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Post by Maelstrom on Jun 25, 2014 15:39:34 GMT -6
"Jonathan," Emily said, using his real name as she only did when they were completely alone, with no chance of being overheard, "external sensors have picked up motion within the prescribed security perimeter."
He was surprised she would mention it. Aside from announcing the presence of visitors when they reached the shuttle hatch, his security protocols extended an exemption to all members of the crew, including Enaya and Anelya. The only reason the protocol was still in place was that he saw no reason to ever disable it.
"Visual scans have determined the individual is not a member of the crew," Emily finished.
He froze for a moment. A thousand thoughts raced through his head, trying to figure out how someone could have gotten on the ship without his knowledge. That someone could have remained hidden since Cartegena seemed highly unlikely. The only reasonable explanation that he could come up with was that someone managed to sneak aboard during their action against the pirates. Either a pirate had sneaked onto the Valiant or...
"Emily, full security procedures," Maelstrom called, as he leaped to his feet. He started out of his quarters and towards the armory without hesitation.
Maelstrom cursed himself for having taken his armor off earlier. The Consorts suggested that wearing more casual attire would create a more relaxed environment that would help them work with him. Wearing civilian clothing while alone in his quarters was not an unusual thing for him, but to stay out of armor when doing work afterwards, as he had been, was something he almost never allowed himself. Too easy to be caught unprepared for a fight.
The first thing he did was to retrieve the small headpiece used for secure communications with Emily from his pocket and attach it over his right ear. He extended his right hand towards the armory as he passed, using a biotic pull to draw his Geth-modified SMG into his grip. His left hand instinctively drew his standard issue knife from its sheathe on his the back of his belt; he never left himself completely unarmed. The hatch opened, even as he heard the hum of the shuttle's systems rising in volume, defensive countermeasures arming, combat systems going to standby, and additional security protocols reserved for high-alert status coming online. Most of the -systems would be useless in the cramped quarters of the shuttle bay, as there was insufficient room for flight and use of the Vengeance's weapons systems could breach the hull. At least the ship's barriers could keep its black paint job from getting scratched if bullets started to fly.
"Directions, Emily?" Maelstrom demanded, as his boots hit deck plating.
"Subject is off the rear port quarter," Emily reported through the earpiece.
Maelstrom turned towards the direction she indicated, halfway raising his SMG and bringing his knife up in front of himself, in a position to guard. His eyes scanned the area quickly, not picking up any signs of an intruder. It was not like Emily to be mistaken about such things, though.
"I'll need a bit more than that," Maelstrom whispered, advancing in the general direction as silently as he could. If he had not seen his target yet, it was possible they were also unaware of his actions.
"Sensor contact terminated. Last point of contact was eleven point three seven meters, behind a grouping of storage crates," his VI informed him.
Maelstrom advanced on the crates. His muscles tensed the closer he got, and he found himself becoming enveloped in a familiar blue aura. He hated being out of his armor in a situation like this, but his biotics could allow him at least some protection.
Finally, he turned the corner around the crates and trained his weapon on his target. His level of alarm went up tenfold when he realized it was a human. He wondered how they had found him, and why the agent waited so long to make her move. A small part of him, though, warned him to be certain. He would never forgive himself if he killed an innocent.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Maelstrom demanded.
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Post by Eric Lysander on Jun 25, 2014 15:42:07 GMT -6
Eric complied, wondering how the rest of the team would react to this latest turn of events.
Would anyone come to his defense? Probably not. This was far from his first brush with the authorities.
“I’m sure you’ll get a big reward for this,” said Eric. “Nice pat on the back. Praise for bringing a criminal like me to justice. But while you’re baskin’ in the afterglow of a job well done there’s somethin’ you should think about: the Hierarchy’s not the only ones out for my blood. I wasn’t lying with my little sob story at the bar; Alliance Intelligence has been followin’ me. They’re still hopin’ to use me to get to Commander Shepard. Watchin’ to see if I do anything stupid. They find out about this, I can’t stop ‘em from comin’ after me. They’ll think I’ll talk. Give away military secrets in exchange for my life, my freedom or even use your government to get me to Shepard. And once again we'll have a war on our hands.”
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Post by PaladinKOSP on Jun 25, 2014 17:03:49 GMT -6
After Artacus finished searching the human he stood back up from his crouched position. "Shut up already." He calmly said to Eric, stepping back from him. "I don't need to hear your sob stories. I'm following orders, that's that. If you are innocent after all.. shame on us." The turian lowered his sidearm, leaning against the workbench. "You can turn around now."
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Post by dargene on Jun 26, 2014 3:05:20 GMT -6
The storage bay door clicked shut and Meldom activated the lock. He had seen Eric go into the other one for whatever reason suited him. Moving his arm over the Metal crate that he owned his omnitool activated and opened it with a Hiss sound, Looking inside he grabbed a metalic disk and Pressed a small button on the side, this caused a long pole to slide out from the top with an arcing hook.
Dressing into his casual attire he placed his armour onto the rack and positioned the armour limbs in the right place so it was almost as if he was wearing it. He then began to look it over for any damage, After being satisfied that nothing was damaged to much he reached back into the metal crate and pulled a smaller box with wires attached to it, He attached the wires to the suit and pressed a button causing a small purring like sound to happen as His suit was refilled with Eezo.
Turning his gaze to a small screen in the Metal crate he grabbed it and decided to set up a long distance call, after the bandwidth access had been allowed he started to ring someone.
As the Call was accepted Meldom spoke instantly "Did you restrict my suits functions Shroud.." He said with a dull voice, The reply was almost as quick "Shh, im in the middle of something.. and yes, Thank me later" Shroud looked directly at the screen "Well knowing you, i guessed it was a matter of time before you did use the less then safe modes.. So i added a little something" Meldom Looked at his suit and then back to the screen "So how do i remove it.. or activate it, what if i get into trouble" Shroud scratched the back of her head "Yeah.. thing is its voice activated, first you have to tell the VI you want to use that mode, Then i have to allow it.." Meldom Sighed and placed a hand on his head "So i can only use it when im on a mission with you.. Next time you tamper with my suit im going to make your weapons fire sideways or something.." He says with a smile "Anyways, I better get back to the suit, Be careful Shroud with what ever you are doing" She nodded "You to.. Don't try tamper with the safeguard" She added before the screen shut off.
Meldom sighed and leaned against the chair he was sat in and closed his eyes. The soft Hum of the Suit being Refilled seemed to soothe him, Closing his eyes for a moment took a few deep breaths and relaxed, or he did until someone whispered to him, his eyes shot open and looked around to see if anyone was there, He could still hear the whispering, he tried to strain and listen to it but it just made him feel odd each time he tried to focus on it as they were inaudable.
Looking around the room and checking for anyone or thing he stood on a wooden crate and looked into a vent "Nothing" he said while hitting the vent once "Where is it.." He muttered as he did a check once more before leaving his suit to replenish and unlocking the Storage bay door, He walked out trying to locate the source of the whispers, was this a joke "Alright you got me.. come on out now" as he said this Maelstrom moved out of his ship with gun in hand "What the.. maybe he heard it also" He muttered as he started to move towards him, as he did he gave a quick glance into the other storage bay where he saw Eric and Artacus, the turian seemed to be agitated and holding his weapon out.
Meldom stopped for a moment looking between Maelstrom and the others who should he ask before moving towards the door of the storage bay and leaning against it "Were you guys whispering just now" he asked to Eric and Artacus, "i heard something from the other storage bay.
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Post by Eric Lysander on Jun 26, 2014 7:37:26 GMT -6
Eric turned to face Artacus smirking, partially enjoying the nagging he was giving the turian even if nothing he said was getting through. It was a lot like his past where he would try to get chummy with or annoy his arresting officers. He was already in trouble and was dead to rights. Still, it did not mean that he should go quietly.
If your last stop is Hell, might as well enjoy the ride, his old friend Serge once said.
"Hey, could ya blame me for trying?" said Eric. "Last I checked, mouthin' off isn't the same as resisting arrest." Then he sighed and said "So... you puttin' the cuffs on me? Am I confined to quarters? Do I get the bag over the head? Or will you just knock me out? There is a procedure to this - take it from me; I've been manhandled by some real pros in my time!"
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Post by PaladinKOSP on Jun 26, 2014 8:43:18 GMT -6
Artacus ignored the humans rambling as he looked around once more. The turian squinted his eyes as he spotted the salarian taking a glance at him. He looked closer and saw that there was another person as well with him, probably Maelstrom due to the black armor. They may have found something, but he wasn't sure what. It didn't matter to him now, since he had his hands full at the moment. Artacus turned to Eric, giving him a cold glare. "I'm not like other officers. Just shut up before I have to do something painful." He said assertively.
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Post by Eric Lysander on Jun 26, 2014 10:27:46 GMT -6
“To an unarmed, passive suspect,” blurted Eric. “Real sportin’ of you.”
He noted Artacus looking about and pausing for a moment. There were others in the cargo bay. Eric was sure the turian was tensing up. Even if the other mercenaries and his employer sided with him and believed the vid footage, it was one mess Eric was sure Artacus wanted to keep to a minimum.
“Not everything sweeps neatly under the rug,” Eric continued in a hushed tone. “Sometimes there is no rug. You wanna hand out pain, I can take it.”
Then his voice went dark, his glare matching the turian before him. “Just remember: if you’re wrong… I may wanna return the favor…”
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Post by Maelstrom on Jun 26, 2014 13:18:10 GMT -6
Maelstrom's sights continued to rest steadily on the young woman's torso. Many mercs would have aimed for the head, but the chest was a larger target, affording a better chance to hit the target if they suddenly decided to become uncooperative. True, a head-shot was generally quicker, but if the young woman was with Cerberus, he would want a chance to get answers out of her anyway.
Again, though, he dealt with the nagging fear that maybe she was not associated with his nemesis. Maybe she was just in the wrong place with the wrong damaged ex-Alliance gun-for-hire.
"Warning, security situation detected," Emily alerted through his earpiece.
"I've got this one under control, Emily," Maelstrom said, surprised at her error.
She continued as if she did not hear him. "Artacus Kalmavius is holding Eric Lysander against his will. Threat of lethal force and of torture have been issued."
Damned asshole, Maelstrom fumed. If there was one thing he could not stand, it was betrayal of one's friends. That he considered Lysander a friend only made the matter all the worse. The thought made him pause for a moment. Huh... When did I start developing friendships again?
"Emily, tap into shipwide communications. Transmit in your voice a warning as follows," Maelstrom said. "'Attention, Subject Artacus Kalmavius is a traitor. Hostages taken. All ships' personnel arm yourselves and report to shuttlebay at once. Repeat, Subject Artacus Kalmavius is a traitor. Report to shuttlebay at once.'"
"Understood," the VI replied. Almost instantly, the message began playing over the ship's comms system.
Returning his full attention to the young woman, he said, "Now, back to our business. Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
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Post by Esteban Bridges on Jun 26, 2014 13:35:46 GMT -6
Esteban waited at the command station, tapping his foot impatiently. Fischer wanted to talk with him in private, but hasn't bothered showing up or even replying to him. He sighed, tugging on the fringes of his sport's jacket to take away the edges. He wasn't a man prone to fidgeting. But right now, he felt annoyed.
That was when something came over the ship's comm system that completely ruined his day. "'Attention, Subject Artacus Kalmavius is a traitor. Hostages taken. All ships' personnel arm yourselves and report to shuttlebay at once. Repeat, Subject Artacus Kalmavius is a traitor. Report to shuttlebay at once.'"
Esteban glowered, his entire body tensing up in anger. He tapped his wrist harshly, wincing at the impact, activating his omnitool and patching himself into the ship's comm system. "Belay the order," he growled, marching with great purpose toward the stairs. "I want to see Meldom and Fischer down in the Cargo Bay immediately. Contain the situation by any non-lethal means necessary. Artacus. Stand down. You will not receive another warning..."
The handsome engineer reached the stairs and nearly bolted down them. He did not abide traitors. Plus, he was growing to really like Eric. It was probably why he almost didn't include the 'non-lethal' part. But he invested credits into Artacus. He would find out what the hell happened there, if only to get his money back..
He typed away at his omnitool, not acknowledging the crew around him with anything more than a curt nod.... he was so focused he didn't notice what Maelstrom was doing, nor the unknown person he was with. Instead, he tapped into the ship's sensors and internal defense systems, studying one and prepping the other. All the while getting closer and closer to where the conflict was going on....
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Post by Eric Lysander on Jun 26, 2014 15:21:12 GMT -6
"Attention, Subject Artacus Kalmavius is a traitor. Hostages taken. All ships' personnel arm yourselves and report to shuttlebay at once. Repeat, Subject Artacus Kalmavius is a traitor. Report to shuttlebay at once.”
The VI Emily’s warning blared over the ship’s PA system. Eric remained still but his eyes darted to the ceiling. Maelstrom had finally stepped out of his shuttle for a breather and caught wind of the predicament. But Eric was unsure why the merc with the Collector armor did not personally intervene instead of tasking his VI to sound the alarm.
Unless it had to do with the shadow he noticed earlier…
"Belay the order," Esteban’s voice growled over the speakers next. "I want to see Meldom and Fischer down in the Cargo Bay immediately. Contain the situation by any non-lethal means necessary. Artacus. Stand down. You will not receive another warning..."
Eric relaxed only a little; this reprieve could be short lived after all. The combatants would be put in their corners and Esteban would demand an explanation. Then Artacus would show the incriminating evidence and then, unless someone could expose the vid for the fraud it was, have the entire crew marshalled against Eric. If Maelstrom was convinced of Eric’s “guilt,” he may not limit his strikes to “something painful” as Artacus threatened. Eric slowly raised his hands, looking askance at the turian mercenary.
“… your move…”
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Post by PaladinKOSP on Jun 26, 2014 16:07:07 GMT -6
As the warning of Artacus being a 'traitor' blared through the ships intercom's, the turian stood where he was, keeping his gun aimed at Eric. He didn't expect this to be quiet anyway, he was in a ship with a bunch of mercenaries. It was a profession he despised, a profession that lets you kill people for money and it was without honor too. The thought of being with those dishonorable bastards a few years back was revolting. The turian began tapping his foot on the ground in boredom, waiting for the others.
"My move was already made."
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Post by Weyrloc Karn on Jun 26, 2014 16:43:25 GMT -6
"'Attention, Subject Artacus Kalmavius is a traitor. Hostages taken. All ships' personnel arm yourselves and report to shuttlebay at once. Repeat, Subject Artacus Kalmavius is a traitor. Report to shuttlebay at once.'"
"What the hell..?", Karn mutters as he glances up and around the area as the comms blared, his confusion picking up slightly. He dims his eyelids slightly as he hears the name, 'Artacus Kalmavius' burns it's way through his mind yet again. It made him angry, the name was just enough, not even the person himself could make it any worse. He thought somewhat better of the turian, given his colder demeanor and professional attitude. Though, given this time, I suppose he didn't know much about the crews previous interactions. He shrugs his shoulders, before returning to his shotgun, a hand running along it's metal frame with a rag. It was best not to get involved, it's not like he honestly cared what happened to him, or really anyone else.. "God damn moron..", he mutters again as he resumed his duties, slowly of course.
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Post by The Hunter on Jun 26, 2014 18:19:41 GMT -6
"My move was already made."
The slurping sound of an empty juice package rattled from Andrei's finished meal. He stepped around the corner, his tech armor and omni-tool like a suit of emerald encasing him. His free hand reached up and unhooked the package's induction port from his helmet, "And what move would that be? Calling an entire ship of armed individuals down on you? Perhaps you are suicidal, they have VI programs to help with that as well as medications."
He was careful to stay back from the Turian, he'd already determined that being close was potentially lethal even with his Tech Armor upgrades. Those venom claws that Cabals used were nothing to scoff at. He opened his comm channel to Esteban, the Salarian, and the N7 Destroyer, "I am on scene. The Turian has a pistol aimed and the human Lysander in restraints. Are you unharmed, human? I know that Turians can be... overzealous with prisoners."
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Post by Joe Fischer on Jun 26, 2014 19:00:45 GMT -6
Joe had just reached the bridge when the announcement came over the ship's PA system and then seconds later the boss came over and countered with his own message.
Priorities clashed inside him. On the one hand, he had been trained to obey his commander's orders, but then there was the matter of one of the team suddenly taking hostages. In the end, it was no contest. Someone's life trumped his hurt feelings.
He raced back to his pod, snatching up his shotgun--checking to make sure it was loaded and had a full heat sink--and then hurried down to the shuttle bay. He wished he could put on his armor, but there was no time. He would just have to use whatever cover he could find.
*****
Reaching the shuttle bay, he found some some packing crates that provided some cover while giving him a view of the situation. He saw that the quarian and salarian were already there, as well as seeing the turian pointing a gun at Lysander, whose hands were cuffed.
He took cover behind some packing crates that was behind the turian and to his side. If he tried to shoot Joe, the time it took to turn and aim might as well be a year.
"You can relax now old man, I'm here," he called out casually. "Artacus, would you please tell me why you're pointing a gun at my friend?"
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Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2014 19:40:56 GMT -6
Iskra had arrived at the door to the cargo bay when the announcement had come over the the ship's intercom. Unarmed and unarmored, the doctor hesitated continuing forward into a situation she had little information on but pressed her hand against the lock after she realized, no matter the outcome, someone would probably get hurt.
She was quiet as she hugged the wall, watching the group form around Artacus and Eric. Her eyes scanned for Maelstrom and found herself surprised at the lack of his presence. The merc had been the one to send out the distress call to the ship.
"Artacus, would you please tell me why you're pointing a gun at my friend?"
Iskra stopped in the shadows, listening for the Turians response.
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Post by PaladinKOSP on Jun 26, 2014 20:12:04 GMT -6
The turian looked around him, seeing the group forming around both himself and the human. Artacus calmly looks down to his omni-tool and plays the video. It would show the same thing as before, Eric walks behind the ambassador and shoots him the back. The turian didn't bother of saying what Eric was wanted for, he hated repeating things twice. "I swear, if they even tear my clothes.. I'll hurt them badly." He thought to himself.
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Post by Joe Fischer on Jun 26, 2014 22:08:57 GMT -6
Joe tried very hard not to laugh at the video; he knew in tense situations like this the most important thing to do was remain calm, and laughing at the hostage taker could push him over the edge.
"Well, I will say one thing, Artacus," he said, keeping a bead on him. "That is a very good video, but I know a guy that in thirty minutes can make it look like I did it. Now, I may be a steroid-abusing neanderthal, but even I know that if I was going to assassinate an ambassador, I wouldn't be stupid enough to wear my N7 armor while doing it. And since the old man is at least as smart as me, I know he wouldn't make that mistake either.
"Someone is running a game on you, Artacus," he continued. "Whether the target is you or the old man, this is just something to get you out of their way, only they don't have the courage to do it themselves. I've worked with turians before, and while you guys wouldn't know a good time if it came up and shook your hand, I also know you also place a high value on courage and honor. The whole galaxy knows turians don't run from a fight, even if they're losing; the only time you're going to see a turian's back is when he's dead. Whoever sent you that video is your enemy, not Lysander. They're dishonorable cowards, Artacus. Show them the error of their ways."
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Post by Esteban Bridges on Jun 26, 2014 22:09:05 GMT -6
Esteban's gaze turned to ice, staring right through Artacus. He waited until Fischer finished before he spoke up. His tone was dark, each word laced with controlled anger.
"I don't care if he is a Reaper and single handedly killed all the Protheans," he whispered harshly through grit teeth. "Both of you are under contract, on a mission for me. You, Artacus, are attempting to steal money from me by removing someone I hired. I invested money into him. More importantly, you are sabotaging the entire operation. That is something I will not tolerate. That.." He pointed at the video. "Is meaningless to this mission."
He stepped forward, planting his foot right into the ground with authority.
"Unless you want to be fired and have your reputation as a mercenary permanently ruined, you will step down. NOW."
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Post by PaladinKOSP on Jun 26, 2014 23:21:25 GMT -6
The constant barrage of words from the humans made his blood boil. A mercenary? Him? That made him quiver with rage. Artacus kept his composure however, facing Esteban. "What makes you think i'm one of those selfish, greedy dogs you call 'mercenaries'? I didn't sign up for this mission for money and money only. And tell me, what is meaningless about a murder of a turian ambassador? With the supposed killer right in front of me? If I disobey this order from the Hierarchy, who knows what they'll say. If you have a problem with it, go at it with my superior." He turned to Joe next, his eyes glaring. "And how about you shut up before I cut out your worthless tongue, maggot." He turned back to Eric, his weapon still level. "The cards are in place... they better not be scattered." He thought to himself.
After a few seconds of thinking, he stepped back, lowering his gun to his waist, but still kept it trained in him. It would look like he is backing down. "How about we -not- get blood on my clothes? I just want you all to stop talking and figure this out peacefully.." Although he didn't like it, he had to do it. "A gunfight would've been nice though.." He thought for a moment, shrugging the thought from his head. "No no.. Be focused." He whispered to himself quietly.
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Post by Joe Fischer on Jun 27, 2014 1:32:49 GMT -6
With the turian's last remark about being a maggot, Joe knew that the time for talk was over; Artacus wasn't going to back down. This was his true character, there was no time to create a facade to hide behind. He flicked the shotgun's safety off, aimed at the turian's head and began squeezing the trigger.
Then Artacus lowered his gun. It was still pointed at the old man, but it was down at waist level; however, it was still some progress.
Joe eased off the trigger, but kept aiming at the turian's head.
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