Jack, Purgatory Prison Ship
"Jack, Jack, Jack," Warden Kuril sighed as he placed, his hands clasped behind his back. "What did I tell you, hmmm?"
"That you like it in the ass, you turian piece of shit" Jack spat before one of the guards that held her down, on her knees, hit her in the back of the head, nearly knocking her onto her face. "Another mark for you, Bastin."
"Yeah, what are you going to-" the human guard cut off as Warden Kuril hald up a hand. "Sorry, sir."
"No, it's fine Bastin," Kuril's, mandibles flexed in annoyance. "Just don't damage her too much, please. She is still worth quite a bit to us."
Spitting out blood, Jack sat back up on her heels as she glared at Kuril. "I ain't property you shit," Jack snarled. "Nobody owns me anymore!"
"Shit," Kuril cursed as he saw a blue shimmer roll over Jack's body. "Hit her with another dose! She's powered up!"
But it was too late for Bastin and the salarian guard Malla. Jack's power flooded the room, smashing both guards into the walls as Jack used her power to pull herself to her feet. Then she ground the bodies to paste, for the satisfaction. Bastin had enjoyed...too much.
Kuril dove back, narrowly avoiding a twisting packet of warp energy, and hitting the console, dropping the heavy blast door.
"No!" Jack yelled as she smashed her power into the massive door, again and again. But the effects of that damned drugs hadn't worn off fully, she couldn't bring all of her power to bare.
It had been a gamble. The guards had been dosing her regularly with whatever fucking drug they had that shut down her power, but they didn't know what Cerberus had done. A little drug like that was nothing for her. Her body adapted to it quickly, building up a resistance. Jack's plan had been to wait for her chance, capture Kuril, force him to let her go. But now she blew her chance.
"You fuckers!" Jack screamed. "Come on! I'll fucking kill you all!"
"Jack, my dear," Warden Kuril's voice came over a speaker. "I'm afraid it looks like we will have to take...special care of you."
"You fuckers! I'll rip your head off and shove it up your…" Jack started to yell before a gas began pumping into the room. "Your..*keh* *keh*...you…" Then she collapsed as her cell went dark.
Warlord Okeer, Korlus
"Give me the chest plate," Okeer demanded harshly as he held out an impatient hand.
"Yes...sir…." the useless asari assistant grunted under the weight of the piece of armor she carried.
"Useless," Okeer snarled, snatching the heavy chest plate from Rana Thanoptis. "Go get me the readings on the other tanks."
"Yes, sir," Rana said as she quickly left the room, muttering curses under her breath.
"Useless," Okeer said to himself as he lowered the chestplate onto his greatest creation. His perfect grunt.
Okeer had paid for the technology he needed to complete his masterpiece. The lives of one krogan clan was a pittance to pay for the future glory of his people.
It hadn't been his original choice, but the nearsighted fools in the Andromeda Initiative withdrew his funding when they learned of the casualty rate of his experiments. As if clan Nakmor was was important. They had a mutation that would lead to overcoming the Genophage. He just needed to find it, condense it...not draw it out of centuries, as they fools planned.
So...the Collectors came with their offer. Just one small krogan clan. Down to the younglings….
With a shake of his great head, Okeer adjusted the chest plate, locking it onto the rest of the armor. What was done, was done. There was no point in sentimentality.
And this armor….this armor was perfect, just as his creation. And it had only cost a few dozen humans. Easily worth the price.
"You will raise us to where we should be," Okeer spoke quietly as he resealed the gestation tube, and began the process of filling it with the nutrient gel. "You will be my knife into the heart of those that scorned us!"
Thane Krios, Independent City, Cardesh, Terminus
"Mr. Juarez," Thane spoke the name softly, as he stood next to the man's bed.
Victor Juarez's eyes snapped open as he opened his mouth to yell out. But a green, lightly scaled hand clamped down, covering his mouth.
"Mr. Juarez, you have hurt a great many people with your actions," Thane said, as he kneeled, bringing himself to eye level. "I'm afraid I must end your efforts now."
Removing his hand, Thane stood and lightly pressed the point of a knife on the human's chest, over his heart.
"You'll not get away with this, lizard!" Juarez snarled. "It won't change anything! I have partners! "They will hunt you down! And everybody you love!"
"I'm afraid not," Thane told the man, his rough voice turning dark. "I have already visited your...friends. You are the final target. You will not be selling anymore children to Collectors."
With that, Thane knife stabbed down, splitting the man's heart.
Justicar Samara, Port Jovial, Klosial, Hannar Controlled World
"Surrender, I will not tell you again," Samara walked steadily forward as rounds bounced off of her biotic shield.
"You go fuck yourself!" the turian yelled as her submachine gun's heatsink popped. Still the woman held down the trigger as she drug herself away from the red armored asari.
"Tell me where she went," Samara spoke quietly, as she kicked the gun from the turian's grip and placing one of her booted heels against the woman's shattered leg.
"I...I ain't…" the turian whimpered as Samara's foot slowly pressed down. "No! Please! I'll tell you! Please!"
Nodding, Samara stepped back, looking down at the woman with, almost, pity. "Speak."
"She...she's gone...off planet," the turian woman groaned, grasping her legs. "The Kolanta. It's headed to…."
Then the turian head exploded, splattering her brain matter upon the sidewalk.
Samara growled as she spun, her eyes sliding over the nearby rooftops until she the figure running quickly from one rooftop to another, it's form blurred by a body cloaking field. A poor one.
With more anger than she should have exposed, Samara ran forward toward the base of the building and lept, her biotic field pulling her up before slamming her back down in front of the fleeing target. The entire building shook from the impact.
"Now. Surrender. I will not tell you again.
Kasumi Goto, Lower Wards, Citadel
Sitting in the back corner of The Seedy Tavern, Kasumi drummed her fingers on the small sake bottle in front of her.
She didn't particularly enjoy being in the open like this. If you could call the corner seat, in the back of a poorly lit bar that was in the part of the Citadel that one probably shouldn't walk through alone.
Kasumi smiled, however, when the thin asari waitress brought her a small dish of the, rather excellent, really, nuts. Sweet, spicy, went perfect with a nice drink.
As she ate a few of the nuts, Kasumi watched the waitress as she moved to other tables. Idly, she wondered about the scar that traced the poor woman's neck.
Then, with a sigh, Kasumi picked up the datapad again, looking it over.
The words hadn't changed. Cerberus knew where to find Keji's greybox. And to get it, she just had to pledge herself to assist a human terrorist organization with some mission that was probably going to get her killed.
And, like a moron, she was going to do it. She had to. The greybox was all she would have of Keji. And she needed it. She needed to be with Keji, if only his memories….
Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash, snapping her head up.
In the middle of the bar, as armored, scarred asari was grabbing the waitress by her wrist and seemingly trying to drag the poor woman onto her lap.
Scowling, Kasumi shook her head slightly. Sometimes the universe gives you just what you need to distract yourself when you get too lost in your head.
Standing, Kasumi activated her cloaking field, disappearing even as she stepped forward, the empty sake bottle spinning end over end at the scarred asari's head.
Operations Chief Ashley Williams, Alliance Command, Vancouver, Earth
"Officer Cadet, Kelly Shepard, reporting in, ma'am," the dark blue asari girl saluted, grinning. The blood red markings along the top of her...scalp...thingy….gave her face a nice symmetry.
"You have got to be kidding me," Ashley groaned as her hand covered her eyes. Maybe, if she waited a moment, then took her hand away, the girl would be gone. Like a very sick illusion.
Looking up, Ashley sighed. It didn't work. The Alliance's first, and only, asari still stood at attention. "Yes, yes, wonderful," Ashley saluted, allowing the girl to drop to parade rest. "Why the hell did they send you to me?"
Kelly's smile faded as she looked uncomfortable for a moment. "Well, ma'am, it's mostly because you spent so much time working alongside an asari in so many combat engagements," Kelly explained. "Also...because you worked with my brother, so Councilor Anderson thought you would be able to show me field duty properly."
"Did he now?" Ashley scowled. "I think it's more because I am going to be doing a tour helping colonies in the Terminus. So the odds of us getting into a real engagement are pretty low."
"I...see," Kelly frowned slightly. "Regardless, ma'am, I have been assigned to you for the next six months of field duty before I receive a full commision. I look forward from serving with you."
"Right….I'm sure you are."
Geth Platform 178946739001.6730198 Ver. 1694, Rannoch Orbit
As chromium steel rolled out, hydraulic arms swung down, bringing plasma cutters down into place. Precision micro arms pulled the sheets through the cutters, shaving sections off the main sheet as electronic eyes scanned the surface at a microscopic level, searching for flaws.
Anytime flaws were detected, the offending metal parts were pulled from the creation line and taken by small platforms to be recycled.
The chromium parts slid into a roller unit that pressed down, shaping the metal into its proper form.
Reaching the end of the line, more platforms shifted the parts and welded the parts into tubular sections, while other extruder arms slid wiring and micro hydraulic units into place, and securing them.
More completed section clicked into place forming joints, before connecting to more, three sections clicked together to form a hand. Then more to the forearm, then into a full arm.
Bringing the arm down a platform stepped forward, allowing the newly formed arm to be connected to the torso. Then cables connected to various sections of the platform, charging the internal batteries and downloading the necessary programs then fell away as the light in the center of its head came on.
"Platform online," the geth platform spoke. "Search and reconnaissance systems online. Commencing mission: Location and contact with Shepard, Commander, Alliance, Spectre, Council."
Liara, Ilium
"Nyxeris, get me the file on Ton Lorka, if you would," Liara said, absently, as she skimmed a datapad.
"Certainly, ma'am," Nyxeris acknowledged as she began to gather the requested information. "Would you like me to order your usual lunch?"
"Yes…" Liara said, frowning at the datapad. Then, with a shake of her head, Liara sighed and dropped the datapad to her table. "Actually, wait a moment."
Turning, Nyxeris tilted her head slightly. "Ma'am?"
With a small laugh, Liara looked at her assistant with a smile. "Really Nyxeris, I can eat at other places."
Smiling back, Nyxeris shook her own head. "That might be true, but I believe that if you change your meal venue, the planet may just spin off it's axis and fly off into the sun."
"Ha!" Liara chuckled. "Alright, alright." Liara held up a hand in surrender. "Bring me the menu from Matriarch Aethyta's place...what was it.."
Nyxeris nodded with a small smile. "That is the Eternity Lounge, ma'am."
Smiling brightly, Liara nodded. "Yes, that would be the place. I had a quick meal there the other night when meeting with the turian Spectre, Dolghast. I found it quite good."
"Very well, ma'am."