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Post by Iregos on Feb 20, 2014 13:57:32 GMT -6
Shala and Maelstrom speak up on the generators and Biotics. Lysander speaks up on not being able to get out.
First, the Asari says: "A straightforward ambush from the back of the base would not turn out well, there cannot be any disagreement there. I will alter my suggestion and propose we engage them from stealth, focusing on the regular soldiers first. We use our stealth suits to get past them as far as we can, without getting within visual range of the biotic soldiers. Then we can engage the lesser soldiers from both sides."
"Uhhh, just talkin' out loud here, guys - any chance these generators were from the last expedition, too? These things seem to like recycling. And if they are... any chance at all of retooling them to act like giant dampers? Sure would suck the fight out of our biotics there, maybe long enough for us to stamp 'em out."
"If we have a way to power a dampening field, we should make sure it won't dampen our own biotics. Sabotaging the reactors might help us while engaging them, but it carries a number of risks. Unless we get a chance to analyze how they've been modified, what they control the power for, and figure out a way to defuse them without just blowing the site, it's not a safe way to approach the objective. I will leave it in more capable hands, as to how we can attempt that, or if it's worth attempting."
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2014 18:30:38 GMT -6
Iskra decompressed her pistol when the last husk fell, approaching the closest corpse. She had never seen anything like this before, both these and the Collectors had such strange physiology.
Kneeling next to the dead body, she carefully reached over and turned the creatures head. Green blood leaked from the husks head…or at least what she thought it was. Wiping her finger in the puddle, Iskra found the liquid sticky as she rubbed it between her fingers.
The cybernetics were more extensive than she had seen at first glance. The skin was tough and dry, there was tubing where bones should have been, and the eyes were dark. She wondered if this was even organic, other than the form, it looked more like advanced robotics. That or it was a different form of Geth she was unfamiliar with.
The doctor’s eyes followed the lines of the body until something caught her eye, a piece of metal fused into the husks shoulder. Rolling the body towards her, Iskra fell backwards on her ass when she finally saw the object clearly. The bright blue and white logo on what use to be a piece of armor, the implications of such was sickening. Iskra felt immediately ill at the thought this was once a person, the painful process that it had to be to become this monstrosity…
She prayed that these people had felt death’s embrace before…whatever this was.
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Post by Maelstrom on Feb 20, 2014 18:51:58 GMT -6
"I will leave it in more capable hands, as to how we can attempt that, or if it's worth attempting."
Maelstrom considered what had been said so far, as he finished reloading and placing the assault rifle back in place. "I don't know much about the tech you're discussing, dampeners and the like, but with some help from our Scottish friend, couldn't we MAKE another door if need be? If we could get some sort of interior scan of the place, it should be easy enough to pick a safe point. The worst of it would be the explosive decompression, assuming there's even atmosphere in there."
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Post by Esteban Bridges on Feb 21, 2014 1:00:45 GMT -6
Esteban worked furiously on his omnitool, his dark almond eyes reflecting the cool orange glow. He was making sure the Collectors didn't detect them at all. He searched for any sign, any hint, that the enemy within the base knew something was wrong. Every result was negative.
Uhhh, just talkin' out loud here, guys - any chance these generators were from the last expedition, too? These things seem to like recycling. And if they are... any chance at all of retooling them to act like giant dampers? Sure would suck the fight out of our biotics there, maybe long enough for us to stamp 'em out.
If we have a way to power a dampening field, we should make sure it won't dampen our own biotics. Sabotaging the reactors might help us while engaging them, but it carries a number of risks. Unless we get a chance to analyze how they've been modified, what they control the power for, and figure out a way to defuse them without just blowing the site, it's not a safe way to approach the objective. I will leave it in more capable hands, as to how we can attempt that, or if it's worth attempting.
I will leave it in more capable hands, as to how we can attempt that, or if it's worth attempting.
Esteban's eyes widened in realization. "Give me a moment," he spoke into the helmet's microphone before pulling up the readouts on the generators. He had to make sure they were the same generators used by the Blue Suns. If they were, Esteban knew how to access them. They used Elanus Risk Control Services for almost all their equipment. He knew the generators from the ERCS like the back of his hand. The GX-421 was the latest model, but was pretty much identical to every other model they had. He smiled to himself, studying the energy readouts.
"The Collectors are using the GX-421 model generators," Esteban said in a controlled tone, masking his excitement. "I can shut them off remotely. With the Quari.. Shala's help, we can get it done in two minutes."
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Post by Shala'Bekk vas Neema on Feb 21, 2014 1:48:46 GMT -6
"Just let me know what you need me to do, Captain," Shala replied, suddenly feeling very excited. The captain had liked her idea and was going to use it to help the team--with her help!
I think Father would be proud of me, she thought.
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Post by Eric Lysander on Feb 21, 2014 8:58:25 GMT -6
The asari sentinel offered strategies on dealing with the one exit and the biotics within the ruins, tasking those with stealth ability to take down the standard soldiers while she and other biotics on the team dealt with the more powerful Collectors. Modifying or disabling the generators was a risk, as it was yet still unknown if they were ones the enemy supplied themselves or repurposed from Esteban's expedition.
The mercenaries' employer was suddenly heard to say ""Give me a moment." Moments later he spoke up again.
"The Collectors are using the GX-421 model generators. I can shut them off remotely. With the Quari.. Shala's help, we can get it done in two minutes."
"Just let me know what you need me to do, Captain," she agreed.
"Oh-hoh, nice!" commended Eric "He's rich and clever. Careful, Mr. B - if you're a single man now, you may not be for long! So with the generators disabled we put 'em in the dark and cut power to any security systems and sentry guns they may have, leaving just handheld weapons and the three biotics. Stealth-kill the regulars... and hope our biotics can whoop theirs..."
Eric thought aloud over the comms. "But what about Seekers? A confined arena would be the perfect spot to release 'em... if there's atmosphere like Mal said, venting can ground 'em or suck 'em outside... if Meldom didn't use any of my freeze grenades, can use them to slow 'em down more..."
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Post by Game Master on Feb 22, 2014 6:18:23 GMT -6
[GM Post: Beginning of the 2nd wave]
- Shala and Esteban: Four GX-421 model generators were within the Collector base, each within operational range of your omnitool. All fail-safes and security measures were removed from the four generators. Power output increased for each between 15 - 25% beyond safe operational perimeters. Thanks to the modifications done to the generators (security being stripped), you can access two generators at a time with no difficulty. - Commands you can give the generator: shut down, turn on, increase output, decrease output
- The 25 Collectors at the outpost. Classification: Mooks. The Collector Outpost is a single large room. The building was made from scrap metal found at the digsite, the remains of Blue Suns armor and Blue Suns vehicles. The first round counts as a surprise round, meaning your character can kill up to four rather than only one.
- The 10 Collectors at the digsite. Classification: 9 Mooks, 1 Miniboss. The digsite is a fairly complex area, filled with strange outcroppings from an ancient alien civilization. Your character can kill one mook per round. The miniboss is nowhere to be seen.
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Post by Esteban Bridges on Feb 22, 2014 16:25:20 GMT -6
Seekers...
Esteban stopped in his tracks at Eric's words, staring at his suit's readouts. It didn't detect any heat signature that was unaccounted for, but was that truly enough? He didn't know. Each individual seeker was pretty small. They couldn't possibly produce enough heat to be detectable. His eyes shifted rapidly, left to right. He searched for any hint, anything unaccounted for. He scowled. Barce had no atmosphere, no medium to carry sound. The easiest way to detect a seeker swarm was by sound.
He hated the unknown.
He sighed, refocusing his attention back to the matter at hand. He could deal with known variables like the generators. Esteban got to work on his omnitool, only to stop three seconds later. What in the world? He thought to himself, stunned. There should have been security measures in place, maybe a rudimentary VI program to combat hacking. But there was nothing at all in place. It was like someone left their omnitool running out in the open when they went to sleep.
It looked almost too good to be true. Esteban studied the readouts on his omnitool, now looking for signs of a trap. Just like before, searching for unexplained variations within the data... but finding nothing. The generators were running way beyond their normal operational capacity.
"I have control over two of the Collector's generators," Esteban said calmly. "Salvaged from the Blue Suns. Looks like they are pushing both. From here, I could shut down the generators or force them to overload. What's the call?"
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Post by Maelstrom on Feb 22, 2014 18:29:46 GMT -6
"What's the call?" Esteban said.
Maelstrom thought it over for a moment. He doubted his opinion would hold that much weight with the employer, but he said it anyway. "Set them to overload. There's a chance we'll take out a couple Collectors when they go to investigate."
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Post by Shala'Bekk vas Neema on Feb 22, 2014 20:47:39 GMT -6
"I disagree," Shala said. "We don't know what they're powering, let's find that out before we do something we can't undo. Unfortunately, the only way to find out is through trial and error."
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Post by Maelstrom on Feb 23, 2014 1:26:19 GMT -6
Maelstrom sighed and shook his head. He did not understand what he had been asked to go on the mission. There were enough other people who could offer muscle. If they needed someone to deal with recovery missions where everything was being treated as preciously as this, it just did not make sense to hire someone whose specialty was breaking in, eliminating all resistance by the most expedient means possible, recovering data, and then leveling everything in sight. The Shadow Broker knew his work well enough to know that was what he was good at.
He took another look at the recovered grenade, finding the activation buttons. Drawing his submachine gun, he started down towards navpoint Tartarus at a brisk pace. "Unless you've changed your minds, we still have to clear the dig site regardless. Time to get started. Anyone who's still a part of that, with me."
While aware of his surroundings, he barely noticed the others tagging along with him, as he made his way down into the complex maze of outcroppings that made up navpoint Tartarus. The formations were metal. It appeared that it had at one point been jagged, either fractured by explosions or by impact, but uncountable years had worn the edges smooth. At first glance, it almost appeared more like rock than even metal.
Finally, he caught a glimpse of a Collector. It was kneeling, inspecting something lying on the ground. There were no others in sight.
Maelstrom aimed his SMG as he drew nearer and nearer to his foe. It was too focused whatever piece of ruins was before it to notice his approach. He was only a couple feet away from the insectoid alien when he leveled his weapon at its skull and pulled the trigger. More than a dozen rounds pierced its skull. At such close range, they kept enough momentum that several of the projectiles burst through the front of the Collector's face. As its vital fluids evaporated into vacuum, Maelstrom scanned his surroundings for more foes.
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Post by Iregos on Feb 23, 2014 2:12:21 GMT -6
Ressi had found cover behind a rock that jutted from the moon's surface, near the dig site.
"The old ERCS generators, their bigger cousins anyway, had a safety override to discharge in an emergency instead of causing an explosion. Could incapacitate or kill any collectors on a connecting, conductive surface..."
Maelstrom was moving past her. She didn't like going in before they had a plan, but if he started attacking there was nothing else she could do but move in and cover him.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2014 5:30:52 GMT -6
Iskra stood quietly behind Esteban, listening to herself breath between breaks in the comm. After the panic of seeing the fate of the last crew the man in front of her had hired for this mission had subsided, she had found herself being left by the rest of her squad and far behind in whatever they were discussing. Which had only left her wondering why she was even on this moon, she wasn’t picked by whatever standards Mr. Bridges held the rest to. She wasn’t even with River to watch out for her, which was the whole reason of her being brought on. She hadn’t even been put in a sniper position, which was where she had always been most comfortable and most skilled.
“If "ifs" and "buts" were candy and nuts, we'd all have a merry Christmas.” The young doctor didn’t know why the saying had popped in her head. She had barely understood the human idiom even after the young intern had spent 10 minutes trying to explain the intricate custom of Christmas to the alien.
Staying silent, Iskra watched the other suits read outs as they scrolled through each crews stats. She couldn’t help any of this conversation which left her to do the only thing she could do…wait.
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Post by Eric Lysander on Feb 23, 2014 11:26:36 GMT -6
As Eric and River familiarized themselves with the control console inside the emplacement, he overheard Malestrom and Resindra taking initiative and heading into the ruins. He sighed as he caught a glimpse of the captured Collector, bound and unconcious on the floor.
They call me rash and impulsive...
Cruendhi'has and Meldom had already joined up with the others down below. Eric felt that he should be down there as well; he prided himself on being able to take a beating, having endured more than his fair share throughout his life. But he could not leave River by herself. Competent sniper as she was, she may not be able to handle close quarters combat with an angry alien prisoner trying to escape.
Eric opened up comms again. "Mr. B, keep an eye on those readings - let us know the second anything squirrely comes up. Shala... see if you two can prime the generators to overclock and discharge like Resindra said. They can slow down or distract the enemy if they have to pull back..."
He thought of Meldom as he then made the suggestion "Somebody should go in after them, staying hidden. Another pair of eyes. See what's lurking around the bend."
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Post by Shala'Bekk vas Neema on Feb 23, 2014 12:48:22 GMT -6
Shala looked over at Captain Bridges, unsure of what to do. "Should we follow Eric Lysander's plan, Captain?" she asked.
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Post by grandest on Feb 23, 2014 16:00:30 GMT -6
"Unless you've changed your minds, we still have to clear the dig site regardless. Time to get started. Anyone who's still a part of that, with me." And with that, the overzealous human known as Maelstrom took off toward the outpost. At first, Cruendi'has simply shook his head. It was rather irksome all this waiting and listening to people bicker back and forth on a rather simple maneuver, but the Batarian knew who signed his checks. And besides that, he wasn't exactly ready to throw his life away so quickly. Then the Asari moved after him. You'll let them show you up like that? A voice murmured in Cruendi'has' head. It was an old itch, always seeing the Asari and Human people looking down on his own. Sheer ego propelled his foot forward. "Shit." he said, priming his shotgun and breaking into a dead sprint behind Maelstrom and Raesindra. "Somebody should go in after them, staying hidden. Another pair of eyes. See what's lurking around the bend." Eric Lysander called over the comms. Cruendi'has grinned. "Got it covered." He rounded a corner and found Maelstrom standing over a fresh kill. "Well, if they didn't know we'd made it this far already," Cruendi'has stated as another Collector came to check on their fallen comrade. He quickly took aim and blasted it to pieces of viscera and broken carapace. "They do now."
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Post by dargene on Feb 23, 2014 18:58:08 GMT -6
Everyone started to speak, what do do with generators where to go next, Meldom decided to wait and see what decisions could be made from what they decide, he sat down on the rock and stared out into the blackness of space that was lit up by thousands no millions of stars he scanned around with his eyes wondering what one was his, if he could even see the star of his solar system that held his fragile world, the sea of black seemed to drown out everything, could he even call it a home anymore after what he did.. he sat their having a near perfect flashback.
(If you have not please read Meldoms choice in character stories)
He shook his head at the sad thoughts "Will return soon enough" he said coughing to clear his throat and smiles sadly to himself, standing back up as everyone seemed to finish talking, "Overloading could damage more then just generators and collectors.. unless controlled explosion i would say shut off" he nods clearing his voice once more to make sure there is no trace of sadness.
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Post by Kai Silverhand on Feb 24, 2014 0:40:41 GMT -6
"So," asks Kai while sauntering out from behind some of the structures that marked their flank, "You still want me guarding our Six, bossman? Or is it that moment for a little trigger time?" The way that she's one-handing her shotgun, and standing rather brazenly... clearly she wants to be front lines, right where a Vanguard needs to be. The girl moves her gun up to lay across her shoulder, while she motions with the other hand, "And I was going to offer a little tactical insight... about bait, and chokepoints, but we're off and running already."
Although, in an uncharacteristic moment, she places her left hand on Meldom's shoulder, while walking by to hear Esteban's reply. The Asari mutters for him, "No one gonna die today..."
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Post by Esteban Bridges on Feb 24, 2014 6:51:37 GMT -6
"Should we follow Eric Lysander's play, Captain?" the businessman heard the question over the comm system. He didn't know... but he had an idea...
"So, You still want me guarding our Six, bossman? Or is it that moment for a little trigger time? And I was going to offer a little tactical insight... about bait, and chokepoints, but we're off and running already." Esteban glanced over at the Asari standing confidently, almost toying with her shotgun with the grace of an experienced mercenary.
Esteban straightened up, looking past the readouts of his helmet over to the team that's left... Iskra, the Drell. The Quarian Shala. Kai, an Asari... Meldom... Eric...
"We need to protect the entrance to the place," Esteban gestured toward the entrance to the outpost while looking at everyone left. "Iskra, I want sniper cover. Find the best position that'll keep us all covered. I think Meldom is right. There are too many unknown variables. It's too difficult to say what would happen if we overloaded the generators. Shala and I will be following Meldom's suggestion, shut down the generators. I suggest getting a coordinated assault, bait the Collectors out. I'll jam the signal to prevent any distress calls. The rest can create a killzone."
Esteban did everything he could to sound experienced, though anyone with any sort of military training could tell he was using very generic plans. They were solid, but was something the untrained would come up with.
"The sooner we take care of the problem, the sooner we can get to the digsite and depart."
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Post by Shala'Bekk vas Neema on Feb 24, 2014 9:12:25 GMT -6
Shala couldn't but be surprised as the captain laid out his plan. I was going to suggest something just like that, she thought.
"Ready, Captain," she said, tapping at her omnitool, bringing up the override function that would let her take control of the generators. "Just let me know when to start."
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