Mass Effect: Chronicles (IC)

[Dizzyfish]

Once again Atina looked down at the meal prepared and then back up at Alec with a look of confusion. Not only was she not hungry, but this was not a meal prepared to the liking nor needs of a Quarian. She casually pushed her bowl away to offer him her portion. A growing grumpy needed his fill, she supposed. She did not want to be outright rude about it as the only reason this was ordered in the first place was to appease the beast that owned this place. "I cannot eat that. Not only is it riddled with germs I cannot ingest nor digest. It is solid. To get through my suit it must be in a much more simpler form...." Atina had plenty of the paste she needed to survive and would have more. She would make absolute certain of it.

"Silly questions would be...." There was a slight pause. "I don't know. The point is, I have never done this before so I wouldn't know what to ask to begin with. Perhaps some friendly advice from my new cohort?" With her palm facing upwards, she moved her hand in his direction indicating that he was the lucky cohort. Her free hand came to rest on the table that hand cupping her underline of her head. This was taking forever. Although she wanted her new companion at full health she was still anxious to get started.

Atina tapped her face shield thoughtfully. She really thought personal opinions of people were important, but as the Fleet taught her, skills were more important. "Touche Mister Kaiser." She responded cheerfully. "Fine. Be deep and brooding. But you do your job well and I will have no complaints. Let's see...." Atina thought about all the things that would be needed in order to successfully complete a dig. "We would need a ship. Well, I guess that means a pilot, right?" She asked thoughtfully. "Maybe someone who works well with explosives for excavation purposes?"

The Quarian sat in silence at the description of their first dig site. She tapped her face shield with the finger closest to her face and cleared her throat. "Aside from the giant arthropods sounds like fun. When can we get started?" Looking hopeful towards Alec she offered him a, "hurry up and eat you old man, there are games afoot," smile.

 

[Nidhogg]

Alec Kaiser

"Not sure I would call soup a 'solid.' You'd be shocked at the amount of foods out here that are 'quarian friendly' since so many species have food allergy concerns. I guess I assumed that the straw Khail used for a lot of his food was a standard quarian thing. If you don't like, that is fine by me. At least I won't have to spend 4 hours waiting around while you try to get the secret recipe out of the elcor chef in the back like I did with your brother."

Alec took a few quiet minutes to finish off his bread and his soup before he decided to respond back to Atina. "You need to determine how much you can afford to put in to this venture first of all. That will determine the quality of the help we get. Expensive doesn't always mean good, but the good are seldom cheap. 50,000 would be enough to scrape by if we found the right people. If we could offer them a percentage cut of profits from sales of any recovered artifacts, that might go a long way in keeping the initial cost down."

Alec took a long and slow drink of his water, finishing off the entire glass at once. He carefully cleaned his mouth with his napkin and then lightly stretched his neck back and forth. The cramped cargo hold he had ridden to Illium with had done a number on his back and neck.

"Explosive won't be needed. The ruins were attached to the geothermal vents of the planet. Not too sure, but I believe Khail said that was the point of the technology the Protheans had left there. The arthropods had some massive tunnels to the vents last time we went, so getting down there was simple enough. As for the first step, a pilot and a ship should be top priority. Those are the two things you never want to cheap out on."

 

[Avellan13]

Vincent Anastasio

The monsterous scorpian charged forward towards Vincent, claws snapping together. Vincent dodged to the left, rolled on the ground, and quickly got back to his feet. The scorpian went past him and tried to slow down.

As it turned to face him, Vincent had his pistol draw and aimed at the creature. He needed to hit it in the eyes, that was it`s weak spot. As soon as they came into view he pulled the trigger.

The creature screamed in a high pitched screech that made Vincent want to cover his ears and block out the pain that it caused. As he looked up, he saw that the left eyes was bloody and closed, completely useless. Vincent pulled off another shot and hit the right eye, causing another scream of pain from the creature.

Vincent aimed and shot the center eye, but the scorpian raised up it`s claw and blocked the bullet. Obviously these creatures weren`t stupid. The thing lunged forward, this time charging much faster than before. Vincent tried to dodge to the right, but was caught by its claw. The claw hit into him with a force that sent him flying through the air and be smashed against one of the trees. The blow knocked the air out of him, but he somehow managed to get to his feet and look back at the scorpian.

 

[pimpmar]

Dante Alaniyum

Covered in soot, angered, and exhausted, Dante disembarked off of the Exodus for the second time. He ran his hands through a public fountain, rinsing off the engine grime, and headed off towards the nearest tool supply store. The engine was back into working order, but he would need to re-up on the resources he had wasted. With the last of his credits, he set off.

A right, a left, then down a long corridor of stores, his eyes peeled for a possible store. He found it, turning in to find a human shop-keeper. His nostrils flared, raking in the scent of sweat, excrement, and filth he had come to associate with humanity. "Weak", he thought.

"Tape, bearings, adhesive, and d-rings. Can you handle it, human?" The store owner rolled his eyes. Dante turned his back to the counter, eyes sweeping over the store. In the corner, there was an electronic registry for pilots. He paid the store-keeper after a small squabble over prices, and strode to the corner.

He booted up the terminal, perusing the many options. He finally decided on the "for hire" personals, placed in the ship name, and put "commercial shipping" as his specialty. His life of crime was behind him, it seemed. Maybe it was time to go legit.

With a new pep in his step, he prepared to exit the store, not noticing the two Batarians outside.

 

[Dizzyfish]

Atina'Evna nar Io

"You are right, not a solid, not in your terms of a solid. But after a long time being suffered to eat one form of nutrients, you begin to see everything as something to be chewed and ingested. It's not about the form however, Quarian's treat their food with a special process to kill everything that could be a threat to my health." Atina scooted an eating utensil with her finger a few inches forward and sighed. "Me and my brother are different, he was willing to take more risks that could jeopardize his health. I on the other hand have far too much to do just to die in a diner or worse in a foreign alien place."

Atina watched intently Alec's last few bites. At least he had manners as he could have been making weird sounds and gestures whilst eating, though that was probably just Quarian propaganda that all other aliens had rude habits. He was a clean person, well groomed even for a hairy person, motioning only that he had a thick patch of hair around his face. The meal seemed to be taking forever, but as long as she focused on studying her new cohort it didn't seem so bad. The Quarian looked down at her omnitool underneath the table, highlighting only the part that mentioned her finances. She was in the clear, for now of course. There was a whole heap of technological mechanisms she could sell for a good price if she needed more. There was any number of things she could do, with Alec's help of course. "We are... in the clear then. Khail had left behind what he earned from being out with you, what he didn't put back into the expeditions of course."

After allowing Alec to finish his drink, Atina waved down the waitress to pay the cost of their meal. Figuring it was her responsibility after all, she had contacted him, the least she could do for such an act was cover the cost of lunch. "Thank you." She called after the waitress cheerfully once the transaction had been completed. "Geothermal vents you say?" The curious woman added the information to her data disks, the ones Khail had left behind but had yet to finish. "Well, what are we waiting for then? We need to find a pilot with a ship no doubt! If I was a pilot, where would I frequent?" She asked Alec, waiting for the answer.

 

[Avellan13]

Vincent Anastaio

Vincent tried to regain his breath as the monsterous scorpian charged towards him again. He feinted to the left and the creature fell for the trick as Vincent rolled to the right. The creature skid past him as it tried to slow down.

Vincent ran after the creature, drawing his shotgun, he needed to deliver a deadly blow to the last, middle eye. The creature turned around, he ducked under the swinging claw, and pulled of a shot, then tried to duck again to avoid the second claw, but was to late.

The claw knocked him down as the creature screeched in pain. Looking up, Vincent saw that his shot had only partially damaged the middle eye. The creature looked at him, with what he thought was a glare of hate, and raised it`s tail as it prepared to use it`s stinger on him.

 

[Nidhogg]

Alec Kaiser

The quarian girl's upbeat, bubbly and eager attitude would undoubtedly annoy Alec. But he had come to expect a positive outlook from quarians. When situations seemed hopeless, quarians always seemed to have a way to put a positive spin on it. It might be annoying, but it was good for morale in the long run. Alec wasn't making any definite conclusions about Atina right now, other than she was undoubtedly sincere. If he didn't help her with this mission, she'd find someone else who'd be just as likely to sell her to batarians as help her. It was a nice gesture for her to pay for the food, but unnecessary. Alec made a mental note to take off what she paid for the food from what his final bill would be.

"Pilots, in my experience, frequent wherever they want to. The only 'pilot clubs' are upper crust or military joints. Neither work for what we need. Luckily extranet listings for pilots for hire are common around here. So that will be a good place to start."

Alec slid out of his chair and knelt over his duffel bag. He didn't like slinging it over his shoulder, so he unzipped it to pull out the extra straps. His assault rifle was still set for combat, so he pulled it out and collapsed it in to its travel mode before putting it back in. Alec kept talking as he adjusted the things in his bag. "The ship will need to be fast, but still able to handle a fight. I've learned the hard way that any time you head in to the Terminus Systems, you should expect pirates. Depending on what else the pilot can do, we might be able to get by with one extra hired gun."

This was a good opportunity for Alec to check his Raikou pistol as well. Drawing it from the quick release holster on his hip, he popped out the thermal clip, checked the trigger and slider action. It wasn't necessary, but it had become a habit of Alec's to check his guns frequently. Everything looked fine, so he popped the clip back in, double checked that his safety was on and holstered it again. His duster did a decent job of covering his gun at his hip. He made a mental note to get more clips and check the price of incendiary grenades.

With his bag readjusted to more of a hiking backpack, Alec stood and pulled in on over his shoulders then tightened the two chest straps. He appeared to start walking towards the exit of the diner, but stopped as soon as he was next to Atina. He was ready to go wherever she went. "We should collect your things and then find a public extranet terminal. I have a few contacts that I reach out to when I'm looking for work. They might be able to point us to some freelancers. We'll work out my official contract and fee after we deal with the rest of the team and supplies, but from this point on you should consider me hired."

Alec may have looked calm and un-phased by what had just happened and what he was walking in to. But deep down, he was worried. For two years he felt like he had failed Khail as his bodyguard, and had done the best he could to get past that feeling. With Atina's arrival, that feeling was fresh in his mind. For all his confidence and calm veneer, Alec Kaiser was afraid that he'd fail this girl too.

 

[MeanBlackjack]

The Veteran, Kaito Foley

Kaito scanned the surroundings, there was a lot of civilians here. That was the last thing he needed. If Aukerman realized who he was, then he may take off and Kaito would need to give chase. He couldn’t barge past all of the civilians and catch him especially if Aukerman had a head start. He needed to be careful.

Rubbing his eyes slightly, he ducked into a corner and watched carefully. Aukerman was a human, military type so he’d be well built, muscular and toned, he had brown hair in a military crew cut and was clean shaven.

“Hey pal! I won these credits fair and square! It’s not my fault they’re all shitty players!”

“Accusatory: If you were winning fair and square, why did the technicians note your Omni tool working?”

There was a voice with an Elcor arguing. Kaito walked onto the busy promenade and saw it was Aukerman. It looked like he had tried to rob another casino and now the Elcor was flanked by two large Krogan.

They could do his job for him, but then he wouldn’t get paid. Stepping into the bustle of people, Kaito scanned the area for a suitable execution method. His eyes focused on a large open garden that stemmed off from the main promenade. It seemed to be a dining area for the restaurant next door to the casino.

Grinning, he threw his trench coat back and slammed his body forward. Like a freight train at full speed, he swatted Aukerman out of the way of the muscle flanking the Elcor and into his path.

Kyle’s head smashed against the wall of the garden and was dangling into the airborne traffic. Kaito sauntered over casually and grabbed him by the scuff of his neck. Throwing him back into the garden, people screamed as Kaito threw his hands forward and battered the target with a powerful biotic shockwave.

Kyle pushed himself upwards with his hands but soon fell down again, his face was bloody and his nose was possibly broken. The Asian biotic grabbed him by the shoulder and tossed him over roughly onto his back.

“Open your mouth worm.” Foley ordered, Aukerman wiped the tears away from his eyes and nodded. Producing a heavy pistol, Kaito placed the barrel in his mouth.

“This is for the Volus you cheated.” His eyes widened as Kaito pulled the trigger. The bullet tore straight through the marine’s cranium and now he was dead.

Standing up, Kaito already had his escape route planned. Looking upwards there was a hotel’s balcony that looked just right. He used his biotic abilities to shoot upwards and onto the perch, then he zig-zagged across to another promenade.

Satisfied with his escape, Kaito walked over to an extra-net terminal and made contact with his associate Danaleus. He was a Turian without any facial marks, that was typically a bad thing. Any Turian’s without facial marks were considered untrustworthy and were typically reserved for criminals or politicians.

Smirking, Kaito enjoyed the fact that politicians in any race were considered scum bags. The Turian appeared on the view screen.

He sighed heavily before speaking. “Yes Kaito. What is it?”

“The target is dead. Wire the chips into my account. I’m not going to be doing any more missions. I want a rest. I’ll be serving as a hired gun for at least three standard Earth months. Tell the boss I’ll make contact then. Foley out.”

Kaito had a lot of practice in making sure that the contact could speak back to him. Whenever that happened he would get dragged back into work, and his normal line of work it was far too dangerous to be doing it all the time. The line was cut off before the Turian could even reply.

Scanning through the extranet, Kaito found a suitable ad agency and began writing up his own ad.

‘Seasoned hired gun available. Willing to help fund exploration trips, diplomatic missions or work as bodyguard. Minimum fee: 50 Credits. Maximum fee to be bartered at the end of the job. Contact through this extension.’ Kaito added his personal extension from his Omni-tool.

Looking around, he saw a bar being staffed by two Asari. They were always fun, he stepped inside and went to the bar. Ordering a drink, Kaito picked up the glass and looked at the purple liquid. Was there something wrong with an ordinary scotch? Shaking his head, he felt beads of sweat drip down his head.

By the maker he was getting old.

At least his damn gut had shut up though. He pounded back the drink and waited for the barkeep to become free again.

OOC: Was the fight too much? As for charging to different places, I'm assuming you can do that as the rogue Spectre in Lair of the Shadow Broker does it. :-S

 

[Avellan13]

Vincent saw the creatures tail come swinging down at him, the stinger tip rushing down. Vincent rolled to his right and narrowly missed being hit. The monsterous scorpian`s stinger had sunk about a foot into the ground. He had a scary though about what would have happened if he hadn`t rolled out of the way.

The scorpian gave a jerk and its tail came free from the ground. Vincent barely had a chance to look up before he saw he tail lunging downwards towards him again. He rolled to the left, and again escaped a deathly fate. He quickly got up and ran for some cover before the creature had a chance to attack him again.

He had barel gone 10 ft when he heard the scuttling sound of the scorpian rushing towards him. Suddely he had an idea. This creature was probably use to prey running off from it. So what if he just stopped and dropped to the ground? Would it run charge right over him and be confused long enough for him to squeeze off a shot? It was worth a try because the thing was quickly catching up and since it had a long arm reach, he knew that dodging to the left or right wouldn`t do any good.

 

[Dizzyfish]

Atina'Evna nar Io

Upper crust and military joints meant nothing to Atina. She didn't even know what it meant to be upper crust. Either way, Alec knew and that was all that mattered at this point. She would keep her eyes open of course, ears too, the last thing she needed was to be run in circles. She was a smart Quarian, perhaps not street smart as her companion was, but enough to know when things were fishy. There wasn't enough time to be more cautious, her nerves were driving her to make quick decisions. Such as trusting this seemingly random stranger.

Alec mentioned once that his trips and destinations were logged on a plethora of places, it could just have been easier to look up that information and play Atina for a fool. Why did it take her this long to come to that conclusion? As she reached for the end of the table to pull herself from the booth, she paused. Should she really just go? Just like that? The Quarian glanced at the other occupants in the room, studying their faces as if they would provide some insight on to what she should do next. Back at Alec, Atina felt no real threat. Even as he nonchalantly revealed his weaponry, she felt nothing. Maybe he was a scary guy. Okay, a really scary guy, but he was now employed by hers truly. If anything, everyone had something to fear, that information filled her with some level of self confidence.

"Alright Mister Kaiser!" Atina called after him and the two exited the diner in toe. "Extranet. Pilot. Fast ship. Strong. Got it." She shrugged mentally, she knew tons about ships. Had been studying them for as long as she could remember. Of course her specialty was ancient people and places, that didn't mean she could figure one ship from the other. However, the person piloting, that was a completely different matter. However, now that Alec was officially on her team, Atina knew he would not steer her wrong. His paycheck was on the line.

Atina smiled with happiness and clapped her hands like a young girl would. "My things are with me. I am ready to go." She alerted her partner happily. "I left my personal affects on the Fleet, everything I could carry without weighing me down is all I took with me." Atina bit her lip. She had left a vital piece of her work behind in fear that it would be discovered. Perhaps she could talk Alec and the rest of the team into getting it off of the Fleet before they venture into the unknown. She would need it to continue her work..... "Just one bag." The Quarian patted her side bag, which she would not reveal the contents until a later date, of course.

"Mister Kaiser. I have one request. Once we have established this team we will need." Pausing, Atina looked around their surroundings as if frightened the wrong people were listening in. "I need to pick up something from the Migrant Fleet I left behind. I couldn't take it with me because..." Think of a lie. "Because it would have been too heavy for me to lug around. Just some tech I think could fetch us more credits if need be. Though I am confidant in my supply, I would like to have that safety net. But that requires that that trunk retrieved some time in the near future.."

 

[Nidhogg]

-Alec Kaiser-

There was always a moment before Alec took a job that he got a gut feeling about it. The feeling wasn't always right, but it had a good track record. There were times he felt it would be dull and uneventful. There were times he felt it would be more dangerous than the employer said. There were times he felt it would end badly. His initial feeling for this was that Atina would annoy him to no end. That wasn't his gut feeling though, that was just him being annoyed by a person because she hadn't been crushed by the harsh realities of the galaxy yet.

Alec walked with Atina to a public Extranet cafe. Most 'net cafes didn't care for people like Alec. But they changed ownership and staff so often, they never stopped them. Bypassing the crappy pay-by-minute software was usually not a big deal if you at least ordered their equally crappy and overpriced drinks. If Alec didn't have money to waste on Extranet access, why did they always assume he'd have some to waste on "gourmet" drinks.

Alec talked briefly with Atina as they walked the few blocks to the nearest cafe. "Miss Evna, I work for you now. You do not have to make requests, at least not where I am concerned. Any pilot who could get us to Neidus would have no issue flying us to the Fleet. Just remember that the longer you keep people in your employ, the more you pay them. My recommendation would be to get the opinion of the pilot. I would also recommend that next time you tell someone about the weight of your valuable tech that you don't stutter right before you explain why you left it behind. It might give someone the wrong idea."

The layers of secrets Khail had bothered Alec at first. Over time he began to understand the need for them. Alec wasn't going to pressure Atina in to talking about her secrets any more than he would have pressured Khail. His gut had just kicked in, and he got the same feeling from her that he did from Khail. That this mission would be weird.

An isolated corner in the nearly empty cafe was available. A trio of asari tweens had spotted it as well, but when they noticed Alec and Atina going there first, they pouted and moved on. The information Alec needed to get wasn't going to take long and the message he was going to send could be responded to via his omni-tool. He just needed something a little faster and easier to type on to get the pilot registry he wanted.

Without sitting down at the terminal, Alec brought up his omni-tool and ran a quick hack. It took less than 3 seconds to bypass the payment mechanism and get access.

"There are simple listings of pilots with ships available for charter and freelance work. I've narrowed the search down by ship speed, availability, and pilot's record." The list gave off 6 names of pilots with ships that might work, and were on Illium looking for a job right now. He copied them to his omni-tool to scan through after they left the cafe and sent the same information to Atina's tool. "Just a small message to send and we can go look for your pilot."

Alec fired off a message to an old contact of his on Illium.

To: "Reggie"
From: Kaiser
Subject: Job Offer

Working for a Quarian who needs an extra hand for a mission to far Terminus edge. Any available freelancers need to be able to handle difficult terrain, incredibly hostile native lifeforms, and be available immediately. Further details will be given on need-to-know basis and only in face-to-face meeting. Fee is negotiable. Contact me for potential meetings.

That message should be spread around the freelancer's circle fast. All Alec could do now was help Atina review the pilot's registry and wait for contact. He ran a fast scrubber on the terminal, and was done. The staff at the cafe wouldn't have a chance to complain.

"Let's go find your pilot, Miss Evna.

 

[pimpmar]

Dante Alaniyum

Dante wheeled to his left, a light duffel bag hanging around his neck, to beneath his left hand. His right hand draped over the butt of his pistol, concealing it. He was walking with a light air of complete oblivion. This underrode his nature, his eyes dodging from corner, expecting to draw at a moment's notice.

He walked on, stopping at a nearby extra-net terminal to check his personal listing. There were two responses, both calling for a small time transporter in Citadel space. He sent a response to one, inquiring in the pay, before shutting off the network.

He turned, preparing to head for a public transportation hub, when the two Batarians cut him off from the avenue. "Hello, Dante. A shame, they didn't finish their job in orbit. But, I suppose I could finish the job. Unless, you have my fifteen large." The smaller of the two Batarians was talking, trying his best to look menacing. He wasn't doing too well.

Dante knew he didn't have the money, and had no way of bargaining. He was out of luck, out of options, out of time. He drew his pistol in a flash, exposing his quick-draw, drawing a bead on the head of the speaker.

"Or, we settle the debt, and call it even. Go ahead, Shik, go for your gun, give me a reason."

 

[Avellan13]

Vincent Anastasio

Vincent dropped down to the ground. A split second later, the monsterous scorpian passed right over, narrowly missing him by an inch. The scorpian tried to slow but, since it had been charging at full speed, it couldn`t stop and it crashed into a boulder.

He steadily got to his feet, drew his shotgun, and walked towards it. The creature must have hit the boulder pretty hard because, not only was the scorpian laying there motionless, but there was also a large crack stretching across the boulder.

Vincent circled around the creature and climbed atop the boulder. Looking down, he saw that the scorpian was stunned. When he aimed at the creature`s face region, he heard a rumbling sound and felt the boulder beneath him give way. As Vincent fell on his back, the creature had recovered and looked down at him, with a look of hatred.

There was a moments hestation, then the creatures tail lunged down as him. At the same time, he had just managed to squeeze off a shot with his shotgun. He gave a shout of pain as the scorpian screeched with an ear spliting noise. Soon the screaming stopped and the scorpian collapsed on the ground... dead.

Vincent felt the stinger pull out of him, sending another wave of pain through him. Looking down, he saw blood coming out of a wound right below his bottom left rib. Shuddering, he hoped that it wasn`t a lethal wound.

 

[Dizzyfish]

Atina'Evna nar Io

Following behind, Atina made small mental notes about her surroundings. The places she ventured might prove useful in the future and would require her to remember their locations. Besides, she had never been to an Extranet cafe and quite possibly would need to visit one later on, if not for research information. Upon deeper investigation, there were a lot of different species of aliens in this place, all of them able to keep their disgust, and for some hate, to a bare minimal and remained civil while in said company. Despite all their differences, Atina noted their cooperation and wondered if this is how wars should have been settled. Just place everyone in front of an Extranet terminal and watch the magic happen.

On to other matters, she supposed. Like the one that Alec posed. Atina was never really good at lying, seemed Khail was the one that soaked that all from their parents upon his birth. Every time one slipped her lips, they quivered as if tiny little knives were stabbing the puffy flesh of her face. It was necessary if she wanted to keep her new team safe. Sometimes to keep the ones you care about safe a little lie must fall.... "I... yes sir." Atina sighed softly to herself. "Barking orders whether the head hancho or not, is going to take some getting use too. So, I believe we can let that slip a little till it sinks in.." Changing the subject just to keep her from offering up more information that could do well to stay dead and buried. On in this case, locked up in a impenetrable case.

After transmitting the information he received to her omni-tool, Atina stepped away to give him privacy to write. Lord only knows, she hated when people looked over her shoulder whilst she was working. She would not suffer Alec the same and immediately began looking over the pilots. Only six? That seemed like a nice number, for a while she was dreading that the list was bound to be triple that and it would be Atina's job to look over each one with precision. Alec really made this, "boss," deal pretty simple. "Here is one. Good record." Atina paused, as the medals and recommendations were becoming excessive. And as everyone knew, excessive got expensive, especially when one knew how good they were. Atina looked back at Alec, two strong humans might have been too much for her to handle.... "On second thought... Nevermind."

After her run in with the Asari women on Illium, she now had a much more bias opinion of them, and their, "holier than thou," kind of feel. Shaking her head she removed the two that, though had qualifications that would make them a good match, she wasn't having that. There was a Quarian and a Turian left. There was another but after what Alec told her of the Krogen he had came into contact with, she would like much to avoid a second go at that fun day. Quarian's were unique as pilots in that they understood how to fix their ships if ever they were in need of repair. Turians were just... well, she didn't know much about them as individuals but rather as an entire species. Humans and Turians? Not a good match.

Atina went back to the Quarian when Alec motioned his readiness for action, and she followed suit out of the cafe; still eying the two pilots remaining. Wait a second. SHE was an engineer! What did she have to pay extra for THAT for? Atina shook her head and looked at the Turian one more time. Interesting record. Presumed dead but some how made a guest appearance in life. A ghost seemed like a nice quality to have. "Him." She stated simply.

"I want him." The Quarian sent the information back to Alec and smiled happily at her decision making skills. "After a long process of elimination based on biases I am sure I should be shunned for, I want this one. Now. Where do we find him?"

 

[Nidhogg]

-Alec Kaiser-

Atina certainly didn't take long to make decisions. Of course there was very little to go by from the registry. Alec hadn't recognized the ship or the pilot at first, but now that he stopped to look at the information a few things came back to him. Over the years he had heard plenty of rumors and wild stories about the Exodus and her wild turian captain. The stories had to be exaggeration, though. If even half of what Alec had heard was true, then this man would be too dangerous and risky for anyone to want to hire.

Doing his best not to sound condescending, Alec responded to Atina. "Well, usually you send a message to that address under the 'contact information' line. It doesn't do much good advertising for a job if you are hard to get a hold of." To Alec, that didn't sound overly condescending. It was hard to respond to a question when the answer was so obvious. It wasn't until after he spoke did Alec consider how it might only be obvious if you grew up reading and posting in "for-hire" sections.

"Send him a quick message and ask him where he'd like to meet to discuss details. All you should give out in your message is that you need to go to the Pylos Nebula and when you'd like to leave. Everything else we discuss face to face."

 

[pimpmar]

Dante Alaniyum

The Stand-off, if that's what it was, drew attention from planetary security. A number of loiterers in plain clothes had stopped and paid the group attention. A few of them with hand suspiciously near their waist lines. Dante knew, from expierence, that he had maybe two more minutes before the bullets started flying, and Batarians started dying. It had happened before.

Finally, the smaller Batarian, Shiv, gave in. "Next time we see you Dante, you're dead. We're going to put a price on your head so large, you'll have to scrape yourself off the Citadel." The two Batarians laughed, turning their backs. Dante's body was sweating, as the skin pores in his face didn't produce sweat. Here was his chance to eliminate these two bastards, but he'd soon find himself in prison. He was fast, his ship faster, but not THAT fast. He pocketed the pistol, turned on his heel, and briskly left the scene.

He headed towards the shopping district, finding a public extranet terminal on his way. He ducked in, checking his ad. He needed a second to breathe, to access his options. He needed to get off world, and fast. These Batarians were serious.

He accessed the ad, and found no response. Cursing his luck, he added his omni-tool's contact information to the ad. If nobody contacted him by the time he reached the space-dock, he was leaving this cursed planet. Damn the Batarians, Damn C-Sec, Damn this Prothean-damned galaxy. Maybe it was time he retired after all. Mentally shrugging, he logged off the terminal. Leaving the area, he knew he was being followed by at least three people. There was no way the price on his head had reached bounty hunters THAT fast. C-Sec perhaps? He didn't know. And didn't intend on finding out. He ducked into the crowd, melting in with the alien melting pot, and strode deliberatly away from the space-dock. If they were going to follow him, they were going to have to earn their pay.

 

[Avellan13]

Vincent Anastasio

Vincent looked down at his wound and saw blood pooling around the area. He didn`t feel any pain right now, but he would soon once the shock wore off. Glancing at the sky, he noticed that it was getting darker, he had to move if he didn`t want to freeze to death.

Taking a breath, Vincent slowly got to his feet and felt light-headed, almost causing him to lose his footing. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths, then finished getting up. Placing one foot in front of the other, he began the slow walk towards is ship.

He`d never be able to make it to the tunnels in time, so the only closest shelter around was his ship. He didn`t like the idea of being on the ship and trying to sleep through a freezing night on this planet, but it was his only choice.

The ship had a heating system that would keep him alive. The only problem was that the heating system used the ships power supply and there wasn`t much left. Combined with the emergency distress signal and other basic functions, the ship would only have enough power left for 1 day. At which point, the ship would be "dead" and the emergency distress signal would be forever gone.

 

[Dizzyfish]

Atina'Evna nar Io

"Well I guess that would be the most obvious thing since his address is listed. My excitement has me in a funk. So how about next time just show me? Instead of being all, well, I will learn to deal with it. This is just a part of your charm I am guessing." Atina raised her eyebrows, illuminating her omni-tool without lifting her gaze from Alec. "Don't worry Mister Kaiser, I still like you regardless of how hard you are trying to make me feel otherwise." She chuckled quietly into her mask. "Bah. I have a message to write." She cast one more glare in his direction and went to work on her message to their potential pilot.

Atina was hesitant with the subject. Job offer would do just fine, it would suffice. But she wanted him to be interested not only for the pay but for the adventure as well. A dangerous pilot will need to be entertained in that he needed to be challenged as well. Sure, it was all well and fine to fly back and forth between one calm place and another. Easy job. Easy pay. She didn't want that pilot, none of them did. She wanted the pilot that would get them there, no matter the danger it posed to their lives. She NEEDED that pilot.

To: Alaniyum, Donterral
From: Atina'Evna nar Io
Subject: A Challenge.

Judging by your record and what you have accomplished, you are a man that takes risks. I not only need that, but I can pay for it. Once hired I will need you to take me and a small crew to the Pylos Nebula. Looking to leave as soon as you can. Please respond promptly, where you would have us meet face to face, we can discuss further details then. I really hope your reputation proceeds you.

"There. Mister Kaiser, message sent. Now. We just wait I suppose. That is if he hasn't gotten himself in any more trouble...." For her sake, she hoped that wasn't the case. The Quarian looked back at her message, reading over her words. She had never been that forceful in her life. It seemed as though Kaiser was rubbing off on her. She had to wonder, was that such a good thing in the grand scheme of things? At least it wouldn't get her killed...

 

[MeanBlackjack]

Kaito Foley

Kaito’s gut tensed up. Looking over his shoulder slowly, he saw the room had thinned out. There was significantly less people inside the bar now with two Batarians sitting in a corner booth staring directly at him.

Looking back to his drink he recognized them. They were part of a two-bit slaver trade ring that Kaito had broken up. They had sworn his death after he rather foolishly offended by removing their friend’s eyes in front of them. He had been a dumb young man then, he should’ve known that they wouldn’t take such an affront to their religion so lightly.

Finishing his drink, he paid his tab and stood up casually. Snapping his trench coat shut, Foley stepped away from the bar and made his way out of the room. To little surprise, the Batarian’s stood up and followed him out. Carrying on, paying little attention to his stalkers Kaito traced an escape route.

Catching their reflections in a shop window, he noted that they had assault rifles stuck to their back with pistols slapped to their hips.

That’s no good.

They were dangerous at a medium distance and close up too with the pistols. Foley would need to be up close to deal damage with his guns too. His body was still aching from the use of biotics from fighting with Kyle. Looking around he saw there was a couple of workers in front of him. There was a couple of loose poles that he could use to batter them. He was close to the docking bays, he could hide in their if he didn’t finish them off.

They were closing in on him and he had little time to act. Stepping towards the workers with a quicker pace, Kaito ducked down and picked up one of the pipes. Spinning on his right heel, Kaito gripped the pipe tightly and smashed the pipe into the left Batarian. The other trader reached for his pistol but Kaito was quicker.

Stepping over the winded Batarian, who was now curled up on the floor, Kaito gripped the Batarian by the back of his neck and he planted a rough head butt in between his eyes. The Batarian stepped back, groaning in pain from the head butt. Slamming his knee upwards, he planted it in the Alien’s gut.

Taking his guts advice, Kaito spun away and sprinted away. Ducking under a shot from one of them, he heard them call out.

“Find him and kill him!”

 

[Avellan13]

Vincent Anastasio

Vincent stumbled the the rest of the way to his ship. He had little time left before the twilight zone passed and the night zone arrived. Opening the door, he limped in and shut the door behind him then activated the ship's heating systems.

Glancing over, he saw that his emergency distress signal was still up and running, but now that the heating systems were on, who knew how long the signal would stay up.

Walking over to a cabinet, Vincent opened it and grabbed some medicine and medi-gel. Finding a dark corner in his small ship he opened the medi-gel and began treating his wound. After that was done, he and wrapped himself up in an emergency blanket so as to conserve heat. Then he sat there and waited.

 

[pimpmar]

Dante Alaniyum

His omni-tool buzzed, jolting his skin and his pulse. The latter by accident. As the screen illiuminated its deep orange, as he knew it would, he cursed his luck. He had been attempting to avoid his tail by ducking into a dark alley. They had been staring intently down his particular alley, trying to see if that was a Turian or a dumpster they were staring at, when he had been contacted. Know, it was fight or flight.

He drew his pistol in a blinding fury of speed and percision, snapping off a trio of rounds into the hunter's head. The first two were absorbed by a standard kinetic barrier. The third tore through his skull, effectively ending his life.

Firing with reckless abandon down the alley, Dante turned on his heel and sprinted the other way, finding his way onto the adjoining street. He fired off a quick message on his omni-tool, listing his docking number and ship title. If they wanted to negotiate, they'd have to do so in orbit, because his ass was leaving.

He turned another corner, the shipyard in the distance, when it dawned on him. Not every thug had kinetic barriers or rifles. Which meant that C-Sec was still waiting for him in orbit. To hell with them, he thought, that agent earned his death sentence. C-sec thought he was a Turian named Ariyanan, aboard the corvette Panther. He had escaped a death sentence, but this cover was now officially blown too. If they took notice of his real name or ship registry, he was effectively a dead man.

Inspiration struck him, but he'd have to wait until this potential client got to his ship... If they get there in time.

 

[Dizzyfish]

Atina'Evna nar Io

Atina paced back and forth, only eying Alec every three passes. The silence was chilling almost, sending shivers down her spine. Why did he have to stand like that? Was it natural for him to be so straight and brooding? Humans were built as straight as razors enough as it was. A mirror opposite to their curvy and strangely ornate Quarian cohorts. Perhaps if his knees buckled in the manner hers did she wouldn't feel so out of place. Atina only paused when her omni-tool illuminated with the returned message, much more hurried and rushed than she expected.

"I got a response!" Atina beamed with glee, showing Alec the message on her tool, though she wasn't sure why."Though... it seems that he might be in a hurry. We better start our way down to this place before he flies off without us." The Quarian didn't like the idea of being rushed, she had loads of questions to ask this pilot. Were most of them relevant? Perhaps not, but still, she was calling the shots and wanted to make sure he would mesh with both her and Alec. Even if he didn't know it, she was placing him second in command, if only for the fact she had no real idea of what she was doing.

The two walked nonchalantly towards their destination. Atina had no idea where she was going, but Alec was the king of directions it seemed. Maybe he had traversed these halls a time or two to have memorized certain locations. Atina herself only need one time and the direction was memorized instantly. If ever her intrigues brought her full circle back to Illium, there would be no problems there.

Alec stopped at a terminal she did not recognize. It was only when the transportation bus arrived at their stop did she know what he was intending for them. "In there? With all those people?" She asked shyly. Alec did not wait for her to find her nerves and she followed like an obedient child, hesitant every step. "I don't like it in here..." Atina whispered. Once the bus was in motion, the Quarian felt her nervous tick kick in and decided to strike up conversation with her dark and hulking human companion. "I have officially dubbed you second in command. There are no arguments to this, as I am the, 'boss,' and I need your help." Atina paused. That wasn't much of a conversation starter. "Do you have a wife Mr.Kaiser?" Well, that was stupid conversation starter number 2.....

 

[Nidhogg]

-Alec Kaiser-

Buses made Alec nervous. It was cheaper and more reliable than a taxi, but the cramped conditions of the lower city buses were less than pleasant for him. Apart from the safety conditions of being stuffed in next to so many people who's hands you couldn't see, there was never a shortage of grabby perverts. It wasn't something Alec needed to worry about, but he kept his gaze focused on the people next to Atina. The last thing he needed was for his new employer to get felt up by a horny salarian and freak out. Or worse for Alec, get felt up by a horny salarian and enjoy it.

Wife? That was the damnedest thing he'd ever heard. There were always strange questions posed by his employers, but marital status generally only came up when Alec was filling out "next-of-kin" information on death waivers. Alec turned his eyes away from the people on the bus and looked at Atina.

"Not married, Miss Evna. Not now or at any point in the past. No family members either, if that was your next question. I was an only child of a single mother. Also, you can just call me 'Alec' if you prefer."

It wasn't that Alec had any issues with formality, or with his surname. "Mister Kaiser" just had such a militaristic feel to it. Probably because the first time he was called "Mister Kaiser" was by that drill sergeant. The only other "Mr. Kaiser" Alec knew was some kaiser roll mascot for a baked goods company. He certainly didn't need to think about a singing, german kaiser roll every time Atina addressed him.

 

[Dizzyfish]

Atina'Evna nar Io

There were a lot more people inside than it looked like it could carry. Atina bobbed and weaved in between passengers to find a spot she did not feel so trapped in. But no matter where she moved too, there they were. Faces of all sorts of aliens staring at her like she was a freak. As if they had any right at all to think so, especially batarians, of whom she thought had the weirdest faces. Perhaps she stood out like a sore thumb, like they all just KNEW this was her first time on one of these Illium buses. Atina just politely excused herself from their accusing stares back towards Alec, tripping over a rather large foot but caught herself on one of the buses safety bars for those forced to stand.

"I hate this. Mister Kai-- I mean Alec. No more buses. Strike them from the record." Atina gritted her teeth as they came to another stop, a few of the passengers stepping off the bus and giving those still aboard a bit more breathing room. No wife? Why did that not surprise her? Alec did not seem the type to want to settle down and start a family, let alone marry. But then again, that did make her heart hurt a little bit, it must be a lonely life for him. Whether he admitted it or not, not sharing your life with at least someone was hard. Sure, there were some that were meant to be without that sort of pleasantry, but she was certain that was because they were mentally insane criminals. Alec did not strike her as one of those types....

"No wife or kids. I think I would want to have a family one day. One day though. I don't think I would make a good wife regardless." Atina giggled lightly as Alec prepared for their stop. "Do you want to have a wife Alec?" She asked after a long pause, her voice filled with general concern for his future well being. "Don't you get lonely?" At the next stop, Alec stepped off the bus with Atina following close behind, jumping down the last step. She some how knew what his answer would be but it was worth hearing if only to prove her wrong.

 

[Nidhogg]

-Alec Kaiser-

It certainly didn't take Atina long to prove Alec's gut feeling right. It hadn't been an hour since they met, and she had already made thing s weird. He hoped that this pilot would be more of a conversationalist. Because if Atina wanted someone to talk to, she could do a lot better than Alec. Even if he was paid for conversation, Alec knew he'd be terrible at it. Those who talk the most often say the least. Alec wanted his words to carry weight, so he had to use them sparingly. Over the years, that just became his personality.

Alec didn't respond to any of Atina's questions on the bus. He was too busy keeping his eyes on the lookout for trouble. Two volus that got on at the last stop seemed to be enjoying having their faces level with Atina's ass, so Alec made sure to let them know he was watching. There was also an Asari teenager behind and to the left of Alec that had a pickpocket's look in her eye. She was sizing up Alec when she must have noticed his gun and decided to look for an easier mark.

Alec really hated teenagers. He wasn't a big fan of anyone, especially kids, but teenagers caused more problems than a drunk vorcha, but for some reason galactic society frowned on shooting teenagers. Once the bus stopped, Alec and Atina got off without incident. They were right in front of one of the smaller spaceports. It wasn't a poorly maintained or dangerous one, but it didn't have the awe inspiring architecture of the major ports. This one was designed for private ships and small cargo vessels.

As Alec walked over to the map and directory he decided he should answer Atina. "If I am alone, that means I am not on a job. If I am not on a job, I can barely feed myself, let alone anyone else. If I am on a job, I am not getting paid for conversation or pleasant company. Besides, freelancing is not exactly a safe occupation. No one is more surprised than me when I make it through another year." Alec gave the map of the spaceport a thorough scan, noting all exits and routes they could use in case things went awry. "Find his docking bay number on here, and in five minutes, you'll meet your pilot."