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Post by Esteban Bridges on Jul 7, 2014 17:32:10 GMT -6
Esteban closed his eyes, standing before the ship's heart, the backup mainframe. He could control the entire ship from this unit. He took a deep breath. Cool air poured from vents, caressing his weary face. He appreciated the simple moments like this, a quiet between storms. The first one passed and the next one comes. He had no doubt Eric Lysander was innocent of any crime. Esteban fought alongside him, had his life saved by the former N7. He sighed, blinking open his eyes, turning his head to look behind him. The ship's engine core shone a hypnotic misty blue a dozen feet away from him, quiet as a Krogan clith'alk.
"Data," Esteban uttered his VI's name, one of the dozens of triggers he could use to activate it. His dark eyes shifted down toward his left arm as bright yellow-orange neon lights consumed it.
"Yes?" His VI responded in a slightly monotone chipper tone.
"Study the data from Gin and give me a status update on the ship."
Data was quiet for only a moment before responding to Esteban. "The ship's engines are functioning well within normal parameters. Will there be anything else?"
Esteban sighed, gently elbowing the wall to push off of it. "Send a message to Torrez," he finally spoke up, using his authoritative voice. "Tell him to stop at the nearest refueling station immediately. And then send a message to Maelstrom and Fischer. Ask them if they would be willing to deposit our resident Turian there at the station, unharmed. I do not want any more trouble."
"At once sir." Esteban's omnitool flared up once, telling him that the messages were composed and sent off. He knew Fischer and Maelstrom would do it well before sending the message, but it was polite to make it a request. But that was only part of the storm that he had to deal with. The other part weighed far heavier on him.
"Data. Do you have any theories on how Morgan managed to evade ship sensors?" The Engineer was pretty sure his VI didn't, but just like with Maelstrom and Fischer, it doesn't hurt to ask.
"Depending on her unique collection of skills, there are many possible ways she could have done it."
"If you do not know, just say so." Esteban muttered under his breath, though he only had himself to blame. He never programmed Data to say that. It was always supposed to process the known data and run it through the analysis algorithms to come to possible conclusions.
"Sir... I.."
"Nevermind Data," Esteban shut up his VI with those words, bracing his hands on the edge of the mainframe. He leaned there, staring at one of the dozens of ever-present holographic screens. "Here is what concerns me. The only way I know of how to stay unnoticed in the ship would be to get into the hardware itself or to hack into the software. Either should have been noticed by the dozens of redundancies in the system."
Esteban raised up a hand, punching in a command into the interface. The ship's electronic map pulled up, revealing thousands of miles of wires, tubes, and so much more. "The system is badly outdated. But the redundancies alone should have been able to pick something up. Unless she can turn herself invisible somehow, the only way she could have done this would have been through skill."
"She could have hid within one of the shuttles now docked in the shuttlebay," the VI suggested. "The ship's sensors cannot penetrate the hulls. All she would have to do is use a bottom hatch on the shuttle and slip through one of the trap doors. It is possible, sir."
Esteban frowned deeply, his eyes narrowing as if he were concentrating. "No.... a mercenary would never keep something like that to chance. Plus, Maelstrom would kill her on principle alone. So no, let's not go down that line of reasoning."
Esteban straightened up, brushing some of the creases from his outfit. His hands smoothly slid down. "And even if she managed to hide on a shuttle, it would show her skill again. It would be very difficult to fool shuttle systems. And I'm sure their sensors and software are up-to-date."
Esteban shook his head, closing his eyes again. He took another moment for himself before heading off.
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Post by Maelstrom on Jul 7, 2014 19:04:14 GMT -6
His omni-tool alerted him that a message had come in. Maelstrom knew there were extremely few people who had the means to send him a message directly, so he opened it promptly. He ground his teeth at Bridges' request. Artacus proved himself a threat, willing to betray the team. Having fought alongside him for so long, that made him a severe tactical threat. Maelstrom had not made up his mind how exactly to deal with the situation, but just letting the turian go did not seem like wisdom to him.
Then he remembered the words of the Consorts. He hated what their influence was doing to him. Things were so much easier before they came into his life. Everything was clear. Now everything was a constant internal battle. But he knew he had started down a path he could not leave now.
Typing back, he responded, "I will deposit him on the station. No guarantees regarding his physical state."
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Post by Morgan Bryn on Jul 8, 2014 1:30:59 GMT -6
She could tell there was something on Bridges' mind, but didn't know what it was. It was making her uneasy, but the Drell's voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Come,” Iskra spoke softly. “I’ll show you to the medbay and Mr. Bridges can join us once he is done.”
'Mister' it was then. So at least she knew he wasn't military... or at least wasn't military any longer. Also, while in charge, he didn't seem to necessarily be the captain of the vessel itself, which was curious to her.
"Thank you, Iskra," Bridges' spoke up once more. "Can you give our guest a basic examination?"
Morgan's eyebrows raised involuntarily at that, unsure why the hell he would request such a thing. She was about to protest, when Bridges spoke up, perhaps sensing her sudden unease.
"I don't believe you had a chance to go through decontamination. It'll be for your health as well as our own. Would this be alright?"
Her eyes moved between the human and the Drell several times, unsure how to respond for a long moment. "I guess that depends on what sort of examination it would be..." she stated quietly, a questioning look shot toward Iskra, who seemed to be some sort of medical professional if she were the one performing the exam. "Lead on, I guess..." she nodded toward the woman as Bridges excused himself and walked away.
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Post by Weyrloc Karn on Jul 8, 2014 11:36:35 GMT -6
The low sounding thumps of metal case the area around the cargo bay, bounding along as they grew in sound, louder by each step. If it was too hard for anyone to tell, the krogan himself soon comes into view, his wide lips ajar as he yawns out a lazy breath. Having come at the most later time, he found himself wandering into an empty, mostly quiet bay. Given the situation that happened at a previous time, Karn finds himself heaving out a sigh, his boredom taking a hold on his attitude. The lack of company seemed to be a pain to him, given how he was wandering through the area. If there wasn't anywhere else to walk to, he soon made the short walk towards the elevators, it soon chugging it's way up towards the next floor.
He finds himself in the cafeteria, the nearby bench accompanying his rear. He heaves out a long sigh, grunting as he sat back. "Ain't much to do in here now.. Thanks for that, turian..", he mutters out. Without much left to do at the time, he opens his omni-tool, before messing around with it. For whatever entertainment it would hold.
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Post by Joe Fischer on Jul 8, 2014 15:27:16 GMT -6
A slight tingle ran up Joe's arm; his omnitool, letting him know he had received a message. He brought it up, and by the time he finished, he was smiling widely. "We're coming up on a refueling station and the boss is dumping Artacus off there," he said. "He wants me and Maelstrom to escort him off."
He looked over at Lysander. "That was my idea, you know," he said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go armor up just in case our turian friend gets any bad ideas."
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Post by Eric Lysander on Jul 9, 2014 9:19:02 GMT -6
“He’s an onery one but I think you’ll manage,” advised Eric. His thoughts then turned to the Valiant’s newest arrivals. “Besides… this mission so far’s been lacking in… female energy. Artie coulda been a serious mood killer ‘round here… you think our intruder’ll be joining ‘im?”
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Post by Joe Fischer on Jul 9, 2014 14:12:06 GMT -6
"So that's what the ruckus was all about," Joe said, considering the matter before shrugging. "It's up to the boss, I ain't going to worry about it. Now if you'll excuse me..."
He opened up a channel to Bridges. "Got your message boss, what's the ETA at the station?" he asked.
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Post by Murchadh on Jul 9, 2014 14:12:28 GMT -6
Elsewhere on the ship the scot was doing his best at being inconspicuous. He was doing rather well with following the turian who hadn't noticed the human following him. All the years hiding from the police and rival gangs back home had definitely helped with this. Memories of sneaking around an eclipse starship had made it back to the front of his memories. There was an experience he didn't want to repeat.
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Post by dargene on Jul 9, 2014 15:54:52 GMT -6
Meldom had little to no trouble locating enough Terminals to borrow, some of the ships crew questioned it but he took them anyway, after setting them all up in engineering he turned the lights off and the dim glow of orange from the three computers lit the room, each had several wires leading towards the other computers and several other places around the room. sitting down on the floor he took one of his omnitools off and placed it next to them, wiring them both up and uploading the video before activating his own VI.
A small VI representation of a drone popped out and started to click at Meldom "Yes i know" he told the VI "These were the best they had, we have to make do" The drone seemed to tut in disapproval before showing the video on the three different screens. He cracked his fingers and spoke to the VI once more "Lets try audio".
The Drone started to spin on the spot as two of the terminal screens changed to audio files and picked apart each layer of noise Meldom cycled through them individually, listening to almost every possible thing the video picked up, First it was footsteps, then the click of the trigger, the gunshot, breathing and a whole other mess of sounds. "Not good" he said as he ticked them all verifying they all were legitimate "Well.. still we have visual to take apart" the VI clicked in approval.
Meldom spent the next hour or so analyzing each frame for something wrong, His VI helped scan each frame to see what his eyes missed. "Again" he said for the fifth time watching each frame for even the tiniest of differences "This vid is good.. almost too good" he muttered the VI booped with a sad noise that caused Meldom retaliated "No, there is something we are missing.. Again! we do not have time to go through the whole bloody code".
After awhile longer Meldom had his chin resting in both hands lying on the floor staring at the screens "Video is perfect, has to be fake.. they always make one mistake" The VI let out a tiny ding to know an anomaly was detected. The screen enlarged on a area that had a few pixels. Meldom looked at it curiosly then back to his VI "Mind telling me what it is ?" he asked, as he did so a side by side comparison was brought up and pixels were missing from one of them.
"Probably just unfocused" he said, his VI let a small buzz of disapproval then started to look into the code of the video "find the section of code, will be steady thro.." before he could finish the terminal screens turned red and the VI let a shrill high pitched noise letting him know something was wrong Meldom looked at the screens and started to type furiously "What.. Virus in code, why ? video was good, why risk adding encryption and virus if.." he paused as he pulled the wires connecting the computer power supply out "Clever.." he almost smiled with a respect for whoever created the video.
He equipped his omnitool back to his arm and started a voice message to Esteban and Eric. "New information, Can't actually prove video is fake, all i can tell is that if it is then someone is going through great lengths to protect it. Found a section of the video that may have answers but it is protected by a encryption.. probably also has virus, i don't have the skills to bypass either" he paused for a moment "Eric someone went through great lengths to make this video whoever it is must be high in the food chain"
He ended the message as he walked up the stairs squinting his eyes as it adjusted to the light and heading to the Kitchen.
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Post by Eric Lysander on Jul 10, 2014 8:11:29 GMT -6
Seeing that half the team was off interrogating the latest trespasser on the Valiant, the other half prepping to escort the self-disgraced turian Artacus off to the refueling station and one team member was hard at work analyzing the security vid – leaving no one behind to guard him – Eric resumed work on his sonic spike conversions. The former N7 had only worked with the devices twice before but was quite impressed with their effectiveness. And the best part of all was that they were reusable, needing only to replenish spent eezo. Using his omni-tool and a couple of other handheld implements Eric adapted the circuits of the first spike’s cor,e pushing the edges of their functionality. After loading a small stick of eezo and placing the core back into its protective housing, he switched on the device for a quick test to see if the new modifications would hold. Eric could feel his teeth wiggle slightly; the sonic spike was ready. Fortunately the ship’s “mascot” Parr was ensconced in the medical bay where his master Iskra worked. The brief ultrasonic pitch would have been painful. That far up in the ship it would blend in with the hum of the other systems. Nothing more than a hiccup. Eric shut off the spike and carefully put it into an unfolded metal box by his workbench. One down, five to go.
While starting work on his third spike, Eric’s omni-tool lit up and chirped a new message alert. He set down the spike components and tools and typed in some commands. It was a voice message from Meldom. Eric hoped it was good news.
(New information, Can't actually prove video is fake, all i can tell is that if it is then someone is going through great lengths to protect it. Found a section of the video that may have answers but it is protected by a encryption.. probably also has virus, i don't have the skills to bypass either… Eric someone went through great lengths to make this video whoever it is must be high in the food chain.)
Eric blew a lengthy stream through his nostrils before scrolling up another message on his omni-tool. Major Cronauer had made good on his word. The details of the agreement were laid out once more: reinstatement and promotion to Captain in return for tracking down Commander Shepard. All Eric had to do was respond in the affirmative and his return to the ranks would be set in motion.
“ …someone went through great lengths to make this video whoever it is must be high in the food chain…"
Cronauer, thought Eric. Are you really that hard up and desperate to find Shepard you hafta resort to sicking turians on me? Figuring I’d come running back to you for help…? No, even you’re not dumb enough to risk a war. All the same, no means no. I’ll just let ya stew in your sauce wondering what I’m doin’ now. I have other things to worry about…
So if the N7 officer was not responsible for creating the vid and planting the virus in it, who else could it be? Eric opened up the mic on his omni-tool and recorded a reply for Meldom:
“Hey, Mel. Thanks again for working on this. Maybe Mr. B knows where to find someone to crack the protection on it. I can try my list of contacts as well. It’s like someone’s daring me to find out who it is. For a moment I figured Alliance Intelligence but then there’s the bad blood between humans and turians. You only call in a grid when you’re sure that no one else will get hit other than the target and a few acceptable losses. Another Full Contact War isn’t what I’d call acceptable losses. I think once we figure out this vid it’ll tell us everything we need to know.”
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2014 13:56:35 GMT -6
Iskra and Morgan walked in awkward silence towards the medbay. She wanted to question the human but thought better of it. Her curiosity, while peaked, did not outweigh the respect for other's privacy. Morgan was clearly uncomfortable enough as is and the doctor wasn't going to add to that.
The medbay doors slid open and Asa's voice greeted her. Quietly gesturing the other woman in, Iskra pulled on her lab coat. "Nothing to worry about, Morgan, if I can call you that. I am just going to be checking your temperature and asking a couple of questions on how you are feeling."
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Post by Morgan Bryn on Jul 11, 2014 2:11:25 GMT -6
Morgan was both relieved and impressed that Iskra did not question her on the way to the medical bay. She'd expected a small interrogation along the way, but the Drell continued to surprise her. Morgan nodded thoughtfully to herself in respect for the Drell, but she knew she'd have to be careful; she was already starting to owe this strange woman and they'd only known each other for a matter of minutes.
Morgan paused awkwardly as they entered the room, crossing an arm across her torso to rub awkwardly at her opposite arm. It was a nervous habit, but one Iskra didn't seem to notice. The Drell busied herself with preparing for whatever tests Bridges had requested and only looked up once she had donned her lab coat.
"Nothing to worry about, Morgan, if I can call you that," she spoke up kindly. "I am just going to be checking your temperature and asking a couple of questions on how you are feeling."
Morgan's arm dropped back to her sides, trying to look more confident than she was feeling. "That seems... reasonable, I guess," Morgan replied, still standing awkwardly, unsure if she should sit on one of the examination tables or not. "And yes, please feel free to call me Morgan." Her face took on a softer appearance. "Iskra, was it...?"
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2014 2:36:46 GMT -6
"Iskra, Dr. Narei, whichever one you are most comfortable with." Iskra offered her full name freely, she had no secrets to hide.
Iskra asked routine questions, checked some reflexes and the young woman's temperature. The process was over quickly. Iskra didn't ask more than she needed and allowed Morgan to sit on the stool in front of the microscope.
"Mr. Bridges should be here soon." The young doctor said after a few moments of silence. Walking to her quarters, she opened the door and allowed Parr to excitedly jump around her as she spoke soft words to the pet.
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Post by Eric Lysander on Jul 11, 2014 9:20:07 GMT -6
Eric soon completed modifying his allotment of survey spikes, recalibrating the seismic and geological software on his omni-tool. He placed them with the others in their metal box and then rifled through one of his travel crates. He fished out a food packet containing a chicken sandwich, then locked up the crate and the storage area before heading up to the kitchen. Meldom and Karn were present as well, the krogan busy on his omni-tool. Eric found a free seat near the microwave, set his food to heat up and sat down.
“This’s been the weirdest day, hasn’t it?” he said out loud while he waited.
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Post by Morgan Bryn on Jul 11, 2014 12:19:41 GMT -6
Morgan cooperated with the exam as best she could, staying quiet for the most part unless asked a direct question. True to Iskra's word, the exam was extremely routine and Morgan seemed to have passed with a clean bill of health.
To her surprise, Iskra then headed to a room situated in the back of the medbay which Morgan had at first assumed was some sort of supply cabinet, but the door opened to admit a live Varren. It was all Morgan could do to stay seated on her stool and not immediately jump up to a higher vantage point out of the creature's reach.
Though sheer force of will, Morgan kept her face neutral, quickly realizing the animal must be a tamed pet by the way the Drell was playing with it. Though curious, Morgan was content enough keeping her distance. She hadn't had the best luck with Varren in the past.
Keeping to herself, Morgan took the moment to let her eyes travel across the room while Iskra seemed distracted. Did they really not believe she was any danger? A medbay was full of all sorts of equipment that could do harm, if that's what she really wanted. Not to mention, there didn't seem to be a guard at all, and they still hadn't checked her personal effects. Granted, she'd seen what the doctor could do to the mech outside, so perhaps a guard wasn't exactly needed. Even so, they probably figured there wasn't much in the way of vital components within the medbay for her to get into... and it wasn't like Morgan was truly here to harm anyone anyway. She was just surprised she'd gone from warranting threats via mech to sitting alone unguarded.
Regardless, although she contemplated disappearing back into the bowels of the ship while Iskra's back was turned, she didn't wish to get the good doctor into trouble for letting her go. Secondly, for all she knew, they could be testing her... trying to figure out what she might do in such a situation to determine whether or not she was trustworthy.
Morgan chewed on her lip as she debated, ultimately deciding she'd rather see how this played out when Bridges arrived to find her sitting still, quietly behaving herself.
The room beyond the Drell seemed to be quarters of sorts, so Morgan opted to give the woman some peace for a few moments and stay quiet. Of course, that didn't mean she had to be bored. Some light reading always served well to pass the time, she figured as she brought up her omni-tool to see what she could glean on Bridges and Dr. Narei from the ship's database.
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Post by Esteban Bridges on Jul 11, 2014 12:53:10 GMT -6
Esteban and Data examined the statistical readouts for the primary and secondary systems for the Valiant, making sure the ship operated within normal perimeters. For this task, Esteban had Data create a projection of itself, wanting the illusion of another person there to bounce ideas off of. The team was very top-heavy with fighters, he realized. Not enough thinkers, the ones who would be useful when not killing or blowing things up. He couldn't ask Eric or Maelstrom to come down here to help brainstorm. Eric wasn't an engineer and Maelstrom would try to convince him to turn the engine core into an explosive. He did consider Iskra, but her field was far outside the science of engineering.
So he made due with his VI, and found himself enjoying the conversation. Though Data's sentience was nothing more than an illusion, an illusion he helped program... it was nice to be able to talk about theories to capture the engine's natural thermal energy bleed and transferring it to power the cooling system. He did consider talking with Adele Adams, the woman he hired from the docks to upkeep the ship's systems. She meant well enough, but she really lacked the creativity that Esteban valued in a skilled Engineer. Whatever skill she may have had was long gone, at least in Esteban's mind.
Esteban smiled, brushing the wrinkles from his shirt and straightened his power tie. The break away from the crew was what he needed. He was about to head for the ladder when he paused, pulling up the Valiant's map inside his mind. He did not really desire passing through the cargobay, in case he would be pulled into yet another stand-off. There was another path he could take, a shortcut through the ship's ductwork. He assumed that was where the young woman was hiding for awhile.
His head turned, moving from the left to right. He searched for one of the hatches into the ductwork. First, he needed to grab his portable tea set. He did keep it in the cargobay, though it shouldn't be an issue. He pictured where it was at, knowing there was a hatch within a half meter of the crate it was in. His eyes fell onto the hatchway he was looking for and headed for it. Data flickered and vanished, no longer needing its holographic body.
It was a fast grab, navigating through the ducts with ease. He crawls and climbed, carefully picking the right path in the small maze within the Valiant. Once he grabbed everything he wanted, mainly his tea set, he set out to the main level. All the while, he considered what he would say and ask. He held the small box with his set under his armpit while he crawled, chewing on his lower lip as he thought. He didn't want to be too aggressive. It wouldn't gain anything at all. It failed to gain anything earlier. Though now, she held the upper hand in this. She would have to know that he would need to use a softer touch. In any negotiation, that means concessions had to be made almost immediately. He frowned, popping open the exit hatch.
Before he headed to the entrance, he took one last moment to compose himself. He checked his dark slacks and light tan silk dress shirt, brushing away whatever dust and shavings that accumulated from the crawl. He straightened up his dark brown tie one more time and ran a hand over his ashy dark brown hair. He nodded to himself, sure he was ready. And with a deep breath, he tucked his portable tea set under his right arm and walked with purpose for the med bay. The doors slid open.
He entered, expecting to see Iskra there in the medbay next to the young woman. But instead, the Drell was a few meters away by her personal quarters. He watched her for a moment before proceeding in. Leaving an unproven stranger unattended in one of the most valuable rooms on the ship was dangerous. He would have thought she would be right next to her the entire time. Esteban shook his head and offered Morgan a polite smile.
"I trust mint tea is to your liking," he said to her, heading right for the sink. "It is my favorite. I find the flavor to be somewhat calming."
Esteban set the box down, removing the small, pristine white tea cups and self-heating teapot. He took the pot by the handle and opened the top, filling it up with water, which boiled within moments.
(I am assuming Morgan will be responding, something basic and polite. Will edit if anything is different)
Esteban scooped a few rich mint tea leaves and dropped them into each cup, then carefully pouring the water in. "When did you board the ship?" he asked while picking up the saucers under the cups, walking with measured steps back to the young woman. "I believe that would be the best place to begin our conversation."
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Post by Maelstrom on Jul 11, 2014 14:12:00 GMT -6
Maelstrom rolled his shoulders to loosen the muscles, as he made his way into the workout area of the ship. Though he had not used the facility before, he remembered from the welcome datapacket that Bridges provided that there was a combat simulator installed. Nothing as advanced as what the military or Cerberus used, but the specs included indicated that the device created monochrome hard-light adversaries with varying levels of skill. It would be enough for what Maelstrom was thinking. Though the pirate ship was a decent fight, it had been far too long since he faced an opponent that actually made him push his skills. The last was on the Cerberus base he attacked during the period between missions, and he did not want to think about that.
He noticed the others seated at the eating area, but it appeared they were talking. It would have been nice to socialize, but he was not in a mood to interrupt. He did make a note, though, to make some time to speak one-on-one with Lysander, to explain why he did not come to the man's aid.
"Computer? Hello, computer?" Maelstrom said, stopping by the hard-light emitters.
A generic humanoid VI appeared. "Hello, how can I assist you today?"
"Hand-to-hand combat sim. We'll start with one random opponent, skill level five. Have sensors register biotic impacts as well," Maelstrom commanded.
The VI flickered, morphing into a recreation of a featureless Alliance officer wearing light armor and striking a traditional boxing pose. Maelstrom settled into his horse stance, known to him as paralelo. One arm covered his face, while the other was off to the side. The VI counted down, and then it started straight in with a series of punches. Rather than face them head-on- ducking, blocking, bobbing and weaving like a good little Alliance soldier- Maelstrom lowered himself further and stepped forward. The single step put his front foot behind his opponent, and he swiveled on that foot. In two steps and less than the space of a breath, he was behind his opponent.
The VI combatant started to reel around, but Maelstrom was not in the mood to waste time with a VI that could be bested so easily. He stepped forward and threw an elbow, abandoning his more elegant style for use of brute force. Rather than let the projection back up, Maelstrom grabbed it by the shoulders with the striking arm, then rammed his knee up into its sternum, powering the blow with biotic force. The figure dissolved and the simulation reset.
"Skill level seven this time," Maelstrom commanded. The projection flickered, this time a salarian.
The simulation began, and Maelstrom was surprised to find his opponent bobbing back and forth with its hands slightly raised but not advancing. He smiled. It was a good change.
This time, when he stepped up, into the perpendicular horse stance he knew as cadeira, the VI retreated a step. Maelstrom repeated the movement on the opposite leg, mentally preparing to launch his biotic kick with the next move and end the match. The VI surprised him, though, retreating around to Maelstrom's back. It caused the mercenary in the black Collector armor to smile. He instantly changed tactics, placing both hands on the ground between his legs, as he looked behind himself. He was low to the ground and twisted, a spring ready to release its kinetic energy. His back foot came up, arcing through the air and to toward the unfortunate salarian's head. A kick he knew as meia lua de compasso. The way the salarian was holding his hands, he would be unable to block the kick effectively. Instead, the simulation stepped in on him, blocking the kick. Maelstrom's smile grew even larger, as he threw his other leg up, catching the salarian's waist in a vise-like grip, and supported the weight of his body on one hand. With a twist of his torso, the salarian fell backwards hard. It took only a couple seconds for Maelstrom to get back to his feet and throw a biotically-powered axe-kick to the salarian's head. Even the hard-light simulation awcknoledged its power as sufficient to crush a skull like a melon.
"Computer, level nine opponent," Maelstrom commanded.
A couple seconds later, an asari materialized. As Maelstrom stepped forward with his cadeira, she backed away with a mirrored movement. He stifled a laugh, when he advanced again and, rather than retreat, she used the same movement but in the opposite direction to approach him. Reading the simulation's tells, he bent backwards just in time to avoid what in real life would have been a lethal kick, as the asari planted one hand on the ground and kicked up and around. The dodge had been sudden, and Maelstrom had no choice but to turn it into a backflip, a maneuver he normally avoided like the plague. It was one he had never grown confident with, despite years of training. Something about the sensation of falling. Still, he landed it in another cadeira. As the VI was still righting itself, he brought his back leg forward for support as he launched his front leg in a biotically-powered arcing kick that aimed for the VI's head. A queixada. The VI dodged, and he followed up with another from the opposite side. It dodged again, and Maelstrom landed the kick differently, so he could throw a second from the same side.
The VI moved in, blocking his kick by proximity and raising its arms so it could launch elbows at his face. Using cadeiras, Maelstrom took two quick steps back. The VI followed him, and on the second, he settled in to launch another meia lua de compasso. The VI dodged before he threw the kick, giving him just the opportunity he was looking for. Rather than throw the leg, he stepped behind himself on it, using it as a pivot to throw the other leg in the opposite direction. Normally, it would not have been the most powerful kick, but with some biotics enhancing it, the blow was enough to send the VI staggering back at full stature. Maelstrom continued to spin until he was facing the ground again, then threw leg from the first impact back for a second kick. The asari was out of range of his foot, but not the biotic impact which followed. It impacted the sternum with enough force to crush the asari's rib cage.
That was the best fight he had in more than a week, and he smiled wide because of it. His mind was racing for the next scenario to pitch to the computer, when he heard a quiet clapping.
"That's quite the skill you have," Enaya said. "I did not know any of our people had taught outsiders the art of alesthia."
"I'm not sure what that is," Maelstrom admitted. "My style is largely based on an Earth discipline known as Capoeira. To my knowledge, there are only a few thousand practitioners left."
The asari looked surprised. "Is it illegal?"
Maelstrom laughed. "No. Just, in its traditional form, not the most effective compared to some other martial arts... at least for beginners. I practiced it for almost fifteen years, and I still throw in some other things I've picked up from teachers here and there when I get into a real fight. I suppose you'd say my style is all my own, at this point."
Enaya smiled, "Well, it reminds me of asari water fighting. It's almost as much of a dance as a martial art, and it uses biotics considerably. I was never any good, but I did try my hand at it for nearly thirty years."
Maelstrom suppressed a laugh. His mind still reeled when he tried to comprehend a species "trying their hand" at something for thirty years.
"In any case," Enaya said, "I won't keep you. I was just passing through. Maybe, sometime, though, we could compare some notes?"
"Anything that can help me beat Cerberus," he replied.
She gave a small, playful frown before turning and heading away. Though done kindly, he knew that it meant he had disappointed her somewhat by still being so focused on vengeance. He laughed as he turned back to the computer, unsure of whether it irritated him more that he cared at all or that it did not bother him as much as it should have.
"Computer, two opponents, randomly generated, level seven," Maelstrom commanded.
(If anyone wants to interact, they can help take down one of the VI's or they can just come up on him finishing the second.)
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Post by Joe Fischer on Jul 11, 2014 14:23:47 GMT -6
With no response from Bridges, Joe decided to gear up and be ready for arrival at the refueling station; if they arrived sooner rather than later, he did not want to be rushing around trying to get ready.
As he headed towards the living quarters, he had to pass by a combat simulator, which was currently occupied by Maelstrom taking on a pair of opponents simultaneously in hand-to-hand combat. He could tell the biotic was skilled, even though he didn't recognize the fighting style. Given his size, it was rare for him to engage in melee combat, but when he did, he favored a direct approach, one that enabled him to inflict the maximum amount of damage in the shortest time possible--often a head butt and a few well-placed elbows and knees.
He waited until the biotic finished off the second opponent, then spoke up. "Not bad, not bad at all," he said. "By the way, did you get the boss' message about Artacus?"
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2014 15:57:02 GMT -6
Iskra heard Esteban come in and start speaking with Morgan and wondered what had brought on this mood shift. She had only wanted him to talk to her like she was a human being, so the tea and calm voice was surprising.
She had Parr lay down as she started her work around the lab. First grabbing the wooden box that contained the glass orbs she mediated with from its spot on the bed. Her memories of receiving the gift flooded back as her fingers ran over the smooth wood.
She blinked, realizing she had been standing for a few minutes with the box. Quickly putting it back into her room, she came back and started to read a research paper Aeia had sent to her.
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Post by dargene on Jul 11, 2014 17:31:15 GMT -6
Meldom had been rooting around in a cupboard as Eric started to speak.
“This’s been the weirdest day, hasn’t it?”
He paused as he held a can of tinned food and eyed it with scrutiny "You mean you don't get accused of murdering an ambassador of a different alien race to spark an intergalactic war every day ?" he said smiling before putting the can back and leaning onto the counter facing Erics sitting position.
"Sorry i could not help more with the Video, Usually have a partner with me during jobs, she does the hacking, decryption or even encryption, infiltraitor like me. or whatever" he nodded "Basic skill gave you a chance to prove innocence" he looked around before saying "Not that i think you are guilty but.. you know, Video evidence is always iffy."
He shuffled awkwardly towards a seat and sat down "If it is fake, any idea who could have done it, or what reason.. If you don't mind me asking" he said leaning back in his chair "Not any of my business really."
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