Her awakening was quiet, uneventful, a pulse of life to an empty shell where before there was none. It took several seconds for her to get her senses together, to become more aware of her surroundings once more even as the static threatened to overwhelm her again. She tried to move but found herself tipping over onto her side and was unable to catch herself, her hands bound behind her back. A weak growl of frustration and mounting anxiety escaped her as she tried to recollect what happened, perhaps deduce where she was.
This was not the first time she had reawoken like this. No, they'd been in the Void, her and her clan. Their keys...their keys had malfunctioned before...exploding. Something had happened because of it, she'd been knocked unconscious and left weakened, it was as though her energy had been sapped from her very body, only left with scraps. Then there'd been the ship...Corpus-or perhaps old humans?-and aliens she'd never seen before. She'd been confused and scared and anxious and then she'd seen red and…
Taking a deep breath, her 'cheek' pressed into the metal, Valkyr tried to gather what strength she had and managed to slowly get herself on her knees. Finding some measure of calm, she closed her eyes and tried to recall some of her clan leader's old teachings. Unable to properly use her hands as most of the meditation techniques required, she still did her best to center her energies and pull what strength she could from the Void.
She didn't remember it ever feeling so...distant. That was cause for some concern, especially since it would prove difficult to recuperate as quickly as it usually did. Such worries needed to be pushed aside though and she cleared her mind, focusing on herself while trying to further recall the events that brought her here. Wherever here was.
The aliens had strange displays on their arms they could activate to interact with the environment around them and she'd tried to confiscate one but she couldn't understand the languages or anything of the like. That was when she'd been attacked from behind…
Valkyr's head ticked to the side and it felt like a sharp spike went through her otherwise gentle flow of energy. Her fingers clenched but she took in a deep breath and tried to will herself to be calm, easing the tension from her muscles as the memories continued through the static.
After being grabbed she had resisted the force but she had been weak, by all accounts she could have broken out of any containment with the strength she possessed and it had angered her, she didn't want to be made a prisoner again.
The cuffs felt tight on her wrists.
Another growl slipped out of her but she restrained her emotions, her head ticking once again in her efforts. Then the humans had showed themselves and one, the male, tried to show her his holographic device, the female seemed to disprove and they had argued. He had said the woman's plight had been similar to Valkyr's and it had...calmed her. They did not appear associated with the strangers that had found or threatened her certainly and his tone sounded genuine. When she'd been set back down though she could only think of just how precise the statements had been however, how great of a coincidence could her and the female's plight have been?
Anxiousness had led to fear, fear to anger and she acted, she wasn't going to be captured again, that was all that had gone through her head. And then...and then she'd exhausted herself and saw only static before blackness. Now here she was, cuffed and in a cell, a single door, a single window, the latter likely reinforced.
Taking another breath, Valkyr soothed her ailing nerves and paid a closer look at her surroundings, scanning the room and taking in every detail. The design of the room from that of the door to the four walls around her wasn't like anything she'd seen before. It was similar to Corpus, certainly, but it was not a perfect emulation, it seemed sleeker and slightly more elegant. It almost possessed a certain feel of Orokin make blended in in that regard, though it was not as fluid or organic.
There was a cot to her left and a sink and toilet to her right as well as a vent in the ceiling above her but it was too small even for her to squeeze herself through. Attempting to use a more trained eye, she couldn't find any particularly fatal flaws to use to her advantage, no loose floor panels, no large enough vent, no crack in the glass, no evident weakness in the door.
The Warframe's eyes flicked back to the door, studying it a bit closer, it was made of multiple segments, closing in its center rather than being one solid piece like what was used by the factions of Sol. A holographic display glowed a deep red, Valkyr theorizing only one of the odd arm displays could interface with it directly. That being said, it likely still had to have some circuitry somewhere either buried in the wall or flooring. If that'd even be necessary, of course, given the functional design of the door it was likely she could simply dig her hands into the door and pry it open. All she'd need from it was an inch of give and she would be as good as free.
A plan began to formulate in her mind as she remained knelt where she was. Her weapons had obviously been confiscated and though she had faith in her strength and abilities, she would need to find them if she stood a chance at truly being able to break out of wherever she was. Patience may need to be on her side as to simply jump forth recklessly could prove to be to her detriment, knowing nothing of her captors or where exactly she was being kept. It didn't please her but she needed to be in control of herself, of her emotions and her anxiety, if she wished to escape.
The first step to that would be getting the annoying bonds off her wrists. Upon being reminded of their existence again Valkyr growled and laid on her back where she looped her arms over her legs quickly and easily. A quick examination of the metallic cuffs revealed no place to insert a key and though she could see a crease that could allow them to be pried apart, she didn't succeed in being able to reach it with any of her fingers. With a grumble, she tried to rip the cuffs in two and though they creaked at the strain of her strength they still did not give.
Plan or no, it'd seem she would need to continue to gather her strength regardless. If she could not break such simple bindings then what were her chances of being able to pry open a door? All paths pointed to patience and it only took a sigh for her to finally accept this truth.
Quietly she sank back into the position she had been in when she'd awoken, though slowly drew her legs in for some modicum of comfort. There was no Lotus, no clan leader, no cephalon; no voice to guide her through her darkest hour like there always had been before. She was scared and alone and trapped in a cell. Despair creeped at the back of her mind but she did her best to block it out, to clear her conscience and ease her body. She'd have to take it one step at a time and hope for the best, whatever that ended up being.
She just hoped her fellow clan members were faring better than her, wherever they have been.
Shepard sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he sat in the driver seat of their hover taxi, taking a moment to sit back and stare off before finally closing the door and roof of the vehicle and plotting a course for the Zakera Ward.
"You alright, Commander? Know that was a lot to finally face," Jacob asked from the back seat. The newly reinstated Specter quirked a brow and glanced back before nodding.
"Yeah, guess it was too much to believe even this kind of threat would be able to escape all the political bullshit."
"We weren't lying to you, Commander," Miranda stated coldly, not even sparing him a glance. "You may not enjoy the prospect but Cerberus is your best bet against the Collectors and by proxy the Reapers themselves."
Shepard frowned but kept his tone level, "It's just a bitter pill to swallow that the Council would ignore all the facts laid out before them and not do anything."
"In a way I suppose you can't blame them," offered Jacob. "Can't imagine it's easy to fathom the idea of something that could threaten the whole galaxy on such a scale. At least Councilor Anderson has been doing what he can. He's kept the pressure on for both the Reaper threat and humanity as a whole while you've been out."
A nostalgic smirk rose on the corner of the Commander's lips. "That's Anderson for you, he was never one to let up what he believed in. Was good to talk to him again at the very least." There was a quiet pause before Shepard sighed once more, "Either way we've got a mission to complete and at least I've got my Specter status back for all the good it'll do to help us get it done."
Miranda nodded in acknowledgement beside him, her tone a touch softer than it was before, "As you say, Commander. We'll be by your side every step of the way regardless."
Shepard offered a small smile and a nod of his own. He could tell that while she had a cold exterior at times, Miranda was just a no-nonsense individual with humanity's best interests in mind. At the very least he knew that despite working for Cerberus he could trust her to mean and commit to what she said and did. The rest of the ride was spent in silence as the taxi traveled down a preprogrammed path back to Zakera Ward. The ride itself offered some nice views of the Citadel now no longer as damaged as when last he saw it so of that he wouldn't complain; all this time spent traveling would probably give enough time for several of his purchases to make their way to the Normandy as well.
Finally they landed back outside C-Sec Customs and the cab opened up to let them out, Shepard glancing back to his squadmates instinctively before checking his omni-tool for if there was anything else he might have forgotten. Everything seemed squared away in terms of items he needed to procure for the Normandy and its crew; he'd even received notifications that all of said goods had been delivered safe and sound, even the personal orders he'd made for himself. FTL could be a rather lengthy process, he figured some models would help soothe his nerves a bit during the wait between systems and the like.
With a nod to himself, he was no sooner about to close his omni-tool when it pinged a transmission from EDI that opened on its own, her synthesized voice playing for him and his team to hear. "Commander, the creature you procured seems to have awakened inside its cell. Thus far it appears to be passive but I would recommend your presence as soon as you are available."
"Copy that, EDI, we just finished what business we had. I'll be aboard shortly."
"Understood, Commander."
"Let's cross our fingers it stays that way. Hate to have a repeat incident of whatever happened on that other ship," Jacob commented gravely and Shepard nodded in turn.
"Agreed. Anyone need any personal items of interest or requests?"
"Ready when you are, Shepard," Miranda stated, backed up with a reaffirming nod from Jacob.
"Alright then, let's head back and see what sort of situation we got on our hands."
…..
It was always refreshing to step back aboard the Normandy, even despite the new coat of paint so to speak, perhaps even more so because of the fact. That being said, given the situation John could feel his trigger finger tapping on his thigh as he took the elevator down from his personal quarters. He'd changed out of his armor, hoping it would put their guest a little bit less on edge as he did truly believe what he'd argued with Jack during the mission itself, that 'she' had just been scared and confused and acted out in defense.
Truthfully he didn't know what he hoped to accomplish if he tried to talk to her. It was clear she showed a level of intelligence to think to hot wire an omni-tool chip into something she could use but a tactical and technological intelligence did not mean a sociable one. It was also clear whatever she was or whatever had been done to her made her powerful, but would he even be able to use that on his mission? Certainly if she was a powerhouse, but what if she ran on pure instinct or couldn't be persuaded to join their efforts? He didn't want to just hand her over to Cerberus nor did he just want to kill her…
All these things flew through his mind in a single elevator ride and when the doors opened it took him a moment to finally get out of his head and step out. There were a lot of factors to consider and a lot of ways this could go, but that just came with the job title eh? That's what came with being Commander Shepard these days. He chortled inwardly with a small smirk but otherwise kept up a brave face as he walked over to the holding area, spotting Grunt leaning outside the door with his arms crossed.
"'Bout time you got here."
"Grunt?" he asked, "What are you doing out here?"
The krogan snorted and pushed off the wall, "Figured given the situation I'd be the only thing able to stand between it and the rest of the ship since Jack hasn't moved from below engineering and you had the other two humans. Besides, if shit goes south I'll get front row seats of you getting thrown around."
That got a brow to quirk from Shepard, "No sense of duty to your Commander, Grunt? I'm hurt."
He shrugged, "You were able to 'help me see things your way' when you first awoke me from the tube. Curious to see how you'll talk this one down."
"Almost succeeded the first time."
"'Almost' got me a heel to the jaw."
Shepard relented with a forfeiting nod, "Well I appreciate it, I guess. I'll go talk to her. Stand by in case I need you," Grunt nodded and stepped aside as John walked past him. Stepping into the holding area, Shepard approached the large window to get a good look at their temporary resident. She was in a similar position to what the security personnel had set her down in and was almost convinced she hadn't moved at all until he noticed her hands were rested in her lap and her legs were drawn up a slight bit more.
As soon as he had that thought and was close to the glass too he watched her head suddenly perk up and look to him, a red light glowing dully towards the bottom of her helmet that was previously extinguished. He stood a bit straighter under her gaze, but it did not feel as hostile, as tense as when they were aboard the ship, instead much more...indifferent. It was likely due to her body language but her piercing stare was still unnerving in its own right.
"EDI?" he beckoned, not taking his eyes off the creature either.
"Yes, Commander?"
"Can she hear me inside the cell?"
"Not at the current moment. You can activate the speaker with the button beside the window."
"And if I'd like to enter the cell?" There was a pause.
"I would advise against such an action, Commander. This creature has shown extreme signs of hostility and strength on par with that of a krogan. If you enter the cell I would be forced to lock it behind you for the safety of the crew."
"That will just fine," he stated and walked over to the door.
"Shepard, are you sure this is wise?"
"Maybe not, but I want to give it a chance." He was pulling another 'Grunt' on her but he'd been right on his judgement the first time and he'd been right before about even more dire situations in his career before. No doubt it's what played a big part in the AI finally relenting.
"If that is what you wish, Commander. I will lock the door behind you. Please be safe."
"Thank you, EDI, I will." The holo-lock flashed green before sliding open to allow him to enter and he barely stepped in a foot before the door sealed and locked behind him. Not needing to glance back to it, Shepard stood quietly by the door all the while under the creature's ever-watchful eye. Despite it's much calmer posture, it was still somewhat intimidating to be standing in the same room as something that had enough power and killing intent to put down a whole ship's worth of Shadow Broker operatives with its bare hands.
Taking a deep breath, Shepard let his posture relax and walked away from the door, staying along the wall, he leaned back against the sill of the large window across from where she sat. The silence was long and awkward as the two watched for any changes in the other though neither gave much for the other to read. Finally, Shepard reached a hand up and rubbed at the stubble of his chin and jaw, thinking of the best way to start this. That she hadn't tore him to shreds yet was certainly something at the very least.
"I guess we should start with introductions. My name is Commander John Shepard, All-...former Alliance Fleet Military, first human Specter." No reaction aside from a slight tilt of her head though it wouldn't have been noticeable if she hadn't otherwise been as still as a statue. He cleared his throat, "Right now you're aboard the Normandy SR-2, currently listed as a Cerberus vessel but I assure you it's not by choice." Again no reaction. Well, that was telling in its own way at least.
A finger tapped on the window sill he was leaning on as he thought of what else he could say, "I was aboard the ship we found you on, not as a part of the crew mind you but we saw what you'd left behind and brought you here when you'd...fallen unconscious I suppose?" She slowly looked down to her cuffed wrists, shifting them slightly in her lap. "Sorry about the restraints but given what we'd seen what you were capable of it made the crew feel a lot safer to have some peace of mind. I'd like to help take them off but you have to give me something to work with here, I have to know that you won't be a threat to me or my crew. Can you talk?" He decided to let the silence hang in the event she could speak but it was either difficult or she was still deciding on what to say herself.
Her head shifted down a bit, as though she was in thought, her hands shifting subtly in her lap though. "Cor...pus…" a hoarse, hissed whisper flitted out from her and though he had asked her if she could speak he hadn't truthfully expected anything.
Getting over his momentary surprise, Shepard furrowed his brow, "Corpus? Are they the ones that did this to you? I haven't heard of any company or organization under that name but we can help you find them if you need."
More quiet while she shifted in place, "Human…?" that time was more clear but it was still a hushed whisper and one he almost didn't hear.
"Yes, I'm human as are most of the crew on this ship," his answer a bit slow as he was slightly confused by the question but he answered it in kind.
Before he could say more she spoke again, "Where…"
John frowned and furrowed his brow, "We're currently in FTL, headed toward the Omega Nebula. It'll take a few-"
Shepard was silenced by the creature suddenly roaring in a piercing and surprisingly human voice, "Where?!" without warning she ripped the cuffs in two, springing to her feet and crossing the room in an instant. Her hand was around his throat and lifting him almost a foot off the ground before he could hardly react, her other hand poised with deadly nails ready to strike. "Where am I?!"
Shepard tried to choke out a response when the door opened and Grunt ran in, tense and ready to tackle the creature, "Shepard!"
Quickly though he raised his hand, "Grunt, ugh, no! She's...ah, confused!"
The krogan growled but she met him with a hiss as she stared him down, "That's what you said last time Shepard and she was ready to kill us!"
"Just...agh, wait!" Grunt remained where he was but curled a lip, no less tense. "Hey!" he called out to the being holding him, patting the device bolted into her arm. Her gaze snapped to him and he called up his omni-tool. "You wanted...this, right? Let me help you."
She studied the glowing device on his arm and made a quick glance to Grunt before turning her attention back to Shepard. Finally her grip loosened and she slowly lowered him back to solid ground and released his neck but kept a hand up, sharp claws threatening a response should he try something. Grunting and taking a deep breath as he massaged his neck, he nodded and raised his arm again.
"I can't remove it for you but you're welcome to use it unless you want one of your own." Her stare was similar to the one he'd seen aboard the ship right before she activated her claws on them again, threatening, defiant, tense. It was a gaze that stared through him down to his core but he kept his posture straight and his own eyes focused. With one more glance at Grunt, she finally withdrew a step and studied the device held up between them. She reached out a hand and tapped the hardlight, head tipping a fraction of an inch before she tapped it again with another finger as though testing it.
Shepard's eyes flicked over to Grunt who continued to watch with a tense stance, though met the Commander's gaze briefly. Suddenly, the creature's hands began to fly across his omni-tool, surprising both him and the krogan. Her head made subtle jerking motions this way and that, keeping up with the screens she was calling up, shifting, and closing, reading and studying information in a fraction of the time it took for Shepard to even process what she was looking at. Minutes seemed to pass, Grunt eventually loosening up and standing straighter though still remained, no doubt as a just in case precaution.
At long last she seemed to stop, fingers curling away from the omni-tool in a way that suggested she was hesitant to continue or had stumbled upon a terrible revelation. Shepard furrowed his brow and noticed the article displayed was that of the Sol system, a history thereof at the very least. Not certain what to say or do, Shepard simply watched as the unfortunate science experiment stepped back meekly from the omni-tool before turning and walking back to where she'd be seated before. There she sat and drew her legs in, arms wrapped around them in a sudden and oddly vulnerable position.
Looking to Grunt, Shepard gestured with his head for the krogan to step out. Grunt hesitated, but after glancing back to their strange guest he simply frowned before nodding and walking back through the door as it opened up for him. Pausing in thought, Shepard closed his omni-tool and spared a look back over to where the creature sat before he walked over to the cot beside her and sat down upon it.
A silence reigned for a minute or two, the Specter at first unsure whether she would say anything first but when she didn't he finally decided to speak.
"Do you have a name?" Nothing. "Where are you from?" There was a soft creak from her suit as her fingers clenched tighter around her legs. Shepard frowned and thought of the best way to continue. It was his intention to slowly ease into what about the Sol system had triggered her or ask about who had done this to her, but he also didn't want to set her off again or give her more reason to distrust him.
Eventually a deep breath left his lips and he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, "Listen, I don't know what you've been through, I can't even imagine what it must have been like, but I need you to help me understand." Shepard kept his voice even, calm, not talking down to her nor as if she were a thing but as a person, an equal, hoping if nothing else it'd help her open up some. "You were trying to find something, correct? That's why you wanted an omni-tool. I promise I just want to help you, but you need to give me something to work with."
The seconds dragged on as still she said nothing but Shepard remained unwavering, watching her with a calm expression as he waited patiently for anything.
Finally though, she spoke, "You do not know…" it was softly spoken, nigh on a whisper and spoken toward no one. Shepard remained quiet and she turned her head ever the slightest toward him. "Tenno...do not easily...trust." She continued to speak quietly, but her voice still sounded hoarse as though it had not been used or had been lost.
That piqued some curiosity in him, "Tenno?"
Her head turned forward before she continued, "It is...what I am. You...would not know. No one does."
Shepard's hands folded together but he remained patient, "So tell me." There was a pause for several moments, the Specter watching and waiting quietly.
"It is...not so simple…"
"How do you mean?"
"It cannot be explained so easily…" she stated and her head hung ever the slightest, her posture loosening as she slumped some.
"So let's save it for another time then," Shepard offered, hesitating on putting a hand on her shoulder before deciding against it. "Tell me about you."
Another pause, "Tenno. Warframe, Valkyr...Vanguard of clan Conscious Umbra. Defender of Sol...child of the Lotus…of the Void." All he could make sense of any of that was 'defender of Sol'. That was the first time the system had been brought up, though she'd also been looking for information about it, it couldn't be a coincidence. "I...am a Tenno, Valkyr. My clan, I am the youngest, but only three of us remained. We defended the system, kept the balance between the Grineer and...the Corpus…" A near imperceptible sound filled her silence and it took a second for Shepard to realize it was a deep, growling breath coming from her that she seemed to be trying to hide, her fingers obviously clenched once more before she finally seemed to calm down.
He'd heard that from her before too: 'Corpus'. Judging from what she said it sounded like a faction she fought and from her reaction it must have been one she had a personal vendetta against. Perhaps that was a conversation for another time, right now he was already trying to process everything she was saying.
"I'll...be honest, I haven't heard of any of that before. I know of Sol, we humans call it the origin system as we came from Earth, but you seem different interpretation of it? Or perhaps it's just a matter of coincidence?"
Her head shook slowly, "No...the Void...there was an accident...Temporal dissonance…" another pause, though this one was much longer. She finally unfurled from her position, crossing her legs and resting her hands in her lap palms up though continued her silence all the while Shepard waited, trying to piece together everything she'd told him.
"Yes...I understand," she finally spoke softly, Shepard quirking a brow and returning his attention to her. He had expected her to elaborate, to perhaps offer more insight into her thoughts, but given how quiet and not the most responsive she was before, Shepard supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. As she sat in a seemingly meditative posture Shepard noticed her fingers ticking every now and again and while at first he thought it was just a bodily quirk, upon watching her more there seemed to be a certain pattern to it. Clearly she was lost in thought, though he could only imagine what about.
Suddenly she shot to her feet and paced back and forth while Shepard was left flabbergasted, unsure of what even say or do given she seemed to be reaching her own conclusions on...something. At last she stopped and looked at the floor, her posture slumping though hardly noticeably if he hadn't been studying her. "I am...lost then…"
A still quiet took over the room again with Shepard watching the figure before him while she seemed to continue to be lost in her own head. Slowly, the Commander stood and cleared his throat, her head flicking a touch in his direction.
"I can tell I'm out of my league a bit, but my offer to help still stands. I don't know what exactly you might need, but right now I can offer a place aboard my ship, my crew, and possibly some measure of purpose if you need that as well. I won't pretend to know exactly what's going on, but perhaps we can figure it out together."
Her fingers flexed gently and he could feel the single light of her helmet boring into him as if it were her eye. Hell, for all he knew it was. "I...do not know...Must find my liset, my clan...if they are here...I may...remain?"
He nodded without hesitation, "Of course. Though, I hope you'll understand if we revisit some of this down the road? I imagine it will help at least myself get a better grasp of the situation and how to assist." She nodded slowly, "Well I'm glad to hear then. What should I call you?"
"...Valkyr," she stated and flicked her gaze around the room.
Shepard nodded and offered a warm smile, "Welcome aboard then, Valkyr, if there's anything I can do for you let me know."
"My liset...my ship, where…?"
"You mean the vessel we found you aboard?"
"No...within. Captured...must speak with my Cephalon."
Shepard did his best not to get lost in the constant rain of new terminology, "We didn't know there was more aboard it. I suppose we can double back to try and find it again but it has been some time, it's unfortunately possible Shadow Broker got his hands back on it."
A pause a short pace, "Shadow Broker...noted for reference...Thank you," her voice had been getting better as they spoke, losing some of its roughness even if she still mostly spoke in whispers. When she spoke her thanks however, it was gentle, soft, far more...human than it'd been up to that point.
"Of course. If you have your own questions you're welcome to ask them too. No doubt whatever you're going through leaves a lot to take in."
Valkyr nodded before looking around the room again, posture growing meek as she rubbed the clawed fingers of one hand on the back of the other, "May I have access to another…'omni-tool'? And I...do not like this room. Is there another?"
"I'm sure that can be arranged. It might take some time to get the former for you, I don't imagine we have too many extras just laying around, but I'll be sure to get one to you soon as we're able." Shepard offered a hand forward, "Welcome aboard, Valkyr. Maybe after you've settled in a bit we can talk more."
She looked down to his hand and hesitated but still nodded and took his hand gently for him to give a shake. With a warm smile, Shepard gestured to the door and opened his omni-tool to unlock the door. He didn't say it aloud but the offer to talk more later was as much for himself as it was for her with just how much there was to really process about their new crew member. He didn't even bring up their mission or anything else really for that matter but given how much of an unknown they were dealing with it was probably better to ease into certain topics one at a time.
Valkyr walked out and paused, tipping her head in what he could only imagine was curiosity when she spotted Grunt standing outside the window, no doubt having watched the whole ordeal in case anything else happened. All he offered was a grunt and an acknowledging tip of his chin before uncrossing his arms to walk back to his own room.
She watched him go but fell in line behind Shepard as he passed her and led her to the elevator, not even pausing to take in some of the newer details of the ship she was seeing for the first time. After waiting for her to step in, Shepard pressed the hologram to head to the next floor before deciding to say a bit more.
"As I said before, you're aboard the vessel the Normandy SR-2. It's mostly a human ship but we're going to be picking up some more crew along the way for an important mission." The elevator slowed and opened with a small ding to let them out onto the crew quarters, though the Commander continued as he led her to the left. "This ship and the mission we're on are funded by an organization known as Cerberus and though personally I would prefer not to be working for them, right now they're the only ones willing to do anything about the troubles ahead of us." He stopped at the door to the observation room to make sure she was still following before opening it to allow the both of them in.
Valkyr stepped in after he had and looked around the spacious, mostly empty room, walking closer to the window of open space before nodding and turning to Shepard. He took it as his queue to finish.
"You're welcome to stay for however long you need in my book but you're not obligated to stick around for what we have planned. Some of the crew might also...not be the warmest at first but give them some time. Despite who we're working for there's a lot of great people aboard this ship, though you're welcome to go at your own pace." There was a pause from her but she gave him a meek nod and he offered a confident one of his own with a smile in turn. "I'll let you get settled in then. You might have a visitor or two here or there and we might call you up to have a chat about some things eventually but hopefully that's acceptable."
Another nod, though this time she spoke, "My weapons?"
"Ah, right. We have them in the armory with everything else, though I hope you understand us keeping them there for now at least?" There was a pause but she nodded and he thought he heard her mumble a 'thank you' before turning to sit down cross legged. Deciding it best to take his leave, Shepard did just that and walked out, releasing a deep sigh after the door had closed behind him. "Miranda is gonna have a conniption fit with this one…"
"You've got a lot of nerve showing your face around here, Coslus," the turian winced ever the slightest as the Batarian turned to him with an unconcealed sneer, Tarnil and Reyes walked in and shifted uncomfortably behind him. They hardly had time to breathe before the Captain had barked at them all to head to the Blue Suns base of Operations near the heart of Omega. It seemed they wouldn't be getting a warm welcome, at least from their operation commander.
"Tarak is going mad with paranoia after his run in with Archangel and is breathing down everyone's necks about patrols and shipments, there's talk of a plague rising up in one one of our districts, and now we finally get one chance at a big haul and you can't even bring that back. If Tarak was here I'm sure he'd shoot you his-own-damn-self so you better give me a good reason why you couldn't grab one damned shuttle or I'll do it for him."
Coslus grimaced, feeling a surge of pain in his injured hand that he was almost certain he wouldn't be able to use again without surgery. "That's why I'm here, Batlok, couldn't explain over comms without something to show with it. Having trouble believing it myself and I was there."
The Blue Suns Commander snorted and finished what he was working on on his datapad before crossing his arms, "I'd say. Your pilot contacted me, told me some 'thing' took out half the crew and was blown out the cargo bay along with the shuttle."
The turian nodded with a hardened expression before gesturing over his shoulder to Emile, who brought three of the sharpened drills forward and placed them on the table between them. "Ever seen these before?" Batlok quirked a set of brows before picking one of them up to inspect it closer but when a moment passed without answer Coslus continued. "Thought whatever it was was some sort of crazy asari justicar of some sort. Didn't speak a word, was wearing the strangest get-up I'd certainly ever seen, and used these things. Threw them with enough force to punch through armor but wasn't even touched by my shields," Coslus held up his arm to show the fresh puncture marks in his arms. His superior's expression was now much more tempered and neutral as he examined them. "Not to mention she did...something to Grathor and Turner. Melted their damn insides with some kind of corrosive. If it was some kind of biotic I'd certainly never seen or heard of it before."
"And the shuttle?" Batlok asked, his toned reserved.
"Shuttle itself was small, figured only a small team of three at most could be in there but only the one got out. Must have had someone else inside though because they hacked into our systems and deactivated our gravity before launching themselves out of the cargo bay along with everyone that was left in there. I don't know what in the Spirits that thing was but I'd never seen anything like it nor the kinds of maneuvers it pulled." Batlok was still studying the spiral drill and hadn't said another word, though eventually raised his datapad to take a scan of it. "We also have footage of whatever it was along with its escape, sent it over before we came in."
"I'll look it over…" the batarian grumbled quietly before tossing the throwing-drill back onto the table. "So what the hell do you want then? You really wanna tell the boss of some one-man killing machine took out half the crew of our best ship when he's already got Archangel and his crew causing him to look over his shoulder everywhere he goes?" Coslus averted his gaze as Batlok's own burrowed into him, "Congratulations, you've proved your point but I fail to see what we can do about this with Archangel running around as he is alongside the plague in the lower districts. We're spread thin as it is and I doubt Tarak is gonna let you or anyone else take that ship out again after this little incident if a witch hunt is what you want."
A frown crossed his features and he stood a bit straighter, knowing Batlok spoke the truth. It was then Reyes spoke up from behind him, sounding the most serious Coslus had certainly ever heard him. "Perhaps it'd be good to put the word out then. It was a single shuttle, dead in space when we found it and it's doubtful it had any kind of FTL drive on it. Low on resources, nowhere left to go, would only leave one place for it to head eventually…"
It only took a second for the frown to show on the batarian's lips, a hand rising to rub his chin as he growled to himself. "Wouldn't hurt if at least some of the crews knew what could be coming," Coslus offered before his eyes drifted to the spiral blades on the table, lingering there as his arm pulsed with pain and his finger twitched uselessly. He continued, "Alternatively...we could try to let two problems take care of themselves…"
Batlok's eyes narrowed at him before he followed the turian's eyes, "Speak up, Coslus, before I start questioning if your friend did something to your head as well as your arm."
He gestured with his chin to the weapons, "Those aren't the only ones we got ya know, we have at least a dozen of them we recovered. Heard a few civilians turned up dead the other day, had the strangest weapons lodged in their throats. They don't seem to be connected, just random murders, could have a new serial killer with a power trip on our hands. Can only imagine what would become of them if our resident vigilante got word, though, with what it did to our ship I don't know how well even he would fare against them…" Coslus' eyes flicked back to Batlok's, a silence hanging over them for several seconds.
Finally the batarian smirked and chortled, "Never thought you for a fool, Coslus, didn't realize you were the low-stooping vindictive kind though."
Standing straighter with a passive expression, Coslus stared forward with a blank expression, "Don't know what you mean, sir, just doing my duty to protect the people who pay the fees for us to do just that. Besides, be at least taking care of one of our problems, no?"
Batlok snorted but shook his head, eventually waving a dismissive hand as he raised his datapad again, "Yeah, yeah. I'll talk to Tarak about it, omit some details of course, for all our sakes. I'm sure if nothing else it'll leave him slightly less inclined to put a bullet in your head. We'll work out the 'incidents' and how to play our cards from there." Coslus nodded and turned to walk out, his two pilots sharing a concerned expression before they fell in line. "Stay close, Coslus, would hate for something to happen to you if try to take matters into your own hands before we get everything arranged."
He paused in the door, clutching his wounded arm with his free one before glancing over his shoulder with a nod. The trio walked out together and the two pilots watched their captain release a deep breath, though none said a word at first.
"Come on, let's at least get everyone looked at…" Colus' words sounded much more exhausted, though he didn't even spare a glance to his compatriots as they went. Amilus and Reyes shared a look, gesturing amongst themselves before seemingly coming to an agreement with a nod and following their Captain a moment later.
Illium.
It was a beautiful place really, showing off all the ingenuity and aesthetic flair of asari architecture and superiority. The sunrises and sunsets always brought out the best sort of vistas with all the gorgeous oranges and purples in the sky.
But man, what an absolute hellhole this place was.
That was the thought running through Sakane Janafi's head as she boarded the local transit line to head into work, the morning sun still barely peeking over the horizon. The asari pinched the bridge of her nose and rubbed at her eyes, holding in a yawn as her coworker, a turian by the name of Terius Orolias guided a way for the two of them to an open seat. He was pretty big for a turian and despite his usual reserved nature most people tended to just get out of his way because of it.
He gestured for her to take a seat first and she offered a tired smile and a nod before slipping into the seat, quick to find her place at the window. The line was just beginning to pull away from the station when Terius settled in across from her, back straight as he looked out the window himself for a brief time.
"So," he began, pausing for a moment for while she often didn't seem to mind casual conversations, she sometimes had her moods in the mornings. Still though, she turned and looked to him and waited for him to continue. "I've heard the new guidance systems have been pretty tricky to install on some of the newer models, ironic as that sounds."
Her first response was to groan loudly and slump back in her seat, a smile rising on the turian's mandibles. "You have no idea!" she bellyached, "It's so stupid too, like, they aren't really even all that different of softwares when it comes down to it really. There's something in the built in systems for the new models that conflicts with certain commands though and most of the others and I have had to work on pretty much nothing but trying to figure out all the bugs and conflicts and how to fix them so we can send a list of fixes and recommendations to the manufacturers for both companies." A frustrated sigh escaped her and she planted her chin in her palm as she went back to looking out the window.
Terius chuckled, "Certainly sounds like quite the adventure," he offered up with a lighthearted tone and smile. Sakane turned to him with a disapproving frown and flicked a small ball of biotic energy that collided with and popped on his forehead, causing him to flinched back and rub the spot with a furrowed brow. A smirk rose back up on his mandibles after a second though and he continued in that ever calm and cool tone of his, "Oh come on Sakane, you can lighten up a little bit. I know you wanna go out and explore the galaxy at large but someone's gotta do the small background work."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I wanna be debugging and reprogramming Goddess damned air taxis till I'm a matriarch. Want to do something more. Sure it's more manageable when you can actually work with your hands on the things."
Her friend simply shrugged, "Eh, it comes with its frustrations too. Mostly from the people who get inside the things than anything. You don't even want to know the sorts of things I've found gumming up the cooling or ventilation systems." Sakane's lip curled up a touch just at the thought, "Yeah, fun times that. Though, I will admit, it can have its own satisfaction and gratifications. I don't see how finally getting over a hurdle like the ones you're dealing with can't have the same sort of feeling at the end of it though."
Sakane grumbled and seemed indecisive for a moment, "I mean...it can, I guess, but it's really not the same. It's more like just getting over a particularly frustrating case of hiccups or sickness. Sure you feel better to be done with it but it doesn't really feel like you've really done anything, it's just...done."
Terius offered up an understanding shrug at least, "I suppose I can see where you're coming from at least. Still though, not sure what advice I can offer to help spice up the soul of an inner adventurer."
It was her turn to shrug and she leaned her head on the frame of the window, "I don't know, suppose just going through the same-old same-old day-to-day wishing for something to happen isn't gonna change anything but...maybe I'll know when the moment is right." Terius seemed to let her go from there, deciding not to pick a conversation back up but she was alright with that, her mind was already starting to drift to her far away fantasies of leaving this gilded muckhole for better adventures, exploring with the likes of commandos and Commander Shepard. Maybe she could join a merc band and try to make a name for herself? Nah, wasn't the first time she'd thought of it but she just couldn't bring herself to think about offing someone else...especially all in the name of, what, adventure? Felt pretty counter-productive.
Suddenly something caught her eye and she blinked, leaning in her seat a bit to get a better look, Terius noticing her change in posture and glanced out the window himself. "See something?"
Her brow furrowed and she focused on the three Eclipse gunships flying off in the distance, "Mmmh...gunships, three of them. They don't seem to be heading toward the workplace at least so we won't have to worry about getting shot up today…"
Terius seemed surprised to hear that if his flared ridge brows were any indication but he was pretty quick to recompose himself, "Wonder what would even need three gunships to deal with in the first place but I certainly don't wanna be wherever they're going."
"Tch, no doubt. Who knows, could just be some sort of patrol or practice exercise or something." She was about to leave it be when something else caught her eye as she watched them off, a shape moving across the roof of a building they were passing. Whoever or...whatever it was above the three ships by a good few stories but even as Sakane watched, the figure leapt off the building, causing her heart to drop in her chest, but even still, it landed right dead center of the back gunship and stuck there solidly despite the speed of the ships.
The asari couldn't help but blink and try to study them closer from this distance, it looked like some sort of coattail or skirt was flapping in the wind and it seemed like they had...horns? But it was too hard to tell for absolute certain and though she leaned forward in her seat, as though that would somehow help, the ships soon disappeared behind the various towering buildings around and about.
"Something the matter?"
Sakane blinked again and looked to Terius who was watching her with a rather concerned expression. She cleared her throat and shook her head, eyes flicking out the window briefly as she straightened herself in the seat. "No, sorry, I was just curious where they were headed...too hard to tell though.
His chin lifted seemingly in a gesture of understanding, "Ah, can't help but daydream, eh?"
Her lips tightened and brow furrowed and she pressed thumb and middle finger together, raising her hand and threatening to flick another mini biotic ball at the turian who swiftly covered his forehead with a hand. With a threatening point at him, they both eventually chuckled at one another's expense and she went back to looking out the window with a small smile, mind wandering off again as she wondered about that odd figure and if she'd really seen it at all…
Oberon waited patiently for the pilots of the assault craft to leave their docked vehicles before eventually hopping off to the ground below him, taking out his Attica as he began to quietly make his way through the makeshift cargo bay. It appeared that way to him, in any case, for while the area certainly had areas for ships such as the craft he'd hitched a ride upon, there certainly didn't seem to be enough room for the various crates and shipments that littered the catwalks.
Of course, one would not find him complaining for the extra cover and tightening of space for patrols to come down, but it made him wonder upon the building's original purpose and if it had simply been confiscated by this 'Eclipse' group he found himself infiltrating.
It had all been a lot for him to take in when Rubic had finally come-to, when he finally got a scan of the system, of the planet, and so forth. It seemed he was still in the Milky Way Galaxy but was located in a system far, far off of Orokin-charted territory. That had been plenty to take in on its own, let alone when he discovered pure-blooded humans still existed in these parts, that civilizations of many races and cultures coincided mostly peacefully here and in many other places.
It was as such he'd made it his goal first to obtain information, any information would be suitable so long as it would be enough for him to study and come to a clearer understanding of where he was and how he might better find his clanmates. He had been posed with either going after bigger information brokers with greater risk or more local terminals which would be safer with a lesser yield until he could get a lead on a better database or source of intel. Sure enough though, he found the perfect target.
The Eclipse. Big name mercenary band that spanned galaxy-wide and had a pretty big hold and presence on this planet, Illium he'd learned, as well. It was very likely they had pretty good information for him to use about where to find resources, ships, engines, technology, territories, and so on. The 'extranet', as it was called, was rather freely accessed and Rubic had few troubles bypassing even some of the more sealed off information upon it, but the sort of things he could pull from a mercenary database could help him with more than just general knowledge even if that was useful on its own.
Considering he learned that every single mercenary earned their colors and keep by killing someone, often an innocent...he had few regrets no matter how things turned out. Right now he just needed to focus on getting access to an important enough terminal for Rubic to hack and plant a backdoor into and he'd be in the clear. If he could do so while limiting his ability usage to avoid Void Strain while he was at it then all the better.
That fact in particular could be a tricky one to manage, but unless he got too reckless, it likely wouldn't be that much of an issue.
"Operator, I have access to blueprints for the building you are currently in," Rubic's cool tone sounded in his ear and a diagram appeared upon his HUD, a small blue circle appearing with his location upon it. "It would appear this building once belonged to a now out of business information and indentured servant contract broker. The previous CEO was assassinated at the behest of one of her employees, likely to gain control of the company for themselves but it quickly went under and was confiscated by Eclipse mercenaries 14 months ago."
Belonged to a former information broker? Well, this certainly worked out for his benefit. He studied the plans and zoomed in on certain areas that caught his eyes, looking for any listing as to what would have been major important databases. It's likely the old ones could have been scrubbed clean before the Eclipse got their hands on things, but that was still another 14 months for them to add to it themselves.
"I have done some digging into their comms, however, Operator," he piqued his attention to Rubic's display on his HUD. "It would seem the quarters to a high ranking Eclipse leader uses this area as a personal quarters," a yellow marker appeared on an area three floors above him, a penthouse suite of sorts possibly by the design, "and this area as a more public office." A second marker appeared in another area, this one only a floor above him. Both seemed connected by a specific elevator shaft, otherwise there was still stairs that could be used connecting the floors with the one between them.
Both could be valuable targets, but the question stood for which he stood to gain more from. It was possible to bug both a personal and a more frontline business terminal, though if the situation demanded it he needed to pick one to prioritize...For now he'd target the mercenary's private suite. It was likely they still received important messages directly from their superiors or sent messages to their own underlings. Of course, it was always possible the two terminals were linked in some way, but he somewhat doubted such to be the case.
In the end he may yet be able to bug both targets but one step at a time. His target chosen, Oberon minimized his map, a marker appearing on his HUD directing him to the next entryway. Of course, however, the given path was not always the most direct one and Oberon instead turned his gaze upward. There were several horizontal spanning trusses and bridges going up the next three floors and while there were a number of windows, they didn't span the length of the building either and there were a number of blind spots, small as they were.
Charting a course in his head, the Warframe crouched low and braced himself before channeling void energy into a swift burst upward as he spun in the air, defying physics and jumping once more in the air to latch onto a truss a story up. Continuing his momentum, he swung around the truss to land atop it and do another bullet jump to the ledge of the bridge which was above him. Rather than swinging himself up though, Oberon planted his other hand on the ledge and swung his feet under the bridge, using his strength to hold himself up and slightly less in view before peeking a head cautiously leaning back.
As he was, he was able to get a wide view of the bridge and thus far nothing on the other side caught his attention. Using that to his advantage, he carefully peeked over the side of the bridge, though was sure to be swift as he was well aware of his horns. Still nothing, that was to his benefit at least.
Of course, no sooner had he swung himself up to prepare to launch himself up again, when the door directly beside him opened up to reveal two Eclipse mercenaries, one with a helmet, the other without. There was but a momentary pause as the mercenaries stopped to take in what they were seeing, the one lacking a helmet, an asari by the looks of it, turning with widening eyes.
The brief second was all he needed however, his instincts kicking in and immediately drawing his nikana from its scabbard as he shot forward, disemboweling the helmeted trooper before swiftly spinning and running his blade up through the chest of the other. The asari blinked rapidly and looked down, croaking out a breath before purple blood spilled from her lips and she went limp in his arms.
Ever silently, Oberon let the body drop to the ground and sheathed his blade, contemplating his actions. They were necessary, that was out of the question, they had already seen him and they could have easily started an alarm and opened fire at him. However, even with all that said, it was the first time he'd killed something that wasn't explicitly grineer, corpus, infested, or the like. Neither were likely human but...it still left an odd feeling in his chest and his mind. He would have to meditate on the matter later.
His introspection finished, Oberon looked over the ledge briefly and did a once over the cargo area he'd just jumped up from. No one had come back out and the area was secluded enough for his purposes for the moment. Grabbing both bodies by their collars, he dragged them over to the edge of the bridge and tossed them over with a calculated amount of force so they would fall in a specific spot he'd noted behind a set of larger crates. The blood would be problematic but for now he would take what he was given; blood was that much less immediately noticeable than a body.
There was even less time to contemplate such matters though and so he was quick to once more brace his body close to the ground and take off, this time running up the space between windows till he swung himself up onto the roof, fluidly taking his Attica from his back and snapping it up to see any targets. None immediately presented themselves to him and so he carefully took a few careful steps forward, sweeping his gaze and weapon back and forth before sliding into cover behind a large ventilation duct.
He peeked out and saw three guards upon the roof, one by a door and two patrolling the perimeter. They were covering one another in a triangle of sorts, though the one by the door seemed tired and out of focus as they stretched and rolled their neck, their posture very clearly bored. The other two seemed about as enthused by their positions but still walked around their routes dutifully,
A plan formed in his head and the result would depend on several factors but he was confident in his ability to at least not set an alarm off right away. He shouldered his Attica and waited for a moment before firing two bolts at the guard at the door, both hit their neck but while the first offered a strangled sound, the second cut it off immediately and pinned them to the wall behind and making them appear to almost still be on their feet. The thudding of the guard's gun hitting the floor attracted the attention of the closest patrolling mercenary and at first they she seemed a bit confused, approaching the body and beckoning them to wake up.
The other remaining patrol glanced over but got a bolt in their neck as well, the force and sudden attack caused them to stagger back and over the ledge. The second guard seemed to notice the second strangled cry and snapped her gaze and gun over in that direction. By that point though it was already too late for her, for as she reached a finger to her helmet, the latter was already severed from her shoulders.
Oberon sheathed his blade and pulled a card from the belt of the one pinned to the wall and swiped it to the door in a single fluid motion before entering the stairs to the penthouse. His steps were quiet as he made his descent, the stairway eventually opening up, giving him a good view of the open room layout.
It was certainly lavished, with plants, decorative furnishings, art pieces of various types, and sleek styled architecture and material. It was certainly the most so of any quarters he'd seen as even though he'd allowed private quarters to his clan members, tenno were notoriously simple with their decorations and creature comforts. Even high ranking Grineer or Corpus didn't quite take their luxuries to this extent, at least none he'd come across personally. Perhaps it was simply a difference in tastes and architecture and the like, but for now he tried not to dwell on such matters.
Remaining on the highest step he could that would allow him to overlook the space, Oberon swept his gaze over the room before his eyes landed upon a desk sitting near a large window. Upon it was a datapad and a hard light holo screen/keyboard which, after checking to make certain no one was immediately present, Oberon was swift to hop off the stairs and sprint to the personal terminal.
"Terminal found," Rubic voiced in his ear, "Please establish a connection, Operator, and I will handle the rest." Already proceeding with the plan, the Warframe's fingers glided over the holographic keys, which had shifted to appear in english to him. It was a certainly an ancient language to him by all accounts but one he was at the very least familiar with. It took a few moments to adjust to the new system but it was very similar to that of the Corpus in a few key regards, if a little less advanced even. One thing was clear at least to him though, they did not have nearly the level of security necessary for him to make but child's play of getting what he wanted.
"Connection established, beginning information stream now. It would seem this terminal also has access to security footage and systems within the building; erasing all trace of you as well." Oberon nodded and was about to step back when the datapad on the desk suddenly lit up.
"Wasea! We just found Jedona's body flattened behind the building in a bloody mess and she was supposed to be guarding the roof of your penthouse! We're sending a squad up now, be careful!"
His attention snapped to the datapad as Rubic's ever calm tone chimed, "Alarms have been sounded, Operator, I advise immediate evacuation." He looked behind him at the large window before his eyes returned to the datapad…
She'd just wanted to take a bath. To bask in her jacuzzi and close her eyes for a few minutes. Was that so hard?
Apparently so because as soon as she came out of her bathroom with nothing but a towel around her waist, Wasea was almost instantly greeted with a squad of her mercs busting in her own door, doing a sweep of her penthouse. One might think she would have been more self conscious given her current predicament, but not only did she not care a single ounce, much to the contrary she was actually rather seething.
"What in the Goddess' name are you idiots doing in here?!"
"Ma-...ahem," her lieutenant reeled upon suddenly seeing her Captain's nudity, her eyes wide before she blinked and recomposed herself seeing the disapproving sneer of her superior. "Ma'am, I advised you get dressed quickly! Jedona was found on the pavement on the outside of the building. She was supposed to be guarding the roof!"
Wasea groaned loudly, resisting the urge to blast the nearest one of her subordinates out the window to join Jedona! "I can't even relax for fifteen minutes around you incompetent…" a deep growl reverberated from the asari as she tried to reign in some of her anger. "Well what are you doing? You three, go check the roof! Yulesha, guard me while I change. The rest of you, sweep this damn place up and down for anyone and anything!" With that she turned and stormed off with her Lieutenant in tow, grumbling the whole way, "Just wanted to take a bath, can't even do that around here. Nooooo…"
In all the commotion, none noticed the datapad upon the large desk flicker once or twice before returning to normal.
AN: Hello everyone, it's certainly been a while hasn't it?
The first thing I'd like to do is apologize since I really never intended on letting this sit for so long but, ya know...life got in the way of a lot of things mostly. Picking up a new job, moving, a whole host of other just...draining stuff on top of the normal depression and distractions and ho boy.
Honestly I must have reread and retyped this chapter at least three times and I'm still not sure if I'm happy with it, but at least I got a little more of a plan with what I wanna do and where I want to take this story. Every bit of support and interest for this story was more motivation for me to continue it and I can only hope that I can really commit to keeping up a relatively decent pace with all this.
Thank you all so much again for your support though, it really does mean the world and more to me and I'm glad to see so many people still enjoy it. Thank you again for giving me this chance and for reading this far and if any of you would be so kind as to leave a review or send a message or what have you, commenting on the story, asking questions, or offering ideas or criticism, well I honestly wouldn't have words to describe my gratitude but I can only hope to meet everything you have to offer in kind.
Wishing the best to all of you and may you all have wonderful days ahead of you.