Zombiedude101

Baybridge: Old Ghosts [COMPLETED]

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Wendy Lucker, & Rowan Campbell.

_{Written in collaboration with @Mr Allen J.}

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Silversun Pickups - Pins & Needles

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Eastgriffin Ruins, Roseview.

Rowan led them on a thin path through the forest, their route accompanied by the occasional bit of discarded trash, beer cans and used condoms. Wendy followed behind, occasionally stopping to take pictures. Her feet were starting to hurt, but she really wanted to see what Rowan had to offer.

Eventually, as the two approached what at first seemed to be a clearing in the forest, a building could be made out in the near distance. "Almost there," Rowan muttered, speeding up to a brisk pace as they'd finally got through the thickest of the woods. Ahead of them sat the remains of the Eastgriffin Community Resort, a decaying, fenced-off ruin that had sat there, practically untouched by larger society for well over a decade.

Whilst nature had already begun to reclaim the place, it was definitely clear that people had left their mark here - the road leading back into town could still be made out nearby, albeit it had since become weathered by the elements, cracked and coated in a layer of weeds trying to push through to the surface whilst whoever owned the land had put up some perimeter fencing to deter intruders.

Pacing up to the grid-shaped fence, Rowan glanced over his shoulder at Wendy, then shifted his focus back towards the fence. "Uh, should've asked - any good at climbing?"

Wendy gulped. She really wished that she had her paper powers right about now, she could have just went right through this like it was nothing. Looks like she's going have to do this the old fashion way.

"Umm...." Wendy walked up to the fence, and looked back at Rowan as she reached for the fence. "Yeah, I think I can mana-"

When she made contact with the fence, she transmitted electricity into it and it immediately began crackling. Wendy quickly retracted, surprised as ever, and looked back at Rowan.

"... I think you should go first."

Shrugging, he tugged his bag from his shoulder and, after a moment of contemplation, tossed it over the fence. Then, with that done, he glanced back towards Wendy one last time, then reached up to grab the first hand-hold in the fence, then the other. It rattled as he pulled himself up and he could feel the thin metal digging into his palms, but all the same he kept on climbing until he hit the half-way point at the top. With his legs thrown over the other side, he outstretched a palm for Wendy to grasp. "Come on, I'll pull you up with me."

That made Wendy a bit worried.

"... Aren't you afraid I'll shock you?"

"Uh... I'll probably be fine."

Wendy hoped that the worse case scenario would not occur - because there were no ambulances nearby.

Taking a deep inhale, Wendy grounded herself a little bit in preparation, and hopped up into the air and grabbed onto Rowan's hand. Thankfully, she didn't electrocute him. She grabbed onto the fence, and made sure that she wouldn't fall and drag both of them down.

With a slight grunt, he tightened his grasp and pulled her up as much as he could, assisting her in their unsteady ascent of the fence. Eventually, both of them had made it over and dropped to the ground on the other side, leaving the fence to rattle in the absence of any weight bearing down upon it. Rubbing his palms, Rowan grabbed his bag, then turned his attention towards one of the larger buildings in the resort - what had once been the Roseview Hotel. Even from here, one could make out where visitors had made their mark with graffiti scrawled across the lower walls along with signs of physical vandalism.

Landing on her feet, Wendy was glad that she didn't electrocute Rowan. She dusted herself off, as Rowan pointed her towards the hotel. Interesting... she's been to this place a few times, but never really paid attention to the graffiti (That was always she ignored). Though, this whole place always had a strange aura around it - like something awful gone on here. She's heard the rumors about the massacre that took place here almost ten years ago. No one is even sure of who attacked this place. Speculation lead to the Changeling Unit, but that's not even one-hundred percent.

Setting off, Rowan beckoned for her to follow - heading over towards the hotel. Even now, the place gave him a strange sense of mystery, yet at the same time it was comforting. Seldom did other people visit here and most were just explorers, or people looking to leave their mark. The first time he'd found the place, he felt uneasy but now... it was peaceful, really.

Circling around, he led Wendy towards the spa connected to the back of the hotel. Once, hundreds of people would've visited daily to relax and enjoy themselves inside. Now? As they approached, it became clear that any semblance of luxury had since been lost; one of the walls looked to have been collapsed, probably from the attack all those years ago, with glass shards and fragments still dotted all over the exterior. Windows that were shattered or otherwise non-existent were also pretty commonplace and as Rowan stepped in through the gaping hole where the wall had collapsed, he paid particularly special attention towards watching where he stepped, both to avoid getting shards of glass stuck in his shoes and to avoid injuring himself where the floor tiles had been destroyed.

Finding themselves in the atrium, the two came across one of the spa's chief attractions - a large swimming pool that ran from one end of the great complex to the other. Contrary to what it'd once been like, the pool had long been drained, rubble and discarded deckchairs scattered all over the place.

"Huh?" Wendy said as she poked her head inside. The dust and debris of this abandoned building messed her lungs a little bit - but this ain't her first trek inside an abandoned building. This was only as far as she made it inside this one. There was a pool, and Wendy had a feeling this was what Rowan wanted to show her.

Approaching the edge of the pool, Rowan gestured towards the inner walls. What had once been a calm, peaceful blue mosaic was now a collection of grand pieces from different artists over the last decade. From simple tags, to sarcastic remarks scrawled in paint, to stencil pieces, to great murals which spanned from end-to-end, they all sat here, on display.

"This is it," Rowan remarked in partial admiration for some of the greater pieces. Some might've called it disrespectful to paint over the ruin of a place left for the dead, yet he saw it as just another monument.

Following behind him, Wendy peaked over his shoulder at the art

"Oh?" Wendy said as she looked at it. It was a variety of different remarks, and art pieces... it was interesting. Truly what it means to be an artist. It wasn't being good, it was all about expressing yourself... which Rowan clearly knew. "This is... true artistic expression." Wendy told him.

"Oh, mind if I snap a picture?"

Hesitating for a moment, it occurred to Rowan that if she'd wanted to cause him trouble, she'd probably have done it already. "Sure," he said.

"I'll have to hop down to get a good picture of it..." Wendy trailed off as she knelt down to the edge of the pull. It wasn't that big of a drop - nothing that she hasn't taken before - so she simply just hopped into the empty pool. She held her camera tightly with both hands as she walked up to the wall of graffiti.

One particular mural was a piece displaying the evolutionary phases of man, beginning with a slouching chimpanzee and running all the way up to a tall human with a sphere. Yet after that came another figure, identical to the previous human albeit instead of a sphere they wielded a ball of light in their palms and held a glowing aura. Clearly a statement, though funnily enough, someone else had captioned "Stop following me!" over the last figure in that piece.

So much style.... so much passion. Wendy raised her camera up into the air, aiming for the graffiti, and the button. A bright flash appeared as Wendy took a picture of it. Looking at the backscreen, Wendy realized she took a great picture of it, and grinned a little.

Meanwhile, Rowan had something else in mind. The pool was a centerpiece here, where anyone who wanted to leave their mark could do so - and now it was his turn. Taking care to avoid ruining Wendy's view, he dropped down behind her and searched for an empty spot that hadn't been claimed just yet and found one in the corner, near a pile of rubble. Unslinging his bag, he knelt down and pulled out a stencil template, then a can of paint and glanced over his shoulder towards Wendy. "You've got photos, I've got this."

Wendy looked at the can of spray paint and nodded her head as a silent way of saying "go ahead."

With plenty of time to kill, he set to work on his little stencil piece; which slowly began to paint a picture as he switched from can to can, template to template, before finally unveiling an end result: an overweight neanderthalic thug screaming and chest-pounding with the words "Pure" crudely scrawled on their shirt, whilst a hooded figure with a magnet stood behind them, pulling all the loose change out of their pocket. Others might not have got the idea, but for Rowan the symbolism was clear - and this piece and given him an opportunity to see just how it'd turn out when those same 'Pure' folks saw it. Least to say, it'd be entertaining to watch.

Heh," Wendy said with a grin. She took a quick snapshot of the graffiti. It's pretty crude, but art's art. At least it isn't a dick. It had some pretty great symbolism. This would go on her Instagram if it wasn't such a bad idea (For reference, putting Anti-Metahuman politics on any form of social media is a great way to get attention put on you).

"There's more where that came from," Rowan remarked.

"Okay," Wendy nodded her head. "Impress me."

Shrugging, Rowan wandered over towards ine of the mosaic tiled walls, where yet another collection of tags and marks couls be found. Among them was a metallic-stylised tag, "Magnet", in red and white. It was anyone's guess as to who it was. "Every writer has a mark, y'know?"

"Nice," Wendy looked at the magnet... she had a feeling of what it had meant. It could mean that Rowan's a magnetic-type. Which would explain what happened when she accidentally discharged some electricity. She wanted to im
explore, but Rowan had other ideas.

Digging a hand back into his bag, Rowan felt around for a can and outstretched one out for Wendy to grasp, "What about yours?"

"Oh?" Wendy raised an eyebrow. She wasn't particularly expecting the gesture, but it was just something she didn't want to do. It wasn't fear (Wendy didn't really mind bending the rules a little... and they're in the middle of an abandoned hotel), she didn't want to embarass herself making an awful tag. "Oh no... I don't think spraypainting is my forte...."

"Gotta start somewhere. You think my first throw-ups were great? C'mon, give it a shot." Rowan urged her.

After hearing him, she felt a bit more receptive to the idea. Peer pressure's a bitch, ain't it? She sighed as she swallowed her pride (and her excessively high standards) as she grabbed onto the can of spray paint and nodded her head. She stepped over to the part of the pool that wasn't tagged by Rowan (yet), and shook the can. She shook the spray can (and enjoyed the rattle) as she walked up.

Taking in a sigh, Wendy pressed the button ontop of the spray can, and aimed it at the wall. Out the nozzle was a jet of black spraypaint, and she didn't feel as bad about using it now. However, she didn't want to waste it all, she kept moving her arm just to adjust her aim.

When she was done, she smiled.

It was simply a W spraypainted on the wall in black.

"... It's a work in progress," Wendy said as she put both hands behind her back. "This is what we artists call the sketching phase - I'll put something excellent up over this later." She smiled at him again.

"It's a start," Rowan said with a markedly warm expression "If I were you there, I'd do the filler first - then the outline."

"Maybe you can..." Wendy thought about it for a moment as she stared at the spraycan. "... Yeah, maybe you can show me the ropes." She had no idea how to spray paint the "proper" way, and was winging it.

Pulling out yet another can, this one a white, Rowan gave it a firm shake before stepping over to the wall, pressing down against the nozzle criss crossing across the wall. First, he scrawled over Wendy's vague outline, filling in a "W" with a thicker form, before going the extra mile and starting on another quick piece next to it; the shape of an origami figure. "Now you try filling in the outline for them."

Wendy nodded as Rowan improved upon her horrid design. She nodded her head, as she given the prompt to write out the outline. She shook the spray can again, and instead of making another crude W, Wendy tried her best to fill out the outline as Rowan instructed. When she released her finger, she had willed out the outline. Which brought the original design one step closer to completion.

"Better," Rowan gave an affirmed nod of approval. "See? Just gotta work the paint 'till it's coming out your fingers."

Wendy nodded her head. This was looking better, but she was wondering what else it needed. If they had the outline... they needed another color perhaps? She realized that she had a bright future in spraypainting, but she knew that she could use her paper powers to form a better stencil.

"You know... if I had my paper powers, I could make some pretty neat stencils for us to use...." Wendy mused. "Anything we wanted really... long as we have lots of spare cardboard." She took a step back and examined the empty part of the wall. "... But, alas..." She looked at her hand as it sparked once again.

'So how'd you, uh, y'know, get the paper thing in the first place?" Rowan asked.

Now that was a story.... a simple one at that.

"Um. well," Wendy almost stuttered as she looked for the right words to say. Trying not to make this the most droll conversation ever. Before she realized that things got awkward. "My older sister... her power turned out to be paper manipulation and then I got it from here," Wendy sighed, feeling a tad relieved. "It's funny, since she thinks her power is the lamest thing in the world... but, to me, it's the greatest power in the world...."

"Right, so... just gotta find your sister and get it off her, again." Rowan said, with a shrug.

"... She's in Alaska." Wendy bluntly said. "You see... she got into some trouble with RAVEN-" And that was putting it lightly. "-a few years back, and she got sent to Academy 218, I think?"

She finished her explaination, but then remembered that isn't the problem.

"But, I didn't explain this properly; whenever I copy a new power, I'm like "locked" into it until I figure out how to use it," Wendy started off. "Which means I'm pretty much Electro until then." She shook her head.

Rowan shrugged, "Then you've just gotta figure yours out. Can't be that hard, right?"

"It's..." Wendy trailed off. "Challenging. I've been practicing for a weeks straight, and I just figured out how to shoot bolts... maybe I should stop complaining and get on the saddle...."

"You could try it on me, I guess? If that means you can get some stencil cut-outs set up faster, works for me. Always liked the idea of having a crew," Rowan mused.

"You mean you want to help me practice?" Wendy asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean... if.your power really is magnetism... it can really help due to the connection between magnetism and electricity "

"I guess, yeah..." Rowan had never given his own power much thought, but it was there. The old man would've loved to have known that, he wagered.

"Good, good, good... I guess we'll get started then?" Wendy asked as she faced Rowan. "... We should get back to the Academy - they tend to get worried when I'm out too long..." She scratched the back of her neck. She didn't mean it in a way that they cared about her, mostly because she tends to get into trouble.

"It'll be dark soon anyways, best we go," Rowan nodded in agreement, tugging at the strap of his bag as he twisted to face the exit.

"Yeah," Wendy started skipping towards the way out.

Mass Effect: Borealis

<Snipped quote by Zombiedude101>

I think between Iosif and Dex they could (hilariously) tease Serena endlessly.

"Oh my arm is on fire, what do?"

"My arm is about to be crushed... what do?"

"Ah, my arm has a few new bullet holes. Look at that."

@DearTrickster

"I didn't realise my arm could extend... oh, wait.."

Mass Effect: Borealis

<Snipped quote by DearTrickster>

Of course!

@Zombiedude101 Iosif is up next for the 'WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO YOUR ARM' talk and subsequent fixing.

@Rtron

"Woops, I accidentally my arm in the engine."

Mass Effect: Borealis

Who wants to volunteer for a collab with everyone's favourite slav?

Hider

no fat chicks

Mass Effect: Borealis

Aye, a good read.

Hider

Captain does have a nice ring to it though...

Mass Effect: Borealis

Alright... I got some shitty news. I'm required to be move out by Monday, so things might get dicey for a bit. I'm currently unsure of things but I believe I got a place to stay. I will know more Sunday at latest, as I think I have a place to go, though if I do vanish then put Vellios on ice until farther notice.

@Fallenreaper

Get your priorities sorted first. RP now, lif- I meant, life now, RP later. Good luck with your move.

Baybridge: Old Ghosts [COMPLETED]

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Wendy Lucker, Rowan Campbell, Geoffrey Muir, & Ellen Nile.

_{Written in collaboration with @FernStone, @Mr Allen J, & @Nosuchthing.}

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Academy 61, Roseview.

It'd been a while since Rowan had been able to grab some more art materials. Ever since his last stencil piece, he'd kept his head down, recalling just how close he'd felt to getting snatched. Nobody would figure the ladder was his fault, he thought, though somehow he wondered just how much longer he could get away with 'borrowing' paint, cardboard and other supplies.

Luckily, it was quiet for now, though every step felt like it brought him under someone's eyes. At least the old man wasn't there to watch for him anymore. Or Miss Zhao, for that matter.

As he rounded yet another corner, he wound up treading on something.

---

It had been a long day for Geoff. At least, it felt like it had been. He'd had to spend far more time that he wanted to in the library. Admittedly, it wasn't like it was doing something as boring as homework (like he did that). He'd just gotten a bit distracted by one book on science, and then another, and hadn't really stopped.

His skin began to feel quite itchy as he walked out of the library and into the corridors. He was definitely due for a full submersion in some kind of water. Huffing slightly, he continued walking. Most people he passed had to move around him; it was kind of difficult not taking up much space when he had a tail that was longer than he was tall. But hey, it came in handy sometimes.

Scratching his arms slightly, Geoff stopped walking for just a moment. Shit. He was pretty sure he'd taken a wrong turn somewhere... Of course he had gotten lost. Great, and it wasn't like he knew the Academy well since he hadn't been there long. Ah well he might as well just retrace his steps..

And then he felt a foot planted on his tail, before whoever it belonged to jolted back and recoiled in surprise.

"Hey, watch were you're walking!" Geoff snapped, turning around to glare at whoever it was. What the fuck? It was hardly like it was unoticeable. And damn did it hurt when someone stood on it. "Oy, I know it looks weird, but it's hardly the most freaky thing around here." He rolled his eyes at the fact that the person, another guy it seemed, had recoiled back.

"Huh?" Rowan blinked for a moment at his serpentine victim. "Uh, what," he muttered, before turning to head back down towards the corridor.

Geoff raised an eyebrow as the person who had stepped on him walked away, flicking his tail out so that it caught Rowan's leg and tripped him over (at least that was what he was going for). "Oh, sorry, I wasn't looking where that was."

"Watch where you're swinging that-," Rowan grunted, only to be cut off as he stumbled over it yet again, this time narrowly avoiding cracking his head on the wall.

Smirking, Geoff tilted his head slightly. "Oh, I can't always control it," he shrugged. "It's almost like it hones in on assholes."

"Belongs to one," Rowan retorted, barely concealing his clenched palm. "And it'll get stepped on if it don't stop." It was, for all intents and purposes, an empty threat - he didn't want a visit from Agent Keegan, but something rubbed him the wrong way about this guy.

Geoff laughed slightly, not particularly bothered by the insult. Though he didn't particularly like being threatened (of course he'd asked for it, but that was not the point). "I'd like to see you try. You're welcome to... Others have before. Didn't end well." He stepped forward so he was closer to Rowan, and also blocking him from going in the direction he'd been walking in before. It was a clearly confrontational action without actually starting a fight.

Agitated, Rowan took a step forward to shove him aside, "Hven't you got some lakes or some shit to haunt? Leave me alone."

Geoff frowned, glaring somewhat at Rowan. "Fuck off, mate, I don't haunt anything." He shoved back against him, near enough knocking the scrawnier kid on his ass, along with his bag - which hit the ground with a heavy rattle. After doing this Geoff took a step towards Rowan so that he was standing over him, but did nothing else. That is, until that scrawny kid jabbed out a foot at the taller one's leg as he scrabbled to his feet. Not expecting this, Geoff almost got knocked over himself, but caught himself with his tail and went to kick Rowan on an instinctive response when....

... Interrupting their quarrel was a flash of electricity that flew over Geoff's shoulder, and hit the wall behind them. Which was enough to surprise them.

And it came from a confused Wendy Lucker, who had her hand put up in a "stop" gesture. Electricity was sparking off her finger tips as her eyes were wide in a surprise. Surprise that she suddenly shot a bolt of lightning at them, when she was merely going to shout at them to stop. Well, at least this way she got their attention better. This was odd for Wendy, since she usually stays out of this kind of stuff - but she recognized one of them, and knew that he was in Ms. Zhao's class. She wiped that look off her face, and put her hands to her side as she voice,

"You two need to stop," Wendy said. "Teachers are probably on their way now."

Geoff automatically jump to the side as electricity shot past his shoulder, hissing slightly. "Huh?" He turned to looked at Wendy in confusion. "What does it matter to you?"

"Because, I'm...." Wendy said, taking a step back. "I'm a student of this Academy, too, you know. I can't just stand by as two students beat each others faces in."

Ellen had only seen the aftermath of the fight, or at least the event that'd had the effect of breaking it up. She was wide eyed, though at least considerably less wide eyed than last week. The electricity had made her eyes burn, apparently she could see into the electromagnetic spectrum as well now. It was nice to know. So Wendy didn't just do paper. Could she replicate powers?

She was on the other side of the boys, her way blocked by the impromptu scuffle. Questioning Wendy would have to wait, she couldn't exactly shout it between the two fighters. Not that they were fighting anymore.

"I'd do what she says, she'd beat the shit out of both of you..."

"Oh really?" Geoff looked at Wendy with a raised eyebrow, appraising her. He doubted that she could beat the shit out of the scrawnier boy, nevermind him. Electrocute them? Yes. That wasn't particularly appealing.

Meanwhile, with the others already arguing with each other Rowan had just about pulled himself to his feet. The rattling of his bag's contents caught their earshot as he pulled it back on over his shoulder. "Just back off, alright? I didn't start this shit."

When Ellen walked up, Wendy was a bit surprised - worst of all was that Ellen said that Wendy would kick their ass. That caught her off guard. "What?! No-" She immediately said, before she cut herself off. She might as well roll with it. The bookworm caught herself, and then said, "Yeah, yeah, what she said." Arcs of electricity suddenly began to appear on her fingertips, and she willed it to go away. "Damn it," She hissed under her breath.

Geoff put up his hands in a kind of surrendering motion. "Look, I'll piss off, just don't shoot me with that electricity."

That earned a look from Rowan who, despite her help, didn't know what to make of her intervention or what her stake in this was. She looked familiar, but he wasn't sure from where.

Quickly adjusting her glasses, Wendy looked down Geoff. He was pretty willing to back off when faced against someone like Wendy... even though she was the least intimidating person here. Until she accidentally whipped out the lightning. Actually, she was glad that she did that in the first place now (Even though she was close to hitting one of them!). "Then get a move on already." She ordered Geoff, speaking in the best authorative voice she could.

Geoff rolled his eyes in response to Wendy. "Yeah, yeah, I'll get going." He probably wouldn't have normally backed down so easily but he really need to dunk himself in some water. With a shrug of his shoulders he turned on his heel, managing to narrowly avoid hitting everyone with his tail and stalked off.

Now, her attention was on the blonde haired boy that was funnily around her height. She was interested in him because he was in her class, along with the fact that he got into a fight. "So, uh, hi?" Wendy hesitantly said, "What was that about?"

Rowan shrugged as he tugged on the strap of his bag, "Snake tried to jump me, until your thing made him slither off."

"Oh, yeah..." Wendy thought about what Rowan said - there was a high chance he was lying through his teeth, but Wendy didn't bother probing into it. She merely looked Rowan in the eye, and shrug, "That...." She trailed off, "... Just happens."

Awkwardly clearing her throat, Wendy's eyes wandered down towards the bag he was carrying. She really wanted to know what he had in the bag - but, Wendy was smart enough to know not to ask right off the bat. "So, I'm Wendy from Ms. Zhao's class... I swear I've seen you in there."

A side-eye went towards Ellen, and she nodded in acknowledgement towards the girl.

At that point he finally clicked and realised why she seemed familiar. "Yeah, I'm in her classes."

"Oh! Nice!" Wendy said with surprising enthusiasm. "She... isn't the nicest, right? I kinda feel like she doesn't like me." She scratched the back of her neck, realizing that she really sounded pretty awkward right now. "Um..."

"You've got that right," Rowan said, bluntly. "I get the judgemental look from her, like she knows me." Same as the rest of them, he'd thought, tugging on his bag.

"I mean, yeah, she is a little condenscending, but I don't think she's that bad." Wendy said, putting her hands behind her back. She looked at the bag once again, and briefly wondered what was in the bag. She could probably check with her new ability... but....

"So, maybe we should talk somewhere else...? I'm sure someone called a teacher."

For a moment, he glanced over his shoulder, then shrugged. It wouldn't have done him any good if he got caught here and Wendy seemed to be alright. "I know a spot, I guess."

Setting off, there was a spot at the edge of the dorms that he liked to visit often; it gave him a little solitude away from where the teachers and other staff would be loitering around, keeping an eye on people.

"Yeah, thanks I guess," Rowan finally said in gratitude.

"You're welcome." Wendy answered.

Mass Effect: Borealis

Searching for Fuel: Iosif & Dex

@Zombiedude101 & @DearTrickster

---

When the mission had finally concluded the crew had divvy up the grocery shopping. Essentials to ensure The Borealis could make it to their next job or destination in one piece. Dex had managed to find a doctor in Nova Principium to get her ears fixed up, once she had that taken care of she looked for her co-pilot, Iosif.

Nova Principium was easily her favourite place to visit on Omega. She knew the streets well it had an undeniable feeling of home. It provided a fleeting sense of nostalgia for her days spent with the separatists on Taetrus. The Taetrus extremists would use the stories of Nova Principium to highlight and give hope to the cause. The turians that settled here and built their homes centuries ago were heroes set up on a pedestal. It took years to unlearn the prevailing biases the extremists had spoonfed her. While the nostalgia warmed her mood a little, logic pushed its way to the forefront reminding her that the extremists were cowards and liars after what they did to her.

Dex found Iosif at a local chemist's store, picking up a few extra supplies to replenish his medi-gel deposits. Not that it was scarce, but time on this rock had taught him that running low on supplies was a one-way ticket to getting caught out if the meat hit the grinder at the last minute. That aside, he'd needed an opportunity to run another diagnostic of his arm for good measure. Of course, he let his Omni-Tool dissipate upon noticing Dex and took a few steps towards her.

"Dex, you said you knew someone who could get you the fuel, right? They happen to be named Roca, by chance?" Iosif inquired, brow arched, curious as to whether or not they knew the same guy.

Dex turned to her co-pilot to reply, "He's this seedy volus on the westside, he'd been my main go to for cheap fuel. Though it has been months since I've last been on Omega for fuel." She tapped a few buttons on her omnitool bringing up her file, "His name is Dorlu Jun. We'll see if he's still offering my old rate."

Dex led the way to a taxi station hailing one to take them there. She climbed in telling the driver the address and Iosif soon followed suit, taking a seat. "Volus, eh."

"He's a bastard, but assuming he plays nice you won't find out how bad he is." Dex replied with a wink. "Most merchants on this place are." Iosif remarked, with a smirk.

After about a fifteen minute ride to Dorlu's office, they arrived at the front doors. Dex paid off the taxi then entered the offices making a beeline past the other office doors in the building. Without knocking she opened the door walking in seeing Dorlu sitting at his desk on a phone call. Short and stout, the volus' suit was of a rusty-brown colouration with patches of white along the mask, arms and mid-section, with a pair of small, lit eyes. By their standards, he was probably getting on in years, having been in the fuel business for a few decades now. Dex had struck a deal with him shortly after working in the Terminus Systems full time since then she always kept a close eye on him. Only meaning to use leverage until she absolutely was forced to. Without her speaking to him months on end and now seperating from Lorthan's information network, he probably thought he was safe to make a profit.

Iosif flexed his palms, opting to silently watch Dex haggle her way through this one. He was curious to see how she'd handle this volus; even if they'd had prior correspondance, he figured the asthmatic merchant would try and weasel out of any 'deal' they might've had.

"Dorlu! You old bastard, miss me?" Dex boomed hoping to catch him off guard. He visibly twitched at her voice, then unceremoniously ended his phone call.

"I don't miss you barging into my office, but can't say I'm surprised to see you, Palaven-Clan. Been hearing some things." Dorlu wheezed drily, regarding the human with little interest as he had no idea who he was. He knew Dex to travel alone.

She took a seat on the opposite side of his desk making herself comfortable "You can imagine why we're here then. I need to fuel up the ship I'm on."

Dorlu didn't seem particularly fazed by her abrupt arrival nor what she came by for. "Always willing to serve... a loyal customer." He tapped his omnitool to life sending her the current rates of fuel. "You'll notice the prices have gone up, this damn economy just isn't making any allowances for discounts anymore."

Dex skimmed through the prices offering for Iosif to take a look himself, she looked at him as he leaned forward, significant distaste humming across her subvocals for no one else to hear. Her mandibles twitched in the silence while they both read. "Sounds like his suppliers are feeling the vice from the Alliance." Iosif muttered, with an amused snort.

When she minimized the window then glared at Dorlu, "Is that really the best you can do? Dorlu, I thought we were friends. I've been helping you out for years now.

Dorlu gave her a rather blank look, shrugging his shoulders, "Sorry to say Dex, but our business dealings have come to a close. You've been off the grid too long to rely on anymore. I've moved on."

Dex waited a beat then stood up with her back turned to Dorlu she winked at a curious Iosif, before turning back around, "You know what? You're right Dorlu, you've been more than reasonable with me so I'll do the same. I'll just be sure to pass along some information then carry on." She said rather coyly, "Say hello to your wife for me."

Dorlu sank behind the desk at the mention of his wife, "What do you know."

"You've been a very busy man since I've been gone. Bankrupting your wife's family, profiting off embezzlement from their business. Small profits but taking a little from each is going unnoticed." Dex pulled up her file on him scrolling through the laundry list of his shit. "I feel horrible for your wife, given she caught you redhanded with another woman," Pausing to look at the picture of him with with an asari, shaking her head with an exaggerated sigh, "Now you're throwing everything you have against her for threatening to go public with it. Well that hardly seems fair."

"How did you... get those files! You rotten...thief!" He wheezed angrily, "You have been rifling... through my privacy... this whole time!?" A smirk slowly crept across Iosif's face as he looked on, his amusement growing.

Iosif, do you think it's fair he's using all the credits she's equally entitled to against her? I think I could fix that." Ignoring the volus' outburst, she was clearly amused at springing this on him.

"It'd be quite the domestic abuse story, I'd imagine." Iosif folded his arms, nodding in agreement with an amused expression, "I'm no expert on Irune law, but I don't think the current legal climate would be accommodating for that kind of behaviour."

"Thank you for clarifying that Iosif. I'm not personally well aware of Volus authority but with the damning evidence I've personally collected over the years, I'd say your chances of winning any legal battle are slim to none." She said leaning forward, "So Dorlu, what's it going to be? Drop the rates seventy percent or see your reputation and bank accounts dry up in real time."

Dorlu slowly sat back down his fists shaking, he stared at Dex. Years ago when he first began working with her he had set up extra security to deflect her attempts at digging into his privacy. He had dealt with Lorthan's spies previously though he did fear Lorthan's growing influence, he underestimated Dex's ability to bypass his walls. Silence dragged as he thought desperately coming up with no way to avoid losing everything. Selling her fuel, albeit heavily discounted, seemed like a trade worth making.

"Sixtey-five percent and you swear you won't...air this information?" He asked warily, "I'd be willing to buy the information back."

Dex considered that then turned to Iosif, What do you think?"

"Sounds fair." He nodded in agreement.

She clapped her hands decisively the sudden noise making Dorlu twitch again, "You have my word Dorlu." She shook his hand, "Not a single word will be reported nor be known to your wife. I'll sell all he evidence back to you. You know my regular prices for this level of information. Also, the Borealis is in Afterlife District dock A4. Please put a rush order on that, we have no intention of sticking around Omega."

She tapped away gathering all the information into a packet to send. While Dorlu transferred the credits over in exchange. Iosif shot her a look, then an approving nod. Somehow, he suspected that he was going to like this one.

'Always a pleasure, Dorlu. Stay out of trouble." She remarked sarcastically then excusing herself her omnitool still open as she looked over the numbers. She let herself out of the office working on quickly transfering half of Dorlu's credits into his wife's account. She noted to Iosif, "She won't know where this came from but hopefully it'll be enough give her an edge against him."

"She'll need it more than him, I suppose." Iosif remarked.

"The credits I received from selling his information is going directly back into the ship. It'll be set aside next time we need to fuel up."

"Sounds about right, can use anything left over for whatever we need."

As they exited the building together Dex finished up the file transfers letting her omnitool fade away into sleep mode. "Now that the business is dealt with I've been curious since you first boarded, I noticed you have a prosthetic arm as well. How'd you lose yours? If you don't mind my prying, especially after that exchange of gross invasion of privacy."

"Sure, I'll tell," Iosif answered back, "If you'll share how you wound up with yours. Deal?"

"You have yourself a deal." She agreed with a chuckle. Dex was curious, she didn't run into many others who lost their left arm. She was more curious to see if he had any features on it.

Iosif raised his cybernetic arm, flexing its fingers as he thought back on it, "Got this about six years ago whilst I was still with the Alliance. Was with the Twenty-First Airborne back then, out in the Traverse, so as you can imagine I spent most of my time on patrol missions to make sure that colonies and other interests weren't touched by the usual warlord-pirate-terrorist crowds."

Dex nodded watching the metalic tendons move while he flexed his fingers. It was simplistic in design meant for functionality more than anything, probably did well enough on reflex tests.

"Anyway, one time I was out on another routine patrol when the sensors picked up on an incoming projectile. I banked to the side, hoping for the kinetic shields to kick in and take it as a graze, yet by some stroke of bad luck - or maybe just shoddy equipment - it took a direct impact which effectively disabled the engine and forced me to make a rapid descent." Talking about it didn't bother him as much as it used to, even if it brought on the odd phantom, so much as it felt like old news. "As you've probably guessed, my arm was damaged beyond the capacity of modern medicine, so I gained this instead as part of my medical discharge." Iosif flexed his fingers once more, shaking off the discomforting tinge that thinking about it could occasionally bring on.

Dex made a pained noise as her imagination filled in the gaps of how it must of felt, her shoulder throbbed with anxiety at the thought. She remembered vague memories of coming in and out of conciousness while they amputated her arm. The pain was searing as they attached cybernetics to her nerve endings.

Her right hand floated up to her left shoulder tapping the metallic plates idly while she thought. "Fuck pirates."

Iosif nodded in agreement with her. "Fuck them. Slavers too." He shared the same sentiment towards Batarians.

"I've had my arm for over ten years now." She rolled up her sleeve to let him see it proudly showcasing the handiwork, the green stenciled spirals were densely covering every inch of it. "My good friend Jorick Demanga is my prosthetic engineer. He built this current model from scratch, if it wasn't for him I would have been dead." Her voice softened when she spoke of her friend, she hadn't seen him in ages.

"I was serving in the military on this beautiful ship named the ISS Fade. We were enroute back to Taetrus, my homeworld. I had been sent away from the bridge to do some maintence checks for the mass effect core when we dropped out of FTL to avoid some debris. The pirates set a net and roped us in. I remember all the alarms blaring while the halls flooded with red light. All I had on me was a data pad..."

It had been a while since she talked about it though everything about that day was crystal clear. She popped open the blowtorch in her talon continuing the story, "I ran as fast as I could out of engineering to get to the closest weapon locker, unfortunately one of the pirates beat me to it. He turned on me, fast as a whip, shoving the end of his barrel into my shoulder then he pulled the trigger."

Iosif arched a brow as he saw the blowtorch, intrigued. Frankly, he was a little impressed at the practicality of it; the arm that the alliance had hooked him up with was about as standard as one would expect. Maybe hardier than the one it'd replaced, but it wasn't as if it held any fancy gimmicks.

That said, he definitely sympathised with her on taking a wound to the shoulder. Pirates used some nasty shit, especially when it came to boarding ships. He'd seen the effects of it first-hand.

Dex quickly tucked the blowtorch away. "From there I had two choices. Die or call for help. I dragged my sorry ass to the terminal after the pirate decided I wasn't going to last long, he ran off to shoot more crew. I sent out a distress signal. From what I was told the crew held out against the pirates until help arrived dispatching them completely. Jorick was among the medic teams helping to attend to the wounded." A smile broke open her mandibles, "The best feeling in the world after rehabilitation was jumping into a gunship to fly it. I had full control again."

It was a sentiment that Iosif could definitely share with his fellow pilot, if the smile that crelt across his face was anything to go by. "Damn straight. You put yourself behind the controls of a bird and it's as if you're the master of your own fate. Almost makes you feel invincible."

It was a pleasant thought, one which left him with a certain sense of nostalgia. A reminder of the days before Aratoht, before the salarian fucked them over. And then, even further back - when he was just another fresh faced kid at the docks, a graduate from Lowell City hoping to get out of the backwater and out into the wider universe.

"Something like that, yeah." She shared a look of admiration with Iosif, feeling more confident that she'd have a like-minded co-pilot. "Is there anything else we need to grab while we're out here?"

"I recall mention that we needed coolant for the weapon systems, but they've got it covered. It'd probably be worth grabbing anything we might need for the bridge. Software upgrades or anything like that."

"Software! That would be perfect, I don't trust the autopilot one bit. We can probably find a good VI program to upgrade the shit on there now. I can buff it up then we'll be golden." Dex said enthusiastically. "I thought Drono was going to be picking up the coolant. For now we'll grab a VI then get in contact with the others to see where they're at."

Iosif shrugged at that, before nodding. "Assuming he hasn't moved shop, there's a quarian who might be able to hook us up with something. Walk isn't too far from here, then we can hitch a ride back."

Dex followed beside Iosif allowing him to lead the way. The walk wasn't too great, but took them through a labyrinthine, narrow walkway that brought them face to face with the apathetic denizens of the great underworld. Eventually, they rounded the corner and hit another wider area, closer to one of the docking sectors, where a few other stalls were found.

Iosif had his sights set on their target for shopping - a stall at the corner with advertisements in various languages, all for components related to spacecraft. Engine parts, weapons systems, VIs - all of them and more were advertised on the storefront, but the two were more interested in the last of the three.

Stepping inside, the slav shot a look towards the storekeeper, a quarian of a busy disposition who seemed to be keeping themself occupied as they tapped away st the fabricated interface of their terminal. Probably another VI, as Rael used to point out. He and the storekeeper had grown up on the same ship.

"Hey, you open?" Iosif asked, rhetorically. He recognised the storekeeper from the patterns on his suit and that less-than-subtle defense turret crudely mounted on the ceiling for potential shoplifters, stick-up artists and thieves. Yep, this was the place, alright.

"Ah, yes," the quarian finally glanced up to them, stepping apart from the terminal and edging over to the counter to greet their newfound customers when they jerked their head upwards in mild surprise. "How can I be of assistance today, I'm aware that.. hey, hold on a moment - I know you from somewhere... you're that human who worked with Rael, yes?"

"That's right, uh.. Roca, right?"

"Yeah, right. Haven't heard from either of you in months, or that salarian either. What gives? Rael said he'd have been back months ago to pick up a package he ordered."

"He's dead." Iosif said, rather bluntly.

"... Dead, wait, seriously?" Roca's head tilted downwards for a moment. "How? I know Rael, he wasn't the type-"

"Salarian turned on us. Stole our cut, murdered Rael and... just screwed us over." A hint of anger was inflected in his voice, though he wasn't forthcoming about what happened to him.

Curiosity flared in Dex, someone betrayed Iosif and with only a tidbit of information it sent her imagination into overdrive. It took a considerable amount of effort to school her expression to that of neutrality. Remaining disinterested in the lives her fellow crewmates had led was proving, with every passing minute she spent with them, to be difficult.

"That's why I was going to ask you a favour, if you'd be so inclined."

"Sure, but I don't entirely work for free."

"Sure. If I recall, Rael had some navigation VI fitted to our old ship - I'm aware you programmed that VI. What I wanted to know is if there's a back-door in the software so I can track that fucking lizard and give him what's due."

"Hrm," Roca tilted his head upwards and brought up the terminal again. "You do realise this could land me in boiling engine coolant, right? If anyone finds-"

"I'm not asking it as a favour for me. Asking it as a favour for Rael, especially since, if I recall, he went out of his way for you a couple of times."

"Bah, fine. For Rael. I won't have it said I backed down on a former crewmate, even an exile."

"Thank you. And I'll make it worth your while, if you can also hook us up with some of your VI software. Please, no backdoors this time."

"I can hook you up with whatever you need."

With that, Iosif shot Dex a look. "You're pilot, it's your call."

Searching for someone through shadier means was nothing new to Dex. She personally took note if ever needing to find someone through a ship, to check with the navigation for any old imprints. It was a good trick and she hoped it would work for Iosif. Inclining her head respectively to Iosif, "Thank you. If you think Roca can provide us with what we need Iosif, then let's do it."

Dex, Iosif and Roca went through several VI's looking for just the right one to cover for The Borealis autopilot. It had to be generally compatible with older systems as well as custmizable enough to fit it. Only when they finally settled on the best option Roca had, did the pilots buy it along with Iosif obtaining his clue to finding the apparent backstabbing Salarian.

He wasn't finished just yet.

Baybridge: Old Ghosts [COMPLETED]

<Snipped quote by tsukune>

Yeah, I'm fine with continuing that at any time.

And at the behest of @Maxx, I made a small adjustment at the end of my post. It's really shitty - so it's perfect for Maxx. :^)

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@FernStone@Nosuchthing@Zombiedude101

Anyways, I had an idea for the Academy brats if ya'll are interested.

@Mr Allen J

Shoot, I could use some interesting ideas.

Mass Effect: Borealis

@Dervish Hold off on sending Tonka for fuel, me and DearTrickster were gonna do that.