June 20th 2184CE 11:22
There were a few things Garrus began noticing about Jane. One was the fact that she was incredibly observant. His father always said 'you can never lie to a batarian.' And he was beginning to think that despite the lack of four eyes, Jane picked up such talent in captivity. The other was particularly surprising – she was most at ease around Krul. Other than their single late night conversation, Jane hadn't really spoken to him much. She questioned him about her brother's fate a couple times and so far he'd successfully dodged talking about reapers, galactic annihilation, and other absurdities. Although, she clearly didn't believe the party-line that the geth were responsible. To his surprise, she displayed little interest in who her brother was. She was solely focused on his death. Yet it was plain to see whenever they sat around the dinner table. If Krul was present, there was an invisible tension that simply evaporated from her shoulders.
Garrus had shown her gun basics – how to clean and maintain, assemble and disassemble. The girl was an eager, disciplined student. Without being asked, she went through the entire armory and polished every weapon until it shone. But her vocalizations had regressed back to one or two word sentences. She'd nod, say please and thank you, yet that was about it. Music aside, she was a silent helper. Never seen but heard.
Unbeknownst to her, Jane was revealing a softer side to Krul. She had taken to playing some primitive human instrument on a daily basis. However, the songs she was belting out were batarian. And Krul couldn't get enough. He'd sit on the opposite side of the door, rocking to the music and clapping after every song. It made Garrus realize just how homesick Grundan was; despite his extreme, often confusing, hostility towards his own kind.
Currently, he was putting the final touches on one of many strategies for their raid on Thralog's casino. In order to avoid taking on the entire stronghold at once, he had devised a plan to draw out at least half his forces. Once they were dealt with, they'd simply blow the doors open. He still didn't like their numbers, but thanks to the new Archangel Website he had a stack of resumes waiting for him.
Formulating battle plans against the back drop of Jane's music certainly gave his work a new flavor. The light melodies drifting from behind her door served to incite some fairly creative ideas. What he didn't understand was her choice in instruments. With an electric keyboard, one could play every instrument in the galaxy. Plus, they seemed less complicated and archaic than a blob of wood strung with a bunch of taught wires. That said, she seemed to know what she was doing. Every morning at 06:30 she'd practice drills while he and his men were performing their own military version. At least she had something to occupy her. Despite having every essential medication, Mordin informed her that it would be a few months until her leg was fully healed. According to Nalah, she was less than pleased.
He turned his attention to the literal crap-load of resumes. Most who applied neglected to write cover letters or half-assed theirs thinking he was merely after fighters. Truthfully, he was only interested in people with heart. Individuals willing to live and die by their team's ideals – to better the lives of the galaxy's most vulnerable. Plus, with Jane living at the base, he had to be extra cautious not to allow a predator into their midst.
After an hour of mind-numbing drivel, a pair of resumes caught his attention. It was the sole application to be submitted as a set. And one of the applicants was not only turian but had an extremely similar background to himself – minus reapers and spectre training of course.
Mierin Regidus
MRegius74
galaxywide in/regius-mierin
(1224) 591-58185
Experience:
2175 – 2179: Served in the Turian Military as a youth to gain full tier citizenship. Trained in small arms, shot guns, and biotic grenades. The latter was provided by various cabal teams as I am not a biotic. However, I am proficient in their use.
2179 – Present: C-Sec officer assigned to Zakera Ward. My duties include busting up drug deals, tracking red-sand contraband, and keeping the local gangs in check. I've also assisted in several homicide cases and participated in sting that brought down a slaver ring smuggling people through the wards.
Weaver Newberry
Newberry09W
galaxywide in/weaver-newberry
(1224) 906-19482
Experience:
2160 – 2184: NYPD officer. Trained in small arms, shotguns, and hand to hand combat.
2160 – 2169 Beat cop. Worked primarily out of Harlem
2169 – 2171 Worked Vice.
2171 – 2184 Transferred over to homicide.
Duties included crime-scene analysis, interviewing suspects, training raw recruits, and general security.
Additional experience as an undercover agent, personally responsible for the downfall of three major meth labs.
January 2184 – Present: C-Sec officer assigned to Zakera ward. Took part in a raid that eliminated a slaver ring responsible for over 50 kidnappings from Citadel Space.
Dear Archangel Squad,
We are writing to express interest in joining your team in whichever roles you deem necessary. We believe our work experience and skills are compatible with intense, high stress situations.
Currently, we are employed as C-Sec officers on the citadel. And are full-time partners. It has been a great honor striving to keep peace in a turbulent, often violent society. However, our laws have turned against the common man, allowing corruption to slip through. We want a chance to truly make a difference in this galaxy and not stand idle while it crumbles around us.
The essay, a well-written but obvious attempt at pandering, was of little interest to him. These guys could get the job done but he wanted to know who they were at the core. What made them tick? "Hey Krul?"
"What?" The batarian answered gruffly.
"Could you work your magic? I have a couple potentials. And I'd like some background information on them."
Thirty minutes and a fresh bowl of Blast Ohs later, Grundan called him over to the sofa. "Ready when you are. I've got some emails they sent to each other when collaborating on their cover-letter and I can even tap into their communications if you want to listen in."
"Woah. Woah. Wait a second Krul, you can hack citadel security coms?"
"I've got some old C-Sec codes. They're letting my virus bypass C-Sec firewalls."
"You…. You… have C-Sec codes." The notion that the security force entrusted with The Council's safety was so easily mitigated was absurd.
"Well, your guys just left them right there for me to find." Krul grinned. "And then they did me the favor of not bothering to update them."
"I always knew they were morons."
"Whatever. You want to read or not?"
From: MRegius74
To: Newberry09W
Weaver is a butt
Weaver looks at smut
His girl turned out to be a nut
And now he can't somethin… somethin… fuck!
From: Newberry09W
To: MRegius74
Now that the juvenile is asleep, let the real men handle things. I was thinking our cover letter should open with something less formal. You turians all have a stick up your ass. This guy shoots mercs for sport. I don't think he gives a flying shit about procedure.
From: MRegius74
To: Newberry09W
No. I'm writing the cover letter, case closed. You can beat up your resume with an ugly stick if it bothers you.
From: Newberry09W
To: MRegius74
Kid, I've been a cop for 25 years. I'm telling you this guy doesn't give a hooha about brown-nosing kiss asses.
From: MRegius74
To: Newberry09W
I've been in C-Sec for years, first contact with the humans was before I was born. And even I don't know what 'hooha' means. For all we know, he's a hanar. I'm pretty sure that word would make a jelly's head explode.
From: Newberry09W
To: MRegius74
If he's a fucking HANAR, I'm gonna run like my ass in on fire!
From: MRegius74
To: Newberry09W
I don't see how acting like an uneducated nincompoop is supposed to be appealing.
From: Newberry09W
To: MRegius74
Fine. Whatever. I know when you've dug your damn heels in. Heading down to Chora's Den later. Want to grab a drink? Or will you be too busy writing up your namby pamby essay?
From: MRegius74
To: Newberry09W
Meet you there at 19:00.
"I like their style. Provided the background check clears, we're calling these guys in for a trial run." Garrus immediately began searching the criminal database for evidence of misdeeds.
"Wait, letting them into base? Already?" Sensat had wandered into the living area to take advantage of the momentarily free gaming console Ripper usually monopolized.
"Of course not. I'll set them up in a hotel. We'll meet, train, and maybe even raid the casino together. Then I'll decide whether or not to bring them on as full members. Krul, do you have that private server up and running?"
"Who the fuck do you take me for? Let's get this moving."
