Her blues eyes lazily looked at a dulling star, it's barely shining light making her sigh and check her location. The shuttle's VI pleasantly told her they had thirty-three point five minutes to go until they arrived at their desired destination. Crystal sighed, as she picked at the passenger's seat, not really wanting to sit in the pilot's as blood now floated about the front of the shuttle. Luckily, she'd managed to tie the pilot's body down so it didn't float about. Another sigh escaped her as she shuffled on the seat and sat up straighter, listening as her joints cracked and groaned in protest. The air she breathed was stale now, making her churn slightly. Her head gently lulled back, finding the head rest with ease. Captain James would likely be disappointed in her efforts already, maybe even release her. Or kill her, but she ignored that option. Commander Smith probably wants her taken out and beat to death, but so did a lot of people in the galaxy. Her eyes closed softly and her past resurfaced behind her lids and for the remainder of the trip, she reminisced.
As the shuttle's door slid open, Crystal looked out to see Commander Smith and Captain James awaiting her arrival, along with several other people she didn't recognize.
Can't wait to see how this turns out.
As her boots touch the solid metal panels of the station, Smith pointed an accusing finger in her direction. Again, his face was bright red and accusing, hurting her more than she thought.
"Miss Winter, I knew you would find some way to ruin the mission. That pilot was our damn best and-"
"And his death wasn't my fault, so go to hell Smith. I got your data if that means anything to you." She bit back, throwing the data pad in front of him. He looked as though he was about to explode in a fury of words, but James raised a hand and cut him off. It seemed the two were arguing before she returned, from the annoyed look on James' face.
"Yes, you did do what we asked, and you did it well. Though Smith recommends we throw you out the airlock, I think you're a valuable resource, and you've defiantly proven yourself." He smiled lightly, slowly walking towards the exiting door. Crystal jogged and caught up with him, leaving Smith behind in his furious state. "We talked before you arrived, in case you're wondering." He said as they slid past some busy people.
"I noticed." Crystal replied curtly, her gaze looking around, hoping to remember this route if she got lost.
"You have to understand that Smith's just doing his job. It hard living in the galaxy these days, and criminals like you make it harder." She glared at the back of his head, but he took no heed to it. "He just watching his ass, and his possessions."
"Yeah, I get it, I understand. I don't like him, but I understand." She replied. He again turned down another corridor, making her utterly forget everything she hoped to remember. "Where are we going?"
"I had some crew clean out an old lab in which we don't use. I think it'll be a perfect set-up."
"Can I ask why you don't use it?"
"There was an accident a few years back, experiment gone bad. Whole science team was infected with an air borne virus, and it killed them within days." Her jaw dropped at this, but he continued talking before she could. "No one went down there for a while, and eventually, we forgot about it completely. It only just crossed my mind some days ago."
"Well, is the virus gone?" She asked, her voice strained slightly.
"Of course, of course. Just, don't open any containers." He turned his head slightly, and chuckled at the sight of her face. "I kid, I kid, the whole place has been decontaminated several times, and we've checked every nook and cranny. It's safe." A huff of relief left her throat, and after some minutes of silence, they entered an old looking elevated. The buttons looked ancient, like those from the old Earth movies. He pressed one of the many, and it groaned as it started to slowly descend. After a few seconds, the doors opened again to reveal a large empty space, with literally nothing but metal walls. She was stunned at the space, but even more surprised that they hadn't used it for so long.
"I thought it would at least have some couches?" Her hands rubbed her temple as she examined the place more thoroughly. The room was dark, silent and looked dusty, with a metal floor, roof and walls. It wasn't the most homely looking place, and a cell looked like a luxury hotel compared to it.
"I'm sorry, but all the old furniture and equipment had to be spaced, it was too dangerous to try and reuse. If you're really desperate for something, maybe the hanger has some spare lounges, but other than that, there's your cot." She nodded, though not to happy with the reply she received. "This isn't some luxury cruiser; every credit is spent on better weapons and equipment... Get some rest, tomorrow we'll talk about building your team." And with that, James walked into the elevator again, and left. It was quiet in the large room, and her steps echoed through the floor. The place was too quiet, too empty for her liking. The dust made her eyes water, the dirt sunk into her pores and the atmosphere made her edgy. The whole place was huge, and half of it she couldn't see from the dark. Her Omni-tool flicked to life, and she tapped into the lighting system, hoping to turn them on. Thankfully, they did, though some flickered out and died, and the rest were very dim. Now, she could see the particles floating through the air, and suddenly, a sneeze pushed out her lungs. A few key types and she started a scan, checking the room for any hidden surprises. Besides the emergency stair well hidden in the corner, nothing else was there. After some moments of staring into space, she turned back to the elevator and made her way up. It creaked and groaned, but pulled her to her destination. She stumbled out and backtracked as far as possible, before she found the room that contained her case. With her gun strapped to her back the whole time, she forgot its weight somehow and forgot to put it away. With a sigh, she walked into the empty room and carefully pulled the sniper off her back. She rubbed any spots off while she walked to the familiar case, and softly placed the weapon inside, along with her visor. A clean outfit sat in her case, so she grabbed it and walked to the showers, somewhat glad that no one was there. Her suit was difficult to take off, but after years of practice, it was a lot easier and faster. She released her hair from its complicated bun, and quickly slipped into a shower stall. The hot water drilled into her skin, making her recoil from the heat for a second. Its temperature quickly changed to what she desired, and so now she stood. She was starting to slowly hate the place. Every time she closed her eyes, their soulless faces appeared, and the others and that damn pilots. Pretending like she didn't care was something she was good at, that way, her enemies didn't know what to and not to kill. But when she's alone, with only her thoughts filling her head, it sent her mad. With grief, anger, hatred, betrayal, sadness, any emotion that would slowly gnaw at you until you finally lost it and murder several people. But sometimes the faces were smiling, though not often, and when they did, she'd grin like a little girl with a crush. Her lids stayed heavy as she scrubbed the dirt and blood off her skin and out of her hair. After sometime, she changed and made her way to the hanger, hoping to find something usable. Everyone was either gone or making their way to some place, she heard some talk about a mess hall somewhere. Her brain thought she should look for some objects to use, but her stomach disagreed. It growled louder and louder as she walked closer to the hanger, so instead, she turned and looked for a hot meal. After some searching, she thankfully bumped into a familiar face.
"Hey Shalnq." She said, making him turn slightly, probably accepting her presence.
"Hello Miss Winters." He replied, nodding his head, but turning back to what he was doing. It looked like he was doing some intense typing, so she took a step back.
"Sorry, didn't realize you were busy. I'll leave you be."
"Wait, I'll just be a minute." She smiled as she returned to where she stood.
"What are you doing?"
"Finalising this report, I'm almost finished."
"Take your time." He nodded, and then returned his attention to the screen in front of him. His fingers worked almost as quickly as hers, and she started to get dizzy just by watching them. "Can I ask about this report?" He didn't respond, and instead continued to type for some seconds before he turned with a blank expression.
"You can ask, but I cannot answer." It seemed he was finished, as the screen disappeared and he waved for her to follow him.
"Right, top secret and all that jazz." He turned slightly and regarded her with a raise brow. "Human expression, but where are we going?"
"I'm taking you to the mess hall. I could hear your stomach once you entered the room." She smiled a Cheshire cat grin, and continued to follow. The further they went, the more people they seemed to encounter and the nosier the place sounded. Finally, they entered the room with the most commotion. The hall was huge, obviously designed to house many aliens and humans alike. Several Turians sat together with their dextro-amino partners, the Quarian, or with Asari and Salarians. She spotted some Krogan at a table by themselves, obviously preceding solitude. But the place was manly filled with humans, male or female, tall or short, white or black, they were there. Her eyes widened slightly as she turned to her Drell companion. He smiled at her wide eyed look, and continued walking. A lot of people turned to look at her, and she tried to watch them all in return.
"I'm guessing news spreads quickly here?" She whispered as she caught up with Shalnq. He nodded as he sat down at a plain metal table, gesturing for her to sit next to him. She did, and watched as he replied.
"This people are well disciplined and have hardly turned to law breaking. They seem uneasy in the presence of a criminal." He said, as he folded his hands together and straightened his posture.
"It's not like I'm a murderer, I didn't break that many laws... I think." She replied, crossing her legs and arms in an angry way.
"You cannot blame them for their ill trust. We fight to bring people like you down every day."
"About that." She said, her eyes turning cold as she looked at him. "What the hell is this place? Where am I? It's like I'm playing twenty questions, except I don't get to ask." He looked down at his folded hands, moving them ever so slight, perhaps a nervous twitch of some sort?
"I apologise, but if Captain James has no told you, then I don't believe I can. Forgive me." She sighed, very dramatically, before she stood.
"Don't worry about it; I'm just going to get something to eat." He nodded his acknowledgment, so she made her way to one of the food counters. Many humans were lined up for their meal, with some talking while they slowly shuffled along. She was tempted to persuade someone to let her cut, but she really couldn't be bothered dealing with their stares and curious looks. It was almost comical, with the meter wide barrier they had created around here. Suddenly, she was knocked to the side slightly by a small figure that seemed to be in quiet the rush.
"Eh, I'm sorry!" They replied, or she did, as her voice was a clear indicator of her gender. And when Crystal regained her balance, she also noticed a visor and skin tight suit. Quarian.
"It's alright, just be careful next time." She had to admit, the Quarian was cute, and with the way she ringed her fingers and shuffled on her feet.
"Yes, of course! Sorry..." She replied, before turning around and looking. "I, uh, got to go. Goodbye!" And with that, she quickly rushed away again, leaving a path of where she ploughed her way through the crowd. Crystal raised a brow as she moved back into the line, rubbing her bare arm.
That was... Weird.
After a minute or two of waiting, she finally received her meal of what looked to be soggy cardboard and artificial vegetables. With a disappointed frown, she made her way back to the table where Shalnq sat and noticed he too seemed to have a meal. Though, his looked a lot more edible.
"If I knew months back that I would have to be eating mud and moss, I would've hidden myself better." She grumbled as she sat back down. Shalnq looked almost satisfied that she had to eat crap. Almost.
"Perhaps this road will show you how much you had before you lost it." She froze, and slowly slid her gaze towards him. He didn't seem to hold any hidden knowledge in his dark eyes, so she assumed it was just his choice of words that made her rigid.
"Maybe." She grumbled, and slowly took a tiny bite of the soggy cardboard. It tasted like... Nothing. She chewed, not at all enthusiastically, but she ate the meal. They sat in silence as they ate, only the sounds of others conversations could be heard. Most related to the deranged criminal aboard the station, in which she ignored, and some where about the new apparent team that was being built. She smiled smugly.
Oh the irony.
With her final bite, she dropped the fork loudly into the bowl, and stretched. Her joints all popped and grounded, and a yawn escaped from her mouth as she relaxed. The food might've been tasteless, but her stomach was full nonetheless. She could feel Shalnq watching her from the movement she made, but she didn't bother to look back, instead really drink in the sights. A lot of people had left, mostly the humans, probably because of the rest they needed. With more humans disappearing, she was able to see some Batarians at the back of the hall. They all looked quiet shady, but she probably did too. The metal walls were similar to those of her new headquarters, dull and holding no real character. The floor was the same, as was the ceiling, though that had some ventilation that looked almost passable. Some people still whispered and pointed in her direction, but she instead turned and tried to converse with her Drell guide.
"Random question," she started, waiting for his attention to fall on her. Half of it already was, so he wasn't surprised when she opened her mouth. "Why are you helping me? Don't you have a reputation to uphold or something?" He seemed thoughtful for a minute, his scale's blue hue seemingly more vibrant in the bright light.
"Perhaps, but if one was to simply question me for who I spoke with, instead of who I was, shouldn't they be the one in question?" She raised both brows at him in question. "I do not intent to insult, but humans are... Strange to say the least."
"You can say that again." She chuckled.
"Straying away from the topic for a moment, your kind is unpredictable."
"How so?" He paused for some time, before replying in his vibrant voice.
"Take you, for example. A human renowned for her crimes as a thief. Though when I first saw you, I thought differently. You were kind, though a bit forward, and when you left, none of my valuables where gone." She laughed silently, turning her gaze towards some other part of the room. "I in fact didn't think the reports were true until I talked with Commander Smith. He did not seem... Pleased with your presence." Her smile faded slowly. "I do not know why you are here, but I trust Captain James' judgement. And I trust that you are here for a reason, not just to cause a 'ruckus'." She nodded, returning her pale blue gaze to him.
"Thanks, for giving me a chance." She said, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. Shalnq smiled softly, before he stood.
"I apologise, but I am required early tomorrow. Perhaps I'll speak with you later." She nodded, and also stood, tucking her solid chair back into its place.
"Yeah, perhaps. Goodnight Shalnq." They shook hands, before he left in the direction they entered. Crystal simply stood for some time, thinking of what to do next. Another yawn escaped her mouth as she also walked towards the exit. Everyone else seemed too engaged in their conversations to notice her, which she was grateful for. The past couple days had been horrible, leaving her moody and depressed, but she tried to keep a happy persona. Some sick and evil part of was looking forward to a team again, a fresh start and the opportunity to make new friends, comrades. With one final look around the place, she exited the way she entered, and walked back towards her cell. She wasn't going to be sleeping down in 'her' headquarters just yet, and the quiet would most likely keep her up. She bumped into some people on her way back, and they either ignored her or apologised, but kept moving. She felt invisible now, lonely and unseen, like a shadow. She smiled at the familiarity.