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Post by rulaan on Aug 13, 2017 10:53:10 GMT -6
"Around that same time yes though I myself was an oddity. I displayed the beginnings of prodigy level expertise quite young at the age of four but circumstances curtailed my parents plans. Plus my deciding not to return to my people coupled with needing to survive has reduced my opportunities to show my skills," Rula'an replies, "When you're working as a mid level Engineer in a gang of cutthroats it's best not to draw attention to yourself or show up others. Lest a jealous engineer engineers your own death."
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Post by spartan560 on Aug 13, 2017 11:00:08 GMT -6
Izahm smirked at Naetilia's reaction but diesnt reply focusing instead on the topographical map, 'Hmm I could maybe sneak Shadow Star in through the canyons, no the AA guns have complete defilade to the inner canyon,' he trails off lost in thought while waiting for the meeting to start.
"Thank you though I left that life behind me a long time ago," Lori'ar replies, "What can you tell me of this team. Izzy over here doesn't talk much about you all."
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Post by Geneenh T'Loris on Aug 13, 2017 11:14:33 GMT -6
"A wise attitude among such company," she said. "But you don't have to worry about that here, so by all means show off your skill to its fullest."
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Post by Naetilia Bolanis on Aug 13, 2017 11:28:45 GMT -6
"There is quite a few humans on the team," she said. "You have already met Fischer, he was a member of the Alliance's N7 program. He has proven himself to be loyal and a capable soldier, but outside of combat his actions are almost...childish.
"There is another former N7 in the team," she continued. "His name is Lysander and he is the leader of field operations. His sense of humor is similar to that of Fischer, though he is more well-behaved.
"Another human has taken the name 'Maelstrom', though I do not know what his real name is," she said. "He is a powerful biotic and very cautious. He also has strong feelings against Cerberus and has a fondness for using nuclear weapons against them. Shortly before this mission, Lysander, Fischer and I attacked a Cerberus base that was holding him captive and broke him out. During the mission, we also rescued a human female named Emily who has chosen to accompany him. I do not know much about her. She claims to be a skilled infiltrator, but I have yet to see her in action.
"Prior to this mission--that is, stealing this ship from a Cerberus shipyard--we picked up two new members," she said. "One of them is the asari talking to the quarian. She claims to be 242 years old and a very skilled engineer. From what I have heard those claims are true.
"The other one to join us is a krogan from the Urdnot clan named Thrak," she said. "As you can expect, he is a brutal fighter.
"The latest ones to join are the quarian and the volus," she said. "I do not know much about them. There is supposed to be one more joining us, though he--or she--has yet to arrive."
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Post by Eric Lysander on Aug 13, 2017 12:41:42 GMT -6
As the re-christened ex-Cerberus vessel Xiphos departed from dry-dock and went underway Eric familiarized himself with the ships systems, speaking briefly with assorted crew members and checking with the pilot to make sure that the controls were workable in the highly likely event a fast exit was needed. In his quarters Eric stowed his gear and donned his old, familiar, reliable silver Kestrel armor and looked himself over in the full-size wall mirror.
"This is more like it," he said, glad not to be wearing Cerberus gear. A tone sounded on his omni-tool. Eric switched it on; a new message from the Shadow Broker. All the latest and up-to-date intelligence for the mission. For convenience the data was also uploaded via quantum entanglement linkup to the ship's conference room. Attached also were dossiers for the last-minute additions to the group. Rula'an was one of them, whom his team had encountered during Feron's briefing. Another was a companion of sorts to Izahm, a turian who was also an ex-Spectre.
Good score, Izzy...
The third member...
You gotta be fuck-ing kidding... for real?
----
Eric headed down a deck towards the conference room trying to get into a professional mode of behavior, promising himself over and over internally not to crack when he saw the new team member for himself. As he arrived most of the other mercenaries along with the new additions had assembled and were engaged in light banter with each other.
"Hey everybody," he said, eyes perusing the occupied seats. "Nice ta see y'all in a good, chipper moo- holyshityou'rereal."
Eric stood staring at the diminutive being seated at the far end of the conference table. The armor on the suit was bulkier and more fortified but the design was all too recognizable.
There in the conference room was an actual volus warrior.
Eric cleared his throat and directed his attention to the new turian face.
"Lori'ar Hadashi?" he stated. "Welcome aboard. Eric Lysander. Read your file. Your knowledge of Spectres'll definitely be handy if we run inta Bau."
[Insert response/commentary by Lori'ar]
The Man in Silver returned to the volus. "Xan Dorak... ya know, I hadda re-read your dossier justa make sure I wasn't goin' nuts. And still..."
Eric's hand turned and flexed before him as if to trying to adjust the visage before him and failing.
"Even seeing you, here... " Eric dropped his hand at his side and bobbed his chin at him. "What kinda action have you seen?"
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Post by spartan560 on Aug 13, 2017 13:22:36 GMT -6
Lori'ar takes a moment from his conversation with Naetilia to address Lysander, "I am glad to be aboard. I will give what advice and help I can but I'm here to assist my friend Izahm acting as pilot while he's with you. Also should he be at the controls I will be the rear gunner for the heavy gun in the crew bay," he then returns to his conversation with Naetilia, "Sounds like a good mix. You picked a good group to roll with Izzy."
Izahm smiles at Lori'ar's words and replies, "Yes I did and thanks for helping ease my pilot troubles."
"Only because I want to experience life once more," Lori'ar says his mouth plates twitching in a smile again, "Though I am glad to have a fellow Turian along, " he continues nodding at Naetilia.
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Post by XanDorak on Aug 13, 2017 13:34:43 GMT -6
Xan was beginning to feel more comfortable with the team's level of respect for him after the tall one's remarks... And then the silver-clad Earth-clan came in... His questions riled him for some reason.
Hating how his respirator undercut his upset tone, he replied, "Five bodyguard jobs- all safe. Four hostage-rescue jobs- Eclipse, Bloodpack, and assorted dumbasses- all successes. Approximately twenty other mercenary jobs of varying types- with a success rate of approximately ninety percent. After that, I took to cleaning up Omega, following in Archangel's footsteps. I'm still alive, and I even earned a hated name from the organizations there. Good enough to join your merry band?"
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Post by Maelstrom on Aug 13, 2017 13:58:12 GMT -6
"Coming, Emily?" Maelstrom asked, as he put his last piece of weaponry in place on his black Collector armor.
"I just want to finish my hair!" she called from the restroom of the shuttle. She was determined to be part of the team, smand though Maelstrom had given up on dissuading her, he still did not think someone worried about their hair being perfect for the meeting belonged there.
"It's fine," he said, peaking in to find her in the rather alluring matte black armor she customized from nemesis and phantom armors on the ship. She had even pieced together a sniper rifle of her own from components of others.
She was so tempting to him.
"Just go ahead. Em will keep an eye on me until I get there," she said, referring to the VI. "I don't want to hold you up."
"You're sure?"
"I'm a big girl," she said. "I'll be fine."
"That's for sure," he said under his breath.
"What?"
"Nothing," he said, leaving.
He had to admit, as he headed to the briefing room, that despite its origins, he was happy to be on an Alliance-inspired ship. To have such loyal crewmates only reinforced it. He almost felt like tearing up, so he slipped on his second face- the smiling helmet- and walked into the briefing room.
He noticed the volus sitting in the room and found it curious. He was obviously of a mind for combat, wearing heavy armor, and Maelstrom wondered what his combat style would be. As such, he gave the new man a respectful nod, before taking a seat near the table's head. Feeling more centered, he removed the helmet and set it before him.
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Post by Urdnot Thrak on Aug 13, 2017 14:07:35 GMT -6
Thrak boldly made his way into the room. "I'm here now! The party can start!"
He crossed the room and sat in a chair a couple away from Maelstrom, surprised that it did not even squeak under his bulk. His eyes roved the room, taking in the impressive setup. Every bit of information sank in, and he smiled widely. It would be a good challenge. Thankfully, he had faced off against them in the past, so another rite was unnecessary.
"Nice setup," he said to no one in particular.
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Post by EmilyMoore on Aug 13, 2017 14:26:00 GMT -6
The truth was that Emily was content with her hair, only continuing to brush it out so Maelstrom would leave. It was nothing against him or how he treated her, but if she was going to be a member of the crew, she did not want to just be seen as his shadow.
Once he left, she quickly snuck into the locker Maelstrom had cleared for her. It took only a moment to fetch her most prized possession aside from her armor and weapons. The purple ribbon had been a decoration on a fruit basket left by the staff of the station before leaving. She had slipped it into her pocket when Maelstrom was not looking.
Now, she used the ribbon to tie back her hair and drape it over her shoulder.
Then she made her way to the briefing room. She took a seat between Maelstrom and Thrak, proud of her measure of independence and the pretty bow in her hair.
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Post by Joe Fischer on Aug 13, 2017 14:55:07 GMT -6
Joe tried hard not to stare at Emily and he liked to think that he succeeded, but that may have been a bit optimistic on his part.
Between her armor and her hairstyle, he thought it was more likely that he was staring at her nonstop, drooling and breathing heavily.
Damn it, why did she have to be a redhead?
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Post by Ghorith Ghegranak on Aug 13, 2017 15:15:51 GMT -6
Ghorith would've been at the briefing sooner if he had not spent so much time looking for quarters to his liking. He wanted something small and simple, for the Pillars said the faithful had no need for such ostentatiousness.
He finally settled on a cabin for one of the enlisted crew; while it was still too big for his tastes, he would make do.
Besides, the only rooms smaller were the latrines and the airlock.
He considered wearing his weapons and armor to the briefing but decided against it; he wanted to make a good first impression with the team, even if they were all lesser beings.
*****
He found the briefing room with little trouble. After a quick breath to steady himself, he entered.
There were a number of humans there, along with a pair of turians, a krogan, an asari, a quarian and a volus.
His heart went out to the enviro-suited members; their previous lives must have been full of wickedness for the gods to punish them so, but took comfort in the fact that they were trying to atone for their sins.
"Blessings upon you all, brothers and sisters," he said and took a seat in the middle of the table across from a very large human.
He smiled at him, careful to keep his lips together so as not to show his teeth.
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Post by Joe Fischer on Aug 13, 2017 15:20:02 GMT -6
Joe's attention on Emily was broken by the new arrival.
The batarian sat down across from him, its lips pulled up in what appeared to be a smile, though he was unsure as he had never seen one smile before.
He gave a respectful nod and turned towards the senior N7, ready for the briefing to begin.
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Post by Eric Lysander on Aug 13, 2017 16:23:31 GMT -6
"Five bodyguard jobs- all safe. Four hostage-rescue jobs- Eclipse, Bloodpack, and assorted dumbasses- all successes. Approximately twenty other mercenary jobs of varying types- with a success rate of approximately ninety percent. After that, I took to cleaning up Omega, following in Archangel's footsteps. I'm still alive, and I even earned a hated name from the organizations there. Good enough to join your merry band?"
Eric was reminded of an old human joke about people of short stature always having something to prove. But the volus was not joking; his tone of voice as he ran off the various jobs he had taken was as stern as it was earnest. Eclipse and Bloodpack were formidable groups; a weekend warrior would not have lasted a second against them.
"Good enough," Eric nodded and smirked as Thrak entered the room next and sat down with "Nice setup."
Maelstrom was next to arrive followed by Emily who found a seat between her savior and the krogan. The vibe she gave off was out of keeping with the other grounded mercenaries. Eric snorted as he noticed Joseph trying to resist this vibe. Another newcomer to the group then appeared. A batarian.
"Blessings upon you all, brothers and sisters," he said, taking a seat across from Joseph.
"Uh... thanks," Eric said, a bit confused by the statement but then recalled the newcomer's file mentioning his strong religious leanings. "Ghorith Ghegranak, right?"
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Post by spartan560 on Aug 13, 2017 17:25:37 GMT -6
"Blessings to you and may we hold the Pillars of Strength close in our trial of life," Izahm replies to the Batarian, "You must be the final one of the additional pair Feron mentioned. I'm surprised one of such faith is out here and not preaching somewhere."
"This should be interesting haven't seen a Pillars adherent since I was young Turian shadowing a C-Sec Sargeant," Lori'ar says nodding respectfully to the Batarian, "I look forward to traveling with you."
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Post by rulaan on Aug 13, 2017 17:32:22 GMT -6
Rula'an's heart nearly stopped and he froze as a Batarian entered the room. The Batarian spoke a familiar greeting from those who followed the Pillars faith, satisfied Rula'an closes his eyes centering himself for a moment then resumes his simulations though he did summon his defense drone in standby mode. 'This will be interesting' he thinks eyeing the Batarian his gaze hidden behind his faceplate and multiple displays on his HUD, 'I wonder how much he adheres to the Pillars.
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Post by Maelstrom on Aug 13, 2017 17:33:23 GMT -6
Maelstrom had been momentarily ecstatic upon seeing the batarian enter the room, only to feel himself come back to a sense of professionalism upon realizing it was a different man than the one who had set out with them on their first mission. He wondered for a moment how Cruendi'has was, hoping desperately that he was not in Bahak when the relay blew. Still, the new man seemed friendly enough.
Maelstrom gave him a nod of recognition. He hoped the batarian would be a good team player.
His attention was drawn back to Emily and her purple bow. Such behavior never ceased to make him pause to wonder if she was genuinely so innocent or of she was going overboard to completely sell a role. He supposed the mission would go a long way towards answering the question.
And, damn, she was beautiful.
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Post by Ghorith Ghegranak on Aug 13, 2017 17:49:46 GMT -6
Ghorith blinked in surprise at the human who returned the customary greeting among the members of the faith, for it attracted few aliens.
"Perhaps some time in the future, if the gods will it," he replied. "But I have been gifted with the skills of combat and powerful biotics, so for now I punish the wicked and protect the innocent."
He turned to Lysander.
"With respect, that must be our top priority in this mission," he said. "The Shadow Broker provided me with dossiers on all of you as well as the mission background, so we can save introductions for later. The gaining of knowledge is good, but the lives of the innocent must be our focus. I therefore volunteer to be part of the team that extracts them."
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Post by spartan560 on Aug 13, 2017 18:14:01 GMT -6
Izahm speaks up at this, "I'll back up Ghorith with both myself and my shuttle, Lori'ar any issues with that?" Lori'ar shakes his head, "No no issues as long as he doesn't mind the back up." Izahm nods then says, "Will you accept back up from me for I share your desire to protect the innocent?" He then turns to Lysander, "Any issues with that either?"
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Post by Maelstrom on Aug 13, 2017 18:53:28 GMT -6
"I think you're all getting ahead of yourselves," Maelstrom said bluntly. Looking to Izahm, he said, "Your shuttle isn't going to do shit against four drop ships, a frigate, and two AA turrets." As he spoke, he reached for the hologram on the center of the table, touching certain lines of data and illuminating them on the wall display. He had guessed right that it was similar to an interactive interface he used when "trained" by Cerberus.
Looking over the situation again, he added, "That satellite has to be our first concern. Then the AA towers. Then the grounded ships. Until we deal with those three issues, we're dead, as is anyone we temporarily 'save.'"
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