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Post by Joe Fischer on Aug 14, 2017 4:21:40 GMT -6
A dark look came over Joe's face as the batarian described his target.
"Get in line," he said to the asari, unconsciously baring is teeth at her. "If I get him, I'm going to multi-frag his ass."
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Post by Maelstrom on Aug 14, 2017 9:08:14 GMT -6
"Problem with your plan," Maelstrom said to Fischer, "is that it takes no account of the grounded ships. Those AA towers are less of a risk by comparison."
"I think our techies hit the turrets, while the infiltrators hit the downed ships," he said. "The rest of us provide a target to tempt them away from the hostages."
"The way I see it, we'll need to take out the pirates before we can safely accomplish the other objectives."
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Post by rulaan on Aug 14, 2017 11:38:36 GMT -6
Rula'an looks up and says, "I beleive we do not need the infiltrators to accompany us though I do think having the mission commander on overwatch by me is a good idea. I can feed him real time data using the turrets hard connection. And though I myself am not a professional infiltrator like Geneenh I've had ti sneak around a few places. I think the infiltrators are needed to prevent a swift response to us."
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Post by Eric Lysander on Aug 14, 2017 12:09:00 GMT -6
Eric had to admit that this latest gathering was far removed from the first mission he embarked on as stratagems were proposed, dissected and reconsidered by the group. But common threads lay throughout - there could be no infiltration without first dealing with the satellite the pirates set up so no alarms could be raised or reinforcements contacted. Then the AA guns would need to be disabled or destroyed so they could not fire on the team as they set down or took off. The pirates air power had to be grounded to keep them from gaining the upper hand quickly. And as an added challenge there was a bounty on one of the pirates the batarian Gorith had pledged to bring in.
Man... at least with Barce there wasn't any hostages to worry about...
Eric finally spoke up. "Well... no one can accuse us of being short on ideas. First and foremost we're all in agreement that the satellite is our first obstacle. I think our resident techs should have no problems rigging up a ghosting satellite of sorts to douse their bird with false signals. They'll think it's just background radiation and rocks. Better analyze some of the surrounding area to use as a baseline. One egghead pirate with a yen for astronomy could be enough to see through the ruse. As for the AA guns I'd like to keep them intact and under our control, if possible. While they can't help us groundside, they could hold open a corridor for our escape if they manage to send out an S.O.S."
Eric thought a second. "Joe's outline's solid for the most part. And then there's Gorith's fugitive. I'm sure the pirates have made themselves at home at the dig site, took up all the good bunks. Things are quiet for the moment so they'll be working in shifts, not at full strength, which makes me wonder about the... atmosphere there..."
He looked at Naetalia. "The air on Dakora's basically inhaling a Mickey Finn - intoxicant plus poison. How much exposure would your average oxygen breather need to get a buzz and impair their functions without killing them? Can they recover completely from such an exposure on their own or would they need medical intervention?"
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Post by Naetilia Bolanis on Aug 14, 2017 12:51:59 GMT -6
Naetilia looked over the data on the mission brief and then began tapping on her omnitool.
"Obviously, variables such as race, fitness level, lung capacity and breathing rate make an accurate response almost impossible," she said, still tapping on her omnitool. "Given the levels of methane and alcohol vapors, I predict five minutes of prolonged exposure without proper breathing apparatus would be sufficient to incapacitate someone, give or take one minute. Full recovery on without medical treatment is possible, and I predict at least eight hours are required. Medical treatment could cut the recovery time in half.
"There is one caveat to my calculations," she continued. "As I said, race does play a factor in my calculations. Given their adaptive biology, vorcha should be able to function without breathing apparatus, so if any of the work crews were not executed they should still be alive. Krogan, given their resilient physiology, would not suffer ill effects for a considerably longer time, though for how long I cannot say with any degree of accuracy, given the lack of detailed information on that particular subject."
She looked over at Thrak.
"Ever since the genophage was inflicted on your people, they have been highly reluctant to share medical information with aliens," she said. "Is that true for you as well?"
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Post by Urdnot Thrak on Aug 14, 2017 13:00:34 GMT -6
"Happy to share anything I know, Doc," he said, leaning forward on his elbows. Laughing, he said, "Want to guess how much I know about krogan medicine?"
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Post by Eric Lysander on Aug 14, 2017 16:44:56 GMT -6
"Being no insult to present company, krogan and vorcha aren't generally known for being techs or snipers," said Eric. "They'll likely be blunt instruments while their more precise companions would find themselves nursing a hangover after sampling a bit o' the night air via the air ducts. Anything that can delay them marshaling their full might works in our favor. Meanwhile if the scientists are all in one spot and the guards are outside we can lock 'em in, keep 'em outta harm's way until the shooting stops."
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Post by Joe Fischer on Aug 15, 2017 6:11:58 GMT -6
Joe frowned.
"Are you thinking about disabling the ventilation systems and gassing everyone inside, Pops?" he said. "Not a bad idea, but that will knock out the hostages, and now we have to figure out a way to drag their asses to the extraction point. Then we would definitely have to use the shuttles to get them out."
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Post by Eric Lysander on Aug 15, 2017 19:03:20 GMT -6
"Possibly," Lysander agreed. "But let's not forget that this site is essentially modular. Each component can be isolated and in worst case scenarios, with some on the fly jury-rigging, self-sustaining with its own life support system. So we wouldn't need to bring down the entire ventilation system."
Eric eyed Geenenh and Rula'an. "How much work would be needed to get this done if it can be done?"
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Post by Geneenh T'Loris on Aug 15, 2017 20:37:13 GMT -6
"You know how I said I was rebuilding computers when I was five?" she said. "What you're asking is something I could do when I was four. For the sake of argument, just assume I can do anything with a computer, okay?"
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Post by rulaan on Aug 16, 2017 1:21:40 GMT -6
Rula'an gives Geneenh a hard look before saying, "If that is such the case perhaps I should leave everything to you and simply monitor the whole endeavor from the ship," he steadies himself before continuing, "For if you are that formidable you should be able to reprogram both turrets on your own. In addition to handling the satellite interference and counter hacking from their engineers."
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Post by Urdnot Thrak on Aug 16, 2017 4:02:55 GMT -6
"Kid, if you can't handle empty boasts, you need to find a different line of work," Thrak said, shaking his head slowly.
Mercenary work was a life of constantly jostling for position and proving one's worth. Of course, by the time someone got to Thrak's age, there was rarely need for an empty boast. In his centuries of work, there was plenty of time for him to accrue legitimate feats. Most races were not as long-lived, though. Even among those who could live as long, the majority of the population were younger individuals- even with all the work people put into it, a century was a long time to live without a fatal accident, much less multiple centuries. As such, most people exaggerated in the mercenary line of work.
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Post by Geneenh T'Loris on Aug 16, 2017 5:19:22 GMT -6
Geneenh glared at the krogan.
"What makes you think that was an empty boast?" she said. "I've been doing this for over two hundred years. You think I've been getting by on my looks? When we took this ship, I had to defeat its AI--with my omnitool. Any other hacker would've needed a supercomputer. Don't ever question my qualifications again, or I'll show you what else I'm good at."
She held his gaze for several seconds before turning back to Lysander.
"You wanted to hack life support for the living spaces, yes?" she said. "Consider it done. What's next?"
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Post by Urdnot Thrak on Aug 16, 2017 5:50:38 GMT -6
Thrak grunted at the asari's protest. "Fine. Not an empty boast. The Shadow Broker wants the Reapers dealt with. They're AI. If we ever come across one, I'll know I don't need to worry. You can activate the self destruct, because you 'can do anything with a computer, okay?'"
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Post by Ghorith Ghegranak on Aug 16, 2017 6:23:52 GMT -6
Ghorith looked at the asari, so full of pride—and pitied her.
Before his exile, the state-run media said time and time again that the Council, for all its appearances of freedom, was an elaborate lie; the asari, with their seemingly infinite supply of eezo and millennium-long lifespans, ruled the galaxy. Behind the scenes, they manipulated the other races to do their bidding through manipulation of supply of the material needed for FTL travel.
He didn’t know if that was true, but looking at her prideful boasts and barely hidden challenge to the krogan, he could that she was very insecure about herself.
Such pride, he thought. The gods will not bless her with a better body in her next life. If she keeps this up, they will put her spirit in the body of a quarian or a volus.
He promised himself that if they both survived the mission he would begin trying to save her soul.
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Post by XanDorak on Aug 16, 2017 6:55:36 GMT -6
Xan found himself very surprised by the krogan's retort. In his experience, krogan were generally limited to crude innuendo, threats, or strung-together expletives mixed with racial slurs when it came to verbal sparring. Those were the advanced ones; most seemed limited to headbutting as a means of making their points. He decided he would be wise to keep an eye on the slightly-aging lizard, even though the silver-armored human was clearly the one in charge.
Well, in charge under the Broker and their handler.
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Post by rulaan on Aug 16, 2017 11:08:37 GMT -6
"I can handle empty boasts I've seen and heard enough of them however I don't think they're as empty as you assume they are judging by her reaction," Rula'an says. However realizing Geneenh's current state of mind he leans back shaking his head slowly resuming the programming of his Omni-tool listening to the conversation but no longer participating in it.
'This is why I work alone,' he thinks, 'Everyone thinks they're better than me. Even in Aria's organization I was often looked down upon. The only time they truly respected me was when I left and crippled the whole station for five minutes.'
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Post by spartan560 on Aug 16, 2017 11:23:49 GMT -6
"I remember you beat the AI but just barely," Izahm says, "Had another engineer of a high caliber been there it would've been easier. I get that you've been doing this for two hundred years but you're not a God that can see everything and do everything all at once. Everyone knows you're quite capable you don't have to keep reiterating it. And Lysander asked both you and Rula'an but you answered alone instead of consulting with our other Engineer. We have another engineer here for a reason unless you truly can see and do everything alone. In which case I'll bring you to Rannoch and you can hack the Geth and end the threat they've become. Or better yet why don't we send you at the Reapers like Thrak suggested. Because if you can do anything with a computer you can surely hack a Reaper."
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Post by Eric Lysander on Aug 16, 2017 13:06:08 GMT -6
And here I was picking on the lil' guy, thought Eric as he observed that it was not only the volus who appeared to have something to prove as Geenenh's proud self-assessment drew ire from Rula'an and commentary from Thrak and Izahm.
The team commander moved to restore some order. “All right everybody - let’s get back to finding ways past the pirates’ defenses. For the record, the whole spectrum of technical expertise will be needed here.”
He looked at Rula’an and then at Geenenh. “From both our experts, in physical and digital setups. After all you might find yourself hitting a wall the other can help you over. And we can’t afford either of you getting stuck… which leads to our next problem: eliminating enemy air support without damaging the landing pad.”
Eric moved his attention to encompass the entire group, indicating the objective on the holo displays.
“Intel says their main vessel – the frigate – is a model the salarians discontinued 30 years ago. There’re three smaller ships parked on top as well; more modern jobs. Blowin’ em up’s messy and makin' them paperweights on deck means less room for our shuttles ta land. Sure the pirates spiffed up the frigate some but I’m bettin’ there things we can exploit from what they didn’t touch. Was the ship design discontinued due to flaws or just basic ‘planned obsolescence?’”
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Post by Maelstrom on Aug 16, 2017 14:56:00 GMT -6
"I don't think we have to worry about leaving the landing pad intact. The Vengeance can set down anywhere here easily enough, so I'm sure our new Kodiak can too," Maelstrom said, leaning back with his arms crossed. "I can't speak for Izahm's bird, but one of the main purposes of a shuttle is to set down in hard-to-reach places. If I were to bet, I'd say the only reason they even have a landing pad here is for freighters and stipulations on their insurance policy."
He shrugged. "I mean, sure, it's extra property damage if it gets blown up as we do our job, but I hardly think the people whose lives are being saved are going to complain that their landing pad has a couple holes in it."
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