Mass Effect: Threats from the Core

[anima7155]

A distress call has been sent out from an Asari mining station on Zesmeni in the Ondeste sector of the Crescent Nebula. The distress call was sent by an automated system when the life signs reached 75%. We do not expect many survivors, if any, and we are unsure of the reason that so many Asari were killed.

Your mission is to perform recon on the mining station under Lieutenant Rivers, an Alliance Marine. Privates Marko Books and Mirala Dantius have been sent as Lt Rivers’ squad, along with Jan'Keller nar Veklus, a Quarian technician sent to recover any data he could about the last moments of the base. Against the Council’s wishes for such a delicate mission, Jan’Keller convinced them that his Krogan ally, Raik Gavorg, will be accompanying him as a hired mercenary bodyguard.

The Alliance ship reaches Zesmeni safely with no interuptions and still no signal from the mining station. The ship is ordered to investigate the sector as Lt. Rivers takes a shuttle with the other four supports he has for the mission.

"Listen to me, all of you. Under no condition are you to leave the base. That goes for you too big guy. The planet is rich with minerals, but being the farthest from the sun, it's also the coldest. An average here is -120 degrees celcius. So stay in the base where it's warm. You could only last minutes before your a walking statue. Now do any of you have questions about your assignment?"

[CrypticOcean]

Gavorg grunted at the human, his hands sliding over his rifle with practiced grace to perform the final checks on it. Everything seemed in order, not one piece operating under optimal efficiency. Other than Jan'Keller, this rifle was the only other entity he trusted to do its job well. He knew the Alliance had no love for his people, but then again, who really did? That statue in the Citadel Presidium was just a political maneuver, and anyone with half a brain knew that. Not that his people did much to create friendly relations...or attempt to contribute to galactic society.

His thoughts turned to his son briefly, before focusing back on the mission at hand. He didn't have time to become a sappy philosopher, thinking about all of this pointless crap. He had a job to do, and he intended to get paid.

"Just make sure you have the credits ready when this is over with. And make sure your men are clearly marked. If it doesn't look like an Asari miner or an Alliance soldier, I'm killing it." he stated bluntly, getting a good look at the rest of the people he would be working with. The human looked like he had a chip on his shoulder, good for him. As long as he didn't snap, he could carry his burdens with him for all of his life.

The Asari didn't look like much, but they never did. So weak and fragile...but he assumed she was a biotic, so it didn't matter much. He never met one that wasn't one. He didn't bother introducing himself, no point, really. They were probably going to all get put onto separate assignments right after this one. As long as they carried their weight, he had no problems with them. At the moment.

[stack]

Marko Book (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=379147)

Pvt. Book triple checked his rifle, blowing a nearly imperceptible mote of dust from the ammo block. Not that it needs cleaning, what else was there to do for three tours on the citadel, staring at bulkheads, guarding doors that no one ever used. Though the week on exchange duty with the Asari delegation was memorable...

Krogan takes care of his weapon. Good. Looks like he can handle a fight. Rivers seems to have his head on straight. Last thing we need is a green lewy. And no one is flapping their gums, so this might just turn out.

"Sir, we sweep the building, locate survivors, report in? Rules for engagement?"

He stands straight, doing his best not to let any nerves show. His rifle is ready, barrel down, safety off. Burst fire, no rock and roll, not until its needed. Too much heat. Though heo runs cools. Ought to, all that time scavenging parts. Only the best for my buddy. You ready Mr. Freeze?

The rifle is black, with the words "this end toward enemy" stenciled on the barrel with a small arrow forward.

[anima7155]

"There shouldn't be any engagement son. If it happens there is, standard protocall. Self-defense is appropriate, but try to spare some. We need all the intel we can get on what happened here."

Lt. Rivers is middle aged black man, no hair on his head, but a greying soul-patch under his lip. He shars his own handful of scars from his decades of military service.

[stack]

Of course, anyone who hits that age and doesn't break lieutenant...

He snaps a smart salute, in the obnoxiously precise manner of an enlisted man who doesn't believe what he was just told. "Sir, yes sir."

[Marx]

Jan'Keller (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=380249)

Jan poured over his omnitool, calibrating its tech functions to specified norms. Gavorg and the other human--Brook? Books? Burke?--were tending to their respective weapons. His own pistol, a gift from his father to help him on his Pilgrimage, sat compacted on his hip. Jan hadn't needed too much since leaving the Migrant Fleet; luckily most deaths in Zakera Ward went uninvestigated, so the few times he had needed it, it hadn't caused Jan too much trouble. He thought about possible names for it, which seemed to be the custom of the Citadel races, but so far nothing seemed just right.

He looked around the shuttle. Human design. Nothing out of the ordinary, but a serviceable transport if there was one. It was nice being wanted for a change--most humans wouldn't give him the time of solar day, much less ask him to take part in a rescue. At least Gavorg was there--if anyone in the galaxy had as a bad of a reputation as the Quarians did, it was the Krogan. Then there was the human--serious. Deadly. More comfortable gunning someone down than speaking to them. The human who asked him to come on the mission seemed like an agreeable sort, at least until he didn't have a use for you anymore.

And finally, the asari. Beautiful, hauntingly so, with only a few weapons on her person. They all are, I suppose...it's the biotics that keeps me from talking to them, that must be it... She probably wouldn't notice him, luckily Jan's mask was obscuring just how long he was staring at her before he managed to break his trance.

"So, Lt. Rivers, do we have any idea about what exactly could have been the problem here? We don't appear to be near batarian space, and I imagine a colony of asari wouldn't be overrun by a simple band of raiders."

[CrypticOcean]

The krogan laughed. Shouldn't be any engagement? Did this human understand what just happened here? Did he think that his Alliance would bother sending two squads of armed men onto a once-populated mining colony if they weren't expecting any sort of confrontation or resistance? Did he think the contingent beacon that went off once the population was 75% of its size was some kind of glitch? And that there was radio silence because they just didn't feel like talking? They were either all dead, or something jammed communication. These mines were probably filled to the brim with eezeo, considering the high-asari population. They would probably be still here trying to take what they could.

"You think there was just some mass cave-in, human? Tell yourself what you want, but a whole mining facility doesn't just go dead because of an equipment malfunction. And they don't bring in people with guns if they aren't expecting trouble." the sardonic tone all too clear in his deep, booming voice.

[anima7155]

"Our mission isn't to go in guns blazing. The Council believes this could be a plague outbreak from a contaminated ship, or maybe a gas line broke. We're no paid to ask questions, we're paid to give answers. The report said they had no communication, but the docking records are still being submitted. Last report says an Alliance ship should be docked and picking up the minerals."

[Buwh]

Mirala Dantius

It was hard to rest with all that noise.

No, that wasn't true.. she couldn't have found rest regardless. This may be a team effort between the Alliance and the Citadel, a little buddy buddy plan orchestrated by some politicizations, but she knew people there.

And so rest came roughly. The Matriarchs taught that you should save your adrenaline for battle, that being too jittery before could slow your reaction time. Her eyes came open as she dismissed that notion, opting instead to scan the team the Alliance had selected for this mission.

The Krogan wasn't hard to spot- or to read. Strong. Mercenary. Krogan. The name of the species told you all you needed to know about his combat abilities and temperament. Although she appreciated the bulk that would be standing between her and possible hostiles, Mirala couldn't help but to lightly shake her head at the Alliance's naivety. They weren't known for following orders, playing well with others, or gathering intel.

Those Quarians were harder to notice, their suits always blending into the dull metal behind them. Scavengers, generally, Mirala believed it was distasteful to bring one along. They were trying to save lives here, or at least get some information on what happened.. not strip the base down for parts. At least you could always trust a Krogan to be a Krogan, but you couldn't trust a Quarian as far as they could walk unarmored.

And that left the humans. Still sort of odd with that strange pale clammy skin.. like some discolored Asari with a mostly useless fur top. You never knew what you were getting with a human and that was unsettling. They demanded respect and coddling at the same time. Mirala had met a few that seemed to earn that respect, but they were a young race and needed to learn their place.

"We are fully capable of dealing with anything from a gas leak to Batarians. Lets go see what has my sisters distressed."

[anima7155]

"Agreed. Here's the station. Get ready to secure the landing zone."

The shield on the landing zone drops for a moment as the shuttle lands in the room. As the shield raises again, the shuttle door opens and Lt. Rivers is the first to jump out, rifle in hand and safety off.

The landing zone is a small room, with crates and tanks lining the walls. The only exits in the room is the shield over head, and a small monorail leading into the main station. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. No bodies, no blood, not even any blaster scars on the wall or a tipped over crate.

Rivers quickly raises his arm up and signals for you to move forward.

[stack]

Book stays on River's heels as they sweep the platform, only enough space between so as not to invite a grenade. His rifle is firmly shouldered, point down, ready as he breaks off to secure the area. Maybe the krogan should take point. He's built for it. Bah, no marine is hiding behind a merc.

"All clear. We check for the other ship, or secure the rail station?"

Quarian tech should be able to tel us something from the terminal, find out what happened. Rather have bogeys than bugs. Can't shoot the Asari flu. He spares an envious glance at the tech's survival gear.

[anima7155]

"No son, the ship should have been in this hanger."
He slowly walks over to the monorail and looks over it, then suddenly kicks the side of it.
"Goddamn thing's offline. Tech, see what you can do."

[CrypticOcean]

Gavorg, regardless of Marco's attempts to do otherwise, willingly takes point, his rifle at the ready. He listened to the chatter between the two humans, only half paying attention. There wasn't much to say to either of them. He looked over at Jan once the leader barked for a Tech after ineffectually kicking the monorail controls, shrugging slightly at the designation.

"Show 'em how it's done, Jan." he said with a smirk.

[Marx]

Jan

Jan snaps to attention and files out of the shuttle, pulling his pistol off his hip. The grip and barrel whirl and click as they extend forward while Jan's tridigit hand finds its way around its grip.

"Alright, let's see what happened to this place, shall we?"

He walks over to the railcar and examines it before his omnitool springs to life. Tapping a few interfaces on the device, Jan begins to run diagnostics on the vehicle.

I guess I'll use Mechanics for this, as it's my higher skill.
[roll0]

[anima7155]

Jan
A quick diagnostic of the monorail shows it was deactivated as a safety protocal. The rail to the station has been damaged, so the cart deactivated. It can easily be overridden though, but it may not be able to come back and it will probably be noisy.

[Marx]

Jan

"Someone shut this cart down; looks like there's some damage to the rail up ahead. I should be able to get it back online. It just, ummm...might attract some attention. Just letting you know."

The quarian turns back to his omnitool and begins to interface with the system of the rail car in an attempt to get it back online.

Use Computer? Yeah sure why not.
[roll0]

[anima7155]

The cart hums back to life as you override the systems. The doors open on the cart as Lt. Rivers walks past you and onto the monorail.

"Alright, we can't do anything here, so we have no choice in a little noise. Everyone on and get ready, in case of fire or a rough ride."

[stack]

Book follows. "Be a long walk without it."

Let's see what comes to check out the noise.

[Buwh]

Mirala Dantius

"I just hope we find someone alive." Mirala sighs, a little frustrated. She was keeping silent mostly out of respect for this probable grave they had entered. She moved in semi-formation across from the marine, Book. Once they are on the monorail she tries to reach out with her feelings to perceive any of her sisters or distant noise.

Perception!

[roll0]

[stack]

(Maybe we shouldn't wait for everyone to say "I step on the lift". In a PBP, what would normally be presumptuous railroading is often just good DMing. Pacing is life.)

[anima7155]

As the monorail soars over the rails, there is not a single hitch in the rails and it arrives as silent as it ever would. The doors open wide to the systems room, crawling with confused and angry Vorcha, and a large Krogan on the platform above with an unconscience Asari flung over his shoulder.

The Krogan slowly turns to face you with an annoyed tone in his voice.
"Bah. All systems should have been functioning normally. Would someone like to explain how they got here?"

As a cowering Vorcha beside him tries to speak up, the Krogan quickly raises his shotgun in one hand and blast it point blank at the Vorcha.

He barks barks back at your group: "Why are you here?"

[stack]

Book sweeps the room with his eyes, checking fields of fire and looking for likely cover, but not moving yet. His hands flex on his rifle, ready to open fire. "Orders, sir?"

Ready action to shoot the Krogan if ordered or attacked

attack [roll0]
damage [roll1]
if hit & damage threshold exceeded, target can take only 1 swift action next round. Damage threshold counted as 5 lower (trait)

overheat on -1

[CrypticOcean]

Gavorg took point the moment they stepped off the monorail, his eyes locking on the Krogan ahead of him. He could feel his toes digging into the ground in anticipation, his finger tightening around the trigger of his readied gun. It instantly pointed up to meet the Krogan. Yet another one of his brothers, drifting aimlessly. He could never understand why they did it. He reassured himself that he was different. He left and became a mercenary for reasons that were beyond just the desire to kill and make money. His blood pounded in his temples. He could feel the desire to prove his strength rising, but he restrained himself. Even so, his jaw was clenched tightly. He wanted blood, wanted to show them all that he had a reason, and that was why he was going to fight. The way this distinguished itself from any other Krogan itching for a fight, he did not know. Thinking on his feet was not his forte. He acted.

"Should be asking you that. Don't remember being told about any Krogan or Vorcha living here." he growled.

[Buwh]

Mirala Dantius

"Alive? Wonderful." Mirala said with a hint of relief before stepping forward and being surrounded by the typical biotic aura. "Surrender your hostages peacefully or I'll give you a Singularity so hard you'll break in three places." She commanded, raising her hand quickly as a very serious warning.

If he fails to comply, I use Singularity on the nearest clump of Vorcha.

Biotics: [roll0]

[anima7155]

The Krogan growls as he looks over you all. "Bah. I have already broken one of your Alliance champions. Do you seriously think you small dogs can challenege me?! I am Raik Jorog! Lieutenant of the Blood Pack!" His eyes keep looking over the group and locks on Gavorg. "And you. A child would know they should die in battle before becoming a pet to these Alliance dogs. You do not deserve to hold the clan name."
He looks over at the Vorcha around the room and barks orders at them as he walks through the doors behind him. "Kill them while I deal with that blue bitch!"

Mirala's Singularity

Vorcha (F5): [roll0]
Vorcha (B3): [roll1]
Vorcha (A5): [roll2]

Initiative
Vorcha (-A14)
Vorcha (E14)
Marko
Vorcha (F5)
Vorcha (B3)
Vorcha (B12)
Jan`Keller
Vorcha (A5)
Gavorg
Mirala

[anima7155]

Vorcha (-A14, E14)
Both Vorchas brace themselves against the railing and over the computer terminals as they open fire on Gavorg.

Vorcha (-A14)
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Vorcha (E14)
Attack: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

[anima7155]

http://i.imgur.com/vw7W6.jpg

[stack]

Book shifts to the left, using the console for cover as he takes aim and opens fire on the closest Vorcha, rounds leaving contrails of condensing mist in the air behind them.


move to -A3
attack B5 (should be flatfooted, to DEX to ref defense), [roll0]
damage [roll1]

overheat -1 (or 0 if delayed action allowed to have been taken)

damage threshold counted as 5 lower