The Blades of Aurora - Mass Effect RP

[MelonHead]

Given time to think on the arduous and relatively painful journey back to the Polaris, Tornak began to take in all the new faces around him.

“Who the hell are all of you?” He asked, directing the question at pretty much everyone he didn’t know. Once that business was out of the way, he settled down on the floor and tried to ignore the bleeding and burn wounds. That lasted pretty much all the way until the shuttle docked and he staggered out, dragging himself towards the med-bay. An hour and a good quantity of Medi-gel later, he was right as rain. Sure, the doctors told him not to overdo it, but that was hardly an issue while he sat around the ship.

Ignoring pretty much everyone, the Batarian then made his way back to his rooms to clean up and remove some of his equipment. He’d have to remember to visit the armoury and see if they had acquired the specially made harpoons he had requested, but there was time for that later. At that exact moment in time there was a strong bottle of drink awaiting his attention, and he certainly wasn’t going to disappoint it.

As he lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling with the bottle near empty in his hand, he considered how close to death he had come that day. He had expected some injuries, even near death, but it was a close call even by his standards. Omega was a dangerous place, and he was expecting some serious payment from Aurora for his services. He knew he certainly wouldn’t be returning to Talon territory in his lifetime, there was no way they were letting his transgressions go. Even the Asari, Aria, would likely have something to say about their actions. He sure as hell wasn’t crossing that blue piece of ass; biotics were best dealt with, with extreme caution.

He hadn’t been requested for the debriefing, and probably wouldn’t have gone anyway. He had done his job as a soldier, nothing more, nothing flashy. Still, if he didn’t get paid sharpish and given some time to blow it all away having a good time there was going to be trouble.

Had he been speaking to anyone, and made that threat, no doubt they would have taken it a little more serious for the energy pistol he held in his free hand. He swigged the last of the alcohol, and dropped the bottle on the floor.

[Synthorian]

Soul seperated from the rest of the group and headed up to the medbay. He needed to grab a few things before going to his quarters and prepare for the next assignment, if his arm recovers in time. He wasn't tired like the rest of the team, but he was sore. The blood on his arm had dried and glued his shoulder to his robes. He had no doubts that underneath the expensive leather there would be a complete mess. Upon approaching the medbay and opening the door, he saw the Batarian from Alpha team, applying a lot more medigel to himself than was needed. Soul said no words, and walked past him, approaching a medical cabinet, in which the Batarian had practically emptied the entire medigel supply.

At least a nice supplement of medicloth, vacuum packaged fabric drenched in medigel, and standard dry bandages was there. It would have to do. Soul then walked over to the surgical tools drawer, and quickly found a skin welder, a small device that had the appearance of a stylis. He didn't bother to linger any longer, now having acquired the items he was searching for, and immediately left the room.

He arrived in his quarters, and locked the room behind him, as usual. He didn't exactly have an open door policy. He set his newly found items aside on to the coffee table of the 'lounge' like design of the room, and pulled off the leather cloak, tossing it on the couch. His armour, scarred from years of abuse, reflected the dim light of the surroundings. What you could see of his flesh was no better. His arms were a mess of ruined skin, stabs, slashes, gunshot wounds and burn marks. Those marks on his arms alone told a story of only some of his previous endevours. Soul's scalp, was different. It was as white and as smooth as a human baby's. A clear sign of level 3 burns and severe necrosis. His neck was more or less the same.

His face still masked, Soul took a seat, and began to tend to his wounds. First, dealing with the two holes in his right shoulder, cleaning off the blood and applying antiseptic with the medicloth, then closing the holes with the skin welder. The welder burnt the two sides of hole together, leaving a slightly pungent smell of burnt skin in the air. Soul's omni-tool suddenly lit up, displaying a message from Catherine, asking him to attend the debrief. He was quite puzzled as to why, and was considering ignoring the summon, but maybe Armstrong, his employer, demanded his presence.

Soul quickly bandaged up his shoulder, and threw on his cloak, he would have to tend to his right hand later.

[Kingfisher]

Karin’Var sat cross legged in front of the large window that dominated most of the Starboard observation deck. He sat deep in thought, both eyelids sealed as he contemplated the mission. Using ample amounts of concentration to make sure he didn’t lose himself in his memories as Drell often did, the infiltrator composed himself before saying a short prayer to honour the lives he’d taken.

“Kalahira, Goddess of Oceans and Afterlife, guide the souls of the fallen onwards into the neck life. Arashu, Goddess of Motherhood and Protection, watch over them and tend to them as you do all of your children.”

Karin rose slowly, staring blankly out of the observation window. He turned and begun to pace back and forth, lost in his actions.

[GrievousKhan]

The Face of Evil: Chapter three

It was only a few seconds after the Kodiak shuttle had boarded the Polaris before Veya, Sirun and Catherine were called to a debriefing. Wearily the squad drifted out from the shuttle to tend to their wounds and get some much needed rest after such a hectic scene of death and dismay.

Veya was not in the least bit surprised at the promptness of which the meeting was called. The information she obtained was more than enough to cause Armstrong to delve into the filth of Omega to find her, let alone fight tooth and nail to get her out alive. She let her eyes scan the ship as she followed Jonathan and Catherine through the rather large craft to the communication room, Sirun trailing her as he placed a hand on one of his wounds, the blood crusting on his armor as the bleeding had stopped in the journey over. She remained silent, walking with urgency even as her body revolted against her with shocks of pain with every movement.


Jonathan was the first into the room, Armour still complete with scorch marks and with the entire right shoulder, along with a bit of the right arm, blown away. If this had been an Alliance ship, he may have cleaned up before speaking to his superiors, but the likes of Armstrong would hardly care, if anything, it had proven that they were doing their jobs.

"Eira, Send out a call to Armstrong, target was retrieved, he may want to be present for the debrief," He spoke to the ship's VI, characteristically placing his hands upon the central raised interface in the chamber, awaiting the familiar holographic image of Armstrong, should he recieve the call.


In the head lab within Inner Haven, Armstrong carefully reviewed a datapad in hand as a thin grey skinned salarian, a Dr. Potrick. Droned on across a small table, littered with various gadgets, as he explained one of their most recent breakthroughs in personal shield technology.

"With any luck." He continued. "We should be able to develop a more sophisticated Kinetic barrier system back by a basic VI to switch between primary and secondary shields."

Armstrong nodded as he listened, generally intrigued at the amount of headway the research and development teams had made. This new breakthrough was still in it's prototype phases, but given enough time it could prove beneficial to Aurora as a whole.

"And of the Nano transmitters for the new Aurora Network?" He asked.

The salarian offered a knowing smile. "The project now passed it's testing phase. There are still a few tweaks he need to collaborate for the increased quantum flux, but it should be ready for field use within a weeks time."

"Good, once it's reached completion let me know I-" Then came a flash of his Omni-tool. He quickly answered and the familiar voice of Kazuhira Miller sounded over the comm.

"Boss, we just received a hail from the Polaris team, looks like the bastard pulled it off. Patching it through to your office now."

"Understood, i'll head there now." He gave a curt nod to Dr. Potirck. "We'll discuss this later, keep up the good work Professor."

Within the time frame of a minute Donald had reached his office. He reclined in his seat with a thoughtful look on his brow, then keyed in a quick command. The connection with the Polaris was established in moments, and the faded holographic image of Armstrong appeared on a view screen above the Comm set.

Armstrong took a second to absorbed the sight before him. His eyes settled on Jonathan before addressing him. "Captain Jonathan, glad to see you and the team made it back in one piece, and you found Little Angel I see, excellent, did you manage to recovered the data?" He began in a simple and business like manner, such was his nature, forward and always to the point. The standards of military life were not often easy break from.

"I have the data." Veya spoke up, taking a step forward and holding up her omni-tool as it materialized in a orange hue around her right wrist and forearm. "Council Spectre Veya Shi'ra, better known as "Little Angel". Though we have communicated it is great to finally get to see the face behind the voice." She said, with the slight flourish a weak smile curling the ends of her mouth.

"Like wise." Armstrong holographic image gave a slight nod, keen eyes clearly saw how tired each individual in the room was. Clearly the mission had been a grueling one, Donald could only hope the data was worth the risk.

She began to transfer the data to the center console in the room so she could present her findings to the small group, and Armstrong himself.

It was no secret to Armstrong that Little Angel's true appearance was that of a Asari Specter, and as she looked at the aged human's glowing form as he was projected in front of the small group she couldn't help but noticing how much Armstrong reminded her of the great Hatchett, whom she had only witnessed once shortly after the Fehl Blood Incident. She wondered for a split second if all "men of action" aged the same, scars and frown lines, hardened from being tossed into never ending combat.

She broke her thoughts as a light flashed on her wrist, signaling that the data had been uploaded successfully. She dropped her arm, typing something into the interface with deft fingers, that easily navigated the small keyboard, a few seconds passed before a hazy image was projected infront of the group. A insect like being, large eyes glowing with an eerie glow as the shot was frozen as it's bulky body hunched over a cowering human dressed in standard colony garb as she looked up with a fear stricken face.

"This image was taken at the human colony Zetafar just moments before the planet went dark." She tapped at her omnitool as the image zoomed in on the face, its mouthless face looking more like a helmet than the head of any living creature. "I believe they are Collectors, and they are seeming to target human colonies, though I am not sure why." Her voice trailed off, rhythmic tones fading to silence as she started tapping again at her omni-tool until the clip started playing, showing human forms frozen in their steps, as their stiff bodies were being loaded into pods by the monstrous creatures, beastly in their own right as they walked in small pairs, completely at ease as the security cameras continued to capture footage. Then it abruptly ended and turned to static. She returned to the image of the creatures once more as she balled her fist and set it on her hip. "I am sure you are curious as to how I came across this footage." She didn't pause for an answer as she continued, her omni-tool fading at her hip as she continued her story.

"I was in the Terminus systems, Specter business, apparently strange incidents had been occurring in small human colonies far off in the outer borders of the Terminus. Seeing as Sirun and I helped the Alliance and human colonists during the Fehl Blood Incident we have been on good terms with the Alliance, and when time and other duties permit we usually aid them when the council will not. This was one of those cases." She brought her other hand up to her neck, massaging its length with trembling fingers, no doubt from the tiring battle they had just returned from. "I was in the right place, right time." She huffed a laugh, it was a dark chuckle that barely touched her features, shaking her head wearily as she thought back to the incident. "In any case my ship received a distress signal from Zetafar colony and we made a B-line for fear they too would pull the disappearing act. As it turned out by the time we got there it was a ghost town. Not a single human left, all other species killed on the spot, and not neatly either." She started to pace, brow furrowing as the memories washed up in her mind. "We searched for almost five hours, no survivors were found, everything was still, quiet, all homes were untouched nothing had been gone through. They didn't care about anything other than the humans." She stopped, bringing her eyes to Armstrong's image, her piercing lilac gaze holding steady with his own. "Unfortunately the footage does not depict the way they were put into that state of," she paused searching for the right word, "prolonged stasis, but this is still better than nothing. I sincerely hope this will help you out."

Armstrong's face was unreadable as he watched the image, his brow darkened as the footage played out. For a moment he was silent as if in that, then shook his head as he looked back up at the image. "Then the news is worse then I had feared. We expected it might be the collectors for some time, few groups with the tech and interest..." He said sitting back in his chair with a sigh. "But... now we have the evidence," He finished rubbing the sides of his chin in thought. Now he knew the answer to a question that had been plaguing him for almost two years now. The only questioned that remained was...what was the next step? This was hardly an enemy one could easily strike against. No they needed more Intel, the Collector's had traded their technology with with countless buyers over the years. Some one was bound to know more that could put them that much more closer to putting an end to this Collector threat.

Sirun remained quiet, wounds aching as he managed to lean on the wall, hoping his wounds wouldn't leave a mess as he stood quietly and let his avian eyes drift between the two figures. He chose to speak up, after a second of silence "I have heard reports of the Omega black market buzzing with rumors of Collector rewards for human specimens. Particularly biotic variants, twins, first born, earth born, all paying hefty sums." His flanged voice was gruff and deep, holding a ragged quality that was no doubt a sign of pain.

Veya nodded grimly, "Aria also spoke of this lightly when I asked her. She said it was just fools being fools, and didn't think anything of it. Unfortunately it all points to the mystery race from beyond the Omega 4 relay. And the incidents are so small and so sudden that no one outside of the Alliance really knows anything about it. It is a big mystery." She sighed wearily her features softening as she crossed her arms under her chest.

Catherine couldn't help but wonder aloud "What do the Collectors want with just humans? Why just humans?". She wondered what made humans so special in a galaxy of scum and saints of species. The wretched lot like that sweltering puss of a species, the batarians, and the rather philosophical nature as well, as one rather dim witted Alliance soldier said when she was relaxing after some... problems she had, "Their smooth bods..."

He was right but could of put it less like a snorting pervert and more like a poet. Kinda like a lot of Greeks would. The playwrights, the actors and philosophers anyway. She spoke up "Can you think of any reason why the Collectors would be doing this? or are we like Thesues in the Minotaurs maze?"

The means of communicating with Armstrong was...awkward for her. it felt unreal that she was being dupilcated across to another side of the galaxy, even if it was only holographic.
She looked between The three around her. and said "Any? An advanced version of Slavery?" and like every time she spoke about Slavery, she rubbed her lips.

It replaced her spitting, something she learned was not a good thing after spitting on a quarians foot by accident and learning he fell ill awhile later. She stopped soon after.
Even as she waited, she reached a hand down to her omni-tool and quietly tapped a message of summons to Soul.

She was team leader for Beta, it was her job to praise the best and scream at the worst. Soul had saved her once and her salarian friend had abandoned them. Her appraisals would be far easier.

"Why is exactly what we'd all like to know, I don't doubt. I also don't believe it's a coincidence the Collectors have taken a sudden interest in humanity right after Sovereign's failed attack on the Citadel. But it's to early too speculate. We need hard facts before we can hope too take action, I'm not going to sit back and let the collectors continue to take thousands of innocents. I'll dispatch Nighthawk to see what they can learn." He said, referring to the elite Recon and Stealth unit that operated within Aurora's Intel division. He looked back to Veya addressing her directly. "You have more then my thanks in offering us this intelligence, it finally puts a face behind who, or what, has been happening to our human colonies out in the Terminus Systems. If you can offer any further aid, it would be much appreciated." Having the support of a Specter would no doubt have it's usefulness as things went forward, and Armstrong knew they would need any edge if they had any hope of dealing with this threat.

Looking back to the Sirun and then Jonathon and Miss Shi'ra, she returns to Armstrong's shadow copy and says "When Soul arrives, I want to make a formal appraisal. Though we were caught by Blacklight amidst the mission, Soul performed greatly and I would like to appraise him for his skill, It's nothing he'd likely appreciate but... It's polite and, as I have read good for team building.".

Catherine turned her head to Veya with a smile "A spectre is always an assest as an ally.... Liable to be get you killed as an enemy. So... Hopefully, She would like to stay.". blinking once then breaking away, she looks to Armstrong again "I suspect though Soul will need more time for recovery so may not be able to assist in the next mission. If a sniper is not required, I will stay behind and watch on Soul's recovery." She stood straight and thought briefly -I feel like I should have a rod in my arse-

As Armstrong listened he was already punching in key commands into the holo-command projected from his chair. As Catherine finished he looked back placing both elbows on either side of the chairs armrest's clasping has hands together. "As of the moment there are no pressing contracts that need dealing with, and we still need to obtain data before moving forward. Navigator Kingsley should already have a course set for the colony Elysium, the team's earned a break until we can plot our next move."

Veya listened, features overtaken with pensive thought, she nodded every so often to show that she was listening, her mind was there as Catherine and Armstrong spoke. She broke from her trance, eyes once again meeting Armstrongs as he inquired about further aid on her part. She nodded, leaning a hip to the right as she tried to make herself comfortable under the scrutiny of everyone in the room. "The Council still thinks I am messing around on Omega, looking for those stolen Alliance weapons which is a case solved in my book.Seeing as we all were on the recieving end of them." She sighed softly, arching an eyebrow as she nodded once as she reached a decision, "I am all yours, until other matters come into play." She gave Catherine a soft smile, then chuckled lightly, "Glad to see someone is looking forward to my participation."

"Until Nighthawk finds any evidence I will scan Alliance files as well as other Spectre reports of strange activity elsewhere involving human disappearances. I will also look into Black Market dealings and see if we can score a meeting with someone claiming to be representing Collector interest. Perhaps we can bait them." She said, uncrossing her arms as she brought a hand to her clavical and touched it as she thought quietly. "In anycase," she began, "I will work my ties and see if I can dig anything up that is useful. I will keep in contact with you, Armstrong." She finished as she waited for the meeting to be wrapped up so she could finally get some sleep.

Jonathan remained quiet as the meeting played out, Armstrong was in his element and he felt no need to interject unless called upon to do so, his matters could wait until the end of the data transfer, although evidently he prickled somewhat at the sight of human colonists being abducted, for not neccesarily much more so than at the idea of any civilians being treated in such a way. Considering himself a fairly logical individual, he had neither denounced nor claimed the existence of the Collectors before, he was still somewhat suprised to see such clear evidence of their existence.

As the meeting concluded, Jonathan turned to Veya, holding out one of his hands in the typical human greeting;

"Considering your sticking around, glad to have you on the team Angel," He smirked slightly, whether the code name was deliberate or a coloquiel attachment, it was all the more amusing when it turned out to be an asari behind such a name, at least from the Earth Western meaning of the term.

Veya watched as Captain Jonathan offered her an extended hand, she had many dealings with humans and recognized it as a sign of comradery. She took a firm hold of it, giving it a few gentle shakes as she smiled at him, though it seemed polite and diplomatic there was a mischievious gleam in her eyes. "Please call me Veya. You must be Captain Jonathan." She said as she released his hand as brought hers back to her hip.

"Anyway, Armstrong, from what I've heard the whole squad has performed well, I can vouch for Alpha anyway, although, next time I would rather remain in the loop about any connection between my target and my squad," he spoke, momentarily glancing across at Sirun, while his frustration at the situation had died down somewhat, it was still a point that needed to be made.

"You did a good job keeping the heat off our asses, but we needed certain information hidden, in case of unwelcome ears." She interjected, her arms folding across her chest again as she drew in a long breath and released it slowly before continuing. "Seeing how things turned out it was a good thing the information was kept from common knowledge. Half of those bastards were looking for a human." She chuckled darkly shaking her head. "You never know who is going to get their hands on what, if all things would have gone smoothly then it wouldn't even have mattered who was who or what was what. I would be here, your asses wouldn't have taken such a beating," she paused a feline grin spreading across her face as she let her lilac gaze fall on Sirun who remained against the wall quietly as he held a hand over the wound on his shoulder, then returned her gaze to the Captain, seriousness recapturing her finely formed features, "and a whole district wouldn't have been depressurized, but it could have been a lot worse if they were aware of my real identity."
She spoke for Sirun, it was her hand who had directed him to infiltrate Aurora and make sure everything checked out before she would agree to join. But she couldn't say that, Armstrong knew full well but she didn't need some human Captain doubting her integrety when Armstrong understood the delicate position of being a Council Spectre, and helping a independent organization would not go over well with the Council. Especially with the rise of Cerberus sending worry into the councilor's minds.

At the mention of depressurization Armstrong raised an eyebrow, visibly alarmed at this news. "Wait a moment, am I to understand an entire district was depressurized? When was someone going to bring this to my attention?" Armstrong shook his head, he could only imagine the amount of collateral damage, not to mention the lvies lost, some human lives as well as other innocent sapient beings.

Veya looked to Armstrong's projection, realizing that he had not been informed about the depressurization. Her brow furowed slightly, her eyes solemn as she nodded. "No clue what caused it, could have been the Talon forces hired to take down the team. A whole Talons operated district was depressurized, fortunately most of the civilians were most-likely evacuated considering the fire fights. I probably won't be able to go back to Omega any time soon." She said with a frustrated sigh as she brought her fingers to her temple and massaged it delicately. Her head thumping in aggrivated beats as she remembered another worry she would have to take care of later.

Veya returned her attention to the previous conversation with the Captain, in attempt to rid herself of the worry and suffocate the guilt that always seemed to haunt a Spectre, especially after a mission went so wrong. "In any case, Captain, what is done is done. You must understand my position as a Spectre and what precautions I must take so that everything goes smoothly." It was evident in her tone that she was done with the subject and thought it pointless to go on about it any further. If Armstrong thought it secure to share the information he would have shared it.

"I wasn't suggesting we blurt it from the rooftops, but considering it could have affected my planning of the mission, it seems somewhat critical, but other than the general loss of life, it hardly affected us, it's not that great of an issue." Jonathan nodded slightly, in truth, the loss of civilians plagued him somewhat more than he let on, the number of 'innocents' who wouldn't see another day, but the mission was of greater concern, and consequently, the cohesion of his squad.

Veya smirked at the young captain's comment but it soon faded as she released a soft sigh, not out of impatience but because of fatigue. "I understand Captain, and I am sorry you were excluded." She let her lilac eyes drift to Armstrong's image, as he watched the conversation with distant attention, then returned her gaze back to Jonathan. "But I suggest bringing this up with your superiors, and let us get the rest and medical attention we deserve ." It was a suggestion more than an order, seeing as this conversation required only the Captain and Armstrong to work out Jonathan's grievances and not the eyes of a weary, bullet ridden team she thought it best to press the point rather than drag on the meeting.

Armstrong gave a tired nod. "Right, it will be awhile before we have a plan in motion, and data to work off. Until then, everyone get some rest while you can. We don't know what we will have to face in the near future. So each on in the team will need to be at their best. Now unless there are any other pressing matters, that concludes this debriefing, I'll make contact again if we manage to find anything worth following." And with that, unless there was further interjections. The 3-D image of Armstrong fizzled and went dead.

"Alright then, each of you are dismissed, go patch yourselves up and get some well deserved R&R, if anyone needs me, I'll be in the gym." He saluted the group, even if again, somewhat unnecessary given their mercenary nature, before heading to leave himself, the familiar swoosh of the doors heralding his exit.


----------------------

Several hours later...

The small garden world of Elysium was like an oasis in the wild mostly uncolonized space that was the Skyllian Verge. A beautiful world quite befitting it's name. Here the The Polaris SS-29 made it's long awaited stop. Docking at a massive space station that served as a special discharge facility, and also provided adequate transportation to and from the colony world. As the ship discharged it's drive core, sheets of lightning jumped away and onto the planets atmosphere resulting in a fantastic and beautiful light display across the sky. The expensive size of the drive core creating a larger then usual aurora.

[MelonHead]

Tornak was sober and hating it when the Polaris arrived in Elysium. He was however relishing the opportunity to spend some of his hard earned credits. It was no easy task what they had gone through, and he needed some time to seriously unwind. There was only one small problem, the colony they had arrived at was one his people hated with a vengeance, a place that marked out their failure. More awkward still was the fact that Tornak himself had been present, albeit with a minor role on board his ship, his captain hadn’t felt too strongly about sticking around when things got tough.

First off the shuttle, he wandered the capitol city for some time before night fell, browsing at merchants with a pompous look on his face as for the first time in months he could actually afford half of the things on offer. The credits were starting to burn a hole in his pocket around 6pm though, and hunger was gnawing at his belly. With his pockets full of useless trinkets, it was time to get some food and drink.

He checked out the first local bar he happened upon, finding it relatively empty for the time of night he frowned as he sat at a table and awaited service. After tucking into a decent meal of ribs from an animal he assumed was native to the colony, he sat down at the bar and got to talking with one of the workers. He centred on an Asari preferring her over the humans who looked at him with obvious distaste. Of course, she was still young and promiscuous by their standards, so he had a decent chance with her. That was basically his plan for the night, and he left her residence a few hours later satisfied but still not quite drunk enough to return to the ship.

Stumbling down a path, he caught himself on a nearby rail and waited for his head to clear, it was then he heard a human’s voice behind him.

“Too much eh mate?” The man asked, in a voice which had a familiar twang to it which the Batarian noticed as dangerous. Street dwellers, this was likely going to turn nasty.

“Give us all you’ve got you four eyed freak.” A human female demanded of him surprisingly, drawing a pistol and slamming it into his debilitated face. He barely flinched as his head juddered backwards from the force of the blow, his drunken counter attack still more than what the average street thug could manage.

He threw one hand around her neck, the other batting the pistol away, although it probably incapable of firing.

“I see you’re my entertainment for the evening then huh?”

[Shiala]

Veya took little pause after the meeting had been adjourned. As soon as Armstrong's image faded into nothing she moved to Sirun's side, helping him to the medical bay where she oversaw his wounds. She payed little attention to anyone else who had found their way to the med-bay to patch themselves up. Sirun remained quiet as the Asari applied medi-gel and peeled back layer after layer of armor to reveal charred hide, the same pale bone white coloration as his face though steely plates interlocked over the pale gaps of flesh. Blue blood clotted and crusted in navy clumps on his hardened flesh, scars riddled his carapace. She paid little heed to his nakedness, to his scars, she kept her site on his wounds, the way they angrily puckered to close themselves.
His brow plates furrowed slightly and his mandibles twitched with slight irritation as she welded his skin shut after the medi-gel had been applied. The strange feeling of flesh being mended faster than natural tickling against the numbness the medi-gel had issued on his wounds. Nothing was left but angry scabbed wounds which she bandaged up with light gauze. Silence drifted between them, neither said anything as she fastened the final touches of bandage on his bullet wounds. She turned to leave, but paused in the doorway, looking over her shoulder, her lilac gaze meeting his own. "In two hours come to my room." She left it at that as she drifted away down the corridor to her room.

The hiss of the door secured behind her as she crumpled to the floor, her palm cradling her forehead as she folded over herself, into a ball on the floor. She had overdone it. She winced sucking in a hasty, strained breath as she finally gave up the facade of composure. It wasn't long before she was on the cold metal of the floor, the dull blue lights that lined the walls of the room aggravating her as she squeezed her eyes closed and sought the inner sanctuary she was taught to seek in times of weakness, in times of great pain, and anger. There she collected herself, her body unconscious on the floor.
It had been an hour before she had regained consciousness and as the world faded into view the dull pain that claimed her muscles wreaked havoc on her body. She pulled herself up, straining to see the clock on the small desk beside the spacious bed. She had an hour left before Sirun arrived.

Grabbing clothes out of the bag Sirun had brought aboard she overlooked the floor plan of the ship on the personal computer in the room before exiting and dragging herself wearily to the bathroom. She closed her eyes, squeezing them shut as the hot water cascaded down her naked form. The water worked it's way through the ridges of her scalp crests, easing away the angry pounding in her head as she leaned into the wall with a palm flat on the brushed metal surface. Wearily she turned off the water, slipping into her clean casual clothes and returning to her room. She curled into her bed, body too eager to fall limp once again as she commanded the lights to dim just above darkness and glow dully from the edges of the room. Too quick had she fallen to sleep, barely tucked under the blanket.

__________________________________________________ ____________________________

Sirun remained on the table a few minutes more after Veya had left, he looked around the sterile room, many of the medical supplies laying used up and tossed aside on the counter, traces of dried blood rested on the clean white counters. The synthetic leather seat under him squeaked irritably as he sat on the padded medical examination table. He slid his shirt back on, as he shrugged his armor back on with little thought.

He went to the galley, and watched as the cook portioned out some Dextro friendly food and beverage. He seated himself and ate with ravenous hunger. He had not realized how hungry he was until the slop was in his mouth. It wasn't as bad as the nutrient paste Quarian's managed to suck down their induction ports but it was far from good. He was thankful to have anything other than that nonetheless. His pace slowed as he thought of a break on the colony of Elysium. It was a much needed break though he had a feeling he would not be enjoying Elysium with the Polaris crew. His job here was done and it was time for him to bow out.
By the time he was done eating it was time to meet with Veya, he finished his drink leisurely and handed back his used utensils and plates to the cook who scrubbed them down quickly then threw them into a machine as Sirun walked away.

The door to Veya's room hissed open and only darkness greeted him, it took only a few milliseconds before his eyes adjusted to the darkness, his pupils dilating as he peered into the darkness. Her form perfectly visible in the muted light that glowed from the corners of the room. She breathed easily in her sleep, he could smell the faint scent of soap as the door shut behind him and enclosed him in the darkness. He made his way to the small couch on the far wall and sat rigidly on the edge, elbows resting on his knees as he leaned over the edge of the couch. He blinked slowly, the darkness only reminding him how many nights he had gone without sleep.
He leaned back into the couch, kicking his legs out as he crossed his arms across his chest and nodded off into sleep.

__________________________________________________ ____________________________

When Sirun awoke from his nap Veya was in front of the glowing terminal. He blinked the remaining sleep out of his eyes, brows furrowing as he shifted his position, a crook in his neck cracking as he rolled it out. Veya turned her head slightly, barely looking over her shoulder as her fingers remained clicking in dull sounds on the keyboard. “Morning.” She said over her shoulder as she turned her attention back to the screen. Sirun remained silent, yawning in a fearsome display of jagged teeth, flared mandibles, and a curled blue tongue. He moved to her side, standing a few paces behind her chair as he looked over her shoulder, pale bone white face plates illuminated by the light of the screen.

“Preparations have been made on Ellysium so you can return to your duties elsewhere.” She said as she stifled a yawn then ran a hand along the back of her neck as she let out a sigh. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t join me for a couple of drinks.” She said, the smirk on her face audible in her voice as she spun her chair around to face him.
She stood, moving past him as she gathered her things out of the duffle bag he had brought onto the Polaris then zipped it up. “We should be arriving in an hour, you should get changed.” She suggested as she drifted from the room.

__________________________________________________ ____________________________

The colorful lights of Eternity bar and nightclub flashed and cast each face in unnatural tones. Veya’s head swam in lovely warmth, which had drowned out the dull throbbing still echoing in her head. She sat alone, a hand gently resting around the base of her glass as she watched the crowd move and sway with the beats of the music. Asari go go dancers gyrated and thrusted alongside human women both clad in revealing outfits as the lights caught the sheen of their persperation in a enchanting display as they continued to move seductively to the music.
She took another drink from her glass, the sweet Asari brandy tickled her throat and warmed her stomach as she leaned back. It had only been an hour since Sirun left, after consuming a bottle of Turian Rum she had purchased for him, and he managed to stumble off into the night without help, stubbornly refusing her offer of help to a cab.

She picked up her drink, finishing off the last remnants as she flagged down a waitress for a refill and relaxed. It felt good to let go, it had been so long since she had actually enjoyed a glass of brandy and allowed herself to swim in the sea of intoxication that followed. She enjoyed feeling like another face in a sea of people.
Lilac eyes scanned the dance floor, looking for anyone in particular to dance with or to see if any Polaris crew mates had found their way to Eternity.

[Zacharius]

Jonathan had been to eternity before, most individuals who spent any time in the Alliance military some how made it to Elysium, it was after all, intended as a resort for retired or on-leave servicemen and women, although it had since branched out considerably. The number of Asari dancers had increased susbtantially in the years since his last visit, something he was rather indifferent to, the quality of dancing hadn't really changed.

The light show and music of Eternity was deliberately heavy, after the rush of war, it took quite a bit to get soldiers as rushed as civilians at clubs, and Eternity, at least in this regard, stayed true to its mission statement. Provide entertainment for the rank and file, to keep their minds off what they had really signed up for. These were the men and women whom had fought and won against the reapers, the galaxy god damn well better give them a good time.

Jonathan was somewhat archaic in dress, wearing black shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his biceps and a pair of jeans held up by a brown belt, the buckled in the shape of the allaince insignia, an old keepsake from his last tour. Despite not seeming entirely on trend, the ensemble certainly hadn't knocked his chances, although he was taking pause, he'd not been short of dances and he'd even made off with the contact details of one of the dancers, not that he had much intention of capitalizing on that, more of a rare trophy.

It was at this juncture, whiskey in hand, that he noticed Veya. The idea of a Spectre aboard 'his' cruiser intrigued him. There was a point where he had entertained dreams of joining the Spectres, although a fair amount of disillusion in regards to the governments of the galaxy had done a long way to knock this, and equally, his position with Aurora was a good one, doing something he saw as greatly important. Even so, he moved to greet her, offering her a casual flick of his wrists as a salute as he drew up beside her,. Upon immediate consideration, it was probably best to not refer to anyone as a Spectre in public, without them doing so first.

"Why hello, fancy meeting you here," He smirked, downing what remained of his drink before motioning to a waitress for a refil.

"I must say Veya, I was rather surprised when an ex-alliance tech expert turned out to be an Asari with a good deal of fight of her own, not unpleasently so, although it did almost make our task seem somewhat pointless," Jonathan began, glancing at the dance floor before turning slightly to face her diagonally. "In general, I think it was much nastier change of situation for the mercs, from what I've heard, glad you're on our side."

[Shiala]

To Veya's pleasant surprise her lilac gaze caught sight of Captain Johnathan as he approached her. She watched as he approached, a casual salute given which caused her to smirk, an eyebrow raised as she gently shook her head. The waitress brought her drink and ran to go get Johnathan's before she could say thank you.
"Well Captain it is good to see you enjoying yourself with the grunts." She said as her face played in a smile that didn't disrupt her beauty. She motioned for him to sit then took a drink from her cup, setting it down easy as she listened.
"Well I am glad it was a pleasant surprise." She said with an easy smile, her usually invasive and observant gaze was softened with the alcohol, the purple liquid glowed and shimmered in the colorful lights. " I have to take care of myself, Johnathan." She said as she crossed her legs and settled into her seat, "Given my position I don't get the pleasure of working with a team. I have learned to make up for that." She sighed, taking another sip of her drink, slowing her pace as the warmth continued to dance in her stomach. "Spectres are more vagrant than the god damn Quarians." She said with a chuckle shaking her head as she steadied her gaze on him. "But I heard you took down a Talon's Krogan Battlemaster single handily. An impressive feat, Captain." It indeed was, for someone having no extensive biotic training, only a gun and armor. She was amazed he had survived, but it only proved his combat knowledge to be above par. She looked him over mockingly, "And not damaged in the least bit." A soft smile pulled at her lips, her eyes holding a mischievous gleam.
He was a handsome man, mixed blood as most humans and the scar that ran on his face was already foreshadowing his scarred and wrinkled future, joining the appearances of Armstrong and Hatchett. She raised an eyebrow as she watched him glancing at the dance floor, body turned towards it in such a way that suggested he wanted to go.
The waitress returned with his drink, setting it on the table then rushing off to attend others. "By the way, Sirun will no longer be on the Polaris. His job is done." She took a sip of her drink, knowing full well that Sirun would be stationed off in the Terminus Systems keeping an eye out for more abductions under the watchful eye of Aurora. "No more secrets," she smirked, "scout's honor." She returned her attention to her drink, eyes looking on the shifting crowd as they bumped and bobbed to the music.

[Legion X51]

When they had arrived on the Polaris, some of Marianna's colleagues got up and walked away from the rest of them - she figured they'd gone somewhere important to do with Aurora, as she and her Turian colleague, Naara, hadn't been 'invited', so to speak. Marianna, still wincing each step from the wound in her calf (how had she not noticed it before - she was beginning to wish she'd never seen it...), decided to make her way to the crew cabins, where she could get some rest, write an entry in her diary (the old-fashioned way, of course), and then she'd need to go and get supplies from the ship's equipment stock. Marianna decided to do the third thing first, so she could have a shower, get dressed in comfortable clothes, and get out of this armour suit - it wasn't lending itself to extended use outside combat... She decided to limp over to the ship's stockist of general miscellaneous goods, with a wallet full of credits. Some thirty minutes later, Marianna packed the final things that she had purchased with her money into her backpack and her massive 'equipment bag' as she termed it, and she headed back towards the crew's quarters. Finding a cabin she liked (which wasn't far from Veya's, apparently), she set her bags down and closed the door. It was fairly well equipped - it had a shower, it had a bed, and it had a wardrobe. It was better than slumming it on the streets for sure, but Marianna did miss her home on Thessia. True, she had been living with her mother Lynessa, but it was still her home. Lynessa still welcomed her back. Marianna took off her armour and checked the injury on her leg - it had ceased bleeding, but there was a sizeable quantity of purple blood on her leg - it had dried and was encrusted on her smooth blue skin. She picked at it, and flakes of crusted blood fell on the floor - Marianna grimaced and gave a look of disgust. Then, she gingerly felt the area of the bullet's impact, and immediately regretted it. She cried out involuntarily, and blood began oozing from the wound. Cursing in every language she knew (all of three), she quickly undressed and walked into the shower to try and wash the blood off and at least allow the wound to settle down. The hot water was a welcome relief, soothing Marianna's aching muscles, and clearing her head. She let the hot water run over her and relaxed... She washed herself for a good 10 to 15 minutes, massaging her aching muscles until they ceased to trouble her. She cleaned her leg injury until there was just a small scab where the bullet had hit her leg, and none of that unsightly encrusted blood. After finishing off her shower and drying herself off, Marianna found a reasonably comfortable white shirt and some black jeans, and she decided to get some sleep. Climbing onto the bed (which was surprisingly comfortable), Marianna drifted off to sleep...

-Several hours later-

Marianna awoke after a long sleep, feeling fairly refreshed and ready for another day. "I need something to get me in the mood of doing things..." Marianna mumbled to herself. They'd arrived on the picturesque planet of Elysium, which certainly lived up to its name. Marianna wondered if there was a decent bar anywhere near the ship's docking station. Getting changed into a black leather jacket, a white buttoned shirt with two buttons undone, black jeans, with black lace-up boots. She exited her room and headed to the planet, stepping out of the transit system into a stiff warm breeze, which was a welcome release from the recycled air onboard ship. She looked around for any drinking or social establishments - she saw one, called 'Eternity'. "Ah... how typical of humanity, to give a fancy-sounding name to something so... common." She walked inside and up to the bar. "What drinks do you serve?"

"Er... vodka, scotch, lagered beer, ales... Basically most human alcohol. Though I have some Asari brands if you'd prefer, miss..."

Marianna smiled. "I prefer human alcohol - got a taste for it living on Earth, in Germany and Britain. Two very good brewing nations, I will say! A pint of lager, if you would."

"Comin' up, miss." The bartender poured out a pint glass of lager. "5.20."

Marianna handed over the credits and took the glass from the barman. Looking around, she spotted Veya and Captain Jonathan talking at a table. Marianna decided to go over there and talk to them - it was the least she could do.

[Zacharius]

"That's the thing about leading mercs Veya, not matter what life throws at you, take it in your stride or you'll never hear the end of it from your squad," he smiled, taking a reasonable sip from his drink, while he was not one to shy away from alcohol, Eternity was expesnive enough that he didn't want to blow through his last pay packet this early in the night, that and he was always slightly disconcerted about the loss of his senses, until it really did become worthwhile. "And I'm sorry if I upset either of you with my small tirade in the meeting, but as you've astutely noticed, I had just fought one-on-one with a krogan, headache doesn't quite cover it."

As they spoke, he noticed her eyes follow the line of his scar, an almost imperceptible motion that he had grown used to picking up, that and it was rather hard to look at his face for any extended length of time without noticing the line, although it was hardly horrific, it was fairly prominent. "Earned that one not far from this very spot, Skyllian blitz, just been granted the command of my own squad, Batarian blade went right through my helmet, although, it it seems bad, you should have seen what I did to his face," he smirked, taking another sip from his drink, his own eyes holding hers for an extended moment. He made a habit of not overly paying attention to the appearance of his squad mates on the battlefield, particularly Asari, but she was certainly a fair one to look at. After the moment passed, he caught sight of the other new Asari approaching, his name wracking itself for a name, usually he was instantaneous with such things, but the affect of alcohol meant he only just remembered before she was in earshot, the loud music of the club making that when she was practically at the table.

"Marianna I believe? You'll have to forgive me for not introducing myself fully, I'd had a fair old scrap and needed to get the meeting over and done with, evidently you're alive and with the mess we ended up getting into, that's credentials enough for me."