Re: Mass Effect: Abyssal Prey

by **Fi Skirata** Thu Jan 07, 2016 1:14 am

Stratis visibly twitched in frustration when Medvik took notes by hand. the cyborg was intentionally trying to get under his skin and it was working. When Medvik extended his hand, Russo stared at it for a long while, his ingrained fake politeness and his abrasive personality conflicting in a mental 404 error as he tried to process whether to shake the man's hand or not.

"So you can heal. Fancy. That's nothing I haven't seen a talented medic do with Medigel, Rulik could do it for any of us. Get a damn shield if you don't want to get dead." The hacker turned away from the cyborg, ignoring the outstretched hand.

He passed Zael the Raikou back "Captain, with your blessing I'll be giving the crew's gear a once over and making sure that everyone is properly equipped." with that, the Turian stormed out of the room, prefering to stay outside with Crothe than spend another second in the same room with Medvik.

by **Thade** Thu Jan 07, 2016 6:22 pm

Arval Nox

Turians.

He had dealt with them before, but he couldn’t say he enjoyed tangling with the largest and most advanced military in the galaxy. In fact, he almost declined the job offer immediately. Even if the plan was successful, the turians were prideful and not likely to let their best ship be claimed by a bunch of filthy pirates. It was probable they would attempt to take it back at the first opportunity.

But on the other hand… He sighed and glanced about the bar with a blank and tired look. A drunk vorcha tripped on a chair, slamming against the back of a particularly angry looking krogan, who then proceeded to turn and rip the vorcha’s throat out with a large, scarred hand before turning back to his drink. No one blinked except for the barman, who looked more irritated at the mess being made than anything. Arval’s shoulders sagged.

“...No questions. I accept.” The drell stood slowly and picked up his drink, downing the rest of it with a swig and slamming it back onto the table. “However asari, know one thing to be true. I am of no team, and neither you, nor this ‘Zael’ will change that.”

Arval raised his hand, snapping his fingers twice at the waiter and shooting him a look. The turian nodded, seemingly understanding. The drell turned back to the asari across from him and placed his hands on the table. “I have taken care of your bill, M’Kiva. You can thank me with a successful employment.”

by **Nexeria** Wed Jan 20, 2016 8:27 pm

Mission #2: Hire the Barka Brothers
Status: Done. Wonder how Riell is doing?

"So you can heal. Fancy. That's nothing I haven't seen a talented medic do with Medigel, Rulik could do it for any of us. Get a damn shield if you don't want to get dead."

Upon hearing her name called, the salarian glanced up at Stratis and noticed that his apparel was strange by turian standards. His style appeared more human than anything else. The very sight of it sent her mind racing with more questions: Turian wearing human-designed clothes? Odd. Could it be out of a respect for humanity? Probable. Perhaps he was raised by humans? Not unlikely. Hm, must remember to ask about it later.

Meanwhile, outside the meeting room, Crothe glanced over at his turian ally who had just stormed out of the room and was in a much more pissed off mood than usual. The batarian lit himself a cigarette, stuffed the cartridge back into one of his belt pouches, and grumbled, "Damn humans, huh?"

"Alright, Medvik," the quarian ship-captain turned back toward the group, "You'll do. Although, I must express that if you, or any of Clan Barka, try to take advantage of the mission for your own selfish needs in such a way that is damaging to me, my crew, or Aria T'Loak, you will find yourself in a much darker and colder universe."

The quarian stood statuesque with his hands resting easy behind his back. Scanning the room for any potential troublemakers, Zael spotted a couple of vorcha snickering in the back of the room. "That said, we stand come out of this very rich so long as we succeed, and I will find myself indebted to you. Meaning if you get me what I want, I will attempt to return the favor. That is, of course, if you intend to stay apart of my crew. Otherwise, you are free to take your share of credits and split."

"Hm, awfully generous of you, Captain Zael," Rulik stepped closer toward the captain attempting to get a read on him with her omni-tool. Peculiar, no hospital records, no arrests records, not one mention of a 'Captain Zael' listed under flotilla-networks either. Astonished by this revelation or lack thereof, Rulik squinted her eyes and stared curiously at the captain.

"I can see it on your face, Dr. Raelorn. Forgive me, but I do like my privacy." Zael smirked behind his maroon-tinted visor. "I wouldn't try to pry either, odds are you're not gonna find anything."

"I apologize, Captain, I was just looking for a track record of your career. I like to know my employers, and my employer's employers."

"Heh, you're not going to find a record. As far as you know, I was never born. The only thing that should matter to you is that Aria T'Loak trusts me, and if you're not so sure you can just yet, feel free to call her people, but don't debate it for too long. We leave in two days. The exact time will be sent to your omni-tools. We'll be in Docking Bay 13. Don't be late."

And with that, Captain Zael made his exit, but not before stopping to tell Medvik one more thing, "Buy an omni-tool, you're gonna need one. Afterwards, contact me at this link."

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Mission #3: Hire Arval Nox
Status: Done. Smooth as Ice. That's how you hire someone, Zael! XP

“I have taken care of your bill, M’Kiva. You can thank me with a successful employment.”

"You're quite the gentlemen, Captain Nox," Riell responded flirtatiously as she followed Arval out of the club. Using her biotic powers, M'Kiva telepathically lifted the bottle of elasa to her for one last sip before placing on the tray of a passing waiter. Riell then stepped in front of the drell, halting him with the palm of her hand, to say, "Oh, I almost forgot something. Zael wanted me to tell you, if you intend to stay with the crew after we obtain the Narraka, he will owe you a favor, and I mean a big favor. Zael's the kind of person that will sail to the edge of galaxy for you, so long as you get him what he wants."

by **Thade** Thu Jan 21, 2016 8:29 pm

Arval Nox

Gentleman was not a term he heard often in reference to himself, and he was no captain- not anymore. But he took it with a mutter of acknowledgement as he stalked across the dismal bar and out the door with the asari, tactfully ignoring the intonation behind the words.

Once outside, he narrowed his eyes and almost frowned as the asari halted him by moving directly and abruptly into his path.

"Oh, I almost forgot something. Zael wanted me to tell you, if you intend to stay with the crew after we obtain the Narraka, he will owe you a favor, and I mean a big favor. Zael's the kind of person that will sail to the edge of galaxy for you, so long as you get him what he wants."

His hand drifted idly to the pistol holstered out of site inside his clothing as she spoke. More of a nervous tic than anything. But this Zael did make him nervous. Favors were too personal for his taste. At least you could rely on money, and even fear. Loyalty was unpredictable. Loyalty could stab you in the back.

Still, he couldn’t help but reply with a hint of self deprecating wit as he turned away from the asari with a shadow of a smirk on his features. “A new ship would be greatly appreciated.”

by **Nexeria** Sat Jan 23, 2016 8:09 pm

Mission #4: Hijack The Narraka

After two days of planning and negotiating prices, Captain Zael finally possessed a large enough crew to take on the turian frigate, but assembling a team was never his biggest concern. Hiring power-hungry warmongers and greedy mercenaries is easy, getting them to fight under your name is a whole different story. Getting these aliens to put aside their bigotry in support of mission would prove to be much harder.

At that moment, Zael exited an elevator and stepped out onto docking bay 13 where his close associate, Riell M'Kiva, was waiting for him just outside the door. "Zael, good to see you! It's been a long time! I like what you're doing with your hair!" The asari expressed in a chipper sarcastic tone.

"That's funny, Riell," the quarian replied with a friendly hand shake, "but, yes, it's good to see you too. So, what's everyone up to?"

"Crothe and his freelancers are loading the transport vessel with supplies, and some of the Barka clan are helping out with that as well. Meanwhile, Argum is sitting on the bench over there yelling at his men to speed it up. Maran is over there stargazing out the window while Stratis is secretly doing some stargazing of his own right behind her, but I mean who can blame him? She's pretty hot. Why didn't you tell me she was human?"

"It surprised me too," Zael responded. "Everyone else?

"That... uh... human, Medvik, is tampering with that new omni-tool you suggested he should buy. I don't think he's used to that kind of tech. Maybe it's interfering with some of his cybernetics. Eh, whatever, don't care, I'm sure he'll work it out. Doctor Raelorn is next to those Club Afterlife ads chatting it up with my drell assassin. He's been waiting to meet with you."

"I'm sure he has," stated the quarian ship-captain as he approached the drell hitman.

As Zael steps toward Arval, Rulik appears to quizzing the drell on his personal life, "A drell born and raised on Rakhana. Interesting, this means you would have no attachment to the hanar. Curious, how did you survive on for so long? What were your living conditions like? How did you escape the planet? Life on Rak--"

"Apologies for the interruption, Doctor Raelorn, but I wish to speak with Arval for a moment. I have yet to actually greet him."

"Oh, Captain Zael! Expected you to be here before anyone else. Please, proceed," the salarian woman responded giving Zael some room to speak, but not so far as to put out of earshot.

"Arval Nox, my top commando, Riell M'kiva, speaks very highly of you. I've read some of the work you've done for Aria and, needless to say, I am impressed. As I'm sure you've already heard, my name is Captain Zael'Arr nar Raeko, and as a ship-captain, I like to know the status of my crew. So, before we leave I'd just like to let you know, if you have any questions about the mission, payment, or anyone please feel free to ask," the quarian stated with a calm demeanor.

by Snœflæk Sat Jan 23, 2016 11:10 pm

"Hmm... intriguing. Amazing. Such sophistication. Such elegance. I had not expected such an efficient set up of electronics."
Medvik wondered aloud as he dismantled the omnitool Zael had made him purchase earlier. Luckily he had had mind enough to swipe those rubles he had given the barkas back, which had somehow ended up in the hands of one of those vorcha. That didn't prevent a problem with the exchange of currencies though. It was as if these aliens had no comprehension of physical monetary notes. Regardless he got the damn thing, and while he had kept it intact long enough for Zael to ignore him again, Medvik never intended to use the device. He bought it half out of courtesy to his employer and half out of his own curiosity. After perusing the features of the device a bit, he quickly began to dismantle it. Learning its internal secrets would not only help him with his own cybernetics, but it would also allow him the chance to improve upon it, or rather make one from scratch.

And now was his chance.

After producing a number of materials from his various pockets and pouches, Medvik deftly removed his makeshift translator from his arm and began to take it apart as well. After a period of close to fifteen minutes, he had a new prototype built. Theoretically this would be a perfect translator in addition to allowing access to the same digital connections as an omnitool. Definitely not perfect, and still in need of some more tinkering, nevertheless it was better than nothing. Only thing left to do was mount it and test it out. 'Not the arm this time,' he thought to himself, 'I felt like some kind of stupid 20th century era cartoon character.' This time he would mount it closer to the source of his speach. The neck. A minute or two was taken up with mounting the thing, luckily it fit just fine.

Upon activating it, he was greeted to newly intelligible chatter going on all around, and a pleasant start up screen seemingly directly in front of his vision at all times.

"Well it worked... now how do I minimize this?"

Working on figuring out how to now navigate this new feature to his body, Medvik started to walk over to someone. While not really headed in any particular direction, he did drift in the direction of those he considered to be the more intelligent of the bunch. And certainly much more human. Medvik stopped at the window, gazing at the stars, attempting to rattle off in his head the name of each one by heart. And beyond that reading the detailed descriptions his new toy gave him about each of them.

And planning a base of operations for when he gets strong enough to break his ties with Cerberus for good.

by **Thade** Sun Jan 24, 2016 1:23 am

Arval Nox

"A drell born and raised on Rakhana. Interesting, this means you would have no attachment to the hanar. Curious, how did you survive for so long? What were your living conditions like? How did you escape the planet? Life on Rak--"

The azure assassin leaned against a wall and fiddled aimlessly with his Omnitool as the salarian assaulted him with a barrage of personal questions. The first and only one he had deigned to answer was “where are you from,” but the rest was just noise and quite frankly an affront to his professional conduct. He had no misconceptions about his presence on the mission. He was hired to kill and to infiltrate, and as far as he was concerned, that was the full extent of his contract. So naturally he ignored her.

"Apologies for the interruption, Doctor Raelorn, but I wish to speak with Arval for a moment. I have yet to actually greet him."

"Oh, Captain Zael! Expected you to be here before anyone else. Please, proceed.”

Nox glanced up for a half a second as the salarian drifted off, her place being promptly filled by a man who he presumed was his new employer. He didn’t even try to meet Zael’s eyes, staring blankly down at his wrist. What was the point? He wouldn’t be able to read the quarian’s expression anyway.

"Arval Nox, my top commando, Riell M'kiva, speaks very highly of you. I've read some of the work you've done for Aria and, needless to say, I am impressed. As I'm sure you've already heard, my name is Captain Zael'Arr nar Raeko, and as a ship-captain, I like to know the status of my crew. So, before we leave I'd just like to let you know, if you have any questions about the mission, payment, or anyone please feel free to ask.”

“...Hm. Well Captain. I would hope you haven’t read too much on my work. The things I do for clients are strictly confidential. I take that relationship very seriously.” The drell paused and blinked slowly, expression otherwise unchanging. After another moment, he deactivated his Omnitool and crossed his arms, raising his gaze to stare into the obscuring visor his employer wore.

“But there is something I must say to you. You seem a smart man. You certainly know who to hire. However, do not misinterpret my presence on the ship as meaning I am willing to die for you. Fight, sure. Anything for a paycheck. But not to die. I do my job and I do it well, and so long as… they,” the drell gestures apathetically with a gloved hand to the rest of the crew, “do theirs well, I cannot see this going too horribly wrong. Besides that, no. I have no questions. Aside, perhaps, from the location of my quarters and the time of the next meal, as well as our departure from this desolate hunk of metal."

by **Fi Skirata** Sun Jan 24, 2016 2:53 am

Two days was a long time to wait, but not very much time to work. The hacker had spent his time running VR simulations of the mission under various conditions, running background on the crew, and, more importantly, admiring the fiery co-leader of the Barka Brothers. That's what he found himself doing now. The young woman was idly spaced out, staring out of a window, while Stratis admired from afar. He spent what felt like hours building up the courage to make a move one her. No time like the present right?

It took no less than four attempt to psyche himself up to speak to her. He had considered himself the best at talking to human women, though, its not like he'd ever failed...

Evading a Vorcha attempting to load a crate onto the Elcor's back, the Turian passed his cybernetic co-worker and his auto scans brought up a subtle but notable programming flaw in the Doctor's systems. Something about a recent modification conflicting with an existing operation. An error that like that tended to happen with self made devices, and could hours or even days to work out oneself. Russo had dealt with many similar errors when modifying his Omni-tools. Normally something like this wasn't his problem, and he certainly wasn't one to give advice when he wasn't particularly fond of someone, but...

Since Edmund was a part of this crew, Russo's life may depend on him in the near future. Without slowing down, Russo planted a three fingered hand on the Doctor's shoulder and rattled off a quick suggestion on how to make the modification easier to navigate. Medvik contemplatively nodded and seemed to quickly lose himself in thought to the suggestion. At least he was contemplating the hint.

Coming up to Barka Maran's side, The hacker introduced himself with as much confidence as he could possibly manage. And he could manage alot. "Name's Russo Stratis, Remember that, one day you're going to be screaming it." Giving a halfhearted grin, he added, "I'm kidding. Don't shoot me." in a nervous tone.

The fire haired soldier of fortune glanced at him with just enough time to look him up and down. She gave off a single, almost guttural chuckle before turning back to look out her window. "Is it Halloween? What's with the get-up?"

Russo looks over his own, human styled, clothes "What, these? I think they help me pick up badass and drop dead gorgeous human chicks." Russo looked at Maran expectantly "I'm not kidding. Please don't shoot me."

The girl suddenly put on a strange kind of smirk and turned her head slowly back towards the turian. "Do you want me to shoot you? Does it get you off?"

Opening and closing his mouth several times in succession, Stratis was seemingly incapable of answering "Uh, is this a trick question?"

A gust of air that might be called a laugh came from Maran's nose and the smirk never left the mercenary's face as she flicked her hand out of Russo's view. The Turian suddenly found himself flying backwards through the air - eventually colliding into the inner-wall of the cargo bay.

Russo crumpled to the ground in a knot not far from the Elder Barka. "That means she likes you." the Krogan affirmed "If she didn't like you, you would have gone farther."

The hacker took a moment to take that information to heart. Before Boss Zael, turned from his conversation, looking between the flood Turian and his assailant, and gave a sort of indoor-yell over the noise of loading. "Well, I can see that you're getting along just fine, Stratis. Don't know what you said to her, but try not to do it again, okay?"

Stratis answered as an Asari helped him to his feet "Can't promise anything, Boss. But I think we'll work well together, no worries."

The Asari Commando chuckled "Maybe I'll have better luck." She chimed in a feminine voice.

"Guess I have competition. Just keep in mind I don't play fair." Stratis shook off his dazedness.

"It's not always competition if there's room for three." The Asari winked.

Russo gave a chuckle "Name's Russo Stratis. And you are...?"

"Riell M'Kiva" The two answered at once. M'kiva didn't seem the slightest bit concerned that Russo had researched her identity in the amount of time between her helping him up and now.

She continued as if he hadn't spoke, "Zael's only friend, if you don't count that four-eyed pyjak over there." The Commando indicated towards Crothe, "If you see four other asari walking around here, keep in mind that they're with me. We used to be part of a 'formal' commando unit, but a certain mission didn't go exactly as planned and now the entire asari military wants us tried for treason."

"This one would imagine they aren't too happy with you." Stratis remarked. His scans were coming up clean, just like Zael's and Crothe's. What a load of shit. All he could find was that she had worked with Aria T'loak, and was liked by her.

"Heh, they definitely want to kill me. Anyways, you buy me a drink sometime and I might just tell you the full story."

Russo gave an affirmatory nod. He might just do so, he had alot in common with the Asari. They were both hunted by their native militaries, and they had the same taste in women. This crew wasn't turning out to be all bad after all. Maybe, just maybe, They'd make it after all.

by **Nexeria** Tue Jan 26, 2016 12:45 am

Mission #4: Hijack the Narraka

"Aside, perhaps, from the location of my quarters and the time of the next meal, as well as our departure from this desolate hunk of metal."

"Ah, yes, the bad news," the quarian grazed his hand across the back of his helmet. "Our transport ship is not quite what I expected. Truth be told, you will not like it one bit because frankly I loathe it. The interior is narrow, crowded with worthless cargo, and dirtier than most of restrooms on this station. If my suit had a tear in it during the inspection, I would most likely be dead right now."

"Ideal time to mention, I stockpiled up on medi-gel and anti-biotics to treat sicknesses most frequent in your species, Captain," Doctor Raelorn chimed in.

"I appreciate that very much, Rulik," the captain said light bowing his head in her general direction. "I usually carry my own supply, but it's good to hear you take your job seriously. Anyways, as I was a saying, the interior of our transport vessel is, to say the very least, uncomfortable, but she flies like a dream and with an expert in turian cyber-warfare," Zael nodded toward Stratis, "the Narraka's sensors won't pick up a thing."

"As for your quarters, it will be a tight squeeze in whatever bunk you can claim first. Although, I wouldn't get too settled, I don't intend to stay on that ship for too long. Once we're in possession of the Narraka, we'll have all the space we need. That said, I'd go ahead and grab a meal if I were you."

____________________________________________________________________________________

"Heeey, Crothe," said the youngest of the asari commandos, Suko T'Mere, as she circled around the batarian smuggler letting her fingers gently dance across his right shoulder.

For what might have been the first time in weeks and most certainly the first time in front of Stratis, Crothe genuinely smiled, "It's good to see you, Suko. How's it been?"

"Oh, you know, Riell's been keeping us busy with all these new jobs from Aria, and, by the goddess, Aria is intense! Never have I met anyone more intimating than her! Oh, and a damn jelly tried to off her about a month ago, can you believe that?!" Suko expressed with much delight. "Shit, you should have seen what Nyx did to the poor thing! I'm not gonna go into detail, but it was not pretty..."

"Nyxer is still the reigning ice queen, I take it?" Crothe asked, crossing his arms while focusing his full attention on the young commando, as he leaned back against the cold window.

"Yeah, you could say that, but I think she's warmed up for the most part ever since we started pulling in jobs for Aria. I think working for Ms. Omega has improved her mood drastically. Maybe Nyx just enjoys seeing one of our own kind in charge of all this, and I must admit it is pretty cool," the asari stated with a sly smirk. "Anyways, what's been going on with you and Zael?"

"He's a pain in the ass and a burden on my existence so not much has changed between us," Crothe responded shooting a glance toward his preoccupied captain.

"Aw, that's cute! Your trying make it sound like your not friends," the commando joked.

"Zael has... conviction in what he believes, I'll give him that. And seeing as how he's never let me down in the past, I'm willing to put my trust in him. There's still some things I have to fix in this galaxy, Suko, and so far that quarian has been the only one willing and capable enough to help," said the batarian in a much lower, sincere tone of voice.

"Wow, that actually sounded kind of sweet," Suko replies.

"Listen, Suko, I've gotta--"

"Kra'tash! You fucking imbecile! Watch where you're going, Ghanis, or I'll do damage to that ugly face of yours than your mother ever did!" An old light brown batarian yells at a much younger freelancer upon being bumped into and dropping some supplies.

More could be said about the younger batarian's appearance than the one across from him. Suffering from a rare genetic disfigurement, the young merc's upper right eye is swollen shut by excess layers of skin causing this weird drooping effect between the bridge of his eyes. He was by all means hard to look at, even his kinsmen could barely stand the sight of him.

"I gotta go take care of this," Crothe informs Suko before briskly walking away.

"Oh, fuck you, Sonis! Are you half-blind too now?! Why don't you watch you where your going?!" The kid retaliates.

"You wanna get shot, boy?!" The older batarian hollers back.

"Just try me, you grimy old filth!" Ghanis instinctively lowers his hand down to his pistol holster, readying himself to draw if he had to, as the older batarian did the same.

"If I see either one of you raise your weapons, I'm putting you both down!" Crothe stepped between the two, his M-6 Carnifex drawn and ready to fire upon whichever one of them that was eager to see their own lifeless corpse jetted out into deep space. The two bickering batarians simply growled before walking away from each other.

Watching the events play out, Nyxer T'Naci, second-in-command of the asari commandos, walked up behind Suko and in a vexing tone of voice said, "Honestly, I don't know what you see in that batarian, T'Mere. He's only wants to use you."

"Not everyone wants to fuck us, Nyx..." Suko responded tiredly, pinching the bridge of her own nose.

"Um... yes, they do," T'Naci swiftly responds as if that was the stupidest thing she's heard in centuries.

"No, Crothe is," Suko flusters to find a suitable response, "...he's different, okay? You've never actually talked to him like how I've talked to him."

"Nor do I want to," T'Naci smirks.

"He's got a lot of pain in his past," the young commando states.

"Don't we all," Nyxer quickly responds before coming to a sudden realization, "Wait a minute, did you meld with him?"

With fretful look of shame smeared across her face, Suko replies, "Once, yes. He wanted me to see some things from his past. Horrible things. He wanted me to feel the way he felt. T'Naci, there's a reason Crothe Ghemmekan hates humans. It has nothing to do with his culture."

"Well, what is it?" T'Naci asks curiously.

"By the goddess, do you hold nothing sacred! I promised him I'd never speak to anyone of the things I saw in his mind. I will not betray his trust." Suko responds in a dead serious tone before zealously making her exit leaving T'Naci to her own devices.

"Dumb girl..." T'Naci says to no one.

by **Mr. Fountain** Tue Jan 26, 2016 1:02 am

It would have been buried in the far recesses of her mind - irretrievably entombed. The name of that turian. Indeed, the flame-haired mercenary had returned to looking out her window and thinking of things that were as far away from Russo as these stars were to her. But the migraine returned, and her smirk turned into a pained scowl.

That's how she mentally referred to the only side-effect that her L2 implants had spawned: the migraine. Not a migraine or the migraines. Those ways of thought implied either many different migraines in succession or several migraines all at once. No, Maran preferred to think of this headache as a single enemy that she could fight off every time it showed its face.

A hand - seemingly with a will of its own - came up to press her thumb against her temple and her two forefingers rubbing her eyebrow. So, what exactly had encouraged the migraine to return? It could have been her use of biotics against Russo, or it could have been the fact that this other human had walked up to her window. She thought to herself that she was probably just being biased against her own kind again but stranger things have caused this headache to return before.

Either way, Maran walked away from the window and the cyborg lurking near it and made a beeline for her krogan partner. Argum slipped the cloudy, blue capsule - about half an inch in length - into her hand as she walked by him to take a seat on the metallic bench next to him. The merc shoved the pill in her jaws as quickly as she could, and if it weren't for the noise of cargo being loading onto the ship, a small cracking sound might have been heard as the capsule was crushed between her teeth.

The girl rolled her head back and sighed pleasantly as the she rolled the acidic substance around in her mouth. It burned hard, harder than any alcohol, but it still wasn't as bad as the migraine.

This drug was called Myal-Tirnite (sometimes called My-Ti or Mighty), and it was highly addictive. It caused a very momentary feeling of euphoria and giddiness followed by the shutting-down of all pain receptors in the body for about eight hours. Common addicts were known to take a dozen or more per day, but Maran, at most, only took one per day.

It wasn't all sheer will-power though. No, not even Maran trusted herself that much. So, it was her idea that Argum would be in control of her supply. He was never to give her more than one per day or two in extreme situations. And that was their system. All that stood in her way to becoming a complete junky was a 300 pound, 585-year-old krogan. So, she was safe.

"Shouldn't go throwing people around just because you don't like them, you know," Argum said in an almost joking manner. "You'll never make friends that way."

With heavy-lidded eyes, Maran put on a shark's grin and said in a note lower than even she usually talks in, "Heh... Fuck off, I'm riding on air..."

by **Thade** Tue Jan 26, 2016 10:55 pm

Arval Nox

The drell's solid black eyes flicked away from the captain as he spoke, watching silently as a turian was flung nonchalantly into a wall by a human mercenary with vibrant hair, unlike most humans he had met. So, another biotic. He didn't much care for biotics. They were slippery and powerful, and it's hard to shoot someone when you're ten feet in the air or pressed against he floor by a powerful mass effect field. Perhaps he just envied them.

Regardless, Arval turned his penetrating gaze briefly back to the quarian, arms still firmly crossed.

"As for your quarters, it will be a tight squeeze in whatever bunk you can claim first. Although, I wouldn't get too settled, I don't intend to stay on that ship for too long. Once we're in possession of the Narraka, we'll have all the space we need. That said, I'd go ahead and grab a meal if I were you."

"Mm. Very well. That was all Captain." The drell gave a dismissing wave of his hand and went back to watching the rest of the crew. He would deal with the miserable conditions on the ship later. He was never much one to complain, he could lose himself in another place, another time if he had to. It mattered not.

What did matter was who he would be dealing with for the next while. The turian who managed to get himself thrown across the room did not seem the brightest. His unusual taste in attire didn't improve Nox's opinion of him. The human girl who so rudely flung the turian seemed to be... well... she was acting strangely anyway. Not to mention she partnered with a krogan, of all possible species. He made a mental note and turned his attention to the other human standing near a window. Or, the drell assumed he was human. He certainly looked the part, though there was something off about him, compared with the few other humans he had worked with and for, he couldn't entirely put his finger on it. Aside from that, the mercs, the asari, the cap'n and his batarian friend, the salarian who wouldn't shut up, and a few others were the only ones around.

Arval sighed and shook his head, watching the ceiling as he waited.

So this was the crew. Bunch of amateurs if you asked him.

by **Nexeria** Fri Jan 29, 2016 3:18 am

Mission #4: Hijack the Narraka:
Status: Boarding Calamity

After ordering everyone to begin piling into the transport ship, Zael gathered his belongings and made his way inside with Riell, Arval, Medvik, Maran, and Stratis following suit. A human woman with dark brown hair and freckles, seemingly in her mid-thirties, approached the group as they exited the airlock and entered the cabin.

"We're gettin' about ready to depart, Cap'n," the woman informed the quarian before taking notice of his companions. With a friendly shaking of hands, the woman introduced herself, "Kait Ainsley. Formerly Alliance Navy. Welcome aboard the Calamity Express. He may not look like much, but the ol' boy is still kicking."

"Did you say 'he'? Don't humans usually refer to their ships with feminine pronouns?" Riell asked as Zael stepped around pilot and made his way to the ship's mess hall.

"Yeah, most people do, but seeing as how I'm the pilot and it's my ship, I get to make the rules. Besides, it's got more of 'guy vibe' to it anyways. I mean just look at him, he's dirty, he's unorganized, he'll fucking ruin your life the longer your together," the woman smirked, "and, on rare occasions, he'll fuck you harder than a krogan gigolo... and, uh, not in a good way... if they're even is a good way in that scenario. I wouldn't know from a first-hand experience, but I assume krogan are pretty rough in the sack."

"Eh, some can be very gentle," Riell responds having experience causing all eyes to shift on her for a brief and awkward moment. "Guys, I'm 227-years-old, I've been around. Anyways, Kait, what are you getting at?"

"Well, one time the FTL drive crapped out and left me stalled in Council Space while I was hauling a huge shipment of red sand. Took me nearly a week to fix the damn thing, but there was no way in hell I was going to jet all that cargo and call for help. Anyways, aside from that one time, he's never really let me down and I've never let my clients down."

"I respect your professionalism, Kait," Riell complimented.

"Well, thank you kindly, Miss... uh, what was your name again?"

"Riell M'Kiva. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd really like to get some rest," the asari replied and began making her way to the bunks. "It was lovely meeting you."

"You too," the pilot replied. Before Riell could even get out of earshot, Kait call to her, "Say, if you see this beefcake named Wyatt Marler on your way down, let me him know I need his ass up here ASAP! He's my new engineer! I need him to check out some cables!

"I'll keep an eye out for him," Riell responded, nonchalantly waving a goodbye, as she stepped into the elevator.

________________________________________________________________________________________

In the Mess Hall, Captain Zael found himself in the presence of an old acquaintance. She was a quarian, much like the captain himself, but only younger, and with more curves, and three toes on both feet instead of just two. Her enviro-suit, adorned with an alluring white shroud, certainly reflected her youth while Zael's blackened suit, on the other hand, highlighted his age with every stain, crease, tear, and chipped piece of armor.

"Naara'Cillo nar Takra, it's good to see you again," Captain Zael opened with. "I'm glad you accepted my invitation."

Rarely finding himself in the presence of his own kind these days, Zael'Arr was almost unsure of how he should speak to the woman. They were not necessarily friends, and had only ever met in person about three or four times in the past. Sure, the captain was aware that she was mildly proficient in combat, but his reason for hiring her went beyond that.

"After seeing the dozens of mercenaries and freelancers outside, you must be wondering why I hired you for a demanding job such as this, right?" The quarian ship-captain continued giving his acquaintance little time to answer, "Well, you see, it's just that. I need someone that can convince these aliens to put aside their differences and work together. So far I have taken that responsibility upon myself, but I fear may not be able to sway everyone's opinions. As captain of this team, it is my duty to uphold the law, but I cannot do this properly if my crew doesn't respect me as a leader. I need someone, for lack of better words, nice. Someone kind that can offer counsel if need be in such a way I can't."

Clasping his hands together, Zael pointed directly at her and before, "Which is exactly why I need you. So, what do you say?"

by **Megantron** Fri Jan 29, 2016 8:17 am

"Naara'Cillo nar Takra, it's good to see you again."

Naara'Cillo piped up at the sound of her name and turned to find a fellow, familiar looking Quarian. It didn't take her long before she realized that standing before her was someone whom she had met a few times during her travels--Captain Zael'Arr nar Raeko. She had previously received an invitation from the Quarian regarding a job offer aboard his ship, which is what led to their present encounter.

Without giving her time to even reply a greeting, Zael quickly launched into his whole spiel about why he invited her along and the skills he needed from her; making it quite clear that he needed someone to boost a sense of community and unity among his crew. "So, what do you say?"

Ignoring the question, Naara'Cillo stood up to be at the same level as the Captain and gave him a big grin, which she hoped would be heard through her tone and words, "You don't have to be so formal, Zael. I've told you previously that you can refer to me as Nala. I've always found our given names such a mouthful."

"Now. On to your request. I am, of course, more than delighted to accept the offer, especially while coming from another Quarian," she paused and lowered her voice a bit, "But--just out of curiosity--what kind of aliens are we talking about here?"

Nala had no hidden qualms toward another species. She regarded other aliens as she regarded her own kind: there were always going to be good ones and bad ones. What she was worried about, however, were her future crewmates' own personal prejudices that they may possess. It was quite easy for her to get along with anyone, but to try and force two aliens of rival species to get along? That was an entirely different matter. A challenge she was more than willing to accept.

by **Nexeria** Sat Jan 30, 2016 12:00 am

Mission #4: Hijack the Narraka

"You don't have to be so formal, Zael. I've told you previously that you can refer to me as Nala. I've always found our given names such a mouthful," the young quarian replied with a certain enthusiasm to her voice.

"Heh, yes, I suppose you're right," Zael rubbed the back of his helmet feeling slightly discomposed. "Being away from the Flotilla for so long certainly seems to have left a mark on my personality."

"Now. On to your request. I am, of course, more than delighted to accept the offer, especially while coming from another Quarian," she paused and lowered her voice a bit, "But--just out of curiosity--what kind of aliens are we talking about here?"

Leaning back against the mess hall table, Zael began listing off his crew, "Almost all kinds are to be expected. A few asari commandos and some batarian freelancers. A couple of humans, although the woman is practically krogan while the male is some sort of experiment. Five krogan and about six vorcha mercenaries -- I expect them to be a rambunctious lot. There's also some turian -- one's a hacker. A drell hitman, a salarian field medic, and, curiously enough, an elcor. As I said, almost all kinds are to be expected here."

"I must admit it is comforting to be in the presence of another quarian for once," Zael finished, his voice retaining a certain sincerity.

by **Fi Skirata** Sat Jan 30, 2016 1:23 am

Stratis, among several others, found himself staring and then giggling at the implications of Riell's infidelity. The Turian made his way to the bunks, carrying a case filled with technical equipment he would need. He plopped the crate down on the top bunk, spitefully denying anyone the spot, before settling himself in a seated position on the bottom bunk.

The hacker brought up a holographic read-out from his Omni-tool infront of him, going through multiple password entry screens before coming to a credit statement. His credit statement. He kept nervously checking the results of his last credit transfer.

Previous Balance:148 Credits
Current Balance: 480,148 Credits

He had silently forced a credit transfer from his previous employers account. A severance pay, if you will. It was alot of money, but Stratis found himself continually fretting over the implications of ripping off the Hanar, Father Elkith.

Implications involving a Drell, a high powered sniper rifle, and his knees. "Lady" Lumis was the Drell assassin working for Russo's former boss, and he had seen what she did to people who ripped off the old jellyfish.

As Russo anxiously stared at his account, he felt his hand trembling. He didn't want to get shot over some fast money. He found himself second guessing if it had been worth it. It had. Maybe. But damn, he'd give anything just to be able to relax and stop thinking about it for a time. He had a job to do soon.

Then the words of the Calamity Express' pilot came back to him: "Well, one time the FTL drive crapped out and left me stalled in Council Space while I was hauling a huge shipment of red sand."

Russo leapt to his feet in a hurry, closing his Omni-tool readout. Red Sand... an abusable and addictive powdered drug, made from Eezo. Is this what he was really going to do? Get sand blasted before a mission?

Yes. Yes it was.

Russo raced across the ship with as quick of a pace as he could manage towards the cargo hold. He was briefly disheartened to see the piles of cargo belonging to Crothe's mercenaries and the Barka Brothers. It only took a quick scan from his devices to pinpoint traces of Red Sand in the hold.

Shoving aside several crates and boxes, Russo came to a container with several baggies of the crimson drug littering the bottom. It wouldn't fetch much by itself, but for one, or even several people, it was quite a bit of product. The Turian scooped up a pair of baggies and shoved them into his inner coat pocket.

Finding a quiet place among the crates, Russo poured a small pile of the drug onto the flat surface of a storage crate. He knelt down, bringing the sand to eye level, peering at it from the edge of the crate. He didn't have anything to make a line with. He needed something to--

A harsh voice exclaimed "Oh kra'tash!". One of Crothe's freelancers, a turian, had stumbled upon Russo and his stash. Russo's eyes glanced widely between the mercenary, who he knew as Brotin, and the Sand. As he struggled to find a way to explain the situation, the gun-for-hire continued "Hang on, I'm gonna hit this if you don't mind!"

Russo awkwardly watched as his fellow turian made a line with the drug using his knife before eagerly snorting it and shaking his head "Ahhh! You next, keyboard jockey!" Brotin encouraged, making a second line with the crimson chemical. Russo stared at the line, stunned. The situation seemed to worked itself out in his favor.

He hadn't expected sharing with one of Crothe's men but, all the same. The hacker snorted the line, the Red Sand clinging to his nasal cavities as he inhaled. The rush was immediate, his problems forgotten in a red haze of euphoria.

He partially came to a moment later, as he and Brotin observed the baggie of Sand levitating slowly into the air away from them, an incidental usage of the brief biotic abilities Red Sand granted. Russo grasped at the drugs protectively as Brotin gave a hearty laugh "First timer?"

Russo shrugged "Shut up and make me another line, before the goods float off."

by **Megantron** Sat Jan 30, 2016 5:35 pm

Nala listened closely as the Quarian rattled off the list of crew members that would be embarking on the same mission as them. She took mental notes of the varying species and any kind of prejudices they may possibly possess. The Batarian and Humans worried her the most.

"I must admit it is comforting to be in the presence of another quarian for once."

Zael's genuine words hit home for her, and overwhelming feelings of homesickness started welling up. Nala pushed those feelings back into whatever pit in her stomach they came from and lightened the mood up. "I'm just glad you're a Quarian with a good head on your shoulders. Last one I came across tried to rob me. Let's just say that his hands are now out of commission."

Nala gave a light-hearted chuckle. "Well, I see now that I have my work cut out for me. I look forward to working both for and alongside you."

by **Thade** Sat Jan 30, 2016 10:46 pm

Arval Nox

Arval slipped silently among the crates, examining the goods with his hands hidden in the cloak-like garment he wore to conceal his weapons. He had a vague idea of what he was doing. Twofold, both examining exactly what type of cargo the mercs had brought aboard this gods-forsaken vessel, and making his way slowly towards the bunks.

The bunks simply because he was tired and wanted to get situated, but the cargo because he hadn’t met a single honest person yet and he always erred on the side of caution, never truly letting his guard down. Something that came in handy when he heard a turian voice yell "Oh kra'tash!" not five meters behind his head.

The drell’s hand drifted immediately to a dagger strapped to his thigh, and he turned slowly towards the source of the noise. A few crates, nothing more. He almost dismissed it and continued, if not for the same voice declaring "Hang on, I'm gonna hit this if you don't mind!" loud enough to assure the bounty hunter that he wasn’t just imagining things.

Arval narrowed his eyes and started towards the crates as more chatter emanated from them, increasing his suspicions. He wasn’t three feet away when a bag of red dust crossed directly into his line of sight just to be snatched quickly out of the air. Expression now clearly of distaste, he leaned slightly forward, peering over the top of the containers at a pair of turians and a pile of red sand.

The drell stared at them, hand still on the knife underneath his cloak. “...Fools. Give me a reason.”

by Snœflæk Sun Jan 31, 2016 1:11 am

Having lingered in a shadowy corner of the cargo hold, having quite a pleasant time watching the Turian get high off his rocker, Medvik noticed another voice from the crates. Indeed it was of neither the Turians. It was the Drell, one Arval Nox, Medvik remembers.

"I'm sure it would be extremely entertaining to watch you three duke it out, however I doubt that would be productive, or in fact beneficial." Medvik stated as he walked out into the open, hands in his pockets. "I'm sure what these Turians do to their bodies is not much of your concern Mr. Nox. Why don't you put away that knife and there won't be any unnecessary bloodshed."

"Durak" Medvik uttered under his breath, reaching to the handle of his Shashka while at the same time silently, without movement, paging Zael.

by **Fi Skirata** Sun Jan 31, 2016 3:05 am

Russo stumbled onto his ass, glaring up at Nox. "Fucking... Drell. A whole race of... goddamned judgmental murderers. Don't you have something better to do than ruin my high?"

Brotin stood to his feet giving a sharp whistle and clutching his knife nervously. A quadrupedal animal with silver scales and fish like eyes stalked behind Arval at Brotin's call. Its mouth stretched open like a snakes in a threatening gesture. Brotin shook his head with a grin, shaking off the rapid high from the Red Sand, before indicating the animal that had approached.

"My pet varren, Seko. Calm down, drell, I haven't fed her today, and you look like a good meal." the turian threatened before sharply exhaling red dust from his nose and giggling and the cloud of dust that formed when he did.

by **Thade** Sun Jan 31, 2016 3:55 pm

Arval Nox

"I'm sure it would be extremely entertaining to watch you three duke it out, however I doubt that would be productive, or in fact beneficial." Medvik stated as he walked out into the open, hands in his pockets. "I'm sure what these Turians do to their bodies is not much of your concern Mr. Nox. Why don't you put away that knife and there won't be any unnecessary bloodshed."

The drell didn't move, stoic gaze still fixated on the turians. He blinked his inner eye lids once, and spoke with a quiet authority as he released his grip on his knife, grasping his gun instead. "I have no quarrel with you, human. Be gone before you become involved in something you'll regret."

He watched without comment as one turian stood and called a varren with a whistle. Predictably, he had it stand behind him with teeth barred. It almost brought a smile to Arval's face. Varren were one of the few species that managed to not only survive, but thrive on Rakhana. Of course, the turian didn't know that. Clearly he didn't know much of anything.

"My pet varren, Seko. Calm down, drell, I haven't fed her today, and you look like a good meal."

Arval dropped his hand to his side and let an uncharacteristically smug and devious smile slowly overtake his features before shaking his head. "You act... as if you are the first one to threaten me. And with a mere varren, at that."

Giving a faint yet rumbling cackle of a laugh, the drell paused a moment to regain his composure before turning around and pushing past the so called 'fishdog' without another thought, trusting it not to maul him to death. Arval called out behind him as he walked away, voice betraying a hint of disdain. "Watch yourself, turian. It is not unusual for such vicious beasts to turn on their masters, and it is so very easy to overdose. Goodbye."

by **Nexeria** Mon Feb 01, 2016 1:38 am

Mission #4: Hijack the Narraka

"I'm just glad you're a quarian with a good head on your shoulders. Last one I came across tried to rob me. Let's just say that his hands are now out of commission."

"Oh, so there's a fire in there I see!" Zael joked, slipping into a more gregarious tone of voice.

"Well, I see now that I have my work cut out for me. I look forward to working both for and alongside you." Nala responded with a light-hearted chuckle that brought a warm smile to the captain's face.

The ship-captain quickly straightened up his composure as some of the freelancers entered the room, "I won't lie to you though, the turian military is far from your average Omega thug. Turians fight for every soldier on the field. They don't break apart, and they don't fall back without setting ambushes. So once we're aboard, keep cautious, take it slow, and don't let yourself get killed. You may also want--"

The captain's instructions were cut short by ping coming from his omni-tool. "Medvik, what does he want?" Zael asked himself before glancing back up at Nala, "Follow me. Might already have a problem..."

A couple of minutes later, Zael and Nala made there way into the cargo hold just as Arval was making his exit. Coming around a stack of crates, the two quarians discovered Brotin For'kogan, a batarian-raised turian freelancer, and Russo Stratis relaxing with lines of red sand spread out between them. Meanwhile, Medvik casually leaned back against the corner, seemingly satisfied with whatever he had just caused by covertly paging Zael.

Brotin skittishly jumped at the sight of his boss catching them in the act. Meanwhile, Russo froze solid and stared awestruck into Zael's mask -- only slightly making out the captain's piercing bright eyes through the tinted visor -- as Brotin scrambled for an excuse, "Oh, Captain! We were just down here unloading some supplies when we found these bags of red sand, so we figured--"

"Shut up." Zael responded in a low, authoritative tone. "You," the quarian points at For'kogan, "I expect this kind of reckless behavior from, but, you," turning his attention toward Russo, "You disappoint me, Stratis."

Before the young turian could even respond, the captain suddenly slammed his reinforced faceplate against Russo's head sending him to the floor. Brotin's pet varren growled at the unexpected violence and attempted to lunge at Zael, but was quickly interrupted by it's master's command to stand down.

"Are you out your mind?!" Zael screamed at the turian as if were his own junkie son, "This could compromise the entire mission! Do not understand how vital your mind is right now?! You may very well have cost the lives of everyone on this crew! You bosh'tet!"

by **Fi Skirata** Mon Feb 01, 2016 11:08 am

Russo crashed to the floor and leaned up dazedly, his visor knocked off and rattling to the floor beside him. A trickle of azure blood flowing from his forehead into his eyes. All he could see was red from his fading high. He was barely sure of what just happened.

The youth glared up at the Captain and stood to his feet, glaring at the only the two beads of light that were Zael's eyes behind his dark helmet. "My mind that vital to you? Huh? That's what the Hierarchy told me before I was convicted. My mind isn't worth anything except results and money. And I've got all the damned money I need, so give me a reason to care!"

The turian was visibly trembling. What the hell was he doing? He despised conflict like this, but he couldn't keep himself from acting on impulse. Somewhere, in the sober parts on his mind, he knew he was in the wrong. "I had to abandon my job for this. That mean anything to you? You think I just say no when Aria T'Loak sends someone to my doorstop telling me they need me? No thanks, people who refuse Little Miss "I am Omega" end up dead in an alley."

Stratis' voice bordered on a shout. He wasn't even mad at Zael. The Boss had every reason to be be pissed at him, but Russo just vented right in the quarian's face. "So here I am, with this ragtag bunch of misfits--"

"Hey!" Brotin interrupted.

Stratis raised an accusing figure at his fellow turian "Don't. Not a word. I don't know you and I don't care for your uneducated opinion." Returning his attention to the Captain: "You're dragging me straight to the Turian Hierarchy. They think I'm dead. They're going to know I'm not after this. Do you fathom that? Do you!? An entire military wanting me dead, and I've got nowhere to go, I can't even go home to Omega for fear of a barefaced jelly having me hit!

So excuse me if I'm just a little on edge!"

by **Megantron** Tue Feb 02, 2016 11:23 am

Nala silently sat back and watched the interaction between the Captain and the unfamiliar Turian dressed in Human garb--Stratis, as Zael referred to him. A second Turian was present, but either couldn't get in a word edgewise or just really didn't have anything important to add to this fracas.

The Human-dressed Turian continued to rant on and on, until his words no longer seemed pointed at anyone in particular. An internal conflict that had been threatening to erupt for some time now, and the Captain just so happened to be in the way of it. The red sand didn't exactly help in the matter either.

"So excuse me if I'm just a little on edge!"

Stratis released a deep breath, having nothing more to say (or shout). The red sand's effects finally wearing off. Nala took this as her cue and approached the Turian. "Well, that's one way to introduce yourself--rant about all your life struggles while sand-blasted."

Nala placed a friendly and reassuring hand on his shoulder. "But, if there's one thing I've learned over the years is that you really shouldn't bottle everything up only to unleash it all on someone that probably doesn't deserve it. Especially when that someone is your Captain." She removed her hand and squared her shoulders. "What you can do, however, is take the support that's being given to you from your captain and crewmates. Because as far as you're concerned, we are all under this Aria T'Loak's thumb."

Taking a step back from Stratis, Nala turned to Zael. "Anything you'd like to add, Captain?"

by **Nexeria** Wed Feb 03, 2016 1:54 am

Mission #4: Hijack the Narraka

An entire military wanting me dead, and I've got nowhere to go, I can't even go home to Omega for fear of a barefaced jelly having me hit! So excuse me if I'm just a little on edge!"

As Nala attempted to mend the situation to the best of her abilities, the captain just stared blankly into the eyes of the enraged turian, and, in a sense, began to faze out of reality as he as thought about all he had gone through just to get to this point. His mind lingering on the betrayal that sparked this journey and all the pain, suffering, and sacrifices that came with it. Russo's final words sent a cold, unnoticeable shiver down the quarian's spine. Zael knew all too well what it was like to lose the only place he could ever call home. While he almost found himself sympathizing with the turian, Zael was still far too enamored with his own goals to care about Russo's addiction.

"Anything you'd like to add, Captain?" Nala asked.

"Stratis," the quarian started in a less aggressive tone, "You don't work for Aria. You work for me. If she decides to kill anybody on this crew, it would most definitely be me first. So, you won't have to worry about me or her killing you anytime soon, because you seem plenty capable of doing that on your own."

Wiping some the turian's blood of his visor with his glove, the captain continued, "Might as well bring us all down with you, right? You said it yourself, we're nothing but a bunch of 'misfits' and outcasts. So I ask you this, how can I trust someone that doesn't even value their own life to save the lives of my crew? Furthermore, should he even care about our lives? About my life? About Nala's life here or even Medvik's? What about Riell or Maran's lives?"

Having said just about enough, the captain turned and began making his towards the exit, "It certainly is a question to ponder, and one that I will leave you and our new adviser to answer. And, please, talk to her. She's less likely to headbutt you for a simple mistake, and I do hope that's all it was, Russo. A simple mistake..."

by **Fi Skirata** Wed Feb 03, 2016 4:35 pm

"This one will speak to whomever the Captain orders." Russo scooped his eyepiece up from the ground and glared at Zael before leaving the cargo area, indicating for the adviser to follow him. His head ached and his ears were ringing, though he wasn't sure whether that was a result of his head wound or the Sand.

He led the adviser to the bunks, and sat down, meticulously disassembling his eyepiece, it was going to need some maintenance after the hit he took. "Captain brings an adviser on. That's probably a good sign. If he just wanted to do this mission and be done, he wouldn't bother. You being here implies he's bringing on crewmen for when he takes the Narraka."

Stratis popped the case of his scanner open and observed the circuitry for damage. "And that could bode well for me. I don't have alot of places to go, need to find a ship, or I'll end up with a knife in my back or a bullet in my head." he stared at the wiring of the device with a blank expression. He was well off his high by now, but he was finding it difficult to focus.

Setting the device down for a moment, the turian looked up at the quarian, he hadn't given her much of a chance to respond, and he wasn't going to until he said his piece. "Zael has the wrong impression. This one cares about his life a great deal." his linguistics bled seemlessly back and forth between the fake politeness the hanar taught him and his own rude dialect. "And like it or not, whether I live or die depends on how well this mission goes. I don't have a choice, my life is tied to the lives of this team, there's no room for error."

Returning to his scanner, Russo delicately moved a part from one plug to another, causing the screen to flicker to life. He began reassembling the chassis as he continued "Whether or not I like any of Zael's men is irrelevant, I'm one of them. I understand why he would take issue with my recreational activities, but you should understand that in turian culture there is no taboo on drug usage, so long as one accomplishes one's job."

The hacker replaced the scanner on his face, the light made his head throb, but it also felt like home. Seeing information and data was more welcome experience than a drug induced red haze. "You don't need to worry about whether I can do my job or not, Miss..."

He could have waited for an answer, but his visor had already retrieved the data he needed "Naara'Cillo nar Takra. I assure you, I'm the best at what I do, and my personal feelings and activities won't interfere with that."

He finally ended his monologue, giving the quarian a chance to speak, though he did so with no small sense of aggravation as he once again found himself staring into an alien's visor wishing he could read their facial expression.

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