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Post by dargene on Mar 16, 2014 18:11:50 GMT -6
As Esteban used each grenade Meldom watched, each pile being lifted then moved, the grenade itself was indeed quite clever, as was this sonic device, Meldom stood next to Esteban and set up his omnitool to show a visual representation of the digging process, each time the soil was lifted the OmniTool updated the image showing how the hole was getting deeper and deeper.
"Think its Prothean ? or maybe further?" he said smiling, "STG used to make me go on missions to gather some relic or another, Mostly Prothean things found."
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Post by Game Master on Mar 16, 2014 20:00:37 GMT -6
[GM Post: Opening the lost base]
Visible sonic waves slammed into the ancient lunar soil of Barce, agitated the dark gray sediment. Small bits of rock danced at the whim of the sonic rifle, bouncing chaotically to the muted beat. Each lift grenade released a shimmering blue dome covering the loosened sediment, raising a ton of ashened gray dust... disbursing it into the surrounding area. Esteban repeated the same process a dozen times, removing over a ton of dust and stone from the growing hole.
Fifteen minutes passed. Maelstrom's shuttle landed. The Valiant joined the shuttle soon after. Both had their engines prepped and ready to launch in a moment's notice. Collector rifles, SMGs, and grenades were collected. Armor was salvaged. Even their omnitools. All the items together could easily fetch five hundred thousand credits, all for the group of mercenaries.
That wasn't what caught Esteban's attention. It was the uncovered hatch. What surprised him more than anything else was how ordinary it looked. It was circular, a crack in the middle indicating how it opened. The portal looked close to five foot radius, making it wide enough for a Krogan to fit through. He stared at it for a moment or two, hoping his HUD would reveal something that he was missing. Sadly, it did not.
So he tapped his wrist to activate his omnitool.
The portal slid open...
Comforting dark golden light shone out from below... beckoning with untold mysteries...
And one more thing...
"I...." Esteban said over the comm channel to everyone, staring in disbelief at what he's seeing. "There's a keeper down there....."
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Post by Eric Lysander on Mar 16, 2014 21:30:33 GMT -6
"The Valiant will be touching down in approximately two minutes, approximately fifty meters to the north of the Vengeance," reported Maelstrom.
Eric motioned to Iskra and Shala. "All right, let's pick her up. The faster we get her aboard and into Medical, the better."
He shuffled over next to Shala and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Shala... I know this is outta place and I feel shitty for even imposing on you, but the doc's right. We have to keep our heads... after we get River inside, can you run some repairs on my armor? At least see if you can get my barriers rebalanced. Much as I appreciate the extra protection around the naughty bits, it's kinda pointless if you have no head to use 'em!"
[Shala may react favorably (laugh), unfavorably (groan or take offense) or just shrug off Eric's joke but his line will be the same albeit with an accommodating inflection]
"Yeah, yeah - bad joke, I know..." Then he added "River's gonna make it... the kid can fight... and Iskra's on the case so her chances are real good... our Fearless Leader's pushing on... we need our engineering genius..."
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Post by dargene on Mar 17, 2014 16:35:35 GMT -6
"There's a keeper down there....."
Esteban words rang out to him he open and closed his mouth a few times before speaking "But.. That could not be possible, you can't remove keepers from the citadel, you can try.. but not succeed.."
He put his hand up to rest on his chin through his suit "Unless.. part of the citadel got buried here.. but that means that citadel is older then we thought.. moon soil is untouched so it would mean that.." Meldom shakes his head "I could be wrong.. but the keeper may have been here since before the Protheans"
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Post by Shala'Bekk vas Neema on Mar 17, 2014 19:57:53 GMT -6
"...We need our engineering genius."
As much as Shala wanted to stay with River, she knew Eric Lysander was right, there was nothing she could do for the brave human girl.
"Very well, Eric Lysander, though we should do it on one of the ships," she said. "I may need to remove your armor completely if there are any serious problems with it."
What is a Keeper doing here?
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Post by Esteban Bridges on Mar 17, 2014 21:08:07 GMT -6
"Unless.. part of the citadel got buried here.. but that means that citadel is older then we thought.. moon soil is untouched so it would mean that..I could be wrong.. but the keeper may have been here since before the Protheans."
Esteban knelt down at the hole, unable to fully process what he was looking at. "I....," was all he could get out before falling silent again. His mind was racing. Could something have happened to the Citadel? Maybe part of it ejected? He shook his head, absentmindedly squeezing some of the lunar soil in his armored hand. There was only one way to know for certain.
"It's possible," he managed to carefully say, measuring his words. "I want a team to come with me. Meldom..." Esteban looked up, his visor reflecting visions of Meldom and everything around him. "Can you organize everyone quickly so we can head down? The Valiant can keep watch on the surface."
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Post by Eric Lysander on Mar 18, 2014 7:49:42 GMT -6
Calming down, Shala complied "Very well, Eric Lysander, though we should do it on one of the ships. I may need to remove your armor completely if there are any serious problems with it."
"On the Valiant," Eric suggested "More room, plus I have spare parts in my kit there." As if on cue, the Valiant descended on the field like a giant bird of prey, slowing down with its braking thrusters kicking up dust and debris. After touching down, its bay entrance opened and lowered its ramp. Eric, Shala and Iskra carefully lifted River up and quickly brought her within the hold. As they got to Medical and Iskra gave instructions for securing River on a medi-bed, Eric became more aware of the buzzing around the dig site through his comms. "There's a keeper down there....."
"... but that means that citadel is older then we thought.."
"... the keeper may have been here since before the Protheans."
Eric took some comfort in the familiar "geekout speak" he was accustomed to hearing at dig sites. Discoveries being made, present knowledge being reevaluated. Visions of awards, research grants and a place in academic history. Eric pat River's hand one last time before heading off with Shala to have his armor serviced.
"...see you later, River..."
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Post by dargene on Mar 18, 2014 9:13:45 GMT -6
"Probably be better if not all people went, river is in no condition to do anything, safe assumption Iskra will stay with her, people also may want to resupply their things and take a few moments rest make sure she is okay, we should probably get our stuff checked out as well, may be all manner of things in there".
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Post by Iregos on Mar 18, 2014 11:48:58 GMT -6
"I'm coming Murchadh, I think I can help you with that..." She wasn't too far away. In moments she was assisting the mech driver with the quick field repair. She left her drone to scan artifacts and gear and tell her if anything came up.
Assuming she has the time, she quickly rejoins the others after helping him.
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Post by grandest on Mar 18, 2014 20:54:48 GMT -6
Cruendi'has felt conflicted about what to do. A large portion of the group was carefully tending to River. Post-confrontation, Maelstrom moved to help Murdach fix the mech. Meanwhile, Mr. Bridges and Meldom excitedly worked at continuing to dig down to the ruins. Cruendi'has had little to offer in either situaitons and cared little for the dropped Collector tech. It was true that much could be sold for a fair price, but the Batarian had other sources of income. He marched up the hillside away from the others and onto the overlook and its turret installation. The Turret itself still looked menacing, with its Collector modifications, though it lie dormant. Bounding to the top of the building took little effort and, in fact, was a pleasant break for Cruendi'has. Aside from the lack of atmosphere, the environment managed to remind him of home. Life maintained on a razors edge and little holding you down. He reached his objective and cocked his head to the right. "Thought we forgot about you?" The Collector prisoner futilely squirmed beneath the net. "Well, don't worry your pretty little head. Mr. Bridges offered far too many credits for me to neglect such a guest." Cruendi'has pulled a thin, strong line from his utility belt. "I understand if you're pretty mad at us for killing all your friends, but you should know it was nothing personal-- except, maybe, the Praetorian. But I'm sure even you'd agree that guy was an asshole." The Batarian tied the line around the Collectors feet and stood up. Maelstrom's voice came over the comms. "The Valiant will be touching down in approximately two minutes, approximately fifty meters to the north of the Vengeance." "Well, that's your ride. Don't want to keep them waiting." Cruendi'has pulled the captive down through the installation and to the edge of the overlook. The Vengeance already sat, hovering close to the ground and accepting Maelstroms spoils. The Valiant roared overhead and came in for a landing. Placing his foot against the back of the Collector, Creundi'has gauged the height of the cliff and the effects of a light-gravity fall. "Eh," He pushed and the Collector rolled down the side. "It's not that steep." Using his suits light inertia dampeners, he too slid down the cliff side. Reaching the bottom, He hefted the Collector closer to the frigate. As he came close, the comms chatter lit up. "There's a keeper down there..." "...but that means the Citadel is older then we thought..." "...the keeper may have been here since before the Protheans." Cruendi'has looked the Collector over as he locked it in a small cage. With his second set of eyes, he glanced over at River's motionless form. "All this for some forgotten Prothean tech." He mumbled. "Half the galaxy looks over their shoulder in fear of you, and your kind are nothing more than scavengers. A lot of good it served you in the end."
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Post by Esteban Bridges on Mar 19, 2014 5:46:02 GMT -6
Esteban took a deep breath, bracing his hand on his knee.. pushing himself up. He got so caught up in the moment that he forgot about little River.
"Fair point Meldom," he conceded. They couldn't bring everyone. He continued speaking over the comm channel to everyone, figuring it would be easier this way. "Iskra. Do you need anyone to stay behind to help? No one has any direct medical experience, but anyone could offer an extra pair of hands if you needed more."
[insert response here, if any]
"Good," was all he could say, more as an acknowledgment she responded than anything else. He took a glance around, spotting exactly what he was looking for. An anti-gravity lift. "We'll be heading down in five minutes. I have a way to get down and up for anyone who will need it."
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Post by Eric Lysander on Mar 19, 2014 7:59:32 GMT -6
After transmitting the codes to disable the grenades placed around the turret to Cruendi'has at the batarian's request, Eric went into the storage area by the shuttle bay to drag out one of his strong boxes. He knelt down and uttered a strange name:
"Rufus Xavier Saspirilla..."
The lock on the strong box disengaged and the lid cracked open with a hiss. Eric tilted the lid back and exposed the partitions containing replacement parts for his armor. After accounting for all the pieces, he stood and looked to Shala.
"Whatever needs to be changed out, you can pretty much find in there," he said. Then he smiled and volunteered "And don't get any funny ideas about goin' through my stuff just because you happened to overhear the password. The locks have BioVox encryption - little innovation Bultas Shipping funded. Recordings, computer voice restructs, vocal impersinations won't work. Only the original person's living voice hard-coded on that lock will open it. And if you're thinking 'bout just cutting it open, good luck; the locks are made of the same composites as the boxes. You'll wear out every tool in your kit before you even make a decent dent... I should know. I used to use the company's crates out on the bombing range... tough as hell..."
Eric shrugged "Just trying to make conversation, get our minds off of... you know... figured you'd get a kick out of it, being a tech wiz and all..."
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Post by Shala'Bekk vas Neema on Mar 19, 2014 8:50:18 GMT -6
Whatever good will Eric Lysander had earned with her evaporated a little bit more with each word. She could tell by his tone that he meant it as a joke, but the suggestion that she would steal from him left her deeply insulted.
Strip away the charm and tactical skill, he's just as prejudiced as most people, she thought.
"Crewmates don't steal from each other," she snapped as she brought up her omnitool. "Now stand still as I scan your armor."
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Post by Murchadh on Mar 19, 2014 8:50:27 GMT -6
The scot smiled at the help from the asari as he climbed up his mech's leg. The lump of ore up close was a dull silver and clearly wedged in the joint of his mech. It must be strong as his mech had crushed it. " Can ye pit a wee biotic bubble thaur?" He asked the purple asari as he pointed to the small joint. He gripped the wrech as he waited for the asari to create the bubble. " at fight was a toogh a body wasnae it?"
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Post by Maelstrom on Mar 19, 2014 11:57:47 GMT -6
"I have a way to get down and up for anyone who will need it," Bridges said.
Maelstrom sighed, as he set another bag down in the small room. His armory was more cluttered than it had ever been. Surprisingly, few of the others bothered with getting what they could salvage. Usually, he was forced to let others take their fill, as part of keeping his reputation with the mercenary outfits that he hired. It was his good fortune this time, as far as he was concerned. Enough grenades and armor to last him a long time. Not to mention enough rifles and SMG's to make a small fortune with them alone.
There was more to be had, but, as a professional, Maelstrom knew that he had an obligation to his employer, now that there was work to do again. He quickly recovered another two bags, in case there were something down there Bridges did not want which was worth having. With that, he closed and locked his shuttle's armory again. At least if he was not attacking Cerberus, he could be securing funding with which to attack them. Maybe money for another bottle of fine whiskey too.
As he set foot outside the shuttle, Emily's comforting and familiar voice responded, "Good hunting."
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Post by Eric Lysander on Mar 19, 2014 12:16:06 GMT -6
"Crewmates don't steal from each other," Shala spat out. "Now stand still as I scan your armor."
Eric exhaled and stood with his arms out while she went over his armor. And once again, you stick your foot in and fall back to square one... as always.
Shala's diagnostic run seemed to take forever. Eric began to grow more uncomfortable, fearing that he would come to regret his transgression. His mind drifted.
Sooner or later you always find a way to piss someone off, don't ya? Always have to get a word in with that damn mouth o' yours...! Maybe that's why you stayed on after your sentence was up. Why you wanna go prospectin' n' get rich... it's the only way you can get people to stick around or pay any attention to ya! Maybe you should get yourself killed on this mission, do the universe a favor. Make it look like it was in the line-a duty and not suicide. You couldn't even stick with the Alliance after Shepard bought it; now you wanna go back? Why? Cause Shep's back, right...? Cause everybody's hero may have been the only real friend you ever had. The only person who could tolerate you... and now even the great commander doesn't wanna deal with you anymore... underneath it all, you're still just a loser street rat that never woulda made it on his own... why couldn't Shep's folks just left me to die?
As the quarian mechanic finished repairs, Eric wondered how he would even approach River when she awakened. He decided that he would just be as professional as he could manage.
And probably screw that up as well.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2014 4:58:47 GMT -6
Iskra walked quietly beside the group carrying River, tapping away orders and reading scans on her omni tool. She couldn’t help but feel a small burn of jealously in her heart at the sight and sounds of the crew so worried about this girl. They had only known her for less than a week and yet by the sounds of how the rest talked about her, many would gladly take a bullet for her. If she had even a shred of that kind of draw she wouldn’t have to fight for grant money with the scientists that were working on turning Asari skin tone green.
Shala and Eric quickly dispersed after setting down River on one of the beds, leaving Iskra alone. The doctor pulled off her helmet and breathed in the sterile smells of the med bay, glad to be in an environment where she felt comfortable. Decompression of her armor was slow, taking her time as her adrenaline slowly began to wear off, her shaking hands steadying. The Black Widow found itself back in the same spot it had been for the majority of this trip, reloaded and still pristine.
“Iskra. Do you need anyone to stay behind to help? No one has any direct medical experience, but anyone could offer an extra pair of hands if you needed more." Esteban’s voice addressed her in his normal business-like tone.
She considered the offer for a long while, knowing little about anyone on this ship passed a few very small first impressions. Meldom was truly her only option and there really should be at least one scientific mind down in the dig site from the small tidbits of information she was able to catch over the comm chatter.
“No, Mr. Bridges. I will handle her operation alone.”
“Good.”
“Asa,” The VI’s avatar appeared in the corner of the room, “Please start extensive scans of the patient.” The hot water blasted from the sink as Iskra washed her hands, using the mundane ritual to calm herself before she began.
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Post by Shala'Bekk vas Neema on Mar 20, 2014 5:16:15 GMT -6
As Shala conducted her scan, she wondered if she had overreacted to Eric Lysander's remarks. While she did not like the accusation--even if jokingly--that she may steal from him, could she really expect him to know that her people were not the scavengers and thieves they were perceived to be?
She stopped the scan and looked up at him. "What I said, may have been a bit...harsh," she said. "Among my people, trust, loyalty and cooperation are necessary skills. To be accused of otherwise is a great insult. But then again, my people have been a bit...detached...from the rest of the galactic community, so I suppose expecting you to know the ways of my people is a bit much."
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Post by Eric Lysander on Mar 20, 2014 8:05:35 GMT -6
Eric's eyes twinged in surprise. A rare situation for him: the offended party partially concedes fault in a miscommunication wheras most other times blame was laid entirely at his feet.
"No... I don't know much about your people," he confessed. "I do know that they take great pride in their ships and their crews. That they're clever and resourceful by necessity; make the most of everything they have. They're not wasteful like a lot of other folks. That despite having to live each day paying for mistakes your generation had nothing to do with, you still value family..." He turned his entire frame to face hers. "Still, I was outta line. I was too caught up in flexin' and showin' off my gear to consider your feelings... heh, I'm so used to roughin' up and gettin' roughed up that I forget my own strength sometimes... I'm sorry I got rough on you..."
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Post by Maelstrom on Mar 20, 2014 8:28:17 GMT -6
By the time Maelstrom reached Bridges and Meldom, he felt his strength was nearly fully recovered. The benefits not all mercs appreciated to having a bit heavier meal before a mission and having just a bit of body fat. It gave one something to metabolize when one's energy stores ran low. Just to test his muscles, he threw a few jabs into open space without the accompanying biotic fields.
Drawing his SMG with one hand and one of the Collector grenades with the other, he said, "So, Keepers, huh? Nothing with guns yet, though?"
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