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[Redbelle]

Anika cleared her throat. "Is this going to delay our departure? This was supposed to be a quick refuel stop. Are we on any timetable for resolving this"? She asked, skilfully avoiding mentioning their rendezvous with the Medusa and their attempts to infect the Batarian net in the target area.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"This shouldn't take more than a day or two, and should give the dealings of our advance team a better chance to do its damage," Naleena replied and winked, "And as was so eloquently pointed out by our esteemed Alliance officer, it would probably be best if one of us 'tentacle heads' were in charge of each fire team for this operation. And Arian, not to be left out, you're 'mandible mouth.' And with all of that I think we should have it covered.

 

"VERA, what are the conditions in the proposed LZ?"

 

"The daytime highs are 48^o C. Relative Humidity: 85%. I suggest you do not wear your coat."

 

"Great. Time to sweat like a pig again," Irina commented.

 

"If there are no further questions, team dismissed," Naleena said then turned to Timoshenko. "A word."

 

***

 

"Please tell me that you do not refer to Asari as 'tentacle heads' in day to day conversation, Commander," Naleena said. "Just remember that during your first contact war with the Turians that if we Asari had not intervened when we did, Earth would not have an independent alliance right now, but would have been annexed by the Turian Primarchy as a client world."

 

"We would have resisted," the Commander replied.

 

"Not for long." Naleena said. "Tentacle heads...." She stood and escorted the Commander out of the room. "Ensign, would you please escort the Commander back to the airlock."

[Kel Riever]

Morgan

"Where's your Captain?" Lomala was surprised to see the few from the Medusa on hand.  She wasn't afraid to be blunt, either.  But the man did know what he was doing, and the woman in strange, pink clothes kept eying her directly.  Humans didn't have a system of hierarchy like batarians did, culturally, and it was something that Lomala wasn't a fan of.  Still, she was here to conduct business.

"Don't worry about that.  We're here to deal.  If she feels she needs to step in, you can count on her showing up."

"I don't like it."

Morgan leaned back and folded his arms.  Lomala would have stared him down, if she suddenly wasn't distracted by the woman in pink who forced her to break her gaze with some sort of...wiggle?  So Morgan caught her off guard when he spoke.

"The question is do you like what you see?  Because you are looking at the product on the table in front of you."

Lomala put her eyes down to the two sets of omni-tools on the table.  She picked up the Nexus.  It was elegant, and Lomala slipped the sleeve on, trying to activate it.  It was so simple on the surface she didn't know where to activate it.

"Pardon me if I just don't jump on in," Miss Priss said, moving over nearly to Lomala's side.  One her security team escorts made motion to intercept but Lomala quickly waved him off.  "Everything is sublime on the asari models," Miss Priss went on, as if nothing had happened.  Lomala was not used to someone ever making the assumption of being so amicable.  Priss smiled at her, like she was reading what Lomala was thinking, but only added, "I wouldn't call asari models user friendly.  But they are the best."

Lomala watched as Priss simply pressed the location on the underside of her forearm. The omni-tool came to life in a vision of swirling blues and violets with the Armali Council logo and a sweet melody played softly.  It was the most crisp and clear vision and sound Lomala had ever heard from an omni-tool.

"That's just the start-up, calico," Miss Priss said.  "It won't happen every time.  But I bet you know that, cause I can see you're no spring chicken when it comes to your tech."

The flattery embarassed Lomala, who had truthfully never seen anything like the Nexus tool, but she took the opportunity to lie.  "Of course.  It's simply a matter of getting used to it.  The important point is that we have tools, as seniors, that give us an advantage worth of our position."

Miss Priss smiled knowingly.  Morgan knew she'd played Lomala like a fiddle.

"Oh, you've got advantages, that's the paint on the wall..." Miss Priss said, laying in with the flattery.

"So," Morgan moved to close, "The Ciphers for those below your chain you deem earn them, the other Nexus models for your peers, but...that one, the one on your arm, that's a model ten.  The other Nexus models are one year behind.  You aren't above having a little edge for yourself I'm betting."

Lomala did her best to look like she was going to drive a hard bargain and failed miserably.

"The price, sound good to you?"

"I,..." Lomala started, then found herself simply saying, "Yes, we have a deal."  In truth it was a fair price, maybe with a bit of a premium, but Lomala decided it wasn't worth arguing over.  

There was a split second glance from Morgan towards Miss Priss.  She looked like a cat who just ate a mouse.  "Good, we'll do that transfer," Morgan finished. 

 

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

And Dahlia stood looking a bit smug with the aren't you glad I bought extras? look.

[Redbelle]

In a section of the Medusa's hanger, away from prying eye's, Jess was pacing behind her 'expert'. The man, who had suddenly become a boy, because the man had been caught and now she was forced to wade in with her own understanding of tech as the boy's bravado had amounted to more theoretical knowledge than actual experience.

 

The good news was that his knowledge of backstreet hacking was greater than her own and together they were making progress in packaging the trojan.......

 

And then the Batarian's had sent an advanced delegate.

 

Morgan and Priss were up in the conference room with the Batarian's now. A surprise move on their part. Though Jess suspected it was one that few in their hierarchy knew of. Most likely the woman who had come aboard was trying to get in on the action to curry favour, or get the best tech. The models sent up hadn't had the Trojans installed and as she stopped and looked at the screen, she began to wonder if the bulk load would as well.

 

At his setup terminal, the boy who insisted on being called Dragonrise was sweating over his keystrokes. "Nuuuuh.... Nearly done.... I think".

 

Jess looked over his shoulder as her eye's scanned his code. Much was inspired, she hated to admit even as she filed it away in her mind for her own use. Dragonrise would need to learn how to protect his work at some point. For now though, she looked at the inbuilt protection kernal reroute that would embed and remain. Even in the event of hard formatting and re installation, the trojan that they had created would remain.

 

Of course, Jess knew it had to be hidden just right. The trojan was actually cut up into several pieces and left to float as random data. The type every tool generated. The kernal reroute was designed to assemble that data to activate the trojan that in turn would infect other networked platforms. Those platforms, in turn, would infect others and then trigger enormous garbage data production and hardware failures that would cascade back down the route it took so that the Omnitools would be the last pieces of hardware affected, Jess hoped, that would hide their use as the carrier of the network corruption.

 

It was a simple, if insidious design. Similar to a viral outbreak where duplication of the virus reduced it's incubation time so that when the trojan slipped through the firewalls and chekers the red flags it's activation would cause would start with a trickle, and then erupt into a flood. The key was the hardware failure. The source of the infection had to be hid. When the trojan went off in the Omnitools the kernal reroute, the floating data that would come together than would cause the disruption, even the internal storage, memory and processors. They all had to be burned. Anything that stored or utilised data had to be destroyed and yet be hidden so that few would ever think the source could have come from the Omni-tools. If someone caught on ahead of time, they'd be screwed. If someone caught on while they were in proximity to Batarian space, they would be caught. Jess already knew how she could shift the blame to the company they'd purchased them from, but if they did this right, she wouldn't need to as the Batarians would be none the wiser.

 

It was a shame really. Here she was about to commit the biggest crime she'd ever attempted, and she wouldn't be able to brag about it. To many Batarians who frequented the same drinking holes as she did would see the information to their government.

 

"Urrrghhh... This won't work". Dragonrise suddenly said. "See here....."? He tapped at a separate screen that held an example of Batarian watchdog code. ".......This suggests backups. Designed to come on-line and take over if the mains go down. The mains tell the backups what's wrong and the backups block it......".

 

"The backups still take updates though, right"? Jess asked as she slid in next to him. "They have to be connected so they can take over".

 

"Nuugh... It's a sub network..... I think..... It's not connected..... Maybe..... More like..... I think it's another network. Separate, but made to be the same as the other working in the background......".

 

"Explain".

 

"If the people we want to use these tools only connect to the main network, then we'll only infect that hardware on the main network since it's active. The sub network is passive. Designed to look but not touch..... It won't be active enough to guarantee the same level of infection so if the main goes down, they can switch to the other....".

 

"Which will be more reliable, have fewer hardware failures and won't be slowed to crash by junk data".

 

"Uh huh".

 

"We need to infect that too".

 

Dragonrise shrugged. "Nuurggh.... You want to try that's fine. It's a separate network though so they probably have twice as many netowrk satellites. Figure out which one belongs to the sub net and you could install it".

 

"We'd have to be careful. Remote hacking would be risky".

 

"Uh uh.... Manual insertion. No other way".

 

Jess raised a hand to cover her eye's as she imagined what would be needed to carry out such a feat.

 

"The MIP's.... We still have the two. They can get in close.... Maybe one.... We have a two man". She shook her head. "Let's focus. Are the tools ready for the download"?

 

"Uhhh, Yeah..... It's all ready".

 

"Upload it now. I need all of them infected. Don't update the two with the delegation unless they make it back down here. I'm heading up to meet them now. How long will this take"?

 

"Nuurgh..... Probably an hour. Gotta go by batches".

 

"Get to it"! Jess turned and stepped out of the cargo crate and nearly bumped into Dogger. "Keep an eye on him". Jess said quietly. "Make sure he stays on point with this. If the delegation want to come down here I'll try to stall them. I'll give you advance warning. You know what to do"?

 

"Aye Cap'n. Old ship like this? Plenty to go wrong with her". Dogger smiled slyly. "Not sure Aelias is up to speed on all the comm chatter we're putting through the poor gal but she's passing it on. You found a good one there".

 

"Let's make sure we're all left standing after this to appreciate the fact". Turning away, Jess made for the ships spine and towards the command section of the ship as she commed Aelias. "Luv, Let Morgan know I'm coming to him. Tell him to keep the delegation there till I arrive, and do it subtle luv".

 

"As you wish Captain".

[Kel Riever]

"Right," Morgan said, "You'll be able to take back your Omni-tools on that shuttle of yours, as soon as the money transfers...pardon me a moment."

Morgan saw a message light pop up on his Omni-tool.  He read the message from Aelias, relaying Jess' instructions.

"So, if there isn't anything else...," Lomala began wrapping up the meeting. 

"Actually, that Nexus you have needs to be personally attuned to your gear.  I wouldn't want you leaving here without it synced up."

One of the security members who came with Lomala leaned into her.  "With respect, we're running late."

Miss Priss had maneuvered to sit on the table near Lomala, something so inappropriate for a business meeting and yet no one had complained when she'd gotten there.  It allowed her to reach out to Lomala's wrist and hold it.  Another complete invasion of personal space which somehow went without bothering the batarians.  "Submission net, I bet.  That's your hot reaction mode, first priority."

Lomala looked down at the woman in pink who was now pressing the interface area of her activated Nexus.  Lomala then dismissed the security, "We're fine.  I want to get this done before we leave."

Miss Priss giggled lightly, "Here, see, I had the pleasure of working with an asari.  The tool is intuitive to them, so when you get down deep in the menu..."  Miss Priss started going through the tool options with Lomala, working the Omni-tool bit by bit.

[Redbelle]

Jess stopped outside the doors of the conference room just long enough to quickly unseal the panel that held the room status control. Pulling a tool from her belt, she quickly unscrewed a fixing of some random sensor that Jess used to sandwich the tubing that drew atmosphere from the conference room into the pressure gauge. Tightening the fixing constricted the tube and sure enough, Jess saw the pressure gauges readout begin to fall. Setting the panel back into place Jess tucked the tool away, straightened her gilet, put on her widest grin and reached forward to open the hatch. Stepping through she saw Morgan at the table with Dahlia standing at his side. Priss, draping herself over some Batarian while a guard escort stood uncomfortably by watching Priss like Hawks as she seemed to be showing the leader of the group how to work one of the acquired Omni-Tools.

 

"Well I can't tell you how bad our starboard injector was seized, but crisis averted! Sorry, sorry y'all. Captain Stone. Captain of this here old girl. The Medusa may be old, but as I'm sure you can appreciate, she can haul cargo till the cows come". Jess stepped up to the table, hands on hips as she came to a rest and looked down at the Batarian. "Aaaaah, see your getting acquainted. That there's a good one. And we've got more in the hold. Got a hot tip from our last port of call that you people may be wanting an upgrade. Well if you like this haul, I hope you'll consider us for future acquisitions you might wish to indulge in........ You can call me Jess. I trust the product ticks the boxes as advertised"?

 

Behind her, past the panelling, the interior pressure gauges that read the outside and inside compartment pressures read normal. On the outsdie though, the conference rooms pressure was falling to the point where an alert would be sounded and the door automatically sealed.

 

On the bridge, Marshal was looking over the ships sensors and saw the one Stone had told him would be falling right on schedule and he reached forward to switch off the alarm as Aelias stood next to him, watching.

 

"You mind explaining to me what we're doing"? She asked.

 

"Beats me, but I get the impression we're conning the Batarians".

 

".......Humans....... conning the Batarian's"?

 

"Yep. May you live in interesting times".

 

"If they find out.....". Aelias began before leaving the thought hanging between them. Instead she looked at the readout. "Those doors can auto seal, yes"?

 

"Yup. And when they do we'll have to send out a repair team to find the fault. Which will turn out to be a worn hose, that will be replaced and they'll be freed".

 

"An easy fix".

 

"The repair team will take awhile to arrive.... And then, well, lets just say this ship will suffer a cascade of hardware failures if we need to delay them further".

 

"Interesting times indeed".

[Kel Riever]

When Jess talked about getting acquainted, Lomala wasn't at first sure if she was talking about the Omni-tool or the woman in pink.  Of course, that confusion came right after the confusion about the 'cows' comment.

"You haul women as cargo?...uh, never mind.  I am Lomala and I am please to finally meet you, Captain Stone.  Fortunately your first mate and...assistants, have been capable enough in their dealings with me that we have come to the conclusion of our deal.  The First Mate has made arrangements such that we will pay you as soon as we receive our Omni-tools on board the shuttle for transport.  We are over are scheduled limit, so without further incident, we would like to..."

There was a red light that shone from the door and a single, piercing, 'BLING' chime (or horn, it was hard to tell) rang through the room.

"What was that?" Lomala asked.  The two security escorts on either side of her didn't look comfortable and both of their hands hovered near their holsters. 

Morgan wasn't in on the plan, though he would figure it out.  He simply said, "I'm going to say not good.  That's a malfunction?" 

Aelias' voice came through on the room's com, full speaker volume.  "Sorry, we have a malfunction.  Pressure system.  I hope it isn't a problem but you are stuck in that room for a while.  We're trying to figure out what happened from up here, and we might have to send a repair team to see what's going on."

Lomala grit her teeth.  "We need to be leaving."  But then Miss Priss innocently batted her eyes and Lomala softened.  It was obvious the woman in pink was trying to manipulate her to calm down, but for some reason, Lomala didn't mind.  The humans didn't understand, she thought.  "We have a tight schedule with some leniency, but we are over due.  Now, in your part of the galaxy, when you are late, it may be an inconvenience.  It might cost credits.  But in our part of the galaxy, the penalty for certain things is more severe than you're likely used to."

"We'll get this sorted out soon enough," Morgan covered.  The convenience of the situation was cluing him in. 

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Irina put on her armor, grabbed her helmet and met Jenus in the Commando quarters. "I guess the boss has the fire teams divided: the six of  us; then her, Four-eyes, Vayne, Arian and the new kid. That way one of you.... Could you believe that assh*le?"

 

Jenus was doing pull ups stopped, dropped  down and laughed. "No, I couldn't. He's an assh*le. But Four-eyes? I love it. Just keep it in here. Hey, Ereba, you gonna get get your gear on or keep making love to that rifle?"

 

"You'll thank me when I save your sorry ass, Sarge." Ereba said lining up the sights.

 

Iole buckled her leathers and prepared to put on her boots. "They're just a bunch of hunters. Why are we getting so worked up?"

 

"Because we don't know how many and they use high powered rifles, probably military issue, and use illegal tactical cloaks," Ereba replied. "Don't let your guard down, Goldie. I like you too much. Speaking of which, Jenus what are  the pariing assignments?"

 

Jenus thought a minute, and as much as she'd like to team with Iole again to make up for Eingana, she hesitated. "Here's how we pair up. Ereba, you're with me. I'm a vanguard and I need someone to cover from a distance. Tallis and Goldie have always paired. Red you get to watch Blondie's flank and take a long range weapon."

 

"Right. I'll bring my Mantis and shotgun," Irina said. "Tallis is going to stand out like a sore thumb."

 

Tallis stood in her bright magenta armor and frowned.

 

"But the thing is that they'll probably underestimate her. It could work to our advantage." Irina continued.

 

"Alright," Jenus said. "Enough yapping. Everyone down to the shuttle bay and load ordinance."

 

*****

 

Timoshenko had  returned to the ship in full gear and was standing near Naleena. He appeared to have apologized for the episode in the conference room because Naleena was speaking casually with him.

[Redbelle]

In the cargo bay, Anika approached her armature that sensed her approach and rose, a inquisitive warble eminating.

 

"No.... I don't think we'll need you. This sounds like a get in, do damage, get out".

 

The armature warbled again and from underneath, a section of it's exterior slid away for two sets of booted feet to appear. The rest of Anika's armour followed as the Armature stepped to one side and Anika heavy armour rose to stand, readying itself to recieive it's user. Anika stepped up frombehind and stepping forward, was greeted with the now familier sensation of recieiving a giant metalliic hug till she was nestled inside and her HUD sprung to life in front of her. Looking over she asked. "...Forgetting something"?

 

An indignant warble and from the side, another section opened revealing Anika's weapon selection. Plucking her Typhoon out of the housing she pulled a pistol, then with a moment's hesitation, pulled out two thermal scopes and attached them to her weapons. Checking their status and finding both were drawing power from her rifles battery, she holstered them and turned to go.

 

"Be good now. And standby in case I need you. I'm hoping we can get in and out quick but if things go bad I might you to drop in".

 

Another warble came as the armature settled back down and seemed to rest it's head on the deck in much the same way as a dog would sit to rest. A hidden smile came to Anika's lips as she turned and headed towards the shuttle area.

[Redbelle]

Jess got onto her comm.

 

"Aelias, are you sure it's a malfunction? Check again. I'm not going to be happy if the repair crews dawdle while we're losing pressure in here".

 

"We're double checking now Captain. I'll put a rush on the crews. We're not getting any leakage in other sections but we're double checking...... Hang on..... Dogger wants to know when the last time the hosing was checked".

 

"Ask him. He's the one who used to check them".

 

A moment's pause. "..... Dogger asks if anyone else was assigned, after he retired".

 

Jess groaned. "Luscious..... I swear, I'll never be free of that dingbat".

 

"A repair team has been dispatched Captain. They'll be with you soon.Dogger's sending his best team".

 

"Sounds good luv". Jess killed her comm and smiled in a pained expression to Lomala. "Well..... this is embarrassing. Can't say this has ever happened before. Lomala was it? Looks like we're stuck in here for awhile so best make the most of it like my Dad used to say". Taking one of the chair's, Jess stepped around the table and settled herself down as she spun the chair so she was straddling it. Her arms crossed and resting on the backrest as she leaned in. "Now then, these tools we have. I trust you went over with my First Mate but since we're stuck, perhaps you can tell me excactly who it is I'm getting into bed with regarding who I'm selling these too..... And if you like what I'm selling.... Because I can always get more if your interested. I always wanted to partner up with someone on this side of the border and if this is something you'd like long term..... and exclusive.... I could be persuaded to keep these transactions between you and me. Not like I want to deal with stranger's in the long run when we and I have the possibility of establishing a close relationship".

[Cknarf]

Sanves

 

“Poor baby… You didn’t deserve this…” Daliax carefully scooped up a flattened flower, and set it neatly in a pile with the others. “At least you made it, little one.” She said warmly, turning her attention to one of the surviving plants. “I--” She gasped, cut off by a clumsy turian boot that suddenly crushed her target of affection.

 

“Ma’am, you have a call.” Her head of security stated, avoiding eye contact at all costs.

 

“Tell them I’m busy.” She replied in a low growl, as she wrapped her talons around a trowel.

 

“They said it was important…”

 

“Yeah?” Daliax stood. “Well, so is this!” She gestured at the ruined flowers, and got close to his face with the gardening tool. “I don’t give a damn if it’s the Council, or the hierarchy. Get your ass in there, and tell them I’m not available! I’m still mourning…”

 

“They told me not to accept no for an answer, ma’am.”

 

“Uuuuuugh!” Daliax threw the implement straight into the ground, where it firmly stuck. “This is all your fault.” She jabbed a finger in his face, before pushing him aside.”Out of my way, useless.”

 

As she neared the QEC, she started getting into character by coughing and hobbling around. Her goal was to look broken and sickly enough that she wouldn’t be asked to put in any real work. When the hologram appeared, she was taken by surprise.

 

“Sao?” She straightened her back.

 

“Good evening, spectre. If I can still call you that...”

 

Daliax made an obscene gesture in response. “I was expecting the council. What do you want?”

 

“I have work for you.”

 

“I knew it! Sao, you bastard, those bastards are using you to get through to me!”

 

“No, no. This is personal. Consider it a favor.”

 

“Look, pal. I don’t do ‘favors’. You want someone taken out, you can find someone else. Why don’t you get Vasir to handle it? She’s a ruthless c--”

 

“Tela Vasir is dead, Gavian.”

 

“What? Since when? I swear I just spoke with her not that long ago…”

 

“You didn’t receive the report?”

 

Daliax shook her head. Seconds later, her omni-tool flashed with a notification. She opened the report and skimmed through it.

 

“Hm. That’s too bad…” She examined her talons as if she didn’t care. “What about that new asari?”

 

“T’Sarius?”

 

“Yeah, that one. I read her file. Seems like she's the one you should be contacting.”

 

“That’s who I was calling about, actually.”

 

“Alright…”

 

“Spectre T’Sarius has been operating almost completely independently, and--”

 

“She’s gone rogue, and she’s making your job harder, so you want her eliminated? Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard all this garbage before. Look, Sao, while I’m flattered by the fact that you think so highly of my abilities, I--”

 

“Spectre!” Sao raised his voice slightly. “I would appreciate it if you would allow me to finish.”

 

“Right. Sorry. Please, go on.”

 

“As I was saying, T’Sarius has had little to no official support from the council--”

 

“Big surprise there…” Daliax muttered. Sao narrowed his eyes slightly, and continued.

 

“And I believe she could benefit from a bit of… unofficial assistance.”

 

“NOPE! Not interested. See you around, Sao!” Daliax turned her back on the hologram.

 

“It would be in your best interests to reconsider.” Sao said, his serious tone causing her to stop. “I strongly suggest that you do so.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Daliax asked, turning to see the salarian smiling down at her.

 

“The council is planning to relieve you of duty, and they have been for quite some time now.”

 

“Bullshit.”

 

“I have done everything in my power, and then some, to convince them otherwise, but they have had enough of your… freeloading, I believe they called it.”

 

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

 

“Because I thought you, being a professional and all, would straighten out on your own. Apparently, I thought wrong. Goodbye, and good luck, spectre Gavian…” Sao moved his hand like he was going to disconnect, but did so slowly, as if he was expecting the response that followed.

 

“Wait! Hold on a second!” Daliax took a step towards the hologram. “I’ll do it.”

 

“Excellent! I knew you wouldn’t let me down.” Sao smiled.

 

“Now what?”

 

“Now, I inform the council that I have found a use for you.”

 

“I mean where do I go from here?”

 

“For now, you can go back to your garden and enjoy yourself. I will inform Spectre T’Sarius of your willingness to help. She will call upon you as she sees fit, assuming she does at all.”

 

“And if she does? I don’t exactly have a ship under my command anymore…”

 

“I doubt the council is going to supply you with one, but I’ll see what I can do. Until then, you’ll have to figure something out on your own. You’re a Council Spectre, Gavian. It’s about time you started acting like one again. Sao out.”

[Cainhurst Crow]

Essul was getting armored up in his dark green armor, flexing his fingers as he put on the gauntlets and got his supplies readied. The council's emblems were prominent on his shoulders and the sides of his helmet, showing which organization he belonged to as he quietly contemplated things.

 

These poachers who hunted down those who couldn't possibly put up a good fight reminded him of some of the crueler and more despicable people he'd meet in his youth. The ones who picked fights with others while surrounded by their own guards, and their opponents were tied up. These hunters likely didn't understand what it meant to be hunted, to fear someone stalking them unseen, armed with advanced tech, ready to strike.

 

"They will know what its like though...when I'm done with them..." Essul said as he loaded his kishock rifle and argus rifle, short range and long range covered for him, with his biotics dealing with anyone close. He got out his daily dose and shoved it into the side of his neck, feeeling the numbness spreading through his body as he shock his head, vision swiming a minute as he slipped his helmet on.

 

He blinked hard to clear his line of sight, turning around and heading out to the hanger to meet up with the others.

 

Vayne had taken a decidedly less thought out approaching, slipping on his armor and getting his shotgun out and ready. He loaded his chakram launcher and bakara pistol as well as the double barrel as he made his way into the hanger with the others, glancing to timshenko as he spoke.

 

"These hunters we're tracking down. Any chance they got some krogan with 'em?" He asked as he casually walked over to him and naleena, "Figure if they hadn't, the locals might not be too hostile to me. Or maybe they'll think I'm some new bred of lizard to eat, who knows?" He asked jokingly as he looked to Naleena.

 

"I'm guessing we can't fight against the locals, even if they throw the first stones."

[Cknarf]

Johnny was going planetside with his standard loadout. His Hurricane, Phalanx, and contact lenses. He wore his Alliance issued armor and breather helmet. Gone were any Alliance markings, removed in preparation for the coming mission in Batarian space.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Naleena leaned to Vayne. “I don’t think there are any Krogan in the mix, but don’t worry. I’m sure  you’re too tough and full of gristle and they’ll see that by the fact you’re still standing and missing an eye. And no, we’re not to engage the native  population.”

 

The Commando group arrived. Ereba wasn’t too excited to see the Alliance commander among Naleena’s group.  “Goldie, I’ll have to bite my tongue.”

 

“I’m sure the Spectre gave him a piece of her mind after the meeting,” Iole said.

 

“Yeah, that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside,” Ereba replied. “But to the Void with it! Let’s show this son of a b*tch we’re Commandos. Let’s start with a little ritual we did back in Artemis before a mission. We’re bad asses! And Jenus is our bad ass team leader!”

 

“F*ck yeah!” Irina said raising her fist.

 

“On the ready line for inspection!” Jenus shouted and the team fell in and snapped to attention.  She walked around the fire team . “Bunch of bad asses! Load ordinance and strap in, Commandos!”

 

“Yes, Sergeant!” “Yes, Sergeant!”

 

The Commandos plus two began loading their ordinance and weapons onto the shuttle and prepared to take their seats.

 

“Okay, everyone, mount up!” Naleena ordered. “We’re departing in 10 minutes.”

 

An average height woman in a flight suit wearing aviator sunglasses approached. She joined the crew at the Citadel as a shuttle pilot. Sergeant Ferro was double-timing it. “Sorry I’m late ma’am.”

 

Naleena nodded.

 

Ferro took  her seat behind the controls.

 

////////////////

 

On board the shuttle while everyone was strapping in Ereba was more animated than usual. She clamped her rifle into the weapons locker, and turned to the team. “We are the ultimate bad asses,” she said, then approached Timoshenko. “Don’t worry Alliance. Check it out. Me and my team of ultimate bad asses will protect you.”

 

Ereba approached the cockpit. “Independently targeting UV GARDIAN Lasers. Whap! Take down a frigate with this puppy,” she said then returned to Timoshenko. “We got tactical smart missiles; state-of –the –art hand-held rail guns; RPGs; Mini-guns. We got sonic electronic ball breakers! We got biotics. We got nukes; we got knives; we got sharp sticks.”

 

Naleena sighed. “Knock it off and strap in, Commando.”

 

The bay clamps latched onto the Scythe Shuttle and the airlock doors shut, and the craft was moved outside of the ship. Shuttle Pilot Ferro was preparing to launch. “Standby to initiate docking clamp release sequencer on my mark. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.”

 

The clamps released and shuttle began its descent to the planet below.

 

Spoiler

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Ferro landed the shuttle in a clearing near the jungle. 4157 Maenali was a class K orange dwarf star and Yaut was in its goldilocks zone. The warm temperature was due to the greenhouse effect of the high amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which also contributed to the thick jungle growth. Yaut’s surface was 85% water.

 

“Alright grab your gear,” Naleena said. “We’ll bivouac here. The Janiri is in synchronous orbit, so set your omni-tools to this area. If for any reason our coms get jammed, and you get separated, use your GPS to return to the shuttle. Ferro, you stay with the shuttle.”

 

“Aye, aye.”

 

“VERA, give us a map of the area,” Naleena said.

 

The map appeared on the screen inside the shuttle. “It appears that the indigenous people have a village about four kilometers to your west, and another, ten kilometers south of your position. Running between those two points is a river. In the event of jamming attempts, I will maintain a tight beam connection with the shuttle,” VERA said. “My scans have detected no fewer than four craft on the ground in addition to yours.”

 

“Thank you, VERA. Two fire teams. Jenus will lead the Commando team. I’ll lead the others. We’ll stay together for now until we find it necessary to split up,” Naleena said. “ROE is we do not fire upon the indigenous population if possible. We do not fire unless fired upon; we will take prisoners and interrogate them. Intel is more important than dead bodies. But if they want a fight they’ll wish they hadn’t been born. Any questions?”

[Kel Riever]

"I have one for Ferro," Iole said, once everyone was out of the shuttle.  "Ferro, try remembering to close the doors and ramps to your Scythe shuttle now that everyone is out!"

There was no response, other than the rear ramp began closing.

Iole turned back, awaiting orders from Jenus, while she switched on the cooling system for her Commando suit.

 

[Redbelle]

Anika looked around at the jungle they were due to enter and was glad that her suit was fully enclosed and regulating her temperature and oxygen levels. Bringing up her omni tool she checked the CO2. Higher than was customary. She ought to have no problem if her suit was breached, but long-term, and in a fight she didn't want to chance needing to test how well she'd stand up to the rigours this planet would place on her body.

 

Chicken. She mentally chided herself..... and was not surprised when her mind answered. Focus. Got to do this fast and right. Get bogged down here and Jess will take matter's into her own hands.

 

Looking back at the group, Anika reached for her back and pulled her Typhoon from it's hard point. Feeling it unwind and expand she pulled up the thermo scope and used it to zone in on the jungle..... Hot spots everywhere. Anika tried reducing the sensitivity but still the hot spots persisted. Not as bad. But still not what she would be accustomed to on other planets.

 

"Naleena.... Thermo isn't working as well as I'd like. I think this jungle has plant matter that's giving off higher than normal heat readings. Something to be wary of since anyone could be masking their heat signature against those objects. I take it I'm with the commando team"?

[Kel Riever]

Jenus moved past Anika's side on her right.  "No, Too-Tall, you're with Red."  Jenus hadn't seemed to have eased her attitude towards Anika, but that might have been a bit of an incorrect assessment based on the very fact she was talking to her in a non-rivalry related tone.  Of course, then Jenus added, "If my girl gets hurt, I'm going to make sure you get twice of whatever she got."

It was impossible to read Jenus' expression through the full helm she was wearing now.  But there was a tilt of her head in what might have been a stare before she turned tensely towards the jungle.  "I'll take point on this little vacation."  Jenus moved up then to take the lead.

[Redbelle]

Anika watched her go. Then turned to her group. "Ready to move out". She announced.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"But Jen, we're with you guys, right?" Irina asked. "Blondie and I are paired. We follow your direction, right?"

[Kel Riever]

"Of course, Red, I'm not changing the order.  You keep it sharp for Too Tall over there, would you?"  Jenus threw her gaze over to Red and spoke with a softened tone.  But it got hard again when she stopped addressing Irina and said to the general group.  "Someone watch the Spectre's dainty self, too.  Wouldn't want our prize possession getting carved up by a poacher."

[Cainhurst Crow]

"Syncing now..." Essul said as he stepped out of the shuttle, getting his omnitool linked up to rendevous with this site.

 

"Marking the spot..." Vayne said as he did the same, taking a look around the world as he surveyed the area. This place looked like a rainforst, and a bit of a swamp, all in one.

 

Essul looked to Naleena as she laid out her orders, frowning silently to himself as vayne let out a grumble, "Take em alive? What if we gonna kill them to see where they've cloaked?" The krogan asked, not really caring that if they knew where to kill the poachers, they'd probably know where to shoot to not kill them first.

 

"Understood, ma'am..." Essul replied simply as he set out with the others, overhearing a bit of the commandos chatter with a frown, "..they won't get the chance." Was his only reply as he went forward, mumbling it more to himself as an edge crept into his voice.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Naleena laughed at the 'dainty' remark. "Thanks, Jenus, I'm watching your back, too."

 

“We’re  on it,” Iole said and bumped Tallis with her elbow.

 

Irina drew her machete. “Hey, Jen. Since you’re on point, you’ll need this,” she said and tossed it to her handle first blade down.

 

Jenus caught it. “Thanks.”

 

“We’ll head west a kilometer and then start circling around, the village counter-clockwise,” Naleena said. “Commandos you have point. Let’s move out!”

 

Jenus hacked the path for the team until they found places where the underbrush wasn’t as thick and got mashed down by a fallen tree.

 

Ereba paused for a moment and put her foot on the trunk and looked up at the forest canopy where the sunlight of 4157 Maenali filtered through and listened to the wildlife noises around them. She took out her canteen, offered and offered it to Jenus. “Damn, this sh*t’s something. Makes Sanves look like Thessia. You lose it here. You’re in a world of hurt.”

[Cknarf]

"Earth used to have places like this." Johnny said from his crouched position. "It still does, I suppose. Restoration efforts of the past century have been somewhat successful. It's a slow process."