6315 réponses à ce sujet

[Redbelle]

Jess gave a shout to Sophie. "No no no no! That bit goes here, This bit goes there"!

 

A last minute call from engineering had distracted Jess from greeting her guests, and with Morgan off to the bridge to see to the course, Jess had found she had no one to send to the hanger.

 

In the end, she'd made sure word of their arrival found it's way to Keith. A boy of his years was like as not, probably not well versed in meeting people of other species and it seemed only right that a hormonally cocked and loaded man child greet the Spectre representative's with all the impulse control of a toddler.

 

Jess took the regulator controller that Sophie carried over and exchanged it for the one she'd pulled out before wrestling the given one into it's place along the shut down power conduit before slamming it's hatch shut. With that done, she wiped her brow and watched as Sophie did the same to her conduit before rapping her hatch with her knuckles. "I know. I know. Different regulators don't make sense. We had a problem with them years back though and we couldn't get matching ones. Just keep an eye on what goes where. Those things will handle power flow for awhile but they need to be in their right slots for long term performance and I intend to get every last second I can out of them before I have to replace them ag.....". Something brushed her hand and when she looked down she saw a towel she was now holding, though she'd seen no one place it there.".....ain...... Thanks Gwen"! Jess called out to her most illusive crew member Sophie insisted was aboard. "Look I gotta go. You alright down here"?

 

"Aye Ma'am". Sophie nodded as she checked the new power flow readings. "The fluctuations gone. We ought to have full engine power when we need it without risking power grid failures".

 

"We may need it". Jess grumped. "Not that I'm averse to a little danger, but if things go bad I need our engines reliable and able to put out the speed. Barriers too. Make that your next priority. Babe's go the guns in hand".

 

"I'm sure she can't wait to get more than those in hand". Sophie said, her freckle's standing out as she blushed. "Is she okay now"?

 

"She's Babe". Jess drawled. "Can't fix what I don't understand. We're connecting though".

 

"Sure you are". Sophie said, sticking out her tongue in a teasing manner.

 

"I meant.... she's opening up to me".

 

"On demand I'll wager. You have that effec-Ooopmh". The towel Jess had wiped her sweat off with had suddenly sailed through the air and wrapped itself around Sophies face.

 

"Mind out the gutter chief". Jess warned. "Until we leave Batarian space I'm not taking chances. That means focus on the ship's readiness. No slacking off or privilidge till we're past this. Get it"?

 

Sophie pulled the towel off her face and gave Jess a blatantly unabashed salute. "Aye Aye Ma'am".

 

Figuring that was the best she'd get from her, Jess departed the engine room and broke into a slow jog towards the spine and towards the hanger. Things were risky, she knew. Batarian's could be hard headed and knew how to hold a grudge. She didn't doubt that anything they could do to harm her, or her ship would be done. In a way that allowed them deniability of course. Accident's and mishaps. The crew couldn't leave the ship she knew. Anyone out on their own would be potential target's of opportunity to every knuckle dragger who now saw a human and remembered Shepard smashing Asteroids into Relays......

 

........

 

Grud damn idiot. All the good will he'd earned then, had been washed down the drain before he could spend what he'd earned. Saving the colonies, gaining access to the galactic core, all the things he'd discovered and unearthed.....

 

Oh well, it wasn't her problem. Just now that she was following a Spectre.... Or was it leading on for a Spectre? Into Batarian space at the height of a time when the emotional backlash would be at it's highest...... She hoped the new officer's could draw a line for the Medusa against them.

 

As she approached the hanger doors, she raised her comm. "Dahlia? Luv, need you down into he hanger. I'm about to welcome our guests and there's something I need to go over with you in front of them. Nothing big. Just that for for this shipping run, we've decided to expand your wardrobe".

 

The doors opened and Jess stepped out onto the hanger's deck. Boot falls tapped against the metal grating as she walked on towards the newly arrived shuttle. Off to the side, she saw the gleaming, Yakuza shined hull of Frank's shuttle that she'd pressed into service while he was away. Jess figured he'd be back for it sooner or later. Till then it could earn it's keep doing jobs to pay for the storage fee's.

 

Approaching the two new Asari in uniform who were listening to the obvious excited chattering's of one Keith, Jess stepped up to them and grinned.

 

"Glad your aboard luv's! Sorry I couldn't see you on. Had an engine issue to show our greenhorns. We're all up to speed now though. Sorry luv's, where are my manners? I'm Jess. Captain Stone of the Medusa. I've asked my Navigator to join us since I understand she'll be part of the charade we'll be putting on to deliver the Omni-tools. You want to get settled in first or talk business"?

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

The Lt. Commander extended her hand to Jess. "Captain Stone, I'm Lt. Commander Muranis of the Janiri and this is Yeoman Maiana," she said and looked over at Dahlia with a bit of uncertainty. "And you're the soon to be 'Ensign Taniri'. The duffle bag my yeoman carries contains a suit of commando armor and a Disciple along with your credentials. Please try to act like member of the Asari military from here on. It will be good practice for when we meet the Batarians. Maiana will teach you the basics."

 

Muranis looked around at the surroundings inside the primitive ship. "It's been a while since I've seen a ship that's such a relic. It's amazing you've kept her spaceworthy. No offence, Captain. It's just that we haven't had ships like this in the republics for over 2000 years," she said as she followed Jess. "However, given what I've heard from others aboard the Janiri about what you do for a living, a ship like this, given all of the highly advanced technology in the galaxy, might have advantages in certain situations.

 

"For example, politicians dismiss the idea of having a backup communications system based on vacuum tube technology on a military base these days, but the military insists on it. 2700 year old technology! Do you know why? The politicians don't understand," she rambled on. "In case someone decides to set off a nuke or an EMP that would fry all our highly sophisticated electronics. Our vacuum tube based communications would still function! So we keep one or two around each base and test them regularly. This ship is a marvel from the early days of interstellar flight. It's like being aboard a living museum. I love it. Do show me around."

 

Muranis was genuinely enthusiastic with comments about the ship, and it was something to write home about. Something different from the drudgery of the same old fancy Asari stuff day in and day out. This was a whole new culture to her.

[Kel Riever]

Keith had moved unnoticed behind the Lieutenant Commander and when she instructed Dahlia, he shook a finger at her and moved his lips silently, mocking the Lieutenant as if scolding Dahlia.  Of course when Muranis started talking about the ship, Keith stopped and made like he was innocent.  

And of course, when it came to a tour of the ship, Keith presumed he was in.  Even though he'd seen a lot of the ship.  Why wouldn't he go along?  The idea that he would be left out didn't even occur to him.

[Cainhurst Crow]

Essul stood at the holodeck, awaiting the others to be ready as he set up the course. Iole, Naleena, and Johnny, would be defusing this bomb, Jenus of course would be there to aid in supervising the commandos efforts. Essul was curious how she would respond to him being in charge.

 

Vayne meanwhile was in the mess hall, a curious look on his face as he glanced towards the krogan cook. "You know...It occurs to me, I don't know much about ya..." He said as he looked to the only other krogan aboard, "Seems a shame, us being the only two krogan aboard. Not that it makes much of a difference, Am I right?" He asked curiously.

 

Krogan didn't really have the close relationship or kinship other races had. Well, not all krogan at least. Usually another krogan meant another person who was hard to kill, not a fellow being from the same planet.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Grag smiled at Vayne. "There's really not much to tell except that I'm a total disappointment to my family. I don't fight with guns, but rather with words," he said. "I chose to leave Tuchanka. I booked passage on a freighter to Illium, and then signed on with Indentu-Tech for 7 years while they sent me to chef's school. It's not just about learning to cook. They actually give you an education. Then I paid off my debt to them over the next five years working in hotels. Eventually worked my way up to head sous-chef. When my contract was up, I saw that the Council was hiring cooks for a few starships, so I turned in an application.

 

"I really can cook a good meal, but with military rations? I'm not a miracle worker. If you're ever planetside or on the Citadel and come across some high quality ingredients, why don't you pick up some for the crew? Or maybe talk to the boss about it? I can make a very good Curried Skaldfish, but I need to wrap the fish in amalisia leaves, a plant native to Illium.

 

"I'm rambling on again," Grag said. "Hardly anyone comes down here to speak with me. Probably because I'm Krogan and scare them. Or they think because I'm Krogan I'm not very intelligent. But enough about me. What's your story?"

[Cainhurst Crow]

"My story? About as average as you can get, I suppose..." Vayne said as he leaned back, smirking as he spoke, "Me and my clan came from back-world Wrill. The air was toxic, and everything was boiling hot, so we took our chances getting off world by hijacking some Blood Pack transports. We all split off to do our own things, for a couple hundred years I made a good name for myself as a, well, as a pirate..." He didn't sound too proud of that as he spoke.

 

"One of my brothers was a salvager, another went to try and be a warlord. Had 3 sisters believe it or not. 2 of them have joined clan Urdnot, don't know where the other one is...we weren't exactly close after the couple hundred years. Things were good when the council was too stretched to deal with the attican traverse. Then they cracked down hard, and I lost my crew to mutiny. Turned straight, got myself a license as a bounty hunter. Took a few law courses and got myself certified as a private detective and bounty hunter. I got picked up here out of dumb luck, and ever since I've been muscle for the crew..." He said as he looked to Grag.

 

"It ain't as glamorous when you hear every other krogan you meet tell spin a similar story. A chief though? To me at least, that's a pretty damn interesting tale..." Vayne said with a smirk to the cook, meaning it too. A lot of krogan choose to be soliders or muscle for hire, and got burned for it in the end. It was nice to hear of one who didn't decide to do that.

 

"If I ever see the boss, I'll let her know. Or I might get em myself. A solider shouldn't be without their ammo. There's no reason for a chief to be without their ingredients."

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"Thank you," Grag nodded in a very polite manner. Then he appeared a bit saddened. "Education. It took going off world to get one. Why not on Tuchanka? What saddens me now is knowing that we could have rebuilt our world in spite of what the Turians and Salarians did to us with the genophage. Instead our people gave up. The female clans know this but no one listens to them," Grag went on speaking in a soft gentle tone. "Everything is built around ritual and building weapons. I can't go back there since my own clan disowned me for refusing to take part in their rituals. The ones who built the ruined cities didn't. If I want to have any children it will have to be with an Asari. Do you want to know the sad part? I'm a fertile male."

 

****************************************************************************************

 

Naleena finished signing the documents VERA had prepared and had her send them to either Sao or to the server where she was renting space for her company. Corporations on Illium were taxed at a much lower rate than individuals, but licensing to become a corporation was expensive unless you knew the right people or had done the right favors. VERA made sure the "Is" were dotted and the "Ts" were crossed on everything. Dahlia's documents were in order and Naleena was chuckling to herself thinking about Yeoman Maiana giving her instructions in military protocol. She could have easily sent another lower ranking non-com over but this was more fun. Besides, Dahlia actually knew how to handle a shotgun and would be more convincing.

 

Time to get Johnny. She thought, and headed down to the crew quarters. She liked working with Johnny and had fun working with him on that bust. He was a bit green still and was more than a little shocked when she shot Lang, but he'd come around once he saw the big picture.

 

Essul should have the test set up by now, and he should have spoken to Jenus. I wonder how that  went? I guess we'll find out.

 

Naleena knocked  on Johnny's  door.

[Redbelle]

Jess had grinned at mention of the tour. "Well now, this is the hanger. Ship loading and offloading occurs with the smaller freight runs here. The cargo modules along the spine run the big stuff. Of course, ours are filled with water, but if anyone asks, we're carrying it to a research centre with a member of the research team aboard to ensure transit. Until then, it's acting as an additional barrier against attacks. Since those modules are protecting the ships spine that connects the hanger to the drives. Above us is additional storage space and below, shuttle storage and maintenance. All accessible through the cargo elevator".

 

Jess began the trek towards the spine and the group flowed after her as she pointed out the ships hanger control room at the back, protected by blast shielding. "The folks who built this used chemical rocket's and liquid propellent back in the day. It wasn't unheard of that a ship could have a few accidents. Either due to error or recovering a pilot form a damaged craft. When this ship was pressed into border cutter service it recieved a few wartime upgrades according to the regulations of the day. Nowadays, control is more centralised, but this ship runs on it's people operating as a team. We still use an on site operator to manage the hanger who has access to all the emergency protocols in what is essentially a life support module that able to run everything from hanger door's to emergency shuttle recovery deployment gear. Haven't ever had to use it, but I like to make sure it's maintained and ready for that, just in case, situation I hope never comes".

 

Jess opened the airlock and gestured for everyone to step through. Immediately they were greeted with another airlock that JEss sealed everyone and herself inside before reaching for the other. "Redundant airlock for that just in case thing again. The hanger has it's own power sources to run life support. Mainly it draws off the main engine at stern. But in case of emergency, the front can operate basic systems. Of course, if anything blasts us hard enough to actually result in the ships spine breaking..... we're pretty screwed regardless".

 

As the second airlock cycled, Jess stepped out onto a gantry that had wide stair's reaching up and down to the upper and lower levels Jess had mentioned that all fed into one long corridor that seemed to go on and on.

 

"Welcome to the Spine. Here's where we get from front to back. It's mainly for providing access to the cargo containers. Probably the most solid piece of engineering on the ship. Takes the stresses and strains of all our manoeuvring. When they built the Medusa, they built her beyond her specs. Ship like her, could probably take twice the cargo she's built to haul. Of course, all that extra mass does nothing for her nipping aropund space like modern day fighters. She's very much a fixed point in space. We can angle and roll but that's about all. Turning is wide. Inertia's hard to overcome. You don't fly this ship. You drive her. That said, she's been in a few fights in her time and came out on top for each one. Mainly because of her old school PDS. The K&Q is still chartered Earth Defence to be a ship that can be called on in times of emergency. Therefore we have a few guns that aren't exactly standard. Udina got K&Q's special status through the council though before he got promoted. As long as we don't make trouble, we're allowed the extra fire-power".

 

Jess pointed as if to indicate a point above them. "It's all concealed though. Hull plating that looks like standard panelling. If you know the viper from Earth, you'll know it hides it's nature till it unfurls it's hood ready for the pounce. Hope we don't need to use it but if we do then I'll have to introduce you to my new gunner. She's good.... Damn good actually".

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"Impressive," Muranis said. "I've noticed as we've been walking through the ship that none of your systems appear to be integrated. And you have what look like very ancient wired phone receivers hanging on the walls. I've only seen these in museums. Does this cause you any problems?"

[Redbelle]

Jess grinned. "Not as much as you'd think. We have a omnitool signal booster antennae on the drive section that let's us push signals over the distance between both sections. The hard-lines? We still use them for comm's we don't want people eavesdropping on being a wired connection. But most of the time, ship business involves asking where people are. Not exactly vital comms. It gets blocked of course. A raider group caught it and blocked it one time. But when things get dicey everyone knows where they need to be and who they report to. Section chiefs have hardlines in their sections and the PA system on the bridge let's people know when we want to talk to them over the phones. Other than that? Most comms happen omnitool to omnitool".

[Kel Riever]

"And shouting!"  Keith added.  "Sometimes there's shouting...you know...if someone's in a big cargo bay or something and someone else is on the other side, or someone's using a really loud tool or something."

[Redbelle]

"And shouting". Jess agreed. "Makes me wonder why we never got a megaphone all the shouting that goes on at the front. The back of the ship though is the drive, living quarter's and bridge. We're heading that way. To the bridge. I imagine you'll want to see what you'll be working with. It's a bit last gen but we've managed well enough. Though my new comm officer's found a few patch works she wants to clear up and bring us up to date as far as the ships design will allow. Not convinced yet myself. The comm board maybe. She sent a screen shot of the wiring and if my old comm officer wasn't such a waste of volume...... Well no matter. Come this way please".

[Cknarf]

Johnny was in a resting position, taking a moment before his next set, when he heard someone at the door.

 

"One moment, please." He said as he stood. His voice was muffled a bit by the towel he used to wipe his face. Tossing it over his shoulder, he went to the door, and opened it. Although he didn't salute, his back immediately straightened from a slouch upon seeing the spectre.

 

"Need something, ma'am?" He asked.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

The scent of workout perspiration filled Naleena's senses: masculine perspiration; a scent she found pleasurable. (Knarf, sorry about this) Johnny stood bare chested and she could see his muscular physique. It took her a moment to gather her thoughts. Yes, she was in a relationship with Anika, but she wasn't dead.

 

"As you were, Johnny. May I come in?" she asked, and assuming the affirmative she entered. "We have a long journey ahead of us. We can't enter through Batarian space because we'll be detected immediately, so we're going via the Artemis Tau Cluster. It'll take six days system jumping via FTL. This will give us time to practice disarming the alarms and booby traps we might encounter on our way in. I had Essul set up some samples on which you, Iole and I can practice. I was coming to get you for the first run. But I see you're busy training."

[Cknarf]

“I can cut it short, ma’am.” Johnny smiled ever so slightly, finding a bit of humor in the spectre’s words. It wasn’t as if his workout was more important than preparing for a mission. Although, to him, it might well have been.  Johnny was very proud of his physical achievements. He wasn’t exactly in shape back when he first signed up with the Alliance

 

“Are they ready now?” Johnny asked, referring to the devices. “I’d like to get as much practice in as I can. I don’t want to go down in history as the guy who set off the big one. There’s enough tension between us and the batarians as it is, the last thing we need is for me to get caught in their space.”

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Naleena felt the slight vertigo as the ship entered relay transit and exited in the Knossos system. The Janiri would  be stopping at the refueling station there before continuing on its system hopping journey.

 

"I believe they are," she said. "I asked Essul to rig them to BSIU standards. This will be interesting. I've had experience bypassing Salarian systems, but from what I understand the Batarian systems can be a bit more brutal in their consequences for error. Throw a shirt on and let's go."

[Cknarf]

Johnny grabbed the first thing that was handy, a plain gray tank, and pulled it on. From the table, he picked up his trademark black frames and put those on as well, before exiting with Naleena.

 

Iole… Who is that again?

 

He thought, as they walked. He knew who the batarian was, as well as most of the humans he had met, and he wasn’t able to put a face to the name. That didn’t leave much else aside from the krogan, and the group of asari, and since krogan weren’t usually experts on tech...

 

“Uh… ma’am? I…” Johnny began. He was going to ask, but it was highly unlikely that she would pair two people together on something like this if they didn’t get along. “Never mind.”

 

He just hoped it wasn’t that one. She wasn’t exactly friendly.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"Why the long face, Johnny?" Naleena asked. "This will be fun. Just a little note of caution though. Iole was in a relationship with Frank Eli, the former occupant of your quarters.... I think she might be missing him right now. Iole's the commando with the gold flecks and the gold eyes."

[Cknarf]

((THIS IS SCARY AND I DON'T LIKE IT, OH GOD!))

 

Johnny just nodded. He remembered that particular asari as the only one that stood out, aside from the more volatile, angry one, of course.  It must have been her eyes.

 

Maybe I should get some of those contacts...

 

He thought, his mind settling first on blue, followed by hazel, then finally green. He figured anything would better than his natural color, which he found rather boring.

 

Johnny shrugged to himself, as they stepped onto the lift. He brought up a more pressing matter.

 

"When you say former occupant, do you mean he isn't expected to return? The quartermaster spoke as if he was coming back, so I moved all of his belongings to the corner of the room instead of removing them. If he isn't, do you mind if I move them elsewhere? They smell a bit off."

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"Honestly, I don't know," Naleena replied as the headed down toward the simulation area. "He just never returned after his last mission to Earth. I understand he's still alive, but he's a private citizen and I have no hold over him. He left for his own reasons. I'll have the quartermaster put his belongings in storage since he could return at some point, but that's up to him."

 

They arrived at the simulation area.

 

(was Essul there? Was Iole there? Was there any drama between Essul and Jenus?)

[Kel Riever]

Jenus had, after some time, finally met with the other commandos in what would have been a standard meeting, to go over the coming events and daily activities.  But that next meeting was really only about one thing.

Was everything going to be all right?

And Jenus was the last to get there.  Iole, Tallis, Ereba waited, and even Anika and Irina were invited to attend (by Tallis, twice each).  They didn't get the luxury of a breakout room, so they usually fit the meeting in wherever they could.  In this case, it was the armory, when no one else needed the room.  Iole had a bit of trepidation, but not as much as she thought she would.  If anything, Tallis had more.  But the surprise, of course, was that everyone in attendance showed with their armor on, fully, with all their logos displayed.

Finally, Jenus arrived.  She stopped in her tracks as she saw everyone present.  A full minute must have gone by where she said nothing, but looked at each person, her eyes wandering over them, and then their new insignia markings.

"Well, all right then." Jenus said in a surprisingly soft tone.  She took a final glance at them and said, "Meeting's done for today.  Use the time however you want."  Then she turned to go.

"Jenus!" Iole called out, expecting some other sort of reaction.

Jenus stopped and looked over her shoulder.

"Is....," Iole asked, concerned.  "Is everything all right?"

There was another pause in the dark eyes asari, but then a smile broke on her face and Jenus replied.  "Better than all right, Goldie.  You're my people, and I got your message.  Just don't go too soft on me, all right?"

Iole smiled back. "All right, team leader."

The edge of Jenus' lip quivered subtly for a split second, then she left immediately.

After she was gone, Iole turned to the others.  "She never let's anyone see her cry."

Tallis poked her own heart twice.

"Yep," Iole said, "Got her right there."

The team was free to split up after that.  Iole headed down to the sim room where she knew she had more work to do for the upcoming mission.

[Redbelle]

Anika reached up and popped her faceplate after Jenus had left.

 

"............ If every inspection goes this way, I'm going to need a new hobby".

[Cainhurst Crow]

((Essul messaged Selani to tell Jenus that he needed Iole in the Sim room. Following the chain of command as told. Nothing else happened, we're here now. ))

 

Essul looked to see Naleena and the newest member of their team Johnney arrive, nodding to them both as he stood with his hands crossed behind his back. "Excellent. It's good to see you two arrive..." He said, standing in front of the holodeck as it held the projection of the tunnel, making it appear he was standing in front of its entranceway.

 

"I've set things up. You'll need to worry about the motion sensors, trip lasers, and pressure sensors. All of them follow the standard SIU setup pattern....Now then, where is Iole?" Essul asked as he looked to the doorway, expecting the other asari to arrive at any moment.

[Kel Riever]

"I'm here, I'm here," Iole rushed her words. "Sorry, just wrapping up a meeting for the team."  She activated her Omni-tool.  "Did some preliminary work and study, so I think I've got what I need in my head, but I'm ready for practice." 

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Ereba smiled little at the others. "Told ya. This is what we do," she said. "She knows we have her back."

 

*****

 

Naleena noticed the changes to Iole's armor. "That's a different look. Not exactly what I've seen on most commandos," she said. "It doesn't break regs, but it does stretch them to the limit."

 

(Iole can either blame Jenus or Ereba or just say they did it for group identity)