6315 réponses à ce sujet

[Cknarf]

Frank ran the program a second time, only to get the same results.

 

"Looks like you're jerking the trigger."

 

"I'm not jerking anything." Frank snapped. "It's this damn gun." He looked back to see Iole, standing with crossed arms.

 

"Uh huh. Sure it is." She smirked

 

"No, really! I'll show you..." Frank got into position.

 

"What kind of stance is that?" Iole laughed.

 

"What's wrong with my stance?"

 

"Everything."

 

"Hmph." Frank waved her off.

 

"Here, let me help." She placed her hands on his shoulders. "First you need to square up with your target." She rotated him slightly left. Using her foot, she moved his legs apart. "Feet shoulder width apart. Bend your knees a little."

 

Frank bent his knees, making himself a whole foot shorter.

 

"I said a little, smartass."

 

"Heh." 

 

"Straighten your arms out, but keep your elbows slightly bent."

 

"Like this?"

 

"Yes." She pushed on his back. "Now lean into it. Send a few downrange and tell me how it feels."

 

Frank took a couple shots and nodded. "Recoil seems easier to manage this way."

 

"It works even better when you're not limp-wristing it..."

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"Your grip is terrible."

 

"My grip is fine, thank you."

 

"Here." Iole sighed. She squeezed his right hand, still holding the pistol. "You want a firm grasp on it." She positioned his support hand as well. "And stiffen up that wrist."

 

"Can I shoot yet?"

 

"I think you're ready. I'll run it again."

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

xxxxx

xxxxx

--xx-

 

Frank finished with a quicker time, but again, scoring 2/5 on the last stage.

 

"I'm telling you, it's the gun."

 

"Betcha it's not." Iole motioned for his pistol.

 

"Pfft. Whatever." Frank handed it over.

 

Iole got into position. In the first and second rounds, she destroyed the targets seconds after they appeared.

 

"Nice shooting. Let's see how you do on this one."

 

She took aim at the first target, and fired. The center target shattered.

 

--x--

 

Her next shot was directed at the center-left target, but impacted center-right.

 

--xx-

 

"Ha! What did I say?"

 

A smile crossed her face. She finished the rest of the targets one-handed.

 

Frank pursed his lips. "Okay, so maybe it's not the gun..."

 

"No, it is.  The sights are just off. Way off." She handed the pistol back to him. "When's the last time you shot this thing?"

 

"I never have, until about 15 minutes ago..."

 

"Who buys a pistol and doesn't shoot it?"

 

"For 50 Credits, I couldn't pass it up..." He shrugged. "Besides, I'm more of a rifle guy anyway."

 

"Is that so?" Iole stepped over to the console, and selected another program. "Let's see what you've got."

[Kel Riever]

(Note:  the following was a collaboration with Shotgun Julia)

 

If Morgan hadn’t been half in his own world, he might have noticed a lot more going on with the violet eyed asari.  Or perhaps he did, and subconsciously shunted the thoughts aside, not wanting to deal with them.  Almost running headlong into Dahlia had him aware of only two things:  That he was glad she wasn’t wandering around aimless somewhere and that Dahlia could help him out with what he needed to busy himself with.

Morgan talked as they went to the armory.  “The commandos on this ship, well, the entire ship, it’s a great military vessel.  It’s great for travelling in comfort.  But it isn’t the best from an outlaw perspective.  I have a suspicion about their arms inventory and you can help me out, D-lightning.”  The nickname for Dahlia had taken for Morgan and he liked calling her by it.

“I’d like that,” Dahlia smiled, “I was getting bored. I'm glad I ran into you... literally."

As they arrived at the armory, it was notably more spacious, something Morgan was becoming a bit used to on the Janiri.  The two twins, Lusia and Asteria, were performing basic maintenance on their Disciples at one of the clear tables, and their presence reminded Morgan about the last mission.

“So look at Team Boom…,” Morgan started, then paused.  He saw the twins look at each other so he talked a bit more quietly, addressing only Dahlia, “The last mission, the commandos we were with.  They know what they’re doing, and they’re equipped with everything they’d need, for military operations.  But they don’t have the street knowledge, or the resources, or the gear.”  Morgan went to the weapons fabricator, another high tech device like the one on the Audron, but with a more user friendly interface.  The problem was that Morgan wanted complexity, and he had to go through multiple layers of ‘advanced menus’ to find what he wanted.  At last, he was able to view the inventory of available weapons.  “See, this is a pretty good list, but everything is base stock, or standard upgrades.  VERA?”

 

“Yes, Morgan.”

 

“Let’s do some work.”

 

VERA's holographic form materialized at the fabricator interface.  “Sometimes I know exactly what you are going to say.”

 

Morgan raised an eyebrow. “Is that from a movie?”

 

“Of course.”

With a sigh, Morgan asked, “D-Lightning, can you go get your Claymore and bring it out here.”

 

“Sure.”  Dahlia’s weapons had been checked into a locker. 

 

“Morgan?”

 

“What is it VERA?”

 

“Would you like me to scan the galactic extranet for non-standard weapons configurations?”

 

“You won’t find many of the mods on the extranet. Some are black market mods.” Morgan explained.

 

“Really?” VERA replied, leaned against an imaginary wall and lit a cigarette. “What if I pose as an arms dealer?”

 

"Ah," Morgan responded with a good degree of uncertainty, "Maybe you should check with Naleena on that first.  Besides, you're going to collect more data than is useful from legal sources. Let me sort through that and we can delete what isn't pertinent, plus organize it in a way that someone doesn't lose their mind with all the options available."  Morgan almost regretted what he said as soon as he said it.  With the amount of weapon modifications put out by enthusiasts, know-it-alls, wanna-be's and stuff that had no right even being sold, it was a ridiculous task.  He'd have to find a way to have VERA learn to prompt the proper recommendations.  At least it would give him something to do over time.  "When we make some headway with the legal configurations, we can deal with the black market options on a case by case basis."

 

"I am downloading and sorting out the legal weapons mods by manufacturer, type and effectiveness as represented by their specification as we speak, Morgan," VERA said, "But as we know, manufacturers sometimes exaggerate their claims. I am sorting by customer reviews as well. You realize this will cost you. It seems that I am missing a copy of the movie 'Key Largo.' I cannot seem to find it on the extranet, yet it is listed. I don't want the 2053 remake. I want the original 1948 version. Should you run across a copy of it, would you be a dear and buy it for me?"

 

"Ah, sure."  Morgan really had no idea why VERA was fixated on movies.

 

VERA took a drag off her cigarette and blew smoke rings. "I do not know why you do not just give me the names of a few black market dealers to contact. I am aware that they can exaggerate their claims as well. The difference between their customers and those of legal manufacturers is that the ones who complain to black market dealers usually end up dead," VERA stated with certainty and squinted, "However, if they mess with me I can assure you that when I turn my main gun on them there will be nothing left but a smoldering crater."

 

Morgan stopped what he was doing and looked over at her.

 

"That was a joke." VERA noticed Dahlia standing next to Morgan. "I am just trying to help so that the two of you can get onto more interesting things." VERA took a drag off her cigarette and blew the smoke out.

Dahlia flushed purple and handed Morgan her Claymore.

 

“This is perfect,” Morgan said, as he turned it over in his hands.  “The Janiri’s fabricator has a Claymore in the database which is great, if you’re a krogan.  I don’t know where you got yours but it was built for someone like us in mind, not that it doesn’t kick like a raging mule.  Different alloy, which is almost always the case if you don’t feel like firing something that weighs nine kilos.  Hand grips you don’t need log sized fingers to hold.  I could bury the krogan version in Tuchanka sands for twenty years, pull it out, and probably fire it.  Yours would strip if it wasn’t properly maintained.  But we’re not going into a desert and we can maintain everything as well as we need in an armory like this.”

 

“We Asari have more muscle mass and stronger bones than most believe,” Dahlia said, “and this is the same design Aria uses. I’m very good at maintaining things.”

 

“I am sure you are,”  VERA remarked, modulating her voice suggestively.

 

Dahlia turned another five shades of purple.

 

Morgan placed the Claymore on the fabricator tray.  “VERA, please scan this for reproduction.”

 

“’It's even better when you help.”

 

“VERA…”

 

“Scanning.”

 

With another sigh before going on, Morgan said to Dahlia, “Now any of these commandos will be able to access a Claymore they can fire without tearing their arms off.  The next step is customizing your gun for your personal tastes.”

 

The asari twins finished and moved toward the door to the combat simulator, adjacent to the armory.  When it slid open, Morgan could see Frank Eli inside.  It looked like he was taking shooting lessons from Iole.  

 

“Hi Frank,” the two asari twins said simultaneously, as they entered for shooting practice themselves.

[Cknarf]

"Are you ready for this?" Frank crouched in front of the rifle case.  He waved his omni-tool, causing the latches to pop open.  "Nah, you ain't ready. " He lifted the lid. "BAM!"

 

"It looks... impractical."

 

"Maybe it is." Frank shrugged. "But it's still the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."

 

"You sure about that?" Iole shoved Frank by the helmet, pushing him slightly off balance.

 

He looked up to see her smiling down at him. "Uh... Yeah. Pretty sure."

 

Iole rolled her eyes. "Come on."

 

Frank pulled his rifle from the case and followed her to the line.

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

"Alright, no time limit on this one. There's five targets.  When a target is destroyed, another will appear down range.  The first is 25 meters out. The distance will increase by 20m with each successful hit. The last target will not be stationary.

 

"Got it."

 

"Are you ready?"

 

"Just a second."  Frank assumed a rather awkward looking position.  "Okay. Ready."

 

"Really?"

 

"What now?"

 

"I... can't say I've seen a stance like that before." Iole laughed.

 

"It's an old human technique. As silly as it looks, it's extremely effective." He said, still looking downrange. "Plus this rifle is heavy as sh*t."

 

"Whatever you say. Here we go."

 

The first target appeared. Frank adjusted the magnification on his scope, and took his shot. 

 

"Ha! Right in the X ring.  Told you this stance works."

 

"Settle down, it's only 25 meters."

 

He did the same with the 45 meter target.

 

"Okay, so you're lucky."

 

"Me? Lucky? Nah, this is just skill."  

Frank took out the 65m target, placing it low, and to the left in the 6 ring. "Damn. Now that time I did jerk the trigger."

 

"Eighty-five..."

 

He made another adjustment. "Psssh. No sweat."  He hit the target, but his shot landed in the white. "Alright!"

 

"Alright? That wasn't even a scoring hit!"

 

"Yeah, but it was a decent shot for a civilian, don't you think?" He smiled.

 

The 105m target appeared at the end of the room, travelling slowly back and forth.  Frank raised his rifle.

 

"Hi Frank."

 

Twins?

 

He turned around.

 

Oh yes. Twins.

 

"Haaaay girls. Lookin' good today."

 

"Ugh." Iole grunted, as the twins giggled.

 

"Mind if we watch?" Lusia asked.

 

"Of course not!"

 

"Are you taking the shot or what?"

 

"Huh?" Frank turned back to Iole. "Oh, right."

 

Frank wrapped the sling around his arm, and pressed the stock firmly into his shoulder. He brought the scope to his eye, and adjusted the magnification to 12x.

 

Lead the target.

 

He matched its speed, keeping the chevron at the edge of the black.

 

Deep breath.

 

Exhale halfway.

 

Hold it.

 

Aaaannnd squeeze.

 

The target shattered downrange.

No f***ing way.

Frank grinned, as he lowered the rifle, and turned to the applauding twins.  He took a bow.

 

"I can't believe you hit that." Iole shook her head.

 

"Neither can I." He removed his helmet. "Guess I just got lucky." He smirked.

[Redbelle]

Jess sat with her feet up on the conference table looking over a tablet. Frowning, she reached out with her finger's to grab the wire frame model and tossed it towards the table. The tablet took the command and transferred the wire frame over, resulting in a much bigger model representation of the Medusa. Tracing her finger's through the air as she lined up her remaining real eye with the rear of the ship she blew out an air of exasperation.

 

"It's just not going to work".

 

"What is not going to work"? Came a voice from around her.

 

"Vera..... I need to put a bell on you". Jess grouched. "I'm trying to see how we can get people to the back of the ship from the outside.....".

 

"That should not be a problem. My cyber warfare suite can easily incapacitate whatever countermeasures are present on.....".

 

"The Medusa doesn't run a network luv. It's an old ship and I've kept her that way. Invade one system, you only invade that system. There's no bridge to get to other systems. And the only system you could get into is the outbound comm system. We could silence the Medusa, but who knows if they have comm gear on board they can use to counter that.....". Jess took her feet off the table and leaned forward, runnning her finger's through her hair. "I don't like not knowing what the other side has in store for us. Strike up a deal and if you don't know what the other guy keeps hidden under the table you could find yourself on the end of a bad bargain".

 

Jess looked up and regarded the model once more. Running her eye's from the from the front loading bay, down the ships central spine, back to the rear module where command, engines and living space resided. "See, the rear of the ship is the prize. It's what we need to take seeing as it has the points we need to control. Knowing that, I made sure it was the most difficult part of the ship to storm. I'm talking about vibration modules linked to the EVA welding rigs we use to do the small repairs to the exterior. It's like an immune response. Tickle the wrong area and the ship sounds the alert and sends the drones after you. Assuming whatever shuttle you send doesn't get melted off the ship and that whoever you send isn't burned to a crisp, those aboard will know and have time to mount a response.....".

 

"I could seize control of the drones".

 

"One or two maybe. Counter cyber warfare was something built into the ship when we rigged the system. I mean, I'd be daft to put something like those in place that could cut up the ship if hacked. They operate on variable microburst transmissions. A signal tells them to turn on. They run over the ship looking for what shouldn't be there. They put things back the way they found them so if something's  damaged, they fix it. If something's there that shouldn't be.... they get rid of it. The counter warfare means of protecting them involves is having them be susceptable one at a time. They recieve instruction one at a time. Hack one, you have to wait for the next one to open it's receiver before you can hack the next. And these things fly in patterns. If one breaks the pattern, the other's descend on it and kill it, then go into defence mode where they stop receiving for an hour. It would take hours to hack them all, assuming they figure out we're hacking them".

 

Jess sighed. "It was a good idea at the time. Now it's keeping me from getting people to the back of the ship directly. Much as I hate to say, the only way to get on the ship is through the only entrance I left open. The front door". She pointed to the loading bay. "It's vunerable by design. If I put security on the section where we have the most traffic I'd be up to my eyeballs in insurance claims".

 

Jess pinched the bridge of her nose. "I don't like this. This feel's like a gamble. I've got the location, which hasn't changed. I've got Morgan's pycho woman, who I shot in the foot. I've got crew who weren't in packaged to me unaccounted for and Rasguls idiot brother is among them..... This is a mess and the only way to sort it out is to ask these people to put their lives on the line and retake the ship". Jess slouched back in her chair. "Maybe the other's will have idea's....".

[Redbelle]

Anika sat in the loading bay looking at the strapped down hothod. It's flawless black bodywork and molding turning the lights of the bay into highlights that revealed the curves of the vehicle.

 

Q branch it? Anika wasn't familier with the term so she looked it up. Coming up almost immediately with a reference to a fictional spy movie series. A list of gadget's appeared.....

 

.....

 

.....

 

Typical Jess.

 

Why that woman couldn't just purchase a premade military vehicle.... but noooo. She wanted something that hid it's destructive potential behind the veneer of what people expected to see......

 

Typical Jess.

 

Actually she thought, skipping through some of the features that appeared through the ages, some of these aren't half bad.... little outdated. The concept's solid though.....

 

Anika sighed. All this was above her. Figuring it couldn't hurt, she put out a team wide message.

 

Hey.

 

So Jess and I picked up this new skycar...... because the old one had to go......

 

.....Please don't ask why.....

 

And Jess want's to add..... Feature's? To it?

 

Not air conditioning or something standard. Or..... normal.

 

She want's guns and jet turbines and ejector seats and directional microphones and......

 

Well, you get the idea.

 

Thing is, I have no idea what concept to work with, or how to fit anything like that.

 

Could you guy's give me some idea's? Jess is going to be busy.

 

Oh, and we might be trying to retake her ship sometime soon.

 

See you around!

 

Anika.

 

P.S. Yes, she's crazy. But there's method in the madness.

 

I figure she'll want to use this skycar in the collector missions.

 

Maybe angle your suggestions towards how a skycar could be used.

 

Maybe on planet? Maybe in conjunction with the Janiri?

 

Knowing her she'd want it to look as is and then reveal it's fangs, so to speak.

 

P.P.S. Did I mention the crazy?

[Kel Riever]

Dahlia’s Tempest sub-machine gun and her Phalanx heavy pistol were standard, so Morgan retrieved his Kovalyov from the locker and scanned it next.  Halfway through his omni-tool alerted him to Anika’s message.  He read it, glanced at Dahlia, glanced at VERA, and shook his head.

While VERA could process the data at incomprehensible speed, even the advanced fabricator had to take its time when scanning at exceptional detail level.  In the meantime, Morgan typed a message back:

Anika-

Please let me know when any kind of meeting is coming about retaking the ship.  I have to prepare for it.  In the meantime, regarding your request for ideas for the new skycar...

Now I’m trying hard here, knowing who the request is coming from…

Let’s say you want at least a reinforced frame for all of this.  That’s an overhaul in and of itself.  I’m no engineer but I’m sure our mutual pirate captain will figure it out.  That frame is going to have to hold the extra weight of all the components.  By the way, extra weight might mean an increase in engine size, if the engine isn’t already that large….all right I know you don’t want to rebuild the whole vehicle.

Some basics for any vehicle for field use can be hidden reasonably well, I think.  A cable and motorized winch system for example.  I’d recommend mounted in the front.  Say behind the ‘plate’ somehow?  I hope you didn’t want me to figure out exactly how it would work, that’s my idea.  And then I’m thinking ‘fangs’ refers to weapons.  Well, if it’s going to be flamethrowers, don’t put them in the front.  That would make for an unpleasant surprise if moving forward in that car and triggering them.  Some sort of rapid fire weapon that can shoot out from under the hood or ‘bonnet’?  I couldn’t think exactly how to put such a thing in, but I’m guessing you can have a plate that lifts both the weapon and the hood.  You’ll have to create extra space under that hood which means a body modification, but if done right, it might not get noticed.

An ejection seat might be easiest to install.  It also might be the one system that leads to the largest regret on our part, Anika.

That’s what I’ve got.  A quick note:  I’d like to know if you and/or Jess could scan into the Janiri’s weapons fabricator anything you don’t mind someone else having access to and using.  We need more, well, ‘out of bounds’ weapon options available…

-Morgan

P.S.  Crazy, but brilliant.  You get both with Jess.  I’m going to have to put a request to keep some heart medication in my kit.  By the way, have you heard VERA lately?  It’s as if the AI’s picking up on…well never mind.

The fabricator was done scanning.  There was the sound of clapping from the combat simulator.  Morgan peered at Dahlia with a questioning look.

[Redbelle]

Anika sat with the door's open in the passenger seat. Feet out on the decking. The glove compartment was open and she was looking at the users manual. Whoever had made this Hotrod had actually gone to the trouble of printing the manual in paper form and the glove compartment needed all it's space just to hold it. Anika turned it in her hands. Noticed the spine was seemless and uncracked...... Never before read..... Something urged her to wait but the idea of being the first person too......

 

Her Omnitool buzzed and she looked to see Morgan had replied. Scanning through she raised an eyebrow at the idea of a stronger frame, and a bigger engine. Something study to piece all the other parts together that would go on. She replied.

 

Morgan.

 

Something able to withstand the rigors of prolonged combat sounds good from the point of view of keeping the Hotrod performing and the occupants alive. Jess would never say no to a bigger engine. Would miniaturization of other parts work to make space for all these addons?

 

She read through to the end of the message and then typed.

 

I have collector weapons you can scan in. Other than that Jess has a crate of more exotic stuff she's been hanging onto. I think she meant to use it but things have been crazy......

 

Bernard's off the table though. She'd never allow that gun off her if she can help it. Sinbad too now I come to think of it. She's taken to calling it Bernards little B*st*rd in Arms...... Anyway, I think I saw her packing a Typhoon in there. I'd be happy to grab it. Keep meaning to swap my Collie rifle for that thing.

 

As for the Hotrod, I was thinking of sealing it up to be airtight and putting in an atmosphere scrubber. Then swapping out the thrust modules for something with more kick. Make it a vehicle that can punch into and out of armosphere. It sounds like we're thinking of a complete strip down, fabrication of existing parts with better materials, then reassembly. If memory serves a good fabrication engineer could do it since we essentially have the parts to hand to be scanned in and constructed. We might end up using a lot of fab time though

[Kel Riever]

Morgan typed back:

Anika-

I probably recommended too much.  Maybe I accidentally got excited about it...all right, on fabrication, I understand about Bernard and Sinbad.  This is more about making the inventory more useful to everyone, not necessarily loading in anybody's specific weapon, so it shouldn't be a problem.

 

On the fabrication of vehicle parts, if it's about guns, you're talking my language.  For other parts, maybe grabbing Frank or Avan might be a better idea.  Besides, we're talking a muscle car here.  Who wouldn't want to work on that who has red Earth blood flowing through their veins?  In fact, I'm probably being biased.  Who doesn't love a muscle car?

Maybe a hanar. 

-Morgan

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Naleena entered the conference room and found Jess looking at a 3D model of the Medusa with VERA. What was the ship's feature that kept it from being taken while she was Captain was making it difficult for her to retake the ship.

[Terca]

Council Chambers, Citadel, Before the Podcast

 

"Is that information available to us?" Deidrus asked, the video feed from the ghost immediately pausing.

 

"It is." The Praetor said as the display switched to a spectroscopic graphing. "The metals encased within the refuse that make up the collector ship are incredibly high in concentrations of platinum group metals. They also contain an undescribed carbonate material which bonds regions of the hull."

 

Councilor Sparatus spoke up. "It is likely then that this vessel was created somewhere  ten million lightyears from the galactic core." He nodded his head towards the platinum readings. "In that concentration with such large rocks it is likely they were scavenged from a meteor belt near dying stars. To have any form of consistency the active galactic nuclei is the prime candidate."

 

"Indeed. The Omega-5 relay's angular direction is center-wise. That may also imply the ultimate fate of exploratory vessels sent through." The Praetor grumbled under his breath. "An asteroid belt comprised of meteors larger than 200 meters would be catastrophic to a dreadnaught class. There must be some mechanism for avoiding such a hazard if it exists else the Collectors would be unable to use the relay safely."

 

There was a moment of silence. So then we find a Collector identification device. The three didn't waste any more time pondering what couldn't be changed and the playback continued.

 

Discovery, Horizon, During the Collector Attack

 

Two hours had passed and most of discovery had been harvested. The Collector activity had already peaked and was slowly tapering off. With the swarmers now far off local communications were viable enough for the information to be compiled. 140 000 of Horizon's populace had already been moved off-planet, and within the next hour there would be next to no humans left.

 

Technically they were complacent in genocide as far as the council was concerned but the Havoc units maintained their vigil. The peak rate of human collection was nearly 3 000 humans a minute with the swarms of collectors they could see. It was definitely impressively efficient but with their main objectives complete, they moved onto the secondary. 100 000 humans still remained in Discovery and with Callum's order they began to harass the Collector units still in the city.

 

It had been simple passive things before. Saboteurs would set up explosives to destroy the entrances to hospitals and community centres, apartment complexes etc. It didn't take long to see that the stasis pods being used couldn't be flown without a dropship and they themselves were rather slow to respond unless a silver collector unit was close.

 

So for the past few minutes a harassment policy was set up. A saboteur would demolish the entrances to a building, during which time a ghost would use a marksman rifle to dispatch of any 'captain' units near the building being targeted. This slowed the response times of dropships significantly and the collector units themselves hesitated in all their actions. This near flatlined dozens of collectors in their duties making it obvious that the silver units had a direct commanding effect on the 'drones'.

 

Callum was dealing with slightly more testy work. From his position near the tops of the largest buildings using his havoc strike capacitance he had impeccable line of sight on all activities. He was set up with a krysae and was observing a scion unit while two more buildings were made inaccessible. While observing it he came to a rather startling realization.

 

That's... A human corpse. At least three of them. He was thrown for a moment before he focused again. A large mass above the cannon arm seemed to bubble under the skin. Volatile liquid munitions? It was a guess, but at the distance the shot would hit long before it was actually heard, and tracing it would be impossible based on the lack of technology being used.

 

A slow finger on the trigger... And then a sound that was most similar to the sound of air rushing into the place a tonne truck used to inhabit fractions of a second ago. As the slug hit the mass it exploded, tearing open the sack and immediately setting fire to the entire beast. It barely flinched, just swung its great arm back and forth thrice before keeling down onto one leg. Before it could fully fall onto the ground a massive purple beast floated out from behind the shadow of a building, stabbed great pincers into the still-live monstrosity and silently dragged it off into the air.

 

He immediately lifted his omni-tool to message all members of the fire team. "All members. Cannon units, now named Scions, may contain liquid propellant for their limb-based cannons near their firing arm. If so, liquid can be used to burn unit to incapacitate. Test on four units covertly, perform from a distance as purple armored units will collect the bodies. Do not approach these units at any time within a range of ten meters as they can emit biotic pressure waves capable of instant death on targets. Secondary objectives updated."

[Cainhurst Crow]

Vayne walked into the combat simulator with a can of tupari in hand, having looked to test it out when he spotted frank inside. He saw the human in what vayne could only assume was some sort of firing stance, and nail his shot. He looked to the two asari inside, recognizing one of them at least vaguely.

"He been at this long?" Vayne asked curiously, motioning to frank as he kept his voice low. He'd rather watched then interrupt a good training exercise.

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

Essul sat at the terminal as he rubbed his eyes, the screens glow starting to hurt them a bit as he worked to slowly, painfully decode the data he'd gotten. The ambassadors codes gave him clearance to access the data, what had been a series of firewalls and standby dataworms that would have cost an arm and a leg to break thorough was gone. In theory, this should be the easy part.

It was a good theory, unfortunately it was wrong. The data, along with being locke, was also encrypted, and very possibly coded as well to further add difficulty to the situation.

"But I can't just let anyone look at it..." He said as he let out a sigh, eyes looking up a moment suspiciously before he went back to typing out attempted code to fill in the gaps, trigger a command, or get some sort of reaction from the mess of raw data before him. 'It'll be a lot more trouble if this data is sensitive to hegemonic affairs. I will not be the one to sell out my people because he needed outside help from other aliens.' he thought to himself when he typed in a random set of keys and got a beep.

 

The noise startled essul as he jolted upright, sitting up straight as a dialogue box opened, loading the data and condensing it into a single image, a scan of a document file. Essul thought a moment that he must have been mistaken. Physical copies of files were practical archaic, why this file would use a scan of a picture of a document, instead of a digitally saved document itself, baffled him.

 

He stayed still a moment, curiosity building as he slowly clicked on the file, the photo expanding to show what looked like a paper document. Essul leaned in close to read the batarian written script, silent as the grave doing so.

 

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

 

-Pax System- Valhallan Threshold- Garvug-

 

"It's freezing..." A bloodpack commander commented as he looked out to the barren wasteland before them, the cold artic weather blowing strongly from the south as he stood to the door of the northern base.

 

"Quiet your belly aching, will ya? Not all of us can grow up soft like you on Tuchanka." His fellow blood pack officer siad, this krogan bearing an artic blue head and pale skin, a contrast to the red crest and gold skinned fellow krogan standing and looking out from the door.

 

"Say that again...I dare you." The red krogan said as he snarled, shooting a glare at the blue one before looking out again, "Where's the boss anyway? He told me to be here days ago, and he hasn't showed up once."

 

"The boss went to tuchanka. Took his sons body with him from omega to lay him with the ancestors..." The blue krogan said as he stared out into the blowing snow outside, as they stayed in the massive underground bases entrance, "Trust me on this one. Big Grey's gonna be coming back soon, and he won't be in a mood for sass when he does."

 

"Tch, whatever." The red krogan said as he rolled his eyes, "He summoned all us officers together in one spot. You'd figure he wouldn't make us wait here long..." he mutters to himself, as the blue krogans gaze narrows at the storm outside. He reaches to his waist and pulls out his gun, the sniper rilfe unfolding as he peers through the scope.

 

"Looks like the waits over..." the blue on said with a grin as a set of headlights were headed their way, the red of the bloodpack Tomkah bleeding through the white snow, "Boss's ride's headin this way."

[Cknarf]

"Not really, no." Iole replied. She had taken position farther behind the firing line, as Frank ran a different challenge. "He did better than I expected.  Now he's just showing off." After each successful hit, he would glance over at the girls. "And there he goes..." 

 

Frank had moved behind the twins for a better view, and to watch them take the shotgun challenge individually.  They both scored perfectly, but Lusia had best time by a fraction of a second.

 

"Excellent work, ladies. Very impressive."

 

"Just wait 'til you see us in action at the same time." Lusia smiled.

 

Frank's jaw dropped slightly, causing the twins to giggle.

 

"So, did you talk to her yet?" Asteria asked.

 

"Talk to who?"
 

"Your friend from the party."

 

Lusia peeked over Frank's right shoulder.

 

"I'm not following you."

 

Asteria shook her head.

 

"Sis." Lusia nudged her.

 

Asteria looked over his left, and smiled.  The twins nodded to each other.

 

"That one's more his size."

 

"Definitely."

 

Frank scratched his head in confusion.

 

"How do you feel about asari?" Lusia asked.

 

"The same as everyone else, obviously." Frank rolled his eyes. "Why?"

 

"Because Goldie's totally checking you out." 

 

"Oh, please."

 

"See for yourself." She motioned behind him.

 

Frank turned his head, causing Iole to look away immediately.  She glanced back a few seconds later.

 

Eye contact.

 

Iole shrugged.

 

Aaaaaaand smile.

 

She lifted a hand, and gave an awkward sort of wave.

 

Oh, Frank, you handsome bastard, you.

 

"Okay, so maybe she is. But what about you two?" Frank looked between the sisters. "Maybe the four of us could uh... work something out?"

 

They erupted with laughter.

 

"You're not that slick, Eli."

 

"Although, we can't help but admire your confidence."

 

"Confidence? Nah." He waved his hand. "False bravado." He smiled.

 

"We've got some more training to do, if you don't mind." Lusia gripped her shotgun, and returned to the firing line.

 

" And tell the krogan we said hi." Asteria joined her sister.

 

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

 

"What was that about?" Iole asked. "I saw them looking back here."

 

"We were just talking about how great I am." Frank assumed a proud stance.

 

"You must think you're so cool."

 

"Yeah. Pretty much."

 

"You know... It's much harder when the targets can shoot back."

 

"Did you hear that Vayne?" He looked up to the krogan. "That sounded like a challenge."

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

“Jess, you look frustrated. What's the trouble?” Naleena asked as she took a seat next to her in the conference room.

 

Jess glanced over and straightened up. “Hey luv. Glad you’re here. I've got a bead on the ship. And a baaad feeling about retaking it. I could use some ideas. I put this defense together and I keep coming back to the deliberate entry point..... Your shuttle's got good stealth. Enough to beat the Medusa's sensor suite and make a boarding..... But I've got worries.”

 

Jess expanding the table and the Medusa shrunk down as the gas giant and moons came into view in a wire model frame.

 

“Lots of hiding places means we go in, we could be dealing with another ship with better sensor mounts. Luckily if it's hiding it should have trouble seeing us. But they may have dug in hidden relays on the moons to get around LoS issues..... Frankly, the amount of time that's gone past means whoever took the ship had time to lay a trap. And the fact the ship's just dangling there means it definitely is a trap.... Made up by one of the Shadow Broker's agents no less. I want my ship back..... But I won't kid you. I think this will be dangerous. You still on board with retaking the Medusa?”

 

VERA's surroundings kept getting more complex. She had now created a holographic office around herself. It was something out of a 1940s private investigator movie. It had a dark tile floor, an oak desk, oak chair, a couple of steel vertical file cabinets, two matching oak desk chairs, and a matching oak coat rack with a fedora mysteriously hanging on it. “It is unfortunate that I cannot assist directly with the retaking of the Medusa,” VERA pushed herself up on a desk, crossed her legs, and lit a cigarette. “However, ships newer than the Medusa have internal networks, and most ships of the Medusa's vintage have been decommissioned in favor of the newer, far more efficient design. Probability favors that a second ship, if any, will be of a networked design. If I detect a second ship, I can use my cyber-warfare suite to drop a 'curtain of blackness' on it, meaning it will have no idea what is going on unless it gets within visual range. Should that happen, if our commander orders, I will be able to cut it in two.”

 

“Thanks, Doll-face,” Naleena then turned to Jess and put her hand on her shoulder.  “Jess, I gave you my word. I understand loss. I know that this must be done, and I know it is a trap, but VERA makes a good point. Once we're on board, if a second ship makes its appearance from a distance she'll drop the curtain on it. She dropped one on a Salarian frigate once so that we could escape,” Naleena said, “I suspect that once this happens to a second ship, its commander will order it to keep its distance, or move out of range.

 

“And Jess, since we're discussing retaking the Medusa, I think it would behoove us to bring in the rest of the team. VERA, would you contact the team members and have them assemble here?”

 

Jess nodded. “Yeah. Too much to go over twice. More eyes might see the problem differently.”

[Kel Riever]

Previously...( http://forum.bioware...res/?p=17284163 )

Cluster unknown, System unknown, aboard the Medusa

Luscious entered what he now called Iyana’s ‘throne room’ in his mind. She had summoned him after his time was up. He had spent the past two hours releasing his…passion…on his once former crewmate.

Iyana was not on her throne, but lounged on a long, luxurious Victorian fainting couch replica. Its upholstery was scarlet, and it seemed that her doll like beauty was enhanced even further as she lay upon it. Still close to the wild emotions Luscious unleashed, the animal part of his nature desired to possess the porcelain curves, the blue eyes, and the soft lips of Iyana.

But he had learned his place.

One slow blink and Iyana rolled her eyes to Luscious. First, she peered at his eyes, then her glance moved down to his hands. Luscious’ fingers were clenched, and they still shook slightly from his exertions. He had wiped on the clothes of his victim, but there were still blood spatters across the back of his hands.

“I, of course, had someone examine the condition of your prize,” Iyana said, as she moved to stare back directly at Luscious, “and there isn’t anything the good doctor and time cannot heal. Well done.”

Luscious couldn’t keep returning her gaze. He hung his head, feeling the saliva build in his mouth.

Iyana’s beguiling voice went on. “Cowards are unappreciated, Luscious. I have many who work for me. They are predicable, reliable. I find them extremely useful, as long as they obey, which they often do. Let me assure you, the road of the noble person is much harder, and most do not survive. You want to live, Luscious, like anyone else. But it is what you are willing to do to live that I have need for. You are one of us, now.”

Luscious nodded.

“Catch,” Iyana called out, and Luscious looked up to see a bottle of wine hurtling in a slow arc towards him. He caught it, but had to bring it into his chest with his arms as his worked over hands fumbled the bottle. Squatting half way towards the floor, Luscious held the wine bottle still, and he slowly stood, regarding Iyana warily.

“Drink up, Luscious,” Iyana declared. “Jess will come, and I’m sure you're on the list of people she’ll want to see. There’s more fun to be had.”

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"VERA, assemble the team in the conference room," Naleena said.

 

"Right away, boss."

[Terca]

Eteon got the message to be in the conference room and rolled out of bed about as gracefully as one could guess for a Turian. She landed on all fours before pulling herself upright and wandering over to her dresser. Pulling out some clothing she had bought on Illium a fitting white shirt and black pants seemed workable. She wasn't used to the freedom of motion on the ship really, not without pushing against limits. She had made a silent commitment to herself that she would just throw herself into more casual attire and comportment and see what came of it.

 

When she arrived in the conference room she took a seat instead of taking up her usual position leaning against a wall.

[Cainhurst Crow]

Vayne looked to his omnitool as he got the message, looking to the others as he closed the prompt. "Come on, duty calls." he said as he walked out the door he'd came in shortly before. Being on call for a mission at any moment, even on a ship as fancy as this, felt good. It made him feel back int he grove of work again, out of the pleasure he'd had.

 

Leisure was great, and he loved every minute of it, but work was where the real fun was to be had. Plus he needed to get paid one way or another, and he wouldn't make bank letting his skills grow rust, now would he?

 

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

"Keter Branch..." Essul said out loud as he leaned back in his seat, looking surprised at the terminal in front of him as it displayed the scanned picture of the document. The document was simple, a restocking manifest and expository briefing, both common things to see come out of military stations and bases, even a few of their permanent dreadnoughts.

 

But this document, it was off. Both the briefing and the stocking made mention of the same thing, "Unnamed Minerals". Not out of place at a glance, however, until one looked at the language used. "Unnamed Minerals responded positively to tests" or "Unnamed Minerals deteriorated after exposure to Keter" or most troubling, "Stock of Unnamed Minerals is depleting and we will need more delivered by months end, good condition this time". It didn't sound like they were talking about an inanimate object, in fact it screamed of the language used by slavers during their shipments of "Fragile Cargo".

 

But troubling more was the bases name, the same word that had appeared in the document. "Keter..." essul said out loud once more, the word escaping him and his translator of any real meaning. He'd never heard of the branch, a part of a hegemonic militarys main bases usually found off khar'shan, and part of his job was to be familiar with all the bases and branches in order to root out insurgent forces attempting to disguise themselves as military personnel.

 

No where, in his life, had he heard of Keter Branch, and putting the two together left a heavy feeling in the pit of essuls stomach. When his omnitool pinged, essul practically jumped in his seat, seeing the summons as he let out a sigh.

 

He closed the terminal and stood, silently walking out the door and his eyes shifting as he passed by every corner of the ships corridors making his way to the briefing room. He let out a heavy sigh, breathing deeply, and doing so again and again as he worked to calm himself down. By the time he was walking into the conference room, essul looked completely calm, giving a small smile and nod to those who were already there.

[Cknarf]

Frank and Iole left the simulator, and stopped to check in Frank's weapons.

 

"It's nothing I can't fix." Septerax laid Frank's Raikou on the counter, and immediately began disassembling it. "It should be ready by the time you get back."

 

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

 

"It's a good thing the call came when it did." Frank looked to Iole as they headed to the elevator. "I didn't want to embarrass you in front of the twins."

 

"Yeah, okay." Iole scoffed.

 

"No, I'm serious. I was totally about to kick your ass."

 

"Please, I've been 'kicking ass' since before you were born." She chuckled. "You don't stand a chance."

 

"The twins seem to think otherwise." He mumbled, while inspecting his helmet.

 

"What was that?"

 

"Nothin' " Frank shrugged.

 

"Uh-huh."

 

Frank hit the button as they stepped onto the elevator.

 

"Hey, there's something I've been meaning to ask you."

 

"Yeah?" Iole maintained her focus on the floor indicator.

 

"Are those uh... natural?"

 

"Excuse me?"

 

He gestured to his face.

 

"Oh! You meant my eyes." Her glare softened. 

 

Frank nodded slowly. "Well?"

 

"Yes, they are 100% natural."

 

"It's not often you see anything other than blue or purple..."

 

The elevator doors opened.

 

"I think they're absolutely gorgeous."

 

Frank grinned as he was stepping off the elevator, reveling in his self-perceived smoothness.

 

"Uh... Frank?"

 

"Yeah?" He turned around

 

"Wrong floor." Iole smiled as the elevator doors closed.

 

Sh*t.

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

 

Frank entered the conference room several minutes later, wearing his helmet.  He took a seat on the end, away from the group.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Irina had gone into the cargo bay with Jenus, and she began pacing around. She started throwing anything that was in her path.

 

Jenus ran over to her and grabbed Irina’s shoulders. “Pull it together, Irina! The kid needs you in one piece. I need you in one piece. You shouldn’t even be in here, but it’s one place we can talk without being interrupted. Now tell me what the f*** is going on.”

 

Irina took a breath, slid down the wall and sat on the floor between some crates. “I should have stayed on Illium and taken a job as a security guard again. Something low stress, especially after seeing those things on Duellos. Now we got a Batarian on board. At least on Duellos I was on base and didn’t have to deal with them.”

 

Jenus sat next to her and put her arm around her. “I know you were on Elysium. You told me about that, but that’s in the past. It’s time to….”

 

“You don’t know the half of it.  After they made heroes out of us on Elysium, Shepard got some cushy posting, and the rest of us got shipped out,” Irina explained, “The Alliance struck back hard. I was assigned to a regiment under Major Kyle and we assaulted Torfan. Torfan was a staging area where the Batarians kept their slaves before shipping them back to the Hegemony. The conditions those people were in: humans, Asari, Turian. Mostly human and Asari.

 

“The Batarians surrendered, and Kyle accepted it, but I swear after seeing what they did to those people, I wanted to kill every last one of them,” She looked up at Jenus, “And now I’ve got to work with one of those bastards.”

 

“Zenon told me you’re not sleeping. Now I know why.”

 

“They had them locked in cages with their heads shaved and put collars on them with prongs that dug into their spines! And they made them live in filth!”

 

“I think you should tell Naleena, privately, not to assign you to his squad. Come here,” Jenus held Irina, “I’m here for you. Anytime. Just like before. You need to let off some steam, you come to me. You want some intimacy, you come to me. Everything’s at your pace.”

 

“Thanks,” Irina smiled at her. A message came in on her omni-tool from VERA. “I’ve got to go. Mission.”

 

“Yeah, looks like it. Textbrain probably got the same one.” Jenus said, “We’d better get back. But before we do….” Jenus kissed her.

 

As they headed back to the elevator, Irina tapped a message into her omni-tool. “Naleena, don’t assign me to the Batarian’s team. I need to talk to you after the meeting. – Irina.”

[Kel Riever]

Morgan and Dahlia got the message about meeting in the conference room.  He felt the pang of his anxiety come back.

The door to the combat simulator opened.  Out came Frank, Iole, Vayne and the asari commando twins.  Frank and Iole stopped to talk to Septerax, Vayne and the twins went to their weapons lockers before moving on.  As the twins past by, Morgan heard them say under their breath, “Team Boom,” and both giggled.

Sonofa, Morgan muttered in his own mind at the nickname.  That was going to get back to him.

“Let’s go,” Morgan said to Dahlia as he pulled his guns for lockup.  “I’ve got to stop by my cabin for a datapad before we get to the conference room.”

The two went to Morgan’s quarters and entered.  As soon as Dahlia crossed the threshold, the black feathered and orange breasted songbird cooed in a soothing melody. 

Morgan glanced over his shoulder at the bird.  “That…came with the room.”  He watched Dahlia examine it momentarily, before he headed to the desk where a datapad lay.  He picked up the datapad and switched topics.  “I wish there was something else to wear besides electric blue shirts and black slacks that were exactly formfitting.  Well, there might have been if the mission on Illium had some cushion on either side of it.”

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"You are very lucky. These birds are native to the Armaxias Continent of Thessia and are called aleria selaptia," Dahlia said, "I've only seen one of these in my life when it was being transported through Omega. This is the second one. They're biotic. Did you know that?"  She saw Morgan give it a guarded look, and she laughed. "Don't worry, it can't read your mind. Unlike some songbirds they are omnivores. They use their biotics to stun their prey. They make very good companions and are very loyal. Should anyone enter your room with ill intent, he will attack them giving you time to grab a weapon."

 

"How?"

 

"A little biotic sting. It's enough to be a distraction. Have you given him a name?"

 

"No."

 

"He deserves a name."

 

Morgan watched as Dahlia flared her biotic aura gently. The bird began to glow blue as well. Then she brought it back to normal, as did the bird.

 

"Now for your clothing. I don't know, but Irina seems to have found a set of loose fitting black coveralls in her quarters," Dahlia laughed, "I'd stop complaining about your clothes. You look good in them. They show off your musculature very nicely."

 

Dahlia looked at the bird. "You look like a Tarus to me. It's strong sounding. That's your name: Tarus." She turned to Morgan. "That's a Turian name. We have no male names in our language that we haven't adapted from others, so given that the Turians are descended from a raptor-like species, I think this would be fitting. And like our Eteon, he is biotic. What do you think, Morgan?"

Modifié par sH0tgUn jUliA, 15 septembre 2014 - 09:14 .

[Kel Riever]

Morgan frowned at first, and said, "Tarus."  Then he nodded slowly and his face relaxed.  "Tarus.  I like it.  A lot."  He added, mirthfully, "Maybe not as much as D-Lightning, though," and gave Dahlia a wink.

[Kel Riever]

Morgan and Dahlia left his cabin and headed towards the conference room.  When they arrived, they saw that Naleena, Jess, Anika, Irina, Eteon, Vayne, Essul, Jaimie and Frank had already arrived.  VERA’s holographic form stood in the center of the operations table, and was wrapping an update for Naleena, “….Team Boom will be present in five minutes, as per your request.  Mira is assembling them now.”

“Team Boom,” Naleena said, less of a question and more trying to familiarize herself with the nickname.

“Yes, Command Team 5…”

“I know.”

The schematics for a freighter type vessel were on display, in wire frame, centered above VERA’s miniature form, and large enough for all to see it in detail.  Parts of it had been highlighted and a set of statistics scrolled lazily next to the model.  Morgan took a seat at the table across from Jess, and Dahlia sat next to him.  He studied Jess; there seemed to be a spark in her eyes.  Morgan knew she needed her ship back.  While she seemed weighed by the concerns of how to get it done, she had maintained her pirate flair and appeared driven to that end from within.  It made Morgan happy, in a way, to see someone so devoted and he couldn’t help but feel his own concerns retreat in the face of her inner fire.

The door to the room opened again at that moment.  Each of the four asari, who were becoming very familiar to the room occupants, entered.  They took seats against the wall, to make room for others.  He spotted the one named Jenus peer over at him.

Morgan let out a heavy breath.  She has to be pissed off about that nickname…

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Naleena looked around the room and noticed everyone had arrived. There were coffee (with mugs) and donuts available, even in the red box and red pot for Turians. Commander Selani was there as well. She took one last drag off her cigarette and extinguished it.

 

"Well now that everyone is here, let's get started." Naleena said, "What you see in front of you is Jess' ship, the Medusa. We're going to take it back for her. I don't expect this to be an easy mission. In fact I expect that we're walking into a trap. VERA?"

 

"Due to the electronic configuration of the Medusa, I will be unable to assist with the taking of the ship. However, I will be on the alert for any secondary ships in the area. I would suggest that those taking part in the mission use Naleena's shuttle for this. It has a stealth drive and an visual spectrum cloak," VERA noted, "It should be able to approach the Medusa undetected. Communication silence is essential.

 

"I would suggest that Captain Stone select the access point. Once the team has boarded, Team Boom should set up a perimeter and protect the shuttle."

 

"Team Boom?" Jenus said.

 

"Yes, Command Team 5."

 

"When did the f*** we start getting called 'Team Boom?'" Jenus asked.

 

"People have been calling your fire team that since it came on board. It began with the train robbery."

 

"Let it go, Jenus. I like it better than Command Team 5. If you were Krogan, you'd like it. It has weight." Irina shouted.

 

Jenus thought about it a minute. "Yeah, I suppose. When we stack our biotics? Boom. Give us explosives? Boom."

 

Irina pointed at her. "I was thinking more about that car in Nos Astra. That really put an exclamation point on it."

 

"I'll get you later." Jenus squinted.

 

"Enough! Focus on the Medusa." Naleena said. "Jess?"

[Cainhurst Crow]

Vayne leaned closer in his seat as he looked up at the ship, having had a sneaking suspicion about what it was the moment he saw it displayed. After all, what were the chances of them going after a supped up freighter in their mission against the reapers and collectors?

 

"So it's finally happenin..." he muttered to himself, taking in the details as he studied the ship, trying to memorize its layout as best as he generally could for later on. The news of their apparent disadvantage however troubled him, and the slowly growing frown didn't do much to hide that.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

'Team Boom? How Ridiculous...' Essul thought to himself as he kept his back straight and his face in its usual solemn expression, eyes looking to the medusa before looking to jess, a hint of judgement behind them as he learned she'd lost her ship. 'And now we must take it back for her. A distraction from our true goal...' he thought while keeping silent, showing respect for those more senior on this mission then himself. Seniority was one of the largest determinations of status in the hegemony, and essul knew better then to doubt that applied outside as well. If not, the asari  would surely not hold the position they currently held, as compared to their more militarily powerful allies.

 

However, his expression grew darker, a frown developing as he heard of the news of a possible trap, worst yet not having the unshackled AI able to provide them assistance within the ship. 'To send us walking into a trap, to possibly be used as feed for a a meat grinder? This ship and her captain better be valuable to the greater good...'

 

Essul however kept silent, stern, and sitting straight like a stone, as he waited for the captain herself to make her peace. It was only fair and honorable after all, that all those for whom this mission was being undertook, gave their piece and contribution to a briefing. He just hoped that whatever was said would shed some light on the mission for this undertaking.