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[Kel Riever]

Cadi stood up, hurriedly fastening the rest of her armor pieces without saying anything, and then said to Chris, "Meet me in my room in five minutes.  Don't have your sister kill you on the way over."  She held his gaze, and he thought he could just barely detect the curl of the edge of her lip into a smirk, then she turned and left.

~ ~ ~ ~

At the pool, Liz gave Kuric a bit more room in the pool as she tread water.  The woman with the dyed hair clearly did not make her feel comfortable, but she made an off the cuff comment to deflect her reaction.  "I've never seen a turian swim better," she quipped, the insinuation of course was that she'd never seen a turian swim until Kuric.  But the joke fell flat.  Whether it was because of that, or that she was outnumbered now, Kuric's earlier comments, or her general discomfort, Liz made to leave.  "Well, I've got to get back to duty.  Stole away here for as long as I could.  Good luck with your mission."  Liz then pulled herself out of the pool and toweled herself down.

[TheMajonese]

Fiveteen minutes ago, Chris hadn't expected anything like this. When he watched Cadi leaving the hangar however, he couldn't help but laugh. Soon, there certainly were things he had to worry about, he would have to look after his sister, but right now? Right now it probably wasn't going to get any better.

 

Before he left as well, he used his omni-tool to take a photo of the white mining suit. Not just because it already looked quite cool, even without any weapons attached to it, but also because he wanted to wait a bit before following Cadi, just in case Naomi was somewhere on the way.

 

On the way back to his room, Chris didn't pay much attention to the things around him. There certainly were reasons against what he and Cadi were about to do but...hell, he couldn't care less. His sister would be fine and that was all that mattered to him. Besides, since it was near impossible to change Naomi's mind, he wasn't going to see Cadi for a long time. If at all.

 

Just a few minutes later, he stood in front of Arcadia's room, now much more relaxed, and knocked at the door.

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh, come on!" Naomi pretended to be disappointed, when she turned to the woman. "You're missing all the fun. Look!" With a smirk she grabbed the pole and held it close to the water surface. It was just within reach for Kurik but Naomi was going to pull it away as soon as the turian tried to grab it. She figured that it would take a while until things would get serious.

[Cknarf]

Kurik made several attempts to grab the pole, only to have it pulled away at the last moment. Less than amused, he folded his arms, and stared up at his comrade's distorted figure above the surface. Aside from an impatiently tapping foot, the turian appeared calm, despite the very real danger of drowning.

[Kel Riever]

Liz felt compelled to stay as she watched Kuric be teased with the pole.  It was probably funny but it was evident she had concerns.  "Exactly when do we think he's going to show that he really wants to get out?"  Liz did come a bit closer.  "I mean, he looks the same as when he first went down there."

~ ~ ~ ~

The door to Cadi's room opened.  She was there, making sure no one was in the hallway as a witness, before she opened the door wider to let Chris in. "Come on," she beckoned to him, with a whisper. 

As she started to take her armor off herself yet again, it was clear when Arcadia wanted to, she could get out of her suit rather quickly when she wanted to...

[Cknarf]

A faint orange glow could be seen under the surface, as Kurik opened his omni-tool. Moments later, Naomi received a message notification.

 

[If you could lower the pole without immediately pulling it away, I would very much appreciate it. --Kurik.]

[TheMajonese]

I should really start wearing only light armor...getting out of that really is a lot faster... Chris had already gotten rid of the armor plating covering his upper body and the white T-shirt he was wearing underneath. After his rather unpleasant experience with Aoide, he had made sure that there were not hairs anywhere on his body that where long  enough to grab. Cadi obviously wasn't in a hurry to undress.

 

"You need help with this?", he asked with a grin. "I watched very carefully when you took off your armor in the garage so I know how it works..." He stepped behind Cadi and took off her chestplate before his hands slowly moved to her underwear while he placed his lips on her neck. It was hardly imaginable that it was the same Chris whose face turned red quicker than a traffic light, and very obvious that he knew very well what he was doing.

 

 

 

 

 

Naomi looked at her Omni-tool and began to laugh. "Look at this...", she said and showed Kurik's message to the woman. "Guess he really wants to get out now...ah, we should probably let him..." Again she pulled the pole away when Kurik moved to touch it. "Maybe...", she said with a smirk. "Ok, for real now." This time she held the pole deeper into the water so the turian could actually grab it.

 

Still snickering a bit, she turned back to the woman. "I guess you're from Koehler's Brigade, right? By the way, what's you name?"

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Lauren finished playing with her food, laughed, and smiled. "Shall we go for a little walk?" she said with a sparkle in her eye. "So, Kamau, you're quite unlike the average merc I've run into. Much more refined and well spoken. Why don't you tell me a little about yourself?"

[Kel Riever]

Kamau nodded, as the two picked up their plates and put them in the dispenser.  "Thank you for your compliment, Lauren.  I for one appreciate having someone to speak with.  A walk sounds good, though I imagine we'll have to leave our wing to see anything much of interest."

Lauren and Kamau did exactly that, heading out of the Stormhammer wing of the complex.  Kamau spoke as they walked, "I will do my best not to bore you.  My training stems most from the Alliance, where I served with Major Reith, although I did not know him personally.  I was not with him on Torfan, but served with him afterwards.  He left the service while I was still in.  There was something about the man that I remembered, a quality if you will.  When I was complete with my term, I was ready to move on from the Alliance, or I thought I was."

Slowing his walk a bit, Kamau said more quietly, "I found it difficult to adjust to the civilian life and in truth, I did not do a very good job of learning a new skill set.  It was an odd occurrence, but somewhere around the time I was considering what to do, and whether I should reenlist, I was contacted by the Major.  His explanation of what he was interested in was not nearly as convincing as my recollection of him, or that he reached out to me.  There is still not much of a reason why he picked me.  I asked him and my response has always been a laugh.   As if Reith was saying to me, 'Of course you, Kamau, who else?'  I have guessed that we share similar interests, perhaps, in that I do not simply want to work for anyone for pay, given our profession.  And I also find working with Reith more appealing than working for the Alliance."

Both Lauren and Kamau stopped at that moment, as their attention was drawn to some sort of commotion down a side corridor.  It was a connecting hallway, where eyes from other areas of the complex could not see into it, and the sound did not carry as well.  There were two men in maroon armor, obviously with Koehler's Brigade, standing over what seemed like a very terrified looking vorcha.  Then one of the men shoved the vorcha, hard.

"Give me a break, Siarist vorcha," the man laughed.  "Tell me you won't fight back for any reason.  Come on!"

"You will not be punished for your anger," the vorcha said, cowering.  "You will be punished by your anger."

The second man laughed.  "Is that from a book?  A fortune cookie?  Your answer to someone who really would hurt you?  That makes you an easy punching back doesn't it?"  Then the man kicked the vorcha in his leg and mocked, "You just going to take it if I do that?  I feel so punished!"

 

[Cknarf]

Kurik used the extended pole to make it to the ladder, and began climbing his way up, and above the surface.

 

*gasp*

 

"Any longer, and I likely would have lost consciousness." Kurik nodded, taking a deep breath. "You have my... thanks!" he grunted, as he yanked hard at the pole in an attempt to pull Naomi over the edge.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Lauren saw the men in the Koehler's Brigade armor mistreating the vorcha, and approached. "Leave the Vorcha alone! Don't you have anything better to do than bully a pacifist? You're a couple of cowards," she said and turned to the Vorcha and scanned it for injuries, and her omni-tool picked up the rapid healing of the superficial injury. "Are you alright?"

[Cainhurst Crow]

Menos had been walking out of the corridor connecting the quarters to the rest of the facility. He raised a brow as he looked around, tapping a finger as he tried to figure out where would be a good place to check out. He looked towards the pool, seeing down into it and seeing kurik apparently at the bottom of the pool, needing help in getting out of it, which naomi appeared to be giving.

 

"Heh...nice." Menos said with a shake of his head, making his way towards the pool area when he stopped. He heard shouting, female shouting if he judged the pitch and cadence right, though he didn't make out what was said. He made his way towards the source of the noise with a raised brow, keeping close to the walls as he navigated his way through the corridors.

[Kel Riever]

"Who the hell are you?" The one Brigade mercenary asked with hostility.

The other pulled him back by the shoulder, "Forget it, that's the Stormhammer crew."

"Doesn't matter," the first said as he let his companion pull him back and the two walked away, "They're upset over a vorcha.  Can't waste my time with these types.

Menos arrived as the two Brigade mercs left.  

The vorcha turned from Lauren to Kamau, the panic in his eyes subsiding, but still cringing.  "I am all right, I am only physically harmed.  Thank you for your strong words that have brought us peace."  The vorcha spotted Menos then.  "You come as three.  I am Besh." 

Then Besh pushed his hands together and bowed his head low to the three.

[Kel Riever]

Down by the pool, the woman from Koehler's Brigade looked at Naomi.  Kuric could tell she was debating if she should answer honestly.  "Uh, Liz.  Nice to meet you."

Even Naomi could tell that while the woman wasn't being in any way outwardly impolite, there was a vibe she got that was very differerent from Arcadia, or Reith, or the Sirenes band members she had met.  Those people Naomi might not have liked, but they didn't seem to try and hide, really, behind their words or how they felt.  Liz was different, a person who Naomi was fairly sure wasn't saying everything that was on her mind.

For better or worse.

[Cainhurst Crow]

Menos raised a brow as he looked to the bowing vorcha, then back towards the two men he'd seen move pass and then to Lauren and Kamau. "Right...besh. Did those two people have a reason for roughing you up like that?" He asked with his arms crossed, curious about what was going on.

[Kel Riever]

Besh shook his head.  "I think they only do not understand, and have not had the teachings.  I hope that this experience has imparted a way for them, no matter how small it may be, to find another path."  He still seemed to cower away instinctively, and stared at the three with his large eyes.

[Kel Riever]

In Cadi's room

The room Arcadia and Chris were in was barely entered, a clean, almost entirely light grey and white decorated (if one could use that term) space of simplicity.  Cadi’s bag that she’d come in with was thrown in the corner.  As she let Chris help himself to getting her out of her armor, the bag was joined by what was being removed from her.

Arcadia laughed, and then sighed as she felt Chris on her.  She put her arms around him and gasped in surprised as she felt him upon her.  For his part, Chris sensed that the warrior woman, who had mostly held her passions under a demeanor of calm, or at least discipline, was putting her controls aside and letting him into herself.  Cadi was all blue flame underneath, and while she pushed back into Chris, she was only too happy to have him win over her, walking her backwards until she fell down upon the bed in the room with him above her.

With yearning eyes, Arcadia said, “I have one thing to ask.”  Then she whispered her request in Chris’ ear.

[TheMajonese]

At the pool

 

After pulling Kurik back to the ladder, Naomi didn't pay much attention to the turian. And she didn't seem to care about Liz' dislike for her. "I'm Naomi. From stormhammer, obviously. Hey, I was wondering wh-aah...!"

 

It would have been interesting to hear what she was wondering but Kurik made sure that Liz wouldn't know what it was. Naomi tried to make a step forward but instead of solid ground, her foot hit the water surface. Even though she immediately dropped the pole and reached back with her other hand to grab the only thing that was within reach- Liz' upper arm-, the momentum already carried her forward. 

 

At least the water wasn't too cold.

[Cknarf]

Kurik, the normally stone faced turian, laughed all the way back to the changing rooms. He was still pretty stone faced though, because, that's like, just how their faces are. Not a whole lotta movement goin' on there.

 

While gathering his equipment, he made sure to take an extra towel.

[Kel Riever]

Liz, of course, had been completely pulled back into the pool with Naomi, going in head first, unceremoniously.  It did get her to break her laughter a bit, so when she got out, she said to Naomi, "Nice one," before getting out, throwing an extra towel to Naomi, and getting herself dry again.

Then as Liz dried off, and did have a bit of a stupid grin on her face watching Kuric head to the changing rooms, she said to Naomi.  "Look, I'm not trying to be a jerk or anything, but your friends seems a bit pleasantly naïve.  Take it from someone who's been a merc for a few years, you stick to the easy jobs like this one and collect the money where you can.   You have enough gear, equipment and I even see you've got the looks, you can convince people to throw you a lot of cash if you play the part right.  But I heard something about your Stormhammer guy, Reith.  He's big on all that hero stuff.  And you both look like enough fun that I'd throw that right out the window because it will get you killed."

Liz wrapped the towel around herself.  She had a bit of a plain look when she said to Naomi, "Get your money and get out.  These guys don't cut it for you, come over and pay me a visit in our wing after you get back from finding what I'm sure is a lot of nothing up at that base."

[TheMajonese]

Naomi couldn't help but laugh when she got out of the water. "Think that's called karma...", she said amused before looking down at herself. Since she was still wearing a light armor with all her clothes underneath, it would take more than a towel to get dry again. But she didn't mind, in the end, it had been her own fault and it had been fun, too.

 

However, when Liz spoke, Naomi's face darkened. It's probably not too bad that Chris and I will be gone after this anyway... But she wasn't sure what she had to think of Liz' words. "Well...ahm...thanks for the warning." It sounded a bit forced but Naomi didn't know what else she could say. "I better get back to my room and get out of all the wet stuff...Anyway, it was nice to meet you..."

 

Naomi quickly turned around and left the pool area. She didn't seem to care that she left behind a large trail of water as she was still pondering over what she had just heard.

 

 

 

Cadi's room

 

Chris listened to Cadi's request and thought about it for a second. "I can't promise anything...", he said before he pressed his lips on hers and smiled. "But we'll do what we can..."

 

His lips wandered from her mouth down to her neck and over her chest. But he didn't want to wait much longer. Everything about Cadi was incredible, Chris already knew that about her personality and now he wanted to know if that was true for her body as well. 

[Cknarf]

Kurik emerged from the changing rooms to find the pool area empty. He shrugged, and set the neatly folded towel down on a nearby chair before heading out.  As he stepped into the corridor, he slipped, and almost fell.

 

He chuckled a bit, looking down at the trail of water that extended down the hall.

[Kel Riever]

Arcadia said nothing more as the fire that burned within her no longer needed to be held back.  She allowed Chris to overcome her and experience her most intimate expressions.

Being with Cadi, to say the least, was an unforgettable experience as the warrior woman left nothing out of bounds.  The knowledge that their time together would be limited only drove her onward and she did not relent in letting him do whatever he needed to with her.  When their last moments locked together had finished, it was with extreme reluctance that Cadi let go.  But when she had to, she lay back for long minutes staring at him with satisfaction.  And a good deal of exhaustion from the euphoria he'd given her. 

Finally, Arcadia lay on her side with him, her smooth, pale, naked skin catching the cool, ambient light in the general darkness of the room.  They still had some time before she had to leave, and she said, "I meant what I said before to you.  If there is something I can offer, some way of helping you find whoever you need, you have but to ask."  Cadi glanced away briefly, before looking back at Chris and added, "Even if you do decide to never come back."

The calm demeanor returned to Cadi, even though she lay there with him.  The individual peculiarities of her form seemed to stand out even more; the small, silver crucifix that hung loosely from her neck, the intricate detail of the tattoo on her arm, the red facial markings that looked beautiful, but the purpose of which was still a mystery, the blue strands of hair that seemed to carry their own electricity through them.

"Te voy a echar de menos, Chris," Cadi said warmly.  "I must leave now to meet with the Major, and then Saba will come to bring us to meet her sister."

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Lauren applied some medi-gel to the Vorcha even though there was no real need. "There is no need to cower before us. We will do you no harm. We are here to investigate what happened in the mine. Do you know anything about that?"

[Kel Riever]

Besh seemed surprised at the positive attention being given to him by Lauren, and when she was done, he stood to his full height.  "Base seven.  Used partially for a newly discovered deposit, and also for exploration, it is the newest base established from this hub.  I have two littermates there that I have not heard from."

The Koehler's Brigade mercs were gone, but Besh still kept an eye out.  "My littermates always maintained contact.  Each day if not every other day.  We would sometimes play video games in our free time hour.  It was good.  My one littermate, Hethu, was worried when he sent me his last message.  He said things did not feel right to him.  They felt not peaceful.  There was one of his friends who had become very angry and had to speak to the supervisor.  He calmed down but was still not happy and then did not talk.  Hethu had also heard of a fight between two crewmembers.  Because of this fight, one fell accidentally into a grinder and died.  This is very unusual.  We are peaceful vorcha.  We do not fight."

[Cainhurst Crow]

"It sounds like you and your littermates were close. You said one of them was worried about the others getting angry. Did he seem off to you? More angry or emotional then usual?" Menos asked, walking towards the others as he stood shoulder to shoulder between Lauren and Kamua.

 

"It's usual for your people to fight. Were these fights over something specific? Don't worry if you don't know the answer..." He said as he looked to the vorcha in the eyes, almost too weirded out to the fact that this was a vorcha he was talking about. Yet talking to him made menos feel like he wasn't talking to anything other then a person, a scared person looking for some answers, like anyone else.

 

"We're here to help. And after this is done, we'll be off this world. You could tell us anything really, and it wouldn't come back to bite you in the end..."