|
Post by Eric Lysander on Jun 27, 2014 9:19:19 GMT -6
With Esteban Bridges and half the mercenary group surrounding him, threatening him, ordering him to release Eric, Artacus verbally lashed out.
"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..." "And how about you shut up before I cut out your worthless tongue, maggot," he spat at Joe before turning back to Eric, leveling his gun at his torso.
Eric took a breath and addressed everyone present.
“Alright, how ‘bout we all loosen our sphincters a bit, huh? First off Artie - bedside manner notwithstanding - is not a traitor. He’s just followin’ orders like the good soldier he’s expected to be… and that’s probably what they’re countin’ on. Whoever sent him that little Oscar clip.”
Eric then focused on Artacus. “The people behind this knew you’d be here… and that I’d be here too. Pretty convenient, but that’s me talkin’. If that vid’s the only evidence let’s make sure it’s really legit. If it is then you can lock me up and hand me over free and clear. I won’t say another word. But if it’s fake… I think you owe it to yourself to find out who thought it’d be funny to set you against me. Now I love a good laugh as much as anybody. And I’d like to think that somewhere underneath your sour, neat-nik exterior there’s a sense of humor as well. Whataya say? We can tell 'em a joke of our own… with a punchline they’ll never forget…”
|
|
|
Post by PaladinKOSP on Jun 27, 2014 14:24:41 GMT -6
Artacus continued to lean against the workbench behind him, tapping his foot on the ground while Eric talked and talked. "At least this human was paying attention.. and tolerable for once.." He thought as he began to spoke. "True. But the fact that the person that suggested this job to me also gave me this job to capture you destroy's your point at some level... still, if it is fake, don't expect me to do anything for you because I owe you for the mistake." The turian replied as he blinked slowly, almost tiredly.
|
|
|
Post by Eric Lysander on Jun 27, 2014 14:46:44 GMT -6
Eric relaxed a bit more but was still on the defensive. “Not to say that your contact’s in cahouts with them. He may be being used as well without knowing it… and you don’t hafta pay back anything. My honor’s damaged enough already - one more dent won’t make a lick o’ difference.”
The N7 spoke with the others. “I guess I could stay under guard or confinement for now. Ease some nerves while someone runs an analysis on the vid… anyone here have any experience with that?”
|
|
|
Post by dargene on Jun 27, 2014 15:32:42 GMT -6
Meldom Slowly tapped his arm almost out of instinct to activate his cloak.. unluckly he was not wearing his suit He silently cursed himself.
“I guess I could stay under guard or confinement for now. Ease some nerves while someone runs an analysis on the vid… anyone here have any experience with that?”
Meldom did a halfsmile "Almost your lucky day.." He said to Eric, "With other.. Clients who want me to acquire things for them I have been on its usually me trying to fool the cameras or people, Know what to look for in a fake video, Created many." He pondered for a moment "If it is fake there will be several bits of data that don't add up or work well together" He sighed thinking about what he would require. "Will need at least three separate Terminals.. Capable of running several process, simulations and outcomes, Darkest room that you can make also would help."
He looked at Eric checking him out, judging him. On the outside he seemed mostly calm, even with a gun pointed at him. He was usually good at calling peoples bluff and reading them, To Meldom, Eric was innocent, or as just about as innocent as mercs come.
|
|
|
Post by Joe Fischer on Jun 27, 2014 20:05:29 GMT -6
"I'll watch him," Joe said, stepping out from cover and lowered his shotgun. He rolled his shoulders to relax the muscles that had knotted up with tension and said, "And if he was stupid enough to kill an ambassador while wearing his N7 armor, I'll push him out the airlock myself. Any suggestions on where we should confine him, boss?"
|
|
|
Post by Esteban Bridges on Jun 28, 2014 16:26:39 GMT -6
Esteban didn't respond at all, merely pulling up his omnitool while the mercenaries speak. He typed his message to the Shadow Broker while stepping back against nearby wall, expressing his extreme displeasure with the Broker for sending him information on the Turian. The fury in his eyes said everything.
After a minute, he sighed and closed his omnitool, walking with purpose to Joe's side. His back was the scene and kept his voice low to make absolutely certain only the former N7 could hear him.
"Fischer," he whispered low. "Artacus will be removed from the team when the mission is done. With the way he is acting, I expect him to become violent. If that happens, kill him."
|
|
|
Post by Joe Fischer on Jun 28, 2014 18:51:36 GMT -6
"...when the mission is done..."
Those five words echoed in Joe's mind. That meant Artacus would be joining them in the attack, and as far as he was concerned that was a mistake. The turian hadn't just broken the bond of trust that existed between them; he had stomped it into the ground, set it on fire and put it out by pissing on it. He would be a distraction, and that was the last thing they needed.
"If it comes to that, I'll put one in his head and not lose a second of sleep," he said, keeping his voice just as low. "But are you sure you want to take him on the mission? I won't speak for the others, but if he comes along, you're not going to get 100% out of me; I'm going to be worrying about what he's going to do. If there's a space station along the way, I say we dump him there."
|
|
|
Post by Eric Lysander on Jun 29, 2014 13:51:59 GMT -6
Stealthy, dependable Meldom stepped to the fore once again volunteering his expertise.
"Almost your lucky day.. with other.. clients who want me to acquire things for them I have been on its usually me trying to fool the cameras or people, Know what to look for in a fake video, Created many." He pondered for a moment and then said to the others "If it is fake there will be several bits of data that don't add up or work well together... hehhh... will need at least three separate Terminals.. Capable of running several process, simulations and outcomes, Darkest room that you can make also would help."
"Thanks, Meldom," acknowledged Eric as the salarian appeared to be studying him.
Eric's N7 counterpart opted for guard duty. "I'll watch him," he said, stepping out from cover and lowering his shotgun. He rolled his shoulders and said, "And if he was stupid enough to kill an ambassador while wearing his N7 armor, I'll push him out the airlock myself. Any suggestions on where we should confine him, boss?"
Eric's lip tightened. "I've been stupid before but never that stupid. Meldom should be able to prove that."
Esteban did not answer Joe's query about where Eric was to be held during the investigation. After closing out his omni-tool he walked over to Joe. They both turned their backs and spoke in a tense whisper, the younger N7's head nudging slightly in Aractus' direction.
|
|
|
Post by Morgan Bryn on Jun 29, 2014 20:54:14 GMT -6
Morgan froze as she heard a commotion from somewhere at the far end of the cargo bay. She cursed quietly under her breath, almost scurrying back to her hiding place, but the growling in her stomach made her think better of it. Risking just enough of a glance out from around the edge of the crate she had her up against, she could only briefly make out a Turian and Human having some sort of heated conversation.
With any luck, they'd create a nice distraction allowing her to slip out of the bay and into the rest of the ship. She turned the other direction, already planning her next dash to cover when a tall, dark-haired man stepped around the crate, an SMG and a wicked-looking dagger pointed squarely at her.
The two stared at each other wide-eyed for a moment; Morgan taking in the man's appearance - Scars, burns, civilian clothes, fancy weapon... probably a merc of some sort if she'd have to hazard a guess. A faint blue shimmer of a biotic barrier flared around him, further indicating this was not someone she wanted to tangle with.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" the man demanded predictably.
Morgan sighed internally. Clearly this wasn't a passenger transport vessel, so she couldn't exactly get away with being a paying customer who got lost on the way to the restroom. Neither could she pull off being a maintenance worker who had decided to take a mid-shift nap and had slept in a little too long when they'd already been in space for several days.
Instead, she held up her hands in simple surrender, indicating she wasn't armed. "Look, I'm nobody so... I doubt me telling you my name is going to do either of us any favors. Let's just say I don't wish you any trouble. Besides... it seems like you have all the trouble you need at the moment." She arched an amused eyebrow at the man with a nod toward the Human and Turian individuals at the far end of the bay as their voices only raised in volume.
|
|
|
Post by Maelstrom on Jun 30, 2014 12:29:42 GMT -6
"Besides... it seems like you have all the trouble you need at the moment," the young woman said. Her reply made him uneasy. If she was Cerberus, she would not have wanted to provide a name, knowing that there was a good chance that he would have record of her in either Emily's database or one of the many partial ones he managed to recover from the bases he had stormed. Still, it was nothing concrete.
Raising his voice loud enough to be heard across the cargo bay, Maelstrom said, "Hey, Bridges. You might want to come here."
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2014 13:06:08 GMT -6
Iskra watched as the men talked to each other, the situation reminding her of her brief period on Tuchanka, though it would’ve been over much quicker and questions only asked after…
"Hey, Bridges. You might want to come here."
Iskra heard Maelstrom’s voice from behind the crates. Walking quickly across the bay, she rounded the back side and saw a young woman at gunpoint. Maelstrom looking concentrated, ready to blow the stranger away if she so much as moved.
“Maelstrom? What’s going on?”
|
|
|
Post by Eric Lysander on Jun 30, 2014 15:32:33 GMT -6
"Hey, Bridges. You might want to come here," Maelstrom called out from the other end of the cargo bay. Eric could make out his friends’ silhouette pointing his gun at another.
An intruder.
Eric sighed inwardly. If the rule about trouble coming in threes was in play someone else on the Valiant was about due to start some or get into it.
Who would be anyone’s guess.
|
|
|
Post by Game Master on Jun 30, 2014 15:57:08 GMT -6
"Hey Bridges. You might want to come here."
Esteban patted the Destroyer on the shoulder and nodded in agreement. "Joe, I would rather toss him out the airlock right now with a distress beacon and let him be someone else's problem," he muttered softly, his lips barely moving. He took a tentatiive glance over towards Maelstrom's area, seeieng what the guy was shouting about. "Problem is, someone out there knew he was here, or tied to Eric. Gotta find out who before making a move. It might be important. I never leave a mystery unanswered."
He made eye contact with the man, his dark, icy eyes meeting the mercenary's gaze in a sign of respect before he headed toward Maelstrom. "I'm on my way Mael," Esteban spoke up at where he last saw Maelstrom. He didn't expect to see the Drell also moving quietly, like watching a sand storm in humanoid form, dressed in tasteful garb and moving like fluid. He never got used to the Drell. They were so... so different. He managed a smile (if Iskra caught Esteban staring) and a respectful nod as he approached.
|
|
|
Post by Maelstrom on Jun 30, 2014 16:16:45 GMT -6
"I'm on my way Mael," Bridges said, before starting over.
“Maelstrom? What’s going on?” Iskra asked, having approached without Maelstrom even registering her presence, just before their employer arrived.
"Not sure. I got an alert from Emily that there was a disturbance in the cargo bay..." Maelstrom laughed. "This was the first disturbance. That turian S.O.B. was the second. In any case, I came out and found her sneaking out from behind some cargo containers. Must not have counted on me leaving Emily's security on twenty-four-seven. Means she's either been here since before I parked Vengeance here at Cartegena or she hopped on during the Vengeance was deployed when we were clearing that freighter. So far, she hasn't been willing to answer who she is or what she's doing here."
Feeling more confident that the situation was under control now that a couple others were there too, Maelstrom lowered his weapons and moved closer to his employer. Leaning in ever so slightly, he whispered, "We need to find out what she's up to. And if she's with Cerberus, I'm going to kill her."
With that, he took a few steps back, expecting that if the young woman was not a threat, his aggressive attitude would most likely discourage her from answering questions. And, if she was a threat, he still had a direct, unencumbered line of fire.
He sheathed his knife. "Emily, stand down from heightened alert status and resume standard Valiant operations."
"Understood," she replied in her more curt, tactical manner, before going through the security system stand-down procedure.
|
|
|
Post by Joe Fischer on Jun 30, 2014 20:54:53 GMT -6
In the military there were two types of orders: direct and implied. Direct orders were clear and unambiguous, such as the order to kill Artacus if he became violent. Implied orders required a little bit of attention and common sense. The implied order in that was to watch him; after all, how would he know if the turian became violent? But he couldn't watch him all the time, he was going to need help.
He walked over to the fellow N7 and whispered, "For the record, I know you didn't do it. I wasn't there, but I know you didn't do it. Like I said, you're at least as smart as me, maybe even a little smarter. Makes sense, seeing as how I've got the muscles and the looks.
"Once we clear up this bullshit, I'm going to need some help," he continued. "The boss is going to cut Artacus loose after the mission, but he doesn't trust him to play nice with the rest of us kids before he does. If he does, he told me to put him down. I can't watch him 24/7, will you help me?"
|
|
|
Post by Eric Lysander on Jul 1, 2014 9:22:43 GMT -6
Eric shook, holding in a laugh as Joe alluded to his own appearance in contrast to Eric’s experience. Then Joe asked for assistance in keeping an eye on the stubborn turian. Eric crossed his arms.
“You hafta ask? Being such a stickler for duty and honor Artie brought it on himself. I thought I showed admirable compliance and restraint… admirable for me, anyways. Maybe we’ll get lucky and he’ll fall in a mud puddle. He can spend the rest of the mission scrubbin’ himself down while we take care of business.”
Eric then said “I can see Alliance Intelligence using the vid to blackmail me into helping ‘em. They’ve got the means to fake it but sneaking it to the Turian Hierarchy to sic Artie on me… risky. They can’t afford another Full Contact War. Someone else I pissed off… other mercs, pirates, officers… half my old neighborhood… geth – nope, that’d require emotions… it’s a bit of a list… maybe Meldom can find a clue.”
|
|
|
Post by Murchadh on Jul 1, 2014 12:25:38 GMT -6
The cargo bay shook slightly as the heavy feet of the ship resident T420 stomped into view. It pilot stood at it feet his wrist extended with a large omni computer screen shinning from his tool. " Ah wooldnae move if Ah whaur ye. he can reduce ye tae jelly in abit fife seconds." He said to the intruder. Never helped to have more guns pointing at someone who just appeared on a ship traveling at lightspeed. With a few taps of the control thor moved slightly to bring it guns into veiw. He really would have to thank Nelia for creating this for him.
|
|
|
Post by Esteban Bridges on Jul 1, 2014 22:52:55 GMT -6
The chaos of organic life.
Esteban mused on that sentence as he left the dimming chaos behind him over toward the emerging chaos that beckoned him. The news reports about the leaked from Commander Shepard's latest adventure said so something about the chaos of organic life. He didn't really care much about it, all sensational journalism for the masses who worshiped everything that Shepard did. That quote about organic life being intrinsically chaotic though... that always felt true to him. Never more so than now.
Esteban met him as he was close, walking past one of his work benches. He stopped at the corner of it, with some of his tools in reach. Maelstrom dropped his voice low, whispering to the Engineer. "We need to find out what she's up to. And if she's with Cerberus, I'm going to kill her."
Esteban considered protesting, not to save the woman's life. But if she was Cerberus, he was far more curious on why she was there and use her to find out more about that organization. But... Esteban took an indifferent glance over to her, looking at her as if she was an uninteresting piece of furnature. ... she didn't look like a spy. "If she is, she's yours," Esteban conceded, fingering an electronic device on his table. But not...."
The small device started to tremble on the table. He frowned, realizing it wasn't limited there. He could feel the vibration caressed his bones coming up through the floor. It rumbled, having the pacing and consistency of footsteps.... a mech...
Esteban tapped his wrist immediately, activating his omnitool. It was his best weapon, though nobody in the galaxy would believe it. Too many relied on guns or explosives. The omnitool gave him options. He came close to running past Maelstrom to get to Iskra and the stowaway. There was no proof she was remotely dangerous and he didn't need any more problems.
"Ah wooldnae move if Ah whaur ye," stated the Scottsman. "He can reduce ye tae jelly in abit fife seconds."
He stared at the display of his omnitool, seeing exactly what he expected. The mech was ready to fire. He took a deep breath before trying to recompose himself. Hoping that Murchadh might still be bluffing in there somewhere and not about to open fire with that much power on one person...
"I do not believe he is bluffing," Esteban said to the stowaway in his disarming business-like tone, pointing with his thumb at the sizable mech behind him. "Hi. Esteban Bridges." He extended his hand toward her, introducing himself. "And you are?"
|
|
|
Post by Maelstrom on Jul 1, 2014 23:32:57 GMT -6
Maelstrom was fuming at the situation, having not been able to help Lysander. On top of that, so far as he knew, the young woman he captured was yet to reveal anything substantive about herself. And, all the while, in the back of his mind, he was still wrestling with the words the two Consorts had spoken over him.
At least Bridges had conceded that the young woman was his to deal with if it turned out she did work for the organization. Though not given to trusting businessmen, his current employer had never given him reason to doubt his word, and Maelstrom intended to continue extending the man the benefit of the doubt until he proved doing otherwise was in order. With that concession, there was really no further reason for Maelstrom to stay by the others and allow his foul mood to show through.
He kept his back to his teammates who were with the young woman. Maelstrom gave them a little distance too. With the Vengeance's sensors filtered and patched into his earpiece by Emily, though, he could hear everything that was being said. He gritted his teeth in frustration at his recent uselessness. Part of him just wanted to put his fist through Artacus' face. That would not serve him, though, and Bridges, according to Emily, already ordered him off the ship at the next stop.
Looking around the cargo bay, Maelstrom noticed the test dummies had been brought out of storage for some reason. There were human, asari, salarian, krogan, and even turian dummies among them. He imagined they were designed for live fire tests. He recognized similarities between the dummies and similar ones used in the Cerberus base where he was held for a time. They were relatively cheap. Internal systems could repair most injuries to the units, and a ship's fabrication device could repair almost anything beyond that level of damage seamlessly, while the internal sensor units would relay information on the punishment inflicted by various impacts and punctures to any linked omni-tool. Maelstrom quickly brought up his interface, interfacing it with the dummy. With the link established, the dummy turned on its platform to face him.
Baring his teeth, Maelstrom let off two biotic punches, one to the gut and one to the lower part of the chest. The readout on his omni-tool stated that the first one would have ruptured the turian equivalent of the kidney, the second breaking three ribs. He stepped forward with his right leg, spinning around, and letting his left leg loose a biotic kick, while jumping into the air. A fraction of a second later, the other leg followed suit. The first impact caused a concussion. The second crushed two vertebrae in the neck, severing the spinal cord.
As he landed, he drew his knife from its holster. He continued the spin, until he was facing he dummy again. With both hands, he launched the knife at the dummy in a two-handed biotic attack. The weapon buried itself so deep in the artificial polymer skull that only half of the hilt was still visible. The omni-tool flashed bright red displays. No amount of medical intervention could have saved the subject of the last attack, and the damage was severe enough that the unit would have to be moved to the ship's fabricator for repair.
Maelstrom walked up to the broken dummy and with a sharp pull and twist, reclaimed his weapon, before starting back towards the Vengeance to put his armor back on so he could comfortably rejoin the others. Being out of his protective shell, he felt far more like the vulnerable Jonathan than the dangerous and valuable Maelstrom.
|
|
|
Post by Joe Fischer on Jul 2, 2014 6:56:40 GMT -6
Joe nodded, both at Eric's suggestion as well as his agreement to the plan. "Well, if there's anyone who can do it, it's a salarian," he said. "I'd like to get more people to help out with Artacus, who do you think would help us?"
|
|