Mass Effect: The Wanderer Chronicles

[Julian928]

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QJzj-f5yOzs/T_95JiBwkpI/AAAAAAAAAGs/2pwWvONLvgM/s640/massrelay.png
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120326002750/masseffect/images/7/73/ME3_Quarian_Envoy_Ship.png

"Mister Drau, Wanderer is fourteenth in line for transit. Should be about half of an hour. Should I try to pass some of the other vessels?" The batarian pilot, briefly brought in by one of Miss Nuro's contacts in her absence, is fidgety at the helm of the quarian vessel. An oversize pistol is scrunched between his thigh and the arm of his seat.

Behind him, the ship's VI, Pok, has manifested at every deck terminal and through the PA, and is drearily informing everyone of the current ETA. Unfortunately, his inflection emulators have been on the fritz, so while the program isn't sad, it certainly sounds like it.

Back through the large ring, down the hallways that seem sideways from the exterior, there are a handful of mechs (under the control of Pok) that carry out the menial tasks of the ship's day-to-day. Most are badly rusted, outdated, and barely functional, but they get the job done.

On the crew deck, Mid'El, the hanar that has prepared meals for countless passengers, is stirring something Dextro-friendly and something more mainstream with two of its tentacles, and chucking in spices with the others. The way he's bobbing makes it seem like he's humming, but nobody can see the light spectrum that the "sounds" would be on.

In the cargo bay, a lone helper drone inventories the various crates.

Yes this is fairly short, and yes not much is happening. Give it time.

[Noedig]

It felt wrong not to have the captain flying the ship. Aida's people had brought in the pilot, but Gul didn't like it. Still, he couldn't fly the Wanderer and the batarian looked fairly easy to kill if things went wrong. That pistol only looked like it would give him a nasty bruise, maybe a puncture wound at worst. His weapon discipline was terrible as well. Gul estimated that he could reach the batarian and crush the pilot's skull between his hands before he could get shot off. He couldn't remember if Aida allowed weapons on the bridge, but he didn't think she did.

First mistake.

He frowned and strode up behind the pilot's chair, his heavy feet clanging off metal floor. A gravely bass resonated throughout the bridge.

"No. Half an hour makes no difference. You in a hurry?"


He put a hand on the chair, leaned in and pointed his other at the pilot's gun.

"You nervous, pilot? You didn't bring your problems into my home, did you?"

[Erik Vale]

Maria juggles options for a moment. Twiddling her thumbs as she lies in her bunk.
'No. Lets not attract attention.' She thought.

She gets up and paces a moment.
"I can wait. Half an hour won't harm my schedule."
Nothing could hide the slight tension undercutting her calm speech as she spoke over the intercom.

After a little while, Maria lies back down in her bunk. Only to get up again, in a constant cycle.

[Silverbit]

Hadlen waits in his room.
"Half an hour's delay? I need to get out of this system. Ah well, time to relax a little I guess."

[darklink_shadow]

Sorting through his possessions out of slight boredom and a strong lack of anything else to do at the moment, Solik nodded to the VI. "Thank you, Pok, I would prefer to leave as soon as possible, but I doubt I could get passage on the earlier flights now. So I guess I have no choice, right?" Chuckling a bit Solik played with hismni-tool for a few moments before it broke.

"Ah." Solik said. "I guess I better go get this looked at... Maybe after we get moving."

[SlyJohnny]

"I don't understand. That should've done it." Sein'Zel grumbles, as Pok relates his latest monotone update. He's feeling a little frustrated; there are other matters that he could be attending to on this aging ship, running a service on a few of the shakier mechs would be a much better investment of his time, but he is anxious that something as visible as a VI glitch will be taken by the captain as a sign he's not doing his job.

He can just imagine the conversation now. He can hear himself stumbling and extemporizing and coming off as even more of a shiftless, fumbling incompetent. The captain will tire of him and he'll be hounded off the ship. It's happened before, it will happen again, and he can't afford to risk this berth. The thought makes him anxious and agitated. He struggles to refocus, tapping at his omni-tool to run another diagnostic. The best thing to do is get this fixed quickly, so he can get on with preventative maintenance on the mechs. He speaks to the helper drone hovering at his side, which makes a 'mew' of acknowledgement, and moves to comply.

"Malo'Koshka, isolate circuits 232A through 233E. Reroute primary emotional content evaluation processor buffer, to, ehh, tertiary accumulator buffer. Now, we test. Pok, this is engineer Sein'Zel. Initiate verbal diagnostic of inflection buffers, voice authorization Moloch-Kaptcha-Tesleya. Repeat following statements: 'Jump complete, now arriving in Citadel space' end statement. 'Warning, hull breach on deck one. Evacuate area immediately.' end statement. 'I am very sorry, Mid'El, but your life-mate was killed in... ehh, tragic hull breach' end statement."

Pok appears on a nearby display terminal. "Jump complete. Now arriving in Citadel space." it says, in a depressed monotone. "Warning? Hull breach? On deck one? Evacuate area immediately?" it says, in a quiet, quizzical tone. I am very sorry, Mid'El, but your life-mate was killed! In... ah!! Tragic hull breach!" it remarks, joyously.

"Hmm. Problem is not circuits, then. Not just circuits." he says, tapping the mouthpeice of his isolation suit in thought. "Perhaps buffer is not even being utilized? Why is this?"

His anxiety forgotten almost as quickly as it appeared, he resumes his analysis contentedly. Or at least, as close as he gets to it, these days.

Repair Inflection Emulators

Tech [roll0]
Engineer [roll1]
Electronics [roll2]
Helper Drone [roll3]

[Julian928]

The pilot glances feverishly between the krogan's intimidatingly thick arm and his pistol. Slowly, and reluctantly, he reaches down and removes it (keeping the weapon in its collapsed state) and offers it to Gul.

"No hurry, sir. Not at all." He mumbles.

*********

On the crew deck, Mid'El vigorously shakes the tentacle his omni-tool manifests on like the rope of a bell. Also similar to a bell is the clanging sound his doing so broadcasts throughout the ship, along with the hanar's voice.

"It is time for the consumption of sustenance at an hour in the relative middle of a standard day! This one finds itself aware of abnormal sounds being exuded by the digestive systems of various entities!*" He places the two large pots on the bench where the crew usually takes their meals. The red pot is dextro, and the blue is not. He removes his six oven-sleeves and hovers over a chair.

*Translation: Lunch time! I hear bellies rumblin'!

**********

"SHALL I ATTEMPT ANOTHER VOCAL CHECK, ENGINEER ZEL?" Pok yells. It's in the right tone of voice, but the latest repair seems to have used up some important features of his volume control.

[SlyJohnny]

Sein'Zel jumps as the hanar chef's call resounds through the ship, and then again when the VI yells at him. He taps the "reply" button on his omnitool. "Ahh...yes, yes, thank you. I shall be up momentarily."

He returns to staring at the exposed virtual circuitry in front of him.

"Okay. Insufficient buffer is clearly problem. However, allocated buffer should be sufficient for tasks. VI is either engaged trying to understand all nuance and meaning of drell poetry, or possibly metacognition- not good, not good, would need to wipe and reformat- or there is error in usage. Koshka, analyse buffer usage patterns. Project into table and graph form, stream to my omni-tool."

The quarian scrutinizes the data as it appears on his omnitools display, and then smiles broadly behind his visor.

"Aha! A ha, ha! Look, Koshka, data indicates four entire segments lie unused! Quantum disjunction from last jump ship make, no doubt. Circuits should be shielded better. Can fix! Can fix now, before lunch."

Sein'Zel lies on his front and instructs his omni-tool to produce the delicate tools he needs to adjust the chip in question. He unlocks it, brings it to the fore, and then delicately begins to alter it's structural makeup.

Tech[roll0]
Engineer[roll1]
Decryption[roll2]
Electronics[roll3]
First Aid[roll4]
Helper Drone[roll5]

[Erik Vale]

Maria stops her pacing, looking at the door. For a few moments she stands there.
"I'll be up soon."
Maria heads towards the mess, arriving with her eyes looking towards the ground.

[Julian928]

Sein'Zel jumps as the hanar chef's call resounds through the ship, and then again when the VI yells at him. He taps the "reply" button on his omnitool. "Ahh...yes, yes, thank you. I shall be up momentarily."

He returns to staring at the exposed virtual circuitry in front of him.

"Okay. Insufficient buffer is clearly problem. However, allocated buffer should be sufficient for tasks. VI is either engaged trying to understand all nuance and meaning of drell poetry, or possibly metacognition- not good, not good, would need to wipe and reformat- or there is error in usage. Koshka, analyse buffer usage patterns. Project into table and graph form, stream to my omni-tool."

The quarian scrutinizes the data as it appears on his omnitools display, and then smiles broadly behind his visor.

"Aha! A ha, ha! Look, Koshka, data indicates four entire segments lie unused! Quantum disjunction from last jump ship make, no doubt. Circuits should be shielded better. Can fix! Can fix now, before lunch."

Sein'Zel lies on his front and instructs his omni-tool to produce the delicate tools he needs to adjust the chip in question. He unlocks it, brings it to the fore, and then delicately begins to alter it's structural makeup.

Tech[roll0]
Engineer[roll1]
Decryption[roll2]
Electronics[roll3]
First Aid[roll4]
Helper Drone[roll5]

Pok's avatar ripples with the reboot, and there's a brief dimming of lights in the engineering deck as he comes back online. "How may I assist you, Engineer Zel?"

And our first experience point goes to Sly, for hitting his Key of the Mechanic! That's either one pool die, or an experience point towards an advance.

Mid'El is excited to see Maria arrive, and eagerly ladles up a steaming bowl of soup, containing the odd bit of roast varren meat. All-in-all, it smells and looks pretty alright. If you like varren, anyway.

[darklink_shadow]

Solik blinked, thinking about his introduction. He knew how he presented himself at this first meeting with the crew. "I am headed there." Checking over his broken omnitool, he sighed heavily. Hopefully the mechanic will have a moment to help him.


Arriving at the bench with the food, Solik gathered a bowl of food, and sat down. Looking for the mechanic, Solik will approach if he is present, initiating a conversation.

[Noedig]

Gul grunted in approval as he took the pistol. At least the pilot hadn't done something stupid, like try to shoot him. That would've been messy.

"Good. I'll stow this in your quarters, where it will stay, unless we come under attack and the ship is boarded. And then I expect you to kill at least one hostile before you die."

The meal bell went off, abruptly ending the conversation. Gul stomped away from the pilot, calling over his shoulder as he did so.

"We have a half hour before we jump. Get some chow, eat it, then get back in your chair before then. Squids are **** in a fight, but this one can cook."

The corridors of the ship echoed with his footsteps as he made his way to the mess-hall. After a minute or so he arrived to find the asari passenger and the bug had beat him there. He gave the asari a nod before proceeding to Mid'El. The captain had told him to 'play nice' while she was gone, so he didn't glare at her, like he normally did with passengers, and he didn't murder the salarian, like he normally did with bugs.

"Ms. Anaf. Is everything satisfactory?"

[Erik Vale]

Maria was ravenous, as her body chose to inform her as she met the soups odour, something that had been broken somewhat by seeing the varren meat.
She could eat around it... Maybe. Just ignore it, pretend it's something else...
"Thank you, it smells great." Maria smiles at Mid'El just before Gul speaks.

"Yes. However at the moment the soup could be all Varren at the moment and I wouldn't notice."
A poor attempt a humor, but it was what she had in the face of a Krogan, along with a nervous smile which would have trouble charming someone with cataracts.

Maria returned her gaze near the bottom edges of the room as she moved to the table, intent on getting some food into her before her stomach started growling.

[Noedig]

Gul chuckled. He'd been alive for over a thousand years, and he could count on one hand how many times he'd seen an asari eat varren, and most had been tougher than this girl by a longshot. He accepted a large bowl from Mid'El and sat down to eat, setting the pilot's collapsed pistol on the table as he did so. He liked it when Mid'El made varren. Like this. It made him feel...nostalgic.

"They make decent rations in a pinch. Found that out in the army. Nutritious. Don't exactly taste good. Tentacles here is a damn miracle worker though. Krogan are usually the only ones who can stomach boiled varren. Heh, even we don't like it raw."

[darklink_shadow]

Seeing the mechanic enter, Solik gathered all his charm, and carefully practiced persona. Acting nervous, Solik waited for the quarian to get her food, and begin to eat. If she sat, he would sit across from her. If she stood, he would stand next to her. Regardless, he would begin his conversation soon after moving in.

"Excuse me, um... you are the ship's mechanic, are you not? I don't mean to bother you, really, but I appear to have damaged my omnitool. If you have a free moment, could you take a look at it? I would not mind helping you with anything you may need in exchange, but I'm not quite able to figure out the problem my device is having. I fully... uh, I understand if you are busy." Flashing a nervous smile, Solik dropped his vision to his food and took a bite. "I'm not utterly incompetent with machines, but I use my omnitool for most of my work, and without it I feel lost."

[Erik Vale]

"It's why I planned to eat around it, see how hungry I was until after I was down to almost the meat."

Maria was well true to her word, as her eyes flick between Gul and the food as she talked, taking a spoonful.
"Now, I haven't had time to memorize all the names on this boat quite yet, what would yours be."
She carefully refrained from calling it a tub in her bid to start a conversation, boat and tub was a quick way to pick out crew and constant travellers from ships she found. And in all she kinda considered this ship a boat, it wasn't big or majestic enough to be a ship. And no ship carried Krogan, she had yet to meet a truly mannered one.
But she was a child, perhaps she would meet a 'nice krogan', the thought almost made her laugh as she sifted through the soup.

[SlyJohnny]

Sein'Zel wanders in to the mess hall (more like slinks, really). He reacts with surprise as Solik greets him, as if he's just been snuck up on doing something he shouldn't. The salarian's nervous presentation only seems to make him equally nervous in turn, though he clearly tries hard to sympathize with the man, and put him at ease.

"...Yes? Yes. I am ships mechanic. Hello. Omni-tool? It's not- ah, I understand, I too would find that most unbearable! I would be at a loss if mine ever went on the fritz. I am not sure I could even find my way out of my quarters each morning without its help. Aheheh!"

He appears to want to start working on it right away, reaching for it immediately, but then realizes that it would mean rudely grabbing the arm it's attached to. He stops mid reach, mortified.

"After lunch, I imagine? It shouldn't take long. ...Well, it might. Have no idea what's wrong with it yet. But I imagine it shouldn't take long."

He collects a bowl of food and then sits down opposite Solik Bau and next to Drau Gul. A feeding tube extends from his suit, and he busies himself with assembling it. After a while he abruptly starts speaking to Gul, "Just fixed Pok's inflection emulators, executive officer. Simple fix, really. It was isolating problem that proved difficult. Should not reoccur." he says, speaking in a more comfortable and authoritative tone then he's ever adopted around the looming krogan before now.

"I mean, once I got round to it. I havn't been working on just that all day, of course. It was just essential to make sure the new engine coolant was flowing correctly." He frowns, now beginning to second guess himself. "But perhaps that should've been done earlier, then I could... sorry it took so long to fix, I should've... it won't happen again, sir." he mumbles, looking away from the krogran and making a great show of concentrating hard on assembling his food tube. Anddd it's gone.

[Noedig]

He refrained from pounding his chest, as would've been tradition. Instead he gave a slight bow from where he sat.
"I am Gul, warrior and ruzad of clan Drau, and I'm chief of security for the Wanderer. She ain't a pretty boat but she's home. Welcome aboard."

Gul wasn't sure how he felt about the new mechanic. He was quarian like the captain, and the captain seemed to be alright with him. He talked like a salarian though; short sentences usually missing words. It was odd and he moved like he thought there were enemies around every corner. Gul chewed thoughtfully on a bit of varren before answering Sein's barrage.

"Hmmpf. Was it the buffer?"

[Erik Vale]

Maria bows her head slightly when the Krogan bows his, somewhat surprised, she does listen to the engineer with some minor interest... She favoured biology though, looking to be a pathologist....
'The things one lost. Oop, almost a peice of varren, I'm almost finished, I really used more than I thought....' Maria looks at the quarian as she thinks, also wondering if he was a Pilgrim, Exile, or just away from home.

[darklink_shadow]

Solik strips off his omnitool and sets it between himself and the mechanic. "After lunch would be great. If you ever need a favor, please let me know. I do not seek out debts, and I would prefer to pay them back twice fold."

Solik grins and enjoys more of his food. Whatever it was, he didn't really pay attention. Hopefully a start to friendship. I could use a few here. Solik thought. And I could use a big friend too. No reason to not make them all my friends.

"Ruzad? I swear I've heard that word. I have no idea what it means. Perhaps I once knew, I get the feeling of prestige from it. If is something to be proud of, Master Krogan, perhaps you can enlighten me? If you do not wish to share this, ignore my curiosity. It is always interesting to hear about culture."

[Noedig]

Gul was silent for a long moment, weighing his response. On the one hand, the salarian had been polite up to this point. On the other, he was a salarian. He could hear the captain's voice in his head.

"I am a judge." he growled.

[darklink_shadow]

Solik nodded. "That is very admirable. Well, I'll be in my room." Gesturing to mechanic, "I hope to see you there." Scooping up the last bite, Solik gathered his plate and left the table, taking his omnitool off the table. A moment alone with the mechanic would allow for free conversation.

A mechanic makes a good friend.

[Noedig]

Gul's mute glare followed the salarian out of the room. When the door had shut behind him, he turned back to Sein.

"So was it the buffer?"

[SlyJohnny]

Sein is momentarily taken aback by Gul talking shop with him. "It... yes. Well, not the buffer exactly, more it wasn't being used. The quantum chipboards, they are sensitive to interference from mass relays, sometimes."

He watches as the salarian leaves to eat alone, sympathizing. Gul doesn't always make an effort to be welcoming to new passengers. Gul certainly terrified Sein'Zel when he first came on board, but after a while he became inured to the krogan's almost casually threatening aura and the omnipresent unspoken promise of looming violence. A complicated character with several lifetimes worth of baggage, but at least he's straightforward about how he feels about things. You always know where you stand with Drau Gul, he thinks to himself. It's just that where you stand is always on the edge of a razor which overlooks a bottomless chasm.

The asari passenger, on the other hand... he glances over at Maria. She mystified him, as non-quarians usually did. She always carries herself with such measured serenity and patience, and yet she seems so restless at times, fidgeting or pacing like a caged, hungry animal. I do not understand the contradiction. Yet for some reason he could not even begin to quantify, he found himself uncharacteristically fascinated by her. Something about her drew his interest, made him want to approach her, talk to her, even though the very thought of actually doing so filled him with dread.

"Is... the varren... what does it taste like?" he tries, looking between Maria and Gul. "Have never tried it. Never tried much meat, really. We do not have it often in the Fleet, and outside the fleet, is hard to find in a safely digestible form." he says, attaching his food tube and beginning to absorb his bland (but safe) soup through his environment suit.

[Noedig]

Gul felt far more comfortable with the salarian gone. He made a mental note to order Pok to watch him. You could never trust them.
"Heh. We used to break the buffer so that battlemaster's VIs would always rage and shout. Can't tell you how funny it was. As to varren? It's tough, gamey and it smells awful, even when you do cook it. Like I said, Tentacles is a miracle worker."

[darklink_shadow]

While gathering more food, Solik sought out "Tentacles," the on board chef. He was not surprised to see the reason for the chef's nickname to be his race. Krugons were awfully crude and a little racist at times... no matter, they were also predictable. The security chief obviously didn't trust him, which meant Solik needed to take measures to retain his privacy.

No matter. Time to converse with the chef. "Hello, Master Chef, I came to give you thanks for the meal. Far better fare than I expected aboard a transport vessel. Where did you learn to cook so well?" Solik smiled, eating another bite after talking.

[Erik Vale]

"And I'll restrain from my estimation for a moment, I'd rather not spoil the rest of my meal by eating it just yet, I've heard all sorts of disgusting comparisons about varren... Though I'm about down to it."

Maria smiles a little, slightly less nervously than at the Krogan. before she goes back to picking through what remains of the soup... 'How to cut it with this spoon... I might just have to risk it... I hope it's edible.'
Maria drinks another spoonful...



So it's clear and I can stop putting it in, ' means thought, " means spoken... saves me the trouble of making a way to fit thinks in without breaking the flow.
If people would rather I italicize thoughts as well I can.

[Julian928]

"Ah, this one appreciates the verbalization of appreciation. This one learned the culinary arts from one Kragg Zukai, a particularly well-fed krogan warlord. This one began his training as part of a meal preparation, but successfully argued that this one's multiple appendages would be more useful wielding cutlery than as appetizers." Mid'El resumes his "humming," and begins work on a vegetarian casserole for the evening, taking time to include sauteed pyjak in one segment of the pan.

"Attention, everyone, attention. The commander of an asari police cruiser is requesting to come aboard, but is out of her jurisdiction, having technically entered Terminus Space in our last transit. How shall I reply, XO Drau?" Pok's now flawless voice intones through the PA.

[Noedig]

Gul growled in annoyance. This was hardly a surprise, the Wanderer seemed to attract authorities like corpses attracted disease. Still, it was usually the captain's fault, and she wasn't here. Maybe it was the pilot after all. He looked at Sein and the asari and shrugged.

"What in the Void could they want? Excuse me."
He got up and clanged toward the bridge, making sure to key both Pok and the cockpit.

"Standby, Pok. I'm going to go have a word with our pilot and see if he was lying to me."

[darklink_shadow]

Upon hearing the commotion, Solik headed to his room calmly, until out of sight. Once no one could him, he made haste. Switching out the broken data crustal for his own specialized one, he hacked into one of the channels to of the Asari ship, and opened a voice only communication with them, bypassing their safeguards so the channel would be opened without their consent. Using a voice filter to sound robotic, masking his voice, Solik demands they wait before speaking to the commanding officer.

"Commander, stop your illegal actions immediately. This is Terminus Space. By the authority of STG Commander, Major Escheel Dabrius, and the Citadel Council, I demand you respond to the ship's CO that you are having issues with you navigation and request assistance. Any other action will jeopardize a Spectre related mission. I have IDed your ship and will report your entire crew for misconduct should you refuse. Operative Out."

Solik closes the channel and then switches his data chips back so he has the broken one in his omnitool.

I'll roll in the IOC thread in a little while. Replied via phone.

[Erik Vale]

Maria had just tentatively bitten down on her first peice of varren when the message came. And she was shocked still.

'Oh Athame.... Spirits.... Not so soon...'
Some vauge part of her mind started her chewing based on lesson from her Aunt's cooking. Another part hoped her shock looked like getting used to the varren...
It wasn't vomit worthy surprisingly, as could be told by her tongue slowly starting up, but she definately wasn't hungry any more, putting the rest of the peice back into the bowl before going to take it back to the kitchen.
"Varren is definately not for me... I think I'll go wash my mouth out for a while. Glad I bought a few books."

Once out of sight Maria picks up speed a fair bit, almost breaking into a jog. She didn't know the ship well enough to hide in it, perhaps she could just stay near her room, decide when she got there, or based on a message.... No, she'd stay in her room for now.
'Not so soon...'

[darklink_shadow]

Stroking his chin, Solik realized he might need a bit of badge waving to get his way, plus maybe they would leave if he offered his help in whatever they were doing.

Solik switched chips again, and attempted to re-open the channel. Surprisingly enough, the Asari seemed to have managed to get a response to him. He played the response, and checked to see if they had left the forced channel open. Regardless, he looked up all information he could, especially blackmail he could use against them should he need to battle wits with the commander.

[Julian928]

Gul growled in annoyance. This was hardly a surprise, the Wanderer seemed to attract authorities like corpses attracted disease. Still, it was usually the captain's fault, and she wasn't here. Maybe it was the pilot after all. He looked at Sein and the asari and shrugged.

"What in the Void could they want? Excuse me."
He got up and clanged toward the bridge, making sure to key both Pok and the cockpit.

"Standby, Pok. I'm going to go have a word with our pilot and see if he was lying to me."

The batarian is already huddled behind a console, his head peeking over. "I didn't do anything! I swear! I've never even been to Thessia or Illium!"


Upon hearing the commotion, Solik headed to his room calmly, until out of sight. Once no one could him, he made haste. Switching out the broken data crustal for his own specialized one, he hacked into one of the channels to of the Asari ship, and opened a voice only communication with them, bypassing their safeguards so the channel would be opened without their consent. Using a voice filter to sound robotic, masking his voice, Solik demands they wait before speaking to the commanding officer.

"Commander, stop your illegal actions immediately. This is Terminus Space. By the authority of STG Commander, Major Escheel Dabrius, and the Citadel Council, I demand you respond to the ship's CO that you are having issues with you navigation and request assistance. Any other action will jeopardize a Spectre related mission. I have IDed your ship and will report your entire crew for misconduct should you refuse. Operative Out."

Solik closes the channel and then switches his data chips back so he has the broken one in his omnitool.


"Operative, this is Captain N'Vinya of the Parting Silence. We received your warning and are duly noted, but there's nothing I can do. I know I'm not allowed to do this, so that's why I sent a request, but there's no way you're pegging me and my crew for anything. This isn't our fault!"

There's a long pause, filled with only the captain's shallow breathing.

"There's..." She pauses, stress evident in every word. "We have a Justicar onboard."

[darklink_shadow]

Solik sighed. "Is that so? We haven't much time then. No doubt the CO will respond to you soon. Delay him from speaking with your vigilante friend. I must speak with her. Could you put her on?"

Solik scanned his room, then sat on his bed, and waited. Perhaps he could dissuade her, perhaps not. Perhaps he could use her help.

[Julian928]

Solik sighed. "Is that so? We haven't much time then. No doubt the CO will respond to you soon. Delay him from speaking with your vigilante friend. I must speak with her. Could you put her on?"

Solik scanned his room, then sat on his bed, and waited. Perhaps he could dissuade her, perhaps not. Perhaps he could use her help.

"I'm sorry, she's refusing to speak with anyone. She's just glaring holes into my airlock."

[darklink_shadow]

Solik glared likely equally sized holes into his omnitool. "Try opening it then." Solik said slightly irately. A new plan of action was needed. And Solik didn't have one at the moment.

Except for trying to open the airlock himself, but he supposed such an action might upset his superiors. "Thank you for your efforts, commander. I pity you for having to deal with your circumstances. I hope this is resolved smoothly. Operative Out."

Solik cut the connection. Without a much better plan, Solik was going to have problems a few hours into his mission. That was unacceptable. The Asari would be useless. He needed a new plan... a new plan...

Sighing, Solik rubbed his head. What could he possibly do. Damned Justicars. More difficult to deal with than Spectres.

At very least he could eavesdrop on their conversation, and get intel. Solik attempted to hack into Pok, using an Asari insertion routine. Should he fail, Gul would be mad at the Asari, which didn't bother Solik any. Should he succeed, he had a few things Pok could do for him.

If he fails, and knows, Solik will do his best to flush all trace of his chip's ID, and leave breadcrumbs indicating Asari brute force hacking attempts.If he succeeds, Solik will engaged Pok in a few rounds of Q and A, as well as set up a few background routines embedded in his System Idle Processes. Like uploading all collected data to a FTP server hosted in Spectre cyber domain that he has recently acquired. And implement a privacy routine so that Pok will not record any data on Solik's usage of his omnitool, or other suspicious actions, and dump any traces of Solik's specialized chip ID that Pok might detect.

[Noedig]

Gul slipped into the mind of a ruzad as he stepped onto the bridge. The batarian had been compliant, even going so far as to give up his weapon. That was the kind of fear that compelled a confession in the pilot's voice. So it wasn't his fault.

Who?

A searing heat built in Gul's guts threatening to warp his judgment. His meditation blade was in his room, so he couldn't use it to focus. His vision began to redden ever so slightly.

"Pok! Open a channel to the asari vessel. Video and audio. Pilot! Get in your damn chair, and keep us on a heading to the relay. Cut in line if you need to, but I will flay you alive if you scratch this vessel."

He sat in the captain's chair, a transgression he was sure Aida would forgive.

"Asari vessel, this is ruzad Drau Gul acting captain of the Wanderer. You have unlawfully impeded my egress from this system. You have no jurisdiction in Terminus space, which you should damn well know! Break off immediately."

[Erik Vale]

To say Maria sighed in relief was a understatement, she did however land on her bed heavily.
'Hold the course... Please hold the course'.

[SlyJohnny]

Sein blinks as the crew disperse. The asari and salarian didn't even comment on what Pok said. That's unusual, isn't it? But perhaps not, for aliens.

He gets up, heading to the engine room. He asks Pok to stream the sensor data on the police vessel to his omni tool, more out of curiosity than anything. He wouldn't dream of needing to run from or fight a police vessel.

[Julian928]

Unaware of Solik's seamless integration, Pok opens the channel and begins the data feed.

On the bridge, a screen opens in front of Gul and the slightly more composed (and once again working) pilot. An unarmored asari matron with markings evocative of turian face paint shimmers into view.

"Drau Gul, my name is Hari N'Vinya, commanding officer of the Parting Silence. I haven't impeded anything. You will note that I have not triggered a police lock on your ship or the relay. My request to board is just that: a request. I have an official investigator from Thessia seeking a wanted fugitive, and we have reason to believe that she is on your ship. I have been told to cooperate with her by my superiors, but I have elected to not break the law in doing so."

She fidgets slightly, and an older asari steps into view. She has a blue circlet and is clearly closer to Matriarch than Matron.

"If you refuse that request, then you should know that this vessel will pursue you. Possibly at the cost of the innocent lives operating it. Would a ruzad truly let that happen?"

**************

Pok verbalizes the data to Sein. "Ship is called Parting Silence. Captained by Hari N'Vinya. Ship is outfitted with GARDIAN lasers and the top grade of non-military mass accelerator. No fighters, visible tractor beam emitters. Use would require the vessel to lower kinetic barriers. Standard police grade kinetic barriers. Standard cruiser-grade propulsion systems and drive core."

Pok goes silent as he processes something.

"Tactical Assessment: Wanderer is capable of outrunning and outmaneuvering the Parting Silence, with an 85% chance of completely avoiding GARDIAN engagement, and a 57% chance of avoiding mass accelerator engagement. Chances of maintaining evasion at FTL --without periodic refuel-- are negligible if cruiser has standard detection software and fuel capacity. 70% chance of survival in open conflict. 30% chance of victory and escape in open conflict. Is there anything else Engineer Zel?"

[Noedig]

Gul sighed and leaned back in the chair, which creaked slightly in protest. A matriarch looking for a fugitive, and a subtle threat to the saftey of his ship. She probably hoped he would react violently, thereby justifying reciprocal aggression. This was little different from a tribal court. He wished he had his blade, but there was no time to meditate. He breathed deep once and the red began to slowly clear from his vision. He would let the threat slide for now.

Calmed, Gul spoke in a more moderate tone.

"Forgive my indelicate speech, Commander N'Vinya. I am old and you know what they say about old krogan. Who else do I address? You have the honor of my name but I do not know yours."

[Julian928]

Gul sighed and leaned back in the chair, which creaked slightly in protest. A matriarch looking for a fugitive, and a subtle threat to the saftey of his ship. She probably hoped he would react violently, thereby justifying reciprocal aggression. This was little different from a tribal court. He wished he had his blade, but there was no time to meditate. He breathed deep once and the red began to slowly clear from his vision. He would let the threat slide for now.

Calmed, Gul spoke in a more moderate tone.

"Forgive my indelicate speech, Commander N'Vinya. I am old and you know what they say about old krogan. Who else do I address? You have the honor of my name but I do not know yours."

"My name is Lorelei, of the Justicars of Thessia. It is a pleasure, Ruzad Drau Gul. Now please, only allow me to come aboard for half of an hour. It could mean the lives of Captain N'Vinya's crew, and of your own."

[darklink_shadow]

Seeing the data flow properly, Solik puts in a backdoor for himself into Pok, and inputs a request: "Pok, can you upload a full scan of the vessel here, and upload crew information. I would especially like any information on the Asari on board. Her room number especially. And a recording of the conversation happening on the bridge."

With a backdoor, Solik no longer needs to maintain connection with Pok, and closes that connection. After sighing lightly, still puzzling over the situation but drawing a blank, Solik access the data Pok has been streaming and looks for the info he just requested.

[Erik Vale]

As it is, Maria has started contemplating barracading her room, and is currently looking at the number of entrances and how much stuff she could put in the way.
It does take a moment before she realises how stupid the idea is.
"There the no questions sort. Surely they wouldn't just hand me over... And the crew would know any hiding places, especially obvious, there probably already full...."
Maria sits on her bed, almost down into dispair. Suddenly barracades are looking like a better idea.
Not once does she wonder if someone else is hunted.

[Noedig]

Damn.

Justicars didn't come after petty crooks, and if they said a fugitive was on his ship, they were probably right.

"Ah, a justicar. I am honored, though I certainly wish the circumstances of our meeting were more...pleasant. It has been some two hundred years since I last saw one of your order. Heh, I thought commandos were the worst you could throw at the galaxy until I met her. So what sets you on the warpath, Justicar Lorelei? If it's my batarian pilot, I can happily space him for you and be done with it."

[Julian928]

As it is, Maria has started contemplating barracading her room, and is currently looking at the number of entrances and how much stuff she could put in the way.
It does take a moment before she realises how stupid the idea is.
"There the no questions sort. Surely they wouldn't just hand me over... And the crew would know any hiding places, especially obvious, there probably already full...."
Maria sits on her bed, almost down into dispair. Suddenly barracades are looking like a better idea.
Not once does she wonder if someone else is hunted.

A Pok display crackles to life in Maria's room. "Salutations, Miss Anaf. If you would kindly look beneath your bed, there is a panel that can be shifted aside with a small biotic nudge. You should then enter the crawlspace, and head immediately towards the engineering deck via the ladders within. I shall greet you there."


Damn.

Justicars didn't come after petty crooks, and if they said a fugitive was on his ship, they were probably right.

"Ah, a justicar. I am honored, though I certainly wish the circumstances of our meeting were more...pleasant. It has been some two hundred years since I last saw one of your order. Heh, I thought commandos were the worst you could throw at the galaxy until I met her. So what sets you on the warpath, Justicar Lorelei? If it's my batarian pilot, I can happily space him for you and be done with it."

"I appreciate the offer, but I would rather you did not. Nor do I wish to share the details of my task, as I am forbidden by the Code to fully disclose information to one who would not need to know it. If you send a confirmation now, I would be on your ship in twenty-five minutes, and then off within fifty."

Remember that a GS hour is 100 minutes.

[Erik Vale]

Assuming no roll is required.
Maria stands shocked for a moment, half contemplating whether or not it's a trap.
"Worst is.... No let's not think like that. Hold out for the best. Just gotta hold out for the best."

Maria looks under her bed, and with a bit of searching finds and moves aside the panel. When she enters the crawl space she returns it to it's original position before continuing, relying on Pok's guidance.

[Julian928]

Assuming no roll is required.
Maria stands shocked for a moment, half contemplating whether or not it's a trap.
"Worst is.... No let's not think like that. Hold out for the best. Just gotta hold out for the best."

Maria looks under her bed, and with a bit of searching finds and moves aside the panel. When she enters the crawl space she returns it to it's original position before continuing, relying on Pok's guidance.

"Thank you Miss Anaf. Your friend onboard appreciates your trust. When you get to the Engineering bay, you will find yourself in a subdeck. There is a console that has been hollowed out, and has a steady supply of air. Input the code, "Tonbay," and it will open. Your friend advises that you remain inside until this situation has been dealt with. Your friend would also like you to remember the keyword: KIRRIK. Please enjoy your flight aboard the Wanderer."

[Noedig]

Gul weighed his options. He could run, which he was loathe to do. He could fight, an option which a small part of him demanded. Or he could be subtle. He grinned wolfishly and nodded his ascent.
"As much as it would honor me to cross blades with you, I have crew and guests aboard who are relying on my compliance. I would feel a little bad about getting them killed while the captain was away. You may come aboard, though I apologize in advance for the quality of the interior, function over form and all that. Heh, try not to look too relieved, Commander N'Vinya."

[Erik Vale]

"I... Thank you..."

Maria smiles a little as she reaches the console, a sad smile, that holds for a while in it's hollowed compartment.

[Julian928]

Gul weighed his options. He could run, which he was loathe to do. He could fight, an option which a small part of him demanded. Or he could be subtle. He grinned wolfishly and nodded his ascent.
"As much as it would honor me to cross blades with you, I have crew and guests aboard who are relying on my compliance. I would feel a little bad about getting them killed while the captain was away. You may come aboard, though I apologize in advance for the quality of the interior, function over form and all that. Heh, try not to look too relieved, Commander N'Vinya."

As the Parting Silence's airlock seals to the Wanderer's, there is a moment of quiet and calm while the tube pressurizes. Then the doors open.

Ten asari commandos, led by Lorelei, board the ship with weapons ready. They pass the bridge, moving towards the elevator. One commando waits at each checkpoint, ever alert for their prey.

"This is for efficiency's sake, Drau Gul. My troops will leave when I have determined whether my quarry is aboard. They will show no undue hostility, and do their best not to frighten your passengers."

[Noedig]

Gul frowned as the commandos spread out across his ship. It wasn't entirely unexpected that the justicar would bend the rules of the agreement, but this was a tad excessive. He followed the justicar as she swept the ship.

"Commandos. Hmpf. My daughter, Anyanka, is one of those. This fugitive dangerous?"

[Julian928]

The pair (Lorelei and Gul) descend to the crew deck, where passenger quarters are located. Looking at the Wanderer's manifest, the Justicar goes to the room of one Maria Anaf.

With a gesture to the krogan and her two remaining commandos to step back, she opens the door and puts the room in a stasis field.

Looking in, the aggravation on her face is very clear.

The room is empty.

"Target has escaped. This ship doesn't move until we've completely swept it!" She shouts, partially to her comm, partially to Gul, and partially to nobody in particular.

"Miss Anaf requested to go aboard the police vessel, and did so without permission a few moments after your arrival, Justicar Lorelei." Pok chimes, pleased to be of assistance.

Lorelei's fury is palpable as she punches the button for the bridge, trailing her commandos back onto the Parting Silence. The clamp releases from both ships, and the asari vessel goes silent.

[darklink_shadow]

With a silent thank you, Solik mentally praised Pok. Switching his chips out again, Solik relaxes casually in his room, hoping to see the mechanic there.

[Noedig]

As the airlock closed behind the justicar and the ships detatched from one another Gul let out a deep rumbling laugh.
"I suppose that concludes the visit. Sneaky little girl. Pilot! Alll ahead full. I want through that damned relay. Pok! Inform me if the Parting Silence attempts to contact or target us."

[Julian928]

The Wanderer, though none of her crew or passengers feel it, accelerates to just below light speed, and hurtles towards the relay.

Things seems to be smooth sailing, but then the rings start to slow down.

"XO Drau, the Parting Silence has seen through my ruse. They are aware that Miss Anaf never left the ship. They have triggered a lock on the relay, and have begun pursuit."

Below, in the little console, Pok's voice whispers "It is safe to come out now, Miss Anaf. The Parting Silence has begun pursuit, but will no doubt find boarding much more difficult this time."

The pilot, visibly frustrated, begins eeking whatever power he can out of the Wanderer's engines. "Tell your engineer to make this tub move faster!" He yells at Gul.

"I estimate that the relay will become inactive in approximately five minutes and seventy-eight seconds. Window of transit will therefore close in four minutes and eleven seconds. At current speed, we will not reach the relay for four minutes and ninety-six seconds." Pok intones to the bridge.

"Processing. Processing. Processing. Confirmed. Tactical advice based on prior knowledge of Captain Aida'Nuro vas Wanderer is as follows:

Go faster.

[Erik Vale]

"Thank you... Will this get you in trouble?"
Maria smiles a little before her voice and face becomes concerned, and she begins extracting herself from the terminal, making ready to go back to her room the way she came.

[Noedig]

"Sein, you heard Pok. Get me more speed! And Pok? Who gave you permission to execute a 'ruse?' I certainly didn't."

[darklink_shadow]

Solik was blind to any conversation not being broadcasted for the ship to hear, as he had stopped listening in when he removed his functional chip. However he assumed that by now the Wanderer was either under siege or escaping.

Either way, Solik wanted to be sure the Wanderer won. If of was going to be attacked, Solik trusted the strength of the acting captain. If they were fleeing, Solik believed that the mechanic would be capable. However, for now, Solik decided to get a feel for the ship.

Leaving a message on the outside of his door, stating that he was going for a walk, just in case the mechanic came by while he was gone, Solik wandered the ship to get a feel for any tactical locations and to familiarize himself with his temporary home in case he ever had need to run down the halls and get somewhere.

[Noedig]

Gul sat in the captain's chair unable to contribute in their flight. Krogans were not particularly good at running away. He scratched himself and pondered how best to spend the time before what would almost certainly be a fight to the death. He tapped his omnitool twice and Pok's avatar sprang up.

"Pok, ask Ms. Anaf to come to the bridge as quickly as she is able. I have a few questions I would like answered."

[Erik Vale]

Maria stands pacing in her room. It isn't hard to predict what's next, but this is a smuggling ship so maybe this was so routine for them they didn't-
The thought was interupted by Pok.

"Ms. Anaf, it is requested that you present yourself to the bridge immaterially."

The gulp is almost audible.
'I'll be up shortly.'

-----
Maria strides into the bridge, trying and failing to look confident, something about almost visibly trying not to look down like a child expecting a chastising.
"My presence was requested."
At least she manages not to sound terrified she thinks.

[Noedig]

Gul turned the captains chair to face the young asari. He studied her quietly for a few moments before speaking. He kept his tone even despite his growing annoyance.

"I have a justicar with a retinue of commandos hard on my heels. You have put myself and my home in danger. Explain to me why I should not stop, right now, and hand you over to this justicar."

[Erik Vale]

Maria quite visibly gulps.

"I... I don't know how, but I ****ed up. Bad... I'm just trying to get out of peoples way, I heard your ship was a no questions and no problems ship so I thought that perhaps I could pay my way and then try and disappear in the Terminus, it's supoosed to be easy to disapear there. I'm not trying to cause any trouble I... I'm just trying to get out of the way,... They're trying to kill me and... I ****ed up but I don't want to die... It was an accident... I'm planning on leaving your ship first port anyway, like I paid for."

She almost looks like [but definitely sounds like] she's about to break down, whilst she looked at Gul's face at the start, she was now firmly looking at the floor.

[Noedig]

Gul blinked as an image of his daughter flashed unbidden through his mind. The other children bullied her because her father was krogan. She had gotten into a fight at school. She had lost. Her mother had been furious. Asari were above schoolyard brawls according to her. Anyanka had looked the same, head down, on the verge of tears. She was speaking the truth, but not all of it. He turned his fatherly sternness to maximum for the first time in centuries.

"Yes. You did. And now a justicar wants to kill you, and will kill me to get to you if I fight her."

He got up and thumped toward her, staring her down. He softened his tone slightly.

"Justicars don't come out and play for 'accidents'. You did something very bad if they sent one of them after you. What? And be honest. I have no patience for liars."

[Erik Vale]

"There was... A boy.. A turian of a... well off family, going places... I liked him... one thing led to another and we bonded... It... It was amazing, and when we left he had a stupid look on his face and he collapsed... and then I did, I was exhausted... And when I woke up... He was bleeding from the... just everywhere in his head... I... I don't know what happened! I just!... I know that when people ****-" The word sounds like it couldn't possibly be comming from her tounge, it doesn't have any of the emphasis and only some of the conatation. "-with rich people that... well you disapear! And... well. I ran... I went to turn myself in, but I heard they wanted to kill me. And then I was caught by a police officer... I cant remember all of what she said but I do remember her threatening to kill me and I escaped, I just couldn't stay there."

The way Maria's voice changes fluctuates between panicked and determined is something extremely hard to fake, and totally honest. Something Gul would feel himself given his honest nature.

[Noedig]

Gul blinked. He'd heard his wife and daughter talk about this. Some kind of disease that 'purebloods' got. The killed who they bonded with. 'A'-something. And there was one on his ship.
"Space me."

He glanced around behind him and sent a withering glare at the pilot, whom had certainly heard the entire exchange. He held up a finger to Maria and stomped over to the pilot's chair. He didn't pull the batarian out of the chair like he wanted to, that would've slowed them down. Instead, he bent over til his head was just above the batarian's. The crew and guests would riot if they figured this out. His voice was very calm, but his whisper carried menace with it.

"I trust you will be discreet. Get me the **** out of this system."

With that he turned and headed back to Maria. No wonder the justicar wanted to kill her. Her kind were a black spot on the specie's past. He stared hard at Maria and frowned. She seemed like a decent kid, just terrified. Shame for her to die so young. And a small part of his mind nagged at him. It wasn't entirely fair to hunt and kill someone for something they were born with.

"Ok kid. You know how to use a gun?"

[Erik Vale]

"A gun? No... No. I'm good with biotics though, and know my way around a combat omni-tool not that I've ever owned one, but I've never trained with a gun."

[Noedig]

Gul smirked, grabbed her hand and slapped the pilot's collapsed pistol into it.
"Real easy. Point and click."

[Erik Vale]

Maria looks at it for a while, almost as if her hand had suddenly sprouted a tentacle.
After a while she nods grimly, gripping it propperly.
"So... We're running... Question, how do you expand it to be a... you know, pistol."
It sounds almost like a attempt a humour, but she really has no clue, at least, beyond what she's seen on Vids...

[Noedig]

Gul snorted a laugh, despite the situation.

"Pressure sensors. Just firmly grip the handle and it will expand. Not sure how you planned to survive that Terminus without having to use a gun."

[Erik Vale]

Maria smiles somewhat nervously when he laughs, then nods. Upon hearing the question she looks almost surprised by it.
"I'm a biotic. I didn't think I'd need it, some gangers I used to know used them but I never wanted them near me... How do you collapse it after wards?"

Looking around in her clothes, she finds a large enough pocket for it, barely, in which she puts it. She doesn't exactly want to carry it around.

[Noedig]

"You have much to learn, child. Lesson one of survival: have a backup. Biotics are exhausting. Pulling a trigger is not. As to the gun, a shooter loosens their grip when they move to holster a weapon. The gun's computer will sense that and begin to collapse."

[Erik Vale]

"Jogging once their pinned is none to exhausting either but I can see your point... So, hows the running to safety part of the Justicar chasing us going..."

Maria looks towards the pilot, her face showing concern.

[Noedig]

"Sein is working on the engines as we speak, and our pilot will coax as much speed out of the Wanderer as he can. And if that is not enough, we right to the death."