ErsatzEmpress
Noctis
ButtsnBalls
Kaithe Dame
Andreyich
Rightful Heir
Naril
JJ Doe
DamyclesOld Enemies, New Partners: II
Starring: @Andreyich, @Auz, @DrRtron, @KaiserElectric and @Lucky
Tak moved through the corridors of the Weiro at a steady pace, following the scent of the natural born as it wormed its way from deep inside the ship. The krogan was careful not to run or brandish any weapons, wary of the Geth voice he had spoken to earlier, as a shipwide alert would mean Tak would lose the advantage of surprise. His council had warned him that the Urdnot clan would send an assassin with the intention of stopping their political maneuver. Even though the krogan did not care for such games, he’d be damned if he’d let a natural born claim his skull plate.
It didn’t take Tak long to realise that the stench of the genetically inferior was coming from the engine room.
Sabotage.
The cowardly would-be-killer wasn’t even going to give him the dignity of facing off with honour. Turning the final corner, Tak crept up towards one of the many entrances to the ship’s core, hugging the wall as he did so. The noise of machinery was too loud for the krogan to make out anything that was going on inside, he would have to risk peeking around the corner. Grabbing the stock of his shotgun, and opening the door, Tak leaned out slightly.
Urd was still at work at the console, muttering to himself about ‘Osino’ and ‘thieving pyjacks’ and ‘untrusting captains’.
“Can’t believe they hired another engineer. Ridiculous. I’m the only one they need! Ship’s not even close to perfect. Typical human. As long as it can function it's perfect. Explains why the turians were able to smack them so easily. And what even is a drell? Frog people? Why does she have those cuts on her neck? Are they all little thieves?”
He stopped as he heard the door open again behind him. Great. Another introduction. Probably a third engineer they didn’t tell me about. With a sigh, he turned around and froze as he saw the face of a tank-born staring back at him. Hundreds of images from the war flooded his mind and he felt a deep-set familiar rage begin to fill him. He fought it down, barely. He wasn’t going to be ruled by his blood rage, and besides he had been warned by Eustace about the Tank-bred. The human had made him agree to not murder the abomination on sight, if he wanted to seize his destiny aboard the Weiro. With difficulty, Urd shoved down his murderous rage and adrenaline that had shot through his system at seeing his long time foe. Things would have to be different, as much as he despised the idea.
Tak cursed himself for allowing the door to open with too much noise. He had lost his advantage. No matter, at least now he could give the natural born an honourable death, looking into the eyes of his enemy.
“ASSASSIN!” Tak shouted as he entered engineering, Spike Thrower first.
“Wha-” Urd began to snarl. This Tank-bred was insane, as they usually were.
Then he noticed the shotgun.
Urd’s instincts were fortunately sharper than his mind, and as he began to fully recognize what was about to happen he had already pulled up a biotic barrier around him. The first spike slammed to a stop inches from his face, straining against the barrier.. Of course. Of course the abomination was going to try to kill him. He knew he shouldn’t have trusted C-Sec’s word. They were monsters with no control.
He couldn’t let the fight be here, too much of the equipment was needed to run the Weiro. But he wasn’t going to lay down and die either.
“OSINO, RUZAD, GO FIND EUSTACE!” He roared as biotic energy surged around him, gathering like a raging river blocked by a dam. His vision narrowed in on his hated enemy and with an explosion of blue energy he charged straight towards the tank-bred, slamming into Tak and throwing both of them into the wall behind the tank-bred. With a snarl, Urd brought his head forward in an attempt at a head butt.
An obnoxiously loud, piercing klaxon alarm blares out once the Krogan and tank-bred collide. Vital machinery powers down from a hum to silence. It is almost as if the Weiro itself is responding to the two.
“Takaror Corr. Urdnot Shephurd. Cease and desist before the Captain is notified and disciplinary action is taken.” The Geth is concise with its wording.
Battlemaster. Tak thought as the barrier lit up, covering the natural born. The other Krogan had screamed something unintelligible before closing the gap and launching a vicious hand to hand. The headbutt landed with a heavy crack, loud enough to drown out the words of the machine as alarms blared around them. Tak laughed at the pain, headbutts between krogan were basically a formal greeting at this point. The tank bred unleashed the monster from within, allowing his biotics to flare up, coating him in the same deep blue. He prepared to perform a charge to get them back into the centre of the room, hoping to throw the natural born off balance.
Oh no you don’t. Urd’s biotics surged around him as he built his own charge again. They were going to stay right here.
A biotic shockwave rippled throughout the bay as both charges released at the same time. Anything not nailed down was flung across the room as the two krogan gripped each other in an intense series of locks, Ruzad beeping in panic as it was thrown out of the engineering bay door on its way to obey Urd’s command. The other unfortunate thing not nailed down was of course Osino Kael.
Having retreated back into the engine room to collect her things from the upper deck, the Drell was immediately flung backwards by the shockwave, saving herself from being slammed into a wall by grabbing onto an overhanging rail and swinging up and around it.
Well that’s wonderful, Osino thought. the only thing better to have near the fragile equipment than a Krogan? Two Krogan. Keeping her eyes on the ensuing destruction, she activated her communicator with her other hand with a trill ringing sound. “Plisken, when you’re finished with the upload do me a solid and get Eustace down here before the engine falls off,” she shouted over the din.
“What? Hrrm, is the ship that bad?” came a gravely electronic voice from the other end.
“No, the Krogans are having a bit of a workplace dispute,” Osino explained. “I’ll see what I can do, but best case scenario is that the CO gets here before I need to get peeled off the walls.”
“Huh, can’t say that’d do much for the scenery. Plisken out.”
“Always the comedian,” Osino said, stalking along the top of the room as the Krogan dueled one another.
Urd grunted in pain as Tak’s clawed fist cracked across his jaw, throwing him to the ground. His vision swam as one thought burned in his mind. Not. Like. This. A second later he was on his feet again, drawing his hammer as he did so. Electricity crackled across the head as it was activated and with another roar he swung it at the Tank-Bred’s head.
Two alarms sound off in the engine room again, the volume nearly deafening this time. Meanwhile the Geth has already communicated to Eustace and Captain Sosa’Numos of the ongoing fight with the following message to them privately: ”Engineer Urdnot Shephurd and Shock Trooper Takaror Corr have engaged in an unsanctioned fight within the engine department. Immediate intervention required.”
In a second attempt at de-escalating the fight, Seraph follows the alarms with its robotic tone. “This fight and events leading up to have been recorded. Disengage immediately to receive your punishments accordingly.”
“Now why didn’t I think of that?” Osino commented as she dug around in one of the conduits to put her idea into place.
Tak ducked the incoming hammer, the electricity sparking across his plates as it grazed by. A direct hit from a weapon of that calibre would shatter through any biotic barrier. The tank bred ducked and weaved avoiding the precise swings of Urd. The natural born had done this dance many times over, distracting his enemy with the head of the hammer, putting the other krogan on the defence. Urd established an obvious pattern of swings allowing Tak to fall into a rhythm before feinting a blow and bringing up the handle uppercutting the abomination.
Tak stumbled backwards, narrowly avoiding a follow up death blow, he hocked up a gob of bright orange blood, spitting it out before re-engaging.
It was only by now the Eustace had come, sliding around a corner. Where the hell was the Drell in all this? Didn't matter right now. "A tenth of your next paychecks are being deducted. Every second you continue this another tenth will be taken." The man announced, drawing either Carnifex pistol from his armpit holsters calmly. "As well, a record of who damaged what will be produced, these elements likewise deducted from your balance." He continued, loading the pistols with armour piercing munitions. Eustace flicked the safety on either weapon meaningfully. "If you do not stop I'll smear the walls with your fucking brains." he said, knowing Krogan responded well to shows of force.
Urd blocked a strike from the Tank-Bred, stumbling back. The monster had more power behind his blows than expected. Eustace’s arrival made him take his eyes off of his opponent. “Tell that to him, not me! I was-” Letting himself get distracted was a mistake as Tak extended his reach, his claws just stopping short of a soft spot on Urd’s neck. The tank-bred could feel the anger ooze off the human, it was enough to take his threat seriously.
“This coward is an Urdnot assassin. With your permission, human, I will end his life.”
Urd gritted his teeth at the insult, but kept his hammer down. Eustace was going to handle it.
Eustace sighed wearily. This was exactly why he didn’t get right to work. These little scenes always happened in these diverse teams. How the hell was he supposed to bring people who were only months ago perhaps on different sides of the same battles?
“No, Mr. Corr, you will not.” Eustace explained, the calming of Tak prompting the man to holster one of his pistols. “The person before you is Urdnot Shephurd, he is one of the Engineers aboard the vessel. You should have been acquainted with this fact by now, and I am thoroughly disappointed. Furthermore, there is no title as ‘human’ aboard this vessel. Either refer to me as Sir or Yeoman appending Dar Adal if the situation demands it to specify which Sir you are speaking of. Fucking awful. You will be getting sent a disciplinary document later. You understand? Good, get out of my sight. Doubt you’ll get much sympathy from the Captain so I suggest you hurry before you get this talk a second time. Wait, no. I want you to formally apologize to Mr. Urdnot here first.”
Was this true? How could the council's information be wrong? More games, more betrayals, Tak was filled with anger but none of it was for anyone in the room. He would have his day but here and now, he was in the wrong.
“If what you say is true, Sir, then grant me no mercy in your punishment. And to the Urdnot clan.” The tank born turned to face Urd. “I have dishonoured our chance to fight on equal terms. Should we do battle again, I will declare my intentions beforehand.”
Urd inclined his head in a begrudging nod. At least the Tank-bred had some knowledge of honor.
“You will not battle again!” Eustace roared before Urd could reply, veins on his face looking as if they were about to burst. “Get out! Get out!” The man said, waving Tak out of the room with his pistol.
“As you wish, Sir.”
“What was he fucking thinking.” the man muttered, holstering his other firearm. “You alright?” he asked of Urd, hoping rather likely in vain that in the hours since the encounter with Osino Urd had learned to be reasonable, if at least out of desire to be the bigger (and thus better) man. “Where’s the Drell, Osino?”
Urd touched a hand to his neck and looked at the orange on it. The Tank-born had just broken the surface of the skin. “I’ll be fine. He won’t get so lucky next time. I asked Os to find you when the fight broke out. I don’t know where she is now.”
He watched the tank-bred leave the room with simmering hatred. Then he turned to face Eustace. “I warned you. I warned all of you! And you all assured me my concerns were for nothing.” He rubbed his bloodied fingers together and held it out to Eustace. “Nothing. That must feel a lot different to humans than to Krogans.” He reattached his hammer to the back of his armor and turned back to the console in disgust. “Don’t turn your back on him. You can’t trust the Tank-Bred. Any more than you can trust a rabid Varren!”
“Is there anyone on the ship you DO trust?” The human and the Krogan looked up at Osino standing on one of the conduits, a thick bundle of wires draped over one shoulder.
“Several. You’re not one of them, as evidenced by you hiding instead of helping like I asked!” Urd snapped, craning his head to look up at her.
“I WAS helping,” she insisted, taking off the bundle of wires. “I sent Plisken to go find the Yo-Man here and was about to intervene. By the way, I’m not super familiar with Quarian electromagnetic shielding tech, would magnetizing the walls interfere with the ship functions at all?” She effortlessly directed the question to Eustace like there hadn’t been a bloody knockout battle in the engine room a moment ago.
“I-You. Hmm. I guess that counts.” Urd grumbled under his breath, attempting to look over the scans Ruzad had gotten for him with his hearts still pounding with adrenaline and fear.
At this point, Eustace rubbed his eyes wearily. Truth was the day had started rather recently for him but he was already feeling like he had enough. “Urd, Takaror is a crewmate of this vessel. Following this misunderstanding I expect the same respect to be given to him as anyone else. Please don’t say anything, it won’t turn out well. Osino, come with me for a moment.” the man said, motioning with his fingers for the Drell to follow.
“Coming down,” Osino declared, vaulting off the conduit once again and dropping to the ground with an acrobatic flourish, tossing her uniform jacket on in one fluid motion.
“Urd, clean this up.” he commanded, walking away and hoping very dearly that the Drell would follow as he pulled up his omni-tool to start writing a report of the incident. She did indeed follow, but not before holding back to grab the first aid kit off the wall, tossing it over to Urd with a friendly casual salute before rushing after the yeoman.
Urd caught the first aid kit and gave a grunt of thanks, muttering to himself as he and Ruzad set about putting the engineering bay back together. “Don’t know why I’m cleaning up, I’m not the stupid tube that caused the mess ridiculous…”
After the two passed some distance Eustace turned a corner closing his omni-tool having just about finished his report. With that he turned to the Drell, pursing his lips momentarily before shaking his head. “Do you know why you were contracted as Chief Engineer? Give it a moment.
Osino tilted her head slightly. “Because...I demonstrated the appropriate skills, sir?”
Eustace inhaled and then in a single go emptied the contents of his lungs through his nose in a single long exhalation. “Please, do elaborate. Or, perhaps let me do so: why do you think you were selected to be Urd’s leader? No, don’t answer that, today’s not been a good day for me and I think I might not like the answer.” he said, scratching a sideburn.
“It's great you can do foppish tricks flinging bits of the Engines about. Oh my yes they’d be appreciated, particularly in the entertainment sector. But your job on the ship is to maintain the Engines and when it came to doing just that you were playing amongst the machinery while Krogan were incurring many credits in damage.”
“I wasn’t just playing around, I was-”
“As a Chief Engineer,” he continued, speaking forcefully over the drell, “You’re not a ‘better’ Engineer, you are an Engineer that leads the other Engineer. Maybe what happened was out of spite for me. Maybe it was out of spite for Urd. But I don’t give a pyjak’s ass about why I need the what and I need the what to be results. Today is our first day, we can forget about all the bad that happened if it doesn’t continue. But I need someone I can trust to make sure everything down here is perfect, do you hear? Urd, Tak, either of them can turn me into a wet blob of red. They didn’t. If what we read about you is right they wouldn’t have with you either. Don’t fail your references.” Eustace finished, for now unloading the armour piercing munitions from his pistols to replace them with standard clips. “Can I trust you that this is the first and last time something of this sort happens? That you will be the reliable and diligent worker your file says you are? This can easily result in promotion or… well, the inverse. A Chief Engineer that’s not being a Chief can just be an Engineer.”
Osino had....quite a lot to think about and say in regards to that. But for the sake of this mission, she responded with a muted nod and a “Of course, sir.”
Eustace noticed that the words belied thoughts, but if they weren’t uttered then at least there was some progress in his opinion. “Good. For the moment magnetizing the walls would be a violation of the ship’s safety protocols. But this can be rectified down the line. Now go tell Urd how you think it was so heroic how he defended himself and the ship, but that it's a good thing you were glad you could stop it from escalating because Tak is to be a good comrade. Dismissed.”
Eustace knew the words said today wouldn’t be taken very happily, but that wasn’t the point. It would be better for him to be judged as an ass and a nuisance than someone that let his crew tear itself apart. No, not his crew he reminded himself. They were good people - or so he was told - but he absolved himself of yet more dead on his conscience and the events of today seemed to say it was a good precaution. He tried to smile at Osino, but he knew having to so indiscriminately put his foot down had killed his chance at amiable relations with the Drell and the duo of Krogan already. Perhaps it was for the better.
Eustace went back to his office, calling out over his shoulder: “If the Captain comes, tell her it was nothing, it’s all sorted. For the sake of all of us I think it's perhaps best she not know a pair of Krogan nearly ruined a relic of her people.”
