[b][h2]Truck to Kaolin Mining Facility[/h2][/b]
[sub]Collab between [@DJAtomika], [@DearTrickster], [@Fallenreaper], [@Hank] and [@Dervish]; AKA the Turian Allstars and Tonka[/sub]


[indent]
[color=dodgerblue]"Well this is just as much a junker as our little Rust Bucket."[/color]

Hazan sat hunched over in the back of the rusted, almost-derelict cargo truck that the crew had "commandeered" just a few minutes earlier. Through the information in the holo display, the crew had a destination. This...was Mirage's idea of "transport". He didn't know how old the truck was, he only knew that at any moment the worn rivets holding the damn thing together would give way and they'd all crash and burn.

He huffed and did the only thing he could: double check his gear. His battle rifle, a M-96 Mattock, sat in his hands. The thing was his best friend since he'd first arrived in Omega, and it hadn't failed him. Yet. He went over the whole assembly with his eyes and hands, releasing the heat sink from its casing a few times to get used to the rhythm. No doubt he'd be doing that often to prevent it from overheating, but he had to be sure.

The truck jerked and bumped over another pothole in the metal, making him drop the rifle on his foot. He swore from the pain as he picked it right back up and checked it, [i]again[/i], to make sure it was alright. Then he directed his attention to the little window between cargo trailer and driver's compartment and banged on it with his fist to get Dex's attention.

[color=dodgerblue]"Hey watch where you're driving! Almost shot myself in the face!"[/color]

Dex didn't take her eyes off the road snapping back at him, "[color=007236]Why the hell is the end of your barrel doing anywhere near your face? You're asking for it to be shot off there, Haze.[/color]"

Vellios had been taking a short doze when the truck bucked, his eyes barely opened as he adjusted his gun to keep from shooting himself in the face unlike Hazan. His right eye peered open then lazily moved toward the turian next to him, his mandible pulled up into a wicked smile at the two getting irritated with each other. 

"[color=rosybrown]Easy you two. The road's to blame, damn thing's likely filled with potholes from some idiot going for a joyride too often and all the traffic here. Perfect for the pirates since they don't think anyone would chance breaking down around here.[/color]" Vellios stated in a cheeky tone, his head tilted to look at Hazan. 

[color=dodgerblue]"I sure as hell wouldn't want to break down here. Wouldn't even want to come here."[/color] He groaned and shook his head, half in disappointment at their predicament, the other in disgust at the road. 

"[color=rosybrown]Exactly. So let the pretty turian do her job and just be careful not to shoot yourself. I knew a Asari, about well over 300, who shot herself in the face because she was careless and she was older than you, I assume.[/color]" Vellios replied and leaned back into his seat. 

Dex's grip on the wheel was tight, she was concentrating furiously throwing her weight into keeping the old beater set in a straight line. Let alone able to shift it into avoiding pot holes. Thankfully the road was levelling off. The local gangs didn't care much for a smooth infrastructure. 

"[color=007236]It would have been too much to ask for something that could fly as opposed to a ground vehicle...[/color]" She muttered to herself, the roar of the engine drowning out her grumbling. She shifted gears to slow down, trying to avoid some ancient debris. Dex could only guess what kind of fight left this road in such a mess. 

Their destination made it a perfect spot for those willing to traverse the broken road in favour of privacy.

She pulled past more debris, it seemed to be getting worse. She peered into the distance to see some significant blockage. She tried to slow down applying the brakes gingerly, then when realizing it didn't do anything her foot hit the floor with the brakes jolting the hulking truck to a skidding stop. 

"[color=007236]Do we have any volunteers? We need to get rid of this shit on the road.[/color]"

Wordless. Vellios started to shift and lifted up on his feet as much as the low roofed vehicle would allow. He shuffled toward the exit and propped open the door just when Mirage's charming, raspy voice started over his omnitool. He didn't pause to listen because he knew others would follow him. 

"[code]Did you idiots seriously just stop to admire the scenery? What's going on?[/code]" Mirage said over the crew's Omni-tools. He could see that the truck had come to a halt on his holoscreen. He had been busy playing a video game on his second Omni-tool and hadn't listened to the conversation. Searching for nearby electronics he found, much to his surprise, a dashcam built into the vehicle. The quality was terrible and the lens tilted in such a way that he had to crane his head to one side to make out what he was looking at, but Mirage could vaguely make out the shape of a bunch of big rocks on the road. "[code]Oh.[/code]"

Dex said pointedly, "[color=007236]I said there's shit on the road. I'm not taking this truck over it until it's cleared.[/color]" She quickly unbuckled then struggled getting the door open before giving up and kicking it open. Hopping out she walked right up to the debris squinting at it. If they could move or shift the worst of it the truck might be able to climb it.

[color=dodgerblue]"I'll help. Spirits, this job is getting on my nerves already."[/color]

With a sigh Hazan stood and immediately hit his head on the roof. Another curse escaped his mandibles as he followed Vellios out, landing on the gravel road with a thump. He passed Dex on his way to the rubble pile and stood there with his hands on his hips. 

[color=dodgerblue]"Well. Isn't this a predicament. Need an earth mover to get rid of some of this crap. Do we have something like that? Does a krogan count as an earth mover?"[/color]

"[color=007236]Haha that's cute, but no. We just need something to pull apart the pile.[/color]" she suggested waving her hand at the debris. "[color=007236]Like rope. Rope and elbow grease.[/color]"

Skeptical, one of Mirage's characteristic bursts of laughter followed Dex's comment. "[code]Look, I won't claim to be an expert on physical exercise, but are you sure you don't want the honka Tonka clearing the way? You know what; I'll bet the lot of you that you can't even clear these rocks.[/code]" He fiddled with the vehicle's dashcam some more and figured out how to improve the focus, taking stock of the debris. "[code]Seriously. I mean, what's Vellios going to do? Charm the rocks off the road?[/code]"

"[color=Rosybrown]Don't you know, Mirage, you shouldn't judge based on someone's thickness but how they use it?[/color]" Vellios chuckled, enjoying the innuendo, as he loosened his arms a bit before he eyed the nearest rock. He waited, purposely for the next comment before he decided to show how easily deceptive his size really was.  

"[code]Keep talking, Vellios. That's all you're good for. By the way, while it's amusing that all of you are so single-minded you didn't think of turning around to look for a different road, I'll have to disappoint you before anyone actually uses their brain. I can't find anything more accurate than the map I'm working with now and that suggests this is the only road you've got. So... have fun playing with those rocks, children.[/code]" Mirage leaned back in his chair and put his feet up, anticipating the show to come.

"[color=rosybrown]Someone has to keep you entertained. Sitting on your ass all day, I would imagine all you do is play video games. It's a wonder you know how to use the joystick.[/color]" Vellios' smirk had widened as he leaned down and started to shove the rocks to the road side. 

[color=dodgerblue]"Wow guys, seriously. Get a room. Any more and I think a camera crew's gonna show up to film the next episode of this sitcom."[/color]

Dex rolled her eyes in response to Mirage's comments, "[color=007236]Alright alright, shut the fuck up the pair of you.[/color]" She stuck a talon at Vellios, "[color=007236]How about instead of strutting around like you've got something to prove to a guy grav-chair bound, you actually move some rocks? I'm going to look in the trunk for rope since no one has a better idea.[/color]" She snapped, mandibles flaring. 

Dex turned on her heel walking past the truck. She made a beeline for the trunk hoping to find some straps to pull over the larger pieces. She turned on her omnitool's light, searching through the piles of junk stashed in the deep trunk. Most of it was garbage leftover from food packaging or old clothing. Her hand swept past something soft she pulled back finding the body of a dead animal. Throwing it over her shoulder she continued finally finding some industrial rope. 

[i][color=007236] Better than nothing...[/color][/i]

She pulled on the full length of it, winding it in loops in the palm of her hand. Several metres came winding out to her genuine delight. It could make this clear up easier. 

"[color=007236]Found some rope![/color]"

With a chuckle, Hazan set to work right next to Vellios, grabbing and rolling one of the bigger chunks of rock away from the road. As Dex found some rope, he waved her over and motioned for her to toss him the length of rope.

[color=dodgerblue]"Toss that rope over, Dex! Let's get some [i]actual[/i] work in while those two work their relationship a little more."[/color]

Dex tossed the rope, "[color=007236]Please don't provoke them.[/color]" She replied drily, "[color=007236]We will never hear the end of their hate-flirting.[/color]"

"[code]It's called team-building. You should try it sometime,[/code]" Mirage interjected flatly.

"[color=rosybrown]I think they sound jealous, think we should share the hate-flirting? They could use a little love?[/color]" Vellios' tone barely seemed fazed by the conversation they were having as he noted something about the ropes. He frowned then paused in his work, pointing the ropes the pair were about to use. "[color=rosybrown] You got those from the truck, think you should consider using those?"[/color] 

[color=dodgerblue]"Pff, please. Like I could use any of that man-love. For starters, I don't swing that way."[/color] He chuckled again, unable to help himself from how amused he was getting.

“[color=rosybrown]Oh, I beg your pardon for ruining your sensitivities princess, and be careful you don’t break a talon. We won’t be able to get you some repair glue until [i]after[/i] the job.[/color]” Vellios teased and paused while he shoved another boulder to the side. It was a large one that came to his thighs as it tumbled off the road and into the nearest ditch, adding to the growing pile he had accumulated already. His mandible smirking like a child who had found the candy jar and was slowly gorging himself on each sweet piece, clearly enjoying the attention when they tossed insults back and forth.

She laughed with delight genuinely amused. Her tone was becoming lighter with every exchange,"[color=007236]I'm still not hearing any better ideas.[/color]" She walked back to them. "[color=007236]Give it a try, Haze. If they snap they snap, we'll just have to fall back on clearing it by hand.[/color]"

Vellios shrugged, then added. “[color=rosybrown]Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I wouldn’t trust anything in this truck since Mirage got us a death trap. But at least we don’t have to worry about the pirates wanting to steal it since it’s too much of a beaten up ridge like our ship to be worth anything. [/color]”

[color=dodgerblue]"Gotcha."[/color]

Hazan caught the rope in one hand as he strolled over to one of the bigger chunks of rock. With both hands he wrapped one end of the rope around the chunk and tied it tight. Then he spooled out the rope, stood a distance away, wrapped it around an arm and pulled as hard as he could.

For a few moments, the rope held and the rock shifted, slowly grinding against the road as it moved towards him. With gritted teeth, Hazan kept pulling, digging his feet into the dirt as he hauled with all his might.

Dex picked up the slack of rope wrapping it in her mechanical talons gripping it tightly she pulled, digging her feet in. She grunted against the strain praying quietly for the rope to hold.

Vellios took a break in his work to watch the two, his hands placed on his hips, as he could easily tell they were pushing the rope beyond its usual stress point. 

With Dex's help, the rock shifted a little more. Still holding onto the rope, Haze tried to take a step backward.

[color=dodgerblue]"Oh c'mon, piece of varren shi -"[/color]

SNAP! 

And it was at that moment that the rope decided to give way. It snapped audibly, the loose end flying straight at Hazan, smacking him in the face. He let loose a startled yelp as his arms flailed in a panic.

[color=dodgerblue]"SONUVABITCH!"[/color]

Balance completely lost, he stumbled one step backward, tangled his leg with Dex's, and fell over backwards on top of her.

Dex let out a gasp, reflexes released the rope in record time to catch a stumbling Haze. Her balance spun her around then she planted her feet dipping Haze to catch him from falling to the ground. Her left hand gripped his while her other hand supported his lower back. A blue mark was blooming across his nose from the rope followed by a deep blush. 

"[color=007236]Um...[/color]" She blinked a few times processing what happened in a split second.

[color=dodgerblue]"Well...this is awkward. And also painful."[/color]

Mirage laughed so hard he started choking, and coughed violently a few times to clear his airways. His rebreather hissed, expelling the excess air. "[code]My word, it's really love at first sight, isn't it? I assume we'll have a real Palaven wedding. I nominate Vellios as maid of honour.[/code]" Still wheezing, Mirage continued chuckling quietly, fiddling with the dashcam's controls again to get a better view of the two awkward turians. Without saying a word, he took a snapshot of the scene, chuckling turning into cackling. 

Vellios made a brief, snorting chuckle that broke out suddenly into a wave of lighthearted laughter. A rarity for him to relax and let loose with such a display while his figure hunched down and hands placed against his knees. The whole time trying to stop himself from crumbling into a outright mass of uncontrolled giggles at the scene. It was made worse when he heard Mirage's comment and the soft whizzing click of the dash camera taking a snapshot of the whole thing. The ability to keep upright was instantly lost as Vellios' back smacked the truck side and his figure plopped down into a sitting position against a tire. 

"[color=rosybrown]Easy there... Hahaaa, Mirage. At the way you're sounding, you might die of laughter before you get to see the wedding-"[/color]" Vellios exclaimed. "[color=rosybrown]Oh, god damn, that look! Priceless! HAHAAA. If they were any closer they would be kissing. Though it's nice to know Hazan found his calling as a bride and let's hope Dex can treat him like a precious princess or there's going to be a case of run away bride.[/color]" 

When his breath finally managed to return, Vellios was looking like a shit eating cat that had eaten the bird while leaning against the truck. His heart pounding and rattling away in his chest, his lungs pleasantly burning from his enjoyment.  

With blood slowly trickling down his face, Hazan hung in Dex's arms. For a second he didn't want to do anything for fear of making it more awkward, but he did have to stand up.

[color=dodgerblue]"...you can let me go now, Dex."[/color]

"[color=007236]Right, well can't say I'm surprised the rope snapped.[/color]" She pulled him back up to stand letting go once he was upright. Rather unfazed by the amount of laughter coming from both Mirage and Vellios. Their display was genuine laughter despite it being at her expense a smile spread her mandibles.

[color=dodgerblue]"Thanks."[/color] Haze stood, a hand pressed to his nose as dark blue blood trickled between his talons. Sharp pain lanced straight through his face as he stumbled away from the pile of rocks and leaned against the front of the idle truck.

She turned to Vellios who was huffing away at the base of the tire she marched up to him, "[color=007236]Laugh all you want, you know I could sweep any one of you off your feet. Case in point.[/color]" Throwing a thumb at Haze, "[color=007236]I bet I could even make the likes of you [i]blush[/i].[/color]" Dex hid her laugh behind her hand, she could have only imagined how ridiculous they must of looked. 

[color=dodgerblue]"Oh har dee fucking - ow."[/color] With a pained hiss, he tilted his head backward and held the bridge of his nose, trying to stop the mild bleeding. Dark blue circles dotted the gravel where he stood. 

'[color=rosybrown]Are you sure Hazan isn't going to get jealous? You know you really shouldn't take on more than you can handle, especially with a girl you've yet to propose to, hun.[/color]" Vellios replied, his legs folded under him while he flashed his grin at her. She was naturally welcome to try, but he was able to roll with the punches and accept the humour even at his expense.  

[color=dodgerblue]"Says the guy that's got the hate hots for our chair-bound voice with an Extranet connection."[/color] He couldn't help but grin past the aching, throbbing pain in his face. The bleeding was just an inconvenience, it'd stop. Eventually.

Crouching down to look him in the eye, "[color=007236]Haze and I have an understanding. Our love was never meant to be.[/color]" Chuckling a little meaning to tease both of them, "[color=007236]However, you would be surprised how easy it is to get anyone to spill their secrets after you bat your eyes at them. If I were you I wouldn't underestimate my abilities to romance.[/color]" 

"[color=rosybrown]Information is only secrets, if you want to keep them hidden. I've never once hidden mine and you're welcome to look all you want. Then again, you might like some of what you see.[/color]" The dark carapace flirted, then turned to Hazan's comment. "[color=rosybrown] And at least I wasn't dipped by the girl who dumped my ass almost immediately. Also, put some medigel on that. It should stop the bleeding.[/color]"   

[color=dodgerblue]"Yeah I get that a lot. You got any?"[/color]

Dex's interest hummed across her subvocals "[color=007236]Is that so? I've seen my fair share of secrets and even when someone claims to have none, there's one. I always find it.[/color]" Winking she stood back up addressing Haze, "[color=007236]You may refer to me as your ex-lover instead of pilot if you want. It'll be great.[/color]"

"[color=rosybrown] All you merely need to do is ask.[/color]" Vellios said then added, holding hands out in an open gesture. "[color=rosybrown] Though I can't promise the details as you might attract unwanted attention.[/color]"  

[color=dodgerblue]"That's nice to know, snookums, now does any of you have medigel? I'm still in pain."[/color]

"[color=007236]Here,[/color]" She tapped a few buttons on her omnitool transferring Haze one of hers, "[color=007236]You'll be fine.[/color]" 

[color=dodgerblue]"Thanks again."[/color] With a weary sigh he held his omnitool to his face and discharged the medigel, feeling the cold substance wash over his face. Immediately his pain disappeared, followed shortly after by the bleeding. 

[color=dodgerblue]"Thank fuck for medigel."[/color]

Dex caught something in his tone shift from the lighthearted to something more foreboding, "[color=007236]How about this, we can start it easy. You tell me how you got your facial scars and I'll tell you how I lost my arm.[/color]" She said lightly then added with a mischievous sparkle in her eye, "[color=007236]Ease you into it.[/color]"

Vellios tilted his head, his finger running down the jagged mandible that was almost completely gone."[color=rosybrown]Relay 314 Incident, I was apart of the ground troopers during the event and was only about eighteen. I got up and close with a human male, my blade slashed into the human's eye. At the same moment, his pistol raised and my hand tried to redirect it. It fired and caught my mandible which left me dazed for several dangerous moments.[/color]" 

Dex was surprised by him being involved in the Relay 314 Incident, he was fresh out of training then onto the battlefield. [i][color=007236]The first time I killed someone in combat was when I was well into my twenties...[/color][/i]

"[color=007236]Then how does Serena tie in with you? There's no hard feelings or grievances?[/color]"

"[color=rosybrown]I've seen the worst in all races, from Asari to Vorcha. We do what we have to survive and make it through the day. If I blamed all humans for actions that happened in the Relay 314 Incident, I would need to blame to every race, including my own, for wrongs done in the past. Then I would be a rather lonely turian.[/color]" His eyes shifted to watch Hazan show gratitude for the medigel, commenting about the rope wound. "[color=rosybrown]I hope you don't let every inanimate object make you bleed...[/color]" 

[color=dodgerblue]"314? Spirits, I was just a teenager when that went down. Don't worry though. On Omega, getting a nosebleed from a rope is the least of my concerns. Trust me. I have many reasons not to be on this shithole. Took the navigator job thing to get [i]away[/i] from Omega, yet here I am."[/color]

He sighed and stood, eyes warily watching around them. He'd forgotten about where they were in that brief moment, but now he remembered where and why.

"[color=rosybrown]So was I, but I had prior killing and combative skills.[/color]" Vellios admitted, shrugging off the fact as if it wasn't anything serious. 

"[color=rosybrown]Sounds rough, then again only the strongest survive.[/color]" He continued, his eyes flickered with awareness, causing his grin to slip a moment. His eyes watching their companion apply the medigel while the turian from which the words originated from surfaced into his memory. He gave a shudder then shook it away then started to rise. "[color=rosybrown]Everyone has reasons for not wanting to go home. Good or bad, they still matter. Though don't let my serious tone spoil the fun.[/color]" 

Hazan recovered from his little accident, he continued to sweep the area with his eyes. No sense in losing awareness because of a mishap with a rope.

[color=dodgerblue]"Now, uh, if you don't mind, I'd really like it if we got to work. Don't want to stay out here longer than I have to. Unwanted attention is my biggest concern for you guys."[/color]

That said, Hazan went back to work shoving rocks out of the road. Rough work, but someone had to do it.

[color=39b54a]"Listening to you girls bicker makes me think you're more handicapped than the cripple in the chair."[/color] A voice said behind them, the unmistakable rumbling of a krogan. Tonka approached, placing his helmet on the hood of the vehicle with one hand and holding a mostly finished over-sized snack bar in the other.

He placed the remainder of it in his mouth and haphazardly tossed the wrapper aside, where the faintest of air circulation caused it to flutter somewhere under the truck. Chewing slowly, he walked over to the obstruction, observing various angles on the rubble and glancing back at the vehicle, gauging.

[color=39b54a]"Someone did a shit job trying to collapse this tunnel, must have been in a rush. It's mostly surface fragmentation with a few big chunks, which means they didn't drill down far enough to destabilize the integrity of the rock formation. Good for us, probably was bad for them."[/color] He gestured to three of the larger chunks. 

[color=39b54a]"Those three need to move, the rest there's enough clearance to drive over, assuming Dexuret realizes that our transport has wheels and isn't floating weightlessly in space. Keep to the high terrain and don't let us bottom out, because I don't feel like listening to half the people in that can whine about walking."[/color] He returned to his helmet and slipped it over his head, his features concealed behind semi-luminous orange lenses. He looked over at the still-bleeding Hazan. 

[color=39b54a]"You might want to consider wearing one of these all the time. Alright, you lazy pyjaks, get that tow line repaired. I'll go start moving this shit and hope I'm not finished by the time you manage to figure out how to unhook your mandibles after sucking each other's faces for so long. I'd like to get paid before you all die of old age."[/color]

Laughing quietly to himself, Mirage piped up one more time: "[code]Turians, right? Useless bunch, the lot of them. I understand exactly how you feel, Tonka.[/code]" 
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