[IC] Mass Effect: The Face of Injustice

[Rtron]

Voira didn't bother thanking Cactus nor did she apologize for nearly shooting the Turian. She merely set herself back into a defensive position near Raa. However, when she saw that one side had been primarily cleared of enemies, she quickly moved around to deal with the remaining Turians. Right around that time, Donny leaned out from behind his flimsy(or so it seemed to Voira) table to throw something.Voira didn't get to see what it was, but she did know that he was likely to be shot to pieces, and she couldn't just watch as he died. She took several steps to put a barrier around him, when he suddenly stopped and threw it. Voira had a few seconds to realize what it was, and then react.

Her eyes widened and she backpedaled rapidly, reinforcing the barrier around Raa. "You stupid-" Whatever Voira was shouting was lost in the explosion, and the Asari tripped over the black armored Asari's corpse. Voira was fortunately out of the range of the shockwave. She was not, however, out of the range of shrapnel. She felt two slice her her face, and a few more embed themselves in her armor, one actually piercing it. As she lay on the ground, ears ringing, she did an injury check.

Ears ringing, potentially bleeding. We don't think there’s hearing damage. Chest hurts like hell, hurts to breathe, probably a cracked rib, maybe a broken one. Hand hurts like a bitch, but that's what happens when we get shot. Shoulder hurts even worse, but that's because recoil has been hitting it and the makeshift bandage it has. Face has two, maybe more, cuts. She picked herself up, coughing. Violet blood splattered out onto the ground. Fuck. That's not good.

Her ears gradually stopped ringing, and she became aware of a panicked voice shouting for help. A very familiar panicked voice, even without the helm. Raa! Voira scrambled to her feet, eyes looking for the source to see a blood covered Raa next to a Turian. The Asari mercenary almost panicked, until it clicked that Raa's blood was red. She was only covered in the Turian's blood. Voira had only a moment's relief before she quickly moved over there, kneeling next to Raa. She knew she looked like a mess, blood around her lips, shrapnel sticking out of her armor (one with blood leaking past it), cuts beneath her right eye and on her forehead. "Raa!" She snapped, before coughing forced her to stop. More violet blood splattered out onto her gloved hand. Voira ignored it. "What in the Goddess's name do you need me to do, so I can smack you after this?"

Raa jerked, her body jumping scared, when she spotted Voira. Her skin became a pale violet color at seeing the Asari's state as she choke on any words she had been about to say. Mouth wide open and eyes filled with shock, her mind seemed to have forgotten how to speak for a time while she stared. Thankfully, RK spoke up.

"Stop threatening Raa, she's rattled enough you overprotective matriarch! My suggestion is tend to the Turian so Raa can fix what remains of her helmet and at least salvage it. Though without immunization boosters, she'll be feeling the effects of her actions rather hard later." The AI said, sounding bitter over the fact, then transferred a vital sign reading over the Quarian to the Asari. Namely to settle the alien's frantic nerves down. In addition she did a quick reading of Voira's vital signs and compared to them to her own knowledge.

"Before you start bitching at Raa, check your own wounds. Bruised lung, cracked rib, debris in your chest, shots in your hand and shoulder and more... Geeze, Voira, you're getting sloppy."

Voira’s face softened, slightly guiltily, as she saw the expression on Raa’s face. She gave a tight, and bloody, hug to the Quarian, mostly ignoring the AI. “We’re fine. This is nothing we haven’t dealt with and recovered from before. And for the record, RK, we were doing fine until some bitch decided to Biotic charge into our chest, and then that damn human detonated an explosive in here.”

She got to her feet again, wincing in pain, before calling over to the Cabalist’s medic. “Your female diplomat is mostly patched up except-” Voira paused again to cough up more blood, thankfully less than the last time. “Except for the damage to her lungs and the last hole relating to that wound.” She helped Raa to her feet. “Come on Raa, lets get out of the way and let everyone gather themselves, hmm?”

Raa's head shook in agreement as she let Voira lift her. She noticed, despite her quick thinking earlier, her bones were nothing but jello. Weight felt unbalanced and steady, her head slightly dizzy from the sudden right onto her feet that she clenched her three fingered hand to her temple. The room slightly spinning. It didn't help she was still locked in the adrenaline high which refused to give up and let herself be led away, her eyes worrying over her companion in silence.

[WardenCelestine]

Once the enemy charged into the room, all hell broke loose in a hail of biotics and weapon fire that came from both directions of the hallway. Staying mostly in soft cover at this point, Solares leaned to his right while taking aim and unloaded eight shots into the other end of the hallway, hoping that nothing was still alive. Pulling himself back into softcover, he leaned against the underside of the table and quickly started to switch thermal clips. “Donny if you require any thermal clips, let me know and I can share some with you s…” Solares’s train of thought was cut short when he saw the human grab onto an explosive, eyeing it while deep in thoughts of his own. “Hey Donny, I know what you are thinking and it’s best if you avoided using a Cain Mine or any high-powered explosive of the sort inside of a pressurized area.” He didn’t want to sound like he was lecturing the human but there was a heavy concern for his own safety, the rest of his squad’s safety, and the civilian’s safety as well. It was too late though, for Donny threw the mine up and over a group of hostiles where it landed behind them. “Oh shit…” Solares quickly pulled himself into a protective ball just seconds before the mine detonated. The shockwave from the blast was so strong that it pushed him back at least five feet across the metal floor with a blanket of debris.

Opening his eyes slowly, Solares pushed himself up and off of the ground, while whole body in pain. “That was one of the better explosions I have lived through.” said Solares to himself. He had taken a couple of pieces of scrap metal to his armor, but thankfully none of them had penetrated far enough to wound him. The force of the explosion though had wounded him, bruising bones and causing some internal damage that could be healed over time or in a health bay. “Is everyone alright?” he asked through his com before noticing he couldn’t hear anything but a ringing in his ears, it wouldn’t matter for now if anyone replied to him. “Just the shockwave, should pass relatively soon.” he thought to himself before pulling out a knife and attempting to break free some of the metal scraps from his armor. From where the metal had ended up, he was very lucky that none of it had passed through, or he would have been in extremely bad shape. One scrap missed where his heart is and another missed the bridge between the left and right lung. Once checking himself over, he quickly made his way to Raa and Voira, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw both of them covered in blood. “Holy actual shit Voira, how are you still walking? and Raa are you alright?” he asked in a concerned tone.

[cqbexpt]

"Alright we should be good to go by then..." Tacticus was cut off by Ra and the Asari yelling for assistance. He quickly looked over at what was happening and saw all the blood and makeshift tubing sticking out of the other diplomat that they hadn't been sent to protect originally. This was not what they needed right now. More wounded were just going to keep slowing them down. At this rate he didn't know if they'd even get to the humans in time. Cactus was also beginning to feel exhausted from all the fighting, the only thing keeping him alert and on his feet was the constant stream of adrenaline at this point. They had told him that might happen if he was ever locked in extended combat. The solution they had given him in training was to not get into extended combat.

He ran back over and grabbed Titus on the shoulder as he was checking the eye movements of Episia one of the soldier that was near the explosion. "Titus we got an injured diplomat. Looks bad, their draining blood from her lungs."

Titus turned around quickly turned and growled. "Damnit, watch these two they both have minor concussions and some shrapnel in their skin. Take it out patch them up make sure they don't go to sleep. I'll be back for them." Titus slapped Episia on the mandible a couple of times before turning on his heel and going into a run over to the injured diplomat. Tacticus quickly called for Numso and gave him the same information Titus had given him. He began picking metal fragments out of her chest plate and arms most of which had drawn blood, all the while talking to her and attempting to get responses. They both luckily started to come out of their dazed states shortly after but both were having troubles hearing.

"Hey hey hey hey, don't go to sleep on me right now you're almost out of it. Come on just stay awake a few more minutes, you'll be fine soon just stay awake." Tacticus was yelling as he applied medi-gel and Episia started slipping back into a near coma state. Luckily she improved again and Tacticus finished patching her up and just started talking to her. Eventually he talked her onto her feet and found her weapon for her. Confidant she would be ok to go when they moved out, just to be sure though he planned to stay with her till they actually moved and Cactus would move to the front of the group again.

Meanwhile, Sura had approached the Geth with a request. "Avatar if you have accesses to the cameras could you check the corridors around the ambush site? I had one of my cabalists that I lost contact with when we we're ambushed. She's probably dead but I would like to be sure."

[EliteCommander]

As the injured were being treated, the Turian male diplomat slowly started to step forward towards his wounded fellow diplomat. He had been disoriented by the explosion and was just now beginning to get over the ringing in his ears. When he finally started to recognize the severity of her injuries, he started to grow visibly more panicked, moreso than one would expect for an injured stranger. He started to breathe more quickly, and shake his head slightly. “Oh no. No…no..no.” He started to mutter, mostly to himself.

While he was gaining his bearings, he heard several of the others shouting at Donny, blaming him for the explosion. Suddenly, his expression became intensely furious. He clenched his hands into fists and stomped up to the Human. “Wait, it was you? YOU did this? You…” He shouted.

The Turian looked as if he was going to strike Donny, but was distracted when a transmission started to be broadcast through the station. The audio played over the station’s intercom, while video was being played on some of the undamaged holographic screens on the walls of the room. As well, the message was also being broadcast openly on a signal that any omni-tool could pick up. It appeared to be a live-feed from the meeting room from which they had escaped minutes ago. The diplomats and guards who had not escaped were now lined up on their knees, with several of the black-armored soldiers standing behind them with their weapons at the ready. Just over half of the thirteen prisoners were Human soldiers, while the rest were diplomats, primarily Turian and Quarian, with a single Salarian at the end of the line. In front of them, facing the camera, was the Asari who had appeared to have been leading them during the ambush. With a look of determined confidence in her eyes, she began to speak.

”People of Ancora, your saviors are here, and we have arrived to resounding success. Even now, my fleet is ravaging the ships of your invaders, and will soon smash their encampment on your world. The Citadel Council has saw fit to assimilate your world, the home which you built from nothing, into their bloated and dying empire. They left your ancestors to their fates, but now expect you to hand over all you have to them. They would call it progress, they would call it justice, but I would call it war. I would call it oppression; I would call it tyranny. The Council prides itself on having the force that defeated the Reapers, but here and now, we have shown they can be resisted. They can be defeated. Join our fight; join our struggle… The Asari said, pausing for a brief moment as she signaled to the soldiers behind her. Without hesitation, all of them fired on the prisoners, executing all thirteen and painting the ground with various colors of blood. ”And all who stand against you will meet the same fate.”

It was a short message, but the room was silent for a few moments after it had concluded, apart from the moaning of the wounded. The Turian diplomat still appeared angry, but was now too overcome with fear to act, at least for the moment. Avatar understood that the message seemed to be designed at least partially to intimidate the remaining Council forces aboard the station, but it was unmoved from its task. While the message had been playing, Avatar had gained access to the local functions of the station. Immediately, it locked down most of the security doors and simultaneously examined all of the camera feeds it could access at once. It reset every security password to randomized strings of numbers and letters 25,600 characters in length, each, after modifying the code to allow for longer passwords. It would not be able to access the functions of the console remotely, but it could delay the station’s VI from being able to revert its changes.

“This console does not possess camera access for that section of the station, and I do not see any other Cabal soldiers in the camera feeds I can access. However, I have locked down all security doors in this section of the station except for those leading to the airlocks. I have also detached and sabotaged the docking clamps which were holding the Human shuttle in place. It is now free to leave. Currently, allied Human forces are alive, but are close to engaging an enemy force guarding the airlocks which outnumber them. I recommend warning them to hold position until we can reach them.” Avatar explained.

For the entire time since the end of the fighting, the Turian civilian had not grown silent. If anything, she had become more panicked. She was still clasping her head in her hands and sobbing, now more loudly than before. As well, one of the Turians Avatar had shot, and a few in the hallway outside the room, had not been killed immediately by their wounds. They were all in serious condition, and while they were no longer a threat, they were still very much alive. They were bleeding profusely and groaning from the intense pain of their injuries. The one inside the room was begging for help as his armor, and the skin underneath, had been split open quite visibly. None of the wounded hostiles were likely to survive without medical attention, and based on the severity of their wounds, they would die slowly.

[Rtron]

Voira gave a slightly strained smile to Solares. "We've survived much worse, believe us. Remind us sometime later to tell you how terrible an idea it is to charge straight into the teeth of the Elcor military." She only gave a brief glance to the human and the remaining Turian diplomat. As long as he wasn't trying to attack Raa she was perfectly fine with it. The Asari's eyes snapped to the screens and she had a bad feeling sweep through her at the sight of the captive soldiers and diplomats.

You don't line up prisoners like that if you just want to show them off. And they haven't been all that concerned about our safety thus far. Her certainty something bad was going to happen was only increased as the bitch on the screen began to talk. Right around when the Asari began spouting something about the Council priding itself on beating the Reapers ,Yes, lets ignore all the other races and terminus system soldiers and mercs that helped. Voira thought acidly followed quickly by Goddess RK is rubbing off on me., was when the mercenary gently but firmly grabbed Raa's head and made her look at her. "Look at us. Keep your eyes on ours. Trust us, you don't want to see what happens next."

In an attempt to protect the Quarian from even the sound, she created a couple dense barriers around Raa's ears. Only when the screens shut down did she let Raa go. Voira looked critically at the Turian inside the room, listening to his cries for help and the moans of the others outside. Instinctively, her shot hand reached for a pistol while her other hand began to yank out shrapnel in a an absent minded fashion(hissing slightly as she yanked the one in her flesh out). However, rather than shooting the downed enemy, Voira looked at Raa and sighed. "We'll take care of them. No, we won't shoot them. Stay here with Solares. That means you stay put too Solares. Don't think we didn't see you get thrown about by that shockwave."

With that she took a deep breath, wincing at the pain it caused, and walked over to the begging Turian. "Shut up. If it was up to us, you'd be dead. As it is, we're wasting medi-gel to spare your miserable life. Use it well. We don't give third chances." With a practiced precision, Voira applied her store of Medi-gel to the worst of the wounded areas. Standing up, she glared at the rest of the room. "No one kill him. Otherwise we just wasted our medi-gel and we will take it from whoever kills him. That also goes for his compatriots, whom we're going to fix outside."

Leaving the room, she used her medi-gel and what basic practices she could to give the turians less pain as they died. She didn't have enough to completely heal them, but she gave them a chance. Or at least a more peaceful death. Returning to the room and Raa's side a few minutes later, picking up her assault rifle and storing it on her back as she did so, she spoke. "Before you ask, yes we're out of Medi-gel. No, you can't give us any of yours."

[Lucius Cypher]

The battle was over... But not without repercussions. This room was much smaller then Donny realized. He knew his mine had an effective blast radius of 5 meters, but he didn't think that this room had so much shrapnel. He looked behind himself and noticed a few of the turian diplomats had been hit with the splash. He didn't mean to, but he couldn't find it within himself to justify his actions. When the turian walked up to him Donny knew what he was going (Or wanted) to do. He wasn't going to stop him. But it never came. Something worse happened.

There was an announcement over the intercoms. A video was displayed on the holoscreens in the room. There Donny saw the Asari, and some prisoners. He saw Alexander, Brendan, and Harriette. "No... God please... Not them... Not this..." Anger and sorrow built up inside Donny as he watched and heard the scene unfold. He saw as the enemy gunned down his fellow soldiers and everyone else. Donny's hands balled into a fist, and in a rage he punched a nearby wall with his biotic power, creating a sizable breach. "THIS IS FUCKING BULLSHIT!"

Donny was trying to understand was was going on, but with little anvil. He could only make guesses and generalizations. The entire situation reeked of a false flag operation, and this display only hammered it in. For the diplomats to "Suddenly" be called in for an early meeting, only to be "Suddenly" attacked by unknown assailants, who are then "Suddenly" stopped by increasingly unknown saviors. And worse still, those saviors killed the diplomats and Donny's fellow soldiers. This just made more enemies for Donny and the others to contend with. He hoped that maybe the civvies on this ship weren't so foolish as to actually believe any of this, but at the same time Donny isn't even sure how the communications are panning out. He received no word from Alexander prior to his capture, nor one from Aman or Rosemary. Seraph has been unnervingly quiet, so immediately Donny called her.

"Feathers this is Dong, do you read me? Did you see that display? Over."

A chilling minute passed before Donny heard a voice. "Affirmative. We... We saw that... Briar and Scope told us that Steak stayed behind when they were ambushed. Grease and Clockwork... They were captured when they went to override the lockdown on the hanger area. Donny, what is your status?"

It was one of those moments were Donny felt like minutes were taking hours. He was dizzy. He was angry. He wanted to cry. He wanted to hide. He wanted to kill everyone in this room. But right now he needed to talk. "Honestly, I don't know. I... I just want to go home... Feathers, I don't know what your position is but stay put and stay out of sight. I'm going to try to bring some back up over as quickly as possible. We can't stay on this ship. We... I'm coming. Over and out." Donny maintained radio silence and looked at the others. He suddenly didn't trust them anymore. He was the sole human amongst aliens, aliens who wanted to kill him. Why would they want to do that? What is their purpose? What do they hope to achieve? He thought he was coming to to help mend relationships with the counsel species, not go to war with them.

Donny was shaken, and barely operating mentally. There was so much going on in his head, and only one thing he knew to drive him forward. "I need to go. Now. My team is down three soldiers and now we have an idea of what we're up against. Whoever they are, they have control over the ship, and assuming they aren't lying, the space around the station as well. I... I don't know what else there is for us to do. You see what they do to prisoners. I know a lot of you don't like me. You likely think I'm a fool, that I might end up killing you through my actions, and I'd agree with you. So... Do whatever you want now. Go find your own escape, try to come with me... Whatever."

Donny didn't even stop to break down the enemy equipment. He simply made sure all his weapons were ready before he walked towards the docking bay. His helmet hide his thousand yard stare. He moved slowly, carefully, but had his weapon ready, finger hovering right outside the trigger guard. But he was also ready to of a charge at the first threat he'd see. At this point, he didn't care about collateral anymore. They were all as good as dead if they can't make it off the station. And he'd rather die fighting, then to be captured, tortured, and the executed for reasons unknown.

[Fallenreaper]

There was only one word to describe Raa’s awareness state to her surroundings and that was...Numb. Everything not directly in contact with her felt more surreal and dreamlike than she expected. Her mind relaxing enough to fall into a delayed shock from the transpiring events, finally letting them sink in as she looked briefly down at her bloodied hands. Blue stained everything from her sleeves to her front, covering her in the Turian’s blood, while she tried to recount what she just did. For a heart stopping moment, Raa’s mind went blank. Not even panic managed to edge into her awareness and that was a cause for worriment.

Gently, the little Quarian felt herself puppeted by Voira. The Asari led the way though Raa could barely register where exactly, her feet edging one in front of each other. She looked like a small child who was still learning to walk. She let Voira lead her away from the gurgling and bleeding Turian crumbled in the opposite corner, her expression blank when they finally reached the weapons locker. Her ear barely heard the Turian diplomat about to rip into Donny over his last action, something about the explosion, before she sank down against the wall.

Her own suit still bore the marks of what she had attempted to achieve while she tried to purge her memory. It didn’t help she couldn’t clean her suit and each time she looked down, her eyes caught the telltale signs from the gravely wounded diplomate. She started to shake. She was fairly sure her medical care wasn’t enough to save the female and she couldn’t help worry her good intentions might’ve just made things worse.

What if she had killed the Turian instead?

Raa’s breath made a sharp intake, her rhythm hollow and steady, her eyes stared into the far wall. She leaned against the weapons locker, currently letting the cold metal chill her flesh. It wasn’t helping her much. Her naked head continued to lean up against cold machine and weapons storage, watching quietly the Turian medic arrive. The male immediately jumped to mending her hasty job, his attention focused on increasing the diplomat's survival. Raa felt a sinking disappointment sink in. In the back of her mind, Raa couldn't help but wonder if she made it much worse when she should’ve just left it alone.

Raa's attention was taken when she heard Solares inquire about her status. Weakly she swallowed her nerves and looked to him, her eyes dulled in her shock, and nodded. "Yeah...I think I am. I just… feel strange.”

She didn't even mention she needed to get clean. That was the last thing on her mind right then while she curled tighter, her arms wrapped about her legs and trying to make herself smaller. Her chin sat upon her knees and looked ahead. At least until she jumped at hearing a feminine voice boom over the intercom. It interrupted the Turian's attempt to rip into Donny as the Asari started what sounded like an excuse for taking the station hostage, her voice commanding and firm in her words. It frightened Raa on an instinctive level to listen to it.

Whether Voira sensed her terror building or knew what was going to happen, Raa would never know.Her head was taken in her guardian's hands as she pushed Raa’s face to look into her. This was enough to increase the Quarian’s fear. She let her eyes linger into the Asari’s as Voira’s words reached through her haze, dread clawing within Raa’s heart at predicting what was coming. Tears were already budding to her eyes when tingling collected at her ears, muffling the shots of gunfire, causing her to whimper in reaction. Her hands seemed to have clasped over her ears alongside Voira’s, trying to help block out the sound even further.

She was trembling when it all ended. Her mind knowing deep down what happened and her face buried itself into the weapons locker side, tears pouring freely along her cheeks in her struggle not to break out crying. She knew her supervisor, a kind hearted but firm boss, had been among those slaughtered. She spoke through her quivering voice words they were all thinking. “Is that what ‘savoirs’ do now? Murder innocents who yet to do hurt them and call it justice?”

She wanted this day to be over. To go home, curl up on her bed and pretend this never happened. A pleasant thought and desire, but one of pure ashes and impossible for a reality. No matter how much she feverishly wished it, this day has already happened and it would never be undone. Raa settled into the metal, partly hoping she could merge with it and vanish, when she sensed Voira look at her. Lifting her eyes upward, she noted the Asari sigh then order her to stay put with Solares. Raa nodded weakly again as she leaned back into the wall. She doubted she had any will left to move let alone follow Voira into the hallway where more corpses were lying there, their sightless eyes staring.

The thought made the Qaurian shudder inside.

Several minutes later, her eyes spotted Voira come back to her side after tending to the one inside with them. Raa couldn’t help but notice her friend’s figure was covered in fresh blood. Her eyes widened to stare at Voira and her skin paling, unable to think clearly. “What? No, you know I can’t let you go without medi-gel.” Her voice rose a few octaves, her mind ripping itself back in the topic, her body struggling to rise. “What if you got hurt or worse, what then Voira? Who’s going to keep me safe? No, you need medi-gel.”

Already her hand went to her omnitool to transfer a portion of her own supply, likely enough for two people, over to Voira. She stopped when her ears finally caught Donny’s words. He was stressed, confused and reckless. She watched him waltz out of the room and head into one of the directions, unable to bring herself to follow after him again. It was challenge to just remain upright as it was since the adrenaline high had long since died. Now she was feeling the aftermath.

“We have to go after him as we’re not ready and he’s going to get himself killed.” Raa stated, quietly. Her head had followed the man’s wake and inwardly considered going after though she wouldn’t get far.

[Rtron]

Voira was perfectly willing just to let the human go. If he wanted to get killed by his own actions, it was no problem with her. He had already caused more injuries than all the enemies combined. Raa, however, was not and seemed intent upon both giving up her Medi-gel and following him. The Asari couldn't allow her to do either. Voira sat next to the Quarian, hugging her gently. "The Cabalists and Avatar can go after him. Solares too, if he likes. You're going to stay here and recover, and then we'll go. We'll get medi-gel from whoever we can." She was quiet for a moment, then spoke with a gentleness most people wouldn't have expected the fiery and aggressive Asari to possess. "You're going to be okay Raa. You helped save the Turian's life, and the medic will make sure she makes it. You're going to get through this, it's normal to feel numb after so much death." She didn't add that she had long since gotten used to seeing it and was abnormal in that regard as well. She released Raa with only one arm, using the other to untie the blanket tied around her shoulder. "While we clean you up as much as possible, tell us the schematics for the Yasis, serial 4505, Class C ships. Like the one your grandfather worked on with Devryn for Tevura."

The baby blanket was in surprisingly clean, and Voira fully planned on ruining it. She began to wipe the blood off of Raa, one arm still hugging her.

[WardenCelestine]

Solares opened a private channel for Voira so the two of them could talk without any interruption. “I have no doubt both of you have survived worse, to my surprise you two make an incredibly strong and inseparable team.” said Solares as he very carefully and gently picked out pieces of metal debris from Voira’s armor with his hands, dropping them onto the now discolored floor beneath her. “I am still concerned for everyone’s physical and mental health after what just happened though. I know five of us, including myself, can handle the stress and pressure from war but it seems Donny and Raa are not faring well after what just happened. Did Raa ever go through heightened stress and situational combat training?” There was a short awkward pause, he knew the answer was no just by the way Raa had reacted to the first fight alone.

“That was a stupid question wasn’t it? Once all of this is over and she has healed fully both mentally and physically, my mate and I will help her via the Turian Special Forces training regiment. I personally think that this is a great idea and opportunity for her, it will improve upon her mentality when in combat situations such as what just happened and traumatic events.” The medic and Special Forces solider looked Voira in the eyes then spoke once more, a serious tone in his voice. “You and I both know that the Galaxy is a cold, harsh, ruthless, and vicious place where one must learn to fend for themselves. I care for Raa just as much as you do, and only want her to be well equipped for whatever may happen out here in the galaxy.” Having put in his opinion and having a private chat with Voira, he sat down next to Raa and guarded her, still feeling as if he had been hit by a large truck due to the shockwave.

“I don’t agree with being stuck here while you heal Cabal but I will do what you say for now.” Solares watched Voira leave before re-positioning himself in front of Raa and removing his helmet so that she could see his face. “Hey Raa, concentrate on me and let’s have a chat alright?” it was clear she was in shock, thankfully it wasn’t as severe as he thought it was going to be. He lightly ruffled her hair before bending down on both of his knees and quickly looking her over for any injuries. Glancing back up and holding eye contact, he spoke “Do you remember that one time we were taking a walk in the presidium with Voira and I lost my footing then fell into the lake below? I said it was deliberate but you knew it was a mistake, I can faithfully say that there are indeed no fish in that lake.”

Holding someone’s attention while they were in shock is important so that they do not focus on the traumatizing events. Donny then had a mental break down shortly after, tossing all logical decisions and thoughts out of the airlock for an unknown reason, then slowly turned and left the hallway. “Someone take care of Donny and talk to him, I am busy over here for the love of all things.” Solares turned back to Raa and kept a close eye on her until Voira returned. When she finely did return she took a seat next to Raa, and Solares sat on the other side of her, adding positive comments whenever he could. Pushing himself up onto his feet, he offered Raa a hand to help her stand. “If you require it, I can carry you to the shuttle bay Raa.”

[EliteCommander]

The reaction of Avatar’s allies to the situation was not ideal. Donny’s misjudgment as to the yield of his explosive, coupled with the emotions brought about by witnessing the execution on the screens around them, caused him to behave irrationally. He quickly began to leave without ensuring that his allies were following. Voira had elected to use her medi-gel to treat the injured hostiles, and while Avatar recognized it to be a humane action, there was a strong possibility that they could require those medical supplies to treat their own wounded. As well, Raa seemed to be enduring acute mental stress, though it did not know exactly which event had provoked it.

As Avatar was quickly attempting to determine the best course of action, it heard Voira attempting to calm Raa. The Asari was the individual best-suited for that task, but her plan was potentially dangerous. Avatar understood the desire to keep non-combatants out of the firefights, but the safety of the security room could not be guaranteed. Avatar had locked down most of the security doors in the area, but the schematics did not indicate that any of them were more durable than the doors the enemy had breached minutes ago. The enemy could break through by force if hacking was unsuccessful.

While Solares seemed to be comforting Raa, Avatar quickly approached Voira. “Warning; this course of action is not recommended. Hostile forces are capable of breaching the security doors, so they will not be stopped entirely. We will likely reach the airlocks before they can follow, but that assumes we move quickly. Additionally, I do not have control over the Human shuttle itself. It is currently free to leave at any point, but the Human forces on the station are yet to reach it. If we clear hostile forces near the airlocks and reach the shuttle, the pilot is likely to follow the orders of the Human ambassador and may leave before non-combat personnel have time to reach the shuttle from this room. Human forces aboard the station have demonstrated a willingness to abandon allied forces in stressful situations.” It warned.

[cqbexpt]

Things began to slow down and fatigue began to set in for everyone as the fighting had been near constant since the ambush. They really needed to leave this place soon before the rebels regrouped and managed pick off each group individually. After picking a piece of shrapnel out of his mandible and making sure the two that had been close enough to the blast to receive concussions were good to go he made his way over to Titus as Sura wanted to know if they could reasonably move the diplomat. It was in the nick of time to as Titus called for someone to help him. He walked by the Turian diplomat still on his feet biting his fingers at the idea of his friend laying on the group dying. Tacticus knelt down next to the Turian women just as she was being rolled over onto her side. "Alright on three I'll yank the tube out. She'll try to claw at the opening in her chest. Keep her from doing that so I can close her up." Tacticus nodded and grabbed the free arm of the diplomat firmly as she struggled to breath. The count down started three...two....one. When he slid out the bloody makeshift tube the diplomat used all of her strength to try and push Tacticus off. Luckily he was much stronger than her and grabbed her other arm as she tried to flail it. She inhaled sharply and was kicking her legs around. Titus quickly went to work applying medi-gel to the inside of her lungs and then to the incision that had been made. Once she started breathing correctly Titus quickly went to work on calming her down. Cactus looked at the scar on her chest and realized that the Quarian had been less than an inch from her heart with that incision. This diplomat could have easily just been killed. Deciding against saying anything Titus informed him he could take care of her and that they could move now if they needed.

Getting up Cactus saw the Human run out the door like he had seen death. He guessed he felt guilty for almost killing multiple of their own people. "Where is he going..." Tacticus said semi aloud. Shortly after that the Asari said she wanted to stay here in this room with the Quarian. If he didn't know better he would have thought that these people wanted to die. He went over to the Geth and the other two gathered around the Quarian now. When the Geth finished telling them what their best chance was and what was likely to happen Cactus chimed in "I somehow don't doubt that they would leave without us, considering he did...again. Look if you guys want to stay here and die that's fine. But we can move the diplomat now and we will be taking the rest of the civies with us to that shuttle. If we have too we can subdue the Human pilot. I... can drive the shuttle."

Sura then walked up behind him. "Guess all that time you should have been sleeping is going to pay off. I don't trust the Human pilot regardless of what happens." She then turned to the rest of the group. "Look, I know that we're tired and want this to be over but we arn't out of here yet. I really hope you three will be on that shuttle with us. Geth, I'm going to assume you like your platform or whatever and want to get out of here to. Quarian, whatever your name is you just saved one of our diplomats and I'm grateful for that. But we do need to move...now." Sura walked away from the group quickly and began barking orders at the rest of the Cabal to get ready to move. Then quickly making her way over to the remaining diplomats and telling them something similar.

"Let's get the hells out of here." Tacticus said as he readied his weapon and then hustled over to the now forming up cabal.

[Fallenreaper]

Despite her best attempts, Raa wasn’t able to bring herself to stand. Each time she tried, her bones seemed to be made of goo and crumbled underneath her, bring her back down onto her small ass. Slowly frustration and weariness washed over her. Her attempts were draining her of more and more energy then she thought they would. Finally, Raa gave up. She crumbled back into her sitting position, inwardly hating her weakness. Out of all them, she had bare done anything useful but it didn’t feel that way. Every part of her ached like she had ran over a thousands miles and puzzled together a complicated machine, all at the same time, leaving her just wanting to rest for a while.

It wasn’t until Solares had asked Raa a question did she realize where he was, blinking a bit in surprise. Naturally, she eager to focus on something else, and nodded her yes. Mandibles twitching in pleasure at her answer, Solares lightly ruffled her hair and sat on his knees bring his face to her level. It was enough to bring a small, light smile to her violet lips. She looked confused at his eyes scanning her for injuries. He of course didn’t find any. Out of all of them, though she was covered in blood, she was the least injured. Not a scratch on her thanks to Voira.

When his eyes fixed on her face, she looked him deeply into the eyes giving him and focused on his face. Her mind drifting between the image presented to her and memories of their last interaction, unable to place what was different in comparison. Something had changed or maybe it was because of recent events. The Turian paused to shout about Donny’s outburst, her mind recalling her earlier mention of stopping him briefly, before she was distracted again by Solares.

Raa’s head turned to her side when Voira settling in beside her, shifting slightly to make room for her friend. The Asari’s arms engulfed her, pulling her thin figure into a tight hug. Instinctively she leaned into the affectionate touch and soaked up the support, her bones becoming a slightly bit firmer thanks to it. She listened to Voira’s words reason with her though she disagreed with her friend deeply. Voira wouldn’t take any medi-gel from the others, she was too proud and generous. At times, Raa got the impression her friend held a strong belief she was invincible and it scared the Quarian inside. One of these times, Raa feared Voira would end up dead.

She couldn’t stop her fingers from curling into fists, digging into her palms. Raa didn’t stop the blood being dabbed off by Voira and focused on what the Asaria had asked, her mind tracing into her favorite topic. So absorbed into the conversation, eager to leave her old thoughts behind her, the Quarian started to ramble quickly without fighting. When Voira finished cleaning her up, Solares rose to his feet. He paused and held out his hand for her to take, offering to carry her. Raa shook her head then politely declined.

“No, I’m fine. I promise though I might take you up on that offer later when I completely collapse. I don’t have any immune boosters on me as they are all back at my assigned room. So in an hour or two, I’ll become rather sick because I’ve not adjusted to the environment. Even RK’s monitoring and aid can only do so much before I’m not able to move.” She gingerly worked her way to her feet and stumbled, her legs refusing to cooperate with her determination to walk. Raa collided with Solares which managed to kept her from crashing into the floor.

“Sorry.” She mumbled hastily when she caught sight of the Cabalists approaching them.

Raa leaned a bit on Solares, not sure her feet would hold her, as the first one was unnecessarily blunt. Her fingers tightened on her friend’s arm and her face paled, her tongue too thick within her mouth to speak. She just wanted this to be over and home… Raa’s thoughts were broken when the female Turian leader spoke in a much softer matter. As much as the Quarian wanted to take a breather, it was impossible. The terrorists would keep coming and coming until they were all dead, her mind never doubting that. It was the only end that was certain in her mind. Before Sura left, RK snapped in a sharpish voice from her omnitool.

“The Quarian’s has a name, Turian. It’s Raa’Kina…”

[Rtron]

Voira couldn't help a smile as Raa began to ramble on, glancing only briefly at Solares to acknowledge she heard him. He might have had the benefit of a helmet too cover his words, but she certainly didn't and stressing Raa more by the idea of going into Turian Special Forces training wasn't something that needed to happen right now. She would talk to Raa about it later, after they've all survived this and actually had time to collect themselves. Or, in Raa's case, recovering after becoming disturbingly and cripplingly sick.

She sighed as Avatar strode up to her and spoke. She knew it was the truth but damn it Raa needed time. The Asari was worried what would happen if they just kept pushing her, especially now that she was on a ticking time clock. But the only thing keeping the humans from abandoning them all on the station had just quickly left them all behind in a shell shocked state. Voira wasn't so naive to believe the humans wouldn't abandon the rest of them in favor of saving their own diplomat.

Voira rose with the Quarian, smiling slightly as she had to lean on Solares. This smile was quickly turned to a scowl as the first Turian spoke. She glared at him, keeping her thoughts to herself. You should stick too shooting things. The more you talk, the more we realize you're not good at anything else...then again, neither are we. She gave a slightly grateful smile to the Cabalist's leader.

"Easy RK. She's doesn't mean it as an insult. We're pressed for time." She refocused on the latest Turian to speak to them. "Don't worry. We'll follow, and we won't be late." She couldn't stop herself from adding one more comment, a suggestion more than anything. "Tell your friend to shut his mandibles when it comes to diplomacy, or anything that doesn't require shooting, threatening, or insulting. He's worse at it than we are. In fact, he seems to be fucking terrible at it."

Voira looked at Solares. "Shall you keep Raa up, and we'll do the shooting, or will wee keep Raa up and you do the shooting? Being left behind isn't high on our list of 'things to do', just behind 'being shot by the enemies'."

[Lucius Cypher]

Donny moved briskly and quietly. He spotted a few soldiers, but he didn't engaged them and waited for them to pass unnoticed. He could see signs of combat with burn marks and blood splatter dotting the halls and floor. Assuming that he and his crew were the only humans here (Unlikely since he did notice some humans he didn't recognized in the video) he figured his team had gone this direction. His thoughts lingered on nothing but getting to his team: He couldn't afford to think what had happened to Alexander. What could have easily have happened to him.

"Feathers this is Dong, over. I'm en route to your positions. Location?"

In a quiet voice that told Donny that they were trying to hide. "We have taken two rooms, a storage closet and what appears to be a service entrance. Meet with us for more intel. Over."

Donny nodded his head despite being alone and continued onwards. He knew he was heading in the right direction when there were less splatter and marks to guide potential enemies to their location. Even if it was away from the airdocks, it would be better to bunker somewhere where they wouldn't find them rather then get too close to their objective and compromise their safety. Donny still held his weapon ready, in the event that he meets up with unexpected enemies but careful not to accidentally shoot his ally.

Soon he found the location of his allies and made his presence known over the radio. They had locked the doors, a smart move, hopefully none of the enemies would think to search them or blow the doors up. "Feathers this is Dong, I'm outside your location." The door opened and Donny quickly moved inside. There he saw Seraph, Yoaso, and Eleanore sitting near the wall. And despite being a civvie, Eleanore had a pistol in her hands. "What's the situation?"

Nodding her head Seraph brought up her Omnitool, creating a 3d layout of the airdocks. "There are approximately 30 enemy personnel guarding the airdocks. 10 turian, 10 vorchas, 4 krogans, six human and/or asari. Most of the turians are posted near the ships and the vorchas are patrolling the area. Three krogan in the bay area, one near the entrance, another that leads the vorchas, one that is with the turians and another operating the terminal to override the locks. The rest patrol in and out of the docking bay. Our ship, fortunately, is still operational and has not been compromised. We also noticed two Interceptor class starships, both of Alliance make. There are other ships located around the airdocks that will not be obstructions to out escape, but may provide cover for us and the enemy."

Seraph looked at Donny. There was a certain sadness in her eyes, one that Donny had. Neither had expected or wanted any of this to happen. taking a deep breath she told him their plan. "Before... Before Tristan and Henriette captured, they were trying to disable the locks leading out of the docks. Even if we get to our ship we can't get out without overriding those locks. Currently they are being controlled through this console, however they also knew that any command prompt could be overwritten through the master control. We need someone to hack that console long enough to get us out of there. If possible, we could try to get someone capable to pilot those interceptors as well. If not, we need to disable them to ensure that they aren't used against us. But..."

Looking away from each other they knew what the issue was. Between all of them, they had the firepower to take on the twenty guards if they fought tactically and used the element of surprise. With time they could even fortify the docks and hold their position until they could get out some sort of distress signal. And they'd need it, because none of them knew how to bypass the system keeping them stuck there. Aman had some expertise on sabotaging machines and vehicles, however that was mostly useful against synthetic enemies. And they weren't certain how useful destroying the console was going to be.

"I... We should wait. There's.... There's others who may be able to help. Maybe. I've already informed you of the turians who came with me. What about the one who came with you? Uh... Ruvea?"

"He was injured, but alive. Got shot in the leg after they took Steak. Tofu was looking over the wound, making sure he's ready to fight if the need arises." Tofu was Yoaso code name, biotic and designated medic. Good to know he made it out alive. The tension was high but this was the only option they had. Short of the alliance flying by to rescue them, they didn't know what else they could do.

"The others... Should be arriving soon. Oh! We have a geth with us, he managed to shut down the locks keeping the ship in. We just need to get to the ship now, fly out of here. Makes things simpler for us. I'll stand watch and look out for them. Once they're here we can fill them in on what's going on. Sound good?"

Seraph nodded her head and set Donny on their way. It was a bit funny now that he thought about it. Seraph was hardly the most intimidating member of the crew, but assuming she simply wasn't relying information to him perhaps she has stepped up for the role of leadership. She at least seemed like the type who could think on her feet better then Donny could. He returned to the hall, careful to remain hidden, while waiting and watching for the others. He honestly didn't expect any of them to show up. He'd give them about ten minutes. If no one shows up before ten minutes he'll assume they aren't coming, and tell everyone else they're dead.

[EliteCommander]

The group did not wait long after Donny left to take action. Once they were agreed, they set out towards the airlocks along the path Avatar had specified. With most of the security doors in the area locked down, any pursuers would be slowed sufficiently to prevent them from interfering before they could reach the airlocks. As there was little risk of being flanked, the diplomats followed their guards from behind, though their pace was somewhat slowed. The female Turian diplomat could walk, but with her leg injury, only with support, which the male diplomat offered. She was now breathing, but it was strained. If she could not reach a proper medical facility, her life could still be in danger from her wounds.

As Avatar had observed through the cameras, there was evidence that there had been fighting in some of the hallways they passed through, but currently, the only enemy force in this section of the station was in the airlocks. However, they would be facing a large enemy force of 29 hostiles consisting both of local militia, and the Asari’s soldiers, based on the camera recordings Avatar was reviewing as they moved along. Even once they rejoined with the Human forces, they would be considerably outnumbered.

Avatar led the way, as it had saw the location where the Humans were hiding. They had locked the door to the room, so to avoid startling them, Avatar spoke through the radio channel that Donny was still connected to. “Allied forces are outside the door, alert Human forces to our presence.” It warned, waiting for Donny’s response before proceeding inside.

[Fallenreaper]

Raa braced, her body tensed and eyes immediately closed. she was expecting the backlash after RK’s comment and knew the target would her directly. As much as RK was protective of her, Raa sometimes wished her AI would hit the mute button, saving her from serious trouble. After a moment she heard Voira scold the AI for her snappish tone than confirm they would follow. When Raa thought it was going to be alright, Voira then added an unnecessary comment about the earlier Turian. It was enough to cause her to whip her head about to stare at the Asari in shock. It was clear she thought her friend was willing trying to provoke their allies into doing what she didn’t want them to, and that was getting them shot!

RK merely rolled her digital opticals as she became quiet.

Still holding onto Solares, she overheard Voira ask him something. "Shall you keep Raa up, and we'll do the shooting, or will we keep Raa up and you do the shooting? Being left behind isn't high on our list of 'things to do', just behind 'being shot by the enemies'."

Deep coloring crossed her cheeks at the thought of anyone carrying her as she piped up, her voice wobbly as her legs. “I can keep up, I promise.”

RK chuckled. “You can barely stand yourself upright as it is, Raa. How do you manage to consider running too?”

Raa frowned deeper at the truth being tossed in her face and lowered her head, trying to keep her blush at its lowest visibility. It didn’t seem to matter anymore. The Quarian sighed when Solares pulled lower, her arms wrapped about his neck, and hoisted her up into his arms. She felt her heart pause in its beat for a moment causing RK a bit of alarm before the overprotective AI relaxed, retracting her preparation to warn Voira immediately. Soon, they were off and ended up tailing the rest of the group at the back of the pack with the rest of the civilians. The wounded Turian diplomat was slung around the other Turian, his body helping her among despite her rasping breathing. It was clear she wouldn’t last very long unless she was properly taken care of. A guilt cracked into Raa’s heart to know her efforts weren’t fully helpful though she did manage to prolong the female’s life, rather than have her die there. Her head leaned down while her body bounced, listening in silence and hoped her immune system would hold out until they got off this hostile ship.

Else she wasn’t going to be able to help anyone.

With a quiet voice, she whispered to Solares. “Thanks for carrying me. I hope I’m not too heavy.”

[WardenCelestine]

Giving Tacticus a semi-confused look, Solares responded to his question as best he could. “Donny lost his shit and had a mental break down after the execution. He then proceeded to explain to all of us in the middle of healing and saving lives that he was going to leave and attempt to try to find the rest of his squad or end up getting killed.” said Solares through his helmets com so only Tacticus could hear him before turning back to Raa. The young and stubborn Quarian who had just came out of her low level state of shock attempted to walk on her own without any assistance, which only lasted for a moment before she collided with Solares and his heavy armor. Giving Raa a concerned look, he took a moment to explain how serious being in shock was to her and how to behave for the time being so she could remain calm and help reduce the after effects of it. “I am not going to allow you to walk on your own, even with my assistance Raa. Thankfully you entered a low state of shock, level one of four, and it was not caused by any injuries which is also a stroke of luck on your part. There is Initial shock, which we found you in and is of little worry and tends to lead to the person passing out for a little while, a fight or flight induced subconscious nap if you will."

"You do not have to worry about that because you are coming out of it but your nerves are still shot and I do not want you falling over or onto something or someone. So, I am going to pick you up gently and carry you in the military holding position until we get to the shuttle, and potentially afterwards if I see you need it. The trick to staying calm after shock is to focus on something else, and deep slow breaths, nothing to it." Picking up Raa was relatively easy, until that all too familiar pain from the explosion earlier ago came back, making it feel as if he had been hit by a truck. While hiding the pain he was experiencing, he responded to Raa. “You are very welcome Raa, I just hope you start to feel better soon." Solares followed behind the rest of the group while Raa rested in his arms, keeping an eye and an ear out for anything out of the ordinary. "Once this is over Raa.." Solares spoke in a soft voice so only she could hear him, "I think I am going to invite everyone over to my home upon the paradise world of Erathi, just throw a party and have fun for once in the last three years or so. What do you think, a good idea?"

[Rtron]

Voira, giving an only slightly stiff nod in response to Solares simply carrying the Quarian, drew her assault rifle and took a deep breath and immediately winced at the increase in pain it caused. Need to get that fixed, as soon as we all get off of this ship. She thought, stepping forward so that she was ahead of the two. If there was a problem from behind them, she would be notified and able to turn around in an instant. Especially with RK. The Asari was oddly tense, her grip tightened on her gun, though that could be written off as having to do with their situation. They were one of the last members of the group going into increasingly hostile territory to get aboard a shuttle currently in the hands of another group that apparently had no problems leaving the rest of them behind.

When we finally get off this ship, Voira decided, we're going to open the bottle of Ryncol and drink it in it's entirety. She didn't expect the humans to get very far if they tried to leave without them. Outnumbered and with no control over their local tech area (or so Voira assumed from Avatar not mentioning that while he was in the system), it would require desperation to force the humans into a dangerous attempt at seizing the shuttle.

Voira itched to look back at Solares and Raa but continued to keep an eye out ahead of them, ignoring the constant pain mere breathing caused her. Solares would be able to protect Raa and RK would give them all ample warning if enemies came from behind them. Voira gritted her teeth at the idea, shaking her head. Goddess we need to shoot something.

RK's voice hissed into Voira's earpiece, quiet and cut off from the others from hearing the conversation. "Can you stop being so jittery? Or could you be jealous because Solares is carrying Raa, and not you?"

The AI had been watching and monitoring the Asari for a bit now, noticing the change in her. Her body temperature and hormonal changes were setting off alarm bells in RK's virtual brain as she recalled the signs of jealousy. It rarely ended well especially in high stress environment and last thing she wanted was Voira losing her head then taking it out on the group. Raa, in RK's mind, would follow the Asari despite her protests which annoyed the hell out of the AI.

Voira didn’t jump as the AI spoke in her earpiece, but she scowled as the bitch decided to critique her body language. Her own response was equally quiet, if irritated. “We’re sorry we’re jittery about being in a hostile controlled environment, slowed down, and trying to catch up with a bunch of humans that could easily leave us behind if given the slightest chance. We’ll try to relax and pretend we’re on Ilium of something, would that make you feel better? Oh wait! We can’t relax given that we could be attacked at any moment by another larger group than us. We’ll stop being jittery when we’re off this ship or you stop being bitchy.” She ignored the latter question.

“Nervous, my digital ass,” RK snapped, her tone clear she didn’t believe the Asari’s excuses, “ I know and have your nervousness on log, Voira. Nice try on the lie. Had I been an organic, or anyone else, than I might’ve fallen for it. Just keep your mind on the look out else I will tell Raa, and currently in this position, I can’t be stopped.”

Voira would know the AI wasn’t bluffing because the Asari’s performance affected Raa’s survival, and if she had to blow Voira’s biggest secret than she would. Even at the cost of the Asari forever hating her more than she did now. It was worth the price. “So, will you now, using a human phrase, put your green eyed monster back in its box! Before I make you!”

The Asari’s jaw, about to snap a retort to the AI, snapped shut as RK delivered her threat. Her muscles tensed with terror, and she only barely kept from glancing fearfully over her shoulder at Raa and Solares. She was certain the two of them had over heard the AI. As no accusations or bewildered questions came, however, Voira minisculy relaxed, bit by bit.

“We will never let our nervousness get Raa hurt.” She hissed, hatred infusing her tone. “You just mind your own fucking business, and we’ll take care of ourselves.” It was with pathetic relief that she saw Avatar addressing the humans. Finally. Something to shoot. Violently.

[Lucius Cypher]

Shortly after Donny went out to watch for the others, the geth spoke through his comms. "Roger. With you guys our group is going to be too big to hide in the rooms, so I'm syncing our comms together. Feather's will fill you in on the details." Donny switched over to his team's comms and told them about the Geth and the others. Seraph gave him the confirmation to share their signal, and once they seemed properly hooked up she informed them of their objective.

"This is Corporal Seraph Angelica, call sign Feathers. I have no doubt that there are those among you who outrank me in both experience and authority, however I must ask for your cooperation in order to succeed in achieving our objective. We are currently down to 9 combatants as well as one civilian VIP. I understand that you are also protecting a few yourselves. Our main objectives will be to escort them to our shuttle. There are exactly 29 enemies in the docking area, spread around and near cover as well as patrolling in and out of the docking area. We must do whatever we can to minimize the damage to the shuttle or we'll be forced to commandeer another one, and ours is the only one that could fit up to 30 passengers at a time. Additionally, there are two interceptor class space ships near the shuttle. We must either commandeer or destroy those; they will be useful for protecting the shuttle against pursuers, but if we cannot spare anyone to pilot them we must destroy them so they aren't used against us. Lastly, while the locks at the air docks have been lifted temporarily, we still need someone to open them once we are in the shuttle. Otherwise we'll be sitting ducks, and once we get inside there's no telling how long it'll take before the enemies lock us in and surround us."

This message was broadcasted to everyone in the human crew as well as the Cabalist, Voria, Solares, Raa, and Avatar. Seraph also sent everyone a 3D map of the shuttle, as well as approximate location of the enemy and other things of note, such as command terminals and volatile materials. Giving everyone a moment to let Seraph's words sink in, she spoke again.

"My group will provide covering fire and barriers as needed. We need to clear a safe path to the shuttle and eliminate any threat near it. Killing the hostiles in the areas is not our objective: Do it as we must, but we're not here to save the station. If any of you are injured, come see our medic immediately. We have plenty of Medigel and other supplies to ensure that you get out of here alive."

Looking at the map Seraph gave them he could already map out a path of destruction. His personal barriers ought to be able to protect him from the worst of it, and now that he was with his team he knew he would have some help. Though he remembered that without Alexander, he was the sole Vandguard in his outfit. He'd be charging into battle alone. But that's what he'd have to do once the attack occurs. He gripped his knife and pulled it from his sheath. The darkened blade was hard to see in the shadows, but he could feel it's weight, it's sharpness, and it's history in his hands. This was the knife that fought against Reapers. Terrorist were nothing.

"If there are any of you with stealth capabilities we'd like to you sneak in and get into position to attack the enemy from behind. Preferably any of those who are near the shuttle. Those with defensive capabilities I would suggest you stay with the VIP's to ensure their protection. Everyone else we need to shut down the enemy and prevent them from destroying the shuttle. I don't care how you do it. Any questions?"

[cqbexpt]

As they moved through the hallways of the station it was oddly quite. The whole time Cactus felt like something would leap from an unseen corner and catch them all by surprise. That was always a possibility when you were moving fast. Someone doesn't clear a sector properly and everyone ends up dead because of it. Thankfully Avatar had shut off most of the was that intersected their path. It did not help his nervousness however and he was still ready to go at a moments notice. The rather uneventful trek became more interesting however when they began to push through an area where fighting had recently taken place Cactus began to clench his jaw in anticipation of being fired at. When Avatar stopped Tacticus's heart skipped a beat and he thought they were about to be attacked. When he simply asked Donny to inform the Humans they were there the wave of relief was incredible. When Ruvea came hobbling out of the room the humans were in Sura immediately dropped her gun and hugged him.

"You bastard! Why haven't you been responding. When we get back you're on PT for the next year." Sura said quickly picking her weapon back up and regaining her commanding demeanor.

"Oh you know I just got shot a few times. Comm piece got taken off when a bullet grazed my ear unfortunately" Ruvea pointed to a small but long grazing mark along his face.

"You're alive and that's what matters. Everyone else can give you shit once we're out of here. Get back with the diplomats you're barriers are more useful there anyways. " Sura said as she moved up to the now open door. Just then the comms sprang to life with a Human womens voice. After she explained what the situation was and her plan was Cactus had to settle his anger quickly over the fact that they had left them in the first place. It's not the time he thought to himself. Once the Human finished her take on the situation Sura immediately responded on the comms. "No offense lady but you and your crew bailed on us earlier trying to save your own skin. You tell your people to get out here with your diplomat and to join the rest of the group. We are a cabal with the Turian military and per the treaties BOTH of our governments signed I outrank you. The plan is solid but me and my people train for these types of breaching scenarios. Give me Donny and we'll clear a path for you all. If you attempt to leave without us again you will be considered enemies of the Turian state and her clients. If we have an understanding let's go."

Cactus was at a loss for words for a moment as Sura just took charge of the situation like that. She could kick everyone in the squad's ass but this was different. She seemed down right annoyed with the humans in this instance. Cactus looked to Numso since he was in the spear head of the group with him with wide eyed amazement. He mouthed "I know." to Cactus before putting his head back into the situation. Sura turned on her heel out of the room and looked at the group of cabalists. "We're doing a standard room clear here. Numso and Cactus, drop anyone with ranged weapons first. Everyone else, provide support and stay grouped and use your biotics to reach out and touch the bastards with the wrath of the spirit. Diplomats and Raa stay behind the spear and you'll make it out. If you panic and run away I cannot guarantee your safety. Are we clear?" The whole Cabal gave out a combined "yessir!" Before forming on her and readying their weapons as the diplomats nervously ran into place behind them.