6315 réponses à ce sujet

[Terca]

The resident Cabal spoke up in the pause. "Could I get a detailed general map of the ship?" She looked between Jess and Naleena. "I'll need to know if I'm going to be moving along with jumps. Getting outside the ship whilemoving or being able to put a wall between myself and heavy weaponry are situations I will need to know what distances I am working with for." She glanced forward at the hologram of the ship. "I don't need to know everything, just a general plan I can stare at for a few minutes to commit it to memory."

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"I can provide you with an image at any level of detail you want, Eteon." VERA replied. "You may call it up at any terminal on the ship after the meeting. I can even upload it to your omni-tool."

[Redbelle]

Jess nodded to Naleena and stepped forward.

 

"Access will be made at the front hanger bay of the ship. Much as I'd love to go in from the back where all the important stuff is, I hate to say it, but I did to good a job keeping folks from doing what we're about to do. Snatch the ship out of the current occupier's hands. To put it in blunt terms. The front of the ship is accessible because it's the working end of the ship and the security measures put in place at the back end would make loading cargo like running a gauntlet of sensor modules and autonomous welding rigs that can double as pest exterminators. We try and get on via the back end, we trip the security and the occupying force knows we're there. That leaves the front. And the front hanger bay is likely to be closed so we can't get on board via the shuttle there either......".

 

With that hanging in the air Jess looked around at the team. "Fortunately as well as the shuttle I brought over two Manned Insertion Pods that would give the Scythe a run for it's money. There small. No fancy tech. Just Ceramic plating designed to scatter active sensor bounce so the passive's won't know to alert the bridge crew to target the active radar on an area. One seat's two, the other one plus kit. Seeing as we're taking the shuttle and have alot of eggs in one basket, I propose the following......".

 

Jess pointed to a section of the front of the ship that sat on the end of the main cargo spine where the shipping crates rested. "We send a three man team. Two who can get the MIP's to where they need to go which is here.....". Jess highlighted an airlock on the front end of the ship. "Fortunately the bridge feeds to that lock are cables running along the outside of the ship. Once the MIP's get there we can have an engineer type splice an interrupt circuit into the cabling to show nothing going on as two of our people board the ship through the lock and do the same to the main hanger doors. Then the shuttle will be able to make an entrance and land the boarding team. From there the team will have to travel up the cargo spine. This is where things have the most potential to go wrong. It's a two abreast corridor. The spine's built to take enormous metric tonnage so most of the space is about keeping the spine from snapping when the ship turns. There are airlocks into the cargo container's. Three locks per container. I don't see anyone needing to go into one but seeing as the spine's a shooting gallery if things go bad you need to know where you can duck in and out of".

 

"Once we're past the spine we'll be in the command module of the ship where bridge and engines are kept. Also, it's where we'll likely encounter the most resistance seeing as crew quarter's are in there too. I've got a few of my crew unaccounted for so I'll be sending you files of who not to shoot. But know that the command module will be the place where almost nobody is likely to be friendly if you see them. We'll need three teams. Two secure the bridge and engine room. The other sweeps the ship. If the bridge can't be taken that team will be in charge of cutting command access to the rest of the ship. Team three will have micro charges to place on certain conduits to cut certain functions. If things don't go well on the bridge the one function I do want cut is engine control. The Medusa's sitting in orbit of a gas giant. The trap? If these people want to they can fire the engines and send my ship into it while they escape. That's why we need stealth people. The one's who have the Medusa have no reason to keep it. It's bait, meant to lure me in".

 

Jess paused as she let what she said sink in. "I mentioned that there would be two MIP's but only talked about the one with the two man crew. The other one...... I want with a explosive specialist aboard. That persons job is simple. They will land on the hanger module, walk up the spine as far as they can, and lay enough explosive around it to sever it from the command module". Jess paused again as she saw raised eyebrows from all. "No, I'm not going to blow up part of my ship..... If I can help it. The reasons simple. If these people try and push the Medusa into the gas giant with it's current tonnage then it'll go down. Strip the weight off the ship so it's just the command section and the engines will be able to pull it out of a dive. I should point out that this is a just in case plan. If the woman who took the ship is insane enough to dive it into the giant and we can't stop her in time, I want this plan ready to carried out. I don't need to tell you all though. The engineering section is the real prize of the ship. If we can cut off bridge functions and keep engineering in one piece and under our control then there's no chance she can push the ship into a dive. Naleena? I'd keep a pilot with the Sytch, just to be sure".

 

Jess looked around at the group. "One other thing. Everything I've laid out is the plan..... but whoever took the ship will be expecting us. If you see that something about the plan won't work, make it up as you go. The most important aspect of the mission is speed and stealth...... And that you volunteer". Jess sighed and dropped her head as she put her hands on her hips. "Bottom line people. This is my ship and none of you have a stake in this. That said, the woman who took it from me did so because I stood up to her on Morgan's behalf". She inclined her head over to where Morgan sat with Dahlia. "I don't regret standing up to her. I do regret that the mad dog slaughtered the people I was responsible for". She looked up. "I need you people with me on this. But I can't force you to come. So as far as I'm concerned this is strictly volunteer only".

 

Jess held up her hand and ticked off points. "Those who do volunteer will be assigned one of the following. MIP Team, you'll be responsible for providing the shuttle access without tipping off the ship we're there while the other plant's explosive's on the spine in case the ship takes a dive and we have the power to pull it out of the gravity well".

 

"Shuttle Team. You'll make your way through the hanger into the spine being damn careful to avoid any traps left by the occupier's. There are ways I can suggest to get past certain obstacles but I'll leave deciding what you need up to you. Once in the command section, you'll split into the three teams. One for the bridge. One for engineering. One to sweep the ship. Secure or neutralize resistance and plant micro charges to sever the bridge from the rest of the ship if the bridge team can't take it". She looked uncomfortable. "Engine team.... I'm sorry, but the engine room will need nonlethal ordnance. There's a lot of exposed equipment in there. Biotics would be useful. But a stray round into the wrong part and things could get really bad for us".

 

Jess looked over the group. "Any questions? Anything you think hasn't been addressed? Don't be shy luvs. I want to know what you all think".

[Cainhurst Crow]

Vayne nodded as he listened to the plan. It was risky, and at any part they could lose people. But still, seeing how things had come down hard for someone he considered a comrade, how could he not help?

"This woman...she killed your crew out of a vendetta, because you spared someone from her wrath?" Essul asked, the irritation from earlier all but forgotten as he looked the captain in the eyes, "How many were there?" He asked, hands tightening in front of him as he asked through gritted teeth.

[Redbelle]

Jess looked back. "How many who luv? The crew"?

[Cknarf]

Frank nodded as Jess spoke, his helmet obscuring his unsure expression. He let out a long sigh, before standing up. "Engine room." He placed his hands behind his head. "If there's anywhere I can be useful, it's there."

He moved closer to the rest of the group, and leaned in for a better view of the Medusa. "I'm not a biotic, obviously, so I'm going to be pretty much useless combat-wise. Not that it's different from any other time, but without being able to use weapons, I'm completely defenseless." He smirked under his helmet. "I guess I could always... I don't know... jab someone with a screwdriver, or something." He shrugged.

"I'll need an escort, to make sure I get there in one piece."

[Redbelle]

Jess nodded to Frank. "Luv, when the fighting's done believe me.... You'll be the one person whose most important on my ship. The Medusa's engines old pre first contact war engineering with modern day mass effect tech bolted on and made to work through brute force and clever work arounds. I was going to head that way myself. As it is though, I'd like to here how everyone else thinks they'll be useful on the mission. Before I decide where to be".

 

Jess gave Frank a look up and down and winked. "By the way luv..... you'd be better eye candy without the helmet. Am I right ladies"?

 

"Back on mission though. I'll download some specs and work notes on the engine. I'm thinking your first job will be to make sure they haven't sabotaged it. And make sure we have the engines under our control from the engine room side of things. Team 3 can cut the command cable but better to make sure they didn't install wireless backups to get around any sabotage of their sabotage".

[Cainhurst Crow]

"Yes. How many did she kill?" Essul said as he gave a nod, a look of anger fixed on his face as he spoke. "Hearing what she's done, what she is doing. Killing in mass out of nothing but spite...and to preform such insult as to leave her bloodstained prize as a piece of bait alone..." he said as he shock his head, disgust in his voice as he hit his hand against his open palm hard, tightening his grip on it.

"Disgraceful...someone as vile as that, who'd do this for nothing but personal gratification...cannot be allowed to go unpunished!" He said as he looked to her, bowing his head to the left before he continued, "I will help you, Captain Stone."

Vayne looked to the batarian wkth a bit of surprise, resisting the urge to whistle. A SIU operative seemed to have a moral chip on his shoulder, that was certainly surprising. Still, couldn't say he disagreed with the batarians sentiment.

Still, their way more important things to focus on, "Knocking off the mass of the ships a risky gambit. Even if it knocks off just the nonessential, the inertia may kill us anyway. Not to mention it might cause the ship to break up in it's dive, or when pulling up, spine or not." He said as he closed his eye, pondering things a moment. "Really, I'd like it if we got to knock out the engines first and foremost, or vented the ship to take care of everyone on board. But those surviving crew members...I czn see why its not an option."

[Kel Riever]

From his position, Morgan looked over at Frank who was wearing his helmet.  He thought he spied the golden eyed commando put a hand in front of her mouth to hide a laugh at Jess' reference to Frank's helmet, before it dissappeared as Essul became animated.  The rest in the room seemed to be in a myriad of places with their mood.  All were paying attention, though.

At that point during the meeting, the door opened and two more attendees entered.  One was Avan Rezal and the other was Commander Selani.  Both took seats.  The Commander remarked, “Your meeting has been available for us to listen to by com link.  Please continue.”

"Venting isn't something Iyana hasn't prepared for.  This isn't the Blue Suns we're facing...," Morgan interjected, then stopped briefly.  It was as good a time as any, Morgan thought, to add his part.  “Pardon, Vayne.  I’d like to go over with you all what I can tell you about who we are up against.”

Morgan stood, unconsciously pulling down the electric blue shirt he wore.  His face was hard, though, and anyone looking could tell he had become deadly serious.  He activated the datapad he had brought with him and linked it to the display.  Morgan’s lack of familiarity with the display interface had him stumble with the settings until VERA figured out what he wanted and assisted him.  The image of the Medusa reduced and was placed up in a corner.  Replacing it over the center of the table was a dossier.

“This is who I’m certain we’re up against.  Her name is Iyana¹ and before she kills you, she’ll make sure you know it.  I’ve worked for her in the past.  Make no mistake, she is as bad as they come.”  Morgan took his time reviewing the details of what he knew, and then took his time going over what he had on Iyana’s lieutenants:  Xhuan Setura², Jrudek³ and Golt⁴.  “The pictures here are from my personal files, something I took note to do without the recipients’ knowledge, about the time that I had my first thoughts on getting out.  I couldn’t get one of the krogan without his helmet unfortunately, though that is the armor that he’s nearly always found in.  The information I’ve presented is still pertinent, as far as I’m aware.”

There was a sort of hardness Morgan felt in his throat, and the thoughts of Iyana were coming back to him.  He reached for a mug and drank the coffee, mostly unaware of its taste, for his dry throat.  The hot coffee wasn't the best for help, but it was enough for Morgan to go on with a rasp.  “I don’t know which of Iyana’s lieutenants will be on hand, if any, but I predict at least one of them.  And I predict she will have armed and trained mercenaries with her as well.  What makes me certain that Iyana herself will be present is I’ve worked with her long enough to get an idea of how she handles problems.”

Using the interface again, Morgan reaccessed the display to show the gas giant Jess had indicated.  “Vem Osca.  It’s a Jovian class with thirty-five moons, maybe more.  There’s no reason to go there unless you’re looking for minerals but it isn’t hard to find; one relay away in the Shrike Abyssal.  You can hide there, but this ship isn’t hidden from us.  It is located right where the Medusa’s captain would look to find it.  Which of course means it was meant to be found.

“If anything, Iyana pays attention to names.  Vem Osca, in Iperian Volus, means, ‘Weeping witness.’  I don’t speak volus but I did look it up knowing how much detail this woman bothers herself with.  If this mission seems like a distraction, or unnecessary, let me tell you that with what happened to Jess’ crew, the monster who did it doesn’t intend to leave her or us alone.  You could take Jess off this ship, me, Anika, anyone associated with us, and she’ll come anyway.  Because that is what she does.”

Morgan took the time to look each person present in the eye, one by one.  “If Iyana doesn’t know who you are, she’ll find out, because for any of you here, it is too late to disassociate yourself from her.  I’ve done more thinking on this than I properly should have and I haven’t figured it all out.  But I’m convinced that the crates sent to the Audron weren't a message only for Jess.  They were for all of us.

“Know the Shadow Broker and you know that an organization of that size doesn’t work without rules.  And there are people who enforce those rules.  And there is someone in charge of those people.  That is Iyana.  What you spend your day thinking about, she spends planning how to inflict her will on others.  I’ve never met someone with a more active, malevolent, and ingenious mind.  To be certain, there are things that Iyana can’t do.  But to underestimate her or her people would be the worst mistake anyone could possibly make.

“There’s too little known about her to make me feel comfortable about anything we attempt.  I’ll finish by saying that her unpredictability is maddening and that is exactly how she wants it.  Maybe she had the ship headed for a crash, maybe she has it rigged with explosives, maybe none of it.  But I expect her to apply pressure from the moment we’re aboard that goes beyond guns.  She’ll pull when you expect her to push, and turn it around on you just when you figure it out.  And she won’t stop until she’s either ripped you open or got you under her control.  I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s learned us better than we’ve learned her, which has me worried.  But sometimes….”

Morgan paused.  He pulled the image of the Medusa back to dominate the center of the table and reduced the other data.  “Sometimes even if a snake is buried in its hole, you’ve got to get it out.  Because at least you know where it is.  And if you don’t, it will slither away, only to find you while you sleep.”

The intention wasn’t meant to be melodramatic.  Morgan wanted only for anyone in the room to understand what he’d dealt with.  He twisted his mouth in contemplation and stared at the image of Iyana reduced, but easy enough for his searching glare to pick out.  Morgan then sat, to give audience to another speaker.

¹Iyana:  http://forum.bioware...ers/?p=16753814

²Xhuan Setura:  http://forum.bioware...ers/?p=16864150

³Jrudek Ib-vu:  http://forum.bioware...ers/?p=17073248

⁴Golt:  http://forum.bioware...ers/?p=17128277

[Terca]

"Well then." Eteon said before catching herself. "I know right now the opinion of Androkan is the last thing you all want to hear but... As his subordinate I can't help but propose we sink the Medusa." She held up a hand preemptively to try and halt any initial blowback. "I'm not saying that I am for it, but it is something worth considering."

 

She glanced to Jess and held her eyes for a moment. "There may very well be people left on board but..." She stopped herself and shook her head. "All I mean is that there should be the final alternative." She was unhappy with how she explained it but hoped her delivery was better than Deidrus' 'primary objective destroy, conditional objective capture'. "If she is as adverse an opponent or as insistent as you say Morgan," she glanced to the man in question, "she may very well be worth the sacrifice."

 

Dropping her hand again. "I personally am cautious about this. When I was aboard the Medusa  it was easy for Jess to direct me towards her... Ah, podium from the configuration of crates and such. If we need to move through other regions of the ship like that our progress is going to be easy to monitor and impede..." She shrugged. "But that's any RAID mission I guess."

[Kel Riever]

Morgan looked at Eteon.  "Destroy the Medusa?  I promise she's thought of that too.  If she's onboard, she has a plan to get off.  Destroying the Medusa without boarding it will only ensure Iyana lives.  If she catches a wiff that the ship will go down, she'll make sure she's the one to do it with plenty of time to leave.

"Part of what we'll have to do is make her think we are falling for whatever she has planned.  The more she thinks we're in her trap, the more she'll stay around and the better the chance we have of getting her."

[Terca]

Eteon hesitated before nodding. She had no way of figuring out how to evenly down an entire ship without emergency procedures allowing for escape. It was outsider her expertise and probably only Jess would know how to. No captain would leave their ship to bleach among the stars without trying everything to keep it running. Even still, protective systems were often hard-wired and difficult to misdirect. Is it worth attempting in the end? She didn't have the precedence or foresight to know that.

 

"It's no folly to step on a landmine with the intent of defusing it. Just be careful to make sure it's not a warhead." She said, paraphrasing a line from her teachings. "The line between knowing what the trap is and being in the trap itself is fine. It's better to know the former, bad if you know both, worse if you only know the second, folly if you know neither."

[Redbelle]

Jess nodded, then as an aside to Essul. "Twenty-seven people crewed the Medusa. That's a lot for a bulk freighter but she was a hands on ship. Plus some of the jobs we did needed the extra manpower. The Medusa more than paid for them and everything else though. See..... She's a hands on ship. If you wanted something done you had to do it yourself. That was how the old ships were built.......". Jess was aware she was dodging the issue. "Twenty-two were sent to me. That leaves five who might still be alive..... maybe". Jess brought up her omni-tool and sent the dossier's of the crew uncounted for to the team.

 

"There are a few of my crew aboard who I need to know if their alive, more than the others. One is the doctor. Stubborn old goat's been flying that ship the longest. The second's Luscious. He's the brother of the former captain. I was primed to kick him off the ship before all this happened. Drunk and bad judgement, and those are his good qualities. I figured he'd be better off not trying to live up to his brother's memory. Much as I want to put him off ship I'm still responsible for him. Plus I owe his brother......". Jess trailed off......

 

"Maybe we can give Iyana the run around. The spine is a linear path.... but each cargo container has three airlocks. We could send a team up the spine and then have the other two teams run the spine on the outside. Breach the cargo containers from the outside, then gain access to the spine further up"......

[Cknarf]

Frank, still focused on the hologram, caught himself nodding at Eteon's suggestion to destroy the Medusa.

Lighting the fucker up with the Janiri's main gun would be doing the galaxy a favor... Even if there were still friendlies aboard.

He pushed back from the table, disgusted by his own thoughts.  He quietly skimmed through the dossiers.

 

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Naleena scanned the dossiers of the people Morgan mentioned. She had committed them to memory: their faces, their habits, their psychological profiles, their abilities. "Eteon, Iyana doesn't care about the Medusa. Nor does she care for her minions. They are expendable. I know her type. I've dealt with them before," Naleena said, "Now I have a Spectre's authority to deal with these matters, and she has committed a capital offense. She will learn that I don't play fair either. Exitus acta probat. Actions can only be considered morally right or wrong by virtue of the morality of the outcome.

 

"Keep that in mind when we board the ship. I'm expecting things to be worse than they seem."

 

"Are you always this cheerful?" Irina asked.

 

"Jess, given how dangerous Iyana is, if you have a choice of saving Luscious or killing Iyana, which would you take?" Naleena asked.

[Redbelle]

Jess sucked in her cheek as she pondered the question. "Bottom line luv. I'm responsible for the well being of my crew first and foremost. If it came down to one or the other I'll pull my crew out of danger...... Then go after the skank. Still.... that leaves the rest of you potentially able to pull the trigger on her so if you have a shot take it. much as I'd like a reckoning, what's important is that the ship and any hostage's are saved. The rest can be handled afterwards".

 

Jess rubbed the back of her neck. "That said.... she's sly and tricky. And she can do this..... biotic shifting trick. And she has the kind of exotic weaponry that can paralyze you while she goes after others....". She grinned. "Heck, maybe she has a limp from our last encounter".

 

She looked up. "I probably don't need to say this but better safe than sorry. Everyone who goes onto that ship..... You wear full vacuum gear with mag boots. One of the defense options is to suck atmosphere out of a section and turn off the gravity. It's been a handy trick on a few occasions. I'd rather it not get sprung on any of us".

 

Looking over at the diagram she pulled the zoom out and introduced the Jeniri to the model. "I've been thinking this over, Much as the Jeniri has a good stealth system it's not been battle field tested. The MIP's and shuttle have. So I'm suggesting the Jeniri sit back out of sight to a point where we're confident it won't be seen with it's masking features online. That means it'll be slow responding if we need help. But if the Medusa's guns are working it'll keep the Jeniri out of harms way and give it the space it needs to seek out the other ship, assuming there is one which I think is a safe bet. The Jeniri shouldn't engage though. Engage and if the team on the Medusa needs to pull out and withdraw we'll have nowhere to go and the Jeniri could find itself fighting two ships. I'd prefer to keep the threat index this ship couldn't potentially find itself facing low till we have control over the situation before we start allocating our resources".

[Terca]

Discovery, Horizon, During the Collector Attack

The kidnappings had been ground to a halt.

It wasn't without significant effort though. Most the population of Discover was lost but that which remained was mostly safe. The Collectors were suffering a significant blow to their organization by the complete lack of 'Captain' figures in their midst. They mulled about, looking at each other with empty eyes. All residential blocks which could be blocked off, were. And now that all the stragglers had been taken all that was left was the main human holds.

This meant that as the fire team approached what seemed to be the hub of remaining organization a mass of red-brown insectoids were flooding the streets. At the centre was what appeared to be the last captain in the quarter of the city, but it was not the normal dull shade of gray which the others had been. Instead fiery lines traced their way along the carapace and eyes burned bright. It was just as lacking in direction as the others, at least in appearance, but there was a palpable aura of hostility around it. The fire team recognized it.

They were holed up at a height above the stuffed square below. It was one of a few gathering places in the city for festivals and it had also been the prime landing zone for elements of this collector force.

"They shift too quickly." A ghost muttered as he looked away from the window. He had tried estimating numbers but they came and went and appeared and disappeared far too quickly. "At least hundreds. Only one Silvered unit left."

"Those units will be designated 'Special Interest' targets. They're the only example of Collectors speaking thus far." Callum said, and one of the Saboteurs (one of the two which was at Omega) nodded. "High barrier strength, much larger command radius. Capture of such a unit would prove incredibly useful. Contact with a Special Interest Violet unit has proven instantly lethal before."

"So what now?" A ghost said, hand on her rifle.

"Impossible to say how much time we have. Blackout started approximately five hours ago and the closest Alliance posting is far outside the shadow sea. We have hours before standard FTL drives would cross the distance. If they had a stationed crew incognito on Omega it would only be a few minutes." The other Saboteur said. "Either way, the Silver is waiting for something, or it's a trap."

"Our activities are patterned. They know this is an obvious target."

"It's probable they have the Violet unit on hand. For now, the unit is named 'Viiko'. Avoid unless teamed with heavy weapons and shield destruction." Callum instructed, his tone tense. He saw good men and women get destroyed when the unit on Omega screamed. He did not want to lose soldiers here. "We might not want to test the response time of the humans. We decide now, destroy a Collector battalion or wait for them to retreat."

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

more from "Cluster to Cluster"

 

“… and you know I don’t buy that crap about Collectors. I think you’re crazy.”

 

“Why do you say that, Fred?”

 

“Because you’re always going on about some crazy conspiracy theory. You know Shotgun…”

 

“Wait, this is a conspiracy by the governments to cover up what is really going on in the Terminus systems. Human colonies are disappearing, and a race of aliens called Collectors are responsible for it. The Coun…”

 

“Aliens? I’ll give you that. You said they got four eyes? You know what race has four eyes? Batarians. So this is probably the Batarians wearing some fancy armor… and they got some new weapon…”

 

“Batarians? They don’t have any technology sophisticated like this.”

 

“How do you know? Like I was sayin’, they got some new weapon and they’re going around zapping our colonies. The Alliance should go in and pound the living *beeeep* out of them for that. Batarians have no business…"

 

“So you just want to go to war? You sound like one of those Terra Firma types.”

 

“What’s wrong with Terra Firma?”

 

“A lot. Next caller. Liselle from Serrice, you’re on the air.”

[Terca]

Audron, Present Time, Citadel.

 

The commander sat at his desk on the command deck, his elbows resting on the tables and his fists holding his head up. He was staring at the outside feeds which were currently displaying the application of the last piece of Silaris armor. It would require time for the entire ship to be resealed from the inside and outside around the armor but the main process was finished.

 

More pressing issues remained at hand though.

 

He didn't know much about 'Cluster to Cluster' or any of the other fringe networks. He spent most of his time reading official statements with footnotes of information only directed to military personnel of the Council. He was now, however. Any information floating about with the word 'Collectors' on it posed a serious question to him 'How much should be revealed?'

 

The man who had just been on claiming it was Batarians was not the only one who had made such claims. Throughout the Verge and the Traverse many colonies had an inbred distrust for the Hedgemony due to their 'ask no questions' policies. Any reason to pile on more conspiracy and tension was enough for some, and though Deidrus couldn't grudge them that it did complicate things. He was to intervene in these Collectors incidences, not to clarify them to the Galaxy at large.

 

But there are some other considerations to make. The Alliance and Hedgemony hadn't been on any terms for decades. With humans becoming the main subject of slavery it was likely that if any government was to take action, especially with the most recent disappearances, it would be an Alliance Raiding endeavor. There weren't a lot of Batarian outposts of the pirate nature outside of designated space though, and the Alliance making any moves would essentially be a push against the entire Batarian government. It would be a regional conflict. One the council would struggle to settle with any diplomatic means.

 

So he had a few questions to ask the Council before the reinstatement of his Spectre status. First, was whether any information should be leaked to the Alliance to avert a war, second whether the STG knew of any direct trade between Batarian slaving rings and Collectors. Depending on the answers to those his destinations might shift dramatically.

 

Moving his mind away from those thoughts he looked to a data file he had compiled and was trying to determine how much to send to Naleena. As she was on Spectre business there were some difficulties in getting information on exact location, and high probabilities of such information being intercepted along the way. The information would be disturbing if worthless to most, though the one person who kept their ear to the lines more than anyone else was the Shadow Broker. If there was any connection between the Broker and Collector technology (which he suspected based on the business practices of the organization) what he sent could cause shifting plans and future hardships for both Naleena and himself.

 

He would roll with it. He had left Shadow Broker work after being an integral piece in their operations galaxy-wide and lived with the consequences. He knew he had an open invitation though the door to the position was going to be one way. That's all that was keeping him somewhat safe from outright assassination attempts. Aside from Omega, he thought to himself.

 

He leaned back in his seat before going through the information again and abstracting some of it. It would go through typical secured buoys with encryption but with the ears that could be listening he decided something simple would work best. Something concise.

 

But sometimes nothing is simple. He stood from his desk and let out a long sigh. She needs the full picture. I'll use Eteon.

[favoritehookeronthecitadel]

TWO DAYS EARLIER

 

Avan had spent his last days in bed watching movies and drinking heavily. He wanted to make the best out of being bound to a mattress, and was troubled by his predicament with the Shadow Broker. Maybe I shouldn't have gone for this, he thought. Leaking the crew's exact profiles would've worked out fine hadn't it been for VERA's installation. But there was always going to be a risk like that happening, and had he found out later, it would've been cataclysmic, and at the very least he would've had to escape while also semi-failing the Broker, which is failing the Broker. 

 

Standing up and moving around felt great. Despite the serious problems, he felt very free. He hadn't contacted Typhin for a while, but had concocted a plan to send profiles to the Broker without VERA knowing. He was going to use 2 encryption codes programmed into a jamming device that would block out VERA's ability to decipher it for a long time. With the right codes, it would take up to several years for her to open it.

 

If he could get off the ship for a few hours, that would be enough time to assemble the device. After that all that would be needed was a few weeks to send everything the Broker needed on this crew. That was how long he was recruited for, and afterwards, even if new people joined the Janiri, it wouldn't be a requirement to get their details for the Broker. He might even request to leave the Janiri afterwards and give back a part of the pay, if possible. This was getting out of hand. Avan was starting to feel like a lamb marching slowly to a slaughter house. Wherever this thing was going to explode, it was nevertheless going to explode, and that's a problem in need of avoiding.

 

Even with the jamming, VERA is going to know there is a transmission she is blocked out of, and will tell Naleena, alerting her that there is possibly a spy on the ship, or someone that wants to keep some privacy. Not a big issue, and with this supposedly large-scale Medusa detail, she is going to have too much on her plate to focus on hidden transmissions. 

 

 

Avan pondered on a past mission roughly a decade earlier, where he and a female partner named Ryder were captured aboard a ship they sneaked into. Standing surrounded by armed guards and being screamed at and interrogated by the annoying "Waty", the co-commander of the vessel, with their hands bound, gave little room for improvising. But surely enough, Ryder managed to pull her shirt and bra off with her bare teeth and started dancing randomly. The men were dumbfounded, distracted. Avan had enough time to break free from his binds, and soon the two had beaten everyone to death with their bare hands. He remembered crouching down, covered in blood and just looking at Ryder, also covered in blood, remarking that she should get a bump on her payment for this. He agreed.

 

Anyway, this situation is just like that one. There is always an opening. There is always a solution. 

 

-------

 

CURRENT TIME / NALEENA'S MEDUSA CONFERENCE

 

Avan was running a bit late to the meeting after getting the message for the conference, but had to finish the end of a novel. Walking to the room was also Commander Selani. They smiled. "Late to the meeting, too?"

 

"Yes. But, you know, there's nothing wrong with being last to come in a room."

 

The Commander laughed.

 

Later, after being explained the full mission and strategy, everyone was talking among themselves. This Iyana and her crew sounded like a real b%tch to fight. With her training, experience and rare skills with biotic shifts, she's every bit as dangerous as anyone else on this crew. And paralyzing weaponry? Avan knew the type. Violent, cold and calculated, a spider that's as likely to poison you as it is to run away when you rattle it's web.

 

Finally, something fun. Right when this mission was starting to seem like a joke again. Maybe he would stick around for a while after all. 

[Kel Riever]

(Note:  The following was a collaboration with RedBelle...well really, RedBelle did most of the work!)

 

Previously...( http://forum.bioware...res/?p=17326383 )

 

Cluster unknown, System unknown, aboard the Tribal Star

Several hours passed since the shuttle settled into the Tribal Star's shuttle hanger bay and both occupant's sat and waited. Neither spoke to the other. One out of resentment for the task he was given. One because he'd said everything he was required to, and could say nothing more till someone spoke first......

 

The comm cracked in both pilot and passenger compartment. "Hey you hunky darlings! This is Foxy baby..... You guy's okay in there"?

 

Taken somewhat by the informality, Jrudek looked instinctively towards the speaker that was the source of the voice. He was inclined to answer. "Yes. Your pilot has been a model professional." There was no telling what was in store, and Jrudek realized that he might be on a one-way trip. As prepared as he was, it was his hope that his journey would not end up in such a way. Jrudek could only accept the events that were about to unfold.

 

"Aaaaw, ain't that sweet of you to say. I was just calling to let you guys know we just pulled into the system and we'll be letting you two fly away to the other ship soon. We'll be here if you come back. Sorry we couldn't give you a better ride...... Toodles"!

 

The pilot's voice filtered through. "Hanger doors are opening. We leaving".

 

"Acknowledged," Jrudek answered, as if talking to someone in his command of long ago. It felt somewhat strange, to converse with the pirates who blew so hot, whereas his time aboard the Khukuri was spent with people who blew so cold. 

 

The shuttle departed the hanger smoothly and pulled away in a smooth arc. The Tribal Star hung away from a gas giant where, around one of the many moons, The Nostalgia awaited, hidden among the number that orbited the blue mass that hung in space.

 

The pilot had his instructions and he vectored towards one of the moons that was cold rock and iron that disrupted his sensors. Looking out the view port though he saw the tell tale orange glow of engine emissions and soon enough, A fighter wing surrounded his craft and took up station in around him. One behind, two either side. His radio crackled and a distorted voice of low level bit data came over his earpiece informing him not to deviate from his course and to follow instructions......

 

The pilot obeyed and soon he was guided behind the moon and he saw The Nostalgia. An old, prewar space superiority fighter carrier. Nearly all the old ones had been mothballed. One hung in Earth's orbit as a museum piece.... this one though.....

 

This one showed scorch marks in places but otherwise it's hull was immaculate. Flack cannons and point defense towers could be seen swiveling to frame his shuttle as their target and his hud showed a vector to follow that led to one of the old fashioned hull length landing bays that had been used back when humans hadn't yet mastered Mass Effect technology to vastly reduce velocity. Requiring space and magnetic fields to slow a fighter craft, whereas the new ones could simply adjust it's speed with maneuver with such precision that they could alight on a spot no bigger than the fighter itself. The fighter's pacing him were new. Obviously someone had the money to buy an old ship, retrofit her with all the military grade equipment the systems alliance had to strip out of every ship they decommissioned, and then had bought modern day fighter craft, and found pilot's to fly them. This on top of the number of people needed to keep the old badmouth flying.....

 

The landing bay loomed. A voice crackled, informing him he had manual control of the landing.

 

Athough mostly oblivious to his destination, Jrudek could tell from some subtle signs of the shuttle's flight that there was quite a bit of care being taken to land the craft, that wherever they were landing was in space, and that whatever they were landing on was large. 

 

Several moment's after they'd landed, the shuttle bay doors opened and the intercom crackled with the pilot's voice.

 

"This is where we part ways. Obey the guards waiting outside and you'll be fine..... up to a point". The pilot's tone became grim. "You better have a good reason why you people killed our people and then sent you to rub it in our faces".

 

The sound of a heavy metal foot clanged on the decking outside the shuttle, as if people were arranging themselves outside, but remained out of view through the door.

[Kel Riever]

(Note: This is a collaboration, again with RedBelle doing most of the work.  To continue...)

 

Cluster unknown, System unknown, aboard the Nostalgia

 

Explanation…how can one explain if one doesn’t already understand? Jrudek knew this was the risk when he came; one either was familiar with the tools of power or one was part of the flock. He had come to speak directly to The Lord for that very reason. If he did not understand, then Jrudek’s voice would have no meaning. And likely his life would be forfeit.

But he was ready, as Xhuan had made point to notice. Only a true test involved the threat of fatality.

Jrudek stood slowly, and approached the shuttle door to exit unassumedly, but with his chin up.

 

Stepping outside the shuttle the first thing he saw were the four towering men standing either side of the door.....

 

......

 

Actually it was impossible to not see the four men. Assuming that it was men he was facing and not ceramic wrought transteel figures who had been welded into enormous suits of hulking, lavishly decorated armor. The question of whether they were actually mechanical constructs crossed his mind that was set to rest when one shifted. In one hand the figure held the biggest hand cannon ever seen while in the other, the figure's colossul armored finger's gripped the shaft of a banner on which hung a standard. The shiny fabric showed four crowns arrayed around a central sun. Some words, ancient Earth perhaps? Looking at the others he saw them clad in the same massive, decorative armor and carrying the same weapon

 

The giant figure who had shifted swung around in a motion that was to fluid and surprisingly graceful for a mechnic.

 

"You will be escorted by us to see our lord".

 

Jrudek eyebrow rose. The voice was feminine. He wouldn't have guessed from the armour they were wrapped up in.From behind there came the sound of a device and looking over his shoulder he saw one of the other figures helmet's had lit up a section on the temple and was looking him up and down before shutting it off. "He's clean".

 

Another female..... Perhaps they were all..... He had no time to ponder though as Jrudek was abruptly surrounded on all points by the four and he marched as they marched, lest the ones behind him step on him. Which given the seeming weight of the armor, would most likely result in something broken. These four though showed no signs of being hampered as they proceeded up where they had landed. It was a hanger he realized. Meant for retrieving fighter craft and larger shuttles like the one he'd arrived on. The didn't go into the ship however. Instead they marched him further down the tube until they came to a widened area where hanger bays could be seen. A group of men milled around one that was, presumably, where they were taking him.

 

Although not familiar specifically with most of humanity's past where it didn't concern batarains, Jrudek recognized the concept of heraldry when he saw it. Again, he thought of the 'honor among thieves' that held bands of criminals together. These people, of course, had taken it to another level. Jrudek reflected on what Iyana had conveyed to him about the meaning behind names, and what he could learn of mannerisms, including what possibly could lay beneath their surface.

 

The hanger that connected to the launch tube was large enough to house two fighters, plus launch crew, plus maintenance and emergency equipment. Now though, it was simply bare. Stripped of all that ever hinted it was once used to maintain the carrier's first line of defense except perhaps for the smell of lubricant and oil that permeated the air.

 

Now it was a large room of metal walls and decking crowded by people who looked to serve all sorts of functions. From the baggy orange coveralls of maintenance workers, stained with oil with tired but determined expressions, through to those who were most likely pilot's from the way the carried themselves in flight suits, all the way to the more formal attired ships operators, whose uniforms seemed to lack the regulatory concerns, the uniforms being hidden under braids and buttons as well as the same symbol sported on their breasts that the hulking guards carried on their standards. Doted around and numerous were people who seemed to have no place in the uniform hierarchy on parade. The standard era independent trader or mercenary perhaps..... The were in a crowd blocking his view of the back of the hanger when someone saw the hulks approaching and called out.

 

Immediately the crowd parted and as they did their retreating feet revealed a red carpet rolled out that led up and up...... As the final member's of the crowd stepped back the end of the bay was revealed. It was surreal.

 

Whereas the hanger was all base metal the back of it was ornately decorated. Bare metal ran up to a dais of what looked like solid gold, polished to a sparkling shine, that rose up step by step till it leveled out neck height. Two men stood on that level with ample room to spare for the hulks to climb onto and still have room to spare. The two figures, a man and a woman, looked up and saw the hulks approaching with their escort and one stepped forward while the other ducked down to speak with the man who, despite not moving from his seat, commanded the attention of the room.

 

He was old. Wrinkled features that baldness revealed did not extend over his tight scalp. A grey, neatly trimmed beard the only hair visible except for two bushy eyebrows that sat upon dark, intent eye's that followed Jrudek's approach, glinting under a heavy brow of sun kissed skin. What set him apart aside from his visage was his Armour. Whereas everyone around him was ornate and ostentatious, his was gunmetal. Still flashed in decoration, but of a color that matched his armors own.

 

The seat he sat in was obviously not a seat, but rather, a throne that ran up to nearly touched the ceiling and as wide as it was tall. Unlike the dais, it was black, with gold trim and lights indicating that it held electronic equipment within. For what purpose, who knew.

 

As the woman bent to the enthroned mans ear the remaining one stepped forward and called out i a voice that pierced the room. "Hold there. You have come bidden to the hall of your superior and lord of all he survey's. Let the one who has been brought forth speak his name"!

[Redbelle]

Jess looked about the conference room of the Jeniri at the assembled team. "Anyone have anything to say? If not I'll go over the plan one more time to make sure we're not messing up anything obvious". She looked around before reaching for the controls of the table. "Well then......".

[Kel Riever]

Morgan commented, "I see, based on the size of the ship, even though the bridge and the engine room are aft of the ship, the distance between them is signifigant enough for the need to split into teams, if we can't go after them one at a time.  You've got the bridge at the top of the ship, whereas the engineering room is deep into the lower decks.  Correct?"

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

"Jess, how good are the sensors on the Medusa?" Naleena asked, "Going up the spine of the ship looks almost like suicide. Two abreast and we have to know where to duck? I would have suspected Iyana to have set traps along the way as well, and she'll have left us to try to disarm them while under fire. Is there any place we can fly the shuttle and dock it to the Medusa's hull and cut an access hole to gain entry? This would be risky since we'd have to seal the hole."

 

"There are polymer sealants in Engineering that could be used to re-seal the hole using two pieces of steel plate." VERA said.

 

"A stealth force could hold position until the shuttle moves and enters as planned, then attacks the defending force from the rear." Naleena said. "Is this a possibility, Jess? I don't like going down a shooting gallery."