Tyranniac| Upon waking up, the group would find themselves in what appears to be a hollowed out cave. A row of metal bars run along the center of the room, separating them from the opening at the other end of the room. It is a primitive containment system, the kind seen in centuries past on Earth. A plastic chair sits in the other end of the room. It is empty at the moment. Everyone in the group has been stripped of all weapons, equipment, biotic amps, armor and clothing. The are all wearing very simple plastic tunics. The asari have metal collars around their necks. The krogan is chained to the rock wall, hands behind his back, with thick metal chains. Everyone has their arms tied up behind the back with plastic restraints. Only the krogan is attached to the wall with chains.
#HuntingTime – August 28, 2013
Steve lifts his head up and blinks a few times in an attempt at clearing away the cobwebs in his head. Panic begins to set in when he realizes his hands are restrained. "Wha-... What happened?"
Renala wakes up groggily, rolling to the back only to feel her arms below her, unable to be moved. "What the-...," she mutters groggily. She sits up. "I'm not sure, I think we were attacked," she answers. "I remember trying to run, but nothing after that."
Iressa groans quietly, eyes fluttering open to spy the unfortunate situation. She attempts to sit up but her actions are hindered by the restrains holding her arms in place. A cold and heavy feeling is settling on her neck, and she sits in silence to collect her thoughts.
Steve rolls onto his side and scans around the room. "Does anyone remember anything? How we got here? Who did this?"
Renala looks at Iressa. "What do you think?" she says, frowning. "Hate to say it, but I wager he'll try to sell us off to slavers."
Darsk considers. "We don't have a lot of money, so this would be a pretty lousy robbery. Slavery seems most likely, but it's an oddly expensive and time consuming way to capture someone."
Tyranniac| Maria wakes up with a groan, eventually sitting up after some struggling. "W-... what the fuck...?"
Steve eventually manages to shift onto his knees, allowing him to stand up. He moves over to the bars and looks out towards the other side of the room.
Iressa nods solmenly, "Sounds about right." Finding her balance, she further examines the room and her fellow captives. Her gaze settles on Renala and she furrows her brow. "What... what is around your neck?"
Tyranniac| There isn't much to be seen in the room. A crate seems to act as a table, standing next to the chair. A plastic cup rests on it along with a small portable video screen. The room's exit seems to lead upwards, so there is not much to be seen from there.
Steve sighs and turns back, his eyes resting on Maria. "Your guess is as good as the rest of ours..."
Renala | "If you're speaking about a metal collar, you've got one too," Renala says. Only seeing it on the other asari, apart from herself, she makes a guess. "Let me check something..." she says before a weak biotic shimmer forms around her.
Renala winces at the shock. "Fuck," she says as the biotic shimmer immediately dissipates. "Well, there goes my only idea about how we could get out of here..."
Steve continues to glance around the cave as he walks along the cave wall, searching for any jagged edges or sharp outcroppings.
Iressa tries her best to inch over to the Krogan restrained on the wall, awkwardly pushing her legs against the ground. Surveying the chains, she frowns. "They seemed to know what they were doing when they restrained you. Do you feel any way out of it?"
Tyranniac| The cave does have some sharper areas due to its clearly artifical nature, but not significantly so. They might be good enough for cutting if one has enough time.
Darsk pushes against the chains on his right with as much pressure as he can get out of his shoulder
Steve puts his back to one of the jagged bits of rock and presses his restraints against it. He applies as much pressure as he can, rubbing the plastic back and forth against the rock.
Steve lifts his head and bites down on his lower lip as he concentrates on sawing through the restraints. "Working on it."
Renala remains sitting, looking around the group. The sound of the voices making her worry a lot more about the situation.
Tyranniac| Someone can be heard walking down the rock stairs to the cell. "...the krogan though. Might have to kill him." A human enters into the room. He has a stun baton and a Predator attached to his belt and is wearing a pair of sturdy pants and a white tanktop. He has shoulder-long brown hair and bright yellow eyes.
Steve remains pressed against the cave wall. He lessens his movements to try and conceal his actions, but continues to saw back and forth in short strokes. His eyes stay glued on the man entering the room.
Renala sits still and keeps quiet, but catches herself glaring at the human entering for a moment before her expression softens.
Guard: Looks like everyone's awake. How are we today? The man stops about a meter from the bars, a grin on his face.
Tyranniac| The guard takes a seat in the plastic chair and looks over the group again with only passing interest. He sips the cup standing on the nearby crate and leans back.
Steve continues sawing his restraints against the jagged rock with short movements. "Why are we here?" he demands, attempting to keep the man talking.
Tyranniac| A second human comes down the stairs - he has a very muscular build and a slightly odd body shape. His skin is olive but a bit greener than you'd normally see. His hair is tied back in a ponytail. He brandishes a stun baton as he heads up to the cell door. The guard tosses him the keys - physical keys, for the old-fashioned lock.
Steve looks past the second man, continuing to stare at the first. "Sure it's a good idea to send your girlfriend in here?" he says. He begins chuckling loudly, using the cover to try and apply more pressure against his restraints without being noticed.
Renala stares at the second human appraoching the cell, her expression conveiyng quite a bit of worry. She shifts slowly towards the cave's wall, further away from the cell door.
Tyranniac| The guard pulls his pistol and gestures with it at Steve. "I can end you whenever I want, asshole!" The larger man waves a hand dismissively at the guard as he unlocks the door, stepping inside and prodding Steve with the baton to get him off the wall.
Steve groans and struggles back to his knees. He stares up at the mean, breathing deeply as he struggles against his restraints, attempting to pull his hands apart.
Tyranniac| The man ignores Darsk, instead looking at Maria. He grabs her arm and pulls her up. "Boss prefers humans." She grunts and tries to heabutt him, only resulting in her getting electrocuted before being pulled out of the cell. "Get your hands of me, you fucker!" He drags her out of the room and up the stairs.
Renala can't do much more than watch as Maria is dragged out of the room. "Goddess," she mutters to herself as she sits against the wall, her hands completely still.
Steve stands back up and reclaims his position against the wall, going right back to sawing away feverishly at his restraints as he watches the man take Maria away.
Steve remains against the wall for a moment longer, for no other reason than to further display his defiance for the guard, but quickly complies, taking a seat beside Renala.
Renala looks at the floor, frowning. "No, I'm not okay," she says, her voice lowered. "I know I haven't been big on optimism lately, but this situation is... hopeless."
Tyranniac| The guard turns on the video display on the crate, starting to idly watch whatever it is showing. The audio quality is too bad to make out what it is at the distance the prisoners are at.
Iressa lets out a quiet sigh at Renala's last sentiment, keeping her gaze low as she surveys the disheartened group. After a few moments, however, she rolls onto her knees, carefully and smoothly ascending to her feet.
Renala | "True," she says. "I just can't help but think of someone back home who might never find out what happened... if worse come to worst." There's a bit of sadness in her tone at the end of it .
Darsk speaks as quietely as a krogan can. "Stop whining and figure out how to get us out of here! And Ress...what are you doing?"
Iressa seemingly wanders across their holding area, coming to rest as far as she can from the other captives. She clears her throat with emphasis, peering through the bars with an undiscernible expression.
Tyranniac| The guard looks away from the screen until he notices Iressa, looking at her with a questioning expression.
Iressa adopts a sickeningly sweet expression, swaying back and forth on the balls of her feet as she eyes the guard something fierce. "What's your name?" Her voice comes out much sweeter than anyone can remember, and her smile doesn't waver.
Iressa is unperturbed, and continues in her newly acquired tone, ignoring the Krogan's confusion. "I bet someone in your line of work gets awful lonely." She says with a pretty convincing giggle, "What do you say we ditch these losers for a while, huh?" With a grin, she play-struggles at her restraints. "Let me loose, and I promise I'll make it worth your while. How 'bout it?"
Tyranniac| The guard gains a highly malevolent grin, standing up and heading towards the bars. In a sudden move he grabs a hold of Iressa, spinning her around and slipping an arm around her throat, pressing her against the bars while pushing the activated stun baton against her back for quite a while.
Tyranniac| The guard lets go of Iressa and takes a step back while pulling his gun at Steve. "Uh-uh-uh. Stay back."
Steve crashes into the bars and smirks at the man, giving a satisfied nod. "Yeah..." he says, backing away from the bars, "Real tough guy from out there, aren't ya? How about you come in here?"
Steve stares the guard down until he's back in his seat. Looking down at Iressa, he shakes his head. "What were you thinking?" he chides, "All you've done is made yourself an even bigger target."
Renala is still sitting with her back against the walll. She's been quiet for most of the time, seeming worried about the situation.
Iressa hasn't moved much during the hours, laying just about where she fell. Her expression reveals nothing as to what she's thinking.
Tyranniac| The guard's omni-tool beeps. He brings up the interface and listens to the call. "Uh-huh... okay, yeah... I'll check. Yes boss."
Steve stops pacing once he hears the omni-tool and leans his head against the bars, curiously studying the guard. He closes his eyes for a moment as a wave of pain shoots through his head.
Tyranniac| The human stands up and looks over the group before landing his gaze on Iressa. "You're a biologist, that right?"
Iressa seems to ponder this for a moment before sitting up. "I can." She responds, able to hide her resentment to some extent.
Darsk continues to shout out that guard, despite being ignored. "Or what? You'll stun him from the outside of his cage?"
Steve looks to Iressa in a state of bewilderment. He complies with the guards orders, but just barely, only taking a step or two away from the door. "Why the fuck would you want to help them!? Let the fucking thing die."
Tyranniac| The guard starts to unlock the door. After it is opened he steps back and raises his gun. He gestures at Iressa. "Come out."
Iressa only glances at Darsk and Steve for only a moment, her expression still unrevealing. With slight hesitation, she steps outside the confinement.
Tyranniac| The guard ignores Darsk, shoving Iressa aside as soon as she's out and then locking the door. He then grabs the asari and pushes her ahead of him, gun still raised. "Go on."
Tyranniac| The guard leads Iressa up the stairs, which lead into a long, round tunnel going off to both sides. The asari is lead to the left, still being shoved ahead of the guard.
Steve quickly returns to his previous plan: sawing his restraints against a sharp rock. He keeps an eye on the stairs as he does so.
Renala looks at the cell door once the guard's out of view. "I could try warping the lock," she says, lowering her voice quite a bit. "Worst case, it'll be jammed and they have to break it to get in." She pauses. "Would be a lot of pain with the fucking collar though."
Steve keeps his focus on the stairs as he responds. "Do you think it'll work?" he asks. "Slowly." he says bluntly, shooting the krogan a quick look.
Renala | "Guess we'll find out," she says as she slowly gets to her feet and approaches the door. She looks over the locky, studying it to see if she can get the general gist of how it is. She glances at the krogan. "Would you really trust me to make precise warp fields with the collar?"
Tyranniac| The guard laughs to himself. Once they reach the end of the tunnel - A large metal door, he stops and punches a few keys on the interface to unlock it.
Tyranniac| The door slides open with a heavy metal groan, revealing a larger room, with a metal ceiling - all the walls, and the floor are rock however. There is a large hatch in the ceiling, but it is closed. Some crates and equipment stands here and there in the room. The guard moves Iressa over to a ladder leading up to an opening in the ceiling. "Get up."
Iressa looks up the ladder with confusion, wondering just where she's going. "I'd just love to, however..." She pulls a bit at her restraints, grinning a little.
Tyranniac| The guard grabs a small knife from his boot and cuts Iressa's restraints. "You try to run, and you'll regret it. Now go."
Iressa rubs her wrists, thankful to be rid of the restraints. She hesitates for only a moment, looking past the guard at the opening they came through before glancing back at the weapons he's carrying. With a quiet sigh, she turns to ascend the ladder with no real urgency.
Steve brings his hands around in front of his face and rubs at the indentations left on his wrists. "Got it!" he exclaims as he picks up the broken restraint.
Renala nods and begins building up energy, only to be stopped by an intense shocking pain shooting through her as the energy built up gets stronger, making her unable to actually use it. She lets it dissipate, breathing heavily. "Couldn't do it," she says after a few moments, in a low voice.
Tyranniac| The guard follows Iressa up the ladder. Once she reaches the next floor, she would see a similar room, this one also with a metal ceiling, as well as four tunnels running off in different directions. There are a few people in the room, mostly humans, but also a vorcha and a battle-scarred asari.
Iressa furrows her brow, more and more unsettled with every new sight. "What is this?" She mutters, scanning the faces in the room with her.
Steve approaches Renala. "Alright... No more of that. No point in hurting yourself." he says. "It doesn't look like we have too many options. We need to get the guard in here with us."
Tyranniac| The guard leads Iressa towards another ladder without responding. The people in the room eye the prisoner with unsettling gazes. The asari speaks: "What you got there? Can I have her?"
Steve nods and makes his way over to Darsk. He begins examining the chains for anything that might be tampered with.
Iressa climbs this ladder with a bit more purpose than the last, eager to get the stranger's gazes off of her.
Tyranniac| As Iressa reaches the next level she would be greeted yet another similar room. The guard leads Iressa off to one of the tunnels on this level.
Steve puts a hand on Renala's cheek and gently urges her head upward to get a better look at the collar. He runs his finger along the top of it, searching for any way to remove it.
Iressa grows more tense and impatient the further the guard leads her away. "How big of a compound do kidnappers need, anyway?"
Guard: What's not to like? We're rich, we're free, and... The guard moves uncomfortably close to Iressa, whispering. ...there are other perks.
Steve shakes his head. "No idea, Ren... We need to get our hands on a key if we're gonna get out of here. We're not going to be able to do that unless we can get one of them in here, and close enough for me to make a move."
Iressa shudders, but slowly regains her composure. "Oh yeah?" She questions, making no attempt to distance herself. "Oh, and just so you know, my invitation still stands." She laughs, continuing on without looking back for an answer.
Guard: For now, the boss needs you... He stops at the end of the tunnel, knocking on the thick metal door. I've got the biologist!
Renala thinks for a moment. "Best idea would be to have one of us distract him so you can get up and make your move," she says, "but if he's got half a brain, he'll probably figure it out as he saw you try to break it earlier."
Steve nods a few times. "The only time they've even bothered to get close enough is to put that baton to use..."
Tyranniac| The door slides open with a groan, revealing a large cave room, lit by what appears to be torches. In the middle of the room stands a throne that appears to be made out of part wood and part prefab shelter pieces. On it sits a massive human with what looks like a war-painted face. His left arm has some exoskeletal plates and claw-like nails. Next to him sits a Revenant machinegun, and below, on the steps, sits Maria as well as another human woman, both chained to the throne and lightly dressed. Several guards - mostly human, but also a krogan, stand in the room, all armed.
Steve shakes his head. "No... We need him to actually come inside the gate. There's no guarantee I can do enough damage to put him down with the bars between us."
Renala frowns. "That wouldn't work then," she says. "Maybe if I stood beyond arm's reach from the bars... not that I want to do it, but it's about the only idea I have without the use of biotics."
Iressa looks into the room and spies Maria almost immediately, trying her best not to react. She cautiously steps inside, her gaze now focused on the human seated on the throne. Clearing her throat, she stifles the fear returning to her enough to address him, "I am the biologist." She confirms, unable to keep her gaze from drifting to the well armed guards about the room.
Steve remains silent for a moment before speaking, "Maybe whe-..." he begins, but quickly trails off before starting again, "Look... I don't want to make things sound any worse than they already are... But it's pretty much a sure thing that they'll be taking you out of here as well, Ren. You know what kind of people we're dealing with. Give them a little resistance. Make them come in to get you, and we can make our move then."
Tyranniac| The Leader gestures to the right of the throne, where a varren lies on a pile of blankets. It has black scales with silver stripes.
Iressa follows his gesture to the creature laying amongst the fabric. She approaches it, stooping down to look it over. Unable to see much of anything, she turns her attention back to the human. "It would help if you told me what was wrong with it." She mentions, hoping in her mind that the others are making good use of the time she's buying them.
Renala looks a bit hesitant for a moment. "Yeah, alright," she says. "I'll try drawing his attention... or should I wait for a bit to make it seems less like something prepared in his absense?"
Leader: That is what you are here to find out! He turns his attention to the guard I thought you said she was able to help!
Iressa tenses as she fears she's made a grave error, and quickly returns her attention to the animal. "Forget I said anything. I can take care of it."
Steve rubs at his forehead as another sharp pain shoots through his head. "I'm not sure there's much we could do to lure him in if we tried. I think our best option is to simply take any alternatives away from him. When they come for you... And they will come for you... You need to make sure that they have no other options than to come in here and drag you out. Don't cooperate. Once through that door, we hit him with everything we can."
Darsk hangs his head, listening to the conversation but having nothing to contribute. He can only wait until his chains are removed.
Renala nods and steps over to the wall to the left side (left as when looking from the door), but near the corner. "I'll just sit down here, then," she says as she sits down on the ground, "and hope he'll be so kind as to help a lady up."
Steve nods and moves over to the bars, peering out at the room beyond. "Hope this works..." he mutters under his breath.
Tyranniac| If Iressa has sufficent knowledge an inspection of the varren might reveal symptoms that it has eaten something indigestible.
Iressa carefully puts her hands on the beast, applying only light pressure here and there as not to upset it. Before long it isn't hard to tell what's most likely ailing the creature, but she decides to milk it a little. "I can help the creature, but I'll need time to work." She settles in next to it before adding, "and any medicine you have."
Tyranniac| The leader gestures at one of his guards, who moves off to fetch the medicine. Meanwhile, the prison guard exits the room, presumably to return to the cell.
Tyranniac| The throne room guard brings the medicine over to Iressa, putting it down next to her. There is a decent variety of supplies in the crate.
Renala remains seated against the wall, staring at the ground. "Wouldn't it be better if you stood against the wall?" she asks in a lowered voice.
Iressa paws through them with no real urgency, going as slowly as she can without drawing attention as she considers her next course of action carefully.
Steve nods. "Probably." he says, glancing one more time towards the stairs before returning to his spot against the wall. He folds his hands behind his back, holding the remnants of the restraints in the palm of his hand.
Iressa picks out the scalpel, turning it over with a thoughtful expression. Silently she curses the kidnappers for taking her clothes and depriving her of hiding places for the small weapon. So instead she sets it down next to the varren before continuing to pick through the supplies for a while.
Tyranniac| The guard that brought the supplies is still standing behind Iressa, looking over her shoulder. He seems to be getting suspicious of her slow progress.
Tyranniac| The prison guard re-enters the cell, taking a look at the prisoners and sitting down in his chair.
Renala glances at the prison guard as he enters, but returns to gazing at the ground as she did when the guard left.
Steve remains leaning against the wall as the guard enters. "Where is she?" he asks asks once he realizes Iressa hasn't returned with him.
Iressa picks out a few choice bottles and sets them before her, attempting to look like she's figuring out a treatment. She sits quietly for a while, starting to figure no one's even watching anymore, and becomes less interested in making herself appear deep in thought.
Tyranniac| The guard looks at Steve and smiles. "You're an L2, aren't you? Yeah... I saw the implant. You're gonna be too high-maintenance to keep around, you know."
Tyranniac| The guard behind Iressa leans menacingly over her with an emotionless face. "You should work faster. Boss does not like delays."
Iressa winces at the unwanted attention. "Yes, sir." She mutters, picking through the bottles and needles in search of sedatives.
Prison Guard: You, on the other hand... He shifts his attention to Renala. I'm sure we can put you to use. If you behave, you won't even have to go into the mines!"
Renala looks at the guard. "Are you?" she says. "If this is what you call putting me to use, then you can be most certain of it."
Iressa picks out the heaviest sedatives she can find, packing up the stray materials she had been rifling through. She takes a deep breath before administering them, displeased that the creature would likely fall victim to her untrained surgical hands, but unable to construct a different plan that wouldn't land her back in the cell or worse. She holds the verran in place as the sedatives take effect, lest it become panicked and strike out in fear.
Prison Guard: Oh I'll get you out of that cell as soon as the boss says it's okay, trust me, sweetie. The guard grins.
Tyranniac| The varren's legs scratch a bit as she administers the sedatives, but it soon calms down.
Renala nods acknowledging and returns her gaze to the floor, grimacing a bit at the implications of it.
Steve continues staring the guard down. "I'm going to enjoy hurting you." he sighs, leaning his head back against the wall.
Iressa pats the creature's head apologetically, unable to hide all of her pained expression. She presses down on its abdomen again, half looking for anomalies and half waiting for the sedatives to take full effect. When satisfied, she picks up the scalpel and carefully, with much reservation, makes a small incision where the least blood loss is likely.
Tyranniac| Iressa is tossed into the cell room by one of the throne room guards. "Boss' boy best survive or you're done for." He leaves right away.
Iressa grimaces, wiping her hands on her flimsy garment which only stains it and her hands further. Turning, she surveys the rest of the room with passing interest, worn from all the events that have transpired already.
Steve takes a few steps towards the bars, careful to mind his hands. "You alright?" he asks, noticing the blood on her hands.
Iressa nods, but doesn't look at the others for long, clearly disheartened by their apparent lack of progress while she was gone. "It's varren blood." She mutters, taking a seat against the wall.
Iressa jerks as the familar shock runs through her yet again, continuing to fidget and twitch after the fact.
Tyranniac| The guard grabs Iressa by the throat and lifts her up until she's standing, still pushed against the wall. He seems to ignore Steve.
Iressa 's attempts to catch her breath are hindered by his grasp as she still occasionally fidgets against him. She looks up and away from him, remaining as still as possible.
Guard: Not that yu're done helping the boss, how about we have a little fun, yeah? He loosens the grip of her throat with his left hand, the right still holding the stun baton.
Iressa grins to herself, eyes rolled back a bit. "You're damaging the goods, chief." She laughs breathlessly, interrupted by a loud cough.
Guard: I think I've earned some fun. Looking after you jackasses all day is dull as hell. He suddenly tosses her to the floor, not all that far from the bars.
Steve presses his forehead against the bars and watches the scene transpire, waiting for an opportunity to present itself.
Iressa hits the floor with an audible "oof", pulling her legs in close in an attempt to scramble away.
Tyranniac| The guard grabs Iressa's tunic, pulling her closer and hitting her with the stun baton again before starting to rip her plastic tunic apart. He is now right next to the cell bars, paying no attention to Steve.
Renala looks at the commotion, but don't say anything as she don't want to draw his attention right now.
Iressa struggles before behind subdued once again by the shock of the stun baton, become more compliant every time. She's now more limp that alert, quietly resigned.
Renala tilts her head at first, but decides to take Steve's implicit order and prays she interpreted that right. "Hey, moron!" she calls for him. "The boss might still need her, you know."
Tyranniac| The guard is about hit Iressa with the baton again after ripping the tunic apart, but is distracted by Renala, turning his head towards her. "You wanna take her place, huh?"
Steve swiftly reaches through the bars and moves to wrap an arm around the guards neck to pull him against the bars. With his other hand, he goes straight for the wrist of the hand wielding the stun baton, attempting to slam it against the bars.
Renala looks at the guard, and grins as Steve grabs ahold of him. "Would if I could," she says jokingly.
Tyranniac| The guard's face turns to surprise as he is pulled up against the bars, failing to move the arm with the stun baton as it is pressed against the bars. As soon as he understands what is going on he reaches for his pistol with his free hand.
Steve tightens his grip around the guards neck, pressing down on the guards windpipe. "Get the gun, Iressa!" he shouts.
Tyranniac| The guard starts to choke, but now has a grip on his pistol, pulling it and aiming at Steve.
Iressa takes a moment to recognize what's happening, but when Steve's voice calls her it dawns on her. She drags herself back up, diving for the gun.
Tyranniac| The Predator discharges as Iressa tries to grab it, the shot grazing Steve's hip. The guard lets out a muffled groan and pulls away from the bars using all his strength, and then activates the baton across several bars in an effort to make Steve let go, but he loses hold of the gun.
Steve releases his grip momentarily from the shock and instinctively reaches down towards his hip with one hand. With his other hand, he quickly reaches back through the bars, hoping to re-establish his grip on the man.
Iressa fumbles with the gun but eventually gets a tight grip. She takes a few steps back, aiming directly at the guard.
Steve reaches through, once again, with both hands which proves to be an effort in futility. "I'm not done with you!" he shouts.
Tyranniac| Once the guard catches his breath he realizes Iressa has the gun. He raises his stun baton and starts moving slowly towards her. "Give me the gun, girl. Give it to me or you'll be in big trouble."
Iressa pants, her aim shakey and unreliable. Gritting her teeth in anger, she opts to spinning the gun around and slamming the bulk of it down on the guard's skull, repeatedly and very agressively.
Tyranniac| The guard grabs Iressa's wrist with a smile, trying to bend the gun out of her hand. "Nice try."
Iressa gasps breathlessly, eyes widening in surprise. Shock quickly turns back to anger and she snarls, snapping her head forward to headbutt him, all while attempting to maintain a fierce grip on the gun.
Tyranniac| The guard is headbutted, stumbling slightly, but proceeding to hit Iressa in the side with the stun baton.
Iressa goes down swiftly, but not without trying to hurl the gun through the vertical bars of the cell.
Tyranniac| The gun is hurled towards the bars, but hits them and bounces down onto the floor about half a meter from the bars. The guard kicks Iressa in the stomach before realizing where the gun is and hurrying towards it.
Renala looks at the gun hopefully, but frowns as it bounces off. She looks at the gun, keeping quiet.
Steve drops to his knees, wincing from the ache in his hip, and reaches as far as he can, pressing his armpit against the bars.
Tyranniac| The guard stops dead in his tracks as Steve reaches the gun. "Shit!" He stomps on Steve's arm.
Tyranniac| The guard keeps his boot planted firmly on Steve's arm, and starts to bend down to pick the gun up.
Iressa drags herself up one more time, nodding towards Renala as she builds up speed to crash into the guard, wrapping her arms around his midsection in hopes of pulling him down with her.
Tyranniac| The guard grunts as he is knocked over, clearly having forgotten about the asari. when he hits the floor he jabs the stun baton into her belly rather roughly.
Renala lets out a small smile as she sees the asari ram into him, exactly what she hoped. She looks down at the gun.
Steve grips the gun and pulls it into the cell. "Alright." he grunts, climbing back to his feet, "Enough fucking around. Drop the baton." He levels out the gun, aiming at the guard.
Tyranniac| The guard curses and gets to his feet. "You know you'll never get out of here alive, right? Boss is probably gonna kill you all for this."
Steve gestures towards the ground with the gun. "Drop. The. Baton." he repeats, "Give the keys to the asari."
Guard: Give this up now and I'll talk to the boss about letting you live... He starts to kneel down as if to drop the baton.
Renala rolls her eyes. "That's assuming your word carries any weight up there, which I very much doubt."
Steve sighs, "I'm not going to repeat myself." he says, an uneasy calmness in his voice, "Do what I say, or I'm going to blow your fucking head off."
Guard: Yeah, yeah, I'm just saying you-... He suddenly dives to the side, grabbing Iressa and pulling her up in front of him with an arm around her throat as he stands back up, using the asari as an... alien shield.
Steve raises an eyebrow as he watches the guards display and snickers to himself. "Really? You think that's going to stop me? I don't even know the bitch. We were hired for a job, nothing more. Now I'm going to give you one last chance to cooperate with us, and then I'm going to put a hole through both of you. Are we on the same page?" he says without the slightest hint of emotion.
Iressa hangs pretty limply in his grasp, only supporting her own weight enough to breathe. She mumbles something under her breath that could probably be identified as an attack on Steve's mother's honor.
Tyranniac| The guard seems a little bit hesitant, but keeps moving towards the exit. He's just about reached it now.
Steve squeezes the trigger, sending a shard of metal towards the right shoulder of the asari and, hopefully, the guard.
Tyranniac| The bullet punches clean through the both of them since neither is wearing any armor. The guard collapses backwards.
Iressa collapses almost completely on top of him, reaching toward her shoulder with an incredibly pained expression coupled with disbelief.
Darsk yanks at his restraints. "RESS!?" he shouts, followed by a rapid fire list of threats directed at Steve.
Steve leans forward, resting his forearms against the bars. "She'll live." he says without taking his eyes off the guard. "Iressa. I know it hurts, but you need to get the keys off of him and get us out of here. You understand?"
Tyranniac| The guard is cursing and clutching at his wound. "WHAT THE FUCK?! WHA-... WHAT THE FUCK?!"
Iressa tumbles off the guard, clutching her wound as well. Her actions are hazy and uncertain as she roots around for the keys with her free hand, biting down hard on her lip as she does so.
Tyranniac| The guard swimpes rather weakly with his right arm, trying to get Iressa away from him. The keys are attached to his belt.
Iressa locates the keys and grasps them, clutching them tightly as she turns back to the cell, breathing heavily and still occasionally fidgetting. "I'd tell you to go to hell, but... you have my Krogan in there." She mutters before underhand tossing the keys toward the cell with hopefully enough force to at least reach the bars.
Tyranniac| The guard wraps his good arm around Iressa's neck and starts to choke her as well as he can.
Renala nods and lifts her chin, allowing easier access to the collar which it seems she was most eager to get rid of.
Steve grabs the restraint and pries a finger between the asari's skin, and the plastic. Using the grooves in the archaic technology, he quickly saws through the restraints and proceeds towards the door
Steve unlocks the cell door and walks towards Iressa and the guard. "Well, well, well." he smirks, crouching beside the guard. "I told ya I was gonna get my hands on you." he continues, digging his thumb into the man's shoulder wound.
Steve removes his thumb from the wound and pats the man on the shoulder. "Of course you were. You just stay right here, okay? Plenty more fun for us to have." He turns his attention towards Iressa and puts a hand on her arm. "I'm sorry it had to come to that." he says, making sure to maintain eye contact as best as he can, "There weren't many other options. I did my best to keep the wound high and wide... So long as we keep pressure on it and get you some medi-gel, you'll be fine. Are we good?"
Tyranniac| The room has an empty coffee cup, the guard's stun baton, the video screen, the crate used as a table, and... nothing else.
Renala looks at the guard, seeing if any parts of his clothing don't have blood on it. She turns twoards Iressa fterwards. "Iressa, did you remember passing anything that might useful right now when they took you away?"
Steve nods silently for a moment. "Good. Relieved to hear that." he says, a slight smirk returning to his face. "Alright." he continues, moving back towards the guard, "We're gonna play a quick little game. You're going to answer some questions. If at any time I don't hear the answer I want, or feel you're being dishonest with me, it's game over. Understand?"
First question. This lovely lady you tried to defile... She's lost a bit of blood. I'm gonna need some medi-gel. Make this easy on us, and maybe I'll even take care of that little wound of yours. He gestures towards the guards shoulder wound with the pistol
Steve sighs. "Now, that's gonna be an issue." he groans, drumming his thumb against the man's wound threateningly, "Not an answer I wanted to hear. You remember the rules, right?"
Tyranniac| The guard groans as Steve presses against his wound. His face is rather pale. "Fuck! There's-... fuck... no medigel. Not-..."
Iressa taps Renala's arm to get her attention, "He's right." She nods, pointing upward with one finger. "Upstairs."
Renala snaps her head towards the other asari. "Stay still, Iressa," she urges. "I need to remove the clothing around your wound, is that okay?"
Steve begins to lose his composure, slamming his fist down on the man's chest. "FUCK!" he shouts, rising back to his feet, "Iressa... When they took you out there, did you see our gear?"
Renala moves over to the side nearest the wound. "I'm going to try applying pressure on the exit wound, is that okay?"
Iressa nods, although clearly against the idea of anyone touching the wound in any fashion that doesn't include medi-gel.
Renala gently moves her hand underneath her, going off where the wound on the visible side of her is. "Sorry, it might hurt a bit," she say after finding the wound and moving a finger to cover it entirely, rtying to slow the bleeding.
Darsk is still livid, but finally regains composure. "Will somebody shoot these chains off the wall already?"
Renala keeps her fingers there, hopefully slowing the bleeding a bit. She glances at Darsk. "I really doubt the pistol would do any damage agains those chains."
Tyranniac| The tunnel looks empty. To the left is a large metal door at the end of the tunnel, as well as two side exits, same size as the one he's standing in. To the right is another side exit and at the end of the tunnel, what looks like a the drill that made the tunnel.
Steve returns to the others. "Looks like that little exchange went unnoticed." he says, "But there's no telling how long it'll be before they send someone else down here. We need to get out of here. And as much as I agree with you, Ren, I don't see many other options unless we're just going to leave him behind."
Steve enters the cell and approaches the krogan, standing just out of the range-of-movement the chains allow him. "You know I did the right thing." he urges, "You seen what he was going to do to her. If they left this room, she wasn't coming back. You don't have to like it, but I want your guarantee that if we get you out of those chains, this is behind us."
Steve nods in acknowledgement to Renala, but remains focused on the krogan. "I'm not hearing an answer, buddy. Are we good?"
Darsk appears conflicted, but finally looks up at Steve. "No. But we can be for now, just until we get out of here."
Steve smirks and shakes his head, giving a heavy sigh. "Not good enough. I don't think you understand how this works... I'm holding all the cards here. I'm trying to get us all out. But we're running out of time. I'm not about to paint a krogan-sized target on my back. I want your word that if we get out of here... You go your way, I go my way. This ends right here."
Tyranniac| A voice can be heard from outside: "Hey Will, what's up? Boss says you're not respo-..." The human trails off as he reaches the bottom of the stairs. "What the-..."
Darsk growls. "Fine. Call this one even. We're going to have a chat back at the respite, but we need everyone we-
Renala stays in her place, applying pressure to the wound. She looks at the human arrival, but trusts the others to take care of him.
Steve puts up a hand in an attempt at silencing Darsk. "I'll get to you in a minute... This is a little more important!" he shouts. He takes a few steps towards the human. "Are you deaf? I said on the ground!"
Tyranniac| The human takes a step forward and raises his hand towards Steve. "Hey man, s'cool. I didn't like Will anyway."
And then what!? This asshole might know where our gear is. It's apparently the only medi-gel in this place. He takes another step towards the human