RolePlayerGuilt

Mass Effect: Second Vigil

	DISTRESS SIGNAL◢ Cerro Municipality, Havana Evening, April 9, 2187 @Awesomoman64@Shift@Shu@High Casual

"We need to stay together.” Amina commented on the presence mentioned by Zenn.

Zenn looks back and forth between Nadara and Amina. He places his hand beneath his chin to ponder how to handle a tied vote.

"Well, I could run across the street and just do a quick sweep with my omni-tool? I would still be close by and if I find something we can proceed from there. Does that work?"

A dog bark comes from the back alley.

“Go quick!” Nadara turns to Amina with a frown. “We don’t have time to stop and question every decision in times like this.” If they hadn’t stopped to question the decision earlier she wouldn’t even need to be here in the first place!

Zenn nods at Nadara. He makes sure there aren't any cars coming before running across the street to the spot he saw the cloaked figure. He pulls out his omni-tool and scans the area for anything out of the ordinary. Heat signatures, traces of element zero, etc.

“We also cannot split up at every turn and just go running towards every problem without some forethought.” Amina squeezes the handle of her suitcase.

Now Nadara did roll her eyes. “How can you not see this,” she motioned in the direction Zenn had run off in, “makes the most sense in this situation?” Her tone was louder than it should have been, the absentminded sweeping motion of her arm gaining the attention of those around them. “You’re either still too young to have honed good instincts, or you’re too insecure about your own abilities.” Her attention was fully on Amina. She could have been sipping martinis and coaxing information from Liz on other resorts SRN had on file. She didn’t need this.

“I am just speaking generally. I never actually spoke against the Quarian just running some scans. So long as we don’t go chasing shadows down through the alleys.” Amina ended with a hard jab in Nadara’s midsection. “Young? Don’t talk to me about experience. I certainly don’t need a century or two to mature.”

Air expelled from her lips at the unexpected blow, but Nadara quickly turned it into a scoff, hiding her surprise at the strength Amina had used. “Yes, well, that’s only because you couldn’t last two centuries.” Her eyes trailed over to the Quarian. “He hasn’t even gone down the alley, we won’t need to chase him,” she said, misunderstanding Amina’s point. Zenn’s moniker was “Shadow” after all.

“Hey!” Zenn called out to get the attention of the other to the two across the street. He didn’t want to announce to the world and possibly the person they were tracking they were on to them, so instead of yelling everything, he attempted to signal to them what he found. He held his omni-tool up and tapped on it a few times, then pointed to a nearby dilapidated two-story building the trail led to.

“So much for being inconspicuous,” she murmured to Amina.

Amina clapped her free hand against her face, “Fine, let’s go see what he’s found. Then we go check out that signal location.”

Before they went, three locals walked by Amina and Nadara.

"Damn turistas." One of them grumbled.

"Hey," another one said to Amina, "go argue with your alien girlfriend somewhere else."

“We find that term offensive, cabrón. You’re an alien as much as I am.”

"What, she speaks Spanish?" One of the locals was astonished.

Another dog bark comes from the back alley.

"Uh, sorry. We're just not used to seeing some many new faces." The second one apologized. She glanced at the back alley. "Anyway, don't try to pet that one. Stray came in after the gang went through. Smells like all kinds of nasty."

"Come on, let's go. Party's already started at Alejandro's place." The third local waved them along.

“Come on,” Amina nodded across the way, “let’s go check up with the Quarian.” Amina pulled her coat up tight and hustled along towards the building where Zenn had gone.

“But there’s some kind of nasty dog down this way,” Nadara complained. “Besides, Alejandro’s party might be a good place for intel!”

“Come on!” Amina shouted looking back, brow crinkled in a growing aggravation at the Asari.

Nadara hesitated, shifting the weight on her feet. The Quarian could certainly handle himself, but the opportunity to follow the locals to whomever Alejandro was, was fading fast as they continued farther down the street.

“Ugh!” Her hands came down in fists beside her as she definitively turned away from her last glimpses of the three locals and toward Amina and the building Zenn had indicated.

After crossing the street, Nadara crossed her arms over her chest in a huff. “We better not have just given up valuable information from a group of locals for this.”

Zenn waited a moment to see if his teammates had picked up on his signals. However, he also didn't want to lose the trail. It wouldn't hurt to at least make sure the coast was clear, right? Zenn cautiously entered the building, checking all corners and keeping his hand on his pistol as he stepped inside.

As soon as Zenn crossed into the building, the cloaked figure materialized behind him on the left side of the doorway. The figure was a helmeted human, and they went to grab Zenn.

However, Zenn was able to react first, by a split second.

The quarian released his grip on his pistol and prepared for his attackers grapple. His close quarters combat training kicked in as he instinctively reached up to grab their arm with one hand and wrap his other arm around the back of their head. He then attempted to pull them forward, using their momentum and his low center to throw his assailant over his shoulder.

The human was taller than Zenn by half a head and heavier by at least 20 kilos. He was unable to throw them. Zenn was shoved away forcefully, and landed on his ass. The impact kicked up dirt and dust all around the room.

When the dust cleared a second later, Zenn found the human's rifle pointed at his head. Streetlights shined from the window behind them, revealing the human's silver and yellow armor. It was an advanced stealth armor devoid of any markings of insignias.

Then Amina and Nadra came through the doorway. The human's weapon and armor were familiar to Amina.

"Don't do anything stupid." A filtered voice came from the human's helmet. "Or your friend gets it."

“You’re Cerberus.” Amina blurted suddenly. The woman had dropped her coat onto the floor revealing her own armor in full and was just starting to unlatch her suitcase when the assailant gave his warning.

I guess I gave Zenn more credit than he deserved, Nadara thought as she took in the scene before her. Her hand was on the handle of the Asari blade. She was certain she should could end the Cerberus grunt before they pulled the trigger with the speed of her charge.

“Stupid, huh? I don’t think we’re the ones who made the bad call here.” She made a show of counting their numbers by pointing a finger at Amina, Zenn, and herself before pausing and pointing only at the armored figure. Surely, her blade could slice right through it.

“Were you tailing us?” Perhaps if she got them talking, it would be easier to surprise them with an attack. All Nadara needed was for them to point the gun away from Zenn. Safety first and all that. Besides, if the Quarian died now, she really wouldn’t be able to make that party at Alejandro’s later. Too much paperwork.

You stupid bosh'tet! How the hell did you let yourself get captured? Zenn remained still. His eyes darted between the Cerberus soldier and his teammates as he tried to weigh his options. Think. You have to figure something out or else you're gonna blow this whole mission.

"What, how-" There was an almost imperceptible tremble at Amina's words, then the voice was back to its filtered monotone.

"Not tailing you. I've been watching this area." The human's rifle remain trained on Zenn, but they were now sparing glances at the other two.

"You're too sharp for gangsters." They addressed Zenn. "And don't gear like them either." To Amina and Nadara.

"Who sent you here?"

“Eat it.” Amina made a hard forward swinging with her left arm, her large suitcase containing her rifle flew towards the armed individuals’ legs - ideally it would hit the back of their knee and crumple them. At the least it would make them stumble so she could tussle them to the ground and disarm them.

The suitcase missed its mark completely. Though it did hit someone: Zenn. Just when he had regained his breath, the quarian's wind was knocked out of him again.

On impact, the suitcase opened and Amina's vindicator tumbled out to the armored figure's feet.

There was moment of confusion, then the figure realized something from Amina's weapon.

"You're with SRN." The figure planted a foot on the vindicator, to keep it out of Zenn's reach. "Rogue, isn't it?"

Was the SRN letting just anyone join their ranks? Nadara had seen incompetence before, but this was on a whole new level. She supposed her companions were lucky she’d come along. Goddess knows what would’ve happened had she not.

No matter, this was all the distraction she needed. Not bothering to wonder about how the assailant had so much intel on Amina, Nadara charged, pulling out and unsheathing her sword as she did. Hoping to utilize the surprise of her speed, the Asari angled herself to stop just behind the Cerberus grunt, intending to hold her blade firmly at their neck.

Zenn had been focused on the Cerberus operative when Amina made her move. The quarian let out a long wheeze as the brief case slammed into his chest. He was too stunned to even notice the vindicator rifle until after the Cerberus Op had it pinned under his foot.

The human reacted just Nadara charged. She was too fast for them to evade, though they managed to turn their gun to Nadara as her blade pressed up against their neck. In the same move, they kicked Amina's rifle back to the next room.

A millisecond was all it would take for the blade to decapitate, or the trigger to be pulled. But the millisecond passed and nothing happened.

"Easy now..." The human spoke emotionlessly, though their body was clearly tense. "Was scoping out the alley when your quarian friend came. Locals say a firefight happened two days ago. Valuable intel."

"How about we put the weapons down and talk?" Offering a gesture of goodwill, their right index finger shifted slightly off the trigger.

“What is Cerberus doing here?” Amina blurted out. “And how do you know my handle?”

"Ex-ceberus. I am well-informed on SRN, and other ex-ceberus."

"If you're... so well-informed..." Zenn managed to say between deep breaths. Sis arms clutched his chest as he pulled himself up. "Why the hell... did you try to attack us?"

"Wouldn't you do the same when you get tailed while stealthed?"

"Not... If I knew who it was. Seriously... You have knowledge of SRN... but didn't think the one quarian in the city was also the one they hired?"

"Only? You don't know about the batch at the spaceport? Look, I'll share my intel when there's no risk of decapitation."

“How can we be sure this isn’t just an act you’re putting on? Drop your gun, and I’ll sheathe the sword.”

Spaceport? Weren’t the other human and Turian headed there for something?

The figure holstered their rifle on their back.

Nadara sighed, but released the human and sheathed her sword as promised. Apparently tonight would consist of no fun whatsoever.

“Your helmet too.”

"No." They turned to Zenn again and offered him a hand up. "You should know."

Zenn glared at the cerberus op. He wasn't normally in the habit of accepting a helping hand from someone who nearly put a bullet in his head, but then again, one of his teammates had also nailed him full strength with a briefcase. Kind of hard to tell who the bad guys were. In the end Zenn let out a sigh and grabbed the man's hand to pull himself up.

"Alright. Spill. What's going on here?"

Amina kept her lips pursed, saying nothing as she waited for this apparent ex-Cerberus op to spill their guts.

Nadara narrowed her eyes at the human’s refusal to identify themselves. She didn’t trust them.

"I've been tracking a dangerous ex-cerberus agent called Armistan Banes." They looked at Amina. "SRN and I have been...exchanging information, and it seems Banes has recently associated himself with a gang called Tenth Street Reds."

"Locals told me some Reds entered the back alley shortly after several newcomers went through there." They looked out the window. The sun had set. "Then there were gunfire and explosions. Most of the Reds left. But only one newcomer walked out, supposedly a turian biotic."

"Was going to scan the alley when you showed up. We should still do it now. Isn't that why you are here?"

“I wouldn’t worry yourself about why we’re here,” Nadara said. Honestly, she couldn’t remember exactly. There was some signal?

“Show us some proof you’ve been working with SRN. Seems odd they didn’t tell us about you if they knew you’d be here.” Nadara blinked, suddenly hoping she hadn’t made a fool of herself. Liz hadn’t mentioned this ex-Cerberus grunt earlier, right?

They tapped their omni-tool. A holo-projection appears of a secure extranet page for authorized SRN personnel, where members applied for jobs and received briefings. Their callsign appeared on the top: Outcast - SRN Associate. Their account had no profile picture.

Zenn let out a long sigh as "Outcast" pulled up the secure SRN page. That certainly looked legitimate.

"So we almost killed each other because no one bothered to tell us there was someone else monitoring the area?" Zenn asked. He looked at his companions for confirmation. He certainly hoped one of them would correct him. Tell him he was wrong and that he simply missed that part of the briefing.

Nadara looked at him point blank. “With the reception I received at the resort, this doesn’t surprise me, honestly.”

Amina squinted at the operative, stepping slowly around with the intent to retrieve her weapon - coat left on the floor.

"SRN didn't tell you because I work alone, and discreetly." Outcast shrugged.

They watched Amina pick up her vindicator. "Might want to hydrate, Rogue. You're white hot on thermal."

Outcast started walking out toward the alley. The street was a lot less busy now. Though Alejandro's was booming with sounds of merrymaking down the street.

"What should I call you two?" Outcast asked the quarian and the asari.

Zenn hesitated to answer. Not because he didn't feel like he couldn't say, but because it felt awkward giving a callsign like Shadow after being caught so easily. Regardless, this guy was going to find out anyway.

"They call me Shadow." Zenn replied.

“Sunset.” Nadara peeked out over Outcast’s shoulder towards the alley. “There was talk of some nasty dog out there,” she murmured, eyes quickly losing interest in searching for the animal and instead shifting over to the loud party.

Who cares about Alejandro’s, that place seems intriguing enough.

Mass Effect: Second Vigil

	SHUTTLE RETRIEVAL◢ Havana Spaceport Evening, April 9, 2187 @KaiserElectric@Bonnie@High Casual@Shu

The hangar doors swung wide open to reveal five quarians and a kodiak shuttle inside. Bright white lights, from rows on the ceiling and individual stands on the floor, momentarily blinded those entering from the dark runways.

As Zenobia's eyes adjusted, she could see two quarians doing something to the shuttle (at 20 meters away from the entrance), one quarian using a computer terminal, one carting around mechanical tools and the last one in the middle directing everything.

"Keelah!" The cart pusher literally jumped at the sight of Zenobia. The cart toppled over and the quarian tripped on a mess of spilled tools.

The quarians at the computer and the shuttle all stopped whatever they were doing and turned to the turian intruder. The computer user's omni-tool lit up, the quarian at the shuttle engine stood tensely with a wrench in hand and the one fiddling under the shuttle door came up too quickly, bumped their head and fell back down.

However, their leader was the first to act. Unholstering a carnifex pistol and pointing it toward Zenobia, his tone was not one of welcome.

"Who the hell are you?" The quarian leader barked. "This is a private hangar. Get lost!"

While distracted by the turian, a small door at the rear of the hangar was all but forgotten. And neither was anyone watching the ladder leading up to the maintenance walkway.

"With pleasure, but first..." Zenobia, heedless of the gun pointed at her, cranes her neck to get a better look at the shuttle. "Nice ship. Who does it belong to?"

"Us."

Zenobia could see areas of the shuttle typically marked had been freshly scrubbed.

"That narrows it down succinctly." She takes a few steps forward, barely even acknowledging the weapon pointed at her. "Who's 'us', exactly? Because 'us' looks like they just got done scrubbing the markings off of a shuttle they found." Zenobia's been around the seedier parts of the galaxy long enough to recognize what was going on. Hell, her first job was as a lookout for salvagers trying to claim seemingly abandoned spacecraft at omega for salvage.

"None of your business. What, you never seen people clean their spacecraft before?" The quarian boss grunted.

His finger moved closer to the trigger when Zenobia stepped forward. "That's close enough, any closer and-"

The computer user interrupted. "Boss, truck coming from the control tower!"

"You bosh'tet! Damn snitch!" The boss snarled.

A truck? Zen didn't call for a truck. The boss' choice of words piqued her interest though.

"Oho, what are you up to that can be snitched on, then?"

That was long enough. Nobody had immediately started shooting, and Solveig knew she was still in cover she'd followed Zen slowly around.

The boss was now in a time crunch, and was about to be in another.

Solveig moved silently behind him. Her cybernetic went first, lacing over his shoulder to pin his neck in the elbow.

They had as soon as that truck arrived to get out of here. She knew it. Zen knew it. Solveig hoped the boss knew too.

Her cloak lifted, and fast as lightning she was the ghastly tall form behind him. "It's in your best interest to tell the truth now," she said, momentarily casting a glare to the other Quarians. A warning. "Or..." she tightened her grip just so, "pop."

The wrench wielding quarian was about to charge Solveig.

"Wait, no, wait, everyone!" Boss quarian pleaded. "Please, let's all be reasonable. No pop!"

"Alright, my name is Kenn and we're uh...freelance spacecraft recyclers." He admitted. "But someone hired us to be here; a human called Armistan Banes! Said if we pull the black box for him, we get to keep the shuttle."

Kenn gestured to the computer, where the black box was indeed hooked up to. The computer user's omni-tool shifted nervously between Zenobia and Solveig, but the quarian's real worry seemed to be on the screen.

"Truck's almost here, boss..." Computer quarian warned.

"Hold on, you aren't with the alliance, yeah? Alliance doesn't kick in their own door and hold people at gunpoint. Do they?" Kenn blurted out. "We'll give you the shuttle, if you uh, vouch for us."

"Bad idea." Wrench wielding quarian spat.

"Look, Banes doesn't give a shit about us. He's got those Reds." Kenn tried to reason to both his own crew and the intruders. "We'll quit this job, okay? Do we have a deal?"

"Makes things easy, sure. Get your guys out of here and we'll pretend we never saw you, you won't have to get caught up in...the..."

Zenobia trails off for a moment, then her eyes widen in realization.

"...KENN?" She shouts in surprise. "Holy shit, what are you doing here, dude? It's me, Zenny!"

"Zenny...Zenobia! Lunatic! Wow, small galaxy, huh?" Kenn realized. "Uh yeah so, we were legit contractors, were. Guess now we're unemployed and dextro food's getting expensive, you know?"

"And please tell your scary human pal to let me go?"

Solveig frowned slightly, but did as he asked. Letting the man go but being careful to set her gaze on the jumpier ones of his crew.

"Now, chances of us getting the shuttle, black box, and out of here before this truck arrives is slim..." She furrowed a brow.

"How long before it gets here?"

Now.

An alliance-marked M-080 APC stopped in front of hangar 14. Its blinding headlights poured through the doors Zenobia kicked in. Eight heavily armed military personnel emerged from it, six humans and two turians.

"Back door?" Kenn and his crew were grabbing the black box and whatever else they could carry. They were no doubt seen, and the time to leave was now or never.

But running would also be very suspicious. The military personnel weren't messing around.

"Or maybe you can talk our way out of this?" Kenn hesitated.

“Not likely.”

The eight armed figures strode through the door by two’s, spreading intervals as they entered the hangar. All were fully geared up and ready for action weapons half raised. They wore helmets concealing their faces, including the unit leader who was adorned with a TACC Death Mask. As the seven subordinates maintained a spread between them and remained in a “ready” stance the leader stepped forward to speak, “Captain Riley, I’m here to impound this craft.”

“And while we’re at it,” she added, “you Quarians, you’re all under arrest for looting.” On Riley’s final word the seven other soldiers all raised their weapons to sight, picking a target and holding aim on them. All five of the Quarians were covered as were the two new arrivals.

“Who are you two supposed to be?” Riley demanded of the human and Turian women.

"Damn everyone really wants this thing for themselves, don't they?" Zenobia, again heedless of any weapons pointed at her, steps forward and flashes her identifier. "Well I hate to break it to you Riley Wiley but since this is SRN property I'm here to take it back to SRN."

Things were heating up, that was to be sure, and nobody was getting out of this one easily. Sol took in the details of each of the soldiers, and of the truck. At least they were Alliance. She was Alliance. But she was Alliance now off-duty and at the scene of what they thought was a crime. She took a breath a stepped forward slowly, she knew that name. Riley... Riley...

"Captain Riley... Captain Lee Riley. Commendation for actions on Cyone." She paused, and tried to relax her shoulders, tried to soften her gaze. "Solveig Wistrom, N7 Special Ops. I think there is a misunderstanding here."

Captain Riley hesitated, Solveig Wistrom…, she knew who that was, wholly by word of deed. The Captain glanced at the female Turian noting her ID. Riley Wiley?…

The Quarians were getting fidgety, more than they already were anyway, two of them shuffling their three-toed feet and glancing around. “Everyone stay where you are!” barked one of Riley’s men, voiced warbled by his helmet.

Riley took a few steps closer to Zenobia and Solveig, looking between them and deciding to first address Zenobia, “This shuttle is due for impound, I’m here for it.” Riley looked to Solveig, “No point in tossing around credentials. I have a job to do, two now actually - impound this shuttle and take in these looters.”

“Thanks for tipping me off actually, that elaborate little entrance you made was enough to perk curiosities.”

One quarian wasn't having any of it. The wrench wielder, already on edge before, didn't bother waiting for Kenn's command or obeying Riley's orders.

"Fuck this shit!" The quarian bolted for the back door. "I'm out!"

"And we have the same order to get the shuttle-" Solveig began before the Quarian bolted out. "Jäkla!" She said, turning away from Riley to watch as he escaped.

“Shit!” Riley spat.

One of Riley’s men swiveled around, about to fire his Avenger at the Quarian, “Stop, let him go!” Riley shouted, “Secure everyone else!”

Four of Riley’s men began fast walking towards Kenn and the others, weapons trained directly at their chests. Captain Riley remained where she was as the three others of her squad closed in behind her, keeping their weapons half raised, nervously watching Solveig and Zennobia.

"Damn it," Zenobia muttered, eyes darting between the quarians and the soldiers. "If you're really going to do this you'd better buy me chocolates first," Zenobia says, lowering herself into a combat stance while glaring at the troopers approaching her.

Solveig looked once more to Riley. "We have the same order, there's no danger here Captain. I'm sure we can work this out..." the woman tried to smile, "besides, think of the paperwork we'll both get out of?"

Something clicks and the gears start turning in Zenobia's head. She grabs Solveig by the shoulder. "Hold up, what about the quarians? You're really just going to sell these guys out to save our necks and get the shuttle? Just like that?"

Solveig twitched at the touch and whatever smile she had melted away and made room for a glare. "Who said I'm selling anyone out?" She warned. What was Zenobia thinking? "Back down."

"Oh yes, back down so we can let Stormtrooper Jane over here get to the curbstomping!" Zenobia shouts, playing it up to draw the attention of the soldiers. "Was that your plan the whole time or was fucking me like this a spontaneous decision??"

The Infiltrator scowled. "You're out of line, I'll remind you again to back down, and back off," she glared threateningly toward to Turian, rolling her shoulder slightly before glancing, for but a split second, apologetically toward Captain Riley. "Next warning will be with force."

Kenn was in shock.

He was in shock when Riley's troops showed up. He was in shock when the one of his own took off without a care in the world. Most importantly, he was in shock at how casually Riley let someone fleeing arrest get away, but gave him no leniency when he put up absolutely zero resistance.

Of course, Kenn was in shock when Zenobia and her crude human "ally" were about to turn on one another. His hands started to shake, desperately trying to find something to say. Wait, they said the shuttle was the property of...

"SRN!" Kenn blurted out, loud enough for his words to reverberate around the hangar. "I'm afraid you're mistaken, Captain Lee'Riley vas Wiley! We're all with SRN!"

"There's no looting, just a, uh, sudden maintenance call!" Kenn continued to blabber. "Sorry we didn't notify you, but I'm sure our first-class legal team at SRN will clear up the misunderstanding, and our very well-funded finance department will take care of any outstanding fees!"

"Uh, there's is an SRN legal team, right?" Kenn changed to a whisper for just Solveig and Zenobia. "Hey, we're on the same side,...right?"

Seeing no immediately change in anyone's posture, Kenn lowered his voice to whisper to just Zenobia. "I'm going for the shuttle if shit blows. It's been rigged for snap take off."

Zenobia blinked, a slight smile appearing on her face...

".....yyyeesss....SRN. We're all in SRN. These guys aren't looting anything, we're just overseeing the recovery and repair of our ship." Zenobia slips easily from faux-outrage to faux-professionalism.

"What's an SRN?" Another quarian perked up.

"Enough!" Solveig sighed, too overstimulated and too tired for the hijinks. "I just," she breathed out, closing her eyes, "want to get the shuttle," she said assertively, "and find Katya.

She then dropped down into a low squat, resting her elbows on her knees to place her head in her hands to massage her temples.

"You want to impound the shuttle, let me take the fucking blackbox then. I'll return it to the Alliance." She lifted her head up, her eyes stare as intense as ever in the direction of Riley. "Do we have a deal?"

Captain Riley sighed in exasperation beneath her visor. The lead Quarian was lying in desperation, that was obvious enough to Riley even before his counterpart blurred out their clumsy remark. Between the Quarians and the human-Turian pair before her Riley was at her patience’s end with this whole scenario. Her soldiers kept the Quarians secure, the ones at her back also at the ready. The strange Turian seemed to be the only one that cared about the Quarians while Solveig was more worried about the shuttle, namely the blackbox. Riley was not particularly interested in a heated exchange, much less an outright shoot-out all over a damned shuttle and some scavengers. Not when there were bigger issues to handle these days, to put it lightly.

The Captain shifted her feet, addressing Solveig, “Look, tell you what, just take the shuttle then. With the way things are right now I dare say a shuttle removed late from it’s hangar is at the top of everyone’s worries. But the Quarians are being detained for looting and that’s that. We don’t need vultures picking about right now. That’s my counter offer for you.”

Riley looked to Zenobia, “If you care so much about these five- four… your free to have your ‘SRN legal team’ vouch for them after this.”

Zenobia scowls, dropping any facade she was putting up to try and throw them off. "Fine...we'll take the shuttle," she growls. "But these guys didn't do anything wrong. They got misled and were hired by someone else to take the shuttle."

"What!?" Kenn astonished. "Yeah ok, we'll be released soon, yeah?"

Kenn looked to Zenobia for support, though his focus was also darting between the pistol he dropped earlier and the open shuttle door.

“Don’t even think about it.” Captain Riley snapped at Kenn.

*Zenobia glances back at Kenn with a small smirk.* "Don't worry, I've never left you hanging before."

She then rounds on the Captain, the lightness in her tone vanishing. "We're not done here. I know what you jackboots like to do to 'vultures' like us, and we're not going to leave them rotting in some cell for the crime of trying to survive. So you'd better behave around them or you're going to see me when I get REALLY upset, comprende?" The entire time Zenobia draws uncomfortably close to the captain, though her biotics never spark off once.

"You have my thanks Captain," Solveig said with a relieved smile as she sighed out one more time, standing back up to her full height.

She felt... tense now, around her mission partner. If it wasn't for Katya being missing, she'd have quit SRN on the spot - in saying that, it's not like she couldn't use her own resources to find her cousin...

"Why is the Alliance wanting to impound this anyway? With a whole truckload of soldiers too? Must be important."

“Get out of my face, Turian.” Captain Riley snapped as she stepped to the side. As her men rounded up Kenn and the others, herding them toward the hangar door, Captain Riley looked to Solveig with a shrug, “The shuttle was due for impound, the reason I brought along this whole team was because of all the racket - that and lots of… suspicious and unsavory characters lurking about these days. We have to be careful after all. These Quarians may be illegally scavenging but there is way worse than them to be found around.”

"No kidding."

Kenn was in a mix of relief and resignation. Seeing Zenobia standing up to the captain made him feel a little less helpless. He would not leap for the shuttle or reach for his pistol.

"Alright, Captain vas Wiley, you can take us to, uh, temporary detention." He put up his hands and signaled for his crew to do the same. "Until SRN secures our release, of course."

As he was being led away, the quarian nodded to Zenobia. "Sorry I called you bosh'tet earlier, and thanks for having my back. I appreciate having a friend out here."

"Even if it's only one friend." He added for Solveig.

With the shuttle secured, and the team leaving, Solveig wanted nothing more than to call it and head back. Her stare lingered on the shuttle as the Quarians were taken away; she didn't register the comment.

"Let's get moving too," she eventually sighed out. "The other teams will be waiting on us."

"Sounds good! And uh, sorry about shouting at you earlier. Trying to confuse them and all."

There's a distinctive pause.

"I was never the one in charge of...tactics and stuff." She admits sheepishly.

Solveig thought about biting. About cursing Zenobia for trying to instigate with her in front of Alliance members, but the only thing she bit was her tongue.

After a moments pause, after she really thought about what she wanted to say, she met the gaze of her Turian colleague, "I can try to help them from their detention. I don't know what my word weighs to them, but... maybe I can try something else."

She thought of her mother, of her influence and hold in the Alliance. If there was ever a day to them that the name Wistrom meant something, it was today.

"Hey if you can make it work..." Zenobia says, trailing off as she picks up a bit of junk and looks it over.

"Er...sorry if I caused trouble..." she says after a long pause. "I kinda have a low tolerance for the system that chews folks up and spits them out again, ya know?"

What Are You Listening To?

Mass Effect: Second Vigil

	SPLITTING UP◢ Streets of Havana Evening, April 9, 2187 Clear, 20°C

By the end of the meeting, it was decided that Solveig and Zenobia would go to the spaceport, while Zenn and Amina would investigate the distress signal. Initially, Lizbeth was happy to have Nadara accompany her at the party. But at other's suggestion, she agreed that it might be better to have Nadara go with Zenn and Amina instead. They could use more firepower in case they run afoul of gangs, and judging the already growing tension between them, they could also use Nadara's mediation in case they run afoul of each other. Plus, Nadara looked like she might enjoy herself a bit too much at the party.

Then there was the no-show, Sevipia. Just as everyone was about to leave, Lizbeth received a message from Sevipia saying she was helping a sick local. There wouldn't be enough time for Sevipia to join any of her colleagues, so the group determined it was best for her to stay behind at the resort and have a look through the missing team members' rooms. Additionally, Sevipia would be ready to provide medical support should there be an emergency.

Several hours later, each group had set out to their destinations. The sun was setting, casting a golden hue over Havana's historical streets. The hotter daytime temperature had cooled slightly, and a soft sea breeze made it pleasant to stay outdoors. Celebrations were in full swing; lively banners lined the buildings, music blared from clubs and bars, and there were crowds dancing in every plaza. At least, those were the scenes Lizbeth saw on her way to the Capitol. It was an enjoyable trip in her taxi. Speaking of, Lizbeth forgot to arrange transportation for the other two group. Oh well, surely people would be too cheerful to mind a couple of armed to the teeth military contractors sitting in the back of the bus.

At the spaceport, Solveig and Zenobia would see mostly business as usual. Some last minute arrivals were eager to jump into the festivities of the city, but pilots and ground crew were preoccupied as they always were. Past the bustle of thousands of passengers at the terminal, and beyond the roars of aircraft and spacecraft engines on the runways and launch pads, was a closed section reserved for private and military use. The hangar containing SRN's shuttle were in the back of this section. At the front gate, Solveig and Zenobia found their SRN-issued access passes denied by the security VI. Thankfully, Solveig's alliance ID was able to get them through.

Up ahead, the hangar door is just barely ajar. Light inside seeped out onto the darkening fields, and the multiple indistinct shapes move within. As far as Solveig and Zenobia knew, no one else was authorized to access to hangar.

The neighborhood of Cerro was the opposite of the spaceport. Unlike the ultramodern carbon fiber terminals, or the timeless white marble found in affluent parts of the city, Cerro was made of dirty gravel roads and rusty tin roofs covering unrepaired war scars. Nevertheless, residents there were still celebrating, albeit in a more muted manner without the glitz and glamour. Before going into the back alley where the signal originated, Zenn, with his expertise in optical camouflage, noticed the shimmer of a cloaked figure across the street. Then a car drove by, and the shimmer was gone.

However, several locals nearby had taken notice of the trio. They began murmuring among themselves, and casting wary glances at Zenn and Nadara.

What Are You Listening To?

What Are You Listening To?

Shu’s 1x1 Index - v2 (FULL - No longer seeking new partners at this time.)

Detective x Detective

Mass Effect: Second Vigil

	PRIORITY: HAVANA◢ Cuba, Earth Afternoon, April 9, 2187 Sunny, 24°C

Two days ago, Solveig Wistrom left SRN's crisis response team.

Later that day, Sevipia Paetmus arrived in Havana. Because of travel delays, she didn't get to meet her team before they went to deliver their cargo.

That evening, Solveig and Sevipia both received a message from SRN: a forwarded distress signal. The signal was a momentary blink with no message or location. Whatever Solveig and Sevipia did, they could not find further information. That was the last they heard of the crisis response team.

Yesterday, SRN announced four additional operatives had been dispatched to investigate the signal. Solveig decided to return and help, though she and Sevipia were advised to stay put until they had backup.

Today, Zenn, Zenobia, Amina and Nadara reached Havana at various times in the morning. The city that greeted them was one in celebration, as it had been for the last six days. Colorful stalls formed pop-up markets, antique cars cruised the streets and holographic billboards advertised the last big party, a function hosted by Mayor Bragus Thul himself tonight.

Shortly before noon, a message was sent to all six SRN operatives. The message included descriptions of the missing team's personnel, and directions to meet at Meliá Resort, where Solveig and Sevipia were already staying. The resort, a tall and perfectly undamaged building constructed more than 200 years ago, glistened with its porcelain exteriors. Inside, the newcomers were checked into rooms the were occupied by their missing predecessors.

Zenn was the only one to be given new room. SRN had booked him a specially sanitized and air-filtered suite where quarian guests can safely replace their suit filters. The only catch being Zenn had to pay the deposit with his own credits.

Zenobia got the room previously occupied by another turian biotic, as apparently by a turian bio-amp part in the shower. Said occupant had left a mess of used towels and tangled bed sheets. Though Zenobia would also find a worn-out tennis ball, several packs of dextro rations, and on the reading desk, a letter from a refugee family thanking the missing turian for his assistance.

Amina's room was formerly used by the missing team's leader. The military discipline of Amina's predecessor was apparent. Even though no room service was performed in the two previous nights, the bed was properly made and furniture were in their original places. Amina would find several issues for Fornax and a bottle of laxative in the bathroom.

The first thing Nadara noticed in her room were the smell and stains of omnigel. The person that stayed in her room before was clearly someone who liked to tinker. There were papers on the desk, of a familiar asari make, and they were covered with sketches of various farm animals from earth and beyond.

Next, the group went to the resort's cigar lounge to meet with Lizbeth Baynham, SRN's representative in the city. Surrounded by mahogany panelings and sitting on one of the plush leather sofas was a human woman in a green and gray lab coat. The first few that entered the lounge would see Lizbeth awkwardly lighting up a cigar, taking a tentative drag from it and immediately starting to cough and sputter. It took her a few seconds to notice the arrivals, and when she did, Lizbeth set down the cigar in an ashtray and waved her arms to clear the smoke.

"Ahem, sorry!" Lizbeth clear her throat, though her voice still sounded coarse from coughing.

"Hi!" She held out her hand to shake, and for everyone except Zenn, gestured to a case of cigars. "Help yourselves. The yellow ones should be safe for turians, I think."

With everyone there, Lizbeth began by introducing herself as a former ExoGeni scientist and current SRN associate in Cuba. Apparently Commander Shepard once saved her colony, an act that inspired Lizbeth to join the allied war effort. Now, she believed SRN's philanthropic backers would be earth's best hope for reconstruction.

After the introductions, Lizbeth ordered a bottle of rum. Alcohol seemed to calm her nervousness from earlier, especially with Zenobia. Unfortunately, there's no dextro equivalents available.

Discussed over drinks were the group's next moves. There were three important matters to address, though Lizbeth only recommended tackling one or two of them; splitting into three groups could be dangerous.

The first was the approximate location of the distress signal, something Lizbeth had uncovered while Solveig and Sevipia had been on standby. That area was crawling with gangs, so Lizbeth did not dare to investigate when she triangulated last night. "Though," she added, taking a drink of rum, "I'm better prepared to investigate now."

The second was Mayor Thul's party tonight. Dr. Jelize would be there. Even though the item Jelize wanted to purchase went missing with the first team, perhaps she could be convinced to wait a little longer while they try to find it. In addition, Thul might be able to help find the missing. Thankfully, SRN already had invitations, and there's no need for formal wear (as Thul himself would wear his trademark football jersey anyway).

Last but not least, the missing team's shuttle. They needed to claim it tonight before it would be impounded. Everyone but Solveig had to find their own means of transportation to reach Havana, so having the team's own shuttle would be immensely helpful for getting around on future missions.

Wherever the group decided to go, Lizbeth offered to look into another issue on her own. She sounded more confident after the generous amount of rum drank, but her words started to slur. She picked up another cigar, lit it in one stroke and took a long inhale. She did not cough when she puffed out the smoke; only a faint smirk.

What Are You Listening To?

The Elder Scrolls: Endless Night