Science Fiction Mass Effect - Ashen

IC: Arrex
Ashen Colony, Conference Room, 6th Floor

Standing in the seldom-used room around a large table amongst top members of Ashen's administration, Arrex stared at the projection the satellite scans had provided. Not twenty minutes ago he had received the urgent and top secret summons from Taloz's asari aide and had abandoned his plans for an off-duty night with a bottle and a lone table at Menry. By all accounts he would have been slightly irritated by the whole ordeal, but once he had laid his beady eyes on some of the others assembled, the turian quickly snapped into a military mindset bestowed on him by years of indoctrination at the hand of Hierarchy drill instructors.

Taloz dispensed with the information they had recovered and then proceeded to give out orders, even barking an insult at his assistant; certainly not how a C-Sec briefing would have gone down. The orders read like a hit contract, with the Administrator clearly using the security force for personal gain. In another time Arrex would have disagreed with them and sought out a superior to report the discrepancy, but then again this wasn't C-Sec, and he was now committed to the Ashen Colony through thick and thin.

Noting what his commanding officer Aleena and the human merc Callum had agreed on, Arrex spoke up, the characteristic flange of his species' words echoing around the room.

"I'll do whatever is necessary," he paused to point one of three long fingers on his right hand toward the image of the mysterious base, "Have we tried a comm burst in order to assess their situation? Even if we don't get an answer, could give us some valuable intel into what's happening there and just why they're in distress...and why we haven't noticed this base before."

He looked confidently as his asari superior before directing his gaze toward Administrator Taloz, a man whose colonial tattoos were markedly absent.

TAG: Draco, Conference Room

 

IC: Andrew Kesler
Medbay

Kesler was just sitting there, at the table, by himself. He took another glance at the Asari across the room and this time he made eye-contact. She winked at him.

Kess took another drink and then noticed she was walking over to his table. As she approached, she gave him a seductive smile. He raised an eyebrow and smiled back. "Have a seat," Kess said, motioning to the empty chair.

Instead of sitting, she leaned over the table and whispered into his ear, "I've got something for you." She stood back up and, without taking her eyes away from his, she said, "Close your eyes."

What was he gonna get?! Intrigued, Kesler closed his eyes.

"Now open them," she said.

Kesler opened his eyes to find himself starring down the barrel of a gun. And beyond the gun was the image of a Batarian. Before Kesler could even react, the Batarian pulled the trigger...

- - - - - - - - - -

Andrew Kesler awoke with a jerk. He now found himself looking at the ceiling of the medbay. His entire body was covered in sweat. His heart was beating a mile a minute.

As his muscles slowly relaxed, he realized it was only a dream. No, a nightmare. That damn Batarian. That image will probably haunt Kess for the rest of his life.

His heart still pounding, he rolled over and swung his legs off the side of the bed. "Doc," he said to the Drell that was near him, "I gotta get outta here." He slid off the bed and his bare feet hit the cold floor.

TAG: DarkLordoftheFins, Draco, any others...

 

Kai'Thala nar Oran, the Menry

And now she'd attracted the attention of the local drunk. Fantastic.

"Hey, uh, Blue." Collin's nose wrinkled and- Kai flinched backwards- his breath stank. "Could you give me that Fornax you found?say at a discount or?or maybe for free, a favor or something, seeing as we?re friends?"

"You wouldn't want it now." Kai was careful to keep her tone level, not giving this human any openings. "The filter system chewed it up pretty badly. Mac and I could only tell what it was because of the title."

Picking up drinks and chit, Kai turned and waved to Mac, indicating that she was coming.

"There he is now! Keelah, I must have kept him waiting. That's me, you know. Always talking." She bobbed her head to Talmot in thanks, wanting to clear off quickly. "Thank you for the drinks. I really must be getting back to my superior."

Kai hurried back to Mac, placing the drinks down on the table. "Sorry about that. Took a little longer than I intended."

[TAG Baratheon, Draco]

 

ooc: Became victim of one of those Draco-pms concerning the diagnosis. And the flashback to Aleena is combined post with SirakRomar.

Dr. Merlot
MedBay

He had to get out of here. Of course. They always had to get out of here. The problem probably was, they returned too fast for Merlot´s taste.

MedBay had seen few interesting cases lately. Toxins, sure. Those breathed through leaks and those digested willingly and in to high doses. Other than that it had been a cauldron of boredom. A terribly relaxed job it was - being a doctor on Ashen. Stitching up gun-wounds had been a welcome distraction. He had done his time stitching up wounds when he had served. Humans had not been regular guests, but anybody calling himself a Doctor had some profound knowledge in human physiology these days.

Gun wounds. Humans. The Man screams and Merlot kneels down. "Why did you do this?" He asks Brack. And Brack stretches and looks down. "That was why have come here, forgot? To catch a killer." The elder Drell points the gun to the wounded humans head. Merlot pushes himself between the gun and his patient. The man has done nothing to them. He has been in the elder Drell´s way and Brack had simply opened fire. "NO. He is my patient. There is no evidence against him. You cannot . . . " Brack raises his eyes to his colleague. "He isn´t." He smiles and seems to drop his weapon. Then a shot hisses through the air. Merlot feels the air between his legs heating up, as a precise shot hits the human?s heart. Shocked Merlot turns around and sees not much is left of the humans? skull. And an injector is in his hand. The needle is already in Merlot´s leg. "Or what do you think a human technician is doing with an injector, hm?" Brack asks. Then the elder turns around. "Details, Merlot. You need to keep track of the details. What for have we been blessed with our memory, if we cannot see the things important enough to remember?" Lectured and embarrassed Merlot stays behind. "Yes, my . . . "

A spasm ends the flashback. It is so vivid, he can feel the needle itch in his leg. but his face turns to Kesler. The bounty hunter. A human he could actually save. "You have two high velocity shots into your chest. He aimed for the upper thorax, as he would have found it in a Batarian body. and hit your left wing of the respitory system you humans call a lung. Lung is that right? Anyway, we could patch it with artificial tissue and the damage won´t have any lasting effect, although you might experience problems to breathe from time to time. He used poisoned bullets, actually. Some special acid, meant to maximize the effect. Your luck they seemed to come from the last great Turian exploration war. They were much too old to have any effect. All in all we need to record another day of breathing to make sure your lung does not simply explode inside of your body. And the colony will cover your expenses. So do not worry about that part. It is our excuse for not realizing the danger earlier." Merlot closed his file and coughed into his hand. "If you feel in such a hurry because you want to hunt down the man who did this to you, I assure you there is no need for that. The man died shortly afterwards in a terrible . . . accident."

"How long can a Batarian survive in the atmosphere?" Aleena asks and looks at Merlot. "They are quite good in adapting." He says and clears his throat. "About five minutes before the damage is irreversible." Merlot answers. The Asari never showed any emotions. "Fine, if something happens to him while we try to get him out of that airlock I have all the information we need. Doctor." Merlot nods and leaves that cold blooded Asari behind. She is protecting them all and he knows that. Although something inside of him screams it is not justice. He hears how she contacts one of her security officers. Maybe the Turian? "He seems to have locked himself in Arilock B-7, when can you be here?" And the alarm of the airlock opening to the outer atmosphere can be heard. Merlots stays around t

 

Short update for all those in need of any. All others I felt like not disturbing their scenes.

Conference Room

The Administrator did not like the complicated view of the security people. But he was professional enough to understand their need to see the finer details of such a problem. They would be out there living or dying.

Any traffic we would have seen, mining makes noise. He had not thought of any of this and he knew it would fall back to him, if he had overlooked anything important. He needed to solve this quick.

So he reached out with his hand and Lia actually needed a little too long to understand what he wanted of her. With hasty moves she handed him the data pad. "Communications have somewhat been limited. Only a standard message repeated over and over again.: This is a Code Black emergency call, request immediate evacuation by any nearby sources. Repeat." The Turian looked up. "Then the message repeats. It doesn´t seem to come from any communications-array, even though our satellite show they got an impressive one. It seems to be a standard emergency-broadcast by an automated system. Probably triggered by a certain alarm. Or a computer assumes the inhabitants can´t call for help themselves, anymore." He folded his arms over his armor and gave Arrex a long and hard look. The other Turian was the most easy to read for him and he knew they would not become friends anytime soon. Then his gaze wandered from him to Aleena. The cold-heart Asari and her men stood united. How much had he hoped cultural differences would show over time. But probably he had provided them a good enemy to unite against. Enemy . . . until lately that had been someone you did not share a drink with. Now it had a very different meaning. The Salarian was only worthy of a brief look. He was unreadable anyway. And the mercenary. Callum. A man working for money and the Administrator paid him. But Aleena spoke his language. Knew his needs.

Today he was actually happy his security was a working and functional unit. He would have to reconsider his past attempts to gain more control over them, probably. If he made it through this with his job. "You´re right," he answered to Callum then. "Absolutely right. Whatever it is, it´s a danger. And it is . . . how did you put it?" He gave a rare predatorily smile. It always looked strangely on a Turian. Their faces were not made for smiling. "We can´t have that."

Administrator Taroz turned to Aleena again. "I authorized the use of the Mantis. Get over there and make sure this problem . . . vanishes . . . quietly and . . . IMMEDIATELY." Taroz nodded and then turned to Bayane. "She comes with you. If they mine I need to know how much and how pure." And with that he turned and

"You´re in charge Aleena. Do whatever needs to be done. I´ll take full responsibility." He said while leaving. Lia followed him. she bit her lips. She wanted to talk about the other fragment of a message. Taroz had ordered her not to. He would not make things more complicated. He would not slow anything down. He would not fall from grace because of some idiot coming to HIS MOON!

Tag: SirakRomar, Kahn, BLem (feel free to move forward until you have reached the gunship with your next post)

---

[i]Hangar II[/i]

And the platform containing the Mantis-Gunship slwoly raised to the main hangar deck.

[image=http://images.wikia.com/masseffect/images/4/48/Mantis.png]

Markus, a human technician who was responsible for the vehicle turned away from his current discussion over his comm. "Listen whatever it is you got on your radio there, it can´t be a long-range wave over that distance. Ergo the problem is your machine and not the signal. Probably you get a Mako from the outside and your software messes it up." He sighed. "Anyway, need to go and ready the mantis. My boss won´t feel too much sympathy for me trying to explain you there is nothing out there." "Markus I really think I . . ."

Markus hammered his hand down on the button that killed the connection and turned t

 

Kai'Thala nar Oran, the Menry

Kai glared at Collin's outburst, the two glowing lights in her mask that marked her eyes narrowing.

"No, professor." She replied to the Hanar in her politest tone. "I'm afraid I haven't heard anything."

In fact, this was the first indication Kai had had that anything might be amiss on the Ashen Colony. Mostly, the young engineer kept her head down and didn't interfere too much with how the station was run. Quarians had a hard enough time in the galaxy without causing trouble by asking too many questions, and it was widely known that the Turian Administrator had a temper on him.

"What made you think that something has happened, anyway?" Carefully, Kai took her own drink and poured it into a small container, affixing it to her suit's nutrient pipes. Eventually, the ale would find its way into her system. Never you mind how. "All the news I've heard has been about the storm."

[TAG Draco, Baratheon]

 

Talmot; The Menry

"Thank you for the drinks. I really must be getting back to my superior."

"Sure."

Talmot caught a quick glimpse of twin blue flashes as Clio and Ana moved quickly through the bar to a back room. The two dancers were late again. Scowling, he drummed his fingers on the counter. He should have a chat with them after their shift; when people complained about them he always seemed to be the one to catch grief.

He almost jumped at the sound of an unknown voice not five feet from where he was standing. Of course he knew it was Hanar before he laid eyes on the floating bag. Nobody could mistake that monotonous voice, or the excruciating propriety native to the species. And if the rumors were true, the Batarian was looking at the only representative of its kind on Moloch?some sort of scholar.

When the Professor offered his services to the bar?s patrons, Talmot couldn?t hold back a sarcastic laugh. "Not unless you can teach Asari how to tell time." It seemed that the Hanar didn?t hear him though, or perhaps it had just ignored the jibe. Whatever the case, it floated over to hover near the two mechanics in the corner.

Hans mumbled something that Collin must have thought was funny because he started laughing again. The Quarian turned to regard him, but the man was too busy wiping tears from his eyes to notice her attention. Talmot saw it and shook his head. That?s all he needed was something starting here before the shift even properly got underway.

The Batarian walked over to the two drunken men and leaned close, his voice a low growl. "You humans are starting to get on my nerves. Insulting everybody who walks through the doors, it?s bad for business." He stopped to inhale on his cigarette, the smoke streaming out of his nostrils. "I had a couple varren once who liked to bark a lot, kind of like you. Just about as ugly too. Had to kick them sometimes, or they?d never shut up."

There was a long moment of silence between the three of them. Hans looked down at the counter, then back up at Talmot, a smirk on his face. "Ugly? Speak for yourself, four-eyes."

"Yeah," Collin chipped in, "Besides, your breath reeks something awful. I bet Clio wouldn?t touch you with a ten foot pole."

The Batarian glared at the two men. Then he nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but Ana might, if I paid her good enough."

Satisfied that he'd deflected the men's attention away from their new guest for the moment, he turned his attention back to the corner where the human, the Quarian, and the Hanar were in the middle of a conversation.

It was strange. Talmot had some Hanar liquor stored under the counter, but he'd never had occasion to pour it yet. It was something of an acquired taste, mostly just the Hanar themselves that enjoyed it. He waited to see if the Professor needed anything, straining to catch whatever bits of the conversation he could.

Tag: Draco, Livi

 

IC: Andrew Kesler
Medbay

The Drell doctor explained his injuries to him. Kesler could feel the pain in his chest return as the doctor spoke of it. The he told Kesler what happened to the Batarian he was following.

So the son of a ***** died from the toxic atmosphere. Good riddance. Although Kesler would have preferred to kill him himself. Forget the bounty. After what happened, he had wanted revenge. Now, it seems he can't get it.

Then Doctor Merlot proceeded to tell him what he could and couldn't do...because of his current health and condition. "Alright, I gotchya," Kesler responded as the doctor stared him down. "No going out into the toxic atmosphere, no alcohol, and be back here overnight," he said, reiterating what Merlot told him. "But I sure could go for some grub." He patted his stomach. His hand felt the paper-like material he wore. He looked down at the hospital johnny he was wearing. He thought he felt a draft when he stood up a minute ago. "And, uh, I could use the rest of my clothes..."

TAG: Fins, Draco, any...

 

Merlot
MedBay

"The rest of your clothes." Merlot´s dark eyes stared a moment at the human, then he nodded and gave him the humourless smile so typical for his race. "Of course. I´ll get them." He turned and walked thorugh his almost empty little medical station. Not too much to do, he realized. Only the human outsider to worry about. he had not really bought the man´s habit of "cooperation" and the last thing he wanted was standing in an OP when his wife . . . his girlfriend he reminded himself . . . came home. He decided today was the time for some special services. Despite that, he could need something to eat, too.

Returning with the Bounty Hunters clothes he nodded. "Your clothes, Mister." He said and handed them to him. Then his gaze slowly crawled over to the Menry. "And to make sure you are fine I´ll come with you over there. My lunchtime, anyway." He said and turned around, so the human could dress. Different then other species humans seemed to possess a well-developed sense of shame and dignity. Something Merlot had always liked about them.

Tag: Dubya, Draco

 

Andrew Kesler
Medbay

The doctor handed him his clothes. "Thanks," Kesler responded. He hadn't even noticed the Drell had turned around. Kesler just took the johnny off and started dressing. Merlot was a doctor, after all. So Kess was pretty sure he had seen "human parts" before.

The undergarments came first, of course. Then the pants. But when Kesler stretched his arms out to slide them into the sleeves of him shirt, he felt something pull in his chest. This pain wasn't what Kesler was used to. A few cuts, bruises, but never multiple gunshot wounds...well, he took one in the arm a long time ago, but never in the chest harming vital organs.

The last thing to put on was the light armor. That Batarian had caught him with the armor off.

It won't happen again.

"All set, Doc," Kesler said. "You ready to head out?"

TAG: Merlot, GM, others...

 

IC: Nera Cay
37 Miles from the Colony

Nera squinted ahead into the darkness. The ash was thick, and visibility was down to a mere handful of metres. Even if Douglas and Eyana were here, they would have to be practically on top of them before they saw anything.

But then -

"There," Nera said suddenly, pointing. "I saw a," and the Volus waited patiently for his suit to give him the next breath before continuing, "red light, just over *click, inhale* there. It might be *click, inhale* them."

As if to prove its existence, it blinked on again. Nera felt oddly like it was watching them, but of course that was silly - lights didn't watch. And if it was their missing teammates, they should be watching, anyway.

Right?

TAG: Sarge, Draco

 

Aleena
Conference Room

She took another deep breath and waited until the administrator was out. That sorry piece of a turian tried to save his own butt from being roasted over the fire of the consortium. and they were meant to clean up his mess. anyway, he was at least smart enougn not to stand in their way. The gunship was a good option and her team had not been dwarved by any security concerns. She was underpowered anyway, she could not have afforded to loose another gun.

"Good. Good." Her second good was almost hissed out of her body. "Let´s prepare. Louren, get us MedPacks and Communicators. Callum, get the heavy guns from the lockers. Assault Rifles for everyone, that includes our civilian." Aleena gave the drell woman a look. A geologist. but at least a Drell. they were cold-blooded. some said killers by nature. She would not panic, at least. "Arrex, you get to the cargo area and pick up the good stuff. Demolitions, three grenades for everyone of us and long-range radio triggers." She nodded. "I´ll get us the tactical data on some screens and we meet in the hangar at half an hour. Understood? Then go." She turned and began working immediately. Taking the data from the console and transmitting it ot her mobile datareader.

She wondered if the storm would possibly trap them over there. Then again, the gunship was the only craft able to navigate through it.

This was by far no perfect tactical situation. But the element of surprise, the second colonies jeopardy and a brutal and flawless assault from their side could still equal out the chances. This had to be done.

Blue energy bristled on her arm, as the Omni-Tool hummed alive around her arm. the orange light displaying various options, she uploaded the data. Then she looked up at the Drell who still stood there. "You might die, today. Why don´t you say goodbye to your lover?" She asked. And nodded.

Tag: Kahn, BLem, Draco

 

Lyle Parker
37 Miles from Colony

Lyle didn't really need this current reminder as to why the colony was called Ashen. This reminder of course being the impenetrable gray vortex of ash that whirled around not only him but the volus that had been sent on with him to find two missing members of the team. To say that the task that had been set before them in such an environment that offered only meters of visibility was difficult was being polite. Add to the fact that the people that they were searching for didn't seem to have working communications and they might as well be trying to find a needle in a haystack.

?Jesome to team two. Jerome to team two. Anything? You have found anything??

Ours seem to be working quite nicely, Lyle thought sourly as he brought a hand to the side of his helmet. The suit he was wearing was the only thing that protected him from the natural dangers of Moloch but even he knew that if they were caught in the middle of one of Moloch's famous - and constant - storms then they were quite easily screwed. Which is one of the reasons why he wanted to get out of here quick.

"Lyle here," Lyle spoke into his helmet comms. "Nothing but ash, wind, and plenty of toxins that'll kill us mighty quickly if we stay out here for much longer." Though having not hit any kind of textbooks ever since he got off Earth, Lyle still possessed enough intelligence to know some of the unique, itty bitty details that would affect the human body if it was exposed to the kind of elemental forces that Moloch possessed. And he didn't want to see any of that firsthand.

"There."

Crap, Lyle thought upon hearing the volus. Out loud he spoke, "Hold on Jerome, we may have spotted something." Turning to look at the volus first, Lyle soon looked to where the short alien pointed, trying to the spot the supposed red light that was over there. "Can you make out what it is Nera?"

TAG: DarthXan318, Draco

 

GM-Note: For all those wondering (and my PMs suggest there are people) I would like to clearify something. Now is still a great time to join this game. There might be events somewhere in the future plotline that will make joining harder, but now it is still no problem.

---

[color=crimson][i]37 miles from the Colony . . . [/i][/color]

The red light blinked once more and then it was gone. "Have you found them? Have you found them??" The question on the radio sounded urgent. After some month on Moloch the miners had probably already realized by themselves, the storm was coming faster than expected. But before Nera could make out anything more in the dust, a figure, more a shade of a person became visible in the cloud of dust that just passed them. Someone wearing a red suit. "Help me. Help ***** is Douglas?" It was Eyana´s voice coming on the short range communit. She stumbled towards them and soon her blue face was visible inside the suit. She fell to her knees, now Nera´s height, right before the Volus.

From Lyle´s perspective something else was visible, though. Her suit was loosing gas. Oxygen, most likely. In less than five minutes it would probably be empty nad force her to breathe the toxic air of Moloch. Her only chance now was to get back to their pick-up. Or she would be dead very soon.

"Douglas. have you seen Douglas?" She asked Nera, putting her weak arm on his shoulder. It was obvious, she was in pain.

[b]Tag: Sarge, Xany[/b]

[i]Everybody else will get an update, tomorrow ... [/i]

 

GM Approved


Name: Taylor Harris
Species: Human
Position: Trader
Appearance:
--- Eye colour: Hazel with green flecks
--- Hair colour: brown/blonde, wavy, tied up in a messy ponytail
--- Age: 27
---Skin: Caucasian
---Height: 5ft 5in
---Build: Athletic build
---Attire: Plain black bodysuit over which she wears a set of well worn light armor. Over this she wears a loose dark gray jacket. She also wears black protective boots and gloves A utility belt/holster is worn on her waist and a dark navy bandana holds back her hair. Her more casual attire consists of a light grey t-shirt and navy combat trousers.
---Distinguishing features: patches of burn scars up her left side including her left leg and arm.
Equipment: Personal pistol (Raikou IV) and a data pad
Likes: Social drinking, card games, music, working out
Dislikes: Smokers, liars

Biography:

Taylor Harris was born September 9th 2156 on earth in the state of Texas USA. Her father ran one of the biggest haulage and logistics companies in the state and when she was old enough she was expected to start work in the family business. But driving long distances over the US?s second largest state quickly started to lose its appeal and Taylor began to consider other things. While finishing off a job in Dallas, a recruitment drive concerning the alliance system marines caught the young Texans attention. Her father did not approve initially but Taylor insisted it, saying ?Why just settle with the lone star state when there are billions more out there to see?

At 19 years old she enlisted and attended a local Recruit training depot and upon the completion of her basic training ended up in the system alliances marine logistics corp., serving aboard an alliance supply ship that was used to dispatch supplies to numerous teams, colonies and bases throughout citadel space

She served the alliance and marines loyally for several years but the events of one mission was enough to be the undoing of her military career. After a serious violation of Marine protocol and just barely escaping an arrest after a court martial, Taylor was unceremoniously discharged from the Marines. At a loss of what to do she offered her services aboard small independent supply ships for a few years before finding a more permanent position on a cargo ship called the MSV Chameleon. After that she disappeared off the radar for a few years before surfacing again on the planet moloch where she now operates a small supply store within the colony of Ashen. No one but Taylor knows what happened during those missing years

After many years in space she still retains her distinct texan accent, to the delight of some people and the aggravation of others. A typical tomboy type, She is practical, independent and can stick up for herself and others if needed. She sometimes lets her emotions get the better of her, such as being quick to anger, but also has a soft side though it takes a lot of trust to get through that guarded exterior.

 

Lyle Parker
37 Miles from Colony

"Hold on Jerome I think we found someone!" Lyle spoke urgently before he focused all his attention on the red suited individual that stepped forward.

Upon closer inspection, Lyle was indeed able to see a blue face within the helmet of the red suit; an asari. Was it Eyana? While the asari pleaded for help and used the volus for support, the human quickly stepped forward and, carefully, placed his hands on either side of the asari's helmet in order to tilt her head so that he can better peer inside. At first glance, one asari could look like any other asari to a human that was less experienced with the alien race; they all possessed the same blue skin, feminine appearance, and head crest.

Lyle, however, had quickly become accustomed to the slight differences in the asari the longer he traveled through space and met more and more of their kind. Other then her voice, Lyle recognized the minute details of her head crest that differentiated her from the other asari and the high cheekbones on her face. This was definitely Eyana, the same asari that he has worked with on occasion since coming to Ashen. And it was this same asari that they had been looking for.

"Jerome, we found Eyana," Lyle spoke in his comms. There was a hissing sound and Lyle catching the sight of gas caused him to tilt his head to get a look. What he saw made him curse. "Her suit's been compromised; she's leaking oxygen. It could only take a few minutes before she runs out and starts breathing in Moloch's toxins. We're going to take her to the pick-up immediately so have them ready for us."

"Douglas. have you seen Douglas?"

"Let's worry about you first," Lyle spoke, this time to Eyana. "We got to get you out of here."

Considering Nera's size, Lyle thought it better if he helped the asari. Taking the one arm that she didn't have on the volus, Lyle placed it around his shoulders while his own arm came around her waist to help support her. "Come on, let's go. We'll find Douglas but you're the one that's leaking oxygen. What happened?"

TAG: Xani, Draco

 

Callum

With the emotionally attached idiot of a colony leader gone, Aleena got to work actually setting things out for the mission. He admired that on the ball functionality, one a professional level, any other stuff he admired he'd keep to himself. An idiot he was not. When it was his turn for orders he nodded and gave a small two fingered salute, "On it Boss, see you in the hangar." Then he left, with a bit more haste than was actually needed at first. He quite hated rooms like that, their pompous 'officiality' bothered him, he just had to get out of it.

Out in the corridors of the colony towards the armory he exhaled and inhaled as though he'd been holding his breath, Nathan hated it, but rooms like that were just so stuffy that he just couldn't stand it. After the damned fiasco that had been his completely unnecessary discharge, at least in his mind, he'd never been comfortable in them. Now free of it, he could actually think on the mission at hand. It just didn't sit well, too much of the situation reeked of illegal activity, pirates or any other dozen of violent groups in the Terminus Systems. Too many unknowns in an already tactically unsound situation. He didn't like it.

For all his pondering, and worrying, all of which did little good, Callum found himself in front of the armory door. Pulling an ID card out of one of the pouches on his hardsuit he slid it through a reader. ~Please Input ID Code~. A 'simple' 16 digit code later and the heavy blast doors that protected the armory, and in case of munitions detonation the colony from it, slid open granting him access. Stepping inside the doors slid closed again once he was clear.

Ashen's armory wasn't that well equipped, in so far as saying that it wasn't quite capable of supporting a full scale assault battalion. It was however more than well equipped for a mining operation, when it came to the defense of the mines, the financial backers of the operation held back nothing. That included security in acquiring the weapons. With a small sigh of annoyance, despite his understanding of the need, he stepped up to the lone console of the room and activated it. "Armory Computer, Log: Callum, Nathan Authorization number 9745-Delta-Tango"

~Authorization Accepted~

"Authorization of assault weapons granted. Begin requisitions. Full squad plus one, load out M-8's with full load of thermal clips. Requisition." The simple security VI replied an acknowledgment as it proceeded with the request. Along the walls lockers unlocked and opened automatically. M-8 Avengers sliding out into an easily removed position. ~Requisitions complete. Removal of weapons logged.~ The last part, Nathan knew, was a less than subtle reminder that 'if anything goes wrong, we can pin this on you'.

Putting that aside, he got to work on getting the weapons ready to move. His own M-8 he put on his suits hardpoint for it, the rest he placed in a hover cart with their thermal clips. A simple process that combined with the rest of the job had taken maybe ten to fifteen minutes. All that was left was to head to the hangar, well that and one other thing. Stepping up to his own locker he opened it and secured his helmet, normally he'd leave it on while on duty, in case there was a need to enter the mines quickly, but for the meeting he'd 'dressed down'. He also grabbed his SMG and pistol and secured them to his suits hard points.

With all that said and done the trip down to the hangar took him maybe five minutes, his clearance letting him wave himself through the checkpoint outside it despite carrying enough weapons to start a small war, which Nathan was pretty positive they were about to do. Thankfully, they paid him enough to do this sort of stuff.

Tag: Security Team.

 

The Menry

Mac gave the Hanar Professor a long look and then turned to his Quarian colleague, as she returned to his table. "No prob. Have a look, have you ever seen something like this?" He asked and folded his arms. "Looks like a warship generator, but adapted to serve a colony as an energy source, right?" He asked. Kai'Thala nar Oran had probably really never seen anything like it before. But the quality of integrating this machine into an environment not meant to house it . . . she was instantly sure a Quarrian had worked on it. Strange enough everything else did not look too Quarian.

Collin and Hans had lost interest in digesting more alcohol, by now. They had counted their credits and knew they had to get more from their room, before having another round. "Gotta go. here your freaking creds, four eyes." Collin said, barely understandable anymore. "C´mon Hans. let´s leave the ocean to the fishes." He nodded to the Hanar. "And divers." He said and looking at the suit of the Quarian, he seemed to think that was incredible funny. He laughed out loud. Hans only grunted, but followed his colleague. "See you around. Talmot." He yawned and was on his way out. The Hanar ignored both and turned his full attention to the Bartender. "This one has felt it. This one has dreamt." He said with all serious. "And the honorable security officers of this fine station have left it thirty minutes ago. All of them except their youngest." He added then and moved closer. Leaning his head, body or whatever one called it forward. "This one is worried. this one would like to digest something refreshing, this one thinks." He said almost conspiratorial, as far as a creature like him could manage to do so.

Tag: Livi, Baratheon


Outside Menry

Outside Dr. Merlot and Andrew Kesler where about to enter the Menry, when Merlot received a message. He allowed Kelser to enter first. The bounty hunter was now in full armor, but without weapons. He had seen nobody on their way back. All miners were still out there. But he probably felt watched. Like someone was lurking somewhere nearby.

Dr. Merlot received his call at a holographic console nearby. Bayane appeared before him in a pink reproduction of her image. The female drell smiled embarassed and then got to the point. typical for her. "I am about to leave and it is dangerous. I know you would never agree, so this one is send half an hour after we are already on our way. take care. I´ll be back and you can yell at me for doing this. Love you. Bee." And it was gone. no further comment on the issue.

Tag: Fin, Dubya


The Shop

Right on the opposite of the Menry, next to the Medbay was Taylor Harris little shop. It did not look like much, but the miners got whatever they needed here. And they liked it for that kind of service. New miners soon found it to be a useful place to have friends in. And Mara Monroe was no exception. She had arrived only weeks before and already had made herself an asset to the mining operation. An engineer and expert miner the woman seemed to be barely in her twenties. Now she pulled various things on the desk of the counter and sighed.

[image=http://celebritycellphonenumber.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Summer-Glau.jpg]

"Hey," She gave Taylor a smile. "Okay, I have a little . . . odd question. I hope you don´t mind. You know I ran into a little drouble lately around here and I wanted to ask . . . I know it isn´t really legal. But do you sell guns?" She asked. her hands raised immediately, into a defensive stance. "Nothing big, jsut big enough to scare away the dudes, you know?" She asked and gave Taylor a desperate smile. "I can pay. hell they pay enough to buy anything here on Ashen."

Tag: Leigh

ooc: Giving all other players a few more days to reply, before moving forward. Welcome Leigh!

 

Kai'Thala nar Oran, the Menry

Kai sat down and took the data slate from Mac's hands.

"Looks like a warship generator, but adapted to serve a colony as an energy source, right?"

The Quarian nodded absently as she flicked through the specs. This was a seriously sophisticated piece of engineering- re-purposing warship equipment was difficult at the best of times, but compensating for the extra stress a colony would put on it made the task near-impossible. Slowly, she read through the details of the generator and made mental calculations of her own. The difference between the generator's performance pre- and post- installation was virtually nil. Work of this quality could only have been done by one of her people.

"Keelah." she breathed, before throwing down the report and pointing. "Mac, see here- these integration circuits. And here, that patch job on the main feeder line. That's standard Fleet procedure. I mean, it's difficult to tell from just the plans but I'm sure, Mac. I've watched my father plan integration work before, and this is the same. I can feel it. This was done by a Quarian."

As far as she knew, though, Kai was the only Quarian on Ashen. She certainly felt that way from the stares and comments she elicited wherever she went. Who had done this? An exile? A deserter? Another like her, searching for a gift to end their Pilgrimage? And why?

"And yet look at the housing, the connectors." She indicated the structure that now held the generator and the cables that led from it. "It's totally different. Like, I don't know, the generator's speaking English and the rest of it's speaking Batarian. Where did you get this?"

Kai turned to look at the Hanar. 'Maybe the Professor was right. Maybe something is going on."

[TAG Draco]

 

IC: Taylor Harris
Ashen Supply Store


Taylor Harris leaned against the main counter of her small supply store, pouring over a datapad as numbers and data flickered rapidly over the screen. Price comparisons of suppliers and manufacturers scrolled rapidly and graphs blinked red and green. A small frown crossed her forehead. The supplier fees were going up by how much? With an audible sigh she stood and tossed the datapad onto a shelf behind her before consulting another electronic manual. The store had been quiet all day, customers had been few and far between, save a couple of miners who needed to satisfy their nicotine addiction. It wasn?t the biggest establishment in the galaxy but it was enough to earn a living from.

The sound of someone entering the store caught her attention and she looked up. Her hazel eyes rested on a young woman. What was her name again? Monroe? A relative newcomer to the operation Taylor had heard on the wind that the woman had quickly earned a reputation throughout the colony. She nodded slightly in acknowledgement. Pretty thing, appeared to be barely out of her teens. The young woman took a time to browse the supplies, inspecting and picking up a few items. Putting the manual back, Taylor turned to completely face the counter and straightened up as the woman approached the counter.

"Okay, I have a little . . . odd question. I hope you don?t mind. You know I ran into a little trouble lately around here and I wanted to ask . . . I know it isn?t really legal. But do you sell guns?"

A small knowing smile formed on Taylor?s lips and her eyebrow quirked at the woman?s immediate defensive stance.

"Nothing big, just big enough to scare away the dudes, you know? "I can pay. hell they pay enough to buy anything here on Ashen."

Monroe flashed a desperate smile and Taylor nodded slightly in understanding. Ashen may have been coined as a place of wealth and opportunity but you still encountered sleazebags and lowlifes as you would in any part of the galaxy. She waved the woman?s excuse away before crossing her arms across her front.

?Hey no-ones judging you. Girl's got the right to be able to defend herself after all. I think I might have what your looking for but??

She said quietly and tapped her lip with her finger, hoping that the young woman would take the hint. She surveyed the store. It was still empty save for herself and Monroe. Satisfied, she disappeared behind a divider that separated the main part of the store with the storage area come small office space that occupied it. Occasionally Taylor received items that were outside her usual stock. Items that she knew the security force within Ashen would strongly disapprove of. But the store had a reputation of being able to supply the miners with whatever they needed, and Taylor made it her business to honour it. Besides, It didn?t hurt to have a supplier who owed you a favour now and then. Puling out a code secured strong box from a drawer in her desk she entered the combination and pulled out what she was looking for. Taking a plain non descript box from the corner of the room, she placed the pistol inside and exited back onto the shop floor before speaking in a quiet tone.

?Kessler. Basic model pistol. Not very fancy but it should do. There are conditions however. One, This is all off the record honey, hush hush you understand? And two please don?t go shooting up the colony, If the administration knew about this they would fire my carcass into the nearest sun"

She took a moment for the woman to contemplate her words before looking at the younger woman, a curious look on her face

?So, you said someone was giving you trouble?"


TAG: Draco

 

Talmot; the Menry

"See you around. Talmot."

The Batarian gave a ghastly smile as Collin and Hans got up to leave. "Don?t get lost, humans. Hate to find you crying in the latrine again." The two men stumbled away, passing a Drell and a fellow human who were on their way into the bar.

Talmot turned his attention to the Hanar, who had silently floated up to the counter.

"This one has felt it. This one has dreamt. And the honorable security officers of this fine station have left it thirty minutes ago. All of them except their youngest. This one is worried. This one would like to digest something refreshing, this one thinks."

Talmot reached down out of sight, his hand returning a moment later holding the Hanar liquor. A scowl found its way onto the Batarian?s scarred visage.

"Dreams don?t concern me," he said brusquely, pouring a measure of the alcohol. A cigarette hung precariously from the corner of his mouth as he swept his two good eyes over the Hanar. "But you?re a professor. So?mind educating me as to why the security team would go for a walk with this storm kicking up? It sure as hell can?t be for some picnic. Word is the Administrator here has about as much sense as a Vorcha during breeding season, but I?ll give the guy some credit. He probably ain?t the one clearing my paychecks for no reason."

Tag: Menry patrons

 

IC: Arrex
Conference Room

Arrex had received a brief but perturbed return stare from Administrator Taloz. Turians were exceedingly difficult to read by outsiders given the nature of their rigid and stern facial structure, and few of the others assembled could tell the other man wasn't exactly thrilled with him. It didn't matter however, because Arrex had a feeling most beings of Ashen didn't have a particular love for the administrator in the first place.

With the briefing concluded, Taloz and his aide walked past all assembled as they exited the room. Aleena took a few moments to issue orders to the team, directing Arrex toward gathering explosive equipment and field implements before rendezvousing in the hangar. Fortunately, the heavy equipment locker that would be the turian's destination was quite nearby where the Mantis gunship was being held. "Yes ma'am," he replied to the asari before making his way out of the conference room and toward the hangar area.

---

The heavy equipment locker had everything he needed. A brief search of the stores with the help of a lamp, and Arrex soon amassed a small pile of detonation packs, comms augments, and even a box of grenades. It was mostly just repurposed mining equipment, he realized, with the box of grenades being the only military-grade item he had requisitioned. The batarian security officer stationed at the locker had required a full scan of Arrex's ID numbers before turning the items over to him. A cautionary [i]"Don't go and blow yourself up, Arrex,[/i] was all the caution the older man had offered before returning to a smoldering cigarello he kept seated in a nearby ashtray.

After a brief few turns down some narrow side passages the turian had come to know since his time signing on, he was at the hangar bay striding across the deck plating toward the waiting Mantis. Being the first one on-station, he got to work unloading. Five minutes was all it took to see to it that all the equipment had been properly seated, and he took a minute to lean against the inside of the craft's loading bay. Pulling up his communicator, he keyed in the signatures of security team that had been forwarded. "This is Arrex, away team. Have heavy equipment waiting at transport. Ready for anything. And Aleena, maybe we should see if Administrator Taloz wants to come along to, you know, lead from the front."

He laughed to himself before exiting the ship and walking around the front to look out of the sealed hangar toward the swirling darkness of the approaching storm. It was mesmerizing the way it turned and billowed, and for just a moment the swirling and arcing patterns backlit by starlight pulled a shape forward from the depths of his memory.

[image=http://blog.caponatastudios.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/destiny.jpg]

At once a flood of images, sounds, and words poured into his head, all recounting horrors that had occurred deep within the Serpent Nebula almost a year ago. Turning away he shook his head abruptly, unwilling to recall what seemed like a nightmare to him now; a bad dream best forgotten.

He raised a hand as he spotted [b]Callum[/b], armed to the teeth, walking toward the gunship.

[b]TAG: Security[/b]

 

OOC: Sorry. Having trouble loading the website. Couldn't get on at all yesterday.



IC: Andrew Kesler
The Menry

He stepped into the place and left the doctor to take his call.

Kesler looked around and saw other alien species around. He was pretty much a stranger to this Ashen Colony, so he was a little unsure of himself right now. Plus, he was healing from some gunshot wounds...not to mention he had that feeling someone was watching his every move.

The human bounty hunter, in his full armor, slowly made his way up to the bar. He leaned in toward the barkeep. "Gimme some--" he paused, remembering what the Drell doctor told him about the alcohol, "something non-alcoholic. Doc says I can't drink quite yet."

TAG: Menry people...

 

Talmot; the Menry

Before he could get a straight answer out of the Hanar professor, Talmot was interrupted by the appearance of another customer. A human male, his brown hair cropped close to his head, wearing a suit of light armor. He moved carefully up to the counter and stopped in front of the Batarian.

"Gimme some?" He paused for a moment, "Something non-alcoholic. Doc says I can't drink quite yet."

Talmot?s head tilted to the right as he took stock of the man standing across from him. "Is that right?" He set a glass on the counter and poured a thick crimson liquid into it. "This comes in from Serrice, made out of xenthia stalks. Should go down easy enough, and seeing as you?re fresh out of sick bay it's my treat. You want something else it's gonna cost you though."

The Batarian blew out a cloud of blue smoke. "Got some nice armor for an Eezo miner, human. Those mines must be more dangerous than I thought."

Tag: Dubya, Menry patrons

 

IC: Andrew Kesler
The Menry

"This comes in from Serrice, made out of xenthia stalks. Should go down easy enough, and seeing as you?re fresh out of sick bay it's my treat. You want something else it's gonna cost you though."

Kesler took the drink and held it in his hand for a moment. The Batarian had offered it for free? Great. "On the house, eh? Thanks," he commented appreciatively. He took a swig and felt it flow down his throat as the Batarian blew out a cloud of blue smoke.

"Got some nice armor for an Eezo miner, human. Those mines must be more dangerous than I thought."

"Oh, I'm no miner," Kesler responded. He leaned back slightly and took a quick glance down at his armor. "Actually I'm a bounty hunter. I followed someone here to Ashen and he ambushed me. So I'm stranded here for the time being." He took another sip.

TAG: Talmot, other Menry people...