look back on yourself, and be proud that you accomplished what you set out to."

The elevator arrived, and they entered.  "If I may ask, are you happy in your pursuit now?  Your efforts towards your goal, do they bring you satisfaction?"

That sort of question occurred as unusually deep, but Amy saw Babe was very serious about it, and it drove her to think. 

Before Amy had traversed the thought in her own way, she realized that Babe had punched in some sort of code in the elevator she didn't see.  The lift began to move. 

"We'll be meeting the Captain, Morgan and another soon.  I bet you'll be very convincing."  Babe gave Amy a smile of confidence, and waited for the lift to reach its destination.  Amy found her arm still linked with Babe's.

[Kel Riever]

Jen Severn said, "Sonofa!....Uh, yes!  Please send a message to the Medusa that I'm over here, so they don't go crazy looking for me.  I mean, or I can speak to them.  Or whatever."

She then looked down at the medical case she'd been carrying around.  "And I need a place to myself for a bit.  Sorry, I wasn't supposed to...I wasn't thinking straight."

Of course, while Jen wouldn't admit it to herself, she was glad to be stuck on the Janiri. 

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Dr. Tolus introduced Jen to Tesha, an Asari lab assistant. "Tesha will show you to the vacant lab across the way."

 

Tesha smiled and motioned for Jen to follow her. It was a short walk. Jen found  a fully equipped lab with a workstation, HPLC, centrifuge, electron microscope, scanners, incubators. In the hall were -70 C freezers for tissue storage, and liquid nitrogen also was available.

 

"Make yourself at home," Tesha said. "Press that button for communications, and don't be alarmed if VERA pops in to check on you. She's very curious and can be quite helpful. She's also our comm officer. There is a station outside with some coffee and soft drinks if you would like something.

 

"VERA, I believe Jen wanted to contact the Medusa."

 

VERA appeared on her terminal.

 

"I'll leave the two of you alone," Tesha left the lab.