The plan had been explained, in excruciating detail, until Eliri herself knew the ins and outs to her satisfaction. "This is off the wall, even for a pirate. What makes you think the Volus will handle his end of the bargain?" The Asari asked, still not having budged from her seat on the cell's cot. From the floor, Victorie responded the only way she knew how when doubted: rudely. "I would've thought the great Asari queenpin would know enough about Volus to know their singular motivation: profit. The team has been paid extremely well, so they will do as they're told. It's that simple." The human replied, not bothering to look up at her objective. Eliri scoffed and smirked, easing herself into a more comfortable position by leaning back against the wall. "Oh, I didn't know I had the pleasure of speaking to someone so well versed in universal affairs. I won't question your infinitely wise decisions any more." The blue skinned humanoid responded. Victorie rolled her eyes a single time and tapped her left wrist twice, looking at it expectantly. Slowly, her skin lit up in the digital representation of a stopwatch, ticking down the seconds to an unknown moment of seeming importance. "Two hours." She said simply, standing to crawl into the top bunk. "You might want to get some rest, sugar-we'll be moving fast." The fair skinned woman said as she pulled the paper thin blanket over her frame. Eliri smirked in response and shook her head, rolling over and doing the same.
Victorie awoke to an uncomfortable heat on her wrist, and she tapped the appendage a total of four times in rapid succession. She rolled out of the bunk, landing lightly on her feet and gently shook Eliri awake. "Rise and shine. Time to watch me work." Victorie muttered, her face calm and determined. In the calm of the prison cell, Eliri began to shake her foot impatiently, when suddenly the door to the cell slid open. A Turian in prison garb slipped into the cell wordlessly, tossing a small object to the cell's human occupant. "No offense meant, Cap, but humans are easy." Dox said smugly as her counterpart slid the omni-tool over her hand and hard reformatted it, wiping all previously stored settings and allowing her to remake it as her own. The holographic display lit up for the initial settings, and her hand flew over it, setting up the barebones requirements she'd need. "Alarms?" She asked Dox, furrowing her brow in concentration. "None." Dox replied just as curtly, examining the pistol she'd commandeered. She sighed in exasperation as she looked down the sights, not approving of the weapon. "Problem?" Victorie asked as she finished rewiring the omni-tool.
"Just not to my liking."
"Whatever happened to 'I am a Turian master-at-arms. Any weapon is my weapon, a tool that is a means to my end. I demand, and it obeys.'?" Victorie asked smugly.
"My point exactly. This is hardly a weapon." Dox replied, her mandibles flexing in a Turian scowl.
"Will it do?"
"It'll do."
"Ladies, if we're done bantering, I'd really like a hot shower and some normal clothes." Eliri said, scowling from the bed.
"Has she been like this the whole time?"
"Nah, honestly I think the great Eliri has a softspot for me." Victorie replied, flattening herself against one side of the door, Dox moving to do the same. "What? You gonna replace me, Cap?"
"Only if you die, Dox. Let's go."
The door slid open and Victorie was immediately in the hallway, her hand level with her shoulder as she stalked through the compound, Eliri directly behind her and Dox bringing up the rear. They made good time moving through the hallways, never bothering to stop to check for guards. Once at their intended destination, Victorie came to a halt with her and Dox stacking on the door like they had before leaving the cell. Victorie slid her thumb across her left wrist from bottom to top and waited a few moments. The patch on her arm that had displayed the clock began to heat up, once in the center and again in the corner closest to her elbow. She looked at Dox and held up two fingers. Dox nodded and used her own fingers to make a rectangle. Victorie pointed at the center and the bottom left corner, passing the information to her second. Dox made a hooking motion, and Victorie nodded, centering herself on the door, but moving far enough back so that she could get a running start. Spying a nearby camera, she looked at it and held up three fingers, before beginning to count them down. When her final finger dropped, the door slid open and the lights in the room began to strobe. The moment the doors opened, Victorie took off in a sprint, sliding as she entered the room. She heard the unmistakable sound of two pistols sliding into operation mode, but before they'd completed the motion, she was in front of the center enemy, her omni-tool launching fabricated nodes into the unprotected throat of her target. She squeezed her fist and the tool diverted enough power into the nodes to knock the Turian officer unconscious. Even as she did so, she heard a scuffle and turned to watch Dox as she wrapped the other officer's throat, cutting off the blood to his brain. In mere moments, the Asari guard was unconscious on the floor and the lights were back to normal. With the expedience only practice could provide, Victorie and Dox stripped and detained the officers with their own cuffs, and began clothing themselves in the uniforms.
Minutes later, the two stood in full Citadel Security garb, with Dox and Eliri rewriting the two new confiscated omni-tools. Eliri's fingers flew with an alacrity that surprised both of the pirates, quickly setting up her own key features. She brought her arm up across her shoulder,the motion cuing the omni-tool to flash-fabricate four inches of razor sharp silicon-carbide to shoot from the bottom of her tool. Satisfied, she retracted the weapon and brought both of her hands together in the center of her body in one fluid motion. The loud crackle and hum of arcing electricity filled the hallway as a glowing two foot blade materialized, electricity arcing over it as she brandished the omni-tool like a sword. This blade vanished in a moment as well, and Victorie's eyebrows raised in respect. "Well, that was quick." She said, taken aback. "I've owned an omni-tool longer than you've been alive. I know a few tricks." The Asari said calmly, not bothering to take one of the downed guard's weapons. Dox snickered, receiving a playful glare from her captain, who then turned to another nearby camera and gave it a thumbs up.
In an instant, the power in the prison went offline, darkening the entire compound. Almost immediately, a voice came aloud over Victorie's omni-tool. "All is going according to plan, boss. I took the liberty of opening cell doors on the other side of the prison to create a little distraction for you. With all the security officers being ordered to detain escapees, you should have a clear route to the rec area in back. Floor plan is headed to you now, but be advised: you've only got about five minutes until auxiliary kicks in. Keelah se'lai, Cap, and good luck." Spoke Hyo'run vas Idenna, his voice sounding even more robotic over the audio stream. The plan dictated that the ground team would be maintaining radio silence, so Victorie didn't utter a word as a three dimensional holographic map of the cell area floated above her omni-tool. She didn't look for long before closing the map and taking point on the trek towards the open recreation area in the back of the prison. The small trip was thankfully as dark as it was quiet, and the trio reached their destination without incident. Without power, the sealed doors were designed to open with a mild amount of force. Dox moved without a word, pulling the portal apart and dipping through with her pilfered pistol at the ready. "Clear." She said firmly as the Victorie and Eliri came through after her. An unmarked delivery shuttle dipped into the yard at a dangerous angle, slowing as it approached. The doors slid open while the shuttle was still in motion, and Victorie was already hopping in before the driver ground the craft to a swaying hover. She clambered easily into the passenger seat, the other two escapees following into the back. "Oh captain, my captain." The drell pilot said as he thumbed the door closed and hammered on the throttle, causing the shuttle to lurch forward. "Always a pleasure, Zero. Uniforms?"
"Door panels. Should be sized well."
Victorie nodded her reply and reached into the disguised cargo panel, tossing two delivery service uniforms to the two women in the back of the speeding vehicle. "What, here?" Eliri asked, skepticism etched on her face as she caught the dark brown fabric. Dox and Victorie were already halfway out of their black and blue C-Sec garb, and Dox's mandibles twitched in response to the question. "Tick tock, Ellie. Time is kinda short." Victorie said, not skipping a beat in her expedient wardrobe switch. "But of course, Vic." Eliri retorted, the nickname dripping with venom. Dox snickered again, inciting another look of death from her captain through the rear view mirror. "What, Cap? It suits you." The Turian replied as she pulled the cap onto her head, adding the final touch to her attire. "Insubordinate, childish..." Victorie grumbled, her list growing continuously less audible as she grumpily finished putting on her clothes.
The shuttle slid gently to a stop outside of an industrial warehouse, and the three females climbed out, finding a team of two Turians and a Volus waiting for them on the dock. "Hello, earth-clan. I assume you're Lady Morgan?" The Volus said simply, gesturing for the trinity to follow. Once inside, he dismissed his guard and led them deeper into the warehouse. "The packages you asked for are just inside this room. Three shielded crates, labeled on my manifest as 'unstable materials unsuitable for scanning'. One of my agents in Customs will be 'examining' the crates, and sending them through. You won't notice a thing until we arrive on Illium. The crew of the Karla, save myself, will have no knowledge of you being on the ship. I assume one of your own will be waiting to receive you on the planet?" The small alien said, wringing his hands as he spoke. "Illium?" Eliri exclaimed, her eyes narrowing into a glare. The air seemed to ripple around her, and a faint blue glow wrapped itself around her hand, the color deepening in hue as her implants gathered power. "I can't go to Illium. Anywhere but there." She finished, eyeing the doors of the warehouse as if looking for an escape. "Look, Eliri," Victorie began, noticing the Asari's intent, "I understand you probably have family on Illium-a mother, a few sisters, maybe an ex-lover or something, but it's our best chance of getting you back to Eclipse. No one will look twice at a merchant ship on path from the Citadel to Illium. We won't even be setting foot on the rock, anyhow. We'll be delivered, in boxes, to my ship. From there, we can take you anywhere you'd like, but first we have to get you off the Citadel. Please." She spoke, and her eyes darted to Dox, who imperceptibly shifted her weight. If Eliri attempted to make a break, it would be Dox's job to detain her while either Victorie or the Volus took the brunt of her impending biotic assault. "Please," She repeated, "just get in the box."
The aura around Eliri's right hand intensified for a moment, but she let her hand fall and stood up. She cleared her throat and pulled her uniform down, too prideful to admit her moment of panic. Wordlessly, she opened one of the crate lids and crawled in. Before thumbing the installed button that would open the hardened aluminum crate, she took one final look at Victorie. "Illium, then. If anything goes awry, you'll be hunted to the ends of the galaxy. Eclipse will come, and Eclipse will have vengeance. That is a promise, human." She threatened, the box sliding shut after her last word. "Charming." Dox said, her mandibles opening in incredulity. "Yeah, I think we've made a lifelong friend." Victorie added, shaking her head as she crawled into her own box. "You heard the lady, Bor Pelta. Wrath of the Eclipse, ends of the universe, so on and so forth. Watching you, Vol-Clan." Victorie said, pointing her index and middle fingers at her eyes and then at the Volus as the box lid covered her as it did Eliri. The Volus looked expectantly at Dox, who shrugged in response. "Nah, I got nothin'. Good night." She said dismissively as she locked herself away in the container.
Aboard the Turian Frigate christened Charon's Ledger, every eye looked towards the Drell as he stepped on board. He was officially the last one to have seen their captain, and only he knew the state the trio was in. They all watched, silently expectant as he wordlessly walked the passage ways, taking his seat at the helm. "Well, Zero? How is she?" Hyo'run said, speaking for the whole crew. "Dead. Dox killed her with a spoon in prison. Being in the system really got to her, she's all institutionalized. I barely got out of there alive." Zero deadpanned, lifting a single eyebrow at Hyo'run. Though he couldn't see the Quarian's face, the way he crossed his arms and shifted his weight clearly denoted how displeased he was at the joke. The Drell chortled and turned to the holographic controls, prepping their ship for departure. "How do you think she's doing? Has there ever been a job she hasn't weaseled her way out of? Citadel Control, this is Ghost of Shanxi, requesting departure." He said, crisply, having spoken the tower-ship banter of docking and departing the Citadel so many times that it was second nature to him. He, of course, used one of the many fake names that had been crafted for the ship upon it's christening for official matters, but that was second-nature to him as well. The procedure went off without a hitch, and the ship beelined for the in-system mass relay, guided by the steady hands of the veteran helmsman. They approached, and with a growing hum of the drive core, they jumped across the galaxy. They were Illium bound, off to rescue their captain from her rescue.
The trip from the warehouse to the ship was bumpy, but uneventful, and the trio made it safely onto the Volus' transport ship, being carried silently into the cargo bay. The doors slid shut and Eliri's crate slid open almost immediately. Victorie's followed soon after, and she sat up scowling. "What are you doing?" She hissed at the Asari, ensuring she kept her voice at a low volume. "No one checks on cargo in between take-off and docking. We have time to catch our breath, stretch out a little bit. What's the worst that could happen?" Eliri asked with a shrug. Victorie lifted a finger to retort, but before she could say a word, the freighter shuddered, and alarm klaxons started to blare over the ship's intercommunication system. "That. That's the worst that could happen." The human woman said darkly, pointing her raised finger toward the direction of the nearest speaker. Dox was out of her crate before it had finished opening, frantic eyes scanning the room. Once she'd located the entrance to the cargo bay, she rolled out of the container and scrambled across the floor. A knife materialized in her three-fingered hand so quickly it seemed to have spawned from nothing. She flattened against the wall and held the knife near her hip, staring at the door as if it contained the answer to life itself. Victorie and Eliri stared in awe at the lightning-quick reflexes of their Turian comrade. "Where the hell did the-" Victorie began to ask, before she was cut off by Dox lifting her central finger. She gathered her fingers together and spread them out, giving the practiced 'disperse and hide' hand symbol of the Charon's Ledger crew. Victorie's mouth shut so quickly that the click of her teeth was audible. She crept behind her crate and bid Eliri to do the same. Not a moment after they'd slid into cover, the door slid open, and a single silhouette stood in the doorway. "Single, low!" Victorie shouted, watching from her vantage point, and Dox moved like liquid lightning. The Turian sprang into a tackle, bowling over their small intruder. "Wait!" a voice screamed, followed by frantic breathing through a respirator. The knife gleamed in the low artificial light of the cargo hold, held aloft as Dox realized whose life she had nearly ended. "Pelta?" She asked incredulously, standing before helping the Volus to his feet. To his credit, the scared Volus only took a moment to regain his composure. "Yes, it's me. There's a bit of a...snag in your itinerary." He said, wringing his hands again. This Volus is altogether too nervous for my liking. Something he's not telling us is going on here. Victorie thought, crossing her arms as she partly wished Dox had simply slit the tiny being's methane tubes, letting him choke to death. "Snag?" Eliri asked, shifting as she had in the warehouse. "Yes...snag. We've been boarded. By pirates." Bor Pelta continued, his hands endlessly wringing as he explained. "We didn't hear a single shot fired. No shield flare, no sudden g-force from evasive maneuvers. What, did you just invite them aboard?" Victorie asked, stepping closer to their transporter. The Volus kept his fragile calm, finally tearing his hands away from each other. "They hit us with an EMP as soon as we dropped out of mass travel. That was the sudden shake you felt. As soon as auxiliary power came on, I came to alert you, and to ask you a favor. The crew I have on hand is not numerous, nor are they particularly well trained. If they had the help of an ex-Spectre candidate, a biotic commando, and a former N5 Alliance Marine, they might have a chance at repelling the boarders. There are weapons in that locked box over on the starboard side. The code is 3541." Bor said, pointing at the box he'd mentioned. "Should you succeed, I'll consider it a personal favor to me. Fifteen percent will be knocked off of your final fee, and that discount will qualify for any future deals we make. I'll also put in a good word to my contact at the black market, leading to a discount through him, as I move most of his product. I wish you well. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to lock myself in one of your boxes." He finished, walking slowly towards the nearest box and rolling into it. Once the lid sealed shut, the three women looked at each other, some just now learning what the others had been before a life of crime drew them together. "Spectre candidate, Dox? You just said you were in the military." Victorie said, shaking her head as she unlocked the box the Volus had mentioned. "I didn't get very far, honestly. Mostly because I was killed in action about two missions in." Dox said, her mandibles twitching in dismissal. Victorie scoffed and pulled the door open, exposing the arsenal that lay inside. "Wow. Whoever his black market contact is, I definitely want to be on their side." Victorie said, her jaw dropping open. Without missing a beat, Eliri slipped past her and laid hands on a shotgun from a weapon rack near the back. "Single-use mag strips over here." Dox called out, placing one on her thigh and holding another over her shoulder. "Diagonal, right to left." Dox said, and Victorie stepped to her back, activating the adhesive. The strip flash adhered to Dox's delivery clothing. Dox turned and activated an identically placed strip on Victorie's back. Wordlessly, she activated another strip in the small of her back. Dox reached past her, grabbing two assault rifles. She passed one to her captain and placed the other across her back. "Knives, here, if one of you is interested." Eliri said, placing a strip at the small of her back. Victorie eagerly grabbed two, placing them both at the small of her back. Another strip later, and a pistol was on her hip. "Well, ladies?" Dox said, pulling the assault rifle off of her back and jamming the stock into her shoulder. "Shall we?"
Resolutely, the three women headed to the cargo bay door and poured into the hallway, Dox in the lead and Eliri holding the rear. It was time to take back the Karla.