meow
ButtsnBalls Member
Goderator
- Last Seen: 3 days ago
- Old Guild Username: none
- Joined: 11 yrs ago
- Posts: 2603 (0.67 / day)
- VMs: 6
-
Username history
- ButtsnBalls 25 days ago
- RolePlayerGuilt 5 mos ago
- POOPHEAD189 8 mos ago
- Obamahz 11 mos ago
- █████████████ 1 yr ago
- ███████████ 1 yr ago
- █████ 11 yrs ago
-
Latest 10 profile visitors:
-
Most recent →
Shu,
Rightful Heir,
Lith,
Dark Cloud,
X Fiendfyre X,
Carantathraiel,
Sillyman59,
AlteredTundra,
ayzrules,
Spoopy Scary
Status
Recent Statuses
6 yrs ago
The most common color for highlighters is yellow because it doesn’t leave a shadow on the page when photocopied
4
likes
9 yrs ago
40000 Americans are injured by toilets each year
5
likes
9 yrs ago
A strawberry is not an actual berry, but a banana is.
4
likes
9 yrs ago
No one knows who invented the fire hydrant because its patent was burned in a fire
6
likes
9 yrs ago
Sea otters hold hands while sleeping so they don’t drift away from each other
3
likes
Bio
Most Recent Posts
Havana, Cuba, Earth
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
Early morning, April 7, 2187
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
⠀
Sunny, 19°C
Several members of the SRN were not satisfied with their payment. The Earth paper currencies had uncertain values in the post-war economy. Upon being pressured, Yarik and Beanie handed over their shuttle as compensation. The two of them (and the surviving drell soldiers) would be tagging along with the refugees, and would no longer need the shuttle for combat missions. This meant the SRN team now had their own vehicle to travel around in.
Upon confirming with an SRN "management" (the identify of whom was still not known to Katya), the group was instructed to meet Dr. Jelize in Havana. The director acknowledged Sigma's death (with minimal sympathy), and congratulated the team's success. As such, two replacement members, a turian medic and a human engineer, would waiting to join up at Cuba.
Before departing, Yarik reminded Keslia and Kysar to procure better biotic amps. According to the drell, his "economy class" volus-made amp had been giving him headaches since for weeks, and it's only fair they hook him up with asari or turian alternatives as payment for leaving with the orb fragments.
The actual flight across the Atlantic happened within a day. Katya had just enough training to fly the shuttle with the help of a nav computer. Even though it was below the capacity of 14 human-sized passengers, the shuttle shambled awkwardly through the Atlantic winds, making rest of the thinly cushioned seats even more difficult. The most uncomfortable part of the ride was having no lavatory; the closest thing was a stained bucket smelled of drell bodily fluids.
It was late in the night when the group arrived at Havana spaceport. From above, the smattering of lights among skyscrapers and antiqued buildings was a stark contrast to other ruined Earth cities. During the reaper war, half of Havana's population was lured into processing centers elsewhere by indoctrinated leaders. The other half, currently running this city, fought a countryside resistance under the leadership of a krogan quarterback. The frequent traffic of aircraft and spacecraft was a testament of how vital this place was. So busy was the spaceport, in fact, the SRN shuttle waited more than an hour before they could land.
Out on the Cuban streets, Katya found a jubilant city (at midnight, no less!) Colorful streetlights and holograms dotted the streets. Bars were buzzing with tipsy goers, laughing groups (consisted of both humans and others) walked by, and occasionally, cars of both the land and hovering varieties zoomed by blasting Caribbean music. There's no signs of dead husks; a far cry from Windhoek.
After locking down the shuttle in a secure hangar, Katya found herself checking into a resort on the Malecon. It had been months since Katya slept in a full-sized bed, with the proper amenities of a hotel suite to match (even a mass effect field jacuzzi!) It sure beat Alliance bunks, and it certainly beat sleeping in a greasy hangar. Katya rested so well that she forgot to check up on Solveig in the morning.
It was Solveig who knocked on her door came morning. She seemed to have completely recovered from her ordeal in Namibia, or at least, recovered enough to give an impression of complete recovery. She stood in the dorrway of Katya's room, dressed in her Alliance uniform. Katya, on the other hand, was in her sleepwear and bathrobes. The sun was just rising in the window behind her.
Katya asked Sol to come in, have coffee and...
"I should go." Solveig declined. Duty called, and she would be catching the first Alliance ship this morning. As always, the nature of her recall was classified.
The news shocked Katya. But then she remembered Solveig was still an active-duty military member. Her cousin-in-law probably used her few days of vacation to fight in a desert. Katya suddenly felt terrible for dragging Sol into the whole SRN business. She's her only family left on Earth, and they should be doing something better together than merc work.
Oh well, no point dwelling on it now. Katya gave Sol a big goodbye hug, one that Solveig reciprocated clumsily. "Stay safe out there," Katya told her, "and you can always come back, if you need to."
Immediately after, Katya found two unread messages on her datapad.
Forwarding the messages to the rest of her team, Katya began making arrangements for the newcomers. A medic without a gun and a engineer way too attached to the Citadel; useful skills, but she's not certain about either of them. Hopefully they wouldn't die as fast as Sigma.
Upon confirming with an SRN "management" (the identify of whom was still not known to Katya), the group was instructed to meet Dr. Jelize in Havana. The director acknowledged Sigma's death (with minimal sympathy), and congratulated the team's success. As such, two replacement members, a turian medic and a human engineer, would waiting to join up at Cuba.
Before departing, Yarik reminded Keslia and Kysar to procure better biotic amps. According to the drell, his "economy class" volus-made amp had been giving him headaches since for weeks, and it's only fair they hook him up with asari or turian alternatives as payment for leaving with the orb fragments.
The actual flight across the Atlantic happened within a day. Katya had just enough training to fly the shuttle with the help of a nav computer. Even though it was below the capacity of 14 human-sized passengers, the shuttle shambled awkwardly through the Atlantic winds, making rest of the thinly cushioned seats even more difficult. The most uncomfortable part of the ride was having no lavatory; the closest thing was a stained bucket smelled of drell bodily fluids.
It was late in the night when the group arrived at Havana spaceport. From above, the smattering of lights among skyscrapers and antiqued buildings was a stark contrast to other ruined Earth cities. During the reaper war, half of Havana's population was lured into processing centers elsewhere by indoctrinated leaders. The other half, currently running this city, fought a countryside resistance under the leadership of a krogan quarterback. The frequent traffic of aircraft and spacecraft was a testament of how vital this place was. So busy was the spaceport, in fact, the SRN shuttle waited more than an hour before they could land.
Out on the Cuban streets, Katya found a jubilant city (at midnight, no less!) Colorful streetlights and holograms dotted the streets. Bars were buzzing with tipsy goers, laughing groups (consisted of both humans and others) walked by, and occasionally, cars of both the land and hovering varieties zoomed by blasting Caribbean music. There's no signs of dead husks; a far cry from Windhoek.
After locking down the shuttle in a secure hangar, Katya found herself checking into a resort on the Malecon. It had been months since Katya slept in a full-sized bed, with the proper amenities of a hotel suite to match (even a mass effect field jacuzzi!) It sure beat Alliance bunks, and it certainly beat sleeping in a greasy hangar. Katya rested so well that she forgot to check up on Solveig in the morning.
It was Solveig who knocked on her door came morning. She seemed to have completely recovered from her ordeal in Namibia, or at least, recovered enough to give an impression of complete recovery. She stood in the dorrway of Katya's room, dressed in her Alliance uniform. Katya, on the other hand, was in her sleepwear and bathrobes. The sun was just rising in the window behind her.
Katya asked Sol to come in, have coffee and...
"I should go." Solveig declined. Duty called, and she would be catching the first Alliance ship this morning. As always, the nature of her recall was classified.
The news shocked Katya. But then she remembered Solveig was still an active-duty military member. Her cousin-in-law probably used her few days of vacation to fight in a desert. Katya suddenly felt terrible for dragging Sol into the whole SRN business. She's her only family left on Earth, and they should be doing something better together than merc work.
Oh well, no point dwelling on it now. Katya gave Sol a big goodbye hug, one that Solveig reciprocated clumsily. "Stay safe out there," Katya told her, "and you can always come back, if you need to."
Immediately after, Katya found two unread messages on her datapad.
Forwarding the messages to the rest of her team, Katya began making arrangements for the newcomers. A medic without a gun and a engineer way too attached to the Citadel; useful skills, but she's not certain about either of them. Hopefully they wouldn't die as fast as Sigma.
Janiri's overload and Karnoc's shots weakened the Locust's barrier. After that, grenades from Kysar and Keslia finished made short work of the collector's remaining defenses. It all happened within seconds, while Locust was recalling its swarm.
Realizing its danger with a sharp screech, the Locust's retaliation came first with a green biotic blast toward Janiri, which shredded the metal ship she hid behind, but otherwise left the asari unharmed. Then came a burst from its particle beam, directed at Kysar and Kaya's position. Once again, their covers took brunt of it. Finally, it turned to the charging krogan. They were too close to each other to miss now, but luckily for Karnoc, one of Kaya's shots hit dead center on the Locust's chest, puncturing its chitinous armor and knocking it off balance.
Then, one of Keslia's grenades exploded seconds after the others, possibly malfunctioned due to sand or overlapping biotics. This explosion threw Karnoc back. Fortunately for Katya, who had armed herself with the rocket launcher (which the drell conveniently reloaded before dying) and climbed on top of the shipwreck, this meant Karnoc wouldn't get close enough to the collector.
"Firing rocket!" Katya announced over their comms. And once she had done so, the rocket homed in on the Locust. With no barrier and fractured armor, the resulting explosion tore the Locust to darkened bits.
After the dusts settled, Skeleton Coast fell silent. The swarm crumbled without control; their shells littered the sands. Wind and waves were the only sounds remaining. In the furthest east, a tiny speck of light appeared on the horizon.
Katya dropped the rocket launcher and let out a sigh of relief. Others in the team were checking the Locust's remains, so she tended to Solveig. Solveig had recovered enough to shoulder her rifle, and told Katya she was fine. But Katya wasn't so sure. Solveig would never say she's vulnerable, even in the worst perils. Katya supported her to the shuttle and told her to lie down for the time being.
Upon confirming the Locust's destruction, there was no one more relieved than Yarik. The tense, guarded alertness vanished from his body, replaced with simple jubilation as if he relived the victory over the reapers. "The war is finally over," he rejoiced. Now, the problem was the surviving drells. Some of them begun to stir, and about half of their number were still alive. Apparently, none of them remembered fighting the SRN team.
"This is our only shuttle now." Beanie reminded everyone. Right, it would take two trips to get the SRN members and other drells back to Windhoek. Katya and Solveig would be back on the first flight, along with several injured drells. Yarik would stay behind for the second flight. In her place, Katya appointed Janiri as temporary squad leader (for those waiting with Yarik); reason being the asari had shown surprising amount of initiative (and less likely to do something reckless, like Karnoc).
Realizing its danger with a sharp screech, the Locust's retaliation came first with a green biotic blast toward Janiri, which shredded the metal ship she hid behind, but otherwise left the asari unharmed. Then came a burst from its particle beam, directed at Kysar and Kaya's position. Once again, their covers took brunt of it. Finally, it turned to the charging krogan. They were too close to each other to miss now, but luckily for Karnoc, one of Kaya's shots hit dead center on the Locust's chest, puncturing its chitinous armor and knocking it off balance.
Then, one of Keslia's grenades exploded seconds after the others, possibly malfunctioned due to sand or overlapping biotics. This explosion threw Karnoc back. Fortunately for Katya, who had armed herself with the rocket launcher (which the drell conveniently reloaded before dying) and climbed on top of the shipwreck, this meant Karnoc wouldn't get close enough to the collector.
"Firing rocket!" Katya announced over their comms. And once she had done so, the rocket homed in on the Locust. With no barrier and fractured armor, the resulting explosion tore the Locust to darkened bits.
After the dusts settled, Skeleton Coast fell silent. The swarm crumbled without control; their shells littered the sands. Wind and waves were the only sounds remaining. In the furthest east, a tiny speck of light appeared on the horizon.
Katya dropped the rocket launcher and let out a sigh of relief. Others in the team were checking the Locust's remains, so she tended to Solveig. Solveig had recovered enough to shoulder her rifle, and told Katya she was fine. But Katya wasn't so sure. Solveig would never say she's vulnerable, even in the worst perils. Katya supported her to the shuttle and told her to lie down for the time being.
Upon confirming the Locust's destruction, there was no one more relieved than Yarik. The tense, guarded alertness vanished from his body, replaced with simple jubilation as if he relived the victory over the reapers. "The war is finally over," he rejoiced. Now, the problem was the surviving drells. Some of them begun to stir, and about half of their number were still alive. Apparently, none of them remembered fighting the SRN team.
"This is our only shuttle now." Beanie reminded everyone. Right, it would take two trips to get the SRN members and other drells back to Windhoek. Katya and Solveig would be back on the first flight, along with several injured drells. Yarik would stay behind for the second flight. In her place, Katya appointed Janiri as temporary squad leader (for those waiting with Yarik); reason being the asari had shown surprising amount of initiative (and less likely to do something reckless, like Karnoc).
It was well into the morning when everyone returned to Windhoek. The predicted sandstorm had fully blanketed the area. Resistance members, relief workers and the newly arrived drells cramped inside whatever shelter they could find to avoid this sandstorm. The interior of the only intact building in Windheok suddenly felt very cramped. For what it's worth, Karnoc was wise to secure a janitor's closet. In fact, it looked like a cozy closet.
Katya accompanied Solveig in a medical tent outside. A doctor examined Solveig and found no serious injury. Though this was with the limited equipment on hand. Solveig recounted what happened with the infiltration team. Later, the tent was sealed up against the sandstorm. Solveig rested on a cot, and Katya sat the next one. She wasn't sure if her cousin-in-law was sleeping or not. Either way, she respected her silence. As Katya typed the mission report, she realized this was the first time she had worked with Solveig. Actually, it was the first time they had spent more than a few hours together. Outside of lunch at mess halls and dinners at family gatherings, Katya had no idea what kind of person Solveig was. Her eyes fell on the metal arm by Solveig's side; she clearly had burdens, but just how much was she carrying on her own?
When the report was done and submitted to SRN, it was time to get paid. This was a strange process, getting paid job-by-job like a mercenary. Though the credit chits Yarik presented were enticing enough...hold on, they were half of what he promised!
"Don't worry, the remaining payment is here." Yarik produced a suitcase. Inside were paper bills. Katya recognized one of them, something she hadn't seen since her childhood: a Russian ruble! Old currencies like that only circulated on Earth, where traditional nation-state had precedence over Alliance authorities.
"How did you get this?"
"Well, I found them." Yarik tried to make an exit.
"In?" Katya grabbed the back of Yarik's armor.
"A bank? You have them on Earth, yes?" Yarik did something akin to a human shrug. "Look, we were salvaging and found the reapers had blown open the vault, so..."
"You robbed a bank." Katya couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"It's not like anyone else needed the cash, right?"
"Right..." Katya reluctantly let Yarik go.
At the end of the day, money is money. Katya distributed the credits and paper bills (half each) in equal portions to the members of her team. When everything was done, she could finally put down her gear, scrub them clean of dust and sand, and finally get some shut eye.
Waking up 90 minutes later, Katya found a message on her datapad.
Katya accompanied Solveig in a medical tent outside. A doctor examined Solveig and found no serious injury. Though this was with the limited equipment on hand. Solveig recounted what happened with the infiltration team. Later, the tent was sealed up against the sandstorm. Solveig rested on a cot, and Katya sat the next one. She wasn't sure if her cousin-in-law was sleeping or not. Either way, she respected her silence. As Katya typed the mission report, she realized this was the first time she had worked with Solveig. Actually, it was the first time they had spent more than a few hours together. Outside of lunch at mess halls and dinners at family gatherings, Katya had no idea what kind of person Solveig was. Her eyes fell on the metal arm by Solveig's side; she clearly had burdens, but just how much was she carrying on her own?
When the report was done and submitted to SRN, it was time to get paid. This was a strange process, getting paid job-by-job like a mercenary. Though the credit chits Yarik presented were enticing enough...hold on, they were half of what he promised!
"Don't worry, the remaining payment is here." Yarik produced a suitcase. Inside were paper bills. Katya recognized one of them, something she hadn't seen since her childhood: a Russian ruble! Old currencies like that only circulated on Earth, where traditional nation-state had precedence over Alliance authorities.
"How did you get this?"
"Well, I found them." Yarik tried to make an exit.
"In?" Katya grabbed the back of Yarik's armor.
"A bank? You have them on Earth, yes?" Yarik did something akin to a human shrug. "Look, we were salvaging and found the reapers had blown open the vault, so..."
"You robbed a bank." Katya couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"It's not like anyone else needed the cash, right?"
"Right..." Katya reluctantly let Yarik go.
At the end of the day, money is money. Katya distributed the credits and paper bills (half each) in equal portions to the members of her team. When everything was done, she could finally put down her gear, scrub them clean of dust and sand, and finally get some shut eye.
Waking up 90 minutes later, Katya found a message on her datapad.
© 2007-2024