Mass Effect: Chronicles (IC)

[Nidhogg]

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Mass Effect Universe Roleplay

Whether you would spend hours reading the entries or just get annoyed by its very existence, if you have played the Mass Effect games, then you are familiar with the codex. I have (over the course of many, many hours) read all the codex entries from both games. What I found was a rich and well developed galaxy full of history and lore.

I do love the epic adventure of Shepard and his squad, but there is so much more to Mass Effect than the events around the return of the Reapers. I want to start an RP where we create our own unique characters and don't fly around the galaxy in Shepard's shadow. In fact, I plan to start the timeline in the game 10 years before the events of ME2.

Even though I will be the one managing the thread, and handling certain organizational and management tasks, it is not going to be my story. I want this to be a collaborative effort. There will be no "main" character. We will explore individual characters' personal stories, and at times one person may be the defacto leader of the group. Just remember, the idea is to make this an ensemble story.

Now, I am going to make a few "executive" decisions at the beginning. Things like when to start, what the restrictions on character generation will be, and such. This is so we have starting point, and don't spend weeks debating on the basics idea.

I don't want anyone to feel like they need an encyclopedic knowledge of the ME universe to play in this RP. If I can't find the information in the Mass Effect Wiki, I'm not going to worry about it. I'm also not saying this needs to adhere to absolute canon. That shouldn't be an issue, though, as there is not a massive amount of established canon for ME.

If you need information on anything Mass Effect, just use the aforementioned wiki. It is an incredible database for ME information and takes all of its articles from official ME sources.

Mass Effect Wiki

-Rules and Guidelines for Posters-

There are basic and simple rules for anyone posting in any RP thread. Here is a more comprehensive list of what is expected.
Guide To The Online Role Playing Forum
The things I am posting are more focused on this RP, or because they are so important they need to be reinforced.

1) You can not kill or do lasting or serious harm to another player's character unless that player agrees to it.

2) No one is the master of the universe here. You post what your character says and does. You do not decide what other players do in their posts. You have to give other players a chance to react to your actions. *Exception to the rule is if a player's absence is seriously delaying the game. At that point, that player's character will likely just go on "auto-follow."

3) Invalidating another person's post is a bad thing. But you can not post whatever you want and just make people follow along. If at no point has this character put on a hat, or owned a hat, or been near a hat, you can not walk up to him and write "nice hat you're wearing" and expect him to be wearing a hat.

4) Read the previous posts! All of it! You do not want to end up missing details or anything important and then make a fool of yourself in your next post. We all make mistakes, though, so if you don't see a detail that should have gone in your post, just bring it up in OOC and we'll all work it out.

5) Review your posts. This is good etiquette for posting anywhere, but here it is very important. Things exist in the game only as written words. Major spelling errors and serious problems with the misuse of words can ruin the experience. Just preview your post before you submit and give it a quick scan. You will be surprised how effective this is.

6) This is the most important rule. RESPECT THE OTHER PLAYERS. Even if our characters don't like each other, we should all get along. This RP thread is not about any one individual character, it is about all of us.

Once a character's profile is posted here and that player makes an IC post, the profile is finalized.

-The IC thread is open. New players are still welcome. Come to the OOC THREAD if you want to join-​

 

[Nidhogg]

CHARACTER PROFILES
Nidhogg - Alec Kaiser
Dizzyfish - Atina'Evna nar Io
MeanBlackjack - Kaito Foley
Avellan13 - Vincent Anastasio
pimpmar - Dante Alaniyum

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NIDHOGG
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Name: Alec Kaiser
Age: 28
Species: Human
Gender: Male
Height: 6’4” (194 cm)
Weight: 210lbs (95 kg)

Defining Features: “Dirty” Blonde Hair – Full Beard – Brown Eyes – Caucasian Ethnicity
Birthplace: Non-Alliance Colony on Trident – Third Planet of Hoplos System / Hades Nexus

Primary Skill Set: Urban Survival ; Combat (Specialties: Hand Guns ; Assault Rifles ; Hand-to-Hand Combat ; Medium Armor)
Secondary Skill Set: Decryption and Hacking ; Wilderness Survival
Tertiary Skill Set: Basic Piloting Skills ; Rudimentary Knowledge of Inter-Stellar Navigation

Background: Alec Kaiser was born on the lawless, corporate owned human colony on Trident. The planet is over 90% ocean, so actual land is cramped and tightly controlled by the corrupt companies that operate there. Education on this colony was decent enough, but Alec spent more time with generic youthful rebellions than actual studying. “Street smarts” was the term he used to make himself feel better when he was younger. Nowadays, though, it is just “experience.” At 17 years old, Alec wanted to join the Alliance Marine Corps. He simply saw it as a way to get off that planet and learn how to be a better fighter in the process. He washed out of boot camp before the halfway point, though. No one specific reason, just a lot of things that built up. By the time he left, he actually believed the Sergeant when he told Alec that he was no good and didn’t have what it takes.
From 18-26 he was more of a drifter than anything else. Freelanced with mercenaries, bounty hunters, bodyguards. He was always hired on at dirt cheap and was expected to be little more than fodder. He always survived, though, and learned how to adapt in a lot of situations.
Alec doesn’t talk much. When he does speak it is usually short and to the point. Socializing in any form isn’t really his thing. He likes to get the job done and move on. Emotional conflicts need to be left behind. He can’t always live by his own rule, though. After all, he’s only human.
Personal Belongings: Mid-range Torrent class Assault Rifle ; Mid-range Raikou class Pistol ; Low-range Cipher class Omni-tool ; Low-range Kuwashii targeting visor ; Custom made Medium Armor ; Oil-cloth duster ; 2 pairs of casual clothes ; Weapon maintenance kit ; Basic multi-tool ; Utility knife ; Unlabeled old leather bound book ; Small locked engraved box ; Duffel bag ;
Other: Alec’s armor is well made and higher end than what most people have. 5 years ago, it would have been considered top of the line and incredibly expensive for a civilian. Even today it would still be on the expensive end. He gave it a custom paint job so it looks less like military uniform. The greaves are black with dark blue highlights, the pants are gray, and the chest piece is two-tone black and gray with dark blue highlights. If he isn’t going in to combat, he wears a dark grey oil-cloth duster that ends just above his knees.

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DIZZYFISH
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Name: Atina'Evna nar Io
Age: Twenty
Species: Quarian
Gender: XX Chromosome
Height: Five feet-two inches
Weight: One-hundred and twenty pounds without the suit. One-hundred and thirty with the suit.

Defining Features: Like most Quarians, Atina will live her entire life inside of a protective suit, which serves as not only her lifeline but her main wardrobe. The suit's coloring is in much lighter shades, mostly white with minute shades of gray, contrasting the usual preference of dimmed color schemes. Her head piece consists of a mild crimson face shield, a light purple head-wrap with a unique and intricate geometrical design and two very distinct ribbons now dangle about her head. Around her mid section, a loose fitting wrap, that hangs just below her knees.
Birthplace: Amongst the Migrant Fleet, aboard a family ship called: "Io."

Primary Skill Set:Engineering, eidetic memory and a memory bank full of documented history from many races.
Secondary Skill Set:Hacking, Decryption, First Aid and some Medicine.
Tertiary Skill Set:Weapon and armor knowledge, cooking.

Background: At the young age of six, Atina and her older brother Khail lost both of their parents after a microscopic breach in their shared environment allowed a virus to take them both in a matter of a few days after infection. Khail took the role of sole provider and parent for the younger of the two. Atina attended school for Engineering, near the top of her class. Graduating after Khail returned home from his Pilgrimage. Shortly after his return, he was found guilty of treason by the Admiralty Board against the Migrant Fleet, for tampering and operating live Geth specimens he picked up on his travels. Atina was again left behind to finish her schooling and began her own Pilgrimage two years after her older sibling's banishment. To further her brother's studies and continue research on the Geth with no intentions of returning to the Migrant Fleet, she has been on her Pilgrimage for but a single month.
Personal Belongings:A plethora of data discs filled with information regarding Prothean data and intelligence both her and Khail have gathered, random bits of tech that either don't work or serve no real purpose, omnitool, medi-gel and a small assortment of medical supplies and herbs.
Other: Atina is very smart when it comes to the books, so the real world comes at a much bigger shock than it would to most. Naturally curious and eager to know all that lays beyond the protective clutches of the Migrant Fleet, she is both easy to please and even quicker to astound. However young and naive, her level of intelligence should never be called into question for her seemingly infinite memory and endless bank of intel provides insight to a lot of information pertinent to the group's cause.

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MEANBLACKJACK
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Name: Kaito Foley
Age: Fifty Two
Species: Human
Gender: Male
Height: 6 Foot 2 (6'2")
Weight: Two hundred and ten pounds. (210lbs)

Defining Features: A long scar than runs from his neck to the bottom of his chin.
Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan

Primary Skill Set: Biotic Vanguard, expert in Shockwave, Pull and Charge. Expert fighter.
Secondary Skill Set: Decent Strategist. Can plot out decent tactics for taking down groups/large enemies.
Tertiary Skill Set: Survival. Don't eat yellow snow. Don't eat out Turians etc. etc.

Background: Almost like a marauding warrior, Kaito wandered from planet to planet earning chips as he went. No job was too dirty or too difficult for him. His hair has thinned as he wandered, it’s tricky to try and put his age down. Some say he’s in his forties while others claim he’s nearer his seventies. He had training in some form of military, his trigger finger is very disciplined and without his weapons he’s just as lethal. Has an outright hatred for Vorcha though, people theorized it was something to do with his past.
Personal Belongings: A shotgun, a heavy pistol and a data disk that contained something from his mysterious past. No one has seen said data disk, but he can be heard playing the disk with a far away glance on his face.
Other: Can have a trust worthy gut, depends on his diet.

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AVELLAN13
Name: Vincent Anastasio
Age: 19
Species: Human
Gender: Male
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 144 lbs

Defining Features: Thin and gangly, light blue eyes, straight black hair about 3" in length, pale skin, thin jawline and slightly angular face. Wears light, full body armor with camo design and coloring.
Birthplace: Shanxi

Primary Skills: Tech and Biotic Sentinal: Tech Armor, Overload and Reave
Secondary Skills: Stealth, Close Combat (Guerrilla Tactics) and Trapmaking (Making and setting up traps)
Tertiary Skills: Medicine and Socialization (Interrogation and Torture)

Background: Born on Shanxi, Vincent was just a baby when the First Contact War began. His parents were killed during the invasion and he would have died as well if a resistance fighter hadn`t saved him. He grew up with a hatred towards the Turians, along with the council races (Asari and Salarians) for there bigotry and indifference towards humanity. Vincent joined the Alliance for a while, but grew displeased with them as well. He became a loner and took up mercenary work for awhile. He eventually fled to an isolated planet in the area between the Terminus System and Geth Space, to seek solitude and improve his skills.
Personal Belongings: Light full body armor, SMG, Shotgun, Pistol, Survival pack containing survival gear, omni tool, money, knife, and a journal to keep a log of his adventures.
Other: Vincent is loyal to any companions and friends he makes. He`s very shy and reserved. Doesn`t talk much around strangers.

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PIMPMAR

Name: Donterral "Dante" Alaniyum
Age: 44 Standard Galactic Years
Species: Turian
Gender: Male
Height: 2 meters
Weight: 260 pounds

Defining features: Donterral's military grade armor is so old, it's considered rustic. It's beaten, dented, and scorched. The Black chassis with the Red undertone may have at one point been a mark of pride, but now it looked as though the armor was bleeding. His face is crisscrossed with scars, one running straight down his left eye. Powerfully built, he's rarely seen without his armor.
Birthplace: Palaven, the Turian Home World

Primary skill set: Electronics, Engineering, Pistol Combat.
Secondary skill set: Rifle combat, Assault Training, First Aid
Tertiary Skill set: Piloting, and a whole life-time's expierence.

Backround: Donterral was born on the Turian Homeworld, to a prestigious Military family. He quickly ranked up through the military for his sound judgement, incredible reflexes, and sheer brutality.

He was assigned the role Shipmaster several weeks prior to the Relay 314 Incident. In command of his own vessel, he was present for the first encounter with Humanity. It was he who was reluctant to fire, and his lack of discipline that let the final human ship limp out alive. In a bad spot with the Admiraltiy, he voluntereed to lay siege to the Human World from orbit. It was here, during the merciless orbital bombardment, that he grew disgusted with his own kind. He was glad when the Human fleet reacted in force, and even happier to have his vessel disabled.

Assumed dead by the Turian Fleet, he fled around the Galaxy, looking for jobs anyway he could. He won a Stryker IV pistol in a gambler's game, and stole a hot-rod ship from one of the most powerful mercenary's in the galaxy. His ship, the Exodus, is the real reason he still lives. Between it's Military-grade armament, shielding, or drag racing speed, it is his pride and joy. Now, he makes a living piloting or smuggling, whichever pays more.

He picked up the name Dante from a human literature form he read during a stay on the Lunar space station. Unduly racist towards humans, he was promptly evicted. But, the name stuck.

Vessel Registry: MSV Exodus
Vessel Class: Civilian luxury craft - B
VI name: Exodus

Armament: Three anti-personal/small craft Turrets, automated. One bottom mounted, military grade ion cannon, used for disabling craft.
Armor: 3 centimeters dura-steel hardened in Mass-Effect event horizon, 3 sub-layers of shielding, plus an additional "over" shield.
Engine specifications: Capable of FTL travel at a little under 4 minute warm-up, making her one of the fastest ships in the galaxy. Impulse engines capable of .4 light speed. Emergency thrusters.
Ship size: 40 meters. 4 Cabins, Cock pit, mess area, bathing area, Reactor/engineering bay, meditation chamber. Each cabin comes equipped with extranet terminals, plus bunk. No Cryogenic facilities.
Apperance: A gleaming ship, her dark blue stripes dignify her as a rich man's vehicle. Which it was, before stolen. Her kinetic barriers seem to make the ship appear hazy, almost as if coming from a dream.

Short Description: The Exodus had belonged to a particularly powerful Mercenary, who had hired Dante for some work. Being the eternal opportunist, Dante scrubbed the ship of any tracking devices, and stole it. Since then, he's been hunted by this Mercenary and his band of bandits, causing Dante to stay on the move. He's souped up the engine, beating almost any ship in a "foot-race" to light speed.

The craft is overly-shielded, and overly-gunned, thus causing constant problems with the Reactor. Power outages are common, often at the worst times. The VI is restricted to the cock-pit, and only assists with point defense and piloting. All personality was stripped by Dante due to it's human qualities

 

[Nidhogg]

The Chronicles Begin

The year is 2176. The news everyone is talking about is the Skyllian Blitz. 2 months ago, batarian-funded pirates launched a massive assault on the Alliance colony of Elysium. A young commander named John Shepard who was on shore leave at Elysium rallied the defenses and is given all the credit for keeping the colony standing until the Alliance Navy arrived.

Less talked about news is the new commission for the John Grissom Academy the Alliance is going to build over Elysium. It is going to further the advancement of human biotic research. How people are reacting to that news depends on how they view humans.

People who keep an ear to galactic politics know of unrest over slavery practices in the Terminus System of Anhur.

 

[Nidhogg]

Alec Kaiser

With all the places Alec had been to in the galaxy, the only place he willingly returned to seemed to be Illium. For all its glitz, glamor and claims of culture, it was as dangerous a place as he'd ever been. He didn't like the fake opulence of the upper levels. Everyone putting on airs and pretending to be so damned civilized while plotting to destroy each other. But that wasn't his arena. The further down the shimmering spires of Illium he went, the more comfortable Alec Kaiser felt. The people down here didn't need reliable help any less than the rich folk.

The rich folk up top had the resources to hire the best, the most infamous, and the most reputable. Not a lot of people knew this random human. He liked it that way. When Alec checked his extranet messages at his motel, he was shocked to see that someone wanted to hire him off of a reputation. Yesterday he had hopped off the transport and was wondering how long before he would have another job. He was planning how far he'd have to stretch his budget, and ended up in one of the cheaper motels.

"Atina'Evna nar Io" He remembered that name. Khail's little sister that he left back on the Fleet. She was the only thing he talked about besides his work. When Khail disappeared after the incident, Alec had hoped he just went back to the Fleet. It was unlikely, but Alec hoped anyways.

Her message made Alec uneasy. She seemed to be more than a little insistent about meeting him. Given the way things went with Khail, Alec had been expecting a trap. But two years after the incident? Some people have long memories, so he wasn't going to rule it out. She could just be desperate. She could have done what Khail was afraid she'd do and started following his work.

Alec was cautious about meeting her, but he owed it to Khail. As soon as he had received her message he responded.

|FROM: Alec Kaiser|
|Meeting Place|
|I did work for Khail 2 years ago. I will listen to what you have to say in person. Meet tomorrow at 13:00 at the Gorton Diner on Illium. Staff knows me. Ask them and they will point me out.|

The message was short and to the point. Alec knew most people considered his messages rude, and that invariably led them to assume he was a mean or crude individual. He doesn't freelance as a nice guy. He freelances as a bodyguard.

It was 12:00 sharp. Alec could get to the diner in 10-15 minutes. That would leave him plenty of time to check for a possible ambush. He'd used that place often enough that he had dozens of escape routes from there. He didn't usually wear his armor to meet clients, but he wasn't going to take chances with that. His dark gray duster would make his armor less obvious as he walked down the street. He loaded his Raikou pistol with a fresh clip, and loaded his assault rifle as well. The rifle was staying in his duffel bag though. Last thing he wanted today was to get hassled for carrying a loaded rifle around in public.

He checked his hair and beard in the mirror before he left. He didn't like it, but he knew first impressions were often based on how he looked. He trimmed his hair and beard yesterday, so they were clean and crisp today. Everything he owned fit in his duffel, so he brought it with him in case he needed to get out of town fast.

As he walked towards the diner, all he could think about was the fight with that krogan. He felt a phantom pain in his abdomen as he remembered it all. That scar will be with him the rest of his life.

A quick scan of the area showed nothing obvious in the street around the diner. It was on a well traveled corner on a lower level of Illium. Darker than the top, but still bright enough to see fine. The real clues that he might be going in to a trap would be inside.

"-breathes- Earth Clan Kaiser! -breathes- Nice to see you are back in town." The owner of the diner was an old Volus unsurprisingly named Gorton. Despite owning the place, he was very active with day to day tasks. Right now he was working the cashier counter.

Alec spoke in his deep voice. There was always a slight rasp to how he talked, and a certain weight to every word. "Gorton. Nice to be back. Anything new?"

The volus finished ringing up the customer at the counter and then focused on Alec. "Well -breathes- Tia had her baby so -breathes- she's on maternity. -breathes- Couldn't find a temp so I am -breathes- picking up her shifts."

Gorton was the most sensible and level headed Volus Alec had ever met. It was a shame that his diner, although popular, was not doing more business. Even for a lunch crowd, the place was fairly empty. "Glad she is doing well. I am meeting a client here soon. So if you see a female quarian looking for me, direct her to the back corner."

"As long as you both order something -breathes- I am fine with it. -breathes- I suggest the soup."

Alec nodded and made his way to the back corner of the restaurant. He recognized all the staff, and none of the customers seemed to be watching him. Still, he felt odd. Almost as if part of him wanted this to be a trap. It still could turn out that way, though.

The back corner booth was perfect for meetings. You had to walk past a waiter's station and a vending machine just to see it, and it was out of line of sight from all the windows. An escape through the kitchen was easy from here if you knew the kitchen's crazy layout. Alec sat in the corner with his back to the wall and facing the only path to this section. The table of the two person booth wasn't very large, and made hiding your actions under the table difficult.

All he could do now is wait and try to forget about that damned scar.

 

[Dizzyfish]

Atina'Evna nar Io

Illium. Why. Oh WHY did it have to be this big? Atina stepped off the transportation vessel and stood in absolute awe. Yes, the Migrant Fleet was massive in its own right, but this was different. Quarian's were the only vagabonds aboard that large fleet collaboration. Illium had a multitude of species that the young Quarian had wanted to see up close, with Asari leading the top of the population charts. She was greeted with strange stares as she slowly trekked the windowed corridors till the cities therein came into view. Lights glimmered, flying transporting vessels distorting the shining beams. Atina had to cover her face her eyes slowly adjusting to the level of color and vibrancy.

A beautiful Asari woman with well rounded hips and a low cut neckline bumped shoulders with Atina which spun her around, her eyes following her as she made a b line towards whatever was so important. Her mouth was running, probably too busy on that phone call to really bother with morals or manners. She shrugged it off and continued to... somewhere. In fact, Atina wasn't all that sure she was even on the right floor. There were so many bodies floating about this landing she wasn't entirely sure on who she should ask for help. They all seemed too busy with their own lives to stop and assist someone else with theirs. The Quarian's head hurt from it all, tired from her restless night. Knowing that she would meet someone from her brother's past had kept her eyes as wide as they could; under the pressure of three hours of sleep in the last two days however.

"Umm.. excuse me?"

The pair of Asari women continued laughing.

"Pardon me miss but could you--?" Atina lowered her head when the first two people she had attempted to make contact with walked away. Sighing deeply, Atina was starting to doubt her ability in this seemingly simple yet difficult mission. She wished Khail was here. There was nothing that he couldn't do.

"Do you need help Miss?" Came an unfamiliar voice.

Atina turned to the serene and smiling face of a well dressed Salarian. She had not met one yet since leaving and was happy to be in his presence, happy that she was not as washed out as she felt.

"Yes! Thank you so much!" They met towards one another in the middle of the aisle.

"Must be your first time on Illium."

"Do I stick out that badly?"

"A little. That's okay, where do you need to go?"

It was nice to have someone else lead the conversation, Atina sighed again, this time out of relief. "I am looking for Gorton's ....diner? Gorton Diner?"

"Easy enough." The polite Salarian pointed Atina in the right path towards her destination, even walked her to the taxi service, warning her that it would be dangerous for newcomers and to watch her back. Atina waved the Salarian off and made notes about his mannerisms in her omni-tool. Logging their meeting into her cranium, almost burning it right into the puffy flesh of her brain.

---

Atina was early. Far too early in fact, she was nervous. Too nervous in fact. Time seemed to have no measure or that it passed too rapidly. The last thing she wanted was to show up late because her racing heart some how hijacked time's steering wheel and drove off into a drunken high speed chase behind reality. Nothing was certain, not even death of which she was sure negotiations were to be had.

The section of Illium she stood upon was far different from the whole other world that though felt millions of miles away, sat dormant just above. Atina looked towards what would have been the sky had she any view of it from where she stood. The taxi service had placed her not far from the diner and pointed her hurriedly in the direction she needed to go. She was left to her own devices yet again. No matter, all she had to do was walk slowly. Very slowly. Perhaps time would have control over itself and pass by with some kind of steady haste.

The meeting ahead kept her her mind in the right spot, only looking at her omnitool to go over some research notes she had made just before this stop. Perhaps she should work on her pitch.

"Mister Kaiser. You knew my brother. Prepare to spill all.... No." The Quarian shook her head. That wasn't right. "Mister Kaiser! How are you? How have you been? Have we met? Of course not! I am just some total stranger that is just CRAZY about history. How's the wife?" Sneering, Atina sighed, glancing at a few travelers gawking at her as she passed. She coyly feigned a phone conversation.

"Erm...Oh yes! That is a good way to introduce yourself mom. I know they will lov--" When they were out of sight Atina hurried down the street, if only to keep herself from looking any more foolish.

There was the diner. She just had a few minutes left. Astounded that time actually did as she proposed it would, Atina entered, eying a strange round creature standing at the payment counter. He was wearing a peculiar suit not so different from her own and she stared in awe for a long period of time, probably to the point it made him uncomfortable; but not before she had the gull to snap an image of him.

"Can I help you?" The rasp breathing from behind the suit made Atina grimace, did she sound that, alien?

"Sorry! I am looking for Mister Ale-"

He did not respond, merely pointed and Atina did not blame him. She did just treat him like a sideshow freak and for that she apologized and spotted the human in the corner the front desk man had indicated was her primary target. The Quarian gave him a few more looks up and down as she started her slow march towards Mister Kaiser. Her heart was racing, pounding against her rib cage like a trapped bird trying desperately to break free. Her footsteps were softer the closer she got, cautious, as if he might turn into something more insidious and sinister. However, he stayed human every single step forward.

"Mister Kaiser?" She called softly, nervously even swallowing hard the lump in her throat. He was looking right at her, had to have been, Atina was now standing right in front of him.

 

[Nidhogg]

Alec Kaiser

The female quarian approaching him had to be her. Alec was starting to actually believe this wasn't a trap. He'd never met anyone who could pretend to be that uncomfortable. Quarian body language took some skill to understand, but anyone could see how nervous she was.

"Yes, I am Alec Kaiser." He responded flatly. "Feel free to sit down, Miss Evna." Alec's eyes motioned to the booth seat across from him. After all the time he had spent around other quarians, Khail especially, Alec was good at dealing with quarians.

The body suit and helmet cut off how most species would read each other. Quarian's tended to develop slightly exaggerated movements and especially animated hand movements. The biggest thing was eye contact. Being unable to see most quarian eyes through their masks, Khail helped Alec learn how to approximate where the eyes would be behind their mask.

The human locked his brown eyes on to where he felt the quarian's would be and maintained eye contact with her.

 

[Dizzyfish]

Atina'Evna nar Io

The Quarian's back erected at the sound of his voice. Sharp. Stern. To the point. Three qualities she had dealt with only when it came to the Admiralty Board, and even then she hardly held a conversation long enough to really get the whole feel of it. The only way to treat such people was a perfect posture, straight back, tall shoulders and a head held high. It seemed that the mere response was enough to rip her back into that frame of mind. How did Khail know this man? A secret military he had been a part of, for surely this human had to have a long list of military positions under his belt? Either that or she had a lot to learn about humans.

Atina glanced back and forth between the offered seat and her current companion, before finally throwing herself into the seat as if it would save her life in a fire fight. It was time for a game face, none of the puns intended of course. Atina smiled, the puffiness of her cheeks hiding a portion of her glittering eyes. Though it seemed such pleasantries were going to prove useless in this conversation it could change at any moment; she was slowly starting to understand the ways of the world. Either way, it was best to be as uplifting as possible, one of them had to be....

"Atina, please." She offered, filling the air with some sort of vitality. To start things off on the right foot... "Thank you for speaking with me Mister Kaiser. I know that this may have come at an inconvenience, but it is appreciated none the less. " The Quarian twiddled with her fingers underneath the table and felt her nervousness fading. He was not what she had expected, or even a fraction of it. The Human part was shocking enough. The sharpness of his features was just the icing on the cake. "You... how did you know Khail?" She asked almost hurriedly, forgetting to even call him by his full, proper name. Why did he have to stare at her like that? That look could get a grown man to burst into tears. Atina only stared back, she was too drawn into this contest to commit to anything else. If she looked away, she might have exploded.

 

[Nidhogg]

Alec Kaiser

The research Khail conducted while Alec worked for him was technically illegal. It was dangerous, in its own way, but Alec was amazed many times at the lengths Khail went to to ensure if anything went wrong, he would suffer the consequences alone. The benefits, however, far outweighed the dangers. That was why Alec stood by Khail. That was why he was not bothered by the legality of his work. Laws, as Alec knew, were not always to protect the innocent people. Many times they were to protect the people who had the power. Khail said that above all else, he couldn't let the Fleet find out what he was doing. Not for his sake, but for his dear little sister's. The thought that Atina was here as a pawn for the Admiralty Board, knowingly or unknowingly, was certainly going through Alec's head.

With the suit on it was never easy to tell, but it looked almost like Atina was paralyzing herself with tension. Alec was quite certain that she was uncomfortable with the way he was looking at her. Khail certainly had issues with the way Alec looked. When Khail asked Alec out of nowhere and with absolute certainty if there was some medical condition that froze his face...that was the closest Alec had come to bursting out in to laughter in a long time. It was difficult for him to explain how he keeps his laughter and smiles on the inside. "Permanent poker face" was the best term for his range of facial expressions. He still expresses a certain degree of emotions and body language with his face, but you have to focus on his subtle eye and eyebrow movements. Not something most people bother picking up on.

Alec knew he had to play this carefully, he believed at this point that this was Atina'Evna. But that didn't make him feel much safer. "Well, Miss Evna, I was his bodyguard, more or less. I worked for him close to 6 months. About two years ago he no longer needed my services, gave me my final payment, and I haven't seen or heard of him since." He didn't want to waste time dancing around with words, so Alec cut to what was bothering him about this situation. "How did you know I knew Khail?

 

[pimpmar]

Dante Alaniyum

Dante sat there, long fingers fidgeting with the release clasp of his pistol holster. The view-port of the Exodus was black with the nothingness of space, distorted by the sheer velocity generated from the relay. His cargo hold was full of Volus breathing apparatus containers, filled to the brim with Elcor narcotics. His contact on Illium was going to offload his cargo, give him the payment of 15,000 credits, and he'd be off on his way. A simple job, one he'd repeated enough in his life to not be apprehensive, but something in his mind was screaming alert.

He shrugged it off, as he had done so many times in the past. A pilot's gut is his best friend, but sometimes it can be fooled. He had a few minutes until the drop back into normal space, and the short 5 minute flight towards Illium. He rose, walking to the rear of his ship to inspect his reactor. A race-tuned Sha'hari single engine core, courtesy of the Quarian engineer who designed the ship's overpowered drive, was thrumming with life. He marveled at the job, particularly admiring his extensive modifications, including several yards of construction tape, that was holding the entire thing together. This sort of protoype engine shut down more often than it worked. Things broke, things flew, and it was up to him to make sure it all stayed together. Hence, the tape.

He strode back towards the cockpit, strapped himself in, and felt the ship suddenly jerk. He was coming out of the relay boost, about a minute early. Suddenly, red warning lights began to strobe in the cockpit, and the engine started to strain against an unforseen foe. Two picket cruisers, courtesy of C-Sec, were waiting for his arrival. One of them attempted to trap him with a modified kinetic field, serving as a tractor beam, while the other moved to cut off his descent into the planet. Being the expierenced smuggler he was, he wiped the computer's memory clean of his jumps, and it's personal information. A whole bunch of data he had memorized years past. He jerked the control stick, bringing the ship into a tight controlled roll, working down towards the bottom of the Kinetic 'bubble.'

He found time to laugh, wondering what C-Sec was doing so far out of Citadel "strictly-enforced" space. They had no presence on Illium, and he knew that their only target was him. He had been sold out. Damned Batarians. As the ship reached an 'inverted' state, he pulled up, thus going "Down". "Exodus" he called to the VI "shunt the power from our point defense into our drive core. Begin charging the ion cannon!" The machine gave a non-commital beep, as opposed to a verbal response.

The ship continued to pick up speed, still within the clutches of the picket cruiser. The other cruiser, sensing the deception, dove to follow him, out-weighing the Turian's ship 4 tons to 1. At a sudden urge, the Exodus pulled back "up" racing straight towards the C-Sec cruiser, effectively throwing off the second cruiser. The kinetic bubble lost it's consistency, as Dante gripped his control stick super tight. This sort of flying gave those cruisers the right to blow him into billions of atomized bits. As if on cue, the GARDIAN systems aboard the ship directly in his path came online, turrets tracking the Exodus. He was within 2000 kilometers, then 1500, then 1000. Any closer, and he was dead.

At the final moment, the computer beeped, and the entire ship's lights dimmed, as did the control board. A super compressed beam of ionized electricity flew threw space, impacting the Cruiser on it's port-side. If the ship's shields had been activated, the brunt of the attack would have been deflected, but expecting no resistance, the ion beam met hull. The ship was immedieatly thrown into an electronic overload, shutting off it's weapon systems and tracking systems. Unfortunately for Dante, it beat the hell out of his reactor as well. It took him several seconds to realize that the smoke he was smelling was coming out of his reactor room, and that the lights were not going to wink back on. His ship pulled into a slow spiral, caught in the gravity of Illium. He was now on a direct path down, without control.

He found himself flipping random switches, hoping to coaxe some life out of his engine. Finally, the emergency thrusters came online, and with their aid, he was able to land the ship through the magnetic clamping systems, and into the lower portion of Illium. He shut down completely, hoping to lose any C-SEC passive scanner sweeps. He knew they wouldn't come get him unless they had a positive ID on where he was. He sat back in his seat, sweating profusely.

He headed into the cargo bay, to check the content of his cargo. And to his utter dismay, the entire shipment had melted in on itself into molten slag. Excess heat from the reactor core had spiked the internal temperature to 300 degrees celsius, melting the temperature shielding between the two compartments, and destroying any hope of 15,000 credits. Now, in debt to a narcotics syndicate, with at least 5,000 credits worth of repairs, he was completely S.O.L.

Cursing his luck, he left his ship, heading towards the lower portions of Illium. He would still meet his contact, and demand why he had been set up. And, maybe if he could push his luck, get re-imbursed. He made sure the pistol was fully charged, and set off at a brisk pace, avoiding the glances of suspicious civilians who were wondering why the ship had come in half dead, and landed in a haze of smoke. Let 'em look, he thought, and continued on his way.

 

[Dizzyfish]

Atina'Evna nar Io

The conversation had been dry thus far but Atina perked up at the confirmation Alec provided, the one she had hoped was there. There was no information about Alec Kaiser in all of Khail's documents, just a single line, a name, sprawled out between information regarding the Prothean extinction. Though at first she had read over it, at least a thousand times, too many to count in fact. It wasn't until a fit of rage did she really stare it in the face through emotionally compromised eyes. It was an odd place to sketch down a name, even if in a hurry. These were the documents that Atina had frequented and Khail knew that from when she was a child. It was clear that of all the things her brother wanted her to find, this one was the most important due to the lengths he went to conceal it.

Beyond a name, Atina knew nothing, and Alec Kaiser had confirmed what she had hoped was true, without first having to ask. A playful smile swept across her face, whether he could see it or not was not the point. She knew. "I didn't. You just told me." The Quarian paused, possibly gathering her thoughts, she didn't know at this point. The thought of Khail needing a bodyguard painted an image of the dangers that his work posed to his life. Naturally, her young mind hadn't conceived the possibility of danger, no one usually does when digging in the dirt was concerned. The Protheans didn't just leave all of their information behind in the most convenient locations. Coupled with rough terrains and wildlife, there was more need for a bodyguard than she anticipated.

If Alec Kaiser had been the protector of her brother, then he would be hers. That was her goal in all of this. But first things were first, if Alec was one of the few people that saw Khail before his banishment, then the bodyguard would naturally know the last location they had been. "Look, Mister Kaiser, you may have well been the last person that saw my brother, alive or.." Atina bit her lip. She didn't want to say it, couldn't in fact. "He wrote your name down amongst the last information he ever documented. The only conclusion to draw is that whoever you were to him, you knew what he was doing. Where he was. What he had found."

"His work with Prothean technology is the gateway to other technology. I need to finish what he started. But to do that... I need help. I... didn't know who else to turn too..." She admitted shyly.

 

[MeanBlackjack]

Kaito Foley

Groaning, Kaito rolled off of the bunk and landed on his feet. Looking around, he saw that no one noted him waking up. Picking up his bag, he rummaged through the large container and found his data disk. Looking it over, his fingers traced the outline of the OSD. Thinking back to the day the OSD was recorded, Kaito’s face contorted. Almost a smile appeared on his lips, but he quickly fell back into the room. Thinking to himself, he smiled inwardly about his situation, if any of his contacts could see him now.

The great Kaito Foley, the butcher of Osaka markets, nostalgic about his past.

Tucking it back inside the bag, Kaito sighed heavily and pushed himself to his feet. Tugging on his shirt, he straightened it out and threw the bag over his shoulder. Stepping out onto the main corridor of the transport, the Asian biotic warrior paced around. Illium was only a few hours away and he had business.

Bringing his left hand up, he slid his hand over his shotgun. It as concealed from view as security always got funny with weapons being in the open. And with security getting funny brought attention.

The last thing Foley needed was to be noticed.

Thinking about the job, Kaito ran over the possible scenarios. His target was a human called Kyle Aukerman. A bounty hunter who had brought the attention of one of his contacts. Apparently, Aukerman had cheated in an intergalactic casino and some Volus with more credits than brains felt like he needed vengeance. It was Kaito’s job to find the man and kill him, while telling him that the Volus was responsible.

It wasn’t pretty but it was chips. Kaito looked at the floor as his stomach grumbled. This was known to happen when he was on a job. Typically, it was a bad sign. Ignoring it, Kaito looked out of the starboard viewing window. He could see Illium in the distance and his job was getting closer and closer.

The viewing lounge was a large room with lots of seating arrangements and floral decorations. Kaito walked over to the seat facing the entrance, sitting down he steepled his fingers and watched the entrance carefully. If he had to hunt a hunter, he would need to be on his game. Leaning back, Kaito brought his right hand up and traced a long scar from the base of his neck to the bottom of his chin. He could remember getting slashed in the neck when he was a younger man, but couldn’t remember why.

Musing to himself, Kaito understood he was getting old. He was pleasantly surprised at events in his life, but his body always creaked and getting up was a pain in the ass. Sighing heavily, Kaito waited for the transport to arrive and land.

 

[Nidhogg]

Alec Kaiser

Alec had almost been hoping that Atina would have had some knowledge of her brother's work. It wasn't as if Alec knew much about Prothean technology. Khail would often ramble on about his findings or theories, but it wasn't anything Alec understood. Not only was science and advanced technology not his thing, any time he'd have spent listening to Khail's ramblings was time Alec wasn't staying alert.

"It wasn't exactly a secret that I worked for your brother. He hired me, a krogan, an asari and another human for protection, handling logistics, and transportaion. Our names and the random ships we traveled on are documented in the customs logs of dozens of planets."

Alec rested his forearm on the table. He tried to make sure he moved it up there slowly, but not too slowly. Any sudden movements and this girl might stress herself in to a coma.

"I couldn't tell you the first thing about your brother's research. I never understood a word of it. Nor was I able to grasp the dozens of theories he kept rambling off every time he found something. Not even the gist of it. I was busy dealing with scum we kept running in to out there, and the scum he'd hired." Alec took a slight breath and lightly scratched his jaw before folding his hands on the table.

"I don't know what you're brother was after specifically, but it led to a lot of trouble. The last time I saw Khail was when that krogan he'd hired turned the other team members on us. When I woke up in the hospital, I had a note from Khail ending my contract and paying the rest of my fee. If you insist I tell you the places we went to I will. But I always got the impression that the last thing he wanted was for you to get involved with what he was doing."

 

[Avellan13]

Vincent Anastasio

Vincent woke from his dream and saw darkness. He sighed and slowly got up. Two months, it had been two months since he had crashed landed on this god-forsaken planet. He still couldn`t believe how he had survived the crash and found this "shelter".

His plane had crash landed on the "safe-zone" of this planet, the area where it wasn`t too hot or too cold. He had little time however, because the safe-zone had been moving. He had quickly gathered all essential supplies and ran. He had luckly stumbled across what he thought was a cave and took shelter in it. The air on the planet`s surface was almost impossible to breath so he had kept his suit on. The cave actually turned out to be part of a tunnel. He hadn`t dared to explore deeper in, afraid of what lay in wait.

Vincent brushed the memory aside as he prepared for the new "day".

 

[pimpmar]

Dante Alaniyum

He had searched for hours. High and low, near and far, to find his debtors. But apparantely, they intended on him being detained or destroyed in orbit, and hadn't intended on him making planet-fall. "Here I am" he thought bitterly. When they learned of his escape, they'd demand his cargo, acting as if they played no part in the conflict. And when they learned of his loss, they'd demand for their 15,000 credits. Or his head.

He kicked the dust beneath his feet, a light coating on the city's shining floor. He had nowhere to go, and all the time to get there. He needed to repair a ship on zero credits, and no potential employment prospects. Needless to say, the infamous Turian luck struck again, this time against him. He strolled back to the space-dock, lifting some tape from a nearby maitenence shed. He'd try to salvage what he could, maybe make her space-worthy again. Mentally, he prepared to settle down. It'd be a long wait.

 

[Avellan13]

Vincent walked down the tunnel and arrived in the outside. It was safe to be out, for now. He needed to collect something to eat. His food supplies from the ship were nearly out, only enought for a day or two left.

Vincent sighed has he trudged on. He found it hard to breath out here, the air was so thin that within a few minutes he was ready tiring. His suit had emergency air supplies, but would use it only in dire circumstances. Vincent hadn`t really been out of his suit much since the crash, but this didn`t bother him. He liked being in his suit, it gave him a sense of protection and comfort.

Vincent sat down next to an odd looking rock to catch his breath and collect his thoughts.

 

[Dizzyfish]

Atina'Evna nar Io

"I have yet to visit many planets..." Atina admitted, mostly under her breath. She felt like anything more and he might scold her with a tongue as sharp as a dagger. And right now, daggers did not seem to be the best ice breaker for a no nonsense human and a nervous Quarian. Atina glanced about the diner to assure herself there would be no interruptions if only for the reason they felt her too uncomfortable to not ask the current state of her safety. She didn't feel in danger, but that might have been premature....

Alec moved his arm in slight, Atina only glancing to take notice and then back into his exceptionally glacial stare. Half way through the conversation, the young Quarian giggled, it was provoked yes, but she did not mean to be insulting. Khail really was one to go off on tangents about even the smallest pieces of information. Sometimes the items weren't even important, it was just knowing about them that was important to him. "That's Khail. Through and through. Even convinced me part of the Migrant Fleet might have been pieces of ancient alien ships. Would bank his life on it." Atina could recall every conversation as if they had happened just yesterday. Her laughter was cut off by the mention of scum that her brother had employed. That bothered her..... He was not usually that careless when it came to those he associated with. But now that she had met Alec Kaiser, she wasn't sure she even knew Khail at all.

"Khail was betrayed? But the Admiralty Board said.... said he had confessed..." The Quarian bit her lower lip and felt the heat rising in her face. Was she angry? Yes. Had her brother been more careful with everything, maybe he wouldn't have been exiled. Perhaps he wouldn't have left her to fend in this world alone and not know what the hell she was doing. There were a lot of, 'perhaps,' that were eating at her. And for the first time in her life, she was enraged. Maybe it wasn't all Khail's fault. He had his own life to live. His own mistakes to make. Atina felt betrayed that he could not tell her the truth.... She slammed her fist down on the table with some level of force, shaking the spices that sat in the corner. "Then he SHOULDN'T have left!" Her voice shaky and angered, rising up above the murmurs of the diner. "This is MY life now! And since he couldn't stick around to tell me what he wanted, I am going through with this and you are going to help me!"

 

[Nidhogg]

Alec Kaiser

Alec just kept his calm stare and let the young woman make her outburst. He could understand why she would be so upset. He couldn't relate to something like that, but he could still understand. Her passion was genuine, there was no doubt about that. Passion wouldn't keep her alive, though. Passion tends to just get people killed.

He just stared at her for a few very quiet seconds after her demanding outburst. Alec glanced down the aisle of the restaurant, one of the waiters, an adolescent asari was poking her head around the corner to check on the commotion.

"Gorton will get fussy if we don't order some food." Alec gave the waiter a casual wave and then looked back to Atina. "So I am going to help you? I suppose I owe Khail that much. I don't know what the betrayal was about specifically, or what your Admiralty Board has told you. But I doubt Khail would confess anything he'd done as a crime or wrong."

The young asari had made it to their table by now. "Casey, right?" The teen nodded nervously. "If you've got any of that vegetable medley fresh I'll take that. If not, whatever cheap stuff Gorton has in those pots will do. Then just some bread and vitamin water."

Alec looked over to Atina while he gently scratched the bottom of his chin. "We can talk while we eat."

 

[Dizzyfish]

Atina'Evna nar Io

Atina's fists were still balled, clenching the fabric of her suit so hard she probably would have punctured it had she continued. The Quarian opened her hands to be certain she didn't just do something irreparably stupid and found that the hull had not been breached. Sighing heavily, Atina slumped her shoulders and fell back into her seat almost child like. Anger was not her most favorite emotion in the world and however rare, when she did express it, it was not for minute details. Khail's indirect betrayal stabbed her in places she couldn't imagine he could. Maybe it wasn't betrayal at all, just her being childish as usual. Still, the pain was intense and part of her wanted to cry. She kept still, however and stared down at her hands to keep her mind from wandering too far into sorrow.

Looking up at Alec confirmed that he had just changed the subject to food. It was better that way, she wasn't very good at demands. It felt awkward, almost like foreign hands were grabbing at her skin. Atina again perked up. Alec was willing to assist her, even after she had demanded so rudely. "You will?" She asked happily. "Thank you Mister Kaiser! Thank you so much!" She paused. "They told me a lot of things. Nothing of it relevant. Probably all lies. But there were lots of whispers. I could hear them as I walked down the street. Khail did something bad... didn't he?" Though she was not one to talk, the worst thing she had ever done was laying dormant in a trunk well hidden amongst her things back on the Migrant Fleet. If it had to do with Geth technology, then they would have just said that, it was the worst thing you could possibly do. Well, so far it was. Not many were quick to betray the trust of the Admiralty Board. The fear of exile was a great tool to wave the hand of fear over the masses.

The waitress was at the table as summoned. Atina wasn't that hungry at all, having lost all appetite in her angry fit. What Alec ordered was enough for her. "I will.. just have the same..." The Asari walked away with their orders and Atina turned her attention back to Alec. "What is there to talk about? Seems my brother was living two lives...."

 

[Nidhogg]

Alec Kaiser

"I suppose it could be two lives or even more. I am not sure you would call what he was doing while I worked for him a life." Alec relaxed slightly back in to his seat. "It was constant research for Khail. It was always hard to get him to pay attention and focus on anything that wasn't analyzing data. Now being a baby-sitter isn't part of my contract, but I figured I wouldn't be doing myself any favors if my client dropped dead from hunger or exhaustion."

Alec broke eye contact with Atina and stared down the aisle of the diner. He kept his eyes sharp in case anyone approached, but wasn't actually focusing on anything specific. He didn't have a problem telling this story while looking Atina in the face, but he had a feeling she could use a break from him staring her down.

"I'm not much of a story-teller, but I can give you the details. Two and a half years ago I was on the Triton colony. Just finished a crappy freelance job, and saw your brother about to be shaken down by some batarian thugs. Short fistfight later, the batarians backed off, and Khail wanted to hire me. He just wanted a simple escort and bodyguard for him to check out a well traveled Prothean dig site. I took the job, and after he spent a few days in those ruins, he started talking about his plan to go to some more ruins in some much more dangerous locations. He didn't want to tell me why he wanted to study them, so I turned him down."

Alec stretched out his left shoulder and then folded his hands in his lap. "He finally explained to me that his work was in fact illegal, and possibly dangerous. But only to him. It is a general rule of mine not to get involved in anything too illegal, but not every law in this galaxy is for the good of the people. I agreed to the job. It was not easy keeping your brother safe. Being a bodyguard doesn't mean just taking bullets for him. I had to keep trying to wipe records of him off the extranet that kept getting pirates brought down on us. His intellectual curiosity caused its fair share of fights, too. It was about a month after he hired me that he realized we'd need help. He took on three new team members. An arrogant asari bitch who was more talk than action, a human scumbag who was the asari's little lap dog, and the krogan. Dru'uk. He was a stereotypical dumb, aggressive krogan. I couldn't stand any of them, but Dru'uk...he bothered me a lot."

It had been two years, and Alec was still mentally kicking himself over that krogan. Not because the bastard had fooled Alec, but because Alec let himself get fooled. He had a gut feeling that the krogan was trouble. And he had plenty of circumstantial evidence to back it up, but he didn't take enough precautions. It ended up being a real close call.

"After a few months of researching dig sites all over the Terminus Systems, we started having internal problems. The three fools were getting pissed that they weren't allowed to loot the ruins in order to make more money. I was nervous about that situation getting out of hand so I started shadowing them. Turned out Dru'uk wasn't some dumb krogan. He was smart, cunning and had been putting on an act to fool us all. An agent of the Shadow Broker had been paying him to spy on Khail about where he was going and what he was doing. I don't know who the person paying the Shadow Broker for information was, but your brother shouted something about the Fleet betraying him before he stormed off to confront Dru'uk. The mess ended with me plugging the asari and her pet in the head, then having another unpleasant surprise with the krogan. He was apparently a biotic. I shoved Khail through an open door, rushed Dru'uk, and managed to get a grenade in his mouth before he launches me through a window. I wake up two weeks later in a hospital. Dru'uk was just a stain, and your brother left the scene after the medics got to me. Apart from breaking a few bones and cracking my skull, I landed on a fence post. It went right through my old armor and impaled me through my stomach. Still have the scar. When I woke up is when I got the note from your brother. It was short and simple, but I could still tell it was from him. He didn't say where he was going, he just ended my contract and paid my last check."

Alec was silent after he finished. It wasn't hard for him to tell the story, just odd. He hadn't spoken of any of it since it happened, and was shocked at how fresh the events were in his mind. Had he been inclined, he could have relayed every little detail of that last fight. The sun setting below the thick cloud cover. The filth and rank stench of the dirty hovel they were staying in. The rain Alec had felt hit his face as he flew out the window and to the ground. Alec had learned a lot of lessons from that incident. A lot of lessons that he should have already known.

The human gave Atina a sideways glance. "You hadn't heard any of that story, had you?"

 

[Avellan13]

Vincent Anastasio

Vincent had little hope of survival on this planet. Food was scarce, it was nearly impossile for im to breath, and he had seen no signs of help. Vincent remmber the emergency message he had left on his ship. On his third day on this planet, he went back to his ship and scavenged any remaining supplies that he had forgotten. Before he had left though, he had put out an emergency distress beacon, so that any ship that came within close distance of the planet would pick it up.

He remember what the message said.

This is Vinent Anastasio of the Carentan. I`ve crashed landed on this unknown planet with little supplies. If anyone is out there, please come and help me.

It had been simple and to the point. However, over time, he had added onto the message.

This is Vincent Anastasio. I don`t know if anyone is still recieving this message, I keep updating it in the hopes that someone will hear it. My situation has grown desperate, I`m nearly out of food, and the atmosphere on this planet has very little breathable air. The only thing that helps me stay conscience is my suit. This planet... it`s... the twilight zone moves so fast that I can barly make it to my ship here and back to the tunnels which I`ve been using as shelter. Oddly enogh, these tunnels lead to some ruins, but I haven`t explored them. The two months that I`ve been here... *Looks up from the recording and glances about nervously* There here. *Looks back* The inhabitants of this planet are aggresive and deadly. I can barly survived against them. If anyone is still hearing this, I... *Loud screeching is heard followed by Vincent`s shout of surprise*

 

[Dizzyfish]

Atina'Evna nar Io

The Quarian kept silent throughout the tale, even attempted to keep her facial and body expressions to a casual minimal. It was hard to control the way one expresses themselves without the use of a visible face. So naturally her body wanted to jerk, clench and quite possibly breakdown. However, Atina kept on her big girl face and offered a few sighs here and there and a frightful gasp at the mention of Alec's injuries when saving her brother's life. Little did she know how much trouble her brother was truly capable of. With Atina he had always been spot on, knew the right things to say, the right people to appease. It just seemed as though those were fronts to the person he truly was. Maybe that was what it meant to be truly free. The Migrant Fleet was demanding in that the preservation of their species took shotgun to all else. Atina couldn't blame Khail for being reckless and endangering the life of those close to him.

She stopped looking towards her human companion and focused on something more suitable. A shaker of spices, a container of napkins. The poorly decorated diner they were occupying. It never really hit her, the whole story, but it would later on. If she wanted to continue the research her brother was doing, she would have to take her sorrows and anger on the road and express them at a different time. For now, it was time to answer Alec's question as he had asked it a staggering six minutes ago, of that she was certain.

"No." She responded flatly, almost the same as he had when they first met. She wanted to say something more but her mouth just wouldn't open. She was too frustrated to be concerned with socialization. Why had the Admiralty Board gone to such lengths to keep what had happened a secret from her if they were the ones who had betrayed him? She had to think like Khail. What would cause the Migrant Fleet to keep the true story of her brother a secret and everyone else on board quiet? Then she knew. Khail didn't want her to know. He was only protecting her and the life she could lead without the tale weighing over her head. The sister of the betrayer of their people. It wouldn't bode well if she was looking for a position to fill after her pilgrimage.

"Then. I guess the only thing left to do is not make the same mistake my brother made. Since you are going to help me...." Atina cleared her throat and leaned forward in her seat. "I will let you be the ultimate judge of character in the team we will need for this endeavor. And IF you even get an inkling, even if it's smaller than a mote of dust, we will sever those ties and refresh our ranks." Atina paused.

"I'm not scared. I want this. More than anything."

 

[Nidhogg]

Alec Kaiser

"You should be scared of this. Quarian, human, krogan; it doesn't matter who you are how where you grew up. The first time anyone sees the galaxy as it is, and not just as it looks from home, they will be scared. You aren't doing yourself any favors trying to hide or deny your fear. Fear has kept all our species alive for the course of their evolution. It is natural and it is important."

Alec looked back over to Atina and tried to soften his face as much as he could. His face was still stern, but he tried to make his gaze look less intense and harsh. HHe didn't know how effective a few minor movements of his brow would be to a quarian girl, though.

"People who never fear are liars or fools. Just remember that you can do what you have to do even if you're afraid. For some people that is the definition of bravery."

The asari waiter finally arrived with their orders. She had been peeking her head around to wait for a break in the conversation, and finally decided this was the best time to bring their food. She placed two large mugs of a deep orange soup on the table, along with two spoons, two glasses of water, and a loaf of hard-crust bread broken in half.

"Thank you Casey." Alec had barely spoken those words before the teenage girl scurried off. It was a mystery to Alec how this diner wasn't more popular. Quazoda, the elcor chef, was a master at creating healthy, filling, and tasty meals with cheap and simple ingredients. Luckily, he has non-elcor short order cooks to get the food out. The vegetable medley was a personal favorite of Alec's. It was just a cream soup mixed together from dozens of simple vegetables. It was an incredibly savory soup, and the aroma was described by many people as "comforting."

Alec broke off a piece of the bread and dunked it in the soup. He held it in there for a few seconds, so it soaked up as much soup as possible. Then, in a method he has developed over many years, he gets the food in to his mouth without spilling it on his beard. He would never willingly get rid of his beard, but it provided a few complications that he had to deal with. Most notably, food or drink in his beard.

The soup was hot enough to burn most people's mouths, but Alec didn't flinch. After he finished his first bite, he looked back at Atina. "I won't hesitate to state my opinion, and I will do as much legwork and background checks as it takes, but this has to be your mission, Miss Evna. Unless your decision is going to get us killed, I will ultimately do what you say. Your money, your decision. You need to have your own opinions on anyone you hire, even me. People don't tend to volunteer the information you need to know if they can be trusted. So you need to ask thorough questions."

 

[Avellan13]

Vincent turned away from the recording as he heard the screeching. He quickly hit the button on the recording device, causing it to update the emergency distress signal message. Hopefully someone would hear his message, and soon.

The screeching got louder and suddenly the ship swayed. Vincent got out of his crashed ship, turned around, and saw the thing that was attacking the ship. A giant scorpian-like creature.

It had all the characteristics of an Earth scorpian, except for the fact that this thing was monsterous, about the size of a school bus. The only thing that made it different from the scorpians that he was use to was that this one had three eyes, ten legs, and an oversized stinger. This thing was a true predator.

 

[Dizzyfish]

Atina'Evna nar Io

"I only said I wasn't scared because I thought that if you even had an inkling that I doubted myself, you would have found my cause to be unworthy and leave. I don't really know who you are. Just a really, intimidating..." The Quarian paused for but a second, but assured that intimidating was the least of evils she could have called him. "Human being. If I want to earn your trust, I have to be as brave as you. Or at least, pretend to be. It's what Khail taught me. Always appear stronger than your greatest opposition. It takes the doubt from you, and places it upon him."

"Am I scared? Yes. I am frightened. I have never done a single thing on my own, aside from school and engineering. But that didn't have me going far away from the fleet with dangerous people and even more jeopardizing places. I want to go home where I am less likely to get, 'thrown threw a window.' Will I go? No. I need to do this." He was severely frustrating. He was making her jump through hoops, intentional or otherwise. Atina didn't like to admit that she was naive and young, it only made her admit to herself that failure was eminent; and the excavation hadn't even commenced.

Atina looked down at the meal that was set before them. She had no intentions of eating it before it was ordered and that had yet to change. It was only to please the diner owner, as Alec indicated was necessary. Her stomach was churning. Not with sickness but a sort of impatience that was bellowing from deep within. She was however, not going to interrupt her new companion, perhaps filling his belly might make him happier. Maybe smile once? Atina watched Alec eat, serious as stone even then. "Maybe not." She whispered under her breath and chuckled slightly.

'Think optimistically Atina! You are NOT this upset and brooding!' She told herself and perked up her shoulders at her own words. There was a soft melody playing in her head now as she thought of all the things that made her happy. ONE of them had to be. "Alright Mister Kaiser. You know better than me so I will take what you say with great understanding." There was a happiness to her voice, one she had not had since back on the Fleet. This was the real Atina and not even Mr. Grumpypants across the table was going to stop that. "I have to have opinions on you? Well, aside from being scary and a little on the brooding side...... " Was she suppose to say the opinions out loud?

"What kinds of people do we need? I cannot just walk up to random people and start asking them silly questions....." The Quarian looked at Alec in the eyes and gasped. "Please tell me I don't have to do that!"

 

[Nidhogg]

Alec Kaiser

Khail hadn't seemed this immature when Alec first met him, but he had his head in the ether and focused so much on his dreams and idealistic views that he was blinded to the cold and ugly truth about the galaxy. At least Atina was aware that this was going to be difficult.

Alec let her finish everything she was saying before he spoke. "I suggest you eat some of that. If we do this, that soup will be the nicest, and most nutritious thing you'll have for sustenance for a while. C-Rations are enough to keep you alive, but they do a number on your jaw muscles and digestive tract."

Alec lifted the mug of soup up and took a long sip before placing it back down. "Also, talking to random people tends to be counter productive. So we won't be doing that. But silly questions...well depends on your idea of silly."

The bread was nicer than Alec remembered, so he decided to eat a piece of it without the soup. He couldn't quite identify the type of bread this was, but he liked it. He looked Atina back in her eyes after swallowing that bite. "I won't argue the 'scary' and 'brooding' points. However I don't think personal opinions are important for this. Professional opinions are what matter. Can the person provide the skills you need them for? Can the person see your job through to the end? Can the person be reliably counted on to stay on your side? Can the person handle the specific stress of the job? These are things you need to know. Of course you need to know what the job specifics are before you decide what skills you'll need."

In the back of his head, Alec had been trying to decide what he could tell this girl that could help her at all. He knew right away what it was, but tried to think of anything else that he could say other than that. It was time for him to bite the bullet. "There is only one thing you can do to pick up your brother's trail now. The last ruins we visited are still technically 'undiscovered.' There have been no records from any Prothean knowledge center about these ruins, and there is a good reason for that." Alec took a small pause. "Planet Neidus, in the Pylos Nebula. It is on the edge of the Terminus system almost to Geth space. It is a frozen rock with a fast moving terminus "safe zone" and is inhabited by giant arthropods like scorpions and centipedes as well as the creatures that hunt and eat them. It was not a pleasant trip last time, and I doubt the planet has become more hospitable."