849 réponses à ce sujet

[Cknarf]

Spoiler

"Ha! Big butt."

 

From what Kurik understood, Stormhammer had just been hired for what sounded like a routine vorcha control job. That was more or less an everyday task while he was employed under the Suns. He'd never worked alongside another company, so that could prove interesting.

[Cainhurst Crow]

"Did they give any details about what sort of trouble they're having?" Menos asked curiously as he went over the notes in his mind. A mining colony with non-violent vorcha. He was actually kinda surprised anyone would bother, but then again these were asari they were dealing with.

[J.Ezra]

Juric looked down at Tolema surprised by what she had said. He hadn't been opposed to the idea of Tolema just laying low for a few decades, it seemed logical to him. She had a point though, was he content to just guard a band? He was silent for a few moments, thinking hard about what she had said.

 

"You would do that? Leave Aoide to go with this group? I mean, I'm fine leaving the band, they'll live without me but I thought you and Aoide...." He trailed off, not sure what he intended to say. Falling silent for a few moments again he stared off into space, considering what she had said some more. 

 

"I'm with you Tolema, if you wanna go with these guys then I'll come along." He gave an approving nod which said a lot more then he could muster in words.

[Kel Riever]

"I...I don't want to leave Aoide," Tolema regretted.  She pulled away from Juric a bit.  "We are...we are, that's all.  You understand, though, Juric.  People like you and me, and Aoide, we live a long time.  This is...this is a break to keep everyone safer.  Well, I wouldn't call jumping in with a band of mercenaries safe, but you understand.  And she'll be there when we get back.  Or I get back if you decide that going back to Seirenes isn't for you."

Tolema folder her arms across her chest and looked off.  She seemed more uncertain, and said to Juric, "Don't put this all on me.  We don't have to do this together.  You can go back to the band if you want, but I guess...I guess if you were doing this with me it would be a lot easier, having a friend to do it with."

~ ~ ~ ~

"The kind of trouble is that one of the outpost mines had a riot.  It is a big setback for Palladium Controls, especially given the work they've done trying to ensure successor generations of vorcha are raised with the same, non-violent morality of their parents.  We're going to meet with V'Siliou, get the details, and head for the outpost to deal with the situation however the matron directs us to.  Current situation is stabilized, and hopefully that lasts but we won't know until we get there and we wouldn't be hired if there wasn't a concern.  The mission, as it stands currently, is to identify the violent elements remaining, if any, and then remove them so the asari can continue their work."

Vihaan broke into the conversation.  "Cadi, he's ready."

Arcadia nodded.  "Until now, I've been the one to talk to you about everything: hiring, pay, mission details.  I've been you're go-to person but I'm second in command of this company and you know it.  Major Reith would like to finally meet you.  Please pardon the dimming of the lights, it is a preference that the Major has."

Using her Omni-tool, Cadi lowered the lights so that mostly the room could be seen with the ambient illumination from the display screens.  Vihaan went to the door and opened it.  The quick moving footfalls of booted steps got steadily louder as a figure approached, and when the Major came in, it was briskly, without hesitation as if he were going to move far past the room he was entering.  From what could be seen of him in the light was a very fit, very hard looking man of about sixty years old.  His white, crew cut hair picked up the mixed light of the screens, he wore a basic T-shirt and fatigues of olive green with black combat boots, and he had a nearly finished, lit cigar in his mouth. 

"Thanks," was all Major Reith said gruffly to Cadi as she stepped out of the way for him.  "Good to meet you all," is then all the Major initially said to the group as he activated his own omni-tool and scrolled through some information on the screen.  The Major's face could be made out.  He was still a wildly handsome man, with a weathered and worn look, like a man who'd lived on the frontier all his life.  In the light, it was difficult to tell, but the one eye of his that could be seen was likely light blue, or possibly grey.  The other eye was covered in a strapless, black patch, a rather odd accessory in an age of medical marvels.  He coughed roughly twice, then kept going through the screen. 

At just about the point where the silence seemed to get uncomfortable, Major Reith, apparently conscious of any questions about his eye, pointed to the patch and said, "They can't find me a good one that hasn't been rejected yet.  Bad genes, I guess."  He shuffled through a few more screens and then spoke, finally, at more than a brief length.  "I'm not one for a lot of words, though you can't get me to shut up when I've got something to say.  Part of my problem, I suppose.  Cadi here knows about that.  So do the others, Vihaan, and Kamau if you haven't met him yet.  Good people, but I hope you know that already. 

"We've got the beginnings of a decent outfit here.  No more baby missions, not that you didn't do good work.  And I heard a few of you even had a bit of a scuffle and gunplay.  Your pay is my real thanks, though.  Your pay and how you sleep at night.  We had to start somewhere, but like I said, this is the beginning, and if we're going to be worth more than a vorcha's pimple in this galaxy, you'll just as readily forget about what you've done here so far, except for may to talk about it over a card game with a few drinks years from now.  Nobody gives two dumps about some people who did a security detail for a diplomat, or stole some corporate prototype, even if it does ****** off a few people for right now.  Nobody in the long run.

"You want to do something?  Build this company up from the ground to get whatever it is you came for?  That's what this is about.  I don't care if you like to plant your ass at night in a nice soft bed, eat a good meal, make more cash than you can think of spending right now, or you've even got some bigger goal in mind.  That's fine with me.  I'm not going to stand in your way of any of it.  But here, in Stormhammer, you're going to do whatever it is you want to do as part of a team, with the other people on your team, to get what you want.  There aren't any individual goals, not if you want to actually get them now.  We're doing this together.  You're going to be an important resource for me, my most important resource.  And so I'm going to make sure you get whatever it is you came here for and then some.  'Cause we're going to be shot at together, I can promise you that.  Don't need to know your whole life's damn story but if there's something you want at the end of the day you better tell me about it if you want to make sure you get it.

"Now, I'm almost out of nice talk, so if you've got something to say to me you want to be heard right now, say it and say it quick."

[TheMajonese]

For some reason Chris didn't really like this Major Reith. Maybe it was the eyepatch, maybe his strange preference for dimly lit rooms. Chris wondered if the Major's remaining eye was sensitive to bright light. But he wasn't saying anything about this, he actually didn't even open his mouth to speak, he just gave another yawn, thought this time he tried to hold it back a bit.

 

There was nothing he had to tell Reith, in fact he wasn't even sure for how long he would be part of stormhammer. That depended on what his sister wanted to do.

 

 

_______________________________________________________________

 

"Sean, I want you to go upstairs. I know you haven't done your homework yet!"

 

"But..."

 

"Sean! Come on, just do as I said!"

 

The boy looked like he wanted to protest again but after casting a glance at Naomi he turned around and walked up the stairs. With a sigh the man turned back to his daughter. "He will try to listen to this anyway", he muttered and carefully touched his nose to feel if anything was broken. "We should talk, I owe you that...actually more than that. Come in..." Then her father stepped aside and signaled Naomi to enter. 

 

She was still standing on the same spot, with open mouth and wide eyes. It took her a while to find her voice again. "Dentist, huh?", she then asked, trying to put as much contempt into her words as possible, and stepped inside the building.

 

"You can go ahead if you want", her father offered. "I'll be there in a moment." He disappeared through a door to the left.

 

Naomi took a moment to have a look around. She was standing in a wide hallway that directly led into the living room. There were two doors on the left side and a black staircase on the right. The walls were white and empty except for a simple painting of two flower with red petals. When she entered the living room Naomi just shook her head. It was huge and had a nice view on the wards through the huge windows on two sides of the room. The furniture looked quite simple but there was no doubt that it actually was expensive as hell. On the wall next to the entrance was a huge screen and in front of it were three black sofas that had been placed around a low glass table. There was also a white bookshelf, and another painting but aside from that, the living room looked somewhat empty and sterile.

 

"You may sit down if you like." Naomi's father entered the living room and sat down on one of the sofas. He was now pressing a tissue under his bleeding nose.

 

Naomi didn't look at him, instead she pretended to examine the sculptures on the bookshelf. Now that she was finally here, Naomi didn't know what to do. After a few moments she needed to break the silence. "So who is that boy?", she asked, still without looking at her father.

 

"That's Sean, Aaron's son. I'm looking after him while Aaron and his wife are at work", he said. "You...know who Aaron is, right? Your brother..."

 

"Half brother!" Now Naomi turned around and glared at him. "Well, it seems you care more about the children of other people than your own!"

 

The expression on her father's face suddenly changed. He threw the tissue onto the glass table and covered one side of his face with one hand. Now he looked much older than before, weak and vulnerable. "I know, it probably doesn't even matter what I say, it won't change anything. But you can at least give me the chance to explain you why you had to grow up without a father."

 

"I already know more than enough!", Naomi shouted. "You left mum when she was pregnant...but that wasn't the first time you left your family, right? Because you had already left Aaron and his mother a few years earlier..."

 

"No." He stared at the ceiling and sighed. "No, it was her. She left me. My first wife, Jane...one day she just told me that she couldn't live with me any longer and then left. That's it. She was just gone. And she took Aaron with him...the boy was two years old! Jane went to the Citadel while I stayed in Vancouver. I just tried to continue to live my normal life, tried to forget about Jane but it was impossible, knowing that my son was still somewhere out there. But then I met your mother...I wanted to start all over again, to pretend as if Jane had never existed and Michelle was there for me. I never told her anything about my wife and son because I didn't really expect to hear from them again. But then, four years later..." For a few moments he seemed to search for the right words. "Michelle and I, we had just been told that she was going to have twins when I got a call from the Citadel..."

 

"Let me guess, it was from Jane?" Naomi somehow forgot to be angry at her father and listened to his story. She always knew that her father had a son, her half brother Aaron, but she had also believed that he had abandoned him like he left her mum. She didn't like to hear this version of the story, it made her father look like a victim and not like the ******* that he was. Maybe he's lying anyway...

 

Her father nodded. "Yes, it was from Jane. At first I didn't want to hear anything from her but then I felt like this would be the chance for me to tell her how much I hated her for leaving and taking my own son away from me. But after she told me what happened to her, I just couldn't. I know I wanted to but I couldn't. Jane was in a hospital on the Citadel, she had been diagnosed with cancer." With joyless laughter he shook his head. "We're living on space stations, can wipe out entire populations with our weapon arsenals but there are still forms of cancer that can't be treated! Jane and I, we talked, we talked for hours and then she asked me to come to the Citadel."

 

Naomi gasped. "And then you left mom?", she asked in disbelief. "To return to the woman who had taken away your son?" When her father looked at her, a weak smile on his face, Naomi felt as if something hit her in the face and she turned away. He looked exactly like Chris, when Naomi asked him, why he just couldn't refuse to help literally everybody who asked for help.

 

Again he nodded. "I didn't want to forgive Jane but I still had a six year old son. That's why Jane asked me to come and that's the only reason I left your mother. I told Michelle that I'd be gone for a week or two. I really didn't mean to stay longer, I just wanted some time to think about how to continue. So I went to the Citadel to see Aaron again. And Jane. Again, we both talked for hours and then I realized that I couldn't just leave again. She told me how much she regretted that she had left me, leaving Aaron to grow up without his dad. And I...I still wanted to hate her for that but...I didn't want to leave her alone. Someone had to take care of Aaron, I mean...his mother was dying! As I said, I actually planned to stay for a week or two, but in the end, I didn't leave the Citadel again. I was hoping that things would be okay, with Jane, Aaron, Michelle and you and your brother, that I would be able to somehow fix everything. You know, there was still hope that Jane would survive, the doctors tried literally every therapy, every operation to stop the cancer from spreading."

 

It took Naomi a moment to realize that her father had stopped speaking and she turned back to him. His elbows rested on his knees while he covered his face with both hands. "And then your wife died", Naomi continued. "And you felt too guilty to return to Earth. Instead you stayed here."

 

With a joyless laugh her father turned to her. "I know it sounds like one of these ridiculous reality shows on TV", he said rubbing the back of his neck. "But that's the truth. I thought that Michelle had already forgotten about me or that she didn't want to see me ever again. Couldn't blame her for that. I later even told myself that she had been able to handle this. I believed she was strong..."

 

"She is!", Naomi reaffirmed.

 

This time her father actually looked amused. "Of course she is. But think of what I've done to her. Nobody can endure something like that. Well...maybe a krogan but they've got no feelings anyway..." His joke caused Naomi to glare at him and he sighed. "'I know how it was for her. Having to raise two children without any money, Michelle couldn't do her work..."

 

"How do you know that?", Naomi asked confused. "And how did you know my name in the first place?"

 

"Because she told me that, just a while ago..."

 

"WHAT?! SHE DID WHAT?" 

 

Her father seemed a bit confused by her sudden outburst. "Yes, she told me that she was on the Citadel and found the announcement of my dentist's office. She wanted to meet and I couldn't deny her that..."

 

"YOU SAW HER? WHEN?", Naomi shouted. With a quick step forward she stood in front of him and grabbed him by the collar of his t-shirt. "WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAW HER?"

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Darya had something she wanted, but now wasn't the time. It had to do with why she left a promising career in the Alliance, and she wasn't ready to talk about it, yet, to anyone. She sat in silence.

[Kel Riever]

"Right," Reith said, "Sometimes I like a lack of words myself.  Nobody's here to get poor so you've got a couple of days to get yourselves together on the Citadel and you're being fronted part of your pay, 20,000 credits to be exact.  That's going to come from what we get on this job, but you're all professionals and you might want gear that isn't in this facility.  I expect the money to be spent wisely; no stopping you from wasting it all on an evening of getting drunk, but if you do, trust me I'll hear about it and you can forget ever getting fronted the money again.  Having said that, if you need some unusual things to take along with you, I'm not here to babysit.  Consider this deployment to take a few weeks, however, just to be safe. I really don't believe it will take that long but it's in the contract.  

"There's a ship, an atmospheric small freighter, that will take us where to go.  The Captain simply goes by the name Sally, and her ship is the Lucky Seven.  Cadi will front any other details you need for the mission by omni-tool, or you can ask her yourself.  I'll be along for the ride, but my job is different from yours, and we will not be deploying together.  I would familiarize yourself, if you get the chance, with both Vihaan and Kamau, since you haven't worked with them before.  They're around the faciliites.  Other than that, take care of yourselves and I'll see you on the ship."

Reith nodded once, examined each member of the team momentarily with his one eye, deactivated his omni-tool and then headed out of the room.
 

[Kel Riever]

Once the company commander was gone, Arcadia said, "We're dismissed.  Chris, mind we talk for a moment?"

[TheMajonese]

"Hm...?" Chris was a bit surprised at Cadi's question. Then he closed his eyes and let out a sigh. He already had a vague idea what Cadi wanted to talk about and he wasn't eager to speak about it. "What is it?", Chris asked and turned to the blue haired woman.

[Kel Riever]

Vihaan Devi gravitated towards Menos.  It wasn't clear if it was because he was another salarian, or that there was another reason, but when Vihaan came over, he asked Menos, "Need anything technically oriented?"

Cadi didn't want to have a public discussion, as she felt it would put Chris on the spot, so she motioned with a gentle push of her head towards the door. 

[TheMajonese]

With a bad feeling and another yawn Chris stood up and headed out of the room.

[Kel Riever]

Once outside, Cadi shoved the door closed behind them and moved to the side.  No one else was around or in earshot.  She said quietly to Chris, "We haven't known each other long, but help me out, Chris.  Tell me what's going on." 

Cadi put her shoulder against the wall, but leaned forward, her blue eyes trying to search Chris'.

[Kel Riever]

(Note:  the following was a collaboration with Maj0nese)

Chris raised one eyebrow and gave Cadi a questioning look. "Is it about...?" He interrupted himself. "What do you actually mean?"

"I mean what's going on?  Are you tired?  Are you unhappy?  I see you yawning during the meeting."  Cadi twisted her lips.  She was a good looking woman but that disappeared behind the concern on her face now.  "I feel like if I pry I'm only going to make this worse, so maybe I'm making a mistake and I am sorry if I am.  But I don't want you to be unhappy, Chris, and if I can help at something...please let me know.  If you need, I can keep it private."

"Maybe you should check on Kuric as well", Chris muttered. "I mean...have you seen him smile even once? I didn't." It was hard to say whether this was supposed to be a joke.

 

With a sigh Chris turned his head to avoid looking at Cadi. "Can't say I slept well. I'm worried, that's all. My sister...you saw what happened yesterday, and you were right about what you've said; she needs me to look after her. I thought about Stormhammer. A lot, actually. If Naomi doesn't want to stay here, then I'm not going to stay either. But I believe that we need this...that she needs this. Not because of the money, I don't really care about the credits. Naomi needs something to do, something to keep her distracted and she needs people around her that accept her and the way she acts."

 

He turned back to Cadi and directly looked into her eyes. "That's why I'd like you to not tell anyone about what happened on that parking lot. Naomi usually is not like that, you know that, you've seen her earlier. Don't tell anyone, please!"

Arcadia took a breath.  "No one.  I haven't and I won't Chris.  That's you and her.  Not my story to tell."  She folder her arms less defensively and more in thought as she looked away briefly.  "Yes, Kuric, you don't have to be sarcastic about that.  I do wonder what happened to him.  But I'll sort that out later.  He doesn't matter to me in this conversation, though.  You do.  Naomi does.  I want to earn your trust, for you to know it is safe to tell me these things, if not now, then sometimes."

With a sigh, Cadi peered back at Chris.  She said nothing for a while; it was clear she was trying to determine if there was anything to do or say.  Once she pursed her lips, as if she was getting ready to express a thought, but then she let it go.  "You don't have to say anything," she finally spoke.  "Nothing at all.  I ask because I care about my people.  And if you stay here, I'm for you.  I'm for your sister.  I'll do what I need for you both because it is what matters."

At first Chris didn't say anything, he just nodded to show her that he appreciated what she just said. He already wanted to turn away because he felt uncomfortabel speaking about his sister now. Then however he remembered what he had already wanted to ask Cadi on the parking lot.

 

"What is stormhammer?", he wanted to know and crossed his arms. "And I'm not talking about what Reith would tell me. What is it for you? I can see why Reith has put you into this position, I mean...you seem to have a talent to read other people, it's like you can sense if someone is feeling bad or has something on his mind. And you're seeking to earn our trust, but why? Why do you care so much about people you've never seen before? What does it matter to you?"

Arcadia let loose a short laugh, taken off guard by the question.  Her eyes sparkled mirthfully; maybe she liked that Chris was asking the hard questions.  But she also didn't know how to answer immediately.  Her smile faded a bit as she searched for something to say.  Inadvertently she moved to put her one tattooed arm against the wall, and as she caught a glimpse of her own body artwork, it sparked an idea enough for her to begin a reply.

"I don't know myself sometimes, Chris.  There was a conversation I wanted to tell Naomi, that I thought might help.  Maybe I was being ridiculous, thinking I had all the answer for her, or even something that could make her feel better.  I can be a fool, no matter how well I put things together sometimes.  This," Cadi said as she moved her eyes to her tattoo, "Is from an old painting, maybe you know it.  Saint George and the Dragon.  Classic mythology.  Perhaps a bit low brow why I have it, but it is a beautiful tattoo nonetheless.  At least it makes me happy."

Cadi put her shoulder to the wall and put her forearm in front of her.  "It is to remind me, Chris, about the problems, mine and others, the things I have to do.  I don't know if that memory inspires me so much as it sometimes tells me to do things I don't want to do.  To survive, you understand?  In the face of everything.  The dragon is so small in this picture, yes?  At least to the modern eye, where we have a galaxy with Thresher Maws in it.   But back then, the dragon was impossible to slay.  Otherwise no one would care that St. George killed it.  No one would paint a masterpiece about it?"

Shifting herself to move closer to Chris, as if to make sure only he heard her words, even though no one else was around, Arcadia said, "It's not the fame, I can tell you that.  And I do not have a death wish, though I do not fear death.  I will only tell you it is in my soul.  And I do not really have religion.  That is not what I mean.  I mean...I want something more.  I cannot sit still myself, or even content myself with certain activities or I would do these things.  My mother, she was religious.  She gave me the crucifix I have around my neck.  But she said I have a demon in my heart, Chris and that is what she meant.  I wear the Crucifix for her, because I know that somewhere she loves me, even if she cannot understand me.

"Or maybe she does."  Cadi twisted her mouth in regret.  "Maybe she does and she wants to protect me, even if she cannot.  One day perhaps I will figure it out, Chris.  Maybe you help me come to that conclusion."  Arcadia smiled then briefly, but this time it faded more quickly.  "I don't know everything about what Stormhammer is yet, Chris, but I know it is for me.  That I will go to that frozen desert world and see what it is for myself.  Because, I suppose perhaps my mother knew me better than I want to admit, and that there is, in fact Diablo inside of me."

While Cadi spoke, Chris casually leaned against the wall and stared to the ground. He wasn't going to admit it but her words made him really thoughtful. When she stopped, Chris needed a second to realize and he took a deep breath.

 

"I hope I didn't just make you tell me something that you wanted to keep for yourself. By the way, Naomi is going to be interested in your tattoo, so be prepared to be asked about it", he added with a chuckle, then he sighed. "I will have to ask her if she wants to stay with stormhammer and take on this next mission. If she does, we'll be on Parasc together, if not, Naomi and I are going to leave the Citadel in a day or two."

 

He looked up, his face now showed a smile. "Either way, I hope your demon doesn't get you killed. None of us would like to see that."

"No?"  Arcadia grinned.  Her eyes seemed to laugh for her then.  "Someone who cares back, this may take some getting used to.  I have no fear of what I have told you, Chris, because I trust you to understand.  If you are telling me that Naomi will ask about my tattoo, then I will take it as a sign you will return.  If not..."  Cadi paused, an expression of regret before she pushed passed it and smiled again. "If not, then let us each face our own enemies and conquer them."

[Cainhurst Crow]

Vihaan Devi gravitated towards Menos.  It wasn't clear if it was because he was another salarian, or that there was another reason, but when Vihaan came over, he asked Menos, "Need anything technically oriented?"

Cadi didn't want to have a public discussion, as she felt it would put Chris on the spot, so she motioned with a gentle push of her head towards the door. 

 

Menos blinked in surprise as he noticed Devi coming towards him. He wasn't used to many people socializing, at least not in the flesh anyway. He could be a real charmer to the digitally insomniac. 

 

"Technically, huh? Well, I'll definitely be needing some modifications to keep my gear from freezing over in case we have to go unprotected on the planets surface..." He said, knowing how utterly cold minus 85 celcius could be, "Maybe something for Matilda as well. A new scope maybe. You got anything in thermal imaging?" He asked earniestly, "I can probably have the expenses docked from my pay. If I can get it taken care of in house, it'd be a benefit."

[TheMajonese]

"I don't know..."

 

"WHEN? TELL ME, NOW!"

 

"I have no idea, maybe three months ago." Her father looked at Naomi with both surprise and anger on his face. "Naomi, what the hell...?"

 

She ungently jostled him back and looked at him with wide eyes. "Three months?", she echoed in a low voice. Then she turned away and began to walk back and forth, she actually spoke more to herself than to her father. "That means she's alive...at least she was when she was here...three months..." Suddenly Naomi turned back to her father. "What did she say? Did she say what she was doing, were she was heading?"

 

He just shrugged. "We talked for a quite a while, about how I left her, about you and Chris, about Aaron, my job on the Citadel, about literally everything but her own activites. I asked her about her job once but she wouldn't tell me so I stopped pondering about it."

 

"And she didn't say what she planned to do next when she left?" 

 

Her father shook his head. "Only that she was going to leave the Citadel. Naomi, why are you even asking this?", he wanted to know and seemed to be worried.

 

For a few seconds Naomi thought of not saying anything but for some reason she wanted to tell her father. "Chris and I, we haven't heard from mom in almost two years. She didn't tell us what she was doing either but at least we've exchanged messages every couple of days, just to stay in contact. And then..." She let out a frustrated snort. "That's it! No reply, no sign of life, for almost two years. I wasn't even sure if she was still alive until now! So if there's anything else you know, you better tell me right now!"

 

Her father crossed his arms and shook his head. "I'm sorry, I have no idea where she is..." He seemed to ponder for a moment. But maybe I can do something to help..."

 

"Oh, suddenly you want to help?", Naomi asked in disbelief and gave a spiteful laugh. "Don't act like you care about her..."

 

Within a second her father was on his feet and stood in front of her. The sudden anger in his face made Naomi stop, she didn't step back though. The way her father glared at her had an inconvenient similarity with Chris. "I don't care if you believe my little story and I know that I can't change the past now...but don't you think that I regret leaving my family? That I regret it every second, every day? That you and your brother had to grow up without a father, without any family except for your mom? After what I did to her, Michelle still wanted to see me and she gave me the chance to explain to her why I left. After almost thirty years, she even wanted to forgive me..."

 

"SHE DID WHAT?" Now Naomi jumped back and her eyes widened. "No way...she did...did she?"

 

"Yes, at least that's what told me", her father replied and tilted his head to the side. "I don't think that she lied to me..."

 

Since his daughter was still completely speechless and just gazed at him, he continued. "Anyway, I could help you find her. Aaron is a C-sec officer and his wife works at the Citadel docking security. I bet they can have access to a list of people who came to the Citadel during the last months and who left. Maybe they can even find out the name and the ID of the vessel that brought Michelle here. I don't know for sure though, I have to ask Aaron first. But if we can figure something out, then I could give you at least a hint..."

 

"Fine, then do it!" Naomi had found her speech again but her body was trembling uncontrollably with anger and a feeling that she couldn't identify yet. "If you find something, anything, you let me know!" When her father nodded, she just turned around and hastily headed for the door. She suddenly felt dizzy and exhausted, it was like after a hard workout. Although she didn't know the reason, Naomi couldn't be here with her father any longer. She had to get out of here, there would be time to process this later, at the moment she just needed to go. Right now, Naomi was confused. All the memories of her childhood came to her mind, at the same time she heard her father's words and together, it didn't make any sense. Naomi didn't want it to make sense. She had always imagined her father to be a selfish *******, a worthless idiot, even a criminal. Now it turned out that he was...a dentist? And his story made him actually look like a victim himself...no, it couldn't be true, there was no way that this man was her father...

 

And although she knew that it was the truth, Naomi couldn't accept it, she didn't want to accept it. Then, something else came to her mind, it had taken a while to sink in. If what her father had told her was true, then...

 

 

 

 

 

"We'll see", Chris said to Cadi and smiled as well. "Maybe I can convince Naomi to stay. I'm sure we will figure something out. Maybe..."

 

"You're done chatting?"

 

Hearing his sister's voice behind him, Chris whirled around in surprise. But when he spotted Naomi, he couldn't even say anything. She stood in the hallway, a few meters behind him and Cadi, and like the day before she was wearing dark trousers, a tank top and heavy boots, her arm still being bandaged. But what made Chris speechless was the look on her face.

 

She didn't just look like she had seen a ghost, with her unusually pale face she had the appearance of a ghost herself. But her eyes glinted and her mouth showed a weird smile.

 

Chris was worried that his sister had another mental breakdown. "Are you okay?"

 

He expected almost every reaction from her but when Naomi ran towards him and flung her arms around his neck, Chris staggered backwards, having problems to keep his balance. While tears ran over her face, Naomi laughed. "Mom's alive!", she almost whispered. "She's alive!"

[Cknarf]

Kurik had left immediately after Reith had finished, and had moved to the lobby of Stormhammer HQ.  He took a seat, and sent a message.

 

[Recipient: Zida Trudas

From: Kurik Trudas II

Subject: Checking in.

 

Hey, sis. I hope your training is going well. I'm sorry I haven't written until now, I have been rather busy with work.  The pay is excellent, and the people I work with are much more pleasant than those back home. Mostly. We're going to a place called Parasc in several days. It will be our first job off of the Citadel. It's nothing I haven't done before, but as you know, there is always a chance that I may not return. If that happens to be the case, know that I love you, and I will always be with you, even if only in spirit. I'm proud of you, and I know mom and dad are too. Feel free to respond at your earliest convenience.

 

--Kuri ]

[Kel Riever]

"Menos," Vihaan said, humored by his modesty, "If I can fabricate it from what we have, there will be no charge.  Perhaps when it comes to the parts for your request for a scope...have an idea for that....first your suit."

Vihaan sat down next to  Menos, and pulled up his own omni-tool.   He examined Menos visually, then brought up an extranet connection on one of the large view screens.  Eventually, he found Menos' armor, and brought up schematics.  "Here, your armor will have modifications we will fabricate here.  I can have you very comfortable at these temperatures.  It won't kill you immediately if you have exposure, but obviously you will want self-sealing qualities, those already in your suit, to be upgraded.  It will be as a normal day on Sur'Kesh, unless you decide that the power drain is excessive, or during combat, where your power will be diverted to shields.  You won't notice the cold much, then, though, and you of course will be able to function without fear of damage.

"The scope...thermal equipment is another matter.  Here, we have basic imaging gear, but...we can go further, if you want to spend five-ten thousand credits.  It is a deal, trust me, I can do it shopping the parts.  We can image to the point that let's you see through a meter of wall, with appropriate power drain, or over a very good distance.  This is what I recommend if you are to be using the scope on your main weapon.  All thermal will link to your HUD so as long as your scope is pointing the way you'd like, you will not have to put your eye to it to receive the benefit.  Again, for cost, and time, which I have."

~ ~ ~ ~

Out in the hallway, Cadi stepped sideways along the wall, to give Naomi room as she practically tackled Chris with her embrace.  She was surprised to see Naomi, particularly with her sudden outburst of happiness.  Seeing Naomi pleased Arcadia, oddly more than expected, but she didn't want to interrupt something that was, well, as important as what was happening.  

"Perhaps you both need a moment without a stranger listening in," Cadi said.  She didn't want to think of Chris and Naomi as strangers, and yet as Chris had said, their time together could be so fleeting.  Arcadia hid her emotions for the most part, except for a second look back as she moved to the door for the briefing room.

[TheMajonese]

Chris followed Cadi with his eyes, he wanted to say something because it felt awkward to end their conversation like that but he actually had no idea what he could say or what he had wanted to say before his sister interrupted him. Besides Naomi's words slowly began to reach his mind and he turned back to her.

 

"Wait...you mean...? Mom...? How do you...WHAT?" Completely confused Chris looked at Naomi who stepped back and seemed to be quite amused about her brother's reaction.

 

"I have to tell you this!", she said with a beaming smile and brushed away the tears from her face. "Let's get somewhere were we can talk, come on!"

 

 

 

 

Only a few minutes later, the two were sitting at a table in a restaurant, Naomi had a plate in front of her that was filled with scrambled eggs, slices of bacon and two rolls with some red jam. Chris was surprised by the amount of food that his sister could eat without feeling saturated, while still looking quite slim. His breakfast had only been a coffee and he was still not feeling hungry at all.

 

At the moment the restaurant was empty, except for the twins and only a couple more people, two of them being asari, the rest were humans. The range of food that could be ordered was absurd, Chris had no idea how large the kitchen had to be. The restaurant was always open and the meals, mostly adjusted to fit the average human and asari taste, that could be ordered, changed depending on the time of day. Chris had been here earlier before heading to the stormhammer HQ. By foot, it was only a minute to get there.

 

Naomi just told him how she, by chance, had found their father and about her conversation with him. Chris needed a while to calm down after hearing everything. Then, he leand back and crossed his arms. "So our father wants to help us by searching the C-sec records for her?" His sister gave a nod which caused Chris to chuckle. "I don't get it...", he said and rubbed his eyes.

 

When he saw Naomi giving him a questioning look, Chris placed his elbows on the table. "Mom was here, three months ago! She even met with that...stupid bastard to talk with him! But what about us? She could have sent us a message that she's alright but instead she won't tell us anything!"

 

Naomi looked up from the scrambled eggs. "Maybe she's doing this to keep us safe."

 

"But..."

 

"Remember what mom used to tell us? That she's making the galaxy a better place? Maybe what she's doing is illegal, maybe she's messing with dangerous people, I don't know."

 

Chris sighed. "Of course she's doing this to protect us. Mom knew that we would search for her and she obviously doesn't want us to find her."

 

With an approving nod, Naomi added: "But I don't give a sh*t if finding her would put us in danger as well. She should know that. Besides, our father could really help us here! If he gets the name of the ship that mom left the citadel on, then we might somehow be able to track it down."

 

Chris didn't give an asnwer, he remained silent and stared at the ceiling. He hadn't really expected his mother to be still alive but now...he didn't want to pursue her. It could be dangerous, not just for him and Naomi, but also for their mother. If she needed to stay hidden, the twins could somehow screw everything up, maybe by blowing her cover or by attracting too much attention. They had no idea what exactly their mother was doing and why she avoided contacting her children for almost two years in the first place. Of course Naomi wouldn't just sit back and wait for her to show up again, but maybe that was the best thing they could do...

 

"By the way, what were you and Cadi talking about?"

 

Naomi's question caught Chris off guard and he looked at her with surprise. At first he didn't even know what exactly they had talked about and it took him a moment to answer. "She wanted to know if were going to be part of the next mission and...ahm...wait, I forgot you missed everything, even Major Reith's little speech." He gave his sister a rundown on the short meeting with Tolema and the mission briefing. "So what do you think? About the mission on Parasc? It might take a while for Aaron to get the information we need so we might as well just go with the rest of the team. And a few days more won't make much of a difference."

 

Naomi seemed to ponder for a while, then she slowly nodded.

 

"We could use the money anyway", Chris continued when he realized that his sister agreed to his arguments. 

 

"Well...okay then...but this planet sounds like sh*t, I hope we won't stay there for longer than necessary." With some regret, Naomi looked at her empty plate. Not just the amount of food that she made disappear was ridiculous, it was also the amount of time that she needed to do it. Despite the talking, it had only taken her a few minutes to finish the breakfast. With a sigh she looked up. "So you and Cadi...you just talked about the mission, right? Not about...you know...what happened yesterday..." Her face turned slightly red.

 

Her brother just shook his head. "You know, Cadi...she...she's...weird." At first he had wanted to say something else but then suddenly decided to keep it for himself.

 

"Weird?", Naomi echoed and tilted her head. "That's it? What kind of weird?"

 

"I don't know", Chris answered hastily and to avoid speaking about this any longer he added: "Maybe you should find out yourself." There was a reason Chris didn't want to talk with his sister about the blue haired woman. She had told him about the demon inside her and that wasn't the first time he heard somebody say something like that to him. 

 

Naomi leaned back and folded her hands behind her head. "Fine", she sighed. "I guess we have to talk to her anyway if we take on this mission. But let's get our gear first..."

[Kel Riever]

Not one to let things get to her, Arcadia found a certain unusual emotion as she got to the door to the briefing room.  She slowed when she reached out for the control to open them, disconcerted by the feeling of disappointment she had at them leaving.  Or likely leaving, or possibly leaving, she wasn't even certain.  The attachment she found herself having to the presence of the twins was not a feeling she was very familiar with.  

Cadi took a different tact coming into the briefing room again.  While still bothered, she looked to the rest of the team.  Vihaan was going over schematics with Menos.  Kuric was typing some sort of message.   The turian seemed to finish so she went over to him and sat down.

"You aren't one to typically ask for anything Kuric, perhaps not when asked directly,"  Arcadia said to him.  "So I am asking you in such a way.  Are you prepared for this voyage, or is there something you might need?"

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Darya sat in the corner of the sofa playing a game on her omni-tool. "F***! I can never make it past this level!" She tapped a button, then tapped her screen several more times, and restarted the level.

 

About twenty minutes and several F-bombs later, a Volus walked into the room holding a box. "<hiss> Who ordered the double pepperoni?"

 

Arcadia had a puzzled look on her face.

 

"What?" Darya said. "I was hungry."

 

"That will be <hiss> 40 CR."

 

Darya tapped her omni-tool and the Volus handed her the box, and turned to leave.

 

"Hey! Where's the free drinks?" Darya asked.

 

"Oh. <hiss> Those. I'll be right back," the  Volus said and continued to his vehicle. He returned a couple moments later with a six pack of assorted sodas.

 

Darya pulled the cola, popped open the can, then took a bite of pizza.

[Cknarf]

"As far as weapons and equipment, no. I have everything necessary to complete the task at hand." 

 

 

"But, there are some things I wish to speak with you about. I'd like to begin by offering my apologies for my performance on our last mission. I made several mistakes, every one of them terribly unprofessional. I would understand if I were asked to forfeit my earnings." Kurik nodded. "This next mission will be different, I assure you."

[Cainhurst Crow]

"5 to 10 thousand to be able to see through walls and make out heat signatures? Sounds like a dream come true..." Menos said as he took his incisor sniper rifle, holding it a bit protectively as he looked over to Vihaan, "Just...be gentle, okay? She's one of my pride and joys..." Menos said as he patted Matilda on her side, the rifle being an espeically valued part of his arsenal.

[Kel Riever]

"It can be upgraded for more," Vihaan suggested to Menos.  "The lower cost is a function of purchasing components directly through a contact I know here on the Citadel.  And I don't want to break the bank, but even if I could, we would have to go other places for something better.  Or wait for certain orders to arrive.  This will be fine, and you will have fair performance for what you ask on the battlefield."  The salarian engineer paused a moment, feeling a bit of a pang when Menos mentioned his affinity for his weapon.  "If you prefer I, ah, I could reserve the mounting procedure for the scope to occur under your watchful eye.  Thus you may direct me so that the installation may occur to your liking."

Cadi looked over at Darya and got hungry herself watching the woman eat pizza.  She quieted the rumbling in her stomach, though, as she leaned in towards Kuric.  "You are the consummate professional, Kuric.  At least from what I've seen.  Which is why I found your...delay...last night to be rather unusual.  And without mentioning names, I wasn't the only one to notice.  I said I wouldn't ask questions, so I let it go, but all that I want to make sure of is that you are all right.  Which you are, yes?"

[Cknarf]

Kurik didn't respond immediately. While he didn't remember any events that took place the previous night, there were plenty of photos to remind him, and they were still coming. His omni-tool flashed.

 

"I am in peak physical condition, however..." He opened the message, and sighed. "It may take some time for me to recover from... this." Turning his arm, he offered Arcadia a glimpse of the most recent photograph, before standing up.

 

"I'm going for a walk."

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

After consuming half of the extra large pizza, Darya pushed the box aside. "I'm stuffed. If anyone wants some, go ahead."