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[Kel Riever]

And then, the old Jenus was back, her disdain evident from her body language, but moving ahead as ordered. 

As the door beyond the room was opened, there was a flash of fear when a nearly unnoticed camera was aimed right at Jenus.  There was no way for her to avoid the camera, and for seconds, there were the seconds that passed where the team waited for the inevitable alarm, or the sound of a rushing response team.  But as the seconds passed, and nothing happened, the Commandos wre perplexed.  A curious Iole stepped up to the device, activated her omni-tool and synced it with her optic zoom.  In a moment, she sighed in relief.

"It looks like this camera is malfunctioning.  Seems that whatever hacking was done on the part of Captain Stone and her crew has taken a hold."

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Naleena felt the negative emotion from Jenus. It was obvious the commando didn't like her, and she didn't much care for the commando either, but she'd been doing her job. In another couple of months, Mira might be back. Perhaps it would be a good idea to check in on Mira after this mission? At least Mira would talk and tell her  what was going on.

 

The team went down through the utility tunnel, and as suspected there were more traps set up along the way. One of them was a sequential trap with a pressure plate directly under the top sensor. The batarians rigged this one where the wires to the upper sensor, side sensor, and pressure plate had to be cut simultaneously, and the upper sensor was too high to reach. Naleena's creative approach in the test simulator had to be used firing the line into the ceiling and scaling up the wall with her harness while the Iole and Johnny exposed the white wires.

 

Naleena hesitated. "Johnny, cut the orange wire on the pressure plate on two, then Iole and I will cut the white wires on three. Do it like one, Johnny cuts, then we cut.... One, cut, cut. Got it?" she asked.

 

Iole nodded. "Yeah."

 

Johnny nodded.

 

"Ready? One... two.... three."

 

Things went perfectly synchronized. Then Naleena dropped down.and released her harness.

 

"Remember the secondary sensor?" Iole asked. "The backup?"

 

"Yeah, check for it."

 

Iole looked around and sure enough she found it and disarmed it.

 

"Good work," Naleena said and breathed  a sigh of relief. She sprayed the  area again just to make sure and  did a passive IR scan. "It's clear, let's move."

 

They continued onward until they arrived at an HVAC room and utility room. They were at the facility now. Naleena used her snake up the manhole again, and the room was empty. She switched to microwave and no sensors inside. Security cameras would  be another story, but  the room was dark.

 

"Okay we're here," she said. "Switch our omni-tools and coms to 5.8 peta-Hz." She slid the manhole cover aside and climbed up, then helped every one of the team up into the room. Jenus of course refused the hand. Then she climbed the ladder up into the ventilation shaft. "Good luck. Take some good pictures. See you in the computer facility."

 

Naleena disappeared in the ventilation shaft.

[Cknarf]

Aboard the Vepr, orbiting Thessia

 

“Eli, I need to speak with you, when you’re free.” Marius’ voice came over Frank’s omni-tool.

 

“Be there in a minute.”

 

“You don’t feel that?” Kira asked, as she fished out a small metallic fragment from the shallow wound on his chest.

 

“Nope.” Frank rubbed at his nostril, and sniffed.

 

“Well I hope you do soon.” Kira narrowed her eyes a bit. She could tell he was still high, and was rather disappointed in him. “You really should be more careful you know …”

 

“Oh, give me a break! What else was I gonna do? Just stand and--”

 

“No, child.” Kira gestured with her eyes at something next to him.

 

Looking down, he saw the small bag of red powder that had fallen out of his pocket and on to the couch. “Oh sh*t.” He said under his breath, before snatching it. He glanced over at Adir, who was busy with the shooter’s omni-tool, as he shoved it into his pocket. The last thing he needed was for Adir to find out about his recently acquired habit.

 

“Frank!” The quarian shouted suddenly.

 

F***. Busted.

 

“It’s not what it looks like! It’s just cayenne, I promise!”

 

“What?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“You said something about…” Adir shook his head. “Never mind. I need your omni-tool.”

 

“Oh. Alright, yeah, no problem.” Frank removed his device. “Just don’t be goin’ through all my stuff.” He said, while handing it over.

 

Adir waved a hand like ‘whatever’, and got back to work.

 

“All finished, dear.” Kira patted Frank on the shoulder.

 

“‘Preciate it.”

 

She just smiled in response.

 

“Guess I’d better get up there…” Frank sighed. He’d been dreading the inevitable talk with Marius from the moment that Quintus hit the ground. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door, and ascended the short staircase to the cockpit.

 

“Thanks, Dax. I’ll see you soon.” Marius had just finished a call, when Frank knocked.

 

“You wanted to talk?” He asked, preemptively avoiding eye contact by looking to the ground. Marius turned in the pilot’s seat to face him, but he didn’t say anything. “Look, man, I’m sorry sh*t went bad down there, I--” He stopped, as Marius put a hand up.

 

“I’m not angry. Not with you, anyway.” Marius shook his head. “Despite the outcome, I’d say you did well, Frank. But that’s not why I called you up here.”

 

“It’s not?”

 

Marius stood, and stepped aside.

 

“Sit.”

 

“I… alright?” Frank took the helm.

 

“Since Quintus is… Since he…” Marius cleared his throat. “Will be needing time to recover…”

 

“You want me to fly?”

 

Marius nodded.

 

“I dunno, man… The biggest thing I’ve ever piloted was a ‘47… Maybe you should ask Adir?”

 

Marius leaned over Frank a little, and opened a few menus on the HUD. “Everything you need is here.”

 

“Allllrighty…”

 

“Set course for the Ialessa system.” Marius said, before walking off.

 

“Wait! I--” Frank looked back just to see the door closing. With a shrug, he turned back to the controls.

 

My brother almost died on your watch? No big deal! Here's the keys to the bajillion dollar spacecraft!

 

"Makes sense..." He opened the mini-galaxy map, and selected his destination.

 

"Except it totally doesn't. It's like I'm living in a bad movie. Or somethin' worse, like, shitty fanfiction." Frank slowly turned his head to the reader, and winked. "Ya'll remember how I came into this story right? Heh. Here goes nothin'!"

[Kel Riever]

on the Medusa

Serafina Rivabene had just come from helping the distressed Sherie fix her kitchen, and she could see why the woman in charge of it blew a fit.  Some of the stuff that had happened there seemed really strange.  At the same time, she wanted to tell the woman, Sherie, to calm herself, not that she was going to actually say anything to the lady in her moment of fury.  Fina, as she was often called, would have liked to tell Sherie what it was like growing up with seven older brothers, all of them troublesome at one point or the other in their lives.  Being the only girl, the baby, and a redhead only helped add to the problem of her brothers and while they all stuck up for each other against family outsiders, inside the family it was no fun being the last in line.  At least Fina was taller than average, but it really only helped add to their excuses to be rough with her.

And so going to university was a great way to get away from that family.  Besides, as they grew older, the family grew apart.  Serafina loved to travel, hated the regime.  She spent her study in tech, at first to become an engineer, and then just liked the idea of working with computers a bit more than the machines, not that they didn't have their appeal.  The event of Fina's life that took her by surprise the most was when she was ordered to keep working on this odd, old ship called the Medusa, even while it left port.  That would be known as being Shanghaied typically, but the Captain had given them all an opportunity to leave.  And Serafina decided to stay.

Why leave?  Serafina would have ended up stuck on some planet, doing nothing, waiting to have enough money to move about to get stuck again.  The point for Fina was to get about and a ship was the way to do it.  Besides, the ship was interesting.  Odd things were always happening and for the most part it was entertaining.  Like the kitchen bit.  It made her wonder, and she liked the fun of the mystery.  The quarian aboard had intrigued her, though she hadn't gotten a chance to really see what he was up to.  There was the Spectre's ship too, and all the odd things that they'd go on with, like some ploy to pretend asari liasons were aboard.  Dahlia, the one on board Fina never really talked to, but who had the ear of the higher ups, had even gotten to disguise herself.  It all helped Fina feel she'd made the right choice.

Serafina was at work on the main computer.  She didn't have the authority to make any major changes, but that was fine with her.  No need to make the decisions, just do the work, and she was good at that.  Fina had worked with Sophie some, of course.  And she'd worked with that enigmatic Babe once or twice, since the guns were being maintained, maybe even upgraded.  Right now, though, Serafina was alone, pleased to be back to her own business for once, going through some lines of code on the terminal.  Sherie had, in her desire to find culprits, asked if she could check the security systems in the ship for evidence of the break in.  Sadly, Fina didn't have the heart to tell the woman there wasn't any such thing like a camera watching her precious kitchen.  She just promised she'd look into it. 

"Hmmn," Serafina blurted aloud as she went through some of the Medusa's programming.  Everything was mostly in order, as the list of programs that had to be obliterated and reinstalled during the refit was great.  Nevertheless, there was work to do if things were going to run faster, so Fina got to work, looking for little mysteries inside the code.

[Cainhurst Crow]

Essul had followed within the tunnel, ready to provide back up should they need it. Seeing the team no longer in the tunnel, and making the spot where they were supposed to gain entry, he nodded and turned around to look to the others.

 

"Alright. I know you probably guessed this, but our mission is to act as the cover for the other teams extraction. Once the explosions go off, it'll be our job to help secure a way out of this place. Now I have a plan, to draw the enemies forces away from the extraction team. We use these tunnels and travel to the end of them, hit the entry way to set off the alarms down here, and draw the enemies attention...."

 

"Bring them down here? Won't that leave us stuck?" Vayne asked, curious where exactly this plan of his was headed. He didn't mind being the muscle of this mission, but he wanted to know the plan they had was a smart one.

 

"Not if we begin a slow retreat, taking out anything that comes from behind or in front. This tunnel can act as a choke point, to funnel the enemy with no place for them to take cover. But its risky, I won't lie." Essul said, his mind going into gear as he set forth the other plan.

 

'"Another plan, is to head aboveground instead. We use a more stealthy approach, taking out any forces who spot us and any drones they might have, while keeping our position secure. Basically, we cut a bloody path for the boss and team boom to get through. It'll be harder, but less of a fight overall."

 

"And if it goes wrong, we're more likely to get surrounded..." Vayne said with a nod. They were both solid plans, simple but effective. But ti came down to either Loud or Smart. Vayne looked towards the others, "Anyone got any other ideas?" he asked.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Irina listened to the discussion. "Look mate, if you ask me these tunnels are a bloody death trap," she said. "All they have to do is cover the exits and we got no way out. They release gas into the tunnels and it's over.

 

"I prefer stars over my head. We dodge the drones like we did on the way in and secure a perimeter and wait for the signal. When we hear the explosions, we keep the  path clear for the boss and Team Boom. But like it's been said, it'll be risky. I expect there'll be patrols and not just drones to worry about. We caught  them  at shift  change coming in, and we have a few hours  to kill.

 

"The  key is making sure  we have  a defensible  position.... Come on guys, we have the fire power.... unless they come at us with mortars, then we're f***ed. But from  what we've seen with that security camera, it looks like Jess' omni-tool virus is spreading. Oh, and remember.... 5.8 peta Hz. Blondie? Arian? Any better ideas?"

 

5.8 peta Hz was the frequency given out prior to the mission well outside the range of the omni-tools purchased by the Batarians and well outside the frequency ranges used by the Batarians, and thus avoided contact with the virus.
 

[TheMajonese]

Silent as always, Arian had not opened his mouth since the mission briefing and even now that he was raising his coarse voice he wasn't even looking at Essul and the rest of the team. Instead he looked in the direction they'd come from as if he was expecting a patrol appearing out of nowhere behind them. "Irina's right. The tunnels are a deathtrap. You only have two directions to go, no alternative options in case something goes wrong."

[Kel Riever]

Somewhere in the Terminus Systems, aboard the Kurinth

Iyana sat in the desk chair of Xanthe's cabin, perusing her personal files that she'd broken into, password given by Xanthe herself, against her will.  She had removed parts of her armor, but an observer might be somewhat confused to note that she did not remove many pieces which would make a normal person less comfortable.  In particular, her extreme heeled alloy boots were still donned, locking her feet at near vertical positions.  Nonetheless, she sat back in the chair casually, her ice blue eyes moving rapidly as she scanned the data in front of her.

Kheres voice broke in on her com suddenly, though it didn't catch Iyana off guard.  "My Superior, the bodies of the crew, what is it you wish to be done with them?"

Placing one gauntleted finger in her mouth, Iyana contemplated, then said, "Their owner is with me so I have no further need for them.  Besides, there is no one deserving of their return, in whole or in part.  We will slingshot ourselves around this system's sun, and when we do, throw them out as they are so that they may be consumed in galactic fires.  That is what they would have reaped for their false cause, anyway.  And Kheres?"

"Yes, my Superior?" 

"I am saddened at the loss of so many maidens.  You will come to learn to save me a handful next time you conduct an action in my name.  I will, however, forgive this oversight one time.  But I suggest you implore Xhuan to instruct you in my ways.  Before it becomes a problem for you."

"I understand, my Superior..."

Iyana didn't like the subtle tone of rebellion in Kheres' voice, someone who was accepting the order but had an argument still within her.  She'd have to learn a lesson.  Iyana was considering that an immediate lesson might be in order when a specially marked file came up on the screen she was searching.

"From Naleena T'Sarius," Iyana purred.  "This should be interesting."

One command later, the file was opening to reveal Naleena's information on the Reapers.  And as Iyana read, for once she was unable to control her emotion as her eyes widened in awe...
 

[Redbelle]

Anika looked up at the drones flying. "You think we can get access to one of their camera's? Get a map of the area where Naleena will be exiting from? There could be anything between us and her. Mechanised vehicles off somewhere we don't see. Sniper nests. We need to know what we'll be facing before we plan how to counter it. Maybe even lay a trap of our own if we get an idea where resistance will be coming from".

[Redbelle]

The following is a collaberation between Kel Riever and Redbelle

 

A few days ago.... Aboard the Medusa. Pre exit of the Batarian system.

 

As Jess waited in the conference room for the Asari delegates, she commed for Morgan to join her. When he came, Jess was sat at the table, several open tablet's displaying ships status and procurement needs. Jess plucked up one however that showed a patch of wide open space that she slid along the table to him.

 

"I'll assume Dogger told you about the Subnet Dragonrise found. The Janiri is going to walk into a fully functional base if we don't kill the Batarian backup network before it alerts the sector that they dropped in for a snatch and grab. Our code won't hamper it. It's cut off. Independently managed. The kind of thing you'd see in active wartime that their maintaining as a rule, probably because of the Dis......". Jess sighed and stood. "I had the bridge do a visual sweep with the camera's. Aside from two hundred and thirty six astral bodies that area of space has a small satellite. It's new. No visible signs of long term deep space presence and the fact it's new but not broadcasting suggests it's a tight beam receiving and transmission platform. Just the kind of thing that would go unnoticed if someone was trying to render the system deaf and blind..... Or it could be something else..... I'm betting it's not. Which brings me to the rub".

 

Jess planted both hands on the table as she looked at Morgan. "Even if that's the subnetwork satellite, the Medusa can't do anything about it. We've got no business in that quadrant of space so any move towards it, by ship or shuttle, will be seen. On top of that, we need to get someone over there to assess the satalite, and if it is the one.... upload our trojan into it so it can infect the subnet. The MIP's can get us over there. I've flown them before so I'm qualified to go. Which means I'll be leaving the ship in your hands".

 

Jess straightened and coughed as she prepared for the next part. "I've run the times too. The MIP can't make it there before the Medusa is scheduled to depart, even if it leaves now. The Medusa certainly can't hang around while it makes the trip there and back. The Batarians in this system would throw a fit if they discovered us messing with their satellite...... However, with enough extra supply packs I can survive out there long enough for the Janiri to arrive ad bum a lift..... If I can get their attention..... I need your input on this luv. We're literally looking at something that could make or break the Janiri getting every ship in the area hot on it's backside while the surface team are on the planet".

 

Morgan nodded and stood with his arms folded, looking down at the tablets.  Stealth mode, speed or otherwise, having the batarian fleet chasing the Janiri was a bad scenario.  "I can handle the ship.  We've got pilots but you need someone for the satellite.  Someone decent with systems." He had to think and the names weren't springing into his head.  If the Janiri had someone, and they'd known prior to the start, they could have taken someone from Naleena's ship.  But they were on their way, and there was no time.

While Jess had been gone, Morgan had made it a point to get to know as much of the crew as he could.  It was impossible to know every detail, but at least he'd gotten around.  Not to mention the crew had all gone through at least one training cycle on the ship guns and small arms.  "I think you've got someone who could do this, but you'd have to ask her yourself.  We've got someone who was working on the programming for the Medusa's refit, and she stayed along for the ride after you gave her the chance to get off.  Serafina Rivabene, she's been around, but she's on the quiet side.  Never had a problem with her work, either, and Dogger says she does a lot without needing to be asked.  You might want to call her up."

 

"Serafina Rivabene.....". Jess affirmed as she stepped to the phone on the wall of the conference room to call Aelias.

 

"Aelias? Jess. Put out a call for one Serafina to come to the conference room. Put a rush on that one. Clock's ticking".

 

"Clock ticking Captain? I thought we were done with....".

 

"Do I need to come up and redefine your definition of 'rush' luv"?

 

"No Captain. I'll put it out now unless there's anything else"?

 

"Nothing luv. Hop to". The phone clicked off soon after the PA system crackled to life with the unmistakable tone of Aelias as she put out the call. Jess tossed Morgan a smirk. "Remember when I had to drop everything at the Captains whim..... Seems like a lifetime..... This Rivabene, I need you to pull up what records we have. Two man sounds good but we need to make sure a MIP can handle the extra life support payload for two peoples suits. Also, check her history. Any medical reason why she might not be up to this. Any bad history with EV. We'll give her a going over, see if she's up for this. If she is then we need to make sure she's fitted for an suit. Has the tools we'll need. Dragonrise needs to get a copy of the Trojan to us ready for delivery. How we'll get it installed I don't know so we may need to crack the satellite's shell and splice something in.... Who knows. But I want us moving just before the Medusa leaves this system. We'll need the time so we don't burn through life support".

 

The conference doors opened to reveal Serafina reporting as ordered.  She was a woman with long, red hair, above average height, dressed in maintenance coveralls that weren't too marked up or worn.  Serafina had a face of unusual, but interesting features.  Her eyes were green and large, though close together, covered by brows that were thick towards her nose, but tapering quickly out in a fine, elegant arc towards the sides of her face.  Fina's nose itself was tall and narrow, but had a bit of a larger tip, giving a bit of a cute, button like appearance to it.  Though her mouth was small, her lips were full, with height and depth.  Wiry of build, yet wide hipped, most of Serafina seemed lost in the coveralls she was wearing.  She had forgotten to remove her personal pair of HUD glasses which were thin and circular, reminiscent of a pair of glasses from a time before modern optometry.  

"Captain?  Serafina Rivabene."  Fina looked a bit shy, though not enough to be awkward.  "You requested my presence?"

 

Jess looked the figure who entered up and down before sliding over to her side and throwing an arm around her shoulder.

 

"Luv..... How are you going about doing things that are kinda daft but contributes to the greater whole by abandoning a nice safe ship. Only to drive a two man undetectable space vehicle to what we think is a top secret satellite with as much life support packs as we can carry and then hope our ride in the form a stealth ship turns up before we suffocate....". She paused. "....Because that's totally a thing that could happen. So to sum up.... How hot do you feel going to infect a Batarian subnet relay with malicious code under the mentioned conditions"?

 

"Yess??" Fina answered, not sure she quite caught everything.

Morgan looked down at a datapad.  "You did put through your medical with Doc. Sounds like you don't have any conditions which haven't been taken care of medically, except...what's this about peanut butter?"

"Oh, well, I was deathly allergic as a kid, but I was treated for it as a teen, and have no problem with it now.  Though I won't be scooping spoonfuls of it into my mouth or anything like that."

Morgan looked through the datapad more. "How do you feel about extremely small spaces for a long period of time?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm all right with it."

"Pretty sure?"

Fina corrected her tone to be more certain, "I'll have no problem with it."  Then Serafina turned to Jess.  "Pardon me, but are you talking about a hacking job?  And..." Fina tilted her head, her brows twisting.  "What does that have to do with suffocating?"

 

"Spacesuits". Jess told her. "Spacesuits and time in them. Time beyond the redline of how long a person can survive.... Hence the extra life support units that I hope will last long enough for the Janiri to arrive and pick us up. And they won't know we're there since it wasn't part of the plaaaaaan.......". Jess sighed. "If we don't collapse the backup network then the Janiri won't be able to get out without the Batarians arraying themselves against it.

 

Fina had a look of concern, as much as she didn't want to show it.  "The spacesuits work, right?  And the ship is picking us up, right?  You mean if we don't do our job right we'll suffocate?"

Morgan looked at Jess and conveyed a 'try to keep it more upbeat' look.  "What we need to do is keep people safe, Serafina," Morgan explained, "And if we don't bring down this network, there's a good chance a bunch of people could be killed over it.  Now Jess is giving you the downsides, but there isn't a plan she's had that didn't come off, understand?  You see her before you here, captaining this ship, yes?  So we need someone who could step up.  Someone with expertise like you, who can save some people.  And you are at the top of a short list, where second place is a long way down.  Can you handle taking down a network and save people's lives, if it means putting up with some tight operation room?"

With a bit more understanding, Fina nodded and said, "I think so."  She looked at Jess for reassurance.

 

"Good". Jess grinned. "Go down to hanger and get suited. Make sure its a good one and have the techs go over it. Also bring anything you think you might need for getting data into an unknown system. I'll bring the gear for opening it if we need to. Dragonrise created the code so go over that to so you know what you'll be slipping past the firewalls. We'll be leaving an hour before the Medusa is set to get under way". She paused and looked at her. "Anything you want to say before we go prep? Me and you will be pretty cosy for the next few days so anything you want to say now had better be now".

 

There was a thoughtful look on Fina, but she deferred possibly because it was the first time she was in front of the Captain and didn't want to put off any wrong impressions.  "I think I can take care of whatever I need to get.  It shouldn't be a lot."  Then, with some enthusiasm, "Actually, this is kind of exciting."

 

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Aboard the Medusa

 

Dahlia was in the room with Jess, Morgan, and the others. and her eyes lit up. "What about the QEC, Jess? Get in touch with the Janiri via QEC instead of standard comms. Even if they're in the system now the Batarians can't pick up the signal. We activate a photon here, and the frequency of it creates a mirror photon on the Janiri's receiver. There is  no transmission across the EM spectrum. That's the way quantum entanglement works. The reason it's not widespread in use is the cost. Naleena paid a small fortune to have it installed here. Let's use it. Tell them to look for you. They can do it with their stealth drives engaged."

[Redbelle]

Jess grinned. "Set it up luv. We've got the co-ordinates we'll be at. We'll have to hope the Janiri are on top of their game on swinging by". She paused and looked between Morgan and Dahlia. "You two will have the ship while I'm gone. Morgan? You'll fill my shoes. Try and keep on top of the paperwork. Dahlia, your his Morgan. By all means..... enjoy yourselves while you hop back to our side of the border".

 

Stepping back to where she left her tablets she picked one up and hit a lit up section. "Just got the final transfer of funds from this job transferred. There's enough to get the ship back up to full running capacity plus the upgrades Aelias has been banging on about. I don't need to tell you both though that this is just the start. This ship pays it's own way. If you find a few deals along the way to make some credits, take the opportunity. We'll need the funds in the future if we hit another rough patch like the one we've just gone through".

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"Right away." Dahlia went down to the throne room where Jess had the QEC installed and made sure all of the tech was up and running. She sat in the chair and activated it. Then picked up the phone comm next to her and called Jess to inform her it was ready.

 

****

 

On the Janiri, VERA contacted Commander Selani. "Captain Stone of the Medusa would like to speak with you. It is urgent."

 

"We're running silent, VERA."

 

"She is on the QEC in the conference room."

 

****

 

"Jess, I took the liberty of activating it and contacting the ship. The team is already on the ground, so Commander Selani is on her way to the conference room, It's in your throne room," Dahlia said.

[Redbelle]

Jess stepped inside the cabin located under the bridge where they had moved the QEC. Looking around, she saw much of her old personae in the pirate Captain she'd named Silver. Her throne was off to the side. Still aboard despite Iyana's presence having once touched it. Brushing thoughts of her aside, Jess stepped into the QEC's camera field. "Ta Luv. Lessee who's awake". Clearing her throat she announced into thin air. "Captain Stone. Commanding Medusa to Janiri. Got an update for yah if your ear's are on. Plus a little snag in plan but we're figuring out a work around. Might need you to to come pick me and a crew up when in your in the sector though.....". She took a breath and went on. "The Trojan's on it's way to disrupting the Batarian network in this area. Just one problem. The Batarian's have two networks. Our hacker found it when he examined the code of the first. It's a backup.... Meant to take over and maintain communication lines if the first gets knocked off. The trojan won't do anything to it. That's the bad news. The good news is that the backup still needs infrastructure to maintain it and we think we've found a point to insert our trojan into it's system. To maintain the Medusa's cover however she needs to leave the system soon which means we need to leave people behind so they have the time needed to insert the trojan...... that means those two will need picking up and since you'll be in the vicinity.....". She left the phrase hanging in the air. Waiting for a response to come.

[Cknarf]

Sanves, Ialessa system.

 

“Not bad, Eli. Not bad at all.”

 

“Yeah, I guess two outta three ain’t all that bad.” Frank shrugged. “I’ve pretty much mastered this ‘atmospheric entry’ stuff.”

 

“I don’t know if I’d go that far…” Marius gestured for him to move.“I’ll take it from here.”

 

Frank gave up his seat, but remained in the cockpit. “So, what are we doin’ here, again?”

 

“We’re paying Dax, my sister, another visit. She’s got a nice, safe place where we can lay low, and take a moment to regroup.”

 

“I didn’t know you guys had a sister.”

 

Marius nodded.

 

“Well, f***. How come ya’ll never told me?”

 

“We weren’t on the best of terms back then, Eli.  You see, Quintus and I come from a military family. A well respected military family, with members in the upper levels of the hierarchy. As you know, when Quintus was discharged, I left with him. You don’t just leave the service. Not without fuckin' up real bad, or having some serious connections up top.

 

“Quintus fucked up.”

 

“As is his way.”

 

“And you had the connections.”

 

“Exactly. Well, we both did, actually. Quintus, believe it or not, used to be the favorite. And for good reason. He was, and still is, an incredibly skilled pilot. In fact, he may very well have been one of the best that the turian military had ever seen…” Marius shook his head. “Until it happened. A subdued, immediate discharge, as well as one hell of a coverup ensued. It was the only way to spare him a punishment far worse, if you know what I mean.”

 

“What did he do, exactly?”

 

Marius shrugged.

 

“Did he hurt someone?”

 

“To be perfectly honest, I don’t know. Like I said, one hell of a coverup.”

 

“Damn.” Frank shook his head. He felt as though Marius knew more than he was letting on, but figured asking any further questions wasn’t going to go anywhere.

 

“Yeah… Anyways, I had a long talk with dad. Although he considered my reasoning more than honorable, leaving to look after his favorite son, he still had a reputation to maintain. The kind of publicity associated with… yeah…”

 

“Ya’ll got disowned.”

 

Marius nodded.

 

“I haven’t spoken to my parents for over fifteen years.”

 

“S***, man, I’m sorry to hear that. But hey, at least you still got parents, right? Heh?”

 

There was a moment of awkward silence.

 

“So… your sis is still cool though, right?”

 

“Yeah. It took awhile for her to come around, but we’ve been good for some time now.  I don’t see her much, but when I do, it’s almost always for business. She’s actually one of my best customers.”

 

“But is she fine tho?”

 

“I’m not answering that.” Marius sighed. So much for a serious conversation. Not that he was really expecting one from Frank in the first place.

 

“Haaaa, yeah, she fine. Bet.”

 

“If you value your life, I wouldn’t do or say anything stupid when we arrive.”

 

“What? You gonna kick my ass if I make a pass at her?”

 

“I won’t have to.” Marius chuckled a bit.

 

“Ah. I see. She’s one of them hard ass military types, huh?”

 

“Not really. Think of her like Quintus, but far more intelligent.”

 

“She sounds like a good time.”

 

“Yeah, as long as you don’t p*ss her off. Her temper can be almost as bad as mine.”

 

“Well, Marius, it’s been nice knowin’ ya.” Frank patted him on the shoulder.”I’m gonna go get suited up.”

 

“I recommend heavy. It will improve your chances of survival.”

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Commander Selani in her white uniform, displaying full commander rank stood in the QEC camera circle marked on the floor. She didn't use the one over the chair used by Naleena because she didn't feel it was proper or respectful. She saw Jess' and heard her out. Then she smiled at Jess with her freckled face and dark eyes.

 

"Captain Stone, we already are in the system, running stealth of course," she replied holding her hands behind her back. "I am glad to hear that you were successful in your distribution efforts. Spectre T'sarius' team is already on the ground making their move on the facility. However, this news disturbs me. Your ship and its crew are part of our team. Why don't you tell me the details of your plan. We will assist in every way possible."

 

VERA had been active next to Commander Selani and the room mic picked up her voice clearly. "Am I correct in assuming that you will employ the use of a MIP, Captain? We are currently within tight beam range of the facility and have the satellite on our passive sensors. The Batarians, however, are unaware of us. I am aware of what it is doing, and if I were to employ cyber warfare against it, I would betray our position. That would be undesirable," she said. "If my assumption is correct, the use of line of sight communication such as that used when we retook the Medusa from hostile forces by your team is recommended. I will give Commander Selani our exact coordinates so you can program them into your omni-tools for aiming purposes."

[Cknarf]

Gavian residence, Sanves, 40 miles outside of Etheai.

 

Marius set the Vepr down, this time landing on the back lawn, as not to cause any further damage to the landscaping.

 

Still lacking a proper set of clothes aside from a ruined suit, Frank had got into his clean, but far too red for his tastes, light armor. He waited impatiently in the cargo bay near the loading ramp. He didn’t bother waiting for the ramp to completely lower, jumping down onto the well-manicured lawn, before it even touched the ground.

 

The patrolling sentries, predominantly turian, didn’t seemed too concerned with the human who was just strolling up to the door. He did step out of the ship they were expecting, after all. Pulling open the oversized sliding glass door, he walked in like he owned the place.

 

“Yo, sis is ballin’...” Frank said to himself, looking down at the structure’s highly-polished hardwood. The exposed trusses of the vaulted ceiling, combined with mounted alien creatures that adorned the walls, gave it a hunting lodge kind of feel.  Although the massive fireplace in the center wasn’t lit, the air was still very warm and dry, as one would expect in a turian home.

 

Frank didn’t get to explore much farther before he found himself out of breath, and on his back, staring down the barrel of a gloss-black M-11 handgun.

 

“Move, and I splatter you all over… these absolutely gorgeous hardwood floors...” The battle-scarred turian narrowed her eye. “I’d rather not, though, ‘cause that’ll make a huge fuckin’ mess.” She firmly put a foot on his chest, and looked around, upset about the lack of security. “What the f**k do I even pay you for!?” She screamed into her omni-tool, that Frank immediately recognized as a Savant variant.

 

“Actually, ma'am, we’re paid by the council…”

 

“Who the f**k said that?” She demanded, putting more pressure on the intruder. She didn’t get a response. “That’s what I thought!”

 

“Is there a problem, ma’am?”

 

Daliax let out a frustrated groan. “Yeah, there’s a problem! There’s a human kid in full, battle fuckin’ dress, walking around my home unimpeded!”

 

“Sup?”

 

Frank received a kick to the ribs.

 

“He’s uh... with the Vepr, ma’am.”

 

“What?”

 

“I see you’ve already met Eli.” Marius entered with the rest of the Vepr crew.

 

“Oh…” Daliax looked down. “Sorry, kid.” She stepped back, but didn’t bother helping him up. “Marius, bring your ass. We’ve got some things to discuss.” She thumbed over her shoulder. “ The rest of ya just… make yourselves at home, or whatever.”

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Naleena spider walked through the ventilation duct like she was on a theft job: silent and wary of any laser trip alarms. This far in the likelihood of running into any would be very low. Periodically upon reaching junctions, she checked her omni-tool to make sure she was headed in the right direction. The duct on the right led to one of the large high wall vents over the main part of the facility where they were working on the Leviathan. As she approached she felt a grating under her crest. Like something was watching her. She stopped and looked behind. No one was there. She shrugged it off and pushed onward. Then she felt it again along with a searing pain in her head then a flash.

 

At the Moon and Stars Lounge in Nos Astra, an Asari maiden performed a private table dance for a Salarian VIP and his staff.

 

Naleena had just walked in dressed in black leather wearing a long black leather coat with a few of her friends for some drinks. She stopped at one of the poles and looked up, smiled, and winked at the dancer who bent over. Naleena ran her index finger up her neck to her chin and drew her close, kissed her, and slid 50 CR in her waist band, then continued over to the bar. Her friends weren't the typical maidens either, more of the rebellious type also dressed in black leather and leather skybiker jackets. Naleena ordered a drink, drew a cigarette from her pack and lit it. Then she noticed her sister Tashira performing at the Salarians' table.

 

Moments later Tashira left with a 1500 CR tip and a promise of more later. She saw Naleena and trotted over to her sister.

 

"Hey, what brings you down here? I thought you were at the bike race?" Tashira asked

 

Naleena had a look of disgust. "It got rained out, so we thought we'd come down here and watch you do your thing."

 

"Uh huh. I saw you your eyes on Wasea. You know you really ought to look at other species." Tashira said.

 

Naleena scoffed. "Why? Salarians? They have frog eyes and no chests. Or Turians? They're always so serious. So who does that leave? Krogan? They fart all the time. The Quarians are attractive enough, but they're probably more interested in preserving the few that are left of their own species right now. Snuggle up to an Elcor?...."

 

"Okay okay.... but check this. You see that group of Salarians over there? They just gave me a 1500 CR tip and promised another 1500 CR later if I would meet them at their hotel," Tashira said leaning on the bar getting a glass of water.

 

"Tashira, how many times do I have to warn you about doing that kind of stuff," Naleena said giving her big sister a stern look. "Some people can be real dangerous and you're putting yourself at a real risk."

 

"And the stuff you do isn't risky?" she countered. "Breaking and entering. Stealing. Hacking. You could go to prison if you get caught. You worry too much. How do you think I'm paying for my condo?"

 

"And you could get worse," Naleena said. "You have my number. You promise me you'll contact me if anything even looks out of whack, okay? I don't like the looks of those guys. Something feels just wrong about them."

 

"You're paranoid," Tashira said. "You haven't even been near them."

 

"Yeah, maybe I am paranoid, but it's kept me and the girls from getting caught, right?" she said and looked to her friends for support.

 

Senya gave her a fist bump. "More than once, babe. More than once."

 

The white hot pain stopped and she snapped back to present, still the grinding under her crest persisted. She continued toward the vent grating. When she got to  her destination she slid the fiber optic snake  through and attached it to her omni-tool. The ship or shell of the ship was massive. Even from her vantage point she could not see the tail end of it, but she could see the front. It looked almost exactly like the images that the Council gave her of Sovereign. A chill ran up her spine as she lay there in awe of the giant organic-machine hybrid, and a knowing came over her that these were the agents of galactic destruction. The Batarians are playing with fire.

 

She took her pictures, withdrew the snake and backed away.

 

When she reached the junction she felt disoriented. She checked her omni-tool for the map, and turned right toward the computer facility.

 

"NALEENA!" she heard the deep voice grinding in her mind followed by another white hot flash.

 

There  was a knock on her door at 10:00 a.m. Nos Astra Standard Time. Naleena pulled the pillow over her head. The knock persisted and was louder.

 

"Just a minute!" she shouted, threw the covers off, sat on the edge of the bed, and grabbed her pack of cigarettes and lit one. Her apartment was an absolute disaster with dirty clothes all over her bedroom, empty fast food containers on her sofa, empty alcoholic beverage bottles on the floor. She threw her robe on, and walked to the door.

 

"Who is it?"

 

"Nos Astra Police," the officer with the purple facial markings said. "May we come in?"

 

"That depends," Naleena replied.

 

"Are you Naleena T'sarius? We just want to talk."

 

"What's this about?"

 

"I'm Sergeant T'goni and this is Lieutenant Dantius NAPD Homicide. I'm afraid we have some bad news. Your sister Tashira was found dead earlier this morning."

 

"No!!!" she shouted and lashed out with a biotic throw and launched some debris in her apartment into the wall, then broke down in tears. "Those Salarians. i warned her. It was those Salarian bastards."

 

Another white hot flash and she was back in the duct work. Tears streamed down her face. Am I going insane? Why now? Pull it together T'sarius! People are depending on you!.... Not that much further.... The grinding in my head.... it's lessening the further I get away from that ship.... That ship... that reaper... is... alive!

 

It was only another hundred meters. At thirty meters she had to be extremely quiet. I wonder how Team Boom is  doing? When she arrived at the vent there were only a couple of  workers inside the room. She donned her mask and released the gas. After a few moments the cylinder had reached the point estimate to provide anesthesia.

 

"Do you smell something?" one of the workers asked the other.

 

"Yeah, it's a little..... " and he collapsed on the floor followed by the other one.

 

Naleena kicked in the vent and disarmed the security camera and alarm in the room. She dragged the bodies out of sight while monitoring levels of the gas.

 

"

[Cknarf]

((Cknarf/Terca))

 

Frank headed off on his own for the grand tour of Dax's sprawling home, holding his side the whole way. Eventually, he came to a locked door at the other end of the structure. Not that it stayed locked for long...

 

Inside the room was the mother of all communications terminals. A custom setup, using the standard holographic interface, as well as physical buttons, and an integrated QEC. It was a communication technician's wet dream. Despite this, something else caught his attention, as it seemed so out of place, when compared to the other tech in the room.

 

A desk with a monitor placed upon it was on the right side of the room, and set into the wall. A veritable nook, and with a few stacked glasses of something pale yellow Frank sidled his way over to poke around. Most the other gear had a thin but pronounced layer of dust on it, making it clear that Dax didn't exactly spend a lot of her time cleaning up this room.

 

Or really any of the rooms now that he thought about it...

 

Pulling the chair which was tucked suspiciously neatly under the table, he sat in it. Toes brushing against the ground he clicked on the keyboard in front of him and watched the monitor click to life.

 

"Let's see what we got... here."

 

Eteon's distinct pale carapace and markings framed in a white border filled the screen with a little heart and X circle below them, with a little chat button just below. He didn't recognize the Palavenean heading on the web page, but the Standard on the app read to him as 'dating site'. 

 

Holy ****.

 

Frank sat and stared at the monitor for a moment, while biting at his thumb. Eventually, his index finger drifted towards the heart, but stopped short.  Was he really about to do this?

 

You bet your ass he was.

 

Logged in as a 43 year old amputee of a completely different species, the perfect cover, he pressed at the screen.

 

After clicking on the 'heart' button he waited a few seconds for there to be some sort of dialogue window. It took a moment but the 'chat' button lit up flashing green with a little flying text pointing to it. Taking the plunge he clicked on it and found a huge chatbox with the face of Eteon flashing in the top left corner.

 

A few seconds later the text popped up.

 

Caballer: So you've been staring at my profile for the past eight hours according to the tracking plugin.

 

Frank glanced at Dax's username 'Specturr', and just rolled with it.

 

Specturr: had an urgent meeting with the council. sry.Human-batarian hostilities. found your face more interesting.

 

Frank cringed at that last part.

 

Back on the Janiri, Eteon breaths deeply through her nose, feeling the life drain from her body.

 

Caballer: Right. So how is it to be an amputee? I thought Palaven was basically handing out regens now.

 

Specturr: its not so bad. not like I lost anything major tho. just sum fingers.

 

Caballer: Really? A couple fingers and then your ENTIRE FOREARM?

 

Specturr: right

 

Caballer: But you miss the fingers not the arm?

 

Specturr: ya

 

Frank squints, taking a closer look at Dax's profile photos, making note of her other synthetic bits.

 

Specturr: and my entire left leg. enough about me.  I wnt to know more about u.

 

Caballer: Right.

 

Eteon pondered whether or not any of this made sense. This might be one of the last times she uses the confounded Human program. 

 

Caballer: Palaven born and raised. I'm shacked up with some newborn Spectre and the second ragtag crew I've been part of in as many years. Cue the human montage.

 

Specturr: I kno. there are so many of them.

Specturr: in the galaxy I mean. I dnt like them.
Specturr: how do u feel?
Specturr: about humans i mean

 

Caballer: They're OK I guess? I've only met a few of them. Some of them interesting, some of them... Different.

 

Frank scratched at his chin, as he thought how to word things.

 

Specturr: can u be more specific?

 

Caballer: Well in my experience of humans I can think of a few examples which stand out. One was a serial murderer with some sort of fetish. The next was a pirate with the exact same fetish but less apparent cannibalism. A few traitors, and a man who according to rumors was nearly blown to hell by a volus.

 

Specturr: Ha. almsot killed by a volus? wat a loser.

Specturr: Not really tho. they can b dangerous. I saw one explode up close.

Specturr: Didn't almost die tho.

Specturr: at all. really.

Specturr: Cuz im not a loser.

 

It hurt Frank to type that, because judging by his current situation, he kinda was.

 

Tapping a talon against the desk she was sitting at, Eteon was having a hard time remaining engaged in the... Uh, exchange.

 

Caballer: So why did it explode? And why were you that close?

Caballer: I mean Frank was a real dumb ass and that's the only reason why he was at risk.

 

"Ouch." Frank was now feeling a bit hurt.

 

Specturr: He can't b that dumb tho. He worked for a Spectre right?

Specturr: he sounds alright. for a human. js.

 

Caballer: Really? He crashed his own shuttle into a random desert planet with little to no native life. He would have died in the middle of nowhere if it wasn't for blind luck.

Caballer: Not to mention the fact he managed to get his own fingers shot off. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if he walked into the business end of an omni-blade by accident.

 

Specturr: So...

 

Frank bit at his lip.  Might as well just go for the gold at this point, he figured. Before he was talked into suicide via anonymous chatroom put-downs. It was the moment of truth!

 

Specturr: Not ur type then?

 

Caballer: No.

Caballer: Frank?

 

Specturr: nope

 

Caballer: It's f*cking you isn't it!

 

Specturr: is not

 

Caballer: Is so! Where the f*ck are you?

Caballer: YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHICH LEG WAS AMPUTATED IT'S YOUR RIGHT LEG NOT YOUR LEFT.

Caballer: Or whoever Turian this supposedly was.

 

Specturr: ptsd u insensitive bird. I forgot.

 

Caballer: Bird? What Turian calls another Turian a bird?!

 

Specturr: is it 2 late 4 nudes or nah?

 

Caballer: F*** off Frank, NO!

 

Specturr: was worth a shot lol

Specturr: still not frank btw

 

Caballer: Right FRANK you're a real Jess Stone with the secret Identity

 

Specturr: 

 

[Specturr has disconnected]

 

"I'd say that went well." Frank shrugged.

[Kel Riever]

There was a resounding crack that reverberated from inside the computer room.  A batarian, his light helmet fissured completely on one side of his head, flopped to the floor as every muscle in his body gave out.

"Cracked skull.  Cracked skull."

"Leave it to the textbrains to catch onto the gas and get a helmet on," Jenus retorted and scowled, "What exactly was I supposed to do?"

Of the four techs in the main room of the computer facility, three had been taken out by gas, but the one needed a bit of assistance from Jenus.  Getting into the facility had not been a concern, but as Iole went to work at a terminal, stealing files, she pointed out a concern she'd had.  "We're getting data, but if somehow they catch onto us, leaving here is going to be a lot harder than getting in.  And you never know, they might have some tripwire programs in here.  Their drones can respond before we can leave."

"Just get what you can, Goldie," Jenus said, keeping an eye out.  The four commandos had their life support systems on, and even without helmets, the modern balaclavas, combined with standard respirators and goggles, were sealed enough to keep the gas out.  "We're not going to get everything.  See if you can't identify anything related to Dis, and cross-reference any code names the Bats may have for it."

"On it, and accessing."  Iole was working quickly, with enough care to avoid the obvious pitfalls. "It's impossible to tell if what I'm getting is valuable, but it looks like this crew was fully logged in."  The data was being transferred to an extended memory pack Iole carried on her suit's back. 

Tallis gave a look to Ereba and saw the younger and newest member of their team was sharply alert.  Tallis had deployed the Hellbringer, not that she thought she'd need it, but just in case.  She'd have to sling it to move nimbly again, but it was better to be ready, in her mind, in case things went badly while Team Boom was in the room.

[Redbelle]

Aboard the Medusa

 

Jess nodded at VERA's suggestion and turned to Dahlia. "Looks like time just ran out. Get on the horn to the hanger. Tell them to have my suit ready and a small break and breach kit ready to go. Me and Serafina need to go now. Soon as the MIP departs get the Medusa underway. If things take a turn for the worst I want her to have a head start". Turning back to the QEC Jess called out. "Commander Selani, I'm getting underway in the next half hour. Medusa will head out of the system after. That means you'll be our ride back to council space. Don't forget about us. I hear Batarian food tends to bite back in their prison camps".

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

The Janiri

 

Commander Selani nodded. "Captain Stone, I will not leave you behind. You have my word."

 

"And mine," VERA added.

 

"Selani out."

 

****

 

"Good work," Naleena said, breathing heavily through her mask. She checked her  omni-tool and analyzed the air, and removed her mask. "It's clear. The others are dreaming right now. I disabled all the alarms and cameras in the room. We have to work fast and get the f*ck out of here.  I got the pictures of that.... that ship...."

 

Naleena looked at Jenus with a wild look in her eyes. A look that Jenus had never seen before. She was scared. Naleena had never been afraid before. "This will sound crazy, but you have to believe me. That ship... it's... alive.... and it knows we're here. It... invaded my mind. Either that or I'm going insane."

 

Ereba was busy planting the Semtex around the room and rigging the detonators. "That means security will be here soon. Find us a way out.... Ma'am."

 

"What about the way you came in, Jenus? We have five biotics and a marine," Naleena said then motioned up. "The only other way is through those ducts, and they go right past... that thing."

[Redbelle]

Jess let the connection cut and was striding out the door as the QEC field was still shutting down with Dahlia right behind her. "Morgan......"? She commed as she broke into a jog. "....Change of plans. We're heading out as soon as we're ready to go. Get Dogger to get the MIP ready. Dahlia, get up to the bridge and start plotting the course to get the ship back to our side of the border. As soon as I'm suited up Serfina and I are leaving".

 

Jess didn't wait for a reply but instead made for the spine and double timed it through to the hanger. She emerged through the airlock and moved to where her suit was stored inside the prep compartment where her armoured, yellow and black space suit was stored. Checking the diagnostic quickly she started reaching for and strapping into her suit, checking her seals and twisting the suit connectors closed with the tell tale click of a good seal.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Just before cutting the comm, Commander Selani had given Jess the exact coordinates of the Janiri to program into their omni-tools.

 

Dahlia headed directly up to her navigation station and plotted the course to the Harsa System in Kite's Nest with as tight a path to the mass relay as possible, final destination: The Citadel. The Medusa just did not have the range to make the FTL jumps that the Janiri did back to the Argus Rho Cluster in Alliance Space,

 

***

 

On the ground a Batarian fire team patrolling the base approached the Anika's team.

 

"Alright, take five," the sergeant said and lit a cigarette and scoffed at the whole idea. "You know we're out here patrolling on foot. They've got drones flying around. Part of the grounds are mined. And we have our third fleet in the system. You'd think they were expecting the Alliance to do something really stupid like try to invade this system."

 

"No way, Sarge. And what  the f*ck  are we protecting anyway?"

 

"How the hell should I know? They don't tell us anything," he said. "Just do your patrol route and report back. Join the marines, see the galaxy, yeah right. But they couldn't have stationed us  in a better place, right men?"

 

"You got  that  right, Sarge. Right by a major city with a lot to do during liberty. Them slave girls can put out."

 

"Yeah, they can, except you like the human ones."

 

"F*ck you."

 

****

 

Irina was bristling but staying low and quiet waiting for any signal.

[Kel Riever]

Iole felt a bit strangely too, but she paid no heed as she kept at work.  

Tallis made a bit of an odd face and started looking around, but seemed fine.

Jenus looked away from Naleena at first, mistaking her stare for an angry glare, but then she looked back as she realized it wasn't.  A quick glance up at the vent before Jenus answered. "You wanted as much information as you could get, right?  The vent would be my choice."

But Jenus moved closer to Naleena and spoke in a hushed voice.  "You got your crest on, right?  I don't know what that look is all about but this isn't the time for second guesses.  You hard?"