Mythic

Mass Effect : Absolution

@Mythic Wait, will we be getting our own individual missions or is everyone on the docks mission?

@ClocktowerEchos

Docks mission? Sorry. Everyone will be doing the Vorcha mission as mentioned in my post.

Mass Effect : Absolution

*Please read my last OOC post before replying.*

Omega - the back end of the galaxy.
The are no laws here. There is no governing force. No crime. No punishment. No official punishment, at least. Sure, you could get beaten by thugs outside of your apartment, or shot in the chest with a shotgun whilst walking through the dockyards, but that's just part of everyday life here - if you cross someone, you become a target. That's just how it is. Nobody holds back their anger or passion because they are scared of getting hauled away by security, because there is no security. There are no prisons. On Omega, you're either free, or you're dead. Most days, you're skirting a fine line between the two. The problem is, the more successful and powerful you get, the more people want to kill you. You can't do well for yourself here unless you always have your guard up, 'cause people will come for you, that's a given. If you somehow get to the top, which is unlikely... because few do, you won't stay there for very long unless you spend every waking hour with one eye on your back. That's the sort of life you have to live on Omega.

Lower Afterlife, Omega, Sahrabarik, Omega Nebula, Milky Way
15th December, 2185

Isaac Santos leant his weight against railing that overlooked the vast cityscape of Omega. It was a cold and dark evening, such was typical, for Omega. It had only been five months since he settled here as a permanent resident. He had spent a fair amount of his time here prior to that, but he was always working around all areas of the Terminus Systems at that time. He'd got pretty badly injured on one particular operation and he had been forced to settle down for a while. He'd only really regained full fitness over the course of the last month, and in the time he had spent grounded on Omega, he'd settled in quite well and was finding work easy to come by as he built a name for himself in his local area.

He was outside of the Afterlife club - unlike most clubs on Omega, this one was restricted to people of importance. Isaac was not a person of importance. He was just another gun among thousands. Nothing important about that. Today was different though, he had an appointment. He was due to meet with Ticus Rakaelum, an intimidating and infamous crime-lord, one of the senior members of the crime outfit known as the Circle of Absolution. Apparently, the Circle only accepted the best, and clearly, Ticus liked to assess each candidate himself.

Isaac had clearly caught Ticus' eye on one of his recent jobs, and Ticus had sought him out. Well - a shady Salarian had sought him out, bumping in to him outside of his apartment. It was quite ominous that the Salarian knew where to find him, as he tried very hard to make it so nobody knew where he lived, so he never had to worry about waking up with a gun against his head, but somehow, the Circle knew where to find him. The Salarian was quick and assertive with his message, giving him a time and a place to meet with Ticus. The time? Five mintues from now. The place? Afterlife.

Isaac didn't plan on being late, nor early. He'd heard about Ticus. Most people had heard about Ticus. He was no fool, and he wasn't concerned with those beneath him. If you disturbed him outside of the time your appointment was arranged with him, it would be unlikely that he would take too kindly to you. Isaac wanted a good first impression, considering this may be his new employer that he was about to meet.

With the time growing closer, Isaac approached the entrance to Afterlife, the faint hum of fast-paced dance music vibrating through the closed door, in front of which were multiple bouncers, one of which had a datapad in his hand. Isaac approached him.

"Isaac Santos," Isaac announced himself to the man holding the datapad in his low, smoky voice. "I'm here too see Ticus Rakaelum."

The man glanced at him a moment. "Oh, yeah?" He nodded. "That Ticus guy is a busy man." The man looked down at his datapad for a few seconds before nodding once again. "Yeah, you're on here. Go on in."

Isaac nodded. "Thanks," he replied half-heartedly, barely taking any notice as to what the bouncer had said before making his way in to the entrance hallway of Afterlife and reaching another door, to the central room of Afterlife, which, upon opening, pushed several of Isaac's senses to their limits. Hypnotic, mesmerising music erupted from the room, twice as loud as what it had been before, pink neon lights scintillated endlessly from the centre of the room and the floor vibrated violently along with the music. It took a moment for Isaac to adjust to the intense yet somewhat addictive surrounding.

The bulk of the room was for dancing, drinking and conversing, but up out of the way were private booths for some of the more important individuals who came to Afterlife. Aria T'Loak, the self proclaimed monarch of Omega, had one all to herself. Another, the one that Isaac was now headed for, was occupied by Ticus.

After passing one of Ticus' bodyguards, Isaac climbed the stairs to his booth. It was small and private. There was one bodyguard up here, but other than that all there was was Ticus.

He was tall for a Turian, above average at least. His weathered, old, black skin was contrasted with white detail on his face. Aside from the armour he was garbed in, nobody would ever assume for him to be a soldier. He did not have a scar on his face. He was untouchable, after all. The first thing that jumped to mind, though, was how intimidating he was. It was intentional, of course. Everyone that Isaac had ever met on Omega had tried to make themselves seem scary, aside from the odd trader or barman. For some, it worked. For some it didn't. For Ticus, it most certainly did.

"Take a seat." Ticus spoke quietly. Isaac wasn't entirely sure if it was an order, or an offer, but he complied, sitting opposite from the Turian. "So," Ticus continued, staring down at his drink, of which he had his hand around, barely even taking a second glance at Isaac, probably out of lack of interest more than anything else. "You're interested?"

Isaac nodded. "That's right."

"Well, I'll be straight-up with you... what was it?" Ticus turned his head away from his drink and focused directly on Isaac.

"Isaac," he replied, unflinching.

"Isaac," Ticus continued without blinking. "I'll be straight up with you. We don't take any vagrant off of the street in to our ranks. We're a prestigious organisation in these parts. We like our people to have a certain level of quality. I've been told you have this quality, but..." Ticus hesitated for a moment. "I need to know for myself. I need proof that you're good enough. If you're going to work for me, you're going to be doing some... important jobs. I need to know you can get the job done."

"All right," Isaac didn't break eye contact with Ticus. Neither of them mentioned anything, but despite the fairly courteous conversation between the two, there was a battle going on - a stare off, of sorts. Ticus wanted to see if he could menace Isaac. But Isaac wouldn't allow it. "What do you need me to do?"

"Hmm," Ticus pondered this thought for a short while. "There's a small, abandoned infirmary, I'll send you the co-ordinates. The whole area has been overrun with Vorcha. Go anywhere near there and they won't be happy. In fact, they will try their best to see you dead. Go to the infirmary, kill anyone who tries to stop you, and download the information on the consoles there. Whatever's left there isn't worth much, so, if you don't come back to me alive, it's no loss to me."

"I'll get it done." Isaac nodded.

Ticus sighed. "Now get out, I've got other business to attend to. I'll meet you here, this time tomorrow... if you are still alive."

Isaac stood up and smirked slightly as he left. "I'll be alive."

"Uh, 'scuse me, sir," a voice came out from behind Ticus a few moments after Isaac had left. It was his bodyguard, a Batarian. Ticus was a very powerful man, which meant he had lots of enemies. He could never be too careful, especially when in a public location such as this, which was exactly the reason why he had some of his best men with him at all times. The bodyguard cleared his throat and approached the table. "Could I ask you something?"

Ticus gestured for his bodyguard to take a seat at the table. He didn't much enjoy conversing with his lackeys, but he did get satisfaction from making them feel small and outsmarting them, so he let the Batarian speak.

"Boss, isn't what you just said to that Human exactly the same as what you told the last kid that came 'round here?" the Batarian grunted at Ticus, questioning his motives.

Ticus' mouth turned up slightly, a wry smile, or whatever the Turian equivalent of such a thing can be described as, appeared on his weathered old face. "It's not exactly complex. Don't you see?" Ticus rolled his beady eyes. "Well, you are a Batarian, I suppose." He chuckled in a low, hollow manner, demeaning the Batarian with little reluctance. "This is how we separate the weak from the capable. Anyone who is fit to enter the Circle returns intact. Anyone who doesn't. Well. They were never truly apt enough to be one of us in the first place, evidently."

The bodyguard nodded slightly. Even with the aggressive and reactive attitude of a Batarian, the bodyguard neglected to react to the abuse that Ticus gave him. He knew any sort of retaliation, verbal or otherwise, would likely result in his brains spilling across the floor of the club. "I see." He scanned the room for a moment, as was his job, to protect Ticus, before directing his attention back to his boss. "How many usually come back alive?"

"It varies." Ticus admitted, showing little interest in the conversation. "Depends how many we send out there in the first place."

"How many did you send out?" The Batarian asked almost immediately. He was clearly concerned by this whole situation, as he too had been through the selection process. He reminisced back to his first assignment - a raid on a small pirate ship docked on Omega. He wondered if some of the people he had killed were Absolution hopefuls, too.

The Turian merely shrugged his shoulders in reply, as if their lives were completely irrelevant to him. "Maybe two dozen. The infirmary is deep within Vorcha territory - several of them will perish before they get to it. Half of those who reach it will kill eachother. Perhaps a handful will escape with the data." Ticus drained his drink and turned his head to face the Batarian. "You're irritating me now. Cut the chatter and get back to work. Go and get me another drink."

The Batarian stood up and nodded, vacating the table, eager not to offend his superior. "Of course, sir. Right away. Sorry to intrude sir."

In reply, Ticus raised his hand, as if to dismiss his apologies. "Where's my drink?" Ticus hissed, shaking his head dismissively.

The Batarian left disgruntled. But regardless of his distrust for the Circle and his loathing of Ticus, fear prevented him from ever acting out. Because of this, he would be forever loyal.

Isaac made his way back to his apartment at a fast pace, as he was eager to prepare for the next day. He wanted to impress. He wasn't scared of a couple of Vorcha, and that was all that this assignment consisted of, seemingly. He knew he could be in and out in little to no time.

After arriving at his apartment, Isaac laid out his weapons and armour before sitting down on his bed and holding his datapad. He had received the co-ordinates that Ticus had been speaking of, and as he had suspected, the only enemy he was likely to encounter were Vorcha, and he had dealt with plenty of them in his time. It was sure to be a pushover.

Isaac laid down his datapad and drifted off to sleep, resting up for the oncoming skirmish.

Mass Effect : Absolution

Okay. IC coming up any minute now.
So, how the posting will go...

Basically, your character has already met with Ticus and been given an assignment (the assignment in question will be explained in my first IC post) that will allow them entry in to the Circle, or, in some cases (i.e. Leodiensian) maybe a mission to re-evaluate them, or something - I'm sure you have it in you to come up with an alternative reason as to why they are doing this mission. If you don't feel it fits with your character to do the mission, discuss with me.

Anyway, basically, it's the night before the mission in question. You are not required to post at this point, if you don't want to, you can wait until the mission to start posting. All that's required if you do is an introduction. I plan to move on in the next couple of days, so don't get too involved in anything. Just a neat little introduction to your character. Doesn't have to be too long. I know you don't really have much to go on here, but I'm just giving you all an opportunity to do an opening post, if that's what you wish.

Mass Effect : Absolution

Will be working on an opening post in the coming hours, friends.

Mass Effect : Absolution

Well. Night all. IC tomorrow, I think. :)

Mass Effect : Absolution

TICUS RAKAELUM (NPC)

GENERAL INFORMATION

Full Name
Ticus Rakaelum

Species
Turian

Age
44

Gender
Male

PERSONAL DETAILS

Personal Profile
Ticus is intelligent. He knows how cruel the galaxy is. Therefore, he decides to operate in a way that will increase his chances and decrease everyone else. He too is cruel, relentless and unforgiving. He will not consider the "feelings" of a person and the word "morals" means nothing to him. He does not hold his tongue and will speak his mind, unless he is in the presence of someone he deems superior to him, in which situation he is quite a suck-up.

Sexuality
Unknown

APPEARANCE DETAILS

Physical Appearance
Little above average height. Muscular build. No visible scars.

Clothing and Armour
Typically, medium to heavy armour branded with the circle's markings. When in his own private quarters, he is clad in fanciful attire only attainable by the wealthy, blacks, reds and purples in luxurious materials. When he is not in the safety of his own home, however, he is always properly protected from any threat Omega has to offer.

Equipment
Ticus doesn't have to shoot anyone. He has bodyguards for that. However, being the cautious and survivalist person he is, he carries a pistol with him at all times.

SKILLS & ABILITIES

Ticus has state of the art combat training as well as the best education Palaven can offer. He is the son of a diplomat and has many years of experience under his belt.

BIOGRAPHY

Unlike many of the people in his line of work, Ticus came from a wealthy background, his father a diplomat on the Turian capital of Palaven. He was given the highest possible education attainable all throughout his youth. In fact, he was a relatively normal, wealthy Turian until his mid-20s, when he had quite a dispute with his father. He had never been a peaceful person, in fact he had always been quite violent, he just had the control to prevent himself from lashing out. However, he did not hold back on this particular day. By the end of the night his father had a bullet hole in the side of his head. Ticus fled from the planet, along with his father's wealth.
He eventually found himself in the Terminus Systems, using some of his money to establish a small smuggling circuit. Over the years, it grew, and by his early 30s, he had built somewhat of an empire - and it had developed from smugglers, to mercenaries. Ticus sat back and watched the credits roll in at home, without any particular work to do other than administration work every now and then. He decided, in this time, to train so that he too could protect his life, and if necessary, take others. He hired several personal trainers and purchased himself an armoury of weapons. Within a few years, he was better than any of the men he hired.
At the age of 35, he met with the leader of the Circle of Absolution, who had been monitoring his mercenary company for several months. The Circle was larger and more powerful than Ticus' operation, so when he was offered the chance to hand over the control of all of his vessels and men over to the leader of the Circle in exchange for a position as his left hand man and advisor, he accepted willingly.
He spent the best part of a decade travelling the Terminus Systems with his new employer before he was sent to Omega, to oversee the Circle's business there. He took charge of all recruitment on Omega, too, as he wished to see first-hand who would be entering the Circle.

Mass Effect : Absolution

<Snipped quote by Mythic>

There's a bunch of detail, it's just most of it is pushed to the Codex.

@Leodiensian

I did always use the Codex, just never really took any notice of the dates it mentions - well, not enough to remember them years later.

Mass Effect : Absolution

@Mythic The wiki is always your friend, and imagination is always good too! If something isn't fleshed out in the canon, we can make it happen!

@DJAtomika

Yeah, I don't think the liberties I'm taking are too extreme, so yeah, haha.

Mass Effect : Absolution

Okay, so based on some research I've done, there's over a year between the end of Mass Effect 2 and 3 (I believe, correct me if I'm wrong.) It looks to me like Mass Effect 2 ends in mid 2185 CE, and Mass Effect 3 begins in late 2186 CE. The window of this RP, or at least, this chapter of the RP, will be in between this time. The RP will start in late 2185 CE, just to give us some time between each game. Hope everyone is okay with this.

As I said, most of that is speculation, because I didn't pay a great amount of attention to dates in the Mass Effect games. I'm not really sure if there is much detail in to them, anyway. If I've made any mistake on this, feel free to correct me.

Mass Effect : Absolution

This is getting excitin', can't wait until we actually get to posting!

@ClocktowerEchos

Despite the fact that we have people yet to post their applications, I think it would be a good idea to get this started sooner rather than later. Initially, this RP will be very open world in the aspect that you can essentially be anywhere on Omega, which is a fairly large place (7.8million population). This means that people can basically drop in whenever they like.

I'm not really sure when, but I'll get a post up sooner or later. When I do so, you all have the permission to go ahead and get things started for yourself.