[b][h2]An Hour Before the Truck Arrives[/h2][/b]
[sub]Collab between [@Bright_Ops] [@Sundered Echo], [@The Grey Warden], [@Hank] and [@Fallenreaper][/sub]

When the groups were divided and the tasks assigned, Vellios' attention turned over the names mentioned. Only one stood out: Kasyra Vas Ryushei. It was vaguely familiar but the last time he had heard it, she was apart of another ship and the Vas had been a Nar. He had no idea why though as he hadn't met that many quarians willing to explain their culture, either while traveling as a merc or within the military. His eyes studied the alien slightly for several moments, his hands making sure his guns were completely strapped on, before breaking off on his way toward her. 

He let his lips pull up into a smile then made a casual remark in a teasing tone. [color=rosybrown]"Well, Kasyra Vas Ryushei now? If I recall right, your name wasn't Vas Ryushei last time we met. As for cooking, I hope your skill hasn't died since we last met."[/color] 

The scarred turian was expecting the same cold hearted and icy personality he had first met back on the volus' merchant frigate.  

[color=darkviolet]"Of course it hasn't"[/color] Kasyra stated. Despite the fact that she didn't know if her own statement was true, her tone implied it was incredibly rude to even ask. 

[color=darkviolet]"And thats a very astute observation."[/color] She said with biting sarcasm. [color=darkviolet]"Though I'm sure you have no idea as to the significance. So did you track me down to cook another meal for your family? Because I'm sure that there are at least [i]some[/i] Turians who know their own culture enough to match me."[/color]

Kasyra's bitterness was brought on by a combination of feelings. On the one hand, she did not want to chat with anyone until she had seen them in combat at least once. Mostly to find if they were going to die quickly or not. Another reason was that with the recent loss of her crew, the idea of even being around other people was decidedly unappealing. And to top it all off, Vellios' very presence reminded her of a time in her life that she absolutely loathed. Actions that had, in the end, led up to this point and the events of the past week. A biting tongue was simply a way of coping. 

Vellios wasn't surprised really that Kasyra was as bitter, sarcastic and bitchy as he remembered. It was part of her charm. He visibly flinched at the mention of his family, especially in the way she so callously mentioned them, causing him to quickly attempt to alter the subject. The quarian, after all, didn't realize his own family had been murder over four years ago. He had been about to answer with a correction when the gentlemen Vorcha interrupted.  

He hadn't meant to overhear what was being said between Vellios and Kasyra, but the heated bitterness that fueled the quarian's words made ignoring what was being said hard. Duuka sighed a little as he carefully glanced down at his Terminator I rifle while he considered his options. He [i]could[/i] have just ignored the arguement that was going on between the quarian and the turian but considering the fact that all three of them were soon going to be working their way through slaver infested tunnels... At best they wouldn't help each other, at worst there would be a 'accident'. 

Hoping to at least somewhat calm Kasyra down somewhat, Duuka took a deep breath before he spoke up. [color=0072bc]"Having the Vas in your name means that you are considered a crew member of the Ryushei. If it was Nar, it would mean that you were born on the ship."[/color] There would be people across the galaxy that would have paid good money to see Duuka prounce the word 'Ryushei', but Nar and Vas were easy enough to say. 

[color=orange]"Sorry for dropping in, but tensions are starting to run high and angry people with guns are a bad combination. Can we at least pretend to get along until [i]after[/i] we've dealt with the slaver scum?"[/color] 

Kasyra was genuinely surprised to hear the teams token Vorcha, of all people, explaining Quarian culture. Once again she was happy that her mask hid her face so effectively, ensuring those around her wouldn't be able to tell just how much it had surprised her. She was about to reply, then he continued. Her surprised expression rapidly transformed back into a scowl.

[color=darkviolet]"Oh you don't need to worry about me."[/color] She began, tone now somewhat condescending. [color=darkviolet]"I'll watch your back, so you can watch mine. I plan on living and getting paid, and thats a lot easier to do when the enemy has things that aren't me to shoot at and get shot by. We dont have to like each other to be an effective team."[/color]

She didn't like being told to calm down, especially not by a Vorcha, who was guaranteed to be at most half her age, more likely significantly less. What could he possibly know of the world? What could he possibly know of loss? Not enough to lecture her, that was certain.

"[color=rosybrown]That explains a lot. Not many quarians were willing to trust and share information about their culture, which is fine as it's not their job to satisfy the curious.[/color]" Vellios replied to Duuka, recalling the Vorcha's name easily enough, then added. "[color=rosybrown]If you're worried I'm going to take offense, you're worrying over nothing. It takes a lot more to get under my carapace than some harsh words and sharp remarks. Besides we've already met about eight years ago.[/color]" 

He then turned to Kasyra, his voice a bit more serious than before. "[color=rosybrown]As for tracking you down to cook for my family, there's actually two things you probably should be updated on: One, I didn't even know you were going to be here. And two, my family was murdered over four years ago. So I don't think I'll be hiring you for any family meals in the future.[/color]" 

His eyes watched her reaction though he still expected a rather icy reply, possibly even a nasty quip or remarks at his family's death at worse. Likely something that might send him over the edge of calm and into shooting the hell out of her, but it would have to be a pretty damn nasty one. Inwardly, he was hoping Kasyra would've had enough respect for the dead, turian or quarian, not to insult their memory. Tiberian, his son, after all had been bit of a fan over ships later on that if the quarian hadn't vanished, he might've had asked her for advice over the model.

Duuka expression morphed from hopeful to annoyed as Kasyra kept talking. Despite the fact that it was partly synthesised due to the suit, he could still hear the smug condescention in the quarians voice and read it in the way that she held herself. Maybe he shouldn't have gotten involved in the conversation in the first place...

Turning to look at Vellios, the look of annoyance changed into something more curious as the turian told his tale. The mention of murdered family hit something of a note for the vorcha, but he felt that it was a much different tune then the one that Vellios was singing. [color=orange]"I am sorry for your loss. I would like to say that I understand what it feels like to lose your family but I don't; While it is possible that once Si returns to the fleet that I will never see her again, it's not the same as losing them forever..."[/color]

Looking down at the ground, Duuka seemed to reflect on some dark truth before he seemed to perk up again. [color=orange]"So what do you think the slavers have hidden in their mineshaft? I'm betting that it's where they keep the slaves they haven't sold yet."[/color]

[color=darkviolet]"Of course it is."[/color] Kasyra stated by way of reply, making it sound like the question was not worth asking because the answer was obvious. The words were just to cover her need to process what Vellios had just told her though. His family was dead? The parallels to her own life brought the reality of events crashing suddenly down upon her. A visible shudder ran through her body, and she squeezed her eyes shut to try and stop tears, thankful as ever for an all concealing mask.

Her hands formed into fists and a tone of steel came into her voice. She didn't have time to breakdown now. [color=darkviolet]"They'll be free when we slaughter these slaver scum."[/color] She did her best to focus on the idea of cutting down the slavers, pushing the image of her dead crew-mates out of her mind. Later she might talk to Vellios about it... Or maybe she'd avoid him, but now was not the time.

Marco Castillo haven't talked for a while, because of the fact that he was the only human on the team. A turian, a quarian, and a vorcha were in the same team as Marco. Despite not talking, he heard what the others said even known he was checking out his weapons. It wasn't the fact that he didn't want to talk, he didn't know went to talk. They were going inside tunnels with their guns and each other.

When Duuka asked how slavers would be hidding in the mineshaft, he waited until Kasyra was done speaking and then finally. [color=0072bc]"They were scared and worried that the Alliance would be looking from them. All that matters is that we bring Kapan Nasa’kor to justice, alive."[/color] Marco spoke up as he looked away from his weapons and towards the group. 

He didn't know what they were going to say back to him, but he spoke up and said his answers towards the vorcha. He knew him from the kitchen earlier, the name was Duuka or something similar. It was interesting to be next to a vorcha, that wasn't living within Omega. As for Vellios and Kasyra, he didn't know them very well too besides the fact that they knew each other before.

"[color=rosybrown]I don't know, I get the feeling there's something more to it than meets the eye. Not all pirates are the stereo type stupid most bounty hunters and mercs encounter. Some live a long time because they are smarter then they look and underestimating them is the last thing you want to do.[/color]" Vellios cautioned as he looked at Marco, noting the human speaking for the first time since entering their little gathering. His hand rubbed the back of his scarred neck as he recalled his own encounters and experiences with such pirates. He would be lying if he denied this situation made him a bit uncomfortable, despite his excitement over the possibility of the adrenaline rush ahead. '[color=rosybrown] Let's hope this job doesn't have any unexpected surprises our deceased employer failed to note in his memoirs. Salarians are slippery bastards some times and most are secretive to boot.[/color]"     

[color=orange]"Oh, something going horribly wrong is almost assured. No plan survives contact with the enemy after all."[/color] Duuka chiped in, looking between Vellios and Marco as he said it. [color=orange]"Still, we wouldn't be here if we weren't willing to take the risk."[/color]
 
 Vellios nodded. 
 
 "[color=rosybrown] I agree with that logic since plans are usually the first to go up in smoke during a gunfight, though I hope our infiltration team can handle their job and not get shot. Those mines would be rather hard to navigate and I'm assuming, since no additional information has been discovered on what's happening inside, that any nosy, party hard teenagers on Omega haven't been able to crash there. Despite it being a dangerous, abandon site, the allure wouldn't have stopped me as a stupid, reckless teenager. Though can't say much has changed really. I guess we'll learn if there's any dangers there or not first hand.[/color]" He chuckled then rested his hands on his hips as he pondered a moment. "[color=rosybrown]So, any ideas how we should approach this? Other than not get shot?[/color]" 
 
The turian was obvious curious if they had any leadership and tactical genius among their little group, not really wanting the responsibility.  
 
All the Omni-tools in the group came to life simultaneously and Mirage's voice was projected through them. "[code]What you could do, if I may offer some advice, is wait for the support team to infiltrate the administration building. The human female, Tanya, is aiming to give me a direct line into their security systems. Whatever intel can be gained from that might give you guys an edge down in the tunnels.[/code]" His commentary was devoid of the usual acidic sarcasm; he knew these guys had the most dangerous job in the entire operation. They could use all the genuine help they could get. 

[color=0072bc]"Thanks for the advice, Mirage. Just tell us when to start the attack and where Kapan Nasa’kor is located."[/color] Marco said as he listened to his Omni-tool for Mirage's voice. He kept looking around as there wasn't really anything to do besides look into his datapad; but, he would be on that later. 

Despite the mission's hazy details, Vellios kept his mandible quiet. He had a nasty feeling he was likely to get shot in this mission, his mind wandering to the last group Serena and him had been with. They didn't last very long as he made a mental note to wander off to talk with his only ally among this ragtag group, ensuring she would have some medigel on hand in that event. Already he was detaching himself from the group who seemed to have other things on their mind, a fact he knew was understandable, then added with a tone surprisingly voided of sarcasm. 

"[color=rosybrown] Nice to see we have it all sorted out then. Let's hope no one gets shot. However, if our arrival here was any indication, the day didn't start off too well.[/color]" Letting those words linger, he walked off. 

[color=darkviolet]"Just stick together, watch each others backs and don't do anything stupid. It's not hard."[/color] Kasyra said acidly. In her experience it actually was quite hard for a lot of people, unfortunately, but that was why she had such heavily reinforced shields on her suit.