[IC] Mass Effect: Underworld

[Silver Fox]

It appeared for the most part, the organics had come of from the blast unscathed. A Baltarian, a human, a pair of Creators, a Turian and now a Krogan were present. And another that threw the bomb. Interesting, fascinating to have a good mixture of organics. As the Krogan noticed it, questioning if it was the reason to throw the bomb, the Geth platform's flaps around the glowing eye twitched upward a little. "It would be unfortunate for this platform to be in pieces. However, I arrived before being identified. Statistics this program was the cause at 0.334453%." Phalanx chirped in its robotic voice. If one could to tell or if a Geth sounded any different, it would probably sound cheerful and friendly. But most of its kind sounded a bit alike and just sounded robotic. There wasn't much what organics called 'emotion' in their vocal boxes.

As the hostile human seemed to be questioning the situation, the Geth answered it of its current knowledge. "Currently, this program has no information. Possibilities entail the following. Number one, possible slaughter of experienced combatants. Number two, testing of skills. Number three, a shady task. Number four, undercover work. Number five, all of the above." Phalanx said before its flaps raised and lowered at the second questioning, its eye examining the human, the Omni-blade and the stone the human was smacking for little to no reason.

"Calibrating... reading to approximately time taken to reach 100% perfect image carved in stone around eight hours minimum." It chirped again before turning to the to look and examine all the other organics.

"Greetings. System 42009874563001 reporting. Call Sign, Phalanx. Classified, Infiltrator. Pleasant to make acquaintances and further achieve answers." it greeted, curiously listening as one of the Creators seemed a bit hostile against the human. Still though, despite tension, there were no further attacks and just talk of possibilities.

Turning toward the Turian as it lit what one called a cigarette. It was curious why organics chose to indjest such things as it was unhealthy. Yet many seemed to continue to indjest them despite a history of medical problems. "May I inquire something, Turian Unit? What reason do you indjest a 'cigarette'? Does it satisfy organic sensory organs? Or relax lungs?" it asked curiously.

[Rithy]

Vella took a moment simply hanging out in the run down washing room in the aftermath of the explosion, simply listening to the sounds further away in the metro as she adjusted the volume controls on her helmet.

As if by some bizarre stroke of luck, she could hear no gunfire after the explosion!

Which could mean two things:
Good: The group of strangers overcome their prejudices, perhaps the bomb even serving some bizarre conciliatory purpose!
Bad: The blast had been strong enough to kill everyone. In short, Vella had probably just offed her contact on accident!

"This is off to a great start. No need to dwell on the negatives. Gotta think happy thoughts. If they're dead then there's nothing I can do after all!"

Vella thought as she reassured herself, mentally making up half a dozen of reasons why the incident was in no way her fault, and that she was completely innocent in this!
Concluding that standing around wasn't going to achieve anything, Vella decided to unhinge her Assault Rifle as she stepped towards the room, heading towards the ground zero of the blast.

As she neared the zone, she could pick up on distant chatter echoing off the dusty walls. The tones, although unclear, nonetheless seeemed casual. There were no pained screams or wails of agony, which made her hopeful that she was not just walking into the aftermath of a bloodbath!

*

It did not take much walking before Vella finally saw the first silhouette in the rain of the sprinkler system ahead. Ironically convenient that she had brought a raincoat, even though she had in no way planned all this.

Ahead of her she saw the slighty shorter, stubbier mass of what she could only guess to be the armored hunchback of a Krogan! And next to him, that the lithe outlines of a Turian in the shadows. Or maybe the Krogan just looked so short because of the Turian was actually quite tall!

"Presentation time! ... what were the local customs again?"

Vella's mind immediately kicked into overdrive as she thought of what to say. She was on a Human planet after all, and when visiting other species, it was supposedly a kind gesture to try to emulate their practices. Racing to remember what human native custom included, Vella's suddenly remembered a holovid series she had watched on her way to Earth.

Making ready to impress the group with her best emulation of high human culture, Vella called out from behind.

"OIII!!" Vella shouted out in a terrible impression of a Cockney accent as she threw a friendly wave.
"Is dis the hub? 'Ows ye all doin'?!"

The Asari called out, though with her coat and full armor, she might as well look like just a tall human female!

"Oys came from outer space I did! A'ppeh teh meet yes allnisthatAGETH-THAT'SAGETH-GET GETH DOWN GET DOWN!!!"

As she came closer to the krogan/turian duo, Vella would suddenly realize that the lamplight standing in front of Tiberius was in fact NOT a lamplight, but actually a fully functional, live 7ft tall geth!

Her demeanor suddenly changing, Vella now stormed ahead, pushing into Tiberius from the side and pushing him into the ground as if to save him from the synthetic assassin in front of him! She did, however, not even try to push the Krogan, already realizing that it would at best end with a comical failure!

Her raincoat would flare out to the side as a blue hue surrounded her as both her tech and biotic barrier erected itself around her, and she trained her Apostle rifle straight at Phalanx, all the while standing over Tiberius to protect the Turian!

"TAKE COVER!" She shouted to the rest of the group as she suddenly fired off a spray of silvery streaks towards the Geth!

[PrivateVentures]

An Asari, the rain bomber, most likely, entered the room spouting off the most awfully-enunciated Cockney accent he'd ever heard, shouting some of the latest and most hated pop culture quotes in the last three years. All of a sudden, she armed herself, yelling "GETDOWNGETDOWNGETDOWN" and opening fire.

Ellis had seen this before. It was a gang tactic used on Omega. One thug, the point man, would infiltrate a rival gang headquarters by pretending to be drunk or drugged passerby. The more intoxicated, the better. Once inside, he would shout code words, letting his gang know it was time to get ready. More shouting, maybe some playful antics for authenticity, and then gunfire. If this Asari were a trained killer, she'd have entered like one, instead of a clown.

Ellis' suit powered up in an instant, servos revving up to overclock speeds, as he leapt and lunged, activating his barrier as he leapt. His temporal lobe pulsed, and Fortified his barrier as he slid into position. He'd missed the first four bolts, but was just in time to catch the rest. Bolts sizzling and searing at his barrier, he stepped forward.
KZZSSHH!

"CEASE FIRE AT ONCE!"

His barrier would hold. And if it didn't, his armor would for longer. KZZSSHH KZZSSHH! He only hoped he could cash in some good karma for this later. Well, he hoped that, and also that this Asari would heed his command. KZZSSHH! Anyone's death would likely mean a hefty gap in information, a loss of data that Ellis could not tolerate to be possible.

KZZSSH KZZSSHH!

[Dervish]

And just like that, the world went stupid again.

An asari who had been hiding somewhere made her presence known with a torrent of mockery geared towards the local population. The forced friendly disposition, the indecipherable slang, and the bombastic presentation were enough to lend an air of surrealism to the already tense situation. Other than being loud and obnoxious, at least she wasn't adding to the tension in the-

"-GET GETH DOWN GET DOWN!!!"

Fuck.

The asari pushed through to get towards the geth, which introduced itself as Phalanx and thus was asserting itself as more than an uncomfortable part of the decorum, and before long, a gun was in her hand and opening fire on the synthetic. The krogan clenched his teeth and sprang into action, not out of love for preserving the geth's integrity, but to avoid drawing in every police office in a two block radius.

Rykarn charged, bowling into the asari in a hugging charge and forcing her to the platform, grabbing hold of her weapon carrying wrist. "Enough! Were you in a coma the past year?" He snarled, inches from her face. A hand shot out, pointing towards the geth. "That is not an enemy. It was invited here, just like the rest of us. Keep your weapon to yourself, because the next time that happens, I'm not going to be gentle." he said, pushing himself away from the asari, his sidearm now in hand. "If this place isn't swarming with police in the next ten minutes, consider yourself lucky. Did you forget we're in downtown London?"

Interestingly, Rykarn noticed that Ellis had put himself in the way of the asari's gunfire to protect Phalanx. It was unexpected; ex-Cerberus but putting his life in danger to save a geth, of all things. Maybe he actually had genuine intention to reform. "You hurt?" he asked the human.

[Rithy]

Vella expected many things.

Mines and improvised explosive devices.
Murderous synthetic killer machines roaming long-abandoned tunnels.
Angry phone calls.
And muggers. Possibly armed with laser knives.

Therefore, when she was suddenly hit from the side by the proverbial bus that was Rykarn; whom in her mind she was protecting and was supposed to be an ally; she was caught completely off guard, barely having time to let out a gasp of both surprise and insult!

"If this place isn't swarming with police in the next ten minutes, consider yourself lucky. Did you forget we're in downtown London?"

"Uhhh.. "

Vella stared at Rykarn with a perplexed look from behind her helmet, then over at Phalanx, then at Ellis, and then back at Rykarn; whose words swirled through her mind, but didn't quite make sense!

The situation was strange indeed. There was currently standing a geth behind Ellis. A geth that had not taken the chance to break Ellis' neck and rip his spine out of his back despite his back being completely exposed to the machine. And the human seemed to care a whole lot about the machine, to the point it had tried to intercept her shots even. Crazy!

"What is this even... ??"

And then, like a light bulb appearing over her head, the whole situation became much more clear!

"Aaaahhh!!" Vella exclaimed, a sudden realization dawning on her face behind her mask, as she made a finger gun at the Geth behind Ellis.

"That's actually a reprogrammed Geth, isn't it?!"

Vella suddenly exclaimed, a sound of enthusiasm mixed voice as she suddenly seemed quite impressed, and then turned her head towards Ellis.

"My deepest apologies, I did not mean to shoot up your rob,- ahem! Oi mean! Sorreh, love, oi didn't meen tha bust yah clanker, human!"

[Mao Mao]

---

---

🇪🇦🇷🇹🇭, 🇸🇴🇱🇦🇷 🇸🇾🇸🇹🇪🇲

Well, this day was an interesting one for Rol'Naaris and everyone else inside the tunnel. The turian spoke up and suggested that they move to a different location. Ja'Far Balak, the batarian, soon reveled his name and the fact that he was a former soldier of the Hegemony and religious as well. That was when the human introduced himself to the group as Ellis Taevon, former Cerberus member. It caught Rol'Naaris off guard when he mentioned that he had worked with Cerberus. Then he apologized for his 'paranoia' and gave a finger gun gesture, trying to make up. The quarian didn't say anything as he instead crossed his arms and shook his head around.

As soon as Ellis was finished talking, the quarian nodded and responded, "It's fine. Just remember to not aim your weapons at anyone else."

The krogan then told his thoughts about Rol'Naaris' theory on who set off that explosion. He gave the quarian some advice as well before he started to talk to the turian. The advice was some what helpful but he disagreed with the part about assumptions. Then, the geth introduced itself as Phalanx towards the group and made his way towards the turian. It has been some what peaceful before an asari opened fire on the geth, becoming more crazy than Ellis. The human came to the Geth's aid by getting in the way of the bullets. Rol'Naaris did not care about the condition of Phalanx and Ellis and watched as the krogan tackled the asari to the ground.

Rol'Naaris soon added the asari to the list of people that he does not trust at all and walked away from everyone else. He headed back to the seats and sat down, hoping that things are now peaceful. The omni-tool soon lift up as Rol'Naaris went back on it to read something that he downloaded onto the device. It was just a simple message for his parents back at the Taazzor. They responded back to his letter days ago, where he talked about the reconstruction efforts at Earth. In the short message, they told him that the Taazzor was finally repaired with enough spare parts. And how much they wished that Rol'Naaris would visit them and then said their goodbyes.

"It was good to hear them again." he thought before closing the message and resuming playing around with his omni-tool.

[Silver Fox]

Phalanx had eagerly stared its flashlight head towards the Turian for answers, before flicking it toward someone approaching. A Asari talking very oddly for some reason. Searching its data banks, the Geth program attempted to find what exactly the Asari was doing. Something about humans.. is she attempting to emulate human speech? It hadn't come across any human that spoke like that. Despite the oddity, it seemed by the approach and relaxed disposition that the Asari was a non-hostile. Until she spotted the sentient machine that is. Her speech soon switched to one of panic, seeming to believe Phalanx meant to obliterate them all as she tackled the Turian it had been questioning. Putting up a protective barrier and aimed a Apostle Rifle towards the Geth platform. The metal flaps around they eye raised fully up, twitching and shifting. Slowly Phalanx raised its arms in a common term for 'surrender' but it appeared full and well the Asari 100% meant to fire.

This was not at all satisfactory as this platform was not built for up close gunfire. It quickly processed through decisions. It could take its shotgun out and open fired, this close range would likely do heavy damage. However, the Geth did not want to further antagonize organics and give a reason to smash the platform into pieces. Nor was there any desire to actually lay harm to the squishy flesh unless it was forced too. Phalanx's Omni-Tool raised, flames spitting out as it swiped upward, but didn't launch the flames. Using Tactical Cloak to disappear and crouch in attempt to avoid the bullets. Course others reacted about the same time Phalanx did. The human and Krogan were the ones to act, the human leaping in front of the synthetic, using superior barriers to tank the bullets. While the Krogan promptly tackled the Asari, in which case most organics who weren't Krogan would feel that in the morning. And currently.

Uncloaking as it appeared to have been saved, Phalanx leaned a little, peaking its lamphead out to examine the situation in front of the encased human. It appeared the Krogan was scolding the Asari, and when he pointed toward Phalanx, the synthetic life form slowly raised its right three fingered hand and waved. Metal flaps around the optical glowing device slightly lowering to relax in the normal position. The Asari seemed... a bit confused. Seeming to come to the conclusion that the Geth platform belonged to the human. Causing the metal flaps to slightly lower and droop. Slowly it stepped out from behind the literal human shield.

"Greetings. System 42009874563001 reporting. Call Sign, Phalanx. Classified, Infiltrator. Apologies for being the cause of hysteria. I have no intention of causing organic bodily harm. Please, further refrain from attempting to obliterate this platform. Usefulness will drop to the negatives." Phalanx greeted the Asari in the same manner as before. Scanning the ground, it moved closer and reached to assist the Turian back on his feet. It turned its attention to the human and Krogan who had assisted in the possible danger on the synthetic being's life.

"Deepest gratitude for your assistance, Savior Human. Savior Krogan. Apologies for any harm caused to you during the minor skirmish." Phalanx chirped, briefly looking toward one of the Creators who seemed less interested in them, preferring to look over his Omni-Tool.

[PrivateVentures]

The Krogan had thrown the Asari aside like a doll. Good thing, too. That Asari had a foul mouth, mocking the English mannerisms constantly. Oh, well, she'd gotten hers.

Ellis' shields held strong. He turned back to reassure himself of the Geth's safety.
"You hurt?" Rykarn asked. Ellis watched the Geth for a moment more, intrigued at the thought that the flip-flopping plates could be synthetic body language, or at the very least, indicators of emotion.
Ellis turned to the krogan.
"I'm fine. I'm more worried about the Asari."

The Geth stepped out, declaring itself 'Phalanx' and apologizing, asking for peace. It helped up the Turian in an act of simple charity, thanking Rykarn and Ellis for their intervention.

This was getting really weird, but, in Ellis' experience, 'really weird' meant 'really lucrative'. This would be worthwhile, he was certain, but it would be just as frustrating.

By the looks of things, it seemed that everyone was armed. This indicated a combat function. However,they were multiracial, which indicated a need for diversity, and therefore, diplomacy.

All of this added up to two possibilities. One: this group was here for a peacekeeping function, or two: this was someone's sick attempt to start a multispecies war.

The Asari seemed fairly blank when it came to critical thought, so Ellis spoke firmly. "The first to die is the first to become a martyr for an intergalactic incident."

[Rithy]

"I guess there goes my attempt at a first impression!"

Vella privately thought to herself as she eyed the group, whom seemed to have begun to congregate around the Geth and the Turian, the latter having been profusely drenched in muck and drainage water after having been dumped to the ground. Vella winced a little bit as she felt a pang of guilt for her poor victim(the scaly one) as she looked on, and decided it was time to introduce herself.

Properly this time. Hopefully.

"Alright, time for take two!"

Moving her fingers to her helmet, she'd pull it off; revealing her deep blue asari skin, yellow eyes, and dark purple war markings around her face; as she began to walk towards the group.

"Ehh... goddess, I am so sorry about that, Turian. No bad intentions." Vella started as she approached the group, mainly Tiberius, as she raised a hand as a gesture of peace and gave a smile.
"My name is Vella Calixten Ophelia. Again, if I had known, I would have... "

Vella became slightly flush. She was not used to apologizing to people. Usually her division left before anyone could file a complaint about collateral damage, and if they were called in, such concerns were usually beyond the point of consideration. But something inside of her told her she should apologize in this moment.

"Don't worry, they only know about the friendly-fire incident! I doubt they know that the explosion was of my making! So it this isn't half as bad as it could be... "

Feeling the silent tension finally becoming too awkward for her to handle; Vella having to struggle to keep her eyes on the Turian as they desperately wanted to look at the nearest, meaningless object in the room; she would suddenly extend a black glove to Tiberius.

"What is your name?"

[POOHEAD189]

He had never been to Earth before.

Skarr's heavy footfalls echoed across the chasms of the underways, the only sound that could be heard for miles other than the occasional drop of water, or the echoes of the nightlife above. He guessed in hindsight that a Krogan going into an abandoned underway was a very suspicious thing, and he had done nothing to hide he was doing it. Granted, the drain he had entered near the coast was still relatively isolated. He hoped he was heading in the right direction.

Voices could be heard up ahead. The Battlemaster had his M15 Vindicator in his ham sized fists, holding it as casually as he could. Of course, his casual looked to others as if he was ready to use it at any need or provocation. He was never anything if not prepared, senses on edge to see if any danger presented itself. It was lucky for the other prospective Spectre members that he had been too far away to hear the gunshots by the crazed Asari.

He stepped into the light at what looked to as mixed of a group as he was experienced with. Quarians, Asari, Turians, even a Geth. Of course, the most notable one he saw was a younger Krogan, full of fire and strength. It reminded him of himself in his youth. Briefly, Skarr supposed the others probably couldn't tell a young Krogan from an older one. It seemed so obvious to his eyes. Still, he would not boast or brag. Nor would he disrespect this young one that has clearly seen his fair share of battle for his years, judging from the few scars he could see and how he carried himself.

"If this is a coincidence, I've probably walked into something I don't want to know about." he rumbled, deadpanning.

[SgtEasy]

---

---

Ja'Far was stupefied. This was turning from one stupid situation to another. Thank the Divines for the Krogan's quick thinking otherwise he would've ended up in a much stickier situation. The armoured woman's stupidity was so obvious that he almost thought of it as deception. A trick to fool the group in a false sense of security around her as her lack of brain capacity made her relatively weak. He was quick to think of her as suspicious, someone to look out for in the coming days. He did not trust her one bit. How could one simply walk in here and fire at a Geth like they had no clue about the efforts the AI made in the past year to make amends and help the galaxy?

Honestly, the former Legionnaire had a sort of respect for the Geth. They were previously outcasts, pariahs feared by Citadel space, similar to the Hegemony in that regard. They had become accepted by the Council however and has become more recognised as the good guys amongst the races. The Batarians... well, they were a mess. Still viewed as slavers and raiders, they are seen as a dying species. He was one of the few to survive the Reaper purge of Hegemony space, most were not as fortunate or connected as much as his squad was. Boogeymen as they were, the Legionnaires proved that they were a valuable enough asset to warrant a ship to get around in.

Seeing the situation calmed down a little, Ja'Far decided that walking away and re-establishing introductions was the smartest way to break the tension again. He was, however, brought out of his inner thoughts by the flash of deep blue he caught as the now confirmed Asari took off her helm. He paused for a second, a look of confusion on his face before quickly being replaced by the exasperatedly worn mask he wore earlier. "Fool," he thought to himself, a harsh voice rising from the depths of his mind "Siarus is long dead and she is with the holy Athame now. Stop thinking of her. She is dead. She is dead. She. Is. Dead." He clamped the voice shut and steeled himself, another headache forming. The pain couldn't stop the slow, painful throb in his heart though.

The smell of sweet, grimy tobacco from a single couldn't contain his headache any longer, a second finding it's way in his mouth. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, feeling the migraine subside marginally. Ja'Far then opened them again, looking around the room, deciding to address everyone present. With an obviously tired voice, he started as another Krogan entered the room.

"Canst we not hold truce for but one moment? I grow sick of constant interruptions and the headaches thus forming. I besought all present to introduce thine self before and I shalt beseech all present again. I prithee so, so for the love of all fuckin' Pillars holy, may we all please introduce ourselves." He scratched his fringe, resigned to the fact that he will be working with these people for a little longer.

[PrivateVentures]

Another Krogan. Add that to the mix, and it was just yet another reason for Ellis to be uncomfortable. He’d killed his share of Krogan warriors, and knew their strength and durability rivaled his own. Except, Krogans could heal. Officially, the Geth was the only one Ellis knew he could trust. Geth were practically anathema in most parts of the galaxy, and therefore, was the one least likely to be allied with any of the others. Clinging to that fact like a lifeboat, Ellis stepped in front of the Geth when the Asari opened fire. If a fight broke out, the Geth was likely to be Ellis’ only ally.

But the first Krogan had intervened as well, which raised quite a few questions. Were the Krogan and Asari not allied? And the Quarians had not raised weapons against the Geth. Why not? Why only the Asari? Could Ellis’ groupings have been inaccurate? Possibly, the Asari was a faction unto herself, independent of the others. Perhaps, no one was allied with anyone. Perhaps, they were all here for the same reason, from different sources. If so, it would match the anomaly of the Asari’s assault. It would also make sense when recalling the reactions they’d all had to Ellis’ demands for information. Perhaps, they gave no information because they had no new information to give.

She’d stomped the Turian, opened fire on the Geth, and unloaded half a thermal clip into Ellis’ barrier. And yet, she didn’t seem very hostile. In fact, she acted quite like a child. How amusing, Ellis thought, And how peculiar, that an Asari, the oldest of the Council races, should behave so immaturely. How almost… human. Despite her behavior, upon removing her helmet, Ellis could see the face of a soldier. Surely she is untrained, then. This is the conduct of Krogan children, not Asari Commandos!
All the same, she apologized personably, humbly, seeming to realize her mistake. Then, she had the gall to extend a hand to the Turian she’d trampled, asking his name.

What the fuck is happening here?
The new Krogan seemed older, slightly slower, maybe just more careful, than the other. He was also a bit wider, fairly well scarred, though Ellis would be considered marvelous on Tuchanka, if they judged one another for scars as much as humans like to joke about.

The Batarian, Ja’Far, was once more the voice of reason, again, suggesting, nay, imploring the group to just stop for a moment and introduce themselves.
“Ja’Far”, Ellis started, “Were you not on the Citadel, during the Cerberus coup? Your face seems familiar to me. Perchance you recall kicking a black figure into a passing car?” Ellis remembered that day, the sun shining, people screaming, Commander Shepherd and his “god squad” cutting through the Cerberus line like a laser scalpel through a Salarian eye… But more vivid than anything that day, he remembers spotting a three-eyed Batarian sniper on the balcony of an apartment overlooking the gardens. Ellis had advanced fast, from the side, leaping from the adjacent balcony, but the sniper must’ve seen him coming. A Batarian heel had slammed Ellis’ armored chest just hard enough to throw him off balance. Just hard enough to keep him in the air for the extra split second required for a Cerberus shuttle to catch him in the gut.

If this were the same soldier, Ellis wanted to shake his hand, if only for being one of the few targets Ellis was unable to neutralize.

[An Outsider]

<sub>Baker Street
London City
Earth

“This is getting ridiculous. I don’t care if they’re not all here yet, I’m putting an end to it, Aegon.”</sub> The voice was too low for anyone in attendance to hear over the commotion they were causing. A tall black man wearing the now iconic N7 armour stepped out of a shadowed alcove.

“What the hell is wrong with you people!” There was no missing the voice this time, elevated to parade ground volume and reverberating around underground tunnels, not quite as loud as the earlier explosion but close to it. The man stood glaring at the assembled mercenaries with an unmistakable military bearing, his hands empty of weapons but his whole frame seeming to vibrate with barely constrained violence.

Rol'Naaris was right about one thing. The mercenaries and soldiers-of-fortune currently causing mayhem under the Baker Street terminal were being watched, but if it had been a test, the vast majority of them had almost certainly failed.

“You people are supposed to be the best of the best, and yet it’s the Krogan gun-for-hire and the Batarian political assassin that are keeping the peace!”

A seemingly ruined section of wall suddenly detached and slid open to reveal a shadowy hidden compartment. "I agree, this was a complete farce." A white-skinned Turian with a long crest, fringe, and mandibles emerged, violet eyes nearly shining in the darkness. He had no weapons save for a mexta strapped to his hip, and his armor was black and red. The Turian was calmer, more relaxed in posture than his comrade but as he examined the group around them, the discerning onlooker could practically see the scorn oozing from his gaze as he took position next to the human.

"It's a good thing, we had the patrols rerouted from this area, else-wise you people probably would have ended up causing a galactic incident. You're supposed to be some of the best warriors the galaxy has to offer, and if that's the case, I realize just how much of a goddamn miracle it was that we survived the Reaper War. With some exceptions of course." The Turian nodded slightly at those who had been calm and level-headed in the encounter.

He glared at Vella, "You in particular. Is that what they call fire discipline in the Lance of Light? You're lucky I don't have you court-martialed for nearly blowing this place to kingdom come. Were you under a rock during the war? The Geth are our allies now. All the Reaper-coded Geth have been driving away. You have better chances of getting hit by lightning than meeting one of them on the human homeworld for spirits sake." The Turian also glared at the asari and all the others who had caused the situation to escalate, ignoring the ones who had just sat on their hands.

The man shook his head in disgust, "Despite, your stunning lack of discipline, you lot are unfortunately the best we can get our hands on for the moment. So be quiet and listen to our offer, simply put, the fate of the galaxy is at stake."

The human, Staff Lieutenant Jake Anderson of the Systems Alliance and newly minted Spectre agent, had managed to master himself while his colleague berated the gathering. This wasn’t how he’d expected this meeting to go, not in the slightest. Hell, he and Aegon hadn’t even particularly wanted this detail. It was ludicrous, assembling the galaxies oddest collection of assassins, engineers, biotics and soldiers to try and form them into a team that could maintain the fragile peace of the post-Reapers war. Unfortunately, Shepard had set a trend by leading his own gang of misfits in a mission that had saved the known universe from the greatest threat it had ever faced, and now the Council figured that the best way of solving any problem was to give a Spectre a crew of oddballs and throw them at the issue. It was destined to end in disaster. Jake was a professional though, and when he had his orders he acted on them the best he could.

Even if he disagreed with them wholeheartedly.

“As some of you might have figured out already, we’re Spectres. I’m Staff Lieutenant Jake Anderson, my partner here is Aegon Partinax. As you all might have noticed the peace that the galaxy is enjoying isn’t as sturdy as it might be,” he paused a moment, hard eyes fixing on the assembled warriors, the unspoken criticism being that their own gun-ho tendencies, which some of them had so recently shown, was part of the problem.

“Now we’ve been tasked with maintaining this peace, through any means we deem necessary. We’ve also been instructed to recruit any operative with the skills and know-how to complete this mission. For reasons that are escaping me right now, we picked all of you.” He paused a moment, to let his words sink in. Jake figured that even in their wildest imaginations, this wasn’t even close to what the group thought they were being called here for.

“I wont lie. The job will be dangerous. The pay abysmal. We’ll be dealing with the worst scum that the galaxy has to offer, travelling deep into the worst reaches of space to complete the kinds of duties that people like us have nightmares about, and even if we do everything right no one is ever going to thank you for it. Hell, no one respectable is even going to know you done anything. . . ”

“But, and this is a big but, this is your chance to make a difference. This is your shot at redemption. This is a call to adventure like you’ve never heard before. Trust me when I say that you will never get an offer like this again.”

Aegon picked up where Jake left off, "If we succeed, peace is preserved. If we fail, innocent blood will be spilled. You have a choice now, save lives or go back to your old ones. This is a one-time offer. Accept and you will be our crew, above and beyond the reach of the law as long as you're in our service. If you refuse, you're free to part ways with us. Some of you have open bounties, but we will not pursue."

"For the moment."

The Turian looked them all in the eye, trying to get the measure of them, sizing up their worthiness for such a task, "All of you who accept, step forward and come with us. We will get to work immediately. The rest of you can go. May the spirits be with you." Aegon waited patiently, waiting to see who would answer the call and who would ignore it.

_{Collab with @MrDidact}

[Silver Fox]

The Geth watched as the crew seemed to calm down, another Krogan joining them and as the Baltarian tried to have everyone be civil, Phalanx of course complied. "Greetings. System 42009874563001 reporting. Call Sign, Phalanx. Classified, Infiltrator." it repeated for the third time this encounter but it showed no sign of really minding it.

It was then, others seemed to be join them, seeming a bit irritated at how the group handled the situation. "Apologies. I did not intend trouble. But, statistically, the Asari Unit's reaction is not uncommon. Situations of hostility increase on circumstances of no information." it said, robotic tone clear as it examined the pale Turian and the dark colored skin human.

"Logically, the Organic victory in the Reaper War was statstically near impossible. Complete annilihation was imminent with 0.2384920483 possibility of success. Shepard-Commander illogically defied statistics formed based on natural hostility and general illogical behavior." Phalanx pointed out.

Listening to the rest, it only took the Geth unit to process this for a second and make a decision before stepping foreword. "Although I question the decision of calling for one of my kind to aid, based on reactions like the Asari Unit, Phalanx will lend assistence on your quest to bring peace." it said, flaps ever so slightly lifting, shaking a bit. Perhaps excited, or just a reaction. Perhaps this was its purpose. It was indeed seeming a situation to replicate Shepard-Commander's journey, although signs of lightning striking twice was .10000394739% likely, it was willing to give it a shot. Phalanx had no need of money nor glory. It had its skills, and had its main objective that would continue on this one as well. Study the organics.

[Dervish]

Ellis confirmed he was okay, and expressed concern over the loose cannon Rykarn had subdued. Considering she immediately carried on like nothing happened, like the past two minutes were but a fever dream, the krogan simply shrugged, holstering his weapon as calmer heads prevailed. Lumbering on the scene was another krogan, an older and no doubt distinguished one, that prompted Rykarn to nod respectfully at his kin. It was good to see another krogan, especially if this was a potential job offer... or an ambush. Life was full of mysteries, that much was certain.

The batarian Ja'Far was trying to regain damage control of the situation, which so far had been somewhat less than effective. Rykarn felt for the guy; he was getting rather agitated. Before Rykarn could address the guy, a new voice caught his attention with a commanding and very assertive tone of voice that suggested he was none too happy about the situation. The krogan immediately took notice of the N7 designation on the armour; Alliance special operations. He could never remember what the number meant, since he'd only ever seen N7 or N5 marines running amok during the war, but it didn't much matter; this human was clearly the one who invited them all here. To what end?

Why are you surprised the 'krogan gun-for-hire' was the reasonable one? You know enough about me to think I'm worth meeting. Rykarn mulled over with a terse smile, not wishing to interrupt the potential new client.

A turian joined the human, evidently partners, and there was nothing about his armour that gave the krogan a clue of what he represented. He was a disciplinarian, like most turian officers, a no-nonsense sort that called people under his command out on their inability to perform adequately. It was grating at first when Rykarn first was deployed alongside turians, but the results paid off; turians were excellent fighters who aimed to completely destroy the enemy down to a man if they could get away with it. They didn't break or shy away from hardship, they just got more pissed off and resolved. It was admirable.

And the truth came out; Spectres. There was always a hunch, but Spectres weren't always obvious until they started pulling strings. Anderson and Partinax, an odd couple. Rykarn suspected that the two of them weren't as chummy as they appeared at first glance; they both seemed to be dealing with the situation in very different ways and alternating with their approach. He knew from working with Phrixus that Spectres usually preferred to operate independently, and these two didn't seem like they'd been meshing together for years. For one, Anderson was still pretty young for a human, and it wasn't until the last months of the Reaper war did the Council start appointing more than one human Spectre.

The job offer was laid out pretty plain; risk your life for lack of compensation, recognition, or incentive past being a good person. That wasn't what interested the krogan; wherever Spectres went, interesting things were to follow. It sure beat the hell out of clearing rubble and breaking up looters for a meager wage. It really wasn't a choice at all.

And so, Rykarn stepped forward next to the geth.

"You two know who I am, this lot doesn't. Rykarn of clan Ravanor, heavy weapons specialist. I'm in on one condition, and that's salvage claim. Anything worth while discovered in the field, I want a potion of the profits that come with it. I know personally you Spectres pay fast food wages." Rykarn said, grinning ruefully.

[MechonRaptor]

---

---

So many new faces in the dark, it was hard to keep track of them all. Keelah, was this some sort of joke? While he was relieved that they weren't Eclipse, a part of him wished that they were instead of... whatever they were right now. Bicking, arguing, threats... They acted like bosh'tets! When he had asked if anyone was down here, he didn't expect it to fill with violence so hastily. If he knew that it would have gone so wrong so fast, he wouldn't have wasted so many credits and favors just be on Earth. Not to mention explosions and... Ugh, he'd have to replay this later on his Omni-Tool just to get a better understanding of the situation, glad that he had started an audio recording after asking his question on the off chance he would have been killed. At least then the cryptics being used on them would have made sense if it was a planned assassination.

So Rayes'Xum Vas Fowal took a deep breath, taking a moment to recollect his thoughts so that he could better examine the situation. There was first the dreaded human, full of hostility... What a pitiful man, Rayes thought, to be so on edge and angry. A waste of life, a life that should have gone to a much more suited species like a Salarian or Turian, or better yet just dead. At least then, Rayes thought, he wouldn't have to deal with the human's presence. He already distrusted humans, and this man made him feel like he was back on Illium, making the situation more hostile than Rayes assumed it had to be. Certainly wasn't good at first impressions...

The Batarian, however, was not what Rayes was expecting in the slightest. He thought Batarians were soldiers, not prophets, and this one seemed older as well. Initial observations gave the impression he was tired and religious, two things Rayes never understood, at least for Batarians. He knew of something called Pillars of Strength that the Batarians may have worshiped or something like that, but he never bothered to look into such a ridiculous claim.

The Asari, he could go on for ages what how she, along with the human, were making bad impressions all around. While he wasn’t certain if she was the one who set off an explosion, she felt like the kind of tasi would do so. Not to mention her behavior was unprofessional, even for an Asari. While she broke the norm of Asari being knowledgeable or at least somewhat professional acting, that wasn’t a good thing to Rayes. How, he thought, did she not know of the Geth being good now? They had helped Quarians make great strides since they became individuals, and Rayes respected that immensely. So much so, that it deteriorated his opinion of them.

In fact, the only real person among this group that Rayes felt was anything worthwhile was the Krogan, odd as that was to say. For a species that was meant to be rather crude and headstrong, he was the only one who was making sense to Rayes. Keelah… He wasn’t sure how to handle all of this. There were more people, but the sheer amount of nonsense that he felt only made him stand off to the side and stare at them questioningly. He wondered why they all had been called down to Earth in a trashy spot… Was it simply to get them to harass each other? No, that would just be idiotic. Rayes especially didn’t waste as much as he did just to be harassed and watch these events unfold. He stood there, silent, lost in his own thoughts while they continued into madness until a commanding voice boomed through the station.

So when the truth came out, Rayes couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief at the new situation. There was two of them, Spectres, who had initiated this gathering. While he felt how they did it was rather moronic, at least they had good intentions? Keelah, he thought, it was a rather bad attempt. Was it to keep them from telling others, or just simply a test? If it was a test, then indeed like the one Spectre said a majority of them failed. Even if he didn’t like the idea of being under a human, he was a Spectre similar to Shepard, and since Shepard helped them reclaim their homeworld, Rayes believed he would help others keep the peace. It was the least he could do after feeling bored on Rannoch after all. And the sight of a Turian Spectre made him feel slightly more comfortable, reassuring him that this could be worth it.

He watched as the Geth and one of the Krogan stepped forward as the Spectres asked, and decided he would as well. Walking out of his little area, he decided to stand next to the Geth Phalanx, bowing slightly towards the Spectres as a sign of respect before deciding to give his own introduction.

“Keelah se'lai, finally some sort of explanation instead of pointless bickering. As you two know, I am Rayes'Xum vas Fowal; an engineer who worked on the Crucible, weapons creator/modifier, potential hacker, and overall tech specialist. While the conditions sound somewhat awful, they pale in comparison to what I've dealt with. Besides, it would do better to keep the peace than work in a lab doing nothing."

[PrivateVentures]

Spectres, out from the wall! WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING HERE? Apparently, this was far from what Ellis assumed. He had believed that this was a gathering of anti-human groups. His second thought was that it could even be a gathering of assassins, potentially even a coalition of political figures intending on staging a coup. But no, it was just a Spectre recruiting session. Spectres are so weird.

Phalanx, Ravanor Rykarn, and Rayes'Xum Vas Fowel were the first to volunteer their lives. Ellis reviewed the new information silently for a moment.
Possibility of death and great personal injury, little to no compensation, lots of action, no consequences, a chance at redemption, no holds barred, total freedom, TOTAL FREEDOM, ZERO REPERCUSSIONS- Ellis stepped forward.

"I am Ellis Taevon, former Cerberus Enforcer-slash-Vanguard. I bear an impressive combat history, and my dossier should speak for itself. I specialize in PsyWar, forward assaults, Search and Destroy, and Search and Rescue."

Ellis didn't much like the idea of being under the command of another human, not only one who worked for the Council, but one so young as Anderson. He much less relished being one of the Turian Partinax's inferiors. All the same, this was a big opportunity. The opportunity to have the almighty authority of a Spectre. The opportunity to do something good, to make things right.

But he didn't know quite how he fit in here, with the Geth, Quarian, and Krogan. Still they made him deeply uneasy. He swallowed that, and decided to spit out one of his deepest secrets:

"I also escaped indoctrination by the Cerberus-Reaper complex. Unlike many of my former colleagues, my body is 100% Reaper free."

To announce this so bluntly was to denounce all of the Cerberus teachings and training. Indoctrination had been one of the Illusive Man's pet projects, a program designed to turn normal troops into soulless killing machines. Ellis had recieved implantation, as well as the assimilation procedures, but had used his biotic abilities to damage them beyond repair, unbeknownst to his superiors. To admit this now would place him on a Cerberus black list. A hit list, of sorts. Old Cerberus agents both retired and employed would now have his name and likeness in their roster.

That is, if the information reached back to them. Looking around, he doubted that any of these, save Anderson, might have Cerberus connections. And even Anderson was a doubtful candidate. Ellis had lived in fear of Cerberus finding him for a while now,and he was tired of it. Throwing in with the Spectres would be the safest thing right now, but you can't think about that... He'd lived under the Illusive Man's shadow a long time.

But now, it was time for Ellis to take control of his own life. For once, this decision was his.

[SgtEasy]

---

---

---

"Let mé show thou min Pillars of Strength for I am the motherfuckin' 'Chinegun Preacher."

---

Ja'Far denied the claim made by the xenophobic human, shaking his head "Thine recollection is wrong human, t'was another who you speak of." It was true, he and his team was stuck in Terminus space back in the Reaper war. Evading capture and fighting constantly wore his elite squadron down, eventually ending in a final last stand. He was the only survivor. He was about to speak again before the arrival of two new faces interrupted him.

The revealed Spectres didn't surprise Ja'Far in the slightest. He had suspicions in the previous day of preparation before coming here and these just confirmed them. These so-called "benefactors" that messaged him beforehand just seemed like their style. He enjoyed the more guns-ho of the group getting reprimanded by their foolish actions, their tone similar to that of his former Taskmaster. It reminded him of the man and the hellish warm-up drills he used to put the group through. A 3 kilometre swim with weights and sponges tied to you was one hell of a start to the day. This small moment of nostalgia was soon broken by images of his corpse laying at his feet, indoctrinated but recognisable with those blue cerulean eyes. His eyes visibly hardened and looked around the room.

It seemed as though that the Geth, a Krogan and a Quarian had answered the Spectre's call but Ja'Far paused to do so, waiting for more to join to size up his possible comrades. He was obviously going to accept, he had no other choice. Either join this squad of misfits which parodied Shepard's own or face eventual prosecution by one of the various surviving factions in the now destroyed Hegemony. He was granted political, religious and social caste immunity as Legionnaire and was used frequently to take down any and all opponents to the government. Now that said government was gone, all of the groups he had previously personally wronged through public executions to good old assassination were now out to get him.

As the last surviving member of the Hundred, the former political assassin/boogeyman was a remnant of the old government, a target for previous wrongdoings. It was almost a curse, how feared and widespread his name was in Batarian space. Ja'Far Balak was a name whispered to High Caste children as a savage, a killer who was shackled to the Hegemony and wouldn't even hesitate to kill anyone who stood in the way of his objectives. His days were numbered if he ever thought to do things alone and it was likely a knife would have ended up in his back in the following months. However, through this whole Spectre "let's save the galaxy together" squad, he could achieve redemption through fire. He would be damned to the Eternal Darkness if he couldn't make up for his multitude of sins.

Ja'Far was brought out of his inner thoughts by the human's answer to the call. He was by far the most unpredictable in the group. A man scarred by some fucked up Cerberus shit. He was almost bipolar in how he acted and came off as absolutely wrong in the head. He knew how dangerous it was to work with someone who was mentally ill (Priests of Redemption coming to mind) but he also knew how valuable they were. This uneasiness he felt about him and his personality was felt similarly by the enemy, along with the terror from imminent death of course. That small moment of hesitation by the enemy, intimidated by this absolute psycho, could be used to kill said enemy. It was often why the Priests of Redemption were so maniacal and zealous, it struck fear into the opponents, giving enough time for his squad to go for the kill.

The Batarian peered at him for a moment however, an almost spark of recognition forming. He blinked and mentally shook his head. 'Unlikely that this human was the same Cerberus dog who killed him. I won't believe it until I see his actual fighting style.' He took his thoughts away from the man and moved on to the Krogan.

Wise, reasonable and level-headed. Rykarn seemed like a valuable asset. While previous dealings with others of his species were somewhat limited but one of Ja'Far squad mates was a Krogan ex-slave. Ripped her owner apart with her bare hands, some sorta collector of rare slave. How a slave dealer got his hands on her was, still is, beyond his knowledge but she proved to be a very nice tank for the team, if a bit aggressive. The former Legionnaire was interested to see how the male side of the Krogan species held up against her example. His expectations were no doubt high but so far, he was in the good books for not adding to his headache.

The Quarian seemed like any other suit rat to him. Ja'Far couldn't tell the difference between most of their species' members in terms of appearance and this Rayes'Xum had little interaction within the group. He did a quick rundown and thought of him as little more than an engineer, maybe a technical saboteur at best. Little to no combat proficiency judging from the lack of weapons and Quarian biotics were rare in these parts.

The Geth... Well, the AI were almost always combat proficient and it seemed as though this platform was the same. Ja'Far couldn't help but feel however that Phalanx was somewhat childish. Albeit in a "I can break your spine because I'm a robot" kind of way but the resigned soldier couldn't help the urge to hug the thing machine, no matter how strange that may be, due to the child-like innocence it presented. The sniper rifle it had equipped also suggested a good marksman and he could respect that. Maybe they could be partners in coming combat missions.

Deciding that the time to sit idle was no longer, Ja'Far stepped up and put his hand on his chest, forcing all three of his eyes on the Spectre's as a sign of Batarian respect. He bowed slightly "I canst not foresee such a reason for I to deny such an offer. I, Ja'Far Balak, formerly of the 1^st Penal Hundred of the Batarian Hegemony Legionnaires, give miń service to thou and this group. From this day onward, miń weapons art thine weapons, miń eyes art thine eyes. I name all who step forward as friend and comrade." He took his place amongst his new squad, taking a long drag of his two cigars, inhaling the sweet grimy smell. He had a feeling that he would regret this decision in the future.

[Arcarius]

After being helped up by the Phalanx he nodded and gave it a thumbs up, "To answer your question from earlier, it keeps me relaxed, helps me destress" he said before he was approached by the Asari who had knocked him to the ground to which his gaze locked onto her as he crossed his arms, he was not amused nor impressed with the Asari,"Ehh... goddess, I am so sorry about that, Turian. No bad intentions." She started, "My name is Vella Calixten Ophelia. Again, if I had known, I would have... " it would take a lot more than a mere apology to even think about getting back on his good side let alone for him to trust her, but in the same hand he still had no reason to trust any of them.

"Spirits, If that's the excuse your going to give me, I really would hate to see you have a major mess up, Well maybe if you would have known, you would have used that thing out call a brain and thought your actions though before committing to them. If you did that you would not be in this mess now would you." He said to her with more annoyance in his voice than anything.
"Most people have common sense, but you would not be the first I have come across that lacks that ability, I'm surprised your not dead because if it." He said glancing at her hand as she held it out to him to which he looked back at her "You have a lot to prove if you even think you have earned a seat of redemption on my part, Trust is not given out by me, you have to earn it like everyone else here, but in your case more so than everyone here. Prove to me that you know what your doing, and maybe I'll be there to have your back." he said before walking past her to stand beside Phalanx.

Not shortly after a loud voice could be heard, one commanding attention, and attention it got, not only did he turn to look but most of the group did as well. It was a human wearing what seemed to be N7 armor “You people are supposed to be the best of the best, and yet it’s the Krogan gun-for-hire and the Batarian political assassin that are keeping the peace!” he said as Tiberius moved to get a better look of the individual while keeping his arms crossed, and it didn't take long before a much calmer voice spoke "I agree, this was a complete farce." it was a Turian, and Tiberius was a little surprised to see here with the human, "It's a good thing, we had the patrols rerouted from this area, else-wise you people probably would have ended up causing a galactic incident. You're supposed to be some of the best warriors the galaxy has to offer, and if that's the case, I realize just how much of a goddamn miracle it was that we survived the Reaper War. With some exceptions of course." the Turian said as Tiberius reached up and rubbed the back of his neck slightly before casting a glare at the Vella for a moment, and it didn't take long before the other Turian started to hound her like he himself had.

“As some of you might have figured out already, we’re Spectres. I’m Staff Lieutenant Jake Anderson, my partner here is Aegon Partinax. As you all might have noticed the peace that the galaxy is enjoying isn’t as sturdy as it might be,” the human paused a moment, as he watched Tiberius and the others around him, “Now we’ve been tasked with maintaining this peace, through any means we deem necessary. We’ve also been instructed to recruit any operative with the skills and know-how to complete this mission. For reasons that are escaping me right now, we picked all of you.” He paused a moment, Tiberius shifted slightly and looked around at everyone else around him 'And this is what you came up with?' the thought before giving his back to the Specter.

“I wont lie. The job will be dangerous. The pay abysmal. We’ll be dealing with the worst scum that the galaxy has to offer, travelling deep into the worst reaches of space to complete the kinds of duties that people like us have nightmares about, and even if we do everything right no one is ever going to thank you for it. Hell, no one respectable is even going to know you done anything... But, and this is a big but, this is your chance to make a difference. This is your shot at redemption. This is a call to adventure like you’ve never heard before. Trust me when I say that you will never get an offer like this again.”

Aegon picked up where Jake left off as if he was given a cue to do so, the result; perfect timing, "If we succeed, peace is preserved. If we fail, innocent blood will be spilled. You have a choice now, save lives or go back to your old ones. This is a one-time offer. Accept and you will be our crew, above and beyond the reach of the law as long as you're in our service. If you refuse, you're free to part ways with us. Some of you have open bounties, but we will not pursue." He said, Which got Tiberius thinking as he looked around, 'who has a bounty on them or are these guy going to put bounties on us?'

"For the moment." he hear the Human say which seemed to send a chill down his spine at just the thought of these two coming after him. The Turian watched them for a moment "All of you who accept, step forward and come with us. We will get to work immediately. The rest of you can go. May the spirits be with you." he said waited patiently.

And with that Tiberuis watched as Phalanx, Ja'Far, Rykarn, Rayes, and Ellis all stepped forward. And it didn't take long before Tiberius made up his own mind and stepped forward and onto the other side of Phalanx "Challenge accepted, Tiberius Adarian, Cabal, Liaison, Former Cabal member of Pouncer Unit, saboteur, deep line infiltration and recon. The intangible is unstoppable, lets keep it that way. he said as he crossed his arms, the grin on his face was like all Turian's somewhat comedic bit that was something out of his control.

[Rithy]

"You don't need common sense if you have superior firepower!"

Vella's features contorted into a disagreeable frown at the sound of Tiberius's scolding. However, she managed to hold herself from talking back; or rather, commencing with a full-scale rebuke; if it had not been for the spectres who had arrived in the room.

"Finally someone I can relate to!"

"You in particular. Is that what they call fire discipline in the Lance of Light? You're lucky I don't have you court-martialed for nearly blowing this place to kingdom come. Were you under a rock during the war? The Geth are our allies now. All the Reaper-coded Geth have been driving away. You have better chances of getting hit by lightning than meeting one of them on the human homeworld for spirits sake."

" ... "

"Yes, mistr,- ahem, sir!"

"I take my previous statement back. Although I was in a coma for at least two of those months."

Vella considered taking personal offense by the spectre, if it hadn't been for her old habits kicking in. The man was a spectre after all, if spectres were even part of the military hierarchy; they were undoubtedly pretty high up! And harassing and shit-talking their subordinates was after all the norm for higher ups! So maybe this was just him doing his job?

Regardless, the spectres and their promise of glory and adventure would quickly overtake any other thought she had going on as her eyes suddenly narrowed on the two men!

“I wont lie. The job will be dangerous. The pay abysmal. We’ll be dealing with the worst scum that the galaxy has to offer, travelling deep into the worst reaches of space to complete the kinds of duties that people like us have nightmares about, and even if we do everything right no one is ever going to thank you for it. Hell, no one respectable is even going to know you done anything. . . ”

"Is this man a mind reader? This is one of the best sale pitchers I've ever heard!"

"Sign me up any day!" Vella would promptly exclaim without hesitated as she hurriedly stepped forward, standing next to Tiberius as she assumed a more straight up posture!
"Vella Calixten Ophelia "Calisto" of the Lance of Light at your service! Dedicated Heavy Assault specialist! Just point me in the general direction of the problem and it will not exist for much longer!"

Vella added with a smirk, her face now suddenly having gone from her more jovial demeanor to a vicious grin, causing her war tattoos to suddenly take on a far more menacing appearance around her yellow eyes!