|
Post by Maelstrom on Jan 26, 2015 16:31:08 GMT -6
Maelstrom slid down a piece of armor near his hip, revealing a abnormally small recharging port. "It is custom, but you should be able to manage if you take off the connector and run the leads by hand. Power for the suit's systems tends to come in sequential bursts, like the firing of nerves, but much more powerful. My technological systems in the armor use microcapacitors to manage an uninterrupted supply and prevent them from being fried."
|
|
|
Post by Eric Lysander on Jan 26, 2015 21:10:52 GMT -6
As Maelstrom described the unique power distribution system in his modified Collector armor Eric confirmed these assertions with omni-tool scans.
"I thought I was packin' powerful stuff," he commented as he finished scanning and brought up his own suit schematic. "No wonder you held up better than we did against Vanguard. Now lessee here..."
Eric scrolled through his power buffer settings and made some adjustments. "Well we've got too much of a good thing here. One zap from one of your system's 'pulses' at full bore has enough juice to bring the battery up to near full charge in one shot. But that much at once'll just blow it out so I'm tuning my buffers to turn up and down in time with your system, with a small enough window to let a bit o' power slip through. If it's set up right the battery gets a nice spritz from a bottle o'cologne instead of a blast from a fire hose."
He finalized the buffer configurations and set his omni-tool computer to coordinate the power transfer procedure with the push of a single button. Then he extended a cable from the charge port on the chest plate, removing the adapter head and handed over the cable end with exposed prongs to Maelstrom.
"... it's okay; it's grounded. Hook the prongs'll hook into your port's leads like you said. When you're ready let me know and keep your levels even to minimize feedback. I hit this button on my tool here... and we should be done in a snap!"
|
|
|
Post by Maelstrom on Jan 26, 2015 22:20:06 GMT -6
"We should be done in a snap!" Lysander said, as Maelstrom drew one of the throwing knives from his armor and proceeded to whittle away at the feeds on the other man's cable.
It was delicate work. Normally, Maelstrom would have taken his time and been more precise, but there was no knowing when the Collectors and Vanguard might be back to finish their job. He shaved a little insulating material from the cord here. Bent a length of it there. In less than am minute, he had about a half a dozen free wires that looked to be in configuration to fit into the charge port.
The custom job did not want to fit, when Maelstrom first attempted to plug it in, and it took a few last-minute tweaks before it fell into place and interfaced with Lysander's systems. He only hoped the other man was right and that the more powerful but intermittent power surges that his organic armor ran on would not cause further damage to his system.
Maelstrom brought up the armor interface on his omni-tool and disengaged the power conservation safeguards. "When you're ready."
|
|
|
Post by Eric Lysander on Jan 27, 2015 12:08:12 GMT -6
"Right.. in 3.. 2.. 1..."
Eric pressed the button on his omni-tool. He suddenly spasmed as his armor experienced a brief but strong influx of energy. The onboard computer completed its program and quickly cut off the flow, leaving the N7 to pat out smoke coming from the charge port on his armor. His omni-tool flickered and went steady again. Eric tapped it to cancel another warning blare over his headset. Then his HUD and headset went dead. Eric looked about him tapping the sides of his helmet. As abruptly as he lost those systems they came back on line and ran a startup diagnostic. Afterwards all indications were that his kinetic barrier batteries had enough power to self-recharge.
"Make that a snap, crackle and pop!" japed Eric, shaking off the incident and consulting his HUD readouts. "Okay... barriers should be comin' on line in about two minutes. Another ten til' they're back at full strength." He pointed to Maelstrom. "You gotta get me hooked up with one o' those..."
Eric gestured between the jerry-rigged connection to Maelstrom's charge port and himself. "Not like this; with your power supply I mean... you know... install it in my... ar-mor-never mind. I'm gonna try reachin' out to Fearless Leader; see if you can contact your ship. Don't know about you but I'm done with this place."
Eric opened a channel to the Core team, switching between frequencies. Seeing if he could reach anyone.
"Come in, Mr. B. This is Eric... B...? Joe... sound off, Joe... Karn...?"
|
|
|
Post by Joe Fischer on Jan 27, 2015 20:07:01 GMT -6
Joe was about to go over to Bridges to check on him personally when Bon spoke up, “Third alternate exit found.”
Before he could respond to that, Lysander came in over the radio: “Come in, Mr. B, this is Eric…B...? Joe, sound off Joe…Karn…?”
Joe typed up a response, encrypted it and sent it to his fellow N7:
Pops:
We’re G2G here, how about you? Be advised primary LZ compromised; alternates Alpha, Bravo and Charlie plotted and attached. Send them to the shuttle so they know where to pick us up.
Junior
[AUTHOR’S NOTE: “G2G” stands for “good to go” (okay) and “LZ” stands for “landing zone”.]
|
|
|
Post by Esteban Bridges on Jan 28, 2015 0:16:34 GMT -6
Esteban wasted no time the moment he was able to access the system's memory core. Data tore through trillion of bits of information, searching for the electronic patterns that Esteban programmed him to find. It was a calculated risk the Engineer took with that, as there was no way for him to know how this system stored the information. But every other system in the galaxy seemed to store data in the way style. Every system seemed to have similar electronic patterns. He knew he would pull in a large amount of information. But it virtually guaranteed that the information he needed would be imbedded within the data that was being downloaded.
He tapped his wrist, killing the connection between his system and the Collector console. It did not free him from that icy grip that would not let to....He wanted to get the hell out of there. Now.
"Let's get out of here," Esteban said firmly, drawing his rifle from his back-holster. His assault rifle decompressed and expanded, clicking as the parts locked into place. "I have what I need."
He took a couple of steps towards the remains of the battle waged here just a moment or two ago. He stepped over part of the smoking wreckage that was blasted off the enemy. "Lead the way, Joseph."
|
|
|
Post by Maelstrom on Jan 28, 2015 0:51:24 GMT -6
Maelstrom almost yelled Lysander down when he suggested contacting the shuttle, but he held his tongue. It was not as though the team leader would have known that he was keeping a constant eye out for transmissions from the Vengeance. After several breaths, he calmed himself to reassert his professional side. The man in charge of the operation asked him to do something. It was his job to do it.
"Maelstrom to Vengeance, report," he called into his comms.
As expected, silence.
He mulled over the possibilities. They would probably have to commandeer a Collector shuttle. He had serious doubts that they would be able to make it all the way to the Valiant in such an unfamiliar craft, though, particularly if the Vengeance was unable to survive. When he thought about life after the mission, the prospects were even more dim. True, he saved copies of his Cerberus intel elsewhere, but without the resources on his shuttle, not the least of which was Emily, he would have little chance of accomplishing his goals. He supposed he could always petition Bridges for a replacement craft, but even if the businessman could be prevailed upon to do the honorable thing, he knew that no new craft could ever match the Vengeance.
"Hello? Maelstrom, can you hear me?" Anelya called into the comms.
"I can hear you. What happened out there?" Maelstrom asked.
He was fairly certain he heard an explosion in the background, followed by a series of asari expletives. "The oculi changed their tactics all of the sudden. It was like their AI's were all upgraded simultaneously. The shields went down, and we took several hits. I just now managed to get the transmitter back online, but it's only at thrity percent, and I can't swear my patch job will hold."
"How are you still alive?" he asked, knowing that there was no way the Vengeance could have fought off a large number of fighter craft.
"Enaya was a genius. She started venting drive plasma, and she took us into a controlled spiral towards one of the larger asteroids nearby. Once we were inside a deep cavern, she fired the Cain near it's mouth. Emily's been purposely emitting intermittent power spikes so it looks like all that's down here is wreckage. They seem to have bought that."
"Good work," he said. "We'll need extraction soon. Think the Vengeance can handle it."
Some hushed words passed between the asari.
"We'll try," she replied. There was an abrupt burst of static. "My patch job's about to go. The receiver's still up. Send us coordinates for the extraction point when you're ready, and we'll be..."
Then comms went dead again.
"So," Maelstrom said, turning to Lysander, "Good news and bad news." As quickly and concisely as he could, he explained the situation.
|
|
|
Post by Joe Fischer on Jan 28, 2015 7:13:09 GMT -6
“Let’s get out of here,” his employer said. “I have what I need.”
“Aww, do we have to?” Joe said. “I just found the perfect spot for a summer home.”
He stood up and starting heading out the way they came. “Time to go, Karn!” he yelled.
The krogan nodded, got up and fell in behind Bridges.
Time to save a little red-haired girl…and be a big damn hero…
|
|
|
Post by Eric Lysander on Jan 28, 2015 11:58:38 GMT -6
The rescue team lead listened intently as Maelstrom reported how he was able to all too briefly reestablish contact with his shuttle the Vengeance, the ordeal it had gone through and the status of its comm systems. An incoming message alert came up on Eric’s omni-tool. He apologized for the interruption as he accessed the text burst: ------ Pops:
We’re G2G here, how about you? Be advised primary LZ compromised; alternates Alpha, Bravo and Charlie plotted and attached. Send them to the shuttle so they know where to pick us up.
Junior ------
“Here’s more good news: B n’ his gang’re kickin’ about n’ set,” he informed Maelstrom. “And Joe’s sent over three exfil routes. Forwarding ‘em to your HUD.”
Eric typed in commands to copy over the younger N7’s efforts before composing a quick reply: ------ Junior:
Ready to pack it in ourselves; could only save two abductees. Me and Mal are still up but the rest of my team’s knocked out. Still breathing, though. Nice work, Marine. See you guys at the evac.
Pops -----
Eric looked over the two Collector lifts. “Still gotta plow through what’s left o’ their troops. Well, we’d better get everyone loaded up along with any Collector toys we can salvage from this place. Soon as we’re Council space-side again I needa hammer my suit back into shape.”
|
|
|
Post by Joe Fischer on Jan 28, 2015 14:35:17 GMT -6
Joe was barely out of the room when the senior N7's reply came in. "Boss, the rescue team is done and prepping to move out," he reported. "Lysander reports they could only rescue two people, and most of the team is alive but out of the fight, just him and Maelstrom are up. I'll ask for more info about the team members." He typed up a response, encrypted it and sent it off. Pops Good copy on your last. We passed through a small holding area, so there's going to be a few more we'll be getting out. How bad is the rest of the team?
Junior
PS: Race you to the exfil site, loser buys the drinks!
|
|
|
Post by Maelstrom on Jan 28, 2015 14:42:14 GMT -6
"Soon as we’re Council space-side again I needa hammer my suit back into shape,” Lysander said.
"If you want some armor like mine, toss a couple of the Collector corpses on the sled," Maelstrom said. "I can show you a guy who can rig it into armor for you. Basically reprograms the healing factor in the suit to think that being shaped to a Collector's body is damage. It takes a week or so, but it 'heals' itself to your shape."
"Myself, I've got enough spare pieces for a while, but not enough that I'm looking to sell."
His attention focusing back on the task at hand, he added, "I need to know which landing zone we're using before I forward this to the shuttle. It will need to be the same one as Bridges' team too. If the Vengeance is as damaged as she sounds, I doubt we'll get two runs out of her."
|
|
|
Post by Eric Lysander on Jan 28, 2015 16:00:07 GMT -6
The senior N7 shuddered a bit at the thought of incorporating Collector armor into his own, Commander Shepard's reports on Reaper indoctrination at the back of his mind. Who knew, other than Maelstrom, what other unintended effects the procedure would have? “Better take a rain check on that,” Eric declined as he lay Morgan gently down on one of the lifts. “’Sides it might give our passengers the wrong idea if they woke up next to enemy cadavers. You ‘member the last time Mr. B wanted a specimen…”
Eric opted instead for any enemy weapons that still seemed intact, more for the benefit of his friend’s wishes. After he picked up a Collector rifle Maelstrom reminded him of the extraction situation.
"I need to know which landing zone we're using before I forward this to the shuttle. It will need to be the same one as Bridges' team too. If the Vengeance is as damaged as she sounds, I doubt we'll get two runs out of her."
Eric raised his omni-tool just as another message alert came up. “Lessee where Junior’s goin – well speak o’ th’ Devil, it’s him again…”
-----
Pops
Good copy on your last. We passed through a small holding area, so there's going to be a few more we'll be getting out. How bad is the rest of the team?
Junior
PS: Race you to the exfil site, loser buys the drinks!
----
…
----
Junior:
Need to rendezvous at same extraction point. Vengeance can only hold together enough for one run. Respond with optimum point ASAP.
Meldom, Morgan and able abductee still unconscious from assault by possessed Collector. Long story. Meldom was wounded but Maelstrom bandaged him up.
Glad to see you found a few more live ones than we did. Tell you what. We get back to civilization regardless I’ll open a bar. You can get free drinks for life.
It’s been that kind of mission.
Pops
---
"He'll be sendin' our exfil point any second. They came across a few prisoners as well," said Eric after sending his reply. "Hope the Vengeance can accommodate them else we'll have to steal a ride if there's one we can steal."
|
|
|
Post by Joe Fischer on Jan 28, 2015 17:43:43 GMT -6
Joe looked over Lysander’s reply.
“Meldom was wounded, and the others were knocked out during a run-in with a possessed Collector,” he reported. “The Vengeance has taken a few hits, so it’s only going to make one stop before leaving, so that means everybody needs to go to the same LZ.”
Pops We’re going to Alpha because that’s the closest one for us. Look over the points I sent and let me know which one works best for you. If yours is different from ours, let me know and we’ll figure something out.
Junior
PS: Those possessed Collectors love to talk, what did it call itself?
|
|
|
Post by Eric Lysander on Jan 29, 2015 9:38:27 GMT -6
“They’re closest to Alpha point,” said Eric to Maelstrom while reading through Joe’s latest message, a corner of his mouth going up on the mention of Vanguard. “That work for us or do we use one o’ the other two?”
|
|
|
Post by Maelstrom on Jan 29, 2015 10:26:34 GMT -6
“That work for us or do we use one o’ the other two?” Lysander asked.
Maelstrom brought up a holographic display on his omni-tool, then typed in parameters to show the bay they were nearest to.
"We could get to Beta quickest," Maelstrom explained. "That's only because they constructed this place like a maze, though."
He typed in a few more commands, and the map zoomed in, centering on their position and bay Alpha. "If we knock down a few walls, though, Alpha's much closer. I'd say we could make it in half the time, if we were efficient in our demolitions."
"You're team-lead. Your call."
Down the hall, Maelstrom heard a very unwelcome sound. It was around the corner, but he could already see the yellow/orange glow from the coming Reaper. "Assuming control."
Maelstrom grinned slightly, as he pulled a bandoleer of grenades off the nearby lift. With a few commands to his omni-tool, he activated the kinetic detonators on them all. "I've got a surprise for the bastard this time."
|
|
|
Post by Eric Lysander on Jan 29, 2015 15:03:50 GMT -6
"You're team-lead. Your call." “Assuming control,” echoed an all too familiar voice in the distance.
“Ah-god-dammit, not him again!” Eric blurted out “I just got my barriers back! They won’t be up to snuff for another eight minutes!”
Eric looked at the HUD display on his visor and to the unconscious team members and abductees on the lifts.
“Efficiency requires planning which takes time we do not have,” he explained. “Even with enough charges ta blow holes in the walls they’ll be uneven unless I had time to scan ‘em. Lifts might not squeeze through some of ‘em. And it’s just you and me against Vanguard and whoever’s left unless Mel and Morgie wake up. So it’s Beta or bust!”
Eric typed furiously on his omni-tool. “I hope Joe’s prisoners can all still run!”
----
Junior:
Vanguard the Boastful’s back for Round Two. Rendezvous at point Beta. Stay sharp and keep Vengeance secure at port until we get there. We’ll try our best to lose the hell behind us but I can’t make any guarantees.
N7s Forever!
----
The demo expert, checking the counters on his det cord dispensers, suddenly remembered the trap he had set up earlier.
“Mal? Could your surprise use a death line, too? I can rig it to go off on remote. I also have enough cord left for one or two plasma spitball grenades. If we run outta poppers I can use bits o’ standard det cord on some wreckage. Improvise some frag grenades.”
|
|
|
Post by Maelstrom on Jan 29, 2015 15:14:19 GMT -6
"So it’s Beta or bust!” Lysander said.
Maelstrom brought up his comms, "Maelstrom to Vengeance, forwarding coordinates. Extraction for both teams at evac point Beta."
“Mal? Could your surprise use a death line, too? I can rig it to go off on remote. I also have enough cord left for one or two plasma spitball grenades. If we run outta poppers I can use bits o’ standard det cord on some wreckage. Improvise some frag grenades,” Lysander explained.
Maelstrom hopped on the lift with the elcor and unconscious squad-mates and angled it towards Beta. Still holding the bandoleer in one hand, he said, "I was honestly just planning on launching it and counting on a big-ass explosion."
Looking to the other lift, he said, "We should take the grenades. Then we might rig that thing up with some of your det cord and a remote detonator. Between its power cells and the ordinance, it should give a pretty good show."
"If we can, though, I'd prefer to avoid a confrontation for once. Like you said, you aren't at full power, and I'm really starting to push the usefulness of my biotics," Maelstrom admitted.
|
|
|
Post by Eric Lysander on Jan 29, 2015 16:01:35 GMT -6
“Definitely! Steering one of these things’ work enough,” agreed Eric. “Okay, help me get everyone moved over with Xenos and I’ll rig up the lift… I’ll need something I can lean on the controls ta keep it movin’ while we bug out.”
|
|
|
Post by Maelstrom on Jan 29, 2015 17:10:00 GMT -6
Maelstrom quickly threw a biotic lift on each of their disabled compatriots, allowing Lysander (if he chooses) to move them with ease. He was beginning to feel drained. With a couple quick commands into his omni-tool, a small straw extended within his helmet. It dispensed a high-calorie solution loaded with electrolytes. It was based on something the Alliance came up with for the N-program. Though a short-term solution to the problem, it was still a better alternative than stims. Maelstrom knew it would take several minutes before he felt the effects of the liquid, but he guzzled down nearly half of the suit's supply.
He kept his eyes on Vanguard's glow and the grenades at the ready.
|
|
|
Post by Joe Fischer on Jan 29, 2015 17:56:45 GMT -6
Joe looked over the message from Lysander, then quickly fired off a response.
Pops Good copy on your last, see you at the LZ. I’ll keep the shuttle there even if I have to hold it back myself.
Junior
PS: If you run into Vanguard again, tell him to change his name, will you? We already got a lock on that one.
“That possessed Collector, it called itself Vanguard,” he reported, thinking of all the obstacles his fellow N7 had to deal with. “Damn, the rescue team really has their work cut out for them.”
“I know,” Karn rumbled. “Why do they get to have all the fun?”
Joe chuckled as he led the team towards the holding area.
|
|